Shofar at Kutzky Park marks beginning of Jewish High Holidays

Sep. 22—ROCHESTER — The Chabad of Southern Minnesota is inviting the public to join in Jewish High Holidays observations.

A Community Tashlich and Shofar Service will be held at 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26 at Kutzky Park near the park playground.

The Tashlich is a Rosh Hashanah prayer and ritual of casting away sins that is typically performed near a flowing body of water.

The sounding of the shofar, a ram horn, will follow the prayer.

The program is a shortened 30-minute public event for people who might not be able to attend full Rosh Hashanah services, said Rabbi Shloime Greene.

Hearing the shofar sound is the most important deed, or mitzvah, Jews perform in a given year, Greene said. That's because it's the only holiday mitzvah in which a blessing is said.

While the ritual itself is important, the thought put behind the actions is what counts, Greene said. The short public program is a way for Jews of all persuasion and background to observe the holiday and help remove any barriers people might have in doing so, Greene said.

However, it's the thought behind the actions that counts, he added.

"There's an intention," Greene said. "The idea is, we live for this moment."

Rosh Hashanah is observed this year beginning sundown on Sunday, Sept. 25 through nightfall on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Yom Kippur begins Tuesday, Oct. 4 at sundown until nightfall on Wednesday, Oct. 5.