Erev Rosh Hashanah Seder & Service

On Erev Rosh Hashanah we will gather as a community over Zoom for a Rosh Hashanah seder and service from 6:30-8:00 pm. This will give us an opportunity to share a holiday meal with our M’kor Shalom family and celebrate the beginning of the High Holy Days (and Erev Shabbat) together.

A Rosh Hashanah seder goes far beyond apples dipped in honey. It is a traditional special ceremony at home during which we recite blessings over a variety of foods that symbolize our wishes for the year ahead.

The origins of the ritual date back to the Talmud, where there is a discussion of omens that carry significance, and suggest that at the beginning of each new year people should make a habit of eating the following foods that grow in profusion and so symbolize prosperity: gourds (pumpkin, squash, etc.), beans, leeks, beets, pomegranates, fish, dates and apples/honey.

The blessings ask for divine gifts of bounty, strength, health and peace. The ritual has come to be known as a seder (order), because the blessings are recited in a specific order.

Like the Passover seder where specific foods symbolize suffering and freedom, at the Rosh Hashanah seder the foods we eat also become vessels for meaning. Each food symbolizes a good wish for the coming year, and before each food is consumed there is a special blessing to recite. The mundane aspect of food is garnished with a sense of holiness, poignancy and even humor.

Congregants only. Advance registration required.
Click HERE for details about registering for this service, reserving Mishkhan HaNefesh prayerbooks or using the online flip book, and joining us for limited in-person High Holy-Day programming.

Catered Dinner available for advance purchase from Rastelli’s (click here).
For more information, contact Merle Steinberg.

– Some of the special foods will be included in the High Holy Day Gift Bag from the congregation.
– The blessings and service will be screen-shared by the clergy during the evening.
– We will join together for the seder, including Shabbat blessings, and then continue to socialize as we enjoy our holiday meal.

Comments are closed.