Rosh Hashana
Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: ראש השנה), (literally “head of the year”), is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holidays or Yamim Noraim (“Days of Awe”), celebrated ten days before Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah is observed on the first two days of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. It is described in the Torah as יום תרועה (Yom Teruah, a day of sounding [the Shofar]).
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About Rosh Hashana
Beyond marking the new year, Rosh Hashanah is understood as Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgment, when in rabbinic tradition God reviews all creation and inscribes each person in the metaphorical Book of Life for the year ahead. It commemorates the creation of the world — and especially the creation of humanity — and opens the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (Ten Days of Repentance) that culminate in Yom Kippur. The season is one of introspection, repentance (teshuvah), prayer, and a spiritual accounting of the soul (cheshbon hanefesh). Its liturgy is built around three great themes: Malchuyot (God's sovereignty and kingship), Zichronot (remembrance), and Shofarot (the blasts of the shofar).
When it’s observed
Rosh Hashanah falls on the 1st and 2nd of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, which places it in September or early October on the civil calendar. As with all Jewish days, it begins at sunset the evening before. Because the Hebrew calendar is lunar-based, the exact date shifts from year to year. It is observed for two days in Orthodox and Conservative Judaism — and uniquely among the festivals, the two days are kept even in Israel, treated as one extended 48-hour "long day" (yoma arichta). Practice varies by community: most Reform congregations in North America observe a single day, as do Karaite Jews.
The readings & trope
The first day's Torah reading is Genesis 21:1-34, recounting the birth of Isaac to Sarah, followed by the maftir Numbers 29:1-6 (the Rosh Hashanah offerings); the Haftarah is 1 Samuel 1:1-2:10, the birth of the prophet Samuel and Hannah's prayer, echoing the Torah's birth narrative. The second day's Torah reading is Genesis 22:1-24, the Akedah (the Binding of Isaac), with the same maftir from Numbers 29:1-6; the Haftarah is Jeremiah 31:2-20, on God's enduring remembrance and mercy. There is no Megillah read on Rosh Hashanah. In widespread Ashkenazi practice the Torah is chanted in a distinctive, solemn High Holiday cantillation reserved for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur morning, while the Haftarah uses the ordinary year-round trope. TropeTrainer lets you hear and practice these readings in the correct cantillation, including the special High Holiday Torah melody, at your own pace.
Customs
The central mitzvah is hearing the shofar (ram's horn), with as many as 100 blasts sounded over the two days in four call types — tekiah (one long blast), shevarim (three medium blasts), teruah (nine staccato blasts), and tekiah gedolah (one very long blast); the shofar is not sounded when the first day falls on Shabbat. Festive meals feature symbolic foods (simanim): apples dipped in honey and other sweet foods for a sweet year, round challah for the cyclical year, pomegranates, and a fish or ram's head. On the afternoon of the first day, many perform Tashlich at flowing water, symbolically casting away sins (based on Micah 7:19). The traditional greeting is "Shanah Tovah" or "L'shanah tovah tikatevu." Distinctive prayers include Avinu Malkeinu and the dramatic Unetaneh Tokef, and many wear white as a symbol of purity. As a yom tov, candles are lit and work is traditionally refrained from.
Frequently asked questions
What is Rosh Hashana?
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and the first of the High Holidays (Yamim Noraim, or Days of Awe). The Torah calls it Yom Teruah, a day of sounding the shofar. In Jewish tradition it commemorates the creation of the world and is regarded as the Day of Judgment, opening the Ten Days of Repentance that lead to Yom Kippur.
When is Rosh Hashana?
Rosh Hashanah falls on the 1st and 2nd of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, which lands in September or early October on the civil calendar. Like all Jewish days it begins at sunset the evening before, and the exact date shifts each year because the Hebrew calendar is lunar-based.
What is read on Rosh Hashana?
Day one: Torah reading Genesis 21:1-34 (the birth of Isaac) with maftir Numbers 29:1-6, and Haftarah 1 Samuel 1:1-2:10 (the birth of Samuel). Day two: Torah reading Genesis 22:1-24 (the Binding of Isaac) with the same maftir, and Haftarah Jeremiah 31:2-20. There is no Megillah read on Rosh Hashanah. In many communities the Torah is chanted in a special High Holiday melody, which you can hear and practice on TropeTrainer.
Why is Rosh Hashana celebrated for two days?
Rosh Hashanah is observed for two days in Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, and it is the one festival kept for two days even in Israel. The two days are traditionally treated as a single extended 48-hour day known as yoma arichta. Most Reform congregations in North America, and Karaite Jews, observe only one day.
Where to go next
Open a sample reading with Hebrew text, trope marks, and audio to see how TropeTrainer works.
How the Haftarah, the Five Megillot, and the High Holiday Torah readings are chanted.
Guided lessons on Torah cantillation, from the basic symbols to advanced phrases.