Rosh Hashana is the festival that marks the beginning of the Jewish year. It occurs on the first day of the month of Tishrei, the seventh month of the year (September in the secular calendar). Conservative and Orthodox Jews celebrate Rosh Hashana for two days.
Surprisingly, the name "Rosh Hashana" is not mentioned in the Bible. The Bible calls the festival Yom Teruah (the Day of the Sounding of the Horn). The holiday is mentioned in Leviticus 23:23-25 which states:
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelite people thus: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts. You shall not work at your occupations; and you shall bring an offering by fire to the Lord.
The first day of Tishrei was one of four new years in Biblical times. The first day of Nisan (the first month) was the new year of kings. Kings marked the beginning of their reign from the first of Nisan, no matter when in the year they were actually crowned. The first day of Elul was the new year for assessing the tithing of animals.The first day of Shvat (later changed to the 15th) was the new year of trees, the date for calculating that year's harvest for tithing purposes.
Historians are uncertain about the original purpose of the Tishrei festival or about why it became more important than the other new years. One suggestion is that it marked the beginning of the agricultural year. Another idea notes the significance of the number 7 in Judaism and suggests that the seventh month was the reason for the festival and possibly the reason for its prominence over the three other new years.
The book of Nehemiah describes how Ezra read the scroll of the law to the Israelites who had returned from Babylonia on the first day of the seventh month. The people felt very remorseful for neglecting the laws of the Torah in Babylonia. On that day they renewed their covenant with God and promised to obey God's law. This was the beginning of associating this festival with renewal and a pledge to obey God (Neh. 8:1-8).
In Rabbinic times, the first of Tishrei became known as Rosh Hashana (head of the year). Also during this time, Rosh Hashana was called the Birthday of the World and the Day of Judgment. The rabbis also arranged the calendar so that Rosh Hashana would never fall on a Sunday, Wednesday or Friday. By so doing, they prevent Yom Kippur from ever falling the day before or the day after Shabbat. This tampering insured that there would never be two days in a row when one could not cook or bury the dead.
The Significance of Rosh Hashana
While most other Jewish holidays are community celebrations, Rosh Hashana focuses on the individual. It is a day for reflecting and reviewing one's actions over the past year and resolving to do better in the coming year. Rosh Hashana is also a day when we confront our own mortality. We pray that God will inscribe us in the Book of Life for another year.
The Month of Elul
Elul, the month preceding Tishrei, has traditionally been a month for prayer and study. According to tradition, Moses went up Mt. Sinai on the first day of Elul to receive the stone tablets. He stayed there for forty days and nights coming down on the day that became Yom Kippur.
Selikhot
The Selikhot service is traditionally held in the synagogue at midnight on the Saturday before Rosh Hashana. It is a way of getting into the mood for the holiday.
Tashlich
The basis for the Tashlich service is a verse in the Biblical Book of Micah (7:19)
He will take us back in love;
He will cover up our iniquities,
You will hurl all our sins
Into the depths of the sea
This verse is the background for the custom of going to a river (or any flowing water) on the afternoon of Rosh Hashana, reciting prayers and casting bread into the water. This custom is not found in the Torah or the Talmud and various theories as to its origins and meaning have been offered.
