Shana tova

Rosh Hashana is always celebrated on the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar.  Why, then, did it occur on September 28 last year, and September 16 this year?  That's because the Jewish year is a modified lunar calendar, with each month corresponding to a lunar cycle, and every 2-3 years a "leap month" is added to adjust for the solar cycle. 

Now, even back then a clever clog could have calculated when the "leap month" would need to be included, and they could have planned for it, but of course that's not the way they did it.  Instead, they waited until Adar was finished, and then checked the ripeness of barley, fruits of trees, and the equinox.  If two of these were lacking (i,e. it wasn't spring yet) then the month of Adar became a "do over."  I'm not kidding--Adar becomes Adar I (with 30 days) and Adar II (with 29 days)!  That keeps the holidays in approximately the right season.

Now that I've told you all that, I should mention it has nothing to do with Judaism -- it was developed in Mesopotamia, and the Jews inherited it from the Babylonians.

Last October I mentioned Rosh Hashanah was defined in the bible as a day to rest and listen to horn blasts.  Somehow along the way that became defined as the new year for vegetables (as opposed to the new year for kings, animals, or trees) which then became defined as the day to advance the year; in other words, the new year for people (sort of).  Rosh Hashanah literally means, "head of the year" and it wlll be 5773 on Sunday evening.

And like every Jewish holiday, it involves community, prayer, and a meal.  We will eat apple dipped in honey (to symbolize a sweet year), greet each other with "shana tova" (literally, "good year"), and cast our sins into the water (actually, we throw bread into the river, but it's the symbolism that's important). 

And as with every major Jewish holiday, we shall light candles, drink wine, and eat bread before the meal. If that sounds familiar, it's because it is done every Friday night; the weekly shabbat meal is just as important (if not more so) in Jewish life as the once-a-year celebrations.  And I think that's beautiful.

So I wish you all shana tova -- or more specifically, Le'shana Tova Tikoteiv Vetichoteim which means "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." It is believed that on Rosh Hashanah God starts to compile a "naughty" and "nice" list (where have you heard this before?) but leaves the books open for ten days until Yom Kippur, at which time they (and your fate for the year) are sealed.  It is a time for reflection, for apologizing, and for rectifying the wrongs of the year.

My regrets, as always, are not spending more time with the people I love.