The Birthday of the Universe: Rosh Hashanah

The Rosh Hashanah holiday, when we celebrate the beginning of a new year, is the day Adam and Eve were created and the creation of the universe was completed. Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew actually means "the head of the year." Just like the head controls the body, our actions on Rosh Hashanah have a tremendous impact on the rest of the year. This year Rosh Hashanah will be celebrated starting at sundown on the eve of September 15th until nightfall on September 17th.

Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of changes and new beginnings. In Judaism, as we begin each new day, each new week, each new month, and each new year, the potential of the new blessings and beauties God will bring to our lives, fills us with contentment and hope. Therefore, these days we can start to implement our new resolutions and act in favor of taking our relationships with ourselves, our family, those around us, and God, to a higher level.

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is blowing and listening to the shofar (ram's horn). Acknowledged as the birthday of the universe, on Rosh Hashanah, the Jews crown God as the Sovereign, the King of the entire universe, and proclaim this to the world with the voice of the shofar.

Traditionally the dinner table on both evenings of Rosh Hashanah, where the whole family and those who have no place to go for the holiday come together, is filled with special foods to symbolize our prayers, wishes, and expectations for the new year, and feasted along prayers in the framework of a certain order (Seder).

Rosh Hashanah celebration traditionally includes eating apples dipped in honey and other sweet foods that represent the wishes for a sweet year.

L'Shanah Tova U'Metukah...

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