An invitation to celebrate the Jewish New Year

    PRESQUE ISLE — Come celebrate another New Year and spiritual renewal before the Aroostook winter sets in. The members of the Aroostook Hebrew Community Center on Maple Street invite local citizens to their New Year celebration, which began with Rosh Hashanah services on Wednesday, Sept. 12 and Thursday, Sept. 13. Yom Kippur events commence on Friday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. and continue to Saturday, Sept. 22 with services from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.     The 10-day New Year period, ‘Days of Awe,’ offers a time of self-reflection and spiritual cleansing with neighbors and God, said Lawrence Berz, president of the Aroostook Hebrew Community Center. The tradition “requires personal self-assessment of the most serious and solemn order … turning back in true remorse (repentance) and seeking forgiveness from the parties offended,” added Berz.
    Rosh Hashanah services commemorate the creation of the world. Events include dipping apples in honey to “symbolize the hope and greeting, ‘May it be a good year,’” said Berz. Participants also chant prayers; listen to the trumpeting of the shofar, an instrument made from a ram’s horn; and perform a tashlich. In a tashlich the faithful cast away a year’s worth of violations and transgressions.
    “We throw crumbs or dust or small rocks into a flowing body of water illustrating our desire to really change our lives for the oncoming year,” said Berz.
    Yom Kippur, the ‘Day of Atonement,’ ends the period of repentance with reconciliation between God and his children. Jewish members usually participate in a fast beginning on Friday evening and refrain from any work on Saturday.
    “If any of these events feeds your hunger for learning more about our Jewish life, the Jewish community invites you to attend and greet our people,” said Berz. For more information, call 325-8867 or 488-5451.