The Jewish New Year isn’t just about apples and honey—it’s about connection. And one of the simplest, most meaningful ways we connect during this season is through our greetings.
But if you’ve ever stood at the synagogue door or sat down at a holiday table wondering, “Wait, what do I say??”—you’re not alone.
In this post (and video), I’ll walk you through the greetings for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the Days of Awe, explain what they mean, and show you when to use them. Plus, I’ll share my favorite fallback greetings so you never have to panic in the moment if your mind goes blank.
Want to walk into the High Holidays calm instead of scrambling? Grab The Essential Jewish Holiday Planning Guide. It’s full of checklists and prompts to help you prepare with calm instead of chaos.
Transcript below.
Transcript:
 Shanah tovah!
Not sure how to greet people for the Jewish New Year? Let’s make it simple.
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year,
a time of reflection, renewal, and blessing.
But it’s also the beginning of a 10 day season called The Days of Awe.
Those 10 days run from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Hi, I’m Kochava. I’m a Jewish convert who’s been helping people convert to Judaism since 2010 through my blog, Building a Jewish Life.com.
Rosh Hashanah sets the tone.
Yom Kippur brings the season to its peak.
And the days in between are for reflection, repairing relationships, and returning to what matters most.
The Hebrew word for repentance, teshuva, actually means literally “turning.”
So turn back and return to what matters most.
That flow and ebb of the cycle is why the greetings can change a little bit depending on where we are in that cycle.
The most common greeting you’re gonna see and a solid choice is to say: Shana Tova. Shana Tova.
It literally means “a good year.”
You can also say, Shana tova u’metuka. Shana tova  u’metuka. ” A good and sweet New Year.”
A more traditional greeting you might hear from others is Ketivah v’chatimah tovah Ketivah v’chatimah tovah. See, even I have a hard time with that one.
” May you be inscribed and sealed for good.” That’s a reference to the Book of Life that we say that Hashem opens and is, uh, inscribing people on Rosh Hashanah for the next year. And then we say that the Book of Life is sealed on Yom Kippur when all the decisions are final.
And then the fourth greeting of this period is Gmar chatimah. tova, Gmar chatimah tova, ” a good final sealing.”
If you’re intimidated by these, it’s fine. That’s very normal. An alternative is you could use the regular greeting for every Jewish holiday, which in, at least in America, there are usually two big variations: good yuntif, which means “good holiday.”
Good yuntif.
And then the Hebrew version Chag sameach,
which means “happy holiday.” Both will always be correct.
And honestly, even just saying “Happy New Year” in English is fine.
People will appreciate your intention.
There is a few differences in when we say those traditional greetings.
So before and during Rosh Hashanah, the most common greeting you’re gonna hear is Shana Tova, wishing someone “a good year.”
Or the slightly longer version, Shanah tovah u’metukah, which means “a good and sweet New Year.”
As we move through the Days of Awe and get closer to Yom Kippur, the greeting often shifts to Gmar chatimah tovah, a “good final sealing,”
referring to the hope that we’re sealed for good in the Book of life.
Usually you’ll wanna save the gud yuntif and chag sameach for the day of the holiday itself, or like really close,
but they’re such handy fallbacks.
If your mind suddenly goes blank, you can always reach into your back pocket for that.
And I’ll go ahead and warn you that if you’re used to saying Good Shabbas or Shabbat Shalom to people, you’ll probably accidentally say that to them even though it is not Shabbat. And this happens to people who are converting, happens to people who are born Jewish, happens to people who have been living a Jewish life their whole lives.
It is a very frequent joke that comes up when we accidentally say “good Shabbos” to someone when we meant to say chag sameach. We all laugh about it and it’s perfectly normal. Everyone does it, do not feel bad when that happens to you. Not if, when.
Which gets to kind of my main point.
Don’t stress about the exact words, and you’re probably gonna get them wrong. And it’s okay. You’re not the only person who gets them wrong.
The greetings are about connection, not perfection.
Any warm wish is appreciated.
No one’s gonna take away your Jew card or kick you out of a conversion program because you mess this up.
So what do you think you are gonna say this year? Drop it down in the comments ’cause I’d love to hear it.
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Chag sameach, and shanah tovah.
