Wednesday, October 16, 2013

15 CHESVAN 5774, 19 OCTOBER 2013: VAYEIRA

n a Nutshell

Vayeira in a Nutshell:
Gen 18:1 - 22:24

G‑d reveals Himself to Abraham three days after the first Jew’s circumcision at age ninety-nine; but Abraham rushes off to prepare a meal for three guests who appear in the desert heat. One of the three—who areangels disguised as men—announces that, in exactly one year, the barren Sarah will give birth to a son. Sarah laughs.  

Vayeira in a Nutshell, Chabad.org


Thought for the Week:

Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain. (Isaiah 51:1-2)

Abraham's Prayer | FFOZ | The Weekly eDrash



Vayeira: Abraham's Struggle With Loyalty

What was Abraham thinking as he walked up the mountain to slaughter his long-awaited son? How could Abraham be disloyal to his own paternal responsibilities and betray Isaac? In this video, we explore Abraham’s struggle during the Binding of Isaac through his brief but rich conversation with his son. In so doing, we expose an added element of the test in the command to slaughter his son and uncover a new perspective of Abraham’s greatness.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

CHESHVAN 8, 5774: 12 OCT 2013: LECH LECHA

Get ready for this week's Torah Study, Lech Lecha.

Genesis 12:1-17:27   Isaiah 40:27-41:16  Luke 1:1-80

Torah Teaching - Very beautiful

B"H

Tuesday, Cheshvan 4, 5774 / October 8, 2013

Parshat Lech Lecha begins with G-d commanding Abraham to leave his father's place and travel to "the land that I will show you." Abraham didn't know yet what G-d had in store for him.

The Torah tells us, "And Avram took Sarai his wife (their names were not changed yet to "Abraham" and "Sarah"), and Lot, his brother's son, and all their possessions and the people they made in Charan and they departed to the land of Canaan."

Q. What does the Torah mean by, "the people they made in Charan"? Who were these people? How does one "make people"?

A. Our sages explain this to mean the people whom Abraham and Sarah brought closer to G-d; "under the wings of G-d's presence."

Abraham, who grew up in a household of idol worshippers came to the realization, completely on his own, that there is only one G-d - the G-d Who created heaven and earth and everything within them. Not being satisfied to know the truth himself, he and Sarah made it their mission to go out and spread the message of truth and bring people closer to the true G-d.

Our sages say that one who teaches someone Torah it is as if they "gave birth to them." It is as if they created and made them.

This was the difference between Noach, hero of last week's Parsha and Abraham. Noach was a righteous man, he and his family were saved from The Flood, but his generation didn't benefit from him. He didn't go out of his way to teach people and perhaps save them from The Flood.

But Abraham and Sarah, the patriarch and matriarch of the Jewish people, went out of their way and made it their goal to bring people closer to G-d - the Torah calls them, "the people they made." They joined Abraham and Sarah on their journey.

There is a lesson in this. It is not enough to be righteous ourselves, like Noach was. We have to follow in the footsteps of Abraham and Sarah. It is our duty to go out and help others who need guidance and bring them closer to G-d and their Jewish heritage.

It is with great sadness that the Jewish people lost a great sage and Torah giant, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, of blessed memory, who passed away in Israel, at the age of 93. Rabbi Yosef was the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel and leader of the Sephardic communities. He dedicated his life to teaching Torah and bringing them closer to G-d. His funeral in Jerusalem was attended by 400,000 people who came to pay him his well deserved last respects. May his memory be a blessing. Amen..

HAVE A GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

Tammi  Wohlers


Lech Lecha: Covenant With God

In this week's parsha, God and Abraham make a hugely important covenant, where God promises Abraham children and land, leading to the start of the Jewish nation. In this video, Rabbi Fohrman helps us understand what can we learn from a fascinating literary chiasm in the text surrounding this covenant.


Life’s Detours
A Taste of Text—Lech Lecha
By Chana Weisberg


Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos.



Lech Lecha
By Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier

Diamond With A Flaw


type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="305">


Courtesy of Aish.com



Thursday, October 3, 2013

TISHREI 30 5774, 04 October 2013 : NOACH

In preparation for this Sabbath Torah study group, read the Torah portions named Noach. They include Gen 6:99-11:32, Isa 42:5-43:10 and Apostolic readings Lk 1:1-80.


Thought for the Week:

Human evil grieves God's heart. God is not peering down on the planet making observations like a dispassionate astronaut. Neither is He watching us like a man sitting on a sofa watching a football game. Rather, He is like a Father who observes the behavior of His children. He is like a king taking note of how events unfold in his kingdom. When a father sees his children involved in self-destructive behaviors, it grieves him. When a king sees his subjects living in open rebellion against him, it angers him. As God observed humanity in the days of Noah, He was saddened to see the rampant wickedness of His creations. He saw that every human heart harbored evil. "The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart" (Genesis 6:6).

FFOZ.org        Fixing a Broken World      



AlephBeta Academy

Noach: Why Did God Destroy the World?

When Noach is named, his father Lamech claims that he will provide relief for humankind - and less than 10 verses later, God decides to destroy the world. By comparing textual parallels of the two events, Rabbi Fohrman helps us understand Lamech's mistake, and how to better relate to God today.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

TISHREI 24, 28 September 2013: SABBATH TORAH STUDY

First, I apologize for being absent for so long. Taking on the 40 days of Repentance was a hefty challenge. I hope to be more consistent with posting at least three times a week. Please refer to the active calendar at the end of the post to keep up with local events.

Today was the first meeting of our new Sabbath Morning Torah study. It was a great success.  The group was enthusiastic and really dove into looking at the Torah readings with fresh eyes. We opened by reading an introduction by Rabbi David Fohrman to his Garden of Eden teachings entitled "The Lullaby Effect.
 I wanted to show the video introduction from the AlephBeta Academy web page but I did not get the internet  connection working. I will place the link below so you can view it. The introduction really set the tone for the study. Be sure to join us next week, Saturday 5 October, 09:30 at Lynnet's home. Full description with directions posted in the calendar at the end of this post.


The Lullaby Effect

The stories of Genesis are familiar to us, but their meaning often seems maddeningly elusive. Why would Hashem want to deny humanity knowledge of good and evil? Aren't we better off being able to distinguish right from wrong? What are we to make of a talking snake? And why would Hashem find the building of a tower in the Land of Babel so problematic? In this course, Rabbi Fohrman takes students on a journey of discovery into the text and Midrashei Chazal - revealing layers of meaning that are both startling and profound. Rather than seeing the early topics in Bereishis as a disjointed series of stories, Rabbi Fohrman shows how they all weave together to form a larger, majestic whole.




Below is a link to a free Torah Study listed for this week on the Aleph Beta Academy web site. 
I have already viewed it and I strongly recommend it.


Bereishit: Does Man 'Acquire' Woman?

It seems troubling that in a Jewish marriage, a man ‘acquires’ a woman – is Judaism really so archaic? In this lecture, Rabbi David Fohrman explores this question in the context of God’s creation of Eve, the first woman, and shows that true acquisition is not about control, it’s about completeness of the self.




Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Rosh Hashanah Continued



Uploaded on Sep 21, 2011
Avraham Goldhar presents a fascinating overview of Rosh Hashana and explains how to maximize the power of the day.






Published on Aug 30, 2009
This is the second in a series of epipheos for the United Jewish Communities.






Uploaded on Sep 12, 2011
Visit: http://www.in-hebrew.co.il
Learn Hebrew Rosh Hashana Video
14 Hebrew selections about Rosh Hashana including Hebrew audio

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Rosh Hashanah

WHAT IS ROSH HASHANA?
Chabad.org

The festival of Rosh Hashanah—the name means “Head of the Year”—is observed for two days beginning on 1 Tishrei, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind’s role in G‑d’s world.

Rosh Hashanah thus emphasizes the special relationship between G‑d and humanity: our dependence upon G‑d as our creator and sustainer, and G‑d’s dependence upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, “all inhabitants of the world pass before G‑d like a flock of sheep,” and it is decreed in the heavenly court “who shall live, and who shall die . . . who shall be impoverished, and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise.” But this is also the day we proclaim G‑d King of the Universe. The Kabbalists teach that the continued existence of the universe is dependent upon the renewal of the divine desire for a world when we accept G‑d’s kingship each year on Rosh Hashanah.

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn, which also represents the trumpet blast of a people’s coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance, for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man’s first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the “Ten Days of Repentance” which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Another significance of theshofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac’s place as an offering to G‑d; we evokeAbraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son, and plead that the merit of his deed should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity. Altogether, we listen to one hundred shofar blasts over the course of the Rosh Hashanah services.

Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include: a) Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey, to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, and other special foods symbolic of the new year’s blessings. b) Blessing one another with the words “Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim,” “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” c) Tashlich, a special prayer said near a body of water (an ocean, river, pond, etc.), in evocation of the verse, “And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea.” And as with every major Jewish holiday, after candlelighting and prayers we recite kiddush and make a blessing on thechallah.


Please join us if you can this Wednesday 4 September at CBN's new chapel to celebrate Rosh Hashana.


Rosh Hashanah: A Trumpet Call Into God's Presence


You are invited to join us this Wednesday evening as CBN celebrates Rosh Hashanah. You can be a part of this live webcast event, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET, featuring an incredible evening of worship and praise.
Special greetings and teaching from
Pat and Gordon Robertson
Musical guest Paul Wilbur
The Messiah Company and the
Academie de Ballet Dancers
Shofarist Don Heist

About Rosh Hashanah
The name Rosh Hashanah means "beginning or head of the year." This celebration marks the beginning of the High Holy Days on the Jewish calendar. The Bible refers to Rosh Hashanah as the Feast of Trumpets, and it begins the Ten Days of Awe that conclude with Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement. This is a wonderful time to seek the Lord, repent for wrongdoing, and consecrate ourselves to God, thanking Him for His work in our lives.
Rosh Hashanah Celebration
CBN/Regent Campus Chapel
Wednesday, Sep. 4,
7:00 p.m. ET.

Watch the Event Live
at CBN.com
Regent University Chapel


If you are not able to join us please watch last year's celebration below or watch live online and enjoy the experience.



Bill
"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year" (Leshanah tovah tikateiv
veteichateim)


Rosh Hashanah Celebration: September 16, 2012
Rosh Hashanah Celebration from Sunday, September 16, 2012. The celebration featured Pat Robertson, Gordon Robertson and musical guest Paul Wilbur.

Monday, August 26, 2013

What Makes Rosh Hashanah Beautiful

Reflect on this day. 
















Do not forget to review new additions to calendar below!!!




Wednesday, August 21, 2013

ELUL 16 , 22 AUG 2013: DAY 17 OF REPENTANCE: YETZER HA-RA AND YETZER HA-TOV, AN INCLINATION FOR EVIL AND AN INCLINATION FOR GOOD

15 “Look! I am presenting you today with, on the one hand, life and good; and on the other, death and evil — 16 in that I am ordering you today to love Adonai your God, to follow his ways, and to obey his mitzvot, regulations and rulings ; for if you do, you will live and increase your numbers; and Adonai your God will bless you in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, if you refuse to listen, if you are drawn away to prostrate yourselves before other gods and serve them; (LY: Maftir) 18 I am announcing to you today that you will certainly perish; you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Yarden to enter and possess.

19 “I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants,20 loving Adonai your God, paying attention to what he says and clinging to him — for that is the purpose of your life! On this depends the length of time you will live in the land Adonai swore he would give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov.”


The Essential Tension
Saturday, September 01st, 2012 | Author: Skip Moen


Choose – Ira Stone in commentary on Moses Luzzatto’s Mesillat Yesharim, observes: “As Ramchal [acronym for Moses Luzzatto] imagines it, human consciousness comprises both a yetzer ha-ra and a yetzer ha-tov, an inclination for evil and an inclination for good. Together, these define the meaning of being created in the image and likeness of God. The human condition exists in the tension between good and evil or . . . between the tension of action on behalf of the self or on behalf of another. Every human action is a result of this tension.”[1] This makes choice the most important characteristic of human existence. The verb bahar is the quintessential verb of being human. You and I are our choices. We exist in the nexus of deciding. We are always at the crossroad. Choice, every choice, results in directional repositioning. The life well-lived is a life of choices of obedience for a long time in the same direction.

Moses seems to have reflected this essential tension in his request for decision. Notice that he calls heaven and earth to be witnesses. That is typical 16th Century BC endorsement. The cosmos itself is a player on this stage. In the pagan past, the heavens and the earth, filled with gods, would act as judge and jury over the ensuing choices. Now Moses suggests that the fate of the cosmos is tied to the choices of human beings. God has so empowered human decision that His very creation hangs in the balance. Choice not only defines us. It is the most powerful force in the created world.

It’s also noteworthy that derivatives of the root bhr describe “young man,” “youth” and “chosen.” But Hebrew is not narcissistic. This is not a longing for youth. It is the recognition that young men are chosen for military service. Vigor and strength are to be put into the service of others, not to be idolized as perennial self-glorification.

Bahar paints the picture of “the house that separates (fences) the person.” Choice creates fences. Something chosen leaves other things rejected. Lines must be drawn. Doors closed. The Hebraic idea of choice is ultimately the idea of separation. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, at least not in God’s world. Choosing life automatically means rejecting death. Choosing God’s ways means forsaking all other ways. There is no middle ground here.

Moses’ appeal uses bahar in a verb tense that is active and complete (qal perfect). That means you do it. You don’t wait for God to somehow force you to choose or to choose for you. You must decide. And when you decide, the action is done, finished, terminated. “It is accomplished,” is Yeshua’s declaration that the choice is complete. So it must be for those who choose life. Vacillation, double-minded hesitation, is the enemy here. Reconsidering over and over is not choice. It is the failure to choose, and that failure has eternal, cosmic consequences. If you don’t feel the tension in your life, examine yourself! Animals have no essential tension, but every human being does.

Moses makes it clear. You and I cannot opt out without risking our humanity. We cannot sidestep the crosshairs of choosing without becoming creatures controlled by instinct. To be human is to decide between good and evil – continuously. There is no vacation from being human until all choosing has ended.


The above piece by Skip Moen is only one he has written on this topic and you can click on any of the links above and be taken to his site to search for more. It is noted that in the majority of Christian thought that the "evil inclination" must be eradicated from one's self. Yet in Hebraic thought there would be no drive to accomplish without it. 



Ben Zoma says: Who is wise? The one who learns from every person, as it is said: "From all those who taught me I gained understanding" (Psalms 119:99). Who is mighty? The one who subdues his impulses, as it is said: "Better is one slow to anger than a strong man, and one who rules over his passions than the conqueror of a city" (Proverbs 16:32). Who is wealthy? The one who is happy with his portion, as it is said: "When you eat the toil of your hands you are fortunate and it is good for you" (Psalms 128:2). "You are fortunate" [refers to] this world; "and it is good for you" [refers to] the World to Come. Who is honored? The one who honors others, as it is said: "For those who honor Me will I honor, and those who scorn Me will be degraded" (I Samuel 2:30). Ethics of Fathers 4:1


A FOOL'S MISSION

Ben Zoma continues by teaching us the definition of true power. It is not the one who can control others who is genuinely mighty, but the one who can control himself.

The assertiveness of the human ego and the persistence of human desire produce a force of almost limitless power. How much have men accomplished, both for good and for evil, through their relentless quest to gain sovereignty over their fellow men? Empires have been built, empires have been destroyed, and still human beings vie for the opportunity to lord over their neighbors. Fortunes have been amassed, only to vanish in the endless quest for more. Families have been built upon the love of wives and children, only to be shattered by infidelities driven by passion and the desire for virile conquest.

True strength is an internal phenomenon. Like a coiled spring containing extraordinary potential power is the one who can keep rein on his passions and his impulses. Rather than unleashing all their energy in a single, destructive outburst, the truly mighty are those able to release their inner power with control and direction manner to create, to build, and to save. It is the inner battle against anger, jealousy, pride, lust, and pettiness that is the proving ground for true power and true heroism.



"Hillel said, do not separate yourself from the community, do not trust yourself till the day you die, do not judge your fellow until you reach his place, do not make a statement that cannot be understood, [intending] that ultimately it will be understood. And do not say, "When I am free, then I will learn," for perhaps you will never be free." Ethics of The Fathers: 2:5












Tuesday, August 13, 2013

ELUL 8 , 14 AUG 2013: DAY 9 OF REPENTANCE: LIFE MESSAGES IN HUMOR

On day one of Repentance we posted on the topic of Lason Hara (evil speech). It is a very serious topic with serious consequences of harm to ourselves and others.  But maybe sometimes humor can be a good communication technique. We thought that maybe we could give it a chance.  We found a spot on aish.com called Jewlariuos. The videos below are from there. We hope you enjoy and and let not the seriousness of the message be lost in the presentation.

Shalom


Jtube: Frasier: Lashon Hara
By NBC






Jtube: Frasier:  Lashon Hara

What are the dangers of Lashon Hara (gossiping)?


Video: Jtube: Frasier: Lashon Hara




JTube: A Thousand Words



By Brian Robbins

JTube: A Thousand Words
Should we be more selective about the words we use?

Video: JTube: A Thousand Words




Monday, August 12, 2013

ELUL 7 , 13 AUG 2013: DAY 8 OF REPENTANCE: CONFESSION

Several days ago on Elul 3, 9 August, we posted a link to lesson 2 of Rabbi Fohrman's instructions on Teshuva: What is real repentance?  In this video, Rabbi Fohrman introduces and begins to analyze Maimonides’ 4 elements of repentance, and suggests that the last of the 4 seems not to fit with the first 3. The first 3 elements highlight the process of leaving behind a sin. Rabbi Fohrman points out that merely leaving sin behind does not accomplish real repentance; that’s where confession comes in.
If you have not seen the video use the following link and view the lesson before you continue today's blog.

ELEMENTS OF REPENTANCE



3. One who merely verbally confesses to his sins and does not affix it in his heart to abandon them is like one who immerses in a mikveh while clutching onto a reptile. For such an immersion is of no avail until the reptile is gotten rid of. As such it’s said: "One who confesses and forsakes his sin will be shown mercy" (Proverbs 28:13). And one must articulate his sins. As it’s written: "Oh please -- the people have committed a terrible sin and fashioned G-ds of gold for themselves" (Exodus 32:31).

4. Among the things one can do for teshuvah is to cry out to G-d constantly andpleadingly, give charity according to his means, keep far away from what he transgressedagainst, change his name (as if to say, "I am someone else; I am not the person who didthose things"), change all his ways for the good and onto the path of righteousness, andexile himself (because exile atones for transgressions by making one submissive, humbleand meek).


5. It would be laudable for such a person to confess openly, to let his acts of rebellion be known, and to reveal his sins against another person in public by saying: "In truth, I sinned against so and so by doing thus and such to him. I’m hereby doing teshuva hand I am sorry." For the teshuvah of one who is so arrogant as to conceal his acts of rebellion rather than disclose them is incomplete. As it’s written: "One who hides his acts of rebellion will never succeed" (Proverbs 28:13).That is, however, only so in the case of sins committed against another person. But when it comes to sins committed against G-d, one doesn’t have to publicize his deeds. In fact, it would be impudent of him to do so. He should do teshuvah before G-d by enunciating his sins to Him, and then confessing in general before others. For it would be best for him not to enunciate such sins. As it’s written: "Happy is he whose acts of rebellion are forgiven, whose sin is hidden" (Psalms 32:1).

Maimonides, "Laws of Repentance" 2:3-5



Nitzavim(Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20)
Asking Forgiveness

"Some years ago, an organization asked me to collect stories for a book they hoped to publish. After putting the collection together and giving it to the administrators, they in turn handed it over for perusal to one of their supporters, a freelance journalist who had written many cover stories for national magazines. He responded by calling me up and telling me how awfulhe thought the work was, and also in informing me that I was in the wrong business. I was hurt by the verbal thrashing." 





Repairing Relationships

In this video, Rabbi Fohrman takes an in-depth look at the value of confession, the 4th element of repentance, through analyzing Maimonides’ fascinating analogy, and suggests that confession serves to repair the relationships that were damaged through the wrongdoing.


Sunday, August 11, 2013

ELUL 6 , 12 AUG 2013: DAY 7 OF REPENTANCE: CHANGE


Three Steps to Genuine Change

Three Steps to Genuine Change
Getting free from our self-erected prison.

One of the most harrowing pictures I ever saw appeared in Newsweek. The camera caught a glimpse into a life that had, in many senses, vanished before it even began. A child, who could not have been more than three or four years old, was carrying building materials. We would call him a pre-schooler; in today's Sudan, he ― and his parents ― are slaves.

He can be purchased by just about anyone; someone looked at him and saw two arms that will grow larger and stronger. It is not likely that they saw a mind or a soul. In the Newsweek interview, the child had no idea of the name of his country or his village. Looking at him from my home in Jerusalem, I mourned for his childhood far more than he did. I silently wished that he would somehow be able to return to himself and learn that he is more than his two strong arms.
Our thoughtless enslavement to mindless routine can leave us without much of a relationship to our souls.

In the course of our lives, we close doors to higher and deeper selves and sometimes forget that we, too, are more than earners, spenders, and travelers through life. Our thoughtless enslavement to mindless routine can leave us without much of a relationship to our souls. In a materialistic society, it is all too easy to view others as competitors. As toddlers we observed that when you have three cookies and give one away, all you have left are two. From that point onward we are afraid to give.

The problem is that the soul, unlike the body, thrives on giving, and on the love that is its offspring.


The Process of Change
The Process of Change
When it comes to personal growth, we all have good intentions. But how do you translate that into actual improvement?

Elul and the High Holidays is a very special season. It's a time to take advantage of a special opportunity to work on ourselves: to change, be great and fulfill dreams. It's a new beginning to finally do those things you've always sensed you were capable of, but never followed through.

Every Elul starts off with the same high expectations -- that there will be a whole new world and things will never be quite the same again. Unfortunately, the initial enthusiasm all too often gives way to a somber reality; enthusiasm tapers off and you end up not too different from before you started. Of course, you do grow slowly, year after year, but the big breakthrough -- becoming the person you know you can and should be -- never seems to materialize. It remains an elusive dream.

How do you take all the initial goodwill, enthusiasm and excitement -- and parley it into significant and lasting change? In other words, how do you make the High Holiday season really work?



Changing Your Head Space
A Rosh Hashanah greeting from Sara Esther Crispe, editor of TheJewishWoman.org

A Rosh Hashanah VideoCast
By Sara Esther Crispe


Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos.


Saturday, August 10, 2013

ELUL 5 , 11 AUG 2013: DAY 6 OF REPENTANCE: MERITS AND TRANSGRESSIONS





1. Each and every person has his merits and his transgressions. One whose merits outweigh his transgressions is considered righteous, while one whose transgressions outweigh his merits is considered a wrongdoer, and one whose merits and transgressions are equivalent is considered an intermediate. The same is true of countries as well. If a country's inhabitants' merits outweigh  their transgressions, the country is considered righteous while if its inhabitants' transgressions outweigh their merits it is considered wrongful. And the same is true of the world at large.

2. One whose transgressions outweigh his merits will die immediately in his wrongfulness. As it’s written: "I have struck you as an enemy would and punished you as would the cruel, because your guilt is so great and your sins so many" (Jeremiah 30:12-15).       Similarly, the country whose inhabitants' transgressions are great will be destroyed immediately. As it’s written: “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous" (Genesis 18: 17-22). And such is the case with the world at large, as well: when the transgressions of its inhabitants are very great, it will be destroyed immediately. As it’s written: "And G-d saw that man's wrongfulness was pervasive in the land" (Genesis 6:5). But the determination of all this is not based upon the number of transgressions or merits so much as upon their seriousness. For, there are some merits that outweigh many transgressions. As it’s written: "He is the only one … in whom the L-rd, the G-d of Israel, has found anything good" (1 Kings 14:5-14). And there are transgressions that outweigh many merits. As it’s written: "but one sinner can destroys a lot of good”(Ecclesiastes 9:10-19). But such a determination can only be made by All-Knowing G-d, for only He can evaluate the relative value of our merits and transgressions.

Maimonides, "Laws of Repentance" 3:1-2


WHY IT's NOT TOO LATE for AMERICA

-by Paul Holdren.

For most of the 35 years of my Christian experience considerable
time has been spent thinking about a national revival. I can still
remember the feeling I had when I heard the word, "Revival", for
the first time. It impacted me as an exhilarating word, with a power
and energy of its own. Upon hearing the word I was left with the
impression that "Revival" was something that I definitely wanted as
a part of my Christian experience.

As the years have passed I have consistently prayed for a "Revival"
on the level of the great awakenings. I have longed for a "Revival"
that would change the direction of our nation, our communities and
our homes. As a part of my personal testimony I have discovered
the importance of experiencing "Revival". If God, by His infinite
mercies, was able to call me back into covenant relationship, then
He is able to call our nation back into covenant relationship with
Him.

At this very moment I desire a "Revival" that will change us, turning
us from our present state of confusion, darkness and death toward
God's glorious truth, light and life. As our nation's direction and
moral climate have spiraled downward my heart's cry has been for
a "Revival" of historic proportion.... A survey of revivals can be
summarized with the observation that genuine heaven sent "Revival"
resurrects dead Christians and churches, while at the same time it
changes the direction of a nation.

II Chronicles 7:14 "If my people who are called by My name will
humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and heal their
land." II Chronicles 7:12-22

With the exception of John 3:16, this is probably one of the most
quoted scriptures of my generation. Of late, I've noted an alarming
trend among Christians when this verse is cited. Let's see if you
can pick out the difference, "If my people, who are called by my
name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, then I
will hear from heaven and heal their land." Did you hear the
difference? Yes, you are right…the "and turn from their wicked
ways" has been left out.

For over a year now, almost every time this "Revival" verse has
been quoted or prayed, the "and turn from their wicked ways,"
has been left out. How is it that the media evangelists, local
pastors, bible teachers and scripture quoters hope to achieve a
"Revival" if we don't turn from our individual and national rebellion
to God's will?

Have we become so seeker friendly that we dare not admit our
need for moral change in America? Have we become so
enamored with church growth that we have forgotten that the
cross is an offense in and of itself? Have we become such a
cross-less Christianity that we have also become a biblically
"Christ-less" Christianity? Another gospel is being preached and
America, as a nation, is paying the price for the church's
insubordination to the Word of God.

This generation is probably the most wicked and arrogant
generation in our nation's history. We have become, as my father
used to say to me, "too big for our britches." It is with a grieving
in my spirit that I make this point, of our need, "and turn from
our wicked ways." Honestly, I rather not say the following, but
I must for a heavenly hand is upon my back.

We now routinely shed the blood of 4,000 innocent babies on
a daily basis. We've become a sex-driven society that has
perverted God's beautiful gift to a husband and wife. We've
murdered thousands in drive-by killings, while on our way to
becoming a gang infested nation of drug peddlers, thieves and
addicts. Executive boards, from our corporations to our churches,
flex their decision making muscle in order to achieve their
personal goals in whatever way deemed necessary. Our business
leaders have become robber barons, siphoning off the company's
coffers in multi-million dollar bonuses while leaving their
companies bankrupt in the process. Our institutions of higher
learning promote a pseudo-intellectualism that smacks in the
face of ethics, morality and the commandments of God.

At this very moment our government is negotiating legislative
and bureaucratic oversight that is making our nation a debtor
nation with an ever tightening noose around the neck of freedom.
At this very moment the church's prophetic voice and national
influence has been silenced not so much by the godlessness
of our culture, but by the ungodliness within the church itself.
The church's spiritually destitute offering of profane fire is
burning upon the altars of convenience, contrivance, and
corruption. Much to our discredit, it is the church that has
robbed society of a much needed revolution through an
outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 80:3 "Turn us…turn us…turn us, O God, let your face
shine upon us and we shall be saved." Psalm 80

I love this psalm as it sparks hope in me for the people of God.
If my observation for II Chronicles 7:14 is accurate, then Psalm
80:3 conveys a much needed message as well. And that
message is that we are incapable of turning ourselves. We are
so far gone as a people, as a church, as a nation that only divine
intervention is capable of turning us. Only by the grace of God
will we be "turned" toward Him.

There are some who have abandoned any hope of a "Revival" for
America - saying that we have gone too far - saying that we have
crossed the line of no return. By contrast, I think that the
Psalmist would disagree with this promotion of despair. Actually,
we are in a perfect position for God to move upon the land for we
no longer see ourselves capable of bringing a "Revival" upon
ourselves.

-Paul Holdren.




Friday, August 9, 2013

ELUL 4, 10 AUG 2013: DAY 5 OF REPENTANCE: MONTH OF ELUL



Month of Elul

The last month of the year (where it still is on Israel’s civil calendar) prior to the Passover in Egypt, it is now referred to in scripture as “the sixth month.” The name Elul was probably imported from Babylon when the captives were allowed to return and is mentioned by name in Nehemiah. The very name of the month, Elul, (which is spelled Alef-Lamed-Vav-Lamed) is said to be an acronym for Ani L’dodi V’dodi Li, which translated means I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine, where Beloved is God and the “I” is the Jewish People. (Song of Songs 6:3)

While there are some events recorded in Scripture for us, the month of Elul has no special importance either in Scripture or Rabbinic writings.

My Jewish Learning: Elul

Things that happened in Scripture during this month include:

The L.ORD appeared to Ezekiel for a second time on the fifth day, lifting him by the hair and bringing him by vision to Jerusalem to be shown the abominable things going on in the Temple (592 bce).

The word of the L.ORD came to Haggai on the 1st day (520 bce).

In Nehemiah’s day, the wall of Jerusalem was completed and its doors set in place on the 25th day (444 bce).

Fast Forward

Sometime during the first millennium, the month of Elul was established as the month of soul-searching and introspection*, a time of repentance to prepare for the High Holy Days. It is called “yemei ratzon” or “days of favor” because Israel had its sin of the gold calf forgiven and Moshe went back up the mountain a third time on this day according to tradition, for another 40 days with new tablets for HaShem to rewrite the Ten Words on them thus reinstating His covenant with Israel, their sin atoned for, coming down on the 10th day of the seventh month what would in the near future for Israel, become the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

Customs Include:

Blowing the Shofar: Every day, from Rosh Chodesh Elul until the day before Rosh Hashanah it is customary to blow the shofar (except on Shabbat) to wake up the community for the coming High Holy Days.

Additional Scripture Readings: Psalms 27 twice daily. This custom is based on the Midrashic comment, "the L-rd is my light…" on Rosh Hashanah, "…my salvation…" on Yom Kippur, "…He will hide me in His tent" on Sukkot.

Selichot- Prayers of Repentance and Appeals for HaShems Compassion: Appeals to HaShems 13 attributes revealed to Moshe on the mountain. Moshe asked “show me Your glory”. “I will cause all My goodness to pass before you and proclaim My Name”…and here is what He revealed:

“(1)The L.ORD, (2)the L.ORD, (3)G.od, (4)compassionate and (5)gracious, (6)slow to anger, (7)abounding in love (8)and faithfulness, (9)maintaining love to thousands, and (10)forgiving wickedness, (11)rebellion and (12)sin. (13)Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…
For more detail on the 13 attributes, see

Hebrew For Christians: Ki Tisa (when you take)

Increase in Giving Charity

Return in Penitence: The thematic appeal of the season comes from Isaiah 55:6-7. Seek the L.ORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Conclusion

While anytime is the right time to turn from sin, especially “today if you hear His voice”, this month was selected to focus a laser on repentance and forgiveness leading to the High Holy Days when sin was atoned for.

POST BY PAT PENTECOST



How Can There Be Rules for Teshuvah?

In this video, the first of the course, Rabbi Fohrman presents the essential question regarding repentance that will guide the rest of the course: How can something as subjective as teshuvah (repentance) have objective governing rules? Additionally, Rabbi Fohrman begins to explore the question of whether teshuvah is an actual command (mitzvah).

TESHUVA: WHAT IS REAL REPENTANCE

Thursday, August 8, 2013

ELUL 3, 9 AUG 2013: DAY 4 OF REPENTANCE: ACTS WHICH PEOPLE THINK DO NOT REQUIRE REPENTANCE



"Bad character traits, such as anger, hatred, and jealousy (Maimonides, "Laws of Repentance" 7:3).
These almost always lead to violations of other fundamental laws. For example, hatred and jealousy make it impossible to fulfill the biblical command to "love your neighbor as yourself"  (Leviticus 19:18), while a bad temper causes one to say hurtful things. 
 A Code of Jewish Ethics: Volume 1: You Shall Be Holy, Rabbi Joseph Telushkini


1. "Since, as we explained, man was granted the capacity to do so, he should strive to do teshuvah, verbally confess his sins and reject them all, so that he might die having done teshuvah and merit life in the World to Come.
2. A person should always consider himself to be on the brink of death, and realize that if he were to die at that moment he would still be guilty of sins.  So he should consequently do teshuvah immediately rather than say “I’ll do teshuvah when I get older”for he might die before then. That’s what Solomon meant when he said in his wisdom, "Let your clothing always be white" (Ecclesiastes 9:8).
3. Don’t think that one should do teshuvah for transgressions that involve[concrete] actions like promiscuity, robbery, or theft, alone. For just as a person has to do teshuvah for them, he also has to determine his bad traits and do teshuvah for those like anger, hostility, envy, sarcasm, the pursuit of wealth or glory, excessive eating, etc.,because these, too, require teshuvah. For those sins are even more serious than the ones involving [concrete] actions.Because when a person is steeped in them, it’s very difficult for him to relinquish them. As it is said, "Let a wrongdoer abandon his ways, a transgressor his thoughts" (Isaiah 55:7) ."

Maimonides, "Laws of Repentance" 7:1-3

Suspecting the innocent.  As long as we do not voice our suspicions publicly we have not harmed anyone right?  Did you ever lose something around the house and just could not find it? Did you start thinking about visitors to your house or maybe that the cleaning lady misplacing the item or taking it? Voicing these thoughts between yourselves is not a violation is it?
Maimonides disagrees as we can read below.

4." Included in this category are five things which one is not likely to do teshuvah for since they’re seen as being of minor importance, and because it appears to the guilty person that he wasn’t sinning. They are: a) partaking of a meal that’s barely enough for the person offering it which is a type of theft, and thinking that’s not a sin, assuming he "ate with his host’s permission", b) making use of a poor man's collateral, even if it’s only [something common and inexpensive like] a hatchet or a plow, and saying: "He won't miss it. And it's not like I'm stealing it", c) staring pruriently at nudity, thinking doing that isn’t serious and saying to oneself, "But have I had intercourse with her, or even drawn close to her?", not knowing that staring is itself a serious transgression because it fosters actual promiscuity. As it’s written: "Do not follow after your own heart or eyes" (Numbers 15:39), d) using another's personal failings to one's own advantage, and thinking that that is not a sin because the person is not actually there at the time to be embarrassed or ashamed, and because the guilty person is only comparing his own good deeds or wisdom to the other's in order to let it be known that while he himself is praiseworthy, his victim is shameful, e) casting aspersions upon people with good reputations, not considering that a sin and reasoning, "But, what have I done? I've only aroused a suspicion He might have done it or he might not", for one who does that does not realize that suspecting a person with a good reputation of being a sinner is itself a sin."

Maimonides, "Laws of Repentance" 4:4


Elements of Repentance

In this video, Rabbi Fohrman introduces and begins to analyze Maimonides’ 4 elements of repentance, and suggests that the last of the 4 seems not to fit with the first 3. The first 3 elements highlight the process of leaving behind a sin. Rabbi Fohrman points out that merely leaving sin behind does not accomplish real repentance; that’s where confession comes in.


Wednesday, August 7, 2013

ELUL 2, 8 AUG 2013: DAY 3 OF REPENTANCE: TEST OF REPENTENCE

The ultimate test of repentance is to see how a person acts when placed in the same circumstances in which he previously failed to "Hit The Mark", sin.

Rabbi Simha Bunam of Pzysha once asked his disciples, "How can we tell when a sin we have committed has been pardoned?" His disciples gave various answersbut none of them pleased the rabbi. "We can tell," he said, "by the fact that we no longer commit that sin."
Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim: Later Masters, page 253
Jewish Wisdom, Telushkin


14 Y’hudah and his brothers arrived at Yosef’s house. He was still there, and they fell down before him on the ground. 15 Yosef said to them, “How could you do such a thing? Don’t you know that a man such as myself can learn the truth by divination?” 16 Y’hudah said, “There’s nothing we can say to my lord! How can we speak? There’s no way we can clear ourselves! God has revealed your servants’ guilt; so here we are, my lord’s slaves — both we and also the one in whose possession the cup was found.” 17 But he replied, “Heaven forbid that I should act in such a way. The man in whose possession the goblet was found will be my slave; but as for you, go in peace to your father.”

Haftarah Mikketz: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 3:15–4:1

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Mikketz: Acts 7:9–16 (specifically vv. 11–12)
Parashah 11: Vayigash (He approached) 44:18–47:27

18 Then Y’hudah approached Yosef and said, “Please, my lord! Let your servant say something to you privately; and don’t be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father? or a brother?’ 20 We answered my lord, ‘We have a father who is an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one whose brother is dead; so that of his mother’s children he alone is left; and his father loves him.’ 21 But you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, so that I can see him.’ 22 We answered my lord, ‘The boy can’t leave his father; if he were to leave his father, his father would die.’ 23 You said to your servants, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ 24 We went up to your servant my father and told him what my lord had said; 25 but when our father said, ‘Go again, and buy us some food,’ 26 we answered, ‘We can’t go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go down, because we can’t see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27 Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons: 28 the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I haven’t seen him since. 29 Now if you take this one away from me too, and something happens to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sh’ol with grief.’ 30 So now if I go to your servant my father, and the boy isn’t with us — seeing how his heart is bound up with the boy’s heart — (ii) 31 when he sees that the boy isn’t with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sh’ol with grief. 32 For your servant himself guaranteed his safety; I said, ‘If I fail to bring him to you, then I will bear the blame before my father forever.’ 33 Therefore, I beg you, let your servant stay as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers. 34 For how can I go up to my father if the boy isn’t with me? I couldn’t bear to see my father so overwhelmed by anguish.”



Joseph Tests His Brothers
Parshah Nuggets: Mikeitz
By Mendel Kalmenson

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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

ELUL 1, 7 AUG 2013: DAY 2 OF REPENTANCE: REMEMBER

Following is a small portion from Skip Moen's Today's Word from March.
It has a great message of Repentance. Please click on the link at the end to read the whole message. 
Remember to support those we link to and keep them producing such quality works.


"Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place – unless you repent. Revelation 2:5 NASB

Remember – Do you remember those days, the days when you first experienced the joy of fellowship with Him, the days when that burden you carried was lifted away, the days when you knew His presence as clearly as you knew your own being?

The man in the rowboat remembers God’s markers in his past because his course is true. He looks back to see that he has not drifted away, he has not changed direction. That is the purpose of remembering – to stay aligned with God’s handiwork in your life. But sometimes when we remember, we see something else. We see the shame of a life busy with everything except the true course God intended. Sometimes when we remember we see a time that is no longer part of our present reality, a time that we long to recapture but seems always out of reach. Sometimes when we remember, we are humiliated by our neglect of devotion and obedience. We used to have passion for the Master. Now we struggle to pray. We used to rush to His Word. Now we can’t find the time. We know His calling but we knew His love."

The Once and Future King
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 | Author: Skip Moen


eXtreme Weeding
By Tzvi Freema

There was a time when people would sit and ponder their sins, their faults and just everything wrong, bad and crummy about themselves. They would cry and sob from their hearts, fall asleep weeping, and then they would get up the next morning with a pure soul to serve their Maker.

Nowadays, when someone ponders his failures, it almost inevitably leads to depression. When pondering a past sin, he usually remembers what a geshmak it was and ends up doing more.

So what happened? Quite simply, the darkness got thicker. When you're surrounded by light, it's okay to stick your nose into a few dark corners--maybe you'll find something valuable you lost in there. But when you live in a world with the lights dimmed and all the blinds pulled down, dark corners become bottomless, John Wheeler black holes.

That's why repentance is so darn dangerous nowadays. When someone calls me up and says, "Rabbi, I messed up! How do I repent?"--I tell them, "Repentance? Stay away from that stuff! It's hazardous!"
eXtreme Weeding- By Tzvi Freeman

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Baruch Haba B`shem Adonai -Paul Wilbur


AV 30, 6 AUG 2013: DAY 1 OF REPENTANCE: LASHON HARA

The 40 Days of Repentance before YOM KIPPUR, Day of Atonement, begins today. I thought it would be appropriate to begin with a topic everyone can relate to having experience with whether on the giving or receiving sides. Lashon Hara or evil speaking is something we can all relate to and may have cause to repent of.  Please reflect on the following segments.


The Definition of Lashon Hara
Lashon Hara is any derogatory or damaging statement against an individual. In Hilchot Deot 7:5, Maimonides supplies a litmus test for determining whether something is or isn't Lashon Hara:

Anything which, if it would be publicized, would cause the subject physical or monetary damage, or would cause him anguish or fear, is Lashon Hara.

Psalms
34:11 Come children! Listen to me!
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord. 21

34:12 Do you want to really live? 22
Would you love to live a long, happy life? 23

34:13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words 24
or use deceptive speech! 25

34:14 Turn away from evil and do what is right! 26
Strive for peace and promote it! 27

21 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord I will teach you.” In vv. 13-14 the psalmist explains to his audience what it means to “fear” the Lord.
22 tn Heb “Who is the man who desires life?” The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention. “Life” probably refers here to quality of life, not just physical existence or even duration of life. See the following line.
23 tn Heb “[Who] loves days to see good?”
24 tn Heb “guard your tongue from evil.”
25 tn Heb “and your lips from speaking deception.”
26 tn Or “do good.”
27 tn Heb “seek peace and pursue it.”


You shall not go around as a gossipmonger
—Leviticus

Evil gossip kills three: the one who says it, the one who listens, and the subject of the gossip
—Talmud

The following article is a great beginning point for understanding of Lashon Hara.

Laws of Lashon Hara
Parshat Behaalotecha
By Aryeh Citron

Chabad.org


Lashon hara
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hebrew term lashon hara (or loshon hora) (Hebrew לשון הרע; "evil tongue") is the halakhic term for derogatory speech about another person.[1] Lashon hara differs from defamation in that its focus is on the use of true speech for a wrongful purpose, rather than falsehood and harm arising. By contrast, hotzaat shem ra ("spreading a bad name"), also called hotzaat diba, consists of untrue remarks, and is best translated as "slander" or "defamation". Hotzaat shem ra is worse, and consequentially a graver sin, than lashon hara.[1]

The act of gossiping is called rechilut, and is also forbidden by Jewish law.[1]

Speech is considered to be lashon hara if it says something negative about a person or party, is not previously known to the public, is not seriously intended to correct or improve a negative situation, and is true. Statements that fit this description are considered to be lashon hara, regardless of the method of communication that is used, whether it is through face-to-face conversation, a letter, telephone, or email.

The sin of lashon hara is considered to be a very serious sin in the Jewish tradition.


Torah.org has an extensive section on the ethics of speech. Follow the link below and remember to support the efforts of all those we refer to as you are able.

ETHICS OF SPEECH
The Arthur B. Morgenstern Shemiras Halashon Section

Torah.org


A PILLOW FULL OF FEATHERS





Sunday, August 4, 2013

The Season of Teshuvah - 40 Days



There are many sites on the web with information and instruction on The Season of Teshuvah. For me to rewrite or develop new teaching for this blog could not be as detailed or as fruitful as what is already available. So what I am doing is reviewing some of the information available out there and giving a synopsis of some of the sites with a link to get the full material. I hope you will take the time to visit these sites and also support them for the fine work they have done.

Many Christians have knowledge and understanding concerning the seven feasts of Israel, as traditionally taught in North America. However, many are unaware of an ancient Hebrew concept called Teshuvah, a word alluding to repentance, and how it is linked to Moses interceding the second 40 days when Israel sinned with the golden calf (Exodus 32).
The 29 Days of Elul will begin August 6th,2013 and continue until the feast of Trumpets on September 5th,2013. Then there are ten days of awe when it is believed the gate of heaven is uniquely open for our petitions and intercession. This season climaxes on the Day of Atonement, September 14th,2013.
BK-TESH The 40 Days of Teshuvah Book, Perry Stone. Link: 40 Days of Teshuvah

Elul: The Month of Repentance


This month is the sixth after the month of the exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt. Its name, which the Children of Israel brought up from Babylon, is Elul. The Scriptures call it "the sixth"; only Nehemiah calls it Elul.

The word Elul (אלול) is an acrostic formed of four Hebrew words from Song of Songs combined together in this way: ani ledodi vedodi li (אני לדודי ודודי לי), "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" (Song of Songs 6:3). How appropriate are these words! So it is, for the days of the month of Elul are days of repentance. They are days of compassion and grace, days of love, days of intimacy--so say many early and late sages and scribes (of blessed memory) in their books. If we repent, the Holy One, blessed is He, satiates us with grace. If a man declares, "I am my beloved's," it is certain that [God] will likewise respond, "and my beloved is mine."

Before the High Holidays, it is the duty of every son of Israel to awaken himself and to look around himself and to make an accounting of himself. How good is the counsel of the Sages! For there is nothing in this world as good as repentance. Please turn, O Israel, please turn to the LORD, your God. Indeed, a voice is calling to you from above. The gates of repentance are forever open.

The words of Rabbi Eliezer produce a good fragrance like a bundle of spices. His disciples once asked him, "How shall we do repentance and live?" Rabbi Eliezer answered and said, "the LORD will answer on the day of trouble [Psalm 20:1], as it is said [in Song of Songs 5:4], "My beloved sent out his hand through the opening, and my feelings were aroused for him." So too, the LORD stretches out His hand to us and awakens us during the season--the season of intimacy--so that we will repent and live. So said the holy Yochanan, "God is love, and we love Him, for He first loved us" (1 John 4:8, 19). The LORD declares, "Return to Me, and I will return to you" (Malachi 3:7).






Hebrew for Christians by John J. Parsons  has an excellent study of the Season of Teshuvah. 
While on the site you can study there or they allow you to print out the material for personal use.

Please click on the following linkElul and Selichot - The Season of Teshuvah





The Spear family turned their attention to music shortly after Sam and Angela got betrothed and married in 2010. The name 'Teshuva' was spoken to them in a dream during their first pregnancy. When that pregnancy ended in miscarriage, they felt the Father had given them that name for the music He was birthing in their family. Teshuva's heart is to present the message of repentance with a balance between purity and creative artistic expression. The First Five EP is exactly as it states...the first five recordings that have materialized out of this relationship. - See more at: Teshuva Music Store









Saturday, August 3, 2013

Study of Haggai for Tuesday Elul 1 (Aug7)

In preparation for Wednesday's study of Haggai we would like to post a few notes and suggestions.
Click on the event on the calendar at the end of the blog to get details of the study location.
Glenda Schroedel will lead the study and the selected theme is "Consider...Amend Your Ways".

NET© 1:5 Here then is what the Lord who rules over all says: ‘Think carefully about what you are doing.  10 tn Heb “Set your heart upon your ways” (see 2:15, 18); traditionally “Consider your ways” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB)

1:5 ועתה כה אמר יהוה צבאות שׁימו לבבכם על דרכיכם
1:5 "Consider your ways" Literally this is "put your heart on your roads" (BDB 962, KB 1321, Qalimperative, also in v. 7; 2:15,18). They were urged to check their personal and collective motives for the inactivity in rebuilding the national Temple.

First suggestion, read the book of Haggai. It is only two chapters and will not take long.

Outline
I. A call to build the temple ch. 1
        A. Haggai’s first challenge 1:1-6
        B. Haggai’s second challenge 1:7-11
        C. The Israelites’ response 1:12-15
II. A promise of future glory for the temple 2:1-9
III. A promise of future blessing for the people 2:10-19
IV. A prophecy concerning Zerubbabel 2:20-23

Title and Writer
Notes on Haggai    Dr. Thomas L. Constable

The title of this prophetic book is also the name of its writer. Haggai referred to himself as simply “the prophet Haggai” (1:1; et al.) We know nothing about Haggai’s parents, ancestors, or tribal origin. His name apparently means “festal” or possibly “feast of Yahweh.” This is appropriate since much of what Haggai prophesied deals with millennial blessings. His name is a form of the Hebrew word hag, meaning “feast.” This has led some students of the book to speculate that Haggai’s birth may have occurred during one of Israel’s feasts.[1] Ezra mentioned that through the prophetic ministries of Haggai and Zechariah the returned Jewish exiles resumed and completed the restoration of their temple (Ezra 5:1; 6:14; cf. Zech. 8:9; 1 Esdras 6:1; 7:3; 2 Esdras 1:40;Ecclesiasticus 49:11). Haggai’s reference to the former glory of the temple before the Babylonians destroyed it (2:2) may or may not imply that he saw that temple. If he did, he would have been an old man when he delivered the messages that this book contains. In this case he may have been over 70 years old when he prophesied. However it is not at all certain that the reference in 2:2 implies that he saw the former temple.


Historical Background
Notes on Haggai    Dr. Thomas L. Constable

The Babylonians, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, including Solomon’s temple, in 586 B.C. and took most of the Jews captive to Babylon. There the Israelites could not practice their formal worship (religious cult) as the Mosaic Law prescribed because they lacked an authorized altar and temple. They prayed toward Jerusalem privately (cf. Dan. 6:10) and probably publicly, and they established synagogues where they assembled to hear their Law read and to worship God informally.

King Cyrus of Persia allowed the Jewish exiles to return to their land in 538 B.C. At least three waves of returnees took advantage of this opportunity. The first of these was the group of almost 50,000 Jews that returned under the leadership of Sheshbazzar, and Zerubbabel who replaced him, in 537 B.C. (Ezra 1:2-4). Ezra led the second wave of 1,700 men plus women and children (perhaps about 5,000 individuals) back to Jerusalem in 458 B.C., and Nehemiah led the third wave of 42,000 Israelites back in 444 B.C. Haggai and Zechariah appear to have been two of the returnees who accompanied Sheshbazzar, as was Joshua the high priest, though Haggai’s name does not appear in the lists of returnees in the opening chapters of Ezra.

During the year that followed, the first group of returnees rebuilt the brazen altar in Jerusalem, resumed offering sacrifices on it, celebrated the feast of Tabernacles, and laid the foundation for the reconstruction of the (second) temple. Opposition to the rebuilding of the temple resulted in the postponement of construction for 16 years. During this long period, apathy toward temple reconstruction set in among the residents of Judah and Jerusalem. Then in 520 B.C., as a result of changes in the Persian government and the preaching of Haggai, the people resumed rebuilding the temple.[2] Haggai first sounded the call to resume construction in 520 B.C., and Zechariah soon joined him. Zechariah’s ministry lasted longer than Haggai’s. The returnees finished the project about five years later in 515 B.C. (cf. Ezra 1—6). One way to calculate the 70-year captivity is from the first deportation to Babylon in 605 B.C. to the year temple reconstruction began, 536 B.C. Another way is to count from the destruction of the temple in 586 B.C to the completion of temple restoration in 515 B.C.

Date
Notes on Haggai    Dr. Thomas L. Constable

Haggai delivered four messages to the restoration community, and he dated all of them in the second year of King Darius I (Hystaspes) of Persia (i.e., 520 B.C.). Ezekiel and Daniel had probably died by this time. Haggai’s ministry, as this book records it, spanned less than four months, from the first day of the sixth month (1:1) to the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (2:20). Haggai’s ministry may have begun before 520 B.C. and continued a few years after it.[3] But that is speculation. In the modern calendar these dates would have been between August 29 and December 18, 520 B.C. This means that Haggai was the first writing prophet to address the returned Israelites. Zechariah began prophesying to the returnees in the eighth month of that same year (Zech. 1:1). Haggai was the most precise of all the prophets in dating his messages.

The precision in dating prophecies that marks Haggai and Zechariah reflects the annalistic style of history writing that distinguished Neo-Babylonian and Persian times.[4] Ezekiel, who was probably an older contemporary of these prophets, was the third most precise in dating his prophecies, and Daniel, another contemporary, also was precise but not as detailed. Likewise Ezra and Nehemiah, who wrote after Haggai and Zechariah, showed the same interest in chronological precision.

Probably Haggai wrote the book between 520 and 515 B.C., the year the returnees completed the temple. Lack of reference to the completion of the temple, while not a strong argument for this view, seems reasonable since mention of the completion of the temple would have finished off the book nicely.


VI. CHRONOLOGY OF THE PERIOD (taken from The Minor Prophets by Dr. Theo Laetsch, published by Concordia, p. 385.)
Darius' Regnal
Year
Yearb.c.MonthDayTextContent
25206
Aug/Sept/Oct
1Hag. 1:1-11Haggai rouses the people into activity
24Hag. 1:12-15The people begin to build
7
Oct/Nov
1
Hag. 2:1-9The latter glory of God's temple
8
Nov/Dec

?
Zech. 1:1-6Zechariah begins to prophesy
9
Dec/Jan
24Hag. 2:10-19God will begin to bless
Hag. 2:20-23Messiah's kingdom established after overthrow of world powers