What Is Man?

"And the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground"

The Hebrew word for earth is adama. It is no accident that the earth can yield fruit and bring life and that is an everlasting connection with man. There is great potential in that. 

That gives us a little more insight into other verses like, Psalm 85:11-13

"11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps."

Like the ground, man can produce a virtually unlimited bounty of fruits. 

The word Adam is comprised of the letter aleph, followed by dalet and mem, the letters than spell the word dam which means blood.

The letter aleph can also mean "to teach" in addition to leadership which is related The the word "aluf" which is a tribal leader. Even though there is great power in the blood it is considered to be lower in the aspect of man. 

So you can keep your blood from boiling and getting mad by allowing "aluf" to control your "dam". 

When you take dominion over your impulses (notice that pulse is within impulse) they become subject to God's created image. We resemble God. 

This leads us to the word "adameh" which means I will liken myself, indicating one's ability to emulate God.

Writing On The Ground

What was Jesus writing on the ground in John 8:6 and again in John 8:8? Of course we know this was a test. Roman law did not permit execution for adultery. 

When they brought the adulteress they did it wrong. Both the man and the woman had to appear and there needed to be two witnesses of which there is no mention. This was a violation of the Oral Law. At the Nicanor gate of the Temple the priest would write on the ground the law that was broken and the names of the accused. This could actually be written anywhere that was not permanent and the ground was a good spot. This is what Jesus did and showed that they were not keeping the law, so he did it. 

This goes deeper when we look at some Jewish history. Every year at Yom Kippur the high priest would immerse in a mikvah (ritual bath) 11 times for a cleansing in between each ceremonial portion of the day's sacrifices. 

At the end of the day there would be a celebration with rejoicing over God having received the sacrifice and their sins pushed forward for another year. At the conclusion of the celebration the high priest would say, "Oh LORD, the Mikveh of Israel...' just as the mikveh (purifying bath) cleansed me on this day, may the Holy One (Messiah), blessed be his name, cleanse all Israel when He comes." Jeremiah 17:13.

Starting at age 12 every Jewish male heard this. A man 60 years old would have heard it 49 times. Remember all males had to by law be in Jerusalem for Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) and most came for Yom Kippur anyway because it was only five days before. 

Jeremiah 17:13 says, "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters."

This verse probably came to their mind, most likely starting with the elders, and they filed out leaving only Jesus and the accused woman. 

This verse can be amplified even more to say, "Oh YHVH, the Immerser (BAPTIZER ) of Israel, all those who leave your way shall be put to shame (publicly embarrassed), those who turn aside from my ways will have their names written in the dust and blotted out, for they have departed from YHVH, the fountain of Mayim Hayim (the waters of life)..". 

Jesus gives people a chance to choose the right path as he gave these accusers. They could have just taken the embarrassment and repented but they chose to leave. They rejected Messiah and did not repent. Jesus was fulfilling messianic prophecy. It is interesting to note that the day before on Shemini Atzeret (8th Day Assembly) Jesus proclaimed in John 7:37-39 that he was the fountain of living waters. Then he comes right back with, "I am the light of the world"... this was the very morning that the four great lamps of the court in the Temple (which were called "The light of the world" were being extinguished after being kept lit for the entire week of the Feast of Tabernacles). 

So what do we learn from this? Are we the accusers who think we have it all together because we pray more, give more alms, were smarter and work hard to gain Heaven? Or are we the accused and we have given up because we been caught in a continuous cycle of sin? Scared that God doesn't care or will forgive. 

Jesus offered forgiveness... the accusers walked away, but the woman was redeemed. 

Jesus offered restoration... the accusers walked away, but the woman found new life. 

Jesus offered hope... the accusers walked away, but the woman found all she needed. Hope springs eternal. 

“Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Ki Tavo

Ki Tavo | כי תבוא | "When you come in "

Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8  

Prophets: Isaiah 60:1-22  

Gospel: Luke 23:26-56

Bikkurim or first fruits symbolizes that we are to give everything we have in service to our God.

Adam was in charge of the bikkurim (first fruits) of the Garden of Eden. Had Adam not eaten of that first fruit he would have lived forever with a perfect body. The bikkurim should bring healing into our lives. This is why tithing shall be forever linked to God's Holy Spirit. We have access to that healing...

Jewish farmers take their most precious harvest in hand, and remind themselves how it came to be. Rather than self-congratulation for their resourcefulness and success, they consciously, even demonstrably, thank God for this produce.

Rabbi Ari Kahn

Is it a commandment to rejoice?

You shall rejoice in all the good that God has given you and your household...(Deut. 26:11)

The concept of "simcha" (שמחה) or happiness in Judaism is very important. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov said that all our problems derive from sadness. When a person is sad, he frees his emotions while שמחה (joy) can release a persons creativity and brings him/her closer to God.

How can we be joyous when we are wrapped up with so many problems and when each of us is struggling with life and its meaning?

Here's how.... "In all the good that God has given to you."

If we take a moment to look deeper at our lives, if we count our blessings and see all the good that God has given to us, we will see that we can put away the sadness that keeps us from worshipping.

What does it mean to "walk in His ways"?

(Deut. 28:9). We are to strive to adopt all of the characteristics and virtuous actions that are attributed to God. Following His commands is not enough....We must not only focus on what we do but also on who we are.

#HeSaidFollowMe

Shoftim Musings

Shoftim | שופטים | "Judges "

Torah: Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9  

Prophets: Isaiah 51:12-52:12 

Gospel: Matthew 26:47-27:10

God said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am going to do? Abraham is about to become a great and mighty nation, and through him all the nations of the world will be blessed. I know him for he will command his children and his household after him, and they will keep God's way, doing tzedaka and mishpat. God will then bring about for Abraham everything He promised.  (Gen. 18:19)

Appointing judges – even honest, upstanding judges – is not enough. We must do more than uphold the law and insure the proper functioning of the legal system: Our society must be one in which the quest for justice is both constant and uncompromising.

Rabbi Ari Kahn

Pursue perfect tzedek (or, constantly and relentlessly pursue tzedek), so that you will live and occupy the land that the Almighty your God is giving you. (Deut. 16:18-20)

The Hebrew word for justice is tzedek. 

Tzedaka is the word for charity. 

A Tzadik is a righteous person. 

A righteous person seeks justice and gives charity.

You shall not close your hand against your needy kinsman.- Deuteronomy (Devarim) 15:7

Man is in the image of a Temple, and his heart is like the Holy of Holies.- Yonatan Eibshutz

Tzedakah Charity

The old and crumbling building housed a synagogue that was a "gift" from Joseph Stalin to the Jews of Odessa. Historically, Odessa was a metropolis with a large Jewish population and many dozens of synagogues of all types. With the advent of the communist regime, and especially under Stalin's heavy fisted rule, almost all of those synagogues were closed down.

However, for some reason, Stalin permitted the Jewish community to preserve this one synagogue. For many decades, it was the only Jewish house of worship that was permitted in the entire city. It still functions today and is located in a sleazy section of the city, not far from the waterfront.

In 1991, at exactly the time of the outbreak of the Gulf War, I was sent as a delegate from the Jewish community of Baltimore to the Jewish community of Odessa. The Iron Curtain had recently fallen, and many Jewish organizations were eager to do what they could to help formerly isolated Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union. My assignment was to visit the city of Odessa and determine how the Baltimore community could be helpful materially and spiritually.

I vividly remember my first morning in Odessa, when I first visited that old shul. I was surprised that there were quite a few people who were present but was disappointed when I realized that they had no clue about the prayer services. They had come to light yahrzeit candles in the small chapel attached to the main sanctuary. Memorializing their dear departed loved ones was part of their religious consciousness, but prayer was not something that survived seventy years of communist domination.

However, with about fifteen or twenty men, and five or six women, you can figure out enough about prayer to join in the services. Some were foreign visitors like me, but others were Jews who had somehow held on to the rudiments of our tradition in spite of their many trials and ordeals.

It was a Thursday morning, and they removed a Sefer Torah from the Ark and read from it. In many ways, the scene resembled most other synagogues on an early weekday morning. But my companion and I were haunted by a strong sense that something was missing. For a while, we could not quite put our finger on what that was. Suddenly, and simultaneously, it dawned on both of us that there was no tzedakah box, or collection plate, within which to collect even a few coins for charity.

Communism had successfully expunged the practice of charity from the value system of these noble Jews. The time-honored Jewish practice of tzedakah was gone. After all, from the Communist perspective, it made no sense to give some of one's own property or possessions to another person. For his own survival, he had learned to carefully hoard everything that he had managed to accumulate. The notion of voluntarily giving it away to another was unimaginable.

Every year, as this week's Torah portion, Parshat Re'eh (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17) approaches, I envision the picture of that old shul with the missing charity box. For it is in this week's parsha that we read in exquisite detail about the mitzvah par excellence, tzedakah:

"If there is a needy person among you…do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman. Rather, you must open your hand and lend him sufficient for what ever he needs…Give to him readily and have no regrets when you do so, for in return the Lord your God will bless you in all your efforts and in all your undertakings. For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you to open your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land." 

(Deuteronomy 15:7-11)

Excerpt from Rabbi Weinreb's commentary on this weeks Torah Portion

Giving Tzedakah is one of the highest attributes of God that we can emulate. 

Just as much as God loves to bless us so we should strive to give of ourselves and His provision to others. Yes I said that right.... His provision. It's not ours, but His blessings bestowed upon us to use wisely. 

I challenge you....increase your giving and see what happens....שלום לכם

Did You Just Say That?

Just how bad is talking bad about others (even if its true) or listening to what the Jewish people call lashon hara or "evil speech"?

We can find examples of punishment for it in the Bible.

When Miriam spoke negatively about Moses she was rebuked by God and afflicted with the skin disease of tzaraat. Even Aaron was punished for not protesting when she did. Normally, tzaraat (commonly mis-translated as leprosy) came about more slowly. If you participated in gossip, whether by speaking or listening to it, it would first appear on the walls of your home before it showed up as small white patches on the skin (there is no good English word to describe this).

It can even escalate to the point of the 10 spies who brought back an evil report and died in the desert. It is said that the idolatrous armies of King Ahab were successful in their battles, because they did not have the sin of lashon hara.

The Bible warns against Tale-bearing.... 

"Tale-bearing is, essentially, any gossip. The Hebrew word for tale-bearer is "rakhil" (Reish-Kaf-Yod-Lamed), which is related to a word meaning trader or merchant. The idea is that a tale-bearer is like a merchant, but he deals in information instead of goods. In our modern "Information Age," the idea of information as a product has become more clear than ever before, yet it is present even here in the Torah." (Judaism 101)

Social media such as Twitter and FaceBook are rampant with it. 

What is really sad is whether it is true or not it hurts and causes long standing mis-conceptions about people who are now "UNDER THE BLOOD". 

The Jewish people believe that gossip even lead to the destruction of both Temples. As we approach the anniversary of those Temples being destroyed on the 9th of AV we should remember that with gossip not only do we destroy our own temple but of others as well. 

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

(1 Cor. 6:19)

Teaching on the letter "mem" and the mikveh

In this series of 4 short videos we will learn about the letter "mem" and the mikveh (ritual bath)

Let's start with "The Way the TRUTH and the life....why is truth in the middle?"

https://youtu.be/molijdLL9Ck

"What is God's seal? It's TRUTH..." Part 2

https://youtu.be/sKQIpR37Yig

"The TRUTH transition...." Part 3

https://youtu.be/bL8zevEN2wA

And lastly.... "The deeper meaning of TRUTH" part 4

https://youtu.be/5kRvwy8uTSg