Local temple celebrates Rosh Hashanah socially distanced

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A local temple is celebrating Rosh Hashanah a little differently this year.

Wilmington’s Temple of Israel celebrated the Jewish New Year starting at sundown on Friday.

The holiday is about new beginnings, and Rabbi Emily Losben-Ostrov says that in the midst of such a stressful, isolating time, there’s nothing her congregation craves more.

“There’s no one I’ve talked to who isn’t excited to start a new leaf. Who isn’t excited to start something fresh and to have an opportunity to move forward,” says Losben-Ostrov.

A small group met at Battleship Park, and socially distanced while singing traditional songs, reading passages, and finally dropping bird seed and bread into the river. This symbolized the throwing off of sins and the entering into a fresh new year.