September 22, 2026

In my past postings I covered some of the reasons that a believer in Yeshua would want to follow Biblical Torah. Now I thought I would explore what that might look like. One of the easiest areas for a new Torah keeper to begin with are the Feasts of YHVH. Many people notice as they study the Bible that the festivals of the church are not in scripture. Of course, depending on the translation, you might find Easter, but upon deeper investigation you will find that the translator changed it from the Greek “pascha” or Passover. There are various explanations as to why the early church fathers developed their own holidays, but the important point is that they did change them. Yeshua and all of His disciples followed the holidays that are given in Leviticus 23. That chapter will be the focus of the next several letters from the Elder.

Let’s start with Lev 23:2-3 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.” What can we notice in these verses? Firstly, that the feasts belong to YHVH. He names them the Feasts of YHVH and reiterates by saying that they are MY FEASTS. What hubris on the part of the priests that first decided to introduce their own holidays and remove those of the Creator God of the Universe! The second thing to note is that Sabbath or Shabbat is the first feast. This should not come as a surprise to anyone. Did YHVH not make Shabbat the first of all celebrations on the seventh day of Creation? Yes, He did. He made it for all people, not just Jews, not just Christians, but all people everywhere for all time. It was a basic element of His design for His new Creation and those that He placed there that were made in His image.

As I often say, He made us, He knows us and He loves us, so when He give a celebration at the very beginning of Creation it would seem to be something that we should not just do, but embrace. Yeshua said in Mark 2:27 that “Shabbat is made for man, not man for Shabbat.” Our loving Father gave us a great gift that we ignore to our own detriment. We all need the rest that Shabbat can bring. Not just physical rest from a cessation of work, but the mental rest of disconnecting from a too busy world. Shabbat gives you a reason to disconnect from the outside world and be with family and friends.

I’ve recently read a book by Charlie Kirk called “Stop in the name of God” he did an excellent job covering why one should follow Biblical Shabbat and it enables you to understand what Yeshua meant when He said that Shabbat was for us. We neglect that weekly rest all too often and are the worse for it.

So, what does Shabbat actually look like. That is different for everyone. The rules are simple, don’t do your usual work. Don’t start fires or pick up fire wood. Don’t buy or sell. Beyond that the main point is to rest. YHVH is the one that gave you the rest, so reading and praying, meditating on His word would seem to be appropriate. Attending a worship service as Yeshua and Paul are recorded as doing would also seem right. In this day and age, stepping away from screens will have a very calming effect, possibly more than anything else. The single most important thing is to rest. You can sleep in late or take that nap that usually doesn’t happen. Go for a hike in the woods. Spend time with your family and friends. Make it a day of quiet celebration. Think about all the good things. Put work and stress on the back burner for a day. Shabbat is something we all need and if you start taking it, you will be amazed at the impact; and wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Shalom

May He bless you richly,

The Elder