Happy New Year! Traditionally, the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, is a time of introspection and reflection. We examine what we appreciate from the year that has passed and what we hope to change in the year to come.  If you've hosted any kind of dinner gathering, you can host a Rosh Hashanah seder. This gathering can be as simple or as complex as your time allows. This booklet is here to help you make it easy and meaningful. 

Hosting a more meaningful Rosh Hashanah dinner is possible - and easy! Here's our top 5 tips to make it happen, even if you only have 10 minutes.  1. Each Passover we ask, "why is this night different from all other nights?" Your Rosh Hashanah dinner is another opportunity to decide to do things a little differently. What's special about tonight? You might be embracing the opportunity to be in community, marking this sacred moment in the Jewish calendar, or eating...

Nearly all Jewish holiday begin with lighting candles, and so this one will, too. After we light the candles we wave our hands in three big horizontal circles to symbolically bring the light closer to us, and then cover our eyes while we say the blessing. When the blessing is over take a moment of silent reflection with your eyes covered, and then open your eyes and enjoy the beauty of candlelight, bringing you into the new year. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ...

Wine or grape juice are also standards of nearly every Jewish holiday. Before we eat we take a moment to say a blessing over a glass of wine. In this special version Rosh Hashanah is called Yom HaZikaron, the Day of Remembering, and Yom Truah, the Day of Calling Out. Tonight during our meal we will do some remembering, and some calling out. We will also focus on the gratitude we feel for the past year, and all of the blessings...

As we wash our hands We pray, Blessed is the Soul of the Universe, Breathing us in and breathing us out. May our breaths continue And our health and the health of all Be preserved In this time of sickness and fear of sickness. Holy Wholeness, We take as much responsibility for this as we can By observing the obligation to wash our hands Thoroughly: For as long as it takes to say this prayer. Amen בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה הָ׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ...

On Rosh Hashanah and throughout the High Holiday season, we eat challah in the shape of a circle, to symbolize the circle of time, and the fullness of the year that is coming. Many people add even more sweetness to their first challah of the new year by adding apples and raisins or by drizzling honey or jam on top.   As you take a bite, share with others around the table how you hope to bring sweetness into the world in...

For Ashkenazi Jews, the primary symbolic food of Rosh Ha-Shanah is apples dipped in honey, a way of wishing for a sweet new year. Before eating apples and honey, say the following blessings: Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam borei pri ha-eitz. Blessed are You, God, Ruler of the universe, who creates fruit of the tree. Yehi ratzon lifanecha, Adonai Eloheinu, v'Elohai avoteinu, she'te'hadesh aleinu shanah tovah u'metukah. May it be Your will, Adonai our God, to grant us a good...

For centuries, Sephardi Jewish families have gathered to celebrate a special Rosh Hashanah ceremony with a plate or meal of symbolic foods. Each food is eaten after requesting a specific kind of Divine blessing that sounds like the name of that food in Hebrew.  Before eating dates ( tamar ): May it be your will, God, that hatred will end. ( Tamar resembles the word for end, yitamu. ) Before eating pomegranate: May we be as full of mitzvot as the...

No matter who you're celebrating with, use this blessing to send a message of love and peace to those you care about. May you feel love and security wherever you go. May you radiate with light and gratitude throughout your days. May a spirit of amazement reside within you always, and may you find peace. 

High Holidays in Five Senses  As the light and the weather shift in this sacred time of transition, we're invited to enter a new season and a new year. Take a deep breath as you consider how each of your senses connects to the High Holidays. What do the High Holidays smell like?  They smell of freshly-baked sweet challah, the vanilla-y pages of an old book, your grandfather’s aftershave, the tang of the etrog and the perfume of lulav branches. What...

For centuries, Sephardi Jewish families have gathered to celebrate a special Rosh Hashanah ceremony with a plate or meal of symbolic foods. Each food is eaten after requesting a specific kind of Divine blessing that sounds like the name of that food in Hebrew.  Before eating dates ( tamar ): May it be your will, God, that hatred will end. ( Tamar resembles the word for end, yitamu. ) Before eating pomegranate: May we be as full of mitzvot as the...