Sitting on the Keys

In truth, the world, standing on its own, is a place of exile and captivity.

Even when a man stands upright on the tallest mountain and perceives all there is to perceive, comprehends all that can be comprehended, achieves a realization of the Ultimate Oneness and Void that is behind all this --

But in the end, he is still stuck on the ground where his feet have brought him, his eyes have not seen beyond his own eyeballs, his mind has only comprehended that which he can know and reached that which is reachable --he has remained within his own self.

And the proof:
he has remained with a G-d Who is above
and an earth which is below, and the two cannot meet.

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
Bringing Heaven Down to Earth series
Liberated by Betrothal

Man is separated from God. I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but for a thousand reasons, some of which you may know, we cannot ascend to God and God does not descend to us, at least in any way we can comprehend. Oh we try to reach God. We try to summon Him. We pray. We plead in our anguish. We cry out in our loneliness. But sometimes the only answer is silence.

Or so it seems.

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. -James 4:1-3

The brother of the Master tells us that our selfishness and humanity get in the way of our prayers to God. In many ways, we are like the prostitute/wife of the Prophet Hosea, faithless and wandering after other lovers. Yet, we see a picture of God toward a faithless Israel in Hosea 3 that reminds us of ourselves:

The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days. -Hosea 3:1-5

Though we are faithless to God, He is faithful to us. Though we are unworthy, we will be redeemed.

This message should be very clear to us as we approach the time of Passover. The Children of Jacob were enslaved and through no power of their own, God sent a Savior and a Prophet to free and redeem them. The end of Rabbi Freeman's message which I quoted, but not in it's entirety, tells the message:

His only liberation, and the only liberation of the entire world, is when the One Above reaches down and tells us, "Do this. With this deed you are betrothed to Me."

And then there is no above and below. Then there is only One.

We cannot reach God on our own strength, but He does reach down to us. We, the entire world, are "betrothed" to Him and through that betrothal, there is only One. It sounds very much like this:

I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.
I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will know the LORD. -Hosea 2:19-20

This set of verses from the writings of the Prophet Hosea are also part of the blessings a Jew says when donning hand tefillin before prayer. You might say that the messages here of the Prophet and certainly of Rabbi Freeman, are intended only for the Jewish people, but the coming of the Messiah opens the door for the rest of humanity.

Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.” -Revelation 19:7-8

There are numerous "marital metaphors" in the Bible referring to Israel as the bride of God and the disciples of the Messiah (Jews and Gentiles) as the bride of Christ. All who join ourselves to the Messiah, both Israel and the nations, have a part in the life of the world to come. However, although this is abundantly available to us, escaping our slavery requires our willingness. Rabbi Freeman has a commentary about this, too:

Man, on his own, cannot reach higher than his own fingertips. He cannot break out of his own skin, he cannot lift himself up by pulling at his own hair. All of his achievements are tied to his ego. All that he may comprehend is defined by his own subjective perception. He is a prisoner by virtue of existence.

So G-d threw Man a rope. He gave him tasks to fulfill that are beyond his grasp, thoughts to fathom that take him outside the hollow of his subjective universe. All that is needed is his willingness to leave himself.

We are all prisoners. But we sit on the keys.

He is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5) and we can do anything if we are united with him, which includes escaping our chains. Sometimes however, we slump down in our jail cell, dejected and discouraged; lamenting our imprisonment and fearing we will never be free. Ironically, that freedom is always available to us. We just need to get up and see that, as Rabbi Freeman points out, we are sitting on the keys.

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.

Prayer is a Ladder

I have blogged before on the Chassidic concept of Hitbodedut - the practice of being alone with G-d. In addition to regular davening from the Siddur, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov frequently recited extemporaneous prayers. In fact, he taught his Chassidim (his followers) that they should spend at least one hour alone each day, talking aloud to G-d in his or her own words, as if "talking to a good friend." This practice was to be in addition to the prayers of the Siddur. Breslover Chassidim still follow this practice, which is known as hitbodedut (literally, "to make oneself be in solitude").

Rabbi Joshua
Yinon blog

There's a lot of prayer going on in the world today, or at least on the blogosphere. I saw early this morning that the topic at Spiritually Unequal Marriage was prayer and, just a few minutes ago, I found out something about Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28:11–19):

What was that ladder? According to the Zohar, it’s the ladder of prayer. A four-runged ladder, actually—and accordingly, we climb four flights of stairs to move through four floors in our prayers...

This is a two-way ladder. How can you tell? The angels are moving in two directions—just like in Jacob’s dream.

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
Climbing Jacob's Ladder
Chabad of Mineola

I wonder if God is trying to tell me something?

I don't think prayer is magic. I don't think praying to God is like rubbing Aladdin's lamp. God isn't a "wish machine" and I don't think that, just because you "bathe it in prayer", you automatically are going to get everything you want out of God the way you get lots of loose change out of a slot machine that's just hit jackpot.

So what is prayer?

This is just my personal opinion, but prayer is spending time with God.

When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. -Exodus 24:15-18

I can hardly compare myself to Moses or any holy man, but I do need to spend time with God. As Rabbi Freeman illustrates, prayer is a ladder between us and God. We get to climb up and down. A ladder is an invitation to reach a different height and interestingly enough, Rabbi's Freeman characterizes the ladder as having only four rungs.

The four rungs are symbolic and, pulling from the mysticism of the Zohar, that symbolism becomes mysterious and even incomprehensible very quickly, at least to people like me who are uneducated in Kaballah. But if you can get past your resistance to the mystic, there may be a few gems in there for you and for me.

Think about how you use a ladder (this is my own interpretation, now). A ladder isn't effortless. Assuming, like the ladder in Jacob's vision, God places the ladder as He wills. We see the ladder but, unlike Jacob, we approach it. We start to climb.

Ever climb a ladder? You have to use your arms and legs. You have to watch where you put your feet and hands. There's a certain amount of risk, assuming you go very high (it's hard to go too high on four rungs, though). In other words, prayer isn't just dependent on God, it's dependent on you.

In fact, it's mostly your responsibility whether or not you find yourself in prayer with God. After all, Moses had to climb the mountain to be in the cloud with God. God didn't supernaturally lift Moses to the top; Moses climbed using his arms and legs, just as we use our limbs to climb a ladder. God was (and is) waiting at the top.

What do you find when you climb to the top? I think the answer is a little different for each of us. Some people still feel very alone. Some people talk and feel heard. Some people want to scream and wail. Some people cry silent tears.

At the top of the ladder is the throne of the King of the Universe. Who wouldn't be intimidated at approaching the King? We ought to feel awed, humbled, and more than a little afraid. One does not approach the King casually.

But the Nachman of Breslov told his followers to pray to God as if "talking to a good friend." What does this mean?

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. -Romans 8:26-27

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. -Hebrews 4:14-16

We all imagine that we can approach God as if He were our grandfather or favorite uncle; as if we would only feel ease, comfort, and familiarity in His presence, and never mind that we're talking about the God who created the Universe and who commands infinite power, glory, and awesomeness. In fact, I imagine that the experience of Moses on Sinai was quite a bit different than how we normally picture it, yet Moses did spend a full forty days and forty nights in His presence and came down literally illuminated. We don't deserve to approach the King, but it is by His grace that we are allowed to do so. We are told we can boldly approach the throne, but I'd rather err on the side of humility. I'm not really such a big deal, after all.

Yet we can approach. If we take the time and spend the energy necessary to climb a mere four rungs (remember, I'm adapting Rabbi Freeman's metaphor to fit my own) of the ladder, we can be with Him in prayer. If we don't know what to say, we have an intercessor who can interpret even our moans and groans. We have access to Him. All we really need is to find a place to be alone and allow ourselves to be sheltered in His "cloud" and by His wings.

Update, March 9th: After viewing this documentary film I found in the Yinon blog, I decided to include it here as well. For Christians, the movie may seem a little different than what you're used to, but the concept of Hitbodedut, of praying in deep solitude, is something that I think can benefit us all. Perhaps some of you are already spending this time with God.



Blessed be the Name of His glorious Kingdom for all eternity.

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.

Teaching Women

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’ -Luke 10:38-42 (NRSV)

I used this text during last Shabbat's teaching at my congregation as part of a discussion of gifts, giving, and motivation, but something a little unusual happened. It wasn't that I learned something new during the lesson. I often learn something new from what the class says when I teach, but I heard an interpretation, well a "hint" anyway, of something I'd absolutely never considered before.

We were discussing the differences between Mary (Miriam) and Martha (Marta) during this sequence of events and, while Martha was correctly expressing middle eastern hospitality (which particularly in ancient times was a much bigger deal than in modern American homes), the Master was pointing out that learning the things of God contains a greater and more lasting value.

First let's address the issue of hospitality just to get it out of the way. I'll use a classic example:

The Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, he said, "My lords, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. And let me fetch a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on—seeing that you have come your servant's way." They replied, "Do as you have said."

Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Quick, three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes!" Then Abraham ran to the herd, took a calf, tender and choice, and gave it to a servant-boy, who hastened to prepare it. He took curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree as they ate. -Genesis 18:1-8 (JPS Tanakh)

As you'll recall from Genesis 17:26, Abraham, and every male in his household, had just recently been circumcised, so running around to make sure that the needs of the three strangers (there's no reason to believe Abraham knew they were angelic beings at this point) was undoubtedly really "uncomfortable" for him. Nevertheless, he would have been severely remiss as a host if he had neglected his guests, no matter what the reason.

Also, there's this:

And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. -Luke 11:5-8 (NRSV)

In this case, Jesus is using an example of hospitality that would have been very familiar to his audience and which not only mirrors Abraham's example, but explains why Martha was so distressed that Mary wasn't helping out in serving the guests. Jesus wasn't undoing the custom and duty of hospitality when he spoke to Martha, he was explaining that there are things even more important, and Mary was doing them.

But besides breaching social etiquette, what's so special about Mary sitting at the Master's feet and learning from him? She was a woman.

Think about it. Although Jesus had many disciples who were women, in almost all "important" transactions, he is speaking to and teaching men. All of his inner circle; the twelve disciples, were men. There is a long tradition in the Tanakh, the Apostolic Scriptures, and in historic Judaism and Christianity that tends to favor men over women.

Does that mean Judaism and Christianity is sexist?

Besides all of that, I don't think that Christianity would exist today if it were not for sexism. If Mary didn't face getting stoned to death for getting knocked up before marriage, there would have been no need for the cockamamie immaculate conception story anyhow. Odds are, Joseph pressured her to have sex before marriage and told her nothing bad was going to happen. But, I guess I'm biased.

From an article at Think Atheist

However, there are numerous areas of the Bible where we see that women are not treated poorly, as the above writer suggests:

The daughters of Zelophehad, of Manassite family—son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh son of Joseph—came forward. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the chieftains, and the whole assembly, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and they said, "Our father died in the wilderness. He was not one of the faction, Korah's faction, which banded together against the Lord, but died for his own sin; and he has left no sons. Let not our father's name be lost to his clan just because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father's kinsmen!"

Moses brought their case before the Lord.

And the Lord said to Moses, "The plea of Zelophehad's daughters is just: you should give them a hereditary holding among their father's kinsmen; transfer their father's share to them. -Numbers 27:1-7 (JPS Tanakh)

On the one hand, Moses had to bring this case before God because it wasn't obvious that Zelophehad's daughters should inherit, but on the hand, Moses didn't dismiss their case out of hand because it wasn't obvious that they shouldn't have such rights.

There are numerous examples of how women are valued and esteemed in the ancient Jewish (Proverbs 31:10-31) and Christian worlds, but in Christianity, the most obvious example is this:

As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. -Galatians 3:27-29 (NRSV)

"No longer male and female" doesn't mean Paul is saying that the differences between sexes were eliminated, but that access to God and our value in the eyes of the Jewish Messiah isn't affected by our gender. For men and women (and Jews, Gentiles, masters, and slaves) the playing field is completely level in that regard.

While the message of wives submitting to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22-24) is often seen as sexist and oppressive, critics usually don't read far enough to see that husbands are commanded to care for their wives to the same standard that they care for themselves (Ephesians 5:25-33), and that the relationship of love and respect in marriage goes both ways.

But having said all that, did women in ancient (and not so ancient) times, have equal access to Religious and Spiritual learning?

If you've seen the 1983 Barbra Streisand film Yentl, then you might be tempted to say "no". After all, Streisand's character in the film must disguise herself as a young man to be allowed to attend a Yeshiva in Poland in 1903. This is a relatively accurate understanding of women and Jewish Yeshiva education at that time.

Traditionally in Judaism, women are "exempted" from a number of time related mitzvot as they would interfere with their duties as mothers and wives (which can certainly sound sexist). Christianity must admit to the same historical responsibility in favoring men over women in the areas of education and ministry.

While the majority of "key players" in the Bible are undeniably men, perhaps this is more of a reflection of cultural bias rather than God's intent. We see some exceptional women in the Bible (the Judge Deborah) and we notice in a number of Paul's letters that he commends a significant group of faithful women in the fledgling Messianic community. While Jesus didn't seem to assign leadership roles to any women among his inner circle, his treatment of Mary seems to show that he didn't object to (and perhaps instead respected) Mary sitting at his feet and learning the same lessons as the men. Holiness is after all, an equal opportunity affair if we can believe Paul's letter to the Galatians, and if both men and women are to have equal access to God, they certainly must be afforded an equal opportunity to learn.

While "equality" is considered more or less the norm in religious practice today (adjusted for practices in different Christian denominations and in the different branches of Judaism), we tend to think of the ancient record as showing that women were held to a lesser standard or denied equal opportunities for study and ministry. I don't believe this is true, or at least I don't believe this is true because of God's intent. If we can trust how Jesus interacted with Mary and Martha (and I admit, I'm piling on a tremendous amount of meaning onto a single part of the book of Luke), then the modern practice of admitting both men and women to Bible and Talmud study (again, adjusting for customs in different expressions of Christianity and Judaism), means we are finally catching up to a teaching of the Master that has been historically ignored.

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.

Going Forth from Zion

"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the Torah of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath." -Acts 15:19-21

I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about my congregation, going through our traditional worship service in my mind, considering the Torah portions and the ritual surrounding people being "called up to the Torah".

The "tradition" of reading the Torah portion every Shabbat at my congregation pre-dates my tenure as a leader, but it was instituted many years ago when I first started attending. The congregational leader at the time purchased what I would consider a "toy" Torah to use as a representation so he could conduct a "Torah service". I didn't know any better back then, so I figured it was normal.

He passed away and eventually a friend of mine and I (I've mentioned him before) joined the newly formed board of elders to try and bring some stability to the group.

My friend is amazing. He's extremely talented (especially for someone who started out life as an "Idaho farm boy"). He's fluent in a number of languages including Biblical Hebrew and Greek, and is quite well versed in Talmud and Jewish ritual. When he led the prayer service and Torah service, it was something to behold.

When he left, I "inherited" many of his responsibilities. I turned the prayer service over to someone else but I was asked to retain responsibility over the "Torah service".

I'm not really very good at it.

As time passed, I began to question how we were doing things and especially the use of the "toy" to try and replicate a "Torah service". I've actually been to a "real" Torah service, and I can assure you, what we do isn't really up to snuff.

But it's a congregational value to have that part of the service, assuming we have ten readers, so we keep doing it. I managed to convince the board last fall to trim back on the service, including eliminating the actual processional. I felt distinctly foolish following a miniature "Torah" scroll around the room and was concerned how Christian guests might perceive all the bowing to this object.

However, I feel that the actual reading of the Torah portion is important and should be maintained. I think it's valuable for both Jewish and non-Jewish believers alike. Apparently so did James when he said:

For the Torah of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” -Acts 15:21

This is one of the most difficult parts of the Jerusalem letter to understand for both Christians and Messianic Jews since, in the context of addressing proper behavior by non-Jews in a synagogue and Messianic worship setting, he seems to say that the Torah has value to the Gentiles!

I've found it valuable...not just reading the Bible, which is of course valuable to everyone, but the public reading of the Torah Portion, Haftarah, the Psalms and the Apostolic Scriptures.

We're a pretty nontraditional group. We have a "reading service" whenever we have ten people who can read. We've even allowed children under 12 or 13 to read if they wanted (some are pretty shy, but others love it). They're always so thrilled to do an "adult" thing and it really engages them in the service.

I remember once we had a woman who was a guest from a congregation in the Puget Sound area. I guess it wasn't a value in her congregation to allow women to read from the Torah portion. When I offered her the opportunity to read from the Torah with us, it was like I'd given her the most precious gift in the world. It was like finding treasure. It was like watching someone come home after a long journey. It was wonderful.

There was a time when we had several guests including an adult woman and her mother. The older woman was on oxygen and it was very difficult for her to get around. I could tell she wanted to read from the Torah portion, but her ability to stand for even short periods of time was very limited. I took the Tikkun (which is what we actually read from) down and sat by her, holding it on my lap so she could read it. Although she and her daughter never came back to our services, they couldn't stop thanking us for this simple act of compassion and kindness.

We have an elderly woman who attends services regularly (she lives in an assisted living home, so we provide transportation for her to come). Her first language is French although she reads and speaks English quite well. She suffers from dementia, and although that doesn't inhibit her reading, but she still wants me to stand next to her while she reads in case she makes a mistake (she almost never does).

I know I'm going to get "heck" for this practice in our congregation, publicly reading the Torah portion, allowing non-Jews (including me) to read the portion, allowing children to read the portion (and maybe for some of my really conservative readers, for allowing women to read from the portion).

While we don't do the service well, and I'd be happier if we didn't have to attempt to perform a "traditional" Jewish Torah service (the board put their foot down and said they wanted to retain that much...they wouldn't even let me offer the first reading to a Jewish person), it is a value within my congregation and I honor it.

But I'm not saying we shouldn't read the Torah portion publicly. I think it's important for both Jews and non-Jews. It's symbolic of both Jews and non-Jews having access to the Word of God. It's saying that there is no restriction in reading the Bible for anyone. It's not just for Jewish people. It's not just for men, It's not just for educated people or academicians. If the Bible isn't for all humanity then it means nothing at all.

I'm not saying that there aren't portions that specifically reference the Jewish people, but Yeshua (Jesus) came, lived, died, and was resurrected so that all nations could be made into disciples of the Jewish Messiah (Matthew 28:19) and come to know the One God of Israel.

In the days of Paul, Peter, and James, the Torah was read every Shabbat in the synagogue where both Jews and non-Jewish God-fearers worshiped. In those days, when non-Jews came to faith and received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-48), the Torah of Moses had already been preached in every city from the earliest times. The Prophet Isaiah spoke the words of God saying, The Torah will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3) and Paul wrote All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

There are lots of disagreements in the Messianic blogosphere and I suppose this will spawn another one, but I think it's very important to hold onto the Word of God. I don't think it's enough to read it to yourself privately (though that's important, too). I don't think it's enough to teach a study based on a portion from the Bible (yes, that's also important). Reading aloud and listening to someone read aloud accesses a type of learning that is different than silently reading to yourself. We have kids who grew up in our congregation, listening to the Torah being read while they were playing with Legos on the floor or coloring in coloring books and who "suddenly" began speaking huge amounts of scripture in conversation because they'd heard it being read for the past ten years. They've learned that the adults in their lives truly value the word of God and make it important enough to read and honor each Shabbat.

Why am I saying this? Why should you care?

Because I think it's just as proper to read the Torah out loud in a church as it is in a synagogue. I believe that everyone should have access to the Bible, not this group or that. I believe that it's just as important for a dirt farmer in rural Idaho to be able to read and study the Bible as it is for teachers, sages, and scholars.

If you can't make the Bible accessible to even a little child and let him or her learn and understand the stories of how people relate to God, then what good is it?

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” -Matthew 19:13-14

Sorry, but I get tired of hearing how only post-graduate students, people whose names begin with "doctor", or other ivory tower denizens are the only ones who can tell you what the Bible "really means", and the only ones who can give you access to God. Yes, I value education (I've got three university degrees myself) and I enjoy and appreciate good, well researched, and scholarly commentaries. I just don't think those commentaries and the people studying them should limit access to the Bible for "the rest of us".

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. -Proverbs 3:18

"A Jew never gives up. We're here to bring Mashiach, we will settle for nothing less." -Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh