Day 33 of 100 blogs in 100 days

Picture by Lynne Feldman

Day 33 of visiting 100 blogs in 100 days -

Jewish homes across the country will be feasting tonight as the Jewish community celebrates Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of a new Jewish year. The first day of the new year starts at sunset on Monday and ends at sunset on Tuesday - according to Jews, the day begins when the sun sets.

The beginning of Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of a very important 10-day period which ends with Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement. This period is a time of spiritual soul searching, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year.

Source: http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday2.htm

One of my favorite Jewish blogs is Velveteen Rabbi by Rachel Barenblat.

I think it's appropriate to give honor where honor is due by understanding various cultural and ethnic groups - Rachel provides a warm and inviting entry point to understand the rich tapestry of the Jewish people through her poetry and writings.

In a recent interview, she explains she's not a rabbi; "I'm a writer, a lover of religion, a Jewish lay leader, a liturgist, a poet, a wife and daughter and sister, and a nonprofit administrator, living in a small town in rural western Massachusetts."

"I started Velveteen Rabbi in October of 2003. I'd been working on a nonfiction manuscript about Jewish rituals, a combination memoir and how-to manual which attempted to interweave my personal story with background information on the round of the Jewish year and tips on writing one's own prayers and rituals. After working on the book for three years, I realized that the whole first draft was a "ladder" into the book -- which is to say, in the process of writing and researching it I'd learned enough to actually begin the work! I couldn't quite face the thought of beginning a rewrite at that point -- I was tired of the solitariness of that process, and I wanted to be connecting with people and engaging in dialogue about religion in general and Judaism in particular -- so I figured, hey, why not start a blog? I hoped it would keep me thinking and writing regularly about Judaism, with the added bonus of conversation with readers."

Velveteen Rabbi