Everything about Rosh Hashanah totally explained
Rosh Hashanah (
Biblical:, Israeli: [ˈroʃhaʃaˈna],
Yiddish: [ˈroʊʃhɑˈʃɔnə]) is commonly referred as the
Jewish New Year (literally translated as "head of the year"). The day falls on the first of the seventh month of the
Hebrew calendar,
Tishrei, the first month being
Nisan. Nowhere in the
Torah is the holiday called Rosh Hashanah. In it's referred to as "the day of the blowing of the horns (
Shofar)" (
Yom Terua). In the day is referred to as "the beginning of the year" and not the first day of the year.
Rabbinic literature and the liturgy itself describe Rosh Hashanah as "the day of judgment" (
Yom ha-Din) and "the day of remembrance" (
Yom ha-Zikkaron). 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 passing in front of Him for evaluation of his or her deeds. All of these names are also referenced in the holiday's extensive liturgy.
This holiday is the first of the
High Holidays or
Yamim Noraim, the most solemn days of the Jewish year; the
Yamim Noraim are 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 Noraim known as
Asseret Yemei Teshuva - The Ten Days of Repentance, beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with the holiday of
Yom Kippur.
Judaism has four "new year" observances which mark the start of various legal "years", much like
1 January marks the "New Year" of the
Gregorian calendar, while other dates mark fiscal or other "new year" events. Rosh Hashanah is the start of the civil year in the
Hebrew calendar. It is the new year for people, animals, and legal contracts. The
Mishnah also sets this day aside as the new year for calculating calendar years and sabbatical (
shmita) and
jubilee (
yovel) years.
Date
According to the
Tanakh Rosh Hashanah falls on the first of the seventh month of the
Hebrew calendar,
Tishrei, and is of one day duration. Since days in the
Hebrew calendar begin at sundown, the beginning of Rosh Hashanah is at sundown at the end of 29
Elul. Rosh Hashanah was celebrated for only one day in the
Land of Israel prior to the time of Rabban
Yohanan ben Zakkai at the time of the destruction of the
Second Temple. However, ever since his time,
normative Jewish law appears to be that Rosh Hashanah is to be celebrated for two days. There is some evidence that Rosh Hashanah was celebrated on a single day in Israel even as late as the thirteenth century
CE.
However,
Orthodox and
Conservative Judaism now generally observe Rosh Hashanah for the first two days of
Tishrei, even in
Israel where most Jewish holidays last only one day. The two days of Rosh Hashanah are said to constitute "
Yoma Arichtah" (Aramaic: "
one long day"). The observance of a second day is a later addition and doesn't follow from the literal reading of . In
Reconstructionist Judaism and
Reform Judaism, some communities observe only the first day of Rosh Hashanah, while others observe the two days.
Karaite Jews, who don't recognise
Jewish oral law, but rely solely on Biblical authority, observe only one day on the first day of Tishrei, since the second day isn't mentioned in the
Torah.
The Hebrew calendar is so designed that the first day of Rosh Hashanah won't occur on the first, fourth, or sixth days of the
Jewish week (ie Sunday, Wednesday or Friday).
The following table lists the start day, in the
Gregorian calendar, of Rosh Hashanah for some years. Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset on the evening on the first day listed in the table. For those who observe Rosh Hashanah for one day, the holiday ends at sunset on the next day, and for those who observe it for two days, it ends at sunset of the day after.
Rosh Hashanah occurs 163 days after the first day of
Pesach (
Passover). In terms of the
Gregorian calendar, the earliest date on which Rosh Hashanah can fall is
September 5, as happened in
1899 and will happen again in
2013. After 2089, the differences between the Hebrew calendar and the Gregorian calendar will result in Rosh Hashanah being no earlier than
September 6. Rosh Hashanah can occur on
October 5 at the latest, as happened in
1967 and will happen again in
2043.
Traditions and customs and food
Rosh Hashanah is a
day of rest and the
activities prohibited on Shabbat are also prohibited on all
Jewish holidays, including Rosh Hashanah.
Rosh Hashanah is characterized by the blowing of the
shofar, a trumpet made from a ram's horn. In fact, the
shofar is blown in traditional communities every morning for the entire month of
Elul, the month preceding Rosh Hashanah. The sound of the
shofar is intended to awaken the listener from his or her "slumber" and alert them to the coming judgment. Orthodox and some Conservative Jewish communities don't blow the shofar on
Shabbat.
In the period leading up to the
Yamim Noraim (
Hebrew, "days of awe") penitential prayers, called
selichot, are recited, and on Rosh Hashanah itself, religious poems, called
piyyuttim, are added to the regular
services. Special prayer books for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, called the
mahzor (plural
mahzorim), have developed over the years. Many poems refer to : "Blow the
shofar on the [firstday of the] month, when the [moon] is covered for our holiday".
Rosh Hashanah has a number of additions 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. Biblical verses are recited at each point. According to the
Mishnah, 10 verses (each) are said regarding kingship, remembrance, and the shofar itself, each accompanied by the blowing of the shofar. A variety of
piyyutim, medieval penitential prayers, are recited regarding themes of repentance. The
Alenu prayer is recited during the repetition of the Mussaf
Amidah.
The traditional greeting on Rosh Hashanah is "
shana tova",
Hebrew for "a good year," or "
shana tova umetukah" for "a good and sweet year." Because Jews are being judged by God for the coming year, a longer greeting translates as "may you be written and sealed for a good year" (
ketiva ve-chatima tovah).
During the afternoon of the first day occurs the practice of
tashlikh, in which prayers are recited near natural flowing water, and one's sins are symbolically cast into the water. Many also have the custom to throw bread or pebbles into the water, to symbolize the "casting off" of sins. In some communities, if the first day of Rosh Hashanah occurs on Shabbat tashlikh is postponed to the second day. The traditional service for
tashlikh is recited individually and includes the prayer "Who is like unto you, O God...And You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea", and Biblical passages including ("They won't injure nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea") and, 121 and 130, as well as personal prayers.
Rosh Hashanah meals often include
apples and
honey, to symbolize a "sweet new year". Various other foods with a symbolic meaning may be served, depending on local
minhag (custom), such as tongue or other meat from the head (to symbolise the "head" of the year). Other symbolic foods are
dates,
black-eyed beans,
leek,
spinach and
gourd, all of which are mentioned in the
Talmud.
Pomegranates are used in many traditions: the use of apples and honey is a late medieval
Ashkenazi addition, though it's now almost universally accepted. Typically, round
challah bread is served, to symbolize the cycle of the year.
Gefilte fish and
Lekach are commonly served on this holiday. On the second night, new fruits are served to warrant inclusion of the
shehecheyanu blessing, the saying of which would otherwise be doubtful (as the second day is part of the "long day" mentioned above).
In the Torah
In the earliest times the Hebrew year began in autumn with the opening of the economic year. There followed in regular succession the seasons of seed-sowing, growth and ripening of the corn (here meaning any grain) under the influence of the former and the latter rains, harvest and ingathering of the fruits. In harmony with this was the order of the great agricultural festivals, according to the oldest legislation, namely, the feast of unleavened bread at the beginning of the barley harvest, in the month of Abib; the feast of harvest, seven weeks later; and the feast of ingathering at the going out or turn of the year (See ; ).
It is likely that the new year was celebrated from ancient times in some special way. The earliest reference to such a custom is, probably, in the account of the vision of
Ezekiel . This took place at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month (Tishri). On the same day the beginning of the year of jubilee was to be proclaimed by the blowing of trumpets . According to the Septuagint rendering of, special sacrifices were to be offered on the first day of the seventh month as well as on the first day of the first month. This first day of the seventh month was appointed by the Law to be "a day of blowing of trumpets". There was to be a holy convocation; no servile work was to be done; and special sacrifices were to be offered (; ). This day wasn't expressly called New-Year's Day, but it was evidently so regarded by the Jews at a very early period.
In rabbinic literature
Philo, in his treatise on the festivals, calls Rosh Hashanah the festival of the sacred moon and feast of the trumpets, and explains the blowing of the trumpets as being a memorial of the giving of the Torah and a reminder of God's benefits to mankind in general ("De Septennario," § 22).
The
Mishnah, the core text of Judaism's oral Torah, contains the first known reference to the "day of judgment". It says: "Four times in the year the world is judged: On Passover a decree is passed on the produce of the soil; on
Shavuot, on the fruits of the trees; on Rosh Hashanah all men pass before Him ("God"); and on the
Feast of Tabernacles a decree is passed on the rain of the year.
R.
Yaakov Kamenetsky explains that in earlier generations it was considered preferable not to reveal that it was a "day of judgment" so as not to mix any other feeling into "the day of the coronation of G-d". In later generations as people lost touch with the significance of the day it was necessary to reveal that it was also "the day of judgment" so that people would approach the holiday with proper awe and respect. (B'Mechitzot Rabbenu)
According to rabbinic tradition, the creation of the world completed on 1 Tishrei.
The observance of the 1 Tishrei as Rosh Hashanah is based principally on the mention of "
zikkaron" (= "memorial day"; ) and the reference of Ezra to the day as one "holy to the Lord" seem to point. The passage in referring to the solemn feast which is held on New Moon Day, when the shofar is sounded, as a day of "
mishpat" (judgment) of "the God of Jacob" is taken to indicate the character of Rosh Hashanah .
In Jewish thought, Rosh Hashanah is the most important judgment day, on which all the inhabitants of the world pass for judgment before the Creator, as sheep pass for examination before the shepherd. It is written in the Talmud, in the
tractate on Rosh Hashanah that three books of account are opened on Rosh Hashanah, wherein the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of an intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of life, and they're sealed "to live." The middle class are allowed a respite of ten days till Yom Kippur, to repent and become righteous ; the wicked are "blotted out of the book of the living" .
The zodiac sign of the balance for Tishrei is claimed to indicate the scales of judgment, balancing the meritorious against the wicked acts of the person judged. The taking of an annual inventory of accounts on Rosh Hashanah is adduced by Rabbi Nahman ben Isaac from the passage in, which says that the care of God is directed from "the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year". 1 Tishrei was considered as the beginning of Creation.
It is said in the Talmud that on Rosh Hashanah the means of sustenance of every person are apportioned for the ensuing year; so also are his destined losses.
The
Zohar, a medieval work of
Kabbalah, lays stress on the universal observance of two days, and states that the two passages in and, "when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord," refer to the first and second days of Rosh Hashanah, observed by the Heavenly Court before the Almighty. (Zohar, Pinchas, p. 231a)
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