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Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. It falls on the first and second of the Hebrew month Tishrei. Rosh Hashanah 2015 begins at sunset on Sunday, September 13th and ends on the evening of Tuesday, September 15th.

A key component of Rosh Hashanah preparation is to ask for forgiveness from anyone we may have wronged during the previous year. We want to begin the year with a clean slate without anyone harboring a grudge against us. Similarly, we should be quick to forgive those who have wronged us. The morning before Rosh Hashanah, we perform Hatarat Nedarim – annulling of vows; we annul any vows, whether made intentionally or not.

During the High Holidays, a round challah is used to symbolize fullness and completion. After making the Hamotzi blessing, it is customary to dip the challah into honey symbolizing our wish for a sweet new year. We also take an apple and dip it in honey. Make a blessing on the apple (since Hamotzi did not cover the apple) and eat a little bit of the apple. Say, "May it be Your will, G-d, to renew us for a good and sweet new year."  We eat a “new” fruit on the second day.

On Rosh Hashanah the ark cover is changed to white and we use a special prayer book called a Machzor. In the Amidah and Kiddush for Rosh Hashanah, we say the phrase Yom Teruah. The supplication Avinu Malkeinu is also said on Rosh Hashanah.

The Amidah prayer of Musaf contains three special blessings: Malchiot (praises to G-d the King), Zichronot (asking G-d to remember the merits of our Ancestors), and Shofrot (the significance of the shofar).The essential mitzvah of Rosh Hashanah is to hear the shofar. The Shofar used on Rosh Hashanah should be a curved ram's horn, and longer than four inches. It is permitted to use the shofar of an animal not ritually slaughtered. There are three different sounds: shevarim, teruah and shevarim-teruah. There are a total of 100 blasts. The final blast, tekiah gedolah, is prolonged. The shofar should be blown during the daytime. Before blowing, two blessings are recited: "To hear the sound of the shofar," and She'hechianu. The shofar is not blown when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat.

It is customary to greet others with: L'shana Tova – Ketivah vi-chatima Tova. This means: For a good year – You should be written and sealed in the good Book of Life.

The Tashlich prayer is said on the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah by a pool of water. This prayer is the symbolic casting away of our sins. If Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, Tashlich takes place on the second day. If Tashlich was not said on Rosh Hashanah itself, it may be said anytime during the Ten Days of Teshuva. The Ten