Community Corner
Jewish Celebrate Start of New Year
The year 5774 according to the Jewish calendar began with services Wednesday evening and Thursday morning at area congregations.
The Jewish new year celebration, known as Rosh Hashanah, began at sundown on Wednesday with services at area congregations.
Rosh Hashanah means lliterally "head of the year" in Hebrew. It marks the beginning of a 10-day period of prayer, self-examination, and repentance ending with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This year is 5774 in the Jewish calendar.
Customs observed on Rosh Hashanah include sounding the shofar, a musical instrument made from a ram's horn, and eating sweet foods for a sweet new year.
Many congregations celebrate one day of Rosh Hashanah, while others observe two days.
Congregation B'nai Chaim in Murrieta held a Mincha-Maariv prayer service Wednesday evening, followed by a Shacharit prayer service Thursday morning.
One practice associated with Rosh Hashanah is Tashlich, a ceremony in which Jews symbolically cast away their sins by tossing pieces of bread into a body of water.
—Patch staff
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