In Judaism, the Ten Days of Repentance (עֲשֶׂרֶת יְמֵי תְּשׁוּבָה, ʿǍseret yəmēy təšūvā) are the first ten days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, beginning with the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah and ending with the conclusion of Yom Kippur. These days usually fall in September and/or early October.
Due to the proximity to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, in this period Jews focus on repenting for their sins and seeking out closeness with God.
The term "Ten Days of Repentance" appears in such early sources as the Jerusalem Talmud, the Pesikta Rabbati, and the writings of the Geonim, and has been the predominant title since the period of the Rishonim. [1] The Babylonian Talmud uses a different expression - "the ten days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom HaKippurim" - while among Geonim we also find "the ten days from the beginning of Tishrei to Yom HaKippurim," "the first ten days of the month of Tishrei," and "(the time) between Rosh HaShanah and Yom HaKippurim." [1]
During this time it is considered appropriate for Jews to practice repentance (Hebrew: teshuvah, literally: "returning"), meaning examining one's ways, engaging in repentance and improving one's ways in anticipation of Yom Kippur. This repentance may be expressed as early morning penitentiary prayers (known as selichot), giving of charity, acts of kindness, self-reflection, or extra zehirut (spiritual vigilance). [1]
The period is described as a special one in the Talmud:
Maimonides provides a fuller description:
According to Nahmanides, "on Rosh Hashana He [God] sits on the throne as a true judge, and afterwards in the Ten Days of Repentance He pardons the crime of His servants". [5]
The first two days of the Ten Days of Repentance are Rosh Hashanah.
The third day is Fast of Gedalia (except when Rosh Hashanah occurs on Thursday and Friday, in which case the Fast of Gedalia is postponed until Sunday).
Of the seven days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, one is always Shabbat. This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Shuvah ("Sabbath [of] Return"), based on the Haftarah read after the weekly Torah portion, which starts with the word "Shuva" literally meaning "Return!", thus playing into the theme of the Ten Days. Alternatively it is known as Shabbat Teshuvah, due to the same theme.
The tenth and last day is Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur together constitute the High Holy Days.
The Unetanneh Tokef prayer, recited by Ashkenazim and Italian-rite Jews on Rosh Hashanah and by Eastern Ashkenazim and Italian-rite Jews on Yom Kippur, declares that "Repentance, Prayer and Charity remove the evil decree." In many editions of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur machzor (holiday prayer book), these words are crowned in smaller type with the words [respectively] fast, voice, charity to suggest that repentance includes fasting, prayer recited in a loud voice, and donations to charity. [6] As fasting is not generally done on Rosh Hashanah, and money cannot be handled on either of the holidays, these practices are often performed during the Ten Days of Repentance, between the holidays.
A number of changes are made to the daily prayers in this period (besides the additional changes made on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur):
There is an old custom to fast all weekdays of the Ten Days of Repentance [11] (except for the eve of Yom Kippur when fasting is forbidden) [12] and there were those who had the custom to fast during the day on Rosh Hashanah. [13] Nevertheless, the common custom today is to fast only on Fast of Gedalia (from dawn to dusk) and for the full day of Yom Kippur.
During these days some are stricter and eat only baked goods produced with a Jew involved in the baking process (a practice known as Pat Yisrael), even if during the year they eat any baked goods made in by a business from kosher ingredients (known as pat paltar). If while traveling it is not possible to obtain Pat Yisrael, then being stricter is not a requirement. [14]
There are conflicting customs whether weddings should be held during the weekdays of the Ten Days: There is no prohibition of holding a wedding during this period, but some Orthodox Jews have a custom to avoid doing so. [15]
Some Jews and communities perform the Kapparot custom, typically on the day before Yom Kippur.
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or Yamim Tovim, are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar. They include religious, cultural and national elements, derived from three sources: mitzvot, rabbinic mandates, the history of Judaism, and the State of Israel.
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October.
A shofar is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish ritual purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the player's embouchure. The shofar is blown in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur; it is also blown every weekday morning in the month of Elul running up to Rosh Hashanah. Shofars come in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on the choice of animal and level of finish.
The Amidah, also called the Shemoneh Esreh, is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the Amidah at each of three daily prayer services in a typical weekday: morning (Shacharit), afternoon (Mincha), and evening (Ma'ariv). On Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, and Jewish festivals, a fourth Amidah (Mussaf) is recited after the morning Torah reading, and once per year, a fifth Amidah (Ne'ilah) is recited, around sunset, on Yom Kippur. Due to the importance of the Amidah, in rabbinic literature, it is simply called "hatefila". According to legend, the prayer was composed by the rabbis of the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah. Accordingly, in Judaism, to recite the Amidah is a mitzvah de-rabbanan, i. e., a commandment of rabbinic origin.
Moed is the second Order of the Mishnah, the first written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people. Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. The order of Moed consists of 12 tractates:
The Fast of Gedalia (; צוֹם גְּדַלְיָה Tzom Gedalya), also transliterated from the Hebrew language as Gedaliah or Gedalya(h), is a minor Jewish fast day from dawn until dusk to lament the assassination of Gedaliah, the governor of what was the Kingdom of Judah. His death ended Jewish autonomy following the destruction of the First Temple and the fall of King Zedekiah.
In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe consist of:
Selichot are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on fast days. The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are a central theme throughout these prayers.
Hoshana Rabbah is the seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the 21st day of the month of Tishrei. This day is marked by a special synagogue service, the Hoshana Rabbah, in which seven circuits are made by the worshippers with their lulav and etrog, while the congregation recites Hoshanot. It is customary for the scrolls of the Torah to be removed from the ark during this procession. In a few communities a shofar is sounded after each circuit.
A ta'anit or taynis is a fast in Judaism in which one abstains from all food and drink, including water.
UntannehTokef, Unthanneh Toqeph, Un'taneh Tokef, or Unsanneh Tokef is a piyyut that has been a part of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy in some traditions of rabbinical Judaism for centuries. It introduces the Kedusha of Musaf for these days. In many communities, it is chanted while the Torah ark is open and the congregants are standing. It is the "central poem of the High Holy Day [of the Day of Atonement]." The ArtScroll machzor calls it "one of the most stirring compositions in the entire liturgy of the Days of Awe."
Special Shabbatot are Jewish Shabbat days on which special events are commemorated. Variations in the liturgy and special customs differentiate them from the other Shabbats and each one is referred to by a special name. Many communities also add piyyutim on many of these special Shabbatot. Two such Shabbats, Shabbat Mevarchim—the Shabbat preceding a new Hebrew month—and Shabbat Rosh Chodesh can occur on several occasions throughout the year. The other special Shabbats occur on specific sabbaths before or coinciding with certain Jewish holidays during the year according to a fixed pattern.
Avinu Malkeinu is a Jewish prayer recited during Jewish services during the Ten Days of Repentance, from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur inclusive. Since the 17th century, most Eastern Ashkenazic communities recite it also on all fast days; in the Sephardic and Western Ashkenazic tradition it is recited only during the Ten Days of Repentance.
Ne'ila, the concluding service, is a special Jewish prayer service that is held only on Yom Kippur. It is the time when final prayers of repentance are recited at the closing of Yom Kippur. Neilah marks the fifth Amidah of Yom Kippur, the only such occasion in the Hebrew calendar in which there are so many services.
Pesukei dezimra, or zemirot as they are called in the Spanish and Portuguese tradition, are a group of prayers that may be recited during Shacharit. They consist of various blessings, psalms, and sequences of other Biblical verses. Historically, reciting pesukei dezimra in morning prayer was a practice of only the especially pious. Over the course of Jewish history, their recitation has become widespread custom among all of the various rites of Jewish prayer.
The modern Hebrew calendar has been designed to ensure that certain holy days and festivals do not fall on certain days of the week. As a result, there are only four possible patterns of days on which festivals can fall.
Rosh Hashanah is the New Year in Judaism. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah. It is the first of the High Holy Days, as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah begins ten days of penitence culminating in Yom Kippur, as well as beginning the cycle of autumnal religious festivals running through Sukkot which end on Shemini Atzeret in Israel and Simchat Torah everywhere else.
Nusach Ashkenaz is a style of Jewish liturgy conducted by Ashkenazi Jews. It is primarily a way to order and include prayers, and differs from Nusach Sefard and Baladi-rite prayer, and still more from the Sephardic rite proper, in the placement and presence of certain prayers.
Yom Kippur Katan, is a practice observed by some Jews on the day preceding each Rosh Chodesh. The observance consists of fasting and supplication, but is much less rigorous than that of Yom Kippur proper.
The blowing of the shofar is a ritual performed by Jews on Rosh Hashanah. The shofar is a musical horn, typically made of a ram's horn. Jewish law requires that the shofar be blown 30 times on each day of Rosh Hashanah, and by custom it is blown 100 or 101 times on each day.
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you, a memorial proclaimed with the blast of horns, a holy convocation.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Cyrus Adler and Lewis N. Dembitz (1901–1906). "Penitential Days". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls.| Repentance in Judaism Teshuva "Return" |
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| Repentance, atonement and higher ascent in Judaism |
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