Tag: parashah

Parashah Ekev (It Shall Come to Pass) Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25

Leave a comment

Throughout this book, the last book of the Torah, we hear Moshe (Moses) constantly remind the people about all the good that God has done for them, and constantly warn them against turning away from God. Over and over he reminds them of the mighty acts performed by God, of how God has gone before them in battle and he reinforces the fact that God will continue to go before them, as long as they keep their side of the covenant.

He also chastises them regarding how rebellious they have been; he reminds them of all the places where they rebelled, and how God punished them as a result of their stiff-necked, rebellious attitudes. And Moses doesn’t fail to lay a guilt trip on them, either, retelling how he suffered on account of them, fasted for 40 days (twice!) so that God would not destroy them, and so forth.

We find also the foundation for many of the messages that the Prophets gave and of what Yeshua taught. For instance, in the last parashah we were given the 10 Commandments, the V’Ahavtah, and the Shema. In this parashah, Deuteronomy 10:12-13 must be the basis for Micah 6:8-9:

And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul; to keep for thy good the commandments of the Lord, and His statues, which I command thee this day? 

Micah 6:8-9: He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Over and over, again and again, Moses tells the people not to fear or look to their own strength for success. They are not to forget, when they are relaxed, happy and blessed, that it is because God provided all this for them that they are so well off. Moses also tells them, in no uncertain way, the reason that God is going ahead of Israel and destroying the nations currently living in the land is because those people have polluted the land with their sinfulness. Israel is not being given the land because they deserve it- they are being used to rid the land of the pestilence that is in it. And, after having done so, Moses tells them that if they fall into the same pattern of sinfulness and pollute the land, that they, also, will be thrown out of it.

How often do we, today, forget to credit God as the provider of our goodness? I hear people more than willing to blame God for their problems, for illness and financial ruin: “Why me, God? What have I done?” People are fast to blame the Lord for their problems, and very, VERY slow to accept their responsibility for what they are going through. Yet, when things are going well and they have more than they need, do they praise God? Do they thank the Lord for His provision? Do they remember what it was like and appreciate all that God has done to bring them to where they are now?

I am afraid that it doesn’t always seem that way. We are fast to accept responsibility for our success, and fast to blame God for our failures. The fact is, it is almost always the other way around: we are the reason for our failures and God is the cause of our success.

I am often blessed to teach on Shabbat, and when I get compliments from people I am quick (and this is NOT false modesty) to say if it was that good, then it wasn’t from me. When I do something really well, I give the credit to God for the leading of His Ruach (Spirit) and the gifts He gave me; when I totally screw something up, that’s when I can take full credit.

We need to apply every single warning that Moses gave to the Israelites to our own lives. We need to be careful not to pollute what God has given us by our sins, and not to allow things in our life to separate us from God . What would those things be? They could be sports, money, Face Book, Porn, video games…anything that brings you to a place where you are focused on yourself and not on God. Now, don’t get me wrong- I am not saying that being a baseball fan or managing your finances is sinful, but when it becomes a wedge between you and your worship, then you have a problem. As an example, watching baseball is not a problem, but watching it at the expense of being a husband and father, well, that is not right. If you begin to idolize the baseball players and begin gambling, then you have a problem. If you are so busy trying to attain wealth by working yourself to a frazzle, ignoring family and friends, then you have a problem. If you are spending half your life on Face Book or Twitter, you need to shut the computer off and talk to someone face-to-face.

Do you see my point? We should not be so intent and focused on something that it becomes a barrier to our relationships with God, family and friends. Brothers and Sisters, please believe me when I say that IM’ing people on Face Book or sending emails is not really how we should communicate.

And we should not ever think that the success we have in life is due to our own power. I have a gift for teaching, which has been confirmed by others: and it is not something I gave myself, it is from God. When I use it to glorify and honor Him, I am using it correctly. When I use it for my own purposes, to glorify myself, I am misusing it and that will result in failure.

If you ever find yourself wondering why something you do well is not working, try to remember the last time you thanked God for His provision and gifts, and ask yourself if you have been using your talents to glorify God. I am willing to bet you will then find the answer to why things aren’t working.

 

 

Parashah V’etchanan (and I sought..) Deuteronomy 3:23 – 7:11

Leave a comment

Moses asks God to allow him to enter the land, and God says, pretty much, “Enough already! Stop whining about this because I told you that ain’t gonna happen! But, I will do this- after you anoint Joshua climb up to the top of Mount Pisgah, and I will let you see the land.”

Some believe, as I do, that not only did God show Moses the land, but also the future. He showed Moses the eventual degradation of the people into idol worship, the consequent dispersal into the Diaspora and exile to Babylon, ending with their return to Israel. I believe this because of the warning Moses gives right after he observes the land, which is not so much the warning of a possible future as it is the narration of events from one who has seen it happen.

This rest of this parashah holds nearly everything that is important to the Jewish people, and thereby the world:

Deuteronomy 5:6-19: Moses reviews the Ten Commandments;

Deuteronomy 6:4:        Moses teaches us the Shema;

Deuteronomy 6:5-10:  Moses teaches us the V’ahavta;

Deuteronomy 6:16:      Moses teaches us a lesson that is used more often in Christianity (from my experience) than in Judaism: Do not test the Lord, your God.

Clearly, there is in just those 4 lessons more than I could write in a single post, unless that post was something like 15 pages or more. Don’t worry- this won’t be.

Actually, the message I have today is not about any of those passages. It is from Deuteronomy 4:5-8, which is what Moses told the people before he told them all those other things:

See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

I often state that the Torah is not just for the Jews, but for the entire world. The Jews received it so to learn it and live it (just like it says here), so that they may be an example to the world.

Shaul says pretty much the same thing, but to a different audience, in Romans 11:11–

So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

Moses is telling Israel to obey Torah so that when the other nations see the wonderful rulings, peacefulness, social closeness, morality and compassion of the people, and how God is always close at hand to help and protect them, they will be jealous and want to be part of it. And Shaul, some 1500 or so years later, tells the Messianic communities that their living in faith to Messiah Yeshua will eventually be an example to the non-believing Jews how much better it is to accept Yeshua and make them jealous for their own Messiah.

Here we have the same message– faithfully believe God and do as He says– being told to Jews and Gentiles first going into the land, and centuries later to Gentiles and Jews who have been living in the land. And the reason is the same: to incite, through jealousy, those living outside of God’s plan to choose to accept God (and His Messiah.)

There are many passages in the bible that confirm this message, and it is unfortunate that much of Christianity has perverted and misused the writings of Shaul to dissuade people from hearing the proper message. Shaul says he is delivering the Gospel to the Jew first, then the Gentile (Romans 1:16); I believe this means if the Good News of the Kingdom of God is not presented in a way that is acceptable to a Jewish person, it isn’t the correct message for a Gentile.

Still and all, we can be confident in this: God’as plan will win out in the end!  Torah will be written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33) and we no longer ask our brother (and sister) if they know the Lord, because all will know Him.

In the meantime, what should we do? Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? Live your life as an example to those who have rejected God and/or Messiah Yeshua to show them how blessed and peaceful it is to be living as God has told us we should.

Most everyone knows that God’s house has many rooms, but what many don’t know is that there is a really big pool in the backyard, which is always refreshing, so to you who are suffering the emptiness, despair, heat and discomfort of living a worldly life…C’mon in- the water’s fine!!!

 

 

Parashah D’varim (Deuteronomy / The Words) Deuteronomy 1 – 3:22

2 Comments

We now come to the last of the 5 Books of Moses. This book combines and recalls the events of the other books in the Torah, and is a wonderful work of narration and prophecy. Moses starts by going back to the days when the Children of Israel first came out of Egypt, and he reminds them that he set up judges to attend to the daily need of resolving disputes among the people. He then recalled how they were to enter the Land, but when they sent out spies how the spies gave a bad report, resulting (ultimately) in not only being condemned to the desert for 40 years, but also suffering a devastating military defeat.  Moses recounts their travels, and how they were not to attack or take possession of the lands of the Edomites or Ammonites. He then comes to the present day, recalling to them their recent defeat of Og and Sihon, and that the tribes of Gad, Reuben and half of Manasseh will have those lands on the East of the Jordan that had been possessed by these two kings. The last part of this portion is when Moses reminds these tribes they are to go over into the land with the rest of the Israelites and fight with them until they have secured their own lands. He tells Joshua that God will be with them in Canaan, as He was with them against Og and Sihon, and to go boldly to take possession and not be afraid.

I find it very interesting, especially in today’s geopolitical context regarding the state of Israel and it’s neighbors, that God tells Moses the people are not to have any of the land of the Edomites (children of Esau), Ammonites or Moabites (descendants of Lot) because God gave it to them as their own possession.

These lands today represent Syria (Edomites) and Jordan (Ammonites.) These two ancient enemies of Israel are still attacking Israel  and claiming that Israel has no right to their own land, while all the while Israel has never tried to take the land of Jordan or Syria away from those that live there. Israel is still honoring God’s commandments given through Moses some 3500 years ago, which commanded us to not attack and take the land that God gave them. Yet, the people whose lands we respect as their biblical right to own are not respecting our biblical right to our own land!

Since they don’t care about what the bible says regarding Israel’s right to our land, maybe we should do the same with regards to their land? I believe that if Israel wanted to take over Jordan and Syria, it would be done so quickly that even before the U.N. could react it would be over.

So why don’t we? We don’t because we do as God says, and therefore we leave Jordan and Syria alone to their own people. Given the way things are in both those countries, there isn’t much to take over, anyway. They are destroying themselves.

Here, again, the Torah (which is thousands of years old) still has value and is meaningful in the current world. The commandments to the Jewish people, which are meant for all people, everywhere, when upheld and honored yield blessings. Israel was told to leave those countries alone, and those countries have constantly attacked Israel, yet Israel thrives: economically, scientifically, technologically and socially. Meanwhile, Jordan and Syria are falling to pieces through internal strife and civil war, which is tearing them apart.

Those who honor God will be blessed, and those that reject God and come against His people will be cursed. We’re seeing it today! Right there in the Middle east, and we have been seeing it since 1948.

When will they ever learn?

Parashah Pinchas Numbers 25:10 – 30:1

Leave a comment

We left the last Parashah with Pinchus killing a prince of Simeon and the daughter of a Midianite Chieftain. God tells Moses that because of Pinchus’ zeal for God that he stopped the plague He sent as punishment for the sin at Ba’al-Peor, and as reward Pinchus and his descendants were to be given the Priesthood, forever. God’s promise also was a means to protect Pinchus from avenging by anyone in the family of the slain man.

God commands a census to be taken, which is to establish the size of the army (God commands Moses to attack Midian as retaliation for their sin against Israel, which is where Balaam gets his), and also to see how many are left alive after the plague. It is interesting to note that the tribe of Simeon, from whom the man Pinchus killed came from, had the greatest loss of numbers: when they first did a census at the beginning of Numbers Simeon had 59,300 men, but now they have only 22,200.

The question of what happens if a man has no sons to inherit the land is presented by the the daughters of Zelophehad; it is determined that the daughters inherit the land, although they must marry within their tribe so the tribal inheritance is not diminished. God then gives Moses the full Order of Inheritance to be used.

Moses is told that his time to die has come, and instead of whining or asking for more time, his first thought is of the people and he asks God to appoint a successor. That person is, of course, Joshua. But Moses doesn’t die yet. The rest of this parashah is a restatement of the daily and special sacrifices that are to be performed. Each daily and festival sacrifice is described in detail; God is restating these requirements to the people as a refresher, so to speak, since they will soon be in the land.

This is the first time we hear God telling Moses he will die, even though the event, itself, doesn’t happen until the end of the Torah. The rest of the book of Numbers and all of Deuteronomy is a refresher course in all that happened and all that God requires of the Children of Israel. Moses gets to see the land, but he is not allowed to enter it. Why? Isn’t God forgiving? Why, after all the times Moses asks to be allowed in, won’t God relent, forgive and allow Moses to enter the Land?

I don’t know. But, if I were to guess, I would say it’s to show us that forgiveness is spiritual, but the consequence of sin is physical. There is no doubt in my mind that Moses is in God’s presence and was saved by his faithfulness and actions during his lifetime. Yet, the sin he committed at the waters of Meribah had consequences that his forgiveness in the spiritual world could not remove from his existence in the physical world.

How many times have we, the Jewish people, looked to the Promised Land but not entered because of our sin?  What I am talking about here is the sin of rejecting salvation through Messiah Yeshua. The Messiah is like the land God promised- long awaited and longed for.  But, the sins we commit in life prevent us from entering; sin such as rejecting Torah, rejecting Yeshua (this is what Judaism has done) , being unrepentant and (worse) being unforgiving. We can see the Promised land ahead of us, but our sins keep us from entering.

Unlike Moses, though, we have a chance to get in: we can enter by doing T’shuvah, by receiving the Grace of God through Yeshua the Messiah, and by forgiving those who have sinned against us. Moses did not enter the land of Israel, yet he is with God, forever. What he lost during his lifetime (which is only a mist, anyway) he received for eternity. We must keep our eyes on the eternal, and for those Christians that have been taught Torah was done away with when Yeshua rose from the dead, well, that’s a fence preventing your entering the land.  And for those Jews who have been told Yeshua is not the Messiah, that is a fence preventing you from entering the land. And for anyone who has been taught “once saved, always saved”- that is a really big fence preventing you from entering the land.

We need to open the gates to these fences, and the way we do that is with the three-sided key of truth: Yeshua is the Messiah, Torah is still valid, and forgiveness is required to be forgiven. These three truths will open any fence, break down any wall and allow anyone to enter into the Promised Land.

 

Parashah Balak (Balak) Numbers 22:2 – 25:9

Leave a comment

Here is one of the best known biblical tales- the story of Balaam’s talking ass.

We start with Balak, son of the the king of Moab, seeing the Children of Israel on his doorstep having just annihilated both King Og and King Sichon, and taken their lands. Being afraid for his own kingdom, Balak sends envoys to Mesopotamia to find Balaam, a known prophet who’s reputation is that whomever he blesses is blessed, and whomever he curses is cursed.

Balaam is an enigma in the bible- he is obviously a true prophet of Adonai because when asked to come curse a people (at this point he doesn’t know who the “people” are) he sacrifices and asks the guidance of Adonai. Adonai tells him that these people are blessed (indicating God has blessed them), so Balaam cannot curse them. Balaam tells the envoys he cannot go with them, and sends them away (it is important to note that he doesn’t tell them what God told him, just that he cannot go with them.)

Balak figures Balaam is holding out for more money, so sends more important men with a better offer. Once again Balaam asks God, who this time relents to say go if you are called, but say what I tell you. Balaam saddles up his ass and rides with them the very next morning. However, God places an angel in the way where Balaam has to pass a narrow gap, and although Balaam is blind to the angel, the ass is not and steps to the side to avoid the angel. Balaam is peeved at this and strikes the ass. This happens again, and this time Balaam’s foot is crushed against a wall by the ass while trying to avoid the angel. Again, the ass gets a beating. Finally, the angel with sword drawn is directly in the path at a point where there is no way around, so the ass just plops down on the ground. Balaam gets off and beats it, cursing at it. Then two remarkable things happen:  first, the ass talks to Balaam asking why he is beating it these three times. The second remarkable thing is that Balaam answers without skipping a beat, as if having your ass talk to you is an everyday event!

Finally, Balaam sees the angel, confesses his sin to God and says he will return home. At this point God tells him to continue to go, but he must say only what God tells him to say.

Balak is overjoyed to see Balaam, and takes him to a high point where he can see the tribes encamped. Balak says to curse them, but after Balaam sacrifices and gets a word from God, he blesses them as God directs. Balak is upset, and Balaam tells him that he warned Balak’s envoys and Balak that he could only say what Adonai told him to say. Balak is unrelenting, takes Balaam to two other locations to see (stupidly enough) if that would change God’s mind, but each time Balaam blesses even more.  Now Balak is so peeved that he sends Balaam away without pay, but before going God gives Balaam a prophetic word for Balak, as well as the kings of the Midian tribes that were with them regarding their future.

The parashah ends relating how the women of Midian lure the men of Israel into worshiping their gods, and how this sin results in a plague from God. One prince of Israel, from the tribe of Simeon, goes as far as to rebelliously display his Midianite woman right in front of Moses. This so angers Phinehas (Pinchas), Aaron’s, son, that Phinehas grabs a spear and runs it through both of them, pinning them together.

It is interesting to note that even after Balaam is told don’t curse the Israelites, when urged a second time to do so, he again asks God if he can go. God relents to let him go but warns he must say only what God tells him to say; the Talmud explains this apparent change of mind by God as God, having warned him not to go, allows that if he is absolutely determined to go to his destruction, so be it. The Rabbi’s tell us the angel that was placed in Balaam’s path was not a destroying angel, as the story may imply, but an angel of mercy to try to turn him back before it was too late. Later in the Torah we learn that Balaam was the one who gave the idea to the kings of Midian to have their women seduce the men of Israel to sin, and Balaam (finally) got his reward when Israel fought against Midian and he was slain with the sword.

I have to ask myself: What is it with this guy, Balaam? He is clearly a prophet of Adonai because not only does he ask of Adonai, but he is answered by Adonai! And he should know that when God said these people are blessed by Him, that no curse he may give would have any effect, anyway. Also, as I mentioned above, Balaam doesn’t tell the first envoys that God has blessed this people, only that God said Balaam cannot go with them. This didn’t slam the door shut in Balak’s face, as it should have, but left it open a bit, so to speak, so that Balak could send a better offer. It is clear that Balaam, although a prophet of Adonai, from the very beginning wanted to have the rewards offered by Balak.

God knew that Balaam’s intent was to curse the people, and he put the fear of God (literally) into him by sending the angel. God then allowed Balaam to continue to go because God used this human desire to sin and turned it into a way to glorify Himself.

He’s good at things like that.

The lesson Balaam teaches us today is this: anyone can be turned from service to God by the allure of worldly rewards. Anyone. That means you, that means me, that means anyone. It also shows us that God is going to warn us, and try to stop us from hurting ourselves, but if we stubbornly refuse to listen, even if our family donkey is telling us we are doing something stupid, then God will move out of the way as we rush towards destruction.

During our lives God will give us more than enough rope to pull ourselves up, or to hang ourselves. It’s our choice. We need to listen to God, whether He speaks to us directly or through another medium. Often events in our life proclaim God’s will for us, other times it may be events in someone else’s life that we see happen, that warn us of what will happen to us if we do the same things. And then we may just get a direct word from God through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) that is designed to keep us on the right path.

Shaul warns us against this, as well. In 2 Peter 2, Shaul talks about false prophets and wicked people who sin, and entice others to sin. When we see sin and work with our brother or sister to help them overcome it, we must be careful not to get too close to it, or we, ourselves, may be enticed into it. Just as the men of Israel were enticed by the Midianite women, as Balaam was enticed by the riches offered, and even as Judas was enticed by the offer of silver, we all, every one of us, must be careful not to allow the innate sinfulness within us to be given any leeway.

The best guide we have is the Ruach HaKodesh. We must discipline ourselves to listen to it. Next, we need to make sure we are surrounded by godly people who can encourage and help us. Finally, we must never judge sinners or backsliders harshly, but instead treat them with love and encourage them to do T’Shuvah (repentance) that they may be saved. Again, though, be warned- work with sinners but do not allow yourself to get too close. Even if you never touch a fish, hang around the fish market all day you will stink like old haddock! Sin comes slowly and stealthily, so stay alert. Read your bible, know the signs, and listen to those who are godly and knowledgeable.

Remember: you can learn a lot when you are open to hearing what others say, even if the one talking is an ass.

Parashah Chukkat (Regulations) Numbers 19-22

Leave a comment

This parashah starts with the regulations about the Red Heifer ashes being used to cleanse people defiled by contact with a dead body. We then find ourselves in the 40th year of the desert travels, with Miriam dying, leaving Israel with no water (we will come back to this soon.) Aaron and Moses are told by God to strike the rock to give water, but in his anger Moses strikes it twice, and claims that he and Aaron are the ones giving them water (Numbers 20:10):

He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?

This statement made God angry because they did not give the proper credit to God and make Him holy in the sight of the people, and their punishment was severe- Moses and Aaron were prohibited from entering the land of Canaan.

The rest of this parashah tells us of the death of Aaron, describes the sin of rebellion that caused God to send snakes against the people, and the successful military battles of the people against Arad (this battle is out of place, chronologically, as it had preceded the battle referred to in Numbers 14:40-45), ending with their conquering Og, the King of Bashan and Sichon, the king of Heshbon and taking all their lands (which later were the lands in which Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh settled.)

As I have complained about so many times…where do I start? There is just so much in this one parashah to talk about. But I did promise to come back to the point about there being no more water after Miriam died, so let’s start there.

Miriam is considered to be one of the three good leaders of Israel and Jewish legend says that due to her merit, the rock which brought forth water accompanied Israel as long as she lived. Reference to this rock is made by Shaul in 1 Corinthians, 10:3-4:

They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was the Messiah.

This is confusing: Jewish legend has it that Miriam was the Rock that produced the water, and here a well-trained, knowledgeable Pharisee is saying that it wasn’t Miriam, but Yeshua who was the Rock travelling with Israel through the desert. The bible isn’t supposed to contradict itself, so what do we make of this seeming contradiction? I looked this up in the Jewish New Testament Commentary, by Dr, Daniel Stern: he related many of the different ways the term “Rock” has been used to describe God and Messiah, both in scripture and in songs, but in the end he confessed he didn’t know why Shaul (Paul) used it this way in his letter. Maybe we will never know what was in Shaul’s mind at the time, just like I don’t think we will ever know what he meant when he wrote about the “Israel of God” at the end of Galatians, either.

But we can say that this is not a biblical contradiction because Miriam being the Rock is not specifically stated in Torah- it is just a legend. And Shaul referring to the Rock as Messiah is nothing more than a descriptive analogy which doesn’t contradict any specific event in Torah.

This issue does present us with a midrash from today’s parashah: do we always need to understand what we read in the bible? The commentary in the Chumash states that the ordinance regarding the Red Heifer is so mysterious that even King Solomon was unable to fathom it’s meaning. In Jewish history, Johanan ben Zakkai told his students, “…but the law concerning the Red Heifer is a decree of the All-holy, Whose reasons for issuing that decree it behoves not mortals to question.”  In other words, God said it is to be that way and that’s all we mere mortals need to know.

And that is, in my opinion, the main reason people reject God and create their own religions: we want to know why. We HAVE to know why! It is a compulsion, and I believe that it is based on the desire for power. As they say, knowledge is power, and people want to be more powerful than the next guy, so if I understand God better than you I am above you, more powerful than you, and deserve to lead you.  Selfish, self-centered, egotistical behavior…all innately human. The good news is that this need to know why drives us to scientific investigation and, thereby, is the root cause of the discovery of useful and wonderful inventions, as well as all the medical and technological advancements we have made over the centuries.

On the other hand, that alone may be reason to question if needing to know the “why” of everything is actually a good thing. Technology has taken us over, medical advancements have cured diseases but the cost of discovery is so high no one can afford the cure! We know how to read the human genome, and how to use stem cell technology, but the more we learn about our genetic make-up, the closer we come to thinking we are like God because we are able to heal, and even create life. That is NOT a good attitude to have.

Maybe we should try to be more humble, less inquisitive and more accepting of God’s omniscience so we can be more obedient? Isn’t it time to redirect our footsteps from the path of discovery to the ways of worship?

I think we should, but I  don’t see it ever happening. Human nature is inquisitive, curious, and we all want to be self-determining. We want to be in charge, we want to know what it is all about, and we want to have control over our lives. It is the reason we were thrown out of Eden; it is the reason we sinned with the Golden Calf; it is what killed Dathan, Abiram and Korach; it has been the bane of humanity and the foundation of sin since humanity was created. And I don’t think it is going to end until humanity ends in the Acharit HaYamim (End Days.) Once we are no longer shackled with this mantle of sinful flesh and are resurrected into our eternal, spiritual bodies will we be able to enjoy and find peace in being humble and obedient to God, constantly worshiping Him. Humility and obedience is just not part of our DNA, and no amount of Recombinant DNA, cloning, stem cell technology or biological research will ever put it there.

We need to work at being humble and accepting what God said to do as simply something we should do. To paraphrase from the great poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson:

Ours not to reason why; ours but to do and live!

So do what God says (that’s the stuff in the Torah, in case you weren’t sure) and do so without asking why, without kvetching about it, and without trying to figure out what it all means.  Really- understanding what God means won’t get you any more “saved” than the next person, and a Gnostic search for meaning just might end up pulling you further from your salvation than bringing you closer to it.

Parashah Shelach Lecha (send for yourself) Numbers 13-15

Leave a comment

The children of Israel have been in the desert for more than 2 years, and they are now just outside the Promised Land. Moses is set to enter and take possession, but the people suggest he send spies to reconnoiter the land before they go in. Moses agrees and 12 leading men, one from each tribe, are chosen. They stay in the land for 40 days, then return with a report about how wonderful the land is. However, they then say they saw the Nephalim (a race of giants) and the people living there are fierce with well protected cities, so their report turns to a sorrowful cry of certain defeat. Only Caleb (from Judah) and Joshua (from Ephraim) are ready and willing to attack.

God hears this rebellion and is ready to strike them all down. He says He will make a nation from Moses’s seed (this isn’t the first time this was His desire) but Moses intercedes (again) and God relents destroying them (although He does kill the 10 spies that spread the bad report by a plague.) However, their sin doesn’t go unpunished. God tells them that since they cried their children would be taken as slaves and they would rather die in the desert, God says they will, indeed, die in the desert. They will be wandering for 40 years (one year in the desert for each day they spent in the land), and their children who they said would be slaves will be conquerors. Hearing this dismal decree, the people follow one bad idea with a worse one: they decide to attack, even though Moses says God will not be with them- God has decided this generation will not enter the land,  and true to form, they reject His word (again) and attack. But they are attacking without Moses, Aaron, the Ark, and most importantly, without God, so they get their tuchas’ beaten. Beaten so badly, in fact, that it takes an entire generation to build up enough men of fighting age to be able to attack their enemies.

The last chapter seems out of place, as God is telling Moses what the people should do once they are in the land, but it is not really out of place when you consider that despite the judgment against them, God reminds them that they will be entering the land; not this generation but the next one, and when they do they need to honor and thank God with the sacrifices He is telling them about now. It is an instruction that confirms God’s promise that Israel will, eventually, be in the land.

This parashah is an easy one for me to talk about. The lesson is abundantly clear: what God says to do, we should do, and what God says not to do, we shouldn’t do.

There is, of course, a lot more in here for us to learn about: God’s forgiveness in the midst of His terrible anger, God’s promises will be fulfilled despite what we want, how Moses is humble and his love for his people is overwhelming, even turning the heart of God to forgiveness from His righteous anger. All of this is important stuff, and good fodder for a sermon. But not today.

God has His plans, we have Free Will so we can choose to obey or disobey Him. When we obey what He has planned for us, miracles happen. When we choose to disobey Him, we royally screw ourselves up. And why do we do that? I mean, why do we turn from God? In the bible we see that during the past two years He’d shown the Israelites that He could provide food from heaven, water from rocks, He protected them from their enemies and kept them healthy and secure in one of the the worst climates in the world! Yet, still, they didn’t trust that He could help them overcome their enemies in the land He promised to give them. Oy!  And don’t we do the same thing, today?

We need to realize that we are in control of ourselves, but God is in control of everything, so He is the one to trust. We get used to good things, we get enured to miracles, we get puffed-up in ourselves and ungrateful if something wonderful is done for us more than once or twice. Basically, we learn to expect goodness and, as the old saying goes, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”

That’s why, in Numbers 14:11, God says to Moses:

And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?

God asks why the people despise Him- He was feeling unwanted, hated and treated with contempt. And you know what? He was right. That’s exactly how they treated Him.

The question you might be asking now is how could they have done that? How could they be that way?

But that is the wrong question to be asking: the question we all should be asking is, “How many times have I done this?”

Yes…how many times have I, you, we treated God with contempt? Don’t we treat Him contemptuously when we refuse to do as He says? Don’t we show contempt for God when we show contempt for His commandments? And worse than individuals doing this, how many religions do this as dogma? How many Christian churches have taught the Old Covenant is not for them? How many times have you heard someone say the Torah was completed in Jesus so it is no longer valid because we are now under the Blood of Christ? If that was true, if Jesus really did overrule His Father’s commandments with His death, then that means Jesus also showed contempt for His own Father, and preached repealing the commandments of God!

That doesn’t sound very “Christ-like”, does it?

We need to remind ourselves, every minute of every day, how wonderful God’s treatment of us is, how many blessings He pours down on us (most, if not all, we don’t deserve) and how miraculous events occur every day. When we fail to do this, we fail to be as thankful as we should be, and that leads, inexorably, to showing contempt for God.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want God to think, even for a nano-second, that I don’t appreciate everything He has done, is doing and has planned for me.

Many people I’ve met have been taught that because Jesus died for their sins they are going to heaven, so they live their life without regard for Torah, for the bible, or for anyone else. They have been taught they are “saved” because Jesus “accomplished it all on the Cross.” And they never spend even one minute of their time getting to know God or Jesus on their own. So, by choosing to believe what they have been told as Prima Facie fact, they are demonstrating contempt for God because they have rejected His commandments, and that rejection means the blood of Messiah, which was shed for them, is being trampled into the dirt.

Here’s the tough question you need to ask yourself: am I doing this, too?

Parashah Beha’altecha (When you light..) Numbers 8-12

Leave a comment

There are a few really important events in this parashah. One is that the Levites are separated from the rest of the children of Israel and dedicated to God, to serve Him only. God reminds us that the first born children of Egypt were sacrificed in order that all of the children of Israel may be set free; therefore, all the first born children of Israel belong to God. The Levites serve as substitute for the first born of all the other tribes, which is why a census of the Levites was compared to the first born of the other tribes, and for the difference there was a payment of 5 shekels per child redeemed ( Exodus 13:1, Numbers 3:1 – 4:29.) 

An important commandment that originated in this reading is for those who are unclean on Passover. This parashah takes place on the first Passover in the desert, the first month of the second year (on the first Passover they were still in Egypt); some men who were unclean by reason of having been near a dead body could not partake in the Passover, and when asked what to do God told Moses that when this happens they are to have their Passover on the 14th day of the second month.

It is also important to note God commanded that all people who worship Him are to be treated the same way; consequently, all people who worship Him are to worship Him the same way (this was first stated in Leviticus 24:22):

Numbers 9:14 – And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the Passover unto the Lord: according to the statute of the Passover, and according to the ordinance thereof, so shall he do; ye shall have one statute, both for the stranger, and for him that is born in the land. 

God has Moses make the silver trumpets, which are used to call the people to important events, war and for the issuing in of the Jubilee Year (Yovel.)

Chapter 10 tells us who led each of the tribes as they traveled in the desert, and how when the cloud was lifted up the people traveled, and when it came to rest on the Tabernacle the people remained. Numbers 10:35-36 gives us the prayers that Moses said as the Ark of the Covenant was taken and returned; these prayers are also found in Psalm 68, and are still used today as the Torah is removed and returned to the Ark:

And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said:”Rise up, O Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate Thee flee before Thee.” And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, unto the ten thousands of the families of Israel.”

Chapter 11 relates how, when the people complained about not having meat to eat (effectively rejecting the miraculous gift of manna God provided to them every day), God sent quails to satisfy them. However, because they did not ask respectfully and rejected God’s provisions, He also sent a plague (perhaps some form of Avian Flu?) that killed many. During this time Moses was overwhelmed by the pressure placed upon him, and to help Moses God had Moses gather 70 Elders for Him to give some of the Spirit (Ruach) that Moses had, so they could help him.

In Exodus 18 we are told that Jethro, Moses’ Father-in-law, recommended that Moses appoint people to help him adjudicate: I believe this is a different event than God giving His Ruach to the 70 Elders. These Elders were to spiritually edify and comfort the people, not to be judges. When they prophesied as the Ruach came upon them, this was a Divine sign of their appointment in this role. Moses also showed his humility and love for the people when he was told that others now had his spirit, and he replied (Numbers 11:29) that he wished all of God’s people were prophets (given God’s Ruach HaKodesh); as stated in Joel and Jeremiah, when we accept Yeshua, this does happen.

The last chapter is the rebellion, so to speak, of Miriam and Aaron against their own brother, God’s appointed leader. They speak out against him for marrying a Cushite woman. Scholars disagree about who the Cushite woman is: it could be Zipporah, a Midianite, since Midian is a synonym for Cushan, where the Kusi people live. It could also be an Ethiopian woman, a second wife. No one knows for sure. Either way, it seems Miriam is the instigator of this speaking up against Moses, and although Moses does nothing to defend himself, God doesn’t like the fact that Miriam and Aaron attack Moses. God decided to defend Moses Himself, and struck Miriam with leprosy. Aaron seemed to get a “bye” on the punishment, most likely because he was just tagging along with Miriam and, as High Priest (Cohen HaGadol) he really couldn’t be unclean because of the position he held. Miriam was struck with leprosy, Moses prayed for God to forgive her (which He did) and Miriam ended up shut outside the camp for 7 days until she could be declared clean by Aaron (in accordance with the Torah.)

BTW…this portion of the Torah was the reading for my Bar Mitzvah, some 50 years ago this month.

As always, there is just so much to talk about. I usually like to talk of Moses’ prayer for Miriam, because it is short and heartfelt, the way I believe we should always pray. In my book on Prayer  I refer to it often.

Today I feel led to discuss, as I (again) often do, about the need for people to realize that the Torah was not done away with by the teachings and life of Yeshua (Jesus); in fact, His life and teachings confirmed the importance and validity of Torah. As shown above, Numbers 9:14 (and other places in the Torah) is very clear that once someone commits to worshiping the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, although they are still considered strangers (Ger, in the Hebrew), or non-Hebrews, they are afforded the same rights and privileges as a native born Hebrew.  As I say, over and over…and over….God has no religion. He has His rules for how we worship Him and treat each other, and if anyone accepts God as their God, which includes those that accept His son, Yeshua, as their Messiah, they are bound up with Israel; and just as Israel, they are bound under the Torah. If you are someone who worships God and accepts Yeshua as your Messiah, you are sojourning with Israel, and also come under the commandment of Numbers 9:14.

Most of Christianity has not learned these two simple lessons: you can’t obey the Son without obeying the Father, and you shouldn’t worship the son instead of the Father.

Once Christian churches begin to teach the Old Covenant as being the basis and root of the New Covenant, instead of teaching that the New Covenant has replaced the Old Covenant, then the full blessing of God will come upon them. Yes, accepting Yeshua as Messiah results in salvation, Grace and blessings, but God never runs out of blessings. He tells us, in Deuteronomy 28, that the more we obey, the more blessings we receive.

I can understand, having studied the history of the schism between Christianity and Judaism, why Christianity might have overlooked that. What I don’t understand is why they still haven’t caught on that they’ve missed it!

If you are a Christian, and you don’t believe that you need to be obedient to the Torah because it is only for Jews, then you, my friend, are missing out on many, many wonderful blessings. And, worse than that, you may even find yourself losing out on the very salvation you feel secure in as you continue to ignore God’s commandments, which He said you must follow! Grace from sin is not license to sin, and disobeying God is a sin.

I am not “Judiazing” anyone, and I am not saying that eating ham will guarantee you go to hell, no matter what else you do: Yeshua’s sacrifice allows us to be forgiven any sin SO LONG AS WE MEAN IT WHEN WE ASK FOR FORGIVENESS! Without true T’shuvah there is no repentance, and subsequently your request for forgiveness will be ignored.  God can see your heart and know if you mean it or not, but the rest of the world can’t do that, which is why Yacov (James) tells us faith without works is dead. To be a light unto the world, you must show your faith through your actions and words, and those actions are detailed in the Torah.

No one can live Torah perfectly, but we are to try to live it as best as we can. Ignoring Torah is rejecting God…you might want to consider that if you have been taught Torah is not for Christians.

Parashah Naso (Take) Numbers 4:21 – 7

Leave a comment

We continue with the census of the tribe of Levi, which is where we left off from the previous parashah.

Next, God gives the commandments regarding how to tell if a woman has been unfaithful when there is nothing to go on other than the suspicion of the husband, and laws regarding restitution of property, which (I believe) would be equivalent to a “Tort” in today’s penal system.

The last part of this parashah records the gifts that the leaders of the twelve tribes gave to the Sanctuary for the service, therein. Each tribe gave the exact same number and weight of the exact same items to show complete unity, in that no one tribe was over any of the other tribes. The Midrash accounts for the sum of all the gifts in this way:

the 12 chargers given correspond to the 12 constellations;

the 12 bowls to the 12 months;

the 12 spoons to the 12 guides to men (heart, kidneys, mouth, palate, windpipe, esophagus, lungs (2), liver, spleen, crop and stomach);

all the silver weighed 2,400 shekels, which corresponded to the number of years since the creation of the world to Moses’ 40th year,

all the gold of the spoons weighed 120 shekels, the length of Moses’ life.

The part of today’s Torah portion that I want to talk about is Number 6:23-27, which is known as the Aaronic Benediction (also called the Priestly Blessing.) This is the blessing that God specifically told Aaron and Moses to use when blessing His people. You are probably familiar with it, as I have heard it used not just in Jewish places of worship, but in Christian churches, as well:

The Lord bless thee and keep thee;

The Lord make His face to shine upon thee and be gracious to thee;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

The final part of God’s command regarding this blessing is that this is the way we shall put His name upon the people, and thereby God will bless them.

The simplicity of this prayer is what impresses me: God is telling us that all we need is His blessing, His countenance and His peace. His blessing will result in health, life and prosperity. In the bible light represents happiness, purity, and friendship, so to cause His face to shine upon us is saying that we would have His divine love and salvation. It can also represent, as the Rabbis have said, the spiritual gifts of knowledge and moral insight.

Peace, the final blessing, is considered a pillar of the world, and there cannot be any level of social order without it. We are not only to receive the peace of God, but we are to employ it and make peace with others. Most every synagogue ends their prayers with, “May He who makes peace in His high places, make peace upon us and upon all Israel.”

It is the the burden of the people of God to make peace in their hearts, and then extend that peace to others, in order to help them find the same peace we have. Peace starts internally, and that comes from being able to commune with God, which comes from the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit); this is the same spirit that Yeshua (Jesus) said He would send to His followers and which He called “The Comforter”, because that is what it does.

If anyone reading this has ever felt a sensation of complete rest, total peace of spirit, and a tingling feeling throughout your body that makes you cry for joy, then you know the peace of the Lord that His Ruach can bring. I have felt that, more than once, yet due to the hardness of my heart I haven’t felt it as much in the last couple of years. I know it is my fault, and I constantly pray for the Spirit to come upon me again. Sometimes it does, often it doesn’t, and (again) it is because I am not opening my heart. Still and all, every now and then, when I am in the proper condition of worship… BAM!! His presence is felt mightily. What a great feeling!

I want to see this wonderful, overwhelming peacefulness come on my wife, on my children, on friends and family and even acquaintances. I want this to come over my enemies (I don’t have any enemies, but suspect that some consider me their enemy) and everyone who doesn’t know the Lord. Even if they could feel it for just a second, it could change their life.

God has so much for every single person on earth, and He is just waiting for us to ask Him for it. That is the saddest thing I have come to realize as I become more and more familiar with God’s ways: He is so anxious for each one of us to come to Him for wonderful blessings and for total peace of mind and spirit, but so few of us do. And some of those that do often abuse it, thinking that they can continue to act as they want because God is forgiving, so as long as they say they are sorry they will  be OK. We all stubbornly want to have things our way, and the history of mankind proves, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that we do not know what is best for us.

God knows what is best for us, and has constantly told us, but have we listened? Are you listening right now?

If you haven’t known the peace that God’s spirit can bring through His blessings, you still have hope for it. If you really, really want to know the Lord, He is just dying to get to know you (pun intended), and all you need to do is admit you need Him, choose to change from ignoring Him to following His commands, and confess you believe Yeshua is the Messiah God promised who died for you- yes, just for you- and you want to be forgiven by means of that sacrifice.  That’s all you need to do- perform T’shuvah (turning) from sin in your heart, confess Yeshua is Messiah (this is very hard for Jews but should be easy for Gentiles), and ask God to send His Ruach to indwell and lead you for the rest of your life. This will bring you peace of heart, spirit and mind, and you will then be able to share that peace with all whom you love and care about.

You won’t be free of trouble and strife, for that is inescapable when living in a cursed and fallen world, but the Ruach (Spirit) is like a nice, cleansing hot shower after a long, dirty and sweaty day of hard work.

 

Parashah B’midbar (In the Wilderness) Numbers 1 – 4:20

Leave a comment

In last week’s Parashah ( for 5/20/17, which was a double) we finished the book of Leviticus. That book was mostly legislative in nature, and now we start the book of Numbers, which is more historical. Throughout this book we will learn of the events that occurred while the Children of Israel spent 38 years wandering in the desert.

Numbers takes up where Exodus left off, which is the first day of the second month of the second year after leaving Egypt, when the Tabernacle of the Lord has been completed and is now in service. This parashah starts with a census God orders Moses to take, which identifies the numbers from each tribe of those over 20 and fit for military service. We see this type of census taken, with God’s approval (unlike the one David took in  1 Chronicles, 21) whenever the people needed to be prepared for war. The census did not include the Levites, who were counted separately, as their duties were not for war but service to God by being in charge of the Tabernacle. God also tells Moses which of the Levitical clans will be responsible for which parts of the Tabernacle, as well as the formation of the camp.

Here is a picture of how the encampment was configured:

 

This parashah doesn’t appear to have any really deep and spiritual messages, does it? I mean, all we are told is how many of each tribe there are, where they camp and how they are to march. We are also told which clan of Levi is responsible for which parts of the Tabernacle when on the march. There just doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of “meat” to this parashah.

Then, again, let’s look a little deeper and cheat a bit, by knowing what is to happen later.

Did you notice that the Kohathites were encamped next to, and marched alongside of, the Reubenites? Do you remember how Reuben had not received the rights of the Firstborn due to his sleeping with one of Israel’s concubines (Genesis 39:3-4), and that Korah also felt slighted because the Kohathites were not to perform the duties of the High Priest. So although we don’t see anything of particular importance in this parashah, by looking back to it later on we can see that the seeds of collusion and rebellion were planted when the tribes of Kohath and Reuben were made neighbors. Perhaps if they had been at opposite ends of the camp, they would not have come together in rebellion?

Certainly God would have known that this placement, which He decreed, would have resulted in the collusion between these men. And, that being a given, we would have to ask, “Why would God have done that?”

Good question. I think I have an answer, which is the same answer God gave to Job: we won’t always understand God’s plans or why He does what He does.

In the case of Job, God allowed all that suffering to show Satan that Job’s faith is greater than Satan’s attacks. Now, from Job’s viewpoint (as well as his friends) there could be no reason why these terrible things were happening, but in the end we learn that the real issue was between God and Satan, not between God and Job. God used Job to show Satan that strong faith in God is more powerful than anything Satan could do.

Perhaps the positioning of Korah and Dathan so close to each other was to test their faith, and if they failed that test (which they did), then to allow Moses and Aaron to be glorified and honored in the sight of all Israel, which is what happened. God used the evil these men intended against His servants to glorify Himself and show Moses and Aaron to be His chosen leaders (Numbers 17:5):

 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.”

The bible is one complete book, and even though we might not see what message there is for us in one part of it, when we look at it in its entirety, study it well enough to know what will happen and what has happened, then we can see that there is something for us to learn in every part of the book. Such as in this parashah, which on the surface seems to be a collection of names and numbers, but when looked at knowing the events that will later occur, we can see how God is setting the stage now to glorify Himself later.

This understanding of how God works should fortify our faith in God, and give us comfort during times of trials. Just because we may not see, here and now, what God has planned we can always know that He does have something planned. It just may not be time for whatever he has planned to happen, that’s all.

Take comfort in knowing that everything God does, He does with a plan to glorify His name and to establish His rule. When we accept that and work within it, we will be blessed and supported by God, just as Moses and Aaron were; when we work against what God decrees, we will suffer as Korah and his followers did.

We all follow someone, so take the lesson from today’s parashah when you choose whom to follow, that lesson being: look passed the obvious and ask the Ruach Ha Kodesh for insight so you can see not only what seeds are being sown, but what will grow from them.