Rosh Hashanah and Teshuvah

Rosh Hashanah 

Significance: New Year
Observances: Sounding the shofar (ram's horn trumpet)
Length: 2 Days (Some: 1 Day)
Customs: Dipping apples in honey; Casting off "sins" into a river

Greeting: L'shanah tovah! (For a good year!)

...In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 16:24

Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. 

Ingathering 2009 at Rose Creek Village

We celebrate a new beginning of our spiritual year as well. We call it Ingathering. There are significant similarities with our Ingathering celebration and Rosh Hashanah. Just like Americans start their New Year with celebration we celebrate also. Ours is not a celebration of party's, noise makers and football but we do celebrate the spiritual aspect of a new year with physical representations like the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah.

NOTE: Rose Creek Village is not a Jewish community or a representation of a Jewish religious following. We may see that God has given us a heart for celebration and remembrance of His wonderful life in ways that the Jewish nation celebrated but we are not holding to any and all of the traditions represented here or otherwise. We believe that the Spirit of God can use many things to bring us closer to Him in our pursuit of living this life, together, in Christ.


Tishri 1 (Rosh Hashanah) is the new year for years (when there is an increase in the year number. Sabbatical and Jubilee years begin at this time). The similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one is that many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions." Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. You can read more on this concept can be seen below or at Days of Awe.


At Ingathering we take time to reconcile ourselves to God in many different ways. On the first night of Ingathering, we assemble ourselves before a fire and cast those things that are actual or representative of sin or sinful ways, that God has revealed to us, into the fire. We desire to rid ourselves of anything that would keep us from experiencing Gods life and walking in honesty and clarity before God and one another. It is a time of releasing and turning away from sin. The fire represents the burning away and cleansing that comes from God. His fire removes the effect of that sin in those things that we repent of. God is also an all consuming fire who burns away everything that is not of Him.



Teshuvah

Shabbat Shuvah literally means "Sabbath of Return," but it is also a play on the phrase "Shabbat Teshuvah" (Sabbath of Repentance). It is the Shabbat that occurs betweenRosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and is a time for reflection leading up to the atonement of Yom Kippur. Shabbat Shuvah has two special haftarah readings, one dealing with the importance of heartfelt repentance (Hosea 14:2-10) and one praising the Creator's mercy (Micah 7:18-20). [See verses at the bottom of this post for reference]

Among the customs of this time, it is common to seek reconciliation with people you may have wronged during the course of the year. The Talmud maintains that Yom Kippur atones only for sins between man and God. To atone for sins against another person, you must first seek reconciliation with that person, righting the wrongs you committed against them if possible.

The month before Ingathering seems to naturally follow the reconciliation period of Yom Kippur for us. It is a time of looking at our lives and reconciling them to God and one another. Those who have offenses with each other take steps to be reconciled and find forgiveness from God and each other. This is especially important as we celebrate the Lord's Table on Friday night and we want to be clear with each other and God before we do this. Following this we will be spending time together at our "Love Feast" which is a sweet time of fellowship and breaking bread together.

A popular observance during the Jewish holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of a wish for a sweet new year. Bread in honey (instead of the usual practice of sprinkling salt on it) at this time of year is done for the same reason.

Tara's Baptism 2009

Each year on the day after our "Love Feast" we take time to baptize those who are wanting to enter into Christ and His Body here with us. It is a time of covenanting our lives together as the Body of Christ with those who are interested in being joined to this local body of believers. We gather together and celebrate our new lives in Christ and renew the tie that binds us together as the family of God. 

Another popular practice of the Jewish holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off"). A walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and emptying  pockets into the river, symbolically shows a casting off our sins. Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off. 


The casting off of sin, baptism, forgiveness and reconciliation are all elements of our Ingathering each year. It is a very effective way of remembering why we are here together and choosing to live this life we live in Christ. 

Days of Awe

The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur.

One of the ongoing themes of the Jewish Days of Awe is the concept that God has "books" that he writes our names in, writing down who will live and who will die, who will have a good life and who will have a bad life, for the next year. These books are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions during the Days of Awe can alter God's decree. The actions that change the decree are "teshuvah, tefilah and tzedakah," repentance, prayer, good deeds (usually, charity). These "books" are sealed on Yom Kippur. This concept of writing in books is the source of the common greeting during this time is "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

Chamley Family Ingathering

We don't follow or hold to this tradition or belief but we do recognize that God does know what we do and remembers when there is no repentance or forgiveness. It's important that we understand and know that there is a day when all we have done in this life will come under review for judgement. The Book of Life is a real thing and we want to be remembered in it. We want our names to be found written in it for life everlasting with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Sabbath that occurs in this period is known as Shabbat Shuvah (the Sabbath of Return). This is considered a rather important Sabbath. Reference the Jewish Virtual Library. This Sabbath of return reminds me that there is a day when Christ will return to earth and begin a new reign on earth. There is an expectancy of meeting the Lord at Ingathering time here. Not we come to be blessed by Him but that we come to remember and bless Him for all He has done for us this past year. Also to honor and worship Him for He is worthy of all our worship and praise.

The name "Rosh Hashanah" is not used in the Bible to discuss this particular Jewish holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25. We use shofar's to announce the beginning of our Ingathering. We also announce events with the blowing of the shofar during the Ingathering.


The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar. There are four different types of shofar notes: tekiah, a 3 second sustained note; shevarim, three 1-second notes rising in tone, teruah, a series of short, staccato notes extending over a period of about 3 seconds; and tekiah gedolah (literally, "big tekiah"), the final blast in a set, which lasts (I think) 10 seconds minimum. Click the shofar above to hear an approximation of the sound of Tekiah Shevarim-Teruah Tekiah. 


The Bible gives no specific reason for this practice. One that has been suggested is that the shofar's sound is a call to repentance. We use the shofar to announce the beginning of our Ingathering and a call to repentance also. We proceed in a large processional to the gathering place where we cast our sinful elements into the fire as a repentance from those things and ways.


Several men own shofars and can actually blow them with quite beautiful resonance. The sound is awesome and a bit eerie as the resound throughout the village on Friday night. There is an excitement in the air as they announce the time of our gathering together.

Ingathering 2010

Well, I hope this gives you a little insight to what we do each year at this time. I'm not as familiar with this celebration as those who have been here longer than I, but I am as dedicated and plugged into the delightful presence of the Lord as any that are here. It is a blessing to be surrounded by those who love God and are walking in the life of Christ each day. No, we are not perfect, nor do we do everything perfectly, but we are together and we are walking with our Lord each day. 

We are a local assembly of believers that have chose to stay together as the body of Christ here at Rose Creek Village. I love that we can do this together. I love that we can celebrate the life of Christ each year like this also. I love how God meets us in all of our trials, fears, struggles, sadness's, separations, pruning, and losses in order to bring us freedom, love, joy, peace, unity, cleansing and salvation. May our God and Redeeming Lord Jesus Christ show you, as He shows us, a life filled with all the joy and love he has to give.


References:

Leviticus 23:24-25

²⁴ “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn,^[a] you are to observe a day of complete rest. It will be an official day for holy assembly, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a trumpet. ²⁵ You must do no ordinary work on that day. Instead, you are to present special gifts to the Lord.”

Footnotes:

1. Leviticus 23:24 Hebrew On the first day of the seventh month. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in September or October. This festival is celebrated today as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.

Hosea 14:2-10

² Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord.
      Say to him,
   “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,
      so that we may offer you our praises.
 ³ Assyria cannot save us,
      nor can our warhorses.
   Never again will we say to the idols we have made,
      ‘You are our gods.’
   No, in you alone
      do the orphans find mercy.”
 ⁴ The Lord says,
   “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;
      my love will know no bounds,
      for my anger will be gone forever.
 ⁵ I will be to Israel
      like a refreshing dew from heaven.
   Israel will blossom like the lily;
      it will send roots deep into the soil
      like the cedars in Lebanon.
 ⁶ Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees,
      as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon.
 ⁷ My people will again live under my shade.
      They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines.
      They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.
 ⁸ “O Israel,^[a] stay away from idols!
      I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.
   I am like a tree that is always green;
      all your fruit comes from me.”
 ⁹ Let those who are wise understand these things.
      Let those with discernment listen carefully.
   The paths of the Lord are true and right,
      and righteous people live by walking in them.
      But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.



Micah 7:18-20
 ¹⁸ Where is another God like you,
      who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
      overlooking the sins of his special people?
   You will not stay angry with your people forever,
      because you delight in showing unfailing love.
 ¹⁹ Once again you will have compassion on us.
      You will trample our sins under your feet
      and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
 ²⁰ You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
      as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.