The Sound of a New Year
The great shofar is sounded. A still small voice is heard. Even the angels are frightened ... the day of judgment is here. Who shall live and who shall die ... ?
--Rosh Hashanah prayer
On Sunday evening, nearly 80,000 Orange County Jews began the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, with services punctuated by the blasts of a shofar, a wind instrument made from a ram’s horn. The services marked the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days, which will conclude with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which begins next Tuesday and ends at sundown on the following day.
According to Jewish theology, Rosh Hashanah is the day when all Jews are required to give an account of their lives during the past year. Based on that account and on conduct during the Holy Days, the coming year’s judgment is recorded on Yom Kippur.
The shofar symbolizes an awakening during this time of judgment. The three different shofar sounds are called tekiah , one solid blast; shevarim , three bleeps, and teruah , nine rapid bleeps. According to tradition, shevarim sounds like a broken heart, and teruah a weeping one.
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