Yom Kippur: Reflection, Renewal, and Jewish Cultural Identity

Rosh Hashanah Traditions and Celebrations

Rosh Hashanah is celebrated on the first and second days of Tishrei, which typically falls in late September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. It marks the start of the Jewish Year and the beginning of ten days of repentance (also called the days of awe), which ends with Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. The period combines traditions concerning reflection on the previous year, its mistakes and blessings, and high hopes for a sweet new year.

During Rosh Hashanah, we eat a round challah and sweets, such as apples dipped in honey. These foods are symbolic; the round challah symbolizes the cyclical nature of life and death, and the sweets symbolize the hopes for a sweet new year.

Round challah made by the author for a previous Rosh Hashanah. 

During Rosh Hashanah services, additional prayers are added to the service from the Mahzor, with each section culminating with the sounding of the shofar, a ram’s horn that makes a trumpet-like sound. The traditional reading for the day is Akedah (the Binding of Isaac), which summarizes the key themes of the holiday: sacrifice and new beginnings. A ceremony called Tashlich is also practiced, during which breadcrumbs symbolizing the previous year’s sins are cast into a body of water.

Teshuvah, Tefillah, and Tzedakah: A Time for Clarity and Reconciliation

In the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, three actions are taken: teshuvah (repentance), tefillah (prayer), and tzedakah (good deeds). This is a time for charity and reconciliation, working to recognize what you may have done wrong in the previous year and to set it right.

This culminates on Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar and a day of fasting from several minutes before sunset on the ninth of Tishrei until after nightfall on the tenth of Tishrei.

Remembering those who have passed is also a key aspect of Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is one of the four times a year that a Yizkor service is held, the other three being Passover, Shavuot, and Shemini Atzeret. Yizkor is a prayer service recited during the morning after the Torah service. During the prayer, the departed are recalled and their names recited as we ask G-d* to remember their souls.

*Cultural Insight: The name of God is not meant to be written down in Jewish tradition. It is typically written as G-d on Jewish sites.

Keeping Jewish Traditions Alive

As someone who lives a primarily secular life, I take this time to consider my successes and failings in equal measure, and often, I reflect on my grandparents and great-grandparents, who have passed, and whether they would be proud of the ways that I celebrate and pass on our traditions and heritage.

The author with her grandmother, Goldie 

Since Yom Kippur and the High Holidays are particularly religious holidays, it can often be difficult for those who are culturally and secularly Jewish to celebrate. However, the core experiences of repentance, forgiveness, renewal, memory, and awe do not have to be restricted to a religious setting. Here’s a small list of ways that I celebrate the holiday season:

• Eat sweets, particularly recipes passed down by loved ones, for Rosh Hashanah.
• Consider your friendships and family relationships. Do you have relationships that could be repaired by apologizing, forgiving, or opening the lines of communication?
• Consider what inspires awe and wonder in you. This could be found in nature, serendipity, or extraordinary acts by ordinary people.

As a culture in diaspora, Jews have found ways to preserve their culture in times of great danger and have blended their traditions with their new environs. It is this resilience that I have often admired in my ancestors and my culture, and it was one of the many reasons that I began a career in genealogy, in order to document Jewish families and their individual stories.

שנה טובה ומתוקה
Have a Good and Sweet Year!