Besides a new season, leaves changing color indicate the two most important Jewish holidays of the year: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, takes place on the first day of the month of Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar. This falls in September or October on the Gregorian calendar and marks the beginning of a new Hebrew calendar year.
Although grouped together, the two holidays serve very different purposes in the Jewish faith. Rosh Hashanah marks a time of celebration, and Yom Kippur is considered a time of repentance. Together, they are the High Holidays, representing a time of renewal.
“They’re considered the high holidays because this is often seen as the most important time of the Jewish year, with Rosh Hashanah starting and then culminating in Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year,” said Rabbi Gabe Miner, Engagement Director at Illini Hillel. “If you look at the liturgy for the holidays, it’s very high, elevated language.”
Rosh Hashanah began at sundown on Oct. 2 this year and will last for two days until sundown on Oct. 4. After the new year comes to a close, ten days follow before Yom Kippur. These days are called the Ten Days of Repentance.
“Ten is a special number in Judaism for many reasons,” said Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel, executive director of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning. “Ten makes a quorum (minyan). Ten makes completion. These ten days are given as a time to return to your inner good self.”
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Food plays a significant role in New Year celebrations, and eating apples and honey is a classic symbol associated with celebrating Rosh Hashanah. An inseparable pair, the snack represents the sweet new year to come.
“One of my favorite parts of Rosh Hashanah is the foods that are associated with the holiday,” Miner said. “A lot of foods we eat on Rosh Hashanah are what you might call aspirational blessings. They are edible embodiments of the things we hope to see in the year.”
Although food is a significant part of celebrating the Jewish New Year, Yom Kippur calls for a day-long fast.
“The idea of fasting is not a punishment,” Tiechtel said. “Yom Kippur is the one day a year we disconnect from all our material needs and focus on our core. The whole theme of Yom Kippur is getting in touch with the essence of yourself, and then we do that through prayer and through reflection.”
The high holidays are flush with traditions, and everyone has their own spiritual, cultural and familial practices that shape the way they observe. Vice President of Chabad Sari Sugar typically goes home for the holidays, but she is staying at school this year.
“I’m going to bring my personal favorite thing to my friends,” Sugar said. “We all go around the table and just reflect on the year and say something that we’re thankful for and something that we’re looking forward to. It’s really a great time to disconnect and spend quality time with friends and family.”
Miner grew up going to synagogue regularly with his family, and as he got older, he began to help lead the children’s high holiday services. As an adult, he still leads services on the holidays as a way of staying in touch with his family and Jewish identity.
“What I hope to impart to the services is a willingness to engage with some of the more difficult metaphors we use,” Miner said. “Encouraging the people that I’m with through what we call Kavanot (intentions) before certain prayers helps people push themselves and be a little more open to the resonance of the metaphors.”
Another significant symbol of both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is the shofar, a hollowed-out ram’s horn that is blown like a trumpet. The four sounds tekiah, shevarim, teruah and tekiah gedolah the shofar emits is compared to a crying voice, a reminder to look inward.
“Sounding the shofar has many interpretations,” Tiechtel said. “One of them is heralding God as our king and the victory cry that I’m confident this will be a good year. The sound of the shofar is also a sign of crying, because I’m crying for the wrongdoings I’ve done.”
Both Hillel and Chabad offer a variety of high holiday services and gatherings over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. More information about the high holidays at Hillel can be found here, and more information about Chabad can be found here.
“One of the biggest things we do here at Chabad is to help students realize the joy of Judaism,” Tiechtel said. “My biggest hope and goal is that students should feel they have a part in it. Students should feel that they have a place in Judaism.”
