Feast of Trumpets Scripture Reading List (Yom Teruah)

Here are verses to be read during the Feast of Trumpets, or studied in this time leading up to this day that YHWH asked us to set apart. Also known as Yom Teruah, or the Day of Sounding, Trumpets is a multifaceted day and there a ton of different Scriptures and topics that would be fitting to study.

As the main themes of the Feast of Trumpets are remembrance, and the sounding of the shofar it would be very appropriate to study each on this day. You could do a word study of all of the things YHWH or Yahusha say to remember. I did this as I was gathering this reading list and I would definitely recommend that. You could totally do some art journaling or another activity based on these verses too. Taking a look at where we see shofars and what they stand for throughout Scripture is also time well spent. Of course, a special emphasis on repentance is fitting for all the feast days and we would do well to brush up on a few verses about that.

Prophetically it is believed that the Messiah will return on Trumpets, which would be another great study topic! The return of the Messiah and the start of his reign here on earth. Many verses mention his return and the sounding of shofars together so we can easily see the connection to the Feast of Trumpets.

Here are a few of my favorites to read during this time.

Scriptures to Read During the Feast of Trumpets:

Leviticus 23:23-25 - instruction for this holiday.

Numbers 29:1-6 - instructions for offerings on this day.

Genesis 21:1-13 - a traditional passage to read. 

Genesis 22 - the sounding of the shofar is connected with the ram being sacrificed instead of Isaac.

1 Samuel 1-2:10 - it is traditionally believed that Hannah conceived during Yom Teruah.

Jeremiah 31  - Trumpets is described as a day of remembering and this passage is about YHWH remembering his people.

Psalm 98:6 - with shofars shout joyfully before YHWH.

John 15-16:4 - the Messiah instructs us to remember these words.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 - this significant event could be happening during a future Feast of Trumpets.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 - The Messiah will return during a blast of the shofar.

Revelation 8-11 - the seven shofar blasts.

More on the Feast of Trumpets:
The Beginner's Guide to the Feast of Trumpets
The Meaning of Yom Teruah
The Significance of the Shofar During Trumpets

How To Hang a Mezuzah

This post is done in conjunction with the mezuzah giveaway from Turtle Lane Pottery.

Let's talk mezuzahs. Deuteronomy 6:9 says that we should have the words of YHWH on the doorposts of our homes. A mezuzah is a case that holds a scroll of part of Scripture, usually the surrounding passage from Deuteronomy. Mezuzahs are one way to keep this commandment. Other ideas would be hanging a plaque on the door, writing a verse on the door frame, framing a verse for the entrance, or even painting or inscribing a verse on the door itself. Whichever you decide will serve as a reminder and encouragement when you go in and out.

Traditional Judaism has more than 2,000 laws on how to properly hang a mezuzah. If you are looking for those instructions, you will not find them here. The commandment that we have from YHWH regarding this is simply to do it, so I will be sharing one way of going about that.

When you purchase a mezuzah, what you are buying is the case. Typically it will not come with the scroll inside, though sometimes that is an option for an extra charge. Chances are, any sort of color or pattern you may be interested in is out there. You could also make your own using anything from clay to wood to Legos if you are so inclined. My Turtle Lane mezuzah did not come with a scroll so my first step in hanging it was to write out Scripture. Judaism teaches that this should be done by a qualified scribe who will hand write it, but I don't see that requirement in Scripture. In fact when Moses said, "You shall write this," he was speaking to all Israel, not just a group of qualified scribes. At our house we want to take responsibility for our faith so we wrote it ourselves instead of outsourcing that task.

We chose to write out Deuteronomy 6:4-6, which Yahusha of course described as the most important commandment. You could write more or less depending on what you feel is best. Feel free to write it in your native language; include Hebrew if you would like.

You will want to measure your mezuzah and trim down your paper as needed to fit.

Once your Scripture is written out, roll it tightly to fit into the mezuzah.

Turtle Lane Pottery's mezuzahs come with the two small screws you will need to affix this in your house. If you need to supply your own screws the ones we used were half an inch.

You will need to decide where your mezuzah is going. Inside or outside? Which side of the door? To the left or the right? On the door, the frame, or next to it? This really isn't complicated, though Judaism has rules for all these things. Pick what works best for the design of your home to showcase your mezuzah. If you would like to put one outside, be sure it can handle the elements.

If you are familiar with mezuzahs, chances are you have seen them at an angle. There's nothing wrong with this, but if you are going to do it you should learn the story behind it. Hundreds of years ago, in the 13th and 14th centuries there were conflicting opinions about how to hang a mezuzah. One school of thought was vertically, another was horizontally. In lieu of picking a side or letting homeowners make their own choice, rabbis began instructing that mezuzahs should be placed at a slant so that both sides would be placated. So there you have it.

When YHWH commanded us to have his words on the doorposts of our homes he was not very specific. He did not add, "at a 45° degree angle," or "in this font." It would be wrong to say otherwise. He gives us room for creativity. Make your own choice about this. We chose to hang ours vertically because we thought it looked the best. :)

With the scroll inside, use a drill to screw the mezuzah into your door/post/wall. Use a lighter hand when you drill as mezuzahs don't weigh much and you don't want to crack or break yours.

It is traditional to say a blessing when you hang the mezuzah. You could say, "Blessed are you YHWH our Eloheinu, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to have his words on our doorposts." You could also pray that your home would be a place where YHWH's commandments are kept and guarded, and that this mezuzah would be a reminder to turn to him each day.

There you have it: the mezuzah is up. This lovely thing has reminded me to say a quick prayer each time I see it. Who knew an object could help you to turn your heart to YHWH? I want to thank Corrine from Turtle Lane for this thoughtful gift. If you are in need of your own mezuzah be sure to head over to our giveaway post to win a set of your own!

Bible Reading for Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits

These are Scripture passages about the Biblical spring holidays of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. These verses will give you more insight into the Biblical information about these holidays, as well as events that happened at these times. Reading these passages is a great way to prepare for these holidays, and it's also a great way to celebrate and honor God on the actual days. Saturating yourself in the pertinent Scriptures is a great way to build anticipation for these special times and to calibrate yourself to our Creator's calendar! Here are Scriptures to read for Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. They would also be great to study on the day of or to have children act out as part of the festivities.

Bible Reading for Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits:

Exodus 12 - The Passover story of the Israelites leaving Egypt

Leviticus 25:5-12 - Instructions for keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread

Numbers 9:14 - All believers should celebrate the Biblical holidays

Deuteronomy 16:1-8 - Overview of the Spring Feasts 

Matthew 26-28 - The Last Supper and Death of the Messiah 

Mark 14 - The Passover meal of the Messiah 

Luke 22 - Passover meal and interrogation of the Messiah 

John 13-17 - The words of Messiah at the Passover meal

Acts 12 - YHWH frees Peter from prison during the Feast of Unleavened Bread

Acts 20:6 - After Unleavened Bread, Paul and Luke left Philippi

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 - Paul admonishes believers in the Messiah to celebrate the Bible holidays

More on the Biblical holidays:
The Beginner's Guide to Passover
The Beginner's Guide to Unleavened Bread
How to Celebrate First Fruits

DIY Torah Portion Chalkboard

I made this chalkboard a couple of years ago and it has been one of my all time favorite DIY projects! In addition to serving a practical purpose it is extremely simple and inexpensive to make. Hard to beat that, right?

After we bought our house I knew I wanted something in our kitchen to keep our focus on Scripture and help with memorization. Each week I put a verse from the Torah Portion up.We have it hanging so you see it when you're heading out the door. This has been a great bit of encouragement and reminder of truth as we go about our days.

This is the before and after of my project. I wish I had taken photos of the process, but that was not on the priority list when we were getting our house ready to live in. Thankfully it's so simple you'll be able to follow along. I found the frame in a thrift store. As you can see, it was peeling and a little worn. It took only a few minutes of work to transform something damaged and discarded into a declaration of the word of YHWH.

This is a great project for kids to help with, and it can be there job to select the verse or to write it on the board. About 90% of the time ours is from the weekly Torah Portion, but I will also write Scriptures that have really been resonating with me. I am not perfect about getting it changed each week, but it's still wonderful to have truth displayed in your home! It can be a great dinnertime topic or conversation starter with guests. And just writing a verse down gives it time to sink in and is a great memorization tool for me.

You will need:
Picture frame with some type of backing you can paint
Chalkboard paint
Spray paint (optional)

Directions:
Take apart your picture frame. Wipe down the outer frame and remove anything that's peeling (if needed). If it has glass in it to protect the photo you can go ahead and recycle that.
If you'd like your frame to be a different color, spray paint it over newspaper. You may have to give it a couple of coats to make it look even.
My picture frame came with a photo on cardboard, so I put my chalkboard paint directly over that. You can also cut a piece of cardboard or a thin piece of wood to fit in your frame and paint over that. Like the spray paint, it might need a couple of coats to get rid of streaks.
Let it dry.
Reassemble the frame, this time with the chalkboard instead of a painting or photo. And hang wherever you'd like.