62 THE QUEENS COURIER • JEWISH NEW YEAR • AUGUST 30, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Jewish New Year
How is Rosh Hashanah celebrated?
Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday
marking the fi rst and second days of the
Jewish year. (In 2017, Rosh Hashanah
begins at sundown on Sept. 20 and continues
through nightfall on Sept. 22). It’s the
day God created Adam and Eve, and it’s
celebrated as the head of the Jewish year.
Rosh Hashanah is celebrated with hearing
the sounding of the ram’s horn (shofar)
on both mornings; lighting candles; eating
festive meals; and prayers at synagogue.
The Shofar-Blowing
The central observance of Rosh
Hashanah is hearing the sounding of the
shofar,the ram’s horn. It is a mitzvah to
hear the shofar on both mornings of the
holiday (except if the fi rst day is Shabbat,
in which case we only blow the shofar on
the second day).
Th e fi rst 30 blasts of the shofar are blown
following the Torah-reading during morning
services, and as many as 70 are then
blown during (and immediately aft er) the
Musaf service. For someone who cannot
come to synagogue, the shofar may be
blown the rest of the day. If you cannot
make it out, please contact your closest
Chabad center to see about arranging a
“house call.”
Candlelighting
As with every major Jewish holiday,
women and girls light candles on each
evening of Rosh Hashanah and recite
the appropriate blessings. On the second
night (or if lighting aft er nightfall on the
fi rst night), make sure to use an existing
fl ame. Th ink about a new fruit that you
will be eating (or garment that you are
wearing) while you say the Shehechiyanu
blessing.
Festive meal
We eat festive meals every night and
day of the holiday. Like all other holiday
meals, we begin by reciting kiddush
over wine and then say the blessing
over bread. But there are some
important differences, as we’ll explain
below. Furthering the sweet theme, it
is traditional to begin the meal on the
first night with slices of apple dipped
in honey. Before eating the apple, we
make the ha’eitz blessing and then say,
“May it be Your will to renew for us a
good and sweet year.”
Prayers
Much of the day is spent in the synagogue.
Th e evening and aft ernoon prayers
are similar to the prayers said on a regular
holiday. However, the morning services
are signifi cantly longer.
Th e holiday prayerbook—called a
machzor—contains all the prayers and
Torah readings for the entire day. Th e
most signifi cant addition is the shofar
blowing ceremony. However, there
are also other important elements of the
prayer service that are unique to Rosh
Hashanah.
Rosh Hashanah is the start of the Yamim
Nora’im (High Holidays). Th e holy day of
Yom Kippur, when we gather in the synagogue
for 25 hours of fasting, prayer
and inspiration, is just a week later. Th e
days in between (known as the 10 Days of
Repentance, or the Ten Days of Return)
are an especially propitious time for teshuvah,
returning to God. Yom Kippur is followed
by the joyous holidays of Sukkot and
Simchat Torah.
Copyright and reprinted with permission
of Chabad.org. Edited for format.