“Finally it’s my party”

October 1, 2006 - 8:20 AM by

Writer Sara Yoheved Ziegler, who grew up Conservative in the USA, spent two years in India on a spiritual journey, and is now an Orthodox Jew, explains why the December holiday season is so uncomfortable for Jews in Western countries, and why the October/November holiday season is so fantastic for Jews in Israel:

After 35 years of living in a Christian country (and two years of living in a Hindu one), I now live in a Jewish country. And the very best time of year here in Israel is the holiday season — from Rosh Hashana through Yom Kippur and Sukkot. (Everyone’s heard of Sukkot here!) Finally it’s my party.

The party starts a couple weeks before Rosh Hashana, when the electric, phone, and credit card bills arrive with their wishes for a “Sweet New Year for the Whole House of Israel.” Then the New Year cards decorated with shofars, apples, and honey start arriving from the accountant, the bank, and the dentist. All the supermarkets feature sales on honey.

. . . . Of course, all the holidays — Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and the first and last day of Sukkot — are official national holidays. No school, no banks, no stores, no offices, no public transportation.

On Yom Kippur, the country completely stops. No radio nor television stations broadcast. Ben Gurion Airport is the only major airport in the world that closes down one day a year.

Over 80 % of Israeli Jews fast on Yom Kippur. In a country as famously fractured as Israel, it is astounding that over 80 % of us could ever agree to do the same thing at the same time. To paraphrase the well-known quip, in a country of 6,000,000 Jews, there are 6,000,001 opinions. But on Yom Kippur, the only opinion that counts in God’s, and the vast majority of us know it.

Right after the fast, the somber gravity of Yom Kippur gives way to the ebullience of Sukkot, which starts five days later. Sukkot is the holiday of joy.

. . . . Celebration is everywhere in the air. Ace Hardware in Jerusalem sells easy-to-put-together sukkahs, prominently displayed outside the store. Home Center features sales on fold-up tables and beds, perfect for eating and sleeping in the succah. The malls are crowded with tables offering succah decorations.

The final day of the holiday season is Simchat Torah, the holiday of rejoicing with the Torah. Over 60 % of Israeli Jews dance with the Torah. Many synagogues take their Torah scrolls out into the streets to dance with them. There’s no sense of embarrassment or shyness. After all, it’s our party.

Tags: • Category: Holidays, Immigrant Moments 

Comments

One Comment on “Finally it’s my party”

  1. aliyah06 on Sun, Oct 1st 2006 11:39 AM

    2. She nailed it! This is great and I’m sending it to everyone we left behind in the States (where Safeway gives discounts for pork at Easter and Xmas but not for the kosher turkeys for Pesach or Rosh Hashanah).

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