Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 54, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 14, 2013 Page: 2 of 28
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Jewish Herald-Voice
March 14, 2013
Up Close
By RABBI SCOTT HAUSMAN-WEISS
While most of the readers of
this column might be focusing their
heads, hearts and appetites toward
preparing for Passover, as a rabbi,
I often find myself thinking several
months ahead. And so, today and
over the past few weeks, with Rosh
Hashanah falling earlier in the
secular calendar than it ever has in
more than a century (Sept. 9), believe
it or not, I am thinking about this
New Year holiday that begins with the
Hebrew letter reish. Rosh Hashanah
or as many call it, “Rushushunna,” is
actually very much around the corner.
And so, while it might be a bit early
to start baking honey apple cakes or
pressing your High Holy Day duds, I
do think it isn’t too early to engage in
a little soul searching, the underlying
theme of the Jewish New Year.
Rosh Hashanah translates most
literally as “the head of the year.”
It identifies the beginning of the
Jewish ritual year with the first of the
Hebrew month of Tishri. It is a time
of gathering with family, with friends,
reconnecting with the synagogue
or, perhaps, trying to decide how
to observe the holiday in one’s own
way. No matter what, it is a holiday
that is meant to cause us to pause,
reflect and plan for the New Year
ahead. The trouble, though, with “the
Jewish New Year” as the primary
translation of Rosh Hashanah is that
it truly doesn’t capture the kind of
intention our sages built into this
“sacred assembly.” So, for a moment,
in the light of this column that
seeks to break down the Hebrew
language into bite-sized chunks for
easy consumption, let me walk you
through these two words, rosh and
hashanah and see what we discover.
Rosh means “head” in Hebrew and
it is spelled, reish, aleph, shin. With
the meaning of “head,” rosh finds its
way into the first word of the Torah!
Bereisheet (spelled bet, reish, aleph,
shin, yud, tav) is translated as “In
the beginning.” But, the mystics say
that the beginning of the Torah is
so much more than just a historical
marking point. It doesn’t truly intend
to suggest a time during which G-d
existed and then, at some point, the
beginning, G-d decided to create.
So, the mystics teach that another
salient way of reading this first word
of the Torah is, “With wisdom ... G-d
created. ... ” With wisdom? Where
do we get that from? Well, they
teach that because reisheet is built
on the root meaning for “head,” and
the prefix “b”’ can also mean “with,”
then reisheet isn’t just a beginning,
it’s the wisdom (that comes from
the head) with which G-d created
the world. And, reisheet is the name
for Torah in the Book of Proverbs.
Follow me? So perhaps, rosh, as in
Rosh Hashanah, could be translated
as “wisdom” instead of “beginning”
or “head.”
Now, onto hashanah. Shanah, the
Hebrew word for “year,” is built on
its root meaning, “shanah,” which
actually means “change.” Just as the
days pass and the years fly by, a year
as described by the Hebrew language
is understood within the constant
change the passage of years]
represents. So, in this instance,
while shanah does indeed mean
“year,” it also could connote
a new meaning, and that is
“change.”
Rosh Hashanah is a time
for evaluation, affirmation and
transformation. It is so much
more than what we consider to
be the approach to the changing
of one year to the next. It is
a time for considering the question
inherent in the name of the holiday.
Not simply “Happy New Year,” but,
“Can I make this a day dedicated
to drawing upon my wisdom to
change?” Not simply a question for
Sept. 9. Indeed, for this time of year
as well, it is one that works as we
prepare to leave our own Egypts and
yearn for a more promised land.
Rabbi Scott Hausman-
Weiss is senior rabbi of
Congregation Emanu El. □
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Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 54, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 14, 2013, newspaper, March 14, 2013; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth543954/m1/2/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .