Rosh Hashanah In Our Homeschool: Happy New Year, 5784! PLUS DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

 I'll be honest.  Celebrating the Feasts of the Lord seemed a little overwhelming at first.  There are so many traditions and little nuances that I was so afraid to miss out on.  I wanted the full experience and the entire understanding.  I still do.  But, after reading (and reading and reading and reading), it was made clear that the "full experience" doesn't come from the manmade traditions of the Feasts.  The pinnacle of these set times is Yeshua Himself.  The Feasts paint a picture of the Messiah.  One of these years on Rosh Hashanah, Yeshua will return at the sound of the trumpet (AHEM *shofar*), and that Feast will be fulfilled in Him!  That is the ultimate experience, and our goal is to be aligned with the Lord's timing, to know Him face to face, to sit before Him, and to be His bride.

We still follow some of the manmade traditions with each Feast.  I've found it helps us, children and parents alike, engage our minds and hearts to focus on being in sync with the appointed times of God.  These activities do not make up the Feast, though.  They are tools we use as needed.  Repetition is good Hebrew, so I've learned over the last handful of years.  

A fun example of a tradition we kind of follow and kind of don't is this: it is customary to serve a full fish for dinner on Rosh Hashanah, including the head.  I do serve fish.  But it is a headless fish.  I have a general rule that no eyeballs are allowed on the dining room table.  It's not a politeness thing, it's an "it grosses me out" thing.  I'm not here to please the general assemblies of man and their traditions.  I'm here to obey and please the Lord, and He has not told me I have to have a fish staring at me on Rosh Hashanah to please Him.  Praise Jesus.  Yes and amen, His mercies are new every morning, hallelujah, glory be, Amen.

While homeschooling, we use the week leading up to Rosh Hashanah to really get excited about the New Year.  I have about 3 days of study planned out, projects to complete, challahs to bake (challah-lujah), and groceries to purchase.  The kids want in on this kind of preparation.  It is an excitement-building season.  We all decorate the house for fall, complete with leaf garlands, pumpkins, candles, shofars, tallits, and strings of warm white Christmas lights nestled into the fiery leaves.  It might be 100 degrees outside on some of these years in the southeast, but we are ready for the New Year with a cozy ambience inside our little home.  

We countdown to sunset on the evening of Rosh Hashanah as if we were watching the ball drop in New York City, and welcome the new year exactly at sundown with shofars sounding shouts of joy and praise.  With sparkling juice, we take communion and anoint each family member with oil in the shape of the letter, Tav, the sign of the New Covenant.  Then, we have our celebratory headless salmon dinner and finish it with a honey birthday cake in celebration of the birth of the world through Jesus, the Word of God.  The next day, we take part together in a Spirit-led Tashlich, and enjoy leftovers from dinner.  Games and crafts fill the day.  This year, the second day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Sunday, and we will go to our church and celebrate there as well.  We blow the shofar every day until Yom Kippur (evening of Sept.24 - evening of Sept. 25th this year).  

If you are homeschooling this year as well and would like to have a mini-unit study for Rosh Hashanah this year, I have created a Rosh Hashanah Study & Project Packet as a digital download on my brand new Etsy shop HebraicheartHS!  It is 42 pages of fun geared towards elementary students, though you can adapt up or down as needed if you have multiple ages present at your table.  Link below!

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And remember, The Shabbat Stories Series releases on Amazon this Rosh Hashanah as well!  Links will be posted when the books are available for purchase.  Follow Shabbat Stories on Facebook and Instagram to stay in the loop!

For now, here is the Rosh Hashanah Study & Project Packet!  Please download & enjoy!

https://hebraichearths.etsy.com