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| SHOFAR - Photo credit under Sources |
In today's modern practice, Jews (and Christians who choose to do so) celebrate the beginning of the new year on Tishri 1, which is called by various names, most commonly Rosh HaShanah, which translated from Hebrew means "Head of the Year". Tishri 1 has other names, which describe various aspects of the celebration of the new year. They are: Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets), and Yom haZikkaron (Day of Remembrance) and Yom haDin (Day of Judgment).
As a reminder, and to frame all of this:
Elul is the 12th month of the civil calendar. It contains the first 30 days of Teshuvah (repentance season).
Tishri 1 begins the last 10 days of Teshuvah (40 days total) and ends on Tishri 9, the day before Yom Kippur (Tishri 10).
The last 10 days of Teshuvah are called "the days of awe" (Yamim Nora'im), High Holy Days, the most sacred time of the Jewish year.
There is no way I can encapsulate in 2-3 blog posts all there is to know about Rosh haShanah, before Tishri 1 arrives this year. So, I am going to attempt to hit the high points, as an introduction to those who may be unfamiliar, as I was, and also to establish the relevance of this first of the seven festivals of the biblical civil calendar to the Christian walk.
Let's begin with the passage in Leviticus 23, which establishes this festival as one of the seven sacred festivals of the year. (Remember that Tishri is the 7th month on the religious calendar, and the first month on the civil calendar.)
23And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD.”
Leviticus 23:24 (ESV)
In general, the blowing of the shofar was done to announce the beginning of Festivals, to muster troops, to warn of danger, to assemble the people for a special purpose, and also for coronation ceremonies.1 The shofar is blown for many of these same reasons in Jewish and Hebraic Christian gatherings today.
In the month of Elul, leading up to Rosh haShanah, a shofar (ram's horn) is blown every day following the morning service. Psalm 27 is read aloud every morning during these daily services.
These ceremonies emphasize the theme of repentance, leading up to and beyond Tishri 1, Rosh haShanah. The shofar (trumpet) call during Elul is a call to repentance, before Rosh haShanah arrives. The shofar blast, the trumpet blast, is also an awakening blast. More about that in a moment.
Another Bible passage that is often read aloud in many Jewish communities during Elul is Ezekiel 33:1-7.
1The word of the LORD came to me: 2“Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, 3and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
7“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
In the Ezekiel passage the watchman on the wall is warning of coming judgment. The Jewish rabbinical tradition has been for centuries that it will be on Rosh haShanah that the often-mentioned Day of the Lord will begin.
The Messianic Kingdom of Jesus Christ began at His first "advent", or coming, to Earth. Those who believed on Him and who believe on Him today enter into God's restoration, through personal salvation, thereby gaining eternal life. Upon their physical death, they went (or will go) immediately in spirit to be with their Savior, Yeshua haMashiach, Jesus Christ. However, their restoration will not be complete until Jesus Christ returns to the Earth the second time, sounds the trumpet, raises the dead bodies of the righteous dead, catches up (Greek: harpazo) those Christian believers who are alive at the time, and gives to all those a resurrected body like that of the Savior. Christ's second coming, to get His Bride, begins the great and terrible Day of the Lord.
The Day of the Lord, or Jacob's Trouble as it is sometimes called, has many other names in the Bible. Suffice it to say, it is a time at the end of days which features horrendous judgment for those remaining on Earth.
The awakening blast of the shofar on the particular, future Rosh haShanah that begins the Day of the Lord is associated with the coming of The Messiah. It is referred to in Isaiah 51:9 (ESV)
But My righteousness will last forever, My salvation through all generations.” 9Awaken, awaken, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon? 10Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over?
Compare that passage to Ephesians 5:14-17 (BSB). Could the apostle Paul have been referencing an ancient Temple prayer for Rosh haShanah?
14So it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise up from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
The apostle Paul also describes the resurrection of the righteous and the catching up, mentioned earlier in this post, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (BSB).
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. 17After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
There's that trumpet again. On Rosh haShanah, in most synagogues, the shofar is blown many times in succession. To blow the shofar 100 times, in a set pattern is a common practice.2
The last blast of the shofar is called the tekiah gedolah, and is one long, loud blast.3
The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:52, refers to "the last trumpet", which many interpret to mean the tekiah gedolah of Rosh haShanah, as the moment that will signal/initiate The Rapture of Jesus Christ's Church, and those righteous dead mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
Well, this just scratches the surface of Rosh haShanah, the first of the seven sacred mo'ed (Hebrew for "appointed times"). There are additional facets and themes, which will be explored in the next post.
Sources:
1 Good, J. (1998). Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom to come: an interpretation of the Feast of Trumpets based upon ancient sources. Nederland, TX: Hatikva
2 https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/746659/jewish/Why-do-we-blow-the-shofar-so-many-times.htm
3 https://jewsforjesus.org/jewish-resources/community/jewish-holidays/rosh-hashanah/
Photo Credit: wallyg <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/70323761@N00/9270596039">Atlanta - Poncey-Highland: Jimmy Carter Library and Museum - Shofar</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)</a>
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