Rosh Hashanah: 2008 – 5769
B’nai Emet observance
Join your friends at B’nai Emet for Rosh Hashanah
services and Tashlich. Tickets are required for admission to Rosh
Hashanah services. Contact the office (952-927-7309) with questions about
member tickets or our guest ticket policy.
What is Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. Rosh
Hashanah means, literally, “head of the year” or “first of the year,” and it
symbolically commemorates the birthday of the world. This year Rosh Hashanah
5769 begins at sundown, Monday, September 29, and lasts through Tuesday and
Wednesday, September 30 and October 1, throughout the world, including in Eretz
Yisrael.
Is Rosh Hashanah comparable in any way to the secular New Year holiday?
Rosh Hashanah is one of the holiest days of the
year, and its observance has little in common with the secular New Year’s Eve
observance on December 31 of each year. However, one similarity can be found in
the custom of writing New Year’s resolutions, and the opportunity on Rosh
Hashanah to begin looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning
changes for the new year.
 Will the Shofar be blown on Rosh Hashanah?
The Shofar, or ram’s horn, will be blown on the first day of
Rosh Hashanah (if it falls on Shabbat, we do not blow the Shofar). We will hear 100 blasts of the Shofar on
both days of Rosh Hashanah. The Shofar is blown by
a person who is respected in the community for his or her good deeds. Rabbi
Selch stands next to this person and calls out the order of the sounds –
Tekiah, Shevarim, and Teruah. The final blast is Tekiah
Gedolah. At B’nai Emet Synagogue, we lay claim to the longest-lasting
Tekiah Gedolah in town, if not in the entire Upper Midwest. The Torah
does not explain why we blow the Shofar. Some reasons given are:
- To wake us up and remind us to be better people in the coming
year;
- To remember the creation of the world;
- To remember the binding of Isaac (when Abraham sacrificed a ram
instead of his son);
- To recall the giving of the Torah, when the children of
Israel heard the sound of a Shofar; and
- To remind us that the Jewish people will be redeemed.
 What are some of the customs that we observe on Rosh Hashanah?
During the New Year season, beginning with Rosh Hashanah,
many people eat sweet foods as a symbol of our desire for a sweet year to come.
We eat apples dipped in honey. After the candles are lit and Kiddush is
recited, each person at the table dips a slice of apple in honey and recites a
blessing (click here
for the blessing).
Some people eat
Challah dipped in honey. It is customary to serve Challah that is
baked in a circle to symbolize the cycle of the year. Many people wear new
clothes on Rosh Hashanah.
Greeting friends
On Rosh Hashanah, we wish our friends L’shanah
tovah, a wish for a good year. This phrase is short for L’shanah tovah
tikateiv v’techateim (to a man) or L’shanah tovah tikateivi v’techateimi
(to a woman). This means “May you be written a sealed for a good year.” Some
people send greeting cards at this time of year.
Click on the following for a
variety of Rosh Hashanah e-cards:
What do we do at Lake Tashlich?
Tashlich means casting off. On the afternoon of the
first day of Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to walk to a body of flowing
water, preferably one containing live fish. If the first day of Rosh
Hashanah falls on Shabbat, we observe Tashlich on the second day. Come and join us on
Tuesday, September 30, at 4:45 p.m. in the B’nai Emet parking lot to walk to nearby Lake
Tashlich, where we will recite Tashlich, empty our pockets (or
bags of bread crumbs we bring along) into the lake, and symbolically cast off
our sins. According to Micah 7:19, “You will cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea.”
Yamim Noraim - Days of Awe
What are the Days of Awe or Yamim Noraim?
The ten days beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending
with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe or the Days of
Repentance. This is a time for Teshuva (repentance), Tefilla
(prayer), and Tzedaka (charity). We search inside ourselves and also
take action by seeking forgiveness from those we have wronged and by forgiving
those who have wronged us. Praying in the synagogue does not adequately atone
for the sins we have committed against others. We have to seek reconciliation
and try to right our wrongs whenever possible.
Why do Jews greet their friends during this time with a
wish that they be written and sealed in the Book of Life for a good year?
 On Rosh Hashanah the destiny of people is recorded
by God in the Book of Life. Through our acts of repentance, prayer, and charity
during the days before Yom Kippur, we can alter the decree.
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