Food
What fruit is dipped in honey for Rosh Hashanah
Apples
What color do we wear on Rosh Hashanah
White (לָבָן)
Where do we perform Tashlich?
By living or running waters (streams, brooks, oceans, etc).
What is Tefillah?
Prayer that seeks to connect oneself to G-d (rather than just to ask for things).
What is different about a Rosh Hashanah Challah?
It is round
Name the horn that is sounded in the Month of Elul and on the High Holidays (not on Shabbat, though)
Shofar
What does Tashlich mean?
"Casting away"
What is Tzedakah?
"Righteousness" or "Justice." It is an ethical obligation to take care of others.
What do we dip Challah in on Rosh Hashanah?
Honey (not salt, as usual on Shabbat)
How many fringes and knots are there on a Tallit?
613 (to represent the 613 mitzvot, or commandments, in the Torah)
Describe one story read from the Tanach on the High Holidays
Birth of Isaac, exile and saving of Hagar and Ishmael (Rosh Hashanah 1st day)
Akedah - the Binding of Isaac (Rosh Hashanah 2nd Day)
Description of the Day of Atonement sacrifice by the High Priest and the Scapegoat ritual (Yom Kippur)
Jonah (Yom Kippur Haftarah)
What is Teshuvah?
"Returning." This is the Hebrew word for "repentance" which has the idea of action built into it.
Why do we fast on Yom Kippur?
1) Fasting allows us to slow down our biological rhythm and focus on our internal selves and our communication with G-d.
2) Teshuvah requires discipline, and fasting helps practice discipline.
3) Fasting helps us connect with the suffering of otheres, and commit to being ethical towards all.
What material do we NOT wear on Yom Kippur?
Leather (that's why some Jews wear sneakers instead of leather shoes).
Name the three different types of Shofar blasts (BONUS points if a member of your team blows them on a Shofar to demonstrate)
1) Tekiah
2) Shevarim
3) T'ruah
Describe the ideas of the Book of Life and the Book of Death relevant to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
On Rosh Hashana, three books are opened The thoroughly righteous and wicked are immediately inscribed in their deserved books, and those "in-between" are sealed in a book on Yom Kippur, and have the 10 days between the holidays to reflect and enact change.
What are simanim?
Symbolic foods (simanim is Hebrew for "signs") that point to a specific significance. Many foods are considered simanim on Rosh Hashanah (including fish, honey, spinach, carrots, pomegranates, apples, leeks and dates!).
What is the name of the white, jacket-like garment that some Jews wear on their wedding and then other special occasions? (such as the Passover seder, Yom Kippur, and burials)
Kittel
What is the Kol Nidre service about?
It is a legal formula said before Yom Kippur services begin on Erev Yom Kippur, which proactively annuls any personal or religious oaths or prohibitions made to G-d for the next year, to avoid the sin of breaking vows to G-d which cannot be kept.
What is Unetaneh Tokef?
A piyyut recited in synagogue during the High Holidays that includes the lines "on Rosh Hashanah, it is written, and on Yom Kippur, it is sealed." Also, "But Teshuvah, Tefillah, and Tzedakah can annul the severity of the decree."