Category: Hebrew Reading Lesson

Reading Hebrew exercises and practice verses

Parashat Noach Podcast…

John J Parsons

Last week’s Torah portion (Bereshit) showed how the mutiny of Adam and Eve caused humanity to plunge into idolatrous chaos. The subsequent generations lost sight of the LORD and became progressively steeped in moral anarchy and bloodlust, so that “every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). After just nine generations, the LORD had grown so weary of humanity that he “regretted” (i.e., yinchem: יִּנָּחֶם) creating man and “his heart was grieved” (Gen. 6:6). However, God recognized Noach (from the godly line of Seth) as a tzaddik (צַדִּיק), a righteous man of faith, and graciously made provision to save him from the wrath to come….
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Parashat Noach Podcast:

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Parashat Bereshit Podcast…

John J Parsons

THE VERY FIRST PROPHECY OF THE TORAH concerns the promise of the coming “seed of the woman” who would vanquish the serpent (nachash) that had originally tempted and deceived Eve (Gen. 3:15). This prophecy is sometimes called the proto-euangelion (“first gospel”), since it is the starting point of all subsequent prophecy and redemptive history revealed in the Scriptures. Indeed, since the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God is foreshadowed here, this prophecy is linked to the original woman, Eve. Just as Eve became a carrier of the corruption of human nature by heeding the voice of the tempter, so she would be the carrier of God Himself for the deliverance of mankind through the advent of the Redeemer. In the tragic aftermath of the transgression of the first man and woman, then, God first announced His unfailing redemptive love for the human race that would culminate in the birth, sacrifice, and resurrection of Yeshua our Savior and Deliverer – “born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4).

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Yom Kippur and God’s Name…

John J Parsons

Yom Kippur (or the “Day of Atonement”) was the only time when the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and call upon the Name of YHVH (i.e., יהוה) to offer blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. This “life for a life” principle is the foundation of the sacrificial system and marked the great day of intercession made on behalf of God’s people.

For this reason Yom Kippur was also called the “Day of God’s Mercy,” or the “Day of God’s Name (יום השם). This alludes to the revelation of the attributes of God’s Compassion after the sin of the Golden Calf (see Exod. 34:6-7) — a disclosure that foreshadowed the New Covenant.

How much more, then, should Yom Kippur be esteemed as the “Day of Yeshua’s Name” (יום ישוע) since He secured for all of humanity everlasting kapparah (atonement)? Yeshua the Messiah is “Moshia ha’olam” (מוֹשִׁיעַ הָעוֹלָם), the Savior of the world; He alone possesses the “Name above all other Names” (Phil. 2:9-10; Acts 4:12).

It is altogether fitting, then, that God’s “hidden Name” (i.e., shem ha-meforash: שֵׁם הַמְּפרָשׁ) was proclaimed before the cover of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies while atonement for our sins was made through the sacrificial blood….

This gives us a whole new perspective on Paul’s words (Rom. 10:9): “if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is LORD (יהוה) and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (i.e., that his blood was shed and presented on your behalf upon the heavenly kapporet), then you will be saved (that is, you will be reconciled to God and made a partaker of the atoning work of Yeshua).

Surely the Apostle Paul, a zealous rabbi who diligently studied Torah in Jerusalem under Rabbi Gamaliel (who was himself the grandson of the renowned Rabbi Hillel the Elder), understood the theological implications when he stated that the prophecy: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD (בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה) shall be saved” (Joel 2:32) referred directly to Yeshua (Rom. 10:10).

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For more about Yom Kippur, see:
https://hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Fall_Holidays/Yom_Kippur/yom_kippur.html

 

Our Great Need to Forgive…

John J Parsons

In the Gates of Repentance it is written: ‎”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…

Yeshua taught us to pray “forgive us as we forgive others,” which implies that our forgiveness (of others) is the measure of our own forgiveness. In other words, as we forgive others, so we experience forgiveness ourselves… Forgiveness releases the hurt, the anger, and the disappointment so these feelings 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. We have to move on, past the shame, and to turn back to hope. As a Yiddish proverb puts it, “You are what you are, not what you were…”

It is written, “in many things we offend all,” and therefore we must confess our sins one to another to find healing (James 5:16). However the practice of love overlooks a multitude of sins, and if we do not condemn those who offend us, then we will not need to forgive them for their offenses. Walking in God’s love sets us free from the slavery of negative emotions such as resentment, bitterness, anger, unresolved grief, and so on.

I love this affirmation and prayer attributed to Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 263-339 AD): “May I be the friend of that which is eternal and abides. May I never quarrel with those nearest me; and if I do, may we be reconciled quickly. May I never devise evil against anyone; and if any devise evil against me, may I escape uninjured and without any desire to hurt them. May I love, seek, and attain only that which is good. May I wish for the happiness of all and the misery of none. May I never rejoice in the ill-fortune of one who has wronged me. When I have done or said what is wrong, may I never wait for the rebuke of others, but always rebuke myself until I make amends.”

“May I, to the extent of my ability, give all needful help to my friends and to all who are in want. May I never fail a friend in danger. When visiting those in grief, may I be able by gentle and healing words to soften their pain. May I respect myself. May I always keep tame that which rages within me. May I accustom myself to be gentle, and never be angry with people because of circumstances. May I never discuss who is wicked and what wicked things he has done, but know good men and follow their footsteps.” Amen.

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Teshuvah’s Confession…

John J Parsons

From our Torah (Nitzavim) we read: “The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (Deut. 30: 14). What “word” is this other than the confession of faith in the LORD? Faith is the key, since it responds to God’s voice and receives the message of hope within the heart… Faith is a matter of the will: of choosing to receive the blessing, accepting that you are accepted, and trusting God’s passion for your life. “Consider Abraham; he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Gal. 3:6). Faith itself is the obedience of Torah, the necessary precondition for all that follows. “I am the LORD your God” (אָנכִי יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ) is the very First Commandment. When we turn to the LORD, we esteem him as truthful, just, wise, compassionate, and worthy of our trust. “Let us then with confidence (μετὰ παρρησίας) draw near to the throne of grace (כִּסֵּא הֶחָסֶד), that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Faith is teshuvah’s confession of the reality of love…

The students of the maggid of Zlotchov once asked him, “In the Torah we read that our father Abraham kept all the laws (Gen. 26:5), but how could this be, since they had not yet been given to him?” The maggid replied, “All that is needed is to love God. If you are about to do something and you think it might lessen your love, then you know it’s a sin; but if you think it will increase your love, then you know it’s in keeping with God’s will. That’s what Abraham did.” Amen. Faith is the confession of God’s love. Abraham was justified by faith because he trusted in God’s love more than anything else, and that is the essence of Torah. “Now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13).
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Parashat Ki Teitzei podcast…

John J Parsons

If you’ve been following the weekly Torah schedule, you will recall that in last week’s Torah reading (i.e., Shoftim), Moses defined an extensive system of justice for the Israelites and pointed to the coming Messiah who would be the rightful King of Israel: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers — it is to him you shall listen” (Deut. 18:15). In this week’s portion (i.e., Ki Teitzei: כי־תצא), Moses returns to the immediate concern of life in the promised land by providing additional laws to be enforced regarding civil life in Israel. In fact, Jewish tradition (following Maimonides) identifies no less than 74 of the Torah’s 613 commandments in this portion (more than any other), covering a wide assortment of rules related to ethical warfare, family life, burial of the deceased, property laws, the humane treatment of animals, fair labor practices, and honest economic transactions.

Of particular interest to us is the statement that a man who was executed and “hanged on a tree” (עַל־עֵץ) is cursed of God (Deut. 21:22-23). According to the Talmud (i.e., Nezakim: Sanhedrin 6:4:3), the Great Sanhedrin (סַנְהֶדְרִין גְדוֹלָה) decided that “a man must be hanged with his face towards the spectators” upon a wooden stake, with his arms slung over a horizontal beam. It should be noted that while this is technically not the same thing as the gruesome practice of Roman crucifixion, the reasoning based on this verse was apparently used to justify the execution of Yeshua (Mark 15:9-15; John 19:5-7; 15). The exposed body was required to be buried before sundown to keep the land from being defiled. Besides the shame and degradation of this manner of death, the one so executed would be unable to fall to their knees as a final act of repentance before God, thereby implying that they were under the irrevocable curse of God (קִלְלַת אֱלהִים).

In this connection, we should note that Yeshua was falsely charged with blasphemy before the corrupt Sanhedrin of His day (Matt. 26:65; Mark 14:64; John 10:33) – an offence that was punishable by stoning (Lev. 24:11-16). However, since the Imperial Roman government then exercised legal hegemony over the region of Palestine, all capital cases were required to be submitted to the Roman proconsul for adjudication, and therefore we understand why the Jewish court remanded Yeshua and brought him to be interrogated by Pontius Pilate. Because Roman law was indifferent to cases concerning Jewish religious practices (i.e., charges of blasphemy), however, the priests further slandered Yeshua by illegitimately switching the original charge of blasphemy to that of sedition against Rome. The Sanhedrin undoubtedly rationalized their duplicity because the Torah allowed for an offender to impaled or “hung on a tree” (Num. 25:4), and since they were unable to do carry out this judgment because of Roman rule in the area, they needed Pilate to condemn him to death by crucifixion (Matt. 27:31; Mark 15:13-4; Luke 23:21; John 19:6,15). Note that crucifixion is mentioned elsewhere in the Talmud (Nashim: Yevamot 120b) regarding whether a widow can remarry if her husband had been crucified, as well as by the Jewish historian Josephus. The Talmud furthermore alludes to the death of Yeshua where Yeshua is said to have been crucified on “eve of Passover” (Nezekin: Sanhedrin 43a).

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Ki Teitzei Podcast:

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Torah of Death and Life…

John J Parsons

Why does God want us to face the truth about death? Why does Moses ask God to teach us to “number of our days?” (Psalm 90:12). The reason is that by nature people deny the reality of death – they hide their eyes from it, ignore it, and pretend it’s not there – so they can continue to live under the illusion that they are in control of their lives, that they are the center, that they are immortal little “gods.” Death threatens the ego and humbles us to confess the truth about life, namely that we are not in control, that we cannot choose to be immortals, that we do not have power to exist in ourselves, and therefore we need life from a different source – spiritual life – wherein we receive a new identity and a new being found in relation to God.

The “natural man” regards death as an offense or as “absurd” because it splits us in two, creating a “divided house” that cannot stand. The ego demands be god-like, important, valued as sacred, etc., yet the prospect of death crushes the aspiration and yields alienation from reality. This creates a painful tension or dualism within the heart where the meaning and purpose of life is lost…. The message of the gospel begins precisely there, however, speaking to broken people who thirst for life but find themselves living on death row – people who are humbled and who understand they cannot heal themselves from the “sickness unto death,” as Kierkegaard used the term. The remedy is not to deny death or to live as if death is not a genuine horror, but to understand it as our natural estate, brought about by sin that exalts the ego over the God who made us.
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Read more “Torah of Death and Life…”

Parashat Re’eh Podcast…

John J Parsons

Our Torah portion this week (i.e., parashat Re’eh) begins, “See (רְאֵה), I give before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing (הַבְּרָכָה), if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and the curse (הַקְּלָלָה), if you … turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known” (Deut. 11:26-28).

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We obtain God’s blessing (i.e., berakhah: בְּרָכָה) when we obey the LORD, and our decision to obey manifests the blessed state of walking before the Divine Presence (the direct object marker et (את) before the word “the blessing” alludes to the blessings of “Aleph to Tav,” that is from Yeshua, as described in Lev. 26:3-13). As King David said, “I have set (שִׁוִּיתִי) the LORD always before me…” (Psalm 16:8). David made a choice to “set” the LORD before his eyes, for he understood that opening his eyes to Reality was the only path of real blessing.

On the other hand, we obtain God’s curse (i.e., kelalah: קְלָלָה) when we close our eyes and “forget” that the LORD is always present…. Suppressing God’s truth invariably leads to idolatry, that is, to self exaltation. Note that the root word for the word “curse” (kalal) means to be treated as of little account, and therefore “ratifies” the rebellious heart’s attitude toward God. This is middah keneged middah – we are ignored by the LORD as we ignore Him, just as we seen by Him when we truly seek His face (Isa. 55:6-7). So we see that the blessing or the curse really comes from our own inward decision, and God establishes the path we have chosen. As King David said, “God supports my lot” (Psalm 16:5), and Solomon wrote, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9).

 

Parashat Re’eh Podcast:

Faith and Doubt…

John J Parsons

Though it is good to ask questions about what we believe, to seek for understanding, and to study the Scriptures, we must do so using the principle that “faith seeks understanding,” rather than the converse principle that “understanding seeks faith,” since the latter elevates human reason to be the judge and arbiter of the things of God, a role for which it is both incapable and unsuited (Isa. 55:8-9; Job 9:10; 11:7; Psalm 139:6; Rom. 11:33). God is not a “what” but a “Who,” and that affects the means by which we know him (John 4:24). We certainly can know truth about God, though the instrumentality for attaining such knowledge transcends the abilities of unaided human reason (see Deut. 29:29).

Some people talk about “honest doubt” regarding matters of God, and while there may indeed be occasions to confess the limitations of our ability to understand the mysteries of heaven, we must be on guard not to ply a present lack of “semantic closure” as an excuse for despair that hardens our hearts and justifies our sin… The lower nature’s machinations are so devious that we must be on guard and “test what manner of spirit” you are (Luke 9:55; 1 John 4:1; James 4:4). In the name of “honest doubt” a soul can invent all manner of difficulties of interpretation, the mind may become jaded and agnostic; the heart cools and steps away from the passion of faith… Doubt introduces hesitancy, compromise, and godless misgivings; it is a leech upon the soul, sapping the strength of conviction, weakening the balm of assurance. Be careful. Honest seeking is one thing, but practiced doubt may be an evasive measure – a diabolical ploy meant to distance yourself from responsibility to God’s truth.

Often enough people have a “problem” with faith not because there is insufficient reason to believe — after all, every soul has intuitive awareness of the reality of God’s reality and power (see Rom. 1:19-20; Psalm 19:1-4; Acts 14:17) — but because secret sin lurking within the heart is cherished as the soul’s ultimate concern and most precious value. Such idolatry of heart is the essence of much “doubt,” since faith ultimately is an act of will. “The heart has its reasons that reason knows not of” applies both to the realm of God but to the affections of the selfish heart… In that sense doubt serves as a deal made with the devil – an exchange of a “mess of pottage” for the blessing of God!

Charles Spurgeon once wrote: “It seems that doubt is worse than trial. I had sooner suffer any affliction than be left to question the gospel or my own interest in it” (Vol. 29, Sermons). Amen, the gospel cannot be esteemed apart from personal interest in its truth, for otherwise we are merely toying with its message. You must believe that the truth of God – and being properly related to this truth by means of a trusting relationship – is the most inestimably precious and important matter of your very existence… “Find God or die.” We cannot escape from the double-mindedness of our way apart from sincerely turning to God and asking Him to show us his glory, his beauty, and the wonder of his great love. A divided house cannot stand. The way of deliverance from yourself – to way to be free of enslaving passions and dark desires that fragment the soul – is by means of the miracle of God: “For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want’ (Gal. 5:17; Rom. 7:15-25), but if you are led by the Spirit, you are free from the law of sin and death and are enabled to live according to a new source of power and life, namely, the law of the Spirit of Life in Messiah Yeshua (Rom. 6:6,14; Gal. 2:20). Living in slavery to sin is to lose yourself – to have no “center,” no self that unifies your heart and focuses your reason for being… It is the hell of no longer believing in anything at all, and especially no longer believing yourself.

Soren Kierkegaard once lamented: “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.” There is a very real danger of “thinking about” truth rather than living it. For instance, you might study the Psalms as literature and attempt to understand the nuances of Hebrew poetry, but that is altogether different than reciting the psalms with inner passion, with simple conviction and the earnest desire to unite our heart’s cry with the devotion that gave life to the words… We must read with a heart of faith to unlock the truth that speaks to the heart. If you believe only what you understand, your faith is actually grounded in your own reasoning, not in the Divine Voice of Love…

The way of trust is always a matter of the heart’s passion and hope… The Spirit of God speaks gently: “My child, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways” (Prov. 23:26). When we call God “Abba,” we are not using a formal name that indicates distance, but rather a term that evokes intimate closeness and reliance. Calling out to God as “Abba” signifies that we genuinely accept that God regards us as his beloved child…

 

Hebrew Lesson
Proverbs 23:26 Hebrew Reading:

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Find God or Die…

John J Parsons

“Choose life that you may live.. ” (Deut. 30:19). The most significant question God asks is whether you want to live or not. Albert Camus wrote, “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy” (Myth of Sisyphus, 1942). Camus’ comment is not at all original, since this is also the ultimate question of theology as well. Do you want to live? Will you believe? Will you choose life and turn away from self-destruction? The Spirit of the LORD calls out: “Choose life that you may live…”

 

Hebrew Lesson:

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