The Fall Feasts of Israel
Restoring the Hebrew Root
(Feast of Tabernacles Celebration)

By Dottie Jones

Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar contains three major holidays: Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Usually starting the end of September or the first of October, Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year ushering in the Feast of Trumpets. The major focuses are introspection, repentance, and calling the worshippers to God. The birthday of the world is celebrated on the second day where the events of Genesis 22 - God's command to Abraham to sacrifice his son, Issac - are remembered. (Numbers 29:1-6 describe the central elements.)

This Biblical holiday is followed by the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur on the 10th of Tishri and then the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, on the 15th of the month. This celebration occurs after the fields have been harvested and is a major festival commemorating the 40 years that the Israelites spent wandering the desert in Egypt living in shacks, called "sukkahs."

The Feast of Tabernacles points to the final harvest of all peoples, the return of Messiah Jesus, and symbolizes Thanksgiving. (Read Leviticus 23 and the prophetic statement in Zechariah 14:16-19.)

Herb Lowe, an elder at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Columbia is the impetus behind this celebration which his church has put on for the last thirteen years. He and his group build their sukkahs out of cornstalks and tree branches and decorate them with natural fruits and vegetables.

"When we speak of the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, we're speaking of the God of the Jews and the God of the Christians - the same God," Mr. Lowe said, "The divide of the flock is only temporary because when the Messiah comes, the flock will be reunited." He says that the feast ranks ahead of Christmas and is second only to Easter in importance but that approximately only 5% of Christian churches celebrate it.

We are excited to announce the return of the Feast of Tabernacles to Central on October 7, 2001 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Check the table in the Concourse to obtain free tickets and to learn how your family can help prepare for this wonderful celebration.