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Happy Rosh Hashanah!

Rosh Hashanah Seder (PDF)

Rosh Hashanah (ראש השנה‎) begins Wednesday, October 2nd (at sundown) this year. According to traditional Jewish thinking, this holiday commemorates the creation of mankind by God. The Mishnah (earlier part of the Talmud) refers to Rosh Hashanah as the "Day of Judgment" (Yom ha-Din) since all of creation owes allegiance to the Creator and is accountable to Him.  The Name Elohim (אֱלהִים) revealed in Genesis 1:1 bespeaks God as the Creator and Judge of the universe (the Name YHVH, on the other hand, reveals God's compassion, as the One who intimately relates to humanity and breathes into us the breath of life (Gen. 2:4)). In Jewish tradition on Rosh Hashanah we stand before God as our personal Creator and Judge. Many Messianic Jews believe that the sound of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is a symbol of the rapture (ἁρπάζω) of the followers of the Messiah.

Torah Readings for Rosh Hashanah

The Torah reading for the first day of Rosh Hashanah is about the birth of Isaac, and the reading for the second day is on the Akedah, or the binding of Isaac (both of which foreshadow the great Lamb of God). The Musaf (additional service) includes extra benedictions added to the normal Amidah, emphasizing God's Kingship, the remembrance of our days, and the call of the shofar to usher in the Messianic Kingdom at the end of days.
 

• Easy Rosh Hashanah Seder Guide (pdf)

Shabbat Shuvah - שבת שובה

The Sabbath that follows Rosh Hashanah but preceeds Yom Kippur is called Shabbat Shuvah - "The Sabbath of Return." It is called "shuvah" because the Haftarah (Hosea 14:2) begins, Shuvah Yisrael ad Adonai Elohekha (שׁוּבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ): "Return, O Israel, unto the LORD your God!"  Since this Sabbath occurs before Yom Kippur, it is customary to listen to a sermon from an honored Torah sage calling for teshuvah (repentance) at this time.  "Seek the LORD 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 the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isa. 55:6-7).
 

שׁובה ישׂראל עד יהוה אלהיך
כי כשׁלת בעונך

shoo·vah · yees·rah·el · ad · Adonai · e·loh·hey'·kha
kee · khah·shal'·ta · ba·a·voh·ne'·kha
 

"Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity."
(Hosea 14:2)



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Note:  The haftarah portion for Shabbat Shuvah is composed of selections from two books of Prophets: Hosea, and either Joel or Micah (depending on Ashkenazic or Sephardic custom). Ashkenaz read Hosea 14:2-10 and Joel 2:15-27; Sephardim read Hosea 14:2-10 and Micah 7:18-20. Other than the special haftarah, the service on this Shabbat is not any different from a regular Shabbat, though the theme of teshuvah is of course central.

Ha'azinu: The Prophetic Song of Moses...

In the last Torah portion we read before Rosh Hashanah, namely, parashat Vayeleich, Moses finished his long address to the people of Israel and commissioned Joshua to be his successor. The LORD then foretold that after Moses' death the Israelites would "whore after foreign gods" and break covenant with Him. In light of this, Moses was instructed to teach the Israelites a great prophetic song called the "Ha'azinu." This week's portion provides the words of this song, which foretells of Israel's history (past, present, and the future redemption) and that warns the people not to stray from the path that God had commanded. Structured in the form of an "oracle," the Ha'azinu contains Moses' final words of prophecy given to the Israelites before he ascended Mount Nebo to die.

The oracle begins by declaring the righteousness of God. Moses reminded the people of all that God had done for them and then foresaw all the great gifts they would enjoy as God's chosen nation in the promised land. However, instead of thanking God for all these gifts, Moses foresaw that the people would "grow fat" and forsake the LORD for various "no-gods." This would cause God's anger to burn, and Israel's apostasy would eventually lead to defeat at the hand of their enemies and to eventual exile. All the various curses listed earlier in the covenant would then come upon the people: "I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend my arrows on them; they shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence." Indeed, God would have entirely destroyed the Jewish people were it not for His reputation among the nations, lest they should say, "Our hand is triumphant, it was not the LORD who did all this."

Ultimately, however, God will vindicate his justice and mercy before heaven and earth by saving Israel from her enemies and atoning for all her sins. The song ends, "Cry out, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge his servants' blood; he will take vengeance against his enemies, and will atone for his land and his people."

After Moses recited the words of this song, he encouraged the people to take the words of his prophecy to heart and to teach them diligently to their children. "For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land."  The portion ends with Moses ascending Mount Nebo so that he could see the Promised Land before he died.

The Ten Days of Awe... ימים נוראים

According to tradition, on Rosh Hashanah the destiny of the righteous, the tzaddikim, are written in the Book of Life (סֵפֶר הַחַיִּים), and the destiny of the wicked, the resha'im, are written in the Book of Death (סֶפֶר הַמָּוֵת). However, most people will not be inscribed in either book, but have ten days -- from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur -- to turn to God before "sealing" their fate. On Yom Kippur, then, everyone's name will be sealed in one or the other of the two books.  The ten days are therefore called Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (עֲשֶׂרֶת יְמֵי תְּשׁוּבָה) - the "Ten Days of Repentance" - so called because it is thought that repentance at this time affects the divine decree for the coming year...


 

We affirm that Judgment Day has come and eternal justice was served through the sacrificial offering of Yeshua for our sins (2 Cor. 5:21). Yeshua is the complete fulfillment of the Akedah of Isaac. Our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, or Sefer HaChayim (Rev. 13:8). We do not believe that we are made acceptable in God's sight by means of "our own works of righteousness" (Titus 3:5-6), though of course that does not excuse us from being without good works (as "fruit" of the Holy Spirit in our lives). Indeed, professing Christians will stand before the Throne of Judgment to account for their lives (2 Cor. 5:10). "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" (1 Cor. 3:13). We should walk in "fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). Life is an examination, a test, and every moment is irrepeatable.  Every "careless" word we utter will be echoed on before heaven (see Matt. 12:36-37). Our future day of judgment is being decided today...

Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement

The climax of the Ten Days of Awe is the 25 hour fast Yom Kippur, which begins an hour before sundown on Friday, Oct. 11th and runs until an hour past sundown the following day. The sages state that "afflicting the soul" (Lev. 23:32), or fasting, is not undertaken to punish ourselves for our sins, but rather to help us focus entirely on our spiritual side. It is customary to light the holiday candles, recite Shehecheyanu, and eat a late afternoon meal with loved ones (called Seudat Mafseket, a meal of cessation) a couple hours before the fast begins. It is also traditional to wear white clothing as a symbol of purity during Yom Kippur religious services, and some married men wear a kittel, or white robe, as well. Because of the sanctity of the holiday, the tallit is worn for evening services as well. Dressing in this way is intended to make us appear pure, like the angels.

Yom Kippur is one of the most important holidays of the Jewish Year and holds tremendous prophetic significance regarding the Second Coming of Messiah, the restoration of national Israel, and the final judgment of the world. It is also a day that reveals the High-Priestly work of the Mashiach Yeshua as our Kohen Gadol (High Priest) after the order of Malki-Tzedek (Heb. 5:10, 6:20).

The biblical name for the Day of Atonement is Yom Kippurim (יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים), meaning "the day of covering(s), atonements, pardons, reconciling." Yom Kippur was the only time when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and utter the Name of YHVH to offer blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. This "life for a life" principle is the foundation of the sacrificial system and marked the day of intercession made by the High Priest on behalf of Israel.


 

Yom Kippur used to be called "The Day of God's Mercy," or "The Day of God's Name." This alludes to the revelation of the Name YHVH (יהוה) and the attributes of God's Compassion after the sin of the Golden Calf (Exod. 34:6-7). How much more, then, is Yom Kippur the "Day of Yeshua's Name" since He secured for all of humanity everlasting kapparah (atonement)?  Yeshua the Messiah is Moshia ha'olam (מוֹשִׁיעַ הָעוֹלָם), the Savior of the world; His indeed is the "Name above all other Names" (Phil. 2:9-10; Acts 4:12). It is altogether fitting, then, that His "hidden" Name was proclaimed before the kapporet (the cover of the Ark of the Covenant) in the Holy of Holies before the Father for the purification of our sin.

IY"H I will provide more information here about Yom Kippur next week....

Blessing before Torah Study:

Some terms:

• Parashah is the weekly Scripture portion taken from the Torah. Each parashah is given a name and is usually referred to as "parashat - name" (e.g., parashat Noach). For more information about weekly readings, click here.
   
• Aliyot refer to a smaller sections of the weekly parashah that are assigned to people of the congregation for public reading during the Torah Reading service. In most congregations it is customary for the person "called up" to recite a blessing for the Torah before and after the assigned section is recited by the cantor. For Shabbat services, there are seven aliyot (and a concluding portion called a maftir). The person who is called to make aliyah is referred to as an oleh (olah, if female).
   
• Maftir refers to the last Torah aliyah of the Torah chanting service (normally a brief repetition of the 7th aliyah, though on holidays the Maftir portion usually focuses on the Holiday as described in the Torah).  The person who recites the Maftir blessing also recites the blessing over the Haftarah portion.
   
• Haftarah refers to an additional portion from the Nevi'im (Prophets) read after the weekly Torah portion. The person who made the maftir blessing also recites the blessing for the Haftarah, and may even read the Haftarah before the congregation.
   
• Brit Chadashah refers to New Testament readings which are added to the traditional Torah Reading cycle. Often blessings over the Brit Chadashah are recited before and after the readings.
   
• Mei Ketuvim refers to a portion read from the Ketuvim, or writings in the Tanakh. Readings from the Ketuvim are usually reserved for Jewish holidays at the synagogue.
   
• Perek Yomi Tehillim refers to the daily portion of psalms (mizmorim) recited so that the entire book of Psalms (Tehillim) is read through in a month. For a schedule, of daily Psalm readings, click here.
   
• Gelilah refers to the tying up and covering the Sefer Torah (Torah Scroll) as an honor in the synagogue.
   
• Divrei Torah ("words of Torah") refers to a commentary, a sermon, or devotional on the Torah portion of the week.

Related Topics:

• Year Through the Torah Book
• Weekly Torah Reading Schedule (entire year)
• Weekly Psalms (Tehillim) Schedule
• Blessing said for (personal) Torah Study
• Archived Portions
• Word of the Week

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