O Jerusalem

IN THE BEGINNING....

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Succot in Jerusalem

This week we here in Israel, and Jews all over the world, celebrated the Holiday of Succot (the Feast of Tabernacles), a holiday in which we are commanded, among other things, to 'be happy' before the LORD.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ³⁴Speak to the people of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, and lasting seven days, there shall be the festival of booths to the Lord. ³⁵The first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. ³⁶Seven days you shall present the Lord’s offerings by fire; on the eighth day you shall observe a holy convocation and present the Lord’s offerings by fire; it is a solemn assembly; you shall not work at your occupations.

Now, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of the Lord, lasting seven days; a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day. ⁴⁰On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestictrees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹You shall keep it as a festival to the Lord seven days in the year; you shall keep it in the seventh month as a statute forever throughout your generations. ⁴²You shall live in booths for seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall live in booths, ⁴³so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Leviticus 23: 33-36,39-43.

On the last day of the Feast, Jews in every synagogue dance around carrying the Torah Scrolls. It is a time of great joy, rejoicing in the fact that the LORD has given us revelation of Himself in the Torah.

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This day, Simchat Torah (the Rejoicing of the Torah) also marks the end of the annual cycle of Torah readings and the beginning of a new cycle. This week's Torah portion begins with the first words of the Torah:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

This passage reminds me of the fact that God did not only reveal himself in the Torah and the other writings of the Bible, but he also left his signature on creation itself.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse...

Romans 1:20

But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
⁸Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
⁹Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this...

Job 12: 7-9

As a science teacher I seek to impart to my students a sense of awe and wonder in the contemplation of the created world. Recently I have been teaching a 6th grade class space science and was reminded once more of the awesome magnificence, and the unimaginable scale, of the universe.

There are one million grains of sand in a handful of sand… There are more stars in the universe than all the sand on the sand on all the beaches on Earth. BBC " The Planets"

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And the God whom I worship made all this. It is truly mind blowing. I believe that when we take time to contemplate the glory and beauty of our world, we will draw closer to God. For this reason I see it as entirely appropriate that many so-called secular Israelis take the opportunity of our holidays to go out into nature, picnicking and hiking, in our beautiful land.

When Job in his distress poured out his complaint to the LORD, He answered Job thus:

Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
³Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
⁵Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
⁶To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Job 38: 2-7

I have lived now over 30 years in Israel and there is something in the Israeli psyche which have come to admire deeply. I have seen it over and over again, and that is the ability to choose life and find joy especially at the darkest moments of death and loss, of war and terror. At such times there is always an acknowledgement that the greatest victory we can have over our enemies is to grasp life and live it to its fullest. From whence comes this strength? I believe it is born of a deep belief in a good God, who has given us life, who cares about us and will fulfill all his promises in the end.

Consider the works of God's hands and rejoice!!!! Here are some photos I have taken of this beautiful land - the side you do not see on the news.