SHANAH TOVAH TIKKATEVU
WELCOME TO THE JEWISH NEW YEAR 5775
This New Year, as I dip the apple slices
into the honey, I would remember fondly the various conversations around the
Jewish New Year around the world.
Sarah Cohen from Jew Town in Cochin gave me
a little honey (pure honey, she said) to take home to celebrate and welcome the
Jewish New Year. Wish her and others in Cochin a Happy New Year!
(Sarah Cohen reciting morning prayers. Cochin, India)
Adela Dworin and her congregation in La
Habana, hope the emerging liberal attitudes help people express their Jewishness
without fear. In Cuba, while the government has a strong pro-Arab policy, an
average Cuban is Pro-Israeli (a small state standing up against multitudes of
Arabs, reminding them of their own struggle with USA). There is no indigenous
Muslim population in Cuba and the majority of Muslims are students from various
countries as well as members of Diplomatic corps.
(a cuban jewish jazz shabbat!)
It is not in these isolated communities one
feels the fear these days, but in larger Jewish communities such as in France
and Belgium. And the prospect of returning fighters from Syria and Iraq is
gloomy one indeed.
But there are many other things to be
grateful for. Benyamin Netanyahu announced recently that the Jewish population
of Israel has reached 6 million, a number very significant to us, because of
the number lost during the Nazi Holocaust.
October is also the month of Nobel Prize
announcement, something many of us look forward to. In recent years, Israel had
garnered 8 Nobel Prizes in SCIENCES, no small achievement for such a small but
determined country.
Each of us carries with us, the pleasure of
being a Jew, but I couldn't stop chuckling when my UmonHon Indian sister wrote:
I guess I always think of you as being UmonHon
and not Jewish!
By the way, American Indians bear no grudge
against the Jews since historically we are not associated in their memory with
destruction of their culture! They also respect the fact that we don't wish to
impose our culture upon outsiders.
During this wonderful time of the year,
leading up to the Day of Atonement (I am looking forward to spending that with
good friends in Miami), it is nice to think of the wide net of affections
spanning this world:
Australia, Cuba, USA, Mexico, Iran,
Indonesia. And of course Israel.
