The Secret History of Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year that begins Wednesday evening, can be a tough time for Jews in mixed political families. In theory, the day is largely about forgiveness and introspection. In practice, the day is often about loud, angry political arguments at the holiday table.
In fact, though, Rosh Hashanah is largely about the themes dominating our political moment—specifically, immigration, marginalization, and multiculturalism.
First, the Jewish New Year is not actually the Jewish New Year. Prior to the Babylonian Exile, Israelites celebrated the New Year in the Springtime—on the new moon two weeks before Passover. In fact, Rosh Hashanah isn’t even called Rosh Hashanah in the Bible. It’s called “Yom Teruah,” the Day of Sounding the Shofar. While the Biblical texts aren’t quite clear, the purpose of the day seems to be to announce the period that will culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
In Biblical times, Yom Kippur was a weird, cultic, and ultimately joyous ritual, in which the high priest uttered the ineffable name of God and purged Israel of its collective wrongdoing. The Israelites would respond with celebration, which appears to have been somewhat orgiastic in nature. (Women going down to rivers, men finding wives, et cetera—somewhat different from the services at your local Reform temple.) Yom Teruah was the notification that Yom Kippur was around the corner.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/rosh-hashanah-is-the-holiday-of-immigration-marginalization-and-multiculturalism?ref=home
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Read further, and you'll see why I posted it here instead of Judaism. When I was being catechized in my Orthodox parish, I learned that Rosh haShanah is also our New Year and is considered by many to be the birthday of Mary.
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