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PENTECOST - SHAVUOT - WEEKS "Fifty days after Passover" |
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Even unto the morrow unto the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenths deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the first fruits unto the Lord... Read Leviticus 23: 16,17 Pentecost means "fiftieth" in Greek and is celebrated fifty days after Passover at the end of May or beginning of June. Pentecost is also called the "Feast of Weeks," Exodus 34:22, "Feast of Harvest," Exodus 23:16. The head of the household brought two loaves of bread to the feast. Each loaf was baked with a gallon ( 2 one- tenth of a deal portions Leviticus 23:17) of fine flour and leaven, so these were large loaves of bread. The bread was waved before the Lord in Thanksgiving for the Wheat Harvest which was at its peak and the start of the Fruit Tree Harvest where the fig trees and other fruit trees were ripe for picking. Pentecost, in the year of the Lord's resurrection, was the day the Church age commenced with the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 2:1-4. On this day 3,000 Jewish men were born again as they accepted Jesus as their Messiah and repented of their sins. T here are seven seasons of the Lord in Leviticus 23. Three of these are feasts: Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, and Sukkot. The shortest of these feasts is two days long. Although we are more familiar with its Greek name, Pentecost , the real name is Shavuot, pronounced "sha-voo'-ote", meaning weeks. Each of these feasts celebrates a harvest. Shavuot celebrates harvests of wheat and many garden vegetables. South Carolina, with a climate similar to Israel, also has three growing seasons, with winter rye, barley and other grains ripening in March-April, then wheat and garden vegetables in May-June and peanuts, cotton and soy beans in September-October.
Three thousand responded to Peter's call to repentance that day. The only public place in Jerusalem that was available for a meeting such as this was the Temple. Solomon's Porch was open to teachers of Torah, so Peter was free to speak to those who wanted to listen. The three thousand being baptized would have immersed themselves in the many immersion pools by Solomon's Porch in about twenty minutes. |
Challah :
Pentecost Bread Recipe
1 envelope active dry yeast, 1 1/2 cups warm water, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 eggs (or 4 egg whites), 6 to 6 1/2 cups unbleached whole wheat or barley bread flour, 1 lightly beaten egg white (to brush dough), sesame or poppy seeds1. Dissolve yeast with pinch of sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Set aside until foamy.
2. Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup warm water, sugar, salt, oil, and eggs (or egg whites). Stir well. When yeast mixture is ready, stir it in.
3. Add 4 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, blending after each addition.
4. Spoon remaining flour onto wooden board and pour dough mixture onto it. Knead by hand for 5 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. 5. Put dough in greased bowl. Cover with towel, set in warm place, and let rise 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
6. Punch down dough. Divide into three part, roll each into a rope, pinch ropes together, and braid from center to ends or from one end to the other. To make two medium loaves, divide dough in half, break each half into three parts, roll each into a rope, pinch together, and braid.
7. Preheat oven to 350. Place loaves on lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush loaves with lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.
8. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove loaves from baking sheet and cool on racks.
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