Last Monday marked the beginning of celebrations for Rosh Hashanah, with celebrations taking place on the university’s own campus as well.
Rosh Hashanah, which translates to “Head of the Year,” is the Jewish New Year, and it is celebrated on the first day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. The holiday, which is one of Judaism’s most important holidays, is known as the Day of Remembrance as its purpose is to celebrate the creation of the world, and typically falls in September or October.
The Day of Remembrance also marks the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance, or the Days of Awe, a ten-day period of reflection that leads up to Yom Kippur.
To celebrate Rosh Hashanah this year, the Student Committee of Programming Events (SCOPE) partnered with University Of New Haven Hillel to host a presentation educating attendees on the holiday.
University of New Haven Hillel is a club meant to represent the university’s Jewish population, with the goal of sharing Jewish customs and traditions through the activities and events they host, inviting all students and staff to explore Judaism alongside them.
During the presentation, students were able to ask questions about not Rosh Hashanah, and other Jewish holidays, along with holiday traditions, restrictions during Rosh Hashanah vs Yom Kippur, and more.
The holiday comes with a number of traditions. Some of these include the blowing of a Shofar (ram’s horn) as a “spiritual wake-up call” and celebration, and a number of three unique sets of special prayers which are added to morning service: Malkhuyot, used to celebrate God’s kingship, Zikhronot, to remember the past and God’s promises, and Shofarot, which is the final prayer using biblical verses which mention the Shofar.
A number of costumes accompany the holiday. Similar to how many others will greet each other with a “happy new year” on Jan. 1 every year, those who celebrate Rosh Hashanah will greet each other with “shanah tova,” which translates to “have a good year!” from Hebrew. Another common phrase is “shanah tovah umetukah, which means “have a good and sweet year.”
Along with customs, a number of foods are also closely tied to the holiday. During the celebration in the Henry C. Lee building, students were open to take apples, honey, and cinnamon sugar from a bar.
Apples dipped in honey symbolize a wish for a sweet new year among friends and family, being the holiday’s most famous tradition. Other symbolic foods during Rosh Hashanah include challah bread with raisins. Challah, a soft, rich, braided egg bread, reminds many that time and life move in cycles. The addition of raisins is meant to add a sweetness meant to give hope for a joyful year ahead. Pomegranates contain hundreds of seeds in their interiors, which during Rosh Hashanah represent the hope to fill the new year with just as many good deeds.
While this celebration leads up to Yom Kippur, University of New Haven Hillel has no events currently planned on ChargerConnection, however this may change as we get closer to Yom Kippur itself.
