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Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur

Rosh Hashanah & Yom KippurROSH HASHANAH is the Jewish new year, a fall holiday that calls for both rejoicing and serious introspection.

According to Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the world. Rosh Hashanah is followed, ten days later, by Yom Kippur. Together these two days are called the High Holidays.

The holidays and the time in between them are known as the Ten Days of Repentance. The overarching theme of Yom Kippur is repentance. From the beginning to the end of the holiday, we are meant to be thinking about affecting positive change in our lives and making amends with others.

Holiday descriptions provided by Kveller.com.

Rosh Hashanah Books for Children 

Here is a list of Rosh Hashanah-related books sent out by PJ Library either this year or in the past.

  • Review All the Rosh Hashanah-Related Books

    • Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur Activities

    Below are activities to make Rosh Hashanah more meaningful and fun for the family:

  • "Rosh Hashanah Basics"
    All you need to know to celebrate the holiday from parenting website Kveller.com.

  • "Rosh Hashanah Cards with Bubble Wrap Printing"
    Use colored paper, bubble wrap, white paint, and a glue stick to make festive cards for the New Year.

  • "Holiday Happening for Parents & Precious Little People" (PDF)
    A nice collection of home and classroom activities from the Union for Reform Judaism.

  • "Tashlich: A Rosh Hashanah Ritual for the Whole Family"
    This excerpt from Lesli Koppelman Ross's book, Celebrate!: The Complete Jewish Holidays Handbook, walks us through this holiday ritual..

  • "How a Shofar Is Made"
    A shofar is made from the horn of any kosher animal (traditionally from a ram). Learn more about how they're made and where they come from.

  • "How to Blow the Shofar"
    In this YouTube video, Rabbi Raps gives a quick lesson on how to Blow the Shofar.

  • "Rosh Hashanah Seder: Who Knew?"
    The Rosh Hashanah seder is called, "Seder Yehi Ratzon" ("The seder of God's will") and begins with prayers asking that we be blessed with bounty, strength, and peace.

  • "Rosh Hashanah Symbolic Foods"
    A rundown of the foods we associate with the holiday, including round hallah and apples & honey.

    • (Trans) Denominational Resources

    Check out the High Holiday resources provided by these Jewish organizations and movements:

  • InterfaithFamily.com
  • Society for Humanistic Judaism
  • Union for Reform Judaism
  • United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
  • Orthodox Union
  • Chabad