Rant #3,204: New Year's Day

With our world seemingly coming down hard on myself and my family at this time, we now have to deal with the Jewish New Year, a period which begins at sundown tonight with Rosh Hashanah.

I am going to tell you right from the get go that I am absolutely, positively and completely not into it this year, for the very reasons I have stated since my mother left us last week.

Circumstances are not good in my neck of the woods, and while I believe in the holiday and the sacredness of this period, which culminates with Yom Kippur next week, I just cannot enwrap myself with these holidays as I once did.

Here, in edited form. is what I said in Rant #1,985 on September 20, 2017. It pretty much still applies, no matter what situation my family and I are in:

"Tonight is the start of the holiest period during the year for Jews around the world. Rosh Hashanah commences this period, starting at sundown. This holiday continues for the next two days.

Next week, Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, commences, and lasts a single day.

Although I am not a religious Jew by any stretch of the imagination, I do participate in these holidays. They are holidays that ask Jews to examine their strengths, and weaknesses, during the past year and to reflect on how they can improve themselves during the upcoming year. They are holidays of both introspection and group prayer. During Yom Kippur, observant Jews fast, to show their forgiveness to God, and also to show their strength.

It is with this understanding of what the holiday means that I have always had this conundrum with how the rest of the world should look at these holidays. Should the “outside” world recognize this holy time of year or simply ignore it?

Living in New York, where there are a large amount of Jews, has made these holidays pretty well known by the non-Jewish population. In fact, schools are generally closed during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

I once found out years ago that the reason New York City schools close on these holidays is that since such a large portion of their teachers are Jewish, it was not prudent to open when three-quarters of the teachers would be out.

This year, there are the usual myriad controversies revolving around whether certain events should be held on these holidays or not.

Professional sports leagues will go about their business during these holidays,
When my son was in Little League, the league would, every year, schedule games on the first two nights of Passover. Although Passover is not one of the holiest occasions on the Jewish calendar, it is a holiday which revolves around the family, and the traditional seder, and garners wide participation even among non-observant Jews.

The league, of course, never had a game on Easter Sunday.

His current bowling league also pretty much ignores the Jewish holidays, and will hold its bowling schedule tomorrow.

My workplace never gave me off for the Jewish holidays, even though the owner, who is since deceased, was Jewish himself. I had to take the day(s) off as personal days.

Is this right? Shouldn’t everyone be given days off to celebrate their most holiest of holidays, whether it be Yom Kippur or Good Friday?

However, should business stop because a major religious holiday is being celebrated?

I don’t have an answer, and it is something that has puzzled me for years. These are religious holidays, and thus, they are more personal than, say, July 4 or Labor Day are.

The bottom line is this: do we suspend our usual day's activities because a major religion has one of its holiest days to celebrate?

Yes, that is the question to ponder today.

Whatever the case, to those who observe the holiday, have a wonderful Rosh Hashanah, and have a great New Year.”

But again, this New Year is different for me than it was in 2017, or for that matter, in 2022.

My parents are not here anymore, and my family is dealing with the loss of our living quarters.

Where I should still be mourning for the loss of my mother—the actual eight-day Shiva period is still on, even though my family chose just one Shiva day--I am actually more focused on my family’s future and where we are going to live than on anything else.

I don’t think that is the way it should be, but the reality of the situation is that that is the way it is.

So, L’Shana Tovah to my fellow Jews, but you are going to have to excuse me this year, as I am simply not into this sacred period in the least.

Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.