Today, 24 September, at sundown, 1 Tishrei on the Biblical calendar, is also the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and the anniversary of the day God created the world. 5775 years ago.
The festival of Rosh Hashanah is observed for two days beginning on 1 Tishrei, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind’s role in G‑d’s world.
Rosh Hashanah thus emphasizes the special relationship between G‑d and humanity: our dependence upon G‑d as our creator and sustainer, and G‑d’s dependence upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world.
But this is also the day we proclaim G‑d King of the Universe.
Rosh Hashanah observances include:
a) Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey, to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, and other special foods symbolic of the new year’s blessings.
b) Blessing one another with the words “Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim,” “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.”
c) Tashlich, a special prayer said in evocation of the verse, “And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea.”
© Chabad.org
Biblical Calendar
The rules for the Biblical Calendar and discovered that they are simple and logical:
1. Start and end days at sunset (Genesis 1:5).
2. Start weeks at day one and end on day seven, the Sabbath. (Leviticus 23:15-16). Sabbath end at sunset on Saturday.
3. Start months with the sighting of the new moon (Deuteronomy 16:1).
4. Start years in the month barley will be harvestable by the middle of that month (Leviticus 23:4-14).
These suggestions invite you to observe God’s creation – sighting a sunset or a new moon and looking at a barley crop. Psalm 33:8 says, "Let all the earth fear Yahweh: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him." Is there a better way than to get outside and look at some of these awesome, timekeeping sights of creation?
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| Written in Paleo-Hebrew, the Gezer Calendar dates from the 10th century BC, the time of the construction of Solomon’s Temple. It contains the following text: |
Written in Paleo-Hebrew, the Gezer Calendar dates from the 10th century BC, the time of the construction of Solomon’s Temple. It contains the following text:
"Two months of harvest
Two months of planting
Two months are late planting
One month of pulling flax
One month of barley harvest
One month of harvest and feasting
Two months of pruning vines
One month of summer fruit"
This calendar lays out the fundamental importance of the agricultural cycle in King Solomon’s day this can be seen in the temple festivals of Shavuot ("Feast of weeks") or First Fruits in early summer (the "month of summer" fruit in line 8), and the Feast of Ingathering (the harvest) in the fall which culminates to the Feast of Tabernacles. The mention of feasting reflects the pilgrimages festivals which involved feasting.
