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What is Shabuot All About

Posted by Eemah Hephzybah Omafuvwe on May 17, 2012 at 8:10 AM

 

 

The below trilogy on Shabuot is one that I have carried within me during this entire season of Counting Omer.  It is a synthesis of studies performed by others embedded in the revelations that the Ruwach continues to give to me.  So by Shabuot, I pray to have this fully revised and completed.  to the Eternal One, I Give Praise! Enjoy!

 

 




What Is Shabuot Really All About?

 

 


Lets Begin with When Is Shabuot?


This year, Shabuot is observed on May 27, 2012.  Using the Agricultural or Karaite Calendar. Many also refer to this calendar as the Ancient Biblical Calendar. Because the Victory Community of Yahweh’s Sword uses this calendar, I follow this calendar as well. So in the Garden many of our observances are centered around the Karaite Calendar. This year is very special because there is a syncronizing of dates when various Jews observe Shabuot. The Rabbinical Calendar, which most Hebrew Israelites also follow is based on the Babylonian Calendar and they observe Shabuot on May 27-28, 2012. There is also an issue of interpretation of Scripture as it relates to Shabuot or Pentecost. The May 27th date is based on Counting Omer beginning the first day after the first shabat after Passover and the Rabbinical date is based on Passover being the official Shabbath and beginning the count on the first day of Unleavened Bread. Well since Passover was on the Sabbath Day, both groups are in harmony with their dates this year. I give praise.  Now there is an added bonus this year as well. The Christian Calendar as show May 27, 2012 as the Day of Pentecost.  How wonderfully neat that is but do the two observances have anything in common?  We shall see as my lesson progresses.  Well, even when the dates between the various groups are not aligned, it does not matter which calendar you choose to follow. What matters is what you do from the first day of Counting Omer to the Shabuot (Feast of the First Fruits).  These fifty days are most important to those who honor the will of the Most High. Yet, many do very little in the vineyard during the season of Counting Omer.


Now is Counting Omer biblical or is it simply another tradition given to us by Judaism?

Counting Omer is indeed biblical. According to Karaite resources, Sunday April 8, 2012 was Yom Hanafat Ha'omer (Day of the Waving of the Sheaf). When the Temple stood this day marked the official commencement of the grain harvest (Dt 16:7): And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents. As a result,  sheaves of barley were cut and brought to the Temple as a wave-offering. This day also marks the beginning of the 50-day count to Shabuot (Pentecost; Feast of Weeks). Yom Hanafat Ha'omer is counted as Day 1 (April 8, 2012) and Shabuot as Day 50 - May 27, 2012 (Lev 23:9-22).


There are different methods of counting the 50 days. According to some the commandment 'and you shall count for yourselves fifty days' means to simply observe the 50th day as Shavuot while others actually declare out loud the number on each of the fifty days. A medieval Karaite practice combines two different methods of declaring the daily count. The first method is the counting of seven weeks. Each day, the number of the week and the number of the day in the week are declared. So for example, the first day is 'first day of the first week'. The second counting method used is an overall number for each day. In this method Day one is 'the first day' and Day 25 is 'the twenty-fifth day'. These two methods are used to satisfy the commandment to count seven weeks (Dt 16:9):  Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.

Karaites also focus on adhering to the commandment to count fifty days (Lev 23:15-17):  Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.

 

 

 


What is the Significance Counting Omer and the Feast of Shabuot?

 

The Hebrew word sheba means seven, shabu'ah means week, and shabu'ot means weeks. Exactly seven weeks after the first harvest of barley is the celebration of Shabuot ("weeks"), one of the three pilgrimage observances where Israel were commanded to go to  the Temple to present the firstfruits of their spring crops before the LORD. Since Shabuot occurs on the 50th day after Passover, the Greek translators of the Torah called this day "Pentecost."

 

There are three or four names given to this Set Apart Day of Shabuot, typically know as Pentecost. There is Shabuot or Shavuot (spelling depends on your dialect only- v is based on Yiddish view and b is based on Afro-Asiatic view). Shabuot is the Hebrew word of “weeks”. So it is The Feast of Weeks of Chag Shabuot which says the same thing. This Ancient observance was based on observing the barley harvest. Now we also hear the term Pentecost which means fifty. In the Old Testament the word Pentecost is not there. This feast day was referred to as “Feast of Weeks”( Ex. 34:22; Duet. 16:9-10) because it was celebrated seven weeks after the offering of the barley sheaf. Also known as the “Feast of the Harvest” ( Ex. 23:16), because it came at the end of the barley harvest, and it was also known as the ” Feast of First Fruits” ( Ex 34:22 ; Num. 28:26), because it marked the beginning of the first fruits of the wheat harvest being offered at the temple. It is referred to in the New Testament as “Pentecost”, a term derived from the Greek pentekoste (meaning fiftieth). Can you feel the spiritual indications in each title? Seven is a very spiritual number, representing a procession completed. During the seven weeks between Passover and Shabuot, Torah speaks of awaiting for a latter harvest, which is the Creator’s best harvest wheat. Consider your soul as barley at Passover and it begins to transcend into higher spiritual grade and evolve as wheat by Shabuot. It is your inner being that is to be harvested for Pentecost or Feast of First Fruits or Feast of Weeks.



How does one transform from their state of barley into a state of wheat? Well consider an inner transformation from your lower consciousness into a higher or a more Yahlike consciousness? The simplest way is to spend time going within each day and communing with the Divine Creator. Kabbalists offer the Sefirot on the Tree of Life as a way to reflect on your own soul experience during this time. Each day, there is a Sefirot virtue pair for you to reflect upon and access your own ascension of spiritual virtues. My very first Shabuot was when I meditated on the Mount of Olives Sermon on the Mount offered by Yahshua Hamashiach.  Since that time, I often followed the traditions of Judaism (Kabbalistic teachings) where an Israelite Matriarch is featured each day in accordance with the seven Tree of Life sefirot pairs.  There are seven different seifirots which respresents very special attributes of Our Living Creator.  The Sefirot are ten modes or attributes through which YAH manifests Himself. The Sefirot are not God, but they are the medium through which specific qualities and attributes can be ascribed to Him. From higher to lower, they are:



Chochmah - Wisdom,

Binah - Understanding,

DAAT - Knowledge


Chesed - Loving kindness,

Geburah - Strength,

Tiferet - Beauty/ Compassion,

Netzach - Victory, Endurance

Hod - Splendor/ Majesty,

Yesod - Foundation / Connectivity,

and Malchut - Shekinah.

 


For Counting Omer, we focus on the lower seven sefirot are from higher to lower:  Chesod (Loving-Kindness),  Geburah (Strength), Tiferet (Beauty), Netzach (Majesty), Hod (Splendor), Yesod (Foundation) and Malchut (Shekinah). To learn more about each one, you may want to click on this site:  The Tree of Life

Lets put on our math hats for one minute.  There are seven sefirot and for each day of Omer two of the sefirah are paired together. In order for each of the seven sefirot to be paired with each of the seven, it will take how many days? I am certain we agree that it will take 7 x 7 = 49 days of Counting Omer.  Yes, Counting Omer is 49 days, which ends this year on the Seventh Sabbath, since Passover which is May 26, 2012.  Most of my lessons this year for Counting Omer came from a great website titled Ritual Well :  Bible Women for Counting Omer  Please also visit my website to get a Hebrew Israelite perspective on Matriarchs of Israel for Counting Omer.  Shabuot is the High Sabbath Day which follows the seventh Sabbath after Pentecost. this year it is May 27, 2012.



What Actually Happens or Should Happen on Shabuot?

Shabuot is a high Sabbath Day, so most observers will gather at a Kenneset and wave bread offering.



Our Rabbibical Jewish Family Observance of Shabuot

Our Rabbinical Jewish brethren often focus on the Book of Ruth to observe Shabuot. The Book of Ruth is read during the morning service prior to the Torah reading (On the first day of Shabuot in Israel, and on the second day in the diaspora). The reasons that they read the Book of Ruth are:

A) Acceptance of the Torah - The Book of Ruth is the story of a courageous Moabite woman who took upon herself the laws of the Torah. Since Shabuot commemorates the receiving of the Torah by Israel, the story of Ruth's journey from Moabite princess to the wife of one of Judea's leading citizens, is an inspiration for all.

B) The Harvest Time - The story of Ruth takes place during the period of the Counting of the Omer and culminates at the time of the wheat harvest, which is the time of Shabuot.

C) King David - According to tradition, King David, the great-grandson of Ruth, was born and died on Shabuot .

Our Rabbinical Family also associates Feast of Shabuot with Moshe giving the Ten Commandments at this time. I am not sure how the two are connected because it is not in the Scriptures that Moshe was given the commandments on Shabuot but so be it. I have no problems honoring or commemorating the Ten Commandments on any special Set Apart Time of Yahweh.




What Does Torah say about how to observe Shabuot?


Spiritual Lesson  #1: Bikkurim According to information at Headcovering by Deborah’s website:

The Hebrew term bikkurim and related termsfor the “first fruits” derive from the same root as bekhor, “firstborn(see Firstborn). On the same general principle that the firstborn of man andbeast belonged to the God of Israel and were to be devoted to Him, the firstfruits, including the first grains to ripen each season, were to be brought asan offering to God. Every Israelite who possessed the means of agriculturalproductivity was under this obligation (Ex. 23:19; 34:26, Num. 15:17–21;18:12–13; Deut. 26:1–11). A frequent synonym for bikkurim is reshit, “thefirst [fruits].”

Deuteronomy 26:1–11 contains detailed proceduresfor the offering of the first fruits, including the text of a liturgicalrecitation incumbent upon any who offered their first fruits in the sanctuary.The manner of oblation prescribed in that passage represents a distinctive mode, whereby the substances involved were not burnt on the altar but were merely displayed, and later assigned to the priests as part of their cultic (aspecific complex of beliefs, rites) income ( Num.18:12–13; Deut. 18:3–5). On the other hand, Leviticus 2:14 speaks of minhat bikkurim, “a grain offering of first fruits,” prescribing that part of itbe burnt on the altar.


It would seem, therefore, that at least some of the grain brought as first fruits was disposed of in that manner, although the prescription of Leviticus may reflect the tendency to accommodate older formsof sacrifice to the particularly Israelite practice of the burnt offering. Itis difficult to identify this minhah within the context of first fruit offerings. It has been identified with the “grain offering of fresh grain” (minhah hadashah) of Leviticus 23:16; but that poses a problem, since the rule wasthat no leavened dough could be brought up on the altar, and the offering offresh grain mentioned in that passage was to be baked from leavened dough. The offerings of first fruits were both an individual obligation and a part ofpublic festival celebrations, particularly the celebration of Shabuot, alsocalled Hag ha-Bikkurim, “the first fruits festival” (Ex. 23:16; 34:22;Lev. 23:16–17; Num. 28:26).


My conclusion is that Shabuot was a time of open observation of wave offering of the leavened bread not necessarily and in fact unlikely one wherethere was only a Levitical priestly offering but an open offering from all who harvestedand gathered to share their glory for the harvest.


Shabuot  is one of three holidays"firstfruits" mentioned in the Bible ( In Exodus 23:16 it is called,Hag Ha-katzir (Festival of the Harvest). The day of Firstfruits is found inNumbers 28:26;  for Passover, seeLeviticus 23:10;  for Sukkot, see Exodus23:16). Of all the yearly festivals, these were the three that required all menof Israel come to the sanctuary. From the time of David, that sanctuary was inJerusalem. They would offer the "firstfruits" of the differentharvests that took place during the year (Exodus 23:14-17, 19; Deuteronomy16:16).


As stated earlier, Passover week fellearly in the spring and marked the barley harvest. In the later spring, wheatripened and was harvested at Shabuot . Sukkot took place in the fall when thefinal harvest of the year was brought in, which included olives and grapes. Thus we hear of the Seven Fruits or Seedlings of Torah but we will have a separate blog on that topic.



Spiritual Application number #1:  we should bring forth our First Fruits to Our Heavenly Father.  For many, it will be aspecial tithe but for you what should it be. Because I see the Season of Counting Omer as a very special transformation from barley to wheat, I see this time for self-transformation aswell.  Yet not only are we concerned withascending in Spirit but we are vineyard workers during this season.  We should have been very involved withhelping to bring others into the Covenant of Abba Yahwah. This is the greatest “First Fruit” that  anyone can bring beforeYahwah on Shabuot.  Can you bring a newsoul to him on May 27th ? Yes, we will waive two loaves of bread which is symbol of leavened soulsready for sanctification (washing with Torah). 



Spiritual  Lesson  #2: Many Scriptures in the Passover Haggadah were originally recited at the dedication of firstfruits. Though werecall the events of the Exodus at Passover today, Shabuot  also recalled the four hundred years of bitterservitude in Egypt. In the Book of Deuteronomy, the instructions for celebrating Shabuot  conclude with the exhortation, "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees."


Deuteronomy 26 describes another ceremony to commemorate our redemption from bondage. In fact, a whole part of the Passover Seder includes verses recited atthe dedication of firstfruits (Deuteronomy26:1-10). The text does not specifically state that this ceremony is to be performed on Shabuot , but the ceremony was to be performed on various firstfruit occasions, which wouldsurely include Shabuot . As the worshipper brought his firstfruits, hepronounced: "I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to theland the LORD swore to our forefathers to give us." Then he recited wordsthat have become familiar from the Passover Haggadah:


Deuteronomy26:1-10 (KJV):

26 And it shall be, when thouart come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellesttherein;

2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of theearth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lordthy God shall choose to place his name there.

3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in thosedays, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to giveus.

4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, andset it down before the altar of the Lordthy God.

5 And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perishwas my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, andbecame there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, andlaid upon us hard bondage:

7 And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heardour voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:

8 And the Lordbrought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm,and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:

9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given usthis land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.

10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land,which thou, O Lord, hast given me.And thou shalt set it before the Lordthy God, and worship before the Lordthy God:

 


Spiritual Application #2: Should this ancient firstfruits ceremony beenincorporated into the Shabuot?

Absolutely YES in both the physical and spiritual reasoning of DELIVERANCE and THANKSGIVING.   We must begin to understand that the Lands that are even given upon us today should represent not Egypt butYour Liberation and opportunity to harvest for Our Heavenly Father.  May Jews and Hebrew Israelites make the very unfortunate error to think of the Promised Land as one place called physical Jerusalem but there is a Spiritual Jerusalem, which for many of us we can begin to walk on that land today and we can begin to cultivate that land today and harvest on that Land today, should we but choose to do so. 

 

The third temple has been destroyed where the Israelites could gather andbring forth their First Fruits.  Do you really believe that for nearly 2000 years our Heavenly Father would not want you to bring forth another offer of thanksgiving to HIM?  Of course not.  We have been commanded to till the soil.  If you do not understand how to spiritually “Till the Soil” you need to view a wonderful teaching by the Honorable Louis Farrakhan on his address to the  sistersof the Nation of Islam where he taught that not having a man to till the soilwas the first profession that Yahwah has given to the world.  His original purpose was to bring forth manto till the soil Genesis 2: 4,5): 4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earthwhen they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and theheavens, 5 And every plant of the field before it was in theearth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not aman to till the ground.

 

Well, not only was the First Adama created to till the soil, all of His Children are given that great commission.  In order to look to a Great Harvest, the soil must be tilled.  Tilling breaks up the rough stony soil and prepares it to receive seed so that the seed will have a chanceto root and grow.  This is what Shabuotrepresents to me.  It is a time when weare able to show our Heavenly Father that we have been doing His will, His first profession unto mankind. We are tillers of the soil and harvesters of souls for His Divine Covenant. Who have you helped to return to DERECH YHWH this Shabuot?


 



Does the Christian Pentecost have a relation to Torah’s Pentecost?

I must give credit to both Brother Victor Okoko and Elder Chukwudi Nwangwu who I have gleaned information from to help me bring this part of my lesson together.  This is not to say they agree with my conclusions below but their information helped me to draw my conclusions below.  Ise o .


The fulfillment or parallel  of these Shabuot to Pentecost is striking. Yahshuah died on Passover and Yahshaua resurrected on Yom Hanafat Ha'omer (Day of the Waving of the Sheaf) which was the First day after the first Sabbath andwhich marks the day we begin to Count Omer. For forty ensuing days, Yahshua appeared to his disciples in his resurrection body, and then ascended into Heaven (Luke 24 1-51) . Ten days later, the Sunday of the Feast of Pentecost, Ruwach HaQodesh (the Holy Spirit) descended upon the believers who were gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem and it is this great encounter that the followers of Yahshua officiated their movement of Nazarenes, which is now referred to as the Church. This great encounter took place on Shabuot.

 

In Christianity,it is believed that the Church was started on this Day of Pentecost.  In Acts 2, the 12 Apostles were all together in one place. (Matthias had just been chosen to replace Judas). They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking, so that even the Jews fromother countries could understand the Apostles in their own language (Acts 2: 1-11). Peter got up and preached the first sermon (Acts 2: 14 - 41). He told these devout Hebrews about Yeshua who died for them and rose again. At the end of his sermon (that is all recordedin Acts, chapter 2) they were "cut to the heart" or convicted andwanted to know what they needed to do to be saved. Peter told them,"Repent and be baptized every one of you for the forgiveness of your sinsand you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." About 3000 people were baptized that day.



These reconciled events were obviously no coincidence, but were part of the overall plan and purpose of Yahweh in verifying the powerful meaning of thedeath and resurrection of Yahshua HaMaschiach, and the establishment of the newbody of believers in the Besorah of Yahshua.

From then on, the Jewish believers in Christ must have repeatedly informed the people of Israel about the nature of the fulfillment of Passover, YomHanfat Ha’omer, Days of Counting Omer and Shabuot.  Today many Messianic Hebrews baptize their newcoverts on Shabuot.  Shabuot is a time that we should give new life to souls in the vineyard of Yahweh. It is the remembrance of those who became filled with the Holy Spirit of Yahweh which representative of Torah. God’s Word is truth (Ps 119:160; Jn 17:17), and Yeshua reminds us that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of Truth (Jn 15:26). We would dowell this Pentecost season to study the spiritual connection between Sinai and Zion.  YHWH said He will put his covenantin the Hearts of his children (Jeremiah 31: 31-34).  So this points to why our Jewish family who speaks to the Ten Commandments during Shabuot but what they really miss is that this is a time for a Spiritual encounter of Torah, which only the Ruwach HaQoDesh can bring to us all by was of the Besorah of Yahshua.

 



 

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4 Comments

Reply Apostle Elder Moses Chukwudi-Nwangwu.
7:31 PM on May 17, 2012 
Blessings to you on this Shabuot, Mother Nu. Also, Yahshua is the Eternal Power And Supreme Head. The pentecost again points to the power of the Torah, which is the Holy- Spirit that reveals the mysteries of the Supreme head, to form the true assembly or church of the first born. The power of the everlasting Law which is the Holy-Spirit is the strenght of the true church. The Holy-Spirit is the living testimony that the Law of Yahweh[God] has been engraved in the heart of the true Child of Yahweh making him to abide by the Law willingly as in creation.
Reply Eemah Hephzybah Omafuvwe
5:39 PM on May 18, 2012 
Thank you Elder Chukwudi, now I am not sure I can use the word Supreme with Yahshua for I only know of One Who Is Eternal Supreme and He is YAHWAH. But I think I understand your meaning. He is our Head Prophet, Messenger and Teacher. Supreme over all Prophets, past, present and future... is that what you meant? If so, I am well with your statement. Ise o.
Reply Eemah Hephzybah Omafuvwe
6:13 PM on May 18, 2012 
See more lessons on Shabuot at www.mtofolives.ning.com Enjoy!
Reply Apostle Elder Moses Chukwudi-Nwangwu.
1:13 PM on May 19, 2012 
Yes Mother Hephzybah, i too understand your meaning but as you know it, that the LORD our Eternal Father is the Spirit of the prophecy, He is both the Lion and the Lamb, He reveals himself in so many ways, and unto His people differently, but one united Father, that is why He respected His word above everyother thing including Himself or His Name. Psalm. 138:1-2 Deuteronomy. 4:2 Revelation. 22:18-19. The mysteries behind Yahweh our Salvation which is Yahshua[Jesus] takes a full grown Holy-Spirit to understand it, not even all things. So to understand Malachi. 3:1-3 John. 1:1-5, 14. Psalm.82:6. The Father who was the Lion, was in the Lamb and thereby making Yahshua as his position was for us, our Eternal Supreme God head. He is what you understand him to be, and more to what we says he is, obove all, believing in his teachings is Salvation.