↪ High Holidays in a Nutshell ↩
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Rosh Hashanah celebrates the birthday of the world. It is a day devoted to prayer, self-reflection, and listening to the blasts of the shofar (ram's horn) which are meant to symbolize a wordless cry to God. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the ten-day period known as Aseret Yamay Teshuvah – the Ten Days of Repentance. Teshuva (repentance) is a process of recognizing ways we have fallen short and recommitting to becoming the person we intend to be. The tenth day is Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. In synagogue, Yom Kippur services begin with a prayer called Kol Nidre, which means “all vows.” One of the readings for the day is the Book of Jonah, known to young children often as “Jonah and the Whale.” Yom Kippur ends with the Ne’ilah (closing) service, a final dramatic plea for G-d to hear our prayers. At the very end of the day, we hear one long, final blast of the shofar.