Not only is Rosh Hashanah the Jewish New Year, which commemorates God’s creation of the world, but also the Day of Judgment, when God remembers and judges all human deeds. During this period, human beings have the chance to tip the scales of divine judgment in their favor through repentance, prayer, and tzedakah (performing righteous deeds and giving money to charitable causes). The culmination of the High Holiday period occurs during the Ten Days of Repentance, which begins on 1 Tishrei with Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur. On the Sabbath before Rosh Hashanah, the selichot are chanted at midnight, rather than their usual early morning hour. During the week before Rosh Hashanah, intensity increases as traditional Jews begin reciting selichot, prayers that involve confessing sins and requesting God’s forgiveness and help. Also in Elul special haftarot - prophetic portions - focusing on consolation acknowledge the vulnerability of an individual grappling with personal change. The High Holiday period begins on the first day of the Jewish month of Elul. In the Ashkenazi tradition, during this month of soul searching, the shofar, or ram’s horn, is blown each morning except on the Sabbath, to call upon listeners to begin the difficult process of repentance. When Does the High Holidays Season Begin? Recognizing the psychological difficulty of self-examination and personal change, the rabbis instituted a 40-day period whose intensity spirals toward its culmination on Yom Kippur, a day devoted entirely to fasting and repentance. The focus of this entire period is the process of teshuvah, or repentance, whereby a Jew admits to sins, asks for forgiveness, and resolves not to repeat the sins. Want to join a Broward County High Holiday service?Ī guide to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the days in between from Īlthough the High Holidays - the two days of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) - occupy three days only, they lie within a web of liturgy and customs that extend from the beginning of the preceding Hebrew month of Elul through Yom Kippur.
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