Rosh HaShana Glossary

Rosh HaShana Vocabulary

1. Rosh Hashanah
   Rosh HaShana, which literally means "head of the year", is the Jewish New Year.
2. High Holy Days (High Holidays)
   The Jewish High Holidays are Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.
3. Chet
   Chet is the Hebrew word for sin. On Rosh HaShana Jews ask God to forgive them for their sins.
4. Teshuvah
   Teshuva, which literally means "returning", is the term for repentance. On Rosh HaShana Jews do teshuva, which means they repent for their sins.

Rosh HaShana Practices

1. Kiddish
   Kiddish is the prayer over wine or grape juice that is recited on the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) and on Jewish holidays.
2. Machzor
   Machzor is a Jewish prayer book used on certain Jewish holidays (Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot).
3. Mitzvah
   Mitzvah, which literally means commandment (from God), is often translated as "good deed." There are 613 commandments (365 negative mitvot and 248 positive ones), which are delineated by the rabbis from the text of the Torah. It is a mitzvah on Rosh HaShana to hear the shofar.
4. Selichot
   Selichot are penitential prayers recited in the days leading up to the Jewish High Holidays.
5. Shofar
   Shofar is a ram's horn. The sounding of the shofar is the most ancient Rosh HaShana practice.
6. Synagogue
   A synagogue is a Jewish house of worship. The Yiddish term for synagogue is shul. In Reform circles, synagogues are sometimes called Temples.
7. Tashlich
   Tashlich means casting off. In the Rosh HaShana tashlich ceremony, people symbolically cast their sins into a body of water.
8. Torah
   Torah is the text of the Jewish people. It contains five books: Genesis (Breisheet), Exodus (Shmot), Leviticus (Vayikra), Numbers (Bamidbar) and Deuteronomy (Devarim).

Rosh HaShana Greetings

1. L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu
   Literal Hebrew to English Translation: May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for a good year
   Meaning: This Rosh HaShanah greeting wishes others a good year and a good judgment by God.
   Note: This greeting is often shortened to Shanah Tovah (Good Year).
2. Gemar Chatimah Tovah
   Literal Hebrew to English Translation: May you finally be sealed (in the Book of Life) for good.
   Meaning: This greeting wishes others well in the new year.
   Use: This greeting is used between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
3. Yom Tov
   Literal Hebrew to English Translation: Good Day
   Meaning: Holiday
   Use: On holidays, Jews often greet each other with "Gut Yuntiff", which is Yiddish for “Good Yom Tov” or “Good holiday."