The first birth of the Jewish New Year 5787 occured at the North Medical Center (Poriya) on Friday, when a baby girl was born to Hodiya Cohen-Alilishvili of Hodiyot.
Cohen-Alilishvili was 39 weeks pregnant when she arrived at the hospital, with her new baby weighing in at just over 3 kilograms.
She arrived directly from a Rosh Hashanah celebration with her husband Tal and two-and-a-half-year-old daughter at her parents' home in Tiberias, where she began having contractions.
Shift Supervisor and Deputy Midwife Tahrir Masalha attended to the mother, who described Cohen-Alilishvili as "calm and determined" when she arrived.
Masalha: 'No better way to start the new year'
"She had a natural birth without pain medication and cooperated amazingly throughout the entire process," said Masalha. "For us as a team, there is no better way to start the new year than with a birth and new life.
"It is a great privilege to be there with the family at such a moment, especially at the start of a new year filled with joy and hope," she added.