Standing Strong |
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Isaiah 11:6 2 Thessalonians 2:15 |
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Shemini Atzeret—An Eighth Day of Sukkot |
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“On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the L-rd for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day” (Lev. 23:39, NASB). We know from earlier in Leviticus 23, that the feast of the L-rd mentioned here is the Feast of Booths/ Sukkot. Isn’t Sukkot seven days long? Here it says that there is to be a rest on the eighth day. The eighth day is known as Shemini Atzeret. The best way to explain Shemini Atzeret is this: Pretend that you have been invited to a week long festival, where you are commanded to be happy all week, by a great and powerful king. Now, when that week is over, it is going to be a long time before the next major festival when you would be invited to the king’s palace again. You are going to go back to your mundane life, and in the cold hard winter to come, the memories of the joy you had during that week may be your only comfort. The king knows this and in his great compassion, comes to you and invites you to stay one more day past the festival. Would you say no? Shemini Atzeret is the same concept. G-d invited all the men to come to Jerusalem for Sukkot. A festival where they are commanded to be happy. For the majority of the men who go to Jerusalem, it will not be until Passover (almost 6 months) that they will be in Jerusalem again; before they would be in the city where G-d chose to make His dwelling. These men would go back to their towns and keep Shabbat at their local synagogues, but that is not as fulfilling as being so close to G-d. G-d knows it will be a difficult time for these men so He invites them to stay for one more day of rest and rejoicing before they return to their homes. What a loving G-d!
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