[Beit-Ha-Mishkan] Is Halloween Harmless?

Is Halloween really harmless?

Who and what’s behind this bizarre holiday?

Why is it so widely celebrated?

Where did Halloween originate?

The Encyclopedia of Religion explains:

“Halloween is the name for the eve of …Samhain, a celebration marking the beginning of winter as well as the first day of the New Year within the ancient Celtic culture of the British Isles. The time of …Samhain consisted of the eve of the feast and the day itself (31 Oct to 1 Nov). On this occasion, it was believed that a gathering of the supernatural forces occurred as during no other period of the year. The eve and day of …Samhain were characterized as a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken.

Otherworldly entities, such as the souls of the dead, were able to visit earthly inhabitants, and humans could take the opportunity to penetrate the domains of the gods and supernatural creatures. Fiery attributes and sacrifices of animals, crops, and possibly human beings were made to appease supernatural powers who controlled the fertility of the land …Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during the period” (1987 ,pp 176-177, :Halloween”)

YHWH is giving a wake-up call to professing believers in Messiah Yeshua as it was with those the prophet Elijah addressed in his day, so it is with us: “How long will you falter between two opinions? If YHWH is EL follow Him: but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.” 1 Kings 18:21

What will it take for believers to accept and stand for YHWH's truth rather than harmful traditions that originated in paganism?

Devorah

The rejection of Torah

Dvrh,

You are absolutely right. Praise God for your wisdom.

Israel was God's vessel to the nations. Surely God intended to be inclusive rather than exclusive just for the Jews alone.

I personally believe that because Christendom rejected a lot of God's commands and laid down in Torah, God allowed the rise of Islam as a counterweight to Christianity because in terms of style, Islam is a lot closer to Judaism than Christianity.

I'll give you one example. There are many young women in places like America and Singapore who call themselves Christians but dress like sluts and have no hesitation in offering their bodies as sex symbols. But this runs contrary to the modesty called for in the Bible which Islam tries to emulate but goes overboard on. The Bible does not call women to hide their beauty but only to be modest about it.

Also Christianity repudiates the dietary principles that were laid down in Torah for all believers of YHVH to follow, not just the physical descendants of Avraham. Again Christianity failed but Islam has taken up those principles.

So Christianity is not perfect and neither is Islam pure evil so we cannot judge who is going to heaven or hell at the end of the day as all monotheists who believe in the one God may have a righteous place at the end of the day. I have deep respect for Islam, seeing in as imperfect but in some ways tying to embody the principles and values of Torah.

What I can say is if Christians truly believe in the Old Testament, then they should take up on their cross, the laws that have been laid down by YHVH. After all if they claim to follow Jesus, Jesus after all was a reforming Jewish rabbi that came to reform Judaism and not start a new religion. As you know, his original followers didn't even have a name for their "new religion", they just called it the Way. Simply because there wasn't a new religion, the only departure from the "old" was the repudiation of man made rules that were laid down by the Pharisees. Jesus himself was schooled in the thought of the Pharisees and was intimately familiar with what they taught.

Please feel free to publicize this email widely.


Clrnce

Why do we meet and celebrate Sabbath, New Moon and the feast of YHWH as a group or community?

Anyone or a local community can assemble together for worship at any time. However as believers in Messiah Yeshua, there are certain specific times at regular intervals YHWH has appointed for community worship. He has scheduled an appointment for us to meet with other believers on the Sabbath, on Passover, and at all other appointed times listed in Leviticus 23. If He is truly our YHWH than mark our calendar these appointed times well in advance.

When we plan other activities, we will schedule them around YHWH's appointed times. Unless something is very urgent, we will not cancel our appointed time with YHWH to do something else. We will view our appointments with YHWH as a very high priority. “But I ‘m not a Jew” some believers think that the appointed feasts of Leviticus 23 were just for Jews. However, please note that YHWH calls them "The Feasts of YHWH" and My Feasts" It is true that they are sometimes called “the feasts of Israel” (or even “the Jews’ feast of tabernacles” in John 7:2)

However, this is only because the feasts were appointed for the people of Israel: Israel is the nation with whom YHWH schedules these appointments. Some believers or Christians might say “Then that lets me off the hook, because I’m not an Israelite!” Yes, we are, we may or may not have physical Israelite ancestry but when we believe in Israel’s Messiah, we are a part of Israel. Read Ephesians 2 and Romans 11, you will see that we are now a part of the commonwealth of Israel and the olive tree of Israel just like Rahab , Ruth and other Gentiles who left their pagan ways behind and joined themselves to YHWH of Israel. If Israel’s Messiah is our YHWH than remember to mark His appointments and guard them cos they are precious!

Devorah-Lim

Rosh Chodesh : Cheshvan (חשון)

Rosh Chodesh : Cheshvan (חשון)

Rosh Chodesh : Cheshvan (October 30th, beginning October 29th at sundown)

Get ready for the month of Cheshvan

Learn more about the significance of the new moon and the new month. Read this article!

If you agree this is a great new resource, please forward it to a friend.

This month at FFOZ...

On a recent Sabbath my family walked to a friend's home a couple of miles from our house. While walking down the road, I read aloud the book of James. We entered into discussion on various points throughout the reading. Something different stood out to each person. Each person was convicted in a different area as the Word was read.

There is something powerful in simply hearing and reading the Word. The Lord has the opportunity to speak to each of us, where we are at, and with what He desires teach us.

I am pleased to announce a new resource that we have developed to help spread the message found in God's Word using the weekly Torah reading schedule. The website is called Torah PORTIONS (www.torahportions.org). At this time, the site has one simple goal-to get people to simply read and listen to the Word of God.

Let's let God do the work. Let's simply read and hear the Torah, the Prophets, and the Gospels. God will do the Work of convicting, prompting, and revealing his Torah to those of us that will simply listen.

Please work with us to share the word about this new website resource. May the Lord bless you!

Boaz Michael
FFOZ Founder and Director

The Land and Scripture in History

October 30/Cheshvan 1 - Death of Jewish believer Rabbi Isaac Lichtenstein (1909CE)

November 5/Cheshvan 7 - Last pilgrims arrive home from Sukkot in Jerusalem (Traditional)

November 13/Cheshvan 15 - Jeroboam makes an imitation festival (1 Kings 12:32-33)

The Provision of Cheshvan

Cheshvan is the eighth month according to the biblical calendar. The name "Cheshvan" is the Babylonian name of the month. The older biblical (or Canaanite) name of the month is "Bul" as it says in 1 Kings 6:38, "And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished..."

As the previous verse stated, it was during the month of Cheshvan that King Solomon completed his seven-year construction of the First Temple. Because of this, the sages say that Cheshvan should have had a festival. Yet, the Temple stood empty for 11 months and was not dedicated until the following Tishrei (see 1 Kings 8). According to the sages, since the month of Cheshvan did not receive a feast and lost it to Tishrei, one day it will receive a festival, just as Kislev gained a feast (Hanukkah) during the days of the Maccabees.

More transpired during Cheshvan in the time of the kings. In the generation following Solomon, King Jeroboam set up two golden calves in Bethel and Dan. He instituted a feast on the fifteenth day of Cheshvan. (Needless to say, this is not the feast that the sages said Cheshvan was to receive.)

Also in the days of Noah, 17 Cheshvan may have been the day that the Great Flood began. Genesis 7:11 says, "In the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened." The sages debated whether this referred to Iyyar (the second month counting from Nisan) or Cheshvan (the second month counting from Tishrei). It was determined that this second month was Cheshvan, due to the fact that Nisan was not considered the beginning of the months until the time of the Exodus (see Exodus 12:2).

Similarly, Cheshvan is the beginning of rainy season in the land of Israel. This change is reflected in the second benediction of the Amidah prayer. During Cheshvan, the phrase "who causes the wind blow and sends down the rain" is added to this benediction. With it, we extol HaShem as the Powerful One who resurrects the dead, heals the sick, sets captives free, and brings forth salvation.

So whether remembering the Temple, the Great Flood, or the everyday blessings of rain, Cheshvan teaches us about the might of God. He is awesome and powerful. We depend on him for our every need. "For us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist" (1 Corinthians 8:6). Though there may not be any festivals in Cheshvan, we can rejoice and be thankful for the constant provision that God provides for us through our Master Yeshua.

May you have a blessed Cheshvan.

The Joy of Torah - Simchat Torah

Immediately following Sukkot, is a day celebration in which the annual Torah (Gen—Deut) reading cycle is completed with the last verses of Deuteronomy, and is immediately restarted with the first verses of Genesis. It is not a biblical feast, but one not to be missed, as the people rejoice over the Word of YHWH.

On this special day, one can walk into a synagogue anywhere in the world and find a joyous scene. All the scrolls of the Torah are taken from the ark, an ornate cabinet, and carried in procession around involving the entire congregation with happy songs of praise and dance to YHWH. It is in this celebrated Torah that we find YHWH’s appointed feasts. If you have never celebrated these feasts, we suggest you to consider reading Leviticus 23 and ask YHWH if this is something He would like you to begin doing.

Since Torah occupies a central place in the Scriptures (including the Apostolic Writings) it is very appropriate to set aside a day to celebrate Torah although one can celebrate Torah all year round. But how many of us does it? The Psalmist said, “I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Thy precepts, and have respect for Thy ways. I will delight myself in Thy statutes; I will not forget Thy word….Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from the Torah. I am a stranger in the earth. Do not hide Thy commandments from me.”

As we know Yeshua did not come to abolish Torah, as He made clear in Mathew 5:17-19. Torah remains a very important part of the New Covenant as promised in Jeremiah 31: 31-33 and repeated by the author of Hebrews (who we believe to be Rav Sha’ul-that is Paul, the ‘Author of Liberty’) The Law does brings liberty. Torah isn’t used to ‘get redeemed.’ Torah is YHWH’s instructions for those who are already redeemed. If we use the LAW lawfully, it should be to put away our lawlessness, not to abandon Torah