August 2011 Newsletter
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 11:18 PM The Fall Holy Days are almost upon us! Next month we will celebrate Rosh HaShanah, which is also called Yom Teruah or “Feast of Trumpets”. Rosh HaShanah is the first of the Fall Holy Days and also the most mysterious. Consider the passage in Leviticus:
“Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. (Lev 23:24 CJB)
What is being memorialized by our observance? The word translated “shofar” here is t’ruah, which can also be translated as a shout of joy or alarm, a battle cry, or a noise put out by an instrument. The meanings of this word are significant, but in order to understand why we first we need to take a step back and look at the Holy Day calendar.
Earlier this year we discussed how the Holy Days in the Torah provide us with a prophetic timeline of Messiah’s ministry and plan of salvation. The Spring Holy Days have already been fulfilled by Yeshua’s self-sacrifice (Pesach), His resurrection and ascention to the Father (Firstfruits), and the giving of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost). However, the Fall Holy Days are still unfulfilled, awaiting and foretelling the second coming of Messiah.
Many people believe that Yeshua will return to Earth on Rosh HaShanah, and there are several reasons why we can be persuaded that this is true. But others will argue that it’s nonsense to get involved with any sort of date-setting, because Yeshua tells us plainly in Matt 24:36 that “…when that day and hour will come, no one knows - not the angels in heaven, not the Son, only the Father.”
With that clear instruction, why do some persist in believing it will be this Holy Day? It is a good question, which brings up another interesting fact about Rosh HaShanah: it is the only Holy Day that falls on a New Moon. This is significant because the only way to truly know the timing of the new moon in Biblical times was to observe the thin crescent appear in the sky. By that time, it had already passed. No one could truly predict “the day or the hour” when the moon was perfectly new. In the same way, Matt 24:36 could actually be a reference to Rosh HaShanah, in that we cannot predict the “day or the hour” of Yeshua’s coming.
There are passages which describe Yeshua’s return to Earth being accompanied by a trumpet such as Matt 24:31 and 1Cor 15:52. 1Thes 4:16 goes even farther in explaining that this will be the “last trumpet”. This refers to the last of the seven trumpets mentioned in Revelation 11:15, which ends the Tribulation and ushers in the “Millenium Reign” of Messiah on Earth. If we are to blow the shofar on Rosh HaShanah in “remembrance”, does it not make sense that this would be in remembrance of Messiah Yeshua and the fact that He will return with the sound of the shofar? How likely will it be then that he returns on Rosh HaShanah, just as the time of His self-sacrifice mirrored the death of the Pesach Lamb?
Whether you agree with this theory or not, the importance of the date that He comes on pales in comparison with the importance of the event itself. The world will be forever changed when Messiah returns! He will establish his kingdom on Earth (Rev 11:15), supplanting HaSatan (Rev 20:2) for a thousand years (Rev 20:6). We can now see the significance of the definition of T’ruah: upon seeing Yeshua and his army coming in the clouds, there will be shouts of joy (from His believers), shouts of alarm (from his enemies), and a battle cry calling out against HaSatan. It is in expectation of all of this that we pray as He instructed us: “Your Kingdom Come”!
Let us celebrate Rosh HaShanah this year with this expectation in mind, and blow the shofar in remembrance of the King of Kings who was, who is, and who is to come.
Please plan to join us on August 14th for a picnic at Lake Thurmond’s Pine Point. We will use the lake as a mikvah for anyone that desires to do so. Please bring some food to share and something tasty to throw onto the grill! If you would like to attend, please contact Rabbi Don Lansing at the synagogue office.
Parashah
August 6 D’varim (Words)
Torah: D’varim (Deuteronomy) 1:1 thru 3:22
Haftarah: Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 1:1-27
B’rit Hadashah: Yochanan (John) 15:1-11; Hebrews 3:7 thru 4:11
August 13 Va’etchanan (I pleaded)
Torah: D’varim (Deuteronomy) 3:23 thru 7:11
Haftarah: Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 40:1-26
B’rit Hadashah: Mattisyahu (Matthew) 4:1-11; 22:33-40; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 4:1-13; 10:25-37; Acts 13:13-43; Romans 3:27-31;1 Timothy 2:4-6; Ya’akov (James) 2:14-26
August 20 Eikev (Because)
Torah: D’varim (Deuteronomy) 7:12 thru 11:25
Haftarah: Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 49:14 thru 51:3
B’rit Hadashah: Mattisyahu (Matthew) 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13; Ya’akov (James) 5:7-11
August 27 Re’eh (Behold)
Torah: D’varim (Deuteronomy) 11:26 thru 16:17
Haftarah: Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 54:11 thru 55:5
B’rit Hadashah: 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 1 Yochanan (1 John) 4:1-6
Upcoming Events
Aug 14th: Lake Picnic
Sept 28th: Rosh Hashanah Evening Service @ 7pm
Oct 7th: Kol Nidre Service @7pm
Oct 8th: Yom Kippur Torah Service @ 11am
Oct 8th: BREAK THE FAST with CBS @ 7:30pm