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or Israelites, would be expelled from their native land of Egypt. In addition, it is considered to be the Day of Judgment, when all people on Earth and those who have already died will be judged by God. The names of the good are written into the Book of Life, the wicked are erased from it, and those in between are given until the holiday of Yom Kippur—10 days after Rosh Hashanah begins—to repent for their sins and be placed alongside the good in the Book of Life. In fact, a common greeting that people say to each other on Rosh Hashanah is l’shanah tova ti-ka-tey-vu . This literally means, “May you be inscribed [in the Book of Life] for a good new year.” During the month before Tishri called Elul, many Jews spend time in deep reflection and religious study. This is part of their preparation for Rosh Hashanah. The terms of the holiday are laid out in the third book of the Hebrew scriptures, Leviticus. (The Hebrew scriptures are called Tanakh; they contain the same body of works as the Old Testament in the Christian Bible. The first five books of the Tanakh make up the Torah, known also as the Books of Moses and as the Pentateuch.) For Rosh Hashanah it is specified, “In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, there shall be a solemn rest for you, a sacred convocation commemorated with the blast of the ram’s horn. You shall not work at any of your ordinary labor, and you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord.” (Lev. 23:23–25) Candles and Worship Preliminary rituals for Rosh Hashanah take place in the homes of Jewish families at sunset on the evening before the new year. It starts with the lighting of candles that signify the beginning of the festival, and then by saying a blessing before going off to a place of worship. If the Jewish community is large, as it is in Israel and many parts of the United States, Rosh Hashanah is celebrated in the place of Jewish worship called a synagogue. If it is a small Jewish community, the Rosh Hashanah service might take place in the basement of a Christian church, a community center, or even someone’s living room. Jews attend rounds of services over the holiday, from the first to the last evening services and morning and afternoon services in between. Blessing the Candles A Shehechiyanu blessing is recited before lighting the Rosh Hashanah candles just before sundown at the end of the first day of the celebration. The Hebrew words for the blessing are: Baruch atah Ado-nai, Ehlo- haynu melech Ha-olam, she’he’che’yanu v’kee’manu, v’hee’gee’anu la’zman ha’zeh . “Blessed are you Lord, our God, ruler of the world, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.”

Marking the Religious New Year

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