Celebrate Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur shows thousands of
Jews gathered at a lake in Uman,
Ukraine, for the Tashlich service.
“On the first day of Rosh Hashanah,
in the afternoon, we have a spe-
cial service to cast away our sins,”
Heiligman writes. “It is called
Tashlich, which means to send
away. We try to go to a river, or
another body of water. We turn our
pockets inside out, as if emptying
out all our sins. Or we throw pieces
of bread into the water — the piec-
es of bread represent our sins.”
Heiligman, who was raised in
a Jewish family in Allentown, Pa.,
agreed to write 10 volumes in the
National Geographic series because
she thought the books could be a
way for children to become leaders
who understand that diversity is
part of our culture and that every
culture deserves respect.
“The High Holidays are a time
for reflection, a time for new begin-
nings, a time to look inward and
ask yourself how can I be a bet-
ter person, how can I be the best
person that I can be,” Heiligman
says. “I think children can relate to
this. Jews pray in hopes of becom-
ing better people, and I hope
adults can relate to that, too. Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur give us
a time to do that, to really sit and
think.”
Each of the volumes in the series
is written with input from a con-
sultant. Rabbi Shira Stern, direc-
tor of the Center for Pastoral Care
and Counseling in Marlboro, N.J.,
was an adviser for Celebrate Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Stern’s introduction places the
High Holidays into wider histori-
cal and cultural context for parents
and teachers. Referring to Elul, the
Hebrew month of preparation pre-
ceding Rosh Hashanah, Stern notes,
“‘Elul’ is an acrostic for the Hebrew
phrase, Ani L’dodi, V’dodi Li, which
means ‘I am my beloved’s and my
beloved is mine.’ This is a metaphor
for our relationship with God. But
it’s not a romantic relationship; it’s a
bond between parent and child.”
Especially for young children,
Stern writes, “God ‘the parent’ is a
natural concept. We want to feel so
close to God that God will forgive
us for the wrongs we have done. To
inspire ourselves, we mark each day
by blowing the shofar and include
special prayers that begin the
repenting process.
“We have come full circle in the
Jewish year,” Stern concludes. “And
we are spiritually ready to begin
again.”
*
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