As High Holidays approach, here's what they mean to the Jewish community
MINNEAPOLIS — Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Friday and is celebrated through nightfall on Sept. 17.
Jonah Kaplan spent the day at Heilicher Jewish Day School to ask kids what Rosh Hashanah means to them, and what we all could learn from the holiday. You can see their answers in the video above.
Meanwhile, here are a few things to know about the High Holidays of the Jewish calendar.
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah means "head of the year" in Hebrew. It is a time for reflection and repentance.
It is referred to as the "day of judgment."
According to the Talmud, the world was created on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar.
The holiday is celebrated on the first and second days of Tishrei, which generally corresponds to September or October on the Gregorian calendar.
Rosh Hashanah begins the High Holy Days or Ten Days of Penitence, which end with Yom Kippur.
One of the most significant rituals during Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the Shofar, or ram's horn. It is used as a call to repentance during the High Holy Days.
During this time, Jewish people attend synagogue services and refrain from working.
Another popular practice is to eat apples dipped in honey, symbolizing the hope for a sweet year to come. Also, challah bread is baked in round loaves instead of braided loaves. The bread is dipped in honey instead of salt.
Pomegranates are eaten because the seeds are symbolic of the many commandments in the Torah that Jews must fulfill.
Another popular ritual is to walk to a river or stream and recite special prayers of penitence. Afterward, one throws breadcrumbs in the river, to symbolically cast away sins.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Sept. 24 and ends at nightfall on Sept. 25. The Day of Atonement is considered the most important and sacred of Jewish religious holidays. It falls on the 10th day of the Jewish lunar month of Tishrei.
The dates on the Jewish calendar known as the "10 days of repentance" begin with Rosh Hashanah (New Year's) and end with Yom Kippur.
On Yom Kippur, Jewish people atone for their sins from the past year. They ask for forgiveness from God and from other people.
It is a day of fasting, repentance and worship. In addition to refraining from eating and drinking, those observing the holiday do not bathe, they do not wear leather shoes or gold jewelry and they do not engage in spousal intimacy.
The services during Yom Kippur are held continuously through the day and include readings from the Torah and the reciting of penitential prayers.
Yom Kippur services conclude with closing prayers and the blowing of the shofar, a ritual musical instrument carved from the horn of a ram.
