Why is sukkot 8 days

The preceding seven days are either seven days of preparation, cleansing, sanctification or a combination of these. This is very profound! The cleansing of uncleanness, the consecration of the altar and circumcision are all connected with the 8th day, which in each case signifies a new beginning. Those who were unclean could return to the camp on the 8th day, the altar was ready for use on the eighth day, and a baby boy receives the sign of the covenant when he is eight days old.

When YHVH made a complete end to mankind, he spared eight people, who began anew. From all these Scriptures, proving that the 8th day is about new beginnings, we can deduce that the 8th day of Sukkot or the feast of Tabernacles is prophetic of a future new beginning. Why is this significant here? In the previous article, we mentioned the teaching done by Ephraim and Ramona Frank during Sukkot in Jerusalem.

Ramona mentioned the connection between the Chuppah wedding canopy , the marriage feast and Sukkot in her part of the teaching, quoting Isaiah Isaiah —6 5 then YHVH will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy.

This is further confirmed in Ezekiel. We have seen from this study that the eighth day is about new beginnings which is prophetic of the ultimate Eighth Day or the eighth millennium. On this day, the eighth day, YHVH will make everything new and dwell with mankind forever. All things will be restored. We see this described in Revelation Revelation —7 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. All creation will be restored as it was before sin…. Please continue to read Revelation 21 from verse 8, through to the end of the book. We shall just highlight a few verses. Revelation 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of Elohim has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. Revelation 1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of Elohim and of the Lamb,.

Revelation 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of Elohim and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;. Revelation 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because YHVH Elohim will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

What are we to do now, in the meantime, as the Kingdom has not been restored yet? We get our answer in Leviticus In further testimony to its ancient importance, Sukkot involved the largest number of animal sacrifices, according to the Bible. In other words, in biblical times Sukkot was The Holiday: if an ancient Israelite could only make it to Jerusalem for one of the three annual pilgrimages the other two being Passover and Pentecost , Sukkot would be it.

Based on its timing and the fact that it is frequently referred to in the Bible as "the holiday of ingathering," meaning harvest, we may assume that the holiday evolved from ancient agricultural religious practices.

But over time it was formalized, centralized and given historical-national significance — that was fated to dissipate. This is the first known description of the formal holiday of Sukkot, though it bears note that this account was probably written over a century after the fact, during the reign of King Josiah. With that in mind, the story that the Tabernacle was brought to Jerusalem on Sukkot may or not be fanciful.

Unable to find lodging, the pilgrims had to erect temporary dwellings — little huts that became known as sukkot. With time the holiday became associated with the sukkot themselves. One problem with this connection is that the Bible tells us that the Israelites lived in tents, not booths, during the Exodus. Whatever the case, spending the week in a sukkah became a major theme in the holiday. However, that was secondary to the practice of the holiday rites during the time of the First and Second Temples.

As was the norm with all Jewish holidays, and the Jewish cult in general, the holiday centered on the Temple and specifically on animal sacrifice therein. Altogether 70 bulls were sacrificed during each Sukkot, as well as numerous other animals. Another important theme of the holiday, from ancient to contemporary times, were the four species that the people were to bring to the Temple. At any rate, from the time of the Hasmonean Dynasty, probably in the first century BCE, Jews have interpreted this vegetation to mean: A citron fruit etrog , a myrtle branch, a date frond, and a willow branch.

Which way was it tilted? Mishnah Rosh Hashanah Once the sighting was legitimated, the rabbis declared the next day Rosh Hodesh , the beginning of the new month. Originally, beacon fires would be set on mountaintops to spread the word to distant Jewish communities already living in far away places such as Egypt and Babylon. But relations with neighboring sects such as the Samaritans worsened, and they deliberately harassed the Jews by lighting beacon fires at erroneous times.

As a result, the Sanhedrin substituted messengers to alert the Diaspora communities, but they could take a long time to arrive from Jerusalem.

Only the Sanhedrin was able to make pronouncements about the new moon, so Diaspora communities could not do this for themselves. The proclamation of each new moon was significant as an alert about the exact dates of holidays. Jewish communities always knew approximately when a festival would fall, but waited until the date of the new moon had been established to decide when festivals would fall.

As most holidays fall around mid-month, they could — generally — afford some delay in receiving the Jerusalem news. But celebrating festivals for an extra day would ensure that, regardless of whatever confusion reigned about the exact start of the new month, at least one day of their celebration would be on the correct day.

One biblical holiday does not fall in mid-month: Rosh Hashanah. Delay in receiving word of this new moon would lead distant communities to miss the day and violate Torah law. This was a safety measure, to ensure that these communities would celebrate at least one day of Rosh Hashanah on the proper day. With the official news from Jerusalem, they could not know if the new moon had been sighted on the first or the second of these days, but observing two days ensured they would not violate the holiday.

As this custom of yom tov sheni spread through the Diaspora, it began to be observed even in the land of Israel and Jerusalem. This also started as a safety measure, because late-day testimony that the new moon had been seen might leave no time for observing the holiday. Therefore the next day would be observed as Rosh Hashanah as well. Thus, the haftarah for Shemini Atzeret is 1Ki , the prayer of Shlomo in the dedication of the Temple which took place at the time of Sukkot , the place where God would manifest His presence and desire for communion with His people.

If this is where it is all going—communion with God, fellowship with His Ruach, then it is a pity if those who claim to be His children actually have little or no desire to have such communion. If the end of all of our striving to grow in holiness and to conform to the righteous ways of God is so that we might have communion with Him, yet in our hearts we have very little desire to actually seek His face or listen to His voice, then how disappointed we will be with the world to come!

For nothing is more clear than this: the eternity which HaShem has planned for His children is a never ending Eden in which the primary joy will be simple communion with the Creator and fellowship with all of His children.

It appears that Yeshua had this same general thought in mind that our striving for righteousness in this life is a preparation for our communion with HaShem in the olam haba [world to come] when He speaks of the final judgment day:.

Their motivation for outward righteousness, then, is not with a true heart to please their Creator, but as a means to further their own agenda. Yet Yeshua teaches that the fruit of their lives will reveal their true nature.

Fruits of righteousness come only from a genuine root of righteousness. As the writer to the Hebrews says,. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Heb And this leads us to the reason Yeshua would teach in this way: He intends that our pursuit of righteousness be from the heart and not for the applause of men. That is, our desire to obey Torah must be first and foremost a desire for communion with our Creator, not to please those from whom we seek commendations. This perspective, of pleasing God first, is illustrated in the Torah section chosen for Shemini Atzeret.

The notice that generosity should be extended to the poor Deut ff is given with the sabbatical year in mind. Note verse This is the very heart of the commandments God gives His children. God asks them to follow His ways and entrust the outcome to Him. When we are obedient to our Father, we may trust our lives into His care.