Blog #8 — High Holidays
Last week and this week were two of the most important holidays on the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year. It’s a time to get together with family, reflect on the previous year, and pray for a sweet year ahead. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, where we ask for forgiveness for our sins committed during the past year, and resolve to improve in the year to come. It is always difficult being away from home on these important holidays, and I was nervous about not being able to celebrate in Argentina. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
At my first meeting with my client, he asked if anyone on our team had dietary restrictions. When I told him that I don’t eat pork, he immediately asked if I was Jewish. When I said yes, he wished me a happy new year. I was shocked. Although I knew there was a Jewish community in Argentina, I had thought that it was centralized in the larger cities of Buenos Aires and Rosario. As it turns out, there is a Jewish community in Santa Fe, and they are unbelievably welcoming.
That evening, my client and his wife picked me up at the hotel and brought me to the local synagogue. They are not Jewish, but are good friends with many members of the community. It was incredible — the service was almost identical to what I am used to at home. Even the tunes for the prayers were more or less the same. The only difference was that the parts of the service I am used to hearing in English (including the Rabbi’s sermon) were in Spanish instead. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and found it to be an incredibly meaningful experience.
After the service ended, my client was very excited to introduce me to the members of the community. He clearly had great relationships with nearly everyone there (including the Rabbi!) and was proud to show off the rich culture of his city to a visitor. As if that weren’t enough, he had also secured a dinner invitation for us at the home of one of the community leaders. (The dinner lasted from 10pm-1am, which is typical for Argentina!) I had a similar experience with the food as I did with the service — the gefilte fish, chicken, potato knishes, and mandelbread were the same foods that I typically eat at home for the holidays. Above and beyond the delicious food, I also truly enjoyed our conversation. We discussed the Jewish community in Santa Fe (about 1,000 families), the current political and economic situation in Argentina (incredibly complicated), and our favorite travel destinations around the world (it was very fun for me to hear about their past visits to New York). I learned an enormous amount, practiced my Spanish, and felt incredibly grateful for the hospitality of strangers who welcomed me into their home to celebrate the holiday.
The following week, I had an equally special experience for Yom Kippur. I returned to the synagogue, where I once again participated in familiar services including singing a Yiddish song I learned as a kid. The end of the service was beautiful, as this synagogue’s tradition is to give candles to all of the children in the congregation, then invite them up to the front of the room to sing a final song. The moment was so full of hope for the future, and I felt so grateful for the opportunity to participate. I once again joined a family for dinner and had a wonderful time, eating familiar foods and discussing the current situation in Argentina from the locals’ perspective.
I am incredibly grateful for the hospitality and the warm welcome I received from the Jewish Community of Santa Fe. In addition to reflecting on what an amazing opportunity this was, I also spent my time over the holidays reflecting on a few additional topics.
First, the rabbi’s sermon at the beginning of Yom Kippur focused on the concept of being pushed out of your comfort zone. In Hebrew, the word for push has the same root as the word for fear. He encouraged us to reflect on the people in our lives who push us to take risks and face our fears, and to thank them, because they are the ones who teach us to appreciate our continual personal growth. The message really resonated with all of the ways I have been pushed out of my comfort zone during my time in Argentina, and reiterated the importance of pushing myself to continue taking risks.
The second topic I reflected on is a key theme of the holiday: continually working towards self improvement year over year. Each new year we make resolutions, ask for forgiveness for our transgressions over the past year, and hope we will do better in the year to come. CSC has been the perfect context for thinking about how I can personally continue to improve this year, particularly from the perspectives of leadership, broadening my understanding of other cultures, and practicing patience in more aspects of my life.
Finally, I was incredibly struck by the similarity between my experience in Santa Fe and what I am familiar with at home. It was a powerful reminder that no matter where we are in the world, there is always something to find in common with the people around us.
I am so appreciative of everyone who made what could have been a very lonely holiday a wonderful one. I am going into the second half of CSC re-charged, and am excited for everything to come in the year ahead.
