Sukkat Shalom

In this past Shabbat i was teaching from the book on Nehemiah the 8th chapter where we read:

טו וַאֲשֶׁר יַשְׁמִיעוּ, וְיַעֲבִירוּ קוֹל בְּכָל-עָרֵיהֶם וּבִירוּשָׁלִַם לֵאמֹר--צְאוּ הָהָר וְהָבִיאוּ עֲלֵי-זַיִת וַעֲלֵי-עֵץ שֶׁמֶן, וַעֲלֵי הֲדַס וַעֲלֵי תְמָרִים וַעֲלֵי עֵץ עָבֹת: לַעֲשֹׂת סֻכֹּת, כַּכָּתוּב. {פ}
15 and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying: 'Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.' {P}
טז וַיֵּצְאוּ הָעָם, וַיָּבִיאוּ, וַיַּעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם סֻכּוֹת אִישׁ עַל-גַּגּוֹ וּבְחַצְרֹתֵיהֶם, וּבְחַצְרוֹת בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים--וּבִרְחוֹב שַׁעַר הַמַּיִם, וּבִרְחוֹב שַׁעַר אֶפְרָיִם.
16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.
יז וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כָל-הַקָּהָל הַשָּׁבִים מִן-הַשְּׁבִי סֻכּוֹת, וַיֵּשְׁבוּ בַסֻּכּוֹת--כִּי לֹא-עָשׂוּ מִימֵי יֵשׁוּעַ בִּן-נוּן כֵּן בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד הַיּוֹם הַהוּא; וַתְּהִי שִׂמְחָה, גְּדוֹלָה מְאֹד.

I have found two items very interesting and strange about these verses:

1. Verse 17 states that B'nai Israel did not celebrate Sukkot since the time of Joshua! The reasons for that as i explained to my synagogue are related to the fact that one of the Minhagim that recorded in the Jewish writings states that the from the time of Joshua to the time of the building of the 2nd Temple the people who went up to Jerusalem did not actually build a Sukkah! They sat in a giant community Sukkah's that were build by the religious leaders in Jerusalem. They did not build it!

A great lesson is thought to us by Nehemiah, G-D does not want us only to observe his holidays and observe his words, but he want us to experience it! When we simply observe the Shabbat, and not experience it by receiving from him, it is like we did not observe it at all. If this is what Hashem expects of us, the question for the season of the new cycle of the Torah, what is it that he want us to experience?

G-D wants us to experience the Joy of being in his word, and experience his word. The non-Jewish world is most focused on teaching and learning, but the Jewish world should be focused on teaching, learning, and experiencing G-D!

2. At the end of my message one of my members came and brought an important point to my attention. B'nai Israel went and "Fetch" olive branches, the olive branches were used to build the Sukkah, Hashem will come in the end and rebuild Sukkat David (Amos 9). This is a picture of us as Jews, inviting non Jews to be grafted into the Sukkah of Hashem!

It is the job, responsibility and the duty of the Jew (see psalms 96), to declare the words of Adonai to the people that never heard it. We are to bring those wild olive branches back into the Sukkah of Adonai. This Sukkah is not the church, but Israel itself!

What a beautiful prophetic picture by Nehemiah the Navi.

May we all remember as Messianic followers in this season of the new Torah cycle that we are not only to build the Sukkah of Hashem, but we are to bring the wild olive branches to the Sukkah of Hashem.

Kol Toov