Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish new year 5782, begins at sundown Monday.
The two-day holiday commemorates the beginning of the universe, Adam and Eve. It is observed with special worship services and the sounding of the shofar, an instrument made of a ram’s horn, on both mornings of the holiday.
Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of a cycle of fall holidays, beginning with sunset 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 slices 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 Wednesday.
Riverhead Central School District is closed Tuesday and Wednesday in observance of the holiday.
For more information about the holiday, visit Chabad.org.
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