By By Rabbi-Cantor Cheri Weiss
During my three-year tenure in Hawai‘i, I taught numerous Introduction to Judaism classes. While most of the lessons were conducted online, there was one class that I insisted students attend in person at the temple: my lesson on ritual objects. No photos of lit Shabbat candles, a beautifully-engraved kiddush cup filled with wine, or a colorful Seder plate can replace seeing or touching these precious items in-person.
I also led dozens of B’nai Mitzvah ceremonies during these years in Hawai‘i. After each young celebrant completed reading from the parsha (Torah portion), I invited everyone in attendance to come up to the Bimah and take an up-close-and-personal look at the Hebrew text inside our holy Torah. Sometimes the line of people extended to the very back of the Sanctuary! One by one, they looked in awe at the fine calligraphy etched onto the parchment, marveling when I said that it took a sofer (scribe) a year or more to hand-write the entire Torah onto that scroll.
The objects we use to perform our religious rituals engage our senses and draw us closer to our Jewish heritage. We welcome Shabbat and holidays by tasting the sweet wine from a cup reserved for kiddush, feel the warmth and see the glow of the lit candles, hear and sing familiar Shabbat blessings and prayers from our siddur. We light the candles in our chanukkiah (nine-branched menorah) to remember the story of Chanukkah. We hear the story of Passover from the Haggadah while eating Matzah, Maror, and Charoset.
As we draw closer to the High Holy Days, we will have the opportunity to engage in rituals that can enhance our Jewish experience of these distinctive Days of Awe. We traditionally celebrate Rosh Hashanah with apples and honey, symbolizing our hope for a sweet New Year. We eat delicious round spiral challah (often with sweet raisins) rather than braided loaves to symbolize the continuity of life and cyclical nature of the seasons. Many people opt to wear white clothing to symbolize purity or new beginnings.
One of the most engaging rituals of the holidays is known as Tashlich. During this brief ceremony, we symbolically “cast away” our sins by tossing bread (or breadcrumbs or even sand) into a flowing body of water (ocean, lake, river, etc.) This practice is based on a passage in the Book of Micah (7:19), where the prophet says, “God will take us back in love, quashing our iniquities. You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
During prayer services on Rosh Hashanah and again at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, we will listen to the sounds of the Shofar. Hearing these blasts is meant to rouse our souls to reflect on our behavior of the past year and determine how we can do better going forward.
One of the unique prayers we will recite from our machzor (High Holy Days prayerbook) is known as the Viddui – confession of sins. While it is customary to lightly beat our hand over our hearts in a sign of repentance as each sin is recited, I have always asked congregants to instead lightly touch their hearts in a gesture of self-forgiveness.
Jewish rituals and ritual objects engage our senses of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste to help connect us physically and spiritually to our rich traditions. As we celebrate the High Holy Days, may we each fully experience these Days of Awe with all our being. Wishing you a meaningful and inspiring Shana Tovah and a blessed year ahead.
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