What Is Rosh Hashanah?
.
The anniversary of the creation of Adam
and Eve, a day of judgment and coronation, the sounding of the
shofar . . .
What: It is the birthday of the universe, the
day G‑d created Adam and Eve, and it’s
celebrated as the head of the Jewish year.
When: The first two days of the Jewish year, Tishrei 1 and 2, beginning at sundown on the
eve of Tishrei.
How: Candle
lighting in the evenings, festive meals with sweet
delicacies during the night and day, prayer services that include the sounding of the ram’s horn (shofar) on
both mornings, and desisting from creative
work.
Why Rosh Hashanah Is Important
Rosh Hashanah
means “Head of the Year.” Just like the head controls the body, our actions on
Rosh Hashanah have a tremendous impact on the rest of the year.
As we read in the Rosh Hashanah prayers, each
year on this day “all inhabitants of the world pass before G‑d like a flock of
sheep,” and it is decreed in the heavenly court “who shall live, and who shall
die ... who shall be impoverished and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and
who shall rise.”
It is a day of prayer, a time to ask the
Almighty to grant us a year of peace, prosperity and blessing. But it is also a
joyous day when we proclaim G‑d King of the Universe. The Kabbalists teach that
the continued existence of the universe depends on G‑d’s desire for a world, a desire that is renewed when we
accept His kingship anew each year on Rosh Hashanah.
What’s It Called?
● The most common name for this holiday
is Rosh Hashanah, the name used in the eponymous tractate of Talmud devoted
to the holiday.
● The Torah refers to this
day as Yom Teruah (Day of Shofar Blowing).
● In our prayers, we often call it Yom
Hazikaron (Day of Remembrance) and Yom Hadin (Day of Judgement) since this is
the day when G‑d recalls all of His creations and determines their fate for the
year ahead.
First Priority:
Hear the Shofar
The central
observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn, on both mornings of the holiday (except if the first day is Shabbat, in which case we blow the shofar only
on the second day).
The first 30 blasts of the shofar are
blown following the Torah reading during morning services, and as many as 70
are then blown during (and immediately after) the Musaf service.
Many communities listen to 100 blasts over
the course of the Rosh Hashanah morning services. For someone who cannot come
to synagogue, the shofar may be blown the rest of the day. If you
cannot make it out, please contact your closest Chabad center to see about arranging a “house call.”
The shofar blowing contains a
series of three types of blasts: tekiah, a long sob-like blast; shevarim,
a series of three short wails; and teruah, at least nine piercing staccato
bursts.
The blowing of the shofar represents
the trumpet blast that is sounded at a king’s coronation. Its plaintive cry also serves
as a call to repentance.
The shofar itself recalls
the Binding of Isaac,
an event that occurred on Rosh Hashanah in which a ram took Isaac’s place
as an offering to G‑d.
Other Rosh Hashanah
Observances
Greetings: When you meet a fellow Jew on the
first night of Rosh Hashanah, wish him, “Leshana tovah tikatev v’tichatem” or,
for a female,“ Leshana tovah tikatevee v’tichatemee” (“May you be
inscribed and sealed for a good year”). Afterward, wish them a “G’mar chatimah
tovah” (“A good inscription and sealing [in the Book of Life]”).
Candles: As with every major Jewish
holiday, women and girls light candles on each evening of Rosh Hashanah and
recite the appropriate blessings. On the second night, make sure to use
an existing flame and think about a new fruit that you will be eating (or
garment that you are wearing) while you say the Shehechiyanu blessing.
Tashlich: On the first afternoon of Rosh
Hashanah (provided that it is not Shabbat), it is customary to go to a body of
water (ocean, river, pond, etc.) and perform the Tashlich ceremony, in which we
ceremonially cast our sins into the water. With this tradition we are
symbolically evoking the verse, “And You shall cast their sins into the depths
of the sea.” The short prayer for this service can be found in your machzor.
Rosh Hashanah
Prayers
Much of the day is
spent in synagogues. The evening and afternoon prayers are similar to the
prayers said on a regular holiday. However, the morning services are
significantly longer.
The holiday prayerbook—called a machzor—contains
all the prayers and Torah readings for the entire day. The most significant
addition is the shofar blowing ceremony. However, there are also other
important elements of the prayer service that are unique to Rosh Hashanah.
The Torah is read on both mornings of Rosh
Hashanah.
On the first day, we read about Isaac’s birth
and the subsequent banishment of Hagar and Ishmael. Appropriately,
the reading is followed by a haftarah reading about the birth of Samuel the
Prophet. Both readings contain the theme of prayers for children being answered,
and both of these births took place on Rosh Hashanah.
On the second morning, we read about Abraham’s
near-sacrifice of his son Isaac. As mentioned above, the shofar blowing
recalls the ram, which figures prominently in this story as a powerful display
of Abraham’s devotion to G‑d that has characterized His children ever since.
The haftarah tells of G‑d’s eternal love for His people.
The cantor’s repetition of the Amidah (Silent
Prayer) is peppered with piyyutim¸ poetic prayers that express our prayerful
wishes for the year and other themes of the day.
For certain selections, those deemed
especially powerful, the ark is opened. Many of these additions are meant to be
said responsively, as a joint effort between the prayer leader and the
congregation.
Even without the added piyyutim, the
Rosh Hashanah Musaf prayer is significantly longer than it is the rest of the
year. This is because its single middle blessing is divided into three
additional blessings, each focusing on another one of the holiday’s main
themes: G‑d’s kingship, our wish that He “remember” us for the good, and the shofar.
Each blessing contains a collage of Biblical
verses that express its theme, and is then followed by a round of shofar blowing.
Rosh Hashanah
Feasts
We eat festive
meals every night and day of the holiday. Like all other holiday meals, we
begin by reciting kiddush over wine and then say the blessing
over bread. But there are some important differences:
a. The bread (traditionally baked into round challah loaves, and often
sprinkled with raisins) is dipped into honey instead of salt, expressing our
wish for a sweet year. We do this on Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat Shuvah (the
Shabbat before Yom Kippur), in the pre-Yom Kippur meal and during Sukkot.
b. Furthering the sweet theme, it is
traditional to begin the meal on the first night with slices of apple dipped in
honey. Before eating the apple, we make the ha’eitz blessing and then
say, “May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year.”
c. Many people eat parts of the head
of a fish or a ram, expressing the wish that “we be a head and not a tail.”
d. In many communities, there are
additional traditional foods eaten, each symbolizing a wish for the coming
year. Many eat pomegranates, giving voice to a wish that “our merits be many
like the [seeds of the] pomegranate.” Another common food istzimmes, a
sweet carrot-based dish eaten because of its Yiddishname, merren,
which means both “carrot” and “increase,” symbolizing a wish for a year of
abundance.
e. It is traditional to avoid nuts (here’s
why) as well as
vinegar-based, sharp foods, most notably the horseradish traditionally eaten
with gefilte fish, since we don’t want a bitter year.
f. On the second night of the holiday,
we do not eat the apples, fish heads, pomegranates, etc. However, before we
break bread (and dip it in honey), we eat a “new fruit,” something we have not
tasted since the last time it was in season. (Read this blog post to learn the reason for the new
fruit and the other traditional foods.)
What’s Next?
Rosh Hashanah is
the start of the Yamim Nora’im (High Holidays).
The holy day of Yom Kippur when we gather in synagogue for 25
hours of fasting, prayer and inspiration, is just a week later.
The days in between (known as the10 Days of
Repentance, or the Ten Days of Return) are an especially propitious time for teshuvah,
returning to G‑d.
Yom Kippur is followed by the joyous holidays
of Sukkot and Simchat Torah.
The season of the High Holidays is a time for
an epic journey for the soul, and Rosh Hashanah is where it all begins.
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Shofar of Flesh
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THE
FEAST OF TRUMPETS
Artwork
by Sefira Ross, a freelance designer and illustrator
whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle,
Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a
mom.
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4762/jewish/What-Is-Rosh-Hashanah.htm
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