The Fall Feasts - 2021

 

This year, the three Biblical Fall Feasts will all come in September.  As we prepare to celebrate them together, you may be asking “What are these Feasts?”  So let’s take a look at them, starting with the first one, Yom T’Ruah.

YOM T’RUAH  - A Day of Blowing (Shofar) – ROSH HASHANAH

When: Begins at sundown on 9/6/21 and ends at sundown on 9/7/21.  Tradition has added a 2^nd day for Jews both in Israel and in the diaspora.  This begins at sundown on 9/7/21 and ends at sundown on 9/8/21.

Yom T’Ruah instructions in Scripture:

o   A day of complete rest for remembering

o   A holy convocation, announced with blasts on the shofar

o   No ordinary work

o   Special offerings, in addition to other offerings that you are doing

o   A day of blowing the shofar

    (Instructions found in Leviticus 23:23-25, 37-38, and in Numbers 29:1-6, 39)

Historical Significance

     Unlike Pesach (Passover), where the Bible tells us the historical reason for commemorating this day, for Yom T’Ruah, it simply instructs us to do it.

     In Jewish tradition, this day is the birthday of the universe, the day that G-d created Adam and Eve.  They also believe that, on this day each year, G-d opens the Books of Life and Death, and that those books are sealed on Yom Kippur.  They often call this day Rosh HaShanah – the head of the year.

Future Messianic Significance

     Many Messianic believers believe that this annual Feast is done in preparation for and in prophetic foreshadowing of the day of Messiah’s return.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, all the tribes of the Land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with tremendous power and glory.  He will send out His angels with a great shofar; and they will gather together His chosen people from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31, CJB)

It will take but a moment, the blink of an eye, at the final shofar. For the shofar will sound, and the dead will be raised to live forever, and we too will be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:52, CJB)

For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; (1 Thess. 4:16, CJB)

Traditional Jewish Celebrations

    It is a day of prayer

    It is a time to ask G-d for a year of peace, prosperity, and blessing

     It is a joyous day to proclaim G-d King of the Universe

     It is the first day of the “Days of Awe” leading up to Yom Kippur

    It is a day for blowing the shofar.  There are a series of traditional shofar calls done during the services.  The calls remind us of a king’s coronation, and of a call to repentance, and of the binding of Isaac when G-d provided a ram in Isaac’s place.

     As the head of the year and a time to make sure you are right with G-d, it is customary to greet each other on the first night with “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!” Or, if it’s not the first night, then say “A good inscription and sealing in the Book of Life.”

     It is customary for the women and girls to light candles and recite the candle-lighting blessings.

     It is customary to go to a body of water and perform the Tashlich service – a symbolic casting of our sins into the water to be carried away.

     It is customary to spend much of the day at a service consisting of prayers and Torah readings and shofar blowings.

Traditional Jewish Foods for Rosh HaShanah

     Round challah loaves, often sprinkled with raisins, dipped into honey instead of salt.

     Apple slices dipped in honey

     Jewish tradition lists several other foods, each with their own symbolism, which they either eat or avoid, depending on the symbolism assigned to each.  Sweet foods, pomegranates, carrots, and the head of a fish or ram are commonly eaten on the first night, and the 2^nd night they eat a “new fruit.”  Foods that are avoided are the bitter, vinegar-based, sharp foods.  Some people avoid nuts, as well.

 

YOM KIPPUR – THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

When: starts at sunset on 9/15/21 and ends at sunset on 9/16/21.

Yom Kippur instructions in Scripture:

o   Deny yourselves.

o   Don’t do any kind of work

o   Have a holy convocation, and bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI (see Numbers for further instructions)

     (Instructions found in Leviticus 16, Leviticus 23:26-32 & 37-38, Numbers 29:7-11 & 39)

 

Historical Significance

     It was on this day every year that the High Priest made atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, for the priests and all the people of the community.  It was a most holy day – the day that G-d’s people were forgiven and purified.

     According to tradition, it was on this day, after the Golden Calf incident, that Moses came down from the mountain, bearing the 2^nd set of stone tablets, re-establishing Israel’s covenant with G-d, after their period of mourning and repentance.

Future Messianic Significance

But when the Messiah appeared as Cohen Gadol of the good things that are happening already, then, through the greater and more perfect Tent which is not man-made (that is, it is not of this created world), ¹² He entered the Holiest Place once and for all. And He entered not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of His own blood, thus setting people free forever. (Hebrews 9:11-12, CJB)

For the Messiah has entered a Holiest Place which is not man-made and merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, in order to appear now on our behalf in the very presence of God. ²⁵ Further, He did not enter heaven to offer Himself over and over again, like the cohen hagadol who enters the Holiest Place year after year with blood that is not his own; ²⁶ for then He would have had to suffer death many times — from the founding of the universe on. But as it is, He has appeared once at the end of the ages in order to do away with sin through the sacrifice of Himself. ²⁷ Just as human beings have to die once, but after this comes judgment, ²⁸ so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many,^[c] will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to deliver those who are eagerly waiting for Him. (Hebrews 9:24-28, CJB)

Traditional Jewish Observances

    Afflict our souls for 25 hours (a little before sunset on 9/15/21 to a little after nightfall on 9/16/21, which practice includes:

No eating or drinking if you are an adult (exemptions apply if adult has certain health risks)

No bathing or anointing ourselves with oils, lotions, creams

No leather shoes

No marital relations

     Spend the day in the synagogue, praying for forgiveness.

     Wear white.

     Candle-lighting before the sunset starting Yom Kippur

     Common greetings include:

--“Have an easy fast” (Tzom kal), 

--“May you be inscribed for a good year” or “A good final sealing” (G’mar chatima tova). 

--Because we are still in this season of Rosh HaShana, it is okay to say “Good New Year” (Shana Tova) or “Good year and sweet” (Shana Tova u’metuka), but we do not say “Happy Yom Kippur.”

SUKKOT – THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES – THE FESTIVAL OF INGATHERING

When: sunset on 9/20/21 to sunset on 9/27 comprise the 7 days.  The eighth day starts at sunset on 9/27/21 and ends at sunset on 9/28.

Sukkot in Scripture:

o   All your men are to appear before ADONAI

o   Feast for 7 days. Be full of joy!

o   Live in a sukkah for 7 days.

o   For 7 days, bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI

o   On the first day is a holy convocation, don’t do any kind of ordinary work. Day of complete rest.

o   On the first day, take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches, and river willows, and celebrate in the presence of ADONAI for 7 days.

o   Collect branches of olives, wild olives, myrtles, palms, and other leafy trees to make sukkot, as prescribed (see instructions in Nehemiah)

o   On the 8^th day is a holy convocation, bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI, a day of public assembly, don’t do any kind of ordinary work. Day of complete rest.

o   Every 7^th year, all Israel appears before ADONAI and the Torah is read to them.

     (Sukkot Scriptures can be found in Exodus 23:14-17, Exodus 34:22-24, Leviticus 23:33-43, Numbers 29:12-39, Deuteronomy 16:13-17, Deut 31:10-13, 1 Kings 8:1-2, 2 Chron 5, Nehemiah 8:13-18, and John 7:1-44)

Historical Significance:

     Sukkot is a commemoration of the time that the people of Israel lived in sukkot when ADONAI brought them out of Egypt.  ADONAI promised to protect their lands while they went to Jerusalem.  And because ADONAI would bless all their crops and all their works, this feast was to be one of joy!  In addition, every 7 years, the Torah was read on this festival so that each generation would know the words of the Torah.

     Other Sukkot-related events include:

·         The dedication of Solomon’s Temple, which happened at the Feast of the 7^th month. 

·         The reestablished of the celebration of Sukkot, during the days of Nehemiah. 

·         It is believed that Yeshua was born during Sukkot.

·         In John 7, we read about Yeshua during the festival of Sukkot, when He declared Himself as the Living Water.

Messianic Significance:

     We commemorate that Yeshua came to dwell with us.  John 1:14 says: And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory, the glory of the One and Only from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, TLV)

     And we look forward to the fullness of the Messianic Kingdom, when, as it says in Revelations 21:3:  I also heard a loud voice from the throne, saying,

“Behold, the dwelling of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle among them.
They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them and be their God. (Rev 21:3, TLV)

 

Traditional Jewish Celebrations:

     The first day, do no work (food prep and carrying things are permitted), do candle-lighting in the Sukkot in the evening, say the Kiddush over the wine, eat festive meals (including challah dipped in honey).  It is traditional to also set aside the 2^nd day as a no-work day if you do not live in Israel, and so on the 2^nd night, your candle-lighting must be done from an existing flame.

     Dwell in the sukkah

Eat all your meals in the sukkah.  Regard the sukkah as your home.  Different sects have different rules and traditions as to how to fulfill this, and some rules can bend depending on the weather.  The broadest interpretation says most major activities – eating, relaxing, studying, visiting, entertaining, sleeping – should happen in the sukkah.  Many Jews fulfill the command by simply eating their meals in the sukkah; and it is considered permissible to say the blessings and then continue the meal in a house if remaining in the sukkah would cause “great discomfort” (such as might be the case in a strong storm).

     Sukkot building allows for some creativity, but still follows some basic rules:

§  built under the open sky (no roof or tree over your location),

§  have at least 3 walls and a roof of unprocessed natural vegetation (often bamboo, pine, or palm). Walls need to be somewhat firm (boards or well-tied fabrics, not flapping in the breeze).

§  Covering must have been harvested from the ground (not animal hide or synthetic).  It can’t be food.  It can’t be a utensil or a wide beam or anything that looks like a regular roof.  It should be enough to provide “more shade than sunlight” during the day but still allow you to see stars through it at night.

     Take the “4 Kinds” every day (except on Shabbat): the etrog and the lulav bundle (which has a lulav, 3 hadassim, and 2 aravot).  Say the blessing.  Wave them gently in all 6 directions.

     Say the Hallel (Psalm 113-118) every day.

     A joyous water-drawing ceremony

     Nightly celebrations with singing and dancing

SHMINI ATZERET and SIMCHAH TORAH

Sh’mini Atzeret is the “8^th day” as prescribed when the Torah talks about the 7 days of Sukkot.  In Judaism, this day is not exactly part of Sukkot and not exactly NOT part of Sukkot.  The lulav and etrog are not waved on the 8^th day, and the traditions regarding “dwelling” in the sukkah are different.

Sh’mini Atzeret is traditionally a 2-day festival for those in the diaspora.  In early medieval times, the 2^nd day started taking on a celebration of its own – Simchah Torah (which means “rejoicing in the Torah”).  The yearly cycle of reading through the Torah (a tradition which started during Babylonian times) now has its yearly conclusion and new beginning on Simchat Torah.  The last portion of the Torah is read and the first one is started for the new cycle.  In Israel, where Sh’mini Atzeret is only 1 day, the celebrations of Simchah Torah are also rolled into that one day.

Like Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret has a special prayer for rain.  There is a time for saying the Yizkor in memorial for the departed.  There is a candle-lighting (18 minutes before sunset on 9/27/21).  Festive meals are shared, which typically include wine (or grape juice), challah dipped in salt, and other delicacies.  Shmini Atzeret is a day of no work.  It is a day for a holy convocation.  Some traditions include time in the afternoon to go to the sukkah, eat food, and say farewell to the sukkah.  In some traditions, there is a special prayer as you say goodbye to the sukkah, but the traditional Feast of Sukkot blessing for the sukkah is not said.

For Simchah Torah, the festivities begin at the evening service.  The doors of the Ark are opened and the Torah is brought out (if the community has multiple Torahs, they are all brought out).  There is liturgy, a procession (with 7 circuits, known as hakafot), dancing and singing in honor of the Torah.  Flags are waved as a part of the processional.  A section from the end of the Torah is chanted.  Sometimes the celebrations and dancing spill out into the street, to publicly show honor to the Torah.

The next morning, the festivities resume.  The final Torah portion is read – sometimes several times over so that every person has a chance to receive an “Aliyah” to the Torah.  When the reading is completed, then someone is given the first Aliyah to the Torah for the beginning of the readings in Genesis.  After all, the study of Torah is never completed – it simply starts again.

Simchah Torah is traditionally a day of no work.  In a Jewish-observant home, you can expect a candle-lighting from an existing flame and festive meals like those on Sh’mini Atzeret. Stuffed cabbage rolls are traditional for Simchat Torah, since 2 rolls next to each other look like a Torah scroll. 

This year, Sh’mini Atzeret starts at sundown on 9/27/21, and ends at sundown on 9/28/21.  Simchah Torah begins at sundown on 9/28/21 and ends at sundown on 9/29/21.