The Month of Holidays

Tishrei

Rosh Hashanah, is a day for saying, "I am a Jew, I belong with this people, I connect, I identify."

Rosh Hashanah is called "the birthday of the universe." It's the day that the Grand Programmer of All Things, sits back to consider, whether this universe is really worth creating, and then He “decides” to recreate it again.

Rosh Hashanah, actually means, "Head of the Year": Like a head contains all the switches for every part of the body, Rosh Hashanah is the time, when every day of the year is judged for its needs. It's a crucial stage, when every moment must be filled with good thoughts, words and deeds.

Without our prayers, G-d directs the universe as a distant King, with strict, impersonal judgment. But we can transform this into a closer two-way relationship, a warm parent-child relationship. In fact, the sounds of the Shofar are meant to emulate, the pleading cries of a child.
That's why we pray, "Our Father, Our King!"
__________
On Rosh Hashanah, it is customary not to eat foods which are sour or tart. Instead, the focus is on sweet foods, symbolizing our desire to have a sweet year, with blessings and abundance.
__________
Tashlich: from the Hebrew word meaning "to cast, we recite a prayer, that G‑d, out of His great compassion, will throw our past failures, into the sea.

Though we do Tashlich beside an earthly river or sea, this watery entity actually represents its Heavenly counterpart. Jewish mysticism teaches, that water corresponds to the attribute of kindness. On Rosh Hashanah, we beseech G‑d, to treat us with kindness, during the new year.

Water with fish, is optimal, since fish are not subject to the "evil eye," and are also known to have many offspring. Fish do not have eyelids, so their eyes are always open.

This is likened to G‑d's constant supervision over us; and we pray, that He mercifully care for us. Also, just as fish may be caught in a fisherman's net, so, too, we are caught in the net of judgment. This awareness, helps awaken us to repent.

The prayer of Tashlich, correspond to G‑d's thirteen attributes of mercy (which are very powerful), which we seek to arouse on Rosh Hashanah, as we are being judged.

The goal of Tashlich, is to cast both our sins and the Heavenly prosecutor (a.k.a. the Satan), into the Heavenly sea. And when we shake our clothes after the Tashlich prayer, achieves the spiritual goal, of shaking off our sins from our soul.
_________________
Teshuvah is too often mistranslated as "repentance." Repentance implies that you were bad and now have to become good. Teshuvah means simply to return.

Meaning, that you were always essentially good, just that certain behaviors may have been somewhat off base—and now all you have to do is rediscover your true place, and your true self, and return to there.

This is the most spiritual season of the year, a time when our souls are closer to heaven than to earth, whether we notice it or not. On any day of the year, the soul can reach high. On these days, it can touch its essence. Therefore we spend these days in meditation, prayer, and study of Torah.

Fixing a soul, is like fixing a relationship: You need a bond so powerful, that all flaws are overlooked, and no one has any desire other than the good of the other.
That's why Yom Kippur is called The Day of At-One-ment: The day that we are at one, with our Source Above.

If someone feels you've wronged him or her, try to make up before the fast. At the same time, forgive the misdemeanors of others against you. According to how we forgive others, that's how G‑d forgives us.
____________
The most vital prayer—repeated eight times over the 25 hours—is the Vidui. That is when we accept responsibility for every possible human mistake that we may have made, removing their residue from within us. It's not easy to remember all of them, so the prayer book provides a list, in alphabetical order.

With each Vidui, the soul is freed, and climbs higher and higher’ until the ultimate high with Neila, which is recited as Yom Kippur is about to come to an end, as the Gates of Heaven begin to close.
_________
Some think Yom Kippur is a sad day. But how could the highest day of the year possibly be sad?

It's just that dealing with physical needs on this day, would be the biggest downer, it would unplug that connection, and hurl us back into the mundane world.

That's also why we dress in white on this day, because we are as high as the angels, who need neither food nor drink. And even higher.
According to the Baal Shem Tov, we are now in the purest day of the year, since all the souls are clean like new.
_________
The Sukkah is an all-encompassing, embryonic, virtual world, where whatever we do is a mitzvah. Eat, were doing a mitzvah. Talk, were doing a mitzvah. Just sitting there—and we are powerfully connected from head to toe.

Upon release from this immersive environment, you'll treat the big world the same way: Discovering how everything we do, is another way to connect to the Infinite. Which is the whole idea of Torah.
_________
Each one of us on our own, affects a corner of the world; but together, we reveal the wonders of the entire universe.

The four Minim (sprcies): Here, four very diverse floras, create one integral whole. If one is missing—even a humble willow branch—the circuit is broken. Just like the Jewish People: Regardless of knowledge or observance, each individual is unique and essential. And untied, we turn over the world.

The custom, is to wave the arba minim, three times in all six directions: East, west, north ans south. We bring G-dliness to all the world.
__________
Shemini Atzeret & Simhas Torah- The power of joy.
These are days, dedicated to the joy of being a Jew.

For the Jewish people, Torah is not just a book to study, it is life. For over 3300 years, we have held tight to it, despite all odds, and it has kept us in existence. On Simchat Torah, the Torah itself wants to rejoice—and we provide the legs.
___________
The High Holiday month, is one long, grand high. But it's just a preparation. Our true mission begins now, as we blast off into the everyday, workaday world.

It's going to be a different world now. Because Tishrei has left us a different person. We are connected, so our world is going to be connected. And that's the point of our entire mission: All together, we're going to make a whole new, G-dly world.
________