The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim (, Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm; "Days of Awe") strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"); by extension, the period of ten days including those holidays, known also as the Ten Days of Repentance (Aseret Yemei Teshuvah); or, by a further extension, the entire 40-day penitential period in the Jewish year from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Yom Kippur, traditionally taken to represent the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai before coming down with the second ("replacement") set of the Tablets of Stone. Etymology The term High Holy Days most probably derives from the popular English phrase, “high days and holydays”. The Hebrew equivalent, "Yamim Noraim" (), is neither Biblical nor Talmudic. Professor Ismar Elbogen, author of “Jewish Liturgy in its Historical Development”, avers that it was a medieval usage, reflecting a change in the mood of Rosh Hashanah from a predominantly joyous celebration to a more subdued day that was a response to a period of persecution. Reform Judaism typically prefers the term High Holy Days over High Holidays because the former emphasizes the personal, reflective, introspective aspects of this period. By contrast, Holidays suggests a time of communal celebrations of events in the history of the Jewish people. The days preceding Rosh Hashanah (Jewish new year) The Hebrew month preceding Rosh Hashanah, Elul, is designated as a month of introspection and repentance. In preparation for the Jewish New Year, special prayers are recited. In many communities, is added at the end of morning and evening prayers. The shofar (ram's horn) is blown at the end of morning services on weekdays, and in some communities in the afternoon service as well (it is omitted on the eve of Rosh Hashanah in order to differentiate between the customary blasts of the month of Elul and the obligatory blasts of Rosh Hashanah, and in some communities it is omitted for the 3 days proceeding Rosh Hashanah). Among Sephardi Jews, Selichot are recited at dawn on weekdays throughout the month. Also, many complete the entire Book of Psalms twice during the month. It is customary to increase the giving of charity (Tzedakah) and to ask forgiveness from people one may have wronged. At midnight on the Saturday night or Sunday morning before Rosh Hashanah