Rosh HaShannah: The Civil Service Jewish Network

Shanah Tovah to all those celebrating Rosh HaShannah, the Jewish New Year. The holiday takes place in autumn every year, and is based around the harvest, as many festivals in the ancient world were, due to the influence of agricultural norms on those early societies. 

Rosh HaShannah is a time for both introspection and the joyous celebration of another year having passed, it marks the start of a ten-day period known as the high holidays and ends with Yom Kippur, a day of mourning, atonement, and repentance, during which it is customary to fast. 

During Rosh HaShannah, it is customary to greet people with “Shanah Tovah” which translates to “good year”. It is a time to donate to charity, wear new clothes, and indulge in decadent sweet foods.  Rosh HaShannah is both a happy and solemn day, it’s a time to come together with your community and pray, a time for introspection, during which you are able to atone for any wrongs you have committed over the past year, and look towards a fresh start as your fate for the year to come will be inscribed by God in the books, before they are shut until the following High Holiday period.  

As a part of Defence, you can join the Civil Service Jewish Network, a cross-government network for Jewish Civil Servants and those interested in Jewish Culture. The network has several aims to support its Jewish Community and represent their concerns and views in Government; encouraging and supporting the growth of a community of Jewish Civil Servants; promoting awareness of and the resources relating to the Jewish religion and culture and coordinating networking, social, developmental and volunteering opportunities for those involved. The network host speaking and social events and actively engage with other faith and diversity networks across government ensuring the views of the Jewish Community are represented.