Year 5775 begins with High Holy Days
Yes, it’s a new year in September. And yes, it’s the year 5775 — in the Hebrew calendar.
That’s because Jewish people around the world are observing the biggest and most important religious holidays of Judaism — beginning with the new year, which began at sundown Wednesday.
The new year, known as Rosh Hashana, is a time of celebration, but it’s also a solemn festival where people are encouraged to reflect and ask forgiveness for their faults in the past year.
Rosh Hashana is one of the two holidays of what is called the High Holy Days. This two-day new year marks God’s completion of the creation of the world.
Yom Kippur, which follows eight days after the festival, is the holiest day of the year. This is a time of atonement and repentance. Jews observe the holy day by fasting, intensive prayer and spending the day in synagogue services.
But to prepare for Yom Kippur, people express their return to God in prayer, charity and increased love for others. They share a common greeting, shana tova u’metukak, which is Hebrew for “a good and sweet new year.” And to put those words into action, people eat apples and honey, raisin challah, honey cake and pomegranates.
Although there never has been a Jewish population survey in Orange County, demographer Bruce Phillips, a sociologist at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and a senior research fellow at USC Dornsife’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture, said there is evidence of 70,000 or 80,000 Jews in the area.
“It could be one of the largest Jewish communities in the United States,” Phillips told USC News in a 2013 article.
And for the next few weeks, Jewish friends will declare their attitude and philosophy for the coming year. Rabbi Marc Rubenstein of Temple Isaiah in Newport Beach said his Rosh Hashana message is about kindness to others.
“Our lives are a gift from God,” Rubenstein said. “What we give back to life, what we do, and what meaning we get out of life is our gift back to life and to God.”
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Planting the seeds
While reflecting on life and spending time with family, it’s also a time to eat celebratory food.
On each night and day of Rosh Hashana, festive meals traditionally include sweets, as the sugar symbolizes hope for the new year. On the first night, it’s customary to dip an apple slice into honey and ask God for a sweet year. Many families also eat bagels and lox and cook beef briskets and potato kugel.
During the second night of Rosh Hashana, a “new fruit,” classified as a fruit that has recently come into season and not had the chance to be tasted, is eaten. A pomegranate is often used because it is considered a symbol of health and righteousness.
Pomegranates are said to contain 613 seeds. Because Jews wish to fulfill God’s 613 commandments from the Torah, the pomegranate is eaten in hope that all commandments during the coming year will be performed.
No work is permitted during Rosh Hashana. Much of the day is spent in synagogue, where a special prayer book called the machzor is used because of the extensive liturgical changes for the holidays.
As Rosh Hashana is a time to declare a change of attitude for the coming year, there are customs and practices to review one’s deeds and spiritual progress.
On the eve of Rosh Hashana, there is an annulment-of-vows ceremony where people ensure they have not violated their previous year’s vows. Promises made in the previous year are considered a serious commitment and, if not fulfilled, can be retroactively nullified, according to the Torah. To begin the Day of Judgment free from the sin of unfulfilled vows, a Jewish court of knowledgeable people declares that past vows were made in error and that any such statements made in the coming year will be considered invalid.
A shofar, a musical instrument traditionally made of a ram’s horn, is the holiday’s symbol for self-improvement. On both days, the shofar is blown 100 times, calling for unity. By blowing the shofar, Jewish people are to remember the faith of the patriarchs and to remain focused on their devotion to God.
One practice on the first day of Rosh Hashana before sunset is the prayer ceremony known as Tashlich, a ritual that translates to “casting off.” People visit a lake or pond containing fish to empty their pockets into the flowing water. Because fish do not have eyelids, it’s a reminder of God’s watchful providence. Jews pray to God asking to be judged mercifully and lovingly.
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Blow the shofar
The Ten Days of Repentance, which is two days of Rosh Hashana, one of Yom Kippur and seven in between, is when Jews examine their ways and anticipate Yom Kippur. They are to give to charity to correct the errors of the past.
On the eve of Yom Kippur, which begins on Friday, Oct. 3, parents bless their children, eat two light meals and give to charity. On Saturday, the 25-hour fast lasts from sundown to the following nightfall. People abstain from eating, drinking, washing the body and wearing leather shoes. Typically, white clothing is worn as it symbolizes purity. In Israel, there are no radio or television broadcasts. Airports are shut down, and shops and businesses are closed.
On Yom Kippur day, the departed are remembered in a memorial service, and Jews are to connect with the souls of loved ones.
Yom Kippur concludes with a closing prayer followed by a long shofar blast and evening services. Once the service ends, the fast is broken and Jews begin preparing for the next holiday, Sukkot, a commemoration of God’s protection of the Jewish people after their exodus from Egypt. That’s five days after Yom Kippur.