The Day before Rosh Hashanah
PREPARATIONS
The day before Rosh Hashanah is the last day of the year, and the last chance to repent before the Day of Judgment. This is a day of reckoning one’s deeds over the past year, and a day of preparation for the upcoming year. The laws of this day differ from the rest of the month of Elul. Many have the custom to fast on this day, and to visit the graves of the tzaddikim (righteous), perhaps Hashem will have mercy on them for the sake of the tzaddikim.
On the day before Rosh Hashanah one should engross oneself with Torah, mitzvot and repentance. One should ask forgiveness from one’s friends for what one may have done against them or hurt them, and not wait to do this until the day before Yom Kippur.
We wash our clothes and take haircuts on the day before Rosh Hashanah in honor of the holiday. It is good to cut one’s fingernails on this day, and pay special attention that they should not extend past the flesh of the fingers. One should be careful to have a haircut and shave before the middle of the day.
We wear Shabbat clothing on Rosh Hashanah, in order to show that we have faith in Hashem’s kindness that He will judge us favorably. Some have the custom to wear white clothing. However, one shouldn’t wear silk or clothing embroidered with golden or silver threads.
PRAYER
On special days we generally don’t say Viddui (confession), nor do we say Viddui at Minchah (afternoon prayers) on the day preceding them. Also on the day before Rosh Hashanah we do not say Viddui at Shacharit (morning services) nor Minchah (afternoon services). Nevertheless, we do say Viddui on the preceding day at Minchah, since we will say Viddui also at S’lichot during the night. If Rosh Hashanah falls on a Monday, we say Tzidkat’cha on the preceding Shabbat at Minchah.
On the night preceding Rosh Hashanah we say Tikkun Rachel as usual at Tikkun Chatzot, and we say Viddui in the S’lichot. Some have the custom not to say Tachanun at S’lichot after dawn. If one says S’lichot after sunrise, one doesn’t say Viddui.
At Shacharit on the day before Rosh Hashanah we don’t say Viddui, Tachanun, Lamnatzei’ach etc. ya’ancha Hashem, and not T’fillah L’david. We also don’t say Tzidduk haddin.
Someone who said S’lichot during most of the month of Elul before dawn, and was delayed and said them after dawn on the day before Rosh Hashanah, may say Tachanun in the S’lichot even though it’s past dawn.
We do not blow the shofar in the prayers and S’lichot on the day before Rosh Hashanah, neither during the day nor at night, neither individually nor in a congregation. This is in order to distinguish between the blowing of the shofar during Elul (which is only a custom) and blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah (which is an obligation from the Torah).
If someone who will blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah wants to practice, he should do so in a closed room, in order to not be heard.
On the day before Rosh Hashanah it is the custom to annul vows after S’lichot before (or after) Shacharit, because someone who doesn’t fulfill his vows is placed in niddui, and the prayers of someone who is in niddui aren’t accepted for forty days.
One should be very attentive when praying Minchah, for it is the final prayer of the year.
FASTING
Some have the custom to fast on the day before Rosh Hashanah.
IMMERSION
We immerse on the day before Rosh Hashanah in a mikveh , because purity helps a person’s prayers to be heard. One should immerse even if one is not impure, because purity of the body sanctifies one’s soul.
PRAYER BY THE GRAVESIDE OF TZADDIKIM
Some have the custom on the day before Rosh Hashanah to visit the graves of the tzaddikim (the righteous). They give charity there in the graveyard, and say many prayers, to arouse the holy tzaddikim to speak good on our behalf on the Day of Judgment. Also, the graves of tzaddikim are holy places, so our prayers there are more acceptable since they’re on holy ground. A person should request that Hashem will bestow upon him kindness, in the merit of the tzaddikim. However, he mustn’t pray to the deceased themselves, in order to not transgress the prohibition of “requesting from the dead,” Heaven forbid.
LIGHTING CANDLES
One should prepare two sets of candles before the holiday, so that on the second night of the holiday one won’t need to attach candles to the candlesticks nor insert wicks into the cork floaters. Also one should prepare a Neir n’shamah (Yahrzeit candle) i.e., a candle which lasts at least twenty-six hours, in order to be able to light the candles for the second night of Rosh Hashanah from it.
One may not attach candles to a candlestick after the onset of the holiday, even if one didn’t prepare them before the holiday. In such a case, there is no option but to use “Neironim” (tea lights) or the like which don’t need to be attached, (even though it is preferable to light long candles in honor of the holiday). Someone who did not insert the wick (for lighting olive oil) in the cork floater before the holiday may insert it in an unusual manner (e.g., with the back of his hand) on the holiday itself.
The wife blesses L’hadlik neir shel yom tov, not shel yom hazikkaron. (Only Chabad Chassidim bless shel yom hazikkaron.) If she did bless shel yom hazikkaron, she nonetheless fulfills her obligation. If the holiday falls on Shabbat then she blesses l’hadlik neir shel shabbat v’shel yom tov. Then she blesses Shehecheyanu.
It is good that the wife prepare a new fruit or new garment for lighting on the second night of the holiday. How does one do this? First she should bless the appropriate blessing on the fruit and Shehecheyanu (some say Shehecheyanu before blessing on the fruit), taste a bit, and then bless on the candles (without repeating Shehecheyanu) and then light. If she prepared a new garment, she should bless Shehecheyanu when lighting the candles while having in mind her garment as well, and as soon as she finishes lighting and blessing she should put on the new garment. If she didn’t prepare anything, though, she should bless Shehecheyanu in any case.
Prayers of Rosh Hashanah
GENERAL
One should study the prayers and their explanations before the High Holidays, (just as one should always prepare prayers during the year that aren’t said frequently), so that one will be familiar with them; one will understand them and know what one is asking from one’s Creator.
Someone who comes to tears in his prayers on Rosh Hashanah needn’t make an effort to withhold them. Some indeed wrote that to the contrary, a person needs to cry in his prayer, or at least to pray with a sobbing voice. Nevertheless, all of this shouldn’t prevent one from being happy on Rosh Hashanah, as Ezra said, “Don’t be sad, because Hashem’s gladness will be your strength.”
Some have the custom to pray bent over during the entire Amidah of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They should take note to stand upright at the beginning and end of every blessing. Nowadays the world is weaker, it is better to pray with a broken heart but standing erect, with the proper thoughts.
ARVIT (EVENING SERVICES) ON ROSH HASHANAH
One should be very careful to pray Arvit on the night of Rosh Hashanah properly, because this is the first prayer of the year.
MUSAF ROSH HASHANAH
Speech: It is forbidden to speak about anything which doesn’t have to do with the prayers or blowing the shofar from the time of the blessings on the shofar until the end of the blowing of the shofar at Musaf. If someone from the congregation or the chazzan spoke, he does not bless again on the shofar.
Bowing: In Aleinu l’shabbei’ach in Musaf the Ashkenazim customarily kneel on the floor and bow down when saying va’anachnu kor’im umishtachavim (“and we kneel and bow”). One who does this must place a towel or the like on the floor, in order to not transgress the prohibition of bowing on a stone floor. The Sepharadim customarily kneel on the floor and bow down on Yom Kippur only, in the Avodah.
The Meal the Night of Rosh Hashanah
KIDDUSH AND THE MEAL
Joy: The meal on the first night of Rosh Hashanah is one’s first meal of the year. It is very important to make it an honorable meal with joy and words of Torah, and this will be a good sign for the new year.
The wife should try to prepare all necessities for the holiday so that when her husband returns from prayers he will find the table set and the house orderly. The husband should be gentle with all members of the household and not get angry at all on this holy day, even if he finds something with which he is displeased. He shouldn’t be vindictive nor hold any grudge, not even in his heart. There is no better sign of a good coming year than to be neither cross nor vindictive at all.
Hamotzi: We wash hands for bread and dip the bread or challah in salt three times, in order to fulfill the verse, “you shall not suspend the covenant of salt.” Also, dipping bread in salt “sweetens” the harsh forces. Afterwards we dip it also in sugar or honey three times, as a sign of a sweet year. Ashkenazim customarily dip only in honey or sugar on Rosh Hashanah.
Second night: It is forbidden to prepare on the first day of the holiday for the second day of the holiday. Therefore, one may not remove food from the freezer on the first day of the holiday if one needs it only for the second day. Likewise, one shouldn’t set the table, prepare a salad, etc. on the first day for the second day. It makes no difference whether the first day falls on Shabbat or not. Even though we consider the two days of Rosh Hashanah in some respects as one long day, that is true only in regard to stringencies, not leniencies.
Shehecheyanu: We bless Shehecheyanu on both nights. Some have the custom to wear a new garment or to bring a new fruit to the table at Kiddush on the second night, and when they bless Shehecheyanu on the second night they also have in mind the fruit. (Then, when eating the fruit, they don’t bless Shehecheyanu a second time.) If one doesn’t have a new fruit, one should bless Shehecheyanu anyway, and there’s no need to exert one’s self to go looking for a new fruit.
If a person has two types of new fruit to bless Shehecheyanu, he should save one type for the second night as mentioned. The other type should be brought to the table the first night after Kiddush, and it is best to bring it at the end of the meal. Then he should bless Shehecheyanu on it and eat it. He should not place it on the table during Kiddush on the first night, because that way the Shehecheyanu of Kiddush will include it.
Havdalah during Kiddush: When the second night falls on Motza’ei Shabbat (Saturday night), we add Vatodi’einu in Arvit, in order to distinguish between the different kinds of holiness; the holiness of Shabbat (when all work (m’lachah) is prohibited) and the holiness of Yom Tov (when some types of work are permissible). A man or woman who did not pray Arvit on Motza’ei Shabbat that coincides with a holiday, or did pray Arvit but didn’t say Vatodi’einu, is prohibited to do all work, just like Shabbat. They cannot do work that is permissible on Yom Tov until saying Baruch hamavdil bein kodesh l’kodesh (Blessed be He who distinguishes between holy and holy). Therefore, a woman who did not say Vatodi’einu may not light the candles the second night of the holiday until she says Baruch hamavdil bein kodesh l’kodesh.
We insert Havdalah in the kiddush when the second night of the holiday falls on Motza’ei Shabbat. In that case, kiddush is comprised of five blessings. Their acronym is YaKNeHaZ, i.e., Yayin (wine), Kiddush, Neir (candle), Havdalah, Z’man (time). The blessings are: [A] wine — Borei p’ri hagefen, [B] Kiddush — Asher bachar banu… m’kadeish yisrael v’yom hazikkaron, [C] candle — Baruch…borei m’orei ha’eish (and then one looks at the candles that the wife lit), [D] Havdalah — Baruch… hamavdil… Baruch attah Hashem hamavdil bein kodesh l’kodesh, [E] time — Shehecheyanu.
If one forgot that it’s Motza’ei Shabbat and made the regular kiddush without havdalah, then one should say havdalah whenever one remembers. How does one make havdalah in such a case? If one remembered during the meal, and usually drinks wine during one’s meal, then one should take a cup of wine and bless over it Borei m’orei ha’eish and Hamavdil without blessing Borei p’ri hagefen. If one doesn’t usually drink wine during one’s meal, or remembered after finishing the meal, one should take a cup of wine and say over it three blessings: Hagefen, m’orei ha’eish, and hamavdil. Someone who regularly says before Kiddush the L’sheim Yichud that the Ben Ish Chai composed, says in it “and I hereby have in mind that my blessing on the wine in Kiddush will cover all drinks (during the meal),” so in this case he need bless only M’orei ha’eish and Hamavdil.
One may not bless M’orei ha’eish on the fire on the gas range, since it was lit for cooking and not to illuminate.
At Havdalah one should be careful not to put two candles together, since the dripping wax from one candle is prone to extinguish the other candle. One should also be careful when juxtaposing a match to the flame of a candle, since sometimes lighting the match can extinguish the candle. Someone who wishes to be stringent and bless on the light of two candles combined should light the opposite — the wooden — side of the match, and carefully insert it in the flame of the candle. However, this is not necessary according to the letter of the law, since the preference to light on two candles is only in a case where this is feasible, and since this is not possible when Motza’ei Shabbat coincides with a holiday, one may bless on one candle.
Some say that on Motza’ei Shabbat one should not derive benefit from the light in the house until blessing M’orei ha’eish. However, one should not instruct others to follow that opinion, and someone who follows that stringency should do so only in regard to himself.
SIMANIM (SYMBOLIC FOODS)
It is good to bring the special foods that are a “good sign,” as a good sign for the upcoming year. There are various customs regarding this. Some eat an apple dipped in honey only, others eat some pomegranate, gourd, spinach and leek, which are mentioned in the Gemara.
It is proper to eat from each type after saying the corresponding request. If one doesn’t like the taste of a particular type, he may say the request and just look at the food.
One should remove all of the new fruits from the table while making Kiddush on the first night, in order that the Shehecheyanu on the first night at Kiddush will not cover them. On the second night one leaves new fruit on the table during the Kiddush on purpose.
Time to eat the Simanim: Some eat the Simanim after the meal and some eat them after Kiddush, before the meal. The best manner is to make Kiddush, wash hands, eat a k’zayit (olive’s size) of challah (under pressing circumstances b’di’avad it is sufficient just to taste it), and then to eat the Simanim as a good sign.
Someone who eats the Simanim after Kiddush before the meal, or after the meal, should bless Borei p’ri ha’eitz on the first fruit — a date — and have in mind to cover all of the fruit from trees, and should bless Borei p’ri ha’adamah on the first vegetable, and have in mind to cover all of the vegetables. He should bless Shehakol before eating from the sheep’s head, fish, or poultry. If he eats the Simanim in the course of the meal, he should bless Borei p’ri ha’eitz only, because that is the blessing on fruits that aren’t considered part of the meal.
Those who eat the Simanim after Kiddush and before washing their hands, should take care not to eat a K’zayit (olive’s size — 27 grams) of fruits, in order to be sure that they have no obligation to say an after-blessing (B’rachah Acharonah). Also, particular care should be taken when eating the pomegranate. Even if one doesn’t eat an olive’s size, there is doubt as to whether every seed is considered a separate entity (Briyyah), so even by eating one seed a person may need to say an after-blessing. Therefore, one who eats the Simanim before washing should slice the seed of the pomegranate before eating it.
Date: One takes a date in one’s right hand, (one should check that it’s not infested by insects), have in mind to cover all of the fruits present, and say the blessing. After eating a bit of it, one takes the date in his hand, and should say the request that is written in the Machzor (with the enemies from the lower worlds in mind), and then once again eat it.
If the date is new and fresh and he has not yet eaten this type of date during this season, he should bless Shehecheyanu after blessing Borei p’ri ha’eitz and before eating it. This applies solely if the date was not on the table during Kiddush. Some reverse the order, and bless Shehecheyanu before blessing Borei p’ri ha’eitz.
Apple dipped in honey: Some bless first on the apple dipped in honey, because it is their favorite (chaviv) of the Simanim on this night. However, it is proper to follow the custom mentioned earlier, to bless first on the date, since it is one of the seven species of the land of Israel, its fruit is sweet, its trunk is tall, and it’s compared to a tzaddik (righteous person), as it is written, “a tzaddik blossoms like a date.”
When one eats the apple in honey, one shouldn’t say “Let it be Your will to bestow upon us a good and sweet new year like honey,” because some people prepare it with sugar. Also, the verse states, “If you found honey, eat that which suffices you” (and no more), and we want unlimited blessings. Therefore one should say “May it be Your will to bestow upon us a good and sweet new year.”
Order of the Simanim: When eating the Simanim one should say the requests according to the order that is written in the Machzorim: Rubia (black-eyed beans), Karti (leek), Silka (spinach), Kara (gourd), pomegranate (sweet), an apple in honey, and some sheep’s head. We have already discussed the laws of the b’racha before eating them. The laws of the sheep’s head (or fish or poultry head) are like the laws of vegetables that are normally eaten in the course of one’s meal — one shouldn’t bless on them. However, if one eats the Simanim right before Birkat Hamazon (grace after meals) or afterwards, then one must bless Shehakol before eating the sheep’s head, fish or poultry.
The blessing on vegetables (Borei p’ri ha’adamah): After the fruit from trees, some have the custom to take a fruit of the ground that is not a part of the actual meal, e.g., watermelon, melon, banana, or peanuts, and bless on it Borei p’ri ha’adamah, and have in mind to cover all of the Simanim that are vegetables. Others do not have this custom, since all of the Simanim that are vegetables are foods that are normally eaten in the meal, therefore they are considered as part of the meal. All of this is assuming that one eats them after blessing Hamotzi and eating challah. However, if one eats them before Hamotzi or after Birkat Hamazon, one should bless Borei p’ri ha’adamah on whichever vegetable he prefers, and have in mind to cover all other vegetables that will come with this blessing.
Pomegranate: The R״ma wrote to say on the pomegranate “we should multiply merits like a pomegranate.” The Sepharadim customarily say, “we should be full of mitzvot like a pomegranate.”
One should separate the seeds from the pomegranate on the day before Rosh Hashanah, in order to not risk doing prohibited work (m’lachah). Similarly, if the dates are still connected to the branch, he should detach them on the day before the holiday. If one didn’t do so, one should split the pomegranate in half, and pass it around the table. Each person should take some seeds, and hold it in his hands until he finishes eating. One should do similarly with the dates, if still attached to the branch. One who abstains from this, too, will be blessed.
Each person blesses himself: The custom is that each person blesses on the Simanim and says the requests himself. Someone who doesn’t know how to say them should listen to someone else and answer Amen. Someone who can say the requests in his mother tongue may do so. The blessings can also be said in one’s mother tongue, but it’s preferable to hear them in Hebrew and answer Amen.
Both nights: We have the Simanim on both nights of Rosh Hashanah. It is forbidden to prepare anything during the first day for the second night, as mentioned above. The Ben Ish Chai used to have the Simanim in the daytime, as well.
Silka — spinach: Silka is spinach. Some take beets, since beets are called selek in modern Hebrew. It is better to take spinach, since that is what the Gemara meant. If one doesn’t have spinach, then one should take beets. When one says the request, one should have in mind the prosecutors and harsh forces that are prosecuting us in Heaven.
Nowadays that there are vegetables marketed that are insect-free, one should use them. One shouldn’t buy other brands of vegetables and count on one’s own checking them from insects, because they are difficult to check properly. To rely on one’s own checking was allowed solely because there was no other choice.
Kara — Kara is a white gourd. When one says “may You rip (shetikra) our sentence of judgment” one should have in mind the holy name קרע from קרע שטן.
Head: One should try to take a sheep’s head, in memory of the ram that was sacrificed instead of Yitzchak (Isaac). One should say “we should be at the head, and not the tail, and You should remember the binding and the ram of our forefather Yitzchak son of our forefather Avraham, may peace be upon him.”
If the price of a sheep’s head is too expensive or there is any doubt whether it’s kosher, one should take a chicken’s head or fish head, but not a goat’s head. Some do not eat fish on Rosh Hashanah, even when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, and that is the custom. Others do the opposite — they specifically eat fish on this night as a sign of blessing, that they should be fruitful and multiply like fish, and also because Ayin Hara (evil eye) doesn’t affect fish.
Someone who doesn’t have a sheep’s head shouldn’t say “and You should remember the binding and the ram of our forefather Yitzchak son of our forefather Avraham, may peace be upon him.” He should just say “we should be at the head, and not the tail.”
Karti: One should take some Karti (leek) in his hand, and when he says the request he should have in mind to slash the evil forces that were created from his sins and from drops of semen.
NIGHT OF ROSH HASHANAH
It is proper not to have marital relations on both nights of Rosh Hashanah, even if it falls on Shabbat. However, if it is the night of the wife’s immersion, then he shouldn’t abstain from the mitzvah. It is also permitted if he is in danger of ejaculation. He should immerse in a mikveh in the morning, before prayers.
The Day of Rosh Hashanah
Meal: When leaving the synagogue, one should go home with a happy heart, sure that Hashem mercifully heard our prayers and the sounds of the shofar. We eat and drink from the good that Hashem has bestowed upon us, but one should take care not to overeat. “They should eat their fill, in order to not become light-headed, and to maintain the fear of God upon them.”
One shouldn’t drink cognac, whiskey or the like at the meal on Rosh Hashanah. However, it is good to make kiddush on wine that one enjoys, as it is written regarding Rosh Hashanah, “drink sweet drinks.” One should take care not to get inebriated by drinking wine, Heaven forbid.
It is good to learn Torah at the table. It is good to learn a chapter of Mishnayot Rosh Hashanah at each meal.
Mishloach Manot (sending portions): It is good to send food to those who are lacking on this holiday, or to give them money before Rosh Hashanah to buy their necessities for the holiday, as it is written: “Go and eat fat foods, drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who don’t have. For this day is holy to our Master. Don’t be sad, because the happiness of Hashem is your strength.”
Long prayers: One shouldn’t keep on praying past the middle of the day. All the more so should one finish one’s prayers before the middle of the day when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, since it is forbidden to fast, and one must eat the second meal of Shabbat before the middle of the day.
Sleeping during the day: The custom is not to sleep on Rosh Hashanah after dawn, in order not to be judged while sleeping, since this could make him unsuccessful in the coming year. One should be especially careful not to drowse during the prayers. Someone who doesn’t feel well should “keep himself awake, and sleep after the middle of the day.”
Someone who sits and wastes his time or (Heaven forbid) engages in jokes, mockery, or lashon hara (derogatory speech) is worse than someone who sleeps. It’s better for him to go to sleep and abstain from those kinds of things.
T’hillim (Psalms): The custom is to read T’hillim on Rosh Hashanah. Some have the custom to read the whole book of T’hillim twice, amounting to three hundred chapters, like the numerical value of the word כפר (atone).
Minchah on Shabbat: When Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat they should be careful to pray Minchah (afternoon prayers) and say Tashlich early enough that they’ll manage to eat S’udah Sh’lishit (the third meal) during the day, since we eat S’udah Sh’lishit after Minchah only. (They should also be careful not to carry things outside.) Some Ashkenazim don’t say Tashlich on Shabbat, and say it on Sunday (the second day of Rosh Hashanah) instead.
The custom of Jerusalem and Kabbalistic Y’shivat Beit Eil is not to say Tzidkat’chah when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat. Instead we say Y’hi sheim etc.
S’udah Sh’lishit: One should be careful to not eat too much at S’udah Sh’lishit when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, in order that one will have an appetite by the holiday meal at night. If it is within two and a half halachic hours before sunset, one should eat at least a k’zayit (an olive’s weight, about thirty grams) of bread or challah, but not more than sixty grams.
TASHLICH
Reason: After praying Minchah we go to do Tashlich next to a body of water. This is a symbol of throwing our sins into the depths of the sea, as it says in the verse, “And you shall throw all of their sins into the depths of the sea.” When a person repents, but his sins weren’t transmuted into mitzvot, the sins must be transferred elsewhere. For instance, the scapegoat carried all of the sins of the nation of Israel to a desolate place. Similarly, the depths of the sea accept the sins that were thrown into it.
Place: Ideally, one should do Tashlich next to the sea or a river, in order to arouse the merits of the binding of Yitzchak (Isaac). As the Midrash relates, “When our forefather Abraham went with his son Yitzchak to the binding, the Prosecuting Angel made himself like a river, in order to stop him. Our forefather Abraham, may peace be upon him, entered the river up to his neck, and prayed ‘Save me, Lord, because the water is approaching my soul.’”
If it is difficult to do Tashlich outside the city, one can do it within the city. If one can see the sea or a river from afar, one can say Tashlich from afar. If there’s no river, one can say Tashlich next to a water cistern, even though it has no fish. If there’s no river and no cistern etc. one can say it even next to a barrel of water.
Time: If one can’t say Tashlich after Minchah, one can say it after Musaf.
Someone who didn’t say Tashlich on the first day can say it on the second day after Musaf. Someone who did not say it with the congregation can say it individually.
Shabbat: We do Tashlich on the first day even when it falls on Shabbat, however, one should be careful not to carry a Machzor or anything else outside of the eiruv. If there’s no eiruv, they should say the verses of Tashlich by heart, or say it next to a water barrel in the courtyard of the synagogue.
In Jerusalem the Ashkenazim do Tashlich on the first day even when it falls on Shabbat. In the rest of the country, when it falls on Shabbat the Ashkenazim say it on the second day.
If there’s a risk that people who don’t adhere to the Torah will copy those who say Tashlich on the first day, but will carry things outside of the eiruv, then Tashlich should be said on the second day.
Women: Women do not need to do Tashlich. If they wish, they may do it, as long as guidelines of modesty are observed.
Care about being idle: When everyone returns from Tashlich to the synagogue before Arvit, they should be careful not to break up into groups so that people won’t engage in idle talk, Heaven forbid. It is good to learn Torah at this time, or to read Psalms or read Mussar (self-improvement) books, “for this day is holy to our Master.”
THE CONCLUSION OF ROSH HASHANAH
Havdalah: After the second day of Rosh Hashanah we say Attah chonantanu in the Amidah and say Havdalah over wine only. We do not light a candle or smell spices, just bless Borei p’ri hagefen and Hamavdil. If one didn’t say Attah chonantanu in the Amidah, one is prohibited to do M’lachah (work) even after nightfall, until one says Baruch hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol. Similarly, it is forbidden to eat until one makes (or hears) Havdalah over wine. The same applies to a woman who didn’t pray Arvit.