Yom Teruah (The Day of Trumpets)
By: Glenn Kay

Yom Teruah - Basic Ideas and Terminology

This feast is also the first feast after the long summer - it is the first month that marks the beginning of the harvest. The crops have been growing all summer - with no Biblical Feast - now comes Yom Teruah - the first feast which heralds the beginning of the harvest.

This regathering - is not just of the harvest, but as we shall see points to the next great spiritual event in God's timetable - when He returns to gather His elect to Himself

Feast of Trumpets - Day of Blowing

Trumpets played an important role in ancient Israel:

In fact the day of God's gathering of believers to Himself will be marked with the blowing of trumpet - (Mat 24:31; I Thess 4:16-18)

According to Rabbinic teaching the trumpet blowing on Yom Teruah served two purposes:

  1. The trumpet sound served to call to repentance. It was a call to the dead (spiritually) to arise and live again, to wake up from sin to regeneration through repentance - indeed this appears to be the background to John the Immerser's and Yeshua's teaching - Repent the Kingdom of God is at hand, and also Paul's admonition in - Eph 5:14
  2. Secondly - it's purpose was to remind the people of their covenant relationship to the Lord

In fact (Num. 10:9-10) tells us specifically that the purpose of the Day of Trumpets is " a reminder of you before the Lord God." Not a reminder of them, but rather a day to remember God's graciousness

This year at Yom Teruah - many observant Jews, will take time to remember and reflect on their relationship with God. We too need to take time - at least yearly - but more often than that - to look back and take careful inventory of our walk with God - thinking about what He has done for us, and what He desires of us. The trumpets are also a call to repentance - we too need to reflect on our own lack of obedience, failure to serve, and lack of commitment

Yom Ha Din - Day of Judgment

In Judaism New Year is also considered that day when God opens His three books:

Yom Ha Din is seen as a day if new beginnings, of realizing that you are in that third book - and don't want to end up in the second book. So it is seen as a time of getting right with both God and one's fellow man.

Many Jews observe with this the custom of "Tashlich" ,meaning - "Thou hast cast", taken from (Micah 7:19). Jews go to the ocean or some other body of water with stones in their pockets and toss them into the water, pockets are also turned inside out and shaken out - to symbolize how sin is stikey and needs to be shaken - all a symbol of new beginnings. We need from time to time to practice "Tashlich", - to stop where we are and get right with God and our fellow man - to make new starts and fresh beginnings.

Yomin Noraim - Days of Awe

At the time of Yom Teruah - Jews also observe 10 days of repentance During that time they seek to mend fences between enemies, charity is given to the poor, etc. In other words it seek to show the reality of starting anew with tangible deeds. Yomin Noraim - dovetails well with John the Immerser's teachings in (Mat 3:8 and Luke 3:8-14). The idea being - to show the reality of your desire for a deeper walk with God by showing forth deeds of repentance and service.

Prophetic Fulfillment

The teaching of the Rabbis - Pointing to Messiah

Besides the surface teaching of each of the Biblical feasts, they all have a prophetic nature as well:

  1. Passover - Redemption from bondage to sin
  2. Firsfruits - Messiah the first to rise from the dead, promise of resurrection to all who believe
  3. Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) - God's first harvest of those redeemed
  4. Yom Teruah - Trumpets - the beginning of the regathering of Israel to the land in preparation for the final Day of Atonement, and the regathering of God's elect to Himself when He returns. The key idea of Yom Teruah speaks of return, of regathering to the Lord.

The Rabbis believed that (Is 27:12-13 and Jer. 32: 37) was speaking of a future Yom Teruah- Day of Trumpets - when God would again regather His people in the land of Israel - today we see this starting to take place. In Rabbinic teaching this occurs just prior to the coming of Messiah.

Possible scenario in Yeshua's Ministry

Many scholars believe that the bulk of Biblical evidence points to the idea that Messiah's birth took place in the late fall, not winter. If this is true, we can approximate the time when Yeshua started His public ministry Luke notes in (3:23), that Yeshua was about thirty years old, thus placing His baptism and first preaching in the fall of that year.

Consider the parallel themes to Yom Teruah. Would it be surprising that Yeshua took a special immersion in the fall of the year (Mat3:13-17) and that His message at the beginning of His ministry was - "Turn (be regathered) from your sins to God, for the kingdom of Heaven is near!"

Being fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled

Regathering of Israel - as we noted before the Rabbis have long held to the belief of a regathering of God's people Israel in the Land of Israel, prior to the coming of Messiah. Prophecy bears this out - Is 27:12-13; Jer 32:37 Yeshua seems to also have this Yom Teruah theme in mind in (Mat 24:31) In the verses that follow (32-34) He tells us that when we see Israel regathered in the Land to know that the time of His return is near - He goes so far as to say that the generation that sees Israel's regathering will also see His return! A generation in the Bible is about 40 years - Israel became a nation in 1948 and Jerusalem was restored to Israel in 1967. We could be very near

Regathering of God's people to Himself

There is already a regathering of God's people to the land. There yet one prophetic element of Yom Teruah - the Day of Trumpets to be fulfilled - the regathering of God's people to Himself. We read about this yet to be fulfilled event in - I Thess 4:16-18

Some Guidelines To Practical Observance

The Evening Service

The holiday begins in the evening. Much of the ritual takes place in the synagogue, but most Jewish people celebrate a joyous feast in their home with family. It begins as all Sabbaths, by the woman lighting the festival candles.

The mood of serivces is mixed. It is serious and somber yet a festive occasion. It is only one of two times a year when prayer shawls (Tallit) are worn during an evening service. Many people also wear white clothing at Yom Teruah - for both the evening service and Tashlich - based on the promise of (Isa. 1:18) - that God will turn ourscarlet sins as white as snow, and keeping with the theme of Teshuvah - repentance that Yom Teruah conveys.

The Evening Dinner

The Sabbath dinner table at Yom Teruah is beautifully set with a centerpiece of sweet fruits and cakes symbolic of the sweet year to come. The Hallah bread is baked for this holiday just as for the weekly Sabbath. However the loaves are shaped symbolically . A round loaf is baked to signify the hopes of a good round year, and alos to picture a crown as the holiday points to God's kingship.

Sweet cakes (honey cakes) are usually served, a custom traceable back to King David (II Sam 6:15,19). Sour and bitter food are avoided, representing the avoidance of bitter times for the year ahead. Other traditional foods are gourds, dates and sweetened carrots called - Tzimmes.

Yom Teruah Recipes

Honey Cake:
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1 cup honey
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour

Mix ingredients together, beating until mixture is smooth and fluffy.
Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour.
Lower temperature to 275 degrees Fahrenheit and monitor at 15 minute intervals.



Tzimmes:
6 carrots
3 tablespoons parve margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup raisins (or prunes)
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon orange juice
3 tablespoons honey

Peel the carrots and slice into 1/8" thick slices.
In a medium saucepan, melt the margarine.
Add the carrots and saute for 5 minutes.
Add the water and sugar; boil.
Add the rest of the ingredients and lower the heat.
Let simmer on low heat for 2 hours.
At the end of 2 hours, remove the cover and cook for 20 minutes longer.

Apples and Honey

A popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol for a sweet new year. It is customary to dip an apple sweetened with honey during the evening meal, and to recite this blessing, "Be it Thy will that a good and sweet year be renewed for us. Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe,creator of the fruit of the tree."

Casting the Stones - Tashlich

The word "Tashlich" means "You will cast away." In this context, it refers to a custom dating from at least as early as the fourteenth century, but probably much earlier, based on the last verses of the Book of Michah (Micah) 7:18-20

"Who is a God like You? You forgive sins and overlook transgressions For the survivors of Your People; He does not retain His anger forever, for He loves Kindness; He will return and show us mercy, and overcome our sins, And You will cast into the depths of the sea all their sins; You will show kindness to Yaakov and mercy to Avraham, As You did promise to our fathers of old."

Consequently, Jewish communities have for many generations gathered on Yom Teruah at bodies of water and recited the Tashlich Prayer, which consists of certain chapters of Tehillim (Psalms) and the verses shown above, to symbolize our wish to get rid of our sins, and to be forgiven by God.

Some people have the custom of putting bread crumbs in their pockets and shaking them out into the water to give more concrete expression to their desire to be free of their sins.The ceremony is symbolic of the determination to free oneself from sins and shortcomings during this special season.

Historically, Jews would sometimes be instructed by their own community leaders to seek out bodies of water not near the center of town, so as not to be seen during Tashlich by their non-Jewish neighbors, for fear of a "poisoning the wells" accusation. This was certainly true if actual food was thrown into the water, but even if not, they would be accused of mumbling curses and poisoning the wells by witchcraft.

Tashlich is preferably recited alongside a body of water containing fish, to remind us that just as fish are protected by the water in which they live, we pray to be protected by God. Also, just as fish swim freely and can suddenly be caught in a net, so too we can just as helplessly fall into the net of sin. And even as the eyes of fish are always open, so do we pray that God too will keep vigilant watch over his people.



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