One of the major holidays in the Jewish religion, Rosh Hashanah, will be celebrated this week. As a result, students and faculty who are a part of the Jewish faith will be absent from campus in observance of the holiday.
Rosh Hashanah, which translates as "head of the year," is the Jewish New Year and began yesterday, the first day of the Jewish month of Tishri.
Saul Alfassi, vice president of Judaic affairs at the Hillel House of Memphis, formerly the Jewish Student Union, said Rosh Hashanah is celebrated to remember the birth of humankind.
"In the Old Testament, this is the day when God was done creating the first man," he said.
The holiday is celebrated over a two-day period. Because the Jewish calendar is lunar, the beginning of a new month is observed on a new moon. During biblical times, messengers were sent out to inform people when the month began, but on Rosh Hashanah, no messengers were sent, so the Israelites celebrated for two days.
Furthermore, in the Jewish religion, a day is not considered to begin at midnight, so the holiday period officially begins at sundown.
"In the Jewish tradition, a day starts with a night," Altassi said.
One of the themes behind Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment.
This is a time when individuals get a chance to put the sins they have committed during the past year behind them and, after receiving God's forgiveness, look forward.
In addition to being considered the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah has other intertwined themes as well.
The Day of Remembrance observes the biblical account of the near sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham. In a test of his faith, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son as an offering. Abraham agreed and just as he prepared to perform the ceremony, an angel stopped him and offered a ram for sacrifice instead.
The story is to remind Jews of the importance of obeying God and not to question his will.
The final theme is the Day of Shofar Blowing.
A shofar is a hollowed-out ram's horn.
Alfassi said the shofar symbolizes God's position over humanity.
"The idea is to sanctify and symbolize that God is the king," he said.
Alfassi also said there are four basic types of shofar blows.
"We blow these 100 times in periods of 30, 30 and 40 at different sections of the prayer," he said.
Alfassi said because the Sabbath and all Jewish holidays are considered to be days of rest during which physical labor is forbidden, there will be no activities observing Rosh Hashanah on campus.
For more information on Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish faith in general, visit the Hillel of Memphis at the Jewish Student Union at 3581 Midland.
