“The Acid Test of Knowing if you are Surrendered to Following God”. There are three questions to ask yourself:
Choices- Do I choose Jesus over everything? Family, food, drink, sleep, etc.
Covenant- Have I made a covenant or commitment to God? Example: I will do whatever it takes even unto death.
Permission- Do I give God permission to take my life if I turn from Him and I am not willing to come back so that I will not bring Him shame?
COME AND TAKE THE CHALLENGE WITH ME!
It is called Hamentashen or sometimes Haman's ears.
Purim is the most festive of all of the Jewish holidays. It is a time of giving and getting prizes, noisemakers, costumes and treats. The Festival of Purim commemorates a major victory over oppression. It all stems from the story of Esther called the Megillah. There will be a big party on the day of Purim where there will be a time of reading the Megillah, the story of Esther, during the reading we use noisemakers to signify our happiness and our sadness at the treatment of the Jews during that time. When the name of Haman is mentioned everyone hisses and boos and use noisemakers (groggers) to show their dislike of Haman and what he did to the Jewish people and when Esther or Mordecai is mentioned we all cheer to celebrate what they did to free the Jewish people . There will be a costume contest, the best dressed biblical character will get the prize and then of course there will be food, lots of food and games for the children to play. It will be a great time for everyone!
In the book of Esther we see our Savior, our Messiah, through Mordecai!
We eat Haman's ears on Purim to remember the cruel man who wanted to destroy the Jewish people in Persia. It was said that he wore and three cornered hat and that he had a crooked nose. By eating Haman's ears at the Purim meal, it symbolizes getting rid of evil opinions this is symbolized by the hearing ears. Amalek which was Haman's tribe hated the Jews and were a real danger to the Jewish people. It is also said that Haman was hung by his ears.
Ingredients for thedough:
4 eggs
225 g sugar
125 ml vegetable oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp baking powder
600 g whole meal flour
Ingredients for the filling:
675 g prune butter
175 g seedless raisins
125 g chopped walnuts
grated rind of 1 lemon or orange
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl and gradually stir in the sugar. Gradually mix in the oil, lemon juice, lemon rind and the vanilla essence. Add first the baking powder and then the flour. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead (add more flour if necessary) until a stiff, non-sticky dough is formed.
To make the filling mix all the ingredients together well.
Preheat the oven to 190 C. Roll out the dough until thin and cut 2,5 cm circles of dough. Place 1 tsp of the filling in the center of each dough and pinch together 3 points on the circle tightly to make a triangle.
Place the hamentacshen on a greased baking sheet and bake 20 minutes.
Come join us at Beth Yeshua and enjoy some Haman's ears with us!
Phillip dressed as Mordecai reading traditional prayers on Purim
Time to eat those Haman's ears and lots of other good stuff!
Tony dressed as a Haman.
This is what Haman would have worn if he had lived in Ft Worth!
Mario reading the story of Esther
and celebrating what Esther did for the Jewish people!
Judging the girls who dressed like Queen Esther in the costume contest!
Being a living sacrifice to God? What does that mean and how can we do that in our lives? Read this weeks Drash from First Fruits of Zion to learn more.
Does God need the sacrifices? Psalm 50 He declares that He is the owner of every beast and the cattle on a thousand hills. He says, "If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all it contains. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of male goats?" (Psalm 50:12-13). He does not need sacrifices any more than He needs our prayers or our praise, but all three are things that He has enabled human beings to offer to Him so that they can enjoy relationship with Him.
Commentary:
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. (Leviticus 1:4)
In Romans 12:1, Paul urges us to present our bodies as "living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God." What does this mean in practical terms? Is Paul asking us to build altars and literally sacrifice ourselves upon them? Of course not. Paul is using the sacrificial language as an illustration for obedience. He is urging us to set aside our stubborn wills, our wayward flesh and our self-centered egos and force them to submit to the commandments of God. When we set aside our own personal desires and inclinations for the sake of obeying God, we are sacrificing ourselves for the sake of heaven. Instead of offering a bull, a goat or a lamb to God as a gift, we are offering ourselves. This is why the prophet Samuel declared that obedience is better than sacrifice:
Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22)
Through the prophet Hosea, the LORD declared, "I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6). Yeshua was fond of quoting this verse to prove that God was more concerned with ethical behavior than perfunctory ritual obedience. This is an important principle for all religious people. The writer of the book of Hebrews says, "Do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased" (Hebrews 13:16).
In today's world there is no Tabernacle or Temple in which a person might offer a sacrifice. If we desire to give God a gift today, what can we give Him? We can give no better gift than our own humble submission to His will. We can give Him the simple sacrifice of grateful obedience.
As the Torah describes the sacrificial service, it says that when the smoke of the offering rises to heaven, it will be a "soothing aroma to the LORD" (Leviticus 1:9). At first this seems strange. Does God really like the smell of burning meat?
Rashi interprets the "soothing aroma" as a metaphor for man's obedience. He explains that the aroma of the sacrifice is pleasing to the LORD because it is a token of His children's obedience. When God "smells" the aroma of the sacrifice, He says, "I have given commandments and my will has been obeyed."
In the same line of thought, the pleasing aroma of the sacrifice symbolizes God's acceptance of man's gift. When God "smells" the sacrifice, He delights in the human being who has gone to such effort to draw close to Him.
Pekudei : פקודי - "Accounts" Torah : Exodus 38:21-40:38 Haftarah : I Kings 7:51-8:21 Gospel : John 6:1-71
Thought for the Week:
The paradox between the immanence of God and the transcendence of God paradox is illustrated in the mechanics of the Tabernacle. The uncontainable, inapproachable God is somehow contained (so to speak) within and maybe approached within a physical Tabernacle on Earth. The paradox between immanence and transcendence is also obvious in our sorry attempts to form a Christology which would explain the divine nature of Messiah. It is a mystery no less profound than the mystery of God taking up residence within the space of the Tabernacle. It would seem to be an impossibility; nonetheless, He did.
Commentary:
A sudden shout rose up through the assembly and all eyes were fixed upon the mountain. The cloud which had covered the top of the mountain these many days seemed to be descending. Yes, it was, rolling and cascading down the mountainside like a sudden avalanche of vapor, mist and smoke.
A panic spread through the people; a holy terror seized every heart. As if choreographed in advance, all Israel--every man, woman and child--fell prostrate to the ground. There was a brilliant light emanating from the cloud as it dropped from the top of Mount Sinai. The peak of the mountain was now visible, gleaming in the sun. Without the cloud covering it, it seemed to be a small, humble and insignificant mountain after all. The LORD had left Sinai.
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (Exodus 40:34-35)
God had taken up residence in the Tabernacle, but He was unapproachable. Even Moses, who was accustomed to standing upon Mount Sinai and basking in the glory of the presence of the LORD, could not enter. How is it, then, that Moses was able to withstand God's glory on Mount Sinai, yet was not able to enter into the Tabernacle?
When Moses ascended Sinai, he entered into the true Tabernacle, the very courts of God. Thus the glory of God on the mountain represents the glory of God in the World to Come and the New Covenant, whereas the glory of God in the Tabernacle is His glory in the this World and covenant. That is the reason Moses can approach on the mountain, but was unable to do so when the glory descends to the earth. The mountain symbolized the Heavenly reality. Thus even Yeshua had to veil His glory (except while on the mountain of transfiguration—a parallel to Sinai). His glory will only be fully revealed when the heavenly reality is fully realized on Earth. In that day, God's people will be able to approach the Glory without restriction, as John notes, "I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb." (Revelation 21:22-23)
The Shema is a prayer that is said during our worship service at Beth Yeshua. Instead of trying to explain it myself I will borrow from Aaron Eby from First Fruits of Zion. Aaron has blogged all about the Shema.
His blog and the link to that blog can be found below.
I want to post the prayer here so that you can read it and also post a video of the prayer being sung so you can hear what it sounds like. It is very beautiful.
Deuteronomy 6:4
Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad. Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
In an undertone:
Barukh sheim k'vod malkhuto l'olam va'ed. Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.
One of the most well-known elements of Jewish prayer is the Shema. The Shema is a core part of the prayer services every day, in the morning and in the evening.
The Shema means much more to Judaism than simply a Scripture reading or a daily prayer. It is a summary of faith, mission, and identity all in one. It is often the first verse of the Bible that a Jewish child learns by heart. It is recited twice daily by faithful Jewish people for as long as they live. Many people, especially martyrs, utter the words of the Shema with their dying breath.
There is enough to say about this sequence of passages to fill volumes. I think the best approach for me in this blog is to begin with a basic overview. In later posts, perhaps I will focus in on more of the details. This will take some time, so please be patient!
Components of the Shema
The Shema is named for its first line, Deuteronomy 6:4, which says: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God; the LORD is One." The wordshema(שמע) means "hear" or "listen" and it is in the imperative form, that is, the command form.Shemacan also have the sense of "obey," meaning that the one does not merely accept sounds passively into their ear but takes them seriously and carries them out.
The Shema is more than this first line, however. After Deuteronomy 6:4, a quiet response is added: "Blessed is the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever," (translations vary). Then the Shema continues with Deuteronomy 6:5-9, which gives us the commandment to love God "with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your might," and continues to communicate the importance and value that we should place upon the Torah.
Next, a second passage is read: Deuteronomy 11:13-21. This passage echoes many of the terms in the first passage, but it is also different in some respects. Like the first passage, it speaks of hearing God, loving God and treating His words with importance and value. However, it continues by offering promises for proper observance and warnings for disobedience.
The third and final passage is from Numbers 15:37-41. This reading is very different from the other two. It describes the commandment to attachtzitziyot(tassels) to the four corners of the garments, and then concludes with a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt.
Questions
Clearly, these passages would not have been selected arbitrarily, since the Shema is considered so fundamental to Jewish thought. But if their selection and arrangement is intentional, several questions arise.
First, what makes the first reading so important that it should be included? Also, why is it placed first out of the three passages?
We can easily see the connection between the first and second readings. But if the second section repeats so many parts of the first section practically verbatim, why is it even necessary? It would appear that what makes it important are the differences, so what are those differences and what are their significance?
Since the first and second passages are so clearly connected, the third passage appears to be an odd one out. It is very different in content, and it even comes from a different book of the Torah. How is this passage connected to the others that would merit its inclusion? Also, why would it be placed at the very end of the reading?
Surrounding Blessings
Before we answer these questions, however, it should be noted that when the Shema is read as a part of the prayer service, it is surrounded by a sequence of blessings. While the content is a little different between the morning and the evening, the topic is the same each time.
The first blessing is one that acknowledges God as the Creator. In the evening, the blessing reads, "Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, who causes it to become evening with His word, opens gates with wisdom, changes times with discernment, changes the seasons, and orders the stars in their watches in the sky according to His will." It is an allusion to the creation narrative in the beginning of Genesis. In the morning, the blessing begins, "Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, who forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates all things," which is a direct allusion to Isaiah 45:7.
The second blessing focuses on the love relationship between God and Israel. In the evening it begins "With an eternal love You have loved the House of Israel, Your people." The morning version begins "You have loved us with an abundant love, O LORD, our God, and with very great pity you have pitied us." Both the morning and evening blessings identify the Torah as the expression of this love relationship.
After the Shema is read, a third blessing is recited that identifies God as Redeemer. Again, it is different in the morning and evening, but not as different as the previous two. It recounts the Exodus from Egypt, particularly the crossing of the Red Sea and the song the Israelites sang on the shore. In both versions, it ends, "Blessed are You, O LORD, who has redeemed Israel."
These blessings raise an additional question. What do the topics contained in these blessings have to do with the Shema?
A Natural Progression
Far from being a random assortment, a close examination of the three passages of the Shema reveals that they form a logical, natural progression of thought. Examining the first passage, we can draw out three important themes:
·God's Oneness:"The LORD is our God, the LORD is One..."
·Love of God:"And you shall love the LORD, your God..."
·Knowledge of God:"Teach them repeatedly to your children..."
In the second and third passages, the themes continue:
·Obedience:"If you dutifully hear my commandments..."
·Sanctification:"You will be holy for your God."
God's Oneness: Deserves Exclusive Worship
God's oneness can be understood in a few different ways. The immediate context of Deuteronomy provides a clear context for the Shema as a part of Moses' plea that the Israelites remain faithful to God. See how his statement "the LORD is One" is in the midst of a repeating refrain asking the Israelites not to commit idolatry.
·To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other besides Him. (Deuteronomy 4:35)
·the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. (Deuteronomy 4:39)
·I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them... (Deuteronomy 5:6-9)
·Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God; the LORD is One. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
·You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you..." (Deuteronomy 6:13-14)
Thus, we can see that one primary element of God's oneness is that he isdeserving of exclusive worship.
Isaiah 45 makes direct allusions to the Shema and picks up on Deuteronomy's anthemic adjuration:
·I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God... (Isaiah 45:5)
·...And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:21-22)
God's Oneness: Ultimate Sovereignty
However, Isaiah 45 presents the oneness of God in another light. The verse cited in the blessing before the Shema teaches us that God is:
·The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being [peace] and creating calamity [evil]; I am the LORD who does all these. (Isaiah 45:5-7)
In other words, there is not a dualistic good god/bad god system as is taught by Zoroastrianism and other religions. Instead everything, good and bad, is under God's exclusive control. Thus, we learn that another aspect of God's oneness is that He does not share sovereignty with anyone else.He is exclusively sovereign.
But when Isaiah identifies God as Creator of all things, another idea is brought to mind. We see God as entirely independent from His creation. He is not contained in it or bound by it. Creation exists because He continues to make it exist. Our existence depends on Him, but His existence does not depend on anything. Thus, we see God as the ultimate, independent existence. Additionally, since God existed before all things and created everything, we can know that there is no other god whatsoever.God is independent and exclusive in His existence.
This answers our question about the first blessings before the Shema. We see that knowing God as Creator is an integral part of acknowledging His oneness.
The LORD is Our God
But there is another element in the statement of God's oneness that we have not addressed. That is the declaration that "the LORD is our God."
This statement identifies the God who chose Israel as the God who rules supreme over the entire world. No other nation is able to make that claim, because the relationship that the LORD initiated with Israel is unique.
Notice how the Ten Commandments (in Deuteronomy 5) form an immediate context for this line of the Shema (in Deuteronomy 6). Even the phrase "Hear O Israel" was previously stated in Deuteronomy 5:1. It should not be surprising, then, that the two passages bear a strong connection:
·The LORD is our God / I am the LORD, your God
·The LORD is One / You shall have no other gods before Me
The statement that "the LORD is our God" is a reference to the phrase that echoes throughout the Torah and the Prophets: "You will be My people, and I will be your God." This promise is formulated in covenantal terms, and evokes an image of Israel as a bride and God as a groom. The story of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai is presented as a betrothal or wedding. Thus, it follows that the Torah itself represents the love relationship between God and Israel, like aketubah(marriage contract) represents the union between a man and his wife.
To Be Continued...
In a later post, God willing, I will continue this discussion of the Shema by showing how the realization of God's oneness leads us into a love relationship with Him.
This series is actually a part ofa larger study of the traditional Jewish prayers. When describing the other main sections in the prayer service, I described how they can be compared to sections of the Temple, as if the person who offers the prayers is making a pilgrimage to that reaches all the way to the inner sanctuary of the Holy Place.
In these terms, the recital of the Shema as part of the entire service represents one who as actually entered into the central building of the Temple and stands in the Sanctuary, in the midst of the Golden Altar of Incense, the table with the Bread of the Presence and the seven-branched Menorah.
In the previous post, I posed some questions about the Shema: why were those particular readings selected, and why were they placed in this particular order?
I began to answer these questions by drawing out a sequence of themes that can be seen in the Shema readings:
·God's Oneness:"The LORD is our God, the LORD is One..."
·Love of God:"And you shall love the LORD, your God..."
·Knowledge of God:"Teach them repeatedly to your children..."
·Obedience:"If you dutifully hear my commandments..."
·Sanctification:"You will be holy for your God."
While it may not be immediately apparent, I intend to show how these themes form a seamless and natural progression that is fundamental to biblical faith.
Recognition of God's Oneness
I have already explained how God's Oneness is best understood in terms of exclusivity. The LORD is exclusively deserving of worship, He is the sole Creator of all things, and He is independent and all-encompassing in His sovereignty.
Not only this, but God has identified Himself as the God of Israel. He has attached Himself in covenantal terms to a single people group out of all of the nations. Recognition of the fact that God is One (in the sense described above) should lead us to remain faithful and loyal to the covenant relationship. This fervent, active covenant loyalty and exclusive devotion is what is meant by "love."
Love and Covenant
People often describe love of God in terms of obedience to commandments. While the two are closely interconnected, mechanical observance is not an exact equivalent to love. Instead, love represents fierce and unquenchable devotion to the covenant relationship, which naturally expresses itself in terms of obedience and observance. This underlying motivation for obedience is essential because it is entirely possible to remain within the legal boundaries of the Torah and simultaneously inwardly corrupt. (The commentator Ramban referred to this condition asnaval birshut hatorah, "corrupt with the permission of the Torah.")
Our text describes our expression of love for God in three ways: with all of our heart (levav), with all of our soul (nefesh) and with all of our might (me'od). These terms can be misleading if the English translation is taken at face value, so they merit some explanation.
With All Of Your Heart
In the English speaking world, one's heart symbolically represents a person's center of emotion, desire and affection. Biblically, this is not the case. Emotions are found in the kidneys (kelayot) or bowels (me'ah), which are often translated "innermost being" or "inward parts" to avoid sounding distractingly weird to English speakers.
Symbolically speaking, the heart has a more specific function of making decisions. It represents one's will and thoughts. It is the place where one forms ideas, intentions and plans. Often, it could safely be translated "mind," since it represents a similar general concept. The heart represents in the Hebrew Scriptures the location of what is spoken of by the Apostles as "flesh" vs. "spirit," and what later Jewish thought terms the "evil inclination" (yetzer hara) and the "good inclination" (yetzer hatov).
This explains the meaning of idioms such as "written upon one's heart," which means that something is an intrinsic part of one's thought process, decision making and will.
In these terms, to love God with all of one's heart means to engage the core of one's will and mind in loyalty to the covenant between God and Israel. One who does so will make decisions based on that covenant and seek to submit his or her will entirely to God. Not only will one be outwardly dedicated to service of God, but this service will be internally motivated. Such a person will not allow his or her flesh (i.e., evil inclination) to dominate, but will walk according to the spirit.
Without doubt, this type of love of God was exhibited without restraint by our Master Yeshua, who submitted His will to the Father's will in every moment!
With All Of Your Soul
While the concept of "soul" is highly developed in later Judaism, in terms of the Torah it is quite simply one's self, and specifically the part of a person that animates them or makes them alive. Rather than an otherworldly or abstract love that the English word "soul" might imply, the Hebrew text should be understand as loving God with one's life; this means an active love that is manifest in the physical world.
A person who loves God with his or her soul will not be satisfied with merely holding good intentions or affectionate thoughts, but his or her covenant devotion will be expressed in every action, every breath and heartbeat. The most mundane acts of life will be considered an act of worship.
Rabbi Akiva (second century) interpreted "love the LORD...with all of your soul" to mean you should love God even if your soul--that is, your life--is taken from you. In his days, the oppressive Roman government outlawed the study and teaching of Torah. Rabbi Akiva did not comply; he brazenly continued to hold public Torah classes. Eventually, he was brutally tortured to death by the Romans and uttered the Shema as his own soul departed.
Becoming a martyr for the sake of Heaven is called in HebrewKiddush Hashem, sanctification of God's name. By giving up one's life for God's sake, one brings holiness into the world and sanctifies God's name.
We love God with our heart because we recognize God as our source of blessing. That type of love is the kind of love that one who receives shows to one who gives. God only gives; He does not receive anything because He does not lack anything. We receive His goodness, and this is a source of our love for Him.
But a greater level of love occurs between one giver and another giver. One who is a giver acts in imitation of God and therefore bears a greater level of closeness to Him. By imitating Him, we express a Father-child relationship with God. For example, Yeshua said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." They are called "sons of God" precisely because they are doing what God does. To imitate God is to participate in Father-child love.
When someone sanctifies God's name and loves God with their soul by giving it up for His sake, they are no longer receivers but are givers, in that they give holiness to the world through their deed. And in being givers, they are emulating the works of their Father who is in heaven.
No surprise, then, that Yeshua, who is God's unique Son, would become the giver to all mankind through His death (and in His resurrection). Our Master also "poured out his soul (nefesh) to death" (Isaiah 53:12), exhibiting love for God in ultimate terms.
When we declare that we must love the LORD with our soul, we must resolve that if circumstances arose that standing firm in our faith and devotion to God meant death at the hands of man (Heaven forbid), that we would be willing to offer our lives in that moment. According to Jewish Law, God reckons sincere good intention as an actual deed. And so when we resolve to stand for God to the death, God reckons it as if we had actually done so.
According to Rabbi Shimon Schwab, this is the meaning of the passage in Psalms 44:20-22:
If we had forgotten the name of our God Or extended our hands to a strange god, Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. But for Your sakewe are killed all day long; We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
Because of our resolve to love God with even our souls, it is as if "for Your sake we are killed all day long."
This sentiment seems to echo the words of the Master when He said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." It also reflects the sentiments of Paul, "I die daily," and "I have been crucified with Christ." Paul even makes direct allusion to this passage when he says:
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." (Romans 8:35-36 NASB)
With All Of Your Might
This is perhaps the most difficult phrase of the three to render in proper English. There are numerous Hebrew words that could easily be translated "might," butme'odwould not be on the top of the list! The wordme'odis not normally even a noun; it is an adverb that is typically translated, "very, exceedingly, greatly." For example, the phrase "very good" in Hebrew is literallytov me'od(in reverse order: "good very").
If we were mechanically to translateme'odthis way in the Shema, it would result in "You shall love the LORD...with all of your very." This, of course, is unacceptable English and does not convey a clear meaning. But one'sme'odcould be understood as that which makes a person great. Perhaps one way to think of it is "with all of your greatness."
One might be tempted by our English translations to understand this in terms of muscles or physical effort. However, this word has been interpreted from ancient times to refer to one's resources, monetary and otherwise. Targum Onkelos (an ancient translation) renders this word with the Aramaic termnichsach, which can mean "property, goods, flocks or wealth."
This interpretation is different enough from standard Christian interpretation to raise suspicions, but in light of the teaching of the Gospels it makes perfect sense.
And someone came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?" And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." Then he said to Him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. (Matthew 19:16-22 NASB)
This passage from Matthew raises an interesting question. Our Master is famous for summarizing the Torah using the combination "love God" and "love your neighbor." However, in this instance He employs the second passage, but instead of saying "love God," He lists a number of specific commandments. Why?
Yeshua, aware that the young man was wealthy, might have purposely avoided the commandment to "love God" so that the man could answer affirmatively to His first challenge without any dispute. But when presented with the challenge to devote his wealth to God, it became clear that he failed to "love God with all."
An opposite situation occurs in the story of the poor widow:
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-3 NASB)
Clearly, the idea that we must love God by devoting all of our material resources to Him is in direct line with the Messiah's teachings.
Sages have noted that these dimensions of love for God are in an increasing order of difficulty. The easiest thing is to love God with one's heart. It is more difficult to love God even to the point of sacrificing one's life. But what could be more difficult than that?
It is a trustworthy saying, "It is easier to die for God than to live for Him." Thankfully, most people are never given the opportunity to test their faith at that extreme level. However, we are given a more difficult challenge: to remain alive, and yet submit ourselves on every level to God.
With God's help, this series will continue by exploring the relationship between love of God and knowledge of Him.
Aaron Eby Sivan 17, 5767
About the Author:Aaron Eby writes formessiah magazineand other FFOZ publications. He is also the author of the forthcoming Siddur, as well as the recently published Hebrew lesson DVD.
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