To:	 "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Date:	 Fri, 17 Oct 1997 00:10:17 +0000
Subject: All about the Feast of Tabernacles
>From	 Uri Marcus
To:	 heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: The Feast of Tabernacles.
Shalom from Israel and Hag Samay'ach (Holiday Greetings) to all,
The 15th of the Hebrew month of Tishrei has once again arrived, thanks
be to G-d, and in accordance with the command we are to go out from our
homes and dwell in Tents or Succot (flimsy Tabernacles). All over
Israel you see in every neighborhood, creative succot of very variety,
everywhere... on lawns, on rooftops, on balconies, on sidewalks, even
in the middle of parking lots!
As for me and my family, we take it quite literally, as we
traditionally travel to the east of Haifa for a few days, and camp out
on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret). There we dwell in our
tents, along with a whole host of mosquitos and flies. The temperature
here in Israel is still a warm 28+C, and so it still at the edge of
summer, at least for the insects anyway. I spoke to a friend of mine in
Norway yesterday, and he wasn't too thrilled about the concept of
sleeping in Tents at this time of year. This is understandable!
Nevertheless, I still hold that all Believers, Jewish or otherwise must
come to a deeper understanding of the "appointed Seasons" of our G-d,
for they were not given because we needed a vacation or holiday. They
were given because they outline G-d's magnificent plan of redemption
for the world over a seven thousand year time span. Each reflects and
portrays specific aspects of that redemption, and to know about each
and even practice them is not only an act of trust and obedience, but
the sign of a servant eager to ascertain when his Master is returning
home. The feasts as they are outlined in the Torah (Viyikrah [Lev] 23)
are not a "Jewish," thing only, nor do they belong to "Judaism"
exclusively. They are part of a contract between those who have been
called out and set apart (sancified) from the world (i.e. the redeemed
community), and their G-d. These same are invited to participate in the
Joy of their salvation.
The outcome of this will cause the nations who do not know or practice
His decrees to become envious of our relationship with the Creator, the
G-d of Israel (into whose commonwealth Gentiles have been grafted-in).
This is why Moshe states in the Torah:
"See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my G-d commanded
me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take
possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your
wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these
decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
people." What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them
the way the LORD our G-d is near us whenever we pray to Him? And what
other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as
this body of laws I am setting before you today? (D'varmim [Deut]
4:5-8).
So, lets look at some questions about Succot.
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1. Why is Succot celebrated?
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Succot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, is observed on the 15th day of the
Jewish month of Tishrei, and lasts for 7 days. This year, it begins on
the evening of October 15th. During this time, we construct booths or
huts (a succah [singular]) which are essentially 3-sided dwellings with
a curtain in front, which are then decorated inside. The roof is made
of a leafy covering so that the stars are visable at night. They are
supposed to simulate the hastily constructed quarters we dwelt in as we
crossed the desert and they remind us of our 40-year sojourn and the
fact that G-d dwelt with us in our midst, leading us by a pillar of
cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The idea is to make the
succah comfortable enough to eat and sleep in, for the Torah instructs
us in ViYikra (Leviticus) 23:42-43 to "live in booths seven days in
order that future generations may know that I made "Am Israel" (the
nation of Israel) live in booths when I brought them out of the Land of
Egypt."
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2. There is a ceremony at the end of Succot called "Simchat Beit
HaSho'eva," or The Water Libation Ceremoney. What is its significance
and where do we see it in the Gospel accounts?
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When the Holy Temple was standing, there was an event of great joy that
took place during the festival of Succot. During the evenings of the
Succot Holiday, water was brought in a golden flask with great ceremony
and procession from the Gihon Spring (the Pool of Shiloach [Siloam])
south of the Temple Mount to the Temple. The water was poured on the
Altar as a prayer and supplication that the rainy season would begin.
The recognition was that the Almighty was the author of all "Living
Water" and that His arm alone could save, and provide the earth with
the rain it needs. This was expressed through the chanting of the Psalm
118, in which we find the words, Hoshanna Adonai (Save us, O Lord!),
along with dancing and processions with torches. The water then would
descend to the depths of the earth.
At night, the water-drawing ceremony was accompanied by music and
dancing of incomparable joy. Massive candelabra, taller than a house,
shone out into the night. There was not a courtyard in Yerushalyaim
that was not bathed in their light.
The chapter of the Talmud which describes this celebration is HaChalil
- `The Flute.'  And the people danced, on and on. And who was it that 
danced? Everyone from the ordinary folk to the greatest of Torah 
sages that it might be directed to the service of G-d.
The Talmud tells us that if you never experienced the joy of the
Simchat Beit HaSho'eva, you had no idea what real joy was.
Y'shua, drawing off the obvious implications of the ceremoney, used the
opportunity to teach his talmidim (disciples) about the source of all
"Living Waters" which was the Mashiach, who not only made pure the
unclean, but brought satifaction in all of life's needs by the power of
the Spirit which He would  provide; "On the last and greatest day of
the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty,
let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture
has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.""
(Yochanan [John] 7:37)
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3. Why is Succot one of the "Pilgrim Festivals" and what significance
does it have after Mashiach returns?
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Shemot (Exodus) 23:17 commands men to appear three times a year before
the Lord in the place where His Name dwells - i.e. the Temple in
Jerusalem. Those three holidays are Pesach, Shavu'ot and Succot, all of
which were agricultural holidays where the Isarelites would bring the
first crops of the season to the Temple.
But why did G-d choose Jerusalem as a place for His name to dwell?
Well, that is the subject of another study, but suffice to note now
that Jerusalem resides at the center of the Land of Judah -- Yehuda in
Hebrew -- whose name is comprised of five Hebrew letters which are:
Yud-Heh-Vav-Daled-Heh. If we remove the Daled, then that which remains
is the name of G-d, as revealed to Moshe Rabbenu at Har Sinai. From the
word "Yehuda" we get the word "Yehudi" or "Jew." It is therefore no
coincidence that the Land of Yehuda later became synonymous with the
Land of Israel.
Add to this the fact that "Yehuda" forms the path to Mashiach for "The
scepter will not depart from Yehuda, nor the ruler's staff from between
his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the
nations is his."
In this one name then, we have 
1) The Name of G-d; 
2) a People; 
3) a Land, and 
4) a Redemption. 
Is it any wonder how, with the greatest of
clarity, the Lord can weave them together and announce to Shlomo
HaMelech (King Soloman) before the split of his nation, the encouraging
decree that "if MY PEOPLE, who are called BY MY NAME, will humble
themselves and pray and seek MY FACE and turn from their wicked ways,
then will I hear from heaven and will FORGIVE THEIR SIN and will HEAL
THEIR LAND"? (2 Chr 7:14)
Succot holds an additional significance with regard to after Mashiach
returns. The feast in the Mishnah (part of the Talmud) is called "The
Feast of the Nations" and for good reason. All the sacrifices which
were perscribed in the Torah during Succot week, add up to the number
70. This is no accident. It fits well within the theme of Succot
because, it is said, the animal sacrifices are done not only for Israel
but for the Goyim (nations). In D'varim (Deuteronomy) 32:8, Moshe says:
"When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, when He
separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the children of Israel.
>From this Scripture we know that G-d totals all the nations of the
earth by the number of the sons of Israel and we are told there 
are 70 of them not including the nation of Israel. This is why the angel 
of the L-rd could say to the shepherds in the field:
...Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy
which will be to all people. (Luke 2:10)
Like the season of joy at Succot, this too is a direct allusion to the
Feast of the Nations at Succot, when... "the survivors from all the nations
that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the
King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If
any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship
the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. (Zechariyahu
14:16ff)
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4. How is the Succah (booth) built and what do we do there?
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It seems this question is a freebie since the answer to question #1
also answers this question. The only thing I can add is that the
covering of the succah can be made from easy-to-gather branches,
shrubs, straw or palm branches. Fruits, vegetables and other food
products for the covering should not be used. As I mentioned above, we
eat and (for the brave) sleep in the succah, although this is not
recommende for those who live is snow-country. In Israel, at this time
of year, the temperature still hovers at about 85+ degrees F.
Take heart if you venture to live in a succah during Succot. If you
feel insecure, then you will have G-d right where He wants you. Our
Rabbis have suggested that the feelings of insecurity helps us to
better identify with bnei Israel (the Children of Israel) when they
were in the desert.
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5. What is the most famous Jewish historical event that occured in the
Succah, and why?
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The birth of Y'shua HaMashiach. Because
of the themes of the holiday, and because of customs that Jewish people
have always performed, there could be no other day in the Jewish
Calendar, in my opinion, in which this event would be played out, from
a Jewish perspective. 
The terms used by the angels in Luke 2 to the Shepherds were: "I bring
you good news of great joy that will be for all the peoples."
The first part of the phrase is good news of great joy.  The season of 
our Joy is Succot. We are commanded to rejoice at this time. 
With Yeshua's birth at Succot, we also can set His circumcision on
Simchat Torah, which is the eigth day after Succot began. Today, this
is a day of great joy. And why not, since Yeshua was the living Torah?
What better time to enhance His link to the Torah than have His
circumcision occur on Simchat Torah, the day of rejoicing in the Torah
when we parade around with the Torah scroll. He too (Yeshua) was
paraded around in the Temple and put into the hands of Simeon at His
circumcision and there Simeon would have given his testimoney about the
consolation of Israel.
Now, for those of you have stamina and want to follow some very
interesting comparisons between NT passages and the Artscroll Machzor
(Jewish prayerbook) for Succot, you will note some amazing parallels:
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1. From the Artscroll Machzor for Succot, Shacharit service, Second day,
Chazzan's repetition, page 293, under "GOD'S MIGHT"
"With an offering of seventy bulls, I made peace on this Festival with
the seventy nations..."
Compare with: Luke 2:14, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth
peace among men with whom He is pleased."
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2. From the Artscroll Machzor for Succot, Shacharit service, Shabbot
Chol HaMoed, under the Shema and its Blessings, p. 501 with the 
responsive reading in the grey box:
"They stand at their watches, in morning's light and evening's watch,
resonantly singing out praise, cheer and trumpet-like voices growing
ever stronger, and the Chayot (animals) running to and fro like the
appearance of a brilliant flash... Kaftziel the master, sounds out the 
tidings (good news) that the bow** will not be diminished... The 
multitudinous legion, establis

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