We are entering a season of much shifting, changing, and truly a season unlike any we have ever known! Every year during the period known on the Jewish calendar as "Rosh Hashanah" or "Head of the Year" (as well as Feast Of Trumpets), if you will pay attention, you will begin to see many things shift and change on an amazing level. I believe we are coming into a "Kairos" time, where we will see more shifting than in any season we have been in before! The Lord is wanting us to hear Him more clearly, and be led by His Spirit on a level that we have never experienced before. If you will use these next few weeks as a time of prayer and meditation, I believe the Lord will show you things you have never seen, as well as things you will need to know during the upcoming months and years. As you are led by His Spirit on a new level, you will begin to see even clearer the path that He wants you to take. This year, Rosh Hashanah ~ Feast Of Trumpets, will begin tomorrow evening at sundown, with the first full day of these "Days of Awe" beginning on Monday. We, as Christians, are not required to celebrate the Hebraic Festivals, as we are not under the law, but I do believe that we should be aware of their significance, and look for the prophetic meaning they have for us now. I believe this is crucial during this upcoming season, more than ever before! Let's remember, our Lord celebrated all of these festivals when He was here on earth, so it only makes sense that His people would understand their meaning and significance. Below is a short teaching on Rosh Hashanah and the Feast of Trumpets, that will hopefully be helpful for those who may not know much about these Hebraic Holy Days. I will be posting more about this season, as well as the meaning of the year we are entering (5776), in the next few days, so be on the lookout for those posts as well! Blessings! ~ Amanda Rosh Hashanah (9/13/15)~ Head of the Year & New Beginnings - Tomorrow at sundown will begin Rosh Hashanah. In traditional Judaism, Rosh Hashanah (lit. "the head of the year") is celebrated as the Jewish New Year. It is observed on the 1st two days of Tishri (the 7th “new moon” of the year), and marks the beginning of a ten-day period of prayer, self-examination and repentance, which culminates on the fast day of Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement). These ten days are referred to as Yamim Norai'm , the "Days of Awe," or the High Holy Days in traditional Judaism. It is a time of repentance and meditation...and a time of new beginnings! (Phil 3:13) The Feast of Trumpets (9/13/15)~ Awake, Sleeping Ones - In the Torah, the first day of the seventh month is to be commemorated as Yom Teruah, sometimes translated as the "Feast of Trumpets" (Num. 29:1, Lev. 23:24). The word teruah means "shouting" or "raising a noise," and therefore this day was to be marked by making a joyful noise unto the LORD (Psalm 81:1-4). Of all the holidays, Yom Teruah is unique because 1) it's the only holiday that begins on a New Moon and 2) there is no explicit reason given in the Torah for its observance other than to "rest" and to offer sacrifice (Num. 29:1, Lev. 23:24). After the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, however, the sages of the Mishnah redefined Judaism and associated Yom Teruah with the start of the Jewish civil year. Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) then became known as "Rosh Hashanah" (the head of the year). The first day of the Feast of Trumpets is also called "Yom ha-Zikaron," the "Day of Remembrance" (Lev. 23:24) in reference to the commandment to remember to blow the shofar to coronate God as King of the Universe. The blast of the shofar is meant to jolt us from our sleep, and help us to remember who we REALLY are by remembering that the LORD is our King! Many scholars believe that when the Lord returns, it will be during the Feast of Trumpets, "And the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a SHOUT, with the voice of an Archangel, and with the TRUMP of God" (1 Thess. 4:16) - and "every knee will bow...and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father!" (Phil 2:10-11) Maranatha!!