The festival of
Rosh Hashanah--the name means "Head of the Year"--is observed for two days beginning on
Tishrei 1,
the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of
the creation of
Adam and Eve,
the first
man and woman,
and their first actions toward the realization of
mankind's role
in G-d's world.
Rosh Hashanah thus emphasizes the
special relationship
between G-d and humanity: our dependence upon G-d as our creator and sustainer, and G-d's
dependence
upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, "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."
But this is also the day we proclaim G-d
King of the Universe.
The Kabbalists teach that the continued existence of the universe is dependent upon the
renewal of the divine desire
for a world when we accept G-d's
kingship
each year on Rosh Hashanah.
The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the
shofar,
the ram's horn, which represents the trumpet blast of a people's coronation of their king. The
cry
of the shofar is also a call to
repentance;
for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of
man's first sin and his repentance thereof,
and serves as the first of the "Ten Days of Repentance" which culminate in
Yom Kippur,
the Day of Atonement. Another significance of the shofar is to recall the
Binding of Isaac
which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac's place as an offering to G-d; we evoke Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son and plead that the merit of his deed should stand by us as we
pray
for a year of
life, health and prosperity.
Altogether, we listen to 100 shofar blasts
over the course of the Rosh Hashanah service.
Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include: a) Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey to symbolize our desire for a
sweet
year, and other
special foods
symbolic of the new year's blessings.
b) Blessing one another with the words Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."
c) Tashlich,
a special prayer said near a body of
water
(an ocean, river, pond, etc.) in evocation of the verse, "And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea." And as with every major Jewish holiday, after candlelighting and prayers we recite Kiddush and make a blessing on the Challah.
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