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FAIRFIELD, Conn. Congregation Beth Els Rabbi Daniel Satlow and members of his Fairfield synagogue began celebrating the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah at sundown Wednesday. On the holiday that marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year, members of the community will be reflecting on this past year and the year to come and asking themselves have I been faithful to something larger than myself, Satlow said.
Like with most holidays, if done right, the holiday combines a communal celebration with important ideas with imperatives ideas that leads to action, he said.
Rosh Hashanah is one of the high holy days of the Jewish faith. Worshippers attend a Wednesday night service to read a special prayer book called the machzor. Wednesday nights crowd at the synagogue will be about 10 times the size of a typical Saturday service, Satlow said. Beth El draws people from Fairfield and surrounding towns such as Westport, Bridgeport, Trumbull and Easton.
Many families go home after the evening service to have a large meal that includes apples dipped with honey which, Satlow said, symbolizes sweetness. Some may take part in tashlich, in which small groups gather to throw bread crumbs into a natural, flowing body of water to symbolize casting out sins.
On Rosh Hashanah, Jewish people from across the globe are encouraged to examine their lives and ask themselves whether they are living in way that will help build a better world, he said. Rosh Hashanah also begins a period of atonement that ends 10 days later on Yom Kippur, the holiday on which many fast until sundown.
Those not within the Jewish faith can also take away the message of Rosh Hashanah, Satlow said.
Congregation Beth El, located on Fairfield Woods Road, follows its Wednesday night service with another service at 9 a.m. Thursday.
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