I had a really short conversation today with someone about Rosh Chodesh (‘ch’ pronounced as a ‘k’ like in Bach), the new moon festival. Later, I thought it would be a good idea to post a brief overview for the benefit of those learning the basics of what Scripture teaches.
Personally, I had no idea that Scripture has so many special feasts and occasions! When Father convicted us of the pagan roots of Christmas and the fact that it is nowhere found in Scripture, we thought we’d lost a lot. (Parts of my story and details here, here and here.) Only after we began investigating did we discover that our Father has SEVEN great feasts, two lesser/minor festivals and 12-13 new moon feasts each year!! Wowzers! Talk about a lot! (We traded two Christian ‘holy days’ for
One of the simplest of the feasts is the monthly New Moon festival.
Briefly, Genesis 1:14 tells us that God made the sun, moon and stars for signs and seasons. The Hebrew behind ‘seasons’ is moedim, meaning ‘appointments,’ not ‘spring, summer, fall and winter.’ The stars, sun and moon help us know when God has us on HIS calendar!! (See Leviticus 23 for a whole bunch more!) How cool is that?
Psalm 81:3 says, “Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.” That echoes Numbers 10:10 that says in part, “Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings…”
We can see a bit of the way this was treated at the time of King Saul and David if we read I Samuel 20. Notice ‘new moon’ in verses 5, 18 and 24.
As the feasts go, this is a very simple one: Blow the shofar on the New Moon. Feast desired, but not required.
The idea, I believe, is to insure you and everyone in the community is paying attention to the change of the month on the calendar. -Easier today with calendar apps and paper calendars everywhere, but not so easy in an agrarian culture 3500 years ago… Never-the-less, the command stands and it is a good excuse to go out with the boys, honk on the shofar and have a semi-special (sometimes) dinner.
Scripture tells us in Isaiah 66:22-23 that the New Moons 
and Sabbaths will be celebrated in the New Heaven and Earth!
Seriously, this stuff is so easy once we start to adjust our ‘clocks’ to HIS timing and roll with HIS feasts and festivals. (I even have a moon phase app to alert me of the upcoming new moons… LOL!)
What is cool is that once you understand the flow of the calendar, then you begin to pick up little details in Scripture that help give you a sense of time for events, etc…
As an aside, while pondering this short missive, it occurred to me that I should add a page with simple basic ‘how to’ instructions for the new Messianic. I hope it will be a place to which we can direct new folks on this journey with questions about ‘how.’ Watch for that to be up very soon!
Shalom!
natsab 
Thanks Pete…I enjoy receiving your updates… It’s an especially good way to take a break from packing & sorting day after day…we move what furniture we have left to storage Sunday afternoon…hand over the keys to house on the 24th of July…then down the road for the being of our new adventure…I would appreciate your prayers for stamina as there is much more to do in the next few days! Glad tidings! 😊
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Will do. Shalom and blessings!
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Oops…I meant the “beginning” of our new adventure! But we are “being” in Him…so thankful to understand our identity & inheritance…what a wonderful idea to offer clarification for new brethren…thanks for doing so with love (Ahava) and encouragement as we are all still learning & unlearning. Richest blessings to you & yours!
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Some thoughts I have pondered is that in numbers it is silver trumpets and Psalms is shofar-on the feast of the moon-specifically perhaps the feast of the moon being Yom Teruah when we are all watching for it and blow shofars. Just playing with the words for the different noise makers.
I also have been considering about how to treat Rosh chodesh based on Isaiah 66 the whole world keeping kt as a worship day-personally considering if I should be buying or selling that day and such. Trying to consider how set apart the day is, so I look forward to your thoughts on how to’s. In Amos 8 it seems perhaps no work was done on Rosh chodesh though I do not see in torah. Ezekiel 45:17 also seems it is a solemn day. Look forward to your thoughts.
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Pete, Just watched your new2torah interview with Zack then followed the link to this website. I wanted to thank you for sharing your story. I can relate and it really encourages me to know that I am not alone on this path and what I have experienced with friends and family. God keeps showing me that I am not alone. I have so much to learn and now I have a new website and tool to learn from. Thanks so much! ~Amy
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Amy,
Shalom and welcome!! So glad to have you on this journey!
Thanks for the props on the blog. I pray it bless you with lots of good and varied reading material!
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OH my! i forgot to blow my shofar – went out a did it now under the double rainbow! great entry!
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I find this one the hardest to remember… So, I programmed my calendar to notify me 2 hours before sunset on all new moons (calculated) through Dec. 2015… Nor, my handheld secretary reminds me.
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so like a calendar on your phone? i’ll have to see if mine will do that. bit challenged in that techie dept. thanks for the tip!
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Yep. Just enter it as an event. I have an app called ‘Phases of the Moon’ that is useful in knowing exact day/time as well as current stage, etc.
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i’ll give it a go!
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i figured out how to put events on my phone calendar. Did i trial run just now and it ‘dinged.’ Hooray, i may have it. Set now for August 14. Thank you!
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Hi Pete!
I don’t know how I missed this post!
One of the guys in our Connections group asked that we celebrate this festival and we’ve been do so for over a year and a half. I’ve got to tell you that it was like pulling teeth trying to find out how to go about doing this. Most of what we find is either in the synagogue or by women’s groups.
But after much searching (and running it by my rabbi), we ended up with a really nice celebration. I put together a booklet to guide us through the evening, that includes a shared meal, scripture readings, prayers, and blowing of the shofar. We also incorporated dancing and singing. It’s a really nice time.
Yet, for me, the best part is how it marks the time. And while I don’t agree with some of FFOZ’s beliefs, I love the way they point out that with God’s appointed times, we are never more than a few hours away, never more than a week away, never more than a month away, never more than a year away from God’s mo’adim – an opportunity to connect/re-connect with Him.
A few months ago, my rabbi asked if I would head a new ministry called ‘Chag Samaech’. The goal is to make the festivals…more…for those in our shul that might not celebrate in their homes. Rosh Chodesh Av fell on a Friday night, so what better time to start incorporating the celebration into our mishpocha’s minhag?
No one should pass up the opportunity to connect with God on Rosh Chodesh – thanking Him for the blessings of the previous month and lifting up the needs and concerns for the following month. It reminds us that He is in control. And just as the moon returns each month, so too, we can count on Him to renew all things.
Chodesh Tov!
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May I have a copy of the guide to use and share on the How to: Messianic page?
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Absolutely!
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