A special season known as “Teshuvah,” which in Hebrew means “to return or repent,” begins on the first day of the month of Elul and continues 40 days, ending with Yom Kippur.  Thirty days into Teshuvah, on Tishrei 1, comes Rosh HaShanah.  This begins a final ten day period beginning on Rosh HaShanah and ending on Yom Kippur. These are known as the High Holy Days and as the Awesome Days.  The sabbath that falls within this ten day period is called Shabbat Shavah, the Sabbath of Return.  Five days after Yom Kippur is Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles.  Teshubah begins on Elul 1 and concludes on Tishrei 10, Yom Kippur.  Each morning during the 30 days of the month of Elul, the trumpet (shofar) or ram’s horn is blown to warn the people to repent and return to God.

  God has always had a heart to warn people before He proclaims judgment.  God warned the people before the flood, and He warned Ninevah before it was ruined.  He does not want anyone to receive the wrath of His judgment (Eze. 18:21-23,30-32; Zeph. 2:1-3; 33:1-7; 2 Pet. 3:9).

  The whole month of Elul is a 30 day process of preparation through personal examination and repentance for the coming High Holy Days.  The shofar is blown after every morning service.  Psa. 27, which begins with “the Lord is my light and my salvation,” is also recited at the end of the morning and evening liturgy.  The message from Elul 1 to Rosh HaShanah is clear:  Repent before Rosh HaShanah.  Don’t wait until after Rosh HaShanah, or you will find yourself in the Days of Awe.

  There are phrases that help us identify the days in the season of Teshuvah (repentance).  Just as unfamiliar foreigners may be confused when they her Americans call Thanksgiving Day, “Turkey Day” or “Pilgrim’s Day,” non-Jewish believers in Jesus can be confused by the different terms for the major feasts of the Lord.

ROSH HASHANAH:  THE HEAD OF THE YEAR
(Birthday of the World)

  Rosh in Hebrew means “chief or head” and shanah means “year.”  Rosh HaShanah is the head of the year on the civil calendar, and is also know as the birthday of the world since the world was created on this day (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 11a).

  How did they decide that this was the day of the year the world was created? Because the first words of the Book of Genesis, “in the beginning,” when changed around, read Aleph b’Tishrei, or “on the first of Tishrei.”  Therefore Rosh HaShanah is known as the birthday of the world, for tradition tells us that the world was created then.

TIME OF OBSERVANCE

  Rosh HaShanah is observed for two days.  It comes on the first and second days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (usually in September or October), which is the first month of the biblical civil calendar.  The month of Tishrei is the seventh month in the biblical religious calendar.  The month of Tishrei is the seventh month in the biblical religious calendar.  This may seem strange that Rosh HaShanah, the New Year, is on the first and second day of Tishrei, the seventh month on the biblical religious calendar.  The reason that Rosh HaShanah is the seventh month in the biblical religious calendar is that God made the month of Nisan the first month of the year in remembrance of Israel’s divine liberation from Egypt (Ex. 12:2; 13:4).  However, according to tradition, the world was created on Tishrei.

  Unlike other festivals that are celebrated in the Diaspora (the dispersion, referring to Jews who live outside of the Holy Land of Israel) Rosh HaShanah is celebrated for two days because of the uncertainty about observing the festivals on the correct calendar day. Rosh HaShanah is the only holiday celebrated for two days in Israel.  The uncertainty was involved in a calendar that depended on when the new moon was observed, designating the beginning of each new month by the rabbinical court in Jerusalem in ancient times. The problem of Rosh HaShanah is added to by the fact that it falls on Rosh Chodesh, the new moon itself.  Therefore, even in Jerusalem, it would have been difficult to let every one know in time that the New Year had begun.

YOM TERUAH:  The Day of the Awakening Blast

  Rosh HaShanah is referred to in the Torah as Yom Teruah, the Day of the Sounding of the shofar (or the Day of the Awakening Blast).  On Yom Teruah, the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar, it is imperative for every person to hear the shofar.  The mitzvah (or biblical commandment), of the shofar is to hear the shofar being blown, not actually blow it yourself, hence the blessing, “to hear the sound of the shofar.” (Psa. 89:15; 98:6 NAS)

  Teruah means “an awakening blast,”  A theme associated with Rosh HaShanah is the theme “to awake.”  Teruah is also translated as “shout.”  Isa. 12 puts the shouting in the context of the thousand year reign of Messiah.  The Messianic era and shout is mentioned in Isa. 42:11; 44:23; Jer. 31:7, and Zeph. 3:14.  The first coming of Jesus is associated with a shout in Zech. 9:9.  The ultimate shout is the rapture in 1 Thess. 4:16-17.

  Whether it is by the blast of a shofar or the force of a supernatural shout, God’s goal is to awaken us!  For this reason it is written, “....Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph,. 5:14 NAS).  The Book of Ephesians has many references to Rosh HaShanah and the High Holy Days.  For example, In Eph. 4:30, being sealed unto the day of redemption refers to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  God gave this festival to teach us that we will be judged on Rosh HaShanah and will be sealed unto the closing of the gates on Yom Kippur.

  Isa. 26:19 speaks of the resurrection.  The word awake is associated with the resurrection, as it is written, “Your dead will live; their corpses will rise.  You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.”

  The theme of awakening from sleep is used throughout the Bible, (John 11:11; Rom. 13:11; Dan. 12:1-2; and Psa. 78:65).  In Isa. 51:9 it is written, “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the days of old, the generation of long ago...” The arm of the Lord is used as a term for the Messiah in Isa. 53:1.  The arm is the Hebrew word zeroah.  During Passover, a shankbone, known as the zeroah, is put on the plate.  In Isa. 51:9 the awakening is associated with the coming of Messiah.

  The shofar is the physical instrument that God instructed us to use to hear the sound of the shofar teaching us to awake from spiritual slumber (1 Cor. 15:46).

  In the days of old, the shofar was used on very solemn occasions.  The shofar is first mentioned in connection with the revelation on Mount Sinai, when the shofar was very loud and all the people trembled (Ex. 19:16).  The shofar we hear on Rosh HaShanah ought to remind us of our acceptance of the Bible, God’s word, and our obligations to it. The shofar was also sounded when war was waged upon a dangerous enemy.  The shofar we hear on Rosh HaShanah ought to serve as a battle cry to wage war against our inner enemy - our evil inclinations and passions as well as the devil himself.  The shofar was also sounded on the Jubilee Year, heralding freedom from slavery (Lev. 25:9-10).

  Spiritually, this refers to freedom from slavery of sin, the desires of this world, and serving the devil (Rom. 6:12-13; James 4:4).

YOM HADIN:  The Day of Judgment

  Another name for Rosh HaShanah is Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgement.  It was seen that on this day, God would sit in court and all men would pass before Him to be judged.  Three great books will be opened as each man is weighed in the balance and placed  into one of three categories (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 6b).  It has been taught that the school of Shammai says that there will be three classes on the final Day of Judgement, one of the wholly righteous, one of the wholly wicked, and one of the intermediates.  The wholly righteous are at once inscribed and sealed for life in the world to come; the wholly wicked are at once inscribed and sealed for perdition (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 16b-17a).

  The righteous are separated and will be with God.  This is known to Bible believers as the rapture.  The wicked will face the wrath of God during the tribulation period and will never repent.  The average person has until Yom Kippur till his fate is sealed forever.  In other words, the average person will have until the end of the seven year tribulation to repent and turn to God.  The average person on Rosh HaShanah is judged by God and is neither written in the book of life or the book of the wicked.  His fate is yet to be decided.  The average person and the wicked have to go through the “Awesome Days,” the tribulation, until they reach Yom Kippur (the end of the tribulation when their fate is sealed forever).  Once you are written in the book of the wicked, you can never get out of it (Rev. 17:8).  These are people who never, ever will accept the Messiah.

  There are 12 months in the year and there are 12 tribes in Israel.  every month of the Jewish year has its representative tribe.  The month of Tishrei is the month of the tribe of Dan.  This is of symbolic significance, for when Dan was born to Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, Rachel said, “God has judged and has also heard my voice....” (Gen. 30:6).  Dan and din (as in Yom HaDin, Day of Judgement) are derived from the same root, symbolizing that Tishrei is the time of Divine judgement and forgiveness.  Similarly, every month of the Jewish calendar has its sign of the Zodiac.  The sign of the Zodiac for Tishrei is Scales. This is symbolic of the Day of Judgement.

HA MELECH:  The Coronation of the King

  A theme and term associated with Rosh HaShanah in Hebrew is HaMelech (the King).  As mentioned before, the shofar blown on Rosh HaShanah is known as the last trump, which the apostle Paul mentioned in 1 Thess. 4:16-17.  At this time, the believers in the Messiah, who are righteous according to Yom HaDin (the Day of Judgement) will escape the tribulation on earth and will be taken to Heaven in the rapture along with the righteous who had died before this time.  What happens to the believers in the Messiah when they are taken to Heaven at this time?  One of the events that will take place is the coronation of the Messiah Jesus as King, which will happen Heaven (Rev. 5).  Jesus, who had come to earth during His first coming to play the role of the suffering Messiah, Messiah ben Joseph, will be crowned as King over all the earth in preparation for His coming back to earth to reign as King Messiah (Messiah ben David) during the Messianic Age, the Millennium (Rev. 19:16; 20:4; Dan. 7:7-10,13-14; Mt. 24:30; 26:64; Heb. 12:1; Rev. 1:7; 4:1-2; Isa. 26:2; Psa. 118: 19-20; 1 Thess. 4:16-17 read in this order).  The description given in Revelation matches the account in Dan. 7:9-14.

YOM HAZIKKARON:  The Day of Remembrance

  Rosh HaShanah is known as Yom HaZikkaron, the Day of Remembrance.  Lev. 23:24 calls the day “a memorial” (zikkaron).  Remembrance is a major theme in the Bible.

  There are two elements of remembrance:

 1.  God remembers us (Gen. 8:1; 9:1,15-16; 19:29; 30:22; Ex. 2:24-25; 3:1; 6:2,5; 32:1-3,7,11,13-14; Lev. 26:14,31-33,38-45; Num. 10:1-7,9; Psa. 105:7-8,42; 112:6).  In fact, God has a book of remembrance (Mal. 3:16-18; Ex. 32:32-33; Rev. 3:5; 20:11-15; 21:1,27).

 2.  We must remember God (Ex. 13:3; 20:8; Deut. 7:17-19; 8:18; 16:3; Num. 15:37-41).

  The works of the believers in Messiah will be judged by God, but not their salvation.  (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 3:9-15).  This is a judgment of the believers in Jesus only.  All people in this judgement are the believers in Jesus.  All people in this judgement will be saved.  This is not a judgement of your salvation, but a judgement of your rewards based upon your works.  On this day, God will open the Book of Life and hold a trial.  This known as the Bema judgement. (cont'd on next page)