תהלים כב, ד

ואתה קדוש יושב
תהלות ישראל

or

ואתה קדוש
יושב תהלות ישראל

See the comments by Shuvyah at:

http://www.zachicks.com/blog/2012/1/24/is-god-inhabits-the-praises-of-his-people-really-biblical.html?currentPage=5

Note also the discussion of "Israel" and Christian substitution of "God's people"... reinterpreted as Christians!

Seeking and not finding

Recently I read this passage and thought it amazing:

בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵם֩ וּבָעֵ֨ת הַהִ֜יא נְאֻם־יְהוָ֗ה יְבֻקַּ֞שׁ אֶת־עֲוֹ֤ן יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאֵינֶ֔נּוּ וְאֶת־חַטֹּ֥את יְהוּדָ֖ה וְלֹ֣א תִמָּצֶ֑אינָה כִּ֥י אֶסְלַ֖ח לַאֲשֶׁ֥ר אַשְׁאִֽיר׃

[ירמיהו נ', כ']

"In those days, and at that time,

     declares YHWH:

the iniquity of Israel will be sought --

     but there is none;

and the sin of Judah --

     but it will not be found;

For I will forgive whom I (cause to) remain."

[Jeremiah 50:20]

What a promise! May it come soon, speedily and in our days. Amen.

Why has nothing changed in 2,000 years?!

This week brings us more from the wild and wacky world of kosher certification. We've had cows going on kosher for Pesach diets in advance of the holiday; we've heard about endemic corruption and scandals (some of them quite appalling); and of course the whole rabbinic idea of "kashrut" is very different from the guidelines in Torah anyway.

Now, apparently, only hydroponic lettuce is "kosher" (because, of course, that's what Moshe and those guys ate way back when). Some Jerusalem restaurants are revolting against the ignorant and oppressive kashrut commissars.

Meanwhile, the same kosher certifiers will not only work on shabbat, but do so in order to sanction the mass violation of one of the most important commandments our God gave us.

It's not really difficult for us modern Israelis to understand what Yeshua meant 2,000 years ago when he said: "Blind guides! You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" [Matt. 23:24]

Rabbinic Judaism vs. Torah: Who Will Win?

Recently I have been struck more and more by the extent to which rabbinic Judaism, while loudly claiming to uphold and promote Torah, actually denies and violates Torah.

A good example is the practice of kosher hotels in Jerusalem providing holiday meals to thousands of observant Jews every Pesakh, Shavuot, Rosh haShana, etc. To do so they must press into service an army of employees, both Jewish and Gentile. This is absolutely and unequivocally forbidden by Torah, which makes it clear that both the Israeli and the foreigner in the land are to rest and not work on shabbat (Exodus 23:12; Deuteronomy 5:14). Yet the practice is not only condoned by rabbinic Judaism, but actually nurtured and encouraged.

In talking with orthodox rabbinic Jews, it often becomes clear that the reason they do not follow Torah (despite claiming to) is because they do not believe Torah (despite claiming to). Over the centuries, rabbinic Judaism has invented all sorts of ways to make the text seem to mean just about anything except what it actually says! This applies to the shmita, the seventh-year rest of the land from agriculture; it applies to the claim that Re'uven did not really sleep with Bilhah, his father's concubine, though Genesis 35:22 says explicitly that he did; and it applies of course to numerous other scriptures.

Rabbinic Judaism does follow an observance that is in some way derived from or based on Torah. But there is always a twist, which usually distorts the actual mitzvot. One non-Jew who came to live in Jerusalem for a while noted that rabbinic Judaism seems to consist mainly of making up lots and lots of new rules that God never commanded, and then finding ways to get around the ones He did command! That's not a bad summary, sadly.

This system creates not only an entirely different view of Torah (than what results from simply reading the text), but also, therefore, a very different view of God, of life, of one's self, of one's community, of one's obligations and goals, and so forth. Despite all claims to the contrary, the lifestyle and mindset of rabbinic Judaism are often very far removed from those of Torah. It makes a difference whether one believes that the fathers sinned -- seriously and frequently -- or whether one instead insists, in blatant denial of what is recorded, that they were completely righteous and flawless. It makes a difference whether one believes that the foreigner in Israel should rest on shabbat or that we should set aside this clear commandment for the sake of our own convenience and pleasure.

The list of examples could go on and on. One topic that is often mentioned is the ridiculous and discriminatory insistence on matrilineal descent in defining Jewishness, despite universal acknowledgment that Torah operates primarily (if not exclusively) according to patrilineal descent. Or the intentional avoidance of work and army service by many ultra-orthodox Jews. There is ample evidence to prove that rabbinic Judaism -- while chanting Torah! Torah! Torah! -- has actually been fighting against the plain sense of the Torah for about 2,000 years. And this destruction of Torah is usually supported by the most nonsensical reasoning, which a child could see through but adults refuse to question. (I know that "nonsensical reasoning" is an oxymoron; but how else is one to describe the convoluted rationalizations?)

I am here to say that there are some of us Jews who actually want to follow Torah! Because the Torah, the teaching, of God gives life. It is what will give true life to our nation, and to the foreigners in our midst, and to the world. (See Leviticus 18:5; Ezekiel 20:11, 20:13; Nehemiah 9:29; etc.) It is what can give the dati (religious) and the khiloni (secular) fruitful and peaceful life. But the latter needs to set aside his aversion to God's ways. And the former needs to set aside his aversion to God's ways.

Currently rabbinic Judaism is far ahead of Torah in the minds and hearts of Israel. Can we change that? Please?

L'chaim!

To translate or not to translate? When is a language no longer itself?

"בתחילת הבריאה, כשברא אלוהים את העולם, והארץ היתה שוממה וריקה..."

"At the beginning of creation, when God created the world/universe, the earth was desolate and empty..."

— Bereshit/Genesis 1:1-2a in the modern Hebrew translation of Avraham Ahuvia, a 90-year-old Israeli kibbutznik

According to BAR:

• “I didn’t say ‘heaven and earth’ but ‘the world,’” Ahuvia said, “because on the second day he created the firmament and called it heaven. In the Bible, the phrase ha-shamayim ve-ha’aretz means ‘the world.’”

• Drora Halevy, national supervisor of Bible studies at the Ministry of Education, claims: “This translation cuts out the heart of the Bible. It reduces the Bible to just another book. In the Bible, form and content are bound together. The translation kills it."

 See also an older article in הארץ.

On the historicity of the conquest

Here is what Frank Cross of Harvard University, described as "America's leading Bible scholar," has to say on the question of whether Israel could have conquered Canaan as described in the biblical book of Joshua (an idea ridiculed today by many scholars):

"I am bemused by the fact that, given the widespread evidence of destruction in Canaan at the end of the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, some scholars are inclined to attribute the violence to various people, despite the lack of written records, to almost anyone—except Israel, for whom we have elaborate written records of warfare." [Conversations with a Bible Scholar, p.23]

Shabbat, fire, and modernity

לֹא־תְבַעֲר֣וּ אֵ֔שׁ בְּכֹ֖ל מֹשְׁבֹֽתֵיכֶ֑ם בְּי֖וֹם הַשַּׁבָּֽת׃

שמות לה, ג

Do not burn fire in all your dwellings on the Sabbath day.

Exodus 35:3

What does this commandment mean?

One of the problems we face in trying to keep the commandments of Torah is that most people (anywhere in the world) are not interested in doing so. That makes things harder, since society is not set up to enable observance of the commandments. Rather, we have to struggle against the stream.

Another problem is that even within the minority that does claim to follow Torah, most people do not follow Torah itself but rather an accumulation of centuries of tradition and rabbinic (or other) rulings. These traditions frequently modify, transform, distort, or set aside the actual commandments of Torah. So even those who say they are following Torah are usually not following what it actually says, but something else altogether.

So what about those of us who want to keep Torah in accordance with the actual meaning of the commandments and within our modern life setting? We have to consider each commandment afresh and seek to discern its applicability today. This same question is faced in every age.

With regard to (not) burning a fire on shabbat, the commandment itself sounds pretty clear. However, a number of questions do arise. Here are some of them:

- Does this mean not to start a fire on shabbat, or not to have a fire burning at all?

- What about those who live in cold climates? (One possible answer to this question is that Torah was given as national law for Eretz Yisrael.)

- By saying "in all your dwellings" (בכל משבתיכם), does the mitzvah leave open the possibility of burning a shabbat fire "outside" one's dwelling? E.g., a bonfire in the park? a barbecue in the back yard? (Note that the fire on the altar had to be kept burning by the priests even on shabbat. See Lev. 6:8-13 / ויקרא ו‫,‬ א‫-‬ו . Cf. Maty. 12:5.)

- What is 'fire', beyond the obvious? Is an internal combustion engine (such as in an automobile) an example of fire? The words we use to describe it suggest that it is. But should we adopt a modern scientific definition of 'burning' or 'combustion' -- "the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species," according to Wikipedia -- when seeking to apply ancient Torah to our lives? Or should we try to think only in terms of what 'fire' (i.e., אש) would have meant to Israelis 3,000 years ago?

- By considering such questions and (hopefully) settling on a general approach, are we creating "our own halacha" just like the rabbis have done? Does it make a difference if one says, "This is my opinion, but you may have a different understanding -- or your time/place may require a different observance"? One crucial aspect of rabbinic halacha is that it is considered to be authoritative. In other words, you and I are supposedly obligated to follow what the council of rabbis has decided. But if one does not adopt this attitude, instead according freedom and discretion to all, is that a better solution?

I found a couple places on the web arguing that Exod. 35:3 was only talking about an "industrial fire" -- and thus fires for cooking, warmth, etc. would be ok on shabbat. However, I personally can't see how that interpretation stems from the text.

I know there are various opinions on the shabbat & fire commandment even among the contributors to this blog! I'd be interested to hear your views.

Whatever Happened to Messianic Judaism?

Whatever happened to Messianic Judaism — a modern, biblical, Jewish faith of Jews who believe in Yeshua as Messiah? A faith that is determinedly neither Rabbinic Judaism nor Christianity? A faith that is a vibrant, authentic reflection of the hope of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?

It seems to have disappeared.

A few who call themselves "MJ" have gone in the direction of Rabbinic Judaism. Most have gone in the other direction, collapsing back into Hebrew Christianity. Today it is rare to find MJs who see any essential difference between their own faith and Christianity. Those few who do are unlikely to be non-rabbinic. The core, the heart of MJ has vanished.

This is a great tragedy. The very raison d'etre of the movement has been lost. In the late 1970s, David Rausch studied the MJ movement and determined that a primary defining element was separation from Hebrew Christianity. Hebrew Christians also believed in Yeshua and also claimed some Jewish heritage. Yet there were vast differences in identity, Scriptural interpretation, lifestyle, and self-perception. Hebrew Christians were Christians of Jewish ethnic background who viewed themselves as Christians but also wanted to maintain some elements of familial Jewish culture. By contrast, Messianic Jews were both ethnically and religiously Jewish, viewed themselves as Jews, did not accept Christianity, believed in a Jewish Messiah, and sought to live in an explicitly Jewish and Torah-centered community.

Today that difference has all but disappeared, because bona fide MJ has all but disappeared. Those who would have been considered Hebrew Christians thirty years ago now call themselves Messianic Jews. So-called MJ congregations are often copies of Christian churches, with little bits of Jewish culture added in (the classic Hebrew Christian model). "MJ" leaders often refer to themselves as "rabbis" but nonetheless function within the framework of "Christian orthodoxy." Previously standard MJ views — e.g., "I'm a Jew, not a Christian" — are met with accusations of being "too Jewish" (sic!!).

What happened?? Why? And what can we do to change the situation?

Let us hope that true MJ is not yet dead, and may yet make a resurgence. Let us hope that a biblical, messianic, Jewish faith founded on the Tanakh will yet touch the heart of Am Yisrael!