Other names for Rosh Hashanah
In the synagogue
The custom of Tashlikh
The preceding month of Elul
In the home
Traditional foods
Further reading and study
About Rosh Hashanah
[1]
Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) is celebrated on the first two days of Tishri, the first month in the Jewish calendar.[1] Rosh Hashanah does not commemorate any historical event in Jewish history but rather is acclaimed as the day of the world's creation. Rosh Hashanah has been since rabbinic times a time of introspection, spiritual self-examination and spiritual renewal.
Other names for Rosh Hashanah
[2]
On this day God judges mankind for the forthcoming year, a judgment that is finally sealed ten days later on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Hence the traditional greeting on Rosh Hashanah is "May you be inscribed [in the Book of Life] for a good year" and on Yom Kippur "May you be sealed [in the Book of Life]." Thus Rosh Hashanah initiates, and Yom Kippur closes, a ten-day period of supplication for a new year of blessing and peace, a period known as Aseret Yemei Teshuva (the Ten Days of Penitence). Both days are also referred to as Yamim Nora'im (Days of Awe)
In the synagogue
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The custom of Tashlikh
A lovely custom observed on the first day of Rosh Hashanah in the afternoon (or on the second day in the afternoon if the first day is the Sabbath), is to gather at a stream or river to symbolically cast away one's sins. The ceremony is known as Tashlikh ("cast off" in Hebrew) involves the throwing of crumbs from one's pockets into the running waters and the reciting of biblical verses.[6]
The preceding month of Elul
The Hebrew month of Elul which precedes Rosh Hashanah has likewise became a sort of preparatory time of repentance and spiritual preparation. The shofar is sounded daily at the morning service (except on the Sabbath) and Psalm 27 is read. Special penitential prayers, Selihot, are recited.[7] It is customary to visit the graves of one's departed family members before Rosh Hashanah, during the month of Elul.
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Festival candles are lit at sunset in the home[8] and the blessing over the wine, the Kiddush, is recited at the table. The Shehe'heyanu prayer is then recited, thanking God for the gift of life and for having brought us to this season. This blessing is also recited when eating a new fruit for the first time in a season.[9] Apples are dipped in honey, expressing the hope that the coming year will be one of goodness and sweetness.[10] It is also customary to recite the Motzi (blessing over bread) over a round hallah, recalling a king's crown - hence God's kingship, or alternately, the ongoing continuity of the life cycle.
[10]
Traditional foods
- Round hallah, suggesting's God's crown (kingship being a central theme; also
suggests the continuing cycle of life.
- apples dipped in honey, expressing the wish for a sweet and fruitful
year
Further reading and study
Black, Naomi.
Celebration: The Book of Jewish Festivals (Jonathan David, 1989).
Donin, Rabbi Hayim Halevy.
To be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life
(Basic Books, 1972).
Greenberg, Rabbi Irving.
The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (Summit Books, 1988).
Greenberg, Blu.
How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household (Jason Aronson, 1989).
Goodman, Philip, ed.
Jewish Holiday anthologies (JPS, 1970, 1992).
Jacobs, Louis.
The Book of Jewish Practice (Behrman House, 1987)
Kitov, Eliyahu.
The Book of Our Heritage (Feldheim, 1978).
Klagsbrun, Francine.
Jewish Days: A Book of Jewish Life and Culture around the Year
(Farrar Straus Giroux, 1996).
Knobel, Peter.
Gates of the Seasons: A Guide to the Jewish Year.
(CCAR, 1983).
Renberg, Dalia Hardof.
The Complete Family Guide to Jewish Holidays (Adama Books, 1985).
Schauss, Hayyim.
The Jewish Festivals: A Guide to their History and Observance.
(Schocken Books, 1996).
Strassfeld, Michael.
The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary
(Harper & Row, 1985).
Waskow, Arthur.
Season of our Joy: A Celebration of Modern Jewish Renewal
(Beacon Press, 1990).