Rosh Hashana 5779

Shana Tova! This is (I hope) the first of a few blogs that will help usher in the New Year. We had the great pleasure of spending Rosh Hashana in St Louis, MO, where Daniella, Monty, Tali and Ezra live. Monty is in his second year of fellowship in Pediatric Intensive Care. It goes without saying that his first year was rather intense, not only for him because of a huge clinical load, but also for his family as he really spent a lot of time at the hospital. After another intense summer, this year should be a bit easier with more research blocks and about half the clinical time as last year. He has a great research supervisor and is working on understanding better treatments for severe infections in the ICU. Daniella set up a great house, managed renovations, school, homework, appointments and basically keeps things going in an amazing way. So, for this trip, Barbara went out last week to help prepare for the holidays and Bruce and Grandma left Montreal on a 5:30 AM flight (don’t ask what time we went to the airport!)

St Louis is usually very hot and VERY humid! So imagine our surprise when we arrived and the temperature was 70 degrees, very sunny and very pleasant! It was a great day for an outdoor activity; on previous trips it was always too hot, so we did things like the Magic Castle (the St Louis Children’s Museum). This time we went to Grant’s Farm, a nature reserve with a tram ride, animals like elk, buffalo, zebras, and deer roaming around freely, and a cool petting zoo with goats (you can feed them with milk), camel rides (Tali is super brave!) a bird cage where dozens of parakeets roam free and you feed them (while they fly all over you!) and other fun things. Great activity. Grant of Grant’s farm was President Ulysses S. Grant, who worked or owned part of the farm, and the 280+ acres were owned by the Anheiser Busch Family, owners of Budwieser. Where else can you find a petting zoo with free beer? The huge Mansion they built, with 231 rooms is still there! Everyone had a great time.

Rosh Hashana was really beautiful. We went to synagogue at the Young Israel of St Louis, which is considerably larger than the Young Israel of greater Buffalo (Daniella and Monty’s previous home). Monty led services one of the days which was spectacular. The congregation sang along and the atmosphere was terrific. We had some amazing holiday meals (what’s a Jewish Holiday with our lots of great food?) Daniella really outdid herself with great food and by inviting lots of guests to their home. It was great to watch Tali and Ezra in action. When Tali wasn’t playing with friends, she was “babysitting” a set of 1 year old twins during one of the meals. Very impressive for a 6 year old; we are setting up her web site and you can contact her for babysitting services anytime! Meanwhile, Ezra serenaded us with his guitar and danced to lots of songs and videos. Maybe he has his father’s gift for music?

The prayers on Rosh Hashana are predominantly about the Kingship of God and it really makes one reflect on one’s place in life and in the world. However, as Rabbi Shulman of the Young Israel synagogue said, there is a dichotomy in the prayers, because at the same time as we celebrate the Kingship, we also reflect on the personal relation we have with God. This is best put forward in the prayer Avinu Malkenu which literally means our Father, our King. This makes the relationship complex; do we relate with trepidation, the fear of approaching a Monarch, or expect the love and closeness of a parent? Yet there is no real contradiction. As a parent, we want the best for our children. We nurture and encourage them, but at times, we have to set limits and provide sterner guidance. However, the Avinu (Father) part means that we should always display our nurturing part, to always provide our children and friends somewhere to go, a home to return to; we should never forsake anyone. This is a crucial lesson both in relation to our religious life and in relation to our children, grandchildren, relatives and friends. Let us all learn from this duality and treat each other with respect and loving kindness. May the New Year be one of health, happiness and success, and the lessons learned from the Rosh Hashana prayers help guide us to always be there when people need us!

Wishing everyone Shabbat Shalom and G’Mar Chatima Tova (May you be inscribed for a Good Year!) and an easy and meaningful fast if you are observing Yom Kippur!

Barbara and Bruce