On September 12 through September 22, Neil Mager, president of Westford's Temple Shir Hadash, says that the High Holy Days -- this year from Sept. 12 through 22 -- points out the marked transition between the two observances.
"You have (Rosh Hashanah) the Jewish New Year, which is happy and there's lots of energy, then it's closely followed by Yom Kippur, which is much more solemn," he explained.
The 10-day period between the two observances is referred to the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim), a time for serious introspection where Jews repent for their sins against God and against each other.
While Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown on Wednesday, does involve horns and festive foods, it bears little resemblance to a secular New Year's celebration. It's a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning changes for the new year.
Rosh Hashanah has a fourfold meaning: Day of Judgment, an examination of past deeds and asking for forgiveness of sins; Day of Shofar Blowing, when the Shofar, or or ram's horn, is blown in the temple to herald the beginning of the High Holy Days; Day of Remembrance, a review of the history of the Jewish people and prayers for Israel; and New Year's Day, celebrated with special prayers and festive, sweet foods.
Sam Poulten, a Lowell businessman and an active member of Temple Beth Israel in Andover, blows the Shofar at his temple. He describes the sound as a "call to arms, a wake-up call -- time to examine your life," he said. "It's a key to the service. You are required to hear the sound. Your soul has to be stirred."
No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah, and much of the day is spent in the synagogue where an expanded liturgy features a special prayer book called the machzor.
Symbolic foods are a popular tradition of Rosh Hashanah, including apples dipped in honey, wishing for a sweet new year, round challah bread, representing the cycle of the year, tongue or fish head, representing the head of the year, as well as pomegranates and new fruits.
Another custom is Tashlikh, casting off, where Jews walk through a nearby creek or river on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah. They empty pockets filled with small pieces of bread or crackers into the river, symbolically casting off sins. For members of Temple Shir Hadash in Westford, that means a Tashlikh Service at Forge Pond at on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
It's one of the customs that's a reminder of the coming of Yom Kippur, which falls this year on Sept. 22. It's a time for fasting and for confession, or Vidui, in which the penitent reflects on misdeeds and seeks God's forgiveness.
An important part of the Yom Kippur service is the Kol Nidre prayer, which emphasizes the importance of keeping vows. Just before sundown, the prayer is sung three times by a cantor, each time more loudly.
At Temple Shir Hadash, Mager said, it is the custom for current and past presidents to hold the Torahs while the cantor sings the Kol Nidre.
The prayer, he adds, "gets everyone into the spirit of Yom Kippur. It helps me separate the hectic-ness of the rest of my life with the beginning of the most holy day of the year."
At the last hour, a service called Neilah offers a final opportunity for repentance. This is the only service during which the doors to the Ark, where the Torah scrolls are stored, remain open from the beginning to the end of the service, signifying that the gates of heaven are open at this time.
The service closes with the verse "The Lord is our God," said seven times.
The Shofar is sounded once in a long blast -- a chilling moment, says Poulten. "But also a very happy moment because it signifies the end of the fast -- the last echo of our repentance."