Friday 28 October 2016

Three Facts About Simchat Torah

According to Moses' Law (Torah), the eighth day holiday immediately after the ancient Feast of Tabernacles:
1. Was a one-day event - not a two-day event, like modern Jews outside the land of Israel have made it.
The very fact they need to add a day, tells us that the Torah never intended that it should be observed outside the land of Israel.
2. It required a burnt-offering. That was the purpose of the event. But that isn't necessary anymore, nor is it possible.
3. The day wasn't about celebrating the annual cycle of Torah-reading. Post-Temple era rabbis made it about that, seeing it wasn't possible anymore to carry-out the Torah's express purpose for the day, which was to offer a burnt-offering.
So the tradition which came to be known as Simchat Torah until today, is really a manmade substitute for the ancient Torah requirement.
Of course, celebrating part of the Bible is a good thing to do, any day of the year - but doing so doesn't literally make anyone a Torah-keeper. We may as well face that fact squarely.
The only legitimate way to comply with what the Torah and the Prophets intended we should be doing by now, is to embrace the New Covenant which the Old Covenant spoke about: JESUS Christ.
In Him you are complete, and you are free.
That's called the Gospel, which means 'good news'.

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