1. Name and its Signifcation, and the Import of this Festival. — In the two passages wliere tlie institution of it occurs, this festival is called H"!"!" "jllST, remem- brance blowing, i.e. of trumpets (Lev. xxiii, 24; Sept. IAvr)fi6(Tvvuv aaXTviyyon'; Vulg. Sabbatwn memoriale clangentibus iiibis), and n"1"in DT', the day of blowing, i. e. the trumpets (Numb, xxix, 1 ; Sept. yfispa aijf^aaiag ; Vulg. Dies clangoris et iubarum). To understand this indefinite appellation, we must examine the import of this festival. As the first of Tisri, on which this festi- val occurs, besides being the new moon, is the beginning of that month wherein the festivals most distinguished both for holiness and joy are celebrated, it had to be connected in an especial manner with the import of the month itself. See Festival. Hence, as Maimonides observes, it was made, as it were, a stepping-stone to and a preparation for the great Day of Atonement (^More Nebochim, iii, 43). This is not only indicated by the particle "JX (Lev. xxiii, 27), which forms the transition from the feast of New Year to the Day of Atonement, but has been so understood by the unanimous voice of the Jewish Church, which from time immemorial has ob- served the ten intervening da3-s between these two fes- tivals as days of penitence, and calls them '• the ten days of repentance, or humiliation" (r!3"'jn "^^^ n"l"iyj', comp. Talmud, Rnsh Ila-Shana, 18 a; Maimonides, xit sup. ; Orach Chajim, sec. 582, 602, 603). Being pre- paratory to it, the festival of the New Year was to draw the attention of the Israelites to the design of the Day of Atonement, by summoning and stirring them up to it. As it is ordained that whenever all Israel are to be sum- moned to general action — e. g. either to a convocation, journey, war, or an assault — the priests are to blow silver trumpets made especially for this purpose (Numb, x, 1 -10), and that these trumpets are especially to be blown at every sacred work in order to summon the people on festivals and new moons to participate in the sacrifices (ver. 10) ; the festival of the New Year, which is de- signed to summon the Israelites to the most holy of all works, and to prepare them for the great Day of Atone- ment, had to be furnished with the sign of this summons in an especial manner. Thus the blowing of the trum- pets, which was a secondary thing on other festivals, be- came the chief and distinguishing feature of tliis festival. Hence its name, ri"1in DT^, the day on which the trum- pets v:e7-e especially blown; or, the day on which the blow- ing was peculiarly characteristic (Numb, xxix, 1). Moreover, as this blowing of the trumpets is a summons to the Israelites to enter upon the work of sanctification, it is accounted to them as a merit in the sight of (iod, and tlie inspired Word promises them for it a special re- membrance before the Lord (Numb, x, 10) and divine help for this holy life (ver. 9). Hence this festival is also called njJTnri "il^-T, the i-emembrance blowing (Lev. xxiii, 24), i. e. the day on which the blowing of the trumpets, by its summoning the Israelites to effect their reconciliation with God, makes them to be remembered
before the Lord, and secures for them divine aid for the holy work before them. The synagogue, however, takes the word '('("IST more in the sense of reminding God of the merits of and his covenant with the patriarchs, and for this reason has appointed Gen. xxi, 1-34; xxii, 1-24, recording the birth and sacrifice of Isaac, as les- sons for this festival (comp. Rashi, On Lev. xxiii, 24, and the article Haphtarah). That this festival occurs on the day commencing the civil new year, which from time immemorial has been on the first of the seventh month, called Tisri, is not only evident from Exod. xii, 1 ; xxiii, 16; xxiv, 22; Josephus, Ant. i, 3, 3 ; but from the fact that both the Sabbatical year and Jubilee com- menced in this month (comp. Lev. xxv, 9, 10 ; and the article Jubilee). The universal practice of the Jew- ish nation, who regard and celebrate it as the Festival of the New-Yeai-'s Day, is therefore rightly supported by Christian scholars; and the name N'ew Year ("iJX"! nscn), by which this festival is almost universally spoken of in Jewish literature, is far more expressive than the vague appellation. Feast of Tru?nj)ets.
2. The Manner in tvhich this Festival was and still is celebrated. — Like the Sabbath, this festival was to be a day of rest, on which all trade and handicraft ^vorks were stopped (Lev. xxiii, 24, 25). As the new year also is the new moon, a threefold sacrifice was offered on tliis festival — viz. the ordinar}' dail}' sacrifice, which was offered first; then the appointed new-moon sacrifice [see New Moon, Feast of the] ; and last of all followed the sacrifice of this festival, which consisted of a young bullock, a ram, and seven lambs of the first year, with the usual meat-offerings, and a kid for a sin-offering (Numb, xxix, 1-6) ; and which, with the exception of there being one young bullock for a burnt-offering in- stead of two, was simply a repetition of the monthly offering. All the time that the drink-offering and burnt -offering were offered, the Levites engaged in soul -stirring vocal and instrumental music, singing the eighty -first and other Psalms: while the priests at stated intervals broke forth with awfid peals of the trumpets. After the offering up of the sacrifices the service was concluded by the priests, who pronounced the benediction (Numb, vi, 23-27), which the people re- ceived in a prostrate position before the Lord. There- upon the congregation, after prostrating themselves a second time in the court, resorted to the adjoining syna- gogues, where the appointed lessons from the Law and Prophets were read, consisting of Gen. xxi, 1-34; Numb. xxix, 1-6; 1 Sam. i, l-ii, 10; Gen. xxii, 1-24; Numb. xxix, 1-6 ; Jer. xxxi, 2-20. Psalms were recited and the festival prayers were offered, beseeching the Lord to pardon the sins of the past year, and to grant to the people a happy new year, which concluded the morning service. The families then resorted to their respective homes, partook, as on other festivals, of a social and joy- ous repast, and in the evening again went to the Tem- ple to witness the offering of the evenhig sacrifice and the incense, and to see the lighting of the candlestick, with which the festival concluded, all wishing each other, " May you be written down for a happy new year," or "May the Creator decree for you a happy new year;" to which it is replied, ^^ And you likewise." This wish or prayer to be inscribed on this day in the book of life arises from the fact that the Jews believe that the feast of the New Year is the annual day of judgment, on which all the deeds of man are weighed, whether they be good or evil, the destinies of every individual and every na- tion are fixed for the ensuing year, and the death and life of every one is determined, as well as the manner of death (Mishna, Jiosh Ila-Shana, i, 2; Talmud, in loco). Hence the names Day of .Tudgment ("("^in DT^) and Awful Days (a^iili: D"'-"'), by which this festi- val is sometimes called. It is a remarkable fact that all the ancient astronomers of the different nations have given the figure of an aged man of stern aspect, holding