In 2017, his celebration began on Wednesday evening, September 20, and ends on Friday evening, September 22.

"Rosh Hashanah" literally means "head of the year". Just as the functions of the whole body depend on the head, the behavior of a person in Rosh Hashanah depends on what the coming year will be for him.

Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two days, although the Torah orders only 1 tishraya to observe it: "And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you will have a sacred assembly, do not do any work that day, blow that shofar on this day" (Vaikra / Leviticus 23: 23-25, Bemidbar / Numbers 29: 1-6).

The easiest way to congratulate on a Jewish New Year, which does not require knowledge of Hebrew, is to say "SHANA TOVA" ("good year"). If your acquaintances own Yiddish, they will be greeted by a greeting "a gut er", meaning the same.

After the "Ma'ariv" prayer on Rosh Hashanah's first night, it is customary to greet each other with the wish to be inscribed in the Book of Life: "le-shana tova tikat evu-tehatamu" ("May you be written down for a good year, and let this record be sealed ").

On this day, gifts are given, congratulations are sent to those who are far away. The family gathers at a table that decorates traditional festive dishes.

Seeking to bring joy and happiness to their home, they eat apples with honey in Rosh Hashanah, various sweets. Also on the table are dishes of fish - a symbol of fertility and reproduction; a ram's head is a symbol of supremacy, "so that we may be a head, not a tail"; pomegranate - "so that our merits become many, like grains in a grenade"; carrot circles resembling gold coins; many other vegetables and fruits - as a sign of hope for a plentiful harvest.

At the beginning of the festive meal, it is customary to dip bread (usually a round sweet halo with raisins), over which the blessing was pronounced, into honey, so that the coming year is sweet. There is also a custom to eat apples with honey, saying: "Thy will be done, the God of our fathers, give us a good and sweet year".

Sour, bitter and sharp is not accepted. Nuts in Rosh Hashanah are not eaten, because the gematria (numerical value) of the letters of this word in Hebrew is equal to the gematria of the word "sin".

One of the biblical names of Rosh Hashanah is "the day of trumpet sounds". The most important commandment of the holiday is to listen as a trumpet in the shofar (directly, and not as a sound, broadcast by electronic means), which symbolizes the coronation of the Most High as the Lord of the universe.

The voice of the shofar, like the crying of a child, symbolizes the cry of the soul coming from the depths of the heart, addressed to the heavenly Father, awakens a person to teshuvah (repentance).

Listen to the sounds of the shofar accepted standing. Between the utterance of blessings and the last series of trumpet sounds during the repetition of the Khazan of the "Musaf" prayer, it is forbidden to say anything that is not related to prayer or to the fulfillment of the commandment of the shofar.

The sounds of the shofar unite all Jews into a single people standing before God in court. It unites not only those people who are alive now, but also all past and future generations. Shofar is a reminder of the sheep that Abraham offered as a sacrifice instead of his son Yitzhak.

Our generation itself may not be able to stand trial, but our ancestors and our descendants protect us, and we turn to God the words: "Remember the services of the forefathers - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - and give us mercy for the sake of the fact that we bear your name, and for the sake of your righteous Messiah ". Thus, the shofar helps us to stand on the Court, awakens our inner strengths and gives us protection.

On the eve of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to light candles. In this case, two blessings are pronounced:.

"Baruch Ata adonAy Elohainu Melech ha-olam Asher kiddhaanu be-mitzvotA ve-tsivanu lehadlik Ner Shel yom ha-zikarOn. AmEn "(" Blessed are you, Lord our God, Lord of the universe, who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the candle of the Day of Remembrance. Amen ")" Baruch AtA adonAy EloEynu Melekh ha-olam She-hahyanu ve-kijmAnu ve-higiAnu la-zmAn ha-ze. AmEn "(" Blessed are you, Lord our God, Lord of the universe, Who allowed us to live up to this time. Amen ") News.