Setting the Days

Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishrei.  The holiday is observed for two days because in ancient times it was difficult to determine the exact day on which the new moon occurred.  To insure that the New Year was observed on time, a second day was added to this holiday although the two days are “technically” considered to be one very long day.

In some communities, Rosh Hashanah is observed on the first of Tishrei only.  While bearing some similarities to the secular New Year of January 1st, Rosh Hashanah differs from the secular holiday in important ways.  Like January 1st, which separates one secular year from the next, Rosh Hashanah separates one Jewish year from another.  On each January 1st, a year is added counting from the birth of Jesus, or in Jewish terminology, from the beginning of the “Common Era.”

Each Rosh Hashanah we add a year counting from the creation of the universe.  For this reason, Rosh Hashanah is sometimes called the “birthday of the world.”  When Rosh Hashanah next occurs, it will mark the beginning of the year 5769.

A Spiritual New Year . . .

Unlike January 1st, with its parties and celebrations, Rosh Hashanah is a spiritual New Year, a time of serious reflection as well as of great joy.  Like the secular New Year, people do not go to their usual activities, such as work or school. But Rosh Hashanah is hardly a “day off,” a time for engaging in leisure activities.  Instead, Rosh Hashannah is a time when Jews attend religious services, examine their moral behavior, ask for forgiveness from God, and promise to repent from sin.  Every Rosh Hashanah is an opportunity to make a fresh start.

And a Day of Judgment

Rosh Hashanah is more than just a time for starting over.  It is traditionally considered to be a day of judgment, when God determines which people are worthy of being granted another year of life.  The prayers for Rosh Hashanah describe God as a king who has the power to add names to the Book of Life, or to delete names from the Book of Life.

The Jewish concept of “judgment,” however, also makes room for human beings to influence God’s decision through repentance, prayer, and good deeds.  In order to appear before God in a state of repentance, many rabbis, cantors, and congregants come to synagogue dressed in white, a symbol of purity.  It is also traditional dress the Torah scrolls in white mantles.

The Bibical Basis for Rosh Hashanah

The commandment to observe Rosh Hashanah is found in Leviticus 23:24 and Numbers 29:1.  These passages describe Rosh Hashanah as a day for making loud blasts.  During Rosh Hashanah services, these blasts come from an instrument called a “shofar,” a horn usually taken from a ram.  Hearing the blowing of the shofar is central to the observance of Rosh Hashanah.  This unique sound is meant to arouse worshipers from their spiritual slumber and call them to righteous behavior.  The shofar is sounded during the morning service on both days of Rosh Hashanah.  In many synagogues, the blowing of the shofar is omitted when Rosh Hashannah falls on the Sabbath.  Rosh Hashanah ends at sundown with a ceremony called “havdalah,” which separates the holiness of the day from the weekday that follows.

Tashlich: A Cleansing Ceremony

At a special ceremony called “tashlich,” which usually takes place on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashannah (unless the first day is a Saturday), worshipers symbolically cast their sins into the water to help them feel cleansed. Small pieces of bread are used to symbolize sins.  The ceremony includes passages from the prayer book and the Bible and takes place near a body of flowing water, such as an ocean, river, or stream.

Home Observance

In the home, families and friends welcome Rosh Hashanah with candles, wine, special blessings, and a festive meal.  It is traditional to eat apples or challah dipped in honey, as well as other sweet foods.  In this way, Jews act out their desire for a “sweet” New Year.   The challah used on Rosh Hashanah is round rather than long and braided as on the Sabbath.  Because a round challah has no beginning and no end, it symbolizes the continuity of life and Jewish tradition.  Some Rosh Hashannah challah also has raisins.

Jewish Gefilte Fish Helps Bring in the Jewish New Year One of the most popular Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) dishes for Ashkenazic Jews — Jews from Eastern Europe, is “gefilte fish.”  According to the Bible, Jews may eat only fish that have both scales and fins. Gefilte (geh-fill-tah) fish has neither! Gefilte fish is not a species, like salmon or cod, but oval-shaped fish croquettes traditionally made from carp, pike, and whitefish — all freshwater fish.  These fish are filleted, ground, mixed with a variety of ingredients, shaped into croquettes, and poached. Gefilte means, “stuffed.”  In its original form, gefilte fish was a forcemeat (ground fish) that was stuffed into a whole fish skin and cooked.  Over time, the recipe evolved to the form most popular today, that of balls or oval shaped pieces that are poached in fish stock. Gefilte fish is traditionally served at Rosh Hashanah because of a tradition of serving a whole fish for the holiday meal.  The word “Rosh” in Hebrew means, “head.”  Rosh Hashanah means, “head of the year” — the highest point.  Serving a fish with a head expressed a wish that the coming year would be a happy and prosperous one.  Even though, today, gefilte fish is rarely stuffed into the fish skin, the tradition of serving it continues.  Gefilte fish was traditionally thought of as a housewife’s “signature” recipe.  Women would jealously guard their secrets, passing them on from mother to daughter, but rarely from neighbor to neighbor.  Bessie Steinberg’s Gefilte Fish is a family recipe that has been passed on in the Steinberg-Marx-David family for four generations.

Rosh Hashanah Foods Reflect Wishes for the New Year

There are many different food customs for Rosh Hashanah.  Jews who originally came from Eastern Europe (Ashkenazic Jews) bake a round challah (a sweet egg bread) to symbolize the cycle of the completion of a year and the wish for peace.  Carrots cut into “coins” and sautéed or baked in honey symbolize the wish for a prosperous and sweet New Year.  Sweet potatoes are usually used in place of regular potatoes for the same reason.  Honey cake and apple strudel are traditional pastries.

Sephardic Jews, whose origins are in Spanish-speaking countries, North Africa, and the Near East, have different food customs for Rosh Hashanah.  Egyptian Jews eat black-eyed peas, which are associated with fertility and prosperity.  Jews from North Africa eat couscous, also a symbol of prosperity, cooked with seven different vegetables. The number seven, because it is the day of the week on which God rested, is considered to be the ultimate “lucky number” in Judaism.

Special recipes for Rosh Hashanah:
(Each links opens a new window for printing; close to return to this page.)

• Miriam’s Honey Cake
  
  
• Poached Apples Diana
  
  
• Marx Family Apple Fritters
  
  
• Gabi’s German Apfeltarte (Apple Tart)
  
  
• Polina’s Russian Apple Cake
  
  
• Honey Sauce for Pancakes and Waffles
  
  
• Bessie Steinberg’s Gefilte Fish
  
  
• Rabbi Jo’s Fruit Tzimmes, an Ashkenazic Rosh Hashanah Dish
  
  
• Marx Family Carrot Coins, an Ashkenazic New Year’s Recipe
  
  
• Spinach and Chickpeas, a Sephardic New Year’s Dish
  

Blessings for Rosh Hashanah

Shabbat Shuvah:  Friday, Oct. 3, to Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008

Shabbat Shuvah

The Sabbath between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is known as Shabbat Shuvah — the Sabbath of Return.  This name comes from the Hebrew word teshuvah as well as from the prophetic reading for this day that begins “Shuva Yisrael” — “Return Israel to the Lord your God” (Hosea 14:2).

The name of this special sabbath underscores the theme of the High Holy Days — the return to a relationship with God and to a life of good deeds.