No Fireworks??

Question of the Week:

I was not raised with Jewish traditions so I have never experienced a Jewish new year celebration. I always go to the dragon dance at Chinatown for Chinese new year, and I was in Times Square last year for new year's eve...I don't remember a thing, it was wild! I would love to see how Jews party. Can I join you for your new year celebrations?

Answer:

You are most welcome to come along, but let me warn you: nothing you have seen will prepare you for a Rosh Hashana service. The most exotic tribal dance, or the most outlandish new year's bash, will seem like a mild tea party in comparison.

It all starts off pretty tame. We gather in synagogue on the morning of Rosh Hashana to say the prayers. They are sung to powerful and moving tunes matching the flavour of the different prayers - melodic and up-beat songs for prayers of praise and celebration; deep and stirring songs for prayers of awe and introspection. The singing and praying goes on for a couple of hours, and it all seems like a pretty standard prayer service.

But that's just the build up. After reading from the Torah, the tension in the room grows and there is a sense that something big is about to happen.

Then it does. What happens next, the climax of the new year service, is nothing short of bizarre.

A guy takes the stage, covers his head with his prayer shawl and produces a velvet bag. He places the bag on the table, and opens it to pull out...a ram's horn. And you won't believe what follows. He puts the horn to his mouth and blows. And he blows and blows and blows.

The sound that comes out of that ram's horn can't be described. It is an ancient wordless voice that only the soul understands. Its piercing cry turns us inside out - the layers blocking our hearts are torn away and our souls are exposed. The deepest and most elemental level of our being is suddenly awakened by a three thousand year old call. The blow of the ram's horn fans the hidden flame in our soul, and latent spiritual senses swim to the surface.

The Jewish new year starts not on the calendar but in our souls. Consciously or not, we have been revitalised, a new page is opened in our inner life. Whether we go with this spark ignited in our soul or let it fizzle out is up to us.

The Rosh Hashana experience can be pretty wild, and you won't want the party to end. Once you have had a taste of Jewish soul inspiration, you desperately crave for more. You will be left with a spiritual hangover - the only hangover where your mind is clear and you just want to get up and change the world, starting with yourself.