Rosh Hashanah Prayers

The main prayers for Rosh Hashanah include the Machzor (High Holiday prayer book), Unetaneh Tokef, Avinu Malkeinu, the Shofar service with its blessings, and the Musaf Amidah with Malchuyot (Sovereignty), Zichronot (Remembrance), and Shofarot sections. The Tashlich prayer is also recited near water.

Traditionally, the shofar is blown 100 times on each day of Rosh Hashanah (30 during the Torah service and 70 during Musaf), though customs vary by community. The shofar is not blown when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat.

Tashlich is a ceremony where Jews symbolically cast their sins into a body of water by reciting prayers and shaking out their pockets near a river, lake, or ocean. It is traditionally performed on the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, or later during the Ten Days of Repentance if the first day falls on Shabbat.

Traditional Rosh Hashanah foods include apples dipped in honey (for a sweet new year), round challah (symbolizing the cycle of the year), pomegranates (symbolizing abundance), and the head of a fish or ram (to be 'like a head, not a tail'). Each food is accompanied by a special blessing for the new year.