United Israel

Tonight marks the beginning of the strangest festival in the biblical calendar. It is called the “festival of shelters,” literally and it last for seven days. The word is Sukkoth in Hebrew, which literally means “huts” or some other kind of temporary dwelling. Its meaning is very close to our English “homeless shelter” today. Though it is often translated “tents” or “booths” the idea is some kind of arbor or lean-to under which one can get a tiny bit of needed shelter, but still very much exposed to the elements and the sky. This was one of the three ancient pilgrim feasts of Israel. We are not told too much about it, but the meaning seems simple, Israel, settled in permanent dwellings and cities in the land, is never to forget its “wilderness” origins, so that once a year, in the Fall, they are to actually “go back to nature” and camp out or live in huts, tents, or temporary dwellings, for a week, so as to remember that YHVH made our ancestors live in this nomadic, temporary way in the time of Moses. This festival then vividly reminds us of that, of the CAMP of Israel, of the time when the Column of Cloud/Fire was visible, when there were no sacrifices or Temple, just the simple “tent of meeting,” when everyone was fed morning and evening with the mysterious “manna,” and when YHVH spoke face to face with Moses.

You can find the descriptions in the Torah, particularly in Leviticus 23: 39-43. But what is really interesting about Sukkoth is that it not only looks back, but also forward. Notice these words of the Prophet Hosea:

I have been YHVH your God since your days in Egypt, and I will make you DWELL IN SUKKOTH again, as in the days of MEETING.
I will speak through prophets, I will give vision after vision and through the ministry of prophets will speak in similies” (12:9-10)

This is really an incredible verse, as it pictures a time of Israel’s restoration, when Prophecy returns, no more “hiding of the Face,” and the days of “meeting” could well refer to that “Tent of Meeting,” from those wilderness times. Here we have that same motif that we find elsewhere in the Prophets, the idea of an Exodus II that parallels Exodus I of the time of Moses. Thus Micah the Prophet declares: “Once again YHVH will show marvelous things as in the days when you came out of Egypt (Micah 7:14-15)

Zech 14 also tells of a time when the whole world will come up to Jerusalem and dwell in Sukkoth/tents/shelters during this week….

Some other relevant readings for this time are Hosea 12, Micah 7, Psalm 80-81, Isaiah 24-35…

Some folk camp out in tents, others gather at campgrounds or even hotels, some just stay out on their porches or balconies and many build shelters on their property, as is the custom within Judaism. The more one can actually “live” in the Sukkoth, the better in terms of getting the meaning of the festival. The moon during Sukkoth is full. On a clear night everything is bright and lovely, almost magical. The experience can remind us of a more simple and primitive time, getting away from all the “modern conveniences,” more or less what we mean when we talk of “camping out.”

We at United Israel wish all of you, our thousands of readers worldwide, a meaningful festival. Sukkoth is truly an extended Biblical “Thanksgiving.” In our troubled and complex world it pulls us outside, away from it all, to sit/dwell in our “huts” for the next seven days…

One of the strangest ceremonies of ancient Judaism was that carried out on Yom Kippur with the “two hairy goats.” The ritual is described in Leviticus 16 in full detail.

Two male goats were selected for Yom Kippur, one is “for YHVH” and the other “for Azazel.” Both are said to be “for a sin offering” (v. 5).

One is slain and the other is sent away into the wilderness. What has been confusing to many is that both goats are spoken of as somehow providing “atonement,” or better translated “covering.” So why the difference? Why two goats, essentially identical, rather than one?

One common interpretation makes the two goats positive and negative, and it is the case that Azazel in ancient Jewish texts (1 Enoch, etc.) is the name for an “angel” who opposes YHVH. But if one is negative and one positive, how can both provide “covering”?

In looking more closely at the text one notices that the first goat, the one that is “for YHVH,” that is slain, makes “covering for the Holy Place because of the uncleanness of the people and because of their transgressions, all their sins” (v. 16). In other word, the blood of that goat is to cleanse the Tabernacle that has become unclean because of the sins of the people, NOT to removed the sins of the people per se.

In contrast, the sins of the people themselves are put on the head of the live goat. That goat is not killed, yet that goat too is spoken as a “sin offering” (v.5), ,making atonement/covering (v. 10), and that goat “bears all their iniquities” into a remote area.

This distinction might be an important one in trying to understand the meanings intended in this ancient ceremony. Early Christians were able to find in the slain goat, given Paul’s interpretation of the death of Jesus by crucifixion, a symbol of “Christ” dying for the forgiveness of the sins of the people. The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews elaborates this point in great detail (Hebrews 9). But there seems to be no reference in the text to the blood of the slain goat related to the forgiveness of the sins of the people. The second goat, the one sent away into the desert, is not dealt with at all in the interpretation given in Hebrews, and yet in the biblical text of Leviticus that goat is clearly the “sin bearer.”

The Christian overlay to this text is perhaps an obstacle to reading it with new eyes. One often hears a quotation from the New Testament book of Hebrews that asserts: “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.” Clearly such is not the case as this example of the “live goat” makes clear.

The goat that really “bears the sins” is the one sent away, into the desert (v. 22). All the sins and iniquities and transgressions are put on the head of this live goat and he is send away to Azazel. The sending away of this living goat effects the removal of the sins of the people. What this implies then is that in this ancient ceremony the ultimate “covering” of sins that comes on Yom Kippur is not by shedding of blood but by casting far away, away from the camp of the living to the desert places where Azazel and the demons dwell.
This means that the main image of “atonement” or covering on this day is not that of an animal slain for the forgiveness of sins, but the removal of sins from the land of the living. The rabbis seem to pick up on this in arranging the Haftarah readings for Yom Kippur. There are the special supplementary readings from the Prophets. First, the story of Jonah is read, which is a story of an entire city being saved from destruction because of repentance from sin. Then Micah 7:18-20 is read, where sins are cast away into the depths of the sea.
Being “washed in the blood of the lamb” has become a more appealing cultural image to our minds than “washed in the blood of the hairy goat,” but it seems that neither image, in connection to the removal or “atonement” of sins, is related to the Day of Atonement or Covering.

The 10th day of the 7th month on the Hebrew calendar is called Yom Kippur in the Bible–literally “a day of covering.” The covering refers quite directly to the forgiveness of sins. In ancient times, first in the Tent or Tabernacle, and in later centuries in both the First and the Second Jewish Temples, elaborate and special ceremonies were carried out on this day. The High Priest, once a year on this day, entered into the inner room of the Temple called the Holy of Holies, where the ark or of the covenant or “testimony,” was housed. This is the chest that held the stone tablets upon which was inscribed the “Ten Words,” or Ten Commandments. These ceremonies are described in Leviticus 16.

Since the days of the 2nd Temple, which the Romans destroyed in 70 CE, Yom Kippur has continued to be observed by Jews worldwide all through the centuries. Indeed, it is considered the holiest and most solemn day of the year. It has essentially come to be understood as a day of Atonement. The word Atonement, literally, “At-One-Ment” is the day Jews and Torah believers want to be at one and at peace with their heavenly Judge. Heshbon HaNefesh, is the Hebrew term for “an accounting of one’s life” and this is the prerequisite for entering into G-d’s redemptive plan for the past year and beginning the new year with a clean, pure slate. This is the day of being inscribed in the “Book of Life.” It is a day of individual and collective Acknowledgment of sins, Repentance, and Redemption, all steps which lead to G-d’s forgiveness and reconciliation. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar and though these three steps seem easy and simple enough, they are interwoven over a period of 10 days (known as the Asseret Y’mey T’shuvah, or 10 days of repentance) into a tapestry which is given in order to allow us to ask for forgiveness from our friends, acquaintances, and family as well as from G-d. Atonement is the goal on this day of “last chance” as G-d finalizes His judgment.

Some believers emphasize confession; Jews emphasize repentance. Confession admits a wrong. Repentance, to be accepted, requires a commitment to change. To confess without change is to accept evil as unalterable behavior. Repentance or Teshuvah is the total reversal of behavior in order to receive redemption. Leviticus 23:27 instructs us to “afflict our soul” which simply says to deny ourselves of food, drink, sex, work or any activity which would divert our attention from meditation and focusing on the sins we’ve committed during the past year. Yom Kippur is called “the Sabbath of Sabbaths” in the Torah. It is set apart as is the weekly Sabbath to emphasize introspection, self-evaluation, and on trying to figure out the meaning and purpose of our lives. Reconciliation with G-d and mankind is paramount to having our names written in the Book of Life and having the seals affixed for the coming year.

Leviticus 16:22 describes how the High Priest performed sacred rites during Yom Kippur which included having a lottery to choose two goats: one consecrated to G-d; the other the Azazel goat. The High Priest confessed the sins of Israel on the Azazel-goat and set it free in the wilderness so that it “shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region”. The goat consecrated to G-d was offered on the altar as a purification offering.

In Rabbinic literature, Yom Kippur is given an additional name, Yom HaDin, or Day of Judgement and is a fasting holiday of epic proportions. This should be a festival without food. The fast for this day is biblically mandated and is an act of self-denial. This is the designated day to nourish our souls and not our bodies. The words of Isaiah are read in every congregation: “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the fetters of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to deal your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor that are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him, and that you hide not yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your reward.” (Isaiah 58:6-8)

Finally, on Yom Kippur, the shofar is blown just once, one long blast at the very end of the holiday. Thus a new year begins and the sages have proclaimed that the day after Yom Kippur is when we are the cleanest and purest of the entire year.

Rebecca Buntyn

Today’s Torah reading, on the Sabbath between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, is quite an amazing text with lots of interesting history. It is the entire chapter of Deuteronomy 32, called in Hebrew: Haazinu, literally, “Let Us Cause ourselves to Hear!” (it is a Hiphil Imperative Plural). The words are set in line-by-line poetic rhythm, as some translations show. The text is a Song, referred to subsequently as the “Song of Moses.” It was recited by Moses under inspiration to the entire nation and it reflects the prophetic future of the mission and historical fortunes of the Israelite people. One important thing to remember in reading this passage is that it is not merely about the Jewish people, whose history after the Babylonian Exile was shaped primarily around the tribe of Judah, but it is a “Song” for all the tribes of Israel. If it is read in that regard some of its stanzas and concepts are cast in a much different light. These are among the last recorded words of Moses.

The Song begins with expressions of the unique nature of YHVH as God of Israel. He is called the “Rock,” that “begot you,” the “father that has purchased you,” and the “Most High,” which is the ancient name El Elyon, used by the Abraham and those before him in speaking of the Creator (see Gen 14:18-19).

Beginning in 32:8 there are some important textual variations in our various copies of Deuteronomy. The basic text used and preserved by Jews for the past 1500 years, is called the Masoretic text (MT). There is also a translation of the Hebrew, dating back to 200 BCE, in Greek, that is called the Septuagint (LXX). And more recently, there are copies of sections of Deuteronomy that have survived as part of the library of the Dead Sea Scrolls. What is most interesting is Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts of Deuteronomy differ in some important ways from the Masoretic or traditional text, and its readings are paralleled by the Greek Septuagint. These variations have to do with the use of the term “sons of Elohim” or in Hebrew, the b’nai ‘Elohim.

These were not taken too seriously until the discovery of the DSS, since the LXX often has readings that differ from the MT (Masoretic) text, and in traditional Judaism the received Hebrew text is understood to be inviolate–letter for letter perfect. However, when it was discovered that the HEBREW text of Deuteronomy agreed with the Septuagint, against the MT, those readings have been given much more attention and weight. Slowly the scholars have begun to have more and more respect for the LXX. By and large it is a very literal translation, and there is now every indication that the translators were in fact translating a Hebrew original that is different from the MT–however, one values it. In other words, they were not just adding things and being sloppy with their translation work. Often the differences are not so important, when we compare the Qumran Hebrew Bible with the MT, but in this case these variants seem quite significant. Of course the Qumran copies are older than the MT by more than a thousand years, so the discovery of these most ancient of Hebrew texts raises all kinds of questions, both for the scholars and traditional Judaism (and even fundamentalist Christianity). Here are the differences:

MT (Masoretic text) reads:
Deuteronomy 32:8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel.

LXX (Greek) reads:
Deuteronomy 32:8 When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God.

Qumran/DSS reads:
Deuteronomy 32:8: When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he sest the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Elohim.

Now this is really fascinating, in the light of the “B’nai Elohim” passage in Genesis 6, and the separation of the nations after the Flood in Gen 10-11, as both the “sons of Elohim” and the “daughters of Adam” are mentioned.

But it gets even more interesting when we read v. 43, the climax of the Song. I have marked the key differences in italics.

MT reads:
Deuteronomy 32:43 Sing aloud, O ye nations, of His people; for He doth avenge the blood of His servants, and does render vengeance to His adversaries, and does make expiation for the land of His people.

LXX (Greek) reads:
Deuteronomy 32:43 Rejoice, ye heavens, with him, and let all the angels of God worship him; rejoice ye Gentiles, with his people, and let all the sons of God strengthen themselves in him; for he will avenge the blood of his sons, and he will render vengeance, and recompense justice to his enemies, and will reward them that hate him; and the Lord shall purge the land of his people.

Qumran/DSS reads:
Rejoice O heavens, together with him, and bow down to him all you sons of Elohim, for he will avenge the blood of his sons, and will render vengeance to his enemies, and will recompense those who hate him, and will atone for the land of his people.

As with v. 8, you can see that the Qumran text essentially agrees with the LXX, and in both cases the focus is on the “B’nai Elohim.”

The RSV and other modern translations have adopted the reading of the LXX/DSS and other translations at least note it in the margin.

The implications of these alternative readings, and the meaning of the phrase “sons of Elohim,” is uncertain. It seems to go back, one way or the other, to Genesis 6, where this term is first used. One interpretation makes these a group of “angelic” beings, while the other sees them as part of a lineage that is traced in Genesis 5, from Adam through Enoch, and finally down to Abraham. There is no doubt that other sections of the Hebrew Bible, such as Psalm 82, speak of certain “angelic” beings or “Messengers” as “sons of Elohim,” but even so, the English translation “angel” can be quite misleading, since the root meaning of the Hebrew word, Ma’lak, is simple “messenger,” that is one sent with a mission. In fact, the context in this “Song of Moses” seems to imply that the “sons of Elohim” are in fact a lineage of human beings, the descendants of whom are the “sons of Israel.” Thus we get the language of “Is not He your father that has bought you,” earlier the song, and the clear reference to “avenging the blood of his sons,” which hardly seems to be a reference to so-called “angels.”
If such be the case the DSS version would not necessarily be different in meaning from that of the MT–the “sons of Elohim” would in fact be the chosen “seed” of Abraham, that is the “sons of Israel” or Jacob, his grandson.

There is much more of interest in this “Song of Moses,” such as the mysterious references to “no-people,” in 32:21 and the whole concept of the “hiding of the Face” of God.

This evening at sundown is called more popularly, Rosh HaShanah, that is “head of the year.” Yet, it is the 1st day of the SEVENTH month, not the first day of the first month. Judaism really has two “years.” The seasonal New Year is, of course, the first day of the first month, as Exodus 12: 1 plainly says: This Moon/month shall be to you the beginning of months.” That day is very significant in biblical and Jewish history and many things have taken place on Nisan 1st–the biblical New Year. It signals “new beginnings.”

But the 7th month/moon is also the first of a kind of “civil year,” that had to do in ancient times with certain calculations regarding the Jubilee, the redemption of bond-servants, and so forth. It is kind of an “legal” New Year, much like our July and Oct “fiscal years” in our society today. It has to do with “accounting.

In the Torah itself, this holy day is never called Rosh HaShanah. Rather it gets a different name–Yom Teru’ah, that is “day of the blast.” Teru’ah in Hebrew refers to raising up a loud noise, whether a shout or the blast of the trumpet or Shofar. Thus some Christian groups that keep this day refer to it as the “feast of Trumpets.” This is also a name that is nowhere found in the Bible. There is, however, an association of this day with a “trumpet,” or more properly, a “shofar,” in Psalm 81. But notice carefully, our word TERU’AH also occurs, in the very first verse, here translated “shout.” It really means to raise up a noise, and it can be voices, instruments, and of course the piercing sound of the Shofar. I guess it would be highly appropriate to actually SHOUT on this day, as well as SING and blow the Shofar!

1 Cry aloud to God our strength, raise a SHOUT (verb rua’) to the God of Jacob.
2 Lift up a song, and give out a timbrel, A pleasant harp with psaltery.
3 Blow in the month a SHOFAR, In the new moon, at the day of our festival,
4 For a statute to Israel it is, An ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 A testimony on Joseph He hath placed it, In his going forth over the land of Egypt. A lip, I have not known — I hear.

But what does it mean? The instructions in Lev 23 are amazingly sparse and seem to give no reason or meaning to the day. It simply says it will be a Sabbath, no work to be done, people are to gather on this day, and there will be a “memorial SHOUT/BLAST.”

The best clues to the Biblical meaning of this day are found in Psalm 80 & 81. The connection here to the tribe of Joseph is quite interesting. Judaism is surely right to connect the sound of the Shofar as a call to the Tribes, and a call to all humanity to awaken, a call of judgment and preparation…as it falls ten days before Yom Kippur, the Day of Covering, and then leads into Sukkoth, which seems to be a picture of the Kingdom of God with Israel once more dwelling in “booths” or “huts,” that is temporary shelters, as in the days when they were led out of Egypt and had that intimate, “face to face” relationship with YHVH.

Each year this sequence is pictured…this is the “LAST” month of the holy calendar, the SEVENTH month (no festivals really in months 8-12), so it seems to picture somehow the “end of history,” but in a mini-form, year by year….

The Jewish Prayer book contains many wonderful things in the liturgy that will connect back with the biblical meaning of this solemn day…

May all have a meaningful “mo’ed,” that is “appointment” with YHVH…and Shabbat Shalom this evening and tomorrow until sunset.

JDT

In the Torah reading last week, the last verse of Deut 28 (or in Christian Bibles the first verse of Deut 29), one finds following interesting statement:

“These are the words of the covenant that YHVH commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that He made with them in Horeb.”

Did you catch that? There was one covenant made at Mt Sinai, recorded clearly in Exodus 20-24, and now besides that one, a second covenant made in the land of Moab, on the other side of the Jordan, not long before the death of Moses. It was with the new generation that was to enter the Land.

What one has here, in my understanding, is a principle of the renewed covenant. Christians have been taught to think in terms of a “new” covenant, but really a more proper understanding, even of Jeremiah 31:31, is that the covenant is renewed or made new. It can be ratified in each generation, and indeed, it is taken on by each individual. It is a perpetual thing, that moves through time. In today’s Torah reading the people actually ENTER the covenant “this day,”–Deut 29:11 (Hebrew verses).

This concept of the renewed Covenant is a dynamic one, it involves a relationship with YHVH. Even the Covenant with the nation of Israel at Sinai is not a static concept, it is an ongoing relationship. The covenant is periodically renewed throughout history. Moses makes an initial covenant the year of the Exodus, but it is renewed 40 years later (Exodus 24:7-8; Deuteronomy 29:1). There is a further covenant made at the end of Joshua’s career (Joshua 24:14-25). Covenants are made under Josiah, and Nehemiah (2 Kings 23:1-3; Nehemiah 9:38). There will be a renewed covenant when Israel is restored to the Land (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

These various “covenants” are essentially one, they all refer to a special partnership with YHVH, which involves commitment to His Torah and dedication to the Kingdom of God. The heart and core of that relationship is: “I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” This key phrase is repeated often in the Hebrew Bible, so much so that it is formulaic and bedrock basic: Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; 31:33; 32:38; Ezekiel 11:20; 14:11; 34:30; 36:28; 37:23,27; Zechariah 8:8. This intimate relationship is compared to marriage (Jeremiah 31:31-33). It is not primarily a legal, constitutional, or dispensational idea.

Essentially there is only one covenant, and Abraham himself participates in this same covenental relationship 400 years before Sinai. Note the language of Genesis 17:1-2: “I am El Shaddai, walk before Me and be blameless, and I will establish my covenant between Me and you.” Laying hold of the “covenant” essentially means becoming the “friend of God,” “walking with God,” intimately participating in the Plan of modeling justice and righteousness to the world. This is the true and original notion of Abrahamic Faith. Therefore, this idea of taking up the Covenant is not restricted to the national promises to Israel, which YHVH will fulfill regardless “for His own Name’s sake.” It can be a wholly individual choice. As noted above, Isaiah 56 addresses “the son of man,” that is, anyone, who turns to YHVH in this way, taking up the Covenant, observing the Sabbath, and becoming part of the people of God in this wider sense of the term. This is the essential meaning of the concept of the “House of Prayer for all nations.”

Psalm 25 puts this all together quite well:

“Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed . . . All the paths of YHVH are steadfast love and truth, to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies . . . Who is the man who fears YHVH, He will instruct him in the Way he should choose . . . The friendship (lit. “secret”) of YHVH is for those who fear him, and He will show them His Covenant”(vv 3, 10, 14).

This is a matter of the deepest and most intimate level of spiritual conversion. This way is open to anyone—certainly to Jews, and obviously to those scattered Israelites from the Lost Tribes, but also to Gentiles, who are willing to repent of sins and turn to YHVH. Truly, “YHVH is near to all those who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in faithfulness” (Psalm 145:18). YHVH is no respecter of persons, He looks on the heart rather than on external appearances (1 Samuel 16:7). His love is extended toward every human being who fears Him. David had this deeply personal, intimate, relationship with God, as reflected in Psalm 51. Indeed, this Psalm, perhaps more than any other Scripture text, is the model for individual spirituality in the Bible. It involves “getting a new heart,” having the Torah implanted deep within, and receiving God’s Holy Spirit.

Such a personal conversion does not require joining any religious organization or denomination. It cuts across all such cultic labels, which are usually more sociological than genuinely religious. YHVH looks on the heart. For Gentiles, or for those from the Lost Tribes of Israel, it does not necessitate, though it certainly can involve, formal conversion to “Judaism.” What counts is one’s relationship directly with YHVH, based on the inner heart of each individual. This is not to say that such people of the Covenant are devoid of all community. Certainly the Gentiles who turn to the God of Israel in this way, as well as those from the Lost Tribes of Israel, will live their lives in a new solidarity with the fortunes of the Jewish people.

They learn to love YHVH, to revere the Holy Scriptures, and to share the Messianic hope of Redemption, alongside the Jewish people. Others may choose conversion to Judaism as an expression of their solidarity and shared hopes with the Jewish people, including a loyalty to the State of Israel. Similarly Jews who are deeply converted to YHVH will enrich their own communities, helping to vindicate the plans and purposes of God for Israel. But most important, these “fearers of YHVH” as Malachi calls them, have a deep solidarity with one another.

The bond that comes from knowing the One God, living the Way of Torah, and longing for the Kingdom of God, runs deep and tends to obliterate the boundaries of religious “affiliation” or national, ethnic, or social background. As they “speak to one another” there is a strength of fellowship that comes only through the Spirit of YHVH (Malachi 3:16-18).

Tishrei is the 7th month of the Jewish lunar Calendar and normally falls in September or October on our modern Gregorian solar calendar. The three major holidays we celebrate during Tishrei are Rosh Hashanah (New Year or Trumpets); Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement); and Sukkot (Tabernacles). This year, 2007, which will begin the Jewish Year 5758, the dates fall:

Rosh HaShanah/Trumpets: September 13 (beginning at sundown on the 12th)

Yom Kippur/Atonement: September 22 (beginning at sundown on the 21st)

Sukkot/Tabernacles: September 27 through October 5 (period of seven days)

In biblical times there were two “New Year” celebrations. One was in the Spring, with the 1st of the month of Nisan, which falls in March/April (Exodus 12:1), and the other in the Fall, the date known as Rosh HaShanah today. These days are described in the Torah in Leviticus 23: 23-36. Ironically, these three major holidays that fall in the 7th month serve as both an “end” and a beginning to the “sacred seasons” in that the cycle that began with Passover ends, but the Sabbath and Jubilee years were renewed at that season (see Leviticus 25:1-10), and important legal matters were settled (debts forgiven, etc.).

Rosh Hashanah, literally “head of the year” has become the tradition New Year’s Day in Judaism today. Ten days later is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement”. The days between them are called “Days of Awe”. This description captures the the mood, the meaning, and the purpose of this 10-day period of the year. These are days of awe because they evoke anxiety, trepidation, humility, and soul searching. The first steps of any journey set the course and how we begin the year is the key to everything else that follows. The potential– and the responsibility– of the first two Jewish holidays are awesome.

According to one group of ancient rabbinic sages Rosh Hashanah commemorated the day G-d created Adam and Eve and was the birthday of the world as far as humankind is concerned, while others maintained the world began in the Spring, in Nisan. Over the centuries the observance of the 1st day of the 7th month prevailed. In the Bible this day is called the “Day of the Blasting,” referring to the Shofar or Trumpet that was blown throughout the land. It came to symbolize the day of Judgment, and thus the day for G-d to annually judge the world and everyone in it. So, the other name for Rosh Hashanah is — the “Day of Judgement”. There is a unique mitzvah (good deed) directly correlated to Rosh Hashanah in most all the synagogues of the world: To hear the blowing of the shofar, a simple ram’s horn. After the Torah reading during services, 30 blasts of the shofar are sounded in a prescribed pattern. Later come another 70 blasts for a total of 100. The shofar is blown on both days of Rosh Hashanah. During these days every moment should be filled with good thoughts, words, and deeds.

The custom of dipping Challah (bread) and/or apple slices in honey became symbolic of our confidence of a “sweet judgement”. The following prayer is recited on the first evening after eating the first piece of challah and the honey coated apple slices:

“May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year”.

You can find much more information about traditional Jewish observances and meanings related to the Holydays at the helpful Web site Judaism 101. If you scroll down the table of contents you will see an extensive section on this subject.

For those interested in trying a traditional Jewish Menu for Rosh HaShanah here are some suggestions:

Honey cake, honeyed chicken, sweet potato and carrot casserole, and dough balls made from eggs, butter (or margarine), sugar, flour, baking powder and chopped nuts mixed together with honey syrup and baked, salads with a honey/mustard or honey/lime dressing\

Classic Honey Cake 3 eggs; 1 1/3 cups honey; 1 1/2 cups sugar; 1 cup strong black coffee; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 3 tablespoons butter/margarine, softened; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 4 cups flour; 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Grease and flour a 9×13-inch cake pan.

In a large mixer bowl, beat eggs and honey together. Add sugar and mix again. Mix coffee with baking powder and then add butter or margarine to the egg mixture. Add baking soda, flour, and cinnamon and beat well together.

Pour into a greased 9×13 cake pan. Bake for 55 minutes to an hour.

In subsequent posts we will discuss Yom Kippur and the traditions and mandates associated with this most solemn of holidays.

Rebecca Buntyn

Each year we order a batch of special United Israel World Union Jewish Calendars. The company we use really does a beautiful job with color photos for each monthly spread, all the Jewish holidays and Holydays marked, as well as the weekly readings printed out for the Torah and the Prophets. With the Fall Holyday season upon us we thought some of our readers might like to have one of these calendars. We have a limited number left and will happily send you one if you think you could use it this coming year. Our only requirement is that you write us by surface mail with your name and mailing address. Unfortunately, in this case, we can not accept e-mail requests, nor can we mail outside the U.S. due to prohibitive airmail postage costs.

Send your request to:

United Israel World Union Calendar

P.O. Box 561476

Charlotte, NC 28256-1476

This year two of the shortest Torah readings of the year are combined into one, on this coming Sabbath before Rosh HaShanah: Nitzavim (Deut 29:9-30:20 and Vayelek (Deut 31:1-30), with the Haphtorah reading for Nitzavim: Isaiah 61:10-63:9.  These two readings are surely among the most stirring in all the Torah, containing as they do these ringing last words of the Prophet Moshe, but also the far reaching history of Israel in both Exile and Regathering–thus hooking to the Prophetic portion from Isaiah so appropriately.

A few random observations:

Deut 29:28 The secret things belong to YHVH…but the things revealed to us, that we may do all the words of THIS Torah.  This verse is usually quoted in isolation, out of context, to set some general principle, sometimes even applied to mystical matters, but in context it reads very differently, and maybe should be better translated “the hidden things,” clearly referring to the historic plan of Yehovah with his people, from Exile to Redemption.  All does not appear, and there are times of the “hiding of the Face” (see below), but what does appear, and is revealed, is the Way of Torah.  In other words, the verse, far from being a statement about heavenly or mystical things, is actually about the ways of YHVH in the earth, in carrying out far-reaching historical purposes.  In that regard the verses of Deut 30:11-14 are very very close in meaning.  The Torah is not in heaven, or beyond the sea, but very near, in our mouth and heart–that we may DO it…

Deut 30:3ff as in so many passages in the Prophets the return of the Tribes (all 12!) from Exile is something that YHVH does–it is HE who gathers them…and it is he who brings about the conversion of the heart (”circumcision”).

Deut 30:19-20 is certainly one of the most moving declarations in the entire Torah.  It is a complete summary of the whole Plan, the whole relationship, and it is a covenant or relationship of the heart, of listening and cleaving–much like marriage–with the two becoming one…

We have all read and heard of the Torah Codes.  One of the more fascinating and chilling is hidden within the verses of Deut 31:16-18.  If you take a Hebrew Bible and circle the letter Heh in the name Moses in v. 16, then count 50 letters you come to the letter Shin, then another 50 letters takes you to the letter Vav, another 50 to Alef, and a final 50 to the letter Heh again.  These letters spell the Hebrew word “HaShoah” or “the Shoah,” or Holocaust, a word that does not even appear in Biblical Hebrew.  If you read the content of these verses, the meaning becomes all the more striking.

Another interesting puzzle is found in Deut 31:22-23.  Moses is clearly the subject of v. 22, as he is the one who wrote the song and taught it…but then keep reading the next verse, 23–”And HE gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge…Who is the “he” here?  The natural way to read it would be that is continues to speak of MOSES–but the one speaking in the first person speaks of bringing the Israelites into the land that he promised them, and that he will be with them.  Could this possibly be Moses?  Most of the translators say no, and they put “the LORD” in here as the speaker, even though the Hebrew does not contain that term (see the NRSV).  One might just assume that there is some shift in the speaker here, and that YHVH nows speaks.  But there are other passages in the Torah like this, most of them highlighted by Moshe Guibbory in his Jerusalem Research, where Moses seems to speak not only for YHVH but as if he is indeed YHVH.  See Deuteronomy 29:1-5, from last week’s reading, for one of the best examples.  So there might be some very hidden mystery here.

The reading from Isaiah equally moving and comprehensive in its visionary scope.  One might want to also read Isaiah 61:1-9, for a wider context, but this reading (61:10-63:9) is really quite extraordinary on its own. One can not miss the strong affirmation in this text that YHVH himself who will be the Savior, no human is with him, no “saviors” or “redeemers” other than him (compare Isa 15-20).  In other words, the GO’EL or Redeemer appears to be YHVH himself.  The late David Horowitz, founder of UIWU, used to point out that the Prophets almost never speak of the coming of any Messiah, at least they never use that term, but they do talk about a MOSHIA’–a Savior (one letter different from Moshiach, the Hebrew term for Messiah)–namely YHVH himself (this is the word in Hebrew in Isaiah 63:8).  This seems in great contrast to both the traditional Christian and Jewish focus on Messiahs.  The chilling, wrenching, first person words of YHVH himself are so moving in this section of Isaiah.  And notice, he comes from the south–from Edom and the area of Bozrah–deep in the desert or Aravah.  Several times in the Hebrew Prophets YHVH speaks of “his place,” and of gong to it and coming forth from it–and there are surely indications it is in those Desert areas to the south, which is where Horeb or Mt. Sinai is located.

Staff