#30. Last Words of Moses - Deut. 16vs1-8

Moses describes the three pilgrim festivals, all rooted in the agricultural cycle, that required travelling to the Temple. It appears that these pilgrimage festivals were of more importance to the ancient , perhaps because of the actual existence of a physical Temple, which will change following its destruction. Moses does not mention the other Feasts of the Lord. In discussion we mentioned that one reason could be that these feasts are particular representations of the Messiah.

Moses notes the name of the month as Aviv, the month of redemption from Egypt. In Exodus the year begins in Aviv (Spring), however today Rosh HaShanah is in the 7th month and the New Year begins in the Fall. Only 4 months of the Jewish calendar are mentioned in ; The 1st month Aviv (Nissan), 2nd month Ziv (Iyar), 7th month Eitanim (Tishrei), 8th month Bul (Cheshvan). The Jewish people adopted the Babylonian calendar while in Diaspora, months are now named after Babylonian gods and the New Year moved to the Fall. One reason for this could be simply that the Hebrew Bible does not give names for the majority of the months of the year, so there was no Biblical hold on the names of the Jewish calendar.

The Feasts of the Lord are described several times in the Torah. Leviticus 23 does not say where one should offer the lamb. Numbers 9 describes a Passover in the desert and presumably the people of Israel slaughtered the lambs in their tents as they had done in Egypt. The initial Passover was a family household affair, there was no priestly distinction, no altar or Temple. Passover was a family affair just as it is done today by Jewish families. Now standing before Israel on the plains of Moab, Moses does not mention a Seder Service nor makes mention of 4 cups of wine. These are traditions that have developed over the long history of the Jewish people. Traditions for which Jesus has no objections. He does not say at His Passover meal in the Gospels ‘what are we doing that’s not in the Bible’.

Moses makes mention of Chametz, the leaven that is forbidden at this time. Following Passover begins the Feast of Unleavened bread. Leaven must be removed from the possession of Israel for a period of seven days. How exactly this is to be done is not explained. Today this is done by the fastidious cleaning of Jewish homes and businesses. Passover becomes the season where all Jewish women go crazy and meticulously clean their houses. The rest of the Leaven is simply sold to non Jews and repurchased at the conclusion of Passover. A small portion of Chametz is ceremonially burnt on a fire prior to the Seder. Chametz or leaven is too often typed cast as a symbol for sin. However that is not always the case, example in Matthew 13vs33 where the Kingdom of Heaven is compared as leaven in a positive way. Chametz is biological fermentation originally sourced from grain, but it itself is not grain. Wine is also a fermented drink and Rabbi note that by including wine in the Seder they technically violate the Mitzvah, however this is justified by adding they are following another mitzvah, the mitzvah of drinking wine. Please note, that Judaism is actually quite flexible and not the strict absolute religion its often portrayed to be. Just like Pork, there is nothing intrinsically evil about Chametz, it’s just that at this time it’s forbidden. #30. Last Words of Moses - Deut. 16vs1-8

The Passover can only be consumed by those who have been circumcised. Circumcision was not an uncommon practice in the ancient near east. However, for Abraham it became a sign of the covenant and Hebrew males were circumcised for that reason. As was Ishmael and thus circumcision is also practiced in the Arab world to this day. During the wanderings in the desert this practice was not followed, thus the celebration of Passover in the desert subsequently declined. It was re-instituted by immediately upon entering prior to the Battle of . What is the connection between the blood of the circumcision and the blood of the Passover? It is the only festival that has this requirement. In the New Testament Paul admonishes the community in Corinth, composed of both Jewish and Gentile believers to keep the Passover Feast (1 Corinthians 5). However, there is a strong possibility that many of those Gentiles were not themselves circumcised. Today, many Gentiles are invited to celebrate the Feasts with Jewish friends and are not asked regarding circumcision. There is a redemptive aspect of the covenant that God makes with His people. This redemption involves blood. The blood of the Passover lamb was placed on the doorposts once, circumcision is performed once, and the Messiah sheds His blood once for many.