Staying Awake on Rosh Hashana

This special Rosh Hashana edition is dedicated in honor of Kyle and Shelli of San Francisco who just celebrated their "bar mitzvah" wedding anniversary (13) and their daughter Scarlett who, according to ancient tradition, becomes bat mitzvah (12) this Thursday night. Mazal tov! (To dedicate a future Table Talk, send an email.)

For a different kind of Rosh Hashana tonight, try printing this email and sharing it at the table....

What's Rosh Hashana?

It's the Jewish New Year, right?

Wrong.

That's actually a lie.

First of all, according to the Talmud, it's not just for Jews, it's for all humanity.

Second of all, there are four "new years"....

So what's the Rosh Hashana that is happening tonight all about??

It's the day when our karma is fixed for the coming year. That means that how we think and act on Rosh Hashana (from tonight through Friday) will affect us the next 12 months.

So ask at your table: What kind of year do you want to have?

Happy? So act happy.

Patient? Then act patient.

Mindful? Then be mindful.

Energetic? So don't take a nap.

Thankful? Well, how about trying eating your food mindfully for a day?

Prosperous? Then be generous of spirit and pocket (now you know why there is a universal Jewish custom of increasing charitable donations from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur).

Everything we do should be oriented towards this positive thinking, which is why we eat sweet foods on Rosh Hashana.

So in the spirit of the day, try teaching this song to your table that I learned from my kids:

Dip the apple in the honey make a bracha loud and clear Shana tova ["good"] u-meh-tu-ka ["sweet"] have a happy sweet new year.

(sung to the tune of "Oh My Darlin' Clementine")

Wishing you and yours an amazing year 5772 - healthy, happy, fruitful. etc., but above all, amazing.

L'Shana Tova

(:-)>

PS - this vid will uplift you!