Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. According to the Hebrew calendar, today marks the beginning of year 5779, the number of years since God created the universe.
One of the most important parts of the Rosh Hashanah celebrations is the repeated blowing of the shofar, or horn, at the synagogue, heralding the coming of the new year. This is done on both mornings of Rosh Hashanah (today and tomorrow). Hearing the shofar is a “mitzvah,” a divine commandment for all adult Jewish men.
Jewish males are expected to perform “tashlich,” the symbolic “washing off” of misdeeds at a body of water, reflecting repentance, reflections, and renewal.
Jewish families are encouraged to gather at home to pray, light candles, and eat a Rosh Hashanah meal. This meal includes sweet foods, like apples and honey, the head of a ram or a fish, and a round challah bread.
The ten days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, are to be a time of repentance when observant Jews atone for past misdeeds, seek forgiveness, and change their behavior. According to Jewish tradition, God opens the Book of Life each Belated Happy New Year…uh, Rosh Hashanayear on Rosh Hashanah to inscribe people’s fate for the coming year, but God does not seal that fate until Yom Kippur.
Not a bad idea for the rest of either!
Happy New Year to our Jewish friends.
