Rosh Hashana, Ramadan share holiday kickoff.

Let's hope it's a good one... without any tears.

By SEAN GAFFNEY, Associated Press Writer
Wed Sep 12, 12:21 PM ET

"I don't think you'll find any Israel who's optimistic," said Ari Bouderhem, 47, owner of the Emil coffee shop. "It's not in our nature."

Bourderhem said holiday business was better than last year, which was marred by an inconclusive summer war with the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. But he said he saw rough times ahead and "maybe a war."

Jewish families celebrate Rosh Hashana by eating apples and honey and other traditional foods symbolizing sweetness and prosperity. The holiday this year falls on the same day as the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, so as Jews sit down for festive family dinners, Muslim families will also gather for a special meal ahead of their month of sunrise-to-sunset fasting.
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Israelis also expressed concern about Syrian accusations that their nation's warplanes struck deep into Syrian territory last week. The wall-to-wall silence on the reports from the normally voluble Israeli government has fueled worries about possible war as Israelis struggle to figure out what the planes were doing in Syria.
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The Jewish year of 5768 also marks a year of agricultural sabbatical, known in Hebrew as "shmita." The commandment requires Jewish farmers in Israel to let their fields rest every seventh year, just as Jews are required to rest every seventh day.

In the past, the sabbatical prodded the Jewish state into strange arrangements with Palestinian farmers, and forced Jewish farmers and rabbis to devise creative loopholes that allow fieldwork to continue without violating the letter of the law.