The Big Picture:
Rosh Hashanah (literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. In biblical times, as today, Rosh Hashanah was a holy day for the people of Israel (including Jesus!). Leviticus 23:23-25 provides one set of instructions for celebrating this holy day, also known as the Festival of Trumpets.
Leviticus 23:23-25:
"The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: speak to the people of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of complete rest, a holy convocation commemorated with trumpet blasts. You shall not work at your occupations; and you shall present the LORD's offering by fire."
Rosh Hashanah begins the Fall holiday season. The Festival of Trumpets is followed by two major holidays in quick succession: Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement (nine days after Rosh Hashanah), and Sukkot, or the Festival of Booths, (beginning five days after Yom Kippur).
We will celebrate Rosh Hashanah on Sunday, Sept 13th, the actual date first date for the holiday this year.
Dust of the Rabbi:
Getting Into the Rhythm of Jesus
Rosh Hashanah is not only a celebration of the New Year; it is also a celebration of creation, a "birthday for the world." The rhythm in the spiritual life begins with creation, where God chose to make the universe not in 1 day, but in 6 days and a rest. God designed our world with days, months and seasons that give a pattern and process to our lives. These are reminders of the new beginnings that God constantly offers us: morning follows evening, Sunday follows Saturday, spring follows winter. As the New Year begins, we remember the One who made all things, and who continues to make all things new.
As we enter into the annual rhythm of the Israelites, our year will begin to take on a pattern marked by the same observances that defined and shaped the life of Jesus. At the beginning of this new Jewish year, what do you need Jesus to make new in your life? What does it mean for you to follow Jesus through the Festival of Trumpets, knowing that He was present at the literal birthday of the world?
Extras:
You may have noticed from Leviticus that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, falls on the first day of the seventh month of the year! Originally, this date was the beginning of the calendar year; however, in Exodus 12:2, the LORD instructs Moses and Aaron to reorganize the calendar of the Israelites because of the significance of the Passover and the Exodus. God ordains that the month of Passover, named Nisan, would be for the Israelites the first month of the year. The Israelites retained the Festival of Trumpets (also ordained by God) as the civil new year, and recognized the month of Passover as the start of the religious calendar.
The trumpet used for Rosh Hashanah is made from a ram's horn, and called a "shofar." Shofars are used throughout the Old Testament, including in Exodus 19:16 when a blast of a trumpet (shofar) comes from God on Mt. Sinai.