The year 5770 was celebrated last night as thousands of Jews across the Richmond region gathered for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, which began at sundown. Rosh Hashana falls on the first day of the Jewish month Tishri. It begins a period of introspection and making amends in advance of Yom Kippur, a day of atonement that begins at sundown 10 days later on Sept. 27.

Leaders of Richmond’s Muslim community said they are pleased with President Barack Obama’s speech yesterday in Cairo, not just because they’re Muslims but also because they’re Americans. “There’s a lot of excitement,“ said Imam Ammar Amonette of the Islamic Center of Virginia. Obama “addressed both the American Muslim community and our history and our part in America, as well as acknowledged the Muslim world as a whole and the need for a new beginning of mutual respect and recognizing problems.“