Rosh Hashanah: the Jewish New Year רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה
Rosh Hashanah, “head of the year”, is the Jewish New Year, kept on the 1st and 2nd of Tishrei in September or early October. It is a day of judgement and of crowning God as King, marked above all by hearing the shofar.
Jewish New Year · Yom Teruah · Yom HaDin · ראש השנה · 1–2 Tishrei
What is Rosh Hashanah?
The Torah does not call the day “new year”: it speaks of the first day of the seventh month as a day of rest and of teruah, the sounding of the horn (Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1). The Mishna names it Rosh Hashanah and teaches that on this day the whole world is judged. According to tradition it is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the day on which humanity began.
Two ideas give the day its character. It is a day of judgement, the opening of the Ten Days of Repentance that end on Yom Kippur. And it is a day of coronation: the prayers return again and again to God’s kingship, and the shofar is blown as trumpets are sounded for a king. Rosh Hashanah is therefore serious but not sad – a Yom Tov with festive meals, fine clothes and confidence that the coming year can be good.
Rosh Hashanah is the only festival kept for two days in Israel as well. The Sages describe the two days as one “long day” (yoma arichta).
How Rosh Hashanah is observed
The shofar
The central mitzvah of the day is to hear the shofar, a ram’s horn. One hundred blasts are heard in most synagogues on each day: tekiah (a long blast), shevarim (three broken sounds) and teruah (nine short staccato sounds), in set combinations during and after the Musaf prayer. Whoever cannot come to the synagogue should try to hear the shofar at home; many communities send shofar blowers to the elderly and sick.
When the first day falls on Shabbat, the shofar is not blown that day – only on the second day.
Prayers and meals
- Candles are lit on both evenings with two blessings, including Shehecheyanu; on the second night new fruit or a new garment is set before the person lighting so that the Shehecheyanu also applies to it.
- The Musaf Amidah has three special blessings: Malchuyot (kingship), Zichronot (remembrance) and Shofarot (the shofar), each built around ten verses.
- Avinu Malkeinu is said after the Amidah (not on Shabbat), and the Ten Days of Repentance bring small changes to the Amidah, such as HaMelech HaKadosh.
- The festive meals open with Kiddush and round challah dipped in honey. On the first night many eat simanim – symbolic foods with a short prayer: apple in honey for a sweet year, pomegranate, dates, leek, beets, gourd and the head of a fish or ram.
- On the first afternoon (the second if the first is Shabbat) many go to a river, the sea or a pond for Tashlich, prayers asking that our sins be “cast into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).
Sephardi and Ashkenazi customs
- Simanim: Sephardi families hold a full “seder” of simanim with a yehi ratzon for each food; most Ashkenazi families focus on apple and honey, with the head of a fish and sometimes carrots (in Yiddish meren, “to increase”).
- Sephardim say Selichot throughout the month of Elul; Ashkenazim begin on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah (or a week earlier when the festival falls early in the week).
- Nusach: the Ashkenazi machzor contains the piyyut Unetaneh Tokef; Sephardi communities sing piyyutim such as Achot Ketanah on the evening of Rosh Hashanah.
- Some have the custom of not sleeping during the day of Rosh Hashanah, and of avoiding nuts, whose Hebrew numerical value equals that of “sin”.
Rosh Hashanah dates 2025–2028
Dates follow the Diaspora schedule. Jewish days begin at sundown: a holiday starts in the evening before its first day and ends at nightfall.
| Year | Begins | Ends | Hebrew date | In Israel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Sundown, Monday, September 22, 2025 | Nightfall, Wednesday, September 24, 2025 | 1 Tishrei 5786 – 2 Tishrei 5786 | Same |
| 2026 | Sundown, Friday, September 11, 2026 | Nightfall, Sunday, September 13, 2026 | 1 Tishrei 5787 – 2 Tishrei 5787 | Same |
| 2027 | Sundown, Friday, October 1, 2027 | Nightfall, Sunday, October 3, 2027 | 1 Tishrei 5788 – 2 Tishrei 5788 | Same |
| 2028 | Sundown, Wednesday, September 20, 2028 | Nightfall, Friday, September 22, 2028 | 1 Tishrei 5789 – 2 Tishrei 5789 | Same |
Israel and the Diaspora
Rosh Hashanah is two days everywhere – in Israel and in the Diaspora – so the dates are identical. Only candle-lighting and havdalah times differ by city.
Candle-lighting times
Candle-lighting and havdalah times for Shabbat and Yom Tov in 94 cities, computed for your location: Shabbat & holiday candle-lighting times
Related prayers
- Shabbat Candle Blessing הדלקת נרות שבת
- Friday Night Kiddush קידוש ליל שבת
- Birkat HaMazon (Grace after Meals) ברכת המזון
Greetings
- Shana Tova (שנה טובה) – “A good year” – the standard greeting (also written Shanah Tovah).
- Shana Tova Umetuka (שנה טובה ומתוקה) – “A good and sweet year”.
- Ketiva vachatima tova (כתיבה וחתימה טובה) – “May you be written and sealed for good” – said until Yom Kippur.
- Leshana tova tikatevu (לשנה טובה תכתבו) – “May you be inscribed for a good year” – the classic wish on the evening of Rosh Hashanah.
Frequently asked questions
- When is Rosh Hashanah in 2027?
- In 2027, Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Friday, October 1, 2027 and ends at nightfall on Sunday, October 3, 2027.
- Why is Rosh Hashanah in the seventh month?
- The Torah counts months from Nisan, the month of the Exodus, but counts years from Tishrei, the month in which the world – or humanity – was created according to the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 10b–11a). Both counts are used in Jewish law.
- Is Rosh Hashanah a happy or a solemn day?
- Both. It is a day of judgement, prayed with awe, but also a Yom Tov with festive meals and confidence in God’s mercy. Fasting on Rosh Hashanah is not the custom.
- Can I do work or use my phone on Rosh Hashanah?
- Rosh Hashanah is a Yom Tov: the laws are like Shabbat, except that cooking and carrying for the needs of the day are permitted under conditions. Phones, driving and writing are not used.
- What should I do if I cannot hear the shofar in a synagogue?
- Ask the local synagogue or a Jewish organization: many arrange shofar blowing in parks, hospitals and homes. Hearing the blasts in person – not through a recording or a broadcast – is required.
Sources
- Leviticus 23:24
דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ יִהְיֶה לָכֶם שַׁבָּתוֹן זִכְרוֹן תְּרוּעָה מִקְרָא־קֹדֶשׁ
The first day of the seventh month is a day of rest, “a remembrance of the blast of the horn”.
- Numbers 29:1
וּבַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ מִקְרָא־קֹדֶשׁ יִהְיֶה לָכֶם כָּל־מְלֶאכֶת עֲבֹדָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ יוֹם תְּרוּעָה יִהְיֶה לָכֶם
“A day of sounding the horn (yom teruah) it shall be for you” – the source of the shofar.
- Mishna Rosh Hashanah 1:2
On Rosh Hashanah all people pass before God like a flock before its shepherd – the day of judgement.
- Talmud Bavli, Rosh Hashanah 16a–b
Why the shofar is blown, and the three books opened on Rosh Hashanah.
- Talmud Bavli, Keritot 6a; Horayot 12a
Abaye’s list of foods to see or eat at the new year as good signs – the origin of the simanim.
- Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 581–602
The laws of Elul, Rosh Hashanah, the shofar and the Ten Days of Repentance.
Hebrew verses: Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain) via the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible. The explanations on this page are our own, not translations.
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For learning and general information only. Customs differ between communities; for halachic questions ask your rabbi.