Messianic Jewish Holidays and Celebrations

May 02, 2022

This year, the month of May holds three important Israeli civil holidays: May 4 - 5: Yom HaZikaron – Israel’s Memorial Day May 5 -6: Yom HaAtzmaut – Israel’s Independence Day May 28 - 29: Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day Yom HaZikaron – Israel’s Memorial Day Israel declared her independence on May 14, 1948. Immediately, surrounding Arab nations and Palestinians waged war, confident they would defeat the newly reborn State of Israel. So, before Israel celebrates her independence,...

April 06, 2022

It happens more than you’d think. This year, Passover and Good Friday align on the calendar. Both are Friday, April 15, 2022. In the last 100 years, Passover and Good Friday have fallen on the same Friday 34 times. It’s only fitting, after all, because the very first Good Friday – the one 2,000 years ago when Jesus died – was Passover. Coincidence? Not one bit. It might seem like chance when Passover and Good Friday occur the same day, but Jesus’ death on Passover was a pre-ordained, orchestr...

October 04, 2021

Why do Jewish holidays change dates every year? Actually, they don’t. They just follow a different calendar. Most of the world uses the Gregorian calendar, which is based on the solar year. The Jewish calendar is called lunisolar, meaning it is a combination of the lunar and solar cycles. The lunar cycle is the time it takes the moon to orbit the Earth, which happens monthly. The solar calendar is based on the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun, which is one year. As a lunisolar cal...

September 27, 2021

It is good and just. It is trustworthy and faithful. It is firm. Boundless. Eternal. It is true and right, thoroughly tested. It is wonderful and delightful. It is sweeter than honey. It is more precious than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. So says the writer of Psalm 119. What does he speak of? The Word of God. Simchat Torah means “Joy of the Torah.” It is a holiday set aside to celebrate the gift of God’s Word. Jewish people stay up through the night reading the...

September 20, 2021

We usually think of joy and happiness as emotions that come to us as a result of pleasant circumstances or good news. But God’s instructions for the Feast of Sukkot reveal that we are more than passive recipients of joy. The fact that He commands Israel to rejoice shows us that joy can be our choice (Leviticus 23:40). Sukkot is a seven-day festival where God commands the Jewish people to do no work on the first day and come together for a sacred assembly. Synagogue services today include wav...

September 16, 2021

Are you missing out? If you read only the New Testament, chances are you are missing the richness of the New Testament visible by understanding its Jewish roots, the very foundation upon which it was laid. God sent His promised Messiah, Jesus, to Earth to live among us within the context of Jewish faith and history found in the Old Testament. Jesus was Jewish. He lived a Jewish life and taught with authority from the Old Testament as the One fulfilling its prophecies. He did not come to star...

September 08, 2021

This is an especially meaningful time in the Jewish year. We are in the middle of commemorating the biblical Fall Feasts. It started with Yom Teruah — also known as Rosh Hashanah — the start of the Jewish new year, which we just celebrated. Now, Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, is upon us. It’s the annual Day of Atonement when God covered and removed the sin of Israel. It’s the perfect reminder that Jesus our Messiah became our complete atonement through His death and resurrect...

September 01, 2021

How often do we meet with God in prayer and let Him set the agenda for our time with Him? We quickly come to the Lord when we have a need or experience trouble. We pour out our hearts to Him, bringing our burdens and praying for others. These are all right and valid reasons to draw near to God, and Scripture directs us to do so. (See Hebrews 4:16, James 5:13, Psalm 31:9, Psalm 62:8, Matthew 11:28, 1 Peter 5:7, James 5:16.) But what about when God wants to direct the conversation? It’s exc...

August 23, 2021

Rosh Hashanah, the first of the Jewish Fall Feasts, begins September 6 at sunset. This feast is widely celebrated among the Jewish people as the Jewish New Year. It is also called the Feast of Trumpets, where the blowing of the shofar signifies a wake-up call for repentance and restoring our relationship with God. After Rosh Hashanah, there are other important Jewish Feasts on the calendar: Yom Kippur: The holiest day on the Jewish calendar — a day of somber reflection in which we seek ato...