HEBREW WORD STUDY – CALLINGS OF HOLINESS – MIQR’EI  KODESH    

Leviticus 23:2:  “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, [Concerning] the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, [even] these [are] my feasts.”

Jewish Hebrew Masters render Leviticus quite a bit differently than Christians do.  They read this as; “Speak unto the children of Israel ‘These are appointed times of God, callings of holiness, which you shall call in their appointed times.’”  You see the word feast in Hebrew is mo’ed which in its Semitic root really means an appointed time.  These callings of holiness come during the appointed times of their feasts.

Callings of holiness in Hebrew is miqr’ei kodesh which may be rendered as holy nutrients. The sages teach that these miqr’ri kodesh are holy nutrients that sustain us throughout our lives. Just to name a few, these are freedom, wisdom, awe, joy peace, courage, strength and other divine gifts granted to us through the course of our lives which are the constant needs of the soul. The Jewish festivals are appointed times when these gifts are given.  For instance, Passover is when God grants freedom, The first Shavuot is when the Torah or wisdom is given, redemption is given on Yom Kippur.  

But are not these miqr’ri kodesh also spiritual nutrients for the souls of the Gentiles?  This is why the word mo’ed is used for feast.  Had a different word been used for feast then these occasions would have no meaning for us who are Gentiles.  However, with the basic meaning of the word mo’ed being an appointed time we have a wonderful application to us as Gentiles as well as the Jews. Miqr’ri kodesh is also given to Gentiles.

To us Gentiles, gifts are given at appointed times. To the Jews, these are the times of their festivals, but to the Gentile these appointed times are random. It is given when we need them.  I remember the story of Corrie Ten Boom and how she asked her father when she was a child about death.  Her father answered with a question.  “When we take the train to Amsterdam when do I give you your ticket.”  She replied that it was when they reached the train station.  Her father said that it is the same as dying when the time comes God will give you what you need.

So many of us are so fearful about the future, what if the economy collapses, what if we go to war, what if there are terrorist attacked, what if I come down with cancer, what if I lose my job and on and on. If we read Leviticus 23:2 like the sages do then we need never worry about any of these things for if and when the time comes, God will give us what we need when we need it the most, it will come at the mo’ed, the appointed time.