Messianic Feast Days
Clearly outlined in the Torah by God are His Appointed Times, feast God has designated to be celebrate by all His people. God’s feasts indicate to us what His plan is, while helping us to understand the purpose of our lives, and how Jesus, the lamb of God, sacrificed for our sins, has made all of this possible for us. Above and beyond the weekly Sabbath, there are eight appointed feast days in the Messianic Jewish calendar. The Sabbath is celebrated from sundown on Friday night until sundown on Saturday night.

Spring Feasts

Purim celebrates defeat of Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews of Persia, one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination, an incident from the biblical book of Esther. The entire Book of Esther is read on Purim. Although Purim has its serious side as a remembrance of the importance of religious freedom, it is mainly considered a children’s holiday. Children parade around the synagogue costumed as characters from the Esther story, and special three-cornered pastries called Homentashen are baked for the occasion.

Pesach, or Passover, is an eight-day holiday celebrating the deliverance of the Jewish people from Egypt. Also know as the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the seder service on the first two evenings recounts the story of the Exodus. Passover was celebrated first in the land of Egypt with the blood of the sacrificial lamb in order to preserve the Israelites from the plague that was to smite the land of Egypt with the death of every firstborn. Ex 12: 6-14. On Nisan 14, the people of Israel prepared for Pesach, and on this day, lambs were taken to be sacrificed, as commanded by God. Each family roasted the lamb, and put it’s blood above their door posts as to mark a home of an Israelite. The Angel of Darkness went to every unmarked home and struck down the first born son of the Egyptians. In Israel, the Passover lambs had to be sacrificed specifically in the temple in Jerusalem by the Levi priests. Since the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 A.D., this sacrifice is no longer possible and Passover lambs cannot be sacrificed. Jews eat unleavened bread, called Matzah, and drink wine during this feast, and these are the symbols that Yeshua told us to do in remembrance of Him. Yeshua completes this feast day, as He was the Lamb of God, sacrificed as innocent blood on the Feast of Passover to save the world. In order to fully celebrate Pesach with a sacrificial lamb, the Jewish Temple would have to be rebuilt where currently the Dome of the Rock sits, and the Levite priesthood re-instituted.

Feast of First Fruits is a period of seven weeks in which each day is counted off for 49 days ending on the fiftieth day known as Shavuot (Pentecost). It is the number of days from the barley harvest to the wheat harvest. Since it is often overshadowed by the prominence of Passover, the Feast of First Fruits is often overlooked in the New Testament, yet it is mentioned a number of times in the New Covenant. Paul, in his first letter to the Messianic Believers in Corinth, shows a vital link between First Fruits and the ministry of Yeshua

Shavuot marks the giving of the Law (Torah) at Mt. Sinai. Also known as Pentecost, Shavuot originally celebrated the first fruits of the harvest, while eventually, it marked the day when Yeshua’s disciples received the Holy Spirit. It is marked as fifty days after the weekly Sabbath following Yeshua’s crucifixion. People who were gathered heard the disciples speaking in tongues. Also known as the Festival of Weeks, Shavuot comes at the time of the wheat harvest in ancient Israel. Because it celebrates the giving of the Torah, the modern Reform movement gave it new meaning in the Diaspora by making this the occasion for celebrating the Confirmation of young people.

Falls Feasts

Rosh Hashanah is a celebration of the Jewish New Year and the beginning of the Ten Days of Penitence. The Bible describes that Rosh Hashanah falls on the first day of the seventh month, where as the Gregorian calendar’s New Year starts in January. The blowing of a ram’s horn in the synagogue or temple announces the coming of the New Year in a memorable way. This ram’s horn is called a Shofar, and it was used in ancient times as a call to battle against the enemy.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn days of the year for Jews. Yom Kippur is devoted to fasting, prayer, and repentance, and offers repentance for sins committed between man and God, not for sins against another man. Sinds committed between people must be reconciled and righter before Yom Kippur.

Sukkot, commonly know as the Feast of Booths, is a seven-day holiday that remembers commemorates when the Israelites dwelled in the desert in booths as they crosses the wilderness with Moses. Most traditional Jews each build a small open-roofed booth-like structure to dwell in for this week-long feast. The roof of the booth made of green branches, and in order for the stars to be seen at night, the leafy covering doesn’t completely cover the booth. Before the Romans destroyed the Temple, Sukkot was once the most important Jewish festival, even more than Passover and the High Holy Days. Jerusalem was so overcrowded with pilgrims that temporary wooden booths were built on every rooftop, in every alley, and along every street. Simchat Torah is celebrated the day ofter Sukkot as Rejoicing over the Torah. The annual cycle of readings is completed on this day, and the closing lines of Deuteronomy and the opening lines of Genesis are read. In the United States, most Jews dance in the synagogue carrying scrolls of the Torah in their arms, and in Israel the dancing is done in the streets and this is one of the most colorful of all Israeli Jewish customs.

Chanukah, or the Festival of Lights, celebrated the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the miraculous Maccabees victory. Chanukah is an eight-day celebration of religious freedom. A Jewish legend tells that when the Maccabees drove the Syrian Greeks from Jerusalem, they cleansed and purified the Temple. When it came time to light the Temple Menorah, they only had a small jar of oil. This small jar of oil should have burned for only one night, but the legend states that it burned for eight nights, giving the Jews time to prepare new oil. A special nine-branch menorah is used on Chanukah and one new candle is lite a night. The tall middle candle, called a shamash, is used to light the other eight candles.