DIP IN. DIG DEEP. PASS IT AROUND.
A little tradition. A little friendly competition. A whole lot of togetherness.
01 / GATHER & WELCOME
1 of 7Take a breath together. Welcome the new year with a wish for the people around you.
A flexible companion, not a fixed ritual order. Make room for your family’s customs.
THE HOLIDAY GUIDE
Explore the history, blessings, foods, and questions behind Rosh Hashanah.
A LITTLE FRIENDLY COMPETITION
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A fresh mix every match, with answers and sources after each round.
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THE STORY BEHIND THE CELEBRATION
Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year.” Its story unfolds across biblical texts, rabbinic teaching, and generations of family traditions.
BIBLICAL ROOTS
Leviticus 23:24 describes a sacred day of rest and a memorial marked by blasts on the first day of the seventh month. The Torah does not call this festival “Rosh Hashanah.” Its later new-year meanings developed through interpretation and practice.
Leviticus 23:24 · Sefaria ↗RABBINIC TRADITION
The Mishnah names four new years for different purposes. The first of Tishrei is the new year for years, sabbatical years and jubilee years. This helps explain how a new year can fall in a month counted as the seventh.
Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1 · Sefaria ↗AT HOME, ACROSS GENERATIONS
Symbolic foods make wishes tangible. Apples and honey express sweetness; pomegranates suggest abundant good deeds. Many Sephardi and Mizrahi families celebrate a wider sequence of simanim, with meanings carried by wordplay and family custom.
Symbolic foods · My Jewish Learning ↗LOOKING INWARD, MOVING FORWARD
Rosh Hashanah opens the Ten Days of Repentance, which culminate in Yom Kippur. Celebration sits alongside reflection: taking responsibility for the past and making thoughtful changes for the coming year.
Rosh Hashanah 101 · My Jewish Learning ↗