Grade 7 – A Good and Sweet New Year from and for GESHER
Posted on September 20, 2017
Sunday, September 17th was a spectacular day at Temple Israel Religious School! We sang, and we identified and heard the three distinctive shofar blasts (Tekiah, one long blast; Shevarim, 3 shorter blasts; and Truah: 9 short bursts of sound).
Some say that the Tekiahis the sound of triumph and joy while the Shevarim and Truah are sounds of pain suffering. We wondered about why we hear both sounds of joy and of sorrow at Rosh Hashanah? The Ben Ish explained this curiosity with a story:
A man had a ring specially made for him. Upon this ring, he had engraved the words, “This too shall pass.” If he was troubled and in pain, he would look at his ring and remember that the suffering would eventually end. This thought comforted him. During times of happiness and comfort, he would gaze at the ring as well. He would realize that his wealth and good fortune could change for the worst in an instant. Good times are not forever. He would recognize that there was no reason to become conceited and haughty over circumstances, which were beyond his control and could turn adverse without any warning. This ring reminded the man that all in his life had to be put in perspective and that one should life his life neither complacent nor despondent.
We practiced a special blessing asking God to renew us for a good and sweet new year and ate apples and honey. We met Bar Argaman, our special guest from Israel, and Rabbi Liben and Cantor Ken gave us a refresher tutorial on wrapping tefillin.
I look forward to celebrating with you at Temple Israel on Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat.
Our Temple Israel Religious School community will come together at 10:30 Sunday morning, September 24 at Lake Chochituate for our Tashlich experience.
Best wishes for a good and very sweet new year—Shannah Tovah u-Metukah!
HaMorah Margalit (aka Gretchen Marks Brandt)