Last night, right after sundown, I had a little Feast of Trumpets service by myself in my own home. It is to be a holy convocation (a holy gathering of God's people) and the closest I came to that was having dinner with my two daughters who both love the Lord as I do. Dinner with my daughters was a blessing!
But then I came home, lit two candles, said a prayer of praise to the Lord, sang some worship songs to Him, prayed for anyone who came to mind as well, and asked blessings for all of my household, which I consider to be my children, their spouses, and their children. I began my service by blowing the shofar in the one long, three shorts, nine staccato, and a very long ending pattern that I had seen demonstrated not only online but also by the Hassidic Jew who blew my shofar for me in Israel. (I cannot figure out how to cut that video and present only that part to you, so I had to abandon that idea of letting you hear "my" shofar being blown.)
However, I did find these two videos (on you tube of course!) that demonstrate the sounds of the shofar, and I hope you will enjoy them; and you will see the differences between the two types of shofars.
This first video demonstrates the sound of the shorter ram's horn shofar; listen for the pattern of long, three shorts, nine staccato, and one very long at the end. On Rosh Hashanah (New Year/Feast of Trumpets) the shofar is blown in this pattern 100 times in the synagogue; not sure how they decide which shofar to use, the short or the long, except that, in my opinion, the longer Yemenite shofar (as seen in the second video has an even more dramatic and beautiful sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKQrBURDtQE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVMiZAqTWQ0
Immediately following the Feast of Trumpets is the Seven Days of Affliction, followed by the Day of Atonement, on which many Jews will fast. This year the Day of Atonement begins at sundown on Friday, September 13.
If I had stayed home for dinner this evening I would have had the traditional roast lamb, an apple with honey and challah bread (if I could find it locally!)
I am "observing" these biblically holy days for no other reason than that I want to bless the Lord by setting apart my time on the days that His Word says are important to HIM and I pray that He will, through my observance, impress upon me even more the significance of each day! Since Jesus has, by faith, become my righteousness, there is no need to "work" at being righteous, in other words, I am not trying to get "saved" by my obedience to the law of the Feast Days and Sabbaths. Jesus finished that work on the cross and I can add nothing to it!
But that doesn't meant those Sabbaths and Holy Days are not still holy unto the Lord God who never changes! And so, in love and gratitude to Him, believing that He still counts them as being important to us, I will observe them to the best of my ability (without condemnation if I fail to do it correctly), observing these days with the same passion with which I observe the instructions Jesus spoke throughout the gospels, and the words of Paul and Peter and James, whose instructions all came through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God....all, both Old Testament and New, preserved for my instruction and for my good by a most loving Father!
Although I do not have access to local Jewish believers in Christ to show me how best to observe these holy days.
Yet, observe I will, and it is in this manner that I believe we Gentile believers in Christ can stand united with our brethren, the Jewish believers in Christ, even though we might not be sitting in the same church or synagogue...which is, to me, a great loss to us all.
But then I came home, lit two candles, said a prayer of praise to the Lord, sang some worship songs to Him, prayed for anyone who came to mind as well, and asked blessings for all of my household, which I consider to be my children, their spouses, and their children. I began my service by blowing the shofar in the one long, three shorts, nine staccato, and a very long ending pattern that I had seen demonstrated not only online but also by the Hassidic Jew who blew my shofar for me in Israel. (I cannot figure out how to cut that video and present only that part to you, so I had to abandon that idea of letting you hear "my" shofar being blown.)
However, I did find these two videos (on you tube of course!) that demonstrate the sounds of the shofar, and I hope you will enjoy them; and you will see the differences between the two types of shofars.
This first video demonstrates the sound of the shorter ram's horn shofar; listen for the pattern of long, three shorts, nine staccato, and one very long at the end. On Rosh Hashanah (New Year/Feast of Trumpets) the shofar is blown in this pattern 100 times in the synagogue; not sure how they decide which shofar to use, the short or the long, except that, in my opinion, the longer Yemenite shofar (as seen in the second video has an even more dramatic and beautiful sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKQrBURDtQE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVMiZAqTWQ0
Immediately following the Feast of Trumpets is the Seven Days of Affliction, followed by the Day of Atonement, on which many Jews will fast. This year the Day of Atonement begins at sundown on Friday, September 13.
If I had stayed home for dinner this evening I would have had the traditional roast lamb, an apple with honey and challah bread (if I could find it locally!)
I am "observing" these biblically holy days for no other reason than that I want to bless the Lord by setting apart my time on the days that His Word says are important to HIM and I pray that He will, through my observance, impress upon me even more the significance of each day! Since Jesus has, by faith, become my righteousness, there is no need to "work" at being righteous, in other words, I am not trying to get "saved" by my obedience to the law of the Feast Days and Sabbaths. Jesus finished that work on the cross and I can add nothing to it!
But that doesn't meant those Sabbaths and Holy Days are not still holy unto the Lord God who never changes! And so, in love and gratitude to Him, believing that He still counts them as being important to us, I will observe them to the best of my ability (without condemnation if I fail to do it correctly), observing these days with the same passion with which I observe the instructions Jesus spoke throughout the gospels, and the words of Paul and Peter and James, whose instructions all came through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God....all, both Old Testament and New, preserved for my instruction and for my good by a most loving Father!
Although I do not have access to local Jewish believers in Christ to show me how best to observe these holy days.
Yet, observe I will, and it is in this manner that I believe we Gentile believers in Christ can stand united with our brethren, the Jewish believers in Christ, even though we might not be sitting in the same church or synagogue...which is, to me, a great loss to us all.
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