For those of you that don't know the Jewish New Year has begun - which started on the sunset of Wednesday, 9/20/2017. We are now in year 5778 according to the Jewish calendar (and there are many of them to choose from but that's another topic for another day). The first mention in the Bible of is in Yom Teruah (a.k.a the Feast of Trumpets) Leviticus 23:23-25. Not much is said about this feast but going by the name it is a day, Yom in Hebrew, to make a great noise as Teruah in Hebrew can mean to make an alarm, blast, signal, or shout for joy.
Some rabbis believe in Ezekiel 40:1 Yom Teruah was referenced as Rosh Hoshanah which means 'head of the year'. This is why you may hear it referenced by that name as well. After this feast the Rabbinic tradition is that for the next 10 days, called the 'Days of Awe', we repent and examine our lives to determine if there is anything that needs to be changed. After the Days of Awe comes the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. I'm using Andrew Gabriel Roth's calendar which has Yom Kippur starting on Sep. 29th at Friday sunset going until Saturday sunset.
While you'll find Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur in the Bible you won't find anything about the 'Days of Awe' or at least I haven't.
As you may have guessed I'm not a rabbi. I'm just a disciple. I'm learning to read the Bible from a Hebrew perspective as I feel this concept is often times lost in Western culture. I'll talk more about this later I'm sure as it's really quite fascinating. I need to also say for myself I prefer to know the difference between what is biblical and what is a man-made tradition. Sometimes this can be a gray area but I do the best that I can while trying to maintain the right 'heart' attitude. If I believe something is biblical then I need to follow it to the best of my ability (sorry, no picking and choosing in following only the bible verses that we like). If a tradition is man-made I may decide to follow it or perhaps not. I believe some man-made traditions have merit . . . others not so much.
Mar 7:6 And he said to them, "Yesha'yahu the prophet did well prophesy about you hypocrites! As it is written that, 'This people honor me with their lips. But their hearts are very distant from me. 7 And vainly they fear me while they are teaching the doctrines of the commandments of the sons of men.'
On that happy note, over the weekend I got to meet Cole Davis (http://www.onthatday.org) while he was visiting the House of Scripture in Jasper, GA. From what I could gather Cole travels all over the country teaching and doing deliverance. I was only able to see him speak and chat with him for a little bit. He seems to be a no nonsense kind of guy who said some things that needed to be said. I enjoyed the visit as I enjoy learning things from different people. I figured I may as well enjoy learning as once we become a disciple of Yeshua we should always be growing.
I believe this is going to be a year of growth for you and for me.
Wanting His Character, Peace, and Blessings for YOU!
-Noe