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Holidays

i „,
May the New Year bring to
all our friends and
v health, joy, prosper',
everything good in

ng & Doreen Lichtman

Everything you need to know
about Rosh Hashanah.

•

To all our
relatives and
friends, our
wish for a year
filled with

happiness,
health &
prosperity.

Fred & Patti Erlich &
family

A VERY

HAPPY & HEALTHY
NEW YEAR
TO ALL OUR
FRIENDS & FAMILY.

'064,41.0 **

,"`""

`

•

Dr. Mathew & Joyce
Borovoy

A VERY
HAPPY & HEALTHY
NEVV YEAR
TO ALL OUR
FRIENDS & FAMILY.

Franka & Allen
Charlupski

A VERY
HAPPY & HEALTHY
NEW YEAR
TO ALL OUR
FRIENDS & FAMILY.

9/26
2003

56

Alan & Lenore Deutch-Singer
Brad, Stephanie & Justin

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

AppleTree Editor

*When: This year Rosh Hashanah
begins tonight, Sept. 26, and lasts for two
days (one day among some Reform congre-
gations).

* Reason For The Holiday: The celebration of
the new year on the Jewish calendar, and the
commemoration of the creation of the world.

* Why We Celebrate: The Torah command-
ment to observe Rosh Hashanah is found in
Parshat Emor (Leviticus 23:24), and in Parshat
Pinchas (Numbers 29:1). (The name of the holi-
day — Rosh Hashanah — is not stated in the
Torah; this developed later.) Rosh Hashanah also
inaugurates the big, three-week holiday season in
Judaism, continuing with Yom Kippur, Sukkot,
Shemini Atzeret and culminating with Simchat
Torah.

* What The Name Of The Holiday Means In
English: Rosh Hashanah is Hebrew for "head of
the year," or "beginning of the year." (Rosh
means "head," ha is "the," shana means "year.")

* Rites And Rituals: Like all Jewish holidays,
Rosh Hashanah includes extra prayers and a
Torah reading. What is unique about Rosh
Hashanah is the practice of blowing the shofar,
the horn of a kosher animal, usually a ram.
The shofar is sounded during the Musaf serv-
ice, that is, the liturgy that follows the Torah
reading (the service on Rosh Hashanah morning
— like every Shabbat and major Jewish holiday
— is divided into preliminary prayers (psukei
d'zimra), morning prayers (shacharit), Torah
reading (kriat Torah) plus haftorah, additional
service (Musafi and closing prayers).
The shofar is blown immediately before the
congregation recites the silent Amidah prayer.
In most synagogues, everyone recites Psalm 47
seven times. The perSon blowing the shofar and
the congregation then responsively recite seven
verses drawn from Psalms and Lamentations.
The shofar blower next recites two blessings,
after which he blows three sets of shofar blasts.
This is followed by a responsive reading of three
verses from Psalm 89.
In the Ashkenazi rite, the shofar is again

blown during the cantor's repetition of the Musaf
Amidah; in the Sefardi rite, the shofar is blown
during the congregation's silent Amidah prayer.
The shofar is not blown on Shabbat.
For the Torah reading, five persons are called
up. If Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, seven are
called up.
Except on Shabbat, the Avinu Malkeynu
prayer is recited after the Amidah of the morn-
ing and afternoon services.
Rosh Hashanah, along with Yom Kippur, is
the only day we prostrate ourselves in prayer —
in a modified form — as was done in the days
of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The prostra-
tion is done during the Aleinu portion of the
Amidah prayer (the same Aleinu was later added
to the end of each of the three daily services, but
without prostration).
Prostration is performed by kneeling and
touching the forehead to the floor. It is practiced
almost exclusively by Orthodox Jews.

* Thematic Significance Of The Holiday:
Rosh Hashanah carries three main themes.
Beyond its importance as the beginning of the
calendar year, Rosh Hashanah is regarded as the
Day of Judgment (Yom ha-Din), when God
weighs the acts of each person over the past year
and decides the fate of each life.
Rosh Hashanah also is referred to as the Day
of Remembrance (Yom ha-Zikaron), when God
remembers the world, and we remember our
special relationship with God, the Torah and the
Land of Israel.
We also reflect on our lives during the past
year, remembering the right and the wrong of
our thoughts and actions. Rosh Hashanah fur-
ther is regarded as the day we publicly acknowl-
edge the sovereignty of God.