Rosh Hashanah, the birthday of the universe, is a two-day holiday that is both festive and solemn. We joyously proclaim our allegiance to the King of the Universe, while humbly beseeching our Creator to grant us another year of life, a year of peace, prosperity, and goodness.
Rosh Hashanah is known as the Day of Judgment because on on this day “all inhabitants of the world pass before God like a flock of sheep” and the Heavenly Court decrees “who shall live and who shall die… who shall be impoverished and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise.” (Rosh Hashanah liturgy). It is the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance, also known as the Days of Awe, which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Rosh Hashanah literally means “Head of the Year” and our actions on that day set the tone for the rest of the year. We examine our deeds since last year’s holiday, make an honest accounting of our sins and misbehaviors, and pray earnestly for the strength and wisdom to do better in the new year.
🕯 SHINE A LIGHT
Every major Jewish holiday starts with lighting candles. Jewish women and girls (or men living alone) light candles on each evening of Rosh Hashanah with the appropriate blessings. This year, the first night of Rosh Hashanah is Friday night, so we light the holiday candles first and then the Shabbat candles.
👂 HEAR THE HORN
On Rosh Hashanah it is a commandment for Jews to hear the sound of the shofar (Num. 29:1). The shofar is an instrument made from the horn of a ram or other kosher animal. Its loud resonant sound pierces the depths of our soul and inspires us to return to God. The shofar is a wake-up call to repentance. It evokes the shofar blasts that were heard when God descended on Mount Sinai and gave us the Torah. It also recalls the binding of Isaac, who was saved when God showed Abraham a ram to bring as an offering instead of his beloved son.
🍯 SHOW ME THE HONEY
Before each of the four festive Rosh Hashanah meals (two on each day), we make kiddush over wine or grape juice. We eat round challah, often with raisins, and dip it into honey rather than salt to express our wish for a sweet year. There are a variety of symbolic foods that are eaten, including a fish head so that “we might be a head and not a tail” and pomegranate so that “our merits be many like the seeds of a pomegranate.”
🕍 DAY TO PRAY
Much of the day is spent in synagogue praying with the community. The Machzor (holiday prayerbook) contains all of the Rosh Hashanah prayers and Torah readings. The shofar is sounded 100 times during the Rosh Hashanah service (except on Shabbat.)
🌊 TAKE ME TO THE RIVER
On the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to go to a body of water and perform the Tashlich ceremony, in which we ceremonially cast our sins into the water, evoking the verse “And You shall cast their sins into the depth of the sea.” (Micah 7:19). If you’re not able to do it on Rosh Hashanah, Tashlich can be performed until Hoshana Rabba (7th day of Sukkot.)
