AN UNTIMELY FEAST OF TABERNACLES

Last night, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem Philippines Chapter held a worship celebration at GCF dubbed, Blow A Trumpet in Zion- a taste of the feast of Sukkot. They invited Chuck King, worship director of the King of Kings Community in Jerusalem to lead worship- mostly Hebrew songs with English translation. All in all, it was a great worship experience. But I was expecting it to be a more formal and solemn synagogue-style than Filipino-Pentecostal style.

The word Sukkot is derived from the Hebrew word sukkah, meaning booth or hut. During this holiday, Jews are instructed to build a temporary structure in which to eat their meals, entertain guests, relax, and even sleep. The sukkah is reminiscent of the type of huts in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, and is intended to reflect God's benevolence in providing for all the Jews' needs in the desert. I just found it a wee bit weird to celebrate sukkot in May because it is observed during the month of Tishri (September-October).

I got to rub shoulders with the keynote speaker, Zvi Aviner Vapni, Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines. He spoke on the Philippine-Israel frienship beginning with the two Philippine Presidents, Manuel L. Quezon (during the Philippine- US Commonwealth) and Manuel Roxas (First President of an independent Philippine Republic) whose names are derived from the Hebrew phrase emanu-el (God with us) supported the founding of the nation of Israel (יִשְרָאֵל) , and how the Philippines has always been a Zionist, a friend of Israel from its founding to this day. He pointed out to the great Abrahamic Covenant "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you (Gen.12:3)." In a nutshell, he said, according to the promise of God, those who love Israel will be loved, those who bless Israel will be blessed, those who hate Israel will be hated, those who pray for Israel's peace, will experience peace.

In a sermon by Rabbi Arthur Rulnick of the Woodbury Jewish Center (NY) he said:

There are two mountains that loom large in Jewish thought. There is Mount Sinai where the Torah was given to the Jewish people and there is Jerusalem's Mount Moriah where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac, his beloved son, an event described in this morning's Torah reading. Which one do you think is more holy -- Mount Sinai or Mount Moriah? Those of you who said to yourselves Mount Moriah are right. The reason, our rabbis tell us, is that because Abraham was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for his faith there, that mountain transcended in holiness even the site where the Jewish people received the torah. Many generations after Abraham and Isaac, King Solomon built the holy Temple on that mountain.

For Jews, Jerusalem is ir ha'kodesh, the Holy City. The Bible tells us it was founded by King David to be the capital of the first Israelite Commonwealth. The core of its holiness is the Temple Mount where King Solomon built the first Temple to the God of Israel. Ever since, Jerusalem has been the spiritual center of Judaism. Throughout the millennia, when an independent Jewish State was only a dream, Jews have ended their Yom Kippur service with the phrase l'shana ha'ba'ah biyrushalayim, "Next year in his Jerusalem," just as they have concluded their seders each year with those same words and that same hope. The great Spanish Jewish poet, Yehuda Ha'Levi, expressed the eternal love of the Jewish people for Jerusalem in his immortal words, Libi bmizrach va'ani b'sof maarav. " My heart is in the East though I am in the furthest reaches of the West."

For Christians, Jerusalem is also sacred ground. Jesus taught there and was crucified there. But most important of all, the central event of Christian belief, Jesus's resurrection, occurred in the Old City of Jerusalem, allegedly, where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher now stands. Today, because the number of Christians in Jerusalem is small and growing even smaller, Christians are not making any claims for power. They are no longer major players in the political process. The Vatican, which was once a vocal advocate to internationalize the entire city now is insisting only on international guarantees that its holy sites be safeguarded and that Christians be entitled to freely practice their faith.

Moslems venerate Jerusalem as their third holiest city - even though Jerusalem is not once mentioned in the Koran. The city first appears in a story told by one of Muhammad's early biographers. According to this story, one night Mohammad mounted his horse for a miraculous midnight journey from Mecca to the Temple Mount. From there, Mohammed ascended through the seven heavens to God's throne. Moslems believe that the Dome of the Rock in the Old City marks the very spot from which Mohammad made his ascent. Mohammad's journey enhanced Jerusalem's holiness for Moslems in two ways. It linked Jerusalem to Mecca, and it made the Temple Mount the sacred launching pad for the prophet's journey to the heavens.

In Psalms, Kings David urges us, Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." Together with Jews around the world, let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for Jerusalem belongs to all Jews, and its fate affects us all.

With God's help and with a renewed spirit of compromise and good will among Palestinians and Israelis, may this new year see the inhabitants of Jerusalem - Jew, Moslem and Christian - living together, shoulder to shoulder in peace and in harmony.

V'chen yehi ratzon. May this be God's will. L'shana tova.