Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Pope, Passover, Pentecost

Yesterday, the German Cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger, was elected to be the new pope. He will be known as Pope Benedict XVI. He will be "formally installed" as pope on Sunday, April 24.

That just happens to be the same day that Orthodox Jews will be celebrating Passover (a month late).

Today is the 25th day of the omer count which means we're halfway to "Pentecost" (Hebrew: "Shavuot" The Feast of Weeks). Traditionally, at Shavuot, Jews celebrate the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. As believers in Jesus we also celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit at Jerusalem. Just as Passover contains parallels between the exodus and crucifixion, so at Shavuot we see parallels between the giving of the Torah and of the Holy Spirit. I'll write more about those parallels as we get closer to Pentecost. For now have quick read of Exodus 19 and Acts 2.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

you are a silly kid. What is,"It's kinda like thumb?"

Joshua and/or Joy said...

who are you? who wrote that?

Anonymous said...

so this is the first time that i have seen your sight and i was wondering why arnt you reading the portion for a month from now if "tecnicly it is the 25 day of the Omer" why arnt you reading parsha behukkotai*. lag ba'omer must becomming up this week or next then eh>?

Joshua and/or Joy said...

I added some links to the post. since you're new, click on "a month late" and "the omer count."

Since you know about the festivals and parshot, you know that the festivals don't always fall on the same parsha each year. Beha'alotecha and Shavuot don't have to be around the same time. There's not any Biblical command regarding the parshot. I follow the rabbinical readings because it's handy. I can study any part of the torah at any time. I will still be reading Devarim after I celebrate Sukkot. no big deal.

Why would I celebrate lag baomer? The death of a rabbi who probably didn't believe in Yeshua. Jews celebrating the death of great rabbis seems quite similar to Catholics celebrating the death of their saints.

Joshua and/or Joy said...

Oh, and thanks for reading my blog and commenting!! =D

Anonymous said...

Haha! sorry bro. I noticed that I didn't put my name right as I clicked on the button. Its Micah. So, what is,"It's kinda like thumb?"

Anonymous said...

hi friend! im commenting...