Elul & Getting Ready
Sounded every weekday morning during Elul, this instrument acts as a wake-up call to prepare for the holidays.
What is a shofar?
Dipped in honey, this sweet fruit is eaten on Rosh Hashanah for a sweet new year.
What is an apple?
During Tashlich, people walk to a natural body of water that ideally contains these living creatures.
What are fish?
Yom Kippur is known in English as the Day of this.
What is Atonement?
This single, long blast of the shofar is called this.
What is Tekiah?
This Hebrew word means "returning" or "repentance," describing how we say sorry and try to do better in Elul.
What is Teshuvah?
On Rosh Hashanah, challah is baked in this shape to represent the crown of Hashem or the cycle of the year.
What is round?
Tashlich literally translates to this action in English.
What is "casting away" (or throwing away)?
Instead of eating or drinking, adults do this for 25 hours on Yom Kippur.
What is fast?
This shofar sound consists of three medium-length, staccato blasts.
What is Shevarim?
Special prayers for forgiveness recited late at night or early in the morning starting in Elul go by this name.
What are Selichot?
This ruby-red fruit eaten as a "blessing siman fruit" is said to contain 613 seeds, matching the number of mitzvot.
What is a pomegranate?
Many people symbolically toss these small items into the water to represent casting away bad choices.
What are breadcrumbs (or stones/pebbles)?
People traditionally avoid wearing shoes made of this material on Yom Kippur.
What is leather?
This shofar sound consists of nine rapid, staccato blasts.
What is Teruah?
The four Hebrew letters of "Elul" form an acronym for this phrase from Song of Songs (Shir Hashirim)
What is "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" (Ani L'dodi V'dodi Li)?
The term "Rosh Hashanah" literally translates to the head of this.
What is the Year?
Tashlich is traditionally performed on the afternoon of this specific holiday.
What is Rosh Hashanah?
It is customary to wear clothing of this color (like the "Kittel" on Yom Kippur to symbolize purity and likeness to angels.
What is white?
The very last, extra-long blast at the end of the High Holiday service is called this.
What is Tekiah Gedolah?
It is custom during Elul to have these two sacred items checked by a scribe to ensure the ink hasn't faded or their or no pasul/error elements.
What are Tefillin and Mezuzot?
Eating the head of a fish (or a ram) on Rosh Hashanah symbolizes our wish to be "at the head and not at" this part.
What is the tail?
Tashlich comes from a verse in the Book of Micah, which says God will cast our sins into the depths of this.
What is the sea?
Instead of regular greeting words, people wish each other a "Gmar" this, meaning a good sealing in the Book of Life.
What is Chatimah Tova?
The shofar comes preferably from the horn of this animal.
What is a ram?