The Forgotten Biblical Festivals by Terri Gillespie
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘these are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord.’” (Leviticus 23:1-3)
Surprised? The first festival God commanded the Jewish people to celebrate is the Sabbath? Why it’s been around since . . . well, since the beginning of the universe. How can that be?
Over the centuries, religious Jews have considered the Lord’s commanded day of rest as a time of restoration, reflection and joy. There are enough studies out there extolling the virtues of resting from our busy lives. Stress and the frenetic activities of most Americans have led to a long list of physical, emotional and spiritual maladies.
Surely it was no accident that God told the children of Israel to renew themselves physically, emotionally and spiritually. God Himself rested on the seventh day after creating the universe—He made an indelible mark that first rest day by calling this day holy nearly 6,000 years ago.
God instituted a different calendar system than most of us are familiar with. Genesis 1:6b says, “Evening came and then morning, the first day.” Therefore the Hebrew calendar day begins at sundown, so the Sabbath begins Friday at sundown.
What about Sunday? Many Christians call Sunday the Sabbath, but technically this is inaccurate. Scripturally there is no reference to the Sabbath as Sunday—or even the name Sunday in the original texts. Matthew 28:1, 1 Corinthians 16:2 refer to Sunday as the first day of the week. What is fascinating is the Jewish people didn’t have names for the rest of the days of the week. These days were merely counted in relationship to the Sabbath. In other words, the whole week centered on the Sabbath. It was set apart as holy from the rest of the week.
Historically, the non-Jewish believers celebrated the biblical festivals until Constantine, and eventually the Council of Nicea, outlawed the practice of these feasts. New festivals were created to be celebrated in the churches and not in the homes.
The Sabbath and its traditional celebration overflow with symbolism for the believer in Jesus/Yeshua. Since Sabbath means “to rest,” we can picture our Messiah saying, “Come to me, all you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Or the writer of Hebrews who said, “So there remains a Sabbath-keeping for God’s people. For the one who has entered God’s rest has also rested from his own works, as God did from His.” (Hebrews 4:9-10)
One of the first lessons I learned when I joined the Messianic Jewish community is that Judaism is both physical and spiritual. As Christians many of us were taught to “spiritualize” the promises God made to Israel and the Jewish people. When God said to put blood on the doorpost, you better believe if a Hebrew household wanted to live, they lathered it heavy on the lintel—no matter how gross. When God said to write his commandments on the doorposts of their homes, they did. Many Jewish homes today have small boxes (Mezuzahs) on their doorposts with these scriptures in obedience to that command made thousands of years ago. The physical acts God commanded had spiritual connotations and symbolisms of His truth and message to His people.
Today, after celebrating the Sabbath for nearly 15 years, I still find new insights which continue to give me a deeper meaning of God’s love. See how many symbols you can see in a typical contemporary Sabbath celebration.
Most families begin preparation for the Sabbath on Friday (Luke 23:54). A special meal is prepared with love. The table is set with a white tablecloth (ours is lace) and the best china. I generally roast a chicken, with potatoes, veggies and a salad.
Some women bake their own challah (see recipe), but I go to the local bakery and pick up two beautifully braided egg-bread loaves. The two loaves represent the double-portion of manna God always sent to the Israelites the morning before the Sabbath. Some families have a special cloth that covers the fragrant loaves—ours came from Israel.
Guests/strangers were always welcomed to Sabbath celebrations. For thousands of years, Jewish people considered sharing their homes and meals (however meager) with strangers as a mitzvah—a good deed.
As sunset approaches family members dress—well, you know, in their Sunday-best. They gather around the table. Our tradition as a family is to stand for the brief ceremony.
Typically the ceremony begins with the wife lighting two candles—which represent the two-fold commandment to remember and sanctify. She then circles her arms around the flames as if to draw the light and warmth into her. (I do this three times.) She then says the following ancient prayer in Hebrew:
Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu Melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu bead varo, v’natan-lanu et Yeshua m’shechaynu, vitzi vanu l’heot or la-olam.
Blessed are you O Lord our God, King of the universe, You have sanctified with Your Word, given us Yeshua as our Messiah and command us to be a light to the world.
The father then speaks blessings over the mother—some use Proverbs 31. Then the father speaks blessings over the children and any guests—many dads walk around the table laying hands on each person. In some households both the mother and father do this giving everyone a double-portion of blessing.
Next the husband recites the ancient blessing over the Kiddush cup containing wine or grape juice (our cup looks similar to the one used by Jesus/Yeshua in the paintings of the Last Supper).
Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu Melech ha-olam, boray puree h’gafen, b’shem Yeshua HaMashiach. Amen.
Blessed are you O Lord our God, King of the universe who creates the fruit of the vine, in the name of Jesus the Messiah. Amen.
The man takes a sip of the wine/grape juice and passes it to his wife and then to the rest of the family.
Next the father uncovers the challah, lifts one of the loaves then recites the following blessing:
Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu Melech ha-olam, ha-motzee lechem meen ha-aretz, b’shem Yeshua HaMashiach. Amen.
Blessed are you O Lord our God, King of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth, in the name of Jesus the Messiah. Amen.
The man generally pinches a piece for himself and passes the loaf to his family. Before partaking of the warm, sweet bread, everyone lifts their portion and says, “Shabbat shalom.” Which means have a peaceful Sabbath.
The wonderful meal is enjoyed. No talk of business allowed, but other biblical discussions and debates are encouraged.
We are blessed to be members of one of the first Messianic synagogues of the 20th century. After enjoying our feast, we’re off to services for lively praise and worship and teachings.
The next morning Shabbat is in full swing with another service. Many times we fellowship afterward with a typical Jewish lunch—Chinese food! Others take their rest day literally and nap.
One of the wonderful gifts God gave to His people is the festivals. Each feast is a storehouse of object lessons about God that parents can teach to their children anywhere, but most especially at home (Deuteronomy 6). And the wealth of beauty and symbolism is there for us today; beginning with the first, forgotten festival, the Sabbath.
RECIPE:
Aunt Sara’s Challah (Sabbath Bread)*
Ingredients:
1 cake fresh yeast
¼ cup warm water
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
1 egg beaten
Warm water
Glaze:
1 egg yolk diluted with 1 teaspoon water
Poppy seed or sesame seed (optional)
Directions:
Soften yeast in ¼ cup warm water. Sift together dry ingredients. Add oil. Add softened yeast and beaten egg. Mix thoroughly, adding just enough water for smooth kneading. Knead well. Place in a bowl and cover with a tea towel. Let stand until it “bubbles.” Knead again. Cover. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Divide dough into three equal parts. Roll into three strips and braid them. Place in baking pan and let rise until doubled in bulk. Just before baking, brush with diluted egg yolk mixture. Sprinkle with seeds, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour until golden brown.
*Taken from Love and Knishes, by Sara Kasdan, Vanguard Press, New York, 1969.
NEXT TIME: Rosh HaShannah—Have a blast with this New Year!