Rosh haShanah - Yom T’ru’ah

Yom Truah or Rosh haShanah.pdf

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BULLETIN 240907.pdf

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The Torah, in Sh’mot (Exodus) 12.2, states the new year begins at the new moon after the Aviv (Nisan). Nu, why do we call the first of Tishrei (the seventh month) ראֹשׁ הַשָּׁנָה rosh ha-shanah (lit. head of the year) the New Year?

The Mishnah states: There are four ‘New Year’ days: on the 1st of Nisan is the New Year for kings and feasts: on the 1st of Elul is the New Year for Tithe of Cattle; on the 1st of Tishri is the New Year for [the reckoning of] the years [of foreign kings, of the Years of Release and Jubilee years, for the planting [of trees] and for vegetables; and the 1st of Shevat is the New Year for [fruit] trees. Rosh haShanah 1.1

Torah calls this day יוֹם הַזִכָּרוֹן yom ha-zikaron Day of Remembrance and יוֹם תְּרוּעָה yom t’ru’ah Day of Sounding [the Shofar]. vaYik’ra (Leviticus) 23.23-25: 23

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 "Speak to the children of

Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'"

Also b’Mid’bar (Numbers) 29.1-6 'And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets. 2 You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the LORD: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish. 3 Their grain offering shall be fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, 4 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 5 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, to make atonement for you; 6 besides

the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

A very ancient tradition states the Creation began on this date, thus, the real ‘first day’.