Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah), Yom Kippur, & Sukkot
By: Joyce and Harlon Picker (excerpts from Harlon’s book; “The Shofar”)
Traditionally, when we attend services on Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah) we would hear the shofar sounding. There are four traditional sounds and they are blown in sequence. They are:
Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah, Tekiah
Tekiah, Shevarim, Tekiah
Tekiah, Teruah, Tekiah
Tekiah Hag'Dolah
These are 11 of the traditional 100 Shofar blasts that are sounded on Rosh Hashanah.
There are four calls: Tekiah, Shevarim Teruah Tekiah Hag' dolah. In a spiritual sense, the sequence in which the Shofar calls are blown symbolizes the fall of mankind. It reminds us of our sinful nature and that we need a savior and His blood sacrifice to make us whole again. The final call that is blown is encouraging as it announces to us that the broken world is made whole again.
On the 1st day of the Seventh month (Tishri), the Torah commands us to observe a "Day of Shouting" on which work is forbidden.
In the Bible, "Teruah" means to make a loud noise either by blowing a horn or shouting in prayer.
Shofar - Leviticus 23:24: "Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a Shabbat rest, a memorial of blowing (shofarot), a holy convocation."
Silver Trumpets - Numbers 10:1-10:
Adonai spoke to Moses saying,
"Make two trumpets of hammered silver for yourself. They are for summoning the community and having the camps set out. Whenever both are sounded, the whole community is to gather toward you at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. But if only one is sounded, the princes—the heads of the tribes of Israel—are to gather toward you. When you sound the trumpet the first time, the camp of those camped on the east is to set out. When you sound the trumpet blast the second time, the camp of those camped on the south is to set out. Short blasts will be the signal for their moving out. To gather the whole national community, you are to sound the sustained blasts, but not the short blasts. The sons of Aaron, the kohanim will blow the trumpets. This is to be an eternal ordinance for you as well as for your generations to come. Whenever you go to war in your own land against the enemy who is hostile to you, you are to sound short blasts of alarm. Then you will be remembered before Adonai your God and be delivered from your enemies. Also at your days of rejoicing, feasts and new moons, you are to blow on the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. They will then be a reminder for you before Adonai your God. I am Adonai your God!"
The sounding of the Shofar is a kind of spiritual wake-up call. It serves two primary purposes -
1. To remind us of the ram that God provided to be sacrificed in Isaac's place.
2. To give us direction/instruction when it is sounded.
Shouting in Prayer - Psalms100:1-5:
“A psalm of thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to Adonai, all the earth! Serve Adonai with gladness. Come before His presence with joyful singing. Know that Adonai, He is God. It is He who has made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise! Praise Him, bless His Name. For Adonai is good. His lovingkindness endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”
The purpose of Rosh Hashanah was to shout to the Lord in prayer as in Psalms.
Psalm 47:1-7:
“For the music director, a psalm for the sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of joy! For Adonai Elyon is awesome, a great King over all the earth. He subdues peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He chooses our inheritance for us, the glory of Jacob, whom He loved. Selah. God is gone up amidst shouting, Adonai amidst the sound of the Shofar. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!”
This word shout uses the same verbal root as "Teruah." The word "Teruah" can indicate various methods of noise-making from shouting in prayer to blowing on the Silver Trumpets. All of these, the Tanakh (Older Covenant) describes as acts of worshipping the Lord. Psalm 150 sums up how to Praise the Lord!
Any way you look at it, God is to be praised with "Teruah" (Shout)
One of the prayers for Yom Teruah (Malikhiyot) describes God as a King who has the power to add names to the Book of Life, or to delete names from the Book of Life and put them in the Book of Death.
The Jewish concept of ‘judgment’ also makes room for human beings to influence God's decision through repentance, prayer, and good deeds. That is why the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called the "Days of Awe."
More appropriate than Jewish tradition — is biblical truth.
When we look at the book of I Thessalonians, we see what will be the most significant event to take place on Yom Teruah!
1 Thes 4:16-17:
“For the Lord Himself shall come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the blast of God's Shofar, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left behind, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air—and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
Rosh Hashanah could be the time when God sends His Son, Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, to get His bride!
There are other interesting facts about Rosh Hashanah.
God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Rosh Hashanah - Genesis 22:2
God's revealed name in this story is ADONAI-Yireh (God will see to it or God will provide). There is no ‘J' in the Hebrew Alphabet, or you would recognize this name as Jehovah Jireh.
When God called out to Abraham, he responded with "Hineni" (Here am I, Lord). He didn't nod at the Lord or say, "okay." He said, "I am at your service." In Hebrew records, it is recorded that Abraham bowed low before the Lord in submission and adoration. The Hebrew word used is "Hishtachaveh" which is the act that makes a man double. How many times when God calls us do we respond in perfect submission?
Abraham knew God as ADONAI Yireh and did not despair when God asked him to sacrifice his son. Even when Isaac asked his father about the sacrifice, Abraham knew how to respond.
Read Genesis 22:7-8
Abraham knew ADONAI Yireh - God would provide!
Abraham's experience on Mt. Moriah was a foreshadowing of "Life from the Dead." Both in the resurrection of the Messiah some 2000 years later on the same spot and the spiritual resurrection of the Jewish people yet to come.
Paul sums this up in Romans 11:13-15
"I am speaking to you people who are not Jews. As long as I am a missionary to you, I want you to know how important my job is. I do this so it will make my own people, the Jews, jealous. Then it may be that some will be saved from the punishment of sin. Because the Jews have been put aside, many other people in the world have been saved from the punishment of sin. Think of what it will be like when they are also gathered In; It will be like the dead coming back to life!" (NLV)
God indeed did provide the lamb for the sacrifice. He provided His Son, Jesus!
The next one to be celebrated is Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), and it occurs on the 10th day of Tishri, exactly ten days after Rosh Hashanah. This year Yom Kippur occurred at sundown of September 18th. Lev 23:27-32
It is a day of fasting and prayer; a day when we should deny ourselves and remember the sacrifice that God gave for us, His son Yeshua.
Yom Kippur is the Holiest Day of the year on the Biblical calendar.
Today it memorializes the one day of the year that the Cohen Ha'Gadol (High Priest) would enter the Holy of Holies and make atonement for all of Israel.
The Scapegoat - Azazel in Hebrew - means removal or the action of sending away. Azaz means "rugged," and El means "strong" Leviticus 16:20-22
The Azazel was supposed to be taken into the desert and released. But the Scapegoat was taken instead to a cliff where the priest removed the red sash from its head and divided it. One part went on the goat's horns and the other on the cliff. He then pushed the goat backward over the cliff, sending it — and Israel's sins — to death. The priest wanted to make sure the goat did not return. They attached another part of the sash to the door of the Temple before the goat was sent into the wilderness. Miraculously, the sash on the temple door would turn from red to white when the goat died. This sign told the people that God had accepted their sacrifice and that their sins were forgiven. The reference is based on Isaiah 1:18.
The Talmud records that the Yom Kippur sacrifice was rejected by God for 40 consecutive years, following the death of Yeshua to the time the Temple was destroyed:
Talmud, Yoma 39b - “During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot [‘For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the westernmost light shine; …”
In the time of Jesus, the Mishna also tells that the Holy of Holies (where the High Priest made the Atonement for the sins of the people) was empty. The Mercy Seat, the Golden Cherubim, and the Ark of the Covenant had disappeared, and along with them the Sh'khinah presence of the Lord. The items taken into captivity in Babylon were never seen again (2 Kgs 24:13; 2 Chr 36:7). All that remained in the sacred chamber was one barren rock, three fingers high, known as the Foundation Stone!
The New Covenant significance to this fall festival is found in the books of Hebrews and Revelation. Yeshua has once and for all provided our atonement, and He became the perfect sacrifice for all of our sins.
Hebrews 9:8-14: “By this, the Ruach ha-Kodesh makes clear that the way into the Holies has not yet been revealed while the first tent is still standing. It is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly, gifts and sacrifices are being offered that cannot make the worshiper perfect with respect to conscience. These relate only to food and drink and various washings—regulations for the body imposed until a time of setting things straight. But when Messiah appeared as Kohen Gadol of the good things that have now come, passing through the greater and more perfect Tent not made with hands (that is to say not of this creation), He entered into the Holies once for all—not by the blood of goats and calves but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Messiah—who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God—cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (TLV Version)
Read Hebrews 9:24-26
Yom Kippur will be fulfilled after the thousand-year reign of Yeshua (Jesus) on the earth.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:52 and Revelation 20:11-15
Leviticus 16:32-34: The final fall festival to be celebrated is Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles) and it occurs on the 15th day of Tishri, exactly 5 days after Yom Kippur. This year Yom Kippur falls on 9/28/20 Sukkot will occur sundown on October 2nd.
Read Leviticus 23:33-43
Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths) is one of the three "pilgrim" feasts.
The other two are the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover) and the Feast of Firstfruits (Shavuot). This is the time of year when the sons of Israel were to return to Jerusalem.
The Torah tells us to do four things for the Feast of Sukkot.
1. Live in a Sukkah for seven days.
2. Make sacrifices to The LORD for seven days.
3. Celebrate.
4. Rejoice before The LORD.
A Sukkah is nothing more than a "temporary dwelling" to remind us that it is because of God's provision; we are safe and secure. It is not because of anything we have done or by our own power, but because of God's Devine Providence.
The seventh day of Sukkot has been given special significance as Hoshana Rabbah. Hoshana means, "please save us now." The people of Israel shout Hoshana as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey before the Festival of Passover. As Yom Kippur concludes the "Season of Judgment," Hoshana Rabbah gave the Jewish people one more opportunity to ask God to reverse His decision on placing their names in the Book of Death.
Jesus declared that He was the fulfillment of Hoshana Rabbah.
Read John 7:37-38
King Solomon celebrated the Festival of Sukkot at the dedication of the Temple.
Read 2 Chronicles 7:8-10
The Newer Covenant significance of Sukkot can be found in Zechariah of the Old Covenant and the New Testament Book of Revelation.
Read Zechariah 14:16-17
Read Revelation 21:22-27
The Feast of Sukkot will be fulfilled after the "New Jerusalem" has come to the New Earth.
The significance of the Fall Festivals of Israel cannot be overlooked for any Believer. They show us the history from which we came, and they show us the future to where we are going. The future is bright, looking forward to the fall festivals, as they point us to the return of our Messiah, Yeshua. The day is quickly approaching when...
Revelation 1:7-8
“Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see Him, even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth shall mourn because of Him. Yes, amen!” “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says Adonai Elohim, “Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty!”
Matthew 24:30-31
"Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. He will send out His angels with a great shofar, and they will gather together His chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Harlon wrote this poem and I believe it sums up the Fall Feasts beautifully!
Look Up For Your Redemption Draws Near
by Harlon L. Picker
Look up, for your redemption draws near,
Yeshua, the Messiah, is almost here!
He's coming on the clouds of glory,
To write for us another story.
Though we've stood and fought a very tough fight,
Our Messiah's coming to set things right.
The Adversary thinks that he has won,
But the victory belongs to God's own Son.
Do not fret and do not fear,
The time of Messiah is almost here!
Keep your focus on the will of God,
And your feet will not in mud be trod.
The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet boast,
But they have no authority on the Holy Ghost.
Yeshua's coming this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
He's coming on the clouds of glory,
To bring us home and end the story.
Victory's mine, thus says the Lord,
I've got my bride forevermore!
~~~During the Fall Biblical Feasts of the Lord, it is an excellent time for us to pause and reflect on what ADONAI has done in our lives. Acts 17:28 says, '"for in him we live and move and exist." We owe everything to our Creator who has given us life and sustains from season to season.
Pause and reflect, my friends!
Love in Yeshua,
Joyce
*Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.