Holidays Around the World: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Author: Alyccea Nymaessene
If you’re in Israel during September this year, you may have the opportunity to experience two of the most important holidays in the Jewish calendar. These are the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets, is the first of the Jewish High Holidays, and marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year at the start of the month of Tishrei. Just as we use the New Year period to reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the following year, Rosh Hashanah is a time for members of the Jewish faith to reflect on their behaviour over the past year, and any wrongs they might have committed. It is believed that on Rosh Hashanah, God judges each person’s fate for the coming year, deciding whether they will live or die based on their actions over the past year. For this reason, Rosh Hashanah is also referred to as the Day of Judgment.
This year, Rosh Hashanah falls on 13-15 September. In the Jewish calendar, each day begins at sunset, rather than at midnight as most of us are used to. Rosh Hashanah will therefore begin at sunset on 13 September, and run until sunset on 15 September.
The reason this holiday lasts for two days is historically due to the fact that the day of the Jewish New Year was originally marked by the appearance of the new moon. On the evening after the 29th day of the preceding month, Elul, the court of Jerusalem would wait for witnesses to testify that the new moon had appeared. If the witnesses appeared, the day would be sanctified as the first day of Tishrei, and would therefore be a holy day on which no work could be performed. However, if the witnesses did not appear, then the following day would be sanctified as holy instead. But because members of the court were unable to travel on the holy day, there was no easy way to communicate the sanctification of Rosh Hashanah to those Jews outside of Jerusalem. Consequently, it was decided that both days would be sanctified, so that Jews everywhere would know to respect the purity of both days of the holiday.
These days, the timing of Rosh Hashanah is determined based on calculation rather than witness testimony, however the tradition of the two-day holiday has remained. During this time, businesses are closed, and Jews will wish each other a “Shana Tova” or good new year. If you are in Israel during this period, it is worth visiting a synagogue to hear the prayers and the blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) which is intended to announce the day of judgment and inspire the people to repent. It is also common for Jewish households to eat a feast on Rosh Hashanah, with several symbolic foods including fish heads (which represents a desire to keep ahead), pomegranate (representing a plentiful year), and apples dipped in honey (representing a sweet new year).
After Rosh Hashanah comes a period of repentance known as the Days of Awe. This is an opportunity for Jews to right any wrongs that they might have committed over the past year, before their fate is sealed at Yom Kippur. Jews will seek forgiveness for their own wrongs against others, as well as trying to forgive the wrongs that have been committed against them, in order to start the new year with a clean slate.
This period culminates in Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, which falls on the tenth day of Tishrei (22-23 September this year). This is the last opportunity for Jews to be absolved of their sins for the past year, and is therefore a day of solemn purification and prayer. No work may be performed on this day, and Jews will observe a fast in which no food or drink is consumed, beginning before sunset on the afternoon before Yom Kippur and ending at sunset on the night of Yom Kippur. Wearing leather shoes, make-up, or perfume is also prohibited, along with bathing or cleaning the body, and engaging in marital relations. Many Jews will also dress in white clothes to symbolise purity. As with Rosh Hashanah, businesses are closed on Yom Kippur. If you are visiting Israel during this time, it is considered polite to avoid driving a motor vehicle, playing music, and eating in public. While the streets are free from cars (an uncommon sight in large cities like Tel Aviv), children of all ages will take the opportunity to ride bikes, skateboards, and rollerblades around the city.
At the conclusion of Yom Kippur, the shofar is sounded to signify the conclusion of the day of prayer and fasting. It is common for Jewish families to celebrate with a feast to break their fast. This is a joyful time in which Jews believe they have cleansed themselves of the sins they committed over the past year, and are therefore able to begin the new year with a clean slate.
