We check in with members of our community to see what celebrating the new year looks like for them.
Esty Bruck
For Esty, getting ready for the festival is a busy time for the family, with lots to be done before the celebrations begin, and it’s extremely important to convey the spiritual nature of Rosh Hashanah to her children: “We try and keep it quite serious. The highlight of the festival for me is hearing the shofar be blown in shul. It’s a very meaningful time of year and I try to make sure that comes across to the kids. In my house there’s a lot of excitement when Yom Tov is coming up. That’s something that I got from my mum and I try to make sure my kids are getting that too. So it’s never a burden that we have lots to do. I get them new clothes and make it exciting. I use the opportunity to talk to my kids about how we’re the link in the chain of all the generations who have been celebrating before, and how their children will do it someday. There’s also a reflective nature to this Yom Tov. Looking back over the past year and ahead to what we want the next year to look like is something that it’s really important to me to share with the kids.”
Like many of us, one of the central parts of the Bruck family celebrations is the spread: “There’s lots of food! My husband is a chef, so he makes lots of really nice food. I decorate the table nicely, with bees and honeycomb and cute stuff. We don’t eat meat or chicken at home, so that’s what it looks like. Lots of veggie dishes, fish, and lovely fresh salads. And we always make honey cakes. To be honest, a lot of the focus is on the prep, rather than the meal when we sit down – it’s hard when you’ve got kids, it’s late, everyone’s crabby, you know! The importance is in the prep and everyone getting ready together. But once it starts, its lovely to be around family and enjoy the time.”
Esty also has extra work to do, as her work at the Friendship Circle, a charity which enriches the lives of children and adults with disabilities in our community, picks up for festivals: “We often have members over for Yom Tov. A couple of years ago we spent the first night of Rosh Hashanah with a lot of the members who didn’t have anywhere else or weren’t with family. And for the last four years, we’ve given Rosh Hashanah packs to every Friendship Circle member. That’s 150 packs which adds another layer of hectic!”
Maidi Majer
Much of Maidi’s new year celebrations with her family will seem familiar to many of us: “I think we do what everyone else does, have apple and honey, and a round challah. No salt on the table, only honey for a sweet new year.”
As part of the yearly traditions, Maidi and family will visit a retirement home to celebrate with the residents: “What is special to me is that we always go to a home, because my husband is a Cohen. Just saying: ‘Good Yom Tov’ to the older people means so much to them. I feel like Rosh Hashanah is a time where I want to do things better than I do usually. To better myself and be nicer to people.”
While Maidi’s relatives are spread across the globe, she can still count on guests each year: “I’m from Germany and my husband is from Italy. My mother-in-law moved back to Switzerland when her husband passed away, so unfortunately she does not come to us, though she does come for Pesach. Each year various family members are around. My children have grown-up and married, so now we share them with the other side. It means a lot when they come, it’s a lovely time that brings families together.”
It’s not only family who come to Maidi’s celebrations, and regular guests can look forward to Maidi’s signature dishes for the festival: “I also have people that we invite, who need it. I volunteer for the Friendship Circle. Whenever they call me I have them for Shabbos. It means so much to them and it’s such a small thing for me to do. I like cooking and I like making special things and the kids know that’s what I make. There’s a lovely apple cake that I make, and a round challah with streusel and honey.”