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Prayer Request (for site updates, see below)
I was laid off from my full-time job several years ago when -- after a lot of prayer, soul searching and discussion with my wife -- we decided to operate the Hebrew for Christians ministry entirely by faith in God's provision through the love and kindness of His people. I am not paid for doing this work, and therefore I ask you to consider supporting us. If you can help, please offer a donation or purchase some of the Hebrew study materials offered here. Encouraging other web sites to link here also helps us become more visible on the web. Above all, agree with us for the Lord's will to be done in our lives. Todah, chaverim.
    
Note: My wife and I have have three young children (Josiah, Judah, and Emanuel David ). The LORD has graciously provided for us as Adonai Yireh (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה), "the One who sees [our need]." We are living one day at a time by the grace and mercy of God, and I want to publicly praise Yeshua and acknowledge His faithful love in caring for my family -- despite the trials during this time. The LORD God of Israel is faithful and true! And to those of you who have sent us a word of encouragement or donation during this difficult time, please accept our heartfelt appreciation! Your chesed truly helps sustain us.
יהי שׁם יהוה מברך - "May the Name of the Lord be blessed."
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I want to offer a word of thanks for all your kindness and encouragement over the last 20+ years, chaverim... I could not be in ministry apart from the grace and love you have shown to me and my family. Thank you so much and may the great and unsurpassable blessings of the LORD God of Israel be upon you always. -John
Jewish Holiday Calendar
Note: For 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.
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.
The winter holidays (חגי החורף) remember special times when God acted on behalf of His people so that they would triumph over their enemies, and therefore they prophetically picture the final victory in the world to come:
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The Winter Holidays:
Note that in accordance with tradition, the following holiday dates begin at sundown:
- Month of Tevet (Mon., Dec. 30th [eve] - Wed. Jan. 29th [day])
- Month of Shevat (Wed. Jan. 29th [eve] - Thurs. Feb. 27th [day])
- Month of Adar (Thurs. Feb. 27th [eve]) - Sat. March 29th [day])
- Month of Nisan (Sat. March 29th [eve]) - Sun. April 27th [day])
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Note: For more about the dates of these holidays see the Calendar pages....
February 2025 Site Updates
Note: Please refresh the page (or press F5) to see the latest updates...
Overcoming Despair...
The argument of the devil (i.e., "argumentum diaboli") is that your worst nightmare will be true, that change is impossible, and therefore hope is delusional. There is no way out of your self; love is lost; you are outcast, condemned, forever alone. For those who sometimes feel that way, know that God can intervene and save....
02.11.25 (Shevat 13, 5785) Our most serious struggles are inward, matters of heart, as we wrestle with dark emotions like fear, anger, disappointment, and guilt. We often despair over the contradiction between our ideals and our realities; we regard our failures and then feel lost and unlovable in the hardness of unspoken shame...
On the very deepest level, however, the presence of despair may be a sign of real hope, since it may express a holy "protest" over what the heart knows is wrong in its yearning for deliverance from its own wretchedness. The desperate heart knows it must find God or die. This sort of despair laments because it believes, and it believes in the midst of its lament.
Do you sometimes feel like an utter failure? That you've "ruined" your life? That no matter what you do, you cannot escape your own mediocrity and shortcomings? There is hidden blessedness in your discomfiture. As Yeshua said, "Blessed are those who are poor in spirit - the needy, the bankrupt, the powerless - for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). The hidden life of the seed is not released until it first is broken and dies (John 12:24).
Hebrew Lesson
Matthew 5:3 Hebrew reading (click):
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Should you be scandalized over your brokenness? Should you rue the day we were born into your fallen world of troubles? Whenever I re-encounter my own ineptitude, my own failures, my immaturity and weaknesses, I have to choose whether to allow these things to define what is most real about me -- or instead to look to the Lord. For me healing is found not in shameful self-examination but in liberating self-forgetting, looking away from what I am to who He is... Of course that does not mean we should not examine ourselves and confess our sins, but we must do so in remembrance of his suffering and death for us upon the cross. We repent in dust and ashes and yet are lifted up into his compassionate heart. Despite ourselves we affirm: "by the grace of God I am what I am."
The fact that God knows the number of hairs on your head means that he knows you better than you know yourself... Your heavenly Father "sees in secret," and that also means that he can and will save you from whatever is hidden within you that still cannot fully receive his love and touch... We have to trust in God's power to heal us, even when it seems that healing is not forthcoming, even when we still find ourselves divided, troubled, and anxious. We have to believe that God's help is always present. "Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who hope for the LORD" (Psalm 31:24).
God sees what He does within us, His "it-is-finished" work, the effect of His great salvation within our hearts, even if at this present hour this may be hidden from our eyes... There is appearance, and there is reality; and only God sees what is ultimately real. We have to trust in His promise to be transformed into the divine nature, even if today we find ourselves sinful, needy, and in disrepair... By God's grace we are what we are. So don't give up. We are saved by hope (ἐλπίδι ἐσώθημεν, Rom. 8:24), a hope for you today. Amen.
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Finding Real Treasure...
02.11.25 (Shevat 13, 5785) "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matt. 13:44-46). Here Yeshua teaches us that a relationship with God is the true source of joy and value in life, and that all other passions and desires are like "fools gold" when compared with its overwhelming worth... In this connection Soren Kierkegaard wrote: "If anyone thinks he is a Christian and yet is indifferent toward being that, then he really is not one at all. Indeed, what would we think of a person who gave assurances that he was in love and also that it was a matter of indifference to him?" (Works of Love).
The Shema, the "great commandment," is to love God "bekhol levavkha" (בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ) with all our hearts, yet how is that love possible apart from the revelation of the passion of love itself? "We love because God first loves us" (1 John 4:19), and therefore teshuvah ("repentance") is a matter of being in love, celebrating God's heart for us, awakening to its wonder, and being thrilled and overjoyed at its reality. Is this not the essence of the matter? "Shimon ben Yonah, atah ohev oti?" – "Simon son of Jonah, do you love me?" (John 21:17). But how can we love the Lord apart from trusting his heart for us? "Come unto Me," Yeshua says, "live in Me and I will live in you." O Lord God our Savior, deliver us from apathy and indifference! Soften our hearts and awaken us to our great desire and need for you! Hashivenu, Adonai: turn us, O LORD, and we shall be turned; heal us, and we shall be healed Let know the breadth and length and height and depth of your great love!.
So for what do you hope, friend? What are your dreams? Your deepest desires? Where is your treasure? Yeshua cautioned those who sought their happiness in this world: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures upon earth... be rich toward God" (Matt. 6:19-20; Luke 12:21). When we treasure God, our focus is directed toward the eternal reality, and our interest in this world fades. We trust God to meet our daily needs and surrender our future to His care. The only worry we face concerns our own deficiencies in our obligations to the Savior. Our duty is to love God in the truth - bekhol levavkha - with all our heart, having no thought of ourselves. Indeed, self-denial means to quit thinking about yourself (from α-, "not," + ῥέω, "to speak") by accepting what God has done for you. "It is not my business to think about myself. My business is to think about God. It is for God to think about me" (Simone Weil). Amen, where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.
Hebrew Lesson
Jer. 24:7a reading (click):
Seek First God's Kingdom...
"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness... " - Yeshua (Matt. 6:33)
02.11.25 (Shevat 13, 5785) When we worry, are we not afraid that God will leave us unprotected and vulnerable? Are we not questioning his heart for us? Are we not asking, as the people of Israel once did as they thirsted in desert places: הֲיֵשׁ יְהוָה בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ אִם־אָיִן - "Is the LORD with us or not?" (Exod. 17:7). Indeed, does not the recurring presence of worry within our hearts amount to a confession of our unbelief?
The Scriptures warn us not to "spy after our heart and after our eyes" (Num. 15:39). The Torah mentions the heart first and then the eyes to indicate that the eyes follow the heart. We see as we believe with our heart: "According to your faith be it done unto you." When the spies said, "We are not able to go up (לא נוּכַל לַעֲלוֹת)... for they are stronger than us" (Num. 13:31), they revealed their unwillingness to believe in God's promise, or, to put it another way, they revealed their faith in God's inability to deliver on his word.... Indeed, the Hebrew word for "than us" (מִמֶּנּוּ) can also mean "than Him," suggesting that the spies believed that even God would be unable to uproot the Canaanites. According to their faith, so it was done; by believing that it was impossible, they lost the possibility of God's promise...
Are we truly seeking God "first" or are there other things that have a higher priority in our hearts? Do we wonder if God is to be trusted in the "desert experiences" of our lives? Do we think that God has been unfair to us? Have we sometimes lamented that our way is too hard for us, and more than we can bear? "Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed" (Matt. 25:24).
It is possible to misjudge God and misinterpret our relationship with him. "We walk by faith, not by sight." This is true for all people, since every soul lives by faith of some kind or another. Our ability to know him is based on the blessing of the Spirit, not on our own merits. How can we, broken vessels, seek first the kingdom of God, apart from faith in him? Is that not presupposed in all our seeking of the heart? It is faith in God's promises, and faith that God will keep his promises to us, that is the key to seeking first God's kingdom. Those who do not seek do not believe that God is the ultimate concern of their lives.
Faith sees what is possible and refuses to yield to the artificiality of mere appearance. Indeed, appearances are often a test of our courage. We may never know how often a test was given and - just before victory was manifest - the heart grew faint and was lost to fear. "According to your faith be it done to you" is a spiritual principle that applies to everyone. In that sense, it is not that we have faith that matters (since we all do), but whether our faith is grounded in the promises and power of the LORD God of Israel, or something else....
When God told Abram to "get out of your land," he called him to focus on heavenly places – to find his identity there. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matt. 6:33). The "righteousness of God" is his love, mercy, glory, and goodness. Therefore King David says, אַחַת שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת־יְהוָה - "One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire before his presence" (Psalm 27:4). Likewise, followers of Yeshua no longer find their identity in this world but rather through their spiritual union with the resurrected LORD (Gal. 2:20; 6:14; Eph. 1:3; 2:6)... Therefore we are told to "seek the things that are above (τὰ ἄνω ζητεῖτε) where the Messiah is seated at the right hand of God; focus your thoughts on the things above - not on things here on earth - for you have died, and your life has been hidden (κέκρυπται) with Messiah in God. Then when the Messiah, who is your life, appears, you too will appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:1-4).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 16:8 reading (click for audio):
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The Only Way to Life...
02.10.25 (Shevat 12, 5785) "How long will you go limping between two different opinions?" (1 Kings 18:21). This question from Elijah the prophet is meant for us to hear today. We are being called to make up our minds and turn (shuv) to the LORD. After all, what is more important to you than your relationship with God? Is there anything more important than this?
Abraham Heschel once wrote, "God is of no importance unless he is of supreme importance." Stated differently, it is impossible to be indifferent toward God. You cannot serve two masters. Ultimately you will either hate or love him, but he will never let you be half-hearted toward him (Rev. 3:16).
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important."
- C.S. Lewis: God in the Dock
Yeshua always forced the issue. Consider how often people were offended by his ministry. The gospel message is always offensive to those who make much of themselves. Accepting the cross of Yeshua means abandoning the whole religious game. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die."
It is a severe mercy. There is nothing more important to your life -- and therefore nothing more serious -- than your relationship with God. In the end nothing else will matter. Do you truly believe? Are you willing to give up everything you hold dear for the sake of knowing the Lord and living as he bids? Are you prepared to give account for your life?
The exclusive message of the gospel is that we can only find life when we are awake to the risen reality and saving Presence of the One who overcame and vanquished the power of sin and death for our sake. Without Him we are hopeless; with Him we are more than conquerors (1 Cor. 15:14; Rom. 8:37).
In this connection Yeshua said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you live in me and I live in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Whatever else you may hope to do in your life, whatever your dreams or goals may be, all are utterly vain if you if you do not have Christ living within you...
Yeshua also warned those who might be offended over his exclusive claims to be the only Savior of the world: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
We cannot be indifferent to Christ; he is either the most important person we will ever know or he we be nothing to us. "In relationship to God one can not involve himself to a certain degree. God is precisely the contradiction to all that is 'to a certain degree'" (Kierkegaard). The words of Yeshua are scandalous because they demand our full attention. He did not reason with people or make any apology about his utterly unique role as the sole Redeemer of the world. He alone is the way to the Father; He alone is the Healer of the lethal disease of spiritual death. He did not tolerate any discussion on that point, nor did He intend to.
We cannot find an easier, softer way to walk the truth. "Cheap grace is the idea that "grace" did it all for me so I do not need to change my lifestyle. The believer who accepts the idea of "cheap grace" thinks he can continue to live like the rest of the world. Instead of following Christ in a radical way, the Christian lost in cheap grace thinks he can simply enjoy the consolations of his grace" (Bonhoeffer).
May the Lord help us understand that our relationship with him is the most important concern of our lives... May He give us grace to wake up to what really matters! Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 27:4 reading (click):
Endurance and Healing...
"The test of whether we have truly found the peace of God will be in how we face the sufferings which befall us. Whoever regards suffering and trouble in their own life as something wholly hostile, wholly evil, can know by this that they have not yet found peace with God at all." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
02.10.25 (Shevat 12, 5785) Though our promised healing assuredly will come to us, it remains the exclusive prerogative of God to allow trials in our lives for our ultimate good. Therefore faith is the key here: Steadfastly affirm your healing even in the midst of your anguish, because your suffering is a test designed to teach you to trust God and to receive the blessing apart from any empirical evidence (2 Cor. 4:18). As the Torah declares of our father Abraham: והאמן בּיהוה ויּחשׁבה לו צדקה -- "And he believed in the LORD, and He counted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6); and also of Job's faith in the midst of his agonizing struggle: הֵן יִקְטְלֵנִי לוֹ אֲיַחֵל -- "Though he slay me, I will hope in him" (Job 13:15).
Sometimes all we can do is cry out to the LORD for deliverance... Our heart's cry does not question God's goodness to us, though we may silently wonder about the extent to which affliction may be required to mend our hearts. As C.S. Lewis once said, "We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be" (Letters of C.S. Lewis, 1964). There is a trust issue in suffering, and an intimacy that comes through its fires. Do not jump to conclusions; resist any insinuation that the Lord is being unjust! As Kierkegaard reminds us, "It is one thing to conquer in the hardship, to overcome the hardship as one overcomes an enemy, while continuing in the idea that the hardship is one's enemy; but it is more than conquering to believe that the hardship is one's friend, that it is not the opposition but the road, is not what obstructs but what develops, is not what disheartens but ennobles" (Four Upbuilding Discourses, 1844).
The difficulty of ongoing personal suffering is deeply existential: how do you keep hope in the midst of this tension? "Lord I believe; help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). How do you affirm that your heavenly Father will heal you but at the present hour you must continue to endure suffering? Do you then devise a "soul-building theodicy" to explain your struggle – providing a narrative to answer the "why" of your suffering -- or do you attempt to sanctify suffering as a means of healing others by the grace of the Messiah (Col. 1:24)?
When Yeshua victoriously proclaimed, "It is finished" just before he died on the cross, he foreknew that his followers would experience a "purging process," a "refining fire," and time on the "potter's wheel" to perfect their sanctification. At the cross of Yeshua death itself was overcome – and all that it implies – and yet it is nevertheless true that we will suffer and die ourselves and that death persists an enemy (see 1 Cor. 15:26). While we celebrate the reality of the final redemption, the "instrumentality of our sanctification" needs to be willingly accepted and endured. I say "endured" here because I don't think we will ever have a complete answer to the question of "why" we undergo the various tests we face in this life. Our disposition in the midst of seemingly unanswered prayers is where our faith is disclosed: will we despair of all temporal hope or not? Will we console ourselves with the vision of a future without tears and loss - a heaven prepared for us -- or will we resist the present darkness and seek to find deliverance in this hour? Do we trust God with our pain and submit to his will, or will we "die" inside – losing hope and despairing of all remedy?
As King David once wrote, "At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. Answer me, O LORD, for your compassion is life; in the abundance of your mercies turn to me" (Psalm 69:13-16).
ענני יהוה כי־טוב חסדך
כרב רחמיך פנה אלי
"Answer me, O LORD, for your compassion is life;
in the abundance of your mercy turn to me."
(Psalm 69:16)
"But You, O GOD my Lord, do Thou for me for your own Name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me" (Psalm 109:21). "Do thou for me" is the confession that God alone has the power to help. Asking God to bring glory to His own Name -- to honor and magnify His Name -- is the theme of all true intercession.
Suffering has a way of focusing the heart and mind, reminding us that "today is the tomorrow of yesterday." Life is short, and our need is great to turn to the LORD and take hold His promises. We take comfort that God is for us the God of salvation: "Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is for us our salvation. Selah. Our God is a God of salvation (יְשׁוּעָה), and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death" (Psalm 68:19-20).
Be encouraged, chaverim. All those who are "fathered by God" conquer the world, since God imparts the victory of faith by means of His powerful Spirit (1 John 5:4). Therefore the heart of faith steadfastly affirms, "In all these things [afflictions, tribulations, etc.] we are 'more than conquerors' (lit., "hyper-conquerors," i.e., ὑπερνικῶμενfromὑπέρ, "hyper" + νικάω, "to overcome") through Him that loved us (Rom. 8:37).
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Waking Up in Time...
"The end of all things is at hand: therefore be in your right mind and full of prayer" - 1 Pet. 4:7
02.10.25 (Shevat 12, 5785) As we make time to draw close to God and confess ourselves to his heart, we will be delivered from the pain of our fears, despite the ongoing darkness of ha'olam ha'zeh (הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה), this present age (Psalm 119:105). As King David said, Adonai ori v'yishi, mimi ira: "The LORD is my light and my salvation" – literally, "my Jesus," my Yeshua – "whom shall I fear? Adonai ma'oz chayai: mimi efchad: "The LORD is the strength of my life, whom shall I dread?" (Psalm 27:1). Yeshua is the Light of Life (אוֹר הַחַיִּים), the Healer of the fearful heart, the I-AM-WITH-YOU-ALWAYS One. His love overcomes all our fears. As the apostle Paul asked, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 27:1 reading (click):
If we listen closely we will hear the "footsteps of the Messiah" (עִקְּבוֹת מְשִׁיחַ) approaching. Let us then remember the words of our Savior: "when you see these things taking place, you know that the time is near, right at the door" (Mark 13:29), and let us therefore encourage one another to wake up and come alive: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Messiah will shine on you!" (Eph. 5:14). The message of teshuvah (repentance, "turning back to God") is always, "Wake up - you are living a nightmare." There is only one remedy, and that is found by coming to the Divine Light and opening your heart to the love and Presence of God.
The "Old Covenant" at Sinai?
"In your Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because Abraham obeyed my voice and guarded my call, keeping my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." (Gen. 26:4-5)
02.10.25 (Shevat 12, 5785) In our Torah portion this week (i.e., parashat Yitro), God revealed the Ten Commandments (i.e., עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִבְּרוֹת, literally, "the ten declarations") to the Israelites at Sinai, a dramatic event that represented the giving of the law, or the "Old Covenant," to Israel.
Now it may be said that the revelation at Sinai represents an "older covenant" compared with the ministry of Yeshua (see 2 Cor. 3:14; Heb. 7:18, 8:6,13, and here), when looked at from another perspective, Sinai actually represents a relatively new covenant, since it was given later and served as a proviso to the covenant given earlier to Abraham (Gal. 3:18).
As we will see in next week's Torah reading, the culmination of the covenant at Sinai was the revelation of the Altar (i.e., the Tabernacle), which pictured the sacrificial blood "covering" the tablets of God's judgment. This, in turn, recalled Abraham's great sacrifice of his son Isaac (the Akedah), which further recalled the very first sacrifice of the Bible, namely the lamb slain in the orchard of Eden to cover the shame of Adam and Eve's sin (Gen. 3:21; Rev. 13:8). Therefore it was the promise God made to Eve regarding the "Seed to Come" that was the original covenant (Gen. 3:15), and it was this covenant that was later fulfilled by Yeshua, the "Serpent Slayer" of God (Num. 21:9; John 3:14).
This is the "Gospel in the Garden" message, the original promise of the lamb of God that was slain from the foundation of the world... In other words, the "new covenant" (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה) may better be understood as the fulfillment of the original covenant, the promise to redeem all of humanity from the curse of sin and death. The redemptive plan of God therefore moves in an ascending circle. The "Tree of Life" (עץ החיים) reaches back to the primordial orchard of Eden and extends into the World to Come...
Because there has been so much confusion regarding the topic of the role of the law, particularly among certain "Messianic believers," I would like to reiterate a few things mentioned elsewhere on this site. Let me first remind you that the legal aspect of the "Torah" refers to the subset of the written Torah called Sefer Ha-Brit (סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית), a portion that defined various ethical, social, and ritual obligations given at Sinai (Exod. 24:7-8). It is therefore a "category mistake" to simply regard the first five books of the "Torah" as the "law," since the law was given later in sacred history, after the Exodus.
Moreover, the Book of Genesis reveals that the very first "priest" (i.e., kohen: כּהֵן) was neither a Jew nor a Levite nor a descendant of Aaron, but rather Someone who is said to have "neither beginning of days nor end of life" but is made like (ἀφωμοιωμένος) the Son of God, a priest continually (Heb. 7:3). This priest, of course, was Malki-Tzedek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק), the King of Salem (מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם) to whom Abraham offered tithes after his victory over the kings (Gen. 14:18). The author of the Book of Hebrews makes the point that the priesthood of Malki-Tzedek is greater than the Levitical priesthood and is therefore superior to the rites and services of the Tabernacle (Heb. 7:9-11). It was to Malki-Tzedek that Abram (and by extension, the Levitical system instituted by his descendant Moses) gave tithes and homage -- and rightly so, since Yeshua is the great High Priest of the better covenant based on better promises (Heb. 8:6). As the Scriptures teach, in everything Messiah has preeminence (John 5:39; Luke 24:27; Col. 1:18).
Hebrew Lesson
Genesis 14:19b Hebrew reading:
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These are the words...
02.10.25 (Shevat 12, 5785) From our Torah portion this week (i.e., parashat Yitro) we read words of great promise and comfort as the LORD "proposed" betrothal with his redeemed people: "You shall be for me a treasured people; you shall be children of the King; you shall be priests who will help others draw near to God... these are the words (אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים) that you (Moses) shall speak (to the people)" (Exod. 19:5-6).
These are the words of love God speaks forth and which evoke the antiphon: "And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your substance. Set these words (הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה), which I command you this day, upon your heart" (Deut. 6:5-6).
We store up these words so that, in a holy moment, they are quickened within us and we are able to hear the Voice of the LORD speaking from the midst of the fire that burns within our hearts. As Simone Weil said, "love is revelation, and revelation comes only with love."
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 19:6 Hebrew reading:
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Tu B'Shevat New Year...
Wednesday February 12th at sundown begins "Tu B'Shevat" (ט"ו בשבט), or the 15th of the month of Shevat, which marks the traditional date celebrating the "New Year" for Trees...
02.09.25 (Shevat 11, 5785) The Bible begins and ends with the great Tree of Life -- first in the orchard of Eden, and later in the midst of the paradise of heaven: "The Tree of Life (i.e., etz ha' chayim: עֵץ הַחַיִּים) was in the midst of the garden..." (Gen. 2:9). "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the Tree of Life (etz ha-chayim) with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month" (Rev. 22:1-2). Notice that the "twelve fruits" (καρποὺς δώδεκα) from the Tree of Life are directly linked to the "twelve months" of the Jewish year (κατὰ μῆνα ἕκαστον ἀποδιδοῦν τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ: "each month rendering its fruit"). Twelve months; twelve fruits.... This teaches us that the sequence of the biblical holidays (mo'edim) was intended to teach us revelation about God. That is why God created the Sun and the Moon for signs and for "appointed times" (Gen. 1:14), as it also says: "He made the moon to mark the appointed times (לְמוֹעֲדִים); the sun knows its time for setting" (Psalm 104:19).
Hebrew Lesson
Revelation 2:7 reading (click):
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The Scriptures state twice: "Take root downward and bear fruit upward" (2 Kings 19:30; Isa. 37:31). As Yeshua said, "unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit (John 12:24). We pray we might surrender ourselves to the Lord fully, being immersed in His passion, "bearing fruit in every good work (ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ ἀγαθῷ καρποφοροῦντες) and growing in da'at HaShem (דַעַת אֱלהִים) - the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10). The "fruit of the righteous is a Tree of Life" lit., etz chayim (עֵץ חַיִּים), literally, "the Tree of lives" (Prov. 11:30). It is the fruit of Yeshua, the Tzaddik of God, the Righteous One, who bears fruits of healing in the lives of those trust in Him...
The "Tree of Life" is mentioned a total of ten times in Scripture, corresponding to the "ten words of God" (i.e., the Ten Commandments). It is first mentioned in the center of the original garden of Eden (Gen. 2:9; 3:22-4), but it was soon lost to humanity because of Adam's transgression. In the book of Revelation, it reappears in the center of the heavenly Paradise of God (Rev. 2:7, 22:2), resurrected on account of the faithful obedience of Yeshua as mankind's "last Adam" (1 Cor. 15:45). Those who have washed their robes by means of His righteousness are given access to this Tree in the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 22:14). The paradise lost by Adam has been regained by the greater "Son of Man," Yeshua the Messiah, the Savior of us all. Amen.
Giving of the Law:
Parashat Yitro - יתרו
Our Torah reading this week (Yitro) includes the account of the giving of the Torah at Sinai...
02.09.25 (Shevat 11, 5785) Last week's Torah portion (i.e., Beshalach) recounted how the LORD delivered the children of Israel from Pharaoh's advancing armies by dramatically drowning them in the Sea of Reeds. The Israelites were overjoyed over their new freedom and celebrated by singing the "Song of the Sea." Despite their newfound freedom, however, the people soon began complaining about the hardship of life in the desert. Nonetheless God was gracious and provided fresh water and manna from heaven as he led them by the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night to Mount Sinai (Exod. 13:21-22).
In our Torah portion for this week, parashat Yitro, Moses' remarkable father-in-law Jethro (i.e., "Yitro") heard how God delivered Israel from Egypt and set out from the land of Midian to the desert area of "Rephidim" to meet with Moses. There Moses recounted the great story of the Exodus, telling him all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake. Jethro rejoiced, blessed the LORD, and offered sacrifices which were communally eaten with Moses' brother Aaron and the 70 elders of Israel (Exod. 18:1-12).
After this celebration, Jethro observed how Moses sat every day to judge the people "from morning to evening" and expressed concern that his son-in-law was taking on too much responsibility. Jethro then advised his son-in-law to appoint a hierarchy of magistrates and judges to help him govern the people, thereby freeing Moses to be a more effective prophet and intercessor before the LORD. Jethro's wise counsel helped implement the system of justice that later became the basis of Jewish social law (i.e., the Sanhedrin, etc.).
Six weeks after leaving Egypt (i.e., the 1st day of the month of Sivan), the Israelites encamped opposite Mount Sinai, the place where Moses was initially commissioned at the "burning thornbush." Moses then ascended the mountain, and there God instructed him to tell the leaders that if they would obey the LORD and keep His covenant, then they would be mamlekhet kohanim ve'goy kadosh -- a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation." After returning down the mountain to deliver this message to the elders, the people responded by proclaiming, kol asher diber Adonai na'aseh ("all that the LORD has spoken, we shall do"). Moses then ascended the mountain again and was told to command the people to prepare themselves to experience the presence of God upon the mountain in three days.
According to Jewish tradition, on the morning of the "third day" (i.e., the sixth of Sivan, exactly seven weeks (49 days) after the Exodus), all the children of Israel gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai, where the LORD descended amidst thunder, lightning, billowing smoke, fire, and the voluminous blast of the heavenly shofar. The LORD then declared the foundation of moral conduct required of the people, namely, the Ten Commandments, which begins with the words: "I AM" (Exod. 20:2). Because the vision was so overwhelming, the terrified Israelites began beseeching Moses to be their mediator lest they die before the Presence of God. The portion ends as the people stood far off, while Moses alone drew near to the thick darkness where God was (Exod. 20:21).
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 19:5a Hebrew reading:
יציאת הגדולה של ישוע
Greater Exodus of Yeshua...
The vision of Yeshua's eternal glory revealed to the disciples on the mountain foretold that His sacrificial death and resurrection was the essence of God's redemption of humanity... With Moses to his right and Elijah to his left, the Lord spoke of the greater Exodus that would be secured 'b'yad chazaka u'vizroa netuyah' - by his strong outstretched arms upon the cross.
02.07.25 (Shevat 9, 5785) Recall that after the apostle Peter had rightly confessed that Yeshua was the "Messiah of God" (מְשִׁיחַ הָאֱלֹהִים), Yeshua went on to explain that his role as the "Son of Man" would require suffering many things, including being rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes of Israel, and that he would be killed, but raised from the dead on the third day (Luke 9:18-22). He then asked his followers to soberly count the cost of discipleship: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels" (Luke 9:23-26). Yeshua then foretold that that were some standing there who would not "taste death" until they had seen the Kingdom of God...
Some eight days later Yeshua called Peter, James, and John to ascend with him upon a mountain (likely Mount Hermon) to pray. As Yeshua was praying, he was "transfigured" before them and his face and clothes becoming dazzlingly bright and radiant with the Shekhinah glory (תהילת שכינה). The disciples then saw Moses and Elijah in their glorified state talking with Yeshua - a fantastic scene right out of the heavenly places! But notice that that the topic of conversation during this amazing meeting was Yeshua's "departure," that is, his death and resurrection -- literally, his "Exodus": τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ -- which he would accomplish at Jerusalem (see Luke 9:31). This is the great connecting point between the revelation of Torah at Sinai (Moses and the prophets) and the revelation of Torah at Zion (Yeshua as Messiah ben Yosef, the Suffering Servant). At Mount Sinai the great vision was given of the Altar upon which a lamb was offered every day and night (קָרְבָּן תָּמִיד) in commemoration of the Passover (Exodus) from Egypt; at Mount Zion the great vision was the cross of Messiah, upon which the blood of the true Lamb of God would be offered as "Messiah our Passover" (1 Cor. 5:7) that delivers us from slavery to sin and spiritual death.
Recall that Yeshua said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not a Yod (י), nor a "thorn" of a Yod (i.e., kotzo shel yod: קוֹצוֹ שֶׁל יוֹד), shall in any way pass from the Law until all is accomplished" (Matt. 5:17-18). Both the Torah of Moses (תורת משה) and the words of the Hebrew prophets (דברי הנביאים) foretold of the coming of Messiah who would purge Israel from her sins and establish the glory of God before the nations. Yeshua is the central meaning of all true Torah....
The Exodus from Egypt is the central miracle of the Torah because it prophetically tells the story of the redemption of God's people throughout the dispensations. Israel's deliverance from bondage to Pharaoh serves as an allegory of both the salvation promised to Adam and Eve after losing their freedom to Satan as well as the fulfillment of the promises to the Jewish people of the ccoming Savior of Israel (מושיע ישראל) who would establish God's kingdom on the earth. Yeshua is both the Savior of the world (מושיע העולם) as well as Israel's true King and Deliverer. The true Exodus, however, is the one accomplished by the sacrifice of Yeshua as the great Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua is the central miracle of the Scriptures, fulfilling the original promise given to Adam and Eve of the coming deliverer who would remedy the curse of death and restore the glory of Eden.
The great story of God's redemption is revealed on two levels in Scripture - one that concerns the restoration of Eden (the universal level), and the other that concerns the restoration of Israel (the particular level). Therefore Yeshua is both rightly called the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29) and "the Messiah our Passover Lamb who has been sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7). Likewise he is both called the "Seed of the woman," and "the Son of David"; he is called the "Second Adam," and the "King of the Jews," and so on.
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God's redeeming love was present from the very beginning (Psalm 90:3). He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The midrash states that Adam was created from the "dust of the Temple." After Adam's transgression, the Tree of Life was "removed from reach" and guarded by cherubim until the blood that spoke a "better thing than the blood of Abel" was offered for the redemption of mankind (Heb. 12:24). This "better thing" was prefigured in many ways in Scripture: through the martyrdom of Abel, through the Akedah of Isaac, through the blood of the lamb that delivered Israel from the angel of death, through the blood sprinkled upon the kapporet ("mercy seat") of the Ark of the Covenant, through the sacrifice of the Red Heifer, and most especially through the sacrificial death of Yeshua upon the Cross at Moriah.... Those who trust in the sacrifice and victorious resurrection of the Messiah are given access to eat of the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God (Rev. 2:7; 22:14).
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Yeshua "lifted up" is the antidote to the venom delivered through the serpent's bite (John 3:14-15). "For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22). The "new seed" of life given to us in Yeshua makes us into a "new creation" (בְּרִיאָה חֲדָשָׁה) that fully restores the disfigured image of God within us: "Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall bear the image of the man of heaven" (1 Cor. 15:49).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 68:18a reading (click):
Blessing of Willingness...
"Let me seek you in the darkness of my silence, and find you in the silence of Your light, which is love shining as the sun, flowing like the river, and joying like the heart." - Meister Eckhart
02.07.25 (Shevat 9, 5785) When King David repented from his sin and asked God's forgiveness, he appealed to the LORD: "Restore me to the joy of your salvation (יְשׁוּעָה) and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you" (Psalm 51:12-13). The sages comment that this is indeed the way of the LORD (דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה), namely, to confess your sin, and in brokenness and heartfelt contrition, to return to the LORD full of hope in his steadfast love. In this way, sinners will understand the truth of Torah and return to the LORD God as well.... Hashiveinu, Adonai.
In the Torah we read: "if you seek for the LORD your God from there (i.e., in your place of exile), you will find him, if you search for him with all your heart (בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ) and with all your soul" (Deut. 4:29). From where do we search, from what place, except from a place of hardship, testing, and tribulation? If you seek for the LORD your God from there - in the midst of your exile, in the midst of your heart's cry - you will find him there, in your heart. This message is a prophecy to the heart of faith, so that after testing befalls you, in the end you will belong to the LORD and will hear his voice. Amen, may God keep you close to his heart.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 51:12 reading (click):
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Heavenly ABC's...
02.07.25 (Shevat 9, 5785) A verse from our Torah portion this week (i.e., Beshalach) contains all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet (i.e., aleph (א), bet (בּ), gimmel (ג), etc.). The special verse reads, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer (עמֶר), according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent'" (Exod. 16:16).
Since this refers to the manna the Israelites were to collect for their daily bread, and this verse contains all the letters of the alphabet, we may "poetically" infer that if we immerse ourselves in the Scriptures, "from Aleph (א) to Tav (ת)," God will provide us with the "daily bread" (לֶחֶם חֻקֵּנוּ) we need, just as He did when the bread from heaven (לֶחֶם מִן־הַשָּׁמָיִם) was miraculously given to feed the Israelites in the desert.
Therefore Yeshua, who is the Aleph and Tav, taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," which surely refers to the spiritual food (i.e., encouragement, hope, life) that we receive from the Word of Life (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4).
The Lord said to those trusting Him: "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 23:1). Every day we are given daily bread, but we must remember that manna could not be stored up without becoming rotten (Exod. 16:20). God's provision is "sufficient unto the day...."
Hebrew Lesson
Matt. 6:11 Hebrew reading (click):
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Isn't it amazing how studying the Hebrew text reveals further insights into the Scriptures? Kotzo shel yod... And may you rest in the promise: "My God will supply every need of yours - "from A to Z" - according to his riches in glory in Yeshua the Messiah" (Phil. 4:19). He is lechem ha'chaim - the Living Bread from heaven (John 6:51)!
True Transformation...
02.07.25 (Shevat 9, 5785) The Scriptures call us to be transformed (μεταμορφόω) by "renewing our minds" (Rom. 12:2), though how we are to do this remains an open question. Our perspectives and attitudes are shaped by our assumptions about life, many of which are "preconscious" or hidden from our awareness. Habitual thoughts, biases, prejudices, fears, etc., all affect (and distort) the way we see and understand reality. In light of this, how can we change? How do we develop right thinking power? How can we apply our minds to perceive the good, instead of responding in unreflective and negative ways to our circumstances? How do we discipline our wills so that "if there is anything worthy of praise" we are to think about these things (Phil. 4:8)?
Surely we cannot transform ourselves, for we are the source of our own impairment; we are the patient who needs the cure.... Healing therefore comes from a power greater than ourselves, that is, by receiving the light of God's truth, becoming "single-minded," with our eyes focused on what is real. "If your eye is "single" (i.e., ἁπλοῦς, sincere, focused)," Yeshua said, "your whole body will be filled with light" (Matt. 6:22). We thereby "renew" (ἀνακαινόω) our minds, turning away from the darkness, despair, and unsound reasoning of this world by focusing on the glory and goodness of the Lord our God.
Likewise the Torah commands: "You shall be made whole (i.e., tamin: תָּמִים) with the LORD your God" (Deut. 18:13). We are made "whole" or "perfect" (i.e., complete) when we resolutely turn to God for healing of our inner dividedness, as it says: "The Torah of the LORD is perfect (תָּמִים), returning the soul" (Psalm 19:8). And where it is written, "Let us hear end of the matter: Fear God and love his commandments, the text adds: ki zeh kol-ha'adam (כִּי־זֶה כָּל־הָאָדָם), "for this is the whole man," suggesting that those who return will be healed of their double-mindedness (Eccl. 12:13). Ultimately we are made whole when we are united to God in Messiah, for then we are "with the LORD our God" and the Spirit of the LORD writes Torah within the heart of faith (Jer. 31:33).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 19:7 Hebrew reading (click):
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Bitterness for Shalom...
02.06.25 (Shevat 8, 5785) From our Torah portion this week (i.e., parashat Beshalach) we read that when the Israelites came to a place called Marah, "they could not drink the water because it was bitter" (Exod. 15:23). Note that the Hebrew text allows us to read that it was the Israelites themselves who were bitter – ki marim hem (כִּי מָרִים הֵם) – "for they (i.e., the Israelites) were bitter," and their bitterness made the water seem so as well....
After the people complained, God showed Moses a tree and threw it into the water, making it drinkable. Interestingly the Hebrew text literally reads, "the LORD taught him a tree" (וַיּוֹרֵהוּ יְהוָה עֵץ), suggesting elon moreh (אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה), the "teaching tree of Abraham" (Gen. 12:6). The sages say this tree symbolized Torah, the tree of life (etz chaim), which brings happiness to those who take hold of it (Prov. 3:18), though we see Yeshua, the fallen tree that yields mayim chayim - living water - to revive the hearts of mankind...
Hebrew Lesson
Isaiah 38:17 reading (click):
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Love Story of Exodus...
02.06.25 (Shevat 8, 5785) The story of the Exodus from Egypt can be read as a great "Cinderella-like" love story. The beloved is imprisoned in far away castle, made to do the lowliest of labor, but the Lover soon appears and heroically rescues her from her distress. Together they run away to a land of promise, but they must traverse dangerous desert places, where the Lover protects and cares for his beloved. Eventually they pledge their undying love for one another and their married life begins...
Or so goes the story... But practically speaking, how would God - the Creator and LORD of all - "woo" a nation? What would such a courtship be like? How would the betrothed come to understand the Heavenly Bridegroom? For that matter, how would the betrothed come to understand herself?
Recall that after the LORD split the sea and led his people safely across, Israel sang a song of praise to Him. In Jewish tradition this is called Shirat Hayam, "the Song of the Sea," which is an "antiphon," or song of response to their deliverance from Egypt. In the Torah we read "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: "I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him..." "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? ... You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode... You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established" (see Exod. 15:1-21).
Note that the opening statement, "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang" is actually in the future tense: "Then they will sing" (אָז יָשִׁיר־מֹשֶׁה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל) which the sages say refers to the coming of Messiah. Indeed, in Revelation 15:3 we read that this song of Moses, as well as the song of the Lamb of God, will be sung in heavenly places: "They sing the song of Moses (שׁירַת מֹשֶׁה), the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb (שִׁירַת הַשֶּׂה), saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty (יהוה אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת)! Just and true are Your ways, O King over the nations (מֶלֶךְ הַגּוֹיִם)" Note also that in the closing phrase of Shirat Hayam we read: יְהוָה יִמְלֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד - "the LORD will reign forever" (Exod. 15:18), but the word "will reign" (יִמְלךְ) is spelled with a missing letter Vav (ו), which suggests the Messiah our King Yeshua. The LORD will indeed reign when the rightful heir to the throne of David and the true King of Israel soon appears....
Going back to the "love story" analogy, at this point in their relationship, the betrothed knew the Divine Bridegroom in terms of His heroic deliverance and power, and even held hope of being led to His "holy abode" to dwell with Him... But how well did she know Him? Would she willingly give herself to Him because she truly loved and trusted Him, or would she merely submit because she was overawed or obliged by His power and glory? How could she learn her own heart, and how could God show her who she was meant to be?
In a word - testing... When God delivered Israel from Egypt, He did not take them on the fast track to the Promised Land (though He certainly could have done so). No, there was a circuitous route to take, a divinely appointed wandering, a Divine Stroll of betrothal, if you will. In order to reveal Himself to the Israelites, God had to led them directly into the desert. He embittered waters to make them sweet once again; He let stomachs growl to provide the Bread of life; He parched mouths to give Living Water from the "Rock that was struck" (1 Cor. 10:4). God did all this to reveal to his newly redeemed people that He is the satisfaction of all their longings... He rescued his bride from the house of slavery and now wanted to refine her to receive greater revelation to come. He was "wooing" or "courting" her in order to bring her beneath a canopy of stars at Sinai...
Hebrew Lesson
Song 6:3 Hebrew reading (click):
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The Word of Guidance...
02.06.25 (Shevat 8, 5785) In our Torah portion for this week (i.e., Beshalach) we learn that the LORD chose to take his redeemed people along the "longer road" to the promised land, just as we find ourselves still awaiting the completion of our redemption in the world to come. And like the Israelites, we must be on guard, since when things get difficult, our tendency is to go back to what is familiar, even if it is painful. Thank God our Good Shepherd Yeshua teaches us and guides us in the way to go: "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher (מוֹרֶה) will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying: 'This is the way; walk in it,' when you turn to the right or to the left" (Isa. 30:20-21).
וְאָזְנֶיךָ תִּשְׁמַעְנָה דָבָר מֵאַחֲרֶיךָ לֵאמר
זֶה הַדֶּרֶךְ לְכוּ בוֹ
כִּי תַאֲמִינוּ וְכִי תַשְׂמְאִילוּ
"Your ears will hear a word behind you saying:
'This is the way; walk in it,'
when you turn to the right or to the left."
(Isa. 30:21)
Hebrew Lesson
Isaiah 30:21 reading (click):
What a beautiful image of our LORD as our Teacher and Good Shepherd, who guides us in the paths of life and delivers us from "right-hand and left-hand errors." And may God keep us upon the path of his righteousness, free from the seductions of the tempter who wants to distract our souls and lead us into fruitless byways and trouble. May we receive grace to behold His face, even in the midst of adversity or affliction, learning from Him the way to go...
"Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you" (Isa. 26:20). The LORD beckons: "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known" (Jer. 33:3). And I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place" (Rev 4:1).
The Test of Manna...
The following is related to this week's Torah reading, parashat Beshalach...
02.06.25 (Shevat 8, 5785) Exactly one month after the Exodus (i.e., Iyyar 15), the LORD led the Israelites from the oasis and palm trees at Elim (אֵילִם) into the deeper part of the desert, to midbar Sin (מִדְבַּר־סִין), a desolate region that was about midway to Sinai going southeast (Exod. 16:1). About this time, the food provisions the people had brought with them ran out, and the Israelites began grumbling against Moses and Aaron, saying: "If only we had died by the hand of God in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat (סִיר הַבָּשָׂר), when we ate bread to our fill, for you have brought us out into this desert to starve to death!" (Exod. 16:3). The LORD then said to Moses, "'Behold, I am going to rain down bread from heaven (לֶחֶם מִן־הַשָּׁמָיִם) for you. The people will go out and gather a portion for that day so that I might test whether they will walk in my Torah (תּוֹרָה) or not" (Exod. 16:4).
Note that while God graciously provided the miracle of manna, the people were required to receive it for themselves. Note further that a portion was given for just that day, and storing it up for later use (except for the Sabbath) resulted in rottenness and decay (Exod. 16:20). By being required to collect their daily bread (דְּבַר־יוֹם בְּיוֹמוֹ) the people learned that God's blessing and their efforts worked together. Our sustenance is a gift from heaven, though we must reach out to take hold of it... The sages here note that the Sabbath and the manna both underscore our complete dependency on God as the source of our sustenance. We will see this again regarding agricultural laws of Shemmitah (שְׁמִטָּה) and the Jubilee (יובל).
"I will test them (אֲנַסֶּנּוּ) whether they will walk in my Torah (הֲיֵלֵךְ בְּתוֹרָתִי) or not" (Exod. 16:4). This is the test (נִסָיוֹן) to see whether we will trust God to meet our needs (whether they are physical needs or spiritual). After all, it is one thing to believe God can help you and yet another to trust that He will actually do so. Peace comes when belief and trust are unified within the heart - when the one who firmly believes completely trusts as well. God gave bread from heaven to test us: "And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD" (Deut. 8:3). God humbles us, which is really one of the greatest of blessings, since we then learn to rely on God's strength and love to meet all our needs.
For more about this topic, see the article "Bread from Heaven."
Hebrew Lesson
Deut. 8:3b Hebrew reading:
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Suffering and Faith...
"For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life but he devises means so that his banished ones are not expelled from him." - 2 Sam. 14:14
02.05.25 (Shevat 7, 5785) Shalom dear chaverim. Though we rejoice that God is faithful and has saved us from spiritual death, we nevertheless sometimes suffer, hurt, and ache in this life. And all of us - believer and unbeliever alike - will physically die.
In light of this, and based on the testimony of the holy Scriptures, it is nothing less than false teaching to make the spurious claim that God never wants his children to be sick and will always reward his faithful children with health and prosperity.... Indeed, this is not only false teaching based on a superficial reading of Scripture, but it is a cruel teaching too.
Think of Joni Erickson Tada, for instance, or countless other saints who suffered and died without being healed in earthly terms. Think of God's revelation to Job or to Elijah or to John the Baptist... Remember how the Apostle Paul had repeatedly asked God to take away his affliction but was denied. Think of the martyrs through the ages who suffered and died unjustly at the hands of the wicked, and especially think of our Lord Yeshua Himself who suffered throughout his life and finally gave himself up in great agony upon the cross. "It pleased the LORD to crush Him and put him to grief" (Isa. 53:10).
To teach that all believers of Yeshua should be in perfect health or "trouble free" in this life casts a shadow of doubt over their soul when they inevitably will get sick or when they face their death, which is the "greatest sickness" after all... God heals us, absolutely, but his healing gives us life from above, delivering us from spiritual death, not from physical death in this fallen world.
Death has lost its "sting" in the sense of being the final word about life, and God Himself has "swallowed up" death through the victory of Yeshua on our behalf as the "Second Adam" and head of redeemed humanity. But why do we still get sick and die? Our death does not pay the debt for our sins which was paid in full by Yeshua. Rather it brings an end to our sinning and ushers us into the divine presence and eternal life.
The Apostle Paul suffered and later was martyred for his faith. He wrote to encourage us to persevere in faith, despite the hardships we face in this world. He wrote: "Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, made for us by God himself and not by human hands." (2 Cor. 4:17-5:1).
And though Paul wanted to escape the sufferings of this life to be with God, he nevertheless affirmed: "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the dead" (Phil. 3:7-11). Paul said that the loss of all that he once esteemed -- his heritage, health, and so on - was "rubbish" compared to being identified with Yeshua, sharing in his sufferings, even becoming like him in his death, so that he would know the power of the resurrection from the dead...
Yet Paul also longed to be set free from this realm and to be with the Lord, to come home and experience the fullness of salvation. He had run hard and fought the good fight of faith, yet he was inwardly torn, wanting both to be with the Lord yet to remain to encourage others... "I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to die and be with Yeshua, for that is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more needful for you" (Phil. 1:23-24).
"God works all things together for our good," and that includes the sufferings and losses of life. How could it be otherwise? The LORD has complete authority over death and darkness (Isa. 45:7); He is the keyholder of hell and death (Rev. 1:18). He ordains our days establishes our steps. "Who gave a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?" (Exod. 4:11).
Does not God speak out of the midst of the whirlwind? Did not his darkness surround the cross when Yeshua groaned in agony for our deliverance? We are in God's school of life and the aim is our education for eternity. "A righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." That is part of the lesson plan for us, to go through troubles in order to experience God's deliverance and blessing (Acts 14:22).
Of course a whole lot more could be said about this topic, but it is evident and clear enough that God, in his wisdom and grace, allows suffering and troubles into our lives for our good and for his glory. We may not be able to fathom the reasons for why those who trust in God suffer, but we accept that suffering is bound up with God's plan for the healing and redemption of all things. He shall wipe away all our tears, but we have tears that will be wiped away...
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Savior, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort (אַב הָרַחֲמִים וֵאלֹהֵי כָּל נֶחָמָה), who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
Find peace in the struggle; the One who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Yeshua. "Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." (Jude 1:24-25).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 73:26 reading (click):
Hidden Life of the Seed...
"Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." - Luke 10:20
02.05.25 (Shevat 7, 5785) A seed is small, fragile, and seemingly insignificant, yet in the hands of a wise gardener it is understood to be miraculous, able to be perfected and made fruitful. You may feel unworthy, helpless, and forlorn, but you are regarded as blameless and upright because of the miracle of God's life imparted within you, that is, the "holy seed" implanted at your regeneration (see 1 Pet. 1:23). You have a new nature that draws life from heaven as God's own child. And just as a master gardener carefully tends to his planted seeds, so God will tend the divine life sown within your heart. The seed is "hidden" in the soil, unseen by others, yet tended by the gardener who knows its potential to be perfected.
The seed "contains" the essence of the life it replicates. Inside the seed there is an embryo (the baby plant), and when the seed begins to grow, one part of the embryo becomes the (visible) plant while the other part becomes the (hidden) root of the plant. However, the outer shell of the seed must first be broken, and then what appears is the "radicle," or the embryonic root which will develop into a plant. The life cycle of a seed is one of burial and resurrection, of growth and fruitfulness (John 12:24), and the divine life implanted within our hearts will bear fruit: "For by his sacrifice, Yeshua has perfected (i.e., made complete, whole, full of life) all those who are being sanctified" (Heb. 10:14).
Yeshua said, "Be perfect even as your Heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48), which of course is an impossibility from a human point of view, but is a corollary of the divine nature implanted within you... The seed within you is perfected to be God's beloved child. You might miss it in the midst of your everyday struggles with fear and the "miasma" of this depraved world, but God is working in you both to will and to do his good pleasure (Phil. 2:12). Like all matters of the Spirit, God's perfection in you comes by faith, not by sight... Only the new heart (lev chadash) created by power of God's Spirit can possibly yield the fruit of the Spirit.
Therefore take heart and do not yield to despair over the mess of your lives. Remember that fruit does not immediately crop up but requires time and its own season... The process of spiritual growth is ultimately mysterious and divine: "The Kingdom of God is like someone who spreads seed on the ground. He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. By itself (αὐτομάτη, "automatically") the soil produces a crop, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. And when the grain is ripe, he comes in with his sickle because the harvest has come" (Mark 4:26-29).
Trust in God's power to do the miracle. "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Yeshua from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Yeshua the Messiah, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen" (Heb. 13:20-21). Amen. " He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it" (1 Thess. 5:24).
Hebrew Lesson
Proverbs 11:30 Hebrew reading (click):
Faith and Woundedness...
I've been suffering a lot lately due to some health issues, trusting God through it all...
02.04.25 (Shevat 6, 5785) Affliction can sometimes feel like torture, being abandoned by God, misunderstood by others, and disgusted with ourselves. The language of pain is intensely personal and often inexpressible. Ongoing affliction tempts us to blame ourselves, to lose sight of God, and to feel hopeless. It is a real struggle.
The French philosopher Simone Weil suffered personal affliction her whole life but connected it to the deeper message of the gospel. She learned that the walk of faith was not so much a search for a supernatural remedy from suffering but a supernatural use for it. She grew to accept and to endure her afflictions, and by steadfastness of heart to overcome the power of suffering, even though it haunted her daily life. She regarded suffering as the high calling to love and trust God despite her pain; she learned that "when I am weak, then am I strong."
The challenge of ongoing affliction is to simultaneously affirm God's presence and love in the midst of the "dark cloud of unknowing." Faith is the struggle to trust that God indeed works all things - including our ongoing afflictions - together for our good. Faith discovers God's grace is always sufficient for us, even in our weaknesses.
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It is written: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (Prov 27:6). Our LORD is a friend and lover (oheiv) who, though He may allow us to be wounded, nevertheless "sticks closer than a brother" - yesh oheiv daveik mei'ach: יֵשׁ אֹהֵב דָּבֵק מֵאָח (Prov 18:24). His afflictions are always purposive and ultimately healing.
The aim of affliction is to ground us in the truth, namely, that we are not God, and that we must surrender ourselves to God's care, even in the wastelands and desperate moments of our lives. When we cling to this world, this life, and seek to make it of value apart from Him, we are living in a state of delusion and blindness. When we are humbled by God's loving affliction, we are set free from the futility of seeking to control the world, and are thereby made free indeed.
For those whom God has chosen, the fires of affliction are purifying fires, refining fires, intended to separate the precious from the dross. We glorify God in the fire when we can say, "Here I am, LORD, do with me as it seems good in thy sight, for I know I shall not have one stroke but thou will give me grace to bear under it." Amen.
Deliver us from Evil...
"God is present in the moment of choice, not in order to watch but to be chosen. Therefore, each person must choose. Terrible is the battle, in a person's innermost being, between God and the world. The crowning risk involved lies in the possession of choice."- Soren Kierkegaard
02.04.25 (Shevat 6, 5785) There is the great danger of squandering our lives through fear, vanity, and worldly concerns... Be grateful, then, for afflictions that bring us pause and move us inward. Examine yourself; consider what really moves you. Be careful not to deceive yourself by "reasoning around the truth" (i.e., παρα + λογίζομαι), as James the Righteous puts it (James 1:22). Many people fool themselves by assuming they know or understand what is good, but they confine this ideal to a matter of opinion rather than experiencing it as a matter of the will (or they confuse their opinion of the ideal with what is real).
There is something worse than death that should concern all people, however, and that is discovering that, upon your death, you had missed what is most important, that you sold your soul for vanities, and that you never learned the true reason for your existence...
Some of the ancient Greek philosophers assumed that moral evil was the result of ignorance, and they thought that truly knowing what was good would lead to doing the good. For example Socrates states (in the Protagoras) that no one knowingly does the wrong thing, and therefore all evil is the result of ignorance (or being fooled into choosing choosing an illusory good). He argued this way because he assumed that doing wrong harms the soul, and since no one willingly acts against his own interests, wrongdoing must be result of ignorance. This somewhat optimistic view implies that the answer to the problem of moral evil is "education," or leading people out of the dark cave of their lower nature to experience the light of reason. If we just really knew why doing this or that sinful thing hurts us, we would change our ways and repent, or so the theory goes... Alas, human experience proves that such "head knowledge" often does not change the way we choose, and we all know people who have habits they realize are harmful but continue to indulge in them anyway.
There may be some truth to the idea that evil is a matter of ignorance however, since ignoring what is good, being indifferent, apathetic, and cynical is a defect of character (ἀκρασία), and learning to be honest, upright, courageous, unselfish, and so on, requires personal struggle to make the "ought" of moral reality an expression of the "is" of inner life. What is often most shocking about moral evil is that it expresses apathy or indifference toward the objections of conscience. Moral evil is essentially heartless and devoid of empathy, a state of cold-heartedness and callousness for the feelings and dignity of others.
According to the Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt, the lack of moral thought and reflection creates what she called the "banality of evil," that is, the unthinking acceptance of evil so that it is no longer regarded as outrageous or strange. People deaden their conscience by refusing to honestly engage questions such as: "What is goodness?" "Is evil real?" "Do we have an obligation to observe moral truth?" "What is the good life?" "How should we live?" "Do our actions really matter?" "Will God judge my life?" and so on.
On the other hand, our culture has been so shocked and made numb by the ongoing practice of lawlessness wickedness that people have lost their sense of shame. We are no longer outraged when we hear of the latest crimes or abuses of power in our postmodern world.... We must be careful, however, not to become evil by despising what is evil. For instance, we may feel so outraged and threatened by the evil actions of others that we deny their humanity, thereby becoming the very thing we hate.
King David exclaimed: "Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults" (Psalm 19:12). Yea, "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9). "Oh there is nothing as deceitful and as cunning as a human heart, resourceful in seeking escapes and finding excuses; and there surely is nothing as difficult and as rare as genuine honesty before God." (Kierkegaard: Discourses). Therefore we pray: "Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved. Be not a terror to me; you are my refuge in the day of evil" (Jer. 17:14, 17).
Hebrew Lesson
Jeremiah 17:14 reading (click):
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Believing and Seeing...
02.03.25 (Shevat 5, 5785) This week's Torah portion (i.e., parashat Beshalach) contains some of the most dramatic episodes recorded in all of the Scriptures. Here we read about the great exodus of the Israelites on the day of Passover and Pharaoh's last-ditch pursuit of the Hebrew slaves. We read how the Shekhinah Glory held back Pharaoh's army, how the LORD split the Sea of Reeds so that the Israelites could safely pass through the waters, and how Pharaoh's forces were all drowned in the sea. We further read how God personally led the Israelites into the desert and sustained them by transforming "bitter water" into sweet water, sending manna from heaven, and providing a miraculous water source from the rock that Moses struck. Yet despite all the miracles and wonders performed on behalf of the Israelites, the people inexplicably seemed to "forget" about their miraculous redemption. Indeed, it was just a few days after the awe-inspiring deliverance from Egypt that the people began to murmur, complain, and kvetch. The sorry state of the Israelites was so bad that the Midrash Rabbah plaintively wonders how it was possible that the Israelites could have so quickly forgotten all of God's miracles performed on their behalf (Psalm 78:41-56).
The story of the disgruntled Israelites teaches us that miracles are never enough to sustain our faith. Seeing isn't believing, but rather the other way around.... This explains why those church groups that emphasize "signs and wonders" often contain so many exhausted people. Miracles are insufficient for faith; people get excited about them while they occur, but they soon forget them and return to a state of desperation and despair. Necessarily the cycle must repeat itself, with ever-increasing claims of the miraculous, in order to keep the illusion alive.... In light of this, it is wise to consider that the passion for "signs and wonders" may be little more than a counterfeit of the real need to surrender and serve God. After all, truly loving the LORD with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength is the goal of faith. A genuine heart of faith, then, is a miracle of a greater kind than that of splitting the Sea of Reeds.
Regarding the case of the redeemed Israelites, what has struck some commentators is not so much the incredible signs and wonders that the LORD performed on behalf of Israel, but rather the people's persistent inability or unwillingness to believe... Some of the Jewish sages have gone so far as to say that the entire Bible may be read as a book about God's apparent inability to teach the Jewish people how to be grateful. The same certainly can be said about many professing Christians today.
Lasting transformation of the heart comes from "following" the LORD God of Israel. As I've mentioned elsewhere, disciples of Yeshua are called talmidim (תַּלְמִידִים) -- a word that comes from lamad (לָמַד) meaning "to learn" (the Hebrew word for teacher is melamad (מְלַמֵּד) from the same root). In the Greek New Testament, the word for "disciple" is μαθητής (the word "math" comes from this), that is, a pupil of a διδάσκαλος, or a teacher. In other words, disciples of Yeshua are automatically "enrolled" in the school of truth, which is also a "school of suffering" (Col. 1:24). In the Torah the "daily sacrifice," or korban tamid (קָרְבַּן תָּמִיד), was offered to the LORD every morning and evening upon the altar, which corresponds to being a "living sacrifice" (i.e., korban chai: קָרְבָּן חַי) to the LORD (Rom. 12:1-2). We must take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). Yeshua plainly said: "For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world -- to bear witness to the truth. All who are of the truth listen to my voice" (John 18:37). It is hard to imagine a follower of Yeshua who does not love, study, and value the truth...
ראשׁית חכמה קנה חכמה
ובכל־קנינך קנה בינה
rei·sheet · chokh·mah · ke·neih · chokh·mah
oo·ve·khol-keen·yah'·ne·kha · ke·neih · vee·nah
"The first matter of wisdom is this: Get wisdom!
and in all your get, acquire understanding." (Prov. 4:7)
Hebrew Lesson
Proverbs 4:7 Hebrew reading (click):
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The Hebrew word for education is chinukh (חִנּוּךְ), a word that shares the same root as the word for "dedication" (i.e., chanukah: חֲנֻכָּה). True education of the Scriptures is therefore foundational to being a student of the Messiah. We are called to "rightly divide" (ὀρθοτομέω, lit. "cut straight") the "word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). Among other things, then, following Yeshua means becoming a student of the Jewish Scriptures that 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). This is accomplished not merely by explaining (propositional) doctrine but by kiddush HaShem -- sanctifying the LORD in our lives (1 Pet. 1:15-16). As the sages noted long ago: "Upon three things the world does stand: upon the Torah (truth), upon worship, and upon acts of lovingkindness" (Avot 1:2). We are a "living letter" sent to the world to be "read" (2 Cor. 3:2-3).
It has been said that it was easier for the LORD to get Israel out of Egypt than it was for Him to get Egypt out of Israel... The LORD knew the process would be an arduous one, requiring 40 long years of study in the desert under the instruction of Moses, and yet despite all this the people "were unable to enter because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:19; 4:11; Psalm 95:7-11). This is a truly sobering warning, and we are encouraged to open our hearts to the miracle of God's love for us. "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." May it please God to help us make a new commitment to study and to live the truth of the Torah and Scriptures for the glory of His Name. Amen.
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Stepping out in Faith...
The divine consequence of the exodus from Egypt (יציאת מצרים) is still felt to this day, as indeed is the greater exodus Yeshua attained by the power of the cross (Luke 9:30-31).
02.03.25 (Shevat 5, 5785) From our Torah this week (i.e., Beshalach) we read how the children of Israel were trapped before the sea with no way of escape... Moses then cried out to God who told him to march forward -- right into the waters -- as the Pillar of Cloud settled between the people and Pharaoh's advancing army.
According to midrash, when Moses lifted his staff to divide the sea, at first nothing happened. The people waited anxiously at the seashore, wondering what to do. Finally, Nachshon ben Aminadav, a descendant of Judah (Num. 1:7), waded into the water "up to his nose," and the winds then began blowing to divide the waters (Shemot Rabbah). The great miracle of kiryat yam suf (קרית ים סוף)- the splitting of the Sea of Reeds (the word "suf" means "reed,"see Exod. 2:3) therefore happened because someone found courage and took a step of faith: "And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall (חוֹמָה) to them on their right hand and on their left" (Exod. 14:22). They marched across the sea all night (i.e., Nisan 21), under the light of the Shekhinah Glory...
The Talmud says "kasheh le'zavgom ke'kriat yam suf," which means it is more difficult for God to create a marriage than to split the sea. They reason this way because each person needs to take individual action to trust the other. Likewise with God. It is more difficult for God to get us to be in a trusting relationship with Him than it is for Him to split a sea. Of course the problem is not with God, who is the perfect "husband," but with our adulterous inner nature. It took the LORD a year to deliver Israel from Egypt, but it took Him 40 years to teach Israel to trust in His promises of love. God always awaits our teshuvah - our "answer" - to His invitation before He reveals more to us. As Yeshua once said to his followers, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (John 16:12). Some things about God can only be known by stepping out in faith and surrendering ourselves to Him.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 37:5 Hebrew reading (click):
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Note: For more on this subject, see "Stepping out in Faith..."
Finding the Place of God...
02.03.25 (Shevat 5, 5785) What was it about Yeshua that made him so special? For the moment, put aside your theology or "Christology" and ask what made him so attractive and endearing to people on a human level. What sort of a man was he? What made people want to follow him? Did he have special "charisma" or an aura about him?
We really don't know the answer to these questions, of course, since the New Testament says little about his physical appearance, though the prophet Isaiah foretold that he would be a man of "no reputation," with no regal form or "comeliness" with which we would desire him. Indeed, he would be "despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isa. 53:2-3). Indeed Yeshua was born into this world in obscurity, grew to become an unassuming man, a "nobody" in the eyes of the world, without power or political authority. For all the more reason then does this suggest that what made him so attractive was his heart, his kindness, and his accessibility, and that's part of the lesson we learn by the invitation he gave to the two disciples of John the Baptist to come to his home.
Recall that the New Testament records how John the Baptist began announcing the imminent coming of the Messiah, calling the people to repentance. One day John saw Yeshua of Nazareth and proclaimed: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" (John 1:29-30). Two of John's disciples (by tradition Andrew and John, author of the fourth gospel) were standing with him at the time and they believed John's testimony that Yeshua was the promised Savior of Israel. Indeed John had explained the purpose of his ministry was to herald the coming of Messiah, and his preaching was intended to prepare the people for the momentous hour. Therefore when John identified Yeshua as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world," they understood the implications and immediately decided to follow Yeshua as he walked away. When Yeshua turned to them and asked: "What are you looking for?" they replied, "Rabbi, where do you live?" And Yeshua then graciously invited them to "come and see." So they went to Yeshua's house and stayed with him for the rest of the day (see John 1:35-39). We may wonder, what did they see? What did they do? What did they discuss with Yeshua? We are not told, though it is clear Yeshua was a kind and approachable person, accessible to the seeking heart.
And this presents a sort of "parable" or pattern for anyone who would come to know Yeshua. First there is a deep awareness of the need to repent before God, as John the Baptist had preached, along with the realization that true repentance, or personal salvation, is impossible apart from divine intervention that would free the soul from its bondage to sin. Second there is revelation that points to Yeshua alone as our healer and deliverer. Third there is sincere desire to learn more about him and the nature of his character, and there is an "inner sense" that you are called to "come and see" where Yeshua lives...
This invitation is for all people who are burdened by their sins and who hunger and thirst for deliverance. Yeshua's message finds it place in the heart of the broken: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30).
It is your willingness to accept the invitation to know his heart that marks the first step from which all others may follow. Yeshua asks you to feel welcome and safe in his presence, as if you have belonged to him all along, to realize that you are accepted, respected, and dearly valuable to him. This is the "place" of God, the "where" of his presence and the "who" of his character. And indeed, God's Presence is liked to a "house," a "miskhan" or dwelling place, a refuge and sanctuary for the soul, a secret garden, a strong habitation, the everlasting arms of a loving Father, Abba, the one who makes a place for us, an everlasting domicile that will enshrine us in the comfort and blessing of eternal love.
Some people wrestle with shame and feel unworthy of love and blessing. It is hard for them to believe that God bears their sins because they do not believe they matter enough for God to do so. But God affirms and demands that we take his love seriously, that we esteem ourselves as people he loves and cares for despite our sins and failings... His heart extends to the "poor in spirit," to those who mourn over their lives, to the humble, the broken, the wandering outcast, the despised and rejected of men. Yeshua is the "friend of sinners" who calls out to their weariness: "Come to me, and I will give you rest..."
So what do you want? What do you truly desire of the Lord? Yeshua encourages us to come and see who he is and to repose in the place of his dwelling, the habitation of his heart. "Live in me - in the truth of my heart - and let my heart live in you" (John 15:4). This "house" of the Lord is found in heart connection with him, where you accept yourself as beloved in him. It is found in God's presence as Father, Son and Holy Spirit as we are made part of his family, members of his household, and partakers of the blessing of his love.
We start "following" the Lord by first trusting that he really desires us, for assuredly we will cannot do so unless we believe his heart for us, after all. We begin by praying, "Lord, how am I to be with you? How can my heart know your heart for me? How can I connect with you, finding life in your life? Is this not essential - to know who you really are, to experience your mercy and grace, to rest in your steadfast love and faithfulness? How can I experience your acceptance and kindness in light of my brokenness, shame and disappointment? Will you heal the wounds of my heart - wounds that you yourself bore for me in your suffering? I bow down in hope before the cries of my heart. I wait, O Lord, for your touch, the breath of your Spirit, the true balm of Gilead that forever heals my brokenness.
Recall the story about Elijah, dejected, weary, and feeling abandoned. The Lord instructed him, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice... And, suddenly there came a Voice to him that asked, "What are you doing here?"
Or consider Job who was described as "a man blameless and upright, one who feared God and shunned evil" who nevertheless was tested and brought to despair and the knife's edge of death. After languishing in dismay, he found himself beneath the whirlwind, beholding the revelation of God's glory, and only afterward was he able to say, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear (לְשֵׁמַע־אֹזֶן שְׁמַעְתִּיךָ): but now mine eye seeth thee (וְעַתָּה עֵינִי רָאָתְךָ). Therefore I forsake myself, and I repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:5-6).
There is no recipe or formula for following the Lord since it involves turning to God from the depths of your soul, allowing him to be the center of your heart. In a sense it is a matter of losing yourself to find yourself, letting go of your fears and attachments in surrender to God. As we go through the refining fires, we leave behind the old life for the new - crossing over into the realm of the Spirit. Once we take hold of who we are in God's house, the despair that has haunted us fades away and we live in God's provision and abundance.
Faith in the truth of God's love sets us free, though we must be careful not to let our hope wane in quiet desperation. The temptation is to lose sight of God's heart for us or to be dissuaded from our hope because of sadness or fear. God is merciful and will beckon us to return to his love, though if we begin to fall away, he may lead us to confess once again that we are unable to control our lives, that we desperately need him, and to know once again that all that we are or ever shall be is bound up in his presence and love for us.
Yeshua is the answer to our hurting and desperate hearts. It may not be an "easy" answer, but it's the only answer that is real, with love forged in the passion of God's heart, the expense and expanse of which surpasses all of creation, forever and ever. Amen.
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"Sabbath of the Song"
About Shabbat Shirah...
[ The following is related to this week's Torah reading, parashat Beshalach... ]
02.02.25 (Shevat 4, 5785) Our Torah reading for this week (i.e., Exod. 13:17-17:16) includes the famous Shirat Hayam (שִׁירַת הַיָּם), the "Song the Sea," a hymn of praise the Israelites sang to the LORD after they miraculously crossed the Sea of Reeds (i.e., Yam Suf: יָם סּוּף). Shirat Hayam is also traditionally sung on the 7th day of Passover (i.e., on Nisan 21) since it was first sung seven days after the people left Egypt during the time of the Exodus. When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, Shirat Hayam was sung every day by the Levites during the minchah (afternoon) offering. After the Temple was destroyed, however, the song was incorporated into the shacharit (morning) service of synagogues (i.e., "Mi Chamocha," etc.) to fulfill the Lord's commandment to "remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt all the days of your life" (Deut. 16:3).
Today the Sabbath on which parashat Beshalach is recited is called Shabbat Shirah Hayam and the congregation rises when the song is chanted:
אָשִׁירָה לַיהוה כִּי־גָאה גָּאָה
סוּס וְרכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם׃
עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי־לִי לִישׁוּעָה
זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ אֱלהֵי אָבִי וַאֲרמְמֶנְהוּ׃
יהוה אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה יהוה שְׁמוֹ׃
ah·shee'·rah · la-Adonai · kee-ga'·oh · ga'·ah
soos · ve·roh·khe·voh · rah·mah · ba·yahm.
oh·zee · ve·zeem·raht · Yah · va·hee-lee · lee·shoo·ah
zeh · ei·lee · ve·an·ve'·hoo · e·loh·hei · ah·vee · va·a·roh·me'·noo.
Adonai · eesh · meel·chah·mah · Adonai she·moh.
"I will sing to Adonai, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
Yah is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will enshrine Him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his Name." (Exod. 15:1-3)
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To commemorate and honor this time, Jewish scribes (soferim) stylized the Hebrew text in a special way. The Talmud (Megillah 16b) states that Shirat Hayam must be written in the form of "a half brick over a whole brick, and a whole brick over a half brick," that is, with alternating half-lines, to resemble "building a house":
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According to Yalkut Me'am Lo'ez, the alternating "bricks" are intended to resemble waves of water, while the blank spaces separating these (i.e., text blocks) suggest "blank spaces in our knowledge and praise of God" which we are encouraged to add to the "building." The sages count exactly 198 words in this song, which is the numerical value for the word tzchok (צחק), a word that means "laughter" and is the word used to describe Sarah's response when she finally gave birth to Isaac (Gen. 21:6). According to Rabbi Bachya, the laughter in Isaac's name comes from Abraham's joy (Gen. 17:17). The joy of Isaac's birth, then, is linked with the "birth" of the nation of Israel at the time of the Exodus, just as his symbolic death during the Akedah represents Israel's rebirth...
It is also noteworthy to remember that the Lord Yeshua was the One who saved Israel on that very day. He is the Angel of the LORD and YHVH the Redeemer, as Moses likewise stated: וַיּוֹשַׁע יהוה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיַּד מִצְרָיִם / "On that day, the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians" (Exod. 14:30).
It's been said that all the signs and wonders performed during the Exodus served two purposes: 1) to convince the Egyptians of the greatness of God, and 2) to convince the Israelites of the same thing... An even greater blessing, however, is to trust in the LORD without the need for signs and wonders (John 20:29). May the LORD God of Israel help us live by true bittachon (בִּטָּחוֹן) - trusting in Him and rejoicing in His salvation. Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 15:11 Hebrew reading (click):
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This week's Torah:
Parashat Beshalach - בשלח
In our Torah portion this week, the Lord divided the waters of the sea to make a path for the Israelites, a miracle that symbolized newness of life as God's liberated people...
02.02.25 (Shevat 4, 5785) Recall that last week's Torah portion (i.e., parashat Bo) told how the Israelites were finally released from Egypt after God issued the final plague during the time of Passover. In this week's portion (parashat Beshalach: Exod. 13:17-17:16), the Israelites begin their journey home, after 430 years of troubled exile. Instead of leading them along a direct route to the Promised Land, however, God directed them south, toward the desert, where the Glory of God appeared as a Pillar of Cloud by day and as a Pillar of Fire by night to lead them on their way. When Pharaoh heard that the Israelites were at the border of the desert, however, he perversely decided to pursue them and bring them back to Egypt. God then redirected the Israelites to camp near the edge of the Sea of Reeds, where the Egyptian army finally caught up with them. Dramatically, the Israelites were caught between the sea on one side, and Pharaoh's formidable army on the other!
The terrified people then began to blame Moses for their predicament. Moses reassured them of God's final deliverance and raised his staff to miraculously divide the waters of the sea. All that night the Shekhinah Glory enshrouded the Egyptian army but gave light to Israel as the people crossed through the sea on dry ground. Just before dawn, the dark pillar of cloud that veiled the Egyptian army lifted, and the soldiers immediately rushed after the Israelites into pathway of the sea. God then told Moses to lift his staff again so that the waters would overwhelm the Egyptians with their chariots and horsemen. By the time dawn arrived, the Israelites saw the dead bodies of Pharaoh's army lining the seashore.
Moses and Miriam then led the people of Israel in a spontaneous hymn of thanks and praise to God for their complete deliverance from Pharaoh, which is often called the "Song of the Sea" (i.e., shirah hayam). The song begins, "The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation" / עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי־לִי לִישׁוּעָה (Exod. 15:2, cp. Isa. 12:2). For Orthodox Jews, singing Shirat Hayam every day is thought to fulfill the biblical commandment to "remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live" (Deut. 16:3). Note that Shirat Hayam is also sung on the 7th day of Passover, as a memorial of the deliverance by God through the waters of the Sea of Reeds.
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The great message of our deliverance resounds throughout Jewish history, and indeed it is regarded as a theme of the faithful love of LORD for His people:
Hebrew Lesson
Isaiah 12:2 Hebrew reading (click):
After the jubilation for their deliverance, the narrative resumes as God led the Israelites away from the sea, into the desert of Sin (מִדְבַּר־סִין), a desolate region about midway to Mount Sinai. Instead of taking the people along a direct route to the promised land, however, the Lord led them directly to the "school" of the desert. After traveling three days without finding any water, however, the people complained and God provided them with fresh water at Marah. Awhile later, the matzah (unleavened bread) the people had brought with them ran out and God tested their obedience by giving them "bread from heaven" (i.e., manna). The portion ends with the Amalekites' surprise attack of Israel at Rephidim, near Mount Sinai, and the selection of Joshua as the leader of the army of Israel.
January 2025 Site Updates
Sanctifying the Truth...
01.31.25 (Shevat 2, 5785) How do we share the message of God with others? How do we reveal the truth of Messiah in this world? In other words, how may the Spirit of God be manifest within us? The Scriptures say first to "sanctify the Messiah" within our hearts and then we will be ready to give a reason for our hope -- though we must do so in humility and reverence before heaven" (1 Pet. 3:15). We sanctify the Lord by choosing to make sacred place for him within our consciousness; we enshrine him and esteem him beautiful within our affections and actions (Exod. 15:2). When God said to his people, "Let them make for me a sacred place (i.e., mikdash: מִקְדָּשׁ) that I may dwell in their midst," then, he was inviting them to make room within their hearts (בְּתוֹכָם) for His Presence to be revealed (Exod. 25:8). As Yeshua taught us: "The Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).
King David understood this principle: "I have set the LORD always before me..." (Psalm 16:8). In other words we must open our eyes to see; we must humble ourselves to believe; and we must open our hearts before the greatness of God. This is the first step, as Yeshua taught us: Avinu shebashamayim, yitkadesh shemekha - "Our Father in heaven, let your Name be sanctified" (Matt. 6:9). As we sanctify the Lord we bear witness of the truth of Reality, and the Spirit of God will empower us to living signs of the Divine Presence. "But the fruit of the Spirit (פְּרִי הָרוּחַ) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness... (Gal. 5:22-23).
"Know therefore this day and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other" (Deut. 4:39). Note that the phrase "lay it to your heart" in this verse may better be rendered as "return to your heart" (וַהֲשֵׁבתָ אֶל־לְבָבֶךָ), suggesting that the truth of the LORD is found there – within the heart that truly seeks him (Jer. 29:13). Hashivenu! In other words, the truth is found in the heart's seeking for the LORD and His love. Know this truth today... "The most important part of teaching is to teach what it is to know," that is, to know "in your heart."
Shabbat shalom and love to you, chaverim...
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 16:8 reading (click):
Stewardship for Life...
"One life on this earth is all that we get, whether it is enough or not enough, and the obvious conclusion would seem to be that at the very least we are fools if we do not live it as fully and bravely and beautifully as we can." - Frederick Buechner
01.31.25 (Shevat 2, 5785) When I first read the parable of the "unjust steward" (see Luke 16:1-13), I was a bit puzzled. Yeshua tells the story of a certain rich man who had discovered that his "steward" (or manager) was stealing from him, and he therefore decided to remove him from his service. The steward, in his desperation, then quickly called his employer's debtors and gave each a significant discount on the debt they owed. In this way the steward sought to gain their favor so that he would be taken care of in days to come...
Now what is surprising about this story is that Yeshua commended the unjust steward for his shrewdness, and then he cryptically added: "Make friends for yourselves by means of the "mammon of unrighteousness" (μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας), that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings" (Luke 16:9). Wait, what? How are we to understand this?
At first glance the story seems simple enough, at least in worldly terms: Do someone a favor in their need, and they will reciprocate regarding your need: "Scratch my back, and I will scratch yours." It is likely that the steward thought that if he did some favors for others, they would return the favor in the days to come. Moreover the steward, savvy as he was, likely understood that the interest charged to the debtors was technically forbidden by Jewish law, and therefore he reasoned that his wealthy employer could not accuse him of larceny without therby incriminating himself. He could therefore leverage the loss of his job and make a profit for himself at the same time. Despite the devious ploy, however, the rich man "commended" (i.e., ἐπαινέω, "praised") the steward because he had acted shrewdly. "Check Mate..."
Now this story is not to suggest that our righteous Lord in any way approved of such devious financial schemes and deception, though it is likely Yeshua told the story to illustrate the importance of seizing opportunities in life with an eye to future benefit. He was drawing a comparison: just as this unjust steward sought to manage his desperation to secure for his future, so the godly should manage their resources and opportunities so that they will be welcomed into the "eternal habitations" of heaven itself. If worldly wealth can be used to gain friends that will welcome you into their hearts, then how much more should such wealth be used to secure the "true riches" of blessing of the world to come?
Yeshua admonishes both his followers as well as those who rely on worldly wealth: The one who is faithful with little is faithful also in much, but the one who is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If we are not trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, how will we be so regarding heavenly riches? He therefore said that it is not possible to serve both God and "mammon," a word that means possessions of all kinds -- not just money or silver. If you place mammon as your highest good or concern, you cannot serve God, since covetousness, desire, and various fears will demand all of your heart, soul, and strength.
Our stewardship of mammon is therefore a spiritual test, since mammon will either control us as we seek worldly power and personal satisfaction, or we will yield all that we have to the LORD for godly and righteous purposes that will yield interest in this world and riches in the world to come. When Yeshua said "gain friends so that you will be welcomed into eternal habitations," he meant that we should be rich toward God by helping others, by promoting organizations that teach and share the message of the gospel, and so on (Luke 12:21).
Therefore invest your life and your resources "shrewdly" for eternal purposes. Whether you have much or little, do what you can for the sake of the Kingdom of God. The stewardship of your resources has eternal significance and consequences. Imagine that when your life is over how the account ledger will read... Will your life be credited by giving the gifts you were given for the blessing of others, or will it expose your worldly debits and fears? "Follow the money" and you will see what you find to be most important, after all.
We are all stewards - not owners - of whatever we have. In Hebrew, we do not say "I own x," but instead say "there is to me x" (יש לי) implying that God alone is the Source and Owner of reality. Wealth can be a blessing or a curse depending on how it is used. Our Lord teaches that we should be "shrewd" in our investments for the sake of what really matters. The choices we make today will follow us tomorrow, and indeed, for eternity.
We are all in the divine school, being educated for eternity. May God help us to be good "talmidim" (students, learners, disciples) as we work through the exercises of our lives...
Hebrew Lesson
Proverbs 11:18 reading (click):
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Not losing your mind...
01.31.25 (Shevat 2, 5785) The Apostle Paul foretold that the time before the "End of Days" would be "perilous" and full of unrelenting human depravity and lawlessness (2 Tim. 3:1-5). Yeshua warned that apostasy would abound and that the hearts of many would run cold as ice (Matt. 24:12). In light of the raging spiritual war going on all around us, the following needs to be emphatically restated: "The important thing is to not lose your mind..."
The mind is the "gateway" to your heart, and it is therefore essential to guard your thinking by immersing yourself in the truth... "Not losing your mind" therefore means being grounded in what is real, and it therefore means understanding your identity and provision as a child of God. "God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind" – literally, a "delivered" mind, "healed" from chaos and despair (2 Tim. 1:7). The Greek word "sound mind" (σωφρονισμός) comes from a verb meaning "to be made safe," in the sense of being under restraining influence of the Spirit of God... The closest Hebrew word might be musar (מוסר), or "moral discipline."
Part of the task of "guarding your mind" is being able to discern between good and evil. "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil" (Prov. 8:13) and as the prophet cried out, "Hate what is wrong, love what is right" (Amos 5:15). We must love the truth and abhor the lie (Psalm 119:163, Zech. 8:19; Prov. 12:22). Tolerating sin in a world ripe for judgment is a tacit form of "collaboration" with the enemy. Indeed, the only thing regarded as intolerable in the devil's world is the denial that people have the "liberty" to sin. But the Lord is clear on this point: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, and who turn darkness into light and light into darkness, to those who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!" (Isa. 5:20-21). It is the truth that sets people free, but this presupposes the ability to discern how we become enslaved to deception. Therefore we are instructed: "You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean" (Lev. 10:10).
Someone who loves you will to help you stay honest with yourself: The truth of God's moral law is likened to a Father's moral correction that leads his child to life (Prov. 6:23).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 119:105 Hebrew reading (click):
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Shelter of the Most High...
01.31.25 (Shevat 1, 5785) The "world" is a place of fearful exile from the Lord. To find healing, turn away from its faithless messages and listen (shema) to the great promises of God. As it is written: "He who abides in the secret of the Ascended One will dwell in the shadow of Shaddai" (Psalm 91:1).
The sages say that Moses wrote Psalm 91 as he dwelt in the secret place (סֵתֶר) of the Most High God, in the "midst of the dark cloud" (Exod. 24:18), a place of sacred and holy concealment. The thick clouds are a "hiding place" for him (Job 22:14). Notice that the one who "abides" in the secret of the Most High dwells in an ascended place of rest – being lifted up above the surrounding madness of this fallen world of flux and shadows. The Hebrew word means to lodge or to "sleep" (לִין), connecting it with death and resurrection. By dwelling in the death and resurrection of Yeshua, God will shield you with His Presence and make evil powerless before you.
When you "abide" in the secret of Elyon - the Ascended One - you are concealed by the dark clouds of His Glory, and the Presence of Shaddai overshadows you... The LORD will save you from the ensnaring trap and from the devastating pestilence (Psalm 91:3). By abiding in the truth that God's Presence pervades all things at all times - you become a "stranger" (גֵּר) with the LORD in this world, a "sojourner" (תּוֹשָׁב) who awaits the recompense of the wicked and the healing of the world at the end of the age. "You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot" (Psalm 91:13).
We are made secure only on account of the LORD our God Yeshua, who gloriously ascended over the powers of this age, the hidden principalities of darkness, and who made safe passage for us to come by means of his sacrificial death on the cross. Yeshua is the Bridge and the Way to the truth that sets you free, though He indeed is the narrow bridge. Because of Him alone, we have access to the Divine Presence, the Holy of Holies made without human hands. Yeshua is the Ascended LORD of Glory, the Master of all possible worlds, and the King over all things. Nothing can stop Him or thwart His victory secured for those who trust in Him.
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 91:1 Hebrew reading (click):
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Since God hides Himself in this world (Isa. 45:15), we must humbly seek His face to enter into the place of His holy concealment in all things. God is Elyon – High above - but He dwells "with the lowly and the broken of heart" (Isa. 57:15). Therefore the LORD our God is called Shaddai (שַׁדַּי) – our Sustainer, Provider, Refuge, and Home. Just as we can be surrounded by the "shadow of death" (tzal mavet), so we can be surrounded by the "shadow of Shaddai" (tzal Shaddai). Like a powerful eagle brooding over her chicks, so Shaddai covers you with wings of protection (Psalm 91:4).
Seeing the Invisible...
In this age we catch only "glimpses" of God as we walk by faith, not by sight. Faith allows us "see" past the scrim of this world but for a moment. "For now we see through a glass darkly..." There awaits for us, however, just beyond the veil, the substance of our hope, and then we will behold His glory "face to face..."
01.31.25 (Shevat 1, 5785) Two men walked along the "road to Emmaus" from Jerusalem after hearing about the empty tomb of Yeshua. Apparently these two men, named Cleopas and Simon, associated with the disciples of Yeshua and knew Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James, as well Peter and John (Luke 24:22-24). However, for unknown reasons they had left from Jerusalem, perhaps to return to their home town after the Passover pilgrimage. While they were Jewish believers in the Lord, they struggled to make sense of what happened to Yeshua and why he was crucified...
"Now while they were talking and reasoning together, Yeshua himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not recognize him" (Luke 24:15-16). Their eyes were "restrained," the Greek verb indicates that they were withheld or prevented from seeing. This recalls how Mary Magdalene looked on and failed to recognize Yeshua at the empty tomb, supposing him to be a gardener instead (John 20:24-25).
Soren Kierkegaard comments that the Savior walks unseen on the way with us, as he did with these two sad people, but we are often unaware of his presence. "We wish, sigh, and are occupied, yet just as we can tell the time by observing the shadows our bodies cast, so we can tell a person's maturity by how near he thinks the highest is to him." Despite this, Yeshua's first post-resurrection revelation would come to these two unsuspecting men.
It's not as if Yeshua had not foretold of his death, burial, and resurrection before, but his message was somehow lost to the disciples and they could not seem to fathom its importance. Their eyes were likewise "restrained" (Matt. 16:21; Matt. 17:22-23; Mark 10:32-34, Luke 24:6-7). Nevertheless, Yeshua took the time to contextualize his mission with them: "And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). Still they were full of questions, their heads spinning over what they were being told. As they drew near to the village where they were going, Yeshua acted as though he wanted to go further. But they urged him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." So he went in to stay with them (Luke 24:28-29). They felt lost; they couldn't keep up with what was being said, but the Lord was patient with them.
After awhile, as he was sitting at the table with them, Yeshua took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. And then came the great moment. Their eyes were suddenly "opened" and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight (Luke 24:30-31). He "vanished" because he did not wish to be known directly at this time (1 Cor. 13:12). He "hides" so that we may learn to seek Him. It is faith that sees, the "eyes of the heart" that recognize the miracle of God's grace revealed in Yeshua. This is the season wherein we "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7); there is a coming day when all will finally be revealed (Rev. 1:7).
But what did these two men recognize? What did they see? What did they learn? Was it not that Yeshua embodies the words of Moses and the Prophets, and the Psalms, as he later reaffirmed to the other disciples who likewise had their minds opened so they could understand the Scriptures (see Luke 24:44-45)? Yeshua is the Lamb of God, the heart and center of divine revelation. "Then their eyes were opened" and they saw his brokenness, his wounds, his sacrificial death as the great "Passover of the LORD" given on our behalf. Their eyes were opened when they saw Yeshua lifted up upon the cross, the place where all people are drawn to God (John 3:14:-15; John 12:32).
The walk of faith is one of "unseen hope," even though our Lord is always close (Deut. 30:14). It was "toward the evening," the day far spent, in the later hours that the glimpse was given, when the heart of faith finally recognizes that God has walked by his side all through the days of life. "What will death be like?" they asked the teacher. "It will be as if a veil is ripped apart and you will say in wonder, "So it was you all along!" (De Mello).
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Teach us to Pray...
Prayer is not what is done by us, but rather what is done by the Holy Spirit within us...
01.30.25 (Tevet 30, 5785) There is only one place in the New Testament where the disciples asked Yeshua to teach them something, and that was when they said, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). Yeshua then responded by giving them a pattern of prayer that's been called "the Lord's Prayer," though it's better to think of it as a model for prayer instead of a formulaic petition to recite. After all, the disciples asked "Teach us to pray," not "teach us a prayer," as if a special prayer could serve as a sort of incantation to propitiate God.
Yeshua points us to the Father. He did not suggest using Pharisaical expressions such as "Barukh attah Adonai," "Ribbono shel Olam," or "Elohei Avoteinu," nor did he endorse praying three times a day as decreed by the elders of the Great Assembly. No, Yeshua taught us to come to God using the simple word "Father." This is the language of familiar intimacy that expresses the trust a young child has for his earthly father.
So Yeshua teaches us to pray in heartfelt confidence that God is our caring heavenly Father, and this implies that we understand and regard ourselves as his beloved children. We have access to God's heart in a direct and meaningful way.
As God's beloved children, we are to honor and our heavenly Father and to esteem his will and vision for our destiny. "Holy is Thy name"; "Thy will be done"; "Thy kingdom come" - all these matters come before requests for our "daily bread" -- and even before matters of our need for forgiveness of sin. Of course God cares for our daily needs, our forgiveness, our deliverance from evil, and so on, but Yeshua concentrates our focus on the Father and our identity as his children first of all. Da lifnei mi attah omed: "Know before whom you stand."
Regarding our personal petitions, it is wise to understand that your Heavenly Father gives what you need, not what you may want at the time. "Ask and it shall be given you" means "keep on asking" (Luke 11:9). If a recurring request seems to go unanswered, remember that initial barriers are not necessarily refusals but are meant to yield what is best for you (Rom. 8:28). We can be confident, however, that God hears us when we pray and that he gives "good gifts" to those who ask Him (Matt. 7:11) -- in particular, gifts of the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). God gives wisdom to those who ask for it (James 1:5) and imparts the "spirit of wisdom and revelation to know him better" (Eph. 1:17). If we ask in accordance with his will, we have confidence that he will act on our behalf (1 John 5:14-15). These are "spiritual blessings in heavenly places" representing the deepest need of our hearts.
We are instructed to "present ourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead" (Rom. 6:13), indicating that we are to come confident of his acceptance because of what Yeshua has done on our behalf. We are "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20) and share in his resurrection life. In the Torah the "daily sacrifice," or korban tamid (קָרְבַּן תָּמִיד), was offered to the LORD every morning and evening upon the altar, which corresponds to being a "living sacrifice" (i.e., korban chai: קָרְבָּן חַי) to the LORD (Rom. 12:1-2). We are to "pray without ceasing," which means living what we believe in all that we do. We take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). We come "boldly" before the throne of grace. We are made "alive from the dead" to access God's presence and heart for us at all times. We have been made new creations, members of God's household, esteemed, eternally beloved....
Hebrew Lesson
Matthew 6:9b reading (click):
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Essential Jewishness...
01.30.25 (Tevet 30, 5785) In this week's Torah reading, parashat Bo, we read about the final plague that God would bring upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The previous nine plagues were terrible in consequence and clearly demonstrated God's justice and power, but the death of the firstborn (i.e., makkat bechorot: מַכָת בְּכוֹרוֹת) was the final blow that would finally move Pharaoh to repent of his oppression of the Israelites.
According to some of the Jewish sages, the final plague was intended to impugn the ancient institution of "primogeniture," that is, the special status and privilege given to the firstborn son. Consider, for instance, the Torah's narratives about Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Reuben and Judah, Manesseh and Ephraim. Or think about the choice of Moses or King David. In each of these cases the firstborn son was "passed over" by God; and in each case genuine devotion to God was the decisive factor. In other words, the Torah makes the point (repeatedly) that personal godliness is more important than genealogy or genetics. Unlike ancient Egypt, people are not to be given special treatment because of their birth order or their lineage, certainly not before the Master of the Universe who is "no respecter of persons" (Deut. 10:17, 16:9; Prov. 24:23, Rom. 2:11, etc.). "Freedom from slavery" means more than recreating yet another caste system...
But what about Israel being called the "firstborn son" of God (בְּנִי בְכרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל)? The sages state that this status must be regarded as sacred because of God's promise to the Jewish people, but individually speaking, if a particular Jew does not keep the Torah or choose to keep faith with the LORD, he or she will be "passed over" as well... Okay, but what about the selection of the Levites? Were they not "exchanged" for the firstborn sons of Israel because of the sin of the Golden Calf? Yes, but that in itself lends credence to the idea that status as a favored child of God comes through faith and obedience, since it was the Levite tribe that did not lapse in faith by worshipping the golden calf idol (Exod. 32:27-28). Later, of course, the Levites became itinerant teachers in Israel (living in Cities of Refuge), but eventually spiritual leadership was assumed by the Sages who through study and devotion to the Torah became the chosen heirs of Israel. By the time of Yeshua personal godliness was recognized as more important than physical lineage or genealogy...
All of this leads to questions about the meaning or essence of "Jewishness." First we need to understand that the word "Jew" (i.e., yehudi: יְהוּדִי) comes from the patronym "Judah" (יְהוּדָה), which derives from a Hebrew root "yadah" (יָדָה) that means "to confess, to give thanks, to laud, or to praise." Note that every letter of the Divine Name (יהוה) appears in the word Judah (with the addition of the letter Dalet (ד) that indicates the door or way to God).
In Jewish tradition, there are two basic views about the essential character of the Jewish people (יַהֲדוּת). First, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi takes an ethnocentric approach by claiming that the Jewish soul is somehow different than the non-Jewish soul, possessing a mystical quality called "segulah" (סגולה). The Jew is therefore "ontologically" different than the Gentile, possessing a "higher-grade" neshamah (נְשָׁמָה), or soul. This is the "tribalist" mentality that is often found in various ultra-Orthodox communities... Maimonides, on the other hand, who was more Greek-minded, stated that there is nothing extraordinary about the Jewish soul in itself, but only if a Jew keeps the Torah is he worthy of the name, and if not, he is just like a non-Jew. It is obedience to the Torah - living God's will - that makes a Jew special and holy.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865–1935), the first Ashkenazi Rabbi of the modern State of Israel, attempted to mediate these views by quoting the Talmud (Sanhedrin 59a): "You shall therefore keep my statues and My ordinances, which if a man (adam) does, he shall live by them..." (Lev. 18:5). R' Meir interprets that the Torah's choice of the general word "man" (adam) means that even a non-Jew who keeps the Torah is as great as the High Priest.
In other words, personal godliness is the issue, not genealogy. Jews cannot rely on their mere inclusion of ethnic Israel for righteousness (though God has indeed promised a glorious future to ethnic Israel). Indeed, if a Jew is ungodly, then a godly Gentile is considered more righteous than they (Rom. 2:27). Once again, individual godliness is more important than ethnic identity or genetics.
The Apostle Paul, the quondam student of Gamaliel the Elder (רַבַּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הַזָּקֵן) -- who was the grandson of the renowed Torah sage Hillel the Elder (הלל הזקן) -- had argued along these same lines in his epistle to the Romans:
"Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God." (Rom. 2:25-29)
The very first occurrence of the word Torah (תּוֹרָה) in the Scriptures speaks of Abraham's obedience to God's instruction (Gen. 26:5), and the second occurrence occurs in the verse that says, "There shall be one law for both the native and for the stranger..." / תּוֹרָה אַחַת יִהְיֶה לָאֶזְרָח וְלַגֵּר (Exod. 12:49), referring to the observance of Passover. Torah - in terms of general instruction regarding the will of God - was always meant to be for all people...
Finally, what do we make of the idea that ethnic Israel is called the "first born" of God (Exod. 4:22)? Well, despite the fact that "Jewishness" is a matter of the heart - not of genetics - there are still prophetic promises given to the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to inherit the land, to be supernaturally preserved as a people, and to be recipients of the Millennial Kingdom of God on the earth. The LORD has always had a remnant of Israel (i.e., she'arit Yisrael: שארית ישראל) that has believed in Him - and this remnant today includes those Jews who have accepted Yeshua as their Messiah. But the Hebrew prophets are explicit: There awaits a future yet to be fulfilled for ethnic Israel. Yeshua confirmed this when He said He would return to Jerusalem at the end of the "End of Days." As the Apostle Paul said: "And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob'" (Rom. 11:26).
So what might all this mean for you? Well, if you are someone who genuinely trusts in Yeshua as your Savior and Israel's Messiah, then you share the heritage and glory of Israel -- regardless of your personal DNA or your particular genealogy. By God's mercy you have been "grafted in" to the covenants, blessings, and promises given to the "commonwealth of Israel." As Paul says, you are no longer an "alien" or "stranger" to God's family but can call upon the LORD God of Israel as your God (Eph. 2:12). As a follower of the Jewish Messiah, you are now made a "Jew inwardly" (i.e., yehudi shebe'lev: יְהוּדִי שֶׁבַּלֵּב) with a circumcised heart (Rom. 2:29, Col. 2:11). You understand that just as the LORD God of Israel will never forsake His covenant promises to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, neither will He ever forsake His covenant love for you... Amen. Bless His glorious Name!
Hebrew Lesson
Genesis 29:25b reading (click for audio commentary):
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Finding True Life...
You can't die "in him" if you have never lived in him; but if you live in him, nothing can separate you from his love and life...
01.29.25 (Tevet 29, 5785) The Hebrew word for "life" is chayim (חַיִּים), which is written in the plural to imply that life cannot be lived alone... Embedded within the word itself are two consecutive Yods (יי), representing unity in plurality (Yod-Yod is also a Name of God). Therefore the LORD is called Elohim Chayim (אֱלהִים חַיִּים), "the Living God," and we only come to life through our union with Him.
The word chayim may be formed from the word chai (חי), meaning "alive," combined with the particle im (אם), "if," suggesting that being alive is conditional on our union with God in the truth. This explains the Scripture: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם); whoever refuses the Son shall not see life, but the separation of God remains" (John 3:36). Life and peace are therefore inextricably connected, and those who refuse Yeshua, the Prince of Peace (שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם), therefore separate themselves from unity with God. Yeshua alone is the means of receiving the divine life: "Whoever has the Son has the life (הַחַיִּים); but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have the life" (1 John 5:12).
God has "made us alive together with Messiah" (Eph. 2:5). The two Yods in the word "life" (חַיִּים) can also be seen as the two outstretched arms of Yeshua, or one Yod can represent our spirit and the other represents the Spirit of God. God's life is such that it is never diminished as it shared but instead abounds even more. This is alluded to by the Hebrew word for love (i.e., ahavah: אהבה), the gematria of which is thirteen (1+5+2+5=13), but when shared with another it is multiplied: 13 x 2 = 26 - the same value for the Sacred Name (יהוה), i.e., (10+5+6+5=26). The love of God given in Yeshua is the very life of the universe.
Hebrew Lesson
John 6:63a reading (click):
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Testing and Endurance...
01.29.25 (Tevet 29, 5785) When the Apostle Paul wrote, "in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God" (1 Thess. 5:18), he surely foresaw the prospect of suffering. Indeed, it is through "much tribulation" we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). We do not ask God to insulate us from all troubles, but rather to be given courage to carry on despite whatever tests he permits in our lives. Hence one of our standard blessings is: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה הַנּוֹתֵּן לַיָּעֵף כּחַ / barukh attah Adonai ha'noten lai'ya'ef koach: "Blessed are You, LORD, who gives strength to the weak." The Lord never "breaks" before offering His blessing (Mark 6:41), and personal brokenness is the means of instilling His character within us (Gal. 2:20). Indeed in the Torah we read: "I am the LORD your Healer" (אֲנִי יְהוָה רפְאֶךָ; Exod. 15:26). The sages comment that just as someone who wishes to repair an object will need to take it apart, so it is with God. When we seem to be broken in pieces we cry out for deliverance and healing, but inwardly we are being conformed to the deeper image of Messiah. Like Jacob, we wrestle with God to know our wound as well as our healing.
As it is written in our Scriptures: "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away (διαφθείρεται), our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction (θλῖψις) is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look 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. 4:16-19). As our Scriptures also affirm, God is "the Father of Mercies and God of all comfort" (אַב הָרַחֲמִים וֵאלהֵי כָּל־נֶחָמָה). The Lord "comforts us" (literally, "calls us to His side," παρακαλέω) in our afflictions so that we may be able to comfort those who are afflicted with the same comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 29:11 Hebrew reading:
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The Great Lamb of God...
01.29.25 (Tevet 29, 5785) From our Torah portion this week (i.e., parashat Bo) we learn that though God instructed each household to select its own lamb for the Passover, the Torah refers to "the" Lamb of God, as if there was only one: "You shall keep it [i.e., the Passover lamb] until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall slaughter him (אתוֹ) at twilight (Exod. 12:6).
Note that the direct object "him" (i.e., oto) in this verse can be read as Aleph-Tav (את) combined with the letter Vav (ו), signifying the Son of Man who is First (א) and Last (א)... Indeed there is only one "Lamb of God" that takes away the sins of the world, and that is our Savior, Yeshua the Messiah, blessed be His Name!
רָאוּי הַשֶּׂה הַטָּבוּחַ לְקַבֵּל גְבוּרָה
עשֶׁר וְחָכְמָה וְכּחַ וִיקַר וְכָבוֹד וּבְרָכָה
rah·oo'·ee · ha·seih · ha·tah·voo'·ach · le·ka·beil · ge·voo·rah
oh'·sher · ve·chokh·mah · ve·koh'·ach · vee·kar · ve·khah·vohd · oov·rah·kha
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and might and honor and glory and blessing"
(Rev. 5:12)
Finding the Way of Escape...
01.29.25 (Tevet 29, 5785) Where it is written, "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Cor. 10:13), we note that the Greek text says that God will actively "make with the temptation the way of escape" (ποιήσει σὺν τῷ πειρασμῷ καὶ τὴν ἔκβασιν) so that you may be able to bear it.... When I was younger, I thought of temptation as the appeal to gratify my flesh, to impulsively seek hedonistic pleasure, and so on, but now I understand "temptation" (πειρασμό) to encompass far more than just that.
For instance, whenever I regard my life in human or "natural" terms, apart from the consciousness of God's all-pervading and sustaining Presence, then I am surely under temptation. Fear, anger, despair, grumbling self-pity, and so on -- all are temptations to unbelief... This encouraging verse, then, assures us of the Divine Presence in every moment, at every turn of our journey, and in every circumstance. God is always present to help you as you turn to him in faith -- even when you are ashamed, fearful, or in dismay over your present circumstances.
The sages state in this regard: "God creates the cure before the plague," meaning that His love is the foundation of all things: עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה / olam chesed yibaneh: "steadfast love built the world" (Psalm 89:2). Just as God created mankind only after He created the pathway of repentance (i.e., the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world": Eph. 1:4, Heb. 4:4, Rev 13:8), so the escape from temptation was likewise foreseen and provided. In all things, then, may we humble ourselves and seek God's face, understanding our radical dependence upon Him for our deliverance.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 37:23-24 reading (click):
When you become alive to the truth that the LORD is your "Rock" -- the very ground upon which you live, move, and have your being -- then your steps are made sure. When you are unsure of your way, however, when you walk in uncertainty, you are unsteady in your resolve and are tempted to regard your life as being without any solid foundation or direction.... As you commit your way to the LORD, your steps are made sure, for you are walking before his Presence, and therefore you are upheld by his power...
In all your struggle remember that salvation is found in the power and righteousness of God, and not your own will or resolve (Rom. 1:16). I'm so glad it's not the strength of my grip that keeps me holding on to God, but the strength of his...
The Focus of the Heart...
01.28.25 (Tevet 28, 5785) "I determined not to know any thing ... apart from Yeshua the Messiah and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). This mode of "not knowing apart" bespeaks a radical intimacy that mediates and transforms all other thought within you. It is the axiom of spiritual existence, the matter of "first importance," the heart of everything: to know the healing love of Messiah and the power of his resurrection on your behalf (Phil. 3:10).
When you accept the Divine Presence in Yeshua, everything becomes simple, unified, and focused. Choosing to know everything "through" Yeshua moves you to the center of reality - where the present moment is lit up with the glorious light of the eternal... You begin to see past the distractions of this world - "for God is not in the earth, wind or fire" (1 Ki. 19:11-12) - beyond the ups and downs of your life, the hunger and thirst of your heart, past all your fears, desires, and sorrows, to hear the "still small voice" (i.e., kol demamah dakkah: קוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה), to enter wonderful peace, the place of God (i.e., ha'makom: הַמָּקוֹם) which is your true home, the habitation of our all-loving Father who calls you by name...
"To all who overcome I will give a bright stone..." (Rev. 2:17). But what do you overcome if not unbelief, the fear that the miracle is not for you, the terror that you are not welcome in the most significant sense of reality? Many forfeit the highest for the sake of lesser things. We overcome despair by means of faith - by trusting in the One who gives us the victory (1 Cor. 15:57; 1 John 5:4-5). There is no "overcoming" apart from the love of God, who takes us up into his life and gives us his triumph over sin and death. Glory belongs to the Lord...
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 104:31 Hebrew reading (click):
Anxiety and True Love...
01.28.25 (Tevet 28, 5785) It is written in our Scriptures: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Yeshua the Savior" (Phil. 4:6-7).
"Be anxious for nothing..." What liberation of heart and soul is here commended; what consoling balm for wounded past; what divine remedy offered to meet our need! "Be anxious for nothing," and this includes the anxiety of being nothing, for the word is perhaps better (though less poetically) rendered as "don't be anxious for anything." That is, don't be troubled with cares; don't be inwardly divided, unsure of what matters most. "Be anxious for nothing." Don't allow anything to steal your secret hope and joy...
Salvation means deliverance from what binds you. It relieves you from heavy burdens, the crack of the whip upon your back, the tiresome realm of meaninglessness and monotony. Salvation is "lightness of being," heavenly repose that passes all "natural" reasoning.
This is the very message of peace embodied in our Lord, spoken plainly and without condition: "Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Come unto him and find your comfort. Come as you are, but come...
You might object by saying that you are unworthy; you are weak and wretched of heart, that your faith is small... Indeed it is so, but what of it? What are you saying before the face of God's Redeemer and our Savior? Could it be any other way for you?
"Come unto me all who that labor and are heavy laden..." Weary over you afflictions, the common sorrows in this vale of tears, yet, even more so weary of your own self, that tiresome inner conversation within yourself, the self you have contemned and reprimanded because you have measured yourself against illusion, the self that has at times betrayed you and even enticed you to self-destruction...
Do you compare yourself to others? Do you measure yourself against some ideal and judge yourself unfavorably? Do you recoil at your own mediocrity? Are you ashamed of your inadequacies? Do you want to be someone else? To "lose" yourself in the fantasy of being other than who you are? Or do seek above all to be in control? Do you push back in defiance, drink sour grapes, and become bitter over at your unjust fate? Do you protest that you were given a bad hand of cards? Are you in despair over your lack of perfection, your "dust and ashes" existence?
O "fearfully and wonderfully made," do you fear being invisible, unknown, small, insignificant, and unworthy? Are you embarrassed over your own image?
God is so awesome he made himself as nothing for your sake... Before the Lord we "fall at his feet as one dead," but it is he who lays his hand upon you, saying "Fear not; I am the first and the last." I hear profound pathos in these words of comfort from our Lord. Wisdom realizes we are but nothing, but love insists we are everything. A note for each pocket: one says "I am dust and ashes," the other, "For me the world was created."
Before God we will indeed feel our insignificance and our wretchedness, but before God we will also find our eternal value and beauty. We fall on our face in our nothingness; we rise to our feet as God's beloved child.... We fall at his feet as one dead -- this is our despair over ourselves -- yet the pierced hands of his love take hold of us, consoling us... "Don't be afraid... I am the First and I am the Last... I am the source and end of all that matters most; I reach out and touch you in love for you.
The first and most significant step is to "show up" (or to be taken up in a vision) to confess your great need for God. We may have "sanctified ambivalence" when we do so; we may feel both fear and desire; we may look upon ourselves in despair as we are drawn to God's glory and beauty... But like Ruth we dare to lay at the feet of Boaz in hope of his love.
Find God or die. And even if you have failed as much as "seventy times seven times" in your faith, and even if - as Peter did - you have denied him in your heart, you have found courage to come back, to refuse to give up your hope. As the holy Scripture encourages: "Lord, to whom shall we go? you alone have the words of eternal life." There is no other...
When you die and come before God's glorious presence, the Lord will not compare you to Moses or the great prophets but will simply require you to confess who you really are. "Your heavenly Father sees in secret and will reward you openly." True, there is judgment but it will turn on whether you have accepted God's love for your life. You may have squandered some opportunities to serve and honor God, but even that is redeemed by our gracious and compassionate Savior. God is able to work "all things together" for his glory and for your good... Confessing the truth of God's salvation is the heart of right judgment.
So accept yourself as accepted in the beloved. Your life is not an accident; it's not a mistake; you were meant to be born and to come into this world. Your life really does matter, and it matters on levels of which you cannot yet comprehend. God has a purpose and deep reason for your life, exactly and such as it is (Jer. 29:11). Trust that God's love is overcoming all your darkness and fear. "Be anxious for nothing..." Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 139:14 reading (click):
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The Exodus Parable...
"And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27). "Now these things happened as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the age has come" (1 Cor. 10:11).
01.27.25 (Tevet 27, 5785) The great Exodus of Israel from Egypt (יציאת מצרים) is the central parable of the Torah, and indeed of the entire Bible itself. It provides a picture of our salvation given in our Messiah Yeshua. The bondage of the Israelites to Pharaoh represents humanity's slavery to sin; redemption from this bondage is effected by trusting in the blood of the sacrificial lamb of God; deliverance from death to life is depicted through baptism into the Sea of Reeds; the journey to truth represents the pilgrimage to Sinai, and so on.
It is important to see that the great redemption in Egypt led directly to revelation given at Sinai exactly 49 days later, and when the LORD God there gave his people the Ten Commandments, he did not begin by saying he was their Creator, but rather their Redeemer: "I am the LORD your God (אָנכִי יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ), who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Exod. 20:2). This is because the purpose of the creation itself is to demonstrate God's redemptive love and to be known as our Savior and Redeemer, just as Yeshua is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8; 1 Pet. 1:18-20; Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9). "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 therefore begins and ends with the redemptive love of God as manifested in the Person of Yeshua our Mashiach, the great Lamb of God and our Savior... He is the Center of Creation - the Aleph and Tav - the Beginning and the End (Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:8). All the world was created for the Messiah: "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" (Rom. 11:36).
Hebrew Lesson
Isa. 44:6b reading (click):
Tears in His Bottle...
01.27.25 (Shevat 27, 5785) "Godly sorrow works teshuvah (repentance) unto salvation" (2 Cor. 7:10). This deep sorrow is more than just sadness or regret over some sin or wrongdoing of your past. Genuine godly sorrow expresses inner poverty - being "poor in spirit" - wherein the heart realizes that sin is not something "out of character," as if it did not really come from you, but rather that it is a dreadful sickness of your own soul, an inner power or corrupting force from which you need divine intervention and deliverance (Jer. 17:9). We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners...
The Puritans prayed for the "gift of tears" by which they meant the healing virtue of experiencing genuine repentance before God. They asked God for help because doing teshuvah - really doing it as opposed to just thinking you did - requires a miracle, a profound change of direction, a new way of seeing. In general our lives are a tangled web of deceit, self-deception, ignorance, folly, and so on, and when we are confronted with a particular sin, we are quick to rationalize and even deny our responsibility. Jean Paul Sartre would call this mauvaise foi, or "bad faith," that is, the habit of denying that our actions have real consequences for which we alone must bear. Often it takes many years to truly understand the depth of our inner corruption, the sickness of our souls, the way we deceive ourselves and make excuses for the sorrows and pains we have caused others and ourselves.
So how long has it been since you have wept over your sinful condition? Not how long has it been since you have revisited some regret from your past - but how long has it been since you have "collapsed in on yourself," confessing the horror and revulsion over your forlorn and desperate soul? Do you feel in your bones the awfulness of your sinful life? Or are you quick to make excuses for your wretchedness? Do you find fault in others to justify your own hardness of heart? Do you harbor secret resentment enabling you to hold on to your sickness? These are "worldly sorrows" that work death (2 Cor. 7:10). We may give lip service that we are sinners, but do we feel the grief and weight of our sin? Do we abhor ourselves and repent in dust and ashes? (Job 42:6). Dear friend, how can God wipe away every tear from our eyes in the next world if we have not wept in this one?
On the other side of our confession of brokenness we discover that God consoles us for the wounds we suffer in this life. It is written in our Scriptures: "You have kept count of my miseries; store my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?" (Psalm 56:8). The LORD "numbers" or "recounts" the heartaches and wanderings of your life; He keeps an account or a record of your trouble in His "scroll of remembrance" (Mal. 3:16). God does not overlook the anguish of your heart but carefully numbers each of your tears, storing them "in His flask," which may allude to the ancient custom of putting tears shed for the death of someone into a small container (i.e., "tear bottles"). The picture is one of profound intimacy and comfort, when in the world to come the LORD will personally console you for your sorrows. Not one pain of your life will be overlooked by heaven.
May our hearts be both softened and full of conviction as we ponder these things. Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 56:8 Hebrew reading (click):
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Should we live in fear of ourselves? After all, "the heart is deceptive above all things and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9), and it is woefully easy to fool ourselves regarding our sins (1 Cor. 8:2; Gal. 6:3; James 1:26). Well on the one hand we should indeed be afraid of our own sinful condition and abhor the sin in our lives, but on the other we must practice hope in God and trust in his healing and deliverance. Moreover, we can experience freedom from dread by receiving the joy that comes from the assurance that we are accepted in the Beloved. We must understand our sin in relationship to the wounds of the Savior, since without that connection, our repentance will be vain indeed.... God has not given us a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear; and there is no fear in His love (Rom. 8:15; 2 Tim. 1:7; 1 John 4:18). Of course we all will fail the test apart from the grace and love of God, and no one can be approved by means of the unaided will. We all need a miracle from God to love Him in the truth and to pass the test -- but God is the One who performs miracles for us. The LORD is Adonai Nissi (יהוה נִסִּי), the God of my miracle...
Providential Impediments...
"No faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs through adversity. You would never have believed your own weakness had you not needed to pass through trials. And you would never have known God's strength had His strength not been needed to carry you through." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
01.27.25 (Tevet 27, 5785) The midrash says Moses had a speech impediment, and that is why he described himself as "heavy of mouth and of tongue" (כְּבַד־פֶּה וּכְבַד לָשׁוֹן), unfit to speak on behalf of God (Exod. 4:10). God reassured him, however, by reminding him that his limitation was by divine providence: "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak" (Exod. 4:11-12).
The sages comment that God did not cure Moses of his stuttering because He wanted the Israelites to know Moses as his chosen messenger. When he spoke in the Name of the LORD, the stuttering disappeared and Moses spoke with fluent ease. This was to teach the people not to trust in human oratory or wisdom, but rather in the power of God (see 1 Cor. 2:1-5). Just as Paul, the "Moses of the New Covenant," was given a "thorn in the flesh" (σκόλοψ τῇ σαρκί) to keep him humbly relying upon God for his sufficiency to serve (2 Cor. 12:7-10), so Moses was rendered entirely dependent upon the LORD to speak as his mediator.
But he said to me, "My grace is enough for you" (i.e., dai lekha chasdi: דַּי לךָ חַסְדִּי), "for My power is made perfect in weakness" (i.e., ki ba'chulshah tushlam gevurati: כִּי בַּחֻלְשָׁה תֻּשְׁלַם גְּבוּרָתִי). Therefore I will boast most gladly of my weaknesses, that the power of Messiah may tabernacle (ἐπισκηνόω) within me (2 Cor. 12:9).
Hebrew Lesson
Isaiah 40:29 commentary (click):
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Exodus and the Lamb...
This week we think about the great Passover prophecy and the subsequent exodus from Egypt, and how that revealed truth about the "greater Exodus" that was given by Yeshua (Luke 9:29-31). Moreover the Exodus judgments against Pharaoh foretell of the coming "End of Days" when God's judgments will befall the "Pharaoh" ("man of sin," or Antichrist) on a global scale...
01.26.25 (Tevet 26, 5785) Shalom dear friends... Our Torah reading for this week (i.e., Exod. 10:1-13:16) begins with God commanding Moses "to go" (i.e., bo: בּא) before the Pharaoh to announce further apocalyptic judgments upon Egypt. The purpose of this power encounter was to vindicate God's justice and great glory (deliverance/salvation) by overthrowing the tyranny of unjust human oppression. Pharaoh's nightmare of "one little lamb" outweighing all the firstborn of Egypt was about to be fulfilled....
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 10:1 Hebrew reading (click):
Recall that last week's Torah (i.e., parashat Va'era) retold how Pharaoh defiantly refused to listen to Moses' pleas for Israel's freedom, despite seven devastating makkot (plagues) that came upon Egypt in God's Name (יהוה). In this week's portion (i.e., parashat Bo), the battle between the LORD and Pharaoh comes to a dramatic conclusion. The last three of the ten plagues are unleashed upon Egypt: a swarm of locusts devoured all the crops and greenery; a palpable darkness enveloped the land for three days and nights; and all the firstborn of Egypt were killed precisely at the stroke of midnight of the 15th of the month of Nisan... In this connection note that the word בּא ("go") and פרעה ("Pharoah") added together equal the gematria of משׁיח ("mashiach"), providing a hint of the Messianic redemption that was foreshadowed in Egypt. Every jot and tittle, chaverim!
Before the final plague, God instructed the Jewish people to establish a new calendar based on the sighting of the new moon of spring. On the tenth day of that month, God told the people to acquire a "Passover offering" to Him, namely an unblemished lamb (or goat), one for each household. On the 14th of that month ("between the evenings") the animal would be slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of every Israelite home, so that God would "pass over" these dwellings when He came to kill the Egyptian firstborn that night. The roasted meat of the offering was to be eaten that night with unleavened bread (matzah) and bitter herbs (maror). God then commanded the Israelites to observe a seven-day "festival of matzah" to commemorate the Exodus for all subsequent generations.
Because of this, our corporate identity begins with a shared consciousness of time from a Divine perspective. The mo'edim (festivals of the LORD) all are reckoned based on the sacred calendar given to the redeemed Israelite nation. As it is also written in the Book of Psalms: "He made the moon for the appointed times" / עָשָׂה יָרֵחַ לְמוֹעֲדִים (Psalm 104:19). Undoubtedly Yeshua followed this calendar, as did His first followers (Gal. 4:4).
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Just before the dreadful final plague befell, God instructed the Israelites to ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold, silver and jewelry, thereby plundering Egypt of its wealth (this was regarded as "uncollected wages" for hundreds of years of forced labor and bondage - not to mention for the services of Joseph, whose ingenuity brought the world's wealth to Egypt in the first place). Moses then instructed the people to prepare the Passover sacrifice, that is, the korban Pesach (קָרְבָּן פֶּסַה) - the Passover lamb - and to smear its blood on the two sides and top of the doorway, resembling the shape of the Hebrew letter Chet (ח). This Hebrew letter, signifying the number eight, is connected with the word חי (chai), short for chayim (חַיִּים), "life." The blood of the lamb (דַּם הַשֶּׂה) not only saves from the judgment of death, but also is a symbol of divine life given for our redemption. The "life is in the blood."
The dreadful final plague - the death of the firstborn - at last broke Pharaoh's resistance and he not only allowed the Israelites to depart without any conditions, he urged them to go. Because they left in great haste there was no time for their dough to rise. The Torah states that there were 600,000 adult men who left Egypt, along with the women, children, and a "mixed multitude" of other Egyptian slaves who tagged along.
The Israelites were commanded to consecrate all the firstborn to God and to commemorate the anniversary of the Exodus each year by celebrating the LORD's Passover in conjunction with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. During this time they were to remove all leaven from their homes for seven days, eat matzah, and retell the story of their redemption to their children. The portion ends with the commandment to wear tefillin (phylacteries) on the arm and head as a reminder of how the LORD saved the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt.
Centrality of the Exodus...
This week we are re-reading the story of the exodus for the current Jewish year...
01.24.25 (Tevet 24, 5785) The exodus from Egypt (i.e., metziat mitzrayim: יציאת מצרים) is perhaps the most fundamental event of Jewish history; it is "the" miracle of the Torah. In addition to being commemorated every year during Passover (Exod. 12:24-27; Num. 9:2-3; Deut. 16:1), it is explicitly mentioned in the first of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:2), and it is recalled every Sabbath (Deut. 5:12-15). The festivals of Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles) likewise derive from it (the former recalling the giving of the Torah at Sinai and the latter recalling God's care as the Exodus generation journeyed from Egypt to the Promised Land), as does the Season of Teshuvah (repentance) that culminates in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Indeed, nearly every commandment of the Torah (including the laws of the Tabernacle and the sacrificial system) may be traced back to the great story of the Exodus, and in some ways, the entire Bible is an extended interpretation of its significance. Most important of all, the Exodus both prefigures and exemplifies the work of redemption given through the sacrificial life of Yeshua the Messiah, the true King of the Jews and the blessed Lamb of God...
The deeper meaning of exile concerns blindness of the divine presence. The worst kind of exile is not to know that you are lost, away from home, in need of redemption... That is why Egypt (i.e., Mitzraim) is called metzar yam - a "narrow strait." Egypt represents bondage and death in this world, and the exodus represents salvation and freedom. God splits the sea and we cross over from death to life. Since Torah represents awareness of God's truth, Israel was led into a place of difficulty to learn and receive revelation (Gen. 46:1-7). Out of the depths of darkness God's voice would call his people forth. Likewise we understand our "blessed fault," the trouble that moves us to cry out for God's miracle in Yeshua... Indeed the New Testament states that Yeshua "appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus (τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτου) which he would accomplish at Jerusalem" (Luke 9:31).
Shabbat Shalom and thank you for your prayers and support that keep me going over here. Peace and love be with you in our beloved Moshia Yeshua.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 81:10a reading (click to listen):
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The Shortest Prayer...
01.24.25 (Tevet 24, 5785) Sometimes the shortest prayers are the best, since God is not impressed with human loquacity or religious talk (Prov. 10:19). Besides, your Heavenly Father knows what you need before you even ask Him, so you neither need to explain things to Him nor resort to flattering appeals or vain repetitions (Matt. 6:7-8).
The shortest prayer in the Torah is only five words long: El na refa na lah (אֵל נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ), "God please heal her please," spoken by Moses on behalf of his sister Miriam who became metzora (Num. 12:13). Other good prayers are simply "Help Lord," "Thank you, Lord," and "Yes, Lord." What matters in prayer is the earnestness of heart, not the use of fine words. There is no "shibboleth" or "password" required to open the gates of heaven, just as there is no special name for God that must be invoked. The LORD sees beyond our words and heeds the passion of heart that cries out to Him in sincerity... God is likened to a good father who hears his child crying for his or her daddy.
This reminds me of a joke I once read. One Chanukah a rabbi arrived at shul but was surprised to see only one person, an elderly Jewish farmer, who came to the service. "Should I proceed?" asked the rabbi, and the farmer replied: "Sure, why not?" The rabbi then asked, "Well, it is worth having a service for such a small congregation?" The old farmer responded: "Let me tell you, Rabbi, that when I take a bucket of food to the hens, and only one turns up, I don't send it away hungry..." The rabbi, moved by this simply analogy, then went up to the bema and proceeded to lead the single Jew through the entire morning service, including a long and very forceful sermon on Chanukah, its history and tradition, and carefully reviewed the laws of lighting the menorah.
When he finally finished, he turned to the farmer and asked:"Was that all right?" "You know rabbi," the farmer dourly replied, "when I take a bucket to the hens and only one turns up, I don't give it the whole bucket!"
The Scriptures teach, "When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent" (Prov. 10:19). However, the Scriptures also teach that "a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver" (Prov. 25:11). When we speak with others, it is wise to search for just the right words spoken with the just right tone at just the right time. May God give us all wisdom. Shalom, chaverim.
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Praise in Lamentation...
01.24.25 (Tevet 24, 5785) What if we were to come to such brokenness of heart that there would be nothing left to say, nothing but an inward groaning or roar that renders naught our every word, leaving us in muted sorrow, perplexity, sickness of heart, and fear... Will not our silence be heard?
We need to trust God in our darkness and with our darkness, and by that I mean that we need to believe that the Sovereign Lord is allowing trouble for our ultimate good, despite our inexplicable losses, our grief, our sorrow and our pain. It takes great faith to trust God in our anguish, to offer our pain in praise.
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God understands the ache of your heart: "O Lord, all my desire is before you; my groaning is not hidden from you" (Psalm 38:9). Be encouraged: If you ask for bread, your Heavenly Father will not give you a stone. God will help us, and he will help us before we even know that he is helping us! Therefore do not be anxious, and do not fear, for "your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask Him." God will make everything new, in the name and for the sake of his great love...
The word was given for our upbuilding and edification: "Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the Name of the LORD (יִבְטַח בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה) and rely on his God" (Isa. 50:10). Trusting in God (i.e., bittachon - בִּטָּחוֹן) does not mean that we are obligated to affirm that this is "the best of all possible worlds," though it does mean we believe that eventually God will wipe away every tear and make all things right.. O Lord, make everything new, revive the hurting, in the name and for the sake of thy love, Amen...
"So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Yeshua himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were held back so that they did not recognize Him. Then said to them, 'What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?'" (Luke 24:15-17). Note that when the disciples were confused and distraught, Yeshua drew near to them in their anxiety and sadness... It was only later, after he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and then gave it to them were their eyes open, and they rejoiced in the truth of God. The brachah (blessing) was the signature statement of our Lord regarding his role as the Lamb of God. The entire account reminds me somewhat of John 21:3-13.
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Knowing His Name...
01.23.25 (Tevet 23, 5785) From our Torah this week (Va'era) we read that God said to Moses: "I appeared (וָאֵרָא) to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai (אֵל שַׁדָּי), but by my name the LORD (יהוה) I did not make myself known to them" (Exod. 6:3). Here we are faced with a puzzle, since the Torah clearly states that God revealed Himself as the LORD YHVH to the patriarchs. For example, to Abraham God said, "I am the LORD (אֲנִי יְהוָה) who brought you out of Ur of Kasdim" (Gen. 15:7), and to Jacob he said: "I am the LORD (אֲנִי יְהוָה), the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac (Gen. 28:13). In light of this, how then do we make sense of God's statement that He was not known as YHVH to the patriarchs?
The traditional explanation is that God was stating that the patriarchs had not directly experienced His mastery over creation through the signs and wonders He would perform as Israel's Savior and Redeemer. The patriarchs understood God as El Shaddai (אֵל שַׁדַּי), the all-sufficient One who nurtured the fledgling nation and who foretold Israel's future (Gen. 17:1-2; 28:3; 35:11), but Moses (and the Israelites) would now come to know God's attributes of covenantal faithfulness (chesed) as the "Promise Keeper" by directly witnessing his saving acts. Indeed, the Name YHVH implies that God is the Faithful One, since the name is formed by permutating the letters of the Hebrew root "to be": hayah (was), hoveh (is), and yihey (will be), which implies there is no power that can prevent God from fulfilling His promises. YHVH is Lord of lords and King of kings whose word can never fail (Deut. 10:17; Dan. 2:47). Ein od milvado (אֵין עוֹד מִלְבַדּו): "there is no truth apart from Him" (Deut. 4:35,9).
The name "ehyeh asher ehyeh" (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה) means "I shall be as I shall be," that is, "I shall be with those who desire that I shall be with them. I reveal myself to those who seek for me, and as I am sought, so I will be found. According to your faith be it done unto you: Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled..."
Note that the question of the Name of God is raised both in last week's Torah portion (Shemot), where Moses asked God's Name to validate his mission to Israel, and again in this week's portion (Va'era), where God made the puzzling statement that the patriarchs did not know his Name as YHVH (יהוה). The entire question of God's name resolves to be a question about our ability to understand the very heart of God more than anything else (it's a matter of Who, not What). This is demonstrated by the fact that the name YHVH (יהוה) was revealed yet again to Israel after the dreadful sin of the Golden Calf, when Moses learned that it meant Compassion, Grace, and Love (see Exod. 34:6-7). This second revelation of the Name foreshadowed the promised New Covenant to come. Indeed the full meaning of God's name was revealed in the last gasp of Yeshua as He died upon the cross for our atonement, when he breathed out the great exhalation of all that he came to be for us... (Mark 15:37).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 9:10 podcast (click to listen):
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For more on this subject, see the article: Yeshua and YHVH.
Awakening to Redemption...
The following is related to our Torah reading for this week, Parashat Va'era...
01.23.25 (Tevet 23, 5785) The Divine promise was "I will bring you out (וְהוֹצֵאתִי) from under the burdens of Egypt" (Exod. 6:6), though later the people "romanticized" their captivity and wanted to return there to eat their "free fish" (Num. 11:5). The sages note the word "burdens" (i.e., sivloht: סִבְלת) can also mean "tolerance" (the related word savlanut, סַבְלָנוּת, means "patience" or "tolerance") which suggests that the people had tolerated their enslavement and made it "work" for them... Despite the hardship of their slavery, the Israelites rationalized their condition as being "normal" or acceptable.
There is no worse slavery than to be enslaved to your own heart and mind, to believe that you cannot escape or are not worthy to be redeemed. Is this not one of the devices of Satan - to blind our hearts to the truth of God's love for us? The "bringing out" (יְצִיאָה) of the LORD is therefore something more than the physical escape from the shackles of the body, but instead involves freedom (חֵרוּת) from the shackles of the mind. The most severe form of slavery is to not understand that you are slave, that is, to be asleep, full of vanity and illustion, as you imprison your own heart in the hopelessness of fate.
And are we not likewise at risk to be enslaved by the various comforts and deceptions offered up by this world and its principalities? Have we not likewise tolerated our own slavery -- our addictions to comfort, pleasures, a life of worldly propaganda and "free fish"? Are we really ready to leave all that behind to experience the glory of Zion? People may profess that they want to know God, that they "hunger and thirst for righteousness" and earnestly desire that the kingdom of heaven be manifest, and yet they can't get away from their favorite television shows, super bowls, political intrigues, pop idols, and other the fads of the day... We must be careful not to become comfortable in our exile – to become "friends of this world" – by losing faith's voice of protest; we must be careful not to be distracted from beholding spiritual reality and the ultimate healing to come. We are away from home, friends! When the hour comes and we hear "gemar ha'tikkun" – the great "it is finished" sound of the shofar summoning us all to follow Yeshua to the Holy Land -- will we be ready to leave everything behind?
The story is told by Abraham Twerski how Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl once stayed at an inn, and as was his custom, he arose at midnight to recite lamentations over the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the people... The innkeeper, hearing his wailing, arose to see what the trouble was, and could not understand why the rabbi was sitting on the ground, mourning and praying... Nachum explained that we continually mourn the loss of our land and our exile, and that we cry out to God to hasten the ultimate redemption, when Mashiach will take us out of exile and lead us back to Jerusalem, our beloved Zion....
The innkeeper asked, "Will we all go to Jerusalem?" "Of course," Rabbi Nachum said. "But what will become of my little farm, my cows and chickens?" the innkeeper asked. "What account are these compared to our being in exile? Nachum replied. "We are repeatedly attacked by the Tartars, they carry out pogroms, killing and pillaging our people! In Jerusalem we will be free of such persecutions!"
The innkeeper was still not satisfied. "I must talk to my wife about this," he said. When he later told his wife what Rabbi Nachum said about the redemption by Mashiach, she said, "And how can we leave our farm and the cows and chickens that we worked so hard to get?" The innkeeper then explained how we would be free of the pogroms and persecutions of the bands of Tartars. The wife thought a bit and then said, "Go tell the rabbi that when Mashiach comes, he should take the Tartars to Jerusalem, and we can live here in peace."
There is hope, however, for all of us to be redeemed. Later in our Torah reading God said to Pharaoh, "I will bring about redemption (i.e., pedut: פְדֻת) between my people and your people (Exod. 8:23). The sages note that the word redemption (i.e., pedut) occurs three time in the Scriptures, explaining three types of exile. The first concerns the redemption from Egypt (יציאת מצרים), as mentioned above; the second refers to the remnant (שְׁאֵרִית) of the Jewish people redeemed in the days of Messiah: "He will send redemption to his people" (Psalm 111:9); and the third refers to the ultimate deliverance of the individual soul's bondage to his lower nature and evil characteristics. This is the "abundant" redemption mentioned in Psalm 130 - "for with the LORD there is the mercy, and with him is abundant redemption." This is the redemption that corresponds to the "abundant" life given in Yeshua our Messiah (John 10:10).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 130:7b reading (click for audio):
The "Torah" of Pharaoh...
The passions grafted on wounded pride are the most inveterate; they are green and vigorous in old age. - George Santayana
01.23.25 (Tevet 23, 5785) Though he sometimes appeared to change his mind in light of the revelation of God, Pharaoh nevertheless reverted to his older thinking after the crisis seemed to pass. Therefore the Torah states that after each of the first five plagues, Pharaoh hardened (lit., "strengthened") his heart. It was only after five successive opportunities to face reality, to renounce his claim to be god, and to turn to the LORD in humility, however, that God ratified Pharaoh's will by "helping him" become the person he decided to be. Therefore after the sixth plague we read, ve'chazek Adonai et-lev paroh: וַיְחַזֵּק יְהוָה אֶת־לֵב פַּרְעֹה - "And the LORD strengthened Pharaoh's heart" (Exod. 9:12).
"The Torah of Pharaoh" (התורה של פרעה) teaches us that God will never force a sinner to turn away from their sin, but if they willfully continue to sin, they may eventually become unable to turn, trapped in a very difficult place.... The Shemot Rabbah states: "The Holy One, blessed be He, gives someone a chance to repent, and not only one opportunity but several chances: once, twice, three times. But then, if the person still has not repented, God locks the person's heart altogether, cutting off the possibility of repentance in the future." There is a very real risk that those who choose to be at war with God, who flatly refuse repeated appeals to turn to the LORD, will become progressively "strengthened" in their resolution to defy reality... And that, friends, is the "Torah" that Pharaoh teaches....
There are midrashim that Pharaoh eventually did repent, after seeing the destruction of his armies in the sea, so there is still hope for the most hardened of heart, but alas....
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 95:8 reading (click):
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The tragic story of Pharaoh reminds us how pride can blind the heart. As Abraham Heschel said, "In a controversy, the instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for truth and have begun striving for ourselves." The truth needs no defense. If we find ourselves getting defensive or hostile, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves what we really believe... If we seek to use truth as a weapon, or as a means to rationalize our self-will, then we are not "in the truth," even if our facts in the matter may be correct. We must be careful not to find ourselves using the truth for our own agenda. Yeshua's words haunt the heart: "Without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
Kierkegaard notes: "The proud person always wants to do the right thing, the great thing. But because he wants to do it in his own strength, he is fighting not with man, but with God." Indeed, how many people seek visions, dreams, and private prophecies while they forsake the Spirit as it broods over the hearts of those around him or her? How many seek to "know God" as a matter of the pride of heart?
The Koretzer Rebbe was asked for instruction how to avoid sin. He replied, "Were you able to avoid offences, I fear you would fall into a still greater sin - that of pride" (Hasidic). The antidote to pride is the "fall of the soul," that is, those besetting sins and painful failures that (hopefully) bring us back to reality - namely, to the place of brokenness and our need for divine intervention... When we get "sick of our sickness" we enter into holy despair, and then the cry of the heart for lasting deliverance can be truly offered.
Hebrew Lesson
Proverbs 16:18 reading (click for audio):
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Note that the warning of Pharaoh's tragedy is not just for those who defy faith in the LORD God of Israel, for the New Testament warns God's redeemed children not to harden their hearts through unbelief as well:
"For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? and to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened." (Heb. 3:16-4:2)
Amen. Faith is the essence of obedience. "And this is one of the most crucial definitions for the whole of Christianity; that the opposite of sin is not virtue but faith." (Kierkegaard)
Slavery of Passivity...
01.23.25 (Tevet 23, 5785) From our Torah portion this week (Va'era) we read, "I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians" (Exod. 6:6). The sages say the Hebrew word for "burdens" (סִבְלת) can also be read as passivity (סְבִילוּת): "I will deliver you from passivity toward your slavery...." So long as the people regarded their enslavement as tolerable, they could excuse it, rationalize it, and even defend it. Therefore God allowed tribulation to progressively increase so that the people would understand their need.
Likewise we cannot even begin to understand our need for deliverance as long as we are comfortable, numb, and dead inside... The first step toward moral freedom, then, is to be set free from our denial, to wake up, to resist evil, and to find faith that God desires something better for our lives. Passively accepting the values of this evil world means succumbing to its false claims to authority. As Bonhoeffer solemnly reminds us: 'Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.'
"What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, the guns of our war steamers, or the strength of our gallant and disciplined army. These are not our reliance against tyranny in our fair land. All of them may be turned against our liberties, without making us stronger or weaker for the struggle. Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted within us. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage, and you prepare your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." - Abraham Lincoln (Speech at Edwardsville, 1858)
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 118:5 reading (click):
The Hell of a Hard Heart...
"The descent to hell is easy and those who begin by worshipping power, soon worship evil." - C.S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love (1936)
01.23.25 (Tevet 23, 5785) Spiritually speaking, a heart that is insensitive, indifferent, unfeeling, and callous toward the needs of others is regarded as "hard" or "difficult." Often such hardness comes as a result of living in a fallen world. Many wounded people live with "scar tissue" that surrounds their heart, making them feel numb and unwilling to open up and trust others. Their affections have become disordered and their ego rationalizes blaming others or seeking various forms of entitlement. "Turning off your heart" can mean suppressing any positive regard for others (empathy) while nurturing anger and self-righteousness, or it may mean withdrawing from others as a lifeless shell (both approaches vainly attempt to defend the heart from hurt). Although Yeshua always showed great compassion, especially to the wounded and broken in spirit (Isa. 42:3), He regularly condemned the "hardness of heart" ("sclero-cardia," σκληροκαρδία) of those who opposed his message of healing and love.
A hard heart is closed off and impermeable to love from others, and especially from God. It is a "difficult" (קָשֶׁה) heart, inflexible and even cruel. Scripture uses various images to picture this condition, including a "heart of stone" (Ezek. 36:26, Zech. 7:12), an "uncircumcised heart" (Jer. 9:26), a "stiff neck" (Deut. 31:27), and so on. Stubbornness is really a form of idolatry, an exaltation of self-will that refuses to surrender to God. If you are wounded and afraid to open your heart in trust to others, ask God for healing...
God wants us to have "soft" hearts that are malleable and subject to His touch and influence. Consider the Biblical analogy of a potter who works with clay (Isa. 64:8, Jer. 18:6). Hard clay is brittle and hard to work with, though soft clay can be molded and adapted for a variety of uses. Applied to our heart attitudes, soft clay represents being open and moveable, whereas hard clay represents being inflexible, intolerant, and so on. A "hard hearted" person is closed-minded, assured of his own righteousness, and unwilling to admit the possibility of being wrong. He is really a "fragile" soul who is often hidebound by traditions, unwilling to be corrected, and usually so driven by fear and suspicion that he is unable to look at other possibilities. When we find ourselves becoming rigid, inflexible, and intolerant, we may be demonstrating hardness of heart.
Hardness of heart is something all of us deal with, even those who trust in Yeshua. After all, New Covenant believers are commanded to "put off the old self with its practices" (Col. 3:9) and are urged not to harden their hearts (μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας) through unbelief (Heb. 3:8,15, 4:7). The flesh dies hard, however, and "putting off" the old self requires divine intervention; however, if we cry out to the LORD for deliverance (especially from ourselves) He has promised to hear us (Rom. 10:13, Joel 2:32). The awareness that we are hardhearted and self-deceived can lead to a (blessed) sense of brokenness and despair -- i.e., to the realization that own self-sufficiency is futile and ultimately self-destructive. Turning to the LORD in despair of ourselves is a mark of humility. When we are emptied of ourselves, we are delivered from pride and self-deception and thereby enabled to truly ask for God's help... This is a miracle, since all of us have "a little Pharaoh inside," clamoring ti be the center of our universe and refusing to submit to the Presence of the LORD...
May God's blessing keep our hearts soft and open toward others... May the LORD give us a new heart, and put a new spirit within us. May He remove the heart of stone (לֵב הָאֶבֶן) from us and give us a heart of flesh (לֵב בָּשָׂר). May we be lev echad - "one heart" - with one another and with the Father (Ezek. 11:19). May we be so sensitized to the Presence of God that we detect the slightest touch from His hand upon us. Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Ezekiel 36:26a Hebrew reading (click):
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Torah of Empathy...
01.23.25 (Tevet 23, 5785) Our Torah portion for this week (i.e., Va'era) begins: "God (אֱלהִים) spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD (יהוה). I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai (אל שׁדּי), but by My Name the LORD (יהוה) I did not make myself known to them" (Exod. 6:2-3). Now the Hebrew word va'era (וארא), translated "I appeared," has a numerical value of 208, the same value as the name Yitzchak (יצחק), which suggests a connection between the Akedah (the sacrifice of Isaac) and the redemption (גְּאֻלָּה) of YHVH that culminated in the original Passover ritual given in Egypt. The story of yetziat mitzraim (יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם) - the Exodus from Egypt - reveals the glory of God's great empathy for His people... Yet how much more do we experience God's great empathy through the sacrificial life of His Son, Yeshua?
There is an old Chassidic story of two men sitting and enjoying a drink together. One of them then says to the other, "You know, you're my best friend. I really love you, brother!" The other man responds, "Oh yeah? If you really love me, tell me where I hurt..."
The point of this simple story is that we can't really say we love someone without taking the time to know them -- and that means knowing how they suffer. Most of us are suffering, of course, but are we able to transcend our own pain to genuinely empathize with others? Conversely, how many people do we trust enough to to confide our own pains and heartaches? The Law of Messiah (תוֹרת המשׁיח) is to bear one another's burdens (τα βαρη, "weights," Gal. 6:2), and that means making ourselves vulnerable -- and making room inside our hearts for the vulnerability of others. James tells us that personal healing comes from confessing outwardly (εξομολογεισθε) our sins (τας αμαρτιας) to one another so that we may be healed (James 5:16). Of course it's humbling to share our sins, our failures, and our hurts to another, but without an audience for the inner voice of our pain, we suffer all the more...
If someone loves us, they will know "where we hurt"; and if we love them, we will know where they hurt, too. This same principle can also be applied to our relationship to Yeshua... We take comfort that Yeshua sticks closer to us than a brother, interceding on our behalf and "knowing where we hurt." But if we say that we love him, are we are not claiming that we know him and "where he hurts?" Does Yeshua suffer today? The Apostle Paul wrote: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col. 1:24). What is "lacking in Christ's afflictions" is our present sacrifice for the sake of others... Yeshua hungers with those who are hungry, thirsts with those who are thirsty, feels loneliness with those who are abandoned, shivers with those who are cold, weeps with those who are forlorn, is imprisoned with those who are incarcerated, is sick with those who are ill, and so on (Matt. 25:31-ff). Yeshua feels the pain of even the "least of these my brothers." This is where he hurts, chaverim...
The essential difference between the righteous and the unrighteous is revealed in their response shown to those in need. After all, on the Day of Judgment, both the righteous and the unrighteous will account for their choices in light of the selfsame needy and pain-riddled world. The destiny of each person will be determined by whether he or she took the time to genuinely engage the suffering of others... May the LORD help us to share His heart and passion for a lost and hurting world.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 116:1-2 reading (click):
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Gift of Holy Desperation...
01.22.25 (Tevet 22, 5785) Do you have the "gift of holy desperation"? That's the special blessing of needing God so viscerally that you will fall apart or even self-destruct apart from His daily intervention in your life... "Find God or die." You pray because your very life depends on it; you believe because without God, you would be swallowed up in darkness. "Blessed are the poor in spirit," Yeshua said, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). Note that the term translated "the poor" (οἱ πτωχοι) is derived from a word that means "to crouch as a helpless beggar." This word provides an image of someone in abject poverty, totally dependent on others for help. The "poor in spirit" are those who are painfully aware of their exile and need for help from God:
"Give me yourself, O my God, give yourself back to me. Lo, I love you, but if my love is too mean, let me love more passionately. I cannot gauge my love, nor know how far it fails, how much more love I need for my life to set its course straight into your arms, never swerving until hidden in the covert of your face. This alone I know, that without you all to me is misery, woe outside myself and woe within, and all wealth but penury, if it is not my God... O Lord my God, tell me what you are to me. Say to my soul, I am your salvation. Say it so that I can hear it. My heart is listening, Lord; open the ears of my heart and say to my soul, I am your salvation. Let me run toward this voice and seize hold of you. Do not hide your face from me: let me die so that I may see it, for not to see it would be death to me indeed." - Augustine of Hippo
The fire on the altar was to be kept burning at all times (Lev. 6:12-13) symbolizing the "inner fire of the heart." How blessed it is to be full of the fire of this inner need, this relentless groaning, this constant hunger and thirst for God and his righteousness! Even more wonderful is how the korban tamid - the daily whole burnt sacrifice of the lamb - represents Yeshua's ongoing and wholehearted passion for you to come alive to God's love... How blessed we are to receive the bread of life from the hand of our heavenly Father.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 51:7 Hebrew reading (click):
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Spirituality often enough involves a sense of irremediable brokenness, a feeling that you are not whole, that you are a mess, and that your need for God's healing is constant and relentless... Contrary to the ideals of proud humanism, spirituality is a state of "blessed neediness," of being "afflicted in spirit," a desperate ache for God's power of healing. Those who humbly cry out to the LORD understand their great need for deliverance, "Woe is me, for I am ruined..." (Isa. 6:5). As Yeshua said, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:14).
Soren Kierkegaard said "to need God is our highest perfection." Ponder how your heart's need impels you to reach out for life, for connection, and for healing:
"In a beautiful sense the human heart will gradually (the grace of God is never taken by force) become more and more discontented -- that is, it will desire more and more ardently, it will long more and more intensely, to be assured of grace. See, now everything has become new, everything has changed.
With respect to the earthly, one needs little, and to the degree one needs less, the more perfect one is. A pagan who knew how to speak only of the earthly has said that the deity is blessed because he needs nothing, and next to him is the wise man, because he needs little.
In a human being's relationship with God, however, the matter is inverted: the more he needs God, the more deeply he comprehends that he is in need of God, and then the more he in his need presses forward to God, the more perfect he is. Therefore, the words "to be contented with the grace of God" will not only comfort a person, and then comfort him again every time earthly want and distress make him, to speak mundanely, needful of comfort, but when he really has become attentive to the words they will call him aside, where he no longer hears the secular mentality's earthly mother tongue, the speech of human beings, the noise of shop keepers, but where the words explain themselves to him, confide to him the secret of perfection: that to need God is nothing to be ashamed of but is perfection itself, and that the saddest thing of all is if a human being goes through life without discovering that he needs God."
Soren Kierkegaard: Upbuilding Discourses
From Faith to Faith...
01.22.25 (Tevet 22, 5785) If you were ask to God for just one thing, what would it be? Our deepest yearnings are like prayers. Whatever the heart genuinely seeks, it will find. The person who pursues righteousness will find it, just as evil comes to the person who searches for it (Prov. 11:27). Therefore the voice of wisdom cries out, "I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me" (Prov. 8:17), and the prophet shouts, "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near" (Isa. 55:6). God is near to us in Yeshua, who said, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." As you believe, so you will receive (Matt. 21:22).
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This is the "like for like" principle of faith. Forgive us as we forgive; judge us as we judge; love us as we love; make us righteous as we take hold of righteousness, give us courage as we believe, and so on. As Isaiah said to fearful king Ahaz: "If you will not be firm in faith, you will not be firm at all" (Isa. 7:9). Your "amen" echoes the "amen" of heaven: "Let it be done for you according to your faith" (Matt. 9:29).
The principle of "let it be according to your faith" is profound and is a two-edged sword, since it applies not just to matters of velleity and hope, but also to murmurs of the heart and discontent. The sages said that the manna in the desert would taste good or bad depending on the heart attitude of the person. Likewise, when the people arrived at Marah, they could not drink the water because it was "bitter" (מָרָה), though the Hebrew text allows us to read that it was the people themselves who were bitter - ki marim hem (כִּי מָרִים הֵם), and their bitterness made the waters seem bitter as well (Exod. 15:23).
Hebrew Lesson
Prov. 21:21 Hebrew reading (click):
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"Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor" (Prov. 21:21). Notice that the subject of this verse is a participle that comes from the verb radaf (רָדַף), which means to follow after, or to pursue, as in a chase or a hunt. This same verb is used when King David exclaimed, "surely goodness and love will pursue me (יִרְדְּפוּנִי) all the days of my life" (Psalm 23:6). King David understood that as he pursued God, so God's love would pursue him! In other words, as we seek, so we are sought by God; as we draw near to God, so He will draw near to us (James 4:8).
Notice further the repeated use of the word "righteousness" (i.e., tzedakah: צְדָקָה) in this verse. When we pursue God's righteousness, we will find it, and we will be declared righteous (i.e., tzaddik: צַדִּיק) and given life (i.e., chayim: חַיִּים) and honor (i.e., kavod: כָּבוֹד). "In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death" (Prov. 12:28). Therefore Yeshua calls us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matt 6:33).
The prophet expresses hope: "Let us know; let us press on 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" (Hos. 6:3). Salvation is "of the LORD." May God help us pursue him b'khol levavkha - with all our heart - because the He has promised, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13).
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Our Daily Deliverance...
01.21.25 (Tevet 21, 5785) Just as we ask God for daily bread (לֶחֶם חֻקֵּנוּ), so we ask him for our daily deliverance: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matt 6:13). Note that the term translated "evil" in many translations ("deliver us from evil") is a substantive rather than an adjective: τοῦ πονηροῦ, the evil one... "Give us this day our daily deliverance from the evil one...."
Our daily bread and our daily deliverance are connected with our decision to "choose life" (בַּחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים) -- and to always choose life -- even in moments we find difficult, distressing, and even when we might wish that we were no longer living... Choosing life means refusing to escape reality by evading the significance of our choices; it means finding the will to regard life as worthy; it implies that we will eat our bread in trust that the Lord is at work even in the darkest of hours (Passover occurred at midnight)... Choosing life means refusing to eat the fruit of death and to seek Yeshua, the Tree of Life. We live one day at a time; we only have today. We are given daily bread for this hour of our need. Today is the day of your deliverance - if you are willing to walk in it. Therefore, the Spirit of the Living God cries out, "Choose life and live!"
"Do not be grieved [even over yourself], for the joy of the LORD (חֶדְוַת יְהוָה) is your strength" (Neh. 8:10). Affirming the love, faithfulness, compassion, and salvation of God is a powerful way to defeat the enemy of our souls, who regularly entices us to despair. King David constantly asked God to help him in his spiritual struggles. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble (בְּקֶרֶב צָרָה), you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me" (Psalm 138:7). "For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled" (Psalm 143:2-3). Despite whatever struggle we may face, "the LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). Indeed, the Lord God is far greater than your heart's sin and will one day entirely deliver you of sin's effect and influence. Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 34:19 reading (click):
His Invincible Purposes...
God knows the beginning from the end, but we are somewhere in the middle...
01.21.25 (Tevet 21, 5785) When you are tested, affirm your confidence. Spiritually speaking, the first step is to find hope... The Divine Light is seen by the eye of faith (עין האמונה), and therefore we find strength by trusting in God's Presence, even though we cannot presently see Him (2 Cor. 4:18; 5:7). "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Know Him in all your ways, and He will straighten your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil" (Prov. 3:5-7). Wait on the LORD and He will strengthen your heart....
We must remain steady as we fight the "good fight of faith." This is the struggle against the lie that God does not care for us and that we are therefore abandoned and on our own. We must repudiate fear and boldly lay hold of the promises of God; we must take every thought captive to the reality of God's love for us in Yeshua. As it is written, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked come upon me to devour my flesh, when my adversaries and enemies attack me, they will totter and fall. Even if an army is deployed against me, I will not fear; even if war is rises against me, I will remain full of trust" (Psalm 27:1-3).
The Midrash says, "The Holy One Himself, as it were, made light for the upright. Thus it says, "The LORD is my light and my salvation" (Psalm 27:1) and "When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me" (Micah 7:8). While I sit in darkness in this world, during these latter days before the promised return of Yeshua, when troubles may afflict me and lawlessness may abound – then God's light will shine brighter still, for the LORD is gracious to all who put their hope in Him, and this favor and love will be manifest for me.
Whenever I feel anxious or downcast, I need to meditate upon the greatness of God and his invincible power. His will is sovereign and no one and nothing can ever thwart his plans and purposes for our good (Rom. 8:28). Let us therefore renew our confidence in Him: The darkness of this world forever is swept back before the overmastering radiance and power of Yeshua, the King of Glory, the Root and Descendant of David, and the Bright Morning Star (Rev. 22:16). Those who believe in Him are given the "light of life" that overcomes the darkness of this world (John 8:12). We are made "more than conquerors" through the One who loves us. Nothing can overrule God's plan for our salvation, as it says: "The purpose of the LORD endures forever, the thoughts of his heart are to all generations" (Psalm 33:11).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 33:11 Hebrew reading:
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As we draw closer to the "end" of the "End of Days" it is important not to let our hearts grow cold or numb with fear... The devil uses mass media, the realm of politics, and stupefying "news" propaganda of this world (i.e., κόσμος) to incite the workers of iniquity to do his bidding, tempting believers in the LORD to feel discouraged, overrun with evil, and increasingly marginalized in their faith... But take heart, chaverim: the victory has already been won; God's truth will forever prevail (1 Cor. 15:57). Always remember that there is more power in one simple and heartfelt prayer before heaven than all the schemes and armies of the wicked combined. All those who are "fathered by God" conquer the world, since God imparts to us the victory of faith by means of His powerful Spirit (1 John 5:4). Therefore the heart of faith says, "In all these things [afflictions, tribulations, etc.] we are 'more than conquerors' (lit., "hyper-conquerors," i.e., ὑπερνικῶμενfromὑπέρ, "hyper" + νικάω, "to overcome") through Him that loved us (Rom. 8:37). So do not lose heart. Don't believe in the matrix of this world. Time is short; the hour approaches... "Have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known" (Matt. 10:26). Amen.
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Breathing God's Name...
01.21.25 (Tevet 21, 5785) In the Scriptures God's Name is revealed as YHVH (יְהוָה), which means "He is Present." The Name is formed from the words hayah ("He was"), hoveh ("He is"), and yihyeh ("He will be"): הָיָה הוֶה וְיִהְיֶה, indicating God's omnipresence. Note that all the letters of the Name are "vowel letters," which mean they evoke breath and life. This is the Name revealed to Moses thousands of years before the advent of other religions (Exod. 3:14), and indeed it is the Name associated with the nishmat chayim (נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים), the "breath of life," imparted to Adam in the orchard at Eden (Gen. 2:4). It is therefore the original Name of God "breathed out" to mankind. The Name Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) means "YHVH saves." There is no other Savior beside Him, there is no other Name, there is no other LORD. "For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Only Yeshua the Messiah can deliver you from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10).
Many people live in regret over the past or in dread of the future. The Hebrew name of God, the Tetragrammaton (יהוה), means: "He is Present." We can only find God now, today, at this hour. Today if you hear His voice... Yeshua said, "The kingdom of heaven is within you" (מַלְכוּת הָאֱלהִים בְּקִרְבְּכֶם), that is, is to be found within the heart of faith (Luke 17:21). The Name YHVH also means that God is the faithful One (הָאֵל הַנֶּאֱמָן), because all that happens occurs within the immediacy of his Presence. Human logic is based on finite reasoning and how things are connected in time and space (cause and effect), but God's "logic" transcends intermediaries and is immediately certain, not bound by temporal-spatial limitations, and therefore his knowledge is certain (Num 23:19; Eccl. 3:11; Isa. 46:10; Mal. 3:6).
The question is asked why the Torah was written without vowels, punctuation marks, and so on. The lack of vowels implies that we must bring breath (i.e., ruach, spirit) to our reading of the words; the lack of punctuation implies that we must be humble and rely on others to help us read with understanding. In other words, we must bring our heart to the reading and be open-minded to receive revelation.
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We need the power of the Holy Spirit to read correctly, and the Holy Spirit reveals the Living Word and glory of Yeshua: "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63).
Hebrew Lesson
Zech. 4:6 reading (click):
Struggles of Faith...
Wisdom says we're nothing, love says we're everything; between these our lives flow (Kornfield).
01.21.25 (Tevet 21, 5785) Do you sometimes have trouble trusting God? Do you wrestle with fear, anxiety, or worry? Does an inexplicable dread or sense of hopelessness sometimes oppress you? Do you secretly wonder what's wrong with you - and whether you are truly saved, after all? Please hang on. Doubting and questioning are often a part of the journey of faith, and we don't have to be afraid of our questions, concerns, and difficulties... Being full of "certainty" is not the same as being full of faith, after all, since many sincere people are sincerely self-deceived, while many others experience fear, loneliness, and trouble as a result of their faith. There is so much we simply do not know, and it is dishonest to pretend otherwise. God knows your heart and its struggles; he knows all your secret fears. Thankfully, there is a special prayer included in the holy Scriptures for those times when we feel especially unsteady or insecure: "Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief..." (Mark 9:24). These words offer an invitation to bring our (lack of) faith to God for healing....
We should not be scandalized that we sometimes struggle with our faith. After all, Yeshua constantly questioned his disciples: "Do you now believe?" (John 16:31). And that's why we are commanded to "put off" the old nature and to "put on" the new nature -- because God knows we are fickle admixtures, contradictions, carnal-yet-spiritual, inwardly divided souls that need to learn to trust in the miracle of God with all our hearts....
Of course it's easy to believe when things are going well, when faith "makes sense" or provides you with a sense of community, etc., but when things are difficult, when there are disappointments, pain, grief, losses, etc., then you need to trust in the unseen good, the "hidden hand" of God's love, despite the trouble of your present circumstances. This is part of faith's journey: leaning on God's promise despite the "valley of the shadow of death," despite the unknown. The way may sometimes be difficult, but "the tested genuineness of your faith -- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire -- will be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah" (1 Pet. 1:7).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 119:19 reading with comments:
Every Soul's Struggle...
It's sadly ironic that we squander our days before we learn how precious and few they are...
01.20.25 (Tevet 20, 5785) "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die..." Everybody wants the finished product of a surrendered life, but no one wants the process, the painful shattering, the revelation of the end of themselves... And yet it is only by means of affliction that the "outer shell of the seed" is broken so that new life can burst forth: "I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain" (John 12:24). If the seed does not fall to the ground and die, αὐτὸς μόνος μένει - it remains alone - by itself...
Since we will not surrender without struggle, God must intervene and save us from ourselves. Each of us must "go to Peniel" to wrestle with the Angel; each of us must be renamed from Ya'akov ("a supplanter") to Israel ("a prince with God"). Like Jacob, we will prevail with God when we give up the fight and accept our brokenness. We win by surrendering.
It's been said that we can never know that God is all we need until God is all we have left (John 15:5). Therefore "blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled..."(Matt. 5:3-6).
Hebrew lesson
Psalm 119:67 reading (click):
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Source of our Breath...
01.20.25 (Shevat 20, 5785) Though the meaning of God's Name (YHVH) was initially revealed to Moses as simply eheyeh (אֶהְיֶה), "I AM," or "I WILL BE" (Exod. 3:14), it is wonderful to realize that His Name was also revealed as eheyeh imakh (אהְיֶה עִמָּךְ), "I WILL BE WITH YOU" (Exod. 3:12; Josh. 1:5,9; Isa. 41:10,13; John 10:28; Matt. 28:20, etc.).
Just as the LORD is called Elohei ha-ruchot lekhol basar (אֱלהֵי הָרוּחת לְכָל־בָּשָׂר), "the God of the breath of all flesh" (Num. 16:22), so He is the Source of your breath, the One who exhales to you nishmat chayim (נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים), the "breath of life" that enables you to live (Job 12:10). Indeed the Name YHVH (יהוה) first appears in the Torah in regarding imparting the breath of life to Adam (Gen. 2:7).
Note further that each of the letters of the Name YHVH represent vowel sounds (i.e., breath), suggesting again that God's Spirit is as close as your very next breath. Like the wind that cannot be seen, so is the spirit the essential part of your identity. Yeshua breathed on his followers and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22).
Hebrew Lesson
Job 12:10 Hebrew reading (click):
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Parashat Va'era:
God Reveals Himself as Savior
01.19.25 (Tevet 19, 5785) Shavuah tov, chaverim. Recall that last week's Torah portion (i.e., parashat Shemot) explained how Moses and Aaron were commissioned to go before Pharaoh and deliver the message: shalach et-ammi (שַׁלַּח אֶת־עַמִּי), "Let my people go" that they may hold a feast to me in the desert" (Exod. 5:1). Not only did Pharaoh dismiss the request, but he imposed even harsher decrees against the Israelites and caused them to suffer miserably. Moses then appealed to the LORD, who reassured him that Pharaoh would eventually relent because "the greater might" of the LORD's power would deliver His people.
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 5:1b reading (click):
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In this week's portion, parashat Va'era, (i.e., Exod. 6:2-9:35), the LORD told Moses that He was now going to fulfill His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by giving the Israelites the land of Canaan, and that he had heard the "groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians held as slaves" (Exod. 6:5). The LORD (יהוה) was now coming down to earth to fight and save his people! Israel would now know that He alone is their Savior and God! The "showdown" between the LORD and the so-called gods of Egypt was imminent, and God therefore encouraged the people with precious promises: "I AM the LORD (אֲנִי יְהוָה) and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgment; and I will take you to me for a people and I will be to you a God; and I will bring you into the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and to Jacob as an inheritance forever (these are the "expressions of redemption" we recall during the Passover Seder every year).
Despite these wonderful promises, however, the people were unable to listen because of their "shortness of breath" (מִקּצֶר רוּחַ) on account of their harsh slavery. The LORD then told Moses: "Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land," and the great battle between the LORD and the so-called "gods" of Egypt began. However, even after repeatedly witnessing the series of miraculous plagues issued in the Name of the LORD, the despot remained proud and unmoved, thereby setting the stage for the final devastating plagues upon the land of Egypt and the great Passover redemption of Israel.
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 6:3 Hebrew reading (with comments):
From the Midst of Thorns...
01.17.25 (Tevet 17, 5785) Why did the LORD, the Holy One, reveal Himself to Moses out of the midst of a thorny bush (סְנֶה), and not some grand tree? God lowered himself to speak from within the bush, as it is written: "For though the LORD be high, he regards the lowly" (Psalm 138:6); and "I will be with him in trouble" (Psalm 91:15).
The midrash imagines God saying to Moses: "Don't you feel that I suffer anguish whenever Israel does? Know, therefore, from the character of the place from which I speak, out of the thorn bush, that I, as it were share their suffering" (Shemot Rabbah 2:7).
God speaks to us from the place of thorns – even those about his own head – words of great comfort and deliverance. From the midst of the fire (בְּלַבַּת־אֵשׁ מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה), within the lowliest of places, covered in the thorns of our sin and shame, Yeshua speaks words of healing love. Bless his name forever!
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 138:6 reading (click):
Out of the Straits...
"God, Who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet He seems sometimes to be present, sometimes to be absent. If we do not know Him well, we do not realize that He may be more present to us when He is absent than when He is present." - Thomas Merton
01.17.25 (Tevet 17, 5785) The name for ancient Egypt in Hebrew is "mitzrayim" (מִצְרַיִם) a word that can be translated as "straits" or "narrow places" (i.e., -מ, "from," and צַר, "narrow"), suggesting that "Egypt" represents a place of constriction, tribulation, oppression, slavery, and despair. The Hebrew word for salvation, on the other hand, is "yeshuah" (יְשׁוּעָה), a word that means deliverance from restriction, that is, freedom and peace. As it is written: "From my distress (מִן־הַמֵּצַר), i.e., from "my Egypt," I cried out to the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me in a wide open place" (Psalm 118:5).
But why, it may be asked, did God say to Jacob: "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt" (Gen. 46:3)? Why did God allow this excursion into "heavy darkness" that Abraham clearly foresaw (Gen. 15:12-13)? What is there about "Egypt" that prepares us to take hold of our promised inheritance? Joseph become a prince of Egypt; however, he was still captive to Pharaoh, and later, after he died, a "new Pharaoh arose" that did not acknowledge his contribution to Egyptian history (Exod. 1:8). All that remained of Joseph were his bones – a chest of bones that were carried by Moses (and later buried by Joshua in Shechem). The "bare bones" of Joseph represented the essence of his faith, as he foresaw the time when God would rescue the family from Egypt and raise him up in the land of promise (Gen. 50:24-26; Heb. 11:22).
A general principle of spiritual life is that the "the way up is the way down" (John 12:24). As Yeshua said, "Whoever would be first among you must be slave of all" (Mark 10:44). Becoming nothing (i.e., ayin) in this world is the condition for seeing something in the world to come. Unless a seed falls to the ground it abides alone (John 12:24). But we become "nothing" by trusting in the promise of God, not by trying to do it ourselves... This is not another venture of the ego. Life in the Spirit means trusting that God will do within you what you cannot do for yourself... We can only take hold of what God has done for us by "letting go" of our own devices (Phil. 2:13). When we let go and trust, we will be transformed, carried by the "Torah of the Spirit of life" (i.e., תּוֹרַת רוּחַ הַחַיִּים, Rom. 8:2), The way is not trying but trusting; not struggling but resting; not clinging to life, but letting go...
God's way of deliverance is entirely different than man's way. Man tries to enlist carnal power in the battle against sin (i.e., religion, politics, etc.), but God's way is to remove the flesh from the equation. The goal is not to make us stronger and stronger, but rather weaker and weaker, until the ego is crucified and only the sufficiency of the Messiah remains. Then we can truly say, "I have been crucified with Messiah. It is no longer I who live, but the Messiah who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20). The word "Hebrew" (עִבְרִי) means one who has "crossed over" (עָבַר) to the other side, as our father Abraham did when he left the world of Mesopotamia (Gen. 14:13). Likewise it is on the other side of the cross that we experience the very power that created the universe "out of nothing" (i.e., yesh me'ayin: יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן) and that raised Yeshua the Messiah from the dead.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 118:5 Hebrew reading (click):
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Teshuvah and Waste Places...
"When God wants to do an impossible task He takes an impossible man and crushes him" (Alan Redpath). The following considers the breaking of Moses in parashat Shemot.
01.17.25 (Tevet 17, 5785) Forty years before encountering the LORD in the burning bush, Moses was full of himself, a prince of Egypt "mighty in word and deed" who regarded himself as Israel's deliverer (Acts 7:22-25). But Moses' "Egyptian-styled" ego led him to regard murder and human uprising as the means of deliverance, and consequently God sent him into exile to think things through...
And it was there, in the waste places of the desert, that God's education began - the school of brokenness, teshuvah, and heart-listening... Only after this did God appear to him, calling out to the man who had lost all his former confidence in the flesh. Moses' humility mirrored the emptiness of the desert: "Who am I?" he protested, "I can't do this thing..." (Exod. 3:11). Exactly! Now he understood. Similarly, we must be careful not to regard ourselves as "strong," since the power of the flesh is useless for the purposes of heaven (Zech. 4:6). As it is written, "Thus says the LORD: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the desert, in an uninhabited salt land" (Jer. 17:5-6). It was only after Moses' question, "Who am I?" was answered by God's "I AM who I AM," that the "useless shrub" became aflame with power...
Moses' rod, which he had relied upon for years in the desert, was then transformed to be used as an instrument of Divine Power (Exod. 4:1-5). God entrusts the rod of His authority only in the hands of a truly broken man.... Similarly, though Moses was described as a man "mighty in word and deed," these were attributes of the flesh unrefined by the Spirit of God. Therefore, after being humbled in the desert, Moses confessed that he was kevad peh (כְבַד־פֶּה) - "heavy of mouth" - and kevad lashon (כְבַד לָשׁוֹן) "heavy of tongue," and unable to speak on behalf of the LORD. God then told him that He would "be with his mouth" to teach him what to say (Exod. 4:10-12). This likewise teaches that God entrusts the utterance of his word to the tongue of a genuinely broken man...
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 119:71 Hebrew reading lesson (click):
His desire for your heart...
01.16.25 (Tevet 16, 5785) "And this is the confidence that we have before him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he surely hears us. And if we know that he hears us regarding doing his will, we know that he will give us what we ask of him" (1 John 5:14-15).
It might seem obvious to you, but Yeshua wants us to believe in him; he wants us to trust in him, he wants us to know his heart - and to respond to him "with all our heart." This is breathtakingly amazing and wonderful news, is it not? Not that God demands that you obey him (or else), but that he profoundly wants your love? That he desires your attention? Your communion? And the Scripture promises us that if we sincerely ask him for this very thing, that is, to fulfill his desire for us to know his heart and to be in love with him, then we have confidence that he will enable us to truly do so...
It's not about our will to believe or to love him, for we cannot find the heart to do so apart from his grace. "The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because of your greatness, but because the Lord loves you" (Deut. 7:7-8). God loves you with an "everlasting love," and it is by means of this love that he draws you to know him. "Come to me, all you who are heavy of heart, and I will give you rest..."
We are able to love God because of his great love for us; our love is "teshuvah" to his call to be his beloved. We love him because he first loved us, which is to say that our love must first come from him.
"Lord, I ask you to let me know your love by the grace of your heart. Your love is the agency and means to be able to love, for apart from you I can do nothing... And because it is your will - it is your desire - that I love you and trust you, I ask that you would enable my heart to do these very things, for how else can I know the depths of your heart and to love you as you have called me so to do? How can I know you apart from you?
But something holds me back, a sense that you are too high and exalted for me to draw close to you... Are you not, O Lord, high and lifted up? Who can approach the blinding light of your glorious presence? Can I take fire from the altar and bring in to my breast without being burned? It's ironic that the more I imagine your unapproachable glory, the more I realize my need for your intimacy and simplicity within my heart. O Lord, you have your own language that is beyond anything I can conceive; your thoughts transcend everything I might imagine. Yet you also speak the language of men; your words make contact with our frailty and finitude; you have made yourself know the language of our lament.
I praise you that your love and your exaltation come together in the person of Yeshua, who emptied himself of all regal power and glories to reach out to touch the lowliest of lepers.... Though you are so high and lifted up, you deign stoop so low, to the utter depths, the very dust of death itself, to deliver the outcast from the hell of their exile.
And so I find comfort that it is your good will, O Lord, to seek and to save the lost, to heal the broken of heart, and to draw even the uttermost into the warm embrace of your love. It is your heart that says to all who know the pain of their hunger for love, "Come unto me..."
Yea, it is your will, O Lord, for us to know you and the beauty of your love, and therefore to surrender ourselves to your presence and receive your blessing, as it is written: "I am my beloved's and his desire is for me." And since it is your will and desire, O precious Lord, for us to belong to you, please assure us to know ourselves as your very own. Amen."
Hebrew Lesson
Jeremiah 31:3 reading (click for audio):
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