The Jewish New Year is an annual celebration of the Creation of the World. Although the year date changes at Rosh Hashanah, it is marked on the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. The first month of the calendar is the spring month in which Passover or Pesach, the Jewish Easter, falls. This is because the Hebrew’s release from slavery in Egypt, some 3,400 years ago, and the receiving of the Torah was seen as a new beginning for Judaism. Outside of Israel, the feast of Rosh Hashanah is celebrated over two days. This is actually the only holiday that is celebrated also in Israel for two days.
In the Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah marks the birthdays of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the first day of the autumn festival, and the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance. This ten-day period is the time to repent of bad deeds, whether intentionally or unintentionally committed during the past year, to ask for forgiveness from those wronged, and for trying to repair the wrongs. The Ten Days of Repentance end in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
For Rosh Hashanah the wall-hangings in the synagogue are replaced with white ones. The colour signals an opportunity for making a fresh start. It also symbolizes that we are clean like angels, who are free of sin. A month later, when the autumn festival ends after Sukkot, the synagogue’s colourful textiles are rehung.
