High Holy Days—a mix of old and new traditions

As with most religious holidays, the Jewish High Holy Days are filled with traditions and observances dating back thousands of years.

The High Holy Days include Rosh Hashanah, which begins tonight, Sept. 12, and ends the following night, and Yom Kippur, which begins Friday evening Sept, 21, and ends the following night after a day of fasting and the blowing of a ram’s horn called a “shofar” as a call to repentance.

Rosh Hashanah means “first of the year” and is regarded as the Jewish New Year for the purpose of counting years. Yom Kippur means “Day of Atonement” and is the day set aside for fasting, depriving oneself of pleasures and repenting for the sins of the previous year.

In between Rosh Hashanah and the deeply solemn Yom Kippur are the Days of Awe, a 10-day period for introspection and a time for considering the sins of the previous year.

Although the dates of all Jewish holidays vary from year to year; the High Holy Days occur in September and sometimes early October.

In recent years, reform Jews, who practice more modern forms of Judaism than Orthodox or Conservative Jews, have seen some changes to accommodate the wishes and wants of today’s worshippers.

President of Green Valley’s Beth Shalom Temple Center Sig Friedman said reform temples or synagogues don’t always use the same prayer book; Beth Shalom uses its own prayer book that members created.

In some reform temples, the word “He” is being replaced by a more neutral gender in prayer services. As an example, God may be referred to as “sovereign,” rather than “king” or “father.” Also in some reform temples, references to Abraham and Isaac have been modernized and now refer to Abraham, Isaac, Rebecca, Rifka and Leah.

Asked about such changes at Beth Shalom, Friedman said, “In a lot of reform temples or synagogues where you have a very large mixed population, for the most part, the term “he” is being avoided. Here at Beth Shalom Temple Center we have hung onto a little bit of the old, a little bit of the new, most often referencing the male… our prayers are traditional; we’re mostly hanging on to the tried and true.”

Acknowledging some of the changes in Judaism in recent years Friedman said, “Judaism is evolving and has been for a long time. A lot of members take a more humanistic approach; others are holding on to old tenets and find it difficult to make changes, especially those in their 70s and 80s.”

With a dedicated president and support team, Beth Shalom Temple Center is working to meet and fulfill the needs and wants of a variety of Jewish people in the Green Valley area. “We have a choir of 12 that has done a superb job to uplift,” Friedman said.

Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer for the Green Valley News. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net