The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-09-27
JEWS TO OBSERVE
 ANNUAL FESTIVAL
Services To Begin Sun day At Temple
 Ernanu-El

At Temple Emanu-El the Holy Day season will be started with special serv. ices on Sunday night, September 2S, at s o'clock. The services will be con- ducted by the rabbi, Dr. Morris New field, and the ritual music, under the direction, of Mrs. Edna Gockel Gussen, will be rendered by a double quartet, consisting of Mrs. May Shackelford, Mrs. Morton Mcguire, John McVay, Leo Karpeles, Brown Bates and Leon Cole. A special feature of the musical pro- gram will be a sonprano solo, Eli Eli" sung by Miss Mary Fabain, the nation ally known artist whom Birmingham is proud to claim as her own.
 The morning services on Monday will begin at 10 :30.s Again fine musical program is to be rendered by the dou- ble quartet, featuring Mrs. May Shack elford in a soprano solo. Leon Cole takes the cantor parts in all services Sermons will be preached by the rabbi at both services.
 The year 5685 from the creation of the world opens this year on September 28. According to tradition, the Jewish religious era begins with the Creation, and still follows the ancient lunar year, each month beginning with the new moon.
 The New Year festival is thus strict ly religious occasion, as the civil cal endar is used by the Jews for all ordi- nary purposes The New Year is the first day of Tishri, the seventh month in the Hebrew calendar, the month of the high holidays. This great religious occasion is the revival season among Jews. On this day all the synagogs are crowded with eager wOrshippers, even the most lax and indifferent coming to service at this time.
 The celebration of the New Year is kept for two days in orthodox congre- gations, and for one in the liberal sym agogs. This custom in the orthodox synagog is to make distinction be- tween the Jews scattered all over the who still observe the ancient custom of keeping only single day.
 In the beginning the feast was kept with two observances, extra sacrifices in the Temple at Jerusalem, and the blowing. of the trumpet. In fact, the name given it in the Bible, in Levi ticus 23 and Numbers 29, is "The Day of the Blowing of Trumpets." A sol emn assembly was held on this day from most ancient times. But this fes- tival is not connected, as most Jewish celebrations are, with some great his toric event.
 This festival of the New Year, how ever, has no such special memory. It is a religious festival appealing to the individual soul. It is known as the Day of Memorial and the Day of Judgment, each name typifying one of it's central ideas. The Jewish New Year is a day for remembering the events of the past year, both national and personal; day for the striking of moral balance; a day for turning over new leaf and making new resolutions. At the same time, it is realized that the sins of the past carry their punishment with them, and so the New Year Is also Day of Judgment, as the new course of life inn plies always taking ones punishment for faults of the past, and making amends to all whom one has wronged.
 In order to impress upon the wor- shippers this double conception of mem- ory and of reward and punishment, the service of the New Year is specially imposing one There are solemn prayers, many of them Biblical, others con- nected with martyrs from the Jewish past. The melodies are haunting and beautiful. The Scriptural lesson for the day is from the life of Abraham, with emphasis on his supreme example of sacrifice and faith, his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac at the com mand of God In liberal synaeogs the English sermon is a prominent feature of every service, and on this day it dwels especially on faith as the foun- dation of the religious and moral life.