October 5, 2005

Shanah Tovah!

Shanah Tovah! That’s the Hebrew greeting heard in Jerusalem these days. It’s Hebrew for “Happy New Year.” While most of the world celebrates the new year on January 1, the Jewish world heralds the new year on Rosh Hashanah, which means the “head of the year.” Since Jerusalem is a walled city, the celebration here lasts two days, on October 4 and 5.

The biblical roots to the holiday go back to Leviticus 23:23 and 24: “the Lord said to Moses, ‘say to the Israelites: on the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.’” Since the day is marked by trumpet blasts, the holiday is also known as the feast of trumpets.

But why would the seventh month of the year be the beginning of the year? According to some interpretations, because the seventh month is holy, it marks the beginning of the spiritual new year.

Rosh Hashanah also marks the beginning of what is called in Judaism the “ten days of awe”. It’s a period from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. It’s one of the most solemn times in the Jewish calendar. It’s a time to take stock, a time of self-examination, and a time to reconcile with God and man. Simply put, a time to make things right. The scripture portion read in synagogues during this time is Hosea 14:4 which says, “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.”

Traditions make this holiday memorable. Those traditions include buying honey and apples as a hope of sweetness for the coming year. They also buy fish heads as a reminder that God promised them they could be the head and not the tail. According to Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah also marks the time of creation, so Jews buy halla, a traditional bread made in round loaves this time of year to represent God’s creation.

Another tradition, which I’ve just recently heard is called “tashlich”. It’s a tradition based on Micah 7:19: “yes, thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” It’s traditional for Jews to find a body of water – even an aquarium will do, turn their pockets inside out, recite special prayers, and symbolically cast their sins away.

It’s also a time when Jews believe God opens the books. The hope is that your name will be written in God’s book of life, so the common greeting Jews exchange during this time of year is, “may your name be written in the book of life.”

For Christians, these “ten days of awe” can be a time of year to make things right with God and man. And also a time to rejoice, since Jesus Christ bore our sins, carried our grief, and because of our faith in him our names are written in the lamb’s book of life.

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