Parashah Bereshith (In the Beginning)

This Shabbat we joyfully open our Torah, and just like in this parashah , we begin at the beginning.

This first of the cycle of parashot is a little long, going all the way to Chapter 6, verse 8. It covers the beginning of everything, takes us through creation of man, Cain and Abel, and ends with God’s reluctantly regretting His creation and deciding He needs to start over. The whole Earth is full of sin and wickedness, all except Noah.

What I see in this is the entire plan of God’s salvation. I see creation, the world forming, people coming to know each other and God, then rejecting His rules and killing each other, lusting after their own desires. I see God patiently waiting for people to come back to their senses, which will eventually lead them back to God. But it doesn’t happen. Noah is the only righteous one in the world, and through him there will be a new life, a new beginning, and his descendants will live in a new Earth that will be formed from the remains of the previous one.

It’s not a perfect picture of the Messiah and the Tribulations, true, but I see the same elements in this parashah as we will see when all things come to pass. We have mankind (Adam and Eve) in union with God, but then they break their union by sinning. They are mercifully allowed to live, but no longer in perfect communion as they are ejected from God’s presence. They are fruitful and multiply (one of the more enjoyable commandments to fulfill) but sin is still here, in a cursed world, and although there are some who will form a union with God (Abel), there are those who will not (Cain). And we see that evil will hate and attack righteousness, out of jealousy and frustration. These emotions are the children of the mother of all sin, Pridefulness. Cain’s pride was hurt when God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected his. The Soncino version of the Chumash explains that Abel gave the best he had and his heart was right, but Cain’s heart was not right and his sacrifice was, therefore, unacceptable. Cain’s pridefulness resulted in jealousy, which led to the inevitable result: murder.

Here’s my take on the way things played out, and (if I may say so) I think it is a good template for most every sin:

1.Cain’s pride prevented him from humbling himself;

2. Unhumbled, his frustration grew each time his sacrifice, still unacceptable, was rejected;

3. His frustration grew into anger as he continually saw Abel accepted while he was continually rejected;

4. His anger grows, and without humbling himself he couldn’t direct it at the source (himself) so he projected it against God and Abel;

5. Cain couldn’t do anything against God but he could take out his anger on Abel;

6. Result: the first murder.

Maybe the ultimate sinful expression of our own situation won’t be murder (God forbid!) but it could show itself as gossip, maybe hating in our heart (which Yeshua said is murder, anyway), maybe violence, verbal abuse, adultery, who knows? I believe that pridefulness is the foundation stone upon which almost every sin rests. It is a vicious cycle.

Now the world’s population grows and sin grows with it. There is righteousness, which we see coming through Seth’s bloodlines, but (just like today) the sin is greater than the righteousness. Even in the beginning, those who are God fearing are but a remnant, and it has remained that way even until today. Ultimately, judgement comes with only one chance of survival, and that is through only one man, Noah.

I am not saying that Noah is the Messiah, or ever was supposed to be. What I am saying is just that I see the plan of salvation being shown to us, in a way, in this parashah. It is a “teaser”, like the TV commercial about a new movie shows you pretty much what the story is about, without giving away the details. Creation, sin, loss of perfect communion with God, sin vs. right throughout the world, one righteous man chosen to begin a new relationship with God, judgement and destruction, renewal and a new beginning on a new Earth.

Of course, with Noah things started going downhill almost right away. We can be thankful that with Yeshua, and the “real” final judgement, those  of us who are of the remnant (the Believers who follow God’s laws and commandments as He gave them, not as religion tells us)  will have eternal communion with God, basking in His presence. We will see the new Heavens and the new Earth, and we will return to the way it was in the beginning, before sin entered the picture.

Every Simchat Torah we can look forward to what the Torah, and particularly this parashah, is showing us- that we will return to Gat Eden, we will once again be in the physical presence of the Lord God (Adonai Elohim), and we will be eternally joyful and serene.

I love each time I start reading God’s Word all over again.

Self-Absorbed Salvation

When we become saved, are we better off? Let’s see: saved=Eternal joy; not saved=Eternal suffering.  I would say being saved is better off, wouldn’t you?

When we become saved, do we treat people better than we used to? Being saved should produce good fruit, we should be treating others as we would have them treat us, fruits of the Spirit should be growing within us …yeah, I think it’s safe to say we will be better to people when we are saved, don’t you?

But, when we are saved , does that make us better people?

There are some who treat the Jewish people as reprobate, and say they are rejected by God because they rejected His son. These are called Replacement Theologists. They think that they are the “Israel of God”, as Shaul put it at the end of Galatians (what was he thinking when he wrote that? I don’t know!) They say they are the “real” Jewish people, the true Israel.

They think they are better than real Jews because they are saved.

I don’t know what Bible they read, but it isn’t the one that God gave Moses, that has the writings of the Prophets, or the one that the Talmudim of Yeshua wrote, or the one with the  letters that Shaul sent to the Messianic Congregations he started throughout Asia. I just don’t know how they can think, for a moment, that God lied to the Jewish people when He said they are the apple of His eye, that He will never (note: N-E-V-E-R) forget or forsake them. That unless the heavens above and seas below are measured they will not stop being His people.

But, despite all that God said, these Replacement Theologists think that the Jews are rejected and that they, the Born Again Christians, are better than the Jews. And not just better on Earth, but better in God’s eyes, too.

In Romans, Shaul wrote to the Gentiles warning them against bragging about their salvation and becoming proud and arrogant. He reminded them that if God was willing to lop off a natural branch to graft them in, how much more will He be willing to lop off a branch that never belonged! And how much easier will the natural branch be able to be grafted back in, which is the plan. And when God makes a plan, He sticks to it, and it gets done.

We need to remember that we are all sinners, and no matter what particular sin you do the most, from telling lies, to murder, to adultery, to homosexuality, to stealing, to refusing to celebrate the festivals, to being unforgiving, to …well, the list goes on and on, doesn’t it? The point is that no matter whether or not you are “saved”, you are no better a person than anyone else.

Yeshua warned His Talmudim (Disciples) not to “lord it over each other, as the Gentiles do” but that whomever wants to be the greatest must be the least. If you want to know how a truly saved person should be, he or she should be humble.

Before I was saved, I was a sinner who rationalized my sins; now, I am a sinner who regrets my sins. And because I have asked God’s forgiveness, and accepted the sacrificial death of Yeshua, who I acknowledge as my/the Messiah, I am “saved” from the spiritual consequences of my sinfulness. By the way, note that I am saved from the spiritual consequences- sin still causes injury and will always have serious consequences in the natural world.

Replacement Theology is a lie from the pit of Sheol. All I can say about it is this: in the vision (revelation) given to Yochanan when he was on Patmos Yeshua warned against the Synagogue of Satan. In the Greek, synagogue doesn’t mean a Jewish place of worship. That is a modern meaning. The word refers to a gathering, or collection. You could have a synagogue of chairs, of rocks, or a synagogue of people with a common purpose. The pagan temples were synagogues. So, a “Synagogue of Satan”, in First Century terminology, meant a group of people who were of Satan. Yeshua also went on to define who these people are: they are people who say they are Jews but are not.

Gee, that sounds like the exact definition of Replacement Theologists- people claiming to be Jews who aren’t Jews.

Whether you are a Replacement Theologist or a Gentile who has been grafted in and appreciates God’s wonderful gift of Grace that He made available to you, unless your blood is Jewish blood passed down from your parents and grandparents, you are an adopted son or daughter of Abraham. You are a member of the Family of God, if you will, but an adopted one. The Jews are God’s chosen people- not chosen because they are better, but because they are no better. In fact, in some ways, they are worse. Throughout our history we have been stiff-necked, we have rejected God over and over, and the ultimate rejection is, truthfully, that congregationally (pardon the pun) we have rejected our own Messiah. And, to make it even more embarrassing, the Gentiles have welcomed Him. Doesn’t sound like anything to brag about to me.  But we are still God’s chosen- He is absolutely clear, with no chance of mistake, and repeated throughout His Word,  He reminds us that despite how stupid we have been and still are, despite how stubborn, despite how foolish, and despite how adulterous we have been over the Millennia, He will always accept us back when we do T’Shuvah and just as God always has been, is, and always will be, we (Jewish people) have been, are, and always will be God’s chosen people.

Chosen not because we are better, but chosen because of one man’s faithfulness, and the faithfulness of many others after him, and the continued faithfulness of the Messianic community within Judaism. And the faithfulness of the “mainstream” Jewish people- don’t think that not accepting Messiah Yeshua means that all Jews are faithless. Most are just ignorant of the truth because they have been taught that Yeshua is not the Messiah. They are just what Yeshua called them- lost sheep. But they have not lost their faith in God or His promise of a Messiah- they faithfully wait. They just don’t realize, yet, His true identity.

Being saved should make us better to other people, but it doesn’t make us better than other people. And it certainly doesn’t make you a “Jew” if you are saved.

Be appreciative for God’s plan of salvation, partake in it wholly and joyfully, and help others to find their way back to God through Messiah Yeshua. But never, never, never think you are better than anyone because you are saved. You, I, all of us- we are still sinners, and being saved makes us no better than anyone else in the world.

It just makes us saved.

 

Holy Day or Holiday?

I would like to start this Drash with an excerpt from the chapter in my book (see link at bottom right of page) dealing with this topic:

“Two men talking…,”…so I came to the conclusion that I’m agnostic, but when I realized they don’t have any holidays I thought it best to just stick with my reform synagogue.”

    Why is it important to know the difference between a holiday and a Holy Day? After all, don’t they both mean the same thing? Probably so, to most people. But I think there is a difference between the two, and I also think it is important to know what that difference is. And, since it’s my book, I get to write about what I want to.

   Seriously, it is important to know the difference, and in that light I will ask you to accept (for the purposes of this book) the following definitions: a Holy Day is a celebration, or festival, which God has commanded to be observed. A holiday is a celebration, or festival, which has been created by humans and is a traditional, not biblical, observance. 

   Please understand that I have absolutely nothing against man-made celebrations. I also have nothing against traditions, EXCEPT when a tradition is given more importance than the actual word of God. Traditions are fine, but He comes first.”

We are just about at the end of the High Holy Days in Judaism. Tomorrow is Simchat Torah (that means the Joy of Torah) when we read the last part of Deuteronomy and then, while we sing and dance, roll back the scrolls to the very beginning and read the first few lines in Genesis. Often this holiday (note: holiday, not holy day) is also celebrated by parading the Torah through the streets (And the Word shall go out from Yerushalayim…) with Shofar blowing and joyous singing. It is truly a wonderful thing to start reading the Torah all over again. Ya gotta love the Bible!

But it is not a festival that God told us to celebrate. It is a holiday– a man-made event that is a traditional celebration, just like the netilat yadayim (hand washing) ceremony that we read about in Mark. Just like promising a Korban (again, see Mark) or any of the many, many other Rabbinic traditions and ceremonies that are Talmudic but not Biblical. And if you really want pomp and ceremony, check out some of the Gentile holidays and traditions. You’d think they would have learned from the Jews, but it was not to be.

Why care about the difference? Maybe it doesn’t matter. I guess you could make an argument that every religious holiday (I am not talking about anything in Leviticus 23) is meant to honor God, and how can that be wrong? I think that would be a good argument, and I wouldn’t have a problem with that, except that today most of these holidays do not honor God: they only create more retail sales. They honor the economy more than they honor God.

I mean, it’s not even Halloween (clearly, no one can think that Halloween honors the Lord!) and already I see Christmas commercials on TV, stores are putting up Christmas decorations, and I haven’t even partaken of my November tryptophan yet!  Oy! If we keep going at this rate, we will “lap” Christmas and by April of 2016 they will be running Christmas 2017 sales!

The traditions of our people (Jews and Gentiles, alike) are not bad, in and of themselves. Traditions help create solidarity, a common foundation, and can often help one to get closer to God, so long as they do not interfere or overrule what God has commanded of us. This was the point that Yeshua was making during His ministry. He didn’t have an issue with the traditions, He had an issue with the Pharisees forcing the people to perform traditions at the expense of what God said they should do. There are plenty of examples of this throughout the Good News books.

We need to be careful about this, i.e., knowing the difference between what God has told us to do and what our religious leaders tell us we should do. And we need to know the difference, especially now, as we see prophecy coming to fruition all around us.

I believe the Enemy will make Himself known slowly, and we will not know what he is doing to us until it is already done, unless we keep our spiritual eyes open and trust no one. Not the Rabbi, not the Priest, not the Minister or Chaplin…not no one, not no how, not no way.

What we need to do is trust in the Word of God. You need to read it and thereby learn the difference between what is man-made and what is God-commanded. Like I said, I believe the Enemy will take charge slowly, and the best way to do that is through what we are all comfortable with. He isn’t going to jump out of a cake and say, “Hiya!! I’m the Son of Perdition and I am here to destroy you. Line up and take the mark- be the first on your block to suffer in hell for  all Eternity. Order your very own mark now…operators are standing by.”

Uh-uh…not going to happen that way. He will appear, at first, to be somewhat powerless. A nobody that came up with a popular notion or fad. Then the fad will become a tradition, just like the other traditions we all find comfortable and easily follow (like sheep) and practice. Eventually, once we are suckered into the traditional practices, the tradition will become a regular part of our life, and he will introduce activities that are God-less and satanic, but it will be so subtle, it will fit so easily into what we are doing already, that before we know it we will be lining up for the mark and not even realize what we are doing.

OK, maybe I am getting a little too apocalyptic, thinking that celebrating Simchat Torah will lead me to satanic worship. Honestly, I don’t think that’s a concern. But human stupidity, ignorance and pride is a concern, and it is as much a part of us as breathing and eating. If we aren’t watching with spiritual eyes, and discerning using the Ruach, we are doomed. The Enemy is much more devious than we are, and he knows how to get in our brains, in our daily lives, and how easily we can be led (or misled, for that matter.) And he has no fear of God. He knows he’s lost, he just doesn’t want to admit it to himself, so he is going to take as many down with him as he can. Remember this: in Revelations it says that “most” will be apostatised. Not a few, not a lot, but most- that means a lot more than just half . That means more like 70-80% of all Believers will reject God and throw away their salvation.

Worship God as He said to worship Him- celebrate the Holy Days that God has commanded we should celebrate. And I mean everyone- these are not “Jewish” holy days, these are the festivals that God (your God and mine) said that those who worship Him are to celebrate. Everyone! Start there, and slowly, carefully review and scrutinize every non-Biblical holiday you have ever enjoyed. If it seems “correct” according to the Manual, celebrate it as it should be celebrated- in a way that honors God. Leave K-Mart, Target, Amazon, et.al. out of it.

As the old saying goes, “Keep the Christ in Christmas.” And be careful to celebrate only those celebrations, and only in those ways, that give glory to God.

Can You See the Wind?

Have you ever felt that there is just so much going on right now, and none of it is going right, that you wonder if God took a vacation? The world is a cursed place, and I think, because often God will bless us with good times, we forget that. When the day is sunny, just the right temperature, and we are with loved ones enjoying ourselves, we forget about all the strife in the world,  war, diseases, bigotry, etc. All we are thinking about is how much fun we are having and how wonderful life is.

Then reality hits, and we think, “How can God allow this to happen to me?”

Sometimes it seems that the Almighty is mighty…far away!

Do you know that poetic story, the one about the man and God walking side-by-side on the beach? I think it is called, “Footprints in the Sand.” It tells of a man walking with God, seeing both sets of footprints in the sand, when suddenly as troubles come upon the man he sees only one set of footprints in the sand. Later, after the troubles are gone, he sees two sets of footprints, again. He asks God, ‘Where were you when I needed you? I only saw my footprints in the sand”, and God answered, lovingly, “My child, those were My footprints- during those times of trouble I was carrying you.”

We can’t see the wind, but we can feel it’s presence and see it’s effect. Sometimes the wind is so light you can barely feel it, and other times it seems to not be there at all; we don’t feel the slightest hint of a breeze. But the wind is still there. And other times the wind is so strong that we can’t stand in its presence. At the worst, the wind can be deadly.

Yet, it is always the same thing- it is air. It is all around us, always. Without the air, we die. And when the air is in motion, it is the wind, and we can then most acutely feel its presence.

That is how it is with God. He is always there, He is always surrounding us, and when He moves we can sense His presence.

God doesn’t need us to do anything for Him to move, and often He will show His presence in astounding ways without us doing anything. He will bless us when we don’t expect it, or He may allow us to fall under the cursed world in order to test us. He does what He wants to do, when He wants to do it, and if He doesn’t want to do something, who can make Him do it? No one. This is one of the truths about God that many people refuse to accept, which is a wedge between them and their salvation: God does what He wants to do and we can’t do anything about that.  We can’t make God do anything, but we can influence Him.

We can influence Him into action through faithful prayer. When we come under tsouris (problems) and feel that God must have abandoned us, we need to remember that the wind is never gone, even when we can’t feel it. It just isn’t moving. There are many factors that can affect the wind and cause it to stir, but there is only one thing that we need in order to cause God to move- faithful prayer. When people ask for a sign, or atheists and agnostics say they need to see proof of God’s existence, they just don’t understand about wind. When you move air, it causes wind, and the winds’ effects can be seen, proving that it is there. With God, faithful prayer is the fan that moves Him into action, and His actions are the proof that He exists. The reason these people don’t see proof of God is because they have no faith. They can have all the proof they will ever need, but they won’t do what is necessary. It is as the prophets have said: they have ears but cannot hear, and eyes but cannot see.

I loved the Three Stooges. I especially remember when Moe would poke Curly in the eyes and Curly would cry out,”Moe! Larry! I can’t see! I can’t see!” and when Moe and Larry asked what’s wrong, Curly smiled and said, “‘Cause my eyes are closed.” That’s when Moe would slap him across the head. Exactly what I think many people in the world need today- a good slap to the head while screaming in their ears, “WAKE UP!!!  You’re almost out of time and you’d better stop this foolishness.”

Did you know that when the Bible refers to foolishness it doesn’t mean making funny faces and performing silly antics? It refers to people who refuse to accept God’s existence and power. The Biblical definition of a  foolish person is one who rejects God.

We all suffer dry spells, we all go through our own “desert”, and sometimes we find ourselves back in the same desert over and over. Yet, even the most desolate desert has wind.

God is always here. I read once the ancient Rabbi’s said that it is impossible for God to go down to Earth because He is already there. He is everywhere, all the time, and the reason we don’t see Him is because we are too stubborn or too hardhearted to be able to see Him. Just like air, God is all around us, even when we don’t feel His presence.

If you want to know His presence, faithfully pray to Him. Fan the Lord with your faith, prod Him with your prayers, and watch Him move mountains for you.

Talking in (Digital) Tongues

Facebook…Twitter…Hash tag this, Tweet me that. Whatever happened to talking to each other using the language we were (supposed) to have been taught in school?

OK- one thing I can say about Twitter is that having a defined number of characters can help someone learn to say what they want to say as effectively as possible. People who give sermons could take a lesson from that (myself included) but overall what we have done is to shorten words so much, and use just the initials (acronyms instead of words), that it has been a digital glossolalia.

What’s worse is that the youth of today cannot communicate outside this world of text-language. That spells disaster for anyone over 45 because when the high school kids of today enter the workforce, the age of sending memo’s will be gone. It will be MMITCF (meet me in the conference room) or YF! (this can be figured out easily, as you pack up your desk.)

The Bible is from God, and it tells us who He is and what He wants from us, and those things never change. There are many, many different interpretations, and I am afraid that in the next decade or so the newer versions may be more in line with digital talk than plain English.

Imagine: “…and the Lord emailed Moses and said,”Hash tag Pharaoh and tell him to LMPG!”  How about: “David and Jonathan were BFF’s?” Or maybe: “…First there was the email, then the email became a Tweet, and the tweet dwelt within my mailbox.”

It seems to lose something, doesn’t it? Some of you may be saying there are languages today that are picture languages, such as many of the Asian languages and even ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. And the ancient Egyptians were the most developed and advanced people of their time, so why am I so worried about today’s Text-talk? And you could be right- maybe I am just being old fashioned and stubborn.

I’ve had people say I am stubborn, but I will NEVER AGREE!!!  (this is what we writers call, ‘Comic relief.” Are you laughing? No? Maybe a smile?)

Language itself is a dynamic thing, it always changes and that is a normal part of civilization. As we grow we change, our needs change, our society changes, and so to does the language. To most people the word “Blast” today only means some sort of explosion, or a party, but in the late 19th Century it was a curse word. I am certain that some of today’s curse words will be a regular part of the language by the year 2020. The comedian (the late) George Carlin had a skit about “The 7 Words You Can’t Say on Television”- I think there’s only 2 left. Even when they bleep out the word, it is still obvious what it is.

Anyway, language will change, and I suppose that there will be people who will eventually re-write the Bible to reflect the current verbiage and usage. I pray that nothing is lost in translation.

God is the same today as he was yesterday, and will be the same tomorrow and forever. The Bible is not just His laws and teachings, it is who He is. It is how He lets us get to know Him, intimately. Changing that into modern text-talk has to deplete it. I can’t stand that idea!

I have been a little back-and-forth today, and I’m sorry about that. I can’t seem to get my thoughts together coherently and express them in a clear way. Maybe that’s part of the message- I am pretty good at writing (I hope you agree) and can express myself well. If I can’t write a blog telling you, my readers, exactly what I am feeling, if I had text-talked this how much more would you be missing? We cannot afford to miss even one jot or tiddle from the Manual because we will need every sentence, every word, every syllable that God gave us to defend ourselves against the Enemy.

Ephesians tells us the Word of God is a sword. Just like any sharp instrument, if you don’t handle it carefully and with respect, you can seriously damage yourself. We need to keep the Word of God intact, and as He had us write it. If we become so irresponsible with our language as to change the way we communicate, we lose something very valuable. Poetry, the beautiful lyrics of music, love letters between people, the Psalms…you can’t express these feelings and emotions with acronyms.  And that means that the Bible, also, will lose it’s potency if it is “texted.”

Yeshua tells us to stay alert with regards to His return. May I suggest we stretch the meaning of this a little to be alert not just for His return, but to the way the Enemy will try to deceive us into apostasy.  I may sound a little over-reactive, but I do believe that as we lose the ability to communicate effectively with each other we lose the ability to organize. If we can’t organize, we can’t become an army for God. Maybe in a century or so people will be able to communicate using nothing but symbols and acronyms, but I don’t think so. We need a language with the ability to express itself in complete thoughts and to be flexible enough to change without becoming so different it isn’t even the same thing anymore.

Teach your children to write with words, teach your employees how to write a memo, to spell without “Spellcheck”, and to verbally communicate with each other. Ditch the cell phones at parties and in the car, or at the dinner table, and talk to each other.

We need to stay together, to communicate effectively so that we can be ready and prepared against the Enemies of God. We can’t do that well if we can’t even form a sentence.

 

Parashah Chol HaMo’ed Sukkot (Intermediate Reading for Sukkot: Exodus 33:12 – 34:26)

Sukkot is one of the Holy Days which we are commanded to celebrate in Leviticus 23. It is one of the three Holy Days when we are to go to the Temple in Yerushalayim (Pesach and Shavuot being the other ones.)

At this time we build a Sukkah, which is essentially an open roofed tabernacle or tent, and we are to live in it for the next 7 days. This is a reminder of how our fathers lived in the desert.

This festival is more than just a memorial to our ancestors; it is a celebration of our relationship, our close relationship, with God. And not just as a people, but individually.

This parashah relates how Moshe asked God to go with the people- it comes after the people rebelled against God while Moshe was on the mountain, when Moshe destroyed the first set of tablets God gave him. Moshe is back on the mountain, and begging God to continue to live with the people as they travel through the desert. In fact, Moshe asks God to just  leave them there if He won’t go with them because it is not the people that matter, it is God’s presence with them that demonstrates who they are.

When God is with us, it proves we are His people. His presence is what separates us from the rest of the world, and for those who accept Messiah Yeshua as being the Messiah, the Anointed One of God and the promised salvation, and who have received the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit), they have God’s presence with them, just as the children of Israel had His presence in the desert.

In the desert, He traveled as a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night, but today as we walk through this desert we call “life”, God is with us always by means of the indwelling Ruach. That means that our bodies are, in a way, the ultimate Sukkah. This correlates to what Shaul said when he told us that our bodies are the temple housing the spirit of God. I have heard Christian teachings that allude to this, too, calling our bodies the Church.

As a Jewish man, I am not, and probably never will be, comfortable with the idea that I go to “church”, let alone that I am a “church.” I know it’s just a word, but words have power and the image and memories that the word “church” bring forth are not pleasant to me.

On the other hand, I like considering myself a Sukkah, where God and I congregate. Add to that how joyful it is to tabernacle with the Lord God, and that is an image I can live with!

Sukkot lasts seven days, but we celebrate for 8 days. The eighth day is called Sh’Mini Atzeret, and that is also called the holiday of Simchat Torah (note: holiday, not Holy Day.) This is a Rabbinical day of celebration, not a biblical one. The Rabbinical explanation is that God was so happy being with His people during those seven days that He extended it an additional day. Again, not in the bible as a God-declared festival, but a nice thought and a joyful way to celebrate the Torah, which is also God’s presence with us, is it not?

See: I’m not against everything that is traditional, just those that go against what God wants or says.

Final thought for today: in the desert, God’s presence was shown through His manifestation as a cloud and as fire. Moshe wrote the Torah, and after they came into the Land, God’s physical presence no longer went with them. But they had the Torah, which is not just God’s laws, regulations, and (overall) teachings, but it is, in a way, God, Himself. He tells us who He is (this portion also contains the 13 Attributes of God, which He announces as he passes by Moshe) and who we are, in relation to Him. Therefore, in my thinking, the Torah is God; not a manifestation, but it is who and what He is. Yochanan says that first there was the Word, then the Word became flesh. Do you think the “Word” he refers to is the Torah? I do. That’s why I feel comfortable believing that the Torah is God- not a manifestation of Him, but His essence and (thereby) His presence.  In the same way that our bodies are a Sukkah, the Torah is God; it is a spiritual relationship expressed by a tangible thing.

So, the Torah is with the people always, representing God’s presence. And the ultimate demonstration of God’s presence with His people is the Ruach HaKodesh. Unlike the cloud or fire, which appeared visible to all, and unlike the Torah, which is  tangible thing, the Ruach is His presence living inside of us. Every breath, every heartbeat, every thought…He is here sharing our life, living every moment of it in total communion.

Sukkot is one of the more joyful Holy Days we have, and for those who have accepted the Grace of the Almighty, we get to celebrate Sukkot every single day, and for the rest of our life.

Sweet!

When Ya Gotta Go, Ya Gotta Go!

I was travelling with some new friends I met at my place of worship and we were talking about a schism they had recently experienced within the congregation, just a little before I started to attend.

The discussion turned to how so many people were tied to other people in the congregation, tied to the building, the memories of the activities in that building, and other human-based , worldly things. The finances didn’t allow for that building anymore, but people wanted to stay there because it was comfortable and they had been there for years. Some others wanted to keep the building they couldn’t afford because of the memories  of ceremonies for family and friends that had been given there.  Others didn’t want to stay with the group moving because they changed the date of services.

I understand these feelings- I felt them towards the synagogue where I was first “saved” and to which I had given more than just time: I gave money, I gave blood and sweat, and many tears. I made friends and had many happy, spiritually enriching experiences there, too. I was tied to it emotionally and spiritually. But when the time came to leave, I was gone.

Maybe you’re thinking ,”Hey- if I like a place, what’s wrong with that?” Nothing. But if you like a place too much, you are too tied to the world.

Here’s something that may get me in trouble, but I’ll say it, anyway (after all, it’s my blog): I believe that people who are strongly tied to a tradition, or a memory, or a place will be the first ones to kneel down and take the mark!

“Hey- whaddaya mean? I am a Christian soldier and I won’t turn my back on God. I just don’t want to leave this place or have a new Pastor/Rabbi/whatever. I like things the way they are.”

What does God do with a vine that bears much good fruit? He prunes it, so that it can grow more good fruit elsewhere.

What did Yeshua say to the man who wanted to follow Him?  “The fox has it’s hole and the bird its nest, but the Son of Man doesn’t have a place to lay His head.”

Didn’t Yeshua say that someone who holds the plow and looks back isn’t fit for the Kingdom of God?

The world is a waste- nothing of the world has lasting power or eternal value. Only those things of the Spirit can be counted upon to last. That is why I say that people who are tied to worldly things will take the mark- it’s because their Spirit is weak and, like the seed that is sown among weeds, they will apostatize when the rubber hits the road. Their weak spirit and lack of faith (that’s right- being attracted to the world and it’s things shows lack of faith) will cause them to accept the mark. Why? Because the Enemy will attract them and dupe them in by promising that their comfort zone will be coddled, that they are right and justified to stay where they feel comfortable. That anyone who tells them they need to change is wrong.

When something never changes they have a special name for that- it’s called stagnation. It’s the way to keep from growing and maturing. It’s the comfortable, easy way. It’s also death.

Yeshua said we need to pick up our execution stake and follow Him. Think about that for a moment…He didn’t say pick up your stake and stand still. He said pick it up and follow. Well, I can’t follow anyone who isn’t moving, so I guess Yeshua figures He will be moving, He will be in motion, and I’ll bet you that He won’t be looking back as He plows.

We need to be ready, willing, and even (dare I say it!) looking forward to when Yeshua or God will call us out of our comfort zone so that we can do more good for His Glory!

Don’t stagnate, don’t get comfy-cozy, and do be ready to move when the call comes. God is everywhere, so His work is everywhere. If you expect to be doing His work, don’t get too comfortable.

Buffet Believers

You know the type- they say they believe in God, and that they are “saved by the blood”, but when it comes to the totality of the commandments found throughout the Tanakh suddenly there are laws and regulations that are not so important. Some are even just not applicable anymore.

For instance, pork carried diseases so that’s why God said don’t eat it, but we have the USDA now and pork is safe, so I can have it.

Or maybe that culture was very anti-female, and a lot of the laws and ways that women were treated are no longer acceptable or correct. The Bible was written by men, after all, so I don’t have to obey some of their misogynistic laws.

Or maybe they lived in an agrarian culture so tithing was something they could do, but we have state taxes and FICA and tithing only has to be what I can afford to do.

The Bible is God’s word; it is who He is, what He wants from us, and how He wants us to live. It is not a discussion. We can’t “white-wash” these commandments, and God doesn’t really care if we like them or not. In 2 Samuel He tells us Himself that He is no respecter of men (or women). True, He loves us; yes, He is our Father in Heaven and all that stuff but that doesn’t mean that we can just pick and choose what we like and leave the rest for someone else.

If you say you worship God and have the Ruach HaKodesh in you, then you cannot live as you used to. If you haven’t changed your ways, then you are a liar. Maybe you don’t mean to lie, but you are lying to yourself and God isn’t being fooled, not one little bit! It is because I do have the Ruach in me that I know when I am doing what is displeasing to God. I don’t want to and I am trying to do better, and I am doing better. Because I am producing fruit I know that what I am doing is pleasing to God. Not that my fruit can fill a basket, and I am not saying that all my actions are right, but I can say that my heart is right. I can say, truthfully, that I am doing T’Shuvah in my heart, and in my actions (although it’s easier to want to do better than it is to actually do better).

Look, there are so many things in God’s word that I do not understand “why” and there are so many things in His word that I do not really want to do (or not do), but I don’t have a say in this.

Yeshua said that no man can serve two Masters. That means that we have two choices: to serve God or to serve ourselves, which will translate to being a slave to sin. Face it, People! You are a slave! You always have been, you always will be. No options, no escape clause, you are not in control. Never were and never will be.

There are two options: slave to God or slave to sin. If you don’t like that, well…tough! That’s it. Go live in another dimension or universe, and if you can’t do that, then face reality and get with the program.

Yeshua said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Sin is heavy, Man! Sin weighs you down and doesn’t just affect you but causes pain and strife to the innocents in your life. It hurts you and those you love. When you live to worship God as he wants us to, even when we fail (as we all do) we are doing better, sinning less, and helping ourselves and those we love who are part of our life.

Look at it this way: if I was deep in sin, and I pulled those close to me into sin with me, I am murdering them, spiritually. And because I believe in the afterlife, I am not just murdering them, I am condemning them to eternal suffering. On the other hand, if I live a life devoted to God, although I will most likely ostracize myself from people I care about and love, I will be showing them the way to eternal life. I will not be condemning them with my actions, I will be helping them to live.

Being a slave to Messiah Yeshua and to God is what we need to choose, because it is our choice. You can choose life, you can choose death, but you can’t choose which commandments are valid and which aren’t.

Am I Praying Correctly?

Prayer is the way we communicate with God. He communicates with us differently- through visions, sometimes audibly, sometimes (as I believe I hear Him) it is a small, quiet voice in the back of my head that tells me what to do. I figure it’s God, through the Ruach, because the answer is usually not what I was hoping for but what I realize I need to hear. If it doesn’t make sense, in a worldly way, then it has a good chance of being from God.

But is it? I ask myself this all the time- I am almost jealous of those people who say they heard God talking to them and He told them what to do. I more often than not write it off to people wanting so badly to be able to brag about being godly that I take all these clams with a grain of salt. It’s unfortunate, too, because I really want to believe that God is talking to people. If he is, then maybe one day I will hear Him, myself, in a way that will leave no room for doubt.

It’s because I doubt, because I need to ask as the man did in the Gospels, to have Yeshua give faith to my faithlessness that I think I may not pray correctly. There are examples in the Manual where the Tzaddikim (righteous ones) asked God to help strengthen their resolve.  Even Yeshua asked God to strengthen Him when He prayed at Golgotha. So who am I to think I could hear God any clearer, or that I could have as much faith as these?

That’s why I keep asking myself, and God, too, “Am I praying correctly?”  My answer is, “No; not really.” I believe I should be in a quiet place, alone and undisturbed, and concentrating on my prayers. Instead, I usually start my morning prayer (traditional Jewish prayers are done three times daily: Shaharit , the morning service;  Minchah, the afternoon service; and Maariv, the evening service) in the car as I drive to work. Before we moved to Florida I worked a 90 minute drive away from home, and sometimes the prayers lasted all the way to work. Sometimes I just do a “quickie”. I think the one thing I do correctly is to start by thanking God and end by thanking God. The problem with this, I feel, is that I am in a quiet place but not concentrating solely on God. I can’t close my eyes  while driving (Thou shalt not test the Lord, thy God) and if I get into it and begin to “auto pilot”, that can be dangerous, too.

I need to really try to sit and pray, alone, before the rush of the day begins. And I need to pray continuously all day, as I feel the need for His Ruach to help me calm myself. Actually, I do that, I mean, pray continuously (didn’t Shaul tell us we should pray that way?) and I try to remember to pray for others.

I am not a good intercessor- I don’t have the compassion or concern for others that an real intercessor has. Now that I think about it, I am really blessed in one way- I am so far from where I should be that I have so much potential. Potential is good, realization of potential is better; so, nu? At least I have potential!

Anyway, back to prayer…it should be honest, heartfelt, and we should approach God with a contrite spirit. David said that a broken spirit and a contrite heart God will not turn away; of course, I am not saying we should only pray when we are down. We should pray constantly  and we should follow the template that Yeshua gave us (see Matthew 6). When His Talmudim asked Yeshua in what manner should they pray, the answer He gave was not just what to pray, but how to pray.

It starts with recognizing God’s greatness and authority, it asks for forgiveness, it reminds us to forgive others, it asks for only what we need (implying our faith in God to provide what we need and when we need it- no need to store up extra) and it ends as it began, acknowledging God as the Almighty.

Maybe that’s all we need to do? Just acknowledge God as our King, and remember to forgive others so when we ask for forgiveness “as we forgive others” we have something to show for it, and to thank God for His gifts and provisioning. Even if we feel that we need more, we should thank God for what we have. Remember the parable about the servants and the talents they were given- even those that have nothing, what they do have will be taken from them. You can always have less, so be thankful for whatever you do have. Even if your life seems to be full of tsouris, you’re alive and being alive means having hope. I feel so bad for those people (when I am feeling compassionate, which does happen now and then) who refuse to accept God’s existence, or my own people who refuse, vehemently, to accept their Messiah Yeshua (which I did for over 40 years, too) because without God and Yeshua, there is no hope.

I know that the Jewish people are fervently praying for Messiah to come. He will return, and for them (I guess) it will be the first coming.  That’s the problem- the first coming has come and gone, and when he returns there won’t be a lot of time to realize they missed the boat. I do pray for my people, not nearly enough, so to you reading this blog I ask that you also pray for Israel and the Jewish people to accept their Messiah. Also for the Gentiles to continue as I see many doing, which is to support Israel and get closer to their Hebraic roots. God has no religion, and we need to come together against the Enemy of God, who will unquestionable have a unified following. If we don’t get our heads together and start to worship God uniformly, without all these traditions and policies and pomp and ceremonies that men created, whitewashing God’s laws and commandments and trying to humanize God with all types of  excuses and reasoning about what he wants and why, we will not stand before the Enemy and his armies.

The Enemy will not allow his followers to be divided, he will not allow them to have free will and he will not allow them to think on their own. He will be ruthless, and if you think Nazi Germany was bad, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!  We who believe in God, who have been saved by the sacrificial death of Yeshua, and who worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob need to unify- God has no religion! When we get religion out of the way, we will be strong.

God confused mankind at the Tower of Babel and said that He did so because if we were left to our own devices, all speaking the same language and all together as one, we could do anything. I think He confused us because it was too soon for us to be that way. But now, with the End Days approaching quickly, I believe it is time, and God is waiting for us to get together again. We have different languages and cultures, but one Torah, one Messiah and the one God. If we become one under God and Yeshua, we will defeat the Enemy, both corporately and individually.

Prayer is how we strengthen ourselves. Even when done as sloppily and incompetently as I do it, my prayer time strengthens me. It helps me stay in touch with God, and if He chooses to answer me in a still, small voice or slap me upside my head, it is His answer.  Even His silence is an answer, in that His silence will make me pray harder and to seek Him more. I know He’s there,  I know He’s listening. It’s like Hide and Seek- sometimes you just have to seek harder.

I guess, in the end, praying to God, no matter how you do it, is what praying is all about. Maybe there really isn’t a “right” way or a “wrong” way. Maybe just praying is what we should do, and since we are all different, if we pray honestly, earnestly, humbly, and constantly God will honor that.

I think that’s good. Just pray from your heart, and you are praying correctly. What do you think?

Forgive Yourself as You Would Forgive Others

This evening is Kol Nidre, the beginning of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is all about forgiveness, and usually we concentrate on asking God to forgive us. We ask that He move from the Throne of Judgement to the Throne of Forgiveness, and we are to “afflict our souls” as we request His forgiveness. But it shouldn’t be just about God forgiving us, or about us forgiving others. It should also be about us forgiving ourselves.

It’s strange, isn’t it? That we should be able to forgive others but often we can’t forgive ourselves?  The Manual tells us we should do unto others as we do unto ourselves, and that we will be forgiven as we forgive others. Isn’t the converse true? Are we as willing to forgive ourselves as we are others? If God is willing to forgive us, but we don’t forgive ourselves, then isn’t that the same as saying we are above God, in that He is willing to let it go but we won’t? We think what He does isn’t good enough, He’s too easy- we should be punished! If we think that, then we are saying what we think and feel is more important than what God thinks and feels. That’s idolatry- we put ourselves before God and above Him when we refuse to do what He is willing to do.

If you feel there is something you have done which is so bad you can’t believe God will forgive you, then you just don’t understand Grace. In Romans 5 Shaul tells us that as sin is increased, so to is Grace. Basically, there isn’t a sin big enough that God’s Grace can’t cover it. In fact, Kippur (as in Yom Kippur) doesn’t really mean “atonement”, it means “covering.”  God is covering our sin, like a mother hen protects her chicks by covering them with her wings.

What I find wonderful is that God is not just able to forgive, and not just willing to forgive, but that He wants to forgive!  He even has a means to forgive us for sins we committed in error (see Numbers 15.) In Ezekiel He says He gets no pleasure from seeing the sinners die, but that He would rather they do T’Shuvah and live. His forgiveness is more than just something He does- it’s what He wants to do. I can’t imagine that anyone who even thinks God could exist is not able to grasp that we are sinful and He is willing to overlook that if we only ask Him to do so.

But God is no fool. Just because He will forgive sins doesn’t mean that it’s OK to sin. Today Christianity is teaching that Grace covers everything to the degree that sin is not an issue anymore. We are “under the blood of Christ”; He died for our sins so we are forgiven.  All who call on His name are saved and we are forgiven everything. Just so long as you say you are a Believer and you call on His name you are saved, your sins are forgiven and you get to go to heaven. Just confess and ask forgiveness and you are clean. Hallelujah!  That’s not Grace from sin they are teaching, it’s license to sin. People are being taught that their sins are forgiven simply by asking God to do so, and although that is technically correct, it implies that to continue to sin will have no detrimental effect on your salvation.

That is a lie from the pit of hell! If you continue to sin, without concern, without truly being repentant, you better bring along an umbrella and plenty of Coppertone when you meet the Lord before the Throne. You can ask, and it will be given unto you, but not if you don’t really repent. And the way to be repentant is to stop sinning.

Atonement is not a one-time, slam-blam-I-forgive-you-Ma’am thing. It’s a process. First and foremost, you have to own your sin. That means to recognize your own sinfulness and take responsibility for it. Next, you must do T’Shuvah, that is, turn from your sins. You must really, really want to not sin anymore. Once you have done this, you “own” your sin. And when you own something, you have the right and ability to give it away. That’s the third step- give that sin to God. Ask Him to take it from you, and then “go, and sin no more” (see if you can find that Bible quote.)

This is the start of one of the holiest of the High Holy Days. Even though we have been forgiven, even though we, Believers, understand and accept the Grace of God made possible through the ultimate and final atonement that Yeshua made on our behalf, we still should observe Yom Kippur. Why? Well, first off, it’s a commandment. Duh!! Second, Shaul tells us we should suffer with those that are suffering- not eating or drinking for 24 hours is certainly my idea of suffering!

No, seriously, we should observe this festival because God said we should and to show our non-accepting (of Yeshua) Brothers and Sisters that Messianic Jews do what God said we should do, that we follow the Torah and that being Born Again/ Messianic is not a different religion- it is what being Jewish is all about. It is the epitome of Judaism; to not just follow Torah and hope for a Messiah, but to know the Messiah and be part of God’s plan of redemption. Actually, it is beyond Judaism, it is beyond any religion- it is doing as God said we should do. It is following His commandments. It is being faithfully obedient.

Remember- God has no religion. If you say you believe in God and want to follow Him, to do as Yeshua did, then you better know Torah because that’s the User Manual for the program called Salvation.

When we pray this evening and throughout tomorrow, remember that you need to forgive yourself, too. Also understand that the solidarity we have with the unsaved Jewish people is in our prayers. Look at the prayers- they are often not asking for individual forgiveness, but for corporate forgiveness. The Prophets accepted responsibility for the sins of the people, the Cohen Ha Gadol (High Priest) transferred the sins of the people to the goat or bull to be sacrificed. We are not just asking for our individual forgiveness, but we are interceding for all the people, everywhere. This day is not just about you- it’s about all of us.

Lastly, let me ask you to think of Yom Kippur not just as a holy day, but as an every day activity. In Judaism this day is the culmination of the Days of Awe and leads us into the final festival of this time (Sukkot) when we (now clean) can enter into communion with God as our Fathers did, by living in Sukkot (Tabernacles, or tents.) After this week of intimate communion, we begin our cycle again with turning back the Torah (Simchat Torah) and starting our love affair with God, all over again.