Rosh Hashanah constitutes an annual reminder of the need to enhance one’s behavior through a systematic study of moral values, learning from experience, and avoiding past errors. Rosh Hashanah ushers in the Ten Days of Repentance, which are concluded on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

Rosh Hashanah is celebrated on the 6th day of Creation, when the first human being, Adam, was created. Adam is the root for "soil"

Thus, the date of the Jewish New Year highlights the centrality of the soil – a metaphor for humility – in human life.