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Shalom friends,
A new Jewish year is about to begin, and this week we will discuss the two holidays that are celebrated at the beginning of the year: Rosh Hashana, "The head of the year", and Yom Kippur, "The day of Atonement".
Both these holidays have been celebrated throughout Jewish history and have gone through many different changes in the way they are celebrated since biblical times. This time we will discuss only some biblical aspects of these holidays.
Rosh HaShana
The head of the year, or new years, was in fact celebrated at two different times of year: in the spring and in the fall. Officially, the spring is defined as the beginning of the year, as we are told in Exodus 12:2:
| "This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you" |
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This command is given in the spring, and represents a tradition according to which the spring is the beginning of the year. However, when referring to the Festival of Booths which will take place later this month, the time of celebration mentioned is "at the turn of the year" (Exodus 34:22).
If so, the fall is also considered the end, and therefore the beginning, of the year!
Many scholars believe that the difference has to do with two competing traditions: that of the northern, Israelite Kingdom, and that of the southern, Judean Kingdom. In the Bible, the Judean tradition prevails. However, later in Jewish tradition,
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for various reasons, the fall came to be considered the main "head of year", while the spring was still regarded as one, but of less consequence.
The Jewish calendar after the Babylonian Exile is based on a count beginning in the fall and not in the spring. The first day of the month beginning in the fall (celebrated this year on September 30th and October 1st), often referred to as the seventh month because of the count beginning in the spring and later named Tishrey, was celebrated in biblical times, even if not as part of a New Year's celebration:
| "And God spoke to Moses, saying: Say to the people of Israel, in the seventh month, on the first of the month, you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial commemorated with trumpets, a holy convocation: You shall do no labor, and bring an offering to God" (Leviticus 23:23-25) |
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In Numbers 29:1-6, the specific offerings that are to be brought are listed. The description of the holiday as one commemorated with trumpets is what led to one of the most famous parts of the holiday: the blowing of the Shofar. The Shofar is a horn of a ram which is blown as part of the ritual services.
The choice of the horn of the ram is connected to a biblical story, traditionally read as the Torah
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portion on Rosh Hashana. This is the story of the binding of Isaac by his father, Abraham, which appears in Genesis 22.
As a test of Abraham's faith, he is commanded to sacrifice to God his beloved son Isaac, who was born after years of barrenness when Abraham was 100 years old. Abraham immediately obeys, taking Isaac with him to a place God will show him.
When he is shown the appropriate mountain, Abraham builds an altar and binds Isaac on it. He is about to slay Isaac when an angel interferes:
| "He said: do not lay a hand on the boy and do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, and did not withhold your son, your only son, from me" |
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| (Genesis 22:12) |
The Testing of Abraham's Faith, Gustave Doré
Abraham then raises his eyes and sees a ram caught in the bushes, which he sacrifices instead of Isaac. The Shofar, made from a ram's horn, is supposed to remind everyone of Abraham's faith and of God's salvation.
Yom Kippur / Yom HaKippurim
The Day of Atonement takes place on the tenth day of the seventh month, Tishrey (celebrated this year on October 9th). It is mentioned in the Bible as a day of affliction (Leviticus 23:27), and this is the reason that it is a day of fasting.
A special ceremony of purification from sin for the priests, all the people of Israel and the
| Temple is described in Leviticus 16. As part of this ceremony, two male goats ( |
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, sa'ir) are taken, and a lot is drawn between them: one is sacrificed to God as an offering of atonement, and the other used in order for the high Priest to confess all the sins of Israel over it. It is then sent off to a remote place in the desert called Azazel. With this, the male goat removes the sin from amongst the Israelites and leaves them and the temple pure.
Have a good year!
The Biblical Hebrew Online Team.
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| Weekly Biblical Expressions |
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This week we will discuss two expressions in Modern Hebrew which were adopted from biblical stories connected to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
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Transcription: Al Tishlax Yadecha el HaNa'ar
Literal Meaning: Do not lay a hand on the boy
Source: Genesis 22:12
This quote from the angel's command to Abraham not to slay his son is often used in order to state innocence or warn against unjust punishment, denoting that punishment would be against God's will.
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Transcription: Sa'ir LaAzazel
Literal Meaning: The male goat sent to Azazel, a remote place in the desert.
Source: Leviticus 16
In Modern Hebrew, the expression denotes a scapegoat - someone who is punished for the sins of others, even though he himself is not to blame.
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