There are many profound explanations that explore the symbolism of the mitzvah of tekiat shofar. One of the more famous expositions is that of Rambam. He writes:
Even though the sounding of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah is a decree, it contains an allusion. As if to say, ‘Wake up you sleepers from your slumber and dreamers from your sleep. Inspect your deeds, repent and remember your Creator…
(Hilchot Teshuvah 3:4)
According to Rambam the sounding of the shofar is a spiritual alarm clock. Something we all could …

High Holiday nusach, and of course- the taste of apples and honey. As a child, I would wait with anticipation as Rosh HaShanah approached- looking forward to dipping apples in honey. It is a significant religious experience for children: A tradition sweet to the palate, with its symbolism concrete enough, even a small child can understand. There are even songs that memorialize this ritual.
Eating apples with honey, along with other “simanei milta – significant omens,” is an age old custom rooted in a statement in …

Rosh HaShanah is the Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgement. Yet we treat it like a festival. What should one feel on Rosh HaShanah? Joy? Fear? Uncertainty? Awe? Confidence? Rabbi Nadel explores the dialectic of Rosh HaShanah as expressed in the halachik literature.