ROSH HASHANAH

The Slichoth – The custom is to start from Rosh Chodesh to Yom Kippur (40 Days0. Rabbi Eliezer says, b Rosh Chodesh Elul, Moshe Rabanu went up on the mountain to receive the secondary luchoth and he went down on the day of Yom Kippur. In those 40 days, the slicoth is really called ashmurth (fraction of the night- because we wake up early and we begin at the end of the night). And only the Peyutim of Yom Kippur we call Slicoth-- as opposed to ashmuroth. The ashmuroth starts three hours before the sunrise –and already from the middle of the night—the street is full of people—especially in the very first night. The children and the teenagers are very involved in this. The next day, they are showing off in front of each other… "Each one said ‘I woke earlier than so and so’ ". There is a man by the name of Al Madahi—the person that walks in the streets and calls everyone to wake up (similar to the clapper in Ashkenaz). Two hours before alot hashachar (sunrise), the streets are full of people – man kids and everyone. The shofar voice blows from every house and every street because every child has his own shofar—ram’s horn. Three things every child has—shofar, piece like a baseball bat, and the book of the ashmuroth (slicoth). The shofar of the children is a small one to differentiate from the one that is blown on Rosh HaShanah. All the month of Elul, they did not stop blowing it day and night. The kids used to compete day and night. When the people came to the Bath Knasseth –they brought the Gaway –coffee with Hawaig and sweetners. And everyone is generous to give away the coffee. Also, the children and teenagers are drinking the coffee. Usually they start the Ashmuroth at the fixed hour. First they say the eight mizore Tehilim (32, 51, 65, 102, 85, 17, 27,33) and after that they start with the Piyoth of R. Yehudah HaLevy ("don’t sleep") and continue to do the rest of the ashmuroth. Custom is that 3 people are the Shilchei Tzibor. One leads from the beginning to the Viduy (confession). The second continues from "Avinu Shabashamayim" and finishes im efes rovahchem. The third one finished until the end. The strange custom was amongst the kids. After the viduy, they hit the dogs with base ball bats--- like the Rabbi – you should not have dogs. What’s funny is that the Temani dogs know this custom and they know to disappear. The grown ups don’t appreciate this and are very upset about it because it is forbidden to harm an animal in the Torah. When the time arrives for Shacharith they say lamnasayach ha ayalath Hashachar—the custom to start davening earlier than usual. Also the women wake up early and some of them come to the women’s section –to listen. Some of them sit and do embroidery or sowing. Some of them bring a different kind of work.

Rosh HaShanah: the music of the Rosh Hashanah is different than the rest of the years. It seems like the music is so special that because of the music, G-D will be listening. Everything that takes place at this time, you can hear the music through. The custom of the person that blows the shofar is to get the aliyah for revi’i (for his reward). In Yemen, no one gets money for blowing shofar or leading the services because this is Holy and voluntary. The shofar that they used to blow was the shofar shal ayal according to the halacha. But not all blew this shofar. Some blue the shofar of yael. Some used to blow a shofar that was very long and wiggley. Many expressed their objections but it was a very old custom. And according to the Halachoth, all the shofaroth were kosherim… as long as they are not from the cow family. There is no custom to fast in Rosh HaShanah. There is no tashlich in Yemen.

Except the shofar from the cow family, because the prosecutor can not be the defense—we don’t want to remind G-D of the golden calf. People bless each other with tikothev Basefar haChayim uvsefar hazikoron. And the answer is tikothev Basefar haChaim uvsefar hazikoron.

On the night of the second day, they stay in Beth Kenasath. After aravith, they are staying to say slicoth and this is a very old minhog. The food and the clothing are like Shabbatoth and the other holidays. The first night of Rosh Hashanah, they used to bring different foods to the table that they have a special Bracha that starts with the words Yehi Rason.

The first food is Rubiyah (fenugreek)—yehi roson she’hirbu zachuyothaynu. (May it be your will to multiply our merits

The second one is Salka (beets)---shyistalagu oivaynu waso-na-eynu. (our enemy will disappear)

The third one is Dates –shayitamu awanothenu. (our sins will be finished)

The forth one is Squach –Shayigora gazar dinenu. (our verdict will be destroyed)

The fifth is pomegrante- Shanirba zachuyothenu koriman.. (we will have a lot of merit)

The six is carrot – igozaru oiavaynu wasone-enu. (our enemies will be torn).  

COMMENT ABOUT ORDER FROM FRIEND:

It seems plain to me that the order given in the Prayer books does 
not necessarily have to be in the order which is given, since there 
is no point to be made in following a given order. What is important 
are the blessings themselves, and the mnemonics (conjured up by the 
Hebrew names given for each fruit or vegetable). I would think, 
though, that one would want to put forward a blessing over the fruit 
of the tree before he makes a blessing over the fruit of the 
ground.The Talmud does not mention any set order when eating these 
fruits, but only says one should be accustomed to eating them on 
Rosh HaShana. It was only Rabbi Hai (Hayye) Gaon who gave mnemonics, 
but again without stressing any set order. We should not confuse 
this ritual with the Passover ritual which has a set order.