Return: Rosh Hashanah

Blowing the shofar

Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the world. It is like a combined birthday, anniversary, and New Year's celebration all in one. Like the National Anthem being sung prior to a World Series game or a bugle blown prior to the Kentucky Derby to "take note!"... Rosh Hashanah is a time to take note, to celebrate, but it also proclaims a time of quiet introspection and repentance. 

Jews are preparing for an important event to come (the upcoming holiday Yom Kippur, the Jewish Holiest Day of the year). During the 2-day observance and celebration of Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah/Feast of Trumpets/a day of awakening/the Jewish New Year-- (Jewish holidays many times have more than one name and more than one spelling), a horn called a shofar (a cleaned-out ram's horn) is sounded, blown a total of 100 notes each day in the synagogue which calls the people to repent of their sins. (If the holiday of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, the shofar is sounded in the Holy Temple, but not in the land. Current Jewish law forbids the blowing of the shofar on the Sabbath, for fear of violating the prohibition against carrying objects in public). 

Three basic sounds blown on the shofar are: 1) a long, drawn-out note or blast, which is a grand sound used for proclamation and coronation; 2) briefer notes; 3) and very short notes. The sound of the shofar reminds many Jews of a person crying and helps them to reflect on their own sins and shortcomings. "Religions of the World: Judaism," p. 32.

Teshua is a term used regarding Rosh Hashanah. According to "Jewish Spirituality for Christians" p. 88-89 "Teshua is usually translated as 'repentance,'... it is a dominant theme during the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur..." One statement about Teshua is, "[It] means the world's salvation: to fully return to God would repair all creation and bring the Messiah."

"Jewish Lights" explains, "Rosh Hashana... falls in September or early October. Its main theme is 'remembrance' and 'return' to the Source of Creation... it is required for all Jews to hear a shofar on this day. The esoteric teaching is that the shofar confuses the 'accuser,' the negative energy left behind by our unskillful behavior" p. 187.

Rosh Hashanah facts:

• In contrast to the ecclesiastical lunar new year on the first day of the first month Nissan (the spring Passover months), Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the civil year
• It is a 2-day celebration. In 2023, the holiday started at sundown on Friday and ended at sundown on Sunday
• The traditional Rosh Hashanah greeting is, L'shana Tovah (have a good, sweet year)
• A custom is to eat apples dipped in honey and honey cake, representing God's provision and sweetness that He will manifest in the coming year
• It is the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve
• Rosh Hashanah is one of the four early rain Holy Days
• It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (Leviticus 23:23-25)
• High Holy Days include both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
• Rosh Hashanah marks the start of the holiest period on the Jewish calendar
• Some wear white on Rosh Hashanah, which symbolizes working on purifying ethically and morally during the High Holy Days. In the synagogue, the Torah is covered with a white cloth and rabbis wear white robes (Kittels)
• Like exclamation points (or trumpet sounds) Rosh Hashanah begins a time for Jews to reflect on their behavior in the past and to try to right any wrongs they may have done
• It begins the Ten Days of Penitence (the Days of Awe or Judgment), a time of deep introspection, that ends on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

Prior to Rosh Hashanah, we give a special offering. Sometimes it is given to the Red Cross, or Convoy of Hope, sometimes to our house of worship. It is a faith statement that whatever happens during the coming year, good or bad, happy or sad, we want our finances and our lives to be in God's hands.

Many Jews perform a ritual called tashlikh, throwing breadcrumbs into a body of water. The ritual symbolically casts sins away, from the Old Testament verse, "You shall cast out our sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19).

"The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices" p. 274 has tongue-in-cheek suggestions for the choice of breadcrumbs:

Ordinary sins   White bread
Exotic sins    French or Italian bread
Dark sins    Pumpernickel
Complex sins    Multigrain
Truly Warped sins    Pretzels  😖
Sins of indecision    Waffles
Being ill-tempered    Sourdough   😡
Excessive use of irony    Rye bread
Continual bad jokes    Corn bread  😂
Hardening our heart    Jelly doughnuts

And 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 solemn rest,
 a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation..."

Leviticus 23:23-24