The ram’s horn, called the shofar, is blown on the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). There are many reasons for sounding the shofar that are found in Scripture and in Jewish tradition. In addition to the New Year, the shofar was sounded at the arrival of a visiting dignitary, as an alarm, at the start of the new year, and even at the beginning of every new month. It was also blown to inaugurate the movement of troops into battle (Numbers 10:1-10).
The sounding of the shofar is also a call to worship. It reminds the Jewish people of the shofar blasts heard at the base of Mount Sinai just before receiving the Ten Commandments. “When the sound of the trumpet (קוֹל ַהשּוֹׁ ֔ ָפר֣ , kol ha-shofar, the sound of the shofar) grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder” (Exodus 19:19). In this sense, the sounding of the shofar may be viewed as a precursor to an encounter with God.
Today, the shofar is not completely foreign to Christianity. There has certainly been an increase in Christian use of the ram’s horn since the explosion of the Messianic movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As many within the Messianic community sought to restore the Hebraic heritage of Christianity, there was a resurgence of forms of worship that were once considered culturally limited to the Jewish world. Songs with a Jewish flavour became popular within the Church, including “Trees of the Field,” and found their way into mainstream Christianity. The music and growing popularity of seeing Jesus in His original Jewish context led to the use of the shofar in a variety of different Christian venues.
In the future, the shofar will be blown to announce the second coming of Jesus. The Greek word used to translate the Hebrew shofar is the same word as the word for trumpet found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first.” In the same way that the children of Israel heard the shofar sounded when the written Word was given at Mount Sinai, so will we all hear the same shofar sound when the Living Word comes to dwell with us for good!
This New Testament connection may be one of the greatest reasons the shofar can be seen at Christian events. Of note is the National Day of Prayer held in the US capital Washington DC each May. This event usually opens with the blowing of the shofar. One year, the shofar was introduced with a description of how it was used in the book of Joshua. In Joshua 6:20, the people shouted and the trumpets sounded “and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet (kol ha-shofar, the sound of the shofar), the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat….”
While the symbolism of the shofar will often depend on the circumstances and the personal experiences of the listener, the sounding of the shofar is spiritually moving to many Christians.
Blowing the shofar at public events is one way that Israel’s Christian supporters show solidarity with the nation of Israel. Through blowing the shofar, pro-Israel evangelicals are able to connect with Israel. By using the shofar in worship services and other events, they are showing Israel and the world their love and support.
As the Jewish world celebrates Rosh Hashanah this month with the shofar’s joyful sound, may we all count ourselves blessed to belong to our Messiah, and may we be reminded of the coming day when the trumpet will sound and the Lord, for whom we wait, will return.
FORGIVENESS FOR SINS AND THE RABBIS
One of the most common questions Christians ask our ministry is, “What do Jewish people do today to find forgiveness for sin without the existence of the Temple and the ability to offer a blood sacrifice?” Coming from our perspective as believers in the Lamb of God whose sacrificial death atoned for our sins, the question is natural. However, most Jewish people do not give a second thought as to whether or not a blood sacrifice is necessary today for atonement.
As followers of Jesus who believe in the authority of both Testaments, we are well familiar with the words of Moses who wrote, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement” (Leviticus 17:11; 16:34).
At one time, the faith of the Jewish people, as revealed in Scripture, was centred on the Temple and priesthood in Jerusalem. After the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in AD 70, the Jewish people were forced to rethink nearly everything about their way of life and approach to God. What were the Jewish people to do now that over half of the five books of Moses were impossible to be observed without the Temple and an active priesthood?
For Jewish believers in Jesus, this question was not difficult. Yeshua came to His people offering a New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34), a better priesthood, and an atoning sacrifice that accomplished all that the Temple was meant to accomplish. As the writer of Hebrews notes, “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17 NASB).
How did the Jewish leaders respond to the destruction of the Temple and the inability to offer atoning sacrifices on the Day of Atonement? In the years following the destruction of the Temple, the Jewish leaders, who never ceased to mourn the destruction of the Temple and remember what was lost and destroyed by the Romans, developed a series of substitutes for the Temple sacrifices. These “substitutes” for sacrifice continue to our present day.
Their solutions to finding redemption without a Temple can be summarised in three broad categories: relaxing the biblical commands because of the inability to obey them in light of the destruction of the Temple, transcending the biblical commands, and substituting for the biblical commands.
One common rabbinic response was to relax the commandments that were now impossible to perform, including the commandments to sacrifice. The rationale was that God had temporarily suspended those commandments until the Messianic era by allowing the Temple to be destroyed.
Many sages pointed to repentance as having the power to provide atonement, thus transcending the need for a blood sacrifice. They emphasised repentance, as found in the Prophets, but downplayed the message of Leviticus, which emphasised sacrifice. However, the Bible still teaches that both are necessary for atonement. The sages had not considered that God had fulfilled His promises to send a perfect sacrifice that became the ultimate sacrifice for sin for all of Israel and for the Gentiles as well.
The Jewish leaders tried to help the Jewish community survive and find a relationship with God apart from the Temple and priesthood. They innovated new ways to help their fellow Jewish people fulfill what had become impossible commands to obey. Some said that praying three times a day would be as if they performed the three daily sacrifices. Others said that merely studying the impossible commandments would be considered as if they had actually performed them. Suffering for righteousness was considered as if such suffering were the suffering of a sacrificial animal. Acts of charity would be considered fulfilment of the impossible commandments. In rabbinic literature and traditional prayers, there is little that is not considered a substitution for the impossible commands.
Consequently, most religious Jewish people believe that their sins are atoned for without a literal sacrifice. How do we pray for the salvation of our Jewish friends and loved ones, especially during the High Holiday season when Jewish people are seeking atonement (Hebrews 10:1-10)? Specifically, we pray that the once-for-all sacrifice of Yeshua the Messiah will be found to be the soul-satisfying path to forgiveness for our Jewish friends and family at this time of the year.
As Isaiah promised, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:6).
JEWISH TESTIMONY PROJECT
Celebrate Messiah is excited to launch the Jewish Testimony Project – aimed at revealing the Light of Yeshua in the Australian Jewish Community.
The imperative to share our testimony is thoroughly Biblical. Yeshua teaches that He is the “Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12).
But that’s not where it ends! Incredibly, we as disciples become that light and are commissioned to shine His light onto others. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” (Matthew 5:14-15)
This concept of the Light of Messiah is so important, it is found in each one of the Synoptic Gospels. (see Luke 8:16:18, Mark 4:21-22) Furthermore, when Yeshua cleansed a demon-possessed man, he instructed him to “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19) We believe that the imperative to tell others about what the Lord has done for us, in his great mercy, is of eternal importance.
In the world of Jewish Evangelism, Jewish testimonies have time and time again, proven to be one of the most engaging and effective ways of reaching out to the Jewish community. Our partners One For Israel have had their video testimonies viewed millions of times. Sid Roth’s book They Thought for Themselves has over 2 million copies in print.
However, these testimonies are typically from Israeli, American, and British Jews. To reach Australian Jews, we believe that we need to tell the true stories of local Jews who have found their salvation in Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah!
We want the Australian Jewish community, and indeed Jews all over the world, to see that there is a strong Messianic Jewish presence in Australia, and to hear firsthand how God is working to reveal his Messiah and transform lives, even Downunder!
That’s why we will be collecting testimonies from dozens of Australian Jewish Believers and publishing them both in article and video format, sharing them far and wide.
It is through testimony, that the miraculous outpouring of God’s spirit is revealed in our times. We will be telling the stories of a number of Australian Jews including:
- Eric: a young Jewish doctor from Melbourne from an Orthodox background, who through the witness of a loving Christian friend in medical school, started exploring the Scriptures and overcame his fear to follow Yeshua and become a leader in a Messianic congregation
- Sharon: a Jewish woman in Melbourne from an ultra-orthodox Chabad background, who gave up everything (including contact with her family and community) to follow the Messiah.
- Mark: A Jewish engineer in Melbourne from a secular background, who was searching for the truth, and through prayer and repentance, had the identity of the Messiah revealed through miraculous signs along with a revelation of his new life purpose: to be a witness in the Jewish Community.
This is just the tip of the iceberg! There are so many other stories that need to be told. As well as exploring the incredible life-giving transformation of Jews who found Yeshua, we will also be sharing some of the many difficulties and challenges we have faced in following Yeshua. Counting the cost is as true and relevant for Jewish believers now, as it was for the first Jewish believers over 2000 years ago.
Telling our stories is especially important now, as the world, and each of us individually, are facing unprecedented challenges and uncertainties about the future.
In these dark times, our fellow Jews are searching for understanding, meaning, and the presence of God more than ever. We as Jewish believers know firsthand that there is nothing more important in the world than finding and following the Light of Yeshua, and it is our life’s mission and purpose to bring that light to our fellow Jews.
If you would like to partner with us in this project there are a number of ways you can:
- If you know Jewish believers who would like to share their story, please let us know.
- Please pray with us for God’s spirit to open the eyes of our fellow Jewish brothers and sisters
- If you feel led to, you can make a special donation to the project to help cover the costs (eg videography)
In Yeshua’s Light,
Jewish Testimony Project Coordinator.
Our outreach worker Esther* is grateful for the extraordinary opportunity this past year to pray for salvation with Mira*, a Holocaust survivor. Esther was introduced to Mira through a Christian aged care worker. As a child, Mira was hidden in a convent, and then raised by a Catholic family. As an adult she has struggled all these years to understand her identity. Now she understands her identity is in Yeshua and is absolutely radiant, enjoying the Scriptures and sharing Yeshua with all of her friends. Please pray for Mira’s witness to her family and friends, and that the peace of Yeshua will come into many lives through her witness.
One Friday, while having the Shabbat meal at the newest outreach centre in New Zealand, Zohar started talking with a girl named Naomi* and shared the gospel with her. She seemed very open and interested. “I continued to share my testimony of how I came to believe in Yeshua,” Zohar said. Our Israeli guests, Gal* and Shira,* said, “We can tell you all are different from other people. We love the way you’ve served and cared for us. Why do you care about us?” They gladly received some evangelistic literature and a New Testament. While talking to a guy named Adam* one evening in the lounge, six other Israelis joined the conversation. “I ended up sharing the gospel openly with all the Israelis who were there,” said Zohar. They were all listening intently. Some were quiet, while others were asking a lot of questions. “It was a typical scenario that happens almost on a daily basis at the centre, and I am very thankful for all of these great opportunities!”
Our brother Maxim in Israel reports that since February, the number of requests for help have increased by 50%. “It is painful to see people who, until recently, belonged to the middle class, were considered to be well-off. Today, they are besieging social services, free dining rooms, and warehouses.
Avi, 30, a father of two: “In the first weeks of the crisis, my family’s fell sharply. “We had to save on everything. We can’t even buy a new baby bath, the old one worn out. All the money spent on renting an apartment, food, diapers, and baby food. “. Avi first asked for help before Passover. “I didn’t ask for money; I just need some food because my refrigerator is empty.”
Esther, a single mother, said that with the onset of the crisis, she and her children found herself below the poverty line. “I’m embarrassed to ask for help,” but the children must be fed. I’m ready for anything for their sake.”
Naomi, a 69-year-old, admits that he is ashamed to ask for food. “When I first came here, I just burned with shame,” she said. “I felt like the end of the world. There is no choice; there is not enough money for food.”
Maxim says another big challenge, especially for Holocaust survivors is loneliness. Please pray for God’s comfort and peace to be upon them.
Join us for this three-part series as we reveal Yeshua in the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles, with teaching from Rabbi Lawrence Hirsch, Dr. Ashley Crane, Paul Cohen, Barry Buirski, Robert Miles and Dr. Eric, with worship by Lizzie and Simon Nygaard. This is a free event however registration is required.
Register at www.celebratemessiah.com.au/events