What is Rosh Hashanah? What you should know about the Jewish holiday

Rosh Hashanah is one of Judaism’s holiest days and begins at sunset on Wednesday.

The two-day celebration marks the start of the Jewish New Year and is full of traditions such as eating a round challah and saying prayers near a body of water.

This year, the holiday begins at sunset on October 2nd and ends at sunset on October 4th. The exact date of the holiday varies each year – last year it began on September 15 – but is almost always in September or October.

Here’s everything you need to know about Rosh Hashanah 2024, including when it will be, what the holiday commemorates, and how it will be celebrated.

What is Yom Kippur? Here’s what you should know about the Jewish holiday

When is Rosh Hashanah 2024?

Because Rosh Hashanah is based on the Hebrew calendar, it begins on the first day of the seventh month. So this year’s celebrations will begin at sunset on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 and continue until sunset on Friday, October 4, 2024.

Rosh Hashanah is the only Jewish holiday that lasts two days, both inside and outside Israel. It is called Yoma Arichta, which translates to “a long day,” as the 48-hour celebration can be viewed as a single extended day.

Rosh Hashanah is often seen as an opportunity to reflect on the past year and focus on hopes for the year ahead, said Jordan Rosenblum, Belzer Professor of Classical Judaism and Max and Frieda Weinstein Bascom Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told USA TODAY last year.

What is Rosh Hashanah? Why is it important?

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, ten days of introspection and repentance leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest holiday for the Jewish people.

Samira Mehta, director of undergraduate studies in the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Colorado Boulder, previously told USA TODAY that the “Book of Life,” which symbolizes how Jewish people will be judged in the coming year, will “open” on Rosh Hashanah and is “sealed” on Yom Kippur.

Rosh Hashanah is also important to some Jews as a celebration of the creation of humanity. It can be called the “birthday of the world” and marks the time when God created Adam and Eve – or when the breath of life came.

How is Rosh Hashanah celebrated? Traditions explained

Jewish people may take time off from work to attend services with special prayers and songs to celebrate the New Year, although celebrations do not only take place within the walls of a synagogue.

Many Jewish communities blow a shofar, a curved ram’s horn, during services.

Some Jews may also pray near a body of water in a Tashlich ceremony, additionally throwing pieces of bread or other food into the water to symbolize saying goodbye to sins.

What do you say about Rosh Hashanah?

If you’re not sure how to greet someone on Rosh Hashanah, you can simply say “Shanah Tovah,” which means “good year” in Hebrew. The word “u’metuka” – meaning “and sweet” – is sometimes added to the end of this sentence, as in “good and sweet year.”

USA TODAY Network reporter Dwight Adams contributed to this article.

When is Rosh Hashanah 2024?

What is Rosh Hashanah? Why is it important?

How is Rosh Hashanah celebrated? Traditions explained

What do you say about Rosh Hashanah?

Related Posts

Leave a Reply Cancel reply