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Children learn about Rosh Hashanah at Seder at El Emeth
By LINDA M. LINONIS
liberty
Foods for fun and symbolism will grace the table at a Rosh Hashanah seder for children Monday at Temple El-Emeth.
Jewish observances start at sundown with Rosh Hashanah beginning tonight and Yom Kippur, which includes the Kol Nidre service, Sept. 22.
Elyse Silverman, temple program director, said the seder is geared to children from 5 to 10 years old. “We’ve put it in terms they can understand,” she said. “Traditional foods and their meaning are part of it.”
Silverman and Nya Aron, a teacher at Akiva Academy in Youngstown, will conduct the youth seder with assistance from temple teens while adults attend a musical service at the temple at 3970 Logan Way. That will feature guest cantor Sarah Levine, a student at Jewish Theological Seminary in New York; Dr. Randy Goldberg, guitar; Joseph Krumholz, violin; and Daniel Shapira, piano.
Rabbi Joseph Schonberger explained the observance of Rosh Hashanah actually is 40 days overall. The 30 days before Rosh Hashanah is a preparation for what are called the High Holy
Days, the most sacred time of year.
“This is a time to reflect on how you live life. ... We do that with prayers and gatherings,” the rabbi said. “It is a time of settling differences and making amends.”
The rabbi continued that the observance also is a time of “finding ways to better one’s self and ask for forgiveness. ... No one is perfect.”
By righting any wrongs, the rabbi said, people can “go forward positively and peacefully.”
“Yom Kippur, the most-sacred day, is the day of the year when the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the tabernacle,” Rabbi Schonberger said of the history. Also known as the Day of Atonement, it is a time of fasting, prayer and repentance.
The rabbi said fasting is part of the observance because “it shows sincerity of purpose. ... We want to convince God to help us.”
Rosh Hashanah also is “the head of the year,” or the Jewish New Year. The year 5776 begins. “It’s a celebration of the birthday of creation,” the rabbi said.
At the children’s seder, there will be a round challah (bread). Though traditional braided challah is part of meals for Shabbat and holidays, a round challah is reserved for Rosh Hashanah. “The shape reminds us of the cycle of life ... and that we’re starting a fresh, new year,” the rabbi said, adding that the new year also gives people another chance to do better.
The children’s seder ritual also relates the round challah that “represents the circle of the year” and how the “wheel of time” moves through the four seasons of fall, winter, spring and summer.
Another important element of the seder is apples dipped in honey. This ritual “symbolizes the sweetness” wished for in the new year.
Pomegranates also are included, the rabbi said, to include something new and fresh. He explained tradition relates that pomegranates contain “613 seeds that symbolize 613 mitzvahs in Torah.” Mitzvahs refer to commandments.
A children’s version of a Tashlich service also will be conducted. In the service, bread crumbs are cast into a body of water, symbolically casting away sins. For children, Silverman said they cast foam “crumbs” into a makeshift body of water.
On Tuesday, children will be involved in activities including making a honey jar with the message “l’Shana Tova” – Happy New Year.
Sukkot begins at sundown Sept. 27, taking place after the High Holy Days, when everything is “set straight,” the rabbi said. Sukkot “celebrates life and remembers the natural and spiritual harvest,” he said.