Sending Rosh Hashanah Blessings

Written by Nazhath Faheema

I was touched by the kind gesture of my soul sister Elaine Robinson and friends from Sir Manasseh Meyer International School - SMMIS (SMMIS) for sending me a 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘏𝘢𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢 gift.

A honey cake, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩, apple, and honey to celebrate the coming of the new Jewish year.

As I join my Jewish friends in the spirit of this occasion, I take time to understand and reflect on what this occasion means.

It begins with the sound of the shofar.

“….𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘏𝘢𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢.”

For Jewish people, following

𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘏𝘢𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢 are the high holy days of reflection and introspection. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says:*

𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙍𝙤𝙨𝙝 𝙃𝙖𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙔𝙤𝙢 𝙆𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.

This is similar to the 𝘙𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘯 period for Muslims when we are devoted to prayers seeking repentance and reflection. Perhaps we can learn from one another how to strengthen our devotion to our beliefs that are alike in spirituality but different in forms.

I am grateful to my Jewish friends for including me and the opportunity to share this blessed moment, near and far.

‎שנה טובה 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘩 (good year) to Jewish friends! May the new year be filled with good health, peace, love, and joy.

*Source:

Page 2, “Ceremony & Celebration: Introduction to the Holidays” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Nazhath Faheema

Nazhath Faheema, a Singaporean Muslim of Indian descent, actively promotes interfaith dialogue. She holds a full-time position at an NGO where she focuses on organizing interfaith charity events. Additionally, she plays an active role in community development, particularly in developing youth leadership to foster social harmony.

Furthermore, Nazhath serves as an external lecturer at ESSEC Asia Pacific in Singapore. She teaches students from Europe and Asia regions on "Race & Religion in Singapore" and "Islam in Singapore."

Nazhath earned her Master of Science in Asian Studies from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She also holds a certificate in the Comparative Study of Religions in Plural Societies. Her research interests span various areas, including youth interfaith movements in Southeast Asia, Jewish-Muslim relations, interactions between Muslim-majority states and Israel, and interreligious dialogue in diplomacy.

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