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Rosh Hashanah
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When is Rosh Hashanah?Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. What is Rosh Hashanah?You may notice that the Bible speaks of Rosh Hashanah as occurring on the first day of the seventh month. The first month of the Jewish calendar is Nissan, occurring in March and April. Why, then, does the Jewish "new year" occur in Tishri, the seventh month? Judaism has several different "new years," a concept which may seem strange at first, but think of it this way: the Gregorian "new year" starts in January, but the new "school year" starts in September, and many businesses have "fiscal years" that start at various times of the year. In Judaism, Nissan 1 is the new year for the purpose of counting the reign of kings and months on the calendar, Elul 1 (in August) is the new year for the tithing of animals, Shevat 15 (in February) is the new year for trees (determining when first fruits can be eaten, etc.), and Tishri 1 (Rosh Hashanah) is the new year for years (when we increase the year number. Sabbatical and Jubilee years begin at this time). Why do we celebrate Rosh Hashanah?In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. The name "Rosh Hashanah" is not used in the Torah to discuss this holiday. The Torah refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25. What are the customs of Rosh Hashanah?Shofar The main event of the day is the blowing of the shofar. The blowing of the shofar is a special mitzvah (commandment) which is written in the Torah.
The shofar is not blown if the holiday falls on Shabbat. Praying No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. Much of the day is spent in synagogue, where the regular daily liturgy is somewhat expanded. In fact, there is a special prayerbook called the machzor used for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because of the extensive liturgical changes for these holidays. Foodstuffs On the first night of Rosh Hashanah we eat foods which have various symbolic meanings. This custom is based on a Talmudic teaching: "Abaye taught - 'Now that you have said that an omen is significant, at the beginning of the year each person should accustom himself to eat gourds, fenugreek, leeks, beets and dates .' "
Tashlikh Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off"). We walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty our pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom. Greetings Religious services for the holiday focus on the concept of G-d's sovereignty. The common greeting at this time is L'shanah tovah ("for a good year"). This is a shortening of "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" (or to women, "L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi"), which means "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." More on that concept at Days of Awe. List of DatesRosh Hashanah will begin on the following days of the Gregorian calendar.
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The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. A total of 100 notes are sounded each day. There are four different types of shofar notes: tekiah, a 3 second sustained note; shevarim, three 1-second notes rising in tone, teruah, a series of short, staccato notes extending over a period of about 3 seconds; and tekiah gedolah (literally, "big tekiah"), the final blast in a set, which lasts 10 seconds minimum.
So, so why an apple? Actually we eat apple dipped in honey. At the festive meal we take a piece of apple and dip it into honey as a token of the wish for a sweet year, adding the blessing: "May it be your will, Lord our G-d and G-d of our fathers, to renew us a good and sweet year." It works.
A favorite symbolic food is the fish which symbolizes the blessing of many children. The following prayer is added to the regular blessings on the food: "May it be your will, Lord and G-d of our fathers, that we be fruitful and multiply like fish." If the head, in particular, is eaten, then the following prayer is added: "May it be your will... that we be as the head and not as the tail."
Other symbolic foods eaten, whose Hebrew names have dual meanings of significance, include carrots, cabbage, and the pomegranate.