The first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar marks the turning of the Jewish year. It is considered to be the World’s birthday and is a time of reflection and introspection. Jews greet each other with wishes for “a good year.” Traditional foods include a round challah (instead of the usual braid) symbolizing the unbroken and unbreakable cycle of the year. Both challah and fruit (apples!) are dipped into honey (with the comb is best) which symbolizes the hope and expectation of a sweet year to come.

Rosh ha Shonah is a very old celebration, perhaps as old as the original Hebrews. After all, humans mark occurrences, both those that are somber as well as those that are joyous, with ritual and feasting (or sometimes fasting) in order that the significance of the occasion does not become lost in time. As finite and comparatively short a human lifetime is, our imaginations and dreams are capable of much greater lengths of time. This is why we invent rituals and leave legacies. These are a part of ourselves that can last beyond our own individual lifetimes.

This week’s blog theme then, is my wish that we all have a good year, a sweet year. If you own one of my pieces, either fine art of art jewelry, you know first hand that I intend my created works to be my legacy to the future. Have you thought about what legacies you would like to leave to the World and to those who populate it?

Journey into Dusk

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 11:23 PM and is filed under Contemplation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.