To Life!

No Apples
Honey

.

Annual event goes Ethiopian
for the High Holidays.

LISA SOBLE SIEGMANN
Special to the Jewish News

he 19th annual Apples &
Honey program took an
Ethiopian twist this year as
families toured Shalom Street's
outdoor exhibit, "With Stone
Shoes: An Ethiopian Jewish
Journey" and learned how the
High Holidays are celebrated in
Ethiopia.
Families accustomed to previ-
ous Apples & Honey programs at
the Jewish Community Center in
West Bloomfield found none of
the usual shofars, no apples and
honey and no tashlich pond.
Instead they learned the tradi-
tions of the Beta Israel, the Jews
of Ethiopia.
They made drums, cooked
injera (spongy Ethiopian bread)
and dipped lamb rather than
apples in honey to learn about
Berhan Seraka (The Rising
Light), which is what Ethiopian
Jews call Rosh Hashanah.
Participants made seed bags for
Ba'ala Astarai, the Day of
Atonement. They built edible
Sukkot and harvested corn that
was given to the Kes, the High
Priest, for blessing. They also
planted in the Nature's Way
Garden to recall the harvest holi-
day of Ba'ala Masalat (Festival of
Shade).
Though the shofar is blown
worldwide on Rosh Hashanah
because it is described in the
Torah as a Yom Teruah, a "Day of
the Awakening Sound," the Beta
Israel interpret the verse differ-
ently. They say they have forgot-
ten the way to sound it and how
to prepare it from a ram's horn,
so they beat drums and cymbals
to make a loud noise.
A special tradition is to dip
lamb into honey to taste the

T

September 29 2005

Wendy Sadler, Shalom Street director, explains Ethiopian customs to Apples & Honey visitors.

sweetness of the season. This
was done for two reasons: to
remember the sacrifices listed in
the Torah and because apples did
not grow in Ethiopia.
During Ba'ala Astarai or Yom
Kippur, members of the commu-
nity appeal to one another for
forgiveness and spend most of
the holiday — even the night —
praying. The expression in
Leviticus 16:29 "... ye shall afflict
your souls..:' is interpreted by the
community as an obligation to
suffer physical affliction. Some
members of the community
therefore try to stay awake all
night. They jump up and down
to make their bodies tired, and
often shed tears as they pray. At
the end of the day, it is custom-
ary to scatter seeds for the birds,
as a symbol of departed souls
who have been commemorated
during the day. It is also a sign
that God has received the
prayers.
The Beta Israel celebrate
Sukkot, the Festival of Shade, as
an eight-day harvest festival by
harvesting crops of corn, wheat,
teff, beans and peas, and having
them blessed by the Kessim.
Ba'ala Masalat, "Festival of
Shade" falls on the fifteenth of
Tishri and is celebrated for eight
days.
The commandment to build
and live in a booth is found in
Beta Israel tradition. It is built
beside the house or synagogue,
and is constructed of only logs
and leaves.
Beta Israel celebrate the holi-
day as a harvest festival. The
main tradition is the harvest of
the crops (corn, wheat, teff,
beans, peas), the blessing of the
crop by the Kessim, and the shar-

No Apples & Honey
on page 22

Ruby Kellman, 3, of West

Bloomfield digs a hole

prior to planting.