What is Tisha B’Av?
Tisha B’Av is a Jewish fast day commemorating several tragedies the Jewish people have endured, including the destruction of the first and second temples. Av is the fifth month of the Jewish calendar, and Tisha B’Av means “the Ninth of Av.” The day falls in July or August of the Gregorian calendar. Since the first…
What is a high Sabbath?
A “high Sabbath” is any one of the seven annual festivals commanded by God for the Israelites in the Old Testament books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Leviticus 23 explains the rules for the weekly Sabbath and then goes through the other days throughout the year that required a “sabbath rest” in which no customary work…
What is the Feast of Purim?
The Feast of Purim is a Jewish holiday in celebration of the deliverance of the Jews as recorded in the book of Esther. It is also known as the Feast of Lots (Purim being the Hebrew word for “lots”). The feast is not mentioned in the New Testament, although scholars believe the unnamed feast of…
What is the paschal mystery?
The word paschal comes from the Hebrew word for Passover—the event in Exodus where the death angel passed over all the homes that had the blood of a lamb on the lintel and door posts but brought death to the firstborn in all houses that did not have the blood. The word mystery refers to…
What is the Feast of Weeks?
Described in Leviticus 23, The Feast of Weeks is the second of the three “solemn feasts” that all Jewish males were required to travel to Jerusalem to attend (Exodus 23:14–17; 34:22–23; Deuteronomy 16:16). This important feast gets its name from the fact that it starts seven full weeks, or exactly 50 days, after the Feast…
What is Passover?
Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) is a Jewish festival celebrating the exodus from Egypt and the Israelites’ freedom from slavery to the Egyptians. The Feast of Passover, along with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was the first of the festivals to be commanded by God for Israel to observe (see Exodus 12). Commemorations today involve a…
What were the various sacrifices in the Old Testament?
There are five main types of sacrifices, or offerings, in the Old Testament. The burnt offering (Leviticus 1; 6:8–13; 8:18-21; 16:24), the grain offering (Leviticus 2; 6:14–23), the peace offering (Leviticus 3; 7:11–34), the sin offering (Leviticus 4; 5:1–13; 6:24–30; 8:14–17; 16:3–22), and the trespass offering (Leviticus 5:14–19; 6:1–7; 7:1–6). Each of these sacrifices involved…
What is the significance of unleavened bread?
The Bible tells us that the Israelites were to eat only unleavened bread every year during Passover as a commemoration of the Exodus from Egyptian bondage. Since the children of Israel left Egypt hastily, they did not have time for the bread to rise, so it was made on that very first Passover without leaven,…
How do the elements of the Passover Seder point to Christ?
The Seder is the traditional dinner that Jews partake of as part of Passover. The annual Passover commemoration is celebrated by nearly the entire Jewish community, bonding families and communities to their Jewish roots. Each year Jewish people, religious and nonreligious, celebrate the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by gathering and experiencing the Passover…
What are the different Jewish festivals in the Bible?
There are seven Jewish festivals or feasts outlined in the Bible. While they are mentioned throughout Scripture, we find instructions for all seven laid out in Leviticus 23. Leviticus 23:2 refers to the seven Jewish festivals, literally “appointed times,” also called “holy convocations.” These were days appointed and ordained by God to be kept to…