Seven Questions Your
Children May Ask You

Let's examine some of the holiday rituals on two levels — first in
a more concrete way and then with deeper insights.
Question: Why is Rosh Hashanah the Jewish New Year?
Answer: The first people (Adam and Eve) were created on this
day. It is from this day that we count the Jewish year.
Insight: Rosh Hashanah comes at the harvest season. Man
performs many mitzvot of charity in connection with the harvest. As
man is charitable, so God in turn will judge him with mercy.
Question: Why do we dip challah and apples in honey?
Answer: On Rosh Hashanah God judges us and decides what
type of year we will have. Therefore, we pray for a sweet year when
we dip our foods with honey. When we touch and taste the sweet
foods, it reminds us what the prayer is for and brings about greater
concentration.
Insight: Unlike other fruits, the apple appears on the tree before
its protective leaves. Similarly, we Jews have the confidence to live
the Jewish way even though it may appear to some to leave us
unprotected.
Question: Why do we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah?
Answer: This is the day when God became king over people in
the world. When crowning a new king, trumpets are blown. Each year
we renew our commitment to God as our king when we blow the
shofar.
Insight: This mitzvah is considered a "chok," a statute or
ordinance whose logical meaning has not been revealed to us. Our
intent should be to fulfill the unrevealed will of the Almighty.
Question: Why do we say Tashlich on Rosh Hashanah?
Answer: The Tashlich prayer speaks about "casting . . . sins into
the depth of the sea." It is another way of reminding us that the
purpose of this day is to renew and strengthen our commitment to
God.
Insight: When Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, Satan attempted
to stop him by an impassable river. We recall Abraham's devotion as
a personal lesson on dedication and to invoke his merit on this Day of
Judgement. Therefore the Tashlich prayer is said near a body of
water.
Question: Why do we fast on Yom Kippur?
Answer: Because He is so kind, God set aside one special day
when He is even closer to us than the rest of the year. Our job on
Yom Kippur is Teshuva — truly feeling sorry about our mistakes. If we
are sincere, He forgives us on Yom Kippur. It is a very serious day
when we concentrate only on our prayers and closeness to God. So
that we are not distracted, God also commanded us to fast on this
day.
Insight: Teshuvah is usually rendered "repentance." Teshuvah,
however, is accurately defined as return. Since a Jew is essentially
good and his innermost desire is to do what is right, Teshuvah
signifies a return to our roots and our innermost selves.
Question: Why do we sit in a sukkah on Sukkot?
Answer: When God took us out of Egypt, He covered us with
clouds on all sides to protect us from the heat during the day and the
cold at night. To remember all of the wonderful miracles God did for
us, our love for Him grows.
Insight: The first set of clouds which surrounded our ancestors
after leaving Egypt was withdrawn after the sin of the golden calf.
Another set of clouds returned after Yom Kippur and remained for 49
years. These we commemorate at Sukkot time.
Question: Why do we say a bracha on the Lulav?
Answer: Sukkot takes place before the rainy season. These four
species are especially dependent on rain. At the time, when we pray
for rain, we hold these four kinds and ask God to give us enough rain
just as He did for these plants. When we hold these in our hand, we
realize how much we need the rain and can pray with greater intent.
Insight: These four kinds symbolize four parts of the body. The
etrog resembles the heart. The lulav resembles the spine which
carries the entire body. Man serves God with his heart and his body.
The myrtle resembles the eyes and the willow the mouth. We are
urged to utilize these key receptive and expressive organs for Divine
purposes in celebrating this festival with joy.
— Mrs. Bayla Landsman

L-4

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1992

Hava Nedaber lvrit: Holiday Rich In

By NIRA LEV

T'kasim and minhagim are the
neshama of kol chag. Our sweetest
zichronot of the chagim we
celebrated as yeladim with our
mishpacha or at school are closely
associated with the special avirah of
the chag. That avirah was created
by the minhagim and t'kasim of
the chag.
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish
New Year, is rich in s'malim,
t'kasim and minhagim that convey
the mashma'ut of the chag on the

emotional level, as well as on the
intellectual level. Each of the
minhagim and t'kasim of Rosh
Hashanah reflects some aspect of
the chag.

Rosh Hashanah, marking the

hatchala of a shanah chadasha, is
a time of solemn cheshbon nefesh,
of rethinking of our derech chayim,
our ma'asim, our avar and our atid.

It is a day of judgement both in the
divine sense, being judged by
Ha'kadosh Baruch Hu, and in the
personal sense, judging ourselves. It
is also referred to as "Yom
Hazikaron" — a Day of
Remembrance, when we remember

events from the history of our am,
as well as the dvash and the oketz
that occurred in our personal

chayim.

The minhagim of Rosh
Hashanah reflect these spiritual
aspects of the chag. The main
event of Rosh Hashanah is t'kee'at
shofar — the blowing of the shofar.
The shofar which is usually keren
shel ayil, is an important semel of
our masoret. It reminds us of
Akeidat Yitzchak — the Binding of
Isaac, when Avra'ham Avinu was
ready to commit the utmost act of
emunah and God substituted an
ayil for Yitzchak. The Talmud says
that when God hears the shofar on
Rosh Hashanah, He gets up from
His throne of tzedek and sits down
on His throne of rachamim, to give
us another chance. T'kee'at
Ha'shofar serves as a siman to
remember those me'oraot
historiyim which made Yisrael an
am, which were announced by
t'kee'at ha'shofar, such as Matan
Torah on Har Sinai, the entrance of
Israel, Rosh Chodesh and others.
Like other chagim Yehudiyim,
an important minhag of this chag is
the arucha chagigit in the evening

TViansmitting Love For Judaism

Continued from Page L-1

then we can proceed to seek
intellectually honest forms to
simplify the concepts for our
children. Through concrete
examples which relate to a child's
experience, even the most abstract
concepts can be simplified.

We can raise our children's
anticipation by spending quality time
with them preparing for the
holidays. To be effective teachers,
we must know our children well and
teach them in a way which they will
find pleasurable. If our child enjoys

reading, we teach through books
and stories. If our child enjoys art,
let's teach through the visual
modality. To a child who is talented
in crafts we offer projects. The
musically talented learns through
songs and tapes, while the socially
talented will benefit from relating
and cooperating with others while
learning.
Each child possesses his or her
own unique talents with which to
discover the beauty and depth of
our heritage.
Each festival season offers
unique opportunities for growth and
enrichment reflected in the
messages it teaches. Let us find the
courage and energy to be inspired
and to inspire those around us. Let
us enjoy the pleasure of nurturing
and nourishing the emotional,
intellectual and spiritual in ourselves
and in our children. Let us seize
these precious opportunities for
renewal and for the benefit of
ourselves, our family, and the entire
Jewish nation.

Mrs. Bayla Landsman is a
parent as well as the director of
special education and an
educational consultant to the
Resource Center at the Agency for
Jewish Education.