Shalom, Mishpacha!
Rosh Chodesh Tishi'i!
We begin this new month by remembering the covenant of our Redeemer. As we take the bread and the cup, we acknowledge that all appointed times find their fullness in Yahusha, the One who anchors our time, our hope, and our identity. May this renewal of the month also renew our devotion to His ways.
Baruch YHVH.
YHVH our Elohim, You who set lights in the heavens to teach us Your timing, open our hearts as we enter this renewed month. Let us discern Your seasons - not only in the sky, but in our lives. Shape our days according to Your will.
Baruch YHVH.
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you.
- Shemoth 12:2
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
- Qoheleth 3:1
When YHVH brought Israel out of Mitsrayim, He did not only deliver them from slavery - He delivered them into a new calendar. The first commandment given to the nation was not about sacrifices, clothing, food, or even Shabbat. It was about time. This month shall be the beginning of months for you.
Why? Because a redeemed people cannot live by the world's schedule. They must live by YHVH’s.
From the very beginning, YHVH used the heavens to establish the order by which His people walk. He set the sun and moon for signs, for appointed times, for days and years. The moon tells us where we stand in His cycle. Its renewal is a declaration that YHVH is still sustaining creation. That the covenant still holds. That His order has not collapsed even if the world’s systems do.
Last night, with the sighting of the new moon, we stepped into Tishi'i. Though this is not the first month of the Torah year, it is still part of YHVH’s ordered cycle leading us toward completion before the year turns again.
But more than the calendar, YHVH trains us through seasons.
There are seasons of beginning, just as we see in the first month. Seasons of revelation like at Shavuot. Seasons of repentance and refining in the seventh month. Seasons of planting, seasons of harvest, seasons of quiet growth.
This is why Scripture says there is a season for everything - it is not merely poetic, it is practical. These seasons are not only cosmic - they are personal.
There is a season when YHVH calls you to plant, and a season when He calls you to uproot what does not belong. A season to speak, and a season to stay silent. A season to endure, and a season to advance. A season to tear down old strongholds, and a season to build what is new. A season of pruning, and a season of overflowing.
And just as Israel could not decide the moedim for themselves, we do not choose our seasons - we discern them.
Tishi'i is one of those quiet, steady months. Nothing dramatic on the calendar. No major feasts. But this does not make it unimportant. Ordinary months are often where the deepest spiritual work is done. These are the months that test consistency, faithfulness, and daily obedience.
The moon teaches us the same. It does not shine at full strength every night. It grows slowly. Faithfully. Predictably. And without complaint. It reflects only what it receives.
So do we.
As we begin this month, we remember that life is not measured only by years, but by seasons YHVH ordains. And every season - joyful or difficult, loud or silent - has purpose under heaven.
May YHVH who established the moon for appointed times renew this month for you in strength and shalom. May He align your days with His purposes, bless your home with peace, and cause your work to prosper. May clarity increase as the moon grows. May His favour rest upon you, and may your steps be guided in righteousness.
Baruch YHVH.
YHVH our Elohim, thank You for the sighting of the new moon as You commanded Moshe. Teach us to walk not only in Your months, but in Your seasons. Reveal the season each of us is in, and grant us grace to walk it faithfully. Anchor our days in Your timing, strengthen our hearts in Your Word, and fill this month with Your presence. Guard us in Your shalom.
Baruch YHVH.
Until tomorrow!