Rosh Hashanah, "FEELING" Jewish, and other ramblings on...

First off I want to say L'Shanah Tova to everyone out there in blog land!

This has been a very interesting week for me. I attended my first Erev Rosh Hashanah dinner at my Hebrew teacher's house and I had such a wonderful time. The last couple of years this holiday has not really hit me like it did this year. It is like I finally get it and also that I fit in. You see being Jewish by yourself is a very lonesome affair. There is a sense of community, of family if you will that goes a long with being Jewish and not being around other Jews during any of the holidays of the Jewish calendar just sort of takes the meaning away for me.

I was so honored when I got my invitation to this little soiree. Since I moved here I haven't been standoffish with the community but I had not made an overwhelming effort to be a part of it. I feared that I would not be as accepted as I would like. I could not have been more wrong. It has now been a year of Hebrew classes, attending services, basic Judaism classes, getting to know Rabbi, but also getting to know some of the people that are a part of this community.

The dinner experience was just fantastic! I met some really great new people but I also was with my partner and some of the people I have come to know over the last year or so. Was overall a great moment, you see this is one of moments of really feeling Jewish. I understood the meaning and signifigance of this observance but I also felt as if this was somethng that had been missing my entire life. This was not the first time I have felt Jewish, I have felt it many times and I will list quite a few of them in a "you know you're Jewish when" list. The one besides this that really stands out to me besides this dinner was the first time I felt enveloped by the Shema. For any of you reading this that do not know what the Shema is, it is the watchword of the Jewish faith. It goes like this, "Shema yisrael, adonai eloheynu, adonai echad!" It means "Hear (or listen) Israel, the Lord is your God, your god is one" that is a very rough translation but you get the point. when I say enveloped by it though I mean I get chills and as I read on another blog it is very much like a spiritual high. I feel very at ease after saying the Shema, it comforts me.

Now then I wanted to add a little "You really know you're Jewish when" list. Here it is:

1. When putting on a Kippah no longer seems awkward for you.
2. When jokes about Jews REALLY offend you.
3. When you walk around humming the Shema to yourself all day.
4. Your language becomes peppered with Yiddish or Hebrew words.
5. You can actually follow the flow of the Hebrew as the Rabbi reads it with your finger.
6. You walk into a Temple and you feel at home.
7. You kindle the lights on Chanukah and you feel awed by the beauty of the light cutting through the darkness.
8. You buy your first Kippah
9. You worry for Israel.
10. You learn the Aleph Bet.
11. You learn the cycle that the Holidays occur in over the year.
12. You roommate asks you what you keep humming and it is something from the liturgy.
13. When you smile when they say they asked because the tune itself sounded beautiful.
14. The first time you have a sense of what loss means when you say the Mourner's Kaddish.
15. When you feel overwhelmed with emotion during the liturgy because you feel so whole being there.

I could go on and on I am sure, but that is a good start.

-Tim