Our father Abraham is called ha-ivri (הָעִבְרִי) – “the Hebrew,” a term that means “one who has crossed over” (עָבַר) from another place (Gen. 14:13). The famous medieval Torah commentator Rashi literally identified this “other place” as Ur Kasdim (אוּר כַּשְׂדִים), located east of the Euphrates River, though the midrash (Genesis Rabbah) spiritually identified it as the realm of idolatry: “The whole world stood on one side, but Abram crossed over to the other.” Abram separated himself from a world steeped in idolatry and polytheism by worshipping One God who is the sole Creator of all things…. Understood in this way, being “Hebrew” means being regarded as an “other,” a “stranger,” or an “outsider” to idolatrous worldly culture. Therefore all those who “cross over” from the realm of death to life because of Yeshua are rightly called “Hebrews” (John 5:24).

The term “Jew,” on the other hand, refers to one who praises the LORD (יְהוּדָה). The word (יְהוּדִי) comes from a root (יָדָה) which means to “confess” or to “praise” God (Gen. 29:35). The Apostle Paul alluded to this by saying that one whose heart has been circumcised by the Spirit is “one who is praised by God — not by men” (Rom. 2:29).  Being a Jew therefore means you are “chosen” to receive blessings and grace to live in holiness for the glory of God and for the healing of the world. The performance of various mitzvot are for the greater purpose of tikkun olam, the “repair of the world,” in order to reveal God’s goodness and love (Eph. 2:8-10). Doing so makes someone a Jew, since his praise comes not from man, but from the LORD. God is the source and the power of what makes a true tzaddik (righteous person). After all, Israel was meant to be a “light to the nations” (Isa. 42:6; 60:3), and God had always planned for all the families of the earth to come to know Him and give Him glory through his chosen servant Abraham (see Gen. 12:3; 22:18). “Jewishness” is therefore not an end in itself but rather a means to bring healing to the nations… Indeed, the entire redemptive story of the Scriptures centers on the cosmic conflict to deliver humanity from the “curse” by means of the “Seed of the woman” who would come. The gospel is Jewish because it concerns God’s great redemptive plan for the whole world (John 3:16; 4:22).

• Isa. 64:8 Hebrew lesson page (pdf)

“If a person vows a vow (i.e., neder: נֶדֶר) to the LORD, or swears an oath (i.e., shevuah: שְׁבוּעָה) to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Num. 30:2).  The Hebrew expression “break his word” literally means “profane his word” (יַחֵל דְּבָרוֹ), that is, to defile the soul by causing it to be inwardly divided, irresolute, and cowardly. After all, breaking your word means violating the integrity of who you are, showing that what you say and what you do are not unified, and this leads to feelings of shame. Your words confess your reality and bring it to life… If you cannot keep your word, your word becomes profane, empty, lost — you become a “stranger to yourself,” unsure of what you intend. “Let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no; learn to say what you mean and mean what you say (Matt. 5:37).

In the Book of Proverbs we read, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is wise” (Prov. 10:19).  The Chofetz Chaim comments: “When people are preparing a telegram, notice how carefully they consider each word before they put it down. That is how careful we must be when we speak.” As James admonishes us: “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19).

• Prov. 10:19 Hebrew lesson page (pdf)

Since words represent thoughts, the use of our tongues has to do with how we choose to think… “Think on these things…” We are instructed to “take every thought captive” (αἰχμαλωτίζω, i.e., lead away as a prisoner) to the obedience of Messiah… It is wise to restrain our speech, because, after all, we often have no idea what we are talking about, and therefore our words can become unruly and even dangerous. Whenever we open our mouth to speak, Heaven is listening (Matt. 12:36-37).

The Hebrew word “spirit” (i.e., ruach: רוּחַ) points to wonder, to something extraordinary and beyond our expectation, that is, to the mysterious Divine Presence that pervades all things yet rises above all things. Yeshua likened the ruach with the inscrutable motions of the wind.  He said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). We see the effects of the wind, but not the wind itself, which illustrates that the wind surrounds us yet is ultimately beyond our grasp and control. To be “born of the Spirit” is therefore a mysterious intervention from heaven (John 1:13), just as being “led by the Spirit” implies seeing differently, that is, apprehending the Divine Presence in the mysterious motions of life.

• Psalm 139:7 Hebrew lesson page (pdf)

“The wind blows where it will; you are aware of its soughing, but no one knows whence it comes or whither it goes. So also with longing, the longing for God and the eternal, the longing for our Savior and Redeemer. Comprehend it you cannot, nor should you; indeed, you dare not even want to attempt – but you are to use the longing. Would the merchant be responsible if he does not use the opportune moment; would the sailor be responsible if he does not use the favorable winds – how much more, then, is the one who does not use the occasion of longing when it is offered” (Kierkegaard: Discourses). Amen, may the hunger and yearning for the Lord be within you. Amen.

From our Torah portion this week (i.e., parashat Mattot) we read: zeh ha’davar asher tzivah Adonai (זה הדבר אשׁר צוה יהוה), “This is the thing the LORD has commanded” (Num. 30:1). The language here seems to suggest that there is only one matter that God has commanded, namely, to speak truth and to be faithful in our promises (Num. 30:2). This is because the sacredness of our word is the foundation for all our other responsibilities. After all, if our word is equivocal, it is unclear, unreliable, undecided, and therefore ultimately meaningless…. Insincere words are without genuine commitment, and the lack of decisiveness undermines all Torah. זה הדבר אשׁר צוה יהוה – “This is the thing the LORD has commanded,” namely, to accept your duty to honor the truth; to keep your faith in God’s word; and to hold sacred your commitment before God.

• Prov. 8:7 Hebrew lesson page (pdf)

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say unto them, ‘When ye are passed over into the land of promise… drive away all the inhabitants of the land before you; destroy all their carved images, all their molten images, and demolish their high places’” (Num. 33:51-52). The Hebrew word for idolatry is “avodah zarah” (עֲבוֹדָה זַרָה), which literally means strange or “foreign” worship… The worship of anything other than the true God, whether it is pleasure, money, fame, control, security, self-improvement, health, religion, etc., is regarded as foreign, since it alienates us from the truth of reality. We were created to be in relationship with God but we lose sight of this truth whenever elevate what is finite to the status of the infinite. Indeed idolatry is the substitution of not-god (לא־אֵל) for the sacred, absolutizing the present and worshiping the temporal. Since our greatest good is found in the eternal verities of the divine communion, the Lord cannot give us an absolute good apart from Him, since there literally is no such thing. “No one can serve two masters,” Yeshua said, and “a divided house cannot stand.” For our own good, then, God necessarily is the Ultimate Concern of our life, and he wants to spare us the pain, disappointment, and trauma of being double-minded, disintegrated, and full of inner conflict. Spiritual warfare therefore means taking every thought captive before the bar of God’s truth, rooting out and destroying all our inner idols so that we can be delivered from the anguish of uncertainty and ambivalence.

What is at stake here is your inner life, or rather the threat of the disintegration of your deepest essence into a fragmented multiplicity without center… The soul must be grounded in Reality or it is lost, dissipated in existential dread and despair. Yeshua said that when your eye is “single” (ἁπλοῦς), your whole being will be full of light (Matt. 6:22), which means that being single-minded and wholehearted unifies and heals the soul…. Being pulled in opposite directions is both painful and debilitating, for there is no overarching reason to direct the will in its decisions. Hating and loving the good is the ambivalence of despair. Being both willing and unwilling weakens the soul, but seeking the good and making God your ultimate concern binds up the broken heart and centers the will. “Your faith has made you whole…”

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). The heart, that is, the willing and desiring center of the self, is to be proactively guarded, and for this sacred task God offers us heavenly comfort and resolve. Courage does not chase away or deny fear and despair, but instead gives us determination to persevere despite these feelings. “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope thou in God” (Psalm 42:11). Courage expresses hope in the midst of the struggle; it finds strength to confront pain, danger, or grief with God’s help. Courage is grounded in the decision to trust that God is with us, despite our circumstances or feelings of abandonment. How you choose to guard your heart from the corruption and hardness of the world will determine the “road” of your life. If you do not care to keep your heart open and soft, you will become cynical, weary, and more and more selfish. Your way will be lonely, suspicious, and dangerous. If, however, you keep yourself from the hardness of unbelief, you will experience compassion, encouragement, and the joy of loving others.

Hebrew Lesson:

• Prov. 4:23 Hebrew lesson page (pdf)

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…” (Psalm 23:4). O God of Light, Light of the world, surely You know my need for light as I look to You, especially when darkness tries to extinguish my hope. Despite my inability to see you now, help me to know that you are with me; let “thy rod and thy staff comfort me” and lead me closer to you. Lord, when I am afraid, quicken the faith you have put within my heart.  Be Thou my Shepherd in my darkness, O Lord my God…

“Be not afraid.” Over and over again in the Scriptures we hear the LORD saying to those who trust in Him, al-tirah, “be not afraid.” Nachman of Breslov is reported to have once said, “All the earth is a very narrow bridge (כָּל־הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ גֶּשֶׁר צַר מְאד), and the point of life is never to be afraid.” Likewise we trust Yeshua to be the Bridge to the Father, the narrow way of passage that leads to everlasting life. He calls out to us in the storms of this world, “Take heart. It is I; be not afraid” (Matt. 14:27). The heart of faith senses the LORD’s presence, even in the darkness, and hears the Spirit saying, “I am with you…”

I do not see the road ahead of me, I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean I am actually doing so. But I believe the desire to please you does in fact please you, and I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for your are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. – Thomas Merton

In times of testing, how desperately do we need a sense of companionship and intimacy with the Lord! When you feel abandoned, ashamed, or alone; or when you are afraid and unsure of yourself; or when pain distances you from others, nudging you to isolation or loneliness, then may God’s Spirit brood over you, whispering your name, reminding you that you are never alone, and that God Himself is forever for you, despite yourself. Therefore “fear no evil,” because God is with you in the midst of your present darkness. As it is written: “Surely goodness and love shall pursue you all the days of your life, and you shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6). Come alive, O heart of faith!

The “doctrine of Balaam” (ἡ διδαχή Βαλαάμ) is the wicked strategy of enticing others to sin by encouraging them to “eat food offered to idols” and to engage in sexual immorality (Rev. 2:14). This was how Balaam was able finally to curse the Israelites at Baal Peor, after all (see Num. 25:1-10; 31:16). In short, Balaam’s doctrine was one of “syncretism,” advocating a mindless “tolerance” that arrogantly claimed that all religions are equally true, and therefore all are equally false… Such “tolerance” is a charade for moral and spiritual nihilism that creates weakened people easily controlled by political fascism. In ancient Rome, official “tolerance” led to the brutal intolerance of the “Imperial Cult” where the power of the State (represented by the Emperor) was worshiped. In our age, the doctrine of Balaam first entices people to “eat food offered to idols,” that is, to partake in the irrational dogma of “absolute tolerance” and unthinking universalism. After opening the heart to accept such idolatry, sexual immorality is the natural expression, a consequence of self-deception. We must remain vigilant: God sets us free from the slavery of surrounding culture to become a witness of the truth. Assimilating with this world and its political ideals and cultural idols is a form of spiritual adultery. Do not fool yourself: Whoever makes himself a friend of the world is an enemy of God (James 4:4).

Hebrew Lesson:

• Psalm 51:10 Hebrew lesson page (pdf)