Difference between revisions of "Rosh Hashanah" - New World Encyclopedia
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==Names and origins== | ==Names and origins== | ||
| − | The term "Rosh Hashana" | + | The term "Rosh Hashana" appears in the [[Hebrew Bible]] in {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|40:1|HE}} in general reference to the "beginning of the year." {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:24|HE}} refers to the festival of the first day of the seventh month as ''Zicaron Terua'' ("a memorial with the blowing of horns"). {{bibleverse||Numbers|29:1|HE}} calls the festival ''Yom Terua'', ("Day of blowing the horn") and defines the nature of [[animal sacrifice]]s that were to be performed. |
| − | + | [[Orthodox Judaism|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 Judaism|Reconstructionist]] and [[Reform Judaism]], some communities observe only the first day of Rosh Hashanah, while others observe two days. [[Karaite Judaism|Karaite Jews]], who do not recognize [[oral law#Oral law in Judaism|Jewish oral law]] and rely solely on Biblical authority, observe only one day on the first of Tishrei. | |
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| − | 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 [[Rosh Hashana (Talmud)|tractate "Rosh HaShana"]] in both the [[Talmud|Babylonian Talmud]] and the [[Jerusalem Talmud]]. This also contains the most important rules concerning the calendar year. | + | 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 [[Rosh Hashana (Talmud)|tractate "Rosh HaShana"]] in both the [[Talmud|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 [[midrash]]ic descriptions depict [[Names of God in Judaism|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 [[Jewish liturgy]] Rosh Hashanah is described as "the day of judgment" ''(Yom ha-Din)'' and "the day of remembrance" ''(Yom ha-Zikkaron)''. Some [[midrash]]ic descriptions depict [[Names of God in Judaism|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)''. | |
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===Historical origins=== | ===Historical origins=== | ||
Revision as of 23:00, 1 December 2008
| 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."
Names and origins
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).
Historical origins
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 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 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 (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.
Religious observance and customs
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.
Rosh Hashanah is characterized by the blowing of the shofar,[1] a trumpet made from a ram's horn.
Preceding month
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 beginning 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.[2] Orthodox and some Conservative Jewish communities do not blow the shofar on Shabbat.[3]
In the period leading up to the Yamim Noraim (Hebrew, "days of awe") penitential prayers, called selichot, are recited.
Erev Rosh Hashanah
The day before Rosh HaShanah is known as Erev Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew. It falls on the 29th day of the Hebrew month of Elul, the day before the 1st of Tishrei. Some communities have the customs to perform Hatarat nedarim - a nullification of vows - after the morning prayer services during the morning of Erev Rosh Hashanah. 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 in honor of the coming day.
Day of Rosh Hashana
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 Psalms 81:4: "Blow the shofar on the [first day 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.
There are four different sounds that the Shofar makes, Tekiah (one long sound), Shevarim (3 broken sounds), Teruah (many short sounds) and Tekiah Gedolah (a very long sound) During the time when the Shofar is being blown we must listen carefully, not talk and do Teshuva (repentance). In many synagogues, even little children come and hear the Shofar being blown.
The traditional greeting on Rosh Hashanah is "shana tova," (pronounced [ʃaˈna toˈva]) Hebrew (שנה טובה) 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 until 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 Isaiah 11:9 ("They will not 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 Psalms 118:5-9, 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 of an animal (to symbolize 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 is 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 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"; Lev 23:24) and the reference of Ezra to the day as one "holy to the Lord" (Neh 8:9) seem to point. The passage in Psalms 81:5 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 are 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" (Psalms 69:29).
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 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." 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 Job 1:6 and Job 2:1, "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)
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
Notes
- ↑ In accordance with Leviticus 23:24.
- ↑ Maimonides, Yad, Laws of Repentance 3:4
- ↑ There is an exception. 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 (translation of Haaretz article)
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
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
| Jewish and Israeli holidays | |
|---|---|
| Jewish holidays | Shabbat · Rosh Chodesh · Rosh Hashanah · Fast of Gedalia · Yom Kippur · Sukkot and Hoshanah Rabbah · Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah · Hanukkah · Tenth of Tevet · Tu Bishvat · Fast of Esther and Purim · Fast of the Firstborn and Pesach · Counting of the Omer · Pesach Sheni · Lag Ba'omer · Shavuot · 17th of Tammuz · The Three Weeks · The Nine Days · Tisha B'Av · Tu B'Av |
| Holidays in Israel | Yom HaShoah · Yom Hazikaron · Yom Ha'atzmaut · Jerusalem Day |
| Hebrew calendar months | Tishrei · Cheshvan · Kislev · Tevet · Shevat · Adar · Nisan · Iyar · Sivan · Tammuz · Av · Elul |
| |||||||||||
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