Rosh Hashanah (רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה)

Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew year, is one of four Jewish New Years. The others are Tu B’Shvat (the New Year of Trees on 15 Shvat), the first day of Elul (the last month of the civil year and the start of the religious taxation period for tithing animals), and the first day of Nisan (the start of the lunar Hebrew year and the day the Exodus began).

Rosh Hashanah, the first day of month of Tishrei, isn’t the day Hashem started to create the world per the traditional Torah narrative. It’s the day Adam and Chava (Eve) were created, since without humans, our beautiful planet wouldn’t be worth much.

Reading every single word of the Bible literally has never been part of the Jewish tradition. Instead, we believe each day of Creation represents a much longer period.

The trope (cantillation) used for the High Holy Days liturgy is only heard during this special time of year. During the preceding month of Elul, there’s a sneak peek preview service called Selichot (whose date varies depending upon custom). Selichot begins at halachic midnight on Saturday night.

Rosh Hashanah liturgy is longer than typical Shabbos liturgy, though not nearly as long as Yom Kippur liturgy. Just like the special trope, there are also prayers which are only said at these services. One of the best-known is Avinu Malkeynu (Our Father, Our King). This prayer is never said on Shabbos, so if one of the two days of the holiday falls out on Shabbos, it can only be said once.

The UMass–Amherst Hillel rabbi taught me the custom of alternating the lines as “Our Father, Our King” and “Our Mother, Our Queen.”

The Torah reading on the first day, Genesis 21, covers the announcement that Avraham and Sarah will have a child, Yitzchak (Isaac)’s birth, the casting-out of Hagar and Yishmael, and their subsequent rescue. A very important lesson comes from the angel telling Hagar not to worry, that God has heard the cry of the boy in his place. This teaches us to approach people in the place they are, in a way they can understand, instead of assuming our own experience, learning style, level of religiosity, etc., is universal.

The Torah reading for the second day is the Akeidah, the Binding of Isaac, a story almost everyone has long struggled with. More than a few people believe Avraham failed the test, that Hashem didn’t really mean for him to almost murder his son. After the Akeidah, Hashem never speaks to him again, Sarah dies of heartache (believing Isaac was killed), and Isaac’s relationship with his dad becomes very strained.

We have such a long tradition of arguing over, reinterpreting, disagreeing with, and fleshing out the text of the Bible, despite how angry atheists treat their own experience of Biblical literalism and zero outside study as universal.

The Haftarah reading of the first day is very special to me, since that’s one of my favourite Biblical stories and the source of my Hebrew first name, Chana (Hannah). Chana desperately, silently prays from her soul for a baby at Shiloh, which makes High Priest Eli think she’s drunk. From this, we get the custom of silently praying the Amidah before the communal repetition.

Chana’s wish is granted, and she finally has a child, Samuel (Shmuel), whom she dedicates to the service of Hashem after he’s weaned. She later has five more kids.

I’ve long wanted to name my own firstborn son Samuel, and the story of young Samuel receiving his first prophetic call has always been very meaningful to me. I haven’t yet abandoned hope I’ll someday have a child of my own!

Rosh Hashanah is one of only three times a year we bow all the way to the ground during Aleynu. This isn’t the regular Aleynu near the end of services, but Great Aleynu, put in the Amidah for the High Holidays. I love prostrating on the floor, on my hands, knees, and forehead, feeling so humbled and in the Divine presence.

I also love the blowing of the shofar. The sound of this ancient instrument evokes the feeling of the heavens opening. When Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, we can’t blow the shofar. It’s not a prohibition against the actual blowing, but fear of getting so fired-up about doing the mitzvah one forgets about Shabbos and carries the shofar in the public domain.

On Rosh Hashanah afternoon (but not on Shabbos), people throw breadcrumbs or fish food flakes into a natural body of water to symbolically cast off sins. This service is called tashlich.

It’s customary to eat pomegranates and fruits one hasn’t eaten all year. This frequently includes exotic fruits like dragonfruit, starfruit, lychee, jackfruit, durian, passionfruit, horned melon, and Asian pears. We also dip apple slices in honey.

Another custom is eating the head of a fish (eyeballs and all!), or even the head of a sheep, representing the head of the year and hoped-for wisdom. Many people also serve carrots. Ashkenazim eat honey cake, while Sephardim and Mizrachim eat light-coloured foods.

Rosh Hashanah is the only holiday that’s observed for two days in both Israel and Diaspora. It’s that important and special.