Branch of Israel

The next Jewish holiday this calendar year is Purim and it is considered a minor holiday. It is a very festive time for kids of all ages to enjoy. The entire book of Esther ( Hadassah in Hebrew meaning myrtle, but her Persian name is Esther-derived after the goddess Ishtar where the name Easter comes from ) is read from a scroll known in Hebrew as megillah ( a small scroll of parchment ). As the story is read, every mention of the name of Haman people start booing and making noises with groggers or anything else just to drown out his name. The reason for this comes from Exodus 17:14 where it reads: “ …I will utterly blot out the remembrance of the Amalek from under heaven. ” Haman’s descendants were believed to be of the Amalekites. The Story In the story Haman cast his pur, or lot, to determine on which day the Jewish massacre was to take place. This is where we get the name Purim ( Esther 9:18-28 ) because it is the plural form of pur meaning lots . The festival occurs o...

Like the farmer who has a yearly cycle of sowing and reaping, the same is true with the biblical feasts that God has set into place. In Leviticus 23 it clearly lays out for us the 7 feasts that the Lord wants us to continually celebrate. According to verses 14, 21, 30 and 41 the Lord mentions that these feasts are to be kept throughout all generations. Not only does he tell us to keep it ongoing, but he also tells us when he wants us to celebrate it. There are 4 words that the Lord uses when talking about these times in reference to the feasts: Appointed ( Mo-ahd ) Convocations or gatherings ( Mik-rah ) Feast or festival ( Chag ) Holy ( Ko-desh ) Mo-ahd: an appointment or a meeting at a set time. Yet however, its root meaning is to repeat. In other words, it is a meeting that is to be repeated every time that appointment comes up at a set time. Mik-rah: a calling together for a meeting as an assembly. The root meaning is to call together for an event or a reading s...