What is the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and how is it celebrated?


Rosh Hashanah. The Jewish New Year. Blow the ram's horn (shofar) in synagogue. Eat apples dipped in honey to symbolize a sweet year.

Rosh Hashanah, the Days of Awe, and Yom Kippur comprise the holiest of all days in Judaism: the so-called High Holidays. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, brings with it sweet traditions as well as the beginning of a time of introspection and reflection. A popular observance of this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year. Another long-standing custom is Tashlich, the act of emptying one's pockets into flowing water (a river, a lake, or an ocean) to symbolize the casting off of one's sins.


Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the ten days known as the Days of Awe or the Days of Repentance. This is a time of serious introspection, a time to reflect on the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur. One of the ongoing ideas associated with the Days of Awe is that God has a book, the Book of Life, in which God inscribes who will live and die, who will have a good year and who will have a bad one. This book is written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions during the Days of Awe can alter God's decree. It is customary to seek reconciliation with people you may have wronged, for that is the only way to atone for sins against another person. The Days of Awe must be filled with repentance, prayer, and good deeds, for the Book of Life is sealed on Yom Kippur.


Also See: JOI's Rosh Hashanah Holiday Page.