Rosh Hashanah
Rosh HaShanah (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, Rōʾš hašŠānā, lit. "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (יוֹם תְּרוּעָה, Yōm Tərūʿā), literally "day of shouting or blasting." It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm; "Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25,[2] that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. The High Holy Days comprise both Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
Rosh Hashanah is a two-day observance and celebration that begins
on the first day of Tishrei, which is the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year. In contrast to the
ecclesiastical lunar new year on the first day of the first
month Nisan,
the spring Passover month which marks Israel's exodus from Egypt, Rosh Hashanah
marks the beginning of the civil year, according to the teachings of Judaism,
and is the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve,
the first man and woman according to the Hebrew Bible,
as well as the initiation of humanity's role in God's world.
Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the shofar
(a cleaned-out ram's horn), as prescribed in the Torah, following the
prescription of the Hebrew Bible to "raise a noise" on Yom Teruah.
Its rabbinical customs include attending synagogue services and reciting
special liturgy about teshuva, as well as enjoying festive meals. Eating symbolic
foods is now a tradition, such as apples dipped in honey, hoping to evoke a
sweet new year.
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