THE USHPIZIN

Shalom Mishpacha ve'chag same'ach !

So Today was a wonderful and special Shabbat because it was the first full day of Sukkot!
If you don't know what Sukkot is, check out this link : http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Fall_Holidays/Sukkot/sukkot.html

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So today we had the pleasure of having a bunch of our new friends come and spend time in our Sukkah with us! It was an honour to have everyone share their day, knowledge and time. For these things truly are precious.

So today I(Zoe) believe that God gave me a word to share with our guests, and so I'd like to share it with you today too.
This early morning I was sitting in my Sukkah reading some prayers in my Siddur and drinking my coffee, when the Lord taught me something quite neat. Now in order to understand, I'm going to explain a bit about something that takes place on Sukkot in some traditional Jewish homes.
It is taught that the people of Israel have the privilege of inviting guests to their Sukkah's this time of year and this includes welcoming the Shechinah [God's presence] as well as the 7 'Faithful Shepherds' who are the forefathers of the faith: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and King David.
So with that, I will also add that the Sukkah we are commanded to build is a temporary dwelling place; this is also in Rabbinical thought likened to our physical bodies here on earth, because in light of eternity, our bodies are 'temporary' dwelling places until we pass on to the after life.

So moving on from your mini-lesson :)

This morning I was sitting and reading the traditional sukkot prayers and the Lord brought to my mind the passage in John 10 when Yeshua talks about being the Good and Faithful Shepard who lays down his life for his sheep. (to really get the whole picture I would recommend taking a look at the passage, even if it is strictly for educational or the practical purposes of this blog)
So, today with our guests, we had the honor of reading the chapter of John 10 and inviting our Good and Faithful Shepard into our Sukkah today !  haha it was a fun and new way we welcomed Sukkot this year :)

So I hope you all learned at least one thing today ! Because I always say that the most boring thing you can do in life is be in a place where you don't learn anything.

So here are some pictures of our whole day that we spent outside in our Sukkah with our friends :)

 OH AND BY THE WAY USHPISIN MEANS GUESTS .

HERE IS A  MOVIE  ABOUT THE GUESTS IN A SUKKAH THAT WAS RECOMMENDED BY TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE WE KNOW. SO VERY TOUCHING AND FUNNY PLEASE WATCH YOU WONT BE DISAPOINTED!

UNTILL NEXT TIME
SHALOM.