Rosh Hashanah: Difference between revisions
Created page with "```mediawiki thumb|[[The Rebbe at Tashlich on Rosh Hashanah (photographed by a non-Jew)]] thumb|[[The Rebbe conducting the annulment of vows on the eve of Rosh Hashanah]] '''Rosh Hashanah''' — the Jewish New Year — is the first of the High Holidays and the opening festival of the month of Tishrei. It falls on the first and second days of Tishrei and marks the beginning of a new year in the [..." |
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'''Rosh Hashanah''' — the Jewish New Year — is the first of the [[High Holidays]] and the opening festival of the month of [[Tishrei]]. It falls on the first and second days of Tishrei and marks the beginning of a new year in the [[Hebrew calendar]]. | '''Rosh Hashanah''' — the Jewish New Year — is the first of the [[High Holidays]] and the opening festival of the month of [[Tishrei]]. It falls on the first and second days of Tishrei and marks the beginning of a new year in the [[Hebrew calendar]]. | ||
According to Jewish tradition, it was on this day that the first human being, [[Adam]], was created. Each year, Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment — the day on which the Almighty judges the entire world and all its inhabitants. It is also the day on which God is proclaimed anew as King. The central act of this coronation is [[the sounding of the shofar]] — the ram's horn — which is the primary mitzvah of the day. The prayers on Rosh Hashanah are notably lengthened, and there are [[ | According to Jewish tradition, it was on this day that the first human being, [[Adam]], was created. Each year, Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment — the day on which the Almighty judges the entire world and all its inhabitants. It is also the day on which God is proclaimed anew as King. The central act of this coronation is [[the sounding of the shofar]] — the ram's horn — which is the primary mitzvah of the day. The prayers on Rosh Hashanah are notably lengthened, and there are [[Special Rosh Hashanah prayers|special liturgical compositions unique to this day]]. | ||
In the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] — the inner dimension of Torah — the central spiritual work of Rosh Hashanah is called ''binyan ha'malchus'': drawing down a renewed Divine will into the world, renewing the flow of life-energy to all of creation. To bring this about, the Jew's primary task on Rosh Hashanah is the acceptance of the yoke of Divine sovereignty — expressed through scrupulous avoidance of idle talk and continuous engagement in prayer and the recitation of Psalms. | In the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] — the inner dimension of Torah — the central spiritual work of Rosh Hashanah is called ''binyan ha'malchus'': drawing down a renewed Divine will into the world, renewing the flow of life-energy to all of creation. To bring this about, the Jew's primary task on Rosh Hashanah is the acceptance of the yoke of Divine sovereignty — expressed through scrupulous avoidance of idle talk and continuous engagement in prayer and the recitation of Psalms. | ||
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=== Sounding the shofar === | === Sounding the shofar === | ||
The sounding of the shofar is a positive commandment of Torah law, obligating one to sound the ram's horn on Rosh Hashanah. The Torah calls this day ''Yom Teruah'' — "a day of sounding"<ref>Numbers 29:1.</ref> — and ''Zichron Teruah'' — "a remembrance of sounding"<ref>Leviticus 23:24.</ref> — and the Sages derived from these verses the mitzvah to sound the shofar. In total, one hundred shofar notes are sounded on Rosh Hashanah, consisting of three types — ''tekiah'' (a long unbroken blast), ''shevarim'' (three broken sounds), and ''teruah'' (a series of short staccato sounds) — arranged in various prescribed sequences. It is also customary today to sound the shofar throughout the preceding month of [[Elul]]. | The sounding of the shofar is a positive commandment of Torah law, obligating one to sound the ram's horn on Rosh Hashanah. The Torah calls this day ''Yom Teruah'' — "a day of sounding"<ref>Numbers 29:1.</ref> — and ''Zichron Teruah'' — "a remembrance of sounding"<ref>Leviticus 23:24.</ref> — and the Sages derived from these verses the mitzvah to sound the shofar. In total, one hundred shofar notes are sounded on Rosh Hashanah, consisting of three types — ''tekiah'' (a long unbroken blast), ''shevarim'' (three broken sounds), and ''teruah'' (a series of short staccato sounds) — arranged in various prescribed sequences. It is also customary today to sound the shofar throughout the preceding month of [[Elul]]. | ||
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=== Tashlich === | === Tashlich === | ||
''Tashlich'' — literally "you shall cast" — is a special prayer recited on Rosh Hashanah (or on one of the [[Ten Days of Repentance]] that follow) beside a spring, river, or other source of flowing water, symbolically "casting" one's transgressions into the depths. In Chabad custom, Tashlich is recited after the afternoon Mincha prayer on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. If the first day falls on Shabbos, it is recited on the second day. The reason for this postponement is that it was observed that many people were carrying their prayer books in the public domain on Shabbos — a prohibited act — and the practice was therefore moved to the following day when Shabbos is involved.<ref>Based on the Rebbe's talk of 6 Tishrei 5730 (1969). See also ''HaMelech BeMesibo'', vol. 2, pp. 18–19.</ref> | ''Tashlich'' — literally "you shall cast" — is a special prayer recited on Rosh Hashanah (or on one of the [[Ten Days of Repentance]] that follow) beside a spring, river, or other source of flowing water, symbolically "casting" one's transgressions into the depths. In Chabad custom, Tashlich is recited after the afternoon Mincha prayer on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. If the first day falls on Shabbos, it is recited on the second day. The reason for this postponement is that it was observed that many people were carrying their prayer books in the public domain on Shabbos — a prohibited act — and the practice was therefore moved to the following day when Shabbos is involved.<ref>Based on the Rebbe's talk of 6 Tishrei 5730 (1969). See also ''HaMelech BeMesibo'', vol. 2, pp. 18–19.</ref> | ||
=== Additional customs === | === Additional customs === | ||
* '''Adding time''': Among the Chabad Rebbes, it was customary in each generation to begin Rosh Hashanah slightly earlier than in the previous generation. The [[Rebbe Maharash]] related that at his father [[the Tzemach Tzedek]]'s table, Rosh Hashanah began four minutes earlier than it had at the | * '''Adding time''': Among the Chabad Rebbes, it was customary in each generation to begin Rosh Hashanah slightly earlier than in the previous generation. The [[Rebbe Maharash]] related that at his father [[the Tzemach Tzedek]]'s table, Rosh Hashanah began four minutes earlier than it had at the Ba'al Shem Tov's; at his grandfather [[the Mitteler Rebbe]]'s, three minutes earlier; at [[the Alter Rebbe]]'s, two minutes earlier; and at the Maggid of Mezeritch's, one minute earlier. Each generation adds one minute — this additional time serves to draw down blessings into the festivals and the year.<ref>''Sefer HaSichos'' 5705 (1944–1945), p. 9.</ref> | ||
* ''' | * '''Connecting Rosh Hashanah with the weekdays that follow''': [[The Rebbe Rashab]] — Rabbi Shalom DovBer Schneersohn, the fifth Chabad Rebbe — would deliver a Chassidic discourse on the afternoon of the second day of Rosh Hashanah and continue into the evening hours. He explained that this was in order to engage the power of speech in Chassidic matters as the new year begins,<ref>''Sefer HaSichos'' 5705, p. 10.</ref> and to draw the spiritual influx of the forty-eight hours of Rosh Hashanah forward into the world, so that the radiance of those hours would be felt continuously throughout the year.<ref>''Sefer HaSichos'' 5704 (1943–1944), p. 11.</ref> The Rebbe suggested that each person adopt this practice personally — to bridge the final hours of Rosh Hashanah and the beginning of the night that follows through the study of Chassidus.<ref name="minhagim"/> In our times, this should be done through both the revealed dimension of Torah and the inner mystical teachings, in order to draw the spiritual influx of Rosh Hashanah into the fabric of the world.<ref>Based on the Rebbe's talk on the second day of Rosh Hashanah 5745 (1984).</ref> The Rebbe instituted a Chassidic gathering at this transitional hour. | ||
* '''Smoking''': Even those who smoke throughout the year, and who permit themselves to smoke on other Jewish holidays, refrain from doing so on Rosh Hashanah. The Chabad Rebbes instructed that "it is fitting that Torah scholars be scrupulous in this, and that they influence their acquaintances as well."<ref>The Frierdiker Rebbe, in a letter to yeshiva students, 13 Elul 5697 (September 20, 1937).</ref> | * '''Smoking''': Even those who smoke throughout the year, and who permit themselves to smoke on other Jewish holidays, refrain from doing so on Rosh Hashanah. The Chabad Rebbes instructed that "it is fitting that Torah scholars be scrupulous in this, and that they influence their acquaintances as well."<ref>The Frierdiker Rebbe, in a letter to yeshiva students, 13 Elul 5697 (September 20, 1937).</ref> | ||
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* [https://77012.blogspot.com/2022/09/blog-post_18.html Rabbi Ofen: a vivid and moving account of the Rebbe's conduct during the High Holidays] — video | * [https://77012.blogspot.com/2022/09/blog-post_18.html Rabbi Ofen: a vivid and moving account of the Rebbe's conduct during the High Holidays] — video | ||
== | == References == | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
[[he:ראש השנה]] | [[he:ראש השנה]] | ||
