Rosh Hashanah

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Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah

How To Celebrate Rosh Hashanah

Step 1: Set the Rosh Hashanah Table
It is traditional to use a white tablecloth for Rosh Hashanah, just like on other Jewish holidays and the Sabbath. Setting the table with your best china and silver enhances the holiday mood.

Two covered loaves of challah should be set on the table. Round challah loaves are often used on Rosh Hashanah to symbolize a perfect, cyclical year to come. Some also like to serve challah loaves with raisins inside for added sweetness. The challahs should be covered with a cloth.
Apples, cut into slices, should also be on the table.
A bowl of honey should be near the challah and the apples.
Lastly, each family head should have a kiddush cup. A bottle of kosher wine and/or grape juice should also be on the table.

How to Greet Your Jewish Friends on the Jewish Holidays

What are the correct ways for a non-Jewish person to respectfully convey warm wishes to Jewish friends on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?

What are the Jewish High Holidays?

The Jewish High Holidays, also called the High Holy Days, refer to the ten day period beginning on Rosh Hashanah and ending on Yom Kippur.

From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur

Since God judges on Rosh Hashanah and sentences on Yom Kippur, those days and the days in between are a time of reflection and repentance. Thus, this ten day period is also known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) and the Ten Days of Repentance (Aseret Yamei Tsuvah).

Including Shabbat Shuvah

Rosh Hashanah Prayers and Torah Readings

The machzor is the special prayer book used on Rosh Hashanah to lead worshippers through the special Rosh Hashanah prayer service. The main themes of the prayer service are repentance by man and judgment by God, Our King.

Best Ways to Observe Elul

Elul

Elul, the Hebrew month preceding Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, is a time of introspection, repentance, reconciliation, and heightened spirituality.

Why Observe Elul?

If one has prepared physically for a race, the race experience is more likely to be positive. And if one has prepared spiritually for the Jewish Days of Judgment and Atonement, the High Holy Days experience is more likely to be positive too.

How To Observe Elul?

These three suggestions for ways to observe Elul aim to help you prepare spiritually for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

1. Better Yourself

In preparation for the New Year and Day of Atonement, Elul is the perfect time to honestly critique past behavior and commit to better behavior. What mistakes did you make this past year? How can you be a better person in the upcoming year? Who do you want to be?

Suggestion #1: Make a list of changes you want to make in yourself. Be sure to include concrete ways to make those changes. For example, if you want to lose weight, commit to which days you will go to the gym.

2. Improve Relationships with Others

According to Jewish tradition, Elul is the time to resolve relationships with others by asking forgiveness for wrongdoings. In addition to improving upon old relationships, Elul can be an opportunity to build new relationships with your family and friends.

Suggestion #2: Make a list of those people with whom you would like to improve upon an old or build a new relationship. Include ways to make the changes. If a disagreement with a friend stands unresolved, pick up the phone and resolve it. If you want to improve your relationship with your teenage son, commit to times and plan activities to do with him.

3. Move Closer to God

"God is my light and my helper, whom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27). Every day during the month of Elul, Psalm 27 is recited. In addition, sometime during the month of Elul (depending on your synagogue's custom), selichot prayers asking forgiveness from God are recited. Lastly, the shofar, whose blasts remind us that God is our King, is sounded following weekday morning prayer services during Elul.

Suggestion #3: Attend your synagogue's morning prayer services, at least some mornings, during the month of Elul. If preferred, in your home, with your family, you can recite and discuss psalm 27 and the selichot prayers and you can blow a symbolic toy horn. The special prayers and sound of the shofar will help you to prepare spiritually for the upcoming High Holy Days.

A New Beginning

Now that you have maximized Elul as an opportunity to better yourself, improve your relationships with others, and move closer to God, it is time to wish you a Shana Tova (Happy New Year) and Gmar Chatima Tova (Good Signing in the Book of Life)!

Licensed by Lisa Katz

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