Understanding Rosh Hashanah

God has holidays too or holy days. Instituted and commanded biblically at Rosh Hashanah means head of the year. Biblically it is also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. It commemorates the Jewish New Year which is also the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve. It is also a day of judgement and coronation of God as King. It is celebrated ten days before Yom Kippur.

This year it will be celebrated on September 15th to September 17th from evening to evening. It is a time for family and friends to gather for meals and worship. Observants refrain from creative work. Traditional foods tend to have a sweet factor as a reminder of the hopes of a sweet rather than bitter  new year.  Traditional foods include Challah bread, apples dipped with honey, and pomegranates.

But it is more than about food. It is a time for reflection. Personal circumstances and character development over the past year are contrasted with hopes and plans for the upcoming year of continued positive development.

How Was It Celebrated in Bible Times?

Trumpet blasts. Temporary dwellings. God’s word says it is a day of “solemn rest” in which ordinary work is refrained from. It was a day to sound the trumpets and recall God’s act of deliverance and provision in the desert after the Israelites were freed.

At John 7:1-10, we see that Jesus participated in the Feast of Booths which was part of the Feast of Tabernacles.  Solomon marked its continued observance.  Presently, Rosh Hashanah is commerated in the home and the synogogue, with candle lightings in the evening and worship at the synagogue where the Shofar is blown and the Torah is read.

This year meals are prepared on the second day because Rosh Hashanah begins on Shabbat.  Meals often have a sweet element that includes apples dipped in honey, challah, and pomegrantes.

How Can Celebrating Rosh Hashanah Benefit Us?

Christians can also partake in celebrating Rosh Hashanah.  We may not be temple congregants but reflection on the past year with an aim to set new spiritual and personal goals is essential. We want to sow seeds of positive intention for the new year also. We can spend time meditating on God’s creative works, his purpose in our own lives, and pray for continued guidance towards a “sweet” new year.

God wants to be our foundation. He wants us to recall the way he has worked in our lives because it inspires faith for what He will do in the future.  The Israelites were set apart as an example nation under God. While we know that Christ is our King, he said his food was to do the work of his father. Honoring God in our actions is a part of giving thanks and an act of worship.

Let this time of year be your pause and reset button; Looking forward to the prize of eternal life with a commitment to allow God to lead and protect.