Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish New Year has begun.

• Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish New Year has begun, marking the start of the year 5783 in the Hebrew Calendar.
• The day is marked with Simanim – a special feast meant for Rosh Hashanah. Simanim literally means “signs” or “indicators” and is meant to herald better tidings.
• This is followed by the blowing of a traditional horn called ‘shofar’ considered to be one of the most anticipated features in these festivities. While it is typically blown in the morning, it is considered to be as old as the time of Abraham and Isaac.

What is Rosh Hashanah

• Considered to be one of the holiest days in Judaism, Rosh Hashanah literally means ‘start of the year.’ It begins in the seventh month of the Hebrew Calendar; this day mostly falls in either September or October (as per the Gregorian calendar) and starts on the first day of Tishrei month in the Hebrew calendar.
• Legend has Rosh Hashanah’s roots in the Talmud — the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law and Jewish theology — which believes that the world was created on the first day of the Tishrei. While it is not completely clear when Jewish people first celebrated this day, the Book of Leviticus includes a passage (without specifically naming Rosh Hashanah) in which God tells Moses that the first day of the seventh month is a day for rest, marked with the blowing of a horn.
• Jews view this two-day holiday as a time to reflect in anticipation of better tidings in the coming year. Also called the ‘day of judgment,’ this time also gives people an opportunity to reflect and come up with ways to grow and prosper in the coming year.
• The nature of celebrations varies across the globe. While some believe in going to the synagogue and not working, others light candles in their homes. However, the most interesting tradition is celebrating the day with ‘taschlich’ — a customary Jewish atonement ritual performed during the High Holy Days. The ritual is performed at a large, natural body of flowing water — a river, lake, sea or ocean, usually on the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah. The penitent believers recite a Biblical passage and prayers. During the Tashlikh prayer, the worshipers symbolically throw their sins into a source of water. While some throw pieces of bread into the water, many rabbis consider this to be forbidden by halakha — the collective body of Jewish religious laws.
• Food is synonymous with Rosh Hashanah celebrations. The Simanim platter typically includes apples dipped in honey, Challah bread baked in round loaves, ram, leeks, pomegranate, gourds, dates, black-eyed peas or green beans, beets, carrots and Pri Chadash (“New Fruit”).