{"id":1877,"date":"2018-12-17T16:30:56","date_gmt":"2018-12-17T15:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/?p=1877"},"modified":"2018-12-17T16:31:23","modified_gmt":"2018-12-17T15:31:23","slug":"creation-to-completion_-a-guide-to-lifes-journey-from-the-five-books-of-moses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/2018\/12\/17\/creation-to-completion_-a-guide-to-lifes-journey-from-the-five-books-of-moses\/","title":{"rendered":"Creation to Completion_ A Guide to Life\u2019s Journey from the Five Books of Moses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d9\u05ea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE BOOK OF GENESIS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis records the beginnings of all things,\nthings vast and things intimate, things holy and things ordinary. Hence, its\nHebrew name, \u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05c1\u05d9\u05ea (B\u2019resheet<\/em>), meaning \u201cIn\nthe Beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis also looks ahead to the\ndistant future, to the culmination of all things. God creates the first man and\nwoman in the book\u2019s first chapter and charges them to \u201csubdue the earth,\u201d\nlaunching a process that is still to reach completion. Just before the book\u2019s\nconclusion, Jacob gathers his sons to tell them what shall befall them \u201cin the\nlast days.\u201d Genesis reveals that from the beginning, the divine goal of\nCreation\u2014its consummation or completion\u2014is clearly in sight, and will prevail\nover all obstacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also encounter in Genesis the\nprofound wisdom of the ancient Jewish division of Torah into weekly reading\nportions, or parashiyot.<\/em> The parashiyot are longer than chapters and\nverses, which tend to interrupt the narrative flow. Instead, the parashiyot respond\nto that flow, and echo the larger patterns of biblical revelation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weekly readings of Genesis\nreflect the narrative structure of the entire book, which comprises twelve\nportions in the traditional reading cycle. The first two portions (chapters 1\u201311<\/a>)\ncover the first twenty generations of humankind\u2014ten generations from Adam to\nNoah, and ten from Noah to Abraham. They constitute Part One of Genesis,\nrecounting the origins of the cosmos and of the human race, and the early\nhistory of all humankind. The final ten parashiyot (chapters 12\u201350<\/a>)\nconstitute Part Two, and cover only four more generations. The story shifts\nfrom a universal focus to one specific human family, from epochal stories of\nCreation, innocence, sin, and judgment, to domestic stories of marriage,\nchildren, and inheritance. Still, this one specific and very real family will\ncarry God\u2019s initial purpose of blessing to the whole human race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translator and commentator Robert\nAlter summarizes this shift in Genesis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The human creature is now to be represented not\nagainst the background of the heavens and the earth and civilization as such\nbut rather within the tense and constricted theater of the paternal domain, in\ntent and wheatfield and sheepfold \u2026 working out all hopes of grand destiny in\nthe coil of familial relationships \u2026 In keeping with this major shift in focus\nfrom the Primeval History to the Patriarchal Tales, style and narrative mode\nshift as well. The studied formality of the first eleven chapters \u2026 gives way\nto a more flexible and varied prose.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a Messianic perspective, we\nnote two major continuities in Genesis despite this shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First is the theme of redemption.<\/em>\nThe human race, created in the image of God, has a destiny, which will be\nfulfilled despite failure and opposition. Early in the story, when the sin of\nAdam and Eve seems to have sidetracked God\u2019s purpose, God promises a seed; an\noffspring of the woman who will defeat the opposition. The theme of the\npromised seed carries throughout the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second is the theme of covenant.<\/em>\nAfter the Flood, God makes a covenant with the whole Creation through Noah.\nThen, when God raises up a restored humanity through Abraham, he establishes a\ncovenant with him as well, which God will preserve and pass on to each\nsucceeding generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These themes of redemption and\ncovenant are foundational to the whole Torah, and to all of the Scriptures\nbuilt upon it, the Bible that we possess and read today. These themes will\nenable us to read Torah, not just as an ancient history or rulebook, but as the\nstory of Creation to completion, a story filled with hope for our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CREATION AND ITS GOAL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat B\u2019resheet<\/em>, Genesis\n1:1\u20136:8<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A classic Jewish story tells of two men who fell\ninto a dispute and agreed to bring the matter to their rabbi for judgment. The\nfirst one old his story and ended with the claim that the other owed him twenty\npieces of silver. The rabbi said, \u201cYou know \u2026 you\u2019re right\u201d When the second\ntold his story, he claimed that the first one owed him<\/em> twenty pieces of\nsilver. The rabbi responded, \u201cYou know \u2026 you\u2019re right!\u201d The rabbi\u2019s assistant\ncalled out, \u201cRabbi, they can\u2019t both be right!\u201d And the rabbi replied, \u201cYou know\n\u2026 you\u2019re right too!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We begin our study of Torah with\nits very first word\u2014B\u2019resheet<\/em> or \u201cIn the beginning\u201d\u2014which has been the\nsubject of debate among Jewish interpreters for centuries. The great medieval\ncommentator Rashi says of Genesis 1:1<\/a>, \u201cThis verse says nothing but\n\u2018Expound me!\u201d The medieval Jewish commentators were experts in Hebrew grammar,\nand Rashi begins his exposition with a grammatical look at the first word,\nB\u2019resheet. Other commentators over the following centuries will either agree or\ndisagree with Rashi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s listen in on this\ndiscussion. It will be worth the effort, because it reveals a unique aspect of\nJewish interpretation that will expand our understanding of Scripture. Two\ndifferent viewpoints may both have something vital to teach us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word b\u2019resheet is in the construct\nform, used when one noun combines with another. It combines b<\/em>\u2019 or \u201cin\u201d\nwith resheet<\/em>, meaning \u201cfirst\u201d or \u201cbeginning,\u201d so that it would normally\nmean \u201cin the beginning of. \u2026\u201d Rashi says, \u201cYou have no instance of the word resheet<\/em>\nin Scripture that is not attached to the word that follows it.\u201d Accepting this\nargument, one traditionally-oriented Jewish version translates the opening\nlines of Genesis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the beginning of God\u2019s creating the heavens and\nthe earth\u2014when the earth was astonishingly empty, with dark ness upon the\nsurface of the deep, and the Divine Presence hovered upon the surface of the\nwaters\u2014God said, \u201cLet there be light, and there was light.\u201d2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast with Rashi, however,\nanother leading medieval commentator, Ramban, points out two instances of\nresheet that are not in the construct form: Isaiah\n46:10<\/a>, \u201cDeclaring the end from resheet<\/em>\u2014the beginning,\u201d and Deuteronomy\n33:21<\/a>, \u201cHe provided resheet<\/em>\u2014the first part\u2014for himself.\u201d\nFurthermore, Ramban says that the construct form is always used to connect one\nnoun with another, but in Genesis 1<\/a>, b\u2019resheet connects with a verb.\nTherefore, he translates the opening words, \u201cIn the beginning, God created the\nheavens and the earth,\u201d signifying the Creation of all things out of nothing.\nHe explains,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holy One, blessed be he, created all things\nfrom absolute non-existence. Now we have no expression in the sacred language\nfor bringing forth something from nothing other than the word Bara<\/em>\n<\/p>\n\n\n

[translated \u2018created\u2019 here]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This discussion of b\u2019resheet may\nseem a bit technical, but it shows that two opposing views can both teach us\nsomething. We might even end up like the rabbi in the story, saying \u201cYou\u2019re\nright\u201d to two interpretations that seemed at first to oppose each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, Genesis is telling\nus both<\/em> that God created all things out of nothing, simply by his word, and<\/em>\nthat this creative process was a matter of bringing order to the original\nchaos. Creation is the miraculous coming-into-being of all things through the\ndivine utterance, and also a battle with the disorder that was present almost\nfrom the first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this understanding, Creation\nis not an end in itself, but is; moving toward a goal\u2014the completion of God\u2019s\norder and shalom<\/em> (peace, wholeness). Indeed, the theme of Creation and\nits consummation underlies the entire Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This theme also unlocks the\nmeaning of our own lives. When God created humankind, he gave them a role in\nimproving his Creation: \u201cThen God blessed them, and God said to them, \u2018Be\nfruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the\nfish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that\nmoves on the earth\u2019 \u201d (Genesis 1:28<\/a>). Humans are to fill the earth that\nGod has created, to subdue and rule it in a divine-human partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, when God places Adam and\nEve in the Garden, they are not to remain in innocent passivity. Rather, the\nLord gives them real responsibility: \u201cThen the Lord\nGod took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it\u201d (Gen. 2:15<\/a>).\nHuman tending and keeping of the Garden will increase it, until the whole earth\nbecomes a garden, and Creation reaches the fulfillment for which it was\ndesigned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God gives us humans a vital role\nin his ultimate plan for the Creation, but before our first ancestors begin to\nfulfill this role, disorder breaks out again. God had placed Adam and Eve in\nthe Garden as his representatives, and had commanded them not to eat of the\nTree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in its midst. The disorder, vanquished\nduring the week of Creation, enters the Garden in the form of a serpent that\nentices the humans to eat. Because of their disobedience, God expels Adam and\nEve and cuts them off from the Tree of Life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exile from the Garden sets the\nstage for the human quest throughout the rest of Torah, and into our own times,\nthe quest for the Tree of Life. Traditional Judaism sees Torah as the Tree of\nLife, In the synagogue service, after reading from the Torah scroll, one of the\nmen will grasp its handles and lift it high for the whole congregation to see,\ncalling out, \u201cThis is the Torah which Moses placed before the children of\nIsrael at the command of the Lord. A Tree of Life it is to those who take hold\nof it.\u201d Cleaving to Torah, then, will open the way back to the Tree of Life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis suggests another way\nback. The expulsion from the Garden is the first of many exiles and warnings of\nexile, which will culminate in the Babylonian exile centuries later. \u201cSo from\nthe very beginning we are introduced to the theme of exile, exile that comes as\nthe result of violating God\u2019s commands.\u201d4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the earliest of all\ncommentaries on Genesis makes the same connection. The Lord says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[J]ust as I led Adam into the garden of Eden and\ncommanded him, and he transgressed My commandment, whereupon I punished him by\ndismissal and expulsion \u2026 so also did I bring his descendants into the Land of\nIsrael and command them, and they transgressed My commandment, and I punished\nthem by sending them away and expelling them.5<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before God drives Adam and Eve\ninto exile, however, he curses the serpent, saying, \u201cI will put enmity between\nyou and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your\nhead, and you shall bruise his heel\u201d (Gen. 3:15<\/a>).\nAn offspring of the woman\u2014a Son born \u201cin the fullness of time\u201d (Gal. 4:4<\/a>)\nwill destroy the deceiver. As the first exile, the expulsion from the Garden\ncontains the promise of restoration from all exile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, we will not be\nrestored to the Garden of Eden, but to a place of far greater order and\nholiness, \u201ca city built by God.\u201d And there we will regain access to the Tree of\nLife. \u201cIn the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree\nof life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month.\nThe leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations\u201d (Rev. 22:2<\/a>).\nOut of this city, with the Tree of Life in its midst, will come the fulfillment\nof God\u2019s original plan for all humanity. Genesis reveals that we have a genuine\npart to play\u2014a part that will become clearer as we continue our study of\nTorah\u2014in reaching the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> As I trust in God\u2019s instructions and obey them, I\ndiscover the part that I am to play in fulfilling his purposes. I have an\nassignment here on earth that God planned from the very beginning, which is\nrevealed in Scripture. How do I go about fulfilling this assignment today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HE WHO COVERS THE NAKED<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Noach<\/em>, Genesis\n6:9\u201311:32<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Hama said: What does it mean, \u201cYou shall walk\nafter the Lord your God\u201d [Deut. 13:5<\/a>]? Is it possible for a person to walk\nand follow in God\u2019s presence? Does not the Torah also say \u201cFor the Lord your\nGod is a consuming fire\u201d [Deut. 4:24<\/a>]? But it means to walk after the\nattributes of the Holy One, Blessed be He. lust as He clothed the naked, so you\ntoo clothe the naked, as it says \u201cAnd the Lord made the man and his wife\nleather coverings and clothed them\u201d [Gen. 3:21<\/a>\n].6<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis, the book of Creation, portrays Noah\u2019s\nFlood and its aftermath is a new Creation. As at the beginning, waters cover\nthe earth, Eventually, as in Genesis 1<\/a>, a wind from God goes forth (8:1<\/a>)\nand the dry land appears. The earth is renewed and the divine order is\nreestablished. When Noah and his family go forth from the ark, God repeals lo\nthem the mandate of Genesis 1:28<\/a>: \u201cBe fruitful and multiply, till the\nearth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of\nthe earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon ill wherewith the ground\nteems, and upon all the fish of the sea: into your hand are they delivered\u201d (9:1\u20132<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we understand why the Lord decrees\nthat a flood will never again destroy the earth. There may indeed be divine\njudgment in the future, but not this degree of judgment. He will never again\nreturn the earth lo the primal chaos of the first day, as he did at the Flood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As in the original Creation,\nhowever, not long after the divine order is established, it is disrupted. After\nthe flood waters recede, Noah plants a vineyard, drinks of its wine, gets\ndrunk, and lies down uncovered in his tent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of\nhis father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a\ngarment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the\nnakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see\ntheir father\u2019s nakedness. So Noah awoke from his wine, and; knew what his\nyounger son had done to him. Then he said: \u201cCursed be Canaan \u2026\u201d (Genesis\n9:22\u201325a<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nature of Ham\u2019s offense is\nunclear, but its effect is devastating. The earth has just come through\njudgment and renewal to receive God\u2019s blessing. Now the curse becomes lodged in\nit again. In the original Creation story, the curse is introduced through the\nagency of the serpent in the Garden of Eden; here, through the agency of a vine\nin the garden of Noah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Jose differed as to the\norigin of this vine. One said that it came from the Garden of Eden and Noah now\nplanted it here. The other said that it had been the earth before the Flood and\nNoah had plucked it and now replanted it. On the same day it blossomed,\nripened, and brought forth grapes. Noah then pressed out from them wine, drank\nof it and became drunken.7<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A startling midrash: the vine came from the Garden\nof Eden. Perhaps Noah is seeking to regain the original bounty and innocence of\nthe human condition. In the recreated earth, he desires to drink of such fruits\nas Adam and Eve enjoyed before their transgression and exile. But the Garden\nhas not been restored and its produce is too much for Noah. It overpowers him\nand leaves him vulnerable, so that sin and disorder reenter the scene. God has\nspared the human race through the family of Noah, but he has not yet restored\nthem to the primal bliss of Eden. The message for us is clear: We have n long\njourney ahead of us before our exile is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real problem is not the vine,\nbut man\u2019s continuing folly in pursuing divine knowledge or bliss in his own\nway. Even after the purification of the Flood and the renewal of God\u2019s blessing\nupon humankind, humans continue to follow their own ways. The action of Shem\nand Japheth, however, leaves us with a note of hope. Noah\u2019s sons take pains to\ncover his nakedness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is another reminder of the\nCreation story, in which the Lord covered the nakedness of Adam and Eve in the\nGarden after their transgression. They are sent into exile, but their human\ndignity is affirmed and protected. This act of God is an example of what Jewish\nwritings call g\u2019milut hasadim<\/em>, deeds of kindness, which God performs as\nan example for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noah\u2019s two sons follow God\u2019s\nexample. In contrast with Ham, they refuse to even look upon Noah\u2019s nakedness,\nbut they cover it, hoping to restore his dignity and maintain the wholeness of\nthe family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transgression may be inevitable\nwithin our families and communities, but here is a lesson in how we are to\nrespond. When some on offends us, we can magnify their offense by uncovering it\nfor all to see, or we can counter it by preserving the dignity of the offender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accordingly, the Messiah teaches\nus, \u201cIf your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you\nand him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother\u201d (Matt.\n18:15<\/a>). We are tempted, when someone has offended us, to imitate Ham\nand expose the offense, at least to a few sympathetic friends. We couch our act\nof exposing someone else as a request for prayer, or a need for advice. But\nsomehow we enjoy exposing the fault of the other person. The example of Shem\nand Japheth, however, leads us to cover the offense by handling it directly\nwith the offender, so that he can turn from the offense, make amends, and\nregain his dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rav Shaul, the apostle Paul,\nwrites, \u201cBrothers, suppose someone is caught doing something wrong. You who\nhave the Spirit should set him right, but in a spirit of humility, keeping an\neye on you selves so that you won\u2019t be tempted too. Bear one another\u2019s\nburden\u2014in this way you will be fulfilling the Torah\u2019s true meaning, which the\nMessiah upholds\u201d (Gal. 6:1\u20132<\/a>, cjb).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A respected woman once came to ask advice of the\nrabbi of Apt. The instant he set eyes on her he shouted: \u201cAdulteress! You\nsinned only a short while ago, and yet now you have the insolence to step into\nthis pure house!\u201d Then from the depths of her heart the woman replied: \u201cThe\nLord of the world has patience with the wicked. He is in no hurry to make them\npay their debts and he does not disclose their secret to any creature, lost\nthey be ashamed to turn to him. Nor does he hide his face from them. But the\nrabbi of Apt sits there in his chair and cannot resist revealing at once what\nthe Creator has covered.\u201d From that time on the rabbi of Apt used to say: \u201cNo\none ever got the better of me except once\u2014and then it was a woman.8<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until Messiah returns, we remain\nin exile, on the way toward Creation completed, but still far from it. In this\nexile we inevitably become tainted by sin and vulnerable to shame. The issue is\nhow we handle our vulnerability and that of our brothers and sisters. Will we\nheighten it, as Ham did, and turn it into a curse, or will we cover it as the\nbrothers did, restoring dignity and peace to the whole family?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> How do I apply the principle of covering the naked\nwithout letting people get away with wrongdoing, or falling into religious\ndenial? As I recall how God has covered my sins and misdeeds, I will look for\nopportunities to practice this act of loving kindness toward others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OBEDIENCE AND BEYOND<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Lekh l\u2019kha<\/em>, Genesis\n12:1\u201317:27<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr.\nFrodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were\nthings the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for \u2026. But that\u2019s\nnot the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in\nthe mind. Folk seem to have just landed in them, usually\u2014their paths were led\nthat way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of\nturning back, only they didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014(Sam\nGamgee in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call of faith is often\u2014perhaps\nalways\u2014demanding. To respond, we must leave behind all that is comfortable and\nfollow the Lord into unknown territory. And the journey of faith does not end\nwith this initial call. We must walk by faith, not only at the beginning of the\njourney, but throughout. We will have to resist lots of chances of turning\nback, as Sam said to Frodo. Abraham, our great example of faith, had to persevere\nand not turn back many times. \u201cWith ten trials was Abraham our father tried\nbefore the Holy One, blessed be he, and in all of them he was found steadfast,\nto wit: Twice when ordered to move on\u2026\u201d9<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abraham undergoes trials, not\njust in his early years, but throughout his whole life. Like Sam and Frodo, and\nmost of us, Abraham didn\u2019t look for these trials, but \u201clanded in them.\u201d This\nlanding, however, is no accident; rather Abraham\u2019s path is \u201cled that way\u201d by\nGod himself. In the same way, when we encounter trials, that doesn\u2019t mean we\nhave lost our way. Often we too are \u201cled that way\u201d by God, and Abraham\u2019s story\nmay help us to understand why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abraham\u2019s first and last trials\nboth begin with the same command, Lekh l\u2019kha<\/em>, literally \u201cGo for\nyourself\u201d or \u201cGo you forth.\u201d 10<\/sup> These commands involve an unusual\ncombination of words that appears in Scripture only one other time outside of\nthe story of Abraham. The two commands frame Abraham\u2019s entire story and\nespecially the issue of obedience, which it exemplifies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first command the Lord\nsays, \u201cLekh l\u2019kha\u2014Go for yourself from your land, from your family, and from\nyour father\u2019s house, to a land that I will show you\u201d (Gen. 12:1<\/a>).\nOnly as he obeys this difficult command does Abraham begin to fulfill the\ndivine purpose for his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second Lekh l\u2019kha comes in\nthe land that God showed him, the land of promise. Abraham hears the words\nagain, \u201cLekh l\u2019kha\u2014Go for yourself to the land of Moriah, and present Isaac\nthere as an offering to me\u201d (Gen. 22:2<\/a>). This second command is even tougher\nthan the first. Abraham has already begun to dwell in the land of promise, and\nto receive some elements of the promise, including an heir born to him in his\nold age. Now he must renounce this heir, his son Isaac, who is more precious to\nhim than life itself, and continue down the path of rigorous obedience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Abraham responds in faith to\nthe second Lekh l\u2019kha, the Lord responds to him as well. At the climax of the\nstory, Abraham stretches out his hand and takes the knife to slay his beloved\nIsaac. At that instant, the angel of the Lord calls out from heaven to stop\nhim, saying, \u201cNow I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your\nson, your only son, from me\u201d (Gen. 22:12<\/a>). I the; story were not so stark, this\nstatement would sound funny. Now<\/em> you know!? After Abraham has walked for\nmore than a century in obedience to God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abraham has indeed proven his\nfaithfulness through many trials, but the second Lekh l\u2019kha establishes a new\nlevel of faithfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hebrew term for commandment, mitzvah,<\/em>\nalso denote:! the great blessing that the commandment brings with it. The first\nLekh l\u2019kha is a mitzvah; the second Lekh l\u2019kha might be termed a \u201cmeta\nmitzvah.\u201d It goes beyond ordinary obedience (which in reality is often quite\nextraordinary) to a rare level of devotion to God. The mitzvah is for this age;\nit lays out the way of obedience in this world. The meta mitzvah points to the\nAge to Come, to \u201cthe restoration of all things\u201d (Acts 3:21<\/a>),\nwhen God will be all in all and his followers completely dedicated to him.\nAbraham has already shown his devotion to the Lord, \u201cbecause [he] obeyed my\nvoice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws\u201d (Gen. 26:5<\/a>).\nNow he shows a level of devotion beyond the normal commandments, statutes, and\nlaws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meta-mitzvah will reappear\nthroughout Torah. Thus, ho has seen the Lord \u201cface to face\u201d and spent forty\ndays and nights atop Mount Sinai in his presence, says to the Lord, \u201cI beseech\nyou, show me your glory\u201d (Exod. 33:18<\/a>). In the experience of God, there is\nalways something more, something beyond the commandments, holy as they are. The\nmitzvah of the Nazirite is another example (Num. 6<\/a>).\nTorah recognizes that there will be those who desire a greater devotion to him,\nbeyond the normal way of obedience outlined in the commandments. It therefore\nprovides an additional, voluntary mitzvah of consecration to the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abraham shows us that trials are\nopportunities to prove our faithfulness to the mitzvah. But the binding of\nIsaac points to the meta mitzvah, to a greater level of devotion that will\nbecome the model for all who seek to follow the Lord in the footsteps of\nAbraham. The meta mitzvah is displayed most fully in the life of Messiah, who\n\u201chumbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of\nthe cross\u201d (Phil. 2:8<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those enduring trials,\nhowever, such considerations may sound too tidy. We must acknowledge that there\nis great mystery here In the second Lekh l\u2019kha, God appears cruel, toying with\nAbraham and Isaac, and he may appear cruel in our trials as well. Yet we must\nbeware of worshiping a deity that is always safe and predictable; such a deity\nis not the God of Israel. Trials teach us to trust God despite our questions.\nWe are responsible to maintain our faith without turning back, not to\nunderstand every aspect of God\u2019s character. Indeed, like Abraham, we may\ndisplay our greatest fait! when we walk in obedience without knowing where we\nare headed. \u201cBy faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place\nwhich he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he\nwas going\u201d (Heb. 11:8<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abraham\u2019s trials begin and end\nwith Lekh l\u2019kha, \u201cGet yourself up.\u201d He is our example because he never quite\nsettles down, never allows his encounter with God to recede into the\nbackground. May we learn to emulate him, to embrace trials, even in the later\nstages of the journey, as opportunities to know God more fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Levi said: Lech\nl\u2019cha\u2014\u2018Get thee\u2019<\/em>\u2014is written twice, and we do not know which was\nmore precious [in the eyes of God], whether the first or the second.11<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: Abraham demonstrates that trials are\nopportunities to show our commitment to God and his ways, opportunities for\nobedience. How do I demonstrate obedience to God in my life; right now? What\ntrials am I facing that may be opportunities to strengthen my commitment to\nhim?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SACRIFICE OF THE SON<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Vayera<\/em>, Genesis\n18:1\u201322:24<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rock, perfect in all his deeds; who can say to\nhim, \u2018What do you do?\u2019 The One who says and does, do undeserved grace upon us,\nand in the merit of him who was bound like a lamb, hear and act. (From the\ntraditional Jewish burial service of the Siddur<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jews are a people bound together by stories.\nThe story of our redemption from Egypt undergirds all our prayers and scriptures,\nand the cycle of the year itself, marked by the festivals of Passover, Week,\nand Tabernacles. The Exodus is a defining story, but there is in earlier story\nequally compelling, yet more ambiguous and troubling This story is not part of\nthe joyous festivals, but of the solemn holy days of Rosh HaShanah<\/em> and Yom\nKippur.<\/em> It is the story of the Akedah<\/em>, the Binding of Isaac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ambiguity of the story begins\nwith God\u2019s initial command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, the same son whom God\nhad recently identified as the promised heir. Mysteriously, Abraham remains\nsilent. The same man who dared to argue with the Lord over the destruction of\nSodom and over God\u2019s order to expel his son Ishmael now: utters not a word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story also ends mysteriously\nas Isaac is spared, even though God had demanded him as a sacrifice. Or is he\nspared? When Abraham takes Isaac up toward Mount Moriah, the place of\nsacrifice, the text tells us twice (Gen. 22:6<\/a>,\n8<\/a>),\n\u201cthe two of them went together.\u201d When Abraham descends the mount, however,\nthere is no mention of Isaac: \u201cSo Abraham returned to his young men, and they\nrose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba\u201d (Gen.\n22:19<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it is not Abraham and Isaac,\nbut Abraham and his lads who \u201cwent together.\u201d A few verses later, Sarah dies\nand we are told, \u201cAbraham set about to lament for Sarah and to weep over her\u201d (Gen. 23:2<\/a>.)\nAgain, no mention of Isaac, even at this most crucial moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early readers saw in this absence\na hint that the \u201coffering up\u201d of Isaac was indeed a sacrifice, a killing. Midrash\nRabbah<\/em> compares it to execution upon the stake, an all too familiar scene\nto the Jews of the first two centuries c.e.,\nwhen the stories of this midrash originated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering,\u201d\nlike one who carries his stake on his shoulder. \u201cAnd they went both of them\ntogether,\u201d one to bind and the other to be bound, one to slaughter and the\nother to be slaughtered.12<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A later midrash says that when\nAbraham raised the knife to slay Isaac, Isaac\u2019s soul left him, but when the\nangel called out to Abraham to desist from harming Isaac, his soul returned to\nhim. Abraham then untied Isaac, who rose up and began to recite, \u201cBlessed are\nyou O Lord, who raises the dead.\u201d To the Jewish mind, the Akedah had become a\ndrama of death and resurrection.13<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original story, of course,\nconcludes with the sacrifice of a ram, caught in a nearby thicket by his horns.\nGod provides the substitute and Isaac lives. In remembrance of this great\nredemption, the Jewish people sound the ram\u2019s horn on Rosh HaShanah every year.\nThe commentators, however, continue to see the symbolic death of Isaac. Rashi\ncomments on the verse, \u201cAbraham called the name of that place: The Lord Sees.\nAs the saying is today: On the Lord\u2019s mountain it is seen\u201d (Gen.\n22:14<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord will see this binding and forgive Israel\nbecause of it every year [at Yom Kippur], and save them from punishment, so\nthat it will be said on this day in all generations to come, \u201cOn the mountain\nof God there will be seen\u201d the ashes of Isaac still piled up, as if he had\nactually been sacrificed for atonement on behalf of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The binding of Isaac\u2014like the\nExodus\u2014binds the Jewish people together. The drama of death and resurrection\ngave hope to the generations of Israel that endured Roman domination, the\ndestruction of the Temple, and the oppression that followed. It also provided a\npoint of reference to understand a Messiah who took on the suffering and defeat\nof his people, endured execution at the hand of Rome, and arose from the dead.\nAs the ram was offered in place of Isaac, the son of Abraham, so Messiah Yeshua\nwas offered in the place of all the children of Abraham, \u201csacrificed for\natonement on behalf of Israel,\u201d and on behalf of all humankind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of such lofty\nconsiderations, however, we may miss the great shift in interpretation of the\nstory. The Torah introduces its account with the words, \u201cGod tested Abraham\u201d (Gen. 22:1<\/a>).\nIn the discussions in Midrash and gospel, however, the willingness of the son\neclipses the testing of the father. The account of the testing and obedience of\nAbraham is now paired with the drama of the sacrifice and resurrection of\nIsaac. Father and son \u201cgo together,\u201d even, as \u201cone to bind and the other to be\nbound, one to slaughter and the other to be slaughtered.\u201d Their wills are\nunited and the son is ready to sacrifice himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This shift in telling the story\nspeaks to us powerfully at the beginning of the twenty-first century, as many\nwonder if a new generation will continue in the heritage of their faith. We\nhave grown to expect estrangement and misunderstanding between the generations;\nbut here is the story of a son who embraces his father\u2019s will. Isaac, the sole representative\nof a new generation, makes the will of the father his own. Abraham and Isaac\nrepresent different generations but one response to God\u2019s call. Many of us long\nfor just this sort of unity between the generations today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story of the Exodus from\nEgypt defines the Jewish people, but it does not tell us how we will keep the\nstory alive. The Akedah provides a clue to our continuity. Surely, it was\nAbraham\u2019s lifelong faithfulness to God that so inspired Isaac, his willingness\nto leave what was safe and comfortable in order to serve God. When God demanded\nthe best from Abraham, he was ready to give it, and Isaac became ready as well.\nIn the same way, when we face difficulties and disappointment, we need to\nremember that a younger generation is watching, ready to learn from us either\nfor good or ill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Significantly, we read of the\nbinding of Isaac at Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year. As we mark the swift\npassage of another year, we remember that our time is limited, and our need for\na new generation intense. This is the time to recount the story of the son who\ntakes on fully the purpose of the father\u2014even at the ultimate cost to himself.\nThe story of the binding of Isaac has bound the Jewish people together for\ncenturies; may it also serve to bind us all with our own younger generation as\nwe \u201cgo together\u201d to serve the God of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: How do I \u201cgo together\u201d with members of an older\ngeneral ion of those who have followed the Lord? How do I encourage members of\na younger generation to \u201cgo together\u201d with me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SARAH\u2019S LIFE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Hayyei-Sarah<\/em>, Genesis\n23:1\u201325:18<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world stands on three things\u2014the Torah, the\n[Temple] service, and loving acts of kindness.14<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stories of Abraham and his descendants seem to\nbe written from a patriarchal perspective, yet the first death recorded an\namong them is that of a woman, Sarah. Torah records her life span in unusual\ndetail, as befits the mother of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Sara\u2019s life was one hundred years and twenty\nyears and seven years, (thus) the years of Sara\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara died in Arba-Town, that is now Hevron, in the\nland of Canaan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avraham set about to lament for Sara and to weep\nover her \u202615<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Sarah dies, however, Abraham\nlearns of the birth of Rebekah, daughter of his kinsman Bethuel. Sforno notes\nthis connection in his commentary: \u201cAfter Rebecca\u2014who is fit to replace\nSarah\u2014is born, and Abraham is notified, Sarah dies. As our sages tell us, \u2018One\nrighteous person does not die before another is born, as it is written, and\nthe sun rises, and the sun sets<\/em>\u2019 (Ecclesiastes\n1:5<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Sarah dies, Abraham seeks\nto restore the essential feminine element to his family by finding a bride for\nIsaac. Indeed, the title of this parashah, Hayyei-Sarah<\/em>, means, \u201cthe\nlife of Sarah.\u201d It begins with the sadness of a burial, but continues through\nthe joy of a wedding. Sarah will live on through the wife of Isaac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To find this woman, Abraham sends\na servant back to his land and kindred. The entire story of the betrothal of\nIsaac hinges upon the actions of this servant, yet he remains nameless. He is\ncalled simply \u201cthe servant of Abraham.\u201d This servant takes on the role of best\nman, who helps bring the wedding party together and stands as attendant at the\nceremony, but is never central to the event. His role is vital, and yet the\nattention is never on him. Instead, this story drawls our attention to Isaac.\nWith God\u2019s help, the servant finds Rebekah, arranges the marriage with her\nfamily, and gains her assent to return to his master. When they reach the land\nof Canaan at last, Rebekah sees Isaac in the distance and asks, \u201cWho is this\nman walking in the field to meet us?\u201d The servant says, \u201cIt is my master [adoni<\/em>].\u201d\nSo she takes a veil and covers herself (24:65<\/a>).\nIn this story, the: servant has called Abraham adoni, \u201cmy master,\u201d sixteen\ntimes. Only now, as he escorts the bride whom Abraham sent him to find, does he\napply the term to Isaac. Isaac becomes complete when he encounters his bride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union of Isaac and Rebekah\nreminds us of an earlier wedding. In Hayyei-Sarah<\/em>, the unnamed servant\nis the best man, but in that earlier wedding the best man was the Lord himself,\nwho formed Eve from the side of Adam and brought her to him. Rabbi Abin said of\nthis event, \u201cHappy the citizen for whom the king is best man!\u201d 16<\/sup>\nCommenting on God\u2019s blessing of the man and woman that he created (Gen.\n1:27\u201328<\/a>), another rabbi says, \u201cThe Holy One, blessed be He, took a\ncup of blessing [essential to the traditional Jewish wedding] and blessed\nthem.\u201d 17<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arranging a wedding and attending\nto the bridal couple are acts of kindness, or g\u2019milut hasadim, considered one\nof three things upon which, the world stands, along with Torah and the divine\nworship. As we saw in the story of Noah, the Lord provides the example of such\nacts of kindness so that we can emulate him. \u201cWhat does it mean, \u2018You shall\nwalk after the Lord your God\u2019? (Deut. 13:5<\/a>) Is it possible for n person to walk\nand follow in God\u2019s presence? \u2026 But it means to walk after the attributes of\nthe Holy One, Blessed be He.\u201d 18<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acts of loving kindness form the\nfabric of community. Furthermore, they provide a foretaste of the Age to Come,\nthe age of Creation consummated, which is the destination of our story. Then\nGod will meet all our needs, and there will be none who are naked or lonely or\nabandoned. Therefore, Torah instructs us in this age to support others in\njoyous events, such as a wedding, and in sorrowful invents, such as sickness or\nmourning: \u201cRejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep,\u201d\nwrites Paul, the rabbi from Tarsus (Rom.\n12:15<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By marrying Rebekah, Isaac\nreceives comfort after the death of Sarah, takes on the legacy of his father\nAbraham, and ensures that the covenant will be passed on to another generation.\nThis is a uniquely significant wedding, but it highlights the significance of\nevery wedding. Every time we attend a wedding we agree with God that it is not\ngood for the man (or woman) to be alone, that the couple is to bear a divine\nblessing, and that their marriage is to be fruitful in many ways. At such\nevents, we are not a mere audience, but we are community, supporting the couple\nand adding our own blessing to the Lord\u2019s blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is no wonder then, that early\nin his account of the deeds of Messiah, John records Yeshua\u2019s attendance at a\nwedding:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua told them, \u201cFill the jars with water,\u201d and\nthey filled them to the brim. He said, \u201cNow draw some out, and take it to the\nman in charge of the banquet\u201d; and they took it. The man in charge tasted the\nwater; it had now turned into wine! He did not know where it had come from, but\nthe servants who had drawn the water knew. So he called the bridegroom and said\nto him, \u201cEveryone else serves the good wine first and the poorer wine after\npeople have drunk freely. But you have kept the good wine until now!\u201d This, the\nfirst [or beginning] of Yeshua\u2019s miraculous signs, he did at Kanah in the Galil;\nhe manifested his glory, and his talmidim<\/em> came to trust in him.\n(Yochanan\/John 2:7\u201311<\/a>, cjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phrase \u201cbeginning of signs\u201d brings us back to\nb\u2019resheet, the beginning. There, \u201cThe Holy One, blessed be he, took a cup of\nblessing and blessed them.\u201d Here, Yeshua, Son of the Holy One, ensures an\nabundant supply of wine for a Galilean wedding. Wine is not just refreshment,\nbut the emblem of the blessing and divine favor that will issue in fruitfulness\nfor the new couple. To run out of wine is not just a social inconvenience for a\nfamily, but a threat to the peace of the new couple, and to the continuity of\nthe community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The God of Torah is not an\nimpersonal \u201cFirst Cause,\u201d but a God of compassion. He is not distant from the\nworld he created and the human beings he has placed within it. Rather, it seems\nthat he can hardly stay away from us. He is ready to enter our world, to feel\nour sorrows, and to share in our joys. And in Messiah, he steps fully into the\ncommunity of men and women to embody the acts of kindness he has modeled since\nthe beginning of Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: In an age of consumerism and addiction to\nentertainment, God calls me to be part of community, rejoicing with those who\nrejoice, and weeping with those who weep. God has performed g\u2019milut hasadim,\nacts of loving kindness, for me. How can I perform such deeds among those\naround me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE LIVING WATER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Tol\u2019dot<\/em>, Genesis\n25:19\u201328:9<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come to these waters, there is a vast supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a river that never shall run dry.19<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the story of Genesis unfolds, Abraham, Isaac,\nand Jacob must struggle to establish themselves in the land God promised them.\nWe have much to learn from these struggles, just as we do from their struggles\nin exile, for their story, like the entire Jewish story, tikes place both\nwithin the Land and in exile. In both settings, the patriarchs must journey in\nfaith on the way from Creation to completion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The great medieval commentator\nNachmanides, or Ramban, comments on Abraham\u2019s wanderings, \u201cWhatever has\nhappened I to the patriarchs is a sign to the children.\u201d 20<\/sup>\nAbraham\u2019s journey will anticipate Isaac\u2019s journey, and the journeys of their\noffspring, including the descent into Egypt of the twelve tribes, and their\neventual deliverance by the mighty hand of God. Abraham goes before his\ndescendants through this entire story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, after Isaac marries Rebekah\nand becomes father to Jacob and Esau, the Lord\nappears to him to renew the promise that he had originally made to Abraham:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and\nbless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will\nperform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your\ndescendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants\nall these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be\nblessed. (Gen. 26:3\u20134<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaac will live his whole life in\nthe Promised Land, but he does sojourn for a time, as did Abraham, among the\nPhilistines. There he, like Abraham, says that his wife is his sister, out of\nfear that the Philistines will kill him and take her for themselves. Both of\nour ancestors resort to a lie to protect themselves, but God in his mercy delivers\nIsaac, as he delivered Abraham. Isaac then continues in his father\u2019s footsteps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they\nhad dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them\nup after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had\ncalled them. (Gen. 26:18<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaac does not go into exile as\nAbraham and Jacob do, but he still: must establish his own claim in the Land.\nWater is the heart of this claim, essential to fruitfulness and life itself in\nthis barren place. To secure water, Isaac reopens the wells of Abraham, and\ncalls them by the same names as did his father. Abraham\u2019s wells symbolize the\nproven resources of spiritual life, the legacy of Scripture and the traditions\nof life and community that have grown up around it. We will find that we must\ncontinually return to sources like these as we take our own journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaac, however, must go beyond\nreturning to his father\u2019s legacy to create his own legacy, as it is written,\n\u201cAlso Isaac\u2019s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of living water\nthere\u201d (Gen. 26:19<\/a>). The journey of faith is a journey of continuous\nrenewal. It keeps open the proven resources and discovers new resources as\nwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLiving water\u201d in this verse is mayim\nchaim<\/em> in Hebrew, a phrase that appears here for the first time in\nScripture. When we find living water we do not need to draw it forth with a\nbucket, for it springs forth under pressure. It is a source of refreshment,\nblessing, and life in the arid land of promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phrase mayim chaim will not\nappear again in the book of Genesis, but Jeremiah and Zechariah see it as a\nhint, or remez, of a deeper, spiritual truth. In their writings, living waters\nare a symbol of divine blessing and life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For my people have committed two evils; they have\nforsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out for themselves\ncisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. (Jer. 2:13<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it shall be in that day, that living waters\nshall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of\nthem toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. (Zech.\n14:8<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua takes up the same terminology when he requests\na drink from a Samaritan woman whom he meets at Jacob\u2019s well. \u201cIf you knew the\ngift of God, and who it is that says to you, \u2018Give me to drink,\u2019 you would have\nasked him, and he would have given you living water\u201d (John 4:10<\/a>).\nLater he says, \u201cHe who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his\nbelly shall flow rivers of living water\u201d (John 7:38<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua reveals a truth that is as\nancient as the Torah itself, yet ever new. The God of our fathers has a gift of\nendless and unlimited life to bestow on their children in every generation.\nIsaac has not only renewed the legacy of his father Abraham, but has uncovered\nal legacy of his own\u2014the source of life that comes from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lesson here is that we need\nto open and reopen continually the legacy given to us in Torah and the rest of\nScripture, to drink deeply at our sources and not allow them to fall into\nneglect We need to study, contemplate, and practice the teachings of the Bible,\ncontinually. But the Torah is also pointing to a source that is always new,\nimmediate and irrepressible, an experience of the living Messiah himself, who\nis always near. The journey toward restoration passes through barren stretches,\nand we must not stray front the wells of renewal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaac\u2019s story teaches us that all\nsuch renewal comes in the midst of struggle. The land of promise is an arid\nland. Isaac must reopen the wells of Abraham because the Philistines had\nplugged them up. He must dig new wells even as the herdsmen of Gerar strive\nwith him. Where there is divine blessing, there will always be great\nopposition. This is the pattern throughout Scripture, from the call of Abraham,\nwho must leave his home and family and all that is familiar, to the sacrifice\nof Messiah himself, who calls his followers s to also deny themselves, take up\nthe cross, and come after him. It is in the midst of opposition, however, that\nwe find the living water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: The journey of faith is a journey of continuous\nrenewal. If we follow the journey of the fathers and of Messiah himself, it\nwill bring us into struggle and opposition. Where will I find the wells of\nliving water within my struggles?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AT RACHEL\u2019S WELL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Vayetze<\/em>, Genesis\n28:10\u201332:3<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hillel and Shammai, two of the greatest rabbis of\nancient Israel, lived at the same time and often disagreed on important aspects\nof Jewish law One of these disagreements concerns the order of lighting the\nmenorah for Hanukah. Hillel advocates lighting one light on the first night and\nadding one more light each night to reach the total of eight at the end of the\nholiday. Shammai takes the opposite approach: eight lights the first night and\none less each night to conclude with one. Our custom follows the practice of\nHillel, because in matters of holiness we seek to increase rather than\ndecrease. 21<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The principle of increasing\nholiness is reflected not only in Hanukah, but also through the seven days of\nSukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. In ancient Israel, on each day of Sukkot, the\npeople World gather young willow branches, bring them up to the altar of the\nTemple, and make one circuit around the altar crying out, \u201cSave now, we beseech\nyou O Lord!\u2014Ana Adonai Hoshia\u2019na<\/em>!\u201d But on the seventh day, they would\nmake seven circuits around the altar, calling out the same words\u2014Ana Adonai\nHoshia\u2019na<\/em>!22<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, on each of the seven\ndays of Sukkot, a procession of worshipers went down to the pool of Shiloach.\nThere a priest filled a golden flask with water, fulfilling the words, \u201cWith\njoy you shall craw water from the wells of salvation\u201d (Isaiah\n12:3<\/a>). Then the people in the procession went up to the altar and\npoured the water out as an offering before the Lord in the midst of great\nrejoicing. The Mishnah<\/em> comments on this ceremony: \u201cAnyone who has not\nseen the rejoicing of bet hashoebah<\/em> [the place of water drawing] in his\nlife has never seen rejoicing.\u201d 23<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In accord with Hillel\u2019s\nprinciple, the rejoicing reached its peak on the seventh day, with song and\ndance, harps, cymbals, and trumpets sounding before the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rejoicing of \u201cthe place of\nwater drawing\u201d became linked in the Jewish mind to the outpouring of the Holy\nSpirit promised for the Age to Come as part of Creation consummated. An old\ncommentary on Parashat Vayetze<\/em> makes the same connection. The Torah\nsays, \u201cSo Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the\nEast. And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, three flocks of\nsheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone\nwas on the well\u2019s mouth\u201d (Gen. 29:l\u20132<\/a>). The Midrash comments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And behold, three flocks of sheep<\/em>\u2014the three festivals [Passover,\nPentecost, and Tabernacles];<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For out of that well they watered the flocks<\/em>\u2014from there [the festivals] they\nimbibed the Divine spirit;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A large stone<\/em>\u2014this alludes to the rejoicing of the place of\nwater drawing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R. Hoshaya said, \u2018Why was it called the rejoicing\nof the place of water drawing? Because from there they imbibed he Divine\nspirit.\u2019 24<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is, of course, a highly imaginative\ninterpretation, even by the standards of midrash. Isn\u2019t Jacob just a thirsty\nwanderer who is seeking water? He comes upon a well, sealed by a large stone,\nrolls away the stone, and drinks. But if we limit ourselves to this reading\nalone, we will miss a great deal that is in the text itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the modern world, we don\u2019t\noften see wells of water, but they were a common sight to our ancestors. Isaac\nrestored the wells of Abraham, and then dug new wells of living water (Gen.\n26:19<\/a>). Earlier, it was at a well that the servant of Abraham found\nRebekah, who became Isaac\u2019s wife. And, now, at another well, Jacob will meet\nRachel, who becomes his wife. Indeed, the wells of Rebekah and Rachel reveal\nmuch about the lives of Isaac and Jacob. At Rebekah\u2019s well, the servant\narrives, sent by the father, loaded with gifts, on behalf of his son. At the\nend of the story, after Rebekah follows the servant home, Isaac is called adoni<\/em>,\nmy master. At Rachel\u2019s well, Jacob arrives himself, a vagabond without gifts or\npossessions at all. He will become a servant to Laban, rather than a master to\nanyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite such contrasts, the well\nis the source of life for both Isaac and Jacob. When Jacob rolls away the stone\nto water the flocks he sets in motion events that will take us through the\nfounding of Israel, the giving of Torah, the promise of renewal, and eventually\nthe Age to Come, in which God pours out his spirit on all humankind, as the Midrash\nnotes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps \u201cthree flocks of sheep\u201d\nlying by the well is not an incidental detail after all. The Midrash makes a\nprofound point in linking this number to the three festivals. Just as Jacob\nfinds restoration at the well, and provides restoration for others by rolling\naway the stone, so Israel finds restoration at its annual festivals, and\nrehearses the restoration to come upon all nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua the Messiah once went up\nto Jerusalem against such a backdrop of expectancy to celebrate Sukkot.\nYeshua\u2019s brothers had invited him to go up to \u201cshow yourself to the world\u201d\n(Yochanan\/John\n1<\/a> 7:4<\/a>, cjb),\nand he declined. But later \u201che too went up, not publicly but in secret. At the\nfestival, the Judeans were looking for him \u2018Where is he?\u2019 they asked\u201d (vv. 10\u201311<\/a>,\ncjb). All the festivals point to\nthe day of Messiah and the prophetic fulfillment that only he can bring. In\nYochanan\u2019s account, Yeshua finally shows him self to the world, as his brothers\nhad suggested, \u201cOn the last day [of the festival, Hoshana Rabbah<\/em>\u201d (7:37<\/a>,\ncjb). The last day is great\nbecause in matters of holiness we seek to increase rather that decrease. The\nritual of water drawing has just been completed, when Yeshua stands up and\ncries out: \u201cIf anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking!\nWhoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water\nwill flow from his inmost being!\u201d (7:37\u201338<\/a>,\ncjb). Yochanan comments: \u201cNow he\nsaid this about the Spirit, whom those who trusted in him were to receive\nlater\u2014the Spirit had not yet been given, because Yeshua had not yet been\nglorified\u201d (7:39<\/a>, cjb).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like our father Jacob, we are all\nthirsty. And as the Midrash suggests, we are thirsty for more than water, for\nwe sense there is living water that comes directly from God, which will satisfy\nus with true and vibrant life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messiah offers this water to all\nwho trust in him. He offers a profound transformation as well. We will have a\nsupply of living water deep within ourselves, to sustain us and<\/em> to\nrefresh those whom we encounter in life. \u201cIf anyone is thirsty, let him keep\ncoming to me and drinking! Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture:\nsays, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A final lesson from Rachel\u2019s\nwell: Jacob cannot partake without rolling away the heavy stone so that all can\ndrink. By slaking his thirst, he becomes a source of refreshment to all. He\ndrinks, and rivers of living water flow from his inmost being on behalf of\nothers. Like Jacob, I cannot get to the true water without making it available\nto those around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Messiah promises not only to satisfy my spiritual\nthirst, but to make me a source of satisfaction to others. How do I roll away the\nstone at the mouth of the well, so that I can drink and supply water to others\nas well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTURNED INTO ANOTHER MAN\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Vayishlach<\/em>, Genesis\n32:4\u201336:43<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A little old Jewish lady decides to make the long\njourney to speak with a guru in India. She flies into New Delhi and takes a\ntrain to a small town in the mountains, where she catches a rickety old bus for\nanother leg of the journey. At the end of the bus line, she hires a porter to\nschlep her bags as she walks the last few miles. Finally, she arrives at the\nashram and demands to speak with the guru right away. His attendants refuse her\nrequest at first, but she is so insistent that they let her in on the condition\nthat she agrees to speak only three words. \u201cFine,\u201d says the old lady. When she\ncomes into the guru, she looks up at him and says, \u201cSheldon, come home!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People of all sorts long to escape the commonplace\nand be transformed into someone more holy. What they often discover, however,\nis that such a change can only come from an encounter with the God of Israel.\nAlong with the covenants and ordinances so often emphasized in Jewish\ntradition, the Torah speaks of such encounters. Indeed, we might say that without\nthe transformation that Torah describes, we cannot fulfill the precepts that\nTorah teaches us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, our last parashah opened\nwith Jacob departing from the land of promise. As night falls, the text says\nliterally, \u201che encountered the place\u201d (vayifga bamakom;<\/em> Gen.\n28:11<\/a>). Jacob spends the night in that place and has a vision of a\nladder joining heaven and earth. He recognizes that in reality he has\nencountered God, who sometimes appears in rabbinic literature as ouenv, HaMakom<\/em>,\nor the Place. This encounter with HaMakom prepares Jacob for the journey that\nlies ahead of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the parashah, as\nJacob is about to return to the land, we see the same verb: \u201cAnd angels of God\nencountered him\u201d (Gen. 32:2<\/a>). Now he will be prepared to return to\nthe land from which he departed decades before. \u201cEncounter\u201d in these contexts\nimplies something out of the ordinary, the heavenly realm breaking into the earthly.\nJacob is not equipped for his departure or his return without this heavenly\nbreakthrough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see the same verb in the story\nof King Saul. Samuel anoints him as king and sends him back to his father\u2019s\nhouse to await the time of his public revelation. Samuel tells Saul that he\nwill \u201cencounter a band of prophets \u2026 Then the Spirit of the Lord will dome upon\nyou, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man\u201d (1 Sam.\n10:5\u20136<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTurned into another man\u2026\u201d: this\nis the appeal of Jacob\u2019s story. We believe there is a transformed world\nwaiting, the restored Creation of which Torah speaks. But like Jacob\u2014and\nSheldon\u2014we desire transformation ourselves. In the end, we learn that only a divine\nencounter will make us different people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than the other patriarchs,\nAbraham and Isaac, Jacob is like us. Abraham, despite the flaws that Genesis\nhonestly reports, appears on the scene as a visionary from the very first, a\npioneer of faith in the one true God. Isaac is more passive, but he never veers\nfrom the faith of his father Abraham. Jacob, in contrast, is the patriarch with\nwhom we can most identify, the Everyman of Genesis. Like us, he is a person in\nprocess, whose potential for greatness is evident, but nearly always mixed with\nqualities that are more ordinary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, for example, Jacob has the\ngreatness to recognize and desire the spiritual legacy of his father Isaac,\nunlike his brother Esau who despises his birthright (Gen.\n25:34<\/a>). But he gains the birthright ignobly, taking advantage of\nEsau\u2019s shortsightedness to buy it for a bowl of lentil stew. It will take\ntwenty-two years serving the wily Laban to transform Jacob into the man who can\nreturn to the Promised Land and take up the legacy of his forefathers. We may\nsympathize with his trials at the hand of Laban, but we realize that they are\nnecessary\u2014just like the trials that mold us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Parashat Vayishlach<\/em>,\nhowever, we learn that such trials do pot give the final shape to Jacob, but\nthe divine encounters do. This parashah is a tale of homecoming. Jacob\ndiscovers that you can<\/em> come home again, but you cannot come home\nunchanged. The Jacob who returns is different from the Jacob who departed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with\nhim until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against\nhim, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob\u2019s hip was out of\njoint as He wrestled with him. And He said, \u201cLet Me go, for the day breaks.\u201d\nBut he said, \u201cI will not let You go unless You bless me!\u201d So He said to him,\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d He said, \u201cJacob.\u201d And He said, \u201cYour name shall no longer\nbe called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and\nhave prevailed.\u201d (Gen. 32:24\u201328<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob undergoes two changes on his way home. His\nhip joint is dislocated, and his name is changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerning Jacob\u2019s injury, we\nread, \u201cThe sun rose upon him as Ye pissed Penuel, limping because of his hip\u201d (32:31<\/a>).\nLiterally, the Hebrew can read, \u201cthe sun rose for<\/em> him,\u201d as Sforno\ninterprets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After he passed Penuel limping, the sun rose and\nits rays healed him, as it will come to pass in the future, as it says, But\nto you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its\nwings.<\/em> (Mal. 3:20<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sforno sees Jacob\u2019s wound as temporary, but others\nsee Jacob as permanently impaired. He bears in his flesh the reminder of the\ndivine encounter for the rest of his life. How long Jacob\u2019s wound lasts,\nhowever is not nearly as important as the simple fact that God touched him and left\na mark on Jacob\u2019s soul that he would never forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, Jacob\u2019s renaming evokes\na variety of translations and interpretations, such as that of Everett Fox:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not as Yaakov\/Heel-Sneak shall your name be\nhenceforth uttered,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but rather as Yisrael\/God-Fighter,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

for you have fought with God and men and have\nprevailed. (Gen. 32:29<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramban sees Jacob\u2019s new name as the opposite of his\nold one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus the name Ya\u2019akov<\/em>, an expression of\nguile or of deviousness, was changed to Israel [from the word sar<\/em>\n(prince)] and they called him Yeshurun<\/em> from the expression wholehearted\n\u2018v\u2019yashar\u2019<\/em> (and upright<\/em>).25<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob\u2019s new name, like his\ninjury, proclaims the transforming encounter with the divine. Jacob experiences\ntwo encounters\u2014one as a young man setting out on his journey with nothing, and\none as a mature man surrounded by possessions and cares, dependents and responsibilities.\nApparently, the transforming encounter is not only for the young and\nadventurous, but also for the middle-aged (or beyond) and established. Whether\nwe are caught up in youthful self-absorption or in the complacency of mature\nage, only a touch from God will really change us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The earliest stories of Genesis\nhint at the hope of new birth that is central to the work of Messiah and the\nwritings of the New Covenant millennia later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through his encounter with God,\nJacob becomes<\/em> Israel, representing us all. The Everyman of Genesis\nbecomes the one-man embodiment of the chosen people of God. His story reminds\nus that we all must be changed by a divine encounter to find our place in the\nfulfilled Creation, as Messiah taught, \u201cMost assuredly, I say to you, unless\none is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God\u201d (John 3:3<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Only an encounter with God can bring the\ntransformation that prepares me for a life of faithful obedience. I will remain\nalert to the divine encounters that await me, and embrace them as essential\nstages in the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONTEST FOR CONTINUITY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Vayeshev<\/em>, Genesis\n37:1\u201340:23<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the generations of the heavens and of the\nearth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens \u2026 (Gen. 2:4<\/a>,\nkjv)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From generation to generation, we shall tell of\nyour greatness; forever and ever, we shall declare your holiness. (Conclusion\nof the Kedushah<\/em> prayer of the Siddur<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generations\u2014tol\u2019dot<\/em> in Hebrew\u2014appears as a\nkey word throughout the book of Genesis. In the second chapter (5:4<\/a>),\nthe word summarizes the entire creative process that which is pictured in Genesis 1<\/a>,\nand introduces the more concrete and earthy portrayal of Genesis 2<\/a>.\nIn tie following chapters, the formula \u201cthese are the generations\u201d\u2014eleh\ntol\u2019dot<\/em>\u2014will appear ten more times to introduce the nations of humankind,\nand especially the descendants of Abraham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term tol\u2019dot frames the whole\ndrama of Genesis. The Lord seeks to establish a godly line of humankind that\nwill follow in his ways and preserve the knowledge of him from generation to\ngeneration. But this desire encounters repeated opposition as humans rebel\nagainst, or simply ignore, the divine will. Genesis portrays a contest for\ngenerational continuity, and nowhere is this contest more evident than in the\nstory of Joseph, which begins with the final occurrence of the phrase, eleh\ntol\u2019dot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being\nseventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was\nwith the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father\u2019s wives: and\nJoseph brought unto his father their evil report. (Gen. 37:2<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text says, \u201cThese are the\ngenerations of Jacob,\u201d and immediately moves on to focus on Joseph, designated\nby Jacob as the heir apparent. Reuben, who had the right of inheritance as the\nfirstborn, had already disqualified himself when he \u201cwent and lay with Bilhah\nhis father\u2019s concubine\u201d (Gen. 35:22<\/a>). Simeon and Levi, next in line,\nproved their unworthiness by their violent and treacherous behavior toward\nShechem (Gen.\n34<\/a>; 49:5<\/a>). Later in this parashah, the action will\nshift to Judah, who follows Simeon and Levi in birth order Will he prove\nhimself worthy to be Jacob\u2019s heir? The choice between Joseph and Judah will not\nbe resolved until the end of Genesis, and will indeed play out in biblical\nhistory far beyond that point. But for now, the focus is on Joseph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout Genesis, God is\ncalling forth a human line that will truly represent him and be his partner on\nthe way from Creation to completion. In his infinite wisdom, God decides that\nthe road nap for this journey must pass from generation to generation in one\nextended family. He favors Abraham because he has proven faithful in this task\nof generational transmission:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since\nAbraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of\nthe earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may\ncommand his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the\nLord, to do righteousness and\njustice, that the Lord may bring\nto Abraham what He has spoken to him. (Gen.\n18:17\u201319<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, in Exodus, the Lord says to Moses, \u201cGo in\nto Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that\nI nay show these signs of Mine before him, and that you may tell in the hearing\nof your son and your son\u2019s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt \u2026 that\nyou may know that I am the Lord\u201d (Exod.\n10:l\u20132<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s strategy of\nself-revelation, which is central to the whole biblical narrative, moves\nforward on one-by-one telling\u2014\u201dthat you may tell your son and your son\u2019s son.\u201d\nWhen we tell our children!, or any younger generation, about what God has done,\nwe too have a share in declaring his name, that is, his reputation and glory to\nthose around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because this generation-to-generation\ntransmission is essential to God\u2019s plan, it entails a battle, the contest for\ncontinuity. At the beginning of Joseph\u2019s story, his brothers threaten his life.\nThey spare him, but then the life of his whole generation is threatened by\nfamine. Joseph must pass through many trials\u2014rejection, slavery,\nimprisonment\u2014as well as unparalleled success, before he establishes a new\ngeneration of his own. He endures all to ensure the survival of the next\ngeneration. In his own estimation, this is a battle well worth fighting, as he\nwill tell his brothers at the end of the story. \u201cYou meant evil against me; but\nGod meant it for good, in order to, bring it about as it is this day, to save\nmany people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and\nyour little ones\u201d (Gen. 50:20\u201321<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a contest for the Lord,\nthrough Joseph, \u201cto save many people alive.\u201d In the same way, there is a\ncontest today to preserve the next generation. It is bad enough (from the\nstandpoint of those who oppose God) for a few individuals to have an encounter\nwith God, but a multi-generation movement for Yeshua\u2014never! Anyone seeking to\nraise a family in the 21st century knows this contest for continuity firsthand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this struggle, we pass on not\nonly the remembrance of events, but an immediate and intimate knowledge of the\nLord, as Moses said, \u201cWhat he did for me.\u201d God desires that through our story,\na new generation \u201cmay know that I am the Lord\u201d (Exod.\n10:2b<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The God revealed in Torah, who\nmoves and acts redemptively on the stage of history, has most fully revealed\nhimself in Yeshua the Messiah. He now moves and acts redemptively in our lives.\nWe pass his legacy on by displaying \u201cwhat the Lord did for me\u2026\u201d concretely in\nthe way we behave, the way we speak, and the way we treat each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> How can I display \u201cwhat the Lord did for me\u201d\nthrough Messiah Yeshua in my life? What am I doing to pass that story on to the\nnext generation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ELECTION AND ENVY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Mikketz<\/em>, Genesis\n41:1\u201344:17<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Hiding Place,<\/em> set in World War II\nHolland, Corrie Ten Boom asks a visiting pastor to hide a Jewish mother and\nnewborn infant. He replies, \u201cNo, definitely not. We could lose our lives for\nthat Jewish child.\u201d Corrie writes, \u201cUnseen by either of us, Father had appeared\nin the doorway. \u2018Give the child to me, Corrie,\u2019 he said. Father held the baby\nclose, his white beard brushing its cheek, looking into the little face with\neyes as blue and innocent as the baby\u2019s. \u2018You say we could lose our lives for\nthis child. I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my\nfamily.\u2019 \u201d26<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Father Ten Boom taught his daughters to love\nthe Jewish people in the years before World War II, he spoke as a prophet. He\nwas countering a centuries-old European legacy of anti-Semitism that would soon\nreach its horrible climax in the Nazi Holocaust. Today, in an unparalleled\nreversal, countless Christians have become lovers of Israel and the Jewish\npeople. We live in a day of reconciliation between Jews and Christians, between\nChurch and Synagogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story of Joseph and his\nbrothers, which continues through Parashat Mikketz<\/em>, provides startling\ninsights into this reconciliation. A key issue in the story, as in the\nJewish-Christian story over the centuries, is election, the father\u2019s choice of\none son above all others. Orthodox Jewish scholar Michael Wyschogrod sees\nJoseph and his brothers as a sign of God\u2019s choice of the Jewish people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because [God] said, \u201cI will bless those who bless\nyou, and curse him that curses you; in you shall all the families of the earth\nbe blessed\u201d (Gen. 12:3<\/a>), he has tied his saving and redemptive\nconcern for the welfare of all humankind to his love for the people of Israel.\nOnly those who love the people of Israel can love the God of Israel. Israel is\nthus God\u2019s first born, most precious in his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From this, two great dangers follow, both of which\nhave come to pass. The first is Israel\u2019s vain pride in its own election and the\nsecond is the nations\u2019 jealousy at that same election. This twofold drama is\nprefigured in the tale of Joseph and his brothers, but so is the\nreconciliation that awaits us in the end of time.<\/em>27<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joseph is the favorite of his\nfather, Jacob, and he seems to flaunt that privilege in his brothers\u2019 faces. He\nreports their bad behavior to Jacob. He gloats over his dreams of dominating\nhis brothers (and his parents as well). He sports the special garment, an\nornamented tunic that Jacob gives him, even when he goes out to the fields of\nDothan to check up on his brothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joseph is indeed chosen, but as\nyet has no idea of what he is chosen for. His brothers can only see Joseph\u2019s\nself absorption and react with envy. Wyschogrod\u2014a loyal Jew\u2014sees a parallel to\nJoseph in the Jewish people, who are equally chosen. He also sees the Gentile\nnations reenacting the envy of Joseph\u2019s brothers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as Joseph\u2019s brothers rebelled against the\nfavor shown by their father toward this one child of his, so the nations refuse\nto accept the election of Israel. And just as Joseph was not guiltless in the\nmatter in that he did not accept his election as he should have, in humility,\nin fear and trembling, so Israel has not often made it easy for the nations to\naccept its election. Just as Joseph suffered for his deeds, so has Israel; just\nas Joseph retained the election, proving worthy of it, so has Israel.28<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this comparison is apt, the\nending of the story is especially encouraging. Wyschogrod writes that this\nending prefigures \u201cthe reconciliation [between Israel and the nations] that\nawaits us in the end of time.\u201d As followers of Yeshua, we believe this\nreconciliation will be accomplished only in him. Here we must depart from\nWyschogrod\u2019s reading, for he sees reconciliation coming as the nations learn to\naccept \u201cthe mystery of their non election.\u201d29<\/sup> But in Messiah, a\nremnant from the nations is elect. The mystery is that this election in no way\ndiminishes Israel\u2019s election. Indeed, the election of Gentiles in Messiah\ndepends upon Israel\u2019s election, as God said to Abraham, \u201cIn your seed all the\nnations of the earth shall be blessed\u201d (Gen.\n22:18<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, in Joseph\u2019s story, once\nthe brothers accept his uniquely favored position, they are able to benefit\nfrom it. They never replace Joseph as the chosen son. Even as Jacob approaches\ndeath, he bestows a double portion upon Joseph, the traditional right of the\nfirst born, by adopting both of his sons and including them in the number of\nthe tribes of Israel (Gen. 48:15\u201316<\/a>, 22<\/a>).\nNevertheless, he goes on to bless each of his other sons, and to articulate\neach one\u2019s destiny as part of the people of God. We might say that all twelve\ntribes are chosen, yet Joseph remains uniquely chosen, and the source of\nblessing to the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story of election and envy\nreveals the need for Jewish Christian reconciliation. For centuries, the Church\nhas taught that it replaces Israel as the chosen people of God, and that the\ncovenants and promises first spoken to Israel now apply only to it. In this\nmistaken view, since the Church represents a new elect, Israel can no longer be\nelect, and Jews who accept Yeshua are no longer to live as Jews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Jews have often\nhad difficulty acknowledging God\u2019s election of a remnant from among the nations\nthrough the Messiah Yeshua. Instead, both Jews and Christians have imagined\nthemselves in a zero-sum game in which favor upon one group meant the rejection\nof the other. But these are the rules of man, not God. Reconciliation will mean\naffirming the election, both of Israel and of the faithful of all nations in\nMessiah Yeshua. The affirmation of Israel\u2019s election does not diminish the\nelection of a remnant from the nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who see a need for\nreconciliation in their own lives will find a lesson here. Reconciliation means\novercoming envy, and a zero-sum mentality that fears that the other\u2019s blessing\nwill diminish our own. Instead, we must embrace the vastness of God\u2019s blessing\nfor ourselves, and others as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Messianic Jews and\nChristians read the Joseph story, they often see the rejected and suffering\nJoseph as prefiguring Yeshua. He too is rejected by his own brothers, and he\ntoo becomes the agent of salvation for the sons of Jacob and for the\nsurrounding nations as well. If the story prefigures \u201cthe reconciliation that\nawaits us in the end of time\u201d as Wyschogrod writes, it is foremost a\nreconciliation between Yeshua and his brothers, the Jewish people. Both\nreadings stand, however. Joseph prefigures Israel the chosen people, and<\/em>\nthe chosen one among the chosen people, Yeshua the Messiah. Reconciliation\nbetween Israel and the nations is inextricably tied to reconciliation between\nYeshua and the Jewish people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Son of God has come among us\nas the Jew Yeshua. He embodies God\u2019s irrevocable gifts and calling upon Israel,\nand he will never abandon his people. The consummation of Creation must involve\nthe restoration of Israel and its reconciliation with the Gentile church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel continues to be the elect\nof God, despite our wanderings and unbelief. An assembly from the nations is\nalso the elect of God, despite its wanderings and unbelief. The mystery is that\nGod is at work in both elect groups, despite the failings of each. As\nJoseph\u2014the chosen one rejected by his brothers\u2014declares at the end of his\nstory: \u201cBut as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good,\nin order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive\u201d (Gen.\n50:20<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> If I am part of God\u2019s chosen people, whether\nJewish or Gentile, I must ask myself what I am chosen for. I can express my\nthanks to God for choosing me by seeking to be a source of blessing to others.\nWhat special assignment can I fulfill today as one chosen by God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAND HE DREW NEAR\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Vayigash<\/em>, Genesis\n44:18\u201347:27<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gates of prayer are never closed.30<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the story of Joseph and his brothers reaches its\nclimax, Judah draws near to Joseph to make an unusual request:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Judah said: He came near for battle, as in\nthe verse, So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh unto battle<\/em>\n(2\nSam. 10:13<\/a>). Rabbi Nehemiah said: He came near for conciliation, as\nin the verse, Then the children of Judah drew near unto Joshua<\/em> (Josh.\n14:6<\/a>)\u2014to conciliate him. The Rabbis said: Coming near applies to\nprayer, as in the verse, And it came to pass at the time of the evening\noffering, that Elijah the prophet came near<\/em> \u2026 (1 Kings\n18:36<\/a>). Rabbi Leazar combined all these views: I come whether it be\nfor battle, for conciliation, or for prayer.31<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phrase, \u201cdraw near,\u201d has\ndifferent implications in different passages, and Rabbi Leazar combines three\nmeanings: Judah draws near to battle<\/em> against a terrible fate that has\nbefallen one of the brothers; he draws near to bring conciliation<\/em> to the\nwhole family; and he draws near to pray<\/em> for mercy from Joseph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand Judah\u2019s action\nfully, we remember that the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the sons.\nJoseph is a sign to Israel that one whom they reject and cast out will become\ntheir deliverer. Joseph is destined to rule over the tribes of Israel, but\nfirst, like the deliverer to come, he must suffer rejection by his brothers\nbecause of this very destiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came\nnear them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one\nanother, \u201cLook, this dreamer is coming! Come now then, let us kill him, and\ncast him into one of these pits and say, \u2018Some wild beast has devoured him!\u2019\nThen we will see what becomes of his dreams!\u201d (Gen.\n37:18\u201320<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Messiah tells the story of\nanother son, rejected like Joseph. A father owns a vineyard that he rents out\nto vinedressers. When he sends messengers to collect his share of the fruit,\nthe vinedressers beat and kill them one by one. Finally, the father sends his\nson, saying, \u201cThey will respect my son.\u201d But when the vine dressers see the\nson, they conspire against him to kill him, saying to one another, \u201cThis is the\nheir. Come now then, let us now kill him, and seize his inheritance.\u201d So they\ntake him and cast him out of the vineyard and kill him (Matt.\n21:37\u201339<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua, of course, tells this\nstory about himself. Like Joseph, he is rejected and cast out to die, and, like\nJoseph, he will be raised up from death to be exalted as ruler. Joseph emerges\nfrom the dungeon to become second only to Pharaoh in all of Egypt. He becomes\nthe source of salvation to all nations, honored among them, but still a\nstranger to his own brothers. Indeed, as the famine spreads and all nations go\ndown to Egypt for food, only the sons of Israel do not know where to obtain\nbread. \u201cWhen Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons,\n\u2018Why do you keep looking at one another?\u2019 And he said, \u2018Here, I have heard that\nthere is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we\nmay live and not die\u2019 \u201d (Gen. 42:1\u20132<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the sons of Israel come\nto Egypt to appear before Joseph, whom they do not yet recognize. The story\nends as God intended, when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and saves\nthem from famine. Now we understand that God sent Joseph to save the nations,\nso that he might in the end save Israel. Likewise, the other rejected son, unrecognized\nby his own brothers, brings salvation to the nations, so that in the end \u201call\nIsrael will be saved\u201d (Rom. 11:26<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the climactic scene, however,\nthe focus shifts from Joseph, who is a sign of Messiah to come, to Judah, who\nis also a sign for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Joseph reveals himself to\nhis brothers, he tests them. They had rejected Joseph years before, wounding\nnot only him, but also their father, Jacob, who spent the next twenty years\nmourning for Joseph. Have the brothers realized their sins against both their\nbrother and their father? To test them, Joseph arrests the youngest brother,\nBenjamin, telling the rest, \u201cBenjamin shall be my slave. And as for you, go up\nin peace to your father\u201d (Gen. 44:17<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this, Judah steps out from\namong his brothers, for he has promised his father that he will bring Benjamin\nhome safely, and offer himself in place of Benjamin. Thereby, without knowing\nit, he passes the test:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Judah drew near to him and said: \u201cPlease my\nlord, pray let your servant speak a word in my lord\u2019s hearing, and do not let\nyour anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh! \u2026 So now, pray\nlet your servant remain instead of the lad as slave to my lord, and let the lad\ngo up with his brothers. For how can I go up to my father if the lad is not\nwith me, lest I see the evil that would come upon my father?\u201d Then Joseph could\nrestrain himself no longer. (Gen. 44:18<\/a>, 33\u201334<\/a>;\n45:1<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Joseph is a sign of Messiah\nand the brothers are a sign of Israel, who is Judah? He is a sign of a\nbelieving remnant within Israel, interceding for the whole. Indeed, he is a\nsign of all\u2014Gentiles, as well as Jews\u2014who are willing to make real sacrifices for\nthe restoration of Israel. Therefore, he becomes a sign for each of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can imagine Judah as father\nand husband, a man with attachments and duties, whose only desire is to get\nfood for his household and return home. Now he faces a terrible choice. He\nremembers his word to his father and knows he cannot return home without his\nyounger brother. So he turns his back on his own desires and puts himself into\nJoseph\u2019s hands as a slave for life, for the sake of his brother. Because Judah\ndraws near in this way, Joseph will call his brothers, all Israel, to draw near\nas well. \u201cAnd Joseph said to his brothers, \u2018Please draw near to me.\u2019 So they\ndrew near. Then he said: \u2018I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into\nEgypt\u2019 \u201d (Gen. 45:3\u20134<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gates of prayer are never\nclosed. Judah is a sign of the one who goes through those gates not for his own\npurposes, but on behalf of his brothers. The journey toward Creation\u2019s\nconsummation cannot go forward without such prayers. Just as God raises up\nJoseph as the savior of Egypt and the surrounding nations, so that he might\nsave Israel, so is the salvation of Israel central to his purposes for the\nwhole human race in our day and into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judah is a sign of our calling as\nfollowers of Messiah to remain in solidarity with all Israel as we draw near to\nhim, anticipating the day when the rest of the sons of Jacob will draw near to\nMessiah as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> The gates of prayer are never closed, but what\nwill I do when I enter those gates? Will I go beyond concern for my own needs\nto practice unselfish concern for others? Specifically, like Judah, will I\nintercede for the whole family of Israel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A COFFIN IN EGYPT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Vayechi<\/em>, Genesis\n47:28\u201350:26<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the next to last scene of the old Star Wars\nmovie, The Empire Strikes Back,<\/em> the hero Han Solo is frozen solid in\ncarbonite by his imperial captors. As they lower the inert Solo into a vault, a\nfrosty mist swirls about him and the music fades away. All you can think is,\n\u201csequel coming.\u201d It seems like a moment of defeat, but it signals the victory\nthat is sure to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like The Empire Strikes Back,\nGenesis concludes with an image of seeming defeat\u2014a coffin in Egypt\u2014that\nconveys the promise of victory to come:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Joseph took an oath from the children of\nIsrael, saying, \u201cGod will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones\nfrom here.\u201d So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they\nembalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. (Gen.\n50:25\u201326<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first reading, this seems like\na disappointing ending for the magnificent first book of the Torah. The\nrabbinic commentators do not say a great deal about it, perhaps reflecting some\nembarrassment over Joseph\u2019s embalming, since later Jewish law forbids it.\nLikewise, Christian commentators often see the conclusion of Genesis as\nnegative, suggesting the hopelessness of the human condition apart from divine\nredemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book of Hebrews however,\nprovides the key to understanding this conclusion: \u201cBy faith Joseph, when he\ndied, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave\ncommandment concerning his bones\u201d (Heb.\n11:22<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coffin in Egypt becomes an\nemblem of hope, a sure sign that this story is not over yet. Joseph \u201cmade\nmention of the departing of the children of Israel,\u201d telling them twice that\nGod would \u201csurely visit\u201d them and bring them up out of Egypt (Gen.\n50:24\u201325<\/a>). God promises redemption, and Joseph believes that\npromise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Genesis concludes, then, we\nmay believe that we have only to wait for the sequel, when the promise will\nsurely be fulfilled. We might think that the route from the coffin in Egypt to\nredemption is all in God\u2019s hand, but actually, the actors in this drama must\nprovide a crucial element themselves. The sequel will be another step on the\nway from Creation to completion, the overarching theme of all the Torah, and\ntherefore it will require human participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Book of Exodus reveals the\nhuman element in the transition from the coffin in Egypt to the deliverance to\ncome:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was, many years later,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the king of Egypt died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The children of Israel groaned from the servitude,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and they cried out;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and their plea for help went up to God from the\nservitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God hearkened to their moaning,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God called to mind his covenant with Avraham, with\nYitzchak,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and with Yaakov,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God saw the Children of Israel,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God knew. (Exodus\n2:23\u201325<\/a>, Fox)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The simple language of Torah\ndescribes four divine actions. When the children of Israel groan, the Lord\nhears, remembers, looks, and knows. Of course, God knows everything all the\ntime. Hence, numerous translations supplement this final phrase with words\nlike, \u201cGod took notice of them\u201d (njps),\nor \u201cGod acknowledged them\u201d (nkjv).\nBut the Hebrew is clear enough: \u201cGod knew,\u201d period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God knows all things, but he has\nassigned to human beings the responsibility of reminding him. Our ancestors\nwere groaning under their bondage, but they still bore the image of God and\nrepresented him. They had the authority to call upon him to intervene in human\naffairs, as they \u201ccried out\u201d with a \u201cplea-for-help.\u201d In response to this cry,\nGod hears, remembers, looks, and knows, thereby reminding us of both the power\nand simplicity of prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond this simple cry for help,\nwe can see a second level of prayer, which is reflected in the traditional\nservice of the synagogue, to this day. Even after the redemption from Egypt,\nthe Jewish people remain in exile, but we possess the promise of redemption.\nOur ancestors in Egypt may not have remembered God\u2019s promise to redeem them\nuntil Moses came to fulfill it, but God heard their anguished groaning anyway.\nNow we have the assurance of redemption revealed in Scripture, and call upon\nGod on that basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jewish liturgy abounds with\nexamples of such a call. The final line of the Kaddish<\/em> prayer says, \u201cHe\nwho makes peace in his high places, may he make peace upon us and upon all\nIsrael\u201d (from the Siddur<\/em>). Peace, shalom<\/em>, is central to the\nprophetic vision of Creation consummated, revealed throughout the Book of\nGenesis. In the Kaddish<\/em>, repeated daily in the synagogue, we call on the\nLord to establish that shalom in our midst even now. When we sing this prayer,\nwe repeat the refrain, ya\u2019aseh shalom alenu v\u2019al kol Yisrael<\/em>, literally,\n\u201cHe will<\/em> make peace upon us and upon all Israel.\u201d This is a prophetic\nand intercessory cry for the Lord to do as he has promised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, preparing to take the\nTorah out of the ark in the synagogue service, we recite the words, \u201cWhen the\nark went forth, Moses would say, \u2018Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be\nscattered, and let those who hate you flee from before you.\u2019 \u201d (from the Siddur<\/em>).\nAs the Word of God goes forth in our service, we pray that the spiritual forces\nthat oppose God and Israel will be defeated and driven back. In this weekly enactment,\nwe pray for all Israel, and ultimately for the whole human race, looking\nforward to the day when \u201cThe Torah will go forth from Zion, and the word of the\nLord from Jerusalem\u201d (Isa. 2:3<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With such prayers, Israel has\ntaken on its priestly responsibility throughout the centuries, and these\nprayers remain precious in the sight of God. For believers in Yeshua, whether\nJewish or Gentile, the redemption of which they speak is even more immediate.\nMessiah has already launched the restoration of all things through his death\nand resurrection. Through him, these prayers will be fulfilled in the end of\ndays, and through him, we come to a third level of intercession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first level is the simple cry\nto God for relief. A second level comes in response to the promises revealed in\nScripture. We call out in the language of divine revelation to remind God to\nact as he has said he would. The third level responds to the fulfillment<\/em>\nof the promise in Messiah Yeshua. We still await the Age to Come, but in\nMessiah, the spirit of God is at work among us here and now. We participate in\nthis third level as we pray in the name of Yeshua, proclaiming his victory and\nlife. For us, Joseph\u2019s coffin in Egypt pictures not defeat but the promise of\nresurrection, a promise already realized in Messiah Yeshua, and guaranteed to\nhis followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis opened with the account\nof Creation, which included the plan for its completion. God created human\nbeings in his image, to have dominion over the earth under his rule. Through\ndisobedience to God, however, human beings obstructed the way for the plan to\nbe fulfilled. But even in the midst of human failure, even in the presence of a\ncoffin in Egypt, God\u2019s promise remains. And humankind, including you and me,\nare responsible for believing the promise and calling on God to bring it to\npass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> God knows all things, but he awaits our cry. It is\nour responsibility in prayer to remind him of his promise, and to proclaim the\nfulfillment of that promise in Messiah Yeshua. The journey toward restoration\nadvances through divine-human cooperation. How fully am I cooperating with\nGod\u2019s plan?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05e9\u05de\u05d5\u05ea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE BOOK OF EXODUS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exodus brings us back to the closing scene of\nGenesis\u2014Egypt, where Joseph has led the tribes of Israel. Now God is going to\nact upon his promise to Abraham to bring Israel out of bondage in Egypt and\nback to the land of Canaan. The Hebrew title for Exodus is \u05e9\u05de\u05d5\u05ea (Sh\u2019mot<\/em>), or \u201cNames,\u201d from its opening line, \u201cNow these\nare the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt.\u201d But Exodus is no\nmere census, nor just a record of ancient events in an alien land. Rather, it\nretells such events to advance the narrative of Creation-Revelation-Completion\nthat began in the book of Genesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022     Creation.<\/em>\nThis theme underlies the entire Bible, but Exodus especially revisits and\ndevelops it. As one modern translator says, \u201cThe book of Exodus is Israel\u2019s\nsecond book of origins.\u201d1<\/sup> Throughout Exodus, as in Genesis, God acts\nto restore and protect the original order and blessing of Creation, despite\nhuman resistance and failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022     Revelation.<\/em>\nThe entire story of Israel\u2019s deliverance from Egypt centers on God making\nhimself known, as in the recurring phrase, \u201cthat you [or they] may know that I\nam the Lord.\u201d When God sends the\nplagues upon Egypt and delivers the Israelites in a great display of power, it\nis to make himself known both to Israel and Egypt as the true and living God.\nBecause Exodus reveals God so fully, it becomes the foundational story of the\nrest of the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as of the account of Yeshua\u2019s life\nrecorded in the Gospels. And it remains the foundational story of the Jewish\npeople to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme of Revelation reaches a\nclimax when Israel arrives at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19<\/a>.\nHere, before the eyes of 2,000,000 men, women, and children, God reveals his\npresence upon the mountain in fire, in the midst of thunder, lightning, and a\nthick cloud. Far greater than this vision of God\u2019s presence, however, is the\nword of God revealed at Sinai. Exodus records the Ten Commandments written by\nthe finger of God, the basis for the entire body of divine instruction, which\ncontinues through the rest of the Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One specific instruction, or set\nof instructions, in Exodus is especially designed to reveal God. He charges the\nIsraelites with building the tabernacle, which takes up the final sixteen\nchapters of the book. The tabernacle is a model of the restored Creation, in\nwhich God dwells in the midst of his people, and reveals himself from there to\nall humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022     Completion.<\/em>\nThe restoration of all things does not yet take place in Torah, of course, but\nExodus points toward it continually. We will see how specifics of the Mosaic\nlegislation point toward the fulfillment of the Age to Come. Through obedience\nto God\u2019s word, human beings take on their responsibility to represent God\nwithin his Creation. Every commandment is a preview in the present age of the\nrestored order and peace of the Age to Come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to advancing the story of Creation to\ncompletion, Exodus develops the themes of Covenant and Redemption introduced in\nGenesis. A covenant is a solemn and binding agreement that defines the\nrelationship between God as the sovereign ruler, and human beings, his grateful\nsubjects. God makes such covenants, first with all humankind through Noah, and\nthen with one specific human family through Abraham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Exodus, he will act upon the\ncovenant he made with Abraham to deliver his descendants from slavery and bring\nthem into a new and expanded covenant as his chosen people. This action invokes\nthe theme of Redemption. Redemption rescues God\u2019s people from the forces that\ndisrupt his purpose in Creation and block his self-revelation. It reopens the\nway toward the fulfillment of Creation. Thus, redemption becomes an essential\nelement in the big story of Creation-Revelation-Completion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The message of Exodus is clear.\nGod, the creator of all things, is a God who makes covenant with the humans\nthat he created in his image. There are spiritual forces that oppose God and\nhis people, but God is faithful to act in human history and in the end to make\nhimself known upon the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GOD REDISCOVERED<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Shemot<\/em>, Exodus\n1:1\u20136:1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The knowledge that we acquire by being in the ten\nplagues school is primarily the knowledge of God and how he works in contrast\nto Pharaoh and how he works. Pharaoh employs size and force and prestige to\ncontrol and oppress. God employs only an eighty-year-old desert shepherd and\nhis brother, their only weapon a stick, and a ragtag company of despised slaves\nto bring about freedom and salvation for the whole world.2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exodus is a book of renewal, in which all the\nthemes sounded at the beginning of Genesis reach a new crescendo. In Egypt,\nIsrael becomes a new humanity, fulfilling the original blessing of fruitfulness\nfrom Genesis\n1<\/a>. \u201cBut the children of Israel were fruitful and increased\nabundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled\nwith them\u201d (Exod. 1:7<\/a>). When Moses is born, his mother sees ki\ntov<\/em>, that he is good, using the same phrase that appears seven times in Genesis 1<\/a>.\nIn Exodus, Israel, in the person of Moses, is saved from the waters by an ark\nand restored to an Eden-like land flowing with milk and honey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The renewal of Exodus, like all\nspiritual renewals, entails a renewed understanding of God. Here we acquire\nanew \u201cthe knowledge of God and how he works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, Moses\u2019 renewal begins when\nhe encounters God at the Burning Bush. Whether you\u2019re a dedicated student of\nScripture or not, you probably remember this encounter, which is so dramatic,\nso unexpected, and so decisive in shaping the rest of Moses\u2019 life. At the\nBurning Bush, God calls Moses back to Egypt to stand before Pharaoh and deliver\nthe children of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may also remember that Moses\nresists this calling with some heat. When God sends him back to Egypt, Moses\nsays, \u201cWho am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring forth the children of\nIsrael out of Egypt?\u201d The Lord encourages Moses, \u201cI will certainly be with\nyou.\u201d (Exod. 3:11\u201312<\/a>). The real issue, of course, is the\nability of God, not of Moses. God, not Moses, will get the glory as he\nintervenes in a situation that seems utterly hopeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exodus shows us that in the face\nof great challenge, we are not to look to who we are, but to the God who is\nwith us. This story preaches so well, however, that we might forget that God\u2019s\nanswer doesn\u2019t quite satisfy Moses. He had first asked, \u201cWho am I?\u201d Now in\nresponse to God\u2019s promise to be with him, he asks, \u201cand who are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Moses said to God, \u201cIndeed, when I come to the\nchildren of Israel and say to them, \u2018The God of your fathers has sent me to\nyou,\u2019 and they say to me, \u2018What is His name?\u2019 what shall I say to them?\u201d (3:13<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The children of Israel have\nprobably spoken of the God of their forefathers, but they have seen little\nevidence of God. Now God is going to use this \u201ceighty-year-old desert shepherd\nand his brother \u2026 and a ragtag company of despised slaves to bring about\nfreedom and salvation for the whole world.\u201d Just who is this God who says he is\ngoing to do such amazing things?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And God said to Moses, \u201cI AM WHO I AM.\u201d And He\nsaid, \u201cThus you shall say to the children of Israel, \u2018I AM has sent me to\nyou.\u2019 \u201d Moreover God said to Moses, \u201cThus you shall say to the children of\nIsrael: \u2018The Lord God of your\nfathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent\nme to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all\ngenerations.\u2019 \u201d (3:14\u201315<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord says at first that he\ncannot be named: I am who I am. Jewish tradition considers the personal name of\nGod, spelled with the four Hebrew letters equivalent to Y-H-V-H, too holy to\npronounce, so that it is read as Adonai, or Lord.\nRambam notes that YHVH is derived from the root vhv hyh<\/em>, meaning, \u201cto\nbe.\u201d This name, therefore, \u201cis not indicative of an attribute, but of a simple\nroot and nothing else. Now absolute existence implies that He shall always be,\nI mean He who is necessarily existent.\u201d3<\/sup> From the Burning Bush, this\neternally existent and unnamable God identifies himself as God of the patriarchs.\nThus, he ties himself to time and place, apparently contradicting his \u201cabsolute\nexistence.\u201d Scripture speaks of God\u2019s transcendence and of his presence among\nhumankind, developing a tension that is not fully resolved until the coming of\nMessiah, who is Immanuel, God with us (Isa. 7:14<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is another tension in the\nstory of Exodus: \u201cAnd God spoke to Moses and said to him: \u2018I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac,\nand to Jacob, as God Almighty [El Shaddai<\/em>], but by My name Lord I was not known to them\u2019 \u201d (Exod. 6:2<\/a>).\nBut the patriarchs did<\/em> use the name YHVH. Indeed, at the Burning Bush,\nGod speaks of himself as \u201cAdonai, God of your fathers.\u201d In what sense then was\nthe name Adonai not known to the patriarchs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We find a clue to this question\nin the name by which the Lord appeared to the forefathers, El Shaddai. This\nname sounds like the Hebrew word dai<\/em>\u2014enough\u2014signifying that he is the\nGod who is always sufficient. Sforno comments that El Shaddai identifies God as\nthe Creator of all existence. But YHVH identifies God as he intervenes within\nhis Creation to bring redemption. \u201cI, who grant existence to all that exists,\nshall with this power bring them out by partially modifying nature.\u201d4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob know\nGod as El Shaddai, the God who calls them, leads them to the land of Canaan,\nand promises them a great inheritance there. Even though they sometimes use the\nname Adonai, they all die without seeing the character of Adonai revealed. When\nthe time comes to fulfill the promise, however, God reveals himself as Adonai,\nthe one who acts within human history for his redemptive purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Torah, as in our lives,\nGod seeks to make himself more fully known. We often try to understand our life\nstruggles in terms of our own happiness or success, and thereby often fail to\nunderstand. But perhaps we need to see our struggles as God\u2019s way of revealing\nhimself as the One who is with us through it all, and who works in ways that\ndon\u2019t always make sense to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the biblical story unfolds,\nGod does not grow more distant, but he draws nearer. And he draws near to\naccomplish redemption, not only to help the oppressed, but to reveal his\ncharacter. \u201cThen you shall know that I am Adonai your God who brings you out\nfrom under the burden of the Egyptians\u201d (Exod.\n6:6\u20137<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our journey through Torah, we\nwill find God becoming not more abstract, as we might expect, but more embodied\nand engaged, more knowable. Here is a remez, a hint, of the coming of Immanuel,\nGod with us, in the person of Messiah. In Messiah, God makes himself known upon\nthe earth more and more fully until the day of restoration arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> All renewal entails a renewed vision of God. God\nnever changes, but we must continually change in our understanding of him, as\nhe seeks to reveal himself more fully to us. Am I ready to learn more of who\nGod is, so I can share in the renewal that God brings?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOU GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Va\u2019era<\/em>, Exodus\n6:2\u20139:35<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you\u2019re gonna have to serve somebody.5<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exodus is the Torah\u2019s book of worship. It takes\nIsrael from the scene of oppression in Egypt, to Mount Sinai where they become\na kingdom of priests, to the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness,\nwhere they will worship the Lord in the midst of the camp. Thus, when the Lord\nfirst calls Moses from the Burning Bush and sends him to deliver his people, he\nsays, \u201cThis shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought\nthe people out of Egypt, you shall worship<\/em> God on this mountain\u201d (Exod. 3:12<\/a>,\nemphasis added.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worship in Hebrew is avodah<\/em>,\nwhich is also the word for service or labor. Israel has served Pharaoh, and now\nthey must serve God. We might even say that Israel has worshiped Pharaoh\u2014the\nverb is the same\u2014and now they must worship God. They have devoted their time,\nabilities, and energies to the glory of Pharaoh, and now they must devote their\ntime, abilities, and energies to the glory of God. Pharaoh, however, believes\nthe people must serve him, so the Lord instructs Moses to tell him, \u201cThus says\nthe Lord: \u2018Let my people go, that they may serve me\u2019 \u201d (8:20 [16]<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here in three Hebrew words we\nhave the theme of the entire book of Exodus: Shalach \u2018ami v\u2019ya\u2018awduni<\/em> \u05e9\u05dc\u05d7 \u05e2\u05de\u05d9 \u05d5\u05d9\u05e2\u05d1\u05d3\u05e0\u05d9\u2014\u201cLet my people go, that they may\nserve [worship] me.\u201d The first half of this phrase, \u201clet my people go,\u201d\ndescribes the first half of Exodus, in which the God of Israel forces Pharaoh\nto release his people \u201cby trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty\nhand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors\u201d (Deut. 4:34<\/a>).\nThis half concludes with the crossing of the Red Sea. The second half, \u201cthat\nthey may worship me,\u201d includes the encounter at Sinai and the building of the\ntabernacle, where Israel worships the Lord who has delivered them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This drama of worship in Exodus\nteaches us much about our worship today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Man is a worshiping being, created for a relationship\nwith God<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adam walks with God in the\ngarden, in an intimacy with God that is at the heart of all worship. After the\nexpulsion from the garden, men build altars, present offerings, and call upon\nthe Lord. Worship is at the center of who we are as human beings. Hence, we are\nto worship with our whole being, not as an isolated event, but through all of\nour activities. Worship in the synagogue or church should reflect our entire\nlives given to worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) There is a cosmic struggle for our worship<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We would like to imagine\nourselves as autonomous beings that can choose whom to worship or whether to\nworship at all. But Exodus reveals that, as Bob Dylan sang, \u201cYou\u2019re gonna have\nto serve somebody\u201d\u2014God or Pharaoh. So when Moses makes a modest demand of Pharaoh\nto release Israel for three days to worship the Lord in the wilderness (Exod. 3:18<\/a>;\n5:3<\/a>),\nPharaoh cannot compromise. If he acknowledges God\u2019s claim here, he loses his\nclaim on the very souls of the Israelites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The temptation of Messiah reveals\nthis same tug-of-war over worship:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once more, the Adversary took him up to the summit\nof a very high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their\nglory, and said to him, \u201cAll this I will give you if you will bow down and\nworship me.\u201d \u201cAway with you, Satan!\u201d Yeshua told him, \u201cFor the Tanakh says,\n\u2018Worship Adonai your God, and\nserve only him.\u2019 Then the Adversary let him alone, and angels came and took\ncare of him.\u201d (Matt. 4:8\u201311<\/a>, cjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satan seeks to draw our worship\naway from the Lord, thus diminishing his glory and disrupting the divine order\nestablished at Creation. He entices us with worldly power and comfort.\nScripture does not promote asceticism or a narrow religiosity, but it does\nalert us to the power of the materialistic culture that surrounds us. We need\nto resist the images of greed, lust, and vanity that bombard us in the name of\nentertainment or success. The adversary does not insist on being worshiped\ndirectly; he is satisfied to simply divert our worship away from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) This struggle for worship centers upon Israel<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Exodus, the Lord identifies\nIsrael as his firstborn son, a representative humanity, the priestly nation. If\ntheir worship can remain diverted, then the worship of the rest of the nations\nwill be as well. This contest over worship may help explain the intense\nstruggle that has characterized Jewish history over the centuries, and\ncontinues today. It is a struggle not just over Israel\u2019s destiny, but over the\nfulfillment of God\u2019s plan for all humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4) Falsely directed worship results in bondage<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the Egyptians made the\nchildren of Israel serve<\/em> with rigor. And they made their lives bitter\nwith hard bondage<\/em>\u2014in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service<\/em>\nin the field. All their service<\/em> in which they made them serve<\/em> was\nwith rigor. (Exod. 1:13\u201314<\/a>, emphasis added)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hebrew root \u05e2\u05d1\u05d3 avad<\/em>\u2014serve or worship\u2014appears five times in these two verses,\nto highlight the bondage of misdirected service. In contrast, through the\nsacrifice of Messiah, we are delivered out of bondage and set free to serve God\nalone. This personal story of salvation is just a part of the big story of\nhumankind restored to God. The message of Scripture proclaims deliverance to\nall who are serving false gods\u2014whether the gods of paganism, or the gods of\nsecular materialism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5) We are set free from bondage so that we can\nworship the true God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of our deliverance is\nnot autonomy, but worship. God leads Israel out of Egypt, not just to enjoy\nfreedom and prosperity, but to establish the tabernacle and priesthood; Messiah\ncomes not just to forgive us from sin, or to bring us into God\u2019s blessing, but\nto establish us as worshipers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biblical drama ends with\nworship. The book of Revelation is the New Covenant counterpart to Exodus as\nthe book of worship. There we see,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[A] great multitude which no one could number, of\nall nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and\nbefore the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,\nand crying out with a loud voice, saying, \u201cSalvation belongs to our God who\nsits on the throne, and to the Lamb!\u201d\u2026 [T]hey are before the throne of God, and\nserve Him day and night in His Temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell\namong them. (Rev. 7: 9\u201310<\/a>, 15<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were created to worship in the beginning, and\nworship will be our destiny in the end. The first man and woman walked with the\nLord in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day. We will regain such intimacy\nin the Age to Come when the purpose of Creation is fulfilled. In Messiah, we\nhave a foretaste of this worship even now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Am I a worshiper, or just someone who squeezes a\nfew minutes of worship into my busy schedule? Does my worship on Shabbat, or\nSunday, or other \u201creligious\u201d times, reflect a life of worship through the week?\nDo I spend my time, abilities, and energies to increase God\u2019s name and\nreputation or only my own?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE HEART OF PHARAOH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Bo<\/em>, Exodus\n10:1\u201313:16<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Akiva used to say \u2026 \u201cAll is foreseen, yet\nfree choice is given.\u201d6<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord commands Pharaoh to let the children of\nIsrael go, but he hardens Pharaoh\u2019s heart so that he refuses to let them go (Exod.\n10:20<\/a>). This paradox has puzzled readers of Exodus since the\nearliest times. God desires to deliver his people from Egypt, but he ensures\nthat the king of Egypt will not release them. Furthermore, God judges Pharaoh\nand his whole nation for keeping the Israelites in bondage, yet God hardened\nPharaoh to do the very thing for which he judges him! Pharaoh seems to have no\nfree choice in the matter, so why is he condemned?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One clue to this paradox is the\nverb translated \u201chardened\u201d in Exodus 10:20<\/a>. It is from the root \u05d7\u05d6\u05e7 hazak<\/em>, most commonly meaning \u201cto strengthen, to make firm.\u201d We\nrepeat this word in the synagogue at the conclusion of our reading of each book\nof Torah: hazak, hazak, v\u2019nit\u2019chazek!<\/em> \u201cBe strong, be strong, and let us\nbe strengthened,\u201d to fulfill the teachings of this book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord does not simply harden\nPharaoh, but he strengthens him to do what he really wants to do.<\/em> God\ndoes not override Pharaoh\u2019s freedom of will, but reinforces it. Pharaoh might\nwaver under the mounting weight of the plagues, but the Lord helps him to\npersevere and do what he really desires to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, a paradox remains. Solomon\nsays, \u201cThe king\u2019s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water;\nHe turns it wherever He wishes\u201d (Prov. 21:1<\/a>). God strengthens Pharaoh to do what\nhe wants to do, but at the same time God is carrying out his own purposes. And\nindeed, in a few references in Exodus we read, not that the Lord strengthens\nthe heart of Pharaoh, but that he \u201chardens\u201d it (Exod. 7:3<\/a>)\nor makes it \u201cstubborn\u201d (Exod. 8:28<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sforno, in his comment on Exodus 7:3<\/a>,\nsays that the Lord hardens Pharaoh\u2019s heart so that he does not buckle under the\npressure and release Israel without truly repenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without a doubt, were it not for the hardening of\nPharaoh\u2019s heart he would have sent forth Israel, not because of repentance or\nsubmission to God, the Blessed One, (nor because) he regretted his rebellion,\nrecognizing God\u2019s greatness and goodness\u2014but because he could no longer abide\nthe anguish of the plagues.\u2026 Now this would not have been repentance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s goal in Exodus is not only to deliver Israel\nout of the bondage of Egypt, but also to bring the oppressor to genuine\nrepentance. This goal in turn leads to a greater one: Revelation\u2014to make\nhimself known to the entire human race. Accordingly, the Lord says to Pharaoh,\n\u201cBut indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, so that I might show you My\npower, and that My name may be declared in all the earth\u201d (Exod. 9:16<\/a>).\nGod \u201craised up\u201d Pharaoh, not only by making him king, but by helping him to\nstand until he genuinely repents, and thereby becomes a model for the\nmultitudes. Sforno comments on this verse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that I might show you My power<\/em> \u2026 that you might repent, for I\ndo not desire the death of him who dies<\/em> (Ezekiel\n18:32<\/a>). And that My Name may he declared<\/em> \u2026 thereby turning\nmany away from sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exodus might seem like the\naccount of an ancient struggle between two local nations, but in reality, it\ntells of the struggle to bring the Creation to its divine goal. God seeks to\nreveal his sovereignty to all human beings, so that they can truly know him and\nreflect his image. He enlists human participation in this divine\nself-revelation, even from those who oppose him. As Akiva said, \u201cAll is\nforeseen\u201d\u2014God will fulfill the blessing and promise of the original Creation;\n\u201cyet free will is given\u201d\u2014human beings have a genuine part in bringing this\nfulfillment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pharaoh is a free moral agent,\ngenuinely responsible for his own deeds, yet God is behind it all,\norchestrating everything for his own redemptive purposes. In the end, of\ncourse, Pharaoh does not repent. Instead, he is finally crushed by the weight\nof the plagues, culminating in the death of his own firstborn, and releases the\nIsraelites under duress. Parashat<\/em> Bo describes the first Passover,\ncommemorating this moment of deliverance. Jewish families, as far back as the\ndays of Yeshua, reenact this Passover every year through sharing a ceremonial\nmeal, called a Seder<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the first day for matzah<\/em>, the talmidim [disciples]\ncame to Yeshua and asked, \u201cWhere do you want us to prepare your Seder?\u201d \u201cGo\ninto the city, to so-and-so,\u201d he replied, \u201cand tell him that the Rabbi says,\n\u2018My time is near, my talmidim and I are celebrating Pesach at your\nhouse.\u201d \u2019 The talmidim did as Yeshua directed and prepared the Seder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When evening came, Yeshua\nreclined with the twelve talmidim; and as they were eating, he said, \u201cYes, I\ntell you that one of you is going to betray me.\u201d They became terribly upset and\nbegan asking him, one after the other, \u201cLord, you don\u2019t mean me, do you?\u201d He\nanswered, \u201cThe one who dips his matzah in the dish with me is the one who will\nbetray me. The Son of Man will die just as the Tanakh says he will; but woe to\nthat man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him\nhad he never been born!\u201d Judas, the one who was betraying him, then asked,\n\u201cSurely, Rabbi, you don\u2019t mean me?\u201d He answered, \u201cThe words are yours.\u201d (Matt.\n26:17\u201325<\/a>, cjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All is foreseen, yet free choice\nis given. The Son of Man must \u201cdie just as the Tanakh says he will,\u201d but woe to\nthe one who betrays him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this paradox, we glimpse our\nprofound responsibility as followers of God. In modern terms we might say, God\nhas everything under control \u2026 and what I do still matters. Now we can\nunderstand why our own spiritual journeys are filled with tough choices,\nambiguities, and unanswered questions. If the pathway to redemption were paved\nentirely by God, it would be smooth all the way. But God has given us a share\nin its construction, so the pavement is rough and rocky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes we spend more energy\ntrying to discern what God is doing on the way to redemption than on\ncontributing our share. We may end up unprepared, like Yeshua\u2019s disciples on\nthat same Passover night. When an armed band came to arrest him, he submitted,\nsaying, \u201c \u2018But all this has happened so that what the prophets wrote may\nbe fulfilled.\u2019 Then the talmidim all deserted him and ran away\u201d (Matt.\n26:56<\/a>, cjb). The divine\nplan goes forward as it must, but the disciples have lost their way within it.\nThe moment of crisis arrives and they are missing from the Master\u2019s side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the story, Yeshua\ngathers his disciples, except for the betrayer. And at the end of Pharaoh\u2019s\nstory, God\u2019s plan goes forward without him. Such endings are God\u2019s\nresponsibility. For us, the challenge is to remain near to the Master, even at\nthe darkest moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> God has a plan that will not fail, and<\/em> my\nchoices still matter. I need to remain alert so that I don\u2019t fail to play my\npart, or worse, like Pharaoh, resist it. Instead, I have real responsibility in\nmaking God known in the earth. How do I fulfill my share of this responsibility\ntoday?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SPLITTING THE SEA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat B\u2019shallach<\/em>, Exodus\n13:17\u201317:16<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once, Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg said the Song at\nthe Sea [Exod. 15:1\u201319<\/a>] as prayer leader with such holy\npower that when the congregation recited with him the verses about the crossing\nof the Red Sea they all lifted up the hems of their kaftans to keep them from\ngetting wet, for it actually seemed to them that they had gone down into the\nSea which had split before them.7<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Exodus nears its climax, Israel departs from\nEgypt, but Pharaoh\u2014who refused to repent through nine plagues\u2014repents now for\nletting them go. He gathers his chariots and army to pursue the Israelites, and\novertakes them as they are encamped on the shore of the Red Sea. With Pharaoh\u2019s\narmy behind them and the Sea before them, the Israelites are trapped and\nterrified. Moses tells them, \u201cDo not be afraid. Stand still, and see the\nsalvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today\u201d (Exod.\nl4:13<\/a>). Salvation is something to be seen,<\/em> a mighty\nrevelation of God\u2019s power and glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the shore of the Red Sea, the\ndrama of Exodus returns to the original drama of \u201cIn the beginning.\u201d There, in\nthe story of Creation, the sea is the primordial chaos out of which God will\nbring the order and beauty of our world. On the second day of Creation, the\nLord makes a \u201cfirmament\u201d to divide the waters above from the waters below. On\nthe third day he says, \u201cLet the waters under the heavens be gathered together\ninto one place, and let the dry land appear\u201d (Gen. 1:9<\/a>).\nThe work of Creation goes forth in this newly divided land and sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, in Exodus, the Lord divides\nthe sea again, this time to bring salvation to the Israelites. But here the\nHebrew uses a different word for \u201cdividing.\u201d The root word in Genesis is \u05d1\u05d3\u05dc badal<\/em>, from which we derive the word Havdalah<\/em>, the\nprayer service that concludes Shabbat, dividing it from the rest of the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the\nuniverse, who distinguishes between holy and ordinary, between light and\ndarkness, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six\ndays of labor. Blessed are you, O Lord, who distinguishes between holy and\nordinary. (From the Siddur<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through this prayer, the individual becomes a\nparticipant in dividing the week between Shabbat and the ordinary days. Like\nthe parting of the Sea, this is an event of cosmic proportions, yet each member\nof the community has a share in it by reciting the blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word for the parting of the\nSea, baka<\/em>, meaning to split or cleave, is a more dramatic term than badal<\/em>,\nand signals the divine intervention into a scene of disorder. But the parallels\nto Genesis remain. The waters are divided by a ruach<\/em>, a \u201cstrong east\nwind\u201d (14:21<\/a>),\njust as the ruach, or Spirit, of the Lord hovered over the waters in the\nbeginning. As at the Creation, the waters are tamed to reveal dry land, but\nhere the dry land emerges as the scene of divine rescue and judgment. The same\nwaters that part and become a wall to the Israelites \u201con their right hand and\non their left\u201d (14:22<\/a>) become the means of judgment upon the\nEgyptians. Thus, the story echoes not only the first days of Creation, but also\nthe flood of Noah, generations later, when God brings judgment by means of\nwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another echo of the Creation\naccount, the pillar of cloud moves between Egypt and the Israelites, dividing\nthe chosen people from their oppressor. On the Egyptian side, it appears as\ncloud and darkness. To the Israelites, it brings light by night, just as the\nLord spoke \u201cLet there be light\u201d into the primordial darkness of the first day.\nChaos confronts Egypt; Creation confronts Israel, both carried by the same\ncloud of divine glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salvation is a new Creation, a\nforetaste of the renewed Creation of the Age to Come. Humankind was not present\nin the original Creation until the final day, but human beings are present in\nthe drama of salvation and must respond. Therefore, after the splitting of the\nSea, Moses and the Israelites sing a song of praise to the Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will sing to the Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For He has triumphed gloriously!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The horse and its rider<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has thrown into the sea! (Exod. 15:1<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rabbis of the Talmud noted\nthat, \u201cMoses and the children of Israel<\/em> sang this song to the Lord\u201d (Exod. 15:1<\/a>,\nemphasis added). They saw the song as a responsive reading, with Moses taking\nthe lead and the children of Israel responding line by line.8<\/sup> Every\nindividual participated. The salvation of all Israel included the salvation of\neach individual Israelite who walked across the Sea on dry ground. This\nresponsive song of worship became part of the traditional Jewish prayers, as\nrecited by Rabbi Shmelke and his congregation in Nikolsburg, an invitation to\nevery Jew in every age to personally embrace this incomparable event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the parting of the Sea, the\nresurrection of Messiah was an event of cosmic proportions that demands an\nindividual response. Matthew notes that at the moment of Yeshua\u2019s death the\nearth quaked, rocks split apart, and graves opened up, as saints were raised up\nfrom the dead to appear to many in Jerusalem. Three days after Messiah was\nplaced in a tomb, \u201cthere was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord\ndescended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat\non it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.\nAnd the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men\u201d (Matt.\n28:2\u20135<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of these awesome\ndisplays, Yeshua reveals himself to one faithful, bewildered follower by simply\nspeaking her name, \u201cMiryam,\u201d or Mary (John\n20:16<\/a>). The scope of God\u2019s salvation is far greater than our\nindividual lives. His acts of salvation are part of the divine self-disclosure\ninitiated at Creation and revived throughout the ages. At the same time, he\ncalls each one of us to enter into this salvation. Sometimes he calls, as\nYeshua did to Miriam, by simply speaking our name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> God beckons each of the Israelites and each of us,\nlike the worshipers of Nikolsburg, to respond with lively faith to his deeds of\nsalvation. Do I recognize every day God\u2019s mighty deeds, past and present, and\nrespond accordingly?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HUPPAH OF GLORY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Yitro<\/em>, Exodus\n18:1\u201320:23<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we drink four cups of wine at the Passover\nSeder, the ceremonial meal that commemorates the Exodus from Egypt? One\ntradition says that the four cups are a reminder of the Lord\u2019s fourfold promise\nof redemption: 9<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am the Lord;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will bring you out from under the burdens of the\nEgyptians,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will\nredeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will take you as My people, and I will be your\nGod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Exod. 6:6\u20137a<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will take you as my people\u2026\u201d The Lord is\nspeaking the language of courtship. The whole story of God\u2019s deliverance of\nIsrael from Egypt is like a romance. God finds Israel captive in Egypt and\nbattles with the oppressor to rescue her. He sweeps her away into the\nwilderness, where the two can be alone. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord says to Israel: \u201cI remember you,\nthe kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you went after Me\nin the wilderness, in a land not sown\u201d (Jer. 2:2<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The climax of this romance comes\nat Mount Sinai, where the Lord brings Israel into covenant with himself, under\nthe canopy of smoke and glory-cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owing to the brevity of the summer nights, and the\npleasantness of the morning sleep in summer, the people were still asleep when\nGod had descended upon Mount Sinai. Moses betook himself to the encampment and\nawakened them with these words: \u201cArise from your sleep, the bridegroom is at\nhand, and is waiting to lead his bride under the marriage-canopy.\u201d Moses at the\nhead of the procession hereupon brought the nation to its bridegroom, God, to\nSinai, himself going up the mountain. 10<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this version of the story, the\ntablets of the Ten Commandments are the ketubah<\/em>. This essential part of\nthe traditional Jewish wedding is a marriage contract signed by the bride and\ngroom before the ceremony can begin. Likewise, the glory-cloud over Sinai is\nthe huppah<\/em>, the marriage canopy, under which the bride and groom stand\nas they are joined in matrimony. With these essentials in place, God seals his\nunion with Israel: \u201cI will take you as my people, and I will be your God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the beginning, God created\nmarriage because he decreed, \u201cit is not good that man should be alone\u201d (Gen. 2:18<\/a>).\nWoman completes man and is his true counterpart. \u201cTherefore a man shall leave\nhis father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one\nflesh\u201d (Gen.\n2:24<\/a>). Marriage became a social institution and a means to various\nends, but in the beginning, it was an end in itself. God\u2019s relationship with\nIsrael reflects this primal reality. His betrothal to Israel is a marriage not\nof convenience, but of passion. God does not rescue Israel from Egypt to\naccomplish some task within the divine agenda, but, as he tells her, \u201cto take\nyou as my people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, out of this relationship\nthat is an end in itself comes much fruit. Most obviously, especially in the\ncontext of the Genesis story, marriage leads to bearing children. But even\ncouples without children often have an impact and fruitfulness beyond the sum\nof the two parts. Thus, at Mount Sinai, the Lord anticipates great things from\nhis marriage to Israel. Through Moses, he reminds his people (19:4\u20136<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have seen what I did to the Egyptians,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and how I bore you on eagles\u2019 wings and brought you\nto Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My\ncovenant,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

then you shall be a special treasure to Me above\nall people; for all the earth is Mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a\nholy nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can derive three lessons from\nthese words, not only for Israel gathered at Mount Sinai, but for ourselves\ntoday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, God\u2019s love and mercy are\nthe framework of the entire story. He took the initiative to rescue Israel from\nEgypt, to split the waters of the Sea, to bring them out into the wilderness,\nand to reveal himself there in all his glory. The metaphor of eagles\u2019 wings\ncaptures the sense of God\u2019s transcendent power and mercy. The fantasy classic The\nReturn of the King<\/em>, by J.R.R. Tolkien, beautifully employs the same\nmetaphor. The heroes Frodo and Sam have accomplished an impossible mission,\ncasting the evil Ring of Power into the volcanic heart of Mount Doom to be\ndestroyed. As the mount itself collapses, trapping Frodo and Sam, they too are\nrescued by eagles\u2019 wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so it was that Gwaihir [the Eagle] saw them\nwith his keen far-seeing eyes, as down the wild wind he came \u2026 two small dark\nfigures, forlorn, hand in hand upon a little hill, while the world shook under\nthem, and gasped, and rivers of fire drew near. And even as he espied them and\ncame swooping down, he saw them fall, worn out, or stricken down by despair at\nlast, hiding their eyes from death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Side by side they lay; and down\nswept Gwaihir, and down came Landroval and Meneldor the swift; and in a dream,\nnot knowing what fate had befallen them, the wanderers were lifted up and borne\nfar away out of the darkness and the fire.11<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we were helpless and lost, God sent Messiah\nYeshua to rescue us and bring us to himself. We may face difficulty and\ndisillusionment in the years that follow this rescue, but God\u2019s love and mercy\novershadow the entire journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, God requires that we take\nour place in this story through obedience. This may sound contradictory to the\nfirst point, but we must embrace both truths. The story depends entirely on\nGod\u2019s initiative, yet we have a part in it only as we respond to him. The Lord\nsays, \u201cIf<\/em> you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then<\/em>\nyou shall be a special treasure to Me\u201d (Exod. 19:5<\/a>,\nemphasis added). We need to cultivate obedience if we are going to play out our\npart in the divine story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what is our part? This\nquestion leads to a final point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God chose us for a purpose far\nbeyond ourselves. Israel saw what God did to their oppressors (negatively) and\nto them (positively), but there was still more\u2014they were to be a source of\nblessing to all the earth. The Lord says, \u201cAll the earth is Mine. And you shall\nbe to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.\u201d A priest is one who lives for\nthe benefit of others. Israel\u2019s deliverance from Egypt was ultimately for the\nbenefit of all the nations, that they might know that the God of Israel is the\none true and living God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter applies this calling to all\nwho follow Yeshua. \u201cBut you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy\nnation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who\ncalled you out of darkness into His marvelous light\u201d (1 Pet. 2:9<\/a>).\nAs followers of Yeshua, we need to remember that our salvation in him isn\u2019t\njust about our salvation. It is part of a far grander, divine purpose of\nrepresenting the goodness and mercy of our God to those around us. This is how\nwe respond in gratitude to him who bore us on eagles\u2019 wings and brought us to\nhimself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: We cannot have a big vision of God and a narrow\nvision of our own lives. In Messiah Yeshua, God brought us to himself for a\npurpose far beyond ourselves\u2014to represent him before our loved ones, neighbors,\nassociates, and those far off as well. How does this purpose expand my vision\nfor my own life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOUR ENEMY\u2019S DONKEY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Mishpatim<\/em>, Exodus\n21:1\u201324:18<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Alexandri said: Two donkey drivers who hated\neach other were walking on a road when the donkey of one lay down under its\nburden. His companion saw it, and at first passed on. But then he reflected: Is\nit not written in the Torah, \u201cIf you see your enemy\u2019s donkey lying down under\nits burden\u2026\u201d? So he returned, lent a hand, and helped his enemy in loading and\nunloading. He began talking to his enemy: \u201cRelease a bit here, pull up over\nthere, unload over here.\u201d Thus, peace came about between them, so that the\ndriver of the overloaded said, \u201cDid I suppose that he hated me? But now look\nhow compassionate he has been.\u201d By and by, the two entered an inn, ate and\ndrank together, and became fast friends. What caused them to make peace and\nbecome fast friends? Because one of them kept what was in Torah. 12<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three synoptic Gospels\u2014Matthew, Mark and\nLuke\u2014all tell of Yeshua\u2019s temptation in the wilderness, but Mark\u2019s account is\nunique in at least two ways. He writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the\nwilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan,\nand was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. (Mark\n112\u201313<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Matthew and Luke, Yeshua is led<\/em> by the\nSpirit into the wilderness. Only here is he driven<\/em> by the Spirit. The\nverb in Greek is ekballo<\/em> and its use here is a remez, or hint, of\nanother layer of meaning in the story. This same Greek verb appears in the\nSeptuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, widely used\nduring Yeshua\u2019s time. The Septuagint uses ekballo to tell of Adam and Eve being\n\u201cdriven out\u201d of the Garden in Genesis 3:24<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adam is tempted and then driven\nout. Yeshua is driven out and then tempted. This reverse order reminds us that\nYeshua reversed Adam\u2019s failure and prevailed over temptation. In Adam\u2019s story,\nangels guard the way to the Tree of Life, to prevent Adam\u2019s return. In Yeshua\u2019s\nstory, the angels minister to him. They receive him after his temptation, in\ncontrast with the cherubim of Eden who close the way to Adam after his\ntemptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second unique feature of\nMark\u2019s account supports this interpretation of the temptation as a reversal of\nAdam\u2019s fall. Before Adam\u2019s temptation, he names the animals (Gen.\n2:19\u201320<\/a>). After Yeshua\u2019s temptation, he is \u201cwith the wild beasts.\u201d\nAdam\u2019s naming is a sign of his mastery. As the divine image bearer, he has\ndominion over the beasts and over all Creation. Naming the beasts is an act of\ndominion. In contrast, when we read that Yeshua is with the wild beasts, we are\nreminded of Isaiah\u2019s vision of the Age to Come, when<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The calf and the young lion and the fatling\ntogether;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And a little child shall lead them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cow and the bear shall graze;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their young ones shall lie down together;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. (Isa.\n11:6\u20137<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neither Isaiah nor Mark is\nadvocating animal rights in the current political sense. But they are looking\nforward to the restoration of order and peace intended at Creation, in which\nthere is harmony between humans and animals, and among the animals themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This vision of restoration\nunderlies the instruction that appears in Rabbi Alexandri\u2019s story, which deals\nwith part of Parashat Mishpatim<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you meet your enemy\u2019s ox or his donkey going\nastray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. If you see the donkey of\none who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping\nit, you shall surely help him with it. (Exod.\n23:4\u20135<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through obedience to the mitzvah,\none becomes an agent of restoration, not only on a human level, but also\nbeyond. The animal that is lost or suffering is property, but it is also a\ncreature of God, an aspect of his Creation that has succumbed to the disorder\nof the age we live in. The mitzvah of protecting the animal helps restore the\ngoodness of Creation and move us toward completion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Rabbi Alexandri points out,\nobedience to the divine command brings peace\u2014peace between God and man, peace\nbetween man and man, and even peace within the created order. God gives the\ncommand, the donkeys, even the ability to work, but we must supply the\nobedience. We needn\u2019t go to the extremes of the animal rights movement to show\nconcern for animal life, both domesticated and wild. As we respond to the\ncommand with the required compassion toward animals, it transforms the way we\nlook at humans as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua summarized this whole\nstrain of teaching within Torah with his command to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44<\/a>).\nThe commandment in this parashah reminds us that this mandated love is no mere\nsentiment, but requires action. We may not like to admit that we have enemies,\nbut we all do\u2014perhaps not enemies bent on our destruction, but people who have\nwronged us, disappointed us, or failed us in some way or another. These are the\npeople Messiah expects us to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A final contrast between Yeshua\nand Adam: Adam names the wild beasts in the Garden; Yeshua is \u201cwith the wild\nbeasts\u201d in the desert. If Yeshua\u2019s temptation provides a reversal of Adam\u2019s\ntemptation and failure, why does it leave him in the desert? Should not\nYeshua\u2019s victory over temptation immediately open the way for him to re-enter\nthe Garden? But this is precisely the point\u2014in this age, redemption advances\nnot in some ideal and secluded garden, but in the desert, the world of disorder\nand challenge that we know so well. There we have enemies, there animals go\nastray or stumble under a heavy load. And there Messiah goes before us to set\nright what has been damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: As followers of Yeshua, we must ask ourselves,\n\u201cWhen was the last time I wandered from my own busy or pleasurable course to\nhelp someone else\u2014especially someone whom I cannot count as a friend?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am indebted to Rabbi Paul Saal for the reference\nto the Rabbi Alexandri story, and some of the ideas in this commentary on<\/em> Parashat Mishpatim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CREATION AND REST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat T\u2019rumah<\/em>, Exodus\n25:1\u201327:19<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Shabbat during that time, Yeshua was walking\nthrough some wheat fields. His talmidim were hungry, so they began picking\nheads of grain and eating them. On seeing this, the P\u2019rushim<\/em> said to\nhim, \u201cLook! Your talmidim are violating Shabbat!\u201d (Matthew\n12:1\u20132<\/a>, cjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is lawful and unlawful on Shabbat? Torah\u2019s\ninstructions seem straightforward enough. Shabbat is to be a day of rest that\nis honored and kept separate from the ordinary days of the week. On Shabbat, we\nand all those with us are to rest and do no work. But the Torah does not define\nwork, or prohibit specific acts, beyond the instruction, \u201cYou shall kindle no\nfire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day\u201d (Exod. 35:3<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Jewish law, or\nhalakhah, has developed detailed and rigorous Shabbat restrictions. Traditional\nJews will not drive a car or flip a light switch on Shabbat, both to avoid\nanything like kindling a fire, and to keep the day as free as possible from\nordinary activities. Some Christian groups apply similar rigor to Sunday. The\nmovie Chariots of Fire<\/em> (Warner Bros., 1981) tells the story of Eric\nLiddell, a British runner in the 1924 Paris Olympics, who refused to race on Sunday,\neven after the members of the Olympic Committee, including the Prince of Wales,\nurged him to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outsiders sometimes criticize\nsuch strictness, but anyone who seriously attempts to keep a day of rest will\nsoon understand the need to define what is permitted and what is not. Just what\nconstitutes work? The Talmud mentions thirty-nine categories of work \u201ctaught to\nMoses at Sinai\u201d as forbidden on Shabbat.13<\/sup> These turn out to be the\nvarious categories of work that were required to build the tabernacle, or mishkan<\/em>,\nthe dwelling-place of God in the camp of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did the ancient rabbis make\nthis connection between Shabbat and mishkan? The connection is actually hidden\nin the narrative structure of the entire section of Exodus that begins with Parashat\nT\u2019rumah<\/em>. This structure is what scholars call a chiasm<\/em>, from the\nGreek letter chi<\/em>, or X. A narrative chiasm tells a story detail by\ndetail, reaches a turning point, and then repeats the details in reverse order,\nto arrive at the end of the story. The chiastic structure often reveals a\ndeeper level of meaning. On the following page is the chiasm of the final\nsixteen chapters of Exodus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A      The\nglory of the Lord is revealed at the top of Mount Sinai. 24:15\u201318<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

B      Instructions\nfor building the mishkan, chapters 25\u201330<\/a>,\nopening with instructions for the offering and ending with the call of Bezalel,\n31:1\u201311<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

C      Instructions\nto keep Shabbat, 31:12\u201317<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

D      The\ntwo tablets given: 31:18<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning point: the two tablets broken in the golden\ncalf incident, chapters 32\u201333<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

D-1   The two tablets restored, chapter 34<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

C-1   Instructions to keep Shabbat repeated, 35:1\u20133<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

B-1   Building the tabernacle 35:4\u201340:33<\/a>,\nopening with the taking of the actual offering, and a renewal of the call of\nBezalel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A-1 The glory of the Lord\nrevealed in the mishkan within the camp, 40:34\u201338<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note the central place of Shabbat\nin this narrative structure. After the instructions for building the tabernacle\nin B come the instructions for keeping Shabbat in C. Before the building begins\nin B-l, the instructions for Shabbat are repeated in C-1. In addition, B is\nsubdivided into six sections, each beginning with the words, \u201cAnd the Lord\nspoke (or said) to Moses\u201d (Exod. 25:1<\/a>; 30:11<\/a>,\n17<\/a>,\n22<\/a>,\n34<\/a>;\n31:1<\/a>).\nThe seventh \u201cAnd the Lord spoke\u2026\u201d (Exod.\n31:12<\/a>) introduces the discussion of Shabbat, the seventh day.14<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A further connection between\nShabbat and the mishkan is in the use of the word m\u2019lakhah<\/em>, or work.\nThis word appears three times at the conclusion of the Creation account (Gen.\n2:2\u20133<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on the seventh day God finished His work which\nHe had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had\ndone. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He\nrested from all His work that God had created and made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same way, m\u2019lakhah appears three times in\nthe instructions for Shabbat that come after the directions for building the\nholy place (Exod. 31:14\u201315<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is\nholy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever\ndoes any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Work\nshall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the\nLord. Whoever does any work on the\nSabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word appears again in the\ninstructions for Shabbat after the golden calf incident, and before the\nbuilding of the mishkan. \u201cWork shall be done for six days, but the seventh day\nshall be a holy day for you, a Shabbat of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any\nwork on it shall be put to death\u201d (Exod. 35:2<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M\u2019lakhah appears an additional\ntwenty-one times in the account of building, concluding with the completion of\nthe undertaking (Exod. 40:33<\/a>): \u201cAnd Moses finished the work.\u201d\nThese words reflect the conclusion of the Creation account: \u201cOn the seventh day\nGod finished His work\u201d (Gen. 2:2<\/a>). M\u2019lakhah is a dominant theme in both\naccounts, of Creation and tabernacle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the tabernacle and Shabbat\nare so clearly linked, the halakhah derived that the thirty-nine categories of\nwork involved in building the mishkan are the thirty-nine categories of work\nforbidden on Shabbat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the Talmud seeks to answer\nthe question of what is lawful and unlawful on Shabbat. It takes us far beyond\nthat question, however, to reveal that the work of the tabernacle reflects the\nwork of Creation itself. \u201cThis explains why the Tabernacle was finally erected\n\u2018on the first day of the first month\u2019 [Exod. 40:2<\/a>],\nwhich is New Year\u2019s Day, a powerful symbol of the beginning of the Creation of\nthe world, the transformation of chaos into cosmos.\u201d15<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This connection also explains the\nsignificance of our daily work. Shabbat, the day of rest, sanctifies all work\nbecause it defines it as sharing in the act of Creation. Work becomes not just\na means of earning a living (although there is nothing wrong with that), but a\nparticipation in God\u2019s work. All of our labors have the potential of expressing\nthe order and vitality with which God imbued his Creation. Therefore, all work\nis holy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Yeshua allowed his disciples\nto pluck and eat grain on Shabbat, he taught us an additional lesson. The\nPharisees charged the disciples with violating Shabbat. Yeshua responded, \u201cHave\nyou not read in the Torah that on the Sabbath the priests in the Temple profane\nthe Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is\nOne greater than the Temple\u201d (Matt. 12:5\u20136<\/a>). Greater than the Temple? If the\nTemple, like the tabernacle before it, pictures the completed Creation, the one\ngreater than the Temple must be great indeed! All work is holy, but work we\npursue as we follow Messiah, whether as ministers or maintenance men, shares a\nunique holiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Shabbat sanctifies all labor. Work is not just earning\na living, or a means of personal fulfillment, but a share in God\u2019s creative\nprocess. Whether we are highly paid executives, or minimum wage earners,\nShabbat defines our work as holy, an essential part of following Yeshua. How\ncan I see my daily work as holy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STONES OF REMEMBRANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Tetzaveh<\/em>, Exodus\n27:20\u201330:10<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife and I occasionally visit an elderly Russian\nJewish couple who came to America in the early 90s. They had served as doctors\nwith the Red Army through World War II. The husband was a field surgeon who\nfollowed the troops from the Soviet heartland to the gates of Berlin,\nperforming 14,000 surgeries on the way. Now they are well into their 80s,\nelderly, and in failing health. When the time comes to say good bye, the wife\nalways says, \u201cDon\u2019t forget us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe won\u2019t forget you,\u2019 we reply.\n\u201cWe\u2019ll never forget you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True enough, but our friend is\nnot merely asking that we keep them in mind. Rather, she is saying, \u201cGive us a\nphone call. Come back and visit\u2026 and don\u2019t be so long next time!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our friend\u2019s remark may be in the\nlong tradition of Jewish maternal guilt, but it also reflects the biblical\nconcept of remembrance. Remembering is more than just storing something in our\nmental database. It is reenactment, paying a visit to the things we might be tempted\nto neglect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even God, who never forgets,\nremembers in this way, as we see in Parashat Tetzaveh.<\/em> Here, in the\nmidst of his instructions for building the mishkan, the Lord prescribes the\ngarments for the High Priest. Moses is to have two onyx stones engraved with\nthe names of the sons of Israel and set in gold. And then, the Lord tells him,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are to place the two stones on the shoulder\npieces of the efod<\/em>,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

as stones of remembrance for the Children of\nIsrael.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aharon is to bear their names before the presence\nof Hashem<\/em> on his two shoulders, for remembrance. (Exodus\n28:12<\/a>, Fox16<\/sup>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stones that the High Priest\nbears on his shoulders ensure that the Lord will remember the children of\nIsrael. But how could God ever forget his chosen people, or anyone else for\nthat matter? Why does the creator of all things require a reminder? Yet even\nthough we ask these questions, we all have experienced times when it seems as\nthough God has forgotten us;<\/em> times when wed be thankful if someone with\nconnections in the heavenly court could mention our name in his presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is exactly what God provided\nthrough the stones of remembrance that the High Priest wore. When we face deep\ndisappointments\u2014an illness that does not respond to treatment, children or\nloved ones who wander from God\u2019s ways, financial pressures that seem to only\nincrease with time\u2014what a comfort it would be to imagine a High Priest who\ncomes into God\u2019s presence daily carrying our names upon his very clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this in mind, we can\nunderstand the anguish of the Jewish people over the loss of the Temple and\npriesthood at the hands of the Roman army in 70 c.e.\nAfter this disaster, the people might wonder who would bring their\nremembrance\u2014both individually and as the whole house of Israel\u2014before God.\nHence, to this day, observant Jews pray continually for the restoration of the\nTemple and priesthood. For example, the Amidah, a major part of the daily\nprayer service, concludes, \u201cMay it be pleasing in your sight, O Lord our God\nand God of our fathers, that the holy Temple be rebuilt, swiftly, in our days\u201d\n(from the Siddur<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But thanks be to God, we have a\nliving High Priest, Yeshua the Messiah! He bears the stones of remembrance,\nengraved with our names, continually before God. \u201cHe, because He continues\nforever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to\nthe uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make\nintercession for them\u201d (Heb. 7:24\u201325<\/a>). Because Yeshua intercedes for us,\nGod never forgets us. And God\u2019s remembrance does not mean that our names are\nstored somewhere in the vastness of his cosmic data base. It means that he\ncomes to visit when we call upon him in prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remembrance has another, human\nside to it that also relates to prayer. We must remember in the same way God\nremembers, the way my old Russian friends desire\u2014not just by storing data, but\nby visiting again and again. Prayer involves revisiting the goodness, power,\nand mercy of God continually. In prayer, we not only ask God to remember us and\nour needs, but we remember him with thanksgiving and a sense of awe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stones of remembrance teach\nanother lesson that is perhaps the most striking. In the presence of God, the\npriest does not bear his own name, but the names of his fellow Israelites.\nIndeed, the names of the children of Israel are part of the clothing the priest\nmust wear if he is to come into the Holy Place at all. Without them, he has no\npriesthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we learn about prayer from\nYeshua our High Priest, we will begin to bear the names of others, as he does,\ninto the presence of God. Prayer is not just a satisfying spiritual activity;\nit is a discipline we practice on behalf of others. For Messianic Jews, and\nGentiles who stand in solidarity with Israel, prayer will include reminding God\nof the names of the children of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this way, we not only benefit<\/em>\nfrom Messiah\u2019s priesthood, but we participate<\/em> in it as well. As Samuel\nsaid to the children of Israel, \u201cMoreover as for me, God forbid that I should\nsin against the Lord in ceasing to\npray for you\u201d (1 Sam. 12:23<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through Messiah, we have access\ninto God\u2019s presence, but we do not use this access just for ourselves. Rather,\nwe bear the stones of remembrance before God on behalf of others, and\nespecially on behalf of Israel. And because Israel is the priestly nation among\nthe nations, the redemption of Israel for which we pray is the key to Tikkun\nOlam, the repair of the world that includes the redemption of all humankind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Prayer involves remembrance: God remembers us, we\nremember God, and we remember others when we come into his presence. How can I\ngrow in my practice of prayer so that it is not just a means of personal\nfulfillment, but a way of serving others as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE TEST OF INTERCESSION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Ki Tissa<\/em>, Exodus\n30:11\u201334:35<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Moses saw that Israel would not be able to\nwithstand God\u2019s wrath at the Golden Calf, he bound his soul to them and smashed\nthe tablets. Then he said to God, \u201cThey have sinned and I have sinned, for I\nsmashed the tablets. If you forgive them, forgive me also,\u201d as Scripture tells\nus: \u201cNow if you will forgive their sin \u2026 then forgive mine as well. But if you\ndo not forgive them, do not forgive me either, but rather \u2018wipe me out of your\nbook that you have written.\u2019 \u201d17<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jewish tradition speaks of Moshe rabbenu<\/em>\u2014Moses\nour teacher. Like all true teachers, he teaches by example as well as precept.\nNowhere is Moses\u2019 example more inspiring than in his response to the incident\nof the golden calf. Here he faces a spiritual test that we may someday face as\nwell: Will we live for ourselves or others? Will we content ourselves with\nseeking a personal relationship with God, or will we look beyond this\nrelationship, precious as it is, to serve those who may lack it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses has just received detailed\ninstructions for building the mishkan and equipping its priests. This\ninstruction includes a reminder to keep Shabbat. Since the tabernacle is a\nmodel of Creation, the work of building it reenacts the work of the six days of\nCreation. Hence, the instruction to rest on Shabbat even from the work of the\ntabernacle, just as the Lord rested from his labors of creating. Building the\nmishkan is exalted work that foreshadows the restored Creation. It is most\nstriking, then, that the Lord assigns this work to a band of escaped slaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Moses can return to give\nthe people this glorious assignment, however, they make themselves a calf of\ngold to worship. They set aside the work of Creation completed to work on the\nstatue of a cow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This depraved project begins with\na free will offering. \u201cAnd Aaron said to them, \u2018Break off the golden earrings\nwhich are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring\nthem to me.\u2019 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in\ntheir ears, and brought them to Aaron\u201d (Exod.\n32:2\u20133<\/a>). Later, when the people finally get back on track, the work\nof building the holy place will begin with a similar free will offering. \u201cThey\ncame, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings\nand nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man\nwho made an offering of gold to the Lord\u201d (Exod.\n35:22<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this way, the Torah portrays\nthe golden calf as a reversal of the tabernacle. Both projects are meant to\nprovide a visible image of the Lord in the midst of his people, but of course,\nthe calf is an image of the people\u2019s own making. Therefore, it allows for\nworship based on their human desires and inclinations, instead of the holy\nworship ordained by God. Thus, with one act, the children of Israel break the\nfirst two commandments that Moses brought down to them from Sinai, worshiping\nother gods and making a graven image (Exod.\n20:3\u20134<\/a>). They violate the very purpose for which God had delivered\nthem from Egypt\u2014\u201cthat they may serve Me.\u201d18<\/sup> A catastrophic failure,\nbut not irreversible. God will punish the idolaters, but spare the people as a\nwhole. In the end, the Lord promises to continue to accompany them in their\njourneys: \u201cMy Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest\u201d (Exod.\n33:14<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What turns this story around? How\ncan the people be restored to God after the disaster of the golden calf? This\nis where Moses makes all the difference, and becomes an example to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Moses was still on Mount\nSinai, the Lord told him that the people had fallen into idolatry. Then he\nadded, \u201cI have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff necked people! Now\ntherefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may\nconsume them. And I will make of you a great nation\u201d (Exod.\n32:9\u201310<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the test: Will Moses\ndistance himself from Israel because of their sin, or will he continue to\nidentify with his people despite<\/em> their sin? Leading this band of former\nslaves filled with contention, doubt, and rebellion has already proven to be a\ngreat burden. Now God seems to offer a far less troublesome way to accomplish\nhis purposes. Let the people receive their well-deserved punishment for\nidolatry, and the Lord will make a new nation of Moses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses refuses this offer,\nhowever, and remains with his people. The midrash even pictures him deciding to\nsin by breaking the tablets of the Ten Commandments, so that he can be in the\nsame situation as the rest of Israel. Now, he who has communed with God\nface-to-face pleads for the people, as one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we read this story, we can\nhardly compare ourselves to Moses. We have certainly not attained his spiritual\nstature or endured his tests. But we can learn much about prayer from Moses. He\nwent far beyond praying for his own needs to pray for the whole Jewish\ncommunity of his day, and so can we. As Moses stood with his people in all\ntheir wanderings, so can we. As Moses would not allow his privilege with God to\ndistance him from his people, but employed it to intercede for his people, so\nmust we.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identifying with imperfect\npeople, while drawing near to a perfect God, is an essential part of prayer. We\nsee those who take this position throughout Scripture, from Abraham pleading\nfor Sodom, through Esther pleading for Israel in exile. Finally, we see Messiah\nhimself, \u201cwho did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but \u2026 humbled\nHimself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross\u201d\n(Phil.\n2:6\u20138<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messianic Jews are in a similar\nposition. Even though the great majority of the Jewish people do not recognize\nYeshua as Messiah, we remain part of our people. There, like Moses, we can\npetition God on their behalf. A similar choice faces all followers of Yeshua.\nDo we maintain a position of intercession on behalf of others, or develop a\nreligious movement designed for our own comfort and self fulfillment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Moses persisted in asking\nGod to restore his Presence, not just to himself, but to all Israel, God\nrewarded him. \u201cI will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have\nfound grace in My sight, and I know you by name\u201d (Exod.\n33:17<\/a>). As we focus not on ourselves, but on God and his people, we\ntoo will find grace in his sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: Spiritually oriented people often isolate\nthemselves from those who most need their influence. How can I overcome\nisolation today and reconnect with my people, whoever they may be, as an\ninfluence and intercessor for God\u2019s purposes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BEZALEL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat vaYakhel<\/em>, Exodus\n35:1\u201338:20<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1906, Boris Schatz, court sculptor to the king\nof Bulgaria, brought six of his students to the land of Israel to found a\nschool of arts and crafts. Schatz sought to establish a center that would\naffect the cultural life of the whole Jewish settlement. Donors helped to find\na market for the weaving, needlework, metalwork, and carvings the students\nwould produce. Within five short years, 460 students and craftsmen labored in\nthe school and its workshops. What is the name of this school, which continues\nto thrive in Israel today? It is named after the greatest craftsman of the\nTorah, the one in charge of building the tabernacle and its\nfurnishings\u2014Bezalel.19<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schatz and his colleagues were undoubtedly thinking\nof Bezalel\u2019s artistry when they named their school after him. But equally\nprominent in the biblical account is Bezalel\u2019s spiritual empowerment. To equip\nhim for his great task of artistry, God fills Bezalel with the Spirit more\nabundantly than any other person mentioned in Torah. Exodus describes this\ninfilling twice, both before and after the crisis of the golden calf:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri,\nthe son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of\nGod, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of\nworkmanship. (Exod. 31:2\u20133<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See, the Lord\nhas called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of\nJudah; and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and\nunderstanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship. (Exod.\n35:30\u201331<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we compare the language here\nwith that describing other Spirit-empowered leaders, such as Joshua, Bezalel\nseems to be uniquely endowed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the Lord\nsaid to Moses: \u201cTake Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the\nSpirit, and lay your hand on him.\u201d (Num.\n27:18<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of\nwisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded\nhim, and did as the Lord had\ncommanded Moses. (Deut. 34:9<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spirit fills Joshua, but upon\nBezalel it abounds \u201cin wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all\nmanner of workmanship.\u201d This ancient Israelite receives an abundant spiritual\nendowment, which hints at a similar endowment God is still ready to give today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Moses ascended Mount Sinai,\nsays the Midrash, he not only reached the top of the mountain, but he ascended\ninto heaven. There he saw the heavenly court, the model for the earthly\ntabernacle (Exod. 25:40<\/a>; Heb. 8:5<\/a>).\nMoses imagined that he would be the one to build this structure for God. The\nLord told him, however, that he was like a king, and a king does not make\nanything himself. Rather, he issues orders and others do the work. Moses\nwondered who would be able to carry out such a project, so the Lord \u201cbrought\nhim the book of Adam and showed him all the generations that would arise from\nCreation to Resurrection, each generation and its kings, its leaders, and its\nprophets, saying unto him: T have appointed all these for their destinies from\nCreation, and Bezalel too I have appointed from that time.\u2019 This is why it\nsays, See, I have called by name Bezalel.<\/em>\u201d20<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does the Torah describe the\ncalling of Bezalel, who is after all only a craftsman, in such rich\nterminology? Why does God so abundantly fill him with the Spirit, beyond the\nmeasure he gives to Joshua, the successor of Moses himself? Because building\nthe tabernacle reenacts the work of Creation, and Bezalel has been chosen from\nCreation to oversee this work. When the Lord announces his appointment, he does\nnot use the usual formula, \u201cSee I call by name Bezalel,\u201d but \u201cSee, I have\ncalled<\/em> by name Bezalel.\u201d The past tense here is the remez, or hint, that\nBezale\u2019s calling originated long before, as it says: \u201cI have appointed all\nthese for their destinies from Creation, and Bezalel too I have appointed from\nthat time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as the Spirit is essential\nto the whole process of Creation, so it is essential to the journey from\nCreation to completion. Before the work of Creation begins, \u201cthe Spirit of God\nwas hovering over the face of the waters\u201d (Gen. 1:2<\/a>).\nBefore the work of the tabernacle begins, the Spirit of God fills Bezalel,\nempowering him to carry out the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remarkably, the Midrash links the\ncreative Spirit to the coming Messiah, commenting on the phrase, \u201cthe Spirit of\nGod was hovering\u2026\u201d \u201cThis alludes to the spirit of Messiah, as you read, And\nthe spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him<\/em> (Isa. 11:2<\/a>).\u201d21<\/sup>\nWhen the Messiah appears, his Spirit, the same Spirit that hovered over the\nprimeval waters, comes upon all who follow him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it shall come to pass afterward<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your old men shall dream dreams,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your young men shall see visions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And also on My menservants and on My maidservants<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel\n2:28\u201329 [3:1\u20132]<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite Bezalel\u2019s spiritual\ngreatness, however, God does not call him alone, but raises up Aholiab at the\nsame time. Aholiab is from the least of the tribes, Dan, while Bezalel is from\nthe greatest, Judah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God said: \u2018Let him [Dan] come and be associated\nwith him [Judah], so that no man may despise him or become arrogant, for both\ngreat and small are equal in God\u2019s sight; Bezalel comes of the tribe of Judah\nand Ahaliab from Dan, yet [the latter] is associated with him.\u2019 Rabbi Hanina\nsaid: The great and the small are equal, and one should never ignore his help.22<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is another hint of the great\noutpouring to come, for just as Bezalel is an agent of re Creation, so are\nthose who live in union with Messiah. In Messiah\u2019s spiritual outpouring, there\nis no longer great or small, but all are gifted and all need each other, as it\nis written, \u201cBut the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the\nprofit of all \u2026\u201d (1 Cor. 12:7<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Like Bezalel, we have an assignment in the work of\nrecreation, and like him we have partners who might appear less gifted than we\nare. How well do we recognize our need for just such partners? How well do we\nwork with them to accomplish the divine task?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE CLOUD FILLS THE TABERNACLE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat P\u2019kudei<\/em>, Exodus\n38:21\u201340:38<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent book on Jewish pastoral care introduces a\nHebrew phrase, hitlavut ruchanit<\/em>, or spiritual accompanying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The root of this term, lvh<\/em>, is used in\nbiblical and rabbinic texts to refer to one who \u201cwalks with\u201d another.\nMinistering angels, God\u2019s presence, friends, priests, peers all are described\nas lvh<\/em>, accompanying people as they go on their path. The reflexive form\nof the verb [hitlavut<\/em>] connotes a person involving himself or herself in\nthe journey with the other.23<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book goes on to outline the power of hitlavut\nruchanit, simply being there for others as they go through life\u2019s challenges\nand transitions. A rabbi or pastor may have much to give to those he serves,\nbut the essential thing is often simply walking with them through the key\nmoments of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, accompanying others in\nthis way is so vital that one of the greatest obstacles to serving others\neffectively is the urge to \u201cdo something.\u201d When someone has lost a loved one,\nwe rush to say, \u201cI understand,\u201d when we really cannot understand. We respond to\ndistress or despair by dispensing advice like a talk show host, instead of just\nlistening deeply, which is often what the suffering person needs most.\nSuffering makes us insecure, and we respond by trying to alleviate it in some\nway, but what our friends need most is for us to just be with them. Often, it\nis through our simple presence in the midst of suffering that the Lord himself\nis present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final chapters of Exodus\napply this idea of spiritual accompanying to God himself. After the incident of\nthe golden calf, the Lord tells Moses,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom\nyou have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to\nAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, \u2018To your descendants I will give it.\u2019 And I\nwill send My Angel before you \u2026 for I will not go up in your midst, lest I\nconsume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people. (Exod.\n33:1\u20133<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses pleads with the Lord, \u201cIf Your Presence does\nnot go with us, do not bring us up from here\u201d (Exod.\n33:15<\/a>). Moses cannot envision Israel apart from the presence of God\nin their midst. It is more important to him than the Promised Land and\ndeliverance itself. Moses\u2019 plea for divine accompaniment reminds us that the\npresence of the Spirit is essential to us as well. Beyond all that God tells\nus, vital as it is, we long for him simply to be with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as Moses is presenting his\ncase, however, the Lord has already relented. He promises Moses, \u201cMy Presence\nwill go with you, and I will give you rest\u201d (Exod.\n33:14<\/a>). The Lord had threatened to send \u201cMy Angel before you.\u201d Now\nhe promises \u201cMy Presence will go with you.\u201d He will indeed practice hitlavut\nruchanit, spiritually accompanying his people Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accordingly, the Lord tells the\npeople to begin building the tabernacle. He had given the instructions before\nthe incident of the golden calf, and now, after the people are punished and\nrestored, the tabernacle can be built. The glory cloud, the Presence of the\nLord, that was within the tent of meeting outside the camp (Exod.\n33:7ff<\/a>.) will now be present in the holy place in the heart of the\ncamp. Hence, it is called \u201cthe tabernacle of witness\u201d (Exod.\n38:21<\/a>), because \u201cit witnessed to Israel that God had truly forgiven\nthem for making the Golden Calf, for now He was causing His presence to dwell\namong them.\u201d24<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All this prepares us for the\nglorious conclusion of Exodus:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting,\nand the glory of the Lord filled\nthe tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting,\nbecause the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up\nfrom above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their\njourneys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the\nday that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord\nwas above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of\nall the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. (Exod.\n40:34\u201338<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note the poetic cadence of these final verses. In\neach one, the word \u201ccloud\u201d appears. In addition, the phrase, nearly synonymous\nin this context, \u201cglory of the Lord\u201d appears twice, for a total of seven\nmentions of the divine presence. Seven, of course, is the number of Creation\ncompleted. The tabernacle as a model of Creation is complete only now as the\nglory-cloud fills it. To underline this truth the identical phrase, \u201cand the\nglory of the Lord filled the tabernacle,\u201d is stated twice. The tabernacle\nfulfills God\u2019s purposes in bringing Israel forth from Egypt, and the Israelites\nwill journey continually with a sense of this fulfillment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This noble conclusion is echoed\nin the conclusion of another book of Scripture, where Messiah says, \u201cLo, I am\nwith you always, even to the end of the age\u201d (Matt.\n28:20<\/a>). This conclusion provides lessons for all who seek to walk in\nGod\u2019s ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, if he whose glory is\nunapproachable was willing to accompany Israel in its desert wanderings, how\nmuch more should we accompany those who are passing through one of life\u2019s\ndeserts. We live in community, which means that we break out of isolation and\nmake ourselves available to those around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, it is the greatest of\ngifts that God chose us and called us to be near to him. For us to be who we\nare meant to be, to reach our true destination, God must accompany us. Or\nrather, we must not depart from his Presence. All of us need to seek the Lord,\nto discern and detect the moving of the cloud, before we set out on our way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, in a narcissistic age,\nit is good to remember that the big story is not about us, but about God. He\ndelivers Israel, not simply to free us from bondage, or to give us his good\ninstructions in the Torah, but ultimately to reveal himself. The narrative\nconcludes as the glory-cloud of God fills the tabernacle and no man can enter\nin. His glory, not our deliverance, is the point of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> The story is not about me, but about God and his\nglory. Therefore, I am here to accompany others, to simply be with them as they\npass through life\u2019s difficulties and challenges. Who is the one who needs my\nspiritual accompaniment even today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d5\u05d9\u05e7\u05e8\u05d0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leviticus is the heart of Torah. Named for its\nopening word, \u05d5\u05d9\u05e7\u05e8\u05d0 (Vayikra<\/em>),\nmeaning \u201cAnd he called,\u201d it is the third book, the midpoint of the Five Books\nof Moses. Leviticus is the only one of the Five Books that takes place entirely\nat the foot of Mount Sinai. It records no journeys and very little narrative.\nIn Leviticus, Israel has arrived at the destination established at the\nbeginning of Exodus, the mountain of revelation, to receive the Torah.\nThroughout the book, Israel does not move from that exalted point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The instructions of Leviticus are\nat the heart of Torah as well. In Exodus, the tabernacle is constructed and the\npriesthood is ordained, but in Leviticus the priesthood begins their actual\nministry. After it gives guidance to the priests, the book provides a law of\nholiness that shapes the identity of Israel. In Leviticus 19<\/a>,\nthis law of holiness restates the ten words given at Sinai, known as the Ten\nCommandments. In this aspect, too, Leviticus is at the heart of Torah, since\nthe ten words are given first in Exodus 20<\/a>, and then recounted in Deuteronomy 5<\/a>.\nBut halfway between the two, here in Leviticus, we have another version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this centrality,\nLeviticus is an inaccessible book to many readers. It details rituals of\npriesthood and sacrifice that have not been carried out for nearly 2000 years,\nrituals that hardly seem relevant to life in the 21st century. Even its ethical\ninstructions deal with matters that have largely passed from the scene of\ncontemporary life. We learn about dietary laws and agricultural practices that\nseem remote from our demanding lives. Chapters are taken up in discussing a\ncategory of diseases and symptoms that most of us lave never seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this summary ignores a\ncentral theme of Leviticus that ties it into the meta-narrative of Torah\u2014the\ntheme of Creation to completion. The tabernacle that takes up so many of its\npages is a model of Creation, the Creation that was \u201cvery good,\u201d which is yet\nto be brought to its fulfillment. The commandments of Leviticus are acts of\nrestoration, each one anticipating this fulfillment. Even the arcane practices\nof purity and separation reenact the creative act of havdalah, of separating\ndarkness and light, dry land and sea, which characterized God\u2019s work in the\nbeginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translator Robert Alter comments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a single verb that focuses the major\nthemes of Leviticus\u2014\u201cdivide\u201d (Hebrew, hivdil<\/em>). That verb, of course,\nstands at the beginning of the \u2026 story of creation: \u201cAnd God saw the light,\nthat it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.\u2026 And God made\nthe vault and it divided the water beneath the vault from the water above the\nvault, and so it was.\u201d \u2026 What enables existence and provides a framework for\nthe development of human nature, conceived in God\u2019s image, and of human\ncivilization is a process of division and insulation\u2014light from darkness, day\nfrom night, the upper waters from the lower waters, and dry land from the\nlatter. That same process is repeatedly manifested in the ritual, sexual, and\ndietary laws of Leviticus.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This process of setting apart and\ncreating order is captured in the theme of holiness, a theme that has been\npresent in the earlier books, but comes to the fore in Leviticus. Holiness is\nthe point of all the myriad details of instruction throughout the book. As we\ngo through these instructions we will see that the holiness that God intends is\nnot fussy and prudish, but a reflection of his own glory. The refrain of\nLeviticus is, \u201cYou shall be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy\u201d (Lev.\n11:44\u201345<\/a>, 19:2<\/a>, 20:26<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we can see it, Leviticus\ndescribes a way of life for God\u2019s chosen people that reveals his own character\nin the midst of a world that is distant and estranged from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FEARSOME NEARNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Vayikra<\/em>, Leviticus 1:1\u20135:26<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israeli postal service, which sorts more than 2\nmillion pieces of mail a day, comes across several addressed to God, the Holy\nLand or Jesus. Rather than relegate the letters to bins of undeliverable mail,\nthey are brought to the Western Wall, Judaism\u2019s holiest site, a few times a\nyear. Postal authorities consider the letters private conversations with God\nand do not open them. Letters come from all corners of the globe, including a\nfew from predominantly Muslim nations like Indonesia. \u201cThis place is the\nholiest place for the Jews, and it is the first gate for prayers. That\u2019s why a\nprayer in this place is important and these notes are important,\u201d said Shmuel\nRabinovitch, chief rabbi at the site. The Western Wall is considered a remnant\nof the second Temple, and many people come to the wall to pray and slip notes\nwith requests between the ancient stones.2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where can we draw near to God? This story makes us\nwonder if there is a physical location that is somehow closer to the divine\nthan any other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exodus closes with a description\nof such a location, the tabernacle or Tent of Meeting, which is a model of the\nrestored Creation of which the entire Torah speaks. Here the visible glory of\nGod, or Shechinah<\/em>, dwells so that no one can approach. Leviticus opens\nwith a word of invitation from within that very tent. Indeed, Leviticus seems\nto open in mid-sentence, connecting to Exodus with its first word: \u201cAnd<\/em>\nHe called to Moses, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting \u2026\u201d The\nLord does not want to leave us with the awe-inspiring distance of the end of\nExodus, but is eager to call us close to himself, to approach the place that is\ncloser to the divine than any other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rashi notes that this invitation\nin Leviticus is not just, \u201cAnd he called,\u201d but \u201cAnd he called to Moses<\/em>\u201d\na phrase that is far more personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCalling\u201d \u2026 is the language of affection, language\nthat the ministering angels use, as it says, \u201cOne called to the other and said,\n\u2018Holy \u2026\u2019 \u201d The voice of God would go, and reach Moses\u2019 ears, and all of\nIsrael would not hear it.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd he called\u201d is one word in Hebrew, vayikra.<\/em>\nIts use here reveals a unique characteristic of the God of Israel. He is\nultimately unknowable, unapproachable, other, but he is also the One who calls\nus close to himself, out of his own mercy and kindness. He is the transcendent\nGod who issues eternal instructions to Moses, but he does so in words of\nintimacy and affection. He is the omnipresent God who fills the universe, but\nhe provides a location where we can draw near to him. Thus, when the Israeli\npostal service treats letters addressed to God as private and confidential\nconversations, it reflects a biblical perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tiny detail in the handwritten\nTorah scroll used in every synagogue around the world sheds additional light on\nGod\u2019s desire for nearness with us. The final letter of the opening word of\nLeviticus, vayikra, is alef\u2014t. According to tradition, this letter is written\nin a smaller font than the rest of the letters, almost as if it doesn\u2019t belong\nthere. Without this alef, the word would be vayikar<\/em>, \u201cand he met\u201d or\n\u201cand he encountered,\u201d a word that appears in the story of Balaam the false\nprophet: \u201cThen the Lord met<\/em>\nBalaam, and put a word in his mouth \u2026\u201d (Num.\n23:16<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The similarity between these two\nwords helps explain the small alef in vayikra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his monumental humility, Moses wished to\ndescribe God\u2019s revelation to him with the same uncomplimentary word used for\nBalaam\u2014without an \u05d0\u2014but God instructed him to include the \u05d0 as an expression of affection.<\/em> Too humble to do so wholeheartedly,\nMoses wrote a small t.4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vayikra, the word spelled with\nthe small alef, brings us back to Genesis, the account of beginnings. There we\nencountered the word in the story of the Garden of Eden: \u201cVayikra Adonai\nElohim el haadam<\/em>\u2014And the Lord\nGod called<\/em> to the man.\u2026\u201d But when Adam and Eve hear this call, they hide\nbecause to them God is fearsome and best kept at a distance. Yet, this same God\nis seeking them, calling out to them to return to him. And calling, as Rashi\nnotes, \u201cis the language of affection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The God of Israel is both\nfearsome and near. He continues reaching out to Adam as he asks him, \u201cWhere are\nyou?\u201d God invites Adam to come clean and come near. Adam, however, responds\nonly to God\u2019s fearsomeness: \u201cI was afraid because I was naked; and I hid\nmyself\u201d (Gen. 3:10<\/a>). God desires restored intimacy with Adam and Eve,\nbut in the end, he must expel them from the Garden because of their sin.\nNevertheless, he covers their nakedness, clothing them in the skins of animals.\nThey are sent into exile, but not abandoned. The skins serve as a reminder that\nthey need not (and of course cannot) hide from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, in Leviticus, the God\nwho is holy and unapproachable seeks to bridge the distance between himself and\nhis people. He calls out to Moses and instructs him how to draw near. He\nprovides the way of access through a detailed system of sacrifices\u2014first hinted\nat in the skins of animals he gave as a covering to Adam and Eve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout Leviticus, as in all\nits texts, Scripture portrays God\u2019s fearsome nearness, a unique combination of\nunapproachable holiness and an extended hand of welcome. This combination\nreaches its fullest expression in the person of Messiah, in whom the transcendent\nGod comes near to humankind. \u201cGod in the Messiah was reconciling mankind to\nhimself\u2026\u201d (2 Cor. 5:19<\/a>, cjb).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Western Wall in Jerusalem is\nthe holiest site in Judaism today, a place where many believe they are closer\nto God than anywhere else. But the real question is not where<\/em> we can\ndraw near to God, but how.<\/em> God in his holiness and power is\nunapproachable, but through the sacrifice that he provides we can draw near. In\nMessiah, as in the tabernacle long ago, we find a place of meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes time for this\nMessiah to choose those who will represent him before others, he first calls\nthem near to himself. \u201cAnd He went up on the mountain and called to Him those\nHe Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they\nmight be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power\nto heal sicknesses and to cast out demons\u2026\u201d (Mark\n3:13\u201315<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God calls us to his fearsome\nnearness. Only as we respond and come near are we able to bear his image before\na world that needs a glimpse of the divine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Those who follow Messiah must live a hidden life\nnear to God if they are to live a public life representing God. Am I responding\nfully to God\u2019s invitation to draw near to him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONTINUAL WORSHIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Tsav<\/em>, Leviticus\n6:1\u20138:36<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerning the words in the Scriptures: \u201cWhen any\nman of you bringeth an offering to the Lord \u2026\u201d [Lev. 1:2<\/a>]\nthe rabbi of Rizhyn said: \u201cOnly he who brings himself to the Lord as an\noffering may be called a man.\u201d5<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first altar builder in the Bible was Noah, as\nwe read, \u201cThen Noah built an altar to the Lord,\nand took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt\nofferings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma\u201d (Gen.\n8:20\u20132la<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We might imagine that Noah built\nthis altar to make a sin offering before the Flood came, so that he and his\nfamily could enter the ark confident in their right relationship with the Lord.\nOr we might imagine that he made an offering even earlier, to call on God to\nhave mercy and hold back the waters of the Flood. But, no, Noah became the\nfirst altar builder after<\/em> the great crisis of the Flood had passed, to\nexpress his gratitude and reverence for God. From this, we learn that the altar\nis not only a place for seeking mercy and forgiveness, but above all a place\nfor worship. There will indeed be sacrifices upon the altar to provide\nforgiveness of sin, but first we see an offering of worship, presented to the\nLord as \u201ca soothing aroma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, in all of the details\nabout offerings and priesthood in the early chapters of Leviticus, it is\npossible to lose the larger picture. The sacrificial system is about worship,\nand all worship, all coming-near-to-God, involves an offering. The sacrifices\ndo not all deal with sin and forgiveness. Indeed, the instructions for the\nfirst type of sacrifice, the olah<\/em> or elevation offering, do not mention\nsin at all. But all the sacrifices do express worship of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lesson for us: worship always\ninvolves an offering, something we present to the Lord that ultimately\nrepresents us. As the Rabbi of Rizhyn taught, a person must bring himself or\nherself to the Lord as an offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since worship requires an\noffering, it requires fire as well, for it is by fire that the offering\nactually ascends to the Lord. Thus, this week\u2019s parashah opens with this\ninstruction:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt\noffering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning \u2026 And\nthe fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And\nthe priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order\non it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. A fire shall\nalways be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. (Lev.\n6:9\u201313<\/a> [6:2\u20136<\/a>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The name of the daily elevation\noffering, olah, derives from a verb meaning \u201cto go up.\u201d Since it is by means of\nfire that the offering \u201cgoes up\u201d to the Lord, olah is frequently translated as\n\u201cburnt offering.\u201d Translator Robert Alter notes the central role of fire in the\nsacrifices of Leviticus:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fire and blood are the two substances that are the\nkey to the sacrificial rites, but the present passage gives preeminence to \u2026\nfire\u2014the element associated with God\u2019s fiery epiphany at Sinai and with his\nfirst appearance to Moses in the Burning Bush. Hence an altar with a fire that\n\u201cshall not go out.\u201d6<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fire \u201cshall not go out\u201d\nbecause it represents Adonai, the ever-present and unchangeable God. The\ninstructions about sacrifice are not an esoteric list of rules and regulations,\nbut a way of revisiting the grand narrative of God\u2019s self-revelation to Israel.\nThe fire, as Alter says, reminds Israel of their encounter with God at Mount\nSinai\u2014\u201cThe sight of the glory of the Lord\nwas like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the\nchildren of Israel\u201d (Exod. 24:17<\/a>). As the fire burns continually, it\nreminds Israel that God abides in the camp throughout all their journeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is an additional lesson for\nus as worshipers of the God of Israel. It is the priests, the representative\nhumans, who must keep the fire burning continually. We are to worship steadily\nand continually. Surely there will be high moments of worship, when we gather\nas the holy community on special days to offer praise before the Lord. But,\nlike the priests, we are to keep the fire of worship burning in our lives at\nall times, and not let it go out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Judaism promotes this\nsense of continual worship in numerous ways, such as by providing blessings for\na great number of daily actions and events. It considers it a great mitzvah to\nrecite one hundred blessings each day, and every blessing is itself an act of\nworship, beginning with the words: \u201cBlessed are you, O Lord our God, king of\nthe universe. \u2026\u201d Thus, the flame of worship is kept burning continually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, in the B\u2019rit Hadashah,\nPaul instructs us, \u201cAlways be joyful. Pray regularly. In everything give\nthanks, for this is what God wants from you who are united with the Messiah\nYeshua\u201d (1 Thess. 5:16\u201318<\/a>, cjb).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True worship requires an\noffering, and a true offering represents the offer of oneself to God. Such\nworship is continual, a fire that is not quenched. Such worship defines the\nholiness to which Leviticus calls us in every chapter. It requires us to make\nworship the central focus of our lives and to resist the self-centered,\nconsumerist values of our day that would treat worship as one commodity among\nmany. As the Lord brought us out of the bondage of Egypt, so Messiah brought us\nout of the bondage of sin, not just to improve our circumstances, but that we\nmight worship him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Real worship means that I offer myself to God, not\njust on special occasions, but continually. What can I offer to God today that\nwill genuinely represent an offering of my whole self?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MISREPRESENTING GOD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Sh\u2019mini:<\/em> Leviticus\n9:1\u201311:47<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Aaron\u2019s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire\npan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before the Lord alien fire, which He had not\nenjoined upon them. And fire came forth from the Lord and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of\nthe Lord. Then Moses said to\nAaron,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what the Lord\nmeant when He said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through those near to Me I show Myself holy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And gain glory before all the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Aaron was silent. (Lev.\n10:1\u20133<\/a>, njps)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nadab and Abihu must have sinned greatly to deserve\nsuch swift and decisive punishment. Yet, Scripture says only that they offered\n\u201calien fire,\u201d which God had not commanded them. Nadab and Abihu are priests,\nmediators between God and his people. Whatever the exact nature of their sin,\nit is clear that they somehow misrepresented God, because the Lord responds to\ntheir sin by saying, \u201cThrough those near to Me I show myself holy.\u201d Such\nmisrepresentation is a grave offense indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses learns the same lesson at\nthe waters of Meribah. There, the Israelites complain because there is no\nwater. The Lord tells Moses to speak to the rock, and it will bring forth\nwater. Instead, Moses castigates the people for their complaining, and strikes\nthe rock. Water comes forth, but the Lord tells Moses,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because you did not have-trust in me,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to treat-me-as-holy before the eyes of the Children\nof Israel, therefore:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you shall not bring this assembly into the land\nthat I am giving them! (Num. 20:12<\/a>, Fox)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Moses tells Aaron after the\ndeath of his sons, the Lord will show himself holy through those near to him\nand will be glorified before all the people. At Meribah, however, Moses, like\nhis nephews earlier, misrepresents God before the people\u2014and receives harsh\njudgment himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During most years, the reading of\nthe story of Nadab and Abihu in the synagogue comes not long before Yom\nHaShoah,<\/em> Holocaust Remembrance Day. One of the essential books for\nunderstanding the Holocaust and its horrific impact upon the Jewish people is Night<\/em>\nby Elie Wiesel. In his foreword to the book, the venerable French author\nFrancois Mauriac writes of his first meeting with the young Wiesel. Wiesel\ntells Mauriac how his childhood faith perished in the living hell of Auschwitz,\nand Mauriac writes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did I say to him? Did I speak of that other\nIsraeli, his brother, who may have resembled him\u2014the Crucified, whose Cross has\nconquered the world? Did I affirm that the stumbling block to his faith was the\ncornerstone of mine, and that the conformity between the Cross and the\nsuffering of men was in my eyes the key to that impenetrable mystery whereon\nthe faith of his childhood had perished? Zion, however, has risen up again from\nthe crematories and charnel houses. The Jewish nation has been resurrected from\namong its thousands of dead. It is through them that it lives again. We do not\nknow the worth of one single drop of blood, one single tear. All is grace. If\nthe Eternal is the Eternal, the last word for each one of us belongs to Him.\nThis is what I should have told this Jewish child. But I could only embrace\nhim, weeping.7<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mauriac is right not to speak.\nThose who represented the Messiah whom Mauriac wanted to share with Wiesel had\nso misrepresented<\/em> him that there was nothing left to say.\u201d Hitler, of\ncourse, was no Christian. But the seedbed for the Holocaust had been prepared\nby centuries of Christian anti-Semitism throughout Europe, and the Church had\ndone little to protest the destruction of the Jews. We must remember the ten\nBooms and many other Christians who helped. We must give thanks for Christians\nsince the Holocaust who have worked to overcome anti-Semitism and seek true\nreconciliation with the Jewish community. But we must also remember that during\nthe Holocaust the vast majority of Christians, and especially the visible\ninstitutions, did not help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Protestant Netherlands,\nthe Nazis offered a deal to the churches that were opposing the deportation of\nthe Jews. If they would stop their protest, the Nazis would refrain from\ndeporting those Jews who had become Christians. The Dutch Reformed Church\naccepted the deal and went silent concerning the fate of the majority of the\nJewish community. On the other side of the European continent, a Lithuanian\nCatholic bishop met occasionally with the chief rabbi in his area. As the Nazi\nvice was tightening, the rabbi asked if the bishop could arrange for Jewish\nchildren to be hidden in monasteries. The bishop refused to intervene, saying\nthat the monasteries were autonomous and, besides, \u201ctheir abbots and priors did\nnot excel in mercy and love.\u201d Later that same year, 1943, the Nazis occupied\nRome and rounded up its Jews under the windows of the Vatican, which made no\npublic statement of concern or protest.8<\/sup> Hitler and the Nazis were\nthe great culprits of the Holocaust, but the Church was guilty of its own\nsin\u2014misrepresenting God by refusing to help the Jews. Those with a claim to be\nnear to God failed to display his holiness in this tragic time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly sixty years after the\ndeportation of the Roman Jews, John Paul II became the first Pope to visit\nIsrael\u2014in itself an act of apology. He visited Yad VaShem, the Holocaust\nMemorial in Jerusalem, and prayed at the Western Wall, where he placed a prayer\nfor forgiveness between its stones:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his\ndescendants to bring your name to the nations. We are deeply saddened by the\nbehavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of\nyours to suffer. And asking your forgiveness, we wish to commit ourselves to\ngenuine brotherhood with the people of the covenant. Jerusalem, 26 March 2000.\nSigned: John Paul II.9<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Messianic Jews often meet\nwith resistance or even rejection as we seek to follow Messiah in the midst of\nthe larger Jewish community. Some resistance to the word of Messiah seems\ninherent to human nature, but Parashat Sh\u2019mini<\/em> reminds us of the reason\nfor a particularly Jewish resistance\u2014the misrepresentation of God in the name\nof Yeshua. Many Jews resist the message of Yeshua because he has been so\ntragically misrepresented among the Jewish people for so long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we respond to this resistance\nby distancing ourselves from the Jewish community, we risk misrepresenting God\nourselves. Instead, we have an opportunity to emulate Yeshua, who above all\nothers is near to God \u2026 and who resolutely remains near to Israel, despite\nrejection. \u201cFor I say that the Messiah became a servant of the Jewish people in\norder to show God\u2019s truthfulness by making good his promises to the Patriarchs\u201d\n(Rom.\n15:8<\/a>, cjb).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nadab and Abihu were priests,\nmediators between God and Israel, who somehow went astray and misrepresented\nGod. Their story teaches us how disastrous such misrepresentation can be. The\nHolocaust teaches us a further lesson. We can misrepresent God not only by\ndoing the wrong thing, but simply by failing to do anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messiah represents God by\noffering God\u2019s mercy, healing, and restoration, especially to the whole house\nof Israel, to \u201cconfirm the promises given to the patriarchs.\u201d Those who claim\nto follow Messiah are to do the same. Our hope is that among us, God might in\nsome way \u201cshow himself as holy and be glorified before all the people\u201d (Lev. 10:3<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> We can misrepresent God by doing nothing in the\nface of evil or need. What opportunities to represent God\u2019s love and mercy have\nI been overlooking\u2014opportunities that might be right in front of me today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EIGHTH DAY, FIRST DAY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Tazria<\/em>, Leviticus\n12:1\u201313:59<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of Creation is in need of redemption, as\nScripture says:\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

which God created to do.\u201d (The Sefat Emet<\/em>10<\/sup>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creation and redemption: we have been tracing these\ntwo great themes throughout the Torah from the beginning. The nineteenth\ncentury commentary called the Sefat Emet<\/em>, or \u201clanguage of truth,\u201d claims\nthat one verse, Genesis 2:3<\/a>, summarizes both of these themes:\n\u201cThen God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he rested\nfrom all his work which God created to do\u201d (literal translation). The phrase\n\u201cwhich God created to do,\u201d according to this view, means that after God created<\/em>\nall things, he began to do<\/em> the work of redemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sefat Emet<\/em> goes on to\nnote that human beings, created on the sixth and final day of Creation, have a\nshare in this work of redemption. \u201cThe human was created last in deed, but\nfirst in the order of redemption. It is through humanity that Creation and\nredemption are joined together.\u201d11<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the sixth day, just before God\nentered the rest of the seventh day, he gave instructions to the newly formed\nhuman couple: \u201cBe fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it\u201d (Gen. 1:28<\/a>).\nAfter six days of Creation, the work was not entirely finished. Humankind still\nhad the task of filling and subduing the earth. This process is part of the\nredemption to which the Sefat Emet<\/em> refers, not just redemption from sin\n(which hasn\u2019t even happened yet), but fulfillment of all that God intends for\nhis Creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a similar vein, over three\nhundred years earlier, Sforno comments on Genesis 2:1<\/a>.\n\u2018 \u201cThus the heaven and the earth were finished\u2019 \u2026 having reached the end\npurpose of existence in general.\u201d That is, heaven and earth are not finished<\/em>\nin the sense that there is nothing left to be done, but in that they express\nthe purpose of Creation \u201cin general.\u201d And what is that purpose? Redemption, or Tikkun<\/em>\nin Hebrew, \u201cthe restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of\nall His holy prophets since the world began\u201d (Acts 3:21<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a conversation spanning\ncenturies, Sforno and the Sefat Emet<\/em> agree on a point that has\ntremendous implications for us today. Creation holds within itself the seed of\na new Creation. We have noted this theme throughout our study of Torah and it\ncomes to the fore again, as we reach the midway point through Torah here in Parashat\nTazria.<\/em> The completion of God\u2019s original plan of Creation requires a new\nCreation, a spiritual rebirth for every human being. Thus, in Parashat\nTazria<\/em>, we read,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the Lord\nspoke to Moses, saying, \u201cSpeak to the children of Israel, saying: \u2018If a woman\nhas conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as\nin the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. And on the eighth\nday the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.\u2019 \u201d (Lev.\n12:1\u20133<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eighth day is the first day\nof new Creation. In Genesis, the seven days are the week of Creation, but here\nthey are seven days of impurity, followed by an eighth day that designates a\nnew beginning. This is not to indicate that the \u201cold Creation\u201d is somehow\ncorrupt and must be replaced by the new. Rather, the creation of the male\nchild, which is in itself holy, does not reach its fulfillment, or redemption,\nuntil the eighth day, through circumcision. The holiness of Creation is\nelevated to a new level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God gives the original\ninstruction concerning circumcision, of course, to Abraham:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God further said to Abraham, \u201cAs for you, you and\nyour offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. Such shall\nbe the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall\nkeep: every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh\nof your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and\nyou. And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised\nat the age of eight days.\u201d (Gen. 17:9\u201312<\/a>, njps)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Circumcision on the eighth day\nbecomes havdalah, the boundary that distinguishes the household of Abraham,\nwhich is joined to the Lord through covenant, from the rest of humankind. We\nmight say that God creates humanity on the sixth day, as the culmination of his\nwork of Creation, and then creates a new humanity on the eighth day through\ncircumcision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eighth day is particularly significant because\nthe newborn has completed a seven-day unit of time corresponding to the process\nof Creation. In like manner, Exodus 22:29<\/a> stipulates that the first-born of an\nanimal is dedicated only on the eighth day after birth, and Leviticus\n22:27<\/a> lays down that an animal is not fit for sacrifice before that\nday.12<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eighth day, then, is a day of\nnew Creation that carries forward the purpose of the original Creation. Now we\nunderstand why the gospels emphasize the first day of the week in recounting\nthe resurrection of Messiah. \u201cAfter Shabbat, as the next day was dawning,\nMiryam of Magdala and the other Miryam went to see the grave\u201d (Matt. 28:1<\/a>,\ncjb). \u201cIn the evening that same\nday, the first day of the week, when the talmidim were gathered together behind\nlocked doors out of fear of the Judeans, Yeshua came, stood in the middle and\nsaid, \u2018Shalom aleikhem<\/em> [Peace to you]!\u2019 \u201d (Yochanan [John] 20:19<\/a>,\ncjb). The first day is the eighth\nday, the first day of redemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God himself accomplishes and\nguarantees this work of redemption, but he does so in partnership with\nhumankind, ultimately embodied in Messiah himself. The eighth day reminds us\nthat God created us not just to await redemption and certainly not just to await\nour \u201cheavenly reward\u201d in some other realm. Rather, we are to be active\nparticipants in the cosmic drama planned from Creation, a drama that reaches\nits turning point in the resurrection of Messiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sefat Emet<\/em> says, \u201cIt\nis through humanity that Creation and redemption are joined together.\u201d Messiah,\nthe Son of God, becomes Son of Man to accomplish redemption, above all through\nhis resurrection on the eighth day. As we respond, we join a new, reborn\nhumanity that shares in the work of redemption until all comes to completion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> In humanity, Creation and redemption join\ntogether. We see this reality in Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of Man who brings\nredemption, but do we see it in ourselves? How do I participate in Tikkun,\nrestoration of Creation, even today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE LEPER PRIEST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat M\u2019tzora<\/em>, Leviticus\n14:1\u201315:33<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Messiah\u2019s name? \u2026 The Rabbis said: His\nname is \u201cthe leper scholar,\u201d as it is written, Surely he hath borne our griefs,\nand carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and\nafflicted.13<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leviticus speaks of a mysterious disease, or group\nof diseases, called tzara\u2019at<\/em>, which we often translate as \u201cleprosy.\u201d A\npassage in the Talmud speaks of the Messiah as bearing this disease, a\ntremendous insight into our spiritual condition as human beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tzara\u2019at as described in the\nTorah differs from the leprosy that we know today in its symptoms and\nprogression. Furthermore, tzara\u2019at afflicts garments and even the walls of\nhouses as well as the skin of humans. Accordingly, tzara\u2019at must be a term for\neither a wide variety of diseases, or else a specific disease that existed only\nin the days when Israel lived under the priestly system in the Land of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The person who suffers from this\ncondition is a m\u2019tzora<\/em>, which is the name of this week\u2019s parashah. The\nm\u2019tzora\u2019s diagnosis is mysterious, but clearly he embodies the opposite of the\nholiness that should characterize the people of Israel. For holiness to be preserved,\nthe m\u2019tzora must be separated to live outside the camp, identifying himself as\nunclean so that no one will inadvertently touch him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes\nshall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry,\n\u201cUnclean! Unclean!\u201d He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall\nbe unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be\noutside the camp. (Lev. 13:45\u201346<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if a leper recovers from his\ndisease, as in this week\u2019s reading, he is still not allowed within the camp.\nFirst, the priest must go to him outside the camp, and examine him for signs of\nthe disease. If he passes this exam, the leper returns to the camp, but then\nundergoes a long and demanding process before he can be reintegrated into the\ncommunity of Israel (Lev. 14:1\u201332<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he suffers from the disease,\nhis separation from Israel must be complete; when he is restored to Israel, his\nseparation from the disease must be complete. The disease and the camp of God\u2019s\npeople are utterly incompatible. Yet, though the leper is separated, he does\nnot depart altogether; he remains \u201coutside the camp,\u201d apart yet waiting for the\nday of restoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text speaks of tzara\u2019at as a\n\u201cplague\u201d or nega<\/em>, which provides the connection between Messiah and\nleprosy made by the sages of the Talmud. Isaiah writes of the one he calls the\nServant, \u201cYet we esteemed him stricken [nagua<\/em>], smitten by God, and\nafflicted\u201d (Isa. 53:4<\/a>), or as the Talmud translates, \u201cYet we\ndid esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and afflicted.\u201d And again, \u201cFor he was\ncut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people he was\nstricken [nega]\u201d (Isa. 53:8<\/a>). Since the Talmud recognizes that\nIsaiah\u2019s Servant in this passage is the Messiah, it portrays Messiah as a\nleper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another Talmudic passage carries\nthis connection even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Joshua bar Levi met Elijah standing by the\nentrance of Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai\u2019s tomb. He asked him: \u2018When will the Messiah\ncome?\u2019\u2014\u2018Go and ask him himself,\u2019 was his reply. \u2018Where is he sitting?\u2019\u2014\u2018At the entrance.\u2019\n\u2018And by what sign may I recognize him?\u2019\u2014\u2018He is sitting among the poor lepers:\nall of them untie their sores all at once, and rebandage them together, whereas\nhe unties and rebandages each separately, thinking, should I be wanted, it\nbeing time for my appearance as the Messiah, I must not be delayed through\nhaving to bandage a number of sores.\u201914<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This remarkable midrash catches a\ngreat irony of the Jewish story. The messianic hope underlies the scriptures\nand prayers of the Jewish people. The messianic ideal is at the heart of Jewish\nthought. And yet, the one who fulfills this ideal, the Messiah himself, now\ndwells outside the camp of Israel, estranged from the Jewish people as a whole.\nHe sits as a leper among the lepers \u201cat the entrance,\u201d that is, at the entrance\nof Rome, according to the rabbis. With uncanny insight, they imagined the\nMessiah in exile at the gates of Rome, the center of the Gentile\u2014and especially\nChristian\u2014world. There the Messiah waits for the call back to Jerusalem, back\nto his own people Israel, to whom he will reveal himself at the proper time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This great irony in the Jewish\nstory leads to the great challenge for the Messianic Jewish community\u2014can we\nmaintain our identification with this Messiah and with our Jewish people at the\nsame time? We claim to be a bridge between the Jewish world and the Messiah\nwhose name is a scandal in the Jewish world. Like the Messiah we follow, we\noften find ourselves outside the camp of Israel. Can we, like him, remain loyal\nto our own people within the camp?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same issue confronts all who\nwould follow Yeshua. Nearness to Messiah often creates distance from friends\nand loved ones. In the 21st century, as in the first, Yeshua is often found\noutside the established religious world, and even beyond the bounds of social\nacceptability. Are we willing to follow him there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The instructions for restoring a\nleper will help us answer this question. A cleansed leper must go through a\nritual of restoration that resembles the ritual of consecration for the priests.\nLike the new priest, the leper brings an elaborate offering and undergoes a\nseven-day period of consecration (Lev.\n14:1\u201332<\/a>; cf. 8:1\u20139:1<\/a>). On the eighth day of the priest, he\nbegins his ministry in the tabernacle; on the eighth day of the leper, he\nappears before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle. There the leper brings a\ntrespass offering, and then, \u201cThe priest shall take some of the blood of the\ntrespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of\nhim who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe\nof his right foot\u201d (Lev. 14:14<\/a>)\u2014the same ritual that Moses performs\nto consecrate the sons of Aaron (Lev. 8:24<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leper is like a priest\nbecause he preserves holiness in the camp of Israel by bearing impurity out\nfrom the camp in his own body. His solitary affliction is for the benefit of\nthe whole community. Surely, this is true of the afflictions of Messiah, the\nleper scholar. Furthermore, the leper was \u201clike one dead\u201d (Num.\n12:12<\/a>), and now that he is cleansed he is alive, cast out and now\nrestored. He is like a priest in this way as well, because he dwells among his\npeople as a sign of God\u2019s restorative power. Likewise, our life in Messiah is\nincomplete unless it is a sign of Messiah\u2019s restoration to those estranged from\nhim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: The restoration of the leper reminds us of our\nrestoration in Messiah. We have been restored to the camp to be a sign of\nrestoration to others. Messiah cannot imagine the day of redemption apart from\nhis return to his people. How can we imagine our redemption to be complete\napart from the redemption of all Israel, which is a key to the redemption of\nall peoples?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TO AZAZEL\u2026 AND BACK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Acharei Mot<\/em>, Leviticus\n16:1\u201318:30<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If God lived on earth, people would break his\nwindows (Yiddish proverb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This proverb, like the Torah itself, recognizes a\ncertain perverseness in human nature. When God \u201clived on earth\u201d within the\ncloud of glory that rested upon the tabernacle, his people did \u201cbreak his\nwindows\u201d through sin and unbelief. But God in his mercy provided a Day of\nAtonement, or Yom Kippur, a day of cleansing and restoration from sin, which\nallowed him to remain in the midst of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The central figure in the Yom\nKippur ritual of old is sometimes called the \u201cscapegoat.\u201d We use this term in\nordinary speech to refer to someone who bears the blame for the misdeeds of\nothers, but it may actually represent a misunderstanding of the biblical\nordinance of Yom Kippur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There, the Lord instructs Aaron\nto bring two goats on the Day of Atonement: \u201c[A]nd he shall place lots upon the\ntwo goats, one marked for the Lord,\nand the other marked for Azazel.\u201d Aaron sacrifices the goat marked for the\nLord, and takes the other goat, marked for Azazel, lays both his hands on its\nhead \u201cand confess[es] over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the\nIsraelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the goat; and it\nshall be sent off to the wilderness through a designated man\u201d (Lev. 16:8<\/a>,\n21<\/a>,\nnjps).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Azazel in this passage is often\ntranslated as \u201cscapegoat\u201d, but commentators have struggled over its meaning for\ncenturies and have developed three possible interpretations, only one of them\nyielding this translation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.   Azazel can designate the place,<\/em> the \u201cinaccessible Region\u201d\nto which the goat is sent (Lev. 16:22<\/a>, njps).\nThus the Talmud interprets the first syllable of Azazel as \u2018az<\/em>, meaning\n\u201cstrong\u201d or \u201cfierce,\u201d so that the word means \u201ca fierce land.\u201d15<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.   Azazel may name the goat itself, as a contraction of \u2018ez<\/em>\n(goat) and azal<\/em> (to go away). This is the source of the English\n\u201cscapegoat,\u201d a contraction of \u201cescape goat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.   Azazel may be the name of a demonic power ruling over the\nwilderness to which the goat is sent. Ibn Ezra refers to this interpretation in\nhis commentary on 16:8<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you would understand the hidden meaning behind\nthe word Azazel<\/em>, you would also understand the hidden meaning behind its\nconcept, for it has its associations in the Torah. I will give you a hint: when\nyou reach thirty-three you will know.16<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This third possibility is the\nmost puzzling to our modern ears, and worth some exploration. If we take Ibn\nEzra\u2019s hint and count thirty three verses past the introduction of Azazel in Leviticus\n16:8<\/a>, we come to Leviticus 17:7<\/a>: \u201c[T]hat they may offer their\nsacrifices no more to the goat demons after whom they stray\u201d (njps). Now we\u2019re even more puzzled. If\nAzazel is a demonic power, offering the goat to it appears to be just the sort\nof offering to \u201cthe goat demons\u201d that the Torah prohibits here. Certainly, God\nis not telling us that on Yom Kippur we must purchase our holiness by appeasing\nthe demons!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramban seeks to resolve this\ndifficulty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the Torah has absolutely forbidden to accept\nother gods as deities, or to worship them in any manner. However, the Holy One,\nblessed be He, commanded us that on the Day of Atonement we should let loose a\ngoat in the wilderness, to that \u201cprince\u201d which rules over wastelands, and this\ngoat is fitting for it because he is its master, and destruction and waste\nemanate from that power, which in turn is the cause of \u2026 the sword, wars,\nquarrels, wounds, plagues, division and destruction.17<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramban goes on to explain that\nthe goat is not sacrificed<\/em> to Azazel; indeed, there is no sacrifice\ninvolved at all, for its blood is not shed. Instead, this goat \u201cshall be left\nstanding alive before the Lord, to make expiation with it, and to send it off\nto the wilderness for Azazel\u201d (Lev. 16:10<\/a>, njps).\nThe goat does not involve worship of Azazel the \u201cprince\u201d of the wastelands, God\nforbid. Rather, the goat belongs to the Lord who uses it as a means of\nseparating between the holy and the unholy. He commands Israel to send it away\nto this other power, along with all their sins and impurities, so the camp or\nIsrael may remain holy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his interpretation, Ramban\nbrings together the three alternatives listed above. He sees \u201cAzazel\u201d as a\ncompound of two words, ez<\/em> (goat) and azal<\/em> (going). Thus, it can\nrefer to the \u201cgoing goat\u201d itself, to the place where the goat goes, and to the\npower resident in that place. Such a place is utterly apart from Israel in its\nholiness; by casting out the goat bearing all unholiness into another place,\nIsrael remains holy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of years after this\nordinance was given, the prophet Isaiah used similar terms to speak of a\nmysterious figure he called the Servant, who is \u201cdespised\u201d and \u201crejected\u201d and\n\u201ccut off out of the land of the living\u201d (Isa. 53:3<\/a>,\n8<\/a>).\nThe prophet reveals that the cast out Servant is bearing the sins of Israel,\njust as the goat bore the sins of Israel. Indeed the same three categories\u2014sin,\niniquity, and transgression\u2014that appear in Leviticus\n16:21<\/a> reappear throughout Isaiah 53<\/a>.\nThe rabbinic literature centuries later understood these three terms to\ndescribe the full range of sin, all that would require atonement on Yom Kippur\n(for example Soncino Talmud,<\/em> Yoma 36b).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messianic Jews and Christians, of\ncourse, see the sin bearer of Isaiah 53<\/a> as Yeshua the Messiah. When his time\ncomes to offer himself up, he does not do so within the holy city as a Temple\nsacrifice. Instead he is cast out of the city, and finally outside the\nboundaries of Jewish life and identity, out to Azazel\u2014the wilderness of\nestrangement from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remarkably, Ramban identifies\nthis wilderness, the land of Azazel, with Rome: \u201cIn short, it is the spirit of\nthe sphere of Mars, and its portion among the nations is Esau [a code word\nthroughout rabbinic literature for Rome], the people that inherited the sword\nand the wars\u2026,\u201d18<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua is handed over to\nEsau-Rome and crucified. Then, through his resurrection he returns from this\nexile, no longer bearing our sins but bearing forgiveness and new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the\ngreat,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because He poured out His soul unto death,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And He was numbered with the transgressors,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And He bore the sin of many,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And made intercession for the transgressors. (Isa.\n53:11\u201312<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If God lived on earth, we would\nbreak his windows. In Yeshua, God has borne such rejection, removed it from us,\nand brought forgiveness in its stead. \u201cFor on that day he shall make atonement\nfor you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord\u201d (Lev.\n16:30<\/a>, literal translation). The p\u2019shat, or plain sense, of this\nverse is that \u201che\u201d who makes atonement is the High Priest, but another\ninterpretation says that \u201che\u201d is the Lord himself.19<\/sup> The one most\noffended by sin is the one who ultimately bears away our sins, that we might be\nrestored to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: On Yom Kippur, the one who has been offended, the\nonly one innocent of sin, is the one who brings forgiveness and restoration. In\nthose relationships in which I have been offended and wronged, is there a way\nthat I can take the initiative in bringing restoration?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JUSTICE AND BEYOND<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat K\u2019doshim<\/em>, Leviticus\n19:1\u201320:27<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese people who can see right through you never\nquite do you justice\u2026\u201d20<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice is a dominant theme throughout Leviticus,\nan aspect of the holiness that must characterize God\u2019s people. Hence, when\nLeviticus introduces a code of holiness in Parashat K\u2019doshim<\/em> it details\nthe justice required of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The code\u2019s most famous line,\nhowever, envisions a limit to justice, or perhaps a more profound justice than\ncan be captured by any code: \u201cYou shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against\nthe children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am\nthe Lord\u201d (Lev.\n19:18<\/a>). Here in a word, Torah\u2019s vision of holiness and justice is\nfulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Torah does not imply that all\nour grudges are misdirected, or that there is never anything to avenge. We will\nindeed encounter injustice in the course of our lives, and we are normally to\njoin with the Lord in the pursuit of justice. But here at its heart, the code\nof holiness focuses not on strict justice, but on love of neighbor. And the\nLord reminds us who is ultimately responsible for justice by concluding this\ninstruction with the words, \u201cI am the Lord.\u201d\nHe is the one who will pursue justice in any given situation, but here he\nassigns us other responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Pulitzer Prize winning\nnovel Gilead,<\/em> the narrator, an elderly Iowa pastor, tells the story of\nhis grandfather. As a boy, in the early 1800\u2019s, the grandfather had seen a\nvision of Jesus as a slave\u2014\u201cthe Lord, holding out his arms to him, which were\nbound in chains. My grandfather said, \u2018Those irons had rankled right down to\nHis bones.\u2019 \u201d21<\/sup> Unable to forget this dream, the grandfather\nmoved to Kansas, where he preached against slavery, sometimes with a loaded\npistol in his belt, ready to do justice on behalf of the oppressed. When the\nCivil War broke out, he welcomed it as divine cleansing upon the sinful nation,\nand lost an eye in service as a chaplain with the Union Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grandfather was zealous for\nthe justice of God, but sometimes all too human in seeking it. He once caught\nhis grandson, the narrator, in some misbehavior, and glared at him with his\nlone eye. The grandson remembered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I was a child at the time, and it seems to me\nhe might have made some allowance. These people who can see right through you\nnever quite do you justice, because they never give you credit for the effort\nyou\u2019re making to be better than you actually are, which is difficult and well\nmeant and deserving of some notice.22<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Torah\u2019s code of holiness,\nlike Gilead,<\/em> reminds us that there is a human justice that serves no\njustice at all. The grandson turns tables on the grandfather by showing how the\ngrandfather misses justice. Likewise, the code of holiness turns tables on us,\nlest we become too intent on justice and thereby unjust, too intent on pursuing\npurity and thereby become impure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of its detailed\nrulings about holiness and purity, Leviticus assigns us the task of grace.\nYeshua was once teaching about this commandment to love your neighbor when a lawyer\nasked him a reasonable enough question, \u201cAnd who is my \u2018neighbor\u2019?\u201d (Luke\n10:29<\/a>, cjb) In other\nwords, \u201cJust how much is this commandment going to demand of me?\u201d \u201cHow much\njustice must I pursue?\u201d Leviticus reminds us that strict justice sometimes\nfails, and when it does, we must relinquish the desire for revenge. Indeed, we\ncannot even hold a grudge. In response to the lawyer\u2019s question, however,\nYeshua goes even further. It is no longer enough to refrain from holding a\ngrudge; now you must positively seek the good of the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking up the question, Yeshua said: \u201cA man was\ngoing down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They\nstripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead. By\ncoincidence, a priest was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he\npassed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite who reached the place and saw\nhim also passed by on the other side. \u201cBut a man from Shomron who was traveling\ncame upon him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. So he went up\nto him, put oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he set him on\nhis own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day, he\ntook out two days\u2019 wages, gave them to the innkeeper and said, \u2018Look after him;\nand if you spend more than this, I\u2019ll pay you back when I return.\u2019 Of these\nthree, which one seems to you to have become the \u2018neighbor\u2019 of the man who fell\namong robbers?\u201d He answered, \u201cThe one who showed mercy toward him.\u201d Yeshua said\nto him, \u201cYou go and do as he did.\u201d (Luke\n10:30\u201337<\/a>, cjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The priest and the Levite may\nhave good reasons to cross over to the other side. Perhaps they have found exemptions\nfrom the command to love your neighbor, some reason why it does not apply in\ntheir case, or under these circumstances. But you, Messiah says, are obligated\nnonetheless. Your neighbor is the one you encounter in need, the one you are\nable to love not in theory, but through practical and sacrificial action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawyer who asked for a limit\nto the commandment wanted to justify himself. The commandment, however, ends\nwith the words, \u201cI am the Lord,\u201d\nreminding us that its focus is divine justice, not self-justification. The\nentire code of holiness is framed in the same terms. It opens with the Lord\u2019s\nwords to Moses, \u201cSpeak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and\nsay to them: \u2018You shall be holy, for I the Lord\nyour God am holy\u2019 (Lev. 19:1\u20132<\/a>), and closes with the instruction,\n\u201cAnd you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy \u2026\u201d (Lev.\n20:26<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Leviticus, justice and\nholiness are closely related. Both are found only in the emulation of God, who\nalone is holy and just. Forgetting this, we become self righteous and holier\nthan thou. We become like those \u201cpeople who can see right through you,\u201d but\n\u201cnever quite do you justice.\u201d The justice and holiness of God do not gaze from\na distance at the messy realities of life, but actively engage them. The\nSamaritan is a despised outsider, who might well have held a grudge against his\nJewish neighbors. Instead, he fulfills the Torah far better than their experts\ndo. The Samaritan who washed the wounded man, hoisted his body onto his donkey,\nand dug into his purse for extra coins to cover his expenses, is holy. The\npriest and Levite\u2014who have kept their hands clean\u2014are not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawyer asks his question because\nhe wants to justify himself. In response, Yeshua tells about an outsider who\ngoes beyond self-justification to fulfill Torah. The moral for the lawyer and\nfor us as well: \u201cGo and do likewise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> My neighbor is the one who needs a neighbor.\nHoliness requires that I find such neighbors and provide the help they need.\nWhen I ask \u201cWho is my neighbor?\u201d am I hoping to narrow my neighborhood or\nexpand it? Am I ready to show mercy to a stranger?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TIMES OF ENCOUNTER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Emor<\/em>, Leviticus\n21:1\u201324:23<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a book tour event in 2000, author Tim LaHaye\ntold the audience about the conception of the Left Behind<\/em> series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In about 1985, one of my dearest friends, Shirley\nPeters \u2026 mentioned the idea of the rapture taking place on an airplane. Then a\nfew days later, while I was flying in a 747 jet across the country to a\nprophecy conference \u2026 I got to thinking about the idea Shirley had mentioned:\n\u201cWhat if the rapture took place?\u201d According to a Gallup poll, about one-third\nof the population claim to be born-again; so about one-third of the people on\nthe 747 would be gone. And the stewardess would discover their clothes and\npound on the door and shout, \u201cCaptain, a hundred people are missing from our\naircraft.\u201d And the rest is history.23<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Left Behind<\/em> book series, by Tim LaHaye\nand Jerry Jenkins, has enjoyed vast popularity with its portrayal of the\nrapture (in which believers in Yeshua are removed from the earth to meet him in\nthe air [ 1 Thess. 4:16\u201317<\/a>]) and the Great Tribulation that\nfollows. The series draws heavily on the book of Revelation to develop its\nparticular midrash on the end of the age. Bible readers who are fascinated with\nthis subject rarely turn to the book of Leviticus to gain insight into biblical\nprophecy. The Levitical festivals, however, provide a perspective on the Age to\nCome far different from Left Behind.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We saw that Leviticus opened with\nthe Lord\u2019s call to Moses out of \u05d0\u05d4\u05dc \u05de\u05d5\u05e2\u05d3 ohel\nmo\u2019ed<\/em>, the tent of meeting, or the\ntabernacle, which had been the focal point of the final chapters of Exodus, and\nremained the focal point in Leviticus. In Leviticus 23<\/a>,\nhowever, the focus shifts to \u05de\u05d5\u05e2\u05d3\u05d9\u05dd mo\u2019adim<\/em>, the plural form of mo\u2019ed<\/em>, which refers to\nthe appointed festivals of the Lord. The story turns from the tent<\/em> of\nmeeting, to the times<\/em> of meeting. Israel encounters the divine not only\nin the tent of meeting, but also in the seasons of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tabernacle, as we have seen,\nis a model of the restored, ideal Creation. As the tabernacle\u2014ohel mo\u2019ed\u2014is a\nsymbol of restoration in the midst of the camp, so the festivals\u2014the\nmo\u2019adim\u2014are moments of restoration in the midst of the ordinary days of the\nyear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word mo\u2018adim first appears in\nGenesis\n1:14<\/a>. \u201cThen God said, \u2018Let there be lights in the firmament of the\nheavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons\n<\/p>\n\n\n

[mo\u2019adim]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

.\u2019 \u201d From the beginning of Creation, the Lord ordains the holy\ntimes to remind us for all generations of the original integrity of the\nCreation and of God\u2019s purpose of renewing all things.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, Shabbat opens the list of\nfestivals, because it is a memorial of Creation (Exod.\n31:17<\/a>). It also anticipates \u201cthe day that will be all Shabbat,\u201d24<\/sup>\nwhen the goodness of Creation will be restored, and humankind will at last be\nat rest within it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every festival partakes of this\nprophetic quality of Shabbat. So, we are told on Shavuot, the Festival of\nWeeks: \u201cWhen you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the\ncorners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from\nyour harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God\u201d (Leviticus\n23:21\u201322<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses had already instructed the\nIsraelites to leave the gleanings for the poor a few chapters earlier, in Leviticus\n19:9\u201310<\/a>. Why does he repeat it here? Because Shavuot is the festival\nof the grain harvest, and a holy harvest requires the Israelites to conduct it\nwith respect for the poor and the stranger in their midst. The poor have a\nrightful share in the harvest, even though they have no land of their own,\nbecause they too are created in the image of God and have dominion over all the\nearth. In the Age to Come the divine image will be restored in every human\nbeing. Shavuot anticipates the conditions of that age, when there will be no\nmore hunger and poverty, and no one will be a stranger, but all will have a\nshare in the abundance of the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Shavuot is the\nanniversary of the giving of Torah on Mount Sinai, which was also a restoration\nof divine order. On the Shavuot following Yeshua\u2019s resurrection, he poured out\nthe Spirit upon all of his followers gathered in Jerusalem (Acts 2:33<\/a>).\nThis outpouring anticipated the Age to Come, when the Spirit of God will be\nabundantly available to all, young and old, male and female, Jew and Gentile,\nand \u201cthe earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea\u201d (Isa. 11:9<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 When the Spirit was poured out on Shavuot,\nJews were present, \u201cdevout men, from every nation under heaven\u201d (Acts 2:5<\/a>).\nAs members of the priestly nation of Israel, constituted at the first Shavuot\nat Mount Sinai, these men were the representatives of all the nations, which\nwill partake of the Spirit in the Age to Come. The infilling of the Spirit is\nnot primarily an individual experience of divine power, but a share in the\npowers of the Age to Come, already present through Messiah Yeshua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The preview of the Age to Come\nthat we see in Shavuot is evident in all the biblical festivals. Thus, for\nexample, the instructions for Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) include this:\n\u201cAnd you shall rejoice in your festival, you and your son and your daughter,\nyour male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the\nfatherless and the widow, who are within your gates\u201d (Deut.\n16:14<\/a>). On this day of joy, all are to be included in rejoicing. The\nconditions of this age\u2014bondage, poverty, bereavement, and alienation\u2014are\novercome by the abundant joy of the Age to Come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Torah anticipates the\nAge to Come, its focus is not so much on who is taken up and who is left\nbehind, but on a restoration of divine order that includes the dignity and\nwell-being of all humanity. In the appointed festivals, God commanded Israel to\nenact this restoration each year by ensuring that the poor were fed, the lonely\nwere enabled to rejoice, and the outsiders were brought near. In those high\npoints of the year, at least, in God\u2019s design, no one was left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> The biblical festivals reveal\nthat when we practice ethical behavior or show compassion for the\ndisadvantaged, we are doing a dress rehearsal for the kingdom of God. Who are\nthe gleaners\u2014the strangers, fatherless, and widows\u2014who need to be included in\nmy harvest?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JUBILEE IS COMING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat B\u2019har<\/em>, Leviticus\n25:1\u201326:2<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forever young, forever young,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May you stay forever young.25<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever wished that you could start over?\nThat you could be \u201cforever young,\u201d as in the Bob Dylan song\u2014going back to your\nearliest years of life to erase all your mistakes, cancel all your debts, undo\nall your sins?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may sound like wishful\nthinking, but it was a reality in the Torah legislation of the Jubilee. From\none Jubilee to the next, the Israelites counted forty-nine years\u2014seven sevens\nof years. Seven, the number of perfection, was itself perfected. Then came the\nfiftieth year, in which Moses instructed the people to \u201cproclaim liberty\nthroughout all the land,\u201d so that \u201cyou shall return, each man to his holding\nand you shall return each man to his family\u201d (Lev.\n25:10<\/a>). The liberty of Jubilee restores to its original owners any\nland holding that had been sold, and to his family any Israelite who had fallen\ninto slavery. Jubilee returns Israel to the original order that the Lord\nintended for it, the order that he will restore forever in the Age to Come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The count of forty-nine years\nbetween one Jubilee and the next reminds us of the count of forty-nine days\nleading up to Shavuot outlined in the previous parashah. There we saw that\nShavuot, like all of the festivals, anticipates the conditions of the Age to\nCome. The laws of Shavuot provide a share of the harvest to all who live in\nIsrael, anticipating the restored justice of the kingdom of God. Even more than\nShavuot and the rest of the festivals of Leviticus 23<\/a>,\nhowever, Jubilee provides a foretaste of \u201cthe day that will be all Shabbat, and\nrest for everlasting life.\u201d26<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jubilee expresses the themes of\nholiness and havdalah, which sound throughout Leviticus. It distinguishes one\nyear as separate from and uncorrupted by ordinary pursuits, thereby making holy\nthe passage of all the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 As the year of restoration in Israel, Jubilee\nshapes the messianic hope of restoration described in the Scriptures and\nbeyond. Thus, Ezekiel employs Jubilee language to rebuke the false shepherds of\nIsrael. They have not done for Israel what the Jubilee is designed to do: \u201cThe\nweak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor\nbound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was\nlost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them\u201d (Ezek.\n34:4<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ezekiel proclaims that the Lord\nintends the liberty of the year of Jubilee for all who are broken and\nestranged. God promises that the day will come when he himself will accomplish\nwhat the shepherds of Israel have failed to do. \u201cI will feed my flock, and I\nwill make them lie down. I will seek what was lost and bring back what was\ndriven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will\ndestroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment\u201d (Ezek.\n34:15\u201316<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hope of Jubilee restoration\nechoes through the prophets and into the prayers of Israel. In the second\nblessing of the Amidah<\/em>, the traditional series of blessings recited\nevery day, we address the Lord as the One who \u201cupholds the living in\nlovingkindness, raises the dead in great mercy, supports the fallen, heals the\nsick, releases the bound, and keeps his faith to those asleep in the dust\u201d\n(from the Siddur<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accounts of the life of\nMessiah also echo this hope. When Yochanan, or John the Baptist, was bound in\nprison, he sent two of his disciples to ask Yeshua, \u201cAre you the one who is to\ncome, or should we look for someone else?\u201d Yeshua answered, \u201cGo and tell\nYochanan what you are hearing and seeing\u2014the blind are seeing again, the lame\nare walking, people with tzara\u2018at<\/em> [a skin disease resulting from God\u2019s\njudgment upon sin] are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being\nraised, the Good News is being told to the poor\u2014and how blessed is anyone not\noffended by me!\u201d (Matt. 11:3\u20136<\/a>, cjb).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why would one be offended by\nYeshua? Because he claims to be Messiah at a time when the Jubilee is not fully\nestablished. Yochanan remains imprisoned. Roman armies occupy the land of\nIsrael. But Yeshua shows that the Jubilee has indeed begun with his arrival in\nIsrael, and so will inevitably be fulfilled. In the meantime, do not be\noffended, but maintain hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once during a discussion with a\ngroup of intermarried Jewish-Christian couples, one of the Jewish men said,\n\u201cOK, Yeshua is a great guy. I\u2019ll even accept that he is the greatest guy, but\nMessiah\u2014who knows? Besides, who needs a Messiah?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could have told my friend that\nI needed a Messiah and Yeshua proved himself as Messiah to me \u2026 and that if you\never figure out that you need a Messiah, Yeshua will be there for you too.\nInstead, I focused on the corporate aspect. You may not realize that you need a\nMessiah, but you cannot deny that this world does. Just look at the suffering,\ninjustice, and oppression all around us. Yeshua embodies the hope of liberty,\nof a return to God\u2019s order and justice that is rooted in the Torah and\nreflected throughout our Scriptures and prayers. Yeshua has already launched a\nrestoration that has had immeasurable impact on the world we live in, and is\nevidence of redemption to come. My personal story of salvation is a foretaste\nof the worldwide Jubilee that Messiah will bring in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jubilee decrees that each one is\nto return to his family and to his holding. In our day of isolation and\nestrangement, this promise is especially significant. In the final chapters of\nLeviticus, God provides a way of return to himself which anticipates the great\nrestoration that is the underlying theme of all the books of Torah. This return\nrestores us to families and friendships that have been damaged, and to our\nshare in Scripture and the tradition that flows from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who follow Messiah Yeshua\nbelieve that he is the one who brings about this return. Therefore, we refuse\nto account our personal Jubilee complete apart from the Jubilee for all Israel,\nwhich ultimately is the Jubilee that restores all humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Jubilee must be proclaimed. Moses says, \u201cYou shall\nsound the shofar<\/em>, and you shall proclaim liberty\u201d (Lev.\n25:9\u201310<\/a>, paraphrased). As we await the Jubilee to come, may we\nproclaim the Jubilee that is already here in Messiah Yeshua, so that many in\nIsrael and beyond may return to their families and their holdings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

POSSESSION AND DISPOSSESSION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat B\u2019chukkotai<\/em>, Leviticus\n26:3\u201327:34<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beruriah, the wife of the great Rabbi Meir, was a\nwoman of godly wisdom and character. One Shabbat, when Meir is at prayer, she\ndiscovers that their two sons have died. Meir returns from prayer and asks\nafter the two boys, but Beruriah puts him off until the close of Shabbat. Then\nshe poses a question: \u201cSome time ago, I was given a treasure to guard, and now\nthe owner wants it back. Must I return it?\u201d \u201cOf course,\u201d replies Meir, probably\nwondering what his wife is thinking. Then she leads him into the bedroom and\nshows him the bodies of their two sons. \u201cThese are the treasures, and God has\ntaken them back.\u201d27<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief among the lessons of this story is this: the\nthings that we hold most precious in life really do not belong to us, but to\nGod. And if we cannot possess even these most precious things, we ultimately\npossess nothing at all. This dispossession, however, does not leave us\nimpoverished. Dispossession implies loss, or even violation, but in God\u2019s\ndesign, it may draw us into boundless riches, as we may hope that Beruriah and\nMeir discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final chapters of Leviticus\nspeak of possession and dispossession to reflect the big story of the Torah,\nthat we are on our way from Creation to completion. As Leviticus concludes, it\nreminds us that all the narratives and instructions of Torah guide us on this\njourney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most years, we read the final\nparashiyot of Leviticus, B\u2019har<\/em> and B\u2019chukkotai<\/em>, together as one\nweek\u2019s portion, and both take place in the same setting at the foot of Sinai.\nB\u2019har opens, \u201cAnd the Lord spoke\nto Moses on Mount Sinai\u2026\u201d (Lev. 25:1<\/a>) B\u2019chukkotai (and the entire book of\nLeviticus) concludes, \u201cThese are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of\nIsrael on Mount Sinai\u201d (Lev. 27:34<\/a>). Gathered at Mount Sinai, the\nIsraelites receive a final set of instructions before they depart for the land\nof promise. No one imagined at this time that thirty-eight more years of\nwandering lay ahead. Instead, these instructions were to be the final orders\nbefore Israel entered its inheritance. Accordingly, Sforno notes: \u201cNow, Moses\nour Teacher mentions this chapter here [Lev. 25:1<\/a>]\nbecause he thought that they would immediately enter the Land, as he testified,\nsaying, We are journeying to the place<\/em> (Numbers\n10:29<\/a>).\u201d28<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, at this crucial moment, as\nIsrael thinks about taking possession of the Promised Land, it is even more\nstriking to realize that this inheritance will not really belong to Israel at\nall. The land re-mains the Lord\u2019s property, and will revert every fifty years\nto the original division decreed by Moses to the first generation to enter the\nland. Thus, each share in the land of Israel is a holding,<\/em> or achuzah<\/em>\nin the Hebrew, not a possession. Every fiftieth year, the Israelites shall\n\u201cproclaim freedom throughout the land for all its inhabitants.\u2026 Each of you\nshall return to his holding<\/em> and each of you shall return to his family\u201d\n(25:10<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its final parashiyot, then,\nLeviticus introduces the principle of dispossession, a key to life in the Age\nto Come. Ownership implies the right to use one\u2019s property however one desires,\nincluding the right to sell it. But the Israelites cannot sell any holding\nwithin their inheritance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In buying from your neighbor, you shall deduct only\nfor the number of years since the jubilee; and in selling to you, he shall\ncharge you only for the remaining crop years: the more such years, the higher\nthe price you pay; the fewer such years, the lower the price; for what he is\nselling you is a number of harvests. (Lev.\n25:15\u201316<\/a>, njps)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same principle of\ndispossession concludes the instructions here at the end of Leviticus. \u201cAll\ntithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the\ntree, are the Lord\u2019s; they are\nholy to the Lord. \u2026 All tithes of\nherd and flock, every tenth one that passes under the shepherd\u2019s staff, shall\nbe holy to the Lord\u201d (Lev.\n27:30<\/a>, 32<\/a>). The tithe indicates that the produce of the\nland and of the flock does not ultimately belong to Israel, but to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Rabbi Hillel noted long ago,\n\u201cthe more possessions, the more worry.\u201d29<\/sup> In our age of consumerism,\nan age that elevates greed into a virtue, we need to revisit this law of\ndispossession. It is meant to permeate all of life. We spend our energies\nworrying about what we have acquired or not acquired, but in the end, we\nacquire nothing. The law of dispossession relieves us of such worries, and does\nfar more. It provides a way of nearness to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possessions may sometimes be a\ngift from God, but they can stand between us and God. Thus, Messiah\u2019s\ninvitation to follow him involves dispossession: \u201cWhoever of you does not\nforsake all that he has cannot be my disciple\u201d (Luke\n14:33<\/a>). Moreover, he enacts the story of dispossession to the\nfullest:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let your attitude toward one another be governed by\nyour being in union with the Messiah Yeshua:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though he was in the form of God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he did not regard equality with God<\/p>\n\n\n\n

something to be possessed by force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the contrary, he emptied himself,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in that he took the form of a slave<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by becoming like human beings are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when he appeared as a human being,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he humbled himself still more<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by becoming obedient even to death\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

death on a stake as a criminal! (Phil.\n2:5\u20138<\/a>, cjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua\u2019s act of dispossession is\non our behalf. He endured death as the obedient son of Adam so that all the\ndisobedient children of Adam may endure life instead of death. His act,\nhowever, is also an example for us, as Rav Shaul notes, \u201cLet the same mind be\nin you that was in Messiah Yeshua.\u201d This mind places obedience to God ahead of\nthe inheritance from God. It recognizes that even the true blessings from\nGod\u2014such as the Israelites\u2019 inheritance of the Land\u2014can keep us from the simple\nobedience that God requires. To accomplish this purpose requires dispossession\nmore often than possession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We might paraphrase Hillel: \u201cThe\nmore stuff we possess, the more stuff possesses us.\u201d Liberation comes as we\nrealize that life in this age is a holding and not a possession. As we possess\nnothing in this world, the Lord takes possession of us for the world to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: All that I have is on loan from God, the one who\nowns it all. When I forget this, it brings anxiety, greed, and distraction from\nwhat matters most. Have I allowed my possessions to take possession of me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d1\u05de\u05e8\u05d1\u05e8<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hebrew title of Numbers\u2014\u05d1\u05de\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 (B\u2019midbar<\/em>) or \u201cin the wilderness\u201d\u2014says it all. The book\nopens in the wilderness of Sinai \u201con the first day of the second month, in the\nsecond year after they had come out of the land of Egypt\u2026\u201d (Num. 1:1<\/a>),\nor less than a year after the Israelites arrived at Sinai (Exod. 19:1<\/a>).\nIt concludes in the wilderness, not at the foot of Mount Sinai, but \u201cin the plains\nof Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho\u201d (Num.\n36:13<\/a>). Most of the forty-year period of desert wanderings, plus the\nreasons for it, are comprised within the book of Numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilderness is not just the\nsetting of Numbers, but one of its dominant themes. The wilderness and its\nchallenges shape Israel into the holy nation God has called it to be. The forty\nyears of wandering seem to be a tragic delay, the result of distrust in God\u2019s\npromise to give Israel the land of Canaan. But the same forty years prepare\nIsrael to take the land. The desert, which seems to be a place of exile and\nfruitlessness, is also a place of encounter with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hebrew text provides a remez,\nor hint, of this remarkable quality. Wilderness is midbar<\/em>, or \u05de\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 in Hebrew. We can detect within this word another\nHebrew word, davar<\/em>, or \u05d3\u05d1\u05e8, which means \u201cword.\u201d In many Hebrew words, the prefix mem, or \u05de,\nsignifies location. For example, the root for \u201cdwell\u201d is shachan<\/em> or \u05e9\u05db\u05df. The\nword for place of dwelling is mishkan<\/em>, \u05de\u05e9\u05db\u05df, the term used for the\ntabernacle in the wilderness. Lamp is ner<\/em>, \u05e0\u05e8; the place of lamps is menorah<\/em>,\n\u05de\u05e0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d4, the\nlampstand within the tabernacle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 This pattern in the Hebrew language allows us\nto make an imaginative word study. Desert, midbar, is the place of the word,\ndavar\u2014the place of revelation. Accordingly, B\u2019midbar, \u201cin the wilderness,\u201d\ncontinues the story of God\u2019s self-revelation that began in Genesis. It also\nrecords, with realism and honesty, Israel\u2019s repeated failure to respond to that\nself-revelation, a failure that seems to threaten the heart of the divine plan.\nIn the end, however, the plan goes forward and a new generation prepares to enter\nthe Promised Land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story unfolds in Numbers in\nthree major sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022     1:1\u201310:10<\/a>.\nHere we read of the great census that gives the book its name in English, which\nalso makes it seem rather unapproachable to many readers. The census takes up\nthe first four chapters, and then is followed after a break by a repetitious\nlist of the offerings of the tribes that have been counted. This seems tedious\nto a modern reader, but it conveys a sense of pageantry and splendor as Israel\nis about to begin its journey from Sinai to the Promised Land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022     10:11\u201319:22<\/a>.\nThis section picks up the itinerary suspended after Exodus 19<\/a>,\nwhen Israel arrived at Sinai. Wilderness is the place of testing and of\nrevelation because it is also the terrain of journeying. The journey in the\nwilderness provides a metaphor that prepares us for the warnings of Exile that\nbecome dominant in the next book of the Torah, Deuteronomy, and the writings of\nthe Prophets that follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022     20:1\u201336:13<\/a>.\nIn chapter 20<\/a>, Miriam and Aaron die, signifying that a new generation has\narisen, the generation that will finally enter the Promised Land. In this\nsection, the Israelites engage in their first battles, defeating the kings Og\nand Sihon, who become symbols of the conquest to come. These accounts are\nfollowed by the story of Balaam, sent to curse Israel, who instead provides a\nblessing. After he and his Midianite handlers are defeated, Israel prepares to\ncross the Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This narrative is interspersed with sections of\ncommandments and judgments that will guide Israel\u2019s future in the Promised\nLand. \u201cThese are the commandments and the judgments which the Lord commanded the children of Israel by\nthe hand of Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho\u201d (Num.\n36:13<\/a>). Here, at the eastern bank of the Jordan, Israel is poised to\nfulfill the plan God set in motion when he called to Moses from the Burning\nBush to deliver his people from Egypt. Numbers reminds us that at the heart of\nthis plan is davar, the word, God revealing himself to his people Israel and,\nthrough them, to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WILDERNESS OF REVELATION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat B\u2019midbar<\/em>, Numbers\n1:1\u20134:20<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All those who freely devote themselves to His truth\nshall bring all their knowledge, powers, and possessions into the Community of\nGod, that they may purify their knowledge in the truth of God\u2019s precepts and\norder their powers according to His ways of perfection and all their\npossessions according to His righteous counsel. (From the Dead Sea Scrolls1<\/sup>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am in Israel, I love to visit the Dead Sea\nand surrounding area. It is desolate but beautiful at the same time\u2014a refuge\nfrom the hectic and crowded streets of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the sites by the Dead Sea\nis Qumran, the ruins of a large communal center connected with the Dead Sea\nScrolls, which were found in a number of nearby caves. These scrolls are one of\nthe greatest archaeological finds of the twentieth century, containing the\nearliest manuscripts that we possess of most of the Hebrew Scriptures, plus\nnumerous other writings from the centuries just before the coming of Messiah.\nFrom scrolls like \u201cThe Community Rule\u201d quoted above, we also learn about the\ncommunal life of Qumran, where pious Jews fled from the growing corruption of\nJerusalem to seek God in the desert beginning in the second century BCE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua began his ministry in this\nsame region, where Yochanan (John) appeared as \u201ca voice crying in the\nwilderness\u201d (Isa. 40:3<\/a>), a favorite phrase of the Qumran sect.\nHe called Israel to turn away from sin, turn back to God, and be immersed in\nthe waters of the Jordan. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem went out to the\nwilderness in response to Yochanan\u2019s preaching, and there Yeshua appeared to\nreceive immersion and initiate his ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area around Qumran reminds us\nof \u201cthe great and awesome desert, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions\nand thirsty land where there was no water\u201d (Deut. 8:15<\/a>).\nWilderness holds a special place in the continuing story of Creation and\nrenewal that began in the book of Genesis. Indeed, Mark\u2019s account of the life\nof Messiah links the wilderness, which seems so uninhabitable, with the Garden\nof Eden, the site of humankind\u2019s first habitation. After Yeshua\u2019s immersion at\nthe hand of Yochanan, we read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the\nwilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan,\nand was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. (Mark\n1:12\u201313<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we noted in Parashat Mishpatim<\/em>, the\nwording here is significant. In the other gospels, Yeshua is \u201cled\u201d by the\nSpirit into the wilderness; only in Mark is he \u201cdriven out.\u201d This phrase echoes\nthe language of Genesis 3<\/a>, in which Adam and Eve are \u201cdriven out\u201d\nof the Garden after their great transgression. Another element unique to Mark\nis his mention of the \u201cwild beasts.\u201d Perhaps this is a reminder of Adam\u2019s\nnaming of the beasts in Genesis 2<\/a>, his first activity within the Garden\nof Eden. And both accounts, of course, center on temptation, the temptation\nthat defeats Adam and Eve, but which Messiah overcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, we can read the temptation of\nMessiah in Mark as a reversal of the sin of Adam and Eve. Adam is in the\nGarden, he names the beasts, he is tempted and defeated, and then he is driven\nout. In reverse order, Yeshua is driven out into the wilderness, then he is\ntempted and victorious, then he is with the beasts, and the angels minister to\nhim, in contrast with the angelic cherubim that guard the way back into the\nGarden from Adam and Eve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wilderness in Mark is the\nplace of restoration. It seems to be the opposite of Eden, but paradoxically\nbecomes Eden-like as the place of restored fellowship with God. This vision of\nthe wilderness led some Jews of the second Temple period out to the desert to\nfind God\u2019s \u201cways of perfection and \u2026 righteous counsel,\u201d as the Dead Sea\nScrolls stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wilderness is barren and\nremote, but there\u2014because of these very qualities\u2014we can hear God\u2019s word. Thus,\nwe come to the opening words of Numbers or B\u2019midbar<\/em>. \u201cAnd the Lord spoke<\/em> to Moses in the wilderness<\/em>\nof Sinai\u201d (Num. 1:1<\/a>, emphasis added).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In the wilderness God speaks. Torah is\nteaching us that it is in the places of difficulty, challenge, and temptation\nthat we find God. Adam and Eve lost God in a garden, but Yeshua regained God in\nthe wilderness. Likewise, in our own lives, the difficulties that we face can become\nthe source of new understanding and communion with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the book of B\u2019midbar<\/em>\nreveals that the wilderness is also a place of complaining, rebellion, and\nfailure. Life\u2019s difficulties can bring us into an encounter with God, but they\ncan also embitter and destroy us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B\u2019midbar<\/em> reveals some of Israel\u2019s\ngreatest failures. The opening chapters describe the census that Moses takes at\nGod\u2019s command as part of the military preparation to take the Promised Land.\nNot long after the census, Moses\u2019 brother and sister, Aaron and Miriam, rebel\nagainst him. Then, scouts sent out to assess the Land come back with an evil\nreport, leading the people to rebel against God\u2019s plan of conquest. Shortly\nafter the rebellion the scouts set in motion, a Levite named Korach leads\nanother, massive rebellion that brings great destruction upon the tribes of\nIsrael. Finally, before the book closes, Moses himself will rebel and lose his\nright to enter the Promised Land. Interspersed among these low points of\ndisobedience are numerous complaints and murmurings among the children of\nIsrael.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same geography can be the\nplace of revelation or rebellion. What makes the difference? Our response. The\ndrama of Numbers turns on whether the Israelites in their desert wanderings\nwill trust the Lord who has revealed himself to be so trustworthy, or will let\nthe desert wanderings push them into complaining and disobedience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our greatest challenges in life\ncan lead us into either revelation or rebellion. We can emerge from the\nwilderness experience as better and stronger people, or embittered and defeated.\nWhat makes the difference? Our response. As we trust in the God who reveals\nhimself as trustworthy throughout the Torah, our wilderness becomes a place of\nencounter with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: Difficulties and disappointments in life can draw\nus into greater understanding of God and his ways\u2014or they can drive us away\nfrom God altogether. It all depends on our response. How am I responding to the\ntough, frustrating situations that are in my life right now, and how will I\nrespond to difficulties in the next few days or months?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A MERCIFUL CURSE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Naso<\/em>, Numbers\n4:21\u20137:89<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A king had some empty goblets. He said: \u201cIf I put\nhot water in them, they will burst. If I put cold water in, they will crack.\u201d So\nthe king mixed cold and hot water together and poured it in, and the goblets\nwere uninjured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, God said, \u201cIf I create\nthe world with the attribute of mercy alone, sin will multiply; if I create it\nwith the attribute of justice alone, how can it endure? So I will create it\nwith both, and thus it will endure.\u201d2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The longing for justice seems to be part of our\nhuman nature. We yearn to see the standards of right and wrong enforced in the\nworld around us, and yet are disappointed more often than not. When the wicked\nescape punishment, it troubles us almost as much as when the innocent suffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This longing for justice lies at\nthe root of the ordinance of the unfaithful wife in Parashat Naso<\/em>. It\nnot only answers the suspicions of a jealous husband, but it also restores\njustice to the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If any man\u2019s wife goes astray and behaves\nunfaithfully toward him and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from\nthe eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and\nthere was no witness against her, nor was she caught\u2014if the spirit of jealousy comes\nupon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the\nspirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although\nshe has not defiled herself\u2014then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. (Num.\n5:12\u201315a<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The priest takes some of the dust\nfrom the floor of the tabernacle, mixes it with holy water in an earthen vessel\nto make \u201cbitter water\u201d (Num. 5:18<\/a>). He gives it to the alleged adulteress\ndeclaring, \u2018 \u201cMay this water that causes the curse go into your stomach,\nand make your belly swell and your thigh rot.\u2019 Then the woman shall say, \u2018Amen,\nso be it.\u2019 Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall\nscrape them off into the bitter water\u201d (Num.\n5:22\u201323<\/a>). If the woman is guilty, the curse will enter her with the\nwater, but if she is innocent, she will remain unharmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramban notes the miraculous\nelement in this ordinance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now there is nothing amongst all the ordinances of\nthe Torah which depends upon a miracle, except for this matter, which is a\npermanent wonder and miracle that will happen in Israel, when the majority of\nthe people live in accordance with the Will of G-d \u2026 so that they are worthy\nthat the Divine Presence dwell among them.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normally justice depends on the\nwisdom of human judges. But no one can know whether the accused woman is guilty\nor innocent. Her husband has become infected by \u201cthe spirit of jealousy.\u201d\nSomething must be done to restore justice, and God makes a special provision.\nRamban notes that the miraculous nature of this ordinance reflects the unique\ncondition of Israel at the time, newly delivered from bondage and living in the\npresence of the Shechinah<\/em>, the glory-cloud of God. Later, as the\nspiritual condition of Israel declined and adultery became more widespread, the\nTalmud says, the bitter water ceased to be effective (Sotah 47b). But in better\ndays, God intervenes to restore justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We saw a similar intervention in\nthe case of Nadab and Abihu, who were struck down by a fire from the Lord\u2019s\npresence because they offered \u201cstrange fire\u201d (Lev. 10<\/a>),\nand we will see it again shortly in the rebellion of Korach (Num. 16<\/a>).\nCenturies later, the early Messianic community experiences divine intervention\nin the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5<\/a>).\nIn each of these cases, God acts supernaturally to restore justice because he\nis so present within the community that he cannot allow disorder to remain.\nLater, as sin increases, God ceases to intervene so directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s miraculous intervention in\nthe ordinance of the accused woman does not come directly, however, but at the\nhands of the priest, who is empowered to call down a curse upon the guilty. In\ncontrast, in the next chapter, God appoints this same priest as the agent of blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, \u201cThis is the\nway you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The Lord\nbless you and keep you;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord\nmake His face shine upon you,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And be gracious to you;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord\nlift up His countenance upon you,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And give you peace.\u201d \u2019 (Num.\n6:24\u201326<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same priests who are the\ninstruments of cursing pronounce the blessing. Both judgment and blessing can\nbe signs of God\u2019s presence among his people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once some scribes and Pharisees\nbrought a woman caught in adultery, \u201cin the very act,\u201d to Yeshua, saying: \u201cNow\nMoses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You\nsay?\u201d (John\n8:5<\/a>). Instead of answering, Yeshua wrote in the dirt, perhaps as a\nreminder of the dust stirred into the bitter water of Numbers 5<\/a>.\nThen he said, \u201cHe who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her\nfirst\u201d (John\n8:7<\/a>). At this word, the woman\u2019s accusers slipped off one by one, and\nthe woman was not condemned. Where sin is abundant, God may delay his judgment.\nInstead, he provides a time of forgiveness so that the holiness of the\ncommunity can be reestablished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Complete justice awaits the Age\nto Come when the purity and holiness of Creation are fulfilled. In the\nmeantime, the ordinance of bitter water reminds us of the pervasiveness of sin,\nwhich requires that justice be tempered with mercy. God mixes mercy with\njudgment so the world may endure. No priest in Israel has employed the bitter\nwater for nearly two thousand years, but the descendants of Aaron continue to\npronounce the blessing of Numbers 6:24\u201326<\/a> to this day. We may wonder why\nthe wicked go unpunished, but we must thank God that his mercy prevails over\njudgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Yeshua said, \u201cBlessed are the merciful for they\nshall see God.\u201d Am I merciful? How often have I longed for God\u2019s justice\nwithout realizing that I myself was in need of mercy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GUIDE AND GLORY-CLOUD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat B\u2019ha\u2018alotkha<\/em>, Numbers\n8:1\u201312:16<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the traditional morning service, before the\nTorah scroll is removed from the ark and carried out among the congregation,\nthe worship leader calls out, \u201cVay\u2019hi binsoa ha\u2019aron, vayomer Moshe<\/em>\u2014And\nit came to pass, whenever the ark went forward, that Moses would say: \u2018Arise, O\nLord! Let Your enemies be\nscattered, and let those who hate You flee before You\u2019 \u201d (Num.\n10:35<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The traditional Torah service\nreenacts the scene at Mount Sinai, when all Israel stood before the mountain to\nreceive the word of the Lord from the hand of Moses. As the Torah scroll is\ncarried through the congregation, we touch it with a prayer book, or the fringe\nof the prayer shawl, and then touch that object to our lips. Through this ancient\ncustom, we repeat the words that our ancestors spoke when the Torah was first\nbrought down from the mountain and offered to them: \u201cAll that the Lord has\nsaid, we will do\u201d (Exod. 24:17<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words from Numbers 10<\/a>\nthat introduce the Torah service were first spoken as the Israelites prepared\nto depart from Mount Sinai and begin the final stages of the journey to the\nPromised Land. Since the middle of the book of Exodus, they have been encamped\nat the foot of Mount Sinai, receiving the instructions of Torah, especially\nthose for building the tabernacle and establishing the priesthood and\nsacrifices. There, the Israelites build the tabernacle, inaugurate the sacrifices,\nand receive further instructions in the life of the holy community. All of this\ntakes us through the rest of Exodus, all of Leviticus, and well into the book\nof Numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, in Numbers 10<\/a>,\nIsrael prepares to move on. The book opened with the census of Israel\u2019s\nfighting men because Israel is about to come into contact with its enemies, as\nMoses says, \u201cRise up, O Lord! Let\nyour enemies be scattered.\u201d Hence, just as the Torah service reenacts the\ndivine encounter at Mount Sinai, so it anticipates the day when the Torah will\ngo forth throughout the world. Indeed, after we chant the line from Numbers\nbeginning, \u201cArise, O Lord \u2026\u201d we\nrecite Isaiah\n2:3<\/a>, \u201cFor from Mount Zion will go forth the Torah, and the word of\nthe Lord from Jerusalem.\u201d The ark\nof God goes before Israel, not just to push back the enemy tribes in the\ndesert, but also to further the process of world redemption, which reaches\nfulfillment in the return of Messiah Yeshua to rule over all nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numbers\n10:35\u201336<\/a> captures a prophetic moment. This may explain why an\ninverted form of the Hebrew letter nun<\/em> brackets these verses in the\nTorah scroll (as reproduced in JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh<\/em>4<\/sup>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d4\u05b7\u05bd\u05de\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05b2\u05e0\u05b6\u05bd\u05d4\u05c3 \u05c6* \u05e1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u059b\u05d9 \u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05e0\u05b0\u05e1\u05b9\u05a5\u05e2\u05b7 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b9\u0596\u05df \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05a3\u05d0\u05de\u05b6\u05e8 \u05de\u05b9\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u0591\u05d435<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05e7\u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b8\u05a3\u05d4 \u05c0 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05c4\u05d4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b8\u05e4\u05bb\u05a8\u05e6\u05d5\u05bc\u0599 \u05d0\u05b9\u05bd\u05d9\u05b0\u05d1\u05b6\u0594\u05d9\u05da\u05b8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b8\u05e0\u05bb\u05a5\u05e1\u05d5\u05bc \u05de\u05b0\u05e9\u05b7\u05c2\u05e0\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u0596\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05de\u05b4\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05b6\u05bd\u05d9\u05da\u05b8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d5\u05d1\u05e0\u05d7\u05d4 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b0\u05e0\u05bb\u05d7\u0596\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d9\u05b9\u05d0\u05de\u05b7\u0591\u05e836<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b8\u05a5\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u0594\u05d4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05e8\u05b4\u05bd\u05d1\u05b0\u05d1\u0596\u05d5\u05d5\u05b9\u05d7 \u05d0\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05e4\u05b5\u05a5\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05bd\u05dc\u05c3 \u05c6\u0597* \u05e4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commentators provide various\nexplanations for this ancient, but unusual, feature of the Torah scroll. It is\nclear, however, that these verses mark a major turning point in the narrative\nflow. Moses pronounces these words as the ark goes forth to launch a completely\nnew phase in Israel\u2019s journey, which will end only with the fulfillment of\nGod\u2019s purposes for all humankind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems strange, then, to\nremember that just a few verses earlier Moses had asked his father-in-law,\nHobab (appearing in earlier passages as Jethro), to continue to guide the\nIsraelites: \u201cSo Moses said, \u2018Please do not leave, in as much as you know how we\nare to camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes\u2019 \u201d (Num.\n10:31<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does Moses ask Hobab to guide\nthem, when the Lord himself is\nabout to go before them as guide? \u201cThe ark of the covenant of the Lord went\nbefore them for the three days\u2019 journey, to search out a resting place for\nthem. And the cloud of the Lord was above them by day when they went out from\nthe camp\u201d (Num. 10:33\u201334<\/a>). It is this very reality that\nMoses invokes when he says, \u201cArise, O Lord,\nand let your enemies be scattered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some interpreters suggest that\nMoses\u2019 words to his father-in-law should be translated in the past tense: \u201cSo\nMoses said, \u2018Please do not leave, inasmuch as you have known how we are to camp\nin the wilderness, and you have been our eyes\u2019 \u201d (Num.\n10:31<\/a>). Perhaps he is not saying that the Israelites still need him\nas a guide, now that the ark goes before them, but simply that they want him to\ntravel with them in honor of his past contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text, however, is more\nstraightforward. The Israelites will follow the glory-cloud of God, and they\nwill also follow Hobab, who has already proven himself a reliable guide. The\nIsraelites do not choose between the guidance of God\u2019s cloud and the guidance\nof Moses\u2019 father-in-law. Rather, God guides his people through both means,\nacting together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see something similar in the\nBook of Ruth, read during Shavuot, not long before we read this parashah in the\nsynagogue. Boaz employs a striking metaphor in his words to Ruth, \u201cThe Lord repay your work, and a full reward\nbe given you by the Lord God of\nIsrael, under whose wings you have come for refuge\u201d (Ruth 2:12<\/a>).\nThe Lord is like a protecting\neagle, sheltering its offspring under mighty, outstretched wings. Later, when\nRuth approaches Boaz for help, she uses the same metaphor: \u201cI am Ruth, your\nmaidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing,<\/em> for you are a close\nrelative\u201d (Ruth 3:9<\/a>, emphasis added). Does Ruth come under\nthe wing of the Lord, or under the\nwing of Boaz? But, of course, it is not an either\/or situation. Ruth seeks\nrefuge in the Lord, and the Lord brings her to Boaz, who will provide refuge.\nIn a similar way, the Lord guides the Israelites and brings Hobab into the camp\nof Israel to be their eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the divine program of world\nredemption, everything depends on God\u2019s mercy and grace, but human beings have\na genuine part to play. As Paul writes, \u201cFor we are of God\u2019s making, created in\nunion with the Messiah Yeshua for a life of good actions already prepared by\nGod for us to do\u201d (Eph. 2:10<\/a>, cjb).\nWe are not passive observers, simply waiting for God to act, but are \u201ccreated\nfor good works.\u201d We even have a share in the plan of world redemption, the Word\nof God going out to all the world as pictured in the Torah service. Yet we\ncannot perform these works apart from him. Indeed, the Lord gives us genuine\nresponsibility in his plan, so that we discover that we cannot fulfill this\nresponsibility without his help. In the divine-human partnership of world\nredemption, we discover how dependent we are upon God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> If I take someone under my wing, who knows whether\nhe or she has really come under the wings of the Lord God of Israel? I will be\non the watch for real-life opportunities to cooperate with God\u2019s redemptive\npurposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Shlach L\u2019kha<\/em>, Numbers\n13:1\u201315:41<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years ago, when I worked as a salesman, our manager\ngave everyone a copy of the book Dress for Success.<\/em>5<\/sup> This was\nmore than a fashion book. Rather, it was a study of how different styles and\ncolors influenced one\u2019s effectiveness. In one test, a man wearing a beige\nraincoat asked people passing by for handouts and collected a tidy sum. Later\nhe did the same in a gray raincoat and came up empty-handed. The book abounds\nwith examples like this. Apparently, at least on a human level, clothes do make\nthe man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Torah turns this principle\naround\u2014clothing cannot make us something we are not, but it can remind us what\nwe are supposed to be. Moses instructs the Israelites \u201cto make tassels on the\ncorners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue\nthread in the tassels of the corners. And you shall have the tassel, that you\nmay look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them\u201d (Num.\n15:38\u201339<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTassel\u201d is tzitzit<\/em> in\nHebrew, and such tassels are worn by Jewish men to this day. Traditional Jews\nwear a four-cornered undergarment with tassels that either appear on the\noutside of their pants, hanging down from the waist, or remain under the outer\nclothing, out of sight. The traditional prayer shawl, or tallit<\/em>, has a\ntzitzit at each corner, thus providing another way to fulfill the commandment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the ancient world, nobles wore\ngarments with ornate hems as a sign of their status. \u201cThe more important the\nindividual, the more elaborate the embroidery of his hem. Its significance lies\nnot in its artistry but in its symbolism as an extension of its owner\u2019s person\nand authority.\u201d6<\/sup> Thus, a husband would divorce his wife by cutting\noff the hem of her garment. A seer in ancient Mari would send his report to the\nking and include a lock of his hair and a portion of his hem to attest its\nauthenticity. From this we understand the significance of David\u2019s cutting a\npiece of the hem off the robe of Saul, why David\u2019s heart troubled him after he\ndid so, and why Saul took it as a sign that David would succeed him as king (1 Sam.\n14:6<\/a>, 20<\/a>).7<\/sup> Likewise, we see more clearly\nwhy a woman in need of healing grabbed the hem of Yeshua\u2019s garment (Matt. 9:20<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThus the significance of the tzitzit<\/em>\nlies in this: It was worn by those who counted; it was the identification tag\nof nobility.\u201d8<\/sup> In Israel, the Torah decrees, it is not only the\nnobles, but every Israelite who is to wear such fringes on their garments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The requirement to wear a thread\nof blue among the other threads of the tzitzit heightens its noble quality.\nBlue is the color of nobility, largely because of the cost of the dye in the\nancient world. Indeed, the dye was so costly that the rabbis of the Talmudic\nera decreed that the blue thread was no longer to be worn, and the fringe\nshould be white, so that all Jewish men would enjoy equal dignity.9<\/sup>\nNevertheless, the original significance remains. Blue is the color of royalty,\nand therefore the color of the priestly garments and the tabernacle itself. The\nsingle blue thread of the tzitzit reflects the single blue thread that held the\ngolden head plate of the High Priest, on which were inscribed the words kodesh\nl\u2019Adonai<\/em>, \u201cHoly to the Lord\u201d (Exod.\n28:36<\/a>). Just as the priestly garment was made of both linen and\nwoolen strands\u2014a combination forbidden to the ordinal y Israelites\u2014so the early\nrabbis ordained that the tzitzit contain both white linen and blue woolen\nstrands. \u201cThus the tzitzit<\/em>, according to the rabbis, are modeled after a\npriestly garment that is taboo for the rest of Israel!\u201d10<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is clear, then, that the\ntzitzit not only reminds the Israelites to obey the commandments, but it also\nreveals that they receive these commandments as a holy priesthood. Obedience is\nnot just a way to keep the Israelites in line. Rather, it expresses the\nholiness of their calling and the purpose of their redemption from Egypt.\nHence, the Lord concludes the instruction of the tzitzit with the words, \u201cI am\nthe Lord your God, who brought you\nout of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God\u201d (Num.\n15:41<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is indeed a lofty calling.\nYet, even more striking is its position in the text of Numbers. We are in Parashat\nShlach L\u2019kha<\/em>, which opens with Moses sending twelve men, one from each tribe,\nto scout out the Land of Israel in preparation for its conquest The story ends,\nof course, in disaster. Ten of the twelve scouts bring back an evil report.\nOnly Joshua and Caleb encourage the people to take the Land. The people believe\nthe majority, refuse to take the La id as God has commanded, and end up being\ncondemned to perish in the wilderness. This incident is not the first trial\nMoses faces in the book of Numbers. In the chapter before we learned of the\ncomplaints of his own siblings, Aaron and Miriam, and the Lord\u2019s chastisement\nupon Miriam. Finally, just before the ordinance of the tzitzit, we hear of a\nman who breaks the Shabbat and is condemned to be stoned to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the ordinance is given,\nthings do not improve at all. The following chapter tells of the rebellion of\nKorach, who joins with Dathan, Abiram, and others to challenge the authority of\nMoses and Aaron. The Lord puts down this rebellion in the most drastic way,\nwith the earth swallowing up Korach and his family, and fire from heaven\nstriking down 250 other rebels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way Numbers tells the story\nmakes it clear that when the Lord clothes the Israelites as priests, he does so\nfully knowing their tendency to rebel. The holy garment is not a reward for\nfaithfulness because they have hardly been faithful. Instead, the tzitzit\nexpresses the faithfulness of God. By it, he calls into being a holy priesthood\nout of the unqualified and unworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it possible that God still\nviews Israel as a holy priesthood, despite its corporate failure to acknowledge\nYeshua as Lord and Messiah, and still has a holy destination in mind for the\nwhole people? As Paul reminded the Gentiles who believed in Yeshua, \u201cConcerning\nthe gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are\nbeloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are\nirrevocable\u201d (Rom. 11:28\u201329<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clothes make the man. The tzitzit\nnot only reminds Israel of the irrevocable commandments of the Lord, but of\ntheir irrevocable calling as a royal priesthood and a holy nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our day, we are seeing a great\nmove of reconciliation between Christians and Jews. Despite the Jewish \u201cno\u201d to\nYeshua, God still has a glorious plan for them, a plan that will ultimately be\nfulfilled in this same Yeshua. As the tzitzit is a reminder to Israel of their\nholy calling, so nay it be a reminder to Christians, after centuries of\nanti-Jewish attitudes and actions, to love and honor the Jewish people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> God has an unchangeable purpose that brings\ntogether Jews and Christians. There are visible reminders of this purpose in\nthe world around me. How might I display such a reminder, like the tzitzit, in\nmy own life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LAND OF MILK AND HONEY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Korach<\/em>, Numbers\n16:1\u201318:32<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we want any more Kings \u2026 no more\nthan we want any Aslans. We\u2019re going to look after ourselves from now on and\ntouch our caps to nobody. See?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d said the other\nDwarfs. \u201cWe\u2019re on our own now. No more Aslan, no more Kings, no more silly\nstories about other worlds. The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs.\u201d And they began to\nfall into their places and to get ready for marching back to wherever they had\ncome from.11<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the C.S. Lewis classic The Last Battle,<\/em>\nAslan the lion is the Messiah figure. A false messiah disguised as Aslan\nappears and misleads the people, including a band of Dwarfs whom he has taken\ncaptive. The followers of the true Aslan, led by King Tirian, arise, overturn\nthe false messiah, and liberate the Dwarfs. They expect the Dwarfs to rejoice\nand welcome Aslan\u2019s imminent return, but the Dwarfs reject both the King and\nAslan. From now on, \u201cthe Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat\nKorach<\/em> records a similar\ndisillusionment among the Israelites. They grow weary of wandering in the\nwilderness, living off manna and miraculous supplies of water, and begin to\nlong for the well-watered bounty of Egypt. \u201cWe remember the fish which we ate\nfreely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the\ngarlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except\nthis manna before our eyes!\u201d (Num. 11:5\u20136<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the Levites, Korach, leads\na rebellion that takes this complaining even further, even calling Egypt,\ninstead of Cam .an, the \u201cland of milk and honey\u201d (Num.\n16:13<\/a>). With this phrase, they reveal the wicked heart of their\nrebellion and call down the unprecedented divine judgment that will end it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We live in an era that exhorts\nus\u2014in the words of a popular bumper sticker\u2014to \u201cQuestion Authority.\u201d The\nAmerican Revolution gave birth to a great nation through resistance to\nauthority, which seems in retrospect to have been principled and noble. Yet\nsuch resistance is risky. It can easily lead to anarchy and the reaction that\ninevitably follows, as evidenced by the French Revolution, which came just a\nfew years after the American, and gave birth to the Reign of Terror and the\ncareer of Napoleon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question authority, perhaps, but\nbeware of the rebellion of Korach, which would overturn all authority. Korach\u2019s\nfollowers equate Egypt with the Promised Land and accuse Moses, God\u2019s appointed\nleader, of mocking them when he speaks of another Promised and.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only have you perpetrated evil against us by\ntaking us out of a land flowing with milk and honey and bringing us into the\nwilderness, but you also jest with us\u2014for you have not brought us to the Land\ninto which you said you would bring us and still you speak to us as though you\nhave given us \u201can inheritance of fields and vineyards,\u201d by commanding us those\ncommandments which are connected only to the Land \u2026 as though it was already\nours and we have fields and vineyards in it!12<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Korach\u2019s followers not only question the authority\nof Moses, but they turn all authority on its head. They see Moses, the\nself-sacrificing leader, as Moses the self-serving leader, who even mocks those\nwho follow him. The real Promised Land is no longer the place to which Moses is\nleading them, but Egypt, the place of servitude from which they had fled, It\nwas all a big mistake, and the best course is to go back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nLast Battle<\/em>\npictures the ultimate rebellion led by the false messiah at the end of the age\n(Rev. 13<\/a>),\nwhich leads to the rejection of al. authority. Likewise, Korach\u2019s rebellion\ndoes not simply propose to replace one authority structure with another, which\nat times may be a legitimate course of action. Instead, it questions authority\naltogether, even God\u2019s authority, and refuses to live under any of it. As a\nresult, it undermines the divine project launched in Genesis of establishing\nthe order and blessing of Creation over all the earth. In the end, the Dwarfs\nare for the Dwarfs and no one else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Moses speaks of the Promised\nLand in the book of Deuteronomy, he uses language that evokes the abundance of\nCreation and Eden before the exile of Adam and Eve:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Lord\nyour God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of\nfountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and\nbarley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey;\na la id in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack\nnothing. (Deut. 8:7\u20139<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By delivering Israel from Egypt and giving them the\nTorah, the Lord is raising up Israel as a restored humanity, to dwell in the\nEden of the Promised Land and bear the divine image on behalf of the rest of\nhumankind. Korach sees all this as a fairy tale and yearns instead for the\nsecurity and control of life in Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we can understand why God\u2019s\njudgment upon Korach is so harsh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it came to pass \u2026 that the ground split apart\nunder them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their\nhouseholds and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. So they and all\nthose with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and\nthey perished from among the assembly. (Num.\n16:31\u201333<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The very earth must swallow up\nKorach because his rebellion is infectious. It would undermine the entire\npurpose of the Exodus from Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, however, God desires\nto remind the Israelites; that his purpose is one of blessing and life, even\nthough his judgment against the rebels has been so severe. He directs the\nIsraelites to gather twelve rods, one representing each tribe, and place them\nwithin the tabernacle. In the morning, they discover that Aaron\u2019s rod has come\nto life and produced blossoms and buds and ripe almonds (Num.\n17:23<\/a>), thus vindicating the leadership of Moses and Aaron. God\u2019s\nfinal answer to rebellion is not suppression, but abundant life that only he\ncan bring forth, life which only the obedient can experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Authority needs to be exercised with humility and\nthe fear of God. But rejection of authority can lead to mistaking Egypt for the\nPromised Land. Have I in any way embraced the anti-authority attitude that is\nso prevalent in our day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATER FROM THE ROCK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Hakkat<\/em>, Numbers\n19:1\u201322:1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely it was taught: Ten things were created on\nthe eve of the [first] Sabbath at twilight. These are they: the well, the\nmanna, the rainbow, the writing and the writing instruments, the Tables, the\nsepulcher of Moses, the cave in which Moses and Elijah stood, the opening of\nthe ass\u2019s mouth, and the opening of the earth\u2019s mouth to swallow up the wicked.13<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a recent trip to Israel, our tour group was\ndriving north along the western shore of the Dead Sea. Our guide pointed to the\nmountains of Moab across the sea in present-day Jordan. Through the haze, we\ncould see Pisgah, the high point to which the Lord directed Moses in Deuteronomy\n3:27<\/a>: \u201cGo up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the\nwest, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you\nshall not cross over this Jordan.\u201d There, Moses begged the Lord for the chance\nto set foot in the land that had been the focus of his hopes and yearnings for\nthe past forty years, but it was not to be. In an unknown and unmarked spot on\nthat mountain, Moses lies buried to this day. Here is \u201cthe sepulcher of Moses \u2026\ncreated on the eve of the first Sabbath.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This scene is sadly ironic. The\ngreat deliverer of his people has no share in the final stage of their\ndeliverance. After bearing with the people for so long in their trials, he\ncannot partake of their joy with them. Ironic though it is, the scene is most\nfitting. Moses has been the mediator for Israel, representing the people before\nGod in all their sins and shortcomings. It is fitting that he remain with his\nown generation, even in exile. Perhaps the Torah is anticipating here that much\nof Israel\u2019s history will be experienced outside the Promised Land. Moses our\nteacher dies in exile to identify not only with the generation that he led out\nof Egypt, but also with countless generations of Jews who have died in exile.\nHis teachings guide us, whether in the Land or in dispersion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the question\nremains, why does God treat Moses so harshly? The answer lies in a familiar\nstory in this week\u2019s parashah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people have arrived at Kadesh\nin the wilderness of Zin only to discover that there is no water. They raise\ntheir voices in complaint against Moses, and the Lord instructs him: \u201cTake the\nrod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the\nrock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water\nfor them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals\u201d\n(Num.\n20:8<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses and Aaron, however, deviate\nfrom this instruction, with terrible consequences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together\nbefore the rock; and he said to them, \u201cHear now, you rebels! Must we bring\nwater for you out of this rock?\u201d Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock\ntwice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and\ntheir animals drank. Then the Lord\nspoke to Moses and Aaron, \u201cBecause you did not believe me, to hallow me in the\neyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly\ninto the and which I have given them.\u201d (Num.\n20:10\u201312<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we know why Moses must die on the far side of\nthe Jordan, in the land of Moab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The passage from the Talmud cited\nabove provides further insight. The \u201cwell \u2026 created on the eve of the first\nSabbath\u201d is the rock that Moses struck. We first read of it in Exodus 17<\/a>,\nwhen the previous generation of Israelites arrived at a waterless place\u2014perhaps\nthe very same place as in Numbers 20<\/a>\u2014and the Lord supplied them with water\nfrom the rock. From that time on, despite all their wanderings and\ndifficulties, the Israelites always had a supply of water \u2026 until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A midrash portrays this rock\nfollowing the children of Israel in all their wanderings, a miraculous well\ncreated from the very beginning to supply them with water. One variation of the\nstory links this miraculous supply to Miriam. In Exodus 15<\/a>,\nshe is the prophetess who leads the daughters of Israel in dance and exalted\npraise before the lord. In her honor, the Lord supplies water to Israel in Exodus 17<\/a>.\nBut when the Israelites arrive at Kadesh in Numbers 20<\/a>,\nMiriam dies and the water ceases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, a form of this\nmidrash was current when Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For, brothers, I don\u2019t want you to miss the\nsignificance of what happened to our fathers. All of them were guided by the\npillar of cloud, and they all passed through the sea, and in connection with\nthe cloud and with the sea they all immersed themselves into Moses, also they\nall ate the same food from the Spirit, and they all drank the same drink from\nthe Spirit\u2014for they drank from a Spirit-sent Rock which followed them, and that\nRock was the Messiah. (1 Cor. 10:1\u20134<\/a>, cjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rock, then, is created from\nthe very beginning as an emblem of God\u2019s gracious and unlimited supply.\nUltimately, the supply of water does not depend on Miriam, but on God\u2019s\noverflowing goodness. The people in their complaining and unbelief may be\nunworthy, but the Lord still intends to provide life-giving water. Moses needs\nonly to speak to the rock and waters will come forth. Paul is reading the story\nwell when he pictures the rock as Messiah, through whom God supplies the\nlife-giving Spirit without measure even to the undeserving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through his subtle disobedience,\nhowever, Moses misrepresent; God\u2019s gracious intentions toward Israel. Perhaps\nhe is thinking of their entire history of complaint, and God\u2019s earlier acts of\njudgment against them. Perhaps Moses pictures waters gushing forth from the\nrock to sweep away the worst complainers, just as the Lord had earlier provided\nso much quail meat to those who complained about food that they choked upon it\n(Num. 11<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a lesson for us. The Lord\nsays to Moses, \u201cBecause you did not believe me, to hallow me in the eyes of the\nchildren of Israel therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land\nwhich I have given them.\u201d Certainly, Moses believed<\/em> in the Lord, and believed<\/em>\nhis word. At this point, however, he could not believe<\/em> his kindness\ntoward his people. Where God intended mercy, Moses believed<\/em> in judgment\nand wrath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God says to Moses, \u201cYou did not\nmake me holy in their sight\u201d We might imagine holiness as a pure and\nuncompromising divine standard. But the Lord wanted to display his holiness by\nbeing kind to undeserving Israel. Let us beware of misrepresenting God, as\nMoses did, by making him the mouthpiece of our own self-righteousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Self-righteousness is the pitfall of religious\nfolk, which Yeshua spoke against constantly. We appoint ourselves the upholders\nof righteousness and truth, and enforce them at times with a harshness that far\nexceeds the Lord\u2019s. How can we embrace both God\u2019s righteousness and his grace\nat the same time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE MEEK AND THE MIGHTY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Balak<\/em>, Numbers\n22:2\u201325:9<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be so humble; you\u2019re not that great. (Golda\nMeir)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all\nmen who were on the face of the earth. (Num. 12:3<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We sometimes joke about this verse declaring the\nhumility of Moses, because Moses is the one who wrote it. He seems like the man\nwho received the medal for humility, only to have it taken away because he wore\nit! But no, the humility of which Scripture speaks is not that sort of false\nmodesty, which Golda Meir, the iron lady of Israeli politics in the early\ndecades of the Jewish state, also lampooned. Rather, true humility means\nknowing who we are in relationship to the Almighty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses displays such humility when\nhe faces criticism from his own siblings, Aaron and Miriam. He says nothing\nwhen they issue their challenge, \u201cHas the Lord\nindeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?\u201d (Num. 12:2<\/a>).\nHe does nothing to vindicate himself, but the Lord acts decisively, striking\nMiriam with leprosy because she has spoken against Moses. Moses continues to\ndisplay humility by praying for Miriam until she is healed of the leprosy and\nrestored to the camp of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the book of Numbers,\nMoses repeats this sort of behavior. Two chapters after the challenge from Miriam\nand Aaron, ten scouts return with an evil report after spying out the land of\nCanaan. After hearing this report, the Israelites rebel against Moses and Aaron\nand clamor for a new leader who will take them back to Egypt. Moses and Aaron\nrefrain from defending themselves and instead fall on their faces before the\nLord (Num.\n14:5<\/a>). The glory of the Lord appears to vindicate Moses and his\nleadership. In the end, Moses again prays for the very ones who have resisted\nhis authority, asking God to forgive them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another two chapters pass and we\ncome to the notorious rebellion under the leadership of Korach. During this\nincident, Moses again falls on his face three times, twice joined by Aaron.\nThey know who they are before God, so their response to rebellion is to seek\nGod in the posture of prayer and submission. This is the posture of humility,\nwhich reveals Moses as \u201cvery humble, more than all men who were on the face of\nthe earth,\u201d and God again vindicates them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, when a new generation\nrises up to complain against Moses and Aaron, they again \u201cfell on their faces\u201d\nin the presence of the Lord (Num. 20:5<\/a>). In this last incident, of course,\nMoses fail; to follow through in his humility. Instead, he rises up in anger\nagainst his people and is punished severely: he will not be allowed to enter\nthe Promised Land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word we are translating as\n\u201chumble\u201d is anav<\/em>, referring to affliction and weakness, and also to the\nresult of affliction, which is meekness. The same word appears in Psalm\n37:11<\/a>, repeated unforgettably by Yeshua in the Sermon on the Mount:\n\u201cThe meek shall inherit the earth.\u201d Just as Moses defers to God\u2019s power and\nwisdom and is vindicated by him, so shall the Lord vindicate those who fall on\ntheir faces before him and await his deliverance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the light of this clear\nteaching of the Torah, what are we to make of the behavior of Phinehas at the\nend of this week\u2019s parashah? The Israelites have just been blessed by the seer\nBalaam, whom the Midianites originally hired to curse them. Instead of moving\non, the Israelites begin to worship the gods of their enemies and commit\nharlotry with their women. One of them even brings a foreign woman into his\ntent in the presence of the whole assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of\nAaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a\njavelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and\nthrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body.\nSo the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. (Num.\n25:7\u20138<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However we may define the word\nanav, this behavior seems its opposite. Yet this deed stops the plague of\njudgment among the Israelites, and Phinehas is highly praised for it, receiving\nfor his family an everlasting priesthood \u201cbecause he was zealous for his God\u201d (Num.\n25:13<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phinehas is passionate for God,\nand Moses behaves at times like a an without passion. When people challenge\nhim, he falls on his face before the Lord. What a disappointment to his foes!\nWhat satisfaction could they gain from fighting with a man who wouldn\u2019t fight\nback? Yet Moses reveals great passion when the reputation of God is at stake,\npraying for the fulfillment of God\u2019s plan. Indeed, it is precisely when Moses\nbecomes passionate on his own behalf,<\/em> and scolds the rebels to whom God\ndesires to supply water, that he errs and is punished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phinehas, on the other hand,\nshows a passion that seems too intense, until we understand it in context:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rabbis were uncomfortable with Phinehas\u2019s act.\nHaving slain a man impulsively, without either trial or prior warning, he took\nthe law into his own hands, thereby creating a dangerous precedent. No wonder\ncertain sages claim that Moses and the religious leaders would have\nexcommunicated Phinehas were it not for the divine decree declaring that he had\nacted on God\u2019s behalf (Jerusalem Talmud,<\/em> Sanhedrin 27b). However,\nPhinehas can be defended: He did not act on his own initiative but followed\nGod\u2019s command.14<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phinehas follows God\u2019s command that the offenders\nshould be impaled in his presence. Moses directed the judges of Israel to kill\nall those who \u201cwere joined to Baal of Peor\u201d (Num.\n25:4\u20135<\/a>). He takes action when action is needed and receives a\nreward. As the Lord says \u201che was zealous with My zeal\u201d (Num.\n25:11<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Moses the meek and Phinehas\nthe mighty put all their passion into God\u2019s reputation and none into their own.\nWhenever the Israelites challenge Moses, he rushes, with one exception, to\ndefend not himself, but the divine master plan. Likewise, Phinehas take; the\ngreat challenge to God\u2019s reputation personally. When Israel joins itself to the\nBaal of Peor, Phinehas does not hesitate to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua, like Moses, described\nhimself as humble: \u201cTake My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle\nand lowly in heart\u201d (Matt. 11:29<\/a>). And like Phinehas, he was consumed\nby zeal for God. When Yeshua drove the money-changers from the Temple courts,\n\u201cHis disciples remembered that it was written, \u2018Zeal for your house has eaten\nme up\u2019 \u201d (John 2:17<\/a>). Yeshua himself is the meek and the\nmighty, and an example for us to be so as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Golda Meir reminds us that we don\u2019t need to be so\nhumble, because we\u2019re not that great. But we can follow Moses, Phinehas, and\nMessiah in showing more concern for God\u2019s reputation than for our own. How\nwould such a shift in emphasis change my outlook today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A WORD FOR THE WISE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Pinchas<\/em>, Numbers\n25:10\u201330:1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven things distinguish a fool and seven things\ndistinguish a wise person. The wise person does not speak in the presence of\none who is wiser. The wise person does not interrupt when another is speaking.\nThe wise person is not in a hurry to answer. The wise person asks according to\nthe subject and answers according to the Law. The wise person speaks about the\nfirst matter first and the last matter last. If there is something the wise\nperson has not heard, the wise person says, \u201cI have never heard.\u201d The wise\nperson acknowledges what is true. The opposite of all these qualities is found\nin a fool.15<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three times in the narrative of Torah, the\nIsraelites encounter legal cases that the statues and ordinances they have\nreceived from God do not directly cover. The cases involve a blasphemer (Lev.\n24:10\u201322<\/a>), some men who were ritually unclean at the time of the\nPassover sacrifice (Num. 9:6\u201314<\/a>), and a violator of Shabbat (Num.\n15:32\u201336<\/a>). Each time when the people ask Moses for a ruling, he must\nanswer \u201cI have never heard,\u201d until the Lord gives him additional instructions.\nNow, in Parashat Pinchas<\/em>, a fourth case comes before Moses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelophehad, of the tribe of\nManasseh, has died leaving no heir\u2014that is, leaving no son. His surviving\ndaughters, however, appeal to Moses. As women, they cannot inherit land\ndirectly, and so they are concerned that their father\u2019s name and inheritance\namong the tribes will be lost to his family forever. Accordingly, they make\ntheir request: \u201cGive us a possession among our father\u2019s brothers\u201d (Num. 27:4<\/a>).\nMoses seeks the Lord, who rules in favor of the daughters, and against the\npatriarchal assumption of the times, thus adding a new instruction to Torah:\n\u201cIf a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to\nhis daughter\u201d (Num. 27:8<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses fulfills the description of\nthe \u201cwise person\u201d in the quote above from Pirke Avot.<\/em> When he does not\nknow, he says \u201cI do not know.\u201d The Midrash comments that Moses thereby provides\nan example for \u201cthe heads of the Sanhedrin of Israel that were destined to\narise after him, that\u2026 they should not be embarrassed to ask for assistance in\ncases too difficult for them. For even Moses, who was Master of Israel, had to\nsay, \u2018I have not understood.\u2019 Therefore Moses brought their cases before the\nLord.\u201d16<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ability to admit \u201cI have not\nheard; I do not know\u201d is rare among leaders, especially in our day of spin and\ntalking points. It seems to be an unspoken rule of politics that you don\u2019t\nadmit mistakes, and you don\u2019t say \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d even when you don\u2019t. How refreshing\nit would be to see those in power simply admit their mistakes and acknowledge\nthe gaps in their knowledge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Psalmist says \u201cThe Torah of\nthe Lord is perfect\u201d (Ps. 19:7\n[8]<\/a>). A thousand years later, Paul writes, \u201cAll Scripture is given\nby inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for\nrection, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,\nthoroughly equipped for every good work\u201d (2 Tim.\n3:16\u201317<\/a>). But Scripture\u2019s perfection, its ability to make us\ncomplete and thoroughly equipped, does not mean that it spells out everything\nin detail. Sometimes it directs us back to the Lord for more instruction, or to\nanother provision laid down toward the end of the Torah:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a matter arises which is too hard for you to\njudge \u2026. then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses. And you shall\ncome to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and\ninquire of them; they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. (Deut.\n17:8\u20139<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Judaism often cites these verses as a\nbasis for the Oral Torah, rabbinic teachings and interpretations not found in\nthe written Torah, but seen as essential to properly applying it in the various\ntimes and places of the Jewish story. This tradition sees the Torah\u2014written and\noral\u2014as given once for all, but discovered anew in every generation through\ndiscussion and friendly argument. Students in yeshiva,<\/em> a Jewish school\nfor Torah study, continue to study in this way today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To an outsider this method of study can appear\nchaotic. Each pair works at its own pace; everyone is talking out loud; boys\nare constantly jumping up to find books or consult with other students; people\ncome and go seemingly at random. But that\u2019s how yeshiva students have been\nlearning for centuries.17<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of the daughters of Zelophehad, of\ncourse, the answer comes not through study and debate, but through an oracle of\nGod. Nevertheless, their story establishes a truth that remains vital for us.\nGod\u2019s word does not address every specific circumstance we will encounter in\nlife, but it provides all the direction that we need. A wise student of\nScripture must sometimes say \u201cI have not heard; I do not know\u201d and seek to\nlearn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, right after Paul tells\nTimothy that Scripture equips completely, he charges him, \u201cPreach the word! Be\nready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all\nlongsuffering and teaching\u201d (2 Tim. 4:2<\/a>). Scripture itself ordains teaching,\nstudy, exhortation as the means of revealing all that it has to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we consider these general\napplications of the story, however, we should not overlook the specific ruling\nregarding daughters of Zelophehad, for it echoes the theme of Creation to\ncompletion that sounds throughout Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The twelve tribes are about to\nenter the Promised Land, where each is to receive a divine allotment, and sin\nbreaks into the story again. Zelophehad \u201cdied in his own sin,\u201d according to his\ndaughters, leaving no heir (Num. 27:3<\/a>). Thus, the division of the land is\ndisrupted, and divine order is threatened. But God takes action to restore the\nwholeness of the land and people of Israel. What is most striking here is that\nhe does so through the daughters, those who normally are marginalized. Women\nare generally subject to men in the Mosaic legislation, but God reveals that\nthey are able to inherit, to bear the family name, and to preserve the legacy.\nGod\u2019s ruling in this case reminds us that he originally created woman out of\nman, not to be subservient, but to be \u201ca sustainer beside him\u201d (Gen. 2:18<\/a>\nAlter). Here again the big story moves forward not on the strength of human\ncustom or insight, but on the wisdom of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: How willing am I to say, \u201cI have not heard; I do\nnot know\u201d? As we seek to learn Scripture more deeply, the traditional Jewish\nway of study through conversation and exploration remains a valid model for us.\nThis sort of study does not mean always having he right answer, but having the\nwisdom to admit that we don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PATHWAY TO PROMISE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Mattot<\/em>, Numbers\n30:2\u201332:42<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May it be pleasing in your sight, O Lord our God\nand God of our fathers, that as I have fulfilled the commandment and dwelt in\nthis sukkah, so may I merit next year to dwell in the sukkah of the skin of\nLeviathan. Next year in Jerusalem! (Fare-well to the sukkah, from the Siddur<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the conclusion of Sukkot, the Feast of\nTabernacles, Jewish tradition provides a prayer of farewell to the sukkah, the\nbooth in which we are commanded to dwell through the eight days of the\nfestival. But what in the world is the skin of Leviathan, and what does it have\nto do with Sukkot?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leviathan is the great\nsea-creature mentioned in Job 3:8<\/a> and 41:1<\/a>\nand Psalms\n74<\/a> and 104<\/a>. Isaiah sees Leviathan as an embodiment of\nanti-God forces of chaos that will be subdued in the Age to Come: \u201cIn that day\nthe Lord with his severe sword,\ngreat and strong, will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that\ntwisted serpent; and he will slay the reptile that is in the sea\u201d (Isa. 27:1<\/a>).\nIn the Talmud, Leviathan appears as a monstrous fish, vanquished in the Age to\nCome, when the Lord will make a banquet for the righteous from its flesh, and a\ntabernacle for the righteous from its skin.18<\/sup> With the slaying of\nLeviathan, the forces of disorder are finally subdued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project of vanquishing chaos\nbegan at Creation itself. The second verse of Torah tells us that the\nnewly-created earth was tohu vavohu<\/em>, \u201cwild and waste.\u201d19<\/sup>\nThrough the six days of Creation, God orders and divides all the elements of\nheaven and earth, so that at the end he can declare that it is very good. But\nthe work of Creation does not altogether end with the seventh day. When God\ncreates humankind, he assigns them to \u201csubdue\u201d the earth (Gen. 1:28<\/a>).\nEven before Adam and Eve fall into disobedience in the Garden of Eden, they\nhave work to do. The primal state of humankind is not passive innocence, but\nactive cooperation with God in bringing creation to its fulfillment. The human\nbeing as divine image-bearer has a share in the divine task of ordering\nCreation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This same picture emerges in the\nsecond account of Creation, in Genesis 2<\/a>. God places the newly-created Adam in\nthe Garden of Eden \u201cto tend and keep it\u201d (Gen. 2:15<\/a>)\nor more literally \u201cto work and guard it.\u201d Eden is not the place of primal\ninnocence, but of primal responsibility. The divine human encounter there is\nnot only one of intimate fellowship, but also one of shared effort. God has so\ndesigned Creation that it does not reach completion apart from the effort and\ndiligence of humankind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This truth is summed up in the\nphrase cited above from Genesis 1:28<\/a>, \u201csubdue the earth.\u201d Significantly,\nthe same phrase appears twice in this week\u2019s parashah. Moses is speaking with\nthe tribes of Gad and Reuben, who desire to settle east of the Jordan, outside\nof the and promised to the tribes of Israel. Moses tells them they cannot\nabandon the rest of the tribes, but must participate in the conquest of the\nland. Only later, when \u201cthe land is subdued<\/em> before the Lord, then you may return and be\nblameless before the Lord and\nbefore Israel\u201d (Num. 32:22<\/a>, emphasis added). Moses then instructs\nEleazar the priest, Joshua, and the chiefs of the rest of the tribes, \u201cIf the\nchildren of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you,\nevery man armed for battle before the Lord,\nand the land is subdued<\/em> before you, then you shall give them the land of\nGilead as a possession\u201d (Num. 32:29<\/a>, emphasis added).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSubdued\u201d in this passage is from\nthe Hebrew root \u05db\u05d1\u05e9 kavash<\/em>, the same verb commanded to Adam\nin Genesis\n1<\/a>. Significantly, it appears in Torah only in these two instances.\nFurthermore, \u201cland\u201d here is aretz<\/em>, the same noun usually translated as\n\u201cearth\u201d in Genesis 1:28<\/a>. Moses is repeating the phrase\n\u201csubdue the earth\u201d to apply to the conquest of the Promised Land. When the\nconquest is finally completed under Joshua, the phrase will appear again: \u201cAnd\nthe whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh,\nand set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was\nsubdued<\/em> before them\u201d (Josh. 18:1<\/a>, emphasis added).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conquest of the Promised Land\nis an extension of the foundational human task of subduing the earth, of\nbringing divine order to a Creation not yet perfected. The conquest of the land\nanticipates the reign of God over all the earth in the Age to Come. The tribes\nof Israel cannot fulfill their destiny in some quiet or hidden fashion, but\nonly through struggle and perseverance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, for us, the promise of\nGod does not appear on a silver platter, but is reserved for the diligent and\npersevering. As Paul instructed his disciples, \u201cWe must through many\ntribulations enter the kingdom of God\u201d (Acts\n14:22<\/a>). Tribulations are not simply obstacles to overcome on the way\nto the kingdom of God. Rather, they provide the essential pathway to the\nkingdom. There is no other route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accordingly, when Reuben and Gad\nrequest an inheritance east of the Jordan, outside the place of endurance and\nconquest, Moses says they can only have an inheritance if they have a share in\nthe task of subduing. \u201cThen afterward you may return and be blameless before\nthe Lord and before Israel; and\nthis land shall be your possession before the Lord\u201d\n(Num.\n32:22<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same way, Messiah Yeshua\ninstructs us, \u201cFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of\nheaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force\u201d (Matt.\n11:12<\/a>), and \u201cEnter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and\nbroad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.\nBecause narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and\nthere are few who find it\u201d (Matt. 7:13\u201314<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two gates not only address\nhow many will enter the life of the kingdom of heaven. They also reveal the\nnature of the journey to life in the kingdom. It must at times be narrow and\ndifficult, because narrowness and difficulty prepare us for God\u2019s fullness.\nYeshua, who is the gate, reveals in his own death and resurrection the\nessential path to the promise of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: Sometimes the things that frustrate us the most\nare the most essential to our spiritual progress. What lies before me that I\nmust subdue<\/em> on my way to the kingdom of God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COURAGE IS CONTAGIOUS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Masa\u2018ei<\/em>, Numbers 33:1\u201336:13<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all\nages. (General George Washington)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final parashah in Numbers opens with a recap of\nthe history of the previous generation: \u201cThese are the journeys of the children\nof Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of\nMoses and Aaron\u201d (Num. 33:1<\/a>). It concludes with the new generation\nencamped on the plains of Moab and ready to enter the Promised Land. \u201cThese are\nthe commandments and the judgments which the Lord\ncommanded the children of Israel by the hand of Moses in the plains of Moab by\nthe Jordan, across from Jericho\u201d (Num.\n36:13<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two generations with two very\ndifferent destinies share the space of this final parashah. Our first reading,\nhowever, strikes us not with the contrast between the two, but with their\nsimilarities. Since the decade of the sixties, we\u2019ve been accustomed to speak\nof a generation gap, the vast and sometimes irreconcilable differences between\ngenerations. In Numbers, however, instead of encountering a generation gap, we\ndiscover to our disappointment that the new generation repeats the sins of its\nparents\u2019 generation. They both complain against Moses and Aaron and mistrust\ntheir leadership and, ultimately the Lord himself. They even go so far as to\nprotest their deliverance from Egypt!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waters of Meribah highlight\nthis similarity between generations. Just as the generation that \u201cwent out of\nthe land of Egypt\u201d complained about lack of water at this site in Exodus 17<\/a>,\nso did the new generation in Numbers 20<\/a>. It may have been shock at the\nunredeemed quality of the new generation that led Moses to transgress in his\nresponse to them, as we saw in Parashat Hukkat.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, despite such\nsimilarities, the new generation will enter the Promised Land, the very thing\nthat the older generation failed to do. What is the difference between these\ngenerations? It may be summed up in one word: courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courage, we are often told, is\nnot the absence of fear. Rather, it is doing the right thing despite fear,\ninability, and uncertainty about the outcome. Such courage is contagious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the United States, we remember\n1776 as the year of independence, but we forget that it was also a year of\nmilitary defeat and near-disaster for the new republic. The British easily\ndrove Washington and his troops out of New York City, which both sides saw as a\nstrategic key to the entire war. The Continental Army fled across New Jersey,\nbarely evading the far superior forces of the British army. Finally, it crossed\nthe Delaware River into Pennsylvania for safety. Even then, the Continental\nCongress, meeting in nearby Philadelphia, felt so threatened that it fled to\nBaltimore. Finally, Washington saw an opportunity to turn things around. On\nChristmas night 1776, in the midst of a freezing storm, he led 2400 of his\nill-clad, hungry, discouraged troops back across the Delaware, boatload by\nboatload, to attack the Hessian garrison at Trenton in the morning. It was the\nfirst clear victory for the Americans. A few days later, in response to a\nBritish counter-attack, Washington led his troops behind the front to attack\nPrinceton. This led to a second American victory, but only after the field\ncommander was killed and Washington took personal command. One of his officers\ndescribes the scene: \u201cI shall never forget what I felt \u2026 when I saw him brave\nall the dangers of the field and his important life hanging as it were by a\nsingle hair with a thousand deaths flying around him. Believe me, I thought not\nof myself.\u201d20<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courage is contagious. Washington\u2019s\ndisplay of courage inspired his officers and men to think not of themselves or\nthe danger they faced, but only of the glorious cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without courage there can be no\nobedience to God\u2019s word, no leadership of God\u2019s people. The first generation\nlacks the courage to enter the Promised Land; the new generation moves forward\nand enters in. When the twelve spies were sent to scout out the land, Moses\ninstructed them, \u201cv\u2019hit\u2019chazaktem<\/em>\u201d \u201cand be of good courage\u201d (from the root\n\u05d7\u05d6\u05e7 or hazak<\/em>). But only Joshua and Caleb had the\ncourage to believe that they could actually take the land as God had commanded.\nLater, when Joshua is appointed to lead the people, God tells Moses, \u201coto\nhazek<\/em>\u2014encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it\u201d (Deut. 1:38<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have already seen that the\nwilderness is the place of both testing and blessing. Courage determines which\nwill dominate. The same trials that wear down the fainthearted and lead them\ninto sin motivate the courageous and lead them into new strength and\ndedication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Midrash captures both\npossibilities in its commentary on the opening words of our parashah, \u201cThese\nare the journeys.\u2026\u201d First, it says, \u201cThe Holy One Blessed Be He said to Moses:\n\u2018Write down the stages by which Israel journeyed in the wilderness, in order\nthat they shall know what miracles I wrought for them.\u2019 \u201d21<\/sup>\nImmediately after, it says, \u201cThe Holy One Blessed Be He said to Moses: \u2018Recount\nto them all the places where they provoked Me.\u2019 \u201d22<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same locations can be places\nof miracle and<\/em> scenes of provocation. Trials and difficulties inevitably\ncome our way, but these are not what wear us down, for they also are occasions\nfor miraculous intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courage is contagious, and so is\nits opposite, discouragement. Numbers teaches us that we lose courage, or\nbecome discouraged, when we respond in certain ways to our trials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022     We\nlose courage when we second-guess ourselves. Like our fore bears, we contemplate\na return to Egypt instead of preparing for the future into which God is leading\nus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022     We\nlose courage when we allow ourselves to complain and cast blame upon others\ninstead of taking responsibility for our problems and seeking a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022     We\nlose courage when we listen to negativity and unbelief instead of remembering\nGod\u2019s promise and all that he has already brought us through on the way to its\nfulfillment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first generation listened to\nwords of discouragement and failed to enter the Promised Land. The next\ngeneration gradually learned to listen to and speak words of encouragement\nthemselves, saying to Joshua: \u201cAll that you command us, we will do \u2026. Only be\nstrong and of good courage\u201d (Josh. 1:16\u201318<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courage is contagious. It is good\nto have models like Joshua or Washington, but the ultimate source of our\ncourage is Messiah himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us, too, put aside every impediment\u2014that is,\nthe sin which easily hampers our forward movement\u2014and keep running with\nendurance in the contest set before us, looking away to the Initiator and\nCompleter of that trusting, Yeshua\u2014who, in exchange for obtaining the joy set\nbefore him, endured execution on a stake as a criminal, scorning the shame, and\nhas sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Yes, think about him who\nendured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you won\u2019t grow\ntired or become despondent. (Heb. 12:lb\u20133<\/a> cjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can gain courage and we pass\ncourage on to others through words of encouragement. Hence, as we conclude our\nreading of Numbers, as at the end of each book of the Torah, we repeat the\ntraditional words: \u05d7\u05d6\u05e7 \u05d7\u05d6\u05e7 \u05d5\u05e0\u05ea\u05d7\u05d6\u05e7\u2014Hazak! Hazak!<\/em> V\u2019nit\u2019chazek!<\/em> Be strong! Be\ncourageous! And let us encourage one another!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: Courage is contagious. It\u2019s not enough just to\nsurvive our trials and difficulties, for if we view them courageously they\nbecome the site of miracles. How can I encourage myself and those around me\ntoday?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy opens with the phrase \u201cThese are the\nwords\u2026\u201d or Eleh had\u2019varim<\/em>, which yields the Hebrew title \u05d3\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd (D\u2019varim<\/em>), or Words. The title is fitting because\nDeuteronomy consists almost entirely of Moses\u2019 extended discourse, which takes\nplace on the eastern shore of the Jordan River. Only at the end does the\nnarrative resume, with the account of Moses\u2019 death and burial by the hand of\nGod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy addresses the age-old\nchallenge of continuity. Will a new generation carry on the legacy and fulfill\nthe calling of the older generation? The generation that departed Egypt failed\nto enter the Promised Land; will the next generation do better? To encourage\nthis new generation, Moses, leader of the old generation, will repeat the\nentire instruction of Torah in the book of Deuteronomy (which means \u201csecond\nlaw\u201d in Greek).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The structure of these discourses\nis highly significant, because it reflects the structure of ancient Near\nEastern covenant treaty documents which have been uncovered by modern\narchaeology. 1<\/sup> These documents defined and protected the\nrelationship between a might-king and his vassals. In the same way, Deuteronomy\ndefines to a new generation the terms of their relationship with God, and the\ndestiny that this implies. The entire book then, is a covenant renewal\ndocument, which corresponds in structure to ancient covenant treaties. Here we\nsee the normal components of an ancient covenant, and the corresponding\nsections of Deuteronomy: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 1. Preamble which identifies\n the covenant grantor\n  \n <\/td>\n 1:1\u20135<\/a>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n 2. Historical prologue\n  \n <\/td>\n 1:6\u20134:49<\/a>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n 3. Covenant obligations:\n  \n <\/td>\n 5:1\u201326:19<\/a>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n a.\n The great commandment, dedication to God\n  \n <\/td>\n 5:1\u201311:32<\/a>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n b.\n Detailed commandments\n  \n <\/td>\n 12:1\u201326:19<\/a>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n 4. Blessings and curses, with\n invocation of witnesses\n  \n <\/td>\n 27:1\u201330:20<\/a>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n 5. Covenant continuity,\n including stipulations for copies (see Exodus\n 25:16<\/a>, 21<\/a>; Deut.\n 10:1\u20132<\/a>)\n  \n <\/td>\n 31:1\u201334:12<\/a>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

In Deuteronomy, God is the mighty\nking, who has made a covenant with the descendants of Abraham that he will be\ntheir God and they will be his people. Therefore, covenant fidelity or love,\ntermed hesed<\/em> in Hebrew, becomes a dominant theme throughout Deuteronomy.\nHesed is the basis for the great commandment of Deuteronomy, as stated in the Shema<\/em>,\nIsrael\u2019s declaration of allegiance to the Lord: \u05e9\u05de\u05e2 \u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05dc\u05d4\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5 \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4\n\u05d0\u05d7\u05d3 (Sh\u2018ma\nYisrael Adonai Elohenu Adonai Echad<\/em>), \u201cHear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and\nwith all your soul and with all your might\u201d (Deut.\n6:4\u20135<\/a> njps).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The detailed stipulations that\nfollow this great commandment simply define and apply that love within the\nvarious situations and conditions that Israel will encounter, especially as it takes\npossession of the Promised Land. God\u2019s requirements are simple but demanding,\nand Israel will fall short. In Deuteronomy, Moses testifies \u201cregarding them,\ntelling them what the future would bring in exile, as well is the future\nredemption which would come after total despair.\u201d 2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy prepares Israel, from\nthe inside out, for the next great stage in their journey, the conquest of\nCanaan. This victory will clear the way for a theocratic realm displaying the\ncovenant faithfulness of God to future generations of Israelites, and to the\nsurrounding nations as well. Moses predicts, however, that this realm will fail\nand end in exile, but he also pictures the day of restoration, which Jews and\nChristians still await in hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When all these things befall you\u2014the blessing and\nthe curse that I have set before you\u2014and you take them to heart amidst the\nvarious nations to which the Lord\nyour God has banished you, and you return to the Lord your God, and you and your children heed His command\nwith all your heart and soul, just as I enjoin upon you this day, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes\nand take you back in love. (Deut. 30:1\u20133a<\/a>, njps)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The message of the last of the\nFive Books of Moses is that the way from Creation to completion, introduced in\nthe first of the Five Books, is found through love of God. And even if human\nlove fails, God\u2019s love will ensure the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GOD CARRIES ISRAEL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat D\u2019varim<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n1:1\u20133:22<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Judah said: Come and see the meekness of God.\nAmong human beings, when a man has a young child he carries him on his\nshoulders, but if the child angers him he at once throws him down. But, if one\nmay say so, with God it is not so; Israel were in the wilderness forty years\nand they provoked Him to anger and yet He bore them.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy will reiterate the statues and\nordinances laid down in the rest of Torah, along with warnings against\ndisobedience and its outcome, which is exile. But before Moses speaks of these\nthings, he reminds the Israelites of a more basic truth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wilderness \u2026you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man\ncarries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.\nYet, for all that, you did not believe the Lord\nyour God, who went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch\nyour tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the\ncloud by day. (Deut. 1:31\u201333<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When my sons still lived at home,\nI took them backpacking in wilderness every summer. Especially in their younger\nyears, I had to make sure they packed the right clothes and equipment, and I\nplanned the ultra-light meals that we had to carry. When we were actually\nhiking, I\u2019d keep an eye on the time to make sure that we started early enough\nto look for a place to pitch our tent. My boys could probably have found the\nright place themselves, but I saw it as my fatherly role to choose the spot\nthat would be dry, safe, and comfortable through the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Israel\u2019s wanderings, future as\nwell as past, the Lord carries Israel, sustaining, protecting, and going before\nhis people to show the way. This truth is all the more striking because Moses\nhas already reminded the people, using the same Hebrew verb, that he<\/em>\ncannot carry them. \u201cAnd I spoke to you at that time, saying: \u2018I alone am not\nable to bear you\u2019 \u201d (Deut. 1:9<\/a>). The burden is too great for any human\nbeing, but God himself will take it up. Like a father watching out for his\nchildren, God will go before Israel to find a good campsite that is safe and\nsheltered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story above emphasizes God\u2019s\nfaithfulness, but there is another old story about a child carried on his\nfather\u2019s shoulders. This child cannot see the father who is bearing him and\nbegins to ask every passerby, \u201cWhere is my father?\u201d He does not believe them n\nwhen they tell him that his father is carrying him, but keeps wondering where\nhis father can be. Finally, the father becomes exasperated with his unbelieving\nson and puts him down\u2014none too gently\u2014to walk on his own two feet, where he is\nsoon attacked by a dog and bitten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story illustrates Israel\u2019s\ndistrust of God, and the exile that results, an exile in which Israel is indeed\nattacked by many dogs. It reminds us that we too are often slow to recognize\nGod\u2019s presence in our lives, even though he sustains us every step of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout Torah, beginning with\nAbraham, the people of Israel are on a journey with God, and so is each\nindividual Israelite. Indeed, the only generations in Torah that do not journey\nare those that dwell in Egypt as slaves. Deuteronomy reminds us that God is\nwith us on this journey, both in its toughest stretches and in its moments of\nglory. And since God is with us, he will bring us to journey\u2019s end, the land of\npromise, the place of rest. With this destination assured, there is no room in\nour lives for anxiety and distrust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Important as this personal\nreminder is, however, the primary concern of Deuteronomy is not the individual\nspiritual journey, but the destiny of Israel. Moses reminds Israel that this\ndestiny will be fulfilled through God\u2019s faithfulness, if not through theirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the synagogue, we normally\nread Parashat D\u2019varim<\/em> just before Tish\u2019ah B\u2019Av<\/em>, the ninth day of\nthe month of Av, a date that commemorates the greatest tragedies in Jewish\nhistory. On this date, both the first and second Temples were destroyed and the\nexile of the people of Israel from their land began. Throughout the centuries\nof exile, on this same day, a number of other disasters befell the Jewish\npeople, most notably the expulsion from Spain in 1492, which ended a golden age\nof Jewish history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses reminds us that the Lord\nhas been present with his people throughout all these disasters. Exile does not\nend Israel\u2019s covenant relationship with the Lord. Rather, it is a journey of\ndiscipline that leads to Israel\u2019s final restoration. The God of Israel is\nworking out his own purpose throughout history, sometimes with human\ncooperation, and more often without it. His purpose is to reveal his own love\nand faithfulness to all humankind, and to restore the original purpose of\nblessing established at the Creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be a mistake, however,\nto think of Israel as simply a means to this end, as if the Lord had to find\nsomeone through whom to demonstrate his goodness, and arbitrarily chose Israel.\nInstead, the image of God carrying Israel as a father carries his son, and\ngoing before Israel throughout their wanderings, speaks of the Lord\u2019s intimate\ninvolvement in Israel\u2019s story. \u201cFor the Lord\nyour God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging\nthrough this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing\u201d (Deut. 2:7<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God carries Israel because he\nloves him as a father loves his children. He carries Israel throughout its\nentire journey of glory, exile and restoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy echoes the promise\nestablished here in Parashat D\u2019varim<\/em> throughout. The B\u2019rit Hadashah\napplies this promise to all who follow Yeshua. \u201cHe Himself has said, \u2018I will\nnever leave you nor forsake you.\u2019 So we may boldly say: \u2018The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What\ncan man do to me?\u2019 \u201d (Heb. 13:5\u20136<\/a>; see Deut. 31:6<\/a>,\n8<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely, God intends such\nfaithfulness to be not only an encouragement, but also an example to us. We too\nhave made commitments that we must honor through good times and bad. We\ndemonstrate our wholeness as human beings by our ability to remain faithful to\nother human beings, who can be just as flawed and unlovable as we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, Christian theology\noften pictured the election of Israel as only a means to an end, a vehicle to\nbring about the Messiah and his redemption. Now that Messiah has come, in such\nthinking, God can replace the vehicle. Surely, however, such a view dishonors\nGod as much as Israel, and erodes our sense of God\u2019s faithfulness. Instead, God\nfaithfully carries Israel even through times of discipline. In the end, this\nsame faithfulness will carry Israel to its redemption, as Moses sings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy are you, O Israel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shield of your help<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the sword of your majesty! (Deut.\n33:29a<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: In Messiah, God says, \u201cI will never leave you nor\nforsake you,\u201d a promise that both encourages us and provides an example. God\nhas been faithful to us\u2014how faithful have we been to our children, our loved\nones, and all those whom God has placed in our lives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE GREAT COMMANDMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Va\u2019etchanan<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n3:23\u20137:11<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them\nengaged in this discussion. Seeing that Yeshua answered them well, he asked\nhim, \u201cWhich is the most important mitzvah of them all?\u201d Yeshua answered, \u201cThe\nmost important is,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Sh\u2019ma Yisra\u2019el, Adonai\nEloheinu, Adonai echad<\/em> [Hear,\nO Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one], and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart,\nwith all your soul, with all your understanding and with all your strength.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018You are to love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no other mitzvah greater than these. (Mark\n12:28\u201331<\/a>, cjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy is a document that renews the covenant\nbetween God and Israel. This covenant is lengthy and detailed, but at its heart\nis a simple requirement, captured in the great commandment known in Judaism as\nthe Shema, or \u201cHear!\u201d from the first word of Deuteronomy\n6:4<\/a>. This verse is among the most important in the entire Torah, and\nlike that other vitally important verse, Genesis 1:1<\/a>,\nits exact meaning has been debated for centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most familiar approach to\ntranslation would be the one reflected above; \u201cHear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.\u201d An alternative version is,\n\u201cHear, O Israel! The Lord is our\nGod, the Lord alone\u201d (njps). This reading is less familiar\n(although it does go all the way back to the medieval Jewish commentator Ibn\nEzra), but it may reflect the context of Deuteronomy better than the older\ninterpretation, \u201cthe Lord is one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first, older translation, which makes a statement\nabout the unity and indivisibility of God, does not do full justice to this\ntext. \u2026The verse makes not a quantitative argument (about the number of\ndeities) but a qualitative one, about the nature of the relationship between\nGod and Israel. 4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Moses addresses the children\nof Israel who are about to enter the Promised Land, he is not concerned with\ndefining the nature of God\u2014\u201cthe Lord is one\u201d\u2014but with calling them to loyalty\nto God, to \u201cthe Lord alone.\u201d Hence, he goes on to say, \u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with\nall your soul, and with all your strength\u201d (Deut. 6:5<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The towering Jewish intellectual\nfigure of the middle ages, Rambam, cites the Shema to answer a question not of\ntheology, but of devotion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the way that we should love God? We should\nlove Him with an overwhelming and unlimited live, until our soul becomes\npermanently bound in the love of God, like one who is love-sick and cannot take\nhis mind off the woman he loves, but always thinks of her\u2014when lying down or\nrising up, when eating or drinking. Even greater than this should be the love\nof God in the hearts of those who love Him, thinking about Him constantly, as\nHe commanded us, \u201cAnd thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and\nwith all thy soul.\u201d5<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prophet Zechariah reflects\nthis understanding of the Shema as a declaration of covenant love when he\nquotes it to describe the conditions of the Age to Come:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the Lord\nshall be King over all the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that day it shall be\u2014\u201cThe Lord is one,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And His name one. (Zech.\n14:9<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely, Zechariah is not quoting the Shema as a\nstatement about the nature<\/em> of God, because God\u2019s nature will not change\n\u201cin that day.\u201d Rather, it is a statement about our relationship with God, for\n\u201cin that day,\u201d we will worship him alone, and his name alone will be recognized\nin all the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, as Yeshua teaches, the\nShema is a commandment, \u201cthe first and great commandment\u201d (Matt.\n22:38<\/a>). It is not a statement of God\u2019s absolute and indivisible\nunity, as one approach to translation assumes, but a statement of our undivided\nloyalty to God. When the Shema tells us to worship God \u201cwith all your heart,\nwith all your soul, and with all your strength,\u201d it is not dividing us into\ndifferent compartments, but speaking of the whole person as one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of man\u2019s strivings should be directed toward\nthe Creator, blessed be He. A man should have no other purpose in whatever he\ndoes, be it great or small, than to draw nigh to God and to break down all\nseparating walls \u2026 between himself and his Master, so that he may be drawn to\nGod as iron to a magnet.6<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jewish law or halakhah directs\nthe worshiper to recite the Shema (in its entirety, comprising Deuteronomy\n6:4\u20139<\/a>, 11:13\u201321<\/a>, and Numbers\n15:37\u201341<\/a>) twice every day, \u201cwhen you lie down, and when you rise\nup,\u201d thereby accepting \u201cthe yoke of the Kingdom of heavsn.\u201d7<\/sup> By\nreciting the Shema, the worshiper binds himself to the God of Israel as\nsovereign king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern readers regard the Shema as an assertion of\nmonotheism, a view that is anachronistic. In the context of ancient Israelite\nreligion, it served as a public proclamation of exclusive loyalty to Hashem as\nthe sole Lord of Israel. [By reciting the Shema], the worshipper \u2026 reenters,\ntwice daily, the original covenant ratification ceremony that, in Deuteronomy,\ntook place on the plains of Moab.8<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shema is not the great description,<\/em> but\nthe great commandment,<\/em> which we can fulfill only by loving God with all\nour hearts, souls, and might.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Torah-teacher said to him, \u201cWell said, Rabbi;\nyou speak the truth when you say that he is one, and that there is no other\nbesides him; and that loving him with all one\u2019s heart, understanding and\nstrength, and loving one\u2019s neighbor as oneself, mean more than all the burnt\nofferings and sacrifices.\u201d When Yeshua saw that he responded sensibly, he said\nto him, \u201cYou are not far from the Kingdom of God.\u201d (Mark\n12:32\u201334<\/a>, cjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kingdom of God is another\nterm for Creation completed, the goal of the entire age in which we are living.\nWhen we love God with all our hearts and understanding and strength, we are\n\u201cnot far\u201d from that glorious destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> What is the way that we should love God? Love for\nGod should resemble the longing of one who is love-sick for a man or woman. How\ndo I cultivate such an all-consuming love for God? What are the lesser loves\nthat divide my heart?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE REWARD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat \u2018Ekev<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n7:12\u201311:25<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With thousands feared drowned in what could be\nAmerica\u2019s deadliest natural disaster in a century, New Orleans\u2019 leaders all but\nsurrendered the streets to floodwaters and began turning out the lights on the\nruined city\u2014perhaps for months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Mayor] Nagin called for an\nall-out evacuation of the city\u2019s remaining residents. Asked how many people\ndied, he said: \u201cMinimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands.\u201d9<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the final days of August 2005, Hurricane Katrina\npounded the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. New Orleans was\nevacuated and the entire city became flooded after the hurricane passed.\nTelevision screens around the world were filled with images of people who did\nnot, or could not because of poverty or disability, leave when the evacuation\norder came. Some were wading chest-deep through filthy water in what had been\ntheir neighborhoods. Others were trapped in apartments and on rooftops waiting\nfor days to be rescued. Those who had finally escaped the flood waters found\nrefuge on the bare concrete expanse of interstate highways waiting again for\nhelp. Others were transported to huge shelters where they\u2019d be warehoused for\ndays until someone could figure out the next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These images remind us of the\nquestion, is there justice in this world? Is disaster a punishment for\nwrongdoing? Conversely, is there a reward for doing right instead of wrong?\nThis week\u2019s parashah opens with a promise of reward for those who do right, but\nlater portrays the limitations of reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to\nthese judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord\nyour God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your\nfathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also\nbless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your\nnew wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your\nflock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be\nblessed above all peoples (7:12\u201314b<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There may be a reward for doing\nright, as this passage states, but one of the early sages, Antigonos of Socho,\ndownplays its importance: \u201cDon\u2019t be like those who would serve a master on the\ncondition that they would receive a reward. Rather, be like those who would\nserve without that condition. Even so, let the fear of Heaven be upon you.\u201d10<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antigonos\u2019s distrust of reward\nmay arise out of the historical setting in which he lived, as hinted at by his\nname. He is the first of the rabbinic figures to have a Greek name, and lived\nin the era when the land of Israel was ruled by the Hellenistic empire\nestablished by Alexander the Great. Many Jews lived in Israel in those days,\nbut it was hardly the scene of reward as promised in Deuteronomy. Under the\nimperial occupation, as during the New Orleans flood, the lesson is that even\nif reward is slow in coming, one must still remain faithful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Centuries later, under a\ndifferent foreign occupation, Yeshua likewise instructs his disciples not to\nserve on the condition of receiving a reward. \u201cSo likewise you, when you have\ndone all those things which you are commanded, say, \u2018We are unprofitable\nservants. We have done what was our duty to do\u2019 \u201d (Luke\n17:10<\/a>). At the same time, he does promise a reward to his followers,\nboth in this age and the Age to Come:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has\nleft house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or\nlands, for My sake and the gospel\u2019s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in\nthis time\u2014houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands,\nwith persecutions\u2014and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mark\n10:29\u201330<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this promise is a bit\ndifferent from the promise in Parashat \u2018Ekev<\/em>, because it comes \u201cwith\npersecutions.\u201d But the Torah also reminds us that rewards have their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you have eaten and are full, then you shall\nbless the Lord your God for the\ngood land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the Lord<\/em> your God by not keeping His\ncommandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest\u2026\nyou say in your heart, \u201cMy power and the might of my hand have gained me this\nwealth.\u201d (8:10\u201317<\/a>, emphasis added)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reward should lead us to be\nwary, because prosperity can make us forget God. In the contemporary world, the\nnations that are the most prosperous are filled with secularism, unbelief, and\ndepravity, falling under the deception that \u201cMy power and the might of my hand\nhave gained me this wealth.\u201d Surely, in the midst of the materialism and\nconsumerism of our modern world, we need to be on guard. The practical\ninstructions of Torah about care for the poor may provide a safeguard for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is among you a poor man of your brethren,\nwithin any of the gates in your land which the Lord\nyour God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from\nyour poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend\nhim sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. (Deut.\n15:7\u20138<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I once encountered a man who\nappeared a bit deranged begging on a street corner, crying out, \u201cI just need\n$2.89 for a plate of spaghetti at Tommy\u2019s [a local restaurant]!\u201d I walked right\nby him, but had hardly gotten across the street when I felt compelled, as if\nfrom above, to go back and give the man $5.00 so he could buy lunch. When I\nwalked away, I thought, \u201cBut who knows if he really even needs<\/em> the\nmoney?\u201d Again, I felt a divine intervention, this time saying, \u201cRight, who\nknows if he<\/em> needs the money, but you<\/em> need to give it to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We may never have an answer in\nthis world to the questions about justice raised by the New Orleans flood and\nother natural calamities. As we keep our hearts and hands open to the poor\namong us, however, we guard ourselves from the deceptiveness of prosperity\u2014even\nprosperity that we might consider a reward from God. And we will always have\npoor among us, \u201c[f]or the poor will never cease from the land\u201d (Deut.\n15:11<\/a>). Or as Yeshua reminded us, \u201cFor you have the poor with you\nalways, and whenever you wish you may do them good\u201d (Mark 14:7<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poor, of course, have many\nneeds, but we who have much also need them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> The Torah says to \u201cbeware\u201d when we are well fed,\nthat we don\u2019t forget God. Surely, this warning must be in full force for us in\nthe West today! When we encounter those who are not so prosperous, whether on a\nlocal street corner, or in the world news, how does their presence help us to\nbeware?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE GODS OF OTHERS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Re\u2019eh<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n11:26\u201316:17<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and\nchanged the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible\nman\u2014and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also\ngave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their\nbodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and\nworshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed\nforever. Amen. (Rom. 1:22\u201325<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowhere is the Jewishness of Paul more evident than\nin his response to idolatry. In his letter to the Romans, Paul, like the Hebrew\nprophets before him, portrays idolatry as the source of all sin and rejection\nof God. A thousand years later, Rambam or Maimonides likewise sees the\nprohibition of idolatry as the root of all the other laws of Torah:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the foundation of the whole of our Law and the\npivot around which it turns, consists in the effacement of these idolatrous\nopinions from the minds and of these monuments from existence. \u2026 For the sages\nsay: Herefrom you may learn that everyone who professes idolatry,\ndisbelieves in the Torah in its entirety; whereas he who disbelieves in\nidolatry, professes the Torah in its entirety.<\/em>11<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prohibition against idolatry\nappears as the first of the Ten Commandments: \u201cI am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out\nof the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me\u201d (Exod.\n20:2\u20133<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOther gods\u201d here is Elohim\nacherim<\/em>, but Rashi finds this reading problematic. How can the Torah warn\nus against serving other gods, when there are<\/em> no other gods? Hence, he\nreads the phrase as Elohey acherim<\/em>, \u201cthe gods of others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that they are not divine, but others\nmade them gods over them. It is impossible to explain the term as \u201cother gods,\u201d\nthat is, \u201cgods other than Myself,\u201d for it is an affront toward Him Who is above\nto call them \u201cgods\u201d alongside Him.12<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reading \u201cthe gods of others\u201d\ntook deep root in traditional Judaism, countering not only idolatry, but all\nworship that reflected the ways of the surrounding nations. This tradition\nhelps to explain the resistance to Yeshua still encountered in the Jewish world\ntoday. As long as Yeshua appears to be the God of the Gentiles, that is, \u201ca god\nof others,\u201d most Jewish people will not even consider him as the Messiah.\nMoses\u2019 warning against false prophecy in Parashat Re\u2019eh<\/em> reinforces this\nreaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it;\nyou shall not add to it nor take away from it. If there arises among you a\nprophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the\nsign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, \u201cLet us go\nafter other gods [or the god of others]\u201d\u2014which you have not known\u2014\u201cand let us\nserve them,\u201d you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer\nof dreams, for the Lord your God\nis testing you to know whether you love the Lord\nyour God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deut.\n12:32\u201313:3 [1\u20134]<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How would we know if a powerful\nprophet is leading us astray from the God of Israel? He will \u201cadd to\u201d or \u201ctake\naway front\u201d the God-given instructions. If Yeshua taught a way \u201cwhich you have\nnot known,\u201d he is not to be followed. Even the signs and wonders that he\nperformed, including the great sign of the resurrection, cannot override this\nprohibition in the minds of traditionally oriented Jewish people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Yeshua had come to destroy the\nTorah, God forbid, he could not be the Messiah of Israel, or the savior of the\nnations. But of course, the idea that Yeshua supplants Torah can only arise\nfrom a gross misinterpretation. Yeshua himself made it clear. \u201cDon\u2019t think that\nI have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish\nbut to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away,\nnot so much as a yud<\/em> [the smallest Hebrew letter] or a stroke will pass\nfrom the Torah\u2014not until everything that must happen has happened\u201d (Matt.\n5:17\u201318<\/a>, cjb).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Messianic Jewish\ncommunity, this issue underlines our imperative to restore Yeshua to his place within<\/em>\nIsrael, rather than to call Jews out of Israel to follow him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same issue calls the wider\nbody of Messiah to realize that it serves the God of Israel,<\/em> not a god\nof others, which leads to a new and deeper respect for the teachings of the\nTorah. Gentile believers do not relate to all the details of Torah in the same\nway that Jews do, but they should read Torah as foundational to the rest of\nScripture, including the New Testament or B\u2019rit Hadashah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only a false reading of the B\u2019rit\nHadashah would make one think that Yeshua led people away from Torah. He not\nonly affirms Torah, but he becomes the source of Torah, divine instruction, to\nthe nations, fulfilling the ancient Jewish hope founded in the words of Isaiah:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people shall come and say,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the house of the God of Jacob;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will teach us His ways,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we shall walk in His paths.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the word of the Lord\nfrom Jerusalem. (Isa. 2:2\u20133<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Followers of Yeshua have not always acknowledged\nZion as their spiritual homeland, or Torah as the word of God sent out from\nthere. Such followers may have separated themselves from Torah, but Yeshua\nnever did. Instead, he has brought multitudes from all nations to the God of\nIsrael and his ways, even as the prophets foretold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> We live in a day of reconciliation, as more and\nmore Christians realize that in Messiah they do not serve the god of others,\nbut the God of Israel, and Torah, the unique heritage of the Jewish people,\nbecomes a source of guidance to all believers. How do I play a part in this\nreconciliation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE PROPHET LIKE MOSES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Shof\u2019tim<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n16:18\u201321:9<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rock, perfect in all his deeds; who can say to\nhim, \u2018What do you do?\u2019 The One who says and does, do undeserved grace upon us,\nand in the merit of him who was bound like a lamb, hear and act. (From the\ntraditional Jewish burial service of the Siddur<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the age-old controversies between Judaism\nand Christianity concerns the need for a mediator between God and man. The\nrabbinic writings often assert that Israel needs no intermediary with God, but\ncan approach him directly. Thus, Sforno comments on the first of the Ten\nCommandments: \u201cI am Hashem<\/em>, the Lord\nyour God\u201d (Exod. 20:2<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I alone am Hashem<\/em> who grants existence; the\nPrime Cause known to you through tradition and proof; and I confirm that you\nhave accepted upon yourself My sovereignty, to be your God, with no need for a\nmediator. Therefore, to Me alone shall you pray, and Me alone shall you serve\nwithout any mediator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, Rambam says that this\ncommandment and the one following\u2014\u201cYou shall have no other gods before\nMe\u201d\u2014\u201creached [Israel] just as they reached Moses our Master and that it was not\nMoses our Master who communicated them to them.\u201d13<\/sup> All Israel stood\nbefore the Lord at Sinai and received His revelation directly with no mediator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, as the prayer above attests,\nanother strain of Jewish thought calls out for a mediator, for one whose merit\nwill benefit all Israel, as Isaac\u2019s is believed to have done. This ambivalence\nabout a mediator reflects a tension within the biblical text itself. For\nexample, it is true that God appeared directly to all Israel at Mount Sinai,\nbut it is also true that Moses serves as an intermediary through much of that\nencounter. Only by ignoring this major element of the story could one say that\nIsrael needs no mediator with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, just before Rambam claims\nthat the first two commandments came to Israel with no mediator, he writes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is clear to me that at the Gathering at Mount\nSinai, not everything that reached Moses also reached all Israel. Speech was\naddressed to Moses alone \u2026 and he, peace be on him, went to the foot of the\nmountain and communicated to the people what he had heard. The text of the\nTorah reads: I stood between the Lord\nand you at that time, to declare unto you the word of the Lord.<\/em> (Deut. 5:5<\/a>)14<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Mount Sinai, Israel encounters\nthe Lord \u201cface to face,\u201d according to Deuteronomy\n5:4<\/a>, but in the next verse Moses \u201cstands between\u201d the Lord and\nIsrael to mediate the divine word. Indeed, this seems to be Moses\u2019 unique place\nwithin the story of the Jewish people. He alone communicates with the Lord\n\u201cface to face\u201d and brings the report of this communication back to the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was after they had heard that first voice that\nthey were terrified of the thing and felt a great fear, and they said: And\nye said, Behold the Lord hath shown us,<\/em> and so on. Now therefore why\nshould we die,<\/em> and so on. Go thou near and hear,<\/em> and so on.\nThereupon he, who was greater than anyone born of man, went forward a second\ntime, received the rest of the commandments one after the other, descended to\nthe foot of the mountain, and made them hear these commandments in the midst of\nthat great gathering.15<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses, then, indeed serves as\nmediator between God and Israel. In this week\u2019s parashah, he is contemplating\nthe end of his life, which means the end of his mediatory work. Was this\nmediation only necessary for the first generation, for those who received the\nTorah at Mount Sinai? Can Israel now meet with God face to face with no one to\nstand between them and him? No, as Moses says that when he is gone,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord\nyour God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your\nbrethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the\nassembly, saying, \u201cLet me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let\nme see this great fire anymore, lest I die.\u201d (Deut.\n18:15\u201316<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This prophet will be a mediator\nin the same way that Moses [was a mediator. Like Moses, he will hear the voice\nof the Lord and see the fire of God\u2019s presence, and then he will speak to the\npeople. Through him, God will reveal himself to Israel. \u201cAnd it shall be that\nwhoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it\nof him\u201d (Deut. 18:19<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Torah will conclude at the\nend of Deuteronomy with a statement that the prophet like Moses had not yet\nappeared. \u201cBut since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses,\nwhom the Lord knew face to face\u201d (34:10<\/a>).\nFor Messianic Jews, of course, this Prophet arose many centuries later, in the\nperson of Yeshua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on our text, Peter urges\nthe Jews of Jerusalem to heed the message of Yeshua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this is how God fulfilled what he had announced\nin advance, when he spoke through all the prophets, namely, that his Messiah\nwas to die. Therefore, repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be erased;\nso that times of refreshing may come from the Lord\u2019s presence; and he may send\nthe Messiah appointed in advance for you, that is, Yeshua.\u2026 For Moshe himself\nsaid, \u201cAdonai<\/em> will raise up\nfor you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You are to listen to\neverything he tells you.\u201d (Acts 3:18\u201320<\/a>, 22<\/a>\ncjb)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judaism then, like Christianity,\nrecognizes the need for a mediator. His identity remains an all-important\nquestion, and we are confident that it is resolved in Yeshua the Messiah. But\nwe cannot neglect another question, one implied by the ambivalence within the\ntext. Why<\/em> do we need a mediator at all? All Israel stood before God at\nMount Sinai. All Israel has a share in his Torah, and a claim on the riches of\nJewish heritage. These things are not the province of a priestly caste, but of\nall the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we need a mediator? Our\nsins distance us from God, but even more relevant is the ineffable holiness of\nGod. He reaches out to us in mercy, yet his purity and splendor are so great\nthat a vast gulf remains between him and us. God\u2019s inapproachability may not\njibe with our modern, consumer-centered expectation that we should all enjoy a\ndivine connection 24\/7, but the picture is clear. Between the holy God of\nIsrael and humankind, even the best of humankind, is a vast gulf. Thank God\nthat he has sent a Prophet like Moses to bridge that gulf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> My need for a mediator is a comment on the\nholiness of God. It means that in myself<\/em> I am never worthy to approach\nhim at all. How does this realization change the way that I pray, worship, and\nserve God and those around me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REMEMBER AMALEK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Ki Tetse<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n21:10\u201325:19<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The task of requesting deliverance is too\nformidable for an individual alone, no matter how great the individual is. Even\nMoses himself could not approach Hashem on his own to ask Him to rescue the\nJewish nation from Amalek; Moses needed two others to demonstrate that his\nentreaty represented the will of the whole nation.16<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twentieth-century rabbi Joseph\nSoloveitchik relates this story about the battle against Amalek to the Kol\nNidrey<\/em> prayer that opens the services for Yom Kippur, or the Day of\nAtonement. The battle with Amalek begins when they attack the Israelites\nshortly after Israel left Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Joshua \u2026 fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron,\nand Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his\nhand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.\nBut Moses\u2019 hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and\nhe sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the\nother on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the\nsun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. (Exod.\n17:10\u201313<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the battle, the\nLord declared that he would have war on Amalek through all generations. Now, in\nParashat Ki Tetse<\/em>, Moses commands a new generation to \u201c[r]emember what\nAmalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt\u201d (Deut.\n25:17<\/a>), and to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven,\nbecause \u201che met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers\nat your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God\u201d (Deut.\n25:18<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kol Nidrey, literally \u201cAll\nVows,\u201d prayer is chanted to a beautiful melody at the opening of Yom Kippur. It\nis an ancient appeal to God to forgive any vows made to him that are impossible\nto fulfill, thus preparing the worshiper to meet him on this holiest of Jewish\nholidays.17<\/sup> As the cantor chants the prayer, it is customary for two\npeople to stand on either side of him or her, just as Aaron and Hur stood on\neither side of Moses during the battle against Amalek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the connection between\nAmalek and the opening prayer of Yom Kippur? Throughout the Days of Awe from\nRosh HaShanah through Yom Kippur, we pray for God to establish his sovereignty\nin our midst, and that we would be fit subjects of his reign. Rabbi\nSoloveitchik notes, however, that \u201cHashem\u2019s sovereignty is not absolute as long\nas Amalek continues to exist.\u201d18<\/sup> He goes on to ask, \u201cWho then is\nAmalek, whose presence somehow inhibits Hashem\u2019s sovereignty?\u201d19<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a remarkable insight, Rabbi\nSoloveitchik places Amalek in the context of the Creation story, when \u201cHashem\ncreated the earth from tohu vavohu, chaos and void\u201d (Genesis 1:2<\/a>).\nAt the Creation, the Lord did not completely eliminate chaos, but allowed some\nto remain. \u201cAmalek represents this leftover chaos, identified with sin, which\nremained behind so man himself can actively play a role in destroying it.\u201d20<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s ultimate design for\nhumankind, as we have seen throughout this book, is not simply a return to the\nGarden of Eden and its innocence. Even in the Garden, human beings had a work\nto accomplish, and God\u2019s purposes will not be fulfilled without human\nparticipation. As we have heard repeatedly in the big story of Torah, when God\nrested on the seventh day after creating all things, the Creation was good and\nholy, but it had not yet reached its consummation. That would take human\ncooperation. From the beginning, human beings were representatives of God,\nassigned the task of multiplying, filling the earth, and subduing it. This task\nwas, and is, no mere charade. The stakes are real. God has permitted a measure\nof chaos to remain in his Creation and man is responsible to deal with it in\nGod\u2019s strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel saw chaos defeated in\nEgypt and ultimately at the splitting of the Red Sea, when Pharaoh\u2019s armies\nwere drowned in its waters. In the attack of Amalek, the Israelites were put on\nnotice that chaos and evil were still at play, ready to break into their world\nagain. Now in Parashat Ki Tetse<\/em>, as they are about to enter the Promised\nLand, they are reminded of the same truth. The Torah has come full circle. The\nthemes established at the beginning are still at play: God created all things\nfrom nothing, and established order in the midst of the chaos of the primordial\nCreation. But this order is not absolute. It is threatened by chaos, and\nhumanity itself, even though created in the image of God, often succumbs to the\nchaos. Israel is chosen to overcome the chaos, to fulfill the human calling as\nthe image of God. It must remember Amalek, especially as it stands on the\nthreshold of the Promised Land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Soloveitchik provides an\nadditional insight into the battle against Amalek, which adds a new dimension\nto our reading of the grand narrative of Torah. The essential struggle takes\nplace within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jew must eternally battle with this insidious\nenemy, the tohu vavohu which resides within each of us.\u2026 Amalek exists within\neveryone, and through our attempt at his destruction we at the same time endeavor\nto crown Hashem.21<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The true battle is not with the\nother, with the enemy outside, but within ourselves. Indeed, we sometimes seek\nexternal enemies to avoid the real battle we must wage with our inner chaos and\ndisorder. Religious believers seem particularly adept at finding enemies\nwithout and engaging in holy war rather than facing their own inner turmoil.\nPerhaps this is why the letter to the Hebrews tells us, \u201cFollow peace with all\nmen, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord\u201d (Heb.\n12:14<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether the battle is without or\nwithin, however, we do not fight it alone. Moses had Aaron and Hur standing on\neither side, for as Rabbi Soloveitchik says, \u201cthe task of requesting\ndeliverance is too formidable for an individual alone.\u201d Likewise, the B\u2019rit\nHadashah instructs us to \u201cwork out your own salvation with fear and trembling;\nfor it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure\u201d (Phil.\n2:12b\u201313<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rabbis ask concerning the\noriginal battle against Amalek: \u201cDid the hands of Moses control the course of\nwar? No! The text teaches that as long as the Israelites set their sights on\nHigh and subjected themselves to their Father in Heaven, they prevailed; other\nwise they failed.\u201d22<\/sup> The battle against Amalek is the essential\nhuman struggle, sharing in the divine work of bringing order out of chaos. Yet\neven in this struggle, the Lord gives us the strength to prevail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> There is an Amalek without and an Amalek within.\nWe need to address the inner chaos before we will have success against the\nouter. We have a divine ally in this struggle. How do we draw upon God\u2019s help\nas Moses did in the original battle against Amalek?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALL THINGS NEW<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Ki Tavo<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n26:1\u201329:8<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter how much we travel throughout the\ncreation, no matter how many pictures we take of its flowers and mountains, no\nmatter how much knowledge we acquire, if we fail to cultivate wonder we risk\nmissing the very heart of what is going on.23<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Promised Land is \u201ca land flowing with milk and\nhoney.\u201d This phrase reminds us of the Garden of Eden, where \u201cthe Lord God made every tree grow that is\npleasant to the sight and good for food\u201d (Gen. 2:9<\/a>).\nThe Promised Land flows<\/em> with milk and honey\u2014its goodness arises on its\nown, unlike the post-Eden world, where man must toil and eat in the sweat of\nhis brow (Gen 3:17\u201319<\/a>). In the Land, God restores the\nabundant goodness of the Garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the land which you go to possess is not like\nthe land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and\nwatered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to\npossess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of\nheaven, a land for which the Lord\nyour God cares; the eyes of the Lord\nyour God an always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the\nyear. (Deut. 11:10\u201312<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Torah reinforces the\nconnection between the Promised Land and the Garden by repeating the phrase\n\u201cland of milk and honey\u201d\u2014three times in this week\u2019s parashah, and fifteen times\nthroughout the Torah, in every case but one describing the Premised Land. The\nexception comes in Numbers 16:13<\/a>, where Dathan and Abiram challenge\nMoses, \u201cIs it a small thing that you hive brought us up out of a land flowing\nwith milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness?\u201d Here the land flowing with\nmilk and honey is Egypt! The rebels reveal their perversity by describing the\nplace that is the very opposite of the Promised Land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This exception is the eighth\nappearance of the phrase \u201cland of milk and honey.\u201d Seven times\u2014the number of\nCreation\u2014it describes the Promised Land. One time it is used to describe the\nopposite, the land of bondage. Then seven more times it describes the Promised\nLand. The lesson is that the entry to the Promised Land reflects the fullness\nof God\u2019s creative purpose, and the opposite of sin and bondage. It is an\nessential stage on the journey from Creation to completion, launched in the\nbeginning of all things. Sin may postpone the journey, but it cannot keep the\njourney from reaching its goal in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Israel\u2019s entry into the Land\nof Canaan is a reversal of the exile from the Garden, then it must also reverse\nthe disobedience of Adam and Eve. Through Israel, humankind gains another\nopportunity to obey God and participate in his work of cosmic renewal. Hence,\nobedience becomes a dominant theme of Deuteronomy, the final series of\nteachings that prepare Israel to enter the Promised Land. Moses repeatedly\ninstructs the Israelites to obey, as in this parashah: \u201cThis day the Lord your God commands you to observe\nthese statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them\nwith all your heart and with all your soul\u201d (Deut.\n26:16<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sefat Emet<\/em> speaks of\nthis call to obedience in terms not unlike Peterson\u2019s call to wonder cited\nabove. It emphasizes the phrase \u201cThis day\u201d that opens Deuteronomy\n26:16<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Midrash and Rashi both say: \u201cEach day these\ncommands should be like new in your eyes.\u201d Why \u201clike new\u201d? \u2026 The renewal is\nthere within everything, since God \u201crenews each day, continually, the work of\nCreation.\u201d \u2026 Nothing exists without the divine life-force, and the point in\neach thing that comes from Him never grows old, since His words are constantly\nalive and flowing.24<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s word is alive \u201cthis day\u201d\nand every day. We respond to it through obedience. But Moses goes on to warn\nIsrael that they will not obey, and again, as at the beginning, the result will\nbe exile. If Israel stumbles, the Lord warns, he will not break His covenant\nwith them, but will impose the ultimate consequence of covenant disobedience,\nexile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against the background of\nIsrael\u2019s exile throughout history, and especially its horrifying climax in the\ntwentieth century, Moses\u2019 warning is haunting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the Lord\nwill scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and\nthere you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have\nknown\u2014wood and stone. And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall\nthe sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart,\nfailing eyes, and anguish of soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you. (Deut.\n28:64\u201366<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In exile, Israel\u2019s very survival\nhangs in doubt, but exile is not the final word:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts\nunder heaven, from there the Lord\nyour God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land\nwhich your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and\nmultiply you more than your fathers. And the Lord\nyour God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love\nthe Lord your God with all your\nheart and with all your soul, that you may live.\u201d (Deut.\n30:4\u20136<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same way, the final word\nof the drama of exile in modern times is not the Holocaust. Rather, a great\ningathering to the Land of Israel continues in our day. If expulsion from the\nGarden foreshadows the expulsion from the land of Israel, might the restoration\nto the land of Israel foreshadow restoration to the Garden? Such restoration,\nof course, will require a return to God, renewed obedience, and renewed wonder\nas well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the restoration of all things,\nthis renewal will shape everything: \u201cThen He who sat on the throne said,\n\u2018Behold I make all things new\u2019 \u201d (Rev. 21:5<\/a>).\nWe partake of this renewal even in our own troubled times as we let God\u2019s word\nshape our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> In our own minds, we might not link obedience with\nrenewal and wonder, but Scripture seems to do so. Yeshua says, \u201cIf you love Me,\nkeep My commandments\u201d (John 14:15<\/a>). How does obedience to God\u2019s word\nhelp me to see the Creation, and my everyday life, in a new way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TWO RETURNEES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Nitzavim<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n29:9\u201330:20<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And how does one repent? A sinner should abandon\nhis sinfulness, drive it from his thoughts and conclude in his heart that he\nwill never do it again, as it says, \u201cLet the wicked man abandon his way (Isaiah\n55:7<\/a>) \u2026. Additionally, he should regret the past, as it says: \u201cFor\nafter I repented, I regretted (Jeremiah 31:18<\/a>) \u2026. And let the sinner call to Him\nwho knows all hidden things to witness that he will never return to sin that\nsin again. (From The Laws of Repentance<\/em> by Rambam25<\/sup>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The name of this parashah, Nitzavim<\/em>, means\n\u201cyou are standing,\u201d as if Moses says to Israel, \u201cAfter all my warnings of exile\nand cursing in the preceding chapter, you are still standing. God still has a\npromise of mercy for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This promise of mercy will be\nfulfilled when Israel returns to God, or makes teshuvah<\/em> (from the Hebrew\nroot cua shuv<\/em>, meaning turn, or return). In ten verses of Parashat\nNitzavim<\/em>, Moses describes this teshuvah by employing the root shuv seven\ntimes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it shall come to pass when all these things\ncome upon you \u2026 and you shall return<\/em> your heart \u2026 and return<\/em> to Adonai<\/em>\nand heed his voice \u2026 that Adonai<\/em> will return<\/em> your captivity \u2026 and\nreturn<\/em> and gather you from all the nations where Adonai your God has\nscattered you. \u2026 And you shall return<\/em> and heed the voice of Adonai<\/em>\n\u2026 and Adonai<\/em> will return<\/em> to rejoicing over you \u2026 if you return<\/em>\nto Adonai<\/em> your God with all your hear and with all your soul. (Deut.\n30:10\u201310, author\u2019s translation)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this passage, the verb shuv\nhas two subjects; Israel must return to the Lord, of course, but the Lord also\nreturns to Israel. In the drama of repentance there are two returnees, God and\nhuman kind. \u201c \u2018Return to Me and I will return to you\u2019, says the Lord of\nHosts\u201d (Mal.\n3:7<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how are we to return to God?\nAs Rambam noted eight hundred years ago, teshuvah involves distinct phases or\ncomponents. We may summarize these as recognition<\/em> of sin, regret,\nrestitution,<\/em> and resolve.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first of the seven \u201creturns\u201d\nin Parashat Nitzavim<\/em> speaks of recognition: \u201c[A]nd you shall return your\nheart,\u201d or more literally, \u201cyou shall return to<\/em> your heart,\u201d meaning\n\u201ccome to your senses,\u201d or \u201ctake to heart\u201d what has happened to you. Without\nthis inner awakening, there can be no return to God. Rambam compares this\ndramatic recognition to the wake-up call of the shofar at Rosh HaShanah:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is an\nexplicit decree of Scripture [Lev. 23:24<\/a>; Num. 29:1<\/a>],\nand it is also a symbol, as if to say, Awake, O you sleepers, awake from your\nsleep! O you slumberers, awake from your slumber! Search your deeds and turn in\nteshuvah. Remember your Creator, O you who forget the truth in the vanities of\ntime and go astray all the year after vanity and folly that neither profit nor\nsave. Look to your souls, and better your ways and actions. Let every one of\nyou abandon his evil way and his wicked thoughts, which are not good. 26<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This wake up call leads to regret.<\/em>\nModern people often see regret itself as the problem, rather than as an\nindicator that something else is a problem. Instead of denying such feelings,\nhowever, we are to let them drive us to genuine moral change, which will be\nexpressed in restitution,<\/em> doing all we can to reverse the effect of our\nsin. Restitution often includes confession of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he must also confess with his lips and declare\nthose things that he has concluded in his heart. If one confesses verbally but\ndoes not resolve in his heart to abandon his sinful ways, he is like one who\nimmerses himself in the ritual bath while holding an impure creature.27<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restitution may also mean paying\nback a debt, returning to the one that we have offended and offering to do\nwhatever it takes to make things right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regret and restitution lead us to\na fourth stage of teshuvah mentioned above\u2014resolve<\/em> to turn away from sin\nand back to God and his ways. Resolve means changing our direction from\nwrongdoing and back to God and his ways. \u201cYou shall return to Adonai<\/em>\nyour God with all your heart and with all your soul.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can see these four stages of\nteshuvah\u2014recognition, regret, restitution, and resolve\u2014in a story that Messiah\nonce told, about a man and his two sons (Luke\n15:11\u201332<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day the younger son said to\nhis father,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFather, give me the portion of goods that falls to\nme.\u201d So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger\nson gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his\npossessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe\nfamine in that land and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself\nto a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.\nAnd he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate,\nand no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here we see the first phase of teshuvah,\nrecognition. The son came to himself, or returned to his heart, as our parashah\nwould state it. He woke up and realized that he was standing among the pigs,\nand longing for their food! And so, when he recognized his condition,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said, \u201cHow many of my father\u2019s hired servants\nhave bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go\nto my father, and will say to him, \u2018Father, I have sinned against heaven and\nbefore you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one\nof your hired servants.\u201d \u2019 And he arose and came to his father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The son displays regret for his\nsin and is ready to make restitution by returning to his father, confessing his\nsins, and offering to live with him like a hired servant. Finally, he resolves\nto return, changing his whole life direction from a journey away from home to a\njourney back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most remarkable element in\nYeshua\u2019s story, however, is the response of the father. It reveals a fifth\nstage in teshuvah, which is restoration.<\/em> The son comes to his senses and\nreturns to his father; the father has been ready to return to the son all\nalong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when he was still a great way off, his father\nsaw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And\nthe son said to him, \u201cFather, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight,\nand am no longer worthy to be called your son.\u201d But the father said to his\nservants, \u201cBring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his\nhand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and\nlet us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was\nlost and is found.\u201d And they began to be merry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the father embodies the\nwords of the prophet, \u201cReturn to me and I will return to you.\u201d But the story\ndoesn\u2019t end here. Messiah told the story because \u201c[t]he tax collectors and\nsinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes\nmurmured, saying, \u2018This man receives sinners and eats with them\u2019 \u201d (Luke\n15:1\u20132<\/a>). Messiah welcomed the younger son\u2014the sinner\u2014and, with equal\nlove, appealed to the older son\u2014the religious expert<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now his older son was in the field. And as he came\nand drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the\nservants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, \u201cYour brother\nhas come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed\nthe fatted calf.\u201d \u2019 But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his\nfather came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father,\n\u201cLo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your\ncommandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might\nmake merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has\ndevoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.\u201d And\nhe said to him, \u201cSon, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It\nwas right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and\nis alive again, and was lost and is found.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua doesn\u2019t tell us the end of\nthe story, because the end is up to us. So, whichever son you<\/em> are, the\ninvitation from the Father stands: \u201cReturn to me and I will return to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> We need to practice teshuvah, continually turning\nback to God and his ways. We also need to rejoice as others make teshuvah, and\nnot begrudge the bounties of God\u2019s forgiveness to anyone. Am I ready to return\nto God\u2014and to welcome those who return as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE HIDDEN GOD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Vayelekh<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n31<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where is Esther indicated in the Torah?\u2014In the\nverse, And I will surely hide [asteer<\/em>] my face. 28<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sages of the Talmud look for a reference to\nEsther in the Torah and find it among the warnings of exile in Parashat\nVayelekh:<\/em> \u201cAnd I will ride, yes hide my face\u201d (Deut.\n31:18<\/a>). In Hebrew this phrase reads, anochi haster asteer panai.\nAsteer<\/em>\u2014\u201chide\u201d\u2014sounds like the name Esther, and the phrase \u201chide the face\u201d\ndescribes the conditions of Israel\u2019s long exile, which dominate her story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purim<\/em>, the holiday based on the story\nof Esther, comes a month before Passover in the Jewish calendar. Passover, the\nholiday of freedom leads to Israel\u2019s inheritance of the Promised Land. Purim,\nin contrast, is the holiday of exile. At Passover, God revealed himself openly\nboth to Israel and to Egypt by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. At Purim,\nGod hid his face, and the story of deliverance is filled with irony and\nparadox. Mordecai, the hero, advises Esther to hide her Jewish identity to\nmarry an impetuous and foolish Gentile king. Haman, the villain, is a bungler\nwho habitually shows up at the wrong time and becomes trapped in his own evil\nschemes. The Passover story is majestic; Purim is farcical. Yet both holidays\ncelebrate a miraculous deliverance by God and are instituted as days of\nremembrance forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purim helps us to understand\nGod\u2019s warning that he will hide his face and understand Israel\u2019s subsequent\nhistory, which the final chapters of Deuteronomy describe. As the festival of\nexile, it also provides a perspective on our own day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The God who works to make himself\nknown throughout Torah hide his face in the book of Esther. Thus, as numerous\ncommentators have noted, the name of God appears not even once in the story. In\ncontrast, the Passover story begins with the Lord revealing himself visibly to\nMoses in the Burning Bush. Its goal is that \u201cyou shall know that I am Hashem your God\u201d (Exod. 6:7<\/a>),\nand that \u201cthe Egyptians will know that I am Hashem\u201d\n(Exod.\n7:5<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paradoxically, one contemporary\nrabbi, Isaac Greenberg, says of the comparison between Passover and Purim that\n\u201cthe holiday of Purim represents a great step forward in the history of\nrevelation.\u201d29<\/sup> Why does he see Purim as a step forward? Rabbinic\nJudaism emphasizes free will, and the responsibility to preserve Torah though\nall difficulties, even when divine help is not at all evident. In this view,\nPurim is a step forward because human responsibility is more evident than\ndivine intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Passover initiated an entire age\nof Jewish history that finally ended with the destruction of the Temple and the\ncrushing of Jewish sovereignty by the Romans in the first and second centuries\nof our era. Purim originated before the destruction of the Temple but it\nsymbolizes the age inaugurated by that horrendous event. The first age began\nwith a crisis of redemption, Passover; the second age, symbolized by Purim, began\nwith a crisis of destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In modern times we have witnessed\na re-enactment of these two crises, but in reverse order; first the destruction\nof European Jewry under the Nazis, and then redemption\u2014the restoration of\nJewish sovereignty over the land of Israel. These events, especially coming at\nthe same moment of history, seem nearly as significant as the events described\nin Scripture. Greenberg argues that these events mirror Purim more than\nPassover, that God\u2019s face remains hidden, even though redemption is evident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purim is the holiday for the post-Holocaust world;\nit is the model for the experience of redemption in the rebirth of Israel. In\nthis era, too, the redemption is flawed\u2014by the narrow escape, by the great loss\nof life, by the officially \u201cirreligious\u201d nature of the leadership, by the mixed\nmotives and characters of those who carried it out, by the human suffering it\nbrought in its wake, and by the less-than-perfect society of Israel. 30<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the post-Holocaust world,\nGod\u2019s face may remain hidden, but there has been a resurgence of the most\ntraditional, God-centered branches of Judaism, and the rise of a viable\nMessianic Jewish community. For Messianic Jews, and many traditional Jews as\nwell, the restoration of Israel, even with all its problems, is not so much a\nflawed redemption as an open intervention of the divine, a modern replay of the\nExodus from Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat\nVayelekh<\/em> warns that God will hide his\nface because of our sins, but it sounds a note of hope as well. After Moses\nrecords its warnings, he inaugurates Joshua as Israel\u2019s new leader with words\nfrom the Lord: \u201cBe strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children\nof Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you\u201d (Deut.\n31:23<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our times are filled with\nhiddenness and with hope. Purim and Passover converge. God intervenes in our\naffairs, but in ways that seem obscure. Israel has been restored, yet we remain\nin exile. Human beings seem to be in charge, but evidence of God\u2019s redemptive\npurposes abounds to those who look for it. In this era, God speaks through\nparadox, perhaps even the great paradox of a Jewish Messiah ignored by the\nJewish world for twenty centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will not quarrel nor cry out,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bruised reed He will not break,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And smoking flax He will not quench,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Till He sends forth justice to victory;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in His name Gentiles will trust. (Matt.\n12:19\u201321<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew quotes this prophecy of\nIsaiah to portray a hidden Messiah who will reveal himself to those looking for\nhim in this age and beyond. Indeed, in this Messiah, God\u2019s face is hidden no\nlonger: \u201cFor it is the God who once said, \u2018Let light shine out of darkness,\u2019\nwho has made his light shine in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of God\u2019s\nglory shining in the face of the Messiah Yeshua\u201d (2 Cor. 4:6<\/a>,\ncjb).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey:<\/em> Esther and Mordecai lived in a time when God hid\nhis face, yet they were agents of God\u2019s purpose for the whole Jewish people. Is\nit possible that God is doing the same thing today\u2014working among us when we\ncannot even see him? How do we co-operate with God\u2019s purposes in such conditions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TORAH AND SPIRIT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat Ha\u2019azinu<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n32<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levi [a young Hasidic rabbi] doesn\u2019t teach Torah in\nany structured way to the addicts he works with, but he brings Judaism into\nevery counseling session by talking about the value of life and what that\nperson can contribute. \u201cI explain to them that they\u2019re not nothing. \u2026 I tell\nthem, \u2018God created this world as an imperfect place. He implanted a piece of\nHimself in each one of us, and there\u2019s one part of this world that will not be\nperfect until you make it so. It\u2019s out there waiting for you.\u2019 \u201d31<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Moses completes the writing of the Torah, he\nknows that his death is near, so he writes a song warning Israel of their\nfuture sins and that \u201cevil will befall you in the latter days\u201d (Deut.\n31:29<\/a>). Songs in the Torah, say the rabbis, transcend time, and look\ninto the past, present, and future. Thus, Moses\u2019 song, which peers into the\nfuture, also looks back to the very beginning, thus providing a framework for\nthe entire Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where does the song refer to the\nbeginning? Two verses contain a clue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He found him in the wilderness land,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in the waste<\/em> of the howling desert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He encircled him, gave mind to him,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

watched him like the apple of His eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like an eagle who rouses his nest,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

over his fledglings he hovers,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spread His wings, He took him,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He bore him on His pinion. (Deut.\n32:10\u201311<\/a>, Alter; emphasis added)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Hebrew words appear only in\nthese verses and one other place in the entire Torah, Genesis 1:2<\/a>,\nhighlighting again the big story of Creation to completion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first of the two special\nwords in this verse is tohu<\/em>, translated as \u201cwaste.\u201d As we have seen, Genesis 1:2<\/a>\nopens, \u201cAnd the earth was tohu vavohu\u2014chaos and void,\u201d or \u201cwild and waste\u201d\n(Fox). This rarely used word describes the chaos of Creation in its primitive\nstate, out of which God will form the beauty and goodness of heaven and earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Midrash<\/em> also notices\nthe unusual word \u201cwaste\u201d in this passage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider the verse, He found him in a desert\nland<\/em>\u2026 for the world was a desert before Israel came out of Egypt. And in\nthe waste, a howling wilderness<\/em>; waste and howling was the world before\nIsrael came out of Egypt and before they received the Torah. He did not tarry,\nbut as soon as Israel departed from Egypt and received the Torah, what does\nScripture say? He compassed him about, He gave him understanding, He kept\nhim as the apple of His eye. \u2018He compassed him about<\/em>\u2019 [or \u2018he encircled\nhim\u2019 as above] means that He set clouds of glory around them.32<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as tohu or \u201cwaste\u201d describes\nthe unformed state of the heave ns and earth at the beginning of Creation, so\nit describes the unformed state of the world before the revelation at Mount\nSinai. As we have seen, the redemption from Egypt is a new Creation that begins\nto restore the order of the original Creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only Israel, but ultimately\nall followers of Messiah fit into this vast scheme of cosmic restoration. As\nLevi the Torah teacher says, \u201cThere\u2019s one part of this world that will not be\nperfect until you make it so. It\u2019s out there waiting for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how are we able to find this\npart, and join with the Creator in his work of renewal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Midrash above detects a\nremez, or hint, that will help answer this question when it says \u201cHe set clouds\nof glory around\u201d Israel. Where does it get this idea?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This question brings us to our\nsecond repeated word, \u201chovers\u201d or yarachef<\/em>\u2014\u201dover his fledglings he\nhovers.\u201d The same verb appear in slightly different form in Genesis 1:2<\/a>:\n\u201cThe spirit of God hovered (m\u2019rachefet<\/em>) over the face of the deep.\u201d\nGenesis portrays this spirit as the creative, life-giving breath of God, about\nto bring forth life and order from the great deep. This same Spirit of God,\npresent at Creation to bring order out of chaos, is present in the glory-cloud\nthat accompanies the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt. As Isaiah writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his\npeople, saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere is He who brought them up out of the sea<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the shepherd of His flock?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within [or\namong] them? (Isa. 63:11<\/a>, 14<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same idea appears in the book\nof Nehemiah:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake\nthem in the wilderness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by\nday,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To lead them on the road;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nor the pillar of fire by night,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To show them light,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the way they should go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. (Neh.\n9:19\u201320a<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spirit of God, which appears\nat the very beginning as the divine creative force bringing order out of tohu\nvavohu (the wild and waste of the primordial chaos), accompanies Israel in the\npillar of cloud. This divine presence not only guides Israel in its wanderings,\nbut also dwells in the tabernacle in the midst of the camp of Israel. The\nconnection is clear: the work begun at Creation continues in Israel as the\nchosen people. God redeems the seed of Abraham from the bondage of Egypt to\nestablish his creative and renewing presence among them. He will lead Israel by\nhis Spirit, and dwell in the midst of the camp of Israel in a cloud of glory.\nThus, the call of Israel is an essential stage in the journey from Creation to\ncompletion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether we are Jewish or Gentile,\nas we seek to find our part in this journey, there is a clear message for us as\nwell. The same creative, life-giving spirit dwells among the community of those\nunited with Messiah Yeshua. \u201cFor it was by one Spirit that we were all immersed\ninto one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free; and we were all given\nthe one Spirit to drink (1 Cor. 12:13<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For you are the temple of the living God. As God\nhas said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will dwell in them<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And walk among them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will be their God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they shall be My people. (2 Cor.\n6:16<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spirit of God dwells in the midst of those who\nfollow Messiah. Through his power, we find and fulfill our part on the way to\nCreation fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: Levi, the young rabbi, says \u201cThere\u2019s one part of\nthis world that will not be perfect until you make it so. It\u2019s out there\nwaiting or you.\u201d May I be on the watch for this part of the world today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTHIS IS THE BLESSING\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashat V\u2019zot HaBrachah<\/em>, Deuteronomy\n33:1\u201334:12<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favor them, Oh Lord, with happiness and peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, hear our Sabbath prayer. Amen.33<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as the six days of Creation conclude with the\nblessing of Shabbat, so the Torah itself, the story of Creation to completion,\nconcludes with a blessing. Moses stands before the tribes of Israel, who are\nabout to enter the land of promise without him, and pronounces blessings upon\nthem, as the final act of his public life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We might consider all of chapter 33<\/a>\nto be the blessing, beginning with Moses\u2019 words over the first of the twelve\ntribes, \u201cLet Reuben live, and not die.\u201d (Deut. 33:6<\/a>)\nSforno, however, in his comments on this chapter, claims that the blessing does\nnot begin until verse 25<\/a>. In the preceding verses, Moses prays for each\nof the tribes, one by one, but, says Sforno, \u201cwords of blessing are always said\nwhen speaking directly to the one who is being blessed.\u201d Therefore, he believes\nthat the blessing begins as Moses addresses Israel directly, concluding with\nthe words,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy are you, O Israel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shield of your help<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the sword of your majesty!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your enemies shall submit to you,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you shall tread down their high places. (Deut.\n33:29<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before this passage, Moses speaks\nof<\/em> the tribes; now he speaks to<\/em> the tribes. Before, he speaks\nalmost entirely in the third person, calling each tribe \u201che.\u201d Now, he speaks in\nthe second person, addressing the tribes directly as \u201cyou.\u201d If we accept\nSforno\u2019s conclusion that the blessing begins at verse 25<\/a>,\nwe notice another significant shift in emphasis. Before this verse, Moses\nspeaks to each tribe separately; now he speaks to the all the tribes at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a theme that plays\nthroughout Scripture: Unity brings blessing. Moses can pray for the tribes\nseparately, but blessing will rest upon them collectively, when they dwell\ntogether as one. This interpretation is borne out by verse 5<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And He was King in Jeshurun,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the leaders of the people were gathered,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the tribes of Israel together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeshurun, or more accurately\nYeshurun, is the name of Israel as the Israel people of God, based on the root\nrah yashar<\/em>, meaning upright, pleasing, or straight.34<\/sup> When\nIsrael gathers as one, they become Yeshurun, the upright people whose king is\nthe Lord himself. As Rashi comments (on Deut. 33:5<\/a>),\n\u201cWhen they are gathered together in a single group and there is peace among\nthem, He is their king, but not when there is discord among them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent biography of Benjamin\nFranklin notes that he advocated unity among the British colonies in North\nAmerica long before he advocated their independence. As a pragmatist, Franklin\nsaw that the colonies could accomplish far more together than they could\nseparately. When the colonies were threatened by French military successes in\nthe Ohio River Valley in 1754\u2014twenty-two years before the Declaration of\nIndependence\u2014Franklin printed \u2018the first and most famous editorial cartoon in\nAmerican history: a snake cut into pieces, labeled with the names of the\ncolonies, with the caption, \u2018Join, or Die.\u2019 \u201d35<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, the tribes of Israel\nstruggled for centuries to unite for military defense and improved commerce,\nfrom the time of the Judges until the rise of Saul and David. Beyond the\npragmatic considerations of defense and trade, however, is the blessing that\ncomes upon unity. Moses might well have said to the tribes, \u201cJoin, or Die\n\u2026without the full blessing that God intends.\u201d The blessing that God imparts\nthrough Moses is far more powerful than Israel\u2019s united military strength. With\nthe blessing, they will become a people under the divine shelter and sustained\nby the arms of the eternal One, \u201ca people saved by the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

V\u2019zot\nHaBrachah<\/em> is the parashah read in the\nsynagogue on the festival of Simchat Torah<\/em>, or \u201cRejoicing in Torah.\u201d On\nthis day, just after Sukkot, we reach the end of the annual cycle of readings\nat Deuteronomy\n34<\/a>, and start over again at Genesis 1<\/a>.\nThus, we express a value that has unified Israel through its history, and may\nbring unity today as well. In V\u2019zot HaBrachah<\/em>, Moses reminds Israel of\nGod\u2019s revelation at Mount Sinai a generation before. There,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses commanded Torah for us,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A heritage of the congregation of Jacob. (Deut. 33:4<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This heritage is the Scriptures, beginning with the\nFive Books a of Moses and becoming the complete canon, which for believers in\nYeshua includes the writings of the B\u2019rit Hadashah. In Messiah, it becomes the\nheritage of all nations as well as of the Jewish people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The community of Yeshua\u2019s\nfollowers encompasses diverse streams and traditions, but we have a potent\nsource of unity: the Scriptures themselves, the source of the life-changing\nstory of Creation fulfilled. We may read these Scriptures differently, but we\nare united in seeing them as divine revelation, and we are united in seeing\nthat this revelation reaches its culmination in Yeshua the Messiah, the Living\nTorah. This affirmation of the whole body of Scripture that rests on the\nfoundation of Torah, and of Yeshua as Lord and Messiah, is a unique and\nprecious legacy. May we not abandon the blessing of unity carelessly, but\ninstead build upon this legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Torah concludes with a blessing\nto remind us that it began with a blessing. When God created man and woman in\nhis image, before they had done anything to merit it, he blessed them. Now, as\nIsrael is about to enter the Promised Land, before they have fulfilled God\u2019s\npurpose, he imparts a blessing again. As Yeshua\u2019s friend Peter wrote, \u201c[K]now\nthat you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing\u201d (1 Pet. 3:9<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the journey<\/em>: Torah concludes with a blessing, and so do all\nthe Scriptures that arise from it. May we who read and study these words\ninherit a blessing as well: \u201cBlessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy\nof this book. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the\nright to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city\u201d (Rev. 22:7<\/a>,\n14<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EPILOGUE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTurn it, and turn it, for everything is in it.\nReflect on it and grow old and gray with it. Don\u2019t turn from it, for nothing is\nbetter than it<\/em>.\u201d (Pirke Avot 5.22<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When an author finishes a book, I imagine he or she\nhopes to have included everything that is relevant to the subject at hand, and\nto have left nothing out. In my case, however, the opposite is true. I could go\nthrough the entire cycle of Torah readings again and discover endless material\nthat has been left out of this book. God gave us his Torah to be our life-long\ntext of learning and growth, and it rewards multiple readings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we saw in Parashat Masa\u2019ei,\nwhen we finish a book of the Torah, we encourage each other with the words Hazak!\nHazak! v\u2019nit\u2019chazek<\/em>! Be strong! Be strong! And let us be strengthened! [to\ncarry out the instructions we have just read]. That\u2019s why on Simchat Torah, the\nfestival when we rejoice at having received this book of instruction, we\nimmediately read Genesis 1<\/a>, after concluding Deuteronomy\n34<\/a>. We start learning again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is my encouragement to you\nas well. Keep journeying by studying the Scriptures, seeking within them not\nonly inspiration and truth, but also instruction for life. A life that is\nguided by the age-old wisdom of Scripture will be fruitful and fulfilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The instruction above to \u201cTurn\nit, and turn it\u201d supports the tradition of reading through the entire Torah\neach year. Whether or not you follow this specific tradition, however, I\nencourage you to practice daily study of God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another old saying tells us to\nwork as if it all depends on us, and pray as if it all depends on God. We know\nthat it all really does depend on God, but our efforts are significant, as\nwell. Indeed, the theme of Creation to Completion is that God has designed\nthings from the beginning to involve human beings like you and me in his\nredemptive purposes for the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two old sayings come\ntogether in this: We have a vital role to play during our days on earth, and it\nis in continual engagement with Scripture that we discover our part, and find\nthe power to fulfill it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for letting me have\ninput into your life-long journey. May the Lord bless you and keep you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GLOSSARY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adonai<\/em>. Hebrew for \u201cLord.\u201d In many\ninstances it serves as a substitute for the ineffable name of God, spelled with\nthe four Hebrew letters \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4 or YHVH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aggadah<\/em>. From the verb \u201cto tell.\u201d\nStories, legends, anecdotes, and sayings in the Talmud, Midrash<\/em>, and\nother rabbinic literature, often based on the narrative of the Torah, that\nillustrate biblical truths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amidah.<\/em> From the Hebrew for \u201cstanding,\u201d this\nis a series of blessings recited daily in traditional prayer services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B\u2019rit Hadashah.<\/em> Hebrew for \u201cNew Covenant,\u201d used\nas an alternate name for the New Testament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cohen.<\/em> A priest, a member of the tribe\nof Levi and the family of Aaron, who performed essential rituals in the\ntabernacle and temple. Jewish tradition has retained special roles for cohanim<\/em>\n(plural of cohen) until this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G\u2019milut hasadim.<\/em> Deeds of loving kindness, such\nas visiting the sick, burying the dead, or attending a wedding, which Jewish\nthought considers foundational to a righteous life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gematria.<\/em> The study of the numerical\nvalues of Hebrew letters and words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Halakhah.<\/em> From the verb \u201cto go,\u201d Halakhah\nrefers to the body of rulings derived from Torah that have shaped the Jewish\n\u201cwalk\u201d or way of life since the earliest times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hashem.<\/em> Literally \u201cthe name.\u201d This is a\ncircumlocution for the unpronounceable name of God, spelled \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4 or YHVH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hoshana Rabbah.<\/em> \u201cThe great Hosanna.\u201d The final\nday of Sukkot or Tabernacles, which concludes the festival with great\nrejoicing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huppah.<\/em> The canopy under which the bride\nand groom stand to exchange vows in the traditional Jewish wedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ibn Ezra, Abraham. Born in\nTudela, Spain, in 1089, he spent his later years wandering throughout the\nMediterranean world and died in 1164. A poet and thinker as well as Torah\nscholar, his commentary was second only to Rashi\u2019s in popularity, but today\nmuch of it has been lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ketubah.<\/em> A marriage contract signed by\nthe bride and groom in the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levi.<\/em> A Levite or member of the tribe of Levi, which was\ncharged with the care and performance of tabernacle and temple ritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midrash.<\/em> An interpretation of the text of\nScripture, often highly imaginative, seeking to bring out meaning beyond the\nplain sense. Midrash employs word play, verbal echoes, context, and other\nliterary qualities in creative ways. The plural is midrashim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midrash Rabbah.<\/em> A collection of midrashim on the\nfive books of Moses and the five megillot<\/em> or scrolls (Esther, Ruth,\nLamentations, Song of Songs, and Kohelet<\/em> [Eccelesiastes]), which was\ncompiled beginning in the early fifth century CE,\nbut contains older material as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mishnah.<\/em> A collection of Jewish laws and\nlegal discussions compiled in about 200 CE\nby Rabbi Judah the Prince. Later commentaries on the Mishnah are comprised in Gemara.<\/em>\nMishnah plus Gemara form the Talmud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitzvot.<\/em> Hebrew for \u201ccommandments\u201d given\nby God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parashah.<\/em> One of the 54 weekly portions of\nthe Torah, which together constitute the weekly reading cycle. Each parashah\nhas a title, usually based on one of the first words in that lection. When the\nterm parashah is combined with the specific name of the section, its form\nchanges slightly according to the rules of Hebrew grammar. Hence, we say Parashat\nB\u2019resheet<\/em> (\u201cIn the beginning\u201d), not Parashah B\u2019resheet.<\/em> The plural\nform is parashiyot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pesach.<\/em> Known in English as Passover,\nthe holiday that celebrates the Exodus from Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rambam. Acronym for Rabbi Moshe\nben Maimon, or Maimonides, the premier Jewish figure of the Middle Ages. He was\nborn in Cordoba, Spain, in 1135, but spent most of his adult life in Egypt,\nwhere he served as a physician, adviser to the sultan, and Jewish community\nleader, as well as writing extensively on Scripture, Jewish law, and\nphilosophy. He died in 1204.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramban. Acronym for Rabbi Moses\nben Nachman, or Nachmanides, born in Spain in 1195. Ramban wrote extensively in\nmany fields, including Torah. He participated in the most famous of the\ndisputations that the Catholic Church forced upon medieval rabbis, the\nBarcelona disputation of 1263, after which he found it prudent to leave Spain\nfor Israel, where he died in 1270.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosh HaShanah.<\/em> Hebrew for \u201cHead of the Year.\u201d\nThe traditional Jewish New Year, which is the beginning of a ten-day period of\nrepentance leading up to Yom Kippur (Lev.\n23:23\u201324<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rashi. Acronym for Rabbi Shlomo\nben Isaac, born in Troyes, France in 1040. His Torah commentary brings together\nthe best of earlier commentaries and remains definitive to this day. He also\nproduced a definitive commentary on the Talmud, even as he made his living\ntending several vineyards that he owned. He lived through a period of mounting\nanti-Jewish persecution in France and Germany, especially in his later years,\nand died in 1105.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shechinah.<\/em> From the verb \u201cto dwell.\u201d This\npost-biblical rabbinic term refers to the glorious presence of God, especially\nas it appears on an earthly plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seder.<\/em> Hebrew for \u201corder.\u201d Refers to\nthe order of the ritual meal eaten at Passover to remember the Exodus from\nEgypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sefat Emet.<\/em> \u201cThe language of truth,\u201d a\nnineteenth-century rabbinic commentary on the Torah by Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter\nof Ger, in Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Septuagint. The ancient Greek\ntranslation of the Hebrew Scriptures widely used during Yeshua\u2019s time, it is\nthe source of many of the quotations from the Tanakh (Old Testament) that\nappear in the B\u2019rit Hadashah (New Testament).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sforno. Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno,\nborn in Cesena, Italy, around 1470. He studied philosophy, mathematics,\nphilology, and medicine in Rome, and became a physician. He is best known for\nhis commentary on the Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shabbat.<\/em> Hebrew for \u201c[day of] rest; Sabbath.\u201d\nShabbat is the seventh day of the week, lasting from Friday sunset to Saturday\nsunset. God commanded Israel to cease from work on this day and to assemble for\nworship (Exod. 20:8\u201311<\/a>; Lev. 23:3<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shavuot.<\/em> The Feast of Weeks, falling\nforty-nine days, or a \u201cweek of weeks\u201d after Passover. It celebrates the grain\nharvest, which takes place in the late Spring or early Summer in the land of\nIsrael (Lev. 23:15\u201321<\/a>). According to tradition, it also\nmarks the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. It was during Shavuot that the\nHoly Spirit was poured out after the resurrection of Messiah (Acts 2<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shofar.<\/em> The trumpet made of a ram\u2019s horn\nthat appears throughout Scripture as an instrument of alarm, proclamation, and\npraise. It is used to this day in Jewish worship, particularly on Rosh\nHaShanah, the Jewish New Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siddur.<\/em> The traditional Jewish prayer\nbook. References from the Siddur are the author\u2019s translation, compared with\ntraditional sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sukkot.<\/em> The Feast of Booths, or\nTabernacles, commemorating Israel\u2019s forty years in the desert before entering\nthe Promised and. During this period, Israel was vulnerable to the elements and\nfully dependent on God, a reality symbolized by their dwelling in sukkot (Lev. 23:33\u201343<\/a>;\nDeut. 8<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talmud.<\/em> The vast collection of\ndiscussions of Torah and its laws, which was committed to writing, first in the\nLand of Israel in the fifth century, and then in Babylon a century later. The\nTalmud contains both Halakhah, which comprises discussions of legal\nrequirements based on the text of Scripture, and Aggadah, which comprises\nstories, legends, anecdotes, and sayings that expand and illustrate biblical\nprinciple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talmid, talmidim<\/em> (pl.). The Hebrew term for\ndisciples, based on the root lmd<\/em>, meaning to learn or teach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tanakh.<\/em> An acronym for the Hebrew\nScriptures comprising Torah, Nevi\u2019im or Prophets, and Ketuvim or Holy Writings.\nThese books are the same as in the Christian Old Testament, although in a\ndifferent order. Messianic Jews and other students of Scripture tend to avoid\nthe term Old Testament because it implies antiquation or obsolescence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tish\u2019ah B\u2019Av.<\/em> The ninth day of the month of\nAv, a date that commemorates the greatest tragedies in Jewish history,\nincluding the destruction of the first and second temples in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tikkun Olam<\/em>, or simply Tikkun.<\/em> A\nHebrew phrase meaning \u201crepair\u201d or \u201crestoration of the world.\u201d This refers to\nvarious practices and activities that reverse the cycle of sin and corruption\nin the created order, and contribute to the fulfillment of God\u2019s purposes for\nCreation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Torah. From a Hebrew root meaning\n\u201cinstruction.\u201d Torah refers primarily to the Five Books of Moses, Genesis\nthrough Deuteronomy, but is sometimes used to apply to the entire body of\nScripture, or to the body of rabbinic commentary and writing that arose out of\ndiscussions on the Five Books of Moses. Torah is best understood not as law,\nbut as an extended instruction that includes poetic and historic narratives,\ndetailed ordinances for all aspects of the life of Israel, and broad ethical\nprinciples as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshiva.<\/em> The traditional Jewish study\nhall, in which students learn Torah, Talmud and other rabbinic literature in an\ninformal, highly interactive, and intensive fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeshua. Hebrew for \u201cAdonai (the\nLord) saves.\u201d Yeshua is Jesus\u2019 Hebrew name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yon HaShoah.<\/em> Holocaust Remembrance Day, which\noccurs in the Spring, shortly after Passover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yom Kippur.<\/em> Hebrew for \u201cDay of Atonement.\u201d\nThe holiest day of the Jewish calendar; a fast day, the culmination of a\nten-day period of repentance and prayer for the forgiveness of sin (Lev. 16<\/a>;\n23:26\u201332<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIBLIOGRAPHY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d9\u05ea THE BOOK OF GENESIS Genesis records the beginnings of all things, things vast and things intimate, things holy and things ordinary. Hence, its Hebrew name, \u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05c1\u05d9\u05ea (B\u2019resheet), meaning \u201cIn the Beginning.\u201d Genesis also looks ahead to the distant future, to the culmination of all things. God creates the first man and woman in the … <\/p>\n

\u201eCreation to Completion_ A Guide to Life\u2019s Journey from the Five Books of Moses\u201c <\/span>weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1877"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1878,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1877\/revisions\/1878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}