04/09/2013 13:50
Rosh Hashanah classes help Detroit-area Jews connect to faith, one another
As Jewish people tonight mark Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish New Year — they will be guided by knowledge gained in classes leading up to the holy day.
In synagogues across metro Detroit, people have been taking classes that help them understand the meaning behind the prayers and services of Rosh Hashanah, which kicks off the high holy days. The 10-day period, which ends next week with Yom Kippur, usually attracts the largest number of worshipers in the year.
“The whole idea is to get people to connect” with the holy days and with each other, said Rabbi Aaron Bergman of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, where 4,000 are expected to attend services in coming days.
At Adat Shalom, there were three classes that helped people prepare for the holy days, including ones on reading Hebrew and melodies. At the Shul-Chabad Lubavitch in West Bloomfield, children learned about blowing the shofar, a ram’s horn, an important part of Rosh Hashanah services. The Orthodox Jewish center also had classes on prayer and embracing imperfection as part of life.
“The New Year ... should be a personal experience of rejuvenation and renewal, and coming closer to God,” said Rabbi Kasriel Shemtov of the Shul. “We want people to be on their own journey, revealing their own soul and their own relationship to God.”
Teaching about the shofar is especially important because “the call of the shofar is a cry from the heart of the Jew to the almighty: I am your child and I want to become close to you.”
At Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, the largest synagogue in metro Detroit, there were several classes Saturday that 150 people attended, including one on making honey, which is eaten during Rosh Hoshanah to symbolize a sweet new year. Temple Israel brought in a beekeeper to help people make their own batches.
“The goal of these classes is to get into the theme of the holidays,” said Rabbi Arianna Gordon, director of education and lifelong learning at Temple Israel.
At the same time, people should not get too stressed about trying to learn every detail about the high holidays, Bergman said.
“I don’t want to increase people’s anxieties,” Bergman said. “You don’t have to finish reading the books. It’s not a novel ... you don’t have to follow along and say every word during services. You can sit there and create your own space and use it as a time of reflection.”