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Jewish Holiday Calendar
For September 2021 site updates, please scroll past this entry....
The Torah divides the calendar into two symmetrical halves: the Spring and the Fall, indicating the two advents of Messiah. The Biblical year officially begins during the month of the Passover from Egypt (called Rosh Chodashim, see Exod. 12:2), and the spring holidays of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits both recall our deliverance from Egypt and also our greater deliverance given by means of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah, the great Passover Lamb of God. Yeshua was crucified on erev Pesach, buried during Unleavened Bread, and was resurrected on Yom Habikkurim (Firstfruits). The holiday of Shavuot (i.e., "Pentecost") both commemorates the revelation of the Torah at Sinai as well as the revelation of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) at Zion, in fulfillment of the promise given by our Lord....
The intermediate months of summer end with the advent of the sixth month of the calendar, called the month of Elul, which recalls the time Moses interceded on behalf of Israel after the sin of the Golden Calf. To commemorate this time of our history, we likewise focus on teshuvah (repentance) in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah and especially in anticipation of Yom Kippur, the great "Day of Atonement." In Jewish tradition the 30 days of Elul are combined with the first ten days of the seventh month (called the "Days of Awe") to set apart "Forty Days of Teshuvah" leading up to the Day of Forgiveness for Israel. Immediately following Yom Kippur, the mood changes as we begin preparing for a joyous week-long celebration called Sukkot (i.e., "Tabernacles") that concludes with the holiday of Simchat Torah.
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The Fall Holidays:
The fall festivals prophetically indicate the Day of the LORD, the second coming of Yeshua, the great national turning of the Jewish people, and the establishment of the reign of the Messiah upon the earth during the Millennial Kingdom in the world to come.
Note that in accordance with tradition, holiday dates begin at sundown. Moreover, some holidays may be postponed one day if they happen to fall on the weekly Sabbath:
1. Month of Elul (Sat. Aug. 7th [eve] - Mon. Sept. 6th [day])
2. Month of Tishri (Mon. Sept. 6th [eve] - Tues. Oct. 5th [day]) - Fall holidays here!
3. Month of Cheshvan (Tues. Oct. 5th [eve] - Thurs. Nov. 4th [day])
- Four Sabbaths: Noach, Lekh-Lekha, Vayera, Chayei Sarah
- Yom Ha'Aliyah - Honoring Israel's immigrants (Wed. Oct. 13th; Cheshvan 7)
- Sigd - 50th day after Yom Kippur; Ethiopian Jewish holiday Wed. Nov. 4th)
4. Month of Kislev (Thurs. Nov. 4th [eve] - Fri. Dec. 3rd [day])
- Four Sabbaths: Toldot, Vayetzei, Vayishlach, Vayeshev
- Chanukah: Sun. Nov. 28th - Mon. Dec. 6th
- Dates for Chanukah 2021 (5782):
- 1st Chanukah candle - Sun. Nov. 28th [i.e., Kislev 25]
- 2nd Chanukah candle - Mon. Nov. 29th [i.e., Kislev 26]
- 3rd Chanukah candle: Tues. Nov. 30th [i.e., Kislev 27]
- 4th Chanukah candle: Wed. Dec. 1st [i.e., Kislev 28]
- 5th Chanukah candle: Thurs. Dec. 2nd [i.e., Kislev 29]
- 6th Chanukah candle: Fri. Dec. 3rd [i.e., Kislev 30]
5. Month of Tevet (Fri., Dec. 3rd [eve] - Sun. Jan. 2nd [day])
- Four Sabbaths: Miketz, Vayigash, Vayechi, Shemot
- Dates for Chanukah (continued):
- 7th Chanukah candle: Sat. Dec. 4th [Tevet 1 - Chodesh Chanukah]
- 8th Chanukah candle: Sun. Dec. 5th [Tevet 2] Zot Chanukah
- Asarah B'Tevet - Tues. Dec. 14th (dawn), 2021; fast over the seige of Jerusalem
- Christmas - Sat. Dec. 25th (Tevet 21, 5782)
- Secular New Year: Sat. Jan. 1st, 2022 (Tevet 28, 5782)
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Note: For more about the dates of these holidays see the Calendar pages....
September 2021 Updates
Creation and Faith...
[ The following is related to our Torah reading for this week, parashat Bereshit... ]
09.30.21 (Tishri 24, 5782) The idea that a personal God created the universe "out of nothing" (i.e., yesh me'ayin: יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן ) is a matter of special revelation that is not directly known through the operation of unaided natural reason. Of course human reason may (rightly) infer that since "every effect requires a cause," and since the universe itself is an effect, there must be a cause sufficient in power and greatness to effect the existence of the universe. Likewise, human reason may again (rightly) infer that the universe itself must have had a beginning, since it is impossible to traverse an infinite number of causes to arrive at a present effect, and therefore there must have been an immensely powerful and transcendental "First Cause" that started the entire chain of causation itself. (This "First Cause" answers the metaphysical question, "Why is there something [at all] rather than nothing?") However, human reason, by itself, can only take us so far, and something more is needed to apprehend the nature of reality.
In philosophical theology, an argument that God is the Cause of the universe is sometimes offered to invoke the possibility that the God of the Jewish Scriptures exists, though strictly speaking this inference is not warranted given the premises and logic of "cosmological" arguments alone. Indeed, the ancient Greek philosophers used this kind of reasoning to justify their own speculations about the cosmos (e.g., Plato's Form of the Good, Aristotle's Unmoved Mover, etc.), and yet their philosophical systems never connected the First Cause with a morally perfect personal Creator (אֱלהִים) who made mankind in His image and who therefore requires loving trust to know Him. The Greek conception of God (θεὸς) was abstract, impersonal, and essentially a theoretical construct employed to make sense of the physical cosmos. Nowhere in their speculations will you find the idea that the First Cause has revealed Himself as the Source of all moral truth in the universe and who therefore functions as mankind's Eternal Judge. And nowhere in their thinking will you find the Covenant-Making God (יהוה) who redeems humanity from sin and judgment by means of the atoning sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross... Beyond the abstract awareness that the universe is the effect of an immensely powerful and transcendental First Cause, unaided human reason has precious little to say. As the French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal once wrote, "The God of the philosophers is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
To the Hebrew mind, reality is the handiwork of a single all-knowing, all-powerful, and morally perfect Creator who has personally revealed Himself to key individuals in the drama of human history. As such, reality is intensely, overwhelmingly, and even hauntingly personal... Truth therefore is a matter of trust -- not abstract knowledge -- whereas "knowledge" is primarily about practical ethics, moral obligation, and cult practices (i.e., Temple worship). For the Hebrew mind, truth is more akin to moral fidelity than it is to propositional correspondence; it is more a matter of the heart than of the head (for more on this, see "Theology and the Greek Mindset").
A Roman emperor once asked Rabbi Joshua if the universe had a ruler. The sage answered, indeed, the LORD is the Creator of all things, as it is written, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." The emperor then asked, "Why then is God not like the emperor of Rome, who is seen twice a year so that people may know and worship him?" Rabbi Joshua said that unlike human kings, the LORD was too powerful for people to see; as it is written in the Torah: "No person shall see Me and live." The emperor was skeptical, however, and insisted that unless he could physically see God, he would be unable to believe. Rabbi Joshua then pointed to the sun high in the sky: "Look into the sun and you will see God." The emperor tried to look into the sun, but was forced to cover his eyes to keep them from burning: "I cannot look into the sun," he said. Rabbi Joshua then replied: "Listen to yourself: If you cannot look into the sun which is but one of God's creations, how can you expect to look at God?" (adapted from Sefer HaAggadah)
The New Testament affirms that knowing that the First Cause of the universe is the personal God revealed in the Jewish Scriptures is the result of faith in God's direct revelation: "By faith (בָּאֱמוּנָה) we understand that the universe [lit. "worlds"] were created by the utterance of God (בִּדְבַר אֱלהִים), so that what is seen [i.e., the "effect" of the universe] did not come into being out of existing phenomena [i.e., was made yesh me'ayin - 'out of nothing']" (Heb. 11:3). Again, this is a matter of special revelation directly imparted by God's grace so that the soul may apprehend the Divine Light that preceded the creation of the worlds. Faith "looks not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18). This "collision" with the world of everydayness creates a restlessness or homesickness for our true home in heaven... (May God help each of us persevere.)
The very first phrase of the Scriptures, "In the beginning God created..." (Gen. 1:1), is therefore the starting point of all true and right thinking about the universe itself. Everything else follows from this revealed truth which natural (i.e., human) reason can merely approximate. God alone can create yesh me'ayin - "out of nothing" (the Hebrew verb bara (בָּרָא) is used exclusively to refer to God's power in this way), and therefore God stands exaltedly apart from the universe as its unique Creator and personal Master. This is the guiding thought that overshadows all that follows in the pages of Scripture. God is holy - separate - and entirely unique. He is the Personal God who loves, wills, speaks, intends, etc., and to whom human beings owe their allegiance and life. The God of Israel is not some indifferent deity that functions as a theoretical construct to explain the universe: He is the Source of all life, the personal Judge and Redeemer of all people.
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Torah your Heritage...
09.30.21 (Tishri 24, 5782) Our spiritual inheritance is bound up with the Torah: it is part of our story, our history, and our heritage as follows of Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah (see Deut. 33:4; Matt. 5:17-19; Gal. 3:7; Rom. 4:16; Luke 24:27). Indeed "disciples" of Yeshua are called talmidim (תַּלְמִידִים) -- a word that comes from lamad (לָמַד) meaning "to learn." Among other things, then, following the Messiah means becoming a student of the Scriptures He loved and fulfilled (Matt. 5:17-18; Luke 24:44-45). Only after learning from Yeshua as your Teacher will you be equipped to "go to all the nations and teach" others (Matt. 28:19).
Followers of Yeshua - from every tribe and tongue - are no longer "outsiders" to the covenants and blessings of Israel (see Eph. 2:19; Gal. 3:26). Being a Jew (i.e., יְהוּדִי, from יְהוּדָה "one who praises") is really not an ethnic distinction but a matter of genuine faith in the Lord God of Israel. A true Jew is one whose heart has been transformed by the Spirit of the Living God (Rom. 2:28-19). "For in Yeshua the Messiah neither being circumcised nor being uncircumcised matters; what matters is being briah chadashah (בְּרִיאָה חֲדָשָׁה), a new creation (Gal. 6:15). "Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). But understand that Yeshua clearly upheld the truth of Torah (Matt. 5:17-21), and therefore Torah is clearly part of your heritage as a follower of Yeshua, the "Christ," that is, the anointed King (i.e., Messiah) of the Jews... Indeed, the first thing Yeshua did after his resurrection was to teach his followers how the Torah, the writings, and the psalms all bore prophetic witness of Him (Luke 24:27, 44). Moreover Yeshua told his followers that the true prophets of Israel all bore witness of Him (see Matt. 5:11-12). If you love God's salvation -- his Yeshua -- then may you proclaim yigdal Elohim - "Let God be magnified" (Psalm 70:4).
Hebrew Lesson:
Descending to Ascend...
09.29.21 (Tishri 23, 5782) We naturally seek life on our own terms, yet this mercifully leads us to disappointment, sorrow, and loss. God calls us to change our direction and turn to him because he knows that what we really need is only found in relationship with him.... Since the blessing is found by connecting with him, he calls us away from the vanity of our idols to know him as our ultimate concern, our highest good, our deepest love...
Like walking upon a plank that stretches out before the fathomless sea, teshuvah is an abandonment of yourself to God's care - the surrender of all that you are - the good as well as the bad, in trust of his personal love for you. It is not about reforming your character or becoming a "good" person; indeed, it is really not about you at all. Turning to God means losing sight of yourself altogether by being caught up in the glory of the Divine life.
Of course life is a messy business for us. We are weak. We are tempted, and we regularly fail. We are filled with ambivalence; we contradict ourselves; we struggle; we falter, we sin. At times we may even feel lost and inconsolably alone. But faith is a gift from heaven - the gift of God's presence, and as such the miracle attests that "God is with us," even in our times of darkness, in moments of sadness, heartache, confusion, anger, and fear. Where is God in our sorrows, our losses, our nightmares? He is with us. Despite the blindness of our hearts, the Spirit whispers: "I am with you." Yea, God never leaves us; he never forsakes us. He cares. His heart spans "the breadth and length and height and depth" of all that we are, expressed in his eviscerated groans for our deliverance, in drops of blood sweat out in his passion, in the forsakenness and utmost anguish of the cross... Faith believes and then sees.
God is with us, yet in the busyness (and forgetfulness) of the everyday we often lose sight of him. We forget. We go dark. We go into exile. And then in "the mercy of our misery" we sense the call of his heart once again: "Come unto me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest..." We slow down and again seek his "hidden" Presence, remembering his greatness and turning our thoughts back to what is ultimately real... What we thought was so big -- the dramas of this world -- suddenly seems small and insignificant. We remember the LORD our God; we revisit what matters most of all. And as we do so, the Spirit of God begins to flow within us as we reconnect with our true identity as God's beloved child. We come back to the open arms our Savior. He is alive; Jesus is real; we belong to him and he will lead us into the depths of his love forever and ever... Amen.
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Our Creator and Redeemer....
[ The following concerns this week's Torah reading, parashat Bereshit... ]
09.29.21 (Tishri 23, 5782) When Adam first opened his eyes and human consciousness was born, he immediately understood that the LORD created all things, including himself. According to midrash, Adam's first words were, יהוה מֶלֶךְ עוֹלָם וָעֶד / Adonai malakh olam va'ed: "The LORD is King for ever and ever." God then said, "Now the whole world will know that I am King," and He was very pleased. This was the "tov me'od" (טוֹב מְאד) moment of creation, when God saw all that He had made "and found it very good" (Gen. 1:31). The birthday of humanity is therefore the Coronation Day for the King of the Universe...
The implication that God is our Creator is enormous and pervades everything else in our lives. God's creative power is witnessed by all conscious life. The Divine Light that was created before the sun and the stars represents God's immanent presence that "lights up" all of creation - including our minds (Gen. 1:3). Since we were created b'tzelem Elohim, "in the image of God," the witness of God's truth is foundational to all of our thinking as well. The revelation (not the invention) of logical first principles is part of God's "signature," if you will, of how the mind is wired to reality. Likewise we have intuitive awareness regarding the existence of moral truth (i.e., the standard of justice and moral law), aesthetic truth (i.e., ideals of beauty, goodness, worth, and love), and metaphysical truth (i.e., cause and effect relationships). "The heavens are recounting the glory of God, and the expanse is proclaiming his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). God's power and presence can be clearly inferred from the tremendous effect of the universe itself. As Paul stated, "the invisible things of Him (τά ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ) from the creation of the world are clearly seen (καθοράω), so that people are without excuse" (Rom. 1:19-20). It is the fear of the LORD (יִרְאַת יהוה) that is truly the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Psalm 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10). The Hebrew word for fearing (ירא) and seeing (ראה) share the same root. We cannot truly see reality apart from reverencing God as the Lord and King of Creation.
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It is important to emphasize that God is not some impersonal "First Cause" or "Unmoved Mover" of the universe. He is not some "cosmic big bang" that started the universe only to be indifferent to its functioning, nor is God a "Cosmic Egg" or "Self-Absorbed Mind" that contemplates the navel of reality... No, God is an entirely awake and morally perfect Being who created everything "very good" and who actively engages and sustains His creation. God is a personal Creator and Ruler of all that exists. In theological jargon, God is both "immanent" (sustaining and upholding creation) and "transcendent" (exalted over creation). This God has a Name (YHVH), a mind, and a moral, purposive will that imbues all of creation. God is LORD over all time and space, the King of Glory, who is Master of all possible worlds. He is therefore intimately concerned with the rule of His law, expressed both in the "natural" world (i.e., the laws of physics, chemistry, etc.), the mental world (i.e., the laws of logic, mathematics, etc.), the ethical world (i.e., the laws of morality, ethics, etc.), and the spiritual world (the laws of spirit and of spiritual beings).
Of course the New Testament identifies the "Voice of the Creator" (קוֹל יְהוָה אֱלהִים) as the all-powerful Word of God: בְּרֵאשִׁית הָיָה הַדָּבָר / "in the beginning was the Word" (John 1:1,14). Yeshua is the Source of all life in the universe: כָּל־הַמַּעֲשִׂים נִהְיוּ עַל־יָדוֹ / "All things were made by Him (John 1:3). The "Word made flesh" is the "image of the invisible God" and the "radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint (χαρακτήρ, 'character') of his nature" (John 1:14, Col. 1:15). All of creation is being constantly upheld by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3): "All things were created by Him (i.e., Yeshua), and for Him" and in Him all things consist (συνεστηκεν, lit. "stick together") (Col. 1:16-17). Creation begins and ends with the redemptive love of God as manifested in the Person of Yeshua our Messiah... He is the Center of Creation - it's beginning and end. As it is written: אָנכִי אָלֶף וְתָו רִאשׁוֹן וְאַחֲרוֹן ראשׁ וָסוֹף / "I am the 'Aleph' and the 'Tav,' the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Rev. 22:13). Every knee shall one day bow before Him (Isa. 45:23; Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:9-11). Indeed, Yeshua is מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים / Melech Malchei Hamelachim: The "King of kings of kings." He is LORD of all possible worlds -- from the highest celestial glory to the dust of death upon a cross... יְהִי שֵׁם יהוה מְברָךְ / yehi shem Adonai mevorakh: "Let the Name of the LORD be blessed" forever (Psalm 113:2). Amen.
Midst of the Whirlwind...
09.29.21 (Tishri 23, 5782) For reasons not explained in Scripture, God chose to begin creating the world in chaos: תהוּ וָבהוּ וְחשֶׁךְ / tohu vavohu ve'choshekh: "confusion and emptiness and darkness" (Gen. 1:2). From chaos and darkness God would shine forth light - indeed, the divine light was the first of all God's creations (a counterpart of the "Light of the World" Himself): יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר / yehi or, vayhi-or: "Let there be light, and there was light" (Gen. 1:3). God's handiwork in creation, then, first involves His mastery over chaos...
God speaks from the midst of a whirlwind (סְעָרָה, "tempest"), demonstrating that He is LORD over the seemingly chaotic world around us (Job 40:6). "Greek-minded" theology is more inclined to seek after "Apollo" (the pagan ideal of harmony and order) than the seemingly chaotic ways of the LORD God of Israel. We often want some sort of "systematic theology" and for God to be explained to us in an orderly, logical way. There is danger here that we forget that the LORD is called Esh Okhlah (אֵשׁ אכְלָה), a "consuming Fire" (Deut. 4:24, Heb. 12:29). God's thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways (Isa. 55:8-9). As the prophet Isaiah also said: יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חשֶׁךְ עשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא רָע אֲנִי יְהוָה עשֶׂה כָל־אֵלֶּה / "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create woe; I the LORD do all these things" (Isa. 45:7).
We live in fearful times, chaverim. People are afraid of losing their money, their health, their freedom, and so on. But we must be careful here. The fear of "losing control" can move us to anger, yet the sages liken anger to idolatry since it denies the providence of God in our lives (i.e., hashgacha partit: השגחה פרטית). Anger over the apparent chaos of life implies that we don't really believe that God is in control -- that He is speaking "from the midst of the whirlwind" -- and therefore we feel aggrieved and perhaps embittered by what might happen to us. We must look to God as the Master of the storms of life and draw closer to Him in trust. The Scriptures affirm that for those who love God "all things work together for good" even if the present hour seems incomprehensible and even dangerous (Rom. 8:28-39).
Yeshua warned us not to live in fear of man, but rather to live in fear of God (Matt. 10:28). The worst that man can do is "kill the body" but he has no real power over the soul... Tribulation - the "squeezing of grapes" - is part of the life of faith, but we are invited to come "boldly" before the Throne of Grace (παρρησίας τῷ θρόνῳ τῆς χάριτος) to find help for our lives (Heb. 4:16). Note that the word translated "boldly" in this verse (παρρησίας) means that we can speak freely to God from the center of the chaos of our hearts -- without fear or shame. We don't need to conceal ourselves from the Divine Light, since this is the very Light that overmasters the "tohu va'vohu" chaos of creation! Those who accept that God is in complete control of their lives are set free from the terrible burdens of fear and outrage. Abiding in ahavah shlemah (אַהֲבָה שְׁלֵמָה, God's "perfect love") means that you can let go.
May God help us all remember: חֶרְדַּת אָדָם יִתֵּן מוֹקֵשׁ וּבוֹטֵחַ בַּיהוה יְשֻׂגָּב / "The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD will be made safe" (Prov. 29:25). Note that this "fear of man" is not just the fear of external dangers but more deeply is the fear we embrace within of our hearts - our own insecurity that undermines our faith.... May the LORD help us abide in His perfect love, free from the ravages of fear, anger, and anxiety. Amen.
Hebrew Lesson:
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Spelling out "Bereshit"...
[ The following is related our Torah portion for this week, parashat Bereshit... ]
09.29.21 (Tishri 23, 5782) The 18th century Torah sage Vilna Gaon taught that the Hebrew word "bereshit" (בְּרֵאשִׁית), which is the very first word of the Bible, may be thought of as an acronym for meaningful spiritual life. The first letter, Bet (בּ), stands for bittachon (בִּטָּחוֹן), a word that means complete trust in God's love for your life; the next letter, Resh (ר), stands for ratzon (רָצוֹן), or the desire to live according to God's will; the central letter Aleph (א) stands for ahavah (אַהֲבָה), which is the love for God and for our fellow man (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18); and the letter Shin (שׁ) is for shetikah (שְׁתִיקָה), or "keeping silent," which is the cardinal virtue of godly self-control and wisdom (James 1:26; 3:1-18; Psalm 34:13; Prov. 13:3, etc.). The letter Yod (י) is for yirah (יִרְאָה), or reverence for God's authority and dignity; and finally, the letter Tav (ת) is for Torah (תּוֹרָה), the study of which brings transformation and sanctity to your life (Psalm 19:7; Psalm 119:105; Prov. 6:23; Matt. 5:17-19; 2 Tim. 2:15-16).
Torah begins with the word 'bereshit' (בְּרֵאשִׁית), which may also be understood to say 'God created the world for the sake of the beginning.' All the Creator asks is that you make a beginning, that you turn in the right direction." Repent and believe -- what? Believe that you are loved, you need God's compassion and healing in your life... Indeed, we never really get past the first steps made in earnestness toward God. In that sense we are "always beginning," since we never get beyond the need of the heart to turn to God. We are all incomplete, awaiting the end for which we were created, and therefore we are always calling on the LORD, always abiding in Him, always seeking His face... We begin, we end, and in everything Yeshua is the Center of our hearts...
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Shavuah Tov Audio Podcast:
The Gospel in the Garden...
09.29.21 (Tishri 23, 5782) THE VERY FIRST PROPHECY OF THE TORAH concerns the promise of the coming "Seed of the woman" who would vanquish the serpent (nachash) that had originally tempted and deceived Eve (Gen. 3:15). This prophecy is sometimes called the proto-euangelion ("first gospel"), since it is the starting point of all subsequent prophecy and redemptive history revealed in the Scriptures. Indeed, since the mystery of the Incarnation of God the Son (the "Son of Man") is foreshadowed here, this prophecy is linked to the original woman, Eve. Just as Eve became a carrier of the corruption of human nature by heeding the voice of the tempter, so she would be the carrier of God Himself for the deliverance of mankind through the advent of the Redeemer. In the tragic aftermath of the transgression of the first man and woman, then, God first announced His unfailing redemptive love for the human race that would culminate in the birth, sacrifice, and resurrection of Yeshua our Savior and Deliverer - "born of a woman, born under the law" (Gal. 4:4).
Returning to the beginning:
Shabbat Bereshit...
[ The Sabbath that immediately follows Simchat Torah is called Shabbat Bereshit... ]
09.29.21 (Tishri 23, 5782) In Jewish tradition, the word "Bereshit" can refer to either the first Torah portion of the Bible (i.e., Gen. 1:1-6:8) or to the first book of the Torah itself. When it is used to refer to the Torah portion, it is called "parashat Bereshit," and the text covers the creation of the universe, including Adam and Eve, the subsequent transgression of Adam and Eve, the murder of Abel by humanity's firstborn son Cain, and the increasing depravity of the generations until the time of the calling of Noah. When it is used to refer to the book, however, it is called "sefer Bereshit," or the "Book of Bereshit," and the text covers everything from the creation of the universe to the descent of Jacob's son Joseph into Egypt in anticipation of the great Exodus. Note that the ancient Greek translation of the Bible (i.e., the Septuagint) called this book "Genesis," (Γένεσις: "birth", "origin"), a name that was carried over in subsequent Latin and English translations.
The first Torah portion of Bereshit opens with this succinct statement about the creative activity of God: "In the beginning (i.e., "bereshit") God (i.e., Elohim) created the heavens and the earth." Note immediately that the Scriptures therefore begin - not from the first person perspective of some man's understanding of God - but from an omniscient third person perspective, a Voice that reveals the Glorious Power that created the entire cosmos by means of His Word. The very first verse of the Bible, then, alludes to the triune nature of God, as further indicated by the use of the plural form of the name Elohim with the singular verb bara (he created). Indeed, the word bereshit itself includes the root idea of "head" (i.e., rosh), which suggests the "head of all things," that is, to the Messiah, the Creative Word of God who is the "head of all beginning and authority" and through Whom and for Whom all things were created (Col. 1:16; 2:10).
Hebrew Lesson:
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After its astounding opening line, shrouded as it is in mystery, the Torah describes how God created the universe yesh me'ayin - out of nothing (Heb. 1:3) over a six "day" period. On the first day God created darkness and light; on the second day He created the atmosphere, dividing the "upper" from the "lower" waters. On the third day He set the boundaries of land and sea and seeded the earth with trees and vegetation. On the fourth day He fixed the position of the sun, moon and stars as timekeepers and illuminators of the earth. Fish, birds and reptiles were created on the fifth day; and land animals, and finally the human being, on the sixth. God ceased from His creative work on the seventh day, and sanctified it as a day of rest: the very first Shabbat...
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In addition to this general, "day by day" account of the creation of the universe by God, the Torah provides a more focused account about how God formed Adam's body from the dust of the earth and blew into his nostrils the "breath of life" (נשׁמת חיים) so that he became a "living soul." Notice that the more detailed account includes reference to the LORD God, the first time the name YHVH (יהוה) is used in the Scriptures. Interestingly, in this second account the earth is described as a sort of "desert." The earth was barren of vegetation, no rain had yet fallen upon the earth, and the LORD formed the man from the "dust from the ground." After breathing into him so that he became a living soul, God planted a garden in Eden, "in the east," and there caused every tree that was pleasant to the sight and good for food to spring up from the ground. In the very midst of this orchard were two special trees: the "Tree of Life" and the "Tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע). God then instructed the man to tend the orchard and to eat from whatsoever tree he desired, though he was warned not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, "for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Gen. 2:17).
The Circle of Torah...
09.28.21 (Tishri 22, 5782) Each week in synagogues across the world a portion from the Torah (called a parashah) is studied, discussed, and chanted. Jewish tradition has divided the Torah into 54 of these portions - roughly one for each week of the year - so that in the course of a year the entire Torah has been recited during services. The final reading of this cycle occurs on the holiday of Simchat Torah ("Joy of the Torah"), which immediately follows the holiday week of Sukkot. On Simchat Torah, we celebrate both the completion of the year's Torah Reading cycle as well as the start of a brand new cycle. Each Jewish year, then, we "rewind" the scroll and begin again. The sages have wisely said that you cannot compare studying Torah for the 49th time to studying it for the 50th time....
Our spiritual inheritance is bound up with the Torah: it is part of our story, our history, our heritage (Gal. 3:7; Rom. 4:16; Luke 24:27). The stories of Torah serve as parables and allegories that inform the deeper meaning of the ministry of Messiah: "Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come (1 Cor. 10:11). "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom.15:4). "All Scripture is inspired by God..." which refers first of all to the Torah, the Writings, and the Prophets which attest to the Messiah (2 Tim. 3:16-17). You are therefore no longer a stranger or outsider to the heritage of the LORD but a partaker of the covenantal blessings (Eph. 2:12,19). Disciples of Yeshua are called talmidim (תַּלְמִידִים) -- a word that comes from lamad (לָמַד) meaning "to learn." Among other things, then, following the Messiah means becoming a student of the Scriptures He loved and fulfilled (Matt. 5:17-18; Luke 24:44-45). Only after learning from Yeshua as your Teacher will you be equipped to "go to all the nations and teach" others (Matt. 28:19).
We read V'zot HaBerakhah ("this is the blessing") at the end of Simchat Torah, which is the final portion of the entire Torah itself... After reading this portion, we "rewind the scroll" back to the beginning to begin reading parashat Bereshit. We do this every year because Talmud Torah - the study of Torah - is an ongoing venture in the life of a Jew. In this connection, it is interesting to note that the very first letter of the Torah is the Bet (בּ) in the word bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית), and the very last letter of the Torah is the Lamed (ל) in the word Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵל). Putting these letters together we get the word lev (לֵב), "heart," suggesting that the entire Torah - from the first letter to the last - reveals the heart and love of God for us... Moreover, the first letter of Scripture is a Bet (בּ), as explained above, and the last letter is a Nun (ן) in the word "Amen" (אָמֵן), so the whole Bible - from beginning to end - reveals the Person of God the Son (בֶּן) for us...
Since we begin the Torah again for a new year, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves that the Scriptures speaks from an omniscient, "third person" perspective. When we read, "In the beginning, God (אֱלהִים) created the heavens and the earth," we must ask who exactly is speaking? Who is the narrator of the Torah? The very next verse states that the Spirit of God (רוּחַ אֱלהִים) was hovering over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2), followed by the first "direct quote" of God Himself: i.e., "Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3). The creative activity of Elohim (God) and the presence of Ruach Elohim (the Spirit of God) are therefore narrated by an omniscient Voice or "Word of God." Obviously the Spirit of God is God Himself (who else?), just as the Word of God is likewise God Himself, and therefore the first verses of the Torah reveal the nature of the Godhead. God is One in the sense of echdut, "unity," "oneness," and and so on, though not "one" in the monistic sense of a solipsistic mind (νοῦς). God is beyond all theological predications: there can be no sense of "person" apart from relationship, and therefore God's Personhood entirely transcends all our finite conceptions - and yet God forever is One (Deut. 6:4).
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The 70th Week of Daniel...
09.28.21 (Tishri 22, 5782) Though no one knows the day or hour of the return of Yeshua our Messiah (Matt. 24:36; Acts 1:7), there are clues given in Scripture about the conditions of the world before His return, and Yeshua himself gave us parables admonishing us to actively be looking (see Matt. 24:2-14; 25:1-13). The Apostle Paul said that followers of the Lord can know the "season" of Messiah's return, and warned that He will come "as a thief in the night" - not in great power and glory at the end of the age (1 Thess. 5:2-6). Moreover, Paul forewarned of the rise of worldwide godlessness (2 Tim. 3:1-7) and the eventual apostasy of the "institutionalized" church (1 Tim. 4:1-3). Other Scriptures foretell the rise of worldwide tyrannical government, the rise of the Messiah of evil (Antichrist) and the institution of the "security state" (Dan. 11:38), the rebirth of the nation of Israel, the desire to rebuild the Temple, the coming Great Tribulation, and so on.
In addition to these general signs or clues, however, there are amazing prophecies of Daniel that should also be taken into account. The prophet Daniel wrote of seventy "weeks of years" (שבוע של שנים), or 490 years, that would explain what would happen in the latter days and the restoration of all things (Dan. 9:24).
Daniel divided the 490 years into three distinct parts. The first part was a seven weeks of years (i.e., 49 years) that foretold the rebuilding of Jerusalem that would begin with the decree of Cyrus (in 538 BC) after the 70 year Babylonian exile (see Isa. 44:26-28; 45:1-4, Ezra 1:1-3). The second part was a sixty two "weeks of years" period (i.e., 434 years) that would end end when the Messiah was "cut off" (כרת) to make an end of sins for his people and to bring in everlasting righteousness (Dan. 9:24-26). The third part was a final "week of years" (i.e., 7 years) in which an evil ruler would ascend to power who would make a covenant of peace with the world, but in the middle of the "week" (i.e., 3 1/2 years), would treacherously break the covenant and persecute Israel (Dan. 9:27, Matt. 24:15). This period of time is otherwise known as the time of Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:7), the day of indignation (Isa. 26:20-21), and the "Great Tribulation" (Matt. 24:21; Dan. 12:1). The subsequent judgment from heaven during this time is called Yom Adonai ha'gadol (יום־יהוה הגדול) "the great day of the LORD" (Joel 1:15; Isa. 2:12; Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 30:3; Zeph. 1:7, etc.).
What is particularly interesting from a prophetic point of view is that the climactic 70th week of years was set apart and broken off from the previous 69 weeks of years, creating a "gap" or hiatus that has been called "the age of grace" or sometimes the "church age." The gap is alluded to by the statement that Messiah the Prince (משׁיח נגיד) would be "cut off" and after that would occur an undefined time of "desolations" of the Roman wars, the destruction of the Second Temple, and the worldwide diaspora of the Jewish people (Dan. 9:26). During this time (or "dispensation"), the way to be in right relationship with God is to believe the message of the gospel of Yeshua the Messiah.
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Now the final 70th week of years is itself divided into two equal parts: the first part will be a time of "peace," but in the middle of the week (וחצי השׁבוע) the evil ruler (המשיח השקרי) will break the covenant, stop Jewish worship practices, and declare himself to be a god. He then will persecute the Jewish people and attempt to finally exterminate them from the earth (2 Thess. 2:3-8). Before the advent of last week of years, however, the restraining power of God will be removed, which some associate with the rapture or "snatching away" of the followers of Messiah (2 Thess. 2:6-7; Gen 7:1-16). Believers will then set apart from the plagues of God's wrath mentioned in the book of Revelation (1 Thess. 5:9) to participate in the "Marriage of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:7). Seven blessings will be recited (i.e, sheva berachot) and the bride will circle the groom seven times under the chuppah (wedding canopy). After the marriage are seven days of celebration. After this the LORD will return to earth with his saints, overthrow the false Messiah, save the Jewish people, and establish the Kingdom of God (Rev. 19:11-16). The promises of the LORD spoken of the prophets concerning Zion and the blessing of the land given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be fulfilled (Isa. 2:2-4; Micah 4:1; Zech. 8:3; Psalm 86:9; Jer. 3:17) and the Seventh Millennium of history will commence (Rev. 20:4).
"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth" (Psalm 50:2). Zion represents the rule and reign of God in the earth and is therefore synonymous with the Kingdom of God. The entire redemptive plan of God -- including the coming of the Messiah Himself and our very salvation -- is wrapped up in the concept of Zion. It is the "historiography" of God -- His philosophy of history, if you will. Zion represents our eschatological future -- our home in olam haba (the world to come). Even the new heavens and earth will be called Jerusalem -- "Zion in her perfection" (Rev. 21). "This is what Adonai Tzeva'ot says: I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure" (Zech. 1:14-15). "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch" (Isa 62:1). "The builder of Jerusalem is God, the outcasts of Israel he will gather in... Praise God, O Jerusalem, laud your God, O Zion" (Psalm 147:2-12).
The LORD God Almighty has vowed to break the pride of the "kings of the earth" with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel, and the shattering will be so ruthless that among its fragments not a shard will be found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern (Psalm 2:9; Isa. 30:14). For from His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty (Rev. 19:15). Nebuchadnezzar's great dream will soon be fulfilled: "As you looked, a Stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, breaking them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth" (Dan. 2:34-35). "And the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed ... and it shall stand forever" (Dan. 2:44). One day the edifice of man's godless pride will come crashing down, and there will be no trace left of its rubble... Even so, come quickly, Lord!
Torah of Death and Life....
09.28.21 (Tishri 22, 5782) Why does God want us to face the truth about death? Why does Moses ask God to teach us to "number of our days?" (Psalm 90:12). The reason is that by nature people deny the reality of death - they hide their eyes from it, ignore it, and pretend it's not there - so they can continue to live under the illusion that they are in control of their lives, that they are the center, that they are immortal little "gods." Death threatens the ego and humbles us to confess the truth about life, namely that we are not in control, that we cannot choose to be immortals, that we do not have power to exist in ourselves, and therefore we need life from a different source - spiritual life - wherein we receive a new identity and a new being found in relation to God.
The "natural man" regards death as an offense or as "absurd" because it splits us in two, creating a "divided house" that cannot stand. The ego demands be god-like, important, valued as sacred, etc., yet the prospect of death crushes the aspiration and yields alienation from reality. This creates a painful tension or dualism within the heart where the meaning and purpose of life is lost.... The message of the gospel begins precisely there, however, speaking to broken people who thirst for life but find themselves living on "death row" - people who are humbled and who understand they cannot heal themselves from the "sickness unto death," as Kierkegaard used the term. The remedy is not to deny death or to live as if death is not a genuine horror, but to understand it as our natural estate, brought about by sin that exalts the ego over the God who made us.
"Die before you die; there is no chance after." (C.S. Lewis)
The power of the gospel is to partake in a new source of life and to be healed from the sickness of death by God's miracle in Messiah (2 Cor. 5:17). "Jesus saves" is not a cliché for the faith but the sober truth of reality. It is by our union or identification with Him, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, that we are imparted new existence, true spiritual being, that is not subject to the natural law of sin and death (Col. 3:9-11). Being "in Messiah" means you are "justified," that is, welcomed, affirmed, accepted and declared righteous by God, and that you are set free from the condition of "being unto death." You partake and share in the life (relationship) of God based on his redeeming love: you are "adopted" by God, made a member of his "household," and attain the inheritance of which is eternal life. Consequently you cry out "Abba, Father" to God who watches over you and leads you through the days of your sojourn here on earth (Rom. 3:32). Despite walking through the shadowy byways and tribulations of this world, you refuse to let death define you or be the last word: you trust that your Father is with you, working all things for your ultimate good (Rom. 8:28). You know who you are, where you are going, and what your end is because of Yeshua our Lord.
Facing death is essential because the message of the gospel must be grounded and framed in the language of our wretched desperation as lost souls in this world (Rom. 7:24). Death is the central problem of existence, and death is therefore the "propaedeutic" that leads us to the salvation found in Yeshua the Messiah... When we confront the truth of our condition, there is real hope for healing. "Die before you die; there is no chance after" (C.S. Lewis).
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Not of this World...
09.28.21 (Tishri 22, 5782) Life in this evil world can be suffocating at times. And while we may not be under the oppression of a cruel Pharaoh, we are affected by the "princes of this age" who spurn the message of the Messiah's redemption and love, and we are still subjected to bondage imposed by taskmasters who defy the LORD and who seek to enslave us by means of lies, propaganda, "mandates," and threats of violence... The devil is still at work in the hearts and minds of many of his "little Pharaohs" that serve the world system.
Nevertheless "there is no fear in love" (אין פַּחַד בָּאַהֲבָה), especially since we know that ein od milvado -- there is no real power apart from the LORD (i.e., He is the only true Power in the universe). Indeed, Yeshua is elyon lemalkhei-aretz (עֶלְיוֹן לְמַלְכֵי־אָרֶץ) - the "Ruler of the princes of the earth" (Rev. 1:5) - and that means that they will answer to Him (Psalm 2). If you belong to the Messiah you are not part of this world and its matrix of deception but instead serve the King of Kings (Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18; 1 Pet. 2:9). Therefore set your thoughts on things above, not on things of this world (Col. 3:2). In the end all things born of the lie will be exposed and forever put away from us (Eccl. 12:14). The great Day draws near. "For though the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end -- it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay" (Hab. 2:3).
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Saying "NO" to the Lie...
09.28.21 (Tishri 22, 5782) We often have simplistic ideas about "temptation." For instance, we may think that it refers to being enticed to selfishly indulge the lusts our lower nature... A more mature view of temptation, however, understands that it begins within our minds and is justified by means of our faulty thinking. The practice of managing and testing our thought life (i.e., our attitudes, the assumptions behind our choices, etc.), is therefore crucial for our spiritual well-being. Examine yourself, then, to see if you are living the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). Be careful not to fool yourself by rationalizing godless thinking in the name of "prudence" or "wisdom" or "self-pity." The devil disguises his appeals as "sympathetic," "reasonable" and "justified," though his assumptions are grounded in the despair that comes from the denial of God's Reality and Presence... Friend, listen to the dialog happening within you; wake up to what you REALLY are believing. Then repent and ask the Lord for your daily deliverance....
Yeshua avowed before Pontius Pilate: "For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:37). Therefore his followers, that is, those who genuinely believe in Him, must be truth-focused people who exercise ongoing vigilance to "walk in the truth." This requires the mental discipline of clear thinking, testing truth claims for soundness, and distinguishing good from evil. "We cast down arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey the Messiah" (2 Cor. 10:5).
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Finding Life in God...
09.27.21 (Tishri 21, 5782) The name of the Lord is YHVH (יהוה), which comes from a root word meaning existence (i.e., hayah: היה, to be). It is this name that gives existence to creation, as it says, "in him all things hold together" (τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν; Col. 1:17) and by his power "all things are carried" (φέρων τε τὰ πάντα; Heb. 1:3). In God we "live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28) and "from him and through him and to him are all things" (Rom. 11:36). Some people think of "eternal life" as unending life or immortality of the soul, but eternal life (i.e., chayei olam: חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) transcends the idea of time and is centered in relation to the Living God, right now, wherever we are... Therefore Yeshua says to his followers, "Live in me and I will live in you" (John 15:4). We need not fear death, then, because we partake in the overcoming life of God given in Yeshua: there is no ultimate separation from his love. When we live in Messiah our true life is "concealed" and we pass over from the temporal world of shadows to the world of reality, from fear to comfort, from darkness to light. We "lose our life in order to find it" (Luke 17:33). The walk of faith surrenders all that this life may promise for the sake of finding true life in God.
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Final Portion of Torah...
09.27.21 (Tishri 21, 5782) V'zot HaBerakhah ("this is the blessing") is the very last portion of the Torah, which records Moses' last words to the people just before his death. It is always read just after the festival of Sukkot on the holiday called "Simchat Torah." After reading this portion, we will "rewind the scroll" back to Parashat Bereshit to begin reading the Torah all over again. We do this every year because Talmud Torah - the study of Torah - never ends! A true student of Scripture cannot claim to have completed the study of the Torah, for the implications of such study extend forever. And so the cycle continues, over and over in a continuous chain of study, ever widening, and all encompassing.
Sanctifying our Days...
09.27.21 (Tishri 21, 5782) The "appointed times" of the Scriptures (i.e., mo'edim: מוֹעֲדִים) were given by God to help us turn away from the omnipresent urge within the human heart to embrace vanity: "Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father and guard (שָׁמַר) my Sabbaths (שַׁבְּתתַי)... Do not turn to worthlessness (i.e., אֱלִיל) or make for yourselves any molten gods" (Lev. 19:3-4). In other words, the Biblical holidays - including Shabbat, Passover, and so on - were intended to help us to sanctify ("set apart," "make holy") the times and seasons in order to remind us of God's Presence (Psalm 104:19). Therefore they are called mikra'ei kodesh (מִקְרָאֵי קדֶשׁ), "times in which holiness is proclaimed" (Lev. 23:2). The Torah's declaration that these days are holy implies that they are set apart for special activities, such as commemorating God as our Creator (Shabbat), our Redeemer (Passover), our Resurrection (Firstfruits), our Lawgiver (Shavuot), our King (Rosh Hashanah), our High Priest (Yom Kippur), our Sustainer (Sukkot), and so on. In this connection it should be noted that it is a mistake to assume that the divine calendar was somehow abrogated with the cross of Yeshua, since all of the Jewish holidays center on Him, and indeed the advent of the Ruach Ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) occurred after the resurrection of Yeshua, precisely during the prescribed 50th day Jubilee of Shavuot or "Pentecost" (Acts 1:8; 2:1-4).
Presently our lives "suspended" between two worlds - this world with its illusions (olam hazeh), and the real world of spiritual substance and meaning (olam haba). We exist in an "already-not-yet" state of expectation and yearning where we must consciously mediate the truth of heaven by bringing it "down to earth." This is a truth war, and by truth I do not mean intellectual knowledge as much as the living truth that marks the lifestyle and vision of a follower of Messiah. We consciously remember Torah truth; we choose to always "set the LORD before us," and take "every thought captive to the passion of Messiah..." May God help each of us heed the call to walk in holiness by the power of His love and grace. Amen.
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The Narrow Door...
09.27.21 (Tishri 21, 5782) "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able" (Luke 13:24). The narrow door is the way of humility, assuming a low position, crawling, if you will, and making yourself small... It is the way of the cross of Messiah, confessing the truth of our broken condition and trusting in God alone for healing and deliverance.. The narrow door is the way of faith - trusting God's compassion and righteousness given on your behalf. The large, wide-open door is designed for the crowd and its various idols. Beware of the world that seeks to assimilate the soul: beware of becoming part of the crowd! The individual is lost and overwhelmed in the midst of the crowd and its momentum. The crowd assimilates the soul, laughs at the notion of individual responsibility, and abandons itself to the gravity of purely natural forces... The life of faith, on the other hand, refuses to regard the individual human heart as a triviality. Faith is an individual struggle, a walk into unknowing; it is the way of the sojourner who feels uneasy in this world of shadows... God is always with us and helps us stay strong and resolute, even as we struggle through the darkness of this age. Press on, chaverim! Do not lose sight of your high calling in Yeshua. The day and the hour draw near!
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Strangers in this world...
[ Chag Sukkot Sameach my fellow sojourners in Messiah's hope... ]
09.27.21 (Tishri 21, 5782) Among other things, the holiday of Sukkot reminds us that God's people are "strangers" in this world; they are literally estranged and live as "resident aliens" -- here, yet not here.... We wander; we are lonely; we yearn for our heavenly home. Life in this world is "olam ha'sheker" (עוֹלָם הַשֶּׁקֶר) the false world -- full of deception, troubles, and struggle. Thus Abraham said to the sons of Chet: "I am a 'stranger and sojourner' (גֵּר־וְתוֹשָׁב) among you; sell me a burial site" (Gen. 23:4), and likewise David said: "For we are strangers with You, mere transients like our fathers; our days on earth are like a shadow without abiding (1 Chron. 29:15). Faith affirms that underlying the surface appearance of life is a deeper reality that is ultimately real and abiding. It "sees what is invisible" (2 Cor. 4:18) and understands that the "present form of this world is passing away" (1 Cor. 7:31). The life of faith therefore calls us to live as toshavim - sojourners - who are at an infinite "distance" from the world of appearances and who seek the Eternal. Sukkot means we ache with a divine "homesickness" as we look forward to our real home in heaven (Heb. 11:9-10). "O You who are at home deep within my heart, enable me to join you deep in my heart."
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Wholehearted with God...
09.26.21 (Tishri 20, 5782) In the Torah we read, "Keep yourselves away from a false matter" (Exod. 23:7). In this connection note that the Hebrew word for falsehood (or lie) is sheker (שֶׁקֶר), which can be rearranged to spell kesher (קֶשֶׁר), meaning a band, gang, or group of people... The power of the lie is often found in the "group" rather than in the individual, and if enough people in a group repeat something untrue, eventually the individual's conscience will be overruled and the truth will be lost... This is a common methodology regularly employed by mass media for purposes of political propaganda.
Regarding this commandment to keep clear of a false matter, Abraham Twerski comments that it means we should act in a way that will not move us to "hide," and that includes hiding within the anonymity of the crowd. "Think about what you are about to do. Is there a possibility that you may at some time have to deny that you did it? If so, then do not do it."
Each of us must individually strive to be yashar (יָשָׁר) - upright and honest, and free from the complications and devious speech that attends to lies. We are to be "simple" (תָּמִים) with the LORD our God (Deut. 18:13), which requires that we are first willing to be rigorously honest with ourselves. A favorite quote of mine: "No person is saved except by grace; but there is one sin that makes grace impossible, and that is dishonesty; and there is one thing God must forever and unconditionally require, and that is honesty" (Kierkegaard).
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Teshuvah and Sanity...
09.24.21 (Tishri 18, 5782) It is written in our Scriptures (2 Tim. 1:7) that "God has not given us the spirit of fear (πνεῦμα δειλίας), but of power, and love, and a sound mind." Note that the Greek word for "sound mind" (σωφρονισμός) comes from a verb (i.e., sodzo: σῴζω) that means being made "safe" (i.e., soas: σωός) or healed because of the power and grace of the Living God.. Understand the connection between fear and confusion, then, and note further the connection between having a sound mind and a heart of peace and courage (Isa. 32:17)... A fearful or shameful attitude, then, enervates your resolve, quells your love, and introduces pain to your thinking. It is the old trick of the enemy of our souls to lead us to despair, the exile of shame, and cruel bondage to untruth. As always the answer is the same: namely, teshuvah, turning to God and embracing the grace and love given in Yeshua as our deepest reality, our power, our heart, and our mind.
The Name of the LORD (יהוה) means "Presence" and "Love" (Exod. 3:14; 34:6-7). Yeshua said, "I go to prepare a place for you," which means that his presence and love are waiting for you in whatever lies ahead (John 14:1-3; Rom. 8:35-39). To worry is to "practice the absence" of God instead of to practice His Presence... Trust the word of the Holy Spirit: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for healing peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11).
Take comfort that your Heavenly Father sees when the sparrow falls; he arrays the flower in its hidden valley; and he calls each star by name. More importantly, the Lord sees you and understands your struggle with fear... Come to him with your needy heart and trust him to deliver you from the burdens of your soul (Matt. 11:28).
אֵלֶיךָ יְהוָה נַפְשִׁי אֶשָּׂא
אֱלהַי בְּךָ בָטַחְתִּי אַל־אֵבוֹשָׁה
אַל־יַעַלְצוּ איְבַי לִי
ei·ley'·kha · Adonai · naf·shee · es·sa
e·loh·hai · be·kha · va·tach'·tee · al-ei·voh'·shah
al-ya·a·le·tzoo · oy·vai · lee
"Unto you O LORD, do I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in you: let me not be ashamed,
let not my enemies triumph over me."
(Psalm 25: 1-2)
What God Asks of You...
09.24.21 (Tishri 18, 5782) In the Scriptures it is written: "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you, but to revere the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut. 10:12). Abraham Heschel wrote, "Awe is an intuition for the dignity of all things, a realization that things not only are what they are but also stand, however remotely, for something supreme. Awe is a sense for transcendence, for the mystery beyond all things. It is "the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10). We start with awe and that leads us to wisdom. First we must learn to genuinely revere the LORD (ליראה) and only then will we be able to walk (ללכת) in all His ways, to love him (לאהוב), and to serve him (לעבד) with all our heart and soul. The awesome love of God for us is the end or goal of Torah as revealed in our Messiah. We were both created and redeemed in order to know, love, and worship God forever.
In another place it is written: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD ask of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8), which again presupposes that we fear the LORD. Indeed, "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (ראשׁית חכמה)." Without awe of God, you will walk in darkness and be unable to turn away from evil (Psalm 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 10:27; etc.), as it says: "the fear of the LORD leads to life" (יראת יהוה לחיים, lit. "is for life").
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Vapors of Time...
09.24.21 (Tishri 18, 5782) The scroll of Ecclesiastes (מגילת קהלת) is always read during the festive holiday of Sukkot, though you might be surprised to learn that many of the early sages did not want it included as part of the Jewish Scriptures. After all, the philosophy of Kohelet - that we are incapable of fully understanding the purposes of the world, and therefore much of what we think is important is really havel havalim (הבל הבלים), "vanity of vanities" - is contrary to the theology of reward and punishment found in the writings of Moses. This question is not unlike the Book of Job and the mysterious question as to why the righteous suffer.... It is to their credit that the Jewish sages finally decided to include Ecclesiastes as part of the accepted canon, however, since it takes humility to admit that we must continue to seek God, despite uncertainty in this world. After surveying the emptiness of "life under the sun," Solomon concludes his reflection as follows: "Fear God and keep his commandments: ki zeh kol-ha'adam (כי־זה כל־האדם), "for this is the whole man" (Eccl. 12:13).
For more on this subject, see Sukkot and Vanity...
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Yeshua the Hidden Guest...
[ The following is related to the holiday of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles... ]
09.23.21 (Tishri 17, 5782) The Aramaic word "ushpizin" (אוּשְׁפִּיזִין) refers to the seven "guests" whom we remember and honor during the week-long festival of Sukkot, namely: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and King David, respectively. According to Jewish tradition, on each night a different guest (i.e., ushpiz: אוּשְׁפִּיז) enters the sukkah, and we are to symbolically welcome them by offering them a place at our table (this is similar to the tradition of putting Elijah's Cup on the table during the Passover seder). On the first night comes Abraham; on the second, Isaac, and so on.
Now in the Gospel of John we read that Yeshua said he go up to the Feast of Tabernacles "in secret" (ἐν κρυπτῷ), like an ushpiz (John 7:10). During the "middle of the festival," perhaps on the fourth day (the "Day of Joseph"), Yeshua went to the Temple and began teaching the people (John 7:14), and on the last great day, called Hoshana Rabba (הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא), when the High Priest led a parade to the pool of "Siloam" (שִׁלֹחַ) during the water libation ritual, Yeshua stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:38).
Finally, on the morning following the festival, called Shemini Atzeret (שמיני עצרת), Yeshua returned to the Temple and said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12), recalling the words of the prophets: "On that day there shall be no light... and living waters shall flow out of Jerusalem; And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one" (Zech. 14:6,9; Isa. 13:10; 30:26).
Hebrew Lesson:
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Note: For more on this see, "The Seven Ushpizin: Yeshua as the Hidden Guest."
One Day at a time...
09.23.21 (Tishri 17, 5782) Instead of fretting over the tests and struggles we inevitably face in this life, we might look for reasons to be grateful, for how else can we come to know that the Lord is with us apart from his ongoing deliverance? We ask the Lord for our daily bread (לֶחֶם חֻקֵּנוּ), but I wonder if we are not starving ourselves with fear of the future... Daily bread cannot be stored or hoarded lest it become spoiled and rotten (Exod. 16:20). We must live today in complete trust before the Lord our God, who is forever faithful and true. He it is who said, "Don't be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow has its own troubles. Live one day at a time" (Matt. 6:34). It makes no sense to worry about the future if the LORD is the Good Shepherd who tenderly watches over your way (Psalm 23).
Enduring to the End...
09.22.21 (Tishri 16, 5782) Shalom friends. Our Lord foretold that in the "end of days" there would be perilous times -- moral, political, ethnic, and spiritual chaos throughout the world, "as it was in the days of Noah." Of Noah's generation the Torah says: "The LORD saw that the wickedness of humanity was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, so that it grieved the LORD to his heart" (Gen. 6:5-6). Indeed, Paul's description of the character of people before the time of the end is chillingly accurate of our present generation (see 2 Tim. 3:1-7).
With the increasing rise of anarchy and lawlessness throughout the nations, the Scriptures further foretell the rise of a governmental system that would oppress and subjugate the entire world, using surveillance systems and devices to control every aspect of life, so that no one would be able to buy or sell without being tagged as an compliant member of the system. Once a global (cashless) currency system has been established, the prophesied "man of sin" would then arise to embody the presence of Satan on the earth, in mimicry of the advent of the true Messiah.
At first this "man of sin" (איש החטא) will seem to be a man of peace but after his reign is secured, he will reveal his malice by persecuting those who still believe in the one true God, causing great tribulation, especially for the Jewish people. The rise of this "Messiah of Evil" or the "anti-Christ" will be in accordance with the great vision of the prophet Daniel, wherein the final "week" of "seventy weeks of years" is fulfilled...
Presently we are living in the "gap" between the 69th week and the 70th week of years, but we see signs that the gap is now closing, and soon the world will enter into the "tribulation" period... As things get closer to the time of great judgment (יום יהוה), followers of Messiah will be forcefully removed by God's hand (i.e., raptured) either before the tribulation proper begins ("pre-trib"), or perhaps just before the Great Tribulation period ("mid-trib"), the later view being argued because followers of Yeshua will see the advent of the man of sin (2 Thess. 2:3-4). Either way, however, God has not appointed his followers to undergo the unleashing of his wrath upon the world system during the last half of the seventieth week (1 Thess. 5:9), so "post-trib is not a sound eschatological option. The rapture will occur as we are gathered together with the LORD to meet him in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
The 70th week of the vision will begin when the "man of sin" appears to make a "covenant" with the people of the world, though he will later set up an "abomination" and force all world citizens to bow down to its image (perhaps similar to Nebuchadnezzar's insanity to force people to bow down before the golden image of himself; at this time the rapture of followers of Messiah may occur). Like Daniel's three friends who refused to bow down before the image, many will refuse to comply and outright worldwide persecution of the Jewish people will take place. This is called the "time of Jacob's trouble" and the "Great Tribulation." Satan will rule only "until the end that is decreed is poured out on him" and then the great Day of LORD will seal his doom with the second coming of Yeshua (as described in Rev. 19:11-21).
So, in light of this (very brief) sketch of what is coming -- and as the world system becomes more and more tyrannical as it prepares for the arrival of the "messiah of evil" -- how are you walking out your faith? Spiritual warfare is not an option for the life of a follower of Yeshua. How are you keeping free of fear or anger? How are you preparing for the days ahead?
Remember that the evil one "lives to devour souls," as it is written: "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). The apostle Paul lists the panoply of armor required for our struggle: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication" (Eph. 6:11-18).
James the Righteous gives us remedy by saying: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).
We are to walk "in truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left" (2 Cor. 6:7). Let us wear the armor of light (ὰ ὅπλα τοῦ φωτός), being sober (i.e., νήφω, "calm and of sound mind") putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation" (1 Thess. 5:8). "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah" (1 Pet. 1:13).
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Dealing with Doubt...
09.22.21 (Tishri 16, 5782) Though it is worthwhile to ask questions about what we believe, to seek for understanding, and to study the Scriptures, we must do so using the principle that "faith seeks understanding," rather than the converse principle that "understanding seeks faith," since the latter elevates human reason to be the judge and arbiter of the things of God, a role for which it is both incapable and unsuited (Isa. 55:8-9; Job 9:10; 11:7; Psalm 139:6; Rom. 11:33). God is not a "what" but a "Who," and that reality determines the means by which we are able to know him (John 4:24). We can indeed know truth about God, though the means for attaining such knowledge transcends the abilities of unaided human reason (see Deut. 29:29). In other words, we know the truth about God when we encounter the Divine Presence by means of revelation...
Some people talk about "honest doubt" regarding matters of God, and while there may indeed be occasions to confess the limitations of our ability to understand the mysteries of heaven and earth, we must be on guard not to ply a present lack of "semantic closure" as an excuse for despair that hardens our hearts and justifies our sin... The lower nature's machinations are so devious that we must be on guard and "test what manner of spirit" we are (Luke 9:55; 1 John 4:1; James 4:4). In the name of "honest doubt" a soul can invent all manner of difficulties of interpretation, the mind may become jaded and agnostic; the heart cools and steps away from the passion of faith... Doubt introduces hesitancy, compromise, and godless misgivings; it is a leech upon the soul, sapping the strength of conviction, weakening the balm of assurance. Be careful. Honest seeking is one thing, but practiced doubt may be an evasive measure - a diabolical ploy meant to distance yourself from responsibility to the truth of God's Presence....
Often enough people have a "problem" with faith not because there is insufficient reason to believe -- after all, every soul has intuitive awareness of the reality of God's reality and power (see Rom. 1:19-20; Psalm 19:1-4; Acts 14:17) -- but because secret sin lurking within the heart is cherished as the soul's ultimate concern and most precious value. Such idolatry of heart is the essence of much "doubt," since faith ultimately is an act of will. "The heart has its reasons that reason knows not of" applies both to the realm of God but also to the affections of the selfish heart... In that sense doubt serves as a deal made with the devil - an exchange of a "mess of pottage" for the blessing of God!
Charles Spurgeon once wrote: "It seems that doubt is worse than trial. I had sooner suffer any affliction than be left to question the gospel or my own interest in it" (Vol. 29, Sermons). Amen, the gospel cannot be esteemed apart from personal interest in its truth, for otherwise we are merely toying with its message. You must believe that the truth of God - and being properly related to this truth by means of a trusting relationship - is the most inestimably precious and important matter of your very existence... We cannot escape from the double-mindedness of our way apart from sincerely turning to God and asking Him to show us his glory, his beauty, and the wonder of his great love. A divided house cannot stand. The way of deliverance from yourself - the way to be free of enslaving passions and dark desires that fragment the soul - is by means of the miracle of God: "For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want' (Gal. 5:17; Rom. 7:15-25), but if you are led by the Spirit, you are free from the law of sin and death and are enabled to live according to a new source of power and life, namely, the law of the Spirit of Life in Messiah Yeshua (Rom. 6:6,14; Gal. 2:20). Living in slavery to sin is to lose yourself - to have no "center," no self that unifies your heart and focuses your reason for being... It is the hell of no longer believing in anything at all, and especially no longer believing yourself.
Soren Kierkegaard once lamented: "The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly." There is a very real danger of "thinking about" truth rather than living it. For instance, you might study the Psalms as literature and attempt to understand the nuances of Hebrew poetry, but that is altogether different than reciting the psalms with inner passion, with simple conviction and the earnest desire to unite our heart's cry with the devotion that gave life to the words... We must read with a heart of faith to unlock the truth that speaks to the heart. If you believe only what you understand, your faith is actually grounded in your own reasoning, not in the Divine Voice of Love...
The way of trust is always a matter of the heart's passion and hope... The Spirit of God speaks gently: "My child, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways" (Prov. 23:26). When we call God "Abba," we are not using a formal name that indicates distance, but rather a term that evokes intimate closeness and reliance. Calling out to God as "Abba" signifies that we genuinely accept that God regards us as his beloved child...
Hebrew Lesson:
Celebrating God's Provision...
09.22.21 (Tishri 16, 5782) Though the LORD is forever enthroned in heaven as our Creator, our King, and our loving Deliverer, and though the heavens shout out his praise and the whole earth is filled with His glory (Isa. 6:3), nevertheless we must make a dwelling within our hearts. In great humility the LORD stands at the door and knocks (Rev. 3:20). Where does God dwell but where He is given a place, a sanctuary, a throne within the heart?
The Torah states, "On the first day [of Sukkot] you shall take to yourselves the fruit of the goodly tree (etrog), branches of palm trees (lulav), boughs of leafy trees (hadassim) and willows of the brook (aravot), and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days" (Lev. 23:40). In Jewish tradition, after reciting the Hebrew blessing and shaking the bouquet around, it is customary to recite (or sing) the following antiphon from Psalm 136:
הודו ליהוה כי־טוב
כי לעולם חסדוֹ
ho·doo la·Adonai kee-tov
kee le·o·lam chas·do
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever."
(Psalm 136:1)
Indeed, is there any better reason to give thanks to the LORD than because of His steadfast love, i.e., His chesed (חֶסֶד)? Is there anything greater than God's love? Can anything overcome it? Can even the hardness of your own heart somehow veto or negate it's purposes? It was because of His great love that God himself (יהוה) "emptied Himself" of heavenly glory, clothed himself in human flesh and came to us, disguised as a lowly servant. God performed this act of "infinite condescension" in order to "sukkah" with us as our "hidden King" (John 1:1,14, Phil. 2:7-8). Your neshama (soul) is likened to the "Shulamite woman" he came to woo so that you might "come into His tent" -- willingly, from a heart that comes from trust (Song of Solomon).
When we receive Yeshua as the Lover of our souls, we abide in the hope of love that awaits future consummation in the world to come... Meanwhile, we are "suspended between worlds," though the veil of this world has been rent asunder and we may now appear before the LORD in the realm of the spirit by faith. We can come "boldly" before the Throne of Grace (παρρησίας τῷ θρόνῳ τῆς χάριτος) to find help for our lives (Heb. 4:16). Note that the word translated "boldly" in this verse (παρρησίας) comes from πᾶς (all) + ῥέω (to utter), suggesting that we can speak freely to God and share everything within our heart without fear or shame. We do not need to conceal ourselves from the Divine Light -- any more than we need to perform religious rituals or offer any "prescribed prayers" to access Him. We who are trusting in God's sheltering love understand the LORD to be our loving Savior and Redeemer. In our brokenness we can bare our souls before Him without fear ("there is no fear in love" - אין פַּחַד בָּאַהֲבָה). We can express "all our heart" to the LORD and be assured that He will help us in our hour of need (Heb. 4:16). "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart to him; God is a refuge for us" (Psalm 62:8).
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The Substance of Hope..
09.22.21 (Tishri 16, 5782) "Faith is the foundation (i.e., ὑπόστασις: the "substance," reality, underlying essence, etc.) of hope, the conviction of the unseen... Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near must believe that God exists and rewards (μισθαποδότης) those who seek him" (Heb. 11:1,6). Note that God is pleased when we seek his presence, that is, when we when we look past the ephemera and ambiguity of the phenomenal world for the truth about spiritual reality (2 Cor. 4:18). For our part, faith resolves to confession (ὁμολογέω), that is, aligning our perspective and focus to agree with the revelation and message of divine truth and verballly declaring our conviction. We must say that we believe, and affirm it with all our heart (Rom. 10:9). As it says, "I will make Your faithfulness known with my mouth" (Psalm 89:1). When you encounter tribulation, or experience some crisis of faith, reaffirm aloud: "I believe in God's promise..." Physically expressing your faith is itself an act of faith, and this encourages your soul to trust in God's healing reward even in the present struggle or darkness...
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Why Sukkot Matters...
09.21.21 (Tishri 15, 5782) We learn about God through the witness of His Spirit as preserved in the Holy Scriptures, but to properly interpret the Scriptures we must read in context, and therefore we must endeavor to understand the New Testament in light of the Torah, not the other way around... Without the background of the Torah and the history of the Jewish people, the meaning and terms of the New Testament will be obscure and subject to misunderstanding (John 4:22; Rom. 9:4).
It is written in our Scriptures: "Yeshua the Messiah became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the fathers" (Rom. 15:8). He came from heaven, "tabernacling with us," as Israel's promised Redeemer and the manifest revelation of God (John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16), his mother Miriam (Mary) being miraculously impregnated by the power of the Holy Spirit, Yeshua was he was born the "King of the Jews" in Bet-Lechem (Bethlehem), "born under the law" as the "Second Adam" (or "Son of Man"); and was circumcised according to the Torah on the eighth day, being given the Hebrew name "Yeshua," God's Salvation. Yeshua grew up as a faithful Jew, fluent in Torah reading and study (Luke 4:16-21; John 4:22). He observed all the Torah holidays as prescribed by the law of Moses. When he began his public ministry, he was baptized to identify himself as the "Son of Man," calling out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to repent and believe the message of God's redemption revealed in him. Yeshua repeatedly taught that the Scriptures foretold of his coming and born witness of Him (John 5:39). He foretold his sacrificial death for our sins and his resurrection from the dead (Mark 10:32-34). After his crucifixion and resurrection, he told his disciples that he is the central meaning of all the Jewish Scriptures: "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27; John 5:39; 8:58). He then instructed his followers to go to Jerusalem to receive the Holy Spirit on the very day of Shavuot ("Pentecost"), in fulfillment of the Scriptures. Later, when he miraculously called out to the Apostle Paul to follow him, Yeshua identified himself as the Jewish Messiah by using the Hebrew language (Acts 26:14).
We study Torah to know Yeshua, the "Living Torah" better, as he said: "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old" (Matt. 13:52). Our Lord observed Sukkot (and all the holidays of Torah), and he wanted his followers to understand why (Luke 24:27; Luke 24:44; John 1:45; John 5:46; Gal. 4:4-5; etc.). After all, Yeshua wanted his followers to understand his ministry, but to do so, we must understand its context in Jewish history and tradition. Sukkot, or "Tabernacles" is part of our heritage as those who trust in the LORD God of Israel and his salvation given in Yeshua. Amen.
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Note: I wrote this post because several people have commented that Sukkot makes for a "nice tradition" for my family, though that is not what Sukkot is about. We do not observe this holiday because it is a tradition of some kind, but because it is commanded by God in Torah and our Savior points to Torah as a means of understanding his ministry and mission. We don't do Sukkot because we necessarily feel like doing it (actually, it's a lot of work and it's often stressful right after the High Holidays); on the contrary, we do Sukkot because it is biblical and it pleases the Lord. As we obey, we receive light -- and joy!
Sukkah of the Heart...
[ The following is related to the holiday of Sukkot, the "Feast of Tabernacles." Chag Sameach. ]
09.21.21 (Tishri 15, 5782) The word sukkot (סוכות) is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah (סוכה), meaning a "booth" or "hut." In traditional Judaism, a sukkah is a temporary structure used for "living in" (i.e., primarily eating meals or entertaining guests) throughout the week-long holiday. The purpose of the sukkah is to remind us of how God tenderly cared for the Israelites as they made their trek through the dangers of the desert. God spoke endearingly to Israel: "Follow me into the wilderness, into an unsown land" (Jer. 2:2).
The Scriptures state, "The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down" (Psalm 145:14). It has been said that the word sukkah can be understood as an acronym formed from the words someikh Adonai (סוֹמֵךְ יְהוָה), "the LORD upholds," kol (כָּל), "all," and ha'nofe'leem (הַנּפְלִים), "the ones who fall." This suggests that those who make a sanctuary within their hearts, trusting in God's indwelling Presence, will be upheld and kept from falling (Jude 1:24). God knows many need this truth to be made real in this hour...
סומך יהוה לכל־הנפלים
וזוקף לכל־הכפופים
so·meikh · Adonai · le·khol - ha·noh·fe·leem
ve·zoh·keif · le·khol - ha·ke·foo·feem
"The LORD upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down."
(Psalm 145:14)
Hebrew Study Card
The Kotzer Rebbe said that the verse, "this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him" (Exod. 15:2), may be understood as, "this is my God, and I will make a dwelling for Him within me." Though the LORD is forever enthroned in heaven as our Creator, King, and Deliverer, we still must make a dwelling within us. He stands at the door and knocks. "Where does God dwell," it is asked, "but where He is given a dwelling place, a sanctuary, a throne within the heart?"
Surrounded by His Sukkah...
[ The following is related to the holiday of Sukkot, or the "Feast of Tabernacles"... ]
09.21.21 (Tishri 15, 5782) The root idea of the word "sukkah" (סוכה) means to cover or surround, as in hedge or cloud of protection. The Hebrew root is used when Moses asked to behold God's glory and the meaning of the name YHVH (יהוה), and God said, "Behold there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory overtakes you I will cover you with my hand (וְשַׂכּתִי כַפִּי עָלֶיךָ) until I have passed by (Exod. 33:21-21). The hand of God (יַד־יְהוָה) is ultimately our sukkah, and indeed the LORD writes our names upon his palms and sets us as a seal upon his heart (Isa. 49:16; Sol. 8:6).
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Likewise King David affirmed that God would hide him within his sukkah (סוכה) and elevate him upon the Rock that is Messiah: "For he will hide me in his sukkah (i.e., his cloud); in the time of trouble he will conceal me in the secret of his tent (i.e., his Presence): he will raise me up upon a Rock" (Psalm 27:5). Note that the Hebrew translated "he will hide me" (i.e., יצפנני) can also be translated as "he will treasure me," suggesting that God will overshadow and protect you from harm because you are his beloved (1 Cor. 10:4).
Since God's Name (יהוה) means "Presence," "Breath," "Compassion," "Love," "Healing," and so on, we are surrounded by his Sukkah at all times... In other words, you don't have to be in a physical sukkah to be in His sukkah! May God open our eyes to see his glory! Sukkot Sameach be'Yeshua (סוכות שמחה בישוע) - Happy Sukkot in Yeshua!
Click for more pictures:
Sukkot and Salvation...
[ The eight-day holiday of Sukkot, or the "Feast of Tabernacles," begins today at sundown. ]
09.20.21 (Tishri 14, 5782) The holiday of Sukkot remembers the journey of the redeemed people of God - first from Egypt, then to Sinai, and then into the void of the desert places.... The repeated failures of the Israelites in the wilderness was meant to reveal the insufficiency of "Egyptian thinking" by demonstrating God's faithful love and ongoing care. The entire ordeal in the desert was a "Sukkot experience" that pointed beyond Sinai....
Sukkot symbolizes the journey of faith by means of erecting a sukkah - a flimsy shelter that we are to "live in" for seven days. The sukkah is meant to help us ask ourselves: Where is the true home we seek? Where is the true shelter of our lives? The first Jew (Abram) was called ha-ivri (הָעִבְרִי) - "the Hebrew," a term that means "one who has crossed over" (עָבַר) from another place. When he heeded the call Lekh lekha (לך־לך), "go for yourself," it was Abram's walk of faith that made him into a Jew.... He left the comforts of Ur to become a tent dweller who became a "stranger and sojourner" with God. Similarly, the Jewish people as a whole were forced to leave the "security" of Egypt and journey into the unknown in order to realize the promises of God. Sukkot reminds us that our security is neither found in political power structures nor in the concrete walls of our homes, but solely in the Presence of God. Our freedom as God's children is at stake in the matter of redemption, and God takes it very seriously when we exchange a supposed source of security for the venture of true faith....
Hebrew Lesson:
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So where is the true home you seek? Are you clinging to hope in this world and its counterfeit security? Are you willing to sacrifice your dignity as a child of God for the protection of the "State"? When God redeemed Israel from Egypt, it was a rebirth experience. Passover represented the means of redemption (the blood of the lamb), Shavuot represented the revelation of the holiness of God (the Sinai experience), and Sukkot represented the walk of faith as reborn and redeemed children. God took Israel out of Egypt (i.e., out of the world) in order to reveal to them who He is -- and who they were in relationship with Him.... The pattern remains the same. The world system is a form of slavery, and Sukkot reveals how God bypasses the world to care for His people...
For more on this topic, see "Sukkot and Freedom." Chag Sukkot Sameach friends!
Sukkot Torah Readings...
09.19.21 (Tishri 13, 5782) The weekly Torah Reading Cycle is suspended for the holiday week of Sukkot (referred to as "Tabernacles" in the Christian tradition), as well as for Shemini Atzeret (sometimes referred to as the "eighth day" of Sukkot). The Torah readings for the holiday are from Leviticus 22-23, Numbers 29, and Deuteronomy 14-16. These readings review the holidays or "appointed times" on the Jewish calendar, including the commandments regarding the festival of Sukkot.
In addition to the various passages we read for each day of the holiday, we will read the Book of Ecclesiastes (i.e., Kohelet) for the Sabbath day of Sukkot. We will also read both the very last portion of the Torah (i.e., V'zot HaBerakhah: Deut. 33:1-34:12) as well as the very first chapter of the Torah (i.e., Gen. 1:1-2:3) for the holiday of "Simchat Torah" (which immediately follows Shemini Atzeret). The upshot is that during this season of the year we will read the end of the Torah scroll and then "rewind" it to the beginning...
Note: For detailed information about Sukkot Torah readings, see the weekly Torah page.
His Sheltering Love...
[ The week-long holiday of Sukkot begins Monday, Sept. 20th at sundown this year... ]
09.17.21 (Tishri 11, 5782) The Torah describes Sukkot ("Tabernacles") as a holiday of joy and gladness: "You are to rejoice in your festival.... for seven days you shall keep the festival... so that you will be altogether joyful" (Deut. 16:14-15). Nevertheless we may wonder how we can celebrate in a world filled with suffering, death, tyranny, and misery? Since God commands us to be joyful, however, we must therefore understand joy to be something more than temporal elation or fleeting pleasure, but rather as the result of the decision to believe in healing despite the appearances of this realm. "The world to come, the perfect world, we at least believe in; but this material world, this one here and now, how can anyone believe in it? The only thing to do is to run to the refuge of God" (Nachman). The joy of Sukkot, then, is the joy of hope, the conviction that "all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." Darkness will be overcome by the light; evil will become undone; all that is untrue shall be made true; and every tear shall be wiped away... The sukkah symbolizes the "Clouds of Glory" that surround our way in the desert – the "Divine Presence" beheld in faith. We find joy as we choose to believe in the deeper reality of God's sheltering love...
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Torah states: "You shall dwell in sukkot (booths) for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God" (Lev. 23:42-43). The sages say that the booths commemorate the Clouds of Glory (עַנְנֵי תְּהִילָה), seven clouds that encompassed and protected the people during their sojourn in the desert (Sukka 11b). We recall the Clouds of God's glory as the gift of his sustaining love and care during our journey to freedom. Indeed the clouds represent the holy Shekhinah (שְׁכִינָה), the ruach Hakodesh and indwelling presence of God that protects us and gives us comfort. Just as the ruach fell on the generation of Moses' advent, so with the generation of Messiah: the Spirit brings strength to heart, protection from evil, and guidance for our way (John 14:26).
All of Torah is grounded in emunah (faith), as the very First Commandment of Torah is to trust that the LORD is God for you (אָנכִי יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ). Moreover Scripture also says: "All your commandments are emunah" (כָּל־מִצְוֹתֶיךָ אֱמוּנָה); and, "you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are faithul" (Psalm 119:86; 151). Indeed faith is the "substance" (i.e., ὑπόστασις, reality, essence) of hope, the conviction of the unseen good (Heb. 11:1); without emunah it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). We celebrate Sukkot because God calls us to know our heritage and to believe in the light of His surrounding Presence. Amen.
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Getting Ready for Sukkot...
[ The week-long holiday of Sukkot begins Monday, Sept. 20th at sundown this year... ]
09.17.21 (Tishri 11, 5782) It's that time again! On the Torah's calendar, there is a quick transition from the somber themes of the Jewish High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur) to the week-long celebration of Sukkot (called "Tabernacles" in the Christian tradition). If the High Holidays focus on the LORD as our Creator, our Judge, and the One who atones for our sins, then Sukkot is the time when we joyously celebrate all that He has done for us. Prophetically understood, the seven days of Sukkot picture olam haba, the world to come, and the Millennial Kingdom reign of Mashiach ben David. If Yeshua was born during Sukkot (i.e., conceived during Chanukah, the festival of lights), then another meaning of the "word became flesh and 'tabernacled with us" (John 1:14) extends to the coming kingdom age, when He will again "sukkah" with his people during the time of his reign from Zion.
Since it represents the time of ingathering of the harvest, Sukkot prophetically prefigures the joyous redemption and gathering of the Jewish people during the days of the Messiah's reign on earth (Isa. 27:12-13; Jer. 23:7-8). Indeed all of the nations that survived the Great Tribulation will come together to worship the LORD in Jerusalem during the Feast of Sukkot (Zech. 14:16-17). The holiday season therefore provides a vision of the coming Kingdom of God upon the earth, when the Word will again "tabernacle with us."
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This year Sukkot begins just after sundown on Monday, Sept. 20th (i.e., Tishri 15 on the Jewish calendar). The festival is celebrated for seven days (i.e., from Tishri 15-21) during which we "dwell" in a sukkah -- a tent or "booth" of temporary construction, with a roof covering (schach) of raw vegetable matter (i.e., branches, bamboo, etc.). The sukkah represents our dependence upon God's shelter for our protection and divine providence. We eat our meals in the sukkah and recite a special blessing (leshev Ba-Sukkah) at this time.
The Lulav Bouquet...
In addition to the Sukkah (tent), the most prominent symbol of Sukkot is the Arba'at Ha-minim (אַרְבַּעַת הַמִּינִים) - "the Four Species," or four kinds of plants explicitly mentioned in the Torah regarding the festival of Sukkot: "On the first day you shall take: 1) the product of goodly trees (etrog), 2) branches of palm trees (lulav), 3) boughs of leafy trees (hadas), and 4) willows of the brook (aravot), and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days" (Lev. 23:40). We wave the "four species" (held together as a bouquet with the etrog) and recite a blessing (netilat lulav) to ask God for a fruitful and blessed year.
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Sukkot marks the conclusion of the Jewish Fall Holidays and is the last of the three Shelosh Regalim (שלוש רגלים, i.e., the three annual pilgrimage festivals: Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles) (Deut. 16:16). It can be argued that Sukkot is the climax of all the festivals in Scripture: Everything leads to it as a culmination in God's prophetic plan. It is interesting to compare the use of words relating to simchah [joy] in the description of these three festivals. Regarding Pesach, the word simchah does not appear at all (Deut. 17:1-8); regarding Shavuot, it appears only once (Deut. 17:11); but, regarding Sukkot, simchah appears several times. For instance:
You shall keep the Feast of Sukkot seven days, when you have gathered in the produce... You shall rejoice in your feast (וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְּחַגֶּךָ אַתָּה)... because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful. (Deut. 16:13-15)
Sukkot is called "z'man simchateinu," the "season of our joy." Indeed, in ancient Israel, the joy of Sukkot was so renowned that it came to be called simply "the Feast" (1 Kings 12:32). Sukkot was a time when sacrifices were offered for the healing of the nations (Num. 29:12-40), and it was also a time when (on Sabbatical years) the Torah would be read publicly to all the people (Deut. 31:10-13).
From a spiritual perspective, Sukkot corresponds to the joy of knowing your sins were forgiven (during Yom Kippur) and also recalls God's miraculous provision and care after the deliverance from bondage in Egypt (Lev. 23:43). Prophetically, Sukkot anticipates the coming kingdom of the Messiah Yeshua wherein all the nations shall come up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD during the festival (see Zech. 14:16). Today Sukkot is a time to remember God's Sheltering Presence and Provision for us for the start of the New Year.
Hebrew Lesson:
Gift of Pure Heart...
09.17.21 (Tishri 11, 5782) People confuse morality with religion, saying things like, "if I do good, the rest will take care of itself," but Yeshua did not come to simply teach (or reinforce) moral truth, but to die for our sins and to transform our nature. The message of the cross is not that we should reform ourselves with renewed hope, but rather that our old nature must die and be replaced with something far greater...
When King David cried out to the Lord, "Create in me a clean heart, O God," he did not use the Hebrew word yatzar (יָצַר), which means to "fashion" something from pre-existing material (Gen. 2:7), but he instead used the word bara (בָּרָא), a verb exclusively used in the Torah to refer to God's direct creation of the cosmos (Gen. 1:1). In other words, King David understood that no amount of reformation of his character would be enough, and therefore he appealed to that very power of God that alone could create yesh me'ayin, or "out of nothing." Such was the nature of the remedy required that was fulfilled in the cross of Messiah...
לב טהור ברא־לי אלהים
ורוח נכון חדשׁ בקרבי
lev · tah·hor · be·rah'-lee · e·lo·heem
ve·roo'·ach · nah·khon · cha·desh · be·keer·bee
"Create for me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a willing spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10)
Hebrew Study Card
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Yeshua taught, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). The Greek word translated "pure" is katharos (καθαρός), sometimes used describe the cleansing of a wound (catharsis), or to describe the unalloyed quality of a substance revealed through refining fire. Metaphorically, then, purity of heart refers to separation from the profane - singleness of vision, wholeheartedness, passion, and focused desire for the sacred. Faith is a great trembling of love: "With this ring I do worship thee..." As we center our affections on Yeshua, we become pure in heart -- i.e., unified, made whole, and healed of our inner fragmentation. We see the Lord both in this world, through his effects, and then panim el-panim (פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים), "face to face," in the world to come. Our hope purifies us for that coming great day of full disclosure (1 John 3:2-3; Heb. 12:14).
Note: It is an ongoing temptation to be appalled over this evil world and its insanity... Dear Lord God, give us strength! Help us focus on what is most important and to believe that you work all things together for good. Amen.
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God's Faithful Love for Israel...
[ We read parashat Ha'azinu on the Sabbath following Yom Kippur... ]
09.17.21 (Tishri 11, 5782) Our Torah portion this week (Ha'azinu) celebrates the unique role given to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel among the nations of the world: "When the Most High (עֶלְיוֹן) divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of mankind, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD'S portion is his people; Ya'akov is the rope of his inheritance" (Deut. 32:8-9). The nation of Israel has a unique place in God's providential plans: Indeed, "the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his special possession" (Psalm 135:4; Exod. 19:5, Deut. 7:6; 2 Sam. 7:23). To Israel it was said: "You will be my people; and I will be your God," and וִהְיִיתֶם לִי סְגֻלָּה מִכָּל־הָעַמִּים - "you are my beloved treasure among the nations" (Jer. 11:4; Exod. 19:5). Of course God chose Israel to be the physical conduit for the advent of Messiah Yeshua, the Redeemer and light of the world (Isa. 42:6; Luke 2:32; John 8:12, Gal. 4:4). Yeshua was born the "King of the Jews" (מֶלֶךְ הַיְּהוּדִים), the "splendor of Israel" (תִּפְאֶרֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל), and the One who is the "rope of inheritance" (חֶבֶל נַחֲלָתוֹ) to heaven. The culmination of God's redemptive activity centers on the Jewish people: Yeshua will come again, not to Rome (or to Geneva) or anywhere else but to Jerusalem, the "City of the Great King" (Matt. 5:35), to fulfill the promises God gave to the Jewish people. Then Zion will be established and all the nations will submit to the reign of the LORD. The sages say, "If you want to live, hold the rope and don't let go, lest you drown." Yeshua is the Rope of our inheritance by which we connect with God's salvation. Those who trust in Him are given all spiritual blessings and are made partakers of the covenantal promises given to the Jewish people (Eph. 1:13, 2:19; 3:1-6; Gal. 3:29; Rom. 15:12; Col. 1:12).
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Willingness to Believe...
09.16.21 (Tishri 10, 5782) We are all on the "road of life," and each passing day draws us closer to our destination... Therefore we should treasure our time, the remains of our day. "Any time you are with anyone or think of anyone you must say to yourself: I am dying and this person too is dying, attempting the while to experience the truth of the words you are saying. If every one of you agrees to practice this, bitterness will die out, harmony will arise" (de Mello). Amen. The sages say, "Repent one day before you die." But who knows the day of one's death in advance? Perhaps your name will be called today, ending your lease on life in this world. Are you ready? Are you prepared to appear before your Creator to account for your life (Rev. 22:12)?
The Scriptures admonish: "Find God or die..." (Deut. 30:19). We cannot choose not to choose; we cannot "opt out" of our sacred responsibility to live before God. Every human being faces the holy dilemma, and there is no way to avoid the "either/or" by attempting to somehow unite heaven and hell. Spiritually this means that we must learn to "choose to choose," since denying the power of our choice (e.g., by rationalizing, blaming others, playing the victim) means forsaking our identity as a soul made in the image of God, and this results in being inwardly "disfigured" and fragmented...
Henri Nouwen wrote, "I am beginning to see that much of praying is grieving," that is, realizing the fracture between the "is" and "ought" of our lives. Kierkegaard said that the purpose of prayer is not to influence God but rather to change the nature of the one who prays. When we get past our words -- our chatter, the insecurities that rise from our hearts, the cares of the day, even our hopes and dreams -- then we are sufficiently quieted to encounter God. It is then that we can truly listen and grieve over our lives in naked dependence upon God.
Psalm 139 has the tone of "hitbodedut" (הִתְבּוֹדְּדוּת) – a spontaneous prayer of intimacy and earnestness that flows from personal experience. For David, God is contemporaneous and infinitely concerned with his personal life. The great psalm begins with "O Lord, you have searched me and known me" (v.1) and paradoxically ends with "Search me, O God, and know my heart" (v.23-24). But why would David pray this way when he already understood that God knew his every thought?
There is a saying that we are "only as sick as the secrets we keep." God is sovereign and knows everything about us. We have nowhere to hide. David's desire is to live transparently before the LORD without self-deception. We must abandon, therefore, the "fig leaf" attempts to cover the truth about our lives and to welcome His examination of our hearts (Psalm 7:9; 11:5; 26:2, Prov. 17:3). When we do so, we can trust that He will lead us "in the way everlasting" (בְּדֶרֶךְ עוֹלָם).
The central issue of genuine spiritual life is the willingness to do God's will, or the willingness to believe, since these amount to the same thing.... Believe what? That God is real, that He has (personally) called you by name, that he has particularly redeemed you by Yeshua's own blood poured out for your sins, and that therefore that your identity and life are bound up with his mercy and truth... The spiritual danger is always being "pulled apart" in opposite directions, dissipating the soul so that it will not be unified, focused and directed.
The stakes are nothing less than everything, friends. May the Lord give us the willingness to do His will and the courage to believe in His love. And may God deliver us from doubt and from every other fear. May we all be strong in faith, not staggering over the promises, but giving glory to God for the miracle of Yeshua our LORD. May we all be rooted and grounded in love so that we are empowered to apprehend the very "breadth and length and height and depth" of the love of God given to us in Messiah, so that we shall all be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:14-19). Amen.
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God Provides the Lamb...
09.16.21 (Tishri 10, 5782) "God will provide Himself a Lamb - my son" (Gen. 22:8). The cross itself answers the question or whether we find healing by faith or by religious practices. Do we look to the LORD for salvation or to ourselves and our "good works"? Recall that at the time of the crucifixion of the Messiah, man was "shut out" because of the darkness and utter sanctity of the sacrifice of Yeshua as the Lamb of God who bore all the sins of the world... At the time of utmost darkness, man was shut out, put into a "deep sleep" not unlike what Abraham had earlier experienced at the covenant of the parts (Gen. 15:12). Every human being stood helplessly on the other side of the cross; no one else participated to make us right with God: It was all Yeshua and the Father, and the Father and Yeshua alone...
Friend, there is nothing left for you to do other than to open your heart and receive. "It is finished," were Yeshua's last words from the cross, meaning, "It has been perfected - it is complete and present for you; there is nothing left to add." Likewise, the Yom Kippur avodah was performed by the appointed High Priest alone, in the silence and in the midst of the dark cloud in the Sanctuary, placing atoning blood before the Throne of the Most High.
"It is finished." All that is left is for you to open your heart and believe in God's love and atonement given in Yeshua. May you find rest and peace in what God has done for you...
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Eternally Sealed for Life...
09.16.21 (Tishri 10, 5782) In post-Temple Judaism (i.e., rabbinical Judaism) it is customary for Jews to wish one another gemar chatimah tovah (גְּמַר חַתִימָה טוֹבָה), "a good final sealing" during the Ten Days of Awe (i.e., the ten days running from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur). The reason for this is that according to Jewish tradition the "writing of God's verdict" (for your life) occurs on Rosh Hashanah, but the "sealing of the verdict" occurs on Yom Kippur. In other words, God in His Mercy gives us another ten days to do "teshuvah" before sealing our fate.... But it's up to us -- and our teshuvah -- to "save ourselves" from God's decree of death. Our merits (mitzvot) are the key: וּתְשׁוּבָה וּתְפִלָּה וּצְדָקָה מַעֲבִירִין אֶת רעַ הַגְּזֵרָה / "Teshuvah, prayer, and charity deliver us from the evil decree."
Despite the teaching of the post-Temple rabbis, however, those who trust in God's salvation put no confidence in man's ability to save himself, but look to the Lord for healing and deliverance. Therefore we find permanent "sealing" for good by the grace and love of God given to us in Yeshua our Messiah (Eph. 1:13, 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:21-22). The Torah's statement that sacrificial blood was offered upon the altar to make atonement (כַּפָּרָה) for our souls (Lev. 17:11) finds its final application in the "blood work" of Yeshua upon the cross at Moriah (Rom. 5:11). The substitutionary shedding of blood, the "life-for-life" principle, is essential to the true "at-one-ment" with God. The ordinances of the Levitical priesthood were just "types and shadows" of the coming Substance that would give us everlasting atonement with God (Heb. 8-10). Because of Yeshua, we have a High Priest of the better Covenant, based on better promises (Heb. 8:6). For this reason it is entirely appropriate to celebrate Yom Kippur and give thanks to the LORD for the permanent "chatimah tovah" given to us through the salvation of His Son. Indeed, Yom Kippur can be read a 'day like Purim' (i.e., יוֹם, "day" + כְּ, "like" + פֻּרִים, "purim"), suggesting that it is a time to celebrate deliverance from our enemies. And since the guilt of our sins and the judgment of death are our two greatest enemies, the great day on which Yeshua sacrificed Himself on the cross is truly the greatest "Purim" of all, because through His loving intervention we are eternally delivered from condemnation and are given everlasting atonement.
It must always be remembered that Torah (תּוֹרָה) is a "function word" that expresses our responsibility in light of the covenantal acts of God. As the author of the Book of Hebrews makes clear: "When there is a change in the priesthood (הַכְּהוּנָּה), there is necessarily (ἀνάγκη) a change in the Torah as well" (Heb. 7:12). The Levitical priesthood expresses the Torah of the Covenant of Sinai (בְּרִית יְשָׁנָה), just as the greater priesthood of Yeshua expresses the Torah of the New Covenant (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה).
Still, for the Messianic Jewish believer there is a bit of ambivalence about this holiday, perhaps more than any other of the Jewish year. Part of this ambivalence comes from the "already-not-yet" aspect of the New Covenant itself. Already Yeshua has come and offered Himself up as kapparah (atonement/propitiation) for our sins; already He has sent the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) to write truth upon our hearts; already He is our God and we are His people. However, the New Covenant is not yet entirely fulfilled since we await the return of Yeshua to restore Israel and establish His kingdom upon the earth... Since prophetically speaking Yom Kippur signifies national Israel's atonement secured through Yeshua's sacrificial avodah as Israel's true High Priest and King, there is a sense of longing and affliction connected to this holiday that will not be removed until finally "all Israel is saved." So, on the one hand we celebrate Yom Kippur because it acknowledges Yeshua as our High Priest of the New Covenant, but on the other hand, we "have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in our hearts" for the redemption of the Jewish people and the atonement of their sins (Rom. 9:1-5; 10:1-4; 11:1-2, 11-15, 25-27). In the meantime, we are in a period of "mysterious grace" (yemot ha-mashiach) wherein we have opportunity to offer the terms of the New Covenant to people of every nation, tribe and tongue. After the "fullness of the Gentiles" is come in, however, God will turn His full attention to fulfilling His promises given to ethnic Israel. That great Day of the LORD is coming soon, chaverim...
Behold the Goat of God...
[ Yom Kippur, or the "Day of Atonement," begins sundown this evening... ]
09.15.21 (Tishri 9, 5782) The original Passover sacrifice (korban Pesach) was not given to the Levitical priesthood as a sin offering, since it preceded Sinai and the giving of the laws concerning the sacrificial rites. In the same way, Yeshua's sacrifice was directed from Heaven itself by means of the prophetic office of Malki-Tzedek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק) - a higher order of priesthood (Gen. 14:18; Psalm 110:4; Heb. 7). Yeshua both offered Himself up as the "Lamb of God" that causes the wrath of God to (eternally) pass over those who personally trust in Him, and He also offered himself as the "Goat of God" whose blood was sprinkled in the Holy of Holies to cleanse us from sin and give us (everlasting) atonement. (Other metaphors are also given in Scripture, of course. For example, Yeshua offered Himself as the Snake lifted up (John 3:14-15; cp. Num. 21:4-9), as a Red Cow (parah adumah), and so on).
Yeshua as the "Lamb of God" pictures personal redemption from slavery to Satan and freedom from the wrath of God. This is the greater Passover/Exodus connection. By means of Yeshua's shed blood and broken body, the wrath of God passes over us and we are set free to serve God.... Yeshua as the "Goat of God" pictures both personal cleansing (i.e., "propitiation" or "expiation" for our sins: the Greek word (ἱλαστήριον) is used in the LXX for the kapporet (Mercy Seat) in the Holy of Holies which was sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice on Yom Kippur) as well as national teshuvah and cleansing for ethnic Israel at the end of the Great Tribulation period. At that time Yeshua will function as Israel's true High Priest whose sacrifice is applied for Israel's Atonement. This is the Yom Kippur connection. Moreover, since Yom Kippur points to the removal of the sin-laden goat (representing Satan), the Millennial reign of Messiah will be one unmolested by the powers of evil.
Just as Rosh Hashanah reveals the coming time of Judgment and the rapture of the kehillat Mashiach (Bride of Messiah), Yom Kippur prophetically pictures the Day of the LORD or the Day of Judgment in Acharit HaYamim [the last days]. After the judgment of the nations during the Great Tribulation, national Israel will be fully restored to the LORD and their sins will be purged (see Matthew 24). Indeed, our beloved Mashiach will one day return to Israel, cleanse her Temple, restore her to Himself, and set up His glorious kingdom. And that coming celebration is the Sukkot or "Tabernacles" connection, friend...
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Note: For more on this see, "Yom Kippur and the Gospel" and "Behold, the Goat of God."
Yom Kippur and the Name...
09.15.21 (Tishri 9, 5782) I had mentioned that on Yom Kippur the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and there present the sacrificial blood upon the cover of Ark of the Covenant to make atonement for Israel. During this solemn ritual the priest would invoke the sacred name of the LORD (i.e., יהוה) while saying his prayers for the people. Since this was the only time the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and utter "shem ha'gadol," the great Name of God, Yom Kippur also came to known as the "Day of the Name" (יום השם).
Perhaps because the Yom Kippur ritual is so mysterious and exciting, the question naturally arises as to how the priest would pronounce the sacred name YHVH (יהוה). Is YHVH pronounced "Yahveh"? or "Yahweh"? or perhaps "Yehovah"? (the morpheme YAH is clearly attested). Consulting the original manuscripts does not settle the issue because they were written without vowels, and the scribes who later added the vowel points (i.e., nekudot) changed the pointing for YHVH to avoid saying it in vain. Christians sometimes feel a bit frustrated or anxious when they consider this, especially because various religious cults claim to have discovered the phonetics of God's "real" name and use it a sort of "shibboleth" or password for acceptance into their societies...
To seriously attempt to answer the question about God's name, however, requires thinking a bit about the philosophy of language, and in particular understanding that a name (of any kind) is a symbol intended to point to a reality. Every name (spoken, written, or otherwise represented) is a sign that is intended to signify something. Names "point" to things, and every name (or term) encapsulates a cluster of ideas that summarize, describe, and define what that thing is as opposed to other things (genus and difference). The Name for God, then, would point to or signify the Reality the name stands for, though in the case of God who is the Supreme Being, no one name can fully express the Reality signified since God is Infinite and beyond our full comprehension. That is why Yeshua has a name that no one knows but himself (Rev. 19:12). Indeed the name YHVH (יהוה) is derived from the Hebrew verb hayah (היה), meaning "to be," which implies that the Reality signified transcends spatio-temporal categories and therefore is "ein sof" (אין סוף), beyond all reckoning and therefore ineffably mysterious (2 Chron. 6:18; Psalm 40:5; 145:3; Job 9:10, Rom. 11:33).
When Moses first encountered the Lord in the burning bush at Sinai, the Torah says "God" (i.e., Elohim: אלהים) called out to him and said, "I am the God of your father (אלהי אביך) - the God of Abraham (אלהי אברהם), the God of Isaac (אלהי יצחק), and the God of Jacob (Exod. 3:6), thereby rooting the knowledge of God in human history and the personal experience of revelation vouchsafed to the patriarchs. However, after God commissioned Moses to go to Pharaoh with the message "shelach et-ammi," "let my people go!" Moses hesitated and wondered how he should respond if the elders of Israel were to ask him what the name of God was. The LORD then answered ehyeh asher ehyeh (אהיה אשׁר אהיה), "I AM what I AM." "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM (אהיה) has sent me to you'" (Exod. 3:14).
In grammar there is a concept known as "apposition," meaning that two or more words or phrases may be grammatically parallel and share the same referent. For example, if someone wrote, "the first US president, George Washington, was born in 1732 in the Province of Virginia," the words "the first president" and "George Washington" logically refer to the same person, namely a man born in 1773 in the English colony of Virginia. Logically this is a matter of equivalence (if a=b then b=a; if a=b and b=c, then a=c, etc.). When God further said to Moses: "Say this to the people of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' (Exod. 3:15), he was equating the name YHVH (יהוה), the great I AM (אהיה), with God (אלהים), the Creator and Master of the Universe, who is known as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- and that these names are in apposition -- they are equivalent significations of the Divine Reality. Note that God concluded this instruction by saying: "This is my name forever (זה־שׁמי לעלם), and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."
What's really most interesting - and essential for us - is not how to say God's name but what God's name means. Another way to say this is that what is most important is not a label identifying "what" God is but an encounter revealing "who" he is. The Name ehyeh, while mysterious, esoteric, and wonderful, does not describe God's character or heart, and therefore it calls for further description using other categories and terms we can understand. Therefore when Moses interceded for forgiveness after the sin of the Golden Calf and was reassured of God's faithful love for Israel, the LORD invited him to go back up the mountain to restore the broken covenant and to learn the meaning of his Name: "And the LORD said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD' (Exod. 33:19). God then instructed Moses to carve two new tablets for the testimony and to present himself at the cleft of the rock on the top of the mountain. Then LORD descended in the cloud "and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD" (Exod. 34:5): "The LORD, the LORD, God of mercy and grace, longsuffering and abounding in lovingkindness and truth, keeping compassion for thousands, carrying away iniquity and transgression and sin, but that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation" (Exod. 34:6-7). Note well that this is a second and more complete revelation of the name YHVH given in the Torah. This passage of Scripture is so important that the Jewish sages have called it shelosh esreh middot rachamin, or the Thirteen Attributes of God's Mercy.
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In Jewish thought, the numerous names of God revealed in Scripture (Elohim, Shaddai, Adonai, the King of Israel, etc.) are thought to reveal different aspects or attributes of God's character and will to us. They function as "short hand" for descriptions of His essence - revelations of the hidden mystery and glory of the LORD. Since taking the name of the LORD "in vain" is one of the Ten Commandments, certain conventions are used to restrict the use of the Names of God. For example, it is common practice to refer to the LORD (יהוה) simply as "Hashem" (the Name) or to deliberately alter the sound or spelling of a divine name.
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Some people seem to be preoccupied with finding out how to pronounce or utter the Sacred Name of the LORD (i.e., יהוה), though Jewish tradition maintains that the Divine Name is entirely ineffable and therefore intrinsically mysterious. Indeed, attaching a name to something "labels" it and claims authority over it (e.g., when David put his name over a conquered city). Since the LORD is utterly unique, without rival, the Creator and LORD who is answerable to no one, He cannot be named. The Jewish mystics say (perhaps as a form of hyperbole) that the proper Name of the LORD is all the letters of the Torah sounded at once -- without interruption. This is called the "304,805 letter Name of God." That is, string together all 304,805 letters of the Torah - from the first letter of Bereshit (Bet) through the last letter of Devarim (Lamed) - and "read" this as a single "Word." Of course the point here is that no one can do this. Indeed, the Angel of the LORD asks, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is incomprehensible?" (Judges 13:18).
There are quite literally hundreds of names, titles, metaphors, similes, allegories, and allusions given in the Hebrew Scriptures. Though YHVH is the most frequently occurring Name for God, it is clearly a play on the verb "to be" (hayah). We do not "invoke" the Name like a magician might utter a "divine spell." God is near to us -- He's in the wind, in the heavens and earth, as close to you as your own heart (Deut. 30:14; Rom. 10:8). The really hard part is to love and obey the LORD -- not to learn how to say His incomprehensible Name. Indeed, what good would it be to know how to properly pronounce the Sacred Name of the LORD if you do not love and obey Him? If you want to call upon the Name of the LORD, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33).
The Name of the LORD (שֵׁם יהוה) represents the LORD God of Israel's glory, reputation, character, and mighty deeds of salvation for His people. Knowing His Name means understanding His glory as the Savior of the world (מוֹשִׁיעַ הָעוֹלָם). Indeed, personally knowing the Name of the LORD means inwardly accepting that He has valiantly acted on your behalf by saving you from the bondage of your shame and sins through Yeshua, the revealed Word (i.e., Name) of God. In short, knowing who Yeshua is and what He has done for you is to know the Name of the LORD (Rom. 10:13; Phil. 2:10-11). You simply cannot know the "Name of the LORD" without knowing the Name of His Son (John 5:23; Prov. 30:4). Yeshua is the Name above all other names, and before Him every knee shall bow and tongue confess. There is no other name by means of which it is necessary for us to be saved (Acts 4:12).
The idea of "Name" means more than mere phonetics; it has to do with the deeds, acts, power, reputation, and glory of God. It has to do with meaning, and not just ordinary meaning, but the most sacred and extraordinary meaning of which the heart may ever know. Those who do not honor the Son do not honor the Father who sent Him (John 5:23).
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Yom Kippur and Jonah...
09.15.21 (Tishri 9, 5782) During the afternoon service of Yom Kippur, the Book of Jonah is recited to awaken the heart to "Arise, call out to your God" (Jonah 1:6). Like Jonah we first must be "swallowed up" in consciousness of our own rebellion before we realize we are undone, that we are without remedy apart from God's direct intervention and deliverance. We start there - in the "belly of the fish" - and later are resurrected to go forth by God's mercy and grace. Likewise we first see ourselves as undone and go to the cross, finding pardon and given the power of the ruach HaKodesh to live unto God according to the truth. But note that the imperatives of the New Testament are directed to the new nature given to us by God, and not to the old nature that has been crucified and done away. We are admonished to live in accordance with the truth of what God has done for us through the Moshia', the Savior. You are a new creation, therefore be who you are in the Messiah!
It is noteworthy that Yeshua mentioned the "sign of Jonah the prophet," that is, Jonah's miraculous deliverance after being entombed in the belly of the fish for three days, to authenticate his own claim to be Israel's Redeemer. "Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth" (Matt. 12:40). "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet (אוֹת יוֹנָה הַנָּבִיא). For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation" (Luke 11:29-30). In other words, the story of Jonah foreshadowed the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah, that is, his death, burial and especially his miraculous resurrection on the third day. Just as God brought Jonah back to life after three days in the belly of the earth, so the resurrection of Yeshua from the dead would vindicate his claim to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world. In this way the "Sign of Jonah" and the sacrificial and atoning work of Yeshua as our High Priest of the new covenant are connected.
"We we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself, yes, we felt that we had received the sentence of death; but that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead" (2 Cor 1:8-9). This marks the end of carnal hope, when we realize we are but "dead men walking," and from this extremity of inner desperation and clarity we learn to rely solely on God for what we need. Here we abandon ourselves to God's care, despite the despair, darkness, and fear. We rely on "God who raises the dead," because all other remedies have been vanquished. It is a great gift to be so afflicted, for these "troubles of love" teach us to trust God alone for all we need. The only way out is through. We don't seek an easy way of life, but only that the LORD our God be with us throughout our troubles...
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Yom Kippur and Prophecy...
[ Yom Kippur, or the "Day of Atonement," begins this evening at sundown... ]
09.15.21 (Tishri 9, 5782) Some people might feel a certain amount of ambivalence about the holiday of Yom Kippur since it focuses on the ritual of purification for the sanctuary of the Temple, and this seems to have little to do with Yeshua and His sacrifice for our sins. After all, the Levitical system of worship is described in the New Covenant as "a shadow (σκιά) of the good things to come, instead of the true form (εἰκών) of these matters, and it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near" (Heb. 10:1). Since the blood of bulls and goats cannot truly take away sins (Heb. 10:3), the sacrificial system was intended to foreshadow the coming work of Messiah, who was born to die, in accordance with God's will, and to offer his own body as a sacrifice for sin "once for all" (Heb. 10:5-10). "For by a single offering (μιᾷ γὰρ προσφορᾷ τετελείωκεν) he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Heb. 10:14).
Now while it is gloriously true that Yeshua functioned as our great High priest after the order of Malki-Tzedek by offering his blood upon the heavenly kapporet in the holy of holies "made without hands," there still is a prophetic component to this holiday that applies to ethnic Israel regarding the prophesied End of Days. After all, the realm of "shadows" still applies in the case of unbelieving Israel, who has yet to behold the unveiled glory that awaits her... Therefore the psalmist prophetically cries out, "Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your Name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for the sake of your Name" (Psalm 79:9), and this refers to the hour when Israel will call upon the LORD for salvation during the End of Days, otherwise called the great Day of the LORD. This event is prefigured in the blast of the "great shofar" which will be sounded to announce Yeshua as Israel's true Redeemer and King. Indeed, our the Messiah will one day return to Israel, cleanse her Temple, restore her to Himself, and set up His glorious kingdom.
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Since prophetically speaking Yom Kippur signifies ethic Israel's atonement secured through Yeshua's sacrificial avodah as Israel's true High Priest and King, there is still a sense of longing and affliction connected to this holiday that will not be removed until finally "all Israel is saved" (Rom. 11:26). So, on the one hand we celebrate Yom Kippur because it acknowledges Yeshua as our High Priest of the New Covenant, but on the other hand, we "have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in our hearts" for the redemption of the Jewish people and the atonement of their sins (Rom. 9:1-5; 10:1-4; 11:1-2, 11-15, 25-27). In the meantime, we are in a period of "mysterious grace" wherein we have opportunity to offer the terms of the New Covenant to people of every nation, tribe and tongue. After the "fullness of the Gentiles" is come in, however, God will turn His full attention to fulfilling His promises given to ethnic Israel. May that great Day of the LORD come soon, chaverim...
The judgment of God upon the USA, and indeed the world, has never been more apparent. For those with ears to hear: do teshuvah and pray. The time is near!
Blood over the Tablets...
[ Yom Kippur, or the "Day of Atonement," begins this evening at sundown... ]
09.15.21 (Tishri 9, 5782) The earthy Tabernacle (i.e., Mishkan) and its furnishings were "copies" of the heavenly Temple and the Throne of God Himself. Moses was commanded to make the Sanctuary according to the "pattern" revealed at Sinai (Exod. 25:9). As it is written in our Scriptures, "For Messiah has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are representations (ἀντίτυπος) of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf" (Heb. 9:24). The centermost point of the earthly Tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant (אֲרוֹן־הַקּדֶשׁ), a "three-in-one" box that contained God's Holy Word (i.e., the tablets of the Torah). As such, the Ark served as a symbol of kisei ha-kavod (כִּסֵּא הַכָּבוֹד), the Throne of Glory.
The Ark stood entirely apart as the only furnishing placed in the "three-in-one" space called the Holy of Holies (קדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים). Upon the cover of the Ark (i.e., the kapporet) were fashioned two cherubim (i.e., angel-like figures) that faced one another (Exod. 25:17-18). According to the Talmud (Succah 5b), each cherub had the face of a child - one boy and one girl - and their wings spread heavenward as their eyes gazed upon the cover (Exod. 25:20). This was the sacred place where the blood of purification was sprinkled during Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and this is the Place (הַמָּקוֹם) that prefigured the offering of the blood of the Messiah, our eternal Mediator of the New Covenant. "For I will appear in the cloud over the kapporet" (Lev. 16:2; Exod. 25:22). As it is written, "I have blotted out your transgressions like a thick cloud and your sins like heavy mist; return to me (שׁוּבָה אֵלַי), for I have redeemed you (Isa. 44:22).
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The central ritual of atonement given in the Torah is that of the anointed High Priest sprinkling sacrificial blood over the tablets of the law upon the kapporet (the "mercy seat") of the Ark of the Covenant - the Place where "Love and truth meet, where righteousness and peace kiss" (Psalm 85:10). It was from the midst of the surrounding cloud in the Holy of Holies that the Voice of the LORD was heard, just as it was in the midst of the surrounding cloud of darkness upon the cross that Yeshua cried out in intercession for our sins...
חסד־ואמת נפגשׁו
צדק ושׁלום נשׁקו
che'·sed ve·e·met neef·gah'·shoo
tze'-dek ve·shah·lohm na·shah'·koo
"Mercy and truth have met,
righteousness and peace have kissed."
(Psalm 85:10)
Note further that the High Priest was required to perform the Yom Kippur avodah (service) alone, while wearing humble attire, divested of his glory, and in complete solitude: "No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out" (Lev. 16:17). The Hebrew text literally says, "no adam (אָדָם) shall be in the tent," which suggests that something more than the natural man is needed for divine intercession. And just as Moses alone approached God in the thick clouds at Sinai to receive the revelation of the Altar as mediator of the older covenant (Exod. 24:15), so Yeshua, the Mediator of the New Covenant, went through his severest agony on the cross as the darkness covered the earth (Luke 23:44; Matt. 27:45).
Atonement and the New Covenant...
[ Understanding atonement is essential to understanding the cross of Messiah... The following provides an entry point for further study. See the Yom Kippur pages for more information. ]
09.15.21 (Tishri 9, 5782) How are we to understand the apparent contradiction that Yom Kippur is to be observed as a "statute forever" (Lev. 16:29) while the New Testament emphatically states that Yeshua puts an end to animal sacrifice and now is our eternal atonement (see Heb. 9:12; 24-26)? To begin we must note that this contradiction only arises when we make the (false) assumption that the Sinai covenant could never be abrogated, which would imply that a truly new covenant is impossible. If we can only relate to God through the covenantal terms given at Sinai, in other words, then the Levitical priesthood (alone) serves to mediate us before God, and there would be no need for a covenant based on the better priesthood and promises of the Messiah (Heb. 8:6). Nevertheless, the new covenant was clearly foretold throughout the Torah, the writings, and the prophets, and the assumption that the Sinai covenant is "immutable" is therefore false. As it is written, "Behld the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant (ברית חדשׁה) with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers (לא כברית אשׁר כרתי את־אבותם) on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt" (Jer. 31:31-32). We can understand this by an analogy: If an employer makes a contract with an employee with certain provisions and conditional benefits that are subject to annual review, but later rescinds that contact and offers a new one with far better benefits, there is no contradiction involved. In our case a real contradiction would be occur if both the statement, "you must observe Yom Kippur forever," and then - in the same contract - it was later stated, "you no longer need observe Yom Kippur forever."
Since the Torah says of the Yom Kippur ritual, "this shall be a statute forever (חֻקַּת עוֹלָם) for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins" (Lev. 16:34), it is urgent for us to explore what "forever" might mean in this case, especially in light of the atonement given in Yeshua. First, we note that the Hebrew word translated "forever" is olam (עוֹלָם), which is derived from a root verb alam (עָלַם) that means "to conceal" or "to hide." Olam may have its origins using spatial imagery, a distance so vast that it is unseen, beyond the horizon, and therefore it can also mean "world." When it is applied to the terms of the Sinai covenant (and the Tabernacle represents the "ritual expression" of that covenant), the word means perpetual, ongoing, etc., in that domain or "world." It is interesting to note that the Jewish sages never regarded "olam" as unchangeable, since in the world to come Torah from Zion (Isa. 2:3). For more on this important point, see the article "Olam HaTorah: The World of the Torah."
Second, we must remember that Torah (תּוֹרָה) is a "function word" that expresses our responsibility in light of the covenantal acts of God, and if you choose to relate to God by means of the Sinai covenant, you are legally liable to the terms and provisions of that contract (e.g., niddah laws, blood ritual laws, tithing laws, agricultural laws, etc.), and this includes being legally liable to the enumerated curses for disobedience. The covenant at Sinai is indeed eternal and never can change - it is brit olam, a perpetual covenant - but if you choose to abide by its terms, you are responsible for your side of the contract... The Book of Hebrews states: "When there is a change in the priesthood (הַכְּהוּנָּה), there is necessarily (ἀνάγκη) a change in the Torah as well" (Heb. 7:12). The Levitical priesthood expresses the Torah of the Covenant of Sinai (בְּרִית יְשָׁנָה), just as the greater priesthood of Yeshua expresses the Torah of the New Covenant (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה).
Third, Yeshua our Messiah came to deliver us from sin and to establish the new covenant with God, which both transcends the covenant given at Sinai and provides an entirely new way to be in relationship with God by the power of the Holy Spirit. The new covenant sets us free from the terms of Sinai (by the death of the Testator, Heb. 9:15) so that we might serve God in a new and better way (see Jer. 31:33; Rom. 7:1-6; Heb. 8:6; Rom. 9:31-32; Acts 13:39; Gal. 4:21-5:1). We "die" to the terms of the former contract to serve God in a new and powerful way (Rom. 7:1-4), with the inner intent of the law written upon our hearts (Jer. 31:31-33). This is the "deeper Torah" that goes back to the original covenant made in the Garden of Eden (for more on this, see "The Gospel in the Garden").
Fourth, Yeshua is the King, the Lawgiver of Torah, and its Substance: he did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill their message and meaning (Matt. 5:17-18; Rom. 10:4). As the King, he has the authority to annul contracts with his subjects, and he has the authority to implement new agreements based on his sovereign will... The Torah of Moses commanded, "Thou shalt not kill..." but the King of Torah (מלך התורה) went to the heart of the matter, explaining that murder was a symptom of the deeper sin of anger...
Finally, those who follow the law of Moses simply cannot keep the Day of Atonement as clearly commanded in the Book of Leviticus, nor have Jews been able to do so since 70 AD, after the destruction of the Second Temple as foretold by Yeshua (Matt. 24:2; Luke 19:41-4). Note that this was by divine design, since the way into the Holy of Holies (i.e., kodesh hakodashim: קדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים) was not yet open for all as long as the "outer tent" still stood (i.e., the Levitical priesthood as the ritualistic expression of the covenant made at Sinai), since that was symbolic of "the present age," or the "dispensation that was passing away" (Heb. 8:13, 9:8-9; for more, see "The Parochet Rent in Two"). Despite the later invention of "Judaism without the Temple," the life is indeed "in the blood" (Lev. 17:11) and in Messiah we are given fulness of life! Only Yeshua gives us true atonement, and that's the true Torah of the LORD! The redemption obtained by animal sacrifices was merely provisional and symbolic, "for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Heb. 10:4). For eternal remedy something far greater was needed, namely, the sacrifice of God Himself. Consequently, when Yeshua came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me," and "'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book" (Heb. 10:5,7). As the Book of Hebrew states: "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat who serve the Tabernacle" (i.e., the Levitical system of worship). We are cleansed from our sins and made eternally right with God because of the cross of Yeshua...
The bottom line is this. We have a greater High Priest who intercedes for us by means of his own shed blood within the true Holy of Holies, "made without hands," in the olam of reality. We do not mix the covenants of God, for this leads to double-mindedness and is regarded as spiritual adultery (Rom. 7:1-4). It is chillul HaShem - the desecration of the Name above all Names - to turn away from the meaning and message of the cross of Messiah.
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Addendum: So Why Study Yom Kippur?
We study the Yom Kippur avodah and the various rituals of blood atonement to better understand the meaning of Yeshua's sacrificial death for us as God's High Priest of the New Covenant. Moreover, as I've explained elsewhere on this site, Yom Kippur prophetically pictures the "Day of the LORD" or the Day of Judgment in Acharit Ha-Yamim (the End of Days). The heavenly shofar blasts heard at Mount Sinai will be reissued from Zion for all the world to hear. First will be the gathering together of those who follow the Messiah (i.e., those declared tzaddikim because of the merit of Yeshua's sacrifice), and then God's war against Satan and the world system will begin, culminating in the long-awaited coronation of the King of King of Kings. After the judgment of the nations after the Great Tribulation, ethnic Israel will be fully restored to the LORD and their sins will be completely purged (Matt. 24). "All Israel will be saved" (Rom. 11:26). Yeshua will then physically return to Israel to establish His glorious millennial kingdom in Zion. Then all the promises given to ethnic Israel through the prophets will finally be fulfilled. Like all holidays, Yom Kippur centers on Yeshua our Messiah.
The Heart of Atonement...
[ Yom Kippur, or the "Day of Atonement," begins Wednesday, Sept. 15th at sundown... ]
09.14.21 (Tishri 8, 5782) Most of our deepest anxieties come from the fear of death, whether we are conscious of this or not... Death represents fear of the unknown, fear of being abandoned, fear of being rejected, fear of being separated from others, and so on. I am so glad Yeshua gives us eternal life, which for me is not so much about immortality of the soul as it is being loved and accepted by God... That is what "at-one-ment" means, after all (John 17:22-23). Because God loves and accepts us, we trust Him to be present for us, even in the darkest of hours, on the other side of the veil, where he there "prepares a place for us" (John 14:2). As Yeshua said, "I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the One who sent me has eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) and will not be condemned, but has passed (i.e., μετά + βαίνω, lit., "crossed over" [עָבַר]) from death to life" (John 5:24). God's love "crosses over" from death to life and now forever sustains me.
The Torah (in parashat Acharei Mot) provides details about Yom Kippur, or the "Day of Atonement," a special service that gave ritual expression of God's love by making purification for our sins. As I've explained before, the word for love (i.e., ahavah: אהבה) equals the number thirteen (1+5+2+5=13), but when shared it is multiplied: 13 x 2 = 26, which is the same value for the Sacred Name (יהוה), i.e., (10+5+6+5=26). Likewise the Hebrew word for "life" is chayim (חַיִּים), is written in the plural to emphasize that life cannot be lived alone but must be shared. Notice that within the word chayim are embedded two consecutive Yods (יי), representing unity in plurality (Yod-Yod is an abbreviation for YHVH, also indicating the "deep Akedah" of Father and Son). God gave up His life so that we can be in relationship with Him, that is, so that we can be "at-one" with His heart for us. Whatever else it may mean, then, the Hebrew word for "atonement" (i.e., kapparah, "covering," "protection," "purification," "cleansing," "forgiveness," and so on) is about accepting God's heart for you - being unified in his love - and if you miss that, you've missed the point of the Torah's teaching.. Thank God we are "sealed" in the book of life by the love of Yeshua!
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Perfect Love (אהבה שלמה)...
09.14.21 (Tishri 8, 5782) The gospel reveals God's passion for us, the call of his heart, his desire to elevate us to the role of the beloved, and we respond by accepting Him as the great Lover of our souls, the "ultimate concern" of our life.
Sin threatens to seduce us away from God's love, to interfere with our relationship, which evokes God's "jealousy" to protect love from loss.
It is written in our Scriptures that "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18), but perfect love (τελεία ἀγάπη) must be "perfect," that is, reciprocal, complete, consummated, and alive with passion. In Hebrew, perfect love is "shalem" - that is, whole, healed, and unified (i.e., ahavah shlemah: אהבה שלמה).
Perfect love is both given and received... It is not "perfect love" to intellectually accept that God loves you in Yeshua. No, you must receive this as an inward passion, you must live within it, must embrace it, take possession of it, and let it fill your heart to abundance. This love, this "perfect love," then will cast away your fear of being unwanted, rejected, and abandoned. But to know this love, you have to open your heart and accept it as your own; you have to accept yourself as the beloved of God.
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Teshuvah and Healing...
09.14.21 (Tishri 8, 5782) Repentance is an ongoing disposition of life in Messiah, since it rightly relates us to God. First we encounter our incurable sickness - the inner contradiction and bondage of soul that both loves and hates sin - and then we seek God's saving power in Yeshua. As the Apostle Paul said: "Who can save me from the misery of myself? – God alone, through Jesus (Rom. 7:18-25). This is the first step, to know the "miserable creature that I am," that is, the slavery of your will to sin, and the second is to be willing to give this sickness of your soul to God's care in Yeshua. As he said, "Those who are well have no need of a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the 'righteous,' but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31-32). Yeshua regarded forgiveness of your sins as essential to finding inner healing, even more important than health, prosperity, or religious observance.
Repentance means returning to love, finding your heart's desire in God... As Yeshua said, "Repent, for you have lost your first love..." (Rev. 2:4-5). Turn around: Look at what is missing within! He appeals to you like an ardent lover standing outside in the cold, calling out your name, and knocking for you to open the door to let him inside (Rev. 3:19-20). Open the door of your heart! Return to him now! "Lord, help me turn to receive your love..."
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Love with Trembling...
09.13.21 (Tishri 7, 5782) Our faith affirms that the LORD personally cares whether we do teshuvah, that our choices matter and bear an eternal weight of significance... If we gaze upward toward the starry depths of heaven we may feel that our lives are insignificant and useless; however if we look within we intuitively sense that everything we say, do, and think has eternal weight. This paradox was well expressed by Immanuel Kant: "Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily we reflect upon them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me. I do not seek or conjecture either of them as if they were veiled obscurities or extravagances beyond the horizon of my vision; I see them before me and connect them immediately with the consciousness of my existence" (Critique of Practical Reason). True humility doesn't mean regarding your life as vain or meaningless but instead "locates" the self in spiritually realistic terms. Both the grand whorl of the cosmos and the inner mystery of the self reveal God's Presence; the LORD fills all in all, and this includes both our inner world as well as the depths of creation, yea, before heaven itself. And since God in Messiah regards your life as worthy of an infinite redemption, true humility means respecting yourself, honoring the miracle of God's presence within you and valuing your identity as a beloved child of God... You are both a "bit of nothing" (i.e., klume: כְּלוּם) and yet you are segulah, a treasure before heaven. An old Chassidic tale says that every person should walk through life with two notes, one in each pocket. On one note should be the words anokhi afar ve'efer (אָנכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר) - "I am but dust and ashes," and on the other note should be the words, bishvili nivra ha'olam (בִּשְׁבִילִי נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם) - "For my sake was this world created." We are dust, yes indeed, but we are glorious dust because of God's love: "Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven" (1 Cor. 15:49).
Those who do not tremble before the cross do not understand God's holiness and anger against sin; those who do not rejoice before the cross do not understand God's great compassion and love....
We are to fear God and yet love God with all our hearts... It is a balance - the reverential "trembling of love." We fear God because our sins reveal divine justice and invoke the curse, and yet we trust what Yeshua does for us is perfect and evidences God's great compassion and mercy for our lives. So we do both - we fear God yet we rejoice that we are reconciled to him by means of the sacrificial life and death of the Messiah. We cannot choose one at the expense of the other: fear without love leads to legalism and hypocrisy; love without fear leads to presumption and profanity... Therefore we must guard against falling into despair over ourselves by affirming God's acceptance and blessing; on the other hand we must guard against smugness and pride by affirming God's holiness, justice, and the terrible cost he paid to redeem us from the verdict of the law. Those who do not tremble before the cross do not understand God's holiness and anger against sin; those who do not rejoice before the cross do not understand God's great compassion and love. The cross of Messiah is the place where God's truth (justice) and God's mercy (chesed) are perfectly mediated (Psalm 85:10).
Hebrew Lesson:
Surrendering your Destiny...
09.13.21 (Tishri 7, 5782) I once received an email from someone who questioned whether they were beyond the hope of redemption because they wrestled with depression and despair... If the life of a follower of the Messiah is to be marked by unspeakable joy, a heart overflowing with "living waters," and inner peace, doesn't inner pain, a sense of emptiness, and numbness of heart indicate the absence of genuine regeneration? My response to this honest question was that the struggle itself indicates the presence of real faith, and it is therefore likely that this person was going through a "dark night of the soul," that is, a time of testing and refinement... I counseled him that we are to trust God in the darkness and abandon everything to Him -- even our eternal destiny -- regardless of the ambiguity and sorrows of the present moment. We must offer up our heart to God and let whatever happens to us happen. χάριτι δὲ θεοῦ εἰμι ὅ εἰμι. As Job in his great anguish of soul said: "Behold, even if he slays me, I will hope in him; I argue my ways before Him" (Job 13:15). In effect Job laid down his life to be slain and made appeal to God's justice and love, despite the mystery and agony of his suffering...
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Trust from the Heart...
09.13.21 (Tishri 7, 5782) "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding" (Prov. 3:5). Note the contrast between trusting and understanding in this familiar verse. Trust is a matter of heart, the decision to let go, whereas understanding is analytical, "objective," a matter of physical seeing. Human reason may help you discern the "what" of faith, but it is powerless to waken the soul, to breath life into heart, and to impart passion to seek God's Presence as your greatest need and your utmost good. That only comes through the sober awareness of your own sinful condition, the inner conviction that you are utterly undone and without hope apart from the intervention of God in your life, and the will to believe in the miracle...
בטח אל־יהוה בכל־לבך
ואל־בינתך אל־תשׁען
be·tach · el-Adonai · be·khol · lee·be'·kha
ve·el-bee·na'·te·kha · al-teesh·sha·ein
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and do not rely on your own understanding"
(Prov. 3:5)
Most commandments do not test how we comprehend our faith as much as they test the surrender of our heart. The test of faith requires bittachon (בִּטָּחוֹן) - that is, abandoning our need to understand so that we can hold fast to God's promise and blessing... "Fear not, for I am with you..." (Isa. 41:10). That's what we need most, to trust that we are safe in God's love, and that's the ultimate message of our atonement in Messiah.
Thinking about Yom Kippur...
[ The 25-hour fast of Yom Kippur begins Wednesday, September 15th this year... ]
09.13.21 (Tishri 7, 5782) The climax of the Days of Awe (i.e., yamin nora'im: ימים נוראים) is the 25 hour fast called Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), which begins an hour before sundown on Wedneday, September 15th and runs until an hour past sundown the following day this year. The sages state that "afflicting the soul" (Lev. 23:32), or fasting, is not undertaken to punish ourselves for our sins, but rather to help us focus entirely on our spiritual side. It is customary to light the holiday candles, recite Shehecheyanu, and eat a late afternoon meal with loved ones (called Seudat Mafseket, a meal of cessation) a couple hours before the fast begins. It is also traditional to wear white clothing as a symbol of purity during Yom Kippur religious services, and some married men wear a kittel, or white robe, as well. Because of the sanctity of the holiday, the tallit is worn for evening services as well.
Yom Kippur is one of the most important holidays of the Jewish Year and holds tremendous prophetic significance regarding the Second Coming of Messiah, the restoration of national Israel, and the final judgment of the world. It is also a day that reveals the High-Priestly work of the our Messiah Yeshua as the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) after the order of Malki-Tzedek (Heb. 5:10, 6:20).
The biblical name for the Day of Atonement is Yom Kippurim (יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים), meaning "the day of covering(s), atonements, pardons, reconciling." Yom Kippur was the only time when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and utter the Name of YHVH (יהוה) to offer blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. This "life for a life" principle is the basis of the sacrificial system and marked the day of intercession made by the High Priest on behalf of Israel.
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Yom Kippur once was called "The Day of God's Mercy," or "The Day of God's Name" (יום השם). This alludes to the revelation of the Name YHVH (יהוה) and the attributes of God's Compassion after the sin of the Golden Calf (Exod. 34:6-7). How much more, then, is Yom Kippur the "Day of Yeshua's Name" since He secured for all of humanity everlasting kapparah (atonement)? Yeshua the Messiah is Moshia ha'olam (מוֹשִׁיעַ הָעוֹלָם), the Savior of the world; His indeed is the "Name above all other Names" (Phil. 2:9-10; Acts 4:12). It is altogether fitting, then, that His "hidden" Name was proclaimed before the kapporet (the cover of the Ark of the Covenant) in the Holy of Holies before the Father for the purification of our sin.
Ha'azinu - Yom Kippur Audio Podcast...
09.12.21 (Tishri 6, 5782) In this "High Holiday" audio podcast, I discuss Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and its themes, particularly in reference to the atonement given in the Messiah Yeshua, as well as parashat Ha'azinu, the Torah portion we always read between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The Ha'azinu is an amazing prophetic song ("shirah") written by Moses just before he died. Written nearly 1,500 years before the advent of Yeshua, Moses foresaw the climatic events of Israel's history -- its past, present, and most notably its future, including the future time of redemption and atonement at the End of the Age.
Ha'azinu - The Prophetic Song of Moses...
09.12.21 (Tishri 6, 5782) Shanah Tovah, friends! In last week's Torah portion (i.e., Vayeleich), Moses finished his long address to the people of Israel and commissioned Joshua to be his successor. The LORD then foretold that after Moses' death the Israelites would "whore after foreign gods" and break covenant with Him. In light of this, Moses was instructed to teach the Israelites a great prophetic song called the "Ha'azinu." This week's portion provides the words of this song, which foretells of Israel's history (past, present, and the future redemption) and that warns the people not to stray from the path that God had commanded. Structured in the form of an "oracle," the Ha'azinu contains Moses' final words of prophecy given to the Israelites before he ascended Mount Nebo to die.
The oracle begins by declaring the righteousness of God. Moses reminded the people of all that God had done for them and then foresaw all the great gifts they would enjoy as God's chosen nation in the promised land. However, instead of thanking God for all these gifts, Moses foresaw that the people would "grow fat" and forsake the LORD for various "no-gods." This would cause God's anger to burn, and Israel's apostasy would eventually lead to defeat at the hand of their enemies and to eventual exile. All the various curses listed earlier in the covenant would then come upon the people: "I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend my arrows on them; they shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence." Indeed, God would have entirely destroyed the Jewish people were it not for His reputation among the nations, lest they should say, "Our hand is triumphant, it was not the LORD who did all this."
Ultimately, however, God will vindicate his justice and mercy before heaven and earth by saving Israel from her enemies and atoning for all her sins. The song ends, "Cry out, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge his servants' blood; he will take vengeance against his enemies, and will atone for his land and his people."
After Moses recited the words of this song, he encouraged the people to take the words of his prophecy to heart and to teach them diligently to their children. "For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land." The portion ends with Moses ascending Mount Nebo so that he could see the Promised Land before he died.
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We read the Ha'azinu every year near the High Holidays, either just before or just after Yom Kippur. In the Sefer Torah (Torah Scroll), the prophetic song is written in a stylized two-column format with extra spaces. Each line of the shirah (song) is matched by a second, parallel unit (Talmud: Shabbat 103b).
The Ha'azinu reminds us that who we listen to ultimately decides our fate. It begins, "Give ear, O heavens (הַאֲזִינוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם), and I will speak, and let the earth hear (וְתִשְׁמַע הָאָרֶץ) the words of my mouth" (Deut. 32:1). The word ha'azinu (הַאֲזִינוּ) comes from verb azan (אָזַנ), as does the Hebrew word for "ear" (i.e., ozen: אזֶן). The Midrash Rabbah says that the ear (אזֶן) gives life to all the organs of the body. How so? By listening (שׁמע, shema) to the Torah. This idea is repeated in the New Testament: "Faith comes from listening to the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). The Word of God (דְּבַר־אֱלהִים) is our very life, friends...
The Call to Vigilance...
09.10.21 (Tishri 4, 5782) Since we are living in "perilous times" we must "pay more careful attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away" (Heb. 2:1). We must be anchored to the truth lest we become shipwrecked in our faith. Drifting occurs slowly and almost imperceptibly, though the end result is as deadly as openly turning away from God in outright apostasy. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, "The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." The devil seeks to lull you to sleep...
Spiritual danger is just as real as physical danger, though most people pretend it isn't because it isn't as easily seen. The danger today is to give up hope, to "go with the flow," to become numb, to drift off asleep, and to die inside... It is far more dangerous to tranquilly ignore God's mercy, or to make a pretense of knowing God's grace, than it is to blatantly break his law. Therefore the urgent need is to remember, to hear, and to awaken the soul to face the truth about reality. We must focus the heart, concentrate the will, and consciously "set" the Lord always before us (Psalm 16:8). Each day we must awaken from our emptiness to reaffirm the central truth: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God; the LORD is one; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut. 6:4-5). As the Apostle Paul said, "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light" (Eph. 5:14).
The great commandment is always "shema," listen -- listen to the voice of God's love for you; listen to the message of God's good will for you; listen to the call of the Spirit. But to truly listen you must quiet yourself, you must "make space" within your heart, and you must consciously attend to God's Presence by "setting" the LORD before you...
Therefore we must be vigilant to secure our high calling in Messiah: "Let us know; let us press on (i.e., נִרְדְּפָה, "pursue after") to know the LORD; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth" (Hosea 6:3). The day is drawing near, and now - more than ever - we must remain steadfast. May God help you pursue him be'khol levavkha – "with all your heart" – because He has promised, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13). And may the love of the LORD be upon you, even as you put your hope in him (Psalm 33:22).
Hebrew Lesson:
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Faith in Troubled Times...
09.10.21 (Tishri 4, 5782) Shalom chaverim. I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed this past week, partly because of the busy High Holiday schedule, partly because school has just started for the kids, but even more because dear Olga has been sick all week. Moreover, the ongoing concern of "Covid" (whatever its true etiology) marks a new epoch in recent history, as formerly trusted institutions such as science, medicine, jurisprudence, law enforcement, (among others) have become increasingly politicized and thereby unable to honestly test their own truth claims. As Karl Popper once said, however, "the game of science is, in principle, without end. He who decides one day that scientific statements do not call for any further test, and that they can be regarded as finally verified, retires from the game." Indeed, the lack of critical thinking and honest self-questioning has invoked a strange "spell" of epic proportions within the world. Relentless fear-mongering, propaganda, social conditioning, and spurious science justifying ever more governmental intrusion regarding personal health choices is inflaming deep anxiety and impaired thinking around the globe. The Zeitgeist of our age is one of ignorance, deception and fear. Assuredly the "world system" (ὁ κόσμος ὅλος) is being retooled for the prophesied "End of Days" wherein constant surveillance and social monitoring will mark the end of all civil liberties and rational intelligence... "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, though he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way, and then the lawless one will be revealed..."
Despite all this, let us never give up hope; let us refuse the temptation to be afraid or to succumb to despair. The LORD is King over all the earth, and we are to consciously live before His Presence at all times - both in times of good and in times of evil (Psalm 47:7). Let us therefore rejoice in the LORD and thank Him for the troubles we are facing, for they herald the coming hour of our final deliverance. Rouse yourself! Set your heart's affection; keep steady and take courage. The hour draws near!
"For you yourselves are fully aware that the Day of the LORD (יוֹם־יְהוָה) will come like a thief in the night" (see Matt. 24:42; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 3:3; 16:15). While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman (i.e., the birth pangs of Messiah: חֶבְלֵי מָשִׁיח), and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief" (1 Thess. 5:2-4). Note that a characteristic of this season will be a emphasis on peace and "security," that is, setting up a ubiquitous (global) security grid that will monitor and track people... In light of this, "let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.. having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah" (1 Thess. 5:6-9). Amen.
Hebrew Lesson:
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Yom Kippur and Chesed...
09.10.21 (Tishri 4, 5782) The ten days from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur are known as Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (עֲשֶׂרֶת יְמֵי תְּשׁוּבָה), "the Ten Days of repentance," otherwise called the "Days of Awe" (yamim nora'im) in Jewish tradition. Since man was created for the sake of teshuvah, Yom Kippur, or the Day of "at-one-ment," is considered the holiest day of the year, called "Yom ha-kadosh" (יוֹם הַקָּדוֹשׁ). It is the climax of the 40 day "Season of Teshuvah."
As I've mentioned before, the "Day of Atonement," or Yom Kippur, is actually written in the plural, that is, as Yom Ha-Kippurim (יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים), perhaps because the purification process cleansed from a multitude of transgressions, iniquities, and sins. However, the name also alludes to the two great atonements given by the LORD God of Israel - the first for those among all of the nations who turn to Yeshua for cleansing and forgiveness, and the second for the purification of ethnic Israel during Yom Adonai, the great Day of the LORD (יוֹם־יְהוָה הַגָּדוֹל) at the end of days. There is a connection with the holiday of Purim, too, since Kippurim can be read as Yom Ke-Purim, a "day like Purim." Thus the day on which Yeshua sacrificed Himself on the cross is the greatest Purim of all, since through His loving intervention we are eternally delivered from the hands of our enemies...
The Torah refers to Yom Kippur as "shabbat shabbaton" (שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן), a time when all profane work is set aside so the soul could focus on the holiness of the LORD. The first occurrence of this phrase is found in Exodus 16:23, regarding the restriction of collecting manna in the desert during the seventh day. This restriction was later incorporated into the law code for the Sabbath day (Exod. 31:15; 35:2). The phrase also occurs regarding Rosh Hashanah (Lev. 23:24), Yom Kippur (Lev. 16:31; 23:32), two days of Sukkot (Lev. 23:39; Num. 25:35), two days of Passover (Lev. 23:7-8), and the day of Shavuot (Num. 28:26). If you add up these days, you will find there are seven prescribed days of "complete rest" before the LORD, and the sages identified Yom Kippur as "the" Sabbath of these other special Sabbath days, that is, "Yom ha-kadosh" (יוֹם הַקָּדוֹשׁ), which occurs on the tenth day of the seventh month of the Torah's holiday calendar. Indeed, the Talmud notes that "seven days before Yom Kippur, we separate the High Priest," corresponding to the seven-day seclusion of Aaron and his sons before the inauguration of the Tabernacle (Lev. 8:33).
All of the Jewish holidays find their origin in the events of the Exodus, which were later commemorated as rituals at the Tabernacle. On the first of Nisan, two weeks before the Exodus, the LORD showed Moses the new moon and commenced the divine lunar calendar. This is called Rosh Chodashim. Two weeks later, God was ready to deliver the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt. Earlier that evening the Israelites kept the Passover Seder and sprinkled the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. At the stroke of midnight of Nisan 15 the LORD sent the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. On the 6th of Sivan, exactly seven weeks after the Exodus (49 days), Moses first ascended Sinai to receive the Torah (Shavuot). Just forty days later, on the 17th of Tammuz, the tablets were broken. Moses then interceded for Israel for another forty days until he was called back up to Sinai on Elul 1 and received the revelation of Name YHVH (Exod. 34:4-8). After this, he was given the Second Tablets and returned to the camp on Tishri 10, which later was called Yom Kippur. Moses' face was shining with radiance in wonder of the coming New Covenant which was prefigured in the rituals of the Day of Atonement (Exod. 34:10).
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Recall that there were two revelations of the Name YHVH, first as "I AM WHO I AM" (a play on the Hebrew verb hayah [הָיָה] given to Moses in Exodus 3:14-15 which was later "incarnated" during the intervention of the Exodus (Exod. 6:1-8)), and the later revelation of YHVH's mercy disclosed after the sin of the Golden Calf (Exod. 34:6-7). It is the later revelation that foretold God's Name of the new covenant, just as the second tablets took the place of the former tablets that were shattered. Ultimately Yeshua is the "wonder" of the covenant of the LORD (Exod. 34:10), the manifestation of the attributes of God's mercy (middot rachamim). For more on this topic see the article, "Yom Kippur and Chesed."
Hebrew Lesson:
Shabbat Shuvah - שַׁבַּת שׁוּבָה
09.10.21 (Tishri 4, 5782) The Sabbath between Rosh Hashanah (i.e., Yom Teruah) and the solemn fast of Yom Kippur is the very first of the new year, called Shabbat Shuvah (שַׁבַּת שׁוּבָה) - that is, "the Sabbath of Return." It is called "shuvah" because the Haftarah (i.e., Hosea 14:1) begins, Shuvah Yisrael ad Adonai Elohekha (שׁוּבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ): "Return, O Israel, unto the LORD your God!" As the first Shabbat of the new year, Shabbat Shuvah is intended to "set the tone" for the rest of the year:
Hebrew Lesson:
Divine Absence and Teshuvah...
09.10.21 (Tishri 4, 5782) From our Torah reading this week (i.e., Vayeilech) the LORD foretold Moses' death and the people's subsequent apostasy from the faith: "This people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them" (Deut. 31:16). The Lord then continued: "And then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured.... And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods" (Deut. 31:17-18).
The phrase hester panim (הֶסְתֵר פָּנִים) means "hiding of the face." It is often used when discussing the Book of Esther, where God's Name isn't mentioned even once, yet the hidden Presence is realized in the outcome of the story. In this sense of the term, hester panim is like the sun on an overcast day: Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. God's providential care for us is at work at all times, whether we perceive it or not...
Although hester panim may refer to God's hidden providence for good, in some cases it may refer to the terrifying prospect of the withdrawal of the Divine Presence itself... God "hides His face" from us because our own desire for evil blinds us to the truth of His Presence. Hester panim therefore is not only "absence of Divine Presence," but "presence of Divine Absence." In other words, sin and selfishness can cause consciousness of the Divine Presence to be removed from us, but that is precisely because we have chosen to remove ourselves from Him. "I will hide... because you have turned..." The distance is therefore reciprocal: Selfishness turns us away from God which turns God away from us.
In difficult moments, many people cynically ask, "Where's God?" and yet they have no intention of sincerely turning from sin to seek the Divine Presence. They are quick to judge the Divine Absence as an excuse for the return to their selfishness and despair. This "hardening of the heart" leads to ever-increasing spiritual darkness and confusion... Finally the line is crossed and they become unable to turn away, unable not to sin (non posse non peccare). They are consigned to a frightful state: "God gave them up to a debased mind (αδοκιμον νουν) to do what ought not to be done" (Rom. 1:28). In some tragic cases, the disease "reaches term" and the person actually dies. The "hiding of face" is then forever sealed. Since we have hidden our face from Him, God has hidden His face from us. God forbid that this should be anyone's ultimate spiritual destiny....
Is there a redemptive side to all of this? Yes of course. In some cases God "turns away" from us in order to afflict us and understand our need to return to Him, as it is written: "It was good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn Your statues" (Psalm 119:71). The sense of "Divine Absence" can be a gift that helps us seek the Divine Presence: "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (James 4:8). The "dark night of the soul" can be a means of leading us to godly sorrow that leads to life (2 Cor. 7:10).
In keeping with the Days of Awe and the call to do teshuvah shelmah (a complete repentance), then, let us "wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and hope in him" (Isa. 8:17). Wishing you teshuvah shlemah le'ahavat Yeshua - "A complete turning to the love of Jesus." Amen.
Hebrew Lesson:
Fearing No Evil...
09.10.21 (Tishri 4, 5782) The devil wants you to be afraid, to be very afraid, and indeed, inciting fear is the primary weapon he uses against us... The devil understands that fear profoundly affects the way the human brain processes images and messages: Fear colors the way we see and hear things. And since the mind and body are intricately interconnected, fear is the root cause of many physiological problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, clinical depression, and other ailments. Left unchecked, fear can be deadly...
Most of our negative emotions come from fearful thoughts, including anger, frustration, and rage. On a spiritual level, fear and worry can cause people to question God's love, to doubt His promises, and so on. The devil knows that frightening people causes them to be unsettled, off-balance, and therefore vulnerable to all sorts of sickness, manipulation, and deception. Living in fear is a form of slavery (Heb. 2:15).
Logicians call illegitimate appeals to fear argumentum ad baculum, or the "appeal to the stick." When someone plays on your fears, it is wise to discern whether there is any basis in reality for the supposed threat, or if the appeal is simply a rhetorical scare tactic intended to persuade (coerce) you to accept some sort of conclusion. Unscrupulous people such as advertisers, politicians, dictators, community organizers, social activists, and so on, regularly use fear to manipulate public opinion, of course, and they are only too glad to tell you exactly what you should fear. They are delighted to prey upon your anxieties and then offer you their supposed "remedy." You know whom they serve, friends...
The war for truth began in the Garden of Eden, when Satan lied to Eve by saying that she wouldn't die if she disobeyed God (Gen. 3:4). Satan cunningly played on Eve's fear of being deceived to persuade her to disobey. Fear, then, is the emotional center of sin and the opposite of faith. The fearful are referred to as the "unbelieving" and those who "love and make a lie" (Rev. 21:8, 22:15).
God repeatedly tells us not to be afraid – not of man, nor of war, nor of tribulation, nor of various plagues, yea, nor even of death itself (Rom. 8:35-39). Indeed, one of the most frequently occurring commandments in Scripture is simply al-tirah, "Be not afraid."
But how do we overcome our fear? How can we live our faith in the midst of a worldwide cultural slide into deception and insanity? How can we walk in peace while a worldwide tyranny is crafting a globalist police state wherein no one will be able to buy or sell if they are not wholly subservient to the dictates of an unseen power elite? How else but by wholeheartedly trusting that God is with us? The LORD will never leave nor forsake us, even if we are faced with difficult circumstances. The antidote to fear is heartfelt faith in God's love for us (1 John 4:18). God saves us from our fears (Psalm 34:4, 2 Tim. 1:7). When we trust that God personally cares for us, we find comfort and courage to face life without fear.
Hebrew Lesson:
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Turning as a Child...
09.09.21 (Tishri 3, 5782) There is no teshuvah (repentance) apart from humility (Matt. 5:5). The disciples of Yeshua came asking, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn (shuv) and become like children (להְיוֹת כַּיְלָדִים), you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:2-3). Said the Kotzer Rebbe, "It is proper to weep during the High Holy Days in order to show that despite all our seeming wisdom and learning, we are as helpless as little children who weep for what they desire." "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will" (Matt 11:25-26).
His Overmastering Power...
09.09.21 (Tishri 3, 5782) Though it might sometimes seem that evil has the upper hand in this fallen world, we must remember that the LORD God Almighty is in complete control and works all things together for our good - even overturning the schemes of the wicked for our ultimate benefit (Gen. 50:20; Psalm 57:2; Rom. 8:28). The devil thought he had won a great victory when Yeshua died upon the cross, but God utterly vanquished his evil intent by raising Messiah from the dead and exalting Him as the matchless Ruler over all principalities, powers, and kings of earth (Rev 1:5). Ein od milvado (אֵין עוֹד מִלְבַדּו) - there is no power apart from God. Everything is in His hands, and He alone is the keyholder of hell and death (Rev. 1:18). "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty One, reigns." Therefore the LORD asks your anxious heart: "Behold, I AM the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for me?"
הנה אני יהוה אלהי כל־בשר
הממני יפלא כל־דבר
hee·nei · a·nee · Adonai · e·lo·hei · kol–ba·sar
ha·mee·me'·nee · yee·pa·lei · kol-da·var
"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh.
Is anything too difficult (or wonderful) for me?"
(Jer. 32:27)
As it is written in the psalms: "For the LORD Most High (יְהוָה עֶלְיוֹן, lit., "the ascended LORD") is to be feared; for He is the great king over all the earth" (Psalm 47:2).
Sowing and Reaping...
09.08.21 (Tishri 2, 5782) "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. The one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life" (Gal. 6:8). Here we see the importance of feeding the divine nature given to us in Messiah - to "sow" or "plant" truth within our hearts so that we will yield the "fruit of righteousness."
On the other hand, feeding the lower nature, gratifying the desires of the flesh, disregarding the truth of eternity for the sake of temporal pleasure, and so on, leads to corruption and to death. Spirituality (רוּחניוּת), then, is of utmost importance to us, as we learn to "renew our minds" and yield ourselves to the truth of God (Gal. 5:16). We must set our hearts on things above, where Messiah is seated at the right hand of God (Col. 3:1-4).
We are engaged in the battle daily - an internal struggle to direct our hearts and to make the decision to be awake to the Lord's Presence or to surrender to our fallenness, fear, and despair. The Lord has promised us his very strength for the battle, but we must choose to believe in order to receive the blessing...
Since God has promised to help us as we seek to do His will (see 1 John 5:14), let us therefore draw near to the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16). The LORD makes the way of escape for those who seek him (1 Cor. 10:13). He says to the heart of faith: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God: I will strengthen you, yea, I will help you, yea, I will uphold you the right hand of my righteousness (Isa. 41:10).
Hebrew Lesson:
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Yom Kippur Mercies...
09.08.21 (Tishri 2, 5782) Rosh Hashanah is called Yom Ha-Din (יוֹם הַדִּין), the "Day of Judgment," whereas Yom Kippur is called Yom Ha-Rachamim (יוֹם הָרַחֲמִים), or the "Day of Mercies," which suggests that God is first revealed as our Creator and Judge before He is known as our merciful Savior. This is hinted in the two accounts of creation, where God is first revealed as Elohim (Gen. 1:1), but later is revealed as YHVH (יהוה) when He breathed life into man nishmat chayim, the breath of life (Gen. 2:4). It is somewhat odd, however, that during Rosh Hashanah we do not approach God as our Judge, beating our breast in sorrow during confession of sin, as we do on Yom Kippur. Some say the reason we celebrate, eating special foods, rejoicing, listening to the shofar, is because we rejoice in the kingship of God as His royal children, and only later do we appeal to Him as merciful Judge in light of His revelation as YHVH, our Savior, Redeemer, and Lord. As believers in Yeshua, we have all the more reason to rejoice on Rosh Hashanah, since at the cross Yeshua took upon Himself our judgment to give us everlasting mercy from God. !הַלְלוּ־יָהּ
חסד־ואמת נפגשׁו
צדק ושׁלום נשׁקו
che'·sed ve·e·met neef·gah'·shoo
tze'·dek ve·sha·lom nah·sha'·koo
"Love and truth have met,
justice and peace have kissed."
(Psalm 85:10)
L'Shanah Tovah, friends!
09.08.21 (Tishri 2, 5782) Happy New Year - Shanah Tovah - friends! May this coming year be "good and sweet" for you. Here are a few pictures taken during our (small) celebration for Rosh Hashanah 5782.. As you can see, our three sons are growing: Josiah is now 16, Judah is 12, and Emanuel David is now 5 years old! Click the image below for more pictures:.
Left-to-right (top): 1. Emanuel David; 2. Judah Abraham; 3. JUdah with Josiah; 4. Olga with kids;
(bottom): 1) yom tov candles; 2) simanim plate; 3) tapuach udvash; 4) John blows shofar
בחצצרות וקול שׁופר
הריעו לפני המלך יהוה
ba·cha·tzohtz·roht · ve·kohl · sho·far
ha·ree'·oo · leef·nei · ha·me'·lekh · Adonai
"With trumpets and the sound of the shofar
shout for joy before the King, the LORD!"
(Psalm 98:6)
From our family to yours: L'shanah tovah u'metukah ba'Adoneinu Yeshua ha-Mashiach - "to a good and sweet year in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah." May the LORD God heal you, body and soul; may He ease your pain, increase your strength, and release you from all your fears. May the divine blessing, love, joy, and true shalom surround you and fill you with ongoing wonder and thanks. May you overcome in the Name above all Names we pray: Amen.
Teshuvah of Messiah...
09.07.21 (Tishri 1, 5782) "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near" (Matt. 3:2). During this "season of teshuvah" (חודש תשובה) it is vital to understand exactly how we are to turn to God to find life. Some religious people understand "repentance" to mean focusing on themselves, lamenting their sins, and making resolutions to improve their behavior, though this is not the meaning of teshuvah ("repentance") as Yeshua taught, which is turning of the heart in trust of God's love and in the promise of newness of life (John 10:10,28). "It is no longer 'I' who live but Messiah who lives in me," which means we find life and righteousness in the LORD and not in ourselves -- neither in our resolutions to change, nor in our religious practices, nor even our acts of repentance (Titus 3:5). We are "crucified with" Messiah, and that means the self-life comes to an end (Col. 3:3). Regarding yourself as separated from God's acceptance will inevitably lead you to the "works of the law" and therefore to the "wheel of sin and death" -- and to despair.
Rightly understood, then, teshuvah cannot be separated from the salvation of the LORD (יְשׁוּעַת יְהוָה), nor can we disregard God's righteousness in the vain attempt to establish our own. Teshuvah receives the miracle of divine exchange: "For our sake he made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). We do not "reject the grace of God" (Οὐκ ἀθετῶ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ) by seeking justification apart from the truth and blessing of Messiah, for He is the one "who loves me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20-21). The sickness of sin is lethal, and there is no remedy apart from turning to behold Yeshua, the "fiery serpent" lifted upon a stake, the One crucified for our deliverance (Num. 21:8; John 3:14; Gal. 3:13). The teshuvah of God is to turn away from yourself to behold the miracle of God's righteousness given for your sake, and therefore it is a matter of radical faith. "We had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead" (2 Cor. 1:9). Amen, the verdict of the law condemns us, but God has given us a new covenant (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה) in Yeshua the Messiah, "not like the covenant that I made with the fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt" (Jer. 31:31-32), and by means of this new covenant the righteousness of God is given to the one who trusts in sacrificial death of Messiah given on their behalf. "Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is briah chadashah (בְּרִיאָה חֲדָשָׁה), a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17).
We are told that we must "receive" the life of Yeshua into our hearts, and that is certainly true, but we must also receive his death as well... This is the meaning of "taking up your cross." It is the death of Yeshua in your place that releases you from the tochechah curse of the law (מִקִּלְלַת הַתּוֹרָה), that is, spiritual death, as it is says: "the Messiah has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree" (Gal. 3:13).
The teshuvah of Yeshua is the miracle of new life; Messiah sets you free from the power of sin and death itself. The repentance of Yeshua is to trust in God's remedy for your sin: "This is the work of God, to believe in the One whom God sent" (John 6:29). "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him" (Isa. 59:16). We must turn away from the idea that God demands anything from us other than trust in his love. "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3). Stop trying to measure up to his standards. You simply cannot give more than you have the love to give, so you must begin by getting your heart needs met by accepting God's unconditional love. It's not about what you do for God, after all, but about what he does for you. That's the message of the gospel. Trust that you are rightly related to God because of the salvation of Yeshua, not because of your own efforts at self-improvement. "I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the One who sent me has eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) and will not be condemned, but has passed over (i.e., μετά + βαίνω, lit., "crossed over" [עָבַר]) from death to life" (John 5:24).
We must be careful not to worship an idol, that is, a false concept of God! It is possible to read the Bible, to go to church or synagogue, and yet worship a pagan god. How so? By not knowing the heart of the Father; by not honoring the One who passionately seeks our healing. We know the Father by the Son, that is, in "the language of Son" (Heb. 1:2; Luke 10:21-24). Our heavenly Father is eager to forgive and embrace all of his children. In Yeshua's famous parable of the "prodigal son," the father saw his child a "long way off" and ran to embrace and kiss him - no questions asked, no explanations needed about his past. When the son nevertheless began reciting his carefully prepared speech of repentance, the father barely listened, and in his overwhelming joy instructed his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found...' (Luke 15:20-25).
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Teshuvah and Sanity...
09.07.21 (Tishri 1, 5782) It is written in our Scriptures (2 Tim. 1:7) that "God has not given us the spirit of fear (πνεῦμα δειλίας), but of power, and love, and a sound mind" (note that the term "sound mind" comes from the word saos (σάος) "safe," or under the protective restraining influence of the Spirit of God). Understand the connection between fear and confusion, then, and note further the connection between having a sound mind and a heart of peace and courage (Isa. 32:17)... A fearful or shameful attitude, then, enervates your resolve, quells your love, and introduces pain to your thinking. It is the old ruse of the enemy of our souls to lead us to despair, the exile of shame, and cruel bondage to untruth. As always the answer is the same: namely, teshuvah, turning to God and embracing the grace and love given in Yeshua as our deepest reality, our power, our heart, and our mind.
Our Father, Our King...
09.06.21 (Elul 29, 5781) Both the Torah of Moses and the New Testament attest that Yeshua is Elohim (אֱלהִים) -- the Creator of the cosmos: בְּרֵאשִׁית הָיָה הַדָּבָר / "in the beginning was the Word" (John 1:1,14). The Divine Word and Voice cannot be separated from God any more than the Spirit of God can be separated. Yeshua is the Source of all life in the universe: כָּל־הַמַּעֲשִׂים נִהְיוּ עַל־יָדוֹ / "All things were made by Him (John 1:3). The "Word made flesh" is the "image of the invisible God" and the "radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint (χαρακτήρ, 'character') of his nature" (Col. 1:15). All of creation is being constantly upheld by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3): "All things were created by Him (i.e., Yeshua), and for Him" and in Him all things consist (συνεστηκεν, lit. "stick together") (Col. 1:16-17). As our Creator and Master of the Universe, Yeshua is both our King and our Judge, and therefore Rosh Hashanah (i.e., Yom Teruah) centers on Him.
But in addition to God's power and sovereignty as our Creator, we note that the Scriptures begin and end with the redemptive love of God. Yeshua is the Center of Creation - it's beginning and end. As it is written: אָנכִי אָלֶף וְתָו רִאשׁוֹן וְאַחֲרוֹן ראשׁ וָסוֹף / "I am the 'A' and the 'Z,' the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Rev. 22:13). Indeed, Yeshua is מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים / Melech Malchei Hamelachim: The "King of kings of kings." He is LORD of all possible worlds -- from the highest of celestial glories to the very dust of death upon a cross... יְהִי שֵׁם יהוה מְברָךְ / yehi shem Adonai mevorakh: "Let the Name of the LORD be blessed" forever and ever (Psalm 113:2).
The central point of all true Torah, then, is the redemptive love of God demonstrated in the "first and last" principle of sacrificial life. This was prefigured in the original paradise when Adam and Eve were clothed by the lamb sacrificed for their transgression (Gen. 3:21), and the theme continues throughout the Torah, for example, in the account of the sacrifice of Isaac (we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah to recall the Lamb of God given in his place), in the visions of Jacob, in the commissioning of Moses, in the redemption from death by the blood of the sacrificed lamb in Egypt, and by the climactic revelation of the altar given at Sinai (i.e., the Tabernacle). Just as the "korban tamid" of the Temple (i.e., the continual sacrifice of the lamb upon the altar) recalled the original Passover and foretold of the Lamb of God to come, so Yeshua, the "Living Torah," embodied the Sacrificial Life itself, the true Lamb of God that was offered upon the stigma of the cross, to demonstrate God's infinite condescension, mercy and love that redeems the world from sin and death. Just as there is no Passover apart from the Lamb, so there is no "Rosh Hashanah" or "Yom Kippur" apart from God's atoning love given in the Messiah... Now THAT is something for us to make a "teruah," or a "joyful noise" in praise to our God!
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