Feasts Of YHWH
MTC October 6th, 2009
Stay tuned for teachings on the Feasts Of YHWH, to be uploaded soon…
The Days Of Awe
MTC September 28th, 2009
The DAYS OF AWE
(Yamim Noraim)
21st to 30th Sep 2009
“On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed, how many shall leave this world, and how many shall be born into it, who shall live and who shall die, who shall live out the limit of his days and who shall not, who shall perish by fire and who by water… who shall be at peace and who shall be tormented…. But penitence, prayer, and good deeds can annul the severity of the decree. ”
~ Rosh Hashanah liturgy ~
The Days of Awe are the 10 days from the beginning of Rosh Hashanah to the end of Yom Kippur. This important period, which always occurs in the autumn, is devoted to introspection, repentance, and atonement for sin.
According to Jewish tradition, it is during the Days of Awe that YHWH decides on each person’s fate in the next year. He writes these judgments in “books” (the Book of Life, the Book of In-between, the Book of Death) on Rosh Hashanah, but they can be changed until the end of Yom Kippur, the great Day of Atonement, when the books are sealed.
As a part of this intense period, the Jewish people seek to be reconciled with their brethren whom they have offended during the year. As this period moves on to its final day, Yom Kippur, the mood shifts from reconciliation with men, toward a final reconciliation with YHWH. This is the basis for the customary way Jews greet one another before and during the Days of Awe: L’shanah tovah (”for a good year”). This is an abbreviated form of L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem, “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.”