What Is Rosh Hashanah?

Religious leaders participating in a Rosh Hashanah event, with one blowing a shofar, symbolizing the Jewish New Year and spiritual renewal.

In this episode of Holy Days, Holy People, we explore Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish New Year—and discover why this biblical holiday is about far more than beginning another year. Rosh Hashanah is an invitation to wake up spiritually, examine our lives, return to God, and begin again.

Today, Fellowship President and Global CEO Yael Eckstein explains the biblical origins of Rosh Hashanah, which the Bible also calls the Festival of Trumpets, and why the sounding of the shofar remains at the heart of the holiday. Jewish families welcome the new year with sweet foods and joyful traditions, while also entering one of the most serious periods on the Jewish calendar—the Ten Days of Repentance leading from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur.

You’ll discover the meaning behind the different blasts of the shofar and the spiritual journey they represent: recognizing God as King, crying out to Him in our brokenness, and awakening from spiritual slumber to live with greater purpose. The shofar calls us to look honestly at the year behind us, ask where we can do better, and seek God’s help as we draw closer to Him in the year ahead.

The episode also shares the remarkable story of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Meisels, who secretly sounded a shofar in Auschwitz on Rosh Hashanah in 1944. At enormous personal risk, he brought its ancient call to Jewish prisoners—including more than 1,000 boys facing death. In one of history’s darkest places, the sound of the shofar became a declaration that even when everything seemed swallowed by darkness, God’s people would continue to pray, remember, and believe.

You’ll also hear timeless teachings from Fellowship Founder Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, of blessed memory, as he explores teshuvah—repentance, or literally “return”—and explains why the Days of Awe offer an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and begin life anew. His teaching reminds us that God seeks His people and responds when we turn toward Him through repentance, prayer, and acts of charity.

Whether Rosh Hashanah is a holiday you’ve celebrated for years or one that you’re discovering for the first time, this podcast will deepen your understanding of this biblical holy day, reveal the powerful meaning behind the sound of the shofar, and encourage you to hear its call in your own life—to wake up, return to God, and step into a new beginning with Him.