Dance Resource Packet
by Teri Martin
Incorporating Jewish Dance & Celebration in Your:
Home Church
Family Celebrations
Congregational Worship Services & Special Events
Feasts of Yahuwah Celebrations
by Teri Martin
Incorporating Jewish Dance & Celebration in Your:
Home Church
Family Celebrations
Congregational Worship Services & Special Events
Feasts of Yahuwah Celebrations
Introduction:
Restoring Jewish Hebraic dance is very exciting. We have had the joy of celebrating in joyous worship in many settings including; our home, community buildings, church events, and in a home church setting. We wish to encourage you to step out in faith, and to put your feet into action for Yahuwah's Glory, in whatever your particular setting may be.
Worship Dance in your Home:
Incorporating worship into your home devotions will add a wonderful element to your devotion or family time. We are blessed that our son plays the guitar and leads worship in our family worship time. Having live music is a great way to worship, and everyone loves to call out their favorite songs. However, equally effective is singing acappella or with music tapes. Elohim is certainly most interested in your "joyful noise," not whether your family qualifies as the next Von Trappe Family Singers! To obtain free downloadable Messianic music visit our Practical Restoration - Jewish Dance Page.
Worship Flags:
One of the ways that we encourage worship dance is by the use of worship flags. We have purchased "Personal Worship Flags" at a very reasonable price, and our children love to use them. These flags are smaller than many worship flags used in churches, and work well in rooms with a standard height ceiling. Discussing the use of flags as worship is important so that your children will know that its "fun with a purpose." Your demonstration of worship with the flags will speak even more to your children. Our daughter began using the flags at 2 years old, her understanding of worship was evident and it continues to grow today. Of course, you will have to train the children to use the flags properly. They are for worship, to wave before Yahuwah as an offering of love, not for sword fighting etc... You will also need ample room for each child to avoid the occasional "bump" when the children flag. We have found that the flags add an excitement to family devotions. You may find your children begging for devotions to begin! Don't forget to visit our Flag Resource Page.
Jewish Dance:
We also began learning a few traditional Jewish dances. Jewish dances are usually done in a circle, and with only a few basic steps you can begin using Jewish dance in your home devotions. You may feel a little awkward at first, but Jewish dance is something that men, women, boys and girls can get comfortable with as they practice. We love to teach a couple of Jewish dances wherever we go, and we have found that people of all ages enjoy joining in the dance. Once you learn a few basic steps, you can also convert some dance steps over to your favorite contemporary worship music. Our whole family joins in the dance, and often ask to dance during all parts of the day. My younger children have never played "Ring around the Rosie" or "London Bridge," they grab our hands and say "Mayim, Mayim!" (A traditional Jewish dance that celebrate the waters of Salvation - Yeshua!) The more you do the dances, the less you will concentrate on what your feet are doing, when that happens you will find yourself realizing that you are dancing before Yahuwah as David did! Visit our Page on Practical Restoration where you can view free Jewish dance instruction videos as well as download free Messianic music.
Free Worship Dance:
Our Homeschool day always starts with reading the Bible and worship music as our son plays the guitar. I find myself often flowing with the music, lifting my hands in the air and acting out the song in an impromptu worship dance. It has become my special time with the Yahuwah. As I have done this, my children have seen worship demonstrated, and often they too will dance. We do not encourage silly time during this worship time. The children have learned that this is special. What a joy to watch our now 3 year old daughter offer her love to Yahuwah in her very special way of dancing with the flow of the music (and the Spirit), and our 18 month old son is grasping onto worship as well.
Releasing your feet to Dance for Him:
This may all sound great, but perhaps you are feeling a bit awkward about getting started. Let me encourage you to start where I did...on my knees. Our daughter displayed a keen interest in worship even as a small baby. When she was 1 1/2 years old, we were just starting to learn how to do Jewish Circle dances. She watched so intently, and began to do the steps as well with our video teacher, Michelle. It did not take long to realize that she had a gift, and we also realized she had a calling to dance for [Yahuwah]. As her mother, I realized that I needed to encourage her in this gifting and to demonstrate proper worship for her to emulate.
I wanted to move from choreographed steps to free worship, but I felt awkward. I have always felt dance in my hands, and have often used my limited vocabulary of sign language to worship [Yahuwah], but dancing with my feet was another story. However, I somehow knew that this was an important thing to develop. I thought it was all about teaching my daughter, but one day in church, [Yahuwah] told me something special through His Holy Spirit. We had finished singing, "How lovely are the feet of those who bring good news." Several songs later, I had an experience with [Yahuwah] that was very special. In the middle of a song, [Yahuwah] reminded me of a gift certificate that was given to me many years before during Christmas time, it was for a shoe store. My friend, who gave it to me, told me that she looked at my feet, and [Elohim] told her I needed new shoes. My friend is a very prophetic person, and I graciously accepted the gift. I have always known that there was something "spiritual" about those shoes, in fact, in the natural, I did not need shoes. Then, [Yahuwah] reminded me of the song we sang a few minutes ago. Then, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and I heard Him say, "I've given you beautiful feet for dancing!"
The shoes that my friend was fitting me for were dancing shoes! At this understanding from [Yahuwah] I gasped out loud, and instantly covered my eyes. For [Yahuwah's] Words were so real I had an expectancy that He would reveal something else to me. He left me with a beautiful anticipation of what else He had in store. (For the rest of my testimony see "Restoring Your Native Dance Unto Yahuwah".) After arriving home, I shared with my husband what [Yahuwah] had revealed. He expressed delight and confirmed the Word from [Yahuwah]. From that point on, I tried to put my feet into action, but I was awkward and not graceful at all. I began to pray, "[Yahuwah], please release the dance into my feet." I spoke with several friends who actively use dance in their ministry and personal worship to [Yahuwah], and they had encouraging words to help me. Then the breakthrough came, our worship flags arrived in the mail. David, our son, immediately got the guitar out and I took a flag in hand and began to worship. First, I stayed in place for a few minutes, but before long, I noticed that my feet were moving. All of the sudden, I realized that [Elohim] had released the dance into my feet. I flagged and worshipped and danced in a way that was brand new to me. From that day on, [Elohim] has been teaching me how to move my feet and my hands in a way that is both graceful and honoring to Him. He is an [Elohim] who loves to gift His children, and how delighted He is when we take steps of faith in using those gifts. The key to the breakthrough was acting on [Elohim's] Word to my heart. As Yahuwah leads you, offer your feet to Him for His Glory and purpose to dance for no other purpose but His.
Family Celebrations:
Once you have established dancing in your devotions, it will be an easy and logical step to include Davidic Dance in your Family Celebrations. Our family celebrates a Saturday Sabbath, it is a wonderful time to include a few Jewish dances. There are other events that you may find it meaningful to incorporate Jewish Dance. Perhaps, it is birthday parties, holidays, or family gatherings where you can share your new found love for dancing. You may be surprised to see that Grandma & Grandpa will do more than adoringly watch the grandchildren circle dance. They will enjoy the dance as well. In fact, we are strong encouragers of not dividing up into age and gender groups for our worship and discipling. Dancing together in a large circle, or several circles within each other if room does not permit the big circle, is an exciting, enjoyable and wonderful way to remember to include [Elohim] in your Family Celebrations.
Congregational Dance & Church Events:
Perhaps you are feeling that Davidic dance is something that you would like to see incorporated into your Congregation or House of Worship. How exciting! Spend time in prayer and ask [Elohim] how you may be used to accomplish this. Perhaps you feel called to be the "Ministry Leader," or perhaps you feel the passion but feel your role may be encouraging and helping in the ministry. Each Congregation has its own unique political system, so I can not advise exactly what your steps will be. How you present the idea to the Congregation's Staff will depend on your circumstances, however, many people find it more comfortable to go from Presentation to Participation. If your Congregation has used dance in past Presentations, your next step may be to incorporate actual Jewish Dance, Flag or Free Worship into the next event. As you develop the program, you will start to develop a dance team or corp group of people to work with. It is very important, that the dance team is on the same page with the leaders concerning the purpose of dance in worship.
Jewish dancing is very contagious, it looks fun, and it is. Isn't [Elohim] great to give us such a great gift to worship Him with? Try it in your next presentation. Start with your corp group, and invite others to participate. Another way to get started, is to offer a few Jewish dance classes. You can be a beginner and do this! We have only been dancing for 2 years, and now we are teaching others with confidence. We are certainly not experts, but we have discovered that we can teach others the dances that we know. In the last Feast of Tabernacles Celebration we participated in, we presented a 20 minute dance presentation, broke for a reception, and then taught traditional Jewish dances in the second half of the program. It was very well received, and our audience moved from Presentation to Participation with ease. Many Congregations incorporate the congregation's participation in Jewish circle dance into their regular worship time. You can see this in many Messianic Congregations, and you will see a lively, and very worshipful atmosphere unfold.
We have also seen a beautiful flag worship ministry here in Alaska at a church where we visit often. The flaggers are very committed to worship, and they prepare their hearts weekly to help the congregation usher in worship to [Yahuwah]. Flag worship is also very powerful in spiritual warfare. Worshippers who are gifted in this area can be a tremendous blessing to your Congregation.
Feasts of Yahuwah Celebrations
"The LORD [Yahuwah] said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the LORD [Yahuwah], which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.'"
One of the great joys of our ministry has been to encourage and participate in the Restoration of the Biblical Holidays. It may surprise you to know that the early church of Acts, including the Apostle Paul, celebrated the Jewish Hebraic Feasts. You may be even more surprised to know that Yeshua, (Jesus) celebrated the feasts. So why don't we celebrate the feasts today? (For a great teaching on this subject go to our Biblical Holidays page.) [Elohim] is now graciously restoring both Dance and the Feasts to His People in these last days. We have discovered the Feasts of [Yahuwah] to be so powerful and rich in Messiah. The first 3 Feasts point to Yeshua's work as Redeemer, the Suffering Servant, (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits), the 4th Feast (Shavuot or Pentecost) speaks of the Marriage Covenant [Elohim] has made with His People which He sealed with His Holy Spirit, and the last 3 Feasts (Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Booths (Tabernacles)) speaks of Yeshua's work as the Conquering King. It is easy to see how exciting it is to celebrate the Feasts when you can gain new understanding into how [Elohim] has woven His Promise for Messiah into the Biblical Feasts.
In addition to the Levitical Feasts, there are two more traditional feasts that are celebrated. Purim, when Esther is used by [Elohim] to save the Jewish people from annihilation, and Hanukkah, where the miracle of the lights is celebrated. Purim was added by Queen Esther, apparently with [Elohim's] approval for it is in the Bible that the Jews should celebrate that feast. Hanukkah occurred in between the Old and New Testaments, but is found in the New Testament when Yeshua Himself went to the temple to celebrate the feast and declared that He is the Light of the World!
We have Celebrated the Feasts with dancing (except Day of Atonement which is a Fast day, not a celebration day) in both our home setting, and corporately with others such as Feast of Tabernacles and Shavuot. These events have ranged from very choreographed and long programs incorporating Jewish, Flag and Free Worship to shorter choreographed programs with a lot of Congregation participation. Each has been a blessing, and a joy to participate in. We pray that you will find encouragement and joy as you begin your journey to keep [Elohim's] Appointed Times, either through personal reflection with your family, or corporately with your Congregation.
Don't forget to visit the Costume Resource Page. You'll find modesty guidelines as well as links to make finding your costumes easier.
Further Pages on Dance:
Costumes, Flags and Streamers Resource Page
How to Get Started In Jewish Dance - Practical Restoration
Restoring Native Dance Unto Yahuwah
The Biblical Basis of Dance in Worship
Restoration of Jewish Dance in Worship - Combining Dance with the Restoration of Israel
Restoration of Dance - Photo's
Restoring Jewish Hebraic dance is very exciting. We have had the joy of celebrating in joyous worship in many settings including; our home, community buildings, church events, and in a home church setting. We wish to encourage you to step out in faith, and to put your feet into action for Yahuwah's Glory, in whatever your particular setting may be.
Worship Dance in your Home:
Incorporating worship into your home devotions will add a wonderful element to your devotion or family time. We are blessed that our son plays the guitar and leads worship in our family worship time. Having live music is a great way to worship, and everyone loves to call out their favorite songs. However, equally effective is singing acappella or with music tapes. Elohim is certainly most interested in your "joyful noise," not whether your family qualifies as the next Von Trappe Family Singers! To obtain free downloadable Messianic music visit our Practical Restoration - Jewish Dance Page.
Worship Flags:
One of the ways that we encourage worship dance is by the use of worship flags. We have purchased "Personal Worship Flags" at a very reasonable price, and our children love to use them. These flags are smaller than many worship flags used in churches, and work well in rooms with a standard height ceiling. Discussing the use of flags as worship is important so that your children will know that its "fun with a purpose." Your demonstration of worship with the flags will speak even more to your children. Our daughter began using the flags at 2 years old, her understanding of worship was evident and it continues to grow today. Of course, you will have to train the children to use the flags properly. They are for worship, to wave before Yahuwah as an offering of love, not for sword fighting etc... You will also need ample room for each child to avoid the occasional "bump" when the children flag. We have found that the flags add an excitement to family devotions. You may find your children begging for devotions to begin! Don't forget to visit our Flag Resource Page.
Jewish Dance:
We also began learning a few traditional Jewish dances. Jewish dances are usually done in a circle, and with only a few basic steps you can begin using Jewish dance in your home devotions. You may feel a little awkward at first, but Jewish dance is something that men, women, boys and girls can get comfortable with as they practice. We love to teach a couple of Jewish dances wherever we go, and we have found that people of all ages enjoy joining in the dance. Once you learn a few basic steps, you can also convert some dance steps over to your favorite contemporary worship music. Our whole family joins in the dance, and often ask to dance during all parts of the day. My younger children have never played "Ring around the Rosie" or "London Bridge," they grab our hands and say "Mayim, Mayim!" (A traditional Jewish dance that celebrate the waters of Salvation - Yeshua!) The more you do the dances, the less you will concentrate on what your feet are doing, when that happens you will find yourself realizing that you are dancing before Yahuwah as David did! Visit our Page on Practical Restoration where you can view free Jewish dance instruction videos as well as download free Messianic music.
Free Worship Dance:
Our Homeschool day always starts with reading the Bible and worship music as our son plays the guitar. I find myself often flowing with the music, lifting my hands in the air and acting out the song in an impromptu worship dance. It has become my special time with the Yahuwah. As I have done this, my children have seen worship demonstrated, and often they too will dance. We do not encourage silly time during this worship time. The children have learned that this is special. What a joy to watch our now 3 year old daughter offer her love to Yahuwah in her very special way of dancing with the flow of the music (and the Spirit), and our 18 month old son is grasping onto worship as well.
Releasing your feet to Dance for Him:
This may all sound great, but perhaps you are feeling a bit awkward about getting started. Let me encourage you to start where I did...on my knees. Our daughter displayed a keen interest in worship even as a small baby. When she was 1 1/2 years old, we were just starting to learn how to do Jewish Circle dances. She watched so intently, and began to do the steps as well with our video teacher, Michelle. It did not take long to realize that she had a gift, and we also realized she had a calling to dance for [Yahuwah]. As her mother, I realized that I needed to encourage her in this gifting and to demonstrate proper worship for her to emulate.
I wanted to move from choreographed steps to free worship, but I felt awkward. I have always felt dance in my hands, and have often used my limited vocabulary of sign language to worship [Yahuwah], but dancing with my feet was another story. However, I somehow knew that this was an important thing to develop. I thought it was all about teaching my daughter, but one day in church, [Yahuwah] told me something special through His Holy Spirit. We had finished singing, "How lovely are the feet of those who bring good news." Several songs later, I had an experience with [Yahuwah] that was very special. In the middle of a song, [Yahuwah] reminded me of a gift certificate that was given to me many years before during Christmas time, it was for a shoe store. My friend, who gave it to me, told me that she looked at my feet, and [Elohim] told her I needed new shoes. My friend is a very prophetic person, and I graciously accepted the gift. I have always known that there was something "spiritual" about those shoes, in fact, in the natural, I did not need shoes. Then, [Yahuwah] reminded me of the song we sang a few minutes ago. Then, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and I heard Him say, "I've given you beautiful feet for dancing!"
The shoes that my friend was fitting me for were dancing shoes! At this understanding from [Yahuwah] I gasped out loud, and instantly covered my eyes. For [Yahuwah's] Words were so real I had an expectancy that He would reveal something else to me. He left me with a beautiful anticipation of what else He had in store. (For the rest of my testimony see "Restoring Your Native Dance Unto Yahuwah".) After arriving home, I shared with my husband what [Yahuwah] had revealed. He expressed delight and confirmed the Word from [Yahuwah]. From that point on, I tried to put my feet into action, but I was awkward and not graceful at all. I began to pray, "[Yahuwah], please release the dance into my feet." I spoke with several friends who actively use dance in their ministry and personal worship to [Yahuwah], and they had encouraging words to help me. Then the breakthrough came, our worship flags arrived in the mail. David, our son, immediately got the guitar out and I took a flag in hand and began to worship. First, I stayed in place for a few minutes, but before long, I noticed that my feet were moving. All of the sudden, I realized that [Elohim] had released the dance into my feet. I flagged and worshipped and danced in a way that was brand new to me. From that day on, [Elohim] has been teaching me how to move my feet and my hands in a way that is both graceful and honoring to Him. He is an [Elohim] who loves to gift His children, and how delighted He is when we take steps of faith in using those gifts. The key to the breakthrough was acting on [Elohim's] Word to my heart. As Yahuwah leads you, offer your feet to Him for His Glory and purpose to dance for no other purpose but His.
Family Celebrations:
Once you have established dancing in your devotions, it will be an easy and logical step to include Davidic Dance in your Family Celebrations. Our family celebrates a Saturday Sabbath, it is a wonderful time to include a few Jewish dances. There are other events that you may find it meaningful to incorporate Jewish Dance. Perhaps, it is birthday parties, holidays, or family gatherings where you can share your new found love for dancing. You may be surprised to see that Grandma & Grandpa will do more than adoringly watch the grandchildren circle dance. They will enjoy the dance as well. In fact, we are strong encouragers of not dividing up into age and gender groups for our worship and discipling. Dancing together in a large circle, or several circles within each other if room does not permit the big circle, is an exciting, enjoyable and wonderful way to remember to include [Elohim] in your Family Celebrations.
Congregational Dance & Church Events:
Perhaps you are feeling that Davidic dance is something that you would like to see incorporated into your Congregation or House of Worship. How exciting! Spend time in prayer and ask [Elohim] how you may be used to accomplish this. Perhaps you feel called to be the "Ministry Leader," or perhaps you feel the passion but feel your role may be encouraging and helping in the ministry. Each Congregation has its own unique political system, so I can not advise exactly what your steps will be. How you present the idea to the Congregation's Staff will depend on your circumstances, however, many people find it more comfortable to go from Presentation to Participation. If your Congregation has used dance in past Presentations, your next step may be to incorporate actual Jewish Dance, Flag or Free Worship into the next event. As you develop the program, you will start to develop a dance team or corp group of people to work with. It is very important, that the dance team is on the same page with the leaders concerning the purpose of dance in worship.
Jewish dancing is very contagious, it looks fun, and it is. Isn't [Elohim] great to give us such a great gift to worship Him with? Try it in your next presentation. Start with your corp group, and invite others to participate. Another way to get started, is to offer a few Jewish dance classes. You can be a beginner and do this! We have only been dancing for 2 years, and now we are teaching others with confidence. We are certainly not experts, but we have discovered that we can teach others the dances that we know. In the last Feast of Tabernacles Celebration we participated in, we presented a 20 minute dance presentation, broke for a reception, and then taught traditional Jewish dances in the second half of the program. It was very well received, and our audience moved from Presentation to Participation with ease. Many Congregations incorporate the congregation's participation in Jewish circle dance into their regular worship time. You can see this in many Messianic Congregations, and you will see a lively, and very worshipful atmosphere unfold.
We have also seen a beautiful flag worship ministry here in Alaska at a church where we visit often. The flaggers are very committed to worship, and they prepare their hearts weekly to help the congregation usher in worship to [Yahuwah]. Flag worship is also very powerful in spiritual warfare. Worshippers who are gifted in this area can be a tremendous blessing to your Congregation.
Feasts of Yahuwah Celebrations
"The LORD [Yahuwah] said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the LORD [Yahuwah], which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.'"
One of the great joys of our ministry has been to encourage and participate in the Restoration of the Biblical Holidays. It may surprise you to know that the early church of Acts, including the Apostle Paul, celebrated the Jewish Hebraic Feasts. You may be even more surprised to know that Yeshua, (Jesus) celebrated the feasts. So why don't we celebrate the feasts today? (For a great teaching on this subject go to our Biblical Holidays page.) [Elohim] is now graciously restoring both Dance and the Feasts to His People in these last days. We have discovered the Feasts of [Yahuwah] to be so powerful and rich in Messiah. The first 3 Feasts point to Yeshua's work as Redeemer, the Suffering Servant, (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits), the 4th Feast (Shavuot or Pentecost) speaks of the Marriage Covenant [Elohim] has made with His People which He sealed with His Holy Spirit, and the last 3 Feasts (Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Booths (Tabernacles)) speaks of Yeshua's work as the Conquering King. It is easy to see how exciting it is to celebrate the Feasts when you can gain new understanding into how [Elohim] has woven His Promise for Messiah into the Biblical Feasts.
In addition to the Levitical Feasts, there are two more traditional feasts that are celebrated. Purim, when Esther is used by [Elohim] to save the Jewish people from annihilation, and Hanukkah, where the miracle of the lights is celebrated. Purim was added by Queen Esther, apparently with [Elohim's] approval for it is in the Bible that the Jews should celebrate that feast. Hanukkah occurred in between the Old and New Testaments, but is found in the New Testament when Yeshua Himself went to the temple to celebrate the feast and declared that He is the Light of the World!
We have Celebrated the Feasts with dancing (except Day of Atonement which is a Fast day, not a celebration day) in both our home setting, and corporately with others such as Feast of Tabernacles and Shavuot. These events have ranged from very choreographed and long programs incorporating Jewish, Flag and Free Worship to shorter choreographed programs with a lot of Congregation participation. Each has been a blessing, and a joy to participate in. We pray that you will find encouragement and joy as you begin your journey to keep [Elohim's] Appointed Times, either through personal reflection with your family, or corporately with your Congregation.
Don't forget to visit the Costume Resource Page. You'll find modesty guidelines as well as links to make finding your costumes easier.
Further Pages on Dance:
Costumes, Flags and Streamers Resource Page
How to Get Started In Jewish Dance - Practical Restoration
Restoring Native Dance Unto Yahuwah
The Biblical Basis of Dance in Worship
Restoration of Jewish Dance in Worship - Combining Dance with the Restoration of Israel
Restoration of Dance - Photo's
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