HOW WE CELEBRATE

As with all Jewish holidays, Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on the previous evening with candle lighting, kiddush (blessing over the wine), and a festive meal. Special Rosh Hashanah foods include sweet round challah symbolizing the cyclical year and the crown of sovereignty, and any sweet food, particularly apples with honey and honey cake. It is customary to eat a new fruit on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Some Jews choose a pomegranate for its symbolic 613 seeds (the number of mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah, and say, "May our merits multiply as pomegranate seeds." We wish one another L'Shanah Tovah Tikateivu v’Tichatemun (May you be written and sealed for a good year) - or a simple Shana Tova (happy New Year) will get the point across!

We give tzedakah, do gemilut chasadim (good deeds), and teshuvah (repentance) in hopes of tipping the scales of judgment in our favor. We recite the Shehecheyanu prayer praising God for keeping us in life, sustaining us and enabling us to reach this season. During the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, tashlich is performed by throwing bread crumbs into a river or other flowing body of water. This act symbolizes "the casting of their sins into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:19)