This is the Forward’s coverage of the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
Rosh Hashanah
The Latest
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The Schmooze High Holy Days vs. Fashion Week
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree It so happened this year that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, coincided with New York’s Fashion Week, prompting some eagle-eyed observers to trumpet the possibility of a showdown between the “shofar and the shows,” a clash between the “Goddess of Fashion” and the God of the patriarchs and…
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Culture May You Be Inscribed in the Book of Life for 5774
Kotvenu b’sefer he-ḥayyim, “Inscribe us in the Book of Life,” Jews pray in the days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. “May you be written down and inscribed for a good year,” they say to each other. No concept or phrase is more associated with the High Holy Days than that of a divine “book”…
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Fast Forward Israel Happy But Wary of Iran’s Rosh Hashanah Greeting
Israelis reacted with a mixture of pleasant surprise and wary scepticism on Friday to reports that the new Iranian president and his foreign minister had both issued greetings to mark the Jewish New Year. Relations between the two countries have been dire for years, with Israel threatening to attack the Islamic Republic over fears it…
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News Undecided Lawmakers Key to Fate of Syria Vote
The fate of a congressional resolution to authorize President Barack Obama’s planned military strikes on Syria hinges on scores of undecided U.S. lawmakers, with party loyalty appearing increasingly irrelevant. Even after congressional hearings featuring Obama’s secretaries of state and defense, a half dozen closed-door briefings and phone calls from Obama himself, it was too close…
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Fast Forward Usually-Stern Benjamin Netanyahu Offers ‘Candy Crush’ Rosh Hashana Greeting
In a YouTube clip released for Rosh Hashanah, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has us thinking he is going to deliver another one of his stern warnings about the threats facing Israel. But is staring down at his iPad as he’s talking – the first give away something else is happening. “We need to act…
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Fast Forward Anthony Weiner Defends Bakery Outburst Over Wife Anti-Arab Slur
Anthony Weiner, who has pressed on with his bid for New York City mayor despite seeing his lead in the polls vanish amid embarrassing revelations, lost his cool while campaigning on Wednesday, a video of the incident showed. “Yeah, it takes one to know one, jackass,” Weiner is heard calling out over his shoulder as…
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Fast Forward Iranian Leader Hasan Rouhani Tweets ‘Shana Tova’ to Jews
A Twitter account believed to operate with the authorization of Iranian President Hassan Rohani wished Jews worldwide a Shanah Tovah. “As the sun is about to set here in #Tehran I wish all Jews, especially Iranian Jews, a blessed Rosh Hashanah,” the tweet posted Wednesday said. The office of the recently elected Iranian president has…
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Culture 9 Top Hard Rock Anthems For Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is upon is. It’s a time to reflect and repent, to eat symbolic foods, to shake the sins from our soul and celebrate our special relationship with God, so that we may be signed and sealed in the Book of Life for a good and sweet New Year. It’s…
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