My first high holiday (Rosh Hashanah) in the Holy land!

 I can't remember the last time I actually celebrated Rosh Hashanah, probably when I was 12 back in Hebrew school, I remember having my apple and honey and blowing the Shofar (instrument made out of a rams horns). After leaving the temple after my Bat Mitzvah at 13, we didn't really uphold any jewish traditions expect for Hanukah and sometimes Passover. Part of coming to Israel was me wanting to reconnect with my jewish heritage to maybe find a better sense of community and belonging in the world. Although I could barely remember the meaning behind Rosh Hashanah I was more than excited to celebrate it in the holy land. Rosh Hashanah is 2 nights long, but lucky for me I was able to enjoy 3 Rosh Hashanah dinners. 

Because of the 3 week Seger (Lockdown) that began on Friday my host teacher decided to have a Rosh Hashanah dinner a day earlier on Thursday, so she invited Sam (my coworker) and I to dinner on Thursday. My teacher is Moroccan so she made a lovely dish of couscous and flavorful veggies and much more typical Israeli dishes, such as roasted peppers, meat burekas, beet and apple salad, roasted eggplant, and homemade challah. Needless to say there was no shortage of food, I felt somewhat ill after all the food I shoveled in my mouth, but it was worth it. Sam and I couldn't stop talking about how amazing the food was and it got better with every bite. We felt so grateful for the hospitality our host teacher showed us, introducing us to her family and making us feel comfortable in her home. She also said this is just the beginning of her feeding us. She even brought us more food the next day to share with our roommates. I cannot believe how lucky we got to have a host teacher who treats us as family. She has already invited us to Yom Kippur dinner!

The first actual day of Rosh Hashanah my roommates and I dressed up. Our roommate Yarden cooked us a lovely meal of Moroccan salmon (she is also Moroccan) and sweet potato casserole, beets, carrots, meat burekas and schnitzel (not for me since i'm pescatarian). They also bought a delicious round challah from a bakery, it really tasted freshly homemade. Challah and honey really hit the spot. My roommates said the prayers since they actually celebrate the holiday every year. Again I stuffed myself to the brim with food but I was grateful to have another home cooked meal and enjoy a holiday I haven't celebrated since my childhood. It makes me feel like i'm apart of a collective community. Looking out the window seeing the streets deserted of people or vehicles, although yes there is a lockdown. But it feels different in holidays time moves slower and everyone just enjoys the company of their family. The next day was the last day of the holiday. Since my host teacher provided us with a large meal this is what we ate the second night. And it was just as delicious the second time. 

Although I celebrated Rosh Hashanah for the first time in Israel during a global pandemic, it still felt special and made me feel even more welcomed to Israel especially by my lovely host teacher. So told me to call her if I ever need anything at all so I really feel as though I have someone looking out for me here. Yom Kippur is coming up very fast and I can't wait to experience another dinner at my host teachers house. Below is a picture and Sam and our host teacher and I. The other photo is the meal my roommate made for Rosh Hashanah.