Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah
A shofar made from a ram's horn
Official name	Hebrew: ראש השנה
Also called	Jewish New Year
Observed by	Judaism and Jews; Samaritans
Type	Jewish; Samaritan
Significance	Jewish civil new year according to the Hebrew calendar. Commemorates the creation of the world as narrated in the Bible. Beginning of the ten "Days of Awe" culminating in Yom Kippur.
Begins	Start of first day of Tishrei
Ends	End of first or second day of Tishrei
Observances	Praying in synagogue, hearing the shofar. Festive meals with challah. Auspicious foods such as apples dipped in honey, fish heads and pomegranates are often eaten, as well as new fruits on the second night. Refraining from work.
Related to	Yom Kippur, the "Day of Atonement."

Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: ראש השנה, literally "head of the year," Biblical: IPA: [ˈɾoʃ haʃːɔˈnɔh], Israeli: [ˈʁoʃ haʃaˈna], Yiddish: [ˈroʊʃ hɑˈʃɔnə]) is a Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the "Jewish New Year." It is observed on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, as ordained in the Torah, in Leviticus 23:24.

Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holidays or "Days of Awe", specifically set aside to focus on repentance and concluding with the holiday of Yom Kippur. It is also the start of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar. Rosh Hashanah is observed as a day of rest, and activities prohibited on the Jewish Sabbath are also prohibited on Rosh Hashanah.

Rosh Hashanah is characterized by the blowing of the shofar, a trumpet made from a ram's horn, intended to awaken the listener from "slumber" and alert him or her to God's coming judgment. The holiday involves a number of additions to the regular Jewish service, most notably an extended repetition of the Amidah prayer. The traditional Hebrew greeting on Rosh Hashanah is "shana tova," for "a good year," or "shana tova umetukah" for "a good and sweet year."

Origin, name and date

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), harvest, and ingathering of the fruits. The major agricultural festivals proceeded in harmony with this cycle; namely, the feast of unleavened bread at the beginning of the barley harvest, the feast of harvest seven weeks later, and the feast of ingathering at the going out or turn of the year (See Exodus 23:14-17; Deuteronomy 16:1-16).

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 (Ezek 40:1). 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 (Lev 25:9). According to the Septuagint rendering of Ezek 44:20, 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 as "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 (Lev 23:23-25; Num 29:1-6). This day was not expressly called New-Year's Day, but it was evidently so regarded by the Jews at a very early period.

The term "Rosh Hashana" appears in the Hebrew Bible in Ezekiel 40:1 in general reference to the "beginning of the year." Leviticus 23:24 refers to the festival of the first day of the seventh month as Zicaron Terua ("a memorial with the blowing of horns"). Numbers 29:1 calls the festival Yom Terua, ("Day of blowing the horn") and defines the nature of animal sacrifices that were to be performed.

Orthodox and Conservative Judaism now generally observe Rosh Hashanah for the first two days of Tishrei. The two-day celebration of Rosh Hashanah is said to constitute "one long day," although the observance of a second day is a later addition that does not follow from the literal reading of Leviticus. In Reconstructionist and Reform Judaism, some communities observe only the first day of Rosh Hashanah, while others observe two days. Karaite Jews, who do not recognize Jewish oral law and rely solely on Biblical authority, observe only one day on the first of Tishrei.

Laws on the form and use of the shofar and laws related to the religious services during the festival of Rosh Hashanah are described in Rabbinic literature such as the Mishnah that formed the basis of the tractate "Rosh HaShana" in both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud. This also contains the most important rules concerning the calendar year.

In Jewish liturgy Rosh Hashanah is described 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.

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. The latest Rosh Hashanah can occur relative to the Gregorian dates is on October 5, as happened in 1967 and will happen again in 2043. Rosh Hashanah occurs 163 days after the first day of Passover (Pesach).

Religious observance and customs

A shofar in the Yemenite Jewish style. (Photo by Olve Utne (Olve)

Rosh Hashanah is a day of rest (Leviticus 23:24): with some variations, the activities prohibited on Shabbat are also prohibited on all major Jewish holidays, including Rosh Hashanah. It is also characterized by the blowing of the shofar, a trumpet made from a ram's horn, marking the beginning of the Yamim Noraim, or Days of Awe. During the month preceeding Rosh Hashana, Jews are supposed to engage in self-examination and repentance, a process that culminates in the ten days of the Yamim Noraim, which begin with Rosh Hashanah and ending with the holiday of Yom Kippur.

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. However, Orthodox and some Conservative Jewish communities do not blow the shofar on Shabbat. Penitential prayers, called selichot, are also recited during this period.

The day before Rosh HaShanah is known as Erev Rosh Hashanah. It falls on the the Hebrew Elul 29, the day before the first of Tishrei. The mood becomes festive but serious in anticipation of the new year and the synagogue services. Many Orthodox men have the custom to immerse in a mikveh (ritual bath) in honor of the coming day.

On Rosh Hashanah itself, religious poems, called piyyuttim, are added to the regular services. Special prayer books for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur have developed over the years. Many poems refer to Psalms 81:4: "Blow the shofar on the [first day of the] month, when the [moon] is covered for our holiday."

Rosh Hashanah involves a number of additions to the regular service, most notably an extended repetition of the Amidah prayer. The Shofar is blown at several intervals, with biblical verses 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 penitential prayers are recited, and the Alenu prayer is added during the repetition of the extra Amidah.

During the afternoon of the first day, prayers are recited near natural flowing water and one's sins are symbolically cast into the water—a custom known as tashlikh. Many also have the custom to throw bread or pebbles into the water, to symbolize the "casting off" of sins.

File:Roshhashana.jpg

Rosh Hashanah table set with symbolic foods.

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 custom, such as tongue or other meat from the head of an animal, to symbolize the "head" of the year. Other traditional foods include dates, black-eyed beans, leek, spinach and gourd, all of which are mentioned in the Talmud. Pomegranates are also used in many traditions. Typically, round challah bread is served to symbolize the cycle of the year. Gefilte fish and honey cakes are also commonly served on this holiday. On the second night, fresh fruits are often served.

In rabbinic literature

According to rabbinic tradition, the creation of the world completed on Tishrei 1, namely Rosh Shananah. 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.

Philo of Alexandria, in his treatise on the festivals, calls Rosh Hashanah both the festival of the sacred moon and feast of the trumpets ("De Septennario," § 22). The Mishnah contains the first known reference to the holiday as a "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. In Jewish thought, Rosh Hashanah is the most important of the judgment days, on which all the inhabitants of the world pass for judgment before the Creator, as sheep pass for examination before the shepherd.

The zodiac sign associated with Tishrei is a set of balance scales, thought to indicate the scales of judgment. The taking of an annual inventory of accounts on Rosh Hashanah is adduced by Rabbi Nahman ben Isaac from the passage in Deut 11:12, which says that the care of God is directed from "the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year."

The Zohar, a medieval work of Kabbalah, lays stress on the universal observance of the two days of Rosh Hashana. It interprets two passages in the Book of Job which speak of "when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord" (Job 1:6 and Job 2:1) as referring to the first and second days of Rosh Hashanah , observed by the Heavenly Court before the Almighty. (Zohar, Pinchas, p. 231a)

Traditional Rosh Hashanah greetings

• Shana Tova (pronounced [ʃaˈna toˈva]) is the traditional greeting on Rosh Hashanah which in Hebrew means "A Good Year."
• Shana Tova Umetukah is Hebrew for "A Good and Sweet Year."
• Ketiva ve-chatima tovah is a longer greeting on Rosh Hashanah. The Hebrew translates as "May You Be Written and Sealed for a Good Year."

See also

• High Holidays
• Jewish holidays
• Hebrew calendar
• Rosh Hashanah kibbutz (Breslov)
• Shofar
• Ras as-Sanah

External links

• Chabad.org overview of Rosh Hashanah
• Formula to calculate the dates of Rosh Hashanah
• Rosh Hashanah at Judaism 101
• Complete Rosh Hashanah FAQ (AskMoses.com)
• TorahLab audio and text classes about Rosh Hashanah
• Rosh Hashana in a Nutshell from Chabad.org
• Rosh Hashana Prayers For Sephardic Jews
• Chart of symbolic foods and their corresponding prayers - PDF file
• OURadio's audio on Simanin, symbolic foods for Rosh HaShanah
• Torah.org's Rosh HaShanah - The Custom of Eating Symbolic Foods
• Rosh HaShanah Celebration - Rosh HaShanah Prayer book for B'nei Noah in PDF format.
• Short Audio on Rosh HaShanah from AskNoah.org Free e-mailed classes on the 7 Noahide Laws / Sheva Mitzvot B'nei Noah available

• Shiurim on Rosh Hashanah, at Yeshiva.org.il

• Q&A on Rosh Hashanah, at Yeshiva.org.il

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Rosh Hashanah  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Rosh Hashanah"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.