Creating Understanding: Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah, the start of a new year. I have never really looked deeper into this holiday. Never really attempted to understand its significance or importance. I was told it was a day of reflection and repentance and took it as that. However, I decided accepting what others have told me will not satisfy me. So, I set out to find my own answers.

It is widely believed that on Rosh Hashanah YHVH opens the book of life and the book of death and that between then and Yom Kippur He decides whether or not your name will be written in the book. So it is in that time that people repent for all the sins that they have made and promise to be a better person. In the biblical times a sacrifice was to be made: “Speak onto the children of Israel, saying, in the seventh month, on the first day, ye shall have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing trumpets, a holy convocation. Ye shall not do servile work: but ye shall make an offering made by fire onto Yahweh.” –Leviticus 23:24-25

So, people focused on the last part, and made a sacrifice. It was a tradition to wave the life offering over your head as a way to have it represent all of your sins and then you would sacrifice the animal and your sins would be washed away.

However, now we have Yashua, who has already made the ultimate sacrifice to wipe away our sins. Therefore, there is no need to sacrifice animals any more. For Yashua is our representative with the Father.  We can repent, shed our sins, and start a new life with YHVH at any time; we need not wait for Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur to be cleansed of our sins. You can choose to be a Son and walk as Yashua walked at any time.

Some believe that if you are really good between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur that your name will be written in the book of life and you are fine to do whatever you want the rest of the year until Rosh Hashanah comes back around. I do not believe this to be true. YHVH does not wish for people to revel in sin the whole year and only clean their act up for a few days out of fear and a twisted understanding of the word, only to fall back into their immorality.

We are to be cleaned and purified daily and walk in holiness constantly attaining for perfection. Walking closer and closer with YHVH and becoming more and more like Yashua. We should constantly be reflecting on who we are and where we are in our walk. It should be a natural thing to realize when we have strayed from the path and to eagerly come back running. It should be a constant journey- not just something done once a year.

With that part of the holiday out of the way, I turned my attention to other part of it: a memorial of trumpets and a meeting of holiness. What is this grand meeting and memorial for? After doing some research I realized that Rosh Hashanah is also celebrating the creation of the earth and the coronation of YHVH as King of the universe.

It is a day that we celebrate the crowning of the only true authority in existence.

I had never looked at it this way before. I had never really stopped to think that at some point everyman must choose to accept YHVH as their king or not. They must choose whether they will bend the knee and serve or if they will look for another master.

For me the choice is simple. I choose to accept YHVH as my only authority and almighty king. I choose to serve only one master with everything that is in me- mind, body, soul. I choose to celebrate joyfully that YHVH is a gracious and wonderful king to have.

I would like to share some words that helped to get me thinking: “On Rosh Hashanah, we devote two days to the search for the voice of authority we so deeply crave, for the king of the universe we have been seeking since our childhood. But don’t look for Him in the synagogue, in your prayerbook or in the rabbi’s speech. Look for Him in your deepest self: in the things that no one has to tell you, because you already know them absolutely; in the commitments to which you willingly submit, because you recognize them to be expressions of, rather than impositions upon, your true will.” By Yanki Tauber

So, yes, take the time to evaluate yourself and see if you like where you are. If you don’t, then change it. Check in on yourself often, sometimes life makes you think things that aren’t all that important are and you lose track of the good stuff. But also remember that there is a King waiting for you to decide to serve Him. Trust me; His authority is greater than anything this earth has to offer.

Now it is time to decide, how will you live this new year?

Creating Self Improvement

I have come to a realization- I have been neglecting aspects of me. I end up so focused on one part of what makes up me that I forget about everything else. I can’t allow that to happen anymore. I need to grow as a whole, not just parts. I have decided the best way to do this is to set up goals for myself to achieve. Objectives that will keep me from becoming stagnate.

When water isn’t moving, the life inside it has trouble surviving. Life is the same way. There must be movement and growth in order for life to flourish. I want to flourish. I may be a simple little acorn, but I will become a mighty oak and nothing will stop me. I will stand tall and strong and be filled with life.

I am happy with who I am and where I am going. I am happy that I can see any weakness that dares to grab hold of me and make it strength to wield. I am happy that I am YHVH’s and that He is with me always. I am happy to be alive.

Yet…as I say this, there is something inside of me that is sad. Something that wants to scream and cry. I don’t know why. I’m not quite sure what it even is. I don’t know why it is there. I have a good life. I am loved by my Papa, what more could I possibly need? Why is there a part of me that hurts so badly? Why won’t it simply go away. I need for it to heal. I need to heal myself.

I will continue towards my goals and won’t let anything stop me. I will continue to improve myself and in doing so I will heal any hurt that may linger in my being. I will be the mighty oak. I will be a Son of YHVH. I will be strong. I will be whole. I refuse to allow any part of me to remain in pain, I will expose all weaknesses, all injuries, all the broken little pieces of me and my Papa, the almighty YHVH, will make me whole.

I am a vessel created by my Papa’s hands. And as it is said of great pottery, it must go through a strengthening process. It must be put through a kiln at severe heat for it to come out stronger. I will endure the kiln and become an even stronger vessel. I will not allow myself to wallow in any negativity. I will smile brightly at the prospect of becoming a stronger and stronger vessel for my Papa. I will never be crushed, I will never be destroyed, and no crack shall ever penetrate me. I will stand tall and resolute.

I will serve my Papa and smile brightly on the future.

The Art of Creating

Every second of every day, with every breath we take, we are creating. Now, the choice is what to create. We can create life, love, happiness, growth, art, peace; or, we can create fear, stagnation, hate, strife, and even death.

It has become my core belief that everything I do creates something because of the choice I made. Knowing that I have that power means I have the obligation to use it. Like Spiderman taught us, “With great power comes great responsibility.”  The tricky thing is that everyone has this power. Every single human being has the potential to create. Again the question falls to: what do you create?

I chose to create life, to create love in the footsteps of the great creator, my Papa, YHVH.

I guess the next question is, how? I am still working on that one and will tell you as soon as I have the answer. I think it is something you have to choose every second of every day. With every breath I breathe I have to choose what I am going to create in that moment and who I am going to be.

Breathe in. Choice: create life. Breathe out. Choice: be a Son of YHVH.

And then, one day, you find that making the choice to create life and love and live the life of a Son is as natural to you as breathing. To not do so is to not breathe. And like not breathing, if you do it long enough pain fills your being and begs you to take in that much needed breath or your very survival is at risk.

So I chose to breathe. I chose to live. I chose to create like my Papa creates. I chose to create life and love with every second of everyday.

 

created Sept. 20 for one of my best friends and sister’s birthday.