MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Shana Tovah v'hatima tovah”

Jews around the world are celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year of 5770, which begins Friday at sundown. In the Jewish calendar, the most sacred time is the 10-day period from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, which this year falls on September 28.

Called “the Days of Awe,” it is a time when Jews ask forgiveness for their sins and the sins of their community, from one another and from God.

Rosh Hashanah (the words literally translate to “head of the year”) is an opportunity for Jewish people to undergo a process of introspection and self-repair and make promises to themselves for better thoughts or actions.

The process of reflection and repentance takes place over a 40-day period that begins about four weeks before Rosh Hashanah, at the start of the month called Elul on the lunar Jewish calendar. But the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is the most intense.

To encourage meaningful resolutions for Rosh Hashanah, synagogues and their rabbis often give guidance.

The name “Rosh Hashanah” is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar).

The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25 which says: “…in the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation”.

The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue.