Learning From Our Roots; Honoring Our Neighbors

by Kyle Wiseley

All of us are aware that Christianity arose out of Jewish religious traditions. Jesus and his disciples were Jews as were Paul and the other authors of the Epistles. Three of the four Gospels were presumably written by Jews and scholarship indicates that the Gospel According to Luke and The Acts of the Apostles were written by a gentile who had converted to Judaism.

We are in the midst of this year’s Jewish High Holy Days. Actually the period began with the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul and Rosh Hashanah, which falls 30 days later, is the beginning of the High Holy Days, which this year began with the celebration of the Jewish Sabbath this past Friday. It has a mutiple purpose: first, it is the celebration of the beginning of a new year and begins with the blowing of the Shofar, or ram’s horn, which signifies God’s call to his people; it is also a time of judgment – of personal introspection and acknowledgement of one’s sins; and finally, it is a time of remembrance of both Hebrew history and of loved ones who have died.

During the following ten days the people are encouraged to continue the examination of their lives and to acknowledge and ask forgiveness for their sins. During this time the doors of Heaven are seen as being open so that one’s name may be written in the Book of Life.

Yom Kippur, or The Day of Atonement, falls on the tenth day after Rosh Hashanah. This is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people. There are various prohibitions of activities and customs including a strict fast and the worship services are the most solemn of the year. Hebrew tradition holds that at the end of the Day of Atonement the Book of Life is closed for another year.

So, what can we learn from our Jewish friends and their tradition which is so very different from the secular celebration of the New Year which occurs on December 31 and January 1? From my childhood I remember attending “Watch Night” service on New Year’s Eve – a service that began about 11:00 p.m. and included elements of repentance, prayer and celebration. At midnight the church bell rang in the New Year. This homely tradition, which was not widespread in our denomination even then, and by now has generally been abandoned, apparently hearkened back to a dim memory of an important religious observance in our roots.

Perhaps this would be a good time to be aware of what our Jewish brothers and sisters are doing during these ten days and emulate their spirit of self-examination and acknowledgement of our need for forgiveness, and to celebrate the renewed and joyful life that is available to each of us as we journey more attentively on our common spiritual path.