Holidays and Nature

It's that time of year again--the fall feasts!

Last year, I wrote an outline of the holidays, what one is supposed to do, etc etc. This year, I wanted to talk about the holidays in a more poetic sense. As such, this post won't be so Bible-heavy as my other ones. It's more about my observations and feelings towards the Holidays in general, but especially the ones in fall.
     When I was a Christian, I missed something about holidays in general.; when I read stories about older religions, I appreciated the connection of their holy days to the time of year. This seemed to imbue the days with special significance. Rather than just existing in space, as it seemed the Christian holidays mostly did, these other holidays were tied to the earth, to how life was being lived. I have come to deeply appreciate how the Israelite/Biblical Holidays are tied to the season--not just in "when", but in "how", and "what about".
     For example, today, we are celebrating the Day of Atonement (also called Yom Kippur). On this day, we do absolutely no work, nor do we eat or drink. It gives one a lot of time to think. I like that this day is in the fall. It is a slow day, a solemn day, and it fits with the general weather. The leaves are dying, and we consider our lives. It's rather solitary. Also, because this day takes place during the general "harvest" time, it seems like a more momentous task. There are tomatoes ripening on my tomato plants, but I will not pick them today. There are many, but I will not turn them into a pasta. Not today. I think it highlights the strict feeling we're supposed to have about the holiday.
     Sukkot, for a happier example, is also perfect for the fall. It is during the harvest, as well, but it is a festival. A feast. It's time for us to whip out our most daring recipes and share them with others. It's a time for family and also friends. The best part of Sukkot, in my opinion, is the combination of sleeping outside and the full moon. Every year, a full moon! It adds excitement. If we are celebrating with other people, it allows for late nights, singing around the fire, and then having an easy time walking to our tent. The weather is very nice for camping, all seasons considered. Though it rained buckets last year, typically, it is dry, breezy, and decent-temperatured. Sleeping outside, you get to observe the changes in the world; was there dew in the morning? How loud were the crickets? Was it colder this morning than yesterday morning? And since this Feast lasts an entire week, it tends to stand out in memory as the season moves to winter. [Fun fact: Thanksgiving is thought to come from Sukkkot! The pilgrims read about the holiday in their Bibles and wanted to do something similar. (you can do your own research here)]
     When I first became an Israelite, I was a little surprised to learn there was not a holiday in the winter. America/Christianity has three! Christmas, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day! But, upon considering, it makes sense for there not to be a holiday in winter. First of all, not much of religious significance happened in the winter (Israelite/Biblical holidays are based on significant occurrences in the Bible), which makes sense, because people, naturally, in the winter, don't do much. It's too stinking cold. Also, seasonally, in winter, the world is dead. What would there be to celebrate? Symbolically, not much. And then, in spring, after the barley is green, we see the return of the holidays with the Spring Feasts. Winter, I think, is a bit like the day of Atonement. Serious, slow, and with much time for thinking. It's strange to move through winter as just a season when everywhere around, people are bustling here and there to prepare for Christmas, and then New Year's. It makes it feel like we have so much more time, to be honest. We're less constrained, more free. We don't have to make travel plans in the horrid weather. We don't have to be a certain place at a certain time. We get to just watch the season pass.
     I could keep going, but I'm wanting to keep this post short as it's not really about anything of dire importance; I'm just sharing my feelings. I like how the holidays I celebrate tie in to the Bible, to history, and to the world around me. I like how they allow God to exist in a more 'real' way. With the Biblical Holidays, he's tied to the world, not choked in a vacuum. If you don't celebrate the Biblical holidays, but follow the Bible, I highly suggest you try them out. There's something special about them, and Sukkot, after all, is just around the corner.

Your Duty to Your Fellow Man (Syria, Illegal Immigration, Refugees, People in Need)

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     At one time or another, most people have probably asked themselves, "What do I owe my fellow man?" There are many answers, and, for the religious, our answers have special significance. We represent not just ourselves, but our entire religion, and, more than that, our God.
    Lately, I've been seeing some--not a majority, thank God! but some--people taking a hard stance, especially in regards to people of other religions. Things along the lines of, "They got what's coming to them". It's rather common; you especially see this kind of fear-mongering in regards to immigrants, "they'll take our jobs!" "they're all criminals" "Just look at (this place) and what happened to them!". There's a sort of glee these people display when talking about bad things happening to the well-intentioned: "Europe is getting crushed under all these refugees! That's what they get for trying to help!" Many of these people claim to be followers of the Bible--Christians, Israelites. But, after some study, I have found, as per usual, the Bible does not allow for the easy way.

The Reason Behind the Fear
     What you see most often behind the faces of these heartless folk is a refusal to see other people as human beings. The media calls them "illegals", "the horde", "a mob", "potential criminals", "disease", "crowd", "drove", "fetus". The point is to make them seem "other", part of a threatening whole that will descend upon the unknowing and rip it to shreds. Why? Just because. Media doesn't have to answer this question; it simply needs to plant the fear. And, once the people are dehumanized, we don't need to feel guilty about ignoring them or cheering on their misfortune.

    As I teach my students when they read about the Holocaust, "anytime someone doesn't call a person 'human', they are trying to make you okay with killing them." When we are scared of someone's "other" ness, it's easy to forget that they are people, too. They have families. They have things they are afraid of. They have things that make them angry. They have people they love. They get hungry, tired, sleepy, sick. It's important to put ourselves in others' shoes. How would we react in their place?

To Humanize

Before we go any further, let me show you some humanizing pictures, to get the image clear in your mind.

These are people. (source)

These are children. (source)

This is a baby (source)

These are also children. (source)

This is a man. (source)

This is a family. (source)

This is also a family. (source)

This is a woman. (source)

This is a child. (source)

I could keep going, but I'm sure you get the picture. People, no matter their country of origin, their beliefs, their disabilities, their age, their status, are people. Now that we're on the same page, let's see what the Bible has to say.

The Lord Sayeth, Verily.....

• Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 22:21 KJV)
• If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. (Exodus 23:4 KJV)
• Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 23:9 KJV)
• When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. (Leviticus 19:33)
• Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land. (Deuteronomy 23:7 KJV)
Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. (Deuteronomy 24:17 NIV)

• "Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (Deuteronomy 27:19 NIV)
• "You are more righteous than I," he said. "You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly." (1 Samuel 24:17 NIV)
• If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink...  (Proverbs 25:21 KJV)
• “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard." (Isaiah 58:6-8)
• You have heard that it was said, 'you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you... (Matthew 5:43-44 KJV)
• John answered, "Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same." (Luke 3:11 NIV)
• “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41-46 NIV)
• "...and love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27)
• “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Yeshua told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:36-37)
• Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. (Romans 12:20 KJV)
• See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. (1 Thessalonians 5:15)
• Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:9)

Breaking Down the Verses

I could have kept going with the verses, but I don't think I need to. The meaning is clear. We are given the same rule, over and over again. From God himself in the Law (many times!), from kings, from wise men, from Yeshua Himself, from prophets and scribes. The rule is very simple. "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Now let us tackle the common opposing points of view:

1. What if my neighbor is of another religion? Surely I can laugh as their hardships then! 
• No. Simply look above at the verses from Proverbs, Matthew, Luke, Romans, 1 Thessalonians, and 1 Peter.
2. But what if they're from another culture/country? I don't owe them anything!
• Aha, you might be tempted to think so, but review the verses from Exodus, Deuteronomy, Samuel, Matthew, and Luke!
3. But what if the practicality of the situation is just too tough? My people/nation/neighborhood shouldn't suffer because of these low-lifes!
• Peruse Luke 3:11 and Isaiah 58. Do you have two shirts? Hm. What about two pieces of bread? What about the people in your neighborhood, or your country? If they have two shirts and two pieces of bread, they can help. We can help.

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Conclusion

     People are people, and we, the religious, have a duty to these people, regardless of who they are. It doesn't matter if they have different beliefs. It doesn't matter if we bear a personal grudge. It doesn't matter how or why they got into their situation. It doesn't matter if they'll hurt us later. It doesn't matter that it's hard and scary to help people. We are called to do the right thing, not the easy thing. By helping people, we help God (Matthew 25, Proverbs 19:17). When we help others, even our enemies, we show them a little bit of the 'light'. We show a better way. We make the world a better place. So go out there and help someone.