Rosh Hashanah 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, October 1, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Sunday, October 3, 2027. The name means “head of the year,” and the holiday opens the Jewish year 5788.
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, a two-day holiday that begins at sundown and opens the ten Days of Awe that end on Yom Kippur.
Two things about it trip people up. The first is the date: the holiday starts the evening before the date printed on most calendars, so a calendar showing Saturday, October 2, 2027, and a synagogue holding services on Friday evening, October 1, are both right.
The second is the greeting. “Shana tovah” works before, during and after the holiday, while a different phrase takes over once Rosh Hashanah ends.
Table of Contents
When is Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, October 1, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Sunday, October 3, 2027.
The holiday always falls on 1 and 2 Tishrei, the first two days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, but the Gregorian date moves each year.
The table lists the dates published by Hebcal.
| Year | Begins at sundown | Ends at nightfall | Hebrew year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday, September 11, 2026 | Sunday, September 13, 2026 | 5787 |
| 2027 | Friday, October 1, 2027 | Sunday, October 3, 2027 | 5788 |
| 2028 | Wednesday, September 20, 2028 | Friday, September 22, 2028 | 5789 |
| 2029 | Sunday, September 9, 2029 | Tuesday, September 11, 2029 | 5790 |
| 2030 | Friday, September 27, 2030 | Sunday, September 29, 2030 | 5791 |
The 22-day swing between 2027 and 2029 is normal. The Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, and a thirteenth month is added in seven years out of every 19, which pushes the holiday later in some years and earlier in others.
How long is Rosh Hashanah, and when does it end?
Rosh Hashanah lasts two days, both in Israel and outside it. Chabad describes the holiday as beginning “at sundown on the eve of Tishrei 1” and ending “after nightfall on Tishrei 2.”
Passover, Shavuot and the closing days of Sukkot run an extra day outside Israel, but Rosh Hashanah does not: it is two days in both places.
| Question | Answer for 2027 |
|---|---|
| First evening (erev Rosh Hashanah) | Friday, October 1, 2027, at sundown |
| First day | Saturday, October 2, 2027 |
| Second day | Sunday, October 3, 2027 |
| Ends | Sunday, October 3, 2027, at nightfall |
| Length | 2 days |
| Hebrew date | 1 to 2 Tishrei 5788 |
The exact clock time of sundown and nightfall depends on location, so check a local candle-lighting time rather than a single national time.
What is Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and a day of judgment, marked by the blowing of the shofar and festive meals.
Hebcal describes it as a two-day observance that “commemorates the creation of humanity and serves as a day of divine judgment,” and that “begins the Ten Days of Repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur.”
Chabad states that the holiday marks “the day G‑d created Adam and Eve” and calls it the “birthday of the world.”
What does “Rosh Hashanah” mean?
“Rosh Hashanah” means “head of the year” in Hebrew. Hebcal gives that literal translation. The holiday carries other names too, and each one describes a different side of the day.
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Rosh Hashanah | Head of the year |
| Yom Hadin | Day of Judgment |
| Day of the shofar blast | The Torah’s name for the day, also transliterated Yom Teruah |
Is Rosh Hashanah the Jewish New Year?
Yes, Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, and the Hebrew year number changes on it. At sundown on Friday, October 1, 2027, the year changes from 5787 to 5788.
The detail that surprises people is that Tishrei, the month of Rosh Hashanah, is counted as the seventh month, not the first.
Nisan, the month of Passover in spring, is counted as the first month of the religious year, while the year number turns over in the autumn.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| When does the Hebrew year number change? | At Rosh Hashanah, in the autumn |
| Which month is Rosh Hashanah in? | Tishrei, counted as the seventh month |
| Which month is counted first? | Nisan, the month of Passover |
| Hebrew year that begins in 2027 | 5788 |
Rosh Hashanah greetings: what to say
The standard greeting is “shana tovah,” which means “good year,” and it works before, during and just after the holiday.
My Jewish Learning calls it the “most common greeting for the holiday,” used “in the days preceding and following Rosh Hashanah, as well as on the holiday itself.”
The table lists the greetings in use, with pronunciations.
| Greeting | Pronunciation | Meaning | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shana tovah | shah-NAH toe-VAH | Good year | Before, during and after Rosh Hashanah |
| L’shana tovah u’metukah | l’shah-NAH toe-VAH ooh-meh-too-KAH | For a good and sweet year | Same, when you want the longer form |
| L’shanah tovah tikateivu v’teichateimu | Not given | May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year | A formal greeting before and on Rosh Hashanah |
| Tizku l’shanim rabot | teez-KOO le-shah-NEEM rah-BOAT | May you merit many years | Sephardic and Mizrahi communities |
| Gut yontiff | goot YUHN-tiff | Good holiday, in Yiddish | When you meet someone on the holiday itself |
| G’mar chatimah tovah | Not given | May you be sealed for good in the Book of Life | Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur |
Reform Judaism adds the Ladino greeting used in some Sephardic communities, “anyada bueno, dulse, i alegre,” which means “may you have a good, sweet, and happy new year.”
Do you say “Happy Rosh Hashanah”?
Yes. “Happy Rosh Hashanah” is a normal and welcome greeting in English, and it is the safe choice if you are not Jewish and do not want to stumble over a Hebrew phrase.
The Hebrew greetings are not more correct, just more traditional. If you would like one line to learn, “shana tovah” covers the whole period and needs no reply beyond the same words back.
How to reply to a Rosh Hashanah greeting
The simplest reply is to say the same greeting back. My Jewish Learning gives set replies for the Sephardic and Mizrahi greeting “tizku l’shanim rabot”: a man answers “tizkeh v’tihyeh ve’orech yamim” and a woman answers “tizkee vetihyee ve’orekh yamim,” both meaning “may you merit life, long life.”
One greeting sources disagree about
Sources differ on whether “chag sameach” fits Rosh Hashanah. My Jewish Learning lists it among generic Jewish holiday greetings that work on the day.
Reform Judaism states that it is “used only on the three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot,” which would exclude the High Holidays.
The table shows the split.
| Source | Is “chag sameach” right for Rosh Hashanah? |
|---|---|
| My Jewish Learning | Yes, listed as a generic holiday greeting |
| Reform Judaism | No, reserved for Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot |
If you want to avoid the question, use “shana tovah.”
The shofar
The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is hearing the shofar, a horn blown in synagogue on both mornings of the holiday.
Chabad describes the shofar as “a trumpet made from the horn of a kosher animal with the marrow removed,” with ram’s horns preferred.
The Torah’s name for the day is the day of the shofar blast.
| Blast | Sound | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tekiah | “a long sob-like blast” | Chabad |
| Shevarim | “a series of three short wails” | Chabad |
| Teruah | “at least nine piercing staccato bursts” | Chabad |
Roughly 100 blasts are heard over the course of a Rosh Hashanah morning service.
Chabad counts 30 blasts in the main sounding after the Torah reading, then seven further sequences of ten during and around the Musaf prayer, and notes: “Add all that up and you’ll arrive at exactly 100 blasts.”
In 2027, the shofar is blown on the second morning only. Chabad states that the shofar is blown on both mornings “except on Shabbat,” and that “if the first day falls on Shabbat, [we blow] the shofar only on the second day.”
The first day of Rosh Hashanah 2027 is Saturday, October 2, so the shofar sounds on Sunday, October 3, 2027.
| Rosh Hashanah | First day | Shofar on the first day? |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Saturday, September 12, 2026 | No, the first day is Shabbat |
| 2027 | Saturday, October 2, 2027 | No, the first day is Shabbat |
| 2028 | Thursday, September 21, 2028 | Yes |
| 2029 | Monday, September 10, 2029 | Yes |
Rosh Hashanah foods
Apples dipped in honey are the best-known Rosh Hashanah food, eaten as a wish for a sweet year.
Chabad describes the holiday meals as including “round challah bread (studded with raisins) and apples dipped in honey,” plus “other foods that symbolize our wishes for a sweet year.”
My Jewish Learning notes that “sweet foods are popular, to symbolize the sweet year we hope will follow.”
| Food | Why it is eaten |
|---|---|
| Apples dipped in honey | A sweet new year |
| Round challah | The cycle of the year, in Chabad’s description studded with raisins |
| Pomegranate | Part of the symbolic foods of the Sephardic seder |
| Fish head | Part of the same set of symbolic foods |
| Dates, leeks, beets, string beans, gourd | The remaining foods of the Sephardic seder |
My Jewish Learning describes a Sephardic Rosh Hashanah seder in which “each of the chosen foods, generally a pomegranate, date, string bean, beet, pumpkin, leek, and fish head, symbolize a wish or blessing for prosperity and health in the coming year.”
Other Rosh Hashanah traditions
Tashlich is a ceremony held on the afternoon of the first day, in which people throw crumbs into flowing water.
My Jewish Learning describes it as a ceremony “when people throw crumbs or pieces of bread, symbolizing their sins, into flowing water.”
Chabad lists the other main observances as “candle lighting in the evenings and desisting from creative work.”
The days that follow matter as much as the holiday itself. Rosh Hashanah opens the Ten Days of Repentance, also called the Days of Awe, which end on Yom Kippur.
My Jewish Learning describes the period as the time when “God opens the Books of Life and Death, which are then sealed on Yom Kippur.” In 2027, that period runs from Friday, October 1 to Monday, October 11.
What Rosh Hashanah is not
Rosh Hashanah is not a fast day. The fasting High Holiday is Yom Kippur, ten days later, while Rosh Hashanah is marked with festive meals.
It is also not the same as the secular New Year: the Hebrew year 5788 begins in October 2027, while January 1 has no standing in the Jewish calendar.
Rosh Hashanah is not a United States federal holiday either. The federal list has 11 days, and Christmas Day is the only religious holiday on it, so Rosh Hashanah is a working day for federal employees unless they take leave.
Finally, Rosh Hashanah is not Sukkot or another pilgrimage festival, so the greeting “chag sameach” may not fit, and “shana tovah” is the safer choice.
Frequently asked questions
When is Rosh Hashanah 2027?
Rosh Hashanah 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, October 1, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Sunday, October 3, 2027. The two days of the holiday are Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, and they correspond to 1 and 2 Tishrei in the Hebrew year 5788, according to Hebcal.
What does Rosh Hashanah mean?
Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” in Hebrew, the name Hebcal gives as the literal translation. The holiday is also called Yom Hadin, the Day of Judgment, and the Torah calls it the day of the shofar blast. Hebcal describes it as commemorating the creation of humanity and as a day of divine judgment.
What do you say on Rosh Hashanah?
Say “shana tovah,” pronounced shah-NAH toe-VAH, which means “good year.” My Jewish Learning calls it the most common greeting, used before, during and after the holiday. The longer form is “l’shana tovah u’metukah,” for a good and sweet year. “Happy Rosh Hashanah” in English is welcome too, and replying with the same words is fine.
How long is Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah lasts two days, in Israel and outside it, unlike most festivals that run an extra day in the Diaspora. It begins at sundown on the eve of 1 Tishrei and ends after nightfall on 2 Tishrei, according to Chabad. In 2027, that means sundown on Friday, October 1 through nightfall on Sunday, October 3.
How many times is the shofar blown on Rosh Hashanah?
About 100 blasts are heard on each morning of Rosh Hashanah. Chabad counts 30 blasts in the main sounding, then seven sets of ten more during the Musaf service, “and you’ll arrive at exactly 100 blasts.” The shofar is not blown on Shabbat, so in 2027 it sounds on the second morning, Sunday, October 3, only.
What foods are eaten on Rosh Hashanah?
Apples dipped in honey and round challah are the classic Rosh Hashanah foods, both eaten as wishes for a sweet year, according to Chabad. Many Sephardic families hold a Rosh Hashanah seder with symbolic foods that My Jewish Learning lists as a pomegranate, date, string bean, beet, pumpkin, leek and fish head.
What do you say after Rosh Hashanah is over?
Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the greeting changes to “g’mar chatimah tovah,” which Reform Judaism translates as “may you be inscribed, or sealed, for good in the Book of Life.” It fits the Days of Awe, the ten days that end with Yom Kippur, and it is the phrase to use once the two days of Rosh Hashanah have passed.
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