Judaism: Rosh Hashanah (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062))

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year festival

It lasts two days and commemorates the creation of the world

'Rosh' means 'head' and refers to the direction the new year will take

Judaism teaches that Rosh Hashanah is also a time when God judges all humanity

• The belief is that God considers a person's good and bad deeds over the last year and decides what the next year will be like for them

• It is linked closely to judgment and urges us to repent of our past sins

• During this time Jews consider how they could have lived better lives

• Judaism teaches that God decides on the first day of the year who will be forgiven, so they will ensure they apologise to everybody they have been unkind to during the past year

• Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a chance for Jews to ask questions about their actions and life throughout the year such as;

  • What is the most meaningful thing in my life?

  • Who in my life means the most to me? How often do I let them know this?

  • What are the most significant things I've achieved in the past year?

  • What do I hope to achieve next year and in my life generally?

It is followed ten days later by Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)

• Jews believe that on Rosh Hashanah, God judges people for their past deeds and writes this down in a book, which is then sealed on Yom Kippur

• At Rosh Hashanah, they hope that they and their loved ones will be written in the Book of Life

The Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah occurs in September or October, depending on the lunar calendar that is followed by Jews

• It is a time for Jews to reflect on their year, including their good deeds and their bad deeds

The two days of Rosh Hashanah usher in the Ten Days of Repentance (also known as the Days of Awe) which end with the major fast day of Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement)

One week before Rosh Hashanah, special prayers called Selichot are added to the ritual

Special services are held at synagogue on the eve of Rosh Hashanah

• The Shofar (horn) will be blown and special fruits are bought

• Jews greet each other by saying 'May you be written down for a good year'

• Slices of apple are dipped in honey and a circular challah loaf is eaten (a symbol of the cycle of the year)

In the morning service, the shofar is blown 100 times to symbolise a call for repentance

The Tashlich ceremony takes place during Rosh Hashanah

• At this ceremony, sins are cast out (or ‘thrown away’) and people ask for God’s forgiveness

Jews will often pray at a running stream and cast crumbs into the water as we hope to cast our sins away

It is believed that on Rosh Hashanah God writes names into one of his three books. These are:

The Book of Life, for those who are wholly good

The Book of Death, for the truly evil

An intermediate book, which is where most people’s names are written

Jews believe that they can influence which book God writes their name in if they take action during the festival

• People can do charity work or anything they feel will make up for the harm they have caused over the past year

In the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Jews consider their past deeds

• Judaism teaches that for God to forgive us, we must seek forgiveness from others

During the festival, apples dipped in honey are eaten to represent the hope of a sweet new year

• Historically, Jews believed that apples have healing powers, and this belief is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible

Time is spent in the synagogue during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as they are the most important festivals in the Jewish year