holiday

Shana Tova

Stacey Shubitz
Apples and honey are eaten on Rosh Hashanah to symbolize the hope for a sweet new year.

Rosh Hashanah, which literally means “head of the year,” marks the beginning of a new Jewish year. The year 5773 begins tonight at sundown. Ten days after Rosh Hashanah is Yom Kippur. This day of atonement is a time for Jews to fast and atone for their sins. The days that come in-between the two holidays provide Jews with a time for introspection and for unwriting the wrongs they may have committed, knowingly or unknowingly, over the course of the past year.

During Rosh Hashanah, my family and I observe this holiday by dining together and by attending synagogue. We eat things like a round raisin challah, apples, and honey, all of which are meant to symbolize the holiday. We say “Shana Tova” (good year) which is short for “L’shanah tova tikatevu” [May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for a good year.] to each other and to friends. We pray for health, happiness, and to have a good life in the year to come. And like many other Jews, I also pray for peace in my home, in America, in Israel, and around the world.

I will be away from blogging ’til early October. Until then, if you don’t celebrate the high holidays, but have off from school, then please enjoy these wonderful September days catching up on sleep, writing, and whatever else you enjoy. For those readers who do celebrate the high holidays, may the year 5773 be a good year for you & your family.

Published by Stacey Shubitz

I am a literacy consultant who focuses on writing workshop. I've been working with K-6 teachers and students since 2009. Prior to that, I was a fourth and fifth-grade teacher in New York City and Rhode Island. I'm the author of Craft Moves (Stenhouse Publishers, 2016) and the co-author of Jump Into Writing (Zaner-Bloser, 2021), Welcome to Writing Workshop (Stenhouse Publishers, 2019), and Day By Day (Stenhouse, 2010). I live in Central Pennsylvania with my husband and children. In my free time, I enjoy swimming, doing Pilates, cooking, baking, making ice cream, and reading novels.

8 thoughts on “Shana Tova”

  3. Thank you for the reminders about the holidays and about living with intention. I’d like to share this video tomorrow with my students who don’t celebrate Rosh Hashanah. I’m not particularly religious myself but often find I’m drawn to traditions that ask us to look inward and then use those reflections to reenter the world more thoughtfully. Shana Tova!

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  5. Thank you for sharing your insight on the holidays. I am Christian by faith, but have always been fascinated with the traditions and beliefs of God’s Chosen People. I LOVE the video! The message and the insight to the temple…. and the talent of those young men. Wow! So if I may, Shana Tova. Thank you!

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