The Children of Israel were told to keep three feasts each year - the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of first fruits, and the feast of ingathering. Should we still do that?

In Exodus 23:14-16, Moses receives the instructions about these feasts. Those three verses in Exodus comprise our brief story. Their inner meaning is explained in Arcana Coelestia 9286-9296.

There are three feasts. In the Word, the number three represents a completeness, a sense of things being covered from beginning to end. Our thankfulness to the Lord is supposed to keep going - to endure.

The first feast, of unleavened bread, stands for worship, for our thankfulness for the Lord's action in our minds to get rid of false ideas. That enables us to start to receive good loves.

The second feast, of first fruits, relates to the planting of true ideas in that "soil" of initial loves for doing good.

The third feast, of harvest, or ingathering, stands for the time when, by applying our true ideas, we receive real good - loves of the neighbor and of the Lord - that become the middle of our lives. This is the state of rebirth, where we have - by working through the year (our lives), and enduring in thankfulness, allowed the Lord to get rid of our false ideas, and push our evil loves to the periphery, so that good can work, and be fruitful.

These feasts, then, represent the progress of our spiritual lives. In some manner, we need to keep them.

65. And girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. That this signifies Divine good, is evident from the signification of breasts with a girdle, as being to surround the chest; breasts and a girdle are mentioned because the breasts stand out from the chest, and a girdle surrounds. The reason why Divine good proceeding from the Lord is here meant, is, that the chest in general, and the breasts in particular, have such a signification. The reason why these denote good proceeding, is, that all garments signify those things which proceed; for they are outside the body and clothe it; and the things which proceed from, are also outside the body and engird it. (That this is the case, is evident from what is shown in the work, Heaven and Hell, concerning the garments with which the angels are clothed, n. 177-182; that is to say that every one there is clothed with garments according to his affection of understanding and becoming wise, and this affection is what proceeds from them; for there is a sphere which proceeds from each angel and spirit, this being a sphere of affection, and is called the sphere of his life, and they have garments according to this sphere. That their garments are from that sphere, is not evident to their sight, but yet they know that it is so; concerning this sphere, see Arcana Coelestia 2489, 4464, 5179, 7454, 8630.)

[2] From these considerations it is evident that the Lord's garments signify the proceeding Divine, which is Divine truth united to Divine good, which fills the whole heaven, and enters into the interiors of the mind, and imparts intelligence and wisdom to him who receives it. This is what is meant by being clothed with white garments. Because proceeding Divine good is signified by the girdle with which the Lord was girded, therefore the girdle appeared to be of gold, for by gold is signified the good of love (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881). The reason why breasts are mentioned instead of the chest, which was girt with the girdle is, because breasts signify spiritual love, and the chest itself the good thereof; this love is also signified by breasts in Isaiah:

"I will place thee for an eternal excellency, a joy of generation and generation. Thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breasts of kings" (60:15, 16).

Kings denote truths from good from the Lord (as may be seen above, n. 31); breasts and chest denote that good, which is the good of spiritual love.

[3] That the chest signifies the good of spiritual love is from correspondence with heaven; for the whole heaven corresponds to all things of man; the inmost or third heaven corresponds to the head; the middle or second to the chest, and the ultimate or first, to the feet. On account of such correspondence, heaven is also called the Grand Man (Maximus Homo); and because the inmost or third heaven corresponds to the head, therefore by the head is signified the good of celestial love, which is the good of love to the Lord. The reason of this is, that the good of celestial love reigns in and constitutes that heaven; and because the middle or second heaven corresponds to the chest, therefore by the chest is signified the good of spiritual love, which is the good of love towards the neighbour, because this good reigns in and constitutes that heaven. And because the ultimate or first heaven corresponds to the feet, therefore by feet is signified the good of natural from spiritual love, which is the good of faith; the reason is that, that good reigns in and constitutes that heaven. From these considerations it is clear why it is that the breasts signify spiritual love, and the chest its good. (But these things may be better understood from what is shown in the work, Heaven and Hell; especially from the articles which treat of the three heavens, n. 29-39, where it is shown, that the Divine of the Lord in the heavens is love to Him and charity towards the neighbour, see n. 13-19; that the whole heaven resembles one man, see n. 59-67; and that there is correspondence of heaven with all things of man, see n. 87-102; and in Arcana Coelestia 4938, 4939, 10087. It is permitted to adduce from that work, by way of illustration, these few things. That the chest signifies the good of spiritual love, is because within, in the chest, are the heart and lungs, and the heart from correspondence signifies celestial love and the lungs spiritual love, but the lungs fill the chest; that there is such a correspondence, see Arcana Coelestia 3383-3896, 9280, 9300; what celestial love is and what spiritual love, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 23.)