The honey tower

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Happy new year, everyone!
May the year that begins today, 5779 AM (Anno Mundi, "since the creation of the world"), be a good and sweet one for you. 
Tradition calls for dipping apple slices in honey at the Rosh Hashanah dinner table.
Yesterday a friend gave me this strange gift--an Eiffel Tower full of honey made by the bees of Kfar Chabad in Israel! 

If you'd prefer some serious thoughts about the holiday, please take a look at my previous posts at
https://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.com/search/label/Rosh%20Hashana
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Where did the salmon's head go??

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Last night was the Eve of Rosh Hashanah (literally, the head of the year). 
On the festive New Year's dinner table, usually on the platter with the traditional gefilte fish, traditionally there should be at least one cooked fish head. 
Or even a ram's head. 

This is to remind us of one of the many blessings that God promises in return for obedience to his commandments. Deuteronomy 28:13a says 
"And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail . . . " 

In The Living Torah translation it becomes "God will make you a leader and never a follower."

The Hebrew blessing said over the fish head is 
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה' אֱלֹהינוּ וֵאלֵֹהי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁנִּהְיֶה לְרֹאשׁ וְלֹא לְזָנָב
May it be Your will, Lord our God and the God of our fathers, that we be a head and not a tail.

I pray that every leader and every citizen in our world will use their head to make peace and not war in the new year. 
Shana tova, a good and happy year to all!
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Jewish new year 5775 begins now

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Here's the bakery man slicing and packing three different kinds of honey cake.
They will be gifts for the two different families here in Meitar  who invited me to Rosh Hashana  holiday dinner tonight and tomorrow.
The bakery and the flower shop were popular places this morning. 

Honey means we hope and pray for a sweet new year.

"May you be inscribed and sealed [in God's Book of Life] for a good year."

More about Rosh Hashana in previous posts:

Symbolic foods 

A stone sculpture of the Akeda 

The binding of Isaac

Fish heads

New calendar for a new year

Tashlich bread to the fish

Tashlich at a monastery

Shofar, tashlich

The world's birthday

Pomegranate symbol
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H is for High Holy Days and happy new year

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 Happy new year 5774. 

Tonight, Erev Rosh Hashana, we dipped apples in honey in hopes of a sweet and peaceful year ahead.
 And the yellow dates you see on the other plate--the blessing to be said after eating a date tonight is
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה' אֱלֹהינוּ וֵאלֵֹהי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁיִּתַּמּוּ אוֹיְבֵינוּ וְשׂוֹנְאֵינוּ וְכָל מְבַקְשֵׁי רָעָתֵנוּ
May it be Your will, Lord our God and the God of our fathers, that there come an end to our enemies, haters and those who wish evil upon us.

Here are more simanim, symbolic foods, that belong to the Rosh Hashana meal.
The fish head gets the blessing
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה' אֱלֹהינוּ וֵאלֵֹהי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁנִּהְיֶה לְרֹאשׁ וְלֹא לְזָנָב
May it be Your will, Lord our God and the God of our fathers, that we be a head and not a tail.

To the right are patties made from leek.
The Hebrew word for leek is related to the verb karat, to cut, so the rabbis of old made this blessing: 

יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה' אֱלֹהינוּ וֵאלֵֹהי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁיִּכָּרְתוּ אוֹיְבֵינוּ וְשׂוֹנְאֵינוּ וְכָל מְבַקְשֵׁי רָעָתֵנוּ
May it be Your will, Lord our God and the God of our fathers, that our enemies, haters, and those who wish evil upon us shall be cut down.
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See more simanim and their blessings at Chabad's "Rosh Hashanah Seder According to Sephardic Custom." 

Chag same-ach / happy holiday  and shana tova / a good year  to you! 
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(Linking to ABC Wednesday.)

Tashlich, year 5773 AM (anno mundi)

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 On  Rosh Hashana afternoon it is customary to do the Tashlich ceremony.
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In the biblical book of Micah (7:18-19) it says:
"Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? . . . You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

"You will cast" in Hebrew is the verb tashlich.

The Jerusalem region has no sea or lake or river.
I am lucky to live  a short walk  from a spring-fed fish pond.

I read the prayer  and then took the symbolic bread crumbs from my pocket.
 I named a personal sin and threw a crumb in the water, named a national sin and threw another, a private sin of omission and tossed more bread.

The fish had a feeding frenzy!

Part of the symbolism is that a fish has no eyelids and cannot close its eyes, and so  too  may God always keep his eyes open watching over us.

You can see the nice Tashlich prayer here. 

Shava tova -- let the new year be a good one.
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UPDATE: The newspapers now have photos of where Israelis like to go for Tashlich .
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The shofar's sound of supplication

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For PsalmChallenge, centered at Daily Athens blog, here are selected verses of Psalm 28, the ones that I like to think are illustrated by the photo of my grandson Dean.
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2. Hear the sound of my supplication when I cry out to You, when I raise up my hands toward Your holy shrine.
. . .
6. Blessed is the LORD, for He hears the sound of my supplication.
7. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him.
I was helped, and my heart rejoiced, so I will give thanks to Him with my song.
8. The LORD is His people's strength; a stronghold for the deliverance of His anointed is He.
9. Deliver Your people, bless Your heritage; shepherd them and raise them up forever.

Dean made the shofar out of a goat's horn.
Incredibly, at his tender age (this was a few years ago), he made soul-stirring sounds.
There is a little video of him blowing the shofar.
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Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is this Friday evening until Saturday night.
May everyone be sealed in the Book of Life.
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The binding and unbinding of Isaac

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The frightful story of the binding of Isaac, in Genesis 22, is read in the synagogue every Rosh Hashana.

I talked about it and showed other artistic portrayals of the almost-deed here and here.
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But the photos in today's post are of Sam Philipe's sculpture "Akedat Yitshak" (the Binding of Isaac), on exhibit at Jerusalem's Mamilla mall.

We can be glad that the angel was sent just in time to stop Abraham's hand.

In the story's happy end, the angel quotes God as saying to Abraham
". . . in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice."
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By the way, Christians are celebrating today too. It is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, also known as the Feast of the Archangels.
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More about Rosh Hashana in previous posts:

A stone sculpture of the Akeda

Fish heads

New calendar for a new year

Tashlich bread to the fish

Shofar, tashlich

The world's birthday

Pomegranate symbol
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Wishing you a sweet new year 5772

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So many different ways to market honey, even inside an Eiffel Tower!
Enlarge the photo and also find cute little wheeled honey carts [oops, I almost said "honey wagon" but that means something totally different].

Tonight at the festive Rosh Hashana table everyone will dip a slice of apple in honey, say the Hebrew blessing for fruit, and then add the special New Year blessing:

"May it be your will, Eternal our God, that this be a good and sweet year for us."

I wish the same to you, my good friends around the world.
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A new year starts tomorrow at sunset

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It is a window that shows a door, a door to what I think is called a sheepfold.
It is one in a series of stained glass windows in the small synagogue in Hechal Shlomo in Jerusalem.

The Rosh Hashana window (please do enlarge it) quotes from the moving and powerful piyyut (liturgical poem) Unetaneh Tokef which is sung in every synagogue both on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

כָל בָּאֵי עולָם יַעַבְרוּן לְפָנֶיךָ כִּבְנֵי מָרון. כְּבַקָּרַת רועֶה עֶדְרו. מַעֲבִיר צאנו תַּחַת שִׁבְטו .כֵּן תַּעֲבִיר וְתִסְפּר וְתִמְנֶה וְתִפְקד נֶפֶשׁ כָּל חָי. וְתַחְתּךְ קִצְבָה לְכָל בְּרִיּותֶיךָ. וְתִכְתּב אֶת גְּזַר דִּינָם:
בְּראשׁ הַשָּׁנָה יִכָּתֵבוּן וּבְיום צום כִּפּוּר יֵחָתֵמוּן כַּמָּה יַעַבְרוּן וְכַמָּה יִבָּרֵאוּן מִי יִחְיֶה וּמִי יָמוּת. מִי בְקִצּו וּמִי לא בְקִצּו מִי בַמַּיִם. וּמִי בָאֵשׁ מִי בַחֶרֶב. וּמִי בַחַיָּה מִי בָרָעָב. וּמִי בַצָּמָא מִי בָרַעַשׁ. וּמִי בַמַּגֵּפָה מִי בַחֲנִיקָה וּמִי בַסְּקִילָה מִי יָנוּחַ וּמִי יָנוּעַ מִי יִשָּׁקֵט וּמִי יִטָּרֵף מִי יִשָּׁלֵו. וּמִי יִתְיַסָּר מִי יֵעָנִי. וּמִי יֵעָשֵׁר מִי יִשָּׁפֵל. וּמִי יָרוּם וּתְשׁוּבָה וּתְפִלָּה וּצְדָקָה מַעֲבִירִין אֶת רעַ הַגְּזֵרָה
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"All mankind will pass before You like members of the flock.
Like a shepherd pasturing his flock, making sheep pass under his staff, so shall You cause to pass, count, calculate, and consider the soul of all the living;
and You shall apportion the fixed needs of all Your creatures and inscribe their verdict. "

The piyyut is traditionally attributed to a medieval Rabbi Amnon of Mainz, who spoke the words while he was being martyred. More here.
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You can read its translation in the ArtScroll Machzor.
Here is part of it:
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"On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed
how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created;
who will live and who will die;
who will die at his predestined time and who before his time;
who by water and who by fire,
who by sword, who by beast, who by famine, who by thirst,
who by storm, who by plague,
who by strangulation, and who by stoning.
Who will rest and who will wander,
who will live in harmony and who will be harried,
who will enjoy tranquility and who will suffer,
who will be impoverished and who will be enriched,
who will be degraded and who will be exalted.
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But REPENTANCE, PRAYER and CHARITY
[tshuvah, tfilah, tzedaka]
Remove the evil of the Decree!
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Don't you love that idea that by our re-turning, praying, and doing acts of kindness we can change everything?!
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(Reposted from last year. This time it is for Monday Doorways and Our World Tuesday.)
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Imagining the binding of Isaac

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Today is the second day of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.
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The Torah portion that is read on this day is Genesis 22, God's testing of Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah.
In Hebrew we call it the Akedah, the binding of Isaac.
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Below is a wide variation of artistic portrayals of the story, on display at the Jewish museum in Jerusalem's Hechal Shlomo.
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"Abraham's sacrifice," designed by W. Breathe, England, 1870, porcelain, manufactured by Wedgewood.
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On the other extreme is this simple brass tub drilled with holes, made in Israel in the 20th century.

The inscription is "Lay not thy hand upon the lad," the welcome words of God's messenger-angel.

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This is an illustration on a 1743 map of Eretz-Israel, painted in France.

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A painting by Moshe Castel, 1925.

We can see the ram, tangled in the branches by its horns, which will be offered instead of Isaac.

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"The way to the mountain," wool thread on cushion cover, embroidered in Ethiopia in the 1980s.

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The servant boys stay behind with the donkey, Isaac carries the wood for the fire, Abraham carries the knife. Vultures circling above?

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You have to admit, religion has a lot of drama at its core.

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More about Rosh Hashana in previous posts:

A stone sculpture of the Akeda

Fish heads

New calendar for a new year

Tashlich bread to the fish

Shofar, tashlich

The world's birthday

Pomegranate symbol

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The akeda, the binding of Isaac

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The Days of Awe, the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, are upon us.
On the second day of Rosh Hashana the Torah portion read in the synagogue is from Genesis 22. The binding of Isaac!

The sculpture portrays Abraham's hand covering the mouth of Isaac while his other hand grips the knife with which he was commanded to slay his beloved son.

One face of the rock has the altar on which Isaac was bound. But mercifully, there also appears the ram with the curved horns, caught in the thicket, which God sent as a substitute sacrifice.

Engraved in Hebrew on the back is pahad Yitzhak, meaning Isaac's fear.

And above the words, a dove.

The rock stands in the Municipal Garden, between the Jerusalem City Hall and Jaffa Road.

The artist is the same man who did the giant mural in the Post Office.

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Like our patriarch whom God tested, the artist is also named Avraham. Avraham Ofek created this sculpture in 1987, after he had lost his own daughter, and just a few years before he died of a long and painful illness.

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Tashlich, 5770 anno mundi

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On the afternoon of Rosh Hashana it is customary to do the Tashlich ceremony.
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In the biblical book of Micah (7:18-19) it says:
"Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? . . . You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

So tashlich means "You will cast off."

Having no sea or river or lake, I am fortunate to live near a spring-fed fish pond.
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I read the liturgy and then took the symbolic bread crumbs from my pocket. I named a personal sin and threw a crumb in the water, named a national sin and threw another, a private sin of omission and tossed more bread. On and on.
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The fish gobbled them up.
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Part of the symbolism is this: A fish has no eyelids and cannot close its eyes. So, too, may God always keep his eyes open watching over us.
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Heads up

Tonight is Rosh Hashanah (literally, the head of the year). On the festive New Year's table, usually on the platter with the traditional gefilte fish, there should be at least one cooked fish head. 
This is to remind us of one of the many blessings that God promises in return for obedience to his commandments. Deuteronomy 28:13a says 
"And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail . . . " 

In The Living Torah translation it becomes "God will make you a leader and never a follower."

The Hebrew blessing said over the fish head is 
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה' אֱלֹהינוּ וֵאלֵֹהי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁנִּהְיֶה לְרֹאשׁ וְלֹא לְזָנָב
May it be Your will, Lord our God and the God of our fathers, that we be a head and not a tail.

I pray that every leader and every citizen in our world will use their head to make peace and not war in the new year. 
Shana tova, a good and happy year to all!
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