2019 Jewish New Year: Celebration and Traditions

This holiday has little in common with our usual understanding of New Year’s. No champagne or tangerines, no fireworks, and not even the slightest hint of unbridled fun. Rosh Hashanah is a time of rethinking the past, repentance, and hope for the future.

The creation of the first humans, the eating of the forbidden fruit, the end of the Flood, the miraculous salvation of Isaac during his sacrifice, and other important events of biblical history are associated with this holiday.

The meaning of the Jewish New Year

Rosh Hashanah, or the Jewish New Year, is not only a day of creation, but also a day of judgment. God judges the world on its birthday. The main goal for a person on these holidays is to remember everything that happened during the year, listen to the voice of their conscience, and confess all their misdeeds and sincerely repent for them.

Rosh Hashanah begins with ten days of prayer and remorse called the Days of Awe, culminating in the next holiday, Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. It is believed that, at the beginning of this period, God sits on the throne of a just judge and carefully evaluates everyone’s deeds. But then God moves to the throne of mercy and gives everyone a chance to improve.

At that time, three books are opened before God. The first contains the names of the righteous, whose good deeds outweigh their evil. The second book contains the names of sinners, those who more often committed evil acts. Finally, in the third book, the one in the middle, the names of most people are written. They are not righteous, but not inveterate sinners. The scales weighing their good and evil deeds are in balance. It is these people who have a chance to correct their fate with sincere repentance.

Jewish New Year Traditions in 2019

The most striking celebration of the holiday is the sounding of the shofar, or ram’s horn. This action is deeply symbolic. The sound of the shofar calls believers to God’s judgment. But the ram’s horn also recalls the lamb that Abraham sacrificed in place of his son Isaac. This symbolizes the readiness of every believer for self-sacrifice.

There are other interpretations of this custom. It is believed that the sounds of the shofar reach heaven and confuse Satan, who at this moment is reporting all of humanity’s sins to God. The accuser is stunned by the trumpet sounds and cannot read out the entire list of sins.

Over the course of two days, Jews go to the synagogue to pray and listen to the sacred sounds of the shofar, invoking human conscience. These days, it is decided what the next year will be like for each member of the community. Some will be lucky and honored and others will have sorrow and illness.

There is another rite associated with the Jewish New Year. It is called ‘Tashlikh’ and symbolizes deliverance from the sins of the outgoing year. Believers gather on the shore of a reservoir; say prayers; and shake crumbs out of their pockets into the water, as if feeding their sins to the fish.

Treats served for the Jewish New Year

Pomegranate is a traditional fruit associated with the Jewish New Year, although in regions where pomegranates do not grow, they are replaced with apples. Honey is a part of the meal, to ensure that the coming year is sweet. Wishing a sweet year is part of the traditional New Year’s greetings.

Fish is often served, always including its head, so as to say “be in the head, not the tail.” Moreover, the very name of the holiday of Rosh Hashanah literally means “head of the year.” They also serve carrots, sliced ​​in circles, resembling gold coins, because the material well-being of a person for the upcoming year is also determined on the fateful days of the New Year. Round, wreath-shaped, challah bread is also a must-have on any holiday table, its shape being a symbol of the cyclicity of time.