September 10, 2018Thedreidel
Rosh Hashanah is a two-day celebration which begins on the first day of Tishrei. It marks the beginning of the year, according to the teachings of Judaism, because it is the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman according to the Hebrew Bible, and the inauguration of humanity’s role in God’s world. According to one secular opinion, the holiday owes its timing to the beginning of the economic year in Southwest Asia and Northeast Africa, marking the start of the agricultural cycle.
You’re now saying..”Wha…What??”
But, it’s true! There’s more to Rosh Hashanah than going to Temple and sounding the shofar (a hollowed-out ram’s horn). The Torah tells us to “raise a noise” on Yom Teruah. But wait…there’s more! Eating symbolic foods is now a tradition, such as apples dipped in honey, hoping to evoke a sweet new year.
So what’s in store for YOUR new year? Here at The Dreidel, we have plans to provide more information, more fun, more interactivity for Jewish teenagers. We also plan to reach out to our community and to Israel by building bridges of ‘tolerance and understanding’. What exactly does that mean? It means, as Jews, we have a responsibility to rise above the hostility that we find in our country and reach out to people so that they may understand that it is better to be together than apart. As Jews, we have a history of oppression. We learn about it from the Torah. We were oppressed in Egypt and we escaped. We were oppressed in Nazi Germany and no matter how hard people tried, they could not destroy us.
There are other cultures who have a similar history. That shows that we have more in common with others than we have things that make us different. As Jews, we tolerate a lot of oppression – we still do! At school, at work, in society. What is different about us however is that we come from a place of education and organization. We have each other. We have The Dreidel!
Make this a great year. Tell your friends about The Dreidel. We look forward to hearing from you! Send us an e-mail at info@thedreidel.com and let us know how you plan on making 5779 the greatest year yet!
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