Wisdom Wednesday - Jewish Festival Fun

We attended the Jewish Festival in Ormond Beach this month, and I always love seeing the collection of Torah scrolls on display.  The cabinet above is called an arc, and the inscription reads, "Holy Unto The Lord" at the top, and "The Word of Elohim Our God" at the bottom.

When I converted to Messianic Judaism, I didn't have the appreciation of the holiness of His Word that I possess today.  Rabbi Golden, my rabbi as well as my husband, places great emphasis on the importance of revering the Scriptures.  This is a tradition of the Jews that is taken very, very seriously.  In our synagogue, we don't place our Bibles on the floor.  We don't write in the books that contain His Word.  When we parade the Torah scroll around the room, we keep our eyes on it and we do not turn our backs on it.  This is a necessary object lesson to remind us that we carry His Word with us by our words and actions.  We're reminded to honor it, rever it, and be aware of it at all times.  As the Torah passes by, we touch  it with our siddurs (prayer books) and then touch the siddur to our lips.  This is to remember that His Word is sweet to the taste and very precious.

I love the Torah procession so much because it reminds me how blessed we are to have His Word. We are a blessed generation.  We have the Word so readily at our fingertips - in print and through audio recordings.  We can also read many, many versions of the Scriptures online through Biblegateway.com.  So, dear Gail-Friends, we are without excuse when it comes to knowing the Scriptures.

Here are some other photos from the festival:

Many old scrolls.  Our synagogue's scroll is from Morocco and is over 300 years old.  The oldest one on display was over 400 years old.  Can you imagine the commitment involved in preserving that scroll for hundreds of years?  The Jews take that very seriously, indeed.   All of us who are believers should honor His Word that devotedly.

This interesting.  These show the different materials used for writing the scrolls.  The brown one is red deerskin, which is what our Torah scroll is made from.  The white ones are different types of parchment.

We had fun at the festival, too, because there was lots to see, and do, and eat, of course!  Their chopped liver cannot compare to LaVonne's (a member of our congregation), though.  Her mother passed down that precious recipe and it's fabulous.  Hats off, Mom!  I told LaVonne she should get a booth and sell it at the next festival.  She'd make a mint!

Here's the biggest challah bread I've ever seen.  There was a contest to guess how much it weighed.  If you guessed correctly, you got to take it home!  Pictured in the foreground is a tefilla,  or phylactery, a small leather box containing Hebrew texts on vellum, worn by Jewish men at morning prayer as a reminder to keep the law.

A rabbi dressed like Aaron, the high priest, blowing the shofar.

 Donald, of our congregation, posing with Moses.

They had camel rides.  This was a very nice camel, too.  One of our ladies rode him.  I keep saying I'm going to ride a camel, but every single time I chicken out.  Some camels bite, you know!

There was a very nice petting zoo for the children.  They even had a baby pig!  Whoever was running that must not have gotten the word that pigs aren't kosher!  But he was so cute!

Here's a group shot of some of our family that attended.  They had a face-painting booth, and (most) our congregation had the Magen David painted on their cheeks.  Even the rabbi did it.  He's always such a good sport.

Don't you love this shirt?  A mensch is a person of integrity and honor.  I've heard my husband described that way, and it's so true.  He lives what he teaches every day of his life.

Blessings to you, dear Gail-Friends.  

~~~

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