On the morning of Rosh HaShana, one begins with the morning prayer service. This includes a variety of liturgical poems that are recited during the cantor’s repetition of the Amida prayer. Unlike the rest of the festivals, on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, Hallel is not recited. This is because the Hallel prayer expresses feelings of joy, whereas on Rosh HaShana and on Yom Kippur the experience is one of awe and and the dread of judgment. After the morning prayers, the Torah is read, after which the shofar blasts are sounded. This is followed by the additional prayer [Musaf].

For the reading of the Torah, two Torah scrolls are removed from the ark (for more details on the procedure and halakhot of Torah reading, see pp. 392, 492). The reading from the first scroll is divided into five segments [aliyot]. If Rosh HaShana falls on a Shabbat, the same reading is divided into seven aliyot, the same number as on every Shabbat. An additional Torah segment, called the maftir, is read from a second Torah scroll, and consists of verses discussing the offerings sacrificed in the Temple on Rosh HaShana (Numbers 29:1–6).

On the first day of Rosh HaShana the reading is from the book of Genesis (chapter 21), relating the story of the birth of Isaac. The reason for this is that according to tradition Isaac was conceived on Rosh HaShana. On the second day of Rosh HaShana another passage from Genesis is read (chapter 22), which recounts the story of the binding [akeida] of Isaac. This is in order to arouse God’s mercy upon us, in the merit of the righteous deeds of our forefathers.

The person called up for maftir reads the haftara, which consists of a passage from the Prophets. On the first day of Rosh HaShana the story of the birth of the prophet Samuel (I Samuel 1:1–2) is read, since according to rabbinic tradition he was also conceived on Rosh HaShana. The haftara for the second day of Rosh HaShana is from the book of Jeremiah (31:1–19), a selection that speaks of the merits of the children of Israel.