Day of Trumpets—Yom Teruah—Rosh Hashanah—Subject to God or to the Rabbis?–STAR-95

by | Sep 22, 2017 | Blog, Podcasts

Day of Trumpets—Yom Teruah—Rosh Hashanah—Subject to God or to the Rabbis?

by Rod Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer's Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections

The Calender:

  • Friday 9-22-2017—Yom Teruah—Day of Trumpets
  • Sunday 10-1-2017—Day of Atonement—Yom Kippur
  • Friday 10-6-2017 through Friday 10-13-2017—Feast of Tabernacles—Sukkot

Commentary: The World is Falling Apart and Coming to an End

Although the Day of Trumpets is supposed to be a joyous moed—a feast day—a divine appointment—it comes at a very challenging and sad time in our history:

  • Hurricane Harvey’s devastation of Texas and other Gulf Coast states of this nation
  • Hurricane Irma’s devastation of some Caribbean island nations and of course Florida and other eastern states of this nation
  • Now Hurricane Maria that left behind death and destruction in her path on the island nations of Dominique and Puerto Rico and other nations
  • Two earthquakes in Mexico—a 8.1 over a week ago and just this past week a 7.1—both of which has caused untold destruction and many many deaths
  • Thoughts abound that man is responsible for all these natural disasters—politically; manmade driven, either through global warming/climate change, or even weather manipulation and earthquake creation
  • Radical Islamic Terrorism continues to plague many European Countries, with England being the latest victim this past week in a subway explosion, resulting in the loss of 22 or so lives
  • Korean leader—is threatening the existence of the United States with his nuclear military capabilities
  • This nation—the United States—is still undergoing through some of the worse racially driven violence it has ever experienced. The puppet masters holding the purse strings funding and organizing these violent protests no doubt have an agenda that is not only self-serving, but also serving hasatan and his kingdom

Then add to all of this natural and manmade turmoil, we have opportunists who have taken it upon themselves to deem the 23rd of September, 2017, as either the end of the world day; the day that Jesus Christ returns to the earth; the day the world’s economies collapse; or the day that Planet X strikes this planet in one big extinction level catastrophe. One prominent Hebrew Roots teacher predicts that the Ark of the Covenant will be found at this time as either the end product of an existential war the world wages against Israel or leading up to such an existential war.

Allow me to give you my humble perspective on the current state of world events, based upon my understanding of our Master’s prophecies and the Apostle Paul’s teachings and predictions.

  • The 23rd of this month WILL NOT be the end of the earth nor will it likely be the day that Jesus Christ returns to this earth.
  • Father is in control of everything and anything that will happen will take place when, and only when, the Father wills it to happen.

I believe we must synchronize our understanding of the above mentioned current events with the teachings and predictions of our Master Yahoshua HaMashiyach:

As Yeshua sat on the Mount of Olives, four of His disciples [Kefa, Yaakov, Yochanan, and Andrew] came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming, and the events at the end <sunelia> of the age?” And Yeshua answered and said to them, “TAKE HEED THAT NO MAN DECEIVE YOU! Many will come in my name, acknowledging that I am Messiah, yet they will deceive many. You will hear of wars and threats of wars—do not be terrorized. All these things must come to pass, but the very end <telios> is not yet. Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom shall rise against kingdom. There will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in many places. All these are just the beginning of the birth pangs. Then they will deliver you up to be afflicted and they shall kill you. You will be hated of all nations because of me. At that time many will be caught in the snare [that has been set by false teachers] and then they will hate one another and betray one another. Many false teachers shall rise up [among the believers] and they will mislead many. Because those who are without Torah will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But those who endure to the very end <telios> shall indeed be saved. This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached throughout the entire world for a witness to all nations.The end <telios> will come when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place. (Whoever reads, let him understand!) Then let those who are in Yehudaea flee to the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. Woe to those who are with child and to those who give suck in those days. Pray that your flight is not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath. For then [when you see the abomination of desolation] there will be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. Unless those days are shortened, there would no flesh be saved—but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. (Matthew 24:3-22; Rood’s Chronology)

I also believe Shaul was given an understanding and proper perspective of such times as we are living as made evident in this passage:

I don’t think the sufferings we are going through now are even worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us in the future. The creation waits eagerly for the sons of God to be revealed; for the creation was made subject to frustration—not willingly, but because of the one who subjected it. But it was given a reliable hope that it too would be set free from its bondage to decay and would enjoy the freedom accompanying the glory that God’s children will have. We know that until now, the whold creation has been groaning as with the pains of childbirth; and not only it, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we continue waiting eagerly to be made sons—that is, to have our whole bodies redeemed and set free. (Romans 8:18-23; CJB)

So let us not get caught up in all the hubbub floating about, both within and without our Faith Community. If we believe the Bible to contain the God-breathed Words of Yahovah our Elohim, then we should have absolute confidence that the things we are seeing manifested before us are destined to happen and they are not indicative of the end of the world. There are just a few prophetic loose ends that must first be tied up for the return of Master and the end comes.

Our time then should be spent equipping ourselves for the times ahead; prayer; fasts; doing our part in the great commission; living Torah to the best of our abilities; studying; loving; being the best people we can possibly be on this planet—preparing the way for our Master’s Kingdom.

Day of Trumpets—Yom Teruah—Rosh Hashanah—Subject to God or to the Rabbis?

The Day of Trumpets

It is to be a day of blowing of trumpets. A Holy convocation. Day of rest.

The Day of Trumpets is defined in Exodus 19, Leviticus 23 and Numbers 29

    • We were officially introduced to our Creator and given Torah in the midst of the sounding of Trumpets (although not likely falling on the Day as Father originally moved it to (at the start of the 3-Fall Feasts), it was to me an obvious precursor of this sacred day.
    • A day of complete rest—a Sabbath
    • A day to convene a Holy Convocation (i.e., a solemn calling together)
    • A day of memorializing the blowing of trumpets (teruah)
    • A day when no servile/ordinary/laborious work is to be done
    • A day to present an offering by fire to Yahovah

The Bible records key events that occurred on this Sacred-Holy-Feast Day

  • The Dedication of the Temple under King Solomon—I Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5 and 7
  • Worship was restored to the people of Judah—Ezra 3
  • The so-called Bethlehem Star was likely first sighted by the Chaldean astronomers on this day—Matthew 2:1-8–and some 2-weeks later the Master was born conceivably sometime during the Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot—Luke 2:7-20 and John 1:14
  • Prophetically, the Last Trumpet may conceivably be blow on Yom Teruah, signaling the Resurrection of the Saints—Revelation 11:15-19

Judaism’s Treatment of Yom Teruah—provides a stark example of how the traditions of man have the potential of nullifying the power and effectiveness of the Word and the worship of Yahovah our Elohim.

Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,

2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Mat 15:1-9 KJV)

At least one Hebrew Roots teacher has taught that we (the Hebrew Roots and Christian communities) must allow Judaism to interpret their scriptures (i.e., the Tanakh) while the Christians interpret their scriptures (i.e., the Brit Hadashah). A wise thing to do?

Renamed Rosh Hashanah, Yom Teruah for the Jews signals “the opening of the economic year” (The Jewish Encyclopedia). The Rabbis took from the Torah the instructions on The Regnal Year (i.e., the 7th year)—recently getting a lot of press in certain Christian and Hebrew Roots circles relating to the Shmita and Jubilee years—Leviticus 25:9. The Rabbis teach that the Levitical Year places the beginning of the Sabbatical-year in the autumn on the 10th-day of the 7th-month of Tishri (Tishri being a Babylonian name for the 7th month). Father only named one month—the Month of the Abib—the rest were numbered only.

Abba was very clear, as recorded in Exodus 12:2; 13:4, that the month of the Abib would be the beginning of months and the first months for us. “This system of dating the New Year is that which was adopted by the Semites generally while other peoples, as the Greeks and Persians, began the year in spring, both methods of reckoning being primarily agricultural and based on the seasons of seed-time and harvest” (The Jewish Encyclopedia). Rabbinic understanding of Yom Teruah, as we will see further, is based upon a twisting of Torah and the prophets, claiming that the beginning of the Biblical calendar year had always, from the beginning, been in the autumn of the Hebrew sacred calendar year. This is based upon the aforementioned treatment of the Regnal—Jubilee—years.

From there it is believed that the beginning of the flood occurred on the 17th-day of the 2nd-month, which would coincide better with the rainy season in the land (Genesis 7:11; Josephus, Ant. I. 3, 3). Additionally, the Rabbis provided for the synchronization of the 25th-year of Nabopolassar and the Battle of Carchemish and the 1st-year of Nebuchadrezzar and the Babylonian year reckoned from spring (Jeremiah 25:1; 46:7). This would permit the 2nd-half of the Hebrew year to correspond to the 1st-half of the Babylonian year. Oh, and we should not forget that the prophet Ezekiel’s vision occurred in the month of Tishri (Ezek. 40:1).

The Rabbis surmised that Babylonian influences (i.e., their year commencing in the spring of the sacred calendar year), resulted in a split in understanding when the Hebrew year was to begin. Rabbis acknowledge, however, that there is sufficient Biblical proof for the reckoning of the year commencing at the vernal equinox (which occurs in the spring of the year), for which they cite 2 Sam. 11; 1 Kings 20:22,26; and 2 Chron. 36:10.These passages speak to the commencement of military campaigns which would sensibly begin in the spring of a year as opposed to the fall, leading in to winter.

Rabbis question whether the commandments related to Passover are pre-exilic. Many believe that Passover is a post-exilic “practice” (i.e., post-6th-century BC) and because of heavy Babylonian influences, Nisan (another Babylonian name, this one for the first month) ultimately superseded Tishri as the 1st of the year.

The Rabbis contend that the Festival of the New Year continued to be observed in the autumn of the year in Tishri. The Rabbis further contend that although Moshe (i.e., Moses) appointed Nisan (really Abib) as the first month of the sacred festivals, he preserved the original order of the months for buying and selling and other financial transactions. Thus the Rabbis conveniently cleaved into two the calendar year heads: the Ecclesiastical Year beginning in the Spring of the Year (Nisan) and the Civil Year beginning in the Fall of the Year (Tishri).

This whole thing of assigning the beginning of the year to the Fall Day of Trumpets was seemingly finalized in 312 BC when the Seleucidan calendar set the beginning of the year in autumn, while the Palestinian Jews continued to reckon the beginning of the calendar year in the Spring.

To make matters even worse, the Rabbis decided to cleave the calendar into 4-heads of the year that would be based upon varying standpoints:

  • 1st Nisan (Abib) for so-called “regnal” dating, based upon the Exodus story (1 Kings 6:1)
  • 1st Tishri (7th Month) as the “agricultural New Year” which commences the harvest (Exo. 23:16; 34:22) . At the year’s end these verses speak to the Feast of Ingather (i.e., Sukkot/Tabernacles).
  • 1st of Elul (12th month-summer in the Jewish civil year) for reckoning tithes of cattle—based upon Tishri as beginning of the civil calendar year.
  • 15th of Shebat (5th month—winter—of Jewish civil year)—the New Year for trees.

Talmudic Understanding of Trumpets

Servants were formally freed on Rosh Hashanah (based upon Lev. 25:9), although they are physically released on the Day of Atonement (10-days later). Additionally, there was a restoration of fields to their former/original owners (based upon Ezek. 40:1).

Jewish Tradition for Trumpets

Day of Trumpets is regarded as the most solemn day of the sacred calendar year next to Yom Kippur (reference Lev. 23:24; Neh. 8:9). It is regarded as a day of “mishpat,” judgment, of “the God of Jacob,” which indicates the character of Rosh Hashanah.

It is a day in which all the inhabitants of the world pass for judgment before the Creator. In that passing before the Creator to be judged, 3-books are opened: (A) the wicked (these are blotted out of the book of the living); (B) the righteous (these are sealed to live eternally); and (C) the intermediate class (these are not utterly wicked, but these have 10-days of respite to live and repent by Yom Kippur and become righteous or else).

Other traditions include:

  • The zodiac sign is the balance in which scales of judgment represent the day; balancing the meritorious against the wicked acts of the judged.
  • Taking of annual inventory of accounts.
  • The beginning of Creation occurred on this day.
  • The means of sustenance of every person are apportioned for the ensuing year as well as everyone’s destined losses.
  • Weather determinations are made: if the day is warm, the next year will be warm; if the day is cold, the next year will be cold.
  • For good luck, Jews are to eat pumpkins, leeks, beets and dates. Ezra taught that Jews are to eat fat and drink the sweet. Palatable meals are eaten. Some means in some Jewish communities include eating the actual heads of certain animals. Eating animals’ heads which include calf and deer heads signify that the consumer will be ahead (no pun intended) and not backward in their undertakings during the ensuing year.
  • One may not, however, eat nuts because the numerical Hebrew numbering system suggests that nuts is the equivalent to the Hebrew term for sin.
  • Tables are adorned with grapes, fruit and honey.
  • Prayers are offered.
  • Feasts are held.

Master was the walking, talking, the living Torah—The Word of Yahovah. So He was quite aware of what the Pharisees and Scribes and all the Jewish religious leaders had and were doing to corrupt His Father’s Torah. He railed against that and in effect, that is what got Him killed—although that move by the religious leaders was for our eternal benefit.

In Deuteronomy 4:1-9, Father admonished us NOT TO ADD TO OR SUBTRACT FROM HIS WORD! (verse 2). Father demanded that we listen and do the statutes and rules given us by Him (verse 1).

Father promised that if we simply stuck with Him and stayed the course and walked out this thing the way He outlined it for us, we would live (verse 3).

Oh some will contend that we needed the Rabbis to interpret the Word of God for us—that Father’s Torah and way of life for man requires special individuals to make it understandable and to tell us how we are to understand the Word of God. Father did not mince words—He said:

10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. (Deu 30:10-20 KJV)

That which we received at Synai we are to take and behave (i.e., obey) accordingly and we were to carry on those instructions when we entered the Land of Promise (verse 5). Because of our steadfast obedience and reverence of Torah, we would be a beacon to the world, and seen as a people of wisdom and understanding (verse 6).

Father required that we (1) be careful; (2) watch our lives; (3) not forget that which we experienced and witnessed and allow them to vanish from our hearts; (4) and teach those things that we experienced, witnessed and heard and were taught to our children and grandchildren.

Closing Thoughts and Reflections

Yom Teruah—Day of Trumpets–is a day that holds great historical and prophetic significance. It would be foolish for any would be Torah Observant Believer in Yeshua Messiah to sully and marginalize those significances and the command to observe/celebrate the day by giving credence and practice to the traditions of men (in this case the Rabbis and sages).

Hasatan has a plan to destroy Father’s Torah and to prevent us from realizing our eternal purpose in the world and to the Kingdom of Yahuah.

Let us stand fast on the promises and commandments of our Heavenly Father and be about seeking out the Kingdom of Yahovah and His righteousness.

Have a blessed Day of Trumpets—in that which Father commanded and in the Spirit of Yeshua our Master.

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