Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year is upon us, which makes me think about new beginnings, faith, and forgiveness. Rosh Hashana is both a time of celebration and a time of introspection. We celebrate the birth of the world and reflect on the year that has passed. We eat a round challah to symbolize the cycle of life. The challah or an apple is dipped in honey to remind us of all the sweetness in life.
The Shofar is blown to represent our covenant with God. In the book of Genesis, Abraham was given the ultimate test and was requested to sacrifice Isaac, who was his only son by his wife, Sarah. His faith in God was resolute and he was ready to give up the son he had yearned for. Just before he was going to offer up his greatest gift, Abraham was commanded to sacrifice a ram instead. The horn of the ram is used to make the shofar that is blown during the holiday season.
One of my favorite rituals of Rosh Hashana is Tashlich. During Tashlich, we visit a body of water and throw in small pieces of bread to symbolize our sins of the past year.
There are so many beautiful lessons in this holiday. It reminds us that we can start anew and that life is cyclical- there will be seasons that go smoothly and seasons that test our faith. It reminds us to savor the sweetness of life- the moments of joy that allow you to forget the pain, confusion and the tears. It teaches forgiveness, which often has to start with the ability to forgive oneself. Forgiveness can be as simple as just casting your wrongdoings into the water and giving yourself permission to let go of what has been weighing you down.
Happy New Year!
L’shana Tova!
Delusions of Parenthood 
Happy new year! May it bring you health and love.
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L’Shanah Tova!
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Happy new year! Thanks for sharing, I know very little about the Jewish religion, I’ve learned something from your post.
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Thank you!!! I’m glad you learned something. I’m going to write one for Yom Kippur next week, which is our day of atonement
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Thanks for sharing about Rosh Hashana and your traditions. Very interesting … neat traditions. Love the bread throwing, symbolizing throwing away sins, interesting picture of repentance. I’ve had many Jewish friends before, especially when I lived in MD and worked in childcare. So I am familiar with some of the holidays and traditions, I always enjoyed learning.
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Happy New Year! I didn’t know anything about this holiday and have learned so much. The symbolism behind the traditions is so intriguing.
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Thank you for sharing this! I love learning about the Jewish culture. Bless you!
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I learned a great deal about your culture. Thank you for sharing.
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This was a very informative post and I got a lot of insight into a new holiday I was previously unaware of. Thanks
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Very interesting to read about your religion. Happy new year in September!
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Happy New Year! Thank you for sharing your traditions and experience with your kiddos!
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What a beautiful celebration. Happy new year !
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Thank you for sharing I am not familiar with this particular Jewish holiday but I love the idea behind it. It is refreshing to think of life a cyclical and having a fresh start and learning about the tradition of bread to go along with it.
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Happy New Year! Thank you for teaching me more about your religion. I love hearing about different celebrations.
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Happy New Year. It seems like the boys are praying. A nice picture.
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Thanks!!!
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Really cute pics in this post and I learned some things about Rosh Hashana.
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Thanks! I’m hoping to do some posts here and there about various Jewish observances.
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