Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 27, 2022

Jews from across the world will begin celebrating Rosh Hashanah this evening.

Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Jewish New Year, is one of Judaisms holiest days. It begins on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar.

It also marks the start of year 5783 in the Jewish calendar. The old-time holiday is an occasion for reflection and is often celebrated with prayer, symbolic foods, and the blowing of a traditional horn called a shofar.

Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown this evening and continues through Tuesday evening. The date varies every year since its based on the Hebrew calendar.

Heres everything you need to know about the holiday.

What is Rosh Hashanah?

Rosh Hashanah means head of the year or first of the year, according to Judaism101. Which is why the holiday is referred to as the Jewish New Year.

Rosh Hashanah traditionally calls on people to consider how they might have failed or fallen short in the past year and how to improve and grow in the coming year.

The holiday commemorates the creation of the world, according to History.com. It also marks the beginning of the 10 Days of Awe a 10-day period of introspection and repentance. Yom Kippur, is considered the most important holiday in Judaism, is a final day of atonement.

Some Jews observe Rosh Hashanah for one day while others observe over a two-day period. Work is prohibited during the holiday and religious Jews spend most of the day in the synagogue.

How is Rosh Hashanah celebrated?

During Rosh Hashanah, many Jewish people will attend services at synagogues and other spaces for worship on Rosh Hashanah. Jewish congregations will recite prayers from a special prayer book known as the machzor and sing songs to mark the new year.

Some Jewish communities will blow a Shofar, a curved rams horn. The sound of the horn serves as a call to repentance and a reminder to Jews that God is their king, according to History.com.

The shofar blower plays four sets of notes: tekiah, a long blast; shevarim, three short blasts; teruah, nine staccato blasts; and tekiah gedolah, a very long blast.

Some Jews may also pray near a body of water in a Tashlich ceremony, in addition to tossing pieces of bread or other food into the water to symbolize sending off sins. Its one of Rosh Hashanahs most iconic traditions.

After religious services are over, many Jews celebrate with a festive meal and other customs. Sweet foods are popular during Rosh Hashanah, ancient Jews believed apples had healing properties and honey signifies the hope that the new year will be sweet.

During the holiday, Jews eat loaves of the traditional braided bread known as round challah. On Rosh Hashanah, the bread is often baked in a round shape to symbolize the circle of life and the crown of God.

Normally, Jews will greet each other on Rosh Hashanah by saying lshana tova the hebrew phrase means good year or for a good year.

More:

Traditional Jewish American foods keep changing, with cookbooks playing influential role in how Jews mark Rosh Hashanah

Originally posted here:

Rosh Hashanah 2022: What you should know about the Jewish New Year - PennLive

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