Jewish New Year

Jewish New Year (Rosh HaShanah) starts at sundown on Wed. Sept. 20.

The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance.

Rosh Hashana is the beginning of the High Holiday season.

Tree of Life Necklace

Rosh HaShana Challah Cover

Did you know that there are 5 names for Rosh HaShanah?

1. Rosh Hashana literally means "Head of the Year" because Rosh Hashana marks the point when we begin the new calendar year (e.g. from 5772 to 5773).
2. Yom Harat Olam means "The Birthday of the World."
3. Yom Hazikaron means "The Day of Remembering."
4. Yom Hadin means "The Day of Judgment."
5. Yom Teruah means "The Day of Sounding (the Shofar)." This is the actual name that the holiday is called in the Torah.*

The Jewish High Holidays mean:

We get a chance for teshuvah (return to G-d), turn over a new leaf and begin again doing the right thing.
We hear the shofar – a wake-up call to jostle us, to seriously taking stock of what we’ve done all year and make sure we are worthy of being written into the Book of Life. “God sits in judgment, deciding whether or not we have merited to be inscribed in the divine book of life.“ **
We eat apples dipped in honey to celebrate the sweetness of life.
The challah is round symbolizing the circle of life.

Shanah Tovah u’meitukah,
Happy and Sweet New Year!

Linda B.

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