Rosh Hashanah: Overview
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a fall holiday, taking place at the beginning of the month of Tishrei, which is actually the seventh month of the Jewish year (counting from Nisan in the spring). It is both a time of rejoicing and of serious introspection, a time to celebrate the completion of another year while also taking stock of one's life.
Rosh Hashanah Resource 1: Quick Facts
Below you can download decorative holiday ?Quick Facts? cards that can be easily used on bulletin boards, as place settings, or as informational handouts at your Rosh Hashanah event. You can also view short, informative articles on Rosh Hashanah.
"Quick Facts" Cards
Rosh Hashanah Resource 2: Program Ideas
Make New Year Cards
Get out the paper, markers, glue and glitter and make some cards for the New Year. Decorate them with images of apples and honey, pomegranates, a shofar or a New Year greeting. You can distribute them to friends, faculty or family, or you can deliver them to a local nursing home or hospital as an act of Tzedakah!
Apple Picking
Why stop at just serving apples and honey? Check into local apple orchards and take a trip to do some apple picking. Many local orchards allow you to ?pick-your-own? fruit and veggies. This is often by appointment only, so be sure to call ahead. Then bring back your harvest and enjoy! For a great recipe for Apple Honey Cake, click
here.
Hold a Rosh Hashanah Seder
Seders aren?t just for Passover anymore! There are so many wonderful foods and rituals associated with the holiday, that many people enjoy putting it all together and celebrating with friends and family. For a link to a Rosh Hashanah Seder that has already been created, click
here.
Rosh Hashanah Resource 3: Creative Connections
Looking for good Rosh Hashanah themes/discussion ideas? TCI would be happy to come to your school to help you present these or other interesting themes and provide you with resources to help you facilitate discussions of your own!
Out with the Old, In with the New
The high holidays are a period of deep self-reflection. Through liturgy and practice, we take stock of our lives and make amends to those we have offended. Traditionally on Rosh Hashanah, there is a practice of tashlich, or ?casting away.? This ritual often involves the sprinkling of bread crumbs (representing the regrets of this past year) into a moving body of water. This act of identifying personal areas of growth and taking steps toward making those changes is an important experience of the holiday.
The Shofar Call to Action
The shofar (ram?s horn) is blown in a series of notes at different points in the service on Rosh Hashanah. It has long been a call to action, and represents a spiritual alarm clock, waking us from slumber and forcing us to look at the changes we must make in your lives. We recognize the possibilities in both the personal and communal realms if we take action and work towards positive growth and change.
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