*We light candles in honor of yom tov and recite two blessings,
l'hadlik ner shel yom tov
and
shechiyanu
.
Wednesday evening, September 20, 2017 -
1 Tishrei 5778, Rosh Hashanah Eve:
*Special insertions are made throughout the
eseres yemei teshuvah,
Ten Days of Repentance, in the
shemone esrai
, silent devotion.
*On the first night of Rosh Hashanah, after services, we bless each other with the words,
"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!"
The Vilna Gaon omits the word, "
sealed
," from the blessing.
*To symbolize a sweet year, we dip challah and a piece of apple in honey and partake of the symbolic foods as forms of prayer for a prosperous and successful new year.
Thursday, September 21, 2017 - 1 Tishrei 5778, Rosh Hashanah 1st Day:
*Some have the custom to wear a
kittel
on rosh hashanah
*We hear 100 blasts of the shofar (at an absolute minimum, 30 blasts) from an expert shofar blower who is (ideally) a Torah scholar and entirely familiar with the numerous and intricate laws of shofar blowing.
*One may not interrupt with speech during the 30 shofar blasts. Ideally, one should not interrupt during the entire 100 blasts
*After mincha, the custom is to go to a river and recite
tashlich
Thursday evening, September 21, 2017 -
2 Tishrei 5778, Rosh Hashanah 2nd Day:
*We light candles with the
shechiyanu
blessing. It is proper for women to wear a new garment or display a new fruit at candle lighting so the bracha applies to these items as well.
*During kiddush, we wear a new garment or place a new fruit on the table so the
shechiyanu
at the end of kiddush applies to these as well.
Friday, September 22, 2017 - 2 Tishrei 5778
Rosh Hashanah 2nd Day:
*We repeat yesterday's service and hear 100 blasts of the shofar.
*It is advisable for the shofar blower to wear a new garment on the 2nd day so the shechiyanu recited on the shofar applies to the garment as well.