Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.迷你倉新蒲崗Sept. 04--RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Inland Empire Jewish leaders and teachers are helping prepare their faithful for the beginning of the High Holy Days -- Rosh Hoshana -- the start of the new year in Judaism.The period, which begins tonight, is a time for Jews to reflect on the past year and to recall any misdeeds or wrongs they may have committed against God and others.Rosh Hashana typically takes place during September or October, according to the Jewish lunar calendar. Prior to Rosh Hashana, there is a month of preparation called Elul, which anticipates both Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The holiest day of Judaism, Yom Kippur takes place 10 days after the start of Jewish New Year.According to Jewish leaders, the High Holy Days is a period that requires hard "work" of introspection and seeking out forgiveness on the part of the faithful, to make amends with those they've wronged, and with God.The faithful believe that God opens "The Book of Life" on Rosh Hashana, upon which the names of the righteous are inscribed and a happy new year is granted to them. The book is closed, according to belief, on Yom Kippur, until the next new year."It's said if you've hurt somebody's feelings or you did something wrong to somebody, the prayers of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are not enough," said Rabbi Sholom Harlig, director of Chabad of the Inland Empire in Rancho Cucamonga. "You have to ask that person to forgive you, and then you can ask God to forgive you."Claremont resident Arava Talve, a Jewish educator and currently the B'nai Mitzvah coordinator at Temple Sinai in Palm Desert, agrees."It's a time of thinking, 'In what ways can I redeem myself and do better the next year?'" said Talve. "It's really about redeeming yourself. We spend the month in deep thought and introspection, evaluate our actions of the past year, so when we get to the head of the year, when we get to Rosh Hoshana, it can truly mean something."Janice Yellon,迷你倉出租teacher of Judaism, and a lay leader at the Congregation Etz Hadar in Redlands, echoing her counterparts in the Inland Empire, said Rosh Hashana is a time to address ones spiritual relationship with their associates, friends and family, and with God."I think that we all need sometimes to be able to have a chance to feel like we start anew, and when people come to the holidays, it's a time to let go of some of the past issues, make new goals and make new excitement about moving forward and to feel refreshed spiritually."A subject of reflection for many in Judaism in the United States has been the conflict in Syria, which shares a border with Israel. The potential for the conflict to spill over into Israel is on the minds of Jews in the Inland Empire.Harlig, Talve and Yellon said they and their congregations pray regularly for world peace.Rabbi Douglas Kohn, of Congregation Emanu El in Redlands, spent some time in Israel this past summer, and was able to look upon Syria and Lebanon from the Golan Heights."There was Lebanon and there was Syria and I was talking to a lieutenant in the Israeli Defence Forces and we were keenly aware that just 20 kilometers away was the border and that it could erupt because of the Syrian civil war," Kohn said."I worry about my family and friends in Israel and I worry about it erupting in a very unstable world clearly at a time when were praying for a new year and the book of life for everybody," Kohn said.Kohn said the prayers said by his congregation during the High Holy Days aren't just for themselves or the Jewish people, but for everybody."It's universal," Kohn said. "We're not praying for just ourselves. We are truly committed to the overall, so my prayers are for everybody. I would hope my congregation feels the same way."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.) Visit the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.) at .dailybulletin.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉
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