A Honey of a Holiday

September 18, 2006 - 1:12 PM by Allison

It’s always something of a culture shock when a Diaspora Jew from a small Jewish community first experiences the Jewish holidays in Israel — being Jewish feels so weirdly mainstream. right now, Sustainable Apple Pie is in Rosh Hashana shock — the Jewish New Year seems a bit different in a kibbutz in the Negev desert than it does in American suburbia.

This is my first year celebrating the high holidays in Israel and already I am taking great amusement in the great deal of options for purchase and consumption for the Jewish public. Whereas in the States it was all I could do to get an excused absence from school so I could get dressed up and go sit in the synagogue balcony and gossip with my friends (oh, the trials and tribulations of finding unique outfits for tashlich, erev chag, and the two days of services following), now, not only do I get the day off as a national-freaking-holiday, but I also get to walk into every grocery store in the country and be bombarded by festive new year products. Would you like your “light honey” in a glass jar or a plastic squeeze bottle? Maybe you’ll take the regular, higher-calorie honey instead? How about small, fun-size jars for your new year gift baskets? Or perhaps you’d like to buy a pre-made gift basket filled with honey, chocolate, and honey-based cookies? And the endless amount of Rosh Hashana cards available is enough to make one swoon. It’s Rosh Hashana Hallmark heaven.

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