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Shofarot

Not sure whether I will manage a photo this year, so here are instructions:

To make a Shabbot Stash shofar, get pointed ice cream cones. Make a thick sugar glue using powdered sugar. Decorate the ice cream cones with the glue alone, or use to attach colored sugar or sprinkles. You can even get colored frosting or cookie decorating frosting (or make it ahead of time). The kids will love it!

Alternatively, make hand rolls! You will need cooked sushi rice, nori, and your kids’ favorite sushi filling (my kids prefer avocado and thinly sliced cucumber, as well as onions soaked in pickled plum vinegar). Let them make their own (more fun and less work), just have them roll the sushi into a cone shape! If you don’t know what hand rolls are, here is a link I found (not a promotion, just the first thing I found online).

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Torah Thought

Rosh Hashana, the anniversary of the creation of the world, is also the date on which our fate for the year to come is written (it is not sealed until Yom Kippur).

Referred to as “Yom Teruah” in the Torah, the main, distinct mitzvah of Rosh Hashana is to hear the shofar blown.

In order to really “hear,” one must physically be present (no online listening). And only one shofar at a time can be blown. Yes, hearing group shofar blowing is very moving, but to fulfill the mitzvah we must hear a single shofar being blown, alone (yes, I was listening, Rabbi Mandel)!

Like in many holidays, the torah readings for Rosh Hashana do not follow the order of the rest of the year. Instead, the readings include references to the meaning of the holiday, and how it is practiced (see above). On the first day, we read about the binding of Isaac, followed by the Maftir in which the mitzvah of observing “Yom Teruah” (day of blowing of the shofar) is given. On the second day, we read about the creation of the world.