On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets.

Numbers 29:1

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year festival and commemorates the creation of the world. It lasts 2 days. The traditional greeting between Jews is “L’shanah tovah” … “for a good New Year”.

Rosh Hashanah is also a judgement day, when Jews believe that God balances a person’s good deeds over the last year against their bad deeds, and decides what the next year will be like for them.

God records the judgement in the Book of Life, where he sets out who is going to live, who is going to die, who will have a good time and who will have a bad time during the next year. The book and the judgement are finally sealed on Yom Kippur.

That’s why another traditional Rosh Hashanah greeting is “Be inscribed and sealed for a good year” .

In the synagogue

A lot of time is spent in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, when there are special services that emphasise God’s kingship.

One of the synagogue rituals for Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the Shofar, a ram’s horn trumpet. A hundred notes are sounded in a special rhythm.

In the Home

New Year isn’t only celebrated in the synagogue, but at home too. A special meal is served, with the emphasis on sweetness.

Apples are dipped in honey, as a symbol of the sweet New Year that each Jew hopes lies ahead. A sweet carrot stew called a tzimmes is often served.

And at New Year the Jewish Hallah (or Challah) bread served comes as a round loaf, rather than the plaited loaf served on the Sabbath, so as to symbolise a circle of life and of the year.

There’s often a pomegranate on the table because of a tradition that pomegranates have 613 seeds, one for each of the commandments that a Jew is obliged to keep.

You’re invited to an evening with the Ambassador of Israel, Dr Itzhak Gerberg.

Deputy Mayor Mr. Kelvin Clout and the Ebenezer Emergency Fund are sponsoring his visit and we expect a large number at Holy Trinity Church on the corner of Devonport Road and 3rd Avenue, Tauranga at 7 pm sharp start. There will be a light supper and a koha will be taken for defraying expenses and supporting Aliyah.

If you have interested people who would like to come, please feel free to invite them but there will be no notice in the paper.

Come for a great evening with music and dance as well as hearing the Ambassador who will have a Q&A session also.

Date and Time:  Monday, December 4, 7pm sharp.

Venue: Holy Trinity Church, 215 Devonport Rd, Tauranga

Contacts:

Susan Bell – (021) 143 7262

Dorothy Finlay – (07) 570 1196

Hosted by Ebenezer Emergency Fund, NZ — Operation Exodus.

You are invited to a Hanukkah celebration.

To mark Hanukkah, RockHaShalom are going to give a talk about modern Israeli folk dance, give a demonstration of some dances and then anybody can join in the fun of learning some new moves.

Admission is free but a collection will be taken to help defray event expenses.  Please bring a plate of Hanukkah-themed finger food for afternoon tea.  Coffee and tea provided.

Dance is a time honored way for societies to express themselves in ways that other methods such as prose and poetry cannot.  Dance captures emotions, feeling and even history.

Hanukkah (sometimes transliterated Chanukkah) is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev, which coincides with late November-late December on the secular calendar.

In Hebrew, the word “hanukkah” means “dedication.” The name reminds us that this holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E.

Every community has its unique Hanukkah traditions, but there are some traditions that are almost universally practiced. They are: lighting the hanukkiyah, spinning the dreidel and eating fried foods.

• Lighting the hanukkiyah: Every year it is customary to commemorate the miracle of the Hanukkah oil by lighting candles on a hanukkiyah. The hanukkiyah is lit every night for eight nights. Learn more about the hanukkiyah in: What Is a Hanukkiyah? | How to Light the Hanukkah Menorah | Hanukkah Candle Lighting Blessings.

• Spinning the dreidel: A popular Hanukkah game is spinning the dreidel, which is a four-sided top with Hebrew letters written on each side. Read The Hanukkah Dreidel to learn more about the dreidel, the meaning of the letters and how to play the game. Gelt, which are chocolate coins covered with tin foil, are part of this game.
• Eating fried foods: Because Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil, it is traditional to eat fried foods such as latkes and sufganiyot during the holiday. Latkes are pancakes made out of potatoes and onions, which are fried in oil and then served with applesauce. Sufganiyot (singular: sufganiyah) are jelly-filled donuts that are fried and sometimes dusted with confectioners’ sugar before eating. Learn more about Hanukkah food traditions: Hanukkah Food Traditions | What Is a Latke?

Special Invitation

Transplanted: Refugee Portraits of New Zealand

The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Oct 28 – Nov 6th

Please join us for a special viewing and talk on ‘Transplanted: Refugee ‘Portraits of New Zealand’, a ten-day photographic exhibit and curated ‘talking space’ around refugee experience and issues.

These gorgeous two-metre tall portraits are by renowned photographer Alistair Guthrie, former winner of the Brian Blake Memorial Prize. The curator of the project, Tracey Barnett, is a journalist who has reported from refugee camps and detention centres. She will be speaking about her reporting, as well as the dramatically changing new war against asylum—and how it is specifically affecting our own shores. She will also be your personal docent to speak about the narratives around each portrait.

When:                                    Sunday, 11:00am Nov 5^th                                          

Where:                                   New Zealand Portrait Gallery, 11 Customhouse Quay, Wellington

RSVP:                                     Samantha Treister: sam@tebbs.net

Seats are limited, to secure a seat please contact Sam asap.

$5/person (all money raised will go to Hadassah Hospital in Israel.)