God's Appointed Times
Shabbat - The Sabbath
Pesach - The Passover
Sfirat Haomer - The Early First Fruits
Shavuot - The Latter First Fruits
Rosh HaShanah - The New Year
Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement
Sukkot - The Feast of Tabernacles
Hanukkah - The Feast of Dedication
Purim - The Feast of Lots
God's Appointed Customs
B'rit Milah - Circumcision
Pidyon Ha'ben - Redemption of the Firstborn
Bar/Bat Mitzvah - Son/Daughter of the Commandment
The Jewish Wedding
Death and Mourning
M'zuzah - The Door Post
Kashrut - Dietary Laws
Mikveh - Ritual Water Immersion
Tzitziyot - The Fringes
Kippah - The Headcovering
T'fillin - The Phylacteries
The following excerpt is directly from the Customs book by Barney Kasdan:
"Why is it that many people are so ignorant of the customs of the Bible? Undoubtedly, many fear that an emphasis on tradition might lead some people away from the pure teaching of the Word of God. It is true that a spirit of legalism has all too often afflicted the church AND synagogue. Isaiah the prophet rebuked his people for making the customs of Israel an empty expression (Isaiah 1). Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides), the great rabbi of the Middle Ages, similarly wrote:
"Man should try to understand why he is asked to observe precepts and customs; but even when he fails to fathom their reason he should not hastily pronounce them as trivial (Birnbaum, Mishneh Torah, Me'ilah 8:8)".
Such ideals reflect the words of Yeshua. He denounced the emptiness and hypocrisy of those with a skewed view of the ancient traditions (Matthew 23: 12-32). "
Jesus admonished the Jews about their adherence to "tradition" that was not based on scripture.
Mark 7:8 "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
Matthew 15:3 "Jesus replied, "And way do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?"
Yeshua fought in the synagogue with the elders about their "traditions". Why did he do that?
The elders and the priests had evolved the religion of Israel to a point that it was empty, they were going through the motions, without understanding why. They had developed many traditions and customs that were not God appointed. As Christians, I feel that we have done this same thing. And I think this is fine to some extent. However, when the customs and traditions contradict the scripture, THEN we have a problem. In Matthew 15:3 Jesus was clear, "why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?"
I think it's okay to incorporate customs and traditions into your worship, developing them into something glorious to honor God, but we MUST adhere to the scripture first. First and foremost is the God Appointed Times and Customs. These are laid out in the Torah. The first 5 books of the Old Testament. Which most Christian branches today do not reflect upon, that is why most people are ignorant of the customs. In the New Testament, Peter says that from the Abrahamic Covenant, between God and the Jews there, are only 4 things we have to obey from the Law: Acts 15:29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. The question on the table at the time was circumcision. When the council agreed not to enforce the circumcision requirement of the Gentiles, by saying it only had to not do these four things, in no way, shape, form nor fashion said that the Old Testament was obsolete. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 5, that nothing would be "lost" from the Old Testament, until it had all come to pass. And that still hasn't happened.
It's imperative that we do what is commanded by God, and then, we can do other things too. I have heard from some "that's not in the Torah, I won't partake of it". WELL..... Okay by me. That's between you, and God. But the way I look at it, doing what's in the Torah is required... it's the MINIMUM that God requires. He does not say that you can't do more!!! and I intend to do as much as I feel is right, including, but not limited to, those items that God requires.
These two books, were a surprising find. They are written simplistically, in a highly organized fashion. Each chapter, as listed above, is dedicated to one festival, or one custom. There is great detail in each chapter about what it is, when it's observed, how and why, how the Jews perform it today and yesterday, and how to apply it to the New Testament.
The quote I listed from these books, I feel is very important to everyone. Man should try to understand why he does what he does, and not just do something out of "routine". And even if he finds that he doesn't know why he is doing it, don't just not do it, cause you don't know why. Keep looking until you find out. DIG... DIG... DIG... Read, research, question, ask the Holy Spirit... Keep LOOKING.
These two books, are absolutely eye opening, and a great resource to have on your shelf, for each and every festival. There are traditional recipes included. Songs for each festival. Just a massive amount of great information in an easy to read, find, utilize format.
Good Reading!
JP
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