The Feasts and Fast

After months of planning, this past week we celebrated our Jewish Feasts and Fast

Rosh Hashanah, 

Yom Kippur, 

Sukkot (Feast of the Tabernacles) 

and Hanukkah!  

Our "3 sided open roof with branches" sukkah ready for the feast.

YSA Amokura "jellies" up the doughnuts

Our team of "feast" help...Leeanne, Matt, Calla and Eden 

Program all ready to go

We invited the Senior Missionary FHE group to celebrate with us on Monday night, 

and then our Old Testament Class hosted two other classes and several Stake Presidents on our Tuesday night celebration.  

We learned so much together… starting with the Jewish new year “head of the year” Rosh Hashanah.  

To begin our celebration we got to experience the blowing of the ram's or animal horn, the “shofar” We found a sweet friend Heather who has several shofar and graciously came to show and blow.  

She also brought some other items from Jerusalem to share.

web photo freethinker.uk

As we moved to our Yom Kippur Day of Atonement we started with lighting candles before sunset, and then Kapparot, saying special words while waving the chicken above our head (a rubber chicken worked just fine for us) as the chicken takes on your sins and is then sacrificed.   Likewise in the Sukkot celebration we were reminded of the scapegoat being laden with the sins of the children of Israel in their place.  

Our celebration items: "Torah", candled (borrowed) Chanukkiah, dreidel, rubber chicken, kippots, and "4 kinds"

We followed a Cantor and 2 others (the 3 Beth Din or “House of Law/Rabbinical Court”) in the Jewish Kol Nidre  while they led us as they wore prayer shawls and borrowed Hebrew kippots, (skull cap or yarmulke).  

Tuesday Beth Din (Sister and President Weirepa and Bishop Edwards)

Monday Beth Din (Sister Woodard, Elder Mumford, Elder Kopp)

We learned the words of  Nei’lah  The Closing of the Gate as our new year’s verdicts are sealed for the year.  We ended Yom Kippur breaking our fast with apples dipped in honey and rugelach, a Jewish pastry. 

We celebrated the Feast of the Tabernacles or Sukkot by building a sukkah (hut or booth back in the day) to eat in and even dwell in during the celebration, like the ancient Israelite's did.

...we learned about Kiddush and the prayer over the partaking of the grape juice and/or the challah bread.

We found out that on Sukkot the priests added the pouring of” “living water” (from the pool of Siloam) over the altar as part of their observance...

...and learned how and why they shake the “4 kinds” or "4 species" and what they represent in Sukkot celebrations.  

Sam shaking the 4 kinds

Elder Plehn with the "4 Kinds"

Sister Edwards and the "4 Kinds"

Elder Bates 

We recalled in the New Testament John 7 and 8 when Jesus Christ was in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of the Tabernacles (one of the three Feasts when all Jewish males came to Jerusalem).   On the final evening, called Simchat Torah, everyone was to find a place and stay up late to finish reading the Torah either together or by themselves (some came to read by the light of the huge menorah at the temple). We read that Jesus went by himself to the Mount of Olives.

Jewish women archive webphoto
After staying up late to finish reading the Torah, there is a big celebration!

So...we invited "Hebrew-song-and-dance-expert-guitarist" Downs to accompany us (he just about lost his job when he broke into a Chicago song) so we too could celebrate Simchat Torah!

We sang...

Then we learned some Hebrew dances...

And we danced...

...and we danced, and

 President Skeen did the traditional dance with the Torah (no Fred Astaire but he’ll do).  

Then we did what the Jews and Hebrew congregations did, we feasted on the fruits of the vine because it was also called the feast of the in-gathering…like a Thanksgiving feast.  

Sister Stosich's beloved Challah bread...it was to die for!

We read the words of the Hallel, the Great Hallel and the Shema and learned when and where they were and are used. 

We finished our evening with the celebration for the “Miracle of the Lights” or Hanukkah.  We lit candles for all of the other feasts but this one was full of really celebrating “light”. 

wikipedia web photo

 The 7 light menorah used in other feasts

 This celebration commemorates the successful revolt against the Greek-Seleucid's led by Judah Maccabees in 165 BC to take back the temple.  When the Jews came back they found only a very small amount of pure olive oil to light the menorah, but went ahead with their feast of gratitude in rededicating the temple.  The oil miraculously lasted the whole 8 days of the feast.  

The 9 "branch" menorah called the Chanukkiah is used on Hanukkah to celebrate the 8 days the miracle oil lasted, with the 9^th center holder, or the shamash or “servant” used to light them all. 

Some pretty interesting references to “light of the world”, “bread” and “living water” found in all of the celebrations.

wikipedia web photo

The 9 branch Chanukkiah

 This feast includes foods fried in oil…as the oil was a big part of the miracle. So, we had jelly doughnuts and fried potato latke, along with chicken (not the one we waved above our head).

I think my favorite prayer is the V’Al Ha Nissim at the end of Hanukkah, a prayer of gratitude for Adonai (The Lord) for His mercies, His House/Temple, His Light and His Name.

 Another Feast

We actually enjoyed another great Feast this week, the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  And what a “feast” it was with inspired counsel from God through His ordained prophets and leaders.  

This feast also involved a reminder of His mercies, His Light, His Name and His Temples, 12 new Temples…including one here in Auckland New Zealand!  We watched the final session in the Institute building with some of the YSA and they erupted, not in song and dance, but in cheers and tears!  It was pretty sweet.  

There were many who spoke of His words about "gathering" His people again, 

and a plea to join in that work to bring Israel and all of us back home.  

Count us in, we can't think of a greater work.

We too were charged to finish reading our scriptures by the end of our year.

It was also a Feast with a fast.  

Of all the wise counsel on how to focus our lives more on the Savior, our prophet President Russell M. Nelson spoke of trying a 10 day fast from social media and anything on our device or computer that can unnecessarily consume us…and take that time to take a good look at our lives and things that are needful vs. things that exact a too-high price of our time and focus.

Well…I’m not sure if this Blog is considered social media or not, but we’ll be taking the challenge.  So, you’ll get a break from us next week as we take a 10 day social media fast. 

We love you.  We challenge you to examine things you may want to take a break or “fast” from for a bit. And we hope too, that you also have great things meantime to feast on, things that fill your body and soul.  Things that are not only tasty, but eternal and lasting.   

We love Him,

We love His work,

We love you!

Vance and Louenda

Elder and Sister Downs