English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: New Year for (Domesticated) Animals , observedby =

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

, significance = Tithing domestic animals , date = 1st of

Elul Elul ( he, אֱלוּל, Standard ''ʾElūl'', Tiberian ''ʾĔlūl'') is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a month of 29 days. Elul usually occurs in August� ...

, scheduling = same day each year according to Jewish Calendar , duration = 1 day , frequency = annual , date = , date = , date = , date = , observances = Reflecting on domestic animals and their treatment , relatedto = Four New Years Rosh Hashanah L'Ma'sar Behemah ( he, ראש השנה למעשר בהמה "New Year for Tithing Animals") or Rosh Hashanah LaBehemot ( he, ראש השנה לבהמות "New Year for (Domesticated) Animals") is one of the four New Year's day festivals (''Rashei Hashanah'') in the

Jewish calendar The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. ...

as indicated in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

. During the time of the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, this was a day on which shepherds determined which of their mature animals were to be

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

d. The day coincides with Rosh Chodesh Elul, the New Moon for the month of

, exactly one month before Rosh Hashanah. Beginning in 2009, the festival began to be revived by religious Jewish animal protection advocates and environmental educators to raise awareness of the mitzvah of tsar baalei chayim, the source texts informing Jewish ethical relationships with domesticated animals, and the lived experience of animals impacted by human needs, especially in the industrial

meat industry The meat industry are the people and companies engaged in modern industrialized livestock agriculture for the production, packing, preservation and marketing of meat (in contrast to dairy products, wool, etc.). In economics, the meat industry is ...

Origin

The

in Seder Moed Rosh Hashanah 1:1 indicates there are four New Year's Day festivals (Rosh Hashanot) that take place over the course of the year: "The first of

is the Rosh HaShanah for tithing ''behemah'' (domesticated animals)." A minority opinion holds that the festival occurs on the first of the month of

Tishrei Tishrei () or Tishri (; he, ''tīšrē'' or ''tīšrī''; from Akkadian ''tašrītu'' "beginning", from ''šurrû'' "to begin") is the first month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year ...

. This disagreement is explained in the Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 8a as a difference of opinion between Rabbi Meir, who holds that the animals conceive in the month of Adar, and Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon, who hold that the animals conceive in the month of Nissan and give birth in Elul.

Ritual

In the Temple era, the tithing of the animals on Rosh Hashanah L'Ma'sar Behemah occurred by means of passing animals through a narrow opening in a pen where every tenth animal was marked with red paint.

Modern revival

Seder Alef B'Elul - Rosh Hashanah L'Baalei Chayyim (Ginger House 2012)

Informal celebrations of Rosh Hashanah LaBehemot began in 2009 at the goat barn of Adamah Farm on the campus of the

Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center is a project of Hazon that sits on 400 acres of forest and meadows in the foothills of the southern Berkshires in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Isabella Freedman hosts organizational retreats, Jewish spiri ...

, including a blessing of assembled farm and pet animals, and a meditation on beginning the period of ''cheshbon hanefesh'' with a personal accounting of all the domesticated animals relied upon, followed by the shofar blast for Rosh Chodesh Elul. Activists have reached out to synagogues and Jewish food, environment, and animal protection organizations, in order to raise the profile of the festival and raise awareness for the conditions of domesticated animals in contemporary society in Jewish communities. In 2012, the first guided ritual communal meals for Rosh Hashanah LaBehemot were held at the Ginger House in Jerusalem, and in major cities across the United States. Several prominent Masorti and Open Orthodox rabbis have since lent their support for reviving the festival, including Adam Frank, Yitz Greenberg, Jonathan Wittenberg,

David Wolpe David J. Wolpe (born 1958) is the Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple. He previously taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Hunter College, and UCLA. Wolpe became the ...

, and

Shmuly Yanklowitz Shmuly Yanklowitz (born 1981) is an Orthodox rabbi, activist, and author. In March 2012 and March 2013, Newsweek and ''The Daily Beast'' listed Yanklowitz as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in America. Recognition In 2022, Yanklowitz w ...

Rosh Chodesh Elul

Rosh Hashanah L'Ma'sar Behemah coincides with Rosh Ḥodesh Elul. Commencing the first of Elul (and continuing throughout the month), the

shofar A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying ...

is blown at the end of the

shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components o ...

morning service in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah. The period of ''heshbon hanefesh'' (the traditional accounting for one's relationships during the month of Elul) begins on this day. (This period of self-reflection and relationship repair is also commonly referred to as ''Elul Zman'', the Elul season.)

References

External links

Rosh haShanah la-Behemah sourcesheet (at the Sefaria Project)

Rosh haShanah la-Behemah resources (at the Open Siddur Project)

Kavvanah on the Blowing of the Shofar on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul for Rosh haShanah la-Behemah

Rosh Hashanah la-Behemah Facebook Page

New Year for the Animals Resources (Hazon)
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays Elul observances Minor Jewish holidays Observances held on the new moon