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[Pages:26]MESSIANIC FEAST OF TABERNACLES "SUKKOT" HAGGADAH

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PROFESSOR WA LIEBENBERG 0

MESSIANIC FEAST OF TABERNACLES "SUKKOT" HAGGADAH

By

Professor WA Liebenberg

Proofread by: Lynette Schaefer

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Distributed by:

Hebraic Roots Teaching Institute Pretoria ? South Africa

Email: products@hrti.co.za Mobile: +27 (0)83 273 1144 Facebook Page: "The Hebraic Roots Teaching Institute" Website:

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Preface

YHWH "God" has called us to do two things. First, we are to never give up studying and seeking the correct interpretation of any given Bible passage. Second, such opportunities are golden moments for us to learn to show grace and love to others whose understanding of a given passage may differ from ours.

Throughout the HRTI's teachings, we use a slightly different vocabulary to that which some might be accustomed. We have chosen to use what many refer to as a Messianic vocabulary. The reasons being: Firstly, using Hebraic-sounding words is another way to help you associate with the Hebraic Roots of your faith. Secondly, these words are not merely an outward show for us, they are truly an expression of who we are as Messianic Jews and Gentiles who have "taken hold" of our inheritance with Israel.

Instead of saying "Jesus," we call our Saviour "Y'shua," the way His parents would have addressed Him in Hebrew. In addition, rather than referring to Y'shua as "Christ," we use the word "Messiah," which is an Anglicized version of the Hebrew word, Moshiach.

"YaHoVaH" is the name of God in Hebrew, where it is written as four consonants (YHWH or YHVH, as the W and V is derived from the same Hebrew letter `Vaw'). These four letters are called the Tetragrammaton (Greek for "[a word] having four letters). Jews ceased to use the name in the Greco-Roman period, replacing it with the common noun Elohim, "God," to demonstrate the universal sovereignty of Israel's God over all others; at the same time, the divine name was increasingly regarded as too sacred to be uttered, and was replaced in spoken ritual by the word Adonai ("My Lord"). From about the 6th to the 10th century the Masoretes, Jewish scholars who were the first to add vowels to the text of the Hebrew Bible, used the vowel signs of the Hebrew words Adonai or Elohim as the vowels for YHWH, and later on the artificial name Jehovah was produced. Christian scholars and translators after the Renaissance and Reformation periods replaced the sacred name YHWH with GOD and LORD (all in capital letters in the Bible); which was a strategic move of Satan as to not using the Name. The Sacred Name occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew text of the Bible, proving YHWH wants us to use it.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, biblical scholars again began to use the form Yahweh; and it is now the conventional usage in biblical scholarship, but leading Hebrew Scholars suggest YHWH should be pronounced as Yahoo-VaH (Y'shua is derived from YaH-shuvah which means YaH saves. Yah () is an abbreviation of God's name YHWH as seen in Psalm 68:4. The Name is also found in the word hallellu-YaH, which means "you praise the LORD").

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Messianic Sukkot Haggadah

Introduction

Unlike most of the traditional Christian holidays which have their origins in paganism, all of the traditional Jewish holidays--or better, YHWH's Feasts--have their origins in the Bible.

They were commanded by YHWH in Leviticus. Our Lord and Saviour Messiah Y'shua celebrated His Father's Holidays when He was on the earth. Furthermore, none of YHWH's Feasts have been nearly as commercialised as the Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter. Are there enough reasons for a Christian to celebrate these pagan holidays? In one word--no!

So, what benefit is there to a Christian celebrating Tabernacles (Hebrew: Sukkot), Pentecost (Hebrew: Shavuot), Passover (Hebrew: Pesach)--or any other feast? Well, the first reason is obedience. If YHWH instructs us to celebrate it, then we should do so. It sounds so simplistic, but it is so true. The spiritual benefits of being lead to celebrate, and following through with that leading, are phenomenal. Each biblical holiday concentrates on one or more attributes and actions of YHWH, allowing us to contemplate them in greater detail and depth than would normally be accomplished in a single day or week. Pesach concentrates on our sinfulness and how it enslaves us. YHWH freed us through the sacrifice of His Lamb. Sukkot concentrates on a handful of attributes: YHWH as provider and refuge, our anticipation of His coming kingdom, and the joy we have in being His children.

Studying Sukkot and celebrating this festival will give the Believer a glimpse of a spiritual journey beyond your wildest imagination. If you are hungry to seek what you will be doing in heaven one day, then study Sukkot as its design pierces the future! In fact, all of the Biblical Feasts are rehearsals for how things will be fulfilled in Eternity! We will not be celebrating days like "Christmas" then! So the question is, why participate in celebrations that are contrary to the Biblical mandate that YHWH hates? We can only be treading on thin ice for that kind of disobedience, so it's something to think about.

For Background Reading only--not part of the Haggadah

1) Background overview:

Sukkot, also called the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths, occurs on Etanim (Tishri) 15. Booths (Sukkahs) are temporary dwellings comprised of natural tree branches--they are built in backyards and

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families share meals in them. The booths bring to mind the forty years in the wilderness with the Shekinah1 of YHWH surrounding the Israelites and protecting them.

Sukkot is one of the three Biblically-mandated Shalosh regalim2 on which Jews and Believers make pilgrimages to pre-determined sites to worship and fellowship at the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Holy Day lasts seven days, including Chol Hamoed3 and is immediately followed by another festive day known as Shemini Atzeret/The Last Great Day. The Hebrew word sukkot is the plural of sukkah, "booth or tabernacle", which is a walled structure covered with flora, such as tree branches or bamboo shoots. The sukkah is intended as a reminder of the kind of fragile dwellings in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt.

Throughout the holiday, the sukkah becomes the primary living area of one's home. All meals are eaten inside the sukkah and many sleep there as well. On each day of the holiday, members of the household recite a blessing over the lulav and etrog, or Four Species (details explained further on).

2) Origin and ancient observance:

Sukkot was agricultural in origin. This is evident from the biblical name "The Feast of Ingathering",4 from the ceremonies accompanying it and the season--"The festival of the seventh month"--and the occasion of its celebration: "At the end of the year when you gather in your labors out of

1 Hebrew for "covering presence". 2 The Three Pilgrimage Festivals, also written as Sh'losha Regalim, and are the three major festivals in Judaism -- Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Weeks/Pentacost in Greek), and Sukkot (Tabernacles/Tents or Booths) -- when the Israelites living in ancient Israel and Judea would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as commanded by the Torah (Exod 23:14-17, 34:18-23; Deuteronomy 16). In Jerusalem, they would participate in festivities and ritual worship in conjunction with the services of the Cohanim ("Priests") at the Temple in Jerusalem. After the destruction of the Temple, the actual pilgrimage is no longer obligatory for Jews, and no longer takes place on a national scale. During synagogue services, the related passages describing the holiday being observed are read aloud from a Torah scroll on the Bimah (platform) used at the center of the synagogue services. During the Jewish holidays in modern-day Israel, many Jews living in or near Jerusalem make an effort to attend prayer services at the Western Wall--"emulating" the ancient "pilgrimages" in some small fashion. 3 Chol HaMoed, a Hebrew phrase meaning "weekdays [of] the festival" (literal translation: "sand [of] the occasion"), refers to the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. During Chol HaMoed, the usual restrictions that apply to the Biblical Jewish holidays are relaxed, but not entirely eliminated. For example, work that would normally be prohibited on the festival would be allowed to prevent financial loss or if the results of the work are needed for the festival itself. Work for public need is also allowed. 4 Exod 23:16, 34:22

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the field"5; "after you have gathered in from your threshing-floor and from your winepress".6 It was a thanksgiving to YHWH for the fruit harvest. Sukkot was regarded as a general thanksgiving for the blessings of nature in the year that had passed--coming as it did at the completion of the harvest.

Sukkot became one of the most important feasts in Judaism, as indicated by its designation as "the Feast of YHWH"7 or simply "the Feast".8 Perhaps because of its wide attendance, Sukkot became the appropriate time for important state ceremonies--as was seen in Y'shua's time when all families had to go to their town of origin for the yearly census. During this important time, Moshe9 instructed the children of Israel to gather for a reading of the Torah10 during Sukkot every seventh year.11 King Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem on Sukkot.12 And Sukkot was the first sacred occasion observed after the resumption of sacrifices in Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity.13

In Leviticus, YHWH told Moses to command the people: "On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook";14 and "You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt".15

3) The Four Species:

The Four Species16 are mentioned in the Torah as being relevant to Sukkot. Karaite Jews17 build their Sukkot out of branches from the four specified species, while Talmudic Jews18 take three kinds of branches and one type of fruit which are held together and waved in a special ceremony during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The waving of the Four Species is an

5 Exod 23:16 6 Deut 16:13 7 Lev 23:39; Judges 21:19 8 1 Kings 8:2, 8:65; 12:32; 2 Chron 5:3; 7:8 9 Hebrew for Moses. 10 Known by Christians as the Law, but should rather be translated as YHWH's Instructions/Teachings. 11 Deut 31:10-11 12 1 Kings 8; 2 Chron 7 13 Ezra 3:2-4 14 Lev 23:40 15 Lev 23:42-43 16 Hebrew: Arba'at Ha-Minim, also called Arba Minim. 17 The Jewish belief to take Scripture literally, and they do not believe in the Oral Torah--only the Written Torah as received at Mount Sinai. 18 The Jewish belief of the Written and Oral Torah (interpretation of the Written Torah by Rabbis down through the ages).

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instruction prescribed by the Torah and contains symbolic allusions to a Jew's service of YHWH.

In Talmudic tradition, the Four Species are:

? Lulav ? a ripe, green, closed frond from a date palm tree ? Hadass ? boughs with leaves from the myrtle tree ? Aravah ? branches with leaves from the willow tree ? Etrog ? the fruit of a citron tree

The instruction of waving the Four Species derives from the Torah: "And you shall take for yourselves on the first day [of Sukkot], the fruit of the beautiful [citron] tree, tightly bound branches of date palms, the branch of the braided [myrtle] tree, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before YHWH your God seven days."19 The Four Species are then waved in all four directions--plus up and down, to attest to YHWH's mastery over all of creation--and to symbolically voice a prayer for adequate rainfall over all the Earth's vegetation in the coming year. During the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, the waving ceremony was performed in the Holy Temple on all seven days of Sukkot, and elsewhere only on the first day.

4) Hakhel:

In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, all Jewish men, women, and children on pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the festival would gather in the Temple courtyard on the first day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot to hear the Jewish king read selections from the Torah. This ceremony, which was mandated in Deut 31:10-13, was held every seven years, in the year following the Shmita (Sabbatical) year. This ceremony was discontinued after the destruction of the Temple, but it has been revived by some groups and by the government of Israel on a smaller scale.

5) Simchat Beit HaShoevah:

During the Intermediate days of Sukkot, gatherings of music and dance, known as Simchat Beit HaShoeivah, take place. This commemorates the Water Libation Ceremony in which water was carried up the Jerusalem pilgrim road from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple in Jerusalem.

6) Hoshana Rabbah:

The seventh day of Sukkot is known as Hoshana Rabbah, meaning the "Great Supplication". This day is marked by a special service in which seven circuits are made by worshippers holding their Four Species, reciting Psalm 118:25 with additional prayers.

19 Lev 23:40

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During the Morning Prayer service in the synagogue on Hoshanah Rabbah, after the waving of the Four Species, a separate bundle containing five aravah branches (a leafy branch of the willow tree) are taken in hand by each worshipper. A series of liturgical verses are read, ending with, "Kol mevasser, mevasser ve-omer" (A voice brings news, brings news and says)--expressing hope for the speedy coming of the Messiah. Then the bundle of aravah branches are beaten against the ground until many of the leaves have fallen out. By beating the willow branches on the ground, they symbolize both their prostration and also their need for rain to smite and penetrate the ground.

7) Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah:

The holiday immediately following Sukkot is known as Shemini Atzeret, literally "Eighth [Day] of Assembly". Shemini Atzeret is viewed as a separate holiday. In the Diaspora, a second additional holiday, Simchat Torah, literally "Joy of the Torah" is celebrated. In the Land of Israel, Simchat Torah is celebrated on Shemini Atzeret. On Shemini Atzeret the sukkah is left and meals are eaten inside their normal houses again. (The Sukkah represents our futuristic temporary stay for a shebuah (period of seven) in the Heavenly Tabernacle-New Jerusalem. After our period in heaven, we will come back to earth and continue with our "meals" on the earth in our normal dwelling places during the Messianic Era. Is it not amazing that Zech 14 is read on the last day of the feast? These passages deal with the Messiah's return and Armageddon. This is exactly what will happen when Y'shua returns with the raptured Believers to planet earth after their seven years in heaven!). In conclusion, the sukkah is not used on Simchat Torah as well, which is a picture of when we will "rejoice with the Living Torah, Messiah Y'shua" during the Messianic Era.

8) The future of Sukkot:

According to Zechariah, in the Messianic Era20 Sukkot will become a universal festival and all nations will make pilgrimages annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast there: "And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, YHWH of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, YHWH of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith YHWH will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and

20 Thousand years of peace.

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