 |
| Seminary Theatre Outfit Re-enacts Jewish Festival |
Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga captures the
colourful re-enactment with a Jewish festival by a theatre outfit of a
seminary school affiliated to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka
The Temple Glamour Theatre (TGT) of the West Africa
Theological Seminary, Lagos, an affiliate of the University of
Nigeria, Nsukka recently staged an out-door drama to re-enact the Feast
of Trumpets, an annual Jewish religious festival. The event, which held
at the 25th Convocation of the Seminary (WATS), recently a fortnight
ago was one of the best drama of its kind within the circle of
evangelical orthodox Christianity in contemporary times.
The festival, which is also known as Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew, meaning
‘Head of the Year’ marks the beginning of the Jewish civil calendar,
and it, was celebrated by Jews all over the world on Sunday 13
September, 2015 which falls in the same week with WATS convocation.
TGT troupe were seen dressed in splendid Old Testament priestly and
high-priestly vestments, blowing animal horns and matching with a big
ram and turtledove. The event, which originated from the Old Testament,
showcased its aesthetic and spiritual significance to New Testament
theology, contemporary life and apocalyptic exposition. For the
graduating seminarians, it was a moment of preparation for their
investiture as priest in the Church, just as God commanded Moses in
Exodus 28:1 – 43 to make priestly vestments for Aaron and his four sons
to add dignity to their vocation.
According to TGT Director, Rev’d Temple Okoronkwo, God commanded
Moses to declare to the Israelites that “… it will be a memorial of
blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation” (Leviticus 23: 23 – 24), and
the ‘Ram’s Horn’ symbolized Jesus Christ whom the Psalmist and Saint
Luke described as the ‘Horn of our Salvation’ (Psalm 18: 2, Luke 1: 68 –
69). The mystery of the horns can best be explained in terms of Joshua
with the Israelites at Jericho. God specifically instructed them to
carry ‘trumpets made of ram’s horns’ (Joshua 6: 4). Jesus was also
depicted as the ‘Great High Priest’ (Hebrew 4: 14 – 16; 7: 15) as well
as the ‘Lamb of God’ (John 1: 29, 36).
He went on to say that for contemporary Christianity, it is a time
of introspection and repentance in preparation for its futuristic
essence, the expected rapture, when the arch-angel will blast the
trumpet for the judgment of all believers whether living or dead in
Christ (Joel 2: 1 and Zephaniah 1: 14 & 16), adding that the ancient
Israelites used animal horns for various purposes which included
announcing the new moon, calling an assembly, calling for judgment, for
war and for giving signal against foreign aggression or imminent danger
amongst others.
The theatre director maintained that the Churches are the Israelites of this contemporary age.
Rev’d. Okoronkwo stated that the Feast of Horns (or Feast of
Trumpets) reminds both contemporary Jews and Christians alike of the
mighty acts of God in human history, the saving grace in Christ Jesus
who is the Horn of our Salvation, the grave devastation that will come
upon evil doers at the end of time, and the recompense of eternal life
awaiting believers who are upright in heart and deeds.
However, according to archival records by the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC), Jewish holidays are celebrated on fixed dates in the
lunar Jewish calendar, but this calendar varies in relation to the
solar calendar used in the west. This means that the holidays
move around with relation to western dates.
Although dates can be calculated accurately now, many non-Israeli
Jews still follow this practice. The Jewish day begins at sunset, which
means that all Jewish holidays begin the evening before their western
date.
Jews eat apples dipped in honey to symbolise hope for a sweet new
year. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, when Jews believe God
decides what will happen in the year ahead. The synagogue services for
this festival emphasise God’s kingship and include the blowing of the
shofar, a ram’s horn trumpet.
This is also God’s time forjudgement. Jews believe God balances a
person’s good deeds over the last year against their bad deeds and
decides their fate accordingly.
The 10 days beginning with Rosh Ha- shanah are known as the Days of
Awe, during which Jews are expected to find all the people they have
hurt during the previous year and apologise to them. They have until Yom
Kippur to do this.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is regarded as a sacred and solemn
occasion, on which synagogue attendance is particularly important. On
Yom Kippur Jews believe God makes the final decision on who will live,
die, prosper and fail during the next year, and seals his
judgement in the Book of Life.
It is a day of fasting. Worship includes the confession of sins and
asking for forgiveness, which is done aloud by the entire congregation.
For the duration of the festival, Jewish families live in temporary
huts called sukkot (singular: sukkah) that they build out of branches
and leaves.
Each day they hold celebrations with four types of plant: branches of
palm, myrtle and willow and a citrus fruit called an etrog. Sukkot is
intended to be a joyful festival that lets Jews live close to nature and
know that God is taking care of them.
Jews spend some time in their suk- kah, but not as much, and without some of the rituals.
Simchat Torah means “Rejoicing in the Torah”. Synagogues read
from the Torah every week, completing one read-through each year. They
reach the end on Simchat Torah and this holiday marks the completion of
the cycle, to begin again the next week with Genesis.
They say prayers and eat fried foods to remind them of the oil. Some
gifts are exchanged, including chocolate money and special spinning tops
called dreidels.
Tu B’Shevat (15 Shevat) is the Jewish New Year for Trees. The Torah
forbids Jews to eat the fruit of new trees for three years after they
are planted. The fourth year’s fruit was to be tithed to the Temple.
Tu B’Shevat was counted as the birthday for all trees for tithing
purposes, like the beginning of a fiscal year. On Tu B’Shevat Jews often
eat fruits associated with the Holy Land, especially the seven plants
mentioned in the Torah: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates,
olives and dates. Planting trees is another tradition.
Purim (14 Adar) celebrates the events told in the Book of Esther, in
which a wicked Persian nobleman named Ha- man plotted to murder all the
Jews in the land.
The Jewish heroine Esther, wife of the king Ahasuerus, persuaded her
husband to prevent the massacre and execute Ha- man. Because Esther
fasted before going to the king, Purim is preceded by a fast. On Purim
itself, however, Jews are commanded to eat, drink a lot and celebrate.
Almsgiving is also a very important Purim tradition. The Book of
Esther is read in the synagogue and the congregation use rattles,
cymbals and boos to drown out Haman’s name whenever it appears.
Passover, or Pesach (15-21 Nissan) is one of the most important Jewish festivals. During Passover, Jews remember
the story of the Israelites liberation from slavery in Egypt.
God unleashed ten plagues on the Egyptians, culminating in the death
of every family’s eldest son. God told the Israelites to sacrifice lambs
and mark their doors with the blood to escape this fate. They ate the
lambs with bitter herbs and unleavened bread (unrisen bread without
yeast).
These form three of the components of the family meal, called the seder, eaten by Jews on the first two nights of Passover.
There are blessings, songs and other ingredients to symbolise parts
of the story. During the meal the adults explain the symbolism to the
children.
Shavuot (6 Sivan) is the festival of Weeks, is a harvest festival.
Historically, at this time of year the first fruits of the harvest were
brought to the temples. It also marks the time that the Jews were given
the Torah on Mount Sinai. Shavuot is marked by prayers of thanks for
the Holy Book and study of its scriptures. Customs include decorating
synagogues with flowers and eating dairy foods.
Tisha B’Av (9 Av) is a day of commemoration for a series of
tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, some of which
coincidentally happened on this day, for example the destruction of the
first and second temples in ancient Jerusalem.
Other tragedies are commemorated on this day, such as the beginning
of World War I and the Holocaust. As Tisha B’Av is a day of mourning
Jews observe a strict fast and avoid laughing, joking and chatting.
Synagogues are dimly lit and undecorated and the Torah draped in black cloth.
