tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67479981550581217722024-03-15T19:10:00.411-06:00Searching for the Light on the PathJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.comBlogger213125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-35554518210457514462011-05-26T18:00:00.003-06:002011-05-26T18:10:52.173-06:00Moving Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuDczueztFCU-nrYZggmmqWB3E-NopJXUaEYoY9890JfayzpC_UtcQB-nG1NSQauqNFF8Lp01ea6y8NeBAH3Sy9hyphenhyphenNd4Jd-JYancLEIyhyXqw-jjT7O3AZIHWf1vP9JysLOQIgeTI4iA/s1600/moving-day1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuDczueztFCU-nrYZggmmqWB3E-NopJXUaEYoY9890JfayzpC_UtcQB-nG1NSQauqNFF8Lp01ea6y8NeBAH3Sy9hyphenhyphenNd4Jd-JYancLEIyhyXqw-jjT7O3AZIHWf1vP9JysLOQIgeTI4iA/s320/moving-day1.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div>This is a little sooner than I thought it would happen but I've been pondering creating my "next-phase-of-life" blog, I read a quote this morning from Rabbi Freeman titled <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147816/jewish/Morning-Meditation.htm" target="_blank">Morning Meditation</a> and then suddenly, I was on WordPress.com creating my new blog.<br />
<br />
Welcome to <a href="http://mymorningmeditations.com/" target="_blank">Morning Meditations</a>.<br />
<br />
I hate "hello world" first blog posts, so I replaced the generic WordPress "verbage" with a blog thanking God for His <a href="http://mymorningmeditations.com/2011/05/26/hello-world/" target="_blank">abundant faithfulness</a> to me and to all of us.<br />
<br />
Although I'm not formally leaving <a href="http://www.shema-yisrael.org/" target="_blank">my congregation</a> and the life it represents until <strong>June 18th</strong>, my transition is happening in stages. Moving from the blog you're on now to my new blog is one of those stages.<br />
<br />
At first, my content on the new blog will probably be fairly close to what you're used to reading here, but eventually, as my transition progresses, those changes will be reflected in what I write. I've already changed the wording of the "about me" page at the new blog to illustrate my evolving perspective:<br />
<blockquote><em>I’m just a guy humbly walking a path of faith and trying to understand my relationship with God. I’m a Christian husband married to a Jewish wife. Part of this blog has to do with the joys and challenges of being intermarried. A lot of this blog has to do with how a Christian can look through a Jewish lens and get a better perspective on life, love, and the God who made us all.</em></blockquote>How things will look after a month or a few months or a year, I can't say. All I can say is that I'm slowly closing the door on one part of my life and at the same time, opening the door on another. That doesn't mean I'm closing the door on the people. I want you to come along. I want you to participate. If we are friends (and I really want my friends to continue to talk with me and share my experiences) or if you just consider me kind of interesting, please, follow me along the path and see what happens next.<br />
<br />
I decided to leave the current blog up rather than deleting it. I won't post any new content here. This is the very last post for "<em>Searching</em>". However, there are quite a few blog posts that receive a lot of hits, so apparently folks out there are interested in some of the things I've written. As long as those stories are useful, then they should remain available.<br />
<br />
Leaving this blog active does bother me a little, since I've changed since last July and some of the ideas and angst I expressed in my early writings no longer quite tell the tale about who I am. On the other hand, they are mileposts along the road, marking my progress from who I was to who I am becoming in faith, grace, and trust.<br />
<br />
For those of you who are following this blog via blogger and for anyone who just peeks in occasionally or happens to surf in, if you're interested in what I'm going to be doing or how my journey is progressing, please bookmark <a href="http://mymorningmeditations.com/" target="_blank">Morning Meditations</a> or put the URL in your favorite RSS reader.<br />
<br />
Feel free to comment here on my last blog post if you like or better yet, comment on my <a href="http://mymorningmeditations.com/" target="_blank">Meditations</a> blog, since that's where I'll be "living" from now on.<br />
<br />
Thank you. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read what I've written. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time, the energy, the thoughtfulness, and the passion to comment about something I've chronicled. As a writer, what I put in a blog doesn't mean much unless someone reads it, though I do get some benefit from the writing. Of course, feedback is like gold, even if it's to say "I think what you said is totally wrong". I'm not here just to spew out thoughts and feelings, I'm here to communicate, interact, and learn.<br />
<br />
Thanks most of all to God who is faithful and who has been with me, even when I've felt alone, traveling in the dark. May He continue to travel with me on my journey to draw closer to Him and may He be with you all.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKw3HxWEQQcBuL2Xih9J2TUaWP9IwrahJLwkq7dq1UqDVYIz3cME9tnnl77lzPTzl5OXOR3kpc8fav5v1Z3zEMhRzI3szEeBZVWGgiLnGsPvLWBRW8K6L-6rnH52tww4BjyaizKXMjKA/s1600/cropped-7-days-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKw3HxWEQQcBuL2Xih9J2TUaWP9IwrahJLwkq7dq1UqDVYIz3cME9tnnl77lzPTzl5OXOR3kpc8fav5v1Z3zEMhRzI3szEeBZVWGgiLnGsPvLWBRW8K6L-6rnH52tww4BjyaizKXMjKA/s400/cropped-7-days-small.jpg" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div><em>When you awake in the morning, learn something to inspire you and mediate upon it, then plunge forward full of light with which to illuminate the darkness.</em><br />
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Are you looking for me? Find me at <a href="http://mymorningmeditations.com/">Morning Meditations</a>.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-63433546909157721132011-05-26T09:16:00.003-06:002011-05-26T10:39:05.328-06:00The Mysteries of Truth and Faith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzUlbcuEv5Fp2Yt_HKWtJSm6Id4B4FQKfYk77F610TAxnf3wwr3vdNvJdBF193q49bwtIK70wme6qJSLJGy8kBOUwyOLVHhgrkXnYmjeg4_CiXPptHUsjJOdOg3UUxE_14RmQzSOXpg/s1600/leaves_wind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzUlbcuEv5Fp2Yt_HKWtJSm6Id4B4FQKfYk77F610TAxnf3wwr3vdNvJdBF193q49bwtIK70wme6qJSLJGy8kBOUwyOLVHhgrkXnYmjeg4_CiXPptHUsjJOdOg3UUxE_14RmQzSOXpg/s320/leaves_wind.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>There is no Truth without Faith. There is no Truth unless first there be a Faith on which it may be based.</i><br />
<br />
-Milton Steinberg<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/As-Driven-Leaf-Milton-Steinberg/dp/0874411033" target="_blank">As a Driven Leaf</a><br />
<br />
<i>The Torah was given to us in the barren, ownerless desert to emphasize that no man may claim any superior right to the word of G-d. It is equally the heritage of every Jew, man, woman, and child, equally accessible to the accomplished scholar and the most simple of Jews.</i><br />
<br />
-Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory<br />
As related by Rabbi Yanki Tauber at <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/114224/jewish/Ungrammatically-Correct.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a><br />
<br />
<i>Ben Hei Hei would say: According to the pain is the gain.</i><br />
<br />
-<b>Pirkei Avot 5:21</b><br />
<br />
What is truth and where do you find it? I suppose the answer to that depends on the individual. In Yossi Halevi's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/At-Entrance-Garden-Eden-Christians/dp/0060505826/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1306419564&sr=1-1" target="_blank">At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew's Search for Hope with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land</a>, we learn that holiness can be found in many unexpected places. It was certainly surprising to Halevi, the son of Holocaust survivors and an Israeli (he made Aliyah from New York in 1982) journalist to find holiness equally displayed among Muslim sages and Christian monks. Each of us, in our own way, searches for the Divine, some by gazing into the cosmos and others by searching the core of our souls.<br />
<br />
I am seeking the part of God that dwells in me. Each person is created in the image of God and encapsulates a mystic spark from beyond the limits of Creation. It's as if that spark is continually trying to return to its Source. Jewish mystics believe that when we die, the animal or earthly part of our souls dies with us but the spark of the Divine flies upward and rejoins God.<br />
<br />
Milton Steinberg says that we can find no truth unless it is based on faith. This crashes head-on into the typical secular understanding of "truth" based on facts and the belief that faith is irrelevant (or at least unspoken), but there can be no relationship with God without faith. Only God holds the truth of our existence in His hands. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSjtpgOb5KK56jF5yOd_atZ8GVkGS7mOhR9DQ-n0jV5bCWG_O8xQS7GxkzCAJVEWA84ZfGbqK25_skgysAMsFo-0awjekT1W70k2Qrrb17LsYnU9QnnXQOUAnEM9oLlRjF5BQKoBOvw/s1600/torah-desert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSjtpgOb5KK56jF5yOd_atZ8GVkGS7mOhR9DQ-n0jV5bCWG_O8xQS7GxkzCAJVEWA84ZfGbqK25_skgysAMsFo-0awjekT1W70k2Qrrb17LsYnU9QnnXQOUAnEM9oLlRjF5BQKoBOvw/s200/torah-desert.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>When Rabbi Schneerson says that the <i>Torah was given to us in the barren, ownerless desert to emphasize that no man may claim any superior right to the word of G-d</i>, he is specifically speaking of the Jewish nation and that the Torah belongs equally to the Prince and the pauper; to the Priest and the woodcutter, yet it is also said:<br />
<blockquote><i>Many peoples will come and say,<br />
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,<br />
to the temple of the God of Jacob.<br />
He will teach us his ways,<br />
so that we may walk in his paths.”<br />
The law will go out from Zion,<br />
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.</i> -<b>Isaiah 2:3</b><br />
<br />
<i>Listen to me, my people;<br />
hear me, my nation:<br />
Instruction will go out from me;<br />
my justice will become a light to the nations.</i> -<b>Isaiah 51:4</b></blockquote>If we can believe the words of God as related through the prophet Isaiah, then we can add another meaning to Rabbi Schneerson's comments and say that the giving of the Torah in the desert may apply also to all of humanity. I'm not contradicting my position on how the Torah applies in a different manner <a href="http://shema-yisrael.org/blogspot/2011/05/did-jesus-teach-one-law-for-the-jew-and-gentile/" target="_blank">to the Jew and the non-Jew</a>, but I am saying that God is One and His Word is One. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and He is the God of Adam and Noah, too. He is the God of the Jewish Messiah, of the Apostle Paul, and of all the Jews and non-Jews to whom the Apostle taught the way of salvation and the path of Jesus. <br />
<br />
How the Torah is applied to the Jewish people may seem obvious, depending on your viewpoint and tradition, but how the nations are supposed to understand the Torah as it "goes forth from Zion" isn't always clear. Certainly not all of you reading this blog will agree on how or perhaps even if the Law or any part of it is accessible to the non-Jewish nations:<br />
<blockquote><i>Any dispute that is for the sake of Heaven is destined to endure; one that is not for the sake of Heaven is not destined to endure. Which is a dispute that is for the sake of Heaven? The dispute(s) between Hillel and Shammai. Which is a dispute that is not for the sake of Heaven? The dispute of Korach and all his company.</i> -<b>Pirkei Avot 5:17</b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacExIbTWSfZTqYX6kq0slYONw3U2v-DG1RqkDdujLuA0uMrQNo5rIlp0JtJAewvADcJyBGAg4YItT87nKIDVsDVTuGAMJ7XP1BWH0hRYR8A7lY8PHd97S_fTwfDwyrUz-SL6DZPItog/s1600/adrift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacExIbTWSfZTqYX6kq0slYONw3U2v-DG1RqkDdujLuA0uMrQNo5rIlp0JtJAewvADcJyBGAg4YItT87nKIDVsDVTuGAMJ7XP1BWH0hRYR8A7lY8PHd97S_fTwfDwyrUz-SL6DZPItog/s320/adrift.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>While discussions between Jews and non-Jews over matters of Torah may not be accurately compared to the debates between Hillel and Shammai, I will be so bold as to say that our exchanges are still "for the sake of Heaven". While many Jews will agree that Hashem is the God of both Jews and Gentiles, they will apply the <a href="http://www.noahide.org/http://www.noahide.org/" target="_blank">Noahide Laws</a> as the obligation the nations are bound to in relation to God. Yet as I confirmed recently, from the teachings of the Jewish Messiah, <a href="http://shema-yisrael.org/blogspot/2011/05/did-jesus-teach-one-law-for-the-jew-and-gentile/" target="_blank">we can allow the non-Jewish disciples to access more</a>. How much more is a point of conjecture, but part of my personal journey is to pursue these questions and to attempt to live out the answers.<br />
<br />
To paraphrase Ben Hei Hei, "it won't be easy".<br />
<br />
Yet I don't believe my interest in the wisdom of the sages or the teachings of the man some have called "the Maggid of Nazeret" is the result of a random collision of interests. God is purposeful and His Creation is designed; nothing is truly irrelevant.<br />
<blockquote><i>You ask me, “Why did G-d allow it to happen?”<br />
<br />
You recognize that everything in this world has purpose and meaning. Examine any aspect of His vast Creation, from the cosmos to the workings of the atom, and you will see there must be a plan.<br />
<br />
And so you ask, where does this fit into the plan?<br />
How could it?<br />
<br />
I can only answer, painfully, G-d alone knows.<br />
<br />
But what I cannot know, I need not know.<br />
<br />
I need not know in order to fulfill<br />
that which my Creator has created me to do.<br />
<br />
And that is, to change the world<br />
so this could never happen again.</i><br />
<br />
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147846/jewish/How-Could-It-Happen.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a></blockquote>Tragic events, such as the horrible effects of the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/26/missouri.tornado/index.html?hpt=C1" target="_blank">recent storms in the midwest</a>, the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/25/japan.nuclear.report/index.html" target="_blank">ongoing nuclear reactor crisis in Japan</a>, and the struggle to <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hCTaCmXnNpmjkmDV9rBMuiK8q4Zg?docId=5fecf34fae894763bf6e20d435885b07" target="_blank">serve the needy in Haiti</a> are all a part of God's plan that completely eludes us. We live in a broken world where people are scared and hurt and dying.<br />
<br />
My modest seeking of God's "face", so to speak, from the writings of such men as Maimonides and Steinberg and Schneerson is just as much a part of God's plan, perhaps just as mysterious, and completely purposeful. I live a human life in a broken world, but I'm seeking the means by which I can repair my small corner of it.<br />
<br />
Soon, I will launch a new blog (I'll provide a link) and begin a new journey. I invite you all to join me.<br />
<blockquote><em>"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought."</em> -Matsuo Basho, Japanese poet<br />
</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-35094795898481774032011-05-25T09:58:00.000-06:002011-05-25T09:58:46.787-06:00Searching for Trust on an Empty Sea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_Rcq_bxV8U-4s2ppMxsO6v3FUtX0VE_uJX9eVuSArSZSf33K3b21InziBVVdmaKXm17VepDFCkdBXkt5g59ozM9O7_g_8oB4TW4NoftTmWXw2RrRXZl1oC228VVC-edzc20MYF6Quw/s1600/feeding2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_Rcq_bxV8U-4s2ppMxsO6v3FUtX0VE_uJX9eVuSArSZSf33K3b21InziBVVdmaKXm17VepDFCkdBXkt5g59ozM9O7_g_8oB4TW4NoftTmWXw2RrRXZl1oC228VVC-edzc20MYF6Quw/s320/feeding2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these."</i> -<b>Matthew 6:25-29</b><br />
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<i>Perhaps the most difficult middah to acquire is bitachon, real trust in Hashem that is expressed in action. The Mishnah Berurah writes that we recite the Torah portion detailing the arrival of the manna every day, “so that one should believe that all of his sustenance comes from Hashem’s providence. As the verse writes regarding the manna, ‘And the one who added did not gain, and the one who depleted did not lack.’”</i><br />
<br />
from Daf Yomi Digest<br />
Stories off the Daf<br />
The Thanksgiving Offering<br />
Menachos 76<br />
<br />
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post called <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/05/getting-in-wheelbarrow.html" target="_blank">Getting in the Wheelbarrow</a>, which pointed to the significant difference between having faith in God and having trust in God. Most religious people have the first but that is no promise that they practice the second. <br />
<br />
After a journey that ultimately started two years ago and particularly ramped up last year, I have finally tendered my formal resignation from the congregation where I've worshiped and taught for over five years. I previously mentioned my intention to do so and explained my reasons a number of times on this blog, including in the post <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/01/far-far-better-thing.html" target="_blank">A Far, Far Better Thing</a>. That intention is now a reality. My last day in my current worship group is on Shabbat, June the 18th. After that, I will be "unaffiliated", at least in terms of a specific group membership.<br />
<br />
What does this mean? My congregation (soon not to be "mine") were relieved when I told them that I was not abandoning my faith in Jesus. I think they assumed I would automatically transition into worshiping with my wife every week in synagogue on Shabbat. The latter isn't true, at least in the short run, and I have no idea what's going to happen next. On the one hand, I could be acting foolishly as a sort of "bird in the hand vs. two in the bush" example. On the other hand, I could be learning to trust God.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Trusting God isn't easy. Don't believe me? Read the rest of <i>"The Thanksgiving Offering"</i> from the Daf for Menachos 76:<br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacExIbTWSfZTqYX6kq0slYONw3U2v-DG1RqkDdujLuA0uMrQNo5rIlp0JtJAewvADcJyBGAg4YItT87nKIDVsDVTuGAMJ7XP1BWH0hRYR8A7lY8PHd97S_fTwfDwyrUz-SL6DZPItog/s1600/adrift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacExIbTWSfZTqYX6kq0slYONw3U2v-DG1RqkDdujLuA0uMrQNo5rIlp0JtJAewvADcJyBGAg4YItT87nKIDVsDVTuGAMJ7XP1BWH0hRYR8A7lY8PHd97S_fTwfDwyrUz-SL6DZPItog/s320/adrift.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>Yet the Zohar uses the manna as a paradigm of an even higher level of bitachon - the person who is so aware that everything he has is from Hashem that he doesn’t keep food in his possession from one day to the next. It is well known that the Baal Shem Tov, zy”a, never kept any extra money in his possession overnight. He would give it all away to the poor on the day that it came to his hands, relying on Hashem that he would have enough for the next day. Although this is a very great level, the Meorah Shel Torah writes that there was a time when a similar level was demanded of one who brings a sacrifice.<br />
<br />
He wrote, “We may wonder why the breads of the korban todah may not be left over to be eaten the next day. One who brings a thanksgiving offering must be emotionally moved to closeness to Hashem since the todah is an admission of His amazing providence. One who truly appreciates that Hashem has made a miracle for him must redouble his bitachon. It is not appropriate to leave over from this sacrifice because this shows a lack of faith that Hashem will provide for him the next day. This is forbidden; holding over the todah breads is a demonstration of a lack of bitachon that contradicts the very meaning of the offering and blemishes it.”</i></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Now pause a moment and before reading on. Go and check your refrigerators and pantries to see how they're stocked for food (assuming you're at home). Now open your wallets to make sure your credit and debit cards are still there. Unless you're an unusual person (or someone who doesn't live in a "developed" country), chances are you have food to spare and there is an abundant amount of "plastic" in your wallet.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Does this mean you don't trust God for all of your needs? Probably not. Most of us would consider it foolish to live from day-to-day and from hand-to-mouth without having some reserves. Most of us wouldn't be considered wise unless we maintained some sort of savings account or investments to meet our future needs. So does this mean the statement, <i>"the most difficult middah to acquire is bitachon, real trust in Hashem that is expressed in action"</i> is correct?<br />
<br />
Absolutely.<br />
<br />
I'm working on trusting God. I don't know what's going to happen next. I don't even have a plan about what I want to happen next, at least not a really firm plan. I'm like a man who has stepped off of a ship at sea wearing a life vest and who then casts himself away from the ship, leaving everything behind. All I have is the ocean, the life vest, and myself.<br />
<br />
And God.<br />
<br />
Of course, I still have my wife, my children, my home, my job, and a bunch of other stuff, so it's not like I'm absolutely isolated, but for the first time in a long time, I'll be functioning without a faith community. I am trusting that God will see my need, that He will see and understand what I did and why I did it, and that He will act upon my decision because He realizes that I'm trying to do the right thing (using what is most likely flawed human reasoning).<br />
<br />
What will God do now? I don't know. I have faith that God is there and that He hears me. I have trust that God will respond to me and take care of me. Until He acts, like Jonah, I'm adrift at sea and waiting for a miracle.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-69468739211704023582011-05-24T08:47:00.001-06:002011-05-24T09:14:57.544-06:00The Anointed One Hanging on a Yod<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-w7a8zW0E6SUiPrNhqcjZUG8Iikz_VXmoEoVwepJSduXFpuA5dRgMDFEoC-JjVKKNl16yuqqocyHlWxjMLlgYOCZzUTLWCYDQAZu26Ori8Pb1TapNAwvmdgmfztWIbB6fILsZPwedpg/s1600/anointing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-w7a8zW0E6SUiPrNhqcjZUG8Iikz_VXmoEoVwepJSduXFpuA5dRgMDFEoC-JjVKKNl16yuqqocyHlWxjMLlgYOCZzUTLWCYDQAZu26Ori8Pb1TapNAwvmdgmfztWIbB6fILsZPwedpg/s1600/anointing.jpg" /></a></div><i>Our Hebrew Bibles represent the Massoretic Text (MT), a traditional rabbinic text deriving from certain scholarly families who lived in the Galilee, in Tiberius on the shores of Lake Galilee, from the sixth to the tenth centuries CE. The oldest extant codices of their traditions are the Aleppo Codex (ca. 930 CE) and Codex Leningradenisis (1008 CE).<br />
<br />
To step from the tenth or early eleventh centuries CE back to the first or even second centuries BCE is truly amazing. Among this astounding discovery are some twenty-one partial copies or fragments of the book of the prophet Isaiah, as well as a scroll of the entire book, called the Great Isaiah Scroll or 1QIsa. 1QIsa denotes Cave One near Qumran and the first manuscript of the book of Isaiah that was found.</i><br />
<br />
from Isaiah's Exalted Servant in the Great Isaiah Scroll<br />
by Steven P. Lancaster and James M. Monson<br />
for Messiah Journal 107<br />
<br />
The discovery of what we refer to as the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946 near the ruins of Qumran has revolutionized our thinking about the Bible we have today and even now is rewriting our understanding of many things including God and the "suffering servant" in Isaiah. While Christianity believes Isaiah's suffering servant was the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, modern Jewish thought considers this servant to be all of Israel. For the purposes of this review, we will be assuming the traditional Christian understanding, though other material in this issue of Messiah Journal addresses the Jewish understanding.<br />
<br />
Throughout this special supplement to <a href="http://ffoz.org/messiahonline/index.html" target="_blank">First Fruits of Zion's (FFOZ's) Messiah Journal</a>, Lancaster and Monson present a detailed analysis and comparison between the Massoretic texts (MT), which form the current basis of our Old Testament (Tanakh) including the Book of Isaiah, and the equivalent material found in 1QIsa, known otherwise for our purposes as "the scroll".<br />
<br />
I'm not quite halfway through the 65 pages of the supplement which is comprised of a series of articles that make up this analysis, but in general, what I am getting from this presentation thus far is a new understanding of the "servant" not as "suffering", but as "the Appointed One". You see, in some ways, it all hangs on a <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yod" target="_blank">yod</a>.<br />
<blockquote><i>For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.</i> -<b>Matthew 5:18 (ASV)</b><br />
<br />
<i>One jot - The word "jot," or yod (' y), is the name of the Hebrew letter I, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.</i> -<b>Barnes' Notes on the Bible</b></blockquote>The significance of the Hebrew letter "yod" as it applies to this blog post will become apparent in a bit. For now, let's compare the common translation of <b>Isaiah 52:14</b> which we get from MT to the same phrase found in 1QIsa 44:2:<br />
<blockquote><i>So His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men.</i></blockquote>This is where we get our picture of Jesus as the "suffering servant". I don't mean to say that he didn't suffer. We know he certainly did. But are we reading what Isaiah actually intended to say? Remember, we're working from the oldest existing text which is from the late tenth or early eleventh century C.E. In the world of Bible scholars, older is considered better or more accurate when working with source material, and 1QIsa dates back to before the birth of Christ. Was Isaiah's intent to communicate the disfigurement or repugnant appearance of the "servant"?<br />
<br />
Here's the 1QIsa 44:2 rendition:<br />
<blockquote><i>It is certain! I have appointed! -from a man his appearance, -and his figure from the sons of "the Adam".</i></blockquote>What changed? <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRWCyktYL5jmk4AIWwmqwZ1V7ekGNl1fEzBcZ-dRSP8jJ0D_yf2GtBK6U9ZPxMJKGFryMTKuNU5IG68XuxQsVGszjKISGhjiBleshL241BzHoaC9ji-38uNdEEIAqiLj2OVm35CvuwQ/s1600/yod.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRWCyktYL5jmk4AIWwmqwZ1V7ekGNl1fEzBcZ-dRSP8jJ0D_yf2GtBK6U9ZPxMJKGFryMTKuNU5IG68XuxQsVGszjKISGhjiBleshL241BzHoaC9ji-38uNdEEIAqiLj2OVm35CvuwQ/s1600/yod.jpeg" /></a></div>This isn't just a different translation of the same text. The actual Hebrew (OK, the Great Isaiah Scroll was written in the square, Aramaic script) is subtly different. However those small changes result in a significant shifting of meaning.<br />
<blockquote><i>Scholars debate the MT form above (without the yod), but most claim that this unique occurrence is a noun based on the root shachat ("go to ruin") and means "disfigurement" or "being marred." For many this reading sets the tone of much of the song, focusing on how repugnant the servant appears, but doing so forces incorrect interpretations throughout. On the other hand, the additional yod points to a well-known verbal form from the root mashach ("to anoint with oil"). The verb appears in the "perfect" aspect, often interpreted as a completed action.<br />
<br />
In short, the small yod solves the difficulty encountered in the MT and makes the passage read, "I anointed with oil."</i></blockquote>Our "disfigured" or "suffering" servant becomes a servant "anointed with oil" <i>"for a specific task which he will achieve with great wisdom"</i>, as the article continues to read. <br />
<br />
This not only presents a radically different picture of Isaiah's description of the Messiah, but it allows us to see how the 1QIsa version connects more completely with many of the Apostolic scriptures describing the Messiah, including the following:<br />
<blockquote><i>Prophets searched diligently and inquired about this salvation, the very ones who prophesied about <b>this grace for you</b> were inquiring about whom or what time the spirit of the Anointed One within them was indicating when he predicted <b>the suffering of the Anointed One and the glory after these things</b>. It was revealed to them that they did not serve themselves but you.</i> -<b>1 Peter 1:10-12 (translation by the article's author)</b></blockquote>This review cannot do justice to even the single article from which I'm working, let alone the entire Messiah Journal supplement on the Great Isaiah Scroll, but I hope I have whetted your appetite for more. <a href="http://ffoz.org/messiahonline/index.html" target="_blank">Messiah Journal issue 107</a> will become available soon. I encourage you to have a closer look at this, and the other materials it contains. You never know when your whole understanding of the Jewish Messiah may be turned to a different direction by virtue of a simple yod.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-49047645486710070892011-05-23T10:20:00.000-06:002011-05-23T10:20:10.011-06:00Radiating God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomBfwcD1TPbSfi1XXLQx7er8AP47gaeyyS35HvYAtM2if8SnxIFVN9zarpmEIJUCyFui5s7_oHi_PSQOqjo2sCk9gdkbA29Q9WOur-msYA8xzoa4L4DYtCzjG7OEIa5v1uZMV2nnVUw/s1600/sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomBfwcD1TPbSfi1XXLQx7er8AP47gaeyyS35HvYAtM2if8SnxIFVN9zarpmEIJUCyFui5s7_oHi_PSQOqjo2sCk9gdkbA29Q9WOur-msYA8xzoa4L4DYtCzjG7OEIa5v1uZMV2nnVUw/s1600/sun.jpg" /></a></div><i>Though the prophets, the greatest of whom was Moses, achieved a superior understanding of God, this understanding does not concern God as He is in Himself but His consequences or effects. In the Middle Ages, philosophers like Maimonides claimed that God's consequences or effects <u>emanate</u> from Him. It is as if God were like an eternal and inexhaustible source of light whose energy is so vast that it nourishes and illuminates everything around us. But even the best scientific theories cannot explain how that light is generated. All we know is that the light makes it possible everything we see and do. On the other hand, the light is so brilliant that no person can look at it directly.</i><br />
<br />
Kenneth Seeskin<br />
from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maimonides-Todays-Perplexed-Kenneth-Seeskin/dp/0874415098" target="_blank">Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed</a><br />
<br />
<i>Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”</i> -<b>Exodus 33:18-20</b><br />
<br />
<i>I don't believe in philosophy. I believe in ideas that change people.</i><br />
<br />
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
"Real Ideas"<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147818/jewish/Real-Ideas.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Maimonides.html" target="_blank">Rambam</a> (Moses ben Maimon or Maimonides) was a superb philosopher and theologian and his writings are considered classic among Jewish scholars and lay people to this very day. I recently reviewed Seeskin's book <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/05/book-review-of-maimonides-guide-for.html" target="_blank">Maimonidies: A Guide for Today's Perplexed</a> (and am posting the link here so you can be a little background about the topic of today's blog) and through Seeskin's book, gained a greater insight into how this amazing Jewish scholar perceived God.<br />
<br />
Rambam, a consummate rationalist, did not believe people could experience God in any manner or fashion but rather, thought we could only experience the results or effects of God. This is like saying that a person cannot look at a solar eclipse with the unaided eye but instead, must use a device to see an approximation of the effects. I also previously used the analogy of experiencing a fire by the effects or results, such as ash and smoke, rather than knowing the fire as it truly is.<br />
<br />
We see in the above-quote from <b>Exodus 33</b>, that Moses "knew" or "experienced" God as the Divine Presence or the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Shekhinah.html" target="_blank">Shekhinah</a>, God's manifestation in our universe, in a manner as close as possible to experiencing God's effects without actually experiencing God (seeing His "face"). But what did God "emanate" or "radiate" that Moses could "see"?<br />
<br />
What did Jesus radiate?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVEn0e1OV4SqZIRMGfgkYFZ3qYO4KfFyRbOv0ccdfX-pbz0qHSDLYjXt-x4gd1jajJzZWsggycHJNIQa3C0kmxzw2Lj8ePrIeUsG7XTDHyQhyIUoDvxEV-ol_PrGGTZAwFtskbFEHzQ/s1600/tzitzit-tefillin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVEn0e1OV4SqZIRMGfgkYFZ3qYO4KfFyRbOv0ccdfX-pbz0qHSDLYjXt-x4gd1jajJzZWsggycHJNIQa3C0kmxzw2Lj8ePrIeUsG7XTDHyQhyIUoDvxEV-ol_PrGGTZAwFtskbFEHzQ/s1600/tzitzit-tefillin.jpg" /></a></div>I know that making a comparison between Seeskin's description of Rambam's understanding of experiencing the "effects" of God and the life of Jesus may seem like quite a conceptual leap, but stay with me here because I think the connection exists:<br />
<blockquote><i>And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.<br />
<br />
“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.<br />
<br />
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”<br />
<br />
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”<br />
<br />
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”</i> -<b>Luke 8:43-48</b></blockquote>Look at one small bit of this narrative recorded in verse 46:<br />
<blockquote><i>But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that <u>power has gone out from me</u>.”</i></blockquote>We generally think that when Jesus performed a healing or a miracle, there had to be some sort of intent on his part. That is, he had to want to perform a miracle and had to have an intention as to what form the miracle would take. However we see in the case of the "woman with the issue of blood", that Jesus had no intention of healing whatsoever and in fact, didn't even know about the woman until the moment when she touched the hem (tzitzit?) of his garment and "power went out of him" to heal the woman.<br />
<br />
Maimonides believes that we can only observe and benefit from the effects of God as they radiate from Him. Here we see an example of a person benefiting from the effects of what "radiates" from Jesus. Neither effect necessarily requires a specific intent of the "radiator" and this brings up an incredibly interesting question.<br />
<br />
Do we benefit from the good effects of God upon our lives because God intents good toward us or do we reap these benefits simply because God is good and what He radiates (unintentionally) is good?<br />
<br />
If we answer "yes" to the latter, we have to answer an additional question such as we see illustrated in the following:<br />
<blockquote><i>You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.</i> -<b>Genesis 50:20</b><br />
<br />
<i>For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.</i> -<b>Jeremiah 29:11-12</b></blockquote>Here we see that not only does God specifically intend to do good but that good will result from our prayers to God for aid and assistance. The Master said the same thing:<br />
<blockquote><i>“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”</i> -<b>Luke 11:11-13</b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPnm1ArD7iQOdIVWihDABpX5s9uKT30mm8nWc2hDxJxe6o6-t0kxZFIGxdEaN9DDrLRLvvMV8KlPia_EBlYSNIlnrCp3xnIKvMQH9tPfheUlRGsnx839hrz_jmVPqDiXw5bOwbeFWJA/s1600/burning-bush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPnm1ArD7iQOdIVWihDABpX5s9uKT30mm8nWc2hDxJxe6o6-t0kxZFIGxdEaN9DDrLRLvvMV8KlPia_EBlYSNIlnrCp3xnIKvMQH9tPfheUlRGsnx839hrz_jmVPqDiXw5bOwbeFWJA/s1600/burning-bush.jpg" /></a></div>Maimonides still doesn't have to be wrong here. God can <i>intend</i> to "radiate" what he radiates and direct His actions along intended lines. But how does this explain what we read in <b>Luke 8:43-48</b>? Of course, if you discount that Jesus and God have to be identical in the "mechanics" of how they "work", then you don't have to explain it, but when I was reading Seeskin's description of how Maimonides viewed God, the comparison between God and Jesus seemed a natural one. <br />
<br />
There may be one other factor though. Let's go back to <b>Luke 8</b> for a moment and specifically verse <b>48</b>:<br />
<blockquote><i>Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”</i></blockquote>Jesus said something like this on more than one occasion. He didn't say <i>I have healed you</i>. He said <i>your <u>faith</u> has healed you</i>, even under circumstances where Jesus was aware of the person's request to be healed and he intended to heal them (in <b>Matthew 12:13</b>, he heals the withered hand of a man who hadn't asked to be healed, but presumably the man wanted his hand healed and, in the larger context of the event, the man knew Jesus was discussing healing on the Shabbat with the Pharisees).<br />
<br />
God can do good for us even if we don't ask Him (and even if we are not aware of Him), but we know that He will respond to us (though not always as we imagine) when we ask. Yet perhaps an effect of God is that He radiates His goodness throughout Creation so that we experience His benefits, <i>just as the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous</i> (<b>Matthew 5:45</b>). There's no reason why God can't specifically intend to do good to a person and then that good happens <i>and</i> that God's very existence causes beneficial effects within His creation that we experience. There's also no reason why Jesus, during his time on earth, couldn't have intended to do good to others, but that his very nature, being a Divine representation of God's on earth, couldn't also have affected his environment, even to the point of healing a woman who touched his garment and who had faith that she would be healed.<br />
<br />
At the beginning of this blog post, I quoted Rabbi Freeman when he said, <i>I don't believe in philosophy. I believe in ideas that change people.</i> This seems to draw a distinction between thinking and philosophy as represented by Maimonides, and a specific intent or set of ideas that result in a demonstrable change in human beings, but there may be no difference. We tend to get a picture of Maimonides as a cold, unfeeling thinker who spent his life in an ivory tower pondering arcane thoughts about God and the Torah, but he was also a physician who healed people and who advocated for justice, kindness, and mercy. In the case of the Rambam, his thoughts, feelings, and actions were all connected to living out the life God designed him to live. There was intention of both God and Maimonides and there were observable effects of the existence of both.<br />
<br />
I do believe, like Maimonides, that we cannot experience or observe the totality of God as He exists objectively in what mystics describe as the <a href="http://www.aynsof.com/" target="_blank">Ayn Sof</a> (although some people may have mystically encountered more of God's nature than we can within the limits of Creation), but I do believe that God has an intention for us and that He demonstrates that intention on an ongoing basis in ways we can experience. I also believe that people can benefit from God's existence and intentions, both the righteous and unrighteous, but the righteous in their awareness of God through faith and trust, can struggle to draw nearer to God and to do His will and reap additional blessings. This doesn't mean that we have more money, or trouble-free lives, or are smarter and wiser than other people, but it does mean we can be deliberately aware of God and what He is doing in the world and as a result, we can be a part of what He is doing. We can have faith and learn to trust God as we "see" what He does and more over, we can be a reflection of what He "emanates" in what we say and do and in some small way, we can show the rest of the world our how we experience a real and living God.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-53975858842438764792011-05-22T13:33:00.000-06:002011-05-22T13:33:52.730-06:00Small Chasidic Insights into God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgLITDLB9LX-3cf_tHOCzu7GPlDz0oOZVh-G5rkpw7FfLBCDV_KIiNZZ2yeJ6qXLQO_XH6NYIL7RRGXLndWUlLQv34uZjbG8ukNObW9rC8hm-AxeSWegRx3ng7-iXtGIrrOabICU1IA/s1600/mj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgLITDLB9LX-3cf_tHOCzu7GPlDz0oOZVh-G5rkpw7FfLBCDV_KIiNZZ2yeJ6qXLQO_XH6NYIL7RRGXLndWUlLQv34uZjbG8ukNObW9rC8hm-AxeSWegRx3ng7-iXtGIrrOabICU1IA/s1600/mj.jpg" /></a></div><em>Why has God created the world and mankind, and for what purpose? Why has the soul descended into the body? (The preexistence of the soul was assumed in Chasidism.) Is there a more ideal world than the divine world in which the soul previously existed? Is there a greater joy than when man rejoices in God?</em><br />
<br />
-Paul Philip Levertoff<br />
as published in "The Love of God"<br />
Messiah Journal issue 107<br />
<br />
I previously reviewed <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-love-and-messianic-age.html" target="_blank">Love and the Messianic Age</a> written by early 20th century Chasidic sage Paul Philip Levertoff and as I am sure you can tell, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Levertoff's insights into the teachings of the Jewish Messiah as written in the Gospels and filtered through Chasidic mysticism are fascinating. I am pleased that <a href="http://vineofdavid.org/" target="_blank">Vine of David</a> is publishing installments of Levertoff's classic study <em>Die religiose Denkweise der Chassidim</em> (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs 1918) translated into English.<br />
<br />
However, a plain reading of Levertoff isn't always sufficient to comprehend the underlying concepts and history swimming below the surface of his text. In the footnotes to this very brief section of Chapter 1 of Levertoff's work, we discover several things that might not be apparent, including the association between the "birth pangs of the Messiah" (<strong>Matthew 24:8</strong>), the present age being like a pregnancy, the unborn child being like the "congregation of God", and the Messianic Age being the day of the child's birth.<br />
<br />
We also get a glimse in the footnotes, of "Moses the Mystic":<br />
<blockquote><em>The Prophet Isaiah saw God, when he was being ordained as a prophet (<strong>Isaiah 6</strong>), yet only according to his revelation of himself in the creation, but not in his true essence (how God actually is in himself, independent of his creation). Only Moses had a vision of God's essence.</em></blockquote>We don't normally think of Moses in mystic terms, but he did see God in His "glory" in a manner no other man has beheld (<strong>Exodus 33:12-23</strong>). Also, in the mystic view of the Chasidim, we see that God's greatest ability is His being able to lower Himself to the level of a human being. This is no more evident than in the projection of the Divine Presence into the existence of the Jewish Messiah among men (<strong>John 1:1-18</strong>).<br />
<br />
This brief taste of Levertoff and the equally fascinating footnotes accompanying the article, are only one small sample of the spring issue of <a href="http://ffoz.org/" target="_blank">First Fruits of Zion's</a> (FFOZ's) <a href="http://ffoz.org/messiahonline/messiah_journal.html" target="_blank">Messiah Journal</a>.<br />
<br />
Over the course of the next week or two, I'll post other reviews and comments about Messiah Journal, which includes a special supplement on <em>Isaiah's Exalted Servant in the Great Isaiah Scroll</em>. I've read everything in the current issue except the special supplement and I haven't been disappointed yet.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-87976889433196363932011-05-20T09:45:00.002-06:002011-05-20T14:39:35.299-06:00The Bridge Between Heaven and Earth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinluEtQWkkmvHGaJLzEpcl4iRv6L1HngNepKd1jGebHegCkOd3U1YRB69Xf9uZ5yomikyPpJ9xfI47F-3BYxL1N9I6JS0m4KUSZ__YLbLrSQu5fZsILEFkQ0XQXrRMEAy4p1VEkPe4zg/s1600/jacobs_ladder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinluEtQWkkmvHGaJLzEpcl4iRv6L1HngNepKd1jGebHegCkOd3U1YRB69Xf9uZ5yomikyPpJ9xfI47F-3BYxL1N9I6JS0m4KUSZ__YLbLrSQu5fZsILEFkQ0XQXrRMEAy4p1VEkPe4zg/s320/jacobs_ladder.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><i>In Pesachim, Rashi points out that the opinion of R’ Meir and R’ Yehuda is that the people of Yericho did not pause during Shema, meaning that they did not allow a break between the end of the sentence of Shema (the word "va-ed") and the beginning of the paragraph of V'a-hav-ta. The halacha is that one must pause at this point, in order to allow a break between the first sentence, which is one’s acceptance of the yoke of heaven, and the next paragraph, which is one’s acceptance of the yoke of mitzvos.</i><br />
<br />
from Daf Yomi Digest<br />
Distinctive Insight: "Improper reading of the Shema"<br />
Menachos 71<br />
<br />
<i>Some would like to be like the sun, aloof from this world. Whatever material matters they accomplish during their stay occur as if by chance, with no real involvement of their own.<br />
<br />
Others become entirely wrapped up in all the fetters and chains of life. They suffer its scars and bruises, delight in its offerings, thirst for its rewards and tremble at its pain.<br />
<br />
True tzaddikim emulate their Creator. To them, every detail of life has meaning and purpose - every step is a decision, every move is deliberate. And yet, they remain above it all.<br />
<br />
What is their secret?<br />
<br />
They remember they are not the body, but the soul.</i><br />
<br />
-Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
"Better Than the Sun"<br />
for <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147411/jewish/Better-Than-the-Sun.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a><br />
<br />
I know the two quotes from above might not seem connected, but bear with me, their association will become apparent.<br />
<br />
I was talking with my wife this morning before I left for work. Like me, she appreciates the writings of Rabbi Freeman at <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3009/jewish/Freeman-Tzvi.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a> and we both gain illumination from his insights as we receive them in our email inboxes each day. <br />
<br />
We were talking about the differences between Christian and Jewish viewpoints concerning the purpose of human beings and why we are here. Often, I encounter Christians who are very future-oriented and who can't wait to "go home to Jesus". By contrast, Judaism produces almost nothing in terms of commentary regarding the World to Come and I've never heard an observant Jew say that they can't wait for the arrival of the World to Come.<br />
<br />
What's the difference? Weren't we born for a reason? Is our life on earth a meaningless prelude to a heavenly joy? If what we do here doesn't matter, why didn't God just "cut to the chase" and create our existence in Heaven immediately?<br />
<br />
I know I'm being unfair. There are a great many Christians who dedicate their lives to the service and well-being of others, yet this doesn't always seem to be the emphasis of the church or the "average" Christian. It seems like, as Rabbi Freeman writes, some folks <i>"would like to be like the sun, aloof from this world. Whatever material matters they accomplish during their stay occur as if by chance, with no real involvement of their own"</i>. Christians say they want to become more like Jesus which is very much in line with Freeman's statement that true <i>"tzaddikim emulate their Creator"</i>. Yet if <i>"every detail of life has meaning and purpose - every step is a decision, every move is deliberate"</i>, then the "fruit" of every Christian in the here-and-now should be sweet.<br />
<br />
Is it always?<br />
<br />
In my previous quote from the Daf, the commentary describes a pause between the formal Shema and V'ahavta which signifies the transition between accepting the "yoke of heaven" and accepting the "yoke of mitzvos" or the commandments. The Master put it like this:<br />
<blockquote><i>“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”</i> -<b>Mark 12:29-30</b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6x_C9akELiIA14iLO6hUUZEspv9wRIfg6j1wqRtGbKrWMR2K260sUHYCIFW04FzYv2q8sSKyuPQ6uhcA7Fzlthv0WIdAJLYXnjgkBouq6F2h0F7-9aLy9Vov99_A2Ve_CyhkMCaWLFQ/s1600/tree-of-life-ladder.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6x_C9akELiIA14iLO6hUUZEspv9wRIfg6j1wqRtGbKrWMR2K260sUHYCIFW04FzYv2q8sSKyuPQ6uhcA7Fzlthv0WIdAJLYXnjgkBouq6F2h0F7-9aLy9Vov99_A2Ve_CyhkMCaWLFQ/s320/tree-of-life-ladder.gif" width="259" /></a></div>As human beings, we act as a "bridge" between heaven and earth. We perceive the will of God for through our faith and trust in the Creator and then we act out that will in the world with our minds and our hearts and our hands. Our service to God is not just in the contemplation or Him and not just in the doing good to others, it is in the marriage of one to the other. In the "Stories off the Daf" commentary for Menachos 71, The Shem MiShmuel, zt"l offers this analysis:<br />
<blockquote><i>“To explain, we must first understand that every human being is a microcosm, as we find in the Midrash. Our heads parallel the upper world while our bodies mirror the lower world. One’s intellect alludes to the sun, while his heart is like the moon which receives its light from the sun. Like the sun, one’s intellect should be used to illuminate proper conduct. His heart should only desire that which his intellect knows is fitting.<br />
<br />
“It is impossible to be a whole person without these two faculties working in concert. If the intellect knows what is good but the heart is drawn in the opposite direction, it would be better for him not to have intellect at all. In Mishlei we find that such a person is compared to a pig with a golden nose ring - a valuable adornment graces an unworthy object. The same is true when the heart follows the directives of the mind when that mind is crooked. This is why in ancient times people clung to idolatry. Their hearts followed their intellects, but their minds confused light for darkness and darkness for light. This is worse than those whose intellect is straight but their hearts do not follow its directives.”<br />
<br />
The Shem MiShmuel then explained the connection with the practice of the people of Yericho. “The first verse of Shema straightens the intellect, since the very word Shema means to listen carefully and understand. V’ahavta clearly refers to the heart, as the verse continues, ‘…upon your heart.’ The people of Yericho didn’t pause at the juncture in order to deepen their awareness that the heart must follow after the well-guided mind. The sages, on the other hand, would pause to remind themselves that without toil it is easy to disconnect the heart from the intellect.<br />
<br />
He concluded, “Although the way of Chazal was more correct, the sages did not protest against the practice of the people of Yericho because, in essence, their meaning was the same.”</i></blockquote>The key to this teaching, at least as far as I see it, is captured with these two phrases:<br />
<blockquote><i>Our heads parallel the upper world while our bodies mirror the lower world. One’s intellect alludes to the sun, while his heart is like the moon which receives its light from the sun. Like the sun, one’s intellect should be used to illuminate proper conduct. His heart should only desire that which his intellect knows is fitting.</i><br />
<br />
<i>The first verse of Shema straightens the intellect, since the very word Shema means to listen carefully and understand. V’ahavta clearly refers to the heart, as the verse continues, ‘…upon your heart.’</i></blockquote>This is what warms me when I hear the Shema and perhaps why reciting the Shema is required of every Jew twice daily. It reminds us of who we are in the here-and-now and how we are to set our purpose in life. We're not here just to sit around and wait for the bus to Heaven. We are to emulate our Master as worthy disciples and to do the will of our Father in Heaven with every living moment of our existence. This is why we were born and why God <i>"chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless"</i> (<b>Ephesians 1:4</b>). <br />
<br />
I recently quoted from the Prophet Micah, but it seems a fitting way to end today's blog post:<br />
<blockquote><i>He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.<br />
And what does the LORD require of you?<br />
To act justly and to love mercy<br />
and to walk humbly with your God.</i> -<b>Micah 6:8</b></blockquote>Good Shabbos.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<i>Rabbi Yaakov would also say: A single moment of repentance and good deeds in this world is greater than all of the World to Come. And a single moment of bliss in the World to Come is greater than all of the present world.</i> -<b>Pirkei Avot 4:17</b>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-34203155215230360662011-05-19T09:20:00.004-06:002011-05-19T10:59:06.734-06:00Book Review of "Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-STnWJ4IQL__GiIOK8uxbdssx_AVWGIckS59PkrNaWLPoO_6MmTQPaGxYBig4doaPs7xc7QOLtBhTFGIVduQGsc-PcIxzCU4mohg9UDF3O1jjauz3J_sm8QG_bT71iFKuvktKeyRZA/s1600/guide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-STnWJ4IQL__GiIOK8uxbdssx_AVWGIckS59PkrNaWLPoO_6MmTQPaGxYBig4doaPs7xc7QOLtBhTFGIVduQGsc-PcIxzCU4mohg9UDF3O1jjauz3J_sm8QG_bT71iFKuvktKeyRZA/s320/guide.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><i>Maimonidies' philosophic reputation rests on his masterpiece, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Perplexed-Moses-Maimonides/dp/0486203514" target="_blank">The Guide of the Perplexed</a>, published in Arabic in 1190 and quickly translated into Hebrew. Unfortunately, it is difficult for the average person living in the twentieth century to read The Guide with any degree of comprehension. First, there is the difficulty of its length: three volumes and a total of 178 chapters. The second difficulty is the learning the author presupposes. Maimonides did not intend the book to be read by a general audience. He assumes his readers are familiar with the sacred literature of Judaism, the classics of Greek philosophy, and the later medieval commentaries. The last difficulty is that the book was written during the twelfth century, and since then our view of the world has undergone numerous changes.</i><br />
<br />
from the Introduction to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maimonides-Todays-Perplexed-Kenneth-Seeskin/dp/0874415098" target="_blank">Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed</a><br />
by Kenneth Seeskin<br />
<br />
<i>Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it. Observe therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that, when they hear all these statues, shall say: "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."</i> -<b>Deuteronomy 4:5-6</b><br />
<br />
The quotes from Seeskin and Deuteronomy provide excellent reasons to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maimonides-Todays-Perplexed-Kenneth-Seeskin/dp/0874415098" target="_blank">Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed</a>, for both Jews who want to gain a greater understanding of the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Maimonides.html" target="_blank">Rambam's</a> (Moses ben Maimon or Maimonides) classic insights into the Torah, and Christians who are trying to grasp the significance of Judaism and a deeper meaning of "the Law" beyond a plain reading of the text. Seeskin's book can also be thought of as "an introduction to Maimonides", since we learn a great deal about how this exalted Jewish sage conceived of the Torah, what it told him about God and what it told him about being a Jew.<br />
<br />
To say that Rambam was primarily a philosopher and a thinker is almost an understatement. He seems to be an archetypal intellectualist and rationalist of the Jewish world and his perspectives and teachings are as relevant in Judaism today as they were 800 years ago. His intellectual viewpoint, in and of itself, makes him difficult to comprehend, at least for most people, since his unique perspective is grasped only by others operating at his level. For the "average" person, his insights and the degree of detail which he uses to pursue the holy writings could easily seem like "over-analyzing". <br />
<br />
In a scant 141 pages, Seeskin manages to tell his audience how Rambam conceived of God, God's unique "radical Oneness", Rambam's views on polytheism and idolatry, the cognitive qualifications necessary for a Prophet, and much more. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uaBscuCOu9D68EnT8y7qEn5ur0Bu0YqLMAWkIyNweW5X_ktZZEbcwqVFlSZG49CUYxbkADBWWfPLvpuAwALBR5-spAR8IgWjtzyDi3zXvV4R_QxtR_zcPJBktISgmUzrBomdQ_nItw/s1600/rambam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uaBscuCOu9D68EnT8y7qEn5ur0Bu0YqLMAWkIyNweW5X_ktZZEbcwqVFlSZG49CUYxbkADBWWfPLvpuAwALBR5-spAR8IgWjtzyDi3zXvV4R_QxtR_zcPJBktISgmUzrBomdQ_nItw/s200/rambam.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>I must admit, after reading Seeskin's book, I find myself a little less enamored with Maimonides than I have been previously. The Rambam was obviously a highly intelligent and educated man and his conception of the world around him, his God, and his Jewishness were defined by those qualities. Everything he wrote was filtered through the values of philosophy and an almost extreme rationalism, to the exclusion of all else. Even love of God was considered a rational process in Rambam's view. <br />
<br />
This isn't necessarily bad and it provides a good counterbalance to the emotionalism we find in many Christian churches where all you are expected to do is "feel" the Holy Spirit in order to experience God. For Maimonides, to truly grasp a Jew's purpose and meaning in life, you absolutely had to take on the role of scholar and devote significant resources to the deep study of the Torah and the classic Jewish and Greek philosophical literature.<br />
<br />
The Rambam, in considering the commandments, believed that it was possible to understand the purpose behind all of them, not only the ones that seemed to make "obvious" sense, but those that seemed obscure, such as the reason one does not consume pork. He didn't accept the simple answer of "because God said so" and made great efforts to comprehend what most of us would consider incomprehensible. Yet he also believed we needed to love God especially when His commandments and requirements went "beyond reason". He was careful though, to say that what seems like it is beyond our reason does not mean God is unreasonable or irrational, and we may be able to understand Him in terms of His effects, given additional time and study.<br />
<blockquote><i>God is needed only when we go beyond reason, when we are asked to perform or refrain from acts which we would not think of on our own. Only then can we truly claim that our actions are holy.</i></blockquote>It is Rambam's highly rational point of view that puts him at odds with Jewish mysticism. Mystics believe it's possible to extend a human being beyond the rational and physical world and to know God in a way that isn't possible within the limits of our normal experience. Maimonides believed that we can only know God through His effects on the world and that there is no way to access Him as He truly is. I suppose a mystic would liken the difference to God as Ayn Sof vs. God as the Shekhinah or Divine Presence, but Rambam would view even the apparent visible and tangible Shekhinah only in terms of how it impacted the physical world, much like a person believing you can only "experience" fire by examining burnt wood and ash rather than the flame itself.<br />
<br />
While Maimonidies did not believe that the majority of Torah commandments applied to the peoples of the world, he didn't believe that the wisdom of the Torah was exclusively a Jewish possession. Much to the dismay of his critics (and he had many) he believed that knowledge and philosophy had universal applications, including knowledge of the Torah. <br />
<blockquote><i>In our day, Maimonides' position is often ignored. We put so much stress on the concept of peoplehood that it is hard not to conclude that ethnic considerations come before philosophic ones. The dangers of making ethnicity paramount are: (1) People will become so enamored of he ceremonies, rituals, and folklore that they will neglect the intellectual growth which is supposed to follow and forget about the idea of monotheism; and (2) In the cases where intellectual growth does follow, it will over look the universality of Judaism and focus on its cultural and religious peculiarities.</i></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacSDIqTTn-5jo9sJflMQnXuc2FMIBWUCtewlLdn8WxwrNl4PAJWllJoyzJwcUZVgfhpnpRZK8tw06iK4WR1d1RJHo17dYzDo5Pg5B7XckIiXvhp5VisjCZ2J7KUX2WLmXrsD8OhCn5A/s1600/Jerusalem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacSDIqTTn-5jo9sJflMQnXuc2FMIBWUCtewlLdn8WxwrNl4PAJWllJoyzJwcUZVgfhpnpRZK8tw06iK4WR1d1RJHo17dYzDo5Pg5B7XckIiXvhp5VisjCZ2J7KUX2WLmXrsD8OhCn5A/s320/Jerusalem.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Rambam did believe in preserving the Jewish identity and uniqueness and acknowledged that the Torah was the means by which this was and is achieved. However, <i>for him, Jewish identity is understood as participation in a spiritual community.</i> He considered the <i>customs, ritual, and ceremonies..worth preserving because they allow the community to propagate a defensible doctrine.</i> He also believed another set of <i>"rituals, ceremonies, and customs"</i> could be applied to other people groups (i.e. non-Jews), allowing them to <i>"propagate the same doctrine"</i>, acknowledge the unique and radical Oneness of God, enact compassion on strangers, widows, and orphans, promote social harmony, and generally espouse the values that have been the hallmark of the Jewish ideal for thousands of years.<br />
<br />
This has profound implications for Christianity and other monotheistic religious groups and provides additional motivation for Christians to entertain a study of Maimonides and his works. Through his understanding of the Torah, which he did not consider the exclusive property of the Jewish people, we can understand our God, our purpose, and ourselves. We can also understand what Judaism has to teach us as God's creations since the Torah has been the keeper of God's wisdom, knowledge, and desires for humanity since the days of Moses.<br />
<blockquote><i>Many peoples will come and say,<br />
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,<br />
to the temple of the God of Jacob.<br />
He will teach us his ways,<br />
so that we may walk in his paths.”<br />
The law will go out from Zion,<br />
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.</i> -<b>Isaiah 2:3</b><br />
<br />
<i>Listen to me, my people;<br />
hear me, my nation:<br />
Instruction will go out from me;<br />
my justice will become a light to the nations.</i> -<b>Isaiah 51:4</b></blockquote>Published well over a decade ago, Kenneth Seeskin's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maimonides-Todays-Perplexed-Kenneth-Seeskin/dp/0874415098" target="_blank">Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed</a> continues to show us a truly relevant and educational view of not only Maimonides and his <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Perplexed-Moses-Maimonides/dp/0486203514" target="_blank">Guide</a>, but the significance of the Torah and Judaism, not only to the Jewish people, but to the rest of us.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-26116241682334336412011-05-18T08:58:00.002-06:002011-05-18T14:10:17.113-06:00Who is My God?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkJPkEuxxmXWcMeGSMO17BLosbXEflglLnEnuE-1JrsIw2HKbTnrxlTLJSlnXGrePQnKudsrB0usRAiODsTCU25RwFa4KJqgPM1GnEaFWAmvcop9G9c437RRpPKtfSgcPygc365aREA/s1600/tablets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkJPkEuxxmXWcMeGSMO17BLosbXEflglLnEnuE-1JrsIw2HKbTnrxlTLJSlnXGrePQnKudsrB0usRAiODsTCU25RwFa4KJqgPM1GnEaFWAmvcop9G9c437RRpPKtfSgcPygc365aREA/s320/tablets.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>One of the reasons for the destruction of ancient Jerusalem was that fellow Jews held to the letter of the law. Furthermore, they tried to get whatever they could out of each other legally. As the Talmud states (Bava Metzia 30b), we were exiled because fellow Jews failed to raise their standard of behavior "lifnim mishurat hadin" - beyond the letter of the law. In other words, people wouldn't cut each other any slack. This is something that God cannot tolerate among His children for very long. Focusing on technical legalisms can destroy a society. Adherence to halacha (Jewish law) is extremely significant, but it cannot become the be all and end all. Something can be legally justifiable and not morally correct.</i><br />
<br />
from "Halacha is Not Enough"<br />
at the <a href="http://levechad.blogspot.com/2011/05/halacha-is-not-enough.html" target="_blank">Lev Echad</a> blog.<br />
<br />
I have a deep appreciation for the Jewish teachings and often find more wisdom and inspiration in them than in the standard Christian commentaries. I also sometimes find remarkable parallels between the wisdom of the Jewish sages and the teachings of Jesus. Consider this:<br />
<blockquote><i>Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you - be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.<br />
<br />
“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.</i> -<b>Luke 11:39-42</b></blockquote>Jesus was teaching toward the end of the Second Temple Era, within mere decades of the Temple's destruction and the mass exile of the Jewish people from what was then Roman Judea. It's not surprising that he should teach on the very topic that we see in <b>Bava Metzia 30b</b>. And when Jesus was supposedly "making all foods clean" (<b>Mark 7:1-13</b>), he was actually teaching again on the tyranny of the "letter of the law". He was teaching how we must live out the morality that the Torah represents, rather than blindly serving words and letters on paper.<br />
<br />
The writer of the blog I quoted above cites a modern example of this:<br />
<blockquote><i>I know a man who helped bring a secular Jewish woman back to the faith. When they bumped into each other some time later, she told him that she was no longer ritually observant. Surprised, he asked her what had happened. She explained that shortly after becoming Orthodox, she was attending synagogue on Shabbat with her young child, who happens to be mentally handicapped. After the services were over, she walked outside with her son in her arms. A rabbi who passed by told her that there was no <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/eruv.html" target="_blank">eruv</a> in the neighborhood and that she could not lift her child. She was deeply offended by his lack of sensitivity. Was the rabbi halachically right in his observation? Yes. But was he morally right in his conduct? Absolutely not.</i></blockquote>This "letter of the law" without a lived moral expression may be what Peter was trying to say here:<br />
<blockquote><i>Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?</i> -<b>Acts 15:10</b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtoGh_43o5LMl98QTSw45PQa1Bl4kxjVm2G7DZtJV9tvY91HyaWoq773R_UDZxC43iu9tNp30virhLBo3PlIDJVWAlOfOVru39v6vHGVlpYaZur69jLmTvBb94yTokfm-cyEd8lW-PCQ/s1600/mother-holding-baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtoGh_43o5LMl98QTSw45PQa1Bl4kxjVm2G7DZtJV9tvY91HyaWoq773R_UDZxC43iu9tNp30virhLBo3PlIDJVWAlOfOVru39v6vHGVlpYaZur69jLmTvBb94yTokfm-cyEd8lW-PCQ/s1600/mother-holding-baby.jpg" /></a></div>This can be interpreted not as a condemnation of Torah but of <i>Naval Birshut HaTorah</i> which is living within the confines of Torah without courtesy, compassion, and civility toward other people. You can be technically and "religiously" correct and still deeply hurt other people without any moral justification.<br />
<br />
Christianity often has the opposite problem in that the church tends to enjoy a "freedom from the law" by allowing a rather liberal interpretation of the Bible and holding to very few (if any) behavioral standards of morality or ethics. Being "covered by the blood of Jesus" tends to be an excuse for Christians to sin now and repent later. Of course, that's not what Paul taught:<br />
<blockquote><i>The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?</i> -<b>Romans 5:20-6:2</b></blockquote>You'd think that Christianity would know better (and a lot of churches do) than to play fast and loose with grace. It seems though, that you can find two different kinds of churches out there (besides the occasional ones that are fairly well balanced): the "loose grace" churches and those that have their own version of a strict "halacha". Churches such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church" target="_blank">Westboro Baptist Church</a> go about displaying their bizarre and extreme "standards" that have no association whatsoever with morality and Godliness, but there are congregations not registering quite as high on the radar, yet still holding an unhealthy amount of control over their parishioners and insisting on a strict "halacha" of their own.<br />
<br />
There was a man in his 60s in the <a href="http://shema-yisrael.org/blogspot/2011/05/did-jesus-teach-one-law-for-the-jew-and-gentile/" target="_blank">class I just finished teaching</a> who was raised a Catholic. He had always been taught that God was a harsh and strict taskmaster who punished every little infraction or sin. He left the Catholic church decades ago and refused to have anything to do with religion. His wife coaxed him into attending some of my classes and just last week, he said he appreciated what I taught (not that I'm such a great teacher) because I showed him a God who truly cares for people and who wants the best for us; a God who is like a just but patient father (<b>Numbers 14:18</b>, <b>Psalm 86:15</b>, <b>Psalm 103:8</b>) and who is compassionate to His children.<br />
<br />
The Christian church in all its expressions is sometimes full of inconsistencies. Judaism in all of its expressions is sometimes full of inconsistencies. That's because human beings in all our expressions, varieties, and incarnations are inconsistent. God is not inconsistent.<br />
<br />
Yet the Word of God and the will of God is filtered through human interpretations and human frailty. The Rabbi who said that the mother couldn't carry her handicapped child on Shabbat because <i>"there was no eruv in the neighborhood"</i> wasn't being evil and in fact, he believed he was saying the right thing. According to halacha, he was, but according to the moral will of God, he was absolutely wrong.<br />
<br />
Who is God? What does He want? The answer seems like it should be simple. It seems like all the answers should be in the Bible. I wish it was that simple, but if it was, we wouldn't struggle all our lives to try to find the answers to all of our questions. Yet, in some sense, the core of who and what God is and what He wants out of us is staring right at us:<br />
<blockquote><i>He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.<br />
And what does the LORD require of you?<br />
To act justly and to love mercy<br />
and to walk humbly with your God.</i> -<b>Micah 6:8</b></blockquote>Asher, who wrote the <a href="http://levechad.blogspot.com/2011/05/halacha-is-not-enough.html" target="_blank">Lev Echad</a> blog article I've been referencing, ends his blog post with a quote from the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/This-My-God-Herman-Wouk/dp/0316955140" target="_blank">This is My God</a> (First Edition, 1959) and it seems appropriate that I should do the same:<br />
<blockquote><i>"The sensible thing is to use hard thinking to find the right way to live and then to live that way, whether many other people do or few do. If a Jew concludes to enter upon his heritage and make it part of his life, he does an obviously reasonable thing. The chances are that–at least today–he will seem a mighty freakish non-conformist in some neighborhoods; but that is changing too, and anyway, what does it matter? What matters is living with dignity, with decency, and without fear, in the way that best honors one's intelligence and one's birth."</i><br />
</blockquote><strong>Update:</strong> I just finished reading Kenneth Seeskin's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maimonides-Todays-Perplexed-Kenneth-Seeskin/dp/0874415098" target="_blank">Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed</a> and the following quote from his book seems to dovetail nicely into today's topic:<br />
<blockquote><em>On the surface, a person obsessed with ritual may seem to take a demanding approach to religion; but ritual, too, can be a shortcut, a mechanical way of courting favor with God. For some people, it is easier to participate in highly regimented activities than to engage in reflection and study, easier to cook milk and meat in separate pots than to consider alternative accounts of creation. If a person lacks the aptitude for philosophy, Maimonides sees nothing wrong in obeying the commandments and living a traditional Jewish life; the problem arises when we look on such a person as an ideal, suggesting that nothing further needs to be attempted.</em><br />
</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-74588127510647521542011-05-17T09:46:00.000-06:002011-05-17T09:46:47.509-06:00Descent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcS_25MdaKLHVC6JhFXNeTVDBwFS4b1JxIXv87X86_RSHmRZMuJ9wNoRYxEmiV71FB5AHqFhipAjtfpNAhFdUV93ZI-gw4j2xwHBgNLtqPvz1XrdDJ_FtRWQV8J51AfhVcgvPgIMRkDw/s1600/shattered.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcS_25MdaKLHVC6JhFXNeTVDBwFS4b1JxIXv87X86_RSHmRZMuJ9wNoRYxEmiV71FB5AHqFhipAjtfpNAhFdUV93ZI-gw4j2xwHBgNLtqPvz1XrdDJ_FtRWQV8J51AfhVcgvPgIMRkDw/s320/shattered.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><i>I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”<br />
<br />
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.</i> -<b>Psalm 42:9-11</b><br />
<br />
<i>There is only one thing that can put you further ahead than success, and that is surviving failure.<br />
<br />
When you are successful, you are whole and complete. That is wonderful, but you cannot break out beyond your own universe.<br />
<br />
When you fail, you are broken. You look at the pieces of yourself lying on the ground and say, “This is worthless.”<br />
<br />
Now you can escape. The shell is broken, the shell of a created being. Now you can grow to join the Infinite.</i><br />
<br />
-Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
"Getting Ahead with Failure"<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/7864/jewish/Getting-Ahead-with-Failure.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a><br />
<br />
I admit to struggling with seeing the glass as half-full as opposed to half-empty. In part, the search for God is the search for significance and meaning in life. Who am I? What am I doing here? Does my life mean anything beyond the immediate needs I fill? Is there nothing more than this?<br />
<br />
The Psalmist says to put your hope in God when your soul is downcast, but it's not always that easy. There's sometimes a difference between <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/05/getting-in-wheelbarrow.html" target="_blank">faith in God and trust in God</a>. I realize that's a horrible thing to say. After all, who doesn't trust God? Who is afraid that God won't take care of us in all of the troubles in the world?<br />
<br />
Both the Master and Paul commented on this:<br />
<blockquote><i>“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?</i> -<b>Matthew 6:25-26</b><br />
<br />
<i>Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.</i> -<b>Philippians 4:6-7</b></blockquote>So, you never worry, right?<br />
<br />
Right. Sure.<br />
<br />
And yet, when our lives are the biggest mess is the time when we call upon God the most. When everything we do turns to mud and all of our circumstances and problems threaten to overwhelm us, is when we manage to crawl up to our hand and knees and call upon the Name of the Lord with fear and trembling.<br />
<br />
After one of his greatest failures, David poured out his heart, <i>"Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice"</i> (<b>Psalm 51:9</b>). But sometimes, after we have an encounter with God, we still feel crushed. Relying upon God doesn't always mean God will make you "feel better", as if you are a small child who fell down, scraped your knee, and went running to Mommy so she can make it all better.<br />
<br />
Sometimes God makes it all better but sometimes he does not. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNdhjidgYxlQERPgBUSbMYGC15a6nWGdknLJ5lquC7Gz9Oz3TdbiWJefDuNrzmKaY6-kExqWFVDa-9MMXbl1Foc4sobglqGgTx074JNHcld9EazZHUF1JLzLjzgem2lNJljDmF9lKDQ/s1600/broken-jar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNdhjidgYxlQERPgBUSbMYGC15a6nWGdknLJ5lquC7Gz9Oz3TdbiWJefDuNrzmKaY6-kExqWFVDa-9MMXbl1Foc4sobglqGgTx074JNHcld9EazZHUF1JLzLjzgem2lNJljDmF9lKDQ/s1600/broken-jar.jpg" /></a></div>In the Jewish mystic tradition, it is said that God created the universe in a dark void from which He had withdrawn, and then sent in ten vessels containing a "primordial light" (<i>Let there be light</i> -<b>Genesis 1:3</b>), but the vessels could not contain such a Holy light and they shattered. Divine sparks scattered across the entire cosmos like sand thrown across a glass table, falling all over our world.<br />
<br />
It is said that our mission as human beings is to gather the sparks and repair the broken vessels, restoring the brokenness of the universe. This is a mystic meaning to the Jewish concept of <a href="http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ethics/Caring_For_Others/Tikkun_Olam_Repairing_the_World_.shtml" target="_blank">tikkun olam</a> or "repairing the world". Yet in repairing the world, we also repair our broken selves:<br />
<blockquote><i>For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.</i> -<b>2 Corinthians 4:6-12</b></blockquote>In our pain, despair, and brokenness, Rabbi Freeman says there is a unique opportunity to become more than who we are. Our vulnerability is also our openness to greater intimacy with God. In shattering our souls, we also shatter the wall between our world and the presence of the Divine.<br />
<br />
When dining on ashes, we can dine with the Creator. If God goes down into exile with Israel (<b>Genesis 46:3-4</b>), then He goes down with us into our darkest abyss as well. The taste of the meal is bitter, but in that bitterness, we do not dine on the bread of our affliction alone.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-54102895029278114732011-05-16T04:43:00.003-06:002011-05-16T11:17:46.002-06:00Flames Rising<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQTXCtsr9o5Ve5jT6_4VogYa1hg7N18G-W6UDw_0Otzc4xZUBYhcEsbnxg99U6nfqSgr3Te0Vzjjk4zNTeFzPkd5VHfwbpFx6_NFgBXx4x_drtQQmQvTqn_fp6ykk76uDk2K_FAA8o8g/s1600/fire.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQTXCtsr9o5Ve5jT6_4VogYa1hg7N18G-W6UDw_0Otzc4xZUBYhcEsbnxg99U6nfqSgr3Te0Vzjjk4zNTeFzPkd5VHfwbpFx6_NFgBXx4x_drtQQmQvTqn_fp6ykk76uDk2K_FAA8o8g/s320/fire.png" width="276" /></a></div><i>And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering - the day after the sabbath - you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week - fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the Lord.</i> -<b>Leviticus 23:15-16</b><br />
<br />
<i>After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”</i><br />
<i><br />
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”<br />
<br />
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”<br />
<br />
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.</i> <b>-Acts 1:3-9</b><br />
<br />
I've been trying to decide if the <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/679300/jewish/What-is-Lag-BaOmer.htm" target="_blank">Lag BaOmer</a> celebration on the 33rd day of the Omer count has any application in Christian worship. I have previously asked the question, <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-dont-christians-count-omer.html" target="_blank">Why Don't Christians Count the Omer?</a> and determined (in my humble opinion) that the Omer count can, or at least should, have great meaning in Christianity. <br />
<br />
But Lag BaOmer doesn't seem to fit in. At least not exactly. <br />
<br />
If you clicked on the <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/679300/jewish/What-is-Lag-BaOmer.htm" target="_blank">Lag BaOmer</a> link I provided, you've read that the events being commemorated are of post-Biblical origin and, strictly speaking, can't be considered a commandment in the same manner as the Omer count. I had been considering the timing of Christ's ascension into the heavens after the resurrection and, while the exact number of days the ascension occurred before Shavuot (the culmination of the Omer count) is ambiguous, I can't find any way at all to make "ascension day" and Lag BaOmer to occur on the same day.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, the period of time of counting the Omer, between Passover (Pesach) and Shavuot (Festival of Weeks and also Christianity's Pentecost) does have a great spiritual and mystic significance:<br />
<blockquote><i>Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, zt”l, offered a deep explanation of why we count the omer. “The first sefirah was after the Jewish people left Egypt. Its purpose was to purify the Jewish people from spiritual defilement so that they would be fit to receive the Torah. Kabbalists and the standard commentators both explain why we could not receive the Torah immediately after leaving Egypt. We first needed to count seven weeks to purify us from the defilement of Egypt.<br />
<br />
“But Hashem knew that we would fall into the sin of the golden calf soon after we received the Torah. He therefore commanded us to celebrate Pesach for all generations. The day after Pesach we are to bring the omer which is composed of animal feed. We then count forty-nine days and bring the two loaves which are food for humans on Shavuos.<br />
<br />
He explained, “We bring the omer to symbolize the first step of purity: recognizing in what manner we are still drawn after animal desires that compel us to act without understanding. We then begin to prepare ourselves to receive the Torah through deep contemplation and by rectifying our actions. Since the time we left Egypt, the days between Pesach and Shavuos have become a special period to fix negative character traits, attain purity and ascend to ever higher levels. Perhaps this is why, according to Rav Yochanan ben Nuri, the main judgment in Gehinom is between Pesach and Shavuos. Since this time is set aside for deep change it is also the time when souls are punished for failing to use this time properly.”<br />
<br />
He concluded, “Chassidim and anshei ma’aseh live lives of completion; not one instant of their day is wasted. During this time even regular people work on themselves. We are adjured to recognize our lowliness and use these days for elevation. We count each day, considering how we have used our time and how many of these precious days remain until kabbalas haTorah. We must make a plan and set goals that we will work to attain during the remaining days so that we will be worthy of receiving the Torah.”</i><br />
<br />
from Daf Yomi Digest<br />
Stories off the Daf<br />
The Omer and the Breads<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSR3xZq3pm6kjPQqGticwCFD8I1qb2Gg1eK5uXpGTX_8MM3Bgi8rPiUQ_r1IRdGVqHD9Hcl9URx3Pd3O85b5-xEO-tq47X7ncOy1SlwplLnfn3y-JmjXlM-WcUF6Qbl9csMc5UBarr_g/s1600/shavuot12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSR3xZq3pm6kjPQqGticwCFD8I1qb2Gg1eK5uXpGTX_8MM3Bgi8rPiUQ_r1IRdGVqHD9Hcl9URx3Pd3O85b5-xEO-tq47X7ncOy1SlwplLnfn3y-JmjXlM-WcUF6Qbl9csMc5UBarr_g/s320/shavuot12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Menachos 66</blockquote>There must have been a reason why the core disciples of the Messiah could not receive the special empowerment of the Holy Spirit immediately upon either the resurrection or the ascension. There must have been a reason why they had to wait. Perhaps the idea of prayer and purification, making themselves ready for such a gift was part of the plan, as much as the period between being released from Egyptian slavery and receiving the Torah at Sinai was part of the plan. The Jewish disciples of Jesus (Yeshua) couldn't have been unmindful of the connection, but most non-Jewish Christians would miss it.<br />
<br />
No, I can't connect Lag BaOmer to the ascension of the King of Kings in the same way as I can fold the Omer counting into a Christian anticipation of Pentecost. But if you are an observant Jewish disciple of the Jewish Messiah, perhaps you can allow your Lag BaOmer celebration to have a double meaning. Perhaps, when you watch the flames of your bonfire rise into the heavens, you can let yourself be reminded of the rising of the Messiah to the right hand of the Father; the mystic meaning of Divine sparks leaving earth and seeking where they came from with God. If you are a non-Jewish disciple who chooses to honor Lag BaOmer, you may want to silently cherish these thoughts and meanings as well.<br />
<br />
This year, Lag BaOmer is celebrated from sundown from <a href="http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayb.htm" target="_blank">Saturday, May 21st to sundown on Sunday, May 22nd</a>.<br />
<blockquote><i>Blessed are You, O' Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this time.</i></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-6582507586072944332011-05-12T09:27:00.000-06:002011-05-13T14:46:08.758-06:00Did Jesus Teach One Law?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18R38a1htxNsph9-oMbin6GgnJSIfLi0J3XnJ4oG5Eiv9CcMwoDBiVVib3R4hAmzxTQLm_q_9ihJnl1PBc6dsLISzrEiPIrTTXTIPbC3F0Hzs2h318rWDJrxmwKp_dymyDtIuiXmfDw/s1600/risenyeshua.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18R38a1htxNsph9-oMbin6GgnJSIfLi0J3XnJ4oG5Eiv9CcMwoDBiVVib3R4hAmzxTQLm_q_9ihJnl1PBc6dsLISzrEiPIrTTXTIPbC3F0Hzs2h318rWDJrxmwKp_dymyDtIuiXmfDw/s1600/risenyeshua.png" /></a></div><i>Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”</i> -<b>Matthew 28:19-20</b><br />
<br />
I don't normally create a blog post just to draw attention to another blog post, but this one is different. I just finished teaching a 15-week course at my congregation called <b>Discipleship and the Torah</b>. The course is based on a series of blogs I posted here called <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-did-jesus-teach-gentiles-to-obey.html" target="_blank">What Did Jesus Teach the Gentiles to Obey</a>. I thought that running the blog material through a live class with interactive students (including people accessing the class via mp3 recordings) would come to at least some different conclusions or perhaps present some different insights. <br />
<br />
The class didn't disappoint and I think it was a rewarding experience for those who participated. <br />
<br />
I shared the class conclusions on my congregation's blog and wanted to make sure that the people who follow my personal blog didn't miss out. Click the link to read <a href="http://shema-yisrael.org/blogspot/2011/05/did-jesus-teach-one-law-for-the-jew-and-gentile/" target="_blank">Did Jesus Teach One Law for the Jew and Gentile</a>.<br />
<br />
Feel free to comment, but be polite.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-82710809030729321242011-05-11T09:16:00.000-06:002011-05-11T09:16:14.528-06:00Getting in the Wheelbarrow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZjiop_BsG3QBSNl4fr_1SW922FKal8MoBywm5QgANFrVSzSFxHOpVy_ay-llHp7axvv8myYG_9V0IXI4DrBeRitpHvHLCsZiLFkSRfFNsiMudxDDxm9VQ1_2F1G-UCILOee0YPNn_-g/s1600/wheelbarrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZjiop_BsG3QBSNl4fr_1SW922FKal8MoBywm5QgANFrVSzSFxHOpVy_ay-llHp7axvv8myYG_9V0IXI4DrBeRitpHvHLCsZiLFkSRfFNsiMudxDDxm9VQ1_2F1G-UCILOee0YPNn_-g/s320/wheelbarrow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>There are two words often lumped together and commonly perceived as synonymous, when in reality they are not.<br />
<br />
The two are Faith and Trust. In Hebrew, emunah and bitachon.<br />
<br />
One way of explaining the difference between these words is that the former is the belief that G-d exists. The latter is the knowledge thereof, or, more accurately, the result of that knowledge, in mind, heart, and deed.<br />
<br />
Rabbeinu Bechaya (in his book Kad Hakemach) puts it this way: "Anyone who trusts has faith, but not anyone with faith trusts."</i><br />
<br />
-Mendel Kalmenson<br />
"The Real Answer to the Question, Who Moved My Cheese?"<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/1495769/jewish/The-Real-Answer-to-the-Question-Who-Moved-My-Cheese.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a><br />
<br />
This could be a useful answer to a lot of people's difficulties in their relationship with God. It could be a useful answer to your relationship difficulties with God. It could be a useful answer to my relationship difficulties with God. We tend to think of having faith in God and trusting God as the same thing, but they're not. Because they're not, we're expecting certain things to happen in our lives that aren't going to happen. It's like being married. If we believe in our spouse but don't trust him or her, what kind of a marriage is that? Is it even a relationship at all?<br />
<br />
<br />
Here's another example from the same source:<br />
<blockquote><i>This point can be further illustrated by a parable:<br />
<br />
Long before the entertainment industry boomed, tightrope walking was a common form of amusement and recreation.<br />
<br />
Once, a world-famous master of the sport visited a particular region. Word spread quickly, and many people turned up for the show. All was quiet as the master nimbly climbed the tree from which he would begin his dangerous trek.<br />
<br />
But just before beginning his routine he called out: "Who here believes I can make it across safely?"<br />
<br />
The crowd roared their affirmation. Again he asked the question and was greeted by the same response.<br />
<br />
He then pulled out a wheelbarrow from between the branches and asked, less boisterously, "Which of you is willing to get inside the wheelbarrow as I cross?"<br />
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You could hear a pin drop.<br />
<br />
Faith is the roaring response of the crowd; trust is climbing into the wheelbarrow.</i></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJJqqoMPOtUPcdBbS_oROFBlakDctZsCdP3lsU-UzhLHFqPiCwqkgyArvCFuAAQ-juu2zqFt-Ze5Ll4VVXnBos0EZJxvCiVoq4yddhUMm7yDopv7iKRiNPi22HOkc4kNNpxAKyhkH9g/s1600/walking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJJqqoMPOtUPcdBbS_oROFBlakDctZsCdP3lsU-UzhLHFqPiCwqkgyArvCFuAAQ-juu2zqFt-Ze5Ll4VVXnBos0EZJxvCiVoq4yddhUMm7yDopv7iKRiNPi22HOkc4kNNpxAKyhkH9g/s320/walking.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It's easy to have faith in God but not to trust Him. It's easy to say "God exists and I believe in Him" as long as we don't have to become personally involved in performing the <a href="http://bible.cc/matthew/23-23.htm" target="_blank">weightier matters of Torah</a>. We can have an incredible faith that the tightrope walker will make it to the other end of the rope as long as we don't have to climb into his wheelbarrow.<br />
<blockquote><i>What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.<br />
<br />
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”<br />
<br />
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.<br />
<br />
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.</i> -<b>James 2:14-24</b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCYqg6-TGMyA4cY867bq8TVA_-M8X71oL9nWcbWH7KsBMgN1EAgNaaSjmZ4RXndnEtoEITIw6-bj4HjzlO5uU4UYAfVyMOdqJKb9L-FU3iZwHR5pyw7rDA2Lwf9K_3aM4nmwXXbaUwA/s1600/trust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCYqg6-TGMyA4cY867bq8TVA_-M8X71oL9nWcbWH7KsBMgN1EAgNaaSjmZ4RXndnEtoEITIw6-bj4HjzlO5uU4UYAfVyMOdqJKb9L-FU3iZwHR5pyw7rDA2Lwf9K_3aM4nmwXXbaUwA/s200/trust.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>When James (Ya'akov) says <i>"that a person is considered righteous by what they do"</i>, he's talking about trust or bitachon. Our problem, is that we "think" about God, and we "feel" all warm and fuzzy about Jesus, but we don't "do" anything about changing our lives to conform to our thinking and feeling. Here's another example:<br />
<blockquote><i>Maimonides is one in a long line of Jewish commentators who have proposed rationalistic interpretations of Scripture. Thus, words denoting place, sight, hearing, or position (of God) are interpreted as mental properties or dispositions. In our own vocabulary, it could be said that Maimonides has attempted to demythologize biblical narrative.</i><br />
<br />
from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maimonides-Todays-Perplexed-Kenneth-Seeskin/dp/0874415098" target="_blank">Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed</a><br />
by Kenneth Seeskin</blockquote><a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Maimonides.html" target="_blank">Maimonides</a> tends to see Biblical interpretation as either literal or allegorical and his strength as a theologian, philosopher, and sage is in his rational approach to the Tanakh (Jewish Bible). However there is a significant gap in his vision. We can also interpret the Bible and God through a mystic and experiential lens. The mystic seeks to encounter God in an extra-natural realm; meeting Him outside the boundaries of our physical universe, but we can also experience God in our day-to-day life by experiencing ourselves. We can "do" God and not just "think" or "feel" God. We can <a href="http://shema-yisrael.org/blogspot/2011/02/be-the-answer-to-prayer/" target="_blank">be the answer to prayer</a>. We can have and live out faith <i>and</i> trust.<br />
<br />
We can get in the wheelbarrow.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-17569178175878408422011-05-10T09:52:00.004-06:002011-05-10T16:31:13.045-06:00Seeing God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPfLgZlEKIKJ8M0Uq08gqMBzkfnTcIIQlyLOIVe0SmW9Ez4QNPxgQC3FgZmdKoGYhjnGZcmDEE8qDb-C6UKzZ_2baiY6c0nLfV0RNk5NXBNkmXeetbpzKbwhGpWxNno4TWbF6UjQ4SiA/s1600/worship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPfLgZlEKIKJ8M0Uq08gqMBzkfnTcIIQlyLOIVe0SmW9Ez4QNPxgQC3FgZmdKoGYhjnGZcmDEE8qDb-C6UKzZ_2baiY6c0nLfV0RNk5NXBNkmXeetbpzKbwhGpWxNno4TWbF6UjQ4SiA/s320/worship.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><i>Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.</i> -<b>Deuteronomy 6:4</b><br />
<br />
<i>Many people, without realizing, end up with two gods:<br />
<br />
One god is an impersonal one, an all-encompassing, transcendent force.<br />
<br />
But then, at times of trouble, they cry out to another, personal god, with whom they have an intimate relationship.<br />
<br />
Our faith is all about knowing that these two are one. The same G-d who is beyond all things, He is the same one who hears your cries and counts your tears. The same G-d who is the force behind all existence and transcends even that, He is the same G-d who cares about what is cooking in your kitchen and how you treat your fellow human being.<br />
<br />
G-d cannot be defined, even as transcendent. He is beyond all things and within them at once.</i><br />
<br />
-Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
"Two Are One"<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147849/jewish/Two-Are-One.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a><br />
<br />
Observant Jews say the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/shema.html" target="_blank">Shema</a> twice a day in obedience and devotion to God. In saying the Shema, a Jew declares that God is One and there is no other God but the God of Israel. This can be a bit of a challenge for some Christians who relate to God the Father as God, but also relate to Jesus, the Son of God as God, and to the Holy Spirit of God as God. Jews tend to see Christianity's conceptualization of the Trinity as polytheism; worshiping three "gods".<br />
<br />
Yet, as Rabbi Freeman points out, even strict ethical monotheists can fall into the trap of worshiping two gods. Rabbi Freeman is talking about people who tend to conceptualize the One God in two different ways, depending on their needs, but Jewish mysticism also relates to more than one aspect of God.<br />
<br />
As in Freeman's analysis, we tend to conceive of two "gods"; the God who manifests Himself to us in our universe, which we think of as the Shekhinah, and the invisible, eternal, immortal, infinite, all-powerful, Creator God who is far, far beyond all human understanding, which we call Ayn Sof. In doing this, is mystic Judaism creating polytheism?<br />
<br />
I seriously doubt it. The problem isn't God, it's us. God isn't something we can subdivide or compartmentalize as we would any other thing in our experience. God is One. We just don't have the means by which to comprehend, let alone experience the "oneness" of God. <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147850/jewish/Faith-Experience.htm" target="_blank">Rabbi Freeman</a> makes this point thus:<br />
<blockquote><i>Faith is not the result of experience.<br />
<br />
On the contrary, faith is an act that comes from within and creates experience.<br />
<br />
Things happen because you trust they will.</i></blockquote>The world, the universe, all of Creation simply exists. It doesn't have categories or types or organizations as such...not until we apply an order upon things. We do this to try and understand our world and our experience. God even approves of this activity when we perform it:<br />
<blockquote><i>And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof. And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field...</i> -<b>Genesis 2:19-20</b></blockquote>Part of humanity taking dominion over the world God created for us was to impose our organization upon everything in that Creation.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKs3bRWEImrlvD0oyA7FSULwIiyxI6mKp8pEUj2_qykjwX6KThf6IN8dC2YEopUE5Hfs4MPNW9RiI7MfPnXRs-9yOzePJMNExuvAHQg47xpQlEC6luO0E8mQsBXKOekvsqlgdAGKEdw/s1600/bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKs3bRWEImrlvD0oyA7FSULwIiyxI6mKp8pEUj2_qykjwX6KThf6IN8dC2YEopUE5Hfs4MPNW9RiI7MfPnXRs-9yOzePJMNExuvAHQg47xpQlEC6luO0E8mQsBXKOekvsqlgdAGKEdw/s320/bread.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>But God is not part of Creation. God is unique and He presents a unique challenge and puzzle for human beings. What do we think of God? How do we relate to Him? How do we use our human senses, and our human brain, and our human feelings, to understand and connect to God?<br />
<br />
In Christianity, the answer is simple (or so it seems): love Jesus Christ as lord and savior. He lived, died, and lived as a human being, so the Jewish Messiah makes God a much more relatable "object" than God the Father. <br />
<br />
Oops. Now we're back at "God is Two": God the unknowable, unreachable, Father, and God the Son, who we have imagined to be ultimately reachable, relatable, connectible, and all too human. <br />
<br />
Really?<br />
<blockquote><i>I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.</i> -<b>Revelation 1:12-17</b></blockquote>Not exactly the warm and fuzzy teddy bear many churches have turned the King of Kings into in modern times. Sure, the rest of verse lets Jesus tell John to not be afraid, but as we see, John had every reason to be afraid.<br />
<br />
So can we relate to God as God? Do human beings have the "equipment" to even perceive God as He is and to honor and worship God as One. Jewish mysticism and just about every other mystic tradition is devoted to connecting to God in His realms as He is, but there's also a more straightforward and simple approach, again, as presented by <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147851/jewish/Belief-Trust.htm" target="_blank">Rabbi Freeman</a>:<br />
<blockquote><i>Belief is not enough - you need Trust.<br />
<br />
A believer can be a thief and a murderer.<br />
<br />
Trust in G-d changes the way you live.</i></blockquote>James says it this way:<br />
<blockquote><i>You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.</i> -<b>James 2:19</b></blockquote>Normally, you get to know someone through a series of experiences and eventually learn to trust them. We can't do that with God because we can't experience Him as we experience a human being. Both James and Rabbi Freeman tell us that faith and trust are the doorway by which we must reach God. We don't need to understand Him, although we may want to. We don't need to conceive of Him in all his eternal and majestic glory, although we may desire it. We need to have faith and to trust Him. This isn't blind trust. We can see. Our eyes are wide open. It's just that, like John in his Revelation, like Ezekiel in his vision, and like those others who have been privileged to have a mystic encounter in a world beyond our own, we don't always comprehend what and who we see. However, He is God and He is One and we can trust in Him, though He is as far beyond us as the heavens are beyond the earth.<br />
<br />
Trust is how we can see God.<br />
<blockquote><i>In the early part of the twentieth century, another Jewish philosopher, Hermann Cohen, suggested that the essential feature of monotheism is not that there is only one God but that the one God is unique. By unique he means that God is unlike and therefore not comparable to anything else in the universe; in short, God is and will always remain in a category by Himself. As Isaiah says in 40:25, "To whom then will you liken Me, that I should be equal?"</i><br />
<br />
from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maimonides-Todays-Perplexed-Kenneth-Seeskin/dp/0874415098" target="_blank">Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed</a><br />
by Kenneth Seeskin</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-31717553877147292512011-05-09T09:10:00.005-06:002011-05-09T09:30:53.676-06:00Looking for Myself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcfXwYK4h3mbUO3V77DXb-G7gHs7HZ_95dGeZdkhcJocfFl0zbD8KIKbKsJq57f48di29BLX3wH9xHq-LoYcuixdCBy-1eTSCwlB2M5Y5sxFqL2q_ydTgkRhD7akyKg3zb45txpktMA/s1600/reflection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcfXwYK4h3mbUO3V77DXb-G7gHs7HZ_95dGeZdkhcJocfFl0zbD8KIKbKsJq57f48di29BLX3wH9xHq-LoYcuixdCBy-1eTSCwlB2M5Y5sxFqL2q_ydTgkRhD7akyKg3zb45txpktMA/s320/reflection.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it - not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it - they will be blessed in what they do.</i> -<b>James 1:22-25</b><br />
<br />
James (Ya'akov), the brother of the Master, provides us a lesson that seems simple and straightforward. At it's core, he is telling his audience that the Torah, the teachings of God, defines who we are as believers. More to the point, the Torah, it's commandments and ordinances, define who is a Jew. <br />
<br />
Ok, it's not that simple. In a practical sense, a Jew is anyone who has a Jewish mother, even if they don't study or observe the Torah. A Jew is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. A Jew is the inheritor of the Torah and the covenant promises as given by God through Moses at Sinai. For non-Jews, simply obeying the Torah commandments in some manner or fashion, all by itself, does not make us Jewish.<br />
<br />
So what does the Bible define for "the rest of us"? Look at what James is saying.<br />
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No matter who you are, it's not enough to read or to listen to the word. That doesn't tell you who you are. You might as well be anonymous and faceless if that's all there was to it. No, it's <b>doing</b> what the word says that defines you. Kind of like this quote from a popular movie:<br />
<blockquote><i>It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.</i><br />
Batman/Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale)<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/" target="_blank">Batman Begins</a> (2005)</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwb91BU1vDHHXvLp-eAcf3qvOZiyljhrrTTMKnyqKBcf_vrDLTssXERpBqPVYCZHlZ9XwkDTie2zhxwJs1xfdchwDvUoxf4MuTn_tbO2v6DzPTPZBRvISYzK2haiI971TH9dfi7v3O0Q/s1600/whoami.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwb91BU1vDHHXvLp-eAcf3qvOZiyljhrrTTMKnyqKBcf_vrDLTssXERpBqPVYCZHlZ9XwkDTie2zhxwJs1xfdchwDvUoxf4MuTn_tbO2v6DzPTPZBRvISYzK2haiI971TH9dfi7v3O0Q/s200/whoami.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Even the entertainment industry understands that "actions speak louder than words". However, while obeying the Torah commandments does not turn a Gentile into a Jew, following the directives to love God with everything we've got and loving our neighbor as ourselves (<b>Mark 12:29-31</b> quoting <b>Deuteronomy 6:4-5</b> and <b>Leviticus 19:18</b>) does tell us, and the rest of the world, who we are as Gentile disciples of the Jewish Messiah. That is how we find ourselves. <br />
<br />
But there's a catch:<br />
<blockquote><i>On today’s daf we find that the minchas kenaos clears up the sin by identifying the wrongdoer absolutely or by exonerating her of suspicion. Perhaps, in its own way, this is the hardest test for every Jew: to own up when we have failed so that we can really change our ways. Rav Yaakov Galinsky, shlit”a, points the challenge inherent in this with his usual biting humor. “In Novardohk they would tell a story of a certain young man who was always late for cheder. Day after day this child was punished, only to be tardy yet again the following day. One day the melamed asked the boy directly. ‘Why are you late every day?’<br />
<br />
He answered, ‘Rebbe, my problems are that I am disorganized and forgetful. When I go to sleep each night I drop my clothes wherever and go to bed. The next morning it takes me a long time to get dressed. Is it any wonder that I come late?’<br />
<br />
“The melamed offered practical advice. ‘All you need to do is to write a list of precisely where you dropped each article of clothing. The next morning when you wake up, consult the list and you will know exactly where you left your clothes the night before.’ “The boy went home with a lightened heart. The next day the child didn’t come at all. As soon as he was able, the melamed rushed to the young man’s house. He found the boy at his house, fully dressed but obviously very bewildered.<br />
<br />
“What happened?” he asked. <br />
<br />
“’I did exactly what you said. I wrote down that my tzitzis were in the garden, my shirt on the chair, my pants on the floor etc, I said hamapil with great joy and went to sleep. This morning I woke up and got dressed quickly but I still cannot locate the final item. It says clearly that I am in bed, but I checked my bed - and everywhere else - many times and cannot seem to find myself…’ ”<br />
<br />
Rav Yaakov concluded, “This is obviously a joke, but it is so sad. How many of us are looking to find ourselves but cannot seem to do so! The very first question we will be asked in the next world is, ‘Ayekah?’ Where did you go and what did you do? Where did you plant yourself and what happened with you?”</i><br />
from Daf Yomi Digest<br />
Stories off the Daf<br />
Identify the Problem<br />
Menachos 60</blockquote>For observant Jews, the Torah and Talmud define who they are, where they are from, where they can "look for themselves", and what they must do in this world to serve God and to love their neighbors. The Bible, and particularly the New Testament, provides a similar function to someone who self-identifies as a traditional Christian. Jews and Christians usually attend synagogues and churches that are affiliated with well-established movements in their respective religions. If a Jew goes to an Orthodox shul, that synagogue is affiliated with a larger organization of synagogues and there is a higher organizational accountability. If a Christian goes to a Baptist or Pentecostal church, that church also has certain affiliations and there is also an organizational accountability. Each house of worship teaches and offers worship services consistent with the larger groups with which they are affiliated. They do not make up their own "rules". Everyone knows who they are based on established standards.<br />
<br />
In "Messianic Judaism", there are any number of "umbrella" organizations, but the vast majority of them are oriented around providing a Jewish religious context to Jews who believe that Jesus (Yeshua) is the Jewish Messiah. Of course, Gentiles are allowed to attend these synagogues, but there is no real focus on the duties, responsibilities, and purpose of non-Jewish disciples of the Jewish Messiah.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxcxP2POeoi2b8R1gLuS8JyNg8mbptasFUwfRt15HU-tVTXXXFDooBIoWLB7Uv7ns_I_Wi4da1fiWUdl7P1GNIasO5F1HqfxBHaey1SoqzF7VMqC15xzuHLdc0GGm51JByo3kLWqZEA/s1600/questionmark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxcxP2POeoi2b8R1gLuS8JyNg8mbptasFUwfRt15HU-tVTXXXFDooBIoWLB7Uv7ns_I_Wi4da1fiWUdl7P1GNIasO5F1HqfxBHaey1SoqzF7VMqC15xzuHLdc0GGm51JByo3kLWqZEA/s200/questionmark.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>On top of that, a large number of "Messianic synagogues" are completely unaffiliated, particularly those that fall in the "One Law" category, which means they create their own standards, establish their own interpretations of the Bible, and define their own methods of being "Torah-observant." There is no higher accountability until you get to God and for a number of these congregations, their leader tells his "flock" that he reports directly to God and cannot otherwise be held to any standard of responsibility.<br />
<br />
My own congregation is affiliated with the <a href="http://www.ifmj.org/main/index.shtml" target="_blank">International Federation of Messianic Jews</a> (IFMJ) but it's not a very effective organization. In the years I've been involved in the leadership and teaching duties in my group, I've never once heard from any member or authority (although they periodically make contact with another board member) and they provide nothing in the way of support or oversight. Besides accepting our "tithes" every quarter, they might as well not exist, relative to the day-to-day operations of our congregation. They certainly have no impact on what I write on the congregation's blog or teach to the congregational members.<br />
<br />
As an individual, I probably fall within Derek Leman's definition of a <a href="http://www.messianicjudaism.me/musings/2011/05/02/judeo-christians-part-1/" target="_blank">Judeo Christian</a> believer. I'm a Gentile person who is a disciple of the Jewish Messiah, but my theological and educational understanding is oriented in a more "Jewish" manner. I tend to see the Jewish teachings and text as the window into the understanding of the Messiah and of God, rather than a traditional Christian theological framework. People like me create and operate Bible study groups, fellowships, and congregations all of the time, but to the degree that there are no "parent" organizations specifically devoted to addressing my population group, most people like me are unaffiliated. We are making up our stories as we go along, not only for ourselves, but for other groups of people.<br />
<br />
That's not a good thing. It's far too easy for unaffiliated individuals and groups to make up stories about who they are that don't reflect what God is saying to us. Alone, it's far too easy for us to introduce error and mistakes into our understanding and our practice.<br />
<br />
That's both the reason I must leave the One Law movement and the danger I face in leaving the movement (or at least in not immediately joining some other religious group). Right now, I don't have a support group or authority to respond to beyond the board of the congregation but in leaving, I won't have even that. Of course, I won't be teaching anyone else either, so I won't run the risk of messing up other people if I make a mistake (and people who read my blog do so at their own risk...I'm just one guy and I can make mistakes).<br />
<br />
Every morning I look in the mirror when I shave and I wonder who that person is looking back at me. In praying, and studying, and living what I hope is a "Godly" life, like the "certain young man" in the story from Novardohk, I am looking for myself. Yet, in all the places I'm looking, where am I to be found? When he turned up missing, the young man's Rebbe went looking for him. Is there anyone else looking for me?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-85915035511927895932011-05-06T19:04:00.009-06:002011-05-06T19:14:32.177-06:00Book Review: The Way of Kabbalah<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1Q4ek0MIcGe71M_4zUMqLW1BGJcFMG4n4mR9NXXT38u-yIFy8hvl92ssifi5MPXplZ41d6YoIDK-7MtiJ1F-fNzIiQ1DCJVFzblhzN_SoXPS3Bba2Fe76W2au9I4a6rzj415o4dU4g/s1600/Sefirot.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1Q4ek0MIcGe71M_4zUMqLW1BGJcFMG4n4mR9NXXT38u-yIFy8hvl92ssifi5MPXplZ41d6YoIDK-7MtiJ1F-fNzIiQ1DCJVFzblhzN_SoXPS3Bba2Fe76W2au9I4a6rzj415o4dU4g/s320/Sefirot.gif" width="186" /></a></div><i>Everyone is searching for something. Some pursue security, others pleasure or power. Yet others look for dreams, or they know not what. There are, however, those who know what they seek, but cannot find it in the natural world. For these searchers many clues have been laid by those who have gone before. The traces are everywhere, although only those with eyes to see or ears to hear perceive them. When the significance of these signs is seriously acted upon, Providence opens a door out of the natural into the supernatural to reveal a ladder from the transient to the Eternal. He who dares the ascent enters the Way of Kabbalah.</i><br />
<br />
from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Way-Kabbalah-Ben-Shimon-Halevi/dp/0877283052" target="_blank">the Way of Kabbalah</a> <br />
by z'ev Ben Shimon Halevi <br />
<br />
You could call this book "timeless" in the sense that it was first published in 1976 and yet, presents in a manner totally accessible to the reader 35 years later. Halevi offers his audience a guided tour and an introductory lesson into the world of Kabbalah. <br />
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Structurally, the book is quite linear. It starts off with a basic introduction and definition of what Kabbalah is and what it means at it's core. It then proceeds to lead the reader through a series of chapters on personality and social theory. This part of the book reads like many of the texts I studied when I was in graduate school and pursuing my Masters degree in Counseling Psychology. There are a number of different theories or models of how a human personality is structured and Halevi offers yet one more as conceptualized by Kabbalah. This is important to understand because Kabbalah is the journey of taking a person as they enter into the discipline and, through the guidance of a maggid in a structured group, assists the person in achieving higher spiritual and mystic levels of functioning and awareness.<br />
<br />
From understanding the individual personality, the book proceeds to describing the dynamics of a study group in Kabbalah. Beyond that, different but equally valid approaches to accessing the higher levels of existence and accessing God are described. The last chapter being simply "Ascension"; the ultimate goal of the mystic.<br />
<br />
Most people seem to believe that Kabbalah is <b>the</b> Jewish Mystic tradition, but as I said in my review of Gershom Scholem's <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-major-trends-in-jewish-mysticism.html" target="_blank">Major Trends of Jewish Mysticism</a>, Kabbalah is only one of those traditions, albeit, the most well-known.<br />
<br />
Kabbalah uses a diagram model called the <a href="http://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Sefirot.html" target="_blank">Sefirotic Tree of Life</a>. This isn't really a static diagram because a number of different concepts can be illustrated using the basic tree structure including the seven levels of heaven, the seven levels of teaching, and interestingly enough, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins" target="_blank">the seven deadly sins</a> (and as you can see, Kabbalah isn't afraid of borrowing from other traditions and religious conceptualizations).<br />
<br />
When I was asked to read this book, I was expecting a fully Jewish treatment of the topic, since Kabbalah is a Jewish mystical discipline, but the author makes good use of Christian symbols, including that of Jesus, in expressing different ideas. Halevi refers to Jesus as "Joshua ben Miriam" the "Maggid of Nazeret" as a great Kabbalist in his own right and offers up a number of his teachings from the Gospels as Kabbalistic in nature, this despite the fact that Kabbalah is thought to have originated in 13th century Spain. I don't criticize the author for this, since most Jewish mystic forms can trace at least some of their history back to earlier eras and practices and Halevi isn't the only one to state that the Gospels read <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-love-and-messianic-age.html" target="_blank">like Jewish mystic writings</a>.<br />
<br />
The caveat to my last paragraph is that the author also compares Jesus and Buddha as equals and at once recognizes Jesus as a renowned maggid or religious teacher while denying he is the Messiah. Given that Halevi is rather liberal in quoting from the Christian Bible and attributing the quotes to a "maggid", I wonder if, as a Jew, he is really that generous with his praise toward the "Christian Messiah" or if he is casting his net, so to speak, to catch the largest number of "fish" (readers and potential neophyte Kabbalists, in this case)? There's no way for me to tell if inclusion of "Joshua ben Miriam" in Kabbalistic teachings is common or unique to this author, at least not without reading other Kabbalah related books or sources, so don't draw too much from the appearance of Jesus here.<br />
<br />
If I had to pick a textbook for a course called "Introduction to Kabbalah", I might consider Halevi's book. The chapters are short, the book is short (only 216 pages), and the content, which could easily be extremely complex, is fairly easy to take in. I'm not enthralled with the book, although by reading other reviews, I can see others are, but it did give me a concise introduction into "the way of Kabbalah." If you're looking for a similar introduction, Halevi's book is can give you that.<br />
<br />
Remember though, this is only an introduction. Actual techniques and practices, while mentioned, are not described in detail. The book recommends group study of Kabbalah under a qualified maggid. This is not a guidebook for a "do-it-yourself" mystic journey to discover the higher realms.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6za2Clx6LztCbMDosJ74FIIpVj2Fju-bGq7fn9i7q-1J8IBfulIKlKMUVcGNkOmyU2d2H0HFw6GkuvvWa7NharceQ6hxjFn_8x1Q1gZI2HpFSn65bzm8V9djT5bb8LZe60KxquQbb_Q/s1600/thematrix2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6za2Clx6LztCbMDosJ74FIIpVj2Fju-bGq7fn9i7q-1J8IBfulIKlKMUVcGNkOmyU2d2H0HFw6GkuvvWa7NharceQ6hxjFn_8x1Q1gZI2HpFSn65bzm8V9djT5bb8LZe60KxquQbb_Q/s320/thematrix2.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<blockquote><i>This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.</i><br />
Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne)<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/" target="_blank">The Matrix</a> (1999)</blockquote>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-67716424720280767012011-05-06T10:08:00.000-06:002011-05-06T10:08:58.384-06:00Mystic Wonder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_icR-Kdja5TP7FAF7IAQ7rnTw8Qf3WCp3uPzq5FsCAbiFnOiTjPdone9b_2CrxVxF7xibJTP0VIiXDSjpnEnhDdv9uyjxvzTafn-AsAdC3rSUIeQYqJ_lSsOIM75x5-VvIynvDXK1w/s1600/child-water.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_icR-Kdja5TP7FAF7IAQ7rnTw8Qf3WCp3uPzq5FsCAbiFnOiTjPdone9b_2CrxVxF7xibJTP0VIiXDSjpnEnhDdv9uyjxvzTafn-AsAdC3rSUIeQYqJ_lSsOIM75x5-VvIynvDXK1w/s320/child-water.png" width="320" /></a></div><i>People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”</i> -<b>Luke 18:15-17</b><br />
<br />
This can probably be misunderstood. For some folks out there, this can be considered something of a justification that you don't really have to "study" the Bible, since it's simple enough for a child to understand. After all, Jesus said that anyone who is not "childlike" cannot enter the kingdom of God. This verse can even be used as a non-so-subtle criticism against the Jewish tradition to study Torah and to honor such study.<br />
<br />
Of course, there's more than one way to look at the Master's teaching:<br />
<blockquote><i>If you want to understand something to its depths, first approach it with the mind of a five-year-old. Ask the innocent and obvious questions and make things clear and simple. Through that clarity, you will perceive the depths.</i><br />
-Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
"Start Simple"<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147805/jewish/Start-Simple.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a></blockquote>That's certainly one way to interpret this teaching of the Jewish Messiah and it fits with the theme of studying the Word and approaching it as a small child would. You start at the surface or in the shallow end of the pool, like a child first learning how to swim. Eventually, depending on the amount of time and effort you put into your swimming though, you could end up in the Olympics or as an oceanographer exploring the ocean's depths.<br />
<br />
However, there's yet another perspective to consider:<br />
<blockquote><i>Amazement never ceases for the enlightened mind. At every moment it views with amazement the wonder of an entire world renewed out of the void, and asks, "Why is there anything at all and not just nothing?"</i><br />
-Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
"Wonder"<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147806/jewish/Wonder.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a></blockquote>This is how I tend to understand the words of Jesus (Yeshua). He wasn't necessarily saying that only the young and unsophisticated mind can approach the wisdom of God, but rather, that we should continually strive to see the world around us with fresh eyes, as if experiencing all of Creation for the first time. <br />
<blockquote><i>The world, indeed the whole universe, is a beautiful, astonishing, wondrous place.</i> -<a href="http://penmachine-bu.appspot.com/" target="_blank">Derek K. Miller</a> (1969-2011)</blockquote>Derek Miller died after a long struggle with cancer, just a few days ago at the age of 41.He leaves behind a wife and two young daughters. He didn't have faith in God and expected, when he died, that would be the end of all things for him. Blackness. Emptiness. Non-existence. No meeting with God.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvo8ofTQCl2l6O9F78QhSRBA139r3ekigj3vjidSVQV6rzvvyH2-M2OH4NbEWWk43HPkUs6SKqYShL8jxJ3L-rl_q7d-DcT19JYTxbkdpc9IN0LwRrVdlQ-4Tr4rDpisqJlKj5TLxTPA/s1600/child-flying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvo8ofTQCl2l6O9F78QhSRBA139r3ekigj3vjidSVQV6rzvvyH2-M2OH4NbEWWk43HPkUs6SKqYShL8jxJ3L-rl_q7d-DcT19JYTxbkdpc9IN0LwRrVdlQ-4Tr4rDpisqJlKj5TLxTPA/s200/child-flying.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Yet, in the face of suffering and anguish, he was able to write those incredible words and to see his environment with the eyes of wonder; the eyes of a child. These are the eyes and the heart that Jesus speaks of when he asked that the children be brought to him. If Derek Miller can see the world this way and yet seemingly not know God, how much more should we experience God's Creation as a child, seeing it every day through the lens of faith?<br />
<blockquote><i>You cannot separate the mystical from the practical. Each thing has both a body and a soul, and they act as one. Neither can contradict the other, and in each the other can be found.</i><br />
-Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
"Mystical and Practical"<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147804/jewish/Mystical-Practical.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a></blockquote>Very young children unreservedly believe in the mystical, the magical, the impossible, in just the same way as they believe in the existence of their parents, their favorite breakfast, and the bed in which they sleep. They accept God and His mercy in exactly the same manner as they accept their father's and mother's love.<br />
<br />
That kind of experience gets lost somewhere along the way, but it doesn't have to stay lost. The mystery of the universe is the fabric by which God weaves our very existence. What we experience with our senses and what we experience as a matter of faith are the same thing. There is no difference, nor should there be a difference.<br />
<br />
We can enter a mystical perception of the Creation of God at any time. All we have to do is open our eyes and our hearts the same way a two-year old opens his arms for a hug.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-81606346110351248972011-05-05T09:18:00.003-06:002011-05-08T06:47:37.268-06:00The Moon is Torn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHuM1nfC938UtLdR-z7n5iOfDFWbnPiCxpsp4JiXP5sKhLB4h4pPBUicf9TnwADf68HguIe8yZ_57i_rXGLVkVFB-8OupjMOSXUBf3q1aSaAS7XVC236CUdoxwsibooZti5GHbH-MaA/s1600/angel-reflect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHuM1nfC938UtLdR-z7n5iOfDFWbnPiCxpsp4JiXP5sKhLB4h4pPBUicf9TnwADf68HguIe8yZ_57i_rXGLVkVFB-8OupjMOSXUBf3q1aSaAS7XVC236CUdoxwsibooZti5GHbH-MaA/s1600/angel-reflect.jpg" /></a></div><i>"I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel<br />
I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor<br />
Illusion never changed into something real<br />
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn<br />
You're a little late, I'm already torn"</i><br />
-Natalie Imbruglia<br />
"Torn"<br />
<br />
<i>"If God had a name what would it be?<br />
And would you call it to his face?<br />
If you were faced with him in all his glory<br />
what would you ask if you had just one question?"</i><br />
-written by Eric Bazilian<br />
"What If God Was One Of Us?"<br />
<br />
<i>Go out on a clear night and see the moon reflected in the water of a lake. Then see the very same moon reflected in a pond, in a teacup, in a single drop of water. So the same essential Torah is reflected within each person who studies it, from a small child to a great sage.</i><br />
-Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
"Multiple Reflections"<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147799/jewish/Multiple-Reflections.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a><br />
<br />
If you believe in God or at least if you believe there is something more to the universe than what you can detect with your five senses, sooner or later you're going to encounter an <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/existential" target="_blank">existential</a> question. Who am I? Is this all there is? Is there nothing more? What does it all mean?<br />
<br />
Conversely, there are so many people inhabiting the various faith groups, theologies, and philosophies on the earth who are perfectly satisfied and content regarding who they are and what it all means. Certainly, there are many in the church who have no doubt that Jesus loves them, they are saved by grace, and they are free from sin and the law. There are many Jews in the synagogues who are absolutely secure they are sons and daughters of Abraham and Sarah and that in the merit of the Patriarchs, they have a place in the world to come. It seems like one of the primary functions of any faith community is to provide its members with a safe and secure environment in which they are protected from existential questions and the horrors that they bring.<br />
<br />
I found this person's comment in response to Judah Himango's blog post <a href="http://judahgabriel.blogspot.com/2011/04/is-it-sin-for-christians-to-break-torah.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KinetiLtziyon+%28Kineti+L%27Tziyon%29" target="_blank">Is it a sin for Christians to break the Torah</a> indicative of this function (and all the errors in the following quote belong to the original commenter:<br />
<blockquote><i>I like your blog and all, and have learned a few good things however from time to time it just digresses into pure nastiness. I go to a very stable Baptist church where the fruits of the spirit are evident we have a deep love for Israel, the Jewish people and each other. What do you have to offer that would better my life as a disciple of Christ? Seriously all I see is fighting and division Paul warns harshly to expel those who cause division..<br />
<br />
Also why are some people on this forum so vile? I noticed in the disagreement between Gene and Dan Dan calling Gene a Shmuck? (a word I found out means penis in Yiddish) is this what your idea of serving Christ looks like? Out of the mouth the heart speaks.<br />
<br />
I think for now I will just stick with my church it's stable, dynamic and we are all trying to serve Christ the best we know how. I feel much safer there.</i></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4vd64qy4WdhIktps2Ngfw3rwgg3pYkAjN6xZeprF_EkFzp2KdV82NZEqtpaf6sbToWqs1nZ6-ol09LlyqbpCxRZDs3Jwt3JYpztEGSIiGY5spd5ubdfO3hKfKZlrDdaaQkTJIXQKxg/s1600/moon-water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4vd64qy4WdhIktps2Ngfw3rwgg3pYkAjN6xZeprF_EkFzp2KdV82NZEqtpaf6sbToWqs1nZ6-ol09LlyqbpCxRZDs3Jwt3JYpztEGSIiGY5spd5ubdfO3hKfKZlrDdaaQkTJIXQKxg/s200/moon-water.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I'm kind of envious and it kind of bothers me. Everyone wants to feel "safe" from whatever threatens or bothers them, both in the environment and within the confines of their own spirits. I want that. You probably want that, too. Yet, when you're safe and protected, what are you experiencing and what are you learning? If we always feel safe and reassured that nothing is wrong, the world is an OK place, and everyone loves us, does that really mean anything? Does that bring us closer to God? Do we find out anything about why we are who we are if we stay in the comfort zone?<br />
<br />
When I was reading today's missive by Rabbi Freeman online, I saw the following comment in response:<br />
<blockquote><i>I am not a Jew, yet I have and still do enjoy reading the Daily Dose. I find a lot of the daily messages have a similar aspect in other religions. This one, I felt, this one was very Zen in its statement-as soon as I read it. </i></blockquote>The "Messianic" movement is full of non-Jews like this person; people who have no real reason to be attracted to the Torah or the wisdom of the Jewish sages, but who nevertheless are irresistibly drawn in to something that transcends the ethnic and covenantal boundaries that isolate our various groups from one another; boundaries that in part exist so that we can feel safe.<br />
<br />
I wrote yesterday that <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-we-need-sheep-dogs.html" target="_blank">the purpose of the nation of Israel is to protect Jews</a> in a hostile world and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, God mandated the Jewish state as the inheritance of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, so it is not only enlightened self interest that prompts the Jews to build a nation of their own, but it is a mitzvah for them to do so. However, there is another mitzvah from God to consider:<br />
<blockquote><i>Many nations will come and say,<br />
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,<br />
to the temple of the God of Jacob.<br />
He will teach us his ways,<br />
so that we may walk in his paths.”<br />
The Torah will go out from Zion,<br />
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.</i> -<b>Micah 4:2</b></blockquote>It's clear from this that the Torah, or at least some part of it, was not meant to be entirely and eternally contained just within the boundaries of Israel and Judaism. Some of this wisdom of God was meant for mankind. When we hear it; some of we who are not Jewish respond as if the Word of God is the missing piece to the puzzle of our lives. <br />
<br />
I'm standing on the path looking toward the horizon about six weeks into the future, when I will end one part of my life and begin another. I have no idea what will happen. I have no idea if I'm doing the right thing or not. I think I am, otherwise I wouldn't do it, but how can I be sure? <br />
<br />
I'm looking at the reflection of the moon in a cup of cold coffee. I'm awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn. I'm looking for something real. I'm a little late. I'm already torn. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
If you were faced with God in all His Glory, what would you ask if you had just one question?Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-66381159091592310232011-05-04T09:11:00.003-06:002011-05-04T21:15:01.908-06:00Why We Need Sheep Dogs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-ya6WysfM2kOZVKYmVUg3Sm8DBimxNCfIJRqeg0OjqpZ-vVcK48YAuHIozC_-7v0-bhWLyXfAwpz0xYhGQsI47BBpk6kRaHuLSlWvNDiAQgwk3-H5EznH_mENoPDPFBmhYwjTN23tQ/s1600/sam+and+ralph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-ya6WysfM2kOZVKYmVUg3Sm8DBimxNCfIJRqeg0OjqpZ-vVcK48YAuHIozC_-7v0-bhWLyXfAwpz0xYhGQsI47BBpk6kRaHuLSlWvNDiAQgwk3-H5EznH_mENoPDPFBmhYwjTN23tQ/s1600/sam+and+ralph.jpg" /></a></div><i>Here’s one of Aesop’s fables: One day, the wolves sent a delegation to the sheep and asked to make eternal peace with them. “The dogs are at fault for the conflict between us,” the wolves told the sheep. “They are the source of dispute. They bark at us, threaten us, and provoke us. Banish the dogs and there will be nothing to prevent eternal friendship and peace between us.” The foolish sheep believed this and banished the dogs. And so, without the protection the dogs used to offer, the sheep became easy prey for the wolves.</i> -As quoted by Guy Bechor<br />
at <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060830,00.html" target="_blank">Ynetnews.com</a> in his story <i>A Middle Eastern Lesson</i><br />
<br />
You can compress the fable into the sentence, "when one lives with wolves, keep dogs for protection". Bechor is using the fable to illustrate the need for Jews in the middle east, who live among many wolves, to keep "dogs". The primary "dog" kept for protection is the Land of Israel itself and of course, the Land's chief defense force, the IDF. Much of the world, such as the United States and the particularly the Obama administration, believe that the sheep should send away their dogs (the nationhood of Israel and the Israeli army) in order to ensure peace between sheep and wolves. However, if you've been paying attention to a number of terrorist events as I recorded them in <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/04/miracle-at-shabbos-table.html" target="_blank">a recent blog post</a>, you can see that sending away the dogs is a very bad idea. Especially in light of the so-called <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/us-britain-israel-idUSTRE7435AB20110504" target="_blank">unity pact</a> forming between Hamas and Fatah as well as the emphasis that such a pact does not need to <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143894" target="_blank">recognize Israel as a state</a>. No, Israel needs to keep the dogs.<br />
<br />
Bechor says what you'd expect him to say from his perspective, and I agree with him, but he did make one unexpected statement:<br />
<blockquote><i>When one observes the fate of the Christians in the Middle East, one realizes what would have happened to the Jews had they been defeated, heaven forbid, or remained without protection. Christians are being butchered in states that experienced “democratic change” such as Iraq, Egypt and Tunisia; their churches are being burned, they’re prompted to escape, and their property is looted.<br />
<br />
The Christians were misfortunate enough not to establish a state with a clear Christian identity, unlike the Jews. Naively, the Christians believed in partnership with other ethnicities, and now they’re paying the price – in Lebanon, where they’re becoming extinct, in the Palestinian Authority, and very soon in Syria as well.</i></blockquote>Bechor amazingly compares Christians and Jews and more or less suggests a "Christian state" in the middle east as a means of protection. He compares the motives behind Zionism and Jewish statehood to what Christianity should have done in the middle east and, having "naively" assumed they (Christians) could live in peace among their Muslim neighbors, are now paying the price, even in so-called "democratic" Arab nations.<br />
<br />
I recently read a commentary of <b>Menachos 52</b> that re-enforced Bechor's point very successfully:<br />
<blockquote><i>Shortly after the Holocaust, when Rav Yisrael Grossman, zt”l, paid a visit to the Abir Yaakov of Sadigura, zt”l, he was surprised to find him in an exceptionally joyous mood. When the rebbe noticed Rav Grossman’s surprise, he used a parable to explain why he was filled with joy despite the recent tragedy. “Imagine a poor Jew, beaten down and sickly, who has nowhere to even rest his head. If people have mercy and open their homes to him, he will surely be filled with boundless joy from gratitude.<br />
<br />
“The Jewish people today are likened to this poor man. Although we endured such cruelty which resulted in the murder of millions of Jews, we must never lose sight of the positive. Now that we have entered Eretz Yisrael, which is our homeland, we are exactly like a poor displaced man who has finally found a home.”<br />
<br />
He added, “You might argue that the spiritual level here is not exactly optimal. Nevertheless, the very fact that Hashem has brought us back home after such a tragedy is also enough to make us joyous!”<br />
<br />
The Kaftor VaFerach, zt”l, learns the greatness of Eretz Yisrael from a statement on today’s daf. “The Midrash Rabbah explains that the verse (Bereshis 2:12) - 'the gold of that land was good,’ refers to the spiritual gold of Torah. ‘There is no Torah like the Torah of Eretz Yisrael and there is no wisdom like the wisdom of Eretz Yisrael.’ In Bava Basra (158b) we find that the very air of Eretz Yisrael imparts understanding of Torah. In Menachos we see that when Rav Avin told over a teaching to Rav Yirmiyah, his hearer criticized those who live in Bavel saying that they were fools who lived in a place of darkness. This is in contrast with Eretz Yisrael, whose very air is the breath of Hashem.”</i><br />
<br />
Menachos 52<br />
Stories off the Daf<br />
The Land of Light and Wisdom</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hC_guASb-qot8yFJmme8oYTEdiAWKCTOmITW2rLyLFdwtu80nEHE3WKJVNJLc8I3OLx_Jme5YVve-GcgD8sio9H8NhJrGzmvljOkk0eIiomQCutfNS8fxMkjK5qwK9-84PwI8S7Xag/s1600/jerusalem-mtofolives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hC_guASb-qot8yFJmme8oYTEdiAWKCTOmITW2rLyLFdwtu80nEHE3WKJVNJLc8I3OLx_Jme5YVve-GcgD8sio9H8NhJrGzmvljOkk0eIiomQCutfNS8fxMkjK5qwK9-84PwI8S7Xag/s320/jerusalem-mtofolives.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It's commentaries like this one that warms my heart and makes me long to visit the Holy City and to breathe the air, but this isn't an option for me for a number of reasons, not the least of which is financial. Some Christians, when they describe "going home" are talking about going to Heaven when the die. Other Christians believe that the Jews are just "holding" Israel for them and, when Jesus comes, the Jews will be marginalized, and all of the covenant promises involving Jews and the Land will be transferred to the Christians.<br />
<br />
I don't believe that, but then, as a Christian, as Bechor points out we have no place to go. Or do we?<br />
<br />
In Rabbi Hershel Brand's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eagles-Wings-Moshiach-Messiah-Redemption/dp/1568712146" target="_blank">On Eagles' Wings: Moshiach (Messiah), Redemption, and the World to Come</a>, he makes his various points using a fictional conversation between a Rabbi and a young student. At one point, when the Rabbi is describing Gentiles in the world to come, the student is incredulous and asks if there will even <i>be</i> Gentiles in the world to come. The Rabbi answers in the affirmative and assures his student that there are actually some "righteous Gentiles" who have merited a place the world to come. Despite the book's generally anti-missionary tone and its less than Christian-friendly presentation, it's nice to know from Rabbi Brand's point of view, that a few of us will "make it".<br />
<br />
But where do we Christians belong? Today, the Jews have a land: Israel. Although the rest of the world is fighting as hard as it (we) can to take it away from them and to exterminate the Jews once more (didn't we just finish commemorating <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/yomhashoah.html" target="_blank">Yom HaShoah</a>?), the Land is God's and He gave it to the Children of Israel as their perpetual inheritance. Some say that, as grafted in non-Jews, we also have a stake in the physical land, but Israel isn't very big, even in terms of its Biblical borders, and it's hard to imagine the worldwide population of Christians and Jews (at least in today's world) being able to fit. Also, you have to examine the idea of whether or not Christians are "Israel" in the sense that Israel is Israel. <br />
<br />
In any event, a Christian has as much chance of making aliyah (emigrating) to Israel today as a wolf does of winning a popularity contest among the sheep...that is to say, none.<br />
<br />
Jews have a mandate to establish and maintain a Holy Land that goes all the way back to Abraham. Although all nations will be blessed through Abraham's offspring (<b>Genesis 22:18</b>), that blessing doesn't translate into an inheritance such as the one provided to Israel by God.<br />
<br />
Gentile disciples are blessed through Abraham's seed, Jesus (Yeshua). As disciples of the Jewish Messiah, we have belonging to each other and to God and salvation in the world to come. As far as I can tell, we also have a part of this:<br />
<blockquote><i>Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.</i> -<b>Revelation 22:1-5</b></blockquote>The wolves are savaging the Christian sheep in the middle east. They want to do the same to the Jewish sheep, but the Jews were smarter and built a strong pen for themselves (I can't help but be reminded of the three little pigs and houses made of straw, sticks, and bricks). God was the prompt for the Jews to build that pen. The rest of us have our individual nations and it would behoove the Christians in the middle east to find safe haven in countries that will not try to kill them. We don't have a "Christian nation" (America never was and it especially isn't in the current era). Assuming <b>Revelation 22</b> includes the Gentile disciples of the Jewish Messiah as <i>"his servants"</i> then our inheritance, as such, isn't available in any tangible sense. Until the Messiah comes, we continue to live in the various nations of the world and to live inside our faith and our hope...and we continue to wait.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-12995262663010444252011-05-03T08:58:00.009-06:002011-05-03T10:10:29.280-06:00Unintended Goodness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKs3bRWEImrlvD0oyA7FSULwIiyxI6mKp8pEUj2_qykjwX6KThf6IN8dC2YEopUE5Hfs4MPNW9RiI7MfPnXRs-9yOzePJMNExuvAHQg47xpQlEC6luO0E8mQsBXKOekvsqlgdAGKEdw/s1600/bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKs3bRWEImrlvD0oyA7FSULwIiyxI6mKp8pEUj2_qykjwX6KThf6IN8dC2YEopUE5Hfs4MPNW9RiI7MfPnXRs-9yOzePJMNExuvAHQg47xpQlEC6luO0E8mQsBXKOekvsqlgdAGKEdw/s200/bread.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.</i> -<b>Matthew 7:9-12</b><br />
<br />
<i>When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.</i> -<b>James 4:3</b><br />
<br />
<i>Sometimes it happens that you set out to do something with the best of intentions - and you end up with what appears the opposite.<br />
<br />
Know with absolute certainty - because this is a tradition of our sages - that if your true intent is good, then from it only good can emerge.<br />
<br />
Perhaps not the good you intended - or care for - but good nevertheless.</i> <br />
<br />
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
from "Detoured Good"<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147443/jewish/Detoured-Good.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a><br />
<br />
I read Rabbi Freeman's words yesterday, which I quoted above, and thought about my own situation. I've recently commented on both <a href="http://judahgabriel.blogspot.com/2011/04/is-it-sin-for-christians-to-break-torah.html" target="_blank">Judah Himango's</a> and <a href="http://www.messianicjudaism.me/musings/2011/05/02/judeo-christians-part-1/" target="_blank">Derek Leman's</a> blogs regarding my intention to formally leave the world of "Messianic" worship, and specifically the "One Law" branch of this movement. I no longer believe that God intends for Gentiles and Jews to live absolutely identical lifestyles, with Christians performing all of the <a href="http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm" target="_blank">mitzvot</a> in every detail, precisely like their Jewish brothers and sisters, thus obliterating any covenant difference between Jew and Christian.<br />
<br />
My intent, among other things, is to do good. My purpose, or at least one of them, is to honor the chosen people of God (not that we all can't be <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/04/choices.html" target="_blank">chosen</a> in our own ways); the Children of Israel. My motivation is not just Jews in general but my Jewish wife in specific. She has been very patient with me, but I can only imagine how she sees me, her Christian husband, when I go to worship with my congregation on Shabbat, knowing that I will be praying with a tallit, using a siddur, and reciting the Shema.<br />
<br />
My intention is to do good in the action of leaving my congregation, but Rabbi Freeman makes me wonder. If my intention is good, can only truly good things result? After all, we have a common saying that goes, <i>"the road to hell is paved with good intentions"</i> (thought to have originated with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux" target="_blank">Saint Bernard of Clairvaux</a> who wrote, <i>"L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés et désirs"</i> or <i>"hell is full of good wishes and desires"</i>).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiir-rQPiZhQ13Pwp6GbuNO1EqoCHFAGfH-iEm0zzrrrYdqpJRxFVKPhyphenhyphenKAbVUr5Gp_DkPbpceMKFkhqY_KP2wMXw9F2LudsU5fKsDLcF42E_Tc_WSNltH6oGO-KBG8NJWrzBq1tJySig/s1600/incense-prayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiir-rQPiZhQ13Pwp6GbuNO1EqoCHFAGfH-iEm0zzrrrYdqpJRxFVKPhyphenhyphenKAbVUr5Gp_DkPbpceMKFkhqY_KP2wMXw9F2LudsU5fKsDLcF42E_Tc_WSNltH6oGO-KBG8NJWrzBq1tJySig/s200/incense-prayer.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>Could bad things come from good intent? They probably do all of the time, but if Rabbi Freeman and the Lubavitcher Rebbe are right, I can hope for a good, but not necessarily expected outcome from my intentions and actions. I sometimes think of prayer that way. I'd like to think that my intentions in prayer are always good ,but as James (Jacob), the brother of the Master, says, I can mess that one up, too. <br />
<br />
However Jesus (Yeshua) also seems to say something we find echoed in Rabbi Freeman's teaching. Even though we are evil, we know how to give good gifts. If prayer is like an incense offering; a gift to God (<b>Psalm 141:2</b>, <b>Revelation 5:8</b>, <b>Revelation 8:4</b>), then maybe even my attempt to extend myself outside of my own skin and my own thoughts and to connect, however tenuously, with God, will yield something of His goodness, even though I can't anticipate the exact result of my "offering".<br />
<br />
I haven't tendered my resignation to my congregation yet, but the time is coming all too soon. We are small and our resources are limited. I'm a significant resource for my community, not only as a teacher, but as a blog writer, and the person who maintains our website. In soothing my conscience and attempting to reconcile the faith portion of my relationship with my wife, what do I do to the congregation?<br />
<br />
Another saying we have is <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/He+who+hesitates+is+lost" target="_blank">"He who hesitates is lost"</a>. I can't simply do nothing, continue on with the status quo, and hope for the best. I've been praying and waiting for an answer to this puzzle for almost two years and I'm still waiting. While God can provide miracles completely outside of human actions, I know we aren't supposed to depend on God doing so. With all this going on, what does God want and what will He do?<br />
<br />
Today, my <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147446/jewish/Infinite-Opportunity.htm" target="_blank">email quote from Rabbi Freeman</a> contained the following:<br />
<blockquote><i>Every moment,<br />
every human activity<br />
is an opportunity to connect with the Infinite.<br />
<br />
Every act can be an uplifting of the soul.<br />
<br />
It is only your will that may stand in the way.<br />
<br />
But as soon as you wish,<br />
you are connected.</i></blockquote>In seeking God and His will, I'm like a blind man trying to find a sunny patch of ground on which to stand. The weather is partly cloudy, and I only have a feeble sense of warm or cold to tell me if I've reached my goal. Rabbi Freeman says that any time I truly wish to be connected to God, I am, but like that blind man, I can't always tell if I'm already standing in the light of day. Like a man driving his car on a lonely stretch of freeway in the middle of the desert at night, I can only see as far as my headlights can pierce the darkness. In order to reach my destination, I must continue driving through the vast obsidian wastes and hope for the dawn.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<em>A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.</em> -<strong>Proverbs 17:10</strong>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-45997422020309345572011-05-01T08:56:00.000-06:002011-05-01T08:56:34.460-06:00Yom Hashoah: Remembrance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8Z1niUTVljN5EUwToUkCy-0qIhaKY4pqjMFQMLrrXWjT016SvSBk46wOYZD98dfPzuHyeTPRQU3NEe0iMT2NhtpKXvmNphy09ZAgdm47Bo6KlCLcDO7uPs_rC20bazg2_amjtD3GeA/s1600/candle-yomhashoah1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8Z1niUTVljN5EUwToUkCy-0qIhaKY4pqjMFQMLrrXWjT016SvSBk46wOYZD98dfPzuHyeTPRQU3NEe0iMT2NhtpKXvmNphy09ZAgdm47Bo6KlCLcDO7uPs_rC20bazg2_amjtD3GeA/s200/candle-yomhashoah1.jpg" width="175" /></a></div>Before the Shabbat began last week, I wrote about how it was <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/04/miracle-at-shabbos-table.html" target="_blank">a miracle</a> of God that the Jewish people continue to exist. Today is <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/yomhashoah.html" target="_blank">Yom Hashoah</a> or Holocaust Memorial Day and we remember the six million who lost their lives to the world's attempt to eradicate the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I don't write this blog post to say anything profound. This has been said by writers and commentators much wiser and more eloquent than I. I only add my voice to theirs in the spirit of remembrance. <br />
<br />
Don't forget. Don't let your children forget. The world is not so civilized and the Mashiach isn't here yet. They can come for you. They can come for the Jews again and when they do, they come for all people of conscience. If we forget, then we become one of them; one of the oppressors. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWBmkUqWOq-379zrsYGlpCceDEdwPeeXs0njRCQmP5H9Bq2xui9KEXqWG1YSmPDGsKhOoBksLYgCL4fWHHQUmQ3srTDCfyQ2CDWOj6DBo1ZuOvYQWAAUg4nU3-fQ1zQzLLA-MfQsE1qw/s1600/nonsequitur-holocaust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWBmkUqWOq-379zrsYGlpCceDEdwPeeXs0njRCQmP5H9Bq2xui9KEXqWG1YSmPDGsKhOoBksLYgCL4fWHHQUmQ3srTDCfyQ2CDWOj6DBo1ZuOvYQWAAUg4nU3-fQ1zQzLLA-MfQsE1qw/s400/nonsequitur-holocaust.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Do not just remember in your hearts. Make a loud noise. Shout out to the world. Don't let the world forget, or it will surely try again to destroy what God has created by His Hand and by His Mercy.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-15104322894845578672011-04-29T09:52:00.001-06:002011-04-29T09:53:23.148-06:00The Miracle at the Shabbos Table<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCFbhiaK-ico5Y3Ej0iJkvpBvJwUVzjIeRzNaHoKohaiX48z2GWORv_JjugyFOSBEZ2mnyTM2B-0esEJBk0nJsEa4VXcNv0UeHWHzgft5Fp8TBfqY01AbwDrYOFHxLu70KEkLaGn0dQ/s1600/splitting-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCFbhiaK-ico5Y3Ej0iJkvpBvJwUVzjIeRzNaHoKohaiX48z2GWORv_JjugyFOSBEZ2mnyTM2B-0esEJBk0nJsEa4VXcNv0UeHWHzgft5Fp8TBfqY01AbwDrYOFHxLu70KEkLaGn0dQ/s1600/splitting-1.JPG" /></a></div><i>Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.</i> -<b>John 14:11-14</b><br />
<br />
<i>There will come a time, very soon, when we will be shown miracles so great, they will make the ten plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea appear as ordinary as nature itself.<br />
<br />
So great, no mind can begin to fathom them; so powerful, they will transform the very fabric of our world, elevating it in a way that the wonders of the exodus never did.<br />
<br />
For then, our eyes will be opened and granted the power to see the greatest of miracles: Those miracles that occur to us now, beneath our very noses, every day.</i><br />
<br />
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
Greater Miracles<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1092126/jewish/Greater-Miracles.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a><br />
<br />
I don't know why, but I continue to be amazed at how the teachings of Jesus (Yeshua) parallel the Talmudic masters and even the modern Jewish sages. They are all painting the same picture and revealing the same vision. We are all looking for miracles and we are all looking to God to provide those miracles. Even with evidence of the hand of God all around us, we can still fail to see what He is doing in the world and in our lives. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoyXSWT9QgafSCPypmtE1kCZyeiSRlfJCRU5JKpOH-27iliHK0pSnaisvssYZF5STjdx74vMC8yMA8VFRHPO5rCb9syDoXnI4976b02-h4-gJHzeRx4ZsPEKZkvQGRH__pjJMndaCnTg/s1600/hamas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoyXSWT9QgafSCPypmtE1kCZyeiSRlfJCRU5JKpOH-27iliHK0pSnaisvssYZF5STjdx74vMC8yMA8VFRHPO5rCb9syDoXnI4976b02-h4-gJHzeRx4ZsPEKZkvQGRH__pjJMndaCnTg/s200/hamas.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I suppose this shouldn't surprise us. Face it. The world is a mess. You have problems. I have problems. The world has problems. Where is God? Just look at His holy nation; the one He established Himself. We have members of the Fogel family <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4058009,00.html" target="_blank">murdered in their sleep in their Itamar home</a> by Palestinian terrorists. Hamas fired a rocket from Gaza at a school bus <a href="http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Teenage-Boy-Was-Critically-Injured-After-An-Anti-Tank-Missile-Was-Fired-At-His-School-Bus-In-Israel/Article/201104115968297?f=rss" target="_blank">critically injuring a teenage boy</a> who later died. Several young Jewish men were murdered by Palestinian police <a href="http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=218160" target="_blank">while worshiping at Joseph's tomb</a> in Nablus. Where does it all end? Where are the miracles of God? Why isn't He saving His people?<br />
<blockquote><i>Any Jew alive on the face of this planet today is a walking miracle. Our mere existence today is wondrous, plucked from the fire at the last moment again and again, with no natural explanation that will suffice. Each of us alive today is a child of martyrs and miracles.</i><br />
<br />
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
Walking Miracle <br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1092103/jewish/Walking-Miracle.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a></blockquote>The fact that there are Jews on earth today at all is a miracle. For thousands of years, the world has been trying to exterminate the Children of Israel, and it always seems like the Jewish people are on the verge of extinction. Yet we still have Jews among us. As much as the world hates Jews and hates Israel, the world needs the presence of the light of the world.<br />
<blockquote><i>“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant<br />
to restore the tribes of Jacob<br />
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.<br />
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,<br />
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” </i> -<b>Isaiah 49:6</b><br />
<br />
<i>This is what the LORD Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the tzitzit of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” </i> -<b>Zechariah 8:23</b><br />
<br />
<i>In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established<br />
as the highest of the mountains;<br />
it will be exalted above the hills,<br />
and peoples will stream to it.<br />
<br />
Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob.<br />
He will teach us his ways,<br />
so that we may walk in his paths.”<br />
The Torah will go out from Zion,<br />
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.</i> -<b>Micah 4:1-2</b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>And lest you think that Israel has irredeemably failed God and that the Christians have taken over, here is Paul's commentary on the matter:<br />
<blockquote><i>I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:<br />
“The deliverer will come from Zion;<br />
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.<br />
And this is my covenant with them<br />
when I take away their sins.”</i> -<b>Romans 11:25-27</b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_uvqehDOm42J1lLkkQfkFL5f9MuSyTeN8wLYVKv7w6bhBW-mz-feT7y1B3eGOZlXuAnyTbmq8E8VxwX_Vi3UJZh6RVWbqQCecQhxobwY2LQ8VkhO4PHWFYAlenygIk0_aSX-uIfXHw/s1600/shabbos-table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_uvqehDOm42J1lLkkQfkFL5f9MuSyTeN8wLYVKv7w6bhBW-mz-feT7y1B3eGOZlXuAnyTbmq8E8VxwX_Vi3UJZh6RVWbqQCecQhxobwY2LQ8VkhO4PHWFYAlenygIk0_aSX-uIfXHw/s320/shabbos-table.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>It's not just that Israel is part of God's plan. In many ways, Israel is the plan. The salvation of the rest of the world depends on the Jewish people. We Gentiles will turn to them in the last days and through the Jewish Messiah, we are all redeemed.<br />
<br />
However, even the most far reaching cosmic plan can have very humble elements. God created the miracle of the nation of Israel and through his mercy, sustains each and every Jew. Yet we see that every individual has a part in that mission, even down to a single parent and how he or she raises their children.<br />
<blockquote><i>Rav Shmuel Aharon Lider, shlit”a, learns a beautiful lesson from this. “We see from this that Shabbos is the time for us to sanctify and educate our children at the table. The best way to be mechanech and sanctify our children is through the zemiros that we sing and the divrei Torah that we say at the Shabbos table.”<br />
<br />
Rav Shach, zt”l, had a neighbor - a simple baal habayis who was not too learned - whose sons grew to all be exceptional masmidim and great talmidei chachamim. Rav Shach himself lived and breathed Torah all the time, yet his neighbor’s children appeared to surpass his own in certain ways as far as Torah study was concerned.<br />
<br />
Rav Shach himself commented on what seemed to him at the root of the distinction. “My neighbor spent a long time at the Shabbos table interacting with his children and singing zemiros. I, on the other hand, was always very engrossed in working through a difficult Rambam or some other intricate Torah argument. One should never underestimate the power of filling the children with a spirit of holiness through the simple singing of zemiros and speaking divrei Torah at their own level at the Shabbos table!"</i><br />
<br />
Daf Yomi Digest<br />
Stories off the Daf<br />
The Power of the Shabbos Table<br />
Menachos 50</blockquote>Here we see a miracle. One does not have to be an exceptional Jewish Torah scholar or exalted sage or saint in order to raise children who are close to God. We can also extend the metaphor, so to speak, beyond Israel. We can apply what else we've learned in this short lesson and say that by the Gentiles attaching themselves (ourselves) to Israel through the Jewish Messiah, we can also share in the miracle of not only continuing in the world, but of being able to belong to God.<br />
<br />
The Torah has gone forth from Zion and, as the Master sometimes said, "to those who have ears, let them hear".<br />
<br />
Shabbat Shalom.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-11582986646879545632011-04-28T09:24:00.001-06:002011-04-28T09:28:32.929-06:00Review: Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Ls_M2wGD1PB0lmdajmabsNzpxi2oyrlzf0f15SRZK190uE49Vbx9_cSdJrbpMVk0mgYRKAXZrju8DKPE_4O5MRC13tv8_nGzK7pb75kQprnt6J0GOUp1FZ2JELyfh7o3l-qc4qS1QA/s1600/major-trends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Ls_M2wGD1PB0lmdajmabsNzpxi2oyrlzf0f15SRZK190uE49Vbx9_cSdJrbpMVk0mgYRKAXZrju8DKPE_4O5MRC13tv8_nGzK7pb75kQprnt6J0GOUp1FZ2JELyfh7o3l-qc4qS1QA/s1600/major-trends.jpg" /></a></div><i>Reading Scholem again from our precarious vantage point in the age of the information revolution, at the moment of the much-trumpeted breaking of a canon, we may detect in his grand evocation of this strange and in many ways quite alien mystical corpus an exemplary pattern of how viable historical change takes place, how the antithetic tensions of life in culture lay against each other without destroying the continuity of the cultural system.<br />
<br />
In this regard, Scholem's searching investigation of the twisting paths of Jewish mysticism makes profoundly instructive reading as we approach the millennium. But he also sees sharply that the mystics, impelled by discernible historical circumstances, very often sought to escape the ordeal of history by withdrawing into a realm of ecstasy and, at worst, delusion. <br />
<br />
Scholem's magisterial study is hardly intended to promote a nostalgia for mysticism or any illusion that we can embrace it as it was, but he makes us see the essential role it has played in the Jewish story, and indeed in the human story, and he leads us to ponder what other symbolic languages there might be to express our stubborn sense of connection with eternal things.</i><br />
<br />
From the Foreward to Gershom Scholem's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trends-Jewish-Mysticism-Gershom-Scholem/dp/0805210423" target="_blank">Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism</a><br />
written by Robert Alter<br />
Berkeley, 1995<br />
<br />
Gershom Scholem was not a mystic. He was a thorough and compelled educator and researcher who threw himself into an investigation of Jewish mysticism which resulted in <i>Major Trend</i>s, a book that is considered to be a major contribution and central tome on the history and nature of the Jewish mystical movements.<br />
<br />
Scholem's book is based on the nine Stroock Lectures he presented at the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1938 (<i>Major Trends</i> was published just a few years later) and each chapter stands, more or less, on its own, with just a few strings weaving forward and backward to the other material. The book functions as a whirlwind tour of the history of the various flavors of Jewish mysticism and how they developed, from first century Roman Judea and Merkabah mysticism, through 18th and 19th century and Polish/Ukrainian Chasidism. Suffice it to say, the book covers a vast territory. Unless you are already well versed in the different expressions of Jewish mysticism, don't hope to come away with an easily digested summary of what makes up the different mystic traditions. You can read the book cover to cover, but once you've done so, you'll need to do so again, and then you'll use this book as a reference when exploring one or more of the mystic movements in detail.<br />
<br />
My own modest introduction to the Jewish mystic tradition was in reading and reviewing Paul Philip Levertoff's <a href="http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-love-and-messianic-age.html" target="_blank">Love and the Messianic Age</a>. Levertoff was a Chasidic Jew who lived in the late 19th and into the mid-20th century and who saw the Gospels, particularly the Gospel of John, as a reflection of his own mystic background as a Chasidim. When I read Levertoff and the <a href="http://ffoz.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=336" target="_blank">FFOZ/Vine of David commentary</a> on his work, I began to see frail glimpses of who the Jewish Messiah is through that unusual and elusive lens and I wanted to see and understand more. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trends-Jewish-Mysticism-Gershom-Scholem/dp/0805210423" target="_blank">Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism</a> is more; a lot more.<br />
<br />
As a non-Jewish Christian and disciple of the Jewish Messiah, I started reading Scholem with an eye on discovering more hidden truths about the Jesus (Yeshua) within his pages and I must say I found those truths...and I didn't.<br />
<br />
I have to be careful here. It is easy to find what you're looking for, much like a person panning for gold nuggets, eager to "strike it rich". But does a person searching the river with an eye filled with preconceptions find true gold, or only what looks like gold? That's the dilemma I faced reading Scholem.<br />
<br />
I found many dualisms and parallels that seemed to point to Jesus, especially in the earlier mystic traditions, but is he really there? I don't know that I can say "yes" or "no" based on Scholem's rapid and intense coverage of such a broad spectrum of Jewish mysticisms. Right now, I prefer to withhold judgment and to be content learning what there is to learn on Scholem's terms rather than my own. The rest will come, God be willing.<br />
<br />
The details of the book are too numerous to document here. I wrote copious notes as I turned each page, but to replicate those notes here would create a novel, not a blog post. The chief benefit of reading <i>Major Trends</i> at this stage of my education is to lay a wide foundation for what comes afterward. I've already started reading my next book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Way-Kabbalah-Ben-Shimon-Halevi/dp/0877283052/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304001408&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Way of Kabbalah</a> by Ben Shimon Halevi, and from the very first page, what I had learned from Scholem enabled me to grasp Halevi's description of Kabbalah in a way I couldn't have achieved otherwise (Scholem dedicated two full lectures just to the Zohar). <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15x9ap-tFm8QKF82_fcm7HFqMvnsISn9EyhwxonEkImHTgZbA__CH_M9tCYlscwwtTX9hywt73_5p0jVho4IpsX6v9HN2wgtMfNdNb0iLSiLTbdTI2IUhaLHwMdbKb54_0-3x3F7fBQ/s1600/ezekiel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15x9ap-tFm8QKF82_fcm7HFqMvnsISn9EyhwxonEkImHTgZbA__CH_M9tCYlscwwtTX9hywt73_5p0jVho4IpsX6v9HN2wgtMfNdNb0iLSiLTbdTI2IUhaLHwMdbKb54_0-3x3F7fBQ/s200/ezekiel.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Scholem seems to leave out no detail or observation as he takes us through history, examining each mystic movement in Judaism. He relates not only the prize, but the peril of pursuing the mystic, and not only the virtues, but the flaws and fallacies of each mystic writer and explorer. As Alter stated in the Foreward, <i>Major Trends</i> is both a Jewish story and a story of human beings striving, sometimes vainly, to pursue God in His "native realm" which lies beyond the boundaries of human perception and existence. Scholem's final lecture ends this way:<br />
<blockquote><i>The story is not ended, it has not yet become history, and the secret life it holds can break out tomorrow in you or in me. Under what aspects this invisible stream of Jewish mysticism will again come to the surface we cannot tell. But I have come here to speak to you of the main tendencies of Jewish mysticism as we know them. To speak of the mystical course which, in the great cataclysm now stirring the Jewish people more deeply than in the entire history of Exile, destiny may still have in store for us - and I for one believe that there is such a course - is the task of prophets, not of professors.</i></blockquote>There's another way to view the course Scholem describes:<br />
<blockquote><i>If we were Jews because our minds and hearts told us so, then our Judaism would take us only as far as our minds and hearts can know. But we are not. And so, our journey is on eagle’s wings and our destiny beyond the stars.</i><br />
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman<br />
from his short article, "Not by choice"<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1165630/jewish/Not-By-Choice.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a></blockquote>Jewish mysticism is not just a Jewish story but a human story. It's a journey to find God using means that go beyond prayer and study. It's a path that leads us outside of our perceptions and even outside our imaginations, and into a set of worlds fantastic and dangerous. Ezekiel saw such worlds. So did John as he describes in the Book of Revelations. Scholem doesn't tell us how to find the road that takes us to these worlds, but he tells us many stories about the men who did. If you want to learn about the mystics who discovered the trail head into the unknown, reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trends-Jewish-Mysticism-Gershom-Scholem/dp/0805210423" target="_blank">Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism</a> is a good place to start.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-39661602900599518312011-04-27T14:29:00.001-06:002011-04-27T14:34:02.631-06:00The King's Scroll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-ZMnBemHnS6JjijljkpxjHmgprQkRYckG8BlTU3AyyufT0nGIjTPu7Es9BMUH184oh-tNEA4O6Qir3reHuDcwdvJ0qYDhfeWYmxsPbpgYeIaIyQbKtkn52OMArBpsz2v5JwGG6BEVg/s1600/mashiach.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-ZMnBemHnS6JjijljkpxjHmgprQkRYckG8BlTU3AyyufT0nGIjTPu7Es9BMUH184oh-tNEA4O6Qir3reHuDcwdvJ0qYDhfeWYmxsPbpgYeIaIyQbKtkn52OMArBpsz2v5JwGG6BEVg/s1600/mashiach.gif" /></a></div><i>The 17th mitzvah is that we are commanded that every king who sits in rulership over the Jewish people shall write a Sefer Torah for himself; and that it shall never be separate from him.</i><br />
Translated by Rabbi Berel Bell<br />
Sefer Hamitzvot in English<br />
The King's Torah Scroll<br />
<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/940241/jewish/Positive-Commandment-17.htm" target="_blank">Chabad.org</a><br />
<br />
<i>"It shall not move from his presence except when he enters the bathroom, the bathhouse, or a place where one is forbidden to study. When he goes out to war, it must be with him; when he returns, it must be with him; when he sits in judgment, it must be with him; when he eats, it must be in front of him."</i><br />
Rambam, Hilchos Melachim, Chapter 3, Halacha<br />
<br />
<i>"I will rise up at midnight to give thanks to You for Your righteous judgments."</i> -<b>Psalms 119:62</b><br />
<br />
According to <b>Deuteronomy 17:18</b>, each King of Israel is to write for himself a copy of the Torah scroll. The Talmud interprets this as meaning the King will write two scrolls, one to be kept in the Treasury, and one to be kept, as we see in Rambam's commentary above, with the King at all times. If God's justice and mercy is before the King every waking moment, when he's eating breakfast, when he goes to war, when he sits in his home, when he goes along the way, then God's judgments will not be far from the King when the King issues his judgments over the people of Israel.<br />
<br />
We who are disciples of the Jewish Messiah Jesus (Yeshua) have one King. If we are true to our faith, then he and his righteous judgments are always before us. He is our living Torah. But is he his own living Torah?<br />
<blockquote><i>The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.</i> -<b>John 1:14</b></blockquote>It's common in Messianic circles to consider Jesus as the living embodiment of the commandments of God, the flesh and blood container for all of God's mercy, compassion, judgments, and ordinances, the Torah incarnate who dwelt among us. As the suffering servant, he set aside his Kingship and his majesty and he died, although he died with the <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/titulus" target="_blank">titulus</a> ironically declaring his Kingship nailed above his head. When he returns, he will come as avenging King. When he walked among men as a man, he obeyed all of the mitzvot without error or flaw. As King, he can do no less. But how will the King keep the Torah before him at all times?<br />
<blockquote><i>I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.</i> -<b>Revelation 19:11-16</b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefqskAPohAUzKHQatxgLpAqW3GLWZmDQ8MkoQtdVvsy5QI6Bc2vaIbT8uL5y061coy_h-MxqlNemn7towONZpBWi-oL1Lusb6aYUlVjLWf_a_CR0RQbM7BT9AnYism9tmNrvHSFsNgw/s1600/fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefqskAPohAUzKHQatxgLpAqW3GLWZmDQ8MkoQtdVvsy5QI6Bc2vaIbT8uL5y061coy_h-MxqlNemn7towONZpBWi-oL1Lusb6aYUlVjLWf_a_CR0RQbM7BT9AnYism9tmNrvHSFsNgw/s200/fire.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>I'm stretching the metaphor, probably beyond reasonable limits, I admit it. I can't say with any certainty that the commandment for a King of Israel to always have the Torah before him is fulfilled by his name written on his robe and his thigh. Yet it is a fascinating thought and a compelling image, that Yeshua <b>is</b> the Torah and that he <b>wears</b> the Torah, so to speak, upon him. He is the King of Israel; the final King. He is the Torah and the Torah is with him.<br />
<br />
But what about us? <b>Deuteronomy 31:19</b> is understood by the sages as a commandment for every Jew to write for himself a scroll of the Torah, even if he has inherited a scroll from his father. In modern times, the commandment is fulfilled by most Jews, in purchasing a book of Torah rather than writing it out by hand. <br />
<br />
It is said that many of the commandments do not apply to Gentile disciples of the Jewish Messiah. I certainly don't think the Talmudic masters intended for non-Jews to be obligated to the commandment of writing a copy of the Torah. It's not a common concern among Christians certainly. Nevertheless, we have this:<br />
<blockquote><i>They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.</i> -<b>Deuteronomy 22:4-5</b></blockquote>As the King wears his name, so will we wear his name and we will belong to him. You may believe you belong to him now, and I certainly cannot refute this. However, the <i>"throne of God and of the Lamb"</i> is not yet with us (<b>Revelation 22:3</b>) and we do not yet serve only him with wholehearted devotion as we will in Messianic days. Today, we can keep his name and his word before us by studying the Bible, by associating with other believers, by performing acts of kindness and compassion, by attempting to embrace a mystic understanding of the Messiah beyond the literal word, and by praying that his <i>"will be done on earth as it is in heaven"</i> (<b>Matthew 6:8</b>).<br />
<br />
Pray that the King comes soon and in our days.<br />
<blockquote><i>To the Hasidic mind <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_05173.html" target="_blank">Devekuth</a> and <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/prayer.html#Kavanah" target="_blank">Kawwanah</a> were the primary emotional values, a significance which they had by no means always had before. "That is the meaning of Devekuth that when he fulfills the commandments or studies the Torah, the body becomes a throne for the soul...and the soul a throne for the light of the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Shekhinah.html" target="_blank">Shekhinah</a> which is above his head, and the light as it were flows all round him, and he sits in the midst of the light and rejoices in trembling."</i><br />
from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trends-Jewish-Mysticism-Gershom-Scholem/dp/0805210423" target="_blank">Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism</a> <br />
by Gershom Scholem</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747998155058121772.post-21572111357398821972011-04-26T08:47:00.000-06:002011-04-26T08:47:33.054-06:00Why Don’t Christians Count the Omer?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwg9GL0NJN1VZZcXJFyKaXs4JrLwNNgDZPv0HbfpWpH2VeAfUzJA0Li_whI_62c1FV2qblVedTqoq4RBGAyGrlOfq1O8jxtUozO0brtA5KVqpzZGclb1KaRzyzMnoISlzyLFLmvhuKg/s1600/omer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwg9GL0NJN1VZZcXJFyKaXs4JrLwNNgDZPv0HbfpWpH2VeAfUzJA0Li_whI_62c1FV2qblVedTqoq4RBGAyGrlOfq1O8jxtUozO0brtA5KVqpzZGclb1KaRzyzMnoISlzyLFLmvhuKg/s1600/omer.png" /></a></div><i>You shall count for yourselves -- from the day after the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving -- seven Shabbats, they shall be complete. Until the day after the seventh sabbath you shall count, fifty days.</i> -<b>Leviticus 23:15-16</b> <br />
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<i>You shall count for yourselves seven weeks, from when the sickle is first put to the standing crop shall you begin counting seven weeks. Then you will observe the Festival of Shavu'ot for the LORD, your God.</i> -<b>Deuteronomy 16:9-10</b> <br />
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Last week, our congregation had our annual community Passover Seder. As always, it was a wonderful time and is still in my heart on this last day of the week of Unleavened Bread. Of course, Passover, among other things, starts the beginning of the 50 days of <a href="http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayb.htm" target="_blank">Counting the Omer</a>. Originally, this was the period of time between the Children of Israel leaving slavery in Egypt and the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai 49 days later, by the Almighty Himself. The counting period is considered to have been a time of spiritual cleansing for the Children of Israel in preparation for receiving the Torah of God.<br />
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Since that time, the period of Counting the Omer between Passover and Shavuot has a similar function in Judaism. Actually, the preparation for Passover itself is a time to clean out the "hametz"; leaven or sin in our lives, so Jews prepare their souls to break with the sins of the past and dedicate the coming year to drawing closer to God. Passover also "starts the clock" of the seven weeks (also why Shavuot is called "The Festival of Weeks") of Omer counting and the anticipation of Shavuot, which is the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Sinai.<br />
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The meaning of the Torah for observant Jewish people goes well beyond what the Bible typically means to the Evangelical Church (which is not to say that the church doesn't highly regard the Bible). It's not "just" considered the Word of God. Jews consider the Torah as having a spiritual and mystical "life" beyond the printed word. In a sense, they believe that the world was created for the sake of Torah and that if the Jews had rejected Torah at Sinai, all of Creation would have been undone. Torah is also considered the means by which God created the Universe and everything in it. Torah is the guide to Holy living, the path to wisdom, and the means to draw nearer to God. Torah scholars are considered on a higher spiritual level and closer to the Creator because of their study, and Torah study and worship of God are considered the same thing.<br />
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I'm providing this context to communicate the incredible importance that the giving of the Torah has to the Jewish people. That means the Counting of Omer is a time of tremendous anticipation. It's like knowing the most important event in your life will happen 50 days from now. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event that will change you forever. Naturally, during that 50 days, it will be all you can think and talk about, and it stands to reason you'd want to spend those 50 days getting as ready as possible for this exceptionally important moment.<br />
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That's what the Counting of the Omer is. A period of intense preparation for an encounter with God. It's a countdown to the day when you will receive the most important gift in the world from the Creator of the world. But what does this have to do with Christianity?<br />
<blockquote><i>When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (languages) as the Spirit enabled them.</i> -<b>Acts 2:1-4 (NIV)</b><br />
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<i>The festival of Shavu'ot arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.</i> -<b>Acts 2:1-4 (CJB)</b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwA-8OwZ7yFNXnAA7sUfS39fQVJjWMEtGJ3ZM6blwrMpcO1tv6QQTwTVkhZquT-fQvPMziapnvhyphenhyphenK5fuxRr2aEB7al0Tyf7tHi7FRxS8Pq3jYFuzPrbJp_3BS9QD6DfFPzMqcE2TBGFg/s1600/pentecost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwA-8OwZ7yFNXnAA7sUfS39fQVJjWMEtGJ3ZM6blwrMpcO1tv6QQTwTVkhZquT-fQvPMziapnvhyphenhyphenK5fuxRr2aEB7al0Tyf7tHi7FRxS8Pq3jYFuzPrbJp_3BS9QD6DfFPzMqcE2TBGFg/s320/pentecost.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>What the Church calls Pentecost and considers the anniversary of the giving to the Holy Spirit to the disciples in Jerusalem, Judaism calls Shavuot and considers the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai; but they're the same day. A too casual reading of <b>Acts 2</b> might cause us to forget a few things. First of all, the Disciples were all Jewish, so it makes a huge amount of sense that they'd be celebrating the Biblical festivals, including Shavuot. They'd be gathered together in fact <u>because</u> of Shavuot, in remembrance of that day and in obedience to the commandments. <br />
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Also in obedience of the commandments, the Disciples would have been counting the Omer, just as their forefathers had done for thousands of years. The crucifixion of Yeshua (Jesus) on the threshold of Passover and his subsequent resurrection and ascension wouldn't have done anything to change that. Certainly, there's nothing in the Bible that records Yeshua saying to not count the Omer that year and that "all bets were off", so to speak.<br />
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So here you have a group of Jews, who have come to faith in Yeshua as the risen Messiah. They have gone through 49 days of counting, and are now gathered together for the festival of Shavuot, commemorating the giving of the Torah. The giving of Torah is the most important and binding event in the lives of every Jew in existence, past, present, and future (it was the reason why <b>Acts 2</b> records that there were Jews in Jerusalem from all over the diaspora, and why they understood the disciples when they were speaking in different languages; the languages of the nations they lived in). With the stage set, God does something incredible; He gives another gift, this time, the Holy Spirit to dwell within the disciples and to specifically empower them to begin the mission assigned to them by their Master and Messiah, Yeshua at the end of the book of Matthew.<br />
<blockquote><i>Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."</i> -<b>Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)</b></blockquote>The events in <b>Matthew 28</b> and <b>Acts 2</b> go hand in hand. <b>Matthew 28</b> defines the assignment and <b>Acts 2</b> provides the tools to accomplish the assignment. It wasn't that the Holy Spirit didn't connect to faithful and righteous people before that time. After all, consider the Prophets and, at the end of Exodus when the Shekinah; the Glory of God, descends onto and into the Tabernacle in the desert, the Talmud states that at that moment, each Jew was to consider that a small piece of the Shekinah was dwelling in their individual hearts. I know that Christianity makes a distinction between the Spirit dwelling "on" vs. "in", but why would God do that? The Spirit is the Spirit. Why would all righteous people be considered "second hand (spiritual) citizens" prior to the coming of the Messiah?<br />
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The other and primary connection that needs to be understood is the link between <b>Exodus 20</b> and <b>Acts 2</b>; the giving of Torah and the giving of the Spirit. I don't believe that, in a created universe, there is such a thing as coincidence; certainly not on the level of Shavuot and Pentecost "just happening" to be on the same day. Therefore, it fulfills the plan of God that these two events be connected. On a larger stage, perhaps the giving of the Spirit enables us to fully implement, not only the <b>Matthew 28</b> directive, but the Torah as well. <br />
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Does that mean, in essence, these two events are the same event? If so, or at least if they are intimately connected, it has incredible implications in the life of every believer in Yeshua (that is, the life of every Christian). What would have been assumed by the Jewish Disciples is considered revolutionary to we 21st Century Gentile believers. 1st Century Jews wouldn't have batted an eye at the thought of obeying the Torah commands. They were taught this from childhood. If the Spirit enabled them to more completely obey the commands of God and "The Great Commission" as it is called by the Church, then so much the better. But what about us?<br />
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If the Spirit enables the modern Church to continue the commandment of Jesus to "go and make disciples of all nations", that's completely acceptable and understood (as long as you understand that the terms "convert" and disciple" aren't synonyms). However, understanding that these two events and concepts are also fused with the giving of Torah at Sinai and the enabling to "keep Torah", is likely a stunning revelation to a non-Jewish believing audience. There is much debate over how a Gentile disciple of the Master is to "keep the Torah" vs. the obligation of the Jewish people to the commandments, but given the undeniable link between Shavuot and Pentecost, I can't see any reason why a Christian shouldn't count the Omer.<br />
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In other words, given all of my prior statements about why it is so important for observant Jews, to this day, to count the Omer, and prepare themselves for a "close encounter" with God, if Christians believe that the giving of the Spirit is also a "close encounter", then why not count the Omer, too?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bRbm4N3Hf7wG7Z1SrhQtRjF-D_HABKrBqn0QMXKWaiSO3u9Oa-CE_smztLMLCKN_Fvjy9lBSBJt5FEaGSIQ6ZINduHQgCE4hnz7U4L9UY6wgME81xkxMu75iL8OIwz25wI_2VHjgRQ/s1600/lag-ba-omer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bRbm4N3Hf7wG7Z1SrhQtRjF-D_HABKrBqn0QMXKWaiSO3u9Oa-CE_smztLMLCKN_Fvjy9lBSBJt5FEaGSIQ6ZINduHQgCE4hnz7U4L9UY6wgME81xkxMu75iL8OIwz25wI_2VHjgRQ/s1600/lag-ba-omer.jpg" /></a></div>It seems like Evangelical Christians are really missing out on something special. I think it's part of why we Gentiles who are attached to the "Messianic movement" do what we do. The living out of the Biblical festivals has not just ancient, but modern applications as well. Hopefully this modest article has brought a few of those applications out into the open. Pentecost didn't "replace" Shavuot, nor did the Spirit replace the Torah. The Spirit is God dwelling within us and the Torah is God's practical and mystical guide to Biblical wisdom and righteous living. We are told that the Word (or Torah) is written on our hearts, which makes the Spirit and Torah more closely linked than we may imagine. If the Children of Israel in Exodus already understood that connection, no wonder Jews, even today, are so in awe of the Torah and of God. They count the Omer with a sense of anticipation and wonder at the immense graciousness and kindness of God. Gentile believers need to recapture that sense of awe of God and what He has given us. One way to do that, is to count the Omer and to eagerly look forward to that encounter. Remember, there's a final anticipated meeting that is yet to arrive. He's coming.<br />
<blockquote><i>He one who is testifying to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon! Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua! May the grace of the Lord Yeshua be with all!</i> -<b>Revelation 22:20-21 (CJB)</b></blockquote>A slightly different version of this article was originally published at the <a href="http://shema-yisrael.org/blogspot/2009/04/why-dont-christians-count-the-omer/" target="_blank">Congregation Shema Yisrael</a> blog. You can find a related article on the same blog called <a href="http://shema-yisrael.org/blogspot/2010/04/of-matzah-bagels-and-omer/" target="_blank">Of Matzah, Bagels, and Omer</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvNBZnIw8jcs2RUOMRnmkfEDvHwgpPS-JFYLTz929SMmgh02TGU0DvjUAFavjgQKO4Gp5ni_f_1Opp7Id8np38rsrQRjinofX9Zg9kE5zUSNLnSLiu-Pp0lyXgvbCQynFB8YkfZnVEg/s400/the-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07593266343873200105noreply@blogger.com7