Beginning at sundown on Sept. 11, Jewish communities around the world will welcome Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The two-day holiday begins the High Holy Days, a period centered on reflection, renewal and making amends before Yom Kippur.
Rosh Hashanah falls on the first two days of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. Its name translates to “head of the year,” and it marks the beginning of the year 5787.
The holiday is often associated with celebration: family meals, synagogue services and wishes for a sweet year ahead. But it is also a time for taking stock. Rosh Hashanah opens the Ten Days of Repentance, sometimes called the Days of Awe, which lead to Yom Kippur, Judaism’s Day of Atonement.
One of the holiday’s most recognizable traditions is the sounding of the shofar, a ram’s horn, during Rosh Hashanah services. Its calls are meant to invite reflection and spiritual awakening — a reminder to pause amid the noise of everyday life and consider the year that has passed.
Food carries meaning, too. Apples dipped in honey are perhaps the best-known Rosh Hashanah tradition, expressing the hope for a sweet new year. Many tables also include round challah, often with raisins, whose shape can represent the cycle of the year. Customs and dishes vary among Jewish families and communities, including rich traditions from Sephardic, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi cultures.
A common greeting is “shana tova,” meaning “a good year.”
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