Posts Tagged With: fall feasts

Tishrei: From Dust to Glory

Posted on September 7, 2026 by K. Gallagher

Earth and Water

“But a mist came up from the land and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then Adonai Elohim formed the man out of the dust from the ground and He breathed into his nostrils a breath of life—so the man became a living being.” (Gen 2:6-7, TLV)[1]

A potter begins with earth and water. He takes a weight of clay into his hands, kneading and pressing it until hidden pockets of air are released and the whole mass becomes pliable beneath his touch. The sense of touch is traditionally associated with the month of Tishri. He places the clay at the center of the wheel, wets his palms, and sets the wheel in motion. As the clay turns, his hands remain steady. One braces the outer wall while the other presses inward, opening a hollow at the heart of the vessel.

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Water glistens across his fingers, allowing them to move without tearing what is still forming. With each revolution, he senses what the eye cannot yet see: where the clay is uneven, where it resists, where the wall is thinning, and where it can be drawn higher. To an observer, the wheel appears to be traveling the same circle again and again. Beneath the potter’s hands, however, the clay is not merely going in circles. It is being transformed.

Water is not an incidental part of this process. Dry earth will not yield to the potter’s hands. Water makes it responsive, allowing it to be pressed, opened, raised, and reshaped without breaking apart. The water does not determine the form of the vessel, and the clay does not shape itself. The potter uses water to work with the clay according to the form already held within his intention.

This gives us a fitting picture for the seventh month, Tishrei. Scripture calls the seventh month yerach ha’etanim, “the month of Etanim,” when Solomon gathered Israel to dedicate the Temple during the feast (1 Kings 8:2). Etanim evokes that which is enduring or continually flowing and has traditionally been associated with streams that do not dry up, alluding to the Living Waters of eternity. During Sukkot, water was drawn from the Pool of Siloam and carried to the Temple in the joyful water pouring ceremony.[2] As the agricultural year turned, changed, or ended in the seventh month,[3] Israel looked toward heaven for the early rains upon which the next harvest depended. The Mishnah says that during the festival the world is judged concerning water.[4]

The month also returns us to the waters of creation. According to the tradition we considered last month for Elul, the original creation week began on the twenty-fifth day of that month.[5] This makes Tishri 1, Yom Teruah, align with the sixth day of creation, when Adonai formed the human from the ground and then blew the breath of life into Adam. In this sense, the first day of the seventh month is the birthday of mankind.[6]

Yom Teruah is called a zikkaron in Leviticus 23:24, a remembrance or memorial accompanied by the sound of the teruah – a shouting or great cry. [7] When Adonai speaks to Job from the whirlwind, He asks, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” He then recalls the morning stars singing together and the sons of God shouting for joy (Job 38:4–7).[8] The verb translated “shouted” comes from the same root as teruah. The sound that marks the beginning of Tishri carries an echo of creation and the joy that accompanied it.[9]

Genesis 2:6–7 brings water and earth together in the formation of humanity. Water rises and moistens the face of the adamah. Then Adonai forms the adam from its dust. The text does not explicitly describe God mixing clay at a wheel, but the rest of Scripture repeatedly interprets human formation through the work of a potter.

Job says, “I, too, have been formed out of the clay” (Job 33:6). Isaiah addresses Adonai directly: “We are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). Jeremiah is sent to the potter’s house to watch a spoiled vessel being worked again in the potter’s hands (Jeremiah 18:1–6). We are earth that has been made responsive by water and then animated by divine breath. Our bodies carry the substance of the ground (adamah), yet our life depends upon what comes from God from the heavens above.

Jewish tradition draws the altar into this scene of human formation. According to Genesis Rabbah 14:8, Adam was created “from the place of his atonement,” an interpretation grounded in the command, “An altar of earth you shall make for Me” (Exodus 20:24).[10] Rashi makes the location explicit, explaining that God took Adam’s dust from the place where the altar would stand so that he might receive atonement and be able to endure.

Adam was formed from the adamah, and Israel later built a mizbach adamah, an altar of earth. In this reading, Adonai’s provision for human frailty was already present within the story of our formation. He knew the mercy Adam and his children would need in order to stand before Him.

Every human body still carries the testimony of that beginning. We are animated dust, both resilient and vulnerable, capable of bearing glory while remaining dependent upon the breath and provision of our Creator. According to the tradition, our clay also carries a memory of the altar, the place where sin is answered by mercy and the fallen are enabled to stand. The water imagery of Tishrei brings us back to the place of our first formation and prepares us to consider what the Potter intends for the clay.

Two Formations

The Hebrew text of Genesis 2:7 preserves a unique spelling that gives this reflection prophetic depth. The word translated “and He formed” is vayyitzer, from the verb yatsar, which is often used for the shaping work of a potter. Only here, in the account of Adonai forming the human, is vayyitzer written וַיִּיצֶר with two yods. Everywhere else this form of the verb is written with one yod. The unique spelling invited the sages to ask what the second yod might reveal about humanity’s formation.

Rashi interprets the two yods as two formations appointed for the mankind: one for this present world and another for the resurrection of the dead. The first is described in Genesis, where Adam receives breath and becomes a living being. The second looks beyond mortal life toward resurrection. According to Rashi and Bereshit Rabbah, the unusual spelling carries both the origin and destiny of humanity.[11]

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The Potter who formed Adam from the dust has another formation in view. This is especially striking in Tishrei. The month begins on the anniversary of humanity’s first formation, while its appointed times reach toward the second (and last) formation of man in Messiah, the last Adam, at the resurrection.

“So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven… Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1 Corinthians 15:45-47, 49, NAS95)

The first Adam was formed from the dust and received life, while the Last Adam is from heaven and became a giver of life. All humanity is descended from the earthly Adam and remains subject to corruption and death. In Yeshua, however, the destiny of Adam’s children is no longer confined to the dust.

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah will all be made alive.” (1Co 15:22, TLV)

Though Rashi was not reading through a New Testament lens, his understanding of two formations based upon the doubled yod in humanity’s creation aligns remarkably well with the Pharisaic Rabbi Paul’s argument concerning the two Adams. Only a few verses later, Paul connects humanity’s promised transformation with the sound of the last trumpet:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, NAS95)

1 Corinthians 15 is one of Scripture’s clearest summaries of the Gospel proclaimed through the moedim (feast days). Paul begins with Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection, identifies Him as the Firstfruits of those who sleep, and carries the reader forward to the last trumpet and the resurrection harvest. The chapter gathers the redemptive pattern of the appointed times into one sweeping movement, from death to life and from the image of the earthly man to the image of the heavenly.

This promised change is especially fitting at the turn of the year. The Hebrew root shanah means “year,” while the root carries the sense of repetition or change. Paul wrote in Greek, but his promise that “we will all be changed” resonates beautifully with this Hebrew wordplay. Each shanah returns us to the appointed cycle, yet the Potter’s wheel does not return the clay unchanged. He continues drawing His work toward completion.

Tishrei holds the beginning and end of this mystery together. The month begins on the traditional anniversary of the first Adam’s formation and sounds the shofar that anticipates humanity’s final transformation in the Last Adam, Messiah Yeshua. The seventh month remembers the dust from which we came while announcing the glory we are destined to bear.

The In-between Space

For now, we live between the two formations represented by the doubled yod. We bear the image of our Creator while remaining subject to corruption and death. Genesis 3 shows the adam hiding from the One whose breath gives him life. The man and woman become ashamed of the bodies God fashioned, turn against one another through accusation, and find themselves estranged from the ground from which they were taken. The dust that received God’s breath now fears His voice.

Every generation enters the world within that fracture. We add our own choices to its damage and receive impressions from histories already bent by the fall. Human clay is shaped by other human clay; we bear marks we did not choose and inflict marks we do not fully understand. Even so, we remain image-bearers, and the Potter has not relinquished His claim upon the clay.

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Jeremiah encountered this mystery at a potter’s house. He watched a vessel become marred in the potter’s hand and then saw the potter work it again “into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make” (Jeremiah 18:4, NAS95). The image warns Israel that Adonai retains the right to uproot or rebuild according to their response, yet the warning itself is a mercy.

When we encounter malformation, we often begin by searching for someone to blame. We examine the damaged place, decide why it happened, and begin identifying the person with whatever has gone wrong. A failure becomes an identity. A wound becomes a destiny. Once the label has been applied, it becomes difficult to imagine another form. The Potter sees the damage more clearly than any observer ever could, but He also sees what the clay may yet become. This difference in perception becomes especially clear in the Gospel of John.

The Last Adam Stoops to the Dust

There is a moving description of formative mercy in the account of the woman caught in adultery in John 8. As the story stands in the traditional text of John, it unfolds in the atmosphere of Sukkot in the seventh month. The religious leaders place the woman before Yeshua and demand a judgment that would return her body to the dust.

David Stern locates the encounter more specifically within the final day of the feast: “The interchange with the woman caught in adultery took place after daybreak (Jhn 8:2) the next day, which was still Hoshana Rabbah (7:37), since Jewish days begin at sunset. Later the same day he said, ‘I am the light of the world,’ which relates to Hoshana Rabbah customs (Jhn 8:12).”[12]

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Yeshua responds by stooping toward the ground and writing with His finger. The text never tells us what He wrote, yet the gesture itself invites us to linger. The One who formed humanity from the ground bends toward that same earth while a daughter of Adam stands threatened with destruction. The finger that inscribed the covenant upon tablets of stone now traces words in the dust. And those who invoke Torah against the woman suddenly find its light turned upon their own hearts.

Yeshua rises and says, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He stoops again. One by one, her accusers leave. When Yeshua rises the second time, the woman discovers that the One who knows the truth about her does not expose her further or ask her to defend herself. Instead, He asks where her accusers have gone, and then speaks the words that return her life to her:

“Straightening up, Yeshua said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, Master,’ she said. Then Yeshua said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.'” (John 8:10-11, TLV)

 His words recall the tradition that Adam was formed from the place of the altar so that atonement might enable him to stand. The woman had been made to stand in the midst of her accusers, and she remains standing after they have gone. Yeshua takes her sin seriously without allowing it to become her final form. His mercy preserves her future, while His instruction gives that future direction.

Many of us know what it is to stand inwardly accused. We remember what we have done, where we have failed, and whom our choices have wounded. Shame tells us that the marred place has revealed our truest identity and that nothing new can be made from us.  This woman allows us to see with better eyes. When she looks up from the dust, the only One qualified to condemn her remains, and He has made room for her to walk forward.

Immediately afterward, Yeshua declares, “I am the Light of the world. The one who follows Me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12, TLV). Then the ground (adamah) appears again in the next chapter, where the Light of the world encounters a man who has been blind since birth (John 9:1).

The disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Their question reveals the human impulse to explain visible brokenness by locating guilt. Yeshua refuses to interpret the man’s blindness through blame. While the disciples search for the sin that explains his condition, He directs their attention toward the work God is about to reveal in him: “It was so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3, NAS95).

Then Yeshua repeats His declaration from before: “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world” (John 9:5, TLV). Afterwards, he spits on the ground, makes clay, and applies it to the man’s eyes. The action is startlingly physical. The One through whom all things came into being[13] bends toward the earth again, joins moisture to dust, and works the substance into clay. Genesis described the ground being watered before Adonai formed the human. In John 9, moistened earth is again worked by the hands of the Creator, and a human body is brought closer to wholeness.

Yeshua tells the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam. John pauses to explain that Siloam means “Sent.” The location carries particular significance in the atmosphere of Sukkot.[14] Only a short time earlier in John’s account, Yeshua had stood on the last great day of Sukkot and cried, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37, NAS95). Now the One sent from the Father sends a man bearing clay upon his eyes to those same waters. The man goes, washes, and returns seeing.

The accounts in John 8 and 9 mirror one another. Both encounters begin with people trying to interpret another person through sin, but Yeshua redirects their attention from assigning guilt to revealing “the works of God” in a human life. He refuses to treat either person as a theological problem to be solved. While we become preoccupied with the malformation of our neighbors, Yeshua remains concerned with their transformation.

As the people continue interrogating the healed man, another kind of sight opens within him. At first, he refers to “the man who is called Yeshua.” Later, he calls Him a prophet and argues that He must be from God. Finally, when Yeshua finds him after he has been cast out, the man addresses Him as Lord and bows before Him. His healing continues beyond physical sight as courage, testimony, and spiritual perception take form within him. Meanwhile, the leaders who are certain that they can see become increasingly unable to recognize the One standing before them.

“Yeshua said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, so that those who don’t see may see, and the ones who do see may become blind.’” (Jhn 9:39, TLV)

This is the sharp irony running through the two chapters. During the season when everyone should be “altogether joyful,” people remain occupied with judgment, blame, and traps. Yeshua continues into the next chapter by contrasting the one who destroys life with the purpose for which He came: “I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly!” (John 10:10, TLV)

The haftarah reading for Yom Kippur confronts us with a similar irony. Jonah, whose name means “dove,” knows that Adonai is “a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and full of kindness, and relenting over calamity” (Jonah 4:2, TLV). Yet he sits beneath his shelter awaiting Nineveh’s destruction and becomes angry when malformed people receive mercy.

His response raises an uncomfortable question during the season of judgment: Can we rejoice when the mercy that preserved us is extended to someone else? We may sit with Jonah and watch for the destruction of the world, or we may stand beside the woman and the man who received room to live, see, and change. The Last Adam stoops toward the dust because He still sees the potential within the clay.

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Treasure in Jars of Clay

Paul gathers the images of light, sight, glory, and human clay into one remarkable passage:

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Messiah. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, so that the surpassing greatness of the power may be from God and not from ourselves.” (2 Corinthians 4:6–7, TLV)

 The imagery closely follows what we have seen in John. Yeshua, the Light of the world, works clay with His hands and opens the eyes of a man who has never seen. Paul takes those elements inward: the light of Messiah gives spiritual sight to an earthen vessel. The work of new creation has already begun within bodies that still bear the frailty of the first Adam.

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Paul does not speak of that frailty with shame. An earthen vessel is vulnerable to pressure and easily damaged, but its weakness makes the source of the treasure unmistakable. The life within the vessel does not arise from the strength of the clay. It comes from the One who inhabits it. Even where mortality remains visible, the resurrection life of Yeshua is already at work.

This is why Paul can describe himself as “hard pressed in every way, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not in despair; persecuted, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9, TLV). His sufferings do not mean that the Potter has discarded him. They reveal the sustaining presence of Yeshua within a vessel that could not preserve itself by its own strength. Paul says that he carries the dying of Yeshua in his body “so that the life of Yeshua may also be revealed in our mortal body” (verse 11).

Formation into the image of Messiah occurs within this tension. Our bodies remain mortal, our histories remain part of us, and places within us still need healing. At the same time, the Spirit is renewing the inner person and making the life of Yeshua increasingly visible through the vessel. Paul speaks of Messiah being formed in us (Galatians 4:19), of our being conformed to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29), and of our transformation into that same image “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Paul carries this work toward resurrection. “We know that the One who raised the Lord Yeshua will raise us also with Yeshua and bring us along with you into His presence” (2 Corinthians 4:14, TLV). For now, the outer person experiences the weakness and decay of mortal clay while the inner person is “being renewed day by day.” Beyond this present formation waits “an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (verses 16–17).

Until the Vessel Is Complete

Tishri gives us courage to look honestly at what has taken shape within us. The seventh month may reveal places where the clay has hardened, collapsed, or become misshapen beneath the pressures of life. Our assessment remains incomplete if it accounts for the damage without accounting for the Potter. He sees what has become marred, remembers what He intended, and knows how to continue working with the clay in His hands.

Those hands formed Adam from dust taken from the holy altar as a testimony that He will complete the work. Yeshua knows what we have done and what has happened to us without confusing the marred place with the finished vessel. The dust is real, but it is not our final destiny.

We presently bear the frailty and mortality of the first Adam while the Spirit renews us inwardly, forming the life of the Last Adam within us. When the last trumpet sounds, the Potter’s intention for humanity will be revealed in fullness. Those who have borne the image of the earthly man will also bear the image of the heavenly.

Until that complete redemption, we can yield without fear to the hands that know us. The pressure we feel is not evidence that we have been abandoned, and the places still unfinished are not proof that His work has failed. The Potter has not lost sight of the glory for which your clay was formed.

I pray you have a blessed seventh month. As the Potter searches and shapes our hearts during the High Holy Days and Sukkot, may our attention be drawn toward what He desires to form within us. May we repent and receive His mercy without begrudging that same mercy to our neighbors. May we become more like Yeshua most especially in the ability to see the potential that still remains in other jars of clay.

“I am sure of this very thing—that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the Day of Messiah Yeshua.” (Philippians 1:6, TLV)

I’ll leave you with this song by David Crowder (one of my favorites!):

Glory Glory (God Is Able)

 

 

[1] Bereshit, the first Torah portion of the new reading cycle, is read during the seventh month on the Shabbat after Simchat Torah. This will fall on October 7th in the year 2026. The verses quoted are part of the Bereshit portion, which is Genesis 1:1-6:8.

[2] Sukkah 4:9 describes the water libation and the drawing of water from Siloam.

[3] See Exodus 23:16; 34:22, Deuteronomy 14:28; 31:10-11.

[4] Rosh Hashanah 1:2 associates Sukkot with judgment concerning water.

[5] See Rosh Hashanah 11:10b -11:1a and 11:3a or check out this article.

[6] Vayikra Rabbah 29:1.

[7] Complete Word Study Dictionary: OT and NT for e-Sword: H2146 זִכָּרוֹן zikkārôn: A masculine noun meaning memorial, remembrance, record, reminder. This word conveys the essential quality of remembering something in the past that has a particular significance. H8643 תְּרוּעָה terû‛āh: A feminine noun indicating a shout of joy; a shout of alarm, a battle cry.

[8] “Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind and said, “Who is this who darkens the divine plan By words without knowledge? “Now tighten the belt on your waist like a man, And I shall ask you, and you inform Me! “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the measuring line over it? “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:1-7, NASB)

[9] A few examples: Leviticus 23:40 – Rejoice before Adonai for seven days. Deuteronomy 16:14 – You shall rejoice in your feast.Deuteronomy 16:15 – You shall be altogether joyful.

[10] Bereshit Rabbah 14:8.

[11] Rashi on Genesis 2:7. See also Genesis Rabbah 14:5.

[12] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary, commentary on John 8:2 and 8:12.

[13] Colossians 1:16-17

[14] The Mishnah describes water being drawn from Siloam in a golden flask and carried through the Water Gate with blasts of the shofar before it was poured at the altar during the feast. (Sukkah 4:9)

Categories: Moedim, new moon | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Becoming One Loaf

Posted on July 7, 2021 by K. Gallagher

This past weekend I had the honor of presenting two breakout sessions at Revive in Nashville, TN. While the breakouts weren’t formally recorded, I recorded my sessions, entitled Becoming One Loaf Part 1 and 2 (audio only). The slides and the messages are below. This message is derived from an upcoming BEKY Book that I’m writing on the fall feasts (title TBD). Rather than being an introduction of the fall feasts, this BEKY Book will focus on the spiritual flow or movement of Ruach HaKodesh at Adonai’s fall appointed times, and through you and your community.

We are to be One or Echad with Adonai and one another at His return at the fall moedim, but the message of how we reach that unity requires a great deal of self sacrifice. Becoming One Loaf Part 1 explores the threshing floor and the threshing process of grains as an example of meeting with Adonai as a unified loaf. Part 2 speaks about the summer season, the Three Weeks, and how the danger before the fall moedim is falling into idolatry, which is the context of the verse that engendered my title.

“Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.”  1 Corinthians 10:17 (NIV)

With today’s culture being so focused on self and personal identity(-ies) rather than on one’s identity in Messiah, this is a word in due season. What will it take to bring us into unity?

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“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)

 

Becoming One Loaf Part 1


Becoming One Loaf Part 2

 

 

Becoming One Loaf Revive 2021 (Part 1 and 2 slides)

Categories: Conferences, Ethics, Moedim, Torah Portions | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Change of the Year

Posted on October 1, 2018 by K. Gallagher

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The Eighth Day

Gen. 1:4-5 (NASB) God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

The first seven months on Adonai’s calendar includes all the moedim (feast days), and the harvests of the year. If the year were a twenty-four day, then the feast and harvest cycle would be the “daylight” of the year. Figuratively speaking, that’s exactly what the moedim or feast days do; they spread spiritual light.

But there is one more festival that occurs at the end of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, the eighth day. This is day is both the “end” or “going out” of the year, and the beginning of a new cycle, one day.

Ex. 23:16 (KJV) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

Ex. 34:22 (TLV) “You are to observe the Feast of Shavuot, which is the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, as well as the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.

Dt. 14:28 (NASB) “At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. (Context of previous verses places this in the fall.)

Dt. 31:10-11 (NASB) Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing.

Rather than arguing that the above verses are in competition with the Head of Months in Nisan (Aviv – Ex. 12:2), Tishrei marks a change or turn of the year in a different way. There is no contradiction in Abba’s Word. He says what He means and means what He says. The only fault is man’s understanding and limited logic (especially in the west with dominant Greek thinking).

The seventh month is akin to the erev (evening) of the day. Spiritually, much is hidden and difficult to discern at this season. We see only dimly. By the time Sukkot is coming to a close, it is growing dark. Just after Sukkot, the planting season begins. Seeds are sown in the dark soil awaiting their time to sprout with the “light” and warmth of spring.

In Genesis chapter one, each day begins with darkness or the evening. Thus, it should be no surprise that the greater cycles of new moons (months) and years begin the same way. Even the first verses of the Bible depict this truth. First there was darkness, chaos, formlessness, then Light and order.

Gen. 1:1-3 (NASB) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

Our Creator is a God of order, cycles, and patterns. Those that teach cycles contrary to His order (changing the timing of the day starts, weeks, months, and years) are deceived and so they deceive. While they might think they’ve stumbled upon some “new” light or revelation, they have fallen for the folly of darkness, seeking to draw others to themselves like a moth to the flame.

One of the appellations for Rosh HaShanah or Yom Yeruah (Trumpets) is Yom HaKeseh or the Hidden Day. Things hidden can be compared to darkness, just like the darker night one experiences during the new moon sliver, which this festival celebrates. Sadly, the physical darkness (new moon) of this hearld of the fall feasts, has become a point of confusion and controversy even in name and observance. Do you think this is a coincidence?

The fall feasts look forward to the coming return of Messiah, resurrection, and the Day of the Lord. All of these glorious things, including the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah and the Throne of God are associated with darkness.[1]BUT, this is not to be confused with evil. There is a hiddenness, a concealment, a covering, a cloudiness in this season. Like the erev of the evening, there is a mixture of light and darkness.

In the erev, it is harder for humans to see in the natural. We should expect no less to be true in the spiritual. Thus, I encourage you not to get involved with the many disputes that arise at this season. They are fruitless deceptions dressed in false humility, righteousness, and holiness.

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If the first seven months of the year are the light or daytime of the year, then the coming months of the year are a time of night or darkness. Creation is a witness to this truth. The trees and plants release their leaves to rest and prepare for a new “day” in the spring. Some animals go into hibernation, a deep sleep, awaiting the “day.” In winter, there is less light, and (spiritual) food is more difficult to find unless one stored up treasures while it was still day (spring/summer/feast cycle).

Pondering upon these things, and considering the struggle many have in grasping hold of the “joy” that we are commanded to have during Sukkot, inspired this writing. Since this season should be marked by rejoicing and joy, one should expect to be tested in this area at Sukkot. I’ve spoken to several people that have a sense of foreboding, cloudy vision, and a bit of terror or worry because they are wrestling with finding “joy” right now. If you identify with this battle, I hope this post will encourage you. Just because we find ourselves in a battle with darkness, doesn’t always mean that we have sinned, are being punished, or have missed the mark.

Fear was the first emotion felt after the fall, so it will always be one’s first inclination in matters that appear “dark” or hidden to us (change, the unknown). Humans fear the dark, and the year is turning or changing toward the night at this season. If you sense a change, shift, or if your spirit seems to be in a state of “unrest,” perhaps it is due to the natural and spiritual rhythms of Adonai’s calendar.

Do not despair. Remember that this is the season that the soil is turned up and seeds are sown in the dark, rich soil. By looking at what the Bible says about light and darkness, we can gain confidence, encouragement, and insight into these coming months; and we can know that we have nothing to fear in the darkness.

The Dichotomy of Light & Darkness

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On the surface, the difference between light and darkness is obvious. Light equals good and darkness equals bad. We are told that the Torah is a Light (Pr. 6:23), just as the Living Torah, Yeshua, is the Light (John 1, Luke 1:79). We are to be a light to the world just as our Master is the Light of the World (Mt. 5:14, John 8:12). If we are Messiah’s, then we are the children of light (Eph. 5:8)

The forces of darkness are evil, but God is the Light that pierces the darkness (John 1:5). Darkness is often equated with the lost, sin, ignorance (blindness), a troubled soul, sorrow, prison, trouble, pestilence, rebellion, death (the grave), evil, judgment, and stinginess. (Job 10:21, Ps. 82:5; Ps. 88, Ps. 91:6, Ps. 107: 10-14, Ps. 143:3, Pr. 2:13; 4:19, Ecc. 2:14; 5:17, Is. 5:30; 8:22; 29:18; 42:7; 59:9-10, Jer. 13:16; 23:12, Lam. 3:1-2, Ezek. 32:8, Amos 4:13, Mt. 6:23, etc.)

That seems black and white, easy peasy, light = good, darkness = bad, right? While most of the time this is true, it is not always the case. We must consider the entire counsel of God or we will make some grave errors in judgment, which leads to fear and condemnation.

Remember that we are in a fallen world where deception is prevalent and the enemy masquerades as an “angel (messenger) of light.” We live in a culture where there are those that who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter and deceive many. (Is. 5:20) This is why we so desperately need the wisdom and understanding from the Spirit of God.

Is Darkness Ever Good? 

When Abram received the covenant of pieces, it was EREV, when the sun was going down. As darkness approached, our father of the faith FELT horror and dread.

Gen. 15:12 (NKJV) Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.

Obviously, this account was not evil, but it was ominous for Abram, though wonderful at the same time. When Adonai walked through the pieces, Abram was in a “deep sleep,” a prophetic state, an awesomeness. (For more on this, click here.) Normally, man sleeps when it is dark. But this is also a time when God speaks to man in dreams and visions. Sometimes dreams are terrifying. Do not be quick to assume that these are of the enemy.

Job 7:14 (NASB) Then You frighten me with dreams And terrify me by visions.

Job 33:14-18 (NASB) “Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it. 15 “In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, 16 Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction, 17 That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; 18 He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over into Sheol.

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Feeling horror or fear is not always an indicator of judgment or something evil. Abram was receiving the covenant and he was afraid! If the father of our faith felt fear when in the presence of HaShem, how much more so will we feel fear in His weighty presence?

Fallen man, including those that have been redeemed, often perceive God’s Presence as “darkness.” Not that it’s evil, but it is heavy and glorious (kavod), difficult to perceive, hidden- yet felt, cloudy and thunderous. In a word, it is AWESOME.

Ex. 20:20-21 (NKJV) And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21  So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

Our God dwells in thick darkness. He speaks and gives His covenant from this cloudy mist! Moses reminds the children of this account in Deuteronomy.

Dt. 4:10-13 (NKJV) Especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’ 11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. 13 So He declared to you His covenantwhich He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.

Dt. 5:22-24 (NKJV) “These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 “So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. 24 And you said: ‘Surely the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice

“Luchot HaBrit” Painting by Kisha Gallagher 2018

from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives.

David recalls this account this way:

2 Sam. 22:10-14 (NKJV) He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet. 11 He rode upon a cherub, and flew; and He was seen upon the wings of the wind. 12 He made darkness canopies around Him, dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 13 From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled. 14 “The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice.

 Ps. 18:9-11 (NKJV) He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet. 10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

 This kind of darkness depicts how God and His Throne are concealed from man. He is unknowable and difficult to perceive; and yet, He chooses to reveal Himself, His voice, His covenant, His Torah, because He loves us. The darkness that surrounds Him protects us from being consumed by the brilliance of His glory and righteousness.

Ps. 97:1-2 (NKJV) The LORD reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad! 2 Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

Seeds grow while buried in the darkness of earth. Beasts and mankind grow in the dark waters of the womb. Adonai, the Great Sower and Giver of Life, knows each one as they form and mature to sprout from the ground and burst from the womb. Dark places are where life grows!

Ps. 139:12-13 (NKJV) Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. 13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.

Is. 45:3-7 (NKJV) 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.

4  For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.

5  I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,

6  That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other;

7  I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.’

Hidden things, secret things, concealed things are all a type of darkness. These things are like treasures buried in the earth, formed by great heat and pressure, priceless jewels and metals awaiting the time that one will carve them out of the dirt, stones, and mountains. Once polished and cut to precision, what was once concealed in deep darkness shines and sparkles with the ability to refract glorious light. This is what good teachers, like the Chazal, do for us. They take what was a rough, dull, and cloudy stone, and turn into a prism that refracts the light into streams that we can glean from and understand, so we are transformed and renewed.

Dan. 2:22-23 (NKJV) He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. 23 “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”

Is. 42:16 (NKJV) I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.

Do not fear the darkness. Do not fear the change that is in the air. Do not fear dreams of the night. This coming season is for digging into the dark depths to uncover what is concealed. Enter the dark cloud and let the Word wash and transform your face to reflect His glorious light.

Pr. 25:2-5 (NASB) It is the glory of God to conceal a matter (davar –word), But the glory of kings is to search out a matter (davar). 3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable. 4 Take away the dross from the silver, and there comes out a vessel for the smith; 5 Take away the wicked before the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

This is the Eighth Day; an end and a beginning. The scroll of the davar (word) is rolled back to the Beginning. The cycle starts in the darkness in Genesis 1, and the erev of the year. But, it is faithful to the Creator’s rhythm of Light piercing the darkness, renewal, and revelation. Be altogether joyful!

[1]Consider Joel 2:2, Amos 5:18-20, Zeph. 1:15, also look up the revelation on Mt. Sinai, and the revealing of God’s Throne in the Book of Revelation. All involve darkness, clouds, and thunder.

Categories: Biblical Symbols, Moedim, new moon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Month of Etanim (7th Month)

Posted on September 8, 2018 by K. Gallagher

1 Kings 8:2 (NASB) All the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

The above verse is the only instance in the Bible where the seventh month or Tishrei is called by another name, Etanim. Interestingly, the context is King Solomon dedicating the permanent House or Temple of YHWH. I used the adjective “permanent” intentionally. The Temple’s predecessor, the Tabernacle or Mishkan, was a moveable tent-like dwelling. It moved, and the people followed. In other words, the dwelling place of Adonai was first characterized by “movement.” This recalls the first instance of the Holy Spirit in Genesis one, where the Ruach moves or hovers over the faces of the waters. God is not stationary or static.

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However, the Dwelling Place that Solomon built was a fixed structure, a Bayit, a House. Building Abba’s House was the dream of King David, the Beloved.

2 Sam. 7:1-2 (NASB) Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the LORD had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, 2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.”

David, the man that spent many years on the run from King Saul, was finally settled. He must’ve felt a pang of guilt that he, the representative of the Kingdom, lived in a beautifully appointed house, while God, the King of the Universe, dwelled in a simple tent. God tells Nathan the prophet to report back to David:

2 Sam. 7:5-7 (NASB) “Go and say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in? 6 “For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. 7 “Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?'”‘

YHWH is not at all disturbed by His circumstances. The word translated above as “moving about” is the Hebrew word halak. This text literally says, “I have been walking in a tent and a tabernacle.”[1] God is moving, even in the tent. I don’t know about you, but I’m thrilled to serve a God and King that MOVES and WALKS. He is not like the deaf and dumb idols of darkness.

But if that’s the case, wouldn’t building a “permanent” House for YHWH detract from this metaphor and the characteristic “movement” of the Holy Spirit from the beginning? After all, movement is the opposite of something permanent. Or is it?

Etanim is a significant term to use for the 7thmonth. I encourage you to read all of 1 kings chapter 8 for context, but also as a lesson for this season, the 7thmonth. Below, is Brown Driver Brigg’s definition of Etanim followed by Strong’s.

BDB Definition H388: איתנים ‘êythânı̂ym

Ethanim = “enduring”

1) seventh Jewish month, corresponding to modern Oct. to Nov.; so named because permanent streams still flowed.

Part of Speech: noun proper masculine A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: plural of H386

Strong’s H388 אֵיתָנִים’êythânı̂ym Plural of H386; always with the article; the permanent brooks; Ethanim, the name of a month: – Ethanim. Total KJV occurrences: 1

Word Study H388

H386 אֵיתָןēytān: A masculine noun indicating strength, permanence, endurance. Figuratively, it describes the usual, constant position of a stream or sea (Exo 14:27).

Etanim is the plural of eytan. The verbal root means to endure or to continue. Obviously, King Solomon’s desire was for the House of YHWH to perpetually endure, just as God promised King David that his house (dynasty/throne) would continue or endure. Allusions to eternity begin to form with this one well placed word.

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The number seven also alludes to something eternal. It is the number of rest, Shabbat, completion, and dedication of the House (Temple). In the 2 Samuel passage quoted above, David was at rest (7) when he desired to build Adonai a House (7). Likewise, when King Solomon dedicates the House of YHWH, he and Israel are also at rest (7).

1 Kings 8:55-56 (NASB) And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: 56 “Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant.

The seventh day and the seventh month are figures of the Messianic Age and Kingdom. Thus, the fall feast days in this season are prophetic of the same. The definitions of Etanim are just another hint to this truth. Permanence, strength, and endurance are true descriptors of the King and His Kingdom. But Etanim is also associated with moving water.

Moving water. Movement AND perpetuity. Ever-flowing springs. Rivers of Living Waters. There is no contradiction. YHWH’s permanent, stationary House is also moving. Out from His Throne flow rivers of water. This is Etanim. This is the seventh month, the turn of the year when the traditional water pouring ceremony takes place. But there is more.

Where is the first mention of water? In the very beginning.

Gen. 1:1-4 (NASB) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

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At the foundation of the world, there was water, deep waters.

Job 38:4-7 (NASB) “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5 Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? 6 “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

The fullness of the seventh month is not just about the end, it is also about the beginning, because they are one. When the foundations of the earth were laid, the sons of Elohim shouted for joy. “Shouted” in Hebrew is ruah, the root of t’ruah, as in Yom T’ruah, the feast of trumpets or shouting.

Wisdom was with Elohim even before the deep waters, and she too, celebrated creation.

Pro. 8:22-31 (NASB) “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. 23 “From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. 24 “When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 “Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth; 26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world. 27 “When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, 28 When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed, 29 When He set for the sea its boundary so that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; 30 Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, 31 Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.

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Wisdom was rejoicing before YHWH. The Hebrew word for rejoice in the above verse is actually the word for laugh, shachak. In this context, her laugh was one of jubilation and celebration. It is used in a similar context in these verses:

Pro. 31:25 (TLV) Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the days to come.

Jer. 30:18-19 (TLV) Thus says Adonai, “Indeed, I will return Jacob’s tents from exile, and have compassion on his dwellings… 19 Out of them will come thanksgiving and the sound of celebration. I will multiply them, so they will not decrease. I will also honor them, so they will not be insignificant.

 Jer. 31:4 (NKJV) Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.

The verses above are prophetically speaking about the end; whereas Wisdom was doing the same at the beginning. In the seventh month, we are told to rejoice. I pray that we can truly celebrate with Wisdom’s shachak (laughter), and not the mocking spirit that this word can also indicate.[2]

When the exiles from Babylon returned to the Land, Rosh Hashanah or Yom T’ruah was the first feast that they celebrated. I believe this was prophetic of what is to come in a future ingathering. Notice that they are standing at the “Water Gate,” an allusion to returning to the creation waters, and the foundation, Torah.

Neh. 8:1-3 (NASB) And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had given to Israel. 2 Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.

The text records the response of the people:

Neh. 8:9-12 (NASB) Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 11 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them.

On the new moon of the 7thmonth, the people HEARD and UNDERSTOOD the Torah. They wept. I wonder how many exiles will not be able to hear or understand the Torah until YHWH gathers them again? And, I wonder even more if those that hear and understand the Torah now will respond as the Levites did.

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The Levites calmed and quieted the tears of these grieved souls. Then, they encouraged them to go eat, drink, share with others, and celebrate the feast! We could learn a few things from Nehemiah and Ezra. This was truly a new beginning, a new moon, and a new year for the people. This is Etanim!

Ps. 36:8-9 (NKJV) They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. 9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

Beloved, I pray that you will celebrate the beginning and the end, the enthronement of Adonai, the creation, you as a new creation, and that you will shout with joy at the River of Life in the month of Etanim. To YHWH be the glory!

[1]By the way, this same form of halak, mithalek, is used in Genesis 3:8:

“They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

[2]H7832 שָׂחַקśāḥaq: A verb meaning to laugh; to celebrate; to rejoice; to mock. It refers to a strong expression of joy: of celebration (Jer 30:19); of making merry, rejoicing (2Sa 6:5, 2Sa 6:21; Jer 15:17); it means to play, to sport, to have fun (Psa 104:26). But it is often used in a context where ridicule or mockery is directed at someone or something (Jdg 16:25). It is used in parallel with mocking (Pro 1:26). Great kings mocked at lesser kings (Hab 1:10). Samson was forced to serve as a tragic comedian for the Phplistines (Jdg 16:27). It is used figuratively of wisdom personified, laughing, rejoicing at God’s creation (Pro 8:30-31). The teacher taught that there is a time for genuine laughter (Ecc 3:4). It has the sense of playing, enjoying life, in some contexts, especially in the prophet’s vision of a restored people of God (Zec 8:5). It means to sing and indicates singing women (1Sa 18:7). It means to play a sport, to hold a contest or a match (2Sa 2:14). In its causative stem, it means to cause laughter toward persons, to mock them (2Ch 30:10).

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