12 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2019 

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essay

Chilling Out 

I made my Judaism 
truly meaningful by 
relaxing a bit at 
Rosh Hashanah.

P

icking through gefilte 
fish in the kosher depart-
ment, searching for the 
freshest packages, I think of 
my Grandma Fanny. She made 
her gefilte fish 
from scratch, lov-
ingly combining 
the cod, white-
fish, pike and 
whatever other 
secret ingredients 
she threw in that 
made it so good.
“This is delicious,” my 
brother’
s roommate remarked 
one year. “I’
ve never even 
heard of a gefilte fish before.”
When my grandmother 
hosted Rosh Hashanah, it 
was an affair. There could be 
upward of 25 people around 
the table, which would be set 
with the finest china and fresh-
est flowers. The food was first 
class and the conversation live-
ly. What I don’
t remember was 
much religious content.
As my grandparents aged, 
my mother took over hosting 
duties. The table was still a 
decent size, but it wasn’
t the 
same lavish affair. Now that 
my husband and I have taken 
on the responsibilities of host-
ing, the table has become even 
smaller, maxing out at 11 if all 
my in-laws are in town. I don’
t 
have fine china or exquisite sil-
ver flatware. I don’
t have crys-
tal glasses or homemade gefilte 
fish. Frankly, I don’
t have the 

money to “do Jewish” the way 
my grandparents did.
But even though our table 
has gotten smaller and my 
place settings would have my 
grandmother rolling in her 
grave, the whole holiday has 
become much more meaning-
ful to me. I’
m grateful for the 
time spent with my family and 
the time spent in reflection at 
shul. 
While many Jewish com-
munal leaders warn about 
how younger generations are 
drifting away from traditional 
Judaism, I believe they have 
missed the mark: Even though 
I “do Jewish” much differently 
than my grandparents did, 
the older I get, the clearer 
Judaism’
s contributions to my 
life become.
Stripping away the excess of 
the High Holidays has made 
me see what’
s important, and 
going through the ritual and 
ceremony of putting the eve-
ning together has brought me 
closer to its true significance. 
Yes, the meal is a celebration, 
but it’
s also a solemn entry into 
the 10 days of introspection 
and repentance before Yom 
Kippur. As I age, my thoughts 
are less on what wine I’
ll be 
serving and more on how I 
need to make things right. 
The 2013 Pew Portrait of 
Jewish Americans suggests 
Jewish identity is changing, 
and that 22 percent of Jews 

Julie Matlin
JTA

continued on page 12

The Jewish News received 
many comments about its 
new glossy magazine format 
and size. Here is a sampling 
of the responses:

“I love the new look — 
well done! It’
s clean, easy 
to handle and easy to read. 
Nobody likes change, but 
this was definitely a change 
for the better.”

— Mark Milgrom

 Farmington Hills

“The new format is a won-
derful upgrade. I enjoyed 
reading the magazine and 
spent more time with it than 
in the past. Good idea.”

— Lauren Daitch

West Bloomfield

“Mazal tov on the new look 
of the JN. It looks crisp and 
fresh! You are proving that 
the JN is evolving with the 
times and staying new and 
exciting. Bravo!

— Alan H. Kaplan

West Bloomfield

“We got the paper. The 
downsize sucks.”

— Stuart Feldheim

West Bloomfield

“I just received the new for-
mat of the JN. It is fabulous! 
An excellent change! Just 
wanted to let you know.”

— Roslyn Schindler

Huntington Woods

“Got my JN yesterday and 
read it today. It’
s terrific. 
It’
s usually a fast read and 
I spent a lot of time and 
didn’
t read everything I 
wanted to. Mazal tov!

— Jeannie Weiner

West Bloomfield

“The cover is going to be 
glossy? That’
s not good for 
the environment.”

— Lauren Alyssa Yellen

Bloomfield Hills

“I read it from beginning 
to end. Compared to the 
Jewish newspapers in 
Philadelphia, your Detroit 
paper is far above anything 
they produce.”

— Eleanor Smith

West Bloomfield 

online comments
Readers (Mostly) Like 
New JN Format

