What is Thanksgiving? It is so much more than a holiday—it’s a lifestyle for Followers of Yeshua – Jesus! Being thankful when things are going well in our lives is one thing, but “always”? “In everything”? The Apostle (and Rabbi!) Paul gave clear directives to those early believing communities. He expected thanksgiving would be a constant among them, even when enduring challenges. Frankly, this seems a bit idealistic, don’t you think? How can believers be thankful all the time?
Shemini Atzeret: According to Numbers 29:35, “On the eighth day there shall be for you an assembly. You are to do no regular work.” The holiday’s name literally means “Eighth Day Assembly.” Shemini Atzeret’s distinction is vital because its focus differs from Sukkot’s and ties directly to the “Lord’s Prayer” from Yeshua Jesus.
Sukkot celebrates God tabernacling among the children of Israel during their forty years in the wilderness as His presence led them as a cloud of smoke by day and as a pillar of fire by night. In light of this, there is a heightened theological significance of John 1:14: “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” I believe Yeshua-Jesus was born on Sukkot, for He is Emmanuel, God among us, the presence of the Lord dwelling among His people once again like He did in the desert.
The scapegoat represented the sins of the nation; Yom Kippur points to the ultimate redemption of the world, the fullness of redemption. A redemption is paid for, not by the blood of an animal, which still leaves a deficit, but by Yeshua’s blood, marking the debt PAID IN FULL.
What about Tashlich? In some sense, Tashlich involves the physical act of walking to be next to a body of water as a reenactment and remembrance of the binding of Isaac. Tashlich represents an opportunity for those of us whose lives have been transformed by Yeshua’s sacrificial love to focus on our Messiah’s ultimate expression of surrender on the cross.
Many ask each year: What are the Jewish Fall Holidays or Biblical Holidays? Here is an overview from a messianic perspective:
In Leviticus 23, we read about three holidays, commonly referred to as the “fall feasts.” The underlying fact that we should always keep in mind is that Scripture clarifies that these special seasons are not merely “Jewish” holidays—they are the Lord’s! In the opening of that chapter, Adonai clearly states: “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, and tell them: These are the appointed moadim of Adonai, which you are to proclaim to be holy convocations—My moadim” (Lev 23:3/TLV).
You will encounter God in the Holy Land, an experience of God’s presence in the Holy Land, the place of which God said, “I have…put My Name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there every day” (1 Kings 9:3).
Nothing is as precious as the Lord, and no experience is more valuable than being in His presence. As the psalmist declared, “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else” (Psalm 84:11). Time spent in God’s presence—and the intimate relationship with our heavenly Father that cultivates— is something that we should constantly seek.
What lens are you using to read your Bible and view the land of Israel? The questions and concerns of the average person walking down the street in Jerusalem differ from those of a person walking down the street in Los Angeles. To walk the streets of Israel and engage local shop owners (and experience an Israeli breakfast) begins the process of learning to think outside of our own culture and to attempt to understand the perspective of another.
“You could see the wonder in their eyes, much like a young child opening a pop-up book for the first time. The Bible stories coming to life essentially leaped off the page into their personal experience in those powerful moments, an encounter with the Bible and Jesus.”
We’re excited to introduce another “deeper” resource to our TPG Tribe: the Hebrew Word Study. We’ve featured a “Hebrew Word of the Week” graphic in our Table of Contents each week, but these articles offer a deeper dive into their meaning as well as their biblical and cultural contexts. Our prayer is that these articles will intensify your hunger for God’s Word.
