L'Shanah Tovah to anyone who has been celebrating Rosh Hashanah over the last few days! This year, a central theme to Panther's lessons is Jewish Culture and Cosmology. (In addition to several books I have, there is so much wonderful information to be found at Chabad.org for anyone who is interested in learning about Jewish faith and culture.)
In the beginning of last week, our focus was on celebrating the turning of the wheel - Summer into Autumn (more on that in a forthcoming post). By midweek, our attentions turned to learning about Rosh HaShanah, the "head of the [Jewish] new year."
Preparing and Blessing the Challah:
In the spirit of the holy day, I didn't take too many pictures. Instead, I attempted to keep in my heart my understanding of the significance of Rosh HaShanah and hold the sacred space as much as is possible for a non-Jewish gal with a broken toe and a sore back!
Our table setting:
We happened to have a horn found at an antique shop in Ohio that served as a symbol of the Shofar. We found a great youtube video explaining the significance of the four Shofar blasts. The kids were very impressed with that!
Dove and I, like girls and women in the Jewish homes we have learned about, lit the candles and said the blessing followed by the Kiddush (the wine blessing). I tried a little Hebrew and Dove wore a beautiful white dress. Panther wore his button-down shirt, and yes, we even convinced BuffaloHeart to wear his button shirt as well!
We served some of the foods often associatied with this festival: Chicken (we talked about Kosher vs. non-Kosher), carrots, apples dipped in honey. I added some mangos, also in honor of the sweetness we hope for in the coming year. I forgot the dates! And due to a mishap with the Challah, the second batch wasn't done in time, but we plan to have that for breakfast this morning.
Shalom Aleichem!
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