The Hidden “Language” of Passover

Passover is a time for the retelling of the world’s most significant TRUE story. This story and its truths have been retold, as commanded by God, for thousands of years.

This is not just a story for the Jews, but also a story within a story.

This is a story for all of humanity.

This is a story for all of time.

This is a story for all of life.

This story is about hopelessness transformed into victory, darkness into light and bondage into true liberty.

This is a story about the past…

a story about the present…

and a story about the future.

This story contains something like a secret code; a hidden “language”, that in times past was understood only in context of what had happened at that time… deliverance of the Israelite slaves from Egypt.

But as we celebrate Passover, we remember that glorious deliverance in light of another, greater deliverance; the deliverance of the human soul in slavery to sin. This deliverance is not through the death of a lamb, but through the death of The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World.


PREPARATION and REFLECTION:

In Luke chapter 20 we read:

“Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed." Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."

In preparation for Passover we clean our homes and prepare a feast. Traditionally, all the yeast is carefully removed from a home before Passover.. Because yeast symbolizes sin, this is a time for reflection as to the hidden sins in our lives.

“Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Messiah, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed.” (I Cor. 5:7)

We cannot “pay” for our wrongdoing ourselves. Therefore, without payment, we would be separated eternally from God because He is perfectly HOLY. The unblemished white lamb was a blood sacrifice to take the place of the sinner, the PAYMENT for the sins. The blood was applied to the doorpost as a sign to the death angel that this family’s sins were covered; so the death angel would pass over this home.

The Hebrews were instructed to dip hyssop in the blood and strike it against the top and sides of their doorposts. The hyssop was a natural antibiotic and represents cleansing and when the blood was applied as instructed it formed a CROSS upon the door of the home. May we apply the blood of the cross to the doors of our lives as we acknowledge that only the spotless Lamb of God can cleanse us from sin! The work has been DONE. Now it is time to commemorate our freedom in Christ with rejoicing!

CANDLELIGHTING:

As we light the candles, we pray that God’s Holy Spirit will open the eyes of our hearts and teach us His truths. As the Psalmist said,

“The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

The candles are kindled by a woman to remember that although darkness came into this world through the sin of one woman, Eve, Light returned to our world when a woman was given the honor of giving birth to our Redeemer, Jesus Christ who is the Light of the World. May our lives also shine the light of Christ to a people walking in darkness.


FOUR CUPS:

In Exodus 6: 1 we read,

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now you will see what I will do…”

God revealed His plan for deliverance to Moses, in part. Jesus revealed more of His plan to His disciples at the Last Supper before His death. The Passover Seder teaches us about FOUR CUPS. They will each teach us an important truth about God’s plan of redemption.

“… I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians…

I will free you from being slaves…

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm…

I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.”

Exodus 6:6,7

The Cup of Sanctification: being BROUGHT OUT

The Cup of Deliverance: being SET FREE

The Cup of Redemption: being BOUGHT WITH A PRICE/REDEEMED

The Cup of Praise: REJOICING for our adoption into God’s Family here on Earth and in Eternity!

Not only are we redeemed by God but invited into a relationship with God through Christ. Let these cups teach us more about the gift we have been given… friendship with the Creator of the Universe.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."
Romans 8: 1-4

WASHING:

The gospel of John tells us of another event during the Last Supper, an event that showed us how He, being God, was willing to humble Himself and serve us wholeheartedly by washing the feet of his disciples. As we wash, we remember the humility of our Savior as He cleansed the disciples’ feet and now cleanses the hearts of all who invite Him into their lives.

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
James 4:8-10

THE SEDER PLATE:


In a traditional Passover Seder, the foods on the Seder plate all have special meanings, but special attention is given to the matzah.

THE MATZAH: (Matzah cover on left)

In the gospels we read:

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

We eat matzah and remember the broken body of Christ, who takes away the sins of the world.

The matzoh are striped, pierced and bruised. Jesus was beaten, pierced, and bruised in our place when He was crucified.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5

The matzoh is without leaven. The Hebrews made their bread without yeast because they needed to leave in a hurry. We should be quick to leave our life of sin behind!

There are Three Matzo representing The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The middle matzo (that represents the Son, Jesus Christ) is broken and hidden to represent that He was crucified and buried and hidden in the tomb for three days before He conquered sin and death and was resurrected to redeem us.

OTHER ELEMENTS of the SEDER PLATE:

The roasted egg represents new birth and the promise of eternal life.

The parsley represents new life.

The salt water represents the tears the Hebrew slaves shed and the tears we shed in our bondage to sin.

The parsley dipped in the salt water reminds us that beauty of life is often touched by sorrow.

The horseradish represents the bitterness of slavery to sin.

The charoset represents the mortar the slaves used in building with the bricks they were forced to make. It was hard and terrible work, but there was a sweetness that came when they were delivered by God just as we are delivered by accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

James 1:2-4 & 12
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

A traditional Seder plate also contains the shank bone of a lamb. However, we no longer need a lamb to die in our place, because Jesus is the PERFECT Lamb of God that took our sins for all time! When we accept this sacrifice, we belong to Him and are seen by God as cleansed of sin.

Jesus was obedient to the Father, even unto death. We, too, must obey God, our Heavenly Father and obey the authorities that lead us along a Godly path!

ELIJAH:

We set one extra place at our Feast. This place was traditionally set for Elijah. We know Elijah was to announce the coming of Messiah… and John the Baptist filled this role when He prepared a way for the Lord Jesus during His ministry here on earth. Now we look for the SECOND coming of Christ.


Lessons of Passover
Passover teaches us of:

the past… deliverance from sin,

the present....liberty in Christ,

AND the future…

The return of Christ to take believers to Heaven to live eternally with Him!

When we lift our final cup in thanks to our Redeemer and think of the coming time when we will feast with Him in the Kingdom of God as we bless the name of the Lord!

Our joy is complete as we complete our Passover Seder and just as our Salvation is complete and the Law is fulfilled by Jesus Christ, our Messiah.

The traditional conclusion is a wish that we may celebrate Passover next year in Jerusalem… but instead, may we look forward to the time that we will shared this Feast together in The New Jerusalem with the Author and Finisher of our Faith!

“The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life…He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." (from Revelation 22)

Even so, Lord Jesus… Yeshua, our Messiah, Come quickly! Amen.

(Some of this information was derived from Robin Sampson’s book: A Family Guide to Biblical Holidays http://homeschool-books.com/xcart/book/a-family-guide-to-the-biblical-holidays.html)

Mrs. Brown is a GGM contributor and owner of a small custom crocheting business/ministry named Bundled In Prayer. She enjoys Bible study, writing, scrapbooking, sewing, reading and more. She is happily married to her best friend, Russ and is in her 12th year of homeschooling her five children.

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Haman's Hatred

by Miss Jess

Long ago, long before the time of Queen Esther, there lived a small nation, called the Amalekites. Ever since the time of Abraham they mocked and were enemies of God’s people. Repeatedly the Israelite army had gone to battle against them – with Joshua, Saul and David leading – but none of them ever completely wiped the enemy out. Although the Israelites were victorious every time, the Amalekites mysteriously survived. Continually they picked on the Israelites, blockading the land as the Israelites moved into Canaan, invading the land during crop planting time, blocking the land, and teasing the people.

When Saul attacks the Amalekites, which we read about in 1 Samuel 15, he does not kill their King, Agag, although the prophet Samuel kills him later. I do not know how anyone survived to carry on their line, but someone did because just a few chapters later, in chapter 30, there are hundreds of Amalekites, and all but four hundred were killed.

Queen Esther
What does this have to do with Queen Esther? I find it interesting that Haman wasn’t a Persian by blood, but an Amalekite; or more specifically, an Agagite. Throughout the book of Esther, we find references to his father and himself being an Agagite. I think this explains why Haman hated the Jews. In Esther 3:5 and 6 it tells us:

" ⁵And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. ⁶And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. "

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.

To my mind, this verse explains it all: why Haman wanted to kill the Jews. It was more than just Mordecai – it was the pride of his heritage!

As we know from the rest of Esther’s biography, Haman succeeded in finding a plan for the destruction of the Jews, but Esther, Xerxes new Queen, also a Jew, finds out the plot and bravely reveals the evil scheme to the King – resulting in Haman’s death and the Jew’s deliverance. Ever since that date, the Israelites have celebrated God’s faithfulness, on a holiday called Purim.

Miss Jessica is a 14year old homeschool girl who lives in Australia. She loves the Lord and enjoys music, reading, history, computers and sewing. Jessica has a warped sense of humour and is always ready for a giggle. She helps her mum around the home and participates in the local church music team. You can find out more about Jess at her blog Little Miss Giggle.

Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights

by Mrs. Brown

Hanukkah began nearly 2300 years ago and is rich in history and tradition. Unlike most other Jewish Festivals, Hanukkah is what is called a Post-Mosaic (After Moses) Holiday. This festival was not commanded by God nor was it instituted by God. However, it is LIKE other Jewish Festivals in several ways:

THE PAST: Hanukkah reflects upon remembrances of the past and shows us God’s provident hand upon His people!

The Greek culture that ruled much of the Middle Eastern world over 2,000 years ago had much to offer. It brought the world beauty in the form of architecture, fashion and art. It brought intellectual “wisdom” in the form of philosophy, language and mathematical discoveries. It brought entertainment in the form of sporting events and leisure that was previously mostly unknown. To much of the world there seemed to be no harm in indulging in the subtle blending of these styles with their own. This became known as Hellenism named for the Greek word for Greece, Hellas.

In Judea, however, the Jews lived by another standard. They followed a God-given law, The Torah. They were allowed to live in the way they saw fit until the Syrian King, Antiochus Epiphanes, came into power in 175 B. C. He insisted on full immersion in the Hellenistic life-style to the exclusion of all else. Under his tyrannical rule, anyone who even owned a Torah was in mortal danger. The King’s abusive acts went from the arrogant to the ultimately offensive. He minted coins with his image alongside that of Zeus proclaiming himself to be “god manifest”. He sullied the Jews temple by sacrificing pigs on the altar (an extreme insult to the kosher system under The Torah) and he even killed a priest named Elazar for NOT participating in this mockery.
Finally, an old Jewish priest named Mattathias was troubled enough to stand up for his beliefs. He would not abandon his religion and would not convert to the pagan practices that had so blended with their lives that the lines were no longer simply blurred, but were all but erased! Mattathias and his sons gathered up an army of farmers and craftsmen and they trained themselves to fight against the Syrians. Years of battles passed and when Mattathias was too old to lead any longer he appointed his son, Judah to take over for him.
Judah was a man of decisive force and had earned himself the nickname “hammer” or Maccabee. His followers soon after came to be known as The Maccabees. It took several more years, but this band of men had something going for them the Syrians did not have. The Syrian’s motivation was based on money, power and fear of the King. The Maccabees’ motivation came from determination to do what was right, regaining their freedoms and fear of the TRUE King! Through clever strategies, integrity and strength of character the Maccabees eventually were able to defeat the armies of their enemies and emerged victorious!

The people of Judah were triumphant, but were also devastated at the condition of their temple. It was littered with statues of false gods and almost every item that should have been consecrated unto The Holy God had been misused and abused. They set to work restoring the temple to its former glory. They built a new altar, removed the defiled stones, cleansed the sanctuary and finally in the year 164 B.C. on Kislev the 25th they were ready to rededicate their temple. In fact, the word Hanukkah means “dedicate”.
Legend holds that there was an additional event that increased the joy of the people during the ensuing celebrations. As they prepared to light the Ner Tamid, or the Eternal Light, they found they only had enough untainted oil to burn for one day. It would take a full week to make more, but miraculously the limited supply of oil lasted for EIGHT days the duration of the entire festival!

THE PRESENT: Hanukkah gives us a firm focus for the present and opportunities to apply the lessons learned to our situation today!

We can learn many applicable lessons from Hanukkah and its traditions! We, like the Jews of that day, can stand for what we believe in, cleanse from our lives the world’s culture and pagan practices, and rededicate our lives to living a life that shines Light to the World! In their joy, the people worshipped God with gratitude and set aside a time of full devotion to honor God and celebrate the restoration of their freedom. They were once again able to obey God openly and were no longer under the oppression of their enemies. They decorated the temple, prepared a feast and offered the sacrifices required by God upon the newly constructed altar.

We can apply this in many ways, such as dressing in a way that is modest, giving of our time and talents to worthy causes and sacrificing of ourselves to be a blessing to God and to shine HIS Eternal Light to a lost and dying world! Think of that from which we have been delivered and worship God with a heart full of thankfulness. Let that heart of gratefulness transform your entire life. Make time to whole-heartedly glorify God as you thank Him for the liberty that we have in Him!

THE FUTURE: Hanukkah points us to the future and our hope in Jesus Christ!
At the time, Jesus had not yet been born. Even so, I can see the possibility, as with other Biblical Jewish holidays that many of the elements of Hanukkah point to the truths of our Savior! We may even be able to learn some truths from the words Jesus spoke in the temple during Hanukkah in AD 29. Just prior to the festival he spoke about being the Good Shepherd. This may have been an allusion that the Jews would have understood as a Messianic claim! Then, we read in John chapter 10:

John 10:22-42
22And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
23And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
24Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
25Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30I and my Father are one.
31Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
34Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
36Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
37If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
39Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
40And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.
41And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.
42And many believed on him there.

In an article by Gordon Franz, he points out that when Jesus was asked:
“point blank, "Are you the Messiah?" (10:24). Jesus had to be careful how He answered that question. During the festival, throngs of Jews caught up in the nationalistic fever, were visiting Jerusalem. The word "Messiah" might spark off riots because of its heavy nationalistic and political overtones…Jesus does, however, answer the question in the affirmative, but not directly. When He answers, He is careful not to use the contemporary term and understanding… He says "I and my Father are one'" (10:30). That statement had heavy religious overtones for the festival which they were presently celebrating. Those gathered on the Temple Mount recalled the events nearly 200 years before on the very mount where, Antiochus IV, a mere man, proclaimed himself god. Jesus, the LORD manifest in human flesh, made the same claim but His claim was true. The Jews picked up stones to stone Him for blasphemy because, in their thinking, He was a man who made Himself God (10:31-33). Jesus declared that He was the fulfillment of Hanukkah by saying the Father "sanctified" the Son of God and sent Him into the world (10:34-36), The Father was in Him and He in the Father (10:38). If the Greek word "sanctified" was translated into Hebrew, it would be "dedication" or Hanukkah.”

In the same article, Gordon Franz goes on to say:
“John wrote his gospel primarily to a Jewish and Samaritan audience, One of the unique things about John's gospel is his emphasis on the Jewish and Samaritan festivals and his indication that Jesus was the fulfillment of these holidays. Hanukkah was the rededication of a defiled Temple. At the beginning of Jesus public ministry, He said, "'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then the Jews said, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' But He was speaking of the temple of His body" (2:19-21) Herod' s Temple had been defiled by a wicked and corrupt priesthood. The Lord Jesus was "sanctified" by His death, burial and resurrection and is the New Temple.”

I pray that whether or not you celebrate Hanukkah that you WILL Celebrate the Light of the World without whom we would be in bondage and in a hopelessly lost condition.. I pray, also, that you will take the advice that the apostle Paul offered in Philippians chapter 2:

Philippians 2:14-18
14Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
17Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
18For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.

Celebrating Hanukkah Today

by Mrs. Brown

Each night of Hanukkah includes the lighting of candles, the reading of blessings, gift giving, special foods and game called dreidel. There are also many songs and readings from ancient books in some homes. We have never actually celebrated Hanukkah, per se, but after learning about it we may incorporate many of these activities from now on!
Let’s take a look at some of the most common elements of the modern day festival!

CANDLES: the chanukiyah (Hahn-uh-key-uh) is a candle holder or menorah with nine branches. Each night of the Festival, at sunset, the candles are lit for that evening with one more candle lit each night to symbolize increasing joy!
First the shamash or servant candle is lit. The shamash is the taller center candle. I love the imagery of the central “servant” candle “bowing” in order to bring light to the other candles. It reminds me of two passages of Scripture:
In Mark 9 we read of a time when the disciples were having a dispute over which one of them would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God. Jesus answered their question in verse 35 with these words:

Mark 9:35
35And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

Jesus was telling them to be like Him! In Philippians 2 we read:

Philippians 2: 5-11
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

A FUN ACTIVITY:
My mom told me about this fun and easy craft recipe that can be used to represent a Hanukkah candle:

CANDLE “SALAD”
1 pineapple ring
1 banana
1 orange or red gumdrop or a slice of strawberry
Cut off both ends of the banana and place it into the pineapple ring to represent a candle in a candle holder. Top with the gumdrop or strawberry to “light” your candle! Enjoy!

BLESSINGS: Each night after the shamash is lit, two blessings are spoken. On the first night, one additional blessing is read. This is traditionally done in Hebrew and is often followed by the English translations.

First Blessing
Praised are You, Adonai, our God,
Ruler of the Universe, Who has made us holy through
God’s commandments and commanded us to
Kindle the Hanukkah lights.

Second Blessing
Praised are You, Adonai, our God,
Ruler of the Universe, Who performed miracles
For our ancestors in ancient time at this season.

Third Blessing
Praised are You, Adonai, our God,
Ruler of the Universe, Who has kept us alive
And sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.

GIFTS: This is a newer addition to Hanukkah that began as rewards for children who could answer questions on the history of the holiday!
Gift-rewards were originally known as gelt. It became a tradition to give eight small gifts… one for each day of Hanukkah. Since Hanukkah is around the same time as Christmas it led to this tradition becoming more prominent and popular, especially for families with young children.

Gift ideas:
For young children: Small books, little toys, match box cars, hair ties, and maybe even a baked treat or candy
For older children: Hand lotion, craft supplies, smaller hobby items, tools, journals or handmade gifts
For young adults and adults: Items to save for their own Hanukkah traditions such as a nice menorah/chanukiyah, olive wood dreidel or other items from The Holy Land

FOOD: It is said that many of the traditional feast items are fried because of the miracle of the oil. We have not tried any of these recipes yet, but if we try them we will work on making them healthier by baking or at least frying in the better, high-heat stable oils like coconut oil.

Latkes: some recipes call for white potatoes, but I have also seen some with sweet potatoes. That sounds like it has even more potential to be a little healthier! Potato Pancakes from foodfit.com

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
1 medium onion
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup egg substitute, or 2 whole eggs plus 4 whites
salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil spray (or 2 tablespoons olive oil)

Serve with:
non fat or low fat sour cream
applesauce

1. Preheat a non-stick electric griddle to 450°F.
2. Peel the potatoes and onion and coarsely grate in a food processor fitted with a shredding disk, or on a box grater. Grab handfuls of the grated vegetables and squeeze tightly between your fingers to wring out as much liquid as possible.
3. Transfer the grated vegetables to a mixing bowl and stir in the flour, baking powder, egg substitute and a pinch of salt and pepper. (The potato pancakes should be highly seasoned.)
4. Spray the hot griddle with oil (or drizzle the oil on it and spread with a wooden spoon.) Spoon small mounds of potato mixture onto the baking sheet to form 3-inch pancakes, leaving 1 inch between each. Fry the pancakes on the griddle until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes per side, turning once with a spatula.
5. Transfer to plates or a platter and serve immediately with sour cream and/or applesauce.
Serving Size: 3 potato pancakes

Baked Soufganiyot: Baked Soufganiyot--Low Fat Israeli Hanukkah Jelly Doughnuts. Doughnuts is a lower fat recipe from foodfit.com

1 package dry yeast (1 scant tablespoon)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (approximately)
1 cup lukewarm skim milk
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
grated zest of one lemon
3 tablespoons reduced fat butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup apricot jam (approximately)
confectioner's or granulated sugar for rolling

1. Dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in the water.
2. Put the flour in the bowl of a food processor equipped with a steel blade. Add the dissolved yeast, milk, egg, egg yolk, salt, lemon zest and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Process until blended. Add the butter and process until the dough becomes sticky yet elastic.
3. Remove the dough to a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for at least an hour. If you want to prepare the dough in advance, place it in the refrigerator overnight, then let it warm to room temperature before rolling and cutting.
4. Grease 2 cookie sheets. Dust a pastry board with flour. Roll the dough out to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using the top of a glass as a cutter, cut into rounds about 2-inches in diameter and roll these into balls. Place the balls about 1 to 1 1/2-inches apart on the greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise 30 minutes more.
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the doughnuts for 12 to 15 minutes or until they're golden. Remove from the oven and let cool.
6. Soften the jam in a food processor. Using an injector (available at cooking stores), insert a teaspoon of jam into each doughnut. Roll the soufganiyot in confectioner's or granulated sugar and serve immediately.
Serving Size: 1 doughnut

DREIDEL: this game is a favorite with my children ever since they received an olive wood dreidel as a gift!
The driedel is like a little four-sided top. Each of the four sides has a Hebrew letter. The letters are the initial letters of a sentence: “A great miracle happened there!” The game is played with coins, candy or other small tokens and each letter/side rolled represents an action:

Nun=take nothing
Gimel=take all
Heh=take half
Shin=put in

At the start of the game, each child has an equal portion of items and the remainder is place in the center. We play for a certain length of time (usually 30 minutes or so) and rather than allowing the children to keep all they have at the end we play with chocolate coins and allow each child to eat one and the “winner” to eat two!

Whatever YOUR family does this year, may your lives be filled with the Light of Christ. May you do ALL to His glory. May you stand for what you believe in and rededicate your life to shining God’s light into this dark and lost world. We know that our salvation is not based on our works, but on the work of Christ on the cross, but may be show our love and thanks to Jesus by acting in a way that will bring others to a saving knowledge of The Messiah now at the end of 2008 and as so long as we may be given grace to live in this world, but NOT of it!

Matthew 5:16
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Sukkot: A Biblical Fall Festival

[ref: The Hebrew pronunciation of Sukkot is "Sue- COAT," but is often pronounced as in Yiddish, which rhymes with "BOOK us."]

In the Jewish month of Tishri there are three major Biblical Feasts: The Feast of Trumpets (The Jewish New Year called Rosh Hashanah), The Day of Atonement (a day of repentance called Yom Kippur), and The Feast of Tabernacles (a joyful celebration called Sukkot). This year Tishri falls in our month of October and specifically Sukkot, a seven day festival, begins on October 13.

In the Old Testament God commanded the people to live in sukkahs, or booths, for seven days just as the people lived when they left Egypt. At this time of the year Jews and many others who chose to observe the Biblical feasts live in tents or booths for a week. Some modify it a bit and just take their evening meal in their sukkah.

In Leviticus 23:33-43 we find specific direction for the design and décor of a sukkah with an open roof and bunches of produce in addition to four specific species of plants called the lulav which are to be waved during special ceremonial times during the celebration.

Leviticus 23:33-43
33And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
34Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
35On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
37These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
38Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.
39Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
40And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
41And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
43That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

According to A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays by Robin Sampson, “Everything in the Torah…has a prophetic as well as historical significance and merits our careful attention.” The Messianic significance of The Feast of Tabernacles involves our spiritual past, present and future from the birth of Jesus, the Messiah when he came to TABERNACLE among us (John 14:14) to the coming Millennial Reign of Christ on earth following the rapture of the Church in the Last Days. “Or possibly when we will tabernacle (dwell) with God in Heaven.”

There is speculation that Jesus’ birth may have actually been during The Feast of Tabernacles. Historical records (such as Flavius Josephus)and the Bible can tell us the approximate time of Zacharias' high priestly duties. We know when in this process John was born and we know how far along Elisabeth was compared to Mary... so we can make a very close guess to the time of the year Jesus' must have been born. Some historians and theologians use this timeline to present a convincing argument for the birth of the Messiah during this Festival. Though we do not know for sure, it is interesting to study and learn about. To read more about this theory go to: http://biblelight.net/sukkoth.htm

Also interesting to note are some of the other references to Sukkot throughout the Bible. In several places in the Old Testament we can read about this special feast. (See Deut. 16: 13-15 and Num. 29:12-40 for starters!) In the New Testament we read in John chapter 7 about Jesus secretly attending the Feast of Tabernacles after sending His disciples on ahead of Himself. Paul also observed the feast as is recorded in Acts 18.

I have also read several articles that have mentioned that the First Thanksgiving was very likely an observance of The Feast of Tabernacles. It included many of the elements of Sukkot and was actually first held in October, not November. With the understanding that our forefathers came to America to have a place where they could return to a Biblical lifestyle in work, worship and relationships then we can see that it is very probable that they would have known of the Old Testament feasts and would have desired to celebrate them. They were so thankful for surviving through the difficulties that those early years in America posed and certainly added new traditions of their own to the feast, but may have very well had this "lasting ordinance" of God in mind when they organized those first events!

In our family we take out our Nativity Scene in time for Sukkot. I built a little mini sukkah in which our figurines of Joseph and Mary and Baby Jesus tabernacle throughout the season. It definitely opens up many discussions when people enter our home and see it there. This year consider setting up a little temporary shelter in your yard and partaking of at least one meal there to celebrate Sukkot. Reflect upon all it means to us as believers in Christ and the blessings we have in allowing Him to tabernacle within US!

John 7:37-39
37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)