Celebration of the Biblical Feasts

At Ets Chaiyim School, our students deepen their understanding of the Jewish roots of their faith through the Messianic observance of the major feasts appointed by God. By this we share the richness of the Messianic Jewish heritage with the Body of Messiah and celebrate the fulfillment of all the feasts in Yeshua.

Yom Teruah
The first day of the Hebrew month Tishri is the Day of Blowing the shofar, or ram’s horn, signaling the beginning of the ten days prior to Yom Kippor. Biblically, it is a special time of introspection, in light of God’s Word and Holy Spirit revelation. At school, we have a shofar service and the students partake of the traditional refreshments of apple slices dipped in honey. (Leviticus. 23-25)

Yom Kippor
Tishri 10 is the Day of Atonement. In Leviticus 16, God detailed His provision for the atonement of the sins of the High Priest and the nation of Israel. All Israelites and any living among them were commanded to fast and rest on this day. It was the only day of the year that the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, and the entire nation waited to see if God would accept their sacrifice. We know that Yeshua, Jesus, is our High Priest, and that not only did God find His sacrifice acceptable, but that His blood cleanses us from our sins as well.

Sukkot
The Feast of Tabernacles occurs the fifteenth through the twenty-second day of Tishri. After the fall harvest, the Israelites were commanded to rejoice for seven days, resting the first and eighth days, and to live in booths commemorating their temporary dwellings when God brought them out of Egypt. (Leviticus 23:33-43) At Ets Chaiyim School, we erect a booth. The homerooms contribute to decorating it, and have some of their meals and classes in it. As God intended, it is an excellent reminder of God’s provision for us and of the temporal nature of this world.

Hanukkah
The festival of Hanukkah (i.e. the Festival of Dedication) celebrates the supernatural victory of Israel over the Syrian-Greek army led by Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century before Messiah. The climactic result of this victory was the rededication of God’s Temple. Unlike the other Feasts of Israel, Hanukkah is not commanded in the Word of God. Nevertheless, Yeshua did celebrate it as part of the heritage of his fathers (John 10:22), even as we do at Ets Chaiyim. Antiochus Epiphanes wanted to do more than just rule the Israelites; he sought to completely destroy the Jewish religion and assimilate all Jewish people into Hellenistic culture with its rampant polytheism. In addition to erecting an idol in the Temple of God, Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig on the altar and poured out its broth on the holy Torah scrolls that were preserved in the House of the Lord. Many Jewish people were killed during this time because they did not follow the assimilation laws of Antiochus Epiphanes but remained faithful to the Torah of God. Finally, a righteous family in Israel named the Maccabbees (which means “Hammer”) arose to face the evil Antiochus Epiphanes and his ruthless army. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, these zealous Maccabbees triumphed over the Syrian-Greek army and recaptured both the Temple and the land of Israel. The events surrounding Hanukkah are foretold in the book of Daniel, chapter eight.
In addition to learning about the historical meaning of Hanukkah, Ets Chaiyim students are reminded that they are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16) and are in need of continual rededication to God’s use.

Purim
The Book of Esther details one of the many times an enemy has sought to obliterate the Jewish people. Esther was a young Jewish woman who was raised by her cousin Mordecai. As she submitted to his direction and that of others God placed in her life, she was chosen to be Queen of Persia, the greatest empire of its day. At one time, Mordecai uncovered a plot against the King’s life. When a man named Haman came to be the King’s right hand man and plotted to annihilate all the Jews in Persia, Mordecai was able to convince Esther to reveal to the King that she was a Jew, and that she had been placed in that position by God “for such a time as this.” Esther requested that the Jews in the Citadel join her in fasting and prayer before risking her life in making her appeal to the King. As Haman had cast lots (Purim) to determine the days he would choose for the destruction of God’s people, the King decreed that on those same days the Jews could lawfully defend themselves from their enemies and that Haman would hang on the gallows he had constructed to kill Mordecai. In response to his faithful servants, God delivered their enemies into their hands, and many people of other nations became Jews.
Yeshua’s forefathers were among those who were saved by the faithfulness of Esther and Mordecai. If God had not delivered his people Israel, the Messiah would not have been born and we would still be in our sins. Purim, then, is a time to rejoice in God who guides history toward his ultimate purpose of world redemption through his Son.
At Ets Chaiyim, on those days given in the Bible for commemoration of these events (Adar 14 and 15), we come to school dressed as personalities from the book of Esther. The Book of Esther (the Megillah) is dramatized by our students, and we enjoy eating the traditional Purim treat of Hamentashen.

Passover/Unleavened Bread
Passover is one of the major feasts of Israel. It celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Passover has many aspects that are a foreshadowing of the rule of the Messiah and of the redemption that is brought to us. Even as a lamb was slaughtered and the blood placed on the doorpost so that the angel of death would pass over, it was the blood of Yeshua, our sacrificial lamb, that allowed us to pass from death to eternal life. The Israelites did not have time to let their bread rise when they left Egypt. This is why we eat unleavened bread called matzoh for seven* days. The Last Supper was a Passover meal at which Yeshua told his disciples that the wine symbolized his shed blood and that the bread represented his broken body. We celebrate these today through the Lord’s Supper.
The Passover Feast falls on the evening of the 14th day of the first month (Nisan), which is generally in late March or early April. It is a time to tell the story of the Exodus and to remember what the Lord did for our forefathers. We celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread immediately after the Passover for seven* days, and it is required of Israelites to not eat any leaven during this time. We see this time as a celebration of God’s fulfillment of His promise to Abraham to make a great nation from his seed. Since we believe that all believers are spiritual seeds of Abraham, Passover is a time for all believers to remember God’s love, mercy, and faithfulness.

At Ets Chaiyim School, all of the students and their families are invited to a demonstration of a Passover seder. The story of the exodus is related, along with an explanation of the symbolic activities and foods that are usually part of a seder. We emphasize that Yeshua the Messiah is the fulfillment of Passover as the perfect Passover Lamb, who gave up his life as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

*The rabbinic community adds an extra day to these celebrations.

Bikkurim (Firstfruits)
The Israelites were not to consume any grain until after offering a sheaf from the first of their spring harvest to the Lord, on the day following the Sabbath during Passover. Then they were to count fifty days (counting the omer) to Shavuot. It is believed that Yeshua rose from the dead on this day, the first among many brethren.

Shavuot (Feast of Weeks)
Seven weeks and a day after Bikkurim is the spring harvest festival. The Greek name for this festival is Pentecost (or fifty days). In the year Yeshua died and rose again, the Holy Spirit fell upon the believers gathered in the upper room on this day. Like Sukkot and Passover, Shavuot was one of the Pilgrim feasts, when Jewish men were commanded by God to come to the Temple in Jerusalem. The city was teeming with men from many nations. The believers speaking in “tongues” attracted the attention of a great multitude, and each man heard the believers speaking in his native language. Speaking boldly to the gathered crowd, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Peter concisely illuminated prophecies regarding the Messiah in light of the coming, acts, and crucifixion of Yeshua. As a result there was a great harvest of souls on that day.