Rosh Hashanah The festival of Rosh Hashanah, which means head of the year, falls in the month of Tishrei,

which is the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. It celebrates the anniversary of the creation of the world, and is also the beginning of the Ten Days of Penitence which ends with the festival of Yom Kippur. At this time Jews are encouraged to reflect on their lives and behaviour in the past year, and ask God to forgive them for the bad things they have done. They make a promise to God to try and do better in the coming year. Time and Duration of Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah begins on the first day of Tishrei, which is the seventh month in the Jewish Calendar, and may last for two days. This day is sometimes called the Day of Remembrance or the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar. Mood of Rosh Hashanah This festival is the most solemn time of the year for Jews as it is a time when Jews must make a concerted effort to examine their lives, feeling remorse for any wrongs they have committed during the year passing. What this festival has to do with understanding Gods character and actions and Jewish peoples relationship with God. Rosh Hashanah is a time when God reviews and judges a persons deed in the past year. This depicts God in the Jewish faith as a figure of justice holding the powers to condemn. Jews see this festival as an opportunity to tip the scales of divine judgement in their favour through repentance, prayer and performing righteous deeds such as giving money to charitable causes. The Jewish community believes that by participating in this festival they are recognising that God cares about who they are, how they live and whether they are living up to the potential that God gave them. They come to a realisation that every life in the eyes of God is precious and has intrinsic value. What good doing could come out of celebrating this festival? This festival encourages Jews to give to charitable causes. It also inspires them to look within themselves, improving their outlook on life and therefore reflects how they treat others. Activities for Rosh Hashanah During Rosh Hashanah, people spend a lot of their time praying in the synagogue. One of their rituals performed in the synagogue is the blowing of the Shofar. The shofar is a trumpet made from a rams horn. A special rhythm is played in a hundred different notes. The shofar blowing signals the start of the Days of Awe. Traditionally, there are 100 notes played each day. There are four different types of notes: Tekiah 3 second sustained note Shevarim three 1 second notes rising in tone Teruah a series of short, staccato notes extending over a period of 3 seconds Tekiah Gedolah (meaning big tekiah) the final blast in a set, which lasts for a minimum of 10 seconds. After ten days, the period ends with the Yom Kippur festival. When the service is over, the people go home and have a special meal. There are many different foods they eat. Some of these are: Apples dipped in honey this symbolises the hope of a sweet year ahead of them

Tzimmes a sweet carrot stew Challah Bread a braided loaf shaped in a circle which symbolises the circle of life, the end of one year and then the start of a new one Pomegranates a traditional fruit served because of the 613 seeds inside representing all of the commandments which a Jew follows

Another tradtional activity that occurs during Rosh Hashana is doing the ritual tashlikh. During the activity tashlikh, Jewish people recite prayers by a river or something with flowing water and throw their sins away, represented by throwing pieces of bread. as Bibliography http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/rosh-hashanah-the-jewish-new-year.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/judaism/rosh_hashanah.shtml http://www.maimonfamily.net/yehi.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/judaism/rosh_hashanah.shtml http://www.maimonfamily.net/yehi.htm http://bethaderech.com/rosh-hashanah-yom-teruah/