The Fall Festivals
I've read a lot of things lately, one thing that I am finding that truly lacks in the Christian Churches is the observance of the Fall Festivals. The Spring and Summer Festivals were completely fulfilled by Jesus, and these are documented in the New Testament. The Fall Festivals are yet to be fulfilled by Jesus, BUT they will be. It's not enough to "observe" 4 of the 7. God said observe them all. These festivals as listed in Exodus, Numbers and Leviticus were designated by God. They are God's Appointed Times. God said you will observe these dates. Some of them He was very specific on how to observe these 7 Feast Days, some of them He left completely open as to how to observe them. But observe them, and when to observe them, He was very specific about.
I've opened up with an explanation of Shabbat, and Shabbaton. This is very important to understand when observing the feast days.
Another note, I may have totally messed up my numbering system and left off some numbers. Just know that all of this information is compiled from other sources. They are listed at the very bottom, in typical bibliography fashion.
Old Testament Studies (3)
Shabbat & Shabbaton(3):
Now one of the main
reasons a Sabbath was declared on the first day of a Biblical Feast was so
there was time to make preparation. Therefore a Sabbath, or better a Shabbaton,
did not require that ALL work stop. Women could prepare food and men could
gather wood for fires, etc. Regular work such as a tradecraft (like if a man
was a carpenter) was to cease on that Shabbaton. But he could do other things
that were primarily associated with preparing for that particular Biblical
Feast.
So the 7th day Sabbath
was for man’s physical and spiritual rest so he could regenerate, but it was
also to mimic God’s cessation from doing anything that creates; the other
so-called Sabbaths were generally so Hebrew folks could prepare for the
associated Biblical feast.
Fulfillment of the
Spring and Summer Festivals(3)
Yeshua was killed on
Passover day, put into the Tomb on the first Day of Unleavened Bread, and arose
on the Feast of Firstfruits (Bikkurim). Then, 50 days later on Shavuot, the
Holy Spirit began to indwell men. This is not my speculation; the New Testament
clearly states it. Therefore I look for that mighty trumpet blast from Heaven
that signals the return of Our King to occur on Rosh Hashanna in the not too
distant future. Now I readily admit I cannot be 100% sure that all of the final
acts of Jesus will be on the Fall Feast days: but it certainly would be a
drastic break in pattern if it were any different.
The Fall Feasts
Rosh Hashana (Feast of Trumpets) Tishrei 1&2 (Sept 14-15)
Jewish New Year (and 1st of
7th month)
Leviticus 23: (v) 23 Adonai said to Moshe, 24 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘In the seventh month, the
first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a
holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. 25 Do not do any kind of ordinary
work, and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai.’” (1)
Numbers 29 “‘On the
first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular
work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets. 2 As an aroma pleasing to
the Lord, offer a burnt
offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year
old, all without defect. 3 With the bull offer a grain offering of
three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil; with
the ram, two-tenths; 4 and with each of the seven lambs,
one-tenth. 5 Include
one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. 6 These are in addition to
the monthly and daily burnt offerings with their grain
offerings and drink offerings as specified. They are food offerings
presented to the Lord, a
pleasing aroma. (4)
Modern day observations(2):
·
The anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, it is the birthday of
mankind, highlighting the special relationship between G‑d and humanity.
·
The primary theme of the day is our acceptance of
G‑d as our King.
·
Much of the day is spent in synagogue. G‑d not
only desires to have a world with people, G‑d wants an intimate relationship
with each one of us.
·
The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the
sounding of the shofar, the ram's horn. The shofar is sounded on both days of Rosh
Hashanah (unless the first day of the holiday falls on Shabbat,
in which case we only sound the shofar
on the second day). The sounding of the shofar represents, among other things, the
trumpet blast of a people's coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance; for Rosh
Hashanah is also the anniversary of man's first sin and his repentance thereof,
and serves as the first of the "Ten Days of
Repentance" which will culminate in Yom
Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Altogether, we listen to 100 shofar blasts
over the course of the Rosh Hashanah service.
·
We eat a piece of apple dipped in honey to symbolize our desire
for a sweet year, as well as many other special foods. All have special
significance and symbolize sweetness, blessings, and abundance.
·
We bless one another with the words Leshanah tovah tikateiv
veteichateim, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."
·
We go to a lake, river or to the sea and recite
the Tashlich prayers, where we symbolically cast
our sins into the water, in evocation of the verse, "And You shall cast
their sins into the depths of the sea." We leave our old shortcomings
behind us, thus starting the new year with a clean slate.
·
And as with every major Jewish holiday, women and girls light
candles on each evening of Rosh Hashanah and recite the appropriate
blessings. Light candles: 9/13 @
7:10 PM, 9/14 after 8:04 PM, and Holiday ends: 9/15 @ 8:03 PM.
Feast of Trumpets: Yom Teruah(3)
The 1st day of Tishri is
the Jewish New Year, called Rosh
Hashanah, meaning head of the year. This Feast also eventually became
known as the Feast of Trumpets.
When the Trumpet sounds
it will indeed be a call to assemble for God’s holy ones……us. It will be a call
to a holy convocation because we are about to be gathered so as to be presented
to our Lord Yeshua as He comes in the clouds, our Mighty King. But it will also
be a call to war. Finally after thousands of years of preparation, the war to
end all wars will be fought and swiftly won by Yeshua, Messiah Ben David, our
Mighty Warrior.
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
Tishrei
10 (and eve of 9) (Sept 22&23)
Leviticus 23
26 Adonai said to Moshe, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is Yom-Kippur;
you are to have a holy convocation, you are to deny yourselves, and you are to
bring an offering made by fire to Adonai. 28 You are not to do any kind of work
on that day, because it is Yom-Kippur, to make atonement for you
before Adonai your
God. 29 Anyone who does
not deny himself on that day is to be cut off from his people; 30 and anyone who does any kind of
work on that day, I will destroy from among his people. 31 You are not to do any kind of work;
it is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you
live.32 It will be for
you a Shabbat of complete rest, and you are to deny
yourselves; you are to rest on your Shabbat from evening the
ninth day of the month until the following evening.”
Numbers
29 7 “‘On the
tenth day of this seventh month hold a sacred assembly. You must deny
yourselves[e] and
do no work. 8 Present
as an aroma pleasing to the Lord a
burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all
without defect. 9 With the
bull offer a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah* of the finest
flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths; 10 and with each of the seven
lambs, one-tenth. 11 Include
one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering for
atonement and the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and
their drink offerings.
* a Hebrew unit of dry measure, equal to about a bushel (35 liters).
·
Yom
Kippur commemorates the day when G‑d forgave the Jewish people
for the sin of the Golden Calf.
·
For nearly twenty-six
hours—from several minutes before sunset on 9 Tishrei until after nightfall on
10 Tishrei—we “afflict our souls”: we abstain from food and drink, do not wash
or anoint our bodies, do not wear leather footwear, and abstain from spousal
intimacy.
·
Instead of focusing on
the physical, we spend much of our day in the synagogue, engaged in repentance
and prayer.
·
On the day before Yom
Kippur, the primary mitzvah is to eat and drink in abundance. Two
festive meals are eaten, one earlier in the day, and one just prior to the
onset of Yom Kippur.
·
Some of the day’s other
observances include requesting and receiving honey cake, in acknowledgement
that we are all recipients in G‑d’s world and in prayerful hope for a sweet
year; begging forgiveness from anyone whom we may have wronged during the past
year; giving extra charity; and the ceremonial blessing of the children.
·
Before sunset, women and
girls light holiday candles, and everyone makes their way to the synagogue for
the Kol Nidrei services. (Lighting of candles: Sept 22 @ 6:57 PM)
·
In the course of Yom
Kippur we will hold five prayer services:
1) Maariv, with its solemn Kol Nidrei service, on the eve of
Yom Kippur;
2) Shacharit—the morning prayer;
3) Musaf, which includes a detailed account of the Yom
Kippur Temple service;
4) Minchah, which includes the reading of the Book
of Jonah.
5)Neilah (“locking”) prayer. The gates of heaven, which were
open all day, will now be closed—with us on the inside. During this prayer we
have the ability to access the most essential level of our soul. The Holy Ark
remains open throughout. The closing Neilah service climaxes in the resounding
cries of “Hear O Israel . . . G‑d is one.”
·
Then joy erupts in song
and dance (a Chabad custom is to sing the lively “Napoleon’s March”),
followed by a single blast of the shofar, and the proclamation, “Next
year in Jerusalem.”
·
After the fast we
partake of a festive after-fast meal, making the evening after Yom Kippur
a yom tov (festival) in its own right.
·
We immediately begin to
look forward to the next holiday and its special mitzvah: the construction of
the sukkah.
Yom Kippur
Exactly 9 days later, on
the 10th day of the 7th month is perhaps the holiest day of the entire year:
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
To amplify the soberness
of the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, verse 27 says “you shall practice
self-denial…” or depending on your translation, “you shall afflict yourself”.
Please understand that, this is NOT a call to do harm to yourself; to slash
your body with knives or have nails driven through your hands, or have a crown
of thorns smashed down on your head until your scalp bleeds. Rather the idea is
to refrain from food, to fast. To deny yourself everyday comforts. And the
person who refuses to bow to these demands placed on them by Yehoveh shall be
cut-off from his people (so says the Word of God); the one who does any work
(violating the Lord’s Sabbath) shall perish. Yikes!
It is interesting that
the book of Exodus and other passages in the Bible explains that one of the primary purposes for
the Day of Atonement is to “purify the sanctuary” (meaning the Tabernacle and
later the Temple). The place where God dwelled among men would gradually
become more and more polluted simply by its nearness to imperfect and sinful
men; even to the physical contact by the priests who were also imperfect. So it
was one purpose for the Day of Atonement rituals to cleanse it all so that God
would retain His presence there.
From the day of
Pentecost (Shavuot) almost
2000 years ago, disciples of Jesus have become the sanctuary of God……not
symbolically but literally. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, dwells in
every Believer just as He at one time dwelled in the Temple of Jerusalem. Our
Spirits have been made clean; but were our bodies perfected? Of course not; our
bodies still age and die. Our minds still accept (or even revel in) doing evil.
The Bible tells us that at our resurrection when Yeshua returns our corrupted
and ruined bodies will be exchanged for pure ones that are utterly incapable of
defilement. That is our sanctuary, our body, where God dwells will be
purified…….the Day of Atonement….the purification of the sanctuary. It just
gives me goose bumps to see the all the pieces coming together in these Feasts.
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of
Booths)
Tishrei 15-22 (Sept 28-Oct 4)
Leviticus 23 (vi) 33 Adonai said to Moshe, 34 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘On the fifteenth day of
this seventh month is the feast of Sukkot for seven days
to Adonai. 35 On the first day there is to be a
holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work.36 For seven days you are to bring an
offering made by fire to Adonai;
on the eighth day you are to have a holy convocation and bring an offering made
by fire to Adonai ;
it is a day of public assembly; do not do any kind of ordinary work.
37 “‘These are the
designated times of Adonai that
you are to proclaim as holy convocations and bring an offering made by fire
to Adonai — a
burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, each on its
own day — 38 besides the Shabbats
of Adonai, your gifts,
all your vows and all your voluntary offerings that you give to Adonai.
39 “‘But on the
fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the
land, you are to observe the festival of Adonai seven days; the first day is to be a
complete rest and the eighth day is to be a complete rest.40 On the first day you are to take
choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in
the presence of Adonai your
God for seven days.41 You are to
observe it as a feast to Adonai seven
days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation;
keep it in the seventh month. 42 You are to live in sukkot for seven
days; every citizen of Isra’el is to live in a sukkah, 43 so that generation after generation
of you will know that I made the people of Isra’el live in sukkot when
I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God.’”
Exodus 23:16b “Celebrate
the Festival of Ingathering at
the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.”
For forty years, as our ancestors
traversed the Sinai Desert prior to their entry into the Holy Land, miraculous
"clouds of glory" surrounded and hovered over them, shielding them
from the dangers and discomforts of the desert. Ever since, we remember G‑d's kindness and reaffirm our trust in His
providence by dwelling in a sukkah – a hut of temporary construction with a
roof-covering of branches – for the duration of the autumn Sukkot festival. For seven days and nights,
we eat all our meals in the sukkah – reciting a special blessing – and
otherwise regard it as our home. Weather permitting, some even sleep there.
·
Taking of the Four
Kinds: a lemon, palm frond, myrtle branches and willow branches
(representing the four types and personalities that comprise the community of
Israel. These are taken, a blessing
recited over them, and wave them in all six directions.
·
Nightly Water-Drawing Celebrations, reminiscent of the
evening-to-dawn festivities held in the Holy Temple in
preparation for the drawing of water for use in the festival service, fill the
synagogues and streets with song, music, and dance until the wee hours of the
morning.
·
Women and girls light candles: Sept 27 @ 6:49 PM on Sept 28 after
7:44 PM with the holiday ending Sept 29 @ 7:42 PM
·
Every day of Sukkot, including Chol Hamoed, we recite the complete Hallel,
Hoshanot, and Musaf, and the Torah is read during the morning service.
·
The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshanah Rabbah ("Great
Salvation"). According to tradition, the verdict for the new year – which
is written on Rosh Hashanah and
sealed on Yom Kippur –
is not handed down by the Heavenly Court until Hoshanah
Rabbah. On this day we encircle the bimah (synagogue
reading table) seven times while holding the Four Kinds and offering special
prayers for prosperity during the upcoming year.
·
During the course of the morning prayers it is also traditional to
take a bundle of five willow branches and beat them against the ground five
times.
44 Thus Moshe
announced to the people of Isra’el the designated times of Adonai.
Numbers
29
12 “‘On the
fifteenth day of the seventh month, hold a sacred assembly and do no
regular work. Celebrate a festival to the Lord for
seven days. 13 Present
as an aroma pleasing to the Lord a
food offering consisting of a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams
and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect. 14 With each of the thirteen
bulls offer a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest
flour mixed with oil; with each of the two rams, two-tenths; 15 and with each of the
fourteen lambs, one-tenth. 16 Include one male goat as a sin offering, in
addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink
offering.
17 “‘On the
second day offer twelve young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a
year old, all without defect. 18 With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their
grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.19 Include one male goat as a
sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its
grain offering, and their drink offerings.
20 “‘On the
third day offer eleven bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all
without defect. 21 With the
bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings
according to the number specified. 22 Include one male goat as a sin offering, in
addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink
offering.
23 “‘On the
fourth day offer ten bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all
without defect. 24 With the
bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings
according to the number specified. 25 Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition
to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.
26 “‘On the
fifth day offer nine bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all
without defect. 27 With the
bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings
according to the number specified. 28 Include one male goat as a sin offering, in
addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink
offering.
29 “‘On the
sixth day offer eight bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all
without defect. 30 With the
bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings
according to the number specified. 31 Include one male goat as a sin offering, in
addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink
offering.
32 “‘On the
seventh day offer seven bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all
without defect. 33 With the
bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings
according to the number specified. 34 Include one male goat as a sin offering, in
addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink
offering.
35 “‘On the
eighth day hold a closing special assembly and do no regular work.36 Present as an aroma
pleasing to the Lord a
food offering consisting of a burnt offering of one bull, one ram and seven
male lambs a year old, all without defect. 37 With the bull, the ram and
the lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the
number specified. 38 Include
one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with
its grain offering and drink offering.
39 “‘In
addition to what you vow and your freewill offerings, offer these to
the Lord at your appointed
festivals: your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and
fellowship offerings.’”
40 Moses
told the Israelites all that the Lord commanded
him.
Feast of Booths: Sukkot
Also called the Feast of
Tabernacles or just Tabernacles or even the Feast of Booths. It was also
known as the Feast of Ingathering……the final harvest of the year. The Sukkot Festival: it is to begin on the
15th day of the 7th month (known today as Tishri). Further it is to be a 7 day
long event, and then after the 7 days, on the 8th day, is to be a holy
convocation; a meeting together to worship.
In vs. 37 were also introduced to another part of the Sukkot celebration
ritual called in Hebrew necek. And it means libation…..or as
its often called…..a drink offering. And
without going into all the detail of the actual ritual let me just say that
water is put into a special vessel and then it is poured out by a priest at the
Temple during a special ceremony. The
water libation is connected with the plea to Yehoveh for rain. The rainy season
in Israel is generally late October to March. Rain was key, as the Israelites
did not practice irrigation. If the rains didn’t come then the spring harvest
would be very poor. This water libation occurred everyday during the Feast of
Tabernacles.
This designated time
required a pilgrimage to the Temple. It
was not necessary that the entire family make the journey, only the males over
the age of 13. The reason for this pilgrimage was to make sacrificial offerings
at the Temple. Coming to the city of Jerusalem was not
the issue, coming to the Temple was the issue; it’s
just that the Temple was in Jerusalem. We have some
today…..Jews and gentiles…..who have come to the conclusion that males STILL
have to come to Jerusalem for these feasts in order to be obedient to God. Not
true. The point of coming in Bible times was to make one’s sacrifice on the
Temple Altar. But since there is no altar or Temple there is no way to follow
this law. Further since the point of the pilgrimage was to make a sacrifice,
and Yeshua is the once and
for all sacrifice, there is really no sacrificial element that can be fulfilled
today. That said I cannot think of a better time to go to Israel and
visit Jerusalem than on one of these 3 pilgrimage holy days. It is moving and I
think worthwhile. But to think that one is fulfilling a Biblical Feast command by
going to Jerusalem for these feasts……and believing that if you don’t you are
being disobedient…… is misplaced zealousness and simply error.
One of the interesting
commands God gives to the people is that they are to live in Sukkot, booths,
during the full time of the feast. These open-air shelters could be constructed
any number of ways, and so they too became subject to Rabbinical Tradition. The reason for making His
people live in a Sukkah was to remind them of the 40 years that they lived in
temporary shelter in the Wilderness.
Today in Israel you can
see any number of ways people build Sukkot, from simple to elaborate. They even
hang brightly colored glass balls and other flashy items from the roof of the
Sukkah……much like is done with a Christmas Tree.
Generally people no
longer live those 7 days in Sukkot. For those who even bother to observe the
Holy days they will eat, and sometimes the children will sleep, inside those
shelters but that’s about the extent of it.
Final Thoughts(3):
I want to point out something important to you: the Torah
has very little to say about just how one is to observe these feasts. In fact
the Torah has very little to say about just exactly how to go about most of the
God-ordained observances……particularly after all the sacrificial rituals are removed.
It is rules made by men that make most of these observances appear fairly
uniform and that often causes arguments. That goes for Shabbat as well. That so
Yehoveh in Torah commands little of us, says that we have great latitude about
HOW to observe these special days. But, that is entirely different from whether
or not we can choose to observe or not observe them. Further WHEN
to observe these days is also quite clear (notwithstanding some disagreement
over the calendar itself).
While I don’t like the notion of giving up one set of
wrong-minded gentile Christian traditions for a new set of wrong-minded Jewish
traditions, there is certainly NOTHING wrong with establishing traditions. And
the Jewish people have given us some awfully good and well established starting
points for our observances; so many of the Jewish traditions should not be
automatically thrown out anymore than all Christian traditions should be
automatically thrown out. But traditions (Jewish or Christian) aren’t God’s
commands. So as you as a family,
or we as a group, work out our new understanding of Torah and how it ties in
with our faith in Messiah Yeshua understand that we have much latitude in
establishing the HOW…but NOT the whether or the WHEN…… of things like the
Biblical Feasts. So let’s not
be judgmental or critical towards one another about it at all; rather let’s use
that latitude to be creative but reverent and true to the God-ordained meaning
of each holy occasion. Let’s use these Biblical Feasts, ordained by God,
to replace the tired and worn man-made days that WE have declared holy (but God
has not), and that invariably are just adaptations of pagan holidays.
(2)
Chabad.org
(3)
Torahclass.com
(4)
Biblegateway.com
