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| OHCC LIVING | SEPTEMBER 2023 | 39 Yiddish Club Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: Beginning of the year) is the Jewish New Year and falls on the first and second days of the Jewish month of Tishrei (September/October). Rosh Hasanah starts at sundown on Sept. 15, 2023. On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, it's a common occurrence to see members of various congregations gathered around bodies of open water such as rivers, lakes or the ocean. e religious ritual of "Tashlikh" is performed in which sins are "cast" into the flowing water, to be swept away. is is the beginning of the "Ten Days of Repentance" which include Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the days in between, during which pious Jews should meditate on the subject of the holidays and ask forgiveness from anyone they have offended or wronged. Yom Kippur (e Day of Atonement) begins around sunset of Sept. 24 and continues into the next day until nightfall. High Holy Days bring back many memories of prayer and atonement, but I'm almost embarrassed to say that the most outstanding remembrance of Yom Kippur is about my Aunt Chanah (Anna). I attended High Holy Day services in a small Brooklyn synagogue (actually a converted house) only three homes, or about 80 feet from my Aunt Chanah's home and kitchen. As an observant Jew, I was expected to fast for 24 hours, from sunset of the commencement of Yom Kippur until sunset of the next day. By 3 pm in the aernoon of this Holy Day I had fasted for about 20 hours and my sense of hunger was overwhelming. is was just when Aunt Chanah, only three doors way, was beginning to prepare food for the family for the traditional "Break the Fast" celebrations. e aroma from her cooking from only yards away began to sweep through the entire congregation. Aunt Chanah was preparing customary Holy Day food. e scent of "Kreplach" (Jewish wontons) frying in oil, the whiff of toasted bagels and round Challah being baked, saturated the synagogue. e imagery and fragrance produced a salivating smile on me and all the fasting congregants. Someone said to me, "It's your Aunt Chanah" again". We all laughed. Dozens of Yom Kippur Holy Days had past, when during a trip to New York, I was drawn to New Jersey Avenue in Brooklyn; the street on which my grandfather's shul had existed. e shul had been converted back to a private home and my Aunt Chanah's house was occupied by strangers. I parked in front of the home in which many members of my family had celebrated the "Break the Fast" of Yom Kippur some 70 years earlier. Was it my imagination or did I really catch a scent of kreplach frying in oil, and challah, baking in an oven, as I sat in front of 804 New Jersey Avenue? Be sure to join us on Mon., Oct. 23 at 7 pm, for our next Yiddish Club meeting. Our delicious and entertaining deli luncheon will be held on Sun., Dec. 17! ~ Don Kent, Past Vice President

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