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• The Fall Feasts: Rosh Hashanah -
• "Lost Tribe" Returns to Israel -
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THE FALL FEASTS: ROSH HASHANAH -

This week Jewish communities throughout the world will celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah literally means "head of the year" and commemorates the anniversary of the creation of the world. It is celebrated on the first day of the month of Tishri. This year, Rosh Hashanah will begin at sundown on September 12 and end at nightfall on September 13.

Rosh Hashanah is often referred to as the beginning of the Jewish New Year. However, the Hebrew month of Nissan, in which Passover is celebrated, is the first month of the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah is actually only one of four symbolic Jewish new year celebrations. The concept of having multiple new years may seem strange, but keep in mind that in America we celebrate the New Year in January and the new school year in September. Likewise, businesses often have a fiscal year that does not coincide with the beginning of the calendar year (for example October 1st marks the beginning of the fiscal year for the US government).

The commandment to observe Rosh Hashanah is found in Leviticus 23:23-25: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.'"

It is also mentioned in Numbers 29:1: "And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you."

One of the central features of Rosh Hashanah is the shofar. The shofar is an instrument made from a ram's horn that sounds somewhat like a trumpet. In the Bible, Rosh Hashanah is referred to as Yom Teruah, the day of the sounding of the shofar, otherwise known as the Feast of Trumpets. The shofar is often representative of Abraham offering Isaac to God as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22). It was then that God provided Abraham with a ram, caught by its horns in a thicket, as a substitute for Isaac.

Rosh Hashanah is a time of both celebration and repentance. It is a time of spiritual renewal through prayer and deep personal reflection leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on the 10th day of Tishri (Leviticus 23:26-28). Rosh Hashanah is when the Jewish people recognize God as King and Judge over all living things. On Rosh Hashanah we celebrate the creation of the world, when "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good (Genesis 1:31)."

The vast majority of Christians are unfamiliar with most of the traditional Jewish holidays. Yet they hold great spiritual and prophetic significance. In Colossians 2:16-17 it says, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come." For more information about Rosh Hashanah or other Jewish holy days and their prophetic significance refer to our briefing The Feasts of Israel.

Rosh Hashanah is a time of forgiveness and new beginnings. Please take some time out of your week for serious introspection. Examine your heart before God and spend time in prayer.

May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.

[Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of a three part series on the fall feasts of Israel. Next week’s article will cover Yom Kippur, otherwise known as the Day of Atonement.]

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"LOST TRIBE" RETURNS TO ISRAEL

An Indian tribe called the Bnei Menashe, which means "children of Manasseh," have for many years claimed to be one of the "lost tribes" of Israel. They say they are the descendants of the tribe of Manasseh, who fled Israel on trade routes to India after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom. Earlier this month a group of 230 Bnei Menashe arrived in Israel – they came with tourist visas, but plan to seek Israeli citizenship. Approximately 1,000 Bnei Menashe have moved to the Holy Land since 1994, and there are about 7,000 who still live in India, who could eventually immigrate to Israel.

In March of 2005 the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that all conversions performed outside of Israel would be recognized by the authorities under the Law of Return. Two months after the Supreme Court's decision, Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar publicly recognized the Bnei Menashe as part of the lost tribe of Manasseh. Since then, hundreds of members of India's Bnei Menashe community have formally converted to Orthodox Judaism. By converting, the Bnei Menashe will then be able to immigrate to Israel and obtain citizenship under the Law of Return. The Law of Return was passed five years after the end of World War II to facilitate the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Israel.

There are many groups that believe the northern tribes, separated during the rift between Rehoboam and Jeroboam after the death of Solomon (and subsequently taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC), later migrated to Europe and elsewhere. The myth of the ten lost tribes is the basis for British-Israelism and other colorful legends, but these stories have no real Biblical basis. They are based upon misconceptions derived from the misreading of various Bible passages (2 Kings 17:7-23, 2 Chronicles 6:6-11).

The "tribe of Judah" (2 Kings 17:18) is used idiomatically for the Southern Kingdom. When encountering the tribal designations, it is important to distinguish between the territories allocated to the tribes and the people themselves. Before the Assyrian captivity, substantial numbers from the northern tribes had identified themselves with the house of David. The rebellion of Jeroboam and subsequent crises caused many to repudiate the Northern Kingdom and unite with the Southern Kingdom in a common alliance to the house of David and a desire to worship the Lord in Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 36 and 37 declares that Judah and Israel shall be joined as one in the regathering. This is true today. Ezekiel's famed vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones is unquestionably the monumental Biblical fulfillment of the 20th century. Beginning in the last half of the 19th century, the regathering, which climaxed in the establishment of the State of Israel, is one of the most irrefutable evidences that we are on threshold of God's climax for the nations.

For more information on this subject read the article titled "Mystery of the Myth: The Ten Lost Tribes" on our website (link below). Also our Expositional Commentary on Joshua contains a detailed exploration of this common misconception.

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