Rosh Hashanah: The Jewish New Year
The Jewish New Year is a religious holiday of repentance, forgiveness and new resolutions
The Jewish holiday Rosh HaShanah, or the Jewish New Year, marks the beginning of a time of introspection, repentance and new resolutions. It is solemn as well as festive.
The holiday Rosh HaShanah marks the beginning of the Jewish new year and of the Ten Days of Repentance, ending with Yom Kippur.
Oddly enough, this "Jewish New Year" ("Rosh HaShanah" means "head of the year") is the first day of the seventh month in the Jewish calendar (1 Tishri). That is because the Mishnah (the first work of Rabinnic Judaism, part of the Talmud) proclaims four New Years:
- 1 Nisan: civil
- 1 Elul: agricultural
- 1-2 Tishri: religious
- 15 Shevat: new year for trees
This is not so strange when compared to the common divisions of school, fiscal, and calendar years. Of the Jewish secular new years, only 15 Shevat is sometimes celebrated.
But (along with Yom Kippur) the religious New Year is the most important Jewish holiday, when even the most casual Jews go to Temple to commemorate the creation of Adam and Eve (and their Fall), 5767 years ago (in 2006). Like all Jewish days, the holiday begins at sunset. It lasts two days because in the past not everyone knew immediately when the new moon was observed and the lunar year had begun.
On Rosh HaShanah, the Jews believe, God writes down in his Book of Life who will live, who will have a good life and who an evil life over the coming year. But during the next Ten Days of Awe, man has a chance to alter this verdict, if he sincerely repents, has prepared well during the month of Elul, and on Rosh HaShanah renews his efforts of repentance, prayer, and charity.
On Rosh HaShanah itself, work is prohibited, and much of the day is spent in the Temple, where the liturgy follows a special prayer book (the machzor). Every evening the women and girls light candles. In the Tashlich ceremony, the contents of pockets (also bread crumbs), symbolizing their sins, are tossed into a stream, for the fish to eat and carry away. Children joyfully blow on plastic horns that represent the shofar, the ram's horn which calls to prayer and arouses God's compassion. This also refers to the Binding of Isaac, when a ram took the boy's place as an offering, which also took place on Rosh Hashanah.
Food is central. The head of a fish or fowl is served. On the first evening, there is bread or challah dipped in honey, then apples dipped in honey, for a sweet new year. On the second evening, a new fruit is had (usually pears, pomegranates and grapes).
Rosh HaShanah dates:
- Jewish Year 5767: sunset September 22, 2006 - sunset September 24, 2006
- Jewish Year 5768: sunset September 12, 2007 - sunset September 14, 2007
- Jewish Year 5769: sunset September 29, 2008 - sunset October 1, 2008
- Jewish Year 5770: sunset September 18, 2009 - sunset September 20, 2009
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