The Jewish New Year, also known as Rosh HaShanah, begins tonight, September 18th. According to the Jewish calendar, this is the 5781st year. While the community will commemorate the anniversary for three days till September 20th evening, the celebrations will be different than usual due to the pandemic. This does not, however, prevent Jews from celebrating the New Year with zeal.
Edna Samuel, a Mumbai-based communications professional and the founder of Motif (a cultural preservation effort), is a Jew currently residing in Tel Aviv. “She says,” she says “Many of us would participate in the Tashlich (sea prayers), a tradition in which community members toss bread into a natural running waterbody. This ceremony would take place near the Dockyard at the Bhaucha Dhakka, after which we would travel to the synagogue for service and listen to the Shofar (a trumpet used in Jewish ceremonies) before returning home. However, this year, the majority of us will be partying at home.” Because of the lockdown, Edna, who had flown to Israel earlier this year, had to return home. However, she claims that Israel is her second home after India and that she will observe Rosh HaShanah as she does every year, but without traveling out. She outlines what the Jews eat on this special day, saying, “Challah or apples dipped in honey and pomegranate are served during a Rosh HaShanah feast. The number of seeds in the pomegranate corresponds to the number of good deeds you will perform during the next year.”
