"1And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. 33 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. 35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary workon it. 36 For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.
37 ‘These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day— 38 besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD.
39 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 40 And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.’” 44 So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD." Leviticus 23:1-2, 33-44
The Feast of Tabernacles (Succot) is one of the most celebrated holidays of the year. We had never celebrated this holiday in Israel, and we were looking forward to it for many reasons. There was such an excitement leading up to it, and we had friends coming from the states to visit that week as well!!
A few days before Succot, we began seeing the "four species" being sold in the shuk (market) and special tents set up like the one below. This comes from the scripture:
40 And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. Leviticus 23:40
These four kinds of plants palm, myrtle and willow, along with the citron (fruit) are purchased, then used for worship to "rejoice before the Lord".
Remember to click on pictures to view them larger...
It's very important to choose a citron (or etrog in Hebrew) without blemish.
Only the best for worship before the Lord.
On the first day of Succot we took a pleasant drive west of Jerusalem.
It reminded us of where we used to live in the States.
That night we attended the opening night of the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ) Feast of Tabernacles celebration. Thousands of people from nations all over the world came to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast and to support Israel. The first night they had a procession announcing each nation that was represented. We attended 4 of the evening sessions.
There was much singing, dancing and rejoicing during the week along with a live orchestra.
Announced during one of the evening sessions was the opportunity to donate blood. Magan David Adom is Israel's equivalent to the Red Cross, and would be available for those who would like to support Israel through donations. This is something Linda used to do often in the States, and was very excited to go on Sunday morning during Succot to donate blood for those in need. She also found out she could donate every 3 months from now on.
That very day, the Jerusalem Light Rail train, which hasn't been running for very long, went on strike!! Right during the busiest season of the year, they definitely timed it that way on purpose. The strike lasted less than 2 days...
Next on our list for that day was to visit the Me'a She'arim neighborhood in north-central Jerusalem. It is an ultra-orthodox religious neighborhood. They are very observant, and steer clear of things of the world, and expect other who choose to visit their neighborhood to do the same, and to show respect - not treating them like people to be gawked at (kind of like the Amish in Pennsylvania).
We were told if we only did one thing during Succot in Jerusalem, it should be to see the Succot (booths, tabernacles) being built, especially in this neighborhood. We didn't build a Succa (booth) this year, but last year in the States, we did build one on our deck for the first time. It was great fun to have coffee, read, and eat dinner in the Succa.
42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 23:42-43
The Jewish people build Succot anywhere they can find room, usually on a balcony if they have one.
There were many other people out for a stroll as well.
Some Succot were fancier than others, and some were built with whatever was available.
While we strolled through the neighborhoods, there were amazing smells of barbecue and instruments being played. What a lovely atmosphere of community. We only wish we could have you smell the yummy food!!
A take-off of Colonel Sanders?
See the pup tent on the balcony near the top?
Next we were off the meet the mayor at his public Succa at Safra Square, the Jerusalem Municipality.
There were many people in attendance for the mayor and his wife to greet,
and we were each presented with a red rose.
After meeting the mayor, we went to the hotel where our friends (14!) were going to be staying while in Jerusalem for the next week. After spending time with them, we headed home. When passing The Great Synagogue, we heard loud joyous music and saw a huge crowd spilling out of the courtyard onto the sidewalks. Of course we stopped to check it out! There was a live band, and dancing going on (by the men - which may be abnormal in the States, but is most common in Israel). They tried to encourage Jim to join them in the midst of such a joyous celebration - because it is commanded to rejoice before the Lord, especially during Succot - "you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days".
In the video you'll hear them singing "we want Meshiach now"- Meshiach is Hebrew for Messiah.
The next night we attended the ICEJ conference again. It was "Israeli night", when they invite the local people to attend at no cost, and use it as an opportunity to show love & support for Israel and her people. One of the special guests that evening was Kay Wilson (seen below).
Within the first week of our arrival in Jerusalem last year, there was a shocking stabbing, with one of the two women being murdered - Kristine Luken (a volunteer at Christ Church guesthouse). Kay, having received 12 stab wounds, managed to pretend she was dead, until she was able to get to safety. Due to her testimony, a terror group of 13 Muslim terrorists were arrested. The two that attacked the women that day said they were "just looking to kill some Jews". Kay is a local Jewish citizen and Kristine was an American Christian. On this night, Kay was being honored for her courage, and was given a check to help support her financial needs due to hospital and court costs. Our organization has been in contact with her as well, while also praying for her well being - both physically and spiritually. It was an honor to hear part of her testimony, and she also played a song for us on the keyboard.
The next day was a day of great rejoicing across the nation - Gilad Schalit was being released from his captivity in Gaza by Hamas terrorists!!!!! This young soldier - "the son of every Israeli" - had been kidnapped 5 years ago, and a swap had been arranged and approved by the Israeli government to release 1,027 convicted Palestinian terrorists (many who had committed murder) for this one IDF soldier's life. While there is still much debate about the consequences of this action, for this one day, the nation was unified to rejoice at Gilad's homecoming.
As a staff, we assembled around the television that morning like every other Israeli to watch the pictures and video footage of his release, and to hear the announcement that he truly had entered back into Israeli hands. His return to his mother and father (who lived in a tent outside the prime minister's residence for 5 years) was enough to make all of our hearts cry. What a day to rejoice and be glad!!!
So what do you do on a day like this with all the excitement of Gilad's release? How about the biggest parade of the year in the capital? That day just happened to be the Feast of Tabernacles Jerusalem Parade, where people from all over the world come to Jerusalem to show their love, solidarity and support for Israel and the Jewish people. And boy was the sky majestic that day....
Thousands of people marched to show their support.
Everyone was so happy to welcome Gilad home that day!!
"Welcome Home Gilad" signs were carried throughout the parade...
Just two days later it was announced to the world that Libyan dictator Muammar Gadafi was killed. Things have been shaking and moving very quickly in the Middle East since we arrived almost 11 months ago. We may do a blog one day just to show just how much has occurred in a short period of time. The world is changing fast.
On Wednesday night, Thursday, and Thursday night, there was a time of rejoicing for Simchat Torah - the joy of the Torah (the Bible). Young and old alike take turns holding the beloved Torah (Bible) scrolls and have a procession with singing and dancing. Much of this goes on in the synagogue, but this picture is at the Kotel (Western Wall).
As you can tell, it was a busy week during Succot. And now that all the Fall Feasts are over, and everyone is back to work until we celebrate Hanukkah in December, we both feel the need for a vacation.... :)
One thing we've learned since we've been in Israel - Israeli's thoroughly enjoy their Feasts & holidays, and make the most of them.
And we love being right here by their side,
to rejoice and celebrate our God with His people.
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