Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, two days spent in prayer for the coming year and marked with festive meals.
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Four New Years MISHNAH
Four New Years
MISHNAH
Rosh Hashanah, commonly known as the Jewish New Year, is actually one of four New Years in the Jewish calendar. The Mishnah details these four New Years and explains the unique purpose each one serves.
Feasting on SymbolsHALAKHAH
Feasting on Symbols
HALAKHAH
Among the ways that one may hope to ensure good things in the year ahead is to eat symbolic foods on Rosh Hashanah. R' Joseph Karo and R' Moses Isserlis, of the sixteenth century, present the practices of Jews from Spain (Sepharad) and Germany (Ashkenaz), respectively.
The First Day of the Seventh MonthTANAKH
The First Day of the Seventh Month
TANAKH
The Torah does not identify Rosh Hashanah as “Rosh Hashanah.” Rather, it identifies the first of the seventh month as a day on which the horn — namely, the shofar — is sounded.
Unlike Other New Months TALMUD
Unlike Other New Months
TALMUD
Rosh Hashanah is not only the beginning of the new year but also of a new month, Tishrei. At the beginning of all the other new months of the year, songs in praise of God (hallel) are typically recited, but in the Talmud, Rabbi Abahu, explains why hallel is not recited at the beginning of the month of Tishrei on Rosh Hashanah.
God as King LITURGY
God as King
LITURGY
The liturgy of Rosh Hashanah highlights the day’s theme of God’s kingship. While this prayer is known from the Ashkenazi Shabbat liturgy, it is dramatically emphasized on Rosh Hashanah to emphasize God as King.
The First of the Ten Days of Repentance HALAKHAH
The First of the Ten Days of Repentance
HALAKHAH
Rosh Hashanah kicks off the Ten Days of Repentance — a period in the calendar during which introspection and self-improvement are especially important — that end with Yom Kippur. Maimonides, in his twelfth-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, explains the power and immediacy of repentance during these ten days.
The Very First Rosh Hashanah MIDRASH
The Very First Rosh Hashanah
MIDRASH
Why is the commemoration of creation an auspicious day for divine judgment? Vayikra Rabbah, an ancient collection of midrash (biblical interpretation) from the land of Israel, answers this question, explaining the historical relationship between Rosh Hashanah, creation, and divine judgment.
A Doubly Long Day COMMENTARY
A Doubly Long Day
COMMENTARY
Traditionally, Rosh Hashanah is observed as a two-day holiday, but why is this so? Rabbi Hayyim David Azulay of the eighteenth century recounts an earlier biblical interpretation to explain how this practice emerges from the Torah.
A Blast to Recount the Past COMMENTARY
A Blast to Recount the Past
COMMENTARY
The Torah says that Rosh Hashanah is to be commemorated with loud blasts, but what are we commemorating? The renowned eleventh-century northern French biblical commentator, Rashi, connects the shofar to the Binding of Isaac, which resonates through the liturgy.
A Day on Which God Remembers MIDRASH
A Day on Which God Remembers
MIDRASH
The Torah narrates that God remembered Sarah but does not explicitly say that this happened on Rosh Hashanah. The medieval midrash Tanhuma fills in that detail and more.
It is the Law TANAKH
It is the Law
TANAKH
The book of Psalms calls for Israel to blast the shofar upon the new moon, which the rabbis understand as a reference to Rosh Hashanah, presumably because of the mention of the shofar. This verse appears prominently in the Rosh Hashanah liturgy.
Three Types of Blasts TALMUD
Three Types of Blasts
TALMUD
The shofar blasts of Rosh Hashanah are broken into three main categories of Kingship (malchuyot), Commemorations (zikhronot), and Horns (shofarot). The Jerusalem Talmud identifies the biblical verses on which the three different groups of shofar blasts are based and their presence in the month of Tishrei.
Casting Away SinsHALAKHAH
Casting Away Sins
HALAKHAH
Nine BlessingsTALMUD
Nine Blessings
TALMUD
There are nine blessings in the central prayers of Rosh Hashanah, a unique feature of the Rosh Hashanah liturgy. Rabbi Isaac, in the Babylonian Talmud, explains that the prayers on Rosh Hashanah are modeled after the prayer of Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, who long struggled to conceive.
God’s Record BookMIDRASH
God’s Record Book
MIDRASH
The process of God’s judgment on Rosh Hashanah is a theme throughout the liturgy. In this midrash, the rabbis use biblical verses to better understand God’s decides and records our fate.
The Head of the YearKABBALAH
The Head of the Year
KABBALAH
“Rosh” literally means “head,” so “Rosh Hashanah” literally means “the head of the year” and marks the new year for God, the King of kings. The Zohar, the central text of Jewish mysticism, identifies Isaac with Rosh Hashanah and connects him to divine judgment of all of God’s creations.
A Cosmic Shift from Chaos to RepairCHASIDUT
A Cosmic Shift from Chaos to Repair
CHASIDUT
The Torah says that “God remembered Sarah” and that she conceived, and the rabbinic tradition adds that this remembrance was on Rosh Hashanah, also known as the “day of remembrance.” The nineteenth-century chasidic master, Rabbi Yaakov Leiner of Izhbitz, explains that this narrative moment marks a shift in the nature of the universe.
Invoking Maternal PowerJEWISH THOUGHT
Invoking Maternal Power
JEWISH THOUGHT
The Torah portion read on the first day of Rosh Hashanah from Genesis 21 invokes Hagar’s power as a mother. The twentieth-century rabbi, Moshe Amiel, explores why this is so and the role of her power in the liturgy.
