Rosh Hashanah 2025 began at sundown on Monday, September 22, 2025, and ended after nightfall on Wednesday, September 24, 2025.
Known as the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah marked the beginning of the Hebrew year 5786. It also began the High Holy Days, a sacred season of reflection, repentance, prayer, renewal, and hope. ✨
For many Jewish families and communities, Rosh Hashanah is observed with synagogue services, the sounding of the shofar, festive meals, round challah, apples dipped in honey, candle lighting, family gatherings, and wishes for a sweet new year.
When Was Rosh Hashanah 2025?
Rosh Hashanah 2025 began at sundown on:
Monday, September 22, 2025
It ended after nightfall on:
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
The first full day of Rosh Hashanah was:
Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Because Jewish holidays begin at sunset, Rosh Hashanah started on the evening before the first full calendar day.
Rosh Hashanah 2025 Dates at a Glance 📅
| Event | 2025 Date |
|---|---|
| Rosh Hashanah begins | Sundown, Monday, September 22, 2025 |
| First full day | Tuesday, September 23, 2025 |
| Second day | Wednesday, September 24, 2025 |
| Hebrew year begins | 5786 |
| Rosh Hashanah ends | After nightfall, Wednesday, September 24, 2025 |
| Yom Kippur 2025 begins | Sundown, Wednesday, October 1, 2025 |
What Is Rosh Hashanah? 🌿
Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” in Hebrew.
It is the Jewish New Year and one of the most important holidays in the Jewish calendar. According to Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah is also connected with the creation of the world and the beginning of a period of spiritual reflection.
Rosh Hashanah is about:
- Renewal
- Repentance
- Prayer
- Judgment
- Hope
- Family
- Sweetness
- New beginnings
It is not only a celebration of a new year. It is also a time to look inward, repair relationships, seek forgiveness, and prepare for Yom Kippur.
What Hebrew Year Began in 2025?
Rosh Hashanah 2025 marked the beginning of the Hebrew year:
5786
The year 5786 began at sundown on Monday, September 22, 2025.
How Long Is Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah is observed for two days.
Unlike some Jewish holidays that are observed for one day in Israel and two days in the Diaspora, Rosh Hashanah is traditionally observed for two days in both Israel and many Jewish communities around the world.
Why Does Rosh Hashanah Change Dates Every Year?
Rosh Hashanah begins on the 1st day of Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar.
Because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar and the Gregorian calendar is solar, Rosh Hashanah falls on different Gregorian dates each year, usually in September or early October.
In 2025, it began on September 22 at sundown.
The Shofar on Rosh Hashanah 📯
One of the central traditions of Rosh Hashanah is hearing the shofar, a ram’s horn.
The shofar is sounded during synagogue services and serves as a spiritual wake-up call. It reminds people to reflect, return, repent, and renew their relationship with God and others.
The shofar is often associated with:
- Awakening the soul
- Calling people to repentance
- Remembering God’s sovereignty
- Marking the seriousness of the High Holy Days
- Inspiring reflection and change
In 2025, shofar blowing took place during morning services on Tuesday, September 23, and Wednesday, September 24.
Traditional Rosh Hashanah Foods 🍎
Rosh Hashanah meals are full of symbolic foods, many of them expressing wishes for a sweet, fruitful, and blessed year.
Common Rosh Hashanah foods include:
- Apples dipped in honey
- Round challah
- Honey cake
- Pomegranate
- Fish head or symbolic head foods
- Carrots
- Dates
- Leeks
- Beets
- Black-eyed peas
- Sweet dishes
Food customs vary by family and community, but the meaning is often the same: to welcome a year of sweetness, abundance, blessing, and growth.
Why Do People Eat Apples and Honey? 🍯
Apples dipped in honey are one of the most familiar Rosh Hashanah traditions.
The sweetness symbolizes the hope for a sweet new year. Families often say a blessing or short prayer asking for a year that is good and sweet.
It is a simple tradition, but it carries a warm and hopeful meaning.
Why Is Challah Round on Rosh Hashanah?
During Rosh Hashanah, challah is often baked in a round shape.
The round shape can symbolize:
- The cycle of the year
- Continuity
- Wholeness
- Creation
- The crown of God’s kingship
Round challah is often served with honey instead of salt to emphasize sweetness.
What Is Tashlich? 🌊
Tashlich is a Rosh Hashanah custom where people go to a body of water and symbolically cast away sins.
Traditionally, small pieces of bread or another symbolic item may be cast into flowing water while prayers are recited. The ritual represents letting go, repentance, and the desire to begin again with a cleaner heart.
Tashlich is often performed on the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, though timing can vary by community.
Rosh Hashanah and the High Holy Days ✨
Rosh Hashanah begins the High Holy Days, also called the Days of Awe.
This period continues through Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are often called the Ten Days of Repentance.
In 2025:
- Rosh Hashanah began: September 22 at sundown
- Yom Kippur began: October 1 at sundown
- Yom Kippur ended: October 2 at nightfall
This season is devoted to reflection, repentance, forgiveness, prayer, and spiritual renewal.
Rosh Hashanah Greetings 💌
If you want to greet someone for Rosh Hashanah, you can say:
- Shanah Tovah!
- Shana Tova!
- L’Shanah Tovah!
- Shanah Tovah U’Metukah!
- Happy Rosh Hashanah!
- Wishing you a sweet new year.
- May you be written and sealed for a good year.
Shanah Tovah means “good year.”
Shanah Tovah U’Metukah means “a good and sweet year.”
Rosh Hashanah 2025 Wishes and Messages 🍎✨
- Shanah Tovah! Wishing you and your family a sweet, peaceful, and meaningful new year.
- Happy Rosh Hashanah 2025. May this new year bring renewal, hope, and beautiful blessings.
- Wishing you a good and sweet year filled with health, joy, and peace.
- Shanah Tovah U’Metukah! May your year be as sweet as apples dipped in honey.
- May the sound of the shofar awaken hope, reflection, and blessing in your heart.
- Wishing you a year of peace, purpose, and gentle new beginnings.
- Happy Jewish New Year. May 5786 bring light, love, and renewal to your home.
- May this Rosh Hashanah be filled with family, gratitude, prayer, and sweetness.
- Wishing you a meaningful High Holy Day season and a year full of blessing.
- Shanah Tovah. May you be written and sealed for a good year. 🍯
How to Celebrate Rosh Hashanah
People celebrate Rosh Hashanah in many ways, depending on tradition, community, and level of observance.
Common ways include:
- Attending synagogue services
- Hearing the shofar
- Lighting holiday candles
- Sharing festive meals
- Eating apples and honey
- Baking or serving round challah
- Saying special prayers
- Performing Tashlich
- Asking forgiveness
- Sending greetings and cards
- Reflecting on the past year
- Setting spiritual intentions for the year ahead
Is Rosh Hashanah a Public Holiday in the United States?
Rosh Hashanah is not a federal public holiday in the United States.
However, many Jewish people take time off work or school to observe the holiday. Some schools, universities, Jewish organizations, and local communities may adjust schedules or hold special services and events.
Rosh Hashanah 2025 FAQs
When did Rosh Hashanah 2025 start?
Rosh Hashanah 2025 started at sundown on Monday, September 22, 2025.
When did Rosh Hashanah 2025 end?
Rosh Hashanah 2025 ended after nightfall on Wednesday, September 24, 2025.
What was the first full day of Rosh Hashanah 2025?
The first full day of Rosh Hashanah 2025 was Tuesday, September 23, 2025.
What Hebrew year began on Rosh Hashanah 2025?
Rosh Hashanah 2025 began the Hebrew year 5786.
What does Rosh Hashanah mean?
Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” in Hebrew. It is the Jewish New Year.
Why is the shofar blown on Rosh Hashanah?
The shofar is blown as a spiritual wake-up call, inviting reflection, repentance, and renewal.
What do people eat on Rosh Hashanah?
Common foods include apples dipped in honey, round challah, honey cake, pomegranates, fish, carrots, dates, and other symbolic foods.
How do you greet someone on Rosh Hashanah?
You can say Shanah Tovah, L’Shanah Tovah, Shanah Tovah U’Metukah, or Happy Rosh Hashanah.
Final Thoughts 🍎🍯
Rosh Hashanah 2025 was a time for reflection, renewal, family, prayer, and hope.
From the sound of the shofar to apples dipped in honey, every tradition carries a message: wake up, begin again, seek sweetness, and step into the new year with a more open heart.
Whether you were checking the Rosh Hashanah 2025 dates, preparing holiday greetings, learning about the Jewish New Year, or planning a festive meal, the meaning of the holiday remains timeless: every year offers a chance to return, repair, and begin with hope.
