Holidays

For those of us who are Jewish, this is a very special time of the year when we have a bunch of holidays one right after another.

First we had Rosh Hashana last week. Rosh HaShana is the birthday of the world! So that is fun!

Next comes Yom Kippur. That is the day of atonement and the day when G-d and the Ceiling Cat decide who will be written and sealed in the book of life for another year. Humans talk alot about the kinds of horrible things that can happen to you if you're not in the book of life, so that is kind of scary. But the time between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur is also the time when people try to make up with each other if they have had problems. So that is a good thing. (The PM says she knows she has not been here as much as she would have liked and been a bit lax on her duties, she apologizes to us all.)

Next is Sukkot, which is a harvest festival. People remember how, in biblical times, everyone would go live next to the harvest fields in little booths. They build similar booths now and have their meals there. If it is warm enough, some people sleep in them.

Then comes Simchat Torah, which means "Joys of Torah". This is another fun thing, as it celebrates finishing reading the Torah Scroll and starting over again. Some places will unroll the whole scroll to show how long it is. They also dance with the scroll and some people will have festive drinks.

So, as you can see, it is a very busy time of year for us. We hope all of you do something special, too, even if you are not Jewish.