“But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe the festival of Adonai seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the eighth day is to be a complete rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence of Adonai your God for seven days. You are to observe it as a feast to Adonai seven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month. You are to live in sukkah for seven days; every citizen of Isra’el is to live in a sukkah …” - Leviticus 23:39-42, CJB
This week is Thanksgiving!
Did you know that before the Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower that they spent 12 years in Holland living amongst the Jewish people? While living there, the Pilgrims learned much about the Jewish traditions and holidays and one of these holidays being Sukkot. It is said that when the Pilgrims came to Massachusetts, that they brought those traditions with them.
During Sukkot Jewish people will build their sukkah’s. These dwellings will have palm fronds as roofs so the sky can be seen. For 7 days they celebrate inside eating the harvest they reaped, with family, friends and neighbors.
The pilgrims celebrated their first harvest outdoors beneath the trees for 3 days. Their Indian neighbors who taught them much, were also a part of this celebration. Sounds a lot like the one new man. Like Sukkot, this celebration took place at different times during the Fall. Although, by the Hebrew calendar, all Jewish holidays are the same time of year. Through time many picked up on this tradition.
George Washington liked this tradition, so on Nov. 26, 1789, for one year only, he declared a Thanksgiving holiday for everyone. Many years later, Abraham Lincoln would declare Thanksgiving to be a national holiday. Theodore Roosevelt would later set Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of the month of November.
Like Sukkot, Thanksgiving is about family, friends and neighbors coming together to celebrate life. It’s about people of different backgrounds joining to celebrate the bountiful feast which God has provided.
Friends, as we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, let’s remember the real meaning behind it and its biblical foundations.
Be a Blessing and Be Blessed!
Monday Morning Inspirational
27th of Cheshvan, 5780 | November 25, 2019
REbbitzen Kat's BLOG
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