Wednesday is the Jewish New Year holiday, Rosh Hashana.
Many San Diegans with family in Israel are spending the holiday in intense prayer for what happened Tuesday in Tel Aviv, when Iran launch a missile attack on Israel.
Rabbi Chalom Boudjnah manages the chabad at San Diego State University and explained a tradition for Rosh Hashana to ABC 10News.
On a table inside Boudjnah’s home are apples with honey, and Boudjnah said it's tradition to eat them together.
"We always dip apple in the honey, or the hala in the honey," Boudjnah said. "Because we constantly are looking for good things and sweet things and blessings."
The Rabbi's father back in Israel is on his heart this Rosh Hashana.
On Tuesday, Boudjnah said he was on the phone with his father the entire time missiles were coming down on Israel.
"We could actually hear on the phone the noise from the explosions going on," Boudjnah said. "This is a home for all Jews in the world, the only land we have and we each felt, attacked personally, especially with having family over there."
Boudjnah’s children also spoke of how scared and anxious they were about their family’s survival Tuesday.
They said they spent the day in prayer, and that prayer carried over into Rosh Hashana, a day that Boudjnah said is meant to be about reflecting on the past year.
"On the one hand we want to let go of the past, but on another hand, we have to remember what we are going through at the moment," Boudjnha said.
Boudjnah’s not the only San Diegan worried about family.
Shachar Vaknin is an Israeli student at SDSU and she is a part of the chabad that Boudjnah oversees.
"I checked my mom's location and I'm seeing that she's in the center of the country where the attack, the missiles attack was aimed for," Vaknin said. "That's where she works and no one's answering."
Vaknin said she was also worried about her sister, who is serving in the IDF (Israeli Defense Federation) currently. Vaknin said she served in the IDF herself for two years.
"It took her almost 40 minutes to answer us to say that she's on the ground hiding, like nothing to protect her," Vaknin said.
Vaknin said her prayers this Rosh Hashana will be for one thing; for all hostages to be returned to their loved one healthy and safely.
