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Ben Einsidler

Different Days, Different Names, But the Same Idea- Rosh Hashanah 5785, Day 2

Rosh Hashanah literally translates to “the head of the year”; we mark it as the day when we flip the calendar, and turn from the month of Elul to the month of Tishrei. However, believe it or not, Rosh Hashanah is not the original new year.

 The original new year as described in the Torah is, in fact, Passover! Chapter 12 of the book of Exodus describes the preparations the Israelites made for the original Passover sacrifice before the tenth plague. Chapter 12, verse 2 reads: 

הַחֹ֧דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֛ה לָכֶ֖ם רֹ֣אשׁ חֳדָשִׁ֑ים רִאשׁ֥וֹן הוּא֙ לָכֶ֔ם לְחדְשֵׁ֖י הַשָּׁנָֽה׃

“This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.”

Since this is the original Passover, the month referred to is the month of Nissan, which occurs a whole six months after Tishrei! How, then, did Rosh Hashanah come to be celebrated as the true new year?

In the Mishnah, the oldest collection of rabbinic law that forms the basis of the Talmud, the rabbis actually identify four separate dates that are considered the “new year”. Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1 teaches:

They are four [days in the year that serve as the] New Year: On the first of Nisan is the New Year for kings; And [the first of Nisan is also the New Year] for the Festivals. On the first of Elul is the New Year for animal tithes; Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon say: [The New Year for animal tithes is] on the first of Tishrei. On the first of Tishrei is the New Year for years, Sabbatical Years and Jubilee Years, for planting, and for [tithing] vegetables. On the first of Shevat is the New Year for the tree in accordance with the statement of Beit Shammai. Beit Hillel says: [The New Year for trees is] on the fifteenth of Shevat.

Since it’s decided that the first of Tishrei is the “New Year for counting years”, Rosh Hashanah claims its place as the first month of the calendrical year. However, in the Torah, the first day of Tishrei is only described as yom teru’ah, a “day of blasting the horn”, when no work is to be done and a sacrifice is offered. Teru’ah is one of the names for the calls of the shofar, and can also simply be translated as “making noise”. It is this teru’ah that is the basis for sounding the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, when we are audibly lifted out of our doldrums and heed the call of the new year.

Rosh Hashanah in rabbinic literature is known by other names as well, all of which serve different purposes and can be found in our high holiday liturgy. Another name for Rosh Hashanah is “Yom Harat Olam”, literally “the day of the world’s birth”. The rabbis again debate each other: is Rosh Hashanah the day when God began to create the world? Or was it the day when the process of creation was complete? They eventually agree that Rosh Hashanah marks the day when people were created- in other words, it’s the anniversary of the sixth day of creation. When the Torah describes the creation of the world, there is a familiar refrain after almost every day: “God saw that it was good”, with the word “it” referring to whatever was created on that particular day.

However, it’s only after people are created on the sixth day that the Torah says in chapter 1, verse 31: “God looked upon all that they had made, and behold it was very good.” Humans, being the very last thing God created before the first Shabbat, complete and cap the cycle of creation, and bring the created world into a new realm. If we are indeed created b’tzelem elohim, “in the image of God” as the Torah describes, then we have a responsibility to be God’s instruments and work for a better world for all.

Since today is regarded as the birthday of the world and the start of the new year, it’s only fitting that we should celebrate and make some new year’s resolutions. We can resolve to do small things for ourselves, such as make time for self-care, eat better, finally get around to the project we’ve been putting off, and the like. We can also resolve to contribute to things bigger than ourselves: give more tzedakah, reduce our carbon footprint, and give our time and energy to those causes which benefit our community.

The miracle of birth is often preceded by a period of discomfort. We’ve spent the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah engaging in heshbon nefesh, or taking a self-accounting of our deeds over the past year. This process continues into Rosh Hashanah, and as we think about what we’d like to do differently in the coming year, it can be hard to acknowledge where we’ve missed the proverbial mark. This process, while not the easiest, allows us to envision a happier future for ourselves and the world. What can we do differently? How can we be the best versions of ourselves that we can be? 

It is by going through this process and then resolving to improve ourselves that we realize the meaning of Rosh Hashanah and the entire high holiday season. Rosh Hashanah’s other monikers of “Yom Hazikaron”, the day of remembrance, and “Yom HaDin”, the day of judgment, come to the fore through this process of self-evaluation. While God is the one who remembers us for good and judges the merits of our actions on this day, it is also our responsibility to do this for ourselves. This, to me, is part of what it means to act b’tzelem elohim- in the image of the Divine. When we can truly identify for ourselves where our own personal peaks and valleys lie, and act compassionately towards others who have done the same (as well as those who haven’t), we exercise perhaps our greatest degree of humanity. 

Elsewhere in the Mishnah, in tractate Sanhedrin, is a famous teaching with which you may be familiar: 

“The Bible relates that God created Adam, a single human being, as the ancestor of all humanity. This teaches us that to destroy a single life is to destroy a whole world, even as to save a single life is to save a whole world.” 

Each of us contains multitudes. We are all created b’tzelem elohim. The essence of serving God, then, is to treat each other with the utmost respect and consideration, especially those who are most in need of our recognition and help. Conversely, to disrespect others or, God forbid, physically hurt them is to make a mockery of our own divine image. 

This Rosh Hashanah, let us put the various aspects of the holiday itself into practice. At the head of the year, let us renew our commitment to justice and compassion. In the spirit of judgment- din- let us think about our thoughts and actions and how we can use them to better the world around us. As an act of remembrance- zikaron– let us recall the journey we’ve taken over the past year and use its lessons to inform our future. Finally, in the spirit of t’ruah– calling out- let us acknowledge each other and create “good noise” in the name of fostering compassion and goodness amongst ourselves and others.

Shanah tovah u’metukah. May we all be sealed for good in 5785.

About the Author
Ben Einsidler serves as rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom in Framingham, Massachusetts. He received rabbinic ordination from Hebrew College in Boston, where he previously earned Master’s degrees in Jewish education and Jewish studies. He completed a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education as part of the chaplaincy team at Beverly Hospital, and has participated in fellowships with Hadar, the iCenter, and the Shalom Hartman Institute. Rabbi Einsidler is proud to be a long-time volunteer with the Community Hevra Kadisha of Greater Boston.