How to Celebrate the Fall Feasts at Home
The Fall Feasts are quickly approaching. This is the year to go through the gates. Isaiah 62:10 says, “Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway! Take out the stones, lift up a banner for the people!” This is the year of opened doors. If you’re celebrating the Fall Feasts at home for the first time, or have been for years, anticipate the move of God to flow through your home and open doors of new opportunities.
Here are a few tips to prepare your hearts spiritually and your homes physically to join in the celebrations of…
- Rosh Hashanah
- Yom Kippur
- Sukkot
What Do I Need to Celebrate the Fall Feasts at Home?
While there are a number of ways to celebrate this joyous time, we have compiled a list of items your family can use to celebrate the Fall Feasts at home.
*Under each feast is an additional checklist of items to go with that celebration.
- Shabbat candles or menorah
- Communion elements: Kiddush cup, challah bread or crackers
- Tallit or scarf
- Anointing Oil
- Shofar
- Sukkah
How to Celebrate Rosh Hashanah at Home
Like Shabbat and the other Feasts of the Lord, Rosh Hashanah—the Head of the Year—commences with the lighting of the candles and the saying of a blessing. Then you will blow the shofar, take communion, and enjoy a meal with your family.
Step 1: The mother of the house covers her head with a tallit or scarf and lights the candles.
The mother of the house can be the woman of the house or a spiritual mother of the family. If you celebrate the Fall Feasts at home, and no woman is present, a man can light the candles and say the blessings.
The woman covers her head with a tallit, which is symbolic of her recognition that the Lord is her covering. Then she lights the candles, drawing the light into her eyes. Lastly, she covers her eyes and recites the blessings.
- How many candles do you light at Rosh Hashanah? Typically, a menorah with seven candles are lit. This isn’t so much about the number of candles lit, but the heart posture behind lighting them. It is about recognizing the Light of the world–Yeshuah–and how He is your covering.
Step 2: Recite the holiday blessing.
This is the blessing:
- “Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the light of Yom Tov.” (Yom Tov means holiday lights.)
Below is the Hebrew phonetic transliteration…
- “Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, Melekh ha’olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Yom Tov.”
Step 3: Take a moment to pray over yourself and your household.
After the candles are lit and the blessing is said, take a moment to pray over yourself and your household. This is a special time for mothers to bless their family and their guests, make their requests known to God, and start the new year afresh.
Step 4. Blow the shofar.
Whether you celebrate the Fall Feasts at home on your own, as a newly married couple or family, or with us virtually, make sure you have your shofars ready! We will sound the shofars as one, signifying the start of the new year and the beginning of the Days of Awe.
- Why do we blow the shofars? Rosh Hashanah is also known as the Feast of Trumpets and is the feast of an ‘awakening blast.’ The shofars are used to awaken us to the new year and the new beginning the Father has for us.
- What are the Days of Awe? It is a ten-day period between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The Days of Awe are considered a time of introspection and repentance.
- How many times do you blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah? Jewish tradition is to blow the shofar 30-100 times a day during Rosh Hashanah. However, similar to lighting candles, it is important that the act doesn’t become legalistic. Instead, it should be Spirit-led, an act of worship, shouting out to the Lord and lifting up your breath to Him. Like Psalm 150 says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” This is the motive behind blowing the shofar.
Step 5: Take communion.
Our family traditionally takes communion to welcome the new year. Have your communion elements ready!
We use a Kiddush cup and challah bread. The bread is typically braided in a circle to represent the circle of life.
Don’t worry if you don’t have these items. Feel free to use whatever is available to you and your family.
Step 6: Recite communion blessings.
We state the following blessings together.
Hamotzi: The Blessing over the Bread
- “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.”
Below is the Hebrew phonetic transliteration…
- “Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha-alom ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz.”
Kiddush: The Blessing over the Wine
- “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine.”
Below is the Hebrew phonetic transliteration…
- “Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha-alom bor-ay peri ha-gafen.”
Step 7: Enjoy a meal!
If you celebrate the Fall Feasts at home and are the host, it is customary to serve a meal, adding in apples and honey, which represent the expectation of sweetness to come in the new year. Dip your apples in honey and enjoy! You can also greet your guests with “Shana tovah!” This means “to a good year!”
Please keep in mind…
The food that you serve is completely up to you! We want to share what is customary, but the idea is that it is something special. So, go ahead, break out your nice dishes, set the table, and celebrate the goodness with your family!
Rosh Hashanah Checklist
- Shabbat candles or menorah
- Communion elements: Kiddush cup, challah bread or crackers
- Tallit or scarf
- Shofar
*Optional:
- Rosh Hashanah meal
- Apples and honey
- Challah bread
Days of Awe
As mentioned, the ten-day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is considered the Days of Awe. It is a time of deep introspection. We use this period to recognize and repent of wrongdoings, make amends, seek forgiveness, and ask for spiritual alignment. It is the realization that new doors of opportunity are being opened to you, in your…
- Journey with God
- Marriage
- Family
- Work
- Kingdom destiny
We prepare our hearts and spirits for the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.
The Days of Awe is a time of personal preparation for the new year. At Rosh Hashanah, we hear the awakening blast, and the books are opened. At Yom Kippur, the books are sealed.
We encourage you to pray deeply and seek the Lord, asking the Spirit to reveal areas that need to be cleansed by the blood of Yeshua.
How to Celebrate Yom Kippur at Home
Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is considered the holiest day of the year. We begin with communion. Then we fast, light candles, recite blessings, and have a meal!
Step 1: Take communion
As a couple or family, you can take communion on Erev Yom Kippur (the evening before Yom Kippur), symbolizing a repentant, or teshuvah in Hebrew, heart. This has become a tradition in our family.
We seek the Lord. We repent. We return. This day is considered the holiest day of the year and is part the High Holy Days. After the 25-hour period, we break the fast with a celebratory meal—often at a restaurant as soon as the sun sets! This is just our family tradition—you can break the fast however you like.
Step 2: Begin a 25-hour fast
The fast begins the evening of Erev Yom Kippur (the day before Yom Kippur) and lasts through sundown the following day.
- What if I can’t complete a food fast? Please note that if you are unable to complete a food fast, that is fine! What can you fast from for 25 hours? Television or social media? The heart of it is to remove something physical to experience something spiritual.
Step 3: Light candles and recite the blessing
On Yom Kippur, we light candles and recite the blessing below. Like Rosh Hashanah, this is traditionally done by the mother of the house.
- “Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the light of Yom Kippur.”
Below is the Hebrew phonetic transliteration
- “Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, Melekh ha’olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Yom Kippur.”
Step 4: Blow the shofar.
Whether you celebrate the Fall Feasts at home or with us virtually, we will blow the shofars again on Yom Kippur. This blast signifies the end of the Days of Awe—the books are sealed. It is finished.
Step 5: Enjoy a meal!
We begin Yom Kippur with communion followed by a fast. In our family, we break the 25-hour fast with a celebratory meal. For us, this means getting to a restaurant as soon as the sun sets on Yom Kippur! Feel free to break the fast in a way that works for your family.
Yom Kippur Checklist
- Shabbat candles or menorah
- Communion elements: Kiddush cup, challah bread or crackers
- Tallit or scarf
- Shofar
How to Celebrate Sukkot at Home
Sukkot is the culmination of the feasts. It is our favorite Fall Feast to celebrate at home. We build a sukkah a week before (it is a week-long festival), eat meals, and enjoy our time together as we remember God’s provision in the sukkah.
Sukkot is a time to renew our marriage covenant with the Lord and our covenants with our families. On Sukkot, we light the candles and recite a blessing, just as we did at Rosh Hashanah.
Step 1: Build a sukkah!
This is an activity the entire family can take part in. Get the steps to build a sukkah HERE (includes links to purchase if you do not want to build a sukkah).
Start building your sukkah the week before Sukkot so that you have time to enjoy it with your family.
Step 2: On Sukkot, the mother of the house covers her head with a tallit or scarf and lights the candles.
The woman covers her head with a tallit and lights the candles, drawing the light into her eyes. Lastly, she covers her eyes and recites the blessings.
Step 3: On Sukkot, recite the holiday blessing
This is the blessing:
- “Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the light of Yom Tov.” (Yom Tov means holiday lights.)
Below is the Hebrew phonetic transliteration…
- “Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, Melekh ha’olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Yom Tov.”
Step 4: Take communion.
We hope you are able to join us online for Sukkot if you celebrate the Fall Feasts at home. At the close of the service, consider taking communion as a family.
Step 5: Bring an offering.
We end the feasts by bringing our offerings to the Lord. We know that all we have is from the Lord, and we want to honor Him by giving back.
Sukkot Checklist
- Shabbat candles or menorah
- Communion elements: Kiddush cup, challah bread or crackers
- Tallit or scarf
- Anointing Oil
- Shofar
- Sukkah
The Heart of the Fall Feasts
We encourage you to take part in the traditions of your spiritual heritage but understand it is not about the practices but the relationship. It is an appointed time on God’s calendar when He invites you into His presence and longs to cleanse you with the blood and release blessings for the year ahead.
Enjoy this time. Renew your covenant. And prepare to go through the gates!