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Jewish Holiday Calendar
For September 2018 site updates, please scroll past this entry....
The Torah divides the calendar into two symmetrical halves: the Spring and the Fall, indicating the two advents of Messiah. The Biblical year officially begins during the month of the Passover from Egypt (called Rosh Chodashim, see Exod. 12:2), and the spring holidays of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits both recall our deliverance from Egypt and also our greater deliverance given by means of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah, the great Passover Lamb of God. Yeshua was crucified on erev Pesach, buried during Unleavened Bread, and was resurrected on Yom Habikkurim (Firstfruits). The holiday of Shavuot (i.e., "Pentecost") both commemorates the revelation of the Torah at Sinai as well as the revelation of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) at Zion, in fulfillment of the promise given by our Lord....
The intermediate months of summer end with the advent of the sixth month of the calendar, called the month of Elul, which recalls the time Moses interceded on behalf of Israel after the sin of the Golden Calf. To commemorate this time of our history, we likewise focus on teshuvah (repentance) in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah and especially in anticipation of Yom Kippur, the great "Day of Atonement." In Jewish tradition the 30 days of Elul are combined with the first ten days of the seventh month (called the "Days of Awe") to set apart "Forty Days of Teshuvah" leading up to the Day of Forgiveness for Israel. Immediately following Yom Kippur, the mood changes as we begin preparing for a joyous week-long celebration called Sukkot (i.e., "Tabernacles") that concludes with the holiday of Simchat Torah.
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The Fall Holidays:
The fall festivals prophetically indicate the Day of the LORD, the second coming of Yeshua, the great national turning of the Jewish people, and the establishment of the reign of the Messiah upon the earth during the Millennial Kingdom in the world to come.
Note that in accordance with tradition, holiday dates begin at sundown. Moreover, some holidays may be postponed one day if they happen to fall on the weekly Sabbath:
- Month of Elul (Fri. Aug. 10th [eve] - Sun. Sept. 9th [day])
- Month of Tishri (Sun. Sept. 9th [eve] - Mon. Oct. 8th [day])
- Month of Cheshvan (Mon. Oct. 8th [eve] - Wed. Nov. 7th [day])
- Four Sabbaths: Noach, Lekh-Lekha, Vayera, Chayei Sarah
- Yom Ha'Aliyah - Honoring Israel's immigrants (Mon. Oct. 15th; Cheshvan 7)
- Sigd - 50th day after Yom Kippur; Ethiopian Jewish holiday (Tues. Nov. 6th)
- Month of Kislev (Wed. Nov. 7th [eve] - Fri. Dec. 7th [day])
- Four Sabbaths: Toldot, Vayetzei, Vayishlach, Vayeshev
- Winter Solstice: Fri. Dec. 21st (Tevet 13)
- Dates for Chanukah 2018 (5779):
- 1st Chanukah candle - Sun. Dec. 2nd [i.e., Kislev 25]
- 2nd Chanukah candle - Mon. Dec. 3rd
- 3rd Chanukah candle: Teus. Dec. 4th
- 4th Chanukah candle: Wed. Dec. 5th
- 5th Chanukah candle: Thurs. Dec. 6th
- Month of Tevet (Fri., Dec. 7th [eve] - Fri. Jan. 27th [day])
- Four Sabbaths: Miketz, Vayigash, Vayechi, Shemot
- Dates for Chanukah (continued):
- 6th Chanukah candle: Fri. Dec. 7th (Rosh Chodesh Chanukah)
- 7th Chanukah candle: Sat. Dec. 8th
- 8th Chanukah candle: Sun. Dec. 9th [Zot Chanukah]
- Tenth of Tevet - Tues. Dec. 18th, 2018; fast over the seige of Jerusalem
- Christmas: Tues. Dec. 25th (Tevet 16, 5779)
- Secular New Year: Tues. Jan. 1st, 2019 (Tevet 24, 5779)
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Note: For more about the dates of these holidays see the Calendar pages....
September 2018 Updates
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This is the Blessing...
09.30.18 (Tishri 21, 5779) From our Torah reading for this holiday season (i.e., Zot Ha'berakhah: "this is the blessing") we read the following: "Moses charged us (צִוָּה־לָנוּ) with the Torah as the heritage (מוֹרָשָׁה) of the congregation of Jacob" (Deut. 33:4). Note, however, that for the Torah to become part of our heritage as the people of God, it must be seriously studied, wrestled over, and earnestly engaged... This is a happy task we are given, as it is written: "the righteous one delights in the Torah of the LORD (בְּתוֹרַת יְהוָה) and in his Torah he meditates (יֶהְגֶּה) day and night" (Psalm 1:2). Commenting on this verse Rashi noted that God's Torah rightly belongs to the one who labors in it and groans (הָגָה) over its meaning, for only then may it be meaningfully said to be "his Torah" (תּוֹרָתוֹ). However the converse is also true: the one makes no effort to study Torah will soon be without godly direction. We are admonished to be "doers of the word, and not hearers only," since merely assenting to truth without practicing it leads to self-deception (James 1:22). As the Messiah said, "If you know these things, happy are you if you do them" (John 13:17).
The Circle of Torah...
[ We read the last -- and first -- portion of Torah during the season of Sukkot.... ]
09.30.18 (Tishri 21, 5779) Our Torah reading for this week is a bit complicated. In addition to the passages we read for the holiday of Sukkot (including the Book of Ecclesiastes for the Sabbath of Sukkot), we will read both the very last portion of the Torah (i.e., V'zot HaBerakhah: Deut. 33:1-34:12) as well as the very first chapter of the Torah (i.e., Gen. 1:1-2:3) for the holiday of "Simchat Torah" (which immediately follows Sukkot). Finally, on the Sabbath that follows the celebration of Simchat Torah, we will read the entire portion of Bereshit (i.e., Gen. 1:1-6:8). The upshot is that during this season of the year we will read the end of the Torah scroll and then "rewind" it to the beginning...
Every year we read the Torah from beginning to end... We do this every year because Talmud Torah - the study of Torah - is an ongoing venture in the life of a Jew. In this connection, it is interesting to note that the very first letter of the Torah is the Bet (בּ) in the word bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית), and the very last letter of the Torah is the Lamed (ל) in the word Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵל). Putting these letters together we get the word lev (לֵב), "heart," (note the similarity to the English word "love") suggesting that the entire Torah - from the first letter to the last - reveals the heart and love of God for us... Moreover, the first letter of Scripture is a Bet (בּ), as explained above, and the last letter is a Nun (ן) in the word "Amen" (אָמֵן), so the whole Bible - from beginning to end - reveals the Person of God the Son (בֶּן) for us...
Note: For more on this subject, see "Every Letter of Torah."
Vapors of Time...
09.28.18 (Tishri 19, 5779) The book of Ecclesiastes (megillat Kohelet) is always read during the festive holiday of Sukkot, though you might be surprised to learn that many of the early sages did not want it included as part of the Jewish Scriptures. After all, the philosophy of Kohelet - that we are incapable of fully understanding the purposes of the world, and therefore much of what we think is important is really havel havalim (הֲבֵל הֲבָלִים), "vanity of vanities" - is contrary to the theology of reward and punishment found in the writings of Moses. This question is not unlike the Book of Job and the mysterious question as to why the righteous suffer.... It is to their credit that the Jewish sages finally decided to include Ecclesiastes as part of the accepted canon, however, since it takes humility to admit that we must continue to seek God, despite uncertainty in this world. As mentioned the other day, King Solomon concludes his reflection as follows: "Fear God and keep his commandments: ki zeh kol-ha'adam (כִּי־זֶה כָּל־הָאָדָם), "for this is the whole man" (Eccl. 12:13).
For more on this subject, see Sukkot and Vanity... Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!
Yeshua the Hidden Guest...
[ The following is related to the holiday of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles... ]
09.28.18 (Tishri 19, 5779) The Aramaic word "ushpizin" (אוּשְׁפִּיזִין) refers to the seven "mystical guests" who are said to (metaphorically) visit us during the festival of Sukkot, namely: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David, respectively. According to Jewish tradition, on each night a different guest (i.e., ushpiz: אוּשְׁפִּיז) enters the sukkah, and we are to symbolically welcome them by offering them a place at our table (this is similar to the tradition of Elijah's Cup during Passover). On the first night comes Abraham; on the second, Isaac, and so on. In the Gospel of John we read that Yeshua said he go up to the Feast of Tabernacles "in secret" (ἐν κρυπτῷ), like an ushpiz (John 7:10). During the "middle of the festival," perhaps on the fourth day (the "Day of Joseph"), Yeshua went to the Temple and began teaching the people (John 7:14), and on the last great day, called Hoshana Rabbah, when the High Priest led a parade to the pool of Siloam during the water libation ritual, Yeshua stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:38). Finally, after the legendary "light show" at the Temple, on the morning following the festival (called Shemini Atzeret), Yeshua returned to the Temple and said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12), recalling the words of the prophet: "On that day there shall be no light... and living waters shall flow out of Jerusalem; And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one" (Zech. 14:6,9; Isa. 13:10; 30:26).
Note: For more on this see, "The Seven Ushpizin: Yeshua as the Hidden Guest."
Sukkot and Salvation...
09.28.18 (Tishri 19, 5779) The holiday of Sukkot remembers the journey of the redeemed people of God - first from Egypt, then to Sinai, and then into the void of the desert places.... The repeated failures of the Israelites in the wilderness was meant to reveal the insufficiency of "Egyptian thinking" by demonstrating God's faithful love and ongoing care. The entire ordeal in the desert was a "Sukkot experience" that pointed beyond Sinai....
The holiday of Sukkot symbolizes the journey of this life by means of erecting a sukkah - a flimsy shelter that we are to "live in" for seven days. The sukkah is meant to help us ask ourselves: Where is the true home we seek? Where is the true shelter of our lives? The first Jew (Abram) was called ha-ivri (הָעִבְרִי) - "the Hebrew," a term that means "one who has crossed over" (עָבַר) from another place. When he heeded the call Lekh lekha (לך־לך), "go for yourself," it was Abram's walk of faith that made him into a Jew.... He left the comforts of Ur to become a tent dweller who became a "stranger and sojourner" with God. Similarly, the Jewish people as a whole were forced to leave the "security" of Egypt and journey into the unknown in order to realize the promises of God. Sukkot ultimately reminds us that our security is neither found in political power structures nor in the concrete walls of our homes, but solely in the Presence of God. Our freedom as God's children is at stake in the matter of redemption, and God takes it very seriously when we seek to exchange any supposed source of security for the venture of true faith....
So where is the true home you seek? Are you clinging to hope in this world and its counterfeit security? Are you willing to sacrifice your dignity as a child of God for the protection of the "State"? When God redeemed Israel from Egypt, it was a rebirth experience. Passover represented the means of redemption (the blood of the lamb), Shavuot represented the revelation of the holiness of God (the Sinai experience), and Sukkot represented the walk of faith as reborn and redeemed children. God took Israel out of Egypt (i.e., out of the world) in order to reveal to them who He is -- and who they were in relationship with Him.... The pattern remains the same. The world system is a form of slavery, and Sukkot reveals how God bypasses the world to care for His people...
For more on this topic, see "Sukkot and Freedom." Chag Sukkot Sameach friends!
Etrog and Lulav...
[ The following is related to the holiday of Sukkot, the "Feast of Tabernacles." Chag Sameach! ]
09.28.18 (Tishri 19, 5779) During Sukkot we use "four species" that symbolize the fruit of the land (Lev. 23:40). The etrog (אֶתְרג), a lemon-like citron, is used as "the fruit of goodly trees," and is often regarded as a symbol of the heart. The sages say the word "etrog" can be seen as an acronym for "faith (אֱמוּנָה), repentance (תְּשׁוּבָה), healing (רְפֻאָה), and redemption (גְּאֻלָּה)." Also, the initials of the words "Let not the foot of pride overtake me" (Psalm 36:12) - אַל־תְּבוֹאֵנִי רֶגֶל גַּאֲוָה - spell the word "etrog," suggesting that the fruit of the humble heart is most beautiful in the eyes of heaven.
If the etrog represents the heart, the lulav (date palm branch) is said to represent the spine or backbone of a person. Notice that the word lulav (לוּלָב) can be broken down as לוֹ ("to him") and לֵב ("heart"). A person who loves the LORD bekhol levavkha, with all his heart, will be given "spiritual backbone," real conviction and strength.
Strangers to this World...
[ The following is related to the holiday of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles... ]
09.28.18 (Tishri 19, 5779) God's people are "strangers" in this world; they are estranged and live as "resident aliens" -- here, yet not here.... Thus Abraham said to the sons of Chet: "I am a 'stranger and sojourner' (גֵּר־וְתוֹשָׁב) among you; sell me a burial site..." (Gen. 23:4), and likewise King David confessed: "For we are strangers with You (כִּי־גֵרִים אֲנַחְנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ) and sojourners like our fathers; our days on earth are like a shadow (כַּצֵּל יָמֵינוּ) without abiding (1 Chron. 29:15). Faith affirms that underlying the surface appearance of life is a deeper reality that is ultimately real and abiding. It "sees what is invisible" (2 Cor. 4:18) and understands (i.e., accepts) that the "present form of this world is passing away" (1 Cor. 7:31). The life of faith therefore calls us to live as toshavim - sojourners - who are at an infinite "distance" from the world of appearances and who seek the Eternal. The holiday of Sukkot reminds us that we are just passing through this world, as we look forward to our real home in heaven (Heb. 11:9-10). "O You who are at home deep within my heart, enable me to join you deep in my heart."
The Sukkot Prophecies...
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09.27.18 (Tishri 18, 5779) Regarding the holiday of Sukkot ("Tabernacles") the Torah states, ve'samchta be'chagekha - "you shall rejoice in your holiday" and ve'hayita akh same'ach - "you shall have nothing but joy" (Deut. 16:14-15). But how can Torah command us to rejoice? Can we be forced to dance, sing, and make merry? Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel wrote, "Ve'samchta be'chagekha (וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְּחַגֶּךָ) is said to be the most difficult commandment of Torah, but I could never understand why. Only during the war did I understand. Those Jews who, in the course their journey to the end of hope, managed to dance on Simchat Torah... taught us how Jews should behave in the face of adversity. For them, ve'samchta be'chagekha was one commandment impossible to observe -- yet they observed it."
In this connection, let me add that these words are ultimately prophetic: "you shall rejoice; you shall have nothing but joy...." That day is coming, when our tears are wiped away and our wounds are forever healed. Amen. Chag Sukkot Sameach, friends..
The Outer and the Inner...
09.27.18 (Tishri 18, 5779) The message of the cross of Messiah is that your deepest need for love, peace, and happiness is not to be found in this world, nor in the religious philosophies of this world, but instead is found by being healed from the sickness of spiritual death. That's the gospel message, after all, which presents an offense to the "flesh," that is, to natural human pride and humanistic aspiration. Indeed many religious people seem to think that something more is needed than the miracle of Messiah, and they therefore both underestimate the severity of our lost condition while flattering the ego with the conceit that it can contribute something to prospect of genuine eternal life... The Apostle Paul admonished: "If with the Messiah you died to the axioms of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its presuppositions (i.e., δόγματα)?" (Col. 2:20). Religious "legalism" (i.e., adherence to formula or ritual rather than living in personal faith) is a worldly practice that leads to a false sense of security in the mantras, ceremonies, "virtue signaling," theological jargon, and various "mummeries" of religion. Worse still may such worldly religion lead to a "holier-than-thou" sense of spiritual superiority or elitism. Yeshua denounced the religionists of his day by focusing on what mattered most of all -- healing the outcasts, touching the lepers, seeking the lost, and being a "friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Matt. 11:19). Focusing on outer forms of religion -- even Torah based religion -- elevates the law to an end in itself rather than as a means to the greater end of love and healing. We have to be careful not to make an idol out of religious practices, for all the commandments are meant to serve the end of receiving God's love and sharing that blessing with others. Any "Torah observance" that leads you to "thank God that you are not like other people" (Luke 18:11) is therefore not genuine Torah observance at all, for the heart of the Torah is love, just as love is the Torah of the Gospel (John 15:12).
"Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life" (Isa. 43:4). Receiving this message takes faith that is not based on your human experience. If you really know yourself, that is, if you are conscious of your own inner condition, then you are familiar with the voice of self-rejection and you may harbor the conviction that you are unlovable, unworthy, and essentially unacceptable. This is a place of profound loneliness and exile.... the hell of self-hatred. The deeper Torah of God's love (i.e., the cross), however, looks away from the self to the beauty of the LORD, to the one who calls you "precious and honored," "beloved," "redeemed," "treasured," "my child." Faith in God demands that you understand that he esteems your life as infinitely valuable, and indeed worth the very sacrifice of what is most dear to himself, so that you may know yourself as his beloved.
"Escape for your life. Do not look back..." (Gen. 19:17). You must turn away from what once defined you and never look back... This includes not only turning away from your former sins, but turning away from the guilt and shame of your sins... Living in the past, wallowing in your sin and regretting your mistakes, can cause you to feel worthless and even hopeless. If you feel compelled to revisit your former life, then be sure to do so before the foot of the cross, in light and presence of God's redemptive love for you. You can't change the past, but you can leave it behind by turning it over to God for healing. Teshuvah (repentance) means accepting who you are in light of God's love and salvation for your soul. "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this, though I am single-minded: I forget the things that are behind and reach out for the things that are ahead ... heeding the upward call of God in Yeshua our Messiah" (Phil. 3:13-14). May you "find yourself in Him, not having a righteousness of your own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Messiah, the righteousness from God that depends on faith" (Phil. 3:9).
Remember that God's way of deliverance is entirely different than man's way. Man tries to suppress the flesh, to cover it up, to justify its failings, or to enlist its power in the battle against sin (i.e., religion), but God's way is to remove the flesh from the equation. The goal is not to make us stronger and stronger, but rather weaker and weaker, until the flesh is "crucified" and only the sufficiency of the Messiah remains. Then we can truly say, "I have been crucified with Messiah. It is no longer I who live, but the Messiah who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20). The word "Hebrew" (עִבְרִי) means one who has "crossed over" (עָבַר) to the other side, as our father Abraham did (Gen. 14:13). It is on the other side of the cross that we experience the very power that created the universe "out of nothing" (i.e., yesh me'ayin: יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן) and that raised Yeshua the Messiah from the dead.
For more on this see "Teshuvah of the Heart."
Are you known by God?
09.27.18 (Tishri 18, 5779) Yeshua somberly warned those who professed faith: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' (אֲדנִי אֲדנִי) will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness'" (Matt. 7:21-23). Despite the practice and profession of their faith, these people were strangers to God... They had a false sense of assurance, believing that they were "serving God" while they really were not... So the essential question here is whether Yeshua truly knows you. You may know something about God, religion, or "spirituality," and yet you may remain unknown by him... So where are you finding life? What are you loving? Where are you going?
"MANY will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out demons? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" From this we infer that good works - even those done "in the name of Messiah" - are insufficient for life, and that something more is needed... Yea, even Yeshua's sacrifice on the cross can't bring you into relationship with him apart from personally receiving it for your healing... By faith you must encounter Yeshua clothed in your flesh, bearing your sin, and suffering death for you; otherwise you remain "outside" of Messiah, in a place of exile and loss....
"And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness' (Matt. 7:23). Of course the Sovereign LORD knows all things, including the devious ways of the lawless (the word "lawless" [ἀνομία] refers to those who contemptuously spurn or "dismiss" the truth of Torah), so here we need to understand this "knowledge" as a personal heart connection, an inward trust, and an ongoing intimate communion with the LORD. It is written in Scripture, "The LORD knows the way of the righteous (כִּי־יוֹדֵעַ יְהוָה דֶּרֶךְ צַדִּיקִים), but the way of the wicked ends in destruction" (Psalm 1:6). As Yeshua said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish..." (John 10:28-19). Notice that the deciding factor turns on whether you are in relationship with Messiah: "This is the work of God, to trust in the One whom God has sent [for you]" (John 6:28-29). This is the will of the Father, the true Torah of the LORD, namely, to honor the Messiah and believe in his salvation... This is the work of faith. You trust him for eternal life, you believe that he bears your sins, you seek to know his heart, and you desire to share your life with him. It is lawlessness to reject the Torah of the LORD that commands us to follow Messiah and know him in all our ways - including the ways of our struggles, our fears, and so on. Each of us must wrestle alone, in the dark places of fear, to find our new name from God (Gen. 32:24). Is the blessing for you or not? The essential thing is to know (and more importantly) to be known by Yeshua...
There are two great questions God always is asking us. The first is "who do you say that I am?" and the second is "will you make a place for me?" Being in a love relationship with God is the goal of life, the "end of the law," and the reason we were created. But we cannot love God apart from understanding his passion for us. The LORD is the "Jealous God," a Consuming Fire, the One who desires all of our heart on the altar (Luke 9:23). Therefore the very first commandment is simply אָנכִי יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ, "I AM the LORD your God" (Exod. 20:2), because without "making a place" God's love within your heart, nothing else will follow.
Partners with God...
09.26.18 (Tishri 17, 5779) "The LORD has given to us precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partners of the divine nature, escaping the corruption of the world and its lusts" (2 Pet. 1:4). In this verse note the connection between believing the promises of salvation and being "partners" (κοινωνοὶ) in the divine nature. It is by faith that we come to know the divine nature (θείας φύσεως), that is, the deep attributes of God's character and heart. We are enabled to apprehend this because the miracle of spiritual rebirth transmits the life and "spiritual DNA" of our Heavenly Father to us, transforming our inner essence, and enabling us to surrender our lives to the divine will and truth. In other words, if you are a child of God then you are ontologically connected with Him, but as you grow you will learn to cleave to him, to talk with him, to understand reality in spiritual terms, and to share his passion for the healing of the world in Yeshua (תּקוּן עוֹלָם). This sort of faith is not an abstraction or ethereal hope but is instead a present spiritual reality, a daily decision and affirmation, an ongoing journey... We have a responsibility to grow up and become partners with HaShem (שותפים עם יהוה) in this world. Faith is more of a verb than a noun as we authentically commune with God and become a blessing to others. Faith itself is the work of God (John 6:29), and the works of faith are those of the Spirit. As it is written: "For we are his handiwork, created in Yeshua the Messiah for good works (לְמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים) which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).
Happy Sukkot Friends!
09.26.18 (Tishri 17, 5779) During the holiday of Sukkot we construct a sukkah, a "booth" or temporary structure, that we will "live in" for the holiday week. Among other things, living in a sukkah is meant to recall God's surrounding love and care for us as we make our journey through the desert of this world on our way to Zion... It is an attempt to make visible the invisible, to catch a glimpse of God's abiding glory. On a spiritual level, however, the essence of Sukkot is "dwelling" or "abiding" in the Divine Presence. And though the LORD is forever enthroned in heaven as our Creator, our King, and our loving Deliverer, and though indeed the heavens shout out his praise and the whole earth is filled with His glory (Isa. 6:3), nevertheless we must make a dwelling within our hearts. In great humility the LORD stands at the door and knocks (Rev. 3:20). "Where does God dwell," it is asked, "but where He is given a place, a sanctuary, a throne within the heart."
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Left-to-right (top): 1. Olga enjoys the sukkah; 2. John and Olga during kiddish; 3. Vadim and Emanuel;
4. Olga lights the yom tov candles
(bottom): 1. Judah waves the lulav; 2. view inside the sukkah; 3. mishpakha celebrating Sukkot;
4) Judah, Josiah, Olga, Emanuel ("Manny"), and John
There are two great questions God always is asking us. The first is "who do you say that I am?" and the second is "will you make a place for me?" Being in a love relationship with God is the goal of life, the "end of the law," and the reason we were created. But we cannot love God apart from understanding his passion for us. The LORD is the "Jealous God," a Consuming Fire, the One who desires all of our heart on the altar (Luke 9:23). Therefore the very first commandment is simply אָנכִי יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ, "I AM the LORD your God" (Exod. 20:2), because without "making a place" God's love within your heart, nothing else will follow.
Note: To see larger pictures of our Sukkot celebrations, click here.
Sukkot's Cry for Salvation...
[ The following concerns the holiday of Sukkot ("Tabernacles") Chag Sukkot Sameach, friends! ]
09.25.18 (Tishri 16, 5779) The New Testament explains that it was during the festival of Sukkot, on the last and greatest day called "Hoshana Rabba," when Yeshua stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'" (John 7:37-38). It is likely that Yeshua proclaimed these words just after the water libation ceremony when the High Priest would draw out water from the pool of Siloam (בְּרֵכַת הַשִּׁלחַ) and then pour it out before the altar in supplication before the LORD (the prayer was for the coming year's provision for adequate rainfall). With the sounds of the priests shouting in unison "with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" (Isa. 12:3), and the people responding "hosanna" (in Hebrew, hoshiah na: הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא - "save us now" [Psalm 118:25]), Yeshua then boldly stated that he was the one who gives satisfaction to those who are in need of life-giving water... Note that Yeshua here speaks about the inner thirst of the seeking soul - the life-and-death desire of a sad, miserable, and painful heart to find forgiveness, acceptance, and assurance of God's love. The thirsty ones are blessed with the need to find deliverance from their sinful condition (see Matt 5:6). It is their fear of God that reveals their dryness of heart, for they know words of Torah and realize God's righteous judgment for sin, and therefore they inwardly hurt, ache and cry out for salvation - from themselves! These are the "poor in spirit," those who mourn and yearn for God's comfort, the humble ones who realize they have nothing to offer God except their own frailty and need; these are the dry at heart to whom Yeshua offers healing relief, love, and life...
אָנָּא יְהוָה הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא אָנָּא יְהוָה הַצְלִיחָה נָּא
בָּרוּךְ הַבָּא בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה בֵּרַכְנוּכֶם מִבֵּית יְהוָה
an·na · Adonai · ho·shi·ah · na · an·na · Adonai · hatz·li·chah · na
ba·rukh · hab·bah · be·shem · Adonai · be·rakh·nu·khem · mi·beit · Adonai
"Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, let us thrive!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD."
(Psalm 118:25-26)
Hebrew Study Card
Wholeness and Faith..
[ Chag Sukkot Sameach, friends! Happy holidays. I hope to post some pictures of our Sukkot celebrations with you sometime later today. ]
09.25.18 (Tishri 16, 5779) Though Sukkot is called the "Season of Our Joy" (i.e., Z'man Simchateinu) the somber Book of Ecclesiastes (קהֶלֶת) is always recited on the Sabbath of the festival. "Vanity of vanities, says Kohelet, vanity of vanities! All is vanity" (Eccl. 1:2). We read this book to remind us that lasting meaning and purpose is not found in life lived "under the sun" but rather in knowing and serving God. Indeed the Book concludes, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole [duty of] man" (Eccl. 12:13), though note that the Hebrew text actually reads, ki zeh kol-ha'adam (כִּי־זֶה כָּל־הָאָדָם), "for this is the whole man," which suggests that those who revere the LORD our God and obey His Word are made "whole," that is, healed of their ambivalence and inner vanity...
סוֹף דָּבָר הַכּל נִשְׁמָע אֶת־הָאֱלהִים יְרָא
וְאֶת־מִצְוֹתָיו שְׁמוֹר כִּי־זֶה כָּל־הָאָדָם
sohf · da·vahr · ha·kohl · neesh·ma · et · ha-E·loh·heem · yeer·ah
ve·et · meetz·voh·tahv · she·mohr · kee · zeh · kohl · ha·ah·dahm
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God
and keep his commandments: for this is the whole man."
(Eccl. 12:13)
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"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever" (Isa. 40:8). Note the great contrast between olam ha-zeh and olam haba – between this present world and the heavenly realm.... Unlike the grass of the field that dries up or flowers that soon fade, the word of God stands forever. And despite the frailty of man and the inevitability of physical death, God's truth endures, which is a foundation upon which we can rest.
But how are the metaphors that man is "like dried up grass" or a "withered flower" intended to comfort us? Do they not, on the contrary, lead us to regard our lives as vain and perhaps meaningless? Yes indeed. Our lives are empty and vain apart from God and His truth. If we find ourselves wincing over such images, it is perhaps time to reexamine the state of our faith: To the extent that we regard this world as our "home" we will find the transience of life to be tragic... For those who are seeking a heavenly habitation, the "City of God" and the fulfillment of the promise of Zion, the fleeting nature of this evil world is ultimately a form of consolation...
Note: For more on this subject, see "Sukkot and Vanity" and "Everlasting Consolation."
Torah Readings for Sukkot...
09.23.18 (Tishri 14, 5779) The Torah Reading cycle is suspended for the holiday week of Sukkot (referred to as "Tabernacles" in the Christian tradition). Instead of a studying an assigned Torah portion that we will study throughout the week, we will read a short passages from the Torah for each day of Sukkot, and then on the Sabbath of Sukkot we will the entire Book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet). On the night before "Hoshana Rabba" (which marks the last day of the festival) we read various passages from Deuteronomy and Psalms. Then, after a day of special rest (called Shemini Atzeret) we celebrate Simchat Torah, when we will read both the very last portion of the entire Torah (i.e., V'zot HaBerakhah: Deut. 33:1-34:12) and then "rewind the scroll" to read the very first chapter of the Torah (i.e., Gen. 1:1-2:3). For a complete list of these readings see the Weekly Torah Reading page.
Note: To make things a bit easier to celebrate Sukkot, I thought I would consolidate the various blessings and customary steps into a single (double-sided) page that you can print out for use with your celebrations. I hope you will find this helpful. You can download the "Sukkot Seder Quick Sheet" using the link below. "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever"(Psalm 136:1).
Sanctifying our Days...
[ The holiday of Sukkot ("Tabernacles") begins this evening at sundown... ]
09.23.18 (Tishri 14, 5779) The "appointed times" of the Scriptures (i.e., mo'edim: מוֹעֲדִים) were given by God to help us turn away from the omnipresent urge within the human heart to embrace vanity: "Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father and guard (שָׁמַר) my Sabbaths (שַׁבְּתתַי)... Do not turn to worthlessness (i.e., אֱלִיל) or make for yourselves any molten gods" (Lev. 19:3-4). In other words, the Biblical holidays - including Shabbat, Passover, and so on - were intended to help us to sanctify ("set apart," "make holy") the times and seasons in order to remind us of God's Presence (Psalm 104:19). Therefore they are called mikra'ei kodesh (מִקְרָאֵי קדֶשׁ), "times in which holiness is proclaimed" (Lev. 23:2). The Torah's declaration that these days are holy implies that they are set apart for special activities, such as commemorating God as our Creator (Shabbat), our Redeemer (Passover), our Resurrection (Firstfruits), our Lawgiver (Shavuot), our King (Rosh Hashanah), our High Priest (Yom Kippur), our Sustainer (Sukkot), and so on. In this connection it should be noted that it is a mistake to assume that the divine calendar was somehow abrogated with the cross of Yeshua, since all of the Jewish holidays center on Him, and indeed the advent of the Ruach Ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) occurred after the resurrection of Yeshua, precisely during the prescribed 50th day Jubilee of Shavuot or "Pentecost" (Acts 1:8; 2:1-4).
Presently our lives "suspended" between two worlds - this world with its illusions (olam hazeh), and the real world of spiritual substance and meaning (olam haba). We exist in an "already-not-yet" state of expectation and yearning where we must consciously mediate the truth of heaven by bringing it "down to earth." This is a truth war, and by truth I do not mean intellectual knowledge as much as the living truth that marks the lifestyle and vision of a follower of Messiah. We consciously remember Torah truth; we choose to always "set the LORD before us," and take "every thought captive to the passion of Messiah..." May God help each of us heed the call to walk in holiness by the power of His love and grace. Amen.
Choosing to Believe...
[ The holiday of Sukkot ("Tabernacles") begins this evening at sundown... ]
09.23.18 (Tishri 14, 5779) The Torah describes Sukkot ("Tabernacles") as a holiday of joy and gladness: "You are to rejoice in your festival.... for seven days you shall keep the festival... so that you will be altogether joyful" (Deut. 16:14-15). Nevertheless we may wonder how we can celebrate in a world filled with suffering, death, and misery? Since God commands us to be joyful, however, we must therefore understand joy to be something more than temporal elation or fleeting pleasure, but rather as the result of the decision to believe in healing and life despite the appearances of this realm. "The world to come, the perfect world, we at least believe in; but this material world, this one here and now, how can anyone believe in it? The only thing to do is to run to the refuge of God" (Nachman). The joy of Sukkot, then, is the joy of hope, the conviction that "all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." Darkness will be overcome by the light; evil will become undone; all that is untrue shall be made true; and every tear shall be wiped away... The sukkah symbolizes the "Clouds of Glory" that surround our way in the desert – the "Divine Presence" beheld in faith. We find joy as we choose to believe in the deeper reality of God's sheltering love...
Surrounded by His Sukkah...
[ The following is related to the holiday of Sukkot, or the "Feast of Tabernacles"... ]
09.21.18 (Tishri 12, 5779) The root idea of the word "sukkah" means to cover or surround, as in hedge of protection. The Hebrew root is used when Moses asked to behold God's glory and the meaning of the name YHVH (יהוה), and God said, "Behold there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory overtakes you I will cover you with my hand (וְשַׂכּתִי כַפִּי עָלֶיךָ) until I have passed by (Exod. 33:21-21). The hand of God (יַד־יְהוָה) is our sukkah, and indeed the LORD writes our names upon his palms and sets us as a seal upon his heart (Isa. 49:16; Sol. 8:6). Likewise David affirmed that God would treasure you within his sukkah and elevate you upon the Rock that is Messiah:
כִּי יִצְפְּנֵנִי בְּסֻכּה
בְּיוֹם רָעָה יַסְתִּרֵנִי בְּסֵתֶר אָהֳלוֹ
בְּצוּר יְרוֹמְמֵנִי
ki · yitz·pe·nei·ni · be·suk·koh
be·yom · ra·ah · yas·ti·rei·ni · be·se·ter · a·ho·lo
be·tzur · ye·ro·me·mei·ni
"For he will hide me in his sukkah
in the day of trouble he will conceal me in the secret place of his tent;
on the Rock he will raise me up"
(Psalm 27:5)
The LORD will "treasure you" (the word tzafan [צָפַן] often is translated as "to hide") in his sukkah, a symbol of his protection of your soul... in the day of trouble he will conceal you in his tent, that is, within his dwelling place, under the shadow of his wings he makes you refuge; he will elevate you upon the Rock which is Messiah (1 Cor. 10:4).
Since God's Name (יהוה) means "Presence," "Breath," "Compassion," "Love," "Healing," and so on, we are surrounded by his Sukkah at all times... In other words, you don't have to be in a physical sukkah to be in His sukkah! May God open our eyes to see his glory!
Sukkot Sameach be'Yeshua (סוכות שמחה בישוע) - Happy Sukkot in Yeshua!
Transformed by Love...
09.21.18 (Tishri 12, 5779) How do we change? How are we made new? Is it through self-effort? making resolutions? changing our diet or wardrobe? going into counselling? joining a "religion"? Or do we change by the miracle of God's compassionate intervention in our lives? When Yeshua invites us to turn and come to Him, he wants us to awaken to something so valuable that we would be willing to give up everything in the world to take hold of it (Matt. 13:45-46). True spiritual transformation is not just about leaving your sin behind you (as good as that is), but is rather about discovering the glory of true and infinite life. It's about being the beloved. May the Lord help us see...
God's love sees the hidden beauty, worth, and value of your life. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matt. 13:45-46). You may be tempted to identify with the merchant and regard this parable as a challenge to give up everything to obtain the surpassing worth of the kingdom of heaven, but another way to understand it is to see God as the Merchant, the central character of the story.... Instead of you paying the great price for the pearl, turn the story around: God pays the price - and you are regarded as His choice pearl! You are a treasured possession, the "apple of God's eye..."
That's the message of gospel, after all. The cross of Yeshua is the end of "self improvement" projects, and that includes the "end of the law" as the means of attempting to find our acceptance before God (Rom. 10:4). We come to know God's love and acceptance "apart from the law," that is, despite our repeated failures, pain, and loss of the false self. We are truly changed as we disclose more and more of what we really are to God, that is, when we come "out of the shadows" to be made visible and healed before His glorious Presence. Then we discover the "lightness" of being united to the risen Messiah and the "law of the Spirit of life in Yeshua (תּוֹרַת רוּחַ הַחַיִּים בְּיֵשׁוּעַ). May God work within us all such a miracle!
The Aim of Torah...
09.21.18 (Tishri 12, 5779) "Blessed is the person who does not heed the counsel of the wicked, nor take the path of sinners, nor join the company of the insolent; but his delight is the Torah of the LORD (תּוֹרת יהוה), and in his Torah he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:1-2). Note that the Hebrew word "torah" (תּוֹרָה), often confusingly translated as "law," comes from a verb (יָרָה) that means to aim or direct something to its goal. Torah therefore is a general term suggesting direction, focus, volition, training, instruction, or guidance as imparted by a teacher. Now since the Torah of the LORD is comprised of sacred words spoken to guide our souls, its synonym is rightly called the Word of God (דּבר יהוה), the Agency that reveals heavenly truth to the heart of faith, as it says: "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" (Heb. 4:12). In other words the Torah of the LORD "cuts to the bone," past all the outer layers to connect with the inmost of who and what we are. Torah is therefore not something abstract but intensely personal; its message penetrates and transforms the listening heart, directing it to understand God's passion that is behind the words. "My child, keep your father's commandment (i.e., mitzvah, "connection"), and do not forsake your mother's instruction (i.e., Torah, guidance); bind them over your heart; fasten them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you wake up, they will talk to you. For the commandment (mitzvah) is like a lamp, instruction (Torah) is like a light, and rebukes of discipline (musar) are like the road leading to life" (Prov. 6:20-23). Dear LORD, help us to love your Torah; may it please you to let it be our meditation all day long (Psalm 119:97). Amen.
כִּי נֵר מִצְוָה וְתוֹרָה אוֹר
וְדֶרֶךְ חַיִּים תּוֹכְחוֹת מוּסָר
ki · ner · mitz·vah · ve·to·rah · ohr
ve'·de·rekh · cha·yim · to·khe·chot · mus·sar
"For the commandment is like a lamp, instruction (Torah) is like a light,
and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life"
(Prov. 6:23)
Getting Ready for Sukkot...
[ The week-long holiday of Sukkot begins Sunday, Sept. 23rd at sundown this year... ]
09.21.18 (Tishri 12, 5779) On the Torah's calendar, there is a quick transition from the somber time of the Jewish High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur) to the week-long festival of Sukkot (called "Tabernacles" in the Christian tradition). If the High Holidays focus on the LORD as our Creator, our Judge, and the One who atones for our sins, then Sukkot is the time when we joyously celebrate all that He has done for us. Prophetically understood, the seven days of Sukkot picture olam haba, the world to come, and the Millennial Kingdom reign of Mashiach ben David. If Yeshua was born during Sukkot (i.e., conceived during Chanukah, the festival of lights), then another meaning of the "word became flesh and 'tabernacled with us" (John 1:14) extends to the coming kingdom age, when He will again "sukkah" with his people during the time of his reign from Zion.
Since it represents the time of ingathering of the harvest, Sukkot prophetically prefigures the joyous redemption and gathering of the Jewish people during the days of the Messiah's reign on earth (Isa. 27:12-13; Jer. 23:7-8). Indeed all of the nations that survived the Great Tribulation will come together to worship the LORD in Jerusalem during the Feast of Sukkot (Zech. 14:16-17). The holiday season therefore provides a vision of the coming Kingdom of God upon the earth, when the Word will again "tabernacle with us."
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This year Sukkot begins just after sundown on Sunday, Sept. 23rd (i.e., Tishri 15 on the Jewish calendar). The festival is celebrated for seven days (i.e., from Tishri 15-21) during which we "dwell" in a sukkah -- a hut of temporary construction, with a roof covering (schach) of raw vegetable matter (i.e., branches, bamboo, etc.). The sukkah represents our dependence upon God's shelter for our protection and divine providence. We eat our meals in the sukkah and recite a special blessing (leshev Ba-Sukkah) at this time.
The Lulav Bouquet...
In addition to the Sukkah, the most prominent symbol of Sukkot is the Arba'at Ha-minim (אַרְבַּעַת הַמִּינִים) - "the Four Species," or four kinds of plants explicitly mentioned in the Torah regarding the festival of Sukkot: "On the first day you shall take: 1) the product of goodly trees (etrog), 2) branches of palm trees (lulav), 3) boughs of leafy trees (hadas), and 4) willows of the brook (aravot), and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days" (Lev. 23:40). We wave the "four species" (held together as a bouquet with the etrog) and recite a blessing (netilat lulav) to ask God for a fruitful and blessed year.
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Sukkot marks the conclusion of the Jewish Fall Holidays and is the last of the three Shelosh Regalim (שלוש רגלים, i.e., the three annual pilgrimage festivals: Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles) (Deut. 16:16). It can be argued that Sukkot is the climax of all the festivals in Scripture: Everything leads to it as a culmination in God's prophetic plan. It is interesting to compare the use of words relating to simchah [joy] in the description of these three festivals. Regarding Pesach, the word simchah does not appear at all (Deut. 17:1-8); regarding Shavuot, it appears only once (Deut. 17:11); but, regarding Sukkot, simchah appears several times. For instance:
You shall keep the Feast of Sukkot seven days, when you have gathered in the produce... You shall rejoice in your feast (וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְּחַגֶּךָ אַתָּה)... 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. (Deut. 16:13-15)
Sukkot is called "z'man simchateinu," the "season of our joy." Indeed, in ancient Israel, the joy of Sukkot was so renowed that it came to be called simply "the Feast" (1 Kings 12:32). Sukkot was a time when sacrifices were offered for the healing of the nations (Num. 29:12-40), and it was also a time when (on Sabbatical years) the Torah would be read publicly to all the people (Deut. 31:10-13).
From a spiritual perspective, Sukkot corresponds to the joy of knowing your sins were forgiven (during Yom Kippur) and also recalls God's miraculous provision and care after the deliverance from bondage in Egypt (Lev. 23:43). Prophetically, Sukkot anticipates the coming kingdom of the Messiah Yeshua wherein all the nations shall come up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD during the festival (see Zech. 14:16). Today Sukkot is a time to remember God's Sheltering Presence and Provision for us for the start of the New Year.
Note: The weekly Torah readings are suspended for the week of Sukkot, though we will finish reading the Torah (and begin reading it anew) on the holiday of Simchat Torah, immediately following the holiday. For more information about Sukkot, including how you may observe it as a follower of Yeshua, see the Sukkot pages and their links.
Enshrining the Name...
09.20.18 (Tishri 11, 5779) According to Rashi, Moses gathered the people to assemble the Tabernacle the day following Yom Kippur, that is, the day after he came down from the mountain upon learning the meaning of the name YHVH (Exod. 34:6-7; 35:1-35). For this reason it is traditional to begin building your sukkah on the day following Yom Kippur, recalling the revelation of the covenant of God's mercy: "The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation (my Yeshua); this is my God and I will enshrine Him."
עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי־לִי לִישׁוּעָה
זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ אֱלהֵי אָבִי וַאֲרמְמֶנְהוּ
o·zi · ve·zim·rat · Yah · vai·hi · li · li·shu·ah
zeh · E·li · ve·an·ve·hu · E·lo·hei · a·vi · va·a·ro·me·men·hu
"The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation;
this is my God and I will enshrine Him, God my Father, and I will exalt Him"
(Exod. 15:2)
A midrash dating from the 2nd century BC says that we are to be joyful during Sukkot because it was at this time that Isaac was born: "And we returned in the seventh month, and found Sarah with child before us, and we blessed him, and we announced to him all the things which had been decreed concerning him (Jubilees 16:16). Moved by gratitude to God, Abraham established a festival of joy to celebrate the birth of his long-awaited son by decorating booths (sukkot) and thanking HaShem for the miracle of his heir. "And Abraham took branches of palm trees, and the fruit of goodly trees, and every day going round the altar with the branches seven times [a day] in the morning, he praised and gave thanks for all things in joy" (Jubilees 16:31). In other words, Sukkot originally celebrates the birth of Isaac - and by extension, the advent of Yeshua our Messiah, the Akedah of God.
Reckoning our Days...
09.20.18 (Tishri 11, 5779) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matt. 6:19-20). This is because God has subjected "creation to vanity" in order to bring forth abiding life (Rom. 8:20). This present world we live in is hopeless, where the "treasures of the earth" fade and pass away: "our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding" (1 Chron. 29:15). The treasures in heaven, on the other hand, are accrued by means of faith, where everlasting spiritual substance and blessing abide. The values of this age are based on the illusion that the things of this world will last forever, and therefore it comes as a shock once the soul realizes that everything returns to dust, and that life is vain as building a house upon sinking sand (Matt. 7:26-27). Yeshua counsels us to invest in matters of eternal significance, for this will make us "rich toward God" (Luke 12:21), inhabiting a house "built upon the rock" that forever holds its worth (Matt. 7:24-25). Therefore may we cry out to God: limot yamenu ken hoda, ve'navi levav chokhmah: "To count our days aright, let us know; that we may receive a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).
לִמְנוֹת יָמֵינוּ כֵּן הוֹדַע
וְנָבִא לְבַב חָכְמָה
lim·not · ya·me·nu · ken · ho·da
ve·na·vi · le·vav · chokh·mah
"Teach us to number our days aright
that we may receive a heart of wisdom."
(Psalm 90:12)
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Torah of Blood Atonement...
[ Today is Yom Kippur, a special day when we remember our atonement secured by the outstretched arms of Yeshua our Healer... May each of us take a moment to offer thanks to God for what he has done for us, and how he has given us real forgiveness, eternal life, and the undying hope forever and ever. Amen. ]
09.19.18 (Tishri 10, 5779) "The Life is in the blood..." (Lev. 17:11). The "Day of Atonement" is the English translation for Yom Kippurim (יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים). The shoresh (root) for the word "kippur" is kafar (כָּפַר), which probably derives from the word kofer, meaning "ransom." This word is parallel to the word "redeem" (Psalm 49:7) and means "to exchange by offering a substitute." The great majority of usages in the Tanakh concern "making an atonement" by the priestly ritual of sprinkling of sacrificial blood to cleanse from sin or defilement (i.e., tahora). The blood of the sacrifice was given in exchange for the life of the worshiper (the "life-for-life" principle). This symbolism is clarified when the worshiper leaned his hands on the head of the sacrifice (semichah) while confessing sin (Lev. 16:21; 1:4; 4:4, etc.). The shoresh also appears in the term kapporet [the "Mercy Seat," but better rendered as simply the place of blood covering]. The kapporet was the golden cover of the sacred chest in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle (or Temple) where the sacrificial blood was presented.
כִּי נֶפֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר בַּדָּם הִוא
וַאֲנִי נְתַתִּיו לָכֶם עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ
לְכַפֵּר עַל־נַפְשׁתֵיכֶם
כִּי־הַדָּם הוּא בַּנֶּפֶשׁ יְכַפֵּר
kee · ne·fesh · ha·bah·sahr · ba·dahm · hee
va·a·nee · ne·ta·teev · la·khem · al · ha·meez·bei·ach
le·kha·peir · al · naf·shoh·tei·khem
kee · ha·dahm · hoo · ba·ne·fesh · ye·kha·peir
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood,
and I have given it for you on the altar
to atone for your souls,
for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life."
(Lev. 17:11)
Hebrew Study Card
The blood of Messiah ransoms our souls from death, brings us near to the Divine Presence, and cleanses us from all sin (Lev. 17:11; Rom. 3:25; Heb. 9:22; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 John 2:2). The voice of his blood cries out on our behalf (Heb. 12:24), and his life was given in exchange for ours: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:12). We "lean into" Yeshua, confessing our sins, and are cleansed from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). In the New Testament Yeshua is called the "atonement" (ἱλασμός) for our sins (1 John 2:2), a Greek word that was used in the Septuagint (i.e., LXX) to translate the Hebrew word kippurim in the Torah (Lev. 25:9). The Septuagint uses the same word (ἱλασμός) to translate the Hebrew word for selichah (forgiveness), for example: "But with you there is forgiveness (הַסְּלִיחָה), that you may be held in awe" (Psalm 130:4). Just as the blood was sprinkled upon the kapporet (cover of the Ark of the Covenant) in the Holy of Holies during the Yom Kippur ritual, so the blood of Messiah was sprinkled the heavenly kapporet, the very altar of Almighty God, to secure for us everlasting redemption and healing...
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"Come now and reason with the LORD. Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isa. 1:18). The blood of bulls and goats could never fully remove our sins since they did not represent the very life of God poured out on our behalf (Heb. 10:4). God chose the ultimate "cleansing agent" for sin by shedding the precious blood of His own Son for the sake of our atonement (1 Cor. 15:3-4; Rom. 5:11). The blood of Yeshua truly cleanses us from the stain of our sins (Heb. 10:12-14). We make "spiritual contact" with the sacrificial blood of Yeshua through faith -- by being "baptized into His death" and identifying with Him as our Sin-Bearer before God. We then are delivered from the law's verdict against us and accepted into the Kingdom of God (Rom. 4:25; 2 Cor. 5:21; Col. 1:13-14, 2:10-15).
לְכוּ־נָא וְנִוָּכְחָה יאמַר יְהוָה
אִם־יִהְיוּ חֲטָאֵיכֶם כַּשָּׁנִים כַּשֶּׁלֶג יַלְבִּינוּ
אִם־יַאְדִּימוּ כַתּוֹלָע כַּצֶּמֶר יִהְיוּ
le·khoo · nah · ve·nee·vah·khe·chah · yoh·mar · Adonai
eem · yee·he·hoo · cha·tah·ei·khem · ka·shah·neem · ka·sheh·leg · yal·bee·noo
eem · ya·a·dee·moo · kha·toh·lah · ka·tze·mer · yee·he·yoo
"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:
though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
(Isa. 1:18)
Hebrew Study Card
Note: Yom Kippur is a time of great joy for us since we have been given g'mar chatimah tovah (גְּמַר חַתִימָה טוֹבָה), "a good and final sealing," in God's Book of Life. Because of Yeshua's sacrifice as our great High Priest after the order of Malki-Tzedek, where he presented his own blood "behind the veil," we have everlasting atonement and we are therefore forever made a part of God's glorious "story of redemption." Blessed be His Name forever...
Atonement and Sacrifice...
[ The following is related to Yom Kippur, the "Day of Atonement"... ]
09.19.18 (Tishri 10, 5779) Some "anti-missionary" teachers deny that Yeshua could have died for our sins because the Torah forbade human sacrifice. In response, let me first state first that when such people refer to the "Torah" in this matter, they are actually referring to the subset of the Torah called Sefer Ha-Brit (סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית) that defined the various ethical, social, and ritual obligations given in the Sinai Covenant (Exod. 24:7-8). Indeed, claiming that the whole Torah may be reduced to the Sinai Covenant is an example of the logical "fallacy of composition," that is, inferring that something must be true of the whole from the fact that it is true of some part of the whole.... But we must remember that Torah is something more than the code of laws and ritual obligations prescribed in the Sinai Covenant. Indeed the older covenant expressed in Sefer Ha-Brit was sprinkled with the blood of sacrificial bulls at Sinai -- sacrifices, by the way, that preceded the laws of sacrifice given at Sinai itself (Exod. 24:6-8). Please note that this "Book of the Covenant" is not to be exclusively identified with the Torah itself, since as I've repeatedly mentioned over the years, "Torah" (תּוֹרָה) is a general term meaning "direction," "teaching," "will of God," and so on. Indeed the whole "Torah of Moses" (תּוֹרַת משֶׁה) contains far more than the covenant at Sinai (as important and worthy as that part is). For instance, the Torah reveals that the very first "priest" (i.e., kohen: כּהֵן) was neither a Jew nor a Levite nor a descendant of Aaron, but rather Someone who is said to have "neither beginning of days nor end of life" but is made like (ἀφωμοιωμένος) the Son of God, a priest continually (Heb. 7:3). This priest, of course, was Malki-Tzedek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק), the King of Salem (מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם) to whom Abraham offered tithes after his victory over the kings (Gen. 14:18). The New Testament Scriptures make the point that the priesthood of Malki-Tzedek is greater than the Levitical priesthood and is therefore superior to the rites and services of the Tabernacle - including the Yom Kippur avodah (Heb. 7:9-11).
It was to Malki-Tzedek that Abram (and by extension, the Levitical system instituted by his descendant Moses) gave tithes and homage -- and rightly so, since Yeshua is the great High Priest of the better covenant based on better promises (Heb. 8:6). Indeed, Yeshua is Himself the Promised Seed of Abraham who saves the world from the kelalah (curse) caused by Adam's transgression (Gen. 3:15). It is profoundly prophetic how Abraham was met by the Coming One as the Priest of the Most High God in the City of Zion, and how he gave him the tokens of bread and wine - the very commemorative emblems Yeshua gave to His disciples as a witness of His mediation for their sins (1 Cor. 11:23-26). It is also highly prophetic that Abraham himself was commanded by the LORD to offer human sacrifice when he bound his "only begotten son" Isaac upon the altar at Moriah (see The Gospel of Moses). Many midrashim state that Isaac actually was killed but came back to life, and that agrees with the Book of Hebrews description that Abraham expected the resurrection of his son (Heb. 11:17-19). It is fallacious then, to claim that the Torah categorically forbade such a sacrifice. On the contrary, it was proclaimed to Adam and Eve, prefigured in the Akedah, and later spoken about directly by the Hebrew prophets, including David. "Then he [Messiah] said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book'. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart" (Heb. 10:7; Psalm 40:8).
For more on this timely topic, see "Rabbis who Deny Blood Atonement."
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Yom Kippur and Jonah...
[ Today is Yom Kippur, a special day when we remember our atonement secured by the outstretched arms of Yeshua our Healer.... ]
09.19.18 (Tishri 10, 5779) During the afternoon service of Yom Kippur, the Book of Jonah is recited to awaken the heart to "Arise, call out to your God" (1:6). Like Jonah we first must be "swallowed up" in consciousness of our own rebellion before we realize we are undone, that we are without remedy apart from God's direct intervention and deliverance. We start there - in the "belly of the fish" - and later are resurrected to go forth by God's mercy and grace. Likewise we first see ourselves as undone and go to the cross, finding pardon and given the power of the ruach HaKodesh to live unto God according to the truth. But note that the imperatives of the New Testament are directed to the new nature given to us by God, and not to the old nature that has been crucified and done away. We are admonished to live in accordance with the truth of what God has done for us through the Moshia', the Savior. You are a new creation, therefore be who you are in the Messiah!
It is noteworthy that Yeshua mentioned the "sign of Jonah the prophet," that is, Jonah's miraculous deliverance after being entombed in the belly of the fish for three days, to authenticate his own claim to be Israel's Redeemer. "Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth" (Matt. 12:40). "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet (אוֹת יוֹנָה הַנָּבִיא). For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation" (Luke 11:29-30). In other words, the story of Jonah foreshadowed the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah, that is, his death, burial and especially his miraculous resurrection on the third day. Just as God brought Jonah back to life after three days in the belly of the earth, so the resurrection of Yeshua from the dead would vindicate his claim to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world. In this way the "Sign of Jonah" and the sacrificial and atoning work of Yeshua as our High Priest of the new covenant are connected.
"We we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself, yes, we felt that we had received the sentence of death; but that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead" (2 Cor 1:8-9). This marks the end of carnal hope, when we realize we are but "dead men walking," and from this extremity of inner desperation and clarity we learn to rely solely on God for what we need. Here we abandon ourselves to God's care, despite the despair, darkness, and fear. We rely on "God who raises the dead," because all other remedies have been vanquished. It is a great gift to be so afflicted, for these "troubles of love" teach us to trust God alone for all we need. The only way out is through. We don't seek an easy way of life, but only that the LORD our God be with us throughout our troubles...
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Surrendering your Destiny...
09.19.18 (Tishri 10, 5779) I recently received an email from someone who wondered whether they were beyond the hope of redemption because they wrestled with depression and despair... If the life of a follower of the Messiah is to be marked by unspeakable joy, a heart overflowing with "living waters," and inner peace, doesn't inner pain, a sense of emptiness, and numbness of heart indicate the absence of genuine regeneration? My response to this honest question was that the struggle itself indicates the presence of real faith, and it is therefore likely that this person was going through a "dark night of the soul," that is, a time of testing and refinement... I counseled him that we are to trust God in the darkness and abandon everything to Him -- even our eternal destiny -- regardless of the ambiguity and sorrows of the present moment. We must offer up our heart to God and let whatever happens to us happen. χάριτι δὲ θεοῦ εἰμι ὅ εἰμι. As Job in his great suffering said: "Though he slay me and I have no hope (i.e., for healing of the present affliction), yet will I argue my way before Him" (Job 13:15). In effect Job laid down his life to be slain and made appeal to God's justice and love, despite the mystery and agony of his suffering...
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I once read a story about a Chassid who left his cold and hungry wife and child at home one snowy winter evening as he went off to the synagogue to pray. When he arrived back home he opened the door and heard an inner voice say, "you have lost your share in the world to come." Upon hearing this the Chassid bowed his head and said, "now that this is settled, may I finally begin to serve the Lord without any thought of future reward."
Behold the Goat of God!
[ The solemn holiday of Yom Kippur begins Friday (Sept. 29th) an hour before sundown... ]
09.19.18 (Tishri 10, 5779) The original Passover sacrifice (korban Pesach) was not given to the Levitical priesthood as a sin offering, since it preceded Sinai and the giving of the laws concerning the sacrificial rites. In the same way, Yeshua's sacrifice was directed from Heaven itself by means of the prophetic office of Malki-Tzedek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק) - a higher order of priesthood (Gen. 14:18; Psalm 110:4; Heb. 7). Yeshua both offered Himself up as the "Lamb of God" that causes the wrath of God to (eternally) pass over those who personally trust in Him, and He also offered himself as the "Goat of God" whose blood was sprinkled in the Holy of Holies to cleanse us from sin and give us (everlasting) atonement. (Other metaphors are also given in Scripture, of course. For example, Yeshua offered Himself as the Snake lifted up (John 3:14-15; cp. Num. 21:4-9), as a Red Cow (parah adumah), and so on).
Yeshua as the "Lamb of God" pictures personal redemption from slavery to Satan and freedom from the wrath of God. This is the greater Passover/Exodus connection. By means of Yeshua's shed blood and broken body, the wrath of God passes over us and we are set free to serve God.... Yeshua as the "Goat of God" pictures both personal cleansing (i.e., "propitiation" or "expiation" for our sins: the Greek word (ἱλαστήριον) is used in the LXX for the kapporet (Mercy Seat) in the Holy of Holies which was sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice on Yom Kippur) as well as national teshuvah and cleansing for ethnic Israel at the end of the Great Tribulation period. At that time Yeshua will function as Israel's true High Priest whose sacrifice is applied for Israel's Atonement. This is the Yom Kippur connection. Moreover, since Yom Kippur points to the removal of the sin-laden goat (representing Satan), the Millennial reign of Messiah will be one unmolested by the powers of evil.
Just as Rosh Hashanah reveals the coming time of Judgment and the rapture of the kehillat Mashiach (Bride of Messiah), Yom Kippur prophetically pictures the Day of the LORD or the Day of Judgment in Acharit HaYamim [the last days]. After the judgment of the nations during the Great Tribulation, national Israel will be fully restored to the LORD and their sins will be purged (see Matthew 24). Indeed, our beloved Mashiach will one day return to Israel, cleanse her Temple, restore her to Himself, and set up His glorious kingdom. And that coming celebration is the Sukkot or "Tabernacles" connection, friend...
The Battle for Reality...
09.18.18 (Tishri 9, 5779) We are in the midst of a great spiritual war, namely, the war for truth, and the stakes could not be any higher, since they of eternal significance and of utmost concern. Concerning this great battle the Scriptures give insight, explaining that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against fallacious first principles of thought (τὰς ἀρχάς), against political oppressors and their violence (τὰς ἐξουσίας), against the dark princes of this world who practice lawlessness (κοσμοκράτορας); that is, against servants of spiritual wickedness in the atmosphere of this world system" (Eph. 6:12, my translation).
Much of what we think - our ideas, motives, desires, and our assumptions about what is real - are socially engineered and controlled, and indeed we are usually unconscious of how we are conditioned to accept false visions and interpretations of reality... Pop culture, politics, socialized education, the world "news," and so on, all serve as outlets of spiritual disinformation and propaganda, "teaching" (implicitly) that there is no Creator and moral Authority that bears on our existence, that there is no Judge before whom each soul shall give account of their lives, there is no existential need for people to turn to God for deliverance from evil and spiritual death, but on the contrary teaching (i.e., assuming) that everything that exists (inexplicably) has evolved out of primordial nothingness by means of randomness (evolutionary theory), there is no objective moral truth or order to the universe (relativism or ethical nihilism), that there's no ultimate purpose to the universe (metaphysical anarchy), and so on.
We must be conscious of the various self-destructive philosophies of life and how their implications pervade the darkness of this present world; we must learn to identify and expose the assumptions used to define what the world declares as "facts" and to question its metaphysical presuppositions and prejudices. Indeed followers of Messiah are given a mandate from heaven to "pull down strongholds of worldly false assurance" and "take every thought captive" by repudiating any interpretation of reality that excludes, suppresses, denies, or minimizes the Divine Presence (2 Cor. 10:4-5). If we are not diligent in this matter, chaverim, if we do not actively "test the spirits," we will be caught up in the "madness of the crowd" and come under the spell of the ideological insanity of this fallen world... How we think is a spiritual practice - ideas are "intangible entities" that wield enormous power, and therefore it is essential to learn to think clearly and to be able to detect the assumptions at work in any supposed statement of "fact" or truth claim.
We are told to set our thoughts on things above, to the realm of divine truth and reality (Col. 3:1-4). Faith sees things "above" - things beyond the shadows - that conceal the greater substance of life. God gives each soul the responsibility to choose what it will believe. "According to your faith be it done unto you" is an axiom of spiritual life: Faith in God reveals true first principles of thinking, discloses the reality of the Kingdom of God, and unveils the ultimate Glory that overrules all things.
New Audio for parashat Ha'azinu...
09.17.18 (Tishri 8, 5779) Shanah Tovah 5779 my dear friends! I was able to complete a new "Shavuah Tov" audio broadcast for parashat Ha'azinu late last night which is now ready for online listening or download (see the links below). In this special "High Holiday" audio presentation, I discuss Yom Kippur and its themes, particularly in reference to the atonement given in the Messiah Yeshua, as well as parashat Ha'azinu, the Torah portion we always read between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The Ha'azinu is an amazing prophetic song ("shirah") written by Moses just before he died. Written nearly 1,500 years before the advent of Yeshua, Moses foresaw the climatic events of Israel's history -- its past, present, and most notably its future, including the time of the redemption and atonement at the End of the Age. I hope you will this discussion helpful. To a good and sweet year in our Messiah Yeshua!
Yom Kippur and the Name....
[ Yom Kippur begins Tuesday, Sept. 18th an hour before sundown... ]
09.16.18 (Tishri 7, 5779) Yom Kippur was the only time when the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and call upon the Name of YHVH / YHVH (i.e., יהוה) to offer blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. This "life for a life" principle is the foundation of the sacrificial system and marked the great day of intercession made by the High Priest on behalf of Israel. For this reason it was also called the "Day of God's Mercy," or the "Day of God's Name." This alludes to the revelation of the attributes of God's Compassion after the sin of the Golden Calf (see Exod. 34:6-7) -- a disclosure that foreshadowed the New Covenant. How much more, then, is Yom Kippur the "Day of Yeshua's Name" since He secured for all of humanity everlasting kapparah (atonement)? Yeshua the Messiah is Moshia ha'olam (מוֹשִׁיעַ הָעוֹלָם), the Savior of the world; He alone possesses the "Name above all other Names" (Phil. 2:9-10; Acts 4:12). It is altogether fitting, then, that God's "hidden Name" (i.e., shem ha-meforash: שֵׁם הַמְּפרָשׁ) was proclaimed before the kapporet (the cover of the Ark of the Covenant) in the Holy of Holies while atonement for our sins was made through the sacrificial blood.
This gives us a whole new perspective on Paul's words (Rom. 10:9): "if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is LORD (יהוה) and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (i.e., that his blood was shed and presented on your behalf upon the heavenly kapporet), then you will be saved (that is, you will be reconciled to God and made a partaker of the atoning work of Yeshua). Surely the Apostle Paul, a zealous rabbi who diligently studied Torah in Jerusalem under Rabbi Gamaliel (who was himself the grandson of the renowned Rabbi Hillel the Elder), understood the theological implications when he stated that the prophecy: "And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD (בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה) shall be saved" (Joel 2:32) applied directly to Yeshua (Rom. 10:10).
Yom Kippur and Chesed...
09.16.18 (Tishri 7, 5779) The ten days from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur are known as Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (עֲשֶׂרֶת יְמֵי תְּשׁוּבָה), "the Ten Days of repentance," otherwise called the "Days of Awe" (yamim nora'im) in Jewish tradition. Since man was created for the sake of teshuvah, Yom Kippur, or the Day of "at-one-ment," is considered the holiest day of the year, called "Yom ha-kadosh" (יוֹם הַקָּדוֹשׁ). It is the climax of the 40 day "Season of Teshuvah."
As I've mentioned before, the "Day of Atonement," or Yom Kippur, is actually described in the plural: Yom Ha-Kippurim (יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים), perhaps because the purification process cleansed from a multitude of transgressions, iniquities, and sins. However, the name also alludes to the two great atonements given by the LORD God of Israel - the first for those among all of the nations who turn to Yeshua for cleansing and forgiveness, and the second for the purification of ethnic Israel during Yom Adonai, the great Day of the LORD (יוֹם־יְהוָה הַגָּדוֹל) at the end of days. There is a connection with the holiday of Purim, too, since Kippurim can be read as Yom Ke-Purim, a "day like Purim." Thus the day on which Yeshua sacrificed Himself on the cross is the greatest Purim of all, since through His loving intervention we are eternally delivered from the hands of our enemies...
The "Sabbath of Sabbaths" (שבת של שבת)
The Torah refers to Yom Kippur as "shabbat shabbaton" (שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן), a time when all profane work is set aside so the soul could focus on the holiness of the LORD. The first occurrence of this phrase is found in Exodus 16:23, regarding the restriction of collecting manna in the desert during the seventh day. This restriction was later incorporated into the law code for the Sabbath day (Exod. 31:15; 35:2). The phrase also occurs regarding Rosh Hashanah (Lev. 23:24), Yom Kippur (Lev. 16:31; 23:32), two days of Sukkot (Lev. 23:39; Num. 25:35), two days of Passover (Lev. 23:7-8), and the day of Shavuot (Num. 28:26).
If you add up these days, you will find there are seven prescribed days of "complete rest" before the LORD, and the sages identified Yom Kippur as the Sabbath of these other special Sabbath days, that is, "Yom ha-kadosh" (יוֹם הַקָּדוֹשׁ). Indeed, the Talmud notes that "seven days before Yom Kippur, we separate the High Priest," corresponding to the seven-day seclusion of Aaron and his sons before the inauguration of the Tabernacle (Lev. 8:33).
All of the Jewish holidays find their origin in the events of the Exodus, which were later commemorated as rituals at the Tabernacle. On the first of Nisan, two weeks before the Exodus, the LORD showed Moses the new moon and commenced the divine lunar calendar. This is called Rosh Chodashim. Two weeks later, God was ready to deliver the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt. Earlier that evening the Israelites kept the Passover Seder and sprinkled the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. At the stroke of midnight of Nisan 15 the LORD sent the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. On the 6th of Sivan, exactly seven weeks after the Exodus (49 days), Moses first ascended Sinai to receive the Torah (Shavuot). Just forty days later, on the 17th of Tammuz, the tablets were broken. Moses then interceded for Israel for another forty days until he was called back up to Sinai on Elul 1 and received the revelation of Name YHVH (Exod. 34:4-8). After this, he was given the Second Tablets and returned to the camp on Tishri 10, which later was called Yom Kippur. Moses' face was shining with radiance in wonder of the coming New Covenant which was prefigured in the rituals of the Day of Atonement (Exod. 34:10).
Note there were two revelations of the Name YHVH, first as "I AM WHO I AM" (a play on the Hebrew verb hayah [הָיָה] given to Moses in Exodus 3:14-15 which was later "incarnated" during the intervention of the Exodus (Exod. 6:1-8)) and the later revelation of YHVH's mercy disclosed after the sin of the Golden Calf (Exod. 34:6-7). It is the later revelation that foretold God's Name of the new covenant, just as the second tablets took the place of the former tablets that were shattered. Ultimately Yeshua is the "wonder" of the covenant of the LORD (Exod. 34:10), the manifestation of the attributes of God's mercy (middot rachamim). For more on this, see the article, "The Surpassing Glory: Paul's Midrash of the Veil."
For more on this topic see that article, "Yom Kippur and Chesed."
Parashat Ha'azinu (האזינו)
[ Our Torah portion for this week (Ha'azinu) is always read during the High Holidays... ]
09.16.18 (Tishri 7, 5779) In last week's Torah reading for Shabbat Shuvah (i.e., parashat Vayeleich), the LORD told Moses that after his death the Israelites would "go after foreign gods" and break covenant with Him. Because of this, God instructed Moses to teach the people a prophetic song (שיר נבואי) called the "Ha'azinu" that foretold Israel's history (past, present, and the future redemption) and warned the people not to stray from the path that the LORD had clearly instructed them (Deut. 31:19-22). Structured in the style of an "oracle," parashat Ha'azinu (הַאֲזִינוּ) contains Moses' astounding final words of prophecy given to the Israelites before he ascended Mount Nebo to die...
We read the Ha'azinu every year near the High Holidays, either just before or just after Yom Kippur. In the Sefer Torah (i.e., hadndwritten Torah Scroll), the prophetic song is written in a stylized two-column format with extra spaces. Each line of the shirah (song) is matched by a second, parallel unit (Talmud: Shabbat 103b).
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The Ha'azinu reminds us that who we listen to ultimately decides our fate. It begins, "Give ear, O heavens (הַאֲזִינוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם), and I will speak, and let the earth hear (וְתִשְׁמַע הָאָרֶץ) the words of my mouth" (Deut. 32:1). The word ha'azinu (הַאֲזִינוּ) comes from verb azan (אָזַנ), as does the Hebrew word for "ear" (i.e., ozen: אזֶן). The Midrash Rabbah says that the ear (אזֶן) gives life to all the organs of the body. How so? By listening (שׁמע, shema) to the Torah. This idea is repeated in the New Testament: "Faith comes from listening to the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). The Word of God (דְּבַר־אֱלהִים) is our very life, friends...
The Gospel of Yom Kippur...
[ The following is related to Yom Kippur which begins Tues. Sept. 18th before sundown... ]
09.14.18 (Tishri 5, 5779) It is vital to remember that the detailed instructions for constructing the Tabernacle were "according to the pattern" (תַּבְנִית) given to Moses at Sinai (Exod. 25:9). In other words, the tent (Mishkan), the furnishings such as the Table of the Bread of Presence (הַשֻּׁלְחָן לֶחֶם פָּנִים), the golden Menorah (מְנוֹרָה), the Bronze Altar for sacrifices (מִזְבֵּחַ הַנְחשֶׁת), the vessels, and so on, were first shown to Moses before they were created. They were copies or "shadows" that were intended to prefigure the eternal reality of the Heavenly Tabernacle itself. The entire sacrificial system was metaphorical, if you will, and pointed to a deeper reality that transcended the earthly sphere. Even the yearly Yom Kippur ritual was never intended to remain into perpetuity but pointed to something more profound -- namely, the greater avodah (ministry) of Yeshua, the Kohen Gadol of the New Covenant (Heb. 9). Indeed, if the older covenant had been sufficient to provide a permanent solution to the problem of our sin, there never would have been need for a new covenant to supersede it (see Hebrews 8:7). Dear friend, beware those who would entice you to abandon your faith in Messiah by appealing to the terms of the covenant at Sinai (Gal. 3:1).
We honor Yom Kippur because it commemorates the truth that our deliverance from sin is eternally secured (Heb. 9:12). Therefore, because of the finished work of Yeshua on our behalf, we do not offer the customary Jewish blessing to be "sealed for a good year" (i.e., g'mar chatimah tovah: גמר חתימה טובה)... No, in light of the great atoning sacrifice of our Savior, this is chillul Hashem - a desecration of the Name of the LORD. Instead we trust that our names are indeed written and sealed for good because of Messiah's sacrifice given on our behalf... Likewise you are at liberty to fast so that you might identify with the Jewish people and to intercede on their behalf, but you should not fast in an attempt to atone for your sins or to appeal to God for grace apart from the finished work of Yeshua on the cross.
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Dear friends, I wish you all great joy and happiness in the precious atonement secured for you through the sacrifice of Yeshua our Messiah. May you feel "at-one" with the Father's heart for you; may you know the great truth of God's profound passion for you. And may the LORD our God bless you with an ever-increasing awareness of his love as you consider the great price he paid for your everlasting healing! "Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the Great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in you what is pleasing before Him through Yeshua the Messiah, to whom be glory forever. Amen" (Heb. 13:20-21). Shabbat Shalom and thank God for our eternal atonement in Messiah!
Turning of the Heart...
[ The following is related to the "Days of Awe" and the theme of teshuvah (repentance)... ]
09.14.18 (Tishri 5, 5779) The following parable speaks of the season of teshuvah: A king's son was at a far distance from his father. Said his friends to him, "Return to your father." He said, "I can't: the way is too far. His father sent word to him and said, "Go as far as you are able, and I will come the rest of the way to you. Thus says the Holy One, blessed be He, to his faraway children: "Return to Me, and I will return to you" (Mal. 3:7).
שׁוּבוּ אֵלַי וְאָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם
אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת
shu·vu · e·lai · ve·a·shuv·ah · a·lei·khem
a·mar · Adonai · tze·va·ot
"Return to me, and I will return to you,
says the LORD of hosts" (Mal. 3:7)
It is never too late to turn to God... there is always hope. The prophet Jeremiah spoke in the Name of the LORD: "Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am kind (כִּי־חָסִיד אֲנִי), declares the LORD" (Jer. 3:12). When the people drew back in shame, however, God encouraged them by saying "Come back, O lost children; I will heal your faithlessness. "Behold, we come to you, for you are the LORD our God" (Jer. 3:22).
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Yeshua illustrated the idea of teshuvah (i.e., תְּשׁוּבָה, "returning to God") by telling the story of the "prodigal son" (Luke 15:11-32). After squandering his father's inheritance, a wayward son decided to return home, full of shame and self-reproach. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." The father then ordered a celebratory meal in honor of his lost son's homecoming. When his older brother objected, the father said, "We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."
This parable reveals that teshuvah ultimately means returning (shuv) to the compassionate arms of your Heavenly Father... God sees you while you are still "a long way off" (Rom. 5:8). He runs to you with affection when you first begin to turn your heart toward Him. Indeed, God's compassion is so great that He willingly embraces the shame of your sins and then adorns you with "a fine robe, a ring, and sandals." Your Heavenly Father even slaughters the "fattened calf" (Yeshua) so that a meal that celebrates your life may be served....
Why did Yeshua come? He was like the father in the parable who was actively looking for his lost son... He came to "seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10). Yeshua likened Himself to a shepherd who left his flock to search for one lost sheep, and after finding it, laid the sheep on his shoulders rejoicing (Luke 15:3-7). He also likened Himself to a woman who lost a coin but diligently searched for it. After she found it, she called together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the lost coin!' (Luke 15:8-10).
Yeshua's first recorded words of public ministry were "Repent (shuv) and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). In Greek the word "repent" is metanao (μετανοέω), meaning "change your thinking," and the word "gospel" means "good news" (i.e., εὐαγγέλιον, from , εὖ- "good," and ἄγγελος, "message"). We could translate the verse as: "Turn around! Change your thinking and believe the message of God's good will toward you."
The Jews had known about repentance for a long time, of course. They understood what was required to "keep the law," and they even devised legal formulas for "making your defense" before the Almighty (i.e., the Kol Nidre service recited before Yom Kippur: "We exonerate ourselves for failing to keep our word..."). If Moses and the law could have saved us, we wouldn't need to be "declared righteous by God's grace through the redemption in Yeshua" (Rom. 3:24). We wouldn't need the Cross! All we'd need to do is work harder at repentance, perform additional mitzvot, earn merit before Heaven, and so on. But clearly Yeshua meant something other than this when He made the call to "repent."
The teshuvah of Yeshua is inextricably connected with the "good news" that He (alone) is God's answer to the problem of our sin. His message is always "change your thinking and believe the message of God's good will toward you." Yeshua was born to die as the divinely appointed Sin-bearer of the world (Heb. 10:5-7). He came to earth and emptied himself (κένωσις) of His regal glory and power in order to be the High Priest (הַכּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל) after the order of Malki-Tzedek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק) and the Mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 5:6; 9:15; Psalm 110:4; 1 Tim. 2:5). He came to Jerusalem (Moriah) for the explicit purpose of suffering, dying, and being raised from the dead (Matt. 16:21; Luke 9:22). Yeshua died not only for our forgiveness, but also to deliver us from "the law of sin and death," i.e., the power that sin holds in our lives. He died to so that we could become the very children of God (בְּנֵי אֱלהִים).
Yeshua never called us to follow the scribes and Pharisees, whom he called blind guides and hypocrites (Matt. 23:13-36). He did not want people to become slaves to rituals or religion (1 Cor. 7:23). No, he called people to follow Him: "Take up your cross and follow me." Turn your thinking around! Die to your religion, your world. Be comforted because there is good news from heaven! God's acceptance is given to those who trust in the righteousness of Yeshua in place of self-righteousness that may be gained by performing the "works of the law" (Gal. 2:16, Titus 3:5; John 1:17). Yeshua is "the goal of the Torah for righteouness" for all who believe (Rom. 10:4-13). Wow. Now that's a message that requires a profound "change of mind" for the religiously-minded to accept. Dying to the religious project of attaining self-righteousness is to admit the need for radical deliverance from the law itself.
Note: For more on this topic, see "Teshuvah of the Heart."
Yom Kippur Mercies...
09.14.18 (Tishri 5, 5779) Rosh Hashanah is called Yom Ha-Din (יוֹם הַדִּין), the Day of Judgment, whereas Yom Kippur is called Yom Ha-Rachamim (יוֹם הָרַחֲמִים), or the Day of Mercies, which suggests that God is first revealed as our Creator and Judge before He is known as our merciful Savior. This is hinted in the two accounts of creation, where God is first revealed as Elohim (Gen. 1:1), but later is revealed as YHVH (יהוה) when He breathed life into man nishmat chayim, the breath of life (Gen. 2:4). It is somewhat odd, however, that during Rosh Hashanah we do not approach God as our Judge, beating our breast in sorrow during confession of sin, as we do on Yom Kippur. Some say the reason we celebrate, eating special foods, rejoicing, listening to the shofar, is because we rejoice in the kingship of God as His royal children, and only later do we appeal to Him as merciful Judge in light of His revelation as YHVH, our Savior, Redeemer, and Lord. As believers in Yeshua, we have all the more reason to rejoice on Rosh Hashanah, since at the cross Yeshua took upon Himself our judgment to give us everlasting mercy from God.
Personal Update: Friends, I am asking you again for prayers for my health. Today I had life-threatening breathing problems and chest pains, so much so that I nearly collapsed. I hope to see a doctor soon, though I am looking to the Lord for healing. My family deeply appreciates your prayers and wish you all Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah.
Responding to Love's Call...
09.14.18 (Tishri 5, 5779) The theme of the Jewish High Holidays is teshuvah (תְשׁוּבָה), a word often translated as "repentance," though it's more accurately understood as turning back (shuv) to God. In Modern Hebrew teshuvah means an "answer" to a shelah (שְׁאֵלָה) or a question. God's love for us is the question, and our teshuvah – our turning of the heart toward Him – is the answer. Teshuvah is one of the greatest gifts God gives each of us – the ability to turn back to Him and seek healing for our brokenness.
Teshuvah means embracing spiritual reality by responding to God's love, and sin therefore constitutes a refusal to heed the truth (1 Tim 2:4; Rev. 22:15). Indeed people perish because "they refuse to love the truth and thereby be saved" (2 Thess. 2:10). Turning from sin therefore means turning away from whatever puts you in exile from the truth of divine love. Legalistic religion concerns the realm of the shadow, not substance; it concerns itself with appearance rather than underlying reality... The true sign of sanctity and surrender is not found in adherence to religious rites or rituals but is found in the miracle of new life, in the encounter of the resurrected presence of Yeshua, El Elyon (אֵל עֶלְיוֹן), the Ascended God. Genuine repentance walks in the light and in so doing overcomes the darkness of sin.
The Days of Awe...
09.14.18 (Tishri 5, 5779) Does God care that we do teshuvah? If we gaze upward toward the starry depths of heaven we may feel that our lives are insignificant and useless; however if we look within we intuitively sense that everything we say, do, and think has eternal weight. This paradox was well expressed by Immanuel Kant: "Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily we reflect upon them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me. I do not seek or conjecture either of them as if they were veiled obscurities or extravagances beyond the horizon of my vision; I see them before me and connect them immediately with the consciousness of my existence" (Critique of Practical Reason). Genuine humility doesn't mean regarding your life as vain or meaningless but instead "locates" the self in spiritually realistic terms. Both the grand whorl of the cosmos and the inner mystery of the self reveal God's Presence; the LORD fills all in all, and this includes both our inner world as well as the depths of creation, yea, even heaven itself. And since God in Messiah regards your life as worthy of an infinite redemption, true humility means respecting yourself, honoring the miracle of God's presence within you and valuing your identity as a beloved child of God... You are both a "bit of nothing" (i.e., klume: כְּלוּם) and yet you are segulah, a treasure before heaven. An old Chassidic tale says that every person should walk through life with two notes, one in each pocket. On one note should be the words anokhi afar ve'efer (אָנכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר) - "I am but dust and ashes," and on the other note should be the words, bishvili nivra ha'olam (בִּשְׁבִילִי נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם) - "For my sake was this world created." We are dust, yes indeed, but we are glorious dust because of God's love: "Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven" (1 Cor. 15:49).
We are to fear God and yet love God with all our hearts... It is a balance - the reverential "trembling of love." We fear God because our sins reveal divine justice and invoke the curse, and yet we trust what Yeshua does for us is perfect and evidences God's great compassion and mercy for our lives. So we do both - we fear God yet we rejoice that we are reconciled to him by means of the sacrificial life and death of the Messiah. We cannot choose one at the expense of the other: fear without love leads to legalism and hypocrisy; love without fear leads to presumption and profanity... Therefore we must guard against falling into despair over ourselves by affirming God's acceptance and blessing; on the other hand we must guard against smugness and pride by affirming God's holiness, justice, and the terrible cost he paid to redeem us from the verdict of the law. Those who do not tremble before the cross do not understand God's holiness and anger against sin; those who do not rejoice before the cross do not understand God's great compassion and love. The cross of Messiah is the place where God's truth (justice) and God's mercy (chesed) are perfectly mediated (Psalm 85:10).
Learning to See...
09.13.18 (Tishri 4, 5779) How we choose to see makes all the difference. "See I set before you a blessing and a curse..." (Deut. 11:26-28). When we sanctify our thinking we choose to discover good things to say, and we use the "good eye" to affirm the goodness of life -- even if in the present moment we struggle to see clearly (Isa. 50:10). You don't need to recite a formal blessing to express gratitude, of course; you just need to look for the good and to believe in redemption, in healing, and in love. The profane world is filled with curses, ill will, envy, blaming others, and so on. When we bless others we affirm that the Divine Light is in our midst, even in the world of darkened hearts, loneliness, fear and anger (Psalm 139:12). Learning to see by the Torah of the Spirit of God enables us to bless others because the love of God overcomes the alienation and curse of exile. Therefore choose to see life in a new way -- not as a misery to be endured, nor as punishment for your sins, but as a blessing, a gift, and an opportunity to know God's heart in the midst of your struggle.
Perhaps the deeper question has to do with how we can choose to love when we know so little of it. In a practical sense we choose love by means of exercising good will, that is, expressing our hope, our wish, and our faith for love's presence in our midst. In this dark world we choose love by taking small steps of hope while we are able. Offering a smile to someone, encouraging a friend, giving your help to someone in need, etc., all bring to life the way of love. It has been said that while blessing others might not take the darkness away, it brings light to our steps and comfort along the way...
Our Need for Atonement...
[ Yom Kippur, the "Day of Atonement," begins an hour before sundown on Tues., Sept. 18th ]
09.13.18 (Tishri 4, 5779) Humanity's greatest need is to be loved and accepted by God, but this requires a solution to the problem of sin and deliverance from the lethal sickness of "spiritual death." A "good judgment" from heaven, however, cannot be obtained through self-justification or through "works of righteousness which we have done" (Titus 3:5). The "books" are opened in heaven with a detailed record of all our sinful acts (Rev. 20:12). The LORD is called El Emet (אֵל אֱמֶת), the God of Truth, and the violation of God's law therefore requires atonement. Yeshua is God's exclusively appointed Sin Bearer, and only by means of trusting in his sacrificial death on the cross are we are declared not guilty (or "justified") by faith. Only God can justify the ungodly (Rom. 4:5) and "clothes" us with His own righteousness (see Zech. 3:1-5). "Salvation is of the Lord" (יְשׁוּעָתָה לַיהוָה). In the end, the only righteousness that really matters is the righteousness of God... We must renounce all hope of other approaches or defenses. None of us is righteous, "no, not one" (Psalm 14:2-3; Rom. 3:10). All our righteousness is as "filthy rags" before the eyes of Heaven: "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away" (Isa. 64:6).
Yom Kippur and Purim...
09.13.18 (Tishri 4, 5779) The great holiday of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is also known as Yom Kippurim in the Torah (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים, see Lev. 23:28), which the sages say may be read as Yom Ke-Purim, a 'day like Purim' (i.e., יוֹם, "day" + כְּ, "like" + פֻּרִים, "purim"). After all, both Purim and Yom Kippur celebrate our deliverance from the great enemies of sin and death, and both holidays foreshadow the great purim (deliverance) we have in Yeshua our LORD. Note further that the Hebrew word for "year" (i.e., shanah: שׁנה) has the same letter value Yom ha'kippurim (i.e., יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים, see Lev. 23:27), which suggests that God's faithful deliverance and atoning love extends to us every day of the year.
The "ultimate" meaning of Yom Kippur, however, is to be forgiven and accepted by God on account of the salvation secured by Yeshua the Messiah at the cross... Our deliverance depends not only on the substitutionary death of Yeshua as our kapparah (atonement), but also on the substitutionary life He lived (and still lives) as our Mediator. As it is written in our Scriptures: "The LORD is alive and blessed is my Rock (חַי־יְהוָה וּבָרוּךְ צוּרִי); and ascended is the God of my salavtion (וְיָרוּם אֱלוֹהֵי יִשְׁעִי) (Psalm 18:46). Yeshua fulfills the Torah on our behalf (Rom. 10:4). The cure for our lawlessness is not more laws but a deeper sense of God's grace given to us in Yeshua, the Tzaddik who kept the law perfectly and ransomed us from its righteous judgment. Because of Yeshua we have grace and peace (shalom) with God.
Note: For more on this subject, see "The Purim - Yom Kippur Connection."
Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement
[ The holiday of Yom Kippur begins an hour before sundown on Tuesday, Sept. 18th and lasts until an hour past sundown on Wednesday, Sept. 20th.... ]
09.13.18 (Tishri 4, 5779) Yom Kippur (יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים), or the "Day of Atonement(s)," is regarded as the holiest day of the Jewish year, and provides prophetic insight regarding the Second Coming of the Messiah, the restoration of national Israel, and the final judgment of the world. It is also a day that reveals the High-Priestly work of Yeshua as our Kohen Gadol (High Priest) after the order of Malki-Tzedek (Heb. 5:10, 6:20). The term Yom Kippur is written in the plural in the Torah, i.e., as Yom Ha-Kippurim (יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים), which alludes to the two great atonements given by the LORD - the first for those among all the nations who turn to Yeshua for cleansing and forgiveness, and the second for the purification of ethnic Israel during Yom Adonai, the great Day of the LORD (יוֹם־יְהוָה הַגָּדוֹל) at the End of Days.
For more information, see the Yom Kippur pages.
Teshuvah of Messiah...
09.12.18 (Tishri 3, 5779) "I have been crucified with Messiah..." (Gal. 2:20). During this "season of teshuvah," it is vital to understand exactly how we are to turn to God to find life. Some religious people understand "repentance" to mean focusing on themselves, lamenting their sins, and making resolutions to improve their behavior, though this is not the meaning of teshuvah as Yeshua taught, which is turning of the heart in trust of God's love. "It is no longer 'I' who live but Messiah who lives in me" (ibid.), which means we find life and righteousness in the LORD and not in ourselves -- neither in our resolutions to change, nor our religious rituals, nor even our acts of repentance. We are "crucified with" Messiah, and that means the self-life comes to an end (Col. 3:3). Regarding yourself as separated from God's acceptance will inevitably lead you to the "works of the law" and therefore to the "wheel of sin and death" -- and to despair. Rightly understood, teshuvah cannot be separated from the salvation of the LORD (יְשׁוּעַת יְהוָה), nor can we ignore God's righteousness in the vain attempt to establish our own. Teshuvah receives the miracle of divine exchange: "For our sake he made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). We do not "ignore the grace of God" (Οὐκ ἀθετῶ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ) by seeking justification apart from the truth and blessing of Messiah, for He is the one "who loves me and gave himself for me." The sickness of sin is lethal, and there is no remedy apart from turning to behold Yeshua, the "fiery serpent" lifted upon a stake, the One crucified for our deliverance (Num. 21:8; John 3:14; Gal. 3:13). The teshuvah of God is to turn away from yourself to behold the miracle of God's righteousness given for your sake, and therefore it is a matter of radical faith. "We had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead" (2 Cor. 1:9). "Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is briah chadashah (בְּרִיאָה חֲדָשָׁה), a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17).
We are told that we must "receive" the life of Yeshua into our hearts, and that is certainly true, but we must also receive his death as well... This is the meaning of "taking up your cross." It is the death of Yeshua in your place that releases you from the curse of the law (מִקִּלְלַת הַתּוֹרָה), that is, spiritual death, as it says, "the Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree" (Gal. 3:13).
The teshuvah of Yeshua is the miracle of new life; Messiah sets you free from the power of sin and death itself. The repentance of Yeshua is to trust in God's remedy for your sin: "This is the work of God, to believe in the One whom God sent" (John 6:29). "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him" (Isa. 59:16). We must turn away from the idea that God demands anything from us other than trust in his love. "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3). Stop trying to measure up to his standards. You simply cannot give more than you have the love to give, so you must begin by getting your heart needs met by accepting God's unconditional love. It's not about what you do for God, after all, but about what he does for you. That's the message of the gospel. Trust that you are rightly related to God because of the salvation of Yeshua, not because of your own efforts at self-improvement. "I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the One who sent me has eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) and will not be condemned, but has passed over (i.e., μετά + βαίνω, lit., "crossed over" [עָבַר]) from death to life" (John 5:24).
We must be careful not to worship an idol, that is, a false concept of God! It is possible to read the Bible, to go to church or synagogue, and yet worship a pagan god. How so? By not knowing the heart of the Father; by not honoring the One who passionately seeks our healing. We know the Father by the Son, that is, in "the language of Son" (Heb. 1:2; Luke 10:21-24). Our heavenly Father is eager to forgive and embrace all of his children. In Yeshua's famous parable of the "prodigal son," the father saw his child a "long way off" and ran to embrace and kiss him - no questions asked, no explanations needed about his past. When the son nevertheless began reciting his carefully prepared speech of repentance, the father barely listened, and in his overwhelming joy instructed his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found...' (Luke 15:20-25).
Atonement and Healing...
[ The holiday of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) begins Tues., Sept. 18th at sundown... ]
09.12.18 (Tishri 3, 5779) Atonement is about righting the wrong that separates us from God, repairing the breach caused by our sin, and being healed from the curse of death. We all desperately need this healing, yet our own hearts are the source of the trouble (Matt. 15:19-20). The holiness and justice of God (אלהִים) requires that sin be punished by death, but God is also merciful and gracious (יהוה), and therefore He instituted a system of animal sacrifices and blood rituals to provisionally "atone" for sin (i.e., restore the broken relationship with God). Since the life of the flesh is in the blood (Lev. 17:11), and the penalty for sin is death, the shedding of blood represents atonement (כַּפָּרָה) for sin. With regard to the chatat ("sin offering") or asham ("guilt offering"), a person would bring a kosher animal (korban) to the entrance of the Tabernacle and place both hands on the animal's head to identify with it (Lev. 4:29). This act of "semikhah" (סְמִיכָה) symbolically (i.e., ritually) transferred the penalty of sin and guilt to the sacrificial animal. Then, the person would slay the animal and confess that his sin caused the innocent to be slain in his place (Menachot 110a). The elaborate sacrificial system was intended to depict this "life-for-life" principle: God accepted the blood of a sacrifice in exchange for the life of the sinner...
Beware those who would entice you to return to the terms of the covenant at Sinai (Gal. 3:1). The sacrificial system of the Tabernacle (and later the Temple) was a temporary arrangement until the coming of Messiah, the Promised Deliverer (Gal. 3:24-25; Rom. 10:4; Heb. 9:1-12). The redemption obtained by animal sacrifices was merely provisional and symbolic, "for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Heb. 10:4). For eternal remedy, for the spiritual life of the soul, something far greater was needed, namely, the sacrifice of God Himself. Consequently, when Yeshua came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me," and "'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book" (Heb. 10:5,7). All this is profoundly mysterious, of course. After all, if the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) could enter the Holy of Holies only once a year to present sacrificial blood upon the kapporet, invoking the Divine Name YHVH, and interceding for God's mercy on behalf of the people, how much more mysterious is Messiah's intercession for us as he willingly shed his own blood and died in exchange for the curse of our sins (Gal. 3:13)? It was there - in the true Holy of Holies, the "greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands" (Heb. 9:11), where the blood of Yeshua was poured out to pay the penalty for our sins, and it was there that we are given eternal life and healing (2 Cor. 5:21). Yeshua is the true Temple of God and the Central Sacrifice of God given on our behalf. In ways we simply cannot fathom, the sacrificial death of Yeshua redeems us from the curse of death and makes us alive together with God. We draw near to God through Him alone; he alone is the true High Priest of God, the One who finishes the work of redemption on our behalf in the Temple of his body...
The New Testament teaches that Yeshua came to die "for our sins," to heal us from the plague of death (Heb. 7:27, 9:26; 1 John 3:5). Our sin separates us from God, but Messiah's sacrifice draws us near (Heb. 7:19). The message of the gospel is that the Voice of the LORD - the very Word spoken from between the cherubim above the kapporet (mercy seat) - "became flesh" (ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο) and "tabernacled among us" (ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν) for the purpose of becoming our substitutionary sacrifice for the guilt and defilement caused by our sins (John 1:1,14). Yeshua was "born to die" (Heb. 10:5-7), and his life was lived in relation to His sacrificial death (Mark 8:27-33). As the Apostle Paul put it: This is of "first importance": Yeshua was born to die for our sins, to make us right with God, and was raised from the dead to vindicate the righteousness of God (1 Cor. 15:3-4). His sacrificial death eternally draws us near to God, and we can come boldly before God's Presence on the basis of His shed blood for our sins...
The sacrificial system of Torah functions as a parable for us, or a metaphor of God's great redemptive plan revealed in the life and death of Yeshua. The Mercy Seat (kapporet) represents both the Throne of God (Heb. 4:16; 2 Kings 19:15) as well as the cross of Yeshua, where propitiation for our sins was made (Rom. 3:25). The glory of the Torah of Moses was destined to fade away (2 Cor. 3:3-11), just as its ritual center (i.e., the Tabernacle/Temple) was a shadow (σκιά) to be replaced by the greater priesthood of Malki-Tzedek (Heb. 10:1; 13:10). Yeshua is the Goal and the "Goel" (i.e., גּאֵל, Redeemer) from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). "For the law made nothing perfect, but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, and that is how we draw near (karov) to God" (Heb. 7:19). The sacrificial death of Yeshua caused the parochet of the Temple to be torn asunder, revealing that access to the Presence of God is now available for all who come to God trusting in the finished work of God's Son. For more, see "Why the Sacrifices?" and "Yom Kippur and the Gospel."
Addendum:
What about the Coming Temple?
Some people get excited about prophetic news, particularly concerning Israel, but please be wary of those who claim that the rise of the "Third Temple" portends the advent of the Messiah, friends. Yeshua is the Substance and Meaning of all that the Temple represents; He is the Substance of the Vision of the Temple revealed to Moses at Sinai (Exod. 25:9,40; Heb. 8:5; 9:11; Matt. 12:6), just as He is the fulfillment of what the sacrificial system foretold (see Heb. 8-10; 10:14). Various religious groups (such as "The Temple Institute" [Rabbi Chaim Richman], "Breaking Israel News" [Rabbi Tuly Weisz, Eliyahu Berkowitz], "The Temple Mount Faithful" [Gershon Salomon] and even some "Messianic" ministries) regularly proclaim the Temple is nearly ready to be rebuilt and then the Messiah will finally come to deliver Israel from her enemies. Now these people are right that a Third Temple is coming, but are wrong about what it will truly represent. Indeed those who advocate the building of the Third Temple ignore the eschatological visions of the Hebrew prophets Daniel, Ezekiel, and Isaiah, and they certainly disregard the message of Yeshua the Messiah and the New Testament concerning acharit hayamim, or the prophesied "End of Days." Dear friends, do not be alarmed by those who say the Temple will soon be rebuilt in Israel, or those who claim that a Red Heifer has been found, or those who are excited that a Sanhedrin has been reconvened, and so on. Many Christian people have been fooled into sending money to these sorts of groups, thinking the are helping hasten the coming of the Messiah to Israel, but in reality they are unwittingly contributing to the establishment of a false Temple (מקדש שווא) that will be seized by the anti-Messiah, that is, the false Messiah (משיח השטן), who will then unleash terror and tribulation upon the world. Let the reader understand (Matt. 24:15).
Please do not misunderstand me here. I completely believe in the coming End of Days prophecies given in Scripture (including the construction of the Third Temple), but that does not mean we should seek to establish the Third Temple in Israel, especially in light of the teaching of the New Testament regarding acharit hayamim. The Third Temple, or "Tribulation Temple," will indeed come, but it should not be confused with the Fourth Temple, Ezekiel's vision, which will be established at the time of Yeshua's reign in Zion during the Millennial Kingdom. Nor should either of these Temples be confused with the Heavenly Temple of the New Jerusalem which represents the World to Come. In other words, the coming Third Temple sets the scene for the prophesied "End of Days," though that doesn't mean we should support its construction, etc., since it is not a true Temple of the LORD...
Yeshua and Rosh Hashanah...
09.11.18 (Tishri 2, 5779) As I've mentioned over the years, the word "love" (i.e., ahavah) first appears in the Torah regarding Abraham's passion for his son: "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love (אֲשֶׁר־אָהַבְתָּ), and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you" (Gen. 22:2). After journeying to the place, Abraham told his child that God would provide a lamb (אֱלהִים יִרְאֶה־לּוֹ הַשֶּׂה), and then bound Isaac, laid him upon an altar, and raised his knife to slay him (Gen. 22:8-10). At the very last moment, the Angel of the Lord called out: "Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son (בֵּן יָחִיד), from me" (Gen. 22:11-12). Abraham then "lifted up his eyes" and saw a ram "caught in a thicket" which he offered in place of his son. Abraham then named the place Adonai-Yireh (יהוה יִרְאֶה), "the LORD who provides" (Gen. 22:14). The sacrifice of the lamb for Isaac portrayed the coming sacrifice of Yeshua, the great "Lamb of God" (שֵׂה הָאֱלהִים) who would be offered in exchange for the trusting sinner (John 1:29). Indeed the story of how God provided the lamb at Moriah (and later during the Passover in Egypt) foreshadowed the greater redemption given in Messiah at the "Passover cross," and may be understood as the "Gospel according to Moses" (Luke 24:27; John 5:46). Therefore, during Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment (יוֹם הַדִּין), we listen to the sound of the shofar (ram's horn) to remind us of the provision of Lamb of God given in place of Isaac... In other words, Rosh Hashanah is decidedly a holiday that commemorates and celebrates Yeshua our Messiah...
L'Shanah Tovah, friends!
09.11.18 (Tishri 2, 5779) Happy New Year - Shanah Tovah - friends! May this coming year be "good and sweet" for you. Here are a few pictures taken during our celebration for Rosh Hashanah 5779. As you can see, our kids are growing: Josiah is now 13, Judah is 9, and Emanuel David is now 2 and a half years old! Thank you for praying for our children.
Left-to-right (top): 1. Shanah Tovah bowl; 2. honey dish; 3. pomegranates; 4. table setting;
(bottom): 1) holiday tea light; 2) simamin plate; 3) Yom Tov plate; 4) Shiviti holiday cards
Left-to-right (top): 1. honey cake; 2. apples and honey; 3. crown challah; 4. baklava
(bottom): 1) Emanuel David; 2) Irina lights yom tov candles; 3) apple snacks; 4) some "new" fruits
Left-to-right (top): 1. holiday menorah; 2. orchard apples; 3. pomegranates; 4. yom tov cover;
(bottom): 1) holiday blessing; 2) our Kiddush Cup; 3) halvah; 4) rosh dag (head of a fish)
Left-to-right (top): 1. Olga at the orchard; 2. Vadim's shofar; 3. apples; 4. John with shofar;
(bottom): 1) Josiah with shofar; 2) Judah at orchard; 3) shiviti poster; 4) Emanuel David
בַּחֲצצְרוֹת וְקוֹל שׁוֹפָר
הָרִיעוּ לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ יְהוָה
ba·cha·tzotz·rot · ve·kol · sho·far
ha·ri·u · lif·nei · ha·me·lekh · Adonai
"With trumpets and the sound of the shofar
shout for joy before the King, the LORD!"
(Psalm 98:6)
Listen to the Shofar:
From our family to yours: L'shanah tovah u'metukah ba'Adoneinu Yeshua ha-Mashiach - "to a good and sweet year in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah." May the LORD God heal you, body and soul; may He ease your pain, increase your strength, and release you from all your fears. May the divine blessing, love, joy, and true shalom surround you and fill you with ongoing wonder and thanks. In the Name above all Names we pray: Amen.
Rosh Hashanah and Healing...
[ The holiday of Rosh Hashanah began Friday, September 9th at sundown... ]
09.11.18 (Tishri 2, 5779) God is both infinitely loving and infinitely just, and both of these "attributes" are inseparably a part of who he is. God is One. Nonetheless, the cross of Yeshua proves that "love is stronger than death, passion fiercer than the grave; its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame, the very flame of the Lord" (Song. 8:6). It is at the cross that "love and truth have met, righteousness and peace have kissed" (Psalm 85:10). This implies that we must drop our defenses – even those supposed objections and pretenses voiced by our shame – and "accept that we are accepted." It is God's great love for you that leads you to turn to him. Allow yourself to be embraced by his "everlasting arms."
מֵרָחוֹק יְהוָה נִרְאָה לִי
וְאַהֲבַת עוֹלָם אֲהַבְתִּיךְ
עַל־כֵּן מְשַׁכְתִּיךְ חָסֶד
me·ra·chok Adonai nir·ah li
ve·a·ha·vat o·lam a·hav·tikh
al ken me·shakh·tikh cha·sed
"The LORD appeared to me from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn you."
(Jer. 31:3)
Hebrew Study Card
Genuine repentance will entirely change you. It is an act of profound respect over what God has done on your behalf. You say, but I am a miserable wretch! Indeed that is so, but the consciousness of your wretched state is the heart's cry for love... God goes "outside the camp" to meet with you. He enters the leper colony to join you there, in your wretchedness, and even takes upon your fatal disease. He sees you in your desperate estate and joins you there. God enters into the dust of your death and says, "Live!"
Repentance means changing your thinking, turning around to face the truth, and returning to embrace God's love. It does not identify the whole person with sin, but rather regards all people as redeemable, worthy, and valuable to God. Conviction of sin is not the end, but rather the means to newness of life. God saved us so that we could be in a love relationship with Him. We must "choose life," and that means choosing to welcome God's love into your heart. The only sin that can keep you from God's everlasting love is the denial that his love is personally for you. You must forsake seeing yourself "in the flesh" and take hold of God's spirit, his passion, and his grace for your soul. You are worthy to be loved because God is worthy to make you so. Therefore as our wonderful Savior appealed, "Repent and believe the good news" (Mark 1:5). God is love, and that love is for you.
We sincerely wish you "shanah tovah u'metukah ba'Adoneinu Yeshua ha-Mashiach" - a good and sweet year in our Lord Jesus the Messiah! May the LORD God heal you, body and soul; may He ease your pain, increase your strength, and release you from all your fears... May blessing, love, joy, and true shalom surround you and fill you with ongoing wonder and thanks. In the Name above all Names we pray: Amen.
New Audio for parashat Vayeilech...
09.10.18 (Tishri 1, 5779) Shanah Tovah 5779 my dear friends! Happy Rosh Hashanah and Yom Teruah! I was able to complete a new "Shavuah Tov" audio broadcast for parashat Vayeilech late last night which is now ready for online listening or download (see the links below). In this audio I discuss both the Jewish High Holidays -- and how they relate to us as followers of Yeshua the Messiah -- as well as the weekly Torah portion for Shabbat Shuvah. I hope you will find it helpful. To a good and sweet year in our Messiah Yeshua!
Note: I hope to add some family pictures of our Rosh Hashanah Seder here later today. Meanwhile, if you have a Facebook account you can see them here.
Is Rosh Hashanah Biblical?
[ The holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins this evening at sundown... ]
09.09.18 (Elul 29, 5778) Though the term "Rosh Hashanah" does not explicitly occur in the Torah, the start of the 7th month (i.e., Tishri 1) is clearly to be set apart as "Yom Teruah," a day of shofar blowing (see Lev. 23:24-25, Num. 29:1-2). When we consult Jewish tradition for some additional insight about this question, we discover that the sages and great commentators of the Torah universally regarded the number seven as the number of completeness. Just as the seventh day of the week was considered sacred, so too is the seventh month of the year. Therefore the sages reasoned that since each new moon (rosh chodesh) is regarded as a sacred time (see Num. 10:10), it's logical that the seventh new moon (counting from Nisan in the spring) should acquire special sanctity. This conclusion seems especially justified in this case because God directly commanded Israel to sanctify the seventh month as a solemn day of "remembrance and shofar blowing" (זִכְרוֹן תְּרוּעָה). Therefore while it is clear that the new moon of the seventh month is to be observed as "Yom Teruah," it nevertheless has a somewhat "concealed" significance, suggestive of the absence of the moon on that date itself...
Note, however, that the Torah calls the end of the harvest year (in the fall) the "end of the year" (i.e., חַג הָאָסִף בְּצֵאת הַשָּׁנָה, Exod. 23:16), which implies both the start of a new year and the symmetry of the calendar: the fall festivals "mirror" the spring festivals and correspond to one another. Just as there is a "new year" in the spring, on the new moon of Nisan, so there is in the fall, on the new moon of Tishri, the seventh month... The Psalmist likewise regarded the new moon of the seventh month as especially significant (Psalm 81:3-4). And after the return of the exiles, Ezra the Scribe gathered the people at the Water Gate in Jerusalem on the first of Tishri to read the Torah before the people (see Neh. 8:1-9). Ezra's action may have been the precedent among the later sages for investing Tishri 1 with its distinctive status. That is why we make a "teruah" shout of thanks to God in anticipation of the fulfillment of God's promises and redemptive purposes during the End of Days.
The question about Rosh Hashanah has to do with the authority of Jewish tradition itself. Does the Jewish community have sanction to establish the date of Hebrew calendar? To establish the start of the month? To determine if a year was shemittah (a sabbatical year)? To sound the shofar and declare a Jubilee? According to Moses, the answer is a qualified "yes." After all, it's clear that Moses established judges and courts to determine such matters and to develop case law based on the precepts of the Torah (e.g., see Deut. 16:18). This "chain of authority" was later codified by the sages of the Mishnah, who said it was given by God first to Moses, then Joshua, then to the 70 elders, then to the prophets, and then to Ezra and the men of the Great Assembly (Pirke Avot 1:1). And according to "mainstream" Jewish tradition, Tishri 1 has been established as a "rosh hashanah" from at least the time of the return of the exiles (4th century BC). This is further attested by Flavius Josephus (first century AD) who wrote: "Moses ... appointed Nisan ... as the first month for the festivals ... the commencement of the year for everything relating to divine worship, but for selling and buying and other civil affairs he preserved the ancient order [i. e. the year beginning with Tishri]" (Antiquities 1.81). Even Yeshua Himself endorsed Ezra's division of the Scriptures into the "Law, Writings, and the Prophets" and said that not a "jot or a tittle" (kotzo shel Yod) would pass from the Torah until all was fulfilled (Luke 24:44; Matt. 5:18).
That said, there are undoubtedly a lot of Rabbinical "additions" that have accrued to the holiday over the centuries, especially since the destruction of the Second Temple. Despite this, hovever, let me suggest that many of the traditions of Rosh Hashanah can be genuinely helpful for us. For instance, undergoing self-examination and doing teshuvah are commanded by God and inherently valuable exercises for followers of Yeshua (see Lam. 3:40; Haggai 1:5; Psalm 119:59; Matt. 7:3-5, Gal. 6:3-4, 1 Cor. 11:28, 2 Cor. 13:5, James 5:16, 1 John 1:8-9, etc.). Setting aside 40 days each year to help us turn away from sin is a healing custom, especially if it's done in light of truth of the gospel message. After all, Christians will stand before the Throne of Judgment (kisei ha-din) to give account for their lives to God (see 2 Cor. 5:10). As it is written: "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" (1 Cor. 3:13). The foundation of every true work of God comes from trusting in the finished work of Yeshua the Messiah, and the work of our faith will be tested and judged. We have great consolation in our testings, friends: if we are honest with the Lord and appeal to Him for help, He promises to be there for us (Heb. 4:15-16).
For more on this subject, see Is Rosh Hashanah Biblical?
King of the Universe...
[ The holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins this evening at sundown... ]
09.09.18 (Elul 29, 5778) When Adam first opened his eyes and human consciousness was born, he immediately understood that the LORD created all things, including himself. According to midrash, Adam's first words were, יהוה מֶלֶךְ עוֹלָם וָעֶד / Adonai malakh olam va'ed: "The LORD is King for ever and ever." God then said, "Now the whole world will know that I am King," and He was very pleased. This was the "tov me'od" (טוֹב מְאד) moment of creation, when God saw all that He had made "and found it very good" (Gen. 1:31). The birthday of humanity is therefore the Coronation Day for the King of the Universe. According to Jewish tradition, this date represents Rosh Hashanah, or the "head of the year" for humanity, when God began to rule as King over the universe He created.
The implication that God is our Creator is enormous and pervades everything else in our lives. God's creative power is witnessed by all conscious life. The Divine Light that was created before the sun and the stars represents God's immanent presence that "lights up" all of creation - including our minds (Gen. 1:3). Since we were created b'tzelem Elohim, "in the image of God," the witness of God's truth is foundational to all of our thinking as well. The revelation (not the invention) of logical first principles is part of God's "signature," if you will, of how the mind is wired to reality. Likewise we have intuitive awareness regarding the existence of moral truth (i.e., the standard of justice and moral law), aesthetic truth (i.e., ideals of beauty, goodness, worth, and love), and metaphysical truth (i.e., cause and effect relationships). "The heavens are recounting the glory of God, and the expanse is proclaiming his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). God's power and presence can be clearly inferred from the tremendous effect of the universe itself. As Paul stated, "the invisible things of Him (τά ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ) from the creation of the world are clearly seen (καθοράω), so that people are without excuse" (Rom. 1:19-20). It is the fear of the LORD (יִרְאַת יהוה) that is truly the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Psalm 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10). The Hebrew word for fearing (ירא) and seeing (ראה) share the same root. We cannot truly see reality apart from reverencing God as the Lord and King of Creation.
It is important to emphasize that God is not some impersonal "First Cause" or "Unmoved Mover" of the universe. He is not some "cosmic big bang" that started the universe only to be indifferent to its functioning, nor is God a "Cosmic Egg" or "Self-Absorbed Mind" that contemplates the navel of reality... No, God is an entirely awake and morally perfect Being who created everything "very good" and who actively engages and sustains His creation. God is a personal Creator and Ruler of all that exists. In theological jargon, God is both "immanent" (sustaining and upholding creation) and "transcendent" (exalted over creation). This God has a Name (YHVH), a mind, and a moral, purposive will that imbues all of creation. God is LORD over all time and space, the King of Glory, who is Master of all possible worlds. He is therefore intimately concerned with the rule of His law, expressed both in the "natural" world (i.e., the laws of physics, chemistry, etc.), the mental world (i.e., the laws of logic, mathematics, etc.), the ethical world (i.e., the laws of morality, ethics, etc.), and the spiritual world (the laws of spirit and of spiritual beings).
For more on this see: "High Holidays and the Gospel."
Parashat Vayeilech (פרשת וילך)
[ Our Torah reading for Shabbat Shuvah (שבת שובה) is parashat Vayeilech... ]
09.09.18 (Elul 29, 5778) In last week's Torah reading (i.e., parashat Nitzavim), Moses formally gathered the people of Israel together to ratify their covenant with the LORD. Moses then pled with the people bacharta ba'chayim - to "choose life" by pursuing the path of obedience to the Torah and its commandments. If the Israelites would do so, they would be blessed and prosper as God's chosen nation; but if not, they would be subjected to hard exile, persecution, and the threat of utter destruction.
In this week's portion (i.e., parashat Vayeilech), Moses announced his impending death and transferred the leadership of the Jewish nation to Joshua (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ), a type of Messiah who would bring Israel into the promised land. Moses continued his speech, and foresaw that despite his appeals the people would turn away from the covenant, which would cause God's face to turn away: "And hiding I will hide My face on that day, because of all the evil they have committed" (Deut. 31:18). The sages note this verse is grammatically unusual because of the double use of the word "hide" (i.e., הַסְתֵּר אַסְתִּיר פָּנַי). God hides the fact that He is in hiding... If you do not know that God is "hiding," you will not seek for Him; and if you feel within your heart that God is hiding, you are invited to return to Him, as King David said, "When you said, 'Seek my face;' my heart said to You, 'Your face, LORD, will I seek.'
לְךָ אָמַר לִבִּי בַּקְּשׁוּ פָנָי
אֶת־פָּנֶיךָ יְהוָה אֲבַקֵּשׁ
le·kha · a·mar · lee·bee · ba·ke·shoo · fa·nai
et-pa·ney'·kha · Adonai · a·va·keish
When you said, 'Seek my face;'
my heart said to You, 'Your face, LORD, will I seek.'
(Psalm 27:8)
In this connection we note that Yeshua often spoke in the form of a parable (παραβολή) to "code" his meaning, to make it accessible only to those who were genuinely willing to make comparisons, to reason analogically, and so on (Isa. 1:18; 1 Cor. 2:13). He used "indirection," allusion, allegory, and "figures of speech" (παροιμία, lit. "[speech] beyond the usual way"), in order to provoke people to explore and ask the hard questions about life... "Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior" (Isa. 45:15).
"For God so loved the world" that He disguised himself as a bondservant to die in shame upon a cross; "God so loved the world" that he became entirely unesteemed -- "despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief" (Isa. 53:3). Yet even Moses foresaw the stupor of the people in relation to the truth of God (Deut. 29:4). Regarding the "hiding of face," in His sovereign judgment God decreed: "They know not, nor do they discern, for he has smeared their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand" (Isa. 44:18). God "gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own devices" (Psalm 81:12; Rom. 1:24); they went "backward and not forward" (Jer. 7:24). This was not a blindness induced by the "god of this world" as much as it was a darkness induced by the flesh and its apathy toward God. The mind became dull and sleepy because it ceased to believe in the miracle - and to realize that God's truth is always something extraordinary, spectacular, and wonderful...
Shabbat Shuvah - שַׁבַּת שׁוּבָה
09.09.18 (Elul 29, 5778) The Sabbath between Rosh Hashanah and the solemn fast of Yom Kippur is the very first of the new year, called Shabbat Shuvah (שַׁבַּת שׁוּבָה) - that is, "the Sabbath of Return." It is called "shuvah" because the Haftarah (i.e., Hosea 14:1) begins, Shuvah Yisrael ad Adonai Elohekha (שׁוּבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ): "Return, O Israel, unto the LORD your God!" As the very first Shabbat of the new year, Shabbat Shuvah is intended to "set the tone" for the "Days of Awe" leading up to the great Day of Atonement.
שׁוּבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ
כִּי כָשַׁלְתָּ בַּעֲוֹנֶךָ
shu·vah · Yis·ra·el · ad · Adonai · E·lo·hey·kha,
ki · kha·shal·ta · ba·a·vo·ne·kha
"Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity."
(Hosea 14:1)
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Note the Hebrew grammar in this verse: "Return (שׁוּבָה), O Israel, until (עַד) the LORD is your God" (Hos. 14:1). We are called to repent until the LORD becomes "your God," that is, until you completely surrender yourself to His presence and love. You return as you "set the Lord always before you" and know him in all your ways (Psalm 16:8; Prov. 3:6).
Shanah Tovah, and may you be inscribed in the Lamb's book of life (סֵפֶר הַחַיִּים אֲשֶׁר לַשֶּׂה) for good, friends! Shalom in Yeshua our Lord.
Rosh Hashanah Seder Guide...
[ The holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins Sunday. September 9th at sundown... ]
09.09.18 (Elul 29, 5778) To prepare for a Rosh Hashanah home evening celebration, you will need a few basic things. Minimally you will need a couple holiday candles, a kiddush cup, some grape juice, challah (holiday bread), a few apples and honey, and a pomegranate... You will also need a shofar to sound at the end of the meal. For best results you should plan your meal, arrange your table, and decide which order things should go.... Here is a very general overview of the steps for our Rosh Hashanah Seder:
- Recite the blessing over the candles (usually 18 mins before sundown)
- Do kiddush over the wine/grape juice
- Recite the Shehecheyanu blessing
- Recite the Mo'edim blessing
- Recite the Hamotzi blessing over the (round) challah
- Recite the Shema (together, under a tallit)
- Recite Birkat Kohanim (blessing the children)
- Wish one another L'shanah tovah! Sing some holiday songs
- Sit at the table for the holiday meal
- Enjoy the simanim service (blessings over apples and honey; pomegranate, etc.)
- Serve and eat the holiday meal together
- Recite (an abbreviated) Birkat Hamazon - giving thanks to God for the meal
- Recite the Shofar blessing and hear the shofar (at least 100 blasts for the evening)
- Tekiah [1 blast]
- Shevarim [3 wailing blasts]
- Teruah [at least 9 staccato blasts]
- Tekiah Gedolah [1 very long blast]
Listen to the Shofar
We usually serve matzah ball soup or tzimmes, fresh salad, and a main course such as pomegranate chicken over rice with some green beans. During the holiday meal we also eat some "ceremonial foods" (i.e., simanim) and recite Hebrew blessings over these "first tastes" of the new year... For example we will eat a few almonds, some beets, a bite of fish, a nosh of star fruit, and of course apple and honey (tapu'ach udvash) for dessert. Please understand that you don't "have" to do any of this (though it is a blessing if it's done in the right spirit). If you are new to all this or feeling anxious, my heartfelt advice is to follow the path of peace - our Lord doesn't lay heavy burdens on us but lightness and grace... Shalom.
For more information, see the Hebrew for Christians Rosh Hashanah Seder Guide.
Fearing yet Loving God...
[ Shabbat Shalom, dear chaverim; a happy and good new year to you in our Lord Yeshua... ]
09.07.18 (Elul 27, 5778) Because Rosh Hashanah (Yom Teruah) is associated with Yom HaDin, or the Day of Judgment, and the Scriptures clearly teach that every soul (including believers) will indeed face divine judgment, I thought it would be good to review the tension we sometimes might feel between fearing and loving God... On the one hand we should rightly fear the LORD and be afraid to sin since sin wounds God's heart and outrages his attributes of justice, truth, and so on. The cross of our LORD reveals the severe mercy of God, the terror of sin, and the incalculable cost paid for our atonement and forgiveness. We should tremble before God and not presume on his grace by regarding our forgiveness as something to be taken for granted. Yeshua bled to death for your sin and that is eternally significant and the foundation of how we are healed and delivered from the wrath of God. On the other hand, we are in awe over God's love for us, a love so great that he become a man, took upon himself our sins, and paid the penalty by becoming the curse of death on our behalf. We trust in God's unconditional love and acceptance for us - despite our unacceptability - because of the free gift of justification given to all those who will believe (Rom. 3:24-26). This is the essential message of the gospel itself: we only have atonement through the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua our Savior, the great Lamb of God (שֶׂה הָאֱלהִים הַגָּדוֹל). As Yeshua said, "I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the One who sent me has eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) and will not be condemned, but has passed over (i.e., μετά + βαίνω, lit., "crossed over") from death to life" (John 5:24). Just as God's judgment passes over from life to death on my behalf; so His love passes over from death to life on my behalf... There is no Redemption apart from the blood of the Lamb.
Now according to the classical sages, there are three "levels" or types of yirat Adonai, or "the fear of the LORD." The first level is the fear of unpleasant consequences or punishment (i.e., yirat ha'onesh: יִרְאַת הָענֶשׁ). This is perhaps how we normally think of the word "fear." We anticipate his judgement or even his rejection and we want to flee from that...
The second type of fear concerns anxiety over breaking God's law (sometimes called yirat ha-malkhut: יִרְאַת הַמַּלְכוּת). This kind of fear motivates people to do good deeds because they are afraid God will punish them in this life (or in the world to come). This is the foundational concept of karma (i.e., the cycle of moral cause and effect). As such, this kind of fear is founded on self-preservation, though in some cases the heart's motive may be mixed with a genuine desire to honor God or to avoid God's righteous wrath for sin (Exod. 1:12, Lev. 19:14; Matt. 10:28; Luke 12:5). Of course God does not wink at evil or injustice, and those who practice wickedness have a genuine reason to be afraid (Matt. 5:29-30; 18:8-9; Gal. 6:7-8). God is our Judge and every deed we have done will be made known: "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" (1 Cor. 3:13). "For we must all appear before the judgment throne of Messiah (כִסֵּא־דִין הַמָּשִׁיחַ) so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Cor. 5:10). When we rightly consider God as the Judge of the Universe (שופט העולם), we experience the sentiment that "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31).
The third (and highest) kind of fear is a profound reverence for life that comes from rightly seeing. This level discerns the Presence of God in all things and is sometimes called yirat ha-rommemnut (יִרְאַת הָרוֹמְמוּת), or the "Awe of the Exalted." Through it we behold God's glory and majesty in all things. "Fearing" (יִרְאָה) and "seeing" (רָאָה) are linked and unified. We are elevated to the level of reverent awareness, holy affection, and genuine communion with God's Holy Spirit. Love for God creates a spiritual antipathy toward evil, and conversely, hatred of evil is a way of fearing God (Prov. 8:13). "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God" (John 3:20-21). In relation to both good and evil, then, love (אַהֲבָה) draws us near, while fear (יִרְאָה) holds us back.
"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?" (Deut. 10:12-13). In this summary statement of what the LORD requires of us, the fear of the LORD (i.e., yirat HaShem: יִרְאַת יהוה) is mentioned first. First we must learn to properly fear the LORD and only then will we be able to walk (לָלֶכֶת) in His ways, to love (לְאַהֲבָה) Him, and to serve (לַעֲבד) Him with all our heart and soul. Again, the requirement to fear the LORD your God (לְיִרְאָה אֶת־יהוה) is placed first in this list... Moreover, "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה)." Without the fear of the LORD, you will walk in darkness and be unable to turn away from evil (Psalm 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 10:27; 14:27, 15:33; 16:6). Indeed the Scriptures plainly declare that "the fear of the LORD leads to life" (i.e., יִרְאַת יְהוָה לְחַיִּים, lit. "is for life"). As King Solomon wrote in Kohelet: "Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole man" (Eccl. 12:13).
Note: For more on this important topic see the article: "The Awe of the LORD."
Turning, turning, turning...
[ The holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins Sunday, Sept. 9th at sundown this year... ]
09.07.18 (Elul 27, 5778) "Turning, turning, turning..." Every year we revisit the theme of "repentance" by 1) turning to God (teshuvah); 2) turning to others we've offended (mechilah), and 3) turning to those in need (tzedakah); and every year we take inventory of our lives (cheshbon ha'nefesh) with the goal of growing and taking responsibility for our lives. We regret those decisions in our past that have desensitized us to the sacred, and we seek spiritual renewal to serve God more faithfully in the year to come. Simcha Bunim said of the ongoing cycle of teshuvah: "On Rosh Hashanah the world begins anew, and therefore before it begins anew, it comes to an end. Just as before dying all the powers of the body clutch hard at life, so a person at the turn of the year ought to clutch at life with all his strength and might" (Bunim quote taken from Buber: "Tales of the Hasidim,"1947).
Different sins require different types of confession. Sins against God (i.e., bein Adam la-Makom: בֵּין אָדָם לָמָקוֹם) require confession to God alone for the sake of obtaining divine forgiveness. Sins against others (i.e., bein Adam l'chavero: בֵּין אָדָם לְחֲבֵרוֹ) require that we personally acknowledge our harm to them and ask them for mechilah (מְחִילָה), forgiveness. Finally, sins against ourselves require that we admit that we have damaged our own lives and be willing to accept personal forgiveness. "For those whom we have wronged (including ourselves), may we be forgiven..."
There is a godly sorrow that works recovery within our hearts. "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death" (2 Cor. 7:10). This kind of sorrow is healing, since it moves us to return to the source of Love we so desperately need. May God all bless us with such sorrow, the "gift of tears."
Healing the Sick Soul...
09.07.18 (Elul 27, 5778) Sickness of the soul is just as serious as sickness of the body, and indeed many of our physical sicknesses come from being sick at heart - by living in fear or despair, or by allowing unresolved guilt or anger to destroy ourselves. The Scriptures state that just as a body can become sick with illness, so can the soul: "I said, 'O LORD, be gracious to me; heal my soul (רְפָאָה נַפְשִׁי), for I have sinned against you'" (Psalm 41:4).
Note the connection between healing of the soul and the confession of sin in this verse. Often we are sick because of inner secrets that need to be brought to the light (1 John 1:9). "Therefore, confess (ἐξομολογέω, lit. 'confess out') your sins to one another and pray (εὔχομαι) for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person (i.e., tzaddik) works great power" (James 5:16). Being yashar - honest and upright - produces spiritual power and life. The word translated "pray" (euchomai) means to "wish (εὐχὴ) for oneself (or for another) the good." Confession (ὁμολογία) means bringing yourself naked before the Divine Light to agree with the truth about who you are. Indeed, the word homologeo literally means "saying the same thing" - from ὁμός (same) and λόγος (word). We need to confess the truth if we are to be free from the pain of the past.
Followers of Jesus are called to be healers (Luke 9:1). The most common word for healing in the New Testament is therapeuo (θεραπεύω), a word that means to serve, to care for, and to restore to health. Unlike showy ministers who draw crowds to demonstrate the power of miraculous "faith healing," spiritual healers take the time to listen to others, to hear their inward pain, and to extend compassion and grace to them. They help open the inner eyes of the heart by extending hope and a new vision about what is real... Indeed, lasting healing focuses less on being cured than on finding a hope that will never die.
Postscript: What eternal good would it do, after all, to be "cured" of some disease if a soul was not also delivered from the power of darkness and sin? What would such "healing" mean, in light of the truth of eternity? After all, if the evil one may afflict people with sickness, surely he may also remove it to keep a person in a state of bondage... Some people, after frantically searching for a cure to their sickness, finally must let go and accept that they are going to die... If they have come to real inner peace, if they hold hope of eternal life within them because of the message of Yeshua, then even though they might not be physically "cured" in this world of shadows, they are indeed forever "healed" for life in the "high country" of the world to come...
Return of the Captives...
[ The following is related to this week's Torah reading, parashat Nitzavim... ]
09.07.18 (Elul 27, 5778) It is written in our Torah for this week (i.e., Nitzavim), "The LORD your God will return as you return (וְשָׁב יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ אֶת־שְׁבוּתְךָ), and will have mercy upon you, turning to gather you back..." (Deut 30:3). This has both a present and prophetic application. First, in the present hour, if you turn to God, he will show you compassion, and he will "gather back" all those distant and fragmented parts of yourself into shalom and wholeness. He will restore your lost days; he will bring you out of exile and give you comfort in Yeshua. He makes all things new. "Draw near, therefore to God, and he will draw near to you" (James 4:8). Second, the LORD will return to earth as the Jewish people return from their captivity, and he will restore Zion during the time of the final redemption. The LORD will turn captivity into mercy; he will turn in his compassion to his people. As it is written: "I will be found by you, declares the LORD... and I will bring you back..." (Jer. 29:14).
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The language of the Torah here is emphatic: "even if your exile is at the farthest edge of heaven (בִּקְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם), from there the LORD your God will gather you..." (Deut. 30:4). Note that this prophecy is written in the singular and therefore pertains to each individual exile. God will "gather you," that is, he bring you back to make you whole. Even if your exile (singular) is to the uttermost, the LORD will take you and deliver you, as it is written, "He is able to save to the uttermost (σῴζειν εἰς τὸ παντελὲς) those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25).
Inevitability and Judgment...
09.07.18 (Elul 27, 5778) The Scriptures teach that every word we speak and every choice we make are infallibly recorded in "heavenly scrolls," and one day these scrolls will be opened as a testimony about what we did with our lives: "As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; His throne was ablaze with fire and its wheels were all aflame. A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened...." (Dan. 7:9-10). This vision is repeated in the New Testament writings as well: "And I saw the dead, both the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book (סֵפֶר אַחֵר) was opened, which is called the Book of Life (סֵפֶר הַחַיִּים). And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done" (Rev. 20:12). The Greek word for truth is "aletheia" (ἀλήθεια), a word that means revelation and disclosure. Truth is inevitable and invincible; all that is covered up will be revealed; all that is hidden will be made known (Luke 12:2).
כִּי אֶת־כָּל־מַעֲשֶׂה הָאֱלהִים
יָבִא בְמִשְׁפָּט עַל כָּל־נֶעְלָם
אִם־טוֹב וְאִם־רָע
ki · et-kol-ma·a·seh · ha·e·lo·him
ya·vi · ve·mish·pat · al · kol-ne·e-lam
im-tov · ve'im-ra
"For God shall bring every work
into the judgment concerning every hidden thing,
whether it be good or whether it be evil."
(Eccl. 12:14)
- "For we must all appear before the judgment throne of Messiah (כִסֵּא־דִין הַמָּשִׁיחַ), so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others" (2 Cor. 5:10-11).
- "Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw -- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved yet so as through fire" (2 Cor. 3:12-15).
- "If you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile" (1 Pet. 1:17).
In the prophetic vision of the great day of judgment to come (i.e., Dan. 7:9-10; Rev. 20:12), notice again that there was "another book" opened during the judgment called the "Book of Life" (סֵפֶר הַחַיִּים), and later we learn that only those whose names were found written in this book would be granted access to the "heavenly Jerusalem" (Rev. 21:27). But what is this book and how can our names be inscribed in it so that we can partake of the future glory?
The Lamb's Book of Life (סֵפֶר הַחַיִּים אֲשֶׁר לַשֶּׂה) refers to "the record" (i.e., the words and deeds) of Yeshua our Messiah, the true Lamb of God, and therefore the book represents the final attestation - or "sworn testimony" - of the worthiness of God's own righteousness and salvation. In the great plan of God's salvation for the world, Yeshua was "born to die" as our atoning sacrifice for sin (Heb. 10:7-5). "God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him (ἐν αὐτῷ) we would become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). But note that we must be "in him," that is, fully identified with Yeshua so that his sacrificial death becomes counted as our own... Our identification in him means that our sin is "imputed" to his suffering and death upon the cross, just as his righteousness is "imputed" to us through the vindication of his resurrection. This is the essence of the "korban principle" of "life-for-life" - the innocent sacrificed for the guilty - that was the foundation of the sacrificial system of the Temple. By faith, the substitutionary death of Yeshua is "for you."
For more on this, see "The Book of Life: Finding your name in the pages of redemption."
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Seeking and Finding...
09.07.18 (Elul 27, 5778) "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isa. 55:6-7). But how will we seek if we do not believe? And how will God be found unless God makes it possible for us to find Him? Hashivenu. We first believe the invitation to return is for us, and the moment we believe we draw near, which is to say God reveals himself to the heart of faith. If you feel devoid of God's presence, heed David's words to "set the LORD" before you (Psalm 16:8). Ask God for help to truly know Him and have confidence that he will indeed heal you. No prayer offered according to his heart will ever go unanswered (1 John 5:14-15). "The greatest honor we can give to the Almighty is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love" (Julian Norwich). As Yeshua promised: "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him" (John 14:21). Note that the Greek word translated "manifest" means to "shine inside" (i.e., ἐμφανίζω, from ἐν, "in" and φαίνω, "shine"), indicating that the revelation would be inward light of the Presence of Messiah himself (Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης, Col. 1:27). God calls you so that you might find him to be the greatest love of your life, and as you receive that love, as you embrace it as your own, the love of Messiah will become inwardly visible to you. This comes from a place of surrender and acceptance. As Paul Tillich said, "Sometimes in a moment of weakness light breaks into darkness, and it is as though a voice says, 'You are accepted; you are accepted... Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted.' If that happens to you, then you experience grace, and everything will be transformed." Ultimately teshuvah is about salvation and transformation - beauty from ashes - and the love of God...
דִּרְשׁוּ יְהוָה בְּהִמָּצְאו
קְרָאֻהוּ בִּהְיוֹתוֹ קָרוֹב
dir·shu · Adonai · be·hi·matz·o
ke·ra·u·hu · bi·yo·to · ka·rov
"Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near."
(Isa. 55:6)
Hebrew Study Card
Salvation is as close as your own mouth and heart (Rom. 10:8-13). But again, how many are the days of your life? How many opportunities for you to make up your mind? "How long will you go limping between two opinions?" Therefore choose this day whom you will serve. Make the first step; open your heart, and the LORD will then help you make the wholehearted decision to "seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near." Amen.
The Warning of Teshuvah...
09.06.18 (Elul 26, 5778) Yeshua lamented over Israel: "You did not recognize the time of your visitation..." (Luke 19:44). But how was it possible for otherwise devoutly religious people to miss the advent of the Messiah were it not because they disregarded the signals meant to awaken them? "So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates" (Matt. 24:33). That's part of the message of teshuvah as well: Repent and believe the message of life (see Heb. 3:7-4:11). Esau "repented" with tears, but his wasn't true repentance since he did not turn his heart to embrace God's love... True repentance leads to healing and life. When the woman from Magdala wept and washed Jesus' feet with her tears, he said to those present, "I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven -- for she loved much" (Luke 7:44-48). In other words, she was lavish in her love because she deeply regretted that she had missed what was most important, what she desperately needed all along... She saw her sin as blindness to God's love... After all, why would she weep over her sins unless she loved him? And how could she love him unless he first revealed his love to her? (1 John 4:19). Friends, the Kingdom of God is at hand: wake up and be ready for the advent of the King! The sound of the shofar reminds us that the great Day of the LORD is drawing near and soon we will see our King Yeshua.
Note: Often we are unaware of what we are doing since many of our actions derive from habits ingrained into our personalities since childhood. The shofar says "Wake up from your self! You are blinded by illusions... The theme of Rosh Hashanah (i.e., Yom Teruah) is to open our eyes and return to the LORD. Sadly some people are not roused when they consider these things, and therefore the question becomes how can you turn to God if you lack the will to do so? One mitzvah brings in its wake another mitzvah, and therefore as we heed the message of teshuvah, as we turn our hearts to God and call upon His Name, so will we be enabled to hear more. εἰ ταῦτα οἴδατε, μακάριοί ἐστε ἐὰν ποιῆτε αὐτά: "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them" (John 13:17).
The Shepherd's Call...
09.06.18 (Elul 26, 5778) "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray" (Matt. 18:12-13). Though it involves sorrow, and the pain of being lost, repentance is ultimately about finding joy, and when we return to God, we have reason to rejoice. The Good Shepherd says, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:6-7). The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost: "For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out... I myself will be the Shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the banished, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the sick..." (Ezek. 34:11,15-16).
Substance of Hope...
09.06.18 (Elul 26, 5778) It is written in our Scriptures: "Faith is the foundation (i.e., ὑπόστασις: the "substance," reality, being, etc.) of hope, the conviction of the unseen... Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near must believe that God exists and rewards (μισθαποδότης) those who seek him" (Heb. 11:1,6). Note that God is pleased when we seek his presence, that is, when we when we look past the ephemera and ambiguity of the phenomenal world for the truth about spiritual reality. For our part, faith depends on confession. We must say that we believe, and affirm it with all our heart (Rom. 10:9). As it says, "I will make Your faithfulness known with my mouth" (Psalm 89:2). When you encounter tribulation, or experience some crisis of faith, reaffirm aloud: "I believe in God's promise..." Physically expressing your faith is itself an act of faith, and this encourages your soul to trust in God's healing reward even in the present struggle or darkness...
Significance of the Shofar...
09.06.18 (Elul 26, 5778) A prominent aspect of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar (i.e. ram's horn), and indeed the original name for this holiday was Yom Teruah, "the day of trumpets" (Lev. 23:24). The shofar first brings to mind the ram caught in the thicket by its horns which Abraham sacrificed in place of his son Isaac at Mount Moriah (see Gen. 22:13). By extension, this "Ram of God" -- prepared from the "foundation of the world" -- is a picture of substitutionary sacrifice of the God's Son for the sins of the world. Indeed, the first occurrence of the word love in the Torah (אהבה, ahavah, in Gen. 22:2) refers to a father's love for his "only" son who was offered as a sacrifice, a clear foreshadowing of the greater "Akedah message" of the Gospel (John 3:16). Note in this connection that the sacrificial redemption involved violent spiritual warfare between God and the Satan (Gen. 3:15). For the believer in Yeshua, the blast of the shofar represents the shout of God's victory (נִצָּחוֹן) over the power of sin and death. And since finding God is our greatest joy, King David rightly wrote: "Happy is the people who know the teruah [i.e. the shofar blast]" (Psalm 89:16).
The shofar is mentioned in connection with both Rosh Hashanah (Lev. 23:24, Num. 29:1) and the Yom Kippur Jubilee: "Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar; you are to sound the shofar all through your land" (Lev. 25:9). In later Jewish history, since the shofar was sounded throughout the preceding month of Elul, the blowing of the shofar on the first of Tishri (i.e., Rosh Hashanah) was sometimes called "the last trump," while the shofar blast on Yom Kippur was called the "great trump," since at that time judgment was sealed.
Listen to the Shofar (click speaker icon)
Note: The midrash says that the sound of the shofar is the only language the devil doesn't understand. Now while that may serve as homiletic story, it is more accurate to say that the devil doesn't understand the language of love, the language of truth, the language of compassion, and especially the language of God's heart for us and the cry of our heart for God.... For more on this topic, see the full article: "The Significance of the Shofar."
As Close as your Breath...
[ The following is related to the month of Elul and the "Season of Repentance"... ]
09.06.18 (Elul 26, 5778) Teshuvah is our answer to God's invitation to be his beloved people... Were it not for this great gift, no one could ever withstand the force of the divine attribute of Justice. Our Torah portion for this week (i.e., Nitzvavim) describes the process of turning: "This commandment (i.e., of turning to the LORD) is not too hard for you, neither is it far off." Indeed, it is not a matter of striving to ascend to heaven, nor of fathoming the depths of the sea. No, "the word is very near to you" (כִּי־קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאד) - as close as your mouth and heart so that you can do it. If we confess the truth with our mouth and turn to God with all our heart, we find blessing and life:
כִּי הַמִּצְוָה הַזּאת אֲשֶׁר אָנכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם
לא־נִפְלֵאת הִוא מִמְּךָ וְלא רְחקָה הִוא
כִּי־קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאד
בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לַעֲשׂתוֹ
ki · ha·mitz·vah · haz·zot · a·sher · a·no·khi · me·tza·ve·kha · ha·yom
lo · nif·let · hi · mi·me·kha · ve·lo · re·cho·kah · hi
ki · ka·rov · e·le·kha · ha·da·var · me·od
be·fi·kha · u·vil·vav·kha · la·a·so·to
"For this commandment that I command you today
is not too hard for you, neither is it far off...
For the word is very near you -
it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it"
(Deut. 30:11,14)
It is interesting to consider how the Apostle Paul interprets Deut. 30:11-14 in Romans 10:5-8 and uses it to contrast the "righteousness which is from the law" with the "righteousness which is of faith." Paul first quotes Lev. 18:5 as a summary of the meaning of the law (you must keep the commandments in order "to live by them," i.e., you must entirely obey them to find life). He then contrasts the "righteousness which is from the law" with the "righteousness which is of faith." Only God can bridge the gap between heaven and earth. When Paul quotes Deut. 30:14, i.e., "But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart," he deliberately omits the last clause (i.e., "so that you can do it") precisely because we cannot "do it," i.e., keep the commandments. The "word of faith" is the message that God's righteousness now comes through Messiah's work for us, and the confession of faith ascribes salvation to be "of the LORD," not based on our own works of righteousness. "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim) because, if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is LORD and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved" (Rom. 10:8-10).
The Torah of Faith...
[ The following entry is related to our Torah portion this week, parashat Nitzavim... ]
09.05.18 (Elul 25, 5778) From our Torah portion this week we read: "The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it" (Deut. 30: 14). What "word" is this other than the confession of faith in the LORD? Faith is the key, since it responds to God's voice and receives the message of hope within the heart... Faith is a matter of the will: of choosing to receive the blessing, accepting that you are accepted, and trusting God's passion for your life. "Consider Abraham; he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Gal. 3:6). Faith itself is the obedience of Torah, the necessary precondition for all that follows. "I am the LORD your God" (אָנכִי יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ) is the very First Commandment. When we turn to the LORD, we esteem him as truthful, just, wise, compassionate, and worthy of our trust. "Faith makes God real to us and real in us; when we honor God, we give everything that a believing heart can give Him" (Luther).
The students of the maggid of Zlotchov once asked him, "In the Torah we read that our father Abraham kept all the laws (Gen. 26:5), but how could this be, since they had not yet been given to him?" The maggid replied, "All that is needed is to love God. If you are about to do something and you think it might lessen your love, then you know it's a sin; but if you think it will increase your love, then you know it's in keeping with God's will. That's what Abraham did." Amen. Faith is the confession of God's love. Abraham was justified by faith because he trusted in God's love more than anything else, and that is the essence of Torah. "Now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13).
The Narrow Door...
09.05.18 (Elul 25, 5778) "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able" (Luke 13:24). The narrow door is the way of humility, assuming a low position, crawling, if you will, and making yourself small... It is the way of the cross of Messiah, confessing the truth of our condition and trusting in God alone for deliverance.. The narrow door is the way of faith - trusting God's compassion and righteousness given on your behalf. The large, wide-open door is designed for the crowd and its various idols. Beware of the world that seeks to assimilate the soul: beware of becoming part of the crowd! The individual is lost and overwhelmed in the midst of the crowd and its momentum. The crowd assimilates the soul, laughs at the notion of individual responsibility, and abandons itself to the gravity of purely natural forces... The life of faith, on the other hand, refuses to regard the individual human heart as a triviality. Faith is an individual struggle, a walk into unknowing; it is the way of the sojourner who feels uneasy in this world of shadows... God is always with us and helps us stay strong and resolute, even as we struggle through the darkness of this age. Press on, chaverim! Do not lose sight of your high calling in Yeshua. The day and the hour draw near!
Teshuvah and Healing...
09.05.18 (Elul 25, 5778) Repentance is an ongoing disposition of life in Messiah, since it rightly relates us to God. First we encounter our incurable sickness - the inner contradiction and bondage of soul that both loves and hates sin - and then we seek God's saving power in Yeshua. As the Apostle Paul said: "Who can save me from the misery of myself? – God alone, through Jesus (Rom. 7:18-25). This is the first step, to know the "miserable creature that I am," that is, the slavery of your will to sin, and the second is to be willing to give this sickness of your soul to God's care in Jesus. As he said, "Those who are well have no need of a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the 'righteous,' but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31-32). Yeshua regarded forgiveness of your sins as essential to finding inner healing, even more important than health, prosperity, or religious observance.
"As long as there are many springs from which to draw water, anxiety about possible water failure does not arise. But when there is only one source! And so it is when Christ has become a person's one and only spring that spiritual trials begin. Spiritual trial is the expression of a concentration upon Christ as the only source. This is why most people have no spiritual trials." (KIerkegaard)
If it is going to move us at all, we must understand that repentance means returning to love, finding your heart's desire in God... As Yeshua said, "Repent, for you have lost your first love..." (Rev. 2:4-5). Turn around: Look at what is missing within! He appeals to you like a lover standing outside in the cold, calling out your name, and knocking for you to open the door to let him inside (Rev. 3:19-20). Open the door of your heart! Return to him now! Shuvah Yisrael! "Lord, help me turn to receive your love..."
Let there be Light (יְהִי אוֹר)
09.04.18 (Elul 25, 5778) The Ark of the Covenant sprinkled with the blood of atonement was hidden in the sacred darkness of the holiest place (Exod. 26:33-34; Lev. 16:13-17), just as was the cross of Messiah was hidden when Yeshua yielded his life in sacrifice for us (Luke 23:44-46). It was from the midst of the surrounding cloud of darkness within the Holy of Holies (קדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים) that the Voice of the LORD was heard, just as it was in the midst of the surrounding cloud of darkness upon the cross that Yeshua cried out in intercession for our sins... Our Torah portion this week says, "the secret things belong to the LORD our God" (הַנִּסְתָּרת לַיהוָה אֱלהֵינוּ), and this also includes the truth of our deepest motivations -- our sins, our fears, and our shame (Psalm 90:8). God sees us with perfect clarity, as it says: "no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb. 4:13). In times of our darkness, then, when we seem lost in a cloud of our own, may we hear the holy words "Yehi Ohr," "let there be light," for God alone is the One who overcomes our darkness...
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
יָאֵר יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ
יִשָּׂא יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם
ye·va·re·khe·kha Adonai ve·yish·me·re·kha;
ya·eir Adonai pa·nav e·ley·kha vi·chun·ne·ka;
yis·sa Adonai panav e·ley·kha ve·ya·sem le·kha sha·lom
"The LORD bless you and guard you;
The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."
(Num. 6:24-26)
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The Anniversary of Creation...
[ Tonight at sundown marks Elul 25, the Day of Creation... ]
09.04.18 (Elul 24, 5778) In popular Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah (Yom Teruah) marks the creation Adam and the birth of human consciousness in the universe, though the primordial yehi ohr (יְהִי אוֹר) of creation actually began six days earlier, on Elul 25th (the anniversary of which begins this evening at sunset). Nevertheless the Redemption and our teshuvah (return) was the plan of God before the world was conceived, as it says, "Before the mountains were born, or you brought the world into being, you were the Eternal God who says "Return (שׁוּבוּ), O sons of man" (Psalm 90:2-3). The Lamb of God was slain from the foundation of the world (καταβολῆς κόσμου), and God clothed humanity in divine sacrifice from the very beginning (Gen. 3:15,21; Rev. 13:8; 1 Pet. 1:20). The Waters of Life (מַיִם חַיִּים) flow from the original orchard of Eden to the world to come (Gen. 2:10; Rev. 22:1). Almighty God subjected creation "to vanity" to reveal his greatness as he descended into its depths to return and restore all things to himself (Rom. 8:20; Eph. 1:10). The LORD entered space-time as the Son of Man (בן האדם), the "Ultimate Adam" (ὁ ἔσχατος ᾽Αδὰμ) to become our Savior and Healer (1 Cor. 15:22, 1 Cor. 15:45-49). He came to reveal "the face of God" to us in Messiah (2 Cor. 4:6). God's first question to lost man is "ayeka" (אַיֶּכָּה), "Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9). Yeshua "descended in order to ascend" so that we may find God's compassion, love and healing through his mesirat nefesh (מְסִירַת נֶפֵשׁ) – his total sacrifice of body and soul – for the sake of returning us to God.
Recall that at the revelation of Torah at Sinai God began uttering the Ten Commandments by saying, "I AM the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery" (Exod. 20:2), rather than saying, "I AM the LORD your God, Creator of heaven and earth" (Gen. 1:1). The LORD refers to himself as our Savior first, since the creation is designed to demonstrate His redemptive love given through Yeshua, the One called the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8; 1 Pet. 1:18-20; Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9). "All things were created by Him (i.e., Yeshua), and for Him" and in Him all things consist (συνεστηκεν, lit. "stick together") (Col. 1:16-17). Creation therefore begins and ends with the love of God as manifested in the Person of Yeshua our Messiah, the great Lamb of God... He is the Center of Creation - the Aleph and Tav - the Beginning and the End (Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:17). All the world was created for the Messiah: "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" (Rom. 11:36).
Note: Since this evening at sundown marks the "anniversary of creation," lift up a cup to bless Yeshua for the gift of life (מתנת החיים). L'Chayim B'Yeshua!
Why Celebrate Rosh Hashanah?
[ The holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins Sunday September 9th at sundown... ]
09.04.18 (Elul 24, 5778) We celebrate Rosh Hashanah because the LORD God is the great King over all -- our Creator and Redeemer. As the psalmist puts it, God is Melech Gadol al-kol-ha'aretz, (מֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל עַל־כָּל־הָאָרֶץ), a "great King over all the earth" (Psalm 47:2). Indeed Rosh Hashanah is a "sanctified reminder" of God's creative authority in our lives. Yeshua (Jesus) is called the Mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), a term that denotes His Kingly dignity and royalty (this idea is unfortunately obscured by the Greek word "Christ"). Yeshua is also borei Olam - the Creator and Sustainer of all creation (Col. 1:16). He is coming to rule and reign from Jerusalem (Zion) in the near future. His followers will be judged according to their deeds of service (2 Cor. 5:10) and the world system (and Satan) will be judged during the Great Tribulation period that precedes the Second Coming. Just as the heavenly shofar was sounded from Sinai, so it will be one day sounded from Zion (Isa. 27:13).
As the only true King and Judge, God indeed has a Sefer HaChayim (Book of Life) as well as a Sefer Ha-Metim (Book of Death). The Scriptures clearly warn that on the Day of Judgment to come, anyone's name not found written in the Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). The Kingship of our LORD should be of great interest to those who regard themselves as citizens of heaven, the dominion of our Savior and Lord (Phil. 3:20).
The New Testament links teshuvah with salvation (יְשׁוּעָה) itself. Yeshua's first message was "Repent and believe the gospel (בְּשׂוֹרָה)" (Mark 1:15), and Paul linked teshuvah with confession and trust in the saving work of the Messiah on our behalf (Rom. 10:8-13). Teshuvah implies a response to the Person of Yeshua that is demonstrated through confession that He is none other than YHVH, the LORD of Compassion and grace. The sound of the shofar is meant to awaken our hearts and to prepare for coming judgment.
As I've mentioned before, the Akedat Yitzchak ("Binding of Isaac") is a major theme of Rosh Hashanah. As he went to sacrifice his beloved son upon the altar at Moriah, Abraham prophetically said: "God will provide for himself the lamb" (אֱלהִים יִרְאֶה־לּוֹ הַשֶּׂה). After binding Isaac and raising the knife, however, the Angel of the LORD intervened and Abraham was given a ram as substitute. According to Jewish tradition, God told Abraham that the ram's horn (shofar) should be blown on Rosh Hashanah to remind the people of the substitutionary sacrifice provided by the LORD Himself -- an echo of the very First Sacrifice offered in Eden. How much more then should we remember the sacrifice of Yeshua the Great Lamb of God during this time? Indeed Rosh Hashanah centers on Yeshua the Messiah, the great Lamb of God! (For more information, see the article, "The Gospel in the Garden.")
Ultimately we anticipate the prophetic fulfillment of the LORD's covenant faithfulness to Israel when we understand that Rosh Hashanah and the Yamim Nora'im ("Days of Awe") foreshadow the future salvation of Israel in the days to come. This pictures the Great Tribulation and Yom Adonai - the great Day of the LORD - that arrives just before national Israel's ultimate shuvah (return). Yom Kippur is the Holiday that pictures the full restoration of Israel to all her covenant promises with Yeshua as the recognized Kohen Gadol (High Priest) of the New Covenant. The new covenant will be embraced and Yeshua will be revealed as Israel's Savior and Redeemer. Then "all Israel shall be saved" (Rom. 11:26).
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For more on this subject, see Should Christians Celebrate Rosh Hashanah?
Teshuvah and Rebirth..
09.04.18 (Elul 24, 5778) Repentance is a return to sanity which begins with the resolution to question your presuppositions and to change your thinking... There are three requisites for genuine repentance, that is, for turning to God in the truth, namely: 1) seeing eyes; 2) hearing ears; and 3) an understanding heart, ready to be healed (Isa. 6:10). God alone does the miracle but it is nevertheless our responsibility to believe that the miracle is for us. Repentance is the first step of salvation, as Messiah said: "Repent and believe in the good news" (Mark 1:15), and apart from repentance man has no real existence. As Yeshua said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Repentance is the expression of trust in God's love, and by means of it we affirm: "I am ready to exist as a person of worth." Come alive, friends!
The Day of Judgment (יום הדין)
09.04.18 (Elul 24, 5778) Rosh Hashanah (ראש השנה) begins Sunday September 9th (at sundown) this year. According to tradition, this holiday commemorates the creation of mankind by God. The Mishnah (earlier part of the Talmud) refers to Rosh Hashanah as the "Day of Judgment" (i.e., Yom ha-Din: יום הדין) since all of creation owes allegiance to the Creator and is accountable to Him. The Name Elohim (אֱלהִים) revealed in Genesis 1:1 bespeaks God as the Creator and Judge of the universe (the Name YHVH, on the other hand, reveals God's compassion, as the One who intimately relates to humanity and breathes into Adam the breath of life (Gen. 2:4)). In Jewish tradition on Rosh Hashanah we stand before God as our personal Creator and Judge. Many Messianic Jews believe that the sound of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah signifies the rapture (ἁρπάζω) of the followers of the Messiah.
According to tradition, on Rosh Hashanah the destiny of the righteous, the tzaddikim, are written in the Book of Life (סֵפֶר הַחַיִּים), and the destiny of the wicked, the resha'im, are written in the Book of Death (סֶפֶר הַמָּוֵת). However, most people will not be inscribed in either book, but have ten days -- until Yom Kippur -- to repent before "sealing" their fate. On Yom Kippur, then, everyone's name will be sealed in one of the books. The ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are therefore called Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (עֲשֶׂרֶת יְמֵי תְּשׁוּבָה) - the "Ten Days of Repentance" - so called because it is thought that personal repentance during this time affects the divine decree for the coming year...
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As Messianic believers, we maintain that (in a spiritual sense) "Judgment Day" has come and justice was served through the sacrificial offering of Yeshua for our sins (2 Cor. 5:21). He is the perfect fulfillment of the Akedah of Isaac. Our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, or Sefer HaChayim (Rev. 13:8). We do not believe that we are made acceptable in God's sight by means of our own works of righteousness (Titus 3:5-6), but of course that does not excuse us from being without such works (as fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives). The Scriptures clearly warn that on the Day of Judgment to come, anyone's name not found written in the Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). Moreover, professing Christians will stand before the Throne of Judgment to account for their lives (2 Cor. 5:10). As it is written: "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" (1 Cor. 3:13). Life is an examination, a test, and every moment is irrepeatable. Every "careless" word we utter will be echoed on the Day of Judgment (Matt. 12:36-37). Our future day of judgment is being decided today....
A Root of Bitterness...
09.04.18 (Elul 24, 5778) From our Torah this week (Nitzavim) we read, "perhaps there is among you a root that bears poison and bitterness" (Deut. 29:18). The Kotzker rebbe commented here that much bitterness comes precisely from this "perhaps" (פֶּן־יֵשׁ). When you stand back from the word of Torah and question whether it is something you should heed, you are halfhearted and ambivalent, and this may lead to bitterness regarding serving God. On the other hand, when Israel was asked whether they would accept the Torah, they replied "na'aseh v'nishmah," we will do and (then) we will understand, recognizing that the act of will is central for understanding (Exod. 24:7). Carnal human nature wants to know the reason for obedience - the pragmatic payoff, if you will - but that is not the way of faith. It is written: הַנִּסְתָּרת לַיהוָה אֱלהֵינוּ - "the hidden things are for the LORD our God" (Deut. 29:29), meaning such are not disclosed by reasoning but are revealed to the heart. God sees in secret and knows the inner workings of our affections (Prov. 17:3; Psalm 66:10, etc.).
אֲנִי יְהוָה חקֵר לֵב בּחֵן כְּלָיוֹת
וְלָתֵת לְאִישׁ כִּדְרָכָיו כִּפְרִי מַעֲלָלָיו
a·ni · Adonai · cho·ker · lev · bo·chen · ke·la·yot
ve·la·tet · le·ish · kid·ra·khav · kif·ri · ma·a·la·lav
"I the LORD search the heart and test the mind,
to give every man as to his ways, as to the fruit of his deeds."
(Jer. 17:10)
Teshuvah and Creation...
[ Tuesday Sept. 4th at sundown marks Elul 25, the "date of creation..." ]
09.03.18 (Elul 23, 5778) After the LORD judged Adam and Eve, He compassionately gave them the skin of a sacrificial lamb as their covering (Gen. 3:21). This First Sacrifice, offered by the Hand of God Himself, foreshadowed the coming Sacrifice of the Lamb of God who was slain "from the foundation of the world" (1 Pet. 1:20). At the very beginning of mankind's creation, then, the LORD initiated His plan of redemption and salvation through Yeshua (Jesus) as the Divine Light of the world (אוֹר הָעוֹלָם).
The Akedat Yitzchak ("Binding of Isaac") is a major theme on Rosh Hashanah. According to Jewish tradition, God told Abraham that the ram's horn (shofar) should be blown on Rosh Hashanah to remind the people of the substitutionary sacrifice provided by the LORD Himself -- an echo of that First Sacrifice offered in Eden. How much more should we as believers in the greater sacrifice of Yeshua as our Lamb of God celebrate this day?
For more on this topic see: "Teshuvah and Creation: Elul 25 on the Jewish Calendar."
The Sickness of Death...
09.03.18 (Elul 23, 5778) If we focus on the outer symptoms of sin, such as covetousness, lust, rage, pride, envy, gluttony, and so on, we may lose sight of the underlying or "root" problem, which is the lethal condition known as "spiritual death" (מָוֶת נִצחִי). Whenever I encounter someone who demands that I justify their sinful lifestyle, I don't argue the moral issues or appeal to personal righteousness as a better way to live. No, I consider all that a distraction from the real issue, namely, the question of whether the person has dealt with matters of eternity and made real his or her peace with God. After all, the thief on the cross had no time to attempt to reform his character, and all that was necessary was for him to abandon himself in trust, inwardly clinging to God's promise for life in Yeshua. The only significant issue is whether a person is reborn from above, regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit, or whether they are still living in "samsara," the "wheel of sin and death." There are many people in churches today who refrain from outward signs of sin: they forswear smoking, drinking, cussing, and sexual immorality, and so on, yet they remain spiritually dead because they have never dealt with the radical issue of their own lethal spiritual condition. Faith in God's righteousness transcends the weakness of the law (caused by the sickness of the human condition) by imparting a new principle (or law) called the law of the Spirit of Life: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Yeshua Messiah (תּוֹרַת רוּחַ הַחַיִּים בְּיֵשׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ) has set you free from the law of sin and death (תּוֹרַת הַחֵטְא וְהַמָּוֶת)" (Rom. 8:2).
Yeshua said that everyone who commits sin is a "slave" to their sin nature (the word translated "slave" is doulos (δοῦλός), from the verb δέω, "to bind"). If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8:36). This is the "exchanged life" principle. When you are spiritual free, you are no longer a slave to: 1) the eternal sickness of spiritual death itself; 2) uncontrollable lusts and the demands of the lower nature (Rom. 6:12-14; Eph. 4:22-23; Gal. 2:20), 3) untrue and harmful thoughts (John 8:32; 1 Cor. 2:16; Col. 2:8), 4) fear - even the fear of death itself (1 John 4:18; Heb. 2:15); 5) the vanity of the world system and its godless pressures (1 John 2:16-17; Col. 2:20; Rom. 12:1-2); 6) various forms of pride and cultural identity (Phil. 3:1-11; Gal. 3:28); 7) Satan's power (1 John 3:8; Luke 10:19); 8) the curse of the law and the just penalty for our sins (Gal. 3:13; 1 Pet. 2:24), and so on. Being set free by Yeshua does not imply that we will be sinless (James 5:16, 1 John 1:8-9), but it does imply that the root connection we have to sin has been irreparably severed. Often maturity means "catching up" with what God has already done for you in the Holy Spirit...
The Prophetic Calendar...
09.03.18 (Elul 23, 5778) The spring festivals (Passover, Firstfruits, and Shavuot) have been perfectly fulfilled in the first coming of Yeshua as Mashiach ben Yosef, and the fall festivals (Teruah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot) will be fulfilled in His second coming as Mashiach ben David. Since the first advent fulfilled all of the spring mo'edim to the smallest of details, we believe that His second advent portends similar fulfillment as revealed in the fall mo'edim.
After the summer of harvest (John 4:35), the very first fall festival on the Jewish calendar is Yom Teruah, which is a picture of the "catching away" of kallat Mashiach (the Bride of Messiah) for the time of Sheva Berachot (the seven "days" of blessing that follows the traditional marriage ceremony). Then will come the Great Tribulation and Yom Adonai - the Day of the LORD (יוֹם יְהוָה). The heavenly shofar blasts heard at Sinai will be reissued from Zion. First will be the gathering together of those who follow the Messiah (i.e., those declared tzaddikim because they trust in the merit of Yeshua's sacrifice), and then God's war against Satan and the world system will begin, culminating in the long-awaited coronation of the King of King of Kings - Melech Malchei Ha-Melachim (מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים).
Rosh Hashanah (or better, Yom Teruah) is therefore a sacred time that has prophetic significance for the Messianic believer, since it commemorates both the creation of the mankind by Adonai as well as the "calling up" of the new creation at the behest of Yeshua, when the sound of the heavenly shofar inaugurates the anticipated End of Days (1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:15-18). Indeed, "teruah" (תְּרוּעָה) is a "calling up" signal for those who belong to Messiah, sounded during the opening of the "Gate to the Wedding" of the great Lamb of God. It also prefigures the coming Day of the LORD and Great Tribulation period that marks God's judgment on an unbelieving world...
Note: For more on this fundamental topic, see "Introduction to the Jewish Calendar."
New Shavuah Tov Audio Broadcast...
09.03.18 (Elul 23, 5778) I was able to complete a new "Shavuah Tov" audio broadcast for parashat Nitzavim late last night which is now ready for online listening or download (see the links below). In addition to an overview of the Torah reading, I discuss the fall holidays of the Torah's calendar, and particularly the significance of Rosh Hashanah (i.e., Yom Teruah) for followers of Yeshua the Messiah. I hope you might find it helpful, chaverim.
Yes, you can learn Hebrew!
09.02.18 (Elul 22, 5778) I once received an email from a older gentleman who was (joyfully) questioning why he was being drawn to study Hebrew at his late stage in life. Was he crazy to expend such energy on such a subject? How would he ever learn this precious language well enough to pray or read the Hebrew Scriptures with some fluency? My response to him was from Scripture: tzav latzav, kav lakav, "Step by step, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little" (Isa. 28:10). Even a little Hebrew helps, and as you progress you will find it is a spiritual language that will bless your life in many wonderful ways.... For instance, the Hebrew word for "letter" is ot (אוֹת), which can also mean "sign" or "wonder." Each letter of the Aleph-Bet, then, may contain signs that point to wonderful truths about life. Yeshua the Messiah is called devar Elohim (דְּבַר אֱלהִים), the Word of God, and the Aleph and Tav (אָלֶף וְתָו), Who upholds all of the created order by the word of His power. It is the Messiah Yeshua alone Who is the true yesod (יְסוֹד) or foundation of life itself. Every holy utterance can be traced back to Him, and He is the Source and Origin of all that is good, lasting, and righteous. Indeed, Yeshua is called "the zohar of His glory" (הוּא זהַר כְּבוֹדוֹ), that is, the radiance of the glory of God Himself, who "upholds all things by the word of His power" (נוֹשֵׂא כל בִּדְבַר גְּבוּרָתוֹ) (see Heb. 1:3). Since He is the First and the Last, we can see that the Hebrew letters (i.e., otiyot: אותיות) all reveal something wonderful about Him. Yeshua is the Sign (את), the Wonder, the Direct Object, and the Center of all things...
Step by step, here a little, there a little.... You can begin learning the Hebrew letters here.
Last Sabbath of the Year 5778...
09.02.18 (Elul 22, 5778) Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Nitzavim (פרשת ניצבים), is always read on the Shabbat immediately before the solemn holiday of Rosh Hashanah, and therefore it is the last portion read before the new Jewish year (see Exod. 23:16). In many synagogues, the opening and concluding paragraphs of parashat Nitzavim are also read during the Yom Kippur morning service.
Nitzavim begins: "You are standing here today, all of you, before the LORD your God (אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלהֵיכֶם) ... so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the LORD your God, which the LORD your God is making with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob" (Deut. 29:10-13). After this Moses went on to review Israel's history and prophetic future -- i.e., the great prophecy of the Diaspora and Return of the people -- and then he solemnly appealed for all those who believed to turn to the LORD for life:
הַעִידתִי בָכֶם הַיּוֹם אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ
הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה
וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶךָ
ha·i·do·ti va·khem hai·yom et ha·sha·ma·yim ve·et ha·a·retz
ha·chai·yim ve·ha·ma·vet na·ta·ti le·fa·ney·kha ha·be·ra·khah ve·ha·ke·la·lah
u·va·char·ta ba·chai·yim, le·ma·an tich·yeh at·tah ve·zar·e·kha
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today,
that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.
Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live."
(Deut. 30:19)
The way of return (teshuvah) is always a matter of the heart and will: bacharta ba'chayim: "Choose Life!" "For this commandment (of teshuvah) is not hidden from you, and it is not far away. It is not in heaven...nor across the sea.... Rather, the matter is very near you - in your mouth and your heart - to do it" (Deut. 30:11-14; cp. Rom. 10:8-13). In the end of days (acharit hayamin), the LORD will remove the "partial hardening" of the Jewish people so that they will turn to Him with all their heart and soul (Deut. 30:6, Rom. 11:25-26).
But why this seemingly topsy-turvy process of teshuvah? Why do the Jewish people have to go through this long period of suffering, tribulation, and scattering, only to be finally regathered one day in the future? Moses himself gives us the answer (as does the Apostle Paul in the Book of Romans): "The secret things (ha-nistarot) belong to the LORD our God (הַנִּסְתָּרת לַיהוָה אֱלהֵינוּ), but the things that are revealed (ha-niglot) belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Deut. 29:29). Part of the "secret things" concerns the mystery the suffering of the Jewish people, since it is clear that God particularly afflicts those whom he loves through testing, and indeed part of the meaning of being am segulah (a "select people") implies dealing with God - by means of blessing or by curse (Heb. 10:31). In the end, however, God's plan for Israel will decisively demonstrate His wisdom, power, and glory, so much so that that Paul commented on ethnic Israel's future by exclaiming, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways" (Rom. 11:33).
We are closer than ever, chaverim.... We must not put our trust in man or in this moribund world system (κοσμος). We are undoubtedly living close to the "end of days." God's judgment has begun in earnest. It is time for us to choose whether we will be shaken or if we will walk in the trust of the LORD God of Israel. Choose this day.
Parashat Nitzavim and Rosh Hashanah...
09.02.18 (Elul 22, 5778) Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Nitzavim (פרשת ניצבים), is always read on the Sabbath before Rosh Hashanah, serving as a prelude to the holiday. The sages found an allusion to Rosh Hashanah in the opening verse: "You are standing today all of you before the LORD your God" (Deut. 29:10), where "this day" refers to Rosh Hashanah, when "all of you" shall stand before the LORD your God in judgment. The "last" shofar blast refers to Rosh Hashanah when the dead shall be raised (Rosh Hashanah 16b), whereas the "great" shofar blast is sounded at the end of Yom Kippur, after Israel has received the atonement.
According to many of the sages, the time immediately preceding the appearance of the Messiah will be a time of testing (nisayon) in which the world will undergo various forms of tribulation called chevlei Mashiach (חֶבְלֵי הַמָּשִׁיחַ) - the "birth pangs of the Messiah" (Sanhedrin 98a; Ketubot, Bereshit Rabbah 42:4, Matt. 24:8). Some say the birth pangs are to last for 70 years, with the last 7 years being the most intense period of tribulation -- called the "Time of Jacob's Trouble" / עֵת־צָרָה הִיא לְיַעֲקב (Jer. 30:7). The climax of the Great Tribulation is called the great "Day of the LORD" (יוֹם־יהוה הַגָּדוֹל) which represents God's wrath poured out upon a rebellious world system. On this fateful day, the LORD will terribly shake the entire earth (Isa. 2:19) and worldwide catastrophes will occur. "For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" (Rev. 6:17). The prophet Malachi likewise says: "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,' says the LORD Almighty. 'Not a root or a branch will be left to them'" (Mal. 4:1). Only after the nations of the world have been judged will the kingdom of God (מַלְכוּת הָאֱלהִים) be established upon the earth. The remnant of Israel will be saved and the 1,000 year reign of King Messiah will then commence (Rev. 20:4). For more information about this, see "As the Day Draws Near."
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