Good Monday morning, and Happy New Year.
OK, perhaps that confuses you, if you’re not a member of the so-called “tribe” or otherwise in the know.
Today (well, as of sundown last night, really) and tomorrow are Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which marks the beginning of the High Holy Days – AKA the Days of Awe.
This period spans from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year – and is sometimes also referred to as the Ten Days of Repentance.
If you really want to get technical about it, we would be talking about the entire 40-day penitential period from Rosh Chodesh Elul (first day of the 12th month of the Jewish year) to Yom Kippur.
That represents the 40 days Moses spent on Mount Sinai before descending with the second (“replacement”) set of the 10 Commandments, to replace the ones he broke when the found out about the Golden Calf.
IYKYN. I have neither time nor space to go into a whole Biblical recitation. Maybe some other day, when my entire life isn’t in upheaval and I’m about to move to a new house.
Rosh Hashanah translates into “the head of the year”. Unlike Yom Kippur, it’s a joyous holiday. (We’ll get to the whole fasting and repenting thing soon enough…let’s hold on to the happy thing as long as we can). It is observed on the first and second days of the Jewish month of Tishrei, which is the first month in the standard calendar.
It’s traditional on Rosh Hashanah to eat apples and honey to signify a “sweet” and bountiful new year and also a round Challah (the braided loaf that is associated with most Jewish holidays, except Passover, when leavened bread is a no-no), also with honey.
Some cultures also eat pomegranates, with its multitude of seeds that represent the desire for a productive and abundant life.
And of course, there are services at the synagogue, where attendees will hear the blowing of the shofar, which is typically crafted from a hollowed-out ram’s horn. Blowing one of these takes some skill – not to mention lung capacity.
In ancient times, the shofar was blown during temple worship and also in battle. Blowing it – and hearing it blown – is a demonstration of obedience to God’s commandments and awakens souls that have become complacent.
FWIW: The Book of Leviticus includes a passage in which God tells Moses that the first day of the seventh month is a day for rest, marked with the blowing of a horn. But it doesn’t specifically mention anything about Rosh Hashanah.
One of my favorite traditions of this holiday is Tashlich, which requires participants to stand on the banks of an outdoor source of water – river, creek, pond, lake, or the ocean (apparently, it’s preferable for the water to be running, and also to contain fish) – and throwing bread crumbs on the water, which symbolizes the casting away of your sins and wrongdoings.
If the water is running, your sins are more easily swept away. And also if there are fish in the water, the crumbs don’t go to waste, which is nice. But they also serve a symbolic purpose, representing the fact that we – like they – can get caught in “nets” of bad situations.
If you are celebrating, I wish you a sweet new year, Shana Tovah. If not, well, happy Monday. And eat an apple, if you have a moment. It’s good for you – lots of natural fiber.
It’s going to be another gray day, with showers developing in the afternoon and temperatures in the 70s.
In the headlines…
With his party struggling, his economic stewardship under fire and his job approval under 40%, a clear majority of Democrats in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say the party should replace Joe Biden as its nominee for president in 2024.
Many Democratic leaders, operatives and officials are cautiously warming to the idea of Biden running for reelection in 2024. They’re just not sure that he should run, or that he will.
If Biden doesn’t run again, a number of Democrats are expected to wade into the presidential waters. But even Vice President Harris isn’t seen as a definitive leading contender in such a situation, Democrats acknowledge privately.
GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina said she believes there is “pressure” for House Republicans to move to impeach Biden if they gain control of the chamber after the midterm elections.
Biden on Friday presented Sir Elton John with the National Humanities Medal, surprising the music icon following a performance on the South Lawn of the White House.
Senate Democrats are expected to move forward on a short-term funding bill that would prevent a government shutdown but faces uncertain prospects because it contains a contentious proposal to speed up the permitting process for energy projects.
Biden has postponed his scheduled trip to Florida tomorrow due to Tropical Storm Ian looming over the Caribbean Sea.
Biden has won Senate confirmation for more than 80 of his nominees to be federal judges, a breakneck speed that outpaces former President Donald Trump at this juncture of his presidency.
Trump described The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman as being “like my psychiatrist” during an post-presidency interview for her forthcoming book.
Trump’s myriad of legal problems have intensified after a whirlwind week of lawsuits and court decisions that went against the embattled former president.
This week’s hearing of the special House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021 siege of the U.S. Capitol could be the last public one in which lawmakers try to get to the bottom of what happened, a panel member said.
Albert Bourla, CEO of drugmaker Pfizer, has tested positive for Covid-19 and is “feeling well,” he said in a tweet Saturday. Bourla said he does not have any symptoms.
Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan have relaxed their pandemic rules, as they look to bolster their economies and play catch-up with much of the world.
Hong Kong’s dismantling of hotel quarantine for arrivals is being met by calls for the city to remove remaining travel restrictions to help bolster its fortunes as an international financial hub.
Three new Covid strains – the BF.7, BA.2.75, and BA.4.6 variants – have now climbed to make up nearly 1 in 5 new infections nationwide, according to the federal estimates.
At least 4.4 million people have received an updated Covid booster since the start of the month, according to data released Thursday by the CDC. That number represents around 1.5% of people currently eligible to receive the shots in the U.S.
The Covid crisis has generated a surge in business for funeral homes, along with challenges that morticians said prompted the industry to become more nimble and responsive.
The White House estimates the number to be closer to 5 million doses of the new booster, The Associated Press reported.
In recent decades, many of the nation’s roughly 5,000 nonprofit hospitals have become virtually indistinguishable from for-profit companies, adopting an unrelenting focus on the bottom line and straying from their traditional charitable missions.
LinkedIn ran experiments on more than 20 million users over five years that, while intended to improve how the platform worked for members, could have affected some people’s livelihoods, according to a new study.
Gov. Kathy Hochul tried to avoid blame Friday for a spiraling “pay-to-play” scandal in which one of her top political donors scored no-bid contracts that overcharged taxpayers for $637 million in COVID-19 test kits.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin was greeted like a rock star when he campaigned in Hasidic Brooklyn. His Jewish outreach is at the center of a concerted and overlooked effort to court enclaves in boroughs outside Manhattan.
Zeldin has trailed Hochul when it comes to polling and fundraising — but he’s got a growing lead on Twitter to lean on ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
“I personally am somebody who would be all in favor of there not even being an income tax in New York,” Zeldin said while speaking about sparking economic growth at the annual conference of the Business Council of New York State.
Zeldin may declare a state of “emergency” on crime in order to nullify the state’s disastrous bail-reform laws, if he’s elected governor.
As of June, 5.98 million voters were enrolled in the Democratic Party statewide, compared with 2.64 million Republicans. Voters not enrolled in a party, often called “blanks” or independent voters, surpassed Republicans in 2020 and now number 2.74 million.
Hochul announced the second phase of her plan to allow third-party companies to offer Commercial Driver License (CDL) road testing, which will expand eligibility to public and private establishments.
The State Democratic Party elected its Executive Leadership team, which includes Jay Jacobs who returns as Chair, and Christine Quinn as Executive Committee Chair. But of the 11 names on the list, not a single member of of the new team is Hispanic or Latino.
Hochul made a trip to Syracuse to attend the 29th annual Westcott Street Cultural Fair.
In recent years, the state Education Department has documented nearly 18,000 complaints of corporal punishment in public and charter schools across New York, although corporal punishment is generally banned.
The speed with which New York should abandon fossil fuel-based power production, namely oil and gas, has for more than a year been an underlying debate as energy and environmental planners work on drawing a regulatory road map toward green energy.
The state DEC is looking to hire a new deputy commissioner of climate change, air resources, and energy to replace Jared Snyder, who is retiring in December after 15 years with the agency.
New Yorkers carry the fourth-highest household debt in the country and their average debt is on the rise, according to a report issued by the state comptroller’s office.
Marc Molinaro, the GOP Dutchess County Executive, leads Democratic lawyer Josh Riley 51.2% to 41.6% in the NY-19 general election, with only about 7% of voters undecided, according to a new poll conducted for the pro-Molinaro Freedom Council USA.
A Long Island correction officer’s union is fuming over a new state law — spearheaded by Brooklyn progressive state Sen. Julia Salazar — asserting it’s fueled a detainee’s bloody attack on a jail guard and an overall spike in violence inside lockups.
A new bill aiming to keep kids safer online has been introduced in the state Senate, and it could force social media companies to implement a host of security features — including bans on advertising to youngsters and on mining their data — if passed.
NYCHA first received reports of “cloudy water” streaming out of taps at Manhattan’s Riis Houses in May — months before a water supply arsenic scare upended the lives of thousands of residents at the sprawling public housing complex, agency officials said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams traveled to Puerto Rico yesterday to tour the damage left by Hurricane Fiona, as the recovery continues on both the U.S. territory and also in the Dominican Republic.
“Puerto Rico is our sixth borough of New York. We’re tied at the hip,” Adams said during in a video shot alongside San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero. “We’re going to… identify exactly what’s needed,” he continued. “We want to pinpoint what the needs are.”
The mayor was accompanied on his trip by Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol, Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Bronx Councilman Rafael Salamanca, among other officials.
Just nine months after being sworn in, Adams’ campaign pledge to be the “bike mayor” who installs 300 miles of protected bike lanes and 150 miles of bus lanes in four years is already falling short.
Two of the city-issued SUVs used by Adams’ NYPD security detail have been nabbed on camera three times in the past five months speeding in school safety zones at least 11 mph above legal limits, racking up $225.30 in fines and late fees yet to be paid.
Adams blasted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s program to bus migrants from the Lone Star State to New York as “inhumane” and “un-American”, saying Abbott’s office has rebuffed attempts to coordinate the migrants’ arrival and treatment.
Low-income immigrants in New York who face deportation or detention would be guaranteed legal help under legislation proposed by two state lawmakers.
Even as workers have begun to return to the office in notably greater numbers after a summer slump, Adams admits that hybrid work arrangements are likely to persist — and that the city’s crucial Midtown districts will have to be rethought.
Out of public safety concerns, the Adams administration is likely to surge more cops into the Bronx neighborhood where it plans to soon start housing hundreds of Latin American migrants in tent camps, according to the local Council member.
An attorney who recently pleaded guilty to abusing his office by sexually harassing two subordinates serves as a paid election consultant for the Brooklyn Democratic Party, and spoke on behalf of party leaders during their botched organizational meeting.
Police officials are investigating as a homicide the death of a 28-year-old man in Kingsboro Psychiatric Center, a state-run facility in Brooklyn.
The NYPD is in an unceasing race against organized reckless driving, which takes several forms —ranging from highway drag races to impromptu gatherings where drivers spin donuts at intersections, parking lots or traffic plazas.
Pedro Hernandez, 23, the poster boy for bail reform in New York, is now wanted for attempted murder.
Hernandez — who still has three other open gun cases against him — is wanted in the Aug. 28 Midtown Manhattan shooting that stemmed from a game of three-card monte outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, sources said.
For the first time, New York City’s Public Schools Athletic League is planning to offer access to all 25 of its sports to every high school student across the city by next spring.
New York City owes early childhood education programs millions of dollars in reimbursements from last school year — a delay putting thousands of families “at grave risk” of losing services, advocates warn.
A watchdog group that monitors anti-Semitism issued a scathing report card that flunked Columbia University, NYU and CUNY’s Brooklyn College for failing to confront Jewish hatred on campus.
A $50 million facility in Oriskany is trying to teach police officers the thing they’ll need most during the next mass shooting: bravery.
If you saw an unknown object streak through the nighttime sky on Saturday, it wasn’t a UFO or a comet. It was a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX, which launched 52 Starlink satellites into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The New York Apple Association estimates that the state will produce 32.3 million bushels of apples for the 2022 crop year, which is on par with the three-year average.
Apple Music is set to be the new sponsor of the NFL’s Super Bowl halftime show, replacing longtime sponsor PepsiCo after Apple signed a multiyear deal with the league.
Rihanna confirmed she’s headlining the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show in Glendale, Ariz., by posting a photo of herself holding a football via her Instagram feed.
It is the first scheduled return to the stage for an artist who last performed publicly at the Grammy Awards in early 2018, and whose most recent solo album, “Anti,” was released in January 2016.
