Rosh Hashanah

The end of summer feasts

The date is 1st Tishrei – the start of the Civil year (see Calendar) but it is not the start of the religious year which is the first of Nisan (14 days before Passover) – See Pessach

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, literally the head of the year.   

It is not one of the Biblical Moedim ( appointed Times of ) but it is on the same day as Trumpets which is.   Leviticus 23 v23 onwards says,

"The LORD said to Moses,  "Say to the Israelites: `On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.  Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire.' "

The Feast of Trumpets discussed along with Yom Kippur..

Rosh Hashanah is celebrated by Jews today as a time for prayers and good wishes for  the coming year.   Customs include eating apple dipped in honey as a taste reminder of wishing for a sweet new year and eating the head of a fish, with the wish that they be the head - not the tail.   From the blessings in Deuteronomy.

Because Rosh Hashanna coincides with Trumpets (see below) the Jews start each new year with self examination and repentance.  (An excellent idea!) These days are the Ten Days of Awe, leading up to the Day of Atonement.

Date (Tishrei)	Civil	Religious	Moedim	Doing
1	Rosh Hashanah			Celebrate new year
1		Trumpets	#5	Call to teshuvah
1-10		Days of Awe		Prepare for Yom Kippur
10		Yom Kippur	#6	Fast & repent
15		Sukkot	#7	CELEBRATE
22		Shimini Atzeret (Eighth day)		CELEBRATE some more
23		Simchat Torah		Rejoice in Torah

In Yom Kippur insert link as so

Yom Kippur now

Yom Kippur is the only day GOD commanded a fast.   "You shall afflict your souls and make an offering."    There was to be no work or conjugal relations.   Devout Jews wear a funeral shroud ( white for purity, repentance and forgiveness )

[Move] The last meal before Yom Kippur is a good square meal, but one that is easily digestible.

The evening with which Yom Kippur commences is called Kol Nidre although Kol Nidre is only one part of the service. Kol Nidre is well known for the beautiful, haunting melody to which it is chanted.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvWxoYULWrw

Max Bruch wrote a beautiful arrangement for cello - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mgaICZS79Y and there are may other renderings on You Tube, including Neil Diamond.

Kol Nidre (all vows ) is the section of the service in which prayers are made asking forgiveness for all unfulfilled promises.    Kol Nidre dates from the Inquisitions when Jews were forced to accept Christian baptism and renounce their Jewish faith or face death.  They had to maintain their Jewish observances in secret, and seek God's release from the vows extracted under duress. "Kol nidre" refers only to vows between the person making them and G-d, but this prayer is often held up by anti-Semites as proof that Jews are untrustworthy

Perhaps the most important addition to the normal liturgy is the confession of the sins of the community, which is inserted into the Shemoneh Esrei (Amidah) prayer. Note that all sins are confessed in the plural (we), emphasizing communal responsibility for sins.

The evening service which follows Kol Nidrei consists of the Half-Kaddish, the Shema, the Amidah, the Al Chet confession of sins, and special additional prayers (piyyutim) which are said only on the night of Yom Kippur. (http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/5345/jewish/Kol-Nidrei.htm

Yom Kippur

• It is customary to give increased charity on Erev Yom Kippur as charity helps to repeal any evil decrees. (See the Kaparot section below).
• Sins committed against another person cannot be atoned for until one has first sought forgiveness from the person he/she has wronged. Even the great day of Yom Kippur or death cannot atone for sins against fellow man. Thus - it is customary to go visit (or at least call) friends, family, associates and any person whom one may have somehow wronged or spoken ill of in the past year and ask forgiveness.
  
  It is a mitzvah to immerse oneself in a mikvah (ritual bath) on Erev Yom Kippur. This symbolizes a person’s rebirth associated with the doing of Teshuvah

• Kaparot - An ancient and mystical custom designed to imbue people with a feeling that their very lives are at stake as the holy Yom Kippur approaches.
• It is customary to wear white on Yom Kippur. This is symbolic of the angels and of spiritual purity. Many married men wear a kitel, which is also worn upon burial (and by many men at their wedding) as a reminder of the day of death and repentance.

http://messianicfellowship.50webs.com/yomkippur.html

Daytime Services

The daytime services of Yom Kippur are characterized by their emphasis on the two major themes of forgiveness from sin and teshuvah, or repentance. According to the traditional Jewish prayers, God immediately forgives us for the sins that affect no one else other than our relationship with God. For sins that affect and harm others, we must first apologize and seek forgiveness from those whom we have hurt. Only then are the prayers of Yom Kippur considered effective in absolving our sins. Teshuvah is the process by which we recognize our sins, feel regret for having committed them, and then resolve not to do them again and make restitution for any harm we may have caused. All of the major prayers of the Yom Kippur liturgy focus on these themes.

Because Yom Kippur is a day on which we strive to achieve spiritual purity, there is a tradition to wear white clothes to synagogue services.

Torah Service

The Torah portion read on Yom Kippur morning is taken from Leviticus 16, which details the ancient biblical Yom Kippur rituals

The Haftarah, or additional biblical reading, is taken from the book of Isaiah, Chapters 57 and 58, in which the prophet criticizes the empty, superficial religious rituals of the ancient Israelites when the rites are not accompanied by acts of righteousness, charity, and morality.

Viddui or confession. In these prayers, the community literally recites an alphabet of different transgressions it has committed, from A to Z (or, actually, Aleph to Tav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet in which the prayers were written). The language of the prayers, however, is instructional, for they are all in the plural; the point is that no one single person has committed all of these sins, but rather we, as a community, are collectively responsible. When reciting the lists of sins, it is traditional to gently beat on one’s breast over the heart in a symbolic act of self-remonstration.

Musaf or additional service includes many ancient and medieval religious poems included over the centuries to continue to heighten the spiritual experience of the day.

The Martyrology is a long medieval poem that describes in painfully gruesome detail the deaths of famous rabbis during ancient Roman persecutions. This poem, oftentimes including additions from the time of the Holocaust, is intended to impress upon us the spiritual devotion of our ancestors, as well as to intensify the religious and emotional tenor of the day.

The Avodah service refers to the rituals enacted on Yom Kippur in the Temple in Jerusalem in ancient times. Basing itself on biblical precedents, the Avodah service is taken from rabbinic and Talmudic sources and describes the historical highlights of the awesome and overwhelming pageantry of the priests and Levites in the Temple, with the people in attendance.

The Mincha service includes the Torah reading of the laws of forbidden marriages (Leviticus 18). Because sexuality can and should be a vehicle for creating the divine presence in our lives, it is appropriate that such a seemingly profane topic should be read in public on Yom Kippur. (Reform Jews read Leviticus 19, "the holiness code.")

The Haftarah for the Mincha service is the entire biblical book of Jonah, which deals with the theme of repentance.

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Yom_Kippur/In_the_Community/Prayer_Services.shtml

A beautiful song from Yom Kippur is Avinu Malkeinu (Our Father our King) see Barbara Striesand on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YONAP39jVE

At nightfall ( the end of the day - blown as soon as the stars come out ) the sound of the shofar blowing of the tekiah gedolah, a long blast resounds around the synagogue for the last time as heaven's gates are closing . The concluding service of Yom Kippur, known as Ne'ilah, is one unique to the day. It usually runs about 1 hour long. The ark housing the scrolls of the Torah is kept open throughout this service, thus you must stand throughout the service. Ne’Ilah – the Locking – is a plea that the gates of God’s mercy will remain open.

Liturgy, see http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday4.htm

The lectionary reading for Yom Kippur, in addition to the Torah and Haftorah readings is the story of Jonah - Yonah. Jonah's experience of repentance - teshuva (turning) and restoration speaks to us all..

However, you will note in the above that there is a discontinuity between the Yom Kippur atonement process of Leviticus 16 and the present day celebration. See here for a discussion .