Holidays, Holy Days, and Preparation

We had a work day at Beth Am Messiah in preparation for Sukkot, a.k.a the Feast of Tabernacles.  While we were building a sukkah or booth (tabernacle), I put this young man to work cultivating the cabbages.  It seems the Holy Days have slowed down my blogging, so why not include them in the blog.

There are many things about the Feast of Tabernacles that have nothing to do with gardening.  Sukkot is a reminder that while the children of Israel travelled in the wilderness on their way to the promised land, they dwelt in tent like temporary shelters.  Today's sukkah is supposed to be an impermanent temporary dwelling through whose roof you can see the stars.  In the proper climates, people actually live in them during the 8 day holiday.  Even though there are those who brave the elements in our climate for a part of Sukkot, a home sukkah is used more for dining than anything else.  Our congregational service will be used for services from September 30 at 7:30 to a Congregational (Shemini Atzert/ending service) Harvest Potluck dinner on October 8 at 5:00 PM.



Tomatoes 9-16-12

Brocolli 9-16-12

That's where the garden comes in.  My hope was that we would have so much produce, that we could supply the entire meal or at least most of it from the garden.  Well hope is eternal and there's always next year.  However, we most certainly will have somethings made with cabbage, some things made with tomatoes and/peppers.  We will certainly have a small portion of red potato salad.  God willing we will also have some second crop radishes and lettuce. 


Root Parsely 9-16-12



Late Lettuce 9-11-12

You see the another side of Sukkot is one of its other names.  It is called "The Feast of In-gathering."  The in-gathering is of the harvest.  This biblical feast is upon what the pilgrims patterned Thanksgiving.  In Israel, this is the time of the latter rains, which fall in Autumn.  These point to the in gathering of souls to the Messiah in the end of time through the drenching of the rain of the Ruah/ Spirit of God.

So I invite you to ingather your own harvest and if you are in the area join us for Sukkot.  (But please let us know your coming so we can set another place.)

Puddleglumtoo