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Re:
Uri wrote:
>
> Could anyone please give one ignorant of Rosh Hashana, a private reply as
> to the significance and description of the meaning for the day?
>
> And, is it related to 'The Feast of Trumpets'?
>
Rosh Hashana is very ancient. Although called the "Jewish New Year' it's
beginning had nothing to do with the calendar. It does not fall on the first day
of the first Hebrew month (Nisan) but on the 1st day of the 7th month (Tishri).
It was not called Rosh Hashana (Head of the Year) until Mishnaic times. It was
known as Yom ha-Din (Day of Judgement). The oldest name for the observance in the
Bible is found in Numbers 29:1, Yom Teruah (The Day of Blowing the Horn). The blowing
of the Shofar was to call the devout to repentance before divine judgement. The meaning
of Rosh Hashanah today is probably best described by Maimonides description of the
blowing of the shofar:
"Sleepers awake! Reflect upon your actions! Remember your creator and turn
back to HIM in repentance!....."
Rosh Hashana is a time of reflection of ones self. As one stands before divine
judgement on Rosh Hashana on 1 Tishri and undergoes 10 days of penitence (Yamim Noraim),
his fate is sealed by judgement on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
I am not Jewish but the sound of the Shofar reaches some far corner of my
soul and shakes it. The sound of Kol Nidre touches my heart and sends a tingling
chill through me. These very ancient liturgies show the character and ethic of
Judaism.
Jack Kilmon
JPMan@accesscomm.net