Rosh Hashana – Jewish New Year, this September marks the Year 5782.

Jewish holidays happen throughout the year.

The Shabbat happens once a week every Saturday. It is the Jewish day of rest.

Jewish people believe God worked for six days and rested on the seventh. It starts on Friday evening and ends at sundown on Saturday. Prayer can be recited in Hebrew and/or in your chosen language. First blessing to light the two candles, bless the wine, as a symbol of joy and relaxation, drink the wine from a Kiddush cup, read aloud Genesis 1:31-2:3 from the Torah, bless the two loaves of challah bread, break, and distribute it, bless the children, a symbol of gratitude for our blessings.

The Shabbat dinner is special and includes many courses: appetizers, soups, main dish, and dessert.

In September, there are four important Jewish Holidays to explore:

Rosh Hashanah. Marks the New Year. This September is the Year 5782 since the creation of the world, according to the traditional count, People look at their actions in the past year, and ask for forgiveness of their wrongdoing. They find a lake or a body of water where they recite special prayers and throw breadcrumbs to symbolically throw away their sins.

In English, it is called “The Feast of Trumpets” because of the blowing of the “Shofar,” which begins the ten days of penitence culminating in Yom Kippur.

	Yom Kippur [Atonement] Sept. 15 – 16, is the Day of Atonement when we ask forgiveness for the wrongs we have committed over the past year, and fast until sundown, then people eat: Bagels with cream cheese and lox are an American and Israeli favorite, but Sephardic Jews tend to eat cakes and sweet blintzes.

	Sukkot (First Days) Sept. 20 – 22, Harvest Festival, giving thanks for the bounty of the earth. Note: The Pilgrims based their feast of Thanksgiving on this Hebrew festival of Sukkot.

	Simchat Torah Sept. 27 – 29. The completion of reading cycle of the Torah, During the Torah service, the concluding section of the fifth book of the Torah, D’varim (Deuteronomy), is read, and immediately following, the opening section of Genesis,