(Note: all quotations are taken from the Complete Jewish Bible, translation by David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., unless otherwise noted)

"THE LORD said to Moshe, "Tell the people of Isra'el: 'The designated times of the LORD which you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times." (Leviticus 23:1)

I Thessalonians 5:1-4 KJV But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Introduction and Overview - part 1

"Yeshua said to them, "This is what I meant when I was still alive with you and told you that everything written about me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44, CJB)

Next to Isaiah 53, nowhere else is this statement of Yeshua's more vividly demonstrated than in the Holy Convocations of Leviticus Chapter 23. The opening few lines of that chapter clearly teach that the Biblical Feasts, including Pesach (Passover) to Sukkot (Tabernacles), are "designated times of THE LORD " (verse 4). Historically, the Nation of Isra'el was to act as a repository of the wisdom and Word of The Lord. With his Called-out Ones acting as a "fishbowl", the surrounding nations were to learn about the Creator, the One True God of the Universe, from the everyday activities of the offspring of Avraham. This is one of the primary reasons that the Torah was graciously given to Isra'el.

In both Biblical and Modern Hebrew, the word for "appointed time" is "mo-eyd". Interestingly, this meaning conveys the sense of the "dress rehearsals" that occur before an actual play. In this way, The Lord masterfully designed the mikra'ey kodesh to act as dress rehearsals for his children. "Of what?" you might ask.

The Feasts of THE LORD are dress rehearsals of Messianic Redemption.

Our Lord Yeshua has literally and prophetically fulfilled the first four of the seven feasts mentioned in Leviticus 23; it is my belief that the Torah teaches that he will, likewise, literally and prophetically fulfill the final three at his soon to be second arrival. As the children of Avraham willingly and faithfully lived out The LORD’s yearly cycle of "mo-eydeem", the Spirit of the Holy One graciously opened their hearts to understand that, as his treasured possession, they were responsible to actively pursue a genuine, loving relationship with their "husband". It is this type of personal relationship that The Lord desired from his children, and to this end, the surrounding nations might also see the goodness and mercy of The LORD, and seek to become one of his treasured possessions. Today, our responsibilities to our Holy God have not changed any more than he himself has changed.

History has demonstrated that in the fullness of the LORD’s timetable he sent his Only Begotten Son Yeshua into the world, to redeem fallen man, and make it possible to have a right relationship with our Heavenly Abba. This Messianic Redemption of ours, which was accomplished through the sacrificial death, burial, and miraculous resurrection of Yeshua our Savior, has been prophetically and historically displayed through the teachings of the Holy Convocations of Leviticus 23. It is, therefore, the LORD’s desire that these teachings become an integral part of our everyday lives, as we walk out the truths of our new identification in Messiah. To be sure, the Torah has demonstrated,

"Then he opened their minds, so that they could understand the TaNaKH" (Luke 24:45)

Introduction and Overview - part 2


"The LORD said to Moshe, "Tell the people of Isra'el: 'The designated times of the LORD which you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times." (Leviticus 23:1)

The verse quoted above will act as our theme verse, as I take you on a Messianic understanding of the Feasts of The Lord. The complete study will serve as a primer to the reader, encouraging and challenging him to study further into the pages of the Torah to mine the rich blessings that lay in store for him there. Perhaps the study might even pique your curiosity concerning the area of shomer mitzvot, that is Torah-observance.

The time has now come for all of God's children to begin to have a unified voice when it comes to the Torah. For too long, we, the LORD’s olive tree (Romans Chapter 11), have been divided over this issue of "Who should follow the Torah? And why?" I'm not ashamed to answer authoritatively up front: the Torah details the lifestyle of a genuine follower of The Lord as correctly interpreted (fulfilled) by Yeshua HaMashiach! This means that all genuine believers have been given divine permission, as it were, to follow as much of God's Word ('Older' Testament and 'Newer' Testament) as they feel directed by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to do.

One might ask, if the Lord says to do something what room is left for arguing? Are you suggesting that an individual wait for a "warm and fuzzy feeling" to come over them? Not at all. What exactly am I getting at? Simply that God and God alone has the power to convince and convict a person in the area of sins of omission (I am suggesting that ultimately Torah disobedience, by default, can lead to sins of negligence). I can teach you about Torah observance until I am blue in the face, but I can NEVER force, coerce, entrap, or otherwise intimidate anyone into following Torah commands. Compulsion leads to legalism. For the individual coming out of a "Torah-less lifestyle", The Lord will often lovingly challenge them to mature by giving them opportunity to express their love for him in terms of Torah submissiveness, specifically in the area of rediscovering their Hebraic roots. Either that or they will just plain read the objective Torah, apply Hebraic "s'bara" (common sense), and then "just do it!" This approach has been known to be effective as well.

Because the feasts are found in the older portion of the Bible, many Christians simply neglect the study of them. It is my wish that these commentaries will capture the attention of the average believer and ignite a spark of interest within him, spurning him on to further investigate the practical application of these wonderful Torah-truths. I am not prepared to conduct a thorough study of the feasts in the space provided here. I simply want to provide the readers with the Messianic framework necessary to properly appreciate the scope of the LORD’s historical handiwork, as expressed in the feasts.

As we shall see, the feasts, which we will refer to as "mikra'ey kodesh" (holy convocations), were meant to serve as daily, monthly, and yearly reminders, of our identity and purpose, in the historical plans that The Lord has for all of mankind. The Torah teaches us that they are the "rehearsals of Messianic redemption". Properly understood, they tell the story of the birth and life, atoning work, death, resurrection, promise of power, assurance of dedication, promise of return, and promise of eternal abiding, of the Messiah Yeshua, in relation to all genuine followers. Surely it is in the mind of the Holy One, for his children to have an intimate knowledge of these aspects of his Son's ministry! Yet, for nearly two thousand years, our appreciation of these feasts has remained marginal at best and non-existent at worst.

The reader needs to familiarize himself with our main body of text, Leviticus Chapter twenty-three. Below is an outline and brief themes of the seven mikra'ey kodesh (not counting the Sabbath) that the Torah has for us (The following list and brief definitions was supplied by First Fruits of Zion Publications):

SPRING APPOINTED TIME AND SEASON

     Pesach (Passover) - redemption, salvation, deliverance, freedom

     Chag HaMazah (Unleavened Bread) - sanctification

     Bikkurim (Counting the Omer/ from First Fruits) - sanctification, deliverance

SUMMER APPOINTED TIME AND SEASON

      Shavu'ot  (Pentecost) - the giving of the Torah, the giving of the Ruach HaKodesh Holy Spirit),
                        firstfruits, ecclesiology

FALL APPOINTED TIMES AND SEASON

     Rosh HaShanah/Yom Teruah (New Year/Feast of Trumpets) - eschatology

      Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) - atonement, forgiveness, blood sacrifices

      Succoth  (Feast of Tabernacles/Ingathering) -worship, praise, redemption, eschatology, thanksgiving,
                       celebrating the harvest of  righteousness in our lives.

As we journey through our commentaries I will detail the times, dates and circumstances surrounding each feast. This will provide the historical framework to which we can apply the Messianic fulfillment of each feast. Ultimately, it is my intent to invite each one to consider taking The Lord up on his offer, of divine permission, to participate each year in his feasts. Shomer mitzvot is a wonderful way to "walk out" the reality of the newness of life, found only in union with Yeshua HaMashiach! A Godly desire to obey the Torah, as non-Jewish believers, is evidence of the Holy Spirit's activity of "putting the Torah of The Lord within you, and writing it on your heart" (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10, paraphrase mine).

May the Holy One richly bless you as you seek to be obedient to his Word!

For further study, read: Genesis 1:14; Exodus 19:5, 6; 31:13; Leviticus ch. 23; Deuteronomy 4:5-10; Joshua 1:7, 8; Psalm 40:7; ch. 119; Isaiah 2:2, 3; ch. 62; Jeremiah 31:31-37; Ezekiel 36:26, 27; Micah 4:1-7; Zechariah 8:20-23; Malachi 4:4; Matthew 5:17-19; Romans 10:4; Hebrews ch. 4; 10:7; James 1:22-25; 1 John 5:1-3

YOM T'RUAH "Day of the Awakening Trumpet Blast"

"The LORD said to Moshe, "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire to the LORD.'" (Leviticus 23:23-25)

With the coming of the fall part of the year, comes the final series of festivals, as detailed in our theme passage of Leviticus twenty-three. In rabbinical thinking, these last festivals are known as the "season of t'shuvah", the season of our repentance. Many scholarly studies have been done on the feasts of The Lord. To be sure, I would recommend that the serious student go back and conduct further research on his own, consulting various rabbinical commentaries and such, to gain an accurate and complete historical perspective on these feasts. However, these present commentaries are not designed to be a comprehensive work on the feasts, rather, I only want to supply the reader with some Messianic insights which I believe will enhance the average reader's knowledge of Biblical things.

As previously mentioned in the overview, the Feasts of The Lord are meant to serve as daily, monthly, and yearly reminders of the wonderful historical plans that The Lord has for mankind. We in the Church usually only think of the feasts as past requirements that the Jews had to obey. Requirements which are now, somehow, spiritually fulfilled in the work of the Messiah Yeshua, and consequently, no longer pertinent for the non-Jewish believer. In a small way, the Church is not entirely wrong. Yeshua did come to bring to their fullest meaning, the feasts that are listed in Leviticus twenty-three. Yet I'm here to explain to the readers, the greater significance that The Lord had in mind when he instituted these holy gatherings. I wanted to reiterate some of the things that I commented about in the overview again, as we are entering into the final time period of the feast outline of Leviticus.

As the name of this commentary states, Yom T'ruah is another of the "designated meeting times" that the people of The Lord were to remember and meet on. In this particular case, Yom T'ruah was a day just for "meeting" and "remembering". The literal verse of instruction that I quoted reads just that way. The Hebrew word for day is "yom", while the Hebrew word for trumpet or ram's horn is "shofar". The Torah instructs Am Yisra'el (the people of Isra'el) to commemorate this first day of the Hebrew month Tishrei with blasts from the shofar. This blast is called "t'ruah".

Your calendar probably calls this day "Rosh HaShanah". This name literally means "Head of the Year", from the Hebrew words "rosh" meaning "head" or "beginning", and "shanah" meaning "year". It gained this title when the rabbis created the civil calendar to be used by all Jews living in the Land of Isra'el. It eventually became the standard for all Jews everywhere. A religious calendar was already in effect when this change took place. Rather than replace the religious one, the rabbis simple adjusted it, making the beginning of the months Tishrei, instead of Nissan. This day has many significant themes attached to it. I want to list the other names of this feast, and then quickly explain the Messianic significance to each one. In this way, I believe the non-Jewish reader can quickly identify with the Scriptures and the People of Isra'el.

Names, Themes, and Hebrew Idioms associated with Rosh HaShanah:

1. Season of T'shuvah - this title, borrowed from the proximity of this particular feast to the Day of Atonement, suggests the attitude that is assumed during this most important time of the year. The Jewish nation as a whole wanted to spiritually prepare their hearts to meet their Creator on the Day of Atonement, hence the title given to the entire time period. As believers in Messiah, we already recognize the significance of his effectual blood sacrifice, thus we too can appreciate the state of mind that the Nation of Isra'el was trying to reach. Because many Jewish people as of yet do not have a personal relationship with Yeshua, I feel that their attitude during this time is appropriate, as, according to rabbinical belief, the Messiah could come to vindicate his chosen people during this season.

2. Rosh HaShanah - as previously stated, this day is recognized and celebrated as the head of the Jewish Calendar year.

3. Yom T'ruah - because the Torah explicitly commanded Am Yisra'el to sound the shofar on this day, it is called by this name. In Hebrew thought, a shofar is used to sound an "awakening blast" to the listener. Sometimes the call was to assemble, while at other times, the call was to war. In the case of the latter, usually a trumpet was used, instead of the traditional ram's horn. At any rate, the Chazal (Sages of Antiquity) taught that the sound that the shofar made during this time period was to awaken the sleeping sinner from his spiritual slumber, and challenge him to make t'shuvah, repentance, unto the LORD his God. Because of this, Yom T'ruah is better translated as "Day of the Awakening Blast". A spiritual call to assembly was what the writer of the New Covenant had in mind, when he penned the famous words in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. That quite a few believing Gentiles and Messianic Jews (myself included) teach that our Messiah could return on or around this season, is no small secret. We would do well to study this feast more in our non-Jewish Church settings.

4. Yom haDin - translates as "The Day of Judgment". On this day, the rabbis believed that three great books in heaven were opened, and The Lord the Almighty Judge would weigh each man's worth (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 6b). During this time period, all of the dead was raised to face the Ancient of Days, linking this day also to the great time period of resurrection. This is quite possibly the time period that Dani'el was referring to in Chapter 7, verse 10, of his book. Also the apocalyptic author John made references to books in Revelation 20:12-15.

5. Chevlai shel Mashiach - translated as "the Birthpangs of the Messiah". This final theme associated with Yom T'ruah is a much-repeated one throughout the Torah, especially in the prophets. The idea that one day there would be a great time of trouble on the earth, focusing primarily on the Nation of Isra'el as a people, is a major theme even in some New Covenant passages. Perhaps the most well known passage comes from the book of Jeremiah. In 30:4-7, the prophet speaks of the coming time of dread and terror as likened to a woman in the pains of childbirth. In other words, the Torah suggests that one day, most likely before the Messiah returns, the peoples of the world, and the Nation of Isra'el in particular will have to suffer a horrendous time of "birthing". This "birthing" is necessary for the Messiah to be "born". The language here can be confusing if you fail to remember that this is very figurative writing here. The authors employ heavy uses of real life images to convey what they are seeing in the Spirit. We know that Messiah was already born once. Yet, in a spiritual sense, the Torah teaches that all of creation is still waiting for him to be "born". For in this second "birth", the new heavens and the new earth will finally come forth also.

What can all of these different names and such teach us about the nature and purposes of The Lord? Our God is in the business of calling men back to himself. In order to get man to realize his fallen spiritual state he sometimes needs reminders. The Torah says of itself, in Psalm 19:11, that by it's words "your servant is warned". Warned of what? Of the impending doom that is to befall all of the evil of mankind and the deeds that they do. Within this warning is a message of mercy; the time to repent is now! Turn to The Lord with your whole heart, cry out for his mercy, beg for his forgiveness in pardoning your sin, and receive his atonement! There used to be a time when the average person living within the community of Isra'el could bring an offering to the LORD, and the LORD would forgive him. To be sure, we will discuss that time period known as Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) in our next commentary on the Mikra'ey Kodesh. But history and the Torah record that our Great High Priest Yeshua changed all of that. Today, if it is the mercy, forgiveness, and atonement of The Lord that you seek, then accept Yeshua as your Savior, and your will find those things! You don't have to wait until Yom Kippur to pursue atonement. Yeshua offers it freely today, to anyone who will put his or her trusting faithfulness in him!

"Besides all of this, you know at what point of history we stand; so it is high time for you to rouse yourselves from sleep; for the final deliverance is nearer than when we first came to trust. The night is almost over, the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and arm ourselves with the weapons of light." (Romans 13:11, 12)

"Chag Sah-meach Yom T'ruah!" (Happy Festival of the Day of the Awakening Blast)