Yes, it’s a Jewish holyday, but except for a few elements of the liturgy any faith community can celebrate Rosh Hashanah. I bet that surprises you. How can so magnetic a day for our people be open for others? Well, in addition to it being our new year, anyone might be persuaded to agree that the more important focus of celebration should be “creation.” We proclaim RH to be hayom harat ha-olam, “the day the world was birthed/created.” Therefore, even my ancient rabbinic predecessors tell us there is no other holiday we celebrate that has so UNIVERSAL a theme. All the others are PARTICULAR (there’s been so much written about the dichotomy between universalism and particularism in our tradition).
While I’ve always read the Akedah, the (almost) sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham – the preferred and traditional Torah reading – on the holyday, this year I’ll be focusing on the alternative in Gates of Repentance, namely the beginning of Genesis, the story of creation. Since we have said since the pandemic began, “We’re in this together,” what better scriptural reading emphasizes our commonality more than Bereshit, “In the beginning…”and the message it contains that we’re all under the umbrella of creation?
There’s more to indicate the universalism of the holyday.
The “Great” Aleinu is part of the shofar service. So, you correctly ask, “Aleinu! How Jewish can you get!!” and in many respects you’d be right. In addition to its popularity, as it were, its singability and its history (I’ll write about that one day), it’s place in both the good and bad times of our people draws it into our unique liturgy across the centuries. BUT…
But, that’s just the way it evolved. In fact, as we read in the shofar service where the “Great” Aleinu is found (and pardon the gender-insensitivity in this rendition),
Reveal the splendor of Your majesty to all who dwell on earth, that all Your works may know You as their Maker, and all the living acknowledge You as their Creator…’The Lord God of Israel is the King whose dominion extends to all creation.
There’s nothing that prevents anyone from incorporating this into their liturgy…and that was the point: not to convert others, absolutely NOT. Rather to unite humanity under ohl mahlkhut ha-shamayim, under the yoke of the sovereignty of heaven, regardless of anyone’s religious beliefs.
As I’ve mentioned and written about in the past, there’s absolutely nothing in Torah that says a word about Rosh Hashanah; those two words are never even mentioned. Yes, it says “the first day of the first month” when RH falls, but what we experience as RH today is a very late development.
I’m not going to detail any more than I already have; I can leave that perhaps to another article. But I am going to say that this year should unite us all on very many levels; we should be united especially with respect to the virus but certainly not exclusively because of it. That’s one way to understand how this UNIVERSALISM will surely be emphasized this year as we welcome the new year.
(Speaking of piety, a member-of-the-tribe who rarely if ever went to services – having nothing to do with coronavirus - went to the rabbi to tell her of a decision made to not backslide again. The rabbi was impressed, yet said, “Remember, going to shul every day doesn’t make you a good Jew any more than going to a poultry farm makes you a chicken.”)