Guide to the Jewish Year

halachot lemo-adei hashanah

הֲלָכוֹת לְמוֹעֲדֵי הַשָּׁנָה

Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

עֶרֶב רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה

Eve of Rosh HaShana (29th of Elul)

7 Seliḥot (the year's longest recitation) precedes the ordinary weekday Shaḥarit. Taḥanun and the sounding of the shofar are omitted by the congregation [שו"ע ורמ"א או"ח, תקפא: ג].

8 After Shaḥarit, custom is to recite before three adult males the Annulment of Vows, the formula of התרת נדרים (page 927) [חיי אדם, קלח: ח]. That formula may be recited at any hour of the day [שו"ע יו"ד, רלד: נ] and on any day preceding Yom Kippur.

9 Immersion in the mikveh is practiced by some. Further customs include a fast and paying visits to graves of relatives who have departed [שו"ע או"ח, תקפא: ב; רמ"א, שם: ד].

10 Should Rosh HaShana occur on Thursday and Friday, an Eiruv Tavshilin (page 805) must be prepared by each household; food may then be made ready on Friday for the meals of Shabbat [שו"ע או"ח, תקכו].

תִּשְׁרֵי

TISHREI

רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה

Rosh HaShana (1st–2nd days of Tishrei)

הֲלָכוֹת עֶרֶב רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה

LAWS FOR ROSH HASHANA EVE

11 Lighting of candles: Two blessings are recited: (1) לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל יוֹם טוֹב ("to light the festival light") and (2) שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ ("Who has given us life..."). Should the eve of Rosh HaShana fall on Friday night, the first blessing concludes: לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל שַׁבָּת וְשֶׁל יוֹם טוֹב ("to light the Shabbat and Festival light") (page 351).

12 Customarily, the piyut אֲחוֹת קְטַנָּה is recited before Ma'ariv.

13 Ma'ariv: as on Shabbat and Yom Tov. Prior to the Amida of Rosh HaShana, תִּקְעוּ בַחֹדֶשׁ שׁוֹפָר (Ps. 81:4–5) is recited. Once the Amida is complete, the Ark is set open, and Psalm 24, לְדָוִד מִזְמוֹר, לַיהוָה הָאָרֶץ וּמְלוֹאָהּ, is uttered responsively by the Shaliaḥ Tzibbur and congregation. Full Kaddish follows (certain communities recite Psalm 24 following Full Kaddish), then Aleinu, and Mourner's Kaddish. Custom is to end by singing Adon Olam or Yigdal.

14 Alterations in the Kaddish: Custom is to put לְעֵלָּא לְעֵלָּא מִכָּל ("above and beyond any") in place of לְעֵלָּא מִן כָּל ("beyond any") [משנ"ב, נו: ב] and to alter עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם ("He who makes peace") to עֹשֶׂה הַשָּׁלוֹם ("He who makes the peace") [ערוה"ש או"ח, תקפב: ח]. Whoever omits either alteration is not obliged to repeat the Kaddish.

15 Distinct insertions in the Amida: Additional phrases are inserted into the Amida on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur: in the first blessing, זָכְרֵנוּ לְחַיִּים is inserted; in the second, מִי כָמוֹךָ; to the third, four paragraphs are inserted, and its ending becomes הַמֶּלֶךְ הַקָּדוֹשׁ; in the penultimate blessing, וּכְתֹב is inserted; and to the final blessing, בְּסֵפֶר חַיִּים is inserted, and its ending becomes עוֹשֶׂה הַשָּׁלוֹם (some leave the blessing's ending unchanged). Whoever omits any of these passages need not repeat the Amida so as to include the omitted insertions [שו"ע ורמ"א או"ח, תקפב: ה]. Yet whoever fails to alter the third blessing's ending to הַמֶּלֶךְ הַקָּדוֹשׁ must repeat the Amida from its start, unless the error is corrected תּוֹךְ כְּדֵי דִבּוּר (consult the source in the Shulḥan Arukh for treatment of this rule.) [שו"ע או"ח, תקפא: ג].

16 Should the eve of Rosh HaShana fall on Friday night, an abbreviated Kabbalat Shabbat precedes Ma'ariv: Psalm 29, the opening two and closing two stanzas of לְכָה דוֹדִי and מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, יְהוָה מָלָךְ, גֵּאוּת לָבֵשׁ (page 377). כְּגַוְנָא is omitted. The Amida is recited with the Shabbat insertions. After the Amida, prior to Psalm 24, the congregation recites וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם, and the Shaliaḥ Tzibbur recites the abridged Repetition of the Amida, as is the custom on Shabbat eve [שו"ע או"ח, תריט: ג]. Thereafter come Full Kaddish, then Psalm 23, followed by Half Kaddish and Barekhu.

17 Upon Rosh HaShana's eve, people customarily greet one another, seeking that one be inscribed unto a good new year: "לְשָׁנָה טוֹבָה תִּכָּתֵב וְתֵחָתֵם" [רמ"א או"ח, תקפב: ט].

18 After one has returned home, the Kiddush of Rosh HaShana is recited. Should Rosh HaShana's eve fall on Friday night, the Shabbat insertions are recited (page 931).

19 On Rosh HaShana's first night, once the ḥalla has been eaten, custom is to recite the blessing over fruit, eat a portion of apple that has been dipped in honey, then offer a petition for a new year that is sweet [רמ"א או"ח, תקפג: א]. יַעֲלֶה וְיָבֹא is inserted into Birkat HaMazon (page 1039).

20 Shaḥarit: Pesukei DeZimra as on Shabbat and Yom Tov is recited. From the words הַמֶּלֶךְ הַיּוֹשֵׁב the Shaḥarit Shaliaḥ Tzibbur begins. After Yishtabaḥ, they open the Ark and the congregation recites Psalm 130 responsively.

21 Following Barekhu, the congregation recites הַמֵּאִיר לָאָרֶץ or, when it is Shabbat, הַכֹּל יוֹדוּךָ. The Rosh HaShana Amida is recited; when it is also Shabbat, one recites the Shabbat insertions. The Shaliaḥ Tzibbur repeats the Amida, inserting piyutim ahead of the Kedusha. Avinu Malkenu is said by the congregation, yet not on Shabbat [רמ"א או"ח, תקפד: א]. Thereafter come Full Kaddish, then the Daily Psalm, followed by Psalm 27, and the Mourner's