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Everything has a beginning. People enter the world as babies, flowers grow
from seeds, a book begins as an idea, a painting begins as a sketch on
paper. The world also had a beginning. 5761 years ago, God created the world
as we know it. He created heaven and earth, trees and grass, the sun, moon,
stars and other galaxies, animals, birds and fish. The last thing God
created before Shabbat was man and woman, Adam and Eve.Once a year, on the 1st and 2nd of Tishrei, which coincides with the beginning of the school year, we celebrate Rosh Hashanah which literally means 'head of the Year", but we don't celebrate it with a wild party. The Jewish New Year is a time for each of us to look inside ourselves and take an honest look at the past year. We notice what things we need to improve and try and decide how we're going to work on them.
Just imagine if someone sat you down and said, "Hey, son, I want you to take a look at this." He clicks a video tape into the VCR machine and guess who appears on the screen? Yours truly. This movie is about you. It has recorded every single action you've done this year, the good and the bad. The scene of you pulling your little sister's hair and cutting her favorite Barbie doll's hair to get her back for scribbling on your school book after you spent two hours doing your homework. Or the time you decided not to go and play basketball with the gang and instead help your mom prepare the guest room for your visiting Grandma.
It is the Jewish way to begin the year with a fresh start, let go of the previous year and try again to become the best people we can. We set Rosh Hashanah aside as a time of introspection, looking inwards, a time of prayer, a time of personal awakening to the call of the Shofar. We also fully accept that God is in charge of the world and our lives. And only He can decide what kind of year we will have. We hope and pray that God inscribes all the Jewish People with a happy and healthy New Year.
Rosh Hashanah has four different names which reflect four different aspects of the Holiday:
- Rosh Hashanah - "Head of the Year" We celebrate Rosh Hashanah as the birthday of the world, recognising God as the Creator.
- Yom Hadin - "Day of Judgement" - Tradition tells us that on this day, God judges each and every one of us for our actions over the past year.
- Yom Hazikaron - "Day of Remembrance" God remembers every living creature on this day and we try and remember the past year and our actions.
- Yom Teruah - "Day of Blowing the Shofar" This is the name given to Rosh Hashana in the Bible, since the shofar is the most important symbol of the Holiday and is meant to wake us up to do Teshuva.