TAMPA, Fla. — Tuesday is the last day of Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Mendy with the Chabad House in South Tampa explained what is the significance of this Jewish holiday.
“Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish new year, but the literal translation of Rosh Hashanah is head of the year and the reason why we call it the beginning of the new year “the head of the year,” is that just like a head orchestrates and controls the functions of the body, so, too, these two days set the tone and the path for the coming year,” said Rabbi Mendy.
He said Rosh Hashanah is a time for Jewish people to reflect on their successes and areas where they fell short in the previous year. “And we set the path for the coming year. Resolutions, things we want to accomplish and achieve and we ask God to grant us good health, blessings so that we can achieve and fulfill our mission for the coming year,” said Rabbi Mendy.
Rosh Hashanah started Sunday evening and ends on Tuesday evening. During these days, Jewish people celebrate with prayer, food and blowing a traditional horn called the shofar.
I asked Rabbi Mendy what he wanted to improve upon in the new year. “My goal this year is to be joyful in whatever it is that I’m doing and to be intentional about it, to lean into it. Sometimes, we’re involved in big, exciting activities we get enthusiastic about, we’re going on trips and we’re spending time with our families and it’s wonderful, but then there’s the minutia of life, the every day that can sometimes deplete us of and drain us of our energy.”
From all of us at ABC Action New, Happy Rosh Hashana!
