The Shofar Blew: Jews Mark Rosh Hashanah

Thursday marks Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish new year.

During this time, Israelis greet one another with the Hebrew greeting "sha-na toe-va," which means happy new year. In Israel, it's a national celebration but with deep biblical roots.

In Jerusalem, the city is filled with the sights and sounds of the holiday.

Mahane Yehuda is Jerusalem's biggest open air market. At this time of year, thousands of Israelis come here to get ready and celebrate the Jewish new year.

"You really feel the holiday in the air, you know," said one Israeli woman. "Everybody's getting ready. Everybody's cleaning their homes. You feel like everybody's getting ready for the Messiah."

At Rosh Hashanah, merchants sell specific foods with their own symbolism. For example, apples and honey mean hope for a sweet new year. And for some, pomogranites symbolize a wish that the good deeds for the new year will be as plentiful as the seeds of the pomogranite. Fish mean hope to be the head and not the tail. Round bread symbolizes the cycle of the year.

It's a time for family and friends and it's good for business at the market.

"You know everything is very expensive -- nobody complains," Israeli Roni Barak said.

More Than a Holiday

But Rosh Hashanah is more than just a holiday. In the Bible, it's called the Feast of Trumpets.

"Rosh Hashanah is one of the feasts of the Lord in Leviticus 23. It doesn't talk about Jewish feasts; it talks about feasts of the Lord. In fact, the Hebrew word is not even feast, it's 'moadim.'"

'Moed' is a time of meeting God. God has a divine appointment and He wants to meet with His people," explained Chuck Cohen of Intercessors for Israel.

Dwight Pryor, founder of the Center for Judaic Christian Studies, says this is a significant time of year.

He said, "This is an awesome time. I wish more Christians understood the beauty and significance spiritually of these high holy days. It's like a grand symphony with so many themes interwoven and interconnected. Some…focus on the one hand on God and His character and on the other hand our responsibility."

Pryor says the trumpet -- or shofar -- blast is meant to wake us up and send the sober message that one day we all face God's judgment.

"Jesus will be that righteous Judge before whom all of the nations as well as us individually will stand on the last day," Pryor said. "And when He comes, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faithfulness among His people. That's what Rosh Hashanah tells us. 'Hey, have you been faithful?'

"If not," he continued, "Make amends, repent, turn around, make things right and walk in faithfulness, in the obedience of faith, after the Good Shepherd, Yeshua, Jesus."