Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV)

Every year as the barley is declared to be aviv and the first sliver of the new moon is seen in the land of Israel, the emails and phone calls begin pouring in asking not only when to keep the various moedim (appointed times) and miqra’ay qodesh (holy rehearsals), but also how to keep these appointed holy rehearsals. For those committed to living the pure Torah, without the leaven of Pharisaic or rabbinic takanot (reforms) and ma’asim (precedents), celebrating the various appointed rehearsals is filled with challenges.  The challenge issues from the fact that there is no prescribed form of worship for the children of Israel outside the land of Israel, and apart from the altar. 

At Mount Sinai YHWH gave the children of Israel the Torah containing the protocol as to how to draw near to him and worship him.  Once the Tabernacle was erected and the priesthood ordained the prescribed rituals of worship focused upon the altar of sacrifice and the Ark of the Covenant within the Holy of Holies.  The majority of the Torah may be said to focus upon the Tabernacle and its worship service.  The bulk of the Book of Shemot (Exodus) contains the revelation of Tabernacle and its furnishings including the priestly garments.  The bulk of the Book of Vayiqra (Leviticus) focuses upon the various sacrifices, offerings, liturgical calendar, and priestly requirements.  Even the Book of Bemidbar (Numbers) focuses upon the ordering of the camp, the election of the Levites for ministerial service, and gives the most detailed account of the various offerings and sacrifices given for each of the appointed holy rehearsals.  In the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) we are specifically commanded that once YHWH puts his name upon his chosen place that we are no longer free to build our own altars and or make our offerings freely wherever we would choose. 

But unto the place which YHWH your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: ⁶ And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: ⁷ And there ye shall eat before YHWH your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein YHWH thy God hath blessed thee. ⁸ Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. (Deuteronomy 12:5-8 KJV)

Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the Passover unto YHWH thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which YHWH shall choose to place his name there. ³ Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. ⁴ And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there anything of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. ⁵ Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover within any of thy gates, which YHWH thy God giveth thee: (Deuteronomy 16:2-5 KJV)

Because we have failed to keep the Torah, the Temple was destroyed, the Altar desecrated, and we we have been exiled to the four corners of the earth.  The Torah prophesied that such events would happen.  The only worship described by the Torah for those in exile is that of worshipping and serving idols.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. ²⁷ And YHWH shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither YHWH shall lead you. ²⁸ And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. (Deuteronomy 4:26-28 KJV)

This is exactly what happened to most of the children of Israel—we assimilated into the pagan culture around us and began worshipping false images of the Creator, and his Messiah.  We adopted pagan worship practices, embraced a pagan calendar, and forgot or rejected the Torah completely.

YHWH did not intend for us to be exiled from the Promise Land.  The hope of our Creator, Redeemers, and Deliverer was that we would be so moved with love and gratitude for him that we would rejoice to be in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants.  With all of the incredible promises and blessings associated with the Covenant it is hard to imagine that we would choose to forsake YHWH and his Torah. Now, in exile, we are at a loss as to what we are to do.  YHWH gave to provisional instructions for worship in exile. 

I do believe that the Torah does give us an example to follow.  Our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all lived prior to the Covenant at Mount Sinai.  There was no Tabernacle or Temple for Abraham to go to.  There was no established priesthood, or even prescribed offerings and sacrifices.  Abraham simply walked and lived in the reality of the Eternal One.  Mindful of the presence of the Eternal One, Abraham lived his life before YHWH.  We have no record of Abraham keeping the Sabbath, or the appointed holy rehearsals (this doesn’t mean he didn’t keep the Sabbath or appointed rehearsals, only that there is no record of it).  What is clear is that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob followed the leading of the Eternal One regardless of where they were.  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were pilgrims and sojourners on this earth.  We too are pilgrims and sojourners in the land of our exile.  Therefore we should follow our fathers’ example and learn to walk and live before the face of YHWH.  I believe that this is what the Apostle Shaul is referring to when he encourages us to pray without ceasing.  Shaul is not asking us to cease all of our labors, to remain in our prayer closets, and to say prayers 24/7.  Shaul is encouraging us to remain mindful of the Eternal One without interruption.  In other words, we should never allow ourselves to lose contact with YHWH throughout our day.  Like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob we must learn to discern the Spirit’s subtle presence and guiding.  We must learn to listen to the still small whisper even when we are neck deep in the chaos and demands of our mundane life and work.  This way of living is not by prescription but by inspiration.  This does not mean that we ignore the Torah or the appointed holy rehearsals.

Even though we cannot “keep” the feasts as the Torah commands, we can celebrate the feasts as best as we are able.  Our heart is to show YHWH that we are sorry for neglecting the feasts and that given an opportunity to return to the land and fulfill the covenant we now have the heart to do so.  Realizing that we cannot truly fulfill the letter of the commandment, we can fulfill the spirit of the commandment.  This we can do, only by the Spirit’s leading.  We must learn to walk not only in the presence of YHWH but in rhythm with him as well.  If we live a prayerful and prayer filled life surely the Holy One will lead and direct us in all our ways.