Understanding Your Jewish Neighbour: Rosh Hashanah

Jewish communities worldwide have faced a surge of antisemitism, leaving many fearful, shaken by crisis, and searching earnestly for hope. Others, scarred by history, have erected barriers to the gospel and often associate Christendom with the very evils of antisemitic hatred. As a Jewish believer in Jesus, my heart grieves deeply.

As we enter into the new Jewish Year of 5786, I long for my people to discover the same hope, salvation, and transformation I have found in Yeshua (Jesus). I long to see bridges built between the church and the Jewish people. One way is by inviting Christians to engage with the biblical festivals that shape Jewish life and identity, offer biblical insight and practical ways to celebrate them with understanding, while showing love to Jewish neighbours.

Rosh Hashanah: An Invitation to Repentance and Renewal

As the sun sets on the 22nd of September this year, Jewish people will begin celebrating Rosh Hashanah, which means ‘head of the year’. On the Jewish calendar, lunar in nature, it is always celebrated on the 1st of Tishrei (the 1st day of the 7th month).

This holiday, formerly known as Yom Teruah, or ‘The Day of Trumpet Blasts’, is one of the appointed feasts of the Lord. We read in Leviticus 23:23-25:

Unlike the later rabbinic name, which emphasizes the turning of the year, the biblical term highlights its central ritual: the sounding of the shofar (a ram’s horn) used to announce God’s presence, summon his people, and foreshadow his ultimate reign.

In the Torah (Pentateuch), the Feast of Trumpets was prescribed as a day of solemn rest, a sacred assembly, and the presentation of offerings to the Lord (Num 29:1–6). The trumpet blasts themselves functioned as memorials, audible signs calling Israel to remember God’s covenant faithfulness. It would have reminded the Israelites of the time they stood at the base of Mount Sinai (Exod 19:16–19), trembling as the mountain shook, the trumpet blared, and God made an everlasting covenant with the people.

Rabbinic tradition later added further meaning to the holiday. By the Second Temple period, the day was associated with divine judgment and the opening of the sefarim (heavenly books). The Mishnah states, ‘At four times the world is judged . . . on Rosh Hashanah all who enter the world pass before Him like sheep.’¹ In Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah begins a 10-day period known as the Days of Awe or Days of Repentance. On Rosh Hashanah, God opens the Book of Life to look at your deeds over the past year. He calls on you to repent both as an individual and then as a people. On Yom Kippur, he closes the Book, sealing your fate for the coming year. Thus, for our Jewish people, Rosh Hashanah came to function both as a festive new year celebration and a solemn prelude to atonement.

Nehemiah 8 reflects this duality. On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra read the Torah aloud to the returned exiles. Their grief at forgotten obedience was met with the exhortation:

The combination of repentance, reconciliation, and rejoicing became characteristic of the holiday.

The significance of the Trumpet to our Lives

At the center of Rosh Hashanah liturgy stands the shofar. Its sounds embody a spectrum of meaning: triumph, brokenness, alarm, and hope. The shofar also resonates with the Akedah (Gen 22), the binding of Isaac, read on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

Abraham’s willingness to offer his ‘only son’ (v2) and God’s provision of the ram establish enduring symbols of faith, substitution, and divine mercy. The ram’s horn, fashioned into the shofar, serves as a memorial not only of Abraham’s obedience but of God’s faithfulness to provide.

For Messianic Jews and Gentile believers alike, Rosh Hashanah finds its fullest meaning in the Messiah. The imagery of the Book of Life (Exod 32:32-33; Dan 12:1) is resolved in Yeshua, whose death and resurrection secure eternal inscription. In Hebrews 10:14, it is written, ‘For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.’

The shofar’s call also anticipates eschatological fulfillment. Paul draws on this imagery in his letters. In Ephesians 5:14, he writes, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ In 1 Thessalonians 4:16, he gives us a picture of the end times, ‘For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God . . .’ Thus, what was once a summons to covenantal remembrance becomes, in Messiah, a foretaste of the final gathering of God’s people.

Celebrating the Holiday

Today, Jewish communities observe Rosh Hashanah through synagogue liturgy, symbolic foods, and customs such as tashlich (the casting of crumbs into flowing water), inspired by Micah 7:19: ‘You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.’ Round loaves of challah are baked and eaten to represent both the cyclical nature of time and the crown of divine kingship. Apples dipped in honey express the hope for a sweet year ahead.

So, how might Christians engage meaningfully with Rosh Hashanah? Several pathways emerge:

Theological Reflection: Use the season to meditate on repentance (teshuvah), mercy, and the hope of Christ’s return. This is an opportunity to examine areas in our own lives, areas where divine transformation is needed. Ask God to highlight patterns of thought, speech, and action that need to be realigned with his will. Journaling, prayer walks, or spiritual direction from a godly mentor may be good places to seek these things.

Symbolic Participation: Sharing in customs such as baking round challah, tossing crumbs into the river, or dipping apples in honey would be a great way for you to reflect on your own spiritual renewal and forgiveness, just as we see in Jewish homes. Simply celebrate the holiday by engaging with it. Rather than reading about these observations, allow yourself to live in the experience. How would you represent these sacraments in your own home and culture? Where might you borrow from the traditional Jewish celebration on Rosh Hashanah?

Communal Solidarity: In a climate of rising antisemitism, Christians can demonstrate love for the Jewish people by acknowledging the holiday, sending greeting cards or gift baskets (L’shana tova), or offering practical support to local Jewish neighbours. Such acts embody Paul’s exhortation: ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep’ (Rom 12:15). Where do you already serve your community? How could you incorporate Jewish tradition or perspective into the ways you seek to love and care for those around you? Are there areas you could extend a hand, or is there someone in your life who just needs a listening ear?

Rosh Hashanah stands at the intersection of covenant history and eschatological hope:

In Jewish tradition, it marks the anniversary of creation and the coronation of God as king. The blowing of the shofar calls his people to repentance, renews the memory of his covenant faithfulness, and anticipates the day when the final trumpet will sound and Messiah will gather his own.

For Christians, engaging with this feast of the Lord offers not only a chance to understand Israel’s story more deeply, but also to participate in the rhythms of repentance and renewal that point us all to the coming kingdom.

This is where meaningful conversations with our Jewish neighbours can begin. Rosh Hashanah provides a natural opportunity to ask gentle, curious questions like, ‘What does the sound of the shofar mean to you?’, ‘How do you think about God as king when you enter the new year?’, or ‘What does it mean for your name to be written in the Book of Life?’ Such questions open the door to reflect together on how God has revealed himself throughout Israel’s history; from the covenant with Abraham to the giving of the Torah at Sinai, from the faithfulness of the prophets to the promises of restoration. As followers of Yeshua, we can share how we see these threads of covenant pointing toward Messiah, who fulfills God’s promises and brings the hope of ultimate redemption.

The trumpet has sounded before, it sounds again each year, and one day it will sound in finality: ‘Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord’ (1 Thessalonians 4:17). When that day comes, the God who created the world and called Israel to himself will bring all his people home. Until then, Rosh Hashanah summons both Jew and Gentile to return to the Lord, rejoice in his mercy, and await the king who comes.

Endnotes

1. Mishnah Rosh HaShanah 1:2:
   sefaria.org