Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah

- Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati

Green, crisp, tart granny-smith apples smothered in dripping, sticky honey. These are my memories of Rosh Hashanah as a child. I remember the anticipation with which I awaited the round plate that our counsellor at the Jewish day-care centre would place in front of us, apples sliced ever so delicately, with what seemed to be a vat of honey next to it. A perfect blending of taste and texture. A moment of heaven for a small child. I am sure that prior to the much-anticipated placement of the apples and honey on our tables, the teachers must’ve shared with us _ perhaps for many preceding days _ the meaning, the stories, the significance and the history of this most sacred day. As vividly as I can see the tray of apples, as clearly as I can feel the cool crunch of the apple between my teeth, as much saliva as the mere memory generates more than thirty years later, I have no recollection of any kind of the religious training that most certainly accompanied this. But this tragedy of modern, reformed Jewish education in America may point also to a precious and compelling awareness of the “felt-sense” of religion. For, while I cannot conjure up the faintest recollection of any words spoken by the teachers (or even the rabbis) regarding this holiday,