The Feasts/Moed of YHWH - The Netzari Faith2024-03-29T12:21:35Zhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/forum/categories/the-feastsmoed-of-yhwh/listForCategory?categoryId=5544986%3ACategory%3A2415&feed=yes&xn_auth=noBlood moons of 2014/2015tag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2014-03-20:5544986:Topic:246042014-03-20T16:43:29.755ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
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<tbody><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#BEBFA6"><p class="c4"><b>Do you believe that there will be any significance to the tetrads</b> coming in coming few years? Especially since the lunar eclipses fall on or before or after YHWH's Holy Days? In times past there have been tetrads…</p>
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<tbody><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#808080"><p class="c5"><i><font color="#FFFFF">Dear Refiner's Fire...</font></i></p>
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<tbody><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#BEBFA6"><p class="c4"><b>Do you believe that there will be any significance to the tetrads</b> coming in coming few years? Especially since the lunar eclipses fall on or before or after YHWH's Holy Days? In times past there have been tetrads that coincided with the Holy Days and something significant happened such as Israel becoming a state in 1948.</p>
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<tbody><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#808080"><p class="c5"><i><font color="#FFFFFF">Our Response....</font></i></p>
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<tbody><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2E3C6"><p class="c4"><b>Yes...by now many - if not most - have heard or read something about the "tetrad"</b> or the "four blood red moons." The upcoming "tetrad" of four, consecutive total lunar eclipses is nothing to be concerned about. Yes, they are rare, but they do not mean "something is going to happen" - yet so many are jumping on the "OMIGOSH!" bandwagon, without doing any real research or seeking out professionals or sources who know something about astronomy.</p>
<p class="c4"><b>It is pure sensationalism for people to announce, the "Coming 4 Blood Moons!"</b> In a total eclipse the moon is in the earth's shadow and always turns some shade of "orange" or "peach". Only if the atmosphere is especially full of aerosols and particulates, is the total eclipse a very dark shade of red - which could be described as "blood red". The problem is, you cannot predict ahead of time how bright or how dark a total eclipse will be, or what shade of orange/red it will be. So hyping this as "Coming 4 Blood Moons!" is just that - HYPE.</p>
<p class="c4"><b>Second, these same people suggest:</b> "Whenever there is a tetrad, something happens". Not true! Many will say, for example, that the 6-Day war in Israel happened in during the 1967-68 tetrad. So? The Total eclipses were 24 April 1967, 18 Oct 1967, 13 April 1968, and 6 Oct 1968 - and NONE of them were visible from Israel! (More on visibility in a minute). The 6-Day war was 5-10 June 1967. No eclipse.</p>
<p class="c4"><b>Many will also say "Israel became a state during a tetrad".</b> Not true. The first total eclipse in that particular tetrad was 13 April 1949 - was not even visible from Israel. Israel became a state on 15 May 1948, a year before the eclipse. And on that date the moon was only nearing 1st quarter. Right after Israel became a state was the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Its dates were 15 May 1948 to 10 Mar 1949 - still before the tetrad.</p>
<p class="c3">Concerning visibility from Israel during "tetrads":</p>
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<p class="c4"><b>15 April 2014:</b> Not visible from Israel</p>
<p class="c4"><b>8 October 2014:</b> Not visible from Israel</p>
<p class="c4"><b>4 April 2015:</b> Not visible from Israel</p>
<p class="c4"><b>28 September 2015:</b> Visible, but moon sets at sunrise during the eclipse - not likely to be "blood red" as the sky will brightening as the moon goes into totality as the moon sets.</p>
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<p class="c5">1967-1968 tetrad:</p>
<p class="c4"><b>24 April 1976:</b> Not visible from Israel</p>
<p class="c4"><b>18 October 1967:</b> Not visible from Israel</p>
<p class="c4"><b>13 April 1968:</b> Not visible from Israel</p>
<p class="c4"><b>6 October 1968:</b> Not visible from Israel</p>
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<p class="c5">1949-1950 tetrad:</p>
<p class="c4"><b>13 April 1949:</b> Visible at beginning of eclipse which began at sunrise, moon set before totality, sky too bright as sun was rising.</p>
<p class="c4"><b>7 October 1949:</b> Visible from beginning of eclipse to totality, but then moon sets while still in total eclipse with sky too bright to see much of the totality.</p>
<p class="c4"><b>2 April 1950:</b> Was visible - the whole eclipse beginning to end.</p>
<p class="c4"><b>26 September 1950:</b> Not visible from Israel. Eclipse began near sunrise, so the moon was only in partial eclipse as it set, and the sky became too bright.</p>
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<p class="c4"><b>So we would argue that only ONE total lunar eclipse in all these 12 total eclipses since 1949</b> could have had any significance because only one (2 April 1950) was seen from Israel. Please feel free to verify this via your own research!</p>
<p class="c4">Why are we putting importance on the visibility of eclipses from Israel? Because if an astronomical event is to have significance, it<b><i>must</i></b> be sanctified from Israel. Think about it. There have been total lunar eclipses for thousands of years. <b><i>All</i></b> the astronomical events had to be visible from Israel, or they knew nothing about the event! No one could place significance on a total eclipse they did not see, and did not even know happened! Why would YHWH say in Genesis 1:14 that the sun, moon, stars were for "signs" if His people in the Land did not (or could not) SEE the sign?</p>
<p class="c3">Here is just one example of many, of a SIGNIFICANT astronomical event to illustrate:</p>
<p class="c4">Author <a href="http://www.aent.org/">Andrew Gabriel Roth</a> has been researching important Biblical dates all his life. To make a very long story short, his independent research had narrowed the date of Yeshua's birth to between the 11th and 13th September, 5 BCE. Here he was stuck. He had assessed the astronomical sign - the "star of Bethlehem", but was looking for another astronomical sign. How could he determine the date of the nativity? Consulting with Air Force Lt. Col. (Ret.) William J. Welker, a physicist and amateur astonomer, Roth discovered the following:</p>
<p class="c4">"On the night of Sep 13th, 5 BCE, there was a well placed total Lunar Eclipse. By 'well placed', we mean that the moon rose that night, well before Jupiter, and was of course, nearly full. The eclipse began at about 8:30 PM, with the moon 35 degrees high – perfectly placed from Jerusalem to see the entire eclipse."</p>
<p class="c4"><b>A total lunar eclipse marked the birth!</b> Roth is in the process of publishing his findings, and The Refiner's Fire will announce his new book as soon as it is finished!</p>
<p class="c4"><a href="http://www.therefinersfire.org/ea.htm">http://www.therefinersfire.org/ea.htm</a></p>
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</table> Netzari Calendar link for 2015tag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2013-12-22:5544986:Topic:242042013-12-22T15:56:24.131ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<p><a href="http://www.onefaithonepeopleministries.com/uploads/1/6/1/8/16182720/2015_calendar_printable.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.onefaithonepeopleministries.com/uploads/1/6/1/8/16182720/2015_calendar_printable.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.onefaithonepeopleministries.com/uploads/1/6/1/8/16182720/2015_calendar_printable.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.onefaithonepeopleministries.com/uploads/1/6/1/8/16182720/2015_calendar_printable.pdf</a></p> Yom Teruahtag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2013-08-30:5544986:Topic:231572013-08-30T13:05:38.460ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<p><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4"><img src="http://www.lightofmashiach.org/graphics/shofar2.gif"></img> <b><font color="#660099" size="4">Yom Teruah: Day Of The Shofar Blast</font></b> <br></br> Ellen Kavanaugh</font></p>
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<blockquote><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4"><font color="#660099">YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. ‘You…</font></font></blockquote>
<p><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4"><img src="http://www.lightofmashiach.org/graphics/shofar2.gif"/> <b><font color="#660099" size="4">Yom Teruah: Day Of The Shofar Blast</font></b> <br/> Ellen Kavanaugh</font></p>
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<blockquote><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4"><font color="#660099">YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. ‘You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to YHVH.’" Leviticus 23:23-25</font></font></blockquote>
<p><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4">Yom Teruah basically means a day of noise/blasts. Yom Teruah is known as the Feast of Trumpets in Christianity and is better known as Rosh Hashannah (the new year) in modern Judaism. But Yom Teruah isn't really the 'Jewish New Year,' in fact, it falls on the first day of Etanim, (also known traditionally as Tishri) which is the seventh month in YHVH's calendar. The real 'new year' is in Aviv (also known traditionally as Nisan) when Pesakh/Passover occurs. <br/> <br/> Yom Teruah begins a ten-day period leading up to the holiest day of YHVH's calendar, Yom Kippur -- the "Day Of Atonement." These ten days are called the 'Days of Awe' in modern Judaism. In fact, modern Judaism also includes the preceding month of Elul also as a time to prepare for the upcoming Fall moedim (appointed times). The sounding of the shofar on Yom Teruah is a wake-up blast -- a reminder that the time is near for the Day of Atonement. It is time to teshuvah (repent, turn back to YHVH). Traditionally, these ten days are ones of heart searching and self examination -- the shofar warns us we need to examine our lives and make amends with all those we have wronged in the previous year, and to ask forgiveness for any vows we may have broken. So a main theme of the Fall Holy Days is repentance. <br/> <br/> Hearing the shofar blow is a mitzvah (command). Most Messianic congregations follow tradition when it comes to 'how' to blow the shofar. Traditionally, the Baal Tekiah (shofar blower) begins with one held blast called Tekiah; followed by three broken blasts called Shevarim; followed by nine even faster broken blasts called Teruah. The Tekiah, Shevarim, and Teruah each last the same length of time. These are repeated three times. Then the Baal Tekiah concludes by blowing and holding a final blast as long as he can (basically, until he runs out of breath). This final blast is called Tekiah Gedolah. I am not convinced that this arrangement of blows is important to fulfill the biblical command of blowing the shofar, but I see nothing wrong if tradition prevails in this instance. Scripturally, no such blast arrangement is mentioned, but as long as the shofar is blown and people hear it, I would consider the mitzvah satisfied. For those who will be unable to attend a congregation: <br/></font></p>
<center><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4"><b><font color="#660099">Shofar Wave</font></b> <br/></font></center>
<p><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4"><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4"><br/> <br/></font></font></p>
<blockquote><font color="#660099">And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you. Numbers 29:1</font></blockquote>
<p><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4"><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4"><br/> We've discussed that Yom Teruah represents a warning cry for us to wake up and repent -- to prepare ourselves for YHVH. In non-Messianic traditional Judaism it is believed that YHVH records our names in the Book of Life during the Fall festivals. Hence, a common greeting you might hear before and during Yom Teruah is "May you be inscribed (in the book of life)." Another popular greeting is 'L'shana Tova' which is a wish for a good new year. Traditional foods on Yom Teruah are 'sweet' - apples dipped in honey (and sweet dishes made with apples, honey, raisins, figs, sweetened carrots, and pomegranates, etc. are served). The traditional challah bread is made sweeter and shaped in a circle, symbolizing completeness and never-ending sweetness. The rabbinic idea of this 'sweetness' was to bring a sense of optimism to the festival, since the themes of repentance and atonement might have made this season a somber time of remorse alone. So this is why (if you were wondering) so many sites have apple and honeybee themes during Yom Teruah. Tradition! Tradition! <br/> <br/> There is also an interesting rabbinic tradition of Tashlich, which is the act of casting bread crumbs into a moving body of water to symbolize the removal of our sins. This comes from Micah 7:19: "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." Tashlich means 'to cast.' Another tradition is to serve the head of a fish with a new year theme of "be the head, not the tail." <br/> <br/> Other themes during Yom Teruah are those of rebirth and resurrection, especially noted in the Brit Chadasha (new testament). <br/> <br/></font></font></p>
<blockquote><font color="#660099">And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:31 <br/> <br/>"Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:51,52</font></blockquote>
<p><font color="#000000" face="Ariel,Helvetica" size="4"><br/>Dispensationalists with interest in the 'Jewish roots of the faith' have begun equating Yom Teruah with their pre-tribulational-style rapture doctrine and many consider Yom Teruah the next festival to be 'fulfilled' by Yeshua in their prophetic calendar. It's beautiful imagery, but I cannot agree with this assumption. I would point out that the Spring festivals fulfilled by Yeshua occurred chronologically in 'real time' and that so far, I have yet to see a "Fall Holy Day Fulfillment" explanation that could place their fulfillments <i>before</i> the tribulation. To have the festivals fulfilled in 'real time' (i.e. rapture; followed ten literal days later by the "Day of Atonement;" then followed five literal days later with Sukkot (booths/tabernacles)) it is impossible to make them fall before the tribulation (or before the millennium, for that matter). In order to have a literal unfolding of Fall festivals in chronological 'real time,' then the only likely scenario would be for the Fall festivals to begin <i>after</i> the tribulation, especially since the millennium would seem to represent a literal Sukkot the best (Zechariah 14:18,19). Just food for thought. <br/><br/> Since there are many trumpets mentioned in Scripture, it is unwise to assume every mention of a trumpet necessarily refers to Yom Teruah, especially when making escatological predictions regarding the HolyDays, as we are also commanded to sound the trumpet on Yom Kippur (Lev 25:9) to signify the Jubilee year. We do know that when a trumpet blows (in Torah, Prophets, and Revelation) it's almost always a summons, a war-cry, an alert warning (to prepare for something), to hail an arrival, or a wake-up call if one has been slumbering (spiritually or physically). I hadn't intended on mentioning any eschatology references to the Fall Festivals, but felt I needed to mention this Dispensationalist theory since I know many people start looking for "Fall Holy Day Fulfillment" articles this time of year.</font></p> Fast Daystag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-12-19:5544986:Topic:179162012-12-19T17:46:55.690ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
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<div class="ecxco_body"><p>The Jewish calendar contains several fast days, most of them commemorating various landmark events that revolve around the destruction of the Holy Temples. They are:</p>
<p>3 Tishrei—the <a style="color: #000000;" href="http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=E4A6C4E4FD0A4958F35B45B665610D85&ui=96BCA13588BAF15E1E080C388350B9A6" target="_blank">Fast of Gedaliah</a></p>
<p>10 Tishrei—<a style="color: #000000;" href="http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=6A3BB38EC488F578971AD1A33F603E92&ui=96BCA13588BAF15E1E080C388350B9A6" title="Yom Kippur" target="_blank">Yom Kippur</a></p>
<p>10 Tevet—<a style="color: #000000;" href="http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=D9AB4BE10332C0A9549AEA92BCCBB3A8&ui=96BCA13588BAF15E1E080C388350B9A6" title="10 Tevet" target="_blank">Asarah B’Tevet</a></p>
<p>13 Adar—the <a style="color: #000000;" href="http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=F6C7B219F03F4655C69E7C5272D276A4&ui=96BCA13588BAF15E1E080C388350B9A6" target="_blank">Fast of Esther</a></p>
<p>17 Tammuz—<a style="color: #000000;" href="http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=0879FD7E57534788358BFA927D17F694&ui=96BCA13588BAF15E1E080C388350B9A6" target="_blank">Shivah Asar B’Tammuz</a></p>
<p>9 Av—<a style="color: #000000;" href="http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=118ADC8CD8414512653C28273E3BB974&ui=96BCA13588BAF15E1E080C388350B9A6" target="_blank">Tisha B’Av</a></p>
<p>The following rules apply to all fast days aside from Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, which have their own rules (see our <a style="color: #000000;" href="http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=93CAE4E53FF9F2AA9EC79C1AB71062E4&ui=96BCA13588BAF15E1E080C388350B9A6" title="Guide" target="_blank">Yom Kippur</a> and <a style="color: #000000;" href="http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=9F8E54CB26F732C18802F8C8CA840E1F&ui=96BCA13588BAF15E1E080C388350B9A6" title="The 9th of Av - Tisha B'Av" target="_blank">Tisha B’Av</a> guides).</p>
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Fasting is pretty simple. If you are a healthy man or woman over the age of bar or bat mitzvah, just abstain from food and drink from dawn until dark. <a style="color: #000000;" href="http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=F02021BA9149D2865444183D33672B12&ui=96BCA13588BAF15E1E080C388350B9A6" title="Halachic Times - Zmanim" target="_blank">Click here</a> to find out when the fast starts and ends at your location.<br />
<p><b>A few technical details:</b></p>
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<li>If you are pregnant or nursing and are in pain or feel weak, do not fast on this day. If you’re ill, consult with a rabbi. But even if you are exempt from fasting, skip the delicacies and sweets for a day.</li>
<li>You can wake up early before the fast begins and grab a bite—as long as you had this in mind before you went to sleep.</li>
<li>Try to make it to your synagogue for the day’s prayer services. We add some special fast-day prayers, and read from the Torah, during both the morning and afternoon prayers. There’s also a special fast-day <i>haftorah</i> following the afternoon Torah reading.</li>
<li>If the fast day falls on Shabbat, it is postponed until Sunday (or in the case of the Fast of Esther, moved up to Thursday).</li>
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<p>Why are we fasting? It’s not our fault that the Temple was destroyed. The people at that time refused to listen to the prophets who warned them to better their ways. We are still suffering the consequences.</p>
<p>On this, the sages explain: “Every generation for which the Temple is not rebuilt, is as though the Temple was destroyed for that generation.” If so, a fast day is not really a sad day, but an <i>opportune</i> day. It's a day when we are empowered to fix the <i>cause</i> of that first destruction, so that our long exile will be ended and we will find ourselves living in messianic times—may that be very soon.</p>
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</div> The Coming "Calendar War" in 2013tag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-12-11:5544986:Topic:171702012-12-11T23:15:31.744ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<center><span class="c1">The Coming "Calendar War" of 2013</span></center>
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<tbody><tr><td bgcolor="#F4CECA"><p class="c4"><b>This article "preempts"</b>, if you will, heated discussions about the Hebrew calendar for 2013 which are sure to come as people realize how wrong the 2013 rabbinic calendar is! The published rabbinic calendar has the 1st day of Nisan on March 12, 2013 (beginning at sunset March 11th), but the moon will have only gone into…</p>
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<center><span class="c1">The Coming "Calendar War" of 2013</span></center>
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<tbody><tr><td bgcolor="#F4CECA"><p class="c4"><b>This article "preempts"</b>, if you will, heated discussions about the Hebrew calendar for 2013 which are sure to come as people realize how wrong the 2013 rabbinic calendar is! The published rabbinic calendar has the 1st day of Nisan on March 12, 2013 (beginning at sunset March 11th), but the moon will have only gone into conjunction over night between March 11 and March 12, so March 12th can't be "1 Nisan"! So what's up?</p>
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<p class="c4"><b>What's up is this:</b> The published rabbinic calendar doesn't rely on the moon, at least not entirely, and if they let 1 Nisan fall on the day it should (by the moon), then Yom Kippur, 7 months later, will fall on a SUNDAY and according to the rabbis, that is forbidden! So the rabbinic calendar "decrees" by "rule" that 1 Nisan will be March 12th so Yom Kippur will therefore fall on a SATURDAY.</p>
<p class="c4">These "rules" established to "force" High Holy Days on particular days of the week is NOT Scriptural, so we at The Refiner's Fire choose not to follow the published rabbinic calendar. It's as simple as that! Instead, we rely on a moon-based calendar, and observe the High Holy Days on the days on which they fall! However, our moon-based calendar is not what you might think! We do not rely on the "sighting of the crescent", as that is just as wrong as the "rule" based calendar of the rabbis! In the following paragraphs, we will explain why this is.</p>
<p class="c4">The issue of the calendar is important because YHWH commanded that His Feasts be observed "at the right time":</p>
<p class="c4"><font color="#0000FF"><b>Exodus 12:14</b> "This will be a day for you to remember and celebrate as a festival to ADONAI; from generation to generation you are to celebrate it by a perpetual regulation.</font>(CJB)</p>
<p class="c4"><font color="#0000FF"><b>Exodus 13:10</b> "Therefore you are to observe this regulation at its proper time, year after year."</font>(CJB)</p>
<p class="c4"><font color="#0000FF"><b>Exodus 23:14</b> "Three times a year, you are to observe a festival for me."</font>(CJB)</p>
<p class="c4"><font color="#0000FF"><b>Leviticus 23:37</b> "These are the designated times of ADONAI that you are to proclaim as holy convocations..."</font> (CJB)</p>
<p class="c4">Though it is clearly important to observe the High Holy Days at their right time, it is not a salvation issue, so we do not argue one calendar over another. That being said, we feel strongly that the "rules" used by the rabbis is wrong, as is waiting for the "sighted crescent". With this stage now set, for those interested in the rationale behind our calendar, you are invited to read on.</p>
<p class="c4"><b>In the table below</b>, in the first column, you will find the 5 major festivals where "High Holy Days" are commanded. High Holy Days are those special Sabbath days which are to be holy convocations. Unlike the weekly Sabbath, which falls from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset on our modern Gregorian calendar, the High Holy Days are specified as particular days of the Hebrew month and can be any day of the week, including the weekly Shabbat should they fall on a Shabbat.</p>
<p class="c4">The 2nd column is the date in the Hebrew calendar on which the festivals fall. The 3rd column, "Gregorian Month", is the equivalent date in the familiar World civil calendar in use since the year 1582, and is the date on which the festival falls by proper reckoning of the Hebrew month. It is this column which contains the dates on which to observe the High Holy Days. Then there is a column for the "Day of week", and finally the date according to the rabbinic calendar. In all cases, you can see that the rabbinic calendar for 2013 indicates a day earlier, and hence one weekday earlier on which the festival should fall.</p>
<p></p>
<center><table class="tablefont" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="1" cellspacing="2" width="80%">
<tbody><tr><td><center><b>Festival:</b></center>
</td>
<td><center><b>Hebrew Month</b></center>
</td>
<td><center><b>Gregorian Month</b></center>
</td>
<td><center><b>Day of week</b></center>
</td>
<td><center><b>Rabbinic</b></center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>Passover</td>
<td>15-21 Nisan</td>
<td>27-Mar-13<br/> 2-Apr-13</td>
<td>Wednesday<br/> Tuesday</td>
<td>26-Mar-13<br/> 1-Apr-13</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>Shavuot</td>
<td>6 Sivan (Note 1)</td>
<td>16-May-13</td>
<td>Thursday</td>
<td>15-May-13</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>New Year</td>
<td>1 Tishri</td>
<td>6-Sep-13</td>
<td>Friday</td>
<td>5-Sep-13</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>Yom Kippur</td>
<td>10 Tishri</td>
<td>15-Sep-13</td>
<td>Sunday</td>
<td>14-Sep-13</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>Sukkot</td>
<td>15-22 Tishri</td>
<td>20-Sep-13<br/> 27-Sep-13</td>
<td>Friday</td>
<td>19-Sep-13<br/> 26-Sep-13</td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="5">Note 1: Rabbinically, Shavuot always falls on 6 Sivan, but it is possible to fall on 5 Sivan. In 2013 Shavuot falls on 6 Sivan.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</center>
<p class="c4">Please note Yom Kippur in the table above. Note the day of the week on which it falls - Sunday. Then look at Yom Kippur in the rabbinic column - September 14th, which is a Saturday. This is the crux of the matter! Only by rabbinic rules, Yom Kippur is not permitted to fall on a Sunday (or a Friday) as "back-to-back" Sabbaths are not permitted. So for 2013, the Rabbinic calendar <b>forces</b> the 1st day of Nissan to 12 Mar instead of 13 Mar. Thus Yom Kippur (rabbinically) is made to, indeed "forced" to, fall on Saturday, 14 Sep, instead of when it actually falls on Sunday, 15 Sep. This is not Scriptural, so our preferred calendar reflects the actual date and timing of the Hebrew months by conjunction of the moon and the Holy days fall where they fall.</p>
<p class="c5">Important Clues</p>
<p class="c4">Before I continue with the details, let's discuss for a moment the visibility of the crescent moon for the Hebrew month of Nisan in 2013. The moon will be in conjunction with the sun at 9:51 PM, Jerusalem time, on March 11th. (Please don't get ahead of me and argue "...but the conjunction can't be seen..." - I know that.) Clearly, at sunset, March 11th, the new moon will not be seen, but since the conjunction is so late on March 11th, the new moon will likely also not be seen at sunset on Mar 12th! But at sunset March 13th, on which the rabbinic calendar will say is the beginning of the <b>3rd</b> of Nisan, the moon <i>will definitely be</i> visible as the young moon it still is, but it will be visibly young enough that it <b>can't be the 3rd of Nisan</b>, yet old enough that it can't be the 1st of Nisan! No, sunset in Jerusalem, March 13th, the moon instead will be a visible sign that the date is transitioning from the 1st of Nisan to the 2nd of Nisan! This will cause great controversy, because not only will the rabbinic calendar say sunset March 13th becomes the 3rd of Nisan, but for "crescentists", who insist the Hebrew month does not start till the "sighting of the crescent", there is a chance that sunset, 13 Mar, only marks the 1st of Nisan as this is the first night the crescent may be visible! Neither the rabbinic nor the crescentist calendar will be right, but it will certainly lead to many, many arguments! On the other hand, if atmospheric conditions are ideal in Israel at sunset, March 12th, the thin crescent <i>may</i> be spotted! The moon will be very low, and the dusk very bright in the short window of opportunity when the crescent might be seen.</p>
<p class="c4">Not to belabor the point, but if you don't choose the correct day for the 1st day of a new Hebrew month, then the <b>middle</b> of the month is wrong! Since the "month", as described by the moon is either 29 or 30 days (it averages 29.53 days), then the middle of the month is either the 14th or the 15th day of the month - it can't be any other day. That means that a full or nearly full moon, <b>must rise</b> at the sunset of the 14th! It also means that the moon will be seen to pass through its full phase from the 14th to the 15th or the 15th to the 16th! It also means that if the moon rises at sunset on the 14th and the moon is <b>already past</b> full, then you know you got the wrong day for the beginning of the month! It also means that if the moon rises <b>well after</b> the sunset, and your calendar says it is only the 14th, then you got the wrong day for the start of the month!</p>
<p class="c4">Since Passover (Pesach), by command, (See Exodus 12, and Leviticus 23:5) , falls after sunset on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Nisan, a 30-day month, then you should see, at the sunset on the 14th, a full or nearly full moon rising! The important condition is that if you have chosen the correct day for the <b>beginning</b> of the month, then the moon will be seen to pass through its "full" phase as the Hebrew day passes from the 14th to the 15th becoming full sometime on the 15th. But if you have chosen incorrectly the 1st day of the month, then the moon will be observed to become full on the wrong day! This is also important at Sukkot which occurs in the month of Tishri, also a 30-day month on the Hebrew Calendar. Sukkot begins on the 15th of Tishri, so sunset on the 14th of Tishri you should always see a nearly full moon rising at sunset! (If you have ever made the effort to observe this for yourself, it is a beautiful and awe-inspiring event! At sunset on 14 Nisan (Passover), or 14 Tishri (Sukkot), turn to the east and see the very nearly full moon rising! What a blessing to have a "sign" of the High Holy Day!</p>
<p class="c4">Note: Some will argue, quite correctly, that the moon's synodic period or "lunation" (the time it takes for one complete orbit as seen from the earth) varies from 28.9 days to 30.15 days and question how we can say there will always be a nearly full moon rising at sunset of the 14th day of the month! The answer is this: Though the above statement is correct that a lunation varies from 28.9 to 30.15 days, the number of days between any two lunations is between 29.27 and 29.83 days! So you see that 1/2 of 29.27 is about 14.6 and 1/2 of 29.83 is about 14.9, and both 14.6 and 14.9 is "in" the 15th of the month, so the moon will always be seen passing through its full phase on the 15th day of the Hebrew month.</p>
<p class="c4">The actual "time" of full, may happen early on the 15th or it may happen late on the 15th, but the actual "time" of "full" is not discernible by the human eye, and is not really important anyway. The point is that the moon <b>will be full sometime on the 15th</b> of the Hebrew month - if you started counting from the correct day! Still others will argue that since you can't "see" when "full" actually happens, how can you possibly know on what day "full" is? After all, the moon "looks full" for 2 or even 3 days! Well, one can see the moon rise <b>before</b> sunset and therefore know the moon is not yet full, or you can see the moon rise <b>well after</b> sunset and know that it is already past full. You can also see the full or nearly full moon setting! If the apparently full moon is <b>still above the west horizon</b> at the next sunrise, you know it has passed full! Conversely, if the apparently full moon is seen to set <b>before</b> the next sunrise, you know the moon has not yet reached "full". (In both cases, the rising or setting of a nearly full moon, some variations are possible, for example a completely "full" moon, can rise before sunset. This does not mean the general rule is wrong. It only means that the observer needs to be aware of additional clues to know whether or not the moon is before, at, or past full.)</p>
<p class="c4">These key clues - witnesses if you will - of just what day it is by observing the moon are completely missed by most people today because we "modern" people don't need to know these things! All we have to do is look at a calendar! The "art" of watching the "moon clues" is completely lost. But "key moon clues" also play an important role in knowing which day is the <b>1st day</b> of a new month. More on this later.</p>
<p class="c4">Armed with this new knowledge that the moon gives away its age, let's examine the two contending calendars for the month of Nisan in 2013. For "our" calendar, Nisan 14 falls on March 26th (so sunset March 26th becomes 15 Nisan), and the nearly full moon <i>will be</i> seen rising at sunset that evening. But in the rabbinic calendar, 14 Nisan falls on 25 Mar, and the moon will be seen to rise <i>an hour and a half before sunset, and clearly not becoming full that evening</i> when their calendar says it has become the 15th of Nisan!</p>
<p class="c4">OK so what does this mean? It means that if you wish to observe the rabbinic calendar for 2013, you will be observing Passover decidedly on the wrong night being a day early, but worse, <b>all the following</b> High Holy Days will be on the wrong days as well, all the way to the end of the year! If instead you observe the Holy Days by our recommended calendar, (which by the way is not "ours"), you will find that the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, indicate the correct days as YHWH intended, and the High Holy Days will be on the proper days in accordance with Exodus 13:10.</p>
<p class="c5">On with the details</p>
<p class="c4">As mentioned above, the New Moon will be in conjunction with the sun on March 11, 2013, at 9:51 PM Jerusalem time. This means that the conjunction happens when Adar 29 has already ended, so it means that Adar in the year 2013 must include a 30th day. Now this is not uncommon for two consecutive Hebrew months to have 30 days, so Adar having 30 days to be followed by Nisan with 30 days is OK. But explaining this is outside the scope of this article.</p>
<p class="c4">But the rabbis ignore what is happening to the moon, and opt to call sunset March 11th, the 1st of Nisan, keeping Adar (the month just ending) as having 29 days. By doing so, they have "declared" the beginning of a new month, even though, by the moon, the old month (Adar) has not yet ended! As indicated at the start, the reason they do this is to <b>force</b> Yom Kippur to fall on a Saturday.</p>
<p class="c4">Instead, this is what should happen: Since the conjunction of the moon happens after sunset on Adar 29 (March 11th), an additional day to Adar is required. By adding a 30th day to Adar, then at sunset on 30 Adar (March 12th), it is now becomes 1 Nisan, the moon is now "new", and <i>should</i> be visible at sunset! Now all would be well and good, except at sunset on March 12th, even though the moon <b>is</b> new, and <b>is</b> in the sky close to the horizon at sunset in Jerusalem, it might or <b>might not</b> be seen! If not seen, it will cause the crescentists to wait another day, till sunset March 13th, whereupon the moon will assuredly be "seen", and the crescentists will declare "1 Nisan" to have just begun - but a day late! As indicated above though, the very appearance of the moon (its altitude at first visibility, and "thickness" of the crescent) at sunset on March 132th will give away the fact that both the rabbinical calendar, and the crescentists were wrong!</p>
<p class="c4">Indeed, here is what the moon will look like at sunset from Jerusalem on March 13th, 2013:</p>
<center><img src="http://therefinersfire.org/images/moon20130313.jpg" alt="Crescent moon, at sunset from Jerusalem, March 13, 2013" title="" border="0" height="315" width="335"/><br/><p class="c3">Fig 1: Crescent moon, at sunset from Jerusalem, March 13, 2013</p>
</center>
<p class="c4">To the skilled observer, this presents a couple of "red flags". First, the thickness of the crescent is "too thick" to be a "new moon". It is "new", but the moon itself is indicating that it is "older" than it should be to be the "1st" day of the month. Second, the altitude of the moon when it becomes visible after sunset will be too high to be a "first visible new moon". Both of these factors should indicate that the moon being observed is not a "first visible crescent", rather, the moon is clearly in its 2nd day. (I know this is hard to understand, as most "observers" have no clue what a "new moon" should look like, so I will ask the reader to accept this simply as fact.)</p>
<p class="c4">Just to be clear, the appearance of the moon the previous sunset is presented in the next image - March 12, 2013, again from Jerusalem, when the sun has gone sufficiently below the horizon for any chance that the new moon might be seen:</p>
<center><img src="http://therefinersfire.org/images/moon20130312.jpg" alt="Crescent moon, at sunset from Jerusalem, March 12, 2013" title="" border="0" height="315" width="335"/><br/><p class="c3">Fig 2: Crescent moon, at sunset from Jerusalem, March 12, 2013</p>
</center>
<p class="c4">Here, the very thin sliver of the New Moon crescent is actually present, above the horizon, and it <b>is</b> indicating that the new month has begun - but the moon is below 4 degrees above the horizon at the time the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon, and the sky on the western horizon, near the moon, will still be very bright, and this sliver of the moon <b>will be very hard</b> to see! (The images of Figures 1 and 2 themselves do not reflect the brightness of the sky around the moon at the time. The illustrations only show the way the crescents will look.)</p>
<p class="c4">The point is this: Figure 2, above, shows the appearance of the moon at sunset on March 12th from Jerusalem, but it is not at all certain it will be seen! But our calendar takes this into account, and identifies sunset, March 12th, as the beginning of Nisan anyway. This night, sunset March 12th, becomes 1 Nisan. But the Rabbinical calendar says sunset March 12th is becoming 2 Nisan!</p>
<p class="c5">Not convinced?</p>
<p class="c4">Let us then turn to these objections: 1) "...but the (lunar) conjunction can't be seen!" 2) "The Bible says the New Moon is determined by the sighting of the crescent!" And 3) "But the sighting of the New Crescent is easy, anyone can determine the new month by simply looking up and seeing the crescent!"</p>
<p class="c4">Let me take the 2nd question first. You will find nowhere in Scripture where YHWH prescribes a <b>method</b> for determining the day of the New Moon. Period. You also will find no requirement that the new month be determined by the sighting of the crescent! The idea that the new month is determined by the sighting of the crescent is likely a myth, perpetuated by centuries of misunderstanding about the recorded motions of the moon, and historical texts which, though they describe the "human witnesses" sighting of the crescent, do not describe the fact that the "witnesses" were doing nothing more than confirming the month had begun. Without elaborting fully, the fundamental reason "sighting the crescent" is not correct in determining the day of the new month is this: Sighting the crescent is but a single "heavenly" witness. No one, skilled at observing the motions of the sun, moon, and stars would conclude that observing a crescent moon on one evening would be sufficient by itself to indicate a new month has begun.</p>
<p class="c4">Now for the 1st question. Think about it for a minute! The central objection is that "we can't see the conjunction." But who says we need to "see" the moment of conjunction to know when it happened? We don't need to see the moment of conjunction! We only need "bound" it! Just as in the discussion above about "moment" of full moon, which we also cannot be "seen", yet we can "bound" it by <b>other signs</b> which ARE visible, and in the case of the new moon, by meticulously watching the old moon and the new, we, as well as the ancient people, had already available the means to "bound" when conjunction took place! And I believe this is just what the Priests of old did! They knew this secret, and they knew full well, as a result, which day would be the new month, up to a week early! The idea that you needed "witnesses" to come forth stating they had "sighted" the new moon, was only an appeasement, if you will, to give the public a "say" in the event. (Appeasing the public would not be unprecedented!)</p>
<p class="c4">Given that the new, thin crescent is visible <b>after</b> conjunction and the old, thin crescent visible at sunrise a few days earlier meant that the moon was <b>about to go into</b> conjunction, <i>skilled</i> observers could easily "bound" the day of the conjunction! Therefore I posit that the ancients could tell when the old month ended and the new month began by simply knowing the last day the old moon was seen, and buy using tables of accumulated observations, they could predict when they would again see the "new" crescent of the new month. It is only modern man who is too lazy to watch the moon throughout the entire month, citing instead that <b>only</b> the sighting of the new crescent determines the new month!</p>
<p class="c4">Indeed, if you were so inclined, <i>you could prove this for yourself</i>. Get up early every day before sunrise and watch the old moon! Over the months (and years), you will notice its position and size (thickness of the crescent), angle, and altitude before sunrise, and you will come to be able to accurately predict when the moon goes into conjunction, and how many more days are needed before the next month begins. Then, combining your observations of the old moon, with your observations of the "new" moon, you can come up with a completely relable process to very accurately determine if the old month needs to be 29 days or 30, and on what day the new month will be. It is not hard! It just takes an effort which we are not inclined to do these days since there is, admitedly, no need to! We have our calendars or we'd rather simply accept some false fact like "the month does not begin till the crescent is spotted".</p>
<p class="c4">And finally, the 3rd objection: "But the sighting of the New Crescent is easy, anyone can determine the new month by simply looking up and seeing the crescent!" We've actually had someone make this statement to The Refiner's Fire! Though the statement is <i>partially</i> correct that it is "easy" to look in the sky at sunset, and see a crescent, if that crescent is sufficiently high enough and "old" enough to be observable. But concluding that the sighting "marks" the start of a new month is simply wrong! As described above, in reality, the moon would be carefully observed throughout the entire month, month after month, year after year, and those in charge of the observations would know full well when the new month would begin. Also, sighting a new crescent is not always "easy". As indicated above, for example, the new crescent for the 1st of Nisan in 2013 WILL BE in the sky (in Jerusalem) at sunset, March 12th, but it is not at all certain it will be seen! So what we have is that the beginning of the month of Nisan in 2013 by the "sighting of the crescent" might be the next night which will simply be wrong! Sighting the crescent to determine the new month is simply nonsense. It is neither (always) easy, nor accurate. And finally to the part of the objection stating "anyone can determine the new month by simply looking up and seeing the crescent." Fact is, determining the day of the new month is not the responsibility of just "anyone". In ancient times, keeping the calendar fell to the Priests, appointed from the Levis who were in in charge of the Temple and all things spiritual. In no way would determination of the first day of any month be expected of or accepted from "anyone".</p>
<p class="c5">Conclusion</p>
<p class="c4">So you should by now see that the rabbinic calendar for 2013, with 1 Nisan falling on Tuesday, March 12th, is wrong. That date, which is decidedly <b>before</b> the moon has had a chance to go into conjunction, is determined instead by "rules" to "force" Yom Kippur to fall on a weekly Shabbat. YHWH never said to alter the calendar to "force" a "Holy day" to fall on a certain day!</p>
<p class="c4">"In order to obey the mitzvot of ADONAI your God which I am giving you, do not add to what I am saying, and do not subtract from it." (Deuteronomy 4:2, CJB)<br/><br/> "Don't add anything to his words; or he will rebuke you, and you be found a liar." (Proverbs 30:6, CJB)</p>
<p class="c4">Worse, because the rabbinic calendar is wrong for 1 Nisan, it is wrong for <b>every</b> High Holy Day the rest of the year!</p>
<p class="c4">And finally, let's summarize the date for 1 Nisan, in the Gregorian year 2013. As mentioned above, the moon is in conjunction at 9:51 PM Jerusalem time, on March 11th. Since the moon becomes "new" <b>after</b> this time, and thus is well into the next Hebrew day, and the 1st day of the next Hebrew month cannot begin till the next sunset, a 30th day of Adar is required. We know this in advance by knowing that if the conjunction is after sunset (always from Jerusalem), an extra day of the current month is required. In this way, we are able to use modern technology to determine the precise time of the conjunction and then apply the Scriptural requirement for the new month to begin in the day following conjunction. Since, as described above, it is not necessary to know the precise <b>moment</b> of conjunction, and that the conjunction can be "bounded" by observation (i.e., not using technology), this technique is completely in harmony with the methods the ancients would have used to precisely determine the day of the new month from observation alone.</p>
<p class="c4">At sunset, on March 12th, 2013, in Jerusalem, a little less than 1/2 hour after sunset, the moon will be about 4 degrees above the horizon. This is plenty high for the moon to be seen, but the western horizon will still be quite bright. Whether or not the ultra-thin sliver of the almost 1 day old moon (as measured from true conjunction) will be seen is difficult to assess. But while the rabbinic calendar says this very evening is passing from 1 Nisan to 2 Nisan, the fact that if the moon is seen that night or not, it will be clear the rabbinic calendar is wrong. Come Passover, at sunset, March 26th, when we watch an almost full moon rise just minutes before sunset (in Jerusalem, meaning the moon will be passing into "full" that very evening), we will know that by our calendar we had the right day for the beginning of the Holy Year, 1 Nisan.</p>
<p class="c5">"Our" Calendar</p>
<p class="c4">We've used the term "our" calendar throughout this text but only because the method does not have a "name". But "our" calendar is really that of Aramaic scholar Andrew Gabriel Roth. All credit goes to him for his understanding of just how to combine our modern ability to calculate the precise position of the sun and moon at any moment in time with phenomenal accuracy, and apply that to how the ancient Priests would have perceived it and recovered the true calendar befitting of Genesis 1:14 God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, seasons, days and years".</p> THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF THE JEWISH HOLIDAYStag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-09-25:5544986:Topic:159352012-09-25T17:57:11.386ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
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<tbody><tr><td bgcolor="#993300" colspan="2"><div align="center"><p><b><font color="#FFCC99">THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF THE JEWISH HOLIDAYS</font></b></p>
<p><font color="#FFCC99">By Rabbi John Fischer, Ph.D., Th.D.</font></p>
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<p>"These are THE FEASTS OF THE LORD..." Leviticus…</p>
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<tbody><tr><td colspan="2" bgcolor="#993300"><div align="center"><p><b><font color="#FFCC99">THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF THE JEWISH HOLIDAYS</font></b></p>
<p><font color="#FFCC99">By Rabbi John Fischer, Ph.D., Th.D.</font></p>
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<p>"These are THE FEASTS OF THE LORD..." Leviticus 23:4</p>
<p>When God taught the Jewish people His truths in the time of Moses, He communicated them in a unique way. As any good educator or communicator would, He employed <a title="Click to Continue > by Text-Enhance" id="_GPLITA_0" href="http://menorahministries.com/Scriptorium/MeaningOfHolidays.htm#" name="_GPLITA_0">vehicles</a> that involved all of our senses in order to leave an indelible impression on us. These vehicles communicate God's message in beautiful, picturesque ways. Most significantly they include the festivals of the Jewish calendar.</p>
<p>A study of Numbers 10:10 reveals that God instituted the festivals and new month celebrations to serve as reminders of Him and our obligations to Him. As such they serve as teaching aids for absorbing religious truths. They can also serve to communicate God's message to our children and friends.</p>
<p>In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 God commanded us to daily teach our children His ways in all we do. In this way they (and we) will understand that following God is a life-style and is relevant to every aspect of life.The observance of the calendar events aids in this process and demonstrates that each day of our lives has tremendous significance before God. Rabbi Samsnon Hirsch explained it well:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>The catechism of the Jew consists of his calendar. On the pinions of time which bear us through life, God has inscribed the eternal words of his soul—inspiring doctrine, making days and weeks, months and years the heralds to proclaim his truths. Nothing would seem more fleeting than these heralds of time, but to them God has entrusted the care of his holy things, thereby rendering them more imperishable and more accessible than any mouth of priest, any monument, temple or altar could have done. (<strong>Judaism Eternal</strong>, Vol. 1, p. 3)</em></p>
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<p align="center">FULFILLMENT IN THE FESTIVALS</p>
<p>The B'rit Hadasha (Newer Testament) stresses that Yeshua (Jesus) fulfills the message of these calendar events, providing them with added significance. Hebrews (8:5; 10:1) speaks in terms of them being "Shadows of good things to come," that is, they highlight the Messiah. But a shadow can't highlight anyone if it's removed from the picture. Therefore, the "shadows" still have important functions to perform.</p>
<p>Yeshua taught (Matt. 5:17-19) that anyone who annulled the least of God's commandments, or taught others to do so, would be called "least" in His kingdom. He didnt' come to abolish or set aside the Law and its teachings; he came to do the opposite, to fulfill them. The term Yeshua used for "fulfill" carries the idea of bringing to full expression, showing off in its true meaning. The image is that of a crown, showing someone forth in his full radiance. The festivals are beautiful pictures of this.</p>
<p>Although the Sabbath (cf. Lev. 23:2-3) and new month celebrations are part of the calendar events, the rest of this chapter focuses on the major festivals.</p>
<p align="center">THE CYCLE OF FESTIVALS AND THEIR FULFILLMENT</p>
<p>Leviticus 23 relates the yearly cycle of Jewish festivals. In addition to the teachings being communicated, the very chronology of these festivals has significance.</p>
<hr width="50" size="1" noshade="noshade"/><h1 align="center">Passover Week</h1>
<p align="center">PESACH</p>
<p>Exodus 12 and the earlier chapters tell the story of Pesach. Nine plagues had not convinced the Pharaoh of Egypt to release the Jewish people. God had one final plague in mind. In order to be protected from this plague, each family had to kill a lamb and <a title="Click to Continue > by Text-Enhance" id="_GPLITA_1" href="http://menorahministries.com/Scriptorium/MeaningOfHolidays.htm#" name="_GPLITA_1">apply</a> its blood to the door of their home. When the angel of destruction passed through Egypt, he passed over the homes with blood on the door.</p>
<p>Leviticus 23:4-5 commands this festival to be observed in the <em>first</em> month of the Jewish year. Pesach is no longer celebrated in the first month because of a different starting point for the Jewish calendar, one which also goes back to biblical times. Notice too, the strong association of Pesach with unleavened bread. Traditionally, Pesach is observed much as it has been since before Yeshua. The major exceptions include the presence of the lamb bone replacing the eating of the lamb, and the addition of the Afikomen (the so-called "dessert"). [There is ample indication that Yeshua himself probably instituted this practice, which then found its way into traditional observance because of the early Messianic Jews.]</p>
<p>An incident from the time of the Second Temple highlights the Messianic significance of Pesach. At that time people traveled great distances to observe the holiday in Jerusalem. They would then go to the Temple area to select a lamb for the festival. There the priest would indicate an appropriate lamb by pointing to the lamb and saying: "Behold, the lamb." On one occasion Yohanan (John the Baptizer), the son of a priest, saw Yeshua coming in the distance, pointed and said: "Behold the lamb..." But he went on to complete his statement, "...the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29). He thus indicated that Yeshua's forthcoming sacrifical death was related to the meaning of Pesach. Later, Rav Shaul (Apostle Paul) stated, "Yeshua, our Passover, is sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7).</p>
<p>Yeshua the Messiah acted as God's Passover lamb for us; He died that we might live. Before He died, Yeshua took one of the cups of wine during Pesach and said that it represented His blood, which would shortly be shed on our behalf for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26: 27-28). This would have reminded His followers of the blood of the Passover lamb that was applied to the doorposts back in Egypt.</p>
<p>Now as we celebrate Pesach, we remember not only God's actions during the time of the Exodus but also Yeshua's death for us, which secured our atonement. In fact, the term used for the piece of matzah which is "hidden" during the Pesach meal, Afikomen—a Greek, not Hebrew term—literally means "the one who came." It was used in the first couple of centuries as a title of Yeshua the Messiah. [Cf. Lampe,<strong><em> A Patristic Greek Lexicon</em></strong>.]</p>
<p align="center">FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD</p>
<p>Leviticus 23:6-8 describes this festival which is closely connected to Pesach, which also uses unleavened bread. Unleavened bread (matzot) may well picture "pure" bread in that it has no yeast-like agents. In this sense it remains "uncontaminated". For this reason leaven frequently represented evil (I Cor. 5:6-7). This feast became part of the Passover week observance because of the command to eat matzot for seven days during Pesach (Ex. 12:18).</p>
<p>When Yeshua ate His last Passover meal, He took the matzah, broke it—as we do even today—and said it represented His body, which would be given as a sacrifice for us (Matt. 26:26), hence, the signficiance of "pure" or unleavened bread.</p>
<p align="center">CEREMONY OF FIRSTFRUITS</p>
<p>According to Leviticus 23:9-14 the ceremony of firstfruits occurs immediately after Pesach. The very first part of the harvest is waved before God, a symbolic way of presenting it to God, "to be accepted for us" (v. 11). Traditional observance associates this ceremony with Passover week. The beginning of the fifty-day period of counting the omer, observed by traditional Jews, reflects this ceremony today.</p>
<p>Three days after His death and right after Pesach, Yeshua rose from the dead (Matt. 28:1f). Rav Shaul wrote that by rising from the dead, "Yeshua became the <em>first-fruits</em> of those who died" (I Cor. 15:20). Like the firstfruits (Lev. 23:11), His ressurection was "accepted for us" as He was "raised for our justification" (Rom. 4:25). So, the ceremony of the firstfruits and its traditional counterpart, the beginning of the counting of the omer, should remind us of Yeshua's ressurection. The resurrection demonstrated that He was indeed the Messiah and that His sacrifice had in fact secured atonement for us.</p>
<p>As we recall the significance of Passover week, we recognize several truths. The blood of the Passover lamb reminds us of Yeshua's great loss of blood at His crucifixion, and the matzah recall His body sacrificed on our behalf. These holidays picture His death. The ceremony of firstfruits pictures His resurrection. Thus, the Messianic significance of Passover week relates to the atonement made for us by Yeshua the Messiah, effected by His death and resurrection.</p>
<h1 align="center">Shavuot</h1>
<p>Chronologically, Shavuot (Pentecost), the Feast of Weeks, occurs next in the original Jewish calendar (Lev. 23:15-22). This special time takes place fifty days after the firstfruits ceremony. Along with other offerings two loaves of leavened bread were presented to God. Deuteronomy 16:9-17 indicates that although this festival accompanied the harvest, it was intended to remind us that we were once slaves in Egypt, before God set us free.</p>
<p>As our traditions developed, Shavuot became the festival of the giving of the Law. Evidently, the rabbis concluded by calculations that the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai took place on this day. Traditional Jews read the scroll of Ruth in the synagogue on this day and occasionally refer to Shavuot as "Atzeret shel Pesach," the completion of Passover. Messianic significance abounds in this festival. From God's perspective the time of great "harvest"—when large numbers of Jews and then Gentiles came into a personal relationship with Him—was initiated at the Shavuot after Yeshua's resurrection (Acts 2:40-43). The two leavened (impure) loaves of Shavuot may therefore symbolize Jew and Gentile "presented" to God and now part of His "family". The scroll of Ruth, the story of the Gentile woman who became part of God's people, certainly pictures this time when Gentiles first became God's children in large numbers.</p>
<p>Rav Shaul's teaching about our former condition as slaves to sin (Romans 6-8) is certainly reminiscent of Shavuot's reminder that we were formerly slaves in Egypt. God set us free from slavery to sin by placing His Spirit in us to enable us to live as He intended (Rom. 8:1-4). God visibly placed His Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) in Yeshua's followers on this important Shavuot centuries ago (Acts 2:4).</p>
<p>Technically, the work of atonement is not complete unless man's sin nature ("yetzer hara", evil inclination) has been dealt with and power to overcome it has been granted. The coming of the Ruach HaKodesh served as the completion of Passover (Atzeret shel Pesach), the completion of our atonement, in the sense that through the Spirit God gives us the power we need to overcome our tendency to evil. Yeshua Himself indicated this (John 16:7): "Unless I go, the Ruach HaKodesh will not come. But when I go (i.e. "firstfruits", His resurrection), I will send the Ruach to you" (Shavuot, the completion of the fifty days from firstfruits, occuring during Passover week).</p>
<p>Shavuot possess other Messianic significance as well. God spoke of a time when He would write His laws in our hearts (Jer. 31:32-33). Ezekiel 36:25-27 mentions His placing the Ruach in our hearts in this same connection. So God associates the giving of the Ruach (Acts 2:4; Ezek. 36:25-27) with the placing of His Law in our hearts (Jer. 31:32-33). What more appropriate time to visibly place His Ruach in His people than on Shavuot, the feast of the giving of the Law! Notice that Ezekiel connects the giving of the Ruach with the sprinkling of water on us. Moroccan Jews have an ancient custom they perform on Shavuot. They pour water on each other! (Hayyim Schauss, <em>Guide to the Jewish Holy Days</em>, p. 95). This becomes one more symbol that Shavuot pictures God's visibly placing the Ruach in the followers of Yeshua.</p>
<h1 align="center">Rosh Hashanah</h1>
<p>The biblical holiday originated as the "memorial of the blowing of trumpets" (Lev. 23:23-25), a holy gathering. Today, we observe it as the New Year because, according to tradition, God created the world on this day. Rosh Hashanah is frequently called the day of remembrance (Yom HaZikaron) or the day of judgment (Yom HaDin) in view of its inauguration of the days of awe. The first name stresses God's faithfulness to His covenant and promises, the second His righteousness and justice. Still, the holiday conveys joy and delight, as illustrated by the custom of eating sweet things (e.g., apples dipped in honey).</p>
<p>A very interesting ceremony, Tashlich, grew up as part of the Rosh Hashanah observance. Devout Jews go to the edge of a body of water and empty their pockets or throw bread or stones into the water. As they do this, they repeat Micah 7:18-20, which includes: "You will throw our sins into the depths of the sea."</p>
<p>Since Rosh Hashanah originated as the memorial of blowing of trumpets, the shofar plays an important role. Among other things it symbolizes, according to the rabbis, are God's kingship and the coming of the Messianic Age (Olam Haba).</p>
<p>Rosh Hashanah has deep messianic significance. The rabbis taught that one day the shofar would sound and the Messiah would come. When He came, the dead would rise (Joseph Hertz, <em>Daily Prayer Book</em>, p. 865). About a decade after Yeshua, Rav Shaul talked about this when he referred to the fact that Yeshua would return for His followers and would thereafter rule the earth as Messiah the King. People refer to this event as the Rapture or Yeshua's Second Coming. In describing the Rapture, Rav Shaul said: "The trumpet (shofar) will sound; the Messiah will come, and the dead will rise" (I Thess. 4:16-18). This day will certainly be charactersized by joy, delight, and sweetness (cf. apples dipped in honey).</p>
<p>This particular resurrection is for those who have had, as Tashlich reminds us, their sins thrown into the sea by God because they have accepted Yeshua as Messiah. At this time, we will undergo a new<em> creation</em>, so to speak (I Cor. 15:50-53); we will receive new bodies. Remember, Rosh Hashanah traditionally commemorates the original creation. The Rapture, while being a sign of God's faithfulness to us (Yom HaZikaron, day of remembrance), ushers in a time of judgment on the world (Yom HaDin, day of judgment).</p>
<p>In Leviticus the term "memorial" does not mean remembering something which is past. It calls attention to something about to occur. As we observe Rosh Hashanah, we should anticipate the time of Yeshua's return.</p>
<h1 align="center">Yom Kippur</h1>
<p>The Bible (Lev. 23:26-32) describes this day (the Day of Atonement) as most solemn, a time of introspection and repentance. Those who didn't observe this holy day were severely punished. Only on Yom Kippur could the high priest enter the most sacred part of the sancuary, and only he could enter. There, after making a sacrifice for himself, he brought the blood from the sacrifice made for the people (Lev. 16). On this day atonement was made for the <em>whole</em> nation, as a goat died in place of the people. (According to the most up-to-date studies, atonement, Heb. KIPPER, means "ransom by means of a substitute.")</p>
<p>Traditional observance has maintained the solemnity of this great day of repentance. Reminiscences of the Yom Kippur sacrifice still exist among some religious Jews in the custom of Kapporot. A chicken is swung over the head as the following is recited: "this is my substitute, this is my commutation; this chicken goes to death; but may I be gathered and enter into a long and happy life and into peace."</p>
<p>Messianic signficance abounds. The services during the period of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur refer repeatedly to the binding or sacrific of Isaac ("Akedah"). The rabbis teach that in some way God accepts the "sacrifice" of Isaac on our behalf. Isaac beautifully foreshadows the sacrifice of Messiah (e.g. Heb. 11:17-19), whose sacrifice God accepted on our behalf. The Haftorah portion on Yom Kippur is the book of Jonah, the prophet who spent three days in the belly of a large fish before emerging. When Yeshua was challenged to provide evidence for His Messiahship, He pointed to the example of Jonah (Matt. 12:39-40). He used Jonah as a picture of His own death and resurrection. A musaf prayer found in many older Yom Kippur prayerbooks exhibits additional Messianic significance.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>"The Messiah our righteousness has turned from us. We are alarmed, we have no one to justify us. Our sins and the yoke of our transgressions he bore. He was bruised for our iniquities. He carried on his shoulders our sins. With his stripes we are healed. Almighty God, hasten the day that he might come to us anew; that we may hear from Mt. Lebanon a second time through the Messiah."</em> (<strong><em>Oz M'lifnai B'reshit</em></strong>).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Rav Shaul writes of a time in the future when all Israel will be redeemed and will have atonement (Rom. 11:26). The prophet Zechariah (12:10; 13:9) also predicted this time of national redemption. In the past atonement was made for <em>all</em> Israel on Yom Kippur. Presently, this holy day looks forward to the time when <em>all</em> Israel will accept the atonement provided by the Messiah. This will be a time not only of national atonment for Israel but of atonement for the entire world.</p>
<p>As we await this day, we can celebrate Yom Kippur by thanking God for the atonement available through Yeshua and by praying that more of our people will recognize and accept Him as their atonement. The tenor of the day also provides us with an opportunity for self-searching, repentance and recommitment to God (cf. II Cor. 13:5; I Jn. 1:9).</p>
<h1 align="center">Succot</h1>
<p>The Bible (Lev. 23:33-43) pictures Succot (Festival of Booths or Tabernacles) as an eight-day period of rejoicing. Although it occurs at harvest time, the festival virtually ignores the harvest theme as it commemorates God's faithfulness to Israel through the wilderness wanderings after they left Egypt.</p>
<p>Traditional observance has maintained the spirit of great rejoicing during Succot. As in biblical times, meals are to be eaten in booths as a "picture of man's sojourn under God's wings," and also as a reminder of freedom from Egypt (Lev. 23:43). Participants carry the lulav branches and the etrog [a lemon-like fruit] in a procession through the synagogue and wave the branches in four directions. The waving of the branches goes back to earlier times when Near Eastern people welcomed visiting dignitaries in this way.</p>
<p>The seventh day of the celebration, Hoshana Rabba, gets its name from the prayers said on that day. Those prayers begin with the Hebrew "hoshana" (save now) and include some special Messianic prayers. In tune with the spirit of joy, the participants recite Hallel Psalms (113-118) during the week's celebration. It all culminates on the ninth day with Simchat Torah, the day of rejoicing over God's gift of the Law to the Jewish people.</p>
<p>During the Second Temple times, two events which no longer take place highlighted the celebration. Water, drawn from a nearby source, was brought to the Temple and poured out by the altar as Isaiah 12:3 was repeated: "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." The torchlight parade, brilliantly illuminating the Temple at night, stood out as the other great event, possibly reflecting one of the verses from the Hallel Psalms (118:27): "God is the Lord who has shown us light."</p>
<p>Yeshua chose these two events to highlight His mission as Messiah. As the water was being poured by the altar, He announced: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Scripture says that rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being" (John 7:37-39). As torches lit up the Temple, He shouted: "I am the light of the world...light will flood the path of the one following me" (John 8:12).</p>
<p>Messianic significance also abounds in the celebration as traditionally observed since Temple days. Two verses from one of the Hallel Psalms stand out (118:22-23): "The stone which the builders refused has become the head stone of the corner." This beautifully pictured the time when Yeshua will reign as Messiah, the king over the earth. The waving of the lulav, that oriental form of welcome, will be directed toward Him in that day. One of the prayers of Hoshana Rabba echoes this welcome to Messiah.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>"A voice heralds, heralds and saith: Turn unto me and be ye saved, today if ye hear my voice. Behold the man who sprang forth, Branch* is his name...</em></p>
<p><em>"But to his anointed, the Messiah he giveth grace. Grant salvation to the eternal people. To David and to his seed* forever..."</em></p>
<p>[* Both are references to Messiah, the seed and branch of David (cf. Isa. 9:5-6; Jer. 23:5-6).]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This prayer eagerly ancitipates the coming of the Messianic kingdom. Then, people will rejoice in the presence of the living Torah, Yeshua, the one called the Word of God (cf. John 1:1f). That Simchat Torah will have no rivals in its joy and celebration. Zechariah 14:16-19 describes this as a time when all nations, not just Israel, will keep the festival of Succot and live in booths.</p>
<p>When the apostle Peter (Shimon Ha-Shaliach) awoke from dozing and for a moment caught sight of the glory Yeshua reflected at His transfiguration, he immediately thought the Messiah had come to rule. In the spirit of the Zechariah passage, he appropriately suggested that they begin celebrating Succot. His idea was good, but his timing was off. Shimon discovered later that he had had the privilege of looking into the future that Zechariah had predicted. So Succot pictures the coming reign of Messiah over the earth, that time of ultimate freedom.</p>
<p>As we celebrate Succot each year, we can anticipate that time when the booths will no longer picture our present "sojourn under God's wings". <em>Then</em> they will remind us of the past, <em>before</em> the reign of Yeshua HaMashiach the King. In the meantime the booths remind us to depend on God and not on material goods (cf. Mt. 6:25-33).</p>
<hr width="50" size="1" noshade="noshade"/><p>Perhaps a chart best summarizes the Messianic significances of the Jewish holidays. It also helps demonstrate the importance of their specific sequence in Leviticus 23, as they reflect in chronological order the major events of God's dealings with us.</p>
<table width="80%" border="0" align="center" cellspacing="2">
<tbody><tr><td><strong>Festival</strong></td>
<td><div align="center"></div>
</td>
<td><div align="center"><strong>Messianic significance</strong></div>
</td>
<td><div align="center"><strong>Fulfilled</strong></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>Passover week</td>
<td> </td>
<td>Atoning events:<br/>Yeshua's death and resurrection</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td>
<td>Pesach</td>
<td>Yeshua's blood shed for us</td>
<td>YES</td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td>
<td>Unleavened Bread</td>
<td>Yeshua's body given for us</td>
<td>YES</td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td>
<td>Firstfruits</td>
<td>Yeshua's resurrection</td>
<td>YES</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>Shavuot</td>
<td> </td>
<td>Visible coming of Ruach HaKodesh at Shavuot in 30 C.E. (A.D.)</td>
<td>YES</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>Rosh HaShanah</td>
<td> </td>
<td>Rapture</td>
<td>NO</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>Yom Kippur</td>
<td> </td>
<td>National (Israel's) and world atonement</td>
<td>NO</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>Succot</td>
<td> </td>
<td>Messiah's reign over the earth</td>
<td>NO</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h1 align="center">The Holidays Outside the Leviticus Cycle</h1>
<p align="center">PURIM</p>
<p>Purim commemorates the events of the scroll of Esther, as we relive our deliverance from Haman and take renewed faith in outliving Hamans of other times. The celebration provides a joyous, carnival-type of atmosphere. Men dress up as women, women as men; people playfully snatch each other's food. All of this serves as a picture of disorder.</p>
<p>Haman was the first to attempt to exterminate the Jews, so the holiday is a reminder of God's preservation of and commitment to Israel. But in the context of Purim, it reminds us of God's preservation <em>during our exile</em>. Exile is pictured as a time of disorder, in contrast to the order which characterizes Messiah's reign, the final and complete end of exile. The disorderly, raucous, carnival nature of Purim then serves to remind us of God's preservation of our people through the years of exile until Messiah rules, and disorder disappears.</p>
<p align="center">HANUKKAH</p>
<p>Hanukkah reminds us of the victory won by the Maccabees in 165 B.C.E. to insure the purity of the worship of God and to preserve the distinctiveness of Israel and Jewish identity. After God granted this tremendous victory, the people cleansed and rededicated the Temple. The Syrian ruler Antiochus had defiled the Temple and turned it into a heathen shrine, hence the need for cleansing. Therefore, Hanukkah originated as the festival of the dedication or cleansing of the Temple.</p>
<p>Yeshua used the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22) to proclaim Himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10:1ff). In the Jewish writings shepherds frequently represented the leaders of Israel, both good and bad. (The Maccabees, for example, would have been considered among the good shepherds.) Yeshua therefore announced Himself as the good shepherd <em>par excellence</em>.</p>
<p>The book of Daniel predicted the rise of Antiochus and his defiling of the Temple (Dan. 8 & 11). Daniel also used Antiochus to represent a figure in the future whom Christian theologians call the Antichrist (Antimessiah), who will also defile the Temple (in this case, the Third Temple which is not yet built). The Antimessiah will cause great persecution for the Jewish people, a time known as Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:4-7; cf. Zech. 13:8-9). At this time Yeshua the Messiah, as the great shepherd-leader (Zech. 12-14; cf. I Peter 5:4), will come and win a tremendous victory, greater than that won by Yehudah the Maccabee. He will save Israel and establish His worldwide rule.</p>
<p>Hanukkah looks back to a victory and the preservation of the Jewish people when they were <em>in the land</em>. For us it looks forward to a time when our Jewish people will be preserved despite intense suffering. This preservation, again while the Jewish people are in the land, will culminate in the victory won by the Great Shepherd, Yeshua.</p>
<p>Thus Purim pictures our preservation from our enemies while we're in exile, and Hanukkah pictures our preservation while we're in the land. And, both anticipate the reign of Messiah.</p>
<hr width="50" size="1" noshade="noshade"/><p align="center">CONCLUSION</p>
<p>The Jewish calendar has tremendous significance for us. It recalls the great actions of God in our history and reminds us of all He has done for us. He is the Lord of history.</p>
<p>The holidays possess tremendous Messianic significance as well and highlight all that Yeshua has and will accomplish for us. They serve as excellent reminders for both Jews and Gentiles. But God has also used the holidays to preserve us as a people, a preservation in which we should actively participate by continuing to observe the Jewish calendar.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>"In Jewish experience the holidays have yielded a double boon. They have been a bond of union, contributing mightily to the preservation of the Jewish people under circumstances that might have undone them.</em></p>
<p><em>"Being an extraterritorial group, Jewry always needed strong inner ties. The holy days have been such ties... While the children of Israel preserved the Sabbath and the other sacred days, they found themselves preserved by them.</em></p>
<p><em>"But the sacred days did more than merely preserve Jewry; they breathed the sacred into Jewish life and endowed it with religious idealism... 'I gave them ... to be a sign between me and them, and that they might known that I am the Lord that sanctifieth them.'</em></p>
<p><em>"...Thus have the holy days preserved Israel..." </em>(Beryl Cohon,<em> <strong>Judaism in Theory and Practice</strong>,</em> p. 170).</p>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table> The Feast and there Meanings and Fulfillment in Messiah (Short Version)tag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-09-10:5544986:Topic:151592012-09-10T17:08:20.198ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/111638342?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/111638342?profile=original" width="500" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/111638342?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/111638342?profile=original" width="500" class="align-center"/></a></p> Shabbat Shalom!tag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-09-08:5544986:Topic:148752012-09-08T18:33:27.107ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<h1><a href="http://bethaderech.com/shabbat-shalom-videos/">Shabbat Shalom – שבת-שלום!</a></h1>
<div class="dentro"><p><img alt="Shabbat sabbath | Shabbat Shalom שבת שלום! (Videos)" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4743" height="300" src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Shabbat-sabbath.gif" title="Shabbat Shalom - Sabbath Rest" width="200"></img></p>
<p>From out of the sea of mitzvot it is the Shabbat that God has chosen to elevate and make of supreme importance to us as a people. Of all the commands He chose the Shabbat as the sign of His covenant with us. What is the summary of His pact with us? It isn’t just acknowledging HaShem as our God, refraining from…</p>
</div>
<h1><a href="http://bethaderech.com/shabbat-shalom-videos/">Shabbat Shalom – שבת-שלום!</a></h1>
<div class="dentro"><p><img src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Shabbat-sabbath.gif" alt="Shabbat sabbath | Shabbat Shalom שבת שלום! (Videos)" title="Shabbat Shalom - Sabbath Rest" width="200" height="300" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4743"/></p>
<p>From out of the sea of mitzvot it is the Shabbat that God has chosen to elevate and make of supreme importance to us as a people. Of all the commands He chose the Shabbat as the sign of His covenant with us. What is the summary of His pact with us? It isn’t just acknowledging HaShem as our God, refraining from<a title="Powered by Text-Enhance" id="_GPLITA_3" href="http://bethaderech.com/shabbat-shalom-videos/#" name="_GPLITA_3">murder</a> and abominations, but the Shabbat. Why is it the sign of God’s covenant with us?</p>
<p>“More than Israel has kept the Shabbat, the Shabbat has kept Israel.” The sign of His union with us is a <a title="Powered by Text-Enhance" id="_GPLITA_2" href="http://bethaderech.com/shabbat-shalom-videos/#" name="_GPLITA_2">gift</a>, it is both something that we do to reflect our glorious relationship and also something that preserves us and reminds us of the wonder and truth of His love. For what if after the Holy One, blessed be He, had set us up in such a lofty position, governing the world and exerting authority over it, we would forget who had placed us here? We would see no other God than ourselves, creating and shaping the world to our will forgetting that we are but imitating and partaking in the creative power of our Father.</p>
<p>The prophets contrasted the Shabbat against all the other commandments, the fullness of its observance would restore the people. Yechezkel 20; Yeshayahu / Isaiah 56, 58 etc. If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your affairs on My holy day; If you call the sabbath “delight,” HaShem’s day “honored”; and if you honor it and go not your own ways nor look to your affairs, nor strike bargains – then you can seek the favor of HaShem. Yeshayahu / Isaiah 58:13.</p>
<p>The Shabbat is compared to a glimpse of the world to come, a renewal of our messianic hope once a week. This is also compared to the ultimate pinnacle of creation, the seventh day when God rested. Partaking of the Shabbat is becoming involved with a mitzvah that is so eternal it is a part of God’s natural character. The Shabbat is something eternal somehow birthed into the finite, a taste heaven. There is always the continual human struggle to submit to HaShem and to truly realize and actualize our relationship with Him.</p>
</div> Countdown from the Omer to Shavuottag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-04-13:5544986:Topic:128082012-04-13T16:54:09.756ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<p>The presentation of the omer initiates a countdown of seven weeks, culminating in Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost) immediately after the 49th day.</p>
<p>“And you shall count to you from the morning after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave-offering; seven weeks shall be complete: Even to the morrow after the seventh week shall you number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meal-offering to HaShem. You shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves…</p>
<p>The presentation of the omer initiates a countdown of seven weeks, culminating in Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost) immediately after the 49th day.</p>
<p>“And you shall count to you from the morning after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave-offering; seven weeks shall be complete: Even to the morrow after the seventh week shall you number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meal-offering to HaShem. You shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves of two tenth-parts: they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baked with leaven, and they are the first-fruits to HaShem” (Leviticus 23:15-17).</p>
<p>At this second offering of first-fruits, the grain is not presented in its natural state, but has been thrashed and winnowed, so that only the useful portion is retained. The “fine flower” produced in this way is infused with a new holiness – not the paganism of Egypt which was left behind, but by the life-giving holiness of God’s holy Law. This new batch of dough is then put to the fire to produce two loaves for a new wave-offering before our God.</p>
<p>In the history of the first Exodus, the “thrashing and winnowing” began immediately – even on the shores of the Sea of Reeds. It continued at the waters of Marah, “… for there He tested them” (Shemot 15:25), in the Desert of Sin, “I will test them and see whether they obey my instructions” (Shemot 16:4), and eventually at Sinai, in the very afterglow of Divine Revelation, in the censure over the Golden Calf.</p>
<p>During this time, the children of Israel were not “elevated into a position of readiness to receive the Law” – as claimed by the rabbis – but was rather weighed and found wanting, shown to be an unfaithful, disobedient, and obstinate people. If not for the faithful intercession of Moshe, HaShem would have destroyed the entire nation within days of entering into the Sinai Covenant. But HaShem’s purposes cannot fail, and the nation would fulfill its prophetic destiny, even if reduced to a remnant of one (Exodus 32:10).</p>
<p>Shavuot (the 50th day) coincides according to tradition with the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Chapter nineteen of Exodus simply records that the hosts of Israel reached Sinai in the third month, which begins on the 45th day of the omer (five days before Pentecost).</p>
<p>According to the Soncino Commentary, “the Israelites arrived at Sinai on the New Moon [first day of the third month]. On the second of the month, Moses ascended the mountain; on the third, he received the people’s reply; on the fourth, he made the second ascent and was commanded to institute three days of preparation, at the conclusion of which the Revelation took place. Hence its [i.e. the giving of the Torah’s] association with the Feast of Weeks, which became the Festival of Revelation.”</p>
<p>Maimonides explains the significance of the seven week countdown to Shavuot (also known as the sephirah or counting): “The Feast of Weeks is the anniversary of the revelation on Mount Sinai. . . In order to raise the importance of this day, we count the days that pass since the preceding festival, just as one who expects his most intimate friend on a certain day counts the days and even the hours. This is the reason why we count the days…”</p>
<p>Whereas the Red Sea represented the deliverance from pagan rule, the Law of Sinai represented the more important deliverance from pagan lore and custom. If Israel conformed to the Torah (HaShem’s teaching) it would display God’s wisdom and holiness, and rouse the nations to jealously: “Behold, I have taught you statutes, and judgments, even as HaShem my God commanded me, that you should do so in the land where you are going to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, that will hear all these statutes, and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, that has God so near to them, as HaShem our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?" (Deuteronomy 4:5-8).</p>
<p>The omer count is made starting the evening of each day – when the count happens at night the blessing is said and when the count happens during the daytime the blessing is not said. Here’s the blessing: "Baruch atah Ad-nai Elo-keinu melekh ha-olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al s’firat ha-omer" / "Blessed be You our God Ruler of space and time, who made us holy through commandments and commanded us about counting the Omer."</p>
<p>After the blessing the day is counted by absolute number and by its number within each week, i.e., "Today is the thirty-third day of the omer, which is four weeks and five days"</p>
<p>According to the book of Acts says that the risen Yeshua appeared to His disciples over a period of forty days before His ascension. The forty days of the living Messiah among His disciples all fell within a period of time on the biblical calendar called the "counting of the Omer."</p>
<p>The forty-nine days hearken back to the days of the journey from the crossing of the sea to Mount Sinai. It is a journey that begins with the Feast of Unleavened Bread (the symbol of our salvation in Yeshua), and it is completed at Pentecost (the symbol of our completion through the Spirit). The Master’s resurrection makes the counting of the Omer a season of special significance and joy for His disciples. It is a time to remember the resurrected Yeshua. All of his post-resurrection appearances fell within the days of the Omer count counting the Omer continues the cycle in a believer’s life of "working out their salvation" (Phil 2:12)</p>
<p>Shavuot concludes the first half of the festive calendar. It’s very important to count the Omer and make the Omer Count.</p>
<p> </p> The omer between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost) & YESHUAtag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-04-07:5544986:Topic:127232012-04-07T16:01:08.345ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
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<p><br></br>We mark the passage of time between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost) by the “counting of the omer.” A period of seven weeks is observed in which each day is counted off for 49 days ending on the fiftieth day known as Shavuot /Pentecost (Pentecost-means 50). It is the number of days from the barley harvest to the wheat harvest.</p>
<p>The counting of the days of the Omer is a biblical commandment incumbent upon every believer. Traditionally, the period of the Omer count…</p>
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<p><br/>We mark the passage of time between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost) by the “counting of the omer.” A period of seven weeks is observed in which each day is counted off for 49 days ending on the fiftieth day known as Shavuot /Pentecost (Pentecost-means 50). It is the number of days from the barley harvest to the wheat harvest.</p>
<p>The counting of the days of the Omer is a biblical commandment incumbent upon every believer. Traditionally, the period of the Omer count is to be a time of spiritual introspection as the counters prepare themselves for Shavuot. Because it begins during Passover and concludes at Shavuot, the counting of the Omer remembers the journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai.</p>
<p>The symbolism is strong. Just as the first omer of barley was brought as a first fruits of the whole harvest, so too Messiah’s resurrection was a first fruits of the resurrection of the dead. This is the imagery Paul invokes with the words, "Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep."[2] Just as the first fruits of the barley made all the rest of the harvest kosher for harvest, so too the resurrection of Messiah makes the resurrection of the dead possible.</p>
<p>According to Jewish tradition, the counting is done in the following prescribed manner. After the evening prayers each day, the counter recites a blessing: "Blessed are You, HaShem Our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to count the Omer." Then the counter simply states, "Today is X days of the Omer." The person counting follows his formal declaration of the omer day with a recitation of Psalm 67 and a few short petitions for spiritual cleansing and renewal. Tradition prescribes the recitation of Psalm 67 because it is composed of exactly 49 Hebrew words which correspond to the 49 days of the omer count. The Psalm is seasonally appropriate because of its harvest motif. It is spiritually appropriate because it speaks clearly of God’s salvation (Yeshua) being made known over all the earth.</p>
<p>During the Temple times, an elaborate ceremony developed of bringing an offering representing the earliest harvest, a sheaf of barley, as a thanksgiving tithe to G-d. The priest would meet the worshipers on the edge of the city and lead them up to the Temple mount with music, praise psalms and dance. On arriving at the Temple, the priest would take the sheaves of grain and lift some of them in the air, waving them in every direction, thus acknowledging God’s provision and sovereignty over all the earth.</p>
<p>Yeshua rose from the dead on the 1st day of the Omer. Paul (Shaul) wrote "But the truth is, Messiah was raised to life- the first fruits of the harvest of the dead." 1st Corinthians 15:20 This festival is called "bikkurim"- first fruits. Is just a coincidence?</p>
<p>The "Omer" Controversy. In modern-day Judaism, the First Day of the Omer is always 16th Nisan, the day after Passover, so that Pentecost is on 6th Sivan. However, at the time of Yeshua there was a debate going on between the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees interpreted "the morrow after the Sabbath" in Lev. 23:15 to be the day after Passover, since any non-working day is considered to be a Sabbath. The Sadducees interpreted it literally to mean the day after the first weekly Sabbath after Passover. History shows that in first century Judaism the majority view regarding the counting of the omer was according the Pharisees and that this is what has survived to this day in the majority of Judaism.</p>
<p>Understanding this history is vital to understanding one more foundational scripture when considering this subject of how we are to count the forty-nine days, which lead to the fiftieth day, the day of Shavuot (Pentecost). Because Yeshua’s talmidim celebrated Shavuot during the same time as the majority view in Judaism we can also conclude that they started counting the omer, the forty-nine days leading to the fiftieth day of Shavuot on the day after the High Holy Day of the first day of Chag HaMatzah (Feast of Unleavened Bread). Part of being a talmid (disciple) of Yeshua our Rabbi means that we will seek to do the same. We should seek to be unified with Israel in as much as we can.</p>
<p>The Mishnah (Menahot 66) goes to great detail explaining the ceremony that was performed to gather the Omer. Since the Omer was brought to the Temple on the second day of Passover, its harvesting over rode the laws of Shabbat. It was reaped at night of the sixteenth of Nisan irregardless if it was a weekday or the Shabbat.</p>
<p>The counting of the Omer is likened to a bride and groom who are waiting for the day of their wedding. They have set the date and are now counting to the big event. For us, we are counting to the time on which the Torah was given on Mount Sinai; a day to which G-d revealed Himself in a manner never before revealed to man. It was a time to which our ancestors looked forward to and indeed so do we. Let’s work together this year as we keep the mitzvah of Counting the Omer. Let’s express the resurrected life within us by doing more mitzvot and spreading more joy.</p>
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