Rosh Hashanah
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34 days left until Rosh Hashanah (starts at 7:22 pm) (Sep 22)!
...In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 16:24 -
Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. This name is somewhat deceptive, because there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year, and the American midnight drinking bash and daytime football game.
There is, however, one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one: Many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions." Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. More on this concept at Days of Awe.
The name "Rosh Hashanah" is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.
The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. A total of 100 notes are sounded each day. There are four different types of shofar notes: tekiah, a 3 second sustained note; shevarim, three 1-second notes rising in tone, teruah, a series of short, staccato notes extending over a period of about 3 seconds; and tekiah gedolah (literally, "big tekiah" ), the final blast in a set, which lasts (I think) 10 seconds minimum. Click the shofar above to hear an approximation of the sound of Tekiah Shevarim-Teruah Tekiah. The Bible gives no specific reason for this practice. One that has been suggested is that the shofar's sound is a call to repentance. The shofar is not blown if the holiday falls on Shabbat.
No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. Much of the day is spent in synagogue, where the regular daily liturgy is somewhat expanded. In fact, there is a special prayerbook called the machzor used for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because of the extensive liturgical changes for these holidays.
Another popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year. This was the second Jewish religious practice I was ever exposed to (the first one: lighting Chanukkah candles), and I highly recommend it. It's yummy. We also dip bread in honey (instead of the usual practice of sprinkling salt on it) at this time of year for the same reason.
Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off" ). We walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty our pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom.
Religious services for the holiday focus on the concept of G-d's sovereignty.
The common greeting at this time is L'shanah tovah ("for a good year" ). This is a shortening of "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" (or to women, "L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi" ), which means "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." More on that concept at Days of Awe.
You may notice that the Bible speaks of Rosh Hashanah as occurring on the first day of the seventh month. The first month of the Jewish calendar is Nissan, occurring in March and April. Why, then, does the Jewish "new year" occur in Tishri, the seventh month?
Judaism has several different "new years," a concept which may seem strange at first, but think of it this way: the American "new year" starts in January, but the new "school year" starts in September, and many businesses have "fiscal years" that start at various times of the year. In Judaism, Nissan 1 is the new year for the purpose of counting the reign of kings and months on the calendar, Elul 1 (in August) is the new year for the tithing of animals, Shevat 15 (in February) is the new year for trees (determining when first fruits can be eaten, etc.), and Tishri 1 (Rosh Hashanah) is the new year for years (when we increase the year number. Sabbatical and Jubilee years begin at this time).
See Extra Day of Jewish Holidays for an explanation of why this holiday is celebrated for two days instead of the one specified in the Bible.
List of Dates
Rosh Hashanah will occur on the following days of the Gregorian calendar:
Jewish Year 5766 : sunset October 3, 2005 - nightfall October 5, 2005
Jewish Year 5767 : sunset September 22, 2006 - nightfall September 24, 2006
Jewish Year 5768 : sunset September 12, 2007 - nightfall September 14, 2007
Jewish Year 5769 : sunset September 29, 2008 - nightfall October 1, 2008
Jewish Year 5770 : sunset September 18, 2009 - nightfall September 20, 2009 -
Rosh Hashanah: The Trumpet of Creation
by
Rev. Leon W. Mohammed, Jr.
There is an order in everything the Eternal does, an appointed time for all things. The actions of the Most High are not haphazard, for he operates according to his divine law of immutability. He made the seasons rotate in perpetuity. He made the water cycle, which gives us the same quantity of water on the planet today that existed four thousand years ago. The wind currents are always the same, and the sun rises and sets from day to day. Within this holy pattern there is equilibrium and consistency. God never changes.
We all have read that there is a last trumpet blast that will metamorphose reality as we know it. As evidence by the GodÂ’s immutability in nature, there must have been a first trumpet blast that ushered in reality as we have lived it. Many of the sages of Israel believe that the Feast of Trumpets was the time of creation.
The Order of Events
There are three feasts of Yahweh given in Exodus 23:14-17: "Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread . . . and the feast of harvest . . . and the feast of ingathering . . . Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord." Interestingly, in what may be the most ancient book of the Bible, the book of Job, there were also three scenarios where the sons of God presented themselves before the Lord: 1) "One day the angels came to present themselves before . . ." (Job 1:6); 2) "On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord . . ." (Job 2:1); and 3) "While the morning stars sang together, and all the angels shouted for joy. . ." (Job 38:7). These two corresponding events give insight to the verse: "Your kingdom come, your will be done in earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). Yahweh is a God of eternal cyclical order, and he never changes (Malachi 3:6).
Though there are three primary Feasts of Yahweh, correlated with them are four additional festival times that make a total of seven festivals. The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Firstfruits coordinate with Passover, and the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement coordinate with the Feast of Tabernacles. This liturgical calendar is chronicled in Leviticus 23.
YahwehÂ’s calendar is divided into two parts. The sacred (agricultural) year begins in Abib (March-April), and the civil year begins in Tishrei (September-October). The Feast of Tabernacles season, therefore, is the fulcrum of the liturgical calendar. It is at the beginning of the civil year and the ending of the agricultural year.
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Rosh Hashanah: The Trumpet of Creation Part2
The Creation of the World
At this infinitesimal point in the perpetual cycle stands God, the Creator, Jesus Christ. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Alef and Tau.
"When the Holy One, the Ancient of Ancients, decided to make the world, all the letters of the Alphabet were in their potential spiritual form. When this spiritual energy intelligence of the letters would become manifest, they would constitute the dimensions of life. For time eternal the Holy One joyously held these dimensions within Himself, contemplating how and why He would make them manifest. In time eternal the Holy One organized the letter energy intelligences, activating the Spirit. Just before the beginning, just before the creation of the universe, each of the letters presented itself before the Holy One. In reverse order they presented themselves, beginning with the t (tau)" 1
Yeshua, The Nexus
If Christ is the Alef and the Tau, then he is that which stands between the beginning and the end, for through him all things consist (Colossians 1:17). He is the Logos of God, eternally existing before the beginning. "And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began" (John 17:5). He is before the beginning, and he remains at the end. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." The Word of God (Jesus Christ) remains even if the universal reality as we know it ceases to exist. And we only understand this from an anthropological point of view. He eternally exists after the end.
Christ, The Beginning
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made . . . The same was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1, 3, 2). "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). From the preceding verses we establish the fact that Christ is, was, and forever will be the Creator, and his presence is at the beginning and the ending.
There is an etymological clue in the first chapter in the Gospel of John: "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt about us." The Word dwelt is correctly translated as "to tabernacle a place, to tent, or to encamp." The temple was God’s residence. The Word was made flesh and tabernacled with men–Christ, the bodily manifestation of God. And this tabernacle was at the beginning.
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Rosh Hashanah: The Trumpet of Creation Part3
The Season of Tabernacles
The first festival that coordinates with Tabernacles is the Feast of Trumpets. Many Jewish scholars believe that Rosh Hashanah was when the world was created. This is connected with the "sound" of trumpets. "On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast . . . and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder . . ." (Exodus 19:18, 19). "The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and Highest gave his voice" (Psalm 18:13). The presence of Yahweh is accompanied with sound whether it be thunder, whirlwind, lightning, or trumpet blasts. It was an ordinance, therefore, to blow the shofar at the beginning of the month Tishrei (Psalm 8:13).
For six days the armies of Israel marched around the walls of Jericho. On the seventh day, they marched seven times around the wall and at the command from the Ancient of Ancients, they blew the trumpets and shouted. The walls came down. It would appear that the sound produced by the blast of the trumpets and the shout of the armies of God brought about the fall of the city of Jericho, yet it also created a victory for Israel. One can positively conclude that not only can his sound (in this case his command was to make a sound) bring about destruction, but that the antithesis is also true: his sound can also create. "For God said, let there be . . ." (Genesis 1:3).
If Yahweh can determine the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), he can also determine the beginning from the end. If a sound order by Yahweh can destroy, then a sound ordered by Yahweh can create. Essentially, we are talking about "sound" whether it be a trumpet blast or his voice, and his voice is creative.
Two Last Blasts
On the sixth day God created man. "Let us make man in our own image. . ." (Genesis 1:28 ). The voice of God commanded that man be created. He trumpeted man into existence, and Adam became a living soul.
There is also a last trump for the redeemed: ". . . at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (I Corinthians 15:52). Then, there is also a last trumpet for the physical universe: ". . . in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements . . . shall melt with fervent heat" (II Peter 3:10). ". . . nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth . . ." (I Peter 3:13).
Bereshiyt
The word bereshiyt is pivotal in elucidating the fact that Rosh Hashanah was the time of creation. Its translation starts with the words: "With a first cause God created the heavens and the earth," or, "When God began to create heaven and earth." "The world is continually being created–every day, every hour, even this very instant. The world is being sustained by the same primordial creative force (Word) with which it came into existence. The force of bereshiyt, ‘in the beginning.’ If this creative force would depart for even a split second, the world would return to nothingness."2
The first cause that created the universe is revealed in the last cause that creates the new universe. II Peter has several key words that unfold what happened in the beginning:
Fervent: ekteonas is the word in Greek, meaning "without ceasing."
Heat: kausoo means to set on fire.
Melt: luo means "to loosen, break up, destroy, dissolve, shattering into minute fragments, but not a reduction to the constituent particles."
Elements: stoicheim means "something orderly in arrangement, a serial (basal, fundamental, initial) constituent."
If we put it all together, we have a great noise with heat, fire, and particles. The breaking up of the particles does not reduce the amount of matter that is being dissolved. The same amount of
energy and matter that God will use to create the new heaven and earth was used to create the present. Many scientists believe that the universe was created by the "big bang," the cosmological theory that all the matter and energy in the universe originated from a state of enormous density temperature that exploded at a finite moment in the past. We know from II Peter that the universe ends with a big bang. He declares the end from the beginning, and the reciprocal is true.
In a void where there was not a universe, the Word trumpeted the galaxies into existence with a great noise. The Feast of Trumpets is the festival of the Lord that is initiated with sound of trumpet blast, and there are over one hundred shofar sounds during the day of Rosh Hoshanah. Many physicists believe that sound waves are the basis of matter. There is a universal hum, called "microwave background radiation," a cosmic background of radiation which has a frequency range. Believed to have emanated from the primordial fireball of the big bang with which the universe is thought to have originated, this radiation has an energy density in intergalactic space.
YahwehÂ’s voice trumpeted all of creation into existence, and it is his Word that sustains it. "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). The words formed by the voice of God will speak eternally, for we know that whatever the Lord does, it is forever (Ecclesiastes 1:9; 3:14). Hence a background noise of His Word holds everything together.
The Beginning and the End
It was during Rosh Hashanah that the universe was created. Some of the rabbis say that if the study of Torah were to cease, the world would return to this primordial chaos (tohu-v-voho).3 Words spoken by God, however, will always speak. He is the Alef and the Tau. He is the Word eternal. He is Rosh Hashanah, the Trumpet of Creation, and he will again sound the Shofar blast to create new heavens and a new earth. -
Originally posted by breytonhartge:
8 days and count down, wait Sept 22 is a Friday, so its a extra special sabbath...
34 days left until Rosh Hashanah (starts at 7:22 pm) (Sep 22)!
[b]...In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 16:24 [/b]
(sabbath are special anyway)
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yup eight days to go... my wife and I will be having some friends over to celebrate the new year...Originally posted by vince69:8 days and count down, wait Sept 22 is a Friday, so its a extra special sabbath...
(sabbath are special anyway)
for this saturday's breaking of shabbat, we will be doing a pot bless with some friends, we are cooking fish head curry using salmon heads.... we hope, have to go to the market later to see if there are any. -
out of curosity, what is the proper way of greeting people on this day?Originally posted by breytonhartge:yup eight days to go... my wife and I will be having some friends over to celebrate the new year...
for this saturday's breaking of shabbat, we will be doing a pot bless with some friends, we are cooking fish head curry using salmon heads.... we hope, have to go to the market later to see if there are any. -
Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."Originally posted by vince69:out of curosity, what is the proper way of greeting people on this day?
On the first night of Rosh Hashana, there is a custom that people exchange the following greeting: "May you be inscribed and sealed immediately for a good life." After the first night, it is considered improper in some communities to extend this greeting any more because tradition has it that on the first night of Rosh Hashana, the completely righteous are already inscribed for a good life.
By wishing someone a good inscription on a later day, you are implying that he/she is not a completely righteous person. (True, you KNOW that this person is far from righteous, but you still want to give him/her the benefit of the doubt.)
In some Sephardic communities, the greeting is, "May you be inscribed for a good year; may you be worthy of abundant years." Also, in some Sephardic communities, the greeting is extended beyond the first night. -
The festival of Rosh Hashanah --the name means "Head of the Year" --is observed for two days beginning on Tishrei 1, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind's role in G-d's world.
Rosh Hashanah thus emphasizes the special relationship between G-d and humanity: our dependence upon G-d as our creator and sustainer, and G-d's dependence upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, "all inhabitants of the world pass before G-d like a flock of sheep," and it is decreed in the heavenly court, "who shall live, and who shall die... who shall be impoverished, and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise." But this is also the day we proclaim G-d King of the Universe. The Kabbalists teach that the continued existence of the universe is dependant upon the renewal of the divine desire for a world when we accept G-d's kingship each year on Rosh Hashanah.
The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram's horn, which represents the trumpet blast of a people's coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance; for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man's first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the "Ten Days of Repentance" which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac's place as an offering to G-d; we evoke Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son and plead that the merit of his deed should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity. Altogether, the shofar is sounded 100 times in the course of the Rosh Hashanah service.
Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include: a) Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, and other special foods symbolic of the new year's blessings. b) Blessing one another with the words Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." c) Tashlich, a special prayer said near a body of water (an ocean, river, pond, etc.) in evocation of the verse, "And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea." And as with every major Jewish holiday after candlelighting and prayers we recite Kiddush and make a blessing on the Challah. -
Customs of Rosh Hashana
By: Robin Treistman
An exerpt...
TASHLICH
Tashlich, from the root word which means "to cast away" is the practice by which Jews go to a flowing body of water and symbolically "throw away" their sins.
This occurs in the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashana or the second day if the first falls on Shabbat (Saturday). This practice is based on a verse from the book of the Prophet Michah where it says,
"And Thou wilt cast ("ve-tashlich" ) all their sins into the depths of the sea"
(Michah, 7:19)
Another reason cited for the use of a "live" body of water is that there are usually fish present. Fish never close their eyes, and that is a reminder to us of the ever- watchful eyes of God who records and remembers everything, but who also constantly peers down on His creations with mercy.
Furthermore, there is the mystical belief that fish are immune to the "Evil Eye" (a type of curse) and by casting our sins away where there are fish, we are indirectly asking to also be protected from the evils of the world. (Doesn't this sound Twilight-Zone-Like?)
To do Tashlich, you basically go to a running body of water. A river, sea, or lake are the best choices. If there is none within walking distance, a well or reservoir is acceptable. Once there, several prayers are recited. There is no special prayer for Tashlich. However, there are several Scriptural chapters relating to the idea of penitence and Divine forgiveness.
And that's it. The psychological ramifications of such an act are immeasurable. Think about it - you go to the sea, say a few prayers (or a little something that has special meaning for you) and you can feel that you are walking away with a "clean slate".
The water has SYMBOLICALLY carried away your misdeeds and you are free to start over. Think about what that can do to one's spiritual self-esteem! This action gives one a starting point; remember - in no way should Tashlich be viewed as an "end" in and of itself.
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Customs of Rosh Hashanah continued...
FOODSTUFFS
Though Rosh Hashana is one of Judaism's more solemn holidays, (remember- it IS the "Day of Judgement" ), a large part of its celebration takes place around the table as in other holidays. Aside from the standard holiday Kiddush (blessing over wine), there are numerous symbolic activities that take place (usually) the first night of Rosh Hashana at the dinner-table:
The Challah
Normally, the two loaves of challah over which the Hamotzi (blessing) is said at a festive Shabbat or holiday meal are loaf- shaped or braided. For Rosh Hashana, the traditional shape of the challah is round. This shape symbolizes the cycle of life and how we should be aware of it on this day. In some communities, the challah is shaped like a ladder, symbolizing the fortunes of people for the year ahead - some ascend and some descend life's ladder.
On the Sabbath and other holidays, after the blessing and before partaking of the challah, it is dipped into salt. On Rosh Hashana, it is dipped in honey (if none is available, then into sugar) and then eaten. This custom symbolizes our hope that the upcoming year will be sweet. Many also have a custom to make sure that there are raisins in their challah. As far as I know, the raisins are there to enhance the sweetness of the challah. If you know of any other reasons for raisins, I'll be glad to hear them!
Apple Dipped in Honey
After dipping a sweet apple into honey, the blessing over fruit is recited plus the additional prayer, "May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year."
The symbolism of the honey here is also connected to a sweet year. The symbolism of the apple is a bit more complex: The numerical value of "tapuach" (Hebrew word for apple) is numerically equivalent to "seh akeida" which means "the lamb of the binding." In the story in which our forefather, Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac, at God's command, Isaac asked his father, "We have all the necessary utensils for a sacrifice. But where is the sacrificial lamb?" Based on Abraham's answer, Isaac understood that HE was to be that lamb about to be bound on the altar; he would be the "seh akeida."
This whole incident of the binding of Isaac took place on Rosh Hashana. (Notice, I say binding and not sacrificing, because in the end of the story, Isaac is not sacrificed. At God's bidding, he was removed from the altar and a ram was sacrificed in his place. This was only a test.) By eating the apple, we are symbolically expressing our hope that some of the merit generated through Abraham's and Isaac's testing will trickle down to our generation and help us be granted a sweet new year.
Pomegranates
One takes a piece of this fruit (watch out - pomegranate juice stains in the worst way!) and says, "May it be Your will that our merits be numerous as (the seeds of) the pomegranate."
What's the deal? There are 613 commandments in the Torah for a Jew to fulfill. An individual pomegranate supposedly has 613 seeds. (Try counting them.... I did once, and though we lost exact count, there were more than 600 and less and 625 seeds - so it was awfully close!) By eating the pomegranate, we figuratively show our desire and hope to fulfill all 613 commandments, and by doing so, we will be able to accrue a nice amount of merit.
Beets
Beets are called "Salka" in Aramaic, and in Hebrew, that word is related to removal. We recite, "May our enemies be removed." Notice we don't say destroy - we just want them to go away, elsewhere, bye-bye.
Leeks
This vegetable, called "Karti" in Aramaic, is related to the Hebrew word "to cut." We recite, "May our misdeeds, our spiritual enemies, be cut down."
Type of Green Bean
This vegetable is called "Rubiyah," from the Hebrew word "to increase." We recite, "May our merits increase."
Type of Squash
Called "Kera," this squash is phonetically related to the Hebrew word for "read" or "tear." We recite one or both of the following: "May You tear up our negative judgement," or "May You read our good merits before You."
Dates
Dates are called "Tamri" in Aramaic which is related to the Hebrew word for consume. We ask here that those who want to destroy us be consumed.
Head of Sheep or Fish
(Vegetarians - skip this one!)
We partake of this and say, "May it be Your will that we should be at the head and not at the tail." Aside from this, some people specifically eat from a sheep's head saying that blessing, but precede it by eating fish (not necessarily the head) and say the blessing, "May it be Your will that our merits be fruitful and multiply as do the fish."
Are you full, yet?
As a general rule, at this meal, foods that are sweet are eaten and we try to avoid eating anything sour, bitter, or overly spicy. Furthermore, there is one final food-item that is customarily NOT eaten on Rosh Hashana, and that is any type of nut. There are two reasons. First, pragmatically speaking, tradition tells us that nuts cause an extra production of phlegm in the nasal-throat area, and such phlegm can hinder someone's ability to recite prayers (the main focus of the Holiday). The other reason is that the numerical value of nut in Hebrew, ("egoz" ), is equal to the numerical value of the word "chet" which means sin. On Rosh Hashana, we try to distance ourselves from anything remotely related to sin, so we avoid nuts.
This dinner meal sounds rather long, huh? The custom in a large number of communities is to eat these symbolic foods only the first night of Rosh Hashana, though in some Sephardic communities, it is done both nights.
One more thing: On the second night specifically, most families have a custom to eat a "new" fruit and say the blessing called "Shehecheyanu" ("thanks, G-d, for allowing us to be here and doing what we are doing on this day" ).
When I say a "new" fruit, I mean a fruit that has recently come back into season and you have not had it yet, or a fruit you have not eaten for at least 30 days (some say even for a year - this depends on the individual's custom). The point is to make sure that the second day of Rosh Hashana (which seems redundant because it IS the second day) has something new about it. In addition or in place of the fruit, some people will make sure they are wearing new clothing to give that same element of novelty to the second day.
Some families eat only some of the aforementioned foods. Some families eat them all. One member of a Yemenite family confided in me, "By the time we through all of these, I am too stuffed to even think about the main course!"
Though the whole thing may seem silly to some, partaking of these symbolic foods and reciting the appropriate prayers add a profound level of reverence and meaning to the festive meal on this important day. -
NO SLEEP IN AFTERNOON
This next custom is just as it sounds - we do not take a nap on Rosh Hashana afternoon. (Some hold just for the afternoon of the first day; some hold for both afternoons.) The source for this custom is a saying in the Jerusalem Talmud,
"If one sleeps at the year's beginning (Rosh Hashana), his good fortune likewise sleeps."
In other words, if there is a day not to be idle, it's Rosh Hashana. We are meant to be contemplating, learning, or seeped in prayer. If we are not prepared to do this today, our good fortune will not be prepared to show its face during the upcoming year.
A takeoff of the source of not sleeping is the following: Some people view Rosh Hashana as a minuscule version of the upcoming year. How you behave on this day determines how the rest of your year will be. So if you engage in sleep, it is said by some that you will have a "sleepy" year. -
TRADITIONS - TZEDAKAH
In the villages of Eastern Europe it was a custom before the New Year for a messenger to go from house to house with a sack. Those who could afford it put coins into the sack; those who were poor took coins from the sack. No one knew who gave and who took. No one was embarassed because he was poor. Every family had money to buy the things they neeed to celebrate the holiday.
Giving tzedakah, sharing what we have with those in need, is an important mitzvah in Jewish life.
The ideal of charity around the New Year time has its place in the modern world in the attempts of some Jewish communal service agencies and local community-based projects to make sure that all Jews can afford to attend services and get a good Yom Tov meal. But our concern for the unfortunate is not limited to the borders of our own country. It is by now something of a tradition to find an appeal from the State of Israel on one's seat in synagogue around the High Holidays. -
Cooking the Year
By Illana Attia
You are probably wondering what the Attia family is going to eat on the two nights of Rosh Hashanah. The righteous Jewish women of Tripoli (where my husband was born) in their wisdom through the centuries have removed the burden of menu planning. Every holiday has its specific menu, from which we must not deviate, neither to add nor detract.
My husband Yehuda, however, has improved upon the tradition. Before the main course there are hors d'oeuvres of seventeen types of food over which all Sephardic Jews say a blessing beginning "May it be Your willÂ…". The blessings are both puns on the names of the foods and reflections on their meaning. Over beet leaves (selek) we implore G-d that our enemies should vanish (yistalku). Over the lung we beseech a year light as a lung. If you are interested in the benedictions and the recipes, I'd be happy to send them to you, but that's not the point I want to get to. I would like to use this forum to reply to my mother.
The improvement that my husband has made to the Rosh Hashanah banquet is that he discards the main course (couscous and mafrum, naturally) and instead serves a full course of each "May it be Your Will" hors d'oeuvres. This way our twenty guests can drink their fill of the homemade kiddush wine, eat plenty of the home baked challah, and fully enjoy: the Golan apples dipped in honey; the raisins and bananas; pumpkin jam, apple jam, and quince jam; leek, dates; pomegranate seeds; candied carrots; beet leaf and sunflower seed patties; piquant fish; heart and lung cooked with black-eyed peas (rubia); and the tongue cooked in tomato and leek. "But honestly, Eileen," my mother always remonstrates. "Why so much work?"
Why, indeed, so much work? What could be a more appropriate way to bring in the new year than to work hard to celebrate it? On Rosh Hashanah the universe was created. G-d did not stand over boiling pots to do this. His energy transcends our understanding of what energy is. He willed everything into being through Divine Utterances. Yet, the Creation is a tremendous work, a phenomenally incomprehensible enterprise designed and executed for us to live in. He gives us freedom of choice. How do we wish to live our lives? We were created in the image of G-d. But how can we live up to our image?
Between being a passive consumer or an active creator, we resemble G-d more by doing, making, giving. Our creativity is not His Creativity; and our hardest or most sophisticated labor cannot produce His handiwork. Yet still I believe that working, creating, and giving with the right intentions are analogous to G-d's ways.
Cleaning the house and cooking for guests is not the sum total of the effort needed, though. The housework and cooking only set the stage for higher action -- mitzvot commanded through the Torah. Every mitzvah requires will power, energy, time. These are the hospitality gifts we give our Maker for giving us such a wondrous world.
Of course, I shall never deliver this speech to my mother, but perhaps you, dear reader, will forgive my excesses and judge my intentions for the good! May your year be as sweet and full as our table laden with the banquet of life. -
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am now learning how to sound the shofar... have to do this on friday night.Originally posted by vince69:
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Leviticus 23
Feast of Trumpets
23 The LORD said to Moses, 24 "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. 25 Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire.' "
Day of Atonement
26 The LORD said to Moses, 27 "The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, [d] and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. 28 Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. 29 Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. 30 I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath."
Feast of Tabernacles
33 The LORD said to Moses, 34 "Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. 35 The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. 36 For seven days present offerings made to the LORD by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work.
37 (" 'These are the LORD's appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing offerings made to the LORD by fire—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. 38 These offerings are in addition to those for the LORD's Sabbaths and [e] in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the LORD.)
39 " 'So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the LORD for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest. 40 On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths 43 so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.' " -
Brey, Yaffa,
Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim
*"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year" -
To Vince and Yaffa,Originally posted by vince69:Brey, Yaffa,
Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim
*"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year"
Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim...
My you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.
May you have a sweet year ahead!
I have finally sounded the shofar properly! Amein! -
FEAST OF TRUMPETS-YOM TERUAH 5767
Shana Tova (A Happy New Year!) and Shabbat Shalom dearly beloved
There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11
It is not a mistake that this Jewish New Year is beginning on Shabbat. Shabbat means to go on a “strike” to “sit” and to “dwell”. He is calling us all to lay down our regular plans and agendas and to seek Him like never before, to wait upon Him and commune with Him. A new “week in the spirit” will begin after this year and we will not be able to make it if we don’t STOP this year and SIT AT HIS FEET TO BE REFORMED-REFRESHED and REFIRED.
The following is what I believe to be the Prophetic Prediction for this New Year of 5767 since the Creation of the world.
continued... -
FEAST OF TRUMPETS-YOM TERUAH 5767 part2
1. STOP BUSINESS AS USUAL
As Israel enters into its 59th celebration of the Feast of Trumpets, Civil New Year-Rosh Hashana since its national rebirth in 1948, something of great magnitude is “cooking” in the spirit. As this Feast begins in all synagogues throughout the world, the Holy Angels of YAH will be dispatched by The Almighty Himself to gather the remnant of Jews in the nations and to return URGENTLY back to their ancient Covenant Land- Israel! This will be an URGENT CALL TO MAKE ALYAH as Anti Semitism is escalating in dangerous proportions throughout the earth and the scenario of Zechariah 12 has already begun to happen, Jerusalem has become a heavy stone for all nations! He is saying to the Jews world wide- STOP business as usual and RETURN to the Land!
“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says Yahveh, “that it shall no more be said, ‘Yahveh lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘Yahveh lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers. “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says Yahveh, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. Jeremiah 16:14-16
2. STOP AND SEEK YAHVEH
At the same time that Alyah will escalate considerably and many, many more Jews from Western and other countries will return to Zion, another ALYAH of great magnitude is being released in the Land of Israel- A SPIRITUAL ALYAH OR REVIVAL! From this yearÂ’s Shofar Call we will begin to see a much more intense Move of The Spirit in Israel an escalation in salvation due to miraculous interventions of God BOTH among the Jews and the Arabs in the Land! Expect some amazing breakthroughs in the spiritual arena and please pray earnestly for the SPIRIT OF GRACE AND SUPPLICATION to be poured out all over the Land!
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” Zechariah 12:10 -
FEAST OF TRUMPETS-YOM TERUAH 5767 part3
3. STOP PAGAN FEASTS
As the Feast Shofar blows, YAHVEH is uttering His Voice from His Holy Habitation COMMANDING all the members of the Body of Messiah to EXIT Babylonian Christianity, pagan feasts (Christmas, Easter, Halloween), unholiness, unrighteousness and Replacement Theology. The MAP Revolution is ON and you can expect thousands and thousands of people to forsake this deathly theology with much more ease and with greater conviction than in previous years. Countless of famished Christians will flock to be restored to the original Hebrew Foundations of The Faith as it was prior to the Council of Nicea in 325. There will be a demand like a “gold rush” for teaching and discipling of starved believers with teachings coming from the rich root of the Olive Tree. Some will have to fight great opposition in order to MOVE ON and in other cases ENTIRE CONGREGATIONS with their pastors will join this End Time Move of Restoration creating the need for more and more teaching in this area. The Cloud of Glory has moved and it is pointing to Zion- to Israel and back to the Jewish Roots of the Faith. There is a CLEAR shift in the spirit about this and whoever will refuse this End Time Move will find himself getting dryer and dryer
Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, A tabernacle that will not be taken down; Not one of its stakes will ever be removed, Nor will any of its cords be broken. But there the majestic Yahveh will be for us A place of broad rivers and streams, In which no galley with oars will sail, Nor majestic ships pass by (For Yahveh is our Judge, Yahveh is our Lawgiver, Yahveh is our King; He will save us); Isaiah 33:20-22
THE CLOUD OF GLORY HAS MOVED ON, Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered! Many pastors will open Shabbat meetings. Some congregations will add Shabbat Meetings to their Sunday meetings and some will forsake Sunday altogether. More and more believers will become desperate to visit Israel for the first time! Pray for Israeli Jewish believers to become ready to impart truth to the Church! Pray for maturity and wisdom on how to pastor this Move. There will be a fresh release of signs, wonders and miracles accompanying and confirming the Word of Restoration. There will be a whole move of family restoration, marriages will undergo serious transformations and the shape of The Church will begin to shift and become more like a Military Family, true PASSION for Y’shua will rise immensely among the YOUTH as truth is restored! There will be many miracles among the youth this year as true Huldas, Deborahs, Joshua’s and Caleb’s lead them back to the “Gospel made in Zion”!
And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says Yahveh. Isaiah 66:23
4. STOP TO PRAY FOR ISRAEL
Natural disasters will continue in the nations. Temporary relief will happen, especially in areas where The Church-Ecclesia is interceding for Israel. Many acts of repentance for sins committed towards the Jewish People and Israel will be followed by signs of averted tornados, storms, volcanic eruptions and the like. It will seem to all that all that YAH is saying is pointing to Zion and to repentance because of the cause of Zion. Many intercessory groups will begin to spring up with the sole purpose to stand in the gap for Israel. In those places we will begin to see pockets of a Fresh Fire Revival and hunger for truth will increase!
For the indignation of Yahveh is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughterÂ….. For it is the day of YahvehÂ’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion. Isaiah 34:2,8 -
FEAST OF TRUMPETS-YOM TERUAH 5767 part4
5. STOP OUR AGENDAS
Many will be called to lay down agendas and “church programs” this year as the program of The Holy Spirit is REPENTANCE. Thousands will turn to prayer and seeking and will begin to steer the Body into the right position for revival. Many Evangelicals and even Catholics will catch up with years of dryness and enter this End Time Spiritual Revolution. Many Charismatic and “Spirit Filled” groups will miss this Move of Repentance and Restoration because they will have “too much to lose” and they are too busy with “church programs”. YAHVEH is calling the Charismatic- Pentecostal Camp to humble itself and to seek Him for this fresh revelation, revolution and outpouring. As usual The Messiah is showing up in an unexpected way and this time He is showing up as a Jew and is calling us to STOP OUR CHURCH PROGRAMS AND ENTER INTO SHABBAT THAT HE MAY CHANGE US!
For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17
6. STOPPING ISLAM
This year I see a beginning of a penetration of the Gospel into Islamic countries by small task “spiritual commando units” with Heavenly strategy. Their intervention will begin to cause a shaking in the “impenetrable” wall of Islam. I see small “bricks” falling out of the Islamic spiritual wall, representing key Moslems that will discover Y’shua, The Jewish Messiah and will repent from their hatred to the Jews, weakening Islam. Some people that have known that they are called to go to Moslem nations will begin to receive “GO” instructions this year, but they MUST be careful to follow the instructions of The Holy Spirit implicitly!
Thus says Yahveh: “Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As Yahveh lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people. But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says Yahveh. Jeremiah 12:14-17 -
FEAST OF TRUMPETS-YOM TERUAH 5767 part5
7. SHABBAT FEAST
Revival of music and dance! Together with The MAP Revolution there is coming a revival of music, dance and the arts that will cause The Glory of YAH to fall in meetings like Fire and Rain. This will especially happen among the YOUTH that will discover The Torah as in the times of young King Josiah in 2 Kings 22 and will burst into Holiness and Passion! Many young people will become ardent lovers of Israel and their actions and intercession will be a catalyst for REVIVAL IN ISRAEL and especially AMONG THE ISRAELI YOUTH.
And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of Yahveh all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 2 Kings 23:4
8. STOP AND GET CIRCUMCISED BEFORE MOVING ON
There is a SHIFTING OF POSITIONS and a changing of the guard in The Body of Messiah world wide. A new heart circumcision is needed and YAH (God) will put in place a leadership like Joshua and David that will allow it to happen as when The People of Israel entered the Land of Canaan and where circumcised in Gilgal.
For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of Yahveh—to whom Yahveh swore that He would not show them the land which Yahveh had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. Joshua 5:6,7
Our dear friends as darkness, terror and the New World Order escalate in the earth, we are called to be very defined in our walk! The grey areas are being done away with, and holiness is the order of the Day. For those that will heed there is great glory awaiting as well as persecutions. Many special vessels will arise and become prophets of governments and authorities. This is the time to trim our wick and to buy oil and gold refined in the fire. YAH is calling us to an unprecedented love of TRUTH and to exercise His compassion in times of great distress. That is why stopping now is a must in order to be ready for the things to come. STOP-REPENT-BE CLEANSED-BE REFRESHED
Seek Yahveh while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to Yahveh, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says Yahveh. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:6-9
We love and care for you
Your friends in Israel
Rabbi Baruch and Bishop Dominiquae Bierman
© Bishop Dr Dominiquae Bierman 2006 - Permission is granted (and we encourage you) to distribute these writings. You may reprint in hard copy form, send to your e-mail lists and post them on your website. You must not alter any writings and you must keep all the author information on the writings, including the following: Kad-Esh MAP Ministries, www.kad-esh.org. This copyright notice must also remain. For all other permissions and enquires including publishing, please contact [email protected]