LAWS AND CUSTOMS FOR ROSH HASHANAH 1. Many Jewish communities have a custom of buying new clothes for Rosh HaShanah. However the Moroccan community has a tradition not to wear new clothes on Rosh HaShanah so as not to appear haughty at the time of judgment. 2. Since white is symbolic of mercy, there is a custom, according to the Midrash as cited by the Levush, to dress in white on Rosh HaShanah to demonstrate our hope and faith in G-d's mercy. 3. It is customary to fast on the day before Rosh HaShanah. Many Ashkenazim have a custom to fast the day before every Rosh Hodesh (new month). 4. The Shofar should not be blown on the day before Rosh HaShanah, either at night or during the day. (The person appointed to blow the shofar for the congregation, if necessary, is permitted to practice behind closed doors. 5. This year, the Shofar will not be blown on the first day of Rosh HaShanah because it is Shabbat. Even though it is a Torah Commandment to blow the Shofar of Rosh HaShanah (the only one directly relating to this holiday), the Rabbis ruled that it would be forbidden to blow when Rosh HaShanah coincided with Shabbat. They feared that one might forget his Shofar at home and be compelled to carry it to synagogue (a violation of a Torah Commandment). This demonstrates the importance of each individual Jew and their impact on the Jewish community at large. For the possibility of one Jew in a million being tempted to sin, the Rabbis created a special ruling. 6. It is customary to visit the graves of Tsaddikim on the day before Rosh HaShanah. However, as stressed by the Ben Ish Hai, one should clearly not pray to the dead (Heaven forbid), but rather pray that G-d will give us grace in their merit (This is the same formula we use when invoking Abraham, Yitshak and Yaakov in our prayers). 7. It is very important for one to immerse in a miqweh on the Day before Rosh HaShanah, even if is not his practice during the rest of the year. The Ben Ish Hai writes that it is even important for women and girls to do so as well, however, today this is not practiced at all. According to the Rambam one should immerse three times: one time to rid oneself of spiritual impurities, one time to prepare the body to receive the sanctity of the day and the third time to imbue one with the sanctity of the day. The Ben Ish Hai says that one should immerse five times: the first time to rid oneself of impurity, the second, to rid oneself of the impurity caused by anger, the third to pacify the Heavenly Judgment, the fourth to rid oneself of weekly influences and to rid oneself of the previous year's misfortunes; and the fifth time to imbue oneself with the sanctity of the Festival. 8. After one recites Kiddush [the blessing over wine and the subsequent prayer sanctifying the festival], there is a custom to recite a series of prayers known as "Y'hi L'ratson," "May it Be Your Will …" over several symbolic foods. There is often a linguistic connection between the food and the prayer. Some traditions say these blessings after the Hamotsi, the prayer said over bread on behalf of the meal. First, dates (Tamarim) are eaten and the blessing "Y'hi L'ratson she-yittammu (not the linguistic similarity) oyve'nu; May it Be Your Will, HaShem Our G-d, that our enemies (physical) are eradicated. Then black-eyed peas (depending on location called rubiya or lubiya) are eaten, saying, "…that our merit increase (yi'rabu) and He should purify us (uth'labbenu)." After which, leeks (y'rakot) are eaten, praying May it Be His Will that He destroy (yikar'tu) our enemies and those that hate us (meaning the evil forces created through the commission of our sins). Then we eat spinach (salka), having in mind the removal (yistalku) of the prosecuting angel. This is followed praying for the tearing up (kora'a) of evil decrees against us, wherein we then eat pumpkin (kara). Pomegranate (each of which contains 613 seeds, the number of mitsvot in the Torah) is then eaten with the blessing asking that we be filled with mitsvot like a pomegranate. We then eat apple that were cooked in sugar, praying that HaShem should renew for us a good and sweet year. Finally we request that it be HaShem's will that we be the head and not the tail and that G-d should remember the merits of the Akeidah of Yitsaq, our father, peace unto him, the son of Abraham, our Father, peace unto him. (In some communities, the order of foods might vary). 9. The blessing, She-hehiyanu (thanking HaShem for bringing us to this season) is recited on both nights as part of the Kiddush. 10. One should not eat sour foods on Rosh HaShanah. 11. After the Kiddush, the hands are washed with a blessing as is regularly done, then hamotsi [blessing over the meal, using the bread which is the meal's staple] is made. The bread is then dipped into sugar and then honey. Some customs dip the bread into sugar or honey instead of both and other customs dip the bread into salt (as is done during normal weekdays and Shabbat) prior to being dipped into sugar (or honey). 12. One should study mishnayot of masekhet Rosh HaShanah during the evening meal, or at some time during the festival. 13. On Rosh HaShanah we do not ask for forgiveness in our prayers. According to the Zohar, it is forbidden to mention one's sins out loud. However, as published in the siddur of the Rashash z"l, one may silently confess one's sins in the breaks between the sections of shofar blowing. 14. It is the custom among Syrian Jews to blow the Shofar one hundred and one times (as opposed to other communities who only blow it one hundred times, as required by the Halakha [Jewish Law]), because this equals the gematria [the numerical value of the Hebrew letters] of the name Mikhael, known as the Prince of Yisrael, the arch angel protector of Yisrael, as stated in the Book of Daniel. 15. Women are exempt from listening to the Shofar, however it has become customary for most women to go to synagogue during the Shofar service, or otherwise insure that they hear the Shofar. 16. According to the Kabbbalah, it is customary to fast from sunup until sundown during the Ten Days of Repentance, with the obvious exceptions of Erev Shabbat, Shabbat, Erev Yom HaKippur, and Rosh HaShanah itself. Some Ashkenazim begin fasting four days prior to Rosh HaShanah in order to make up these four days. 17. Tashlikh is recited after Minha [the afternoon service] on the first day. If one is unable to do it on the first day it is then done after Musaf (the additional holiday service which generally is added immediately after the morning service) on the second day. Tashlikh service is done near a pool of living water, such as a stream or a well.

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