Rosh Hashanah (redirected from Rosh Hashanna)

Rosh Hashanah

Jewish New Year. Sometimes called the Day of Judgment, Rosh Hashanah falls on Tishri 1 (in September or October) and ushers in a 10-day period of self-examination and penitence that ends with Yom Kippur. The liturgy includes the blowing of the ram's horn, or shofar, a call for spiritual awakening associated with the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. It is also called the Day of Remembrance, since it celebrates the creation of the world and the responsibilities of the Jews as God's chosen people. It is a solemn but hopeful holiday; bread and fruit dipped in honey are eaten as omens of sweetness for the year ahead.

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Rosh Hashanah, Rosh Hashana

the festival marking the Jewish New Year, celebrated on the first and second days of Tishri, and marked by penitential prayers and by the blowing of the shofar

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Rosh Hashanah

Between September 6 and October 4; Tishri 1 and 2

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year and the first two of the 10 High Holy Days ( see Teshuvah) that conclude with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Unlike the secular New Year's Day observance, this is a solemn season during which each person is subject to review and judgment for the coming year. It is a time of prayer and penitence, and is sometimes called the Day of Remembrance or the Day of Blowing the Shofar . The story of Abraham is read in the synagogue, and the blowing of the shofar ("ram's horn") serves as a reminder that although Abraham, in obedience to God, was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, God allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead. The plaintive sound of the shofar is also a call to penitence.
Orthodox Ashkenazim (Jews whose ancestors came from northern Europe) observe the ceremony of Tashlikh, a symbolic throwing of one's sins into a body of water, on the first day of Rosh Hashanah; Kurds jump into the water; kabbalists shake their garments to "free" themselves from sin. All debts from the past year are supposed to be settled before Rosh Hashanah, and many Jews ask forgiveness from friends and family for any slights or transgressions of the concluding year.
Jews celebrate the New Year by eating a special rounded loaf of challah bread, symbolic of the continuity of life, as well as apples dipped in honey, symbols of sweetness and health.

CONTACTS:
Union for Reform Judaism
633 Third Ave.
New York, NY 10017
212-650-4000; fax: 212-650-4169
www.urj.org
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
11 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
212-563-4000; fax: 212-564-9058
www.ou.org

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 683
BkFest-1937, p. 203
BkHolWrld-1986, Sep 18
DaysCustFaith-1957, pp. 244, 331, 337
DictDays-1988, pp. 27, 56, 97, 134
DictFolkMyth-1984, p. 1009
DictWrldRel-1989, pp. 155, 390, 630
FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 397
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 554
HolSymbols-2009, p. 773
OxYear-1999, p. 726
RelHolCal-2004, p. 53