Ten Ways You Know Rosh Hashana in Israel is Almost Here

Shofar at demonstration for Israel in Prague, 2009. Photo: Martin Kozák.

1. Turn on the radio any time in the weeks between the date school starts and Yom Kippur, and it’s a sure bet that on any station you’ll hear a version of Adon Haselichot (Master of forgiveness), a traditional prayer of repentance with a particularly catchy Sephardi melody, You can even download it as a ringtone…

2. Nightly selichot tours take place in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, the Bukharan Quarter, Nachlat Shiva and Nachlaot. Swarms of Israelis who generally spend as little time as possible in any synagogue, suddenly get nostalgic about the sights and sounds of other faithful Jews who crowd into the quaint synagogues of these old Jerusalem neighborhoods to butter up God before the High Holydays in late-night prayers.

3. Pomegranates are everywhere—real ones weighing down branches on trees all over town and on sale in the Machane Yehuda shuk; symbolic ones for sale as honey dishes and embossed on cards.

4. Those notes that pile up in the cracks in the Kotel—they’re cleaned out twice a year: before Passover and before Rosh Hashanah. They’re not thrown away but buried in the geniza along with remnants of holy books.

5. Tel Aviv parking authorities have a special category of erev Rosh Hashana parking tickets called ”Dochot Shana Tova”. (Happy New Year tickets) Anyone who parks without putting money into the meter or hanging up a parking slip in Tel Aviv on erev Rosh Hashanah will be ticketed, but the ticket will only describe the infraction and then explain that in honor of Rosh Hashana the fine has been waived.

6. Quarter –page ads placed in every Israeli newspaper by the Israel Airport Authority are directed at the tens of thousands of Israelis who will pass through Ben Gurion Airport on their way to the grave of Rebbi Nachman in Uman, Ukraine for the traditional Rosh Hashana supplications that overwhelm the little town.  The ads include the following important info: (a) There are two synagogues in the Terminal. (b) If you’re part of a large group that needs more space to daven, please turn to the airport stewards who will arrange additional prayer space (c) Be sure to show up with a current passport.

7. Shoppers laden with huge nylon bags bulging with every kind of produce, fish, meat and bread may be seen staggering under the weight of their purchases, secure in the knowledge that they have sufficient provisions for the two days when stores are closed for the holiday.

8. A uniquely Israeli tradition is the “haramat cosit” literally, “lifting of the glass”, in honor of the New Year. Government ministries, corporations and municipal offices all host toasts where wine and good cheer flow. The fleet of diplomatic vehicles double-parked outside the official presidential residence in Jerusalem is an indication that President Shimon Peres is hosting the diplomatic corps for the traditional New Year liquid bash.

9. Newspaper polls report that only 47 percent of Israelis plan on attending synagogue services to pray during Rosh Hashana, but hotels all over the country report 95 percent occupancy rates. The traffic jams generated by all that coming and going are truly monumental. In the hours leading up to the leyl Rosh Hashana family dinner, it seems as if the entire country is on the road.

10. Forget about trying to get any workers to come to fix or deliver anything.  “Acharei HaChagim”—after the holidays, is the standard refrain, that means that you won’t be seeing anything done until October 9, the day after Simchat Torah.

Judy Lash Balint is an award-winning Jerusalem writer. She blogs at jerusalemdiaries.blogspot.com