Jewish concept of a new year is somewhat different from Christian concept. Rosh Hashana is part of a longer period known as the High Holidays. It begins about a week earlier, includes Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkoth.

Since Rosh Hashana symbolizes the beginnings, a traditional belief has it that this day is the sixth day of Creation (the day man was created and all creating completed). Rosh Hashana is also seen as the day of God inscribing you into the Book of Life, which is sealed on Yom Kippur.

A period preceding Rosh HaShana is known as Shlihot (forgiveness). For many this entails getting up earlier than usual, as the shlihot prayers are usually said at midnight or before sunrise. There are areas in Jerusalem where this has become a great tradition, attracting Jerusalemites from all its neighborhoods.

Like all Jewish holidays Rosh Hashana begins at sundown, in this case marking the end of the month of Elul and the beginning of the month of Tishrei. It is generally celebrated for two days, partly because after the destruction of the 2nd Temple (70 CE) it became difficult to determine the exact day of the new moon.

Part of the celebrations is to hear the blowing of the horn, usually a ram’s horn, as was done in the days of the Temple to mark the beginning of holy days, including Shabbat. This blowing is known as the tekiot.

There are of course traditional foods linked to this holiday. Since Rosh Hashana begins with sundown, families join together to celebrate. As part of the blessings of the evening and the holiday, apple slices are dipped in honey, to symbolize the sweetness of the year to come.

For some it is also customary to add meat from the head of an animal or even a fish head, to mark beginning (rosh=head). Other foods eaten by many are dates and pomegranates. Often a special blessing may be said when serving pomegranate: May you have as many blessings in the New Year as there are seeds in the pomegranate.

Rosh HaShana is an official holiday in Israel, and so all places of work are closed, as well as shops, schools. It is considered as a shabbat.

Since all Jewish holidays follow the Jewish calendar there are always variations in the Christian calendar, but generally Rosh Hashana falls in September, to be followed by Yom Kippur and Sukkoth.

So what is this exciting piece of news?
Well, it is about being green, and going green. Apparently, an Israeli-American entrepreneur has brought in an investment of $350 million to develop the world’s first complete grid for 100% electrical cars. This is double exciting, because it means that there is government approval. Actually the approval was granted more than two years ago.

And this is exciting, because it shows once again the advanced thinking in Israel on energy issues, on going green, on doing more for a cleaner environment.

I am not going to give you all the details on this deal. You will get much more information by going to the source of my information The Haaretz Daily newspaper.

If this comes off, and I truly hope it does, it will take Israel a giant step forward to cleaner air. It will also show our population and the world the importance of these issues. And we will all become more aware of Israel’s efforts in developing clean tech.

Is there more to be done? Of course. This is only one step. But Israel does have a reasonably good collection system of plastic bottles. Large containers where we can drop our bottles. I have noticed that it is no longer just bottles, but all kinds of other plastics that end up there.

In many places there are also collection bin for used paper. All supermarkets must have collection and crushing of cardboard boxes, and many private citizens bring their boxes there.

Solar Hot Water Heaters in Israel
Photo credit: www.flickr.com/photos/juliepics

When you travel through Israel you can’t help seeing the solar panels on all houses. These panels are for heating water, and I have been told that some 95% of all hot water in Israel is heated this way. Unfortunately we do not yet have solar electric panels, but I know that is on the way. Here it’s a question of the government dragging it’s feet for passing laws connected to this. Or maybe it’s the Electric Corporation that has too much influence?

All of this are steps in the right direction. But there is of course still a long way to go.

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On November 19-20, 2009 Israel will  hold the first ever “Food for Thought” Conference.
The topic of the conference is to make us think about our food, not just what to make for dinner today, but rather what kind of food are we eating, how it’s grown and distributed.

The conference will have a cook-down on making the tastiest meal with the lowest carbon footprint. There will also be talks on climate, agriculture, water, energy, consumerism and culture. The featured speaker will be Ruti Ozeki, author of “My Year of Meats” (1998), about two women living in Japan and America and connecting over a TV cooking show.

All this will take place in the Tel Aviv Harbor. To participate there is a need to register and pre-pay. For more information (in Hebrew) go to foodforthought.org.il

The conference is organized and sponsored by the Arava Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry for the Protection of the Environment, Eretz Ahavati (The Land of My Love).

B’Teavon (good appetite)