Rosh Hashanah

RT Rosh Hashanah 5770 - Rosh Hashanah --the name means "Head of the Year" --is observed for two days beginning on the evening of September 18th (Tishrei 1), the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, "all inhabitants of the world pass before God like a flock of sheep," and it is decreed in the heavenly court, "who shall live, and who shall die..... who shall be impoverished, and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise." The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram's horn, which represents the trumpet blast of a people's coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance; for Rosh Hashanah is also the first of the "Ten Days of Repentance" which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Altogether, the shofar is sounded 100 times in the course of the Rosh Hashanah service. Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include: a) Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, and other special foods symbolic of the new year's blessings. b) Blessing one another with the words Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."