Adam Clarke was a 18th-century British Biblical scholar who was well known for his influential Bible commentary. His six volumes took him 40 years to complete.
Back in the day, many preachers carried two books: the Bible and Clarke’s commentary.
When I first came across his commentary, what caught my interest was the way he began the chapter to each book of the Bible. He would include a list of event dates and calendars the book was associated with, like how many years since the time of creation according to the Jewish calendar. He always included the cycles of the Lunar and Solar calendar, the number of years before or after the birth of Christ and so on.
While the calendars he referred to were mostly from the West or Near-Eastern cultures, it helped me understand how other people have different concepts of time. Some may remember the interest in the Maya calendar ten years ago.
We are coming upon the Jewish New Year, which begins on the day of Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew for beginning of the year). Rosh Hashanah starts on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 25 and ends at sundown Tuesday, the 27th. It begins with the blowing of a shofar, a ram’s horn.
The book of Numbers 29:1 says, “On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets.”
Baseball fans may remember Sandy Koufax did not pitch the first game of the ‘65 World Series because it fell on Rosh Hashanah.
The sound of the shofar is to spiritually awaken God’s people to examine their relationship with God. There is a service in the synagogue, the Jewish place of worship, with prayers and more blasts of the shofar. In the home there is special food – especially delicacies of fruit and honey, which are a reminder of the coming year
being a sweet one.
A number of prayers of blessings are said, one which goes, “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this holiday season.”
Other elements of Rosh Hashanah are celebrating the creation of humankind, recognizing the responsibility of God’s people to the world, and a personal time of repentance and preparation for following God’s will in the coming year. The belief is this is the time God opens the book and the names of the righteous are written in the Book of Life.
For those needing more time to get their life in order, in 10 days, the holiest of Jewish days occurs with Yom Kippor, the Day of Atonement.
I am reminded of the time I heard from a priest where he talked about Jesus and his family
being faithful to the Jewish religious days and holidays. I can imagine Jesus – excited as a child – looking forward to Rosh Hashanah and the other holy days his family observed.
The Jewish Congregation of Blue Ridge, Ga., will be holding a service of Rosh Hashanah, which will be live and online.You may register if you wish to participate by Zoom.
May you have a happy, sweet and blessed New Year!
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.