Blow the Trumpet in Zion

Blowing the Shofar

photo source




Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly...

- Joel 2:15

I would have despaired unless I had believed
that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

- Psalm 27:13, 14

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.

- Psalm 37:5, 6 (TNIV)

Today I take time to write a special post about a significant Jewish feast. This is to acknowledge that my faith has a spiritual connection to its Jewish roots, and that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the same God I worship and obey today.

Beginning at sundown today, September 28, to nightfall of September 30, Jews around the world will hold their yearly celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

It is also known as the Feast of Trumpets.

Rosh Hashanah literally means "head of the year" but the holiday actually takes place on the first two days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which is the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar. This is because Rosh Hashanah, one of four new years in the Jewish year, is considered the new year of people, animals and legal contracts.

Rosh Hashanah heralds the newness of the year with special traditions such as the blowing of the Shofar, or ram's horn, which symbolizes a trumpet fanfare at the coronation of a king.

A common greeting on Rosh Hashanah is shana tovah u'metukah, Hebrew for "a good and sweet new year."

Mostly sweet foods are eaten in celebration of Rosh Hashanah, such as challah bread dipped in honey or apple slices dipped in honey, to symbolize the desire for a sweet year.

In the Jewish oral tradition, Rosh Hashanah marks the completion of the creation of the world and highlights the special relationship between God and mankind.

The Talmud describes this day as one of malchuyot, zichronot, shofrot -- sovereignty, remembrance and shofar, a reminder of the goodness of God to His people and the importance of righteous living.

Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days, or Yamim Noraim (the "Days of Awe"), and is followed ten days later by Yom Kippur, the "day of atonement."

The Mishnah refers to Rosh Hashanah as the "day of judgment." It is believed that on this day God opens the Book of Life, reviews the deeds of His people, and begins to decide who shall live and who shall die. Those found righteous are sealed to life on Yom Kippur.

The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are therefore viewed as an opportunity for Jews to repent and ensure a good fate.

The Jews believe that the High Holy Days offer a month-long opportunity for self-evaluation, praying in community and ritual which allows them to create a spiritual journey, corporately and individually.

The Days of Awe, or ten days of repentance, are meant to be spent in "serious reflection, repentance and making amends." (Lauren Bottner in From Selichot to Simchat Torah)

"This is a time of year when we seek reconciliation with people we may have wronged during the year, or at any time," Bottner writes. "According to the Talmud, on Yom Kippur we can atone for sins between ourselves and God, but for our sins against people, we must seek forgiveness from those people and attempt to right any wrongs we may have committed."

Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is generally considered by Jews to be the holiest day of the year. It goes back to the days of Moses, and serves as a solemn reminder of the day that God forgave the Israelites for their sin of worshiping a golden calf.

The focal point of Yom Kippur is a full day — actually, nearly 26 hours — of fasting.

At the end of Yom Kippur's fasting is an elaborate feast, after which preparations begin for Sukkot, the Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles), a seven-day festival that celebrates God's protection of the Jews during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. For these seven days, many Jews will build a sukkah, a three-sided booth made from a material that grows from the ground. During the week they will eat their meals in the sukkah — many will also sleep and socialize there.There is also a special traditional prayer that is given while holding four different kinds of branches — citron, palm, myrtle and willow — waving the branches in all directions, representing God's presence everywhere.

Rabbi Al Sulkes writes:

The rituals, prayers, meditations and deeds of the High Holy Days are designed to respond to a deep psychological need of all human beings to make some sense of their lives.

Yet as important as self-examination is, the other aspect is equally important.

It is never too late to turn your life around.

Contemplation must be followed by action.

Past is prologue, but what you do today and tomorrow is all that really matters.

Rabbi Sulkes told of another rabbi who taught her disciples that everyone should repent the day before they die. The disciples were perplexed and responded, "No one knows the day they are going to die."

The rabbi replied, "Then make every day a day of repentance."

My Prayer:

Father, I take time to worship You today, the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. I acknowledge You as the God of Creation.

May Your eternal plans and purposes for me -- plans for reconciliation, repentance, and forgiveness -- be accomplished in me and through me not just these next ten days but for as long as I am on this sacred journey.

In humility, I bow before You, seeking always to be a life-giver, an agent of blessing and a messenger of peace.

Sharing a special timely Rosh Hashanah message from a dear kingdom friend, Alberto:

Dear Special One,

In spite of worldwide conflicts, the Holy Spirit is guiding the true Church into its greatest season of transformation. We must not look at the pressures of our times as though they were obstacles set up to restrict us. For in the hands of the Almighty these are the very tools He is using to perfect us (see Chapter 6 of Francis Frangipane's This Day We Fight).

God is sifting through the multitude to get His 300 as in Gideon's time. He is going to refine us and remove the dross in order to make us pure, holy, and strong for our Kingdom Assignment.

He is training us to become like Navy Seals. Though tough and many quit, like Christ's disciples we shall remain with Him till His cross and will derive strength from Him to face ours as well.

Jesus Himself had to check if His disciples were with Him-- whether they understood Him, whether they still wanted to remain with Him. He asks His Special Ones the same thing. For those who have ears, that they will hear. In a way He is testing our hearing.

As we enter this Jewish New Year season, by God's mercy and grace, let us open ourselves to be filled with new wine from Jesus and the refreshing infilling of the Holy Spirit to go the next leg of our journey with Him.

Information on this post was taken from the following sources:

Deseret News, September 27, 2011

From Selichot to Simchat Torah

Rosh Hashanah 2011