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Mostly Cloudy Recharging their relationship with God
Food and preparation are part of the High Holy Days
Preparing for the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) takes time. The high holy days are on Sept. 4 and 5 for Rosh Hashanah and Sept. 13 and 14 for Yom Kippur (Jewish holidays begin at sundown of the first day).
For Howie and Karen Russo, Woodmere residents who follow Sephardic traditions and are members of the Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst, preparations started about 30 days prior to the holidays.
“There is a lot [of preparation], we have a Selichot service the whole month before every morning,” said Howie, who works in the garment industry. “Before regular prayers we are getting ready for the holidays by singing some of the songs and reciting some of the prayers for the holidays in two sections; one for Rosh Hashanah and one for Yom Kippur.”
At home, Karen spends up to three weeks baking and cooking the amount of food and varieties that will feed the 30 or so people they will host for their Rosh Hashanah Seder complete with a pamphlet read in Hebrew and English that explains what each food item symbolizes such as the apples dipped in honey to have a sweet new year or the fish’s head to look into the future.
“It takes two to three weeks to prepare, I work at the (Greater Five Towns) JCC,” Karen said. “You have to plan ahead. There are so many dishes, you can’t possibly do it in three days.”
Karen said pickling the cooked beets takes time along with making several sweet tasting dishes, including baklava and her calavaza, a butternut squash. “We are getting in the mood to ask for forgiveness and start a new year on a fresh page,” Howie said. “It is a balance preparing for a new year and starting with a clean plate.”
That introspection is why Rabbi Steven Golden, the assistant rabbi at the Sephardic Temple, held a class on Aug. 20 to prepare people for the High Holy Days. Golden reviewed the liturgy and its meaning, and what to do during the lengthy services for both holidays.
“In our context, the Sephardic, we take the whole month preceding the days for reflection, making amends and taking stock of one’s life,” Golden said. “We have expectations as we enter into the days to taste God’s intense spiritual connection. We want to recharge our relationship with God.”
