Rosh Hashana in United States

Many Jewish Americans celebrate Rosh Hashana (or Rosh Hashanah), which is also known as the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashana starts on the first day of Tishrei (or Tishri), which is the seventh month in the Jewish calendar, and may last for two days. It is sometimes called the Day of Remembrance or the Day of Blowing the Shofar.

The shofar is blown at some stage during Rosh Hashana. ©iStockphoto.com/Tova Teitelbaum

What do people do?

Many Jewish Americans observe Rosh Hashanah, known as the New Year in the Jewish calendar, for two days, while others celebrate the event for one day. It is a time of family gatherings, special meals and sweet foods. Many Jewish people celebrate Rosh Hashana by eating challah bread and apples dipped in honey.

Unlike the secular New Year in the Gregorian calendar (January 1), Rosh Hashana is a time of judgment and remembrance, on which God reviews and judges a person's deeds in the past year. It is a time of prayer and penitence. All debts from the past year are supposed to be settled before Rosh Hashana. Many Jewish people in the United States seek forgiveness from friends and family prior to this event.

Some Jewish people perform the tashlikh. This is the custom of reciting prayers near naturally flowing water, such as a stream or river, and symbolically throwing one’s sins away in the form of small pieces of bread or other food. Many Jewish people perform tashlikh from places such as the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges in New York. Some people may use a fish pond or mikveh (ritual bath) if there is no local river or stream.

People of Jewish faith may take the day off work or organize time off during this time of the year, to observe the belief that no work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. Much of the day is spent in synagogue, where the regular daily liturgy is expanded. The story of Abraham is read in synagogues and the shofar (ram’s horn) serves as a reminder that God allowed Abraham to sacrifice a ram instead of Abraham’s son, Isaac. The shofar is blown like a trumpet in the synagogue during this time of the year.

Public life

Rosh Hashana is not a federal public holiday in the United States. However, it can be taken as an optional holiday for state government employees in Texas. A chief judge of any judicial circuit in Florida can designate Rosh Hashana as a legal holiday for court employees within the state’s judicial circuit.  Many Jewish organizations may be closed or have restricted opening hours on Rosh Hashana.

Background

Rosh Hashana (or Rosh Hashanah) marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year and covers two of the 10 High Holy days that conclude with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Some sources say that the early Jewish calendar had four New Years, corresponding the seasons, with Rosh Hashana being one of the New Years.

Festivals to mark the beginning of a new year in the fall have been held since the earliest days of the Israelites. These took the form of prayers of thanks for the grain harvest. The custom of blowing trumpets on the 10th day of the month of Tishrei is first described in the vision of Ezekiel, a prophet who lived sometime around 600–500 BCE. This custom has continued into modern times.

Symbols

The challah bread, which is eaten during Rosh Hashana, symbolizes the continuity of life. The apples that are dipped in honey symbolize sweetness and good health throughout the New Year. Some people also eat fish heads, which symbolize their desire to be on top, not the bottom, of life in the New Year. Pomegranates symbolize an abundance of goodness and happiness.

The shofar reminds people of Jewish faith that God allowed Abraham to sacrifice a ram instead of his Abraham’s son, Isaac. The tashlikh is an act that symbolizes throwing one’s sins in the water, so people believe that they are freed from their sins. 

About Rosh Hashana in other countries

Rosh Hashana Observances

Related holiday

• Yom Kippur ―Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Other holidays in September 2012 in United States

• Labor Day ―Monday, September 3, 2012
• International Literacy Day ―Saturday, September 8, 2012
• Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day ―Saturday, September 8, 2012
• National Grandparents Day ―Sunday, September 9, 2012
• World Suicide Prevention Day ―Monday, September 10, 2012
• Patriot Day ―Tuesday, September 11, 2012
• International Day for South-South Cooperation ―Wednesday, September 12, 2012
• International Day of Democracy ―Saturday, September 15, 2012
• International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer ―Sunday, September 16, 2012
• Constitution Day and Citizenship Day ―Monday, September 17, 2012
• International Talk Like a Pirate Day ―Wednesday, September 19, 2012
• National POW/MIA Recognition Day ―Friday, September 21, 2012
• International Day of Peace ―Friday, September 21, 2012
• September equinox ―Saturday, September 22, 2012
• Emancipation Day ―Saturday, September 22, 2012
• Yom Kippur ―Wednesday, September 26, 2012
• World Maritime Day ―Thursday, September 27, 2012
• World Tourism Day ―Thursday, September 27, 2012
• World Rabies Day ―Friday, September 28, 2012
• Gold Star Mother's Day ―Sunday, September 30, 2012
• World Heart Day ―Sunday, September 30, 2012