Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year. It is the first holiday of the High Holy Days. The other being Yom Kippur. Jews accross the world observe Rosh Hashana with numerous traditions. Some friends ask me why we get off of school for this day and not other holidays, like Hanukah. One major part of Rosh Hashana is going to the synagogue. On the first and second of the month of Tishri, we purify our souls for a great, new year.
One tradition we observe is to dip apples in honey. Honey represents the sweetness of the year to come. The apple has more to offer than just a sweet flavor. It symbolizes the scent which Jacob had when he was blessed by Issac, the scent of an apple orchard. Also, an apple has a star and ten holes when cut in half horizontally. The ten points of the star represent the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet which is a Yod. Five represents a Hey, the fifth letter. Yud Hey Vav Hey is God's name in Hebrew. Why do we dip the apples? I am not quite sure, but my guess is the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life were apple trees in the Garden of Eden. By dipping we are inscribing ourselves in the Tree of Life sweetly. Please comment if you know the true reason. Another reason we eat apples and honey is because they are just in season.
Added to that tradition, we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashana. The Shofar is made out of a ram's horn. The instrument dates back to ancient times where it was used for different purposes, like gathering the people for assembly or warning them of an approaching enemy. In modern times, the shofar makes all bad spirits tremble and flee. When these spirits flee, the shofar sounds the new year. The shofar is like when the ball drops in Times Square; the new year has begun.
More foods than just apples and honey are traditional for Rosh Hashana. Challah is eaten every Shabbat, but the challah is round on Rosh Hashana. The roundness symbolizes the cycle of every year. When one year ends, the next begins. Also, new fruits of the season are eaten on the second night of Rosh Hashana. Some Jews avoid these fruits all summer just to have the joy of eating them for the first time this night. The popular fruit to enjoy is a pomegranate. Pomegrantes are one of the seven fruits of Israel and have many seeds. The seeds are the many splendors and good deeds that we will be a part of throughout the year. According to legend, a pomegranate has 613 seeds, just like the Torah has 613 commandments. Just thinking about Rosh Hashana makes me a little hungrier.
After synangogue on the New Year, Jews join together near a body of water. This is called the Tashlich service. Around the water, Jews cast off bread crumbs. The crumbs are the sins we have committed over the year. Even if a seagull or a duck eats the crumb, at least our sins are gone and we are pure again. Today I experienced my first Tashlich. I went with my grandma and father. We all enjoyed it very much. Tashlich is a very symbolic tradition of Rosh Hashana.
To conclude, Rosh Hashana is not just the day off from school. To Jews, it is a very special day. I wish all my readers a good, healthy, happy new year. !שנה טובה לכולםTo a good year everyone.
Adam - this holiday is so rich with traditions and symbolism. One other important one is the torah portion read on the first day - the story of Abraham and Isaac. It is the beginning of faith that Abraham had.
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