In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. - Lev 23:24
Rosh Hashanah - The Jewish New Year
In RabbinicalJudaism, Rosh Hashanah (literally “the head of the year”) is celebrated as Jewish New Years Day. The holiday is observed on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, which usually falls in September or October, and marks the beginning of a ten-day period of prayer, self-examination and repentance (aseret yemei teshuvah), which culminates on the fast day of Yom Kippur. These ten days are referred to as Yamim Norai’m, the Days of Awe or the High Holy Days. Rosh Hashanah also remembers the creation of the universe by Adonai.
Elul and Selichot On the week before Rosh Hashanah, at the end of the month of Elul, the atmosphere of repentance is intensified by the addition of selichot. Selichot are special prayers for forgiveness recited in the early hours of the morning at the synagogue. The addition of selichot helps prepare us for the coming days of reflection and self-examination.
On the day before Rosh Hashanah, called Erev Rosh Hashanah, Orthodox men will undergo a mikveh (ritual bath). The parokhet (ark cover) in the synagogue is changed to a plain white cloth, indicating purity. It is traditional at this time to greet one another with L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu! (“May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for a good year!”) and to respond with gam lekha (same to you):
Rosh Hashanah is also known as Yom Teru’ah, the “Feast of Trumpets” (the name was changed during Talmudic times). Tradition stated that the universe was created by the LORD on Rosh Hashanah (or on Elul 25, so that Rosh Hashanah marks the sixth day of creation, depending on different Rabbinic authority
The Liturgy and the Theme of Rosh Hashanah
According to Jewish tradition, on Rosh Hashanah the destiny of the righteous, the tsaddikim, are written in the Book of Life, and the destiny of the wicked, the resha’im, are written in the Book of Death. However, many people (perhaps most people) will not be inscribed in either book, but have ten days -- until Yom Kippur -- to repent before sealing their fate. Hence the term Aseret Yemei Teshuvah - the Ten Days of Repentance. On Yom Kippur, then, everyone’s name will be sealed in one of the two books.
Consequently, many synagogue prayers are invocations to be made worthy to be written in the Book of Life. Sermons about the need for repentance and the themes of God’s judgment are often delivered during this time.
The Torah portion for the first day of Rosh HaShanah is on the birth of Issac, and the portion for the second day is on the Akedah, or the binding of Issac. 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.
Sounding the Shofar The shofar (ram’s horn) is blasted at least 100 times during a typical Rosh Hashanah service, thus satisfying the commandment to make Teru’ah on this day.
There are four primary types of shofar blasts:
Tekiah - A long blast
Shevarim - Three short blasts
Teru’ah - Nine staccato blasts
Tekiah Gedolah- A great long blast (for as long as you can blow!)
The order of the blasts may vary according to various Jewish custom, and they may be heard at different points in the Rosh HaShanah service (for example, at the start of the service, after the Torah reading, after reading parts of the Amidah blessings, etc.) If Rosh Hashanah happens to fall on a Shabbat, no shofar blasts will be heard (since carrying a shofar is considered work) but the shofar will be sounded on the Second Day of Rosh Hashanah (this holiday, like most Jewish holidays, lasts for two days because of the difficulty of determining the exact time of the new moon). An expert in blowing the shofar is called baal tekia, by the way.
Minhagim (Customs) of Rosh Hashanah
Special customs (minhagim) observed on Rosh Hashanah include:
Candle lighting and kiddush - As with all the Jewish holidays, candles are lit just before the start of the holiday. Kiddush is also said over the wine.
Dipping apples (or challah) in honey before eating the holiday meal offers up the wish for a “sweet year” ahead.
Round challah loaves are shaped like crowns to suggest the Kingship of God and as a reminder of the crown of righteousness that comes to those who obey the LORD. Often these loaves are sweetened with honey and raisons.
Tashlikh - On Tishri 1, during the afternoon, many Jews perform the ritual of “tashlikh,” or “casting off,” a ceremony in which Jews symbolically cast their sins into a body of water. We walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, and empty our pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins. Often Michah 7:18-20, Psalm 118:5-9, and Psalms 33 and 130 are recited during the Tashlikh ceremony.
"He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast (tashlikh) all our sins into the depths of the sea."
The Ten Days of Repentance
As mentioned above, most people are neither entirely righteous (tzaddikim) nor entirely wicked (resha’im) on the day of Rosh Hashanah. The Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, or Ten Days of Repentance, provide a time for us to repent and turn whole-heartedly to the LORD in order to be sealed into the Book of Life. These days set the tone for the coming most holy Day of Atonement. Teshuvah, Tehillah, and Tzedakah - repentance, prayer, and charity - these are the spiritual virtues of the High Holidays, and the mood of the Tashlikh ceremony is based upon their heightened observance.
The Christian and Rosh Hashanah
There are many things the Christian can learn from the Jewish observance of Yamin Nora’im and Rosh Hashanah that are helpful in our walk as talmidim of the Mashiach Yeshua.
First, the month of Elul and the preparation for Rosh Hashanah reminds us to be ready for the soon appearance of Yeshua our LORD. Though we do not know the exact day or hour of His return to possess His kingdom on earth, we are commanded to watch and be ready for His soon appearance. We ought, therefore, be in a constant state of repentance as we seek to humble ourselves and walk with our LORD.
Second, Rosh Hashanah itself, or rather Yom Teru’ah, has prophetic significance in the life of the Christian. The blowing of the shofar is prophetic of the rapture of the church, where those who are part of the Bride of Mashiach, the church, will experience everlasting transformation:
“Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet (shofar): for the trumpet (shofar) shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51)
Third, the Tashlikh ceremony reminds us that our LORD is a God of new beginnings, and even if we have sinned and fallen away from Him, He is faithful to restore us and cast our sins away from us. After all, God sent His only Son Yeshua to be our Sin-Bearer and Kapparah, so we can take comfort in His forgiveness when we earnestly seek to repent from the harm we have done and begin anew with God.
Fourth, we should be grateful to the LORD for writing our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life, or Sefer HaChayim. Of course we do not believe that we are made acceptable in the LORD’s eyes by means of our own works of righteousness (Titus 3:5-6), but that does not excuse us from being without such works (as fruit of the Ruach Hakodesh in our daily life).
Finally, we anticipate the prophetic fulfillment of the LORD’s covenant faithfulness to Israel when we understand that the Yamim Nora’im foreshadow the future repentance of national Israel in the days to come. Yom Kippur is the Holiday that pictures the full restoration of Israel to all her covenant promises. The B’rit Chadashah will be embraced and Yeshua will be revealed as Israel’s Savior, LORD, and Deliverer.
Terms relating to Rosh Hashanah
Elul - The month preceding the month of Tishri and set apart as a season of repentance and preparation for the Days of Awe.
Selichot - Penitential prayers said during the last week of Elul.
Erev Rosh HaShanah - The evening before Rosh Hashanah marked by additional services at the synagogue.
L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu - This phrase is a customary greeting on the Jewish New Year and means "May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for a good year!” and is sometimes shortened to "Shanah Tovah":
Rosh Hashanah - “The Head of the Year.” The Jewish New Year. Celebrated on Tishri 1 and 2.
According to the Rabbis, there are actually four “New Year’s Days” in the Jewish calendar:
Nisan 1 - The Biblical New Year, sometimes called New Years Days for kings
Elul 1 - The New Years Day for tithes
Shevat 15 (Tu B’shevat) - The New Years Day for trees
Tishri 1 - The New Years Day for years and the beginning of the Days of Awe
Yom Teru’ah - The “Feast of Trumpets” and progenitor of Rosh Hashanah. Teru’ah means a loud noise either by blowing a shofar (e.g. Lev. 25:9), silver trumpets (Numbers 10:5-6) or by shouting (Psalm 100:1).
The purpose of Yom Teru'ah was to shout unto the LORD in prayer -- similar to the idea expressed in the Psalms such as “Shout unto God with a loud voice!” (Psalm 47:2).
Shofar - A ram's horn blown on the Jewish New Year and other special occasions.
Baal Tekia - One who is expert at sounding the shofar during the Rosh Hashanah services.
Tekiat Shofar - The sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) at the beginning of the New Year services and at the conclusion of the Day of Atonement.
Tashlich - (“casting off”) A traditional ceremony in which individuals symbolically cast their sins into a body of water. 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.
Shabbat Shuvah - The Sabbath that falls during the Ten Days of Repentance, usually observed by listening to sermons about repentance in the synagogue. Shabbat Shuvah is called the “Shabbat of Return” because its special haftarah reading begins with the words Shuvah Yisrael “Return O Israel,” from the prophecy of Hosea.
Tzom Gedaliah - the Fast of Gedaliah, one of the minor fast days.
Yamim Nora’im - The Days of Awe or the High Holy Days.
Al Chet - The recitation of sin during the Yom Kippur service. Viduy (confession) is made in the plural ("we have…") enumerating every conceivable sin that may have been committed by the Jewish community. Chet means "missing the mark" and is the general Hebrew term for sin.
Teshuvah - Literally: "returning"; a Hebrew term for repentance.
Machzor - High Holy Day prayer book.
Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement and Judgment on Tishri 10.
Mehilah - The custom of first asking a wronged person's pardon in order to be forgiven by God on the Day of Atonement.
"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!"
To a man: לשנה טובה תכתב ותחתם - l’shanah tova tikkatev vetechatem
To a woman: לשנה טובה תכתבי ותחתמי - l’shanah tova tikkatevi vetechatemi
To a mixed group: לשנה טובה תכתבו ותחתמו - l’shanah tova tikkatevu vetechatemu
You might also add: "Immediately, for a good life and for peace."
לאלתר לחיים טובים ולשלום - le'altar lechayim tovim ul'shalom
The most common form of Rosh Hashanah greeting is simply: L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu! (“May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for a good year!”) and to respond with gam lekha (same to you) or simply gamzu (also to you):
