Articles and Stories

September 13, 2012

This year, Rosh HaShanah begins in the evening of Sunday, September 16, 2012, and ends in the evening of Tuesday, September 18, 2012, or in the Jewish calendar, the Jewish New Year of 5773.
To symbolize hope for a “Sweet New Year” apples dipped in honey are eaten. Honey represents wealth and good living. In the Bible Israel is often referred to as the land of “milk and honey”.

Another popular practice of the holiday is ‘Tashlikh’, which means “casting off”. People walk to a flowing creek or river, preferably one with fish, and empty their pockets into it, symbolically casting off all their sins. Small pieces of bread or small pebbles representing the sins are commonly put in the pocket and then cast off into the water. It is a time to look back at the mistakes of the past year, let go of them and plan the changes to make in the new year.

Customs also include the sounding the ‘shofar’. The shofar dates back to ancient times when making loud noises on the New Year was thought to scare off demons and ensure a happy start to the coming year.

The shofar is a Jewish instrument most often made from a ram’s horn, though it can also be made from the horn of a sheep or goat. It makes a trumpet-like sound and is traditionally blown on Rosh HaShanah.

At the onset of the Jewish New Year of 5773, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our Jewish friends, clients and colleagues around the globe a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous new year.

L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu
Literal translation from Hebrew to English: “May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for a good year.”