We are now entering the season of all the Fall Moedim (Mo-ed-deem) which means Appointed times, which are Feasts/Fasts that YAHWEH ELOHIM commanded us to observe each year.
September 22nd is Yom Teruah (Evening of September 21st to evening of 22nd).
Teruah (Teh-roo-ah) in Hebrew is defined in Strong’s #8643 as:
A shout or blast of war, alarm, joy, battle cry, blowing, blowing trumpets, joyful sound, resounding, shout, shout of alarm, shout of joy, shouted, shouting, shouts of joy, signal, or trumpet blast.
As mentioned above the first Holy Day is Yom Teruah/Trumpets which means “The Day of Shouting” is on September 22nd which is equivalent to the 1st day of the 7th month in YAHWEH’s eyes on the Zadok Priestly Calendar found in Enoch, Jubilees, and the Aramaic Levi Document. Judaism calls this day “Rosh Hashanah” which means “Head of the year” or the “Jewish New Year” and this is false! Our New Year began in the spring during Passover when things are renewed and coming back to life, not in the fall when things like the leaves of the trees are starting to die. Judaism does things backwards most of the time and we need to flee from these man-made traditions aka the “tradition of the elders.”
Rosh Hashanah has ties to paganism that was learned in Babylonian exile and was started to be practiced amongst some in the 2nd Temple period. The Babylonians took their New Year’s Day celebrations seriously and called them Akitu and Resh Shattiim, which is the Akkadian form of the Hebrew Rosh Hashanah, and Rosh Hashanah is found nowhere in scripture because they borrowed it from pagans.
Exodus 12:1-2
“And YAHWEH spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying. This month (Abib) shall be to you the BEGINNING OF MONTHS: It is the FIRST to you among the months of the year.”
So again, spring is the beginning of the year for us when Passover was instituted and not Rosh Hoshana in the fall. That is why we should stick to what the day is called in scripture which is Yom Teruah and not Rosh Hashana.
The Scriptural Command:
YAHWEH commands us in Leviticus 23:23-24 saying:
"Speak to the children of Yisra’el, saying, 'In the SEVENTH MONTH (Ethanim), on the FIRST DAY of the month, you have a REST, a REMEMBRANCE OF BLOWING THE TRUMPETS, a holy gathering.” You DO NO SERVILE WORK, and you shall bring an offering made by fire to YAHWEH.”
Numbers 10:10
“And in the day of your gladness, and in your Appointed Times, and at the BEGINNING OF YOUR MONTHS, you shall BLOW THE TRUMPETS, over your burnt offerings and over your peace offerings. And they shall be a remembrance for you before your ELOHIM. I am YAHWEH your ELOHIM.’
Psalms 81:3
“Blow the SHOFAR (RAM’S HORN #H7782) at the New Month in the glorious day of your feast.”
This makes a lot of sense because Yom Teruah is on 1st day of the month which is the beginning of the 7th month AND it’s an Appointed Time and we will be blowing trumpets/shofars, which matches what YAHWEH said in Numbers 10:10 and Psalms 83, it’s a double celebration of blowing the shofar for the beginning of the month and again for it being Yom Teruah which falls on the beginning of the month.
So, we are commanded not to work, to have a holy gathering, and to blow the trumpets/shofar on this day. We are allowed to prepare food for the celebration and that is all you may do, being that it is a High-Shabbat and not a Shabbat Shabbaton such as the weekly 7th Day Sabbath or Yom Kippur which is a fasting day. Similarly, to how cooking is all we can do on Feast of Unleavened Bread which occurs after Passover which is a High-Shabbat.
Nehemiah 8:1-3
“And the SEVENTH MONTH arrived and the children of Yisra’el were settled in their cities; and all the people were gathered as one man to the broad place before the water gate and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Torah of Moses, which YAHWEH commanded Yisra’el. So, Ezra the priest brought the Torah before the congregation both of men and women and everyone who had understanding was present to listen on the FIRST DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH (YOM TERUAH). And he read in it from the time of sunrise to the middle of the day before the men and the women; and they understood it and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Torah.”
Jubilees 31:3
“And he (Jacob) went up on the FIRST of the SEVENTH MONTH to Beth-El. And he built an altar at the place where he had slept (Genesis 28), and he set up a pillar there, and he sent word to his dad Isaac to come to him to his slaughtering, and to his mother Rebecca.”
Jacob sets up altar on 1st day of 7th month, that he swore to do in Genesis 28 when YAHWEH appeared to him when he fled from Esaw and was on his way down to Laban’s house.
Numbers 29:1-6
“And in the SEVENTH, on the FIRST of the month, you have a holy gathering, YOU DO NO SERVILE WORK, it is a Yom Teruah for you. And you shall prepare a burnt offering as a sweet fragrance to YAHWEH: one young bull, one ram, seven lambs a year old, perfect ones, and their grain offering: fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenth parts for the bull, two-tenth parts for the ram, and one-tenth part for each of the seven lambs, and one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you, besides the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Month, the continual burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their Right-Ruling, as a SWEET FRAGRANCE, an offering made by fire to YAHWEH.”
YESHUA is the Lamb of YAHWEH who takes away the sins of the world and offered Himself with His blood and not the blood of bulls and goats. It is important to see what YESHUA’s blood did for us and be thankful for this GIFT. YESHUA fulfills the animal offerings for us with His blood as He serves as High Priest in the heavens for us and His atonement is the sweet fragrance that YAHWEH mentions in Numbers 29:1-6 that is required on this day. Which connects to what Paul says:
Ephesians 5:2
“And walk in love, as Mashiach (Messiah) also has loved us, and gave Himself for us, a gift and an offering to YAHWEH for a SWEET-SMELLING FRAGRANCE.”
We too need to offer up ourselves as a living sacrifice in our daily lives:
Romans 12:1
“I call upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion of ELOHIM, to present your bodies a LIVING OFFERING-holy, well-pleasing to ELOHIM-your reasonable worship.”
1 Peter 2:4-5
“Drawing near to Him, a living Stone-rejected indeed by men, but chosen by YAHWEH and precious- you also, as living stones, are being built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up SPIRITUAL SLAUGHTER OFFERINGS acceptable to YAHWEH through YESHUA HA’MASHIACH.”
SHOUTING (TERUAH) ON THE DAY OF SHOUTING
As we defined in the introduction that Teruah means a shout or blast of war, alarm, joy, battle cry, blowing, blowing trumpets, joyful sound, resounding, shout, shout of alarm, shout of joy, shouted, shouting, shouts of joy, signal, or trumpet blast. The reason for shouting has a role in YAHWEH’s plan for His people and we some examples of this in scripture:
Joshua 6:5-6:
"And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the horn, all the people shall shout with TERUAH (a great shout); and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him."
1 Samuel 4:5-6 says:
"And when the ark of the Covenant of YAHWEH came into the camp, all of Yisra'el TERUAH (shouted) so loudly that the earth shook." And when the Philistines heard the noise of the Teruah, they said, 'What is the noise of this great Teruah in the camp of the Hebrews?"
Shofar/Trumpet blasts in scripture:
Isaiah 27:12-13
“And it shall come to pass in that day that YAHWEH shall fence men off from the channel of the river as for as Egypt; but gather one by one the children of Yisra’el. And it shall come to pass in that day that they shall blow the great SHOFAR/RAM’S HORN (#H7782) and the lost ones in the land of Assyria shall come and the lost ones in Egypt and shall worship YAHWEH on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.”
Joshua 6:5-6:
"And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the SHOFAR/RAM’S HORN, and when you hear the sound of the horn…”
Judges 3:27
“And it came to pass when Ehud came into the land of Yisra’el, that he BLEW THE SHOFAR/RAM’S HORN in mount Ephraim and the children of Yisrael came down with him from the mountain and he was before them.”
2 Chronicles 5:12-13
“That all the psalm-singing Levi assigned to the sons of Asaf, to Heiman, to Yidutan and to his sons and to his brothers, of those who were clothed in linen garments, with cymbals and lutes (a plucked instrument related to a guitar) and harps, were standing before the altar and with them 120 priests blowing trumpets. And there was one voice in the trumpeting and in the psalm singing and in the loud utterance with one voice to give thanks and praise YAHWEH; for it is good, for His mercy endures forever…”
2 Chronicles 13:14-15
“And Judah turned and saw the battle was both in front and behind them. Then they cried out to YAHWEH, and the priests sounded the TRUMPETS. And the men of Judah gave a shout. And it came to be as the men of Judah shouted, that ELOHIM smote Jeroboam and all Yisra’el before Abiyah and Judah
Nehemiah 4:18-20
“As for the builders, each one had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the ram’s horn was beside me. And I said to the nobles, and to the deputy rulers, and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and large, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. In whatever place you hear the sound of the SHOFAR/RAM’S HORN, join us there. Our ELOHIM fights for us.”
Trumpet blasts when YESHUA returns:
We do not know the day or the hour of YESHUA’s return; however, I would just like to point out the connection with the trumpets when He does.
Mathew 24:31
“And He shall send his angels with the GREAT TRUMPET, and they shall gather the chosen who are His from the four winds and from the ends of the heaven.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (includes both shouting and trumpet)
“Because the Master Himself shall come down from the heavens with a SHOUT, with voice of a chief messenger, and with the TRUMPET of ELOHIM, and the dead in MASHIACH shall rise first.”
Paul mentions both shouting and the blowing of the trumpet on the day YESHUA returns, and both of those elements are a part of our Yom Teruah celebration, HalleluYAH!
There are four primary types of shofar blasts:
1. Tekiah- A long single blast (the sound of the King’s coronation.)
2. Shevarim- Three short wail-like blasts (signifying repentance)
3. Teruah-Nine staccato blasts of alarm (to awaken the soul)
4. Tekiah ha-Galol- a great long blast (for as long as you can blow!)
Our Father YAHWEH has given us Kingdom behavior to act out on earth as it is in heaven, just as we see the shofar blast being heard on the mountain.
Exodus 19:16-17
“And it came to pass on the third day as the morning drew near, there were voices and lightning and a dark cloud on Mount Sinai: the voice of the RAMS HORN/SHOFAR sounded loud and all the people in the camp trembled. And Moses led the people forth out of the camp to meet ELOHIM and they stood by under the camp.”
Let us SHOUT (TERUAH) and blow our trumpets/shofar on this day and make NOISE and give to YAHWEH. It’s the first moed (appointed time) of the fall AND it’s the first day of the first month, let us rejoice!
As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!