Their need to bust out of oppression had came to a certain fullness, and so Y_H the Lord appointed Moses to direct them out. By fleeing Egyptian oppression, they escaped slavery.
But their newfound freedom was no walk in the park; they soon found themselves in what seemed like a never-ending arid land of deserts and perilously adverse wilderness.
During that new phase of their development as a people, Y_H the Lord gave Moses instructions and laws that would enable them to live together as an independent people, and ultimately establish themselves among the nations.
Their God-given set of laws included the well-known--now infamous--Ten Commandments. But those commands were only the first of many, many more laws that numbered more than 600.
Among that long collection of principles for healthy, spiritual living, was an instructive celebration called Sukkot, also known as Succoth, the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths.
The Sukkot was a celebratory commemoration by which Y_H ensured that they would not forget the Egyptian oppressions from which they had recently escaped.
Instructions given in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus include an annual arrangement, during harvest time, of leaves and branches to form numerous huts as temporary dwelling places for each family. The Hebrews would, by living in these tabernacles (sometimes called "booths"), call to remembrance the poverty and oppression from which they had escaped through their Exodus from Egypt.
In subsequent history, the Hebrews came to be known as Jews, because, many centuries later, their last vestige as a landed nation (until 1948) had been established in the land called Judea, along the Jordan River.
Some Jews and Christians, even today, observe the Feast of Succoth ceremonially by constructing and camping in palm-thatched huts such as those Hebrews of old might have done in the wilderness of Sinai.
I have never seen such a hut or tabernacle, but I have read about it in the Old Testament. I have also, from time to time, heard or read of Jews and/or Christians who still celebrate the Feast of Sukkot in this way.
A few days ago, I was reminded of Succoth while visiting the big island called Hawaii.
On the upper slopes of the volcano Mauna Kea, I saw what appeared to be a kind of hut or tabernacle that resembles the Succoth structures of ancient days.
A group of zealous Hawaiians known as We Are Mauna Kea had constructed this structure:
The Hawaiians with whom I spoke there called the hut a Hale (Ha-lay), built by human hands to commemorate their heritage of regarding the Mauna Kea volcano as a sacred place. The sacred designation of the place is now imperiled by construction of massive buildings on the peak. The large structures--some already built and others proposed--are used for purposes of scientific observation and electromagnetic data-gathering.
As I pondered this Hawaiian Hale hut, I was reminded of the Succoth hut in the ancient Hebrew scriptures.
Methinks there is something fundamentally human going on here, between the ancient Hebrew Succoth tabernacle and the legacy of Hawaiian Hale to revere Mauna Kea.
I'll call it, in both cultures, "wanting to get back to our roots."
I'd like to think that Alex Haley, author of "Roots", would agree with me. "Roots" is about African huts and heritage.
The purpose of Sukkot is remembrance of past slavery, and deliverance from those oppressions. The Hebrews were delivered from slavery, and they should never forget it.
Everybody know the Jews are unique in the history of world cultures. Here is one reason why:
The Jews, with help from Y_H the Lord, were one of the first people-groups in the world that was able to effectively retain, preserve and extend their history and their worship of God through the ages. Part of that enduring oral/written/celebratory heritage is this Succoth practice, established for purposes of not forgetting the past--not forgetting the "oppression from which we were delivered."
But the Jews are not the only people who should remember the sacred elements of their past.
Likewise, the Hawaiian Hale pictured above represents, it seems to me, a similar inclination to call forth the people's identity with their ancient culture, to remember "who we are and where we came from."
And maybe of little bit of "Don't mess with us!"
Glass half-Full
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