Rosh Hashana

" Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation." (Leviticus 23:24)

Name and Meaning

Rosh Hashanah falls on the first day of the month of Tishri. The term Rosh HaShanah (Head of the Year) occurs only once in the Hebrew scriptures in Ezekiel 40:1. It is the beginning of the Civil Calendar and corresponds to some time around August/September on the Gregorian Calendar.

Originally, Rosh HaShanah was to be celebrated for only one day. In ancient Israel the new month was declared when two reliable witnesses reported to the Sanhedrin that they had seen the new moon. It was validated and signals were sent throughout the land to let the people in surrounding villages that the new moon was set and they could celebrate the feast of new moon. Because Rosh HaShanah fell on the beginning of the new moon and because word was not always able to get to the surrounding villages in time for the people to celebrate the feast at the appropriate time, the feast was lengthened to two days. Once the Jewish calendar was established, the need for runners and signals were eliminated. However, the second day of Rosh HaShanah was kept in order that the right day is celebrated.

It is believed by the Rabbis that the world was created on this day. To substantiate their theory they show that if the first word in the Hebrew Bible, Bereshit, is taken and its letters rearranged it spells “the first of Tishri.” During the time of Philo of Alexandria (20 B.C.E.-40 C.E.) the feast was known as Chag Hashofaret “Festival of the Shofar.”

It is also known as Yom Tru’a “Day of the Shofar Blast.” In Jewish tradition it is also known as Yom HaDin “The Day of Judgment” a title that the feast shares with Yom Kippur. According to Jewish tradition, on this day God open three books in Heaven, where the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those in the intermediate class are recorded. It is believed that the thoroughly righteous will be immediately inscribed in the “book of life,” the thoroughly wicked are immediately inscribed in the “book of the dead” . Those who are found in the intermediate class have their fate suspended from Rosh HaShanah until the Day of Atonement, where if they have repented and been found deserving they are inscribed in the book of life, if not they are inscribed in the book of death and have no part in the world to come. This is based on the interpretation of Psalm 69:28:

Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

The Hebrew reads, “Let them be blotted out from the book…” and is understood to refer to the book of the wicked. According to Bet Shammai, on the Day of Judgment, the thoroughly righteous will be inscribed as entitled to everlasting life, the thoroughly wicked will be inscribed as doomed to Gehinnom. This is based on Daniel 12:2:

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

The intermediate whose name is not found in the Book of Life will go down to Gehinnom. It is interesting that today in Judaism the concept of Hell does not exist, nor does Judaism believe in a spiritual being called Satan. In Jewish Theology, Satan, is known as the Yetzer HaRar or the evil inclination found in man.

In scripture, there are two types of trumpets mentioned: the silver trumpets and the shofar (ram’s horn). The khatsoserah (silver trumpet) was used mainly on festive occasions and times of triumph. The shofar (ram’s horn) is curved producing a deep, solemn note and is to be made from the horn of a ram, not a cow. Though the cow is regarded a kosher animal it’s horn is not permitted to be used in the making of a shofar because it is reminiscent of the Golden Calf incident. Numbers 10:1-10 give the various uses of the trumpet prescribed by God.

The Akedah (Binding of Isaac)

According to Jewish tradition, the binding of Isaac took place on Rosh HaShanah. Although we do not know the exact age of Isaac at the time that the binding took place, the rabbis have suggested that he was in his mid to late thirties. Some rabbis have suggested that Isaac was thirty-seven years old at the time (Genesis Rabbah 56:8). The story of the binding of Isaac parallels and is in many ways a miqrah of the events that would transpire in the life of Yeshua (Yeshua). Both Isaac and Yeshua had a miraculous birth. While God had closed the womb’s of Abimelech’s household (Genesis 20:18), he gave Sarah a son (Genesis 21:2) though she was beyond the age of having children. Yeshua’s birth was miraculous in that he was born of a virgin.

In the event of the Akedah, we have a young man who has committed no sin worthy of death, who carries the wood that would be employed for his own execution on top of Mount Moriah. When Isaac inquires of his father where the sacrifice was, his father responded by asserting that God would provide himself a sacrifice. But look closely, Abraham says that God would provide a lamb as a sacrifice. It was not a lamb that was caught in the thicket, it was a ram.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. (Genesis 22:7-8)

Did Abraham misunderstand when he said that God would provide a lamb, or was he privy to an understanding that one day in the future God would provide a lamb as a sacrifice? When Isaac realized that he was the sacrifice he was willing to lay down his life for his people and did not go against his father’s wishes.

In this story we see a parallel of the events in the life of Yeshua. Yeshua as man in his thirties was innocent of any sin, much less a sin worthy of death. As Isaac, he too carried the wood used for his execution to the top of the hill. Yeshua was willing to lay down his life for his people and sought to be obedient to His father’s will.

Traditions

One month before Rosh HaShanah, starting with the first day of Elul, the shofar is sounded after every morning service. There are different theories as to why the shofar is sounded. Some postulate that Moses told the Israelites to blow the shofar during the month of Elul to remind them of the sin of the golden calf and how quickly the people made the transition from the heights of Revelation to the depths of idolatry. According to Rashi, the shofar was blown to nullify the accusation of the Accuser, (Satan) and to confuse him. Still others view the blowing of the shofar is meant to arouse the slumber souls as a reminder that Yom HaDin (the day of Judgment) is approaching. At the end of each morning service Psalm 27 is recited which begins with the words” The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

During the month of Elul it is customary to greet one another with the traditional greeting “Shanah Tovah” (A Good Year), or “L’Shanah tovah tikatevu” (May you be inscribed for a good year,” Some has added the term “L’shanah tovah umetukah tikateivu” (May you be inscribed for a good and sweet year).

Tashlikh

On the first day of Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish people gather at a moving body of water such as a river, stream, lake, or ocean, preferably one containing fish, and casts pieces of leavened bread, which they have placed into their pockets, into the water. This casting of the bread is symbolic of the casting their sins into the sea. Before the casting of the bread into the water the following blessing is recited:

"You will cast all their sin into the depths of the sea, and may You cast all the sins of Your people, the House of Israel, into a place where they shall be no more remembered or visited or ever come to mind.”

The people cast the crumbs of bread into the at the reading of Micah 7:19 which serves as the source passage for the rite.

He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the of the sea. (Micah 7:19)

The custom of Tashlikh is not biblical in origin nor is it from any Talmudic writings. The custom is not mentioned until around the fifteenth century. Regardless, the Jewish person hopes and prays that at this time of year that God will overlook his failings of the past year.

Celebration in the Home

On the two days of Rosh HaShanah certain foods are served as is the case with the other festive days, with the exception of Yom Kippur. It is considered to be ominous to serve foods which are bitter on these two days. Tradition even forbids the eating of nuts on this feast, not because there is anything sinful about the nuts, but because the word nut in Hebrew has the same numerical value as the Hebrew word for sin. Instead sweet cakes are served, a custom which is believed to be traceable to King David. The family sits down to a table which has been decorated with a colorful arrangement of fruit and honey cake and dips a slice of apple into a bowl of honey. The people then recite:

"May it be Your will , O Lord our God, to renew to us a good and sweet new year.”

The dipping of the fruit into the honey serves to wish the participants a sweet and a fruitful new year. During the Sabbath of Rosh HaShanah the challah bread is not in its usual twisted fashion, but formed into a ring symbolizing a crown and serves to remind the people of the kingship theme of the feast. In some communities, the challah is made into the shape of a ladder reminiscent of Jacob’s dream with a ladder, and expresses the hope that our link with heaven may be established once again during this season.