Our Torah reading for this week (i.e., parashat Re’eh) concludes with the commandment to make three “pilgrimage festivals” (i.e., shelosh regalim) each year: Passover, Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles). In the Torah, these “holidays” are called “appointed times” (i.e., mo’edim: מוֹעֲדִים), a word which comes from a root meaning witness (עֵד). Other words formed from this root include edah (עֵדָה), a congregation, edut (עֵדוּת), a testimony, and so on. The related verb ya’ad (יָעַד) means to meet, assemble, or even to betroth. The significance of the holy days, then, is for the covenant people of the LORD to bear witness to God’s love and faithfulness by revisiting our history and by looking forward to their ultimate fulfillment, when we no longer pass through this world but abide in the heavenly reality. Meanwhile we trust in God’s prophetic plan as revealed in the holy calendar, and observe the seasons as he has commanded. As it says, “All the paths of the LORD are love and truth to to those keeping his covenant and his testimonies” (Psalm 25:10).
Author: John J Parsons
Believing and Seeing…
This week’s Torah portion (i.e., parashat Re’eh) is about seeing. We are commanded to see clearly the choices that lie before us and to choose the way of life and blessing. Note, however, that the Hebrew word for seeing (ראה) and the word for fearing (ירא) share the same root, suggesting that we cannot truly see apart from the reverence of God…
Teshuvah and Brokenness…
The advent of the “Season of Teshuvah” reminds us that we all fail, that we all are broken people, and that errors and mistakes are part of our daily spiritual life… We journey toward humility rather than struggle for perfection; we confess our need for forgiveness and seek reconciliation with all those we might have harmed… During this season it is common enough to hear messages about our need to turn and draw near to God for life, but it is equally important to remember that God turns and draws near to the brokenhearted for consolation. As it is said, the Lord is near to the nishbar lev (נִשְׁבָּר לֵב), the one with a broken and crushed heart (Psalm 51:17).
The Great Tree of Life…
The Bible begins and ends with the great Tree of Life — first in the orchard of Eden, and later in the midst of the paradise of heaven. ”The Tree of Life (i.e., etz ha’ chayim: עֵץ הַחַיִּים) was in the midst of the garden…” (Gen. 2:9); “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the Tree of Life (etz ha-chayim) with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month” (Rev. 22:1-2). Notice that the “twelve fruits” (καρποὺς δώδεκα) from the Tree of Life are directly linked to the “twelve months” of the Jewish year (κατὰ μῆνα ἕκαστον ἀποδιδοῦν τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ: “each month rendering its fruit”). Twelve months; twelve fruits…. This teaches us that the sequence of the holidays (mo’edim) was intended to teach us revelation about God. That is why God created the Sun and the Moon for signs and for “appointed times” (Gen. 1:14), as it also says: “He made the moon to mark the appointed times (לְמוֹעֲדִים); the sun knows its time for setting” (Psalm 104:19).
Torah of the Messiah: Are you Yeshua Observant?
Shalom chaverim. When was the last time you sacrificed a lamb for your Passover seder? Or went to a religious service to offer a bullock for the guilt of your sin? Have you been careful to make pilgrimage three times a year to the Holy Temple to appear before the Lord as the Torah demands? Questions like these are not meant to be taken lightly, though they do seem deeply incongruous in light of the revelation we have in Yeshua our Messiah concerning the essential meaning of Torah, and therefore it behooves us to take some time to sort through some of the tensions we might experience when we consider whether Christians are required to follow the law of Moses or whether there is another way in light of the ministry of Yeshua the Messiah.
Teshuvah of the Mind…
We are responsible to walk in truth and to reject what is false (1 John 4:6). This implies that we have a moral and spiritual duty to think clearly and not to abuse our minds (Phil. 4:8; Rom. 12:2). The LORD our God will help us to do this, as Yeshua said: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you a Helper (παράκλητος, someone “called to one’s side”), to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth (רוּחַ הָאֱמֶת), whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him” (John 14:16-17). The Spirit of Truth helps us “discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable, and perfect” (Rom. 12:2) and empowers us to take “every thought captive” to the reality of the Divine Presence (2 Cor. 10:4-5). Truth is connected to memory – both in our personal histories as well as the history of God’s redemptive actions performed on our behalf. Hence we are constantly commanded to remember what God has done for us and to “diligently repeat” the truth to our children (Deut. 6:4-9). Similarly, the Spirit of Truth brings to remembrance the words of Yeshua to our hearts (John 14:26).
Remember who you are…
One of the greatest mistakes is to forget who you really are and your beloved status before the LORD… “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isa. 43:1). Forgetting who you are leads to forgetting who the LORD is, just as forgetting who the LORD is leads to forgetting who you are…
Torah’s Weightier Matters…
From our Torah this week (parashat Re’eh) we read: “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing (הַבְּרָכָה), if you obey (שָׁמַע) the commandments of the LORD your God… and the curse (הַקְּלָלָה), if you turn aside (סוּר, “withdraw,” “draw back”) from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known” (Deut. 11:26-28).
The Sacrifices of God…
Learn to read the Hebrew for Psalm 51:17.
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Torah of the Good Eye
Shalom chaverim. The way we choose to see is ultimately a spiritual decision. In this “Daily Dvar” audio broadcast, I discuss what I call the “Torah of the Good Eye” and the spiritual need to seek goodness in everyday reality. I hope you will find it helpful.