Rosh Hashanah – The Feast of Trumpets

Hello folks!

This weekend we come to the Feast of Trumpets—what our Jewish friends call Rosh Hashanah. “Rosh” means head, so it is the head of the year, the Jewish New Year 5787. It begins at sunset on Friday, 11th September 2026, and continues until nightfall on Sunday, 13th September.

God commanded His people to keep this feast. Leviticus 23:24 and Numbers 29:1 both tell us it is a holy convocation, a day of blowing the trumpets, and a day of rest. They mark it as the day God created Adam and Eve—the birthday of the world, they say. It is one of the seven annual feasts the Lord gave Israel.

We remember that Jesus died on Passover and the church was born on Pentecost. These feasts of the Lord are shadows that point us to Him. So we can look on with respect and joy at what our Jewish neighbours are celebrating, even while we wait for the greater trumpet.

The festival opens in the synagogue with the sounding of the shofar. They blow it every morning of the feast except on Shabbat. This year the first day falls on the Sabbath, so the ram’s horn will be heard on the Sunday morning.

I like food, and I have tasted some Jewish cooking, but I have never sat down to a proper Rosh Hashanah meal. They eat sweet things—apples dipped in honey, round raisin challah—hoping for a sweeter new year. That is a lovely picture.

I was listening to Pastor Joe Focht this week and he spoke of Rosh Hashanah. He said the trumpet he is waiting to hear is not the shofar in the synagogue, but the trumpet of God. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

That is the sound we long for, isn’t it? Until then, we can bless our Jewish friends and say, “Shanah Tovah”—a good year—while we keep our eyes on the sky.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.