2024 is here! Can you believe it? I don’t know if I can. Time is moving really fast these days it seems. We’ve come to the time of year where new beginnings are a common theme. New year, new me is a common thought for people. New Year's Resolutions are being made, and subsequently broken as people vow to lose weight, make more money, work harder, accomplish goals, and overall be better. Over the years, I’ve tried to make resolutions, but they never really pan out like I’d like them too, for some reason. I suppose it’s because change is hard, and it usually doesn't come naturally. But as we embark on a new year, I got to wondering about the Jewish New Year. What do they do to celebrate? How do they view New Year’s?
Turns out, their New Year’s looks quite a bit different than ours does here in America. First of all, their New Year doesn’t happen on the first day of the new year. Makes sense, right? They actually change over to a new year on the first day of the 7th month of their year, the month of Tishri. Now, for those that are unaware, there are 12 months also in the Jewish calendar, but they are only 29-30 days, so every few years, they add a month to make up for it. This is the case because they work from a lunar calendar, not a solar calendar like we do. Perhaps something else to be thankful for. We only have a leap year every 4 years. Can you imagine having a leap month? That’d be different.
But back to the new year. You may be wondering why in the world do they celebrate the New Year basically in the middle of the calendar year. That’s a valid question, and one that I asked when I learned that. The reason isn’t as crazy as you may think it is. Think about our calendar here in the United States. We have New Years on January 1st. The school year starts in August/September, depending on the school. The fiscal years for businesses start at different times of the year. So even here in America, we have different starts to “new years”. It’s similar in the Jewish calendar. To make it easier on you, here’s a table so that you can follow it:
I hope this table helps. They count the reigns of kings as 1 year every April. They determine how much to tithe in terms of animals every August. They determine when the first fruits can be eaten every February. They change the year every October. I agree, it’s very different. Feel free to explore it more on your own. I’d rather not explore it in depth here, as I want to explain more about what they do every Rosh Hashanah, as it’s something we might benefit from knowing. You can go to https://www.jewfaq.org/rosh_hashanah to learn more.
While New Year’s here in America is usually rife with drinking and parties and fun, it’s very different for Israel. It is on Rosh Hashanah that they renew the crowning of God as sovereign of time and space and renew their relationship with Him. They do some introspection about the highs and lows of the previous year and where they plan to follow God better in the new year.
When was the last time you did that? I know I don’t do it as much as I should. Most of my resolutions through the years have been how I can do things to make me better. Exercise more, eat better, spend less time on screens, etc. What if this next year, we paid more attention to what God wants for us and to do through us than what we want to do? What if we tried harder to fix our eyes on Jesus this year and lean more on His love and goodness than on our own efforts.
Psalm 23 starts out with, “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.” How would your life change if we believed those words and found contentment in who God is and what He has for us? I’d like to think a lot of things would be different. Our attitude would change. Our perspective would change. And as a result, our lives would be transformed. God wants to lead us in the green pastures and to refresh our souls. Does your soul need refreshed? Follow the Good Shepherd, and you’ll find rest and refreshment you didn’t think was possible. God wants to bless you and to help you through the ups and downs of this life. But it has to start with us looking to Him for guidance and not to ourselves to make things better.
So this next year, I invite you to spend more of your time seeking God and pursuing His word and his leading. See where you’re at in another year. I’m sure it will be different than what you’re expecting. Happy New Year.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. -Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
