Today, Jews around the world celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the new year according to the Jewish calendar. The holiday lasts two days - this year, September 22-24.
According to Jewish beliefs, on these days God determines a person's fate for the next year, but the final decision is formed during the ten days of repentance. According to ancient scriptures, it was on Rosh Hashanah that God completed the creation of the world and the first people.
Holiday traditions
The celebration is accompanied by special rituals. One of them is the blowing of the shofar, the sound of which means that a person should sum up the results of the past year and rethink their own actions. Another is Tashlich: on the first or second day of the holiday, Jews gather near bodies of water and throw crumbs of bread into the water, symbolically getting rid of sins.
The traditional holiday meal also has deep symbolism. On the table are apples with honey for a sweet year, round challah loaves, stuffed fish with heads, pomegranates and other products, each of which has a certain wish for the coming year. For example, dates symbolize the end of bitterness, and carrots - wealth and abundance.
The traditional greeting these days sounds like "Shana tova u-metuka!" - "Have a good and sweet year!".
Earlier we wrote that Ukraine and Israel are preparing unprecedented security measures for Rosh Hashanah.
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