Rosh Hashanah is the only festival that is celebrated on a New Moon (Lev 23:23-25). It is a festival that is shrouded in mystery because that particular night is one of the darkest of all the festival nights. Rosh Hashanah is also known as Yom Teruah (The Day of Trumpets). It is also known as Yom HaKeseh which means the hidden day or the day of concealment. The mystery of Rosh Hashanah is connected to the moon.
In ancient times, the Jewish Sanhedrin used archaic methods to determine the occurrence of a New Moon. Each month begins with a sliver moon. For the next two weeks, the moon grows together with the month until it reaches its peak on the night of the full moon, the middle of the month. There then follows, two weeks of decreasing moonlight until the night when the moon falls completely dark and the month diminishes to a close. This repetitive pattern of the moon follows every 29 or 30 days. It is a cycle of rising to greatness then dwindling to oblivion followed by yet another rebirth.
Two independent observers were sent to watch the sky at night for any sign of the new moon. If they saw it, they reported back to the Sanhedrin who would then interrogate them. If this was confirmed the Sanhedrin would declare the new month and send messengers to inform the people when the month began. The appearance of the new moon cannot be underestimated since all Hebrew holy days are declared after its appearance. However, in the 4th Century the Sanhedrin adopted a fixed calendar based on astronomical calculations.
As we have seen above, no man could know the day or hour when the New Moon could be sighted, and there lies the anonymity of Rosh Hashanah. Its mystery is further revealed in the verse, “Sound the Shofar on the New Moon, in the concealment of the day of our festival” (Psalm 81:3). The hiddenness of the day goes along with what Yahshua said in Matthew 24 ‘no man knows the day nor the hour’. Since Rosh Hashanah is part of the fall feasts that Messiah did not fulfill during His first advent, biblical scholars associate the feast with the Gadol Yom Adonai (The Great Day of the Lord), to be fulfilled during His second coming.
Joel 2:1 - Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord comes, for it is close at hand.
Every Rosh Chodesh invites an opportunity to gain new energy and opportunities. The ability to rejuvenate and renew ourselves is one of the secrets of the Hebrew Calendar. The moon is connected to the survival of the Jewish people because the Hebrew calendar is set in relation to the phases of the moon. It is written in the Zohar, “ The people of Israel mark time with the moon because we are the moon of the world: like the moon, we rise and fall through the nights of history, knowing times of growth and recession, our moments of luminous fullness alternating with moments of obscurity and darkness. And, like the moon, our every regression and defeat is but a prelude to yet another rebirth, yet another renewal.”
The 15th day of the month marks the highest point of that particular month’s contribution to our lives. What do I mean? For example, the theme for the month of Nisan is redemption. The process of liberation from Egypt began on Nisan 1. As the month progressed, so too did the reality of the redemption theme also progress with the selection of the Passover lamb on 10th Nisan. The exodus of Egypt became imminent on 14th Nisan, with the Passover taking place. But the full results were experienced on 15th Nisan when the children of Israel left Egypt (Numbers 33:3). The 15th of the month was the time the moon was at its peak as a full moon.
Another example is the month of Tishri/Ethanim. On Rosh Hashanah (1st Tishri) we blow the shofar which is meant to awaken the soul to focus on Elohim and His ordinances. It is then eclipsed by the ten days of awe leading to Yom Kippur on 10th Tishri. On 15th Tishri, the moon becomes full, and the mood suddenly changes as we enter Sukkot which is referred as “Z’man Simchateinu” (the time of our rejoicing – Lev 23:40). The feasts of the seventh month reach their celebratory peak on the 15th. The first half of the month is characterized by concealment, mystery and awe. But the second half of the month beginning with Sukkot, we celebrate the concealment with joy. On Rosh Hashanah we awaken to God’s presence, on Yom Kippur we fast and commit to Him, but on Sukkot our commitment is no longer hidden and is revealed joyfully. It is as if Sukkot is the revelation of Rosh Hashanah.
Psalms 104:19 - He appointed the moon for seasons.
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