From our Torah reading this week (i.e., Va’era) we read how Moses objected to serve as God’s emissary to the Pharaoh: “Behold, the children of Israel have not listened to me, so how will Pharaoh listen to me? And I have sealed lips!” (Exod. 6:12). Moses’ argument is that if his own people would not listen to him, for all the more reason the Pharaoh would not listen…. His statement “I have sealed lips” (אֲנִי עֲרַל שְׂפָתָיִם) may be interpreted to mean that he would be regarded as without persuasive speech before Pharaoh, as an “uncircumcised” or unrefined person, or, more likely, that his lifelong speech impediment would be regarded as an offence before the niceties of Pharaoh’s audience.
In this connection the sages have commented regarding Moses’ great humility, saying that it was greater than even that of Abraham, for Abraham regarded himself as “dust and ashes” (עָפָר וָאֵפֶר) before the Lord (Gen. 18:27), whereas Moses regarded himself as “nothing at all” (i.e., ke’lum: כְּלוּם) – less than dust itself. When the Israelites later demanded bread from Moses and Aaron in the desert, Moses rhetorically asked “what are we?”, indicating that he regarded himself as utterly powerless apart from the will and agency of God.
Yet it is precisely this “nothingness” that made Moses a fit vessel to witness and declare the greatness of the Lord. William James wrote about “Zerrissenheit,” or the idea of being inwardly shattered within your heart. Moses understood his bankruptcy as a “failed Messiah” in Egypt as a young man; he walked as the living dead for 40 years in the desiccation of Midian before God raised him up in newness of life. And Moses continually experienced his own powerlessness and nothingness as he led the Israelites out of the death throes of Egypt.
Of Yeshua, who was with Israel in the desert (1 Cor. 10:4), it is said that “He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25), and that includes intercession for those regarded as dead on account of their own infirmities and sins, for those for whom all hope is lost, for those in extremis and who understand from the depths of depths that there is no life in them apart from the miracle of God who gives life to the dead. “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal. 6:3); but if someone confesses truth and looks to God, new life can arise. The “uttermost,” the farthest extent, from the deepest pitch, in the vast expanse of stars that sweep across the cosmos, the furthest star, barely perceptible, is sustained by the mighty hand and outstretched arm of the Lord, our great deliverer. This is not a star consigned to outer darkness because of its lost estate or cast off because of proud defiance, no, this is a star that barely flickers in its self-effacement, as vulnerable as an unsteady flame ready to be extinguished.
Of our compassionate Savior it is written: “A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench” (Isa. 42:3). People conscious of their frailty and who have been crushed because of it are likened to “bruised reeds” of whom the loving Messiah shall attend. As it is written, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Indeed, He binds up the broken of heart and gives liberty to those in bondage (Isa. 61:1). “A smoking flax shall he not quench” likewise means that our Lord will not snuff out an unsteady flame ready to expire, but will tend to it with special oil to cause it to burn more brightly.
The Spirit of the LORD is always saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). God doesn’t need our religious acts of service, our worship, our prayers, or our approval; on the contrary, we desperately need Him… Prayer is a mirror of the heart, and we either come to God in our emptiness, our brokenness, and in real humility, or we are just playing religious games. Those who truly call upon the LORD understand their radical need for deliverance, inwardly confessing, “Woe is me, for I am ruined…” (Isa. 6:5).
The Savior seeks the “trampled and bruised,” the poor in spirit, and those crushed by the blows of this fallen world and offers them healing. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), and therefore He is found in the midst of the leper colonies of the hurting, the forgotten, and the rejected. As a “man of sorrows” he understands the language of our pain (Isa. 53:3). He is the healer of the broken heart and the Savior of those who are crushed in spirit. Blessed be His Name forever… Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 34:18 reading (click):
Psalm 34:18 Hebrew page (pdf)
When Moses proclaimed the good news of God’s forthcoming redemption for Israel, the Torah states that the people could not listen because they were “short of breath” (Exod. 6:9). Interestingly, this phrase (i.e., mi’kotzer ru’ach: מִקּצֶר רוּחַ) can also mean “lacking in spirit,” as if in a paralyzed state of hopelessness. But how did the people become so downhearted? Had they forgotten the promise given to Abraham (Gen. 15:12-14)? Had they disregarded Joseph’s final words (Gen. 50:24-25)?
The Book of Exodus begins, ve’eileh shemot (וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת), “and these are the names” (of the sons of Israel). God call each person by name to make the journey… Indeed, God calls each star by its own name (Gen. 22:17, Psalm 147:4) and yet He also knows each lily of the field and sparrow that flutters its wings (Matt. 6:28-30, 10:29). As Yeshua said, even the hairs on your head are all numbered (Matt. 10:30). In Jewish theology, the term hashgachah pratit (הַשְׁגָּחָה פְּרָטִית) refers to God’s personal supervision of our lives (hashgachah means “supervision,” and pratit means “individual” or “particular”). Since God is the Master of the Universe, His supervision and providence reaches to the smallest of details of creation – from subatomic particles to the great motions of the cosmos. Of particular interest, however, are those whom He created be’tzelem Elohim: in His image and likeness. The LORD is called אלהֵי הָרוּחת לְכָל־בָּשָׂר / Elohei ha-ruchot lekhol-basar: “The God of the spirits of all flesh” (Num. 16:22), and that means that every spirit ultimately answers to Him.
Simply knowing about God is insufficient for a transformed life; something more is needed, namely, receptivity of the heart – a sense of concern, a hunger and a thirst for life, and the willingness to believe in the truth of love. Yeshua taught that the condition of our heart is revealed by how we hear. Without charity and a deep sense of concern, loss will inevitably occur: “Take heed therefore how you hear: for whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him” (Luke 8:18). Just as the “good eye” (העין הטובה) that searches for what is good, so the “good ear” listens to the word of hope; and just asthe evil eye (העין הרעה) searches for what is evil, so the “evil ear” attends to the message of loss and despair. As we inwardly receive the truth of Yeshua, more truth is revealed; but if we resist, untruth will take root and grow….
At the outset of the new civil year, let us recall the ancient 
It is tragic that so many people go about their lives as if God doesn’t exist… Instead of soberly acknowledging that their days are numbered in this world, they subconsciously assume they will live forever, and they steadfastly ignore any idea of judgment to come. Yeshua warned us, however, that “nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light” (Mark 4:22). We should tremble before such words. Each of us will give account for what we have done with the time given us (Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 12:36). Moses therefore prayed to God: “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Each soul is given a finite amount of time in this world, and therefore Moses asked God to teach us how to live in light of our ultimate end… For this we need wisdom, which primarily consists of knowledge of the holy (דַעַת קְדשִׁים) and the experience of the awe of the LORD (יִרְאַת יְהוָה, Prov. 9:10). Note then the connection between learning to “number our days” and apprehending the sacredness of life. As we learn to esteem our days, so we discover wisdom for our sojourn to eternity. Reflecting on the brevity of life awakens us to consciously reflect upon the course of our lives and to distill the ultimate concerns of our hearts.
The Book of Lamentations is an acrostic (i.e., alphabetical) poem that begins with the Hebrew letter Aleph (א) in the word “eichah” (אֵיכָה), which also marks the Hebrew name of the book. “How (eichah) lonely sits the city that once was full of people!” (Lam. 1:1). The sages note that this word “how” (i.e., eichah) could also be read as “where are you?” (i.e., ayeka: אַיֶּכָּה), God’s first word spoken to Adam after he broke covenant in the Garden (Gen. 3:9). Note that God’s question is often our own: “Where are you? Where are you, God? Are you here, in the midst of this tedious moment? Do you know my loneliness, my ache for love? Do you understand the troubles of my heart?” And yet how many people have faith that God’s call is one of comfort and restoration? God uses our loneliness (“how lonely…”) to search our hearts, asking each of us, ayeka – “Where are you?” “Why have you turned away from me and chosen a state of exile?” Our haunting sense of God’s absence impels us to seek for him… God awaits our only possible response, “Hashivenu!” — an imperative (urgent appeal) for the grace to repent: “Turn us back to yourself, O LORD, so that we may return to you; renew our days as of old” (Lam. 5:21).
Though the world system corrupts the message of the birth of Messiah for the sake of avarice and greed, take a moment to reflect on its ongoing spiritual significance, namely, that God emptied Himself (κένωσις) of His regal glory and power to become your Savior and High Priest, able to fully sympathize with your weakness, frailty, shame, and chronic sinfulness (Heb. 4:15-16; Phil 2:7-8). Almighty God, the Presence of Love, the Heart of Reality, clothed himself in human flesh and bone to become Immanu’el (עִמָּנוּ אֵל) – “God with us” – so that we could be touched by Him, healed by Him, and redeemed by Him… In light of this, it is only fitting we should join the refrain of heavenly host: “Glory to God in the highest, and upon earth peace, good will among all people!” (Luke 2:14). Amen! Yeshua is the Eternal Sign and Wonder of the LORD God Almighty…
Surely our great need is to have heart, to find strength, resolution, and steadfast determination to walk boldly during these heartless and depraved days (2 Tim. 3:1-5). We are not without God’s help, of course. Yeshua told us 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 sages say “the mind is the eye, whereas the heart is the feet.” May God be our Light and Salvation as we walk through the surrounding darkness…
According to midrash (i.e., ancient Jewish commentary), just before