Last night kicked off the beginning of the Jewish New Year holiday and what is considered the holiest period in the Jewish religion.  To celebrate the new year, Darren and I joined our parents and family for a great dinner celebration at Aunt Judy’s and today we will head to temple to attend services in honor of this holiday followed by another family dinner.

The Jewish New Year (the Day of Judgment) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) are a culmination of a period of introspection started some 30 days before Rosh Hashanah. The period between this day and the Day of Atonement is known as 10 days of Repentance.  On Rosh Hashanah three books of account are opened where the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of an intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of life, and they are sealed “to live.” The middle class are allowed a respite of ten days, until Yom Kippur, to repent and become righteous and the wicked are said to be blotted out of the book of the living.

Rosh Hashanah is considered a day of rest much like Shabbat.  Rosh Hashanah is characterized by the blowing of the shofar, a trumpet made from a ram’s horn, intended to awaken the listener from his or her “slumber” and alert them to the coming judgment.  Apples dipped in honey are also tradition as they symbolize a good and healthy new year.

Let’s hope we are all subscribed in the book of life for another year.  We wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year.  L’shana tova!