Jewish New Year

To our Jewish clients and friends, we at Silke Financial Services (including Nicole) wish you, your families and all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah a good, sweet year full of health, happiness, and peace.

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and according to Jewish tradition marks the anniversary of the creation of the world. The Jewish New Year holiday began yesterday at sunset and will be celebrated for a period of two days, to welcome in the year 5772. It is a celebratory time but there are deep spiritual meanings tied to the holiday during which special prayer services are held.

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Ten Days of Awe, also known as the Ten Days of Repentance, a time of introspection during which the actions of the past year are considered and prayers for forgiveness for transgressions are offered. The verdict is not considered final until Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

The essential mitzvah (commandment) of Rosh Hashanah is to hear the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. The shofar is generally made from a hollowed out ram's horn that is then blown like a trumpet on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, each sound having a deep symbolic meaning.

There are many Rosh Hashanah food customs but the most common is the dipping of apples into honey, which signifies wishes for a sweet new year. A festive meal shared with family and friends is central to the Rosh Hashanah holiday. A special round loaf of challah, which symbolizes the cycle of time, is generally served and dipped in honey with a special prayer for a sweet new year.

The traditional Rosh Hashanah greeting appropriate for Jewish friends is 'L'Shana Tovah' or simply 'Shana Tovah' which loosely translates as 'Happy New Year'.

On Rosh Hashanah, many may follow a custom called Tashlich ('casting off') which involves walking to a naturally flowing body of water such as a river or stream, reciting several prayers, reflecting upon the sins over the past year and symbolically casting them off by throwing their sins into the water (usually by throwing pieces of bread into the stream).

It 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. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the deeply symbolic sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. Prayers are offered and are introspective, about forgiveness and for a new year in which one hopes to do better than the year before. Yom Kippur is understood as the Day of Atonement and also the Day of Judgment, and so it serves as the final deadline for having done this period of teshuva, considered the day when "G_d" gives one a chance to wash away sins.

The Jewish New Year greetings

• The tradition to wish New Year in a Jewish society is known as Ashkenazi and Hasidic.
• Shana Tova is also wished for a peaceful year ahead.
• To wish someone a good and sweet year in Hebrew you can say : Shana Tova Umetukah.
• Ketiva ve-chatima tovah is wished to someone for a sealed good year.

The food during Jewish New Year

Most special dishes are cooked at this time of the year in every Jewish home. The first meal for the New Year is made out of bread crumbs tossed in water. This dish symbolizes cleaning of the sin in the depth of the sea. Apple and honey are vital as a part of the New Year food to make the coming year sweet. Dates, Black-Eyed Beans, Leek, Spinach and Gourd are mandatory items for a Jewish New Year.