Weekly, Friday sundown to Saturday sundown: There are many commands that we follow and many that do not apply to us today. When we consider the popular saying, "What would Jesus do?" we should ask ourselves that question with understanding that Yehoshua (Jesus) was Jewish and he kept the Biblical feasts perfectly. We can learn from his example as we read the account of his ministry in the Brit Chadashah (New Testament). The Ten Commandments were given as a set of teachings to guide our path and lead us from sin and separation from the Creator. But, sadly, many choose to pick which instructions to follow and which ones to explain away with justifications and rhetoric, mixing what they have heard from well meaning pastors with the what feels good to create a religious experience and not a relationship with the Maker. Deut 5:6-21 sums up the instructions in Leviticus into 10 all encompassing instructions that are commonly known as the 10 Commandments. It is interesting to note that the 4th commandment is the command to keep the Sabbath. Of all the commands, this one actually takes 4 verses to instruct indicating its importance, while all the others (even those that we might consider worse sins if committed like "Thou shalt not kill") are written in only 1 or 2 verses.

Sabbath is an appointment with the Creator that he has instructed us to attend. It is a very important rehearsal for the marriage supper with him. We are instructed to keep the Sabbath on the seventh day as was demonstrated by YHVH when he rested on the seventh day after creation.

We take our rest day very seriously. We rest and study, fellowship and sometimes nap. Occasionally, we visit other fellowships that meet on Sabbath.

Monthly at the sighting of the first sliver of the new moon: We currently have the internet to let us know when the new moon is sighted in Israel. We receive an email from the Karaites each month sharing when and by whom the new moon was sighted. Celebrating the head of the month as another appointment with the Father is a celebration of how he set the stars in the sky as signs to keep the Holy Days and Feasts.

On Rosh Chodesh we usually blow the shofar (ram's horn) and fellowship with others that come by. By keeping the head of the month we are able to know when to keep the Biblical Feasts throughout the year.

14th day of the 1st month (after the barley is aviv, usually March or April): This celebration reminds us of the 1st Passover when Israel was preparing to leave Egypt. It expresses to us the coming of Messiah, his blood shed for us and our salvation when we come into his presence.

15th day of the 1st month lasting for 7 days: This feast is characterized by the eating of unleavened bread for seven days. The Israelites fled Egypt before their bread had time to rise. Unleavened bread symbolizes freedom (Ex. 12:39) and slavery it is the bread of our affliction. (Deut. 16:3) The leaven symbolizes sin in our lives that starts out as a small amount taken in from the air and, allowed to sit, grows and puffs up. Unleavened bread speaks of sanctification, being set apart as Messiah was set apart and as believers we should also be set apart, sanctified. Unleavened bread represents the Messiah without sin.

1st day following the Sabbath after Pesach: First Fruits means a promise to come. The first of the harvest is waved before the Father to acknowledge the land he has given. The wave offering of First Fruits represents the Messiah as the first fruit of the great harvest, the first to be resurrected and go up into the clouds. It is a promise that he will return and we will be the great harvest!

Starts on First Fruits: We are instructed to count from the day of First Fruits until the day that Torah was given, 7 weeks and 1 day (50 days). We count as a process of looking forward to an important day, the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. After Messiah's resurrection, before he ascended in the clouds, He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the "Promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4). They were waiting and counting the omer in anticipation of the day of promise. We are waiting for the promised return of the Messiah.

50th day of the Counting of the Omer: Shavuot is the closing festival of the Pesach Season. There is no specific date. Shavuot reminds us of the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, the giving of the Torah on our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Jer. 31:33). It is a celebration of rededication to observe and study the Torah to reawaken and strengthen our personal relationship with the Creator.

1st Day of the Seventh Month at the sighting of the new moon (usually in the fall September or October: This is not actually the name given by YHVH, it is merely how it is called since it has no name. It is known also as 'the day that no man knoweth' because it arrives at the new moon and is only known when the new moon is sighted. It calls attention to the coming day of Atonement. It is a day of memorial according to Lev. 23, however, the Word never tells us what to remember. There are many suggestions of what we are to remember, here is a few of them: Creation, New Years, Yah's benefits to us and his grace to Abraham. It is one of the High Holy days and is a time to look inward to spiritual growth. The blowing of the trumpet is a signal of war and a sign of the return of the Messiah.

10th day of the seventh month : Also named Day of Judgment and Sabbath of Sabbaths. This is not a Feast, but rather a day of introspection and fasting. The holiday reminds us that the daily, weekly and monthly sacrifices are not enough to atone salvation but that another sacrifice must be made. It was the only time that the priest could enter the Holy of Holies and the presence of the Almighty. The law gives instruction but it's weakness is that is doesn't change the heart, only the behaviors. Through sacrifice and personal relationship with Messiah is our ability to enter into the presence of the Creator. Messiah provided for our atonement (Rom. 2:23-24). When Messiah died the veil of the temple was torn in half revealing the Holy of Holies and establishing a new High Priest to make intercession directly with the Father. There is mercy, grace and forgiveness in the final judgment. Through Messiah we have that grace, mercy and forgiveness.

21st day of the seventh month (usually October or November) : Also known as the Feast of Ingathering. The most important and final Biblical Holiday of the year, Sukkot is the only pilgrimage festival that requires the entire family to travel to Jerusalem. The feast lasts 7 days and the 8th day is celebrated as an 8th day celebration. Sukkot means booths and is a reminder of the tents or temporary dwellings that Israel used while in the wilderness. It was also a time when YHVH dwelled with the people in the Holy of Holies and above the Tent of Meeting in the form of a cloud by day and a fire by night. It is believed by some that it is the time which Messiah came into the world as a small child. It reminds us that Messiah is preparing a permanent home and that we are only in this world temporarily and we will be with him in the Millennium.

25th day of the 9th month (usually November or December) NOT A BIBLICAL APPOINTMENT - TRADITIONAL: Chanukah lasts 8 days and reminds us of a time when the Temple was defiled and regained by brave Israelites. Though not a Biblical Feast, but rather a traditional one kept by Messiah, the Temple dedication is a time to rededicate ourselves to the Creator. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and Messiah is the light of the world.

14th day of the 12th month (usually February or March) NOT A BIBLICAL APPOINTMENT - TRADITIONAL: This celebration is not a Biblical Feast required by Yah, but is one that is significant and was celebrated by Messiah. It helps us to remember the deliverance of the Jewish people in Persia. The Story of Esther details the story of how the Creator puts all people in a place for a specific purpose and promises to restore the covenant of the land back to His people, Israel. 2000 years after the birth of Messiah, the promise has been fulfilled and the Land is once again filled with His people.