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Israel is a land which celebrates a string of festivals all through the year. The Festivals and Events in Israel span a marvelous range, as they each promise a different experience to the ones celebrating them. While some carry a religious flavor, some others are primarily times for making merry. Rosh Hashanah is one such festival which mingles holiness with zest to give the Jewish community an occasion to look forward to. Rosh Hashanah is basically the first day in the Jewish calendar. The first and second days of Tishri are celebrated as the Jewish New Year as they mark a beginning of a new chapter in life. The Jews consider Rosh Hashanah as a time for contemplating over the past year and deciding the course of the years to come. The day is marked by a series of events and customs, most of which have stemmed form traditional beliefs, rather than from religious values. Though the Bible bears no reference to most of the rituals practiced in Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish community continues to perform them with meticulous care. The festival is defined by the Bible as a Yom Ha-Zikkaron, or a day for remembrance and Yom Teruah, or a day for sounding the shofar. In fact, the shofar, or ram’s horn plays an intrinsic part of Rosh Hashanah in Israel, and the synagogues across the country teem with the Jewish community as they troop in to hear the shofar playing. The grave notes are believed to be cries of repentance as the Jews lament their sins done in the past year. Rosh Hashanah is observed with a number of other rituals like eating honey dipped apples to wish for a sweet year ahead. Tashlikh, or ‘casting off’ is another common practice of the day as the Jews empty their pockets into the rivers to symbolize a casting away of sins. Though markedly different from gaiety of the Christian New Year, Rosh Hashanah bears a distinct holiness and sobriety. Rosh Hashanah, for the Jews, is a time for introspection, a time for looking deep into ones soul to discern the wrongs done in the past year. As one spends the day reflecting, Rosh Hashanah becomes an enlightening experience, leaving one with a better understanding of life. Wishing each other L'shanah tovah, or ‘wishing a good year’ Rosh Hashanah stands as an event which keeps the country hoping for a fresh lease of happiness and virtue.
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