To a first century Jew, the
festivals of Judaism were a way of life; the Jewish religion and the
traditions thereof were inherent to the culture of first century
Israel. Religious tradition became a part of education, commerce,
diet, and activity. Leviticus 23:44 tells us that the festivals of
the Jewish religion were established by God himself. These sacred
days stood as testimony to how God had been faithful in the past and
reminders to God’s people that he would provide for them in the
future. (Murphy, 1) Jewish Festivals were the landmarks by which the
Jews mark the passing of the year and (Jewish Virtual Library) it is
a widely held belief that there is messianic prophecy contained
within these festivals. Some believe that as the festivals are
divided between spring festivals and fall festivals, they can also be
divided into festivals illustrating the first coming of Christ
(spring festivals) and the second coming of Christ (fall festivals).
(Murphy, 1) Many of the festivals developed in different times under
different circumstances, but all have been given significance by God
to represent some aspect of the Exodus from Egypt (Cardozo, 125).
In the fourteenth
day
of the first month at even is
the Lord's
Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is
the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord:
seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall
have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye
shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord
seven days: in the seventh day is
an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Leviticus
23:5-8
Passover is quite possibly the
most significant festival to a first century Jew and quite likely the
most familiar biblical holiday to the average twenty-first century
Christian. Passover, also known as Pesach, begins on the night of the
15 day of Nissan and last for 8 days. (Ahavat). “Freedom is the
dominant note of Passover” (Jewish Virtual Library) and this is
reinforced in two very distinct ways during this festival. The first
day of the festival commemorates a very tangible symbol of freedom to
the Jewish people: the freeing of God’s people from slavery in
Egypt (Exodus 12:1-30). The second day is a slightly more abstract
representation of freedom; at this time a freedom from sin is
represented by the eliminated of leaven (yeast) from the diet and
home of the Jew for the entire week. While Passover is the term
familiar in modern times and the term used in the new testament of
most bible translations, this name is not actually appropriate for
this festival. The festival is not kept to commemorate the “passing
over” by God of the homes of the Israelites. It commemorates
the larger picture of God caring for his people, delivering them from
bondage, and the freedom that came to the Jewish People. (Cohen, 43).
It is an interesting note that the Hebrew word Pasah (as
used in Exodus 12:27) is actually a word meaning “protected”
and “guarded” rather than “passed over (Cohen, 42).
Many scholars believe that the Pesah meal celebration predated the
entrance of the Hebrews into Egypt: that it was a firstling festival
and as such represented a sacrifice of the first born lambs or goats.
(Cardozo, 125)
And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say
unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and
shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the
firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the
sheaf before the Lord,
to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest
shall wave it. Leviticus 23:9-11
Shavuot (translated: Feast of
Weeks but also known as the Festival of First fruits, and Pentecost)
is the second of the three major festivals of the Jewish year. It is
observed seven weeks after Passover for two days Sivan 6 and 7 of the
Jewish calendar (Cohen, 43). Sivan is the 10th
month of the Jewish year and this year Shavuot will be from dusk of
May 28 to dusk of May 39. Shavot in the celebration of the
anniversary of the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt Sinai and was
a time to bring the first harvested grains and first ripe fruits) to
the temple as a sacrifice. (Jewish Virtual Library, 4). “Because
of the interpretation ‘you shall bring an offering of new grain
to the Lord,’ in temple times two loaves made of the finest
wheat were offered to the Lord along with the bikkurim, the first
ripe fruits” (Cardozo, 156). This festival is called the feast
of weeks because it occurs seven weeks after Pesah, Passover. Omer is
the tem used to describe the seven weeks that separate Pesah and
Shavuot. Fifty days were counted before the next major festival,
symbolizing the time the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.
During this time, the first century Jews ate only simple foods to
remind them of the sacrifice. (Murphy, 2) Traditionally, the book of
Ruth was read to celebrate this festival, since it drew together the
two reasons for the celebration. “Set against the background of
a barely festival, it tells the story of a non-Jewish woman became on
of the Jewish people and thus symbolizes both the ingathering of the
harvest and the gathering in of the people to accept the Law”
(Cardozo, 157).
And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,
In the seventh month, in the first day
of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of
trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein:
but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the
Lord Leviticus
23:23-25
Rosh Hashanah, also known as the
Festival of Trumpets, is a holiday which marks the beginning of the
year for modern Jews and thus, is held on the first day of the Jewish
year, Tishri 1 (Jewish Virtual Library, 1). There is speculation,
however, over what point in time it became the Jewish New Year
celebration and scholars believe that while Tishri 1 was definitely
the official new year by second temple times, is may have been moved
several times prior. (Cardozo, 37-38) Rosh Hashanah is the first of
the fall festivals. Jews believed, and still do, that God began the
work of creation narrated in Genesis 1 on this day. (Murphy, 4)
Cardozo, in her book, asserts that Rosh Hashanah and the holiday ten
days later, Yom Kippur, are actually part of one ten day period of
penitence. (Cardozo, 36) While the biblical direction for this
holiday does not indicate a New Year celebration, (thus the new year
confusion) scholars believe it may have to do with the moon, since
Tishri 1 always falls upon the seventh new moon (cardozo, 36). This
celebration, as well as the ten follow days that lead up to the day
of atonement are solemn, “as it is the day on which the entire
world is judge for the coming year” (Ahavat, 1).
And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day
of this seventh month there
shall be
a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye
shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the
Lord.
Leviticus 23:26-27
Following Rosh Hashanah by about
a week is Yom Kippur, more commonly known as the Day of Atonement.
“Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish Year, culminates
the ten day penitential season” (Cardozo, 51). A recurring
theme in the literature pertinent to the celebration of Jewish
festivals that even today Jews who are not otherwise religious often
attend synagogue on this day (Jewish Virtual Library, 1; Cardozo, 51)
and that to a first century Jewish, this was the most important day
of the year. It was during this day that all the sins committed by
the Jewish people were to be forgiven, or atoned, by God. (Murphy,
1). To receive this atonement, the High Priest that year, after much
preparation, would enter into the Most Holy Place of the temple and
enter the presence of God. (Murphy, 1). “Leviticus 16
prescribes this complex methodology for evacuating the communities
sins, culminating with the banishment into the desert of a goat laden
with the collective wrongdoings of the past year” (cardozo,
52). First century Jews would fast for the day and spend the entire
day in prayer for the forgiveness of their sins and the sins of their
nation (Ahavat Israel, 1).
And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,
The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall
be
the feast of tabernacles for
seven days unto the Lord.
Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born
shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the
children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the
land of Egypt: I am
the Lord
your God.
Leviticus 23:33,
41-43
The
Feast of Tabernacles is the last major festival that God established.
The feast of Tabernacles is also known as the Festival of Booths and
Sukkot. “This seven day festival commemorates God’s
provision while the nation of Israel wandered in the wilderness. In
addition, the people express thanksgiving to God for his continued
provision in their lives” (Murphy, 5). The ninth day of the
festival is called Simchat Torah or Shemini Atzeret and is sometimes
considered a holiday in itself that celebrates the torah. The seventh
day, part of the festival, is called Hoshana Rabba, and is the day on
which the biblical waving of the branches took place. (Cardozo, 59,
77) Sukkot is the equivalent of the modern day American tradition of
Thanksgiving, and Murphy actually states that our Thanksgiving
tradition stems from this festival, although I found no documents
supporting this view. The festival originated as a non-religious
celebration of the fall harvest, but it was not until later that a
religious and historical reason was connected to the festival. Sukkot
is a time to remember the Hebrews who wandered in the desert and
lived in temporary shelters. (cardozo, 60) The Feast of Tabernacles
takes its name from these booths, which were tents they called
tabernacles. In preparation for this festival, first century Jewish
families would build a rather flimsy structure with three walls and
one wall left open and during the festival the family would move out
of their home to live in this temporary structure. (Murphy, 5)
First Century Judaism was rich
with tradition and ceremony. This is evident in the ways the biblical
festivals evolved through the years and were celebrated in the first
century and still today. The Jewish festivals are holy days that God
called his children to celebrate and I believe can take on meaning
even to the modern day Christian. The festivals celebrated by the
first century Jews are commemorative of the actions of God on the
behalf of their people, but also foreshadowed God’s movement in
the first century. The festivals themselves allude to a time of
greater celebration and the words and actions of Jesus in the New
Testament Gospels clearly show that as rich as the Jewish Festivals
are in ritual and tradition, God has many things to reveal through
His holy days.
