Truth, Love, and Music

jay c · Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:19 pm Post subject:

And now for this week's...

Toldot 5769 - Playing Favorites

Genesis 25:28
And Isaac loved Esau…but Rebekah loved Jacob. It was not that Isaac hated Jacob or that Rebekah hated Esau, but that they each favored one over the other. To a certain extent, when there is more than one of anything, whether they are children, wives, toys, or tools, one will always be loved more than the others. There is not necessarily anything wrong with that. Isaac apparently approved of Esau's skill in hunting, his manliness if you will, while Rebekah approved of Jacob's more broad-based focus. Of itself, this is not a terrible thing, but taken too far it can cause neglect and jealousy, as in the case of Jacob's relationship with Rachel and Leah. Perhaps Jacob learned this behavior from his parents.
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Happiness lies in not giving a flip what anyone else thinks.

jay c · Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 7:26 pm Post subject:

Vayishlach 5769 - As They Are Able

Genesis 33:13-14
…as the children be able to endure… It is important for a man to remember not to drive his family harder than they are able to withstand. Sometimes change is necessary, especially when you are leading your family out of worldliness, but be gentle. You want to lead them forward, not to drive them away altogether.
_________________
Happiness lies in not giving a flip what anyone else thinks.

andrew · Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:17 pm Post subject:

Amen and amen.
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"The question is not, 'How far?' The question is,
'Do you possess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far as is needed?'"

jay c · Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 4:39 am Post subject:

Vayeshev 5769 - A Coat of Twelve Tribes

Genesis 37:3
…and he made him a coat of many colours. Although Moses did not tell us so, I am certain that this garment was not simply a coat, but a mantle like Elijah’s, a badge of office and an emblem of divinely delegated authority. I am also certain that it was made in exactly twelve colors, one for each of the tribes of Israel over which Joseph would be given authority. Recall that the High Priest’s breastplate, as well as the foundations and the gates of the New Jerusalem, contained twelve precious stones of twelve different colors explicitly representing the twelve tribes. It was an independent confirmation of the prophecy which Joseph was soon to receive in a dream.
_________________
Happiness lies in not giving a flip what anyone else thinks.

jay c · Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:45 am Post subject:

Va'eira 5769 - Patrilinealism and Naturalization

Exodus 6:14
These be the heads of their fathers’ houses… By God’s design, all nations are counted according to their fathers. Contrary to modern Jewish practice, nationality is never determined by one’s birth mother. Most people who call themselves Jewish today are descended from Jewish men, but many are almost certainly not. Fortunately for them, naturalization is also a biblical concept. The mixed multitude that left Egypt with the Hebrews were considered by God to be Israelites. Many others are unknowingly descended from long forgotten Israelite roots, and God might someday call them out again to rejoin with their Jewish brothers in the land of Israel.

In fact, I believe he is already doing just that.
_________________
Happiness lies in not giving a flip what anyone else thinks.

jay c · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 2:14 pm Post subject:

I try to post something on the Torah at my blog every week. Instead of posting the same thing here, I'm going to start posting things that catch my interest during our local Torah readings and discussions.
_________________
Happiness lies in not giving a flip what anyone else thinks.

jay c · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 2:42 pm Post subject:

Sh'mini 5769

Aaron's two sons disobeyed God's precise instructions for how to burn incense at the Tabernacle, and God killed them for it instantly. Later (maybe on the same day!) Aaron disobeyed about how to offer certain sacrifices, yet God ignored it.

Hundreds of years later, Uzzah was killed when he was helping to move the Ark of the Covenant and touched it contrary to God's instructions. Three months after that, David successfully brought the Ark the rest of the way to Jerusalem, but he still didn't do it the way that God said, or at least it doesn't look like it from the text.

In each of these stories, people disobeyed God, yet one person was killed while the other wasn't. Why would God react violently in one instance, but not the other?

Nadab and Abihu were killed because they offered incense pridefully. They wanted to do something spectacular for God, and they did it in public, evidently so that everyone could see how important they were. Aaron, on the other hand, refused to eat the meat of one sacrifice because he felt unworthy. He believed that, instead of helping Israel by completing the sacrifice of atonement, he would bring shame on them for participating with a heart full of bitterness.

David's story is similar. I don't know if Uzzah was prideful or not, but the project for bringing the Ark to Jerusalem was a matter of national pride. They didn't bother to consult the priests or the Torah on how to properly transport the Ark and instead of recruiting some Levites to carry it, loaded it onto an ox cart. Later, although David still didn't do it properly, he offered sacrifices and praised God while deliberately humiliating himself in front of all the people for their sake.

Skip ahead almost another thousand years...

Yeshua told a story of a day in which he would judge two groups of people. One group might have faithfully paid their tithes, kept all the right holidays, and attended church every Sunday (or synagogue every Shabbat), yet he rejected them, saying he had never even known them because they never stooped to help the humble. The other group might never have read a Bible, never paid a cent of tithe, never heard of Joel Osteen, but they fed the hungry, visited the sick, and clothed the poor. They gave themselves for the benefit of those who could do nothing to help them in return, and Yeshua said, "Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world....Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you have done it to Me."

Disobedience is always sin, but a humble attitude goes a long way toward gaining God's forbearance. As David wrote, "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."
_________________
Happiness lies in not giving a flip what anyone else thinks.

jay c · Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 2:40 pm Post subject:

Behar-Bechukotai 5769

Last week was a double-portion with Behar and Bechukotai, Leviticus 25-27. The New Testament (aka Brit Chadasha) readings aren't specifically picked out to correspond with the Torah readings. Right now we're just reading through Matthew, a short passage every week. This week the reading was Matthew 26:50-62. Still, there is almost always some parallel between the Torah and Brit Chadasha reading, like this: