Yom Kippur Ends...Sukkah Building Begins

Time out from the ongoing rhetoric of peace talks...time to build sukkahs (booths) for The Feast of Tabernacles... Mid

by Hillel Fendel

Many hundreds of thousands of Jews spent part or all of the day in synagogues today - and for many of them, the dramatic fast-ending shofar blast was the signal for the fulfillment of additional commandments: The evening Maariv prayer, the Sanctification of the Moon blessing, the Havdalah blessings marking the end of the Sabbath, and a start to building Sukkahs; the holiday of Sukkot begins four nights from now.

Some 180 Hesder yeshivot students spent Yom Kippur in army bases from Mt. Hermon to Eilat, leading the prayers for those soldiers designated to spend the holiday there. It will be recalled that 37 years ago, the Yom Kippur calm in IDF army bases and elsewhere was decimated when the Syrians and Egyptians surprise-attacked Israel in what became the Yom Kippur War.

Many secular-friendly Yom Kippur services were held around the country, courtesy of the Tzohar and Ayelet HaShachar organizations.

Religious Zionist yeshiva students, including a group from the, Merkaz Harav Kook Yeshiva in Jerusalem who went to Kibbutz Degania, and tens of religious Zionist families,  left their own synagogues and went to non religious kibbutzim to lead Yom Kippur services. The last few years have seen synagogues being built on many secular kibbutzim, which gave rise to the request for groups who could conduct High Holiday services.
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua

The Feast of Tabernacles-Sukkot

This is the final high holiday of the Jews. It begins on the fifteenth of Tishri (Sept/October) which is Israel's seventh month, and ends on the 21st day of Tishri. It was to be an everlasting memorial of the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness, when God brought them out of Egypt.

In Leviticus 23:43  It says: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

One of the things I found significant when researching about this particular holiday, is that it is thought to be the month when Yeshua was born.  Scholars who study the times, point to Hanukka, the Festival of Lights in December, as the time when Mary conceived Jesus of the Holy Spirit. Nine months later brings us to Sukkot, or the Feasts of Tabernacles.  It is significant that this feast is a time when observing Jews realize God is with them, just as He was with their ancestors.

1. Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will 
be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Emmanuel. 
(God With Us) 

2. Leviticus 26: 11,12 
Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will 

not reject you. I will also walk among you and be your God, and 

you shall be My people

3. John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We

 have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came 

from the Father, full of grace and truth..

4. Revelation 21:3

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the  

Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, 

and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with 

them and be their God.

Sounds like a pretty significant festival to me... perhaps one 

we should keep our eyes on as Christians, after all, God made

 provision for us to celebrate with His people in Exodus 12:49: 

"One law shall be to him that is homeborn and unto the 

stranger that sojourns among you."

Aren't we grafted in to the root?  Chag Sameach Sukkot!!

Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua

Trust in the Lord

May the Lord be your covering... Trust in Him, especially as the world around you falls apart!!