Rosh Hashanah in Byron Shire

A Sweet New Beginning

The story of how a small holiday package became a growing community tradition.

Our First Rosh Hashanah

Our very first Rosh Hashanah in Byron Shire was unlike anything we had imagined.

We had only recently arrived when a COVID lockdown was announced across our region. The doors of our home could not be opened to guests, and gathering together for the festival was simply not possible.

But if people could not come to Rosh Hashanah, we decided that Rosh Hashanah would come to them.

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In the weeks before the holiday, we prepared more than one hundred Rosh Hashanah care packages. Each one contained two small round challahs, a honey muffin, candles, apples and honey, and a simple guide explaining how to celebrate the holiday at home.

Then something beautiful happened.

Travelers living in vans, community members, and friends volunteered to help. Armed with maps, addresses, and boxes filled with holiday packages, they spread out across the region, making sure that every Jewish family we knew received a warm reminder that they were not celebrating alone.

For many families, that small package brought not only the taste of the holiday, but also a feeling of connection during an uncertain and isolated time.

Opening Our Doors

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The following year, the restrictions lifted and our doors finally opened.

Families, visitors, travelers, and locals gathered around the holiday table at Chabad Byron Shire. We prepared a traditional Rosh Hashanah Seder plate with apples and honey, pomegranates, and the familiar symbolic foods that welcome the New Year.

As guests arrived, a wonderful conversation began.

People from different countries and backgrounds shared the customs they had grown up with, each carrying a unique piece of Jewish tradition.

That year, we decided that our Rosh Hashanah table would always include a rich variety of traditional simanim, allowing everyone to find something familiar and reconnect with the customs they remembered from home.

The Community Shofar Celebration

Another tradition soon became part of Rosh Hashanah in Byron Shire.

After the traditional shofar blowing in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah morning, families, children, visitors, travelers, and community members gather in a nearby park for a special community shofar celebration.

Together we hear the stirring sound of the shofar, share words of Torah, enjoy apples and honey, cakes, and special treats for the children, and welcome the New Year with joy and unity.

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Today

Today, Rosh Hashanah in Byron Shire brings together a vibrant and diverse Jewish community. We host both Hebrew-speaking and English-speaking celebrations, welcoming people from near and far to pray, celebrate, and begin the year together.

As the sounds of the shofar echo through Byron Shire, we stand together as one community, grateful for the year that has passed and filled with faith for the year ahead.

May the coming year bring health, happiness, growth, and abundant blessings to our community, to Australia, to Israel, and to the entire Jewish people.

Shanah Tovah Umetukah
Wishing you a sweet, healthy, and meaningful New Year.