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The Feast of Trumpets---Rosh Hashanah

The Feast of Trumpets is established in Leviticus 23:23 – 25. The biblical text simply says that we are commanded to have a holy convocation with a sabbath rest on the first day of the seventh month (Tishri), and we are to commemorate it with the blowing of Trumpets.

Traditionally it is rich with significance. Rosh Hashanah begins the ten “Days of Awe” culminating with Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement. Tractate Rosh Hashanah teaches that another name for Rosh HaShanah is Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgment. It was seen that on this day, G-d would sit in court and all men would pass before Him to be judged. Three great books will be opened as each man is weighed in the balance and placed into one of three categories (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 6b).

It has been taught that the school of Shammai says that there will be three classes on the final Day of Judgment, one of the wholly righteous, one of the wholly wicked, and one of the intermediates. The wholly righteous are at once inscribed and sealed for life in the world to come; the wholly wicked are at once inscribed and sealed for perdition (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 16b-17a). The third class, are people who need to make inventory of their lives and their walk before HaShem. They are given until Yom Kippur to settle differences with their fellow man and repent of sins before the Almighty

The traditional greeting is “Shanah tova,” which is Hebrew for “a good year”.