Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah)
It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.
As Christians who profess our faith in Jesus, we study the Old Testament to understand the historical, cultural, and contextual background of the history of our heritage in Jesus. This is commonly known as the Messianic teachings of Christianity and is a part of our Saturday Church in Norman, Oklahoma.
While customs are not commandments there is beauty for believers in Jesus (Yeshua) to understand their identity as grafted into the covenants with Israel. As descendants of Abraham, all Christians are heirs according to the promise given to Abraham even before Sinai. Christians should study and learn the Torah and show respect for their Jewish brothers and sisters. It is through the study of the law that we see another level of greatness in Jesus who is the lawgiver and the greatest Torah teacher of all time.
Yom Teruah is the Hebrew title for “Feast of Trumpets” and is also known as Rosh Hashanah. The reading is in the Book of Genesis starting in chapter 21 verse 1, and going through verse 34.
It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah reading comes from the book of First Samuel in chapter 1 verse 1 through chapter 2 verse 10.
The gospel readings that are incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Matthew in chapter 24 with verses 29 through 36.
As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.
Torah Portion Overview-
The Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) is first outlined in the book of Leviticus chapter 23 and again in the book of Numbers in chapter 29. It is a day of blowing of Trumpets, special offerings to bring to the Lord, a day of resting from your normal work, and a day of having a gathering (holy convocation.). The Feast of Trumpets starts what is known as the Fall Festival times of the Lord. These are part of the Feasts (moedim) that Yahweh gave to Israel. Yeshua/Jesus said of His return that “no one knows the day or hour” which is a Hebrew idiom for the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah.).
Rosh HaShanah is one of the Jewish Civil New Years. The term Rosh HaShanah means “'head of the year” in English. It is the start of the Fall Feasts (moedim) or also called High Holidays. This day starts the Yamim Nora’im or “Days of Awe” that are celebrated between the Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement.).
