By: Barbara Horutz

Barbara Horutz — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 20:40:00 +0000

The origins of Sukkot found in an ancient autumnal harvest festival. Sukkot came to commemorate the wandering so of the Israelites in the desert after the revelation at Mount Sinai, with the huts representing the temporary shelters that the Israelites lived in during those 40 years. A major focus of public worship on Sukkot is the waving of the “four species” during communal prayer services. The origin of this custom is a verse in the Torah, according to which the Israelites are commanded to “take the produce of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willow of the brook and you shall rejoice before Adonai your God for seven days”. Leviticus 23:40. When they are all held together and shaken in prayer they are viewed as fulfilling the verse in the book of Psalm (Chapter 35:10), which declares that “All of my bones shall proclaim, ‘O Adonai, who is like You?” (Leviticus Rabbah 30:14). In this manner, it is symbolic of devoting one’s entire body to the worship and praise of God. The actual waving of the Four Species, -while primarily a synagogue tradition, may be done at home if a person is unable to go to a synagogue- first to the east, then south, west, north, up and down– usually takes place at the morning service before Hallel, or “Psalms of Praise”, on all seven days of Sukkot anytime during the daylight hours. At the conclusion of this, a special ritual is conducted in which the branches of the willow are struck upon the ground. This is a symbolic attempt to rid ourselves of any remaining sins (the leaves representing these transgressions) that might influence God’s decision to send the seasonal rains. On September 28, 2015, during the feast of Sukkot a phenomenon known as “Blood Moon” will occur. Is the “Blood Moon ” a sign from Heaven? Believers around the world of deverse Faith’s are attributing the blood moon phenomenon to the teaching of the prophet Joel, who preached: “I will set wonders in the heavens and the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke; the sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome Day of God” (Joel 3:3). Inspired by the concluding words of Joel, some are suggesting that the blood moons are the sign from God that we are one step closer to the coming of the Messiah. But there is more! Get this: ALL four blood moons will occur on major Jewish holidays. Passover 2014, followed by the holiday of Sukkot 2014, then again on Passover 2015 and then again on Sukkot 2015. This has happened only eight times in all of history!

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By: Barbara Horutz