The 2020 version of Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish High Holy Days that culminates with Yom Kippur on Monday, could be a sign of what upcoming holidays will look like.
Rosh Hashanah, which normally involves celebratory meals with friends and family and time to reflect at the synagogue, this year instead involved small dinners and lots of connecting via Zoom.
The coronavirus pandemic’s restrictions on socializing and the difficulties of traveling to see relatives means the holiday season is going to be very different this year. It’s a situation many Bay Area families are wondering about, as Chuseok, Dia de los Muertos, Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Christmas and other holidays approach.
When it comes to Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican holiday starting Oct. 31 that honors the dead, for example, the Centers for Disease Control suggests delivering traditional dishes to friends and neighbors in lieu of hosting a party. The federal agency also recommends that people avoid traveling for the holidays this year, advising, for instance, holding small family Thanksgiving dinners indoors or outdoor gatherings with a restricted number of guests.
Local Jewish families got a taste of what those kinds of restrictions mean with Rosh Hashanah. In many cases, though, they engaged in more traditions than usual — even if it meant ordering holiday foods from restaurants — as people hunted for meaning and connection during a challenging year.
Lawyer Debra Rubenstein, who moved to San Francisco from New Jersey four years ago, ate a Rosh Hashanah feast packaged for one from a local pop-up while joining her temple’s service on one phone as her mom and sister watched the same service from New Jersey on Rubenstein’s second phone.
It was nice to be together, even if just electronically, as normally Rubenstein wouldn’t experience the same service as her family.
Looking ahead, Rubenstein says she is disappointed she likely won’t be able to fly home: New Jersey has a 14-day quarantine period for residents of many states, though California was recently taken off the frequently changing list. She hopes there might be opportunities for an outdoor Thanksgiving with friends.
San Rafael’s Andy Naja-Riese, who leads an agricultural nonprofit, also doesn’t live close enough to family to see them. In past years, he’d get together with a group of 10 friends for Rosh Hashanah, but with some of those people being at high risk of getting sick from the coronavirus, the gathering didn’t happen.
He still felt like it was worth putting in the effort for a spectacular meal, though — even if it was just for him and his husband. He incorporated customs from his East Coast family, making this Rosh Hashanah one of his most traditional ever. The star of the feast was his mom’s coffee-infused “magic brisket,” which he had never made for a Jewish holiday before.
“I was sad we couldn’t enjoy it together, but at least I was able to send her photos and talk about the recipe,” he said. “I was able to honor her love and care.”
For those living alone and far from family, restaurants provided a much-needed taste of tradition. Karen Adelman, co-owner of Berkeley’s venerable Jewish deli, Saul’s Restaurant & Delicatessen, said this was the busiest year by far for takeout Rosh Hashanah meals. Demand was so high that the restaurant stopped taking orders several days in advance.
“Even if you have them by yourself or join your family by Zoom, the food is obviously a way of having continuity,” she said. “Certain foods just signify what’s supposed to happen when everything else is a little uncertain.”
Local grocers say they have already begun surveying their customers to help figure out how they should approach the coming holidays. Emily Lubomirsky of Luke’s Local determined the Cole Valley market should offer its annual prepared Thanksgiving feast in a smaller format. So, in addition to its usual meal that serves six to eight people, there will be another option suitable for groups of three to five. The store also plans to offer individually sized a la carte options for the first time, such as a smoked turkey shepherd’s pie and Delicata squash stuffed with quinoa and pomegranate.
Similarly, online grocer Good Eggs is trying to source smaller turkeys after an informal poll of customers showed that 97% planned to celebrate Thanksgiving with a small group. “Turkey feels like a comforting tradition people will want to have, but they might need a 15-pound bird for their group of four,” said Jane Stecyk of Good Eggs.
Stecyk was shocked to see that 60% of customers in the poll said they were excited to cook for Thanksgiving this year. She expects that means people with more time on their hands will put in the effort to make something more ambitious than usual.
That was the case for Novato author Gabi Moskowitz for Rosh Hashanah. In a normal year, she’d bounce between several events over the course of the holiday weekend, but safety restrictions meant she hosted just one meal for family members in her social bubble. To make it still feel like an important evening, she spent three days preparing a true feast: tomato-tinged brisket braised for six hours, roasted baby potatoes, kale salad with fresh figs, round challah and honey cake with sunken figs.
Moskowitz anticipates her annual Hanukkah party with friends and neighbors won’t happen this December, but she plans to apply lessons learned from Rosh Hashanah for the eight-day event, as well as for Thanksgiving and other holidays.
“I found that looking for places to make meaning and looking for adaptations to long-standing rituals was the key to not getting lost in a sea of despair,” she said. “Even on a tiny scale, I can try to find ways to make it as special as possible.”
Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker
The Link LonkSeptember 26, 2020 at 06:00PM
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