Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish holiday of rebirth
We approach the year 5784 of the Jewish calendar: from the evening of September 15 to 17 we will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year that recalls the creation of the world on the first day of Tishri, the month that starts the annual cycle. The Jewish New Year is a day of renewal, rebirth and atonement and, like all ancient Jewish holidays, is celebrated with traditional rites and always renewed participation. So let us prepare the shofar and choose what we want to get rid of to be ready to welcome the new year.Rosh Hashanah: the Jewish New Year of Revival and Prosperity
The Jewish New Year: the origins of Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year civil, is a special day and with different levels of reading, so much so that tradition and literature define it in various ways: “the day of the sound of the shofar”, “the day of judgment” or “the day of remembrance”. In ancient times the Jewish New Year also marked the beginning of the agricultural calendar: with autumn the cycle of the fields on which life depended opened. The Jewish holiday was announced by the sound of the shofar, work was suspended and special sacrifices were offered. In the ten days that separate Rosh Hashanah from Yom Kippur, the so-called 10 penitential days, the faithful prepare for the final exam in which the granting of forgiveness for the transgressions committed and recognized will be decided. In these ten days, one has the opportunity to apologize to those who have been disrespected or who have been hurt by improper actions: an opportunity for redemption and rebirth.
Rites and symbols of Rosh Hashanah
Like any Jewish holiday with ancient roots, Rosh Hashanah is accompanied by rites and traditions that distinguish it. The faithful approach this day by reciting the penitential prayers: a daily preparation that accompanies until the date of the actual feast. With the Tashlikh you get rid of residual objects and recognized sins, also symbolically in the form of stones or stones: the launch into a body of water represents the separation and liberation from the mistakes committed. To announce the Jewish New Year is then the shofar, the mutton horn that with its sound awakens the Jewish people and reminds them to prepare for Yom Kippur. Since ancient times, the festival is also celebrated at the table on the two anniversary nights, with the symbolic foods of the Seder of Rosh Hashanah: the recitation of prayers is accompanied by typical sweets, such as the apple dipped in honey, and foods that evoke multiplicity and prosperity, such as pomegranate.
