Maryland Jewish communities celebrate Rosh Hashanah in midst of Israel-Hamas War

BALTIMORE -- The Jewish community will be celebrating the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, with a heavy heart, nearing a year since an attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas War.

Rosh Hashanah, one of the most important holidays for the community, starts at sundown on Wednesday.

The Jewish community, especially in Howard County, is doing what it can to overcome the grief from the dark cloud caused by nearly a year of turmoil.

Rabbi Yanky Baron, from the Chabad of Ellicott City, said the attack still weighs heavily on many in his community and they are feeling uneasy about what's to come.

"What's going to happen this year? We want to bless ourselves with a sweet new year and have a positive outlook, but we don't want another Oct. 7 to happen," Baron said.

The Chabad of Ellicott City will host a remembrance event for the community about the attacks at 6:45 p.m. on Oct. 24. Their website can be found here.

Praying for peace

Positivity is especially critical now, as Oct. 7 is around the corner. Last year on that date, Israel experienced the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

Rabbi Baron got a covering that has all the names of the people who died in the attack, saying, "We're praying together with all those who can't pray."

For the new year, Baron said his message is centered on getting everyone to come together to drown out the hatred.

"We're gonna pray hard like we've never prayed before, that there should be peace," Baron said. "Not only in Israel, there should be peace in Ukraine, there should be peace in the United States. People across the political divide should come together in our own country."

Celebrating Rosh Hashanah

Rabbi Baron showed WJZ the preparations for Rosh Hashanah at the Chabad of Ellicott City.  The spread includes loaves of challah bread, the new fruit and honey to dip it all in.

Rosh Hashanah is about renewal, according to Baron, bringing family and community together for a happy, healthy and sweet new year.

"We do a lot of things to bring in that vibe, that aura," Baron said. "They say when you surround yourself with positivity, it actually has an effect. It has a positive effect on the outcome for the year."

"We have the resiliency"

Alex Gamerman, who was living in Jerusalem when the attacks on Israel initially happened, said the war has shown the resilience of the Jewish community.

"Jewish people have been through so many tragedies over time," Gamerman said. "Every single time one of these things happens, we have the resiliency to come back, and come back stronger each and every time."