The word Tishrei is an Akkadian word adopted into the Hebrew language as the name of the seventh month on the biblical calendar. The word means new beginning. It is the month with profound prophetic significance, pointing to the return of Jesus the Messiah (Yeshua HaMashiach).

The month begins with Rosh Hashanah (the beginning of the new year) and the Feast of Trumpets, leading up to Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Jewish celebration following these new year feasts is Simchat Torah (rejoicing over the Torah/teaching of God) when the reading of the yearly Torah cycle begins again.

Tishrei Bible School

In the early 1990s the word Tishrei became the inspired name for a new journal that explored the Jewish roots of the Christian Faith. Now, 30 years on, a new Bible School bears that name.

Now, 30 years on, a new Bible School bears the name of Tishrei

The Tishrei Bible School and its companion School of Biblical Family Life – led by Dr Clifford Denton and his wife Sally – has unveiled its prospectus.

Based at The Cedars in Rochester, Kent, in England, their non-residential courses cover a wide range of subjects with study majoring on a practical application to daily living.

New Prospectus

In the best tradition of the Christian faith’s counter-cultural challenge, the project seeks to bring the Bible back to the centre of family life, which has suffered a severe breakdown in recent decades. Tishrei’s website is now live at www.tishrei.org and courses include:

• Knowing God
• Under the Fig Tree (takes students through the Bible in a way that binds together the New Testament and the Old Testament as one)
• Being Hebraic (considering our call as believers to cross over from the life of this world to that of the Kingdom of God)
• Family Foundations and
• Christianity’s relationship with Israel and the Jews.

Describing the Knowing God course, Dr Denton said: “It is not knowing about God, as we could glean from an academic course, but knowing Him in reverent but relational terms.”

Fresh approach

He adds: “We also hope to recruit a number of families who are teaching their children at home. And the Bible School will set the foundation from which the home curriculum can be enriched and strengthened. And if you browse through the website, you will see that it has a unique focus for the days in which we live.

It is not knowing about God, as we could glean from an academic course, but knowing Him in reverent but relational terms

“The courses raise many questions on the foundations of the Christian faith, which will be approached through group discussion. The studies are more of a ‘walk together’, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, than academic, centred on Hebraic ‘whole-life’ thinking rather than through the Greek philosophical lens of much Western theological thought.”

In this way the school is pioneering a fresh approach to Bible studies, building on 30 years of experience since the launch of the Tishrei journal exploring the Jewish roots of the Christian faith which led to the support and establishment of Bible Schools and study centres around the world, also in cooperation with Messianic Jews.

Emphasis on walking with God

“We perceive a special time in the life of the Christian Church for restoring the original roots of the faith in preparation for challenging times ahead. Whereas academic approaches to study are largely front-led, lecture style, our approach will be founded more on interaction among those studying, and for participants taking more personal responsibility for their studies…the major emphasis being our walk with God rather than the gaining of certificates.”

It is a new era for the Cedars Foundation, whose school served the area for nearly 50 years as it pioneered Christian education in the UK before closing in 2015. Sally was a teacher there for many years.

Term dates will coincide with the schools of Medway in Kent and fees will be kept as low as possible. For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to The Cedars, 66 Maidstone Road, Rochester, Kent ME1 3BS.