Chol HaMoed Pesach or Chol Ha-Moed Pesach (also transliterated from Hebrew as: Hol HaMoed Pesach or Hol Ha-Moed Pesach) refers to the intermediate or middle days of the Passover or Pesach festival as well as another Jewish festival, the autumn harvest festival of Sukkot. Literally-speaking, Chol HaMoed means "The Non-Holy Appointed Time" in Hebrew, where Chol means "Non-Holy" as opposed to "Kodesh" which means "Holy"; Ha means "The", and "Moed" means "appointed time."

Our reading this Shabbat starts with the successful attempt by Moses to have God reconsider and have God come close again and lead the people through the wilderness. Let’s read:

So Moses carved two tablets of stone, like the first, and early in the morning he went up on Mount Sinai, as HaShem had commanded him, taking the two stone tablets with him. 5 HaShem came down in a cloud; He stood with him there, and proclaimed the name Yud Hey Vav Hey. 6 HaShem passed before him and proclaimed: "HaShem! HaShem! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, 7 extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He does not remit all punishment, but visits the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations." 8 Moses hastened to bow low to the ground in homage, 9 and said, "If I have gained Your favor, O HaShem, pray, let HaShem go in our midst, even though this is a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own!" [Exodus/Shemot 34:4-9]

Many non-Jews that I talk to about Judiaism claim the difference between Christianity and Judaism is that Christanity promotes grace & love, but that the God of the Jews was always angry and that there is no grace in Judaism.

That is simply NOT true!! We see in the passage above that HaShem is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, 7 extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.” 

This does not sound to me like the angry unloving God which most non-Jews ascribe to our faith.  The entire story of Pesach (Passover) is one of liberation from being enslaved in Mitzrayim (Egypt) to freedom in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel).  Even the Korban (offerings) for our sins shows the grace of HaShem, in that, HaShem allowed for an alternative to us paying for our own sins.

May you have a Chag Sameach v’kasher Pesach as you remember the love which HaShem has for us.  Even as Messianic Jewish believers we rejoice in the death and resurrection of our Maran Yeshua, the ultimate Korban Pesach.

Next Year in Jerusalem!!