Women's League

Rosh Hashanah, literally the “head of the year,” is the Jewish new year. It is a time of introspection and atonement. The central theme and practice not only of Rosh Hashanah, but of the entire fall holiday season, is teshuvah — a word commonly translated as “repentance,” but which more literally means “return.” Rosh Hashanah — and the holiday that follows it by ten days, Yom Kippur — are intensely focused on teshuvah. Many Jews see this as a time to make amends or apologize to those they have wronged in the past year and resolve to do better in the year about to begin.

One of the common practices of Rosh Hashanah is attending synagogue services and hearing the blowing of the shofar, or ram’s horn, the central mitzvah of the holiday. Another beloved practice is the Tashlich service, in which one’s sins are symbolically cast into a natural body of running water.

The foods most associated with Rosh Hashanah are apples and honey, which are eaten as an expression of hope for a sweet near year. There is also a tradition of eating other symbolic foods at Rosh Hashanah meals, including pomegranates, dates, leeks and a fish head — all of them symbolic of a wish for the year to come. On the second night of Rosh Hashanah it is customary to eat a new fruit, a symbol of newness. It is also customary to have big feasts on both nights of Rosh Hashanah and there are thus a plethora of customary dishes, including: honey cake, brisket and tzimmes. 

This year, let’s build a holy place together for the High Holy Days — a sanctuary where hearts are open, love is alive, and the timeless melodies of our tradition rise with the waves.

Join our Temple this Rosh Hashanah, with our Rabbi-Cantor Rachelle Nelson, along with our Baal Tefillah Marc Lamb and Cantor Rebecca Gladstone, who will sing with all their souls and guide us into a new year filled with meaning, music, and joy.

Come welcome the sweetness of 5786 with community, song, and spirit.