Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year is observed on the first two days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei and ushers in the Yamim Noraim or ten days of repentance which culminate with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

Rosh Hashanah is a time for self-introspection and reflection. It is also a time to come together with friends and family, in the synagogue and in the home to mark the beginning of a new calendar year. Though most people are familiar with Rosh Hashanah chiefly because it begins the New Year, Rosh Hashanah also marks the birth of the world. In fact, the term Rosh Hashanah first came into use in the Mishnah, the corpus of rabbinic oral law which, along with the Gemara makes up the Talmud. In the Tanach, Rosh Hashanah is referred to as Yom HaZikaron, the Day of Remembrance or Yom HaTeruah, the day of the blasts. This latter term refers to the fact that a key part of Rosh Hashanah services are the hundred blasts of the shofar that are heard. A common explanation given for the blast of the shofar is that it is a sound which calls us to repentance.

A substantial portion of Rosh Hashanah is spent in prayer. Synagogue services are expanded tremendously. A special siddur, called a Machzor, which comes from the Hebrew word for cycle is used on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur owing to the many liturgical additions. The bulk of the additions on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur occur during the repetition of the Amidah or Shemoneh Esrei, the main prayer in every service throughout the year, weekday, Shabbat and festival alike. Many of the additions are known as piyyutim or liturgical poems and many of them were composed during the middle Ages. In addition to the themes of repentance and teshuvah, an overarching theme of the prayers on Rosh Hashanah is G-d’s kingship.

As with many other Jewish holidays, there are numerous symbolic foods associated with Rosh Hashanah. Perhaps the most familiar is the custom to dip apples in honey which symbolizes our wishes for a sweet new year. Although this custom is of Ashkenazi origin, it is now a near ubiquitous custom, observed by Jews all around the world. Challah, the bread served at Shabbat and festival meals is round rather than being braided. Traditionally, one puts a bit of salt on the challah but on Rosh Hashanah, the challah is dipped in honey.

In some Jewish communities, a Rosh Hashanah Seder has developed. A variety of symbolic foods are eaten and after a given food has been eaten, people say, “May it be Your will, G-d” followed by a wish for the new year which the food symbolizes. Some of the foods and the wishes associated with them are based on word play with the Hebrew name of the food. One example: after eating the head of a fish or sheep, one might say, “May it be your will, G-d, that we always be at the head and not the tail”.

It is also customary to take particular care to eat a new fruit on the second night of Rosh Hashanah. A popular fruit for this is the pomegranate, but any fruit which you have either never tasted or haven’t tasted for a while can be used. And let’s not forget the sweets! Honey and apple cake are incredibly popular Rosh Hashanah dessert options.

As Rosh Hashanah ushers in the Yamim Noraim or ten days of repentance, an incredibly important aspect to the holiday is self-introspection. Our liturgy calls us to begin this process in many ways. In addition to focusing inward during prayer services at synagogue, many people will write down resolutions or goals they would like to achieve in the New Year, not unlike the popular American tradition to write out New Year’s resolutions on January 1st. People will also make a concerted effort to apologize to those whom they have wronged and make amends for misdeeds of the past year. As a means of symbolically casting one’s sins away, it is customary to do Tashlich on the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah (when the 1st day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, this is pushed back to the 2nd day). Tashlich is a brief ceremony performed at a running body of water. The word tashlich comes from the German for pockets and refers to the fact that people carry breadcrumbs in their pockets which they then cast into the water as a means of casting their sins away and entering the New Year with a clean slate.