Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish celebration observed on the first two days of the Hebrew month of Tishri, which usually falls during the months of September or October. Rosh Hashanah literally means “the head of the year” and is celebrated as the Jewish New Years Day. The celebration is filled with joyous fanfare and the sounding of the trumpets bringing in the new season but also with solemnity for the beginning of a time of repentance known as the Days of Awe.

According to Leviticus 23, there are seven principle feasts that the Jews were commanded to observe. In the Spring you have Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and Pentecost. Then in the fall you have Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles. Interesting that there are no given feast days from the Lord during the summer months. Even more interesting is that in the contemporary Christian Church the summer season has been nicknamed the summer slump. The days when attendance drops and not much seems to happen; outlooks get bleeker and hope diminishes. Could this be the result of no spiritual feasts of God? And so as we continue in the heat of the summer I can hear the church cry out “Where is the Lord, I see no sight of Him and I hear no word from Him?” The summer slump seems never ending but just then you hear a sound, the sound of a trumpet.

Immediately following the length of the summer comes the first feast of fall and it is, of no coincidence, Rosh Hashanah, or the feast of trumpets. The Old Testament scriptures decree that the first day of the seventh month is to be observed as Yom Teruah, the “Feast of Trumpets”.

“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation.” Lev. 23:24 

“On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets” Numbers 29:1

The word Teruah means “shouting” or “raising a noise” and therefore this day was to be marked by making a joyful noise unto the LORD (Psalm 81:1-4). Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, the sages of the Mishnah redefined Judaism and additionally associated Yom Teruah with the start of the Jewish civil year. Yom Teruah then became known as “Rosh Hashanah” [Head of the Year] and the sounding of the trumpets would highlight the beginning of a new year and season occassioned with great rejoicing.

The Torah [first five books of the Old Testament] spoke concerning about this day being a feast day in which to “blow the trumpets”. The Psalmist’s also declare that the trumpets should be blown at the beginning of the feast.

Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob. Psalm 81:3-4  

“Praise him with the sound of the trumpet.” Psalm 150:3 KJV

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The trumpet is mentioned often in scripture. In the 150th Psalm, we should notice that the very first musical instrument mentioned, out of the ensuing list of instruments, is the trumpet. Yet, this is not just any trumpet. The Hebrew word used here is שרפר [shofar] which denotes a ram’s horn. The Rams Horn is literally what it sounds like; it is the horn of a ram that has been hollowed out, chiseled and polished. This was the ‘trumpet’ used by Joshua and his army when the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. In fact, the rams horn is most often the ‘trumpet’ spoken of in the Old Testament. Another interesting tidbit from Psalm 150 that should be pointed out is that the word “sound” is, in Hebrew, תקע [teka]. Teka is the root for the word תקיעה [tekiah] which means “blast”. The tekiah, or blast of the ram’s horn, is the first of four calls made with the shofar on the feast day of Rosh Hashanah.

During a typical Rosh Hashanah service, the shofar (ram’s horn) is blasted at least 100 times thus satisfying the commandment to make Teru’ah (“noise”) on this day. There are four primary types of shofar blasts:

1. Tekiah – A long single blast (the sound of the King’s coronation)
2. Shevarim – Three short wail-like blasts (signifying repentance)
3. Teru’ah – Nine staccato blasts of alarm (to awaken the soul)
4. Tekiah ha-Gadol – A great long blast {for as long as one can blow} (signifying patient endurance)

The general custom for a Rosh Hashanah service is to first blow tekiah, followed by shevarim, followed by teru’ah, and to close with tekiah hagadol. An expert in blowing the shofar is called a baal tekiah.
Tekiah is a bright, piercing sound that stirs the soul. Each tekiah sounded on the Shofar has a different sound wave; even the same tekiah sounded multiple times will produce different or unique sound waves. So when one hears, or sounds, the Shofar they are hearing a unique sound. The tekiah is also a very simple tone. It does not offer many variations of quality or tambre and does not have much of the different dynamic abilities as of other musical instruments. The Tekiah is typically a plain deep sound that starts and ends abruptly. Most churches who blow the shofar in their worship services will usually sound tekiah, and I am sure that most would testify that there is just something about blowing the shofar during the worship. We should not be surprised to find this is true, for we are exhorted to “praise him with the tekiah of the shofar.” (Ps. 150:3) And as the tekiah is unique so is our individual worship before the King.

The second sound made with the shofar is called שברים shevarim, which means “broken.” Broken is a good way to describe this sound. It is intended to portray a person who is crying or wailing. Thus, rabbinic tradition states the purpose for shevarim is to remind people of the need for repentance. Repentance is a vital element during Rosh Hashanah as it marks the first day of the Days of Awe which are the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). These days are a time set aside for repentance before the sealing of fates which takes place on the Day of Atonement.
“On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings.” Numbers 10:10
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1
Days of repentance is necessary for the christian church as well as Peter said “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus” (Acts 3:19-20) True repentance is only possible once someone is broken before God.

“Brokenness is a gift from God to those who have a tender, sensitive heart toward Him. Only a transparent look at our barrenness through the holy eyes of the Father can birth within us the depth of brokenness He desires. Our hearts must become broken over the broken heart of the Father. Our broken sensitive hearts give birth to a broken and submissive will.” (Keeney Dickenson)

Brokenness is not a sign of weakness but rather maturity. Those who are broken before God abide in a deeper relationship with God, as the scriptures declare:

The third sound on the shofar is called תרועה teru’ah, which means “alarm”. Teru’ah is made by sounding at least nine short staccato blasts on the shofar. This sound is intended to alert the hearer to impending danger or some other type of ominous event. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the Shofars. The Shofars shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. (Numbers 10:8, 9) This is one of the reasons why the watchmen of Israel carried with them a shofar. Ezekiel was called to be a watchman, Isaiah spoke on the ministry of the watchmen, and Joel emphasized our watchmen like duty in the last days to include “blow the trumpet and sound the alarm” (Joel 2:1). And what an awesome word that when you sound the shofar you SHALL BE SAVED FROM YOUR ENEMIES.

All three of these sounds are blown on Rosh Hashanah – a day when God is recognized as the Sovereign Creator to be worshiped and adored, the Merciful Father who forgives repentant children, and the Righteous Judge who is coming to judge the entire earth. Yet, what most people associate Rosh Hashanah with is the coming of the Lord for the righteous. This is where the fourth sound of the shofar comes in. Rabbinic literature teaches that it is God who will resurrect the dead and redeem man with the sound of the shofar. I believe this to be an allusion to, what we refer to as, the Rapture, or the catching away of the Saints. It is on that day that we will hear the “last trump,” but what exactly is that?

The fourth sound made upon the shofar sounds exactly as tekiah, except that it is sounded for as long as one can hold his breath. This is the sound that many believe will announce the resurrection. For that reason, it is called tekiah hagadolah, which means “the great blast,” or as some would refer to it – “the last trump.”

“Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” – 1 Corinthians 15:52 KJV 

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. – 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17

So, during Rosh Hashanah and the sounding of the trumpets, there is the call to heart-felt worship (tekiah), the message to repent (shevarim), the preparation for what may lie ahead (teruah), and the anticipation for the eternal resurrection and the last trump.

In conclusion, I want to make certain that you understand this simple truth of what is to come next. The summer slump is almost over. Open your ears and you will hear the sounding of the trumpet. Let it awaken your spirit, brighten your outlook and restore hope to you and your church. This sound declares that a new season awaits you. So worship Him, repent before Him, fight with Him, and wait for Him.