The Jewish New Year

We are only a few days away from January 1^st, the beginning of the new year. But the Jewish New Year, known as Rosh Hashanah,[1] has already happened—or is yet to happen, depending on your perspective. In 2025, the Jewish New Year began the evening of September  22^nd (Jewish days begin at sunset) and ended on September 24^th. In 2026, Rosh Hashanah will begin the evening of September 11^th and end on September 13^th.

“Rosh Hashanah” means “Head of the Year.” It is the modern version of the Feast of Trumpets, which is described in Leviticus 23:23-25:

Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’ ”

As stated in Levititus, Rosh Hashanah begins on the 1^st day of Tishri, which is the 7^th month of the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah is a two-day festival which celebrates the day God created Adam and Eve—and thus is thought to be the birthday of humankind. However, a secular view is that Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the economic year in the Middle East, based on agricultural seasons, since it is near the end of the Fall harvest.

As described in Leviticus, Rosh Hashanah is celebrated by the blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) many times, as well as through prayer, readings from the Torah, festive meals, candle lighting, and Sabbath rest. According to the Jewish site, Chabad.org, the sound of the ram’s horn serves as a call to repentance.

An example of a shofar

Another tradition is to go to a body of water and symbolically cast your sins into the water, as it says in Micah 7:19:

He will again have compassion on us;
He will tread our iniquities under foot.
Yes, You will cast all their sins
Into the depths of the sea.

The Jews believe Rosh Hashanah is the time of year when God makes plans for the coming year—for example, who will live and who will die, who will prosper and who won’t. So they pray at that time for peace, prosperity, and blessing. It is also a time for all to renew their commitment to God, which is a good practice for all of us any time of year.

Rosh Hashanah is also known among Jews as Yom Hazikaron (Day of Remembrance) and Yom Hadin (Day of Judgement). It is followed a week and a half later by Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)—the day when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the people, as discussed in Hebrews 9:1-7 and Leviticus chapter 16.

[1]. This blog entry is based in part on the article, “What is Rosh Hashanah?,” found at: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4762/jewish/What-Is-Rosh-Hashanah.htm.