Happy (Jewish) New Year!! Today is Rosh Hashanah (“head/first of the year”), the beginning of year 5771 in the Jewish world.

Rosh Hashanah is one of Judaism’s “high” holidays, and some very significant traditions are associated with it.  Rosh Hashanah marks God’s creation of the world, and is the “birthday” of Adam and Eve.

The Bible (Lev. 23:24–25) refers to this holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (“the day of remembrance”) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar/trumpet).  Why the trumpets? Some scholars have suggested that the trumpet blast actually represented the angelic song/shout of joy at the Creation.  At the New Year, the Creation of the Cosmos, and this accompanying angelic shout, was commemorated or “remembered” by the blowing of the shofar (probably accompanied by actual shouting as well, Ezra 3:12–13).  The sounding of the shofar has remained a part of the Rosh Hashanah commemoration to the present day.

The Temple of Solomon was dedicated during the ancient festival of the Autumn New Year.  The temple itself represented the created Universe brought up out of the primordial Chaos.  Every year at the New Year festival, the Creation was remembered in a dramatic presentation on the Temple grounds.  In a sense, the Creation was thought to be renewed each year and the Temple was rededicated or re-sanctified.  The corrupt and dying world was renewed to its pure, fertile, paradisaical state.

An important part of today’s Rosh Hashanah celebrations is the Tashlikh or “casting off”.  Participants often wade into flowing water and “cast off” what is in their pockets (sometimes bread), which is symbolic of turning away from sin.  I imagine that this tradition is in place due to the fact that Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) was most likely a part of the ancient New Year Festival.  This is the day that Yahweh atoned for the sins of the Israelite nation and the Temple was cleansed from impurity.  The broken covenant was renewed and God’s blessings and protection reassured.

There is a focus at Rosh Hashanah today on God’s sovereignty and on the idea of judgment.  These were key elements of the ancient Autumn New Year Festival.  At this festival, as some scholars suggest, there was a dramatic re-enactment of Yahweh’s victory over Chaos/the Dragon, and his ascent to and enthronement on his heavenly throne.  This was a celebration of Yahweh’s well-deserved kingship.  Seated upon his throne, Yahweh subsequently judged all of his Creation and determined their destinies.  Captives were released, the wicked punished, and righteousness reigned.

Although Christians don’t often celebrate Rosh Hashanah as a holiday, its themes pervade our belief system as well — much of the imagery of the ancient New Year can be found in biblical books we read such as Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, as well as the life of Jesus and the book of Revelation.  Maybe this time of the year is a good opportunity, for us as well, to think of the very significant concepts of Creation, Atonement, Judgment, and the Sovereignty of God.  While we often use our New Year as a time for making resolutions, why not make today a day of personal renewal of your commitments/covenants to God?  For Latter-day Saints, if you are able, today would be an exquisite day to attend the Temple!

As the traditional saying goes: L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem (“May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year”).

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Judaism 101: Rosh Hashanah



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