A Subject So Heavy

“Hatred of the Jew has been humanity’s greatest hatred. While hatred of other groups has always existed, no hatred has been as universal, as deep, or as permanent as antisemitism.” 

Quote by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin from the book Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism

Just recently I started reading Our Hands Are Stained With Blood by Dr. Michael L. Brown. This book is part of the required reading material in the membership class, as a prerequisite to membership, at Baruch HaShem Messianic Synagogue. For starters, this book is a hard read, very hard. Not in its style, but in its content and history. The subtitle is The Tragic Story of The “Church” and the Jewish People. I’m only a few chapters in and the detail of hate, persecution, and murder along with the graphic images that come to ones mind are almost inconceivable and unbearable to even imagine the horrors that have been prevalent for centuries upon centuries between the “Church” and the Jewish People. To be sure, Brown does relate many horrors perpetrated by the “Church” against the Jews, but also broadens the spectrum and discusses Anti-Semitism around the world, in various cultures, in the media, and even reviews the claim that the New Testament itself and even Jesus himself make anti-semitic remarks.

“The challenge for the modern-day Christian reader confronting such a history is not only to absorb and own that history, but also to examine current Christian attitudes toward Jews and Judaism.”  The Rev. Phil Windsor

“The vast majority of Christians, even well-educated, are all but totally ignorant of what happened to Jews in history….and the involvement of the Church.”  Edward Flannery – Catholic Scholar

Michael Brown states emphatically that “The Church must know!” It is long over due that the Church universal, from the top down must be made aware of its history and dealings with the Jewish people. Brown states “Whether Catholic or Protestant – there is blood on our fathers’ hands.” Every last ounce of anti-semitic thought, theology and action must be dealt with, rooted out and repented from in order to bring the reconciliation that is so desperately needed between the Church and the Jewish people. Brown states “It is the Church’s tears of repentance that will wash away the stain of blood.” Brown’s primary subject is the “Church”, which is mostly placed in quotation marks to make the reader aware that the true Church, the biblical Church, wouldn’t have anything to do with anti-Semitism, at least not for the most part, for we know that sometimes whats lurking in the depths of the sub-conscience can betray its counterpart.

Many people may not think that anti-Semitism is prevalent and a part of mainstream society in the world today, at least not in the west. We might have the tendency to relegate it to the pages of history books about Hitler and the Holocaust. Others know that anti-Semitism rages in the middle east with leaders such as Iran’s Ahmadinejad and the Palestinian conflict and yet those same people might still not think that anti-semitic thought is a problem in the west, other than the outer fringes of society which includes those such as the neo-nazis and other white-supremacist groups.

Think again. In the almost seven decades since WWII and the tragedy of the Holocaust, anti-semitism hasn’t just went away or faded into the pages of history books. As maybe most would like to think, our post modern society with all of its technological advances and increased knowledge is not above those of past millenia in morality or its mutual hatred of the Jews. It seems that the past 2,500 years worth of generations seem to have at least this in common – on some level they all blame the Jews for theirs and the world’s problems. As the two articles quoted below indicate, anti-semitism is as prevalent today as its ever been and in fact appears to be on the rise at this very moment.

In a blog post at The Podium from the Boston Globe on November 7, 2011: The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism  By Abraham H. Foxman

Anti-Semitism has been resurging around the world over the last decade. The combination of anxiety over terrorism, concerns about financial stability, campaigns against Israel, and the diminution of the long felt shame after Auschwitz about exhibiting anti-Semitism have led to this resurgence. In other words, anti-Semitism is not a history lesson, it is a current event.

In a post at Communities from The Washington Times on November 5, 2011: Wall Street protest: Is the problem greed, envy, or anti-Semitism?  by Bob Siegel

Communism isn’t the only birth child of revolutions spawned by bitter envy. Hitler also used class warfare to bring about a different form of socialism, not global (as Marx preferred), but national. It was called, National Socialism. That’s NAZI for short, kids. And who were the horrible, devil-horned rich people according to the National Socialists? Jews of course!

Yes, that was the past but it was only a matter of time before such villain casting caught up with America. Once the rich are effectively demonized, sooner or later somebody “connects the dots” equating the term rich with the term Jew.

In New York, the repetitious shout, “Jews control Wall Street” can now be heard. Not to be out done by yelling, protesters’ signs say creative things such as “Google: (1) Wall Street Jews; (2) Jewish Billionaires; (3) Jews & Fed Rsrv Bank,” and  “Gaza Supports The Occupation of Wall Street,” (FRONTPAGEMAG.COM, October 26, 2011).

These two posts are just a highlight and small sample of what you can read in the mainstream news everyday in regards to this subject that is so heavy or should be so heavy on the hearts and minds of all those who put thier trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel. I plan to devote more than a few posts to some of the various subject nature found in Brown’s Our Hands Are Stained With Blood. In the meantime and going forward from now on I pray that our hearts, especially those of believers and followers of the Jewish Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) may meditate upon these verses of Scripture:

 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:3 ESV)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you! (Psalm 122:6 ESV)

For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. (Romans 9:3 ESV)

May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah!

In The Beginning

“The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them” Mark Twain

I’m about to make a sales pitch to you or maybe rather a plea. I have an offer that you really shouldn’t refuse. I will personally stand behind and guarantee this offer as it is backed by an extended lifetime warranty. Not to mention (though I’m about to), I have all the leverage in the world on my side. What I’m about to offer will make you smarter, give you discernment, make you wise unto salvation, correct your errors, equip you for life’s ups and downs, and make you better looking (ok, I added the last benefit-I can’t promise that one). What is this master-plan that I have to offer? Why am I so confident in its ability? How much could something like this cost? What’s the catch?

Let’s review the ?’s once more for clarity and I’ll give you the short answers:

What is the offer? I’m talking about The Word of God aka The Bible aka The Good Book aka Scripture aka The Sword (who doesn’t want to have and know how to use a sword?).

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 ESV)

Why are you so confident in its ability?  “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11 ESV)

How much is it? It’s FREE!!! You probably even have a couple of different versions lying around the house. If not and you’re reading this just look it up on google or click on one of the links below.

What’s the catch? You. You’re the catch. It doesn’t have to cost you anything monetarily speaking but it will need your time, energy and effort to begin to unlock its teaching and mysteries.

Stay with me for a minute as I unpack some additional instructions below that have been helpful to me.

Yesterday, in synagogues across the world, the Torah scroll was rolled back to the beginning of B’resheet (Genesis). A new weekly reading cycle of the Torah has begun and will culminate by Rosh Hashannah 2012. The Jewish people have had a structured reading plan for the Torah (Five Books of Moses) dating back to at least the time of Ezra (Nehemiah 8:1) and possibly King Josiah (2 Kings 22:8-23:3). On each week, beginning with Sunday and ending on the Sabbath (Saturday), synagogues across the world are reading and studying from the same portion of Scripture. Judaism has a foundational Bible reading plan that has been established for 2,500 years. Look into it! From experience, there is a synergistic like feeling to know that when you’re following this ancient reading cycle of the Torah that there are millions of other people reading and studying the same words, at the same time as you are.

(In classic sales pitch voice) But wait there’s more! In addition to the weekly Torah readings, there is another weekly portion of Scripture that is taken from the Prophets called the Haftarah, which means completion. The weekly Haftarah portion relates to the weekly Torah portion. Now the Torah and Haftarah reading plan would be a great foundation for anyone who is looking to start a Bible reading plan from the beginner to the most serious students of Scripture.

Here’s an extra Bonus!!! For believers in Yeshua the Messiah or those who are searching out those claims it gets even better. In addition to the Hebrew Bible (Genesis-2 Chronicles), we also get the teachings of the Apostles (Matthew-Revelation), most commonly called the New Testament or B’rit Hadashah in Hebrew. The Messianic Jewish community has also included relevant sections from the Apostolic Writings that fit with the weekly Torah and Haftarah readings. There are also some others making it a focus to study the Gospel accounts of Yeshua along with the normal weekly synagogue readings. After all, the Torah and Gospels are the foundations of our faith!

Whether you adopt this style of reading/study plan, something similar or create your own, the most important thing is to be immersed and washed in the Word as frequently as possible. Also, make it a point to study with family and friends along with some good commentary. They will all open up worlds and dimensions in the Bible that you never even knew existed before. Very cool stuff awaits you my friend!

Now is a great time to start and there is not a better place to begin, than well, at the beginning!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3 ESV)

Here are some ***FREE*** resources that would be helpful on your journey this year:

http://www.biblestudytools.com/cjb/ - This is an online version of Dr. David H. Stern’s Complete Jewish Bible. (This has been my top study Bible translation since 2008).

http://www.esvbible.org/ - Online version of the English Standard Version. Modern language and reading style.

http://www.blueletterbible.org/ - Online Bible resource site that has many different versions and commentaries.

http://ffoz.org/ - First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ) is a Messianic Jewish  educational ministry dedicated to proclaiming the Torah and its way of life,  fully centered on Messiah, to today’s people of God.

http://torahportions.org/ - Torah PORTIONS is a ministry resource of First Fruits of Zion intended to make the weekly Torah portion accessible for everyone.

http://yeshuaincontext.com/ - Derek Leman is a rabbi in Atlanta, Georgia. YeshuaInContext.com is about the life and message of Yeshua (Jesus) based on the books, eBooks, audiobooks, podcast and other resources by Derek Leman. Yeshua in Context is a place to find information and inspiration related to the aims and identity of Yeshua. It is a place for beginners as well as inquirers and ongoing learners. (You can also email Derek at yeshuaincontext@gmail.com to get subscribed to his Daily D’var – commentary on the Torah and Gospels).

http://www.flamefoundation.org/parashiot.html – FLAME Foundation is committed to the development of quality educational   materials for use in Messianic Jewish settings.

http://www.aish.com/tp/ - Aish’s educational philosophy is that Judaism is not all or nothing; it is a journey where every step counts, to be pursued according to one’s own pace and interest. Mitzvot (commandments) are not rituals, but opportunities for personal growth, to be studied and understood. We learn the Torah’s wisdom to enrich our own lives, and to share these ideas with all humanity.

May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah!

Ashes and Fire

“Can you shelter the weak? Will you listen when the strangers speak?…I will shelter you with my love and forgiveness” Ryan Adams from the song Kindness

This post is not about the new Ryan Adams record of the same name, though I will comment on it below. This is my Sukkot Summary for 2011 and the title Ashes and Fire seemed like a good metaphor for the holiday burning up bright, warmly glowing, getting intense at times, and then fading into evidence that will drift away soon, but still leave its mark of where it was on our hearts and minds in the time to come. For my family and I, plus a friend or two along the way, the past few years Sukkot has become synonymous with camping (I’m talking tent camping here. None of that “we’re going camping but we’re staying in a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, full kitchen with a hot tub cabin”, though I have done that before and it is rather nice:-), fire pits, the proverbial “smoke in the eyes”, way too many roasted marshmallows, a grill full of hot dogs, burgers, steaks, fajita meat, kabobs or whatever you will (we take this feast business seriously), beer (especially all of the autumn seasonal varieties…recommendations below…mmm), lounging with a book, naps o’ heavenly naps, music with guitars, star-gazing, did I mention eating?, ok, etc.

Top 5 Sukkot Beer Recommendations (Alphabetical Order):

Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale

Samuel Adams Bonfire

Samuel Adams Octoberfest

Samuel Adams Pumpkin Ale

Shiner Oktoberfest

Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. (Luke 12:31 ESV)

For the past two years we have celebrated Sukkot at the Windermere Baptist camp at Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. This year we were unable to make the trip to the Windermere so we turned our backyard into a celebratory campground. Now before you start thinking that tent camping in the backyard is a walk in the park (I used too), I now can experientialy disagree! It is exponentially harder to leave behind some of your earthly comforts for a week (i.e. warm and cozy bed) and not return to them in the middle of the night when you’ve woken up for the fifth time due to “some noise”, your back is aching, it’s 43 degrees outside and all of the comforts of your home sweet home are only 16 feet away. It may sound funny, but it takes faith. You have to really believe in what you’re doing not just to give in to your physical desires.

You shall rejoice in your feast…..For seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God…so that you will be altogether joyful. (Deuteronomy 16:14-15 ESV)

With that being said, we had a heck of a time! Out of the eight days, we only had one rainy night and for 5 days daytime temps were in the mid 80s and the other 3 in the mid 70s with all of them being full of sunshine. I made the comment during the festival to some friends that apart from it being Sukkot, late September or October is a fabulous time to take a vacation in Texas because the weather is just so beautiful!

There wasn’t a single night during the festival when we didn’t have “ushpizin” which means “guests” in Hebrew. We had over a couple of neighbors and their families plus some friends and families from our congregation that live close by. The fellowship for this year’s Sukkot is what made it our best yet. At first we were a little bummed about not getting to go to MO again, but getting to celebrate with family, friends and neighbors more than made up for the idyllic scenery. We all enjoyed good food, great conversations, prayers and blessings, Scripture and liturgical readings, sing alongs, jokes, amature astronomy and many kids running wild and free (for our Erev Shabbat gathering we had close to a dozen kids here under the age of 13). We talked about Yeshua being a focal point for this festival and in our lives past, present and future. We talked primarily about his birth and the Tabernacle themes surrounding it and his return in judgment and praise during this Feast at a future time.

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. (John 7:37 ESV)

“As he stared past the fire, His hunger to leave well it gnawed his poor heart alive”

Now to the Ryan Adams record Ashes and Fire. I have been a Ryan Adams fan since about 2000 and yet hadn’t kept up with him recently since his “retirement” from music in 2009. So I was surprised when my brother and his wife stopped by for a bit on Erev Shabbat and handed me the “New Ryan Adams Record”. I couldn’t listen to it immediately but over the new few days I couldn’t stop listening to it! Upon the first listen I thought it was a little sleepy and monotone and yet by the fourth or fifth spin I was hooked and singing its praises to our guests. It ended up being the perfect soundtrack to our nights beside the campfire, as well as for my wife and I when we cleaned up the “camp” in the mornings. This record has a certain maturity about it, an introspective aching for the things that were and a renewal and hope for the things that will be. The music and production are sparse and not over-produced and the lyrics and vocals are intimate and heart-worn. This is not the most diverse record Adams has made or the most instantly gratifying. Still Ashes and Fire a very worthy “comeback” record that finds his songwriting, musical melody and vocals in fine form after weathering the storm that threatened to end his career in 2009 (Adams battled substance abuse, got diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease, and lost a good friend who committed suicide and his grandma who had raised him, to cancer).  Stand-out tracks for me include: Dirty Rain, Come Home, Kindness, and I Love You But I Don’t Know What To Say.

May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah!

 

Season of our Joy

“A holy person is a person of deep joy” Daniel Juster

For seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God at the place that the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful. (Deuteronomy 16:15 ESV)

“Sukkot – Feast of Tabernacles is the culmination of all the appointed times. It is to the other festivals what the Sabbath is to the other six days of the week. It is a prophetic picture of the coming kingdom. It foreshadows the great celebration when the entire world will live in peace and brotherhood under the reign and rule of the righteous Messiah King. Sukkot is Camping Out with God.” Adapted from the FFOZ e-drash: Camping out with God

The Feast of Feast’s is upon us! I’m talking about the “Season of our Joy” Sukkot (Tabernacles) which begins this Wednesday evening, October 12th and lasts until the evening of the following Thursday, October 20th. Eight Days of rejoicing and “camping out with God”!!! Anyone who has never celebrated one of the Biblical Holidays is truly missing a blessing! Also, for those who think that the religious type are too uptight and short on having fun, the Bible commands the exact opposite;

……spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household. (Deuteronomy 14:26 ESV)

Today is a day of transition. It’s the day after Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and five days remain until Sukkot (Tabernacles). What are we transitioning from during this time? Some of this transition involves us going from Fasting to Feasting, Denial to Delight, Repentance to Renewal, and Judgment to Joy!

I came across an interesting comment on a blog last week about the High Holiday’s and Jewish Tradition.

“There is a very peculiar theme through out all of Scripture that is one of combining joy and grief. I think this comes through more in the Jewish traditions than in Christendom…..[especially]in relation to the Jewish high holidays. You have the near year [Rosh HaShannah/Yom Teruah] which is mostly joyful….sort of….then you have Yom Kippur which is not joyful….sort of….and then you have Sukkot [back to joyful again]. Such an interesting tradition.” praesto12

If the High Holiday’s were a roller coaster, then the month of Elul would be that slow winding clicking going up to the first major high and plunge (Rosh HaShannah), then twisting and turning through the track (10 Days of Awe) leading to a great introspective and fearful (Yom Kippur) march up to the climatic finale (Sukkot) of exuberance. It’s probably a bad analogy but it’s what came into my head at the time of writing this, plus I had a cool picture to fit the theme:-).

Back to the subject at hand………………..

The Feast of Sukkot anticipates that fearful, though also joyful Day when Messiah returns and steps his feet down upon the Mount of Olives and draws all the nations unto Himself to celebrate the great ingathering of believers (See Exodus 23:16). This is spoken of in Zechariah where it says:

 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. (Zechariah 14:9 ESV)

 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths (Sukkot). (Zechariah 14:16 ESV)

So what part as Christians and Messianic Jews do we have to play in this drama of celebration today? In the present we have the opportunity to get a glimpse of the World to Come and a foretaste of a time in the future that will be Joy manifested to the fullest in a holiness procured by our Messiah. We will be in the presence of our great God and King Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) having the coolest party ever thrown in the history of the universe!

May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah!

Beyond the Mystery

“The theology of fate knows only a one-sided dependence upon the ultimate power. That power has neither concern for man nor need of him.”

In Chapter 6 of God in Search of Man, Abraham Joshua Heschel discusses why The Enigma is Not Solved. Read related posts in this series; Being is Mysterious,  A Legacy of Wonder, The Sublime, Ways to His Presence, Philosophy and Religion and God in Search of Man Part I.

“He lowered heaven and came down with thick darkness under his feet. 10 He rode on a keruv; he flew, swooping down on the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his hiding-place, his canopy thick clouds dark with water. 12 From the brightness before him, there broke through his thick clouds hailstones and fiery coals.” (Psalm 18:9-12)

Oftentimes God is hidden. As the Psalmist quoted above says “He made darkness His hiding place”. “Where can God be found when disaster strikes?” asks not only the scoffer but also the grieving mother, father, son, daughter, neighbor, friend, community or even country after the unexplainable loss of a loved one or the unimaginable loss of thousands upon thousands of loved ones due to a circumstance deemed “an act of God”. The reality of nature’s destruction and history’s lack of compassion is a stumbling block for many people seeking answers to universal mysteries. Yet Heschel says “The extreme hiddeness of God is a fact of constant awareness”.

“God thunders wonderfully with his voice, he does great things beyond our understanding.” (Job 37:5)

Scripture, along with the Biblical man is not silent on these matters. Both Scripture and the Biblical man agree that God is hard to find sometimes and that He offers answers that are beyond our capacity of comprehension. But what about God’s perfect justice and righteousness? The skeptic might also ask “if His judgment is true, then why all of the innocent suffering?”.

“Wake up, Adonai! Why are you asleep? Rouse yourself! Don’t thrust us off forever. 24 Why are you turning your face away, forgetting our pain and misery?” (Psalm 44:23-24)

“For God is in heaven, and you are on earth; so let your words be few.” (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

The verse’s above are good places to start in answering the above questions. For starters, we have a very finite perspective on why things happen the way they do. To put it simply, our lack of ultimate perspective and knowledge should cause all of us to pause when making determinations of God’s perceived inconsistent attributes, as well as declarations of  God’s lack of existence.

Heschel talks about God’s mercy beyond the mystery and circumstances of this world. God’s concern, guidance, will, and commandments are all revealed to man through His Word (Scripture) and capable of being experienced by him. Heschel says that man “is called to responsible living and to be a partner of God in the redemption of the world”. In Judaism this is called “tikkun o’lam” which is “repairing the world“.

Heschel brings up two events in Israel’s experience to show that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is unique in comparison to all of the other so-called gods that have been presented through-out the history of the world:

1. When God descended upon Mount Sinai and His voice spoke clearly to all the people what did it disclose? The mysteries and enigmas of the universe? No. The condition of departed souls? No. Information about demons, angels or heaven? No. When the voice of God became audible it said: Remember the Sabbath…..Honor your Father and Mother…….Don’t murder, steal, cheat or lie….
2. When Moses asked God to reveal to him who He was, did He say? I am the all-wise, perfect and most beautiful? No. He said I am full of love and compassion……..Where in the history of religion prior to God’s revelation to Moses, was the Supreme Being celebrated for  His being sensitive to the suffering of man?

In Judaism, history with all of its ups and downs, joy and suffering, is determined by the covenant: God desires relationship with man. The ultimate is not the Law but the Judge over the Law, not an arbitrary power figure but a fair and just Father.

“The ideas of religion are an answer, when the mystery is a problem…….the certainty that there is meaning beyond the mystery is the reason for ultimate rejoicing”.

May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah!

Journey into the Unknown

My wife and I have just started something new. Something that has been on our minds with intentions to do for the past couple of years has just begun. It was just over a year ago that we finalized the difficult decision to leave the church that had been our spiritual home for the past 7 years. A place that we had been attending before we met, a place that we became members, went through pre-marital counseling, was married by one of the Pastors, had our daughter dedicated, I was baptized, we were challenged theologically, accepted in grace and love, grew in sanctification and met and became friends with many faithful servants of our Lord and Savior Yeshua (Jesus). That place was The Village Church.

So why the difficult move? Why change something that wasn’t broke but in fact was working quite well? Why? Why? Why? Are the questions that we asked ourselves for months upon months and went back and forth about, feeling kind of like a tennis tournament with no game point. Sure there were disagreements along the way and frustration about various matters with The Village, but that’s life here on earth, you know, this place we live that is short of perfect.

During our time at The Village we were introduced (outside of The Village) to the Jewish roots of Christianity with its emphasis on the continuity of both “testaments”, a focus on historical and linguistic interpretational methods as well as historical, sociological and relational aspects between the Jewish people, Judaism and Israel et large along with greater Christianity. At least that’s how I view it now a few years later. I hope that makes a little sense and if not ask me for clarification. To put it simply, we had a paradigm shift both theologically and philosophically that we wrestled with for a few years about its implications (this process is not done but we’ve come a long way since day 1:-).  There was something about looking at our faith (Christianity) through the eyes of Judaism that resonated within us. We didn’t have a logical explanation for why we were drawn to it but we were; it didn’t make a lot of sense and yet at the same time it did.

So that brief look back brings us to the present. This past week we started the next phase in our journey into the unknown. A journey that we didn’t completely choose ourselves to take and one that we are unsure where it will all lead. This is a mystery. As Heschel says “we are all a part of the Mystery”. The Mystery is not God, but the mystery is His creation and our existence in it. He is the Who and What that is beyond all mysteries. It is by Him that we move and interact with it all.

So what is it that we have started? The process to become members at Baruch HaShem Messianic Synagogue.

So you might be thinking “why is that such a big deal?” or “why become a member of any religious organization?” or ”a synagogue???? people there don’t believe in Jesus do they?”. Ok, so maybe you thought none of those things and it was just all in my head, and that’s fair. So I will give you (or myself) the short answer.

What’s the big deal? For us (my family) it’s all those things we talked about above. It’s about taking that first step into the uncomfortable position of submission and accountability to a faith community again. It’s aligning ourselves with an expression of faith that is many times socially awkward and inconvenient (you can’t say, think or do anything and everything you want to, but in a twist of Divine irony there is freedom in those “perceived” limitations). It’s always having to be ready to give an answer and defense of your “religion” almost everyday (this is not a bad thing and is in fact Biblical to talk about the “hope within us” but the flip side can be both tiring and worrisome at times).

Does Scripture speak to congregational membership or community accountability? To put it simply, Yes it does. Maybe not in the terms we would like to see such as spelled out in CAPS LOCKS and BOLD LETTERS, but Scripture is based on community and covenantial fidelity. Unique individuals with specific roles and talents in unity that make up a community is woven into the very fabric of the Bible’s directives and objectives. To quote Matt Chandler from The Village “It is how God designed life to work best”. In Scripture, a Covenant is an agreement of terms between God Himself, God and man, and mankind with each other. Biblically there are many Covenants and they are all built up from the previous one and support each other. Through Covenantial fidelity is the only way we can serve the One True God and each other in a faithful love based relationship.

Do people in synagogues believe in Jesus? This is a little more complex than you might think. To begin with Jesus is Jewish (was, is and will come back as a Jew) and was often found in a synagogue with the rest of his people. His religion is Jewish. For the first 10-20 years after the Resurrection, virtually all believers in Jesus were also Jewish (naturally or converted). So with that, yes, a segment (remnant) of the Jewish people have always had faith in Jesus as the Messiah. On the other hand, for the most part in modern terms as it relates to the Jewish community through-out the world the answer is, no. The Jewish people on a whole have rejected Jesus as the Messiah and there are many reasons for this including a supernatural blinding by God and some major sins on behalf of the Church. The word “messianic” means a follower of the Messiah. A “messianic” synagogue does affirm Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah of Israel and the Nations. A “messianic” synagogue should consist of Jews and Gentiles serving God according to the manner in which they were called and serving one another together in Messiah Yeshua as One New Man.

So there you have it, a quick summation of our continuing on this Journey into the Unknown. This is a journey that we’re all on whether aware or not and that’s a little scary, but exciting! Would you have it any other way?

May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah!

Whole Lotta Love

The title of this post comes from a Led Zeppelin song of the same name. Other than sharing the title, this post has nothing to do with Led Zeppelin or that song (though I was a huge Zeppelin fan in high school and will occasionally still crank them up in the car when the kids are not sleeping, my wife is in a good mood and I can do no wrong:-).

Today’s Torah portion Va’etchanan (I pleaded) comes from Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11. At this point in Scripture, Moses has led the children of Israel to the threshold of crossing over the Jordan into the Promised Land and is at the end of his life when he begins expounding upon and retelling the Israelites journey from Egypt, the miracles and faithfulness of God along the way, and the stern warning and admonishment to be obedient to the One who has called them out to be His special treasure. This summation of events from the previous 40 years is important because now standing before Moses is a new generation. This is not the same generation who experienced the Exodus from Egypt or God on the mountain at Sinai as adults. So with this second generation on up to ours today and for future generations, Deuteronomy remains a kind of quick “how to” manual for God’s people. To paraphrase Paul in 1 Corinthians 10, that these things took place as an example to all of those who would follow that first generation as a warning to guard our hearts, minds and actions so that we might endure until the end and reach our goal.

This portion of Scripture contains what might be the most famous of all passages for Judaism and one that should carry equal weight in Christianity as well. I’m talking about the S’hema Israel! from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 which reads “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [1] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” This is a scripture that by the Second Temple Period had become one of the most prominent in Jewish Theology and Religion. We see this bore out in the New Covenant writings when Yeshua (Jesus) is asked what the greatest commandment is? He replied with “‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” Yeshua also said that there was another commandment that was like the S’hema which is that ”‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

If you notice closely there is a slight variation in Yeshua’s quoting of Deuteronomy 6:4-5 with “mind and strength (or might)”. David Stern in his Jewish New Testament Commentary says that this variation might have been added by the translator of Mark’s Gospel to “convey the full sense of the commandment” in the Greco-Roman context. Also in David Stern’s Complete Jewish Bible, he translates “might” from Deuteronomy 6:5 to “resources“ which makes it a more concrete term and definitely adds to the meaning of the verse in our present day society.

This should cause questions, basic questions:

1. How do we really love God with everything we have?
2. How can we love our neighbor, if we don’t know how to love ourself?
3. Where can I begin practically trying to fulfill these commandments?

In discussing these verses today as a part of his message, Rabbi Marty Waldman relayed a “love” story from the Talmud about a King and his servants that went something like this; there was a King whose servants came to him on behalf of the people and asked “what they could do to please the king and show their love for him?” The King replied that they would please and show love to the king by being obedient citizens and serving and loving one another in his kingdom. If they did that they would be showing their faithful love to the king. For believers this story should sound familiar, not because we are versed in the Talmud or the Jewish Sages but because our King (Yeshua) has commanded the same thing. Yeshua has given us the answers to the questions above and more importantly the examples on how to begin and follow him in love for God and each other. The verses from John’s Gospel below sums everything up quite nicely in the words of our Master:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  (John 15:9-12)

I’ve been reading D. Thomas Lancaster’s new book The Holy Epistle to the Galatians which is a commentary on the book of Galatians. In Galatians 5:14 Paul quotes Leviticus 19:18 by saying “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Paul also said in Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Lancaster says that “love is the defining, fundamental principle of Yeshua’s approach to Torah. The Torah of Messiah is love for God and love for neighbor”.

Getting back to some practical aspects of “loving our neighbor” which is in turn obedience to Yeshua and “loving God”, Lancaster gives some additional biblical examples that are prevalent opportunities to “love one another” in our world today: “By citing this commandment first, Paul pointed his Gentile readers to a whole sphere of moral, ethical, interpersonal commandments of the Torah. In essence, he bound all of the “do unto others” commandments upon the God-fearing Gentiles. All those commandments hang upon the command to love one’s neighbor, whether honoring one’s parents, not charging a brother interest on a loan, giving to the poor, leaving the corner of the field, caring for orphans and widows, matters of tort law, justice, mercy, fairness-the vast majority of the Torah’s commandments hang upon this one command to love your neighbor. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and that which is hateful to you do not do unto others.”

The Apostle James, the brother of Yeshua also agrees when he says “If you really fulfill the royal law (Torah) according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.” (James 2:8)

To quote Rabbi Marty again from today’s message, “now that is a whole lot of love”.

May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah!

Being is Mysterious

 “What stirred their souls was neither the hidden nor the apparent, but the hidden in the apparent; not the order but the mystery of the order that prevails in the universe.”

In Chapter 5 of God In Search of Man, Abraham Joshua Heschel discusses The Sense of Mystery. Read related posts in this series; A Legacy of Wonder, The Sublime, Ways to His Presence, Philosophy and Religion and God in Search of Man Part I.

All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? Eccesiastes 7:23-24

Heschel says that Scripture teaches more than just ”ultimate wisdom being out of our reach” but a greater idea he calls much more “radical”. What is this “radical” teaching that Scripture alludes to? That everything that is, is more than what we think or perceive it to be. It is “far off and deep, exceedingly deep” according to the writer of Ecclesiastes. Heschel states simply that “Being is mysterious“.

Heschel speaks of the “secret” being at the “core of the apparent; the known is but the obvious aspect of the unknown“. Also, “the deeper we search the nearer we arrive at knowing that we do not know“. These thoughts of ultimate reality are grounded in humility and help to combat the tendency for prideful thinking and ideas in modern skepticism and reason such as ”what we account can be accounted for” and “exploring the ways of being will lead us to what, why and where from being originates”, that is apart from where Scripture says it does of course.

“The mystery is not only beyond and away from us. We are involved in it.” What Heschel means by the term mystery is not limited to the spiritual or philosophical sense but in this present world of reality. It is part of our existence and can be experienced as “the essential mystery of being as being, the nature of being God’s creation out of nothing and therefore, something which stands beyond the scope of human comprehension.”

To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. [1] A Song. – Psalm 46:1

In Hebrew, the word “olam” commonly refers to the world as in the phrase “olam haba” i.e. the World to Come. The Hebrew root word for “olam” is “alam” which means to hide or conceal. Heschel says “the world is itself hiddenness; its essence is a mystery” and “the world is something we apprehend but cannot comprehend.” It is with this line of thought that Heschel speaks of a Midrash (teaching) on the word “alamoth” such as used in Psalm 46:1. Usually this word “alamoth” is simply regarded as a “musical or liturgical term”, but Heschel says that it teaches “hidden are the things that we see; we do not know what we see.”

Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. 3 I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. 4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know! – Proverbs 30:2-4

Ultimately this mystery that we are involved in and the world depends on is known and knowable while at the same time it is unknown and unknowable, it is the Mystery of the Universe - that is God Himself! We have not complete understanding yet we do know His Son’s name – Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah)! Enjoy being part of the Mystery!

May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah!

Got Righteousness?

I was talking with my Grandpa this past Sunday after his Sunday school class and he was a bit excited. His excitement was not due to being over-joyed by someone or something but rather by being worked up over some of the dialogue that had taken place in his class about Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. To give you some background, my Grandpa has been a faithful member of his Baptist church for many years but has taken some criticism as of late due to his becoming more vocal of Scripture continuity and Torah-relevance (the ongoing validity of both “testaments” along with the Law in some form or fashion). I won’t get into the juicy details of our conversation right now (I might save that for some future posts….wait for it, wait for it) but it did cause me to review some of my study notes from earlier this year when I was going through the book of Galatians and reading David Stern’s Jewish New Testament Commentary.

Read a related post here: Galatians: The Revolution Starts Here

In addition to these notes, I’m anticipating gaining some additional insight, Lord willing, when I start D. Thomas Lancaster’s newly released commentary on Galatians that should be arriving in my mailbox any day now:-). It looks as though I could be in Galatians for the rest of this year!

Stern notes that there are two primary topics in Galatians:

1. Paul’s authority as an Apostle.
2. Justification through trust in Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice. Being justified apart from any works of the Law or otherwise. Specifically circumcision (shorthand for conversion to Judaism) as a prerequisite or in addition to trusting in Yeshua for Salvation.

I thought Stern’s comments on righteousness in Galatians were particularly helpful for understanding their various contexts in this Letter.

“even so, we have come to realize that a person is not declared righteous by God on the ground of his legalistic observance of Torah commands, but through the Messiah Yeshua’s trusting faithfulness.”  Galatians 2:16 (CJB)

Stern makes note of two kinds of righteousness in his commentary on verse 2:16:

1. Behavioral Righteousness - doing what is right physically or socially in accordance with Scripture.
2. Forensic Righteousness – being regarded as righteous in the senses by God by being cleared of guilt for past sins and being given a new nature inclined to obey God rather than rebel against Him as before.

Stern says the “task of becoming behaviorally righteous begins with appropriating forensic righteousness by trusting in Yeshua; and it occupies the rest of a believer’s life“. To me this is a related way of saying we are justified (declared forensically righteous) through Yeshua and we are sanctified (becoming behaviorally righteous) for the rest of our lives through that same trust in Yeshua.

Stern notes that there are two Greek words that distinguish these two kinds of righteousness:

1. dikaioo – generally forensic righteousness
2. dikaiosune – generally behavior righteousness

Stern points out that in verses 2:21, 3:6, 3:21 and 5:5 both forms of righteousness is what is intended.

What was one of Paul’s main proof texts to make his point to the Galatians about both types of righteousness and how it is achieved?

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4

May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah!

A Legacy of Wonder

“This is one of the goals…to experience commonplace deeds as spiritual adventures, to feel the hidden love and wisdom in all things.”

In chapter 4 of God in Search of Man, Heschel talks about Wonder or Radical Amazement as being one of the “Ways to His Prescence”. You can read related posts here: The Sublime, Ways to His Presence, Philosophy and Religion and God in Search of Man Part I.

Heschel begins by saying that “the surest way to suppress our ability to understand the meaning of God and the importance of worship is to take things for granted.” When we have the attitude that there are no mysteries and that everything can be explained in its time, then there is no need to go beyond the world looking for its explanation since it’s explanation is well, self-explanatory. Heschel calls this type of “indifference to the sublime wonder of all living things “the root of sin”.

This is the Lord’s doing, it is marvelous in our eyes – Psalm 118:23

Heschel says that “among the many things religious tradition holds in store for us is a legacy of wonder.” The Biblical man’s attitude toward both historical and natural reality is one of wonder and his radical amazement never ceases. Our time is one in which perhaps no previous generation has had the amount of external distractions (technological, media, social, ect) mixed with a heavy amount of “conventional notions and mental clichés” which has led to a numbing of our sense of wonder and radical amazement. More than ever we need to consider God’s directive to Job “Hear this, O Job, stand still and consider the wondrous works of the Lord…….the wonderous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge….” Job 37:14-16

He does great things past finding out and marvelous things without number – Job 9:10

As a part of their daily prayers, religious Jews pray to God three times a day ”for His miracles which are with us daily and for His continual marvels….”. Jews also pray the Shema which states that “God is One” twice every day. Heschel asks why all the repetition? In every generation, Heschel says “The insights of wonder must be constantly kept alive. Since there is a need for daily wonder, there is a need for daily worship.”

If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be told – Psalm 40:6

Heschel challenges that there is no act worth committing or even living itself if we take for granted life’s blessings and defeats. When we utter a prayer over a meal alone or in fellowship, are lit up by a smiling childs face, encounter someone who’s overcome or succumbed to an illness, laugh or weep uncontrollably with a loved one or friend, in all these things and more we should “maintain our sense of wonder” and remind ourselves “of the eternal mystery of creation” by “invoking His great name and our awareness of Him”.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. [1] Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well – Psalm 139:14

Perhaps the greatest sense of wonder one might have is the mysterious and perplexing amazement at his own being. Since I was young I have occasionally looked in the mirror and got lost in this thought of me being me. That I have been created and that I’m aware of the grandeur of this and marvel at its grace. As Heschel says “Even the very act of thinking baffles our thinking, just as every intelligible fact is, by virtue of its being a fact, drunk with baffling aloofness” and “The most incomprehensible fact is the fact that we comprehend at all.”

May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah!