Rosh Hashanah began last Thursday evening. For Jews, this two-day holiday celebrates the beginning of a new year, evoking the creation of the world and the dawn of time. It is a holiday of new beginnings, and for this reason fittingly opens ten Days of Awe or High Holy Days, a season of repentance that allows one to make a new beginning in the eyes of God.
By one way of thinking (and among the rabbis there is never only one way of thinking), Rosh Hashanah marks the opening of the books of life. God writes our names (or at least the names of his chosen people) into these books: some to live, others to die, some to live good lives, others to live bad lives. During the next ten days fasting, prayer, petitions, and good deeds can change these divine decrees. Then, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement that brings the High Holy Days to a close, the books of life are shut.
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