“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was tohu va’vohu – without form and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep…” (Gen. 1:1-2). The sages comment that knowing that God created the heavens and the earth makes us realize that by themselves earthly things are without purpose and substance, since life in the natural world is havel havalim (הֲבֵל הֲבָלִים), “vanity of vanities,” apart from the design (form) and the substance of God. Faith in the upper “world” of God, that is, the heavenly realm, therefore evokes a sense of discontent and longing within the soul, and the temporal world and its pleasures will seem distracting and empty. This lack of form and emptiness was part of the original design of creation, however, since it was after God had created the universe that “he saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31).

Read more “Design and Substance…”

Why is there something rather than nothing? Why does anything exist at all? These are basic questions about the meaning of life. Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? “God created the universe,” you say, yes, but exactly why did He do so? What purpose did he have in mind? In particular, why were you created? What is the purpose of your life? What do you hope to achieve with the limited amount of time you have on this earth? Such questions brood within the soul, even if they are hidden from consciousness by various forms of busyness and distraction. At the outset of serious thinking about anything at all we are confronted with such ultimate questions. What is real? Why are we here? Where are we going? What does God want from us?

“Where am I? Who am I? How did I come to be here? What is this thing called the world? How did I come into the world? Why was I not consulted? And If I am compelled to take part in it, where is the director? I want to see him.” – Soren Kierkegaard

Read more “Mystery and Creation…”

The Torah begins with the letter Bet (בּ), representing the number two, because God created not one world, but two. There is the realm of this world, called olam ha-zeh (עוֹלָם הַזֶּה), and there is the realm of the world to come, called olam ha-ba (עוֹלָם הַבָּא). The letter Bet therefore represents a two-fold house (בַּיִת) – the “house” of physical creation and the “house” of spiritual reality. The letter itself is formed from three Vavs (ו), which add up to 18, the same value for the word chai (חי), or “alive.”

“We walk by faith, not by sight…”

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For reasons not explained in Scripture, God chose to begin creating the world in chaos: תהוּ וָבהוּ וְחשֶׁךְ / tohu vavohu ve’choshekh: “confusion and emptiness and darkness” (Gen. 1:2). From chaos and darkness God would shine forth light – indeed, the divine light was the first of all God’s creations (a counterpart of the “Light of the World” Himself): יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר / yehi or, vayhi-or: “Let there be light, and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). God’s handiwork in creation, then, first involves His mastery over chaos…

God speaks from the midst of a whirlwind (סְעָרָה, “tempest”), demonstrating that He is LORD over the seemingly chaotic world around us (Job 40:6). “Greek-minded” theology is more inclined to seek after “Apollo” (the pagan ideal of harmony and order) than the seemingly chaotic ways of the LORD God of Israel. We often want some sort of “systematic theology” and for God to be explained to us in an orderly, logical way. There is danger here that we forget that the LORD is called Esh Okhlah (אֵשׁ אכְלָה), a “consuming Fire” (Deut. 4:24, Heb. 12:29). God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways (Isa. 55:8-9). As the prophet Isaiah also said: יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חשֶׁךְ עשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא רָע אֲנִי יְהוָה עשֶׂה כָל־אֵלֶּה / “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create woe; I the LORD do all these things” (Isa. 45:7).

We live in fearful times, chaverim. People are afraid of losing their money, their health, their freedoms, and so on. But we must be careful here. The fear of “losing control” can move us to anger, yet the sages liken anger to idolatry since it denies the providence of God in our lives (i.e., hashgacha pratit: השגחה פרטית). Anger over the apparent chaos of life implies that we don’t really believe that God is in control — that He is speaking “from the midst of the whirlwind” — and therefore we feel aggrieved and perhaps embittered by what might happen to us. We must look to God as the Master of the storms of life and draw closer to Him in trust. The Scriptures affirm that for those who love God “all things work together for good” – gam zu l’tovah – even if the present hour seems incomprehensible and even dangerous (Rom. 8:28-39).

Yeshua warned us not to live in fear of man, but rather to live in fear of God (Matt. 10:28). The worst that man can do is “kill the body” but he has no real power over the soul… Tribulation – the “squeezing of grapes” – is part of the life of faith, but we are invited to come “boldly” before the Throne of Grace (παρρησίας τῷ θρόνῳ τῆς χάριτος) to find help for our lives (Heb. 4:16). Note that the word translated “boldly” in this verse (παρρησίας) means that we can speak freely to God from the center of the chaos of our hearts — without fear or shame. We don’t need to conceal ourselves from the Divine Light, since this is the very Light that overmasters the “tohu va’vohu” chaos of creation! Those who accept that God is in complete control of their lives are set free from the terrible burdens of fear and outrage. Abiding in ahavah shlemah (אַהֲבָה שְׁלֵמָה, God’s “perfect love”) means that you can let go.

May God help us all remember: חֶרְדַּת אָדָם יִתֵּן מוֹקֵשׁ וּבוֹטֵחַ בַּיהוה יְשֻׂגָּב / “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD will be made safe” (Prov. 29:25). Note that this “fear of man” is not just the fear of external dangers but more deeply is the fear we embrace within of our hearts – our own insecurity that undermines our faith…. May the LORD help us abide in His perfect love, free from the ravages of fear, anger, and anxiety. Amen.

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Here is  a Hebrew reading lesson (with drash) on Proverbs 3:12, “For whom the LORD loves he reproves, like a father the son in whom he delights.” Click on the Hebrew verse to enlarge it on your screen while listening. Shalom chaverim.

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The midrash says that the word “bereshit” (בְּרֵאשִׁית) can be arranged to spell shir te’ev (שִׁיר תְּאֵב), meaning the “song of desire.” This is the holy plea sounded by all of creation to be made whole, healed, and ultimately perfected. As it says in our Scriptures: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope” (Rom. 8:20). Therefore when we take hold of Yeshua’s heart, vision, and mission, we partake in the repair of the world (תיקון עולם) by testifying of God’s healing love given in Messiah. We begin and end our journey to life with the “song of desire” on our lips – that is, with our heart awakened to its need for God. As it says: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them” (Psalm 145:18-19).

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The 18th century Torah sage Vilna Gaon taught that the Hebrew word “bereshit” (בְּרֵאשִׁית), which is the very first word of the Bible, may be thought of as an acronym for meaningful spiritual life. The first letter, Bet (בּ), stands for bittachon (בִּטָּחוֹן), a word that means complete trust in God’s love for your life; the next letter, Resh (ר), stands for ratzon (רָצוֹן), or the desire to live according to God’s will; the central letter Aleph (א) stands for ahavah (אַהֲבָה), which is the love for God and for our fellow man (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18); and the letter Shin (שׁ) is for shetikah (שְׁתִיקָה), or “keeping silent,” which is the cardinal virtue of godly self-control and wisdom (James 1:26; 3:1-18; Psalm 34:13; Prov. 13:3, etc.). The letter Yod (י) is for yirah (יִרְאָה), or reverence for God’s authority and dignity; and finally, the letter Tav (ת) is for Torah (תּוֹרָה), the study of which brings transformation and sanctity to your life (Psalm 19:7; Psalm 119:105; Prov. 6:23; Matt. 5:17-19; 2 Tim. 2:15-16).

Torah begins with the word ‘bereshit’ (בְּרֵאשִׁית), which may also be understood to say ‘God created the world for the sake of the beginning.’ All the Creator asks is that you make a beginning, that you turn in the right direction.” Repent and believe — what? Believe that you are loved, you need God’s compassion and healing in your life… Indeed, we never really get past the first steps made in earnestness toward God. In that sense we are “always beginning,” since we never get beyond the need of the heart to turn to God. We are all incomplete, awaiting the end for which we were created, and therefore we are always calling on the LORD, always abiding in Him, always seeking His face… We begin, we end, and in everything Yeshua is the Center of our hearts…

 

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…

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Menachem Mendl once wrote that there are three things fitting for us to do: upright kneeling, motionless dancing, and silent screaming… Not everyone will understand the pain that moves us to seek inner healing, but Gods’ Presence shines for us all…

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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.

Read more “Torah of Death and Life….”