To be read between the last evening of Elul 5781 and the tenth evening of Tishrei 5782 – https://anchor.fm/sy-adamah
On the Hebrew calendar the last evening of Elul is marked as Erev Rosh Hashanah, the eve of Rosh Hashanah (‘Head of the Year’), and, as such, marks both a communal and personal turning point in time. A communal point in time where there is a collective turn away from a total Ten Weeks of affliction and consolation towards a total Ten Days of awe and repentance (Teshuvah); a personal point in time where there is an individual turn towards a changed chapter and away from the pages of the past. In essence, these Ten Days are an appointed time where all are called to acknowledge and act in accord with the end of one season and the approach of another.
As emphasised by the author of Ecclesiastes,
“To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, And a time to die;
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill, And a time to heal;
A time to break down, And a time to build up;
[…]
A time to love, And a time to hate;
A time of war, And a time of peace.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NKJV)
These Ten Days of Teshuvah is the time to turn. This turn is our chance to change. And, this change answers God’s call.
As emphasised by the author of Leviticus,
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying:
In the seventh month [Tishrei], on the first day of the month you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'”
Leviticus 23:23-25 (NKJV)
The appointed time of sabbath-rest on the first day of the seventh month (Tishrei) is appointed by God as Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets, and, over time has come to be acknowledged by Israel as Rosh Hashanah, ‘Head of the Year’. A time in the year where every day in the preceding month of Elul anticipates this memorial through the daily act of blowing the shofar (ram’s horn). In essence, the entire sixth month in the Hebrew calendar acts as a procession for the seventh and, as such, this procession makes way for the King of Creation through sacrifice and the sound of trumpets.
” ‘And in the seventh month [Tishrei], on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing of trumpets.
You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the LORD: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year without blemish.
[…]
also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, to make atonement for you; … according to their ordinance as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.’
Numbers 29:1-6 (NKJV)
In turn, these acts of sacrifice and sound work to remind Israel that it is the season – the time, our chance and God’s call – to repent and return to Him.
And so, according to the Author of the Torah – the Instruction, the Teaching and the Law of Israel – there is an appointed time to turn, an appointed period for penance, an appointed time to atone with the Author and Creator of all things.
“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
‘Also the tenth day of this seventh month [Tishrei] shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.
And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.
[…]
It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls, on the ninth day of the month [Tishrei] at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.’
Leviticus 23:26-32 (NKJV)
The appointed time of sabbath-rest on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishrei) is appointed by God as Yom Kippur – more literally translated as the ‘Day of Covering’ yet more liberally as the ‘Day of Atonement’. This appointed time is anticipated as the apex of these Ten Days, the height of these Holy Days, and is collectively celebrated by afflicting the body and flesh and with fasting, focusing the mind through prayer and re-covering the spirit through repentance.
“And [Isaiah] said, ‘Woe to me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips – for my eyes have seen the Sovereign, יהוה of hosts.’
And one of the seraphim flew to me [Isaiah], having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the slaughter-place.
And he touched my mouth with it, and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your crookedness is taken away, and your sin is covered.’
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 6: 5-7 (Halleluyah Scriptures / TS2009)
On the Hebrew calendar the day marked as the ‘Fast of Tammuz 17’ is one which reminds Israel of the tragedy of Tammuz 17 in the year 1313 BCE. This tragedy occurs Ten Weeks prior to the seventh month of Tishrei and recounts Israel’s breaking of the Torah. This story retells Israel turning aside from God’s Instruction, Teaching & Law. In a word, it retells of their past idolatry, the past failure to fully acknowledge Him as their one and only Redeemer.
“And God spoke all these words, saying:
‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.’ “
Exodus 20: 1-3 (NKJV)
“Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
And Aaron said to them, ‘Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’
[…]
And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
Exodus 32: 1-4 (NKJV)
This tragedy of breaking the Torah also involves Moses destroying the Twin Tablets of Law – the Ten Commandments. This image of Moses literally breaking the Torah works as a mirror to represent and refIect Israel’s disrespect and infidelity towards the redemptive work of God.
“And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on one side and on the other they were written.
Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.
[…]
So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the [golden] calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
Then he took the [golden] calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.’
Exodus 32:15-20 (NKJV)
According to Rabbinic tradition, this specific tragedy occurs Three Weeks prior to Tisha B’Av as well as Ten Weeks and Ten Days prior to the Day of Atonement. The Three Weeks work to remind Israel of the past tragedies and agonies surrounding Tisha B’Av. This is most specifically, but not exclusively, referring to the burning and destruction of Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonians in 423 BCE (see Jer. 39: 1-8) as well as the destruction of the Second temple by the Romans in 69CE (see Matthew 24:1-2). In essence, these Three Weeks work to anticipate the destruction and despair on and in proximity to the date of Av 9 throughout Hebrew history.
“Now in the fifth month [Av], on the tenth day [Av 10] … Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
He burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire.
And all the army of the Chaldeans [Babylonians] who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around.”
Jeremiah 52: 4-14 (NKJV)
In particular, these tragedies and agonies occur in Israel’s history in a cyclical fashion and thus work as a cultural reminder of Israel’s tendency to turn aside from the Torah.
“Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left there upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’ “
Matthew 24:1-2 (NKJV)
In general, these tragedies and agonies are not exclusive to Jewish history and culture but work as a microcosm of humanity, revealing the human tendency to turn towards sin.
“And the LORD said to Moses:
‘Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people [Israel] will rise and play the harlot with the gods of foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.
‘Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’
‘And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.’ “
Deuteronomy 31:16-18 (NKJV)
” ‘They have corrupted themselves;
They are not His children,
Because of their blemish;
A perverse and crooked generation.
Do you thus deal with the LORD,
O foolish and unwise people?
Is He not your Father, who bought you?
Has He not made you and established you?’ “
Deuteronomy 32: 5-6 (NKJV)
Despite the destruction associated with these Three Weeks, the remaining Seven Weeks and Ten Days work to console, comfort and reverse the curse of sin. The Ten Days of Teshuvah work to repair the broken relationship, recover the lost harmony and reconcile the former partnership between God and humanity.
” ‘Comfort, yes, comfort My people [Israel]! says your God.
‘Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received double for her sins.’ ”
Isaiah 40:1-2 (NKJV)
Only through reciprocity between divine consolation (comfort) and human repentance (teshuvah) are we able to turn from our all too human tendency to fail and rise to recover what was lost.
Bibliography
(Anon.). 1982. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.
(Anon.). 2009. The Scriptures 2009. Institute for Scripture Research.
Danquah, J.B. The Akan Doctrine of God: A Fragment of Gold Coast Ethics & Religion. 1944. Routledge: London.
Heschel, A.J. 2001. The Prophets. Harper & Row.
McNall, Joshua M. 2019. The Mosaic of Atonement: An Integrated Approach to Christ’s Work. US: Zondervan Academic.
Navone, S.J. 1979. Seeking God in Story. The Liturgical Press.
Chabad.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah. Available at: <https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tdate=9/06/2021>
Chabad.org. Fast of Tammuz 17. Available at: <https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tdate=6/27/2021>
Chabad.org. Rosh Hashanah. Available at: <https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tdate=9/7/2021>
Chabad.org. Tisha B’Av. Available at:<https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tdate=7/18/2021>
- Playlist (Theme – Return / Change):
- Turn – Travis;
- Old Story – Trevor Hall;
- Man in the Mirror – Michael Jackson;
- Change – J. Cole;
- Find Your Way Back – Beyonce
- Watchlist (Theme – Return/Resurrection):
- The Lion King;
- The Prince of Egypt;
- Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
- The Dark Knight Rises
Sy 'Adamah #SageSpeaks 