As the sun sets and the shofar sounds on Rosh Hashanah, beginning September 22 at sundown, the Jewish world will step into the year 5786. In Hebrew, this year is written Tav–Shin–Peh–Vav(תשפ״ו). Each letter carries meaning: Tav is covenant and completion. Shin is fire and refining. Peh is the mouth and proclamation. Vav is the nail or hook that connects. Put together, they point to a year of truth spoken boldly, promises fulfilled, and heaven and earth joined by God’s hand.
Why should the Jewish New Year matter to a Christian Woman for Israel? Because our faith is grafted into Israel’s story. The feasts of the Lord are not only markers of Jewish history but signposts of God’s covenant promises. Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets, calls God’s people to repentance, awakening, and readiness. When that ram’s horn is sounded, heaven’s calendar turns a page. Should we not pay attention when God Himself declares a new season?
The Year of Vav: When God Connects What He Promised
This is the year of Vav. In the Bible, Vav is the small stroke that says “and.” It is the hook that held the Tabernacle together. It joins heaven to earth. In 5786 the Lord is joining what we prayed with what we see, what He spoke then with what He is doing now. Some of these joins will happen in public. Many will happen in quiet places. Expect endings with purpose. Expect torches to pass from one steward to another. Expect old words to find new doors.
The hooks of the Tabernacle were made of gold, reminding us that true connections are heavenly, not hurried. Let every connection in your life this year be gold. If a doorway lacks heaven’s peace and purity, it is not your hook.
We are still in the Peh decade, the decade of the mouth. What we say carries eternal weight. In 5786, the Vav connects what we have been declaring in prayer to what begins to manifest on earth. Guard your mouth. Speak life. Bless Israel. Pray for the captives. Ask the Lord to connect your declarations to His deeds.
Voices That Cannot Be Silenced
This year’s headlines make the timing all the more striking. Protests in Jerusalem cry out for the release of the hostages. A young reservist joined those demonstrations, only to return home to find his car torched, baby seats for his twins still strapped inside. These were not enemies from without but protesters swept up in the fire of their own emotions, desperate to be heard, even willing to set cars and homes on fire to make their point. How quickly passion for a cause can turn destructive when words are drowned out by rage. 5786 reminds us that this is the decade of the mouth. God has not called His people to be silent, but neither has He called us to burn with destructive anger. He has called us to speak truth with courage, to let our words carry light instead of destruction.
Former President Donald Trump publicly demanded Hamas release the hostages “immediately” and laid out conditions for ending the war. Might those words spoken out loud signal the Tav of this year—the covenant completion of promises long delayed? The completion of the promise there would be "hell to pay" in the Middle East if hostages held in the Gaza Strip were not released. Could this be the year when the hostages are finally set free, when the cries of families are answered, and when God’s faithfulness shines through impossible circumstances?
Completion of Earthly Cycles
Six is the number of man and often signals the completion of earthly things. Jewish rabbis teach that something is complete when it is surrounded on all sides—north, south, east, west, up, and down. 5786 may mark the completion of certain earthly eras and the passing of assignments from one generation to another. For Modern-Day Esthers, this is a call to discern when one chapter has ended so that God can connect you to the next.
Discernment in Days of Deception
Meanwhile, deception multiplies. Studies and news reports confirm what many already know: aid meant for the people of Gaza rarely reaches them. Hamas steals it for their own purposes. Global leaders accuse Israel of cruelty, while the true culprits go unpunished. At the same time, false images created by artificial intelligence blur truth from fiction.
5786 will demand discernment. Do not let the number six stir fear or speculation about the end times. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Practice discernment. This year is not about panic. It is about connection to the King.
A Call to Modern-Day Esthers
For Modern-Day Esthers, this is more than political. It is personal. Where in your life have lies tried to take root? Where has the fire of trial refined you? Where has God called you to open your mouth in courage? The year 5786 is not only about Israel’s story but about yours. God is sealing His covenant promises. He is refining His daughters. He is calling His Esthers to rise, speak, and connect heaven to earth through prayer, proclamation, and faith.
Think of it: Shin, the fire, can burn or it can illuminate. Which will it be in your home, in your relationships, in your calling? Peh, the mouth, can curse or it can bless. What words will you choose in this new year? Vav, the connection, can bind you to despair or to hope. What will you be joined to as the shofar sounds?
5786 is not a date on a calendar. It is an invitation from God. An invitation to let His truth pierce through deception, to let His fire refine and guide, and to let His covenant promises anchor us when the world trembles.
Today’s Prayer
Lord, as Your people enter 5786, awaken us to the sound of Your shofar. Refine us in Your fire, open our mouths with boldness, and anchor us in the covenant sealed by Your Son. Bring freedom to the Hostages and reunite them with their families. Silence the lies of the enemy. And raise up Modern-Day Esthers to speak truth, live faithfully, and shine Your light in the darkness. In Yeshua’s name, Amen.
