The Blessings of Autumn

Rosh haShonah means head of the year.  We had a good beginning last evening. The Jewish celebration is not like the secular. No partying, drinking to excess, making loud noises, kissing or ducking kisses. Ours begins with candle lighting, in this year four instead of two candles, two for shabbat and two for Rosh  haShonah.  We bless the wine, the bread and some of the ritual items like apples and honey. And the first fruit of the year – meaning something you haven’t yet tasted this fall. 

When I was younger, I said the blessings by rote to get through them. In old age, I’ve come to understand the importance of gratitude, that we are truly thankful to have reached another day, another year. That we ae grateful for the taste of a good apple and real natural honey.  Blessings, if you take them seriously, help you stay in the moment, feel it, and appreciate it.

Rosh haShonah begins the Days of Awe. It is a time for turning inward and examining yourself critically, honestly. We contemplate our failures and errors, our faults of commission and omission. Who have we slandered, insulted, ignored, injured in any way including those we failed by refusing to help. We are asked to repent our wrongs but that is not enough. We must make up for them, make amends to those we may have harmed. It is also a period in which we contemplate death, not only remembering and mourning those we lost but also contemplating our own death. In traditional Jewish belief, ha Shem then lists those who will live and those who will die in the new year. I began my amends this week.

And, of course this year, we consider what it means to be a Jew in these times, when we feel alienated from Israel’s government and strongly oppose its actions in Gaza and in the West Bank. And going with the U.S. into a costly and totally unnecessary war against Iran. Netanyahu is at least as bad as Trump.

Much of my brief service is in the form of poems.  We had wonderful fresh gefilte fish that Theresa brought from NYC. Chaim baked a traditional round challah. Nina, my assistant who is Jewish, made a honey cake. I made a big pot roast, roasted many root vegetables and made a bean salad early in the morning. Woody made his delicious cherry noodle kugel.

The wonderful tomatoes are finally done.  Woody already pulled the paste tomatoes and plowed the two raised beds they were growing in. This afternoon, I’ll plant six kinds of lettuce, escarole and endive there. I put those seeds in the refrigerator yesterday morning so they would cool. Today is supposed to be nice and cool, cooler than yesterday, which was itself a blessing. Cooler and much drier. We are beginning to get bell peppers finally. Still getting lots of frying peppers, Swiss chard, the last zucchini, and Oriental eggplants. Woody is still hilling up leeks and the hard neck garlic we ordered from Territorial should arrive soon. Did I mention the flourishing raised bed full of parsnips? The autumn season itself is a blessing.