The sages say the verse, “Blessed is the person who fears always” (Prov. 28:14), means that whenever you want to do something, you should first seriously consider the consequences… If you do not think clearly, you will not fear, and such carelessness invariably leads to sin. The sacred is bound up with care; it sets boundaries between the profane and the holy. The “fear of the LORD” is expressed as vigilance against the lusts of the lower nature (yetzer ha’ra)… We “tremble” before God when we are awake to His holiness and wonder (Phil. 2:12). The Temple was destroyed because of our forefathers did not think about their actions; they first exiled themselves from the Divine Presence and then they “caught up with” the pain of their exile for themselves.

• Proverbs 28:14 Hebrew Lesson Card (pdf)

Teshuvah (“repentance”) is often described as “turning” back to God, though practically speaking it is an ongoing turning, that is, a turning to God both in moments of ambiguity, pain, and distress, as well as in moments of respite and relative happiness… It is in the midst of the ego’s clamor, before the parade of worldly desire or pressure, in the crucible of “everydayness” that we must “come to ourselves” and find true wonder. In that sense, teshuvah is a sort of focus, a direction, a seeking, and a center of life, the place of constant repair for the inner breach we constantly feel. It’s a long road home to finally understand you belong at your Father’s table…

The question may be asked, however, whether you really want God – the Living God – to be intimately present in your life. “Repentance means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into… It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death” (C.S. Lewis). Indeed, “nothing is more certain: coming close to God brings certain catastrophe [to the ego]. Everyone whose life does not bring relative catastrophe has never even once turned as a single individual to God; it is just as impossible as it is to touch the conductors of a generator without getting a shock” (Soren Kierkegaard). As the Scripture says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God” (Heb. 10:31).

It is written in the Mishnah (Avot:15b), “repent one day before you die,” but who knows the day of one’s death in advance? Therefore “seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him when he is near” (Isa. 55:6). “In eternity you will not be asked how large a fortune you are leaving behind – the survivors ask about that. Nor will you be asked about how many battles you won, about how sagacious you were, how powerful your influence – that, after all, becomes your reputation for posterity. No, eternity will not ask about what worldly goods remain behind you, but about what riches you have gathered in heaven. It will ask you about how often you have conquered your own thought, about what control you have exercised over yourself or whether you have been a slave, about how often you have mastered yourself in self-denial or whether you have never done so” (Kierkegaard).

Read more “Seeking God in Exile…”

“This I say then, live by the Spirit, and you will not be enslaved to the compulsions of the lower nature. For the compulsions of the lower nature are against the Spirit, but the freedom of the Spirit is against the lower nature. These principles are mutually exclusive, creating self-conflict and instability, and keeping you from living a life of real freedom and joy. If you live by the Spirit, however, you will be set free from the chaos of the lower nature and its inner conflict” (Gal. 5:16-19). We escape temptation by choosing to elevate our thinking, by directing our focus toward God in prayer and supplication, and regarding ourselves as spiritual beings that bear eternal significance. This is the way of spirituality (רוּחָנִיוּת), for where the Spirit of the LORD is present, there is liberty (2 Cor. 3:17). When we feel the pull of the yetzer hara (lower nature), we should pray that God would unify our hearts with divine truth, as it is written: רִגְזוּ וְאַל־תֶּחֱטָאוּ – “tremble and you will not sin” (Psalm 4:4), which means that as our eyes open to the awe of God, we will be humbled before the Sacred Presence, and the enticement of the self will flee from us (James 4:7). Resist the temptation to envy or self-pity; rejoice in the godly struggle against the devices of the lower nature: a pure heart sees the truth of God (Psalm 24:4; Matt. 5:8).

• Psalm 86:11 Hebrew Lesson Card (pdf)

Read more “Live by the Spirit…”

The essential thing is to remain focused on what is ultimately real, true, and abiding. We do this by praying “without ceasing,” which means intentionally focusing our thoughts and desires in light of God’s Presence. King David said that he always “set” the LORD before him and therefore he was made strong in times of testing (Psalm 16:8). To know the truth means choosing before the audience of God’s reality, before the holy witnesses of heaven and the sacredness that inheres in all things, as it is written: “Sanctify yourselves and be holy; for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44; 1 Pet.1:16). We know this truth as we live it – as we esteem God’s greatness by regarding the sacred in our decisions. Most especially we must learn the truth of God’s comfort in Yeshua, for he promises never to leave nor forsake us (Isa. 40:10). Do not lose sight of your blessed end; “remember the future” that awaits you… it’s just up ahead!

• Psalm 63:8 Hebrew Lesson Card (pdf)

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“This I say then, live by the Spirit, and you will not be enslaved to the compulsions of the lower nature. For the compulsions of the lower nature are against the Spirit, but the freedom of the Spirit is against the lower nature. These principles are mutually exclusive, creating self-conflict and instability, and keeping you from living a life of real freedom and joy. If you live by the Spirit, however, you will be set free from the chaos of the lower nature and its inner conflict” (Gal. 5:16-19). We escape temptation by choosing to elevate our thinking, by directing our focus toward God in prayer and supplication, and regarding ourselves as spiritual beings that bear eternal significance. This is the way of spirituality (רוּחָנִיוּת), for where the Spirit of the LORD is present, there is liberty (2 Cor. 3:17). When we feel the pull of the yetzer hara (lower nature), we should pray that God would unify our hearts with divine truth, as it is written: רִגְזוּ וְאַל־תֶּחֱטָאוּ – “tremble and you will not sin” (Psalm 4:4), which means that as our eyes open to the awe of God, we will be humbled before the Sacred Presence, and the enticement of the self will flee from us (James 4:7). Resist the temptation to envy or self-pity; rejoice in the godly struggle against the devices of the lower nature: a pure heart sees the truth of God (Psalm 24:4; Matt. 5:8).     Read more “Healing the Divided Heart…”

The Hebrew idea of “truth” (i.e., emet: אֱמֶת) is richer than factual description or “correspondence” between language and reality, since it contains moral implications and possibilities: what is true is also right, good, reliable (honest), beautiful, and sacred. The Hebrew word comes from a verb (aman) that means to “confirm” or establish, and the noun form (i.e, emunah: אֱמוּנָה, “faithfulness” or “trustworthiness”) expresses the will to live by what is ratified, the “amen” of decision. The Hebrew concept is therefore existential: truth that is not lived is not really truth. Speaking the truth (dibbur emet) and abhorring dishonesty are considered foundational to moral life, as it says: “Speak the truth (דַּבְּרוּ אֱמֶת) to one another; render true and perfect justice in your gates” (Zech. 8:16). Yeshua said, “Amen, amen I say to you….” throughout his ministry to stress the reliability and certainty of God’s truth (Matt. 5:18, 26, etc.). Indeed, Yeshua is called “the Amen, the faithful and true witness” (Rev. 3:14). In that sense truth is not a “what” of correspondence but rather a “who,” since reality turns on the magnetism of the divine presence (Col. 1:16).  Read more “The Ladder of Truth…”