Following The Ancient Paths
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Feast of Trumpets - Yom Teruah (aka Rosh Hashanah)
Posted in Holidays and Celebrations
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Leviticus 23:23 - 25 The LORD spoke to Moshe, saying, “Speak to the children of Yisra'el, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.’” Numbers 29:1 - 6 In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing of trumpets to you. You shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savor to the LORD: one young bull, one ram, seven he-lambs a year old without blemish; and their meal-offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenth parts for the bull, two tenth parts for the ram, and one tenth part for every lamb of the seven lambs; and one male goat for a sin-offering, to make atonement for you; besides the burnt offering of the new moon, and the meal-offering of it, and the continual burnt offering and the meal-offering of it, and their drink-offerings, according to their ordinance, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire to the LORD. Background Yom Teruah basically means “day of noise/blasts”. "Teruah” is traditionally understood as the blowing of the shofar, specifically the ram’s horn. In the English Bible is is referred to as the Feast of Trumpets and comes at the end of the agricultural year in Israel. As noted in the verses above, Yom Teruah is on the first day of the seventh month which is called Etanim, or more commonly called Tishri. Generally speaking, Yom Teruah comes at the time of the last harvest of the year, so in Exodus 34:22 this season is referred to as the end of the year. However, we must remember that HaShem specifically states that the year begins in Aviv, the month of Passover. It is not difficult for us to understand this concept because many of us are in the midst of a “new year” ourselves whether it be a new school year or a new fiscal year or a new year at church. This is why Yom Teruah is also called Rosh Hashanah, meaning the New Year, the new civil year. Yom Teruah marks the beginning of the moedim, appointed times, that last through the twenty-second day of the seventh month, ending after the eighth day of Sukkkot (Feast of Tabernacles/Booths). This is a joyous time of celebration and worship of our Father. The Akeidah Leviticus 23 tells us that the blowing is a memorial but it does not state what it is a memorial of. Many believe that it is a memorial of G-d’s grace to Abraham when He substituted a ram in place of Isaac. This is known as the Akeidah (the binding of Isaac). Traditionally, Judaism remembers the akeidah at Yom Teruah. There are many parallels between Isaac and Yeshua. Both men were sons of promise, both came into the world under miraculous circumstances with their comings announced by angels, through both men the world has been blessed. Both were beloved sons of their fathers who were blameless with neither one deserving any form of capital punishment, both had to carry the materials of their judgment to the mount of their sacrifices and both men were in their thirties. Both Isaac and Yeshua went willingly and without uttering words in their defense or attempting to change the mind of their fathers. And both of these men lived after the event - Isaac being substituted with a ram and Yeshua being raised up on the third day. Some believe that Isaac was indeed slain and that G-d resurrected him in His faithfulness. The Shofar and Judgment The blowing of the shofar has special significance on this day. The shofar has a beautiful sound and is sounded in specific repetition during this time. The shofar/trumpet is blown at special festivals and to herald the arrival of special seasons. Alfred Edersheim wrote that “One of it’s main purposes was to rouse men to repentance. In fact, the commentator Maimonides (1135 - 1204) makes use of the following words to denote the meaning of the blowing of trumpets: ‘Rouse ye, rouse ye from your slumber; awake, awake from your sleep, you who mind vanity, for slumber most heavy has fallen upon you. Take it to heart, before whom you are to give an acount in the judgment.’” In Scripture the shofar/trumpet sounding is almost always a summons, a war-cry, an alert warning (to prepare for something), to hail an arrival, or a wake-up call if someone is sleeping (spiritually or physically). The shofar is sounded today, as I understand, in Israel just before battle as it was in the days of old. One thing to remember is that not every mention of shofar/trumpet blasts in Scripture is in reference to Yom Teruah. We do know that our Master will return with a shout of the shofar/trumpet and I think this is why many people believe that He will return on Yom Teruah. I cannot say if He will or if He won’t, but I do know that He said “No man knows the hour or the day”. This is a common reference used about Rosh Chodesh/New Moon because we must be attentive and watching to see the first sliver of the new moon. We may know when and where to look, but we still need to be waiting and watching. More is written about Rosh Chodesh and awaiting the return of our Master here. Because Yom Teruah falls on the first day of the seventh month, it is also a Rosh Chodesh. Could it be that this is indeed the season, the very day, of His return? During Yom Teruah the return of G-d is a major concept and in Believing circles it is the return of our Master that we await. This seems to be related to the season of Teshuvah during the month of Elul because we are encouraged to remember the past year and make things right between ourselves and our fellow man as well as between ourselves and G-d. It is a tradition that G-d takes ten days to make a decision about a sinners repentance and to pronounce final judgment on Yom Kippur/The Day of Atonement. It is tradition that there are three books opened at this time: The Book of Life for those who have returned to G-d, The Book of the Wholly Wicked for those who hate Him, and then the intermediary book for those who are “in between”. It is said that these “in between” people have ten more days to repent. But once the books are sealed they are sealed for another year. Hence the theme of repentance and returning to G-d in the month of Elul and in the Days of Awe. Yom Teruah begins a 10 day period of time known as the Days of Awe in which the blowing of the shofar is followed by a time of introspection, worshipers looking into their own hearts and lives for misdeeds and transgressions. These ten days are days of repentance and preparation for judgment. Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) is the tenth day of the seventh month and is known as “Judgment Day”. This is a serious time of restitution and repentance that is celebrated annually. It is a good thing to have a set apart time to really examine ourselves and our lives. It is a good practice to deal with sin and errors right away every day of our lives, that is true, but as we all know, sometimes little things grow into big things and we don’t always deal with them as we should. This is a serious season for us to make things right and to better ourselves because we wear His Name. We should take that seriously enough to gladly inspect our lives at every opportunity. Traditions Traditions at Yom Teruah include: Blowing of the shofar, wearing white to symbolize purity, the tashlich ceremony (casting a stone into a body of water), and the exchange of greetings such as “Lashana Tova!” (Have a good year!) or “Lashana Tova Tikatevu!” (May you be inscribed [in the Book of Life] for a good year”. There are also special services and traditions within the Synogague. Tashlich is an interesting ceremony that is based on Micah 7:19 which states: "And Thou wilt cast (ve-tashlich) all their sins into the depths of the sea" This is generally done with prayer, confession of sin, and a relinquishing of that sin. To cast our stones into the water is a physical reminder of His casting our sins away into the sea of forgetfulness. Special foods are eaten such as: Round challah (to symbolize the cycle of life), fruit, apples and honey (for a sweet new year), honey cakes, and carrot tzimmes (one of our family favorites!). Remember that this is a celebration, a festive time. Solemn assemblies can also be joyous ones. This is a holy day, an appointed time. This is a feast. Resources for activities and more information Some of these links I can recommend because we have used them as a family. Others I have only recently found and cannot vouch for their credibility. I list them here as resources for my readers to consider for themselves. Torah Family Magazine: Fall Festivals - Special Kids' Edition Rosh Hashana Family Celebration Guide from Torah Family Magazine Feast of Trumpets from BiblicalHolidays.com Rosh Hashanah activities for children Customs of Rosh Hashana Yom Teruah Guide from Messianic World Site How to celebrate? In reading the above passages from Leviticus and Numbers we read that Yom Teruah is to be a special Shabbat, a holy convocation where we do no regular work. Psalm 27 and 81 are prescribed for this special time. There are other readings prescribed as well, which can be easily found online. There are prescribed sacrifices for Yom Teruah but because there is no Temple, we are left with prayer. Yom Teruah is to be a reminder, a memorial. Though Scripture is vague about what it is a memorial of, as Believers we take this opportunity to remember our Master and His work on our behalf. This is a time for offering forgiveness and reconciliation with family, friends and business associates. The tradition of tashlich is performed by many. There are wonderful foods associated with Yom Teruah, helping to make it a special and set apart celebration so have a marvelous feast. On the “Day of Noise/Blowing” we are encouraged to shout aloud with songs of praise to our G-d, to make a joyful noise unto the L-RD so music is certainly a part of Yom Teruah, particularly if it involves horns or trumpets. Remember, it must be LOUD! With all the noise it will be a difficult day to forget. May your festival celebration be joyous and may you remember it always! |
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