ABOUT THE HOLIDAY

Rosh Hashanah, literally "Head of the Year", opens the doors to the Days of Awe, the Yamim Noraim. Rosh Hashanah falls on the first day of Tishrei (the month in which, according to our Sages, God created the world). In Jewish tradition, creation implies the goodness of the world: "And God saw everything that God had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). The Days of Awe are a time for each individual to concentrate on mortality, the meaning of life, and our capacity to improve as human beings.

Rosh Hashanah is also known as Yom Teruah, the Day of Sounding the Shofar (ram’s horn). The shofar's piercing wail, traditionally sounded 100 times, is a highlight of the synagogue service. Its cry reminds us of the binding of Isaac, when God provided Abraham with a ram to be sacrificed in Isaac’s stead, and of the revelation of Torah at Mt. Sinai, when thunder and shofar calls were heard. Maimonides wrote that the cry of the shofar should serve as a spiritual alarm clock, as if to say, "Awake, O you sleepers, awake from your sleep! Awake, O you slumberers, awake from your slumber! Search your deeds and turn in teshuva (repentance)."

During this time, God is imagined as our father and our ruler (avinu and malkeinu). We ask God to judge us through the eyes of a parent with loving kindness, understanding, compassion, and forgiveness. We also realize God's ultimate power and appreciate the fragility of our own lives. We pray that God will "Remember us for life, King who loves life; write us in the Book of Life, for your sake, Lord of Life."