Shana Tova, Happy Jewish New Year 5776!

The Shofar is blasting 100 times all around the world shortly! Celebrate the Jewish New Year 5776 with us!-1

Symbols of Rosh HaShanah (Jewish New Year)

Shana Tova, Happy Jewish New Year 5776!

“Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.  Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’”  (Leviticus 23:23–25)

Jewish man sounding the shofar on Rosh HaShanah at the Western
(Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem.

Today is one of the holiest days of the Jewish year: Rosh HaShanah (Head of the Year)—the beginning of the Jewish year 5776.

Since this holy day is considered a Sabbath, no work is done; all over Israel and around the world, the Jewish People are attending services in local synagogues. Biblically, this celebration is known as Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets). Last night as the holiday began, selichot (prayers for forgiveness) intensified and this morning the shofar (ram’s horn or trumpet) is being sounded about 100 times, depending upon the community's tradition. It will continue to be sounded throughout this holiday season.

 
 

Round challahs at Jewish New Year have
become a widespread custom in many
communities, as their shape symbolizes the
yearly cycle.  Some add raisins or even sprinkle
these loaves with icing sugar to symbolize the
sweetness of the new year.

First and Second Day Customs

This holiday is a feast; therefore, it is customary for families to gather for a holiday meal that begins with the blessing over two round challahs (egg bread) dipped in honey. The challah is round to represent completeness, the continuity of creation and the omnipresence of God, as well as the yearly cycle. Right afterward, apple slices are dipped in honey.  This simple tradition conveys the hope that the coming year will be sweet and free of sorrow. Today, a special ceremony called Tashlich (casting off) will be performed. This ritual involves symbolically casting off sin.  To do this, bits of bread and other food will be tossed into a body of water, such as a stream, river, lake, pond or sea, which will carry them away.  As we toss them we recite Micah 7:18–19 and other verses. “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?  You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.  You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”  (Micah 7:18–19)

 
 

Rabbi performing Tashlich on the Israeli
coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Tonight as the sun goes down, the second night of Rosh HaShanah will begin, and many will observe the tradition of serving a fruit that has just come into season. This fruit is often the pomegranate since it comes into season in Israel around this time. According to Jewish tradition, the pomegranate has 613 seeds, which is the same number of mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah. The following blessing called the Shehecheyanu (Who Has Given Us Life) is recited before eating the fruit: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.  Amen.

 
 

Shofar, tallit (prayer shawl), and a pomegranate

The Shofar

“On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest [Shabbaton], a sacred assembly [mikreh kodesh] commemorated with trumpet blasts [Zichron Teruah].”  (Leviticus 23:24) In Leviticus 23:24, Rosh HaShanah is called Shabbaton Zichron Teruah, which is translated as a special Sabbath holiday of remembrance with the blasting of the shofar. That is why a central observance of this holy day is the sounding of the shofar, which heralds God as King of the Universe.  The shofar played a role when He came to the Israelites in a dense cloud at Mount Sinai. There in His presence, on the morning of the third day, three months after they left Egypt, amidst booming thunder and flashes of lightning, the shofar sounded. We can only imagine the intensity of the scene.  It was so powerful that "everyone in the camp trembled.”  (Exodus 19:16) Who blew the shofar from that thick cloud on Mount Sinai with all the people of Israel gathered below?  Was it an angel of the Lord or did Elohim—God Himself—blow the shofar?

 
 

A Jewish man blows the long shofar, which is fashioned from the horn of a
greater kudu (southeastern African antelope) in the Yemenite Jewish style,
at the Western (Wailing) Wall.

The shofar is an instrument of great spiritual significance.

The purpose of the sound of the shofar is to wake God’s people out of their spiritual slumber, to cause them to see the signs of the times, and to remind them to examine the spiritual condition of their lives. This is the message of teshuvah (repentance), which in Hebrew literally means to return.  Teshuvah, therefore, is turning from our sins and returning to God. So, why do we blow the shofar on Yom Zichron Teruah?  Although we know it is a commandment, the reasons are not specifically stated. "On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.  It is a day for you to sound the trumpets [Yom Teruah]."   (Numbers 29:1)

Young boy blowing a shofar made from a ram's horn.