Which Month Marks the
Jewish New Year?
Maayan Jaffe | JNS.org
T ishrei is among the most well-known months on the Hebrew calen-
dar because it contains the High Holidays and marks the beginning
of the year. Or so it seems.

Indeed, to modern-day Jews, Rosh Hashanah is considered the Jew-
ish New Year. But traditionally, the Hebrew calendar actually has four
“New Year” days: the first of Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah); the first of Nisan;
the 15th of Shevat (Tu B’Shevat, or the New Year of trees); and the first
of Elul, the New Year of animal tithes (taxation).

The Torah specifically names Nisan as the first month of the Jewish
calendar. So where did Tishrei come from, and how did it gain New
Year status?
Rabbi Donny Schwartz, midwest regional director for the Orthodox
youth organization NCSY, explained that Tishrei relates to the sun,
which is connected to the solar year. In Hebrew, the word year is trans-
lated as “shana,” which is related to the Hebrew words “sheni” (second/
repeatable) and “yashan” (old).

“Tishrei represents a system that never changes,” Schwartz said.

“You wake up on the morning and it is just another day. You know you
drive on the right side of the street, put clothes on your body. You know
The shofar is commonly associated with the New Year.

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