Ringing in the New Year 

 

New York Times correspondent Isabel Kershner reporting from Jerusalem said, “A new year’s celebration brought from Russia irks some in Israel because it’s not a Jewish holiday’. That was three years ago and the fête Ms. Kershner was referring to is “Novy God” the Russian name for "New Year.”

In January this year a Jerusalem Post staff report told its readers that according to a new survey published by the Israeli Congress and the Million Lobby that the majority (72%) of Israelis are familiar with Novy God, but 54% still do not perceive it as part of the general culture of the country and 23% do not think of it as an Israeli holiday at all.

A margin note: I confess I have never heard of the “Israeli Congress and the Million Lobby.” Maybe some of its findings reflect Israeli public opinion, but I prefer and trust The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). It’s the official body responsible for collecting, processing and publishing statistical data on the Israeli population, economy and society. This information is used by government agencies to decide polices and for planning. The principles that guide the activities of the Bureau are: Independence (apolitical), reliability and strict confidentiality of individual data. The CBS is a direct continuation of the statistical departments of the British Mandate government, and the Jewish Agency for Israel which operated during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine.

According to CBS estimates, on the 31^st of December, 2020, Israel's population numbered 9,291,000 residents.

6,870,000 Jews (73.9% of the total population), 1,956,000 - Arabs (21.1%) and 456,000 Others (5.0%). This last category refers to Jews from the former Soviet Union who came to Israel under the Law of Return, but are not recognised as Jews according to Halacha. 

Back to the main text (The Jerusalem Post staff report) and its preferred survey.

“Despite the increase in awareness of the holiday, most Russian-speaking Israelis do not feel that they have adequate representation in the judiciary (79%), the media (71%), the government (70%) and the education system (42%).

The survey also found that over a quarter of Israelis think that Russian speaking Israelis do not make a real effort to integrate in Israeli society. Moreover 13% of Russian-speaking Israelis agree with that assumption. Some 68% of Israelis think that the contribution of Russian speakers in Israel is not appreciated enough.

Over a third (36%) of Israelis think that a significant proportion of Russian speakers are not Jewish according to Jewish law (halacha) and about a quarter of Russian speakers agree with them.

Over a third of Israelis also think that there is a high percentage of alcoholics among Russian speakers and that the Russian-speaking public is arrogant.

While about half of Russian speakers responded that they give their children a strict and demanding education, only 36% of the rest of the Israeli public concurred.

That being said let’s consider another article about Novy God –

The Russian end-of-year celebration when families traditionally gather before midnight on the 31^st of December to feast on delicacies from the old country like herring, caviar and jellied calf’s foot, and toast in the New Year with vodka and bubbly.

Novo God is increasingly being accepted by the mainstream Israeli public.

Ten years ago, The San Diego Union Tribune reported that while the country’s rabbis are reluctant to embrace the holiday, Israeli politicians have begun to endorse it. No longer are statues of Santa - called Grandpa Frost in Russian - sold only in small Russian-language bookstores. Today they’re displayed nationwide in some of Israel’s biggest supermarket chains - ones that don’t seek rabbinic certification, like the “Tiv Ta'am megastores. 

For years, many Israelis got a little jittery as New Year’s Eve approached. Their neighbours, some of the nearly one million Soviet citizens who flocked to the Jewish state as the Communist regime collapsed, would decorate fir trees and wear Santa Claus-like hats celebrating New Year’s Soviet-style festival. But after 20 years, Israel has finally come to terms with Novy God.

 

It wasn’t the statistics, but the New Year celebration that aroused a certain déjà vu in me.

In Ein Harod and elsewhere in Israel, many Jews who came here from German speaking countries in Europe celebrated “Sylvester.”

Often referred to as “Yekkes” they were noted for their meticulous attention to detail and punctuality. I use the past tense because our youngest Yekke died about ten years ago. My wife’s parents were active “Yekkes.”  I recall their “quiet” Sylvester celebrations held at home (a small two room apartment). Each family brought something to eat or drink that they had prepared. My late beloved mother-in-law Naomi brought her own Eierlikör or eggnog. I believe it’s similar to Advocaat or advocatenborrel, a traditional Dutch alcoholic beverage made from eggs, sugar, and brandy.

Like Novy God, Sylvester has no religious significance it’s simply another secular New Year festivity. Despite this innocuous celebration, it met with considerable criticism, mainly because it was regarded as a superfluous non-Jewish festival.

At this juncture I want to add something about an op-ed that appeared in the Jerusalem Post in 2014 under the title “The Israeli New Year's celebration on December 31st is named after an anti-Semitic Pope from the Roman period “

“Not exactly what you’d expect in a Jewish state.” …

 Sylvester and Constantine by an unknown mediaeval artist in San Silvestro Chapel, Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome

 “Its all about Pope Sylvester whose saint's day falls on December 31st, now known as New Years Eve. He served as pope from 314-335 CE, and while very little is known about his actual life, it is known that he oversaw both the First Council of Nicea as well as Roman Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity.

Sylvester convinced Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem.

At the Council of Nicaea, Sylvester arranged for the passage of a host of viciously anti-Semitic legislation. All Catholic “Saints” are awarded a day on which Christians celebrate and pay tribute to that Saint’s memory. December 31 is Saint Sylvester Day – hence celebrations on the night of December 31 are dedicated to Sylvester’s memory.”

Although the author of the Jerusalem Post op-ed says” very little is known about his actual life, he nevertheless relies on unauthenticated sources.

I’m told that Sylvester was too ill to attend the Council of Nicaea. No, he did not convince Constantine to ban Jews from Jerusalem. Nicaea was not about anti-Jewish statements- it was when the Church changed its calendar so that Easter could be calculated without the need to contact Jews in order to find out when they were celebrating Passover.

The anti-Jewish decrees were issued by Constantine. Sylvester didn’t influence him at all. The real power was vested in the emperor.

There is a mediaeval source known as the “Forged Canons of Nicaea” where in some versions Sylvester is credited with decreeing that Jews and Christians should not share bread or eat together. It’s similar to the way that Talmudic law does not allow Jews to eat food prepared by gentiles or to drink their wine, eat cheese, bread etc., with them.

While our Yekkes celebrated Sylvester “quietly” careful not to offend the neighbours, attitudes have changed. Sylvester is no longer frowned upon here at Ein Harod.

Plans for a celebration of some kind to ring in the New Year have been put on hold awaiting approval by the health authorities.

 

Let’s hope 2022 will be a better year.

 

Beni,                                                                           30^th of December, 2021.