Rosh HaShanah ...Our First in Jerusalem

 It has been a while since I have written.  It is now after Rosh HaShanah, our first major holy day spent in Jerusalem.  The country went into a lockdown at 2 p.m. the afternoon prior to the onset of Rosh HaShanah, which basically meant that we were instructed that we could attend synagogue if it were within 1 kilometer of our present abode.  The good news is that we are only .6 of a kilometer from the shul that we had planned to attend.

Veani tfilla had reservations submitted in advance for attendance, assigned a maximum of 20 people to a capsule with seating 2 meters apartment and no contact with the other capsules in the large school yard.  We brought our own machzorim, sat separately, and arrived for services very early.  Day 1 we were in our seats by 6 a.m.  On day 2 we slept in a little longer and arrived at 7 a.m.  Being outdoors and starting early was truly advantageous since the temperature climbed up into the 90's while we davenned.

Yehoshua read the entire Torah portions for the congregation, Shmuel served as his guard, and Charlie held the Torah after it had been read.  This is the first time in 13 years that I have not led or helped lead a High Holy Day service.  That in itself made the experience very different, in addition to the fact that no English was used in the service, and the entire morning was spent praying outdoor under the trees.


As we experienced Rosh Hashana here it is important to note that we were blessed to be in the presence of our kids/grandkids for the entire chag.  We went to the same shul setting, had all of our meals together and even got to celebrate our youngest grandson's birthday (youngest one in Israel).  

The sights and sounds of being in Jerusalem on Rosh HaShanah were quite different than being in Lincoln, Nebraska.  The streets were empty.  People actually were able to walk in the streets on their way to shul.  The sounds of davenning came from all directions, voices lifted in prayer.  There was a multiplicity of shofars being blown that resounded at similar times. Everyone we passed while walking wished us a shanah tovah whether they knew us or not.   The thought of being here was quite emotional because the sensory experience was so impactful.




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