Guestling Bradshaw CE Primary School

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year festival, lasting two days. It commemorates the creation of the world.

Rosh Hashanah is also a judgement day, when Jews believe that God balances a person's good deeds over the last year against their bad deeds, and decides what the next year will be like for them.

It's a time for people to think about their priorities in life and to reflect on what has been achieved in the past year.

It's a time of asking for forgiveness for wrongdoings (sins)

It's a chance for people to ask questions about their actions throughout the year.

Questions considered during Rosh Hashanah include:

• What's 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?

A lot of time is spent in the synagogue during Rosh Hashanah.

One of the synagogue rituals for Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the Shofar, a ram's horn trumpet. A hundred notes are sounded in a special rhythm.

The sound of the shofar starts a ten-day period known as the 'Days of Awe', which ends with the solemn festival of Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur is the most sacred and solemn day in the Jewish calendar. It means 'Day of Atonement' and is a day to reflect on the past year and ask God's forgiveness for any sins.

Getting ready for Yom Kippur

During the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur everyone gets a chance to put things right with other people before asking God's forgiveness. This period is called The Days of Repentence or Days of Awe.

It's a time when Jews can make up for the wrongs of the past year and make a firm commitment to not do the same bad thing or things again.

What happens at Yom Kippur?

The special day of Yom Kippur is marked by Jewish people in a number of ways:

• Many wear white as a symbol of purity.
• People fast for 25 hours - that means they have nothing to eat or drink (children under thirteen and people who are ill or pregnant do not have to fast).
• They do not wear make-up or perfume.
• They do not wash.
• They don't wear leather shoes.

The most important part of Yom Kippur is the time spent in the synagogue. Even Jews who are not particularly religious will want to attend synagogue on Yom Kippur, the only day of the year with five services.

• There are five services in the synagogue.
• The day is spent in continuous prayer for forgiveness.
• The sound of the shofar marks the end of the holy day.

Why isn't Yom Kippur on the same day each year?

Yom Kippur is ten days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and takes place on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Tishri.

In the Jewish calendar the months are based on the moon and the years on the sun, which means that Jewish festivals move about the Western calendar from year to year.

Yom Kippur falls in September or October.

What is the shofar and why is it used?

The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown to signal the start of the Days of Awe, when Jewish people think about all they have done in the past year and ask forgiveness from God. The shofar is blown again to mark the end of this period on the day of Yom Kippur.