By MANDY ALLEN
Composing a message for Rosh Hashanah on the eve of Tisha B’Av (publications such as this have deadlines weeks in advance) feels deeply auspicious. On the surface, there exists a vast disparity between the two: the sombre ‘Three Weeks’ concluding with a day to commemorate the destruction of the First and Second Temples as well as other calamities for the Jewish nation; and Rosh Hashanah, celebrating the beautiful potential of renewal that the New Year offers. The past, the present and the future are always intertwined.
In a post-October 7th reality, the parallels of both of these states of existence – sadness and joy, darkness and light – take on an especially amplified meaning. Despite the loss, threats and sadness of the ongoing conflict, we will this year – as we have done for millennia – fill our consciousness and our homes with the sweetness of Simanim, foods that are symbolic portends of our hopes for what is to come, and our souls with Emunah: the profound covenant of connection, faith and belief that is the key to our endurance. A week later, we will usher in the elevation of the High Holidays with Yom Kippur, the Day Of Atonement, marked by 26 hours of fasting, reverence and introspection. The completion of another cycle, and the beginning of a new one, fresh with optimism and conviction.
Hope and belief, for Jews, are ‘doing’ words. They are powerful concepts that define the spirit of the Jewish nation. What better explanation for our indestructible continuity despite the most unimaginable adversity. Hatikvah, The Hope, unique in the world as the national anthem of Israel but, also, a universal anthem for the Jewish people: the representation of a dream made real by hope, faith, resilience, ability and determination.
From all of us at the South African Zionist Federation Cape Council, may you be sustained by the knowledge that, no matter what, there is always hope, always Am Y’Israel Chai. Wishing you a Shana Tova U’Metukah, a good and sweet New Year; as well as a meaningful Fast. G’mar Hatima Tova.
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