View source for Rosh Hashanah

{{short description|Jewish New Year}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = Rosh Hashanah
| image         = Symbols of Rosh Hashana.jpg
| type          = Jewish
| caption       = A [[shofar]], pomegranates, wine for [[kiddush]], apple and honey – symbols of the Rosh Hashanah holiday
| official_name = {{Script/Hebrew|רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה}}
| nickname      = Jewish New Year
| begins        = Start of first day of [[Tishrei]]
| ends          = End of second day of Tishrei
| observances   = Praying in synagogue, personal reflection, and hearing or blowing the ''[[shofar]]''.
| date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=last|cite=no}}
| date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=current|cite=no}}
| date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next|cite=no}}
| date{{NEXTYEAR|2}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next2|cite=no}}
| date          = 
}}
'''Rosh Hashanah''' ({{langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה}}}}, {{transliteration|he|Rōʾš hašŠānā}}, {{Lit|head of the year}}) is the [[New Year]] in [[Judaism]]. The [[Hebrew Bible|biblical]] name for this holiday is '''Yom Teruah''' ({{lang|hbo|{{Script/Hebrew|יוֹם תְּרוּעָה}}}}, {{transliteration|hbo|Yōm Tərūʿā}}, {{lit.|day of cheering or blasting}}). It is the first of the [[High Holy Days]] ({{lang|he|{{Script/Hebrew|יָמִים נוֹרָאִים}}}}, {{transliteration|he|Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm}}, 'Days of Awe"), as specified by [[Leviticus]] 23:23–25,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|23:23–25|HE}}</ref> that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah begins the [[Ten Days of Repentance|ten days of penitence]] culminating in [[Yom Kippur]], the day of repentance. It is followed by the Fall festival of [[Sukkot]] which ends with [[Shemini Atzeret]] in Israel and [[Simchat Torah]] everywhere else.

Rosh Hashanah is a [[Jewish holidays#Second day of biblical festivals|two-day]] observance and celebration that begins on the first day of [[Tishrei]], which is the seventh month of the [[Hebrew calendar#New year|ecclesiastical year]]. The holiday itself follows a lunar calendar and begins the evening prior to the first day. In contrast to the ecclesiastical [[Lunar New Year#Middle East/West Asia|lunar new year]] on the first day of the first month [[Nisan]], the spring [[Passover]] month which marks Israel's [[exodus from Egypt]], Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the civil year, according to the teachings of Judaism, and is the traditional anniversary of the creation of [[Adam and Eve]], the first man and woman according to the [[Hebrew Bible]], as well as the initiation of humanity's role in God's world.

Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the [[shofar]] (a hollowed-out ram's horn), as prescribed in the [[Torah]], following the prescription of the Hebrew Bible to blast a [horn] on Yom Teruah. Eating symbolic foods that represent wishes for a sweet new year is an ancient custom recorded in the [[Talmud]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shurpin |first=Yehuda |title=Why All the Symbolic Rosh Hashanah Foods? "בולבול" |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3053586/jewish/Why-All-the-Symbolic-Rosh-Hashanah-Foods.htm |website=Chabad.org |access-date=21 March 2023 |archive-date=21 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321154816/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3053586/jewish/Why-All-the-Symbolic-Rosh-Hashanah-Foods.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Other rabbinical customs include attending synagogue services and reciting special [[liturgy]] about [[teshuva]], as well as enjoying festive meals. "[[Tashlich]]",<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is Tashlich? |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/564247/jewish/What-Is-Tashlich.htm |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=www.chabad.org |language=en}}</ref> which means "to cast" is a ritual performed any time between the first day of Rosh Hashanah and [[Hoshana Rabbah]]. Participants recite specific prayers by water, seeking divine forgiveness by symbolically shaking out their garments and casting away their sins into the depths of the waters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tashlikh {{!}} Texts & Source Sheets from Torah, Talmud and Sefaria's library of Jewish sources. |url=https://www.sefaria.org/topics/tashlich |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> In many communities, this is done by throwing stones or pieces of bread into the water.

==Etymology==
{{transliteration|he|Rosh}} is the [[Hebrew]] word for "head", {{transliteration|he|ha}} is the definite article ("the"), and {{transliteration|he|shana}} means year. Thus {{transliteration|he|Rosh Hashanah}} means "head of the year", referring to the day of the New Year.<ref name="Etym">{{cite web |title=rosh hashanah |website=Origin and meaning of phrase rosh hashanah by Online Etymology Dictionary |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/rosh%20hashanah |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929174813/https://www.etymonline.com/word/rosh%2520hashanah |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=WHATIS>{{cite web |title=What Is Rosh Hashanah? – The Jewish New Year, anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, a day of judgment and coronation, and sounding of the shofar ... – High Holidays |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=27 August 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4762/jewish/What-Is-Rosh-Hashanah.htm |access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref>

The term {{transliteration|he|Rosh Hashanah}} in its current meaning does not appear in the [[Torah]]. Leviticus 23:24<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|23:24|HE}}</ref> refers to the festival of the first day of the seventh month as {{transliteration|he|zikhron teru'ah}} ("a memorial of blowing [of horns]"). Numbers 29:1 calls the festival {{transliteration|he|yom teru'ah}} ("day of blowing [the horn]").<ref>{{Bibleverse|Numbers|29:1|HE}}</ref>

The term {{transliteration|he|rosh hashanah}} appears once in the Bible (Ezekiel 40:1),<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|40:1|HE}}</ref> where it has a different meaning: either generally the time of the "beginning of the year", or possibly a reference to [[Yom Kippur]],<ref name="Jacobs">{{cite EJ|author=Jacobs, Louis|title=Rosh Ha-Shanah|volume=17|pages=463–66}}</ref> or to the month of [[Nisan]].{{efn|Exodus 12:2<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|12:2|HE}}</ref> refers to the month of [[Aviv]] (later renamed Nisan) as "the first month of the year", and in Ezekiel 45:18,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|45:18|HE}}</ref> "the first month" unambiguously refers to Nisan, the month of [[Passover]], as made plain by Ezekiel 45:21.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|45:21|HE}}</ref>}}<ref name=Mulder>{{cite book |last=Mulder |first=Otto |title=Simon the High Priest in Sirach 50: An Exegetical Study of the Significance of Simon the High Priest As Climax to the Praise of the Fathers in Ben Sira's Concept of the History of Israel |year=2003 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004123168 |page=170}}</ref>

In the prayer books ([[siddur]]s and [[machzor]]s), Rosh Hashanah is also called ''Yom haZikkaron'' "the day of remembrance",<ref name=WHATIS/> not to be confused with the [[Yom Hazikaron|modern Israeli remembrance day]] of the same name.

==Origin==
The origin of the New Year is connected to the beginning of the economic year in the agricultural societies of the [[ancient Near East]].<ref name=JewishEnc>{{cite encyclopedia |author1=[[Isidore Singer]] |last2=McLaughlin |first2=J. F. |author3=[[Wilhelm Bacher]] |author4=[[Julius Eisenstein|Judah David Eisenstein]] |encyclopedia=Jewish Encyclopedia |title=New-Year |year=1901–1906 |publisher=Funk and Wagnalls |location=New York |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11499-new-year |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=11 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711110545/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11499-new-year |url-status=live }}</ref> The New Year was the beginning of the cycle of sowing, growth, and harvest; the harvest was marked by its own set of major agricultural festivals.<ref name=JewishEnc/> Semitic speakers generally set the beginning of the new year in autumn, while other ancient civilizations chose spring for that purpose, such as the [[history of Iran|Persians]] or [[ancient Greece|Greeks]] or Hindus; the primary reason was agricultural in both cases, the time of sowing the seed and bringing in the harvest.<ref name=JewishEnc/>

Some scholars posit a connection between the Babylonian festival [[Akitu]] and Rosh Hashanah, as there are some striking similarities. The Akitu festival of Ur was celebrated in the beginning of Nisanu (first month), which lasted at least five days, and again in Tashritu, the seventh month, which lasted eleven days.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/religion/sumerianakitu.htm|title=The Akitu Festival - www.GatewaysToBabylon.com|website=www.gatewaystobabylon.com}}</ref> Akitu was also strongly tied to the creation myth of Enuma Elish and the victory of Marduk over the sea monster Tiamat, and the creation of the universe from her corpse. Similarly it is said that the world was created on Rosh Hashanah.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/babylonian-rosh-hashanah-battle-creation-enthronement-and-justice|title=Babylonian Rosh Hashanah - TheTorah.com|website=www.thetorah.com|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930030733/https://www.thetorah.com/article/babylonian-rosh-hashanah-battle-creation-enthronement-and-justice|url-status=live}}</ref>

==The Four "New Years"==
Rosh Hashanah marks the start of the numbering of a new year in the Hebrew calendar. According to the [[Mishnah]], four different New Years are observed: Rosh Hashanah (the first of [[Tishrei]]), the first of [[Nisan]] (when [[the Exodus]] began), the first of [[Elul]], and [[Tu BiShvat]] (the fifteenth of [[Shevat]]). Each one delineates the beginning of a year for different legal or ecclesiastical purposes. The Talmudic distinctions among the New Years are discussed in the [[Rosh Hashanah (Talmud)|tractate on Rosh Hashanah]].<ref name=WHATIS/>  Rosh Hashanah is the new year for calculating ordinary calendar years, [[shmita|Sabbatical years]], [[Jubilee (biblical)|Jubilee years]], and dates inscribed on legal deeds and contracts. Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of Man.<ref name=Chein>{{cite web |last=Chein |first=Rochel |title=High Holidays |website=Why is Rosh Hashanah considered the Jewish New Year? |date=27 August 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/562052/jewish/Why-is-Rosh-Hashanah-considered-the-Jewish-New-Year.htm |access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref>  In Jewish practice, the months are numbered starting with the spring month of Nisan, making [[Tishrei]] the seventh month; Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the new calendar year, is also actually the first day of the ''seventh'' month.<ref>This is not as strange as it may seem: as the names of the last four month of the [[Gregorian calendar]] attest, January used to be the eleventh month, and the new calendar year began, in many places, in the ''middle'' of March. In the United Kingdom, for example, Tuesday, 24 March 1750, was immediately followed by Wednesday, 25 March 1751. See the [[Julian Calendar#New Year's Day]] for details.</ref>

The second of these "New Years", the first of the lunar month [[Nisan]] (usually corresponds to the months March–April in the [[Gregorian calendar]]) is the beginning of the ecclesiastical year; the months are numbered beginning with Nisan.  It marks the start of the year for the [[Three Pilgrimage Festivals]].<ref>[[Mishnah]], ''Rosh Hashanah'' 1:1</ref> Its injunction is expressly stated in the Hebrew Bible: "This month shall be unto you {{em|the beginning}} of months" ([[Bo (parashah)|Exodus 12:2]]). Their injunction is expressly stated in the Hebrew Bible: "Three times in the year you shall keep a feast unto me... the feast of unleavened bread ([[Passover]])... the feast of harvest ([[Shavuot]])... and the feast of ingathering ([[Sukkot]]) which is {{em|at the departing of the year}}" (Exodus 23:14–16).<ref>{{bibleverse|Exodus|23:14–16}}</ref> "At the departing of the year" implies that the new year begins here according to the [[Babylonian Talmud]]. It is also when a new year is added to the reign of Jewish kings.

The third New Year, the first of Elul, the new year for animals, began the religious taxation period for tithing animals in Biblical times. Elul corresponds to the Gregorian August/September, after the spring birthings, when it was relatively simple to count the number of animals in herds.  However, the halacha follows the second opinion that the day coincides with Rosh Hashanah itself,<ref name=Rambam>Rambam Hilkhot Maasar Beheimah 7:6.</ref> and therefore this third new year has no bearing in halacha.

The fourth New Year, Tu Bishvat, the new year for trees, began the religious taxation period for tithing fruits and nuts from trees. Shevat corresponds to the Gregorian January/February, the end of the [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean wet season]] when the majority of the year's rainfall had occurred. Taking fruit or nuts from a tree younger than three years old, with the birthday counted as Tu Bishvat, was prohibited.

==Religious significance==
[[File:Heichal_Shlomo,_Renanim_Synagogue_IMG_7292.JPG|180px|thumb|Rosh Hashanah symbolism, inspired by "[[Unetanneh Tokef]]", in a synagogue in Jerusalem]]
{{Primary sources|section|date=September 2021}}
The [[Mishnah]] contains the second known reference to Rosh Hashanah as the "day of judgment" (''Yom haDin'').<ref>Tractate on Rosh Hashanah I,2</ref> In the Talmud tractate on Rosh Hashanah, it states that three books of account are opened on Rosh Hashanah, wherein the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of the intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed in the [[Book of Life]] and they are sealed "to live". The intermediate class is allowed a respite of ten days, until Yom Kippur, to reflect, repent, and become righteous;<ref>Tractate on Rosh Hashanah, I,16b</ref> the wicked are "blotted out of the book of the living forever."<ref>{{Bibleverse||Psalms|69:29|HE}}</ref>

Some [[midrash]]ic descriptions depict [[Throne of God|God as sitting upon a throne]], while books containing the deeds of all humanity are opened for review, and each person passes in front of him for evaluation of his or her deeds.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hammer |first=Rabbi Dr. Reuven |title=Rosh Hashana from the Torah to the Temples |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rosh-hashanah-from-the-torah-to-the-temples/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918074336/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rosh-hashanah-from-the-torah-to-the-temples/ |archive-date=18 September 2020 |access-date=17 September 2020}}</ref>

"The Holy One said, 'on Rosh Hashanah recite before Me [verses of] Sovereignty, Remembrance, and Shofar blasts ({{transliteration|he|malchuyot, zichronot, shofarot}}): Sovereignty so that you should make Me your King; Remembrance so that your remembrance should rise up before Me. And through what? Through the Shofar.' (Rosh Hashanah 16a, 34b)"<ref>ArtScroll Machzor, Rosh Hashanah. Overview, p. xv.</ref>

This is reflected in the prayers composed by classical rabbinic sages for Rosh Hashanah found in traditional machzors, where the theme of the prayers is the "coronation" of God as King of the universe, in preparation for the acceptance of judgments that will follow on that day.

==Shofar blowing==
{{main|Shofar blowing}}

[[File:JEWISH MAN BLOWING THE SHOFAR.JPG|thumb|180px|Jewish elder blowing the ram's horn (''shofar'')]]
[[File:4 sjofar tonen.ogg|thumb|180px|Sequence of shofar sounds: ''tekiah, shevarim, teruah, tekiah'']]
The best-known ritual of Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the shofar, a musical instrument made from an animal horn. The shofar is blown at various points during the Rosh Hashanah prayers, and it is customary in most communities to have a total of 100 blasts on each day.<ref name="chabad100">{{cite web |url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4387/jewish/100-Sounds.htm |title=One Hundred Sounds |first=Rabbi Eliyahu |last=Kitov |access-date=7 October 2018 |archive-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710010324/https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4387/jewish/100-Sounds.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The shofar is not blown on [[Shabbat]].<ref name="Haaretz">[[Halakha|Jewish Law]] permits the Shofar to be blown in the presence of a rabbinical court called the [[Sanhedrin]], which had not existed since ancient times. A recent group of Orthodox rabbis in Israel claiming to constitute a [[Modern attempts to revive the Sanhedrin|modern Sanhedrin]] held, for the first time in many years, an Orthodox shofar-blowing on Shabbat for Rosh Hashanah in 2006. [http://thesanhedrin.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=355 TheSanhedrin.net: Shofar Blowing on Shabbat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615042650/http://thesanhedrin.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=355 |date=15 June 2012 }} (translation of [http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/766399.html Haaretz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126203729/http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/766399.html |date=26 January 2009 |access-date=10 September 2018 }} article)</ref>

While the blowing of the shofar is a Biblical statute, it is also a symbolic "wake-up call", stirring Jews to mend their ways and repent. The shofar blasts call out: "Sleepers, wake up from your slumber! Examine your ways and repent and remember your Creator."<ref>''[[Mishneh Torah]]'', Laws of Repentance 3:4.</ref>

Additionally, the act of blowing the shofar, like the rainbow, is ordered by God as a reminder to God of humanity and our plight.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Jewish study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh translation |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-997846-5 |editor-last=Berlin |editor-first=Adele |edition=2. |location=New York}}</ref>

==Prayer service==
On Rosh Hashanah day, religious poems called {{transliteration|he|[[piyyut]]im}} are added to the regular [[Jewish prayer services|services]]. A special prayer book, the [[machzor]] (plural {{transliteration|he|machzorim}}), is used on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.<ref name="Shurpin 2019">{{cite web |last=Shurpin |first=Yehuda |title=Why Is the High Holiday Prayerbook Called a "Machzor"? – Questions & Answers |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4114669/jewish/Why-Is-the-High-Holiday-Prayerbook-Called-a-Machzor.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929214833/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4114669/jewish/Why-Is-the-High-Holiday-Prayerbook-Called-a-Machzor.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Some additions are made to the regular service, most notably in the Ashkenazic rite (both [[Nusach Ashkenaz]] and [[Nusach Sefard]]) an extended repetition of the [[Amidah]] prayer for both [[Shacharit]] and [[Mussaf]] including piyyutim; even communities that omit most piyyutim throughout the year recite some selection of these piyyutim. In the contemporary Sephardic rite, no piyyutim are recited inside the repetition, and in the Italian rite very few are recited, but many Sephardic communities recite piyyutim before or after the Torah reading. The shofar is blown during Mussaf at the conclusion of each of the middle blessing of the Chazzan's repetition; in some communities, it is also blown during the silent Musaf.<ref name="prayer">{{cite web |title=Services at a Glance – High Holidays |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/564039/jewish/Services-at-a-Glance.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929214831/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/564039/jewish/Services-at-a-Glance.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> (In many synagogues, even little children come and hear the shofar being blown.){{explain|date=September 2021}}. The ''Aleinu'' prayer is recited during the silent prayer as well as the repetition of the Mussaf [[Amidah]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gold|first=Ave|title=Rosh Hashanah – Its Significance, Laws, and Prayers: Presentation Anthologized from Talmudic Traditional Sources|publisher=Mesorah Publications|year=1983|isbn=978-0899061955|location=Brooklyn|pages=101}}</ref>

Among the most well-known and widely recited liturgical poems ({{transliteration|he|[[piyyut]]im}}) in all Jewish communities is ''[[Unetanneh Tokef|Unetaneh Tokef]]'', traditionally recited around the Musaf prayer on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The special [[Avinu Malkeinu]] prayer is also recited on Rosh Hashanah. In the Ashkenazic rite, Avinu Malkeinu is never recited on Shabbat (except in [[Ne'ila]] on Yom Kippur), and it is also omitted at Mincha on Fridays.

The narrative in the Book of Genesis describing the announcement of Isaac's birth and his subsequent birth<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|21|HE}}</ref> is part of the Torah readings in synagogues on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and the narrative of the sacrifice and [[binding of Isaac]]<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|22|HE}}</ref> is read in synagogue on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

The Mussaf Amidah prayer on Rosh Hashanah is unique in that, apart from the first and last three blessings, it contains three central blessings making a total of nine. These blessings are entitled "Malchuyot" (Kingship, and also includes the blessing for the holiness of the day as in a normal Mussaf), "Zichronot" (Remembrance), and "Shofarot" (concerning the shofar). Each section contains an introductory paragraph followed by selections of verses about the "topic". The verses are three from the [[Torah]], three from the [[Ketuvim]], three from the [[Nevi'im]], and one more from the Torah. During the repetition of the Amidah, the shofar is sounded (except on Shabbat) after the blessing that ends each section.<ref name="MyJewishLearning2003">{{cite web |title=Rosh Hashanah Musaf Amidah |website=My Jewish Learning |date=17 February 2003 |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rosh-hashanah-musaf-amidah/ |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929215138/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rosh-hashanah-musaf-amidah/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Recitation of these three blessings is first recorded in the [[Mishna]],<ref>Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 4:5–6</ref> though writings by [[Philo]] and possibly even Psalms 81<ref>{{Bibleverse|Psalms|81|HE}}</ref> suggest that the blessings may have been recited on Rosh Hashanah even centuries earlier.<ref>Hoenig, Sidney B. "Origins of the Rosh Hashanah Liturgy." The Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 57, 1967, pp. 312–31. {{JSTOR|1453499}}. Accessed 16 January 2020.</ref>

In many Ashkenazic communities, primarily those from Germany or Hungry, a [[kittel]] is worn during daytime Rosh Hashanah prayers, just as one is worn on [[Yom Kippur]].  In other Ashkenazic communities, only the prayer leaders wear a Kittel on Rosh Hashanah.

==Customs==
===Days before Rosh Hashanah===
Rosh Hashanah is preceded by the month of Elul, during which Jews are supposed to begin a self-examination and repentance, a process that culminates in the ten days of the ''Yamim Nora'im'', the Days of Awe, beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with the holiday of Yom Kippur.<ref name=elul>{{cite web |title=The Month of Elul – Inventory Season – Mitzvah Minutes |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/706431/jewish/Elul.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929204050/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/706431/jewish/Elul.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The High Holidays – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – Yamim Nora'im (Days of Awe) or High Holy Days |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/36130/jewish/High-Holidays.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=16 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916224125/https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/36130/jewish/High-Holidays.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The shofar is traditionally blown on weekday mornings, and in some communities also in the afternoon, for the entire month of Elul, the month preceding Rosh Hashanah. The sound of the ''shofar'' is intended to awaken the listeners from their "slumbers" and alert them to the coming judgment.<ref name="ReferenceB">[[Maimonides]], ''[[Mishneh Torah|Yad]]'', Laws of Repentance 3:4</ref><ref name=elul/>
The shofar is not blown on Shabbat.<ref name="Haaretz"/>

In the period leading up to Rosh Hashanah, penitential prayers called ''[[selichot]]'', are recited. The Sephardic tradition is to start at the beginning of Elul, while the Ashkenazic and Italian practice is to start a few days before Rosh Hashanah.<ref name=elul/>

The day before Rosh Hashanah day is known as ''Erev Rosh Hashanah'' ("Rosh Hashanah eve").<ref name="The Forward 2014">{{cite web |title=What Do We Mean by 'Erev Rosh Hashanah?' |website=The Forward |date=24 September 2014 |url=https://forward.com/culture/206201/what-do-we-mean-by-erev-rosh-hashanah/ |access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref> It is the 29th day of the Hebrew month of Elul, ending at sundown, when Rosh Hashanah commences. Some communities perform [[hatarat nedarim]] (a nullification of vows) after the morning prayer services.<ref>{{cite web |title=Annulment of Known Vows in Hatarat Nedarim – High Holidays |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=27 August 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4130990/jewish/Annulment-of-Known-Vows-in-Hatarat-Nedarim.htm |access-date=1 September 2019 |archive-date=1 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901091941/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4130990/jewish/Annulment-of-Known-Vows-in-Hatarat-Nedarim.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Many Orthodox men immerse in a [[mikveh]] in honor of the coming day.<ref name="Krakowski 2014">{{cite web |last=Krakowski |first=Rabbi Y. Dov |title=Hilchos U'Minhagei Rosh Hashanah |website=Jewish Holidays |date=24 September 2014 |url=https://www.ou.org/holidays/rosh-hashanah/hilchos-uminhagei-rosh-hashana/ |access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref>

===Symbolic foods===
{{Main|Rosh Hashanah seder}}
[[File:May you all have a sweet year (365-271) (6194230350).jpg|thumb|Apples dipped in honey are eaten on Rosh Hashanah to symbolise the wish for a sweet and happy new year]]

Rosh Hashanah meals usually include [[Apples and honey|apples dipped in honey]] to symbolize a sweet new year;<ref name="HISTORY">{{cite web |title=Rosh Hashanah |website=history.com |date=27 September 2019 |url=https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/rosh-hashanah-history |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929205607/https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/rosh-hashanah-history |url-status=live }}</ref> this is a late medieval [[Ashkenazi]] addition. Other foods with a symbolic meaning may be served, depending on local ''[[minhag]]'' ("custom"), such as the head of a fish (to symbolize the prayer "let us be the head and not the tail").<ref name="CUSTOMS"/>

Many communities hold a "Rosh Hashanah seder" during which blessings are recited over a variety of symbolic dishes.<ref>''Exploring Sephardic Customs and Traditions,'' Marc Angel, p. 49</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ou.org/life/food/segura_the_rosh_hashanah_seder/ |title=The Rosh Hashanah Seder |author=Debby Segura |date=18 September 2008 |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910164958/https://www.ou.org/life/food/segura_the_rosh_hashanah_seder/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The blessings have the [[incipit]] "''Yehi ratzon''", meaning "May it be Thy will." In many cases, the name of the food in Hebrew or Aramaic represents a play on words (a pun). The Yehi Ratzon platter may include apples (dipped in honey, baked or cooked as a compote called ''mansanada''); dates; pomegranates; black-eyed peas; pumpkin-filled pastries called ''[[rodanchas]]''; leek fritters called ''[[Fritas de prasa|keftedes de prasa]]''; beets; and a whole fish with the head intact. It is also common among [[Sephardim]] to eat stuffed vegetables called ''legumbres [[Yaprakes finos|yaprakes]]''.<ref>Sternberg, Robert ''The Sephardic Kitchen: The Healthful Food and Rich Culture of the Mediterranean Jews'', Harper Collins, 1996, pp. 320–21, {{ISBN|0-06-017691-1}}</ref>

[[File:Seder_Rosh_Hashana_P1060212_(cropped).JPG|thumb|left|250px|Traditional Rosh Hashanah foods: [[apples and honey]], [[Phoenix dactylifera|dates]], [[pomegranate]]s, [[leek]]s, [[tzimmes|sweet carrots]], [[spinach]], [[gefilte fish]] and more]]

Some of the symbolic foods eaten are [[Phoenix dactylifera|dates]], [[black-eyed pea]]s, [[leek]]s, [[spinach]], and [[gourd]], all of which are mentioned in the [[Talmud]]:<ref>[[Babylonian Talmud]] (''Keritot'' 6a)</ref> "Let a man be accustomed to eat on New Year's Day gourds (קרא), and fenugreek (רוביא),<ref>[[Rashi]] (''[[Keritot]]'' 6a) calls ''rubia'' by its Hebrew name "tiltan" (Heb. תלתן), which word he explains elsewhere as being [[fenugreek]]. However, Rabbi [[Hai Gaon]], in one of his ''responsum'' in "Otzar Ha-Geonim", seems to suggest that ''"rubia"'' (Heb. רוביא) means cowpeas, or what others call, "black-eyed peas" (פול המצרי). Rabbi [[Hai Gaon]]'s disciple, Rabbi [[Nissim ben Jacob]] (in his Commentary known as ''Ketav Hamafteah''), thus explains the word לוביא, in our case spelled רוביא, as meaning non-other than cowpeas (פול המצרי), describing them as having a "dark eye in its center". Jews of North-Africa traditionally make use of stringed beans in place of ''rubia''.</ref> leeks (כרתי), beet [leaves] (סילקא), and dates (תמרי)." 

[[Carrots]] can have multiple symbolic meanings at the Rosh Hashanah table. The Yiddish word for carrot is ma’rin (מערין), which also means "increase." By eating carrots one asks for their merits and blessings to be increased. Sliced carrots are also typically eaten to symbolize gold coins and hopes for continued wealth and prosperity. In Hebrew the word for carrot is gezer (גזר) which sounds similar to the word g’zar – the Hebrew word for "decree." Serving carrots on Rosh Hashanah symbolizes a desire to have God nullify any negative decrees against us.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Magical and Memorable Meanings Behind Rosh Hashanah Food |website=Breaking Matzo |date=16 September 2021 |url=https://breakingmatzo.com/philosophy/the-magical-and-memorable-meanings-behind-rosh-hashanah-food/ |access-date=15 September 2023 |archive-date=4 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004092041/https://breakingmatzo.com/philosophy/the-magical-and-memorable-meanings-behind-rosh-hashanah-food/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Pomegranate]]s are used in many traditions, to symbolize being fruitful like the pomegranate with its many seeds.<ref name="Spiceand">''Spice and Spirit: The Complete Kosher Jewish Cookbook'', 1990, New York, p. 508</ref> Typically, round [[challah]] bread is served, to symbolize the cycle of the year. Raisins are occasionally incorporated into the dough to symbolize a sweet New Year.<ref name="Spiceand" /><ref name="HISTORY"/> From ancient to quite modern age, lamb head or fish head were served. Nowadays, [[lekach]] (honey cake)  and [[gefilte fish]] are commonly served by Ashkenazic Jews on this holiday. On the second night, new fruits are served to warrant the inclusion of the [[shehecheyanu]] blessing.<ref name="CUSTOMS">{{cite web |title=How Is Rosh Hashanah Celebrated? – An Overview of Rosh Hashanah's Traditions and Customs – High Holidays |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4830/jewish/How-Is-Rosh-Hashanah-Celebrated.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806174931/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4830/jewish/How-Is-Rosh-Hashanah-Celebrated.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The general Ashkenazic custom is to eat sweet foods, such as honey cake and [[teiglach]], to augur a sweet year. The Sephardic and Mizrahi custom is frequently to eat light-coloured foods, or rather, to avoid dark ones, so as to  avoid a dark year.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

===Tashlikh===
{{main|Tashlikh}}
[[File:Flickr_-_Government_Press_Office_(GPO)_-_The_Taslich_Prayer.jpg|thumb|Tashlikh in Tel Aviv during Rosh Hashanah, 1980]]

The ritual of [[tashlikh]] is performed on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah by most Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews (but not by Spanish and Portuguese Jews or some Yemenites, as well as those who follow the practices of the [[Vilna Gaon]]). Prayers are recited near natural flowing water, and one's sins are symbolically cast into the water. Many also have the custom to throw bread or pebbles into the water, to symbolize the "casting off" of sins. 

In some communities (primarily Ashkenazim), if the first day of Rosh Hashanah occurs on Shabbat, ''tashlikh'' is postponed until the second day. The traditional service for ''tashlikh'' is recited individually and includes the prayer "Who is like unto you, O God... And You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea", and Biblical passages including {{Bibleverse||Isaiah|11:9|HE}} ("They will not injure nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea") and {{Bibleverse-lb||Psalms|118:5–9|HE}}, {{Bibleverse||Psalms|121|HE}} and {{Bibleverse||Psalms|130|HE}}, as well as personal prayers. Though once considered a solemn individual tradition, it has become an increasingly social ceremony practiced in groups. Tashlikh can be performed any time until [[Hoshana Rabba]], and some [[Hasidic]] communities perform Tashlikh on the day before [[Yom Kippur]].<ref name="Kumer 2019">{{cite web |last=Kumer |first=Dinka |title=What is Tashlich? – High Holidays |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/564247/jewish/What-is-Tashlich.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929205727/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/564247/jewish/What-is-Tashlich.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Greetings===
The [[Hebrew]] common [[Jewish greetings|greeting]] on Rosh Hashanah is ''Shanah Tovah'' ({{langx|he|שנה טובה}}; {{IPA|he|ˈʃona ˈtɔ͡ɪva|pron}} in many Ashkenazic communities and {{IPA|he|ʃaˈna toˈva|pron}} in Israeli and Sephardic communities), which translated from Hebrew means "[have a] good year".<ref name="ChabadGreetingTranslation">{{cite web |url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/174683/jewish/New-Year-Greetings-Explained.htm |title=What Is Shanah Tovah? New Year Greeting Translation and More: The meaning of the traditional Rosh Hashanah wishes |publisher=Chabad.org |access-date=10 September 2018 |author=Posner, Menachem |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910203951/https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/174683/jewish/New-Year-Greetings-Explained.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Often ''Shanah Tovah Umetukah'' (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|שנה טובה ומתוקה}}), meaning "[have a] Good and Sweet Year", is used.<ref name="JewishJournalGreetings">{{cite web |url=http://jewishjournal.com/culture/religion/high_holy_days/96319/ |title=From Selichot to Simchat Torah |publisher=TRIBE Media |work=Jewish Journal |date=21 September 2011 |access-date=10 September 2018 |author=Bottner, Lauren |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910165110/http://jewishjournal.com/culture/religion/high_holy_days/96319/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] the greeting is אַ גוט יאָר "''a gut yor''" ("a good year") or אַ גוט געבענטשט יאָר "''a gut gebentsht yor''" ("a good blessed year").<ref name="ChabadGreetingTranslation"/> The formal Sephardic greeting is ''Tizku Leshanim Rabbot'' ("may you merit many years"),<ref name="Haaretz 2012">{{cite web |title=What is in a Rosh Hashanah greeting? |website=Haaretz |date=17 September 2012 |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/what-s-in-a-new-year-greeting-1.5163661 |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929213550/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/what-s-in-a-new-year-greeting-1.5163661 |url-status=live }}</ref> to which the answer is ''Ne'imot VeTovot'' ("pleasant and good ones"); while in [[Judaeo-Spanish|Ladino]], they say אנייאדה בואינה, דולסי אי אליגרי "''anyada buena, dulse i alegre''" ("may you have a good, sweet and happy New Year").{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

A more formal greeting commonly used among religiously observant Jews is ''Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah'' (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|כְּתִיבָה וַחֲתִימָה טוֹבָה}}), which translates as "A good inscription and sealing [in the Book of Life]",<ref name="ChabadGreetingTranslation"/> or ''L'shanah tovah tikatevu v'techatemu'' meaning "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year".<ref name="JewishJournalGreetings"/> In many German communities, the greeting ''L'shanah tovah tikatevu'', "May you be inscribed for a good year" is used, leaving out the sealing.<ref>Rodelheim Machzor, [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=43503&st=&pgnum=23 page 10b].</ref> After Rosh Hashanah ends, the greeting is changed to ''G'mar chatimah tovah'' (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|גמר חתימה טובה}}) meaning "A good final sealing", until [[Yom Kippur]].<ref name="ChabadGreetingTranslation"/> After Yom Kippur is over, until [[Hoshana Rabbah]], as [[Sukkot]] ends, the greeting is ''Gmar Tov'' (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|גְּמָר טוֹב}}), "a good conclusion".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Steinmetz |first1=Sol |title=Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms |date=2005 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, MD |isbn=978-0742543874 |page=53}}</ref>

===In Karaite Judaism===
Unlike the denominations of Rabbinical Judaism, [[Karaite Judaism]] believes the Jewish New Year starts with the first month and celebrates this holiday only as it is mentioned in the Torah, that is as a day of rejoicing and shouting.<ref name="Kar">{{cite web |url=http://www.nehemiaswall.com/yom-teruah-day-shouting-became-rosh-hashanah |title=How Yom Teruah Became Rosh Hashanah |publisher=Nehemia's Wall |date=26 September 2014 |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910204007/https://www.nehemiaswall.com/yom-teruah-day-shouting-became-rosh-hashanah |url-status=live }}</ref> Karaites allow no work on the day except what is needed to prepare food (Leviticus 23:23, 24).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.karaites.org/karaite-customs-and-traditons.html |title=Karaite Jews of America |publisher=The Karaite Jews of America |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910164919/https://www.karaites.org/karaite-customs-and-traditons.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===In Samaritanism===
[[Samaritans]] preserve the biblical name of the holiday, ''Yom Teruah'', and do not consider the day to be a New Year's Day.<ref name="Israelite Samaritan Information">{{cite web |title=Festival 2016: Seven Festivals Celebrated in the Israelite Samaritan Year |website=Israelite Samaritan Information Institute |date=21 October 2012 |url=https://www.israelite-samaritans.com/festival/ |access-date=1 September 2019 |archive-date=1 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901085413/https://www.israelite-samaritans.com/festival/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Duration and timing==
{{see also|Jewish and Israeli holidays 2000–2050}}
The Torah defines Rosh Hashanah as a one-day celebration, and since days in the Hebrew calendar begin at sundown, the beginning of Rosh Hashanah is at sundown at the end of 29 [[Elul]]. Since the time of the destruction of the [[Second Temple of Jerusalem]] in 70 CE and the time of Rabban [[Yohanan ben Zakkai]], [[Norm (sociology)|normative]] Jewish law appears to be that Rosh Hashanah is to be celebrated for two days, because of the difficulty of determining the date of the [[new moon]].<ref name="Jacobs"/> Nonetheless, there is some evidence that Rosh Hashanah was celebrated on a single day in Israel as late as the thirteenth century [[Common Era|CE]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://machonshilo.org/en/eng/list-articles/47-hagim-articles/756-rosh-hashana-in-israel-one-day-or-two |title=Rosh HaShanna in Israel: One Day or Two? |access-date=10 September 2018 |author=Rav David Bar-Hayim |work=Machon Shilo website |publisher=Machon Shilo |location=[[Jerusalem]] |quote=Includes link for Audio Shiur in English}}</ref>

[[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Conservative Judaism]] now generally observe Rosh Hashanah for the first two days of [[Tishrei]], even in Israel where all other Jewish holidays dated from the new moon last only one day. The two days of Rosh Hashanah are said to constitute "''Yoma Arichtah''" (Aramaic: "''one'' long day"), with certain practical implications in Halacha. In [[Reform Judaism]], while most congregations in North America observe only the first day of Rosh Hashanah, some follow the traditional two-day observance as a sign of solidarity with other Jews worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://reformjudaism.org/practice/ask-rabbi/do-reform-jews-celebrate-one-or-two-days-rosh-hashanah |title=Do Reform Jews Celebrate One or Two Days of Rosh HaShanah? |work=ReformJudaism.org |date=21 August 2013 |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627232355/https://reformjudaism.org/practice/ask-rabbi/do-reform-jews-celebrate-one-or-two-days-rosh-hashanah |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Karaite Judaism|Karaite Jews]], who do not recognize Rabbinic [[oral law#Oral law in Judaism|Jewish oral law]] and rely on their own understanding of the Torah, observe only one day on the first of Tishrei, since the second day is not mentioned in the [[Written Torah]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Greenspoon |first=Leonard Jay |title=Rites of Passage: How Today's Jews Celebrate, Commemorate, and Commiserate |publisher=Purdue University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1557535771 |location=West Lafayette, IN |page=144}}</ref>

===Date===
Originally, the date of Rosh Hashanah was determined based on observation of the new moon ("[[molad]]"), and thus could fall on any day of the week. However, around the third century CE, the [[Hebrew calendar]] was fixed such that the first day of Rosh Hashanah never fell out on Wednesday or Friday,<ref name=":10">Tractate Rosh Hashanah 20a</ref> and by the ninth century it had been fixed so that it also could not fall out on Sunday (''lo AD'U rosh'').<ref>See {{Cite journal |last=Herr |first=Moshe David |date=1979 |title=ענייני הלכה בארץ-ישראל במאה הששית והשביעית לספירת הנוצרים |trans-title=Matters of Palestinian Halakha during the Sixth and Seventh Centuries C.E. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23595074 |journal=[[Tarbiz]] |language=he |volume=49 |issue=1/2 |page=78-79 |jstor=23595074 |issn=0334-3650}} The earliest mentions of this mnemonic include the geonic work ''Halakhot Pesuqot'': {{Cite book |last=Yehudai ben Nahman (attributed) |author-link=Yehudai ben Nahman |url= |title=Halakhot Pesuqot |title-link=Halachot Pesukot |publisher=[[Mekitze Nirdamim]] |pages=135 |language=he |chapter=18 |quote=לא בד"ו פסח לא גה"ז עצרת לא אד"ו ראש השנה וסוכה |chapter-url=https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=31931&st=&pgnum=148&hilite=}} and a geonic letter dated 835 C.E., printed in {{Cite book |last=Mann |first=Jacob |url=https://archive.org/details/jewsinegyptinpal01mannuoft |title=The Jews in Egypt and in Palestine under the Fatimid Caliphs |date=1922 |publisher=London : Oxford University Press |others=Robarts – University of Toronto |volume=2 |page=42 |quote=ולמה לא ב[דו] פסח ולא גהז עצרת משום לא אדו ראש השנה}}</ref>

Rosh Hashanah occurs 163 days after the first day of [[Passover]], and thus is usually (but not always) determined by the new moon closest to the [[September equinox|autumnal equinox]].

In terms of the [[Gregorian calendar]], the earliest date on which Rosh Hashanah can fall is 5 September, as happened in 1842, 1861, 1899, and 2013. The latest Gregorian date that Rosh Hashanah can occur is 5 October, as happened in 1815, 1929, and 1967, and will happen again in 2043. After 2089, the differences between the Hebrew calendar and the Gregorian calendar will result in Rosh Hashanah falling no earlier than 6 September. Starting in 2214, the new latest date will be 6 October.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oztorah.com/2010/07/an-early-rosh-hashanah-ask-the-rabbi/ |title=An early Rosh HaShanah? – Ask the Rabbi |publisher=Oztorah.com |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

The connection between the date of Rosh Hashanah and the memory of the [[Hamas-led attack on Israel]] on 7 October 2023 has been noted, for example by the [[Ephraim Mirvis|British Chief Rabbi]].<ref>Office of the Chief Rabbi, [https://chiefrabbi.org/all-media/marking-october-7-during-a-season-of-anniversaries/ Marking October 7 during a season of anniversaries], published on 7 October 2024, accessed on 8 October 2024</ref>

In 2020 the Jewish President of [[Ukraine]], [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]], announced that Ukraine would declare Rosh Hashanah a national holiday.<ref name="The Australian Jewish News – AJN 2020">{{cite web | title=Ukraine set to make Pesach, Chanukah and Rosh Hashanah official holidays | website=The Australian Jewish News – AJN | date=19 August 2020 | url=https://www.australianjewishnews.com/ukraine-set-to-make-pesach-chanukah-and-rosh-hashanah-official-holidays/ | access-date=2022-08-31 | archive-date=22 August 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822070642/https://www.australianjewishnews.com/ukraine-set-to-make-pesach-chanukah-and-rosh-hashanah-official-holidays/ | url-status=live }}</ref> This makes Ukraine the only country besides Israel where the day is a national holiday.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

==Gallery of Rosh Hashanah greeting cards==
<gallery>
File:Happynewyearcard.jpg|United States, 1900
File:The National Library of Israel, Jewish New Year cards C AH 033.JPG|Austria, 1904
File:Seattle - Old Temple De Hirsch.jpg|United States, 1908
File:Wiener Werkstätte - New Year Greeting - Google Art Project (2773115).jpg|Austria, 1910 ([[Wiener Werkstätte]])
File:Shanah Tova 1914.jpg|Austria-Hungary/<br />Germany, 1914
File:PikiWiki Israel 2022 Happy New Year Card שנה טובה תרפquot;ח.jpg|Tel Aviv, 1927
File:PikiWiki Israel 219 Immigration to Israel שנה טובה.jpg|Poland, 1931
File:Rosh Hashana Montevideo 1932.jpg|[[Montevideo]], 1932
File:Shana Tova Card.jpg|Israel, 2012
File:Chocolat Poulain Rosch Haschanah.jpg|France, undated. ([[Jewish Museum of Switzerland]].)
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Judaism}}
{{Infobox calendar date today}}
* [[Christian observances of Jewish holidays#Christian Feast of Trumpets|Christian observances of Jewish holidays: Feast of Trumpets]]
* [[Jewish holidays]]
* [[Rosh Hashana kibbutz]]
* [[Unetanneh Tokef]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Angel |first=Marc |title=Exploring Sephardic Customs and Traditions |year=2000 |publisher=KTAV Pub. House in association with American Sephardi Federation, American Sephardi Federation{{snd}}South Florida Chapter, Sephardic House |isbn=0-88125-675-7 |location=Hoboken, NJ}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|Rosh Hashanah}}
{{Commons category|Rosh Hashanah}}
* [https://www.yeshiva.co/tags/rosh%20hashana Torah Content on Rosh Hashana] – Text, audio & video classes, Times, and Q&A about Rosh HaShana
* [https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/rosh_hashana/index.asp Marking the New Year From the Yad Vashem's Collections] – Online exhibition on the celebration of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur before, during, and after the Holocaust
* [https://www.tefilah.com.au/lesson/borchu-nusach Rosh Hashanah Prayers by Chazzanim] – an audio, video and printed guide to the Rosh Hashanah prayers
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/29363650] – BBC video and more!
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}
{{High Holidays}}
{{Public holidays in the United States}}
{{New Year by Calendar}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rosh Hashanah| ]]
[[Category:Adam and Eve]]
[[Category:Autumn festivals]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law]]
[[Category:Tishrei observances]]
[[Category:New Year celebrations]]
[[Category:Autumn equinox]]