In 2022, Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) will be celebrated on Sunday 25 September. We invite you to learn more about the history of this holiday and the traditions that are followed in Jewish families.
How to determine the date
Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) is celebrated for two consecutive days on the new moon of the autumn month of Tishrei (Tishri) according to the Hebrew calendar. According to our calendar, the holiday usually falls on September or October. From the day of the celebration of Rosh Hashanah according to the Jewish calendar, the countdown of the days of the new 5783 begins.
Ha-Ivri is the luni-solar calendar of the Jews, the official calendar in Israel along with the Gregorian one familiar to Europeans. All months of the calendar start on a new moon, so each date falls on the same phase of the moon.
According to this calendar, Jewish holidays are celebrated, the corresponding chapters of the Torah are read in synagogues, birthdays and days of memory of deceased relatives are celebrated, dates are stamped on official and commercial documents.
history of the holiday
According to Rabbi Eliezer, the interpreter of the Book of Genesis, on this day God completed the creation of the universe by creating the first people. In addition, on the same day, the dove that Noah sent did not return to the ark, because the earth dried up after the flood.
Rosh Hashanah is called the day of the “sacred meeting”, when you have to blow the horn (a symbol of a call to Divine judgment), make sacrifices and you cannot work.
It is believed that these days God is judging the whole world, predetermining the fate of people in the new year: who will live, and who will die, what income everyone will have in the coming year. Repentance and prayers on these days should influence the decisions of the Creator, therefore believers give themselves and God an account of all their actions for the previous year. And although all this is a rather serious process, the Jews believe that the Lord only wants the best for them, and therefore these days are still considered a holiday.
According to canonical sources, the following events took place on Rosh Hashanah:
- Creation of the first man (Adam), creation of Hava, violation of the prohibition is not from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, expulsion from paradise.
- Noah came out of the ark after the flood.
- The pregnancy was sent to Sarah, Rachel and Hannah.
- Sacrifice of Yitzhak.
- Yosef came out of captivity.
- The hard labor of the Jews stopped during the Egyptian slavery.
It is with Rosh Hashanah that the Days of Awe begin - ten days of prayer and repentance, which end with Yom Kippur - the most important holiday, the day of fasting, repentance and absolution. It is believed that at the beginning of this period, God sits on the throne of a just judge and carefully evaluates the actions of all people. But then God "transplants" to the throne of mercy and gives people another chance to correct themselves.
Three books were opened before God at this time.
- The first contains the names of the righteous, whose good deeds outweigh the evil.
- The second book contains the names of sinners, those who more often committed unkind deeds.
- The third book, the one in the middle, contains the names of most of the people. They are not righteous, but they are not inveterate sinners either. Their scales with good and evil deeds are, so to speak, in balance. It is these people who have a chance to correct their lot by sincere repentance.
Thus, the Jewish New Year is both the beginning of human history, and God's judgment, and an opportunity to renew relations with God, to make a kind of “reset”.
Traditions
Traditional greeting for the holiday "Shana tova u-metuka!" (Hebrew שנה טובה ומתוקה!) - Have a good and sweet year!
An important attribute of the holiday is the shofar, a Jewish ritual wind instrument made from the horn of an animal. The tradition of using the horn dates back to Moses, and now it is used during worship on Rosh Hashanah and during a number of other holidays.The sound of the shofar means that a person must remember the past year, his mistakes and deeds, analyze them and repent.
Important! Before the shofar is sounded, do not eat or drink (if it does not harm your health). It is customary to listen to the sounds of the shofar while standing.
In Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to bring children to the synagogue to listen to the shofar and teach them to behave in a manner appropriate to this moment. Mothers should keep very young children near them, since, in principle, women are exempted from fulfilling the commandment to listen to the shofar, and if the child interferes with the mother's concentration, this will not be considered a violation of the commandment. During prayer, Musaf is blown a hundred times, no more. Anyone who has already listened to the blowing of the shofar, or has blown himself, has the right to blow during the day for those who have not yet fulfilled this commandment. It is desirable that the blessing be said before this by one of the listeners.
Important! If the first day of Rosh Hashan falls on Shabbat, then the shofar is blown only on the second day.
Also on the holiday, Tashlikh is carried out: the Jews gather on the shore of the reservoir and, while reading prayers, shake crumbs out of their pockets into the water, as if feeding their sins to the fish.
The second day of Rosh Hashan differs from the second days of other holidays in that it is in all respects considered equal to the first day (unlike the other "second days", it was not set because of a doubt about the exact date). Moreover, the Talmud says that both days of Rosh-Hashan are "one long day."
On the second day of Rosh-Hashan, candles are lit at nightfall, after the stars appear, just before Kiddush.
Traditional treats
- apples with honey - they start a meal right after the challah, believing that such an initiative will make the year sweet and happy;
- head (fish or lamb) - to be "at the head" all year round;
- fish as a symbol of fertility;
- carrots cut into circles as a symbol of wealth, as they resemble coins;
- round sweet challah with raisins - so that the year turns out to be healthy and full of prosperity;
- vegetables and fruits calling for a good harvest.
On this day, they give each other gif.webpts, send congratulations to those who are far away. The family gathers at the table, which is decorated with traditional festive dishes. Of course, any person wants the beginning of the year to be good, "sweet" for him. That is why many dishes are served on the table on this day, symbolizing the wish for a “full,” happy year.
Read also:
- Teachers day 2022
- Parents' days (Radonitsa) in 2022
- Ascension in 2022
