Sep

L’shanah tovah!

By Beth

L'shanah tovah ("for a good year") is a shortened version of "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" which means "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

This evening's Shabbat celebration will be a special one, for today marks the Feast of Trumpet's Eve. My daughter T, and I, have just made our first pinwheel round challah, using the challah recipe in this article. T loves helping with our challahs. We substituted freshly milled whole wheat flour for half of the flour called for, and used all-purpose for the rest (I like Hodsgon Mill's all-natural white ap). The challah from this recipe has risen fabulously so far (I've tried some that haven't)!

We've also made a carrot cake from scratch (complete with home-made cream cheese frosting, of course!), and we'll enjoy some apples with honey at our Sabbath table tonight, along with Apple Glazed BBQ Chicken. Chris has requested that I make some of his favorite, latkes. "Why wait for Hanukkah?" If I have time, I'd even like to bake an apple crisp from the recipe Carla just sent me *waving*. After dinner, we'll walk down to the creek behind our house and do tashlikh.

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.

"Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.” ~ Levitcus 23:24

My friend Carla has written a wonderfully informative article on the significance of Rosh Hashanah to us as the Redeemed, and shared some of her own family's traditions here.

Are you curious about the Feasts, God's Moedim, and why they should matter to Christians? Click here for a nice, concise overview.

Quote:

1. Overview - A compilation of Biblical material on the Feasts, along with notes on Purim, Chanukah and the Yovel Year.
2. Detailed Look - Insight into the prophetic and messianic signficance of the feasts, including application in the "New Testament."

Why were the Moedim given?

* To learn more of God, His creation and His plan, including keys to understanding role of Messiah and the end times when He establishes the Kingdom of God. The Moedim are all part of his "revelation" to us, as originally found in the Tenakh, and further developed in the New Testament.

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)

Click here to hear the three different types of shofar blasts.

Read about the Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah here at Biblical Holidays.

The Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) are the holiest days of the Jewish year. These ten days are called the Days of Awe or High Holy Days. Unlike other holy days, they do not celebrate a season or historical event. This season is a time for looking inward to spiritual growth. The themes surrounding this holiday include:

Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah literally is “Head or beginning of the year.”)

God’s Royalty (Coronation Day)

Day of Judgment

Remembrance (Yom Ha-Zikaron, the day of remembrance)

Birthday of the world

According to Jewish Tradition all the following happened on Tishri 1:

Adam and Eve were created

The Flood waters dried up

Enoch was taken by God (Gen. 5:24)

Sarah, Rachel, and Samuel (1 Sam. 1) conceived

Joseph freed from prison by Pharaoh

The forced labor of Hebrews in Egypt ended

Job contracted leprosy

Start of sacrifices on the altar built by Ezra (Ezra 3:1)