By MICHAEL C. DUKE is the Jewish New Year. The holiday is dictated in Leviticus 23:23-24. The name, are traditional Rosh Hasha- Rosh Hashanah, is of Talmudic origin and means nah foods. Dipping apples in honey symbolizes a sweet “head of the year.” The Torah refers to the holiday as New Year. Apples and honey are the second foods eat- Teruah, “the Day of the Sounding of the ,” en during the Rosh Hashanah meal, following challah High Holy Days and Yom HaZikaron, “the Day of Remembrance.” dipped in honey. R Blown more than 100 times during High Holy Day The shofar blast on Rosh HashanahA recalls the services, the SHOFAR serves as a wake-up call for BINDING OF ISAAC (Gen. 22), in which Abraham sac- to repent. It is a mitzvah to hear the sound of rifices a ram in place of his son, Isaac, as an offering to the shofar, except when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shab- G-d. During the High Holy Days, as Jews pray for a year bat and the shofar is not blown. A shofar can come of health and prosperity, we evoke Abraham’s readi- from the horn of any kosher male animal belonging to ness to serve G-d even at the cost of his only son. the Bovidae family, except for cattle. Most Ashkenazic and SephardicS are ram’s horn; Yemenite sho- CHALLAHB is an important part of the Rosh Hasha- fars are made from kudu horn. nah and break-fast meals. Round challahs represent completeness and continuity. Ladder-shaped TASHLICH is a ceremony performed on the after- challahs symbolize ascendance and the rising of one’s noon of Rosh Hashanah. Participants literally “cast commitments to . High Holy Day challahs are off” the previous year’s sins by throwing pieces of baked with honey for added sweetness. bread into flowing water. Tashlich comes from the prophetic passage that is recited upon performing the The DAYS OF AWE are a 10-dayC period between ritual: “You will cast all their sins into the depths of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In Hebrew, the period the sea” (Micah 7:18-20). T is known as Yamim Noraim. Jews use this time for se- rious introspection, self-examination and repentance UNETANEH TOKEF is one of the most important for sins committed the previous year. liturgical verses said during the High Holy Days. The poem proclaims the importance of Rosh Hashanah as Nuts, orD EGOZIM, should not be eaten during Rosh the day on which judgment is passed, whereby G-d de- Hashanah. Egozim are avoided because the Hebrew cides “who shall live and who shall die, who shall live word, according to Gematria, is numerically equiva- a full lifeU and who shall not.” lent to the word for sin, chet. The absolution of VOWS (hatarat nedarim) en- On the second night of Rosh Hashanah,E it is custom- ables a Jew to be judged by G-d on the High Holy Days ary to eat a FRUIT that has not yet been eaten this sea- without any unfulfilled promises. The ritual is per- son. Doing so gives us the opportunity to say the She- formed by one Jew asking three others to serve as a hechiyanu (thanksgiving prayer). Pomegranates often A to Z religious court (bet din). In turn, each of the four asks are eaten as the new fruit, since they are said to contain the other three to act as their bet din. JHV: MICHAEL C. DUKE V 613 seeds, representing the 613 mitzvot in the Torah. The Weiss brothers, Justin, 17, and Zack, 21, have the honor of sounding the shofar during High Holy Day services for Congregation Shaar Hashalom in Clear Lake. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are considered days Ketiva ve’chatiaF tovah is a traditional Jewish New Year is a post-Talmudic ritual in which a chicken The names four different days on the as of rest. WORK, and other activities prohibited on , are not GREETING. The Hebrew translates as “May you be written and is swung in a circle three times overhead, thereby symboli- a NEW YEAR. 1 Tishri, despite being the start of the seventh month, permitted (Lev. 23:23-24; 28-32). sealed for a good year.” Another common Rosh Hashanah greet- cally transferring one’s sins to the fowl. An animal friendly, is the New Year for years and the beginning of sabbatical and ing is L’shana tova umetukah – wishing “a good and sweet year.” halachically acceptable alternative is to substitute money for years. 1 marks the date for counting calendar months and the AccordingW to commentary on the Mishnah, a Jewish house- the chicken and swing that in a handkerchief overhead while reign of kings. 1 marks the New Year for the tithing of animals. 15 hold’s yearly allowances should be set on Rosh Hashanah, with The HIGH HOLY DAYS are a 40-day period beginning with the reciting, “This money shall go to charity, and I shall go to a indicates when the first fruits of the year can be eaten. the exception of three types of EXPENSES: expenses for Shab- new moon in the month of Elul, runningG through Rosh Hasha- good, long life and to peace.” N bat, Yom Tom (holidays and festivals) and the cost of children’s nah and ending with Yom Kippur. The most important stretch of According to the Talmud (Ta’anis 29b, Biyur Hagra), apples Torah education (Ba’er Hetaiv Orach ChaimX 242:1). the Jewish calendar, the High Holy Days recall the 40 days The wearingK of LEATHER SHOES is one of several prohibi- are dipped in honey on Rosh Hashanah because Isaac blessed his spent on before descending with the second set of tions observed on Yom Kippur. The Torah (Lev. 23:27) states son, Jacob, in an apple ORCHARD. In the Genesis story (27:27), YOM KIPPUR, the Day of Atonement, is considered the holiest the Ten Commandment tablets. that Jews should “afflict” themselves on this day to demon- Isaac blessed Jacob with the words: “The fragrance of my son is day of the year. It is regarded as the “ of .” With strate the extent of our regret for past misdeeds. Leather like the fragrance of an orchard which G-d had blessed.” focus on atonement and repentance, the day is observed by inten- According toH the Talmud (RH 16b), G-d determines the fate of shoes should not be worn as they are considered a luxury sive prayer and a 25-hour fasting period. Yom Kippur occurs on 10 each human being during the Days of Awe. On Rosh Hashanah, item. Other prohibitions include no food and drink, no bath- PENITENTIAL PRAYERS are recitedO leading up to the High Tishri. Its prayer service has five components: Ma’ariv, Shacha- the wholly righteous are INSCRIBED in the , while ing, no perfumes or lotions and no marital relations on Yom Holy Days. Known as , these prayers focus on the process rit, Musaf, Mincha and Ne’ilah. Yom Kippur also includes a public the wholly wicked are inscribed in the Book of Death. The fate Kippur. L of teshuvah (repentance). Selichot features the recitation of the confessionY of sins and a special prayer of the high priest in the of all others is decided on Yom Kippur, allowing time to make “13 Attributes” of mercy that G-d revealed to Moses after the sin Holy Temple in Jerusalem. amends for wrongdoings. The special prayer book used during the High Holy Days is of the golden calf (Ex. 34:6-7). I called the MAHZOR, meaning “cycle.” It contains prayer litur- P The Rosh Hashanah shofar service is divided into JUDGMENT is a central theme during the High Holy Days. The gy for the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services, as well as Although High Holy Day liturgy is post-Talmudic in age, its three parts. The middle portion is called ZICHRO- liturgical writings describe the New Year as the great judgment day a collection of liturgical poems known as piyyutim. Though thematic core dates back to the Second Temple era. Two-thou- NOT, “Verses of Remembrance.” In hearing the sho- in which G-d rules on the world and all its creatures. Jews ask to be prayers in the mahzor are sung with melodies reserved only sand-year-old writings found in the caves of QUMRAM, known as far sound, we remember G-d’s role as Creator and forgiven for transgressions in hope that G-d will judge us favorably for the High Holy Days, the book contains no musical accent the Dead Sea Scrolls, provided source materialQ for many prayers Sovereign of the world. In doing so, we reaffirm our per- and inscribe us in the Book of Life for the coming year. notations. and verses recited today on the High Holy Days. sonal connections to, and communalZ covenant with, G-d. a Page 40 J September 9, 2010 JEWISH HERALD-VOICEM JHVONLINE.COM 5771 ROSH HASHANAH EDITION September 9, 2010 JEWISH HERALD-VOICE JHVONLINE.COM 5771 ROSH HASHANAH EDITION Page 41