Did you know that Rosh Hashanah greeting not first were sent in Germany in the 1400’s? Learn more about the curious history of Jewish New Year cards.
What to Cook for Rosh Hashanah
Wondering what to cook for Rosh Hashanah? Celebratory food customs vary amongst Jews for the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. The meals are festive, and usually elaborately prepared. Here are some customary elements for a Rosh Hashanah menu: Honey Because of the custom of dipping apples into honey, the sweet food has become symbolic and well-used […]
Why is there a Rosh Hashanah?
Why is there a Rosh Hashanah? Rosh HaShanah serves a number of purposes in the Jewish calendar. The New Year Celebrating the cycle of the year is an important way to acknowledge the passing of time. Rosh HaShanah is the announcement of the changing over of the date from one year to the next. This […]
How is Rosh Hashanah Celebrated?
Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated with a level of solemnity not seen in the secular celebration of the New Year. Prayer It is traditional for Jews to spend much of the day of Rosh HaShanah in synagogue, in prayer. The prayers speak to the major religious themes of the holiday: repentance and […]
Why isn’t the Jewish New Year in January?
Why isn’t the Jewish New Year in January? There are actually four “new years” in the Jewish calendar. There is a New Year for Kings, a New Year for the Trees, a New Year for the Tithing of Animals, and Rosh HaShanah, the New Year for Years. This last one is the one that is […]
How Do You Say Happy New Year in Hebrew?
The Talmud tells us that our fate for the coming year is inscribed by G-d in the Book of Life on Rosh HaShanah, but it is not sealed and made permanent until Yom Kippur. The traditional Ashkenazic greeting, therefore, is “l’shanah tovah tikateivu v’tikhateimu”, meaning “may you be inscribed and sealed [in the Book of […]
Traditional Rosh HaShanah Foods
While all Jewish holiday foods are rife with symbolism, those of Rosh HaShanah are particularly poignant and heartfelt with hopes and wishes for the new year. We eat foods that are sweet as we hope our judgement will be, round to symbolise the circle of life and G-d’s endless sovereignty, or that grow in abundance, […]
How Many Days is Rosh HaShanah?
The Torah prescribes one day of celebration for Rosh HaShanah – the first day of the seventh month, as defined by the sighting of the New Moon by witnesses. However, the timing of that sighting could be out by a day, and even if it was sighted on the correct day, communication in ancient times […]
