My Rosh Hashanah 5769

Shalom and Shana Tova!

I got back to Be’er Sheva last night after spending Rosh Hashanah in Jerusalem. It was a great time. I had gotten in contact with a Rabbi (Rabbi Edward Romm) from the Conservative Judaism Fuchsberg Center in Jerusalem to find out about getting set up with a family in Jerusalem for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. He ended up inviting me to stay with his family.

Monday I left for Jerusalem, which was an easier feat than I had expected in the day of the eve of a Chag (holiday). I took a bus to the Old City where I helped a lady with her bags (she had gone to the shuk – market) from the bus to her apartment inside the Old City. I then went to the Kotel where I was asked if I had put on Tefillin that day. I had not and being that it was the day before Rosh Hashanah, I took the opportunity to do so at the Kotel and say the Shema. I then found a minyan (prayer group) in the tunnel at the Kotel on the men’s side and davened (prayed) Minha (the afternoon service) there. I then spent a bit of time in a personal prayer prior to the New Year at the Kotel.

After praying, I found a taxi to take to the French Hill neighborhood where I was staying for the holiday. I had a few things going against me pricewise – I’m American, I speak English, there was a lot of traffic, it was the afternoon before a major religious holiday. Some taxi drivers wanted 100+ shekels for the ride, which is a ridiculous amount. I found one driver who I talked down to 65 shekels. He was a Christian Arab who lives in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City.

French Hill is a nice neighborhood that borders both Hebrew University and East Jerusalem. We drove through an Arab village on the way to French Hill and down a hill from where I stayed was a refugee camp. Each night/morning, I woke up with the Muslim call to prayer three times between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. I think that the call to prayer is awesome and fascinating, but not at those hours, for me at least. Only in Israel could something like that happen on Rosh Hoshanah.

The Romm family is very nice. They live in an apartment that they own in a nice complex with a lot of greenery around it. They have two daughters and a dog. They are very nice people and walking the dog after each meal was a good thing after eating. They are Kosher and Shomer Shabbas. They have lived in Israel for about 30 years.

They pray at a Conservative Synagogue, Ramot Zion, that is nearby. It has a lot of families that are originally from America, but all of the services – including Mahzors (High Holy Day prayer books),page numbers, sermons, etc. – were in Hebrew. They have about 200 families as members including a lot of Hebrew University professors and about 12-15 Rabbis. Their synagogue Rabbi is a woman who was very pregnant (i.e. past due). The services were led by different volunteers in the synagogue and were held in the auditorium because the sanctuary was too small. They have a choir that sang a few songs each day.

My basic schedule:

Monday
Arrive
Get to know the family
Services
Dinner – They had 5 Hebrew University students over for Monday night and Tuesday as well who were very nice. I also met some other Hebrew U. students at services.
Taking it easy
Sleep

Tuesday
Breakfast
Services
Lunch
Taking it easy/Talking to the family
Services
Dinner
Taking it easy

Wednesday
Breakfast
Services
Lunch
Taking it easy/Talking to the family
Services
Figuring out getting back to Be’er Sheva
Taking the bus back to Be’er Sheva – they drove me to the bus station :-)

I had sort of expected some sort of crazy spiritual revelation by celebrating Rosh Hashanah services in Israel and Jerusalem. That didn’t really happen, which I was a bit disappointed about at the time, but later noticed a lot of small things. The service was all in Hebrew. I could look out the window and see Jerusalem stone. The shofar blower was under a large Israeli flag. The Kohanim did the blessing over the congregation. And there was more.

I found the experience of Rosh Hashanah very enjoyable and meaningful. Walking back to the apartment from synagogue I saw rose bushes, which I have not previously seen in Israel. Maybe that is a good sign for the year ahead?

I got invited back to the Romm family for Yom Kippur this coming week. I am excited for that opportunity.

Gemar Chatimah Tovah - May your final sealing (in the Book of Life) be good.