Parashat Emor (V’yikra/Leviticus 21-24) 5782, B”H

In the springtime, we looked at the Biblical Spring Feasts.

As we near autumn, today let’s revisit that passage of Scripture from Leviticus that describes the feasts, but this time we will focus on the Biblical Autumn Feasts! Most people call them the Biblical Fall Feasts and I do admit it is easier to say . . . but since . . . Adam and Eve and the Fall . . . yeah I just personally prefer the word autumn. It’s just me, I know. A little too obsessed with linguistics. Go ahead and call them the Fall Feasts, it is perfectly fine 🙂

This post will be a quick overview on the autumn feasts. In future posts I will help us look more deeply at each of these.

Are you familiar with the autumn Biblical feasts?

The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles are the special days outlined in the Bible that are celebrated in autumn.

Each of the Biblical Autumn Feasts can also be called by its Hebrew term:

The Feast of Shofars = Yom Teruah*

The Day of Atonement = Yom Kippur

The Feast of Tabernacles = Sukkot

*Note: Yom Teruah is more widely known as Rosh HaShanah. Yom Teruah is the literal translation for the “Feast of Trumpets” and is more Biblical. Rosh HaShanah signifies “Head of the Year” meaning this is a celebration of the Jewish New Year.

Just like the Biblical Spring Feasts, Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) fulfilled the prophetic meaning of each of these Biblical autumn feasts (moedim). The Hebrew word “moedim” more literally means “appointed times.” These are appointments that God made for us – the appointed feast times to meet with our Creator! What a privilege! Throughout the year, we gather to experience these feasts. The Autumn Feasts are no exception, in fact, they are extremely eschatologically significant because they point us to the end of days.

The Feast of Shofars (Yom Teruah)

The Feast of Shofars is more commonly called “The Feast of Trumpets” in English. But most people who think of a trumpet think of a beautiful brass instrument in the marching band. This autumn feast has nothing to do with those! A more correct translation is the “Feast of Shofars.” The ram’s horn was used as an instrument – an alarm to warn and even alert the enemy.

Have you ever heard several shofars played at the same time? The sound is awe-inspiring.

If you want to have a profound experience, find a place where the shofars will sound this Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah)! You will undoubtedly be touched by the sheer magnitude of the sound and inspired by all it represents for God’s people.

It is like a rehearsal. We will know what to listen for the day the trumpet (shofar) sounds:

“He will send out His angels with a great shofar, and they will gather together His chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:31

I love to hear my boys practicing their shofar skills a few days before Yom Teruah! It is a wonderful way to bring in the Hebrew New Year!

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

Another one of the Biblical autumn feasts is Yom Kippur. This is the most solemn occasion on the Jewish Biblical calendar. This is a day of fasting as people ask for forgiveness for the sins committed during the past year. When the Temple was still standing, this was the day when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies to make atonement on behalf of the people.

Today, we know that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) has provided our atonement (Hallelujah!!!) so most followers of the King of all kings participate by fasting and praying for Israel.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)

Immediately after Yom Kippur, Jewish and Messianic believers begin setting up their sukkahs (outdoor tabernacles) for the upcoming Biblical autumn feast known as the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is great fun! Many English speakers know this feast as the Feast of Booths. But booths? That’s a little hard for us to understand, unless you have seen an actual sukkah.

A sukkah is a tabernacle – a temporary structure intended for nonpermanent residency!

This feast is a lot like camping (but better) and lasts for a whole week! It is definitely family-friendly!

If you’d like some ideas on how to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, check out this post I wrote about ways our family celebrates Sukkot. And make sure you get your FREE printable Selfie Scavenger Hunt for Sukkot!

It is said that the best time to visit Israel is during the autumn feast of Sukkot. The entire nation sets up their temporary structures. The sukkahs are decorated and there is plenty of food. Did you know it is commanded to be joyful during these holy days of Sukkot? It is truly a celebration that the LORD chose to dwell with us.

Zechariah prophecies of a future time when all the nations will celebrate Sukkot, so it is certainly something we ought to learn about and participate in to understand the full meaning of our Scriptures! It really is like a dress rehearsal for the last days!

“Then all the survivors from all the nations that attacked Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot, and to celebrate Sukkot. Furthermore, if any of the nations on earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot, they will have no rain.” Zechariah 14:16-17

I encourage you to learn more about the Feast of Tabernacles as autumn draws near. A fun project (especially if you have boys) is to build a backyard sukkah! Invite your friends and neighbors, and you will have a wonderful time of fellowship as you live out the Word of the LORD!

For a more thorough, theological look at the Sukkot and the spiritual meaning of it, I encourage you to check out my post: “Living Water at the Feast of Tabernacles: Exploring John 7.” You will discover the reason “why” our Messiah proclaimed that He is the Living Water!

If you have questions about the Biblical autumn Feasts we would truly love to help you! And most importantly, if you have questions about the Messiah, please let us know and we would love to share the Good News with you. We hope that following the LORD at His Word is important to you and hope that this post will help you in your faith journey! Please subscribe so you don’t miss any new posts! Shalom!

L’shanah tovah! May you have a very happy New Year!

Updated 10/11/22 5783 B”H

Preparations for the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)

I have posted on preparations for the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) which involves plenty of fun, but today, I’d like to return to the spiritual side of things.

That said, I do want to encourage you: if you have never built a sukkah in your backyard, may this be the year!

The best way to understand something is by doing – by participating.

So, if you want to gain a deeper understanding of how our Savior lived and understand the truly impactful things that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) said and taught, gaining a solid understanding of what Sukkot/the Feast of Tabernacles is and how it has been celebrated will increase your own Biblical comprehension and give you much greater spiritual revelation.

The Significance of John 7:37-41a

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Yeshua [Jesus] stood up and cried out loudly, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, ‘out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” Now He said this about the Ruach, whom those who trusted in Him were going to receive; for the Ruach was not yet given, since Yeshua was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some of the crowd said, “This man really is the Prophet.” Others were saying, “This is the Messiah.” John 7:37-41a

The “Last and Greatest Day of the Feast” described by John refers to Hoshana Rabbah, a special day at the ending of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles.

You may recognize the word, “Hoshana” in that term, Hoshana Rabba. We get the term “Hosanna” from this, a pleading for the Holy One to “please save.”

It has an emphatic tone in Hebrew: “Save now!” Hoshiana! It was a special day to plead for salvation.

The Artscroll Siddur (a popular version of the Jewish siddur/prayerbook) contains an interesting prayer for the Feast of Tabernacles’ Hoshana Rabbah (p.757, Sukkos) pleading that God would “remove the . . . partition separating” “us from You.”

Just prior to this prayer, bundles of lulav and etrog with the requisite myrtle and willow are literally beaten on the ground.

You can begin to see the Messianic significance:

Our Savior was beaten for our transgressions;

the earth absorbed His precious blood.

The veil has been torn.

But this is just a glimpse of more to come.

Sukkot in the Historical Record

Writings in the Talmud and even Josephus describe Sukkot in historical terms, giving full credibility that Sukkot was indeed celebrated every year.

The Talmud and Rabbi Akiva, the prominent 1st century Jewish rabbi, describe the water libations that were part of the Feast of Tabernacle services every year.

The historical record gives us an idea about what every Jewish family would have been accustomed to during the yearly feast.

While the water ceremony was not established by Torah, there is evidence in the Tanakh that the pouring of water had become part of the Sukkot tradition to demonstrate gratitude for rain at least as far back as the time of Zechariah, or soon after, as the prophet definitely references it.

The feast lasted either 7 or 8 days (there is some controversy on how long it actually lasted), but what is certain is that Hoshana Rabbah was an exuberant gathering.

Water was drawn from the Pool of Siloam, brought to the Temple, poured on the altar, and berakhot (blessings) were said, thanking the LORD Most High for rain.

That same pool of water would be the site where the blind man was healed and Messiah’s healing ministry would expand.

The waters would cleanse, purify, and usher in a new reality. The Messiah had come, was standing before them, and He would fill those who believed in Him with His Living Water.

So be glad, children of Zion,
and rejoice in ADONAI your God.
For He gives you the early rain for prosperity,
Yes, He will bring down rain for you,
the early and latter rain as before.

JOEL 2:23

Zechariah warns the nations who do not participate in the Feast of Tabernacles that they will not have rain:

Zech.14:17-19: “Furthermore, if any of the nations on earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot, they will have no rain. If the Egyptians do not go up and celebrate, they will have no rain. Instead, there will be the plague that Adonai will inflict on the nations that do not go up to celebrate Sukkot. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate Sukkot.”

The people gathered would have been expecting to see the synagogue leaders circling the altar 7 times and they were used to watching the outpouring of water. But they would not have been expecting the Rabbi from Nazareth to declare that He is the source of all Water! His words reveal that He is One with the Creator! And not just any old water, Living Water!

I like the way that Leon Morris succinctly describes this:

“In words reminiscent of those in [John]4:10, Jesus gives the invitation to the thirsty to come to [H]im and drink. There is the implication that the thirsty soul will find that Jesus fills the need that cannot be supplied elsewhere. The appropriateness of the words at this feast is that, throughout the seven days, libations were made in the Temple with water brought from the pool of Siloam (Sukkot.4:9), but on the eighth day no water was poured, and this would make Jesus’ claim all the more impressive.”

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. NICNT. Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995. Emphasis added.

Celebrating Sukkot

Our Messiah came to dwell with us – to tabernacle with us. The Feast of Tabernacles is so rich in meaning and this post just scratches the surface, but I hope you gained a new perspective.

Sukkot is such a special time for the people of God, and I invite you to celebrate it this year!

If you do, you will be part of a worldwide dress rehearsal, because Scripture indicates future celebrations of this joyous feast!

“Then all the survivors from all the nations that attacked Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot, and to celebrate Sukkot.”

zechariah 14:16

May you be filled with Living Water and equipped to testify to the nations!

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I love Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) because it gets us outside and is a genuine change in our routine. This year, the boys built a fire pit so the whole family can stay warm during the chilly evenings and, of course, make Sukkot S’mores.

Be sure to include your children in every aspect of the preparation and actual celebration. Not only do they love to be included, this will train them to continue keeping the feast with simcha (joy) as they grow up and have their own family. Our children love to build and decorate the Sukkah with lights and branches and art projects. The Feast of Tabernacles is something they look forward to every year!

Hachnasat or’chim: Welcoming Guests

If you have friends or family who have never celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, there are so many wonderful (and simple) ways to introduce them to the Biblical feasts by living this out – invite them for a special dinner in your sukkah and have a campfire together. Practice the art of hospitality; you will be blessed as you bless others. Remember, Yeshua (Jesus) loved to eat and drink with His disciples, and even with those the world shunned as “sinners” and “outcasts.” May your tent always be open to the stranger.

The Feast of Tabernacles is intended (indeed, commanded!) to be a joyous celebration – for everyone! – so make it so! Be enthusiastic!

You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

Deuteronomy 16:14-15, TLV, emphases added

Over the years, we have been able to share the richness of Sukkot with so many visitors to our sukkah and it is always a blessing.

Theme Nights and Activities for children, teens, and tweens

I mentioned above that it is important to include your children in ways that make it fun for them.

Some years, we have made edible sukkahs with graham crackers and candies, just like gingerbread houses but way cooler. Hint: get some animal crackers that come with camels. Those are a huge hit with the little ones to put in the “front yard” of your snack.

Check out this Selfie Scavenger Hunt for Sukkot that I put together this year for tweens and teens. They will love the opportunity to use a cell phone and they might learn a thing or two while having fun. Post your selfies on our Facebook page for extra fun!

Many Chabad groups advertise “Pizza in the Hut” nights, which we have adopted as a yearly family tradition. What child will object to pizza?!

If the weather permits and you are up for it, camp out in the sukkah for a night, or the whole week. Kids love sleepover parties. If they’re going to stay up all night, at least this is for a great reason!

Again, if the weather permits, have a cook out! Fire up the grill!

If you do happen to invite guests, have your children prepare something for your visitors. Perhaps an appetizer, or a placemat, or the child could be the host for the evening. They will learn the importance of welcoming guests and practice their social skills.

If you invite many guests or are hosting a sukkah with a congregational group, you could set up various stations. Make caramel apples at one table, paper chains at another table, some edible sukkahs at another, and even a games table.

What are your favorite aspects of celebrating Sukkot? Do you have any other theme night or activity ideas that you do with your family? Leave a comment below!

Menu & Recipe Ideas for the week of Sukkot/the Feast of Tabernacles

Here in the north, planning for Sukkot requires consideration of the temperatures, especially when Sukkot is in October. This year, Sukkot starts in September, so we may not be such Frozen Chosen this year. Even so, the evenings are definitely crisp, so soups and stews are some of the best foods to serve during the feast. I recommend planning at least a week in advance so you don’t need to worry about your menu items during the feast. The best advice I can give is: keep it simple. Have a tray so you can easily transport food from your indoor kitchen to the backyard and vice versa.

I always make sure we have plenty of fresh apple cider. It’s versatile since it can be served warm or cold and is the perfect autumn beverage. Besides apple cider, we always have coffee, hot chocolate, and tea on hand.

If you keep Shabbat, chances are good you own a slow cooker. Make your favorite taco meat and assemble some tacos. An easy-to-transport meal when its ready.

You can make a charcuterie platter with some cheese, crackers, and hummus.

This year I am planning to try this recipe by Tori Avey for a healthy curried vegetable stew.

I will probably not have time to make these, but this dessert recipe for Sukkot Lemon “Etrog” Cupcakes from 18 Doors looks scrumptious and so very festive!

Sukkot Lemon “Etrog” Cupcakes

Emphasizing Righteousness and Holiness

All the fun aside, the real reason any of us are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles is because we take the Bible seriously. The appointed times outlined in Scripture really are like “appointments” with our Heavenly Father. We meet with Him, and He meets with us and we are grateful because in the original tabernacle, there was a veil of separation that has now been torn apart.

Let your Light shine during the Feast of Tabernacles and say “no” to trunk-or-treat nights

One thing I have found troubling among traditional “Christian church” ministry groups is that most of them now host “Fall Festivals,” “Trunk-or-treat” nights, and other “Harvest” activities. These autumn outreach events do not have anything to do with the Feast of Tabernacles or any aspect of the Bible for that matter, yet plenty of time, money, and effort is put into them. Attempts to justify the events always circle back to “evangelism.”

We do not need to imitate paganism.

It is as if these churches balk at Scripture (many unintentionally, I know). Sadly, rather than being unique and set apart from the world, they are in many ways adapting to the world. With Sukkot often being in October, the very best alternative to the satanic feast of halloween is to light up the week of Sukkot in your sukkah and pray for your neighborhood. Shine your light during God’s appointed times and do not participate with the devil’s feast. The Eternal One’s light will always shine brighter – Yeshua isn’t in a competition. He already won.

Some argue that “trunk or treat” is just a fun time for children to dress in costumes. If you want your children to dress up, why not simply abandon the devil and his evil imitations and allow them to dress up for a much better celebration during Purim? Our children do not feel they are “missing out” on halloween. They know they will get to dress up and get plenty of candy during Purim in the springtime. They, too, have no desire to associate with the darkness.

2 Corinthians 6:14: . . . . What fellowship does light have with darkness? 

The best opportunity you will have to evangelize is to live out the Bible. The opportunities to share the Good News of our Messiah will be plentiful.

How will you celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles this year? Where will you be? I hope to celebrate some day in Israel! Leave a comment, share, and/or subscribe! We’d love to hear from you! Chag Sukkot sameach!

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Shalom!