The holiday of spiritual renewal: what is Rosh Hashanah and why Hasidim from all over the world travel to Uman

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, a holiday of spiritual renewal, the beginning of a new calendar year according to the Jewish calendar. It is celebrated on the first two days of the month of Tishrei (usually in September-October). This year, it will be from the evening of September 22 to the evening of September 24, 2025. A special highlight of the celebrations is the traditional pilgrimage of Hasidic Jews to Uman, where the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav is located, a significant figure of Bratslav Hasidism.

Rosh Hashanah is one of the most important holidays in Judaism, symbolizing the beginning of a new year according to the lunisolar calendar. It is a time when believers summarize the past year, analyze their actions and seek ways of spiritual purification and improvement. On this day, prayers are said, special passages from the Torah are read, and the central ritual is the blowing of the shofar, a ram’s horn, which symbolizes awakening, a call to repentance and spiritual transformation.

The holiday lasts two days. After Rosh Hashanah, the Days of Awe begin – ten days of repentance and prayer, culminating in Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement, when believers turn to God for forgiveness and blessings for the coming year.

The traditions of the celebration include a festive meal – apples with honey, challah (round bread), fruits and other symbolic dishes, prayers in synagogues, the sounds of the shofar, and the Tashlich ritual – throwing bread crumbs into water as a symbol of cleansing from the sins of the past year.

Why is Uman a place of pilgrimage for Hasidic Jews on Rosh Hashanah?

Uman, a small town in the Cherkasy region, has become a center of mass Hasidic pilgrimage precisely because of the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, who died in 1810. Rabbi Nachman is one of the central figures in Bratslav Hasidism. Before his death, he bequeathed that his grave be visited every year after his death, especially during Rosh Hashanah.

The Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to Uman has become a tradition that attracts tens of thousands of people from Israel and around the world. The faithful believe that prayers at the grave of Rabbi Nachman have a special power, that being there on holy days can help with spiritual renewal, receiving blessings for the new year. Uman has also become a meeting place, a place where Hasidim can perform rituals together, communicate, and pray in a large community, which is important to them.

It is worth adding that in 2025, Rosh Hashanah is celebrated from the evening of September 22 to the evening of September 24. The date of the holiday depends on the beginning of the month of Tishrei on the Jewish calendar and changes every year compared to the Gregorian calendar.

Traditions of celebrating Rosh Hashanah

The Jewish New Year, a holiday rich in traditions that combine spiritual practices and family customs, symbolizes not only the beginning of a new calendar year, but also a time for reflection, repentance, and spiritual renewal.

One of the key traditions is prayer in synagogues, during which the shofar, a ritual horn made from a ram’s or goat’s horn, is blown. Its sound calls believers to reflect on the past, repent, and seek spiritual purification.

Symbolic dishes are a must on holiday tables. The most famous tradition is dipping apples in honey, symbolizing a wish for a sweet and happy year. Pomegranates are also served as a sign of fertility and abundance, as it is believed that the number of seeds in a pomegranate resembles the 613 commandments of the Torah.

Another important tradition is the “tashlich” ritual. On the first day of the holiday, believers go to a river or other body of water and symbolically “throw away” their sins by shaking bread crumbs into the water. This symbolizes purification and the beginning of a new stage of life with a clean slate.

During Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to greet each other with the wish “Shana Tova” – “Happy New Year.” This is not just a formality, but a sincere wish for peace, health, and harmony in the new year.

The day before, the spokesman for the State Border Service of Ukraine, Andriy Demchenko, reported that as of September 22, more than 35,000 Hasidim had arrived in Uman to celebrate the Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashanah.

It was previously reported that in September, Hasidim celebrate an important holiday that symbolizes the beginning of the new year, Rosh Hashanah . The center of the celebration is the city of Uman in Cherkasy region, because it is there that the grave of the spiritual mentor of the Hasidic movement, Tzadik Nachman, is located. This year, Hasidim will celebrate Rosh Hashanah from September 22 to 24. The first pilgrims have already arrived in Ukraine. In total, 50 thousand pilgrims are expected.

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