NOTES for Deu 16:1-22
The three principal feasts, headed by Passover, annually gather all Israel “before the Lord” at the sanctuary where the ark of the covenant stands. By having the people stand before the visible place of the Presence, the law nurtured in them the desire and the search for an encounter with their God. It is no accident that the righteous of the Old Testament are said to have desired to see and hear Him even though they did not see during their lives God's final revelation in Man. Without this desire, it is impossible even today either to see or to hear God. For us too, therefore, a religious feast can become a place of encounter with the Lord, kindling in us the desire always to stand before His face, rejoice in Him, and live by Him.