Dr. Terry Segal's Rosh Hashanah Message for 2024

The celebration of Rosh Hashanah has changed greatly over the years. When I was young, it seemed to be a holiday geared toward adults. I always got new shoes and a fall dress, even though it was still 85 degrees in Florida. Services seemed very long and I was happy to have apples dipped in honey for a sweet year, at the end.

Once I was married, with children of my own, there was a more conscious effort in the community to make the Holy Days meaningful to various age groups. Temples provided experiences for the children so the parents could worship mindfully. They created makeshift shofars and sounded the blasts with their mouths. They made Rosh Hashanah cards. At home, we made T-shirts using apples as stamps.

Now, there are celebrations of Rosh Hashanah created for the youngest of children, youth groups, young adults, singles, and the elderly. Live streaming services, for those who use technology on the Holy Days, can bring everyone together with their families, elders at home, and little ones running around making noise while services are enjoyed. The sounds of the shofar are heard by all.

I believe that we’re a creative people. From those who found a way during the Holocaust to still observe Rosh Hashanah to the Jewish people of the future, the ages-old call to worship might take place at destinations in nature. Joining together to watch the sunset to begin services, walking to the stream to release what no longer serves, for Tashlich, contemplation under the stars in the night sky, burning the things of the past in a fire, and preparing for the regrets, apologies and changes of Yom Kippur, may suggest a vision of what lies ahead.

However you observe these days, may it be meaningful.

Terry Segal is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a Ph.D. in Energy Medicine, author and Judaic artist.