Jewish Feasts - Rosh Hashana/Feast of Trumpets

Rosh Hashanah aka Feast of Trumpets (Sept 25th – 27th)/Yom Kippur aka Day of Atonement

Scripture References: Leviticus 23:23-25; 27-28, Numbers 29:1

Well, it’s that time again.  Time for another post on the next Jewish holiday.  And right in time for our trip.  Not sure if this is a good thing or not.  I will let you know.  

This is the first of the Fall Feasts.  Rosh Hashanah, which means “head of the year, is one of the most important holidays on the Jewish calendar.  It’s their New Year celebration.  This is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve.  This is a time of both celebration and serious introspection, a time to celebrate the completion of another year and reflecting on your own life for the next.  It’s a time to ask God for forgiveness of the sins committed the previous year and commit to not repeat them in the coming year.

Rosh Hashanah is filled with mitzvahs (commandment/good deeds), special food, and traditions. Good deeds are done, and charity is given in the hopes that God will seal their names in the “Book of Life,” which brings the promise of a happy year to come.  More to come on this.

It is customary to have a big feast on both nights of Rosh Hashanah and attend a High Holy Day service where the shofar, the rams horn, is blown. During the feast many sweet foods are eaten, and bread and fruits are dipped in honey, to symbolize the hope of a sweet new year. A popular tradition with this holiday is when the people throw crumbs or pieces of bread, which represent their sins, into flowing water.

Regarding the shofar, in scripture, the shofar represents a trumpet blast that is sounded at a king’s coronation, serves as a call to repentance, and it recalls the binding of Isaac (which happened on Rosh Hashanah), as a reminder of the covenant between God and the people of Israel.

In the Old Testament times, the Israelites were also commanded to offer a burnt offering consisting of a young bull, a ram, and seven lambs.  A kid goat was also sacrificed as a sin offering. These were all in addition to the required daily sacrifices. This all stopped in AD70 when their Temple of destroyed.

Next, there are 10 days that separate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, known as “The Days of Awe”.  It’s believed that God reviews the books of judgement on Rosh Hashanah and then delivers judgement on Yom Kippur.  These 10 days are considered the last chance for a person to repent before God’s judgement falls, possibly resulting in death in the upcoming year.  It’s also believed that three books are opened, and everyone’s name is written in one of the books.  The three books include:

·      Book of Life for the wicked – if name is here, judgement is final and that person’s life will be cut short in the coming year.

·      Book of Life for the righteous – if name is here, granted another year of life and prosperity

·      Book of Life for the in-between – if name is here, their lives are hanging in the balance.  If they sincerely repent during “The Days of Awe”, God will grant them life until the following Yom Kippur.  

Yom Kippur, aka Day of Atonement, is the most solemn religious fast of the Jewish year.  More on this in the next post.

Backing up a bit, I previously posted about Isreal’s Spring Feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost).  Each of these have all been fulfilled in the first coming of the Messiah, Jesus in case you weren’t aware.

The three fall feasts (Rosh Hashanah, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles) will all be fulfilled at the Messiah’s second coming.  If we take the above information about Rosh Hashanah, it will be a very dark day for Israel.  Rosh Hashanah occurs at the new moon, when the sky is at its darkest.  Israel’s priests warned of a coming judgement day for the nation (Amos 5:18-20, Zeph 1:14-16, Joel 2:31) and it will be a day when the Lord turns off the heavenly lights, pours out His wrath on the wicked, and bring Israel to repentance and into the new covenant.  

Ancient tradition is that the resurrection of the dead would occur on Rosh Hashanah, on a blast of the shofar. Another reason for the blowing of the shofar/trumpet, is to gather an assembly before the Lord.  

 More to Come – Stay Tuned.