Rosh Hashanah
The Jewish New Year. Rosh HaShanah directly translates to "Head of the year". This Holiday begins our High Holiday cycle which continues with Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and concludes with Simchat Torah.
This Holiday is filled with shofar blasts, apples and honey, and feasting. We do not work on this Holiday and instead gather in community to celebrate and observe the start of the new year. People great each other with "happy new year" and "L'Shana Tova", we wish for good and sweet new years, and we acknowledge and cast our missteps into running water as a part of Tashlich on the second day as a way to begin our walk towards Yom Kippur which occurs ten days later.
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What's happening this year? | What is Rosh HaShanah? | Where is the Meaning?
A Little History | So what is Rosh HaShanah and why do we celebrate it?
Something that may surprise you is that "Rosh HaShanah" is not mentioned in the Torah. The term first comes about in the Mishnah (A compilation of the oral tradition of the Jewish people). In the Torah, this holiday is referred to as "Yom Teruah", Day of Shofar Blowing. The blowing of the Shofar is the most important aspect of this holiday. Again, our tradition is a little vague here on exactly why the shofar blasts. Some interpretations around this have to do with calling us to repentance, bringing us into relation with the sovereignty of G!D (like heralding trumpets), and reminding us of the binding of Issac and submitting ourselves to the Will of the Divine.
Another popular tradition is called Tashlich. On the first day of Rosh HaShanah and even up to the last day of Sukkot, people gather by a body of water and cast away their sins or missteps. Special prayers are spoken and at the end, it is traditional to shake out the corners of your clothing. Some people today throw bread crumbs into the water as a way to physicalize the casting away.
The Mystical Meanings | Some Psycho-Spiritual Meanings and Themes
Rosh HaShanah, like all other Jewish Holidays, has a myriad of themes to connect to on a psycho-spiritual level. Each holiday has the ability for interpretation and reflection. Each year the holiday can mean something else because, as the years pass we change, and how we see the holiday changes with us. Here are some themes that you may want to work with this year or in years to come.
- Rosh HaShanah is said to be the birthday of the universe. How does your life or experience change when you put yourself in context with the beginning of time?
- People often eat fish on this holiday. Fish are said to not have eyelids so they are not subject to the evil eye. They are also said to have no neck which means they have no separation from their mind and their heart. What can we learn from fish and from the natural world around us which will help us be better people?
- When you hear the blasts of the Shofar, what do you notice happening in your body? How are you affected by this ancient instrument and tradition? To what are you called?
- What do you want his year to hold for you? What do you want to let go of from last year? Where have you missed the mark and where could you do better?