Chicago family celebrates the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah
Some families in Chicago are celebrating the Jewish New Year, the year 5,886, during trying times for the Jewish community.
One family is creating new memories and hope for a peaceful year ahead.
Lilah and Hannah were on apple duty—pairing them with honey for a sweet New Year. For their mom and dad, Brittany and Dan Gruber, they're passing on important traditions to their girls, starting in the kitchen.
"As they get older, it's nice to know that they'll remember this and hopefully do it with their children, and that feels very special," Dan said.
"Jewish joy is so important to our family, and how we're raising our girls," Brittany said.
The Jewish New Year is a two-day observance that marks the beginning of the High Holy Days—a period of self-reflection and a time for a fresh start.
"It is a strange and scary time for the Jewish community, but it is so important to be together and have these positive, heartwarming memories that we're forming together," Brittany said.
And like in many Jewish households, the day revolves around a big meal, some time in synagogue, and blowing the shofar—a ram's horn that tells people to get ready for the New Year.
"The most beautiful aspect of this is that we are creating the big traditions, we are creating the nuance of how we do it in our family," Dan said.
That means Dan does the brisket, including one year it went disastrously wrong
"We learned a Jewish brisket shouldn't have a Texas rub on it," he said.
But this year, he's got some help from his girls, with a do-over, and the Grubers said that's what Rosh Hashanah is all about—a time to pause and set the table for a fresh start.
"Everybody, whether you're Jewish or not, can take a moment to think about how we affect people around us and how we impact people around us," Dan said.
