Tisha B’Av – A Time to Mourn

By Sam Nadler

On August 10th after sunset, many in the Jewish community will be in great distress. No, they will not necessarily be in harm’s way, but rather they will be in a state of mourning. You see, the date will coincide with the Jewish day of remembrance called Tisha B’Av.

What’s in the Name?

Tisha B’Av, or “the 9th of Av” is a day on the Jewish calendar for fasting for the more observant among the Jewish people. Their distress comes from remembering the many tragic events that the rabbis teach happened on the 9th of Av in Jewish history. These events include:

The sin of the spies sent ahead into Canaan, caused the Lord to decree that the children of Israel who left Egypt would not be permitted to enter the Land of Promise.

The First Temple was destroyed.

The Second Temple was destroyed.

Betar, the fortress to hold out against the Romans during the Jewish revolt led by Simon Bar-Cochba in AD 135 fell, sealing the fate of the Jewish people and beginning the Jewish exile from Judea.

One year after the fall of Betar, the grounds of the Second Temple were plowed under.

In 1492, King Ferdinand of Spain issued an expulsion decree, setting Tisha B’Av as the final date by which not a single Jew would be allowed to walk on Spanish soil.

Who Observes Tisha B’Av?

Though most Jewish people have been secularized and are perhaps therefore unaware of Tisha B’Av, the Orthodox Jewish community takes it quite seriously. As the mourning period is at its pinnacle on this day, tradition prevents our people from shaving, eating, or partaking of any form of entertainment, etc. Thus, if your Jewish friends and acquaintances are observing Tisha B’Av, treat them as those in mourning, and do not invite them to go out to eat, to the movies, or any other enjoyable events. They will no doubt be quite reserved, solemn, and even sad. In fact, though they may be very good friends of yours, do not expect them even to greet you happily, because it is not permitted.

Tisha B’Av and Messiah

Though Tisha B’Av is a traditional commemoration , the rabbis have identified it with the biblical “fast of the fifth month [Av]” as noted in Zechariah 7:5, a fast which seems to have been instituted for repentance from the sins which brought about the Babylonian exile.

Interestingly enough, however, Zechariah goes on to speak of a transformation that will occur in the fast: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘…the fast of the fifth…will become joy, gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace'” (Zechariah 8:19).

This transformation is understood to occur in the Messianic age, when our sorrows will be turned to joy.

However, we who have trusted in Messiah Yeshua have already experienced the reality of the Lord’s grace, which is able to transform our sadness into gladness. Those of us who have received His grace can “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4). Nevertheless, we are still responsible for caring about those who are hurting, having compassion on them and even empathizing with them in their distress.

What can I do?

Should Messianic believers observe Tisha B’Av? That will be up to you and your congregation to decide for yourselves. If your personal or congregational witness identifies you with those who mourn, or if your congregation is located in a particularly observant Jewish community, it would be most appropriate to observe Tisha B’Av, for the Bible states that we should “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). You could have a day of prayer for Israel and the Jewish people, or at the very least, avoid planning a celebration. If your witness is to a secular or less observant Jewish community, then commemorating Tisha B’Av might not communicate any witness at all and just seem odd.

As Paul wrote regarding his own witness in the Jewish community, “To those under the Torah, as under the Torah…to those without Torah as without Torah (1 Corinthians 9:20-21).

Communicating the truth of Israel’s Messiah effectively to the Jewish people depends largely on where those people are coming from. In all things let us love as we’ve been loved and “comfort others with the very comfort we have received” (2 Corinthians 1:4), that in all events and on all days Messiah Yeshua may be glorified and His peace proven to be sufficient for all. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem!

Complements of Word of Messiah

Shavuot – The Feast of Weeks

By Sam Nadler

Of all the three major pilgrim festivals, Shavuot (Pentecost) is unique. The word “Shavuot” actually means “Weeks.” Why is it called this? It is not because the festival lasts for many weeks! Rather, it is called the Feast of Weeks because of the way you find out when it is to be celebrated. Unlike Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Weeks is dateless. In order to celebrate Shavuot you had to count “seven weeks” from the “day after the Sabbath” of the Passover, and the next day, the fiftieth day, would be Shavuot (Leviticus 23:15-16). Israel was to count fifty days so that in order to celebrate Shavuot they would never forget Passover.

May it never be that Israel would reckon itself from the giving of the Law and not from the true foundation of their life as a nation at Passover.

Remembering the Redemption

Passover is to be the foundation and head of the year (Exodus 12:2). It celebrates Israel’s redemption from bondage and redemption is the foundation of our salvation. Thus, the foundation of Israel’s redemption was provided only in Passover, not Shavuot. Every year as Israel counted the weeks from Passover to Pentecost they remembered that their redemption as a people was found in the Lamb of Passover. Likewise, we are never to forget our Messiah who gave His life for us and with that, the unspeakable riches of our new birth in Him.

Like Israel’s redemption from bondage, our foundation of faith as believers in Messiah Yeshua is forever tied to Passover and our redemption in the Lamb of God. We are not firstfruits to God just because we look to the Holy Spirit, but when we look to Yeshua as the true foundation for our spiritual lives. Through Him we are a firstfruits offering, for God’s use only (Romans 8:29).

Giving of the Law of Moses

For the traditional Jewish community, Shavuot was first celebrated around the time of receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, about fifty days after leaving Egypt (Exodus 19:1). Therefore, Shavuot is called “The Season of the Giving of the Law.” It is also considered the spiritual birthday of Israel since the Torah brought twelve tribes together into one corporate people. From Shavuot’s fulfillment in Acts we can also call it, “The Season of the Giving of the Spirit, since the Holy Spirit makes all believers, from many tribes, into one family in Messiah.

Luke, the writer of the book of Acts depicts the events of Acts 2 as a second “Mount Sinai experience.” When the Law was given, there was fire and noise as God descended on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:18-20). When the Spirit was given, there was fire and noise as well (Acts 2:2-3). The rabbis comment in the Talmud that when the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, “Every single word that went forth from the Omnipotent was split up into seventy languages for the nations of the world” (1Sotah 32a,36a, Shabbat 88b). When the Holy Spirit was given, men from every nation spoke in other languages as the Spirit enabled them: “Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:4-5).

This true fulfillment of Shavuot is also depicted in contrast to when the Torah was given at Mount Sinai. While the people waited for Moses to return down from the mountain, an almost incredible chain of events began to transpire. Now the Israelites had just witnessed the ten horrendous plagues upon Egypt, the opening of the Red Sea and the supernatural revelation of God at Mount Sinai. We had seen God work awesome wonders. In light of these events, the following verses are almost unbelievable.

“Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he took this from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:1-4).

Tired of waiting for Moses, the people sinned by committing idolatry with a golden calf. Moses did make his way down the mountain, but by then, the party was in full swing. Upon Moses’ arrival, God’s verdict upon their sin was read and the party was over. Sadly, judgement came at the giving of the Law, revealing the disastrous consequences to the idolaters’ decisions:

“Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp and kill every man his brother and every man his friend and every man his neighbor.'” So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed and about three thousand men of the people fell that day” (Exodus 32:26-28).

Giving of the Holy Spirit

Lest we forget, sin has a terrible end: 3,000 people died at the giving of God’s righteous and holy Law. What a difference when Shavuot was fulfilled and the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) was given. We read in Acts 2:41, “So then, those who had received his word were immersed; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.” When the Spirit was given there were 3,000 people redeemed and made spiritually alive in Messiah. The Law reveals sin that condemns us, but the Spirit reveals the Savior who saves us. Happy Birthday, Body of Messiah!

For other great articles concerning your faith visit https://wordofmessiah.org/blog/

Yom Kippur: A Spring Cleaning in the Fall

Although Judaism considers it the holiest day of the year, most people outside Judaism have never heard of Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur (יום כפור) means "Day of Atonement." It is one of the appointed times on God's calendar: the tenth day of the seventh month. It is a fast day, a day for confessing sins, repenting and asking God for forgiveness. In the days of the Tabernacle and Temple, it was a day of solemn sacrificial rituals for purification and atonement. It was the only day of the year when the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies.

In the synagogue today, Yom Kippur is filled with beautiful liturgy during which the congregation confesses their sins through a series of prayers of contrition and petitions for mercy. A spirit of solemn grandeur permeates the air. Tears of repentance flow from the eyes of the people as their prayers unfold in inspiring, moving melodies. By the end of the day, when it is time to break the fast, the soul of the worshiper is satiated with the presence of God.

Yom Kippur can be compared to "spring cleaning." After the long winter, some people turn their households upside down, tidying everything, washing the windows, scrubbing the floors and thoroughly cleaning the house. Of course they maintain the home throughout the year, but spring cleaning is an annual time of concentrated and detailed washing and clearing. Spring cleaning gives people the opportunity to take care of messes that accumulate over the year and are otherwise left unattended.

In the days of the Tabernacle and Temple, Yom Kippur was sort of like a fall cleaning. The idea is that over the course of a year, the Tabernacle (or Temple) became more and more ritually unfit. As people trudged in and out, they carried with them ritual contamination, sin, iniquity and wickedness leaving the residue of spiritual pollution in the Holy Place. To prevent the over accumulation of spiritual pollution, God appointed the purification rituals of the Day of Atonement to cleanse His people, His Priesthood, and His sanctuary with the blood of the goat placed on the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place.

Although there is no Temple today, the annual clean-up day is still an important spiritual discipline. The apostles teach that believers constitute a collective Temple of the Ruach HaKodesh, Holy Spirit. The concentrated day of fasting, confession, repentance and petition for forgiveness is like an annual spiritual clean-up. This does not mean that we do not regularly confess our sins and repent. Nor does it mean that our sins are not forgiven by the blood of Messiah. It simply means that, once a year, it is a good idea to take inventory, straighten things up and scrub down the soul. That's what the Day of Atonement is all about.

The Day of Atonement is a day for humbling one's soul. It is the day for confession, supplication, fasting and weeping. Yom Kippur is about coming near to God. Jewish custom refers to the Day of Atonement as Judgment Day because of its biblical associations with sin, atonement and forgiveness. The traditional synagogue Day of Atonement service lasts most of the day. Since it is a fast day, the whole day is spent in prayer, confession, study and reflection.

For disciples of Yeshua, the Day of Atonement is a special and significant day. The writer of the book of Hebrews shows us how the rituals of the Day of Atonement foreshadowed the work of Messiah—not in the Temple on earth, but in the heavenly Temple. He carried His own blood into the Most Holy Place in the heavenly Temple. Thus the rituals of the Day of Atonement foreshadow the redemptive work of Messiah.

New Year, New Life

This year at sundown on Sunday, September 9, Jewish communities around the world will celebrate Rosh HaShanah: The Jewish New Year. The Scriptures tell us the Jewish New Year actually was to begin at Passover in the spring and seven months later the Feast of Trumpets is observed on the first day of the seventh month. So, how did we Jewish people come up with a New Year in the seventh month? Well, we’re creative! But seriously, this idea developed around 2,400 years ago when we came out of Babylonian captivity in the month of “Tishrai,” (a Babylonian word meaning “beginning”), and we adopted the Babylonian civil New Year as our own.

Traditional Observance

Rosh HaShanah introduces the most serious season on the Jewish calendar known as ‘The Days of Awe,’ a 10 day period that leads to Yom Kippur. It’s a time of soul searching, of making things right with God, and with one’s neighbors. Jewish people celebrate Rosh Hashanah through various rituals including traditional foods; greeting one another with “L’shana tovah tikatayvu”, which means, “May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for a happy year!”; observing the custom of ‘Tashlich’, a 500 year old tradition practiced by going to the sea shore (or river bank) where participants toss breadcrumbs into the water as prayers are said regarding God’s forgiveness (see Micah 7:19). The central aspect of Rosh Hashanah services is the sounding of the shofar, or ram’s horn. The shofar brings to memory God’s provision of the ram that Abraham sacrificed in place of his only son, Isaac.  Biblically, the shofar has more of a future, prophetic perspective. But the Scriptures require more than ritual to obtain forgiveness from God, and as meaningful as tradition may be, a New Year’s celebration may only update last year’s problems and pain.

Read more at http://wordofmessiah.org/new-year-new-life/

The High Holy Days

October is just days away and we are preparing for the Days of Awe. It is interesting how the world that we live in seems to have forgotten the awe of the Lord. As Jews across the world look at the coming weeks as a time to be inscribed into the book of life for the coming year; how awesome it would be for the world as a whole to be awestruck by the immensity and the wonder of HaShem. Here in the Charlotte area killings, protests and riots have become the topics of discussion. What would the world be like if we all realized that those things that we so frequently place such great value in were weighed against the immensity of the creator, sustainer and deliverer of humanity? What would happen if we all discovered that the "Ahavah HaShem", the love of HaShem was greater than the hatefulness of man?

The Days of Awe are often thought to be a time of dread. The reality is that this is a time to remember the provision of the Lord. Only through His divine providence based on His Awe inspiring Love is there a means of being inscribed in the Book of Life. His love has been expressed in the person of Messiah that the wrath of HaShem would be poured out on Him once and for all. Even as we come into the midst of these High Holy Days let us not forget Deuteronomy 10:12;

"And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul."     

Love the Lord your God with all of your being and let that love spill over onto and into the world around you. In so doing let the trivial things of this world pass by and store up for yourself treasures that will never tarnish, fade or deteriorate. Build up for yourself the true treasures of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.