Israel’s Rhythm of Celebration: Three Annual Festivals: The sabbatical themes of rest, remembrance, and concern for the poor are all woven into Deuteronomy’s summary of the three major annual festivals, which take their place in what Braulik called the “holy rhythm” of Israel’s life—sabbath days, seasonal festivals, annual and triennial tithes, sabbatical years (“Die Abfolge,” pp. 259ff.)—thus continuing this section’s link with the fourth commandment: “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”

The Feast of Tabernacles

16:13–15 Otherwise known as the Feast of Booths, this feast came as the climax of Israel’s agricultural year after all the grain and grape harvest was completed (v. 13; cf. also Exod. 23:16; 34:22; Lev. 23:33–43; and Num. 29:12–38). It was a time of great celebration and j…