The Significance of Rosh HaShana

Today, we are looking at the meaning of the Jewish holiday known as Rosh HaShana, or the Jewish New Year. Where is it in the Bible? What is its spiritual meaning? And what can we learn from it as Christians?

First, Rosh HaShana is a special case of a recurring monthly holiday called Rosh Chodesh or the beginning of each lunar month. In Genesis 1:14, God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs (otot) and seasons (moadim), and for days and years.” One of these lights is the moon, and indeed the most important Jewish holidays are determined by the moon. This is why we call them “movable feasts”, because they fall each year on a different date according to our solar calendar.

The moon serves not only as a sign (ot) but also a moed – a Hebrew word best translated as “appointed time”. This is the time God himself determined for an appointment with mankind. And what powerful appointments they are: Just think of it – the Exodus from Egypt, the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai, and Jesus dying on the cross: all of these seminal events happened exactly on the days appointed by God.

Now the significance of every Rosh Chodesh is mainly to determine the beginning of the month when the new moon appears. Without it we could not determine the date of the full moon, which marks the beginning of Passover and Succot.

Every month, Rosh Chodesh is a time of drawing near to God, of blowing the trumpet, a time of gladness and joy. The Scripture says in Numbers 10:10 that it shall be a memorial (zikaron) for you. It means remembering the past so as to learn a lesson for today. At Rosh HaShana, this theme comes out prominently: the day is also called Yom ha Zikaron, the Day of Remembrance, and biblically the Day of Trumpets, or more precisely, the Day of Blowing on the Shofar (Yom Teruah).

 

Read More!

 

Bless Israel!

 


In Thursday’s ICEJ Weekly Webinar, Dr. Mojmir Kallus, ICEJ Vice President, International Affairs, explained the significance of Rosh Hashana and its relevance to us today.

Watch the Webinar

​​​​​​

Starting this Friday at 12:00 noon (Israel time), we invite you to join us for an exciting Feast Chat! This week we will be turning our attention to the Next Generation of believers, to hear what the Feast means to them.

Join the Feast Chat

​​​​​​
Join the Prayer

In this episode, Barry Denison, ICEJ Vice President, Operations, speaks from the Garden of Gethsemane, known as the place of the olive press. He invites you, when you visit, to pour out your soul like Jesus did. Consider joining us in Israel, at this year’s Feast of Tabernacles.

This year’s Feast gathering will be held from 9–16 October 2022 under the theme “The Land of Promise.” Make sure to join us for this wonderful time of worship, proclamation of the Word, and prayer, as believers from around the world gather in Israel to keep the biblical festival of Succot (Zechariah 14:16).

Watch the Video
Register Today!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.