Rosh Hashanah And The Jewish New Year
Rosh Hashanah And The Jewish New Year
This lesson was written by Rinah Shalom
Blowing The Trumpet
In Biblical times, the shofar was used primarily by military commanders and officers, to communicate during wartime. Gideon and his 300 men, each one sounding a shofar, led their enemies to believe that there were 300 commanders, and hence thousands of soldiers. (Judges 7:16-20) The shofar was also used to warn civilians of enemy attack and to mobilize the army. (Amos 3:6)
There were two basic types of 'notes' that the shofar blower used:
1) Te'kiah - a long steady note.
2) Teru'ah - a series of short notes.
The long sound was used to signal an 'all clear' situation, while the short notes warned of imminent danger, like a siren sound today. (Numbers 10:1-10) The Te'kiah was also used to signal a gathering for happy occasions (Numbers 10:3-4,7,10) while the Teru'ah was used to prepare for travel in military formation and war. (Numbers 10:5-6,9)
At the sound Teru'ah, the instinctive reaction would be fear of impending danger. The prophet Zephaniah used the phrase "a day of Shofar and Teru'ah" to describe a day of terrible war and destruction, the "Day of YHVH", in which He will punish all those who left Him.
"At that time I will search Jerusalem with candles and I will punish the men who say to themselves, YHVH does not reward nor does He punish. The great day of YHVH is approaching... It is bitter, there a warrior shrieks. That day shall be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of calamity and desolation... A day of blowing a shofar." Zephaniah 1:12-16
"Shofar and Teru'ah" implies imminent danger and war, in which God will bring judgement on those who sinned against Him. (Joel 2:1-3,11-17)
"Should a shofar be sounded in the city, would the people not become fearful." Amos 3:6
The Torah instructs us to make Yom Teru'ah on the first day of the seventh month, to simulate the tension and fear of the 'Day of Judgement' and remind ourselves that our lives are truly in God's hands.
Memorial
"When war takes place in your land you should sound an alarm (Teru'ah) with your trumpets, that you will be remembered by (and that you will remember) YHVH, and He will save you from your enemies." Numbers 10:8-9
This special command to sound an alarm in anticipation of impending battle is to show that the battle is in Yahveh's Hands and not our own, or the hands of our enemy. It was not the Teru'ah itself, which saved Israel, rather the recognition that the ultimate outcome was in God's hands. Just as the Torah commands us to sound the Teru'ah (alarm) in anticipation of war, so too we are commanded to sound a Teru'ah in anticipation of the forthcoming agricultural year - to remind ourselves that its outcome is in YHVH's Hand as well.
Rosh Hashanah is a day on which we proclaim God's Dominion over all the earth
This lesson was written by Rinah Shalom
Blowing The Trumpet
In Biblical times, the shofar was used primarily by military commanders and officers, to communicate during wartime. Gideon and his 300 men, each one sounding a shofar, led their enemies to believe that there were 300 commanders, and hence thousands of soldiers. (Judges 7:16-20) The shofar was also used to warn civilians of enemy attack and to mobilize the army. (Amos 3:6)
There were two basic types of 'notes' that the shofar blower used:
1) Te'kiah - a long steady note.
2) Teru'ah - a series of short notes.
The long sound was used to signal an 'all clear' situation, while the short notes warned of imminent danger, like a siren sound today. (Numbers 10:1-10) The Te'kiah was also used to signal a gathering for happy occasions (Numbers 10:3-4,7,10) while the Teru'ah was used to prepare for travel in military formation and war. (Numbers 10:5-6,9)
At the sound Teru'ah, the instinctive reaction would be fear of impending danger. The prophet Zephaniah used the phrase "a day of Shofar and Teru'ah" to describe a day of terrible war and destruction, the "Day of YHVH", in which He will punish all those who left Him.
"At that time I will search Jerusalem with candles and I will punish the men who say to themselves, YHVH does not reward nor does He punish. The great day of YHVH is approaching... It is bitter, there a warrior shrieks. That day shall be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of calamity and desolation... A day of blowing a shofar." Zephaniah 1:12-16
"Shofar and Teru'ah" implies imminent danger and war, in which God will bring judgement on those who sinned against Him. (Joel 2:1-3,11-17)
"Should a shofar be sounded in the city, would the people not become fearful." Amos 3:6
The Torah instructs us to make Yom Teru'ah on the first day of the seventh month, to simulate the tension and fear of the 'Day of Judgement' and remind ourselves that our lives are truly in God's hands.
Memorial
"When war takes place in your land you should sound an alarm (Teru'ah) with your trumpets, that you will be remembered by (and that you will remember) YHVH, and He will save you from your enemies." Numbers 10:8-9
This special command to sound an alarm in anticipation of impending battle is to show that the battle is in Yahveh's Hands and not our own, or the hands of our enemy. It was not the Teru'ah itself, which saved Israel, rather the recognition that the ultimate outcome was in God's hands. Just as the Torah commands us to sound the Teru'ah (alarm) in anticipation of war, so too we are commanded to sound a Teru'ah in anticipation of the forthcoming agricultural year - to remind ourselves that its outcome is in YHVH's Hand as well.
Rosh Hashanah is a day on which we proclaim God's Dominion over all the earth
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