Yom HaTeruah (Day of Joyous Shouting) is a holiday in which B’nei Yisrael is commanded to have a day of rest and a day of joyous shouting.
יהוה spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the Yisraelite people thus: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with [joyous shouting]. (Vayikra 23:23-24)1
Karaites do not celebrate Yom HaTeruah as “Rosh HasHannah” (New Year) like the Rabbinates. Karaites also do not use shofars or other musical instruments on Yom HaTeruah since we do not have the Beit HaMikdash and cannot offer sacrifices.2
There are very few Karaite customs for Yom HaTeruah. Special services are held at the Beit Knesset (Synagogue) where there are special additional prayers offered. The meal on Yom HaTeruah includes a vegetable “as green as myrtle leaves” over which a special blessing is made.2
The ten days between Yom HaTeruah and Yom HaKippurim are referred to as the “Days of Repentance.” It is customary for the Karaites to hold special prayer services called Selichot early in the morning before sunrise. The Selichot services contain “propitiatory prayers, confession and supplication, and in them we beg יהוה to forgive us for our sins.”2
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1Stein, David (ed.). JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh. Philaelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1999.
2al-Qirqisani Center. An Introduction to Karaite Judaism: History, Theology, Practice, and Custom. Troy, NY: al-Qirqisani Center for the Promotion of Karaite Studies, 2003.
