Celebrate the Feasts of the Old Testament in Your Own Home or Church (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"I've yet to read more remarkable insights into the Jewish feasts and holidays. Would that every Christian could understand their roots as Mrs. Zimmerman does."

Jan Markell

The great religious feasts as described in the Old Testament and Jewish tradition are full of spiritual truth presented in the New Testament. When those festivals are re-enacted in the Christian home, children have a living picture of Bible principles. They learn far better by experiencing than by only hearing.

The author carefully researched these festivals, and they all have been acted out with her own family. She then prepared the complete information necessary to recreate the symbolic representations of Christ as found in the holy celebrations of the Old Testament.

First, the significance of each feast is carefully explained.

Next, the materials (almost all will be found in your own home) for the observance are listed.

Finally, the full details on "how to celebrate" are carefully explained.

Seven celebrations are presented: The Sabbath, The Passover, The Feast of First-fruits, The Feast of Pentecost, The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, and The Feast of Tabernacles.

Here is an exciting innovation for building spiritual family traditions in your home. Bring a copy home, and introduce your family or church to a whole new learning experience of God's truth.

About the Author

Martha Zimmerman is the author of Celebrate the Feasts, Celebrating the Christian Year, and Should I Keep My Baby? She and her husband have three grown children and live in British Columbia.

size : 5.2 x 8

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (June 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871232286
• ISBN-13: 978-0871232281
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #637,404 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celebrate the Feasts : of the Old Testament in Your Own Home, April 20, 2000

By A Customer

A wonderful resource! Written from a Christian perspective, Martha Zimmerman gives step-by-step instructions on how to celebrate Old Testament feasts in your home. Included holidays are Passover, Sabbath, Feast of Booths, and others. Each section is devoted to a particular holiday, and contains recipes, lists of needed items and, most importantly, ways to teach and include children in the festivities. What we found especially poignant were the New Testament fulfillment verses that Mrs. Zimmerman has interwoven throughout the traditional services. A wonderful resource for today's Christian families!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs Extensive Revisions, April 23, 2003

By	Jack Turner - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have studied Jewish holidays in both their Jewish and Messianic context, and I can confirm the position of another reviewer: that is, the book presents less of a Christian perspective than a Christian revamping. The problem is that often times Christians will drastically alter the method of celebration. For example, in the Passover haggadah, the fifteen steps are completely missing in a logical fashion, despite the fact the fifteen steps are designed to replace the use of the Psalms of Ascents from the Second Temple period, when the haggadah was formed. Another example is Shavout. She recommends playing a game of "slaps" to keep one awake all night to study Torah. However, I do believe that I have the backing of several authorities when I say that if one must force themselves awake, it is less meritorious than had they just gone to bed when they got tired. Zimmerman states in the portion about Kashering for Passover that we are "teaching principles, not rules." However, it is important to remember in the laws of Pesach that the alien who desires to celebrate Pesach must abide by the same rules of removing leaven as a Jew. Not that I am advocating a legalistic or even strict interpretation of the rules of Kashrut for Pesach, but I am saying you cannot pick and choose which part of the holiday you will keep and which you will not.
Of course, there is also a demonstrated lack of understanding of Talmudic regulations towards the holidays, again in regards to Shavout. Zimmerman and her family mark the first fruit to grow on their fruit trees to be offered when they ripen, in accordance with the Biblical command, I will admit. However, agricultural injunctions are only applicable inside of Israel. One might protest, "well, that is the Talmud and she is following the Bible," but the tradition of staying up all night reading Torah is not found in the Bible, either. There is also the omission of other holidays, such as Chanukah and Purim. Even though they are not mentioned in the Torah, there are indications in the New Testament that Jesus celebrated at least Chanukah. All this is to say that there are some very serious problems with the book.
Nevertheless, there are some things to be said for the book. First, it shows Christians that there is not only a way to celebrate these holidays, but also that it can be relevant to them. Most Christians view these holidays as archaic and inapplicable to modern Christianity (there is a similar crisis in some portions of Judaism) and many are distrustful of Messianic Judaism for whatever reason. It is for that reason important for a Gentile, Protestant Christian to approach these holidays from the starting point of being a Gentile, with no pretensions as to a Jewish background whatsoever. In essence, one of our own is doing it, maybe we can, too. Secondly, it demonstrated to liberal and conservative Protestants that perhaps they, as a community, can celebrate these holidays, for the same reasons above.
I would really give this book 2 1/2 stars if I could. It needs some serious revisions to the recommended method of implementation for the holidays; a more thorough understanding of the Talmud wouldn't hurt either. I also would have liked to see her refer more on how she went about implementing her decision to celebrate Biblical/Jewish holidays within her family and later in her church community. Specifically, these tips would have been helpful, I'm sure. On the whole, it's a good start, though I do recommend that you do not take anything as authoritative unless you can see it backed up somewhere else, preferably from a traditional or Messianic source.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor understanding of the feasts and ceremonies, February 19, 2001

By	Meirav "yll" (California) - See all my reviews

If you really want to understand the appointed times and feasts, read God's Appointed Times (Kasdan) or The Fall Feasts of Israel (Glaser). The author of this book doesn't have a firm grasp of the rituals, and in some cases, even has things backward. For instance, in her sample Passover seder, she translates the worshipful Dayenu (it would have been sufficient) into the lamenting "we should have been satistied." It's a good idea, but a bad implementation.