High Holy Days

In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm) consist of: strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"); by extension, the period of ten days including those holidays, known also as the Ten Days of Repentance (Aseret Yemei Teshuvah); or, by a further extension, the entire 40-day penitential period in the Jewish year from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Yom Kippur, traditionally taken to represent the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai before coming down with the second ("replacement") set of the Tablets of Stone. The services for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur take on a solemn tone as befits these days. Traditional solemn tunes are used in the prayers. The term High Holy Days most probably derives from the popular English phrase, “high days and holydays”. The Hebrew equivalent, "Yamim Noraim" (ימים נוראים), is neither Biblical nor Talmudic. Professor Ismar Elbogen avers that it was a medieval usage, reflecting a change in the mood of Rosh Hashanah from a predominantly joyous celebration to a more subdued day that was a response to a period of persecution. Reform Judaism typically prefers the term High Holy Days over High Holidays because the former emphasizes the personal, reflective, introspective aspects of this period. By contrast, Holidays suggests a time of communal celebrations of events in the history of the Jewish people. Elul The Hebrew month preceding Rosh Hashanah, Elul, is designated as a month of introspection and repentance. In preparation for the Jewish New Year, special prayers are recited. In many communities, is added at the end of morning and evening prayers. The shofar (ram's horn) is blown at the end of morning services on weekdays, and in some communities in the afternoon service as well (it is omitted on the eve of Rosh Hashanah in order to differentiate between the customary blasts of the month of Elul and the obligatory blasts of Rosh Hashanah, and in some communities it is omitted for the 3 days proceeding Rosh Hashanah).

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Related concepts (32)

High Holy Days

Kol Nidre

Kol Nidre ˈkɔːl_nᵻˈdreɪ (also known as Kol Nidrey or Kol Nidrei; Aramaic: כָּל נִדְרֵי kāl niḏrē) is a Hebrew and Aramaic declaration which is recited in the synagogue before the beginning of the evening service on every Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"). Strictly speaking, it is not a prayer, even though it is commonly spoken of as if it is a prayer. This declaration and its ceremonial accompaniment have been charged with emotional undertones since the medieval period, creating a dramatic introduction to Yom Kippur on what is often dubbed "Kol Nidrei night", with the entire Yom Kippur evening service popularly called Kol Nidrei.

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh HaShanah (רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, Rōʾš hašŠānā, literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (יוֹם תְּרוּעָה, Yōm Tərūʿā, lit. "day of shouting/blasting"). It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm, "Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah begins a ten-day period of penitence culminating in Yom Kippur, as well as beginning the cycle of autumnal religious festivals running through Sukkot and ending in Shemini Atzeret.