Coming from Orthodox Judaism to Messianic was a very difficult transition that took years to finally find a sense of normalcy.
The wondrous revelation that is knowing Yeshua is the Messiah is incredible and soul-shifting, but it has taken walking with Hashem hand in hand to navigate daily life.
In Orthodox life and most of mainstream Jewish life, there are rules around rules, fences around fences to keep our people from violating Torah.
Messianic Christians/believers often see these rules as oppressive and terrible, an awful burden placed on people that made following Hashem's commandments impossible.
In Mattityahu 23:3, Yeshua says, "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."
Many outside of Judaism have applied this as a blanket statement for all rabbis, rabbinic leadership, and the faith in general but that is not true. Yeshua was speaking specifically about the hypocritical and corrupt members among them.
Even in Christianity there have been pastors who squeezed extra tithes to line their own pockets. The same went for the leadership Yeshua was referring to. He was speaking to the hypocrites He also referred to at other times as, "white washed tombs," a condition that can apply to anyone posturing holiness on the outside while remaining untouched by Hashem on the inside.
In the verse before, Yeshua affirms that their authority is real and teachings are correct, but their lifestyles are wrong when He says, "The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach."
Examples of abuse at the time were deceitful dealings in the temple relating to sacrifices. All it took as a greedy temple worker, vendor, or religious leader to make it too expensive for people to become ritually pure and obey the Torah through underhanded practices.
There is a Mishnah story of Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel (son of the respected Gamaliel who know from Acts 5 and Acts 22), who took action to lower the price of sacrificial pigeons and doves after it was inflated. He was worried women would not be able to afford to give the proper offerings after birth the way Miriam mother of Yeshua did in Luke 2.
Corrupt religious leaders and corruption in the temple angered Him as it angers Hashem because it led people astray and into sin. It made obeying Hashem difficult, undesirable, or even impossible. It created jaded hearts and ruined lives. The Torah was supposed to do the opposite.
The fences around fences, the standards created to keep our people from violating Hashem's commandments are not the same as the deliberate religious corruption and hypocritical religious leaders.
One only has to read Shemot/Exodus to know our people had a habit of becoming like whatever culture was around them. We had a history of idolatry, cavorting with those we shouldn't, picking up idols and practices both foreign and forbidden.
From Moses to the prophets, our leaders have always had a big responsibility on their shoulders.
Rules around rules were a simple way to keep us from violating Hashem's standards and keep us out of the next Babylon.
Do they sometimes go to far? That's a matter of person preference and tradition. Personally, I believe some venture into eccentric territory but the same can be said of beliefs in some Christian traditions, especially Catholicism.
When I came to faith in Yeshua, there were a few things I had to unlearn, as we all do.
The Ruach HaChodesh became my guide and the Messiah, my ultimate rabbi.
I had never built my own sukkah. Sukkot was observed communally in the community sukkah which I could have eaten some meals in, as is the tradition, but after becoming a believer I wanted to have my own. In orthodox Judaism there are regulations for what makes a sukkah "kosher" ie. meeting the standards of the commandments.
Some of the rules a sukkah must have three walls, with a length of 28 inches wide and 40 inches high, the roof must be a thatched bamboo type mat called a "schach" which must have openings enough for rain to come through.
Why the rules? Because every culture, especially one that has been in a battle to exist since the beginning, can deteriorate over time. It is a miracle of Hashem that the Jewish people exist. Between the attempts to extinguish us, antisemitism, and our own assimilation, the fact that the Torah is still being practiced today is a miracle indeed. Much of this is because rabbis, a few of which have helped me in life tremendously, have led us and encouraged us.
The reason so many Jewish people love their rabbis is because they walk the walk and work tirelessly, the long hours of clergy, to pour into their communities, teach children, counsel marriages, and make time for anyone asking.
The rules we have create a standard. Judaism is a tribal, communal faith. Tribes have leaders and followers. There would be chaos if everyone went their own way. If you've ever played a game of telephone you know how a message disintegrates as it gets passed down.
The way the Jewish people have protected themselves against this, is by high standards.
So when it came time to have my own sukkah as a believer, I was faced with a decision. Either make a kosher one, to my community's standards or not have one at all. In my mind it was a simple choice. That is, until I read the Torah for myself.
"Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am Adonai your G-d.’” -Vayikra/Leviticus 23: 42-43
I read other accounts of Sukkot, and each one said to live in temporary shelters, but none had specific dimensions or any of our laws. Here I found a fence around a fence. I would be obeying Hashem if I made or purchased a "non-kosher" temporary dwelling, a tent even, but I would be disobeying Jewish law.
Hashem is a respecter of authority. He placed High Priests over the people to interpret the law for them throughout the Tanakh.
But with Yeshua as my High Priest and the Ruach HaKodesh as my Teacher, I knew I was not in violation by observing sukkot according to Torah instead of tradition.
I purchased a regular tent. One year, if I have space, I may build my dream sukkot. Perhaps it will even be to kosher standard. Why not? The idea is not to spit in the face of my traditions. I love and respect our traditions, but I am no longer bound to any custom on men to be right with Hashem.
My message for other Jewish believers in Yeshua, is to follow their convictions. It may be that Hashem wants you to built a traditional sukkah as a sign of respect because you live inside of your Jewish community. Perhaps He wants to show your community that being messianic does not mean throwing Judaism away. I would pray and let Him guide you.
That's the beauty of being in communication with Him through His Spirit. We can respect authority while knowing who our ultimate Authority is.
To all observing Sukkot, I wish you a chag sameach and shalom, no matter what your sukkah looks like.
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