Ro’sh Hashshanah (literally, “head of the year”) the Hebrew new year, ushered in the Feast of Trumpets with the blowing of the ram’s horn. It was the first of the high holy feast days and looked forward to the solemn Day of Atonement which occurred ten days later.
The new moon of the seventh month (1 Tishri) constituted the beginning of the civil new year and was designated as Ro’sh Hashshanah, “the first of the year,” or yom tru‘ah, “day of sounding [the trumpet].” Leviticus 23:23–25 and Numbers 29:1–6 are the only Old Testament references to Rosh Hashanah, the regulations, prayers, and customs of which fill volumes today in the Jewish rabbinic literature. The blowing of the shofar, or ram’s horn, occupied a significant place on several other occasions, such as the monthly new moon and the Year of Jubilee, but especially so at the beginning of the new year, hence its name—Feast of Trumpets.
The Hebrew calendar actually began with Nisan in the spring (Exod. 12:2), but the end of the seventh month, Tishri, usually marked the beginning of the rainy season in Palestine when the year’s work of plowing and planting began. Tishri was the beginning of the economic and civil year. Business transactions, sabbatical years, and Jubilee Years were all determined from the first of the seventh month. Later, Judaism associated many important events with Rosh Hashanah, including the creation of the world and humankind; the births of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Samuel; and the day of Joseph’s release from prison (Ben M. Edidin, Jewish Holidays and Festivals [New York: Hebrew Publishing Co., 1940], 53–54).
The day was observed as a sabbatical feast day with special sacrifices. It also pointed to the solemn Day of Atonement ten days later. Rosh Hashanah (new year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) constitute what are called “high holy days” in Judaism. Rosh Hashanah has come to be considered a day of judgment for one’s deeds of the previous year. It is a day for examining one’s life, prayer, and repentance. On this day, in Jewish thought, God judges all humans for their deeds and decides who shall live or die, prosper or suffer adversity.