One of the beautiful things about Judaism is the ability to connect with holidays and traditions in a way that is meaningful for you and your family. For many families, celebrating the Jewish New Year involves family dinners and going to synagogue For some families, the connection to welcoming the new year can be found in nature or simple traditions. If you're looking for a new way or an additional way to welcome 5785 locally we have 5 ideas for you.
1. Go Apple Picking: If you don't feel called to spend the day in temple, spend the day as a family picking apples. Take some time to appreciate the beauty of nature. Apples, a Rosh Hashana tradition, signifies the head of the new year as well as bring wishes for a sweet new year. Taking your kids apple picking is also an opportunity to set intentions for the new year. Once you have filled your baskets, bring the apples home and use them for dipping in honey, making apple cake, or a sweet apple kugel. You can also use the apples to make apple prints on a tablecloth and napkins to use for dinner or save for Yom Kippur.
Here are some of the best places in Chicagoland to pick apples:
- All Seasons Apple Orchard & Pumpkin Patch - 14510 IL Route 176, Woodstock, IL
- Apple Holler - 5006 S Sylvania Ave, Sturtevant, WI
- County Line Orchard - 200 S County Line Rd, Hobart, IN
- Edwards Apple Orchard West - 8218 Cemetery Road, Winnebago, IL
- Heinz Orchard - 1050 Crest Road, Green Oaks, IL
- Homestead Orchard - 11802 Charles Road, Woodstock, IL
- Honey Hill Orchard - 11783 Waterman Rd, Waterman, IL
- Johansen Farms - 710 W Boughton, Bolingbrook, IL
- Jonamac Orchard - 19412 Shabbona Rd., Malta, IL
2. Honey Tasting: Source local varieties of honey and have a honey tasting. Try different kinds of honey paired with different varieties of apples and let everyone vote for their favorite. You can often find local honey at one of Chicago's many Farm Markets or you can buy direct from the following:
- Heaven's Honey
- Chicago Honey Co-Op
- Winter Park Honey
- Cavallini's In the Park
- The Hive Supply Company
- Bike A Bee Chicago Honey
3. Bake Challah: Rosh Hashana challah is round, it symbolizes the head of the new year. Baking challah is an easy and fun holiday tradition. There are plenty of recipes out there, our favorite is this one from Jamie Geller. You can put apples in your challah and dip them into your local honey for a sweet new year!
4. Find a Personal Way to Honor Tashlich: The act of casting one's sins in water is one of the most meaningful rituals for me of Rosh Hashana. While most communities meet and participate in Tashlich as a community, you can do this as a family. One of the main requirements is to go to a body of water and "throw" your sins in. Take a trip to a local waterfall or to the lake and cast your sins in a beautiful setting. Take the time to talk as a family about what you hope to do better in the new year.
If you have little ones, you can teach and participate in Tashlich with chalk and water.
5. Stream Services: If you still want the community of services but either don't belong to a temple or don't want to attend in person, there are virtual services all over the world. Want to attend services in London, Tel Aviv, or Sydney? What a wonderful world we live in that we can see how Jews all over the world share the same traditions and maybe learn some new ones.
If you do want to attend services in person locally, Temple Sholom Chicago and Chicago Sinai Congregation offers welcoming services for the holidays.
