Rabbi’s Reflections – Monday, October 14, 2019
Shalom *|FNAME|*,
Today is the first day of Sukkot. It is a holiday which stands in stark contrast to the Yom Kippur holiday that preceded it only 4 days ago. On Yom Kippur we are commanded to fast (at least that’s how the phrase “afflict your souls” has been interpreted.
Leviticus 23:29 For anyone who does not deny himself on that day (Yom Kippur) must be cut off from his people…. 32b and you are to humble your souls.
God is very serious about any commanded Shabbat (which got ancient Israel is a lot of trouble because they never properly kept the weekly, 7th year, the 49th year Shabbat, nor any of the special holiday Shabbatot.
Rabbi Trail: Leviticus 23 (verse 3) describes the weekly Shabbat along with many other places in Exodus and Deuteronomy. Leviticus 25 describes both the 7th year Shabbat (beginning in verse 1) and the 50th year Shabbat or Jubilee (beginning in verse 10). End RT.
Only 4 days after the most solemn day of the year, we are commanded to be happy and joyful. Leviticus 23:34 “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, and say, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Sukkot, for seven days to Adonai. 35a On the first day there is to be a holy convocation—… 41 You are to celebrate it as a festival to Adonai for seven days
The commandment to be happy is reinforced in Nehemiah 8:17 at the end of the verse where we read “and the joy was very great.” So let’s rejoice and be glad.
At the heart of the commandment is the command “Yashev BaSukkah.” It literally means to sit in the Sukkah. The word to sit is also translated dwell (as in a squatter in the olden days). The rabbi’s have standards for everything. The minimum standard for the command “Yashev BaSukkah” is to sit in the Sukkah and eat something (preferrably something sweet). Our Sukkah at Shomair is available 24/7 for just that purpose.
I plan to write more on Sukkot tomorrow.
Week 42
Memory Verse: Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 13:13 But now these three remain— faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.
206 10/14 Monday: 1 Corinthians 5-6
207 10/15 Tuesday: 1 Corinthians 7-8
208 10/16 Wednesday: 1 Corinthians 9-10
209 10/17 Thursday: 1 Corinthians 11-12
210 10/18 Friday: 1 Corinthians 13-14
Question of the day: Why do we make such a big deal out of the Jewish Feasts?
Answer: First of all, they are not Jewish Feasts in the Bible. The Bible calls them the Feasts of the Lord. Moreover, many of them are “Z’man Simchatenu” meaning seasons of rejoicing. And then the verse in today’s reading that made me bring this up.
1 Corinthians 5:6 Your boasting is no good. Don’t you know that a little hametz leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old hametz, so you may be a new batch, just as you are unleavened—for Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast not with old hametz, the hametz of malice and wickedness, but with unleavened bread—the matzah of sincerity and truth.
What was that? Did you miss it? “Therefore let us celebrate the feast….” Yeshua is the reality of all things. After all, He created them all. So He created the Feasts of the Lord too. And when He came to earth, He did honor them. So did the disciples.
WWYD? What would Yeshua do? He would do the appointed seasons and times; and He did when He walked the earth. (Now follow me here.) If we have the mind of Messiah (1 Corinthians 2:16b) then we should do what He does.
Besides, there is a blessing in keeping every feast. It’s that simple, really. Keep the feast get the blessing.