Rosh Hashanah runs for two days, beginning at sundown. Here is the sequence, in the order you’ll meet it. Do the parts you can; the parts you skip will still be there next year.
1. Light the candles
Women and girls light before sundown on the first evening, and again after nightfall on the second. Two blessings, one after the other:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל יוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן
Baruch atah Ado-nai, Elo-heinu melech ha'olam, asher kideshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Yom HaZikaron.
Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the light of the Day of Remembrance.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לִזְמַן הַזֶּה
Baruch atah Ado-nai, Elo-heinu melech ha'olam, shehecheyanu v'kiyemanu v'higiyanu lizman hazeh.
…who has granted us life, sustained us, and brought us to this occasion.
Two notes. When the first night falls on Friday, the first blessing becomes ner shel Shabbat v’shel Yom HaZikaron. And on the second night, the flame must be taken from a fire that was already burning — a pilot light, a long-burning candle lit before the holiday — rather than struck fresh.
2. The evening meal
Kiddush over wine, then wash and make hamotzi over a round challah. Round, because the year comes back around; and dipped in honey rather than salt, for the obvious reason.
Then the apple. Dip a slice in honey, say the blessing over fruit, eat a little, and add the request:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָעֵץ
Baruch atah Ado-nai, Elo-heinu melech ha'olam, borei p'ri ha'eitz.
Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ שֶׁתְּחַדֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּ שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה
Yehi ratzon milfanecha shetechadeish aleinu shanah tovah umtukah.
May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year.
On the second night, have a fruit you haven’t eaten yet this season — pomegranate is traditional — on the table when you say shehecheyanu. There are other symbolic foods, and a table full of them is a lovely thing; we’ve laid them out here.
3. Hear the shofar
This is the day’s central obligation, and it is worth arranging your morning around. It happens during the daytime service, never at night. The blower recites the blessings; you answer amen and then simply listen, without talking, until the last blast.
If Rosh Hashanah’s first day falls on Shabbat, the shofar is not sounded that day — it moves to the second. And if you are homebound, say so: we bring a shofar to people who cannot get to shul. Call (941) 493-2770.
4. Tashlich
On the afternoon of the first day — the second, when the first is Shabbat — we walk to water and say a few verses about sins being cast into the depths of the sea. It takes about ten minutes. More on what it is and why.
5. Greet people properly
Before the holiday and on the first night, the full form is L’shana tovah tikateiv v’techateim — may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year (to a woman, tikateivi v’techateimi; to a group, tikateivu v’techateimu). After that, plain Shana tovah — a good year — carries it.
A few things people ask
Is there anything I shouldn’t do? It’s a festival, so the usual Shabbat-type restrictions apply — no work, no driving, no writing — with the exception that cooking for the day itself is permitted from an existing flame. Many also avoid nuts, and sour or bitter foods, for the two days.
Do I have to be at shul the whole time? No. Come for what you can. If you can only manage one stretch, make it the shofar.
I’ve never been and I don’t read Hebrew. Then you’ll be in the majority. The prayer books are side-by-side Hebrew and English, pages are announced out loud, and the service is explained as it goes.