YOM TERUAH/ FEAST OF TRUMPETS

The central observance of Yom Teruah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram's horn. The shofar is sounded on both days of Yom Teruah (unless the first day of the holiday falls on Shabbat, in which case we only sound the shofar on the second day). The sounding of the shofar represents, among other things, the trumpet blast of a people's coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance; for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man's first sin (according to Jewish tradition only) and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the "Ten Days of Repentance" which will culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

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Not only is it the head of the year, the start of the year before God changed the beginning of the year to Nissan 1 during the Exodus, it is also part of God's calendar.  God arranged for many things to happen on this day.  Genesis 8:13 “ In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.”  What day is this?  Tishri 1.  It is also, according to scripture, the day that Ezra read the law of Moses by the request of the people.

Zechariah 9:14 tells us that the Lord Himself will blow the shofar on the day when He delivers His people from attacking armies:  “Then the Lord will appear over them and His arrow will go forth like lightening, and the Lord God will blow the shofar, and will march in the storm winds of the south.”

The return of Messiah as told in Matthew 24:30 is to be announced with a shofar blast:  “...and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory, and He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet.”  This is a faith builder reminding us of Messiah’s triumph in the end days.  From this it has been tradition to say that even Satan trembles at the shofar blast, recognizing that his time will come to an end at Messiah’s return. 

In the Talmud (Lev. Rabbah 29:10) the ram’s horn is mentioned as having a role in Israel’s redemption:  “Your children are destined to be caught by the nations and entangled in troubles, but they will ultimately be redeemed through the horns of the ram.”  This has a double meaning as it refers to the sacrificing of Issac and the perfect sacrifice that the Lord will bring  but also the horns themselves.  Talmud also tells us (not scriptural) that YHWH took the horns from the ram Abram used in the sacrifice and will blow them, one short and one long shofar, when He comes for His followers in the end times and all Israel will be saved.  This tradition speaks volumes about Messiah Yeshua.

Even the dead will hear the shofar when Messiah returns: 1 Thes. 4:16    “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the shofar blast of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first.”

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When we hear the shofar we should remember all these scriptures...it should be like a memory jog.  In fact another name for this feast is “Yom Ha Zikkaron”, day of remembering.  We are called to attention, holy fear, rejoicing, battle, and reverence for God’s holiness and sovereignty. The shofar calls us to consider our personal relationship with the Lord and to be prepared for the day of atonement to come...Yom Kippur just nine days later.  The idea of preparation is so strong that the shofar is traditionally sounded forty days before Yom Kippur, on the first of Elul, the preceding month.  This gives us plenty of time to consider our spiritual state, and to repent and ask for forgiveness.

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On High Holy Days the Jews read from an orthodox machzor or Prayer Book.

There is a very interesting prayer that mentions the name of a high priest, or

kohen gadol, which appears in various older machzors, going back over 1000

years…His name is Yeshua.  The title of this prayer is “Sar HaPanim” which is

Hebrew for “Prince of the Face” and is recited during Rosh Hashanah between

the blowings of the shofar.  The prayer names the kohen gadol as Yeshua who

is the One who atones for our sins.  The prayer is as follows:

“May it be Your will that the sounding of the shofar, which we have done, will

be embroidered in the veil by the appointed angel, as You accepted it by Elijah, of blessed memory and by Yeshua, the Prince of the Face (Face of Hashem) (Prince of God’s Presence) and the one who sits on God’s throne. May You be filled with compassion toward us. Deserving of praise are You, LORD of compassion.”

–  S. Birnbaum, Behind The Curtain, Siddur HaShalem, part 2, p. 282.

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There are three distinct ways in which the shofar is blown on this day. 

               “tekiah”...one long base note ending abruptly

            “teruah”...nine staccato notes in rapid succession

            “shevarim”...three quavering notes, a cross between the other two

Since the order of the sounds was not specified we use the following formula to cover all bases:

            “tekiah, teruah, tekiah”

            “tekiah, shevarim, tekiah”

            “tekiah, shevarim, teruah, tekiah”

            “tekiah g’dolah”  (“big tekiah”, the long ending blast)

The three sounds have by tradition been associated with the three books opened on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur:

            - Tekiah, the sound of rejoicing for the book of life for the righteous;

            - Teruah, a trembling sound for the book of death for the wicked;

            - Shevarim, a mixture of joy and sadness, representing hope for most people who are somewhere in 

               between.

The concept of three books comes from scripture:

            Exodus 32:32-33

            But now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." 

                 [33] The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 

            Psalm 69:28 - May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.

            Daniel 12:1 - ...But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be

                delivered. 

            Malachi 3:16 - Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard.

                  A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and

                                      honored his name. 

            Rev. 21:27 -  Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but

                  only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. 

For believers the three blasts can have additional meanings:

- The single note of tekiah...representing one God, reaching out with His love to each of us at this special time of year;

- The nine short notes of teruah... representing the nine fruits of the Ruach:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,  goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control;

- The three broken notes of shevarim...representing one God in three persons: Abba, Yeshua, Ruach Ha Kodesh     

When those who know Messiah personally hear the shofar blasts this year they can come before the Lord with thankfulness that they are written in the Book of Life...a true cause for rejoicing. They can then confidently say the traditional salutation for this feast:

            “Le shanah tovah tikkateivu, ve-tehateinu!”  “May you be inscribed and sealed in the book of life for a good year!”  

            or just "Shanah tovah" - "A good year"

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Should we ,as believers in Messiah Yeshua, celebrate Yom Teruah?

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In addition to what we have already stated, the New Testament, brit Hadashah, or New Covenant scriptures links repentence, or Teshuvah, as important in our own personal salvation.  We are saved by Grace through faith alone in Yeshua Messiah, but repentence is a key part of this equation.  Yom Teruah is a day set aside through the year to concentrate on repentence, humbling ourselves before God.  This process, for the Jew is yearly and lasts ten days culminating in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  Because of the significance of repentance and the blowing of the shofar, culminating in the "last trump", it is a reminder to be ever prepared for our Lord's returning.  Although no one knows the hour or the day, we will know the season.  We therefore should be watchful of the times.  In Jewish tradition, because this is the only Moed (appointed time) that occurs on the 1st of a month, it is also the only one that is celebrated with the New Moon and reliant on the sighting of the New Moon to begin.  As such, it is called the feast in which "no one knows the day or hour". 

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As was quoted earlier from 1 Thes 4, the dead will be raised after the Last Trump of the Lord.  It is because of Tanakh passages like this from Daniel and also from Talmud that Jewish scholars believe the dead will be raised on Rosh Hoshanah. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 is also important to note:  "Behold, I tell 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 shofar.
For the shofar will sound,
and the dead will be raised incorruptible,
and we will be changed."

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Also, the ceremonial blowing of the trumpet (shofar) is sounded when the groom comes for His bride.  It will also be sounded when Yeshua comes for His bride, the Body of Christ as was quoted in 1 Corinthians above.

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This season concludes with the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot, which is a picture or foreshadowing of the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb"!  Check out these feasts and consider them with prayer.  Paul tells us himself that these are shadows of what is to come.  The word shadow is better translated in present language as foreshadow, a picture of great days when Messiah comes for those that are called by His name.  Rejoice!