However, there is a hidden gem within the Shimini Atzeret –– the promise of new beginnings. Yochanan was given a vision of the ‘eighth day’ new heavens and a new earth when all things will be restored to as they were ‘in the beginning’ and should have remained. This is truly the good news of salvation: the restoration of all things.
Tag: eighth day
Rejoicing in the Torah – Simchat Torah
The number eight holds the Biblical vision for ‘new beginnings’ as in the Simchat Torah celebration. Dedication ceremonies for the Temple, the anointing oil and the Altar also lasted eight days hence the re-dedication of the Altar at Hanukkah lasting for eight days. Jewish baby boys were, and still are, circumcised and named on the eighth day in a ceremony called a b’rit-milah.
When was Jesus born?
Here is the Biblical outline for the conception, birth, and early life of Yeshua. According to the information written in the Torah, Prophets, and Gospels, Yeshua was born in the ‘season of our rejoicing,’ on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles in a sukkah. The shepherds at the Migdal Eder heard the angelic hosts proclaim ‘peace on earth among people of goodwill.’ They went immediately to see the ‘Lamb of God’ in Bethlehem. At that moment, wise men from the east saw a ‘star’ and began traveling to Bethlehem to greet the ‘newborn king.’ While all Israel rejoiced in the Torah, the living Torah was circumcised and named Salvation –– Yeshua.