በዓለ ደብረ ታቦር

By Abba Dere Teshome The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrates nine major feasts that contribute to the success of its apostolic mission and the spiritual growth of the faithful, which are connected to the work of salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Among these major feasts is the Feast of Debre Tabor, celebrated annually on the 13th of Nehase. This feast commemorates the day when our Lord Jesus Christ manifested His divine light and royal glory on Mount Tabor, the day when the perfection of His becoming God-man (the Incarnation) was clearly seen, and the day when the testimony of the prophets and apostles was confirmed. This feast, known in its traditional aspect as "Buhe," is a great religious celebration that holds its spiritual mystery in connection with the social and cultural heritage of the Ethiopians. I. The Historical and Biblical Foundation of Mount Tabor The name "Debre Tabor" is composed of two words: "Debre" (mountain) and "Tabor" (the name of a long mountain located in the region of Galilee). The mountain is located 10 kilometers west of the Sea of Galilee and has an elevation of approximately 575 meters (1,886 feet) above sea level. In the Old Testament history: Fulfillment of Prophecy: The prophecy previously spoken by King David, "Tabor and Carmel shall rejoice in your name" (Psalm 88:12), was fulfilled when our Lord manifested His divine light. Hymn of Salvation and Victory: In the time of the judges, it was the place where the prophetess Deborah and Barak defeated the Canaanite commander Sisera (Judges 4:6). In the mystery, Barak is a symbol of our Lord, and Sisera is a symbol of the devil; thus, our Lord’s manifestation of His glory on Debre Tabor was a symbol of His victory over the devil. A Place of Wonder for the Fathers: The prophet Samuel prophesied there, and King Saul met him there with three men (1 Samuel 10:3). The fathers Abraham and Noah saw the rainbow there, and our father Noah called it "Mekane Berhan" (Place of Light). In the New Testament and Tradition: The Gospel writers referred to it as the "high mountain" or "holy mountain," while the apostles in their synods, and also Saint Yared in his hymns, explicitly clarified the name of the mountain as "Debre Tabor." II. The Incarnation and the "Tasilot Qasarya" (Question of Caesarea) The foundation of our salvation is the perfect God and perfect manhood of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Incarnation). Since our Lord is a God who does not reveal His essence to the Church, He explained the Incarnation to His disciples, both in teaching and in miracles, so that they would not doubt the identity of Christ. The Question of Caesarea (Matthew 16:13-20): When our Lord asked in Caesarea Philippi, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?", Saint Peter confessed His divinity by saying, "You are the Son of the living God." Six Days Later: So that Saint Peter might hear the confession he had made from the Father and the Holy Spirit, so that he might understand it from one of the prophets, and so that his heart might be opened by miracles, our Lord took Peter, James, and John, who are called the apostles of the apostles, to Debre Tabor on the sixth day after the Question of Caesarea (the 13th of Nehase). The Spiritual Symbolism of the Mountain: The Gospel Symbol: It is difficult to climb a mountain, but it is joyful after climbing it; likewise, it is difficult to learn the Gospel, but it is joyful after learning it, as it distinguishes between righteousness and sin. The Kingdom of Heaven Symbol: Just as one finds the mountain with much effort, one finds the Kingdom of Heaven with much suffering. The Church Symbol: Just as the foundation of a mountain is from the earth and its peak is from the sky, the foundation of the Church is on earth, and its head (Christ) is in heaven. III. The Manifestation of Divine Light and the Testimony of the Prophets Our Lord Jesus Christ, at the age of 32 years, 6 months, and 13 days after His birth (in the time of Matthew, the 13th of Nehase, on a Sunday), was transfigured before them while praying on Debre Tabor. His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light. This transfiguration was not a change of nature, but the manifestation of the inherent light of His divinity. The Mystery of the Appearance of Moses and Elijah: The reason He brought Moses, who had been dead for a long time, from the grave, and brought Elijah from the nation of the living to stand on Debre Tabor, was so that they would testify that He is the God of the living and the dead. The Testimony of Moses: "Even if I parted the sea and brought down manna, I am weak and could not save Israel; what will Moses say about my Creator? Let them call you the God who created Moses!" Thus, he testified to His divinity. Furthermore, the hope given to Moses in Exodus 33:13-23, "You cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live," was fulfilled 5,500 years later when God, having become man, manifested Himself to him in His essence on Debre Tabor. The Testimony of Elijah: "Even if I closed the sky, I could not save Israel; let them call you the God who created Elijah!" Thus, he confirmed His essential divinity. The Symbol of Law and Prophecy: By bringing Moses from the Law and Elijah from the Prophets, it indicated that both those who are bound by the law and those who live in purity, as monks, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven together. IV. The Testimony of the Apostles, the Covering of the Cloud, and the Manifestation of the Trinity At that hour, the apostle Saint Peter, amazed by the great glory of the light he saw, said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Although this speech shows the humility of Saint Peter (not mentioning himself or his companions), it also indicates his failure to fully understand the divinity of Christ; for the Creator is not to be contained in a tent made by human hands. This is why it is written in the Holy Gospel, "He did not know what he was saying" (Luke 9:33, Mark 9:6). The Manifestation of the Holy Trinity: As Saint Peter was speaking, a bright cloud came and covered them. And a voice from the cloud came, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him." The Father spoke in the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son." The Son manifested His divine light in His perfect humanity. The Holy Spirit was seen in the form of the bright cloud. Thus, on Debre Tabor, the unity and trinity of the Holy Trinity were clearly manifested to the world for the third time. V. The Cultural and Spiritual Traditions of the Feast of Debre Tabor (Buhe) in Ethiopia In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Feast of Debre Tabor holds a significant spiritual and cultural place. A vigil is held from the evening; Saint Yared, while singing "Sebahikuke be-deber ke-qedme Moses we-Elyas" (I praise you on the mountain before Moses and Elijah), praises the mystery seen on Debre Tabor. Its meaning is "I praise/celebrate you on the mountain before Moses and Elijah were present," indicating that Christ manifested His divine glory on the mountain of Debre Tabor and conversed with Moses and Elijah. The Spiritual Significance of Traditional Expressions: Buhde (Glata): “Buhde” means Glata, that is, light. It is called “Buhde” because it is the time when the darkness and clouds of winter are removed and the radiance of light is seen, serving as a manifestation of the Light of Divinity. Mulmul Dabo: When the Lord revealed His light on Mount Tabor, the disciples, being astonished by the light, remained seated without rising. Their parents, having torn their dabo (clothing), went out in search of them. Reflecting on this, mothers give “mulmul” dabo to children. Lighting the Chibo: The chibo (torch) that is lit during the feast is a symbol of the Light of Divinity that was seen on Mount Tabor and illuminated the world. Singing the Jiraf: To commemorate the voice of the angel heard on Mount Tabor and the astonishment of the apostles, young people sing the jiraf. Students of the Exemplar: As they study faith and the mystery of Divinity like the apostles, they honor the feast in a special manner. Honored Christians, although the feast is celebrated in different ways in various regions of our country, the Feast of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor is primarily not a display of cultural performance, but a display/revelation of the mystery of the Transfiguration. Religious culture and its tradition are needed by a faithful people who knows and upholds the foundation of their faith. Therefore, when the faithful celebrate the feast, in addition to the cultural games, they should remain within a church similar to that on Mount Tabor, as Saint Peter said, “It is good for us to be here,” prioritizing the rule of fasting and practicing moderation in eating. Let us live, knowing and understanding the mystery of the Transfiguration, that its spiritual wisdom and grace may increase us. Amen.

በዲ/ን ደረሰ ተሾመ የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ለሐዋርያዊ ተልእኮዋ ስኬትና ለምእመናን መንፈሳዊ ዕድገት የሚጠቅሙ፣ ከጌታችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ የማዳን ሥራ ጋር የተያያዙ ዘጠኝ ዓበይት በዓላትን በከፍተኛ መንፈሳዊ ሥርዓት ታከብራለች። ከነዚህ ዓበይት በዓላት መካከል በየዓመቱ ነሐሴ 13 ቀን የሚከበረው የደብረ ታቦር በዓል አንዱ ነው። ይህ በዓል አምላካችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ በታቦር ተራራ ላይ ብርሃነ መለኮቱንና ክብረ መንግሥቱን የገለጠበት፣ አምላክ ሰው የመሆኑ (የነገረ ተዋሕዶ) ፍጹምነት በግልጽ የታየበት፣ የነቢያትና የሐዋርያት ምስክርነት የተረጋገጠበት ዕለት ነው። በባሕላዊ ገጽታው «ቡሄ» በመባል የሚታወቀው ይህ በዓል፣ መንፈሳዊ ምሥጢሩን ከኢትዮጵያውያን ማኅበራዊና ባሕላዊ ትውፊት ጋር አስተሳስሮ የያዘ ታላቅ ሃይማኖታዊ ክብረ በዓል ነው። ፩. የደብረ ታቦር ተራራ ታሪካዊና መጽሐፍ ቅዱሳዊ መሠረት «ደብረ ታቦር» የሚለው ስም «ደብር» (ተራራ) እና «ታቦር» (በገሊላ አውራጃ የሚገኝ የረጅም ተራራ ስም) ከሚሉ ሁለት ቃላት የተዋቀረ ነው። ተራራው ከገሊላ ባሕር በምዕራብ በኩል 10 ኪሎ ሜትር ርቀት ላይ የሚገኝ ሲሆን፣ ከባሕር ጠለል በላይ 575 ሜትር (1,886 ጫማ) ያህል ከፍታ አለው። በብሉይ ኪዳን ታሪክ፦ የትንቢት መፈጸሚያ፦ ልበ አምላክ ክቡር ዳዊት «ታቦርና አርሞንኤም በስምህ ደስ ይላቸዋል» (መዝ. 88፥12) በማለት አስቀድሞ የተናገረው ትንቢት ጌታችን ብርሃነ መለኮቱን ሲገልጥ ተፈጽሟል። የመዳንና የድል አምባ፦ በዘመነ መሳፍንት ነቢይት ዲቦራ እና ባርቅ የከነዓናውያኑን መሪ ሲሳራን ከነሠራዊቱ ድል ያደረጉበት ስፍራ ነው (መሳ. 4፥6)። በምሥጢሩ ባርቅ የጌታችን፣ ሲሳራ ደግሞ የአጋንንት ምሳሌ ሲሆኑ፤ ጌታችን በደብረ ታቦር ክብሩን በመግለጥ አጋንንትን ድል የማድረጉ ምሳሌ ነበር። የአበው ድንቅ ቦታ፦ ነቢዩ ሳሙኤል ትንቢት ተናግሮበታል፣ ንጉሥ ሳኦል ከሦስት ሰዎች ጋር ተገኝቶበታል (1ኛ ሳሙ. 10፥3)። አበው አብርሃምና ኖኅ ቀስተ ደመና ተተክሎ ያዩበት ሲሆን፣ አባታችን ኖኅ «መካነ ብርሃን» (የብርሃን ቦታ) ብሎ ጠርቶታል። በሐዲስ ኪዳንና በትውፊት፦ የወንጌል ጸሐፍያን «ረጅም ተራራ፣ ቅዱስ ተራራ» ብለው የጠሩት ሲሆን፣ ሐዋርያት በሲኖዶሳቸው እንዲሁም ሊቁ ቅዱስ ያሬድ በድጓው የተራራውን ስም «ደብረ ታቦር» በማለት በግልጽ አስፍረውታል። ፪. ነገረ ተዋሕዶ እና «ተስእሎተ ቂሣርያ» (የቂሣርያ ጥያቄ) የድኅነታችን መሠረት የጌታችን የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ፍጹም አምላክ፣ ፍጹም ሰው መሆን (ነገረ ተዋሕዶ) ነው። ጌታችን ፍጥረታቱን ለክሕደት አሳልፎ የማይሰጥ አምላክ በመሆኑ፣ ደቀ መዛሙርቱ በክርስቶስ ማንነት ላይ እንዳይጠራጠሩ ነገረ ተዋሕዶን በትምህርትም በተአምራትም ገልጦላቸዋል። የቂሣርያ ጥያቄ (ማቴ. 16፥13-20)፦ ጌታችን በፊሊጶስ ቂሣርያ «ሰዎች የሰውን ልጅ ማን ይሉታል?» ብሎ ሲጠይቅ፣ ቅዱስ ጴጥሮስ «አንተ የሕያው እግዚአብሔር ልጅ ነህ» ብሎ አምላክነቱን መሰከረ። ከስድስት ቀን በኋላ፦ ቅዱስ ጴጥሮስ የመሰከረውን ምስክርነት ከአብና ከመንፈስ ቅዱስ እንዲሰሙ፣ ከነቢያት አንደበት እንዲረዱ እና በተአምራት ልባቸው እንዲከፈት፣ ጌታችን ከተስእሎተ ቂሣርያ በ6ኛው ቀን (ነሐሴ 13 ቀን) አዕማደ ሐዋርያት የተባሉትን ጴጥሮስን፣ ያዕቆብንና ዮሐንስን ይዞ ወደ ደብረ ታቦር ወጣ። የተራራው መንፈሳዊ ምሳሌነት፦ የወንጌል ምሳሌ፦ ተራራ ሲወጡት ያስቸግራል፣ ከወጡት በኋላ ግን ደስ ይላል፤ ወንጌልም ሲማሯት ታስቸግራለች፣ ከተማሯት በኋላ ግን ጽድቅንና ኃጢአትን ለይታ ስታሳውቅ ደስ ታሰኛለች። የመንግሥተ ሰማያት ምሳሌ፦ ተራራን በብዙ ጻዕር እንዲወጡት፣ መንግስተ ሰማያትንም በብዙ መከራ ያገኟታል። የቤተ ክርስቲያን ምሳሌ፦ መሠረቱ ከመሬት፣ አናቱ ከሰማይ እንደሆነ ሁሉ፤ የቤተ ክርስቲያንም መሠረቷ በምድር፣ ራሷ (ክርስቶስ) በሰማይ ነው። ፫. የብርሃነ መለኮቱ መገለጥና የነቢያቱ ምስክርነት ጌታችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ በተወለደ በ32 ዓመት ከ6 ወር ከ13 ቀን (በዘመነ ማቴዎስ፣ ነሐሴ 13 በዕለተ እሑድ) በደብረ ታቦር ሲጸልይ ሳለ በፊታቸው ተለወጠ። ፊቱ እንደ ፀሐይ በራ፣ ልብሱም እንደ ብርሃን ነጭ ሆነ። ይህም ውላጤ/መለወጥ ሳይሆን የመለኮቱን ባሕርያዊ ብርሃን መግለጡ ነው። የሙሴና የኤልያስ መቅረብ ምሥጢር፦ ከሞተ ብዙ ዘመን የሆነውን ሙሴን ከመቃብር አስነሥቶ፣ ኤልያስን ደግሞ ከብሔረ ሕያዋን አምጥቶ በደብረ ታቦር እንዲቆሙ ያደረገበት ምክንያት እርሱ የሕያዋንና የሙታን አምላክ መሆኑን እንዲመሰክሩ ነው። የሙሴ ምስክርነት፦ «እኔ ባሕር ብከፍልም፣ መና ባወርድም እስራኤልን ማዳን ያልተቻለኝ ደካማ ነኝ፤ የእኔን ፈጣሪ እንዴት ሙሴ ይሉሃል? የሙሴ ፈጣሪ እግዚአብሔር ይበሉህ እንጂ!» ብሎ አምላክነቱን መሰከረ። በተጨማሪም በዘጸ 33፥13-23 ላይ «ፊቴን ማየት አይቻልህም፣ ጀርባዬን ታያለህ» ተብሎ ለሙሴ የተሰጠው ተስፋ፣ ከ5500 ዘመን በኋላ አምላክ ሰው ሆኖ በደብረ ታቦር በባሕርዩ ሲገለጥለት ተፈጽሟል። የኤልያስ ምስክርነት፦ «እኔ ሰማይ ብዘጋም እስራኤልን ማዳን የማይቻለኝ ነኝ፤ የኤልያስ ፈጣሪ እግዚአብሔር ይበሉህ እንጂ!» በማለት የባሕርይ አምላክነቱን አረጋገጠ። የሕግና የደናግል ምሳሌ፦ ከሕጋውያን ሙሴን፣ ከደናግል ኤልያስን በማምጣት፤ በሕግ ያገቡም ሆኑ በንጽሕና የኖሩ መነኮሳት አብረው መንግሥተ ሰማያትን እንደሚወርሱ አመልክቷል። ፬. የሐዋርያት ምስክርነት፣ የደመናው መጋረድና የሥላሴ መገለጥ በዚያ ሰዓት ሐዋርያው ቅዱስ ጴጥሮስ በታየው ታላቅ የብርሃን ግርማ ተደንቆ «ጌታ ሆይ በዚህ መኖር ለእኛ መልካም ነው፤ አሐደ ለከ፣ ወአሐደ ለሙሴ፣ ወአሐደ ለኤልያስ (አንድ ለአንተ፣ አንድ ለሙሴ፣ አንድ ለኤልያስ ሦስት ዳስ እንሥራ)» አለ። ይህ ንግግር የቅዱስ ጴጥሮስን ትሕትና (ራሱንና ባልንጀሮቹን አለመጥቀሱ) የሚያሳይ ቢሆንም፣ የክርስቶስን አምላክነት አርቆ አለመረዳቱንም ያመልክታል፤ ፈጣሪ በሰው እጅ በተሠራ ዳስ የሚወሰን አይደለምና። ለዚህም ነው በቅዱስ ወንጌል «የሚለውን አያውቅም ነበር» ያለው።ሉቃስ 9፡33፣ ማር 9፥6 የምሥጢረ ሥላሴ መገለጥ፦ ቅዱስ ጴጥሮስ ይህን ሲናገር ብሩህ ደመና መጥቶ ጋረዳቸው። ከደመናውም «የምወደው፣ ልመለክበት የወደድኩት ልጄ ይህ ነው፤ እርሱን ስሙት» የሚል የአብ ድምፅ መጣ። አብ በደመና «የምወደው ልጄ ይህ ነው» ሲል ተናገረ። ወልድ በፍጹም ሰውነቱ ብርሃነ መለኮቱን ገለጠ። መንፈስ ቅዱስ በብሩህ ደመና ተመስሎ ታየ። በዚህም በደብረ ታቦር የምሥጢረ ሥላሴ አንድነትና ሦስትነት ለዓለም ለሦስተኛ ጊዜ በግልጽ ተገለጠ። ፭. የደብረ ታቦር (ቡሄ) በዓል ባሕላዊና መንፈሳዊ ትውፊቶች በኢትዮጵያ በኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን የደብረ ታቦር በዓል ትልቅ መንፈሳዊና ባሕላዊ ቦታ አለው። ከዋዜማው ጀምሮ ማኅሌት ይቆማል፤ ሊቁ ቅዱስ ያሬድ «ሰባሕኩከ በደብር በቅድመ ሙሴ ወኤልያስ» እያለ በደብረ ታቦር የታየውን ምሥጢር ያመሰግናል።ትርጉሙም «በተራራ ላይ ሙሴና ኤልያስ በነበሩበት ፊት አመሰግንሃለሁ/አከብርሃለሁ» ማለት ሲሆን፣ የሚያሳየውም ክርስቶስ በደብረ ታቦር ተራራ ላይ መለኮታዊ ክብሩን መግለጡንና ከሙሴና ኤልያስ ጋር መነጋገሩን ነው። የባሕላዊ መገለጫዎች መንፈሳዊ ትርጉም፦ ቡሄ (ገላጣ)፦ «ቡሄ» ማለት ገላጣ፣ ብርሃን ማለት ነው። የክረምቱ ጭጋግና ደመና ተወግዶ የብርሃን ወገግታ የሚታይበት፣ የብርሃነ መለኮቱ መገለጫ ወቅት በመሆኑ «ቡሄ» ተባለ። ሙልሙል ዳቦ፦ ጌታ በደብረ ታቦር ብርሃኑን ሲገልጥ እረኞች በብርሃኑ ተደንቀው ሳይመለሱ ሲቀሩ፣ ወላጆቻቸው ዳቦ ጋግረው ፍለጋ ወጡ። ይህንን በማሰብ እናቶች ለሕፃናት «ሙልሙል» ዳቦ ይሰጣሉ። ችቦ ማብራት፦ በበዓሉ ዋዜማ የሚበራው ችቦ በደብረ ታቦር የታየውንና ዓለምን ያበራው የብርሃነ መለኮቱ ምሳሌ ነው። ጅራፍ ማጮህ፦ በደብረ ታቦር የተሰማውን የነጎድጓድ ድምፅ እና የሐዋርያቱን መደንገጥ ለማስታወስ ወጣቶች ጅራፍ ያጮኻሉ። የአብነት ተማሪዎች፦ እንደ ሐዋርያት ሃይማኖትንና ነገረ መለኮትን የሚማሩ በመሆናቸው በዓሉን በልዩ ሁኔታ ያከብሩታል። የተከበራችሁ ክርስቲያኖች ምንም እንኳን በሀገራችን በየአካባቢው በዓሉ በተለያየ መንገድ ቢከበርም በዓለ ደብረ ታቦር በዋናነት የባሕል ትዕይንት ማሳያ ሳይሆን የነገረ ተዋሕዶ ምሥጢር ማሳያ/መገለጫ ነው። ሃይማኖታዊ ባሕልና ትውፊቱ የሚያስፈልገው መሠረተ እምነቱን ጠንቅቆ ለሚያውቅ ሃይማኖተኛ ሕዝብ ነው። ስለሆነም ምእመናን በዓሉን ሲያከብሩ ከባሕላዊው ጨዋታ ባሻገር፣ ቅዱስ ጴጥሮስ «በዚህ መኖር ለእኛ መልካም ነው» እንዳለው፣ በደብረ ታቦር የምትመሰለው ቤተ ክርስቲያን ውስጥ ጸንተው በመኖር፣ ሕገ ተፋቅሮን አስቀድመውና ምግባር ትሩፋት ሠርተው ሊሆን ይገባል። የነገረ ተዋሕዶውን ምሥጢር ዐውቀንና ተረድተን እንድንኖር መንፈሳዊ ጥበቡንና ጸጋውን ያብዛልን አሜን ።