Jewish New Year

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish new year and the start of the ten Days of Awe leading to Yom Kippur. The shofar (ram's horn) is blown in synagogue as a spiritual wake-up call, and symbolic foods are eaten—apples dipped in honey for a sweet year, pomegranates for abundance, and round challah representing the cycle of life. It is believed that God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year on this day.