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Rosh Hashanah "head of the year"

This week, Jews around the world will celebrate one of our most important festivals: Rosh Hashanah. In Hebrew, this means "head of the year", and the festival marks the beginning of the Jewish calendar. What was it like 2,000 years ago? How did our Lord Jesus celebrate Rosh Hashanah?

Rosh Hashanah Meaning
The festival of Rosh Hashanah רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה does not appear in the Hebrew Bible, nor is it referred to as the Jewish New Year. Instead, the Torah commands the children of Israel to celebrate a “feast of trumpets” on the first day of the seventh month (Lev. 23:24). In the original Hebrew, this day is called Yom Teruah יוֹם תְּרוּעָה, which means “a day of trumpeting.” What was the original meaning of this day?

A Call to Arms
In the days of ancient Israel, the sound of a trumpet - a ram’s horn, or shofar – signified the start of a battle, as seen in Joshua’s conquest of Jericho (Josh. 6:5). During the “feast of trumpeting,” the sound of ram’s horns signified the beginning of a spiritual battle. The piercing sound of the shofar pointed to God’s coming judgment. As a Jew, Jesus celebrated the Feast of Trumpets. He most likely knew the sound of the shofar well, and like his Jewish brethren, he associated it with the End of Days.

Reveal the Authentic Meaning of Scriptures
Jesus promised His disciples that although He would soon leave them, He would eventually return: “And the Son of Man… will send out His angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather His elect from the four winds” (Matt. 24:31). Throughout Jewish history, the Feast of Trumpets has been an opportunity for the people of Israel to come before God and to implore Him to judge the world favorably.