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א וּבַחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֜י בְּאֶחָ֣ד לַחֹ֗דֶשׁ מִֽקְרָא־קֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם כָּל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת עֲבֹדָ֖ה לֹ֣א תַעֲשׂ֑וּ י֥וֹם תְּרוּעָ֖ה יִהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶֽם׃

In the seventh month, Tishrei, on the first of the month, Rosh HaShana, it shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any toilsome labor; a day of sounding the alarm of the shofar it shall be for you.

DISCUSSION

In the seventh month, on the first of the month

The Torah does not refer to this day as Rosh HaShana, meaning the New Year, but rather as “a day of sounding the alarm” or “a remembrance by means of an alarm blast” (Leviticus 23:24). The term rosh hashana is mentioned in Ezekiel (40:1), but there it refers to a season rather than to a specific day (see also Exodus 34:22). The Torah also does not explain the significance of the day or the meaning of the alarm blasts. It is unclear from the Torah if the blast marks the beginning of a new year, as the month of Nisan has already been identified as the first month of the year (Exodus 12:2). It is possible that the shofar blast marks the beginning of the many festivals that occur in the month of Tishrei. According to the tradition of the Oral Torah, the first of Tishrei is indeed the New Year, and the shofar blast serves to declare God the King of the world, and to announce His judgment of the world on this day. This is alluded to in Psalms (81:4–5; see Rosh HaShana 8a, 16a; commentary on Leviticus 23:25).

ב וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֨ם עֹלָ֜ה לְרֵ֤יחַ נִיחֹ֙חַ֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה פַּ֧ר בֶּן־בָּקָ֛ר אֶחָ֖ד אַ֣יִל אֶחָ֑ד כְּבָשִׂ֧ים בְּנֵי־שָׁנָ֛ה שִׁבְעָ֖ה תְּמִימִֽם׃

You shall perform a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord: One young bull, one ram, seven lambs in the first year, unblemished;

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