my guy, who is not an atheist, will go to synagogue this sunday evening to celebrate rosh hashana. i might go with him. now why would i do that? after all, i AM an atheist. well, for one thing, i don't get why we have to date our days from when the time of a possibly fictional character who, as portrayed, was jewish and therefore marked his days by the jewish calendar, which says sunday night begins the new year. the jewish calendar doesn't have an a.d. (anno domini, year of our lord) -- i don't see any years as the year of anyone's lord -- or b.c. (before christ, an alien concept to a jew as well as to an atheist). so i am okay with marking the new year this sunday. for another thing, i like to go places with my guy. it makes him happy for me to sit next to him -- i always sit front row center, which i think he finds slightly embarrassin, but i am long-legged and short-waisted and if i sit in the back i can't see! anyway he always gives me a nice kiss right there in the front row and tells me he loves me and wishes me happy new year. and for yet another, i rather like how it's done. the music is nice, the sermons are interesting (no hellfire in a jewish sermon, folks!) and 10 days later, when the yom kippur fast is broken (i am diabetic so even if i were inclined to fast i couldn't -- jewish law would forbid me to endanger my health) the food is FABULOUS! you should see the huge mound of lox! i love lox. i mean, i really, really love lox.

i like the high holy days, even if i don't consider any days holy, or hold the concept of holiness (not in the religious sense, anyway). i don't have bad memories or associations with going to shul; my family never went except if someone got bar mitzvah'd, married or buried. i was raised secularly, but reform and conservative jews don't badger their kids (or neighbors) with religion anyway. so my gorge doesn't rise when i go, although i understand why someone who has been inundated with religion (generally christian) might balk. it's like a special event for me. so if i am well enough to go (that's always an issue with me) i will accompany my guy and have a cool weekend doing that.

g

p.s. around this time of year, i love baffling people -- the metro mobility bus driver, for example -- by wishing them happy new year. they get SO confused!