{"id":23834,"date":"2022-10-20T21:49:08","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T04:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2022-approach-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-10-20T22:27:24","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T05:27:24","slug":"2022-fallholidays","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2022-fallholidays\/","title":{"rendered":"The Unfolding Mystery Of The Fall Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Julia Blum 10\/10\/2022<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

My dear readers, since I publish my posts only once a month now \u2013 and this is a very special month indeed \u2013 I will discuss all the Fall holidays in this article. We are in the Hebrew month of Tishrei, the seventh month in the Hebrew calendar.<\/p>\n

As you all know, the number seven is very important in the Bible. What is the seventh day? Shabbat, of course, and just as the seventh day is a prophetic symbol of the future messianic kingdom, so is the seventh month: the journey of the soul to the joy of the messianic kingdom is gradually unfolding in this special month.<\/p>\n

Remarkably, Rosh Hashanah is the only holiday in the Jewish calendar that falls on the New Moon, the beginning of the Jewish new month \u2014 when the moon, previously hidden from our eyes, begins to appear gradually. Along with the moon, the mystery of His Fatherhood and His Kingdom becomes brighter and brighter as we advance from one holiday to another. Today, we are going to follow the journey of the soul symbolized and revealed by these special days.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Of course, we will begin with the first of Tishrei \u2013 Rosh Hashanah. The term \u201cRosh Hashanah\u201d in its current meaning does not appear in the\u00a0Bible.\u00a0Leviticus 23:24\u00a0refers to the festival of the first day of the seventh month as\u00a0Zikhron Teru\u2019ah<\/em>\u00a0 ([a] memorial [of] blowing [of Trumpets]);\u00a0Numbers 29:1\u00a0calls the festival\u00a0Yom Teru\u2019ah<\/em>\u00a0(\u201cDay [of] blowing [the Trumpet]\u201d). Thus, the biblical Hebrew name for this holiday is\u00a0Yom Teruah<\/em>\u00a0(\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05e2\u05b8\u05d4\u200e\u200e), literally \u201cday [of] shouting\/blasting\u201d, and is usually translated as the\u00a0Feast of Trumpets<\/em>. The only commandment we have in the Torah for this day is indeed the blowing (of the shofar). Why?<\/p>\n

The blowing of the shofar is a symbol of enthronement and kingship. Scholars suggested that the sounding of the shofar indicates God\u2019s enthronement for the New Year: on Rosh Hashanah, God created the world, and by blowing our shofars we proclaim Him as our King!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While opening a new Jewish calendar year, Rosh HaShanah commemorates the anniversary of Creation. However, the day we celebrate as Rosh Hashanah, the first of Tishrei, is not actually considered the anniversary of Creation itself \u2013 rather, it is the anniversary of the sixth day of Creation<\/strong>, when Adam and Eve were created. The anniversary of the first day of Creation would be five days before, on the twenty-fifth day of Elul. Why? Because, according to Jewish understanding, it is only when man was created that the whole of creation became meaningful\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>In Rabbinic tradition, it is only the birth of humanity that made it possible for God to be proclaimed King. Therefore, when we blow Shofar on this day, it is akin to a coronation: we proclaim God\u2019s enthronement and\u00a0 Kingship for yet another year. Thus, we come to the main theme of the High Holidays:\u00a0\u00a0God is King!\u00a0<\/strong>God\u2019s Kingship is the main theme of Rosh Hashanah and the Ten Days of Awe it inaugurates. The special prayers for these days are filled with references to God as King: we read the prayer \u201cAvinu Malkeinu\u201d every day during these special days.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To this traditional understanding, I would like to add a personal insight: I believe that the sound of the Shofar is a\u00a0reminder\u00a0<\/strong>to every soul (that is why it is called\u00a0Yom Zichron Trua<\/em>). We each have our own story, but there is a greater story that each of us is a part of, whether we are aware of it or not. Yom Zichron Trua is a reminder that we are part of\u00a0His<\/em>\u00a0story. It is a reminder to each of us that we are not orphans in this world, that we have a true Father and this Father is King. If we recall also that in Scripture the word\u00a0lizkor,<\/em>\u00a0\u201cremember\u201d, \u00a0always means some action\u2014when we read \u201cAnd the Lord remembered Noah\u2026 Sarah\u2026 Joseph,\u201d there is always some action following these words\u2014we would understand that the awakening of the soul is only the starting point, after which the real action, the work of the soul, must follow. This work of the soul is the repentance that the Lord expects from the soul. The sound of the shofar awakens the soul on Rosh Hashanah\u2014it remembers that it has a Father and a King, and it embarks on the path of awe and humility. Thus, we enter the next segment of this journey: the Days of Awe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I believe these ten days symbolize the path of the awakened soul. \u00a0This is the path of the soul, which first realizes that her Father is the King, and rejoices and trembles with happiness, but gradually understands that He is her King as well, and humbles herself under this knowledge: He is my King, He is my Master, He is my Lord. It is the same progression that we see in the Song of Songs\u2014from the initial jubilation: My Beloved belongs to me, to the humble understanding: I belong to my Beloved. And thus, we arrive at Yom Kippur, when we are told to \u201chumble our souls\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

By the time of Yom Kippur, the moon is almost full (but not completely full yet). The mystery continues to unfold. If we read Leviticus 16, the main text for Yom Kippur, we would understand that on Yom Kippur another and very important truth is revealed: we have a Redeemer, the One Who Himself redeems and purifies.<\/strong> No matter how impure we may be when we come to him, the King Himself purifies and redeems. He is our Redeemer and our High Priest. He redeems us and takes us as his children \u2013 and this is\u00a0Chatima Tova!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And then, on the 15th<\/sup>\u00a0of Tishrei, we get to the full moon and the full revelation of the mystery of Tishrei. The holiday of Sukkot begins five days after the Day of Atonement, on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei, \u05d8\u05d5\u2019 \u05d1\u05ea\u05e9\u05e8\u05d9\u00a0tet-vav be-Tishrei,<\/em>\u00a0on the full moon. What is the meaning of Sukkot and why, in the Bible, is Sukkot sometimes simply called \u201cThe Feast\u201d (1 Kings 8:2) or \u201cThe Feast of the Lord\u201d (Lev.23:39). What is so special about Sukkot?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

According to Jewish tradition, on Yom Kippur, God forgave His people after their terrible sin of the Golden Calf, and Moses returned with the second set of tablets. However, it is only at Sukkot that God\u2019s presence returned to abide among His people; it is only at Sukkot that those divine clouds covered the hand-made booths.<\/strong> That is why Sukkot is indeed the holiday of divine intimacy and divine presence!<\/strong> That is why Sukkot is the most joyous of the Biblical festivals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If Pesach is called the \u201cSeason of our Liberation,\u201d and Shavuot is called the \u201cSeason of the Giving of our Torah,\u201d Sukkot is called\u00a0zman simchateinu<\/em>, the \u201cSeason of our Joy\u201d\u2014because God, in His mercy, came to tabernacle with His people! This is the joy of Sukkot, the joy of God\u2019s presence and thus, the mystery of Tishrei is unfolded and revealed.<\/p>\n

We are awakened by the shofar and reminded of our Father and our King on Rosh HaShanah; we humble ourselves before Him during the Days of Awe; He redeems and purifies us on Yom Kippur; and finally, we enter the full joy of His presence and our renewed fellowship with Him on Sukkot. The full moon reveals to us the prophetic and profound truth of the Messianic Kingdom that both Jews and Christians wait for with trembling hearts: one day, we will need neither sun nor moon, because He Himself will be our Light!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":23835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[35],"class_list":["post-23834","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-english-writer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/23834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/23834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23844,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/23834\/revisions\/23844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23834"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=23834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}