Perhaps the first or most basic question of philosophy is “what is real?” The ancient philosopher Aristotle wrote, “All men by nature desire to know,” and knowing presupposes an object of knowledge… The quest of discovering “what is real” is the subject matter of “metaphysics,” or the study of what makes up reality…

The ancient pagan philosophers gazed upon the cosmos in wonder, asking what “stuff” (or power) constituted or underlay all the particulars of experience. They sought to understand not just what this or that particular thing was, but what everything was, the entire totality of all that exists. They sought the “one” in the “many” things of life, the arche (ἀρχῇ) or “unifying principle” that made the “uni-verse.” They also were puzzled by the phenomena of change: how something change over time and yet still be the same thing?

Jewish metaphysics began well over a thousand years before the ancient Greeks, though it did not arise through speculative reasoning about the nature of the world but by means of an encounter with the personal Creator of Reality, the great “I AM” (i.e., ehyeh: אהיה) who is the Source and origin of all that is real. Unlike ancient Greek cosmology that reduced the ego to a mechanistic process and unlike Hindu pantheistic philosophy that reduced the ego to an illusion, ancient Jewish metaphysics revealed that Personhood is the central feature of Reality itself, and indeed, that the structure of the “I” that constitutes the person is grounded in the Divine “I” that created everything yesh me’ayin, “out of nothing.” Human beings, in other words, are not the result of impersonal or blind processes (whether spiritual as in Hinduism or mechanical, as in naturalism), since the Source of all that exists – and that includes human beings and the structures of consciousness – is a Person who uniquely created and providentially governs all things. The LORD (יהוה) is alone the transcendent and unsurpassed Creator of all things, and there are no other so-called gods besides Him (Deut. 32:39; Isa. 45:21-22). Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is One” (Deut. 6:4).

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From our Torah this week (i.e., Bechukotai) we read: “Then [after all the various judgments have befallen the people] I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land” (Lev. 26:42). Here we note the “deeper Torah” of God’s unconditional promise to the children of Israel that “contextualizes” the various tribulations they would suffer because of their disobedience to the terms of the covenant given at Sinai (Gen. 15). Therefore the Apostle Paul appealed to God’s promises given to Abraham as the foundation for Torah, not to Israel’s righteousness based on the covenant of the law (Rom. 9:31; Gal. 4:24-27). “For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law (οὐ γὰρ διὰ νόμου) but through the righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:13). The better covenant of Zion was prefigured at Mount Moriah – and hearkens back to Abraham and Isaac – not the later covenant made at Sinai (Gen. 22:16-18; Heb. 6:13-15; John 3:16). As for Israel in the galut (exile), God has promised: “But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD” (Lev. 26:45). Note again that this covenant relationship was established when we were without anything – we had no Torah, no mitzvot, nor any good deeds to commend ourselves before heaven. Nevertheless, God chose us and called us his people, and all this comes from his great love.

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Everyone is a theologian of sorts, though not everyone thinks clearly or takes the time to reflect on the meaning of the words they use, and therefore studying theology is necessary because so much muddled theology exists… Generally speaking “theology” (θεολογία) may be defined as reasoning (λόγος) about God (Θεός), though such reasoning is grounded in the philosophical activity of apprehending truth about ultimate reality. And just as everyone is a theologian (either a good one or not), so everyone is a philosopher of some kind or another, that is, a person who opines about the ultimate questions of life. To be a conscious person (as opposed to being numb or asleep) implies that you are haunted by “big questions” (for example, “Who are we?” “Where did we come from?” “Why are we here?” “Where are we going?” and “What does it all mean?”), and therefore every self-reflective soul cannot escape the need to think clearly. Indeed disciples of Yeshua are called talmidim (תַּלְמִידִים), that is, “learners” who have a duty before God to know and live the truth. We are to “study to show ourselves approved before God, rightly understanding the Word of Truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). The alternative to being talmud chacham (a wise student) is to be muddled about what you believe and why your believe it. Faith is called the conviction (ἔλεγχος) or “argument” of truth (see Heb. 11:6). Not knowing the truth makes you vulnerable to various forms of philosophical deception and theological error, as it is written: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Messiah” (Col. 2:8). “However, we speak wisdom (σοφία) among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory” (1 Cor. 2:6-7). Knowing the truth sets us free (John 4:24, John 8:32; 2 Cor. 3:17).

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This week’s Torah portion (i.e., Bechukotai) promises blessings for those who obey God’s law and curses to those who do not. In the opening verses of portion we read: “If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them” then great blessings will follow (Lev. 26:3-ff). The sages comment that the phrase “if you walk in my statutes” (אם־בחקתי תלכו) does not refer to the regular commandments (i.e., ha’mitzvot: המצוות), but instead to the study and love of the Torah (לימוד התורה), the wisdom of which is a “Tree of Life” (עֵץ־חַיִּים) to those who take hold of it (Prov. 3:22). To “walk in the statutes” of Torah is to meditate upon it day and night, so that you will be rooted as a tree beside streams of water, bringing forth fruit in abundance and blessing (Psalm 1:3).

The portion continues by warning that if, on the other hand, you neglect God or are careless about keeping the commandments, you will experience the curse: all kinds of trouble, sickness, sorrows, exile, and (worst of all) alienation from God. The sages emphasize that the cure to the various curses of the law (i.e., tochachah) is the study of the Torah, by which they mean not simply intellectual study but also the careful practice of its principles in your daily life. Torah study, in this sense, is likened to medicine that heals the soul…

Now while it is assuredly true that the practice of Torah – walking in the decrees of God – is the ideal for people, and the imperatives of Scripture, if obeyed, direct the soul to life and blessing, the problem of indwelling sin is so incurably radical that it no amount of resolution of the will nor reformation of character will suffice to transform the fallen estate of human nature and thereby reverse the curse of death given to the sons of Adam, and therefore a cure that comes from beyond the realm of human nature must be found, a heavenly cure that is otherwise called the “righteousness of God” (צדקת האלהים).

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We are being educated for eternity, and the life of faith is a long lesson in obedience — learning to suffer God’s will, to accept whatever happens, and to endure in hope. Practically speaking this means “laying aside” your desires and surrendering yourself — all that is within you — in trust of God’s plan for your life, even (and especially) in the most harrowing of moments… Indeed, in light of suffering what we really need is perseverance, or what the New Testament calls hupomone (ὑπομονή), a word that means “remaining [μένω] under [ὑπο]” the Divine Presence while being tested (the word “suffer” comes from the Latin word sufferre, from sub- (under) + ferre, to carry, and therefore denotes “bearing under” difficulty). Laying aside our desires is a form of suffering that calls for patience and wisdom as we learn to endure our own frailty and to trust God for what is best…

For the child of God there are no “disappointments” in life, since God directs our steps and uses every circumstance for our ultimate good: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down…” (Psalm 37:3-4). To plead with God for some deliverance, to beseech him for the life of a beloved child or spouse; to cry out from the depths for mercy in the face of loss, as when beside a fresh grave – and to there affirm the threefold affirmation of kaddish: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21) – is to learn the lesson of obedience – surrendering to God’s will, refusing to despair even in the midst of our sorrows….

 

Hebrew Lesson:

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What is the goal of our relationship with God? What is the point? Is it some form of escapism from the suffering we all experience, as Karl Marx cynically wrote, the “opiate” of the masses (”hopium”) intended to insulate us from the truth of our mortal and ultimately hopeless condition? Or is it rather the most radical and fundamental need of the human heart, the very reason for our existence, and the ultimate truth for which we are willing to give up our lives and die?

Yeshua taught that the purpose of a relationship with God was to discover divine life by knowing the truth of God revealed in him. He said to his disciples: “This is eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) that they may know you the only true God, and Yeshua the Messiah whom you have sent” (John 17:3).  Knowing God in this way means understanding his heart and character, and learning to become “mature” (i.e., τέλειον, “complete, whole, finished”) through your union with the Messiah (Col. 1:28; Eph. 4:13). Practically speaking we “put on” a new spiritual nature (our “new self”) which is created after the likeness of God (כִּדְמוּת אֱלהִים) in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:24).  We know and believe who we are as God’s beloved children (Rom. 8:29). This is a matter of faith, indeed, but it is also a matter of the will. We must line up our attitudes and emotions in light of the truth of reality…

Immature emotions are out of alignment with what is real, evidencing disordered affections based on illusions. “Putting away childish things” (1 Cor. 13:11) means surrendering or letting die (καταργέω) self-centered emotions and desires, letting go of self-pity or bitterness, and refusing to blame others. Spiritual maturity implies humility, denying yourself, a word that means to stop thinking about yourself (from α-, “not,” +ῥέω, “to speak”), and living the truth by sharing God’s redemptive vision and mission for others. We must be careful, however, not to drift away, since it is possible to “forget” the truth that once guided our way; and it is possible to become dull of hearing, shortsighted, and to stop growing in relationship with God (Heb. 2:1). Spiritual truth is not merely intellectual but existential: we must earnestly pursue (διώκω) our heavenly calling (Phil 3:14) and this requires the daily and ongoing decision to live before the LORD our God (Psalm 16:8).  The invitation to “choose this day whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15) implies that is your choice – and your responsibility – to draw near to God (James 4:8).  We can do this by studying and memorizing Scripture, meditating, praying, and sharing our hope with others.  Above all we must ask God for the gift of the Holy Spirit to “bear us up into maturity” (i.e., ἐπὶ τὴν τελειότητα φερώμεθα, Heb 6:1) so that we may learn from our Master who calls us to be joined to his yoke and learn from him (Matt. 11:29).

 

Hebrew Lesson:

 

 

Consider for a moment how your thinking defines your inner reality and the quality of your spiritual life. Thinking is inextricably linked to faith, and therefore we are responsible not only for what we believe, but for how we think (Acts 17:30-31). Sinful thinking creates “negative energy” that brings pain to yourself and others. Left unchallenged, such impaired cognitive function leads to slavery of the mind, hopeless addictions of thought, and distressing captivity. The first step to freedom is to confess our sin, acknowledging the reality of our own negativity – and bringing that truth to the light. Therefore teshuvah – turning to God – involves cheshbon hanefesh (חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ), accounting for our soul and yielding it to the love of God for rectification: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). For freedom we have been set free, and that means freedom from the power of the lie. If we are blind to our own sin, we cannot confess the truth to find healing (James 5:16).

 

Hebrew Lesson:

 

 

“Your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt. 6:8). We sometimes pray for what we think we need but overlook what we really need. For instance, we may pray for health, material blessing, and opportunity, but what we really need is the ability to trust, the willingness to surrender our lives to God without qualification, and the grace to see the good in others and not their faults. These needs are just as real as our need for food and clothing, since apart from grace to extend empathy and love toward others, we will never be truly happy. Love “overlooks” a multitude of sins; it looks beyond the present moment to see with compassion, kindness, and empathy… What we really need, then, is to be after God’s own heart, to see other people as God sees them, and to overlook matters that offend or feed our sense of pride. This is what we truly need, and therefore we trust that the Lord our God mercifully “decodes” our apparent petitions to express what the Spirit of God groans and sighs on our behalf (Rom. 8:26).

 

Hebrew Lesson:

 

Note that the word translated as “wounded” is challal (חָלַל), meaning “stricken, pierced, polluted, defiled, or brokenhearted.” This is the condition of heart that is prerequisite for doing real business with heaven. “God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn’t. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down…. I need Christ, not something that resembles Him.” (C.S. Lewis: A Grief Observed)