The High Holy Days Are Upon Us

The following is a pre-recorded program. September 25th is the beginning of the Jewish New Year. Now, in biblical times, it is the first day of the seventh month, the day of the trumpet blast, the sounding of the shofar, followed ten days later by Yom Kippur Day of Atonement, and then five days after that, the week-long celebration of Sukkot Tabernacles. But, as centuries evolved, centuries went on, there were calendar changes, and this has become the beginning of the Jewish New Year.

You say, how did that happen? There's debate in terms of exactly what the sequence was, how far back this goes. But, this much we know, that by the time of Jesus, there were different years, different calendrical years. For example, in most countries, you have the school year is different than the calendar year, right? School year starts end of August, beginning of September, ends around May, that's the school year. You have a tax year, you know, fiscal year, things like that.

Well, that's what happened. You had different years in ancient Israel, different New Years, and this became the one that was now the New Year. But, it's not like in the West, the second New Year, celebration and people partying.

It's quite the opposite. You begin the New Year with a time of repentance. You begin the New Year with a time of introspection. And even non-religious Jews get much more religious at this time. Now, if you've been listening to me over the years, or you're familiar with Jewish tradition, some of this will be familiar to you. But, I know there's so many folks that listen for the first time, or catch us for the first time, or are new to our ministry. So, I want to step back and share a little bit more with you. I won't be taking calls today, but I will be answering questions that were posted earlier in the week. Some Jewish questions helped.