{{short description|Jewish New Year}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox holiday | holiday_name = Rosh Hashanah | image = Symbols of Rosh Hashana.jpg | type = Jewish | caption = A shofar, pomegranates, wine for kiddush, apple and honey – symbols of the Rosh Hashanah holiday | official_name = {{Script/Hebrew|רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה}} | nickname = Jewish New Year | begins = Start of first day of Tishrei | ends = End of second day of Tishrei | observances = Praying in synagogue, personal reflection, and hearing or blowing the ''shofar''. | date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=last|cite=no}} | date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=current|cite=no}} | date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next|cite=no}} | date{{NEXTYEAR|2}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next2|cite=no}} | date = }} '''Rosh Hashanah''' ({{langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה}}}}, {{IPA|he|ˌʁoʃ haʃaˈna|pron}}; {{Lit|head of the year}}) is the New Year in Judaism. The biblical name for this holiday is '''Yom Teruah''' ({{lang|hbo|{{Script/Hebrew|יוֹם תְּרוּעָה}}}}, {{transliteration|hbo|Yōm Tərūʿā}}, {{IPA|he|joːm təruːˈʕaː|IPA}}; {{lit|day of blasting}}). It is the first of the High Holy Days ({{lang|he|{{Script/Hebrew|יָמִים נוֹרָאִים}}}}, {{transliteration|he|Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm}}; {{lit|Days of Awe}}), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|23:23–25|HE}}</ref> that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah begins the Ten Days of Repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. It is followed by the festival of Sukkot, which is immediately followed by Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, which end this holiday season.
Rosh Hashanah is a two-day observance and celebration that begins on the first day of Tishrei, which is the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year. The holiday itself follows a lunisolar calendar and begins the evening prior to the first day. In contrast to the ecclesiastical lunisolar calendar on the first day of the first month Nisan, the spring Passover month which marks Israel's exodus from Egypt, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the civil year, according to the teachings of Judaism, and is the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman according to the Hebrew Bible, as well as the initiation of humanity's role in God's world. The Sages in the Talmud<ref>Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16a, 34a</ref> have characterized the day of Rosh Hashanah as the day that we so to speak crown God as king anew each year. This is effectuated through the Shofar blasts which symbolize the horns sounded at a coronation. It also initiates the ten days of repentance making it an opportune time for repentance.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rosh Hashanah: Coronation Teshuva and Shofar |url=https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/91899/jewish/Rosh-HaShanah-Coronation-Teshuvah-and-Shofar.htm |website=Chabad.org |publisher=SIE |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2025}}
Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the shofar (a hollowed-out ram's horn), as prescribed in the Torah, following the prescription of the Hebrew Bible to blast a [horn] on Yom Teruah. Eating symbolic foods that represent wishes for a sweet new year is an ancient custom recorded in the Talmud.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shurpin |first=Yehuda |title=Why All the Symbolic Rosh Hashanah Foods?|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3053586/jewish/Why-All-the-Symbolic-Rosh-Hashanah-Foods.htm |website=Chabad.org |access-date=21 March 2023 |archive-date=21 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321154816/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3053586/jewish/Why-All-the-Symbolic-Rosh-Hashanah-Foods.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2025}} Other rabbinical customs include attending synagogue services and reciting special liturgy centering around three main themes: Crowning God as king, Shofar blasts, and God remembering us in judgement<ref>{{cite web |title=The Rosh Hashanah prayers |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3447649/jewish/The-Rosh-Hashanah-Prayers-Malchiyot-Zichronot-and-Shofrot.htm |website=Chabad.org |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2025}}, as well as enjoying festive meals. "Tashlich",<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is Tashlich? |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/564247/jewish/What-Is-Tashlich.htm |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=www.chabad.org |language=en}}</ref> which means "to cast" is a ritual performed any time between the first day of Rosh Hashanah and Hoshana Rabbah. Participants recite specific prayers by water, seeking divine forgiveness by symbolically shaking out their garments and casting away their sins into the depths of the waters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tashlikh {{!}} Texts & Source Sheets from Torah, Talmud and Sefaria's library of Jewish sources. |url=https://www.sefaria.org/topics/tashlich |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> In many communities, this is done by throwing stones or pieces of bread into the water.{{fact|date=March 2026}}
==Etymology== {{transliteration|he|Rosh}} is the Hebrew word for "head", {{transliteration|he|ha}} is the definite article ("the"), and {{transliteration|he|shana}} means year. Thus {{transliteration|he|Rosh Hashanah}} means "head of the year", referring to the day of the New Year.<ref>Oxford University Press. (n.d.). Rosh Hashanah, n. In Oxford English dictionary. Retrieved 29 December 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/4556375932</ref>
The term {{transliteration|he|Rosh Hashanah}} in its current meaning does not appear in the Torah. Leviticus 23:24<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|23:24|HE}}</ref> refers to the festival of the first day of the seventh month as {{transliteration|he|zikhron teru'ah}} ("a memorial of blowing [of horns]"). Numbers 29:1 calls the festival {{transliteration|he|yom teru'ah}} ("day of blowing [the horn]").<ref>{{Bibleverse|Numbers|29:1|HE}}</ref>
The term {{transliteration|he|rosh hashanah}} appears once in the Bible (Ezekiel 40:1),<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|40:1|HE}}</ref> where it has a different meaning: either generally the time of the "beginning of the year", or possibly a reference to Yom Kippur,<ref name="Jacobs">{{cite EJ|author=Jacobs, Louis|title=Rosh Ha-Shanah|volume=17|pages=463–66}}</ref> or to the month of Nisan.{{efn|Exodus 12:2<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|12:2|HE}}</ref> refers to the month of Aviv (later renamed Nisan) as "the first month of the year", and in Ezekiel 45:18,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|45:18|HE}}</ref> "the first month" unambiguously refers to Nisan, the month of Passover, as made plain by Ezekiel 45:21.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|45:21|HE}}</ref>}}<ref name=Mulder>{{cite book |last=Mulder |first=Otto |title=Simon the High Priest in Sirach 50: An Exegetical Study of the Significance of Simon the High Priest As Climax to the Praise of the Fathers in Ben Sira's Concept of the History of Israel |year=2003 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004123168 |page=170}}</ref>
In the prayer books (siddurs and machzors), Rosh Hashanah is also called ''Yom haZikkaron'' "the day of remembrance",<ref name=WHATIS>{{cite web |title=What Is Rosh Hashanah? – The Jewish New Year, anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, a day of judgment and coronation, and sounding of the shofar ... – High Holidays |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=27 August 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4762/jewish/What-Is-Rosh-Hashanah.htm |access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref> not to be confused with the modern Israeli remembrance day of the same name.
==Origin== The origin of the New Year is connected to the beginning of the economic year in the agricultural societies of the ancient Near East.<ref name=JewishEnc>{{cite encyclopedia |author1=Isidore Singer |last2=McLaughlin |first2=J. F. |author3=Wilhelm Bacher |author4=Judah David Eisenstein |encyclopedia=Jewish Encyclopedia |title=New-Year |year=1901–1906 |publisher=Funk and Wagnalls |location=New York |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11499-new-year |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=11 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711110545/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11499-new-year |url-status=live }}</ref> The New Year was the beginning of the cycle of sowing, growth, and harvest; the harvest was marked by its own set of major agricultural festivals.<ref name=JewishEnc/> Semitic speakers generally set the beginning of the new year in autumn, while other ancient civilizations chose spring for that purpose, such as the Persians or Greeks or Hindus; the primary reason was agricultural in both cases, the time of sowing the seed and bringing in the harvest.<ref name=JewishEnc/>
Some scholars posit a connection between the Babylonian festival Akitu and Rosh Hashanah, as there are some striking similarities. The Akitu festival of Ur was celebrated at the beginning of Nisanu (first month), which lasted at least five days, and again in Tashritu, the seventh month, which lasted eleven days.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/religion/sumerianakitu.htm|title=The Akitu Festival - www.GatewaysToBabylon.com|website=www.gatewaystobabylon.com}}</ref> Akitu was also strongly tied to the creation myth of Enuma Elish and the victory of Marduk over the sea monster Tiamat, and the creation of the universe from her corpse. Similarly, it is said that the world was created on Rosh Hashanah.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/babylonian-rosh-hashanah-battle-creation-enthronement-and-justice|title=Babylonian Rosh Hashanah - TheTorah.com|website=www.thetorah.com|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930030733/https://www.thetorah.com/article/babylonian-rosh-hashanah-battle-creation-enthronement-and-justice|url-status=live}}</ref>
Another view is that the birth of mankind, and by extension the anniversary of the worlds creation, along with its significance as a day of coronoation of God, was a tradition passed down from Adam and Eve who were created on that day. They passed it down through the generations until it was finally recorded in the Talmud.<ref name="Unwrapped">{{cite web |last1=Freeman |first1=Tzvi |title=Rosh Hashananah Unwrapped |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/89435/jewish/Rosh-Hashanah-Unwrapped.htm |website=Chabad.org |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref>
==The Four "New Years"== Rosh Hashanah marks the start of the numbering of a new year in the Hebrew calendar. According to the Mishnah, four different New Years are observed: Rosh Hashanah (the first of Tishrei), the first of Nisan (when the Exodus began), the first of Elul, and Tu BiShvat (the fifteenth of Shevat). Each delineates the beginning of a year for different legal or religious purposes. The Talmudic distinctions among the New Years are discussed in tractate Rosh Hashanah.<ref name=WHATIS/> Rosh Hashanah is the new year for calculating ordinary calendar years, Sabbatical years, Jubilee years, and dates inscribed on legal deeds and contracts. Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of humankind.<ref name=Chein>{{cite web |last=Chein |first=Rochel |title=High Holidays |website=Why is Rosh Hashanah considered the Jewish New Year? |date=27 August 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/562052/jewish/Why-is-Rosh-Hashanah-considered-the-Jewish-New-Year.htm |access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref> In Jewish practice, the months are numbered starting with the spring month of Nisan, making Tishrei the seventh month; Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the new calendar year, is also actually the first day of the ''seventh'' month.<ref>This is not as strange as it may seem: as the names of the last four month of the Gregorian calendar attest, January used to be the eleventh month, and the new calendar year began, in many places, in the ''middle'' of March. In the United Kingdom, for example, Tuesday, 24 March 1750, was immediately followed by Wednesday, 25 March 1751. See the Julian Calendar#New Year's Day for details.</ref>
The second of these "New Years", the first of the lunar month Nisan (usually corresponds to the months March–April in the Gregorian calendar), is the beginning of the ecclesiastical year; the months are numbered beginning with Nisan. It marks the start of the year for the Three Pilgrimage Festivals.<ref>Mishnah ''Rosh Hashanah'' 1:1</ref> Its injunction is expressly stated in the Hebrew Bible: "This month shall be unto you {{em|the beginning}} of months" (Exodus 12:2). Their injunction is expressly stated in the Hebrew Bible: "Three times in the year you shall keep a feast unto me... the feast of unleavened bread (Passover)... the feast of harvest (Shavuot)... and the feast of ingathering (Sukkot) which is {{em|at the departing of the year}}" (Exodus 23:14–16).<ref>{{bibleverse|Exodus|23:14–16|HE}}</ref> "At the departing of the year" implies that the new year begins here according to the Babylonian Talmud. It is also when a new year is added to the reign of Jewish kings.
The third New Year, the first of Elul, the new year for animals, began the religious taxation period for tithing animals in biblical times. Elul corresponds to the Gregorian August/September, after the spring birthings, when counting the number of animals in herds was relatively simple. However, the ''Halakha'' follows the second opinion that the day coincides with Rosh Hashanah itself,<ref name=Rambam>Rambam Hilkhot Maasar Beheimah 7:6.</ref> and therefore this third new year has no bearing in ''Halakha''.
The fourth New Year, Tu Bishvat, the new year for trees, began the religious taxation period for tithing fruits and nuts from trees. Shevat corresponds to the Gregorian January/February, the end of the Mediterranean wet season when most of the year's rainfall had occurred. Taking fruit or nuts from a tree younger than three years old, with the birthday counted as Tu Bishvat, was prohibited.
==Religious significance== [[File:Heichal_Shlomo,_Renanim_Synagogue_IMG_7292.JPG|180px|thumb|Rosh Hashanah symbolism, inspired by "Unetanneh Tokef", in a synagogue in Jerusalem]] {{Primary sources|section|date=September 2021}} Rosh Hashanah is described in the Mishnah as a day when "creatures pass before [God] like sheep" (Rosh Hashanah 1:2), receiving their judgment.<ref name="v164">{{cite web | title=Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:2 | website=Sefaria | url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Rosh_Hashanah.1.2?lang=bi | access-date=27 September 2025}}</ref> The Talmud expands on this, with tractate Rosh Hashanah 16a:6 noting that Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah, both ''Tannaim'' from the second century CE during the Mishnaic period, agree that humanity is judged on Rosh Hashanah.<ref>{{Cite Talmud|b|Rosh Hashanah|16a:6}}</ref> Furthermore, the Talmud, citing the opinion of Rabbi Kruspedai—who in turn attributes his opinion to Rabbi Yochanan—in Rosh Hashanah 16b:12,<ref>{{Cite Talmud|b|Rosh Hashanah|16b:12}}</ref> states that three books of judgment are opened on Rosh Hashanah. The books are inscribed with the fates of the individuals' names: one for the completely wicked, a second for the wholly righteous, and a third for those in an intermediate moral state, all judged by God. The names of the entirely righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of the living ({{langx|hbo|ספר החיים|translit=Sefer HaḤayyim|rtl=yes}}) and they are sealed "for life". The intermediate group is given ten days until Yom Kippur to reflect, repent, and become righteous; the wicked are "blotted out of the book of the living," teaches Rabbi Avin, referencing Psalm 69:29.<ref>{{Cite Talmud|b|Rosh Hashanah|16b:13}}</ref><ref>{{Bibleverse|Psalms|69:29|HE}}</ref>
Some midrashic descriptions depict God sitting upon a throne before open books containing the deeds of all humanity, with each person passing before God for evaluation of their deeds.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hammer |first=Rabbi Dr. Reuven |title=Rosh Hashana from the Torah to the Temples |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rosh-hashanah-from-the-torah-to-the-temples/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918074336/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rosh-hashanah-from-the-torah-to-the-temples/ |archive-date=18 September 2020 |access-date=17 September 2020}}</ref> Rosh Hashanah, along with Yom Kippur, was identified as an anniversary holiday to "reflect on the past [...] only for the sake of the future" by Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth Ephraim Mirvis on 7 October 2024.<ref>Office of the Chief Rabbi, [https://chiefrabbi.org/all-media/marking-october-7-during-a-season-of-anniversaries/ Marking 7 October during a season of anniversaries], published on 7 October 2024, accessed on 8 October 2024</ref> The general understanding of the holiday's religious significance is that it marks a period when members of the Jewish community can atone for their personal sins from the past year. This period begins ten days before Yom Kippur, which is dedicated to communal reflection and repentance.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Learning |first1=My Jewish |title=Rosh Hashanah 101 |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rosh-hashanah-101/ |website=My Jewish Learning |access-date=9 September 2025}}</ref> This is reflected in the prayers composed by classical rabbinic sages for Rosh Hashanah, which are included in contemporary traditional High Holy Day ''machzorim'' ({{lang|he|מַחְזוֹרִים|rtl=yes}}, {{IPA|he|maχzoˈʁim}}; {{singular abbr}} ''machzor'') The overarching theme of the prayers is the "coronation" of God as King of the universe, in preparation for the acceptance of judgments that will follow on that day. For instance, page 15 of the ArtScroll machzor for Rosh Hashanah reads:
{{Blockquote|text=The Holy One said, "On Rosh Hashanah recite before Me [verses of] Sovereignty, Remembrance, and Shofar blasts ({{transliteration|he|malchuyot, zichronot, shofarot}}): Sovereignty so that you should make Me your King; Remembrance so that your remembrance should rise up before Me. And through what? Through the Shofar" (Rosh Hashanah 16a, 34b).<ref>ArtScroll Machzor, Rosh Hashanah. Overview, p. xv.</ref>}}
According to Jewish mysticism, Rosh Hashanah is the day in which the life-force of the world is renewed. It is the day that God so to speak decides if the world should continue to exist for another year. The Shofar's blows symbolize our plea to God to renew the lease on the world.<ref name="Unwrapped" />
==Shofar blowing== {{main|Shofar blowing}}
thumb|180px|Jewish elder blowing the ram's horn (''shofar'') thumb|180px|Sequence of shofar sounds: ''tekiah, shevarim, teruah, tekiah'' The best-known ritual of Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the shofar, a musical instrument made from an animal horn. The shofar is blown at various points during the Rosh Hashanah prayers, and it is customary in most communities to have a total of 100 blasts on each day.<ref name="chabad100">{{cite web |url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4387/jewish/100-Sounds.htm |title=One Hundred Sounds |first=Rabbi Eliyahu |last=Kitov |access-date=7 October 2018 |archive-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710010324/https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4387/jewish/100-Sounds.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2025}} The shofar is not blown on Shabbat.<ref name="Haaretz">Jewish Law permits the Shofar to be blown in the presence of a rabbinical court called the Sanhedrin, which had not existed since ancient times. A recent group of Orthodox rabbis in Israel claiming to constitute a modern Sanhedrin held, for the first time in many years, an Orthodox shofar-blowing on Shabbat for Rosh Hashanah in 2006. [http://thesanhedrin.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=355 TheSanhedrin.net: Shofar Blowing on Shabbat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615042650/http://thesanhedrin.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=355 |date=15 June 2012 }} (translation of [https://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/766399.html Haaretz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126203729/http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/766399.html |date=26 January 2009 |access-date=10 September 2018 }} article)</ref>
While the blowing of the shofar is a Biblical statute, it is also a symbolic "wake-up call", stirring Jews to mend their ways and repent. The shofar blasts call out: "Sleepers, wake up from your slumber! Examine your ways and repent and remember your Creator."<ref>''Mishneh Torah'', Laws of Repentance 3:4.</ref> The blowing of the shofar is also seen as a reminder to God of the plight of humanity.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Jewish study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh translation |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-997846-5 |editor-last=Berlin |editor-first=Adele |edition=2. |location=New York}}</ref>
In modern times the Lubavitcher Rebbe made the Shofar blowing into the theme of a global campaign to encourage and facilitate the hearing of the Shofar in public areas and underserviced places such as prisons and hospitals.<ref>{{cite web |title=70 years of the Shofar campaign |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5642668/jewish/70-Years-of-Bringing-Shofar-to-the-Streets.htm |website=chabad.org |access-date=29 September 2025}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2025}}
==Prayer service== On Rosh Hashanah day, religious poems called {{transliteration|he|piyyutim}} are added to the regular services. A special prayer book, the machzor (plural {{transliteration|he|machzorim}}), is used on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.<ref name="Shurpin 2019">{{cite web |last=Shurpin |first=Yehuda |title=Why Is the High Holiday Prayerbook Called a "Machzor"? – Questions & Answers |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4114669/jewish/Why-Is-the-High-Holiday-Prayerbook-Called-a-Machzor.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929214833/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4114669/jewish/Why-Is-the-High-Holiday-Prayerbook-Called-a-Machzor.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Some additions are made to the regular service, most notably in the Ashkenazic rite (both Nusach Ashkenaz and Nusach Sefard) an extended repetition of the Amidah prayer for both Shacharit and Mussaf including piyyutim; even communities that omit most piyyutim throughout the year recite some selection of these piyyutim. In the contemporary Sephardic rite, no piyyutim are recited inside the repetition, and in the Italian rite very few are recited, but many Sephardic communities recite piyyutim before or after the Torah reading. The shofar is blown during Mussaf at the conclusion of each of the middle blessing of the Chazzan's repetition; in some communities, it is also blown during the silent Musaf.<ref name="prayer">{{cite web |title=Services at a Glance – High Holidays |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/564039/jewish/Services-at-a-Glance.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929214831/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/564039/jewish/Services-at-a-Glance.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> (In many synagogues, even little children come and hear the shofar being blown.){{explain|date=September 2021}}. The ''Aleinu'' prayer is recited during the silent prayer as well as the repetition of the Mussaf Amidah.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gold|first=Ave|title=Rosh Hashanah – Its Significance, Laws, and Prayers: Presentation Anthologized from Talmudic Traditional Sources|publisher=Mesorah Publications|year=1983|isbn=978-0899061955|location=Brooklyn|pages=101}}</ref>
Among the most well-known and widely recited liturgical poems ({{transliteration|he|piyyutim}}) in all Jewish communities is ''Unetaneh Tokef'', traditionally recited around the Musaf prayer on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The special Avinu Malkeinu prayer is also recited on Rosh Hashanah. In the Ashkenazic rite, Avinu Malkeinu is never recited on Shabbat (except in Ne'ila on Yom Kippur), and it is also omitted at Mincha on Fridays.
The narrative in the Book of Genesis describing the announcement of Isaac's birth and his subsequent birth<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|21|HE}}</ref> is part of the Torah readings in synagogues on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and the narrative of the sacrifice and binding of Isaac<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|22|HE}}</ref> is read in synagogue on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.
The Mussaf Amidah prayer on Rosh Hashanah is unique in that, apart from the first and last three blessings, it contains three central blessings making a total of nine. These blessings are entitled "Malchuyot" (Kingship, and also includes the blessing for the holiness of the day as in a normal Mussaf), "Zichronot" (Remembrance), and "Shofarot" (concerning the shofar). Each section contains an introductory paragraph followed by selections of verses about the "topic". The verses are three from the Torah, three from the Ketuvim, three from the Nevi'im, and one more from the Torah. During the repetition of the Amidah, the shofar is sounded (except on Shabbat) after the blessing that ends each section.<ref name="MyJewishLearning2003">{{cite web |title=Rosh Hashanah Musaf Amidah |website=My Jewish Learning |date=17 February 2003 |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rosh-hashanah-musaf-amidah/ |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929215138/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rosh-hashanah-musaf-amidah/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Recitation of these three blessings is first recorded in the Mishna,<ref>Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 4:5–6</ref> though writings by Philo and possibly even Psalms 81<ref>{{Bibleverse|Psalms|81|HE}}</ref> suggest that the blessings may have been recited on Rosh Hashanah even centuries earlier.<ref>Hoenig, Sidney B. "Origins of the Rosh Hashanah Liturgy." The Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 57, 1967, pp. 312–31. {{JSTOR|1453499}}. Accessed 16 January 2020.</ref>
In many Ashkenazic communities, primarily those from Germany or Hungary, a kittel is worn during daytime Rosh Hashanah prayers, just as one is worn on Yom Kippur. In other Ashkenazic communities, only the prayer leaders wear a kittel on Rosh Hashanah.
==Customs== ===Days before Rosh Hashanah=== Rosh Hashanah is preceded by the month of Elul, during which religious Jews traditionally undergo a period of self-examination and repentance—a process that culminates in the ten days of the ''Yamim Nora'im'', beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with the holiday of Yom Kippur.<ref name=elul>{{cite web |title=The Month of Elul – Inventory Season – Mitzvah Minutes |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/706431/jewish/Elul.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929204050/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/706431/jewish/Elul.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The High Holidays – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – Yamim Nora'im (Days of Awe) or High Holy Days |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/36130/jewish/High-Holidays.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=16 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916224125/https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/36130/jewish/High-Holidays.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
The shofar is traditionally blown on weekday mornings—and in some communities in the afternoon, too—for the entire month of Elul. The sound of the shofar is intended to awaken the hearers from their "slumbers" and alert them to the coming days of judgment.<ref name="ReferenceB">Maimonides, ''Yad'', Laws of Repentance 3:4</ref><ref name=elul/> The shofar is not blown on Shabbat.<ref name="Haaretz"/>
Penitential prayers called ''selichot'' are recited in the period leading up to Rosh Hashanah. The Sephardic tradition is to start at the beginning of Elul, while the Ashkenazic and Italian practice is to start a few days before Rosh Hashanah.<ref name=elul/>
The day before Rosh Hashanah is known as ''Erev Rosh Hashanah'' (Rosh Hashanah eve).<ref name="The Forward 2014">{{cite web |title=What Do We Mean by 'Erev Rosh Hashanah?' |website=The Forward |date=24 September 2014 |url=https://forward.com/culture/206201/what-do-we-mean-by-erev-rosh-hashanah/ |access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref> It is the 29th day of the Hebrew month of Elul, ending at sundown, when Rosh Hashanah commences. Some communities perform ''hatarat nedarim'' (a nullification of vows) after the morning prayer services.<ref>{{cite web |title=Annulment of Known Vows in Hatarat Nedarim – High Holidays |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=27 August 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4130990/jewish/Annulment-of-Known-Vows-in-Hatarat-Nedarim.htm |access-date=1 September 2019 |archive-date=1 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901091941/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4130990/jewish/Annulment-of-Known-Vows-in-Hatarat-Nedarim.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Many Orthodox men immerse in a mikveh to spiritually purify themselves ahead of Rosh Hashanah.<ref name="Krakowski 2014">{{cite web |last=Krakowski |first=Rabbi Y. Dov |title=Hilchos U'Minhagei Rosh Hashanah |website=Jewish Holidays |date=24 September 2014 |url=https://www.ou.org/holidays/rosh-hashanah/hilchos-uminhagei-rosh-hashana/ |access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref>
===Symbolic foods=== {{Main|Rosh Hashanah seder}} thumb|Apples dipped in honey are eaten on Rosh Hashanah to symbolise the wish for a sweet and happy new year
Rosh Hashanah meals usually include apples dipped in honey to symbolize a sweet start to the new year,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shurpin |first1=Yehuda |title=Why we dip the apple in the honey |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/591014/jewish/Why-Do-We-Dip-the-Apple-Into-Honey-on-Rosh-Hashanah.htm |website=Chabad.org |access-date=29 September 2025}}</ref><ref name="HISTORY">{{cite web |title=Rosh Hashanah |website=history.com |date=27 September 2019 |url=https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/rosh-hashanah-history |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929205607/https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/rosh-hashanah-history |url-status=live }}</ref> which was a medieval addition to the holiday's customs. Other foods with symbolic meanings may be served, depending on local ''minhagim'' ("customs"), such as the head of a fish to symbolize the prayer "let us be the head and not the tail", derived from Deuteronomy 28:13.<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|28:13|JPS}}</ref><ref name="CUSTOMS"/>
Many communities hold a "Rosh Hashanah seder" during which blessings are recited over a variety of symbolic dishes.<ref>''Exploring Sephardic Customs and Traditions,'' Marc Angel, p. 49</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ou.org/life/food/segura_the_rosh_hashanah_seder/ |title=The Rosh Hashanah Seder |author=Debby Segura |date=18 September 2008 |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910164958/https://www.ou.org/life/food/segura_the_rosh_hashanah_seder/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The blessings have the incipit "''Yehi ratzon''", meaning "May it be Thy will." In many cases, the name of the food in Hebrew or Aramaic represents a play on words (a pun). The Yehi Ratzon platter may include apples (dipped in honey, baked or cooked as a compote called ''mansanada''); dates; pomegranates; black-eyed peas; pumpkin-filled pastries called ''rodanchas''; leek fritters called ''keftedes de prasa''; beets; and a whole fish with the head intact. It is also common among Sephardim to eat stuffed vegetables called ''legumbres yaprakes''.<ref>Sternberg, Robert ''The Sephardic Kitchen: The Healthful Food and Rich Culture of the Mediterranean Jews'', Harper Collins, 1996, pp. 320–21, {{ISBN|0-06-017691-1}}</ref>
[[File:Seder_Rosh_Hashana_P1060212_(cropped).JPG|thumb|left|250px|Traditional Rosh Hashanah foods: apples and honey, dates, pomegranates, leeks, sweet carrots, spinach, gefilte fish and more]]
Some of the symbolic foods eaten are dates, black-eyed peas, leeks, spinach, and gourd, all of which are mentioned in the Talmud:<ref>Babylonian Talmud (''Keritot'' 6a)</ref> "Let a man be accustomed to eat on New Year's Day gourds (קרא), and fenugreek (רוביא),<ref>Rashi (''Keritot'' 6a) calls ''rubia'' by its Hebrew name "tiltan" (Heb. תלתן), which word he explains elsewhere as being fenugreek. However, Rabbi Hai Gaon, in one of his ''responsum'' in "Otzar Ha-Geonim", seems to suggest that ''"rubia"'' (Heb. רוביא) means cowpeas, or what others call "black-eyed peas" (פול המצרי). Rabbi Hai Gaon's disciple, Rabbi Nissim ben Jacob (in his Commentary known as ''Ketav Hamafteah''), thus explains the word לוביא, in our case spelled רוביא, as meaning nothing other than cowpeas (פול המצרי), describing them as having a "dark eye in its center". Jews of North Africa traditionally make use of stringed beans in place of ''rubia''.</ref> leeks (כרתי), beet [leaves] (סילקא), and dates (תמרי)."
Carrots can have multiple symbolic meanings at the Rosh Hashanah table. The Yiddish word for carrot is ma’rin (מערין), which also means "increase." By eating carrots, one asks for their merits and blessings to be increased. Sliced carrots are also typically eaten to symbolize gold coins and hopes for continued wealth and prosperity. In Hebrew, the word for carrot is gezer (גזר), which sounds similar to the word g’zar – the Hebrew word for "decree." Serving carrots on Rosh Hashanah symbolizes a desire to have God nullify any negative decrees.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Magical and Memorable Meanings Behind Rosh Hashanah Food |website=Breaking Matzo |date=16 September 2021 |url=https://breakingmatzo.com/philosophy/the-magical-and-memorable-meanings-behind-rosh-hashanah-food/ |access-date=15 September 2023 |archive-date=4 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004092041/https://breakingmatzo.com/philosophy/the-magical-and-memorable-meanings-behind-rosh-hashanah-food/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Pomegranates are used in many traditions<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shurpin |first1=Yehuda |title=pomegranates on Rosh Hashanah |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3791578/jewish/Why-Do-We-Eat-Pomegranates-on-Rosh-Hashanah.htm |website=Chabad.org|access-date=29 September 2025}}</ref> to symbolize being fruitful, like the pomegranate with its many seeds.<ref name="Spiceand">''Spice and Spirit: The Complete Kosher Jewish Cookbook'', 1990, New York, p. 508</ref> Typically, round challah bread is served,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shurpin |first1=Yehuda |title=Round Challah on Rosh Hashanah |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2307525/jewish/Why-Rosh-Hashanah-Challah-Is-Round-Not-Braided.htm |website=Chabad.org |access-date=29 September 2025}}</ref> to symbolize the cycle of the year. Raisins are occasionally incorporated into the dough to symbolize a sweet New Year.<ref name="Spiceand" /><ref name="HISTORY"/> From ancient to quite modern age, lamb head or fish head were served.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moss|first1=Aaron |title=Fish Head on Rosh Hashanah |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1296183/jewish/Why-Do-We-Eat-a-Fish-Head-on-Rosh-Hashanah.htm |website=Chabad.org |access-date=29 September 2025}}</ref> Nowadays, lekach (honey cake) and gefilte fish are commonly served by Ashkenazic Jews on this holiday. On the second night, new fruits are served to warrant the inclusion of the shehecheyanu blessing.<ref name="CUSTOMS">{{cite web |title=How Is Rosh Hashanah Celebrated? – An Overview of Rosh Hashanah's Traditions and Customs – High Holidays |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4830/jewish/How-Is-Rosh-Hashanah-Celebrated.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806174931/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4830/jewish/How-Is-Rosh-Hashanah-Celebrated.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
The general Ashkenazic custom is eating sweet foods, such as honey cake and teiglach, to celebrate a sweet year. The Sephardic and Mizrahi custom is frequently to eat light-coloured foods, or rather, to avoid dark ones or a dark year.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}
===Tashlikh=== {{main|Tashlikh}} thumb|Tashlikh in Tel Aviv during Rosh Hashanah, 1980
The ritual of tashlikh is performed on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah by most Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews (but not by Spanish and Portuguese Jews or some Yemenites, as well as those who follow the practices of the Vilna Gaon). Prayers are recited near natural flowing water, and one's sins are symbolically cast into the water. Many also have the custom to throw bread or pebbles into the water, to symbolize the "casting off" of sins.
In some communities (primarily Ashkenazim), if the first day of Rosh Hashanah occurs on Shabbat, ''tashlikh'' is postponed until the second day. The traditional service for ''tashlikh'' is recited individually and includes the prayer "Who is like unto you, O God... And You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea", and Biblical passages including {{Bibleverse||Isaiah|11:9|HE}} ("They will not injure nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea") and {{Bibleverse-lb||Psalms|118:5–9|HE}}, {{Bibleverse||Psalms|121|HE}} and {{Bibleverse||Psalms|130|HE}}, as well as personal prayers. Though once considered a solemn individual tradition, it has become an increasingly social ceremony practiced in groups. Tashlikh can be performed any time until Hoshana Rabba, and some Hasidic communities perform Tashlikh on the day before Yom Kippur.<ref name="Kumer 2019">{{cite web |last=Kumer |first=Dinka |title=What is Tashlich? – High Holidays |website=Chabad Lubavitch |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/564247/jewish/What-is-Tashlich.htm |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929205727/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/564247/jewish/What-is-Tashlich.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2025}}
===Greetings=== The Hebrew common greeting on Rosh Hashanah is ''Shanah Tovah'' ({{langx|he|שנה טובה}}; {{IPA|he|ˈʃona ˈtɔ͡ɪva|pron}} in many Ashkenazic communities and {{IPA|he|ʃaˈna toˈva|pron}} in Israeli and Sephardic communities), which translated from Hebrew means "[have a] good year".<ref name="ChabadGreetingTranslation">{{cite web |url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/174683/jewish/New-Year-Greetings-Explained.htm |title=What Is Shanah Tovah? New Year Greeting Translation and More: The meaning of the traditional Rosh Hashanah wishes |publisher=Chabad.org |access-date=10 September 2018 |author=Posner, Menachem |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910203951/https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/174683/jewish/New-Year-Greetings-Explained.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Often ''Shanah Tovah Umetukah'' (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|שנה טובה ומתוקה}}), meaning "[have a] Good and Sweet Year", is used.<ref name="JewishJournalGreetings">{{cite web |url=http://jewishjournal.com/culture/religion/high_holy_days/96319/ |title=From Selichot to Simchat Torah |publisher=TRIBE Media |work=Jewish Journal |date=21 September 2011 |access-date=10 September 2018 |author=Bottner, Lauren |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910165110/http://jewishjournal.com/culture/religion/high_holy_days/96319/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In Yiddish the greeting is אַ גוט יאָר "''a gut yor''" ("a good year") or אַ גוט געבענטשט יאָר "''a gut gebentsht yor''" ("a good blessed year").<ref name="ChabadGreetingTranslation"/> The formal Sephardic greeting is ''Tizku Leshanim Rabbot'' ("may you merit many years"),<ref name="Haaretz 2012">{{cite web |title=What is in a Rosh Hashanah greeting? |website=Haaretz |date=17 September 2012 |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/what-s-in-a-new-year-greeting-1.5163661 |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929213550/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/what-s-in-a-new-year-greeting-1.5163661 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to which the answer is ''Ne'imot VeTovot'' ("pleasant and good ones"); while in Ladino, they say אנייאדה בואינה, דולסי אי אליגרי "''anyada buena, dulse i alegre''" ("may you have a good, sweet and happy New Year").{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}
A more formal greeting commonly used among religiously observant Jews is ''Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah'' (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|כְּתִיבָה וַחֲתִימָה טוֹבָה}}), which translates as "A good inscription and sealing [in the Book of Life]",<ref name="ChabadGreetingTranslation"/> or ''L'shanah tovah tikatevu v'techatemu'' meaning "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year".<ref name="JewishJournalGreetings"/> In many German communities, the greeting ''L'shanah tovah tikatevu'', "May you be inscribed for a good year" is used, leaving out the sealing.<ref>Rodelheim Machzor, [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=43503&st=&pgnum=23 page 10b].</ref> After Rosh Hashanah ends, the greeting is changed to ''G'mar chatimah tovah'' (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|גמר חתימה טובה}}) meaning "A good final sealing", until Yom Kippur.<ref name="ChabadGreetingTranslation"/> After Yom Kippur is over, until Hoshana Rabbah, as Sukkot ends, the greeting is ''Gmar Tov'' (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|גְּמָר טוֹב}}), "a good conclusion".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Steinmetz |first1=Sol |title=Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms |date=2005 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, MD |isbn=978-0742543874 |page=53}}</ref>
===In Karaite Judaism=== Unlike the denominations of Rabbinical Judaism, Karaite Judaism believes the Jewish New Year starts with the first month and celebrates this holiday only as mentioned in the Torah, a day of rejoicing and shouting.<ref name="Kar">{{cite web |url=http://www.nehemiaswall.com/yom-teruah-day-shouting-became-rosh-hashanah |title=How Yom Teruah Became Rosh Hashanah |publisher=Nehemia's Wall |date=26 September 2014 |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910204007/https://www.nehemiaswall.com/yom-teruah-day-shouting-became-rosh-hashanah |url-status=live }}</ref> Karaites allow no work on the day except what is needed to prepare food (Leviticus 23:23, 24).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.karaites.org/karaite-customs-and-traditons.html |title=Karaite Jews of America |publisher=The Karaite Jews of America |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910164919/https://www.karaites.org/karaite-customs-and-traditons.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
===In Samaritanism=== Samaritans preserve the biblical name of the holiday, ''Yom Teruah'', and do not consider the day a New Year's Day.<ref name="Israelite Samaritan Information">{{cite web |title=Festival 2016: Seven Festivals Celebrated in the Israelite Samaritan Year |website=Israelite Samaritan Information Institute |date=21 October 2012 |url=https://www.israelite-samaritans.com/festival/ |access-date=1 September 2019 |archive-date=1 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901085413/https://www.israelite-samaritans.com/festival/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Duration and timing== {{see also|Jewish and Israeli holidays 2000–2050}} The Torah defines Rosh Hashanah as a one-day celebration, and since days in the Hebrew calendar begin at sundown, the beginning of Rosh Hashanah is at sundown at the end of 29 Elul. Since the time of the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 70 CE and the time of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, normative Jewish law appears to be that Rosh Hashanah is to be celebrated for two days, because of the difficulty of determining the date of the new moon.<ref name="Jacobs"/> Nonetheless, there is some evidence that Rosh Hashanah was celebrated on a single day in Israel as late as the thirteenth century CE.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://machonshilo.org/en/eng/list-articles/47-hagim-articles/756-rosh-hashana-in-israel-one-day-or-two |title=Rosh HaShanna in Israel: One Day or Two? |access-date=10 September 2018 |author=Rav David Bar-Hayim |work=Machon Shilo website |publisher=Machon Shilo |location=Jerusalem |quote=Includes link for Audio Shiur in English}}</ref>
Orthodox and Conservative Judaism now generally observe Rosh Hashanah for the first two days of Tishrei, even in Israel, where all other Jewish holidays are dated from the new moon and last only one day. The two days of Rosh Hashanah are said to constitute "''Yoma Arichtah''" (Aramaic: "''one'' long day"), with certain practical implications in Halacha. In Reform Judaism, while most congregations in North America observe only the first day of Rosh Hashanah, some follow the traditional two-day observance as a sign of solidarity with other Jews worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://reformjudaism.org/practice/ask-rabbi/do-reform-jews-celebrate-one-or-two-days-rosh-hashanah |title=Do Reform Jews Celebrate One or Two Days of Rosh HaShanah? |work=ReformJudaism.org |date=21 August 2013 |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627232355/https://reformjudaism.org/practice/ask-rabbi/do-reform-jews-celebrate-one-or-two-days-rosh-hashanah |url-status=live }}</ref> Karaite Jews, who do not recognize Rabbinic Jewish oral law and rely on their own understanding of the Torah, observe only one day on the first of Tishrei, since the second day is not mentioned in the Written Torah.<ref>{{cite book |last=Greenspoon |first=Leonard Jay |title=Rites of Passage: How Today's Jews Celebrate, Commemorate, and Commiserate |publisher=Purdue University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1557535771 |location=West Lafayette, IN |page=144}}</ref>
===Date=== Originally, the date of Rosh Hashanah was determined based on observation of the new moon ("molad"), and thus could fall on any day of the week. However, around the third century CE, the Hebrew calendar was fixed such that the first day of Rosh Hashanah never fell on Wednesday or Friday,<ref name=":10">Tractate Rosh Hashanah 20a</ref> and by the ninth century it had been fixed so that it also could not fall out on Sunday (''lo AD'U rosh'').<ref>See {{Cite journal |last=Herr |first=Moshe David |date=1979 |title=ענייני הלכה בארץ-ישראל במאה הששית והשביעית לספירת הנוצרים |trans-title=Matters of Palestinian Halakha during the Sixth and Seventh Centuries C.E. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23595074 |journal=Tarbiz |language=he |volume=49 |issue=1/2 |pages=78–79 |issn=0334-3650 |jstor=23595074}} The earliest mentions of this mnemonic include the geonic work ''Halakhot Pesuqot'': {{Cite book |last=Yehudai ben Nahman (attributed) |author-link=Yehudai ben Nahman |url= |title=Halakhot Pesuqot |title-link=Halachot Pesukot |publisher=Mekitze Nirdamim |pages=135 |language=he |chapter=18 |quote=לא בד"ו פסח לא גה"ז עצרת לא אד"ו ראש השנה וסוכה |chapter-url=https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=31931&st=&pgnum=148&hilite=}} and a geonic letter dated 835 C.E., printed in {{Cite book |last=Mann |first=Jacob |author-link=Jacob Mann |url=https://archive.org/details/jewsinegyptinpal01mannuoft |title=The Jews in Egypt and in Palestine under the Fatimid Caliphs |date=1922 |publisher=London : Oxford University Press |others=Robarts – University of Toronto |volume=2 |page=42 |quote=ולמה לא ב[דו] פסח ולא גהז עצרת משום לא אדו ראש השנה}}</ref>
Rosh Hashanah occurs 163 days after the first day of Passover, and thus is usually (but not always) determined by the new moon closest to the autumnal equinox.
Regarding the Gregorian calendar, the earliest date on which Rosh Hashanah can fall is 5 September, as happened in 1842, 1861, 1899, and 2013. The latest Gregorian date that Rosh Hashanah can occur is 5 October, as happened in 1815, 1929, and 1967, and will happen again in 2043. After 2089, the differences between the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars will result in Rosh Hashanah falling no earlier than 6 September. Starting in 2214, the latest date will be 6 October.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oztorah.com/2010/07/an-early-rosh-hashanah-ask-the-rabbi/ |title=An early Rosh HaShanah? – Ask the Rabbi |publisher=Oztorah.com |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>
In 2020, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, himself a Jew, announced that Ukraine would declare Rosh Hashanah a national holiday.<ref name="The Australian Jewish News – AJN 2020">{{cite web | title=Ukraine set to make Pesach, Chanukah and Rosh Hashanah official holidays | website=The Australian Jewish News – AJN | date=19 August 2020 | url=https://www.australianjewishnews.com/ukraine-set-to-make-pesach-chanukah-and-rosh-hashanah-official-holidays/ | access-date=2022-08-31 | archive-date=22 August 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822070642/https://www.australianjewishnews.com/ukraine-set-to-make-pesach-chanukah-and-rosh-hashanah-official-holidays/ | url-status=live }}</ref> This makes Ukraine the only country besides Israel where the day is a national holiday.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
==Gallery of Rosh Hashanah greeting cards== <gallery> File:Happynewyearcard.jpg|United States, 1900 File:The National Library of Israel, Jewish New Year cards C AH 033.JPG|Austria, 1904 File:Seattle - Old Temple De Hirsch.jpg|United States, 1908 File:Wiener Werkstätte - New Year Greeting - Google Art Project (2773115).jpg|Austria, 1910 (Wiener Werkstätte) File:Shanah Tova 1914.jpg|Austria-Hungary/<br />Germany, 1914 File:PikiWiki Israel 2022 Happy New Year Card שנה טובה תרפquot;ח.jpg|Tel Aviv, 1927 File:PikiWiki Israel 219 Immigration to Israel שנה טובה.jpg|Poland, 1931 File:Rosh Hashana Montevideo 1932.jpg|Montevideo, 1932 File:Shana Tova Card.jpg|Israel, 2012 File:Chocolat Poulain Rosch Haschanah.jpg|France, undated. (Jewish Museum of Switzerland.) </gallery>
==See also== {{Portal|Judaism}} * Christian observances of Jewish holidays: Feast of Trumpets * Jewish holidays * {{annotated link|Rosh Hashana kibbutz}} * {{annotated link|Unetanneh Tokef}}
== Notes == {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book |last=Angel |first=Marc |title=Exploring Sephardic Customs and Traditions |year=2000 |publisher=KTAV Pub. House in association with American Sephardi Federation, American Sephardi Federation{{snd}}South Florida Chapter, Sephardic House |isbn=0-88125-675-7 |location=Hoboken, NJ}}
==External links== {{Wiktionary|Rosh Hashanah}} {{Commons category|Rosh Hashanah}} * [https://www.yeshiva.co/tags/rosh%20hashana Torah Content on Rosh Hashana] – Text, audio & video classes, Times, and Q&A about Rosh HaShana * [https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/rosh_hashana/index.asp Marking the New Year From the Yad Vashem's Collections] – Online exhibition on the celebration of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur before, during, and after the Holocaust * [https://www.tefilah.com.au/lesson/borchu-nusach Rosh Hashanah Prayers by Chazzanim] – an audio, video and printed guide to the Rosh Hashanah prayers * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/29363650] – BBC video and more! {{Jewish and Israeli holidays}} {{High Holidays}} {{Public holidays in the United States}} {{New Year by Calendar}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Rosh Hashanah Category:Adam and Eve Category:Autumn festivals Category:Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law Category:Tishrei observances Category:New Year celebrations Category:Autumn equinox