The Washington times. (Washington, D.C.) 1894-1895, 1894-09-30
R0SH HASRANA.
Religious Services in the Synagogue in
Observance OF One of the Great
Jewish Festivals.


Jewish Festivals.
The Hebrews of Washington. in common
with their brethren throughout the world,
will celebrate Rosh Hashana, the new year
-5655-with the usual religious services. to-
morrow, the first day of the month Of Tisri.
Inc day, which originally marked the
beginning Of the civil year. is cOincident with
the Feast OF Trumpets. inaugurating ten DAYS
OF religious obseryances. which ends with the
day OF atOnement The ceremonies OF the
day are all religious. and the occasion is rem
dered particularly striking by the blowing OF
trumpets at the morning services. which is
IL conformity with Gods command to Moses:
"Speak unto the children Of Israel, saying:
In the seventh month in the first day of the
month, shall We have Sabbath, memorial
OF blowing OF trumpets. an holy convocation. -
The seventh MONTH is counted from Nissan
when the sacred year was inaugurated with
the Feast OF the Passover
The season inaugurated with tomorrow s
feast is especially one OF pen!tence for sin
and the final mark of repentance is the long
fast OF the Day OF Atonement. which this wear
will commence at o'clock Tuesday afternoon
OF next week. and end az p. IN. Wednesday,
In keeping with this phase Of the feast, the
music is particularly solemn, and much of cit
is peculiarly Jewish and traditional, and NAV
be traced back to the days of Jewish grandeur
and power. when the songs of Zion were sung
in the Temple on the Sacred Mount. A peeu-
harIty OF these melodies is that they are al
most universally known to the Jews through
out all the world.
At the Washington Hebrew Congregation
on Eighth street. between II and L the even
ing ritual viii be sung and evening PRAYERS
read by Rabbi Louis Stern at $50 to-day. The
service will differ from the ordinary evening
service in its Increased solemnity. choir
Of fifteen voices will sing the ritual. led bv a
quartette consisting OF Miss WhiteselI, So
prano; Mrs. Martin, alto; Mr.. MacFarland,
tenor, and Mr.. Nolan, basso. DR.. w. G.
Walter viii preside at the organ.
At the morning service at $3.50 tomorrow.
the trumpet viii be sounded. The trumpet
used is a rams horn. and probably identical
with those OF Biblical record. Rabbi Stern
Will preach Il sermon from the text found in
Proverbs. "To the intelligent the wav Of
lie leadeth upward" There will be no
church decorations.
At the synagogue or Adas Israel, corner of
Sixth and G streets northwest. the services
will be simpler. but viii continue longer, in
conformity with orthodox ideas. Adas Israel
has no rabbi. and the services will be read by
Isadore w. Samuels of No. 100 Fifth street
northwest. Services will be held tonight at
6 clock, tomorrow at a. m and and G
p. m, and on Tuesday morning and afternoon
at and /, respectively. There will be no mu-
sic, for since the destruction of the temple
and the holy city by Titus the Hebrews of
orthodox faith have had no music in their
synagogues.
The second day added to this feast. as to
all others, except Atonement. by orthodox
jews, is the outgrowth Of a curious custom.
The feast is set for the new moon after the
autumnal equinox. and in the early DAYS,
when there was no calendar and no fixed
year, the people had no means of knowing
Just which day TO celebrate except by signal
fires lighted on The hilltops under the instruc-
tions Of the Sanhedrim. Those living remote
from Jerusalem did not have the benefit OF
even this primitive calendar. and so to be sure
OF celebrating the right day they added day
10 the observance Of each of the feasts.
The blowing of the trumpets is merely to
announce and celebrate the coming of the
New Year according TO general belief, but by
some is supposed to remind and awaken sim
ners to sense OF their guilt, and by still 9TH
ers TO typity the ram which was caught by its
horns in thicket and offered in Isaac stead.