Everyone loves the new year! It is a time to put the old behind you, and celebrate new beginnings with fresh hope and vision! January 1 is the New Year for most of us in the United States, but you might have noticed your Jewish friends celebrating their New Year on a different day.
Why is this? The answer to this mystery is to be discovered in the Book of Leviticus in the Hebrew Scriptures that says:
23 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: 24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying:
In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you, a memorial proclaimed with the blast of horns, a holy convocation. 25 Ye shall do no manner of servile work, and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_(Jewish_Publication_Society_1917)/Leviticus
Jewish people still use the Biblical calendar to mark our dates. The Scripture above speaks of celebrating on the first day of the seventh month of the year.
Rosh Hashanah falls around September or October time each year. To understand why we celebrate the New Year at this time, think about the schedule of your children. When do they begin the new school year? Many of you begin school around the September mark. Just as your new school year starts in the fall, our new civil year begins then too.
Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the Jewish New Year, and we mark it with great celebration and times of prayer. Cards are sent to family and friends wishing each other a Shanah Tovah, a good year!
At synagogue a beautiful ram's horn, known as a shofar is blown many times, to fulfill the Scripture, that says the day should is to be remembered with a blast of horns! Many take the whole day, sometimes two days off from work, to observe this special convocation.
The month before Tishrei, the month of Rosh Hashanah is Elul. This author loves the month of Elul! It is a time to be extra close to the L-rd. There is a Jewish teaching that the King is in the field during this month. This King has left His palace to come and meet us, so to speak, in the area. He is disguised, so no one knows it is Him.
However, if we seek Him out during this month, we can be close to Him. We can tell Him we are sorry for the things we have done and prepared our hearts for Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year, enters us into the Holy Days of Awe.
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These ten days lead up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when Jews fast and complete the act of repenting for our sins.
We leave this time of cleansing feeling refreshed and forgiven!
Have any of your children ever come to you and confessed something they did wrong. As a parent, you are happy to see your child come to you, instead of beating themselves up! You see the weight being lifted off of them, and you comfort them, knowing this a time of renewal and fresh hope instinctively.
May this year's High Holidays see the world lifted to new and unbelievable heights!
Esther Mandella is a Jewish wife and mother who lives in Dothan, Alabama. She enjoys encouraging others with her inspirational books.
You can find Esther's bestselling books online at https://amzn.to/2SjQ3hy
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