Sukkot 5775

The lulav

We are coming in to what Americans call the holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.  As Messianic believers, we have G-d's holidays all year long.  His holidays are Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, Passover, and Shavuot.  You can learn more about these by clicking on the subjects on the left side of my blog.   

Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles is one of the feasts and festivals Adonai has commanded us to observe in Leviticus 23:33 - 44.  During Sukkot, we dwell in the sukkah, which is three sided structure made of branches. The sukkah roof is made of loosely laid branches, so that we can see the stars at night, just as the children of Israel did when they fled Egypt. 

Each year, we build a sukkah at the synagogue to demonstrate how it is done, and we encourage each family to build their own at home.  We usually build the sukkah outside, but we decided to do it inside, since we were doing it at night, following the Shabbat service.

 
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my good camera, and was so busy, I only took a few pictures.  There were several other children there, but I don't know where they'd gone during the picture taking.  Two of our boys, Luke and Joseph, are excellent sukkah builders, but they're not in the picture. (sad face)

Yes, the two boys in the photo are twins - Jacob and Brace, with their sister Alexa, and our sweet Naomi. The children had fun building and decorating the sukkah.

After we built the sukkah, we danced, sang and worshiped the L-rd, and then waved the lulav (see below).  This ceremony is to remind us that Adonai is always surrounding us, and that He always provides our needs. 

 After Shabbat, we took the sukkah down and then rebuilt it in our backyard so that we could sit in it during the days of Sukkot.  We have a large patch of bamboo in our yard, so we always have plenty to build our sukkah, and to give away to other families.  The photo below shows the bamboo with some pale pink bougainvillea that has grown up in it.
 

Our doxie is blind, but she has to help, too. Sukkot is a happy time for us, and we enjoy spending time in the sukkah, especially at sundown.  Sometimes we eat our evening meal there, or bring the firepit close by and enjoy being outside under the stars. It is a good time to be still and turn away from the world to focus on Adonai.

You can learn more about this joyous time HERE, and see some of our past celebrations.  


If you are a believer in Yeshua, you have been grafted in to Israel, and you get to enjoy His holidays, too.  I think you're missing a great many blessings if you don't.  So observe and remember -- and enjoy!


My next post will be about our Simchat Torah celebration. 

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  I'm linking up today with:

 Spiritual Sunday

The Gathering Spot Link-Up
GRAND Social

All Things Bright and Beautiful Link-Up

Modest Mom Monday Link-up 
Meet-Up Monday

Growing Homemakers Link-Up

Titus 2 Tuesday 

Tuesdays with a Twist 
Share Your Stuff Tuesday

A Hope in Every Season Homemaking Link-Up  
Wordless Wednesdays 

Winsome Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds
Whole Hearted Wednesday 
  Wake Up Wednesday
Jenny Marie's Wordless Wednesday 

Favorite Things 
Hearts for Home 


Friendship Friday 
Freedom Friday

Israel Trip - Masada

I am smiling, but the story of this place is a very sad one.

Masada is AMAZING. The model above shows what the fortress looked like when built by Herod the Great.  He built this retreat between 37 and 31 BCE on the top of a mountain that looks over the Dead Sea.  The view from the site is incredible.  

We rode a cable car up and back, and I can't imagine how people endured the climb before this modern transportation was installed.  Climbing would be hard enough, but to bring up tools, supplies, and who knows what else, is mind-boggling.

 

Photo from Wikipedia

Herod was a Jew, but turned his back on ADONAI and on his own people.  He embraced the Roman empire in order to achieve his lofty goals, and taxed the Jews unmercifully to finance his lavish building projects.** He built this fortress as a protected retreat / hide-out for himself.  The compound included a surrounding casement, cisterns for water, storehouses, palaces, a Roman-style heated bath house, and military barracks.

About 75 years after Herod’s death, at the beginning of the Revolt of the Jews against the Romans in 66 CE, a group of Jewish rebels overcame the Roman garrison of Masada. Jerusalem had fallen and the Temple was destroyed, around 70 CE.  Other Jewish zealots and their families joined them, and held the fortress until 73 CE.

Then, the Roman governor Flavius Silva marched against Masada with an army of thousands, and established camps at the base of the mountain.  They constructed a ramp that reached the doors of the fortress and, in the spring of 74 CE, broke in with a battering ram.

Once it became apparent that they would be defeated, Elazar ben Yair - the Zealots’ leader - decided that death by suicide would be better than death at the hands of the Romans.  The following is from his final speech to the people:

"Since we long ago resolved never to be servants to the Romans, nor to any other than to G-d Himself, Who alone is the true and just L-rd of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice ...We were the very first that revolted, and we are the last to fight against them; and I cannot but esteem it as a favor that G-d has granted us, that it is still in our power to die bravely, and in a state of freedom."  (from Josephus Flavius’ The Jewish War)

The final ten Jews etched their names on stones, as noted below.

The event at Masada symbolizes the determination of the Jews to be free in their own homeland, and this site is the second most popular place to visit in Israel.  Jerusalem is, of course, number one.

Masada was discovered in 1842, but excavations didn't begin until  the 1960's.  In the photos below, the black line shows the amount of dirt and debris that covered the floor of the fortress.

These photos are of Herod's private bath with a sunken tub, and walls covered in different colors of marble.  It must have been beautiful.

These two photos show the heated bath area.  The floor was raised, with heated water underneath.  The second photo shows it even had a window to see the beautiful view.

And here is the spectacular view from the top of Masada.

Shelby loved seeing Masada, and it was so good to see her smile.  She was a real trooper on this trip.  She amazed me with her determination to see everything, even though she didn't always feel well.  

I was so glad we got a group photo while there. Well, actually several had wandered off, but this is most of us. The young man on the far left wasn't even part of our group.  I think he just figured we were a fun bunch and joined in.  We all called it a wonderful day.

Stop by again next week.  I still have so much more to share.

** To see another of Herod's amazing building projects, Caesarea Maritime, click HERE.

*********** 
  I'm linking up today with:

 Spiritual Sunday

The Gathering Spot Link-Up
GRAND Social

All Things Bright and Beautiful Link-Up

Modest Mom Monday Link-up 
Meet-Up Monday

Growing Homemakers Link-Up

Titus 2 Tuesday 

Tuesdays with a Twist 
Share Your Stuff Tuesday

A Hope in Every Season Homemaking Link-Up  
Wordless Wednesdays 

Winsome Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds
Whole Hearted Wednesday 
  Wake Up Wednesday
Jenny Marie's Wordless Wednesday 

Favorite Things 
Hearts for Home 


Friendship Friday 
Freedom Friday

Thankful Thursday - Family

Left to Right - Betty, me, and Amanda

I took a little vacation after my 31 day series on the Holy Land, and wanted to start back up with all the blessings of the past month.  

My birthday is in October, as is my grandson's, and Betty's.  When Amanda got married, I didn't know that G-d was going to bless me with a wonderful friend.  Betty is just one of the most wonderful women I've ever known, and I am so thankful for her.  We all met at my house, and celebrated the three birthdays together.  

My grandson wanted a pie instead of a cake, so that's what we did.  Betty made a pumpkin birthday pie!  Here are a few pics of our party. (Oh, and the first thing Jonathan does when he comes to our house is take off his shoes, socks, and shirt.)

His favorite gift was the Hulk Hands, and of course the grandfathers had to try them out, too.

Then we all played on his brand-new WII and enjoyed a very  happy day.

I'll be doing more postings about my Israel trip, and our visit to Masada is next.  I'll also be sharing our Sukkot celebration and Simchat Torah service.

Shalom, Good Shabbos, and see you next week, Gail-Friends.