Holidays/Holy-Days

¹THE LORD said to Moses, Say to the Israelites, The set feasts or appointed seasons of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, even My set feasts, are these: ²³And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the Israelites, On the first day of the seventh month [almost October], you shall observe a day of solemn [sabbatical] rest, a memorial day announced by blowing of trumpets, a holy [called] assembly. You shall do no servile work on it, but you shall present an offering made by fire to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, Also the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy [called] assembly, and you shall afflict yourselves [by fasting in penitence and humility] and present an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on this day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whoever is not afflicted [by fasting in penitence and humility] on this day shall be cut off from among his people [that he may not be included in the atonement made for them]. And whoever does any work on that same day I will destroy from among his people. You shall do no kind of work [on that day]. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict yourselves [by fasting in penitence and humility]. On the ninth day of the month from evening to evening you shall keep your sabbath.

Leviticus 23:1, 23-32

As we celebrate the appointments with the people of Israel that God put on His calendar over 5,000 years ago, we learn the heart of the people - their desire to love, serve, please and honor the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

Rosh Hashanah is known as the civil New Year, and the beginning of the new calendar year (the Jewish calendar, which does not follow the Greco-Roman calendar that the rest of the world adheres to).  It is celebrated as the Feast of Trumpets.

We were able to attend an opening of a new exhibit at the Bible Lands Museum called "Sound the Shofar".  

The mayor of Jerusalem was present to dedicate the exhibit.

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the most holy day of the year on the Jewish calendar.  Until 2,000 years ago, this was the one day a year that God commanded the High Priest enter into the Holy of Holies of the Temple to make sacrifices to cleanse the sins of the people.  As believers in Yeshua (Jesus) - whose Name in Hebrew means salvation - we believe He died once for all, as the final atoning sacrifice for all that would (will) receive Him, to cleanse us from sin, providing eternal salvation.   The time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a time of inner reflection, to search for anything not pleasing to God in our lives.  To ask forgiveness from Him, and also those in our lives we may have wronged.  In Hebrew, Teshuvah - to return is a gift from a Heavenly Father who desires to bring us into right relationship with Him.

In Israel, Yom Kippur is the one day every year that all traffic comes to a stand still in the nation - especially in Jerusalem.  Every week on Shabbat (Sabbath) there is no public transportation, but a few people will still drive and there are Arab taxis available.  But not so on Yom Kippur - there are no vehicles except emergency vehicles, and no taxis either.  What nation in the world shuts down (especially their capital) for a day to honor God?  It is an awesome thing to experience.

Because there is no traffic, this has become a day of riding bikes and playing in the streets.  A true fulfillment of Zechariah 8:1-6:

Again the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,  Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘ I am zealous for Zion with great zeal;  With great fervor I am zealous for her.’ Thus says the LORD: ‘ I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.  Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain.’ Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘ Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.’ Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘ If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’ Says the LORD of hosts. 

I guess it's a day that's safe to park on the train tracks...

A family on their way home from Synagogue.

Children rule the roads this day.

Here are several pictures of what Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, looks like on its Holiest day of the year.  All the lights were blinking yellow.

Begin Highway (Named after Menachem Begin)- the main highway running North-South.

Central bus station - there are usually taxis offered on weekly Shabbat, but not Yom Kippur.

Dad taking his sons to Synagogue.

Below is the (empty) Sherut station (shared taxi-vans)

that mainly run to and from Ben Gurion Airport -

which was also shut down for Yom Kippur. 

Imagine that, even the only public international airport in the country

 was closed for the Day of Atonement!

Time to ride a bike through the tunnel :)

Tower of David at the Jaffa Gate of the Old City.

Just inside Jaffa Gate is not Jewish, so they are open for business as usual.

The Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City has a Succa next to it. 

Succot was coming soon! - more on that in the next blog.

The "nursery" outside the synagogue during Yom Kippur service :)

The Kotel (Western Wall) on Yom Kippur.

Everyone is gathering in the plaza of the Kotel for the end of Yom Kipuur at sunset, and the sounding of the shofar.  This is a fast day, and a poll showed that over half of the people in the country fast on this day.  Can you imagine 1/2 of your nation fasting and seeking God all on the same day?  To break the fast together, they provided free juice, cookies and bread at the Kotel.

Prayers at the end of the day.

This group of young men came singing and dancing to the Wall from their 

Yeshiva (Bible school) to end Yom Kippur.

This is our first time celebrating the High Holy days in Israel.  Although we have observed these feasts in the States, it is such a blessing to be with the people of Israel and experience this season with them.  Just a few days after Yom Kippur ended, was the 8 day celebration of Succot - the Feast of Tabernacles.  We could then could see and hear everyone all over the city beginning to build their Succah - temporary dwelling for the feast.  Our next blog will be dedicated to Succot.  Being an 8 day Feast, we can promise you it will be a very long blog....we took many pictures and videos, and a lot happened in the region, nation and city during that short period of time.  So until our next posting.....

From Zion we pray that ~ 

"The LORD bless you and keep you; 

The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26