Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish new year 5779, began at sundown Sunday.
The two-day holiday is a time of inner renewal and divine atonement. It is observed with special worship services and the sounding of the shofar, an instrument made of a ram’s horn, as a call to repent and a reminder for Jews that God is their king.
Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of a cycle of fall holidays, beginning with sunset setting on the night of the new moon and continuing with the day of fasting of Yom Kippur, The holidays culminate with Sukkot – which begins with the full moon of the harvest month of Tishrei.
Families celebrate Rosh Hashanah with traditions that include lighting candles in the evening, and eating special sweet treats, including challah bread with raisins and apple slice dipped in honey.
It is customary to wish each other “l’shana tova,” meaning “for a good year.”
Some observe Rosh Hashanah with a Tashlich ceremony at a body of water — a ceremony to symbolically cast away one’s sins. Some people throw things like bread into the water to represent casting away of sins. The ceremony is typically done on the first day of the holiday.
Rosh Hashanah ends at sundown Tuesday.
Riverhead Central School District is closed Monday and Tuesday in observance of the holiday.
For more information about the holiday, visit Chabad.org.
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