Rosh Hashanah is time for fresh start: Metro area Jews reflect on aging, war in Middle East.

Byline: David Crumm

Sep. 22--It's been a tough year for thousands of Jewish families in metro Detroit welcoming the New Year 5767 tonight with the rich taste of apples dipped in honey, prayers for a fresh start in the days ahead -- and, of course, festive meals with family and friends.

"We've been through some very trying times," Rabbi Joseph Krakoff of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, said as he prepared sermons he'll preach to 5,000 people attending services this weekend at Shaarey Zedek's Southfield and West Bloomfield locations.

"That's why this is such a wonderful time of year," Krakoff said Monday. "At Rosh Hashanah, we have this opportunity to take all of our raw feelings -- feelings from the war we have just been through or feelings about all of the other challenges we've faced this year -- and we can start fresh."

One of the biggest challenges this year came out of a new demographic study that revealed the metro Detroit Jewish population is smaller than many leaders …