Not Sleeping on Rosh Hashana

Darchei Moshe Orach Chaim Section 583

R' Moshe Isserles (1530-1572)

The Yerushalmi in Rosh Hashana teaches that one who sleeps on Rosh Hashana, his mazal will sleep. Therefore we are careful not to sleep on Rosh Hashana.

Ibn Shuib, Rosh Hashana

Rav Yehoshua ibn Shuib (c. 1280-1340)

And the Rambam writes that with the sounding of the shofar there is a hint to judgement, like waking the sleeping ones from their slumber, meaning that the hour requires awakening, as it says, "When a ram's horn is sounded in a town, do the people not take alarm". From here it is written in the Yerushalmi that it is forbidden for a person to sleep on Rosh Hashana, as it says there, how can someone go to sleep while being judged when he is being judged above, [and sleeping] shows laziness, as it is written, "why do you slumber".

Mateh Moshe Pt. 4 Sub-Section 821

R' Moshe ben Avraham of Przemysl (c. 1550-1606)

Our practice is not to sleep in the afternoon of Rosh Hashana, and there is a small basis for this minhag from what is said in the Yerushalmi that one who sleeps on Rosh Hashana and is being judged [etc.], and the practice of our forefathers is Torah and one should not deviate from it.

Mateh Yehuda 483:7

R' Yehuda Ayash (1688-1760)

And some give another reason for those who have the practice not to sleep, [namely] because sleep is one sixtieth of sleep [Brachot 57b], for we have established [the concept of a] siman, where we are careful to eat good things which have a good siman, here too some are careful to refrain from doing things where they are a bad siman.

Nohag Ketzon Yosef, Minhagei Rosh Hashana, Sub-Section 16, p. 270

R' Yosef Yuzfa (?-1828)

In the Yerushalmi it says one who sleeps on Rosh Hashana and is being judged his mazal sleeps etc., see there, therefore our practice is not to sleep on Rosh Hashana because [if one were to sleep] one's mazal sleeps and cannot advocate for you. And furthermore when one is asleep their soul ascends upwards and perhaps one will be liable for judgement and it will stay there...

Mekor Chaim, Section 583

R' Yair Bacharach (1639-1702)

In case you dream a bad dream

Mateh Yehuda 483:7

R' Yehuda Ayash (1688-1760)

Since we have established that on weekdays it is prohibited to sleep more than a horse's sleep which is 60 shitin nishmei (Succah 26b), although we are not careful about this on the other days of the year, it is fitting to be careful on the days of teshuva, like in Section 603 (where it says) some are careful about pat akum (in the aseret yemei teshuva) even though it is only a stringency, and all the more so with sleep which is prohibited by the fundamental law. And based on this some are careful through all the aseret yemei teshuva, and the Rema gave the example of Rosh Hashana to teach that it is included even though it is a Yom Tov.

Damasek Eliezer 583:14

R' Shmuel Landa (1750-1834)

[The Rema brings this custom not to sleep on Rosh Hashana] from the Yerushalmi [and the Ram brings this from the Yerushalmi too but I have not been able to find it. Hashem should enlighten me.

Maharatz Chayut, Megillah 12b

R' Tzvi Chayut (1805-1855)

And I have not found any hint [of this] in the Yerushalmi, or in Midrash or Yalkut, and also in Targum I have not found a hint to this...[there are] many more statements from the Yerushalmi which were before the Rishonim but have been lost, and I will bring a few examples of this...the Rema in OC Section 583 brings in the name of the Yerushalmi that one who sleeps on Rosh Hashana sleeps on their mazal and this is not found in our [versions].

Maharatz Chayut, Imrei Binah

R' Tzvi Chayut (1805-1855)

Know my dear one, that the earlier authorities were accustomed to call all the Midrashim and Pesiktot and learn from them as the "Yerushalmi", and they were not precise in their language, and who knows in which Midrash of the Midrashim that are lost to us [something may have appeared]

Baruch Sheamar

R' Baruch Epstein (1860-1941)

...the Rema writes, "Some have the practice not to sleep on Rosh Hashana in the day". And he indicated the source for this was from the Yerushalmi, "One who sleeps on Rosh Hashana, his mazal will sleep". And in the Yerushalmi before us this [statement] is not found, but this is not puzzling, for many matters and complete tractates from the Yerushalmi which were before the Rishonim are not with us due to our long exile and the harsh wandering and travails [we have been through]...

Baruch Sheamar

R' Baruch Epstein (1860-1941)

...But I have a difficulty regarding how we understand the language of damich to relate to sleep, when in every place where the language of damich is brought in the Yerushalmi it relates to death...[brings multiple examples]...and therefore it seems that the intent of the statement we quoted from the Yerushalmi is that one who dies on Rosh Hashana, his mazal dies, meaning that one who dies on Rosh Hashana, it is a siman that his mazal is destroyed and null to protect him as for others where their mazal protects them to life.

Kol Bo Section 64

Anonymous (c. 13th C)

And the [Maharam] was accustomed to [eat traditional foods on Rosh Hashana like gourds], but he was not careful about [not] eating garlic, nuts or anything [else].

Pri Chadash 583:2

R' Chizkiya de Silva (1659-1698)

But Maharam was accustomed to sleep as on other Yamim Tovim. And this is our practice even though it is better not to sleep.

Moed Lekol Chai, 12:31

R' Chaim Palagi (1788-1868)

And we are not lenient even on the second day because [Rosh Hashana] is one long day (yoma arichta) and the two [days] are equivalent...

Nohag Ketzon Yosef, Minhagei Rosh Hashana, Sub-Section 16, p. 270

R' Yosef Yuzfa (?-1828)

It is permitted to sleep on the second day of Rosh Hashana for the judgement has already concluded

Netai Gavriel to R'H, Ch. 17 Note 37

R' Gavriel Zinner

And the admor m'Sanz Klausenberg testified that his grandfather the gaon hakadosh m'Sanz upheld the plain meaning of the statement in the Yerushalmi​​​​​​​ not to sleep at all on Rosh Hashana, even in the nights.

Mateh Ephraim 584:1

R' Ephraim Zalman Margoliot (1762-1828)

The practice is that the Shul attendant calls while it is still night, around an hour before dawn, so that when the day is light everyone is in Shul. And some alert the children from the time they reach teachable age to get up [too].

Halichot Shlomo, Chapter 1, Sleep on Rosh Hashana, 23

R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (1919-1995)

Although they said (Rema Section 583:2 in the name of the Yerushalmi) "One who sleeps on Rosh Hashana, his mazal sleeps", it is not our practice to get up early before dawn or sunrise*.

* And although the decisors imply (see Mateh Efrayim Section 584:1 and others) that to uphold the words of the Rema some rise from sleep before dawn, this is not the practice in our times. And we rely [on the argument that] all who sleep as normal every day, that follows from sleeping at night, and [the prohibition] only applies to lying down to sleep initially in the daytime.

** And see in Mateh Yehuda Section 583:7 who is in doubt about this. And he brought a proof from one who leaves his succah to sleep in his home because of the rain, where at dawn he is obligated to return to his succah, [with the suggestion being] that the same would apply in our case. So the opinion of Rabbeinu regarding succah is that one also does not need to get up at dawn, rather only at the time they would regularly get up. And so was said to questioners in our case and the like (so there is) a proof from this regarding succah, and in earlier generations it was different, for they would regularly get up from sleep at a very early time, and therefore they were particular about [also doing] this on Rosh Hashana, in contrast to our generation.

Elef Lemateh 598:1

R' Ephraim Zalman Margoliot (1762-1828)

And regarding [the statement that] the Arizal slept after chatzot, halevai that it should be in our capacity when awake to do a thousandth of what he could do when asleep.

Mateh Yehuda 483:7

R' Yehuda Ayash (1688-1760)

And it is also the practice not to sleep on the day of Rosh Hashana. The reason, some say, is that [one who sleeps] shows themselves to be unconcerned by the judgement being adjudicated above, and one has to be awake and see oneself as being in awe and trembling in fear of the judgement. And although we dress nicely and cut our hair on Rosh Hashana eve to show that we are confident [we will be judged favourably], it is possible that it is different on the day of judgement [itself]. However, according to what the Levush writes regarding the reason [we do not say] Hallel, [namely] that since it is the start of the day when we sit in judgement, and sleep [in daytime] is generally after chatzot, there are grounds to be lenient. And on the basis of this rationale, the Levush omits this practice and does not mention it, because he follows his stated rationale. But some distinguish in case sleep is different.

Taima Dekra, Rosh Hashana, p. 175

R' Chaim Kanievsky (1928-2022)

The word damech means lying down...[so] some say there is only an issue with sleeping lying down, but not with napping while seated and the like.

Shaar Hatzion, Sub-Section 10

R' Yisrael Meir Kagan (1838-1933)

And in a difficult situation one can certainly rely on the practice of the [Maharam].