The Eighth Winding - The Eighth day - Shmini Atzeret

Revised 2012

The one question I'm asked all the time, is the 8th day Sabbath. This article is an adaptation from my book "The Mystery Of The Tzitzit On The Hebrew Prayer Shawl - A Provocative Study on the Value of the Tzitzit" - and my attempt to answer that question. I pray it will bless and enlighten you about how important the 8 is to the L-RD. Originally this chapter in my book had to do with the second winding of the Tzitzit, on the Hebrew Prayer Shawl. However in this article, I have changed the format so you might see the 8 winding as a picture of the 8th day, (a Sabbath). For truly 7 and 8 are both linked together.

Many of you will not agree with me, and that's ok. Just do not write me ugly emails, I will not answer them. You either see it, or you do not see it.

My book on the "Tzitzit" is provocative, and the 8th day Sabbath is higher then the 7th day Sabbath, which is made for man. Before I go on, less anyone say here, I'm making light of the 7th day Sabbath, I'm not! I keep the 7th day Sabbath that G-d gave to our Jewish people. However, I and also keep the 8 day Sabbath in Messiah, my Rest from all works. To your left you see a picture of a Tzitzit. The windings and knots teach us wonderful truths about our L-RD. He asked the Children of Israel to where these "fringes" on all 4 corners of there garments for a reason. That reason is so that when they looked at them, they would remember G-d's Commandments. But is that the only reason we can find, or is there a deeper meaning. I believe there is a deeper meaning, the sod level or mystery level of teaching. I have never claimed to be a great teacher or writer, yet the L-rd has given me insight into many things in my study of His Word. I know He has instructed me to share with people the depth, of the things of G-d. So by His grace, I'll do the very best I can to paint a picture for you.

Lets pray:

"Father G-d, open our eyes to see your 8th day Sabbath (Shmini Atzeret) for what it truly is, and show us only Your truth. Holy Spirit show us Messiah, Amen."

To start with, let me talk about the Maharal of Prague, Rabbi Yehuda Loewe. Rabbi Yehuda Loewe deals in depth with the significance of numbers in his writing. He explains that the number 7 always symbolizes the natural cycle. The 7 days of creation, the 7 days that make up the week, etc... However, the number 8 always signifies that which is "above the natural cycle" - like the Olam Haba (the World to Come). We call it the 8th day or the period after the 1000 year reign of Messiah on earth, "Eternity!"

King David who composed Psalm 119, laid it out in a most deliberate way. David used the Hebrew AlphaBet containing all 22 letters, and intentional arranged them in a pattern of 8 verses for each letter. Why did David use the number 8? I believe its because Psalm 119 is all about G-d's Torah, i.e. His Word. It has 176 verses (22 x 8 = 176), which just happens to equal the same value (Gematria) of the Hebrew word "Forever" in Exodus 19:9. "And the L-RD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the L-RD."

We need to ask ourselves once again, why did David use this pattern of 8? Why not another number, why not 7? I believe we find a clue in the writing of the Talmud.

"In the Talmud (Berachos 4b), it refers to this Psalm (119) as the repetition of eight. Whereas the number seven symbolizes the power of 'This World,' which was created in seven days, eight symbolizes 'release' from the desires of the mundane world which distract a person from his spiritual aspirations." - Tehillim Series by ArtScroll, page 1415.

So 8 is the number that symbolizes "RELEASE" from the desires of this mundane world!

I believe you can also put it this way..."The spirit of the L-rd G-D is upon me; because the L-RD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the L-RD," - Isaiah 61:1-2a

Psalm 119 shows us several wonderful things:
1.) It shows the Torah of G-d as being "Living." - The entire Psalm pictures this wonderful truth for us.
2.) As being "Eternal Word," its unceasing, an everlasting. Psalm 119: 89; Matthew 5:18.
3.) It shows us that a person can seek G-d's precepts from His Torah and walk in total Liberty. Psalm 119:45; James 1:25. Remember to the Jewish mind Torah = Grace, and truly Messiah is the embodiment of the "Living Torah of G-d!"
4.) I believe David intended to use the number 8 (Chet) because he knew that in this number, was a picture of a "higher thing" - an Eternal thing. Remember, natural things are temporal and subject to change, II Cor 4:18.
5.) David also knew that the number 8 (Chet) was the number of "release" from this world. He knew it by the Spirit of G-d that lived in him. How does anyone know anything of G-d? It is only by His Holy Spirit. David had G-d's Holy Spirit living in him, and so he knew, and so he was led.

The Rabbis tell us, that when the Miskkan (the Tabernacle) was completed, the L-RD revealed Himself there, and it was on the 8th day of the dedication ceremony. What makes the 8th day so special is the fact that the L-RD'S Presence was "revealed on the 8th day" - (Vayikra 9:1-24, Kil Yakar).

Now according to Orthodox Rabbi, Reuven Lauffer, "One reason the Brit Milah, the Covenant of Circumcision, is performed on the 8th day, is because the survival of the Jewish People is not dependent on the natural cycle. If it were we would no longer be here; the survival of the Jewish People is dependent only on G-d. G-d made a pact with us that if we keep His Torah He will guarantee our survival."

The counting of the Omer is 7 weeks (from Passover to Shavuot) however, Shavuot is not on the 49th day, which would make it the archetype of the natural cycle 7 x 7 = 49. Rather, it is celebrated on the 50th day. Rabbi Reuven Lauffer also said, "because receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai was the ultimate act that separated the Jewish people from their customary natural cycle, this act makes it a 'special day'."

Now, Messiah Yeshua rose in what we believe was the "womb of the morning" (Psa 110:3). On first day of the week, which is also called the 8th day, making it a venerable day and a higher thing according to Jewish thought. G-d gives us more of a good thing, not less, He is always adding (multiplying) for His children. I know many great Messianic teachers believe he rose on the 7th day, but we do not feel the Word teaches that. Nevertheless, the number 8 (Chet) is the number of resurrection and life throughout the Bible. There are 8 individual cases of resurrection mentioned in the Bible apart from our L-rd's own resurrection and those saints who came out of their graves at that time with Him. The first 3 resurrections occur in the Hebrew Bible, 3 in the Gospels, and 2 in book of Acts (I Kings 27:17-22; II Kings 4:32-37, 13:20-21; Luke 7:11-15; Mark 5:35-42; Luke 8:49-55; John 11:45; Acts 9:36-41, 20:9-12).

Let us look at Eight of the most celebrated "Covenant Names of the L-RD." These names are a key to understanding the fullness of the number 8.

1. YHVH Tsidkenu--- "The L-RD our Righteousness" - His, not ours

2. YHVH McKaddesh--- "The L-RD who Sanctifies" - The Holy Spirit of G-d

3. YHVH Shalom---- "The L-RD is Peace" - Messiah's brings perfect rest

4. YHVH Shammah--- "The L-RD is There" - The Holy Spirit who abides in us

5. YHVH Rophe---- "The L-RD Heals" - By the Messiah's wounds we are healed

6. YHVH Yireh--- "The L-RD’S provision shall be Seen" - Messiah is alive

7. YHVH Nissi--- "The L-RD is my Banner" - Messiah is our Standard

8. YHVH Rohi----- "The L-RD is my Shepherd" - Messiah is our good Shepherd

How Wonderful are these Names, Praise the L-RD!!!

What about David as the 8th son of Jesse, or was he?

According to I Samuel 16:6, 17:12 - David, the shepherd boy, was the 8th son of Jesse. However in I Chronicles 2:15, he is also listed as the 7th son of Jesse. Do we have a discrepancy in the Word of G-d? No, not at all! What we have is a witness I believe to the 7 & 8 connecting, and the Word reveals this to us here with King David, who is a type of Messiah in Scripture.

The facts are clear, David was the 8th son of Jesse. One of David's brothers must have died before he was married to leave his own seed to be counted. Now accordingly, there was no need to count him into the genealogical records as one of the sons of Jesse. This was done in ancient Israel in the days of King David, according to the Sages and the Rabbis of the day.

G-d does put things in His Word that may look on the surface like they are at odds with each other. However when one prays, G-d will reveal the answer. We must remember that G-d's Word is the Purest of the Pure (Prov 30:4), it is tested!

King David was born in Bethlehem, the house of Bread (Beth-lechem). In the New Covenant we find that Yeshua was also born in Bethlehem, the house of Bread. Eight times in the New Covenant Scriptures Bethlehem is mentioned, showing us that we must get resurrection life from Him, who was born in the house of Bread. For it is Messiah’s Bread that gives Life (Chai)!

"David, the shepherd boy who became King played the Kinnor, a Violin type Harp. So, in the first and second Beit HaMikdash (Temples) they used 7 stringed Kinnors. However, in the Temple that Moshiach (Messiah) will build, they will have 8 stringed Kinnors. This is because the number 8 is just like Messiah, much higher than the world is now!" (Source, Kil Yakar) There will also be a 10 stringed Harps as well, 10 being the number of witness in the Scriptures.

The Feast of Sukkot, called Booths or Tabernacles.

The Feast of Sukkot lasts 8 days. The 8th day is a designated Sabbath, a High Sabbath called Shmini Atzeret. The Feast of Sukkot is only 7 days long. What about this 8 day Festival in which the last day is a special Sabbath, does it have any meaning for us? Yes, it does! Let us read a noncanonical writing (85-100 AD); entitled "Barnabas," who many believe was one of the Apostolic Fathers of the first century church.

Chapter 15:5-16, 22-26.
15:5 Of the Sabbath He speaketh in the beginning of the creation;
15:6 And G-d made the works of His hands in six days, and He ended on the seventh day, and rested on it, and He hallowed it.
15:7 Give heed, children, what this means;
15:8 He ended in six days.
15:9 He means this, that in six thousand years YHVH shall bring all things to an end;
15:10 for the day with Him signifieth a thousand years ;
15:11 and this He (Peter) himself beareth me witness, saying;
15:12 Behold, the day of the L-RD shall be as a thousand years. (II Peter 3:8)
15:13 Therefore, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything shall come to an end.
15:14 And He rested on the seventh day.
15:15 This is what He means;
15:16 when His Son (Yeshua) shall come, and shall abolish the time of the Lawless One (the Devil), and shall judge the ungodly, and shall change the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day...
15:22 Finally He said to them ;
15:23 Your new moons and your Sabbaths I cannot stand, let yours fade.
15:24 All of you, see what is His meaning;
15:25 it is not Your present Sabbaths that are now acceptable unto Him, but the Sabbath which He has made, in which, when He has set all things at rest, He will make the beginning of the eighth day, which is the beginning of another World.
15:26 Wherefore also we keep the eighth day for Rejoicing in the which also Yeshua rose from the dead, and having been manifested ascended into the Heavens. --AGI

Also in the Book of Enoch we read almost the same thing.

Enoch 33:1
"And I appointed the eighth day also, that the eighth day should be the first-created after my work, and that the first seven circles in the form of the seventh thousand, and that at the beginning of the eighth thousand there should be a duration of not-counting, endless, with neither years nor months nor weeks nor days nor hours. AGI

How does the Sabbath of Shmini Atzeret, the 8th day, fit into this idea of a Higher Thing?

The 7th day of the Festival of Sukkot is Hoshanna Rabba, or the last day of the Feast, according to Yeshua in John 7:37. This is a day when the world is judged on how much water it will receive over the next year. We see that this day will be celebrated for the same reason in the future, when Messiah will rule and reign on this "earth." - Let's read His Word on the subject:

Zechariah 14:16-19
"And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the Nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, YHVH of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot. And it shall be, that whoever will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, YHVH of Hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, then they shall have no rain; there shall be the plague, whereupon YHVH will smite the Nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all Nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot." AGI

When G-d gave the Commandment to keep the Festival of Sukkot, He attached the Sabbath of Shmini Atzeret, the 8th day to it. The question again is why? The Rabbis say that this was so G-d would be able to spend time "alone" with His Chosen people.

The Sages tell a parable about it:

"There was once a King who made a party for his subjects, and among the guests was the King’s closest and most loyal subject. At the beginning of the party he took his friend to one side and told him to wait until the very end when all the guests were gone the King would make a party just for the two of them in honor of their special relationship. This is what the Eighth day is to G-d."

Read the parable again with Yeshua Messiah as the King!

"There was once a King by the name of Yeshua, the Messiah of G-d, who made a party for his subjects, and among the guests was the King’s closest and most loyal subjects, his congregation. At the beginning of the party he took his friends to one side and told them to wait until the very end (the last 1000 years on earth). Then when all the guests are gone the King would make a party just for them in honor of their special relationship. This is what the Eighth day Sabbath is to G-d, it Eternity! At the beginning of the Eighth thousand year, there should be a duration of not-counting, endless, with neither years nor months nor weeks nor days nor hours, just Eternity with G-d." - AGI

Yeshua is L-RD of the Sabbath -
Our 8th day Rest!

Now, there is still more we can see concerning the number 8, so let us go on with is study... According to Bullinger's book, "Numbers in Scriptures" (written in 1894), "the number 8 is the number associated with "Jesus" in the New Testament."

Yeshua’s Hebrew name by Gematria = 386. However, in the Greek the name Jesus - IESOUS by Gematria = 888. According to Ivan Painn & Reginald T. Naish, who both wrote outstanding books on this subject of numbers, most everything in the New Testament has a 7 or 8 connected to it when it comes to our L-rd. This was astonishing to me. The very Greek word for L-RD, Kurios, = 800.

Below in brackets Moshe Zew (a Jewish Believer in Messiah), and a friend in the L-rd, has found some wonderful things about our Messiah connected with the numbers 777 and 386.

[The Hebrew phrase "YESHUA SAVE" (yud10 + shin300 + vav6 + ayin70 + hei5 + vav6 + shin300 + yud10 +ayin70) = 777 "ORTHODOX MESSIAH" (hei5 + mem40 + shin300 + yud10 + chet8 + dalet4 + tav400 + yud10) = 777 "YHWH IN YESHUA MESSIAH" (yud10 + hei5 + vav6 + hei5 + beit2 + yud10 + shin300 + vav6 + ayin70 + hei5 + mem40 + shin300 + yud10 + chet8) = 777

The numbers 386: "YESHUA" (yud10 + shin300 + vav6 + ayin70) = 386 "HE IS MESSIAH" (hei5 + vav6 + alef1 + hei5 + vav6 + hei5 + mem40 + shin300 + yud10 + chet8) = 386 "MY G-D'S NAME" (shin300 + mem40 + alef1 + lamed30 + hei5 + yud10) = 386 "YHWH IN MESSIAH" (yud10 + hei5 + vav6 + hei5 + beit2 + mem40 + shin300 + yud10 + chet8) = 386

Key Numbers 3, 8 and 6:

3 three (shin300 + lamed30 + shin300 + hei5) = 635; SPIRIT OF G-D (reish200 + vav6 + chet8 + shin300 + lamed30 + hei5 + alef1 + lamed30 + hei5 + yud10 + mem40) = 635

8 eight (shin300 + mem40 + vav6 + nun50 + hei5) = 401; YHWH IS MESSIAH (yud10 + hei5 + vav6 + hei5 + hei5 + vav6 + alef1 + hei5 + mem40 + shin300 + yud10 + chet8) = 401

6 six (shin300 + shin300 + hei5) = 605; MAN (alef1 + dalet4 + mem600) = 605

II Corinthians 5:19-21: "To wit, that G-d was in Messiah, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Messiah, as though G-d did beseech you by us: we pray you in Messiah's stead, be ye reconciled to G-d. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of G-d in him".]

Thats only a few from brother Moshe, for more from him click here: Moshe Zew

I'll leave you with one more morsel on the number 8.

The heart of the "Tzitzit" is the Messiah. Did you know if you take the 8 cords that it takes to make one Tzitzit, times the 4 corners that they are to be placed on, you get a total number of 32. In Hebrew, the word for "heart" is leb (lamed bet) (Strong's #3820). It has a Hebrew value (Gematria) of 32. I pray you see at every twist and turn we can find Messiah, the Volume of the Book (Psalm 40:7-8). Even the two verses that declare Messiah is "the Volume of the book" bear witness to this fact. In the Psalm 40 it is both the 7 - 8 verses that speak to us this Messianic truth. The number 40 by the way, is the number of testing or trials in the Word of G-d. This truth of numbers in Scripture, can be seen so clearly throughout all of Scriptures.

What more can I say? Boy I could go on, but I'll let you dig-in to find out how the numbers 7 and 8 points to Messiah Yeshua. There is still much more gold and silver to be found, so starting your digging. What we see is that Leviticus chapter 23 opens with a Sabbath, and in-between are all His set times, i.e. His "Festivals Cycle"- and then Leviticus chapter 23 closes with a Sabbath. Ponder that for a year or so and see what the Spirit tells you!

In closing, let me once again quote from the Maharal of Prague, Rabbi Yehuda Loewe (16th century). He wrote: "Fear of G- d comes from love of G-d, because when you love someone, you intend to fulfill that person's desires, and you fear lest you will fail in even the smallest way." (Netivot Olam: Netiv Yirat Hashem Ch. 1)

I have put down what I was led to write out of my love for G-d, lest I fail Him about this subject.

Shalom,

Rev. Barbara Di Gilio <><

Mayim Hayim Ministries

Reprinted chapter from the Book:
"The Mystery Of The Tzitzit On The Hebrew Prayer Shawl’ - A Provocative Study on the Value of the Tzitzit."
All Rights Reserved 1997
Permission to put in print given upon written request only.

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