Rosh Hashanah Description
The Jewish New Year, a two-day holiday marking the anniversary of creation and beginning of the High Holy Days (Yamim Noraim). Synagogues hold extended services featuring the blowing of the shofar (ram's horn), and the liturgy emphasizes themes of divine judgment, repentance, and renewal. Families gather for festive meals featuring symbolic foods: apples dipped in honey for a sweet year, round challah bread, pomegranates, and fish heads. All government offices, banks, schools, and most businesses close. Greetings of 'Shanah Tovah' are exchanged everywhere. It is one of the most widely observed holidays across Israel's diverse Jewish population.
