5.Yom Zicharon Teruah: Day of Remembrance with a Blast
Instructed by the Lord:
Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1–6
Celebrated in 2018:
Begins sundown, Sunday, September 9
Ends sundown, Monday, September 10
The first day of the seventh month of Tishrei is not the Biblical New Year (Rosh Hashanah), which is the traditionally held Jewish custom. It is a day of remembrance or memorial (zicharon) accompanied by raising a sound or blast (teruah).
The sound can be produced by shouting or blowing the shofar (ram's horn) or silver trumpets. Exactly what we are to be remembering is somewhat obscure.
A teruah often signals an alarm or call to pay attention to a command. It is also a call to self-examination leading to repentance.
In this way, this appointed day of the Lord is often thought of as an advance warning to ready ourselves for the next appointed day: Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
"Blessed is the people who know [discern] the teruah [the significance of the call]; O Lord, they walk in the light of your countenance." (Psalm 89:15–16)
Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle, by James Tissot, depicting the two Israelite leaders kneeling in front of the Ark of the Covenant, which is covererd by the Kapporet (Mercy Seat), where the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled.
6.Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement
Instructed by the Lord:
Leviticus 16 and Leviticus 23:26–32; Numbers 29:7–11
Celebrated in 2018:
Begins sundown, Tuesday Septermber 18
Ends sundown, Wednesday, September 19
This tenth day of the seventh month is a Shabbat Shabbaton—a Sabbath of Sabbaths.
It is to be a total cessation of any labor. But in contrast to a regular seventh day Shabbat, which is a time of joy and feasting, this Shabbat Shabbaton is a day of intense introspection. A day to fast and afflict our souls. A day to return to the way of the Lord.
Kippur is a word probably derived from kopher, which means to ransom or redeem.
Another related word is Kapporet, which means the Place of Atonement. It is the name of the Mercy Seat that covered the Ark of Covenant where the blood of the sacrifice was presented.
On this day, the Cohen Gadol (High Priest) of Israel sacrificed an animal as a substitute for the lives of the people of Israel. As their mediator, the High Priest redeemed (ransomed) the people from the penalty of their sins committed in the previous year.
And on this day, we remember Yeshua who gave His life on Passover, not merely as a kaparah (covering) for sin. His shed blood pays the penalty of our sins and redeems us (kopher) once and for all so that we never need to make another blood sacrifice ever again.
His sacrifice is not to be treated lightly. Nor is this day that God set aside to redeem us from the penalty of our sins one to sleep through. It is a day to afflict our souls.
"It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict [anah] yourselves; it is a statute forever." (Leviticus 16:31)
The Hebrew word for afflict (anah) is not about hurting ourselves. The word often embodies humility.
The Jewish People traditionally afflict themselves on this day through denial of food and drink and other pleasures. As we do so, we identify with the afflicted of this world and are spurred to greater mitzvot (good deeds) toward those who are homeless, hungry, and poor.
The Prophet Isaiah tells us that this is the kind of fast acceptable to the Lord: not to merely fast out of custom or ritual, but to change our hard-hearted ways (repent), delight in the Lord, and become a blessing to others (Isaiah 58).
A sukkah (booth) built on the porch of an apartment for the Feast of Sukkot.
7.SUKKOT: Feast of Tabernacles (Booths)
Instructed by the Lord:
Leviticus 23:33–36; Deuteronomy 16:13–17; Zechariah 14:16–19
Celebrated in 2018:
Begins sundown, Sunday, September 23
Ends sundown, September 30.
After mending our transgressions with God and others and changing our ways (repenting) on Yom Kippur, God appointed this final time for joyous celebration.
For seven days, starting on the 15th day of the seventh month, many families will eat their meals, sing, read, discuss the Word of God, and pray in their sukkah (booth or temporary dwelling).
This festival is a memorial of the time the Israelites dwelt in sukkot (plural of sukkah) in the wilderness after God delivered them from Egypt. It reminds us that even in a desert wilderness, God provides our needs.
Sukkot is a communal celebration in which all members, young and old,
participate in the construction of the Sukkah (booth).
Israeli family builds their sukkah.
Some believe that it is at this time that Yeshua was born as the child Immanuel, which means God With Us.
The Sukkah is also a picture of the covering and protection that God gives us.
"For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling [sukkah]; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock." (Psalm 27:5)
Sukkot also points to the Messianic Age.
It is the seventh feast, and seven is the number representing fulfillment or completion. God created the earth in six days, but on the seventh day, He rested and said, “It is finished.”
This seventh feast will be fulfilled when the Messiah returns and 'tabernacles' with us.
"Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:3–4)
What joy awaits us in that day. We know that our current afflictions are only "light and momentary" in comparison to this eternal weight of glory.
Are God's appointed times abolished?
Sukkot proves that they are not. For when the Messiah returns to win a victory for Israel against all the nations who have come against her, all the survivors of the nations will be commanded to keep the Feast of Sukkot.
In Zechariah 14:16–19, it says that all the nations who refuse to keep the Feast of Sukkot will live in drought.
The annual cycle of Moadim (feasts) is like a circle. Jump in at any point, find others to celebrate with you, and remember the greatness of our God and their fulfillment in Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus our Messiah.
Sadly, 99% of the Jewish People do not yet have the joy of knowing how these great days of the Lord are fulfilled in Yeshua.
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Romans 10:14)