Three days stuck with family may have you praying for divine intervention
By Yair EttingerTwo-day holiday sound like a lot? Try three-day on for size. The holiday of Rosh Hashanah will still last its regular 49 hours, but because it runs directly into Shabbat, it will mean three days of prayers, lots of meals and no driving or Internet for the Orthodox public.
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A man testing a shofar ahead of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana, 2010. |
| Photo by: AP |
Many Jews throughout the world will find themselves, happily or not so happily, trapped under the same roof with their relatives for the entire three days.
Each year on the eve of the holidays, secular newspapers devote space to the opinions of psychologists about the stress some people may find themselves under when they must spend the holidays with their families, stress that could be compounded by the three-day stretch.
The ultra-Orthodox press has a somewhat different take on the three day hiatus from the daily grind. For example, the weekly Mishpacha included a selection of recipes that can be prepared ahead of time and frozen, ready to be thawed and used for any one of the six main meals to be served. Over the past few weeks the ultra-Orthodox newspapers have been peppered with ads by appliance chains offering special deals on freezers.
Although the Orthodox do not travel or carry out most kinds of work on the holiday, they can transfer fire from an existing flame to cook a meal or smoke a cigarette.
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For more information about Shofar and other Holy Temple instruments, we have written extensively on the Shofar and have three websites hearingshofar (dot) com shofar221(dot) com shofar-sounders(dot) com
Trapped, stuck, two days in a row, now three, where does this doobee lo-lo get his information? Okay, Halachically Observant Jews don't drive their cars, but who says that Jews who don't observe Halacha "not drive cars" on Shabbat and Holidays. People who are invited to Holiday meals get there as they wish, on foot, or traveling there in their automobiles. When the meal is over, and the talking is finished, the guests return to their homes, either a walking distance away, or, a driving distance away. Mr. Ettinger imagines that every Jewish family is so dysfunctional that it is more of a pleasure to order a meal, solo, at Chez Maxime in Paris eighteen months in advance, arrive there dressed to the nines, and leave two hours later. After you return to Tel Aviv you can watch your friends, who have spent the Rosh HaShanah meal with their relations droll as you describe your feast in Paris, no? Maybe not. Perhaps Mr. Ettinger prefers to spend his time with strangers at cafes in Tel Aviv, but there are many more people who genuinely enjoy the company of their family and relations on the New Year.