Happy New Year

When I was growing up, generally the only time spent in religious services was during the High Holidays. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The big ones. The Jewish New Year and the Day of Atonement.

Rather than focusing on the meaning of these holy days, my teenage self focused on shopping the fall fashion trends and debuting my new boots, skirts, dresses, etc. I can remember being excited to have an excuse to wear high heels and the sound of them clicking through the halls of the high school where my synagogue held services. But, what I can’t remember is, feeling connected to the significance of these holidays.

Once we arrived, usually late (I always did my best to stall), it was excuse after excuse to be released from the service. “I need to go to the bathroom”, “I need to stretch my legs”, “My pantyhose are twisted”, “All my…

Seven-year-old Joseph Hofheins reacts to eating matzah with horseradish during the bitter herbs part of the Passover ceremony, which also included music and dancing. (Stuart Johnson, Deseret News)

Latter-day Saints (Mormon or LDS) have long felt a kinship with Jewish brothers and sisters. It’s becoming popular in recent years for Latter-day Saints (LDS) to take their feelings of kinship to a more active level. Some are participating in a Seder in addition to the traditional Easter services and remembrance observed this time of year.

I remember a few years ago a women’s activity at our local unit of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make Seder plates. We spent the evening decorating the plates and learning the traditions of the Seder. I really enjoyed the activity. It gave me a great appreciation for the common heritage Christians and Jews share.

Latter-day Saints in areas of Utah are developing large activities for this special time of year. The following news-story is from Deseret…

I am not about to give give you a crash course in the Jewish New Year, I am about to share my learning experience in temple this past Tuesday.

Happy New Year

Let me start with a little history. For as long as I can remember, I have been ringing in the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, with lots of food and long services at temple. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been excused from this ritual in my 34 years. And trust me, it isn’t from lack of trying. Let’s see…chicken pox, twice while away at college, and doctor ordered bed rest with my first pregnancy. Aside from the excused absence from school, I grew up dreading the Jewish holidays. Particularly the High Holy days. Getting dressed up, spending time with extended family and sitting in temple listening to a mixture of Hebrew and English, both…

I don’t know much about Heeb magazine, but the few times I’ve seen it on the newstand, it’s caught my attention.

Never quite like the current issue, which features what the magazine’s editors assure us is the first ever Jewish swimsuit calendar for the year 5769.

Sadly, in order to see “six of the most beautiful Jewish women in the world,” you’ll have to go buy the magazine.

Steve Giegerich’s story in the Post-Dispatch, Passed Over? Students bow out (04/02/08) relates a tale that is an example of the inevitable conflicts which will occur between civil society and religious observance.

Jewish students who wish to participate in a state wide competition are faced with the choice of either preparing for Passover, which begins at sunset on Saturday, April 19, or participating in the competition and barely making it back home in time to begin the Passover celebration. As the article makes clear, each student is making his/her own choice.

The problem is, in a society which struggles to encourage diversity and understanding, some of us will be forced to make choices which violate our personal religious standards. We may think that we are guided by a civil or secular calendar, but nothing could be farther from the truth.

Our current conventional calendar is a product of the religious values of the…