Sermon Tone Analysis

Happy New Year!

At sunset on Wednesday, September 12th Jews all over the world will observe the Rosh Hashanah.

The Observation lasts until sunset on Friday, September 14th.

In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year."

Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year 5768.

Unlike our observation of New Year’s there are no late night parties with Champaign or daytime football games.

Rosh Hashanah is one of the two holiest days of Jewish calendar.

There is, however, one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one: Many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions."

Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to of introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year.

The Jewish calendar is lunar; each month begins on the new moon.

The new months used to be determined by, the Sanhedrin.

They would declare the “official” beginning of a new month and then send out messengers to tell people that the new month had begun.

If you lived far from the synagogue it took a while to get the message.

The confusion comes in that a new moon occurs in either 29 or 30 days.

Rosh Hashanah is celebrated as two days because it occurs on the first day of a month.

Messengers could not be dispatched on the holiday.

People in Israel had to determine for themselves if it was a new moon, and consequently to make up for human error they celebrated Rosh Hashanah for two days.

The practice was also maintained as a custom after the gregorian calendar was adopted.

The name "Rosh Hashanah" is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday.

The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar).

The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.

23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.

25 Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.’”

The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet.

One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue.

A total of 100 notes are sounded each day.

There are four different types of shofar notes:

tekiah, a 3 second sustained note;

shevarim, three 1-second notes rising in tone,

teruah, a series of short, staccato notes extending over a period of about 3 seconds;

tekiah gedolah (literally, "big tekiah"), the final blast in a set, which lasts (I think) 10 seconds minimum.

The shofar is not blown if the holiday falls on Shabbat.

Another popular observance during this holiday is the eating of certain foods.

4 foods are included in the New Years meal.

§       apples dipped in honey: a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year (instead of the usual practice of sprinkling salt on it) at this time of year for the same reason.

§       Hallah bread: baked in a variety of shapes

o      ladder (or turban-like shape) on the hallah bread expresses the wish that the family's prayers might ascend to heaven.

o      Dough baked in the shape of a bird represents the same wish.

It also stands for the words of the Prophet Isaiah: /As birds protect their young, so will God protect Jerusalem/.

o      A hallah loaf might be topped with a baked, or plastic, crown, signifying the kingship of God.

o      A loaf in the shape of a wing to represent angel’s wings: a sign of goodness

 

§       Pomegranate is said to have 613 seeds.

This number represents the number of good deeds, that Jews as a society must perform.

o      A pomegranate on the holiday table announces to the heavenly court that as many seeds as there are, that's how many good deeds have been performed over the year.

§       Fish, because they are numerous, are used as symbols of fertility and prosperity and because their eyes are always open, and they see everything, they stand for knowledge.

o      On Rosh Hashanah, the head of the fish is placed before the head of the family.

And he or she says, on behalf of all those at the table: "May it be your will that we be like the head (leaders) and not like the tail (followers)."

Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off").

I believe this custom is an alternative to the scapegoat found in Leviticus 16:3.

This is what the high priest (Aaron) would do:

5 From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

6 “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.

7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.

9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering.

10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.

The modern alternative - Tashlikh ("casting off") - involves a person walking into flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty their pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins.

Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off.

This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom.

Do you see how the two are similar?

Both involve shedding of sin.

No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah.

Much of the day is spent in synagogue, where the regular daily service is expanded.

Rosh Hashanah is part of a ten day holiday known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance.

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning and Yom Kippur marks the ending.

I said earlier that Rosh Hashanah is a time for self examination.

Yom Kippur is the day you repent and make atonement for your sins.

According to Jewish tradition, God has "books" that he writes our names in, writing down who will live and who will die, who will have a good life and who will have a bad life, for the next year.

He does this on Rosh Hashanah.

How a person behaves during the Days of Awe determines whether God with enforce what he has written.

To change God’s mind, a person could repent of his sins, pray, or perform good deeds (usually, charity).

During the Days of Awe it is common to seek reconciliation with people you may have wronged during the course of the year, righting the wrongs you committed against them if possible.

Work is permitted as usual during the intermediate Days of Awe, from the 3rd to the 9th day, except of course for Shabbat during that week.

The final day in the Days of Awe is Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur is /the/ most important holiday of the Jewish year.

Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish custom will observe Yom Kippur by refraining from work, fasting and~/or attending synagogue services.

Turn to Leviticus 23:26                                                                                            

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.

Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the Lord by fire.

28 Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God.

29 Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people.

30 I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day.

31 You shall do no work at all.

This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

32 It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves.

From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”

The name "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement," and that pretty much explains what the holiday is.

It is a day set aside to atone for the sins of the past year.

I mentioned earlier the "books" in which God lists all of our names.

On Yom Kippur, the judgment in these books is sealed.

This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends.

We know that when we sin against our brothers we are sinning against God.

Yom Kippur is the day for atonement of sins between man and God.

So before those sins can be expunged it is necessary to seek forgiveness, reconciliation and~/or restitution with the person we have wronged.

All that must all be done before Yom Kippur.

On Yom Kippur no work can be performed.

It is a day of fasting; no eating or drinking (even water).

This 25-hour fast beginning before sunset on the evening before Yom Kippur and ending after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur.

The Talmud also specifies additional restrictions:               

§       no washing and bathing,