Thursday, September 13, 2007

L'shanah tovah


A Rosh Hashanah card from Torah.org
Judaism 101 says the complete Hebrew greeting to a man is "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" and to a woman "L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi", both of which mean "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." That site explains this greeting thusly - One of the ongoing themes of the Days of Awe is the concept that God has "books" that he writes our names in, writing down who will live and who will die, who will have a good life and who will have a bad life, for the next year. These books are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions during the Days of Awe (the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) can alter God's decree. The actions that change the decree are: teshuvah -repentance, tefilah -prayer,and tzedakah- good deeds (usually, charity). The "books" are sealed on Yom Kippur.
And it must be said that we do not really celebrate Jewish holidays, as I am married to a non-practicing Jew - he thinks he's perfect already - to steal a line from the incomparable Kinky Friedman...


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