Rosh Hashanah 5773

On Sunday evening my family and I will begin celebrating the two-day holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah, which means ‘Head of the Year’ in Hebrew, falls in the month of Tishrei, which is the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar and is believed to be the month in which God created the world.

The holiday marks the beginning of ten days when Jewish people think very carefully about their behaviour during the past year. We remember what we have done, ask and pray to be forgiven for any bad deeds and promise to be better next year.

A lot of time is spent in the synagogue. We hear the blowing of the shofar (a ram's horn), an ancient musical instrument that is blown into like a trumpet. One hundred notes are blown on the shofar in the synagogue on each day of Rosh Hashanah and the blasts make an urgent sound that remind us to reflect on the past year and the year to come.

Throughout Rosh Hashanah no bitter or sour food is eaten. People eat sweet food, symbolizing the desire to have a new year filled with sweetness. Special meals for the holiday include pomegranates, apples dipped in honey (thus my paper bees!), and challah bread in a round loaf to symbolise the circle of life and of the year.

The traditional Hebrew greeting on Rosh Hashanah is שנה טובה ומתוקה (Shana Tovah u'Metukah) literally meaning "a good and sweet year." That being said, I would like to wish all my Jewish customers and friends a very happy and peaceful holiday, and, in the words of the traditional blessing "May You Be Written and Sealed for a Good Year."