רֹאֹש הַֹשָנָה

רֹאֹש הַֹשָנָה Literally “Head of the year” The Jewish New Year American or secular New Year = January 1 One important similarity: For Americans: the New Year is a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions" For Jews: the New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year How are these new years different?

TIMING רֹאֹש הַֹשַנָה occurs on the 1st and 2nd of Tishrei א-ב) (תִֹשְרֵי The number of this new year will be 5775. 5775= תשע''ה ת = 400 ש = 300 ע = 70 ה = 5 This number represents the number of years since the creation of the world.

NAME IN THE TORAH ALSO CALLED: יוֹם תְרוּעָה -the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar יוֹם הַדִין -the Day of Judgment ALSO CALLED: יוֹם הַזִכָּרוֹן -the Day of Remembrance רֹאֹש הַֹשָנָה -the Head of the Year

THE JEWISH CALENDAR The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar- according to the cycle of the moon Jewish holidays begin at sundown The night before a holiday is usually listed on a calendar In the story of creation it says: "וַיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם אֶחָד" “and it was evening and it was morning, one day”

THE MEANING It is the anniversary of the creation of the world, and the day when all living things are judged On רֹאֹש הַֹשַנָה , God is said to inscribe (write) the fate of every person for the upcoming year in the Book of Life The verdict (final decision) is not final until יוֹם כִּיפּוֹר

The Ten Days of Repentance רֹאֹש הַֹשָנָה + יוֹם כִּיפּוֹר Days of Awe יַמִים נוֹרָאִים = 10 Days between these holidays are called: עֲשֶֹרֶת יְמֵי תְֹשוּבָה The Ten Days of Repentance 10

תְֹשוּבָה Jews are required to seek forgiveness from people that they may have wronged over the past year before seeking forgiveness from G-d. תְֹשוּבָה is a multi-step process for demonstrating true repentance

Two words for sin in Hebrew: Failing to hit the bull’s eye: חֵטְא Crossing or passing from good to bad: עֲבֵרָה 1. When you are guilty of a חֵטְא, you miss the target of being good. 2. When you commit an עֲבֵרָה, you “cross” the line.

The three things that we can do to reverse a bad judgment are: Return or repentance = תְֹשוּבָה Righteousness=צְדָקָה Prayer=תְפִילָה We start doing these three things in the month of אֶלוּל. וּתְשוּבָה וּתְפִילָה וּצְדָקָה מַעֲבִירִין אֶת רוֹעַ הַגְזֵירָה And repentance and prayer and tzedakah will lessen a harsh decree.

We repent by doing תְֹשוּבָה. It’s a process that starts with admitting to yourself that you sinned. 1) Apologize to the person 2) Fix the mistake(s) you made 3) Apologize to God 4) Try not to make the same mistake again We repent by doing תְֹשוּבָה.

תְֹשוּבָה It is the responsibility of other Jews to offer forgiveness during the Ten Days of Repentance One should try to apologize at least 3 times If one is not forgiven after 3 sincere apologies, the sin belongs to the one refusing to forgive 3

צְדָקָה צְדָקָה means righteousness We give to those in need, because it is the right thing to do Why do we give צְדָקָה at this time of year?

תְפִילָה תְפִילָה means prayer During the month of אֶלוּל, we add extra prayers These prayers help us reflect as we prepare for רֹאֹש הַֹשַנָה The prayer book used for the יַמִים נוֹרָאִים is called a מַחְזוֹר (return) Why is תְפִילָה important at this time of year?

LAWS AND CUSTOMS In the month of אֱלוּל, blow the ֹשוֹפַרevery morning Eat apples and honey Eat round חַלוֹת Go to synagogue Family meals Send greeting cards תַֹשְלִיךְ - symbolizes throwing away our mistakes. We take bread crumbs and throw them into a moving body of water. סְלִיחוֹת - a service that is traditionally the Saturday night before רֹאֹש הַֹשָנָה.

Three Central Prayers 1) וּנְתַנֶה תֹקֶף- it was written by a rabbi who refused to convert to Christianity…”On רֹאֹש הַֹשָנָה it is written, on יוֹם כִּיפוֹר it is sealed…” 2) אֲבִינוּ מַלְכֵינוּ- contains 44 admissions of guilt for which we are seeking forgiveness. 3) מוּסַף (means “additional”)- service includes of the sounding of the ֹשוֹפַר.

TORAH AND HAFTARAH READINGS Day 1: The birth of Yitzchak (Torah) The birth of the prophet Samuel (Haftarah) Day 2: The sacrifice of Yitzchak (Torah) A selection from the Book of Jeremiah (Haftarah)

THE TEN DAYS OF REPENTANCE עֲשֶֹרֶת יְמֵי תְֹשוּבָה Reflect (think) about their actions over the past year Seek forgiveness for their transgressions (mistakes) in hopes of influencing God’s final judgment צוּם גְדַלְיָה The third of Tishrei (the day after רֹאֹש הַֹשָנָה) Fast from sunrise to sundown. Commemorates the assassination of Gedaliah, a ruler who was put in charge of the few remaining Jews who were in Jerusalem following the destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE שַבָּת ֹשוּבָה The שַבָּת between רֹאֹש הַֹשַנָה and יוֹם כִּיפוֹר Includes a d’var Torah about repentance.