Review 1
History
Ritual
Vocabulary
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh HaShanah · Head of the Year / Jewish New Year
The Jewish New Year and Day of Judgment, opening the ten Days of Awe that lead to Yom Kippur.
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1
The basics
Name, translation, date and length — the facts to have by heart.
Name and timing
- Hebrew name
- Rosh HaShanah
- English translation
- Head of the Year / Jewish New Year
- Date / timing
- 1–2 Tishrei (falls in September–October); opens the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe)
- Length
- 2 days
- Historical reason
- Marks the New Year and the annual Day of Judgment opening the Days of Awe.
2
Meaning and story
Why this exists, what happened, and the values it carries.
What it means
- Rosh Hashanah means 'Head of the Year' — the Jewish New Year.
- It is the Day of Judgment (Yom HaDin) and the beginning of the / Days of Awe.
- The central spiritual work is — turning, repentance, return.
Story and history
- Rosh Hashanah is not built on a single narrative event; it has no historical story behind it the way Sukkot or Chanukkah do — it is the annual moment of judgment, accounting and return.
- The imagery of the season is God as judge and as shepherd, with each person passing before God to be inscribed for the year.
Major themes and values
- and — sin and return
- The balance of justice and mercy (Avinu Malkeinu)
- The as a metaphor for judgment
- God as shepherd counting the flock
3
Practice
Rituals, symbols, prayers and foods — and the reason behind each.
Rituals and observances
- Hearing the : , , .
- — penitential prayers before and during the season.
- — symbolically casting sins into .
- Candle lighting, blessing the children, Kiddush and HaMotzi at home.
- dipped in and a festive meal, concluding with Birkat HaMazon.
- Praying from the , the High Holiday prayer book.
- Greeting: L'shanah Tovah Tikateivu — may you be inscribed for a good year.
Why we do these rituals
- The is a wake-up call to the soul — it interrupts routine and calls the listener to before the Day of Judgment. Its sound announces the new year.
- The is taken from the new fall harvest: something new, dipped in so that the newness is sweet — a sweet new year.
- Words of forgiveness are part of the day: we begin asking to be forgiven and forgiving others.
- makes repentance physical and visible: what we cast into the water we resolve to leave behind.
- Blessing the children and the festive meal root the new year in family and gratitude.
Symbols and what they mean
- Shofar
- Ram's horn; awakening call to repentance and to judgment — the sound that announces the new year.
- Apples
- Fruit of the fall harvest; something new taken and dipped in .
- Honey
- That the new year should be sweet.
- Book of Life
- Metaphor for judgment: who is inscribed and sealed for the coming year.
- Flowing water (Tashlich)
- Carrying away sin; the possibility of starting clean.
Important prayers and readings
- — High Holiday prayer book
- Avinu Malkeinu — 'Our Father, our King', appealing to both justice and mercy
- service
Foods
- dipped in
- Festive meal
- with Kiddush and HaMotzi
4
Words to know
The Hebrew vocabulary for this topic.
Vocabulary
- Yamim Noraim
- Days of Awe — the ten days from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur.
- Teshuvah
- Repentance; literally turning or returning.
- Chet
- Sin; missing the mark.
- Tekiah / Shevarim / Teruah
- The blasts: one long blast, three broken blasts, nine short staccato blasts.
- Selichot
- Penitential prayers of the High Holiday season.
- Tashlich
- Casting sins into .
- Machzor
- Prayer book used for the festivals and High Holidays.
- Yom Tov
- A festival day.
- L'shanah Tovah Tikateivu
- 'May you be inscribed for a good year' — the season's greeting.
5
Beth Din prep
Answer these out loud before you sit down with the rabbis.
What I should be able to explain to the Beth Din
- 1Why we sound the and what the blasts are called.
- 2Why we eat and .
- 3What is and why we do it.
- 4What means and how the Days of Awe work.
- 5The home rituals of the Rosh Hashanah table, in order.