Rosh Ha’Shanah the Jewish New Year, a One-Day Festival in Ancient Times, Now Observed for Two Days (in Israel as Well as in the Diaspora) on the 1st and 2nd of Tishri. It Marks the Commencement of the Annual Ten Days of Repentance, Which Reach Their Climax on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Mishnah (Rh 1.1) Records Four Separate New Years in the Jewish Calendar: 1 Nisan for Kings; 1 Elul for Tithing Cattle; 15 (or 1) Shevat, the New Year for Trees; and 1 Tishri for Calculating the Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee. In the Course of Time, However, It Was This Last Date Only That Came to Be Known as Rosh Ha-Shanah, All of the Others Being Overshadowed by the Importance Attached to the Religious New Year and the Penitential Season.
The Term Rosh Ha-Shanah Occurs Once in the Bible to Denote the "Beginning of the Year" (Ezek. 40:1), Although Its Precise Meaning Is Far from Clear. In the Pentateuch, This Festival Has Three Designations: Shabbaton, a Day of "Solemn Rest" to Be Observed on the 1st of the Seventh Month; Zikhron Teru'ah, "a Memorial [Proclaimed] with the Blast of the HoRn" (Lev. 23:24); and Yom Teru'ah, "a Day of Blowing the Horn" (Num. 29:1), Which Indicates Its Chief Observance, Namely, the Sounding of the Shofar (Ram's Horn). Later, However, the Rabbis Gave the Festival Two Other Names: Yom Ha-Din, the Day of Judgment, and Yom Ha-Zikkaron, "the Day of Remembrance," When God Remembers His Creatures.
The Concept of "Judgment Day" Is Rabbinic, Deriving Largely from Statements Made in Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah. The Mishnah Speaks of All Mankind Passing before God on the New Year like a Flock of Sheep (Rh 1.2). This Idea Is Expanded in the Talmud, Which Lays Emphasis on the New Year as an Occasion for Self-Examination in the Light of Judaism's Highest Ideals. From the Awesome Picture of Each Man or Woman Standing before the Throne of God, Judgment on His or Her Fate for the Coming Year Being Entered on Rosh Ha-Shanah and the Verdict Sealed on the Day of Atonement (Rh 16a), the Rabbis Went on to Visualize "Three Ledgers Opened in Heaven: One for the Completely Righteous, Who Are Immediately Inscribed and Sealed in the Book of Life; Another for the Thoroughly Wicked, Who Are Recorded in the Book of Death; and a Third for the Intermediate, Ordinary Type of Person, Whose Fate Hangs in the Balance and Is Suspended until the Day of Atonement" (Rh 16b). Hence the Designation of Rosh Ha- Shanah and Yom Kippur as Yamim Nora'im ("Days of Awe").
These Themes Dominate Both Home Observance and Synagogue Liturgy on Rosh Ha- Shanah. Festive White Marks the Appearance of the Synagogue and Its Worshipers. It Also Symbolizes Closeness to God and the Ideal of Man's Cleansing from Sin. The Ark Curtain (Parokhet), Reading Desk, and Torah Scroll Mantles Are All Decked in White; the Rabbi, Cantor, and Ba'al Teki'ah (Who Blows the Ram's Horn), as Well as Some of the More Pious Laymen in Traditional Congregations, Likewise Don a White Robe or Kitel.
On Both Days of Rosh Ha-Shanah, except When the First Coincides with a Sabbath, the Blowing of the Shofar Is a High Point of the Services. Maimonides Explained This Biblical Injunction as a Rousing Call to Repentance on the Part of Each Individual: "Awake, You Sleepers, and Ponder Your Deeds; Remember Your Creator, Forsake Your Evil Ways, and Return to God!" (Yad, Teshuvah 3.4). A Total of 100 Notes Are Sounded, Beginning with 30 Blasts Immediately after the Reading of the Law.
