Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 25, 2022

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- As the autumn season begins so does a new year on the Hebrew calendar, which will be commemorated this weekend by Jewish communities in Minnesota and around the world.

Rosh Hashanah begins Sunday evening and runs through Tuesday, which this year will recognized by Jews as the official start of the new year 5783. It is followed 10 days later by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which begins at sundown Oct. 4.

Though often referred to as the "High Holy Days," a more literal definition from the Hebrew term Yamim Nora'im is the "Days of Awe."

"We're taught to go through this process of taking stock of our souls, to really get deep into what we've done and said and thought over the last year," Matt Goldberg, a student rabbi at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park, explained to WCCO. "It's awe in our community, awe in our peoplehood, and in our people's experience."

Traditionally, Jews commemorate the holiday by eating apples and honey to represent the fall harvest and wishes for a sweet new year.

At Beth El's Aleph Preschool, kids spent the last week enjoying that treat and making art projects to bring home.

"Dipping an apple in honey is a sweet feeling, a sweet taste, and so we think about all the sweet things that can happen," Sarah Confeld, a preschool teacher at Aleph, explained. "We're celebrating that we get a fresh start so we do get to celebrate and we get to celebrate that we all make these wonderful choices for ourselves."

While Rosh Hashanah is more celebratory, Yom Kippur is more somber in that it includes a full day of prayer while most adults fast from sundown to sundown, as it is the last of the Days of Awe where Jews pray that they will be granted health and joy in the new year.

"Awe is happening in every relationship and every moment of these holidays," Goldberg maintained. "Where we've been, everything we've been through to lead up to this day, and yes, absolutely where we're going."

Jonah Kaplan is WCCO and CBS News Minnesota's investigative reporter and has built a strong reputation for his balanced and in-depth coverage of high-impact issues including the economy, immigration, education, public safety, and the military, among others.

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Jewish communities in Minnesota and around the world set to welcome new year 5783 - CBS News

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