Sierra Canyon Families Celebrate the High Holidays

Rosh Hashana is celebrated in Jewish families for one or two nights, depending on their traditions. It begins at sundown on Monday, September 6, and ends at nightfall on Wednesday, September 8. Yom Kippur begins on the evening of Wednesday, September 15, and ends on the evening of Thursday, September 16. Greetings include L’Shana Tovah or Happy New Year! On Yom Kippur, you may say, “G’mar Chatima Tova” May you be sealed in the Book of Life. 

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Our Sierra Canyon families celebrate the High Holidays in many ways.

Shayne Heller LaChapelle, SCSPA president, attends synagogue with her family, bakes challah bread for giveaway baskets, dips apples in local honey to mark a sweet new year, and listens to her daughter play traditional holiday music on the violin. Her family also lights a yahrzeit candle to mark the anniversary of the death of a beloved family member. This year their candle will honor Shayne's father.

Judith Kogan shares, "This year, we are looking forward to trying out a new honey cake recipe and attending services on Zoom. We will also spend time as a family thinking about our goals for the new year, asking for forgiveness from those whom we may have hurt this year, and mourning our grandmother/great-grandmother whom we lost this year."

Talia Levite Feldman tells us she celebrates by making a delicious Rosh Hashana dinner and sharing with those who don’t have family in town. Her family makes traditional new year foods and orders a plate of sushi from Katsu-Ya as well.

Inbal Asulin, a 3^rd Grade assistant teacher from Israel, told us her family always buys new clothes for the new year. 

Danielle Kitzes says, “Our daughters love taking part in themed crafts, like making and blowing their own shofar; indulging in local wildflower honey from The Valley Hive, and singing songs with the family. We also take the time to read books about this holiday's meaning, why we make amends and the importance of starting the New Year with a clean slate."

A Note from the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
In the spirit of inclusion and multiculturalism, I will recommend books that describe the history of the Jewish people of Latin America and India. Mexican-born essayist and linguist Ilan Stavans book is called The Seventh Heaven: travels through Jewish Latin America. Edna Fernandes wrote a fascinating story called The Last Jews of Kerala about an Indian community that eventually built eight synagogues.