Jewish New Year Begins at Sundown on Wednesday

The Jewish new year celebration, known as Rosh Hashanah, begins at sundown on Wednesday with services at area congregations.

Rosh Hashanah means literally "head of the year" in Hebrew. It marks the beginning of a 10-day period of prayer, self-examination, and repentance ending with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This year is 5774 in the Jewish calendar.

Click here for local information in Brentwood:

* University Synagogue 
* Leo Baeck Temple 

Customs observed on Rosh Hashanah include sounding the shofar, a musical instrument made from a ram's horn, and eating sweet foods for a sweet new year.

Many congregations celebrate one day of Rosh Hashanah, while others observe two days.

One practice associated with Rosh Hashanah is Tashlich, a ceremony in which Jews symbolically cast away their sins by tossing pieces of bread into a body of water.