Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The Biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (Hebrew: יוֹם תְּרוּעָה, literally "day [of] shouting/raising a noise") or the Feast of Trumpets. It is the first of the High Holy Days or יָמִים נוֹרָאִים Yamim Nora'im ("Days of Awe") which usually occur in the early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah is a two-day celebration, which begins on the first day of Tishrei. The day is believed to be the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of humanity's role in God's world. Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the shofar (a hollowed-out ram's horn) and eating symbolic foods such as apples dipped in honey to evoke a "sweet new year".
The Ashkenazi common greeting on Rosh Hashanah is שָׁנָה טוֹבָה "Shanah Tovah", which, in Hebrew, means "[have a] good year" or similar greetings. Thus, in Yiddish the greeting is אַ גוט יאָר "a gut yor" ("a good year") or אַ גוט געבענטשט יאָר "a gut gebentsht yor" ("a good blessed year"). Sephardic Jews traditionally say "tizku l'shanim rabot" or "[anyada buena, para] munchos anyos", in Ladino, both of which mean "[have a good year for] many years".
Serious greetings and blessings, based on the nature of the day, commonly used among religiously observant Jews are כְּתִיבָה וַחֲתִימָה טוֹבָה "Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah" which means "[may you be] written/inscribed andsealed [for a good new year i.e. by God]." After Rosh Hashanah ends, the greeting is abbreviated to גְּמַר חֲתִימָה טוֹבָה "G'mar Chatimah Tovah" ("[may you be] finally sealed [for a] good [year by God]") until Yom Kippur. After Yom Kippur is over, until Hoshana Rabbah, as Sukkot ends, the greeting is גְּמָר טוֹב "Gmar Tov" ("[a] good conclusion [of God's judgment]").
The above describes three important stages as the spiritual order of the Ten Days of Repentance (the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) unfolds: On Rosh Hashanah God "'opens' the 'books' of judgment" of creation and all mankind starting from each individual person, and in those books it is first "written" what will be decreed, hence the emphasis on the "ketivah" ("writing"). The "judgement" is then "pending" and prayers and repentance are required. Then on Yom Kippur, the judgment is "sealed" or confirmed (i.e. by the Heavenly Court), hence the emphasis is on the word "chatimah" ("sealed"). But the Heavenly verdict is still not final because there is still an additional chance and positive expectation that until Sukkot concludes there is hope that God will deliver a final good and favorable judgment, hence the use of "gmar" ("end") that is "tov" ("good").
Religious significance
The Mishnah contains the second known reference to Rosh Hashanah as the "day of judgment".[5] In the Talmud tractate on Rosh Hashanah, it states that three books of account are opened on Rosh Hashanah, wherein the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of an intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of life, and they are sealed "to live." The intermediate class are allowed a respite of ten days, until Yom Kippur, to reflect, repent and become righteous;[6] the wicked are "blotted out of the book of the living forever."[7]
In Jewish liturgy, Rosh Hashanah leads to Yom Kippur, which is described as "the day of judgment" (Yom ha-Din) and "the day of remembrance" (Yom ha-Zikkaron). Some midrashic descriptions depict God as sitting upon a throne, while books containing the deeds of all humanity are opened for review, and each person passes in front of Him for evaluation of his or her deeds. The Talmud provides three central ideas behind the day:
"The Holy One said, 'on Rosh Hashanah recite before Me [verses of] Sovereignty, Remembrance, and Shofar blasts (malchuyot, zichronot, shofrot): Sovereignty so that you should make Me your King; Remembrance so that your remembrance should rise up before Me. And through what? Through the Shofar.' (Rosh Hashanah 16a, 34b)"[8] This is reflected in the prayers composed by the classical rabbinic sages for Rosh Hashanah found in all machzorim where the theme of the prayers is the strongest theme is the "coronation" of God as King of the universe in preparation for the acceptance of judgments that will follow on that day, symbolized as "written" into a Divine book of judgments, that then hang in the balance for ten days waiting for all to repent, then they will be "sealed" on Yom Kippur. The assumption is that everyone was sealed for life and therefore the next festival is Sukkot (Tabernacles) that is referred to as "the time of our joy" (z'man simchateinu).
