Jews will be waking up today for the first day of the year 5764, ready for eight days of atoning for sins and making preparations for the year ahead.

Around 50 people congregated at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club last night for the 90 minute service for the start of the 'High Holidays', traditionally a time when even the least religiously observant will join in with community prayers.

Rabbi A. Nathan Abramovitz and his wife Babs, due to make their traditional return to the Island to lead the services, were denied the opportunity due to the tropical storm's closure of the airport.

They are now expected in on Monday.

Rosh Hashanah, which in hebrew means "head of the year", is one of the most significant dates in the Jewish calendar and is as rich with tradition as any other festival.

The event begins at sunset, local time, on the Friday with services and then a traditional dinner where honey cakes and apples dipped in honey are traditionally eaten.

As well as tasting particularly good if made well, as Jewish foods nearly always are, they are a symbol of a desire for a sweet new year.

A special type of bread, named challah, is also eaten on Rosh Hashanah. Round loaves are passed around, a symbol of the circle of life and a hope that our lives will continue without end.

Some bake their challah with a ladder on top as a reminder that God decides who will ascend and descend the ladder of life.

It is said that God has pencilled in people's fates for the coming year, who shall live, who shall die, who shall perish by fire and so on, by Rosh Hashanah, but the book (and therefore our fates) are not finally sealed until Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which takes place on October 6.

In the intervening period, Jews are expected to reflect on their past sins and, where necessary, to atone for them and plan to behave more morally and religiously in the coming year.

Some people take this literally and spend ten days ringing all those they have upset in the previous year to apologise in the hope that God will deal them a better hand for the coming year.

The marking of New Year itself couldn't be any further from the celebrations that accompany the new year in the Gregorian Calendar (January 1 to you and I).

There is no drunken revelry nor singing of Auld Lang Syne, it is a more subdued affair, a chance to reflect on the year past and the year ahead.

The traditional New Year greeting of L'shanah tovah (for a good year) will be exchanged, a shortened version of L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem (may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year).

Although atoning for sins is very much the theme, it differs slightly from the January 1 approach of resolving to 'give up smoking', 'going on a diet', or 'not arguing with my wife'. This is more of a spiritual time of reflection then the more practical resolutions to lose weight or get healthier.

Another tradition is the blowing of the shofar, or ram's horn.

Long ago, the shofar was used to herald important events like the new moon and the start of holidays. It was also used to call the Israelites to war.

However, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the wail of the shofar, both plaintive and stirring, is designed to awaken the heart of every Jew, no matter how old, to repentance and a closer relationship with God.

And why 5764?

The calendar dates back to the beginning of creation based on time spans taken literally from the Bible, it is 3,000 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar as the Jews didn't start again on the alleged appearance of any one person.

Rosh Hashanah will be one of the busier times for the Jewish Community of Bermuda, a group consisting of 120 paid up members with a much smaller hardcore regularly attending services.

Community leaders are expecting around 60 to attend today's three-hour service and there will also be a significant number for tomorrow's Tashlikh ceremony.

Taking place again at the Dinghy Club, the congregation will send stale bread off into the water, a symbolic casting off of our sins, a long-standing custom although not actually mention in the Bible.

A few days later comes the Day of Atonement itself, Yom Kippur. This is a day of fasting for the Jews, with no food or drink passing their lips from sundown on the Sunday through until 18 minutes after sunset on the Monday when a much-needed breaking the fast meal will take place.

The day of fasting is traditionally spent in services, with the absence of sustenance an opportunity to fully concentrate on study and reflection.

Naturally the meal is gratefully received and is a joyous occasion.

Probably the most significant event in the religious calendar takes place in the first month of the Jewish calendar, New Year is the seventh month.

It celebrates Passover, a festival which commemorates the Jew's exodus from slavery in Egypt. The highly symbolic festival will be the best attended in Bermuda and, depending on the exact timing, may attract a diverse crowd. Last year's event saw more than 100 people come through the doors of St. Mary's Church, Warwick, including film producers and two Israeli tennis players due to Passover coinciding with both the Film Festival and the XL Tennis Open.