What Is Rosh Hashanah?

<h1>What Is Rosh Hashanah?</h1>Author: <a title="Robert Levin" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/robert-levin/111011.htm">Robert Levin</a> Rosh Hashanah is a holiday in the Jewish religion and is the celebration commemorating the Jewish New Year according to the Jewish Calendar. The holiday typically falls in the fall with Rosh Hashanah 2009 occurring on September 18th and Rosh Hashanah 2010 occurring on September 8.  The Jewish calendar pre-dates the Gregorian calendar with the corresponding 2009 Rosh Hashanah commemorating the year 5770 and 2010 corresponding to 5771 on the Jewish or Hebrew calendar. Rosh Hashanah is traditionally celebrated on one day but some more progressive forms of Judaism add a 2nd day of celebration.  Several religious customs are involved in the celebration of the holiday.  Traditionally, the month preceding Rosh Hashanah is called Elul and is a time of self-reflection, self-examination and repentance.  This culminates in the ten days of Yamim Noraim which is the beginning of Rosh Hashanah and which culminates in the holiday of Yom Kippur, or the day of repentance. The most noteworthy and well known custom attributed to Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the Shofar or Ram’s Horn.  This tradition stems from ancient times and the sounding of the Shofar consists of four distinct sounds and takes place during services on Rosh Hashanah in the temple or ‘Shul’.  The first, a long sound is called ‘Tekiah’, the second consisting of three short broken sounds is ‘Shevarim’, ‘Teruah’ consists of many short staccato sounds and finally it is concluded with ‘Tekiah Gedolah’, which is a very long sound, often as long as the blower can maintain a consistent sound and ending with a last and final rise to climax.  There are special prayers and poems that are also added to the traditional prayer service to commemorate Rosh Hashanah. ‘Shana Tova’ is the traditional greeting during Rosh Hashanah and roughly translates to “have a good year”, comparable to the traditional “Happy New Year”.  After the ceremony the festivities take place and certain foods with symbolic meanings are eaten including Apples and Honey to represent a sweet new year.  Other foods enjoyed include traditional Jewish staples such as gefilte fish and challah bread, usually made into a round shape to celebrate the revolving years.  For more great information and insight please visit <a href="http://www.RoshHashanah.me"><a href="http://www.RoshHashanah.me." target="_blank">www.RoshHashanah.me.</a></a>About the Author: With Degrees in Film, Real Estate Finance and Development as well as Psychology, Robert Levin writes expert articles covering a broad range of issues. Some of his websites include: <a href="http://www.toptenmba.com," target="_blank">www.toptenmba.com,</a>
<a href="http://www.MBAonline.me," target="_blank">www.MBAonline.me,</a> <a href="http://www.lawdegree.me," target="_blank">www.lawdegree.me,</a> <a href="http://www.selfawareness101.com" target="_blank">www.selfawareness101.com</a> and <a href="http://www.tvwriter.me" target="_blank">www.tvwriter.me</a>Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/">ArticlesBase.com</a> - <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/what-is-rosh-hashanah-885091.html" title="What Is Rosh Hashanah?">What Is Rosh Hashanah?</a>

Rosh Hashanah is a holiday in the Jewish religion and is the celebration commemorating the Jewish New Year according to the Jewish Calendar. The holiday typically falls in the fall with Rosh Hashanah 2009 occurring on September 18th and Rosh Hashanah 2010 occurring on September 8. The Jewish calendar pre-dates the Gregorian calendar with the corresponding 2009 Rosh Hashanah commemorating the year 5770 and 2010 corresponding to 5771 on the Jewish or Hebrew calendar.

Rosh Hashanah is traditionally celebrated on one day but some more progressive forms of Judaism add a 2nd day of celebration. Several religious customs are involved in the celebration of the holiday. Traditionally, the month preceding Rosh Hashanah is called Elul and is a time of self-reflection, self-examination and repentance. This culminates in the ten days of Yamim Noraim which is the beginning of Rosh Hashanah and which culminates in the holiday of Yom Kippur, or the day of repentance.

The most noteworthy and well known custom attributed to Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the Shofar or Ram’s Horn. This tradition stems from ancient times and the sounding of the Shofar consists of four distinct sounds and takes place during services on Rosh Hashanah in the temple or ‘Shul’.

The first, a long sound is called ‘Tekiah’, the second consisting of three short broken sounds is ‘Shevarim’, ‘Teruah’ consists of many short staccato sounds and finally it is concluded with ‘Tekiah Gedolah’, which is a very long sound, often as long as the blower can maintain a consistent sound and ending with a last and final rise to climax. There are special prayers and poems that are also added to the traditional prayer service to commemorate Rosh Hashanah.

‘Shana Tova’ is the traditional greeting during Rosh Hashanah and roughly translates to “have a good year”, comparable to the traditional “Happy New Year”. After the ceremony the festivities take place and certain foods with symbolic meanings are eaten including Apples and Honey to represent a sweet new year. Other foods enjoyed include traditional Jewish staples such as gefilte fish and challah bread, usually made into a round shape to celebrate the revolving years. For more great information and insight please visit www.RoshHashanah.me.

With Degrees in Film, Real Estate Finance and Development as well as Psychology, Robert Levin writes expert articles covering a broad range of issues. Some of his websites include: www.toptenmba.com, www.MBAonline.me, www.lawdegree.me, www.selfawareness101.com and www.tvwriter.me

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Article Tags: Judaism, Passover, Hanukkah, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Jewish New Year

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