Sephardic Anusim Center of the Americas
Newsletter
September 16, 2009
"The exiles from Jerusalem who are in
Sepharad will possess the towns of the Negev."
(Obadiah 20)
High Holy Days
--What they mean to me--
I wasn't raised a Jew but now I'm a very special
Jew by choice. After all, Sephardic Jewish
bloodlines run in me through both, my father and my
mother -- as well as in Helen's parents. (We know this
by DNA as well as our histories.) But above all, our
life's destiny is set like a flint facing Israel and her
Negev. Our life's vision is to see the Negev Desert
blossom along with all the miraculous things that are
beginning to happen there according to the Prophet
Isaiah, chapter 35.
Having been raised a Christian I knew very little about
the Biblical feasts such as the ones coming up in the
next few days. These feasts are called the "High
Holy Days" because of their nature which we
know so little about and it's in our Bible (both the
Jewish as well as the Christian Bibles). These holy days are a trio that is linked
together.
The first one is called, Rosh Hashanah
also known as the Feast of Trumpets. This is the
New Year in the Jewish calendar (September 19th.)
To me, this is a no-brainer because it spells the
ending of the 'old year' and the beginning of a New
Year. So it is that in the Jewish calendar we change
from the year 5769 to the year 5770. For me, this
spells transition and change.
As we look around us, we see the changing of
seasons not only in nature but also in human nature
such as today's political unease (or disease?).
May God help us transition in the right direction and
not let the winds of change blow us off our destined
course!
The second holy day is the
holiest day of the
year called, Yom Kippur or
the Day of
Atonement which falls on September
28th. This is so
very holy because when you break
down the
word, "atonement," it portrays
'at-one-meant.'
God's perfect intent has always been
and shall
always continue to be that we be ONE
with Him. This
means an intimate, permanent and
genuine
relationship.
The third and final holy day in this trio is called
Sukkoth or The Feast of Tabernacles which is a
series of about a week beginning on October 3rd. At
the heart of this feast is the building of little booths
which we call in Spanish, "jacalitos." This feast
reminds us that if God was willing and able to sustain
millions of His children during the Exodus for 40 years
in the desert, He can and wills to do the same with us
today. This means that He is our "Todo en todo," our
All in all. He's our ALMIGHTY ONE.
So there you have it - a bird's eye view of the holy days
right ahead of us. This trio spells out change and
transition. . . intimate relationships. . .and eternal
provision and protection, so long as we continue to be
'at one with him.'
Finally, I just so happen to have a
professionally
produced DVD on the Feasts of the Lord. I
think I call
it "Feasts for Sephardic Anusim," but they're really for
everyone that calls on the Name of the LORD. Check
out my website at
www.4sephardim.com and find the
list of books and other resources in the publications
page. While you're at it, check out one that's extremely
important for those of you that may not be Sephardic
but you want to know how you can collaborate with our
people. This DVD is titled, "Empowering Sephardic
Anusim," and it's a wonderful three-part series on one
DVD. (Three for the price of one.) Again, simply go to
www.4sephardim.com and you can place your
order
through our website.
Shana Tova - Happy Holy Days!
Dell
You can read our past newsletters by going to our Archives
Homepage.
The first one is called, Rosh Hashanah
also known as the Feast of Trumpets. This is the
New Year in the Jewish calendar (September 19th.)
To me, this is a no-brainer because it spells the
ending of the 'old year' and the beginning of a New
Year. So it is that in the Jewish calendar we change
from the year 5769 to the year 5770. For me, this
spells transition and change.
The second holy day is the
holiest day of the
year called, Yom Kippur or
the Day of
Atonement which falls on September
28th. This is so
very holy because when you break
down the
word, "atonement," it portrays
'at-one-meant.'
God's perfect intent has always been
and shall
always continue to be that we be ONE
with Him. This
means an intimate, permanent and
genuine
relationship.
The third and final holy day in this trio is called
Sukkoth or The Feast of Tabernacles which is a
series of about a week beginning on October 3rd. At
the heart of this feast is the building of little booths
which we call in Spanish, "jacalitos." This feast
reminds us that if God was willing and able to sustain
millions of His children during the Exodus for 40 years
in the desert, He can and wills to do the same with us
today. This means that He is our "Todo en todo," our
All in all. He's our ALMIGHTY ONE.
Finally, I just so happen to have a
professionally
produced DVD on the Feasts of the Lord. I
think I call
it "Feasts for Sephardic Anusim," but they're really for
everyone that calls on the Name of the LORD. Check
out my website at 