Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year celebrated on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, typically falling in late September or early October, takes place this year on Sep 23–24.
The two-day holiday, whose name means “head of the year,” is considered in Jewish belief to mark the birthday of the world. According to tradition, it dates back 5,785 years to the creation of the world and humankind.
Rosh Hashanah traditions include eating sweet foods, particularly apples dipped in honey, to symbolize a sweet and fruitful year ahead. Round loaves of bread are baked to represent the continuity of life. Another custom is the Tashlikh ceremony, in which sins are symbolically cast into water.
The holiday also marks the beginning of the “High Holy Days” (Yamim Noraim), a ten-day period that concludes with Yom Kippur.
Prayers during Rosh Hashanah focus on three central themes: Malchuyot (Kingship), Zichronot (Remembrance), and Shofarot (Shofar blasts).
Malchuyot emphasizes God’s sovereignty over the universe and all creation.
Zichronot highlights the value and meaning of every being in God’s eyes.
Shofarot recalls the sounding of the shofar at Mount Sinai, symbolizing divine guidance through the Torah.
Protests in Israel
Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence yesterday, demanding the government reach a cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas in Gaza.
Protesters declared they would not celebrate the holiday while hostages remained in captivity. Demonstrators placed an empty table outside the residence and chairs to symbolize the absence of Israeli hostages.
A statement issued by the umbrella group representing the families of the captives said, “Without them, we will have no holiday and no celebration. The people of Israel will not recover. Tonight, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, we sit around this empty table outside the Prime Minister’s residence, and all of Israel stands with us. Only the people will bring the hostages home,” according to Şalom newspaper. (TY/VK)
