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Happy New Year!


IssacharCommunity.org

From the Desk of Cheryl Hauer


The month of Elul has passed; Jews and Christians worldwide are welcoming the New Year as we enter the month of Tishrei. It is one of the most critical months on the Biblical calendar, a time when God intends to meet with us in a variety of ways. Thirty days that will impact our lives and set the tone for the coming year.

 

Jewish tradition tells us that Tishrei is a birthday-heavy month! Adam, they say, was created in Tishrei, as was Eve, while Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all born during these special thirty days. And in keeping with the theme of birthdays, God, in His mercy, saw fit to open the wombs of Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah in Tishrei as well. It is also the month when Joseph was released from prison to continue his life journey that would ‘give birth’ to a redeemed people on their way to the Land God had promised and ready to create a society unlike any the world had seen before.

 

And speaking of birthdays, every year is actually ‘born’ on the 1st of Tishrei. In the Bible, it is called the Feast of Trumpets, but today it is most commonly recognized as Rosh HaShanah. Not only is it the first day of the month and the first of the year, it is the first of a string of wonderfully important appointed times, including the Days of Awe, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah … festivals meant to draw us closer to God, our Rock and our Redeemer, and to give us the energy and strength we will need for the following eleven months.

 

The literal meaning of the Rosh HaShanah is ‘head of the year.’ Simon Jacobson compares it to the head of the body, the location of the brain, which controls the central nervous system and all the functions and movements of the body.

 

Likewise, Tishrei controls and energizes the entire cycle of time that follows it. How we conduct ourselves during this time, the time we spend meeting with the Lord, the decisions and resolutions we make, the joy we choose, affects us on all the days of the year. It is like a cosmic nervous system, Jacobson says, controlling the entire year!

 

Rosh HaShanah is also the first of the Ten Days of Awe, sometimes called the Ten Days of Teshuvah, or Repentance. These special days are a time for deep introspection, seriously seeking the Lord to reveal the sins we have committed over the past year, and sincerely repenting before the King. It is also considered the time to seek reconciliation with people we may have wronged during the course of the year. It is a time to give and to receive forgiveness leading up to Yom Kippur.

 

So, celebrate the birth of humanity, the coronation of the King, and the beginning of yet another year in which to serve Him. And recite these unique words of the key Rosh HaShanah prayer:

 

Remember us for life, King Who desires life, inscribe us in the Book of Life, for Your sake, O living God.

 

Blessings and Shalom,

Issachar Community

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