The Emergent Observer

Elul; Preparing for a Virgin Birth

2010-09-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

The heat finally broke here in the Seattle area and I am already looking for the fall. The month of Elul will soon lead us to not only cooler weather but our holiday season as well. The word אלול “elul” is Aramaic and means “search.” Betulah (virgo), the constellation associated with this month, moves along her heavenly course in search of her beloved. The words אני לדודי ודודי לי “Ani ledodi v’dodi li” (I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine) express the essence of this month. For this reason, “Elul” is often taken as an acrostic form of these words—א"ל"ו"ל.

As stated above the mazal (astrological sign) of Elul is Betulah, a virgin. When the prophet asked, “Can a nation be born at once?,” it was a reference to the immediate establishment of the eternal monarchy of Yisrael through the future advent of Mashiach. The breaking forth of this sudden kingdom is compared to birth from a virgin womb. The usual toil involved in the conception of a nation just isn’t present; Yisrael is born by Hashem’s will alone. With perfect emunah we await the coming of this messianic kingdom, an event which is rehearsed in early autumn. Betulah wails, we hear the cry of the shofar’s blast. Tishrei’s “Yamim Norim,” (days of awe) are birth pangs whose memory fades with the coming simcha of Sukkot, a chag expressing the realization of our nearing messianic kingdom. In the sukkah we dine with the patriarchs and are sheltered in a cloud—we receive a taste of the world to come.

Our Sukkot liturgy speaks of the re-established kingdom in more of this peculiar language; זרע עמוסי רחמו, נולדו כילד ממעיץ...חלה וילד מי זאת, מי שמע כזאת “The seed borne by Him [Hashem] from the womb, born like a child from its mother…She delivered and gave birth: ‘Who is this? Who has heard of the likes of this?’” The words chosen to describe the establishment of this sudden nation clearly reflect the mystical circumstance surrounding the birth of our King and help to further build the connection between the life of Mashiach and his nation.

The mother of Mashiach, who is herself traditionally referred to as The Virgin (Ha-betulah), traveled from the Galilee to Bethlehem. She followed her love. Yosef was a tzadik; he married his young bride before they journeyed to the suburb of Jerusalem. It may have been late in Elul, in some traditions this is the only time in which custom does not discourage a marriage late in the month. Certainly, by the time the holy couple entered the hill-country surrounding Jerusalem, the moon of Tishrei was nearly term—full.

The move from Elul to Tishrei, like other transitions during the year, is marked by a changing of the celestial guards. The month of Tishrei is associated with the constellation of Moznaim (scales). The new moon of this month, Rosh Hashanah, is called Yom Hadin—judgment day. Hashem holds the world in the scales of decision. On this day it is decided whom will be born and who will die during the coming year; the success or failure of every human being is measured out. When the parents of Mashiach entered the city of David, it had already been decreed that the child being carried by the young woman would live; he would be born and prosper. Yeshua entered this world, born from a virgin, under the branches of a sukkah—under the cover of stars. For this righteous couple, the shelter of the sukkah became a marriage tent. The relationship of Yosef and his bride was consummated not in the conception of a child, but in the birth of our King Mashiach. This virgin birth rehearses the creation of a nation and a salvation that will spring up from the ground, seemingly out of nowhere, at the returning of our King.

This messianic kingdom and the birth pangs signifying its arrival are written of in the twelfth chapter of the Revelation of Yochanan. His words continue in the tradition of our prophets and sages. Alone, far from home, in exile on the island of Patmos, Yochanan looked in to an autumn night’s sky. He watched as the stars came alive and recorded the vision in a book.

ואות גדול נראה אז בשמים אשה עטה מעטה שמש ולבנה תחת רגליה ועל-ראשה אשה יציץ נזר שנים עשר כוכבים: והיא הרע ללת התסעק בחבליה כי נהפכו עליה צריה.

“There was a great wonder in the sky; a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Being with child, she cried, travailing in birth, and pained to deliver.”

Here Yochanan’s vision is placed firmly within its High Holiday context. This heavenly drama is rehearsed by the stars each year at Rosh Hashanna. Certainly, the woman crowned with twelve stars is none other than the constellation Betulah, the virgin. The crown she wears is a star cluster called Coma Bernice. In Yochanan’s vision the virgin giving birth is the nation of Yisrael; she brings forth a child (the Mashiach) who is taken into heaven to be hidden from a dragon (a grouping of stars called Draco) who seeks his destruction. Yisrael finds refuge in the wilderness where she narrowly escapes a flood sent by the dragon. Again, the account is told in such a way as to blur the narrative line between the life of Yeshua and the history of his people.

Without thought, we often wish one another a Mazal Tov—a “good constellation.” Hashem created the stars for times and for seasons; our wish is that joyful events might inaugurate seasons of blessing for Yisrael. We hope that one simcha is a sign of more to come. Ultimately, our desire is to see the days of Mashiach. With each rotation of the moon, with every movement of the constellations, we await a holiday without end. From the first contractions felt by his mother during the awesome days between Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur and his miraculous birth at Sukkot, the life of Yeshua creates a pathway and foreshadows the sudden sprouting of a re-established nation, a messianic kingdom that will bring peace and joy to the entire world.

D.I.Y. Ascension Day

2010-04-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here’s how we’re making Yom HaAliya happen.

1. Customized biodegradable balloons
2. Sandy shoreline with fire pit
3. Guitar savvy friends
4. Kosher dogs (fish and honey for the traditionalists)

Yom HaAliya is a great time to gather with friends to celebrate the ascension of Yeshua who rose like a wholly burnt offering into the sky ten days before Shavuot. Think ascension, things that rise; we’re having a biodegradable balloon release. You could do this or fly kites, or blow bubbles. Add an evening fire pit and smoky feast into the mix and you have a real winner of a holiday.

Shavuot Ramblings

2010-04-27T23:54:00.001-07:00

Shavuot is coming. I will reflect on Mt. Sinai and the upper room. I’ll read longingly of mighty rushing winds and flaming tongues. I’ll spend the night learning two doors down from the synagogue in a house we have been working to convert into proper a study hall; we’ll read megilat Ruth and remember her descendant King David who was born and also died on this holiday. Like all Torah, the connections between the customs and texts related to Shavuot spin off like fractals, each one giving birth to countless more.

It’s from a midrash that we learn King David died on Shavuot. The only time his death is mentioned in the NT is in the second chapter of Acts during Peter’s addressing of the masses on that same day. It’s not a coincidence. Thousands gathered to hear the student of a controversial king. They were in the upper room of the Temple and Peter poured out his heart, challenging anyone who would refute the legitimacy of His reign.

On the anniversary of King David’s death we read the book of Ruth which was written by the prophet Samuel in an attempt to defend G-d’s chosen. It wasn’t enough that David had been raised in the fields, believed by his own father to be the product of infidelity; the entire nation was unsure of his questionable pedigree, they doubted even the permissibility of his lineage.

The line of Mashiach is called in to question today and he is also called a child of adultery. If the prophet Samuel were here he would defend his line as well, not to mention his birth. Samuel had also been the product of a miraculous birth. Hannah was barren, and the prophet was only born after his mother prayed so fervently she appeared to be drunk…drunk…like the 120 in the upper room.

Give to G-d

2010-04-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

Yeshua gave the best answers.

They [a group of Pharisees and Herodians] came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Yeshua knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denari and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then Yeshua said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to G-d what is G-d’s.”
And they were amazed at him.

They were amazed at him. To those within earshot of the conversation the question had seemed imposible to answer. If Mashiach said publically that Israel need not pay taxes to Caesar he would have been arrested for rebellion against the empire, and on the other hand, he would never say that a Jew is obligated to pay the nations to reside in The Land.

The key to understanding the answer provided by Yeshua is in a parable he spoke just before this episode. In the mashal Israel is compared to a vineyard, HaShem its owner. In the story tenants are allowed to operate the vineyard, but when the owner of the vineyard sends his servants to collect what is owed him, the servants are mistreated, beaten, and killed. After his son is killed as well, the owner of the vineyard returns to bring retribution upon the wicked tenants and reclaim his land. Here Yeshua teaches that everything belongs to HaShem and the rulers of the world are merely temporary stewards of what is his.

To those employed by the government Yeshua seemed to give an acceptable answer. However, those righteous Jews who understood that everything belongs to G-d understood Yeshua’s faithfulness to the creator of all. As he often did, Mashiach answered an impossible question.

Rabbi Elazar of Bartosa would say: Give Him what is His, for you, and whatever is yours, are His. As David says: "For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we give to You" (I Chronicles 29:14).

The Seed of Mashiach, For Shavuot

2010-04-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

While sipping coffee and looking through old files on my laptop, I came across something I wrote about 5years ago regarding the genealogy of Yeshua. Its a tradition on Shavuot to read megilat Ruth and stay up all night learning. A discussion regarding the seed of Mashiach is also traditional as Rut is the mother of the King. It seemed fitting to post this lesson regarding the messianic line as described by Matthew. Feel free to use this lesson for the coming holiday. Its long, but you've got all night.

The Seed of Mashiach.

From the earliest moments of creation Hashem preoccupied himself in the making of the light of Mashiach. Some have spoken of this Messianic light as having been hidden in a fog, wrapped in darkness. The messianic seed was carried down throughout all generations, hidden in unlikely places. This can be compared to a King who sent his royal carriage with a procession of white horses and noblemen through the broad section of town while he himself chose to travel unnoticed riding a donkey down narrow back alleys.

Opening to the first chapter of the besorah of Mattai we are given a list of names recounting the lineage of Mashiach. At the heart of this messianic pedigree are five holy women: Tamar, Ruth, Rachav, Batsheva the wife of Uriah, and finally, Miryam the mother of Yeshua. In mentioning these names the author of sefer Mattai intends to remind it’s readers of the unique circumstances in which the spark of Mashiach has been brought down through time.

Listing the royal lineage of the kings of Israel with the specific mention of the five women named above, sefer Mattai emphasizes the unlikely path of Mashiach through generations that are clouded by incest, prostitution, adultery and murder. Each of these holy men and women conceived children through what would seem to be, questionable interactions.

The first female listed in the genealogy is Tamar. The Torah relates that soon after Tamar married Judah’s son, the son died. According to a practice called yibum it was the responsibility of the closest male relative to take Tamar as a wife and have a child who would be called the son of the deceased. In that way the child would continue the lineage of the family and inherit the deceased man’s belongings. After the first son died, Judah’s second son married Tamar. He too died shortly after the wedding. Because two of Judah’s sons had died after sleeping with Tamar, Judah rationalized that this had caused his two son’s death. Judah felt giving his youngest, and now only son, to be Tamar’s husband was out of the question. Tamar shamefully returned home to live with her parents. She was a teenage girl, with two dead husbands, no prospects, possessions nor children. What Judah didn’t know was his sons had died because of their own transgressions. With Judah’s refusal to give his youngest son to Tamar the line of Mashiach stopped. The messianic seed that continued to form with each generation could not be passed on.

For now, physical and spiritual components destined to come together in the forming of Mashiach were trapped in Tamar and Judah. The Torah explains that Judah arrived in the town where Tamar was living to sheer sheep. When Tamar heard he was in the area she assumed Judah had brought his youngest son to perform the right of yibum, so his third son could take her as his wife. She ran to greet him wearing beautiful garments and a veiled face. When Judah saw this striking young woman standing alone along the way he took her to be a prostitute and made his proposition. Tamar accepted the proposal and slept with him. Strangely, the Torah records the event as casually as if Judah and Tamar had been buying and selling fruit at the market. What appears on the outside to be a blatant disregard for morality is explained quite differently in the midrashim. According to the midrash, when Judah passed by Tamar he caught her sent on a breeze. It was the most intoxicating fragrance he had ever smelled. It was the sent of the garden of Eden and the days of Mashiach. Judah was unwilling to consort with her so an angel came to further persuade him. The angel said to Judah, “If you fail to turn in to her tent, from where will the kings come?” It was at this point when Judah approached Tamar. Tradition further explains that it was actually because of Tamar’s extreme spirituality that she accepted his offer. Tamar knew that yibum must be performed, and understood she had to conceive. What is important to realize is that while Judah and Tamar were together, Hashem was busy creating the light of Mashiach.

Another woman to be noted in the lineage of Yeshua is Ruth. Ruth is perhaps the central female figure in the ancestry of the kings of Israel. The controversy surrounding this holy grandmother of King David began generations before her birth. Ruth came from the people of Moav a corrupt non-Jewish nation descending from Lot who although a worshiper of the one G-d, separated from Avraham to live in Sodom. The city was lost to any hope of rational thought. In Sodom every rule was turned on its head. Rape and molestation were open and public activities. The city was destroyed by G-d. Lightning rained down from the sky and the city was engulfed in flames. Only three righteous persons escaped. Lot and his two daughters took refuge in the wilderness. This story also takes a bizarre twist. Lot’s daughters immediately decide to get their own father drunk and sleep with him, each becoming pregnant in the process. In the Torah, our earliest encounter with the seed of Mashiach is in this horrifying union. Bereshit Rabbah 41:4 states, “I have found David my servant; where did I find him? In Sodom.” In this Midrash, Hashem explains that he found the light of Mashiach in a most unlikely place; in the apparent rape of Lot by his daughters. As difficult as it may seem, hidden on the inside of this situation is a holy motivation which can only be uncovered with a close and sensitive reading of the text.

When Sodom was destroyed Lot’s daughters believed the entire world had been annihilated. Just a few generations earlier the world’s populations had been destroyed with water. Now these two girls believed G-d had devastated its inhabitants again, this time with fire. Yibum is at the center of this encounter as well. The sisters are recorded in sefer Bereshit as having made the statement, “there is not a man on earth left to be with us” (19:31). According to the practice of yibum it was (they believed) their duty to raise up seed from their father. There was no time to question the choice. If Lot were to die do to the extreme anguish felt at the loss of all those he had loved including his wife no relative could be found to raise up a son unto his name. Within both Lot and his daughters was the seed of Mashiach.

From the consorting of Lot’s oldest daughter with her father came a son named Moav (meaning of father). An evil nation descended from Moav cursed with a heavenly declaration that no Moabite could enter the congregation of Israel. Ruth was a daughter of Moav caring the seed of Mashiach, the spark she had inherited from her ancestors. Ruth desired to enter the nation of Israel. It was known by Israel’s finest Torah minds that this was in fact a possibility. Although a Moabite was disallowed from entering the people of Israel a Moabitess was permitted. Ruth had in fact already married two Israelite men before entering the land of Israel. After her first husband died his brother performed the act of yibum taking her as his wife. He too perished. The story begins to sound remarkably similar to that of Tamar. Ruth’s mother-in-law instructed the obedient young woman to find a redeemer (who would perform the act of yibum) on the threshing floors belonging to a near relative of her now dead husband. His name was Boaz. The final threshing of grain was a happy occasion. It meant a large payoff, a time of drinking, singing and an end to the long harvesting hours. Ruth’s mother-in-law instructed Ruth to bathe in water, dress in her finest garments and only enter the area used for threshing barley during the night after the harvesters had laid down to rest from a night of feasting. She told Ruth to find Boaz and lay herself at his feet. Again a strange twist in the story, from the out side what Ruth’s mother-in-law was asking her to do looked a lot like what many prostitutes would be doing that same night. Women often snuck into the threshing fields for the purpose of selling themselves for grain. However, Ruth’s mother-in-law hid a code word in the phrase she used when speaking about Boaz. She told Ruth to notice “the place where” Boaz was sleeping and go and meet him there. In Hebrew these words are “et hamakom asher.” In a language without vowels the final letters of each of these three words when brought together spell out the name Tamar. Ruth knew she would look like a prostitute to anyone who saw her nevertheless she fulfilled the wishes of her mother-in-law and went to Boaz during the night.

When Boaz awoke with the startling realization that Ruth lay at his feet he treated her respectfully as a woman of holiness rather than take advantage of the situation in an inappropriate manner. He declared his intentions to properly take her as his wife and perform yibum. A question arises- what caused Boaz to treat this foreign woman dressed as a prostitute in such an honorable way? The answer is found in our text and is the name of the second woman mentioned in Mattai’s rendering of the lineage of Mashiach. Rachav, a foreign born woman who joined herself to the people of Israel was also Boaz’s mother. Before her joining the holy nation Rachav an extremely righteous woman had lived as a prostitute. Boaz knew holiness sometimes existed hidden under a mask. He also knew that at all times you need to know the inside of a situation before you can understand it.

The fourth woman listed in Mattai’s lineage is Batsheva. The Torah tells us that from the roof of his palace King David glimpsed Batsheva bathing. He fell in love instantly. The Torah relates that although Batsheva was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, a man who fought among the ranks of Israel, King David slept with her. She became pregnant. In an attempt to cover up the act King David called Uriah back from war and encouraged him to be with his wife. Uriah refused. As long as his fellow solders were fighting on the battle-front Uriah would not allow himself the pleasure of being with Batsheva. When sending Uriah back to his military service, King David intentionally placed Uriah in the front lines to die. On the surface this story seems to paint King David in an entirely negative light. However a look into some of the midrash surrounding the event and a close reading of the story reveal more.

When King David was young he killed an enormous man named Goliath. After killing him he approached the body and sought to remove the giant’s head with his own sword. There is midrash that explains that Goliath was covered in dense armor from head to toe. David tried to remove it but was unable to. It was then that he met Uriah for the first time. The man stepped forward and informed the hero of Israel that he knew how to remove the heavy armor but would only do so if David made an oath to find him an Israelite wife. David agreed and Uriah soon married Batsheva who‘s name means daughter of an oath. This forbidden marriage of Batsheva to a non-Jew which was facilitated by David himself created a detour in the road of David’s future. Batsheva had always been intended as David’s wife says the midrash. In hindsight this is obvious; the Mashiach would eventually come from their union. Because David vowed to give a daughter of Israel to a non-Israelite Hashem made sure it would be his own wife he was to give away, not the wife of another.

In ancient Israel it was the practice of solders to give their wives a bill of divorcement (a get) before going off to war. Without such a practice the wife of a fallen solder whose body could not be found or identified would remain legally married. Without the proof of a body, it would be assumed the man was still alive somewhere. On a technical level, Batsheva was unmarried (Kethubot 9b). The Talmud explains that Uriah the Hittite was also guilty of treason, a crime punishable by death, at the time he was sent to the front lines by King David. When Uriah stood before the King he referred to his general as my lord and refused to heed the request of the highest authority on earth, the King of Israel. King David’s punishment by G-d for the bloodshed of Uriah appears to have its root in his making inappropriate vows to Uriah long before his coming together with Batsheva and those vows coming back to haunt him. The interactions between King David and Batsheva are far more pure on the inside of the story than from how they might appear from the outside. This is the message of Mattai’s lineage.

The author of sefer Mattai desired its readers to meditate on the pattern found in the Torah and Midrashim before naming the fifth and final woman listed in the genealogy: Miryam the wife of Yosef ben-Ya’akov. It would be through this woman that the light of Mashiach, the final king of Israel, would enter the world.

In her mid teens Miryam had entered into kiddushin a kind of contract binding herself and Yosef together for a period of time before their actual wedding. During this period Miryam was visited by a malach, the angel Gavriel. He greeted her with the words, “Be glad, you who are loved, the master is with you.” Miryam had been uncomfortable allowing a strange man to speak to her in such a way. Gavriel told her to not be afraid. He explained that she would conceive and birth a son, and that she would call his name Yeshua. He further told Miryam that Hashem would give her son the throne of his father David from which he would rule over the house of Jacob forever.

Yosef was a tzadik who truly loved Miryam. When he learned that she had become pregnant he was devastated but nevertheless refused to shame his bride. He decided to call off the wedding as quietly as possible. This would be difficult where they lived, a town with a population of only 200. In the night an angel spoke to Yosef dispelling his fears. The angel explained that Miryam hadn’t been with anyone. It was the same ability Hashem held to create light from darkness that had now caused the light of Mashiach to flourish within her womb. The messianic seed that had been forming from the earliest generations was now ready to enter the world in the person of Yeshua Meshicheinu. Again the birth of this holy king of Israel would be shrouded in what looked from the outside to be simple adultery.

Like Father Like Son, David and Yeshua a conclusion.

Our Mashiach was believed by many to be a mamzir, an illegitimate child. To this day there are those who teach this. It has been impossible for some to understand the circumstances under which the Mashiach would be born. According to halachah a mamzir is disqualified from the crown of Israel. For this reason the author of sefer Mattai divides the messianic lineage into three sets of fourteen. In Hebrew fourteen is the numerical equivalent of the name David. Those who teach that Yeshua was a mamzir only establish a greater connection between Melech Yeshua and his holy ancestor David.

As a boy David spent his time alone in the fields watching over his father’s flocks. The midrashim tell us that David’s father Yishai kept him in the field because he was not convinced that David was actually his son. David was raised as a mamzir. In this case David’s father believed him to be the son of an adulteress affair. We read in scripture that Hashem sent the prophet Shmuel to the home of Yishai in search of the next king of Israel. The prophet instructed Yishai to bring his sons forward. Yishai brought seven young men to stand before Shmuel. From oldest to the youngest, the old man turned each one away. He spoke to Yishai and insisted there must be another. It must have been at this point when Yishai realized David was truly his son. Shmuel poured oil over David and consecrated him as Melech HaMashiach, the anointed king of Israel. May the day come soon when Yeshua is recognized as the same.

The 10 Days

2010-04-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Before Mashiach ascended and was hidden by a cloud he spoke to His students, saying:

See, I am sending out the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city [Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from on high.

This instruction was given 10 days before Shavuot. On Shavuot we observe the anniversary of the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai…and there we find a connection. These 10 days are a reflection of the 10 Words (commandments). Yeshua’s students remained in Jerusalem until the holiday. They were all together, 120 of them, davvening on the morning of Shavuot when something like a rushing wind filled The House. Fire appeared above their heads and they began speaking in all the languages of the earth. The book of Acts explains that on that day Mashiach’s followers were filled with Ruach HaKadosh, this was the promise of HaShem sent from our Mashiach. The Spirit of G-d was given on the same day in which He gave His Torah.

In Hebrew gematria and our kabalistic tradition the number 10 is represented by the letter י (yud). The Didascalia Apostorlorum is an ancient manuscript written sometime in the 3rd century, it was said to contain teachings passed down from the 12 Apostles and explains this gematria through a teaching which connects Mashiach to the giving of the Torah.

Now previously our communities were deserts in which there is now a highway and the knowledge of true religion without mistake, but having freshness and clarity, even Isus Christos and His rule which was from the beginning. For you know that He gave a simple and pure and holy Law of life, wherein our Savior set His name. For whereas He spoke the 10 Words, He signified Ἰησοῦς (Yeshua): for 10 represents yud; but yud is the beginning of the name of Yeshua. (Didascalia Apostolorum)

Inasmuch as the letter yud is the smallest of all letters it is associated with hiddeness. This hidden point is the source of chochma or wisdom.

Chochma is defined as the germinal, highly condensed revelation of G-dly light in the highest level of immanence that is in the life force of all of creation.(Fiftieth Gate edition of the Zohar, Introduction)

10 days after Mashiach was hidden his students were filled with this wisdom from on high. Mashiach Yeshua is a conduit and vehicle of connection between HaShem and His creation. It was through him that the Torah was given on Mt. Sinai and through Him that G-d’s Spirit was delivered. During the ten days between the ascension of the Mashiach and our observance of Shavuot we should give special attention to each of the 10 Words…May they be written on our hearts.

Mashiach HaTsippor, For Ascension Day

2010-04-18T15:22:00.001-07:00

Yom HaAliyah, which recalls the ascension of Mashiach into the sky on the fortieth day of the Omer, is preceded seven days by the minor holiday of Lag BaOmer, a memorial to Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai z”l. In honor of these two sacred days, I would like to reflect on an idea found in Zohar Hakodesh attributed to Shimon Bar-Yochai which sheds light on many aspects of the life of Mashiach including His ascension.

Mashiach the Bird-
The Zohar and other kabalistic writings drawing from its text relate Mashiach to a “bird.” In fact, at the beginning of his commentary on Parshat Metzorah, The Ohr Hachaim z”l explains that one of Mashiach’s names is Tsippor (Bird). It is written that the soul of Mashiach exists on the outskirts of the Garden of Eden in a place called the היכל קן ציפו (Heichal Ken Tsippor) “bird’s nest”. This term speaks of the Shekinah which both envelopes His Neshama and flies about the Garden. It is said that from His abode in the bird’s nest He lifts his eyes and sees the patriarchs returning to the ruins of the Beit Hamikdash. The tear streaked face of Rachel Imenu repeatedly flashes before him. Mashiach cries out, and the Garden of Eden is shaken from one end to the other. The voices of all the tzaddikim joining His lament, shakes the heavens beyond the garden until it reaches the highest throne.

Descending From the Nest-
Our sages understood that the redeemer of Israel would be revealed only after this messianic soul made its descent from the Bird’s Nest, coming to rest upon the one whom would be revealed as Mashiach. This is spoken of as the “crowning” of the redeemer and marks the point in his life when he would begin his messianic mission (Igeret Teyman, ch. 4).

Nearly two millennia ago Yeshua traveled from the Galil in Northern Israel to be immersed by Yochanan Hamatbil z”l, a relative who had been instructed by a heavenly decree to immerse the sons of Israel until he saw a “dove” descend upon one of them. This holy Jew was the Mashiach. It is written that when our Mashiach rose from the water the Ruach Elohim was seen descending on him as a dove.

That the identity of Mashiach was revealed through water is significant. The first time the soul of Mashiach was seen interacting with the chaos of this world is found at the beginning of Sefer Bereishit. The Torah relates that while the world was yet formless and void, covered by darkness on the face of the deep, the Ruach Elohim hovered [like a mother bird shielding her young with her wings] upon the face of the waters. This Ruach Elohim is said to be that of Mashiach (Bereshit Rabbah 2:5).

After his crowning with the messianic soul, Yeshua spoke of himself using the language of a bird. While standing upon the Mount of Olives, Mashiach lamented over Jerusalem saying, “Again and again would I have taken your children to myself, as a bird gathers her young ones under her wings, but you would not!” (Lk 13:34) Here Mashiach speaks of his desire to gather the exiles of Israel. He is detained only by our refusal to be redeemed.

Two Birds One Mashiach-
To better understand this process of exile and redemption, as it relates to Mashiach, who is called Tsippor, a bird, we look to the previously mentioned Parshat Metzorah. We learn in this sidra that one who has contracted a certain spiritual disorder called Tzara’at is to be expelled beyond the walls of the city. The complex nature and role of Mashiach as a gatherer of exiles can be understood through the ritual relating to the purification and returning of one who is stricken with this affliction.

Tzara’at is a spiritual disorder generally believed to be brought on by evil speech. It appears as a discoloration on one’s property and person. The Metzorah (one who has contracted Tzara’at) would first notice “something like a plague,” a discoloration upon the walls of his or her home (Lev. 14:35). In a worst case scenario, a Kohen would declare the house unclean— ordering its destruction. The stones of the house would be dismantled and removed. Again, the Metzorah having a discoloration in his or her flesh would be exiled to the wilderness beyond the city walls.

These rituals concerning the Metzorah and his house have been described as relating to the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash and the subsequent exile of the Jewish people. Mashiach prophesied regarding this destruction in relevant terms. He said, “Do you see these immense buildings? Not one of these stones will be left on top of another. Each one will be torn down." This description can be compared to the dismantling of the stone house of the Metzorah.

The law given by Hashem for the cleansing of a Metzorah reveals His redemptive plan for Israel and describes the process through which Mashiach would carry it out; his death and resurrection. Hashem commands the use of שתי צפרים(shetei tsiparim) “two birds” (Lev. 14:49). In his commentary on this subject, Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky notes that the numerical value of צפר (tsippor) is 370 and corresponds to the words זה משיח (zeh mashiach), “this is Mashiach.” He says, “This [passage regarding the ‘two birds’] refers to Mashiach ben Yosef [who will die] and Mashiach ben David [who will rule the Earth].

During the cleansing of the Metzorah, a bird is killed over running water in an earthen vessel and a second bird is dipped along with other elements in its blood. The Metzorah is sprinkled with the blood seven times and the living bird is released into the open field. That the living bird flies away covered in the blood of the slaughtered is significant. This aspect of the ritual creates a connection between the two birds and hints at the notion that Mashiach ben Yosef, the suffering servant, and Mashiach ben David, the reigning king are two natures of one individual. Although this may be a novel idea to some, it is not a new one.

Rabbi Chaim Vital z”l (1543-1620) was the foremost student of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Arizal and is responsible for the transcription of his master’s famous Kabalistic teachings. In an autobiography written by this renowned authority, The Book of Visions (Sefer HaChizyonot), he explains that Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David are only terms reflecting two aspects of a single man (p.106).

In hindsight, it is clear that while the releasing of the living bird by the Kohen foresees the resurrection of Mashiach, its flight into the open field depicts his ascension into heaven. Concerning this Rabbi Chaim Vital z”l again writes, “Mashiach [who will be largely unknown] will thereupon rise up to Heaven just as Moshe ascended to the firmament, and will subsequently return and be revealed completely for all to see. The entire Jewish people will then perceive him and flock towards him” (Arba Mei’ot Shekel Kesef p. 68). Our Mashiach ascended into the clouds in precisely this way. In comparing the event to Moshe Rabeinu’s ascent into the clouds on Sinai’s heights, we are reminded that we must not lose hope of his return.

Sending away the Mother Bird and the Ascension of Mashiach-
Mashiach was born into a generation unprepared for his kingdom. Rather than immediately gathering the tribes back to their land, he desired to suffer, bearing the transgressions of the world upon his shoulders. The Zohar explains the need for Mashiach to give up his life in no uncertain terms, “Because this lower plateau lacks manifestation of G-dliness, this Mashiach must die…He will remain dead until this plateau receives 'life' from the higher plateau, at which point he will rise and come to life...(Balak 203).”
After having risen from the dead, Mashiach spent forty days strengthening his students, clarifying their understanding of his mission. Then, ten days before Shavuot, Yeshua was lifted into Heaven covered in a cloud. We have been awaiting his glorious return ever since. Questions arise,” Why was the complete redemption delayed; why must we suffer further exile; and why did Mashiach have to leave us?” To better understand this, we search out one of the most obscure mitzvot, Shiluach Haken, “Sending Away the Mother Bird.” The Torah obligates, “When one happens upon a mother bird nesting on her young in an un-owned place, one is forbidden to take the un-hatched eggs or the young birds until the mother is sent away.”
The generation that witnessed the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash was saturated with baseless hatred. At this time even the very religious were often plagued by hatred for fellow Jews. A Heavenly judgment was passed and Israel was expelled from her land. Sadly, the remedy for this kind of hatred could only be found in exile. While exile creates difficulties regarding ritual observance, it promotes a true sense of ahavat Israel, love for every Jew. Living in dispersion encourages a longing for peoplehood and a desire to connect. To remove the blemish of hatred from the Holy Nation, Hashem chose to remove the children of Israel from their “nest.” Mashiach, like the mother bird needed to first be sent away before His children were carried off into exile. The Zohar explains that when the mother bird returns to find her nest empty, she flies throughout the forest searching for her young. Mashiach is now searching for his children throughout the world, calling to them, desiring to gather them back to Himself.

SEDER OLAM RABBAH VEZUTA

2010-04-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Yaakov Emden, Yisrael Ben-Tzevi (The YaBeTz) was an amazingly outspoken scholar. During the 1700's he defended Israel from the teachings of Shabbtai Zvi and encouraged the support of the Christian community. Today his letter, Seder Olam Rabbah Vezuta stands as a testimony of rabbinic support for a Torah faithful reading of our Besorot and the letters of the apostles. Below I have included links to other blogs and articles related to The YaBeTz and his writings. There is a portrait on Wikipedia that is labeled "Jacob Emden," but I believe this is actually an image of his father Chacham Tzvi Ashkenazi.Above is a picture of Rabbi Emden's grave stone in the Altona borough of Hamburg.

Seder Olam Rabbah Vezuta

"For it is recognized that also the Nazarene and his disciples, especially Paul, warned concerning the Torah of the Israelites, to which all the circumcised are tied. And if they are truly Christians, they will observe their faith with truth, and not allow within their boundary this new unfit Messiah Shabbetai Zevi who came to destroy the earth.

But truly even according to the writers of the Gospels, a Jew is not permitted to leave his Torah, for Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians (Gal. 5) "I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, the Messiah will do you no good at all. You can take it from me that every man who receives circumcision is under obligation to keep the entire Torah." Again because of this he admonished in a letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 7) that the circumcised should not remove the marks of circumcision, nor should the uncircumcised circumcise themselves.

Many have asked that Paul appears to contradict himself here. In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 16), it is mentioned that Paul circumcised his disciple Timothy. And they found this very puzzling, for this act seems to contradict the later text which seems to indicate that he considered circumcision a temporary commandment until the Messiahs arrival; but this took place after the time of the Nazarene! Therefore you must realize--and accept the truth from him who speaks it-- that we see clearly here that the Nazarene and his Apostles did not wish to destroy the Torah from Israel, God forbid; for it is written so in Matthew (Mt. 5), the Nazarene having said, "Do not suppose that I have come to abolish the Torah. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. I tell you this: So long as heaven and earth endure, not a letter, not a stroke, will disappear from the Torah until it is achieved. If any man therefore sets aside even the least of the Torahs demands, and teaches others to do the same, he will have the lowest place in the Kingdom of Heaven, whereas anyone who keeps the Torah, and teaches others so, will stand high in the Kingdom of Heaven." This is also recorded in Luke (Lk. 16). It is therefore exceedingly clear that the Nazarene never dreamed of destroying the Torah.

We similarly find Paul, his disciple, in a letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 5), accusing them of fornication, and condemning one who had lived with his fathers wife. You may therefore understand that Paul doesnt contradict himself because of his circumcision of Timothy, for the latter was the son of a Jewish mother and a Gentile father (Acts 16), and Paul was a scholar, an attendant of Rabban Gamaliel the Elder, well-versed in the laws of the Torah. He knew that the child of a Jewish mother is considered a full Jew, even if the father should be a Gentile, as is written in the Talmud and Codes. He therefore acted entirely in accordance with the Halakha by circumcising Timothy. This would be in line with his position that all should remain within their own faith (1 Cor. 7). Timothy, born of a Jewish mother, had the law of a Jew, and had to be circumcised, just as he was enjoined to observe all commandments of the Torah (Pauls condemnation of the man who lived with his stepmother is similarly understandable, as such an act is also forbidden to Noahides), for all who are circumcised are bound by all the commandments. This provides a satisfactory reply to the question.

This will also solve the apparent contradictions in the Nazarenes own statements. Christian scholars have assumed from certain passages in the Gospels that he wished to give a new Torah to take the place of the Torah of Moses. How could he then have said explicitly that he comes only to fulfill it? But it is as I have said earlier--that the writers of the Gospels never meant to say that the Nazarene came to abolish Judaism, but only that he came to establish a religion for the Gentiles from that time onward. Nor was it new, but actually ancient; they being the Seven Commandments of the Sons of Noah, which were forgotten. The Apostles of the Nazarene then established them anew. However, those born as Jews, or circumcised as converts to Judaism (Ex. 12:49; one law shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger) are obligated to observe all commandments of the Torah without exception.

But for the Gentiles he reserved the Seven Commandments which they have always been obligated to fulfill. It is for that reason that they were forbidden pollutions of idols, fornication, blood, and things strangled (Acts 15). They also forbade them circumcision and the Sabbath. All of this was in accord with the law and custom of our Torah, as expounded by our Sages, the true transmitters from Moses at Sinai. It was they who sat upon his seat (as the Nazarene himself attested [Mt. 23]). It was they (the Sages or Pharisees) who said that it is forbidden to circumcise a Gentile who does not accept upon himself the yoke of (all) the commandments. The Sages likewise said that the Gentile is enjoined not (fully) to observe the Sabbath. The Apostles of the Nazarene therefore chose for those Gentiles who do not enter the Jewish faith that instead of circumcision they should practice immersion (for truly immersion is also a condition of full conversion), and a commemoration of the Sabbath was made for them on Sunday. -- But the Nazarene and his Apostles observed the Sabbath and circumcision as mentioned earlier, for they were born as Jews. They observed the Torah fully, until after a period of time a few of them decided to give up the Torah among themselves completely. They said that its observance was too difficult for them and agreed to remove its yoke from their necks (Acts 15).

But even here they did correctly as far as the Gentiles were concerned, for they were not commanded to observe it. Nor is it proper to make it difficult for them, since they did not receive (accept?) the Torah and are not enjoined to ob serve the 613 commandments. However, it is completely different as far as the Jews are concerned, for they became obligated to fulfill the Torah because God delivered them from the iron furnace (Egypt) to be the people of his possession. Therefore they and their children became subject to it forever. This, their covenant, will not be forgotten from their mouths, nor be discontinued from their children. For it they have given their lives throughout the generations, as the Psalmist has recorded (Ps. 44:18): All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten Thee, neither have we been false to Thy covenant.

Certainly, therefore, there is no doubt that one who seeks truth will agree with our thesis, that the Nazarene and his Apostles never meant to abolish the Torah of Moses from one who was born a Jew. Likewise did Paul write in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 7) that each should adhere to the faith in which each was called. They therefore acted in accordance with the Torah by forbidding circumcision to Gentiles, according to the Halakha, as it is forbidden to one who does not accept the yoke of the commandments. They knew that it would be too difficult for the Gentiles to observe the Torah of Moses. They therefore forbade them to circumcise, and it would suffice that they observe the Seven Noahide Commandments, as commanded upon them through the Halakha from Moses at Sinai.

It is therefore a habitual saying of mine (not as a hypocritical flatterer, God forbid, for I am of the faithful believers of Israel, and I know well that the remnant of Israel will not speak falsehood, nor will their mouths contain a deceitful tongue) that the Nazarene brought about a double kindness in the world. On the one hand, he strengthened the Torah of Moses majestically, as mentioned earlier, and not one of our Sages spoke out more emphatically concerning the immutability of the Torah. And on the other hand, he did much good for the Gentiles (provided they do not turn about his intent as they please, as some foolish ones have done because they did not fully understand the intent of the authors of the Gospels. I have recently seen someone publish a book, and he had no idea about what he was writing. For if he had understood the subject, he would have kept his silence and not wasted the paper and ink. There are also found among us foolish scholars who know not their right from their left in the Written and Oral Torahs and cause the people to err with their pompous pronouncements. But there are true scholars among the Christians, just as there are the chosen few among Torah scholars; and there are few of the truly great.) by doing away with idolatry and removing the images from their midst. He obligated them with the Seven Commandments so that they should not be as the beasts of the field. He also bestowed upon them ethical ways, and in this respect he was much more stringent with them than the Torah of Moses, as is well-known. This in itself was most proper, as it is the correct way to acquire ethical practices, as the philosopher (Maimonides) mentioned. We have written similarly in our Siddur. However, it is not necessary to impose upon Jews such extreme ethical practices, since they have been obligated to the yoke of Torah, which weakens the strength of the (evil) inclination without it. They have taken the oath at Sinai and are already trained in proper practice and nature. These are clear words that will not be rejected by a clear-thinking person.

If certain Christians who consider themselves scholars would understand this secret, who believe that they are commanded to abolish the Torah of Moses from the seed of Israel, they would not engage in such foolishness. The people listen to their self-conceived words, something which was never intended by the writers of the Gospels. Quite the opposite, they have written clearly that they intended the contrary.

Because of these errant scholars, hatred has increased toward the Jews who are blameless of any guilt and proceed innocently to observe their Torah with all their heart, imbued with the fear of God. They should instead bring their people to love the ancient Children of Israel who remain loyal to their God, as indeed commanded to Christians by their original teachers.

They even said to love ones enemies. How much more so to us! In the name of heaven, we are your brothers! One God has created us all. Why should they abuse us because we are joined to the commandments of God, to which we are tied with the ropes of his love? We do this not to enjoy the pleasures of the (evil) inclination and emptiness of a passing world. For truly (Ps. 44) we have become a byword among the nations, and with all this (ibid.). In God have we gloried all the day, and we will give thanks unto Thy name for ever. We pray for the good of the entire world, and especially for the benefit of these lands in which we reside, protecting us and our observance of the Torah...

You, members of the Christian faith, how good and pleasant it might be if you will observe that which was commanded to you by your first teachers; how wonderful is your share if you will assist the Jews in the observance of their Torah. You will truly receive reward as if you had fulfilled it yourselves-for the one who helps others to observe is greater than one who observes but does not help others to do so--even though you only observe the Seven Commandments. I have written similarly in my pleasant work Torat Ha-Kenaot-- that the Jew who observes the Torah, but doesnt support it, is considered among the cursed; and the Gentile who does not observe the 613 commandments, but supports it, is considered among the blessed."

Translated by Harvey Falk. Selection of "Jesus the Pharisee, A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus", by Harvey Falk, 1985

Chabad: Gallery of Our Great
A Catholic Jew Pontificates
Jacob Emden's Views on Christianity

Chayei HaMetim, The Living Dead

2010-04-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

How can we understand Paul’s statement that chasidei Yeshua are not “under the Torah?”

Every Jew is born under the Torah. It’s the blueprint of the world and a guide for every man alive. From the outside, the idea that the followers of Mashiach are somehow no longer living under the Torah is a difficult concept, in fact, it’s incomprehensible.

The dead:

What from the surface appears apostasy proves itself deep Torah when understood. At death one of the tzitzit is torn from the tallit worn by the deceased rendering the garment invalid and revealing a deep truth. It says in Tehilim “the dead cannot praise HaShem” (Ps. 115:7). We tear the tzitzit of the dead knowing that after death a Jew is no longer bound by the law he spent his life in service to. In death it is neither possible to keep mitzvot nor transgress Torah Law. While the living are under the Torah the dead are no longer held by this holy rule. This is the idea underlying so much of our apostolic text.

That You Might Live:

When Moshe Rabeinu put the Torah before Yisrael he called it “a blessing and a curse.” He said I put before you “life and death.” (Deu. 30:19) The quality of our interaction with the Torah is entirely conditional. Moses pleaded with his people “chose life that you might live!” Our Sheliach to the nations lamented that all have been found under the Torah’s curse for “there is none righteous, no not one.” (Rom. 3:10) True gospel is this, the knowledge that while the whole of a nation and an entire world has been found lacking, we have in our midst a champion. Having humbled himself even unto death, The Tzaddik Yeshua was faithful to Torah having conquered every temptation and independent desire. Although he was deserving of life, Mashiach was obedient unto death saying “not my will but Yours be done.” (Lk. 22:42) Ultimately, it was in this state of death in which Mashiach was found in a position to receive the blessing of Torah, the life spoken of by Moses. Long after His body had been packed in 100 pounds of spice and had grown cold in the grave Mashiach opened his eyes. The Tzaddik, our King-Mashiach was proven the divine son through His resurrection which was the reception of Torah blessing. (Rom. 1:4) You see, Yeshua was given life because he kept the Torah.

Attachment to the Tzaddik:

Confronted with the reality of our own transgression we are called to make a cheshbon hanefesh, an accounting of the soul. Aware of the Torah’s high calling we are left standing before our Creator with the realization that we do not deserve this life. A true Chasid of Mashiach is one whom has already judged himself unworthy turning over his own life; accepting the wages of his transgression he dies unto himself. Knowing that the dead cannot perform mitzvot, chasidei Yeshua relinquish any merit derived through the performance of the commandments and recognize any good works as truly not their own but belonging to and a manifestation of the risen Mashiach alive within them. As Paul says “It is no longer I who live but Mashiach in me.” (Gal. 2:20) The process of dieing to the self is a nullification of ones sense of independence from the Tzaddik which is ultimately understood as oneness with the divine essence; as it is written “We are one; I in them and You in Me." (Jn. 17:23) Inasmuch as He is the rightful recipient, it is through our attachment to the Tzaddik that we now know and experience the Torah’s blessing, which is life everlasting. So then, the followers of Mashiach are no longer under the law in the sense that we are called "dead." However, because the Tzaddik is now living in us our lives should express his own. (Rom. 6:1)This is a delicate concept and should be learned carefully.

Borrowed Gear

2010-04-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

While searching through used bookstores I sometimes come across an old Catholic Daily Missal. What's great about these little Catholic prayer books is that they may come with a vinyl jacket which is easily removed and transplanted to many similarly sized siddurim. I bought one last night for $2 and its jacket fits my siddur like a glove. Another nice bit of book equipment you can lift from a missal is the colored ribbons which are usually tucked between its pages. These are generally not affixed to the binding but to a small plastic card which is tucked into the spine of the book and will suit your siddur nicely. Next time you're constructing a parapet on the roof you'll know just where to find that brachah; its the blue ribbon on p.226.

Reading Acts ch. 12 on Pesach

2010-03-28T23:35:00.000-07:00

On Passover we drink four cups of wine recognizing the removal of four klippot or husks...layers of restraint which were broken through our exodus from Mitzraim. Athough Kefa had been kept under guard by "four squads fo four soldiers", we read of his meraculous deliverance durring the chag. Below I have included a reading from our family's Haggadah. Feel free to print this short piece and read it during your seder or elabarate on its content during a group study.

It happened once that Shimon Kefa found himself in prison during Pesach. His experience intentionally resembles that of Israel in Egypt.

Four squads of four soldiers each guarded his cell. Kefa was restrained, and slept on the floor between two of the soldiers. Suddenly, an angel of HASHEM appeared next to him and the cell became filled with a bright light. (This recalls the light that filled the homes of the Israelites in Egypt when HASHEM smote Egypt with darkness [Choshech].) The angel then struck Kefa on the side saying, “quickly get up!” At the same moment the angel spoke, shackles fell from Kefa’s hands. The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put your sandals on your feet.” As Kefa dressed the angel also commanded him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” Before our ancestors fled Egypt they were instructed with similar words. They were commanded to eat the Pesach in Egypt fully dressed, with sandals on their feet.

Kefa followed the angel, but believed he was dreaming. The angel escorted Kefa past two guards until they came to an iron gate that led into the city. As they approached the gate it opened by itself. (This incident reminds us of the sea of reeds that parted before the sons of Israel.)

Although, as free men and women we conduct the seder in a reclining position, we learn from Kefa’s encounter with the angel that in times of oppression we should expect a quick deliverance. One who expects redemption wears his sandals even as he sleeps. Kefa was not expecting salvation; it was for this reason the angel struck him.

The season of Pesach not only held redemptive power for the generaion of the exodus but exists to free those held captive in all generations.

Kabbetz West

2010-03-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Kabbetz, the UMJC’s regional gathering of twenties and thirties was really a great experience for the Seattle Jewish messianic community. This was a West Coast event, but young people traveled from all over to attend. Friday evening our rabbi, Jason Forbes, discussed an “open source” model for sharing our energy, thoughts, and talents for the purpose of building our community. On shabbos morning, a guest speaker, Rabbi Jason Sobel, inspired our community to practice a Jewish faith that could transform the world around us through the tangible experience of healing and real encounters with the divine. We davvened and ate continuously, which made for a very full weekend. Sunday morning we discussed further ways to create authentic community in our movement before riding the light rail from Synagogue Beit Hashofar into down town Seattle to sip some coffee and tour the Pike Place Market. Thank you to every one involved and a big yasher koach (especially to the kitchen crew)!

Rav Ariel Cohen Alloro

2010-03-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

Jeff provided a really nice link, thanks bra.

Got Eucharist?

2010-03-15T23:10:00.000-07:00

Recently Seth has been posting on the topic of Eucharist. In his posts he rightly defended his opinion that while the first Eucharist my have been taken in connection with Passover it need not be limited to that setting as is the practice among many messianic communities. I enjoyed reading what he had to say and thought that I would add my thoughts here on The Emergent Observer.

The word Eucharist is derived from the Greek εὐχαριστία, meaning thanksgiving. Eucharist then is a reference to the brachah (benediction) and not the bread. While most people would assume that a Eucharistic rite has not been present within Jewish tradition since the days of the Jewish apostles I would like to challenge that notion to some extent by presenting current and living customs surrounding the Jewish meal experience as a very real kind of Eucharist. This will be a short and simple (and very idealistic) walk through the meal, something to think about.

Since the time of the Temple’s destruction rabbinic writings have described the table of a Jewish home as a very real kind of alter (Berachot 10b). As an extension of this, bread upon the table has come to reflect the redeeming sacrifice. In Jewish thought the ingesting of food is not actually considered a meal (seudah) without bread. Before any observant Jew eats bread he or she must wash with a keli (washing vessel) as is required by Jewish law. It must be understood that through this custom this holy Jew is, very much, being compared to the priests which once washed in the Temple. Rabbi Elimelech of Lizensk explained that before washing in preparation for bread one should recite a prayer of repentance composed by Rabbeinu Yonah (p. 229, Jewish Spiritual Practices).

Rabbeinu Yonah’s Prayer Of The Repentant:

(From Yesod ha-Tshuvah, translated by Rabbi Yosef Peretz)

Please G-d, I have sinned and transgressed, (and such and such I did) from the day I came to the land until this very day. And now, my heart has moved me and my spirit has pressed me to return to You in truth and with a good and complete heart, with all my heart, soul, and meodi (everything precious to me), and to admit and drop (my bad ways), to cast away from myself all my sins and to make for myself a new heart and a new spirit, and to be meticulous and careful in Your yira (fear, in order not to return to sin). And You H-shem, my G-d, who opens His hand with teshuva and helps those who come to purify. Open Your hand and receive me with complete teshuva before You. And help me to strengthen in Your yira. And help me against the Satan who wages war with me with cunning strategies and seeks my soul to destroy me, that he should not rule over me. And distance him from my 248 limbs and cast him to the depths of the sea and thwart him in order that he not stand on my right to accuse me. And do that I should go in Your laws, and remove this heart of stone from me and give me a heart of flesh.
Please H-shem, my G-d, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications and receive my teshuva. And do not let any sin prevent my prayer and teshuva, and there should be before Your holy throne, straight defenders to defend me and to bring my prayer before You. And if in my many and great sins, there is noone to defend me, make an opening from under Your throne of glory, and receive my teshuva, that I should not return empty from before You. Because You listen to prayer.

It is explained that the righteous eat in love and holy fear of G-d as if in prayer (p.18, Darkei Tzedek). After eating bread we recite Birkat Hamazon, the grace after meals, as its written: "When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless Hashem your G-d for the good land which he gave you". (Due. 8:10) When three or more people are present this is done in a somewhat more elaborate fashion. Those in attendance are given a formal invitation (zimmun) to participate. The leader holds in the palm of his right hand a full cup of wine. The cup is elevated off the table making a connection to the passage from Psalms, “I will lift the Cup of Salvations and I shall call on Hashem.” In conclusion of the Birkat Hamazon the leader makes the preliminary blessing over wine and drinks from the cup. This is ritual is described in detail by the Zohar. Please notice in the text given below that the Zohar, like Paul, refers to the cup as “the cup of blessing.”

Soncino Zohar, Bereshit, Section 1, Page 250a, b:

“Rab Hamnuna the Elder would not allow anyone else to take the cup of blessing, but he himself took it in his two hands and said the blessing. We have affirmed that the cup should be taken in the right hand, and not in the left. It is called "cup of salvations—Kos Yeshuot" (Ps. CXVI, 13), because through it blessings are drawn from the supernal salvations, and in it is collected the supernal wine. Also, the table over which the blessing is said should not be devoid of both bread and wine. The Community of Israel is called "cup of blessing", and therefore the cup should be raised both by the right hand and the left hand, so as to be set between. It should be filled with wine, because of the wine of the Torah which issues from the future world. There is a mystic allusion in this cup of blessing to the holy chariot (vehicle for the divine Presence). The right and left hands correspond to the north and south, between which is "the couch of Solomon". He who says the blessing should fix his eye upon the cup to bless it with four blessings. Thus the cup contains the emblem of faith, north, south, east, and west, and so the holy chariot. There should be bread on the table in order that the lower bread may be blessed, and the "bread of poverty" may become the "bread of luxury". In this way the Community of Israel will be blessed in all four directions, above and below-above by the Bread of Blessing and the Cup of Blessing through which King David is joined to the patriarchs, and below, that bread should never be lacking from the Israelite's table.”

And it was right there in the tradition all along, we didn't need to change a thing. The Jewish meal is a real Eucharist all we need is the kavanah.

Rav Ariel Cohen Alloro

2010-02-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

Thanks for posting it Kenneth Carter

Kabbetz In Seattle

2010-01-04T22:32:00.001-08:00

For the first time ever Kabbetz, the Union’s regional conference of twenties and thirties, is gathering in Seattle, WA! Our committee chairperson has been working overtime from the Kabbetz base camp in Los Angeles to make sure this West coast gathering is a success. The poster printed to promote this event reads, “Yibaneh HaMikdash: Building our Community,” and with that in mind this weekend promises to be a real opportunity for connection.

Affordable accommodations are being set aside at the Red Lion Hotel in South Seattle just minutes away from our host congregation, Beit Hashofar. Synagogue Beit Hashofar is the oldest Messianic Jewish synagogue in the Northwest and one of the most beautiful small shuls in the Seattle area. Registration information will be available shortly, until then look for cheep tickets and brush up on your Japanese T-shirt folding techniques. I can’t wait to see you there!

Tu BeShvat, A Return to The Garden

2010-01-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

This year Tu BeShvat (Shevat 15) comes to us on the night of January 29, 2010. This is the Jewish "New Year for Trees." Marking much more than the growing cycle of the forest and orchard, this small holiday is filled with profound intention. With four cups of wine ranging from white to red we reflect upon the four seasons of the year and four worlds of tradition. We also consume various kind of nuts and fruits. All of this speaks of a return to the Garden of Eden and a connection to The Tree of Life. Below I have included a short reflection for the holiday.

A Return to The Garden

In The Garden, Adam Harishon (the first man) ate fruit and was satisfied from the trees of Pardes, the orchard (Aramaic). There, trees blossomed in an endless springtime season. Sustenance was found with the extension of an arm. Adam plucked sweetbread from leafy branches and lived in a state of total sheleimut—wholeness.

This was life as it was before man took from the forbidden tree, before exile, nakedness, thorns and the sweat of the brow—before death. In the beginning, Adam had been placed as a gardener east of Eden (Bereishit 2:15). He knew every tree of the field, including the location of the Tree of Life, his antidote and hope. Had Hashem not placed two obstructing angels before his path Adam would have undoubtedly raced to embrace its branches.

The text of our Tu BeShvat Seder is called a “tikkun.” The word means correction and reflects the intended purpose of the seder. Through the ingesting of symbolic foods, the sensitive observer intends to connect to, and participate in, a process of spiritual repair, opening the gates to the Tree of Life.

The B"CH reveals Mashiach’s role as Adam Hasheini (the second man). He is the True Tzaddik, performing acts of Tikkun. The “second Adam” is able to uncover the path to Gan Eden. Throughout the pages of our Besorot, Yeshua retraces the steps of Adam, reconnecting humanity to its source.

As if to rewind the ancient story, Yeshua’s suffering is intentionally portrayed as a reversal of our Genesis narrative. Before giving his life, a crown of thorns was placed upon the Tzaddik’s brow (Yo. 19:2). We can only wonder if he didn’t whisper the words, “Thorns and thistles shall the earth sprout for you,” and “By the sweat of your brow shall you eat…” That Yeshua was led beyond the walls of the holy city easily evokes the memory of an original exile beyond the bounds of paradise. Our scripture informs that Yeshua was returned to the original state of mankind, being stripped naked, his garments being stolen by wicked men (Mat 27:33-36). After eating the fruit, Adam was given garments with which to cover himself. Here we see The Tzaddik being stripped and exposed. Then, to use the language of Shimon bar Yonah; “Yeshua bore our transgressions, being hanged on a tree” (1 Kefa 2:24). As the Mashiach nears death, our text becomes clear and even obvious. Having been crucified beside a repentant transgressor, Yeshua turned and said to the man, “Today you will be with me in Pardes, in The Orchard of The Garden (Luke 23:43).” After the death of Mashiach, tzaddikim from Jerusalem requested his body. They wrapped and packed the body in one-hundred pounds of fragrant spices; it was placed in a grave hidden in a garden.

Miriam Magdala came and stood outside the kever (tomb); looking inside she saw two angels guarding the place where Mashiach’s body had been. Believing that these angels were simply men, she began franticly searching for Yeshua’s body in the garden. Our besorah recalls that as Miriam, with tear streaked face, turned about the garden she actually saw Yeshua standing in its midst, but took him for “the gardener.” The language used is intentional. Here Mashiach returns to the garden to reclaim the life of humanity in His own resurrection. Yeshua is the gardener—the second Adam. The image created in the text of our besorah is that of a man and a woman standing in a garden. Finally, with the ascent of Mashiach, on the fortieth day of the Omer, we witness a true return to The Garden—The Orchard.

Chief Rabbi of Efrat

2009-12-28T19:56:00.000-08:00

This video was found at Messianics for Torah, follow the link to see other great articles including more thoughts regarding this Rabbi

Av 1, Yahrtzeit of R' Paul Philip Levertoff OB"M

2009-07-19T01:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night July 21, 2009 corresponds the 1st of the Hebrew month of Av. This date marks a yahrtzeit (anniversary of death) for R’ Paul Philip Levertoff (Feivel Levtov) OB”M. It is very important to observe the yahrtzeit of our Rabbi at this time in the lighting of a candle and in the learning of his work Love and the Messianic Age. This is a very meaningful time inasmuch as it not only marks the time of our Rabbi's passing but also that of Aharon HaKohen and begins our 9 day reflection approching the rememberance of the destruction of the Holy Temple. He was both a priest and a house for the divine presence. He remains an inspiration.

Tisha B'Av, For Malki

2009-07-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

One of the darkest days of the year occurs in the heat of midsummer. Even before the fast of Tisha b’Av (the 9^th of Av) begins we take up the practices of mourners, ingesting an egg and bread dusted with ash alone in the corner of a room. We are exiles. The aron kodesh is empty; its scrolls have been removed. Candles are lit and passed through the synagogue so that by their light we might sing a dirge. The small flames look like stars in a summer night’s sky. But on this night of lamentation I have a secret, a spark of joy inside. Like the candle illuminating the kinah in front of me, holy lights shine within. They’re the words of Zechariah the prophet, who wrote, “The fast day of the fifth month (Tisha b’Av) will become for the house of Yisrael a day of rejoicing and of happiness (Zechariah 8:19).”Chazal interpret these words as a reference to the birth of Mashiach on the 9^th of Av.

On the surface this might seem to contradict the wide spread tradition that Yeshua was born during Chag Sukkot on the 15^th of Tishri. However, its my opinion that both dates are correct. There is a lesser known second occasion when Mashiach is said to have been born; it was at his immersion. A voice was heard saying, “You are my son. Today I have begotten you (Lk. 3:22 codex Bezae).”

That this event occurred on Tisha b’Av is clear from the context of the account given in our besorot. In the third chapter of Matthew, at the end of a passionate and rage filled speech just before the immersion of Mashiach, Yochanan Hamatbil responds vehemently to a group of Sadducees sent to interrogate him saying, “Now also the axe is laid at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.” This proclamation which was made in reference to the corruption filled second temple is specific in its imagery and helps to place Yeshua’s immersion within the context of Tisha b’Av.

With the words “Now also,” Yochanan is comparing the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash to the first, both of which occurred on the ninth of Av. In Babylon the date of Tisha b’Av was observed as a pagan holiday. Trees were cut into logs to be burned in huge bonfires dedicated to the worship of the sun. When Shlomo Hamelech built the Beit Hamikdash he imported so many cedar trees from the Lebanon, the temple its self was often called “the cedars of Lebanon,” or simply “Lebanon.” In 586 BCE, Babylon chopped down the cedars of the Beit Hamikdash and created an enormous and horrible fire from the temple ruins before driving Judah into exile.

According to our tradition the destructive quality of Tisha b’Av and its relation to exile is a result of our desire to return to Egypt after having been freed from slavery there. Rather than enter into the Promised Land, Yisrael sought to turn back because of fear (Num. 14:34). As punishment for a lack of trust in G-d, Yisrael was cursed with a forty year exile into the wilderness which began on this day. Hashem decreed that Tisha b’Av would be a day of crying and misfortune. “G-d said, ‘”You wept in vain. I will establish this date for you as a time of real weeping for all generations (Ta’anit 29).’”

After his immersion, Mashiach was driven by G-d’s spirit into the wilderness. He remained in the desert for forty days, mimicking Yisrael’s wonderings begun on Tisha b’Av. During these days Mashiach ate nothing and performed corrections for the failings of our nation. As Yisrael erred three times in the wilderness, Mashiach was given three tests. The Satan appeared to Yeshua at the apex of his hunger and said, “If you are the son of G-d, command this stone to turn to bread.” Mashiach remembered the carnality of his people when they spoke against Moshe Rabeinu, saying, “You brought us out into this wilderness to kill us all with hunger (Shemot 16:3).” He refused to eat as an act of tikkun. Answering the Satan, he said, “It is written, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from G-d’ (Mt. 4:3-4). Mashiach’s response to the tempter comes from Devarim, Parashah Ekev, one of the readings used during the seven weeks between Tisha b’Av and Rosh Hashanah.

After Hashem supplied our need for food in the wilderness we began to complain about water and put G-d to the test. The place where this occurred was named מסה (Massah) and means “test” (Shemot 17:3). Our besorah records that when the Satan attempted to persuade Mashiach to test Hashem he spoke out against the tempter saying, “You shall not put Hashem, your G-d, to the test!”

Before the end of this redemptive journey Mashiach performed one more corrective act on behalf of his people. It is written that “the devil led Yeshua up to a very high mountain, and showed him every kingdom of the world in their magnificence (Matt. 5:8).” The Satan told Mashiach that if he would only prostrate himself before the adversary he would be given “all these.” Again the account is clear in its imagery. It was at the foot of a mountain that Yisrael bowed before a golden calf. In his final act of correction, Mashiach commanded the Satan, “Away, Satan! It is written: ‘Hashem your G-d, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve!’”

It has been expected from ancient times that Mashiach would be born on Tisha b’Av, many have also held the belief that he would begin his redemptive mission on this day. It was anticipated that Mashiach would transform Tisha b’Av from a day of exile into one of redemption. Yeshua has fulfilled our expectations. His birth through immersion and redemptive forty day trek into the wilderness began on Tisha b’Av, the anniversary of G-d’s having decreed a forty year sentence of wondering upon his nation. It was at his immersion that Yeshua began to take students unto himself. He has been gathering the dispersed of Yisrael ever since. Today we continue to fast on Tisha b’Av knowing that Yisrael remains in partial exile. However, we also conceal a spark of joy, knowing that Mashiach has been born. He has begun to transform exile into redemption.

2009-06-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

Vine of David is a new publisher dedicated to the advancement of a modern messianic movement through the circulation of Jewish texts authored by a forgotten generation of messianic Jewish sages. Obscured by the European holocaust, these texts reveal the thoughts and dreams of both Chasidic and non-Chasidic Orthodox Rabbis who looked forward to a messianic movement and an authentic Jewish expression awakened by work of Yeshua of Nazareth.

The first publications of Vine of David include two necessary resources for members of our broad community. The first is a work composed by R’ Paul Philip Levertoff, of blessed memory. This book, Love and the Messianic Age, describes our apostolic teachings as genuine chasidut and reveals a truly messianic Jewish paradigm. This text has been released accompanied by a clear and bold commentary with the ability to open these writings to even those unfamiliar with the ideas presented in the original work.

Restore the memory of pre-war messianic luminaries and transform your spiritual life by supporting the precious work of Vine of David.

Mary, Mary

2009-06-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

Before the destruction of the second temple one out of every four women bore the name Miriam. Our besorot make it clear that this was a popular name, no where does it become more obvious than near Yeshua’s death. In his besorah, Yochanan ben Zavdai records the following:

"There stood by the cross of Yeshua, his mother [Miriam], his mother’s sister-in-law, Miriam of Chalfai, and Miriam Magdala." (Yo. 19:25)

Of the notable female followers who witnessed Yeshua’s hanging, all were named Miriam. So often is the name used throughout our text it is difficult to distinguish one Miriam from the next. Chagiga 4b records an important and rather humorous account of similar confusions:

"…The Angel of Death told his agent to bring him the soul of Miriam the hairdresser and instead was brought the soul of Miriam, the children’s teacher. The Angel of Death told his messenger: I told you to bring me Miriam the hairdresser. The messenger replied: If that’s the case, I will take her back. The Angel of Death said: Since you already brought her, then let her be included in the quota of the dead ."(Chagiga 4b)

The word hairdresser found in the quote above is a translation of the original megaddlela (one who elevates the hair); it’s a euphemism implying a prostitute or other woman of ill repute. Although Rabbeinu Tam, a medieval master of Jewish law, informs us that this is not a reference to the follower of Yeshua who would have lived 100 years earlier, commentary on the text nevertheless adds profound insight into our messianic story. It was Rabbeinu Tam’s grandfather Rashi who gave clarification on the word megaddlela establishing our current definition and understanding of the word.

For well over a thousand years there has been a debate regarding the identity of the woman who washed Yeshua’s feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. We’re given the name Miriam, but for generations it has been unclear whether or not this was the Miriam called Magdala. If we understand this name the way Rashi does. If we take the term to denote “one who elevates the hair” then perhaps the two characters are one and the same Miriam…it makes sense; we’re supposed to see the contrast. The story reads more beautifully this way. Miriam, the one who raised her hair above her convictions was transformed by the presence of the tzaddik Yeshua. Her hair, once treasured above all else, became like rags used to dry the feet of her master.

Blessing Over Bread

2009-05-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

The Value of Bread-

There’s a verse, “He was known to them in the breaking of bread” (Lk. 24:35). As it stands alone the line is beautiful; it appears at the end of an amazing story about how Yeshua remained hidden while he spoke with two men on the road after his resurrection. They conversed and he expounded regarding the character of Mashiach and the necessity of his death. As they approached their destination the men invited this unknown chacham (sage) to their meal. He remained concealed to them until he took bread and broke it. At that very moment their eyes were opened and they realized who this tzaddik was and then he was gone, he disappeared.

This bread breaking is an interesting thing. In Jewish legal thought a dining experience is not considered a meal without bread. Any child of Avraham…who was known for his hospitality…should be prepared to share their meal; for this reason traditional texts use the term breaking bread to describe the mealtime activity. Sharing, breaking, dividing and connecting, this is the purpose of a meal…of bread.

Inasmuch as the Hebrew language has assigned numerical value to each of its letters, gematria is the practice of deriving connections in a text through those numerical relationships. A brief example of this kind of interpretation is given by the hand of the Apostle to the nations. He explains as follows:

"Again I will insist to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Torah." (Gal. 5:3)

Although it does not come across in any other language but Hebrew, Paul is using a bit of well known gematria in the statement above. On the eighth day a Jewish boy takes circumcision and enters the brit (ברית) of Avraham. The numerical value of ברית is 612. There are 613 commandments in the Torah, for this reason it is said that this mitzvah of circumcision is a permanent reminder of all the others.

In his Haggadah (108) Rabbi Marc-Alain Ouaknin includes some exceptional commentary regarding the shared meal which he derives in a similar way. He explains that if one takes the term breaking bread literally, we can divide the numerical value of the word לחם (bread) in to two and arrive at the number 39. Our "divided bread” is connected numerically to the Hebrew word for "dew." Isaiah explains:

"Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For a dew of lights is your dew, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits." (26:19)

יחיו מתיך נבלתי יקומון הקיצו ורננו שכני עפר כי טל אורת טלך וארץ רפאים תפיל׃

Our commentary explains that to offer a portion of bread is to offer a few drops of dew…dew which brings forth more than plants from the earth…a dew of resurrection from the dead.

Shabbat Challah-

The meal of Shabbat begins with our making kiddush (sanctification) over a cup of wine, this however, poses a problem. For many reasons, some of which were explained above, bread holds a special place in Jewish law and the blessing of bread has preeminence over all other foods including wine. Because our Shabbat meal should begin with the blessing over the cup we must “hide” the challah while kiddush is made. Practically this is done by covering the challah above and below. Below the challahs are hidden by a table cloth or cutting board, and above the two loaves are masked with a challah cover, towel, or anything including a simple napkin.

Again, with this custom we must return to the unavoidable mystical depth of our tradition. On Shabbat we take two loaves because the children of Israel did not collect manna on Shabbat, but instead received twice the manna just before the holiday. Commenting on Exodus 16:13, Rashi explains that the manna which was collected after it appeared on the ground each morning was covered in multiple layers of dew, above and below. Our challah covers serve to reflect this arrangement and strengthen the connection previously suggested between the communal bread of Shabbat and the dew and resurrection of Isaiah.

Saying HaMotzi-

Although there are Jews in the East whose Shabbat challah appears as a circular cake, the common tradition is a braided loaf. The blessing made over bread is called HaMotzi, the word means “who brings out” and is a quote from the blessing itself. We bless our G-d “who brings out” bread from the earth. On the most basic level we are showing gratitude to HaShem for his provision of wheat which grows from the ground. For chasidei Yeshua however the phrase contains a deeper meaning; in a profound sense we are blessing our G-d who brought Yeshua up from the grave.

Mashiach said, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever…” (Yo. 6: 48-51)

Blessing Over Challah How2

After rising from the table to wash our hands, the head of the table lifts the two challahs, wrapping them together in their hands with the top cover and says:

Baruch atah HaShem, Elokeinu, melech ha-olam ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz.

Blessed are you, HaShem, our G-d, king of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth.

Making Kiddush

2009-05-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Kiddush Wine-
Almost all physical things share a similar quality in that they breakdown or deteriorate over time. The tread wears off of your sneakers, your hair gets split ends, and your phone needs an upgrade. Wine, however, breaks the rules. Wine seems to transcend physical limitations and actually improves with age. In this way wine acts more like a spiritual substance than a physical one. Shabbat is about transcending, going beyond our limitations, so we elevate the time with a cup of wine. This is called Kiddush.

Kiddush How2-

According to the Shulchan Aruch, a book which describes the proper conduct for a lifestyle of Torah, both men and women have an equal right and obligation to recite Kiddush (281). Although it’s really nice to learn the Hebrew, it’s perfectly acceptable to make Kiddush in English or any other language. We make the blessing while holding a full cup of wine in the palm of the right hand and say:

Vay’hi erev vay’hi voker yom ha-shishi
And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day

Vay’khulu ha-shamaim v’ha-aretz v’khol tzva’am
The heavens and the earth were finished, the whole host of them

Vay’khal Elokim ba-yom ha-shviyiy melakhto asher asah
And on the seventh day G-d ended his work which he had made

vayishbot ba-yom ha-shviyi mikhol melakhto asher asah
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made

Vayivarekh Elokim et yom ha-shviyiy vayikadeish oto
And G-d blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it

ki vo shavat mikhol melakhto asher bara Elokim la’asot
because in it he had rested from all his work which G-d created and done

Baruch atah HaShem Elokeinu melekh ha-olam, borei p’ri ha-gafen. (Amein)
Blessed are You, HaShem, our G-d, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. (Amen)

Baruch atah HaShem Elokeinu melekh ha-olam
Blessed are You, HaShem, our G-d, King of the Universe

asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’ratzah vanu
who sanctifies us with his commandments, and has been pleased with us

v’shabat kadsho b’ahavah u’v’ratzon hinchilanu, zikaron l’ma’aseh v’reishit
You have lovingly and willingly given us Your holy shabbat as an inheritance, in memory of creation

Ki hu yom t’chilah l’mikra’ei kodesh, zeicher litziyat mitzrayim
The shabbat is the first among our holy days, and a remembrance of our exodus from Egypt

Ki vanu vacharta v’otanu kidashta mikol ha’amim
Indeed, You have chosen us and made us holy among all peoples

v’shabbat kadsh’cha b’ahavah u’v’ratzon hin’chal’tanu
and have willingly and lovingly given us Your holy shabbat for an inheritance

Baruch atah HaShem, m’kadesh ha-shabat. (Amein)
Blessed are You, HaShem who sanctifies the shabbat (Amen)

Blessing Light

2009-05-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

Shabbat-

Shabbat can be a small taste of the world to come. At one time humanity lived in a place like this called Gan Eden. The experience of Gan Eden was complete wholeness; it was a life without pain and war…a life of total peace, inside and out. Our tradition explains that at that time humanity was something different than we are today; we were creatures of light, like some kind of heavenly beings. The book of Bereshit explains that Chava, our first mother, was deceived by a creature called a Nachash. The events which followed transformed our existence; the light which previously clothed our human forms now became hidden inside of us. On Shabbat we return to our former existence.

The light of Shabbat-
In Judaism’s more mystical traditions the lighting of Shabbat candles serves more than just the practical function of adding light to a home. When a woman makes a blessing over light she is making a tikkun. A tikkun is understood as a repair or correction in the universe; a tikkun is made when we make right what had previously gone wrong. Because the woman was alone when she was deceived by the Nachash, a woman alone retains the ability to make the proper correction in the universe (Talmud, Shabbat 31b). By lighting Shabbat candles a woman has the ability to reveal the light which was hidden in The Garden.

Miriams Tikkun-
It’s implied in our messianic texts that Miriam the mother of Yeshua was only a teenager when she gave birth to her son. As our tradition describes, Miriam was a tzadeket, a holy woman. Although she had never been with a man a child began growing inside of her. A heavenly messenger was sent to inform Miriam that her child was to be named Yeshua, “because He will be a salvation (yeshuah) of His people.” Yeshua was born to be the greatest tzaddik the world has ever known and the true light of HaShem. That the Mashiach was conceived without the help of a man reveals the connection and purpose of this strange event. Because a woman alone brought forth the concealment of light now it was by a woman only that the true light was being birthed into the world. When a woman blesses over light she is participating with Miriam in this tikkun of bringing light into the world.

How2
Practically speaking, lighting candles before Shabbat can be quite simple. After drawing your hands inward three times bathing yourself in that messianic Shabbat light cover your face with your hands and make the blessing:

Baruch atah HaShem Elokeinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat.

Blessed are You, HaShem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has made us holy through His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Shabbat light.

***In the above blessing the words rendered as "HaShem" and "Elokeinu" should be pronounced "Adonai" and "Eloheinu" while actually performing the ritual.

Kabbetz HaEsrim Midwest

2009-04-27T00:24:00.000-07:00

Accounts confirm that Kabbetz HaEsrim Midwest was a success. For those unfamiliar, Kabbetz is a gathering of twenty and thirty somethings that takes place across the country…West coast, Midwest, and East cost. Although these extended weekends of learning and worship are arranged and promoted by the UMJC, they are open to our broad community. This year’s Kabbetz HaEsrim took place for the sake of strengthening communities and encouraging a love for our liturgical tradition among those of our generation.

Young people in and around Columbus Ohio were inspired and energized. Some were exposed to new songs and melodies. Others experimented with a level of tradition they had not previously been exposed to. Our community is like other Jewish affiliations re-investigating tradition yet we remain unmatched in our ability to make that tradition come alive for many who are far from Torah through the kind of dvekus (heart connection) only Mashiach brings.

In following posts I would like to introduce some practical ways to engage traditional prayer and practice; these short articles are dedicated to our friends in Ohio. May you continue to be inspired.

A New Album from Alaina and Roman La'Voy

2009-04-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

Although the release date has yet to be announced, I’m looking forward to a new and independent album from two promising artists. Alaina and Roman La’Voy have been recording tracks for Empty Rooms With Sounds of Prayer. With tracks like Oseh Shalom the album is recognizably Jewish and is still kitschy enough to be called messianic…but its kitschy cool. The sound is definitely folk…but folk frum. It’s going to be a CD with a vinyl soul.

When asked, Roman La’Voy explained that for him the most important track on the album is one entitled Teach Me to Overcome “because,” he said “every one struggles in faith.” The album strikes me as a refreshing folk soundtrack behind a Torah life.

Preview a selection from the album and show your support at http://www.myspace.com/romanandalaina

A thought for Spring

2009-04-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

It’s a well known tradition that the world was created in the month of Tishrei during the fall. What you may not have known is that the sages tell us of an earlier creation. Before the world that we see was brought into being physically it was created in thought. It was created in the mind of G-d. Our tradition holds that this first creation took place in the spring during the month of Nissan. Reflecting this relationship, our Torah tradition associates Nissan with the world of miraculous events and Tishrei with the world of physical activity.

We can see this through our holiday observance as well. The autumn is a time for repentance with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; this is called a “stirring from below,” humanity reaching up to Hashem. The spring is a time for wonders with Pesach and the reliving of our exodus; this is called a “stirring from above,” Hashem reaching down to humanity. In our community we also observe the advent of Mashiach in the fall and his resurrection in the spring…a birth from below and a birth from above.

Although every day the world continues to wait for a future messianic age and the world to come, Mashiach taught us that we can experience this future world right now. Like the creation of this world, the messianic world to come is created twice, first privately then publicly. Although the world will not know redemption until Mashiach reveals himself openly, on a personal level we can, nevertheless, be re-born today.

On The Cup of Blessing, For Pastor Steven

2009-04-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

The Pesach seder is a reliving of our exodus from Egypt, a participation in Yeshua's final meal with His students, and a proleptic taste of a banquet yet to come. The third cup taken during the night of our seder is called the "Cup of Blessing" and follows the recitation of birkat hamazon. For many less observant Jews this is the only time during the year that birkat hamazon will be recited with its accompanying cup. However one can and should make a blessing over bread and wine throughout the year. For chasidei Yeshua it should be all the more greatly valued.

Soncino Zohar, Bereshit, Section 1, Page 250a, b:

“Rab Hamnuna the Elder would not allow anyone else to take the cup of blessing, but he himself took it in his two hands and said the blessing. We have affirmed that the cup should be taken in the right hand, and not in the left. It is called "cup of salvations—Kos Yeshuot" (Ps. CXVI, 13), because through it blessings are drawn from the supernal salvations, and in it is collected the supernal wine. Also, the table over which the blessing is said should not be devoid of both bread and wine. The Community of Israel is called "cup of blessing", and therefore the cup should be raised both by the right hand and the left hand, so as to be set between. It should be filled with wine, because of the wine of the Torah which issues from the future world. There is a mystic allusion in this cup of blessing to the holy chariot (vehicle for the divine Presence). The right and left hands correspond to the north and south, between which is "the couch of Solomon". He who says the blessing should fix his eye upon the cup to bless it with four blessings. Thus the cup contains the emblem of faith, north, south, east, and west, and so the holy chariot. There should be bread on the table in order that the lower bread may be blessed, and the "bread of poverty" may become the "bread of luxury". In this way the Community of Israel will be blessed in all four directions, above and below-above by the Bread of Blessing and the Cup of Blessing through which King David is joined to the patriarchs, and below, that bread should never be lacking from the Israelite's table.”

1 Corinthians 10:16:

The Cup of Blessing which we bless, is it not the joining of the blood of Mashiach? The bread which we break, is it not the joining of the body of Mashiach?

Although I am not able to elaborate on this topic at great depth, it should be understood that the Cup of Blessing described above in both the Zohar and 1 Corinthians are one and the same. Please take time to reflect upon both passages.

After eating bread we recite Birkat Hamazon, the grace after meals, as its written: "When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless Hashem your G-d for the good land which he gave you". (Due. 8:10) When three or more people are present this is done in a somewhat more elaborate fashion. Those in attendance are given a formal invitation (zimmun) to participate. The leader holds in the palm of his right hand a full cup of wine. The cup is elevated off the table making a connection to the passage from Psalms, “I will lift the Cup of Salvations and I shall call on Hashem.” In conclusion of the Birkat Hamazon the leader makes the preliminary blessing over wine and drinks from the cup.

1 Corinthians 23:26:

For I received from the Master that which I also delivered to you, that the Master Yeshua in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had made the berakha, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way the cup also after the meal, saying, “This cup is the renewal of the covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, do so in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Master’s death until He comes.

Vow Making

2009-03-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

The first time we commit some clear misdeed it can be a great personal disappointment. We’re unnerved that we have transgressed and fallen short in whatever area. However with time, if we don’t fix the problem, our senses become dulled to the issue; we are no longer disturbed by our transgressions, instead we attempt to explain them away. At some point we may return to confront the issue, however, we may also feel overwhelmed. Long after the severity of a transgression has been forgotten it can be difficult to find the willpower to overcome our inclinations.

A sin twice committed, no longer appears as such. (Moed Katan 27)

Fortunately we have today the wisdom of many generations of pious Rebbeim. I would like to describe a technique used for generations to out wit ones negative inclination, Vow Making. This technique is extremely effective and should not be confused with swearing upon some holy object; in fact it’s more akin to Yeshua’s commandment “let your Yes be Yes.”

On Vow Making:

I am a youth leader at Synagogue Beit Hashofar in Seattle, WA. While serving in this position I have been deeply burdened by the enormous difficulties facing our young people. The technologies available at this time create amazing opportunities for connections positive and negative. More than any previous generation, youth today need to muster an incredible level of self control. In decision making they must be wise well beyond their years.

In an attempt to make some kind of intersession and simultaneously practice what I teach, I have begun to discipline my body and make it my servant (1 Cor. 9:27). I have chosen to forgo any eating outside of a meal. While this sounds like a simple thing, personally this has always been a great challenge. To do this I have been making vows. The process is simple…whether your struggle is with smoking, pornography, or food…it’s all the same.

While I do not possess the willpower to abstain from eating directly (as I have long since grown accustomed to making excuses about the food that goes into my mouth), I can find the self control in an indirect way, by making a vow with the realization that I am standing before G-d…as the old adage goes, Da lifnei mi attah omed – "Know before whom you stand." Why this works is very simple. While I am used to trying not to eat and failing, I am not used to breaking vows before G-d. Of coarse the vow we make should always be very realistic…very simple…its something like, “I vow not to eat until dinner.” Anything longer than that and you risk becoming overwhelmed. One might be afraid to try this because making a vow before G-d is a serious matter, but I’ll tell you, that’s exactly why it works. I have used this to correct more than one area of my life and it has never failed. If you would like to take charge over your self try making a vow, you won’t need to do it forever, soon you will feel as if you have made the vow even when you have not and after only a short while the issue will be completely resolved. Imagine that.

Besorah; A Torah of Friendship

2009-02-21T22:01:00.000-08:00

The sages tell us that before the Torah was revealed at Mt. Sinai the world was sustained by a “Hidden Torah.” Unlike the Torah of reward and punishment, this Torah exists on an even higher level that consists not of deeds and consequences, but grace and mercy. In reality this hidden Torah is not completely distinct from the revealed Torah, but was nevertheless stored up and concealed in a heavenly storehouse from ancient times.

We learn in a Midrash that Moshe was once shown the heavenly storehouses. Some contained rewards for those who kept certain mitzvot, or performed certain good deeds, but the most grand and beautiful of them all remained a mystery. When Moshe inquired into its content Hashem responded that this was the Storehouse of Grace, and from it He could take and give to whomever He pleased. In Torah we read that when Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hashem to show him His ways He responded, “V’Chanoti et asher achon”; I will grace whomever I choose [And you won’t understand it!].

Our Chasidic masters wrestled with the above midrash. “Who was the grand and beautiful storehouse for,” they wondered. If they answered that the Storehouse of Grace had been kept for those who needed it…sinners and those who were far from Torah…then the greatest gift Heaven had to offer was going to be gifted to sinners and those who had not labored for righteousness. Shouldn’t the greatest reward be given to the greatest Tzaddik, the righteous One? Shouldn’t this most beautiful store house be kept for Mashiach whose very life and soul is bound up in Torah? “But how would that make sense?” they asked. What need does the perfect Tzaddik have with grace? After all…He’s faultless…He’s the Mashiach.

The answer our Rebbeim have put forward is fascinating. The Storehouse of Grace does belong to Mashiach. Of course, He doesn’t need to benefit from the grace contained therein but rather, through His work…His Torah…He has earned this great reward and now gives it freely to His friends, people with flaws and faults—people like us.

The laws were given through Moshe, but chein v’emet (grace and truth) came by the hand of King-Mashiach Yeshua. (Yo. 1:17)

Jerusalem: Three Steps Away

2009-01-28T01:20:00.000-08:00

Sometime last week I was strolling in a park with my young son and his friend. There was an open courtyard paved in brick with lighter and darker paving stones. I began to follow a pattern in the pavers and shortly realized that I was walking the course of a public prayer labyrinth. I’ve been stressed lately and was grateful for the opportunity to employ this ancient meditative tool. The pattern itself was calming, a narrow winding path that has a way of clearing the mind. My steps were slow and careful; I recognized the pace, it was the same even gait I use in preparation for my Amidah.

The core of Jewish liturgical prayer is known by two names. The term Shmoneh Esreh means 18, recognizing the 18 benedictions which originally formed this prayer and the name Amidah means standing; it describes the posture taken during our meditation. Beginning a journey with the right foot we enter the Shmoneh Esreh with three steps towards the East. Upon arriving at our destination we stand with feet together in prayer.

As I walked the path in the park I thought about how the prayer labyrinth and Amidah complemented each other. Prayer is both journey and destination. I had once heard that labyrinths were used by devout Christians as a kind of meditative pilgrimage. Those unable to travel the physical distance would imagine this walk as a journey to Jerusalem. Our Amidah is an arrival. The few steps we take before this prayer are also a path to The Land.

Preparing for prayer we take three steps backwards, in doing so we acknowledge our exile and distance from G-dliness and set our minds to return to Israel, the place of connection and the throne of Mashiach. With one…two…three deliberate steps we arrive with feet planted firmly together in The Land, the place of connection and holiness. The ultimate goal of Judaism is the elevating of the mundane…the infusion of holiness into even the lowest parts of creation. Two primary examples of this are Haaretz (The Land of Israel) and Mashiach. In these we find the place of meeting. The very soil of Israel is called holy because it has been given a spiritual purpose; its here that heaven and earth connect. Similarly, through his embodiment of Torah, his keeping of the mitzvot, Yeshua transformed even his body into a vehicle for G-dliness. Mashiach is the image of unity between creature and Creator. It is for this reason our Amidah is both a return to The Land and a witness to an awaited messianic advent. Jerusalem is never more than three steps away.

Mashiach HaTsippor, For Mitko

2009-01-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

Mashiach the Bird-

The Zohar and other kabalistic writings drawing from its text relate Mashiach to a “bird.” In fact, at the beginning of his commentary on Parshat Metzorah, The Ohr Hachaim z”l explains that one of Mashiach’s names is Tsippor (Bird). It is written that the soul of Mashiach exists on the outskirts of the Garden of Eden in a place called the היכל קן ציפו (Heichal Ken Tsippor) “bird’s nest”. This term speaks of the Shekinah which both envelopes His Neshama and flies about the Garden. It is said that from His abode in the bird’s nest He lifts his eyes and sees the patriarchs returning to the ruins of the Beit Hamikdash. The tear streaked face of Rachel Imenu repeatedly flashes before him. Mashiach cries out, and the Garden of Eden is shaken from one end to the other. The voices of all the tzaddikim joining His lament, shakes the heavens beyond the garden until it reaches the highest throne.

Descending From the Nest-

Our sages understood that the redeemer of Israel would be revealed only after this messianic soul made its descent from the Bird’s Nest, coming to rest upon the one whom would be revealed as Mashiach. This is spoken of as the “crowning” of the redeemer and marks the point in his life when he would begin his messianic mission (Ibid Cf. Igeret Teyman, ch. 4).

Nearly two millennia ago Yeshua traveled from the Galil in Northern Israel to be immersed by Yochanan Hamatbil z”l, a relative who had been instructed by a heavenly decree to immerse the sons of Israel until he saw a “dove” descend upon one of them. This holy Jew was the Mashiach. It is written that when our Mashiach rose from the water the Ruach Elohim was seen descending on him as a dove. ***

That the identity of Mashiach was revealed through water is significant. The first time the soul of Mashiach was seen interacting with the chaos of this world is found at the beginning of Sefer Bereishit. The Torah relates that while the world was yet formless and void, covered by darkness on the face of the deep, the Ruach Elohim hovered [like a mother bird shielding her young with her wings] upon the face of the waters. This Ruach Elohim is said to be that of Mashiach (Bereshit Rabbah 2:5).

After his crowning with the messianic soul, Yeshua spoke of himself using the language of a bird. While standing upon the Mount of Olives, Mashiach lamented over Jerusalem saying, “Again and again would I have taken your children to myself, as a bird gathers her young ones under her wings, but you would not!” (Lk 13:34) Here Mashiach speaks of his desire to gather the exiles of Israel. He is detained only by our refusal to be redeemed.

Two Birds One Mashiach-

To better understand this process of exile and redemption, as it relates to Mashiach, who is called Tsippor, a bird, we look to the previously mentioned Parshat Metzorah. We learn in this sidra that one who has contracted a certain spiritual disorder called Tzara’at is to be expelled beyond the walls of the city. The complex nature and role of Mashiach as a gatherer of exiles can be understood through the ritual relating to the purification and returning of one who is stricken with this affliction.

Tzara’at is a spiritual disorder generally believed to be brought on by evil speech. It appears as a discoloration on one’s property and person. The Metzorah (one who has contracted Tzara’at) would first notice “something like a plague,” a discoloration upon the walls of his or her home (Lev. 14:35). In a worst case scenario, a Kohen would declare the house unclean— ordering its destruction. The stones of the house would be dismantled and removed. Again, the Metzorah having a discoloration in his or her flesh would be exiled to the wilderness beyond the city walls.

These rituals concerning the Metzorah and his house have been described as relating to the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash and the subsequent exile of the Jewish people. Mashiach prophesied regarding this destruction in relevant terms. He said, “Do you see these immense buildings? Not one of these stones will be left on top of another. Each one will be torn down." This description can be compared to the dismantling of the stone house of the Metzorah.

The law given by Hashem for the cleansing of a Metzorah reveals His redemptive plan for Israel and describes the process through which Mashiach would carry it out; his death and resurrection. Hashem commands the use of שתי צפרים(shetei tsiparim) “two birds” (Lev. 14:49). In his commentary on this subject, Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky notes that the numerical value of צפר (tsippor) is 370 and corresponds to the words זה משיח (zeh mashiach), “this is Mashiach.” He says, “This [passage regarding the ‘two birds’] refers to Mashiach ben Yosef [who will die] and Mashiach ben David [who will rule the Earth].

During the cleansing of the Metzorah, a bird is killed over running water in an earthen vessel and a second bird is dipped along with other elements in its blood. The Metzorah is sprinkled with the blood seven times and the living bird is released into the open field. That the living bird flies away covered in the blood of the slaughtered is significant. This aspect of the ritual creates a connection between the two birds and hints at the notion that Mashiach ben Yosef, the suffering servant, and Mashiach ben David, the reigning king are two natures of one individual. Although this may be a novel idea to some, it is not a new one.

Rabbi Chaim Vital z”l (1543-1620) was the foremost student of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Arizal and is responsible for the transcription of his master’s famous Kabalistic teachings. In an autobiography written by this renowned authority, The Book of Visions (Sefer HaChizyonot), he explains that Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David are only terms reflecting two aspects of a single man (p.106).

In hindsight, it is clear that while the releasing of the living bird by the Kohen foresees the resurrection of Mashiach, its flight into the open field depicts his ascension into heaven. Concerning this Rabbi Chaim Vital z”l again writes, “Mashiach [who will be largely unknown] will thereupon rise up to Heaven just as Moshe ascended to the firmament, and will subsequently return and be revealed completely for all to see. The entire Jewish people will then perceive him and flock towards him” (Arba Mei’ot Shekel Kesef p. 68). Our Mashiach ascended into the clouds in precisely this way. In comparing the event to Moshe Rabeinu’s ascent into the clouds on Sinai’s heights, we are reminded that we must not lose hope of his return.

Sending away the Mother Bird and the Ascension of Mashiach-

Mashiach was born into a generation unprepared for his kingdom. Rather than immediately gathering the tribes back to their land, he desired to suffer, bearing the transgressions of the world upon his shoulders. The Zohar explains the need for Mashiach to give up his life in no uncertain terms, “Because this lower plateau lacks manifestation of G-dliness, this Mashiach must die…He will remain dead until this plateau receives 'life' from the higher plateau, at which point he will rise and come to life...(Balak 203).”

After having risen from the dead, Mashiach spent forty days strengthening his students, clarifying their understanding of his mission. Then, ten days before Shavuot, Yeshua was lifted into Heaven covered in a cloud. We have been awaiting his glorious return ever since. Questions arise,” Why was the complete redemption delayed; why must we suffer further exile; and why did Mashiach have to leave us?” To better understand this, we search out one of the most obscure mitzvot, Shiluach Haken, “Sending Away the Mother Bird.” The Torah obligates, “When one happens upon a mother bird nesting on her young in an un-owned place, one is forbidden to take the un-hatched eggs or the young birds until the mother is sent away.”

The generation that witnessed the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash was saturated with baseless hatred. At this time even the very religious were often plagued by hatred for fellow Jews. A Heavenly judgment was passed and Israel was expelled from her land. Sadly, the remedy for this kind of hatred could only be found in exile. While exile creates difficulties regarding ritual observance, it promotes a true sense of ahavat Israel, love for every Jew. Living in dispersion encourages a longing for peoplehood and a desire to connect. To remove the blemish of hatred from the Holy Nation, Hashem chose to remove the children of Israel from their “nest.” Mashiach, like the mother bird needed to first be sent away before His children were carried off into exile. The Zohar explains that when the mother bird returns to find her nest empty, she flies throughout the forest searching for her young. Mashiach is now searching for his children throughout the world, calling to them, desiring to gather them back to Himself.

Rabbi Daniel Zion tz"l, Chief Rabbi of Bulgaria

2009-01-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

The way I have heard it explained Rabbi Daniel Zion tz”l began searching out our Mashiach before the war while still in Bulgaria. According to Rabbi Shulam of Netivyah this had become “a well know secret” in that community. Because of his piety and stringent observance, the Rav was never openly challenged regarding his beliefs while he lived in Bulgaria’s capital city. Eventually Rabbi Daniel approached the head of the Greek Orthodox community in that city. Archimandrite Stephen tz”l encouraged the Rabbi to seek out Yeshua but emphasized that he need not, as an observant Jew, feel any obligation to become entangled in any non-Jewish religious establishments.

After the war, Rabbi Daniel and most of his community relocated to Eretz Israel where he continued to act as the chief Rabbi of his people in Yaffo (Jaffa). In 1954 Rabbi Samuel Toledano invited him to be a judge in the rabbinical court of Jerusalem and rumors began to spread that Rabbi Zion was a follower of Yeshua. Rabbi Toledano, who at the time was Israel’s chief Rabbi informed him that he could live with his position as long as the Rabbi would not express this belief publicly (Shulam). Rabbi Daniel could not agree to those conditions and was asked to stand before a beit din. Retaining his dignity before Mashiach, the Rabbi was legally removed from his position. Nevertheless the Bulgarian Jews of Yaffo continued to recognize Rabbi Daniel as a rabbinic authority. Rabbi Daniel Zion led his community praying in a synagogue on Yeffet St. until October 6, 1973.

Below is a story which was related to me regarding the chasidei Yeshua of Rabbi Daniel’s community.

It once happed that a call was made by some opponents of the Rabbi’s community. Authorities had been falsely alerted that this group was one of “missionaries” and that they were converting Jews to Christianity. Police arrived on Shabbat to bring congregants in for questioning. One man in particular seemed non-compliant and unwilling to obey the officers when asked to leave the building. When he was forced from the synagogue he began weeping and crying pleading with the officers not to take him. The police assured the man that they didn’t intend him any harm and were only going to drive him in for some simple questioning and to sign some documents. All the more the man, with tears streaming down his face, pleaded that they not do such a thing. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” the man insisted. He was trembling. The officers couldn’t understand his fear and they continued to assure him of his safety. As they approached the vehicle he became frantic. Becoming increasingly irritated the officers demanded an explanation. Calming just enough to speak, the man explained that he had no intention of being difficult when he was asked to leave the synagogue but that he simply wanted to finish his prayers and that even now he was not afraid for his own safe keeping but for that of the holy Shabbat. The man explained to the non-religious police officers that he had never taken a car on Shabbat and that he could not be expected to desecrate Shabbat without a struggle. Turning towards each other the officers rightly concluded that this man could in no way be a Christian or missionary. The members of the community were allowed to return to their synagogue and their service. This man remains a faithful follower of Mashiach, residing in The Land until this day.

For more information about the life of Rabbi Daniel Zion including a description of his involvement in saving the Bulgarian Jewish community from Nazi deportation follow this link to Rabbi Shulam’s informative article. The above images include a photo of Rabbi Daniel Zion. Dimitar Dimitrav of Sofia, Bulgaria requested and obtained the digital image from a museum in that city. Thank you for all your help. Also included above are pictures taken of a siddur Rabbi Daniel produced for his Sefardic community. On the title page of the siddur the sub-title תפלת דניאל, Tefilat Daniel (Prayer of Daniel) is given, this is perhaps a bit of a play on words, both a reference to the Rabbi's name and to that of the prophet who calculated the arival of Mashiach and turned his prayers towards Jerusalem.

On The Baal Shem Tov, A Reflection

2009-01-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

Below I have included a reading which was originally used as a meditation by our synagogue youth group on a backpacking trip in the Cascade mountains. Students were encouraged to find a quiet place alone in the forest to read this short story. After answering the questions at the end of the lesson they were given time for personal prayer and reflection.

A Throne in the Forest
Israel was a teenage wanderer who found himself staying in a small village inn. The innkeeper was a simple Jew who struggled to read his siddur and had no understanding of the Hebrew words it contained. The innkeeper however was an extremely spiritual person. He had the practice of yelling, “Blessed is He for ever and ever!” on just about any occasion, and he meant it. The innkeeper’s wife, also devout but quite simple, was known for repeatedly remarking: “Praised be His holy name.”

When Israel arrived in the village it was his sixteenth birthday, Elul 18, 1714. He went to meditate alone in a field. He secluded himself in order to reflect upon his life, how he had spent his early years in a home for orphans where he was severely beaten, and how the forest had been his refuge. Israel dreaded the orphanage and would often escape into the forest after Hebrew school spending days and nights in the woods. It was there in the deep forest that Israel first witnessed real davening or prayer.

At the age of six Israel heard the melodious voice of a man as it was carried on a breeze through green leafy branches to his ear. He followed the voice to its source and quietly watched to see who it was coming from. Israel was awestruck; it was a man in prayer, a kind of prayer he had never seen before. The prayer of this strange Jew was ecstatic. The man seemed to be in another world. Israel befriended the man and was taken as a disciple. Throughout his sixteen years Israel had studied under many holy men, all of them outcasts. Some lived in small huts in the forest, others in tiny mountain villages. To the world, even the Jewish world, these men were nobodies, ignorant village Jews, but Israel had a way of seeing greatness in simplicity.

As he continued to meditate Israel began to recite chapters from the Psalms. He became completely entrenched in prayer to the extent that he became entirely unaware of his surroundings. It was prayer like that of the man he had met in the forest so many years ago. Then seemingly from nowhere there appeared to him a vision of Elijah standing before him, with a smile on his face.

Elijah said to him: “Aaron Shlomo the innkeeper and Zlateh Rivkah his wife are unaware of the cosmic effects of their utterances, ‘Blessed be He for ever and ever,’ and ‘Praised be His holy name.’ However these words resonate through all the worlds, causing a greater stir than words spoken by the greatest holy men.”

The Prophet continued to explain to Israel that G-d derives tremendous joy from the words of gratitude and praise spoken by men, women and children, especially by simple folk, when it is uttered in pure faith from a wholesome heart, from those who remain in perpetual attachment to G-d in their simplicity.
This confirmation took root in Israel’s heart. It became his practice to always stimulate a spirit of thanksgiving towards G-d within the souls of people he would encounter during his traveling. Israel would intentionally bring up topics that would cause people to bless G-d, a birth of a child, a new garment, just about anything that would bring that person a sense of gratefulness.

Throughout his early years Israel remained a wanderer who spent most of his time in the vast forests of the Ukraine were he lived in the Carpathian Mountains. When he returned from the forest to enter a village people treated Israel harshly. Most took him for being illiterate and a fool. Israel wasn’t without understanding but he almost liked the fact that others thought he was. He never defended himself. He let people come to their own conclusions.

Israel found work walking young children back and forth to Hebrew day school. This wasn’t a desirable position in the eyes of most but Israel delighted in his interactions with the children. Israel also worked in the house of study cleaning up after the students. In those days it was common practice for students to sleep in the house of study after learning late into the evening. Israel would collect half burned candle stubs left behind by the students and even small bits of wax he removed from the floor. After the students had fallen asleep Israel would study the holy books by candle light. Enveloped by the words of Torah and the mystical writings Israel attached his soul to G-dliness.

He continued to spend many hours and even days in the forest just as he had when he was a boy. Israel would run through the trees, plunge his hands into the soil along the river’s edge, and dance in the meadows. Some nights he would sleep on the grass, without a blanket or even a shirt to come between himself and the night sky with its countless sparkling stars. Israel had a secret, he knew how to come close to G-d in a way that no one else in his generation had. Israel was willing to sacrifice everything in order to enter G-d’s presence. Through the experience of his life Israel had developed a character like that of the Mashiach, a man he would be privileged to meet many years later in a most wondrous vision.
Israel’s secret, his uncommon closeness to G-d, was about to be revealed. An unnamed student went to visit his master in the town of Kuty. Through a series of unlikely mishaps this student was forced to spend the Sabbath in Israel’s simple home. In the night the student was startled and roused from his sleep when he saw what he believed was a fire in the kitchen. The man rushed into the room only to behold the face of his humble host now transfigured as it were, enveloped in a flame. The man fainted. When he awoke Israel spoke, “You shouldn’t have looked where you had no permission!”

After the Sabbath the student left Israel’s home and hurried to the city where he confronted the pious men of the synagogue and their rabbi telling them: “There is a great light near your community. It would be good for you to bring him to the city.” When they heard what he said, they all agreed that this great light must be Israel ben Eliezer for they had seen and heard many remarkable things regarding the man. Rumors had been trickling in for some time that Israel had even performed secret miracles, healing the sick.

The pious men of city went to retrieve Israel from the village where he lived. Foreseeing this, Israel met them along the way. Upon meeting him the pious men descended from their carts and fashioned a throne of tree branches in the forest. There they seated Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer accepting him as their master (Rebbe), and bestowing upon him the title of “Baal Shem Tov” which is how he is most commonly remembered unto this day. From his seat in the forest Rabbi Yisrael revealed to his disciples both secrets of the Torah and those of a personal relationship with their creator.

Israel ben Eliezer birthed a revival that would spread throughout all Europe and eventually the world. It was not an easy path however. In the early years of the movement his disciples were excommunicated from greater Judaism and cast out of synagogues. Today the spiritual descendants of Israel ben Eliezer can be found among many Hasidim whose devoted lives should be an inspiration to Jews of every affiliation.

Some things to think about:

1. Why do you think Israel used the mountains and forests as a way to connect with G-d? How do you find a connection to your creator?

2. Tradition seems to imply that Israel was actually raised by a secret society of completely righteous men. Each of these men took on the persona of a simple illiterate peasant worker of some sort. There is an old saying: “If you believe all the stories about the Baal Shem Tov you are a fool. If however you believe none of them you are an even bigger fool.” Israel may not have been raised by a secret society; perhaps what is closer to the truth is that Israel had a way of finding the good in any person. According to the Baal Shem Tov, a coal smelter living in the forest that had raised him for a number of years was truly an unknown tzadik.

In your life have you ever known a person who was unappreciated by most but was in actuality a remarkable individual? Why have so many great people including the most holy Mashiach been unappreciated by the world?

3. In the story above it was mentioned that Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer met the Mashiach in a vision. This information comes from a letter Rabbi Israel wrote to a relative in the holy land. In the letter it is revealed that the spiritual knowledge Israel held was taught to him by the Mashiach. Sometimes in life we learn from experience. How were the experiences of Rabbi Israel’s life similar to those of the Mashiach Yeshua?

If you are unfamiliar with the life of Yeshua try reading the following passages and comparing them to the story above: Luke 9:28-36, Matt 13:54-55, Mark 9:36-37 Mark 7:32-36

The Twelve, Knowing the Apostles

2009-01-11T02:52:00.000-08:00

Shimon Kefa bar Yonah- Shimon bar Yonah was a fisherman who lived and worked in kafar-Nachum a city positioned on Lake Kinneret in northern Israel. Yeshua called him Kefa, meaning “stone.” He was one of The Twelve who had previously followed Yeshua’s distant relative, a mystic called Yochanan Hamatbil. Kefa traveled into the wilderness to learn under this prophet, whose foremost concern was to prepare the nation for the arrival of Mashiach.

Tradition remembers that Kefa spoke both Hebrew and Aramaic but never learned to speak Greek; because of this, a young disciple named Markus (author of the book of Mark) worked as his scribe and translator. Scripture informs that Shimon Kefa was a married man; the apostolic fathers add that he immersed in the sea every morning, and that he carried a sword under his belt. At the time of Yeshua’s arrest he removed one of the guards’ ears with this weapon.

Shimon Kefa bar Yonah taught for one year in Antioch, this is the city where the followers of Mashiach were first derided by the Romans, being called Chrestians (a Greek word meaning little kings). Shimon built a synagogue there in the house of Cassianus, whose son Kefa brought back to life. He later traveled to Rome where he taught the Roman Jewish community for the next twenty-seven years. Kefa was martyred while the Roman emperor Nero was murdering Jews on crosses. Viewing himself as unworthy to die in the same manner as his King-Mashiach, Kefa was crucified upside-down, upon request. His Yahrtzeit (anniversary of departure) is kept on Tamuz 29.

Andreas bar Yonah- Andreas bar Yonah was born in Beit-Tzaidah. When he first began to follow the Mashiach he was living with his brother Shimon Kefa in a house they owned in Kafar-Nachum. Like his brother he was a student of Yochanan Hamatbil, it was studying under The Immerser that he first became acquainted with Yochanan ben Zavdai and his older brother Ya’akov. Although he wasn’t aware of it at the time, he would be spending the next three and a half years with these guys building friendships that would last a lifetime. Andreas bar Yonah became a sage who taught in South Eastern Europe. He built a Synagogue in Byzantium, but was eventually murdered by the Romans being hung on a cross. In order to prolong his sufferings the Romans did not nail him to the structure but only tied him to it. Being hung from your arms in this way makes it increasingly hard to breath. He died not of inflicted wounds but of asphyxiation. Andreas bar Yonah was buried in Byzantium.

Ya’akov ben Zavdai- Ya’akov ben Zavdai helped run a prosperous fishing company owned by his father. He and his little brother Yochanan were standing on a fishing boat with their dad when our Mashiach called them to be his students. Ya’akov’s family was very religious. His father was honored that Yeshua had called them as students. They had not only been hearing Yeshua speak in local synagogues for some time, but were his cousins through their mother Salome, Miryam’s sister. Salome also traveled with the followers of the Mashiach at times. The two brothers had so much zeal for G-d that they once asked Mashiach if they should call down lightning from the sky to destroy a Samaritan who had paid a disrespect to him. After correcting the brothers with the stern explanation that he did not come to destroy people’s lives but to save them he began to affectionately call them by the name Benei-Regesh meaning “Sons of Thunder.” Ya’akov taught in Beit-Tzaidah and built a synagogue there. Herod Agrippa put him to death by the sword in the year following the ascension of the Mashiach.

Yochanan (Hayedid) ben Zavdai- Yochanan ben Zavdai was also from Beit-Tzaidah. He was the youngest of the shlichim. Besides being one of the Mashiach’s cousins, he was also dearly loved as one of his most devoted students. Yochanan ben Zavdai never left the Mashiach’s side. Even during his execution, Yochanan remained in the crowd at risk of being recognized as one of Yeshua’s followers. Before Mashiach gave up his life he made sure his mother would be taken care of. Battered and bleeding, hanging from a cross, he explained to his mother that her nephew would now take his place as her son. He told his cousin to take care of his mother as if she were his own. Yochanan looked after his Aunt until she died an old woman. Yochanan ben Zavdai is the author of what is perhaps the most mystical of the four besorot. He first taught in Asia, and afterwards was sent into exile to the island of Patmos by Tiberius Caesar. During his exile he recorded a vision he experienced, one that took him from Hashem’s throne in Heaven and the coming of the Mashiach to the end of time. The record of this vision is what we know today as the book called Revelation. After being freed from Patmos he traveled to Ephesus, and built a synagogue. Yochanan ben Zavdai was the only one sent out by the Mashiach who would live to an old age. He was buried at Ephesus by one of his students. By the command of their teacher Ben Zavdai’s disciples hid the location of his grave,

Philipos- Like some of the other shlichim, Philipos was a Beit-Tzaidah local, growing up on Lake Kinneret. He was one more of Yochanan Hamatbil’s students. The Mashiach met Philipos and called him as a sheliach with the words, Lecha Harai (Follow me). Philipos did follow, and a little later brought Natanel as a new disciple. He preached in what is now Turkey and died in Pamphylia a city near the Northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Philipos is known to have immersed Luke the author of the Besorah. He lived as a sheliach for twenty-seven years.

Toma- Toma was also called by the Greek version of his name Didymos. He was born and raised in Jerusalem. The only Besorah that reveals any insight into his life is that written by Yochanan ben Zavdai. As the story goes, a man name El’azar, a zealot who was close friends with the Mashiach died. He lived and was buried in a town near Jerusalem (a place of increasing hostility toward Yeshua’s presence). Nevertheless, Yeshua wanted to go to the place and bring him back to life. Some of the shlichim were a little hesitant about returning to the area, fearing for Yeshua’s life. Toma spoke up and is recorded as saying, “Let’s go so we can die with him.” He had courageous devotion. He was comfortable with the possibility of martyrdom. Life from the dead proved more difficult for Toma to deal with. After the Mashiach died reports came back to the shlichim that he had raised from the dead. Yeshua’s death was too devastating; Toma couldn’t believe he was alive. He said he would never believe unless he could physically touch his wounds. Eight days later the Mashiach came to Toma and demanded he do this. Toma eventually traveled East to ancient Jewish communities located in present day Pakistan and India bringing the message that the Mashiach had come to free the world from its failings. Toma enraged a king by making proselytes of his wife and son and was executed on a hill top outside the city. Till this day there remain Jewish followers of the Mashiach in these regions because of his work.

Levi (Mattai) the publican- Levi was the son of Chalfai and Miryam a couple who were related to Yeshua’s family and lived in Natzeret where he was brought up. Chalfai was the Mashiach’s Uncle, Yosef’s brother. Yeshua’s cousin Levi was also known by the name Matai which is a shortened form of Matityahu. Before becoming a student of the Mashiach Levi was a tax collector or publican, collecting taxes on behalf of the Roman government in Kefar Nahum. This was not a respectable occupation. Levi left this corruption filled way of life to devote himself to learning Torah at the feet of our Mashiach. Some say Levi traveled to Persia others say Ethiopia. Those who hold that he went to Ethiopia also maintain the tradition that he eventually gave his life for his teachings being burned to death. Levi is remembered best as the author of the original Hebrew Besorah commonly referred to as the book of Matthew.

Ya’akov ben Chalfai- Ya’akov was Levi’s brother and lived along the Jordan. He is sometimes referred to as Ya’akov the younger to distinguish him from Ya’akov ben Zavdai. According to tradition, Ya’akov ben Chalfai was arrested on trumped up charges and was eventually sentenced to death. Ya’akov ben Chalfai was martyred on a Roman cross in the city of Ostrakine in Lower Egypt after his death his body was sawed to pieces.

Yehuda (Lebbai) Taddai- Yehuda Taddai was from Jerusalem and was the son of Ya’akov. This means of coarse that he was also a relative of Yeshua. He died as a martyr when he was stoned in Arvad. He is buried there.

Shimon the Zealot- As reflected in his name, Shimon is remembered for one thing, his amazing passion for Torah. He ended his work in Georgia. Shimon was tortured and crucified by the pagans in Abkhazia Georgia.

Natanel Bar Talmai- Natanel bar Talmai was from a town called Endor. While taking the messianic message to India, an early non-Jewish believer named Pantaenus was told that the sheliach, Natanel Bar Talmai, had made students there before him and had given his disciples the besorah of Mattai (Levi) written in Hebrew. This book had been past down and was still treasured by the messianic community there. He continued to travel lived and worked as a Sheliach for 30 years, until Sanatruk Hursti, king of Armenia, crucified him in Urbianos. He is buried in Armenia.

Yehuda Iscariot- Yehudah Iscariot will forever be remembered as the student who gave his Master over to the Roman authorities. Traditionally his name Iscariot has been interpreted as referencing the town of Keriot. However, in more recent times some have speculated that the name implies an involvement with the Sicari. Perhaps most well known for their involvement with the standoff against the Romans at Massada, the Sicari were a group of extreme zealots. For the Sicari, G-d was the only ruler and they were willing to go to violent lengths to prove it. The name “Sicari,” “knife-men” is derived from the name of a small weapon carried under the coat. The Sicari were assassins, their single minded goal of freedom from Roman oppression lead members of this group to even kill other Jews whom submitted to Roman rule. Yehuda may have been so busy looking for redemption he couldn’t see what was right in front of him. Mashiach despised Roman leaders lording over his nation; nevertheless, the world was not ready for His rule. Yehuda Iscariot conspired with Sadducee priests and for a price of thirty pieces of silver handed Yeshua over to those who sought his life. Filled with remorse Yehuda hung himself. The place where he died became known as the field of blood.

Kavanot for Purim, Doing Purim Right

2009-01-08T23:39:00.000-08:00

Masquerading:

The mask of Purim should be worn with a sense of wonder and awe. This is no mere costume party. Megilat Ester opens with the story of Queen Vashti who refused to uncover herself before the company of her king. A surface reading of the text encourages the praise of Vashti as a heroin of modesty, however, a deeper consideration for the words of our megilah expose an underlying contrast between the queen and her successor.

While Vashti’s refusal to uncover herself at the request of the king leads to her downfall, Ester saves her nation through her willingness to expose her identity even at the risk of death. The hidden message here speaks to the veiled nature of salvation. Both Moshe Rabeinu and Yosef HaTzadik brought salvation when they emerged from deep within the Egyptian royal house. Wearing the mask of Purim should fill our hearts with an awareness of the mystery and brilliance of our ultimate salvation. While Mashiach remains hidden, we look forward to a day when Yeshua will rise up from the nations to reveal his true face. Like Ester our redeemer He will turn the world around and transform the outcome of history.

Jesting:

The Jewish appreciation for comedy is deeper than it might seem. This is true in general and truer still at Purim. Even from mishnaic times it has been a custom to tell Jokes. The Talmud relates that a good Rabbi should tell a joke before learning Torah with his students in order to expand their consciousness. As an extension of this, Chasidus finds great spirituality in humor.

There is an idea in our tradition that humor before Torah learning can actually protect us from our negative inclination. It is as if Satan enters the house of study to disrupt the holy activity usually found in such a place. When the enemy of our souls finds only jokesters involved in what would appear to be simple jesting and frivolity he leaves with a sense that his work has already been accomplished. The men or women inside appear to be distracted from Torah and he finds no need to waste his time.

A joke in itself is about a twist, a punch line at the end of a story that flips the expected outcome on its head. The pattern of humor before Torah speaks to the ultimate twist, holiness from what would appear unholy and redemption from the most unlikely source. From laughter itself we learn this lesson. It can be compared to a man who finds his friend doubled over on the ground unable to speak with tears in his eyes laughing uncontrollably. Until close investigation it may be difficult for the man to discern whether his friend is laughing or in pain. During Purim our humor reflects the ultimate twist, the punch line of history. When it seems that all hope is lost Mashiach will be revealed. He will turn our mourning into dancing and our tears into rejoicing.

Drinking:

It is a mitzvah to become intoxicated on Purim. Like all other aspects of this holiday the custom seems irreverent from the surface but nevertheless ultimately proves itself profound. Mashiach said, “I came eating and drinking and you call me a glutton and a drunk.” Our tradition attributes great meaning to the proper use of alcohol. On Purim the proper intention is to remove the mask and expose our true nature. Conducted correctly with the separation of men and women alcohol should be consumed on Purim with the holy intention of weakening our body’s resistance to the rejoicing of our souls. Personally I drink very little during the year and reserve occasions like Purim for the practice. With each shout of “L’Chayim” I imagine a veil being removed. On Purim we drink to make a tikkun in the world and uncover the reality of salvation.

This year lets masquerade, laugh, and drink with the kind of kavanah that can bring our redemption!

Remove the Mask

2008-12-31T19:11:00.000-08:00

Already short winter days can seem muted. Cold gray skies diminish the opportunity for the sun to be revealed. Frost covers the ground. Concealment is the nature of the season. It is for this reason winter holidays are universally centered around light. These lights quietly look forward to the day when the dark mask of winter which covers the bare earth is removed to reveal the light and life of spring. Ambiguously positioned between these two seasons is the celebration of Purim, a holiday which celebrates both the hidden and the revealed.

Purim commemorates a reversal of fates and the deliverance of the Jewish people from the hands of a wicked foe. The appearance of life from what seemed eminent annihilation is celebrated in the Hebrew month of Adar around February-March. At this time, gift baskets containing sweets and cookies called hamentashen are given to friends and neighbors. A joyous atmosphere on Purim allows for rules to be followed with less rigidity, leaving room for a-little mischief. One of the most popular customs of the holiday is the donning of costumes. To wear a festal mask on Purim, which on the surface seems to be a silly manifestation of the holiday, is in actuality an expression of the hidden nature of redemption.

Redemption often comes from unsuspected sources. The more bleak the circumstances are the more hidden modes of salvation seem. Men and women of immense spiritual stature often appear ordinary, eluding to the idea that the righteous tend to wear masks and redeemers often emerge from unlikely places. The life of Joseph perfectly illustrates this idea. After being sold by his brothers into slavery, imprisoned, and then freed, Joseph was elevated to the highest position in Egypt under Pharaoh. In his absence of over a decade, his family had fallen into great misfortune. The world witnessed famine. Joseph’s brothers, who had convinced their father of Joseph’s death long ago, now personally believed him dead as well. Joseph had been a slave and in times of plenty slaves ate last. In times of great famine, slaves ate none.

Jacob was inwardly shaken by the loss of his son and Joseph’s brothers by the haunting guilt of that loss. More immediately they were physically wasting away. Where would they find sustenance? The son’s of Jacob traveled to Egypt to buy grain from an Egyptian ruler called Zaphenat-paneah. On their second journey into Egypt searching for food this powerful viceroy of Egypt demanded the possession of their youngest brother Benjamin. Rather than allow another of Jacob’s young sons to be lost, Judah offered himself instead. Seeing the change his brothers had undergone, now showing concern for their family rather than disregard, Joseph could not conceal his true identity any longer. Tears washed the Egyptian paint from his face as Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. With compassion he forgave them their past transgressions. Joseph, who had been believed by his father to be dead, now sent carts and camels in order to bring him and the rest of his family out of desolation and famine to live together in the land of Goshen. Redemption came from a dead man, an impossible source, and a deliverer from behind a mask.

Unlike Joseph, who knew he would see greatness from an early age, some redeemers are so hidden they are concealed even from themselves. Roughly 2500 years ago scattered across an empire that sprawled from Ethiopia to India, the Jewish people lived in exile under the rule of a fickle King. In Shushan, the capital of this vast kingdom, lived an Israelite named Mordechai. Mordechai acted as a father to his orphaned cousin Hadassah, more commonly known as Ester. When a search to find a new queen among the young women of the land took place, Ester whose name could be connected to the word “star” was chosen for her beauty.

Ester was more than a beautiful star. She was a redeemer. The new Queen’s name, understood from the rabbinic perspective, means “hidden.” The salvation of the Jewish people would break forth from the hidden aspects of Ester’s life. Before her entrance into the royal house Mordechai instructed Ester to never divulge information regarding her ancestry. Ester’s Jewishness was to remain a secret. One of the king’s administrators was a vicious anti-Semite called Haman. Haman sought the inhalation of the Jewish people. Decrees had been sent throughout the kingdom sanctioning the plan of execution. The death of the Jews would come on a single day. Mordechai pressed his cousin to act and at the risk of her life Ester came before the king on behalf of her people. Haman, whom would be destroyer of the Jewish people, was hanged and all of Israel was saved.

The hidden and the revealed; the festal mask and the Jew under the mask, clearly Purim is more than it seems. As you celebrate the festival of Purim and contemplate Joseph who donned the mask of Egypt, Ester, a Jewish girl who appeared to the world as a Persian queen, and ultimately our King-Mashiach who wore the garments of a servant and a pauper, and today appears to the world as a non-Jewish viceroy, look beneath your own mask. There you may find greatness.

Ha'Rav Ignatz Lichtenstein tz"l

2008-12-14T01:18:00.000-08:00

On Hoshana Rabba we observed the yahrtzeit of Ha’Rav Ignatz Lichtenstein tz”l who passed away during the last day of Sukkot in the fall of 1908 (כ״א בְּתִּשְׁרֵי תרס״ט). Coming from the Northern Hungarian community of Tapio-Szele, Rav Lichtenstein tz”l served as the city’s chief Rabbi for nearly half of his life. In 1882 anti-Jewish delusions in this area reached fever pitch with accusations being raised against the entire Jewish community of Tisza-Eslar. Shortly before Pesach of that year a non-Jewish peasant girl named Esther Solymosi disappeared followed by rumors that she had been murdered in some bloodthirsty Jewish ritual (Raisin). The children of Yosef Scharf, the shamash in that community, were threatened, bribed and beaten, being forced to testify against their own father. During the trial articles were published by some Christian authors condemning the tide of anti-Semitism that had spread throughout the Hungarian empire. While familiarizing himself with some of this literature Rav Lichtenstein came across descriptions of the gospel message as one of love and life to all people.

While he was perhaps still in his twenties the Rav had been approached by a Jewish educator in his community holding a copy of this text. In a fit of rage he had thrown the book across the room where it remained hidden, lost behind other seforim on a shelf for some thirty years. As he described it, Rav Lichtenstein was reflecting upon the things he had recently read regarding the B”CH, that its message was one of love and peace, when to his disbelief his eyes focused on that very book which was now exposed in its place on the shelf, for decades unmoved (Quiñónez). He spoke of that first encounter with the messianic text saying, "I looked for thorns and gathered roses."

So much could be written about this holy Rav; here I will only say that the kind of Judaism he practiced remains an inspiration for chasidei Yeshua. He aggravated churches with his disinterest in conversion and challenged his own community with his recognition that Yeshua was The Tzaddik and Mashiach Israel looked for.

R' Levertoff z"l

2008-12-11T20:57:00.001-08:00

I would like to reflect on the life of the Chasidishe Rav and Anglican Minister, Rev. Paul Phillip Levertoff [Feivel Levtov] z”l. It is my hope that this short biography might encourage those in our community to take greater interest in learning about previous generations of our movement.

In the countryside between Russia and the Ukraine is a nation called Belarus. Like other Eastern European nations, its borders have been subject to regular manipulation. In the town of Valozhyn is found an old soviet bakery; It’s a large dilapidated yellow building with prominent green letters affixed to its outer walls, indicating the purpose of the structure in Russian. The bakery’s plumbing is old; its pipes are rusted and are constantly leaking water into the basement. In that dank room under dark waters lays the memory of Yeshiva Etz Chayim. Over one-hundred years ago, this submerged basement was the ground floor of what was then known as “the mother of all yeshivos.”

Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, known by the acrostic of his name, “Netziv,” was Rosh Yeshiva (President) of the institution at the time of its closing by Russian authorities in 1892. Of the last students to receive smicha in Valozhyn was Rav Feivel Levertoff z”l; perhaps because of the yeshiva’s untimely closing, the Rav received ordination quite early. He was just a teenager.

At the age of nine, Rav Levertoff z”l had stumbled across a page of Jewish text lying in the snow. Rather than see it trampled he picked up the page and began to read it. It was about a boy only a few years older than himself who had gone to the Beis Hamikdash in Jerusalem during Pesach, there he astounded the Rabbis with his wisdom. Feivel didn’t recognize the story. When he returned home and showed his father the page, Rav Shaul Levertoff placed it in the furnace; he instructed his son to never read those books again. In the burning of that page a fascination for the young Jew he had read about was kindled. By the age of perhaps only 17 or 18 Rav Feivel Levertoff z”l had unlocked a secret hidden from the world. He had decided to follow the Mashiach as described in the B"Ch. At that young age Feivel was received into the Anglican Church. He would eventually move to England, become ordained as a priest and hold services at a church in Shoreditch near London.

Unlike so many Jews through history Rev. Paul P. Levertoff z”l was not running to the Church to escape Judaism. He was running to Mashiach, who is the desire of the true Hasid. In his work “Love and the Messianic Age” Rav Levertoff z”l wrote of gathering the “Divine sparks.” These sparks, bits of Godliness, can be found even in the darkest of places. In the gathering of sparks the Hasid becomes involved in the work of God and hastens the coming of Mashiach. The service held in Shoreditch was no usual Anglican mass. The Rev. wore a kippa and tallis. At the church in Shoreditch Jews gathered for kriat Torah. Rav Levertoff z”l was gathering sparks. Jews, lost in a non-Jewish world that had no place for them, found redemption in what Rav Levertoff z”l called, the “diSeudata deMalka Kadisha”, Meal of the Holy King. This was also the name of the sidur he wrote and used during those days.

May we all remember the sparks he gathered and the light that was his life. Rabbi Paul Phillip [Feivel] Levertoff z”l was an inspiration and a true Hasid. His yahrtzeit is to be observed on Av 1.

Hanukkah

2008-12-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

These long candle light nights of Hanukkah are opportunities to retell ancient stories of miracles witnessed and victories won. They are also ideal for reflection upon particular prophesies of Mashiach. His brief prophetic discourse recorded in two of our besorot intentionally describe the Maccabean story. Answering the question, “What is the sign of Your coming, and of the end of this world?” He said:

When you see the Desolating Abomination (שקוץ משמם) spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), those who are in Judea need to run to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. Whoever’s in the field can’t turn back to get his coat. Oy to those who are pregnant and nursing infants in those days! Pray that your escape won’t be in the winter, or on Shabbat, if this is the case there will be a great suffering, like there has not been since the beginning of the world until now or in the future. Mt. 24:15-21

In this passage we find a scribal note encouraging the reader’s close attention. These events which our Teacher explained as things yet to come had long since come to pass even in his own day. As the Maccabean books record, the Desolating Abomination was set up in the Beit Hamikdash nearly 150years before Mashiach’s birth. Yeshua therefore describes the end like the beginning. Below I have included the specific portion of the story which he is drawing from. Notice that the story takes place during the winter, speaks of women with their infants, and a flight to the hills culminating in a great massacre which took place on Shabbat so long ago.

…The king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, and that each should give up his customs. All the Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the Shabbat. And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land, to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane Sabbaths and feasts, to defile the sanctuary and the priests, to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals, and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane, so that they should forget the law and change all the ordinances. "And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die." In such words he wrote to his whole kingdom. And he appointed inspectors over all the people and commanded the cities of Judah to offer sacrifice, city by city. Many of the people, every one who forsook the law, joined them, and they did evil in the land; they drove Israel into hiding in every place of refuge they had. Now on the fifteenth day of Kislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege upon the altar of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surrounding cities of Judah, and burned incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets. The books of the law which they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire. Where the book of the covenant was found in the possession of any one, or if any one adhered to the law, the decree of the king condemned him to death. They kept using violence against Israel, against those found month after month in the cities. And on the twenty-fifth day of the month they offered sacrifice on the altar which was upon the altar of burnt offering. According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised, and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from their mothers' necks. But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. And very great wrath came upon Israel. In those days Mattatiyahu the son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Yoariv, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein. He had five sons, John surnamed Gaddi, Simon called Thassi, Yehudah called Maccabee, Eleazar called Avaran, and Jonathan called Apphus. He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem, and said, "Alas! Why was I born to see this…? Then the king's officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modein to make them offer sacrifice. Many from Israel came to them; and Mattatiyahu and his sons were assembled. Then the king's officers spoke to Mattatiyahu as follows: "You are a leader, honored and great in this city, and supported by sons and brothers. Now be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts." But Mattatiyahu answered and said in a loud voice: "Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to do his commandments, departing each one from the religion of his fathers, yet I and my sons and my brothers will live by the covenant of our fathers. Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances. We will not obey the king's words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left." When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice upon the altar in Modein, according to the king's command. When Mattatiyahu saw it, be burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him upon the altar. At the same time he killed the king's officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. Thus he burned with zeal for the law, as Phinehas did against Zimri the son of Salu. Then Mattatiyahu cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying: "Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!" And he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the city. Then many who were seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to dwell there, they, their sons, their wives, and their cattle, because evils pressed heavily upon them. And it was reported to the king's officers, and to the troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that men who had rejected the king's command had gone down to the hiding places in the wilderness. Many pursued them, and overtook them; they encamped opposite them and prepared for battle against them on the day of Shabbat. And they said to them, "Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will live." But they said, "We will not come out, nor will we do what the king commands and so profane the Shabbat day." Then the enemy hastened to attack them. But they did not answer them or hurl a stone at them or block up their hiding places, for they said, "Let us all die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly." So they attacked them on the Shabbat, and they died, with their wives and children and cattle, to the number of a thousand persons.

Learning to Pray Amidah, A craft project

2008-12-02T23:30:00.000-08:00

This is a project that can be performed by a group of young people to help them better connect to the Amidah. Our B'nai Mitzvah students tried this and I think it worked really well.

We begin our Amidah by taking three steps backwards and then three forwards this can be explained as a way of creating a holy space for prayer. With this project we will create a physical boarder with in which students might focus that prayer.

Although HaShem is everywhere and nothing can contain him whatsoever, it may be difficult to maintain this awareness for any amount of time. This can be compared to one who is completely immersed in water; he or she no longer feels wet. It can be difficult to feel the water at all.

Prepare a large piece of poster board for each student. Cut out the center of the poster board creating a kind of poster board frame or boarder. Using felt pens allow each student to write the words “HaShem open my lips that my mouth might declare your praise” at the top of the frame. After this encourage your students to read through the first four paragraphs of the prayer looking for words or phrases that they feel are important in describing the Creator or their relationship with Him. An example of some words and ideas appearing in the Amidah could be “great,” “mighty,” and “awesome,” also “love” and “resuscitator of the dead.”

Placing your decorated boarders on the floor, have your students stand in the center of their boarder. Taking three steps backwards, they should meditate on the vacuum created in the space they once filled. Encourage the students to imagine G-d’s presence filling that space. Now as they take three steps forward in preparation for the prayer they should be aware that they are standing in G-d’s midst. They should be aware that HaShem will see them and hear their prayers in this special place.

Its my heartfelt hope that after performing this exercise with their paper boarders my students might be better equipped to create holy space wherever they find themselves.

My Community, Beit Hashofar

2008-11-24T23:14:00.000-08:00

I am a member of Synagogue Beit Hashofar in Seattle, WA. Our shul is the oldest Messianic Synagogue in the Northwest and is truly paving the way for the future of our movement. Our community formed over forty years ago, originally holding services at 16th and Main here in Seattle. In those days the sign in front of the building read “B’nai Shalom.” The group was comprised of many staunch Zionists and was part of the “Restorationist” movement. It was their belief that the “times of the Gentiles” had ended and that the day had now come for Israel and the Jewish people to reclaim their central position in the world as G-d’s chosen nation and mouthpiece for Mashiach Yeshua.

In 1967 we sold that building to purchase what at that time was an old church building. Today, after so many years and numerous remodeling jobs, the last of which included our new aron kodesh (Torah closet) and bimah (reader’s platform), we have one of the finest small shuls in the area.

Our founder once said that he envisioned a center in the Northwest. That’s exactly what we have become. In addition to our Synagogue’s main structure, we have also recently established The Lichtenstein Memorial Beit Midrash and Guest House located on that the same block. We are currently developing our Youth program and have recently begun providing religious education for children 6yrs-Bar/Bat Mitzvah. We are an open community representing multiple affiliations with diverse attendance. If you’re in the Seattle area, join us for Tuesday Night Torah studies or Shabbat services. To find out more about this amazing place visit www.shofar.org

The MaHaRI"Tz

2008-11-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

On the eve of Kristallnacht, the night when Jews around the world take pause to reflect and remember the unimaginable murders, arrests, and vast destruction which took place on this single night alone, I received an email from a new friend. Attached was the image shown here. For years I had looked to obtain a copy of this rare photo of the MaHaRI”Tz (הַמַּהַרִי''ץ ), Moreinu HaRav Yechiel Zvi Herschensohn-Lichtenstein of Romania, a tzaddik of blessed memory. Perhaps if the horrors of the shoah had never occurred the memory of European Chasidei Yeshua like the MaHaRI"Tz would have never become so obscured. In their day the world was not ready for them. I don't believe many Jews who followed Mashiach at this time had any peace except the inner and often hidden peace that resonates from his love. Today we have in our midst a number of dedicated individuals seeking to restore the knowledge of these men at a time when our movement needs them most and is ready for their Torah.

The MaHaRI"Tz is remembered as a fervent man whose mind was always learning Torah. With the words “Ich will Ihnen sagen- let me tell you this,” he would deliver his teaching in a torrent of words rarely understood by his contemporaries (Kjوr-Hansen, Der Alte). With G-d's help our friends at FFOZ are working to translate and republish many works authored by scholars like the MaHaRI"Tz including his Beur leSifre Berit HaHadasha, a commentary on our messianic text which, I believe, will inspire our entire movement.

Thank you Brian Reed for the photo. I'm so grateful.

Balance?

2008-11-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

Where is the balance between grace and works?

There is no balance between the two. Torah Judaism teaches that ultimately our spiritual inheritance is acquired through our Father’s grace alone. This idea is present throughout Jewish thought. One brief example is found during our morning devotions (Shacharit). We pray to our merciful creator; “May You overstep with us the line of your law and deal with us—O HaShem, our G-d—instead with your mercy and kindness.” In Jewish thought, good works are an act of covenant fidelity and not merely a means by which to earn a reward.

If Judaism truly teaches that forgiveness and cleansing from sin is ultimately found through G-d’s mercy alone, who were the opponents with whom both the Messiah and Paul argued?

Readers of the apostolic writings often come away from the text with an inaccurate impression of the Jewish world, both ancient and modern. The generation that witnessed the burning of Jerusalem was fractured and uncertain. Even as Roman armies surrounded the Holy City its inhabitance were feuding; very few escaped. Those who did traveled to the North of Israel. Humble and broken, they were seeking to save what remained of the Jewish people and faith. Jewish tradition relates that the Word of G-d came to that small group of students audibly.

The voice from heaven revealed that G-d’s heart was for Israel to follow the way of Hillel the Elder, the Grandfather and teacher of Gamliel who saved the lives of Peter and John (Acts 5), whose students learned from Yeshua in the night, “for G-d so loved the world”(John. 3:1-21), and raced to prepare the Mashiach’s body for burial after His death.

Yeshua challenged the views of many in His generation and Paul battled against those teaching salvation through circumcision (the Jews with whom Paul argued were messianic like himself). Nevertheless, the bulk of these groups did not survive beyond the destruction of the second temple. Modern Jewish tradition (in all its diversity) descends from a school of thought friendly to the teachings of Yeshua and His students.

If this is the case, why then do so many Jews feel negatively towards Yeshua’s followers?

Jewish opposition to both Yeshua and His followers largely stems from Christian anti-Semitism. Countless acts of hatred, pogroms, expulsions, and massacres have been perpetrated in the name of Christianity and its “good news.” Modern Jewish feelings towards Yeshua, Messianic Judaism, and Christianity have little to do with theology and much to do with history and emotion.

Lost In a Cloud

2008-10-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

-Inspired by a shiur taught by Rabbi Rafael Yitzchak

"When he took the three disciples to the mountainside to pray, his countenance was modified, his clothing was aflame. Two men appeared: Moses and Elijah came; they were at his side. The prophecy, the legislation spoke of whenever he would die."

These words, taken from Sufjan Stevens' "The Transfiguration" in his album Seven Swans, beautifully depict an event which occurred nearly 2000 years ago. Kefa, Ya'akov, and Yochanan accompanied Mashiach alone as he led them up a high mountain to pray, some say Mount Hermon in the North. Seven years ago, I had the privilege of ascending Hermon. It was cold and green; the air was wet and fog covered hidden peaks. Those events which took place so long ago are easily imaged in a place like this.

As his three students slept, Yeshua prayed. As he prayed the appearance of his face began to change and the fabric of his clothing shone like woven light. Two men were seen illuminated with him, Moshe Rabeinu and Elijah the prophet. As the song above records, they were speaking about his death which was nearing. In the Greek rendering of our Besarot the word chosen to describe the departure of the Mashiach is "exodus."

The placement of this word is both intentional and well considered. It encourages the reader to find meaning in the context of the story. The presence of Moses on a mountain and even Elijah the prophet, who is present at every Seder, when coupled with the word "exodus," instantly transports the reader back to our nation's flight from Egypt and the subsequent revelation of Torah on Mount Sinai.

Only after they had become completely alert, risen from their sleep, did they see the transfigured Mashiach and his two companions. As the two visitors were leaving, Kefa spoke, "Master, it would be good for us to remain here. Allow us to put up three sukkot (shelters)-- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

Before this experience was committed to writing it was preserved as an oral legend. A scribal note in the text adds what must have been part of that original account. "He [Kefa] did not know what he was saying." Some take this comment to mean that Kefa must have been still half asleep and speaking nonsense. I disagree. The text itself says that all three had become "completely" awake. I would suggest that what Kefa did not realize was the magnitude of his statement. Rather than being inconsequential, Kefa's words were profound.

Just before their ascending the mountain, Mashiach made the statement that some who were with him would not taste death before they saw the Kingdom of G-d. On the last day of Sukkot we say, "Next year in Jerusalem in the sukkah made with the skin of leviathan." This is the sukkah made by Mashiach in which the righteous will dine during the messianic age. Upon the mountain top the students of Mashiach witnessed the Kingdom of Heaven breaking through into this world.

Furthermore in the mentioning of sukkot, Kefa returns the reader once more to our wilderness journey. The sons of Israel lived in sukkot booths throughout their wandering. The Talmud records a debate between the sages as to the nature of these sukkot. Some said these sukkot were natural structures similar to those built during our holiday. Others maintained that the protective sukkot spoken of in the Torah were created from a supernatural cloud, the very presence of Hashem himself. Our text supports this idea. While Kefa spoke, a cloud appeared and enveloped all of them. As they entered the cloud the students became afraid. A voice like that from Sinai spoke from the midst of the cloud saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."

When the voice had finished speaking Kefa, Ya'akov, and Yochanan were found alone with Mashiach once more.

During this season may we all strive to heed the voice of our King and meditate on his words, walking out our exodus through his own.

Mashiach on Hitbodadut

2008-10-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

Prayer can take on multiple forms. In the life and teachings of Mashiach we find diverse examples. He spoke of a man who found forgiveness while praying standing in the temple. His students prayed communally in "the upper room." Mashiach himself never passed up an opportunity to pronounce a ritual public blessing before eating or drinking. However, Yeshua's unequaled emphasis on prayer is the teaching of hitbodadut. Literally translated the word means "seclusion." Alone in the hills and in hidden places Mashiach prayed most often. According to Rebbe Nachman of Breslau this is the only way to build a personal relationship with G-d. Yeshua demands sincerity from his followers; his way in prayer is an intimate conversation with a Father who knows the needs of his children.

"And when you pray, you will not be like the hypocrites; they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, so they can be seen by the world. In truth I tell you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, don't use vain repetitions like the nations do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. Don't be like them; for your Father knows the things you need of, before you ask him."

The Tzaddik, A Conduit of Blessing

2008-10-19T23:43:00.000-07:00

What role does The Tzaddik play in the acquisition of Torah blessing as understood through our Pauline tradition?

The Torah emphasizes its blessings as conditional upon the fulfillment of mitzvot and warns of a potential curse promised to Israel if the nation would turn aside from Jewish law.

See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God…Deuteronomy 11:26-28; NASB

Inasmuch as this principal extends not only to the nation but to individuals as well, Paul criticizes those who would attempt to rely on their religious observance as an evidence of personal righteousness. He writes;

Certainly all who depend on the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “A curse on everyone who does not obey everything that is written in the book of the law.” –Galatians 3:10; ISV
Since all have sinned and continue to fall short of God's glory—Romans 3:23; ISV

Paul stresses that while the nation has fallen short our King-Mashiach remains a complete Tzaddik, a wholly righteous individual who has become a conduit of divine blessing for his people Israel and all those who would attach themselves to Him. On a personal level, the process of attachment to The Tzaddik involves a self nullification which is understood as a true kind of death. This self nullification becomes a participation in the martyrdom of the Tzaddik, and by extension, his resurrection as well. It is in this way Paul writes:

I no longer live, but the Mashiach lives in me…—Galatians 2:20; ISV

Paul teaches that Chasidei Yeshua (followers of Messiah) are like the dead who can neither transgress nor perform mitzvot (Rom. 7:1). In this way we relinquish any merit derived from the performance of the commandments and recognize our righteousness and deeds of Torah as truly not our own but belonging to and an expression of our resurrected Mashiach in us. We find our blessing in and through Him who redeemed us from the Torah’s curse (Gal. 3:13). Every mitzvah has become an opportunity to express and magnify Yeshua’s life and holiness in this world. It is in our unification with the Tzaddik who lives through us that we now encounter the Torah’s promise and blessing.

Bad Religion, Good Song

2008-10-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

Although a band with a name like "Bad Religion" might not be the expected source for a worship hymn, I find their song titled "Sorrow" rather thought provoking. Originally a punk band formed in 1980, Bad Religion released their twelfth album, The Process of Belief, in 2002. Sorrow, a single off this record, could make a rather cool addition to a gathering of young worshipers.

"Sorrow"

Father can you hear me?
How have I let you down?
I curse the day that I was born
and all the sorrow in this world

Let me take you to the herding ground
where all good men are trampled down
Just to settle a bet that could not be won
between a prideful father and his son

Will you guide me now for I can't see a reason
for the suffering and this long misery
What if every living soul could be upright and strong?
Well then I do imagine

There will be (sorrow)
Yeah there will be (sorrow)
And there will be sorrow no more

When all soldiers lay their weapons down
or when all kings and all queens relinquish their crowns
Or when the only true messiah rescues us
from ourselves it's easy to imagine

There will be (sorrow)
Yeah there will be (sorrow)
And there will be sorrow no more

There will be (sorrow)
Yeah there will be (sorrow)
And there will be sorrow no more

Yeah there will be (sorrow)
Yeah there will be (sorrow)
And there will be sorrow no more

Watch the music video "Sorrow" by clicking here.

Romans Chapter Fourteen

2008-10-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

The 14th chapter of Romans has long been imagined as a supporting text for the removal or softening of Jewish law; specifically, dietary restrictions and holidays. However, a general introduction to certain Talmudic passages transforms our reading of the epistle and reaffirms its fidelity to Jewish tradition and law. Understood correctly, the passage in question can be celebrated as the earliest written record of certain customs reflecting the practices of Hillel and Shammai during the days of the zugot (a time just before the apostolic period).

The Honor of Shabbat:

Our Talmud describes contrasting ways in which the sages observed and magnified the Shabbat:

It was taught: They used to say about Shammai the elder that all his life he ate in honor of Shabbat. So, if he found a comely animal he would say: "Let this be for Shabbat." If he later found a more comely one, he would put aside the second for Shabbat and eat the first. But Hillel the elder had a different way, for all his deeds were for the sake of heaven, as it is said: "Blessed be the Lord day by day" (Tehilim 68:20). It was likewise taught: Bet Shammai say: From the first day of the week, prepare for Shabbat, but Bet Hillel say: "Blessed be the Lord day by day." (Betza 16a)

It was the practice of Shammai to enhance his Shabbat observance in the eating of fine meats. The above passage explains that if Shammai had two animals he would select the finer of the two for his Shabbat eating. However, if for some reason, Shammai (or an adherent to his philosophy) had but one animal to slaughter he would reserve that animal for the Sabbath, voluntarily maintaining a vegetarian diet during the week. Because the Shabbat and its meals are holy, Shammai reasoned that weekdays and weekday eating are profane. For Shammai the only holiness found within a profane weekday was that it could be used to prepare for the holy Shabbat.

Conversely, Hillel viewed the practice of Shammai as evidencing a lack of faith. It was his custom to receive whatever Hashem provided daily, trusting that G-d would supply his needs for Shabbat as well. Hillel cited the verse “Bless my Lord day by day” as a support for his actions. From it he concluded that each day contained its own level of sanctity; the meat supplied on a given day should therefore be promptly accepted with thanksgiving. Hillel observed every day as holy and honored Shabbat as the holiest of them all. Although considering the custom of Shammai to lack faith, Hillel nevertheless respected Shammai inasmuch as his actions were for the sake of Heaven.

The Weak and the Strong:

The Apostle Paul, a student and practitioner of the philosophies taught by the school of Hillel (Acts 22:3), directed his students to do the same and encouraged a non-confrontational approach in the receiving of Beit Shammai members of the messianic community. His letter explains:

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for G-d has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One person judges between days (ημεραν παρ ημεραν), another regards every day. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to G-d; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to G-d....I know and am convinced in the Master Yeshua that nothing is profane (κοινον) in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be profane, to him it is profane.

After only a simple introduction to the practices of our pharisaic schools the intent and direction of our writer become clear. The text does not question the necessity of dietary restrictions and Shabbat observance but instead seeks to calm disputes regarding how to best amplify that observance. Continuing in the tradition of Hillel the elder, Paul considers those who abstain from eating more expensive foods during the “profane” days of the week to be lacking in faith and, nevertheless, judges favorably those who hold this custom inasmuch as what they do they do “unto the Lord.”

On Incarnation, The Garments of a King

2008-10-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

In the fourth chapter of his most famous work, The Baal Tanya, Rav Shneur Zalman, ZT"L, discusses the relationship between the blessed En Sof and our holy Torah. His words are profound and relevant in describing the relationship between HaShem and His Mashiach.

The fourth besorah (gospel) opens by describing the creation of the universe through the Torah, an idea repeated later in the Zohar's commentary on Bereshit. Our Sheliach uses the term "word" to describe the preexistent Torah which has been explained as one continuous string of letters without separation. (Ramban's Peirush al Ha-Torah) Yochanan relates that the Torah was both with God and simulataneously one and the same with the creator. (Yo. 1:1) The Baal Tanya elaborates on this kind of idea in some depth:

The Torah has been compared to water, for just as water descends from a higher to a lower level, so has the Torah descended from its place of glory, which is His blessed will and wisdom; [for] the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one and the same and no thought can apprehend Him at all. Thence [the Torah] has progressively descended through hidden stages, stage after stage, with the descent of the worlds, until it clothed itself in corporeal substances... (Tanya Ch. 4)

In this passage the Baal Tanya explains that a compression of the heavenly Torah, which is one and the same with the creator, was necessary that the unknowable En Sof might be made accessible to humanity. Rav Zalman explains that the creator, who is beyond investigation, must be "clothed" and presented in a form which might be understood through human faculty. The blessed En Sof is first clothed in the form of what is called Torah which is subsequently clothed in physical substances, namely parchment and ink.

Expanding on this idea our tradition describes Mashiach as that very Torah further clothed in the flesh and blood of humanity, the body and physical form of Yeshua Tzidkenu, as its written [HaShem desired] that the whole of the divine perfections should dwell in Him. (Col. 1:19 Weymouth New Testament) It was through his embodiment of the Torah itself that Mashiach proclaimed I and the Father are one. (Yo. 10:30) The creator robed in a garment of Torah, the Torah further robed within the person of Yeshua, this is the teaching put forth in the B"CH. The Baal Tanya gives a relevant illustration of one whom is embraced by a king. He writes:

There is no difference, in regard to the degree of closeness and attachment to the king, whether while embracing the king, the latter is then wearing one robe or several robes, so long as the royal person is in them. (Tanya Ch. 4)

The creator has robed Himself in the Torah, that humanity might embrace His wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. He has further clothed the Torah within the person of Yeshua, the True Tzadik and Mashiach of all generations, in order that He might embrace humanity.

On Nishmat Mashiach, The Messianic Soul

2008-10-07T23:48:00.000-07:00

The Shechinah, the souls of tzaddikim, and the preexistent soul of Mashiach are called Tziparim (birds) throughout our mystical tradition and the teachings of chasidut.(Zohar 8a, Epistle of the BeSHT) As early as parashat Bereshit the Ruach Elokim (Soul of Mashiach) is described as hovering like a bird over the waters of creation. (Bereshit Rabbah 2:5) The Zohar describes the dwelling place of the messianic soul on the outskirts of Eden. The Soul of Mashiach is said to be hidden in a place called Heichal Ken Tzippor, The Bird's Nest.

At the age of thirty years, our Rebbe went to be immersed by his cousin, Yochanan HaMatbil. It was on this occasion that he was crowned with the messianic soul. Our besorah records:

After Yeshua was immersed he rose directly out of the water. And observe this, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the messianic soul descending like a dove, and coming to rest over him. And again observe, a heavenly voice was heard saying, "This is My Son, the dearly loved, in whom is My delight." [And as some add] Today I have begotten you.(Mattai 3:16-17;Lk. 3:22 codex Bezae, Hebrews 5:5 )

Rising from the river, whose waters figure those of creation, The True Tzaddik Yeshua was revealed as Mashiach with the decent of God's Spirit. After this event Mashiach spoke of himself using the language of a bird. He said, if we would only desire it, he would gather us under his wings. May it be soon and in our days!

Havdalah How To

2008-10-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

To make havdalah, you will need kosher wine or grape juice, a havdalah candle, and fragrant spices. In place of a havdalah candle you may use two or more candles by holding the wicks together while the candles are lit.

(Light the havdalah candle and fill a cup to overflowing)

הנה אל ישועתי אבטח ולא אפחד. כי עזי וזמרת יה יי ויהי לי לישועה. ושאבתם מים בששון ממעיני הישועה. ליי הישועה על עמך ברכתך סלה. יי צבאות עמנו משגב לנו אלהי יעקב סלה. ליהודים היתה אורה. ושמחה וששון ויקר כן תהיה לנו כוס ישועות אשא ובשם יי אקרא

Hineh El yeshuati evtach v'lo efchad. Ki azi vzimrat Ya, Adonai vayahee li l'yeshua. U'shavtem mayim b'sason ha-yeshua. La'Adonai ha-yeshua al amcha birchatecha sela. Adonai tzvaot imanu misgav lanu Elohei Yaakov sela. (All recite together) La'Yehudim hayta orah v'simcha v'sason v'ikar ken tiyehah lanu. (Lifting the cup) Kos yeshuot esah u'vshem Adonai ekra.

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not fear. For my strength and song is Yah, HaShem, and He was a salvation for me. You can draw water with joy from the springs of salvation. Salvation is unto HaShem; upon His people is His blessing, selah. HaShem of hosts is with us; the God of Ya'akov is our protection. (All recite together) For the Jews, there was light, joy, gladness and honor. So may it be for us. (Lifting the cup) I will rise the cup of salvation, and shall call out the name of HaShem.

ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם בורא פרי הגפן

Barukh atah Adonai, Elohenu, melekh ha-olam borei p'ri hagafen (Amen)

Blessed are you, HaShem, our God, King of the universe who creates the fruit of the vine (Amen)

(Seting the cup down without drinking from it and continue by making a blessing over fragrant spices)

ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם בורא מיני בשמים

Barukh atah Adonai, Elohenu, melekh ha-olam borei minei v'samim (Amen)

Blessed are you, HaShem, our God, King of the universe who creates kind of fragrant spices (Amen)

ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם בורא מאורי האש

Barukh atah Adonai, Elohenu, melekh ha-olam borei m'orei ha-eish (Amen)

Blessed are you, HaShem, our God, King of the universe who creates the light of fire (Amen)

(The cusotom is for all present to extend their hand towards the flame taking notice of the play of light and shadow upon the hands)

ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם המבדיל בין קדש לחול בין אור לחשך בין ישראל לעמים בין יום השביעי לששת ימי המעשה ברוך אתה יי המבדיל בין קדש לחול

Barukh atah Adonai, Elohenu, melekh ha-olam hamav'dil bein kodesh l'chol bein or l'choshekh bein Yisrael la'amim bein yom hash'vi'i l'sheishet y'mei hama'aseh. Barukh atah Adonai, hamav'dil bein kodesh l'chol (Amein)

Blessed are you, HaShem, our God, King of the universe who separates between holy and profain between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six days of labor. Blessed are you, HaShem, who separates between holy and profain. (Amen)

(Take a sip of the wine. After drinking from the cup, extingush the torch in the overflow of wine colected in the dish benieth the cup.)

You can learn a beautiful rendition of these liturgical pieces as presented live by The Moshav Band by simply following this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZBd59OAdYw

Havdalah----In the Light of Mashiach

2008-10-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

The cup of wine, fragrant spices, and fire light that accompany the beginning of our work week should bring to remembrance the resurrection of our Mashiach whose tomb was found empty early on the first day.

In our liturgical tradition the cup of blessing held during a havdalah service is called kos yeshuot, "a cup of salivations." This cup should cause us to reflect upon the redemptive work of our Mashiach.

The fragrant spices taken during havdalah are intended to wake up the soul from its sleep. After making the blessing over spices we inhale their aroma with the intent that it should revive our souls which have been at rest during Shabbat. The besorot insist that just before shabbat Mashiach's most dedicated female followers prepared spices for his tomb.

Then they returned and prepared aromatic spices and myrrh. And on the Shabbat they rested according to the commandment.(Luke 23:56)

The besorot are unclear as to whether or not the sun had risen by the time these women had arrived at the tomb. Nevertheless, when they approached the grave, carrying many pounds of fragrant spices, they found it empty. Mashiach had risen.

These women had spent the previous night together; the room must have been filled with the sent of the spices that they had previously prepared. There is no doubt in my mind that as they concluded the Shabbat a blessing was made over these very fragrant spices. As they inhaled their fragrance, attempting to revive their own souls, Mashiach was reviving as well.

Finally, by making a brachah over the light of a braided candle we usher in the new week with the same creative work HaShem performed in the beginning when he spoke the words "Let their be light." While the sun, moon, and stars had yet to be created, this light was the light of Mashiach. We read in our besorah;

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of humanity. (Yo. 1:4)

In making havdalah, let us not fail to remember our Mashiach whose blood was spilled, whom revived from the dead and whose life now shines as a brilliant light throughout all the world.

Fresh Ground Havdalah

2008-10-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

While the beverage of choice for making havdalah will always be wine, it is permissible to use other liquids. If wine is not available any drink people sip in social settings and is not intended to merely quench ones thirst may be used.

One way to engage a group of young people whom might not be otherwise interested in ritual observance could be to host a service at a local Starbucks, Tully's or other coffee shop using coffee to make havdalah. Of coarse you'll need permission from the establishment. If management is uncomfortable with the indoor flame take it outside. Many coffee shops have outdoor seating; a chilly candle lit night with coffee and friends is bound to be an enjoyable one.

It is possible to keep kosher at most coffee shops as long as you remain informed. For information regarding kashrut at Starbucks go to www.kosherstarbucks.com