Rosh Hashanah

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Rosh HaShanah
A shofar, pomegranates, wine, apple and honey – symbols of the Rosh HaShanah holiday
Official nameרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה
Also calledJewish New Year
TypeJudaism
ObservancesPraying in synagogue, personal reflection, and hearing or blowing the shofar.
BeginsStart of first day of Tishrei
EndsEnd of second day of Tishrei
Date1 Tishrei, 2 Tishrei
2023 dateSunset, 15 September –
nightfall, 17 September
2024 dateSunset, 2 October –
nightfall, 4 October
2025 dateSunset, 22 September –
nightfall, 24 September
2026 dateSunset, 11 September –
nightfall, 13 September

Rosh HaShanah (

Leviticus 23:23–25,[1] that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah begins ten days of penitence culminating in Yom Kippur, as well as beginning the cycle of autumnal religious festivals running through Sukkot which end on Shemini Atzeret in Israel and Simchat Torah
everywhere else.

Rosh Hashanah is a

exodus from Egypt, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the civil year, according to the teachings of Judaism, and is the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman according to the Hebrew Bible
, as well as the initiation of humanity's role in God's world.

Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the

teshuva, as well as enjoying festive meals. Eating symbolic foods, such as apples dipped in honey, hoping to evoke a sweet new year, is an ancient tradition recorded in the Talmud.[2]

Etymology

Rosh is the

Hebrew word for "head", ha is the definite article ("the"), and shana means year. Thus Rosh HaShanah means "head of the year", referring to the day of the New Year.[3][4]

The term Rosh Hashanah in its current meaning does not appear in the Torah. Leviticus 23:24[5] refers to the festival of the first day of the seventh month as zikhron teru'ah ("a memorial of blowing [of horns]") Numbers 29:1[6] calls the festival yom teru'ah ("day of blowing [the horn]").

The term rosh hashanah appears once in the Bible (Ezekiel 40:1),[7] where it has a different meaning: either generally the time of the "beginning of the year", or possibly a reference to Yom Kippur,[8] or to the month of Nisan.[a][12]

In the prayer books (

modern Israeli remembrance day
of the same name.

Origin

The origin of the New Year is connected to the beginning of the economic year in the agricultural societies of the ancient Near East.[13] The New Year was the beginning of the cycle of sowing, growth, and harvest; the harvest was marked by its own set of major agricultural festivals.[13] Semitic speakers generally set the beginning of the new year in autumn, while other ancient civilizations chose spring for that purpose, such as the Persians or Greeks; the primary reason was agricultural in both cases, the time of sowing the seed and bringing in the harvest.[13]

Some scholars posit a connection between the Babylonian festival Akitu and Rosh Hashanah, as there are some striking similarities. The Akitu festival of Ur was celebrated in the beginning of Nisanu (first month), which lasted at least five days, and again in Tashritu, the seventh month, which lasted eleven days.[14] Akitu was also strongly tied to the creation myth of Enuma Elish and the victory of Marduk over the sea monster Tiamat, and the creation of the universe from her corpse. Similarly it is said that the world was created on Rosh Hashanah.[15]

The Four "New Years"

Rosh Hashanah marks the start of the numbering of a new year in the Hebrew calendar. In

tractate on Rosh Hashanah.[4] Rosh Hashanah is the new year for calculating ordinary calendar years, Sabbatical years, Jubilee years, and dates inscribed on legal deeds and contracts. Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of Man.[16] In Jewish practice, the months are numbered starting with the spring month of Nisan, making Tishrei the seventh month; Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the new calendar year, is also actually the first day of the seventh month.[17]

The second of these "New Years", the first of the lunar month

Babylonian Talmud
. It is also when a new year is added to the reign of Jewish kings.

The third New Year, the first of Elul, the new year for animals, began the religious taxation period for tithing animals in Biblical times. Elul corresponds to the Gregorian August/September, after the spring birthings, when it was relatively simple to count the number of animals in herds.

The fourth New Year, Tu Bishvat, the new year for trees, began the religious taxation period for tithing fruits and nuts from trees. Shevat corresponds to the Gregorian January/February, the end of the Mediterranean wet season when the majority of the year's rainfall had occurred. Taking fruit or nuts from a tree younger than three years old, with the birthday counted as Tu Bishvat, was prohibited.

Religious significance

The Mishnah contains the second known reference to Rosh Hashanah as the "day of judgment" (Yom haDin).[20] In the Talmud tractate on Rosh Hashanah, it states that three books of account are opened on Rosh Hashanah, wherein the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of the intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed in the Book of Life and they are sealed "to live". The intermediate class is allowed a respite of ten days, until Yom Kippur, to reflect, repent, and become righteous;[21] the wicked are "blotted out of the book of the living forever."[22]

Some midrashic descriptions depict God as sitting upon a throne, while books containing the deeds of all humanity are opened for review, and each person passes in front of him for evaluation of his or her deeds.[23]

"The Holy One said, 'on Rosh Hashanah recite before Me [verses of] Sovereignty, Remembrance, and Shofar blasts (malchuyot, zichronot, shofarot): Sovereignty so that you should make Me your King; Remembrance so that your remembrance should rise up before Me. And through what? Through the Shofar.' (Rosh Hashanah 16a, 34b)"[24]

This is reflected in the prayers composed by classical rabbinic sages for Rosh Hashanah found in traditional machzors, where the theme of the prayers is the "coronation" of God as King of the universe, in preparation for the acceptance of judgments that will follow on that day.

Shofar blowing

Jewish elder blowing the ram's horn (shofar)
Yemenite-style shofar
Shofar blowing for Rosh Hashana, Ashkenaz version

The best-known ritual of Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the shofar, a musical instrument made from an animal horn. The shofar is blown at various points during the Rosh Hashanah prayers, and it is customary in most communities to have a total of 100 blasts on each day.[25] The shofar is not blown on Shabbat.[26]

While the blowing of the shofar is a Biblical statute, it is also a symbolic "wake-up call", stirring Jews to mend their ways and repent. The shofar blasts call out: "Sleepers, wake up from your slumber! Examine your ways and repent and remember your Creator."[27]

Additionally, the act of blowing the shofar, like the rainbow, is ordered by God as a reminder to God of humanity and our plight.[28]

Prayer service

On Rosh Hashanah day, religious poems called

services. A special prayer book, the machzor (plural machzorim), is used on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.[29] Some additions are made to the regular service, most notably an extended repetition of the Amidah prayer for both Shacharit and Mussaf. The shofar is blown during Mussaf at several intervals.[30] (In many synagogues, even little children come and hear the shofar being blown.)[further explanation needed] A variety of piyyutim, medieval penitential prayers, are recited regarding themes of repentance. The Aleinu prayer is recited during the silent prayer as well as the repetition of the Mussaf Amidah.[31]

The special Avinu Malkeinu prayer is also recited on Rosh Hashanah. In the Ashkenazic rite, Avinu Malkeinu is never recited on Shabbat (except in Ne'ila on Yom Kippur), and it is also omitted at Mincha on Fridays.

The narrative in the Book of Genesis describing the announcement of Isaac's birth and his subsequent birth[32] is part of the Torah readings in synagogues on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and the narrative of the sacrifice and binding of Isaac[33] is read in synagogue on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

The Mussaf Amidah prayer on Rosh Hashanah is unique in that, apart from the first and last three blessings, it contains three central blessings making a total of nine. These blessings are entitled "Malchuyot" (Kingship, and also includes the blessing for the holiness of the day as in a normal Mussaf), "Zichronot" (Remembrance), and "Shofarot" (concerning the shofar). Each section contains an introductory paragraph followed by selections of verses about the "topic". The verses are three from the

Mishna,[35] though writings by Philo and possibly even Psalms 81[36] suggest that the blessings may have been recited on Rosh Hashanah even centuries earlier.[37]

In many Eastern Ashkenazi congregations, a kittel is worn during daytime Rosh Hashanah prayers, just as one is worn on Yom Kippur.

Customs

Days before Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah is preceded by the month of Elul, during which Jews are supposed to begin a self-examination and repentance, a process that culminates in the ten days of the Yamim Nora'im, the Days of Awe, beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with the holiday of Yom Kippur.[38][39]

The shofar is traditionally blown on weekday mornings, and in some communities also in the afternoon, for the entire month of Elul, the month preceding Rosh Hashanah. The sound of the shofar is intended to awaken the listeners from their "slumbers" and alert them to the coming judgment.[40][38] The shofar is not blown on Shabbat.[26]

In the period leading up to Rosh Hashanah, penitential prayers called selichot, are recited. The Sephardic tradition is to start at the beginning of Elul, while the Ashkenazic and Italian practice is to start a few days before Rosh Hashanah.[38]

The day before Rosh Hashanah day is known as Erev Rosh Hashanah ("Rosh Hashanah eve").

hatarat nedarim (a nullification of vows) after the morning prayer services.[42] Many Orthodox men immerse in a mikveh in honor of the coming day.[43]

Symbolic foods

Rosh Hashanah jams prepared by Libyan Jews
Traditional Rosh Hashanah foods: Apples dipped in honey, pomegranates, wine for kiddush

Rosh Hashanah meals usually include apples dipped in honey to symbolize a sweet new year;

Ashkenazi addition. Other foods with a symbolic meaning may be served, depending on local minhag ("custom"), such as the head of a fish (to symbolize the prayer "let us be the head and not the tail").[45]

Many communities hold a "Rosh Hashanah seder" during which blessings are recited over a variety of symbolic dishes.

Sephardim to eat stuffed vegetables called legumbres yaprakes.[48]

Some of the symbolic foods eaten are

dates, black-eyed peas, leeks, spinach, and gourd, all of which are mentioned in the Talmud:[49] "Let a man be accustomed to eat on New Year's Day gourds (קרא), and fenugreek (רוביא),[50]
leeks (כרתי), beet [leaves] (סילקא), and dates (תמרי)."

Carrots can have multiple symbolic meanings at the Rosh Hashanah table. The Yiddish word for carrot is ma’rin (מערין), which also means “increase.” By eating carrots one asks for their merits and blessings to be increased. Sliced carrots are also typically eaten to symbolize gold coins and hopes for continued wealth and prosperity. In Hebrew the word for carrot is gezer (גזר) which sounds similar to the word g’zar - the Hebrew word for “decree.” Serving carrots on Rosh Hashanah symbolizes a desire to have God nullify any negative decrees against us.[51]

Pomegranates are used in many traditions, to symbolize being fruitful like the pomegranate with its many seeds.[52] Typically, round challah bread is served, to symbolize the cycle of the year.[52][44] From ancient to quite modern age, lamb head or fish head were served. Nowadays, lekach (honey cake) and gefilte fish are commonly served by Ashkenazic Jews on this holiday. On the second night, new fruits are served to warrant the inclusion of the shehecheyanu blessing.[45]

The general Ashkenazic custom is to eat sweet foods, such as honey cake and teiglach, to auger a sweet year. The Sephardic and Mizrahi custom is frequently to eat light-coloured foods, or rather, to avoid dark ones, so as to avoid a dark year.[citation needed]

Tashlikh

Jews performing tashlikh on Rosh Hashanah, painting by Aleksander Gierymski, 1884

The ritual of

Hasidic communities perform Tashlikh on the day before Yom Kippur.[53]

Greetings

The

Yiddish the greeting is אַ גוט יאָר "a gut yor" ("a good year") or אַ גוט געבענטשט יאָר "a gut gebentsht yor" ("a good blessed year").[54] The formal Sephardic greeting is Tizku Leshanim Rabbot ("may you merit many years"),[56] to which the answer is Ne'imot VeTovot ("pleasant and good ones"); while in Ladino, they say אנייאדה בואינה, דולסי אי אליגרי "anyada buena, dulse i alegre" ("may you have a good, sweet and happy New Year").[citation needed
]

A more formal greeting commonly used among religiously observant Jews is Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah (Hebrew: כְּתִיבָה וַחֲתִימָה טוֹבָה‎), which translates as "A good inscription and sealing [in the Book of Life]",[54] or L'shanah tovah tikatevu v'techatemu meaning "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year".[55] After Rosh Hashanah ends, the greeting is changed to G'mar chatimah tovah (Hebrew: גמר חתימה טובה‎) meaning "A good final sealing", until Yom Kippur.[54] After Yom Kippur is over, until Hoshana Rabbah, as Sukkot ends, the greeting is Gmar Tov (Hebrew: גְּמָר טוֹב‎), "a good conclusion".[57]

In Karaite Judaism

Unlike the denominations of Rabbinical Judaism, Karaite Judaism believes the Jewish New Year starts with the first month and celebrates this holiday only as it is mentioned in the Torah, that is as a day of rejoicing and shouting.[58] Karaites allow no work on the day except what is needed to prepare food (Leviticus 23:23, 24).[59]

In Samaritanism

Samaritans preserve the biblical name of the holiday, Yom Teruah, and do not consider the day to be a New Year's day.[60]

Duration and timing

The Torah defines Rosh Hashanah as a one-day celebration, and since days in the Hebrew calendar begin at sundown, the beginning of Rosh Hashanah is at sundown at the end of 29

normative Jewish law appears to be that Rosh Hashanah is to be celebrated for two days, because of the difficulty of determining the date of the new moon.[8] Nonetheless, there is some evidence that Rosh Hashanah was celebrated on a single day in Israel as late as the thirteenth century CE.[61]

Date

Originally, the date of Rosh Hashanah was determined based on observation of the new moon ("molad"), and thus could fall on any day of the week. However, around the third century CE, the Hebrew calendar was fixed, such that the first day of Rosh Hashanah never falls out on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday.[64][65]

Rosh Hashanah occurs 163 days after the first day of Passover, and thus is usually (but not always) determined by the new moon closest to the autumnal equinox.

In terms of the Gregorian calendar, the earliest date on which Rosh Hashanah can fall is 5 September, as happened in 1842, 1861, 1899, and 2013. The latest Gregorian date that Rosh Hashanah can occur is 5 October, as happened in 1815, 1929, and 1967, and will happen again in 2043. After 2089, the differences between the Hebrew calendar and the Gregorian calendar will result in Rosh Hashanah falling no earlier than 6 September. Starting in 2214, the new latest date will be 6 October.[66]

In 2020 the Jewish President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced that Ukraine would declare Rosh Hashanah a national holiday.[67] This makes Ukraine the only country besides Israel where the day is a national holiday.[citation needed]

Gallery of Rosh Hashanah greeting cards

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Exodus 12:2[9] refers to the month of Aviv (later renamed Nisan) as "the first month of the year", and in Ezekiel 45:18,[10] "the first month" unambiguously refers to Nisan, the month of Passover, as made plain by Ezekiel 45:21.[11]

References

  1. ^ Leviticus 23:23–25
  2. ^ Shurpin, Yehuda. "Why All the Symbolic Rosh Hashanah Foods? "בולבול"". Chabad.org.
  3. ^ "rosh hashanah". Origin and meaning of phrase rosh hashanah by Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "What Is Rosh Hashanah? – The Jewish New Year, anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, a day of judgment and coronation, and sounding of the shofar ... – High Holidays". Chabad Lubavitch. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  5. ^ Leviticus 23:24
  6. ^ Numbers 29:1
  7. ^ Ezekiel 40:1
  8. ^ .
  9. ^ Exodus 12:2
  10. ^ Ezekiel 45:18
  11. ^ Ezekiel 45:21
  12. .
  13. ^ a b c Isidore Singer; McLaughlin, J. F.; Wilhelm Bacher; Judah David Eisenstein (1901–1906). "New-Year". Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  14. ^ "The Akitu Festival - www.GatewaysToBabylon.com". www.gatewaystobabylon.com.
  15. ^ "Babylonian Rosh Hashanah - TheTorah.com". www.thetorah.com.
  16. ^ Chein, Rochel (27 August 2019). "High Holidays". Why is Rosh Hashanah considered the Jewish New Year?. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  17. Julian Calendar#New Year's Day
    for details.
  18. ^ Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 1:1
  19. ^ Exodus 23:14–16
  20. ^ Tractate on Rosh Hashanah I,2
  21. ^ Tractate on Rosh Hashanah, I,16b
  22. ^ Psalms 69:29
  23. ^ "Rosh Hashana from the Torah to the Temples". Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  24. ^ ArtScroll Machzor, Rosh Hashanah. Overview, p. xv.
  25. ^ Kitov, Rabbi Eliyahu. "One Hundred Sounds". Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  26. ^ a b Jewish Law permits the Shofar to be blown in the presence of a rabbinical court called the Sanhedrin, which had not existed since ancient times. A recent group of Orthodox rabbis in Israel claiming to constitute a modern Sanhedrin held, for the first time in many years, an Orthodox shofar-blowing on Shabbat for Rosh Hashanah in 2006. TheSanhedrin.net: Shofar Blowing on Shabbat Archived 15 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine (translation of Haaretz Archived 26 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine article)
  27. ^ Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 3:4.
  28. .
  29. ^ Shurpin, Yehuda (25 September 2019). "Why Is the High Holiday Prayerbook Called a "Machzor"? – Questions & Answers". Chabad Lubavitch. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  30. ^ "Services at a Glance – High Holidays". Chabad Lubavitch. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  31. .
  32. ^ Genesis 21
  33. ^ Genesis 22
  34. ^ "Rosh Hashanah Musaf Amidah". My Jewish Learning. 17 February 2003. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  35. ^ Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 4:5–6
  36. ^ Psalms 81
  37. JSTOR 1453499
    . Accessed 16 January 2020.
  38. ^ a b c "The Month of Elul – Inventory Season – Mitzvah Minutes". Chabad Lubavitch. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  39. ^ "The High Holidays – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – Yamim Nora'im (Days of Awe) or High Holy Days". Chabad Lubavitch. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  40. ^ Maimonides, Yad, Laws of Repentance 3:4
  41. ^ "What Do We Mean by 'Erev Rosh Hashanah?'". The Forward. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  42. ^ "Annulment of Known Vows in Hatarat Nedarim – High Holidays". Chabad Lubavitch. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  43. ^ Krakowski, Rabbi Y. Dov (24 September 2014). "Hilchos U'Minhagei Rosh Hashanah". Jewish Holidays. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  44. ^ a b "Rosh Hashanah". history.com. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  45. ^ a b "How Is Rosh Hashanah Celebrated? – An Overview of Rosh Hashanah's Traditions and Customs – High Holidays". Chabad Lubavitch. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  46. ^ Exploring Sephardic Customs and Traditions, Marc Angel, p. 49
  47. ^ Debby Segura (18 September 2008). "The Rosh Hashanah Seder". Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  48. Babylonian Talmud
    (Keritot 6a)
  49. Hai Gaon's disciple, Rabbi Nissim ben Jacob
    (in his Commentary known as Ketav Hamafteah), thus explains the word לוביא, in our case spelled רוביא, as meaning non-other than cowpeas (פול המצרי), describing them as having a "dark eye in its center". Jews of North-Africa traditionally make use of stringed beans in place of rubia.
  50. ^ "The Magical and Memorable Meanings Behind Rosh Hashanah Food". Breaking Matzo. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  51. ^ a b Spice and Spirit: The Complete Kosher Jewish Cookbook, 1990, New York, p. 508
  52. ^ Kumer, Dinka (25 September 2019). "What is Tashlich? – High Holidays". Chabad Lubavitch. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  53. ^ a b c d Posner, Menachem. "What Is Shanah Tovah? New Year Greeting Translation and More: The meaning of the traditional Rosh Hashanah wishes". Chabad.org. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  54. ^ a b Bottner, Lauren (21 September 2011). "From Selichot to Simchat Torah". Jewish Journal. TRIBE Media. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  55. ^ "What is in a Rosh Hashanah greeting?". Haaretz. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  56. .
  57. ^ "How Yom Teruah Became Rosh Hashanah". Nehemia's Wall. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  58. ^ "Karaite Jews of America". The Karaite Jews of America. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  59. ^ "Festival 2016: Seven Festivals Celebrated in the Israelite Samaritan Year". Israelite Samaritan Information Institute. 21 October 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  60. ^ Rav David Bar-Hayim. "Rosh HaShanna in Israel: One Day or Two?". Machon Shilo website. Jerusalem: Machon Shilo. Retrieved 10 September 2018. Includes link for Audio Shiur in English
  61. ^ "Do Reform Jews Celebrate One or Two Days of Rosh HaShanah?". ReformJudaism.org. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  62. .
  63. ^ Tractate Rosh Hashanah 20a
  64. ^ A popular mnemonic is "lo adu rosh" ("Rosh [Hashanah] is not on adu"), where adu has the numerical value 1-4-6 (corresponding to the numbering of days in the Jewish week, in which Saturday night and Sunday daytime make up the first day).
  65. ^ "An early Rosh HaShanah? – Ask the Rabbi". Oztorah.com. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  66. ^ "Ukraine set to make Pesach, Chanukah and Rosh Hashanah official holidays". The Australian Jewish News – AJN. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2022.

Bibliography

  • Angel, Marc (2000). Exploring Sephardic Customs and Traditions. Hoboken, NJ: KTAV Pub. House in association with American Sephardi Federation, American Sephardi Federation – South Florida Chapter, Sephardic House. .

External links