Happy Sukkot !

Sukkot, The Feast of Tabernacles.

Praying on Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) toward the Temple Mount
where the Holy Temple stood in Yeshua's day in Jerusalem.

"On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Feast of Tabernaclesbegins, and it lasts for seven days.  The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work.  For seven days present offerings made to the Lord by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the Lord by fire.  It is the closing assembly; do no regular work." (Leviticus 23:34–36)

In Israel and around the world, the Jewish People are spending time in the sukkot (plural of sukkah) that they built when Yom Kippur ended just days ago. This holiday is a pilgrimage festival linked to the harvest, so it is also known asChag HaAsif (Festival of Ingathering).  In ancient times, every Israelite went up to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot at the Temple.

  

Sukkot are everywhere in Israel right now.  It's such a sight to see!  You find
them on balconies and verandas, in alleys, and even beside pools.  Many families
eat their meals in the sukkah.  Some also host a sukkah party there during the Feast.

Sukkot is also a commemoration of the 40 years that Israel wandered in the wilderness and lived in temporary dwellings following the exodus from Egypt. "Live in booths [sukkot] for seven days:  All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt.'"  (Leviticus 23:42–43) This holiday is a very joyous one, so much so that it is also called Z'man Simchateinu, the Season of Rejoicing! "On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days."  (Leviticus 23:40, see also Nehemiah 8:15)

A Jewish man faces east toward Jerusalem and prays while waving
the lulav and the etrog in his sukkah.  The etrog (in the left hand) and
lulav (in the right hand) are held together in the traditional fashion
and waved or shook toward the east, south, west and north.

While one of the main observances of this holiday is spending time in the sukkah, the lulav (a bundle of date palm fond, myrtle, and willow) and an etrog (a deliciously fragrant lemon-like citrus) are also waved before the Lord. When the Temple stood, this waving ceremony was performed on all seven days of Sukkot at the Holy Temple. Sukkot, which follows right after Rosh HaShanah (Day of Judgment) andYom Kippur (the day the judgment is sealed), represents renewed fellowship with God.

Since the etrog (citron) is used in a religious ceremony, it must be
absolutely perfect.  Great care and delight is taken in finding one
that is perfectly formed, beautiful, and without blemish.

Let’s look forward to the future fulfillment of this Day of Ingathering when the Jewish People are gathered and Messiah will reign on the earth (Isaiah 27:12–13; Jeremiah 23:7–8). At that time, the Bible says, the nations will come before the Lord during the Feast of Sukkot to worship Him in Jerusalem. "Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles." (Zechariah 14:16)

Yom Kippur: The Day of Repentance, Prayer, and Fasting

Judgment is finalized at night with the solemn sound of the shofar!

"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you:  On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work ... because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you.  Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.  It is a Sabbath of rest [Shabbat Shabbaton], and you must deny yourselves."  (Leviticus 16:29–31)

Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), the holiest and most solemn day of the Jewish Year. This day is so important that the Torah calls it the Shabbat Shabbaton (Sabbath of Sabbaths). Even secular Jews observe it by fasting and refraining from all work, despite not observing other Jewish holy days.As the sun set, all around the world, the Jewish People began a 25-hour fast.  It is traditional, therefore, to greet friends and family today with Tzom Kal, which means Easy Fast.
 

                            The Word of God rests on a velvet cover, ready to be unrolled
                                                    and read to the entire congregation.

Yom Kippur is the culmination of the Ten Days of Repentance that began with Rosh HaShanah, which is believed to be Judgment Day. That judgment which was issued on Rosh HaShanah—in other words, our fate—is sealed in the Book of Life today. This highest of holy days stands apart from all other days as the last day to repent and make amends. The traditional greeting, therefore, is G'mar Chatimah Tovah(May You be Sealed for a Good Year)!

 

The Jewish People gather for prayer at sunrise on Yom Kippur 

at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem.

During Temple times, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur to offer incense and the blood of the sacrifice at the mercy seat so the people would be cleansed from their sins. Because the Holy Temple no longer stands, the purification offering outlined in Leviticus 16 can no longer be offered. Believers in Yeshua (Jesus), however, can come confidently before God, knowing that His atoning sacrifice cleansed us from our sins. Unlike the other high priests, Yeshua does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people.  He sacrificed for our sins once for all when He offered Himself.  (Hebrews 9:14)

  

Dear  reader, you can rejoice before God this Yom Kippur because through Yeshua, Your Name has been written in the Lamb's Book of Life! But the sad thing, today, however, on this Yom Kippur about 99% of the Jewish People do not know Yeshua, and their names are not in His book.

So Don't Delay. . . offer an none stoping prayers for Jewish people.


May you and your family be inscribed in the Lamb's Book of Life for a happy, healthy, prosperous Jewish New Year! Please accept the blessing and calling that God has for you with the Jewish people on this Yom Kippur

The Prince of the Dreams Expired! India mourning....... 

The former President of, the great democratic country India, Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam 

                      Repairing the World on Tu B'Shvat - 3

National Tikkun: The Restoration of Israel

“The days are coming,’ declares the LORD ... who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where He had banished them. ‘For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors.’”  (Jeremiah 16:14–15)

For Zionists, the Fifteenth of Shvat is a day of national tikkun, born out of a need to repair the Land from the effects of two thousand years of exile. It is a Jewish longing to be rid of the Diaspora character and become a part of the restoration of the Promised Land. Tu B’shvat is therefore a day of planting of trees, turning the earth green.  It is a day of strengthening one’s roots to the Land, of making the desert bloom, both the physical desert and the spiritual desert caused by the removal of the Jewish People from the Land.

 

                     A group of American Jews visiting Israel plant trees together with IDF
                                                             soldiers on Tu B'shvat.

For environmentalists, Tu B’Shvat is a day for ecological tikkun olam (repairing the world), in other words, a day for repairing the planet, which has been devastated by mankind during the last century.  This school of thought initially became popular in the 1970s when environmentalist began to warn against the misuse of the environment. Increasingly, over the last few decades. the holiday became a time for sounding the alarm. The Tu B’Shvat seders began to take on an environmentalist character—so much so that this holiday now has been declared Jewish Earth Day. In so doing, Jewish environmentalist have expanded the concept of the “Land” to include the entire planet, a notion in conflict with the halakhic or rabbinic viewpoint that it relates to the Land of Israel alone.
 

Young orchard in Israel

On the other hand, the rabbis themselves exhibited an ecological perspective when they stressed the importance of trees and their sustenance. For example, Rabbenu Bahya, a medieval Jewish philosopher, writes: “The commentators explain that the life of man and his food is [from] a tree of the field … and it is not the way of a wise and understanding nation to needlessly destroy something so worthy, and therefore you should not cut down a tree of the field, rather you should protect it from destruction and damage, and take benefit from it.” “Are the trees people, that you should besiege them?”  (Deuteronomy 20:19) The rabbis also paid special consideration to what is called yishuv ha-aretz (settlement of the Land) in which special consideration is given to trees.  For example, there is a rabbinic law that anyone selling land in Israel must first give preference to any neighbor who is abutting the land. If, however, the neighbor wants to use the land for a purpose that does not contribute to yishuv ha-aretz (settlement of the Land) he loses that privilege.For instance, if the neighbor wants to plant crops but another buyer wants to build a house, the second buyer gains preference since houses are more permanent than crops.  But if the neighbor wants to plant trees, the privilege of purchasing the land goes to him.
 

A newly planted tree in Israel   

 

People are Like Trees

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.”  (Psalm 1:3) Scripture often likens people to trees in order to teach spiritual truths.  According to the Talmud (Jewish Oral Law), the tree is similar to a man in the following four ways:
1.    Both man and trees are essentially tied to the soil.  Man works the soil for nourishment.  The soil provides nourishment to the tree and room for the roots to grow.  Without a good set of roots, the tree will not be able to withstand a strong wind. So the Talmud teaches that if a person’s wisdom (branches) exceeds his good deeds (roots) he will be toppled by a strong wind, but a man whose good deeds are many will stand firm.  (Avot 3:22) As well, Judaism holds that a person may appear successful on the outside, but if he is not rooted into his community and Jewish heritage, he will not be able to withstand life’s challenges.  But one who is connected to his community and heritage will withstand the winds of the world.
 

The community fishing park at Kibbutz Ma'ayan Zvi

2.    Both man and trees need water.  The Torah has been compared to water as Moses proclaimed: “May my teaching drop like the rain.  (Deuteronomy 32:2)”  Both rain and Torah come from the heavens and provide relief.
3.    Both man and trees need air.  Man also needs the breath of God’s Spirit.  The Bible says that God breathed life into man (Genesis 2:7).  Breath in Hebrew is neshamah, which can also be translated as spirit (Proverbs 20:27; Job 26:4).
4.    Both man and trees need sunlight.  Just as a tree needs sunlight to thrive, people need the warmth of fellowship.  For man, this warmth comes from our relationship with God, family, friends, and community.
 

Friends and family dance, clap and whistle to celebrate a Bar Mitzvah (Son of the Commandment), a coming of age ceremony in which 13-year-old boys and 12-year-old girls accept the responsibility for their actions.

 

The power of community is described in the following story from the Talmud:

An old man was planting a tree.  A young person passed by and asked, “What are you planting?”
“A carob tree,” the old man replied.
“Silly fool,” said the youth.  “Don't you know that it takes 70 years for a carob tree to bear fruit?”
“That's okay,” said the old man.  “Just as others planted for me, I plant for future generations.” We depend on a strong community to provide a warm and nurturing environment so that the subsequent generations can grow to become rooted and grounded as trees of righteousness.

“And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the LORD to glorify Him.”  (Isaiah 61:3)

Repairing the World on Tu B'Shvat - 2

Tu B’shvat Traditions

“For as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people.”  (Isaiah 65:22)

Because today is associated with the harvest of fruit in Israel, Orthodox Jews are praying that God will grant beautiful etrogs (citrons) for the coming Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). Various superstitions regarding fruit developed among the Sephardic (eastern oriental Jewish) communities including that of the Kurdistani Jews who placed sweet fruits like raisins in rings around trees, and would pray for an abundant fruit season. Barren women would even plant raisins near trees or embrace them at night, while praying that they would have children. Young girls were sometimes wedded to trees in mock ceremonies in the hope that they would soon find a groom. 

In Persia, Jews lowered empty baskets down chimneys to have them return laden with fruit.
 

Baskets of fruit (Photo Go Israel)

Tu B’shvat and Repairing the World

“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.”  (Leviticus 27:30)

Tu B’shvat is not only associated with the giving of the priestly tithe, but also with giving to the poor.

This special day is mentioned in the Mishnah where emphasis is on social tikkun olam [the repairing or perfecting of the world].  The issue being considered is the nature of poverty: “the poor shall never cease out of the land.”  (Deuteronomy 15:11) While there might not be a complete solution to poverty, it is possible to alleviate it through tikkun. For this reason, the rabbis required that a portion of the fruit gathered from one’s garden be reserved for those who have no garden. In creating this innovation, the sages were relating to the priestly concepts of tithing and terumot (heave offerings), although the Bible provides for charitable giving to the poor no specific day is named for doing this. In fact, today Leket Israel, the National Food Bank, has volunteers across the country picking excess fruit from private gardens for the needy. “It is a wonderful opportunity to involve the youth in a hands-on activity to benefit those less fortunate and to mark Tu B'shvat, the celebration of the trees in a truly meaningful way,” Joseph Gitler, Leket Israel’s founder and chairman said.
 

An Israeli senior asks for charity on the street.

 
Tu B’shvat is also associated with spiritual renewal and awakening, similar to the way trees awaken after winter to product flowers and fruit.

Because the Torah is considered a Tree of Life, Tu B’shvat is also relevant to learning the Word of God.  For example, when the Torah is returned to the ark during the synagogue service, the congregation recites Proverbs 3:18— “She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed." Jewish mystics (kabbalists) teach that Tu B'Shvat is an opportunity to correct the sin committed by Adam and Eve, emphasizing that Adam and Eve were placed in the garden “to work it and to guard it.”  (Genesis 2:15) They were given very little to do, only to “eat from all the trees of the garden.”  (Genesis 2:16) They had only one prohibition:  eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
 

An ultra-Orthodox family prays at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem.

By fulfilling the commandment given to them by God, they were able to bond with Him.  By eating the fruits of this world for God’s sake we are actually bonding with Him, serving Him by acknowledging His gifts to us, willfully accepting and enjoying them.Thus, by enjoying God’s gifts, the Kabbalah argues, we are serving God if we see this world as a means for connecting with God, and serve Him by gratefully receiving His gifts (of the fruit of the tree).  In this way, we are able to experience His presence. When we fixate on the physical, enjoying it for its own sake rather than as a bridge to God, the world becomes cursed as in the case of Adam and Eve.  Tu B'Shvat thus becomes a time to celebrate how eating and enjoying the fruits of trees can be a bridge to God, and how doing so returns God’s blessings to the earth. On Tu B'Shvat, we enjoy the fruits as God’s gift, experiencing them as a connection with God.  (Chabad)
 

A vendor at the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv (Go Israel photo by

Dana Friedlander)