Fall... I am amazed at how my experience of fall has changed over the past several years as I have embraced and celebrated more Biblical holidays. However some things have remained the same for me like the excitment of wearing hats, seeing the leaves change, eatting pumpkin bread, chilli, drinking hot drinks, going to the Family Tree Nursery fall festival where the kids get to pet the animals, play in corn, go through a corn stalk maze, and plant some fall flowers. Here are a couple pictures below of our time there.
By celebrating the Biblical holidays found in Leviticus 23, my fall experience has been enriched deeply. Fall has now become a celebration of a new year: a time of reflection, repentance, and rejoicing. Below are the holidays in order that we celebrated this fall.
Rosh Hoshanah
This is the holiday where the Jewish New Year begins. The shofar is sounded 100 times. Some translations use the word trumpet instead of shofar. However, the Jewish people used the shofar which is a rams' horn for their trumpet sound. This is what Joshua would have used in taking down the walls at Jericho and this is what most likely will be used when Jesus returns. The Complete Jewish Bible translates 1 Thes 4:16 as,
16 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;
This is a holiday of anticipation, for it could be quite possible that on this holiday some year, Jesus could return since He has brought fullfillment to all the other holidays. For example, He died as the Passover Lamb on Passover, He was raised from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits, He poured out His Holy Spirit on Pentecost otherwise known as Shauvot. I could go on and on. I can't even begin to explain how studying these holidays has unlocked the Bible to me in such a beautiful way and has made me fall even more in love with my Savior. Here are couple pics from our Rosh Hoshanah.
The Day of Atonement (also know as Yom Kippur)
This is a day of fasting and repentance. For believers in Yeshua it is a day of focusing on the cross and how Jesus paid for our sins. On this day we wear white because as Isaiah 1:18 says,
18 "Come now," says ADONAI, "let's talk this over together. Even if your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; even if they are red as crimson, they will be like wool.
The Feast of Tabernacles (also know as Sukkot)
This holiday is becoming one of my favorite holdiays because I am fasinated at how much I am learning about it. For instance take this article below which explains that Jesus was probably born during the feast of tabernacles and most likely in a sukkah.
http://heartofwisdom.com/biblicalholidays/2011/10/10/birth-of-christ-feast-of-tabernacles/
The feast of tabernacles has great significance for me in a very personal way. Hope has come and filled my heart this year as I have been meditating on this feast. It is a time of dancing, singing and rejoicing.
Another holiday that I have incorporated is Simchat Torah. Although this holiday is not found in the Bible, it is all about the Bible. It literally means Simchat "Joy" Torah (Torah means the first five books of the Bible). It is on this holiday that we praise God for giving us His Word. It is on Simchat Torah that Jews and Messanic Jews (Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah) finish the yearly reading cylce of the Torah. Thus, the new cycle begins again. This year I am jumping on board and reading it too. The Messanic Jewish Community has done a great job adding in New Covenant poritons as well. I will be posting in the side bar of my blog what I am reading each week. Also, I will have a new page on the the top of my blog where I will make some brief comments on some of my observations or thoughts that I have had while reading and studing these Scriptures with others. So if you are looking for a new Bible Study to do for a year feel free to join with me and others all across the world. Here is a cool video I found of Christians and Jews celebrating together:
:
In addition to these holidays, there is one other holiday that we have started celebrating in the spring called Purim that has changed my fall experience in a different way. Purim celebrates God's victory over Satan by having Esther hide her idenity as a Jew until the right time to expose Haman's evil plot to wipe out the Jews. Thus, Jews and Christians alike have come together to celebrate Purim. At Purim you dress up in a costume (hiding your identity like Esther did) and rejoice over the Lord's faithfulness to preserve the Jewish people through whom the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) came from. With this avenue for the kids and ourselves to dress up in costumes, we have decided to stop celebrating Halloween (for several reason, but this is one of them). I know this is a controversial subject and many people have many opinions about it, but I just thought I would mention this option to some of you out there who are trying to decide if they want to celebrate Halloween. You could even see if your church would be willing to host a Purim Party or you could a attend a Messanic synagogue in your area that celebrates Purim. With that being said, you will have to wait till Purim in the spring for me to post some cute pictures of the kids in costume.
By celebrating the Biblical holidays found in Leviticus 23, my fall experience has been enriched deeply. Fall has now become a celebration of a new year: a time of reflection, repentance, and rejoicing. Below are the holidays in order that we celebrated this fall.
Rosh Hoshanah
This is the holiday where the Jewish New Year begins. The shofar is sounded 100 times. Some translations use the word trumpet instead of shofar. However, the Jewish people used the shofar which is a rams' horn for their trumpet sound. This is what Joshua would have used in taking down the walls at Jericho and this is what most likely will be used when Jesus returns. The Complete Jewish Bible translates 1 Thes 4:16 as,
16 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;
This is a holiday of anticipation, for it could be quite possible that on this holiday some year, Jesus could return since He has brought fullfillment to all the other holidays. For example, He died as the Passover Lamb on Passover, He was raised from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits, He poured out His Holy Spirit on Pentecost otherwise known as Shauvot. I could go on and on. I can't even begin to explain how studying these holidays has unlocked the Bible to me in such a beautiful way and has made me fall even more in love with my Savior. Here are couple pics from our Rosh Hoshanah.
The Day of Atonement (also know as Yom Kippur)
This is a day of fasting and repentance. For believers in Yeshua it is a day of focusing on the cross and how Jesus paid for our sins. On this day we wear white because as Isaiah 1:18 says,
18 "Come now," says ADONAI, "let's talk this over together. Even if your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; even if they are red as crimson, they will be like wool.
The Feast of Tabernacles (also know as Sukkot)
This holiday is becoming one of my favorite holdiays because I am fasinated at how much I am learning about it. For instance take this article below which explains that Jesus was probably born during the feast of tabernacles and most likely in a sukkah.
http://heartofwisdom.com/biblicalholidays/2011/10/10/birth-of-christ-feast-of-tabernacles/
The feast of tabernacles has great significance for me in a very personal way. Hope has come and filled my heart this year as I have been meditating on this feast. It is a time of dancing, singing and rejoicing.
Another holiday that I have incorporated is Simchat Torah. Although this holiday is not found in the Bible, it is all about the Bible. It literally means Simchat "Joy" Torah (Torah means the first five books of the Bible). It is on this holiday that we praise God for giving us His Word. It is on Simchat Torah that Jews and Messanic Jews (Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah) finish the yearly reading cylce of the Torah. Thus, the new cycle begins again. This year I am jumping on board and reading it too. The Messanic Jewish Community has done a great job adding in New Covenant poritons as well. I will be posting in the side bar of my blog what I am reading each week. Also, I will have a new page on the the top of my blog where I will make some brief comments on some of my observations or thoughts that I have had while reading and studing these Scriptures with others. So if you are looking for a new Bible Study to do for a year feel free to join with me and others all across the world. Here is a cool video I found of Christians and Jews celebrating together:
:
In addition to these holidays, there is one other holiday that we have started celebrating in the spring called Purim that has changed my fall experience in a different way. Purim celebrates God's victory over Satan by having Esther hide her idenity as a Jew until the right time to expose Haman's evil plot to wipe out the Jews. Thus, Jews and Christians alike have come together to celebrate Purim. At Purim you dress up in a costume (hiding your identity like Esther did) and rejoice over the Lord's faithfulness to preserve the Jewish people through whom the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) came from. With this avenue for the kids and ourselves to dress up in costumes, we have decided to stop celebrating Halloween (for several reason, but this is one of them). I know this is a controversial subject and many people have many opinions about it, but I just thought I would mention this option to some of you out there who are trying to decide if they want to celebrate Halloween. You could even see if your church would be willing to host a Purim Party or you could a attend a Messanic synagogue in your area that celebrates Purim. With that being said, you will have to wait till Purim in the spring for me to post some cute pictures of the kids in costume.
2 comments:
Thanks for posting this Lauren!
I love reading what all of your holidays are about!
I was just reading the story of Ester the other day. What a cool idea to hide your identity for Purim! I always struggled with the whole idea of what Halloween is.... I decided to make it mostly about pumpkins and getting dressed in costumes.... They dress up every day of the year though! =)
I love hearing about what Sukkot means to you. I love that you dance and sing and rejoice. I love you. My favorite picture is the one of Noah and Eliana on Yom Kippur, it makes my heart smile. Thanks for sharing and I totally agree that the holidays enrich the fall experience. Man, aren't we blessed to be able to enjoy such a great season with so many great holidays. Bless the L-rd!
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