Rosh Hashanah

Posted on September 25, 2022 by vanbraman

Rosh Hashanah (ראש השנה) began at sunset.

Apples and Honey, Apple Slices, Rosh HaShanah, Jewish New Year, Food Traditions

What is Rosh Hashanah?

Rosh Hashanah means “Head of the Year” in Hebrew and is the Jewish New Year.

Now we have the confusing part. Rosh Hashanah falls in the month of Tishrei which is the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. How is it the New Year?

The Jewish calendar starts with the month of Nissan which is the time of year when the Jews were freed from Egypt. However, it is believed that Tishrei is when God created the world.

Now does it make sense as to why Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year?

Apples, Druze, Golan Heights, Syrian Border, Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New YearIt is traditional to eat apples with honey on Rosh Hashanah. In the picture above you see boxes of apples that are for sale in the Golan Heights. I am sure that the both the shops and roadside vendors did a large business in both apples and honey this past week.

Druze, Syrian Border, Golan Heights, Apple Sales, Honey, Apple Jelly, Scenic Overlook, Rosh HaShanah, Jewish New YearHere you see a Druze man selling apples and honey at a scenic overlook along the Syrian border. There are many Druze that live in the Golan Heights area and they are known for the apples that they grow. Of course honey production goes along with orchards.

Visit my post, Looking into Syria, to find out more about the Druze.

Honey Comb, Flowing with Milk and Honey, Tiberias, Breakfast

I also wrote a post about honey in Israel. Click on: Flowing with Honey

Apples and honey are eaten on Rosh Hashanah to express the desire for a sweet new year. The apples are cut into slices and then dipped into honey.

Pomegranate Jelly, Pomegranate, Seeds, Jelly, Cooking, CanningOther foods eaten for Rosh Hashanah include round loaves of challa bread, honey cakes, fish and pomegranates.

Happy New Year to all my Jewish friends!

Steven

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Virtual Hike to Chamberlain Bridge, Maine

Posted on September 24, 2022 by vanbraman

The next destination on my Virtual Hike was Chamberlain Bridge, Maine.

The previous destination on my virtual hike was Ashland, Maine.

virtual hike, ashland maine, chamberlain Bridge maine, wilderness, dirt roads, back roadsThe virtual hike from Ashland to Chamberlain Bridge was through the wilderness of Northern Maine. You can see that I was close to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.

It is also interesting that this time my destination is not a town, but rather just a bridge. I needed to find somewhere in the wilderness to have as a destination.

virtual hike, ashland maine, chamberlain Bridge maine, wilderness, dirt roads, back roadsThe roads in this segment were not the best roads. Some of the roads had a hard surface.

virtual hike, ashland maine, chamberlain Bridge maine, wilderness, dirt roads, back roadsHowever, others were just graded dirt roads.

virtual hike, ashland maine, chamberlain Bridge maine, wilderness, dirt roads, back roadsThe one thing that was in common was that the roads were lined on both sides by forests.

In one of the few places where there were images from street view you could see that it had recently rained and there were puddles on the road. I am sure it would be a messy hike in the rain.

virtual hike, ashland maine, chamberlain Bridge maine, wilderness, dirt roads, back roadsHere is Chamberlain Bridge which crosses over a narrow part between two lakes in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.

The bridge is an important crossing in this area of Maine.

I have been setting shorter distances between destinations for better motivation for my daily walking and so far it has been working. I have been walking more each day. However, this segment was a bit longer than the last few. Communities are few and far between in northern Maine.

My current plan is to make my way toward northern New York through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Perhaps I will find some interesting stops along the way.

Steven

Images in this post are from Google Maps and Street View.

Posted in Blog, Canada, Culture, Travel, Virtual Hike | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments