Jan 1, 2014
For a good year you should be written and signed, for a long good life
Today was, in the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day.
If you are like me, you did not celebrate it in any particular way. It is not a Jewish holiday, has its roots in Christianity and paganism (even though today it is less religious, at least in the USA), and is not really marking anything particularly significant.
If you consider that Israel is more closely aligned with Europe than the USA in many ways, and therefore calls the holiday by the European name - Sylvester - as most Israelis do, there is even more reason to avoid commemorating the day. Sylvester was a Pope and his death coincided with New Years Eve. I don't know if Saint Sylvester was good for the Jews or bad for the Jews, but either way I don't think it is proper for Jews to commemorate the yahrtzeit of a pope.
I did see a lot of action online of [religious] Jews wishing people a happy New Year.. Of course they did not mean to be supporting any religious aspect of the day, and that is why I did not criticize them, but ignored it. The same went for Christmas, perhaps on an even larger scale - many Jews were remembering their days in the old country with the beautiful lights, the snow, the carols, etc. Personally I find it distasteful.
I would have continued to ignore it, but now I see an "official" psak about it, so my comments can take on a different approach.
Rav Elyakim Levanon, rav of Elon Moreh, has paskened that it is forbidden to celebrate New Years.
Rav Levanon starts off explaining some history of Christianity and how its belief in Jesus and his being murdered by the jews was the basis for many years of persecution of Jews.. Rav Levanon says form a halachic perspective it is prohibited to mark the day as it is showing support for avoda zara, idol worship, which is completely prohibited.
Rav Levanon does not just leave it at that. He says that from a national perspective as well we should not participate in the days commemoration. The day was one that, for hundreds of years, marked a day of fear among the Jews. The non-Jewish celebrants would get drunk and take out revenge against Jews for killing Jesus. Thousands of Jews were killed on this day throughout history.
Our national honor, Rav Levanon says, demands of us to not take part in commemoration of the day. For us it is a day of memories of thousands of Jews whose blood was spilled like water. We are not calling to get even with them, but we should protect our national honor and not celebrate with them their day..
(source: NRG)
I agree with Rav Levanon completely. Their Rosh Hashana is not like our Rosh Hashana.
If you are like me, you did not celebrate it in any particular way. It is not a Jewish holiday, has its roots in Christianity and paganism (even though today it is less religious, at least in the USA), and is not really marking anything particularly significant.
If you consider that Israel is more closely aligned with Europe than the USA in many ways, and therefore calls the holiday by the European name - Sylvester - as most Israelis do, there is even more reason to avoid commemorating the day. Sylvester was a Pope and his death coincided with New Years Eve. I don't know if Saint Sylvester was good for the Jews or bad for the Jews, but either way I don't think it is proper for Jews to commemorate the yahrtzeit of a pope.
 |
| no shofar blowing this "rosh hashana" |
I did see a lot of action online of [religious] Jews wishing people a happy New Year.. Of course they did not mean to be supporting any religious aspect of the day, and that is why I did not criticize them, but ignored it. The same went for Christmas, perhaps on an even larger scale - many Jews were remembering their days in the old country with the beautiful lights, the snow, the carols, etc. Personally I find it distasteful.
I would have continued to ignore it, but now I see an "official" psak about it, so my comments can take on a different approach.
Rav Elyakim Levanon, rav of Elon Moreh, has paskened that it is forbidden to celebrate New Years.
Rav Levanon starts off explaining some history of Christianity and how its belief in Jesus and his being murdered by the jews was the basis for many years of persecution of Jews.. Rav Levanon says form a halachic perspective it is prohibited to mark the day as it is showing support for avoda zara, idol worship, which is completely prohibited.
Rav Levanon does not just leave it at that. He says that from a national perspective as well we should not participate in the days commemoration. The day was one that, for hundreds of years, marked a day of fear among the Jews. The non-Jewish celebrants would get drunk and take out revenge against Jews for killing Jesus. Thousands of Jews were killed on this day throughout history.
Our national honor, Rav Levanon says, demands of us to not take part in commemoration of the day. For us it is a day of memories of thousands of Jews whose blood was spilled like water. We are not calling to get even with them, but we should protect our national honor and not celebrate with them their day..
(source: NRG)
I agree with Rav Levanon completely. Their Rosh Hashana is not like our Rosh Hashana.
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I have no problem with the psak per se, but is the history accurate? People often have claimed that the prohibition of learning on December 24th is because Jews had to hide from the enraged masses of Christians who wanted to shed Jewish blood. Historically, however, December 24th was not known in particular for pogroms; Easter was. Accordingly, the minhag of not learning on Nitel Nacht has a different origin. In any event, what is his source that January first was a day of killing thousands of Jews? I never heard that it was any worse than any other day.
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