Grand-scale celebrations of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, kicked off on Wednesday in Uman, a small provincial center in the Cherkassy region, Ukraine. About 25,000 Jews from all over the world travel to the town to visit the grave of Rabbi Nahman of Breslov, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement.
Grand-scale celebrations of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, kicked off on Wednesday in Uman, a small provincial center in the Cherkassy region, Ukraine. About 25,000 Jews from all over the world travel to the town to visit the grave of Rabbi Nahman of Breslov, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement.
It is the year 5772 on the Jewish calendar. The celebrations are set to last until shabbes, or Saturday, Oct. 1.
Rosh Hashanah is the Hebrew for “head of the year.” It is believed that on this day, also known as the “sixth day of creation,” God finished creating the world and made Adam, the first man.
On the same day, as legend has it, Adam disobeyed God’s commandment and was chased from the Garden of Eden. Ever since, this is the day on which God sits in judgment of his creations and foreordains their fate for the next year.
Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of a 10-day period known as the “Days of Awe” (Yamim Noraim), which ends with Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement and Repentance. The faithful have 10 days to ponder over their conduct, right their wrongs, and repent. It is only after Yom Kippur that the Divine Decision is finally confirmed and a person’s fate is determined for the next year.
Therefore, the emphasis is on individual repentance. To celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jews put on their best clothes and go to the temple to ask the Almighty for well-being and joy for themselves and their near and dear.
Rosh Hashanah’s atmosphere is anything but idle. These two days are not for sleep, they are for prayer, the reading of the Psalms of David, and the perusal of the Torah.
It is also customary for Jews on that day to wish a “good and sweet New Year” to each other, while apples and honey are traditionally consumed on New Year's eve.
The festive spread also includes a fish head, a pomegranate believed to contain 613 seeds to match the number of Jewish Commandments, cooked carrots, red beets, and other vegetables whose Hebrew and Yiddish names are associated with good happenings.
People exchange gifts and send congratulatory messages to far-away relations.
