David W. Smith/ Daily NewsGeorge Watford of Morgantown blows a shofar as part of a Rosh Hashanah celebration Monday night by the Hope in Messiah Congregation at DUC on Western's campus. In the background is Larry Wilson from Bowling Green.

Dancing, feasting and reflection marked the celebration of Rosh Hashanah by the Hope in Messiah congregation during a service Monday night at Western Kentucky University’s Downing University Center.

The Messianic Jewish congregation celebrated the holiday, commonly known as the Jewish New Year, with a service that included a group of six women dancing to traditional Jewish hymns, the ceremonial blowing of the shofar – or ram’s horn – and a meal of challah bread and apples dipped in honey to symbolize the wish for a happy and sweet new year.

Jonathan Sacks, who leads the congregation, said the holiday marks the beginning of what is known as the 10 days of repentance, a time for worshippers to reflect on their lives between now and the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur and to ask God for forgiveness of their sins.

During the service, Sacks mentioned the symbolic Book of Life, where God lists the names of those people who are righteous and free of sin. People who have been wicked, meanwhile, have their names inscribed in the Book of Death.

In this context, Rosh Hashanah is considered something of a day of reckoning.

“If you have been totally righteous, your name will be in the Book of Life, but if you’ve been totally rotten, you’re out,” Sacks said.

The time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – the Jewish holiday of repentance that worshippers will observe Oct. 8 – is considered a period of reflection and an opportunity for people to repent of their sins and get their names in the Book of Life.

Sacks encouraged the congregation to spend their time reflecting and embracing righteousness through good deeds.

The songs played in the service alternated between festive and solemn moods and from English to Hebrew lyrics, with members dancing and clapping to songs such as “Year of Jubilee” and “Yom Teruah,” a song with lyrics that included, “Sound the shofar from the highest hill, wake up people, no more standing still.”

Blown like a trumpet, the shofar is at the center of the Rosh Hashanah celebration, and its blast symbolizes a call to worshippers to seek repentance, among other things.

Formerly known as Beth Sar Shalom, Hope in Messiah is in the process of moving into a new location at the former Calvary Chapel on Old Louisville Road.

Currently, the congregation meets in Hillvue Heights Baptist Church.

Sacks said the congregation was formed 10 years ago and enables its followers to worship in a Jewish setting, but all are welcome to join.

“We want to make ourselves more available to the community,” Sacks said.

In fact, Sacks pointed out after the service that many members are not from Jewish backgrounds.

Harold Maxwell, a congregation member who blew the shofar at last night’s service, has helped with construction work at the congregation’s future home.

“By the end of the week, all the rooms will be painted and the carpeting down,” Maxwell said.

Work begins today on sealing and striping the parking lot outside the building, Maxwell said.

The congregation expects to relocate within the next month.