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Deborah Levine: How I’ll combine 9/11 and the Jewish new year

A group forms a conga line during the Rosh Hashanah service at the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York in 2018. The freewheeling service included sermons, worship and a choir featuring music styles such as pop, R&B and hip-hop show tunes. (Mark Abramson/The New York Times/File)
A group forms a conga line during the Rosh Hashanah service at the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York in 2018. The freewheeling service included sermons, worship and a choir featuring music styles such as pop, R&B and hip-hop show tunes. (Mark Abramson/The New York Times/File) A group forms a conga line during the Rosh Hashanah service at the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York in 2018. The freewheeling service included sermons, worship and a choir featuring music styles such as pop, R&B and hip-hop show tunes. (Mark Abramson/The New York Times/File)

By Deborah Levine 3 min read

This year, the anniversary of 9/11 and the Jewish New Year coincide on Sept. 11. Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew, meaning head of the year) marks the New Year 5787. Yes, the date goes back thousands of years to the divine creation of Adam and Eve, and humankind. How do I wrap my mind around the simultaneous commemoration of the 9/11 disaster and celebration of the divine gift of life? Maybe we all need help with that. Rosh Hashanah could provide that help.

For Jews around the world, Rosh Hashanah begins the 10 High Holy Days with apples and honey. This time of gratitude and joy progresses to introspection, mourning and repentance. We fast during the solemn conclusion of these 10 days. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is a time when forgiveness is asked for mistakes, bad choices and faulty judgment during the previous year. We remember and mourn the passing of loved ones and dedicate to doing better in the coming year. This year that list will include those who passed during 9/11.

Alas, I anticipate antisemitic rage online regarding Israel like the swastika embedded into Dolly Parton’s Wikipedia page with the tag “Jew Lover” because she had a Jewish agent for 25 years. But we carry on! We are who we are because of the perseverance, achievements and faith that previous generations passed on to us Americans. Jews came to America as early as 1654, landing in New Amsterdam, now known as New York. Most of our families were later immigrants like my father’s parents, who escaped Hitler’s Germany beginning in the 1930s.

I’m grateful for my ancestors who escaped, seeking a new life for their families. But there were others, not related to me, for whom I’m also grateful. Antisemitic folks should understand that Jewish immigrants enriched our country. Often banned from workplaces and organizations, many turned to the arts. Their musicals are famous worldwide: “West Side Story” and “The Sound of Music,” continuing with the 9/11 musical: “Come From Away.”

We keep on going with humor: “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!” In 1978, 80% of American stand-up comedians were Jewish. Generations of American comedians descended from Jewish immigrant families: Mel Brooks, Billy Crystal, Larry David, Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Adam Sandler, and that’s just a few.