Tradition, Inspiration and Celebration · September 2022 - Elul 5782 · Published by Chabad Tucson BS”D CORPORATE TESHUVAH Shanah Tova: Traditions, customs and a sweet recipe for Rosh Hashanah - Sep. 25-27, 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sari Horwitz on the opioid crisis and holidays in Tucson Election season Someone important is asking for your vote Welcome to town Staff Sgt. Corey Silfen serves at Davis-Monthan Pizza, pizza Kosher food truck serves up fresh pies Bear down! New Rabbi & Rebbetzin at University of Arizona
By Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin
| September 2022 | Keeping Jewish The Jewish outreach and education network of Southern Arizona 2443 E 4th Street, Tucson, AZ 85719 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Rabbi Yossie RabbiOUTREACHChanieREBBETZINShemtovShemtovDIRECTORYehudaCeitlinPROGRAMDIRECTORFeigieCeitlin Affiliates: Congregation Young Israel, Chabad at the University of Arizona, Chabad on River, Chabad of Oro Valley, Chabad of Sierra Vista, Chabad of Vail and Lamplighter Chabad Day School of Tucson EDITOR Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin COPY CONTRIBUTINGSuzanneEDITORCumminsWRITERS Feigie Ceitlin, Libby Herz, Alan Magill, Menachem Posner, Yisrael Rice, Mordechai Schmutter, Benjamin Weiss PHOTOS Jacqueline Soffer Photography SPECIALChabad.orgTHANKS EDITORIAL INQUIRIES OR ADVERTISING Phone: 520-955-9680 Email: info@ChabadTucson Keeping Jewish is published in print periodically by Chabad Tucson and is distributed free in Tucson and around Southern Arizona Chabad Tucson does not endorse the people, establishments, products or services reported about or advertised in Keeping Jewish unless specifically noted. The acceptance of adverti sing in Keeping Jewish does not constitute a recommendation, approval, or other representation of the quality of products or services, or the credibility of any claims made by advertisers, including, but not limited to, the kashrus of advertised food products. The use of any products or services advertised in Keeping Jewish is solely at the user’s risk and Chabad Tucson accepts no responsibility or liability in connection therewith. Note: “G-d” and “L-rd” are written with a hyphen instead of an “o .”This is one way we accord reverence to the sacred divine name. This also reminds us that, even as we seek G-d, He transcends any human effort to describe His reality. This past month, I voted in an election for the first time in my life. It wasn’t for any prior lack of interest in engaging with the tools of democratic government-building — I simply never had the opportunity before Inow.left my home in Montreal, Canada, to stu dy abroad at age 13, and spent my teenage years and early twenties abroad. I lived in the holy land of Israel, in Ukraine, and in Belgium on student and visitor visas. I then moved to the United States, where I have lived for the past 15 years, and just a few months ago, I was finally sworn in as an American citizen. So when I stood in that little raised booth in Tucson and carefully filled out black circles on my ballot for the primary election, it was exciting. I felt proud as I walked out with my “I Voted!” sticker. It was a new expe rience, and a meaningful one, even though several of the candidates on the ballot were running unopposed. And though voting in an election is a new experience for me, it is not entirely unfami liar. You see, Jewish people choose a leader at the beginning of every Jewish year.
G-d says, I want you to involve me in your life and in your decision-making. I want your vote of confidence as an involved citi zen of the universe. I want you to be a part of the process. And so we gather in the synagogue, where we read verses proclaiming G-d’s kingship, concluding with the declaration: “G-d, rule over the world entire in Your glory.” And then we sound the shofar, announcing G-d’s coronation to the world. This August, I celebrated the importance of participating and helping ensure a fair sys tem of government by doing my part to try and elect good leaders. This Rosh Hasha nah, I will be reminded that ultimately, it is G-d who gives those leaders and their cons tituents the wherewithal to make the world a better place and that G-d wants each and every one of us to be involved citizens.
counts - in Heaven too
OPINION 2
On Rosh Hashanah (September 25-27, 2022), we sound the shofar, a ram’s horn. That trumpeting sound is intended to be evocative of the fanfares that accompanied the coronation of a secular monarch. We enhance that sound because as we blow the shofar, we “elect” G-d as our divine ruler once again. G-d is all-powerful. He doesn’t need our vali dation, but He asks for it. “Recite the verses proclaiming my kingship, so that you will crown me your king.” (Talmud Rosh Hasha na 16a). G-d asks us to persuade Him, as it were, to take on the mantle of rulership. G-d is running unopposed but still wants our vote. G-d doesn’t want to win by a simple majo rity — or by some contrived gerrymande red system. G-d wants to be elected unani mously, by a united people, because, as the Rebbe — Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory — taught, G d is truly crowned as King when all recognize His so vereignty; when G dliness is revealed in the world through our actions. When we cast our vote for G-d on Rosh Has hanah, we also pledge to be held accounta Inble.the case of an elected official, being voted into office comes with a mandate from their constituents. When we affirm G-d as our leader, He gives a mandate to His consti tuents: A mandate to live better, more ethi cal and moral lives; A mandate to make the lives of those around us better.
- Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin is the Outreach Director of Chabad Tucson
Every vote
The next appearance of the pizza truck will be at the Rosh Hashana Fair of Chabad Oro Valley on Sunday, September 11, 3:00-5:00 PM at the Tangerine Sky Community Park in Marana. The event will also feature a hu man bubble ball, crafts for children and free
Theswag.pizza truck is available to serve private and community events. Pies are available in Cholov Yisroel cheese and topped with mushrooms, onions, green pepper and oli ves. There’s even a pineapple and jalapeño option. For more info, call/text 646-523-5416 or email KosherPizzaAZ@gmail.com.
Keeping Jewish | September 2022 | NEWS NEWS
Shmuly and Sara Shanowitz (née Ku gel) and their daughter Risha are moving this September to serve Jewish undergra duate students as part of Chabad at The University of Arizona.
Over the years, the Shemtovs served tens of thousands of meals from their home and a center that was on Mountain Avenue. They taught countless Torah classes, provided guidance and eventually rejoiced at the weddings of alumni. As their presence grew, they hired Rabbi Yossi and Naomi Winner in 2005. And now, almost two decades later, the Shanowitz’s are joining the team to serve the estimated 4,000 Jewish students at UofA. “We are very excited to have them come and work at the University of Arizona and to bring in a new spirit for the new genera tion,” Rabbi Shemtov said. Rabbi Shanowitz said: “We are looking forward to bringing more excitement to Jewish life on campus and to connect with as many students as possible. We want to create a Jewish home where students can feel like our family is their family on cam Topus.”support their endeavor, visit: raisethon. com/UAchabad
Through this collaborative effort, the first event providing fresh pizza was at the Uni versity of Arizona Hillel at their welcome back party for students on Tuesday, August 23. Erbst was seen skilfully dishing out pies to students, as well as members of the Jewish community excited about the oppor
A native of New York, Avi Erbst says the re is nothing better than the smell of a hot fresh pie pizza coming out of the oven. Since moving to Tucson some nine years ago, that smell has been relegated to homemade piz za using Trader Joe’s dough or matzah pizza on “WhilePassover.those options are appreciated, they are not the same as having that perfect fold of a slice,” says Erbst, owner and broker of Cordova Realty, married and a father of 3 Whenchildren.an opportunity for kosher pizza arose, Erbst took matters into his own hands. He got in touch with Tony Terry, owner of The Gaslight Theater and Grandma Tony’s Pizza, who provided one of his mobile piz za carts to offer kosher pizza to the Jewish community in Tucson. Rabbi Yossie Shemtov and Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin of Chabad Tucson were enlisted to ensure that the strictest laws of kashrut were observed.
“On our very first visit to Tucson, Chanie and I walked around campus and from that day on, we were committed to creating a home away from home for the students,” Rabbi Shemtov recalls.
“Thistunity.showed there is a need for this in our community,” Erbst later commented. “My goal is to have the pizza cart open at least once a month, or more if the community would like, and to provide the option for piz za at community events.”
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The couple carries on a history of four deca des of a Chabad presence in Tucson.
New Rabbi-Rebbetzin at University of Arizona Kosher pizza truck serves up pies in Tucson
Joining the thousands of students arriving in Tucson for the fall semester at the Uni versity of Arizona (U of A) are a Chabad Rabbi and Rebbetzin planning to expand Jewish programming and services on cam Rabbipus.
In October 1983, the Rebbe, Rabbi Mena chem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory, sent Rabbi Yossie and Chanie Shemtov to serve the Jewish population of Tucson. One of their first activities was reaching out to Jewish students who hailed from across the country and the world.
Congratulations on your latest book. What can you tell us about it? It is a story that people don’t know about the opioid epidemic. Most people think the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma were solely responsible for it, but that isn’t true. Purdue might have ignited the crisis, but Scott Higham and I found that many large companies had a huge hand in this. Compa nies like Walgreens, Walmart, and Johnson & Johnson helped fuel America’s most deadly drug epidemic. Our book is about how all these companies made, sent, and dispensed highly addictive pain pills and addicted millions of people. Did anyone try to stop them? Absolutely. We tell the story of Joe Ran nazzisi, a lawyer who was a Drug Enforce ment Administration (DEA) agent for thir ty years. He was in charge of policing the drug industry, and together with his team, he warned and wrote to the companies who were skirting or breaking the law. Ranna zzisi shut down warehouses and forced the companies to pay millions in fines. How did the drug industry react? They fought back. They took the DEA to court, and when they lost there, they went to Congress. They were able to get a law passed that weakened the DEA’s ability to go after them. They then went after Ranna zzisi, crushed him, and forced him out of go vernment. It’s all about money. They fought back with campaign contributions and highpaid lawyers and lobbyists.
An interview with Washington Post reporter and Tucson native Sari Horwitz By Libby Herz
Sari Horwitz and her co-author Scott Higham in the Washington Post newsroom
4 Investigating for
Were the companies ever brought to jus tice?
The final part of the book is the reckoning. Private plaintiffs and lawyers took up the cause and started filing lawsuits. More than 4,000 cities, towns, counties, and Indian nations brought lawsuits against a dozen drug companies. There were many trials and settlements. In one historic settlement, three of America’s biggest drug distributors and one drug manufacturer agreed to pay $26 billion over the next 18 years. And ama zingly, Rannazzisi came back as an expert witness and testified as a star witness aga inst the drug companies. justice
| September 2022 | Keeping Jewish PROFILE
Sari Horwitz, the four-time Pulitzer Prizewinning investigative reporter of The Wash ington Post, is the co-author of “American Cartel: Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry.” In the new book, Horwitz and Scott Higham expose how some of the nation’s largest corporations created and fueled the opioid crisis. In an interview with Keeping Jewish, Horwitz shared her thoughts about how her Jewish roots influenced her career.
Sari Horwitz, flanked by her daughter Rachael, is applauded in the Washington Post newsroom for receiving the Pulitzer Prize in 1999
Tucson resident Zella Horwitz (center) celebrating her birthday with her daughters (from left) Wendy Greenwald, Sari Horwitz and Heidi Horwitz
On Rosh Hashanah, my family and I will attend services at Adas Israel synagogue in Washington, DC where I live, and I will have several traditional meals with good friends. I wish everyone a sweet, healthy and peaceful new year.
I see the opioid story as a failure of per sonal introspection. When the heads of five drug companies came to testify before a congressional committee, they were asked if they took responsibility. Four out of five took no responsibility. The families of opioid victims are very upset that even though the companies are now paying billions in sett lement money, no criminal charges have been filed, and no executive has apologized. Does the concept of teshuvah (repentan ce and returning) influence your work? Yes, it does. My driving motivation as an investigative reporter is to find the truth, to make people accountable, and to write about topics that are important, things that matter. Judaism emphasizes a passion for justice, and my work as a journalist un derscores that desire to make the world a betterPersonally,place.
Judaism was always a big part of my life. My great-grandmother was from Ber ditchev in Ukraine and my grandparents were from Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe. My parents moved from North Dakota to Tucson in the 1950s. At the time, there was a small Jewish com munity in Tucson. We lived close to Temple Emanuel and had a Shabbat dinner every Friday night. I have great memories of my mother hosting High Holiday and Passover dinners. She always invited students from the University of Arizona who had no pla ce else to go. She would cook and serve the traditional foods. She made an incredible apricot kugel. Many friends - and even the rabbi - would come to break the fast with us after Yom Kippur. During Covid, my daughter Rachael and my sister Wendy and I started making challah every Friday. My grandmother used to make challah and it makes me feel connected to my ancestors. Do you ever come back to visit Tucson? I have always loved Tucson. I go there of ten to visit my mother at the Handmaker Jewish Services For Aging, and I still have many friends there who I see several times a year. What are your plans for Rosh Hashana?
Every single day, 225 Americans die of an opioid overdose. It is such a huge public health crisis. I hope people gain an unders tanding of how this happened because this isn’t the fault of one company. According to the DEA agents we inter viewed, the companies operated as a cartel. It was malfeasance by some of the biggest companies in the country who looked the other way as people died by the tens of thousands. It was in their power to reduce the number of deaths, but the companies took the position that it was somebody else’s problem. How do you view this story through the lens of Elul, the month of introspection?
I take this time period to think about those values and how I can make myself a better person and a more empathetic and caring journalist. The va lues of Judaism include kindness, lear ning, goodness, decency, and integrity. My daughter Rachael really embodies those values. She observes Shabbat and is a so cial worker who works with the disadvan taged, the homeless, and high school stu dents who need guidance and therapy. My husband Bill Schultz is an attorney who has dedicated his career to public service. You are a native of Tucson. How did it affect your life? Growing up in Tucson had a very big effect on the person I am. My parents, Bill and Zella were very devoted to my sisters, Wendy, Heidi, and myself. They encoura ged us to follow our dreams, whatever they might be. My father owned the Crescent Jewelry store, but his passion was music, art and storytelling. I went to Tucson High School, one of the largest and most diverse public high schools in the city. I always loved writing and after joining the speech squad, I became very comforta ble with public speaking as well. I gradua ted from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylva nia, and The Tucson Rotary Club awarded me a scholarship to Oxford University, where I received my master’s. I then be gan working at The Washington Post as an intern and have been a reporter there for nearly forty years. Tell us about your Jewish connection?
Horwitz’s new book “American Cartel” is available now in bookstores and online
Keeping Jewish | September 2022 |
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Why did you decide to write about this particular topic?
the people who thought up the ideas, created the companies and made the profits. But then there were the workers. They got up early in the morning and went to work carrying the burden of industry on their shoulders. Oftentimes the laborers are overlooked and even taken advantage of. So the Central Labor Union came up with a day to remember the ones who do the work.
On the Jewish calendar, Labor Day typi cally occurs in the month of Elul, the month of preparation for the High Holy Days. On Rosh Hashanah, we mark the anniversary of the creation of the human being and re dedicate ourselves to the purpose we fulfill in G‑d’s grand plan of creating the world. That purpose, the Midrash tells us, is that G‑d desired to have a dwelling place in the lowest realm. Where is this lowest realm? you might ask. “Lowest realm,” the Chassidic masters explain, does not refer to a geographic spa ce but to a state of mind. A state of mind that does not readily perceive the divine, and could actually want to do something contrary to G‑d’s will. The lowest realm is you and me. Is your state of mind a place where G‑d can call home? If it is, congratulations! You need not read the rest of this article. But for most of us, G‑d is still somewhat of a stran ger (or, at best, a tolerated houseguest) in our lives, still waiting for us to build Him that home He desires. What does it take to engender such a transformation? Some would say that what’s needed is enlightenment. If we could achieve enlightenment, we would have a lof tier worldview, and we would become trans formed. Indeed, there are many religions where this is the goal. But Judaism has a different take on the matter. If our purpose in life is all about en lightenment, then once we achieve that en lightenment, we would no longer qualify as that “lowest realm” where G‑d wants to live. If we are truly to make G‑d a home in our “lowest realm,” then we need to invite Him into that state of mind where we are ac tually not in the mood to do the job. Where we’re doing something because it’s the right and needed thing to do—not because it’s our painter Thomas Cole (1801–1848)
ELUL 6 A labor of love By Yisrael Rice The Garden of Eden by English-American
Labor Day originated as a way to celebra te the hardworking folks of our nation, who toiled with muscle and sweat to build its in frastructure.Therewere
It’s Labor Day once again, which brings up some very important questions: Where is the best Labor Day sale? Where did I put my dark hats?
| September 2022 | Keeping Jewish
Labor Day has been around since 1882; perhaps it’s time to dust off the holiday, shi ne some light on it and figure out what it’s all about. Or, more importantly, what it can mean to us.
Keeping Jewish | September 2022 |
Elul observances in a nutshell
Elul is a good time to have one’s tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe (“sofer”) to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use. Contact your clo sest Chabad center to facilitate this.
As the month of divine mercy and forgiveness, Elul is a most opportune time for teshuvah (“return” to G‑d), pra yer, charity, and increased ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew), in the quest for self improvement and coming closer to TheG‑d.
As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionally a time of introspection and stocktaking—a time to review one’s deeds and spiritual progress over the past year, and prepare for the upcoming “Days of Awe” of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
For more, visit Chabad.org/elul 7 idea, or because we understand why it’s ne eded, or because we like the idea of doing it. Rather, we do it because it’s what’s required from us to be done. In English, we call this “labor.” In Hebrew, it’s called Avodah. The first man was placed in the Garden of Eden on the first Rosh Hashanah. For what purpose?G‑dtook the man and put him into the garden of Eden, to work it and to preserve it (Genesis 2:15). If the purpose of creation were enlighten ment, this world is quite a cosmic detour. The purpose, however, is to transform the world and ourselves into conductors of the divine. And the place to start is the lowest realm of our own consciousness. The place where we don’t feel the awesome flow of the divine light a mitzvah brings into the world, but we do it anyway as an obedient laborer: we know there is a job to do, and we do it. This is how to build the infrastructure of our spiritual selves. When prayer doesn’t seem to “do it” for you, when learning Torah is the last thing on your mind—this is your opportunity. This is the moment that G‑d has been wai tingPerformingfor. when we are not in the mood is the true act of love. We are not doing it because we feel excited about it, but because this is who we are. This is the theme of the Jewish month of Elul. In Hebrew, the name Elul is an acronym for a verse from Song of Songs: Ani l’dodi v’dodi li—“I am to my Be loved, and my Beloved is to me.” I am to my beloved refers to the labor that we must put in before we receive inspiration. My Beloved is to me refers to the gift of divine inspira tion, the reciprocation for our service. Why do it without inspiration and fee ling? Because this is the “lowest realm,” the space that G‑d desires to inhabit. And when we know that we are affecting divine joy through our service, it can be a labor of love.
Chapter 27 of the Book of Psalms is added to the daily prayers in the morning (Shacharit) and afternoon (Min cha).The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms (Tehillim) each day, from the first of Elul until Yom Kippur. (On Yom Kippur, the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms.)
Rabbi Yisrael Rice is the Executive Di rector of Chabad of Marin in California and author of “The Kabbalah of Now”
Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likened the month of Elul to a time when “the king is in the field” and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, “everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance, showing a smiling face to them all.”
During the last week of Elul, in the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah, the Selichot prayers are recited. On the first night, they are recited at midnight; on the following days, in the early morning. (Some have the custom of reci ting it all month).
The following are some of the basic customs and practi ces for the month of Elul: Each day of the month of Elul (except for Shabbat and the last day of Elul), we sound the shofar (ram’s horn) as a call to Whenrepentance.writingaletter and email or meeting one another, we bless one another by including the greeting Ketivah va chatimah tovah—which roughly translates as “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.”
By Benjamin Weiss Corey Silfen, 28, was born in Hillsda le, New Jersey, and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The youngest of three boys, he was looking for a cause after graduating from high school in January 2013. He enlis ted in the United States Air Force and has been in active service for 10 years as a ra diology technician. How long have you been in town? Ten months. What brought you here? I received orders here in November of 2021 to oversee the Radiology Department of the 355th Medical Group at the DavisMonthan Air Force Base. Where did you move from, and how is Tucson compared to it? For the three years prior to coming to Tuc son, I was in Boston, Massachusetts. It was very different not only in temperature but because it was a smaller and calmer medi cal unit.
Corey Silfen
Kvell: Being in my uniform and seeing how suc cessful my family - biological and military - has become over the years. I’m proud to see people grow. Something you’re looking forward to: I’m looking forward to competing in the next Spartan Race (an obstacle race series) in Scottsdale in November.
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Favorite historical Jewish figure: Sandy Koufax. I loved baseball, and he wouldn’t pitch on Shabbat and Jewish ho lidays.
A favorite Mitzvah/holiday: Passover. I enjoy the times spent with my siblings and their kids. I still stumble over the Four Questions, but thankfully my middle brother guides me through it.
Currently reading/learning: “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win” by Jocko Willink. I am also listening to his podcast. A hobby: Everything that’s outdoors and involves a full-body workout. That includes hiking, exploring, and off-roading. When I create downtime, I focus my studies on direct me dical care and my next hiking adventure.
Comfort food: Chicken cutlets and potatoes. I try to get it through TSA without being stopped whe never I return from home. One agent once saw it and asked, “from grandma or mom?”
Jewish app on phone: Does calling my Bubby (grandmother) make the phone app Jewish? Go-to Yiddish or Hebrew word: Schmutz (dirt). People around me have gotten used to hearing, “you’ve got schmutz on your uniform,” or “I’ve got to clean the schmutz in the kitchen.”
Photo: Rachel J Walker Photography
| September 2022 | Keeping Jewish
Define Chabad: It’s where I feel connected with the Jewish community.
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Welcome to town:
Define Happiness: Taking a pause from adulting. It can be being home or reliving childhood memories with family. Kvetch: I try to minimize my dull and kvetch mo ments, so I keep staying busy and chasing the next step of success, and that doesn’t mean the dollar, but the experience to grow as a person with knowledge.
Keeping Jewish | September 2022 | KOSHER Cinnamon Apple Kugel 1INGREDIENTS:dozengrannysmith apples 3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon 218Batter:eggscupoilcupsugar 2 cup flour 2 teaspoon vanilla sugar 2 teaspoon baking powder Peel,DIRECTIONS:coreandslice the apples thinly Lay them out on the bottom of a baking panSprinkle the sugar mixture over the apples.Mixthe remaining ingredients together by hand in a bowl, pour over the apples Bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours. Bon appetit! — Feigie Ceitlin is the program director of Cha bad Tucson. By Feigie Ceitlin 9 Photo: Jacqueline Soffer Photography
Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday mar king the first and second days of the Jewish year. It begins at sundown on the eve of Tis hrei 1 (September 25, 2022) and ends after nightfall on Tishrei 2 (September 27, 2022). It’s the day G‑d created Adam and Eve, and it’s celebrated as the head of the Jewish year. Here’s an overview of some traditions and customs (for a complete list, visit Chabad. org/RoshHashanah)
Photo: cstpdx / Pixabay
| September 2022 | Keeping Jewish
1) Blessed are You, L rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us to light the candle of the Day of Remembrance.
The cantor’s repetition of the Amidah (Silent Prayer) is peppered with piyyutim, poetic prayers that express our prayerful wishes for the year and other themes of the day. For certain selections, those deemed es pecially powerful, the ark is opened. Many
As with every major Jewish holiday, wo men and girls light candles on each evening of Rosh Hashanah and recite the appropria te blessings. When lighting on Friday eve ning, be sure to light well before sunset, and on the following night, be sure night has fa llen before you light. On the second night (or if lighting after nightfall on the first night), light from an existing flame. Think about a new fruit that you will be eating (or garment that you are wearing) while you say the Shehechiyanu blessing.
Candle lighting on Sunday, September 25 the eve of Rosh Hashanah is at 5:58 PM in the Tucson area. On Monday, September 26, the first day of Rosh Hashanah, light cand les after 6:51 PM.
An overview of Rosh Hashanah’s traditions and customs the Jewish year
5783 Celebrating
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On the first day, we read about Isaac’s birth and the subsequent banishment of Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 21:1–34). Ap propriately, the reading is followed by a haftarah reading about the birth of Samuel the Prophet (I Samuel 1:1–2:10). There is a common theme in these readings: prayers for children were answered, and both births took place on Rosh Hashanah. On the second morning, we read about Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son Isaac, a powerful display of Abraham’s devotion to G‑d, which has characterized His children ever since (Genesis 22:1–24). As mentioned above, the shofar blowing recalls the ram, which figures prominently in this story. The haftarah tells of G‑d’s eternal love for His people (Jeremiah 31:1–19).
Candle Lighting
2) Blessed are You, Lord our G‑d, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sus tained us, and enabled us to reach this oc casion.
new
The holiday prayerbook—called a ma chzor—contains all the prayers and Torah readings for the entire day. The most signi ficant addition is the shofar blowing cere mony. However, there are also other impor tant elements of the prayer service that are unique to Rosh Hashanah. The Torah is read on both mornings of Rosh Hashanah.
Much of the day is spent in the synago gue. Chabad centers around Southern Ari zona offer services without membership and ticket requirements. The evening and after noon prayers are similar to the prayers said on a regular holiday. However, the morning services are significantly longer.
Rosh Hashanah Prayers
The blessings:
Second-night addition
In many communities, there are additio nal traditional foods eaten, each symboli zing a wish for the coming year. Many eat pomegranates, giving voice to a wish that “our merits be many like the [seeds of the] pomegranate.”
membershipSouthernsynagoAriandafterprayerssaidmorningmaTorahsigni cere thatimporare mornings of Isaac’s banishment of 21:1–34). Ap by Samuela There is prayersa birthsabout Isaac, a devotion mentionedchildrento ram, story. The for piyyutim,AmidahHis deemedprayerfuloftheesMany Hashanah’s 11 of these additions are meant to be said res ponsively, as a joint effort between the pra yer leader and the congregation.
Tashlich On the first afternoon of Rosh Hasha nah, it is customary to go to a body of water (ocean, river, pond, etc.) and perform the Tashlich ceremony, in which we ceremonia lly cast our sins into the water. With this tradition, we symbolically evoke the ver se, “And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea.” The short prayer for this service can be found in the machzor.
The Shofar-blowing The central observance of Rosh Hasha nah is hearing the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn. It is a mitzvah to hear the shofar on both mornings of the holiday.
We eat festive meals every night and day of the holiday. Like all other holiday meals, we begin by reciting kiddush over wine or grape juice.
It is traditional to avoid eating vinegarbased, sharp foods, most notably the horse radish eaten with gefilte fish, since we don’t want a bitter year.
Even without the added piyyutim, the Rosh Hashanah Musaf prayer is signifi cantly longer than it is the rest of the year. This is because its single middle blessing is divided into three additional blessings, each focusing on another one of the holiday’s main themes: G d’s kingship, our wish that He “remember” us for the good, and the sho far. Each blessing contains a collage of bi blical verses that express its theme, and is then followed by a round of shofar-blowing.
Keeping Jewish | September 2022 |
Another common food is tzimmes, a sweet, carrot-based dish eaten because of its Yiddish name, merren, which means both “carrot” and “increase,” symbo lizing a wish for a year of abundance.
Rosh Hashanah, which concludes on Tues day, September 27 at 6:50 PM, is the start of the Yamim Nora’im (High Holidays). The holy day of Yom Kippur, when we gather in the synagogue for 25 hours of fasting, pra yer and inspiration, is just a week later. The days in between (known as the 10 Days of Repentance, or the Ten Days of Return) are an especially auspicious time for teshuvah, returning to G d. Yom Kippur is followed by the joyous holidays of Sukkot and Simchat Torah.The season of the High Holidays is an epic journey for the soul, and Rosh Hashanah is
For those who can’t make it to services, Chabad Tucson will be hosting “Shofar in the Park” on Monday, September 26, at 5:00 PM at Himmel Park (Tucson Blvd. corner 1st St.).
The first 30 blasts of the shofar are blown following the Torah-reading during morning services, and as many as 70 are then blown during (and immediately after) the Musaf service.
Festive Meal
We may not prepare on the first day of Rosh Hashanah for the following day, so candle lighting and all meal prep for night No. 2 must take place after night has fallen. Then, before we break bread (and dip it in honey), we eat a “new fruit,” something we have not tasted since the last time it was in season.
Rosh Hashanah greetings When you meet a fellow Jew on the first night of Rosh Hashanah, wish him, “Lesha na tovah tikatev v’tichatem,” or, for a fema le, “Leshana tovah tikatevee v’tichatemee” (“May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year”). After the first night, wish them a “G’mar chatimah tovah” (“A good inscrip tion and sealing [in the Book of Life]”).
The challah (traditionally baked into round loaves, and often sprinkled with rais ins this season) is dipped into honey instead of salt, expressing our wish for a sweet year. We do this on Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat Shuvah (the Shabbat before Yom Kippur), at the pre-Yom Kippur meal and during Sukkot.Furthering the sweet theme, it is traditio nal to begin the meal on the first night with slices of apple dipped in honey. Before ea ting the apple, we make the Ha’eitz blessing on the fruits of the tree and then say, “May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year.”\ Many people eat parts of the head of a fish or a ram, expressing the wish that “we be a head and not a tail.”
What’s Next?
I found out that Yetta never had children and I learned from staff that no family ever visited. I wanted to remove her from the isolation of her room, and it was gratifying when she would agree to come to group pro grams where she could socialize with peers. When I got a job at another nursing home, it was hard to tell the residents I had de veloped such close relationships with that I was leaving. It was particularly difficult to tell Yetta, as I knew how alone she would be. But she responded with a sincere smile and a joyful “Congratulations.” She was ha ppy for me and whatever sadness she felt for herself, she didn’t let on.
Photo: Sabine van Erp
| September 2022 | Keeping Jewish
Several months passed before I called her. She didn’t have a phone in her room so it took an overworked caring nurse to bring Yetta to the phone at the nurse’s station. She was delighted to hear from me and we had an animated conversation.
I met Yetta G. while working in the re creation department of a nursing home unit of a city hospital where she was a resident. My job was to motivate her and another 80 clients to be meaningfully involved in the world around them. Yetta and I had many one-on-one conversations as she felt reluc tant to leave her room. When she discovered I was single, she kept telling me how much she wanted me to meet a nice Jewish girl andAftermarry.Igot to know her a bit, she told me about her deceased husband. “Our first date,” she said with a smile, “was to the mo vies. We saw The Cat and the Canary.” Then she would laugh in the sweetest way and say, “I guess the cat got the canary.”
/ Pixabay 12 By Alan Magill VOICES The new year’s card
What was the point of sending a New Year’s card to a blind and confused woman in a nursing home?
About six months later, I got married. One day, my wife and I took a ride to Yetta’s nursing home. “Overjoyed” is an unders tatement to describe how this woman who “sees” with her heart reacted to meeting my wife. I’d call Yetta every few months and we’d converse like old friends. The age differen tial – about 55 years – made no difference at all. Then in what seemed like no time at all, she didn’t remember who I was. At first, she just seemed happy to hear a friendly voice. A few calls later, though, she became agitated when I contacted her, yelling, “Who is this?!” in a tense, almost desperate tone. Nothing could calm her down. As much as I liked our conversations, I decided to stop callingWhenher.the next Rosh Hashana approached and I was sending out New Year’s cards, I thought of Yetta. I debated whether it would serve any useful function to send her a New Years greeting, and in the end, I sent it. It
“You’ll take care of the funeral arrange ments, right?” I asked her. “Of course we will,” she said. I hung up the phone, slightly heartened that at least the hospital would arrange for her funeral. When my wife got home, I told her about my call to the hospital. Immediately, my wife said, “She won’t be buried in a Jewish cemetery. They’ll bury her in Potter’s Field.”Icouldn’t get my wife’s statement out of my mind. I had a running dialogue with myself: “I’ve done a lot already, beyond the call of duty. Leave it alone. But how can I let her be buried in Potter’s Field? But what can I do about it? The hospital is a maze of red tape. It would take a lot of calls. I’m just so busy with Passover prepa rations… but who else could advocate for her? It’s already after hours. But she was my friend.” The last thought was the clin cher. I put down my dust cloth and got on theAsphone.expected, everyone I asked to speak to at the hospital had left for the day. The operator put me through to the on-duty administrator. Expecting an abrupt “Call back tomorrow,” I was glad to see he was sympathetic to my plight. He recommen ded I call the rabbi who visited the hospital weekly. I left a message for the rabbi with the pertinent facts.
everything.”Thiswasbad news. I asked the rabbi if there was anything that still could be done. “Let me work on it,” he replied. Twenty minutes later, the rabbi called back. There was joy in his voice when he told me, “I have good news. I got the bac king of the Governor’s office, and then contacted the hospital office. I told them that the Governor’s office would interve ne unless I handled the funeral arrange ments. They immediately agreed that I could do it.” I thanked him profusely and he thanked me. Knowing the rabbi’s dili gence, I believed that Yetta would be well taken care Recently,of.Ithought of a passage in Ethics of the Fathers that read, “Run to perform a minor mitzvah, for one mitzvah leads to another mitzvah.” Who could have known that the “minor mitzvah” of sending a New Year’s card to a blind woman who didn’t know who I was would lead to this dear person getting the Jewish burial she deser ved?May our mitzvahs, however small they appear, lead us to more mitzvahs and a deeper appreciation of the kindnesses G d does for us.
For the next several months, they stayed in touch with me, sending official letters with information about Yetta. One late af ternoon, about a week before Passover, I saw an official City Hospital corresponden ce in front of my front door. I looked closer and saw that it was a telegram. I opened it quickly, wondering what the news was. It was to inform me that Yetta G. had pas sed away. At that moment, I felt sadness for her loss and also remembered all the goodness we had shared. I read further. As “next of kin,” I was asked to contact City Hospital as soon as possible to make arrangements for her bu rial. I rushed to the phone, wanting to let the hospital know that I was not a relative. The last thing I wanted was to delay the burial process. My phone calls only put me through to an answering machine and my several messages were not returned. I kept calling until finally I spoke to a live person. When I told her who I was calling about, she as ked me what plans I wanted to make for the funeral. I explained: “I used to work at your hospital some years ago and I develo ped a good relationship with Yetta. I stayed in touch after I left and somehow they lis ted me as a family member.” She replied, “Oh, then she’s nothing to you.” On the one hand, I knew what she meant, but I was stunned by her coldness. Yetta was a Jew, a human being and a friend. She was a special person to her husband, her parents, and all the people whose lives she touched. But the fact was I could not spend the money needed for her funeral.
As weeks turned into months, it seemed that my relationship with Yetta was over. I was soon proven wrong. One day, I received an official envelope in the mail from the city hospital Yetta lived in. The letter was headed, “Dear Family Member of Yetta G.” It went on to tell me that she had been transferred to another unit in the hospital. I wondered how they got my address and why they had identified me as a family member. Then it hit me – the New Years card! I may have been the first person from the outside to have any contact with Yetta in years, perhaps for as long as she was li ving there. The nursing staff in Yetta’s unit probably took note of the sender’s address (mine) and passed on the information to the Social Services Department.
A half hour later, the rabbi called. “Thank you so much for calling me,” he said. “The hospital is supposed to tell me when a Jew passes away. If they have no family, I make the arrangements for a Jewish burial. I’m going to call them in the morning.” I thanked him and provided my work number so he could keep me informed. The next morning, I was paged to the phone. It was the rabbi and he sounded upset. “I called the office,” he said, “and told them they should have informed me of Yetta’s passing. When I told them I wanted to make the funeral arrangements, they told me to stay out of it, that it was already in the works and they would take care of
Keeping Jewish | September 2022 | was a long shot, but I thought maybe a kind employee would read it to her.
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- Alan Magill writes the weekly “Senior Forum” column in the Jewish Press, and is a produced playwright
-In England, under the Salmon Act of 1986, it’s illegal to handle salmon in a sus picious manner. Luckily, I live in America, where I can suspiciously handle salmon all I wish. Which I plan to do as soon as I can figure out what that would entail.
By Mordechai
Crazy laws
14 HUMOR Photo: Gwen M / Pixabay
Portland, Oregon, it’s illegal to wear roller skates in the bathroom. This is not a dumb law.
“You’re praying AGAIN?” or, “You’re doing WHAT with a chicken?... But it’s really unfair. Because if you look around, there are a lot of laws that are weir der than anything we do. Nobody knows about them though, because nobody ever pays attention to or enforces them. Here are just a few:
-In Indianapolis, one may throw a stone at a bird only in self-defense. Like if the bird started it.
-In Glendale, CA, one may not take his dog on an elevator with him. But if one does, the two of them must not talk – they must fold their hands and look toward the door.
-In Singapore, it’s illegal to sell or import gum. Unless you have a medical prescrip tion for it. Why would anyone get a pres cription for gum? That exception is for gum chewers hoping to get away with the crime. -In Rosemead, CA, eating ice cream in pu blic with a fork is illegal. If you want to eat ice cream with a fork, at least don’t do it in public. Have some decency.
Alabama had mask mandates. Forced lawbreaking, you say? -In Quitman, GA, it’s illegal for chickens to cross a road. I think this is to stop people from telling that stupid joke that starts with “Why did the chicken cross the road.”
-In Alabama, masks may not be worn in public. Why on earth would you wear a mask in private? And what about COVID?
-In Dunn, NC, it’s illegal to drive cars through city cemeteries for pleasure. I don’t know what kind of pleasure you’d be getting out of this… Point is, you can only do it for business.-InVirginia, roadkill may be taken home for supper. (“What are we having?” “Uh, … Chicken.”)-InCanton, OH, if one loses their pet ti ger, they must notify the authorities within one hour. You can’t just hang fliers and wait for things to play out.
-In Vermont, it is illegal to disguise your horse. What kind of disguise would a horse have to wear for people not to realize it’s a horse?-InEngland, it’s illegal to be drunk while in charge of a horse or a cow. Which is goodsince sober you will be less likely to put the horse in a Purim costume (see Vermont).
| September 2022 |
-Also, in California, eating an orange in your bathtub is illegal. This law was pas sed around 1920, when people believed that the citric acid could combine with the bath oils to create a highly explosive mixture. How are they enforcing this? I don’t want to -Inknow.New York, on elevators, “One must talk to no one and fold his hands while loo king toward the door.” Everyone knows that no good conversation has ever started in an elevator. Who knew it was the law?
Keeping Jewish Jews have become accustomed to con fused stares and incredulous questions:
-In Arizona, donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs. This law came about in the 1920s, when someone let his donkey sleep in an abandoned tub on his property, and then one day the nearby dam broke and the donkey was washed away down the river and got stuck, and the town spent a conside rable amount of resources and a manpower to save it before they said, “This is the last time.”-InArkansas, alligators may not be kept in bathtubs. Well, that one goes without sa ying.-In
Taking all these laws into account, no wonder our prisons are overcrowded... Schmutter
Answers:1-A,2-C,3-B,4-B,5-C,6-A,7-C,8-D,9-C,10-A. Children celebrating the holiday of Sukkos with Chabad of Cape Town, South Africa
What do you know about their Jewish traditions?
1. From where did the ancestors of most South African Jews migrate?
A. Less than 18,000 B. Less than 50,000 C. More than 100,000 D. More than 1,000,000 8. How did the Rebbe advise South African Jews to respond to political unrest and ri sing crime?
A. Lithuania B. Hungary C. Germany D. Holland 2. What Yiddish word do South Africans use to describe a tiff or disagreement?
A. To move to Canada or Australia B. To move to Capetown C. To keep local holdings but purchase a home elsewhere D. To stay put and trust G-d 9. Where does the lion’s share of South Afri can Jews reside? A. Capetown B. Bloemfontein C. Johannesburg D. 10.PretoriaWhatis the primary language of South African Jews? A. English B. Afrikaans C. Yiddish D. Zulu
FUN PAGE
A. Friday night B. Shabbat morning C. Shabbat afternoon D. Havdalah 7. How many Jews lived in South Africa du ring the community’s peak?
A. Oy vay B. Shevirah C. Farrible D. Nebach 3. What word do South Africans use for the post-synagogue-service reception?
Keeping Jewish | September 2022 | 15 The
A. Kiddush B. Brocha C. Mingle-tingle D. Zits 4. Which Yiddish word do South Africans use to refer to the braided Shabbat bread? A. Challah B. Kitke C. Bulkee D. Broyt
South African quiz By Menachem Posner
5. Which of the following is true about South African Jews? A. They are really Sephardic B. They are expert car racers C. They tend to be traditional D. They are all vegetarian 6. Which Shabbat service is most heavily attended by South African Jews?
