On the evening of Oct. 2, the Jewish celebration of Rosh Hashanah began, lasting until Oct. 4. Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) recently introduced it as a new holiday for the 2024-2025 school year, and the event is celebrated by many families all throughout the county. Due to it reflecting a lunisolar schedule, meaning that the months are lunar and the years are solar, the exact date of Rosh Hashanah varies each year. The holiday represents the first of 10 days of penitence, ultimately ending on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. 

On Rosh Hashanah, families attend services at a synagogue, feast on traditional foods, like apples with honey, and reflect on the previous year. Special prayers, like the Unetaneh Tokef, take place and focus on the themes of life, death, and divine judgment. In addition to prayers, food also plays an important role in Rosh Hashanah. Food symbolizes ideas, like apples dipped in honey representing a sweet new year, and fish heads representing a year to be “heads,” rather than “tails,” meaning that they want a year to go in their favor. “Typically you see people sharing different sweets and eating apples with honey for the holiday,” Economics and Personal Finance teacher Howard Goldberg, an observer of Rosh Hashanah, said.

The origins of Rosh Hashanah come from the Torah, although it was originally called Yom Teruah, meaning ‘Day of Blowing the Shofar.’ Over time, the holiday began to gain new meanings, and around 550 CE, it started to be seen as a day of judgment, rather than a normal celebration. The holiday continues to evolve through rabbinic interpretation and holds significant value in the Jewish community. 

Goldberg was one member of the Jewish community at Rock Ridge that celebrated Rosh Hashanah. “I attended services, and offered prayers to celebrate and reflect back on what has been,” Goldberg said. “Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are usually the more highly attended services in the synagogue.” Another key part of the holiday is the sounding of the shofar, a ram’s horn, which is blown to symbolically awaken people to self-reflection and repentance. This ancient tradition serves as a reminder for people to return to their spiritual values, seek forgiveness, and strive for personal growth in the new year.   

The implementation of holidays like Rosh Hashanah into the LCPS schedule is a large step for many communities to be able to celebrate. “I feel like it was a long time coming to recognize the diversity of not just the students but also the faculty that work in the county and the school system, and to be respectful for that,” Goldberg said. He also mentioned that he appreciates the continuous effort LCPS has made to their schedule to make it more inclusive. “I mean for the longest time winter break was always called Christmas break so I’m sure there were some people who enjoyed the time off but were still a little [unsure] about the situation as the name didn’t fully represent them,” Goldberg said. “I applaud the county for looking to recognize and acknowledge the diversity of the people who are a part of the community.”

No matter how families decide to spend Rosh Hashanah, it is still meant to bring the community together and promote peace and prosperity for all.