Jewish New Year – an Introduction

Jewish New Year, also referred to as Rosh Hashanah, is one of the popular Jewish holidays observed on the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar – Tishrei. Literally means “head of the year”, Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holidays, also known as Yamim Noraim or “Days of Awe” and Asseret Yemei Teshuva or “The Ten Days of Repentance”. These days are earmarked for focusing on the repentance, which conclude with Yom Kippur. The civil year of the Hebrew calendar starts with the Jewish New Year. Though there are three more new years in Hebrew calendar, however Jewish New Year is the new year for people, legal contracts and animals.

After the self introspection and repentance of the month of Elul – the final month of Jewish year, Jewish New Year is the time for some rest. The activities prohibited on Shabbat are also restricted on Jewish New Year. The occasion is characterized by blowing of shofar – a trumpet made from the horn or a ram.

Customs

The traditional way to wish in Jewish New Year is by saying shana tova, means “a good year” or shana tova umetukah, means “a good and sweet year”. Some may also sana tovah tikatev v’etahetem, which means “may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” In Jewish culture, it is believed that the fate of a person for the coming year is decided during the High Holy Days. One the Jewish New Year day, people practice tashlikh where prayers are recited near natural flowing water. Symbolically one’s sins get cast away into the water. Many also throw pebbles or bread into the water.

Piyyuttim or religious poems are read on the Jewish New Year day. There are also special prayer books called mahzor for this occasion. Amidah prayers for shacharit as well as Mussaf are also read during this time. Biblica verses are also recited.

One of the most popular customs of the Jewish New Year is Shofar, which is blown during the Mussaf at various intervals. There are three different types of sounds that Shofar makes, which include Tekiah with one long sound, Shevarim with 3 broken sounds and Teruah with many short sounds. The sounds of Shofar have got two variations as well, including Tekiah Gedolah and Teruah Gedolah.

Rosh Hashanah 2011