Rejoicing at the Festivals of Shavuot , Sukkot , & Sh'mini Atzeret

D14

D14

We are to rejoice at the festivals of Shavuot, Sukkot & Sh'mini Atzeret.

Category: Days & Seasons

Type: Positive

Form: Explicit

Source dataset: Old Testament

Uniqueness: Unique

Classical commandment: Yes

New Covenant Literal Application

Applies to Person Categories: Everyone

Literal Application: mandated, optional

More explanation about New Covenant Literal Application

The New Covenant Literal Application Code (NCLA) is an interpretive guide used by the authors to indicate which person categories a mitzvah applies to, and at what level of literal compliance.

It combines person categories such as Jewish, K'rov Yisrael, and Gentile, together with male/female distinctions and an application level such as mandated, recommended, optional, or prohibited.

This code reflects the authors' interpretive opinion and is provided for prayerful consideration. On this page, the technical code is summarized into plain language to help new readers understand it more easily.

Read the full explanation from the source

Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

Philippians 4:4
1 Thessalonians 5:16

Key OT Scriptures

Deuteronomy 16:10-11
Deuteronomy 16:13-15
Leviticus 23:34-36
Leviticus 23:39-40
Numbers 28:26-27
Numbers 29:12-39

Bible verses copyright: PUBLIC DOMAIN except in the United Kingdom, where a Crown Copyright applies to printing the KJV. See http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/queens-printers-patent

Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

There are many verses in Scripture (e.g. in Psalms and Philippians 4:4 ) that exhort us to rejoice in the Lord, and 1 Thessalonians 5:16 that exhorts us to rejoice at all times. That being said, the above Scriptures single out three festivals ( Shavuot , Sukkot , and Sh'mini Atzeret - the eighth day assembly) for rejoicing - possibly because they are festivals of harvest. Most of the appointed times listed in Leviticus 23 , while required to be kept by Jews, are only optional for Gentiles who are not K'rovei Yisrael . Sukkot is an exception however, because of Zechariah 14:16 's reference to "all the nations". That notwithstanding, its description is of the "Age to Come", so its requirement for Gentile participation in this age cannot be established. However, Gentiles connecting to its meaning is important, however, so the season appears to be a fitting time for Jewish and Gentile congregations to come together for celebration and worship.

Classical commentators

Maimonides, Meir, and HaChinuch rely on Deuteronomy 16:14 (Maimonides and HaChinuch rely additionally on Deuteronomy 27:7 ) to state that we are to rejoice in (celebrate) all of God's feasts. They do not limit their mitzvot of celebration to Shavuot , Sukkot and Sh'mini Atzeret , although these are the only festivals in Scripture on which rejoicing or celebrating is specifically commanded.

Classical sources

Maimonides

Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 12th century) organized all 613 Torah commandments into a structured list. These linked items show where this Law of Messiah commandment overlaps with that classical framework.

Meir of Rothenburg

Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (13th century, Germany) was a leading Talmudic authority. These reference numbers link this commandment to his halachic rulings.

MP21

Source and License

Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

Volume 1 & 2 | Volume 3

License: CC BY-ND 4.0 (Attribution required, NoDerivatives). CC BY-ND 4.0

Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.

Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

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