YOM T’RUAH
Rick ‘Aharon’ Chaimberlin |
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E are introduced to the so-called
“Feasts of Israel” in Leviticus 23:2. This is really a misnomer, because in
Scripture the Holy days are never called the “Feasts of Israel.” It might be
more accurate to call them the “Feasts of YHWH,” however, one of the “Feasts”
(Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement) is really a day of fasting. The Hebrew term
is “Moedei[1] YHWH,”
which would be more accurately translated, “appointed times of YHWH.”
The first mention of the “Moedim” is in
the very first chapter of the Bible, in Beresheet (Genesis) 1:14: “And
God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day
from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and
for days, and years.’ ” Horrors! There is an error in the
KJV! The word translated “seasons” is the Hebrew word moedim, which
should be translated “appointed times.” All of the moedim are based on
the Hebrew lunar calendar. The setting of the sun determines the beginning and
end of each day, whereas the moon determines the first day of each month. The
moon does not determine the seasons! The moon is used in the calculation
of the “Appointed Times,” or moedim.
The very first of the moedim is
Shabbat, the weekly Sabbath, which is on the seventh day of the week. This has
been preserved since Creation, and has never been changed. Regretfully, even in
Messianic circles, when discussing the “Feasts” of Leviticus 23, Shabbat isn’t
even mentioned.
The second of the moedim (or “Feasts,”
if you prefer) is Pesakh (Passover). “In the fourteenth day of the first month
at even is the Passover of YHWH. And on
the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the
LORD: seven days you must eat unleavened bread.”
[2] Many Christians divide Passover into
three separate Feasts: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Feast of First Fruits.
In actuality, it is one feast with three separate parts. Scripturally, Passover
and Unleavened Bread are the same thing, and are
synonyms for each other. “First Fruits” occurs on Yom Rishon (“Sunday”) during
the week of Passover.
Then we have Shavuot (Pentecost), occurring
late in the springtime of the year. The Rabbis reckon that this is the day in
which the Eser D’varim (“Ten Commandments”) were given on Mount Sinai,
an opinion that I also share, although the Scriptures do not specify that Torah
was indeed given that day.
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hen there follows a long period of time
without any Holy Days at all. Finally, in late September or early October, we
have what is commonly called Rosh HaShanah or the “Feast of Trumpets.” Literally,
Rosh HaShanah means “Head of the Year,” and today it is celebrated as the Jewish
new year. However, Biblically, we read, “And YHWH spoke unto Moses, saying,
‘Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in
the first day of the month, shall you have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of
trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no servile work therein: but you
shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.’ ” [3] The “Jewish New Year” is actually the
first day of the seventh month! However, according to the Rabbis, this
is the day on which Adam was created. Therefore, Rosh HaShanah is an annual
celebration of Creation, sort of the “Birthday of the World,” and originally
the month of Tishrei[4] was the
first month of the year. Then in Exodus 12:2, YHWH told Moses, “This month[5] shall
be the beginning of months for you.” In other words, the first of the
months was originally in the early Fall, but it got changed to early Spring
(unless you happen to live in the Southern Hemisphere, in which it is just the
opposite!).
All of the Holy Days of Leviticus 23 are God’s Appointed Times. These are the divine appointments which God has designated to meet with His people. Each of these days are “to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places,” as we learn in Leviticus 23:3, 14, 21, 31, and 41. Nevertheless, Christianity has taken upon itself to replace the divine appointments and replace them with days of man’s own choosing. Each of the Holy Days has immense spiritual and even Messianic significance. It is a shame that Christianity made that unfortunate detour from the clear instructions of Scripture.
It is curious that many are so careful
not to miss a doctor appointment, or even an appointment to have their car
fixed, but seem to have so little concern about the appointments in which God
wants to meet with us. God has set up appointments to meet with you on
these days. Don’t forget! Keep your appointments with an assembly of believers.
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he Biblical name for the first day of
Tishrei is Yom T’ruah—the Day of Blowing (the shofar). In ancient times,
the shofar was blown at the coronation of a king (1 Kings 1:34). When we hear
the sound of the shofar, we remember that Yeshua is King of Kings and Lord of
Lords, and we are to be his obedient subjects. The Messianic Kingdom is called
for each time we say Kaddish (“May He establish His Kingdom…”) and in the
Lord’s Prayer (“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done…”).
There are many musical instruments far
more “fancy” than the shofar. It has a primitive, soul-piercing sound not
easily duplicated by any modern musical instrument. The shofar is a call to
worship God. In fact, it leads all the other musical instruments listed in Psalm
150 which are used to worship YHWH. “Praise Him with the shofar…”
The time between Rosh HaShanah and Yom
Kippur are called the “Days of Awe,” in which we are to remember our need to
repent. Joel 2:1,12-13 reminds us of this. “Blow a shofar in Zion, and sound
an alarm on My holy mountain… consecrate a fast, proclaim a holy assembly.
Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and mourning, and
rend your heart, and not your garments.” It is a time of T’shuvah,
literally “turning around,” but interpreted as repentance.
This is a period of “mending fences,”
both with God and with your fellow man (and woman!). Perhaps you have hard feelings
against someone else, or perhaps someone else might have hard feelings against
you. This is traditionally a time in the Jewish community when people go to
each other for forgiveness. Before becoming a Believer, I remember all the hard
feelings I had against others, and these hard feelings would almost consume me
at times. Since becoming a Believer, I think of all the times I have offended
others, some of whom are no longer in this world. I find myself repenting for
the wrongs I have committed, both against God and against my fellow man.
Rosh HaShanah is also called Yom
HaDin, or “The Day of Judgment.” The Talmud tells us that all the
inhabitants of the earth pass before God in judgment on Rosh HaShanah like a
flock of sheep. Many may merit being inscribed in the Sefer Chayim, or
Book of Life. One of the sayings at this time of year is, “L’Shana tova
tikatevu b’Sefer Chayim,” that is, “May you be inscribed for a good year in the
Book of Life.” Often this is abbreviated to simply, “L’Shana tova,” meaning “To
a Good Year,” but the rest is all implied.
Rosh HaShanah is also called Yom
HaZicharon, that is, “The Day of Remembrance.” God remembers the past
together with the merits of our ancestors, which serve to assure us of God’s
continuing relationship with His creation. An example of this is the blessing
YHWH gave to Isaac: “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will
bless you; for unto you, and unto your seed, I will give all these lands, and I
will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham your father; And I will make
your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto your seed all
these lands; and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,
because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes,
and my laws.” [6] Likewise, we learn in Deuteronomy
7:6-11 that the Jews are chosen on the basis of the merits of the Patriarchs.
When we serve YHWH, He remembers and blesses our descendants.
Shofar Heralds Israel Regathering
There
is coming a future time of deliverance for Israel, which I believe will occur
on Rosh HaShanah: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great shofar
shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of
Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in
the holy mount at Jerusalem.” [7]
We assume that most Jews have already “made aliyah” [8]
from the various Arab countries. However, because of forced conversions, etc.,
there are probably far more descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob living in
many countries than what we might realize. Isaiah 54:1-2 tells us: “Enlarge the
place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your
habitations: spare not, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes; For
you shall break forth on the right hand and on the left; and your seed shall
inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.”
Today,
the world wants Israel to give up the heartland of the Promised Land, that is,
Judea and Samaria—known today as the “West Bank.” Eventually, Israel will grow
to possess the “East Bank” of the Jordan River as well. “And it shall come to
pass in that day, that YHWH shall set his hand again the second time to
recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from
Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from
Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the
nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed
of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall
depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy
Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders
of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together:
they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall
obey them.” [9] Yes, Gaza and even most of modern
Jordan are part of the Promised Land, and it seems apparent that such will be
the case in the future.
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. 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 trump: for the shofar shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O death, where is your victory?’ ” [10]
This is a reference to what is commonly known as the “Rapture.” We don’t happen to believe in any “Pre-Trib” Rapture, although we understand the appeal of such a concept. The “last trump” is the Seventh Angel in Revelation 10:7 and 11:15-18. We learn in Daniel 7:25 and Revelation 13:5 that the “saints” will endure 3 ½ years of tribulation before this blessed event known as the Rapture occurs. It may or may not happen in our lifetimes. Some of us might never need to purchase a gravesite!
L’Shana
Tova to you all !
[1] The singular term is
“mo-ed.” The normal plural would be “moedim.” However, in the Hebrew possessive
construct, “moedim” becomes “moedei.”
[2] Vayikra (Lev.) 23:5-6.
[3] Vayikra 23:23-25.
[4] Tishrei is the month in
which Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot occur.
[5] That is, the month of Abib (or Nissan).
[6] Beresheet (Genesis) 26:3-5.
[7] Isaiah 27:13.
[8] That is, emigrated to
Israel.
[9] Isaiah 11:11-14.
[10] 1 Cor. 15:50-55.