A fine WordPress.com site
OK, many people assume that I don’t have one.
Here’s the thing
Most of the time I endeavour not to show my feelings, as I find it distracting and selfish.
For the last long while I have suffered with depression, and it is not improving.
Medication helps a little.
I NEED not just your prayers, but interaction.
please
Devarim, Words
Deuteronomy 1:1 to 3:22
Haftarah: Isaiah 1:1 to 27
This week we begin the final Book of the Torah, which in English is known as Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is from the Greek meaning “second law”. The Hebrew name for the Book is as always taken from the key word in the beginning of the Book or passage; in this case, Devarim, which means words. This is from the phrase “These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Israel. . .”.
In the book usually known as Leviticus the main “speaker” was The Almighty Himself, and as we have seen there are more direct quotes from Him in that Book than in any other. Things are a little different in this Book, however; the main speaker is Moses our Teacher.
A lot of the terminology in this Book is different and stronger than in the other Books of the Torah.
In many ways this is a sad and angry book, as Moses reminds the people of the events of the previous 38+ years. The Sages tell us that chapter one happened just 37 days before his passing; this is his “Last Will and Testament”. He recounts for all Israel how he appointed judges, tells of the journey from Sinai and other key events and happenings. This is largely in frustration, as we see from the language used, especially in the Hebrew. One of the things they (and by extension, we) need to be reminded of is our (their) sin.
Just this morning I was sent some quotes from Andrew Strom of Revival School:
“The popular gospel of this day, is the laughing-stock of Hell; it dare neither damn the sinner, nor sanctify the saint.” – Catherine Booth
The Almighty had and has plans for His people. As we read through this Book over the coming weeks, we’ll be reminded of many things.
Our Haftarah from the Prophet Isaiah is equally tough. In that passage we read very strong words of rebuke to the people chosen by The Almighty. It always amazes me when I encounter “Replacementists” or “Supercessionists” that they all want to appropriate for themselves the good promises of The Almighty, but want us, the Jewish people, to keep the judgements.
This passage from Isaiah is strongly condemnatory, yet at the same time it reads as a very sad saying. In verse 18 we read:
Come now, let us debate, says the Lord. If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow; if they prove to be as red as crimson dye, they shall become as wool.
THIS week’s Parsha is titled “Vayikra”, And He called The passage reads from Leviticus 1:1 to5:26
The Haftarah reading is Isaiah 43:21 to 44:23
A suggested passage from the Apostolic Writings is Ephesians 4
The 1st thing we notice when reading this book (in Hebrew) is that the א “aleph” in the opening word ויקרא is written much smaller than the other characters. This is the exact opposite of the opening word in Chronicles. There, the 1st character of the word “Adam” is written extra large – א . Here is an explanation:
The Chassidic masters explain that Adam was formed by Gd Himself and fashioned in the “divine image”. Aware of his superior qualities as “Gd’s handiwork and the crowning glory of creation, he became somewhat proud. The large aleph in Adam’s name indicates his self-importance, which led to his downfall by the sin of the Tree of Knowledge.
In contrast, Moses was also aware of his superior qualities as the greatest prophet to ever live, through whom the Torah was communicated to this world for perpetuity. But rather than cause him conceit, this awareness brought him humility. Moses recognized that his impressive capabilities were granted to him as a gift from Gd. Accordingly, he felt no conceit, but a pressing sense of responsibility. Thus when Moses recorded in the Torah that Gd called to him, he wrote the word vayikra with a small aleph.
Adam and Moses were both great men, aware of their greatness. But in Adam this sense of self-worth caused his disgrace, whereas in Moses it evoked humility and further greatness.
True humility and a productive self-image do not come from denying one’s talents, but rather from acknowledging that they are merely a bequest from Above, providing a channel through which to exert the greatest effort in accomplishing His will.
The 2nd thing we have to notice regarding this book (usually called, ‘Leviticus’, as it is directed at the Levites) is that there are more “thus says The L-RD” type phrases than in any other Biblical book.
Many people with whom I have spoken have said that they find reading Leviticus a bit of a bore, as it is filled with “thou shalt not” phrases. Over the next few weeks, I hope to excite you and enthuse you so that you will be able to correct such people!
The opening phrase in this book often goes completely un-noticed. It says this:
“He called to Moshe (Moses) and יהוה spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. . .”
As the Rabbonim tell us, even Moses was afraid to be too close to the Presence of The Almighty – and he had met יהוה panim al panim – face-to-face!
Yet Moshe Rabbenu – Moses our Teacher, the most amazing man ever in that he spoke directly to The Almighty . . . . is scared.
Why? Because the fear of The L-RD is the beginning of wisdom.
In our Haftarah there is a real sadness on the part of The L-RD. At verse 22 of Isaiah 43 we read, “But you did not call out to Me, O Jacob, for you grew weary of Me, O Israel.”
Unrequited love is such a painful thing, isn’t it? Do you remember being totally infatuated (or, as you thought, in love) with a bloke / girl? When you realised that your passion was not being returned, that was a real pain, wasn’t it?
We can only imagine how The L-RD must feel. We can almost see that the ink has run a bit here on the Scroll.
You grew weary of Me
When we go to worship this weekend, let’s not do it out of any sense of “duty”. Yes, worship IS a duty. Let’s do it because we recognise His passion for us, and ask for a rekindling of that passion; not just for ourselves, but for the Jewish people.
I’m not talking about “falling in love with Jesus”, because I think that is dangerous territory. I’m talking about being totally consumed with the desire to do His Will.
In the final 2 verses of our Haftarah we read, “Remember these things, Jacob and Israel, for you are My servant; I fashioned you to be My servant; Israel, do not forget Me! I will have wiped away your wilful sins like a thick mist and your transgressions like a cloud; return to Me, for I will have redeemed you!”
In a few short weeks, it’s Pesach. How about getting ready? How about removing the old leaven, and cleaning out the dark corners, where there are crumbs of chometz (literally, a Hebrew word meaning “bitterness”)
Shabbat Shalom!
Metzora, Leprosy
Leviticus 14:1 to 15:33
Haftarah: 2 Kings 7:3 to 20
Psalm 130
Apostolic Writings/Newer Testament/B’rit HaChadashah: Romans 8:6 to 11
This week, we read some more about what is usually labelled “leprosy”. Some of the conditions which are described in ancient history as “leprosy” were possibly nothing more nor less than mild dermatitis type conditions, but modern humans are so vastly superior (!) – or is it that we just have a greater need to label things and put things in boxes? discuss
In our portion this week we have in verse 4 of chapter 14 a mention of a scarlet thread. There is a lot of stuff taught in Kabbalah regarding the properties of this kind of thing, and this is its origin. The first Biblical mention of a scarlet thread is in Genesis 38 when we read about the births of Peres and Zerah, the sons of Judah. The story of Judah is sad and fascinating, and we don’t have time here.
The red thread is said by Kabbalists to ward off evil, which is fanciful at best. In Jerusalem, especially at the Kotel (Western Wall) people try to sell red threads, which is against Kabbalistic teaching, but is an example of how a fool and his (her) money are easily parted – the obvious question is, if a fool and his money are so easily parted, who gave the fool the money in the first place?
The red thread in our portion is not mentioned again after verse 4 so any claims regarding its use and efficacy are not based on Bible truths.
Last week we thought about leprosy and miracles. This week we read that even a house can have this “Metzora”, and that special cleansing is needed. The Rabbonim tell us that the main cause of Metzora / tzaraat is gossip and lashon hara (literally, a bad tongue). This ‘leprosy’, then, is a spiritual malaise.
Our Haftarah passage from Kings tells us about a leprosy healing, so we won’t go deeper here as we covered a lot last week.
It is worth noting, however, that what we now know as leprosy is a different condition, and one which can be treated medically. Gossip cannot be treated. Once a bad tongue gets going, there is no stopping its effects.
The story is told of a man who had gossiped about the town Rabbi. He sought out the Rabbi and asked forgiveness. The Rabbi told him to fetch a feather pillow. The man duly came back with one, and was told to cut it open and let the feathers loose. The Rabbi told the man to retrieve the feathers, and said that it was impossible. The Rabbi said, “and so it is with gossip”.
The only account anywhere of a Jewish man being healed of leprosy is in Matthew chapter 8. One thing that only the Messiah can do, is heal a Jewish leper. Yeshua did just that, and then told the man to show himself to the Priests, so that everyone in the Temple knew for sure that the Messiah had come, and his name is Yeshua.
In the passage from Romans we read that, as we are “in the Spirit” we should have less and less to do with the things of flesh. Contrary to the ascetics and other neo-Platonists this is not saying that flesh is bad, spirit is good. After all, the Messiah Himself said that He came to give life in all its abundance. What this says is that if we are overly concerned with our bodies, then we can easily forget our heavenly home and the One to Whom we belong.
Shabbat Shalom!
This week’s Parsha is titled “Vayikra”, And He called The passage reads from Leviticus 1:1 to5:26
The Haftarah reading is Isaiah 43:21 to 44:23
A suggested passage from the Apostolic Writings is Ephesians 4
The 1st thing we notice when reading this book (in Hebrew) is that the א “aleph” in the opening word ויקרא is written much smaller than the other characters. This is the exact opposite of the opening word in Chronicles. There, the 1st character of the word “Adam” is written extra large – א . Here is an explanation:
The Chassidic masters explain that Adam was formed by G d Himself and fashioned in the “divine image”. Aware of his superior qualities as “G d’s handiwork and the crowning glory of creation, he became somewhat proud. The large aleph in Adam’s name indicates his self-importance, which led to his downfall by the sin of the Tree of Knowledge.
In contrast, Moses was also aware of his superior qualities as the greatest prophet to ever live, through whom the Torah was communicated to this world for perpetuity. But rather than cause him conceit, this awareness brought him humility. Moses recognized that his impressive capabilities were granted to him as a gift from G d. Accordingly, he felt no conceit, but a pressing sense of responsibility. Thus when Moses recorded in the Torah that G d called to him, he wrote the word vayikra with a small aleph.
Adam and Moses were both great men, aware of their greatness. But in Adam this sense of self-worth caused his disgrace, whereas in Moses it evoked humility and further greatness.
True humility and a productive self-image do not come from denying one’s talents, but rather from acknowledging that they are merely a bequest from Above, providing a channel through which to exert the greatest effort in accomplishing His will.
The 2nd thing we have to notice regarding this book (usually called, ‘Leviticus’, as it is directed at the Levites) is that there are more “thus says The L-RD” type phrases than in any other Biblical book.
Many people with whom I have spoken have said that they find reading Leviticus a bit of a bore, as it is filled with “thou shalt not” phrases. Over the next few weeks, I hope to excite you and enthuse you so that you will be able to correct such people!
The opening phrase in this book often goes completely un-noticed. It says this:
“He called to Moshe (Moses) and יהוה spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. . .”
As the Rabbonim tell us, even Moses was afraid to be too close to the Presence of The Almighty – and he had met יהוה panim al panim – face-to-face!
Yet Moshe Rabbenu – Moses our Teacher, the most amazing man ever in that he spoke directly to The Almighty . . . . is scared.
Why? Because the fear of The L-RD is the beginning of wisdom.
In our Haftarah there is a real sadness on the part of The L-RD. At verse 22 of Isaiah 43 we read, “But you did not call out to Me, O Jacob, for you grew weary of Me, O Israel.”
Unrequited love is such a painful thing, isn’t it? Do you remember being totally infatuated (or, as you thought, in love) with a bloke / girl? When you realised that your passion was not being returned, that was a real pain, wasn’t it?
We can only imagine how The L-RD must feel. We can almost see that the ink has run a bit here on the Scroll.
You grew weary of Me
When we go to worship this weekend, let’s not do it out of any sense of “duty”. Yes, worship IS a duty. Let’s do it because we recognise His passion for us, and ask for a rekindling of that passion; not just for ourselves, but for the Jewish people.
I’m not talking about “falling in love with Jesus”, because I think that is dangerous territory. I’m talking about being totally consumed with the desire to do His Will.
In the final 2 verses of our Haftarah we read, “Remember these things, Jacob and Israel, for you are My servant; I fashioned you to be My servant; Israel, do not forget Me! I will have wiped away your wilful sins like a thick mist and your transgressions like a cloud; return to Me, for I will have redeemed you!”
In a few short weeks, it’s Pesach. How about getting ready? How about removing the old leaven, and cleaning out the dark corners, where there are crumbs of chometz (literally, a Hebrew word meaning “bitterness”)
This week’s Parsha has a terrific title, “Re’eh”. We read from
It is from the same root as, “Yireh”. From that root also come words meaning behold, consider and even provide – hence we have the term, “to look after”.
This has led to a little confusion, as can be seen from songs like “J*** Jireh, G-d Provides” – better still, that He “sees”.
Let me explain a couple of things at this juncture for new readers. In the more strictly Observant Jewish Communities, it is usual to leave out the vowels from the titles of The Almighty, such as g-o-d. This is in any case a Germanic word meaning Creator, and not in a true sense “Biblical”. The reason is the Torah Command, to not dishonour the Name of The Almighty. You see if the Name is written and that piece of paper is misused, it brings dishonour to the Name written. In order to avoid that, vowels are missed. Also, the use of what I call, “the J word”, as used by the Witnesses. It is not actually a word at all, but merely an invention; it came about when people in the West decided to attempt to find A “NAME” for The Almighty. They decided to put the consonants from what is termed the Tetragrammaton ( י ה ו ה Y-H-W-H ) with the vowel sounds from “Adonai”, meaning “lord” . They came up with “the J word”, or in some cases “the Y word”, neither of which are actual words, and neither of which are ever used in Jewish circles.
Back to the songs. . . . that there is not “j” sound in Hebrew, so the word should be transliterated “Yireh”. Sorry if this sounds petty, but pronunciation is really important in languages like Hebrew, where the meanings of words can change dramatically even with slight variations in pronunciation. A good example of this is the word transliterated as, “HalleluYah”. It, of course, means, “We are compelled to praise Yah”. If, however, we transliterate it as, “AlleluYah” it then means, “we are compelled to disdain Yah”. Likewise with the word, “Sh’ma” שםע which means “listen” or “pay attention” – if it is written with an Ayin ע at the end. If it is written with a “heh” at the end – שםה – it sounds very similar, but means, “perhaps”. Then the meaning of the phrase is altered from “Hear, O Israel, HaShem is our G-d, HaShem only” to “Perhaps, O Israel. . .” Apologies if this sounds nit-picky and irrelevant.
One would expect to find some reference to Kashrut in the Torah; one would expect to find that here in Deuteronomy. However, as has been pointed out by many, there is no such reference, as those of you with a “Jewish Study Bible” will have read in the notes to this passage.
So, how can we be so certain about Kashrut and other matters? The easy answer is that we have the writings of the Sages, Talmud (literally, “learning”) and so on. They serve to inform us as to what is called, “Halakhah”, which means “the walking”. Some then counter with, “But it’s not actually in the text of the Bible”, which is absolutely true. However that opens up a whole different set of challenges.
For example, we are not told in the text of the Bible exactly how to baptise people. In most of the photographs I’ve seen, a person (usually a man) holds the other person under the water. Are these forced baptisms? In a mikveh, there is an attendant. He or she is there to ensure that:
1. The person has been fully immersed, and
2. The person safely comes up from under the water.
One immerses oneself.
There are many areas of faith and walk where the Bible is not exact in its instructions. This is where traditions come in. Just because it is tradition, doesn’t make it right or wrong. We all love some traditions. I find some Christian traditions to be strange, especially some of the Evangelical / Charismatic ones. Many people would find some Orthodox Jewish traditions to be strange, I would imagine! Traditions are neither good nor bad, and there is almost always a good reason for the tradition having been started.
So we know which animals are for food and which are not; from that we can make judgements regarding animals which are not on the lists, such as turkeys.
The portion of “Re’eh” begins the actual “Deuteronomy”, if you like. Deuteronomy means “Second Law”; it is Greek. Deutero – 2nd; Nomos – Law.
Over the coming weeks, until mid-October, we will revisit the commands as given to Moshe Rabbenu – Moses our Teacher.
It will be fruitful and challenging.
The conundrum of Messianic Jews eating pigs and prawns.
There have been many hundreds of conversations, some heated, regarding this topic.
At the very start, I want to acknowledge that many will disagree with me; they are still my friends. Even if my language may at times come across as intemperate, they are still my friends. If this piece causes offence, then I apologise.
It seems to me that the place to start is the position taken by possibly a majority of Messianic Jews, and probably 99.8% or Gentile Christians. Namely, that the “food laws” have been abolished by Yeshua and that as a result, it is perfectly acceptable to eat pigs, prawns and so on.
This is based on passages such as Mark chapter 7 and Hebrews chapter 8. Those in that ‘camp’ will also refer to Colossians chapter 2. The classic misunderstanding is of Acts chapter 10. (Please look these passages up and read the passages in full).
Let’s have a look at the key parts in those passages, to see if they really do say anything about the Torah having been abolished.
The Mark passage needs to be looked at alongside its parallel passage in Matthew chapter 12. There it becomes clear that the discussion was actually about hand-washing, not whether Jews are free to eat ham sandwiches or lobster thermidor. It is also worth noting 2 more things about the Mark passage. The first is that the “by this. . .” is in parentheses; it was not in the original text and is a later editorial remark. The second is that Yeshua was here talking of “food”. The definition of “food” can be found in Leviticus chapter 11. The animals listed are for food; the animals not listed are not food. For a Jewish person, a rabbit will never be “food”.
The Hebrews passage is a lot more difficult to interpret without relying on preconceptions. On the surface it does look as if the passage does indeed indicate an abrogation of the Torah. It is about the Levitical Priesthood being “abolished”. Or is it? No, it’s actually saying that the system of Priesthood and the rules for that Priesthood are “fading away”.
The Colossians passage simply states that one should not pass salvation judgement on a person based on their diet.
The Acts passage is often quoted as it appears to say that Peter ate shrimp. It doesn’t. It says that he was shown a vision, and a voice told him to kill and eat. An interpretation of the vision is actually given in chapter 11, where he understood that he was to call no MAN unclean. It had nothing to do with eating pork pies; it was a hyperbole.
So. . . as ever my pieces are shorter than long. This is so that YOU can fill in the blanks. . . .
My basic objection to the “it’s OK for Messianic Jews to eat prawn cocktails and clam chowder” position is that the position is based on what many will term “replacement” or “supersession” teachings. These in turn are based essentially on Marcionism. Marcion was denounced as a heretic for suggesting that the “Old Testament” and “New Testament” deities are different deities. His view (held by many today, such as those who support ‘gay’ clergy) was that the deity of the “Old Testament” was a vengeful god, whereas the deity of the “New Testament” is love. This is of course nonsense. The Torah itself is based on grace, and there is a lot of vengefulness written about the end times in the Revelation of John.
The idea that the Torah has been abolished flies in the face of the words of Yeshua himself, quoted at Matthew chapter 5.
It is a form of replacement teaching to say that “grace” has replaced “law”. It is also a misreading of John chapter 1. There we read that the Torah came via Moses, and that Grace came via Yeshua. The 2 are not mutually exclusive, even though the dreadful KJV inserts a “but” in the middle of the sentence, to give the impression that grace and law are incompatible.
If the Messiah himself says that the Torah is eternal, then no matter what some Christians / Messianic Jews may say, it is.
If the Messiah himself says that to teach others not to keep the Torah carries a penalty, why would anyone desire that penalty?
So, please contribute to this discussion. While this is my position, I would like to read YOURS. We may not agree, but it is important, in my view, to find out why.
This is not about winning an argument; it is about finding the truth. . . . .
Maybe I’ll change my mind. . . . . .
Has the Torah in any sense been abrogated?
There is much said and taught in many Messianic Jewish and Christian circles, inferring or even explicitly saying that the Torah is ended.
A key part of that area of teaching is Romans chapter 10 verse 4. In many versions it reads that “Christ is the end of the Law.”
Along with that many like to quote the vision given to Peter with the unclean animals. He was told to “get up, strangle and eat”.
So at the beginning of this, let’s look at those 2 sections.
The section from the letter to the Romans is ambiguous. The word commonly translated, “end” is “telos”. The most popular rendering of that Greek word into English is indeed, “end”. However as with many words translated from one language to another, there are other meanings. In fact it also means “goal”, hence teleology, the study of purpose. So for me it can easily be that the Messiah is the goal at which the Torah points. When we consider the root of the word Torah (which doesn’t actually mean “Law”, but rather “Instruction”) is Yarah. Yarah is best defined as the route along which an arrow flies in order to reach the bull’s eye. Now further consider that Paul / Saul was thinking in Hebrew and it makes far better sense that the word Torah is joined with its root Yarah.
The section in Acts is taken literally by some, who like to think that Peter did indeed get up and eat. However, it was a vision, not a reality. In that vision he was shown a hyperbole. His response is that he had never done such a thing. Even when with Yeshua (who it is claimed abolished the Torah) made sure that they kept Kosher. The section is closed with the interpretation; that he should not call any man unclean. Therefore we see that it is not about food, it is about accepting non-Jews into this Way, which became Christianity.
Another favourite is Mark chapter 7. “By this he declared all foods clean”. One of many things I fondly think of David Pawson for, is him saying that if you take a verse out of its context, all you have is a pretext for a proof-text. This is exemplified by this. In the first place, it is in parentheses. Yeshua didn’t actually say it; it is an editorial foot-note. The context is better understood when one compares the section with the parallel section in Matthew. There it is clear that what Yeshua was talking about was hand-washing. The question at hand was which format or version of what has become ntilat hayadayim (hand washing prayer) should be used. His answer? It doesn’t matter. What goes in doesn’t make a person dirty; what comes out does. To be a bit more picky, the word used is “foods”. In the Torah, we see that there are lists of animals which are to be considered “food”, (eg lamb). Anything not on that list (eg pigs and prawns) is not food.
More to follow. . . . . .
In the meantime, what do YOU think?
Brief request:
My Mother-in-Law is in the final stages of terminal cancer.
Please would you pray for the whole family?
Thanks
Some brief thoughts on the “4 Blood Moons” thing
There has been some stuff recently about the idea that there are going to be 4 “blood moons” which will coincide with major Biblical Feast days.
It goes like this:
These “blood moons”, because they coincide with certain dates, will herald the “Rapture” or, at least, spell impending doom and gloom for Earth’s human inhabitants.
Without getting in to the astronomical deep stuff, let’s have a look at the basics.
It is said that these occurrences will fulfil a prediction in the book of Joel.
If that were the case, then why are they not visible in Israel? After all the prophecies are for Israel, not northern Europe.
It presupposes that the “Rapture” will happen, which it won’t.
The main perpetrator of the idea is one John Hagee, who leads a large Church in San Antonio Texas.
Mr Hagee is on record as saying that Yeshua didn’t come as the Messiah.
This is deliberately brief, as deeper articles rebuffing the idea are to be found on “Mike’s Musings”, a blog run by a friend of mine, Mike Moore. Mike is a Director of Christian Witness to Israel. Please read his blog if you want to get deeper on this issue.
My bottom line:
John Hagee cannot be trusted on Bible interpretation; the “signs” are not visible to those for whom it is sent as a “sign”; these things happen occasionally anyway.
On a slightly different tack. . . . ..
It truly bothers me that some Christians are actually looking forward quite gleefully to a coming world war!
Yes, I believe that things in the world will worsen before the Messiah comes (back). There will be wars and rumours of wars, and much death and suffering. That is not something to gloat about! It is something to fear; it is something to warn people about (if they will listen). People will not escape the coming wrath, but Yeshua by His Ruach HaKodesh will sustain people through it to the end.
