Rosh HaShanah

[JohnS]

Rosh HaShanah - Feast of Trumpets

"Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbathrest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 'You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'" (Leviticus 23:24-25)

The blowing of the ram's horn is associated with the ushering in of the biblical festivals of Israel, in particular, the period preceding the fall holidays.

The shofar is a ram's horn, connected with God's provision to Abraham of a ram for sacrifice, in place of his own son, Isaac. This portion of scripture is read on Rosh HaShana (the Feast of Trumpets or the biblical New Year). A steer horn is never used, as that would be reminiscent of the golden calf made by the children of Israel in the desert.

In the Bible, the blowing of the shofar was first heard when God called Moses to the summit of Mt. Sinai to receive the tablets of the law. And, it will be sounded at the end of days to usher the ingathering of the exile of Israel into their land.

The sounding of the Shofar:

Symbolizes freedom and liberty,

Proclaims the anniversary of the creation of the world,

Is a reminder of the giving of the 10 commandments at Mt. Sinai, and

is a sound that is guaranteed to chase Satan away.

In the Bible, the ram's horn was blown:

At The Coronation Of A King

As A Call To War

To Induce Fear In The Enemy

As A Sound Of Victory, And

For Announcing And Ushering In The Sabbath And Festivals.

Remember, the walls of Jericho gave way at the sounding of the shofar.

In modern times, the blowing of the shofar is connected with the Jewish month of Elul, a period of repentance. The ram's horn is sounded to inspire the people to amend their lives. On Rosh HaShana, it is blown some 100 times, and on Yom Kippur, it is blown only once at the end of the 24-hour fast. In modern Israel, the shofar is sounded every Friday afternoon as the Sabbath approaches.

From biblical description, there are three different sounds blown:

TIKIYAH - A Single Blast SHEPHARIM - 3 Parts TRUAH - 9 Short Blasts

The shofar is usually blown in a combination of all three sounds, three times each to be certain that the commandment to sound the shofar is correctly made.

Many people believe the Messiah will arrive at the sounding of the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah one year.

A customary food enjoyed as part of the Rosh HaShanah celebration is apple dipped in honey. As they pass this sweet snack around they bless one another with the words, "shana tova v'metukah," "have a happy and sweet new year."

http://www.israelmybeloved.com/people/bibl...ts/trumpets.htm

[JohnS]

HOLIDAY OF THE SHOFAR - A Meditation for Rosh Hashanah

There is one commandment in the Torah that involves weeping, though we do not readily recognize it in that manner. The weeping is done through the Shofar, the ram's horn trumpet, on the feast that begins tonight, Yom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah.

The Jewish scholar, Maimonides, described the Shofar as 'the alarm clock of the conscience, for it's call is first and foremost a call to repentance. Writers of the Talmud commented that the Shofar is a literal cry. And when you hear the Rosh Hashanah shofar blasts, as I have in Jerusalem several times, it does sound like a series of wails or moans.

What is the shofar crying about?

A story is told of a very ill Rabbi who was visited by his friend, another Rabbi who happened to be exceedingly handsome. The sick Rabbi began to cry. When his friend asked why he cried, he answered: "That such beauty is destined to return to dust."

Our daily lives are so crowded with activity and pre-occupation that we too little reflect on the fact that this life is at best temporary. We too often live as though we will be here forever, and think too little of that moment of Judgement, of which Rosh Hashanah is an annual reminder....that day when 'beauty will return to dust.'

Another part of what this festival commemorates is the creation of man. Blowing the Shofar involves a strong breathing into the instrument, even as God blew the breath of life into Adam and '...man became a living soul.'

Could the 'weeping' sound of the Shofar be trying to say to us: "How tragic that the beauty that is a human being, that was once a perfect man, is now subject to death and decay because this beautiful creation was squandered by sin?" Is this what the Rabbi was thinking when he cried out: "That such beauty is destined to return to dust."?

For the tragic loss in the Garden of Eden, we truly ought to weep. For its personal impact on our lives, we ought to weep. For its heartwrenching impact on humanity as a whole, we ought to weep.

Too many of us have forgotten how to weep for sin, not just our own, but that of our nation, that of the worldwide family of mankind. We need to learn how to weep again.

Our weeping however is not depressing, but actually the first step toward true repentnce for as Isaiah prophesied, one day God Himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes. "Weeping may last for a night,but joy comes in the morning." When will that be?

On that great Yom Teruah to come, when Messiah ben David takes his rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, ruling and reigning from the glorious city of Jerusalem - a day when death will be no more, human history, as we know it, will come to an end, men will beat their swords into ploughshares and the Torah will go forth from Mt. Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Let the Shofars blow....let the sound go forth...Would that THIS were the great Yom Teruah of Messiah's appearing!

www.foryourglory.org

[wordsower]

Thanks John!! :thumb:

[JohnS]

http://www.watch.org/showart....&mcat=1

The Prophecy of Trumpets

(John Hagee)

In order to understand the meaning behind the Feast of Trumpets, we must understand the Jewish roots of our faith. The mystery of the Rapture is explained in the ancient Jewish wedding ceremony our study of the Feast of Pentecost. The Feast of Pentecost pictures the betrothal ceremony; and the Feast of Trumpets point to the actual wedding!

Follow closely the nuptial chain of events in a traditional Hebrew wedding.

In the ancient ceremony, the bridegroom or an agent of the bridegroom

[MARANATHA]

That was very informative. I believe the feast of the Jews will correlate perfectly with the prophecies of CHRIST'S return and the rapture also. Peace, but not yet.

[Guest leejosepho]

Correction (with apology to the easily offended):

The Feasts are not the Jews', but IAUE's own.