Members of the Congregation Children of Israel spent Saturday morning, Sept. 12, in song, prayer and reflecting in the words of the Torah and Psalms as they marked Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish New Year.
Rosh Hashanah is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days. It began at sundown Sept. 11 and ushers in 10 days known as the Days of Awe, which are filled with introspection and repentance as well as letting go of things from the past and being present leading into Yom Kippur also known as the Day of Atonement which begins at sundown on Sunday, Sept. 20.
Yom Kippur, the holiest and most solemn of all Jewish holidays, is marked with 25-26 hours of fasting.
The two-and-a-half hour Rosh Hashanah service at the Walton Way temple followed the outline set forth in the “Mishkan Hanefesh, Machzor for the Days of Awe,” a prayer book. Texts highlighted God’s sovereignty and loving-kindness as well as humanity’s stubborn nature.
The prayer book is also filled with writings from other Rabbi highlighting
The texts flowed seamlessly from Hebrew to English with much of the service in song.
Congregants also took part in the proceedings by reading from the sacred scrolls. Maury Locke blew the shofar three times during the service as prescribed in Leviticus.
In the midst of worship, there was a call to action.
“’The rabbis said, ‘God knows everything, yet there is free will.’ We can choose how we respond to those things that happen to us,” said Rabbi Seth Oppenheimer, who works as the Professor and Chair of Mathematics and Associate Dean for Community and Alumni Relations in the College of Science and Mathematics at Augusta University but volunteers at the temple.
“We can respond either feeling helplessness or we can use the agency we have to make things better for us and for others. We can look at what we have and think of what we have now or we can say, I’m grateful for what I have, and I will work to better myself and better others. We can look at the tragedy of the world and say, ‘It’s God’s will’ or we can remember that we are the servants of God, and we can act to help others. And there is nothing in the world that will make you grow in yourself and feel better than helping others,” he said.
After the service, congregants gathered for a meal and later that afternoon, they went to Lake Olmstead for a ceremony called Tashlich in which they symbolically cast away their sins and past mistakes upon the water
People often throw an item such as bread, pebbles, bird seed or leaves into the water as a physical sign or letting go.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named best local writer by readers of Augusta Magazine in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here
As we bring in the Jewish New Year, may we respect one another no matter what faith or heritage, and walk together in peace with the Eternal One’s love leading the way. Hate won’t win; love is the answer.