Sunday, October 12, 2008

The beatitudes unlocked by Hebrew parallelism

Hebraic poetic parallelism

Much of the Old Testament is poetry. In fact one third of it is written in Hebrew poetic form, equivalent to more than the entire New Testament. Isaiah 40-66, Job and Lamentations are arranged poetically, as are the Psalms and Proverbs. Many of the prophecies are also poetic. Hebrew poetry does not use rhyming words but rhyming ideas. Complementary or duplicate descriptions are written in parallel, line by line. This adds helpful insights for translation through word equivalence, and interpretation of difficult phrases by comparison with an easier to understand parallel phrase. Additionally, it acts as an aide memoire in that the idea when spoken twice is doubly memorable and like poetry or song is easier to remember than mere prose or narrative. Most believers know more hymns and choruses than Bible verses because more of their senses are involved in singing and dancing than in mere silent reading. At the very least we should get back to reading Scripture aloud so that we hear it twice, once with the mind and once with the external ear. A good example would be Proverbs 31.20, there is no difference between poor and needy:


"She stretches / out her hand / to the poor;"
"She reaches / forth her arms / to the needy"

Here, each phrase is paralleled by a similar phrase of different wording but of equal meaning in the corresponding second half of the verse. Thus, "ask, seek and knock", in the gospels, are three ways of saying 'inquire of Yahweh' not suggesting that if your prayer was unanswered it was because you asked and sought but forgot to knock. This phraseology is poetic, which you should read and get the flow and drift, the heart of the message, not be distracted by small print. Alternatively, if you were reading the Ten Commandments, you would read the small print, as they are a legal document. Different styles of writing require different methods of reading.

The beatitudes unlocked by parallelism

The use of Hebraic poetic parallelism can be seen carried into the New Testament in the Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10) are arranged in pairs which can help clarify the meaning of their corresponding phrase. Here the transposed order of verses 4 & 5 has been used as in many Greek NT and Latin Vulgate manuscripts , making a more obvious parallelism of the first four blessings:


Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed [are] those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see Eloah.
Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of Eloah.
Blessed [are] those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake/pursue righteousness: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Hence, we can immediately see some aids to interpretation from the equivalent phrases outlined below:


v.3 = v.5 (v.4 in some MSS)
poor (humble) in spirit = meek kingdom of heaven = inherit the earth
v.6 = v.4 (v.5 in some MSS)
mourn = hunger and thirst for righteousness comforted = filled/satisfied
v.7 = v.8
merciful = pure in heart to obtain mercy = to see Eloah
v.9 = v.10
peacemakers = pursue/persecute righteous children of God = have the kingdom of Elohim Further justification of this exegesis will be found by an understanding that most of the language used in the Beatitudes is Old Testament references and phraseology.

Poor in spirit = meek

Therefore, using parallelistic equivalence of phrase and Older Testament language context we can see that 'poor in spirit' does not refer to material poverty as Luke 6:20 taken in isolation might suggest. Rather, it refers to being 'meek' or 'humble'. This is relevant because another passage used by Yahshua to describe his ministry is Isaiah 61:1ff., this refers to the Spirit's anointing to preach the gospel to the poor, or so it is usually translated. However, the Hebrew word in Isaiah is again 'meek' and not 'poor'. Thus, it is not material poverty but spiritual humility which is most open to hear the gospel. Yah shows no partiality to rich or poor.

"poor", ptôchos (34x), refers to abject poverty, unable to even scrape a living and therefore reduced to begging, having come to an end in oneself. In Greek, more poor than penês (also, 'poor'). The word is used in Luke 4:16 to translate Isaiah 61:1, 'ânâv 'poor'. Thus "poor in spirit" means having nothing to offer Yah, and thus meek and humble, the opposite of Pharisaic self-righteousness. It sometimes stand for 'the oppressed' of Yahweh's own people. The OT has 179 references to 'poor' and more than 8 words to describe it.

Significantly, Isaiah 61:1 and 66:2 are sometimes mistranslated as 'poor' creating a mandate of exclusivity to the poor, which is just as wrong in Yahweh's sight as partiality to the rich - Yahweh shows no partiality. The Isaiah references actually use 'ânâv and 'ânîy both from 'ânâh, 'to depress' or 'abase', and really mean humility or meekness. Numbers 12:3 uses the first of these to describe Moshe as the meekest man on earth, i.e., there is no insinuation as to Moshe's bank balance or state of poverty!

[Yahshua nowhere sanctifies a state of poverty or describes it as a 'blessed' position to be in, as anyone who has been poor can agree with. In fact, Scripture's comment on blessed finances is that "the blessing of Yahweh brings riches without sorrow [or grief]" (Proverbs 10:22).]

"Blessed are the meek", this by Hebrew parallelism may echo and explain 5:3, "blessed are the poor in the spirit". 'Meek' does not mean 'weak', but humility and gentleness, someone who acknowledges their need. It is taken straight from Psalm 37:11, "the meek shall inherit the earth", here 'meek' is the Hebrew 'ânâv again, from which Isaiah 61:1's "poor/humble/meek" and Matthew's "poor in spirit" are taken.

Isaiah 66:2 and a Dead Sea Scroll passage also pair up these synonymous phrases:
"But on this one will I look: On the poor and of contrite spirit, And who trembles at My Word" (Isaiah 66:2)
"to proclaim to the meek the multitude of Your mercies,and to let them that are of contrite spirit he[ar salvation . . .]"

(DSS, 1QH, Thanksgiving Scroll, 18.14-15)

Hence it is the meek and humble who inherit, who are teachable (Psalm 25), who receive the good news (Isaiah 61:1).

Kingdom of heaven = inherit the earth

'Heaven' is a Jewish synonym for Yahweh, hence the 'kingdom of heaven' in Matthew's Jewish language is identical with 'the kingdom of Yahweh' in the other gospels. Furthermore, Jewish kingdom expectation was not of an ethereal heavenly kingdom but of a messianic millennial earth where Yahweh dwelt with man. It is not that we ascend to be with Yahweh in the long run but that Yahweh descends, once sin and evil are banished, to once more dwell with man and walk with him, as He did with Adam in gan eden, the garden of Eden. Compare the picture of the earthly eternal reign of Yah in Revelation 21-22. One can see, then, that 'to inherit the earth' is the same as inheriting the kingdom of Yahweh, or experiencing His eternal rule. His kingdom is "not of this world", means that it is not of this 'worldly order' or of this 'age', but rather it 'of the age to come'.

To mourn = to hunger and thirst for righteousness

Again, another difficult blessing, "Blessed are those that mourn", but how can mourning for the dead be a 'blessed' or 'happy' state? It is a mistake and insensitive in the least to describe 'mourning' or 'bereavement' as such. Mourning in the Psalms (cf. Psalms 119:136; 42:9; 43:2; 38:6) was often associated with grieving over personal or national sin, over the oppression of an enemy, over injustice, or over lack of respect for Yahweh's Torah. In this context the corresponding parallel in the Beatitudes explains it perfectly, the mourners are 'those who hunger and thirst for righteousness', the coming of the 'reign of Yahweh' (the kingdom) will comfort and satisfy ('fill') them. 'Mourn' occurs 10x in the NT. Isaiah 61:2-3 refers to the comforting of the mourners but is not included in Yahshua's address to the synagogue in Luke 4:18-21, where he rolls up the scroll halfway through verse 2 indicating that only verses 1-2a were fulfilled in Him, verses 2b onward awaited a later time, that of the day of Yah's vengeance rather than the present year of acceptance (jubilee period when all debts were cancelled, all slaves set free, cf. Leviticus 25:8ff., Ezekiel 46:17). Isaiah 61:2-3 probably refers to mourning over the state and fate of Israel, i.e., over a nation and over their own sin, they will be 'comforted' or 'encouraged'. In fact, Isaiah 40:1-2 speaks of true comfort for Yahweh's people since "her warfare is done, her iniquity is pardoned". To "hunger and thirst for righteousness" is more than for personal holiness. As with Abraham, Moshe, David, Daniel and Jeremiah, etc., it is those who mourn over a nation's sin and oppression and desire to see righteousness and justice in the land, for "righteousness exalts a nation" (Proverbs 14:34).

Comforted = filled/satisfied

These mourners and 'hungerers' will be 'filled'. Perhaps a better translation of chortazô, 'filled', would be 'satisfied' as when justice is seen to be done, when the wicked no longer prosper and the righteous are not oppressed.


Merciful = pure in heart"

pure in heart" and "peacemakers" are both phrases that occur only here in the NT. The pure in heart according to Psalm 24:4 and Proverbs 20:9 are those without sin, i.e., the righteous. The actual phrase "pure in heart" occurs also in Psalm 73:1, cf. Psalm 34:19, but comes primarily from Psalm 24:3-4.

Peacemakers = persecute/pursue righteousness

The "peacemakers" shall be called "sons of the Most High". Two meanings may, either instead of each other or together, be taken from this. A son of Yahweh, according to Romans, is someone who has been adopted by Yahweh, note in Jewish families it was the son who inherited, hence to degenderize (out of political correctness) and translate as "child of Yahweh" immediately strips the phrase of any connotations of inheritance. A second meaning may be taken from the Hebrew underlying "son of . . .", which may also mean someone who acts according to the character of the attribute or person of which he is a son. Thus, a "son of peace" is a 'peaceful one', and "son of Yahweh", may be a 'righteous one'. Here Yah's character is that of a 'peacemaker' and the true disciple acts similarly and is called both a son of Yahweh and a son of peace. The only other place in the NT using a similar word to 'peacemaker' is Colossians 1:20 which refers to the making of peace between Yah and man, the reconciliation affected through Yahweh's mercy demonstrated on the execution stake.

Peacemaking was not only a NT concept, just prior to Yahshua's ministry Rabbi Hillel had said, "Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace" (Abot., 1:12). Peace makers or peace pursuers would be rodphe shalom in Hebrew. To 'pursue peace' occurs in the NT at Romans 14:19; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 3:11. "Persecuted for righteousness sake" may also be translated from the Hebrew background as "those that pursue righteousness". This comes from nirdephe tsedeq in the Hebrew of similar sound to the rodphe shalom 'peace pursuers' above. To 'pursue righteousness' occurs in the NT at Romans 9:30; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22.

Righteousness and peace are parallel terms in the following verses: Psalms 72:3; 85:10; Isaiah 32:17; 48:18; 60:17; Hebrews 7:2.


Conclusion: "and then there were four . ."

Given the parallelisms outlined above we can see that Yahshua was saying not 7, 8 or 9 sayings but 4 principles each expounded in a pair of complementary phrases. Further, whilst Yahshua's Beatitudes may appear spontaneous and original they are actually steeped in Old Testament allusions and quotations, and Hebrew poetic parallelism. As Professor David Flusser has written "these are not a spontaneous outbreak of prophecy, but a profound message founded on a complex network of biblical reminiscences and midrashic exegesis."

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Shofar on top Mt Tenjo, Guam

The Music of the Bible Revealed - SHOFAR Promo





Repentance, internal or external?

Repentance, by definition, means literally to think differently. Thus when I say I am going to repent of my sins, I mean that I am going to think differently in regard to my sins. My new thinking is that I am sorry that I committed that sin, and I do not want to commit it again. This new way of thinking will then lead to a new kind of action. So, repentance is both internal and external. Internally I change my way of thinking; externally I change my way of acting. The one, thinking, leads to the other, acting. The parable of the two sons in Matt. 21:28-32 is an excellent example of this.

Yahshua told a story about a man who had two sons. He said to the first, "Go, work today in my vineyard." The first son said he would not work in his dad’s vineyard, but Jesus said he later repented and went. What did this boy do when he repented? He simply changed his mind. Yahweh wants us to change our minds about sin and our participation in it. That’s what the Bible is talking about in commanding all men to repent.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Monday, September 15, 2008

Friday, September 12, 2008

Blow Shofar - 3 Simple Lessons

A Prodigal Teshuvah


The weekly sermon by a rabbi to his congregation is a comparatively modern custom. In earlier times a rabbi's role was not pastor of a congregation, but spiritual judge of the community. He was expected to deliver rulings in Jewish law, not homilies. There were two exceptions—two Sabbaths when the rabbi would address the congregation.


The first was Shabbat haGadol, the Sabbath before Passover. At that time the rabbi would explain the intricacies of the dietary laws pertaining to the Passover season so that no one would transgress the law through ignorance.



The second was Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The rabbi would explain the meaning of teshuvah (repentance) and exhort the congregation to repent. He would take his text from


Hosea 14:1:



O Israel, return to Yahweh, your Elohim, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity.…



As taught in the Hebrew portion of Scripture, teshuvah contains a positive as well as a negative aspect. Teshuvah means "turning." The negative aspect focuses on turning away from our sinful actions. However the positive aspect focuses on the concept emphasized in Scripture—turning to Yahweh. In repentance one seeks reconciliation with the Holy One.



In addition to turning, returning or repenting, teshuvah also has the connotation of responding or giving an answer. Teshuvah is our response to the realization of who Yahweh is and what He has revealed to us about His character.



In Yahshua's parable about the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) He taught the meaning of sin, repentance and our Father's love for sinners. The prodigal demanded his inheritance prematurely and went off to a distant country, where he lived wildly. He squandered one third of the wealth his father had saved throughout a lifetime. When a famine occurred, the young man had no resources left. Impoverished, humiliated, working as a slave to feed pigs, he was hungry. When he came to his senses he thought, "How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.'"



That is teshuvah from the sinner's point of view. We see teshuvah from Yahweh's point of view in the rest of the parable. While the young man was still a long way off, his loving father saw him, felt compassion for him and ran to embrace him.



The essence of teshuvah is found in the words of the young man when he said, "I will arise and go to my father." Or in the words of the Hosea passage, "O Israel, return to Yahweh your Elohim."



Repentance is a turn toward our Creator. It so conceived is the substance of Yahshua's moral teaching and the purpose of our lives on earth. Repentance is the key to making sense of the Bible.



Teshuvah or repentance is a challenge to all of us. Whatever our failures were yesterday, nothing can stop us from turning completely to Yahweh today. The opportunity afforded us by teshuvah is an obligation we cannot safely pass by. We cannot write off anyone as unredeemable, because they may still repent. Because of repentance, we cannot write ourselves off. If we will turn to Yahweh, He can change us.



In 1978 Rabbi Wiener of Temple Israel in New Jersey brought a message so unusual that it was quoted in several Jewish newspapers around the country. He said that with all the attention in the media at that time about born-again Christians, he wanted to talk about the Jewish way of being born again—teshuvah. His statement was widely quoted. He came very close to the truth.



The idea, which is mentioned in the Tanach and called teshuvah, is the root idea Yahshua developed when he said, "You must be born again." However, the rabbi's concept of teshuvah was not the concept of teshuvah that we find in the Jewish Bible. He saw it merely as a decision to live a more Jewish life and to do more good deeds .



In The Condition of Jewish Belief, Rabbi Wiener wrote, "Most often and basically, I think of the mitzvoth [good deeds] as the visible extensions of the Jewish soul. They are the means by which a Jew can connect himself with this soul and through this soul with the wellsprings of life, ultimate reality, G-*-d, or whatever you want to call it."



No disrespect intended, but Yahshua did not come to bring us into a relationship with "whatever you want to call it." The goal of repentance is reconciliation with a person—the personal, holy Elohim who has revealed Himself in the Scriptures and in the Messiah Yahshua, not a mystical god or a god of our own imagination, however we choose to conceive him.



Repentance is not a New Year's resolution to change this or that particular thing we do not like about ourselves. That would be a completely negative view of teshuvah. Repentance is a whole-hearted turning from self to the Almighty Yahweh of the Bible. Without faith in Him, repentance in the biblical sense is impossible. Hebrews 11:6 says, "…he who comes to Elohim must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." It doesn't matter if your faith in Him is as small as a mustard seed. Yahweh will receive you if you come to Him. But a New Year's resolution, or a search for enlightenment, or an attempt to find "whatever you call it," or a Jewish person trying to be more Jewish, does not constitute repentance.



First and foremost, true repentance as spoken of in the Bible is a positive step, not a negative one. It is an approach to our Father—our response to the reality of His person. Yet repentance does involve turning from sin.



This aspect is illustrated by the young man in Yahshua's parable. When he came to his senses, he realized that his basic problem was not the famine, or that he had mismanaged his money. His basic problem, the root of all his problems, was that he had alienated himself from his father. If he had a right relationship with his father, his other needs would take care of themselves.
If we are going to turn from our sin, first we must realize the true seriousness of sin. Sin at its root is alienation from "our Father". Its cause is our pride and self-will—our desire to live for ourselves and be our own g-o-d. The various actions we call sinful are merely manifestations of our condition of being sinners. The young man in the parable could never have demanded his inheritance from his father and left home if he had the slightest respect for his father's feelings. Likewise, all the sins we commit show our basic disrespect for the honor of Yahweh. We commit sins because we are sinners. We commit acts that displease our Father because we are alienated from Him.



Sometimes people complain because Yaweh doesn't take a more liberal attitude toward sin. They say, "If Yahweh is loving, why doesn't He just overlook our sins? Why does He demand that we repent and receive Yahshua?"



Imagine this question in the context of Yahshua's parable. What if, when the son demanded his inheritance from the father, that father had actually followed his son into the distant land? What if he had followed his son everywhere he went, just to be physically at hand in case his son needed anything? Would the alienation in that family have been in any way ameliorated? No. The son chose alienation, and there was nothing the father could do until the son chose to repent. Yahweh cannot reconcile us to Himself without our repentance. Unrepentance is proof that we do not want to be reconciled.



Do you want to believe that there will be stealing, lying or greed in heaven? Do you think there will be gossip and unkind speech in heaven? If we will not repent of these things, how can Yahweh receive us into His presence? Sin is the cause of our alienation. Yahweh could not remain righteous and have a different attitude about sin.



We cannot purge ourselves of our faults, but when we repent, we renounce our sin and allow Yahweh to begin to purify us. That is a lifelong work of repentance, which will only be complete when we are resurrected or rise to meet our Messiah in the air.



If not for the famine, that boy in the parable might never have been forced to face up to his wickedness. He might never have repented. It took physical hunger to make him realize that he needed to be reconciled with his father.



If I were that father, I might not be so compassionate. I might very carefully question the boy's motives for returning. Yet this father gladly received his lost son, as gratefully as though he had received him back from the dead. Likewise, Yahweh is not too proud to receive a sinner who comes to Him with less than ideal motives. If a person comes to Yahweh because loneliness, distress, financial reverses or other trials have shown him his need, that person will forever thank Yahweh for the trials that brought him face to face with reality.



If life is comfortable and we feel no need to reach out to Yahweh, He may show us mercy by bringing famine into our lives. He may remove the things that distract us from dealing with what is truly important. He may bring us to the place where we realize that our most basic need is to be reconciled with Him, where we say as the prodigal did, "I will go to my Father and say, 'I have sinned against You.'"



Some elements in the traditional Jewish High Holiday liturgy are very enigmatic. One, the Kol Nidre recited at the beginning of the Yom Kippur service, states that all of our promises of self-reformation are vain and worthless, and we ask forgiveness for our impulsiveness in making them. After this confession, you would expect that the tradition would offer us an alternative, but it does not.



The tradition does not know any alternative. The rabbis rejected the alternative of believing that the sacrificial principles of atonement taught in the Torah were fulfilled in the Messiah, Yahshua. Therefore there is nothing left but an attempt to do better. Yet a mere attempt to do better is not teshuvah. Saying we will do our best to change is a deception. We have trivialized that phrase. We really mean we will do whatever is convenient for us, whatever will ease our conscience. Few have any idea of what doing one's best really could mean. Only when we place ourselves completely in Yahweh's care can He take over and show us what our best can be.


Teshuvah is not self-reformation. Teshuvah means turning away from sin and toward the living Elohim.



The third aspect of repentance is illustrated in the part of the parable where the son determines, "I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants'." The son determined to return to the father on the father's terms. He did not return to gain favor while retaining his independence. Ready to be reconciled, he gave up any preconception as to what his relationship to his father would be. He trusted only in his father's mercy.



Teshuvah is abandonment of self into the merciful hand of a loving Father. In the parable we see the father coming out to meet his son while he is still a long way off. When we seek to reform ourselves but ultimately retain control of our lives, Yahweh cannot come in and transform us. But when we completely abandon our lives to the mercy of Yahweh through Yahshua, we have the promise that Yahweh's Set-Apart Spirit will come to live in us and give us the power to live a new life.



True repentance does not ask, "What am I prepared to do?" but "What am I prepared to let Yahweh do in me?" If there are any preconditions—things we will not allow Yahweh to do in our lives—if ultimately we wish to retain control while asking Yahweh merely to help us change certain things of which we are ashamed—we cannot expect His help.



Repentance means coming back to our Father without conditions. The prodigal completely abandoned himself to his father's mercy. If he had dispatched a message asking his father to send cash, it would not have been repentance. He would have been using his father. Likewise, expecting Yahweh's help to do what we want while we remain little lords in our own lives is not repentance.



It is more comfortable to observe a hundred rituals than to face our sin in all its ugliness and admit there is nothing we can do to earn Yahweh's favor. It is much easier to be very religious than to repent in the biblical sense. To repent is to abandon ourselves totally to Yahweh.



Yahweh's love for us is deeper than any human bond, and we owe Him our total selves in return. We may consider ourselves to be good, but if our relationship with Him has broken down we are not good. Hopefully it will not require a famine in our life to help us see that we need teshuvah.



If we say in our heart, "I will arise and go to my father"—if we desire to be reconciled with Him more than we desire anything else, and without conditions—the good news is that the Father is already coming out to meet us!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Hatikvah on the Shofar

Teshuvah Reflections

Teshuvah means both return and repentance, or perhaps return to Yahweh by means of repentance: making a serious examination of our past shortcomings and making efforts to improve, especially to improve our relationships with Yahweh, others, and ourselves.

During the month of Elul we have had the special opportunity to examine ourselves and return to a closer relationship with our Maker: to heal all our relationships by making necessary apologies or restitution, and to appreciate the relief that can come from getting rid of whatever it was we wanted to leave behind us when we cast our bread crumbs or pebbles into the Bay at tashlich.

But really, the opportunity to return to Yahweh is always ours. As our Yom Kippur prayerbook says, "Let us not blaspheme the Most High, by saying that there ever comes a time when sincere prayer is not heard, when sincere repentance is turned away. But if we cannot find prayer and repentance on this Day of Repentance, if we cannot make a start towards peace and wholeness before the sun sets on this one Day of Peace, then when shall repentance come?"

Teshuvah begins when we realize our need to act. If we sense that the distance between us and Yahweh has increased, He is not the one who has moved; we have.

On the bright side, to return to Yahweh does not require a vast journey. Towards the end of Deuteronomy, Moses talks of a time when the Israelites have turned away from their Elohim and been banished from the Holy Land, and the people "return to Yahweh your Elohim, and you and your children heed His command with all your heart and soul, just as I enjoin upon you this day, then Yahweh your Elohim will restore your fortunes and take you back in love." And to perform this return is "not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. ... It is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it."

In fact, Yahweh will help us to return. At the end of the Torah service, we pray, "Hashiveinu Yahweh eilecha v'nashuvah." "Return us to you, O Yahweh, and we shall return."

Teshuvah is in our mouth and in our hearts: An examination of our hearts, to see where our distance from Yahweh is causing pain, to us and to those around us; then using our mouths to make apologies to those we've harmed and to Yahweh for our failures, and then making a renewed effort to live our lives as children of our heavenly Father. It can help us in this effort to remember that we were created in the image and likeness of Elohim, and that we have in us a “yetzer tov,” an urge towards doing good, in addition to the "yetzer hara," the urge towards evil.

Making teshuvah is a bit like doing meditation: we try to focus on a word or image, or our breath, and our busy minds continually present us with other thoughts and images and sensations. However, we don't stop meditating when our minds do that. We simply notice that we've lost our focus, and we gently and kindly return our attention to that focus. This practice strengthens our spirit and our ability to keep our minds from going places that will do us no good. When we're trying to return to Yahweh, and we notice that we've swerved away from Yahweh and towards something that is, as the Buddhists would say, less skillful, we don't give up on teshuvah. We simply notice that we've turned in the wrong direction and gently turn ourselves back towards Yahweh.

And so I'd like to end with a prayer that I wrote about our continuing efforts towards teshuvah:

In the Divine image You created us, Yahweh. We strive to measure up to that image, and we fail, and then we get up and strive again. Please teach us that we grow closer to Your image every time we get up again, and give us joy in that knowledge. Blessed are You, Yahweh, who lifts up the fallen.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Tabernacle - Shofar sounding

Teshuvah

Teshuvah is commonly translated as "repentance," however the latter term carries a different meaning in Judaism than typically found in other circles, where it generally means "being sorry for something and trying not to do it again."


Teshuvah is properly translated as "return," thus indicating an active role for the person performing teshuvah, as well as having a goal in mind. The goal in this case is Elohim, or more precisely, the "image of Elohim" (or Messiah, who is himself in the image of Elohim), that we are to "return" to.

(i.e., Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 11:7, 15:49; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:4; Colossians 1:15, 3:10; Hebrews 1:3)


The active path of Teshuvah is three-fold:

  1. Prayer and meditation (your heart/emotion)
  2. Study of Torah (your soul/mind)
  3. Performance of the commandments and acts of kindness toward others (your strength/resources)


The above "formula" is based on the "Great Commandment" of Deuteronomy 6:5:
You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.


Of the three paths of teshuvah, Torah study is considered preeminent as it reveals Who you are praying to, how to pray, what the commandments are, and the proper motivation for doing good deeds.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

bruno tocando shofar

Five Factors of Teshuvah

Teshuvah [return] is the key concept in the rabbinic view of sin, repentance, and forgiveness. The tradition is not of one mind on the steps one must take to repent of one's sins. However, almost all agree that repentance requires five elements: recognition of one's sins as sins (hakarát ha-chét'), remorse (charatá), desisting from sin (azivát ha-chét'), restitution where possible (peira'ón), and confession (vidui).

"Recognition of one's sins as sins" is an act of one's intelligence and moral conscience. It involves knowing that certain actions are sinful, recognizing such actions in oneself as more than just lapses of praxis, and analyzing one's motives for sin as deeply as one can. For example, stealing from someone must be seen not only as a crime but also as a sin against another human and a violation of God's demands of us within the covenant. It also involves realizing that such acts are part of deeper patterns of relatedness and that they are motivated by some of the most profound and darkest elements in our being.

"Remorse" is a feeling. It is composed of feelings of regret, of failure to maintain one's moral standards. It may also encompass feelings of being lost or trapped, of anguish, and perhaps of despair at our own sinfulness, as well as a feeling of being alienated from God and from our own deepest spiritual roots, of having abandoned our own inner selves.

"Desisting from sin" is neither a moral-intellectual analysis nor a feeling; it is an action. It is a ceasing from sin, a desisting from the patterns of sinful action to which we have become addicted. Desisting from sin involves actually stopping the sinful action, consciously repressing thoughts and fantasies about the sinful activity, and making a firm commitment never to commit the sinful act again.

"Restitution" is the act of making good, as best one can, for any damage done. If one has stolen, one must return the object or pay compensation. If one has damaged another's reputation, one must attempt to correct the injury to the offended party.

"Confession" has two forms: ritual and personal. Ritual confession requires recitation of the liturgies of confession at their proper moments in the prayer life of the community. Personal confession requires individual confession before God as needed or inserting one's personal confession into the liturgy at designated moments. The more specific the personal confession, the better. One who follows these steps to teshuvah is called a "penitent" (chozér be-teshuvah).

The tradition is quite clear, however, that recognition of sin, remorse, restitution, and confession, if they are done without desisting from sin, do not constitute teshuvah. Without ceasing one's sinful activity, one has only arrived at the "preliminaries to teshuvah" (hirhuréi teshuvah). Actual desisting from sin is what counts.

Thus, if one desists from sinful action because one has been frightened into it, that is still teshuvah and the person is considered a penitent. For example, if a person ceases to gamble compulsively because someone threatens to beat him severely the next time he does it, such a person is considered a penitent. Or, if a person ceases to steal because he has been told he will be sent to jail the next time it happens, such a person is considered a penitent. Furthermore, if a person becomes convinced that he or she will be punished in the life-after-death and ceases sinful action on that account, this person too is considered a penitent, though this motivation for desisting is higher than the previous ones because it is a function of a larger religious worldview which considers the wrongdoing as actual sin.

Teshuvah which is rooted in fear of humans or God is called "repentance rooted in fear" (teshuvah mi-yir'á) and, while not the highest form of teshuvah, it is the core thereof. Reform of one's character through analysis of sin, remorse, restitution, and confession, when combined with the ceasing of sinful action, is called "repentance rooted in love" (teshuvah mei-ahavá). "Repentance rooted in love" is desirable but, without cessation of sin, reform of one's character is useless. Maimonides, the foremost halakhic (legal) and philosophic authority of rabbinic Judaism, lists desisting from sin as the very first step to teshuvah.

Rabbinic tradition teaches that all the steps to teshuvah are necessary. Their interrelationship is best described as a spiral which touches each of the five points, yet advances with each turn. Thus, one may begin at any point--with action, analysis, remorse, restitution, or confession. However, as one repeats the steps of teshuvah again and again, one's analysis and remorse deepen, one's restitution and commitment-to-desist become firmer, and one's confession becomes more profound. As one cycles through the five phases of teshuvah again and again, one's teshuvah becomes more earnest, more serious. At its height, one achieves "full teshuvah" (teshuvah gemurá), which would require full consciousness and action such that, given the same situation, one would refrain from the sin for which one had repented.

Sinfulness is a very deep dimension of human existence and dealing with it calls upon all our spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and moral resources--even when we recognize that ceasing to sin is the base line of repentance.

Rabbi David R. Blumenthal is Jay and Leslie Cohen Professor of Judaic Studies at
Emory University, Atlanta. His books include Facing the Abusing God: A Theology of
Protest and God at the Center.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Sunday, September 7, 2008

By the rivers of Babylon



We wept when we remembered Zion...

Messianic Dance - Teshuvah



InnerCourtDancers Messianic Dance Team, Teshuvah; By Ben & Lydia Zaslow - Choregrapher Dawnita Carlson
Beth Messiah Messianic Congregation
6'19" of inspired dance along with music and lyrics

Teshuvah equals Repentance

There are a few things of vital importance in both beginning and maintaining a walk with Yahweh, and teshuvah, or repentance is one of them. You can neither be saved without it nor can you walk (and work) closely with Yahshua without it. It is an urgent enough concern in your relationship with the Master, that both he and Yochanan (John) the Baptist preached, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” in no uncertain terms to warn of the wrath that ultimately comes from a lack of repentance.

This study aims to provide the biblical description of teshuvah - repentance, how it works, why it is important and the consequences for not doing it. Unlike many other written works prevalent in Constantinian churchianty, this one will have much less of the “warm fuzzy” stuff that makes you feel all cozy inside. It is meant to challenge your relationship with Yahshua, the Son of our All Mighty El. Teshuvah is the thing that, as a part of obedience, defines how close you are in your relationship with Yahweh. The quality of our lives is governed by our approach to teshuvah. Its importance cannot be underestimated or understated.

What is Teshuvah? The idea of repentance is an easy concept to grasp once the correct context has been established. To put it bluntly, teshuvah is the act of turning away from sin back to obeying Torah. For this to make any kind of sense, however, we need to have a clear understanding of what “sin” is.

Since Yahweh is who He is, He is the only one who gets to decide what is right and what is wrong. One basic thing Scripture teaches quite clearly and often (which goes contrary to popular opinion) is that Yah really leaves no gray area about right and wrong. He does not allow for what is termed situational ethics, the idea that something may be wrong most of the time but may be right if the circumstances appear to warrant the action. This idea generally comes from an incomplete or incorrect understanding of how Yahweh looks at things. Scripture also illustrates in many places how often Yahweh’s definition of right and wrong may not seem correct in human terms. This does not, however, alter Yahweh’s sovereignty in the matter.

Fundamentally, sin is defined as disobeying Yahweh. More specifically, it is defined by disobeying His revealed instructions in Torah. Yahweh summed up all that is right for us to do in two simple commandments; love Him ahead of anything or anyone else in life and love (take care of) others the way you love and take care of yourself. Yahshua himself declared these two commandments as foundational to every other biblical truth in Matthew 22:37-40.


The scope of this idea of sin is all encompassing. There are far more things that Yahweh considers sin than most people are willing to admit. If you’ve ever wished someone harm (even just a little), you have sinned since this is not loving to him or her. It does not matter what that person may have done to you. Yahweh put no conditions on His commandments ; He allows none on the love we share. This is exactly what He does in His love for you. Would you want Him to have conditions on His love for you?

Given our nature and Yahweh’s definition of sin, it is very easy to see how we can sin against Him and our fellow human brothers and sisters, no matter how good we think we’re doing (it’s actually more amazing how much He loves us and is patient with us considering how short we fall in regard to His standards). Against His perfect standard, we cannot measure up.


When we don’t measure up, the Scripture teaches that we need to tell Yahweh that we realize and agree with Him that we have failed and that we desire not to fail again. By extension, we also must confess our fault against our human brother or sister; we must not only confess but make restitution for our action. This is clearly seen throughout both Hebraic and Apostolic writings.

I draw attention to these witnesses:

And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. [II Samuel 12:6]

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. [Luke 19:8]

The example of true repentance is known by the effect.

No repentance that does not lead to restitution is genuine. If what thou hast taken wrongfully cannot be restored to those who were wronged, give it to Yahweh; the poor are Yahweh’s receivers. Fourfold was Roman law required this; the Jewish law, but the principal and a fifth more (Numbers 5:7). There was no demand made for either; but, as if to revenge himself on his hitherto reigning sin (see Yochanan/John 20:28), and to testify to the change he had experienced, besides surrendering the half of his fair gains to the poor, he voluntarily determines to give up all that was ill-gotten, quadrupled. He gratefully addressed this to Yahweh," to whom he owed the wonderful change.

It does not matter whether we will fail again (because we will), we need to want and strive not to fail again. There is a requirement for complete commitment this in true teshuvah; repentance.

When we tell Yahweh that He is right in saying we did something wrong by His judgement, that is called teshuvah! When we tell our brother or sister; our neighbor - to whom we owe the allegiance and respect and love that we have for ourselves that we wronged them - that is humility. When we make restitution to them in word or money or deed, we fulfil Torah obedience. No other sacrifice is deemed worthy until such restoration is made:

Leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. [Matthew 5:24]

When we take action, using the strength that Yah makes available to us, to fulfill one of His commandments in opposition to the sin, then that is turning from the sin and that is teshuvah.
Note: it is yet another sin to try to turn from a sin using your own strength.

As you can see, there is far more to repentance than just saying that you are sorry about what you did. Real repentance is a trigger for actions to counter the sin. When you really repent of lustful thoughts toward someone (for example), you go out of your way to think about Yahweh’s Torah against adultery or how you can help someone less fortunate than you. Is this an easy thing to do? By no means, but that is why Yahshua offers His example to help us.

There are several reasons why teshuvah is important. The most fundamental one is that it fulfills the first commandment, to love Yahweh our Elohim before all else. To fail to repent is to call Yahweh a liar about what He says is wrong. You cannot show love to Yahweh if you consider Him a liar and He cannot be anything but silent when you believe this of Him. A lack of repentance guarantees a broken relationship between you and Yahweh. True teshuvah will establish or restore that relationship.

Now, let’s cover some more specific are as where the importance of repentance can be seen. The first point is that no one has any knowledge of salvation without repentance which means that there is no real salvation without real teshuvah. In Luke 1:76,77 Zacharias, the father of Yochanan the Immerser, is prophesying over his new-born son saying what Yochanan’s life’s work will be. Zacharias mentions that the knowledge of salvation only comes through the remission of sin. We see in Luke 3:3 where Luke writes of Yochanan, “He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins” . Sin is only remitted when real teshuvah/repentance is involved. So, no honest repentance, no real salvation.

Once salvation has been taken care of, the important thing in our lives becomes our walk with Yahweh as called-out ones dedicated to His Torah and His son’s method of living what we claim to believe. Just because we have been saved (from the world and ourselves) does not mean that we will stop sinning and live a life of total obedience to God. That is the goal and standard, but we are still susceptible to our own selfishness and the ploys of our flesh. The second point of importance about repentance is its ability to renew and restore our closeness to God.
Solomon provides us a contrast on this point in Proverbs 28:13 where he writes, “He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, But whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” The apostle Yochanan/John completes this thought in 1 John 1:7-9 by telling us that we are both forgiven and cleansed of unrighteousness by Yahweh when we repent.

Another point on the importance of repentance is simply the joy it brings to Yahweh and His angels in heaven when repentance occurs. Yahshua related two parables in Luke 15:3-10 We should pay special attention to : I say unto you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance. [vs 7] and

Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents. [vs 10]

Finally, repentance is important because there are real, physical ramifications when groups of people humble themselves before Yahweh in true repentance.

Read carefully 2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, on whom my name is named, make themselves low and come to me in prayer, searching for me and turning from their evil ways; then I will give ear from heaven, overlooking their sin, and will give life again to their land.

Notice that Yahweh’s statement is directed at those who are saved (“My people”), requires repentance (“turn from their wicked ways”) and promises attention (“I will hear from heaven”), forgiveness (“and will forgive their sin”) and practical action (“and will heal their land”). In other words, to fix the ills of a country, Yahweh requires of His called-out ones real repentance. He does not expect the heathen to do it.

As mentioned above, when the saved people in a nation individually and corporately (i.e., those who are separated unto His Name) repent, their entire nation can and will be affected. Because of this, teshuvahe is a national, not just an individual, issue. Yahweh ties the spiritual health of a nation to the repentance exercised by His people.

In Yerimayahu/Jeremiah 31:18-20 we read of a time when the entire nation of Israel repented before Yahweh. This passage is part of a quote of Yahweh recorded by Jeremiah


I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself [thus]; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed [to the yoke]: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou [art] Yahweh my Elohim. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon [my] thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. [Is] Ephraim my dear son? [is he] a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Yahweh. (Emphasis mine)

In verses 18-19 Yahweh is quoting Ephraim (the name of the northern 10 tribes of Israel) relating the people’s final and true repentance after all the discipline He has had to levy by Israel’s captivity to the Babylonians. In verse 20 Yahweh describes His love of Israel, His acceptance of the people’s repentance and says, “...I will surely have mercy on him” (him being Ephraim).

Now that we have some insight into what teshuvah/repentance is and why it is important, the next question is, “How do I repent?” There are three main stages or steps you will pass through to get to real repentance. After discussing these, we’ll also cover an important point to keep in mind about the consequences of sin, even when there is true repentance.

Conviction

The first step in repenting is to realize that there is something of which you need to repent before Yahweh. This is not something you do yourself; it is the job of the Ruach HaQodesh to convict (convince) you of the need for repentance. You do, however, need to listen for Yahweh’s voice. This is especially audible in the preaching of His servants and through the Scriptures. Many people never reach even this first step because they have hardened their hearts to the point where they couldn’t hear God even if they wanted to.

The proper response to being convinced by the Ruach HaQodesh that sin has occurred is what the Bible calls godly sorrow. Most people are sorry when they get caught doing something they shouldn’t. (You’ll always get caught, at least by Yahweh; even if no one on earth knows about the sin committed, Yah does.) “G-o-dly sorrow” is deeper than that. When your sorrow is gifted to you by Yahweh, you don’t just feel bad because you did something wrong. You see, and feel, the pain it causes. You want to do whatever it takes to make amends, to try to undo the hurt to others the sin has caused (and yes, someone else always gets hurt).

This distinction is important.

2 Corinthians 7:10

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Here, Paul not only notes the difference, but describes the results of each. When sorrow originating from Yahweh is felt, it will always lead to repentance and salvation (if you are not already saved). When what you feel is only worldly sorrow, Paul warns that this will lead to death.

Confession

Once sorrow originating from Yahweh is delivered and takes hold, the next step in the process of teshuvah usually comes of its own accord. Once you see your sin the way Yahweh does, we must (and usually want to) agree with Him that He is right in His view that the sin is wrong. In prayer, talk with Yahweh about the sin, agree with Him that it was wrong and let Yahweh help you understand the reasons why the sin is wrong. This is best revealed to us through a consistent reading of Scripture.

Teshuvah = Repentance

The third step is the act of teshuvah/repentance itself. This is the commitment to use Yahweh’s strength to turn away from the sin and strive to never engage in it again. As was discussed earlier, you may not use the fact that you will probably sin again as an excuse to not make the commitment. If you are willing to be committed to trying, Yahweh promises to provide the strength you need to succeed:

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it]. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Consequences

A very important point to remember is that Yahweh may not stop the consequences of the sin even though you rightly and truly repented of it. Sometimes Yahweh uses those consequences to remind us of why the sin is wrong.

As an example of consequences even after repentance, review the time in King David’s life when he orchestrated the death of Bathsheeba’s husband Uriah so that he could have her for his own.

In 2 Samuel 12:13-14 we come to the end of the prophet Nathan’s confrontation with David over David’s sin:

And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against Yahweh. And Nathan said unto David, Yahweh also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Yahweh to blaspheme, the child also [that is] born unto thee shall surely die.

Verse 13 shows us David’s repentance. We know it to be genuine because Yahweh “has put away your (David’s) sin”. But, reading verse 14 shows us that David must still suffer loss because of his sin. With a little more study, we can see that the loss was not confined to the death of the son that came as a result of David’s affair. Back in verse 10 Yahweh (being quoted by Nathan) said, “Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house...” aluding to the battles David would always be involved in for the rest of his life.

This may not sound like much of a consequence (especially since wars happenned a lot to a king), but consider this: One of David’s fondest goals in life was to build a temple for the worship of his Elohim. Yahweh denied him this because David had been “a man of war and had shed blood

This as noted in 2 Samuel 12:10,11 :

Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith Yahweh, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give [them] unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

This was one of the consequences of David’s sin with Bathsheeba even though he truly repented of it.

A common question is, “I think I repented. How do I know that I really did it?” When you’ve truly repented, Yahweh will confirm this in your heart. Just take the time to be still, and know that He is Who He says that He Is, and that He does still love you.

From a more observable standpoint, the nature of teshuvah cannot help but affect your actions. Either true or false, a person’s actions will attest to the sincerity (or lack thereof) of repentance, just as a person’s actions indicate what he or she really believes about something.

Let’s consider two people, both of whom sinned against Yahshua. In one case there was true repentance and the in the other, false.

When Repentance is Fake

The first is Judas Iscariot, one of the original apostles. He sinned by betraying Yahshua to the religious leaders.

Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What [is that] to us? see thou [to that]. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5)

we read of how he responded to the opportunity to repent. Matthew writes in verse 3 that Judas “felt remorse” because of what he had done. Here is the conviction discussed earlier. We know that the sorrow he chose to feel was worldly sorrow for, in this instance, it lead to his death by his own hand. He chose not to allow Yahweh to forgive him.

When Repentance is Real

Now, let’s contrast that with the second, the apostle Shimon Kepha. He sinned by denying his Rabbi (3 times).

And the Master (Yahshua) turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Master, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:61,62)

We see that, because of his sin, he "wept bitterly." But Peter decided to heed the call of the Ruach HaQodesh to repentance.

So when they had dined, Yahshua saith to Shimon Kepha, Shimon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Master; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Shimon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Master; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Shimon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? Kepha was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Master, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Yahshua saith unto him, Feed my sheep. (Yochanan/John 21:15-17)

In this passage, Yochanan records the first conversation Yahshua had with Kepha after Kepha’s denial and Yahshua’s resurrection. In the exchange we see Kepha brought to a contrite heart, realizing his sinful state before his Master, Rabbi, and friend. We know he truly repented, though, because of the responsibility Yahshua gave him; “feed my sheep.”

If there is any doubt as to how serious Yahweh takes the process of repentance, let’s have a look at His response to a lack of honest turning from sin.

Even if you are already in the process of being saved, Yah still provides serious consequences for times when a confessed believer does not repent. In the first part of Revelation 2 Yahshua is dictating a letter to the 1st century church in Ephesus. He is rebuking them for having wandered away from loving Yahweh and, in verse 5 warns them that Yahweh will remove them from participating in the work if they do not come back to Him in repentance. Their effectiveness for Yahweh will come to an end. For a called-out disciple, we should always take the promise of removal from service very seriously. Such a life, though saved for the sake of Yahweh's promise will contain no real joy [fruit of the Ruach] while living a lie here on earth.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

A sustained refusal to repent, especially in the light and revelation of the truth of Yahweh is dealt with very harshly. Hebrews 6:4-6 tells us that, for those who have been exposed to Yahweh’s truth but refuse to repent and have turned their backs on Yah and His salvation, it is “...impossible to renew them again to repentance...” since they impale Yahshua again and “...put Him to open shame.” Do you think Yahweh will respond kindly to His son being put to open shame?

Read Matthew 11:20-24 In this passage, Yahshua is decrying the lack of faith in several cities where He did “mighty works.” He says in no uncertain terms that these cities will suffer more than the city of Sodom (a notorious city indeed) when the day of judgement comes directly because of their lack of repentance.

Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

From all this, we can see how serious Yahweh is about the importance of repentance, how much He does not want us to miss out.

During this season of Elul; teshuvah, repentance, and turning again (perhaps for the first time) to Yahweh, my prayer is that we may find forgiveness and the remission of sins as promised. May we also dedicate ourselves to the Master's command to, "Go and sin no more."

Now it’s time to do some application for our halacha/walk of life. Understanding and knowledge of teshuvah, what it’s for, how it works, etc., is all well and good but is ultimately useless in Yah’s plan unless we make it part of our day to day walk with Him. So, let’s go over some practical points to help us ingrain repentance into our behavior.
Repentance/teshuvah boils down to a willful act to turn away from participating in a sin. One way to bring the point home with regard to that sin is to study it and its consequences in the Scriptures, to make an effort to see why Yahweh considers it (whatever it is) wrong. It is extremely important to take this action against a sin as soon as possible after you are convinced by Yahweh of the sin. Immediately is best.
Keep in mind that repentance may be painful and/or costly, but it is always what Yahweh and His Torah requires. It is always what He requires because it is what is best for your life, especially since the primary result is a healed relationship between us and our neighbor and by extension Yahweh. This healing makes teshuvah very much a part of the “first and great” along with “the second commandment that is like it.” (Matthew 22:38,39 ; Mark 12:30,31)
Repentance (like belief) is exemplified by a real and lasting change in behavior and the fruits of the Ruach HaQodesh!


And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:2)

From that time Yahshua began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:15)

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to [our] father: for I say unto you, That Yahweh is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (Luke 3:8)

Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and [then] to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to Elohim, and do works meet for repentance. (Acts 26:19,20)

Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of Elohim leadeth thee to repentance? (Romans 2:4)


Elul; The Sound of The Shofar

Friday, September 5, 2008

Cross Over tv program - The Shofar

What Is Elul?


"What's an Elul?" "How come I never heard of that?" Well, Elul is a month; and it's a real beauty. Here's the idea: The Hebraic calendar has various periods of heightened spiritual sensitivity and awareness. We can always connect with Yahweh; but some days are more propitious than others. Some days there's clearer reception.



Think of it this way: If I'm in a room, and I can’t see, there may be two reasons: either my eyes are closed, or the light is off. Or, perhaps, both factors might be true; my eyes are closed and the light is off. We can use this as a metaphor for our own awareness of the Divine. Left to its own devices, the world is 'dark'; it seems shallow and disconnected. There's no 'light' to see.



So, we need two factors. First, I have to open my eyes. After all, it's common enough (at least superficially) to go through life with eyes shut to spiritual light. So I have to open myself up to the presence of Yahweh within reality.



But, I can only appreciate holiness that's revealed in my orbit; I still need the light to be turned on. When Yahweh shines the light, and I open my eyes, the relationship flourishes. I am like the prodigal, sitting in his pig-sty, until "coming to my senses."



Thankfully, Yahweh always emanates holiness for us to appreciate. But there are levels and gradations to that, too. On Shabbat, for example, Yahweh projects an otherworldly sense of Himself -- if we can only manage to connect, to 'open our eyes,' to internalize it. Other Holidays established by Yahweh for all mankind are also 'holy moments' -- rarefied phases when we can achieve levels of connectedness that might be unavailable on a regular Tuesday.



Elul is a similar period of intense Divine revelation. This is the gift of Yahweh to us, enabling us to properly approach the High Holidays.



But the question begs to be asked: The calendar's other holy moments all seem to be Shabbat or Festivals (Yom Tov). Those days -- days when we don't work, when we're focused on the set-apart reading of Torah; worshipping in an assembly with other believers, the seder, the shofar etc. -- they are the days of cosmic revelation. Why doesn't Elul have any holidays?



Why is Elul a normal month if the Divine projection is indeed so awesome?




Here’s an answer: When you think about it, this itself (the normalcy of the month) reveals its true power. When people are cocooned in spirituality, swathed in the beauty of an appointed Festival, they are primed for a consecrated experience. Being centered on Yahweh fits into the groove of the day. On the other hand, mundane life seems shut to our experience of Yahweh's presence. Holiness doesn't fit very comfortably where compartmentalizing is the order of the day.



Yet, Yahweh is infinite, without boundaries. We don't accept the idea that Yahweh can't reach us in our normal lives. It must simply take a deeper, more potent revelation to reach us at that uninviting level.



Think about it: We measure a lamp's potency by how far it can project light. It takes more power to project illumination far from the source. The same applies to those who follow Torah and by extention the One who reveals Torah to us. Revelation to those in meditation does not take as much 'potency' as revelation to those in a disconnected state.



Yahweh grants us this special boon because we need it; we're about to face the High Holidays. So Yahweh -- mercifully -- gives us a month of inspiration. We need our mundane lives transformed. We need to transcend material life's shallowness, rising up to connect with its latent sanctity.



Yahweh comes to us, in our blinding vortex of physical life, to touch us, to inspire us. Yahweh gives us a little zetz in the kishkes (poke in the ribs), to wake us up -- to recognize our own need for meaning, for holiness, for Him.



In order to appreciate the High Holidays, we have to step away from our own self-absorption. We have to recognize our limitations and yearn for connection with our Maker.



Elul is a time when Yahweh helps us to find that inner longing, selflessness and holiness. But it takes a step from us; Yahweh prompts us, but we've got to take a step. The scriptural 'Song of Songs' is all a metaphor for this (two-way) yearning between the ultimate Lover and us. One of the verses there (6:3) says it succinctly: "Ani l'dodi v'dodi lee" -- I am to my Beloved (Yahweh) and my Beloved is to me.



Our tradition notes that these four Hebrew words form the acronym 'Elul,' because this is Elul's theme. Elul is the time to find that yearning within. That's why it's traditional to blow the shofar every day of Elul; the pristine call of the shofar reflects the soul's cry for meaning.



You can do it; now’s the time. Yahweh helps you to find that inner love, especially this month. You've just got to take a step to greet your Beloved -- do a mitzvah, attend a class, just take a step. And don't forget teshuvah; repentance with resolve to "go and sin no more."


Jewels of Elul - Obama, McCain, Katzenberg and Many Others to Participate

29 Day Meditative Anthology Leading to The Jewish High Holy Days Produced By Craig Taubman and Craig 'N' CO

For the fourth year, Craig Taubman and Craig 'N' Co are publishing "Jewels of Elul," an anthology of 29 essays corresponding to the 29 days of Elul, the month prior to the Jewish High Holy Days which begins September 1st. Each day will be inspired by a politician, community leader, teacher, artist or thinker in anticipation of the High Holy Days which begin September 29th. Elul is a month traditionally dedicated to meditation.

This year's "Jewel's of Elul" is inspired by the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel and is called "Dreamers and their Dreams." The following 29 individuals are included:

1. Senator Barack Obama (Presidential Candidate) 2. Senator John McCain (Presidential Candidate) 3. Rabbi Elyse Frishman (Editor of New Reform Prayer Book) 4. Sherwood Schwartz (Creator of Giligan's Island and Brady Bunch) 5. Jeffrey Katzenberg (Co-Founder of Dreamworks) 6. Professor Alan Dershowitz (Harvard Law Professor) 7. Barry Goldstein (Team leader Mars Project) 8. Marc Platt (Producer of Wicked) 9. Salman Ahmad (Top selling Muslim artist and UN spokesperson for Aids Awareness) 10.Josh Lieb (Executive Producer The Daily Show) 11. Rabbi David Woznika 12. David Broza (Multi Platinum Israeli Singer) 13. Anne Heyman (Founder of a school in Rwanda) 14. Danny Siegel (Mitzvah Man) 15. Lynn Schusterman (Philanthropist) 16. Rabbi Jack Pressman 17. Elisa Bildner (Founder of Foundation for Jewish Camping) 18. Muffy Davis (Paraplegic Ski Champion) 19. Roz Rothstein (Creator of Stand With Us) 20. Fran Richey (Best selling author of The Warrior) 21. Rabbi Gershom Sizomu (First Black Rabbi From Uganda) 22. Margaret Wong (Internationally recognized immigrant rights attorney) 23. Elka Graham (Olmpic Silver Medalist Swimmer) 24. Dr. Peter Diamandis (Founder of the X Prize Foundation) 25. Kingsley (Artist) 26. Wafa Sultan (Psychiatrist and outspoken critic of radical Islam) 27. Eli Winkelman (Creator of Challah for Hope) 28. Emma Forrest (Author) 29 David Suissa (Dreamer, Ad Executive) "Jewels of Elul" will include an introduction by Rabbi David Wolpe.

Craig Taubman stated: "This is an ambitious free High Holy Days project that reaches tens of thousands of people. It is my goal to disseminate the High Holy Day spirit starting at the beginning of Elul on September 1st. For 29 days individuals will have meditative thoughts to focus them as they lead into the High Holy Days."

Jewels of Elul IV is sponsored by the Stefan Adelipour For Life Foundation in memory of Stefan, a twenty-two year old Boston University Senior who lost his life in a fire. Jewels of Elul IV can be obtained free of charge at www.jewelsofelul.com.

Copyright © 2008, NewsBlaze, Daily News

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Three Shofars

Elul - Ani LeDodi VeDodi Li

The Roshei Tevot (first letters) of the Hebrew verse Ani LeDodi VeDodi Li - I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is Mine (Shir HaShirim - form the acronym Elul (aleph- lamed-vav-lamed). Elul is a time when we turn to God, our beloved, and God turns to us, in love. Rav Kook taught that our turning, or teshuvah, is actually a process of returning to the way things were as God intended them to be in the beginning: "Teshuvah redresses the defect [of sin] and restores the world and life to their original character."

Teshuvah

We do teshuvah when we seek and grant forgiveness, and when we repent, regret, and refuse to recommit our transgressions bein adam lehavero (between ourselves and other people) and bien adam lemakom (between ourselves and God).

Mishnah Yoma 8:9

For a person who says: I will sin and Yom Kippur will atone for me, Yom Kippur does not atone. Transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur serves at atonement. For transgressions between one person and another, Yom Kippur does not serve as atonement, until the one offended has been appeased.

Excerpt from Rambam Hilkhot Teshuvah 2:9

It must be emphasized that even if a person restores the money that he owes, he must appease the person he wronged and ask him to forgive him. Even if a person only upsets another by saying [certain] things, he must appease him and approach him [repeatedly] until he forgives him.

If the other person does not desire to forgive him, he should bring a group of three of his friends and approach him with them and request forgiveness. If [the wronged party] is not appeased, he should repeat the process a second and third time. If he [still] does not want [to forgive him], he may let him alone and need not pursue [the matter further]. On the contrary, the person who refused to grant forgiveness is the one considered as the sinner.

Our tradition considers teshuvah a process organic to our very beings and to the cycle of our relationship with people and with God. At the same time, Judaism recognizes the challenges and obstacles to teshuvah that are also a part of life. Because teshuvah takes considerable emotional, spiritual, and sometimes physical effort and involves many steps, it also takes considerable time. The month of Elul and the first ten days of Tishrei leading up to Yom Kippur is a time to begin the work of teshuvah and of heshbon hanefesh - taking stock of our souls. During this time we observe many traditions that draw us back to ourselves, to our loved ones, to our community, and to God through processes of reflection, release, and redress.

Elul Traditions

Shofar. Beginning with the first day of Elul, the shofar is sounded every morning (excluding Shabbatot, and with the exception of the morning before Rosh HaShanah), immediately after morning services. The musar (devotional) literature connects the shofar blasts of Elul with Moshe's ascent to receive the second set of tablets, which began on the first of Elul.
The shofar is a call to repentance (cf. Maharil, Hilchot Aseret Yemei Teshuvah)

We read in the Tenakh: "When a ram's horn is sounded in a town, do the people not take alarm" (Amos 3:6)? The Shulkhan Arukh teaches: "The ram's horn should be bent, so that the children of Israel may bend their hearts toward their Parent who is in heaven."

The Rambam teaches that we must listen to the shofar with kavannah or intention. If we do not, we have not fulfilled our obligation. Hearing the shofar is a mitzvah which involves intention of heart and mind so that hear its deepest message - the call to teshuvah.

Psalm 27. It is customary to recite psalm 27 at the conclusion of morning and evening services throughout Elul. In recent times, people have taken on reciting this psalm throughout Elul on their own. Reminding us that God is our support and strngth in time of great difficulty, psalm 27 can embolden us to engage in the process of self-evaluation and teshuvah.

Psalm 27

Adonai is my light and my life.
Whom shall I fear?
Adonai is the foundation of my life.
Whom shall I dread?

When evil-doers come upon me to devour me,
even my adversaries and foes stumble and fall.

If an army should camp against me,
my heart will not fear.

Though war should wage up against me
Even then I will be confident.

One thing I ask of Adonai only this do I seek:
to live in the house of Adonai all the days of my life,
to gaze upon Adonai's beauty to frequent the temple of Elohim.

For You conceal me in your pavilion on the day of evil.
You hide me in the covert of your tent.
You lift me up on a rock.

And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies all around me
And I will offer sacrifices in Your tabernacle with the sound of trumpets.
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Adonai.

Listen Adonai when I cry aloud.
Have mercy on me; answer me.
[Your instruction,] seek my face, my heart repeats.
Your face, O Elohim, do I seek.

Hide not your face from me.
Do not put Your servant off in anger. You are my help.
Forsake me not, nor abandon me.
O Elohim [You are] the One who delivers me.
For though my father and mother have forsaken me
Adonai will lift me up.

Show me Your way Adonai,
and lead me on a level path
because of my ever watchful foes.
Deliver me not over unto the will of my adversaries
For false witnesses have risen up against me
and those who breathe violence.
If I had not believed to look upon the goodness of Elohim,
[I would no longer be] in the land of the living.

Look to Adonai [for hope]
be strong and of good courage.
Look to Adonai [for faith].

As translated by Kerry M. Olitzky (adapted from JPS 1917 and 1985 translation)

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Prepare for Rosh Hashanah-Elul JewU 189

Elul as spiritual alarm clock


Each year this season provides us with an opportunity to take stock of ourselves and the lives we lead, to look at where we have fallen short of our spiritual aspirations, and what we can do to improve ourselves. Each year during the month of Elul, we are called upon to begin the process of self-examination that we call teshuva.


If truth be told -- and what better time of year to tell it? -- most of us don't take advantage of the opportunity for renewal that this season provides. We may pay lip service to the process of teshuva, but we don't really take it as seriously as we know we should. Most of us are satisfied with the lives we lead. We may not be happy with what life has done with us, but we are mostly content with what we have done with life. If we engage in self-examination at all, it tends to be superficial, leading inexorably to the conclusion that we should continue living the way we have lived, only (maybe) a little more so.


It is just that kind of spiritual complacency that the month of Elul is designed to prevent. The shofar blasts that sound each weekday morning during this month are not mandated by the Torah -- only on Rosh Hashanah is blowing the shofar a mitzvah. The optional shofar blasts of Elul, rather, are a kind of spiritual alarm clock, trying desperately to wake us up to the opportunity this season provides. But most of us are difficult to arouse.


If we were to take seriously the season's invitation to teshuva, if we were to realize how far short we have fallen, we might quickly become overwhelmed. After all, the gap between who we are and who we ought to be is so vast that we can hardly avoid despairing of ever closing it. But here too the message of Elul can help.


One of the reasons for devoting a full month before Rosh Hashana to the process of teshuva is to enable us to take the process one step at a time. If we were to approach Rosh Hashana without advance preparation, the process of self-examination that day requires would be too much for us to handle. By beginning the process a month before, we have the opportunity to proceed slowly, so that we will view teshuva as a challenge rather than as an impossibility.


To be successful, teshuva must be, in a sense, a partnership between us and Elohim. We must push ourselves to improve, but we also must realize our inherent limitations as fallible human beings. We can recognize the immense spiritual challenge before us while still understanding that the only way we can even begin to meet that challenge is one step at a time.


Our part in this process requires strength and courage, but only with the aid of Yahweh can we succeed. Perhaps that is the message of the last verse in Psalm 27, which we recite twice a day during this season: "Look to the Lord, be strong and of good courage; look to Yahweh."


Chodesh tov, and a meaningful and successful Elul to all.

Shofar So Good - This demonstration is a blast

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Psalm 27 - Keynote of Elul

Tehilim 27

By David. Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?

When evil-doers came at me to eat up my flesh, Even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.

Though a host should encamp against me, My heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, Even then I will be confident.

One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after, That I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, To see the beauty of Yahweh, And to inquire in his temple.

For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the covert of his tent he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock.

Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me. I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh.

Hear, Yahweh, when I cry with my voice. Have mercy also on me, and answer me.

When you said, "Seek my face," My heart said to you, "I will seek your face, Yahweh."

Don't hide your face from me. Don't put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don't abandon me, Neither forsake me, Mighty One of my salvation.

When my father and my mother forsake me, Then Yahweh will take me up.

Teach me your way, Yahweh. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.

Don't deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen up against me, Such as breathe out cruelty.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.

Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh.

The Four Traditional Shofar Blasts

Monday, September 1, 2008

Rosh Chodesh - Elul

The New Moon of the sixth month, otherwise known as Elul was sighted on September 1st 2008. Let us begin to prepare ourselves for the upcoming feast days by careful examination of our lives; making teshuva (repentance) in those areas in which we find ourselves lacking or in need.

Special Significance (Biblical and by "Minhag," (Jewish Custom) ) of Rosh Chodesh Elul

Biblical:

Moshe had gone up in the Month of Sivan, and returned after forty days and forty nights, on the 17th of Tammuz with the First Luchos (tablets of torah). When Moshe observed the Jewish People sinning by creating and worshipping the Golden Calf, and participating in other sinful activities centered around the worship of that idol, he broke that first set of Luchos. He ascended Mount Sinai a second time, on the eighteenth day of Tammuz, the day after the great sin, and remained there for another forty days and forty nights, praying to Yahweh to spare the Jewish People and to return His full Presence among them.

At the conclusion of the second forty day and forty night period (that is, on the 29th of Av, Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul), Yahweh forgave the Jewish People and instructed Moshe to ascend Har Sinai yet again the next day, to receive the Second Luchos (tables of torah), on which would be inscribed for the second time the Ten Commandments. Moshe's ascension to Har Sinai for the third time (which also took forty days and forty nights, ending on Yom Kippur) occurred on Rosh Chodesh Elul.

Yahweh also restored His Presence to the Jewish People by authorizing the construction of the "Mishkan," the Temporary Structure which served as a "Residence," so to speak, for the Divine Presence, before the building of the First Temple in Jerusalem.

Minhagim (Customs) Related to Rosh Chodesh Elul

The Custom:

Beginning the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul, and continuing until-but-not-including Erev Rosh HaShanah (the day preceding Rosh HaShanah), the custom is to blow the Shofar every weekday (excluding Shabbat, but not Sunday), four sounds -
1. Tekiah - a flat straight sound, "Tuuuu"
2.- 3. Combination of Shevarim - three broken sounds, resembling sighing, "U-Tu, U-Tu, U-Tu," and Teruah - nine rapid sounds resembling wailing, "Tu, Tu, Tu, Tu, Tu, Tu, Tu, Tu, Tu"
4. And a final Tekiah


The Background:

When Moshe went up the Second Time to receive the "Aseret HaDibrot," the "Ten Commandments," the Jewish People blew the Shofar in the Camp. They did this to impress upon themselves that Moshe had once again gone up the mountain of Sinai, so that they would not again make the tragic mistake in judging the time of Moshe's return, and fall again into Idol Worship.

Therefore, the Jewish People in later generations accepted upon themselves the custom of blowing the Shofar, beginning with Rosh Chodesh Elul to remind themselves that the people of Israel in the desert had sinned with the Egel, had repented, had been forgiven by Yahweh and restored to their former level of holiness. This would arouse in their hearts and minds the importance and the effectiveness of doing "Teshuvah."

The Custom:

Ashkenazic (Northern, Western and Eastern Europe) have the custom, beginning with the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul, of reciting Chapter 27 of Tehilim (Psalms), beginning "By (King) David, 'The L-rd is my Light and my Salvation,' " until and including Hoshannah Rabbah.


The Background:

This custom is based on the Medrash which links the "Light" of David, and the "Light" of all human beings, to Rosh HaShanah, the Day of Judgment, when by the light of the "neshamah," the soul, Yahweh searches out the recesses and "hidden" areas of the human being. This idea is in turn based on the verse "The Lamp of Yahweh is the human soul, which searches out all the recesses of his being." And the "Salvation" of David and of all human beings is linked to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when Yahweh atones for the sins of His creatures.

Elul and Rosh Chodesh Elul - In Relation to Other Months of the Year:

1 Nisan
2 Iyar
3 Sivan
4 Tammuz
5 Av - 30 days
6 Elul - 29 days; Rosh Chodesh is 2 days
7 Tishrei - 30 days
8 Cheshvan
9 Kislev
10 Tevet
11 Shevat
12 Adar

Note - (Much of the following material regarding Rosh Chodesh Elul is abstracted from Mesorah Publications Stone Edition of the Chumash and from Rabbi Eliyahu KiTov's Sefer HaTodaah)