|
Yom Teruah: Day of Shofar Shouts
On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a sacred assembly. You are to do no laborious work. It is for you a day for sounding the shofar.
-Numbers 29:1
It is the new year! Welcome 2019. Our Jewish friends, our ancestors of faith, celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the first of their two high holy days. Many people take on New Years resolutions in January, and those can be excellent opportunities for spiritual renewal and practices. Some choose to take on the challenge of a new language, especially those wishing to travel or learn more about people or places that interest them. As believers, we should all seek ways to travel deeper in our faith and get to know the author, our extended family of faith, and grow in knowledge and wisdom. And one way we can do that is with language.
So, whether or not studying a new language was one of your resolutions, I'm going to offer some new words this year in my reflections for your study and spiritual toolbox. I'll start today with Rosh Hashanah - literally: the head of the year. It had an even more fun name in scripture... yom teruah (literally - the day of shouting or blasting). The new year is still announced in Jewish communities with the blowing of the shofar and we ring in ours with fireworks and music all over the world. Now you know some more Hebrew!
We share an important link to millions of other people of faith whose traditions flow from our Old Testament. It is important that we understand it as our shared story and common heritage. It is a constant reminder of our shared humanity as children of one God who loves us. This year, my hope is that we all resolve to make the world a better place as we work to become better people, better disciples, and better neighbors.
|
