One day of Rosh Hashanah that I remember as clearly as ever occurred 6 years ago. I was one year removed from my Bar Mitzvah, and so the local Temple that I attend asked if I wanted to be a reader in the Rosh Hashanah morning service.
I decided that I might as well. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Rosh Hashanah is one of the most important holidays for Jewish people. Reading on the high holiday morning service was a great way to conduct a mitzvah to my congregation.
I only had to do English reading on that day, so it’s not like I had to read from the Torah or anything like that. I was reading the English portion of a part of the beginning of the Haftarah. It was good practice for my public speaking skills besides; to be able to get up there in front of thousands of people and speak into a microphone while standing before everybody up on a large podium was definitely a memorable experience.
So I got up there, all nervous and sweating through my nice suit and Tallit and Kippah. But I calmly was able to control myself and read from the siddur. Once I was done, it felt like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders. It felt great that I had not only contributed to one of the most important services of the year, but to also do it successfully and in a very professional manner.
After the service was over, we went outside where the Temple had tons of cake, fruit punch, and apples and honey. Once we were done consuming the delicious treats, we went out to have a nice lunch. The restaurant was called Black and Blue and it was a steak/seafood restaurant, and all of the food was absolutely delicious.
In the end, I’d say it was ultimately the conglomeration of the whole entire day that made that particular Rosh Hashanah the most memorable. I just feel badly that I, unfortunately, won’t be able to spend any of the time with my family this year since I am off at college and cannot come home in the middle of the week. I guess that’s even more so why I seem to be reflecting on that past Rosh Hashanah because I got to at least spend it with my family.
To my family, and the rest of the Jewish community, I wish you all a happy new year and a good fast on Yom Kippur.
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