Frankie Wishes all L’shanah tovah

Wondering what your Jewish Pet Parents are celebrating? Here is a Rosh Hashanah “cheat sheet” written by Wendy Thomas Russell on PBS Newshour.

Holiday: Rosh Hashanah

Pronounced: ROE-sha-SHA-na

Religion represented: Judaism

Date: The 1st and 2nd of the month of Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar. In 2015, the holiday starts at sunset Sept. 13 and ends at nightfall Sept. 15.

What it is: The Jewish New Year

Not to be confused with: Yom Kippur, which occurs 10 days later.

How important is it?: I asked my friend and former editor Jason Gewirtz. Here’s what he said: “Rosh Hashanah is a big, big deal. It’s the start of the Jewish new year. Yom Kippur the next week is only slightly bigger. [On a scale of 1 to 10], I’d say Rosh Hashanah is a 9.5 and Yom Kippur a 10. There’s nothing bigger than the two of them. They’re tied to each other. The period in between is supposed to be a time of mending any fences, if you will, and reflecting on things that can be improved from the previous year… It’s said that on Rosh Hashanah, you’ll either be written in or out of the Book of Life for the coming year. But on Yom Kippur, the book is sealed, meaning you’ve got that time in between to screw up or make your righteousness known.”

The good stuff: Foodwise, this holiday is associated with apples and honey (symbolizing a sweet new year), as well as pomegranates and challah (braided bread). Also, in lieu of stupid hats and tasseled squawkers, celebrants sport the traditional yarmulke and blow a cool-looking horn called a shofar.

Conveying meaning to kids: At dinner [a few years ago], I explained to my daughter that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a time for reflecting on your life and challenging yourself to become a better human being. I served apples and pomegranates and asked Maxine to come up with one way that she might improve. Coincidentally, she had been reprimanded for “being silly” in her kindergarten class that morning, so her idea of self-improvement was to better follow her teacher’s instructions. I said my own resolution would be to spend less time looking at my phone. (Then on Yom Kippur, we checked in with each other about how well we did. The results? Well, a bit meh on both accounts. Luckily, we’re not religious…) As for children’s books, I recommend “Celebrate: A Book of Jewish Holidays” by Judi Gross and Bari Weissman.”    Read full story

May you be Inscribed in the Book of Life!

Helping to keep beloved furry babies healthy and safe… and pet parents informed!

Lori

I’ve Got the ‘Scoop’!, LLC

www.IveGotTheScoop.net