Rosh Hashanah

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Arthur Szyk , illustration by Rosh Hashanah, from The Holiday Series, 1948
Greeting postcard, Wiener Werkstätte , 1910

Rosh Hashanah ( Hebrew רֹאֹשׁ הַשָּׁנָה 'Head of the year, beginning of the year' , also Rosh Hashanah , in Ashkenazi pronunciation Rausch ha-Schono or Roisch ha-Schono or popularly in Yiddish called Roscheschone , Roscheschune ) is the Jewish New Year's Day . The Mishnah , the most important collection of religious traditions of rabbinic Judaism , sets this festival as the beginning of the year and this results in the calculation of the calendar years.

The new year greeting is שנה טובה schana tova or Ashkenazi (le) schono tauwo 'a good year' or alsoשנה טובה ומתוקה schana tova u'metuka or Ashkenazi schono tauwo u'messuko 'a good and sweet year'. A traditional Ashkenazi New Year greeting is also leschono tauwo tikossëiw , 'for a good year may you be inscribed (in the book of life)', which is often supplemented by wessechosëim 'and sealed'.

Religious classification

According to the Talmud, Rosh Hashanah is the beginning and subsequent anniversary of the creation of the world, but it also stands for the anniversary of the creation of Adam . It is the day when people are asked to take stock of their moral and religious behavior in the past year, and prayers for a good future before God.

Rosh Hashanah is also יום הדיןYom HaDin , “Day of Judgment”: According to the Talmud (Tractate Rosh Hashanah 16b), three books are opened on the New Year . In the first, the “righteous” are entered, who immediately receive the “seal of life”. In the second book the very "bad guys" who receive the "seal of death" are entered. And the third book is for the "mediocre" who have both sins and merits. The final judgment remains open in the period from New Year's Day to the Day of Atonement. Through contemplation and repentance, it is possible to receive the seal of life.

Rosh Hashanah is a day of shofar blowing. In the Torah this day is also called the day of the Shofar ( Lev 23,23-25  EU ). It is also called the "Noise Blowing Day". The shofar (ram's horn) sounds according to the mitzvot laid down in the Torah and Talmud for the morning prayer at the New Year festival, provided it does not fall on a Shabbat .

The Ten Awesome Days begin on Rosh Hashanah (ימים נוראים Jamim Noraim ),which end with the festival of Atonement,Yom Kippur.

Time and embedding in the Jewish calendar

The feast of Rosh Hashanah is biblically attested in Leviticus 23.24–25  EU , Numbers 29.1–6  EU and its main features in Ez 40.1  EU . It begins in autumn, at the end of the day after the 29th day of the Jewish month of Elul . In addition, the Torah also knows a spring date, the 1st  Nisan , as the beginning of the new year Ex 12.2  EU . According to Horst Dietrich Preuss , the autumn date, after the harvest was completed, was the older New Year's date in Palestine. The spring date reflects the conditions of agriculture in Mesopotamia and can only be artificially determined in Palestine. It was enforced in Palestine by the Assyrians and New Babylonians when they conquered this region. The Samaritans celebrate Rosh Hashanah in spring, at the beginning of the month of Abib (corresponds to the month of Nisan ). Some researchers consider this to be the original all-Israelite custom. The Talmudic literature contains arguments about whether the spring or autumn date should be observed, and decides on the autumn date ( mixed natractic - Rosh Hashanah ).

Rosh Hashanah falls on Tishri 1 according to the Jewish calendar , which falls in September or the first half of October according to the Gregorian calendar . The exact date in the Gregorian calendar changes from year to year because the Jewish calendar uses twelve lunar months of 29 to 30 days ( synodic month 29.53 days). To bring the 354 or 355 days in line with the solar year, a whole leap month is inserted about every three years .

The festival lasts for two days in Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism and thus until the end of the second day of the month of Tishri (also in Israel, where otherwise most holidays are only one day long). The second day was added later. The Reform Judaism celebrates generally only the first day of the feast. There is evidence that Rosh Hashanah was celebrated for only one day in Jerusalem until the 13th century .

Rosh Hashanah takes place 163 days after the first day of the festival of Passover . Under the currently valid Gregorian calendar, Rosh Hashanah cannot take place before September 5th, as for example in the years 1899 and again in 2013. After the year 2089, the differences between the Jewish calendar and the Gregorian calendar will result in Rosh ha - Shana cannot be before September 6th. Rosh Hashanah cannot be later than October 5th; For example, in 1967 and again in 2043. The Jewish calendar is structured so that the first day of Rosh Hashanah never falls on a Wednesday, Friday or Sunday.

Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset on the evening before the day listed in the table below, since the Jewish day always begins in the evening. “Then evening and morning became the first day.” Gen 1.5  EU

Dates of Rosh Hashanah

Beginning the evening before
Jewish year Gregorian date
5782 September 7th to 8th, 2021
5783 September 26-27, 2022
5784 September 16-17, 2023
5785 October 3-4, 2024

historical development

Within the Pentateuch only Lev 23.24–25  EU and Num 29.1–6  EU contain instructions for observing the New Year celebrations. In addition to the provisions on sacrifices, rest from work, festive meetings and blowing the ram's horn are mentioned. According to Horst Dietrich Preuss, the New Year had no great significance in the Jerusalem cult (it is missing in the festival calendar of Deuteronomy ) and was arranged in preparation for Yom Kippur and the great pilgrimage festival of Sukkot . It was not until early Jewish literature that Rosh Hashanah was given more of its own festive content.

At the time of the Second Temple, shofar-blowing was associated with the New Year service in the Jerusalem temple , but Philo testifies to this practice also in the synagogue of Alexandria, where there was a large Greek-speaking congregation. After the temple was destroyed by Roman troops in AD 70, Jochanan ben Zakkai ordered that the shofar should be blown in Javne instead of Jerusalem . It was now introduced wherever a rabbinical Beth Din existed because this institution was seen in a symbolic relationship to the temple.

Very soon after the eighteen supplication had assumed its form, the prayers Malkujot , Zichronot and Schofrot , which were inserted into it on Rosh Hashanah, were also formulated; these therefore go back to the early 2nd century AD. The basic ideas of these three prayers, however, were already connected by Philo with the New Year festival, and they can be assigned to individual verses from Psalm 81 , namely shofrot , the shofar blowing in verse 4, the memories ( Zichronot ) of the Exodus from Egypt and the gift of the Torah on Sinai in verses 6 and 8 as well as the kingship ( Malchujot ) of God in the monotheistic proclamation of verse 10f.

The prayer Unetaneh tokef is legendarily attributed to Rabbi Amnon of Mainz (11th century), but is probably older. It is believed to have come from Palestine in the early Byzantine period.

Taschlich is a custom that was still unknown in Talmudic times and has only been attested since the late Middle Ages ( Sefer Maharil ). It is possibly influenced by non-Jewish popular belief and was expanded in Eastern Europe by the Kabbalists . The rabbis disapproved of Taschlich, but could not simply ban the extremely popular custom, but tried to replace magical interpretations with symbolic ones that were in line with their theological beliefs.

Liturgy and Customs

Rosh Hashanah is not a day of mourning, but a festival on which the Jews - because of God's mercy - should rejoice. Except for the Hallel , which is omitted on the New Year, it is similar in its solemn features to all other festivities: clothing, washing, haircutting, internal preparation and festive meals.

Preparations at the end of the month of Elul

On the morning before the New Year celebrations, after the morning prayer, the “giving of vows” takes place (in front of three halachically suitable Jews who have formed a “court” for this purpose). Because on the coming Judgment Day, one shouldn't be burdened with unfulfilled promises. Therefore, the worshipers come one after the other before the “judgment” and ask to be released from their vows. Some groups have developed the custom of visiting graves of loved ones and “ righteous people ” before Rosh Hashanah in order to be inspired by the memory of their lives for the coming year. You donate money to a good cause and finish your day-to-day work by noon.

Synagogue service the evening before

In the Ashkenazi rite it is customary for the worshipers to wear white clothes just like the prayer leader ; the parochet and torah cloaks are also white. This is supposed to symbolize purity and is also explained in one sentence in the book of Isaiah (1:18): "Our sins should be made as white as snow."

If Rosh Hashanah falls on a Sabbath, the reception ritual for the Queen Shabbat ( Kabbalat Shabbat ) is shortened. The Eighteen prayer includes as on Shabbat seven blessings; the third blessing is extended:

  • "You are holy and your name is holy ... And so lay the fear of you, Eternal, our God, on all your works ..."
  • "And so give honor, Eternal, your people, glory to those who fear you ..."
  • "And so may the righteous see it and be happy ..."
  • "And you will rule alone, Eternal, over all your works ... Praise be to you, Eternal, Holy King!"

The fourth blessing contains the motif of the festival of Rosh Hashanah. He begins with the election of Israel and then thematizes the creation of man: “... so that every creature may recognize that you have created it, and see every structure that you have formed it and speak everything that breathes in its nose: The Eternal , the God of Israel is king, and his kingdom rule over all. ”In conclusion, God is praised as King over the whole earth, who“… sanctified Israel and the day of remembrance. ”

After the eighteen supplications on New Year's Eve, the Torah shrine is opened and the cantor and the congregation alternately pray Psalm 24 .

The traditional greeting after the service is: Hebrew לשׁנה טובה תכתבו leschana towa tikatewu or in Ashkenazi pronunciation leschono tauwo tikossejwu , "you may be enrolled for a good year".

Feast on New Years Eve

The various Jewish communities have developed their own customs for the New Year's Eve meal, some of which are widespread. Enjoyment of honey cake (honek-lejkech), zimmes , grapes, sweet wine and apple (or challah ) slices dipped in honey express the hope for a good, sweet year. Lekach is a traditional Eastern European honey cake whose recipe can be refined with chocolate, ginger, apple or apricot pieces. In southern Germany and Alsace, plum cakes were often baked for the Jewish New Year celebrations. Jewish families in the Ottoman Empire served baklava or similar sweets.

  • The white bread (challah) is not dipped in salt, as usual, but in honey.
  • Then an apple slice is dipped in honey with the blessing over tree fruits and eaten, afterwards one says: "May it be your will, Eternal, our God and God of our fathers, to renew us a happy and pleasant year."
  • Sometimes a symbolic piece of a fish or sheep's head with the words “May it be your will that we become the head and not the tail” is also sometimes eaten.
  • Another custom is eating pomegranates . In Judaism, they are symbolic of fertility, as they contain many seeds. For this we say. "May it be Thy will be that our rights be as numerous as the pomegranate" in Yiddish speakers communities cowpea ( rubiya , pun rov "many") and Yiddish numbers , " carrots " with the words "May it be thy Be willing that our rights increase ”eaten.
  • Sometimes dates are also eaten with the words, "May it be your will that our slanderers and accusers perish."
  • Typical food on Rosh Hashanah

  • Various sweet foods

  • Apple wedges, challah and honey

  • Round challah

  • Lekach

  • Zimmer with honey

  • Rosh Hashanah sweets, North Africa

Church services on New Years Day

The morning service of Rosh Hashanah is similar to the Shabbat service, but has been expanded to include Psalm 130 , which is recited in verse by the cantor and the congregation. The eighteen supplication has the same characteristics as on the previous evening. When the prayer is repeated, the cantor inserts liturgical poems, the selection of which varies according to the custom of the community. Particularly well-known is the alphabetically arranged poem “To God who holds the judgment, who tests the hearts of men”, which asks for God's mercy in judgment.

The morning service now differs depending on whether it is a weekday or a Shabbat. On a weekday, the Torah shrine is opened and Awinu Malkenu is prayed. The lifting of the Torah scrolls is accompanied by special prayers. On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, according to tradition, Sarah , Rachel and Hannah were cured of their sterility. This motif is also encountered in the Torah reading from the book of Genesis (Bereschit), chapter 21: Sara's doubts whether she can get pregnant and Isaac's birth. The Haftara from Book 1 of Samuel , chapters 1-2, tells of Anna's visit to the shrine and her prayer for a child. This prayer is considered to be an example of what a prayer is all about.

The New Year festival is the "day of the shofar blowing", but the shofar does not sound on Shabbat . According to Maimonides , the shofar blowing in the New Year's service has the following meanings:

  • It symbolizes God's accession to the throne as King of the whole world.
  • It is a reminder of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac; But God did not require this act ( Akedah ).
  • It commemorates the gift of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

Psalm 47 is recited seven times before the sound of the shofar . The wind instruments appointed by the community sound a set sequence of shofar tones. This is followed by a period of silence. Then the Torah is brought back into the shrine and it is closed. In front of the closed Torah shrine, the cantor recites the prayer in an increasingly louder voice: "Here I am, poor in deeds."

The subsequent Musaf prayer has a special form on Rosh Hashana. The Amida consists of nine blessings, the first three and the last three also otherwise belong to the eighteen prayer, but the three middle ones are longer and reserved for this holiday. They are each accompanied by shofar tones:

  • Malkujot : "It is up to us to praise the Lord of All ... Blessed be you, Eternal One, King over the whole earth, who sanctified Israel and the day of remembrance."
  • Zichronot : "You remember the work of the world and examine all formations of prehistoric times ... Praise be to you, Eternal, who remembers the covenant."
  • Schofrot : "You have revealed yourself to your holy people in the cloud of your majesty ... Praise you, Eternal One, who hears the voice of Therua [= the Schofarton] of your people Israel with mercy."
  • Rosh Hashanah in the synagogue

  • New Year card from Eretz Israel (1927)

  • Sephardic shamash with shofar (Ohel Moed Synagogue, Tel Aviv)

  • Shofar with inscription Gen 22.13  EU , 18th century (Brooklyn Museum)

  • White parochet

  • Open Torah Shrine (Synagogue of Ofra)

As in the morning prayer, the repetition of the Musaf prayer by the cantor is marked by the inclusion of liturgical poems, which differ depending on the parish usage. The best known is Unetaneh tokef . At the verse: "We kneel down, stoop and thank the King of all kings, the Holy One, praise be to him", all bow low. In Ashkenazi communities (orthodox, but also conservative and reform), a squat is common.

Emptying the pockets at Taschlich. Historic New Year greeting card (around 1920)

On the afternoon of New Year's Day (or, if Rosh Hashanah falls on a Shabbat, the following day) there is the Tashlich custom: Before sunset one goes to a river bank, a beach or (for example in Jerusalem) near a spring. After reading a few verses from the book of Micah (7: 18-20), a prayer for the forgiveness of sins follows. The sins of the last year that were practically still clinging to people are then symbolically shaken off by emptying the pockets and brushing out the clothes.

The order of prayers, shofar bubbles, kiddush and meals that is valid for the first New Year's day also applies to the second New Year's day. However, it is not a “second holiday”, as is customary in the Diaspora on other holidays. The Talmud describes both days together as a 48-hour holiday. Because of this provision is a fear that it might "unnecessary blessings" at Shehecheyanu , Kerzenanzünden and the Kaddish said on the second day. "In order to dispel these doubts, on the second day of New Year's Eve people generally put on a new item of clothing and put a bowl on the table that contains fruit that has not yet been eaten at this time of the year". The blessings are now related to it.

Wishes

Just as one wished for Rosh Hashanah Shana Towa , "a good year", in the time after Rosh Hashanah, (from 3rd Tishri ) up to and including Yom Kippur, in Hebrew חתימה טובה chatima towa - "a good inscription" [in the book of life]. In the period between Yom Kippur and up to and including the last day of Sukkot , ( Hoshana Rabba ), people wish each other Hebrew גמר חתימה טובה gmar chatima tova , German 'may your enrollment (in the book of life ) be completed well' . "Gmar" means final, with which one wishes a final, good seal. This time gives one last chance until the end of Sukkot to change for the better.

Germany

Pupils in elementary and secondary schools are exempt from teaching on Jewish holidays upon request. There is also no risk to one's own job in the world of work. The work missed by prayers can easily be made up for.

Ukraine

The Jewish President of Ukraine , Volodymyr Selenskyj , declared Rosh Hashanah a national holiday in 2020. Traditionally, ultra-Orthodox men - tens of thousands of them - travel to Uman every year for the Jewish New Year to pray at the grave of Rabbi Nachman (1772–1810). He is the great-grandson of Israel ben Eliezer , called Baal Shem Tov , the founder of the Hasidic movement. Rabbi Nachman told his followers to say prayers at his grave every year, but this was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic .

See also

literature

  • Efrat Gal-Ed : The Book of the Jewish Annual Feasts. Insel, Frankfurt am Main 2001, ISBN 978-3-458-34297-7 .
  • Susanne Galley : The Jewish year: festivals, commemorative and public holidays. Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-49442-0 .
  • Heinrich Simon : Jewish Holidays: Holidays in the Jewish calendar (= Jewish miniatures . Volume 7) Foundation New Synagogue Berlin, Centrum Judaicum . Hentrich and Hentrich, Teetz 2003, ISBN 3-933471-56-7 ; Russian 2004, ISBN 3-933471-77-X (=  Jewish miniatures . Volume 22).
  • Heinrich Simon: Life in Judaism: personal celebrations and memorable days. With an essay, meaning and aim of human life in a Jewish perspective, by Heinrich Simon (=  Jewish miniatures . Volume 8). New Synagogue Foundation Berlin, Centrum Judaicum. Hentrich and Hentrich, Teetz 2004, ISBN 978-3-933471-66-6 .

Web links

Commons : Rosh Hashanah  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Rosh Hashanah  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Remarks

  1. ↑ Werner Weinberg : Lexicon on the religious vocabulary and customs of German Jews . Ed .: Walter Röll . fromman-holzboog, Stuttgart / Bad Cannstatt 1994, ISBN 3-7728-1621-5 , p. 166 .
  2. ↑ a b Horst Dietich Preuss:  New Year Festival II. Old Testament . In: Theological Real Encyclopedia (TRE). Volume 24, de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1994, ISBN 3-11-014596-0 , pp. 320–321.
  3. ↑ In the case of the Jewish gravestones from Zoar, several dates violate this rule. Apparently it was not yet valid at that time or had not yet been able to prevail.
  4. ↑ Sidney B. Hoenig: Origins of the Rosh Hashanah Liturgy . In: The Jewish Quarterly Review 57 (1967), pp. 312-331.
  5. ↑ Pierre Lenhardt:  New Year III. Old testament . In: Theological Real Encyclopedia (TRE). Volume 24, de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1994, ISBN 3-11-014596-0 , pp. 322-324.
  6. ↑ Art. Tashlikh . In: Adele Berlin (Ed.): The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion . Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, 2011 online version.
  7. ↑ Jacob Z. Lauterbach: Tashlik. A Study in Jewish Ceremonies . In: Hebrew Union College Annual 11 (1936), pp. 207-340, here p. 295.
  8. ↑ Israel Meir Lau : How Jews Live: Faith, Everyday Life, Festivals . Gütersloher Verlag, Gütersloh 1988, p. 169.
  9. ↑ a b Art. Ro'sh ha-Shanah . In: Adele Berlin (Ed.): The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion . Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, 2011 online version.
  10. ↑ Sidur Sefat Emet . With a German translation by Rabbi Dr. S. Bamberger. Goldschmidt Verlag, Basel 1997, p. 227f.
  11. ↑ Anyone who accidentally says "holy God" is obliged to start the Amida all over again, since the kingship of God is an important motif of this festival. Cf. Israel Meir Lau : How Jews live: Faith, everyday life, festivals . Gütersloher Verlag, Gütersloh 1988, p. 171.
  12. ↑ Sidur Sefat Emet . With a German translation by Rabbi Dr. S. Bamberger. Goldschmidt Verlag, Basel 1997, p. 229f.
  13. ↑ Israel Meir Lau : How Jews Live: Faith, Everyday Life, Festivals . Gütersloher Verlag, Gütersloh 1988, p. 172.
  14. ↑ So the address to several men or a group of men and women. For several women it is: Hebrew לשׁנה טובה תכתבנה leschana towa tikatawna ; to an individual: Hebrew לשׁנה טובה תכתב leschana towa tikatew (man); Hebrew לשׁנה טובה תכתבי leschana towa tikatewi (wife). See Sidur Sefat Emet . With a German translation by Rabbi Dr. S. Bamberger. Goldschmidt Verlag, Basel 1997, p. 232.
  15. ↑ Joan Nathan : Rosh Hashanah . In: Darra Goldstein et al. (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets . Oxford University Press, 2015 online version.
  16. ↑ Sidur Sefat Emet . With a German translation by Rabbi Dr. S. Bamberger. Goldschmidt Verlag, Basel 1997, p. 233.
  17. ↑ Israel Meir Lau : How Jews Live: Faith, Everyday Life, Festivals . Gütersloher Verlag, Gütersloh 1988, p. 173.
  18. ↑ Israel Meir Lau : How Jews Live: Faith, Everyday Life, Festivals . Gütersloher Verlag, Gütersloh 1988, p. 174.
  19. ↑ The different shofar tones are: a long even tone ( T'kia ) - three short tones ( Schwarim ) - three times three very short tones ( T'rua , "alarm") - a tone that is sustained as long as possible ( T ' kia g'dola ). Each cycle is repeated three times and ends with T'kia g'dola . See Kerry M. Olitzky, Ronald H. Isaacs: Small 1 × 1 Jewish life. An illustrated guide to Jewish practice and basic information on Jewish knowledge . JVAB, 3rd edition London 2015, p. 102f.
  20. ↑ Israel Meir Lau : How Jews Live: Faith, Everyday Life, Festivals . Gütersloher Verlag, Gütersloh 1988, pp. 174-179. Sidur Sefat Emet . With a German translation by Rabbi Dr. S. Bamberger. Goldschmidt Verlag, Basel 1997, pp. 241-247.
  21. ↑ Israel Meir Lau : How Jews Live: Faith, Everyday Life, Festivals . Gütersloher Verlag, Gütersloh 1988, p. 179f.
  22. ↑ Israel Meir Lau : How Jews Live: Faith, Everyday Life, Festivals . Gütersloher Verlag, Gütersloh 1988, p. 182.
  23. ↑ Israel Meir Lau : How Jews Live: Faith, Everyday Life, Festivals . Gütersloher Verlag, Gütersloh 1988, p. 182f.
  24. ↑ Israel Meir Lau : How Jews Live: Faith, Everyday Life, Festivals . Gütersloher Verlag, Gütersloh 1988, p. 183f.
  25. ↑ For example: Official Journal of the Bavarian State Ministries for Education and Culture and for Science and Art (KWMBl), from July 7, 2015, p. 117 - Holiday KMBek
  26. ↑ Ukraine declares Rosh Hashanah a national holiday , August 19, 2020. Accessed on August 23, 2020.