proclaiming the gospel to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Shalom and welcome to the Everlasting Nation, a radio ministry of International Board of Jewish Missions. I'm your host Aaron Brott and I wanna thank you for joining me. Today, I would like to share with you a Hebrew nugget. This material is provided by our dear friend and ministry, Jackie Powell. You can find this transcript as well as other valuable Hebrew study resources at her website lightforisrael.org. Now then, let's dig into this lesson. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year according to the Hebrew calendar. and this year is 5781. As our Jewish friends worldwide prepare to go forward into a new and uncertain year, we are reminded that we all need to adjust to new seasons that life thrusts upon us. And I find that reflecting on God's past goodness and praying for God's future guidance seems to be the best remedy for an anxious heart. The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah is not mentioned in the Torah. The only time we see the phrase is in the Tanakh in Ezekiel chapter 40 verse 1. Here it says, In the five and twentieth year of our captivity in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month in the fourteenth year, After that, the city was smitten. In the self, same day, the hand of the Lord was upon me and brought me thither." The phrase, the beginning of the year, is Rosh Hashanah, which literally means head of the year. However, Ezekiel is not referring to the holiday since Rosh Hashanah as a holiday is first mentioned much later in the Mishnah around 200 A.D. God told the children of Israel that the first day of Eve, in the spring, the month of Passover, was to be the start of the year. It says in Exodus 12 verse 2, This month, Aviv, shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Tishrei was the seventh month, and in the first day of Tishrei it was the Feast of Trumpets, according to Leviticus 23. It says, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial blowing of trumpets, and a holy convocation. Numbers chapter 29 verse 1 says it is a day of blowing of the trumpets. In this verse the Hebrew phrase yom teruah literally means the day of the trumpet or the day of blowing. However, God commanded the children of Israel to celebrate the beginning of every month each new moon. The new moon in Hebrew is called Rosh Chodesh. or the head of the month. It is interesting that the word for month, Chodesh, is from the root word for new, Chadash in Hebrew. Eventually, the first day of the seventh month, the Feast of Trumpets, also became associated with the start of the civil new year. The first of Aviv in the spring is still the start of the religious new year. But in ancient times, the sighting of the new moon over Jerusalem had to be confirmed by three witnesses. The new moon of Tishrei was very important as it began the new year. This year has been very anxious for most people with the coronavirus pandemic. As Proverbs says in chapter 3, we should trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not unto our own understanding in all our ways, acknowledge him and he shall direct our paths. A good verse. And by meditating on verses like these, the Lord sends peace to the anxious heart. The word trust In this verse is translated from the Hebrew word betach. The theological word book of the Old Testament says, this is one of two words used to express trust or reliance upon and expresses that sense of well-being and security which results from having something or someone in whom to place confidence. The writer of Proverbs says we are to place this type of trust or confidence only in the Lord. The word understanding in this verse from Proverbs is from the Hebrew word banat. We are not to trust in our human understanding of events and circumstances, since we are finite creatures, limited both in scope and in time. We only understand what we immediately see. The Lord understands our situation fully, both our past and our future, since He is eternal, and only He can give us proper guidance for the future. The word direct in the verses as well from Proverbs is from the Hebrew word yashar, which means to be level, to be straight, right, and smooth. The Lord does not just show us the correct path, but He makes the path plain for us. I don't have to fear the path that He leads me on because He has gone before me and removed all things that would make me fall." So, on this New Year, as we think about Rosh Hashanah, let us acknowledge and submit to the Lord, the One who created us and knows all about us. I know of no surer path to follow into the future of an unsure world than one paved by our loving Heavenly Father. You've been listening to The Everlasting Nation, a ministry of International Board of Jewish Missions. For more information, you can contact us at 423-876-8150 or go online to ibjm.org. Until next time, may God bless and Shalom!