Rosh Hashanah ~ The New Year.

Last night was the Jewish New Year here! Someone from The Joshua Fund wrote about Rosh Hashanah explaining this holiday so I wanted to share it. We had very little understanding about this until now but after experiencing the evening with some friends, we now have more of an idea what the 'blowing of the trumpets' is all about which sounded around Jerusalem yesterday and today.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.  'You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.' “Leviticus 23: 23-25 (NKJV)

The observance of Rosh Hashanah, often referred to as “the Feast of Trumpets,” begins at sundown Wednesday, September 24^th this year in 2014. God describes its observance in Leviticus 23:23-25. It is a day of sounding trumpets in the Temple and throughout the land of Israel. The Bible says less about the Feast of Trumpets than any of the other feasts. It was simply a holy day celebrated with trumpet blasts on the first day of the seventh month.

Rosh Hashanah begins the season of the fall feasts and was considered the holiest time of the year. Because the Feast of Trumpets was the first of the three, over centuries it came to be called Rosh Hashanah, literally meaning “Head of the Year,” or New Year’s Day. It is intended as a celebration marking a “spiritual” new year, a special time set apart for a new beginning with the Lord.

Following the A.D. 70 destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the continued observance of the Feast of Trumpets was threatened due to the absence of the Temple and its sacrificial system. The emphasis was shifted to preserve the observance of the holiday for a people scattered outside their homeland and deprived of their Temple.

The feast is celebrated today with several blasts of the trumpet or shofar. It is a very solemn time just preceding the holiest day of the year: The Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, God’s atonement and forgiveness is sought and His judgment feared. The ten days from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur are called the Days of Awe, when one considers his sins before God and enters into a period of repentance, of asking forgiveness from God and those you have harmed, and of restitution. Just as Israel’s other feasts, the Feast of Trumpets carries strong prophetic overtones, as it portrays future events for the God’s people and the nation.

While there is no special celebration of the Feast of Trumpets among New Testament believers, it is certainly a time to repent, seek forgiveness and make restitution, as we wait for the trumpet call of the coming of the King of Kings, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. I Thessalonians 4:16-18

Upon our arrival at our friends apartment, (every person we have visited lives in an apartment), we were greeted with honey and apples which represent the fruitfulness and sweetness of the new year. There were roast potatoes, chicken, salmon, rice, green beans, salads and a delicious squash I have never tried before. My Scottish friend who has lived here for the past 9 years, made homemade challah bread which so good. They broke it, sprinkled it with salt and then passed it around for everyone to share. There was also a cup of wine which was passed around for everyone to sip and many blessings and prayers were spoken in hebrew. For dessert we had apple crumble with ice cream and a very moist apple and honey cake! The apartment was bursting with Scots, English and Jewish believers and non-believers also. So many gathered together from different parts of the world but all celebrating the holiday, good food and friendship. Our family had the privilege of meeting new people once again and learning more about this beautiful nation.

Pomegranates for fertility. The yellow fruit is a bunch of dates…. believe it or not. I tasted one and it was the most unusual texture, very starchy at first then very sweet. These dates will eventually dry out and turn brown so that they look more like the ones we buy. I had no idea…..! Dates are one of my favourite fruits.

Please do pray for Isaac. For any of you who have followed our travels to either China or Uganda, you might remember how he always gets a high fever, chills and sickness at some point during our trip. Well Israel appears to be no exception. My boy has been in bed all day and is not well at all. He is sweating a lot and has an upset stomach. (Not related to the meal last night because he started feeling a little off before we went and just ended up eating bread). We are praying that he soon recovers and that his fever finally breaks. We would appreciate your prayers for him and also for the rest of our family.

Thank you so much for following along and praying for us! It has been lovely to read the comments and to hear from some of you. So many of you have been to this amazing land already and it has encouraged me to hear your stories and experiences and how the Lord blessed your time here also.

Shanah Tovah!