Blogfinger

Noah Michael comes to Ocean Grove for his first Rosh Hashanah 5779. Photo by Dad.

Blowing the shofar for Rosh Hashanah.  Photo from the  International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

By Paul Goldfinger, MD    Blogfinger.net

This year, 2025, Rosh Hashanah is September 22  to 24, 2025

Little Noah is now nearly 5 months old, and he came over with Dad  (Mom was home recovering) to help us celebrate the Jewish New Year–Rosh Hashanah. It was Eileen and 4  (formerly 3) Goldfinger men.  It was his first, and we didn’t have a pediatric kippah for him.

Eileen keeps a souvenir each time we go to a bar mitzvah or wedding, because they print some information inside the skull cap.  The smallest one we had was from my cousin Lisa’s wedding.  I didn’t realize that her guests had such small heads.   These little hats are worn constantly by the really orthodox. They have another name: Yarmulke  (pr . Ya’mulka)

Noah is doing well, as he now looks all over and locks eyes with everything from a fan overhead, to a toy, to Grandpops giant head.  He likes to look at himself in a mirror.  I think we will have to play a song for him from My Fair Lady, ‘I’ve Grown Accustomed to My Face.”

He seems to have a good sense of humor, because we can get him to laugh out loud. He was passed around from person to person, and he seemed to enjoy the adventures.

I’m told that his favorite place is naked in the bath where he kicks and waves his arms.  I didn’t enjoy that until I was an adult.  He grabbed Dad by the lip and hung on.  For me, while I was holding him, his dad changed his diaper, a proceeding that Noah enjoyed —but while that was going on I felt a warm, wet stream hit me in the chest.  That was payback for putting him through a circumcision.

Unfortunately, this year, he is still on formula, so he can’t try Eileen’s holiday pot roast.  Soon he can begin some squashed fruits.

Maybe next year he can come with me to Wegmans to try a bagel which he could gum with a little schmeer—ie cream cheese.

Rosh Hashanah is basically a festive feast with some blessings for a wonderful New Year and we all pray that we will stay alive for another year.  Many folks go to services where they blow the ram’s horn (the shofar.)

Some of the foods are acquired tastes like chopped liver and gefilte fish. But the meat and potatoes take center stage.

Here is Eileen’s recipe for holiday pot roast.  So don’t let your pot roast.

Eileen’s pot roast

We want Noah to go to a good college, so we are teaching him Spanish.  Here is music he can practice with.

Mariachi San Diego:  Cielito Lindo (Beautiful Darling)

And here is Noah with  NaNa.  (Grandma Eileen) on our porch this past July 2025.  He had just turned 7. He is a running back for his flag football team.  And at the same time, here is Noah with his little sister “Little Evie-Rose” just turned 2.

Noah and “Little Evie-Rose). 7/25. Ocean Grove. Paul Goldfinger photo.

“Hava Nagila”.   Trans:  “Did You Ever Go To a Jewish Wedding?

Jewish Starlight Orchestra