Yesterday was Rosh Hashanah. We had our feast -- butterflied chicken, noodle kugel, challah, and potatoes -- and took the bread down to teh Arkansas River to cast it into the running water, naming the things we had done during the year that we were sorry we had done. I said I was sorry I had yelled so often at the kid and mr. delagar, which is true, and that I had not given more time to my students, also true. The kid said she was sorry she had teased the dogs and been rude to me and written on her father's scanner that time and bothered me when I was trying to work and a number of other things. She had an awful lot of sins for a seven year old. mr. delagar was only sorry he had not been nicer to me and the kid. Hmf. Next time I'm making out his list. (Joking! A joke!)
Anyway, then we scuffed around on the bank of the river a bit, a nice big flat mudstone bank, and watched the water ripple past and the sun on the water, and talked about what Rosh Hashanah meant and what the Days of Awe meant, and what Repenting meant.
And then we climbed the grassy bank back up to where the Fort used to be and the kid and I did the winter dance (another Rosh Hashanah tradition, one mr. delagar winces at, combining pagan magic with a Jewish high holiday that way, ai, how could I) in which we call for summer to leave and winter to come, it's always very hot on Rosh Hashanah in Fort Smith, so the kid and I always do the winter dance, women's magic, I explained to her, when she was four, and she believes me.
Now begin the Days of Awe. We are repenting all the wrong we've done.
42 minutes ago
2 comments:
Somehow, I think, that will be good for the kid. Not the repenting of the sins, she's a kid, has no sins, but because she was able to voice her guilt over what she thinks are bad things. So, that was good for her and the winter dance, I do one too but it's more into December and I usually do it with my grandson, we also do the fish dance, and the dance for worms. Mine come from my crazy grandmother, who, by the way, was Native American. Hmmmph, Well, good that you and the Mr. took the kid to the river. There is life in the river and renewal and all those things, including the sewer but not raw and giant fish. Okay, I got carried away, but I am slightly drugged and made major mistakes at school today. Dr says, where do I put the comma in this sentence, looking at me, I answer before he, it was a he said sentence and I was fighting sleep and had fallen into a light sleep with eyes open and he says what and now I have to email him and say, it was drugs not me. Damn. Okay not about me, how great you went to the river, love the bank myself, and the slop, and the flat mud packed hard surface of the slope.
The thing I like most about repenting during the days of awe is the idea of apologizing (sincerely) to those you've hurt and the requirement to accept the apology (at least by the 3rd attempt). It's always provided much needed perspective and desire for honesty & real time apologies that I try to maintain all the time, but the symbolism is not lost this time of year.
L'Shana Tovah
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