Fresh starts are central to the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. The holiday marks the beginning of a period of repentance for past mistakes, prayer for a better future, and symbolic acts for good luck such as eating sweet foods. In doing so, celebrants are believed to begin their next twelve months with a blank slate and a “sweet” year ahead. Produced in Germany, this early 20th century Rosh Hashanah greeting card celebrated the promise of new beginnings by tying it to a phenomenon sweeping Europe at the time: immigration to America. Modeled on the design of a ship ticket, the card reveals how European Jews understood the promise of America—the Golden land—as a chance to leave the struggles of the past behind, to start anew with only possibility ahead of them. The “new world” was the modern, secular realization of the “new year.” Popular culture and ephemera of 20th century European Jews often reflected this preoccupation with U.S. immigration. This Rosh Hashanah card states in Yiddish that it is “good for 120 year-round trips in the stream of life,” a reference to the Jewish blessing and phrase that one should live to 120 years old. From there, excerpts that wish its “passenger” a “trip” full of life, peace, and fortune in the new year further the connection between immigration and holiday festivities. In the same way that departing to the United States brought with it the hope of material fortune and security, Rosh Hashanah brought forth these hopes through religious faith. While sailing across the ocean was not feasible for many of those dreaming of a new life, celebrating Rosh Hashanah could evoke a similar optimism for the future for all who longed for better. Chag Sameach! Credit: Rosh Hashanah card in the form of a ship ticket, 1900-1920, Germany. Purchased from Alan Scop, 67.90 (fb)

The Museum wishes you a sweet & healthy new year! "Rosh Hashanah" by Arthur Szyk is part of his Holidays series, depicting a traditional high holiday service in a synagogue. See if you can spot someone blowing the shofar! Credit: Rosh Hashanah, from the Holidays series, Arthur Szyk, New Canaan, Connecticut, 1948. Gift of Benjamin and Miriam Rudolph, 876.92. Originals in the collection of Yeshiva University Museum. (fb)