Jewish holy days a time for introspection

Stacy J. Willis

Friday, Sept. 10, 1999 | 10:29 a.m.

Rabbi Felipe Goodman eavesdropped on a conversation between two women at a supermarket recently.

"They were saying how much they hate the Jewish holidays -- how much trouble it was to prepare for the meals, how inconvenient it was that the days fall on different dates each year, how much time it takes. ... "So I followed them through the store and pretended to take things from the shelves around them -- things I did not need -- just to hear the rest of the conversation.

"They said they don't like their rabbi's sermon and the cantor sounds worse than ever, but they felt they had to go and be seen at services anyway."

The conversation -- and a large grocery bill -- stuck with Goodman as he prepared his sermons for the Jewish high holy days that begin this weekend.

"It reminded me that we should all prepare spiritually for the holidays, not just physically and practically. Sometimes we get hung up in the theatricals of the whole enterprise, and we forget the meaning of the holidays," said Goodman, rabbi at the Conservative Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas.

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins tonight at sundown and continues through Sunday.

Gathered in synagogues and meeting halls, casino ballrooms and libraries, many of the more than 76,000 Las Vegas Jews will celebrate throughout the weekend God's creation of the world.

"Rosh Hashana is celebratory but is also about a lot of introspection," Goodman said. "We say prayers that accentuate the fragility of life and the awesome power of God. We ask God not only to remember us in this New Year but to remember us for life."

The distinctive ritual for Rosh Hashana is the sounding of the Shofar, an instrument made from a ram's horn, which symbolizes the arrival of the new year. However, because this year Rosh Hashana falls on Shabbat (the period from Friday evening to Saturday evening each week in which Jews worship by refraining from physical labor), the horn will not be blown until Sunday, according to Jewish tradition.

Additionally, there are many customs associated with the holiday's meals, such as eating the head of a fish to symbolize the hope of being a righteous leader throughout the coming year.

Ten days of repentance follow Rosh Hashana and culminate on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

In Jewish theology God begins opening his book of life on Rosh Hashana. He inscribes the names of those who will live and those who will die in the coming year, and closes the book on Yom Kippur -- sealing each person's fate.

"It is a time when we really need to understand that our time here is precious, and we will never get it back. We take so many things for granted, but our lives are a great blessing, and this is a time when we focus on appreciating that," Goodman said.

Temple Beth Sholom, which counts more than 450 families as members, will hold Rosh Hashana services tonight at 8 and Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. at the Resort at Summerlin, 221 N. Rampart Blvd.