By ABBY BRUNKS
Contributing Writer

When Jewish families from the south side of Atlanta sit down at their dinner on Sunday evening Sept. 20, they will mark the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and usher in a 10-day period of Jewish High Holy Days.

Rosh Hashanah celebrates the creation of the world and the New Year. It begins with a festive meal that includes lighting candles, eating round challahs (egg bread), drinking sweet wine, dipping apples into honey, and reciting a blessing calling for a sweet and healthy New Year. Families will then gather for services at 8 p.m. at Congregation B'nai Israel.

The congregation meets at Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church, 2165 Highway 138, Riverdale.

The High Holy Days culminate with the observance of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This period also is called the "Days of Awe," a time for personal and communal introspection. Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Tuesday, Sept. 29, and is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. A 24-hour prohibition of food and liquids is observed, so that the community may be completely devoted to prayer and repentance. That evening, the congregation goes to B'nai Israel to hear the chanting of Kol Nidre (All Vows), a haunting melody that inspires reflection, repentance and contrition. Yizkor, a memorial or concluding service, utilizes the imagery of the closing of the Gates of Repentance with a motif that is triumphant in spirit. At the end of the services comes a long, single blast of the shofar, the ram's horn, which calls upon Jews to acknowledge God's creativity and sovereignty.

Schedule for services is: Rosh Hashanah evening services, 8 p.m. Sept. 20; morning services, 10 a.m. Sept. 21; Kol Nidre, 8 p.m. Sept. 29; morning services, 10 a.m. Sept. 30; afternoon Yizkor and concluding services, 4 p.m. Sept. 30. For more information about Congregation B'nai Israel, call 770-471-3586.

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