Rosh Hashanah for the Soul

courtesy of the University of Iowa Hillel House

A study finds that 80% of all Jewish college students keep their religion a secret for safety reasons, as the threat to Jews is, and has always been, perpetual in the world. Yet, there are places for college Jews to band together and lift each other up, such as the Hillel House at the University of Iowa.

There, the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah is welcomed with hundreds of Hawkeyes at services and dinner - with food that continues into Rosh Hashanah lunch. Candles are lit and blessings are said for the new year.

Campus Jews, as is the tradition for all Jews, celebrate Rosh Hashanah by dipping apples into honey and saying a blessing for a new fruit eaten, treasuring joy, sweetness, and connection for the new year. Partaking in this tradition also marks the beginning of the high holidays in Judaism.

On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Jews not only commemorate the creation of the world, but also indulge in self-reflection and self-examination. Nature draws all the nearer in past and present, and Jews connect by wishing each other a sweet New Year.

Israel, as in synagogues world-wide, is marking the New Year in a time of war by blowing the shofar, a ram’s horn instrument as old as time. Israel specifically identifies as a Jewish state; religion, politics, and nationality are interwoven as each is intimately linked, and the shofar is as much of an identifying point for Jews as the bald eagle is for America.

The sound of the shofar touches the deepest recesses of the Jewish soul. The primitive notes stirs emotion and memory, as though the hearer receives the most primal origins of Judaism - not only for the past but for the present as well. Time itself intermingles.

America may identify by drawing close to their heritage in protected, federally-funded National Parks, where people can see for themselves what the land was like when those who first settled in America came when Native Americans lived freely. One can imagine the land 300 years ago because the park system endeavors to preserve it.

Though the history of the United States only goes back approximately 300 years while Israel’s national history seems infinite, America still bears similarities to Israel.

As Israel is symbolized by the power and sovereignty of a lion (reflecting the Israeli state of mind and spirit), America is reflected by the animals native to its land, like a bison/buffalo.

Native American names define the spirit of people and connect that spirit to nature, such as Crazy Horse or Sitting Bull. These names are on par with the Lion of Judah.

In fact, ancient Israelis had to fear the great, wild animals native to their land in ancient days, all the while revering the ferocity of those animals. 

America has recognized the mistake of over-hunting such native animals as the buffalo, and reminiscent of the deep reflection of Rosh Hashanah, America repents of that mistake through having protected lands in which native animals are celebrated. 

The droves of people, both citizens of America and world citizens, are blessed with the sight of what once was, alive and nurtured again. 

Reverence for the nature of America is truly keeping the tranquility of America alive, which is a very attractive thing.

All told, animals and topography define the population’s mindset in both America and in Israel, as they tell a national story through the lens of nature.