Introduction

As I’m recording this installment of TMTO, we find that the Fall Feasts of the LORD 2022 are right upon us. And depending on which calendar you keep, the first of the Fall Feasts–Yom Teruah/The Feast of Trumpets–will arrive in just a little over a week. And for others, we’re talking about a week and a half.

 

Regardless, I say we need to get into “feast-mode” before the set-apart days of Yehovah arrive.

 

So, in preparation for receiving these set-apart days, I’ve elected to conduct a general overview of the Fall Feasts that I pray will provide a general understanding of when each of these days fall out on Yah’s sacred calendar and on our western Gregorian calendar; as well as provide a general understanding of what Yah requires of us in our keeping of these set-apart days of Yah.

 

Beloved, not knowing when and what Yah expects of us when these set-apart days arrive does not speak well of us as individuals and as a faith community. Yah has marked out these days on His sacred calendar to personally meet and dwell with us. And He expects at the very least that we show-up at the established date and place.

 

And today, with all the technological conveniences we enjoy here in the West, there is no excuse for our missing any of Yah’s Feasts. And I want to make sure that none of the listeners, readers, and viewers of TMTO are left uninformed of these critical days that Yah has declared as “His set feasts” (Leviticus/Vayiqra 23:2).

 

 

Now, I realize that some of you will find this discussion to be somewhat elementary, or that maybe you’ve outgrown this type or level of information. And if that is you, please consider the fact that The Messianic Torah Observer is first and foremost a discipling platform. It is meant to provide truth-seekers, whoever they may be, or whatever level of understanding they may possess, with Yeshua-focused Torah living content that will enhance their walk with Messiah. Additionally, TMTO provides the Hebrew Roots/Messianic/Netzari Community with what I hope is, a modicum of thought-provoking content that will incite Yah’s elect to go deep into Yah’s Word such that their faithful-obedient covenant relationship with Father Yah through Yeshua Messiah is profoundly strengthened.

 

So, I pray that, even if you are well-versed in Yah’s Torah, especially in the Fall Feasts, you consider hanging with us for a while longer. And just maybe something that we discuss here today will bless you and or cause you to embrace Yah’s upcoming Fall Feasts with a renewed and greater vigor and hunger and thirst for Yah’s righteousness than you ever had before.

 

And beloved, that’s what this is all about. Receiving Yah’s set-apart days with an expressed intent to get more out of each feast than we received last year, and then leaving the Fall Feasts of the LORD 2022 spiritually better-off than when we entered into them.

 

 

Why Should We Keep the Fall Feasts of the LORD?

 

So, let me ask you a question? Why do these Fall Feasts hold so much importance to us and to Yah?

 

The powers that be—the principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and the wicked spiritual forces operating in the spaces just below heaven–have seemingly pulled the trigger on their end time game-plan (Ephesians 6:12-18; cf. Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 3:10-21). Attacks on Yah’s people have become more sophisticated and intense in recent years. Persecutions and even martyrdoms of Yah’s people have of late increased dramatically throughout the world. But we hear very little if anything about such things from the hasatan-influenced news media, do we?

 

That which was once held as sacred and good in secular society is now considered evil and bad. Violence is seemingly out of control throughout our nation, even in some of the quietest sectors of American society. Those who have been charged with serving and protecting society have turned their backs on the very ones who are most at risk: our children; the old and the infirmed and the poor.

 

The evil-state of the world today has been dubbed as the “new norm”, which is to say that things are not going to improve, but rather, things will likely continue to worsen as lawlessness increases and the love of most people waxes cold (Matthew 24:12).

 

The prophet Yesha’Yahu/Isaiah, through the inspiration of Yah’s Ruach HaKodesh wrote:

 

(20) Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (21) Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (22) Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink; (23) Which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! (5:20-23; Cepher).

 

And despite the prophet directing his message to the disobedient and evil ones of Judah around the time of the Babylonian Captivity, are not these same evils being repeated in earnest in our 21st century world today?

 

Any who dare stand against murdering babies in and out of the womb; any that stand against the LGBTQ agenda; any that stand against mandated poisoning of theirs and their families’ bodies by the government’s health care Nazis; any that stand against the poisoning of their children’s minds and hearts by wicked societal and educational norms and agendas and ideologies; any that choose to put their trust and hope in the Elohim of Yisra’el—of Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov rather than in the anti-faith, anti-God, anti-truth liberal government that seeks to usurp authority over every aspect of the lives of Yah’s people, well, they are deemed traitors and haters of the state and they face being eliminated or canceled by society.

 

 

Seems that a great many bible believing people, teachers, preachers, ministers, and the like, strongly believe that we’ve entered some portion of the End Times. That although Yahoshua’s return and the first resurrection may not be imminent, many knowledgeable people of Faith believe that we are entering a period of shaking—of testing—of conviction—of sifting—of persecution—of trials—of challenges to our profession of Faith—of judgment.

 

 

Indeed, for those of us who have been blessed with the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and the hearts and minds to “shema” Yah’s Torah and the teachings and example of Yahoshua Messiah, we find embedded into Yah’s moedim—Yah’s set-apart days—Yah’s Feasts—the only solution to this world’s profound and pervasive wickedness. And so, Yah’s set-apart people embrace His Word and keep His set-apart days in Spirit and in Truth, knowing that the world is going to go the way it has chosen to go, but also knowing that our lives and steps are ordered by Yehovah (Psalm 37:23). That it behooves us to wait on Yehovah and to be of good courage, such that Yah strengthens our hearts, and we ultimately inherit the earth (Psalm 27:14; 37:9; 1 Peter 5:6).

 

A remnant of Yah’s elect was facing similar challenges just before the fall of Yerushalayim/Jerusalem, as Judah became more and more perverse and distant from Yehovah. And the remnant asked the Prophet Habakkuk what they should do as they watched their society crumble before them and anticipated the Babylonian juggernaut’s destruction of their beloved nation. And Yah told the prophet to relay the following message to the remnant:

 

(3) “The vision (that which Yah had given to the prophet) is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. (4) Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:3-4; KJV).

 

Like that precious remnant of Habakkuk’s day, we are being called in these last and evil days to live by our faith, and to live by our faith without compromise.

 

That which stands before us today as we enter the Fall Feasts of 2022 is a choice or question: Will we turn our attention—turn ourselves over to Yah and His Ways and instructions in righteousness? Or will we allow the cares of this world and the influences of the enemy to overtake us to the point that we neglect to keep Yah’s Ways and instructions, including His set-apart days, in Spirit and in Truth? If we were to leave it up to the world, we would reject Yah’s ways and instructions because they run contrary to the ways and instructions and agendas and beliefs of this world.

 

Or will we turn our backs to the world in which we live, and for at least the handful of days that Yah has asked us to meet with Him, give Him our full, undivided attention? Will we allow Yah to dwell with us, and love on us, and fill us to overflowing with His Word as His precious Ruach inscribes them on the fleshly tables of our hearts and minds?

 

The Feasts of Yehovah do not belong to us nor to the world. But rather, they belong to Yehovah, the Maker and Creator of heaven and earth. And we are not our own as we have been bought with a price—we have been redeemed from the evil-powerholders of this world. Thus, we the redeemed of Messiah have no right—no authority—no wherewithal to change that which Yah established way back in creation, nor do we have the liberty to stand our Creator up on these set-apart days (Genesis/Beresheit 1:14).

 

Indeed, the words of King David/Dawid ring ever-so true even today:

 

“The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no Elohim. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good’” (Psalm 14:1; KJV).

 

Oh, but those Feasts are for the Jews. They are Jewish holidays that we have no business keeping.

 

Well, Yah was quite clear when He said to us:

 

“…Concerning the feasts of Yehovah which ye shall proclaim to be holy assemblies, EVEN THESE ARE MY FEASTS” (Leviticus/Vayiqra 23:2; Cepher).

 

Thus, the Feasts belong to Yah. And since the feasts belong to Yah, Yah determines who will keep them. For now, it falls to Yisra’el to keep Yah’s feasts, which Yah has emphatically stated are ordinances to be kept by Yisra’el throughout all their generations (Leviticus 23:2, 44; 2 Chronicles 2:4; Ezekiel 45:17). And because we, the redeemed of Yehovah, under the renewed covenant, have been engrafted into the commonwealth of Yisra’el are henceforth and forevermore obliged to keep Yah’s Feasts (Romans 11:17-24).

 

Oh, but since the Temple is no longer in existence and the Levitical Priesthood no longer in operation, we can’t keep the Feasts. Ergo, we shouldn’t be bothered with keeping the Feasts of the LORD. Besides, we’re now under the New Covenant: for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life you know (reference to 2 Corinthians 3:6).

 

Folks, the greatest part of the renewed covenant is that Yah has promised to put His Torah within us by writing it on our hearts and minds (Jeremiah/Yerma’Yahu 31:33; Hebrew 8:10; 10:16). And this being the case, keeping-guarding-honoring-observing Yah’s set-apart days no longer is a question. But rather, it becomes the child of Yah’s desire to keep-guard-honor-observe Yah’s set-apart days because it’s the right thing to do.

 

It was the Apostle Shaul whom the Denominationalists wrongly accuse of advocating that the Torah was done away with at the crucifixion of Yeshua Messiah, and that one’s salvation and eternal security is based upon God’s grace and one believing that Jesus died for one’s sins—but it was Shaul who contrary to denominational conventional wisdom who admonished his Corinthian Messianic readers to “keep the feast” (1 Corinthians 5:8) and that he himself, being admonished by Ephesian brethren to tarry with them a while longer, insisted that he by all means had to keep the upcoming feast in Yerushalayim (Acts 18:21).

 

 

This being the case, which it most certainly is, it behooves us as Yah’s elect to also keep the Feasts, especially in these dark and evil days.

 

Besides, many believe that Yeshua will return for Yah’s elect on a Yom Teruah/Feast of Trumpets. And if this is even remotely true, wouldn’t it be prudent to be found keeping Yah’s feasts when Yeshua returns, as opposed to not being found keeping it when He returns? Just saying.

 

 

Father Yah’s Reckoning of Time

 

We find in Genesis/Beresheit 1:14 that Yehovah reveals to us that the heavenly bodies (I.e., the sun, the moon, and the stars) were put into the firmament by our Creator to serve as signs for our agricultural seasons which are marked or highlighted by Yah’s annual feasts or moedim. These moedim or feasts are to be kept at the appointed or stipulated times on Yah’s sacred calendar.

 

Numerically speaking, Yah’s reckoning of time is broken down into:

 

1. The weekly 7-day cycle which is capped by the 7th day Sabbath.

 

2. The monthly cycles which are highlighted by New Moon observances.

 

3. The 12-month calendar year, which, depending upon the maturity status of the barley crop in the land of Yisra’el, may add an additional month to the calendar year.

 

4. And within Yah’s yearly 12-month (or on occasion a 13th-month) calendar are Abba’s mandated Feasts, some of which Yah labeled as Sabbaths.

 

 

The Feasts of the LORD are Often Referred to as Rehearsals

 

Yah’s set-apart days—His moedim—are considered by some to be rehearsals. The concept of the Feasts of the LORD being rehearsals is derived from Abba’s use of “sacred/holy convocations” or “miqra qodesh.”

 

Although I’ve not found instances where “miqra” was defined as a rehearsal, it’s easy to see from a contextual standpoint that the Feasts of the LORD when taken individually and as a whole, paint for Yah’s people a prophetic shadow picture of “good things to come” (Hebrews 10:10). And as shadows of good things to come, the Feasts of the LORD serve as reminders of the elements of Yah’s Grand Plan of Salvation, Redemption, and Restoration.

 

Thus, whenever the Feasts of Yah occurs and we, the redeemed of Yah, keep these set-apart days, we are remembering, and to some extent, rehearsing the elements of Yah’s Plan of Salvation, Redemption, and Restoration, as we await our Master’s return and His establishing of Yah’s eternal Kingdom here on earth.

 

These moedim—these set-apart days on Yah’s sacred calendar that we refer to as Feasts, also serve as critical date-markers that are situated strategically on Yah’s sacred calendar. And it is during these special times that Yah intends to “impart knowledge and understanding to His children about His Great Plan of Salvation.

 

So then, why does Yah require that we receive this imparting of knowledge and understanding on an annual basis? Well, for starters, Yah says so. Yah tells us that He expects His chosen ones to keep and guard His set-apart days throughout their generations. Which means Yah expects not only us as individuals to keep and guard His Feasts, but He expects us to raise our children to keep and guard these Feasts as well. And our children are to follow suit by imparting knowledge of Yah’s feasts to their children and so forth.

 

The other reason Yah requires us to keep His Feasts each year without fail is to reinforce in our hearts and minds Yah’s Word and His Plan of Salvation. For Yah knows that humans tend to be forgetful:

 

“Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which He made with you…” (Deuteronomy/Devarim 4:23; KJV; cf. Deuteronomy/Devarim 4:9).

 

Just to be clear here, Yah is not suggesting that Yisra’el will cognitively forget the tenets of the covenant He established with her. But rather, that Yisra’el will forgetful the tenets of the covenant from the standpoint of them not living up to His Kingdom standards when the things and ways of Yah are not regularly enforced upon them.

 

 

The Structure and Foundation of the Fall Feasts of the LORD

 

The Feasts of the LORD as well as the weekly Sabbaths are days that Yah has sanctified/set-apart to commune with His chosen ones. These are described variously throughout the scriptures as times of:

 

• Anointing
• Convicting
• Joy
• Teaching
• Learning
• Hope
• Introspection
• Convocation
• Worship
• Rehearsing
• Doing good

 

Our English term “feast(s)” in Hebrew is either “mishteh” {mish-teh) or “chagag” {kahw-gag}. They have two-different meanings. The term “mishteh” means either a feast; to drink; or a banquet. This definition doesn’t quite fit that which Yah has declared to be his appointed, set-apart days.

 

Well, it turns out that our English term “feast(s)” as it applies to keeping Yah’s set-apart days is really the Hebrew term “chagag” which has to do with a festival; making a pilgrimage; to celebrate; to keep a sacred pilgrim feast; to dance; or to stagger. Within the context of our discussion here today, we’re of course talking about a festival; making a sacred pilgrimage; to celebrate. This is what the Feasts of the LORD/Yehovah are all about as you very well know.

 

Turns out that the first mention of “chagag” in scripture is found in Exodus/Shemot 5:1, and the term is used by Moshe who was echoing that which Yehovah had given Him to say to Pharaoh:

 

“Thus says Yehovah Elohai of Yashar’el: Let My people go, that they may hold a “chagag” (I.e., a feast) unto Me in the wilderness” (Cepher).

 

Here in this passage, Moshe was essentially talking about the children of Yisra’el assembling themselves out in the Sinai Wilderness for purposes of keeping the Feast/Chag Sukkot—the Feast of Tabernacles, as Yisra’el would then dwell in sukkahs throughout their sojourn in the wilderness and Yah’s presence would dwell within their midst.

 

But Yehovah’s concept of His Feasts—His set-apart days—was not birthed in the Sinai Wilderness. But rather, Yah conceived the feasts in His heart and mind, no doubt well before creation. But it was at creation that He articulated the concept of His feasts to the Court of Heaven:

 

“And Elohim said: Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for appointed feasts (I.e., “moedim”), and for days, and years’” (Genesis/Beresheit 1:14; Cepher).

 

The lights in the vault of the heavens—that being the sun, the moon, and the stars–would be the determining signs for the fixed times—seasons-festivals of Yah.

 

The English term “seasons” as used in most English translations that are derived from the KJV is the Hebrew term “moedim”. Seasons or moedim in this sense would be the highlights of Yah’s sacred calendar year. Yah’s reckoning of time, then, is based upon the seasons or moedim or festivals. The moedim regulate Yah’s sacred calendar. And Yah’s sacred calendar is divided into the 4-seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter as stipulated by Yehovah to Noach/Noah:

 

“While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, night and day, shall not cease” (Genesis/Beresheit 8:22; ESV).

 

Beloved, wouldn’t it be ideal if we get to the place in our walk with Messiah where we fashion our lives around the “moedim of Yehovah” as opposed to fashioning our lives around the cares of this life? Can we ever get to the place where we order our lives according to the Feasts of the LORD each year and not upon family outings, birthdays, secular and religious holidays, jobs, and such? Structuring our lives around Yah’s annual calendar would be one of the first major steps towards dying to self, where we give our day-to-day existence over to the Creator of the Universe.

 

 

 

Leviticus/Vayiqra 23:1-2—The Appointed Times/Seasons of the LORD/Yehovah—Not of the Jews

 

Having set the foundation for keeping Yah’s Feasts, let’s now gain an overview understanding of the Fall Feasts of the LORD.

 

We are introduced to all the feasts of Yehovah in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus/Vayiqra, where in verse 2 we learn that these set apart days belong to Yehovah. They do not belong to anyone other than Yehovah. Not the Jews, nor the Hebrews, nor to the Hebrew Roots, Messianic Community. These belong exclusively to Yehovah. Which means that Yah is the One who tells us the how, when, where, and what as it relates to His moedim/feasts. And it therefore falls to those who would be His chosen ones to simply shema: hear, listen, and obey Yah’s instructions as it relates to His Feasts. And so, when a denominationalist or even a Jew brazenly confronts us with the erroneous contention that the Feasts of Yah belong exclusively to the Jews and therefore should be kept exclusively by Jews, we need but point them to this passage of Leviticus where Yah declares to Moshe, who in turn was to declare to the nation of Yisra’el, that the following set-apart days—going forth in this chapter—belong to Yah. And He tells Moshe:

 

“…even these are My set feasts/moedim” (23:2).

 

And we find here that Yah instructs Moshe to instruct the children of Yisra’el that they are to proclaim these set-times/these seasons/these moedim as “holy convocations.”

 

Now, to better understand what Yah was saying to Moshe in this verse, we must first understand what Yah means by us—the children of Yisra’el–“proclaiming” these moedim/these feasts as “holy convocations.”

 

We’ve already established through scripture that Yah’s set-apart times/seasons/moedim are days that Yah set aside on His sacred calendar to commune or meet with us—His chosen ones.

 

When we talk about Yah meeting with His children, we’re talking about Yah establishing an appointed place, time, and event that His elect is required to participate in on a regular basis (reference: J.A. Benner-Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible). As it relates to the Shabbat, we’re talking about participating in worship of Yah on a weekly basis. When we’re talking about the moedim/the Feasts, we’re talking about observing these set-apart days on an annual basis.

 

The New Moon observances were not mandated, set-apart days, although Yehovah mentions them as monthly dates to observance, celebrate, and worship (see Numbers/Bemidbar 10:10; 28:11). Consequently, few see Rosh Chodesh—ie., the New Moon—as a sacred, set-apart day of Yehovah since it is not delineated here in Leviticus/Vayiqra 23, nor does Yah command us to treat Rosh Chodesh as a set-apart day per se, although our ancient Hebrew cousins seemed to celebrate and observe each Rosh Chodesh, upwards of 3-days even (1 Samuel 20:5-24).

 

Nevertheless, we will not include Rosh Chodesh in our discussion on the Fall Feasts of the LORD. But if you would by chance be interested in learning more about Rosh Chodesh or New Moon observances, I would encourage you to read or listen to my post entitled “Rosh Chodesh 6th Month 2022—The Start of the 6th Biblical Month.” 

 

So, we now know that these seasons/times/feasts are established days on Yah’s sacred calendar that He has set-aside to meet with His children on a recurring weekly, monthly, and annual basis.

 

Then we get to the term “proclaim”: Yah tells Moshe that we are to proclaim these set-apart days—these moedim—as “holy convocations.”

 

Our English term “proclaim” in the Hebrew is “qara’”, which means to call, to call out, or better, to come together to meet.

 

Thus, Yah has instructed us to come together as a set-apart body on these established set-apart days or moedim or feasts.

 

Then we have the English phrase of “holy convocation,” which in the Hebrew is “miqra qodesh.” The “qodesh” should be easily recognized by us as “holy.” And it is most used by us in our Faith Community when addressing the Holy Spirit: That is the Ruach HaQodesh.

 

But then we have this term “miqra” to sort out. Miqra means a reading; to bring together in an assembly by or as if by command; a calling together. Anciently, miqra means a calling together to meet. In such instances, we’re talking about a reading from a scroll at such a called meeting, which is important in our discussion regarding the Fall Feasts of the LORD. For we find in Deuteronomy/Devarim 31:10-13 where Yah instructs us to have Torah read before all who attend the Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot every 7th-year—that being the Sh’mittah Year. So, the reading and teaching of Yah’s Torah is an important part of Yah’s feasts.

 

So, to sum it up: The Feasts of the LORD are to be set times/observances where Yah’s people assemble themselves together in one place for purposes of hearing Yah’s Torah and worshiping and celebrating Yah on an annual/yearly basis.

 

 

Convocating When There’s No Miqra to be Had

 

Now, it should be mentioned that many in our Faith Community do not live near Torah-observant assemblies/congregations/fellowships and are unable to personally convocate/assemble/worship with like-minded Netzari/Messianics. This situation is made more problematic during the Feasts.

 

Indeed, the Feasts of the LORD are meant to be social events, more so than solitary events that where we take-off from work and sit either alone or with our families in our homes, read a few passages of scripture, pray, and maybe have a meal or two to round-out the set-apart days. And to be honest with you, depending on our individual situations, Yah may see us through periods where we’re forced to keep Yah’s set-apart days, including the weekly Sabbaths alone or just with our immediate family.

 

I would counsel that when one finds themselves in such a situation that they first and foremost turn the situation over to Yah and ask Him to provide them with a sacred assembly. Trust Yah to provide for our worship needs just as He provides for our day-to-day material needs. And if it falls within Yah’s will and plan for you, He will find a sacred convocation for you to attend on His set-apart days in His perfect time.

 

In the meantime, we do our best to keep Yah’s Feasts in Spirit and in Truth.

 

Today, technology provides us the means of connecting with like-minded brethren across the planet, either in real-time, or on demand. And so, we may find ourselves, until Yah makes provisions otherwise, keeping Yah’s set-apart days on our own in our own dwellings, or connecting with brethren over the internet, or even the phone.

 

Now, I get that there are certain brethren in our Faith Community today who believe that the internet is of hasatan, and that Yah’s set-apart people have no business using it.

 

Well, all I have to say in response to that is “stop.” I get that evil people use the internet. But so do Yah’s elect. A person doesn’t make a thing such as the internet a bad or good thing. It’s the person that is either evil or righteous. Evil, wicked people, as you no doubt know, use various mediums in this world to fulfill their wicked and evil agendas. Conversely, many of Yah’s most devoted children use the internet and technology to proclaim Yah’s Word to the world and point people to Yeshua as their savior.

 

You know, it would be foolish for us to rob Yah of the opportunity to commune with us using the technology that He has allowed humanity to possess. Right now, we have the freedom to convocate, worship, and learn using technology. And it behooves us as Yah’s elect to stop being too high-minded and holier than our brethren who are just searching for Truth and use that which Abba has provided to us to bring lead people into a covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe through the Person and Ministry of Yeshua Messiah. 

 

So, we convocate on Yah’s set-apart days in Spirit and in Truth, guarding, observing, and keeping these days to the best of our understanding and ability each year.

 

The First of Yah’s Feasts: The Weekly Sabbath

 

We find in verse 3 of the 23rd chapter of Leviticus/Vayiqra, that the weekly Sabbath/Shabbat is the first of Yah’s set-apart days. Many do not think of the weekly Sabbath as a set-apart day of Yah, but it is probably the most important of Yah’s set-apart days. For it teaches us to obey Yah and to honor those things which are important to Yah.

 

For the Sabbath, Yah requires the following:

 

• That we observe a Sabbath rest on the 7th day of every week. He didn’t instruct us to observe a Sabbath rest on Sundays. Instead, Yah requires that we abandon the cares/the tasks/the concerns of the other 6-days of the week and focus only on Yah and that which Yah has for us to do on that day.
• We are to come together in a holy assembly—a miqra qodesh each Sabbath.
• We are to perform no manner of work on the Sabbath. Which means that we not only to abstain from performing occupational work on the day, but also abstain laborious or servile work on that day (such as housework; yard work; shopping; and the like).
• And we are to keep the weekly Sabbath without fail, regardless of where we may dwell on the earth.

 

 

Yom Teruah—The Day of the Blowing of Trumpets—the First of the Fall Feasts of the LORD

 

We skip down to verses 24 and 25 of the 23rd chapter of Leviticus to begin our overview and survey of the Fall Feasts of the LORD, beginning with Yom Teruah.

 

(We skip verses 4 through 22 because these outline for us the Spring Feasts of Yah. And if by chance you desire a more detailed overview and discussion of the Spiring Feasts of the LORD, I would humbly encourage you to either read or listen to our posts entitled:

 

• “Some Passover Basics-Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022-Part 1.”
• “Keeping Passover by Way of the Original Covenant-Part 2 of Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022.”
• “Keeping Passover by Way of the Renewed Covenant-Part-3 of Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022.”
• And “Shavuot-Pentecost 2022 in Focus-Netzari-Messianic Perspectives on the Feast of Shavuot.”)

 

But returning to Yom Teruah, also known as the Day of the Blowing of Trumpets or the Feast of Trumpets, we find that it always falls on the first-day of the 7th month. Now, for those of us who keep the observational calendar, the actual date in which the Feast of Trumpets/Yom Teruah falls is wholly dependent on the sighting of the 7th-renewed moon over the land of Yisra’el. It is projected, assuming that the 7th-renewed moon is indeed sighted, that Yom Teruah will begin at sundown on 9/27/2022, which is on the evening of the 3rd day (aka T-esday). If by chance the renewed moon is NOT sighted on the 27th, Yom Teruah will, by default, commence at sundown on 9/28/2022, which will be the evening of the 4th day (aka W-dnesday).

 

For the observationalists, Yom Teruah is the only Feast Day of Yah’s set-apart calendar that we don’t know for sure which day it will hit. Which in and of itself is so prophetically profound. For Yom Teruah is generally viewed by many in our Faith Community as being representative of our Master’s second coming and the advent of the first resurrection.

 

We find embedded at the very end of Yeshua’s Parable of the 10-Bridesmaids a critical warning which applies to every would-be child of Yah:

 

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matthew 25:13).

 

And so, we observationalists watch and wait for reports to come out of the Land of Yisra’el regarding the sighting of the renewed moon the evening in which we anticipate Yom Teruah to begin. Consequently, this is generally an anxious time for us because our Sukkot plans hinge on when the 7th month begins, not unlike the beginning of each sacred calendar year when we await word from the Land of Yisra’el regarding the maturity of the barley crop and the sighting of the renewed moon which signals the start of the 1st Month of Yah’s sacred calendar year.

 

Indeed, the observational calendar is a calendar of faith, for in it we learn to rely upon the sovereignty and will of our Heavenly Father who alone determines when His Feasts will occur. Which I believe is the way Abba always intended it to be.

 

But I realize and respect that the vast majority of brethren Messianics/Netzari keep the rabbinic, calculated calendar. And as I mentioned in “Some Passover Basics-Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022-Part 1” I don’t believe Abba has to-date fully restored the knowledge and use of His observational calendar to the Body of Messiah. And so, until that time of restoration, our Faith Communities will generally be divided where some will be led to keep the observational calendar, while others are led to keep the rabbinic calculated calendar. Which means that our Faith Community will, for the most part, keep the Feasts of the LORD, more times than not, on different days.

 

I guess we can be grateful that we all keep the weekly Sabbath on the same day, which is a good thing.

 

Anyway, Yom Teruah/Feast of Trumpets, according to the rabbinic Calendar, will occur at sundown on the first day of the week (aka S-nday), on 9/25/2022.

 

Now, you should be aware that our Jewish cousins refer to Yom Teruah by another name: Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah, as you may or may not know, means “head” or “beginning of the year.” And so, you’ll likely never see the Hebrew name of this Feast, which is Yom Teruah on any rabbinic calendar. And that’s because the rabbis readjusted the meaning and focus on the day to that of being the Jewish New Year.

 

Now, some of you may be wondering why the rabbis made Yom Teruah, a Feast of the LORD that Yah mandated be kept in the 7th-biblical month, New Year’s Day when Yah clearly declared to us that Aviv 1 (see “Some Passover Basics-Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022-Part 1” for specifics) is to be the head of the biblical new year for us.

 

Well, it turns out that the Rabbis (and we’ll get more into this, Abba willing, when we discuss Yom Teruah on its own next week) took Yah’s description of the Feast of Ingathering (another name Yah gave us for Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles) which takes place at the end of Yisra’el’s planting and harvesting cycle, as an indication that Yom Teruah must be the Jewish New Year or Rosh Hashanah (reference Exodus/Shemot 23:16). But what Yah was describing here in this verse is that Sukkot (I.e., the Feast of Tabernacles) is situated on Yah’s sacred calendar at the end of our agricultural year. That is, the Fall Feasts in general mark the end of Yisra’el agricultural year, not Yah’s biblical calendar year. The Fall Feasts of the LORD do not mark the end of the last and the start of a new year. And the tragedy is that we have a great many brethren and fellowships in our Faith Community that teach this lie.

 

Consequently, Yom Teruah is NOT Rosh Hashanah as the rabbis have made it out to be. It is in fact another example of the rabbis adding to Yah’s Torah, which Abba commanded in His Torah:

 

“You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD/Yehovah your God/Elohim that I command you” (Deuteronomy/Devarim 4:2; ESV).

 

Rosh Hashanah, New Year’s Day, according to Yehovah our Elohim, is Aviv 1:

 

“This month (that being the Month of the Aviv) shall be unto you the beginning of months (I.e., rosh chodesh): It shall be the first month of the year (I.e., Rosh Hashanah) to you” (Exodus/Shemot 12:2; KJV).

 

So beloved, don’t be taken by “rabbinic gibberish” as it relates to the Feasts of the LORD.

 

But we learn in verses 24 and 25 of the 23rd chapter of Leviticus/Shemot the following regarding our keeping of Yom Teruah:

 

• It is to be kept on the 1st-day of the 7th month.
• Yom Teruah is to be kept as a Sabbath-rest day.
• It is to be a Memorial Day that is marked by the blowing of shofars or shouting.
  • The Hebraic meaning of Teruah by the way is that of an alarm; a signal; a sound of tempest; a shout; a shout or blast of war or alarm or joy; a shout of joy.
  • Anciently, Teruah referred to a “great shout of alarm, war, or rejoicing.” You know how in some war or battle movies the warriors or soldiers shout at the top of the lungs when they are attacking or fighting, and when they’d won a battle. The winning soldiers would customarily let out loud shouts of joy. Well, this is the idea behind the term Teruah—making loud noises—be they with shofars or with shouts from our mouths—of joy unto Yehovah.
  • The term “Yom” simply means day: The Day of…In this case, we’re talking about the Day of rejoicing with loud shouts and blasts from the shofar.
• Like the weekly Sabbath, Yom Teruah is to be a day in which we convocate: Like Shabbat, we are to gather on this set-apart day in a “holy/set-apart assembly.”
• It is to be a day in which we are to do no occupational work, which means that we are to take off from our jobs and not engage in any occupational labor.
• We are, of course, with the name of the day in mind, required to render unto our Heavenly Father shouts of rejoicing and joy, and if we have them, we are to blow our shofars as a memorial unto Yehovah our Elohim. For our Elohim loves to be praised and celebrated by His children.
• And lastly, we are required to render unto Yah the appropriate offering (see Numbers/Bemidbar 29:2-6). And we’ll get into what this offering looks like for us today when we discuss Yom Teruah next week, Abba willing.

 

 

Yom Kippur/Kippurim—The Day of Atonement—Deemed the Holiest Day of the Set-Apart Calendar Year

 

Next, we come to, what many in our Faith Community and the Jewish Community, refer to as the holiest day of the sacred calendar year. And that is Yom Kippur/Yom Kippurim, otherwise referred to as the Day of Atonement.

 

We find in verses 27 through 32 of the 23rd chapter of Leviticus/Vayiqra and verses 7 through 11 of the 29th chapter of Numbers/Bemidbar the following requirements for Yom Kippurim:

 

• Our observance of Yom Kippurim is to take place on the 10th day of the 7th month of Yah’s sacred calendar year.
  • In terms of the observational calendar, we anticipate that Yom Kippur will begin at sundown on T-ursday (aka the 5th day of the week), on 10/6/2022. Of course, this date is subject to the sighting of the renewed moon at the start of the 7th month. If the renewed moon is not sighted at sundown on the T-esday, 9/27/2022, Yom Kippur will begin at sundown on Fr-day, 10/7/2022. Which means that Yom Kippur will take place on a weekly Shabbat, which the rabbis do not ever allow to happen.
  • In terms of the calculated calendar Yom Kippur will begin at sundown on T-esday (aka the 3rd day of the week), on 10/4/2022.
• Yah tells us that Yom Kippurim is to be a holy assembly/convocation.
• We are to afflict our souls on that day. Biblically speaking, to afflict one’s soul, especially for Yom Kippur, is to engage in a full/complete fast. A complete fast means no drink and no food is to be consumed from sundown to sundown on the 10th day of the 7th month.
• We are to render unto Yah appropriate offerings on Yom Kippurim (see Numbers/Bemidbar 29:7-11).
• And as with the weekly Sabbath, we are to engage in no form of work, be it occupational or servile work. No manner of work is to be done on this day.
  • This is all the more evident in the fact that since it is a full-fast day, there is to be no food prepared for this day.
• Yom Kippurim is a day in which we confess our sins unto Yah.
  • Indeed, we are to confess our sins unto Yah daily, but more so, on Yom Kippur, our confessions need to be more profound. It is to be a day of profound introspection.
  • Our Jewish cousins believe that one must recall the sins they’ve committed over the course of that year, especially all the wrongs they may have committed against others and confess those things to Yah with the hope of being forgiven by Yah. And it is during this season, especially from the 1st to the 10th day of the Month they call Tishri that they seek forgiveness for any wrongs that may have been committed one against another. So, it’s not unusual for a religious Jew to attempt to reestablish contact with someone they may have had a fallen out with, and to seek that person’s forgiveness. The belief is that if one doesn’t make it right with the one, they’ve wronged, their name will be removed from the Book of Life in heaven.
• Yom Kippurim is a day in which Atonement is to be made for our sins before Yehovah. We know that Yahoshua made the ultimate atoning sacrifice for our sins. So, our focus is directed towards the Person and Ministries of Yeshua Messiah, whose atoning sacrifice makes our covenant relationship with Yehovah possible.
• And lastly, Yom Kippurim is to be solemnly observed in all our dwellings throughout our generations.

 

We’ll of course get deeper into Yom Kippurim, Abba willing, in 2-weeks’ time.

 

 

Sukkot—The Feast of Tabernacle—The Feast of Ingathering—the Feast of Booths–and Season of our Joy

 

And lastly, we find in verses 34 through 44 of the 23rd chapter of Leviticus/Vayiqra, verses 12 through 40 of the 29th chapter of Numbers/Bemidbar; verses 13 through 17 of the 16th chapter of Deuteronomy/Devarim, and in Exodus/Shemot 23:16 instructions regarding our keeping of Sukkot, aka the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

Generally speaking, Sukkot is an 7-day long pilgrimage feast with an additional day, referred to as Shemini Atzeret, added at the end of the 7-day long feast. But, more times than not, we refer to all 8-days as the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot, although scripture delineates the two.

 

Sukkot tends to be the most popular of the annual Feasts of the LORD because many of us observe this 8-day feast by vacating our homes and taking up temporary abodes or dwellings in wonderful places for the entire feast. It is a time of gathering with like-minded brethren, away from their day-to-day lives. And it is a time of great joy and celebration wherever groups are gathered to celebrate this feast.

 

Contextually speaking, Sukkot is intricately tied to Yisra’el’s fall harvest season. Thus, Sukkot is meant to be a time of rejoicing over the bountiful harvest that Yah has provided us over the course of the year.

 

Yah requires the following from us in terms of our keeping Sukkot:

 

• It is to be observed beginning the 15th day of the 7th month and it is to be a 7-consecutive day observance.
  • In terms of the observational calendar, we anticipate Sukkot to begin at sundown on the 3rd day of the week (aka T-esday), on 10/11/2022, and extend out through sundown on the 3rd day of the week (aka T-esday), on 10/18/2022. And of course, if the renewed moon is not sighted at sundown on 9/27/2022, Sukkot for us will begin at sundown on W-dnesday (4th day), 10/12/2022, and extend on to sundown on W-dnesday (4th day), 10/19/2022.
  • In terms of the rabbinic calendar, Sukkot will begin at sundown on the 1st day of the week (aka S-nday), on 10/9/2022, and extend on through to sundown on the first day of the week (aka Sunday).
• On the first day of the 7-day celebration of Sukkot we are to proclaim a sacred assembly (I.e., a miqra qodesh).
  • It is to be a day in which we do no occupational work (I.e., we are to take off from our jobs).
  • And we are to render unto Yah proper offerings (see Numbers/Bemidbar 29:12-34).
• We are instructed to dwell in what is referred to in the Hebrew as “sukkah’s,” or in our English vernacular, booths, or temporary dwellings. This serves as a memorial to the time our ancient Hebrew cousins sojourned in tents or booths (in the Elizabethan vernacular of the KJV) during the time of their Exodus out of Egypt/Mitsrayim.
• And then on the 8th day known, which is referred to as Shemini Atzeret, we are to proclaim/convene/participate in a miqra qodesh—a holy assembly—a solemn assembly which serves as the close to our week-long festival (Hebrew meaning of the word “atzeret”). Our Faith Communities generally treat this convocational day as the last day of the Feast of Sukkot and the last day of the Fall Feasts of the LORD.
  • We are to render unto Yah an offering made by fire (see Numbers/Bemidbar 29:35-39).
  • As with the first day of Sukkot, we are to do no occupational work (I.e., we are to take off from our jobs).
  • It is to remain a statute of our Faith Community throughout all our generations.

 

 

Upcoming Discussions on the Fall Feasts of the LORD

 

Now that we have a general overview of the Fall Feasts of the LORD under our spiritual belts, so to speak, over the course of the next 3-discussions, Abba willing, we will individually examine each of these set-apart days. Not sure what that’s going to look like at this juncture, but I’m looking forward to fellowshipping with you and discussing some of the amazing nuances of each of these glorious, holy, beautiful, moedim-Feasts of Yah.