Jewish New Year; Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah, literally translated as “Head of the Year,” is a Jewish holiday that signifies the beginning of the New Year. The holiday celebrates the changing of the numerical year, as the Jewish tradition celebrates many types of “New Year.” It occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. Rosh Hashanah is a time for serious reflection and introspection, but is also a time of rejoicing. Jews remember the sins of the past year and plan ahead for the faith of the next year.

During the two days of Rosh Hashanah, most of the day is spent in prayer at the synagogue, as the Torah demands a day of complete rest. A special prayer book called the machzor is used for the day due to the extended liturgical changes. The main symbol of the holiday is the ram’s horn, or shofar, which is sounded one hundred times throughout the day. There are four different types of shofar notes. These notes are tekiah, shevarim, teruah and tekiah gedolah.

The history of the tradition of the shofar is unknown, however, it is suggested that the horn’s sound is a mourning call of repentance. In rabbinic observance, the shofar symbolically wakes up the congregation from its moral slumber. The shofar also connects the day to the story of the Binding of Isaac, the Akedah, which includes a ram caught in a thicket. The story serves as one of the Torah readings on this holiday.

Another practice of Rosh Hashanah is Tashlikh, “casting off.” The practice involves walking to a body of flowing water and casting the contents of one’s pocket into the water. A more modern addition to this practice is to put bits of bread in the pocket to throw in the water. This signifies the casting of one’s sins in preparation for a faithful new year. Tashlikh is normally observed on the afternoon of the first day, before afternoon services. A dietetic tradition of the day is to eat apples dipped in honey or salted bread to symbolize a good, prosperous and happy new year.

Rosh Hashanah is unique because it is a dual holiday. The religious day also marks the start of the Days of Awe. The Days of Awe, or The Days of Repentance, are a series of ten days, starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur. In these ten days, God evaluates a person’s actions and deeds and decrees their fate by inscribing their names in one of three books. In the first book, the righteous are inscribed for life in the coming year. In the second book, the wicked are inscribed for death. And in the third book, the names of those who are not easily classified are temporarily inscribed. The last book is the most common and the one that most worshipers are inscribed in. During the coming Days of Awe, God will analyze His people’s behavior and will decide their fates for the following year. The Mishnah refers to Rosh Hashanah as the day upon which all creatures stand in judgment before God. The next Rosh Hashanah will occur on sunset September 28, 2011 and will end at nightfall September 30, 2011. This will mark the Jewish Year 5772.