|
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 - born Jan. 17, 2016). 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."
 |
 |
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. The holiday of Shavuot (i.e., "Pentecost") both commemorates the revelation of the Torah at Sinai as well as the revelation of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) at Zion, in fulfillment of the promise given by our Lord....
The intermediate months of summer end with the advent of the sixth month of the calendar, called the month of Elul, which recalls the time Moses interceded on behalf of Israel after the sin of the Golden Calf. To commemorate this time of our history, we likewise focus on teshuvah (repentance) in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah and especially in anticipation of Yom Kippur, the great "Day of Atonement." In Jewish tradition the 30 days of Elul are combined with the first ten days of the seventh month (called the "Days of Awe") to set apart "Forty Days of Teshuvah" leading up to the Day of Forgiveness for Israel. Immediately following Yom Kippur, the mood changes as we begin preparing for a joyous week-long celebration called Sukkot (i.e., "Tabernacles") that concludes with the holiday of Simchat Torah.
 |
 |
The Spring Holidays:
The spring holidays (חגי האביב) provide a portrait of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah: Yeshua was crucified on erev Pesach (during the time of the sacrifice of the Passover lambs), buried during Chag Hamotzi (the festival of Unleavened Bread), and was resurrected from the dead on Yom Habikkurim (the Day of Firstfruits). Fifty days after Passover, on the climactic holiday of Shavuot (i.e., the feast of Pentecost), the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) fell on the believers in fulfillment of the promise given by our Lord. Note that the giving of the Holy Spirit occurred precisely according to the calendar countdown given in the Torah (Lev. 23:15-16), and that it occurred after the resurrection of Yeshua -- just as our Messiah foretold (John 16:7; Acts 1:6-8, 2:1-4). This proves that the feasts of the LORD (מוֹעדי יהוה) were not abolished after the crucifixion. The meaning of the gospel is prefigured in the holidays given in Torah. See Luke 24:27, 24:44; John 5:46; Acts 26:22, etc.
Kindly note that in accordance with both Torah and Jewish tradition, the following holiday dates begin at sundown (ויהי־ערב ויהי־בקר; Gen. 1:5):
- Month of Adar II (Wed. March 2nd [eve]) - Fri. April 1st [day])
Free Seder Guide
- Month of Nisan (Fri. April 1st [eve] - Sat. April 30th [day])
- Month of Iyyar (Sat. April 30th [eve] - Mon. May 30th [day])
- Month of Sivan (Mon. May 30th [eve] - Tues. June 28th [day])
 |
Note: Some calendars will list the first day of a holiday without indicating that the holiday actually begins sundown the night before. For more information see the Calendar pages...
April 2022 Site Updates
The Meaning of Passover...
04.14.22 (Nisan 13 5782) In Exodus chapter 12 we read about the institution of Passover and the final plague that was to befall the Egyptians on the Passover night. When we think of this time, we may imagine God "passing over" those houses that had the blood of the lamb smeared on their doorposts, though it could be said that God passed into the homes of those who trusted him, while he withdrew His Presence from those that did not...
To see this note that two different words are used that can be translated as "pass over." First, God said, "I will pass over (i.e., avar: עֲבַר) the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments; I am the LORD" (Exod. 12:12). But directly after saying this, God promised to "pass over" (i.e., pasach: פָּסַח) the homes of those who trusted in him to impart his protection from the plague of death: "The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over to you (lit. עֲלֵכֶם, 'upon you'), and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt" (Exod. 12:13). In other words, when God would see the blood of the Passover lamb, he would pass over to enter the house and "cover" its occupants from the judgment of death.
The blood of the Passover lamb sheltered people from the plague of death by atoning for their sin by means of a substitutionary sacrifice. The Torah states that "the life (i.e., nefesh: נֶפֶשׁ, or 'soul') of the flesh is in the blood" (Lev. 17:11), and therefore death represents the separation of the soul from the body. The life blood of a sacrificial lamb was therefore offered in exchange for the death and destruction of others. Eating the lamb "roasted by fire" meant identifying with the death offered in exchange for your own; eating matzah, or unleavened bread, signified being delivered in haste, apart from the "rise of the flesh" or human design; and eating maror, or bitter herbs, recalled the bitterness of former bondage.
The first time the word "blood" occurs in the Scriptures concerns the death of Abel, the son of Adam and Eve who was murdered by his brother Cain. After Abel's blood was shed, the LORD confronted Cain and said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground" (Gen. 4:10). Since blood is the carrier of life, it bears the energy and vitality of life: it has its own spiritual "voice." Likewise, the blood of Yeshua, the true Lamb of God who died upon the cross, speaks on our behalf, and reverses the power of death by creating a barrier that death can no longer cross, since the death of the sacrificial victim "exchanges" the merit and power of life. Unlike the blood of Abel that "cries out" for justice, the blood of Yeshua cries out for mercy (Heb. 12:24). Putting our trust in the provision of God's sacrifice causes His wrath (or righteous judgment) to pass over while simultaneously extending love to the sinner.... This is the essential message of the gospel itself, that we have atonement through the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua our Savior, the great Lamb of God. As Yeshua said, "I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the One who sent me has eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) and will not be condemned, but has passed over (i.e., μετά + βαίνω, lit., "crossed over" [עָבַר]) from death to life" (John 5:24). Just as God's judgment passes over from life to death on my behalf; so His love passes over from death to life on my behalf...
The idea of substitutionary atonement is surely mysterious and complicated, but ultimately the message is simple: God loves you and has made a way for you to be eternally accepted -- despite your sin... That's the "good news" of the cross. That's what Yeshua meant when he said, "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם). For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:14-17). Humanity as a whole has been "bitten by the snake" and needs to be delivered from its deadly venom. Just as the image made in the likeness of the destroying snake was lifted up for Israel's healing, so the One made in the likeness of sinful flesh was to be lifted up as the Healer of the world (Rom. 8:3). All we need to do is look and believe. Yeshua died for you so you can live. He stands at the door and knocks, offering to "pass over" your sin and to impart to you his life in exchange (Rev. 3:20).
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 12:13b Hebrew reading:
 |
Crossing Over to Life...
[ The following concerns the holiday of Passover, which begins tomorrow at sundown... ]
04.14.22 (Nisan 13 5782) During a traditional Passover seder, we customarily drink four cups of wine, based on the four promises of redemption given Exodus 6:6-7: "I will bring you out; I will deliver you; I will redeem you; and I will take you to be my people" (i.e., hotzeiti, hitzalti, ga'alti, lakakhti). This custom dates back to the time of the Second Temple period (Mishnah: Pesachim 10). The early sages justified the custom of the four cups by appealing to the Torah's general commandment to establish a "service" to commemorate the Exodus, which eventually took the form of the Passover "seder" (Exod. 12:25-27).
During Yeshua's last Passover seder with his disciples, he took a cup of wine and identified it with his sacrificial death for our sins: "And he took the cup, and after he had recited the blessing, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:27-28). We know this was the third cup of the seder because Yeshua said these words after the meal: "And likewise he took the cup after they had eaten, and said, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20, see also 1 Cor. 11:25).
In the traditional seder, the third cup was raised after the meal to commemorate God's promise of redemption (i.e., ga'alti: "I will redeem you"). The Mishnah says the wine in this cup recalls the shed blood of the korban Pesach that was applied to the doorposts in Egypt, causing the plague of death to pass over. Similarly, Yeshua associated this cup with the blood he would shed on the cross, causing death to "pass over" those who would put their trust in him. Yeshua called this the cup of the new covenant (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה), that is, God's new agreement (ketubah) to regard all those who trust in the sacrificial death of Yeshua for the forgiveness of their sins to be justified and forever made right with Him. Because of God's redemption given through the blood of the Messiah, we are "justified" by faith - it is "just-if-I'd" never sinned and "just-if-I'd" always obeyed. This is the good news of the redemption we have in Yeshua, the miracle of the "exchanged life" (2 Cor. 5:21).
The inner meaning of Passover has to do with our sanctification, our deliverance, and our redemption given through Yeshua our Savior, the true Lamb of God (1 Cor. 1:30). However, we remain in a state of "already-not-yet" expectation regarding the complete fulfillment of the New Covenant, since this covenant was given to ethnic Israel regarding their national deliverance and the establishment of the kingdom of Zion within the earth (Jer. 31:31-37). It is only after Yeshua returns as Israel's rightful King that "all Israel shall be saved" and the New Covenant will be fulfilled. At that time, we will partake of the Cup of Restoration (lakakhti) with Yeshua in His kingdom (Matt. 26:29), and then we shall all exclaim, "Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!" (Psalm 147:12).
The theme of Passover is our freedom - and that includes freedom from the old sins that seek to define and enslave us... Because of Yeshua, you are no longer who you once were... you have crossed over from death to life! You are briah chadashah - a new creation in the Messiah! May this be a season in your life of real miracles -- namely, a deeper connection with our LORD and with one another. Peasach Same'ach!
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 147:12 Hebrew reading:
"The" Question of Passover...
04.14.22 (Nisan 13 5782) During the Passover Seder we begin our retelling the story of the Exodus when the question is sung: "Mah nishtanah ha-lailah ha-zeh mikol ha-leilot?" - What makes this night differ from all other nights? This is "the" central question of Passover, asked for thousands of years, and the answer is always the same: Avadim Hayinu: "We were slaves, but God redeemed us from bondage by the blood of the lamb (דַּם הַשֶּׂה)." In this connection note that there were not many lambs, but the LORD told Israel: "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 (את) at twilight (Exod. 12:6). Each family put their trust in God's uniquely appointed sacrifice to be delivered from the plague of death (מכת המוות). There is no Passover apart from the blood of the Lamb of God....
מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת
mah · neesh·ta·nah · ha·lai'·lah · ha·zeh · mee·kohl · ha·ley·loht?
"What makes this night differ from all other nights?"
Man of our Sorrows...
04.14.22 (Nisan 13 5782) Happy Passover season, dear friends - despite the oppression and darkness we experience in this evil and benighted world.. Recall that God had compassion for his people as they were suffering in Egypt. The LORD told Moses, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry... I know their sorrows" (Exod. 3:7). The grammar here is intense: "seeing I have seen" (רָאה רָאִיתִי). Understand, then, that God surely sees your struggles too, friend. Second, know that God heeds the outcry (צְעָקָה) of your heart, and indeed, he interprets your groaning as if it were for the sake of serving him. Your heart's cry is transformed by grace to be the cry for God himself, for relationship with Him: "The cry of the people has come to me," he again told Moses (Exod 3:9), which means all the sufferings, the wrongs, the hopes, the fears, the groans, the despair, the prayers, were present before him, as if he counted every word and sigh. Third, realize that God knows your sorrows; he gathers all your tears into his bottle (Psalm 56:8). The word translated "sorrows" (מַכְאב) is the same word used to describe the "Man of sorrows" (i.e., ish machovot: אישׁ מַכְאבוֹת), Yeshua our Suffering Servant, who gave up his life to deliver you from bondage to your darkness, sorrow, and fear (Isa. 53:3-5).
Hebrew Lesson
Exod. 3:7 Hebrew reading:
 |
Our Broken Matzah...
[ The major holiday of Passover begins Friday, April 15th at sundown this year... ]
04.14.22 (Nisan 13 5782) During our Passover Seder, we will place three matzahs on the table, said to represent Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, respectively. During the "Yachatz" step of the seder, the middle matzah (representing Isaac) will be broken to recall how Isaac was sacrificed in obedience to his father, foreshadowing the sacrifice of Yeshua by God the Father. Indeed, the Talmud states, "We break the middle matzah in tribute to Yitzchak (Isaac), who accepted the sins of the people upon himself" (Shabbos 89b). The smaller half of this broken matzah will be eaten later during the Motzi Matzah step, while the larger half will be eaten during the "Afikomen" step, near the end of the night...
In Hebrew, the middle of something is it's heart - the heart of the heavens, the heart of the earth, the heart of the sea, the heart of a person... Since the offering of Isaac by Abraham foretold of the greater offering of Yeshua by God Himself, when we break the middle matzah, then, we recall the broken heart of God over the pain Yeshua endured by taking our sins upon Him at the cross...."For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21).
During his Passover seder with his disciples, Yeshua "took matzah, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body" (Matt. 26:26). Since Yeshua did this while they were eating dinner, the matzah he broke would have been the Afikomen, thereby making the connection between the hidden bread (lechem ha-nistar) that would be broken given for our deliverance. The matzah we eat during Passover is called lechem oni (לֶחֶם ענִי) - "the bread of [His] suffering" - and eating the Bread of Life that was "broken for us" remembers ish makhovot, the man of sorrows, the suffering of our LORD...
Hebrew Lesson
Deut. 16:3b Hebrew reading:
 |
Intimacy of Passover...
04.14.22 (Nisan 13 5782) Unlike the rituals and practices of organized religion, the Passover Seder takes place at home, not in a sanctuary, and may be conducted by anyone, not by professional clergy or a rabbi... The heart of the seder is shared meal celebrating our connection with family, our friends, the "called out" people of God who take refuge in his promises. Such intimacy is altogether fitting, since Passover was foreshadowed in the original paradise, was prophetically and poignantly re-enacted by Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, and was later affirmed by Israel at the time of the Exodus. In each case the blood of the lamb is central: to cover the shame of Adam and Eve's transgression; to express the heart of God's compassion in the substitution of the lamb for Isaac, and for the redemption of the families of Israel during the Passover. Most of all, however, the Passover Seder foretells and recalls the sacrifice of Yeshua on our behalf as the great Lamb of God who delivers us from our slavery to sin. Therefore heed the Torah's general rule about the holidays: "You shall rejoice in your festival" (Deut. 16:14) by delighting in the salvation of God, by embracing our family and friends in the sure hope of eternal life.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 33:22 reading (click):
 |
The Archetype of Passover...
04.14.22 (Nisan 13 5782) Passover is the archetypal picture of the redemption of God. Its theme goes back to the very beginning, to the orchard of Eden itself, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden tree. Because of their transgression, our original ancestors incurred the plague of death and were exiled from the Divine Presence, though God graciously promised to heal them through the coming Seed of the woman – the Savior who would crush the head of the serpent and break the fangs of his venomous sting (Gen. 3:15). Soon after making this great promise, God clothed our primordial parents with the skin of a sacrificed lamb (Gen. 3:21), linking their coming deliverance with the "Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world" (1 Pet. 1:18-20). The very first "Passover" was in the garden. The story extends to the world to come, too, where in the redeemed paradise of God we will celebrate the victory of the Lamb who was slain for our redemption (Rev. 5:12-13, Rev. 19:7).
The great story of our redemption is revealed on two levels in Scripture - one that concerns the paradise of Eden (the universal level), and the other that concerns the paradise 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"; the "Second Adam," and the "King of the Jews," and so on. The story of Israel's redemption in Egypt therefore serves as an allegory of both the universal salvation promised in Eden (i.e., the lamb slain from the foundation of the world) as well as the revelation of the sacrificial ministry of Yeshua as Israel's promised Messiah. Yeshua is both the Savior of the world as well as Israel's true King and Deliverer.
Hebrew Lesson
Rev. 5:12 Hebrew reading (click):
 |
For more see:
Passover and the
Limping Messiah...
04.13.22 (Nisan 12 5782) As we prepare our hearts for the Passover, recall that the Hebrew verb "pasach" (פָּסַח) can mean not only "to pass over," but also "to limp," suggesting the heel of Messiah that was "bruised" in the battle for our salvation (Gen. 3:15). As it is written, "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם). For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:14-17). Humanity as a whole has been "bitten by the snake" and needs to be delivered from its deadly venom. Just as the image made in the likeness of the destroying snake was lifted up for Israel's healing, so the One made in the likeness of sinful flesh was to be lifted up as the Healer of the world (Rom. 8:3). All we need to do is look up and believe...
Some people might object that the verb pasach (פָּסַח) alludes to the wounded Savior, our great Passover "Lamb who was slain" (John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:19-20; Rev. 5:12; 13:8); however, it is evident that the Hebrew root can mean "to limp" as a result of a wound. Indeed the Hebrew participle pise'ach (פִּסֵחַ) means "lame" or "crippled" (for example, see Lev. 21:18; Deut. 15:21; 2 Sam. 9:13, etc.). Furthermore, there are several uses of the verb pasach that explicitly mean to "limp" or "be lame." For example, in 2 Sam. 4:4 it says: "and he (Mephibosheth) fell and 'became lame" (וַיִּפָּסֵחַ); in 1 Kings 18:21, we read: "how long will you limp (פּסְחִים) between two opinions?" and in 1 Kings 18:26 it is written: "and they (the priests of Baal) 'limped upon the altar" (וַיְפַסְּחוּ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ) in a pagan ritual dance. In other words there is clearly a connection between Passover and becoming wounded, and this alludes to the Suffering Servant, the Messiah, whose heel was bruised in the battle for our deliverance (Gen. 3:15). Those who wish to argue that pasach cannot refer to the "limping" of the Messiah, the Passover "Lamb of God" who was slain for our sins in the battle against the serpent, therefore have the burden to explain the meaning and usage of the verb pasach in these other verses of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Hebrew Lesson
The First Prophecy of the Torah:
 |
The Sign of Life...
[ The holiday of Passover begins this Friday evening, April 15th, at sundown... ]
04.13.22 (Nisan 12 5782) "The blood shall be a sign (את) for you, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you (פָסַחְתִּי) that no plague will befall you to destroy you..." (Exod. 12:13). The blood would be a sign for the eye of faith, i.e., "for you," and not for the unbelieving world at large. During the afternoon of the 14th, the korban Pesach (Passover lamb) was slaughtered and its blood smeared on all three sides of the doorframe, top, right and left, in the form of the letter Chet (ח). This letter is connected with the word chai (חי), "alive," and chayim (חיים), "life," signifying that atoning life is in the sacrificial blood (Lev. 17:11).
Note that the letters of the Name YHVH (יהוה) - the Name of Divine Compassion - were said to be daubed on the doorposts: The Yod (י) was written on the top beam, the Vav (ו) on the right doorpost, and the Hey (ה) on the left. And since Yeshua is indeed YHVH, his Name was the sign of life written by the faithful. Amen, the Hebrew word for "sign" is ot (את), referring to the One who is the Alef (א) and Tav (ת), the First and the Last, the Almighty (Rev. 1:8).
Hebrew Lesson
Exod. 12:13b Hebrew reading (click):
|
The Exodus for Today...
[ "The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is His Name" / יהוה אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה יהוה שְׁמו (Exod. 15:3). ]
04.13.22 (Nisan 12 5782) An old midrash says that at the time of the great Exodus, only a remnant of Israel was actually saved while all the others died in the makkah (plague) of darkness, having fallen so low that they could not believe in the redemption or even want to be redeemed (Rom. 9:27-28)... How dreadful; how tragic! God forbid that we should give up our hope now, chaverim, especially because of the great salvation Yeshua secured for us at the cross (Heb. 2:3-4; Heb. 6:4-6). בכל דור ודור -- be'chol dor vador -- "in each and every generation" an individual should look upon him or herself as if he or she (personally) had been rescued from the "Egypt" of this world...
And yet divine history is somewhat "cyclical" in its expression. The closer we go back to the beginning, the more we see how the future was "seeded" and gets replayed in every generation. Both the Tree of Life (עֵץ הַחַיִּים) and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע) were present in the original paradise (Gen. 2:9). When Eve listened to the lies of the nachash (serpent) and regarded the forbidden tree as "desirable to make one wise," she immediately began her descent into exile. At the very dawn of human history, then, we see that "truth" (אֱמֶת) apart from God (א) leads to death (מֵת). Adam and Eve's disobedience led to God's gracious promise regarding the coming "Seed" who would restore all things by being victorious in the war for truth (Gen. 3:15). Of course, this promised Seed was Yeshua, our Suffering Servant and "Second Adam," who, through His sacrifice upon the cross, "reversed the curse" and reconciled humanity with God. Note, however, that this "proto-gospel" message also implied perpetual warfare between the heirs of the Messiah (called the "children of light") and the heirs of Satan (called the "children of darkness"). The ongoing enmity between these "two seeds," then, was ultimately something God willed (1 Thess. 5:5; Col. 1:13; 1 John 3:10). The children of light are called to be am kadosh - a holy people - separate from the evil engendered by the fallen world and its forces, just as the very first creative expression of God was the separation of light from darkness (Gen. 1:3-4). The children of light "hate evil and love the good," and conversely, the children of darkness "hate the good and love evil" (Psalm 34:21, Prov. 8:13, Amos 5:15). The Exodus story, then, is not so much a matter of ancient history as it is a present revelation of God's righteous liberating power over the powers of darkness. The great Exodus led to Sinai, and with it the re-encountering of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, just as the Cross of Yeshua is the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden of God. Life is about spiritual warfare, and the power encounter between God and Pharaoh is a paradigm for the ages. Therefore Yeshua refered to his own sacrificial death as the great Lamb of God the final exodus (Luke 9:31).
Throughout history we see the repeated attempt to resuscitate or revive ancient "Ra worship" (which derives from Satan in the garden). Every culture has its emissaries of evil -- its "pharaohs," its political dynasties, its caste systems, and its presumed sense of status quo. In the ancient world, most political figures were literally deified; in the Middle Ages, they were thought to rule through "divine right"; but in today's secular world, there is no justification given for their control other than through deception and the naked "will to power." In nearly every case, however, it can be stated that politicians and leaders of this world represent what is most sick about the human condition. Politicians and princlings are given "their hour" in this earth, and they are undoubtedly groomed by the "god of this world" who was a murderer and a liar "from the beginning" (John 8:44). The dust and ashes of countless past civilizations and regimes attest to this truth...
Today we are living in a world that is "globalist" by design. Politicians are often unwitting lackeys for the darker powers seeking to consolidate power to enslave the whole earth. The so-called global economy and its system of usury is the mechanism that will give rise of yet another "Pharaoh" who likewise will be judged by the LORD God Almighty at the End of Days.
Many people live in a state of fear because they believe the lies and propaganda of "the lords of the darkness of this world" / τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου (Eph. 6:12). Satan's power always has been through the use of deception. If he can get you to believe a lie, he will begin to control you through fear. This is how the devil has always gained the kingdoms of this world -- through deception and violence... As followers of Yeshua, we must always keep in mind that reality centers on the LORD God of Israel and never in the "rhetorical violence" and metaphysical fantasies of political or media figures.
The LORD God of Israel truly cares about people's liberation from deception and oppression. The story of the Exodus is His everlasting rebuke to all the world's dictators and should cause every politician to soberly assess their fate... The time is coming when His judgment will fall upon all the "kings of the earth who take counsel against the LORD and against His Anointed One" (Psalm 2:2).
Presently we are living with the tension of the "already-not-yet" aspect of the original prophecy that "he (the Messiah) will crush the head (of the serpent)." Satan still appears to have the upper hand, at least in the temporal realm. Final victory is not yet here, even if it is assured through the promises of God (Rom. 16:20). And while the time appointed by God for the Messianic redemption of Israel and the "End of Days" is a heavenly kept secret (Mark 13:32), there are certain signs called chevlei mashiach (חֶבְלֵי מָשִׁיחַ) - the "birth pangs" of the Messiah - that indicate that the time is imminent when this world (κόσμος) will be judged.
Most of these birth pangs indicate peril and danger, including "distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves," and "men's hearts failing them for fear, and with foreboding of what is coming on the earth" (Luke 21:25-6). In addition, the moral depravity of mankind will be unmasked, showing us clearly that "men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof" (2 Tim. 3:2-3). The increase in "globalism" and the unholy urge to unify the world into a new type of "Babylon" will give the Messiah of Evil his coming political platform in the days ahead. "Political correctness," that is, social coercion based on godless consensus, is the ethos of our time.
We must cling to the truth that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28), and we must also take hold of the command given to Joshua: chazak ve'ematz, "Be strong and of good courage!" Just as Joshua was promised that the LORD would be with him as he went in to possess the land, so we must remember that the LORD has promised never to leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20), even in the midst of tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword (Rom. 8:35).
 |
We do not need to live in fear, because melo khol ha'aretz kevodo: מְלא כָל־הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדו, "the whole earth is filled with His glory (Isa. 6:3). "In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me" (Psalm 56:1). Passover is all about the victory of God over the powers of darkness for the sake of our deliverance (i.e., yeshuah: יְשׁוּעָה). The echo of Moses' cry, "Let my people go!" is still resounding in the heavenly realms. So be encouraged, chaverim, even in the face of evil. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, "for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Amen!
Expelling the Darkness...
[ "For our struggle is against spiritual forces of evil..." Eph. 6:12 ]
04.12.22 (Nisan 11 5782) Human life is a battleground of forces, and each person is engaged in a spiritual war for the healing of their soul... Often we are not willing to enter the battle until we have been sufficiently wounded by own own sins: many of us have to become "sick of being sick" until we are ready to seriously engage the underlying issues.
The battle is not optional. We must learn to deal with our own inner struggle against evil. Before we can help others to be free, however, we must be free ourselves, and that means learning how to expel the darkness hidden within our own hearts and to walk in God's light. Deliverance means being set free from that which "possesses" us, and that includes the demonic strongholds of fear, anger, envy, lust, and so on. Overmastering impulses can lead the soul to dark thoughts, self-alienation, shame -- a tenuous existence of subjugation and pain. The way of deliverance is to "name the demon," that is, to challenge the ground it claims and to exercise divine authority over our hearts. Above all this means being honest about our struggle and taking a decisive stand against our own oppression... Fighting the "good fight of faith" means caring enough to be healed...
We can only face the demonic if we are willing to be honest with ourselves, for without genuine honesty we cannot see our condition. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump" (Gal. 5:9). We must be willing to confess that there is much within us that remains unhealed, and that we are often unmindful of what really motivates our behavior. Even those things we might suppose as good - our religion or our self-control, for example - can possess us in ways that bring harm to ourselves and others....
When Yeshua expelled the demonic, the afflicted soul was given inner peace and put into their "right mind" (Mark 5:15). In other words, deliverance from madness is linked to God's healing influence in our lives: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound (safe) mind" (2 Tim. 1:7). Note that the word translated "safe" comes from the verb sodzo (σῴζω), meaning to be healed from destructive inner conflict. A delivered person has "inner balance" and is not easily overthrown by his conscious (or unconscious) passions. Such a person is grounded in reality: he knows who he is, what he needs, and is realistic about what he can and can't do. His soul is not divided but rather unified, centered, and focused. He is consciously present and accepts life without resistance.
Yeshua gives us "authority" over the demonic to heal (Luke 9:1). The Greek word authority, eksousia (ἐξουσία), is a compound formed from the preposition ek- (ἐκ), meaning "out of," and the noun ousia (ουσία), meaning "being" or substance, thereby suggesting power over physical and spiritual reality. Another way to understand the word, however, is to see it as the ability to see beyond the realm of the transient to abide within the realm of the Eternal. The Father represents the unseen, the infinite, the supreme providential and transcendental aspects of the One true God, just as the Son represents the seen, the finite, the suffering and immanent aspects of God... They are One (similarly the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, and therefore is One with God). Yeshua was entirely submitted to the will of the Father, which means he was able to let go and trust in the all-encompassing Divine Presence. His life was grounded in his relationship with the Eternal: "He that has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Since Yeshua lived in complete unity or "oneness" with God, he was completely centered and fully conscious of his identity as God's Son. His authority came from being preoperly aligned or related to God the Father, that is, ultimate reality, which enabled him to be a vessel or conduit for the expression of God in the world.
The Scriptures state: "Yield yourselves to God; take a stand against the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). We first ground ourselves in what is real - surrendering and accepting the given moment - and then we decisively refuse to be taken captive by our imagination, fear, lust, etc. When we turn to the light the darkness will be expelled (John 1:5). Let's choose life and therefore live (Deut. 30:19); let's take our stand against the powers of hell; let's repudiate our fears and "spiritually slay" whatever seeks to drive and control us. May our hearts grow quiet before the Divine Presence and abide in peace...
Hebrew Lesson
Isa. 26:3 reading (click):
Trusting and Knowing...
04.12.22 (Nisan 11 5782) The receiving of the Torah (קבלת תורה) must take place each and every day, as it says, "Trust in the LORD 'bekhol libekha' (בְּכָל־לִבֶּךָ) - with all your heart; and know Him 'bekol derakhekha' (בְּכָל־דְּרָכֶיךָ), in all your ways" (Prov. 3:5-6). The revelation of Torah is described as a "loud and never-ending voice" (Deut. 5:22), though it is our constant responsibility to "shema" – to take heed and receive the invitation of God's heart.
It is written in our Scriptures: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding" (Prov. 3:5). The Hebrew word for trust is "bittachon" (בִּטָחוֹן), from a root word (בָּטָח) that means "to lean upon," to feel safe and secure (Psalm 31:19). Bittachon expresses the emotional conviction that you are welcome and accepted before God, and that you have access to his heart (Heb. 4:16; 1 Pet. 5:7). We trust with "all of our heart" when we let go of our need to control (or understand) things and instead rely on God's ability to take care of us. Trusting God means knowing "in your kishkas," that is, in your guts, that God is taking care of you (Rom. 8:28); it is the comfort of being made safe in his love...
"In all your ways know Him, and he will direct your paths" (Prov. 3:6), and that means you are to know God in whatever "way" you happen to find yourself in, which includes ways of joy and happiness, but also ways of struggle, ways of sinfulness, and ways of heartache... In all these ways we are to know him.... And just as we are to trust God with all of our heart and abandon ourselves to his care, so we are "know God" in all our goings, opening our heart to his loving presence and trusting in his guidance for our lives. The Good Shepherd will lead us down the right paths for the sake of his beautiful name (Psalm 23:3). Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Proverbs 3:5-6 reading (click):
What We Really Need...
04.12.22 (Nisan 11 5782) "Your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matt. 6:8). We sometimes pray for what we think we need but overlook what we really need. For instance, we may pray for health, material blessing, and opportunity, but what we really need is the ability to trust, the willingness to surrender our lives to God without qualification, and the grace to see the good in others and not their faults. These needs are just as real as our need for food and clothing, since apart from grace to extend empathy and love toward others, we will never be truly happy. Love "overlooks" a multitude of sins; it looks beyond the present moment to see with compassion, kindness, and empathy... What we really need, then, is to be after God's own heart, to see other people as God sees them, and to overlook matters that offend or feed our sense of pride. This is what we truly need, and therefore we trust that the Lord our God mercifully "decodes" our apparent petitions to express what the Spirit of God groans and sighs on our behalf (Rom. 8:26).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 109:22 reading (click):
 |
Note that the word translated as "wounded" is challal (חָלַל), meaning "stricken, polluted, defiled, pierced, or broken." This is the condition of heart that is prerequisite for doing real business with heaven. "God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn't. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down.... I need Christ, not something that resembles Him." (C.S. Lewis: A Grief Observed)
Overcoming Worldly Fear...
[ "Come, my people (לֵך עמי בּא) enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast" (Isa. 26:20). ]
04.11.22 (Nisan 10 5782) Though we cannot control what happens in this world, we can trust that God is working all things together for good, even during times of testing, even in things that are blatantly evil, and even in the midst of mass deception by the "rulers of the darkness of this world" (Eph. 6:12; Rom. 8:28; Gen. 50:20, Jer. 29:11). And while we instinctively recoil at the prospect of physical death, there are decidedly things worse than death itself, namely, losing hope in life, walking in the darkness of despair, living a joyless existence because of fear, and ultimately facing God as a shameful coward who shrank back from the truth. As much as we abhor evil - and we must resist it with all our hearts - even more must we love the good - and cling to God (וּלְדָבְקָה־בוֹ) with all that is within us.
Ultimately, the most important thing to remember regarding death is the truth about God's salvation (יְשׁוּעָה). After all, God assuredly hates death and provides each of us with its eternal remedy: By clothing himself in human flesh, Yeshua embraced mortality itself and willingly bore the penalty for your sins, exchanging his life for yours, thereby destroying the one who had the power of death, namely the devil, and by so doing, set you free from slavery to the dread of death (Heb. 2:14-15). To those who belong to belong to Messiah, death represents a passage to eternal life and the loving presence of God Himself.
Only the miracle of faith can see hope in the face of radical evil... and yet that is the very message of the cross of the Messiah... Our Lord demonstrated that He is the the Killer of death itself; the Slayer of the Serpent; and the ultimate Triumph of God's Light over the realm of despair and everlasting darkness... He is the First and the Last, the Living One who died, and behold is alive forevermore, the true Keyholder of Death and Hell (Rev. 1:18).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 27:5a reading (click):
 |
Love Believes all things...
04.11.22 (Nisan 10 5782) "I would have fainted unless I believed to see the goodness of the LORD..." (Psalm 27:13). Faith is therefore self-authenticating: as you trust in the good, the good will be revealed: believe to see! As Yeshua said, "According to your faith be it done unto you" (Matt. 9:29). And if it is faith that makes you whole, then its lack makes you sick... As you doubt, so you will lose sight of what is real, true, and abiding. Being cynical is cowardly: "There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true" (Kierkegaard). The cynic refuses the possibility of truth because he is afraid of being fooled, and for this fear he willingly closes his eyes to the good. "Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact" (James). When we trust God's promises, we affirm an unseen good even if the present hour is shrouded in darkness. Faith sees beyond "the seen" to the unseen (2 Cor. 4:18). The "seen" is not ultimately real, and consequently faith is exiled from the vanity of the present hour (עולם השקר). Therefore affirm your faith, dear friend; do not allow your heart to waver. Refuse the darkness of fear by choosing to believe in the reality of God's love for your soul, despite the mess you've made of your life. Affirm that God's love is more real, more substantive, and more valuable than anything disclosed in this world that fades away. Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 27:3 reading (click):
The Passover Lamb...
[ We celebrate Passover while still in the darkness to better see the radiance of his salvation! ]
04.11.22 (Nisan 10 5782) Some of the sages say that the Passover was meant to be a prelude to the revelation given at Sinai, though it really had to do with the deliverance (i.e., yeshuah: יְשׁוּעָה) of those who had faith in God's remedy given through the blood of the lamb. The Passover anticipates God's victory over the powers of darkness -- recall that the final plague was delivered at midnight -- and the people then left Egypt for the promised land the following day -- a vivid testimony of God's power of redemption (Exod. 12:29; Exod. 12:41). We observe the Passover seder in the evening before the Exodus event because we share in the experience of salvation - trusting in God's deliverance from death by the agency of the sacrificial lamb - before we celebrate our freedom. Likewise we first go to the cross of Messiah, the Great "Lamb of God" - receiving God's provision for our healing and deliverance - before we begin our journey into the promise of newness of life (1 Cor. 5:7).
Observing Passover is an act of faith. While still within the darkness of bondage in Egypt, the Israelites had to believe in the freedom God promised to them. By taking hold of the lamb on the 10th of Nisan, waiting four days and then slaughtering the lamb, placing its blood upon their doorway, and later eating its flesh, the people expressed faith in God's deliverance by means of his compassionate gift of vicarious atonement (Exod. 12:3-12). Again, celebrating Passover expresses faith that we are set free from the powers of darkness and oppression, even during the struggle against the darkness. The victory of Passover is a divinely given freedom, a rebirth produced by the Spirit of God (2 Cor. 5:17).
Hebrew Lesson
Hab. 2:4 reading (click):
 |
Taking Passover Personally...
[ The eight-day holiday of Passover begins Friday evening at sundown... ]
04.11.22 (Nisan 10 5782) The message of Passover applies to each of us: "In each and every generation an individual should look upon him or herself as if he or she (personally) had left Egypt." Indeed the very First Commandment is to accept the reality of your personal deliverance by the LORD: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you (singular) out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Exod. 20:2). Note that the Hebrew word "Egypt" is mitzraim (מצרים), a word that means "prison, enclosure, or straights," from the verb tzur (צוּר) meaning "to bind or confine" (the Yiddish word tsuris, "trouble," comes from the same root). On the other hand, the Hebrew word for salvation is yeshuah (ישועה), from a root that means to "make wide," to "release from constraint," to deliver or set free. It is noteworthy that God began the Ten Commandments by identifying Himself as our Redeemer and Deliverer rather than as our Creator, because the purpose of creation is to be set free by means of God's redemptive love given through Yeshua, the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8; 1 Pet. 1:18-20; Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9). Happy Passover, friends...
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 20:2 reading (click):
 |
Testing and Endurance...
04.11.22 (Nisan 10 5782) When Paul wrote, "in everything give thanks" (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 34:19 Hebrew reading:
Kaddish and Providence...
04.10.22 (Nisan 9 5782) Since our faith affirms that "all things work together for good" (Rom. 8:28), we bless God for perceived evil as well as for perceived good, since all circumstances of life come from the hand of the LORD our God (Job 2:10). Despite appearances that sometimes seem to the contrary, we believe that the all-powerful, supreme LORD has not abandoned the world but actively sustains and upholds it with benevolent intent (Heb. 1:3). "We walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). When bad things happen to the righteous, we trust in God's personal care for their ultimate good, despite their present troubles. As the prophet Job said: "Though he slay me, I will trust in Him" (Job 13:15). This is the heart behind the Kaddish, the mourner's prayer, that expresses acceptance of God's world, despite the pain, sorrow, loss, and so on.
The term hashgachah pratit (השׁגחה פרטית) refers to God's personal supervision of our lives (hashgachah means "supervision," and pratit means "individual" or "particular"). Since He is the Master of the Universe, God's supervision reaches to the smallest of details of creation - from subatomic particles to the great motions of the cosmos. God not only calls each star by its own name (Psalm 147:4), but knows each particular lily and sparrow (Matt. 6:28-30, 10:29). Each person created in the likeness of God is therefore under the direct, personal supervision of God Himself -- whether that soul is conscious of that fact or not. As Yeshua said, even the hairs on your head are all numbered (Matt. 10:30). Indeed, the God of Israel is called אלהי הרוּחת לכל־בּשׂר / Elohei ha-ruchot lekhol-basar: "The God of the spirits of all flesh" (Num. 16:22), and that means He is LORD even over those who vainly attempt to suppress His Presence and reality. "Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth?" (Jer. 23:24).
The Talmud says that when Moses asked God, "Please show me your glory" (Exod. 33:18), he was asking for God's vindication in the light of the gnawing question: "Why do the righteous suffer while the wicked prosper?" Moses was not given an explicit answer, and some of the sages said he wrote the enigmatic Book of Job to demonstrate that the question can only be reduced to God's inscrutable will: "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?" (Job 38:4). In other words, the question can only be answered by the One who knows the beginning from the end, the Infinite One who sees the implications and concatenation of all things. As finite beings, we see only a fraction of the big picture, and therefore we must yield our trust to the Wisdom and Power of Almighty God (Deut. 32:4).
It is written, "Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb; in your scroll everything was written, my days were ordained before they came into existence" (Psalm 139:16). In light of God's providential ordering of our lives, Blaise Pascal asked, "What is left for us but to unite our will to that of God himself, to will in him, with him, and for him the thing that he has eternally willed in us and for us." The Mishnah says it this way: "Do His will as if it was your will that He may do your will as if it was His will" (Avot 2:4). In other words, what else can we do but learn to trust, accept, and to say "yes" to life -- even if at times we may feel like orphans, lost in a fatherless world... All our days are recorded in God's scroll.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 136:16b reading (click):
 |
There is a dark temptation to refuse to accept God's sovereign will, which includes objecting to his "tolerance" of evil (for a season) until his greater plan for the redemption is fully manifest... We need to be careful lest we become hardhearted, bitter, and despair over the purpose for life - like Ivan in The Brother's Karamazov (Dostoevsky) who, though he intellectually gave assent to God's overarching plan, refused to accept it because of the unspeakable cruelty and senseless suffering he saw in the world. His disillusionment moved him to say to his sincerely devout brother: "It's not God that I don't accept, Alyosha, only I most respectfully return him the ticket." How tragic that the heart can turn away from God because the present moment seems incomprehensible and broken.... How many people have so despaired when, if they had but held on for awhile longer, they may have received solace and comfort... For me it helps to remain humble, to confess my ignorance of much, and to "remember the future" wherein glory and beauty will be soon be revealed (Psalm 31:19).
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 31:19 reading (click):
 |
Living without Fear...
04.10.22 (Nisan 9 5782) The Spirit speaks to the heart of faith: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, and you are mine" (Isa. 43:1). God has personally redeemed you, friend; he calls you by name, and you belong to Him. The Lord loves you with an everlasting love and draws you close (Jer. 31:3). He has promised never to leave nor forsake you, even if you might face waters that seem to overwhelm or fires that seem to devour (Isa. 43:2). The will of your Heavenly Father will never lead you to a place where his love will not there sustain you. He is Present for you...
Worry is a place of exile and pain. We are commanded, al tira (אל־תירא) "fear not," because fear was behind the original sin in the garden, just as mistrust lies behind our own hiding and self-imposed exile from God... Since sin expresses a heart of fear (Rom. 14:23), the way of healing is to courageously turn back to God, despite our uncertainties. We can trust God's love for us because of the cross of Yeshua our Lord. If we haven't received God's love and acceptance, we are still enslaved to fear and abide in a state of exile. The love of God casts out our fear because it casts out all our sins (1 John 4:18).
It is written, "God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a "sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7). The Greek word for "sound mind" means "safe" because of the restraining influence of the Spirit of God... If you sense fearful oppression within your heart, turn to the Lord and offer him focused praise. Lift up your soul to him and thank him for your trouble. This has the double benefit of confessing your trust in God's care, as well as vexing the enemy of your soul. Come boldly to the throne of grace to find your help (Heb. 4:16); cast all your anxiety on him, for he cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7).
The Name of the LORD (יהוה) means "Presence" and "Love" (Exod. 3:14; 34:6-7). Yeshua said, "I go to prepare a place for you," which means that his presence and love are waiting for you in whatever lies ahead (John 14:1-3; Rom. 8:35-39). To worry is to "practice the absence" of God instead of to practice His Presence... Trust the word of the Holy Spirit: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for healing peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11).
Take comfort that your Heavenly Father sees when the sparrow falls; he arrays the flower in its hidden valley; and he calls each star by name. More importantly, the Lord sees you and understands your struggle with fear... Come to him with your needy heart and trust him to deliver you from the burdens of your soul (Matt. 11:28).
Hebrew Lesson
Isa. 43:1b reading (click):
The Meaning of Freedom...
04.08.22 (Nisan 7 5782) Passover is sometimes called zeman cheruteinu (זְמָן חֵרוּתֵנוּ), the "Season of our Freedom," though it's important to understand what that means. Some people think that "freedom" means "licentiousness," or the ability to do what they want to do whenever they want to do it. However, simply doing whatever you want to do is not the Torah's idea of freedom. Yeshua told us "whoever commits sin is the slave (δουλος) of sin," and went on to say "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:34-36). True freedom (i.e., cherut: חרוּת) is therefore moral and spiritual rather than merely physical. Real freedom has to do with the power to choose what is right and good, not to simply get your own way or to practice your lusts... Our deliverance is meant to clothe us with divine power to walk in righteousness and truth (Phil. 2:14-16).
True freedom is in agreement with the truth of God's law. Where it is written, "The tablets (of the Ten Commandments) were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved (חרות) on the tablets" (Exod. 32:16), the midrash says do not read the word as "engraved (i.e., charut: חָרוּת) on the tablets" but rather as "freedom (i.e., cherut: חֵרוּת) on the tablets," since only those who obey God's will may rightly be called "free" people. Amen. "Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times" (Psalm 106:3).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 119:77 reading (click):
Anger and Strange gods...
04.08.22 (Nisan 7 5782) Ours is a sick age, not because of the spread of viruses, but because of the spread of godlessness and the despair that results from spiritual darkness and deranged thinking. Ours is an angry age, and anger blinds the heart... Left unchecked, anger can destroy us and others. Angry words and actions leave their mark, wounding relationships and bringing about alienation and resentment. Dealing with our anger issues is not easy, of course, though it is essential for our healing. The sages say that unbridled anger is a symptom of idolatry - that is, elevating the self to "play god" by seeking to control things and to demand its own way. They note that the verse, "There shall not be within you a strange god (לא־יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֵל זָר), nor shall you bow to a foreign god" (Psalm 81:9) refers to the evil inclination within the heart which turns the self into a "foreign god," exalting the self "out of place" with reality. In that sense, anger is an expression of the demonic....
Anger entices the exalted ego to feel offended and to "make a case" against someone, finding them guilty of sin and worthy of contempt and retribution. We must be careful not to "legitimize" or excuse our spite by blaming others (or even God). Indeed the English word "blasphemy" comes from a Greek word (βλάσφημος) that means to speak evil, to revile, and to blame (μέμφομαι)... In other words, blaming others (including God) is a form of blasphemy. Raging about politics, insulting or slandering others, feeling aggrieved over your life, indulging in expressions of frustration because you don't get your way, walking in bitterness, sarcasm, or cynical indifference, scorning others or holding them in contempt -- all these are examples of blasphemy.
Yeshua said, "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven" (Luke 6:37). This is the "like-for-like" reciprocity of forgiveness: your forgiveness of others is the measure of your own forgiveness; the judgment you pronounce will fall upon you; the measure you use will be measured to you.... As Meister Eckart once said, "the eye that I see is the eye God sees me..."
The way of humility extends sympathy and compassion to others, looking past their shortcomings and transgressions, relieving them of the demand to be faultless and perfect. The true self is the one given to us when we are connected to "I am the LORD your God" (Exod. 20:2), and indeed, this is the very first commandment of the Ten Commandments: anokhi Adonai Elohekha (אָנכִי יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ). We overcome the idolatry of our anger when we let go of our "need" to control everything in the world and then gratefully reconnect with who we really are, namely a child of God who by God's love, compassion, and grace is no longer made "strange" or "foreign" to the truth and blessing of life (Eph. 4:24; 1 Cor. 5:7).
To forgive means to let go -- to "give away" pain and hard feelings... Forgiveness releases the hurt, the anger, and the disappointment so that these emotions do not inwardly consume and exhaust our souls. And yet forgiveness must be self-directed, too, since refusing to forgive yourself denies or negates the forgiveness given from others. Forgiving yourself means admitting that you act just like other people, that you are human, and that you are in need of reconciliation too. Ultimately, forgiveness is both an act of self-acceptance and empathy -- we admit we are just like others, weak, flawed, in need of help, and so on. We can only forgive to the extent we recognize the truth about ourselves that we see in others. Yet we have to move on, past the shame, and to turn back to abiding hope. As a Yiddish proverb puts it, "You are what you are, not what you were..."
"Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, but he who trusts in the LORD shall be surrounded with favor." (Psalm 32:10)
"I hereby forgive all who have hurt me, all who have wronged me, whether deliberately or inadvertently, whether by word or by deed. May no one be punished on my account. And as I forgive and pardon those who have wronged me, may those whom I have harmed forgive me, whether I acted deliberately or inadvertently, whether by word or by deed." Amen. (The Gates of Repentance)
Charles Williams once wisely noted that "many promising reconciliations have broken down because, while both parties came prepared to forgive, neither came prepared to be forgiven." We have a quick eye to see how others offend us, but not how we might offend them. May the Lord help us be yashar, upright and honest with ourselves; may He give us the humility to admit we make mistakes, that we are in need of mercy, and may He set us free from the slavery of pride.
So how do we forgive the people who have hurt us deeply or offended us? How do we let go of our anger and rage? We need God's help, the gift of love that we can extend toward those who have sinned against us. "Love suffers long and is kind." By refusing to condemn others we will not need to forgive them. Our great need is to turn, at every moment, and to keep our focus on the Eternal and what is most real.
Ours is an angry and unreasoning age, full of spiritual darkness and demonic insanity. Let's earnestly pray to be given sound minds, delivered from fear and anger, and thereby enabled to walk in the peace of God's truth.... May our Lord have mercy and help us all... Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Prov. 14:29 reading (click):
Always the First Step...
04.08.22 (Nisan 7 5782) There is a core element of your spiritual life that is all-determinative, that affects everything else, and that is the decision of whether you will choose to "show up," whether you will engage it's hope; and whether you will open your eyes and yield yourself to the light... And this is an ongoing decision.
Therefore we read: "If you walk in my statutes (אִם־בְּחֻקּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ) and observe my commandments and do them..." (Lev. 26:3). The sages note that unlike the holy angels, we must "walk out" the faith of our days, and therefore we are always moving either forward or backward. In this world, God's sun shines on the just and unjust alike (Matt. 5:45). Every human being lives by faith of some kind, and it is therefore impossible to opt out of the decision to "choose this day whom we shall serve" (Josh. 24:15). Indifference or apathy is as much a spiritual decision as is outright rebellion, and if we do nothing today to draw us near to the Lord, we will eventually regress and slip backward.
This is all very sobering. "No one knows the day or hour," and that's why it is so vital to turn to God and be healed while there is still time. So turn today and bacharta ba'chayim (בָּחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים) - "choose life!" "For this commandment (of turning to God) is not hidden from you, and it is not far away... No, the matter is "very near you" (כִּי־קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאד) - in your mouth and your heart - to do it" (Deut. 30:11-14; Rom. 10:8-13).
Hebrew Lesson
Deut. 30:19b reading (click):
Purification and Healing...
[ The following is related to our Torah reading for this week, parashat Tazria... ]
04.07.22 (Nisan 6 5782) The cleansing of a metzora (i.e., "leper") corresponded with other significant sacrificial rituals given in the Torah. The sprinkling of the hyssop by the priest recalled the blood of Passover; the offering made of the two birds - one which was sacrificed and the other set free - recalled the scapegoat of the Yom Kippur ritual. The washing of garments, the shaving of all hair, and the immersion in a mikveh (a pool of fresh water) recalled the birth of the Jewish people at the Sea of Reeds. Finally, the blood of the guilt offering sprinkled on the earlobe, thumb and foot, recalled the dedication of Aaron and his sons as the priests of Israel (Lev. 14:14). In other words, the individual purification process mirrored the purification of the community of Israel, and healing ultimately meant being re-identified as a redeemed child of God. In a very literal sense, then, we see how the metzora was "reborn" by water and by the blood (John 3:5; 19:34; Heb. 9:19).
Of the Messiah it is written: "He is despised and rejected of men, a man of pains (אִישׁ מַכְאבוֹת) and acquainted with sickness (וִידוּעַ חלִי), and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he has carried our sicknesses (חֳלָיֵנוּ) and borne our pains (מַכְאבֵינוּ), yet we esteemed him as plagued (נָגַע), smitten of God (מֻכֵּה אֱלהִים) and oppressed. But he was pierced (מְחלָל) for our transgressions (פְּשָׁעֵנוּ), he was crushed for our iniquities (עֲוֹנתֵינוּ): the discipline for our peace was upon him (מוּסַר שְׁלוֹמֵנוּ עָלָיו); and in his blows we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, but the LORD has attacked in him (הִפְגִּיעַ בּוֹ) the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:3-6). Through the substitutionary sacrifice of the righteous Suffering Servant, Yeshua, we are both forgiven and made free from the power of sin and death. Because of Him we are no longer "lepers" or outcasts from the community of God but are made clean through His loving touch.
Notice that the word translated "blow" (i.e., חַבּוּרָה, "wound" or "stripe") comes from the same root as the word "friend" (חָבֵר), and therefore we can read this as "in His friendship we are healed." Yeshua gave up His life for us so that we could become his friends... As He later told us regarding his sacrifice: "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Indeed of Yeshua it may truly be said, Yesh ohev davek me'ach – "there is a friend who sticks (davek) closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 51:7 reading (click):
Note: For more on this subject, see the article: "Thoughts on Holiness."
The Month of Deliverance...
04.07.22 (Nisan 6 5782) Passover is all about the victory of God over the powers of darkness for the sake of our deliverance (יְשׁוּעָה). Shelach et ammi: "Let my people go!" Indeed, the month of Nisan is called Chodesh ha-yeshuah (חדֶשׁ הַיְשׁוּעָה), the "month of the salvation," both in terms of remembering the physical deliverance from the political powers of Egypt, but more profoundly in terms of our spiritual deliverance given at Zion/Moriah through the Messiah. Chodesh ha-yeshuah can also be read as chadash ha-yeshuah, "the new (חָדָשׁ) salvation," suggesting the new covenant power we are given in the Messiah. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, chaverim, but against hidden powers of darkness that seek to enslave us as Pharaoh did of old (Eph. 6:12). But thanks be to God who gives us the victory (netzach, salvation) through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah (1 Cor. 15:57).
Hebrew Lesson
1 Chron. 29:11 reading (click):
 |
 |
So Passover is a month-long celebration. Over and over it is referred to as the "month of spring" (חדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב), the "month of redemption," the month of Nisan, and so on. The word Nisan (נִיסָן) itself might come from either the word nitzan (נִצָּן), meaning "bud" (Song 2:12), or the word nissim (נִסִּים) meaning "miracles," both of which suggest physical and spiritual resurrection in our lives. Others think the word comes from the verb nus (נוּס), meaning "to flee," both in relation to Israel's flight from Egypt and Egypt's flight from Israel (i.e., when the pursuing Egyptian cavalry fled (נָסִים) before the sea closed upon them (Exod. 14:25, 27). We also see this usage in the verse: "The wicked flee (נָסוּ) when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion" (Prov. 28:1). The devil's power is found in the lie. If he can make you afraid, you will not think clearly. Establishing your faith in the truth will embolden you to deal with the lies and distortions that are intended to enslave you in fear. As Yeshua said, the truth will set you free (John 8:32).
Yeshua is called the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" (הָאַרְיֵה מִשֵּׁבֶט יְהוּדָה) and the "Root of David" (שׁרֶשׁ דָּוִד). Notice that the name Judah (יְהוּדָה) includes the Name YHVH (יהוה) with the insertion of the letter Dalet (ד), suggesting that this shevet (tribe) would be the "door" or "gate" into the presence of God. Yeshua the Messiah was from the tribe of Judah who described Himself as ha-sha'ar (הַשַּׁעַר) "the gate" (John 10:9). Putting our faith in Yeshua gives us bold access to the throne of God's grace so that we can find help (deliverance) in time of our need (Heb. 4:16).
In light of the conditions of this evil world, we cry out for Yeshua to return now! We want His deliverance, just as He delivered the Jews from ancient Egypt with great signs and wonders. Most politicians, by definition, exhibit the Pharaoh-like lust to control and exploit people. They are called "the lords of the darkness of this world" / τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου (Eph. 6:12). This is the nature of the corruption of those who crave power over others... Today, so many people live in fear because they believe the propaganda of the "princes of this age." We must always keep in mind that reality centers on the LORD God of Israel, not in appearances and the rhetoric of political or media figures. Melo khol ha'aretz kevodo: מְלא כָל־הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדו, "the whole earth is filled with His glory (Isa. 6:3). And the LORD God of Israel cares about people's liberation from deception and tyranny. The story of the Exodus is His everlasting rebuke to all the world's dictators and should cause every politician to soberly assess their fate... The time is coming when His judgment will fall upon the "kings of the earth who take counsel against the LORD and against His Anointed (Psalm 2:2).
|
Established in God's Way...
04.07.22 (Nisan 6 5782) 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, as it says, "The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast down: for the LORD holds his hand" (Psalm 37:23-24). When you are unsure of your way, when you walk in uncertainty, you are unsteady in your resolve and are tempted to regard your life as being without any solid foundation. 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...
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 37:23-24 reading (click):
The Torah of Passover...
[ The holiday of Passover (i.e., Pesach) begins Friday, April 15th at sundown this year... ]
04.06.22 (Nisan 5 5782) All of the Biblical holidays (חגי תורה) begin with the primordial holiday of Passover (חג הפסח). On the first of Nisan, two weeks before the Exodus, God showed Moses the new moon and commenced the divine calendar. Two weeks later, the Israelites kept the Passover by daubing the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. At the stroke of midnight of Nisan 15 God sent the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. On the 6th of Sivan, exactly seven weeks after the Exodus (49 days), Moses first ascended Sinai to receive the Torah (Shavuot). Forty days later, on the 17th of Tammuz, the tablets were broken. Moses then interceded for Israel for another forty days until he was called back up to Sinai on Elul 1 and received the revelation of the Name (YHVH). After this, he was given the second tablets and returned to the camp on Tishri 10, which later was called Yom Kippur, or the "Day of Atonement." Later the holiday of Sukkot ("Tabernacles") was instituted to commemorate God's care for the people as they trekked through the desert en route to the promised land.
 |
The story of the Exodus from Egypt (סיפור יציאת מצרים) is perhaps the most fundamental event of Jewish history. 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 very first of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:2), and it is recalled every Sabbath day (Deut. 5:12-15). The festivals of Shavuot ("Pentecost") and Sukkot ("Tabernacles") 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). Indeed, nearly every commandment of the Torah (including the laws of the Mishkan (i.e., "Tabernacle") and the sacrificial system) may be traced back to the story of the Exodus. Most importantly, the Exodus prefigures and exemplifies the work of redemption given through the sacrificial life of Yeshua the Messiah, the true King of the Jews and the great Lamb of God (שׂה האלהים).
Notice something very important, friends. The very first occurrence of the word "Torah" (תורה) in the Scriptures refers to the obedient faith of Abraham (Gen. 26:5), and the second occurrence refers to the law of Passover: "There shall be one law (תורה אחת) for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you" (Exod. 12:49). There is a link between these two occurrences. Abraham lived before the time of the Exodus, of course, and therefore he obeyed the law of Passover by means of the Akedah (the sacrifice of his "only begotten" son Isaac). Despite offering his son up upon the altar at Moriah, Abraham believed in the LORD and it was credited to him as tzedakah (righteousness). Abraham's obedience revealed that the inner meaning of Torah is that the "righteous shall live by faith" (Hab. 2:4, Rom. 1:17). The Torah of Passover (תורת הפסח) likewise teaches that redemption from death is possible through the exchange of an innocent sacrificial victim. The blood of the Passover was "a sign" of imputed righteousness that was obtained entirely by faith. This is the "korban" principle of "life-for-life" that underlies the Torah of the sacrificial system of the Tabernacle as well. Ultimately all true Torah points to Yeshua, who is the divinely appointed Redeemer and the beginning and goal of all of creation... "When the fullness of time (τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου) had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the Torah, to redeem those who were under the Torah, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Gal. 4:4-5).
Hebrew Lesson:
Numbers 9:2 Hebrew reading:
Related Topics for Passover:
An End to Our Darkness...
04.06.22 (Nisan 5 5782) In our struggle against the darkness, there is good end coming -- an amazingly glorious end -- so don't let your heart grow numb. Never give up hope. The Spirit says: "Be silent before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not burn with anger over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil schemes. Abandon your anger and forsake your rage. Do not burn with anger: it tends only to distress. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who keep hope in the LORD shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there" (Psalm 37:7-10). Amen, halevai, let it be so, O God...
וְעוֹד מְעַט וְאֵין רָשָׁע
וְהִתְבּוֹנַנְתָּ עַל־מְקוֹמוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ
ve·ohd · mei·aht · ve·ein · rah·sha
ve·heet·boh·nan'·ta · al-mei·koh·moh · ve·ei·ne'·noo
"In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there."
(Psalm 37:10)
Just a little longer (עוֹד מְעַט) and there will be no more wicked one (אֵין רָשָׁע). Soon God will utterly vanquish wickedness, though in the present hour such hope might seem distant and far away. Stay strong in your desire for God's Name to be vindicated, for righteousness and love to shine as the noonday. Take hold of this vision through tevunah (understanding), and contemplate that there will be "no place" for the wicked one: wickedness itself will be driven away like dissipating smoke. Moreover, it is not only the wicked of this world, but our own inner wickedness that will find no place, for in the world to come we will be free from not only sin's influence but also sin's presence within our own hearts... Maranatha!
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 37:11 reading (click):
Rest for your Soul...
04.06.22 (Nisan 5 5782) Yeshua says, "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" (Matt. 11:28-29). When he said, "Live in me, and I will live in you" (John 15:4), he didn't insist you first be found worthy or good; no, he set no other condition than that of trust: "Now are you clean through the word which I speak" (John 15:3). The separation is gone; God has made the way past your shame. You are invited to come, so come just as you are, come without delay, but come trusting that you are entirely welcome because of who Yeshua is and what he has done for you...
O Lord, help us to be in that life you so freely give.... help us to come.
Hebrew Lesson
Isa. 30:15b reading (click):
Broken of Heart...
04.05.22 (Nisan 4 5782) Brokenness is the means through which God performs some of His deepest work within our hearts. A.W. Tozer once said, "It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply." Likewise Alan Redpath once wrote, "When God wants to do an impossible task, He takes an impossible individual – and crushes him." These are seeingly scandalous words; they speak a severe mercy. "Blessed are they that mourn."
This seems to be the divine pattern. "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). The hard "outer shell" of the seed must be broken so that the life of the Spirit can come through... Plainly put, God (and only God) can "deconstruct" the self so that life's priorities, focus, and passions are redirected to Him alone, the true Source of life and blessing.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 34:18 reading (click):
 |
The Lord is near to the nishbar lev, the one with a broken heart. The Hebrew word "lev" (לב) metaphorically refers to our inner life, that is, our affections, mind, and will. This is revealed in the letters of the Hebrew word itself: the Lamed (ל) depicts a "staff" used to direct something (i.e., the will), and the Bet (בּ) depicts the "house" of the physical body. Lev then represents our inner life of thought and feeling expressed in our actions. Those who are broken in heart – the nishberei lev – have discovered that they cannot control their own lives, that they are inwardly "shattered," and therefore need divine help. Contrary to conventional wisdom, God helps those who cannot help themselves; He singularly prefers to use broken vessels in His service (Psalm 51:19). As Tozer also wrote, "Beware of any Christian leader who does not walk with a limp."
There is parallelism in this verse. Both lev (לֵב) and ruach (רוּחַ) denote man's will and thoughts (Josh. 2:11; Deut. 2:30). Both the "broken of heart" and the "crushed in spirit" – dakkei ruach – refer to those who need God's deliverance (i.e., יְשׁוּעָה, yeshuah). The word translated "saves" (yoshia) connotes the idea of "making room" from what distresses us. Salvation is freedom from what oppresses and constricts our inward life. In that sense, God saves us from ourselves – from the chaos of the carnal ego trying to run our own lives.
The LORD is "near" -- karov -- to the broken of heart. This adverb means "close enough to touch." The same root is used for the word korban (קָרְבָּן), a sacrificial offering that draws us near to God, as well as karov (קָרוֹב), a near kinsman. The Lord is near to the nishbar lev, the one with a broken heart; he understands the grief of living in a fallen world.
The point of our brokenness is to draw us to God for healing: "The LORD heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3). Yeshua came to "bind up the broken of heart (nishberei lev), to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound" (Isa. 61:1). God is merciful and redemptive in His afflictions: "He shall not break even a bruised reed, nor snuff out even a smoldering wick. He shall bring forth the true way" (Isa. 42:3). Affliction is a means of teaching us what we really need....
Yeshua is the healer of the broken heart and the Savior of those who are crushed in spirit. Blessed be His Name forever...
Healing Afflictions...
04.05.22 (Nisan 4 5782) GOD USES SUFFERING IN OUR LIVES to teach us the truth. After all, who among us would have genuinely turned to Him without its effect? The Lord repeatedly uses affliction to call us back to Him. It's His tool for prompting us to do teshuvah – repentance. Indeed, can there be any worse punishment in this life than to be untouched by need, suffering and testing? Can anything be more tragic than to be forgotten or overlooked by God? No, affliction is a blessing in disguise. As A.W Tozer once wrote, "It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He's hurt him deeply."
Of course affliction is just the starting point, the prerequisite for all that follows. It's the "price for admission" into God's school. And the very first lesson to be mastered is that 1) there is a God and 2) you are not Him. Should you forget the lesson, you will be revisited with affliction to help you begin again. In this way suffering is like a "guardian angel" or a personal tutor who keeps you focused on the truth. You simply cannot move forward in God's school apart from complete surrender.
When we genuinely accept that God defines the truth for our lives, we realize that affliction is sovereignly given to us so that we can learn abide in Him without constraint. As Soren Kierkegaard once wrote, "God's education consists in leading one to being able to do freely what at first one had to be compelled to do." "Law" is transformed to that of grace.
Life is a "school" for the soul. God is the Teacher, we are "disciples" (i.e., תַּלְמִידִים, "learners"), and affliction is our divinely appointed tutor. Many of us are slow to learn, but God is patient with those whom He disciplines. The goal is to never lose sight of what's most important, which is God Himself. If you find yourself in a place of resistance, then you are confronted with the decision of whether or not you will trust the Teacher. The key lies in surrendering to God's will by submitting to His rule over all things. Yielding to God's will is the path of serenity and inner peace (Isa. 26:3).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 119:71 reading (click):
Affliction is the humbling process by which God teaches us His decrees (i.e., chukkim: חֻקִּים), but it should be noted that such decrees are not always "rational." Indeed the very word chukkim refers to laws given that do not make "rational sense." The divine decrees supersede or transcend the claims of logic and reason, and indeed, human reason must submit to God's authority. We believe in order to understand -- not the other way around. Reason cannot "demand" an explanation from God, and should it refuse to submit, the mind will be at war with the heart, leading to further affliction. This disunity of the person leads to a state of inner contradiction and eventually to the disintegration of the soul. The way of healing in this case is to make a decision to submit to God's loving authority -- despite the antinomies presented by human rationality.
On the other hand, submitting to God's teaching leads to a life of collision with worldly culture. This leads to a constant state of paradox. Living by emunah (אֱמוּנָה, faith) is "already-not-yet," a constant mediation between time and eternity, of freedom and necessity, which, according to the "wisdom of this world," is regarded as absurd. Naturalism or humanism wants to abolish paradox through reductionism but the life of the spirit lives in a state of ongoing tension and paradox. Faith affirms that underlying the surface appearance of life is a deeper reality that is ultimately real and abiding. It "sees what is invisible" (2 Cor. 4:18) and understands (i.e., accepts) that the "present form of this world is passing away" (1 Cor. 7:31). The life of faith therefore calls us to live as toshavim - sojourners - who are put at a "distance" from the world of appearances. We ache with a divine "homesickness." We lament the state of this world and its evils. We gnaw with hunger for love and truth to prevail in the world. In this way faith itself is cause for yet further affliction because it finds itself alone among the crowd and its diversions.
 |
"For the moment all correction (מוּסָר) seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Heb. 12:11). May the Lord keep you in perfect peace as you set your mind on Him. Shalom.
Heaven's Love Story...
04.04.22 (Nisan 3 5782) The Scriptures reveal that ultimate reality is a divine love story with a "happy ending," despite the struggles we often face in this world. We see this in connection with the great deliverance of the Passover, when we read the story of our redemption in a book called a "haggadah." Note that the Hebrew word "haggadah" (הַגָּדָה) means "retelling," which of course refers to the story of our journey from slavery to freedom by the hand of God's love. With regard to the sanctity of this story, the Torah commands us: "You shall tell (i.e., ve'higadta: וְהִגַּדְתָּ, from which "haggadah" comes) your child on that day, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Torah of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt" (Exod. 13:8-8). The sages note that the numeric value of the word "haggadah" (הַגָּדָה) is the same as the Hebrew word for "good" (i.e., tov: טוֹב), which again indicates that the story of our redemption in the Messiah is truly good – indeed, the greatest story ever told...
מָה־אָשִׁיב לַיהוָה כָּל־תַּגְמוּלוֹהִי עָלָי
כּוֹס־יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶשָּׂא וּבְשֵׁם יְהוָה אֶקְרָא
mah-ah·sheev · la'donai · kohl-tag·moo·loh'·hee · a·lai
kohs · ye·shoo·oht · es·sah · oov·shem · Adonai · ek·rah
"What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me?
I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD."
(Psalm 116:12-13)
Passover and Teshuvah...
04.04.22 (Nisan 3 5782) Since we are at the outset of a new year, it is an opportune time to reflect on the direction of our lives... The Scriptures say: "As a person thinks in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7). Consider for a moment how your thinking defines your inner reality and the quality of your spiritual life. Thinking is inextricably linked to faith, and therefore we are responsible not only for what we believe, but for how we think (Acts 17:30-31). Sinful thinking creates "negative energy" that brings pain to yourself and others. Left unchallenged, such impaired cognitive function leads to slavery of the mind, hopeless addictions of thought, and distressing captivity. The first step to freedom is to confess our sin, acknowledging the reality of our own negativity – and bringing that truth to the light. Therefore teshuvah – turning to God – involves cheshbon hanefesh (חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ), accounting for our soul and yielding it to the love of God for rectification: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). For freedom we have been set free, and that means freedom from the power of the lie. If we deny our own sin, we cannot confess the truth to find lasting healing (James 5:16). May the LORD prepare our hearts for this season of our lives...
Hebrew Lesson
Eccl. 7:20 Hebrew reading (click):
Shabbat Hagadol:
The Sabbath before Passover...
[ The holiday of Passover begins Friday, April 15th at sundown... ]
04.04.22 (Nisan 3 5782) The Sabbath that immediately precedes the festival of Passover is called the "Great Sabbath" (i.e., Shabbat HaGadol: שבת הגדול), in honor of the time when the first generation set aside the lamb for the Passover Sacrifice (i.e., korban Pesach: קרבן פסח).
During the time of the Temple it was customary to obtain the Korban Pesach (i.e., Passover lamb) four days before Passover so that worshipers could make sure that their lambs had no blemishes which would preclude them from being offered as sacrifices. This was done to fulfill the instructions given in Exodus 12 that the lamb for Passover be "without spot or blemish." Interestingly, this period of time allowed time for each family to become personally attached to their lamb, so that it would no longer simply be "a lamb" (Exod. 12:3) but rather their lamb" (Exod. 12:5). Indeed 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) can be read as Aleph-Tav (את) combined with the letter Vav (ו), signifying the Son of Man who is First and Last.
![Spring Holiday Timeline (H4C]](../../About_HFC/Site_News/shabbathagaolline.gif) |
Shabbat HaGadol foreshadowed the offering of Yeshua as the "Lamb of God" who takes away the sins of the world. The New Testament notes that it was a few days before Passover when Yeshua made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, signifying His Messiahship, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zech. 9:9). During this time, when the pilgrims had come to select the lamb for the Passover sacrifice - they saw Yeshua and cried out: hoshiah na (הושׁיעה נא), meaning "please save" or "save now" (in English this phrase was translated from the Latin to form "Hosanna!"). The people spontaneously began singing Psalm 118:25-26 in anticipation of the fulfillment of the great Messianic hope:
אָנּא יְהוָה הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא
אָנָּא יְהוָה הַצְלִיחָה נָּא
בָּרוּךְ הַבָּא בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה
בֵּרַכְנוּכֶם מִבֵּית יְהוָה
ah·nah · Adonai · hoh·shee·ah · nah
ah·nah · Adonai · hatz·lee·chah · nah
bah·rookh · ha·bah · be·shem · Adonai
be·rakh·noo·khem · mee·beit · Adonai
"Please, LORD save us! Please, LORD rescue us!
Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the LORD
We bless you from the house of the LORD."
(Psalm 118:25-26)
Hebrew Study Card
The Haftarah for Shabbat HaGadol (i.e., Malachi 3:4-24) foretells of Yom Adonai (יוֹם יהוה), the great Day of the LORD, and the return of Yeshua as Mashiach ben David. May that day come soon, chaverim. For more information, click here.
Cleansing of the Leper:
Parashat Metzora...
04.03.22 (Nisan 2 5782) Recall from last week's Torah (i.e., Tazria) that if someone was diagnosed with tzara'at (i.e., "leprosy"), they were forced to live in a state of exile. The afflicted person (called a "metzora") tore his clothes like a mourner, put a shroud over his face, and remained alone. If anyone came near, the person would cry out: "Unclean! Stay away! Do not become impure because of me!" While so isolated, the person would have opportunity to perform teshuvah (repentance) and to reexamine his relationship with God.
In our Torah portion this week (i.e., Metzora), we learn about the laws for cleansing "lepers" (i.e., metzorim). If the one suffering from tzara'at (i.e., the metzora) had apparently been healed, he would first call for the priest to be officially reexamined. If the priest saw no sign of tumah (uncleanness), a second examination was scheduled seven days later, and if at that time there was no further sign of disease, the process of tahara (purification) would begin.
The purification process was somewhat elaborate: After the second examination, the priest required that the metzora bring the following items for his cleansing:
- An earthenware bowl filled with spring water (mayim chayim)
- Two birds of the same type (whether turtledoves or pigeons)
- A stick of cedar wood
- A hyssop branch
- A scarlet thread
The priest then commanded that one of the birds should be slaughtered over the earthen vessel filled with fresh water, with its blood mixing with the water. The living bird, the piece of cedar, and the hyssop branch were then tied together using the scarlet thread, and the entire bundle was dipped into the earthen vessel. The blood and water mixture was then sprinkled seven times on the healed metzora, and the living bird was then set free.
Next, the healed person washed his clothes, shaved off all his hair (including his eyebrows), and bathed in a mikveh (ritual pool for cleansing). After that he could return to the camp - but he could not return to his home for another seven days. On the eighth day he would bathe again and offer several offerings (a chatat, an asham, an olah, and a minchah), but the blood from the asham (guilt) offering was mixed with oil and applied to his earlobe, thumb and foot, similar to the blood applied to the priests during their ordination. Oil from a meal offering was sprinkled seven times in the direction of the Sanctuary. Only after all this was he pronounced tahor (clean) by the priest. His life of uncleanness would be over, and he would be like a man who was brought back from the dead to new life.
This purification ritual corresponded with other rituals revealed in the Torah. The sprinkling of the hyssop by the priest recalled both the blood of the Passover lamb and the sprinkling of the ashes of the Red Heifer that cleanse from contact with death; the offering made of the two birds - one which was sacrificed and the other set free - recalled the scapegoat of the Yom Kippur ritual. The washing of garments, the shaving of all hair, and the immersion in a mikveh recalled the birth of the Jewish people at the Sea of Reeds. The blood of the guilt offering applied to the earlobe, thumb and foot, recalled the dedication of Aaron and his sons as the priests of Israel (Lev. 14:14). In other words, the individual purification process mirrored the purification of the community of Israel, and healing ultimately meant being reidentified as a redeemed child of God. In a very literal sense, then, we see how the metzora was "reborn" by water and by the blood (John 3:5; 19:34; Heb. 9:19).
Centrality of the Lamb...
04.01.22 (II Adar 29 5782) The goal of the great Sinai revelation was not to simply impart a set of moral or social laws, but rather to "accommodate" the Divine Presence in the midst of the people. This is not to suggest that the various laws and decrees given to Israel were unimportant, of course, since they reflect the holy character and moral will of God. Nonetheless, the climax of the revelation of the Torah - its goal or purpose or "end" - was the revelation of the altar which prefigured the sacrificial work of the Lamb of God. Indeed, the central sacrifice upon this altar was the daily sacrifice (i.e., korban tamid: קָרְבַּן תָּמִיד) of a defect-free male lamb with unleavened bread and wine, one lamb offered in the morning, and another offered in the evening, so that at all times the lamb would be offered up to God. The LORD calls this "My offering, My bread..." (see Num. 28:1-8). In other words, the service and ministry of the Tabernacle constantly proclaimed the Passover Lamb of God that was offered up to deliver the faithful of Israel from the plague of death, and who would later be offered upon the cross to secure our eternal redemption (Heb. 9:11-12; 1 Cor. 5:7). The sacrifice of the lamb of God is therefore central to the meaning and purpose of the Torah.
The Talmud says "All the world was created for the Messiah" (Sanhedrin 98b). The Apostle Paul had earlier said the same thing: "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). Indeed, all of creation is being constantly upheld by the word of the Messiah's power (Heb. 1:3). Creation begins and ends with the redemptive love of God as manifested in the Person of Yeshua our LORD... The Messiah is the Center of Creation - its beginning and end. As it is written: אָנכִי אָלֶף וְתָו רִאשׁוֹן וְאַחֲרוֹן ראשׁ וָסוֹף / "I am the 'Aleph' and the 'Tav,' the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Rev. 22:13). "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" (Rom. 11:36). In everything Yeshua has the preeminence (Col. 1:18), and his "work" is of first importance (1 Cor. 2:2, 1 Cor. 15:3-4). Yeshua our Messiah is called מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים / Melech Malchei Hamelachim: The "King of kings of kings." He is LORD of all possible worlds -- from the highest celestial glory to the dust of death upon a cross. Yehi shem Adonai mevorakh: "Let the Name of the LORD be blessed" forever and ever (Psalm 113:2). So while we can agree with the Talmud's general statement that the world was created for the Messiah, we would insist that the Messiah is none other than Yeshua, God's Son, and indeed, the Messiah could be no other...
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 29:38 reading (click):
Passover Soul Searching...
[ The following is related to the theme of repentance before the holiday of Passover... ]
04.01.22 (II Adar 29 5782) The search for chametz (חפש חמץ) before Passover may be likened to the soul searching we do before the High Holidays in the fall, when we take an inventory of our spiritual condition (חשבון נפש) and do teshuvah. The Torah instructs us to carefully search and remove sources of inner impurity so that we might experience the truth that we are a "new lump" - that is, a new substance that is purged from the sour and rotting influences of our past lives... And since Yeshua has been sacrificed as your Passover Lamb, you are indeed a new creation (בּריה חדשׁה) made "unleavened" (pure) by the power of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 5:17). Therefore you are likewise commanded put away the "old nature" (יצר הרע) and purge from your life the old influences that inwardly canker you and make you sick (Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9). Walk without hypocrisy in the truth of the love of God for your soul.
חָקְרֵנִי אֵל וְדַע לְבָבִי
בְּחָנֵנִי וְדַע שַׂרְעַפָּי
וּרְאֵה אִם־דֶּרֶךְ־עֹצֶב בִּי
וּנְחֵנִי בְּדֶרֶךְ עוֹלָם
chok·rei'·nee · el · ve·da · le·va·vee
be·cha·nei'·nee · ve'da · sar·a·pai
oor·eih · eem-de'·rekh-o'·tzev · bee
oo·ne·chei'·nee · be·de'·rekh · o·lam
"Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Test me and know my anxious thoughts!
And see if there be any idolatrous way in me,
and lead me in the way of eternity."
(Psalm 139:23-24)
Happy New Year!
04.01.22 (II Adar 29 5782) This evening at sundown marks Nisan 1, the first day of the Biblical New Year! L'Shanah Tovah! -- "To a good year!" The new moon of Nisan is the most significant of the "new moons" of the Jewish calendar since it initiates the first month of the Biblical Calendar - and therefore represents the Biblical "New Year's Day." Of all the various Rosh Chodesh celebrations, then, Rosh Chodesh Nisan is foundational, since it presents the starting point for the cycle of the yearly festivals (mo'edim) that reveal prophetic truths about the LORD God of Israel and His beloved Son, Yeshua the Messiah, blessed be He.
 |
The last promise of Scripture is "I come quickly" (אֲנִי בָא מַהֵר) and the last prayer is, "Amen, come, Lord Yeshua" (אָמֵן בּאָה־נָּא הָאָדוֹן יֵשׁוּעַ) [Rev. 22:20]. Meanwhile we "inwardly groan" for the fulfillment of our redemption, since presently we are suspended between worlds, walking in hope yet subject to the vanities that befall all flesh... And though God may tarry, He declares, "I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it" (Isa. 60:22). So we are made captives to hope, clinging to the promise of our ultimate healing and redemption. Our hearts therefore affirm that God is faithful "to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24). Amen. God will help us before He will help us, and may He come speedily, and in our day....
If you listen closely you can hear the hoof-beats of an approaching White Horse, and on it One whose name is Truth... He is coming and he cannot be stopped...
March 2022 Site Updates
Faith Establishes the Law...
[ "Be kind. Every person you meet is fighting a difficult battle." - Plato ]
03.31.22 (II Adar 28 5782) We read in the New Testament: "Do we then make void (i.e., καταργέω, "idle," "deactivate") the law of God through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish (i.e., ἵστημι, "make stand," "uphold") the law" (Rom. 3:31). How so? We establish the verdict of law on the basis of our faith in God's righteousness, not our own. Unlike those who attempt to establish their own righteousness by means of "keeping the law," we confess our inability to do so and throw ourselves upon the gracious provision God supplies for our atonement at the cross. The law teaches us our need for the Savior. We are not saved by keeping the law, but that does not mean that we should disregard the truth of the law, nor fail to appreciate the One who kept the law on our behalf -- and then bore its verdict for our sin in his sacrificial death (Gal. 3:13). Indeed only those who believe in Yeshua fully uphold the truth of the Torah and affirm the need for sacrificial atonement for sin (Lev. 17:11); they do not mitigate the verdict of the law nor explain away the need for sacrificial blood atonement as the rabbis do (Deut. 27:9-28:68). The meaning of the cross is understood in light of curses of the law - and God's passion to deliver us from spiritual death - for God's truth and mercy are reconciled only there (Psalm 85:10). There is no need for the cross apart from the law, and there is no need for the law apart from God's mercy. "If you love me," says Yeshua, "keep my commandments." The love of God is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:8-10; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8). Blessed are those that love the law of the LORD and meditate upon its truth (Psalm 1:1-3).
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 119:97 reading (click):
 |
Seeing Him who is Invisible...
[ "We know that if God should put to the test our faithfulness to him, we know well that at the moment of testing, he himself must hold on to us, that is, we know that at bottom we are unfaithful, and that every instant it is he who at bottom holds us." - Kierkegaard ]
03.31.22 (II Adar 28 5782) "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Matt. 6:6). Yeshua was not a fan of outward shows of spirituality or religion (Matt. 15:8). The rabbis called for public displays of repetitive prayers, but Yeshua understood that true prayer is a matter of intimate passion within the heart, and that the most powerful intercessions were made with "groanings that cannot be uttered." Instead of reciting prayers for the sake of ceremony or man's approval, he instructed us to pray "secretly" to our Father who "sees in secret" (ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ). Indeed, Yeshua taught that the LORD is "τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ," the one who is in the secret place, that is, hidden from outward forms, and that is why he himself came in disguise (Isa. 53:2). Since there is no merit in begging God for help, the Father rewards those who pray in their brokenness and poverty of heart, and his reward is revealed divine grace expressed openly - "ἐν τῷ φανερῷ" - unhidden to heart of faith (Deut. 29:29; Dan. 2:22). "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1).
Ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ - God both is, and sees, "in secret." He is in secret because he dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see" (1 Tim. 6:16), and yet he calls us to believe in the light, to walk in the light, and to be children of light (John 12:36; 1 John 1:7). We see the light in the teaching of Yeshua, by means of the Holy Spirit, though we see through a glass darkly, by analogy and riddle (1 Cor. 13:12). Some things are clear to us in this life, but much awaits to be revealed (1 John 3:2). "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (John 16:12), though the Holy Spirit will give enough illumination for us to know the truth that sets our hearts free (John 16:13). "The secret of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he will show them his covenant" (Psalm 25:14).
But why does God hide this way? And why does he attend to that which is hidden or concealed (Heb. 4:13). The eye of faith sees the "invisible" things, the unseen blessing that lies behind the phenomenal realm of existence (Heb. 11:27). As Blaise Pascal said, "there is enough light for those who want to believe, and enough shadows to blind those who don't." In this present world, God "hides" so that people may seek him, for once he openly reveals his Presence, there is no longer the issue of faith (Rom. 8:24). This is part of the "mysteries of the kingdom" (τὰ μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας), after all (Matt. 13:10-15) which presents a "two-tiered" reality, the heavenly realm of God's Presence, and the earthly realm of transience. Upon reflection we may sometimes feel lonely and bewildered in this duality, not knowing how to "mediate" or bring together the opposite poles of our experience... On the one hand life in this present world is fading away, and finitude, dissolution, and the "dust of death" seem omnipresent to our physical senses, nevertheless our hearts yearn for eternity, for unending life, and God's presence and the manifestation of everlasting significance. We long for meaning, wonder, greatness, and the peace of unconditional love, yet we find ourselves trapped within a diseased and moribund world that is filled with thwarted dreams, painful losses, harrowing vexations, and death... We hunger and thirst for real life, for salvation from our misery, but the cosmological visions of mechanistic science reveal an immense emptiness that has no goal or end, no explanation for its existence, and therefore no meaning or real hope.
God hides so that we will seek him (Jer. 29:13). This seeking involves all our heart, since we will not seek God until we understand the inner crisis. It is not enough to know right words of theology, since we must learn to think the right way, and this comes at the cost of struggle, wrestling, and testing. We cannot rely on reason alone to guide us, for that relegates beauty, mystery, and hope into oblivion; nor can we dismiss reason, for then faith becomes absurd and ridiculous. We must find a delicate balance: "faith seeking understanding," knowing when it is right to question, to doubt, and to analyze, and when it is right to affirm, to submit, and to surrender. Reason is a servant of something more fundamental, namely the heart or the will; it is activated at the stir of the soul's desire.
The dualism of life shows up within our hearts as well, as we wrestle with our own faith and with "double-mindedness," that is, the ambivalence that results from not having our minds made up. On the one hand, we need to confess the truth of our radical sinfulness, our depravity, our brokenness, and so on, while on the other we must learn to know ourselves as the "beloved" and to find faith that God's blessing indeed belongs to us -- that Yeshua gave his life for us -- despite ourselves. We have to be willing to take God's new name for us and believe that God has transformed our deepest nature for eternal good. We have to be renamed from "Jacob" to "Israel," and yet we know ourselves as both... In other words, we must learn to "put on" the new nature and to "put off" the carnal reasoning of our former life. The answer for us is found in the word "miracle," as God in great mercy and compassion regenerates us, comforts us, and then guides our way back to the truth of his salvation.
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 25:14 reading (click):
Leprosy of Ingratitude...
[ The following is related to our Torah reading this week, parashat Tazria... ]
03.30.22 (II Adar 27 5782) Tazria, or "leprosy," is a spiritual sickness brought about by sinful thinking and faithlessness... In this connection Kierkegaard notes: "The gospel about the Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11-19) is about how the nine were healed of their leprosy – and then caught, so to speak, an even worse leprosy: their ingratitude and unthankfulness. Herein lies the difference between sickness of the body and sickness of the spirit." Ten metzorot (lepers) were healed in body, but only one was healed both in body and soul -- the "stranger" who recognized God's kindness and who made an effort to offer his thanks...
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 41:4 reading (click):
The Time is Now...
03.29.22 (II Adar 26 5782) The sages advise: "Repent one day before you die" (Mishna Avot 2:15b). But who knows the day of one's death in advance? Therefore live each day as if it were to be your last, and may God help you make the wholehearted decision to "seek the LORD while He may be found; call out to Him while He is near" (Isa. 55:6). Amen. But many people live in a state of hesitation and uncertainty... The Spirit asks: "How long will you go limping between two different opinions?" (1 Kings 18:21).
This question 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? As C.S. Lewis once said, "Christianity, if false, is of no importance and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important" (God in the Dock). "For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand today -- if you hear his voice" (Psalm 95:7). Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart (Heb. 3:15). "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God, but encourage one another every day, as long as it is called "today," so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb. 3:12-13). Wake up! The time is now...
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 95:7-8 reading (click):
 |
The Friend of Sinners...
[ "God be praised that it is not because of my worthiness that God loves me. Otherwise, I might at any moment die of fear lest the next moment I cease to be worthy." - SK ]
03.29.22 (II Adar 26 5782) "The Son of Man came ... and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" (Matt. 11:19). People, especially the religious people, were scandalized by Yeshua because he was a "friend of tax collectors and sinners!" Yet what sickness of heart is this, to despise those who are sick? It is a sorrow of heart to realize that religion often creates an "in-group" mentality that attains its status at the expense of the "outsider," the "stranger," the "sinner," and so on... The prayer of the self-righteous is always: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers – or even like this tax collector" (Luke 18:11).
The religious leaders of Yeshua's day were offended because he "welcomed sinners" and enjoyed eating meals with them (Luke 15:2). We can almost hear their disapproving whispers and their dismissive accusations: "How could a good Jew behave like this? Does he not understand the call to personal holiness? Does he not know the Torah of "clean" and "unclean"? If a man is known by the company he keeps, we know enough about Yeshua to know that he's not truly pious..." And to this very day the self-righteous find offensive the idea that God welcomes the sinful, the needy, the broken, the despised, and the "outsider" into His presence... As Yeshua said, "those who are well have no need of a physician," and indeed offering them God's cure will always be regarded as a kind of poison...
We greatly rejoice that God indeed is the friend of sinners; He is the Good Shepherd who seeks and saves the lost. Thank the Lord that he comes not for the "righteous" but for those who are brokenhearted, for those mortally wounded by their own sin... Any so-called theology or religion that repudiates or minimizes God's love for the sinful, the needy, the broken, is little more than a shrine to human pride and vanity... On the contrary: the heart of the Compassionate One always welcomes a sinner who sincerely turns to Him.
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 23:3 reading (click):
 |
Watching your Tongue...
[ The following is related to our Torah reading this week, parashat Tazria.... ]
03.29.22 (II Adar 26 5782) According to the sages, tzara'at ("leprosy") was a punishment for evil speech, or "lashon hara" (לָשׁוֹן הָרָה). In midrashic literature, lashon hara is regarded as equal to idol worship, sexual immorality, and murder, and the one who indulges in it defiles his mouth so that even words of Torah and prayer are corrupted. "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing; brothers, these things ought not to be so" (James 3:10).
The sages even go further: "Lashon Hara is worse than murder. One who murders, murders but one; however, one who speaks lashon hara kills three: the one who speaks it, the one who hears it, and the one of whom it is spoken." Lashon hara is likened to "emotional homicide" caused by publicly shaming another. According to the Talmud, the shamed person's face is drained of blood and turns white, and therefore humiliation is called "whitening the face" (i.e., halbanat panim: הלבנת הפנים). Therefore the sages identify the metzora (i.e., leper) with hamotzi ra, "one who brings forth evil," and they stress shemirat ha-lashon, the "guarding of the tongue," as a cardinal virtue of the righteous.
"Suffering is a sign that you're out of touch with the truth. Suffering is given to you that you might open your eyes to the truth, that you might understand that there's falsehood somewhere, just as physical pain is given to you so you will understand that there is disease or illness somewhere. Suffering points out that there is falsehood somewhere. Suffering occurs when you clash with reality. When your illusions clash with reality when your falsehoods clash with the truth, then you have suffering. Otherwise there is no suffering." - De Mello: Awareness, 1992
Those who think it easy to control the tongue have likely never really tried to do so. "The tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell" (James 3:5-6). Ultimately, controlling your tongue (i.e., shemirat ha'lashon: שְׁמִירַת הַלָּשׁוֹן) is a matter of controlling your inner thoughts, your heart, and your attitude (shemirat ha-lev). Therefore we are admonished to be "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger," since the anger of man never works the righteousness of God (James 1:19). May the LORD our God help us always to speak with grace, "seasoned with salt" (Col. 4:6); and may we all "speak the truth in love to grow up in every way" (Eph. 4:15).
Hebrew Lesson
Prov. 18:21 reading with comments (click):
Affliction and Teshuvah...
[ The following is related to our Torah reading this week, parashat Tazria... ]
03.29.22 (II Adar 26 5782) In one of his comments on tzara'at (often mistranslated as "leprosy"), the French medieval commentator Shlomo Yitzhaki, or "Rashi," says that affliction comes from haughtiness, and to be healed requires teshuvah (repentance). However, there is no genuine teshuvah until a person truly understands the greatness of God. After all, a person can be humbled from a broken heart, from serious illness, from poverty, and so on, but were these conditions different there may be a return to haughtiness, as we see in the case of Pharaoh. True humility is unconditioned and is based on the recognition and acceptance of the magnificence and glory of God. Yes, there is godly sorrow that leads to repentance, but ultimately repentance resolves upon the goodness and greatness of God, and without keeping that greater end in view, there is little practical difference between repentance and regret, despair, and shame. May the awe of the LORD be upon us...
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 67:1 reading (click):
 |
Is Passover for Today?
03.28.22 (II Adar 25 5782) Some well-meaning Christians think that followers of Yeshua have no reason to do a Passover seder as instructed in the Torah because, in light of the new covenant, all that is now needed is to remember Jesus' crucifixion for our sins and to celebrate his resurrection by partaking in the sacraments. This viewpoint assumes that, despite the instructions in the Torah, the yearly Passover service, or seder, is not intended for Christians, since it focuses on the Exodus from Egypt and the Jewish people, and the message of the gospel is universal, for every "tongue and tribe." Moreover Christians are no longer "under the law" and therefore are not obligated to keep the various ordinances of the "Old Testament," especially with regard its ceremonial laws.
There are some real difficulties when we disregard the Torah's instructions to observe the Passover, however, particularly because Yeshua himself identified his entire ministry as the "Lamb of God" who redeems us from the curse of the law, and he used the message of the Passover to teach his followers this truth. Bear in mind that the idea of the Passover was not enacted at Sinai as part of the Sinai covenant, but predates the giving of the law. In other words, the faithful of Israel obeyed God's instruction to take refuge under the blood of the sacrificed lamb to escape the plague of death delivered upon Egypt, but this was done before Moses ascended Sinai to receive and ratify the covenant of the law. Indeed the theme and message of Passover is timeless for understanding the Bible. The message was delivered in the Garden of Eden when God sacrificed a lamb to cover the shame of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:21); it was prefigured in the lamb that was sacrificed by Abraham in place of Isaac during the Akedah; it was portrayed in the blood of lamb sacrificed in Egypt whose blood was daubed upon the doorposts; it was memorialized every day and night at the Tabernacle (and later at the Temple) as "continual korban," the offering of which was central to the sacrificial ministrations for Israel; it was foretold by the Hebrew prophets (Isa. 9:6; Isa. 53; Psalm 22:16; Prov. 30:4; Zech. 12:10. etc.), and it was fully manifested in the incarnation, mission, and sacrifice of God's beloved Son himself, the promised heir to come who allowed himself to be "caught in the thicket" for our sins, and who was bound upon the altar of the cross to shed his blood for our redemption. This was the central meaning of the "greater exodus" that Yeshua discussed with Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration before his crucifixion (see Luke 9:29-31). Amen, Yeshua as our sacrificial Lamb is heart of the gospel message itself (John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:19; Isa. 53:3-12); it's the "scarlet thread" he showed his followers (Luke 24:27); it's the Metaphor God chose to make his sacrificial love known to us.
 |
The image of "Christ our Passover Lamb" (המשיח פסח שלנו) will extend forever and unto eternity itself, when the Lamb of God is fully glorified and enthroned, as it says: "For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes" (Rev. 7:17). "And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light" (Rev. 21:23).
The meaning and substance of Passover, then, is essential to the life of the Christian, and to dismiss its significance is to risk missing the point of God's redemption and salvation itself. The Apostle Paul used "Passover language" to describe our new life in Messiah by admonishing us to: "purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:7-8).
The LORD did not waste his breath by revealing the Torah to Israel, nor did he speak out of two sides of his mouth when he instructed them to keep the Passover holiday every year (Num. 9:2,14; Lev. 23:5; Deut. 16:1). Remember - Jesus was the Voice of God speaking to Israel at Sinai; Jesus was Moses' Teacher regarding the seven holidays of the Torah! He said "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:17-19). Heaven and earth has not yet passed away, and therefore the Torah has its voice and place in the life of follower of Yeshua. Faith does not mean we are devoid of law of God, even if the verdict of the law reveals our sin. As the Apostle Paul said, "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law" (Rom. 3:31). We are justified by trusting in the righteousness of God in the sacrifice of Yeshua, but that does not mean we disregard God's law so that "grace may abound" (Rom. 6:1-2)
So you see that the question of whether Christians should seriously engage the Passover turns on how they read the Scriptures, and in particular, how they esteem the words of the Torah. If they tend to read the Bible out of context, by focusing on the New Testament without taking time to carefully consider the context given in the Hebrew Scriptures, they likely will dismiss the significance of the Passover seder and will think of it in theologically abstract terms, as an analogy or metaphor foretelling what Yeshua has done, and that it is now best remembered during communion rituals, rather than as an invitation to participate in the annual retelling of the great story of redemption that is the heritage of the people of God. But Yeshua himself observed the Passover with his disciples, and indeed his last Passover before his crucifixion represented his most intimate heart to us. We miss a lot if we minimize the significance of the Passover or regard it as somehow incidental to our life as believers in the great Lamb of God. Chaverim -- let us keep the feast! Shalom lekha.
 |
|
Idols of the Mind...
03.28.22 (II Adar 25 5782) We all have a tendency to make God into our own image and likeness; we all think of God in our own terms. "You shall not make molten gods for yourselves" (Exod. 34:17) means that we should not have an overly rigid theology, since that makes God into an idol of our own thinking.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 50:21b reading (click):
Getting Ready for Passover...
03.27.22 (II Adar 24 5782) Preparing for Passover usually begins a full month before the holiday arrives, just after the festival of Purim (or at the latest around the time of the New Year of spring, i.e., Nisan 1). Since no leavened bread may be eaten during all seven days of Passover, we make a special effort to remove leaven entirely from our homes, in obedience to the Torah's command (see Exod. 12:15). Spiritually understood, we remove leaven (called "chametz") to symbolize that we are making a radical break from the past by becoming a new "substance," as Paul instructed: "Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened: for Messiah our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for us. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:7-8). Note that the Greek text uses an imperative verb here (ἐκκαθάρατε): "You cleanse out (i.e., purge, as in catharsis) the old leaven so that you become a new lump (ἵνα ἦτε νέον φύραμα)" since you have been made new because of what Messiah has done for you." This is a matter of faith, friends, as you "become who you are" by trusting in the Salvation of the God of Israel.
 |
"A little leaven leavens the whole lump..." Chametz (i.e., leaven) is considered a corrupting influence, a hidden uncleanness that manipulates purer elements. Like the influence of a lump of leaven in a batch of dough, "spiritual" leaven functions as an evil impulse within us (i.e., yetzer ha'ra: יֵצֶר הַרָע) that corrupts and "sours" our soul. You cannot include a little sin in your life without it affecting your whole spiritual life. This "yeast in the soul" is essentially pride that manifests itself in idolatrous desires and lusts (the "puffed up" rise of the flesh in opposition to God). A practical way to observe the commandment to purge out the old leaven is not only to physically remove leaven from your home, but to look within you heart to see what corrupts and enslaves you in the physical, emotional, and intellectual realms of your life. Are you addicted to pleasure? power? approval from others? Are you enslaved to pride or fear? What holds your attention? What moves your behavior? This is part of the "search for chametz" in your life. Take a few moments to write down all the things that have enslaved you and then tear the list into small pieces. Before Passover arrives, take the torn pieces and burn them in a fire, symbolizing the end of your former life and the making of all things new. "Therefore if any person is in Messiah, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new" (2 Cor. 5:17).
Hebrew Lesson
Exod. 12:19a reading (click):
Related Topics:
Audio Discussions:
Hebrew Lesson
Deut. 16:3b reading (click):
The Biblical New Year (ראשׁ חֳדָשִׁים)
03.27.22 (II Adar 24 5782) The Biblical New Year begins Friday, April 1st at sundown this year, or Nisan 1 on the Torah's calendar.. The LORD set apart Nisan 1 as the "head of the months" of the calendar, called "Rosh Chodashim," which begins the calendar year itself (see Exod. 12:1-2). This may seem a bit odd to you since most people regard January 1st as "New Year's Day," though remember that the world runs on a "clock" that operates under assumptions that are different than those revealed in the Scriptures.... The "wisdom of this world" (σοφία τοῦ κόσμου τούτου) is the prevailing cultural spirit that suppresses the reality of God's Presence and truth. Such "wisdom" is regarded as foolishness before God, and God has promised to "seize the so-called wise in their own craftiness" (1 Cor. 3:19). The life of faith, on the other hand, sees what is invisible. Faith apprehends "the substance (ὑπόστασις) of things hoped for, the assurance (ἔλεγχος, conviction, "correction," i.e., tokhachat: תוֹכַחַת) of things not seen" (Heb 11:1). As the Scripture says, the heart of faith "looks not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).
Two Weeks until Passover!
The Sabbath that immediately precedes (and sometimes falls on) the Biblical New Year is called Shabbat HaChodesh (שַׁבַּת הַקּדֶשׁ), the "Sabbath of the Month" (of Nisan). This Sabbath is significant because it commemorates the start of the "Month of Redemption" (chodesh yeshuah) in commemoration of the Passover deliverance. We remember this special event by reading an additional passage from the Torah (i.e., maftir) concerning the sanctification of the new moon (Exod. 12:1-20), and we spiritually prepare for this month by studying about Passover and the coming spring holidays.
The commandment to sanctify the first new moon of the year (i.e., Rosh Chodashim) reveals that it is our responsibility to sanctify (i.e., observe) Biblical time in general. In other words, when we observe "the beginning of months," we are acknowledging that time itself is rooted in the Biblical calendar with its divinely inspired cycle of festivals (see Psalm 104:19).
 |
Originally Rosh Chodashim was simply called the "first month" because it marked the month of the Exodus and the other months were named in relation to it, similar to the days of the week in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., the first day [until Shabbat], the second day...). Later it was called Chodesh Ha-Aviv (חדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב) - "the springtime month" (because the calendar is reset in the spring) and later still as Nisan (נִיסָן), to recall God's faithfulness after the Babylonian Exile (Neh. 2:1; Esther 3:7). So important is this month that Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban) wrote regarding the commandment to observe Rosh Chodashim:
"The verses (Exod. 12:1-2) mean that this month should be counted first, and beginning with it, the count should proceed to the second, the third, and so on, till the end of the sequence with the twelfth month. In this way, this month should be a commemoration of the Great Miracle (i.e., our Redemption), and every time we mention the months, the Miracle will be alluded to. It is for that reason that the months do not have names in the Torah, but rather they are identified by number."
The word Nisan might come from either the word nitzan (נִצָּן), meaning "bud" (Song 2:12), or the word nissim (נִסִּים) meaning "miracles," both of which suggest physical and spiritual resurrection in our lives. Others think the word comes from the verb nus (נוּס), meaning "to flee," both in relation to Israel's flight from Egypt and Egypt's flight from Israel (i.e., when the pursuing Egyptian cavalry fled (נָסִים) before the sea closed upon them (Exod. 14:25, 27). We also see this usage in the verse: "The wicked flee (נָסוּ) when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion" (Prov. 28:1). The devil's power is found in the lie. If he can make you afraid, you will not think clearly. Establishing your faith in the truth will embolden you to deal with the lies and distortions that are intended to enslave you in fear. As Yeshua said, the truth will set you free (John 8:32).
Hebrew Lesson
Exod. 12:2 reading (click):
To a Good Year in Messiah!
Though the following prayer is customarily recited during Rosh Hashanah, it is equally applicable for the New Year of Nisan and the Season of Passover:
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יהוה אֱלהֵינוּ
וֵאלהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ
שֶׁתְּחַדֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּ שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה
בַּאֲדנֵינוּ יֵשׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ אמן
ye·hee · rah·tzohn · meel·fah·ney'·kha · Adonai · E·loh·hey'·noo
ve·loh·hei · a·voh·tey'·noo
she·te·cha·desh · ah·ley·noo · shah·nah · toh·vah · oo·me·too·kah
ba·a·doh·ney'·noo · Ye·shoo'·a · ha·mah·shee'·ach [ah·mein]
"May it be your will, LORD our God
and God of our fathers,
that you renew for us a good and sweet year
in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah." [Amen]
Download Study Card
This week's Torah:
Parashat Tazria - תזריע
03.27.22 (II Adar 24 5782) Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Tazria (תזריע), continues the discussion of the laws of "purity" and "impurity" that began earlier with parashat Tzav. A new mother is regarded as a niddah (a menstruent woman) and is considered "impure" (tamei) regarding the sanctuary for 40 days (if a boy) or 80 days (if a girl). On the eighth day of life a boy must be circumcised. After the mother's "period of impurity" had ended, she was required to bring a yearling sheep as a burnt offering and a dove for a sin offering (if she is poor, two doves sufficed for both offerings).
The portion next describes certain afflictions, collectively called tzara'at, that caused the affected person (or thing) to be both ritually impure (tamei) and in a state of uncleanness (tumah). Note that tzara'at is not to be identified with "leprosy" (as some English translations claim), since the symptoms of tzara'at included not just the afflicted person's skin, but sometimes his clothes, pottery vessels, and house.
When applied to people, tzara'at was a sort of a spiritual affliction (i.e., yisur: יסור) that could only be diagnosed by a kohen (priest), not a doctor. If white or pink patches appeared on a person's skin, the afflicted person was required to contact a kohen for an examination. If the priest detected 1) two hairs that had turned white within the spot, or 2) a piece of healthy skin in the middle of the spot, he was declared tamei (unclean), and then had to follow the prescribed laws for the metzora (person affected with tzara'at); otherwise he was declared tahor (clean). On the other hand, if the priest suspected tzara'at but was unsure, the afflicted person was quarantined and required to perform teshuvah (repentance). If a second evaluation indicated that the spot(s) had grown larger in size, the person was declared tamei and was subject to the laws for the metzora (i.e., dwelling "outside the camp" until the person was completely healed).
If someone was diagnosed with tzara'at, they were forced to leave the community and live in a state of exile. He had to tear his clothes like a mourner, put a shroud over his face (descending to his upper lip) and remain alone. If anyone came near, the metzora was required to cry out: "Unclean! Stay away! Do not become impure because of me!" (no one was permitted to come within eight feet of him). While so isolated, the person would have opportunity to perform teshuvah and seek spiritual "rebirth" (as described in the following Torah portion, parashat Metzora).
Our Refuge in all Generations...
03.25.22 (II Adar 22 5782) Don't let worry blind you to God's ongoing care; don't live as those without faith. You have a place in your Father's heart; you have a share in his house above. See the Lord as your Dwelling Place "in all generations"; behold his unchanging glory despite the fleeting shadows of this world.
We must first look to the Eternal to rightly see the finite; we must look upward before we look downward. As we contemplate God's Eternality and power, we realize the wonder and sanctity of our short time here. The Eternal is our refuge, our "dwelling place," in all generations, and that means in the present generation as well, on the other side of fleeting appearances of this world. When we pray to God as Avinu She-bashamayim, "Our Father in Heaven," we are calling to the One who (ש) is in the midst of the waters (מים) of Life.
The psalmist says (Psalm 118:17): "I shall not die but live." In order to live you must give yourself to death, but when you have done so, you discover that you are not to die, but live. "Giving yourself to death" means surrendering to God's will, accepting the yoke of heaven, and trusting in His governing "flow" over all of creation. This is the deeper meaning of "baptism" as we are immersed into God's care for us. Yeshua gives us abundant life.
The bloom of every flower is by eternal purpose, and not one common sparrow is forgotten by your Heavenly Father (Luke 12:6). God's irresistible providence comprehends and orders all things, from the realm of the subatomic to the cosmic motions of the heavenly bodies. The Lord is the Center of reality: "All things were created by Him, and for Him, and in Him all things hold together" (Col. 1:16-17). In light of this, Blaise Pascal asked, "What is left for us but to unite our will to that of God himself, to will in him, with him, and for him the thing that he has eternally willed in us and for us." In other words, what else can we do but learn to trust, accept, and to say "yes" to life – even if at times we may feel like strangers in exile... All our days are ordained; recorded in God's scroll. Therefore may God "teach us to number our days to get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). So don't lose heart, friend; He who cares for you is a Good Shepherd, and you shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Shabbat shalom and love to you all...
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 90:1 reading (click):
Find God or Die...
03.25.22 (II Adar 22 5782) Those who evade the truth about reality – those who willingly suppress the truth and choose to ignore the ultimate existential pathos of the human condition – must "steal" meaning and a sense of value from the heart of faith. "If a human being did not have an eternal consciousness, if underlying everything there was only a wild, fermenting power that writhing in dark passions produced everything, be it significant or insignificant, if a vast, never-appeased emptiness hid beneath everything, what would life be but despair?" (Kierkegaard: Fear and Trembling). The hidden source of anxiety is to be lost in "tohu va'vohu," unreality and emptiness – to sense the dread of the inevitable and the unknown and to be utterly confounded and devoid of direction in the face of it.
The Torah of Yeshua (תורת ישוע) is heeded by the "impoverished of spirit" who know they must "find God or die." It is first a word spoken to the shattered of heart and crushed of spirit. As Augustine said, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." We all desperately need God, and it is a profound tragedy to be unresponsive to real hope. If you sense the invitation of the Spirit, which moves unseen as the wind, then draw near while there is still time! As it is written: "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near" (Isa. 55:6).
Hebrew Lesson
Isa. 55:6 reading (click):
Retelling the Story...
[ The Passover holiday begins Friday, April 15th at sundown this year. "In every generation, each of us is obligated to see himself or herself [lirot et atzmo] as though he or she personally came forth from Egypt." - Traditional Hagadah ]
03.25.22 (II Adar 22 5782) Concerning the observance of the Passover Seder the Torah states, "When your child asks you in time to come, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?' then you shall say, 'We were slaves (עבדים היינו) to Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes" (Deut. 6:20-23). We are instructed to "remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out" (Deut. 7:19). As it is written in the Shema, "You shall teach them diligently to your children," we ask, what do we teach? And we answer: Kulo! Everything – the whole story of our deliverance (הסיפור המלא).
The early sages taught that Hebrew word "Pesach" (פסח) can be read as peh (פֶּה), "mouth," and sach (סַח), "speaks," indicating that Passover is a confession of the truth of God's redemption, testifying to the truth of the LORD's faithful love. On Pesach we thank God for the revelation and the wonder of the great Lamb of God that was slain... Indeed, in light of the truth of the Scriptures - both in the Torah, the writings, the prophets, and the New Covenant Scriptures - how is it possible to honor the LORD God of Israel and to celebrate his redemption apart from the Messiah who came to earth to die as the great Lamb of God? Yeshua is the heart and central meaning of the Passover, and there is simply NO valid Passover Seder apart from the blood of the Lamb (Heb. 2:3; Heb 10:28-29).
Hebrew Lesson
Deut. 26:8a reading (click):
Related Topics:
Finding your Greatest Good...
03.25.22 (II Adar 22 5782) The heart (הלב) is the center of the will - the locus of desire, affection, and love... However, the heart itself must be restrained by wisdom (חוכמה), since unbridled desire is slavery to the lower nature (יצר הרע), as it says: "The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, but the faithless will be ensnared by their own desires" (Prov. 11:6). The problem for many of us is having "disordered loves," that is, serving various idols of the heart that demand our passion yet divert us from what we really need. The difficultly is not so much that we indulge in lesser loves as much as we do not know the love of God that heals us and sets us free. As C.S. Lewis once said, "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing" (Mere Christianity). The righteous have found the most precious secret: "I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness" (Psalm 17:15).
It has been said that "there is nothing so whole as a broken heart." We become whole when we discover that the idols of our hearts do not truly satisfy us. Usually this involves a "severe mercy" as we learn that what we thought we "needed" proved to be just another illusion... Then and only then can we begin to believe in and to accept God's love as our highest good. Such "perfect love" casts out the fear induced by the idols of the heart. When we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, the passions of our heart are ordered correctly. As it is also written in our Scriptures: "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass. And He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday" (Psalm 37:4-6).
The Lord is near to the shavur lev (שבור לב), the one with a broken heart. The Hebrew word "lev" (לב) metaphorically refers to our inner life, that is, our affections, mind, and will. This is revealed in the letters of the Hebrew word itself: the Lamed (ל) depicts a "staff" used to direct something (i.e., the will), and the Bet (בּ) depicts the "house" of the physical body. Lev then represents our inner life of thought and feeling expressed in our actions. Those who are broken in heart – the nishberei lev – have discovered that they cannot control their own lives, that they are inwardly "shattered," and therefore need divine help. Contrary to conventional wisdom, God helps those who cannot help themselves; He prefers to use broken vessels in His service (Psalm 51:19). As A.W. Tozer also wrote, "Beware of any Christian leader who does not walk with a limp."
Yeshua taught, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). As I've mentioned before, the Greek word translated "pure" is katharos (καθαρός), sometimes used describe the cleansing of a wound (catharsis), or to describe the unalloyed quality of a substance revealed through refining fire. Metaphorically, then, purity of heart refers to separation from the profane - singleness of vision, wholeheartedness, passion, and focused desire for the sacred. Faith is a great trembling of love: "With this ring I do worship thee..." As we center our affections on Yeshua, we become pure in heart -- i.e., unified, made whole, and healed of our inner fragmentation. We see the Lord both in this world, through his effects, and then panim el panim (פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים), "face to face," in the world to come. Our hope purifies us for that coming great day of full disclosure (1 John 3:2-3; Heb. 12:14). That day is surely drawing near, friends.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 37:4 reading (click):
The Silence of Aaron...
[ "To suffer rightly is to have a secret with God." - Soren Kierkegaard ]
03.25.22 (II Adar 22 5782) In our Torah reading for this week, parashat Shemini (שמיני), we read of a great tragedy that occurred on the very day that Israel was to celebrate the dedication of the Mishkan, or the portable sanctuary in the desert. When Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu brought unauthorized incense into the Holy of Holies, they died on the spot at the hand of God. When Moses explained to Aaron that the death of his sons revealed the sanctity of God, Aaron said nothing: "he remained silent" (Lev. 10:3). The fire that killed Aaron's sons had wounded him profoundly as well.
The sages struggled to understand what happened here, some arguing that the transgression was so serious that death was the righteous punishment, while others admitted they did not understand God's severe response. In general, however the sages were distraught over the incident, and their confusion was compounded over Aaron's silence over the sudden death of his sons. Some midrashim say that Aaron cried and wailed and then fell silent, though the Torah simply says וַיִּדֹּם אַהֲרֹן - "and Aaron was silent."
Aaron's silence reminds me of Ludwig Wittgenstein's adage: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent," and it is likely there were no words that could express the shock of his loss... Indeed trauma often leaves people dumbstruck and overwhelmed in an ineffable flood of cascading emotions. The pain may so great to even transport the person into another "place," a place of detachment, of incommunicable loneliness and grief.
Aaron was silent... Was it the overwhelming pain of his loss that rendered him speechless, or did his emptiness sanctify him, bringing his soul before the Consuming Fire in immolation? We do not know. For most of us, the shock of trauma leaves us with a "speechless cry" that echoes within our sorrowing silence. Our pain expresses fear that since every relationship is fragile and may suddenly end without warning, everything we love will be lost to us, and this dread leaves us speechless, longing for undying love, and crying out for life.
What can we say in the face of our tragic losses in this life? Worldly wisdom sighs, "Things happen; there's no explanation. It's best to get over it and move on." Godly wisdom denies we live in a random world devoid of God's presence and purposes. Aaron's silence expressed his acceptance of the Divine decree. We say Kaddish, we defer to God's sovereign will and praise His Name as the one who in wisdom both gives and takes away. We may be left in the silence of grief for a season, but we remain before God in our bereavement and keep hope that one day all our fears will forever be gone, and that all things will be made new...
Hebrew Lesson
Job 1:21b reading (click):
Brokenness and Service...
[ The following is related to our Torah reading this week, parashat Shemini... ]
03.24.22 (II Adar 21, 5782) The service of God requires the death of the ego (Luke 9:23). Rashi says that Aaron was still deeply ashamed over the Sin of the Calf, and that is why Moses urged his brother forward: "Draw near to the altar" (Lev. 9:7). And though Aaron felt inadequate and unworthy to be the High Priest of Israel, Rashi comments that he was chosen precisely because of this. His reluctance and sense of utter unworthiness was the very reason why he was granted the role of Israel's High Priest. Likewise you might feel unworthy of your high calling in the Messiah and yet you are called to come before the Divine Presence and function as God's holy priest, no less than Aaron... You are chosen in your weakness; you are beloved because of your lowly standing; you are made "pure in heart" because you realize your own inner nothingness and need before the Savior.... Your brokenness is a gift that magnifies God's unending love and grace (1 Cor. 1:26-29).
The sages sometimes say that God is closer to sinners than to "saints." God in heaven holds each person by a string. When you sin, you cut the string; but then God ties it up again, making a knot - and thereby you are brought a little closer to him. Again and again your sins cut the string - and with each further knot God keeps drawing you closer and closer." (De Mello)
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 34:18 reading (click):
Note: For more on this, see "Brokenness and Service: Further thoughts on Shemini."
A Consuming Fire...
[ The following is related to our Torah reading for this week, parashat Shemini... ]
03.24.22 (II Adar 21, 5782) From our Torah portion this week (i.e., Shemini) we read: "Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered strange fire (אֵשׁ זָרָה) before the LORD, that He had not commanded them" (Lev. 10:1). The sages interpret "strange fire" (i.e., esh zarah: אֵשׁ זָרָה) as alien passion or illicit zeal stimulated by artificial means (in this case, drinking wine before their service). The experience of intoxication may seem to elevate the soul, but in reality it muddles the ability to discern spiritual realities: "Drink no wine or strong drink ... when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean" (Lev. 10:9-10). Nadab and Abihu were highly honored in Israel, the first priests of God, and if they drank wine before entering the sanctuary it was surely not for crass purposes, but rather to "sanctify" their experience, or so they thought... They were severely judged, however, because they presumptuously sought to sanctify themselves by means of an artificial influence, and this made them "strange" before God. Likewise many people today seek "spiritual highs" and "signs" without undergoing the discipline of Torah study, prayer, meditation, and so on. God wants our hearts in service, but our hearts must be honest and soberly reverent before Him (1 Pet. 5:8; Eph. 5:15-18).
"Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron ... brought strange fire ... and they died before the LORD" (Lev. 10:1-2). It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God who is called esh okhlah, El kanna (אֵשׁ אכְלָה אֵל קַנָּא) - "a Consuming Fire, a jealous God (Deut. 4:24). Indeed, though atonement was provided under the law for every kind of sin and transgression, there was one exception: "But the soul that sins presumptuously (בְּיָד רָמָה) shall be out off from the midst of my people" (Num. 15:30). We must be careful not to casually regard God's truth with undue familiarity, lest we find ourselves under the influence of strange passions that lead to presumption....
Hebrew Lesson
Deut. 4:24 Hebrew reading (click):
Let us be sober and vigilant, friends. "Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come" (1 Cor. 10:11). It is prophetically astounding that during the very time that the Tabernacle was inaugurated, tragedy struck and Aaron's two sons were killed. This should warn those teachers who speak casually of God from the pulpit, since they act profanely and encroach upon the Divine Presence. Let us be admonished, friends and honor the Living God. As the sages have wisely said: Da lifne mi attah omed: "Know before Whom you stand!"
Step by Step with God...
[ Christianity is of the opinion that the true Christian is sober, that (on the contrary) the less Christian anyone is the more that person is in a state of intoxication... - Kierkegaard ]
03.24.22 (II Adar 21, 5782) In matters of discernment and interpreting the Scriptures, it is needful that we should go slowly, step-by-step, with repetition, so we may soberly understand God's mind and truth... This often includes the careful study of Hebrew (and Greek) words, taking time to understand the historical context, and being mindful of the nuances of an author's grammar, but more importantly, it requires earnestness to obey the truth from the heart, to approach the word in faith, without obfuscation or evasion...
When the prophet Isaiah rebuked the apostate leaders of Ephraim, he foretold that "the proud city of Samaria -- the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel -- will be trampled beneath its enemies' feet" (Isa. 28:3). The priests and prophets were offended at Isaiah's words: "Who does the LORD think we are?" they asked. "Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned? He tells us everything over and over -- precept upon precept; line upon line; a little here, a little there!" (Isa. 28:9-10). Isaiah then told them that since they refused to hear the "baby talk" of Scripture, they would be forced to hear stammering lips of invaders who would raze their prized city. Tragically and ironically the mockery of the leaders would return to them: "So the word of the LORD will be to them 'precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little' -- that they may go, fall backward and be broken, snared and taken" (Isa. 28:13).
Why did the leaders of Israel turn away from the simple teaching of the Scriptures? Why did they engage in flagrant debauchery and repudiate the word of the LORD? Why did they mock the prophets the Lord sent to them? Apparently the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom willingly assimilated the pagan idolatry and Baal worship of the aborigines. King Jeroboam built two places of worship, one at Bethel and one in northern Dan, as alternatives to the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:29). According to Tel Dan excavations, Jeroboam placed golden bulls at the entrance of each spurious temple to represent the national god. Later King Ahab (and his wife Jezebel) further promoted the worship of Baal within the land. Eventually judgment befell the Northern Kingdom when the Neo-Assyrians invaded and razed the land, and the capital of Samaria fell in 722 BCE. The people of Israel were taken captive, displaced in Mesopotamia, and later become known as the lost ten tribes of Israel.
The Scriptures explain the reason for the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel was their ongoing apostasy and indifference to the truth of God: "And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods. They had followed the practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices the kings of Israel had introduced. The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the LORD their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city. They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under every green tree. They offered sacrifices on all the hilltops, just like the nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them. So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the LORD's anger. Thus they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, "You shall not do this" (2 Kings 17:7-12).
God had appealed time and again for people to turn to him for life, as it says in Proverbs: "I called you so often, but you wouldn't come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention. You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered. So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you -- when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you. When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me. For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD. They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them. Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes. For simpletons turn away from me -- to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency. But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm" (Prov. 1:-24-33).
Hebrew Lesson
Isaiah 28:10-11 reading (click):
 |
So ironically and paradoxically, the very complaint that the LORD's message is tedious and childish, a burden for us to bear, leads to dissolution, slavery, and to death itself... The rulers of Israel thought they had better answers to the great questions about the reason for life; they turned to mysteries of darkness, the forbidden, and enjoyed the pride of the esoteric. They scoffed at the idea of taking Scripture seriously - reading "precept upon precept, line upon line." In the end they were destroyed because they refused the truth of God...
Along these same lines Soren Kierkegaard lamented the dishonesty of the Bible scholars and professors of his day. He wrote: "The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament."
Reading the Scriptures is not an academic subject as much as it is a matter of the heart, and therefore the key principle of exegesis (i.e., interpretation) is to read by "the rule of faith" (κανών της πίστεως), that is with a heart and will to "believe in order to understand." As Tertullian said it: "Let our 'seeking,' therefore be in that which is our own, and from those who are our own, and concerning that which is our own, – that, and only that, which can become an object of inquiry without impairing the rule of faith." This principle is sometimes stated as "sacred Scripture is its own interpreter," which means there is an inherent "circularity" in our engagement with the Scriptures, though the entry into the circle is the presence of faith that informs and gives revelation in the encounter of divine truth. Theological inferences are tested for their consistency with Scripture, and Scripture is interpreted by the Holy Spirit speaking in Scripture. We do not attest to the veracity of Scripture by appealing to Scripture itself, but to the witness of the people of God who received the original revelation. Witnesses like our father Abraham who counted stars and believed God's impossible promise, and like his son Isaac who was willing to be sacrificed in obedience to God's will; and like Jacob who wrestled with God and was renamed "Israel"; and like Joseph and Moses and the early judges of Israel; witnesses like Samuel and the various early Hebrew prophets; great leaders like King David, his son Solomon, and the burdens of later prophets, including the wisdom and foresight of Ezra the Scribe. And of course through the greatest revelation of all, by the testimony and witness of Yeshua the Son of the Most High God and the account of that revelation delivered by his disciples...
"For we were not making up stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy." We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place-- until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God" (2 Pet. 1:16-21).
We walk (and we read) by faith, friends. We trust in the veracity of Scripture based on the testimony of its authors and by means of the assurance afforded by the Holy Spirit. We "step into" the great conversation of the chosen people of God - stretching back to Adam and Eve and running into the future visions given to the apostle John on the Island of Patmos - and we find confirmation for our faith in the timeless themes and motifs of God's faithful, themes like the "scarlet thread" of the blood that atones for our sin - first issued from the sacrifice of the lamb in the primordial garden itself, later enshrined by the sacrifice of the Passover in Egypt, and later still foretold and substantiated in the sacrificial death of Yeshua as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Of course other examples could be cited, but understand that the rule of faith is an organic system or framework which contextualizes and constitutes the form and meaning of God's revelation. Without these deeper themes that pervade the overarching message, God's revelation would not intelligible, and when taken out of context, the revelation becomes distorted and perverted. Hence we understand how tradition is bound up with the very idea of Scripture itself, since the concept of the "canon" of Scripture - what books are esteemed as divinely inspired - is not something revealed by Scripture itself... Of course Yeshua himself spoke of "weightier matters" of the law, alluding to the need to discern what is of greater concern to the people of God, and that meant not only rejecting accretions invented by various religious authorities, but distilling the truth to discover the deeper meaning of God's heart and will.
Though the Bible itself may sometimes challenging to read, the real challenge is live out its message in your life. "Faith seeking understanding" often means encountering paradoxes, questions, and afflictions that derive not from the lack of faith but from having faith in the first place. For example, the problem of why the faithful suffer is not one that threatens the worldview of the ungodly. Kierkegaard again summarizes nicely the ongoing struggle to live the truth: "Truth is not something you can appropriate easily and quickly. You certainly cannot sleep or dream yourself to the truth. No, you must be tried, do battle, and suffer if you are to acquire the truth for yourself. It is a sheer illusion to think that in relation to the truth there is an abridgment, a short cut that dispenses with the necessity for struggling for it." The "meaning" revealed in Scripture is both a gift and a struggle, since truth is ultimately a matter of the heart and will than it is a matter of abstract intellectual assent.
We should stop regarding tradition with suspicion, since it is part of the story of our faith, and it is part of our heritage as God's people. Tradition reminds us that we are all linked together by faith. Our confession of trust in the LORD God of Israel connects us to all the great heroes of the faith - and most especially to Yeshua Himself. Salvation is something "corporate," by which I mean it is something shared. We are part of the redeemed community or family of God, and that is part of the reason why Yeshua taught us to pray in the plural: "Our Father, who art in Heaven, Sanctified is Your Name..."
Related Topics:
Returning Back Home...
[ Avtalyon said, "Be careful with words. C-O-W gives no milk. M-A-N-U-R-E has no stench. L-O-V-E knows no passion. Mistake words for Truth and you exile yourself from Reality." - Avot 1:11]
03.23.22 (II Adar 20, 5782) We must be careful not to worship an idol, that is, a false concept of God! It is entirely possible to study the Bible, to go to church or synagogue, and yet worship a pagan god. How so? By not knowing the heart of the Father; by not honoring the One who passionately seeks our healing. We know the Father (i.e., God) by the Son, that is, in "the language of Son" (Heb. 1:2; Luke 10:21-24) and in the truth of his passion. Our heavenly Father is eager to forgive and embrace all of his children (John 3:16-17). In Yeshua's famous parable of the "prodigal son," the father saw his wayward child a "long way off" and ran to embrace and kiss him - no questions asked, no explanations needed about his past. When the son nevertheless began reciting his carefully prepared speech of regret and repentance, the father barely listened, and in his overwhelming joy instructed his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found...' (see Luke 15:20-25).
Know the heart of the Father... God sees you while you are still "a long way off" (Rom. 5:8). He runs to you with affection when you first begin to turn your heart toward Him. Indeed, God's compassion is so great that He willingly embraces the shame of your sins and then adorns you with "a fine robe, a ring, and sandals." Your Heavenly Father even slaughters the "fattened calf" (Yeshua) so that a meal that celebrates your life may be served.
It is never too late to turn to God... The prophet Jeremiah spoke in the Name of the LORD: "Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am kind (כִּי־חָסִיד אֲנִי), declares the LORD" (Jer. 3:12). When the people drew back in shame, however, God encouraged them by saying "My children, if you return, will you not be returning to your Father? Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness. "Behold, we come to you, for you are the LORD our God."
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 80:3 Hebrew (click):
Turning Water to Wine...
[ This Sabbath is called "Shabbat Parah," the Sabbath of the [red] Cow." In addition to the Torah reading (i.e., Shemini), we read about the red heifer sacrifice and the waters of purification. ]
03.23.22 (II Adar 20, 5782) The first "sign" (σημεῖον) of the Messiah, namely, the miracle of turning water into wine during the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11), prefigured his teaching about the new covenant and the wedding celebration to come. Yeshua transformed holy water intended for individual purification (i.e., mei niddah [מֵי נִדָּה], the waters that cleanse from contact with death), into a means of celebrating the gift of shared life. Instead of focusing on matters of personal holiness that might separate us, Yeshua brought love and union to the forefront. Morover, during his last Passover Seder with his disciples, Yeshua took the Third Cup, the Cup of Redemption, and sanctified it as the Cup of Betrothal, symbolizing his promise that one day we shall be united to him forever (Rev. 19:7).
It is noteworthy that Yeshua's earthly ministry began amidst betrothal and the celebration of love, and one of his central parables focused on whether people would accept the Father's invitation to join in the wedding celebration for his Son (see Matt. 22:2-14). And in the world to come, we will forever celebrate the glory of God's eternal love for us...
Hebrew Reading:
 |
|
Finding Real Treasure...
03.22.22 (II Adar 19, 5782) Yeshua teaches us to earnestly seek for what really matters in life, to discover that which is best of all. He said, "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 illustrates 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 "first and greatest commandment," is to love God "bekhol levavkha" (בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ) with all our hearts, and 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. Isn't this 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" (John 15:1-5; Matt. 11:28-30). 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... Help us to come to you and to know the breadth and length and height and depth of your great love for us (Eph. 3:18-19).
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 on 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 is minimal. 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, as I have mentioned before, self-denial means to quit thinking about yourself (from α-, "not," + ῥέω, "to speak") by focusing on God's love for you. As Simone Weil once said, "It is not my business to think about myself. My business is to think about God. It is for God to think about me." Amen; we are healed in His love for us.
מי־לי בשׁמים
ועמך לא־חפצתי בארץ
mee'-lee · va·shah·mah'·yeem
ve·ee·me·kha · loh-chah·fahtz'·tee · va·ah'·retz
"Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you."
(Psalm 73:25)
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 73:25 Hebrew (click):
Message of Loneliness...
03.22.22 (II Adar 19, 5782) Sometimes we may experience painful loneliness -- a desperate feeling that we are unlovable, unwanted, unseen. We struggle between the extremes, at once lamenting our very existence while demanding to be made safe. We feel abandoned, hopeless, and shrouded in gloom: "darkness, my one companion left..." (Psalm 88:18). We then attempt to suppress or avoid the pain through obsessions of various kinds, but doing so will only temporarily hide the truth of our inner emptiness and sadness. Deep down we are profoundly afraid that we will never feel comforted, that love is not possible for us, and therefore we are trapped, bound to our sorrow, made captive to a relentless inner grieving of heart. "Not being welcome is your greatest fear. It connects with your birth fear, your fear of not being welcome in this life, and your death fear, your fear of not being welcome in the life after this. It is the deep-seated fear that it would have been better if you had not lived" (Nouwen).
It takes courage to face ourselves, but it is only when we go "through the wound" that we discover who we really are -- and how our loneliness teaches us our desperate need for God's love. Only when we accept our loneliness and understand it as an invitation to turn away from the world and its illusions will we be able to seek God alone, in our solitude, and there find healing for our broken hearts (Psalm 147:3). It is in the seclusion of the desert when we discover yesh ohev davek mei'ach, "there is a Beloved one who sticks closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24). In the desert, in the waste places of the hurting soul, in the mourning over your life, you learn that you are never really alone, that you are not forgotten, that God sees you and wants you to feel accepted, chosen, esteemed, beloved, wanted... In the desert your Beloved one speaks and says to you: "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away" (Song 2:10).
The core of the struggle is here - whether you will decide to trust in God's personal love for you or whether you will shrink back into the places of darkness, isolation, and pain. Yeshua says, "Come to me; I love you, I accept you; I receive you; please, be welcome with me; I will take your hand, I will be with you..." Faith in Yeshua means believing in God's love for you.
Hebrew Lesson
Song 2:10 Hebrew (click):
Blessing or a Curse...
03.21.22 (II Adar 18, 5782) "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse" (Deut. 11:26). What makes the difference in our hearts and lives? There's an ongoing temptation to live under the curse - to regard our troubles, our losses, our failures as signs that we are on the "outside" of God's favor, that we are being punished, that we are not welcome, that we are getting what we deserve....
Faith in God's salvation defies and repudiates the way of the curse. It affirms that the blessing belongs to us, not on the basis of our merits, but on the basis of the "righteousness of God" (δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ) - that is, the grace and love of God revealed in Yeshua. The opposite of sin is not our goodness but our faith in the goodness of God. As Karl Barth once said: "No one can be saved in virtue of what he can do; everyone can be saved in virtue of what God can do." Amen. As Esther, who dared to defy the law by entering before the King in the hope of his welcome, so we dare believe in God's welcome for us too... Therefore choose life by believing the blessing is for you -- this very hour.
Hebrew Lesson
Deut. 11:26 Hebrew (click):
Sabbath of the "Red Cow"
[ This Shabbat is called "Shabbat Parah," the Sabbath of the [red] Cow." In addition to reading the regular Torah reading (i.e., Ki Tisa), we read about the mysterious red heifer sacrifice.... ]
03.21.22 (II Adar 18, 5782) The Sabbath that immediately follows Purim is called Shabbat Parah - the "Sabbath of the [red] Cow." In traditional synagogue services, two Torah scrolls will be removed from the ark, and from the first scroll will be read the Torah portion for the week (e.g., Ki Tisa), and from the second will be read the chapter regarding the laws of the sacrifice of the "Red Heifer" (Num. 19:1-22). The early sages decided to recite the laws of the Red Heifer at this time to recall the remedy of the sin of the Golden Calf, and to remind the people to purify themselves before coming to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festival of Passover. It is thought that since the sprinkling of the "waters of separation" cleanses from the uncleanness of death, reading this portion will help prepare our hearts for the time of Passover when we celebrate deliverance from death.
The Red Heifer offering is considered a paradox to most Jewish thinkers, though it can be seen as a revelation of the Yeshua our Messiah. The paradox is that the one who offers this sacrifice becomes ritually impure, while the sprinkling of the ashes is used to make people clean... The ritual is considered chok within the Jewish tradition, meaning that it makes no rational sense. The Talmud states that of all the 613 commandments given in the Torah, even King Solomon with all his wisdom could not fathom this decee. However, the sacrifice of Yeshua the Messiah can be understood as the fulfillment of the symbolism of the parah adumah. Both were entirely rare and without defect (sin); both were sacrificed "outside the camp"; both made the one who offered the sacrifice unclean but made the one who was sprinkled by it clean; and finally, both sacrifices cleanse people for priestly service.
The parah adumah had to be a perfect specimen that was completely red, "without blemish, in which there is no defect (mum)." The rabbis interpreted "without blemish" as referring to the color, that is, without having so much as a single white or black hair. This is the only sacrifice in the Torah where the color of the animal is explicitly required. Moreover, the parah adumah was never to have had a yoke upon it, meaning that it must never have been used for any profane purposes.
Unlike all other sacrifices offered at the altar, the parah adumah was taken outside the camp and there slaughtered before the priest, who then took some of its blood and sprinkled it seven times before the Mishkan (thereby designating it as a purification offering). [During the Second Temple period, the High Priest performed this ceremony facing the Temple while atop the Mount of Olives.] Then the red heifer would be burned in its entirety: its hide, flesh, blood, and even dung were to be burned (unlike other Levitical korbanot). Unlike other offerings, all the blood of the sacrifice was to be burned in the fire.
Hyssop, scarlet yarn, and a cedar stick would then be thrown upon the burning parah adumah (these same items were used to cleanse from tzara'at, skin disease). In other words, the blood was assimilated into the ashes of the sacrifice, which were then gathered and mixed with water to create the "water of separation" (mei niddah) for the Israelite community. Note that the word "separation" (niddah) refers to menstrual impurity and harkens to Zech. 13:1: "On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and from niddah."
Anyone (or anything) that came into contact with a corpse (the embodiment of sin and death) was required to be purified using the mei niddah. The purification procedure took seven days, using stalks of hyssop dipped into the water and shaken over the ritually defiled person on the third day and then again on the seventh day. After the second sprinkling, the person undergoing the purification process would be immersed in a mikvah and then be unclean until the following evening.
According to Jewish tradition, the Red Heifer sacrifice was to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf, though the Torah itself does not make this association. The LORD Yeshua, our High Priest of the New Covenant, is the perfect fulfillment of the Parah Adumah, since he was completely without sin or defect (2 Cor 5:21; John 8:46); he was sacrificed outside the camp (Heb 13:13); he made himself sin for us (2 Cor 5:21); his sprinkling makes us clean (1 Pet 1:2; Heb 12:24; Rev 1:5); and the "water of separation" that his sacrifice created is the means by which we are made clean from the impurity of sin (Eph 5:25-6; Heb 10:22).
Hebrew Lesson
Num. 19:2a Hebrew (click):
Note: For more on the Red Heifer sacrifice, see the "Gospel of the Red Cow" article.
This week's Torah:
Parashat Shemini - פרשת שמיני
03.20.22 (II Adar 17, 5782) Shavuah tov, chaverim! This week's Torah reading, called parashat Shemini ("eighth"), continues the account of the seven-day ordination ceremony for the priests (as described earlier in Parashat Tzav). During each of these "seven days of consecration" Moses served as the first High Priest of Israel by offering sacrifices and training Aaron and his sons (i.e., the kohanim or priests) regarding their duties at the mishkan (i.e., "Tabernacle"). On the eighth day however, (i.e., Nisan 1), and just before the anniversary of the Passover, Aaron and his sons began their official responsibilities as Israel's priests. In the midst of the dedication, however, tragedy struck as Aaron's sons Nadav and Abihu took it upon themselves to make their own offering before the Holy of Holies of the tent. Since this was not the prescribed means of offering sacrifice, God considered the incense offered to be "strange fire" (esh zarah) and both sons were tragically consumed by fire before the LORD (Heb. 10:29,31). Aaron was required to remaine silent as his sons' bodies were removed by his cousins, and Moses then warned Aaron's two remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, not to mourn during this sacred occasion.
The portion ends with a list of which animals, birds, fish and insects are permitted or forbidden as food, which subsequently provided the framework for Jewish dietary law (i.e., kosher law). The Israelites were permitted to eat any mammal that has both a split hoof and chews its cud (Lev. 11:3). Likewise, only fish that have both scales and fins were to be regarded as kosher. A list of acceptable (i.e., non-predatory) birds was given, along with the commandment not to eat any insects unless they have a pair of jointed legs used for leaping. The dietary laws were intended to sanctify the Israelites by separating them for holiness: "For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy."
Providentially considered, it is no coincidence that the inauguration of the Sanctuary is directly connected to the Passover, since the daily sacrifice of the Lamb (i.e., korban tamid: קָרְבָּן תָּמִיד) served as an ongoing memorial of the Exodus from Egypt (יציאת מצרים) -- and indeed all the laws of sacrifice (תורת קרבנות) form the central teaching of the Torah itself. Reflect upon the fact that the central sacrifice of the Mishkan (i.e., "Tabernacle") was that of a defect-free lamb offered every evening and morning upon the altar in the outer court, along with matzah and a wine offering, signifying the Passover Lamb of God given sacrifice for us. This is called "God's Food" in the Torah (Exod. 29:38-42; Num. 28:4-10; John 1:29).
Passion's Inner Fire...
[ The following is related to our Torah reading this week, parashat Tzav. Please read the Torah portion to find your place here... ]
03.18.22 (II Adar 15, 5782) "This is the law for the burnt offering (olah): it is what ascends on the hearth of the altar all night long, until morning..." (Lev. 6:9). In a Sefer Torah (i.e., handwritten Torah scroll), the Hebrew word for "hearth," or the floor of the altar's fireplace, is mokdah (מוֹקְדָה), written by the scribes using a miniature Mem (מ). The Kotzker Rebbe comments that since the altar symbolizes inner life, the smaller Mem teaches that the fire in one's soul should be understated - that it should burn within as an steady inner passion - not with flash, ostentation, or flamboyance. People sometimes get confused and think that passion for God means hype, loud music, special experiences, and so on, though it was steady "inner fire" that moved Yeshua to remain focused to endure the cross.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 39:7 Hebrew (click):
Dear friends, the Lord has not taken us this far only to abandon us now... He has solemnly promised never to leave nor forsake us (Deut. 31:8; Isa. 41:10; Heb. 13:5). There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while (1 Pet. 1:6). Therefore let your heart of faith give thanks to the LORD, for His love and mercy endure forever. Shabbat Shalom and every blessing be yours in Yeshua...
Believing to See...
[ We do not understand in order to believe, but believe in order to understand... ]
03.18.22 (II Adar 15, 5782) Faith believes in the invisible light and accepts the truth of love that overcomes all darkness, hate, and fear. "I believe..." "I believe to see...." "I believe to see the goodness of the LORD..." "I believe to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13). I believe; I look upward; my chest aches and I long for relief; I look forward; my heart hopes even in these passing shadows, even in the midst of my fears, my afflictions, my struggles. My heart chooses to see the unseen good, the good limned by God's promise, the substance of his kindness, his blessing whispered over my fears...
The heart of faith testifies that there is "unfinished business," that there is more than meets the eye, that evil will not have the last word, and that our tears will one day forever be wiped away. Despite the ambiguity, faith "hopes against hope" that the LORD God will intervene and bring everlasting healing to us all. As it says, "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."
Bittachon (trust) is a word for this world, which says, "Though he slay me, I will trust in him..." Those who call upon the LORD can trust not only in concealed good behind ambiguous appearances ("all things work together for good") but also in a future, real, substantive good that will one day be clearly manifest for us all. Meanwhile, may the LORD our God keep us from such depth of sorrow that leads to sickness, darkness and despair. Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 27:13 Hebrew (click):
Word Became Flesh...
[ The following is related to our Torah reading this week, parashat Tzav.... ]
03.18.22 (II Adar 15, 5782) Our Torah portion this week (i.e., Tzav) begins, "The Eternal (יהוה) spoke to Moses" (Lev. 6:8), which paradoxically refers to God as if He is a man... Theologians sometimes call this sort of language "anthropomorphism," though it clearly anticipates the great Incarnation itself, when the Timeless and Infinite One became embodied in time and space in the person of Yeshua. Indeed Yeshua is called the "Word of God" who became flesh and "tabernacled" in our midst (John 1:1,14). "All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3). And just as the Angel of the LORD (מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה) mediates the Divine Presence to the heavenly host, so Yeshua mediates the Divine Presence to humanity as the "Son of Man" (בֶּן־הָאָדָם). "For the Eternal One who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Yeshua the Messiah" (2 Cor. 4:6).
In the Book of Hebrews we read that "in these last days God has spoken to us ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ," which literally means God speaks in the language "of Son" (Heb. 1:2). The Eternal speaks as the One who emptied Himself to become one of us, who clothed himself in our humanity, so that he could touch us, empathize with us, and to ultimately die for our atonement as the "Lamb of God."
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 33:6 Hebrew reading (click):
Teshuvah and Despair...
03.18.22 (II Adar 15, 5782) There are moments – dark, gnawing, raw – when you may lose sight of hope, when you might even fear that you have lost your faith – not in God or his promises – but rather in yourself, in your own strength to continue, to stay focused, to keep pressing on "hope against hope..." The remedy here is always the same: to remember that within you – that is, in your flesh - "there is no good thing" and that the miracle of salvation is made secure by God's passion for you, not your own power or desire. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of Hosts." We don't trust in ourselves nor in the strength of our inner resolve, but solely in the power of God to make the way (John 1:13). We must turn away from ourselves to regain the message of God's unfailing love; only when we lose sight of ourselves do we find ourselves. God redeems you from your lost estate and touches you in your uncleanness; He clothes himself in your pain so that you may be clothed in his love. That never changes, despite dark moments, and to that we must always return...
Hebrew Lesson
Isaiah 40:29 Hebrew reading (click):
 |
Where it says, "I can do all things through Messiah who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13), that includes being healed of the inner pain of your life: your failures, your shame, the ache of rejection, abandonment, and so on. It means being set free from disillusionment, despair, and the oppression of relentless fear. "I can do all things through Messiah" means no longer accepting messages of self-hatred and hopelessness, no longer heeding the malicious whispers that say: "I am of no value," "I am unlovable," "my life is hopeless." No, "I can do all things through Messiah" means learning to be accepted, honored, and esteemed by God; it means opening your heart to God's love and blessing for your life; it means allowing your heart to be made right, to have inner peace... After all, Yeshua's great prayer was that we would know the truth of God's love for us (John 17), and this is the central need our lives.
Parables and Revelation...
[ The holiday of Purim celebrates God's providential deliverance of his people... ]
03.17.22 (II Adar 14, 5782) Yeshua often used various agricultural images in his parables. For example, he explained that people are known by the "fruits" of their lives (Matt. 7:16-20). He likened the spread of his message in terms of "sowing and reaping" (Matt. 13:3-23) and compared the Kingdom of Heaven to the secret working of a mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). Yeshua regarded the world as a "field" for planting with different "types of soil" (Matt. 13:38-43), and warned of the "great harvest" of souls at the end of the age (Luke 10:2; Matt. 13:30). He pointed to signs from a fig tree to indicate the nearness of the prophesied End of Days (Matt. 24:32-33). Yeshua also used the metaphor of a "vine and its branches" to explain how his followers are to be connected to Him (John 15:1-6).
Undoubtedly Yeshua taught in parables because they simultaneously conceal and reveal the truth. A parable obscures the truth to those who don't really want it; just as it reveals the truth to those who do (Luke 8:9-10; Psalm 72:8; Matt. 13:34-35). Since Yeshua's whole life was a parable of sorts - a "disguise" that led to the victory of our deliverance (Phil. 2:7) - it is not surprising that he regularly used "figures of speech" to provoke people to examine their own heart attitude and faith... In this connection note that Yeshua never explained the "mysteries of the kingdom of God" directly to the crowds, nor did He ever pander to the crowd's clamor or interests. His message is always meant for the individual soul who was willing to follow Him -- to the one who had "ears to hear."
Reading the parables can help us take inventory of our lives. For example, whenever we hear the famous "parable of the sower" (Matt. 13:3-23) we are reminded that God is like a farmer who sows seed upon the soil of human hearts (the quality of which may be hard, shallow, choked, or good). If we are honest with ourselves, we will see our own hardness, shallowness, and selfishness in contrast to the fruitfulness marked by the good soil, and this may prompt us to seek God for help. Only the new heart (lev chadash) created by power of God's Spirit can possibly yield the fruit of the Spirit. Yeshua therefore warns us: "Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away" (Luke 8:18).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 78:2 Hebrew with comments (click):
 |
We must 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).
With God all things are possible, and the life of God is a miracle that comes from God's own source of Life. It is the fruit of the Spirit, after all, and not the result of human effort or moral reformation... Amen and chag Purim sameach!
Purim and Prophecy...
[ The holiday of Purim occurs this evening at sundown this year... ]
03.16.22 (II Adar 13, 5782) Both Chanukah and Purim are holidays that celebrate God's victory over the forces of darkness... Just as the prophet Daniel foresaw the events of Chanukah, that is, the rise of "Epihpanes," the "Messiah of Evil" who will one day attempt to "assimilate" all of humanity into a "New World Order" (Dan. 9:27, 2 Thess. 2:3; Rev. 13:7-9, etc.), so Purim foretells how this wicked one will attempt to destroy the Jewish people during the End of Days (אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים), though he will be destroyed by his own wicked devices. The Midrash Esther says that Purim, unlike many of the other holidays, will be celebrated even after the final redemption after the End of Days. This is because the story of Purim -- i.e., God's covenantal faithfulness and defense of His people -- will be magnified in the deliverance that leads to the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom upon the earth. Indeed, the Second Coming of the Messiah will be regarded as the final fulfillment of Purim! So while it is a often seen as time of unbridled celebration in Israel (ad lo yoda), the holiday of Purim has a very sober prophetic message that foretells the glorious end of this age.
Here is a vision of the coming "Purim haGadol," the great deliverance to come:
"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True (נֶאֱמָן וְיָשָׁר), and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a Name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the Name by which he is called is the Word of God (דְּבַר הָאֱלהִים). And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. And He will tread the winepress of the fierce fury of the wrath of God, the Ruler over All (παντοκράτωρ), the LORD God Almighty (יְהוָה אֱלהֵי צְבָאוֹת). On his robe and on his thigh he has a Name written, the King of kings (מֶלֶךְ הַמְּלָכִים) and the Lord of lords (אֲדנֵי הָאֲדנִים). And with the breath of his lips He will slay the wicked" (Rev. 19:11-16).
May that day come speedily, and in our time... Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Zeph. 1:41a reading (click):
HAPPY PURIM CHAVERIM!
Prayer for this hour...
03.16.22 (II Adar 13, 5782) Many of us are hurting, Lord, and we sometimes are tempted to feel abandoned in our struggle... This world seems so senseless, so brutal, and so evil at times; we feel powerless, overwhelmed, and even sick inside... We look to You, O God, and for your mercy and power. Help us to accept what we cannot change and to completely trust in Your great healing, despite the sickness of the world around us and the sickness within us. Remind us that though we cannot change the world, we are given grace to sustain our trust in You, our glorious and merciful Healer. And may we never be ashamed; may we never grow bitter; may our sorrows lead us from strength to strength. And may this time of testing lead us to greater wisdom, to compassion, and finally back to You. Amen.
God allows us to suffer because....... will any words here suffice? Suffering, like nearly everything else in the universe, is a mystery. Yes, we believe God will wipe away all our tears, but there are tears, after all, and things really hurt sometimes. Thomas Aquinas once said, "With faith there are no questions; without faith, there are no answers," which is to say that trusting in God's love ultimately gives rest to our relentless questions, whereas no amount of answers will ever be enough for the heart that refuses to trust. Having faith doesn't mean pretending to have all the answers, of course, but it affirms – even in the absence of understanding, in dark moments, in the midst of sorrow or pain or confusion – that hope is real, love is what matters most, and that God will never, ever fail us...
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 39:12a Hebrew reading:
Note: Being hospitalized and nearly dying from Covid pneumonia was harrowing, but I had no idea the after-effects would persist. I recenly contracted the flu and have been reliving some of the same suffering I had at the hospital. It's been a tough last few months...
Enduring to the End...
03.16.22 (II Adar 13, 5782) "Whoever endures to the end will be saved" (Matt. 24:13). Here Yeshua speaks regarding "endurance" (ὑπομονή), or the ability to hold fast to your faith despite hardship and inexplicable suffering... Because this is hard, there is a risk - a very real danger - of turning away from God, and therefore we are warned to "continue in the faith" and not to "drift away" from the blessing of our salvation (Col. 1:23; Heb. 2:1-3). It is not sufficient to simply accept the message of the gospel, or to intellectually assent to its truth, because truth is something lived, fought out in our conflicts and in our temptations.
Like our father Jacob, we must wrestle to take hold of the blessing of our truth from heaven. Or to use another analogy, we must be anchored to the truth lest we become shipwrecked in our faith. Drifting occurs slowly and almost imperceptibly, though the end result is as deadly as openly turning away from God in outright apostasy. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, "The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." The devil seeks to lull you to sleep...
In light of such admonition, we may at first suspect that the battle has to do with our behavior, for example, whether we indulge the lower nature, and yet, as Kierkegaard once astutely noted, "the opposite of sin is not virtue but faith," which I understand to mean that the struggle is first of all one of the heart and mind, as it decides what it values and thereby directs the will in its choices. "According to your faith be it done to you."
What we fear says a lot about what we really believe, and therefore what we are thinking. True fear is awareness of the sanctity of life - the "fear of the Lord" (יראת יהוה) which is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). True fear is true because it corresponds to reality by discerning that God is the source of all that is worthy and good. False fear, on the other hand, reveals disordered thinking, by both believing that some finite good is utmost and that losing that good is an existential threat. False fear is grounded in worldly concern and pleasures that immerse the soul in the moment, devoid of consciousness of any deeper connection with the future. "Time and busyness think that eternity is very far away" and this becomes the temptation that your life and eternity are unrelated.
We are distracted by the demands of time to disregard the demands of eternity. In this connection Kierkegaard says: "In superstitious delusion one would rather hope for temporal help than grasp the eternal... It is false wisdom that cheats itself out of the highest comfort, and by means of a mediocre comfort helps itself to even more mediocre comfort - and ultimately into certain regret" (Upbuilding Discourses).
So how can we escape from ourselves? How can we - as fallible, frail, and perversely wretched creatures - "endure to the end" and be saved? How can we understand the imperatives of God when we have no confidence in ourselves, and indeed, we know ourselves in our powerlessness? How can we endure ourselves? (Rom. 7:18). Is this not the "ulterior reason" for the commandments, after all -- to reveal and convict sin within our hearts? (see Rom. 7:11-25). Is not despair over ourselves a gift from God that rouses us to seek for a power greater than ourselves that is able and willing to save us? Is that not the message of the gospel, after all? That God justifies the ungodly by faith? (Rom. 4:4-5). Is this not our remedy found in the "righteousness of God" that is manifest in a source outside of the "law," that is, the realm of lovingkindness and grace (Rom. 3:20-22)?
The law teaches us something extremely precious - namely, our extreme spiritual poverty and powerlessness in relation to the good, our profound sickness of heart, the reason for our grief, our anguish, and our sorrows, and therefore it teaches our great need for the Savior, who delivers us not just from the verdict of the law, but from the indwelling shame and despair that tempts us to abandon the will to endure... That's the meaning of the "Beatitudes" of Yeshua, after all. We are saved by the love of God and treasured by him, and by means of his love we endure unto the end.
Yeshua is our Mediator, our Advocate, and our Healer. He is the one who endures to the end so that we will be saved. "He was placed under the law for us, bore our sin, and in his path to the Father rendered to his Father entire, perfect obedience from his holy birth to his death in the stead of us poor sinners, and this covered up our disobedience, which inheres in our nature, so that our disobedience is not reckoned to us for our damnation but is forgiven - by sheer grace for Christ's sake alone" (Book of Concord). Amen. The biggest problem we have is the spiritual sickness of eternal death, and therefore the deepest need we have, even if we are not conscious of it, is that of eternal life. The message of the gospel is that we are healed of eternal death and given eternal life by means of the blessing of Yeshua...
Yeshua's salvation for us doesn't just open heaven for us in the end, but is alive and present for us now - He is with us always, even to the end of our days - which is to say he shares his victory and strength with us in this very hour, and indeed, forever.
The way of faith keeps focused on eternity, seeking the things that are above" (Col. 3:1-4). There is an inward weight of glory that is worked within our hearts as "we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18). Drifting away into "this world" and temporality is to fall into the realm of despair and turn numb to the miracle of salvation. Therefore, because of the relentless propensity toward our "fallenness," we must turn to God in daily repentance. It is his daily bread that enables us to endure to the end...
We pray: "Give us this day our daily bread; forgive us our sins..." (Matt. 6:11-12). We are both forgiven people who need forgiveness, yet we are under constant temptation to look away, to drift, and to forget our great need to accept God's forgiveness. When we forget our need, however, we fall into pride and therefore must be disciplined and humbled. The "law of sin and death" is the scourge that leads us to surrender to God's power to save us from ourselves. The "law of the spirit of life," on the other hand, is the law of faith, affirming that it is "not by might, nor by power, but by God's Spirit" that we are set free from our inner corruption and brokenness. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God."
We are being educated for eternity, and the life of faith is a long lesson in obedience -- learning to suffer God's will, to accept whatever happens, and to endure in hope. Practically speaking this means "laying aside" your desires and surrendering yourself -- all that is within you -- in trust of God's plan for your life, even (and especially) in the most difficult moments... What we really need is perseverance, or hupomone (ὑπομονή), a word that literally means "dwelling [μένω] under [ὑπο]" God's Presence while being tested. The life of faith is a form of suffering that calls for patience and wisdom as we learn to endure our own frailty and to trust God for what is best... We do not learn obedience apart from the test of faith, and therefore obedience cannot be taught apart from the struggle to believe. We wrestle to surrender, with groans and sighs we utter: "not my will, but thy will be done." As Kierkegaard also said: "This is the key to finding rest in your suffering. There is only one way in which rest is to be found: to let God rule in everything. Whatever else you might come to learn only pertains to how God has willed to rule. But as soon as unrest begins, the cause for it is due to your unwillingness to obey, your unwillingness to surrender yourself to God."
It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing (John 6:33). It is impossible for the human heart to believe that God is gracious to him, and yet the very greatest danger is despairing of grace... Faith and grace are therefore intimately connected, for God's acceptance and forgiveness is for those who believe... We do not find God's heart by relating to him through the law - that is, by appealing to him as our Judge - but by relating to him through grace - that is, by believing and receiving him as our Savior. Despair comes from our own spirit trying to reason or bargain with God's acceptance; but salvation comes from hope imparted by the Holy Spirit, which is to say, by means of the miracle of God.
We are not without God's help in our pilgrimage, friend. Yeshua promised that the Ruach HaKodesh (רוּחַ הַקּדֶשׁ) would be "called alongside" (παράκλητος) to comfort us on the journey. The English verb "comfort" literally means "to give strength" (from com- ["with"] and fortis ["strong"]), an idea similarly expressed by the verb "encourage," that is, to "put heart [i.e., 'core'] within the soul." In Hebrew, the word courage is expressed by the phrase ometz lev (אמֶץ לֵב), meaning "strong of heart," denoting an inner quality of the will rather than of the intellect. Ometz lev means having an inner resolve, a passion, and a direction.
The walk of faith requires courage, that is heart... The human mind reasons and therefore fears, but the heart is the center of our being, the core of who we are. The heart does not reason its way to love but instead allows love to inform and direct reason. Therefore God asks our hearts to trust in him, and he does not allow calculated human reason with its fears to move us on the way (Isa. 55:8). When we receive divine grace to faithfully suffer, we hear the Spirit whispering back to us: "Be not afraid..." "Live in me..." "Walk in the light..." "I am with you always..." "You will endure..." "You are loved..."
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 73:26 Hebrew reading:
 |
Breath Prayers...
03.16.22 (II Adar 13, 5782) In times of severe testing people often do not need further teaching, but rather "endurance," or what the New Testament calls hupomone (ὑπομονή), a word that means "remaining [μένω] under [ὑπο]" the Divine Presence while being tested. Suffering people do not need moral platitudes from others, but the will to believe, the resolution to stay constant, and to ability breathe out simple prayers for help to the LORD: "God have mercy..." "Help me, O God..." "I need Thee, O Lord..." When we receive grace to faithfully suffer, we hear the Spirit whispering back to us: "Be not afraid..." "Live in me..." "Walk in the light..." "I am with you always..." "You are loved..."
רפאני יהוה וארפא
הושׁיעני ואושׁעה כי תהלתי אתה
re·fah·ei'·nee · Adonai · ve·ei'·rah·fei
hoh·shee·ei'·nee · ve·ee·vah·shei'·ah · kee · te·heel·lah·tee · ah'·tah
"Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise."
(Jer. 17:14)
Wounds of Loneliness...
03.15.22 (II Adar 12, 5782) The late Henri Nouwen said that there are two great fears (or wounds) that we all face. The first is the fear that we were not wanted at the time of our birth into this world, and the second is that we will not be wanted at the time of our death. "Not being welcome is your greatest fear. It connects with your birth fear, your fear of not being welcome in this life, and your death fear, your fear of not being welcome in the life after this. It is the deep-seated fear that it would have been better if you had not lived" (Inner Voice of Love). If you carry a wound of abandonment within your heart - if you live in dread over your worth as a human being, seriously wondering whether it would have been better had you never been born, then you know the taste of hell itself - the emotional prison of feeling lost, defective, rejected, shameful - unable to love or to be loved...
Is not the lament of the lonely heart to find a sense of welcome, or acceptance, or peace within? Is it not the heart's cry for connection? Yet even the very gospel message cannot make traction within a heart lost to its own shame... Therefore the miracle of salvation is profoundly connected with faith that you are loved and lovable - despite yourself - and that this love derives from the core of all that truly exists. Is this not "home" in the spiritual sense? Is this not "Zion, the perfection of holiness?" That God prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies, yea, those enemies of self-rejection, abandonment, fear, and shame? And that there - in the midst of your lost and forlorn condition you are found, treasured, and celebrated? Is not that "place" God's very heart - Jesus dying upon the cross, gasping for each breath - knowing everything about you and loving you anyway?
In our Torah reading this week (Eikev), Moses asks us to soften our hearts by remembering that we are beloved of God (Deut. 10:12-16). He reminds us that the though Lord is "the God of gods" (אֱלהֵי הָאֱלהִים) - the power that transcends the gods of our idolatry (i.e., our fears, our disordered attachments, our shame), and the "Lord of lords" (אֲדנֵי הָאֲדנִים) - the Center and Authority of what is most real, he nevertheless cares for the lowly orphan and the grieving widow - he reaches out to the needy and the abandoned - and he desires to console the "stranger," the one shattered of heart, who has no sense of belonging, no pride of tribe, nor place to lay his head (see Deut. 10:17-18). God cares about those who are lost, hurting, and alone: He came to seek and to save such from their despair...
But how does God reach the bound soul that walks alone among the tombs, cutting himself in his torment? How can he heal the deep trauma, the disassociated and broken of heart? How else but by the miracle of his intervention, quickening an otherwise numb and dead heart to come alive, to breathe in hope, and to begin to believe that - despite everything that has happened - he was wanted all along, from the very beginning, and that the wound of his sorrow was given so that he could find out who he really is and where he really belongs... The wound you were given is part of your story, and healing comes from accepting God's love for you -- and understanding how the Lord goes through the wound with you and for you...
Life in this fallen world is likened to a vapor or a passing shadow (Psalm 144:4). Nothing abides; good things here never last; and we labor under the unmentionable anxiety that death will separate us from everyone and everything we love. However, death is not the end for the us, for "love is stronger than death, passion fiercer than the grave; its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD" (Song 8:6).
"What will death be like?" they asked the Master. "It will be as if a veil is ripped apart and you will say in wonder, "So it was you all along!" (De Mello). Death is a most poignant homecoming, a place of joyful welcome, wherein all shall be well for ever. The righteous have an everlasting foundation in the faithful heart of God. Faith in the LORD believes that a single supreme, all-knowing, all-powerful and benevolent spiritual Power directs all things, and that Messiah is the beginning, middle, and end of all conscious meaning, truth, and substance, as it is written: כִּי הַכּל מִיָּדוֹ הַכּל בּוֹ וְהַכּל לוֹ הוּא, "For from him and through him and to him are all things" (Rom. 11:36). A life of faith in the one true God imparts the blessing of shalom (inner peace) and assures the heart that all shall be made well by the love of God. So then, "if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we belong to the Lord" (Rom. 14:8). For the believer in Messiah, death does not define us, and indeed, we trust that God will attend to us in the moment of our utmost extremity (John 5:24; 11:25-26). If we desire eternal life with all our hearts and remember our end before the Lord, we will be free of the fear of death. Amen v'amen.
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 40:13 reading (click):
 |
Note: I am still battling a fever, head congestion, and body aches. The body aches remind me of having Covid a couple months ago... very debilitating. Trusting God's care in everything. God does not always give us what we can handle, but he always helps us handle what we are given. כל אני יכול בעזרתו שׁל הנותן בי כח (Phil 4:13).
Note: March 2022 updates continue here.
Follow the site's progress:
Site Updates for 2022
Site Updates for 2021
Site Updates for 2020
Site Updates for 2019
Site Updates for 2018
Site Updates for 2017
Site Updates for 2016
Site Updates for 2015
Site Updates for 2014
Site Updates for 2013
Site Updates for 2012
Site Updates for 2011
Site Updates for 2010
Site Updates for 2009
Site Updates for 2008
Site Updates for 2007
Site Updates for 2006
Site Updates for 2005
Site Updates for 2004
Hebrew4Christians Forum
|
