Rosh hashnanah

• Rosh Hashanah


  The Jewish New Year festival
• Rosh Hashanah


  • Lasts two days
  • Commemorates the creation of the world
  • 'Rosh' means 'head' and refers to the direction the new year will take
• Rosh Hashanah


  A time when God judges all humanity
• God considers a person's good and bad deeds over the last year


  Decides what the next year will be like for them
• Rosh Hashanah


  A time for Jews to repent of their past sins
• During Rosh Hashanah, Jews consider how they could have lived better lives
• Judaism teaches that God decides on the first day of the year who will be forgiven, so they will ensure they apologise to everybody they have been unkind to during the past year
• Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a chance for Jews to ask questions about their actions and life throughout the year
• Questions asked during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

  • What is the most meaningful thing in my life?
  • Who in my life means the most to me? How often do I let them know this?
  • What are the most significant things I've achieved in the past year?
  • What do I hope to achieve next year and in my life generally?
• Rosh Hashanah is followed ten days later by Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)
• Rosh Hashanah


  God judges people for their past deeds and writes this down in a book, which is then sealed on Yom Kippur
• At Rosh Hashanah, Jews hope that they and their loved ones will be written in the Book of Life
• Rosh Hashanah

  • Occurs in September or October, depending on the lunar calendar
  • A time for Jews to reflect on their year, including their good deeds and their bad deeds
  • The two days of Rosh Hashanah usher in the Ten Days of Repentance (also known as the Days of Awe) which end with the major fast day of Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement)
  • One week before Rosh Hashanah, special prayers called Selichot are added to the ritual
  • Special services are held at synagogue on the eve of Rosh Hashanah
  • The Shofar (horn) will be blown and special fruits are bought
  • Jews greet each other by saying 'May you be written down for a good year'
  • Slices of apple are dipped in honey and a circular challah loaf is eaten (a symbol of the cycle of the year)
  • In the morning service, the shofar is blown 100 times to symbolise a call for repentance
• Tashlich ceremony


  1. Sins are cast out (or 'thrown away') and people ask for God's forgiveness

  2. Jews will often pray at a running stream and cast crumbs into the water as we hope to cast our sins away
• On Rosh Hashanah God writes names into one of his three books: The Book of Life, for those who are wholly good; The Book of Death, for the truly evil; and an intermediate book, which is where most people's names are written
• Jews believe that they can influence which book God writes their name in if they take action during the festival
• People can do charity work or anything they feel will make up for the harm they have caused over the past year
• In the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Jews consider their past deeds
• Judaism teaches that for God to forgive us, we must seek forgiveness from others
• Apples dipped in honey


  Eaten to represent the hope of a sweet new year
• Historically, Jews believed that apples have healing powers, and this belief is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible
• Time is spent in the synagogue during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as they are the most important festivals in the Jewish year