The great holiday of Rosh Hashanah is approaching – the Day of Judgment, the day when the Almighty determines the fate of the entire world and every person for the coming year. In the Torah, Rosh Hashanah is called the “Day of Shofar Blasts,” and the importance of its observance is particularly emphasized. It is very important to come to the synagogue on this day, pray together with the community, and hear the shofar.
Shofar blowing on September 23 and 24 – at 11:40 AM.
Tashlich – at 5:50 PM on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, September 23, after the afternoon Mincha prayer; everyone will go together from the central synagogue “Golden Rose” to the banks of the Dnipro River.
There are many interpretations regarding the reasons for the shofar blowing on the New Year. Rambam writes in the Laws of Teshuvah: “To blow the shofar is to fulfill the commandment of the Almighty, as written in the Torah, and therefore this commandment does not require any rational explanation. Nevertheless, there is a hint as to the reasons we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. The shofar proclaims: Awake, you sleepers, and rouse yourselves from your slumber! Examine your deeds, return to the paths of truth, and remember your Creator. You who have forgotten the meaning of life in the hustle and bustle of time! You who spend the entire year in vanity and pursuing trivialities that neither add (happiness) nor subtract (sadness) nor save. Look into your souls, improve your ways! Let each of you abandon your path that leads to suffering and disappointment, and forsake the way of thinking that holds neither benefit nor good!”
The sound of the shofar reminds us of the day when our ancestors stood at Mount Sinai and heard a “very powerful sound of the shofar.” It also reminds us of the destruction of the Temple, which the Romans captured to the sound of war trumpets. In it, we hear the call to the coming day of the Great Judgment.
