…what does Rosh Hashanah mean to you?
Rosh Hashanah for me is a time to inspire and be inspired. – Rabbi Eli Pink
I think about what I’ve achieved personally during the year and contemplate what I could have done differently or better. I reflect on the work we do at LJHA and assess how this makes a difference to residents’ lives. I love getting together with my family as many of us are dispersed in different parts of the country. – Lee Bloomfield, CEO of Leeds Jewish Housing Association
I always feel the trees show us best what this time of year is about. Their leaves wither and fall as they prepare to start over fresh, but the trees themselves remain and grow slowly, and the new leaves need the roots and trunk to be strong for them to blossom. Rosh Hashanah provides a chance to think and recalibrate. Like the trees, it allows us to start over and requires that we build on the years that passed, making the next one better so that we can bloom too.
This Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of my final year as Shaliach in Leeds, so this resonates deeper than usual. – Or Nehushtan, Israeli Shaliach for Leeds
Whenever I smell cinnamon I think of Rosh Hashanah as it reminds me of baking cinnamon and apple cake (my favourite!). It gives me such a good feeling because to me Rosh Hashanah is a wonderful celebration of the New Year to come; a time for family and friends and, of course, good food. Rosh Hashanah is also a time for new beginnings and hope for a peaceful new year. – Suzanne Shenderey, hypnotherapist
The sounds and smells of New Year evoke those memories of New Years gone by. – Diane Saunders, Milim Jewish Literary Festival organiser
The New Year is about renewal and a time to reflect with family and friends. Makor’s Leeds Jewish Archive is a chance for people to look back and collect Jewish stories that mean so much to our community. Rosh Hashanah is a perfect time to start doing this. – Helen Frais, cultural director of Makor
At The Moortown Deli we are gearing up for our first Rosh Hashanah since the shop has been rebranded. Expect an abundance of honey pots, honey cakes and sweet wines as well as all the traditional Yom Tov foods. The team at The Moortown Deli are really looking forward to helping our customers prepare for a sweet simcha, or if you prefer, a savoury one!
For us, Rosh Hashanah is a great time to connect with the community and reflect on the coming year. We’re hoping for a successful new year serving the Jewish people of North Leeds. – Leon Davidson, director of The Moortown Deli
For me Rosh Hashanah is a festival of new beginnings, renewed hope and optimism. It’s a chance to improve on our last year’s experiences relating to both personal relationships and the workplace. Here at Makor, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of a new challenge, a new cultural programme and a fresh energy. – Ellie Ruhan, festival and PR director of Makor
As Jewish heads of faith at GSAL, we try to create a fun, Jewish environment especially around festival times. To us, Rosh Hashanah is a time of joy, togetherness and also for reflection. We are so lucky that the school not only enables us, but encourages us to be proud of our Judaism. Rosh Hashanah is one of the many times we get to celebrate this. – Ben Myerson, Toby Winston, Rachel Marks, and Arielle Kaufman, the Jewish Head of Faith Student Team at The Grammar School at Leeds
Shul, reflection, hopes for the New Year, family and not forgetting food. – Alexa Harris, UJIA North East Regional Manager
To me Rosh Hashanah is a time to look back at the year and then make positive resolutions to improve, not only your own life, but that of the people around you. Also, it’s a time when you think of family and of those who are alone. By thinking in this way, it can help you to take positive action that benefits more than just ourselves. – Darren Stone, manager of Leon and Company Chartered Accountants
