Showing posts with label Feast of Booths. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

The Forgotten Feast - Daniel Goldstein ISRAEL TODAY

The Forgotten Feast

Wednesday, October 04, 2017 | Daniel Goldstein ISRAEL TODAY

Topics:

There has been much speculation during the past couple of years about the culmination of the end of times due to certain signs in the sun, moon, and stars: ranging from the recent cycle of the four “Blood Moons” to the alignment of the stars on September 23, 2017. Various prophets of doom have used the Bible along with science and astrology to try to prove their theories but have only shown once again that man is incapable of predicting the date and time of the end of the world.

The Bible is an amazing book that contains truths about the past, present, and future, however, we as human beings must continually be careful to not put ourselves in God’s place and attempt to assign dates to God’s timetable. While many Christians around the world are quickly drawn into the latest sign in the stars they often miss the more practical timetable that God has given us through the prophet Moses: “The Appointed Times of the LORD” (Lev. 23).

Sukkot - The Feast of Booths

On Wednesday evening, October 4, 2017, the Jewish people, together with Gentiles around the world, will celebrate one of the Appointed Times of the LORD, the Feast of Booths or its Hebrew name “Sukkot.”

The Feast of Booths is unique among the seven Appointed Times of the LORD as the one feast which will certainly be celebrated during the reign of the Messiah on earth:

Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. - Zech. 14:16

The Bible speaks about the past of the Feast of Booths and about its future. It seems wise for the people of God to know, understand, and celebrate this biblical Feast with a prophetic future.

The Significance of The Appointed Times of the LORD

We read in the pages of the New Testament that when Yeshua came to this earth 2000 years ago, He clearly fulfilled the Appointed Times of the LORD which fall in the spring season: Passover (1 Cor. 5:7-8), First Fruits (1 Cor. 15:20), and The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). It is commonly believed amongst many evangelicals today, that just as Yeshua fulfilled the spring Appointed Times in His first coming, He will fulfill the fall Appointed Times at His second coming.

Although God does use signs in the sun, moon, and stars to speak to those of us living on earth (Luke 21:25-28), He has also given us His Appointed Times (Lev. 23) which are continual reminders of who God is in relation to His people. These Appointed Times also help us to keep in step with the Creator of the universe as we observe these specific days.

The Forgotten Feast

The Appointed Times of the LORD, as found in Leviticus 23, are generally classified into the spring and fall Feasts, however, this only includes six of the seven Appointed Times. Unfortunately, there is one Appointed Time which is generally overlooked and forgotten by many evangelical Bible readers. This forgotten Appointed Time is called the Sabbath!

The irony of the Sabbath being the “forgotten Feast” is that it is actually the first Appointed Time mentioned in the list of seven (Lev. 23:1-3). The God of the Bible gave preeminence to the Sabbath in His list of Appointed Times for a reason. I believe that one of the reasons that God put the Sabbath first in His list of seven was in order to provide a basis to understand all of His Appointed Times.

The Preeminence of the Sabbath

The Appointed Times of the LORD are specific days that God has commanded His people to remember and observe in order to properly worship Him. A fundamental practice of these days demands a cessation from work and the practice of a day of rest. This is the very essence of the weekly Sabbath practice.

Without becoming legalistic or putting ourselves under the Law, it would behoove each one of us to consider afresh the Appointed Times of the LORD, beginning with the Sabbath day.

Learn more about Daniel Goldstein's teaching on the Sabbath by clicking here:
https://www.jewelsofjudaism.com/sample-page/the-sabbath-experience/

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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Sukkot 2013

We give thanks to the Lord,

Creator of heaven and earth,

and to His Son Yeshua,

for His celebration feasts.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Blessings on all our Israeli friends during these High Holidays! We Support You!

Blessings on all ye heads!

IDF women soldiers - may His angels protect you!

Praying daily for Israel

Blessing on ye heads

as we celebrate together

in spirit!

Steve & Laurie Martin

Founders

Love For His People

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Sukkot - Succot - Feast of Tabernacles - Feast of Booths (all the same!) - Begins 09.18.13

Happy Sukkot

from Love For His People!

A Succot Celebration in 2009

with Barry & Batya Segal in Jerusalem

Photo by Steve Martin)

Celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem

(Steve Martin and sister Mary Smith)

Jerusalem March during Feast of Tabernacles

(Photo by Steve Martin, 2009 in Jerusalem)

Sukkot

Jewish Holidays: Table of Contents | Upcoming Dates | Festivals in Israel

The Festival of Sukkot begins on the 15th day of Tishri and is the fifth day after Yom Kippur. It is a drastic transition from one of the most solemn holidays in the Jewish calendar to one of the most joyous.

Introduction

Sukkot is a seven day holiday and the two days following the festival - Shemini Atzeret and Simkhat Torah - are commonly thought of as part of Sukkot but are actually separate holidays. Sukkot is sometimes referred to as Zeman Simkhateinu, the Season of our Rejoicing.

The word "Sukkot" means "booths," and refers to the temporary dwellings that we are commanded to live in during this holiday. The name of the holiday is frequently translated "The Feast of Tabernacles," which, like many translations of technical Jewish terms, isn't terribly useful unless you already know what the term is referring to. The Hebrew pronunciation of Sukkot is "Sue COAT," but is often pronounced as in Yiddish, to rhyme with "BOOK us."

Like Passover and Shavu'ot, Sukkot has a dual significance: historical and agricultural. The holiday commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Sukkot is also a harvest festival, and is sometimes referred to as Chag Ha-Asif, the Festival of Ingathering.

The festival of Sukkot is instituted in Leviticus 23:33 et seq. No work is permitted on the first and second days of the holiday. Work is permitted on the remaining days. These intermediate days on which work is permitted are referred to as Chol Ha-Mo'ed, as are the intermediate days of Passover.

The Sukkah

In honor of the holiday's historical significance, we are commanded to dwell in temporary shelters, as our ancestors did in the wilderness. The commandment to "dwell" in a sukkah can be fulfilled by simply eating all of one's meals there; however, if the weather, climate, and one's health permit, one should live in the sukkah as much as possible, including sleeping in it.

A sukkah must have at least three walls covered with a material that will not blow away in the wind. Canvas covering tied or nailed down is acceptable and quite common in the United States. A sukkah may be any size, so long as it is large enough for you to fulfill the commandment of dwelling in it. The roof of the sukkah must be made of material referred to as sekhakh (literally, covering). To fulfill the commandment, sekhakh must be something that grew from the ground and was cut off, such as tree branches, corn stalks, bamboo reeds, sticks, or two-by-fours. Sekhakh must be left loose, not tied together or tied down. Sekhakh must be placed sparsely enough that rain can get in, and preferably sparsely enough that the stars can be seen, but not so sparsely that more than ten inches is open at any point or that there is more light than shade. The sekhakh must be put on last.

It is common practice, and highly commendable, to decorate the sukkah. In the northeastern United States, Jews commonly hang dried squash and corn in the sukkah to decorate it, because these vegetables are readily available at that time for the American holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving. Building and decorating a sukkah is a fun, family project, much like decorating the Christmas tree is for Christians. It is a sad commentary on modern American Judaismthat most of the highly assimilated Jews who complain about being deprived of the fun of having and decorating a Christmas tree have never even heard of Sukkot.

The following blessing is recited when eating a meal in the sukkah:

Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam asher
kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu leisheiv basukkah.

Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time, remark on how much the sukkah (and the holiday generally) reminds them of Thanksgiving. This is not entirely coincidental. Our American pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, were deeply religious people. When they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for their survival and for the harvest, they looked to the Bible for an appropriate way of celebrating and based their holiday in part on Sukkot.

The Four Species

Another observance related to Sukkot involves what are known as The Four Species (arba minim in Hebrew) or the lulav and etrog. We are commanded to take these four plants and use them to "rejoice before the L-rd." The four species in question are an etrog (a citrus fruit native to Israel), a palm branch (in Hebrew, lulav), a myrtle branch (hadas) and a willow branch (arava).

The etrog (Photo by Steve Martin, 2009)

Every morning of Sukkot, except on Shabbat, it is the custom to hold the lulav in the right hand and the etrog in the left. Bringing them together (with the pitam, the stem of the etrog pointing downward), the following blessing is recited:

Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam asher
kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al n'tilat lulav.

The four species are also held during the Hallel prayer in religious services, and are held during processions around thebimah (the pedestal where the Torah is read) each day during the holiday. These processions commemorate similar processions around the alter of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. The processions are known as Hoshanahs, because while the procession is made, we recite a prayer with the refrain, "Hosha na!" (please save us!). On the seventh day of Sukkot, seven circuits are made. For this reason, the seventh day of Sukkot is known as Hoshanah Rabbah (the great Hoshanah).

Sources: Judaism 101 and Cardin, Rabbi Nina Beth. The Tapestry of Jewish Time. NJ: Behrman House, 2000.

Inside a succa in Mevaserrat Zion, near Jerusalem

The following are photos of the Jerusalem March, held every year during the Feast of Tabernacles through the streets of Jerusalem. (Photos by Steve Martin, 2009)