By Esther Korson
Wow. It’s hard to believe that this is the last morning of the year 5774. Tonight at sunset we will celebrate the Jewish New Year of 5775. For days already, throughout the streets of Jerusalem and all of Israel, everyone is saying to everyone, “Shana tova…” wishing one another a good new year.
The New Year in this country is not celebrated with revelry like the 1st of January is celebrated in the rest of the world. It is a solemn holiday, together with Yom Kippur called the “High Holy Days”. It begins after sunset with a holiday meal with family and friends, similar to the weekly Shabbat meals that are a part of life here. The table is set with a white tablecloth. There are the usual blessings over the bread and the wine with a wonderful meal to follow. But on this night, we also dip apples into honey with hopes for a fruitful and sweet year to follow!
It is one of the holidays where you will hear the sound of the shofar (ram’s horn) reverberating in the quiet streets, as on Rosh Hashanah the trumpets are sounded in the synagogues. The streets are quiet because on this holiday, where we pray to the God of Israel to be written into the book of life for another year, the country grinds to a halt. No public transportation, the airport is closed, all of the shops are shuttered, and there is very little traffic on the roads.
The shofar is sounded 100 times on Rosh Hashanah. On the morning news, Rabbi Shimshon Nidel gave a message that will help you to understand the significance to us as the shofars are blown. He said, “There are two types of prayer, articulated and unarticulated. The music of the shofar is unarticulated prayer, something that just cannot be expressed in words. When we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, we are calling out to our Father in Heaven, saying, ‘Abba, Father, I don’t know what I need, I might not be able to express it in words, but I know I need You.’ After blowing the shofar, the chazzan in the synagogue recites three verses from Psalm 89 responsively. We begin, ‘Fortunate is the people who know the blast of the shofar.’ We don’t just hear and listen, we know. It is a deep understanding. The call of the shofar is something beyond words; it speaks to us in a deep way and at the same time expresses that which we can’t verbalize.
We live in challenging times both in Israel and abroad, there is so much confusion. In these times of uncertainty, the shofar speaks both to us and through us. We awaken something deep within ourselves just as we awaken the Heavens. May the shofar song inspire you and may you and your family be inscribed in the book of life for a sweet New Year filled with health and happiness…”(IBA News)
Next on this Rosh Hashanah blog I’d like to share with you part of the message that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave to the nation. (By the way, please pray for his safety and protection as he travels next week to address the United Nations in New York and also meets with President Obama). Bibi said, “For the first time in the history of Israel, there are more than 6 million Jews in the country; that number has a double meaning given the history of our people over the past century.
On the eve of the holiday I would like to send our best wishes for a full and rapid recovery to the wounded IDF soldiers and citizens and at the same time send our deepest condolences to the families of the fallen.
I would like to commend the entire people of Israel for the determination and the unity that they showed during ‘Operation Protective Edge’. I would like to send greetings from the government ministers and myself that you should now have the vacation that was denied you during the summer war. Be with your families and above all, have a happy, quiet and safe New Year.”
Since the press is usually so anti-Israel, it means sadly that you rarely hear some of the truly special things that happen in this little land. So as the eve of a new year approaches, and before this blog is launched later this morning, I’d like to share one of those special things with you today!
The story I am about to tell involves what we call the “lone soldiers” in Israel. These are Jewish young men and women who leave their homes of origin in different countries around the world to become citizens of Israel (some are already citizens whose parents are Israelis living abroad). They come home to serve in the Israeli army, the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). There are 2700 lone soldiers from outside of Israel who are part of the army. Since Israel is a very family-oriented society, it is not simple for these young ones to be in this country without any family at all. But as one Brigadier General said on the news as he told of the story I’m about to share, “They are never really alone. Israel is one big family and they are a part of us…”
Well, in the days before the Rosh Hashanah holiday, Ben Gurion International Airport was the scene of great rejoicing. EL AL Israel Airlines, the Israel Hotel Association, the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s soldiers, and the IDF’s Manpower Directorate all joined together to truly bless the lone soldiers who fought this summer in ‘Operation Protective Edge’. Flights took off from New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Moscow, Paris, London, Brussels and Amsterdam bringing to Israel the parents of 550 lone soldiers to enable them to spend the Rosh Hashanah holidays with their sons or daughters serving in the IDF. EL AL provided the tickets and Israeli hotels are hosting the soldiers and their families for five days.
One mother of a lone soldier, Dvorat Ifis, commented that the most meaningful part of the trip was to spend Rosh Hashanah together. “I can’t put into words how happy I am right now. My heart is pounding with excitement,” she stated. The reunions at Ben Gurion Airport in recent days were scenes of joy!
David Maimon, Chief Executive Officer of EL AL, which provided the parents with the free flights, said, “We initiated this project in order to show our appreciation to the lone soldiers who bravely decided to leave their home country and protect Israel.” Avigdor Kahalani, the Chairman of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers. also added that lone soldiers will always be supported. “We are all here to embrace them after ‘Operation Protective Edge’ and just before the New Year, we managed to bring them their loved ones from home.” (Jewish Press.com) An additional 2000 lone soldiers were given free flight tickets to visit their families in their countries of origin for the Rosh Hashanah holiday. Isn’t that just one of the loveliest things you ever heard from this family called Israel?
Before I close this Rosh Hashanah blog, here are some statistics for you. At the end of 5774, the total population of Israel reached 8,904,373. For the very first time, the Jewish population in Israel exceeded 6 million. (You can be sure that every single Jewish person in this land that heard that statistic—a statistic that includes every single Jewish person in the land—from the cities, the towns, the villages, the kibbutzim and moshavim—from Metulla to Eilat, from the Mediterranean to the Jordanian border—every single one of us—equals the number of the Jewish people that we lost in the Holocaust. It is oh so hard to fathom!) There were 24,801 new immigrants or returning Israelis this year and 176,230 new births. And finally, the most popular Jewish names for new babies were Yosef and Amar followed closely by Noa and Daniel. (Muhammad was the most popular name in the Arab population of Israel).
All of us at the Jerusalem Gift Shop want to take this opportunity to first of all thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your friendship and for your support and for your prayers. And we would like to wish each and every one of you a blessed and a happy New Year. Shanah Tova!
Let’s pray that this will be the year that “all of Israel will be saved” and that at long last Yeshua will show His people that He is indeed our Messiah and King.
Have a sweet New Year, dear ones! And now together we are on our way to 5775…
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Barbara says
Many blessings to all Israel, during this special time. So many of us here in the U.S. hold your land and people dear to our hearts, praying GOD’s great love and care to protect and keep you. Israel has many who love and care for her here. BJV
esther Korson says
Thank you, dear Barbara,
Knowing that so many love us gives Israel strength. Thank you for your kind comment!
Gabrielle Mary says
Shanna Tova u’Metukah!!!!!
🙂
Praise Yahuwah Elohim for all His Wondrous Works! Hallelu Yah! Amen.
Yes, I agree that there are some things our spirit knows deep within that our mind and our heart cannot find words for. This is why we trust God more and more and more, because His Ways are Higher than ours and the more we know Him, the more we know that His Ways are Higher than ours. Amen. This is why we must TRUST Yahuwah Almighty God alone and not lean on the arm of flesh. He will keep us in perfect peace when we trust in Him. Amen. And HAPPY is he who trusts in Yahuwah Almighty God! Hallelu Yah! Amen.
Yahuwah is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Amen.
Yahuwah bless and keep all Israel, Yahuwah make His Face to shine upon all Israel and be gracious unto all Israel, (both Jews and Joes/ lost ten tribes/ Christians) Yahuwah lift up His countenance upon all Israel, and give all Israel peace. Amen. In Yahuwahshua Messiah/ Yahuwah of Hosts/ Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Love, Joy and QUIET peace,
Gabrielle Mary Therese Mitchell, servant of Yahuwah Almighty God. X
Stephanie Heller says
As an American Christian who visited Israel 2 years ago, I am still learning about the Jewish faith & history. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this article. I will share it with my family, as well.
Hopefully, I will be able to return to Israel someday, and will understand so much more by reading the writings from the Jerusalem Gift Shop.
Joetta Colquette says
I am an American Christian who loves Israel and its’ people!~ Thank you for such a beautifully written, informative article!~ I can feel the passion and love with which it was written, and it has stirred my heart to a deeper love and passion, not only for Israel, but for YHWH and how He draws us to His land, and to Himself~
Shanna Tova~
JColquette
Alaska
Tom Brennan says
Shana Tova !
Yes, there is a massive diference between New Year’s in America and Rosh HaShanah. A party is not a celebration. Israel greets the new year with prayer and Shema Yisrael, not drunken binges and football nonsense. This year the world looks at a new war in the Middle east, wavering and hesitation from what once was a world leader, and the only things we can truly depend on are G-d, His Word and the steady and dependable wrk of His people, in The Land and the “remnant” worldwide. There may not be a whole lot of us, but we “have each other’s backs” and if G-d is with us, who can be agains us”???
Hapy, blessed and steady New Year, brothers & sisters.
juanita says
What a wonderful article, inspiring, informative and demonstration of great teamwork and love. As an american christian, I am totally overwhelmed with the great visions and beliefs of Israel. May all have a prosperous New Year. I say this with all the love in my heart for the heart of God. Israel, !