Michele Marr Sunset on Friday will mark...

Michele Marr

Sunset on Friday will mark the start of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish

New Year, and signal the beginning of the High Holy Days -- a 10-day

period of reflection and renewal that will conclude with Yom Kippur,

the Day of Atonement, on Sept. 16.

Rabbi Stephen J. Einstein of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Fountain

Valley described the holidays as a time to look to the eternal

verities that keep people going throughout their lives year after

year.

At Congregation Adat Israel in Huntington Beach, Rabbi Aron David

Berkowitz expects to see more Jews than ever this year coming to the

synagogues for the holidays, to pray, find meaning and to seek

guidance.

“The last year has unleashed an anti-Semitism that has not been

seen since the Holocaust,” he said. “Since Sept. 11, the world has changed. People are afraid, uncertain and nervous. Israel has lost

hundreds of its people.”

The holidays for Berkowitz are a time when his congregation can be

refreshed by the words of the Torah that teach life, kindness and

truth, a time to find strength to live in troubled and troubling

times.

“You can’t stop living. You have to be courageous,” said Einstein.

“But you also have to be wary. And you have to be of assistance. The

spirit we saw on and immediately following 9/11 needs to be something

that becomes part of our everyday life.”

Berkowitz has encouraged his congregation to attend the High

Holiday services in order “to hold hands with your fellow Jews.”

The Orange County Israel Solidarity Task Force and the Jewish

Community Relations Council have worked to create another bond with

Jews in Israel during these Holy Days. With a project called “Honey

for the Holidays,” they hope to send this message: We are with you in

sweetness and sorrow.

Preparation for Rosh Hashana began with the observance of S’lichot

on Aug. 31. Congregation Adat Israel will begin its program at 11:30

p.m. followed by a service at 1 a.m. Congregation B’nai Tzedek will

begin its program at 8:30 p.m. followed by a service at midnight. The

highlight of Rosh Hashana is the sounding of the shofar, a ram’s horn

that is blown to get attention.

“There is no question that what happened on 9/11was a tremendous

sounding of the shofar,” Berkowitz said. “It did catch everyone’s

attention, but after one is stunned, what does one do afterwards? How

do we change our live as a result of it?”

That, he said, is the question.