Yom Teruah is the first Holy Day we celebrate in the Fall.  It's a big celebration with lots of noise!  Think Joshua destroying the walls of Jericho with shouting and blowing of the trumpets, or shofars.  Shofars are ancient instruments that are usually made of ram's horns.  They can play all different types of notes and are used in celebrations, as battle cries, calls to action, or a call to repentance.  It also is a symbolization for the return of the Messiah, as we are promised of Jesus' return at the sound of a shofar.

"And The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the moth, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation.  You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD."

"On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation.  You shall not do any ordinary work.  It is a day for you to blow the trumpets, and you shall offer a burnt offering, for a pleasing aroma to the LORD     ... a food offering to the LORD

Holy Convocation
Gather with friends, family, or your Bible study group.  Celebrating this day with friends will make it more enjoyable for everyone. Rejoice with others!

Food Offering
Strap on the feed bag! Have a potluck if you're hosting a big group.  This is a celebration, and every good party has delicious food.  

Blow the Trumpets
Okay, you might not be a trumpet player or own a shofar.  Get some party horns, and make a joyful noise to The Lord.  Blast some music and have a great time!

Solemn Rest
God wants to spend time with you and your family today.  He's asking you to take the day off work and focus on Him.  He loves you.  Enjoy it!

Ten days following Yom Teruah is judgment day, Yom Kippur.  It's said that during these ten days, God is closer than ever.  Yom Teruah is basically a call to repentance so we can stand blameless before The Lord on Yom Kippur.  Because of this, Many people will participate in a Tashlich ceremony.  Tashlich means "to cast off" or "to cast away".  Participants symbolically cast away their sins and mistakes from the past year by throwing pieces of bread or other symbolic items into a natural body of water, referring to Micah 7:19, where it states, "You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."  

If you went to a synagogue on Yom Teruah, you would probably hear a shofar ceremony. Numbers 10 gives some direction as to what some of the different blasts mean.  Other blasts have been passed down through history.  Here's a quick video with the popular blasts you will hear.

Who are you going to celebrate with?  It's a holy convocation meant to be spend with other believers.  Do you have friends who would be interested in learning more about the holy days?

All right, where is this happening?  Do you want to meet up with everyone at a lake so you can hold a Tashlich ceremony?  Do you want to just have something at your house so you can blast the music?

Don't stress if you don't have a shofar.  You can buy one online from Israel or even Amazon.  Amazon also has some plastic shofars that anyone can use and bulk options so there's enough for everyone!