This is the year that the monster will come

[sovay]

Erev Rosh Hashanah: I misplace the keys to my parents' house and cannot help with the cooking as early in the afternoon as planned, but my brother and his family turn out to have been laid low by some opportunistic bug (the preschool year has started) and don't make it for dinner after all; my father drives their roast chicken and their challah and their honeycake out to them in the evening. We eat ours after I light orange taper candles that technically belong to Halloween because that's what's in the house. The chicken is brined and stuffed with lemon halves and fresh rosemary; the huge round challah with honey drizzled lightly over its egg-washed crust is from Mamaleh's; the honeycakes are homemade and the twice-baked potatoes were introduced by spatch and me. I know it is not precisely the customary use of the Shechecheyanu, but I find it useful to have a prayer thank you, God, that we've made it this far. The year starts anyway, ready or not. I'd rather recognize it as it goes by. L'shanah tovah, all.

Comments

[lauradi7dw]

I suspect that actually *is* the thinking behind the Schechecheyanu, at least for some people. It accompanies the holidays like Pesach for which the song "They tried to kill us. We survived. Let's eat" was composed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34atu3WGUgc

I use it for the first local strawberries of the year, which is more in the sense of "I've been waiting so long and the time is finally here." That probably is the intended sentiment, but it could have many meanings to different people.

You may have gathered from choco frosh that I took seasonal foods to ringing practice last night. We decided that rather than hoping for a sweet year, maybe we'd better keep our expectations low and wish the people live through it. Still, I wish you and yours all the good and sweet things possible.

[ashnistrike]

Thank you for sharing that song. My eyebrows are now somewhere on the other side of the room.

[choco_frosh]

Or, "Thank you, Lord, for ensuring that we made it through the dry season."

Anyway, to a sweet year.

[lauradi7dw]

Closer to the Advent, perhaps, is the pair of prayers for evening and then morning prayer in the BCP (paraphrasing) Evening: please keep us from perils in the dark. Morning: thanks for keeping from all that scary dark stuff.

[sovay]

the song "They tried to kill us. We survived. Let's eat"

I'd never heard that before. I am very impressed.

Still, I wish you and yours all the good and sweet things possible.

Thank you. The same to you and yours!