Sept 10 3-minute Weekly Insight: What Makes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur the Jewish “High” Holy Days?

What Makes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur the Jewish “High” Holy Days?

(The 3-minute Weekly Insight from Spirituality U. at Interfaith Paths to Peace)

Many of us who are not Jewish have heard of these two Holy Days, but we may not grasp their significance.

Let’s deal first with Rosh Hashanah. It is a two-day celebration marking Jewish New Year. But, more than that, according to the Chabad.org web site, it marks “The anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve…the birthday of humankind, highlighting the special relationship between G!d and humanity.” The primary theme of this holy time is the acceptance by Jews of G!d as King, or ultimate leader; and the reciprocal acceptance by  G!d’ of the Jews as G!d’s people. For Jews around the world, this holiday was celebrated at the end of last week.

According to the Chabad site, many Jews spend Rosh Hashanah in synagogue for a series of religious practices. “The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the Shofar, the ram’s horn.” It is sounded on both days, a total of 100 times. And while it symbolizes the coronation of G!d, it is also a call to repent. For Rosh Hashanah also marks the anniversary of humankind’s first sin and repentance.

Among the other spiritual practices are the eating of apple dipped in honey (to symbolize the desire for a sweet year), and the symbolic floating (and letting go) of sins on a lake or river or sea. Jews thus begin the New Year with a clean slate and joyful expectation.  The Rosh Hashanah observances comprise the first of the “Ten Days of Repentance” that conclude with Yom Kippur which will be observed at the end of this week.

Yom Kippur is a 26-hour period of fasting and reflection, and according to Chabad, is filled with both “solemnity and joy.”  Jews prepare for the day with a number of practices. Many eat a festive meal, some undergo ritual baths, and a good number give extra charity.

In the course of Yom Kippur many Jews hold five religious services. These gatherings include prayers, confessions, memorials for the dead, readings from Leviticus and Psalms, (along with the entire book of Jonah) a ritual releasing of vows and much, much more.  

“The day,” according to Chabad, “is the most solemn of the year, yet an undertone of joy suffuses it: a joy that revels in the spirituality of the day and expresses the confidence that G!d will accept our repentance, forgive our sins, and seal our verdict for a year.” And if G!d forgives their sins, it is expected that Jews will seek the forgiveness of those people they have wronged in the previous year.

When this day of abstinence draws to a close many Jews partake in a festive after-fast meal, making the evening after Yom Kippur a “yom tov” (or festival) of its own.

For more information about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (and other points of Jewish spirituality visit http://www.chabad.org/