repent, return, and rejoice
Happy New Year!
Does it seem strange to offer hopes for the new year? Not if you are following the Hebrew, that is, biblical calendar. I made a note of that recently.
The month of Tishrei is the host of the High Holidays: Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), both of which are included in the Ten Days of Repentance (the Days of Awe). It is the time of preparation for Yom Kippur, which will be explained in a moment. The “Days of Awe.” I find that to be a term of haunted holiness.
The season continues with Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Sukkot), and Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah).
The word “Tishrei” is traced to a word for “beginning.” That is entirely appropriate, because it is the first month of the year, that is, using the Jewish civil calendar. Consequently, Rosh Hashanah is celebrated as New Year’s Day. We are now in the year 5785. And New Year’s Day is October 3.
Tishrei is a month of returning to Yahweh and of rejoicing. The Hebrew word for repentance, teshuvah, literally means “returning.” Tishrei is somber and celebratory. The festivals highlight those dual qualities. There is blowing of the shofar, a trumpet made from the horn of a kosher animal — a ritually clean animal.
There are numerous New Testament references to the shofar. Remember, the trumpet is a shofar. Here are some examples in scripture:
The Son of Man “will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31).
“The Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them” (Revelation 8:1–2).
Yom Kippur is observed by fasting, going to synagogue for prayer services, and other various acts of abstention.
Originally, during the days of temple worship, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum, and offer a sacrifice. It was the only day of the year he was permitted to do this. He would have two goats, one for sacrifice. The live goat would be set aside for the priest to lay hands on it to bear the sins of the people. The scapegoat would then be released into the wilderness, carrying the iniquities to a barren place. As Leviticus 16:10 puts it, “so that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.” Who or what is Azazel? A goat? A place? A demon? A deity? There is a wide variety of answers.
Yom Kippur points to Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 10, we are reminded of his perpetual covering of sin with his own blood. With Yom Kippur, “there is a reminder of sin year after year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (vv. 3–4).
Sukkot is a time of delight. For seven days it is celebrated by dwelling in a sukkah, a hut built outdoors. It is a remembrance of the wilderness wandering in which the people lodged in temporary structures. (Personal note: I lived in places with a sizable Jewish population and have seen these huts, these tabernacles, in people’s front yards.)
During each of the seven days of Sukkot, one of the activities was the pouring of water on the temple altar. It was a reminder of water from the rock in the wilderness and as a mark of the messianic age. The seventh day was marked with special celebrations. John 7 speaks of Jesus’ participation in the feast.
“On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water”’” (vv. 37–38). Jesus is portraying himself as the fulfillment of both meanings of the outpoured water. The scripture adds, “Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive, for as yet there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified” (v. 39).
The final holiday is Simchat Torah, the “Joy of Torah.” It is marked with singing, dancing, distribution of sweets, and other activities — all in celebration of the word of the Lord. The yearly cycle of readings ends, and the next one begins.
The Simchat Torah of 2023 had a dark and heartbreaking tone. On October 7, Israel was struck by Hamas terrorists with a savage and wicked attack. Over 1200 people were killed, and about 250 hostages were taken. October 7 has been referred to as the “Black Shabbat.” Anti-Israel and anti-Jewish demonstrations have popped up around the globe. Joy was replaced with sorrow — but also with a fierce determination.
In the Spring 2024 article of Sapir Journal, S. Ilan Troen ponders the horror of that Simchat Torah. He reflects on the prefix “re.” He notes the League of Nations’ 1922 decision to authorize “the ‘re-constitution’ of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. The Jews were to ‘re-turn,’ ‘re-build,’ and ‘re-store’ their ancient home as a living people.”
There is a “re” presenting a fresh challenge. “What will it take this year to be resilient?” Actually, that is a question posed many times in Jewish history. And it is posed every year during Tishrei — re-pent, re-turn, re-joice.
Then there is the ultimate “re.” Resurrection. Just as Jesus Christ consummates Yom Kippur, he consummates the month of Tishrei itself. And yet, it is beyond valuable to celebrate the factors, the components, brought by Tishrei.
So thanks be to God, who gives us the victory!
