Jeff Carter
We wanted this month to highlight for you the Fall feasts on the Jewish Calendar. To memorialize the rhythms of life that God wanted His people to establish, and to facilitate their remembering His faithfulness, God instituted a yearly cycle of seven feasts for Israel to remember and celebrate His goodness. During these celebrations, the Israelites took time to remember what God had done for His people and to celebrate His goodness. The entire faith community gathered without the burden of work to simply worship and celebrate. They ate, danced, sang, played instruments, prayed, and offered sacrifices to God.
They were required to come to Jerusalem three times a year—for Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. So while they were there in Jerusalem for Passover, they would typically stay for all three Spring feasts. The same is true for the Fall feasts and Tabernacles.
In addition to being historical celebrations of significant events in the history of Israel, these feasts are also prophetic, pointing to the mission of the Messiah. The three feasts in the Spring focus on the first coming of Messiah and have already been fulfilled. The Feast of Passover was fulfilled by the substitutionary sacrificial death of the Messiah. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was fulfilled by His sinless life. And the Feast of First Fruits was fulfilled by His resurrection.
The Feast of Pentecost (or Harvest) began with the coming of the Holy Spirit and a great harvest of three thousand souls on the Day of Pentecost. This feast focuses on the church age.
The three Fall feasts point toward the second coming of Messiah. The Feast of Trumpets portrays the Rapture (the end of the Church age). The Day of Atonement will usher in His judgments in the Day of the Lord. The Feast of Tabernacles looks toward our God and savior Jesus Christ setting up His Kingdom and ruling the world from Jerusalem.
Rosh Hashanah
The first of the Fall feasts is: Rosh Hashanah: Festival of Trumpets. In Hebrew, the term “Rosh Hashanah” literally means “the first of the year.” This particular feast is more commonly known as the Jewish New Year. The common greeting for this holiday is “L’shanah tovah,” literally “for a good year.” Rosh Hashanah falls on first day of the seventh month, according to the Hebrew calendar. It marks the beginning of the period known as the High Holy Days and the first two days of Rosh Hashanah usher in the Ten Days of Repentance, culminating in the major fast day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
In Scripture, the term “Rosh Hashanah” is not used to describe the holiday. Instead, it is known as “Yom Ha-Zikkaron” (the day of remembrance) or “Yom Teruah” (the day of the sounding of the shofar). This day is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25. Various observances of Rosh Hashanah include the blowing of the shofar (a ram’s horn) in the synagogue. The sound of the shofar is a call to repentance for the Jewish people. If the holiday falls on Shabbat, the blowing of the shofar is typically not observed. Work is not permitted during Rosh Hashanah. For the most part, people observed Rosh Hashanah by spending the day reading liturgy in the synagogues. Religious services for Rosh Hashanah focus on God’s sovereignty. Another popular observance is the eating of apples or bread with honey, as a symbol of the wish for a sweet new year. Instead of the traditional braided challah, round challah is served during Rosh Hashanah.
In 2015, Rosh Hashanah began at sunset on September 13 and ended at nightfall on September 15. The year 2015 in the Gregorian calendar corresponds to the Jewish year of 5776. Study up on Leviticus 23:24-25, Numbers 29:1-6, Psalm 81:3-4, Ezra 3:1-6, and Nehemiah 8:1-12. Rosh HaShanah will be fulfilled by the rapture of the Church (I Thess. 4:13-18, I Cor. 15:50-58).
Yom Kippur
The second of the Fall feasts is: Yom Kippur—which is probably the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish customs will refrain from work, fast and/or attend synagogue services on this day. The name Yom Kippur means “the Day of Atonement.” On this day, the rabbis teach that God seals our fate for the coming year and thus, the entire day is spent fasting and praying to God for forgiveness and a good year.
However, the rabbis also teach that Yom Kippur atones only for sins between man and God. In order to atone for sins against another person, one must first seek reconciliation with the other person. These things must be done before Yom Kippur. It is customary in the days before Yom Kippur for Jews to seek out friends and family whom they have wronged and personally ask for their forgiveness.
In Leviticus 23:27-32, God describes Yom Kippur as a day of “complete rest.” Observances include not working, refraining from eating and drinking (even water) for 25 hours beginning before sunset on the evening before Yom Kippur and ending after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur. Additional restrictions (found in the Talmud) include: washing and bathing, wearing leather shoes, and anointing one’s body (with perfumes, cosmetics, etc.).
This year, Yom Kippur was celebrated from the evening of September 22nd through the 23rd.
An important aspect of Yom Kippur is the implications of this particular day in the Prophets. The two main passages which provide these implications can be found in the Book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 contain the two main concepts of the Day of Atonement: substitution and atonement. The Messiah will undergo a substitutionary suffering; He will die a substitutionary death on behalf of the people of Israel. The Messiah also bears our iniquity and is an offering for our sins.
Sukkot: The Feast of Tabernacles
The last of the Fall feasts is: The Feast of Tabernacles—which is celebrated by each family erecting their own temporary shelter or booth (tabernacle, Hebrew: Sukkah). The Jewish family “lives” in the Sukkah as much as they can for the seven day period of the feast, at least eating one meal a day in the Sukkah if not more, and sleeping in the Sukkah if they can. “Living” in the Sukkah recalls the Exodus from Egypt when Israel lived in temporary shelters and God dwelt visibly in our midst.
We know that the feast portrays the institution of the Messianic Kingdom from Zechariah 14:16. “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.” In the Messianic Kingdom observance of the Feast of Tabernacles will be mandatory for all nations. Every country will be required to send a delegation to Jerusalem each year to celebrate the festival.
The parallel between the Exodus experience and the current celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles is captured in this thought: when Israel came out of Egypt, Israel lived in temporary shelters and God dwelt in our midst. In the same way when the Messianic Kingdom is instituted God will once again dwell in our midst.
Hag Sameach (Happy Holiday)