N\•
‘,..,
4. , . \ •,,,
...
..,.:'\ • • ,... 5
.
k . *Nk
\*
\ \'‘
wish famili
w-
Rosh Hashanah At A Glance
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
AppleTree Editor
I When: This year, Rosh Hashanah
begins the evening of Wednesday,
Sept. 15, and lasts for two days among
Conservative and Orthodox Jews, and
one day among most Reform and
Reconstructionist Jews.
I Why We Celebrate: Rosh (literally
"head") Hashanah ("of the year")
marks the Jewish new year and corn-
memorates the creation of the world.
The Torah commandment to
observe Rosh Hashanah is in Parshat
Emor (Leviticus 23:24), and in Parshat
Pinchas (Numbers 29:1). The words
"Rosh Hashanah" are not stated in the
Torah; the name of the holiday was
developed later. Rosh Hashanah also
inaugurates the three-week holiday
season in Judaism, continuing with
Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret
and culminating with Simchat Torah.
t Rites Of The Day: Like all Jewish
holidays, Rosh Hashanah features
extra prayers and a Torah reading.
What is unique about Rosh Hashanah
is the practice of blowing the shofar,
done immediately before the congre-
gation says the silent Amidah prayer at
Musaf.
All recite 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
says two blessings, after which he
blows three sets of blasts. This is fol-
lowed by a responsive reading of three
verses from Psalm 89.
In the Ashkenazi rite, the shofar is
again blown during the cantor's repeti-
tion of the Musaf Amidah; in the
Sefardi rite, the shofar is also 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 morning and afternoon
services.
Along with Yom Kippur, Rosh
Hashanah 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 pros-
tration occurs during the Aleinu por-
tion of the Amidah prayer.
lit Thematic Significance Of The
Holiday: Rosh Hashanah carries three
main themes. In addition to its impor-
tance 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 his fate.
Further, Rosh Hashanah is referred
to as the Day of Remembrance (Yom
haZikaron), when God remembers the
world, and we remember our relation-
ship with Him, the Torah and the
Land of Israel. We also reflect on our
lives during the past year, remember-
ing the right and the wrong of our
thoughts and actions.
Rosh Hashanah ,also is the day we
publicly proclaim the sovereignty of
God.
is accompanied by the recitation of
certain verses, including Micah 7:18-
20, Psalmsl18:5-9; 33 and 130, and
Isaiah11:9.
Tashlich is not a widely observed
holiday custom nor is it Halachah,
Jewish law. We do know the source of
the name of the ceremony (Micah7:19
states: "You will cast all their sins into
the depths of the sea"), but little is
known about its origin.
, Some have suggested that it is an
imitation of a pagan rite, while others
point out that fish, like God, never
close their eyes. (Thus we should
remember that God's eyes are always
upon us and observing our actions.)
Others point out that fish were amo
the first of God's creations and so
stood as witnesses to the beginning of
e world.
you a ge
ere ino
in tenryesd in er 0 7 :
sl
and no s ea
lick
fling stream are around, you
our bits of bread into a
Ater, as is usually
well fine
ne in Israel.
toms associate
out vo
lic
at the source o NwtAffr,,
e to a Talmudic vets
thing to moral pun
verses from the Zola
Customs d Tradidp
Jewish h
than any o,
Hashanah),s replete with sy
foods, m ost <notably honey.
ces of apple in honey an
We di
er expre,
recite a
MS.
so az
ear.
for a
of the usual
oney i
bread
day immediately
at begins
e mot=
salt) fo
'411 is Tzom
following
the me
is that begins
Gedaliah, one
bolic foods inc
Other'
t sunrise and ends at'sundown (as
r the head of a shee
head of a
used to Yom Kippur and Tisha
art of Rosh
play on the
ich are 24-hour fasts).
b
d on a
Hashanah), carro ts
Tz m Gedaliah commemo
for
Yiddish pun on the w
edali
murder
"increase") or pomegranates (which
time of King
governor of Isra el
have many seeds, symbolic01 many
of abylonia.
Nebuc
children or many good deeds),
nezzar not only attacked and
Some Jews also observe tashlich,
estroyed
much of Israel (including the
which literally means "you shall cast.
Temple sanctuary), he exiled virtually
It begins late afternoon on the first
day of Rosh Hashanah, or on the sec- - the entire Jewish population — except
a few, including the man he appointed
ond day of Rosh Hashanah if the first
as governor, Gedaliah ben Achikam.
day is Shabbat. The inspiration for
A rival king ordered the assassination
tashlich reflects a desire to begin the
of
Gedaliah and hired as his hitman
new year with a clean slate and God
Yishmael ben Netaniah, a Jew.
forgiving the past sins for which one
In their decision to institute a fast
has repented and literally tossed away.
In this ceremony, participants assign day in his memory, the rabbis said,
"The death of the righteous is likened
"sins" to bits of bread, then symboli-
to the burning of the house of God."
cally rid themselves of these by tossing
Today,
some see Tzom Gedaliah — a
the bread into the water. Usually, this
day on which one Jew killed another
Jew.— as a response to factionalism,
rivalry and hostility within the Jewish
community.
it On The Web: Be careful. Instead of
sorting through the zillions of places
that do nothing more than sell you
something, check out these sites with
confidence:
vvvvw.chabad.org/holidays/jewish-
nevvyear/ — This great spot provides a
calendar to guide you from Elul
through Simchat Torah. Included are
essays, stories, blessings, Jewish laws
and in-depth study guides. Lots of ter-
rific art and recipes, too.
www.bbc.co.uldschools/religion/jud
aism/rosh_hashanah.shtml —
Nobody would identify the British
Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) as Israel's
reatest advocate. But this is actually
retesting, if very basic, site. You
d out when the BBC will
nformation of Jewish
information
be Ix&
interest, if yo e planning a trip to
Great BritairL
http://holida.rifn.org/rosh-
::*.s probably the
hashanah/ —11X&1
most useful WelPH"you'll find
ir you
to anything
t
(because it can direc
ether you're
d everything
itioking for basiC, ormation about
Rosh Hashanah timanistic to
ions, Rosh
Orthodox co
Hashanah amities for little children
or hearingsshofar online. Best of
all, the is this spot's holiday •
heck out the honey cookies,
rec.
arian Rosh Hashanah dishes and
e "Sort of Sepharidic Sweet Potatoes
and Squash." -
One caveat: this place plays Shalom
Aleichem over and over and over as you
consider all it has to offer. If you're not
already insane getting ready for the
High Holidays, you will be by the time
you"ve heard this music 100 times.
www.israel-catalog.com — Want to
send a Rosh Hashanah basket of good-
ies to sick children in Israeli hospitals
or to Israeli soldiers on the front line?
Just pop on over to this Web site,
where you can purchase ($19.95) a
basket of treats, including cookies and
coffee. All foods are kosher. Ili
9/10
2004
83