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HAFTARAH BO

1/11/2022

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כרתו יערה נאם־יהוה כי לא יחקר כי רבו מארבה ואין להם מספר׃

They cut down her forest," says Adonai, "for they cannot be numbered; yes, there are more of them than locusts, far too many to count. 
​(Jer 46:23)

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CONTEXT OF THE HAFTARAH
The haftara this week takes us again to the place where HaShem uses Nebuchadnezzar as His “servant” to punish Egypt who has been an unreliable partner and even a snare to Israel. The wording of Jeremiah’s prophecy alludes to the plagues of Egypt as reported in this and last week’s parasha.
 
In parasha Bo this week:
 
Adonai said to Moshe, "Go (should be: 'come' to ...(explain))to Pharaoh, for I have made him and his servants hardhearted, so that I can demonstrate these signs of mine among them, (Exo 10:1)
 
The translated word “Go” in the Hebrew text is the word “Bo/בא”, which actually means “come.” It may not seem important, but it is significant of HaShem’s position at the time of the oracle.
 
When you tell someone to “go”, you are staying somewhere telling them to go away from you. But when you tell someone to “come” that means you are away and you tell them to come to you. In this case, the fact that HaShem tells Moshe to “come” to Egypt means that HaShem is in Egypt, just as is implied:
 
Adonai said, "I have seen how my people are being oppressed in Egypt and heard their cry for release from their slavemasters, because I know their pain. I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that country to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of the Kena`ani, Hitti, Emori, P'rizi, Hivi and Y'vusi. Yes, the cry of the people of Isra'el has come to me, and I have seen how terribly the Egyptians oppress them. (Exo 3:7-9 CJB)
 
From this wording, we know that in their afflictions, the Children of Israel were not alone. HaShem was right there with them as He always is at any time we go through troubles and affliction. We must always remember that he never promised to keep us from troubles and afflictions, but He promised to be with us through our troubles and afflictions.
 
ON TO THE HAFTARAH
The haftara this week connects with the parasha because it also starts with the same Hebrew verb “bo/בא”, but this time in the infinitive. This time, it is not Moshe who is asked to come to punish Egypt through plagues, but Nebuchadnezzar, the Emperor of the Babylonian Empire.
 
This word Adonai spoke to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning how N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel would come and attack the land of Egypt: (Jer 46:13)
 
יג  הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה, אֶל-יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא--לָבוֹא, נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל, לְהַכּוֹת, אֶת-אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.
 
WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS
The children of Israel were only supposed to be in Egypt for the time of the famine. They were not supposed to settle there forever. At the time when Jacob died, about 230 years before, they were supposed to leave and go back home to Cana’an. But life was so comfortable in Egypt that they did not want to leave. But as it is said, “Chains of gold are still chains!” They relied on Egypt for protection and prosperity. When we do that, we commit blasphemy because we assign man to the job of protecting us, a job reserved for God only. So in the days of Moshe, the affliction of the children of Israel by Egypt was really of their own doing due to their lack of faith in HaShem.
 
The same happened in the days of Jeremiah. Under HaShem’s command to punish Israel, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judea and exiled most of its people to Babylon. This was a time when the prophetic word thrived. It was a time when people learned to rely on Torah study in order to keep their connection with HaShem. Daniel was in the Capital City, Ezekiel in the province, and Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem with a remnant.
 
This Jerusalem remnant wanted to revolt, and they did so by first killing Gedaliah, the Babylonian appointed governor over Judea. Then relying on Egypt’s military strength, they wanted to go and find refuge there, something forbidden in the Torah as it says that,
 
Adonai told you never to go back that way again. (Deu 17:16 CJB)
 
Before going, they asked Jeremiah for his advice. When he told them that HaShem said not to do that but to stay put in Jerusalem and wait until the exile is over (after 70 years), they accused him of lying and kidnapped him with them to Egypt. When Egypt heard of the vast army Nebuchadnezzar was raising against Egypt in order to teach them and the children of Israel a lesson, Egypt turned its back and ended up becoming a staff of straw, unwilling to support Israel.
 
Sad to say, this is often the way HaShem’s children act. Unable to trust God, they took matters into their owns hands and persecuted the prophets who tried to tell them otherwise. Their redemption became then an affair of saving them from themselves as well as punishing the powers on whom they relied on.
 
Sad to say, Solomon was right in saying:
 
What has been is what will be, what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there something of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It existed already in the ages before us. No one remembers the people of long ago; and those to come will not be remembered by those who come after them. (Ecc 1:9-11 CJB)
 
Are we seeing the same thing in our days?
 
Another remarkable element of this prophecy is the plagues of Egypt, not only find similitude in the oracle Jeremiah received for Israel returning to Egypt, but also an echo in the Book of Revelation. 

This should make us seriously think about our position as believers. We should seriously ask ourselves the question, “Just like with the children of Israel coming out of an overdue stay in Egypt in the days of Moshe, and them having gone back to Egypt in the days of Jeremiah, does our end of Days need for redemption come as a result of our own disobedience in relying on the world instead of HaShem?” Just something to think about.
 
NOW, TO THE HAFTARAH
As usual, the text of the Haftarah does not stand on its own. To understand it, one must start at Jeremiah 40, the summary of which you can read in my preceding section.
 
The children of Israel are in Tachpanches with kidnapped Jeremiah when Jeremiah receives an oracle:
 
This word Adonai spoke to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning how N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel would come and attack the land of Egypt: "Proclaim in Egypt, announce in Migdol, announce in Nof and Tachpanches; say: 'Take your stand! Get ready! For all around you the sword is destroying. (Jer 46:13- 14)
 
War is coming, and it is coming right to the place where the children of Israel are camped. They may have remembered then the words of the Torah forbidding them to return to Egypt, and the advice of Jeremiah, but it was now too late. Jeremiah probably sent emissaries to warn people with the Word of Adonai.
 
Why has your strong one been overthrown?
He failed to stand because Adonai pushed him down. (Jer 46:15)
 
Or, “Why did these strongholds on which you trusted fail?” Because God did it!” An allusion to Exodus 12:12 and the punishments against Egypt.
 
Then, referring to 2 Kings 24 when Josiah needed the help of the same Pharaoh against Babylon, by the Spirit of HaShem, Jeremiah reminds them of “big noise but empty promises Pharaoh.” Anticipating the help of Pharaoh, Josiah had laid a siege but Pharaoh reneged and never came.
 
He caused many to trip; yes, they fell all over each other.' " Then they said, "Let's get up, let's return to our own people, back to the land where we were born, away from the sword that destroys."They cried there, "Pharaoh king of Egypt makes noise, but he lets the right time [for action] slip by." (Jer 46:16-17)
 
Then, speaking of the strength wherewith Nebuchadnezzar will come, probably unbeknownst to him, Jeremiah makes a proclamation that takes us to the Ends of Days:

"As I live," says the king, whose name is Adonai-Tzva'ot, "when he comes, he will be [as mighty] as Tavor among the mountains, as Karmel next to the sea. (Jer 46:18)
 
Tavor and Karmel are in the Valley of Jezreel, commonly known as the Valley of Armageddon. In Emperor Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah sees the big battle at the End of Days as described in Ezekiel 38 and 39, as well as Revelation 16:16.
 
Then, drawing imagery from the Exodus events, Jeremiah gives a warning to Egypt. First the flies:
 
"Daughter living in Egypt, prepare what you need for exile; for Nof will become a ruin, laid waste, without inhabitant. Egypt is a beautiful female calf; but a horsefly from the north has come to attack her. (Jer 46: 19-20)
 
HaShem fought them by the sea:
 
Her mercenaries too, that she had with her, were like well-fed calves in a stable; but they too have withdrawn in retreat, they all ran away without standing their ground. For their day of disaster has come over them, the time for them to be punished. (Jer 46:21)
 
The locusts coming as lumbermen chopping trees:
 
Egypt hisses like a snake, as the enemy's army marches ahead, attacking her with their axes like lumbermen chopping trees.They cut down her forest," says Adonai, "for they cannot be numbered; yes, there are more of them than locusts far too many to count. (Jer 46:22-23)
 
Every one of the plagues in the Exodus attacked a god of Egypt:
 
The daughter of Egypt is put to shame, handed over to the people from the north."Adonai-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: "I will punish Amon from No, Pharaoh, and Egypt with her gods and kings -- that is, Pharaoh and those who trust in him; (Jer 46:19-24-25)
 
Continuing with our midrash application to the end of days, which of the gods of this world will be targeted by the plagues of the end? Mammon, the god of money and materialism? The god of fame and self-aggrandizement as projected by entertainment media? The god of …
 
Egypt will be hit hard, but as we have seen in the previous haftara, it will not be lost forever. It will live again but never to its former glory.
 
I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel and to his servants. But afterwards, Egypt will be inhabited, as in the past," says Adonai. (Jer 46:26)
 
Again, Jeremiah makes a cosmic jump into the future redemption of Israel:
 
"Yet don't be afraid, Ya`akov my servant; don't be distressed, Isra'el. For I will save you from faraway places, and your offspring from the lands where they are held captive. Ya`akov will return and be at peace, quiet, with no one to make him afraid. (Jer 46:27)
 
Then a final prophecy for Israel:
 
Don't be afraid, Ya`akov my servant," says Adonai, "for I am with you. I will finish off all the nations where I have scattered you. However, you I will not finish off, I will discipline you as you deserve, but not completely destroy you." (Jer 46:28)
 
Indeed, no matter what happens to His people, we need to remember that:
 
God's free gifts and his calling are irrevocable. (Rom 11:29 CJB)
 
 A WORD FROM THE RABBI
In this parasha, I challenge us to ask ourselves some serious questions, the same questions Israel probably failed to ask itself in both events studied above.
 

Let us remember that...
 
These things took place as prefigurative historical events, warning us not to set our hearts on evil things as they did. Don't be idolaters, as some of them were -- as the Tanakh puts it, "The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to indulge in revelry." And let us not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, with the consequence that 23,000 died in a single day. And let us not put the Messiah to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes. And don't grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the Destroying Angel. These things happened to them as prefigurative historical events, and they were written down as a warning to us who are living in the acharit-hayamim. Therefore, let anyone who thinks he is standing up be careful not to fall!
(1Co 10:6-12 CJB)
​
R' Gabriel Lumbroso
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HAFTARAH SHEMOT  Broken Into Leadership

12/28/2021

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והיה ביום ההוא יחבט יהוה משׁבלת הנהר עד־נחל מצרים ואתם תלקטו לאחד אחד בני ישׂראל׃ 
 והיה ביום ההוא יתקע בשׁופר גדול ובאו האבדים בארץ אשׁור והנדחים בארץ מצרים והשׁתחוו ליהוה בהר הקדשׁ בירושׁלם׃  

On that day Adonai will beat out the grain between the Euphrates River and the Vadi of Egypt; and you will be gathered, one by one, people of Isra'el! On that day a great shofar will sound. Those lost in the land of Ashur will come, also those scattered through the land of Egypt; and they will worship Adonai on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim. 
(Isa 27:12-13 CJB)
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ISAIAH
The haftarah this week is the calling of Moshe to be the deliverer of Israel. It also introduces us to the elements that constitute this miraculous and powerful deliverance.

The prophet Isaiah, who is a great poet and also comes from a priestly family, writes about the fate of Israel. In his days, Israel consisted of two kingdoms: Judah in the South and Ephrayim in the North. 

Though himself a Judean, Isaiah prophesied much concerning the coming deportation of the northern kingdom. He also was quite concerned with Judean affairs.

CONTEXT OF THE HAFTARAH
Our haftarah comes on the heels of a series of unconnected oracles. At that time, Israel was split into two adversarial kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom was in constant war with Judea and its allies.. It was so bad that Ahaz, the King of Judah, sought an alliance with the Assyrian King Tiglath-Pileser, which eventually turned against him (2 Chron 20). In the end, Ahaz was paying tribute to Assyria and Judea became its vassal. This is what happens when the people of God rely on their own wisdom rather than the commandment of God. 

When Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, took the throne of Judea, it was still under Assyrian domination. Here is an overview of the situation in the words of Daniel Lancaster:

 “In the beginning of his tenure, Hezekiah found the priesthood in disarray. The Temple had been closed up by his father Ahaz. The priests were no longer conscientious in matters of ritual purity (2 Chron 29:34). In this haftarah portion, Isaiah brings harsh rebuke against the priests and prophets of Jerusalem. Hezekiah tried to reverse the mischief his father had created for Judah. He led a massive forearm, reconstituted the Levitical worship system, and campaigned against apostasy. He also wanted to escape Assyrian control. He and the leadership of Judah looked to Egypt for political and military alliance. In this haftarah, Isaiah rebukes the Judean leadership for spiritual insobriety and political alliances with foreign powers. … Isaiah pronounces doom and woe upon Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah, but his fearful prophecies are punctuated with glimpses of redemption.”

After a series of gloom and doom warnings, in the style of Moses as he looked upon the glorious future of Israel, Isaiah prophecies:

The time is coming when Ya`akov will take root; Isra'el will bud and flower, and fill the whole world with a harvest. (Isa 27:6 CJB)

The prophecy was about Israel flourishing and filling the world, not just the land. The Hebrew word used in the original is “tevel/תבל”, a word that refers to the earth as the globe, not just the land. This statement connects us to the parasha that begins the Book of Exodus, which tells us that Jacob/Israel came to Egypt and took root and flourished in Egypt. Isaiah’s prophecy presents us with the idea that one day, Israel will flourish in the Land, as well as spread its presence into all the world.

As he speaks to Israel’s rocky future due to its disobedience, Isaiah makes a difference between the oppression of the enemy and the disciple of HaShem. He puts it this way:

[Adonai] will not strike Isra'el, as he did others who struck Isra'el; he will not kill them, as he did the others. (Isa 27:7 CJB)

The striker, the whip, the instrument HaShem uses to strike and punish Israel, is the Assyrian Empire--thus meaning that the punishment of Israel was not an annihilation as HaShem did with other nations, but a temporary exile. Many countries who HaShem has allowed to strike Israel as a punishment do not exist anymore. Israel still does! Then says:

Your controversy with her is fully resolved by sending her [into exile]. He removes her with a rough gust of wind on a day when it's blowing from the east. (Wind blowing from the East goes West.) So the iniquity of Ya`akov is atoned for by this,

Then, almost as if borrowing a page from John the Immerser when he asks for the Sadduccean priests to produce fruit for repentance (Mat 3:8):

 and removing his sin produces this result: he chops up all the altar stones like chalk -- sacred poles and sun-pillars stand no more. (Isa 27:8-9 CJB)

In the literal reading of the text, the prophet describes the future of Shomron (Samaria), the capital city of the Northern Kingdom. He sees her desolate and in ruins. Of course, this also has cosmic repetitions into the endtime where the desolated city is implied to be Rome. For now, it is Samaria.

For the fortified city is alone, abandoned and deserted, like the desert. Calves graze and lie down there, stripping its branches bare. When its harvest dries up, it is broken off; women come and set it on fire. For this is a people without understanding. Therefore he who made them will not pity them, he who formed them will show them no mercy. (Isa 27:10-11 CJB)

As is the nature of Biblical prophecy, the oracle takes us far away in the future, to a time when Israel will exist according to the borders given to Abragam: "I have given this land to your descendants -- from the Vadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River -- (Gen 15:18 CJB). And Moses: I will set your boundaries from the Sea of Suf to the sea of the P'lishtim and from the desert to the [Euphrates] River, for I will hand the inhabitants of the land over to you, and you will drive them out from before you.” (Exo 23:31 CJB)

Isaiah says,

After On that day Adonai will beat out the grain between the Euphrates River and the Vadi of Egypt; and you will be gathered, one by one, people of Isra'el! (Isa 27:12 CJB)

Continuing on the endtime, the prophet sees the ingathering, a very appropriate theme for our current parasha. While Isaiah speaks of the post-Assyria/Babylone exile, the text also alludes to the great ingathering following the present Roman Exile.

On that day a great shofar will sound. Those lost in the land of Ashur will come, also those scattered through the land of Egypt; and they will worship Adonai on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim. (Isa 27:13 CJB)

More of the same can be found in:

I will whistle for them and gather them, because I have redeemed them; they will be as numerous as they were before; and I will sow them among the peoples. In distant lands they will remember me; they will rear their children and then return. I will bring them back from the land of Egypt and gather them out of Ashur. I will bring them into Gil`ad and the L'vanon, until there is no more room for them. 
(Zec 10:8-10 CJB)

But immediately following the trouble of those times, the sun will grow dark, the moon will stop shining, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in heaven will be shaken. "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, all the tribes of the Land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with tremendous power and glory. He will send out his angels with a great shofar; and they will gather together his chosen people from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 
(Mat 24:29-31 CJB)

Look, I will tell you a secret -- not all of us will die! But we will all be changed! It will take but a moment, the blink of an eye, at the final shofar. For the shofar will sound, and the dead will be raised to live forever, and we too will be changed. 
(1Co 15:51-52 CJB)

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God's shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. 
(1Th 4:16-17 CJB)

In the days of the sound from the seventh angel when he sounds his shofar, the hidden plan of God will be brought to completion, the Good News as he proclaimed it to his servants the prophets." 
(Rev 10:7 CJB)

REBUKE TO EPHRAYIM/NORTHERN KINGDOM
Isaiah 28 starts a new oracle. Scholars refer to Isaiah 28-33 as the Book of Woes. Let’s go back to Daniel Lancaster to give us a sense of historical context:

 “As Isaiah 28 begins, Isaiah is in the court is in the city of Jerusalem attending a court function at which priests, prophets, and nobility of Judah have gathered for a ritual meal. He begins by pronouncing an oracle of woe against the city of Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom. 

Isaiah prophecies:

Woe to the haughty crown of Efrayim's drunks, to the fading flower of its proud splendor, located at the head of the rich valley belonging to people overcome by wine! (Isa 28:1 CJB)

Adonai has someone strong and powerful. He comes like a hailstorm, a destructive tempest, like a flood of water, rushing, overwhelming; with his hand he hurls them to the ground. The haughty crown of Efrayim's drunks is trampled underfoot; and the fading flower of its proud splendor, located at the head of the rich valley, is like the first ripe fig of summer -- whoever sees it picks and eats it. (Isa 28:4 CJB)

Isaiah saw the prediction fulfilled within his lifetime, probably just within a year or so,

It was in the fourth year of King Hizkiyahu, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Isra'el, that Shalman'eser king of Ashur advanced against Shomron and laid siege to it. At the end of three years they captured it -- that is, Shomron was captured in the sixth year of Hizkiyahu, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Isra'el. 
(2Ki 18:9-10 CJB)

Isaiah also sees the restoration of Samaritain the Messianic Age:

On that day, Adonai-Tzva'ot will be a glorious crown, a brilliant diadem for the remnant of his people. He will also be a spirit of justice for whoever sits as a judge, and a source of strength for those repelling enemy attacks at the gate. (Isa 28:6 CJB)

This restoration is echoed in, 

On that day, Adonai's plant will be beautiful and glorious; and the fruit of the land will be the pride and splendor of Isra'el's survivors. Those left in Tziyon and remaining in Yerushalayim will be called holy, and everyone in Yerushalayim written down for life. 
(Isa 4:2-3 CJB)

REBUKE TO JUDAH/SOUTHERN KINGDOM
Isaiah gave his woeful message concerning Samaria to the safe audience of Judean leaders. But now, he will turn his attention to the ultimately intended audience itself. He will utters HaShem’s words of rebuke to Judah, who he will call “scoffers, composing taunts for this people in Yerushalayim!” (Isaiah 28:14).

The word “scoffer” is a well chosen word, as Solomon said, “Wine is a mocker” (Prov 20:1), and the first thing that the prophets address is the drunkenness of priests during service. The Torah forbids priests to serve in the Temple while inebriated. ("Don't drink any wine or other intoxicating liquor, neither you nor your sons with you, when you enter the tent of meeting, so that you will not die. This is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations”Lev 10:9 CJB)

But there are others reeling from wine, staggering about because of strong liquor; cohen and prophet reel from strong liquor, they are confused by wine. Led astray by strong liquor, they err in their visions and stumble when judging. (Isa 28:7 CJB)

 Rabbi Shimon said: If three have eaten at one table and have not spoken over it words of Torah, it is as though they had eaten of the sacrifices of the dead, for it is written (Isaiah 28:8) “All tables are covered with filthy vomit; no place is clean.” But if three have eaten at one table and have spoken over it words of Torah, it is as if they had eaten from the table of God, for it is written (Ezekiel 41:22) “He said to me, ‘This is the table that stands before the LORD.’ ” (m.Avot 3:4) , 

Now we can understand what Isaiah says:

All tables are covered with vomit and feces, not a single place is clean. (Isa 28:8 CJB)

The prophet exposes the priests and prophets of Jerusalem for not executing their duties responsibly.

Everyone thinks that they are so smart on their own and righteous in their own eyes that they refuse to be taught anything. As such, they refuse the words of the prophet. HaShem, through Isaiah, asks:

Can no one be taught anything?
Can no one understand the message? 

They then accuse Isaiah of treating them like children, teaching them through nursery rhymes as we teach a barely weaned toddler (about 3 years old). The prophet continues:

Must one teach barely weaned toddlers, babies just taken from the breast, so that [one has to use nursery rhymes]? -- Tzav la-tzav, tzav la-tzav, kav la-kav, kav la-kav z`eir sham, z`eir sham [Precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line, a little here, a little there]. So with stammering lips, in a foreign accent, [Adonai] will speak to this people. (Isa 28: 9-11 CJB)

This sounds similar to the writer of the Book of Hebrews who challenged the Israeli believers of his days with:

You have become sluggish in understanding. For although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the very first principles of God's Word all over again! You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who has to drink milk is still a baby, without experience in applying the Word about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by continuous exercise to distinguish good from evil. Therefore, leaving behind the initial lessons about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of turning from works that lead to death, trusting God, and instruction about washings, s'mikhah, the resurrection of the dead and eternal punishment. And, God willing, this is what we will do. 
(Heb 5:11-6:3 CJB)

As he tries to make the Corinthian believers understand that the gift of tongues was the gift of the ability to speak another identifiable language that one has not learned (Acts 2: 6-8) and not some sort of humanly incomprehensible language composed of nonsensical syllables not unlike those a baby would make nor as what Isaiah describes in Is 28: 10, Paul loosely uses that iluustration in,

 “Brothers, don't be children in your thinking. In evil, be like infants; but in your thinking, be grown-up. In the Torah it is written, "By other tongues, by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people. But even then they will not listen to me," says Adonai. 
(1Co 14:20-21 CJB)

As a rule, the haftarah has to end on a positive note. The text therefore stops here to continue at the end of the oracle, where HaShem reminds Israel of his irrevocable promise made to Abraham:

Therefore, here are the words of Adonai, who redeemed Avraham, concerning the house of Ya`akov:"Ya`akov will no longer be ashamed, no longer will his face grow pale. When his descendants see the work of my hands among them, they will consecrate my name. Yes, they will consecrate the Holy one of Ya`akov and stand in awe of the God of Isra'el.” 
(Isa 29:22-23 CJB)

But with respect to being chosen, they are loved for the Patriarchs' sake, for God's free gifts and his calling are irrevocable.
(Rom 11:28-29 CJB)

My own signature for this promise will be,

So there remains a Shabbat-keeping for God's people. 
(Heb 4:9 CJB)

and

... all Isra'el will be saved.
(Rom 11:26 CJB)
 
AND WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS
One of the big takeaways from this haftarah behind the promised redemption. Isa 27:8-9 says "removing his sin produces this result: he chops up all the altar stones like chalk -- sacred poles and sun-pillars stand no more."

This means that that which removes sin produces a change of behavior. A person who claims to have been redeemed is a different person. It is a person who does not practice the old things he used to practice before.

The sages of Israel say that pride is the highest form of idolatry as it is the worship of self.  What the verse teaches us is that if a person used to be dishonest, they now strive for integrity; that if a person was angry, they now reach for the peace that can fill their hearts; that if a person was covetous, they are now learning to be satisfied with what HaShem gives them; that if a parson was lustful, they now do what is necessary to have self-control; that if a person had a tendency to be proud, critical, divisive, and arrogant, that person is now embracing the values of being meek, understanding, and humbly able to work in consensus with others, all very important things in our congregations.


MAY WE ALL LET HASHEM DO TO US WHAT HE SIAD REDEMPTION DOES TO ISRAEL.

MAY WE ALL GIVE HIM PERMISSION TO "CHOP UP ALL OUR ALTAR STONES, SACRED POLES, AND SUN-PILLARS OF SELF LOVE LIKE CHALK.
(By the way, He does generally wait for our permission to do it!)
SHABBAT SHALOM!!!

R' Gabriel
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HAFTARAH VAYECHI HaShem's Cosmic Plan for Messiah

12/15/2021

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ויקרבו ימי־דוד למות ויצו את־שׁלמה בנו לאמר׃ 
אנכי הלך בדרך כל־הארץ וחזקת והיית לאישׁ׃

The time came near for David to die; so he commissioned Shlomo his son as follows: "I am going the way of all the earth. Therefore, be strong; show yourself a man. 
(1Ki 2:1-2 CJB)
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 THE CONNECTION
The haftarah again this week takes us to the early, intermediate, and final fulfillment of the cosmic time-transcendent reality of the advent of Messiah. It starts with King David growing old and being ready to die, thus giving instructions to his son Solomon. Similarly in the connected parasha, Jacob/Israel is getting ready to die and thus gives instructions to his son Joseph:

The time came near for David to die; so he commissioned Shlomo his son as follows: (1Ki 2:1 CJB)

The time came when Isra'el was approaching death; so he called for his son Yosef and said to him, .... (Gen 47:29 CJB)

Though slightly different in the CJB version, the Hebrew wording in the beginning of both verses is the same:

Gen 47:29 ויקרבו ימי־ישׂראל למות
1Ki 2:1     ויקרבו ימי־דוד למות

Similarly, in the haftarah, King David leaves the responsibility of the kingdom with his son Solomon tied with the command:

Therefore, be strong; show yourself a man. Observe the charge of Adonai your God to go in his ways and keep his regulations, mitzvot, rulings and instructions in accordance with what is written in the Torah of Moshe; so that you will succeed in all you do and wherever you go. If you do, Adonai will fulfill what he promised me when he said, 'If your children pay attention to how they live, conducting themselves before me honestly with all their heart and being, you will never lack a man on the throne of Isra'el.'
(1Ki 2:2-4 CJB)

THE COSMIC JOSEPH, SOLOMON, AND MESSIAH CONNECTION
These two sections are tied in several ways. The basic story of Joseph is that Jacob his father appointed him as heir to the custody of the covenant. His brothers, with Reuben at the head as the oldest and natural recipient for that title, were jealous and planned a coup, thereby getting rid of Joseph.

In the same manner, as we read in 1 Kings 1, while Solomon, who was not the oldest son, was the David-appointed inheritor of the crown, Adonijah planned a coup to try to put the crown upon himself (1 Kings 1).

At the end of time, Yeshua, who has been appointed by HaShem to be the ruler of His people, will be faced with an antichrist supplanter planning a coup to take the Kingdom.

COMMANDS TO THE HEIR
A long time before, Jacob had shown his choice of successor by giving a special coat to Joseph (Gen 37:3). Also, King David had promised Bat Sheba that her son Solomon would be king (1 Kings 1:17). Similarly, from before the foundations of the earth, HaShem had established Yeshua to be the King for His people, Israel (Rev 13:8; Ps 2).
  • Before starting in the fulfillment of his divinely appointed responsibilities, Jacob had to deal with his brother Esau.
  • Before starting in the fulfillment of his divinely appointed responsibilities, Joseph had to deal with Reuben and his brothers who federated with him.
  • Before starting in the fulfillment of his divinely appointed responsibilities, Solomon had to deal with Adonijah his brother as well as with the people who federated with him.


David gives Solomon instructions that help establish his kingdom. Get rid of the disloyals, but keep the promises I made to some people:

Moreover, you are aware of what Yo'av the son of Tz'ruyah did to me, that is, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Isra'el, Avner the son of Ner and `Amasa the son of Yeter -- he killed them, shedding the blood of war in peacetime, putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and the shoes on his feet. Therefore, act according to your wisdom; don't let his gray head go down to the grave in peace. "But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gil`adi. Include them with those who eat at your table, because they came and stood with me when I was fleeing from Avshalom your brother. "Finally, you have with you Shim`i the son of Gera the Binyamini, from Bachurim. He laid a terrible curse on me when I was on my way to Machanayim; but he came down to meet me at the Yarden; so I swore to him by Adonai that I would not have him put to death with the sword. Now, however, you should not let him go unpunished. You are a wise man, and you will know what you should do to him -- you will bring his gray head down to the grave with blood."
(1Ki 2:5-9 CJB)

In the same manner, when Messiah comes, as John the Immerser says:

If you have really turned from your sins to God, produce fruit that will prove it! ... Already the axe is at the root of the trees, ready to strike; every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in the fire! It's true that I am immersing you in water so that you might turn from sin to God; but the one coming after me is more powerful than I -- I'm not worthy even to carry his sandals -- and he will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh and in fire. He has with him his winnowing fork; and he will clear out his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn but burning up the straw with unquenchable fire!" 
(Mat 3:8-12 CJB)

Also the other John, John the disciple, prophecies that at the end of times, the Messiah will come and rid himself of the pretender who tried to steal His crown.

Next I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. Sitting on it was the one called Faithful and True, and it is in righteousness that he passes judgment and goes to battle. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. And he had a name written which no one knew but himself. He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called is, "THE WORD OF GOD." The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations -- "He will rule them with a staff of iron." It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of Adonai, God of heaven's armies. And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds that fly about in mid-heaven, "Come, gather together for the great feast God is giving, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of important men, the flesh of horses and their riders and the flesh of all kinds of people, free and slave, small and great!" I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to do battle with the rider of the horse and his army. But the beast was taken captive, and with it the false prophet who, in its presence, had done the miracles which he had used to deceive those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped his image. The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword that goes out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. 
(Rev 19:11-21 CJB)

The aftara ends with:

Then David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. David had ruled Isra'el for forty years -- seven years in Hevron and thirty-three years in Yerushalayim. Shlomo sat on the throne of David his father; and his rule had become firmly established,
(1Ki 2:10-12 CJB)

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS
We must remember that it is Messiah who establishes His Kingdom, not us. And like Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, He does it by answering His Father's call and taking care of the opposition.
Our sole mandate is to share the Good News of the advent of the Kingdom by sharing the same message Yeshua and John the Immerser both proclaimed, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." HaShem doesn't need us to protect His reputation by us trying to fulfill His promises. He does that Himself. We just need to be the messengers with the herald of the coming Kingdom of God.

OH, JUST ONE MORE THING ...
The connection between the parasha and the haftarah this week is the passing on of the leadership baton alongside instructions.
The instructions from Jacob to his son Joseph were to not bury Jacob in Egypt but to bring him back to his family in the Cave of Machpela. By the time Jacob was ready to die, the famine was already over for many years, so this was probably Jacob's attempt at reminding his descendants who settled in Egypt that they were not to stay there but return to Canaan. But they didn't.

The instructions King David left to his son King Solomon were to properly deal with the opposition and to live according to HaShem's commandments.

HaShem's instructions to His Son Yeshua might be the same.
As Jacob gave an instruction to Joseph that reminded the children of Israel to leave Egypt behind, Yeshua came with a commandment to take us out of the world:

If you belonged to the world, the world would have loved its own. But because you do not belong to the world -- on the contrary, I have picked you out of the world -- therefore the world hates you. 
(Joh 15:19 CJB)

It is easy to condemn the children of Israel for their compromise with the Egyptian culture that caused them to settle in Egypt, but we need to ask ourselves if we are guilty of the same. Do we feel comfortable in this world? Do we pine for the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, the garlic of Egypt, while we complain of the simple manna he provides us daily from Heaven? (Numbers 11:5)

The commands King David left to His son were to deal with the opposition and to live a pure life worthy of his calling as king. We must notice here that the opposition his father was speaking of was not people from foreign nations. They were part of Israel, some of them even of government. In the same manner, when he comes, Yeshua has the command to take care of the opposition. It is important to realize that the opposition is not part of other religions or political parties. The opposition he takes care of is part of His people and, who knows, maybe even part of the leadership of His people. One of the most challenging statements Yeshua made is:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that Day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we expel demons in your name? Didn't we perform many miracles in your name?' Then I will tell them to their faces, 'I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!'
"So, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on bedrock. The rain fell, the rivers flooded, the winds blew and beat against that house, but it didn't collapse, because its foundation was on rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the rivers flooded, the wind blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed -- and its collapse was horrendous!" 
(Mat 7:21-27 CJB)

James taught the congregations in Israel in the following words:

Anyone who thinks he is religiously observant but does not control his tongue is deceiving himself, and his observance counts for nothing. The religious observance that God the Father considers pure and faultless is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being contaminated by the world. 
(Jas 1:26-27 CJB)




May we in that day be found leading a life worthy of the calling
​to which we have been called.
 (Eph:4:1)

​SHABBAT SHALOM!!!

​R' GABRIEL LUMBROSO

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HAFTARAH MIKETZ  The Two as One ... at Last!

12/8/2021

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והיו־לי לעם ואני אהיה להם לאלהים׃

" 'They will never again defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, or any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all the places where they have been living and sinning; and I will cleanse them, so that they will be my people, and I will be their God. 
(Eze 37:23 CJB)
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THE MYSTERY OF THE TWO STICKS
Many interpretations have been proposed concerning the passage of the two sticks from Ezekiel 37. As usual, the Aftara enlightens us as to the meaning of the prophecy.

This Aftara was chosen to accompany Parasha Vayigash, the Torah portion where Judah (from the House of Leah) approaches Joseph (from the House of Rachel, who will later be addressed as the House of Ephraim after Joseph's second son), in order to resolve a conflict that they have concerning Benjamin, Rachel’s second son and Joseph’s brother. 

Then Y'hudah approached (VAYIGASH) 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. (Gen 44:18)

From the day of Jacob’s surprise acquisition of both Leah and Rachel, the two women launched a child-bearing competition in order to secure Jacob’s affection. This contest between the two sisters became the portent of the future divided relationship of the nation of Israel becoming two separate kingdoms, sometimes even at war with each other. The prophets saw the reunification of the kingdom as it was under Kings David and Solomon as a sign of the preparatory initiation for the Messianic Age.

EZEKIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE RETURN
The prophecy of Ezekiel 37 doesn’t stand on its own. It comes at the heel of Ezekiel 34, introducing David (Yeshua) as the future good shepherd of Israel who will sincerely care for the people unlike the bad shepherds of His days. Ezekiel 35 prophecies the annihilation of the Kingdom of Seir (Edom) and Ezekiel 36 prophecies the return of the people of Israel to their ancestral lands, as is pictorialized in Ezekiel 37:1-13.

At the end of the dry bones prophecy, right before the prophecy of the two sticks, HaShem says:

 Then you will know that I am Adonai -- when I have opened your graves and made you get up out of your graves, my people! (14) I will put my Spirit in you; and you will be alive. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, Adonai, have spoken, and that I have done it,' says Adonai."
(Eze 37:13-14 CJB)

Thus making the return of the people of Israel the signal that it is the time when they will acknowledge the Lord. This prophecy is being fulfilled in front of our very eyes. The six-Day War when Jerusalem returned into Jewish hands marked the time when many Jews started to understand Yeshua as their Messiah. That era launched the modern-day Messianic movement, as is written in:

. . . because it has been given to the Goyim, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months. (Rev 11:2 CJB)

Ezekiel's wording, “ Then you will know that I am Adonai . . . “ addressed to Israel continues throughout the next two chapters.

MESSIANIC ISRAEL
Ezekiel’s prophecy of the two sticks tells the story of Messianic Israel from its beginning. It follows:
  • the introduction of Messiah in chapter 34
  • the destruction of Edom in chapter 35
  • the call for Israel to return, accomplished through Herzl’s zionist movement after the Dreyfuss Affair in the late 1800’s.


Ezekiel starts with the reunification of both kingdoms. 

The word of Adonai came to me: "You, human being, take one stick and write on it, 'For Y'hudah and those joined with him [among] the people of Isra'el.' Next, take another stick and write on it, 'For Yosef, the stick of Efrayim, and all the house of Isra'el who are joined with him.' Finally, bring them together into a single stick, so that they become one in your hand. When your people ask you what all this means, tell them that Adonai Elohim says this: 'I will take the stick of Yosef, which is in the hand of Efrayim, together with the tribes of Isra'el who are joined with him, and put them together with the stick of Y'hudah and make them a single stick, so that they become one in my hand.' The sticks on which you write are to be in your hand as they watch. 

This reunification started to happen some time after the prophecy was given, when in 538/537 BCE, Cyrus the Persian decreed that any captives of Israel disseminated throughout his kingdom from the beginning of the Assyrian Exile could return to Israel if they so desired to help rebuild the Jerusalem Temple.

In the first year of Koresh king of Persia, in order for the word of Adonai prophesied by Yirmeyahu to be fulfilled, Adonai stirred up the spirit of Koresh king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his whole kingdom, which he also put in writing, as follows: "Here is what Koresh king of Persia says: Adonai, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms on earth; and he has charged me to build him a house in Yerushalayim, in Y'hudah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him! He may go up to Yerushalayim, in Y'hudah, and build the house of Adonai the God of Isra'el, the God who is in Yerushalayim. 
(Ezr 1:1-3 CJB)

It is noted by historians that, by the time of Yeshua, the kingdom was not divided in 2 and that there were representatives of all the tribes in Israel proper.

Using the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles, the prophet alludes to the greater future Roman Exile.

Then say to them that Adonai Elohim says: 'I will take the people of Isra'el from among the nations where they have gone and gather them from every side and bring them back to their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Isra'el; (Ezekiel 37:21)

This has happened through the Balfour Declaration at the end of WW1, and Israel’s Declaration of Independence in 1948. The prophecy continues with the Messianic Age when Yeshua rules from Jerusalem in Israel.

...and one king will be king for all of them. They will no longer be two nations, and they will never again be divided into two kingdoms. (Eze 37:15-22 CJB)

The prophecy then takes us further in the Messianic Age, a time as described by Jeremiah as a time when:

"No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, 'Know Adonai'; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more." (Jer 31:33-34 CJB)

Of that time, Ezekiel says:

" 'They will never again defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, or any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all the places where they have been living and sinning; and I will cleanse them, so that they will be my people, and I will be their God.”

Indeed, Yeshua will rule as king over Israel as is written:

“My servant David will be king over them, and all of them will have one shepherd; they will live by my rulings and keep and observe my regulations. They will live in the land I gave to Ya`akov my servant, where your ancestors lived; they will live there -- they, their children, and their grandchildren, forever; and David my servant will be their leader forever. 

At that time also, the Temple will be rebuilt…

I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give to them, increase their numbers, and set my sanctuary among them forever. My home will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

It is at that time when Israel is restored as one nation under one king, with its own Temple that the powers of atheism, replacement theology, and antisemitism will be confounded and vanish. The existence of God and of His purpose for the nations though Israel will be an established fact, as Ezekiel continues:

The nations will know that I am Adonai, who sets Isra'el apart as holy, when my sanctuary is with them forever.' " (Eze 37:23-28 CJB)

May it be soon HaShem, even in our days.

AND WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US?
  • We need to realize that we are part of a cosmic reality that started even before the foundations of the world (Rev 13:8). 
  • As Jewish and Gentile believers, we also need to realize that we are the firstfruit and the spearhead of the soon-coming Messianic Age and that we need to live and act like it.
  • We need to remember that we are not here to do as we please. We need to be true to our mandate as ambassadors of the coming Kingdom of God.
  • As John did, and Paul exhorted, we must live a life worthy of our calling of telling people to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand! As Paul said, "Therefore I, the prisoner united with the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called. Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom. (Eph 4:1-3 CJB)
  • We need to acknowledge what Yeshua said, "The Kingdom of God does not come with visible signs; Because, you see, the Kingdom of God is among you." (Luk 17:20-21 CJB)
  • This all also means that the nations need to see the reinstatement of the State of Israel as a sign that the end is near and that He is with His people.
  • That whereas peace will not come to the world until the Prince of Peace reigns in a peaceful Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God is already within us through the presence of His Spirit in us.
  • And that we can have the peace of the Kingdom of Heaven with us right now by living according to the tenets of the Torah.


Just like it was told to certain shepherds on a certain night (probably around the time of Tabernacles),

כָּבוֹד בַּמְּרוֹמִים לֵאלׂהִים וּבָאָרֶץ שָׁלוֹם בְּאַנְשֵׁי רְצוֹנוֹ׃

"In the highest heaven, glory to God! And on earth, peace among people of good will!" 
(Luk 2:14 CJB)

WARNING!
Don’t let that peace be stolen from you. Even Yeshua said that when we see all these things we are seeing now.

"What I am leaving with you is shalom -- I am giving you my shalom. I don't give the way the world gives. Don't let yourselves be upset or frightened. (Joh 14:27 CJB)

You will hear the noise of wars nearby and the news of wars far off; see to it that you don't become frightened. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come. (Mat 24:6 CJB)


SHABBAT SHALOM!!!

R' Gabriel
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HAFTARAH MIKETZ, Shlomo, the Righteous Judge!

12/2/2021

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ויהי המלך שׁלמה מלך על־כל־ישׂראל׃

King Shlomo was king over all Isra'el, 
(1Ki 4:1 CJB)




SHLOMO: "HIS PEACE!"
We are told later in the book of 1 Kings that peace was the hallmark of Shlomo's rule in Israel:

(5:4) For he ruled all the area this side of the [Euphrates] River, from Tifsach to `Azah. He was over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace all around him, on every side. (1Ki 4:24 CJB)

This idea was reinforced by his very name, which means, "His peace." The peace referred to was a foreshadowing of the peace, happiness, and abundance of the Messianic Age when Yeshua will rule on earth. The text of 1 Kings actually describes it in the following words:

(5:5) From Dan to Be'er-Sheva, Y'hudah and Isra'el lived securely, every man under his vine and fig tree, throughout the lifetime of Shlomo. (1Ki 4:25 CJB)

The theme of "every man under his vine and fig tree" would be later used by Micah to represent the Messianic Era:

Each person will sit under his vine and fig tree, with no one to upset him, for the mouth of Adonai-Tzva'ot has spoken. (Mic 4:4 CJB)

SHLOMO'S RIGHTEOUS PRIORITIES: THE PEOPLE OF THE LORD
In a dream, Shlomo was given a test, a test which he passed with flying colors. In the test, HasShem gave him a blank check to ask for whatever he wanted. What would we do with a blank check like that alongside the divinely ordained power of kingship? This is a lot of power, the sort that usually corrupts those who possess it.
Shlomo's request is not the heads of his enemies, nor wealth and riches, but simply that he would be a good shepherd over the people of God. As a result:

God said to him, "Because you have made this request instead of asking long life or riches for yourself, or your enemies' death, but rather asked for yourself understanding to discern justice; I am doing what you requested. I am giving you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you, nor will there ever again be anyone like you. I am also giving you what you didn't ask for, riches and honor greater than that of any other king throughout your life. 
(1Ki 3:11-13 CJB)

SILVER AS COMMON AS STONES
Under Shlomo's reign, Israel became very rich. It is said that through the wealth brought to Israel from the nations around him:

The king made silver in Yerushalayim as common as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as sycamore-fig trees are in the Sh'felah. (1Ki 10:27 CJB)

ALONG WITH PEACE AND ABUNDANCE, MESSIANIC TRUE JUSTICE WAS ALSO A HALLMARK OF SHLOMO'S REIGN
His wisdom was so widespread that people came from all over to listen to Shlomo's wise advice, a true foreshadow of the justice of Messiah coming from Zion in the Messianic era.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah all speak of the Messiah coming to exercise judgment on the earth (Jer 23:5; Is 11:3-4); Micah 4:3). But this role of judge was not Messiah's first-coming role, which he didn't fulfill when He came 2000 years ago. Of that first coming, it is said:

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved. 
(Joh 3:17 CJB)

But at the time of the second coming, HaShem does send Messiah to come as a judge:

"In the past, God overlooked such ignorance; but now he is commanding all people everywhere to turn to him from their sins. For he has set a Day when he will judge the inhabited world, and do it justly, by means of a man whom he has designated. And he has given public proof of it by resurrecting this man from the dead." (Act 17:30-31 CJB)

Isaiah describes the type of justice provided by Messiah at the end of times:

The Spirit of Adonai will rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and fearing Adonai --he will be inspired by fearing Adonai. He will not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but he will judge the impoverished justly; he will decide fairly for the humble of the land. He will strike the land with a rod from his mouth and slay the wicked with a breath from his lips. (Isa 11:2-4 CJB)

THE JUSTICE OF THE KING
Our Aftara has a passage that exemplifies the type of justice described by Isaiah in the Messianic Age. The written records tell us that:

There came to the king two women who were prostitutes. After presenting themselves to him, one of the women said, "My lord, I and this woman live in the same house; and when she was in the house, I gave birth to a baby. Three days after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were there together; there was no one else with us in the house except the two of us. During the night this woman's child died, because she rolled over on top of it. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from next to me, while your servant was sleeping, and put it in her arms; and she laid her dead child in my arms. When I awoke in the morning to feed my child from my breast, there it was, dead. But when I took a closer look later in the morning, why, it wasn't my son at all -- not the one I gave birth to!" (1Ki 3:16-21 CJB)

The king listened carefully to the first woman's account of the event, then allowed the second woman to make her defense:

The other woman broke in, "No! The living one is my son, and the dead one is your son!" The first one said, "No! The dead one is your son and the living one is my son!" This is how they spoke in the presence of the king. (1Ki 3:22 CJB)

The king wisely reiterated what he heard to make sure all the details of the case were clear to him:

Then the king said, "This woman says, 'The living one is my son; your son is the dead one'; while the other says, 'No, the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.' (1Ki 3:23 CJB)

At its best, this is a case of "she said-she said!" There were no witnesses. What will the king do? The wise king did exactly what Isaiah would describe as messianic justice a few hundred years later. A justice that:

...will be inspired by fearing Adonai. He will not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but he will judge the impoverished justly; he will decide fairly for the humble of the land. He will strike the land with a rod from his mouth and slay the wicked with a breath from his lips. (Isa 11:3-4 CJB)

Unable to get the lying party to tell the truth, the king then takes the only weapon that is able to bring the truth out--the sword described by the writer of the book of Hebrews:

The Word of God ... sharper than any double-edged sword -- it cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow, and it is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart. (Heb 4:12 CJB)

Sitting on his throne, his sword is not at his side, so Shlomo asks for one to be given to him:

Bring me a sword," said the king. They brought a sword to the king. The king said, "Cut the living child in two; give half to the one and half to the other."

It did the trick!

At this, the woman to whom the living child belonged addressed the king, because she felt so strongly toward her son: "Oh, my lord, give her the living child; you mustn't kill it!" But the other one said, "It will be neither yours nor mine. Divide it up!" (1Ki 3:24-26 CJB)

The wise king gives his verdict.

Then the king answered, "Give the living child to the first woman, don't kill it, because she is its mother." All Isra'el heard of the decision the king had made and held the king in awe, for they saw that God's wisdom was in him, enabling him to render justice properly. (1Ki 3:28 CJB)

THE JUSTICE OF MESSIAH
The reign of Messiah will be a time of reckoning. It will be like a giant justice audit for all people, from all generations. At that time, those who put their trust in HaShem that revenge was His will have their day in court with the King of kings, Judge of all the earth. He will wield the sword that is sharper than any double-edged sword which cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow, and is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart for justice that will not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but he will judge the impoverished justly; but will decide fairly for the humble of the land. He will strike the land with a rod from his mouth and slay the wicked with a breath from his lips. (Hebrews 4, Isaiah 11)

CONNECTION WITH THE PARASHA
As we have just read, this aftara uses the establishment of Shlomo as King over Israel to foreshadow the establishment of Messiah over the whole world through His wise judgment at the second coming. This idea comes as a companion to the parasha that tells us of Joseph's establishment over Egypt through His wise judgment (Gen 41:41). Thus, with the parasha and the aftara, we have Messiah ben Joseph, and Messiah ben David.

King Shlomo was king over all Isra'el, (1Ki 4:1 CJB)

A NOTE FROM RABBI GABRIEL
Before His temporary departure from the physical realm of man, Yeshua told His disciples, and thereby all those who decide to disciple after Him, "What I am leaving with you is shalom -- I am giving you my shalom. I don't give the way the world gives. Don't let yourselves be upset or frightened. (Joh 14:27 CJB).

In Matthew 24, He even told His disciples that when they see all the signs of the endtimes, they should not worry (Mat 24:6). Having therefore given us His peace, He also gave us the commandment to not worry nor be frightened by these things.
I have noticed that in spite of this gifting of peace, and of this command not to be frightened or worried, many of us these days tend to let that Yeshua-promised-and-given peace be stolen by giving heed to messages of both truth and lies. True there are worrisome things happening today, and true there are some people intent on using them for their own agendas. The truth is that it is not new, it has always been happening, it is just more propagated now in our days when information is more widely available.
At the end of the day, (or the Day!), we do own the promise of peace and we have been given the commandment not to worry.

MAY WE NOT LET THE GRINCH STEAL OUR PEACE FROM US.

MAY WE HOLD ON TO "HIS PEACE!"
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HAFTARAH VAYESHEV  Sing, Daughter of Zion!

12/2/2021

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רני ושׂמחי בת־ציון כי הנני־בא ושׁכנתי בתוכך נאם־יהוה׃ 
(2:14) "Sing, daughter of Tziyon; rejoice! For, here, I am coming; and I will live among you," says Adonai.
(Zec 2:10 CJB)

PARASHA VAYESHEV BEFORE CHANUKAH
On the years when par'shat Vayeshev coincides with Chanukah, the haftara for that week relates the oil menorah in the Zechariah prophecy. In that oracle, Zechariah speaks of the time of the building and dedication of the second Temple, replacing the first Temple that had been burned by the Babylonians.

This period in time carries strong resemblance with the rededication of that same second Temple after it had been defiled by the Greeks. The similarity between the two events is the reason why the sages of Israel chose this passage to be read at Chanukah.

Zachariah was a priest at the time of the return from Babylon. His prophecies speak of the reestablishment of Jerusalem, the Temple, the priesthood, and the monarchy. In his time, not too much unlike today, the Jewish nation struggled to keep a foothold in the Promised land. Two prominent figures appear in the oracle: Joshua the High Priest and Zerubbabel, the heir of the Davidic monarchy.

"REJOICE, I AM COMING!"
The oracle starts with a rallying cry for Jerusalem:

(2:14) "Sing, daughter of Tziyon; rejoice!

A prophecy follows about HaShem's presence returning to the people:

For, here, I am coming; and I will live among you," says Adonai.
(Zec 2:10 CJB)

The Temple was built, the very Temple that became the place where the Master revealed Himself to his people. That revelation brought the Gentiles to join with Israel as covenant people:

(2:15) When that time comes, many nations will join themselves to Adonai. "They will be my people, and I will live among you." Then you will know that it was Adonai-Tzva'ot who sent me to you.
(Zec 2:11 CJB)

(2:16) Adonai will take possession of Y'hudah as his portion in the holy land, and he will again make Yerushalayim his choice.
(Zec 2:12 CJB)

May it be soon HaShem, even in our days.

(2:17) Be silent, all humanity, before Adonai; for he has been roused from his holy dwelling.' "
(Zec 2:13 CJB)

Then all the people on the earth will be silenced and give you glory!

THE ACCUSER ACCUSED
HaShem continues leading Zechariah in the oracle. The prophet sees the current high-priest in soiled garments being harassed by the HaSatan.

In this vision, Joshua represents the Judean community in its sinful state, a sinful condition that HaSatan is all too happy to point out to HaShem, as he always does in his role of prosecutor-in-chief (the Accuser of the Saints). Adonai then accuses the Accuser:

He showed me Y'hoshua the cohen hagadol standing before the angel of Adonai, with the Accuser [Hebrew: Satan] standing at his right to accuse him.Adonai said to the Accuser, "May Adonai rebuke you, Accuser! Indeed, may Adonai, who has made Yerushalayim his choice, rebuke you! Isn't this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?"Y'hoshua was clothed in garments covered with dung; and he was standing before the angel,
(Zec 3:1-3 CJB)

For the sake of His great compassion, HaShem restores Jerusalem:

who said to those standing in front of him, "Take those filthy garments off of him." Then to him he said, "See, I am taking your guilt away. I will clothe you in fine robes."I said, "They should put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and gave him fine robes to wear, while the angel of Adonai stood by.
(Zec 3:4-5 CJB)

HaShem gives His admonition to restored Judah:

Then the angel of Adonai gave Y'hoshua this warning:"Adonai-Tzva'ot says this: 'If you will walk in my ways, obey my commission, judge my house and guard my courtyards; then I will give you free access among these who are standing here.
(Zec 3:6-7 CJB)

This post-Babylonian exile restoration of Judah by HaShem's mercy becomes a sign that a greater messianic restoration is on its way through the One called, "the Branch", the Messiah. His name on earth will be Yeshua, which is an Aramaic colloquial version of the name Joshua.

Listen, cohen gadol Y'hoshua, both you and your colleagues seated here before you, because these men are a sign that I am going to bring my servant Tzemach [Sprout].For look at the stone I have put in front of Y'hoshua: on one stone are seven eyes; I will engrave what is to be written on it,' says Adonai-Tzva'ot; 'and I will remove the guilt of this land in one day.
(Zec 3:8-9 CJB)

This time will be a precursor to the peace and abundance of the promised Messianic Era.

When that time comes,' says Adonai-Tzva'ot, 'you will all invite each other to join you under your vines and fig trees.' "
(Zec 3:10 CJB)

A MESSIANIC MENORAH
The angel that was speaking to Zechariah continues with the messianic oracle. He shows Zechariah a vision using the Temple menorah, an intricate menorah with tubes feeding it oil coming from two olive trees flanked at its sides.

Then the angel that had been speaking with me returned and roused me, as if he were waking someone up from being asleep, and asked me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I've been looking at a menorah; it's all of gold, with a bowl at its top, seven lamps on it, and seven tubes leading to the lamps at its top. Next to it are two olive trees, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left."
(Zec 4:1-3 CJB)

Zechariah wants to know, what is the meaning of the vision?

I then asked the angel speaking with me, "What are these, my Lord?" The angel speaking with me said, "Don't you know what these are?" I said, "No, my Lord."
(Zec 4:4-5 CJB)

The vision is a prophetic representation of the return of Israel's existence with its Levitical priesthood and Davidic monarchy. A mountain of obstacles stands before this beautiful realization. The angel then gives Zachariah the admonition that this vision will not be accomplished by the strength of man, but by the work of the Spirit of HaShem:

Then he answered me, "This is the word of Adonai to Z'rubavel: 'Not by force, and not by power, but by my Spirit,' says Adonai-Tzva'ot. 'What are you, you big mountain? Before Z'rubavel you will become a plain; and he will put the capstone in place, as everyone shouts, "It's beautiful! Beautiful!" '
(Zec 4:6-7 CJB)

ANOTHER REDEDICATION, IN THE FUTURE
Chanukah tells us of another time when HaShem mightily worked through His people to reestablish the Jerusalem Temple that will less than 200 years later receive the "Branch", Yeshua the Messiah. He came to teach us to let go of our pride; of our rebellious individualistic and selfish attitudes: of our baseless hatred that caused the destruction of the both the first and second Temples: that we may learn to live by the Torah that He teaches us. He came to tell us to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, the one that comes,

"Not by force, and not by power, but by my Spirit,' says Adonai-Tzva'ot.

At the time of the end, may we be there for the Chanukah of all Chanukahs, for the Dedication of all Dedications, the Dedication of the 3rd Temple in the presence of our Yeshua our Master, Priest and King of Israel.

​R' Gabriel Lumbroso
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HAFTARAH VAYISHELACH    וישלח   "Until I Come Unto Seir!"

11/16/2021

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וירשׁו הנגב את־הר עשׂו 

Those in the Negev will repossess the mountain of `Esav...
(Obadiah 1:19 CJB)
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​UNTIL PARASHA VAYISHELACH...
Jacob's return to the Land is met with countless opposition:
  1. Laban tries to find fault with Jacob. Jacob convicts Laban of wrong.
  2. Jacob has to wrestle with an angelic being that leaves him crippled in his thigh.
  3. Esau comes toward Jacob with a 400-man armed to the teeth. Jacob wins Esau's heart with gifts and humility, prostrating himself begging for forgiveness.
The conversation goes this way:

Then he [Jacob) himself passed on ahead of them and prostrated himself on the ground seven times before approaching his brother. `Esav ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him; and they wept. Esav looked up; on seeing the women and children, he asked, "Who are these with you?" Ya`akov answered, "The children God has graciously given to your servant." Then the slave-girls approached with their children, and they prostrated themselves; Le'ah too and her children approached and prostrated themselves; and last came Yosef and Rachel; and they prostrated themselves. `Esav asked, "What was the meaning of this procession of droves I encountered?" and he answered, "It was to win my lord's favor." `Esav replied, "I have plenty already; my brother, keep your possessions for yourself." Ya`akov said, "No, please! If now I have won your favor, then accept my gift. Just seeing your face has been like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me. So please accept the gift I have brought you, for God has dealt kindly with me and I have enough." Thus he urged him, until he accepted it.

Esau then extends an invitation:

`Esav said, "Let's break camp and get going. I'll go first." Ya`akov said to him, "My lord knows that the children are small, and the sheep and cattle suckling their young concern me, because if they overdrive them even one day, all the flocks will die. Instead, please, let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the cattle ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Se`ir." 
(Gen 33:3-14 CJB)

Later, we are told:

Ya`akov went on to Sukkot, where he built himself a house and put up shelters for his cattle. This is why the place is called Sukkot [shelters]. (Gen 33:17 CJB)

Jacob never intended to go live with Esau in Edom, Mt Seir. Did Jacob lie? The Haftara this week may give us an answer.

The Haftara this week is the whole book of Obadiah. One chapter, 21 verses. The prophecy of Obadiah could be summed up as: What goes around, comes around.

"WE HEARD A MESSAGE..."?

This is the vision of `Ovadyah. Here is what Adonai Elohim says about Edom. As a messenger was being sent among the nations saying, "Come on, let's attack her," we heard a message from Adonai: (Oba 1:1 CJB)

Who is "we?" Nine different prophets spoke of the destruction of Edom. (Click HERE for more info) Balaam, Isaiah, Joel, Amos, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, and David in the Psalms. Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah were contemporary to Amos.
Obadiah draws from the prophecies of his contemporaries, especially from Jeremiah. I will put some examples here. Though the English doesn't compare, the original Hebrew text from the bold font are the same.

Both Obadiah and Jeremiah mention about Edom's conceited vision of herself and how HaShem will make them small among the nations. Any nation with that kind of pride is doomed to destruction.

This is the vision of `Ovadyah. Here is what Adonai Elohim says about Edom. As a messenger was being sent among the nations saying, "Come on, let's attack her," we heard a message from Adonai: ומו ונקומה עליה למלחמה  (Oba 1:1 CJB)

I have heard a message from Adonai: "A messenger is sent among the nations, saying: 'Gather together, and march against her! Prepare for battle!'  וקומו למלחמה  (Jer 49:14 CJB)

"I am making you the least of all nations, you will be beneath contempt.  קטן נתתיך בגוים  (Oba 1:2 CJB)

Here! I will make you least among nations, the most despised of people. קטן נתתיך בגוים  (Jer 49:15 CJB)

Your proud heart has deceived you, you whose homes are caves in the cliffs [Allusion to Petra), who live on the heights and say to yourselves, 'Who can bring me down to the ground?' If you make your nest as high as an eagle's, even if you place it among the stars, I will bring you down from there." says Adonai. 
(Oba 1:3-4 CJB)

Here! I will make you least among nations, the most despised of people. Your capacity to terrorize has deceived you and made you arrogant. You make your home in the rocky crags and seize the top of the mountain (Allusion to Petra); but even if you build your nest high as an eagle's, from there I will drag you down," says Adonai. 
(Jer 49:15-16 CJB)

HASHEM USES OTHER NATIONS TO MAKE WARS AGAINST EDOM. Even former allies turn against Edom!

Again, we see the common thread between Jeremiah and Obadiah:

If thieves were to come to you, or if robbers by night (Oh, how destroyed you are!), wouldn't they stop when they'd stolen enough? If grape-pickers came to you (see Jer 49:9), Wouldn't they leave some grapes for gleaning? But see how `Esav has been looted, their secret treasures searched out! Your allies went with you only to the border, those at peace with you deceived and defeated you, those who ate your food set a trap for you, and you couldn't discern it. (Oba 1:5-7 CJB)

EDOM ONCE PROTECTED
In the past, HaShem had ordered Israel against the destruction of Edom. Edom was protected because he is from the seed of Abraham.

(23:8) "But you are not to detest an Edomi, because he is your brother; and you are not to detest an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land. (23:9) The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of Adonai. (Deut 23:7-8 CJB)

But now, the destruction of Edom is pronounced:

"When that Day comes," says Adonai, "won't I destroy all the wise men of Edom and leave no discernment on Mount `Esav? Your warriors, Teman, will be so distraught that everyone on Mount `Esav will be slaughtered. (Oba 1:8-9 CJB)


EDOM LOOSE ITS DIVINE PROTECTION...WHY?
Nations made war against Israel but if Edom made war against Israel, he was doubly guilty because they were brothers and brothers are supposed to "keep" each other, not join enemies against each other.

For the violence done to your kinsman Ya`akov, shame will cover you; and you will be forever cut off. (Oba 1:10 CJB)

When Babylon came to burn Jerusalem and its Temple, when they brought the captives of Judah away, Edom had a drinking party on the Temple Mount, they drank a toast to the destruction of Jerusalem.

On that day you stood aside, while strangers carried off his treasure, and foreigners entered his gates to cast lots for Yerushalayim -- you were no different from them.
(Oba 1:11 CJB)

Gloating over the demise of your enemy is forbidden in the Torah (Prov 24:15).

You shouldn't have gloated over your kinsman on their day of disaster or rejoiced over the people of Y'hudah on their day of destruction. You shouldn't have spoken arrogantly on a day of trouble (Oba 1:12 CJB)

Edom shouldn't have joined in the looting of Jerusalem.

...Or entered the gate of my people on their day of calamity -- no, you shouldn't have gloated over their suffering on their day of calamity or laid hands on their treasure on their day of calamity. (Oba 1:13 CJB)

Like Amalek when Israel came out of Egypt, they preyed on the weak fugitives.

You shouldn't have stood at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives or handed over their survivors on a day of trouble." (Oba 1:14 CJB)

Because of all these things, divine protection is gone. Edom will be punished even heavier than all the other nations that came against Israel.

What goes around, comes around!

For the Day of Adonai is near for all nations; as you did, it will be done to you; your dealings will come back on your own head. For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so will all the nations drink in turn; yes, they will drink and gulp it down and be as if they had never existed. (Oba 1: 15-16 CJB)

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS?
This teaches us some very important lessons.

Edom was supposed to see itself at least as a brother to Israel. Instead of that, it turned against Israel, joining the enemies of his brother. In the same manner, those who had made peace treaties with Edom now turn against him.

While we may have disputes with family members, we should always remember that they are family members, whether biological or spiritual! HaShem expects us to act as such and when we don't, He visits us!

Also, we can learn that what goes around, comes around!
Sometime we may wonder why what happens to us does happen to us.

Sometimes we may wonder why people treat us a certain way.

Sometimes we may wonder why people are selfish or indifferent to us.

Maybe we are reaping what we have sown.

Maybe it is the bread that we have cast upon the waters that is returning to us.

Maybe we need to start looking at how we have treated others.

Just a lesson from Edom to think about!

THE END OF THE STORY
A remnant escapes.

But on Mount Tziyon there will be a holy remnant who will escape, and the house of Ya`akov will repossess their rightful inheritance. (Oba 1:17 CJB)

Reversal of fortunes. This time, Jacob will be the fire and Edom will be like hay and stubble. The house of Esau will eventually disappear.

The house of Ya`akov will be a fire and the house of Yosef a flame, setting aflame and consuming the stubble which is the house of `Esav. None of the house of `Esav will remain, for Adonai has spoken. (Oba 1:18 CJB)

JACOB GOES TO MT. SEIR, AS HE SAID HE WILL IN THE PARASHA, IN GENESIS 33:14
At the end of times, exiles as far as France and Spain will return and take possession of the cities of the Negev. These people living in the Negev will take possession of the Mountain of Esau.

Those in the Negev will repossess the mountain of `Esav, and those in the Sh'felah the land of the P'lishtim; they will repossess the field of Efrayim and the field of Shomron, and Binyamin will occupy Gil`ad. Those from this army of the people of Isra'el exiled among the Kena`anim as far away as Tzarfat, and the exiles from Yerushalayim in S'farad, will repossess the cities in the Negev. (Oba 1:19-20 CJB)

Even today, there are Sephardic Jews dwelling in the Negev communities. Eventually, Mount Zion rules over Mount Esau.

Then the victorious will ascend Mount Tziyon to rule over Mount `Esav, but the kingship will belong to Adonai. (Oba 1:21 CJB)


TALMUDIC NOTE:
Jewish midrash and eschatology always associates Edom with Rome as well as the embodiment of any enemy of Israel. This last verse of Obadiah therefore is often interpreted as the coming of Messiah.
       ​MAY IT BE SOON, EVEN IN OUR DAYS!S\
HABBAT SHALOM
R' GABRIEL LUMBROSO
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November 15th, 2021

11/15/2021

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Every verse has two references. The first one is the reference according to Tanach, the second one according to the CJB.

PARASHA CONNECTION IN GENESIS 29

(12:13) Ya`akov fled to the land of Aram. There Isra'el slaved to win a wife; for a wife he tended sheep. (Hos 12:12 CJB)

CONTEXT FOR HOSEA'S PROPHECY
HaShem recalls His goodness as he rescues Israel from Egypt through Moshe's hand.

(12:14) By a prophet Adonai brought Isra'el up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was protected. (Hos 12:13 CJB)

The word "Israel" carries many imageries that Hosea plays on.
Throughout the biblical text, it may mean:
  1. Jacob as a person whose name was changed to Israel.
  2. The nation of Israel as the descendants of Jacob through his sons (and grandsons Ephrayim and Manasseh).
  3. The Northern Kingdom after the secession of the the country in the time of Jeroboam the 1st.


At the time of Hosea, the meaning was of the northern kingdom, which was also called "Ephrayim" after the name of the most populous and southernest state of the northern kingdom.
At that time, in order to keep the loyalty and financial offerings of the ten northern tribes, Jeroboam created a tweaked form of Judaism. Instead of giving their tithes and offerings in the southern kingdom of Jerusalem as HaShem had commanded, Jeroboam created two new altars in the north. He also changed the dates of the fall festivals from the seventh month to the eight month (1 Kings 12:25-33).
The northern kingdom also allied itself with Syria in a war against Jerusalem, the southern kingdom.
All this was done in direct disobedience and defiance of HaShem's order. Hosea exposes this hypocrisy. (I use the word "hypocrisy" because though it appeared to be an attempt at obedience, it actually defied HaShem's commandments as it tried to adapt them to the politics of the day.)

HASHEM'S WORDS TOWARDS EPHRAYIM/NORTHERN KINGDOM THROUGH HOSEA

(12:15) Efrayim has given bitter provocation, so the penalty for his bloodshed will be thrown down on him, and his Lord will repay him for his insult. (Hos 12:14 CJB)

In previous times, the tribe of Ephrayim was very powerful

"When Efrayim spoke, there was trembling; he was a power in Isra'el. But when he incurred guilt through Ba`al, he died. (Hos 13:1 CJB)

But their disobedience caused by a politic of division and hate towards their brothers of the southern kingdom caused them to fall into idolatry/the works of their own hands:

So now they keep adding sin to sin, casting images from their silver; idols they invent for themselves, all of them the work of craftsmen. 'Sacrifice to them,' they say. Men give kisses to calves! (Hos 13:2 CJB)

Hosea prophecies of HaShem's punishment on the lands of the northern kingdom.

Therefore they will be like a morning cloud, like the dew that disappears early, like chaff blown by wind from the threshing-floor, or like smoke that goes out the window. (Hos 13:3 CJB)

HaShem's tells Ephrayim to remember their first love; to remember all HaShem has done for them as he carried them in His arms when he brought them out of Egypt.

Still, I am Adonai your God, from the land of Egypt; and you don't know any God but me or, other than me, any Savior. I knew you in the desert, in a land of terrible drought. When they were fed, they were satisfied; when satisfied, they became proud. Therefore they forgot me. (Hos 13:4-6 CJB)

PUNISHMENT THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES
HaShem announces His punishment, a punishment that will be recorded in the prophecies of Daniel as well as in history books.

So now I have become like a lion to them; like a leopard I will lurk by the road; (Hos 13:7 CJB)

I will meet them like a bear whose cubs have been taken away. I will tear their hearts from their bodies. I will devour them there like a lion, like a wild animal ripping them up. (Hos 13:8 CJB)

This part of Hosea's prophecy is explained to us in the prophecies of Daniel 2, 7, and 8, which describes the four empires that will invade Israel.
  1. LION: Babylon
  2. BEAR: Medo-Persia
  3. LEOPARD: Greece
  4. LION LIKE A WILD ANIMAL: Rome


(Click HERE for a video link to the Daniel 2 prophecy)

The following texts tell us more about the punishment Israel/the Northern Kingdom incurs for its defiant disobedience.

It is your destruction, Isra'el, although your help is in me. So now, where is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are your judges, of whom you said, 'Give me a king and leaders'? I gave you a king in my anger; and in my fury I took him away. "Efrayim's guilt has been wrapped up, his sin is stored away. The pain of being born will come to him; but he is an unwise son. The time has come; and he shouldn't delay, there at the mouth of the womb. (Hos 13:9-13 CJB)

REDEMPTION?
HaShem considers mercy through a ransoming, redeeming option. A ransoming, redemptive option speaks of Messiah!

Should I ransom them from the power of Sh'ol?
Should I redeem them from death?
Where are your plagues, death;
where is your destruction, Sh'ol?
My eyes are closed to compassion.
(Hos 13:14 CJB)

Israel has to bear its guilt. As Paul reminds us in Romans 6:23, sin carries a price! How can HaShem be said to be a just God if the price for justice is not met?

For though he flourishes among the reeds, an east wind will come, a wind from Adonai, blowing up from the desert. Then his water source will dry up, then his spring will fail -- it will plunder his treasury, removing every precious thing."
Shomron will bear her guilt, for she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, their little ones will be dashed to pieces and their pregnant women ripped open. (Hos 13: 15-16 CJB)

REDEMPTION CAN BE APPLIED BUT NOT WITHOUT REPENTANCE
HaShem pleads with His people:

(14:2) Return, Isra'el, to Adonai your God, for your guilt has made you stumble. (Hos 14:1 CJB)

Sincere repenting words would suffice to move HaShem's heart:

(14:3) Take words with you, and return to Adonai; say to him, "Forgive all guilt, and accept what is good; we will pay instead of bulls [the offerings of] our lips. (Hos 14:2 CJB)

Israel has to see that even all the gods of Assyria with whom it previously allied could not save her. Israel has to repent from the "works of its hands", of its own political maneuvering on which it leaned for protection.

(14:4) Ashur will not save us, we will not ride on horses, and we will no longer call what we made with our hands our gods. For it is only in you that the fatherless can find mercy." (Hos 14:3 CJB)

PROPHECY OF REDEMPTION
HaShem promises a redemption of His own doing:

(14:5) "I will heal their disloyalty, I will love them freely; for my anger has turned from him. I will be like dew to Isra'el; he will blossom like a lily and strike roots like the L'vanon. His branches will spread out, his beauty be like an olive tree and his fragrance like the L'vanon. Again they will live in his shade and raise grain; they will blossom like a vine, and its aroma will be like the wine of the L'vanon. Efrayim [will say], 'What have I to do any more with idols?' And I, I answer and affirm him; I am like a fresh, green cypress tree; your fruitfulness comes from me." (Hos 14:4-8 CJB)

​A CONCLUSION AND LESSON FOR US ALL ... TODAY!!!!

Let the wise understand these things,
and let the discerning know them.
For the ways of Adonai are straight,
And the righteous walk in them,
but in them sinners stumble.
(Hosea 14:9 CJB)
R' GABRIEL LUMBROSO
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HAFTARA TOLDOT  "Yet, I Have Loved Ya'akov!"

11/15/2021

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THE RATIONALE BEHIND HASHEM'S LOVE FOR US​
HaShem has a few things to talk with Israel about, but first he reminds them that His love for them was never because they were the most beautiful, most numerous, or most obedient. They ask for a rationale ofHis love for them and HaShem gives it to them. It is the same rationale for us today!

"I love you," says Adonai. But you ask, "How do you show us your love?" Adonai answers, " `Esav was Ya`akov's brother. Yet I loved Ya`akov but hated `Esav.(Mal 1:2-3 CJB)

HaShem shows His love by loving us just because, as is His uncontestable prerogative as God of the universe, as he also said through Moshe:

"I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce the name of Adonai. Moreover, I show favor to whomever I will, and I display mercy to whomever I will.
(Exo 33:19 CJB)

Adonai didn't set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people - on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples. Rather, it was because Adonai loved you, and because he wanted to keep the oath which he had sworn to your ancestors, that Adonai brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from a life of slavery under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deu 7:7-8 CJB)

"WHERE IS THE HONOR DUE TO ME?"
In prayers, HaShem is often called, "Avinu; Our Father." He is wondering where is the honor due to that name:

"A son honors his father and a servant his master. But if I'm a father, where is the honor due me? and if I'm a master, where is the respect due me? -- says Adonai-Tzva'ot to you cohanim who despise my name. (Mal 1:6 CJB)

This sounds like an earlier version of Yeshua's words:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that Day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we expel demons in your name? Didn't we perform many miracles in your name?' Then I will tell them to their faces, 'I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!'  (Mat 7:21-23 CJB)

In judicial style, HaShem exposes the issue, asks the questions, and gives the answer.

Where is the respect due me? -- says Adonai-Tzva'ot to you cohanim who despise my name. You ask, 'How are we despising your name?' (Mal 1:6 CJB)

WAYS THAT ISRAEL DESPISED THE NAME OF HASHEM

You ask, 'How are we despising your name?' Mal 1:6 CJB)

HaShem answers the question he wishes Israel would ask:

By offering polluted food on my altar! (Mal 1:7 CJB)

It is important here to understand that although HaShem has issues with Israel despising His Name, Israel has no clue about what they are doing wrong. They apparently go through the motions of what they think is right and proper, but which is an abomination to HaShem.
It is similar to a child or a teenager showing disrespect to his parents and then wondering why they are upset at his or her behavior. As we read this text, we need to ask ourselves, "Am I really pleasing HaShem? Do I need to reevaluate what I think is right in His eyes?" Because Israel cannot ask itself that question, HaShem asks it for them in the mouth of the prophet who says through HaShem's Spirit:

'How are we polluting you?' By saying that the table of Adonai doesn't deserve respect; (Mal 1:7 CJB)

HaShem is hinting at the offerings being brought to the altar.
Israel keeps religious services and probably feels very good about themselves but with one little compromise at a time, the quality of service offered to HaShem has been devalued to a point that it means nothing. Again, we also need to reevaluate our service and offerings. HaShem gives us the details:

...so that there's nothing wrong with offering a blind animal as a sacrifice, nothing wrong with offering an animal that's lame or sick. Try offering such an animal to your governor, and see if he will be pleased with you! Would he even receive you?" asks Adonai-Tzva'ot. (Mal 1:8 CJB)

OFFERINGS THAT HASHEM REFUSES
In this passage, HaShem chides Israel for bring to the altar the animals that are lame and sick; the animals that are not worth very much, thus doing the opposite of what David said:

"I refuse to offer to Adonai my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." (2Sa 24:24 CJB)

I heard it said one time, "Giving doesn't count till it hurts."

Yeshua reminds us of this principle concerning giving in the following records from Mark:

Then Yeshua sat down opposite the Temple treasury and watched the crowd as they put money into the offering-boxes. Many rich people put in large sums, but a poor widow came and put in two small coins. He called his talmidim to him and said to them, "Yes! I tell you, this poor widow has put more in the offering-box than all the others making donations. For all of them, out of their wealth, have contributed money they can easily spare; but she, out of her poverty, has given everything she had to live on."  (Mar 12:41-44 CJB)

Offerings refused by HaShem:
  • HaShem refused Cain's offering. We are not told why, but it seems that it insincere and even begrudging. (Gen 4:5)
  • Through Samuel, HaShem refused Saul's offering because it was done out of disobedience, pride, and dishonest gain. (1 Sam 13)
  • Yeshua tells us that our offerings are not acceptable unless we first make peace with our brother who has an issue with us. (Mat 5:23-24)

There is probably more, but these are some examples.

WAYS WE CAN DESPISE HASHEM'S NAME
Today, of course, we do not go to an altar to offer an animal to HaShem. We do our service in the form of teaching, leading, and serving people, dedicating daily time for devotion and study. How does this apply, then?
  • When we serve, do we do it cheerfully as he serves us?
  • When we teach, do we do it patiently as he teaches us?
  • Do we give HaShem the prime of our time, or the leftovers, if we have any?
  • Do we begrudge the menial forms of service, wishing we didn't have to do it, or do we find glory in knowing that we serve the Kingdom of God?
  • Do we go above and beyond, or do we just do the minimum?


We serve HaShem as we serve His people:
  • Are we proud with people or meek like the Master?
  • Are we willing to take the lower seat so that they will feel elevated, just like Yeshua did ... and does with us?
  • Are we willing to take the blame in order to preserve a relationship or to save the pride of another, just as Yeshua did and does with us?


These are hard things to do, but they are the gold within our soul, a gold that we put on the altar for Him.

HOW HASHEM LOOKS AT OUR UNWORTHY OFFERINGS

So if you pray now that God will show us favor, what your actions have accomplished is that Adonai-Tzva'ot asks, "Will he receive any of you? Why doesn't even one of you shut the doors and thus stop this useless lighting of fires on my altar? I take no pleasure in you," says Adonai-Tzva'ot, "and I will not receive an offering from you. (Mal 1:9-10 CJB)

Then, like Yeshua does in the parable of the Good Samaritan, HaShem tells Israel that His name is more honored by the gentiles by than by His own people.

For from farthest east to farthest west my name is great among the nations. Offerings are presented to my name everywhere, pure gifts; for my name is great among the nations," says Adonai-Tzva'ot. "But you profane it by saying that the table of Adonai is polluted, so that the fruit and food offered deserve contempt. (Mal 1:11-12 CJB)

HaShem accuses Israel of begrudgingly serving, feeling like , "Oh, it's too much work!"

You also say, 'It's all so tiresome!' and sniff scornfully at it," says Adonai-Tzva'ot. "Then you bring animals that were taken by violence, or they are lame or sick. This is the sort of offering you bring. Am I supposed to accept this from you?" asks Adonai. (Mal 1:13 CJB)

HaShem then pronounces a curse on those who minimize service to HaShem so it doesn't "cost" so much.

"Moreover, cursed is the deceiver who has a male animal in his flock that is damaged, but vows and sacrifices to Adonai anyway. For I am a great king," says Adonai-Tzva'ot, "and my name is respected among the nations. (Mal 1:14 CJB)

THE BOOK OF MALACHI
The whole Book of Malachi is a list of corrections. Could some of those be applied to us today?
  • The priests who had been ordained by HaShem to lead the people in righteousness were responsible for the spiritual decay of the country. They had become debased mercenaries to such a level that the word "priest" was a contempt among the people. (Mal 2:5-7)
  • Divorces were rampant because the people of Judah wanted to marry idol worshipping foreigners. (Mal 2:10-16)
  • Looking at the seeming material success of idolaters and feeling there is no use in serving HaShem. (Mat 2:17)
  • Israel practiced sorcery, perjury, and idolatry. (Mal 3:5)
  • Israel had no regard for the plight of the poor to whom it lended money for interest, a despicable practice in the sight of God (Ps 15:5) (Mal 3:5).
  • Israel robbed God as it was dishonest with its tithes. (Mal 3:8)​


COULD IT BE SAID TODAY, AS IT WAS OF ISRAEL OF THE PAST, THAT UNBELIEVERS, THOSE OF THE "NATIONS" HAVE MORE INTEGRITY, TRUTH, MERCY, AND A SENSE OF JUSTICE FOR THE FOREIGNER AND THE POOR THAN US?

MAY THESE WORDS HELP US EXAMINE OUR HEARTS.

R' GABRIEL LUMBROSO
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HAFTARAH CHAYEI SARAH             השקר המשיח; the false Messiah or, the Anti-Christ!

10/27/2021

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"ADVANCED IN YEARS ..."
The parasha introduced Abraham as "advanced in years." The haftarah introduces King David as "advanced in years." Though the CJB translation doesn't, the Hebrew uses the same wording for the phrase in both verses.

By now Avraham was old, advanced in years; and Adonai had blessed Avraham in everything. 
(Gen 24:1 CJB)

King David grew old, the years took their toll, and he couldn't get warm even when they covered him with bedclothes. (1Ki 1:1 CJB)

Succession Battle, Adonijah Stages a Coup!
David was sickly, ready to die. This provoked a succession crisis which Adonijah, one of the sons of King David, exploited. Adonijah was handsome and thus easily won the hearts of some of the people. Taking advantage of his father's sickness and thus thinking that no one was looking, he gathered to himself a retinue to go before him. Joab, David's military commander and Abiathar, David's priests became part of this retinue.

Adoniyah the son of Haggit was beginning to claim that he would be king; to this end he organized chariots and horsemen, with fifty men to run ahead of him. (His father had never in his life confronted him by asking, "Why are you behaving this way?" Moreover, he was a very handsome man; he was born next after Avshalom.) He conferred with Yo'av the son of Tz'ruyah and Evyatar the cohen; and they both supported Adoniyah. (1Ki 1:5-7 CJB)

Some others did not fall for Adonijah's attempts to steal the throne by taking advantage of his father's illness, but stayed loyal to David, whom HaShem had chosen.

But Tzadok the cohen, B'nayah the son of Y'hoyada, Natan the prophet, Shim`i, Re`i and David's elite guard were not on Adoniyah's side. (1Ki 1:8 CJB)

Adonijah went through all the religious, legal, and public motions of a bona-fide coronation. He also knew who not to invite so as not to be challenged.

One day Adoniyah killed sheep, oxen and fattened calves at the Stone of Zochelet, by `Ein-Rogel. He summoned all his brothers the king's sons, and all the men of Y'hudah the king's servants; but he did not summon Natan the prophet, B'nayah, the elite guard or Shlomo his brother. (1Ki 1:9-10 CJB)

CONNECTIONS WITH PARASHA
The parasha this week also brings us to Abraham, advanced in years and having to deal with his inheritance and a legitimate successor between his 8 children. His main successor was Isaac, who received the custody of the covenant along with the Land of Canaan The others received "gifts" as their inheritance.
Since that time, the descendants of the other children of Abraham have been in a battle with Isaac 's descendants called "The Middle-East Conflict," which is nothing more than a sibling rivalry between brothers over Abraham's inheritance.

Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. (2) She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. (3) Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. (4) The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. (5) Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. (6) But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country. (Gen 25:1-6 ESV)

BATHSHEBA (בת שבע, Daughter of the Oath) REMINDS DAVID, HER HUSBAND, OF HIS "OATH" TO HER

Natan went to Bat-Sheva the mother of Shlomo and said, "Haven't you heard that Adoniyah the son of Haggit has become king without the knowledge of David our lord? Now, come, please let me give you advice, so that you can save both your own life and that of your son Shlomo. Go, get in to see King David, and say to him, 'My lord, king, didn't you swear to your servant, "Your son Shlomo will be king after me; he will sit on my throne"? So why is Adoniyah king?' Right then, while you are still talking with the king, I will also come in after you and confirm what you are saying." Bat-Sheva went in to the king in his room. (The king was very old; Avishag the Shunamit was in attendance on the king.) Bat-Sheva bowed, prostrating herself to the king. The king asked, "What do you want?" She answered him, "My lord, you swore by Adonai your God to your servant, 'Your son Shlomo will be king after me; he will sit on my throne.' But now, here is Adoniyah ruling as king; and you, my lord the king, don't know anything about it. He has killed oxen, fattened calves and sheep in great numbers; and he has summoned all the sons of the king, Evyatar the cohen and Yo'av the commander of the army; but he didn't summon Shlomo your servant. (1Ki 1:11-19 CJB)

With the help of Nathan, the loyal prophet, Bathsheba pleads with the king to use his divine, God-given executive authority to rectify the situation in order to:

A: Fulfill the promise of the true heir of the kingdom
B: Avoid civil war

As for you, my lord the king, all Isra'el is watching you; they are waiting for you to tell them who is to sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. If you don't, then, when my lord the king sleeps with his ancestors, I and my son Shlomo will be considered criminals." Right then, while she was still talking with the king, Natan the prophet entered. They told the king, "Natan the prophet is here." After coming into the king's presence, he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. Natan said, "My lord king, did you say, 'Adoniyah is to be king after me; he will sit on my throne'? For he has gone down today and killed oxen, fattened calves and sheep in great numbers; and he has summoned all the king's sons, the commanders of the army and Evyatar the cohen; right now they are eating and drinking in his presence and proclaiming, 'Long live King Adoniyah!' But he didn't summon me your servant, or Tzadok the cohen, or B'nayah the son of Y'hoyada or your servant Shlomo. Is this authorized by my lord the king without your having told your servant who would sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?" (1Ki 1:20-27 CJB)

A STORY PORTENT TO THE FUTURE OF CUSTODY OF THE ABRAHAMIC PROMISES
From the time that Abraham established Isaac as his sole inheritor (Gen 25:5-6), stealing custody of the Abrahamic promises by his siblings has become the backdrop behind history's wars over the ownership of Jerusalem, and indeed, of antisemitism itself.
The rulings concerning the dividing of Abraham's inheritance amplified by the conspiracy by Adonijah to illegitimately steal the Davidic throne are portent to Jerusalem's last 2000 years historical conquests by different empires. The history of Jerusalem will culminate at the end of times, with a ruler in Talmudic traditions referred to as "Armilus" (in Hebrew ארמלוס, a cryptogram derived from רמאלוס Romulus, one of the founders of Rome, according to legend) and in the Brit Chadasha, the "Anti-Christ" (in Hebrew שקר משיח or, the Counterfeit Messiah/anti-Christ). Click HERE for more info on Armilus.
According to Jewish tradition and early messianic writings, this counterfeit Messiah will establish himself as ruler of the world from the throne in Jerusalem, thus stealing that position from Yeshua himself, the only legitimate Abrahamic and Davidic King of Jerusalem by divine mandate, seven years before his coronation on the Jerusalem throne at then end of times.

But a branch will emerge from the trunk of Yishai, a shoot will grow from his roots. The Spirit of Adonai will rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and fearing Adonai --he will be inspired by fearing Adonai. He will not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but he will judge the impoverished justly; he will decide fairly for the humble of the land. He will strike the land with a rod from his mouth and slay the wicked with a breath from his lips. (Isa 11:1-4 CJB)

But in connection with the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our gathering together to meet him, we ask you, brothers, not to be easily shaken in your thinking or anxious because of a spirit or a spoken message or a letter supposedly from us claiming that the Day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way. For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah has been revealed, the one destined for doom. He will oppose himself to everything that people call a god or make an object of worship; he will put himself above them all, so that he will sit in the Temple of God and proclaim that he himself is God. Don't you remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is restraining, so that he may be revealed in his own time. For already this separating from Torah is at work secretly, but it will be secretly only until he who is restraining is out of the way. Then the one who embodies separation from Torah will be revealed, the one whom the Lord Yeshua will slay with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the glory of his coming. When this man who avoids Torah comes, the Adversary will give him the power to work all kinds of false miracles, signs and wonders. He will enable him to deceive, in all kinds of wicked ways, those who are headed for destruction because they would not receive the love of the truth that could have saved them. This is why God is causing them to go astray, so that they will believe the Lie. The result will be that all who have not believed the truth, but have taken their pleasure in wickedness, will be condemned. (2Th 2:1-12 CJB)

The HaftaraH continues by telling us how King David foiled the conspiracy and set his legitimate successor upon his throne in Jerusalem: Solomon.

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS STORY?
This story is a detailed foreshadow of end time events. Indeed, the messianic story culminates with HaShem setting His own legitimate king, Yeshua, on the Jerusalem throne, to rule with a rod of iron over the world from Jerusalem, but not before a counterfeit Messiah called the Anti-Christ tries to steal that throne while "nobody's looking," or so he thinks.

History has been plagued with would-be messiahs and prophets. Gamaliel makes mention of some to Saul in his days. Our contemporary times are no exceptions. 

But one of the members of the Sanhedrin rose to his feet, a Parush named Gamli'el, a teacher of the Torah highly respected by all the people. He ordered the men put outside for a little while and then addressed the court: "Men of Isra'el, take care what you do to these people. Some time ago, there was a rebellion under Todah, who claimed to be somebody special; and a number of men, maybe four hundred, rallied behind him. But upon his being put to death, his whole following was broken up and came to nothing. After this, Y'hudah HaG'lili led another uprising, back at the time of the enrollment for the Roman tax; and he got some people to defect to him. But he was killed, and all his followers were scattered. (Act 5:34-37)

So just as it was important for the Jewish people of Yeshua's day to properly vet any pretense of messiahship, it is important we do so in our days.

DIAGNOSTICS OF AN ANTICHRIST
The word "Antichrist" means counterfeit Messiah. To be effective, a "good" counterfeit has to be able to deceive; he therefore has to bear the marks of the original.

"At that time, if someone says to you, 'Look! Here's the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' don't believe him. For there will appear false Messiahs and false prophets performing great miracles — amazing things! — so as to fool even the chosen, if possible. There! I have told you in advance! (Mat 24:23-25)

If HaSatan came to us with hooves and pitchforks in red pajamas, we would easily identify him. That is why he has often been identified as a wolf in sheep's clothing. That is exactly what we are talking about when broach the subject of the Antichrist. He is the wolf trying to appear as the Lamb of God.
An example of a bad counterfeit would be the wolf in the Little Red Riding Hood story. He could put on the clothes and get in the bed of the grandmother, but didn't do a good job at hiding his long nose and ears. Innocent Red Riding Hood knew something was wrong and she questioned the long-eared and long-nosed grandmother. The thing is that as soon as she smelled the rat (or the wolf), she should have turned back and called for the wood chopper. Red Riding Hood may have been harmless as a dove, but she was not as wise as a serpent, as we are mandated to be.
This rabbi's idea of the final Anti-Messiah is that he will be one who will deceive with his words and pretend to be for the right things, even the things of God, as he tries to deceive the most important people on earth who could and should expose him: God's people, the disciples of Yeshua.
It is important, then, for those who have the mandate of establishing the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven, through the teaching of the Word, to be able to ask the right questions to that wolf in grandmother's clothing. They should be able to right away discern the long ears and long nose. And indeed, they will be as evident as a nose on the face if, and only IF, they themselves have the right idea of what the Messiah of Israel looks and acts like. But if they have an erroneous idea of what the Messiah is to look and act like, THEY WILL be deceived.

Indeed, we do have a description in the Brit Chadasha of an antichrist who tries to appear similar to our Messiah. In his revelation on the Isle of Patmos, Yochnanan sees the Antichrist, not only as he who will rule the world, but he who has ruled it from long ago. Then Yochanan gives a description of his "media/mage manager" also called the false prophet. Just as Elijah/John announced Messiah, the false prophet announces the antichrist.

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. It had two horns like those of a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon (A WOLF IN SHEEPS CLOTHING (PS 55:21). It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence; and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, the one whose fatal wound had been healed ("FATAL WOUND HEALED?: IMITATING RESURRECTION!). It performs great miracles (LIKE YESHUA), even causing fire to come down from heaven onto the earth as people watch (LIKE THE PROPHETS OF GOD/ELIJAH). It deceives the people living on earth by the miracles it is allowed to perform in the presence of the beast, and it tells them to make an image honoring the beast that was struck by the sword but came alive again. It was allowed to put breath into the image of the beast (IMITATING GOD AT CREATION), so that the image of the beast could even speak; and it was allowed to cause anyone who would not worship the image of the beast to be put to death. Also it forces everyone — great and small, rich and poor, free and slave — to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead (LIKE TEPHILINS) preventing anyone from buying or selling unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This is where wisdom is needed; those who understand should count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person, and its number is 666. (Rev 13:11-18)

DIAGNOSTICS OF THE MESSIAH
Beware of Opportunists
The Jews of Israel in the days of Yeshua wanted the Messiah to come to deliver them from Roman oppression. This gave rise to many trying to exploit this hunger for deliverance to their own glory.

Identification Signs
John mentions that the changing of the water into wine was the beginning of Yeshua's signs. Since it seems that other miracles happened before, some scholars suggest that John is drawing from an older written source listing miracles that would identify a would-be messiah. Some therefore suggest that this is what John means when he identifies certain miracles as proof that Yeshua is the Messiah. I will present to you the primary proofs. Other listings and arrangements are possible, but the idea remains that these were messianic identifications that could not be performed by anyone else. Many also smack of Moses; miracles for the Children of Israel in the desert.
  1. Changing the water into wine at Cana. John 2:1-11
  2. Healing the official's son at distance. John 4:43-54
  3. The healing at the Pool of Bethesda. John 5:1-15
  4. The feeding of the 5000. John 6:1-15
  5. Walking on water. John 6:16-21
  6. Healing of the man born blind. John 9:1-12
  7. Resurrection. John 20


Lineage and Character
In Yeshua's day also, a would-be be Messiah would have to come from the line of Judah and from the household of David, thus the genealogies in the Gospel texts. That is why the Messiah is referred to in Jewish texts as "The Son of David". This is because of 2 main prophecies. One from Jacob and one from Nathan the prophet.

Just as the Israelites of old had to be careful about someone stealing the crown of Messiah in their days, so do we in our days.
What are therefore signs of a legitimate Messiah. I cannot enumerate them all but here are some. Along with all the aforementioned signs, the Messiah:
  • Must be from the lineage of David/Judah
  • Must come from the clouds. Acts 1:11
  • Must carry the marks of the crucifixion. John 20:24-28
  • Live by the tenets of the Torah. Is 53:11
  • Exercise justice. Is 11:3-5


Someone like Moshe
Deuteronomy tells us that the coming Messiah/Prophet should be like Moshe (Deut 18:15). This means that:
  • He should be a Jew
  • He should have direct communication with HaShem (Num 12:6-8)
  • His ministry and style should be similar to Moshe (Teacher/prophet/legislator).


It is important to notice that Jewish history contains many details about Moshe's birth that are very similar to that of Yeshua's. The Messiah is one who according to the tenets of the Torah cares for the meek, the poor, the disenfranchised, the stranger...Anyone who acts like a proud, arrogant, and conceited ravenous wolf while claiming godliness acts more like an anti-messiah, the likes of which were already numerous in the days of John.

Finally, Paul warned Timothy that:

In the acharit-hayamim will come trying times. People will be:
self-loving,
money-loving,
proud,
arrogant,
insulting,
disobedient to parents,
(THAT ONE GOES FOR ADULTS TOO!
ungrateful,
unholy,
heartless,
unappeasable,
slanderous,
uncontrolled,
brutal,
hateful of good,
traitorous,
headstrong,
swollen with conceit,
loving pleasure rather than God,
as they retain the outer form of religion but deny its power.
Stay away from these people! 
(2Ti 3:1-5)

V)
And the king swore, saying, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, (1Ki 1:29 ESV)
as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day.” (1Ki 1:30 ESV)
Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and paid homage to the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever!” (1Ki 1:31 ESV)


AMEN!
​AS BAT-SHEBAH AND NATHAN WITH KING DAVID,
MAY WE DISCERN THE TRUE AND RIGHTFUL KING OF ISRAEL.

LIKE RED RIDING HOOD,
MAY WE SEE THE WOLF IN GRANDMOTHER'S DISGUISE.
MAY WE KNOW TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.

MAY HASHEM GIVE US ALL DISCERNMENT AND FLEE FROM THE IMPORTER!!!

Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king's presence and stood before the king. (1Ki 1:28 ESV)
SHABBAT SHALOM

R' GABRIEL LUMBROSO
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October 21st, 2021

10/21/2021

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ויהי היום ויעבר אלישׁע אל־שׁונם 

 One day Elisha went on to Shunem ...
(2 Kings 4:8)

The 2 stories of this week's Aftara have a common thread with the idea of hospitality. Hospitality was one of Abraham's and Sarah's signs of godliness, thus the connection with Parasha Lech Lecha... We begin with the first story.

“BORROW EMPTY VESSELS ... !" 
The beginning of the Aftara this week reminds us of our responsibilities as "prophets" (Mat 5:12) towards the poor and needy:

The wife of one of the guild prophets complained to Elisha. "Your servant my husband died," she said, "and you know that he feared Adonai. Now a creditor has come to take my two children as his slaves." (2Ki 4:1 CJB)

To take people who couldn't pay their debts as slaves was part of the harsh realty of the day, but in the Torah, HaShem tries to mitigate the effects of that harsh economic reality by putting rules and fences around it in order to prevent abuse (Leviticus 25:35-46).

Lack of payment was also equivalent to breaking an oath; a very serious thing. Yeshua agreed with the rabbis of His day when He said that it was preferable not to make vows (Matthew 5:34). He was actually going according to King Solomon's advice:

Better not to make a vow than to make a vow and not discharge it. (Ecc 5:5 CJB)

In this event, Elisha becomes a prime example of HaShem's mercy and compassion towards the poor and needy, the orphan and the widow (Ps 82:3-4; Zech 7:10; Deut 10:16; Is 1:17; James 1:27):

"You are not to abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them in any way, and they cry to me, I will certainly heed their cry. My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword -- your own wives will be widows and your own children fatherless. "If you loan money to one of my people who is poor, you are not to deal with him as would a creditor; and you are not to charge him interest. If you take your neighbor's coat as collateral, you are to restore it to him by sundown, Exo 22:22-26 CJB

It is also important to know that the husband of the woman in question was none other than Obadiah, Ahab's steward. Targumic tradition tells us that this Obadiah had secretly hidden 100 prophets in caves and supplied them all with food and water while Queen Jezebel was hunting them. Doing so, Obadiah ran enormous debts, thus the desperate plea of the woman to Elisha who may have known about the situation (Josephus; Antiquities 9:47).

For God is not so unfair as to forget your work and the love you showed for him in your past service to his people -- and in your present service too. (Heb 6:10 CJB)

THE MISHKAN (Tabernacle) OF HOSPITALITY
The next story is one we are familiar with. It is the story of the hospitable Shunamite woman who had no son. The house of the Shunamite woman had become a regular stop-over for Elisha during his travels through the country. So much so that:

She said to her husband, "I can see that this is a holy man of God who keeps stopping at our place. Please, let's build him a little room on the roof. We'll put a bed and a table in it for him, and a stool and a candlestick. Then, whenever he comes to visit us, he can stay there." 
(2Ki 4:9-10 CJB)

HEBREW NOTE:
  • Bed: מיטה
  • Table: שולחן
  • Chair: כסא
  • Candlestick:נר

In the very order in which these items for the prophet's room were mentioned, taking the first letter of each of these items spells the Hebrew word: Mishkan: משכן, the very word that was used to refer to the Tabernacle that the children of Israel were required to build in the desert. Thus the saying in Judaism that the mitzvah of hospitality is equivalent to building the Tabernacle.

"GO OUT TO THE COUNTRY ROADS ...!"
Jewish texts have many stories about Abraham and Sarah's hospitality. They say that Abraham used to send his servant Eliezer by the highways and byways to find people to invite to his tent. He would then serve them a lavish ,meal. When the guest wanted to thank Abraham, the patriarch would direct them to thank the God of the Universe who supplies all things.

Yeshua commands us with the same idea. As His servants, he tells us:

'Quick, go out into the streets and alleys of the city; and bring in the poor, the disfigured, the blind and the crippled!' The slave said, 'Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.' The master said to the slave, 'Go out to the country roads and boundary walls, and insistently persuade people to come in, so that my house will be full. (Luk 14:21-23 CJB)

THE COMMANDMENT OF HOSPITALITY

Rather, treat the foreigner staying with you like the native-born among you -- you are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God. (Lev 19:34 CJB)

"Here is the sort of fast I want -- releasing those unjustly bound, untying the thongs of the yoke, letting the oppressed go free, breaking every yoke, sharing your food with the hungry, taking the homeless poor into your house, clothing the naked when you see them, fulfilling your duty to your kinsmen!" (Isa 58:6-7 CJB)

Share what you have with God's people, and practice hospitality.  (Rom 12:13 CJB)

A congregation leader must be above reproach, he must be faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, orderly, hospitable and able to teach. (1Ti 3:2 CJB)

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest, I needed clothes and you provided them, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the people who have done what God wants will reply, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you our guest, or needing clothes and provide them? When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' The King will say to them, 'Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!' (Mat 25:34-40 CJB)

WHAT MORE SHALL I SAY?

THE BOY WHO DIDN'T DIE
The Shunamite woman knew that Elisha was a man of God, a prophet, and she received him as such. Because she received Elisha as a prophet, she received the reward of a prophet, the reward of Abraham who was given a son through the miraculous intervention of HaShem.

Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive the reward a prophet gets, and anyone who receives a tzaddik because he is a tzaddik will receive the reward a tzaddik gets. Indeed, if someone gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my talmid -- yes! -- I tell you, he will certainly not lose his reward!"  (Mat 10:41-42 CJB)

Indeed, just like Abraham, the Shunamite woman received a miraculous boy whom Elisha resurrected. A carbon copy of the story of Isaac, born miraculously and saved by the "ram" when he was "as good as dead!"


BY DOING THE WORKS OF ABRAHM AS CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM,
MAY WE ALSO,
LIKE THE SHUNAMITE WOMAN,
BE WORTHY OF THE REWARD OF A PROPHET.

AMEN!
R' GABRIEL LUMBROSO
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HAFTARAH LECH LECHA:

10/12/2021

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​למה תאמר יעקב ותדבר ישׂראל נסתרה דרכי מיהוה ומאלהי משׁפטי יעבור׃ 


Why do you complain, Ya`akov; why do you say, Isra'el, "My way is hidden from Adonai, my rights are ignored by my God"?
(Isa 40:27 CJB)

ROYAL BETRAYAL!!!
In chapter 39, Hezekiah, the King of Judah, is making friends with the Babylonians. After their state visit in Jerusalem, Isaiah has this conversation with the Judean king:

Then Yesha`yahu the prophet came to King Hizkiyahu and asked him, "What did these men say? Where did they come from?" Hizkiyahu answered, "They came to me from a distant country, Bavel." Yesha`yahu asked, "What have they seen in your palace?" "They have seen everything in my palace," said Hizkiyahu. "There isn't a thing among my treasures that I haven't shown them." Yesha`yahu said to Hizkiyahu, "Hear what Adonai-Tzva'ot says: 'The day will come when everything in your palace, along with everything your ancestors stored up until today, will be carried off to Bavel. Nothing will be left,' says Adonai. 'They will carry off some of your descendants, your own offspring; and they will be made eunuchs serving in the palace of the king of Bavel." Hizkiyahu said to Yesha`yahu, "The word of Adonai which you have just told me is good"; because he thought, "At least peace and truth will continue during my lifetime." 
(Isa 39:3-8 CJB)

WILD FIRE IN JERUSALEM
Foreseeing Jerusalem's destructive punishment and exile, the heart of the prophet expresses words of comfort straight from the compassionate heart of HaShem.

Jerusalem would witness the burning of its beloved Temple, the deportation of its monarchic family, nobles, and city leaders. For 70 years, the city would lay desolate and without walls, an ash-filled desolate plot of land where jackals roam freely. Many fires have devastated much of America these days. My wife and I barely escaped from our home being burning to the ground. When we returned, we took a drive through the places where the fires burned and destroyed the homes of less fortunate people. The sight of a burned house or a town such as the town of Paradise in California can give us a small idea of what Jerusalem might have looked like after its fiery destruction by Babylon. Jeremiah envisioned exilic Jerusalem as an abandoned widow sitting on an ash heap that represented her fiery destruction. Though Jerusalem brought this tragedy upon itself, the prophet Jeremiah, also called the weeping prophet, burst into a emotional cry about its destruction in a poem called Lamentations.

WHY COMPLAIN?
Yet, in view of all this destruction and desolation, HaShem's Spirit, through the prophet, chides Jerusalem with:

Why do you complain, Ya`akov; why do you say, Isra'el, "My way is hidden from Adonai, my rights are ignored by my God"? (Isa 40:27 CJB)

THE ANTIDOTE AGAINST COMPLAINING
Sometimes we complain about the things of life--the COVID-19 restrictions, having to wear a mask, the state of the economy. When we complain, in our minds we compare life to better times and our present situation to better situations. I heard it once said that the only constructive way to play the comparing game is to compare ourselves, our situation, or our lives to someone or a situation, or a life that is worst than ours. Somehow, this never fails to bring us into a spirit of gratitude.

There is another antidote against complaining--the one HaShem reminds Jerusalem of through the prophet. We must remember here that Isaiah lived almost 200 years before the destruction of Jerusalem. His consolation prophecies were therefore not relevant at the time he gave them, but they were stored for a later (and even "latter") use when these things would happen. HaShem's Spirit moves Isaiah to remind people that their complaining is but a sign that they forgot the love and omnipotence of their God. I would dare advance that this thought that complaining is akin to atheism.

Haven't you known, haven't you heard that the everlasting God, Adonai, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not grow tired or weary? His understanding cannot be fathomed. He invigorates the exhausted, he gives strength to the powerless. Young men may grow tired and weary, even the fittest may stumble and fall; but those who hope in Adonai will renew their strength, they will soar aloft as with eagles' wings; when they are running they won't grow weary, when they are walking they won't get tired. (Isa 40:28-31 CJB)

THE ONE RAISED FROM THE "EAST"
Announcement is made. The court is in session; the defendant is HaShem Himself defending His reputation and His honor in keeping His covenant with His people, though they seem to think that He doesn't. How much like a time when the unbelief of believers provokes them to take matters into their own hands in order to solve their problems.

"Keep silence before me, coastlands! Let the peoples replenish their strength! Let them approach; then let them speak. Let us assemble for judgment." (Isa 41:1 CJB)

HaShem asks a rhetorical question about the one who will come and provide redemption to Jerusalem:

Who has raised from the east one who is just and called him to be in his service? (Isa 41:2 CJBa)

DUAL INTERPRETATION
It is the nature of prophecy to have many fulfillments. Prophecies can have a past, present, future, and even latter fulfillment and the oracle of Isaiah 41 is no exception.
Who is the "one raised from the East" to offer redemption?"

Abraham, a man from the East, Ur of the Chaldees, came one to bring redemption to Lot his kin, as well as to the Gentile cities that had been conquered and enslaved by 5 kings (Gen 14:1-16).

Emperor Cyrus, a man from Persia, which is today called Iran, has been prophesied by Isaiah that he will free all Israel from Assyrian and Babylonian captivities in order to return to their ancestral lands and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple (Isaiah 45:1).

Probably both interpretations can apply, but the nature of the choices the sages made for Aftara readings always has some relation with the parasha. The parasha this week is about Abram. It is about Abram who leaves his ancestral lands to come to the Land that HaShem shows him; a Land that will be significant for the redemption of Israel and the Gentile world, just like what happened when he freed his nephew Lot and the Gentiles who had been taken captive by the five kings (Gen 14:17-24). I will therefore go with Abraham.

The prophecy starts by recalling the victory Abram won against these kings as we read in Genesis 14:15)

He hands nations over to him and subjects kings to him; his sword reduces them to dust, his bow to driven straw. He pursues them, passing on unscathed, hardly touching the path with his feet. (Isa 41:2-3 CJB)

The prophecy then jumps to the one redeemer of Israel and the Gentiles who was called from before the foundations of the world:

"Everyone living on earth will worship it except those whose names are written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb slaughtered before the world was founded. "(Rev 13:8 CJB)

Whose work is this? Who has brought it about? He who called the generations from the beginning, "I, Adonai, am the first; and I am the same with those who are last." (Isa 41:4 CJB)

MAYBE A THIRD INTERPRETATION?
As Cyrus evoked fear in the nations that he conquered in order to redeem Israel, our Messiah will also evoke fear into the nations that He will come to conquer in order to redeem Israel at the end of times.

Why are the nations in an uproar, the peoples grumbling in vain? The earth's kings are taking positions, leaders conspiring together, against Adonai and his anointed. They cry, "Let's break their fetters! Let's throw off their chains!" He who sits in heaven laughs; Adonai looks at them in derision. Then in his anger he rebukes them, terrifies them in his fury. "I myself have installed my king on Tziyon, my holy mountain." "I will proclaim the decree: Adonai said to me, 'You are my son; today I became your father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance; the whole wide world will be your possession. You will break them with an iron rod, shatter them like a clay pot.' " Therefore, kings, be wise; be warned, you judges of the earth. Serve Adonai with fear; rejoice, but with trembling. Kiss the son [or: Kiss purely], lest he be angry, and you perish along the way, when suddenly his anger blazes. How blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psa 2:1-12 CJB)

Next I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. Sitting on it was the one called Faithful and True, and it is in righteousness that he passes judgment and goes to battle. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. And he had a name written which no one knew but himself. He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called is, "THE WORD OF GOD." The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations -- "He will rule them with a staff of iron." It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of Adonai, God of heaven's armies. And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds that fly about in mid-heaven, "Come, gather together for the great feast God is giving, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of important men, the flesh of horses and their riders and the flesh of all kinds of people, free and slave, small and great!" I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to do battle with the rider of the horse and his army. But the beast was taken captive, and with it the false prophet who, in its presence, had done the miracles which he had used to deceive those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped his image. The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword that goes out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. (Rev 19:11-21 CJB)

All this is given to us as the answer to the rhetorical questions at the beginning of the oracle:

Why do you complain, Ya`akov; why do you say, Isra'el, "My way is hidden from Adonai, my rights are ignored by my God"?

Haven't you known, haven't you heard that the everlasting God, Adonai, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not grow tired or weary?
(Isa 40:27-28 CJB)

The coastlands have seen and became afraid. The ends of the earth have trembled. They have approached, and now they have come.
(Isa 41:5 CJB)

THE GENTILES UNITE
In fear of Cyrus, the nations started working together, strengthening their idols. As Yeshua comes to put an end to man's inhumanity to man, to social and economic injustice, the nations will also ready themselves to fight Him in the Valley of Jezreel (Rev 16:16):

Every one helps his fellow workman, everyone says to his brother, "Be strong!" The woodworker encourages the goldsmith, the polisher encourages the hammerer; he says of the soldering, "Yes, that's good," then puts nails in [the idol] to keep it from moving. (Isa 41:6-7 CJB)

ENCOURAGE ISRAEL
But the oracle tells Israel not to fear, as redemption is nigh.

But you, Isra'el, my servant; Ya`akov, whom I have chosen, descendants of Avraham my friend, I have taken you from the ends of the earth, summoned you from its most distant parts and said to you, 'You are my servant' -- I have chosen you, not rejected you. Don't be afraid, for I am with you; don't be distressed, for I am your God. I give you strength, I give you help, I support you with my victorious right hand. All those who were angry with you will be disgraced, put to shame; those who fought against you will be destroyed, brought to nothing. You will seek them but not find them, those who contended with you; yes, those who made war with you will be brought to nothing, nothing at all. For I, Adonai, your God, say to you, as I hold your right hand, 'Have no fear; I will help you. Have no fear, Ya`akov, you worm, you men of Isra'el!' I will help you," says Adonai; "Your redeemer is the Holy One of Isra'el."I will make you into a threshing-sledge, new, with sharp, pointed teeth, to thresh the mountains and crush them to dust, to reduce the hills to chaff. As you fan them, the wind will carry them off, and the whirlwind will scatter them. Then you will rejoice in Adonai, you will glory in the Holy One of Isra'el. (Isa 41:8-16 CJB)

HOW DO WE PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE COMING REDEMPTION?
As Lot and the Gentiles of Sodom and Gomorrah were rescued by Abraham; as Israel saw its deliverance from a long captivity through Cyrus, we are also promised a deliverance from the ails of this world through an irrevocable covenant. Let us look to it when we are tempted to complain.

When Paul was telling the congregations in Thessalonica to be ready for the Day of Redemption, he gave them a checklist defining the lifestyle they ought to live in the expectancy of their soon redemption. He said:

God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him. Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up -- just as you are doing. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who are working hard among you, those who are guiding you in the Lord and confronting you in order to help you change. Treat them with the highest regard and love because of the work they are doing. Live at peace among yourselves; but we urge you, brothers, to confront those who are lazy, your aim being to help them change, to encourage the timid, to assist the weak, and to be patient with everyone. See that no one repays evil for evil; on the contrary, always try to do good to each other, indeed, to everyone. Always be joyful. Pray regularly. In everything give thanks, for this is what God wants from you who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. Don't quench the Spirit, don't despise inspired messages. But do test everything -- hold onto what is good, but keep away from every form of evil. May the God of shalom make you completely holy -- may your entire spirit, soul and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. The one calling you is faithful, and he will do it. (1Th 5:9-24 CJB)

MAY WE LIVE WORTHY OF HE WHO GAVE HIS LIFE TO REDEEM US.

R' Gabriel Lumbroso
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HAFTARAH NOACH: "Just as I Swore ...!"

10/10/2021

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כי־מי נח זאת לי אשׁר נשׁבעתי מעבר מי־נח עוד על־הארץ כן נשׁבעתי מקצף עליך ומגער־בך׃ 
 כי ההרים ימושׁו והגבעות תמוטנה וחסדי מאתך לא־ימושׁ וברית שׁלומי לא תמוט אמר מרחמך יהוה׃ ׃ 

"For me this is like Noach's flood. Just as I swore that no flood like Noach's would ever again cover the earth, so now I swear that never again will I be angry with you or rebuke you. For the mountains may leave and the hills be removed, but my grace will never leave you, and my covenant of peace will not be removed," says Adonai, who has compassion on you. 
(Isa 54:9-10)
​THREE JERUSALEMS
The haftarah this week takes us to the Jerusalem of the future.

As we learn, study, and watch the destruction, exile, resurrection, and struggle for survival of Jerusalem, we must keep the promises of HaShem in focus. His promises remind and assure us that no matter how dark the tunnel, the light of HaShem shines at the end of it. Through these promises, we have certainty that the future of Jerusalem is as bright as the promises of HaShem.

According to prophecy, Jerusalem finds its place in the world in three different modes:
  1. The storm-tossed Jerusalem of this world
  2. The Jerusalem of the Messianic Era during the 1000 years of Yeshua's reign on earth
  3. The Jerusalem of the world to come as described in Revelation 21-22.


It is the belief of this rabbi that no other leader will ever succeed to establish lasting peace in Jerusalem and give it its rightful place in the world except Yeshua, the Mashiach of Israel, the King of Jerusalem. To suggest otherwise is akin to blasphemy. Let's now hear the proclamation of the prophet.

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE PROPHET
"Sing, barren woman who has never had a child! Burst into song, shout for joy, you who have never been in labor! For the deserted wife will have more children than the woman who is living with her husband," says Adonai. (Isa 54:1)

The prophet continues HaShem's proclamation of the future of Jerusalem. He tells us that the city will not just be a place for Jews but that righteous gentiles will also have a share in it. As such, he reminds people of the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah. Genesis Rabah 60:16 says of barren Sarah, "...as long as Sarah lived her doors were wide open ..."

Enlarge the space for your tent, extend the curtains of your dwelling; do not hold back, lengthen your cords, make your tent pegs firm. For you will spread out to the right and the left, your descendants will possess the nations and inhabit the desolated cities. (Isa 54:2-3)

The prophet Isaiah, who foresees Jerusalem in its future abandoned and rejected widowhood encourages her:

"Don't be afraid, for you won't be ashamed; don't be discouraged, for you won't be disgraced. You will forget the shame of your youth, no longer remember the dishonor of being widowed." (Isa 54:3-4)

Through the prophet, HaShem reminds Jerusalem of His faithfulness to the marriage covenant He once ratified with her.

He will be the "גאל go'el", the Redeemer.

For your husband is your Maker, Adonai-Tzva'ot is his name. The Holy One of Isra'el is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of all the earth. For Adonai has called you back like a wife abandoned and grief-stricken; "A wife married in her youth cannot be rejected," says your God. (Isa 54:5-6)

HaShem reminds Jerusalem of His compassion:

"Briefly I abandoned you, but with great compassion I am taking you back." (Isa 54:7)

I was angry for a moment and hid my face from you; but with everlasting grace I will have compassion on you," says Adonai your Redeemer. (Isa 54:8, see also Ex 34:6-7)

One might wonder how 2000 years could seem like only a "moment." Here is how it works. A man once asked HaShem, "God, I know that with you a day is as 1000 years and 1000 years is as a day, and I also know that with you a penny is as $1,000,000,000 and $1,000,000,000 is as a penny. Could You please give me a penny?" HaShem kindly answered, "Of course; I'll give you one tomorrow!"

THE PROMISE
Here now is our connection with the parasha of Noach. Just as in the days after the flood when HaShem promised humanity that He will never flood the earth again, He makes a promise to Jerusalem that He will never be angry with her again.

"For me this is like Noach's flood. Just as I swore that no flood like Noach's would ever again cover the earth (Gen 9:9-17), so now I swear that never again will I be angry with you or rebuke you. For the mountains may leave and the hills be removed, but my grace will never leave you, and my covenant of peace will not be removed," says Adonai, who has compassion on you. (Isa 54:9-10)

A GIANT LEAP
In a giant time-prophecy leap, the prophet takes this world's Jerusalem to a vision of the last Jerusalem. The vision is very similar to that of Revelation 21:9-21.

"Storm-ravaged [city], unconsoled, I will set your stones in the finest way, lay your foundations with sapphires, make your windows shine with rubies, your gates with garnet, your walls with gemstones. (Isa 54:11-12)

The prophet then tells Jerusalem that on that day of the Jerusalem of the world to come, all her children will know Him. Jeremiah later repeated the same idea. (Jer 31:34). This knowledge of HaShem will result in peace for Jerusalem.

Thus we are taught that the true knowledge of God results in peace. As we remember that Jerusalem was destroyed due to the zealots' causeless hatred due to ignorance of HaShem's Word, we deduce that the restoring of Jerusalem will be the result of love among brethren and the knowledge and understanding of the Word of HaShem. (Ps 133:1).

All your children will be taught by Adonai; your children will have great peace. In righteousness you will be established, far from oppression, with nothing to fear; far from ruin, for it will not come near you. (Isa 54: 13-14)

HaShem often used the wrath of foreign nations as His instrument of wrath, but He now assures Jerusalem that in that day, her enemies will no longer be His doing against her.

Any alliance that forms against you will not be my doing; whoever tries to form such an alliance will fall because of you. It is I who created the craftsman who blows on the coals and forges weapons suited to their purpose; I also created the destroyer to work havoc. (Isa 54:15-17a)

In that day, through Mashiach, HaSatan, the Accuser will not have anymore credit in the sight of the great Judge of the Universe.

"No weapon made will prevail against you. In court you will refute every accusation. The servants of Adonai inherit all this; the reward for their righteousness is from me," says Adonai. (Isa 54:17)

This will also be the time when social and economic disparity will disappear. No more will people work for meat that perishes (John 6:27).

The picture of the world to come presents to us a society that no political or economic system of man has ever been able to accomplish in its 6000 years of history (give or take a few hundred years), a society where peace, alongside justice, abundance, as well as love and laughter for ever after abound.

It is the opinion of this rabbi that we could almost attain it today if we would learn to live as HaShem intended us to. Just obeying the 10 commandments would suffice. It is reported in the Book of Josephus that a long time ago, Seth, the son of Adam, somewhat succeeded at this. Here is the report:

Now this Seth, when he was brought up, and came to those years in which he could discern what was good, became a virtuous man; and as he was himself of an excellent character, so did he leave children behind him who imitated his virtues. (9) All these proved to be of good dispositions. They also inhabited the same country without dissensions, and in a happy condition, without any misfortunes falling upon them, till they died. They also were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order. (Josephus, Antiquity of the Jews, book 1; chapt 2; par 3)

Now, for the description of the world to come ordered by Messiah by the mouth of the prophet, a declaration that is foreshadowed in the concepts of Shabbat and Jubilee years

"All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You without money, come, buy, and eat! Yes, come! Buy wine and milk without money -- it's free! Why spend money for what isn't food, your wages for what doesn't satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will eat well, you will enjoy the fat of the land. Open your ears, and come to me; listen well, and you will live -- I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the grace I assured David. I have given him as a witness to the peoples, a leader and lawgiver for the peoples. You will summon a nation you do not know, and a nation that doesn't know you will run to you, for the sake of Adonai your God, the Holy One of Isra'el, who will glorify you." (Isa 55:1-5)


MAY IT BE SOON HASHEM, EVEN IN OUR DAYS
(It is possible to do it just by living by His Words)

(Really!)

​R' GABRIEL LUMBROSO
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HAFATARAH BERESHEET: Justice on Earth!

10/5/2021

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אמת יוציא משׁפט׃ 
לא יכהה ולא ירוץ עד־ישׂים בארץ משׁפט ולתורתו איים ייחילו׃ 

He will bring forth justice according to truth; he will not weaken or be crushed until he has established justice on the earth, and the coastlands wait for his Torah." 
Isa 42:1-4)


THE CRY OF THE WORLD
In every nation, there is a cry for justice. There is a cry for racial, economic, and social justice. It feels that the world is tired of doing things as usual. Just like what happened in first-century Israel, modern-day zealots in several modern countries are taking things into their own hands and are threatening to unravel the very fabric of society as we know it. How will it end? In Israel, that type of revolt from the fundamentalist zealots ended in their internal infighting, which gave the Romans freedom to burn the Temple, ransack Jerusalem, and shut down of the country for 2000 years.

Forty years before these fatal events, an itinerant rabbi from Nazareth heard the cries of his people for justice and taught them a different sort of response to the injustices of His days. He proclaimed to them, "How blessed are the poor in spirit! for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs."  
  • To those who were mourning the death of loved ones either due to sickness, to war, or to Roman oppression, He said, "How blessed are those who mourn! for they will be comforted." 
  • To those who felt that they no had place in a society that demeaned and ignored them, He said:  "How blessed are the meek! for they will inherit the Land!" 
  • To those who hungered and thirsted for social and economic justice he said: "How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness! for they will be filled." 
  • To those who were so distraught by their social and economic conditions and could only cope by hardening their hearts in desire for revenge, though HaShem forbade it, He said: "How blessed are those who show mercy! for they will be shown mercy." 
  • For those whose heart became soiled by anger and hatred due to their unjust social and economic conditions, He said: "How blessed are the pure in heart! for they will see God." 
  • And for those who see no other way of seeing a just and fair world but by violence and conflict, He said: "How blessed are those who make peace! for they will be called sons of God." (Mat 5:3-9)

UTOPIAN IDEALISM, CYNICISM, OR BELIEF?
Some do believe that changes in society only come through conflict or violence; that one must be willing to forget scruples and ethics in order to accomplish the right; that the end justifies the means. "Might Makes Right" seems to be the moto of the day but as a student of American History I remember the words of Abraham Lincoln who said, "Right Makes Might!"

One who reads what I just wrote may instead take a cynical view of the world and think that I am just a hopeless idealist. Am I?

Someone asked me one day if I believed in Heaven. I said that I did, so next, they asked why. I answered that I believe in Heaven because I believe in justice ordered by a just God. Too many issues in this world, either in personal lives or in the twists of History, are left unresolved. We cannot claim that God is a just God as long as these issues remain unresolved. As we see happening now, the world seems to yearn for a time when old issues and conflicts are brought to the tabl in front of the Judge of the Universe. We need a time when right is rewarded and wrong retributed. Only in the resolution of all issues will we find the universal peace we all desire, and only HaShem can do that.

The aftara this week broaches on this subject. Both Sephardic and Ashkenazi aftarot start at Isaiah 42:5, a text that follows an introduction at the beginning of the chapter. Adding this introduction to the reading makes for a perfect messianic aftara. That introduction proclaims: "Here is my servant, whom I support, my chosen one, in whom I take pleasure."

This servant will eventually be characterized in the 53rd chapter of the Book of Isaiah. Today, traditional Judaism refers to "the Servant" as Israel, an interpretation that started in post-Yeshua times, but in the first century CE, it was known by Jewish teachers as a prophecy concerning the Messiah of Israel (Acts 3:18;1 pet 2:19-25): "I have put my Spirit on him"

HaShem puts His Spirit on His Servant to deliver His people from injustice just as He put His Spirit on Moshe to deliver His people from injustice: 
  • "He will bring justice to the Goyim." The servant brings justice not just for Israel, but to the nations as well. 
  • "He will not cry or shout;" He will not use a megaphone. He will not yell slogans nor scream profanities. 
  • "No one will hear his voice in the streets." The sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel. Very deep song!): 
  • "He will not snap off a broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick." The justice of this Servant cares for and is gentle with the poor, the weak, the displaced, the handicap, the stranger...: 
  • "He will bring forth justice according to truth" Truth according to Torah, not according to man who calls good evil and evil good. 
  • "He will not weaken or be crushed until he has established justice on the earth, and the coastlands wait for his Torah."  (Isa 42:1-4)

So I believe that all is in HaShem's very able hands. Can I be accused of being a hopeless idealist just because I believe in the Word of God?

Let's put our trust in the only one that HaShem appointed to bring justice on all the earth, and remember the words He spoke to Israel 40 years before its demise.

Who knows that if they would have lived according to these words instead of letting themselves be taken over by the violent ethic-less and scruple-less zealots, things could have been different.
​
R' Gabriel Lumbroso
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PAR'SHAT D'VARIM: Correction Appropriately Spoken. Prov 25:11.

7/30/2019

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​... אלה הדברים אשׁר דבר משׁה אל־כל־ישׂראל
 אחרי הכתו את סיחן מלך האמרי אשׁר יושׁב בחשׁבון ואת עוג מלך הבשׁן  אשׁר־יושׁב בעשׁתרת באדרעי׃ 

These are the words Moshe spoke to all Isra'el ... after he had defeated Sichon, king of the Emori, who lived in Heshbon, and `Og, king of Bashan, who lived in `Ashtarot, at Edre`i. 
(Deu 1:1-4 CJB)


​The Appropriately Spoken Correction (Prov 25:11)

THE BOOK OF D’VARIM AND KING JOSIAH
The Book of D'varim was to be placed by the side of the Holy Ark. It was to serve as a rebuke and reminder of Israel's covenant with HaShem to later generations. A good example of its effect is told us in 2nd Kings 22 when seven hundred years later, due to the words in this book, King Josiah and all Israel were moved to repentance. 

D’VARIM: A PEP-TALK, AND A WISELY-TIMED CORRECTION BEFORE CONQUEST
The words in Book of D'varim were spoken to the second generation of the Children of Israel in the desert, a generation that had not known Egypt. It's goal was to ready the Children of Israel before they entered the Promised Land, as well as to serve as a rebuke for them not to do as their fathers did in fearing entering the Land. 

Let us see some of what the sages say about this rebuke,

(Sifre, cited by Rashi)
   The Torah emphasizes that Moshe rebuked the Jewish people after he had smitten Sichon and Og. Here is how Moshe reasoned, "If I rebuke them before they enter at least part of the Land, they will say, 'What does this man have against us?' What good did he do for us? He has come only to vex us and to find pretext since he doesn't have the power to bring us into the Land.'" Therefore Moshe waited until he had conquered Sichon and Og, and then he rebuked the people.
     On this principle, Rabbi Zelig Pliskin explains, "Had the people felt the Moshe's rebuke was insincere and that he had ulterior motives, his words would have been ineffective. A PERSON WILL ONLY ACCEPT REBUKE IF HE FEELS THAT THE REBUKER HAS HIS BEST INTEREST IN MIND."

   We see from here that timing is a major factor in rebuke and correction. In Many instances by waiting for an opportune time to deliver an admonition a person will be more successful than he would have been had he admonished earlier.
     As a good leader, Moshe understood the importance of correction at the right time,in the right place, with the right tone of voice, encased in the right format, etc ... 


WISELY DELIVERED CORRECTION
Parents, teachers, coaches, trainers, religious and civic leaders are all faced with times when they need to present a correction to those in their care. This can even happen between friends, and spouses. Let us go over some generic tips about good, less good, and bad timing for corrections. 

When is it a bad time to approach someone for a correction
  • In the heat of the moment
  • When either the corrector or the corrected are emotionally upset.
  • When it makes us happy or we draw pleasure in doing it. 
  • Before having fully investigated and understood the issue.
  • When we have a personal advantage in the person doing the right thing, which makes our rebuke insincere and motivated, and it probably is.  
Here are some examples:
  • Do we teach our children to be clean and tidy because you want them to develop good healthy habits that will help them in their lives as adults, or is it just because we get irritated about it and don't want to have to clean up after them? 
  • Do we chide our spouses or colleagues about an expense because we want to teach financial responsibility, or just because we don't agree with it and would have spent the money for something that WE want instead? 
We often correct others out of frustration simply because the actions of the other person affects us in an undesirable way, but is being annoyed a good reason to correct others?
When then is it a good time to approach someone for a correction?
  • After emotions calm down and we see, investigate and understand things more clearly.
  • When it hurts us to do it.
  • When we don't draw any personal advantage in doing it.
There is also a point in letting it go; to let HaShem take care of it. Sometimes we are the only person who benefits from the tongue lashes that we hypocritically proclaim to be for the benefit of others.
 
CORRECTION I CAN UNDERSTAND!
Here is another important point about delivering correction
 There, beyond the Yarden, in the land of Mo'av, Moshe took it upon himself to expound (ba'ar/באר: to explain, elucidate, interpret) this Torah … (Deu 1:5)
The Mishna explains that the 10 Commandments were given through flames of fire in the 70 languages of the world
The Midrash also claims that Moshe interpreted the Torah in the Book of D’varim in the 70 languages of the world.
In the  Book of the Acts of the Disciples, The Brit HaChadasha concurs the idea when it tells us that as soon as the Torah was written in the disciple’s hearts, It expressed itself through the disciples, in many languages.  Acts 2:1-11
This all came as a reversal to the curse that fell on mankind at the time of the Tower of Babel.


This teaches us an important principle: if we speak Torah in order to teach people, we should speak it in a language that helps the recipient to receive the message.
  • In their own language: If our audience is not familiar with Hebrew terminology, we should not try to impress or patronize them by using Hebrew words which are unfamiliar to them. 
  • In the right manner: Our Master was good at that. He themed His examples according to His audience. To fishermen, He spoke about fish and fishing. To farmers, He spoke about fields and seeds. To land owners He made analogies using the theme of inheritances, as well as issues pertaining to servants and master relationships. 
  • Yeshua  spoke a lot to the poor, and in so doing used parabolic imagery to help his less educated hearers understand. All too often our inferiority complex gets the better of us and we try to impress others and/or patronize them, to give ourselves some importance by flaunting some sort of knowledge. But he who really knows, never feels the need to boast or brag, because the more he know, the more he should know that he doesn’t know.
PAUL’S ADMONITION TO SPIRITUAL LEADERS CONCERNING CORRECTING THE FLOCK
Gently: Paul admonishes: 
"... and a slave of the Lord shouldn't fight. On the contrary, he should be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and not resentful when mistreated. Also he should be gentle as he corrects his opponents. For God may perhaps grant them the opportunity to turn from their sins, acquire full knowledge of the truth, come to their senses and escape the trap of the Adversary, after having been captured alive by him to do his will." (2Ti 2:24-26 CJB)  "... but we urge you, brothers, to confront those who are lazy, your aim being to help them change, to encourage the timid, to assist the weak, and to be patient with everyone. See that no one repays evil for evil; on the contrary, always try to do good to each other, indeed, to everyone."(1Th 5:14-15 CJB) 

As Moshe was patient with Israel,
As our Master is patient with us, 
May we be patient with one another.
.May we also remember His precious words,
"... the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure to you. 

Why do you see the splinter in your brother's eye but not notice the log in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the splinter out of your eye,' when you have the log in your own eye? 

You hypocrite! 

First, take the log out of your own eye; then you will see clearly, so that you can remove the splinter from your brother's eye!"  (Mat 7:2-5 CJB)

ר,גל
R' Gavriel Lumbroso
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PAR'SHAT PINCHAS:  "Good-Zeal-a!"

7/22/2019

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 פינחס בן־אלעזר בן־אהרן הכהן השׁיב את־חמתי מעל בני־ישׂראל בקנאו את־קנאתי בתוכם ולא־כליתי את־בני־ישׂראל בקנאתי׃ 
 לכן אמר הנני נתן לו את־בריתי שׁלום׃ 
 והיתה לו ולזרעו אחריו ברית כהנת עולם תחת אשׁר קנא לאלהיו ויכפר על־בני ישׂראל׃ 

"Pinchas the son of El`azar, the son of Aharon the cohen, has deflected my anger from the people of Isra'el by being as zealous as I am, so that I didn't destroy them in my own zeal. Therefore say, 'I am giving him my covenant of shalom, making a covenant with him and his descendants after him that the office of cohen will be theirs forever.' This is because he was zealous on behalf of his God and made atonement for the people of Isra'el." 
(Num 25:11-13 CJB)

GOOD-ZEAL-A

PINCHAS THE ZEALOUS ONE
I always find the episode concerning the  zeal of Pinchas very dangerous. I feel it is dangerous because it can erroneously be understood by people with a propensity to violence as a justification to vent their natural prejudices. Along with that, this parasha can also be used as a vindication for people to take what they deem to be the law, as well as their rights and cultural prejudices into their own hands without due process. It can even justify murder while sincerely believing that God ordered and blessed it. 
     It is important when we read the Torah to understand the difference between what is prescriptive and what is descriptive. A lot of what is descriptive is not necessarily prescriptive and a wise Torah teacher should know the difference. In a previous article which I called THE ZEAL OF PINCHAS, I made sure to establish that, whereas the Torah instructs us about the things we should do and the way we should live, the modus operandi can change at different times and different places according to HaShem's directives of the moment.

NO INCONSISTENCY IN THE COMMANDMENTS
    Just as the legislations on polygamy do not negate the laws against adultery, the actions of Pinchas do not negate the following commandment agaisnt murder,

"Do not murder.  (Exo 20:13 CJB)

As I said before, when reading the Bible, we have to discern between what is prescriptive and what is descriptive. And even when we make that difference, we have to discern between what is for the moment, or for all times; for a particular person or for everyone; in a certain place or everywhere.  We also  have to understand the mission of the moment.
        When Abraham arrived in the Promised Land and found it inhabited, he decided to turn around. He later came back to make a sort of treaty with its inhabitants. 

Avram took his wife Sarai, his brother's son Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, as well as the people they had acquired in Haran; then they set out for the land of Kena`an and entered the land of Kena`an. Avram passed through the land to the place called Sh'khem, to the oak of Moreh. The Kena`ani were then in the land. Adonai appeared to Avram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to Adonai, who had appeared to him. He left that place, went to the hill east of Beit-El and pitched his tent. With Beit-El to the west and `Ai to the east, he built an altar there and called on the name of Adonai. Then Avram traveled on, continuing toward the Negev. But there was a famine in the land, so Avram went down into Egypt to stay there, because the famine in the land was severe. (Gen 12:5-10 CJB)

Avram went up from Egypt -- he, his wife and everything he had, and Lot with him -- into the Negev. Avram became wealthy, with much cattle, silver and gold. As he went on his travels from the Negev, he came to Beit-El, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beit-El and `Ai, where he had first built the altar; and there Avram called on the name of Adonai. (Gen 13:1-4 CJB)

At that time Avimelekh and Pikhol the commander of his army spoke to Avraham. They said, "God is with you in everything you do. Therefore, swear to me here by God that you will never deal falsely with me or with my son or grandson; but according to the kindness with which I have treated you, you will treat me and the land in which you have lived as a foreigner. Avraham said, "I swear it." … Avraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Avimelekh, and the two of them made a covenant. ... When they made the covenant at Be'er-Sheva, Avimelekh departed with Pikhol the commander of his army and returned to the land of the P'lishtim. Avraham planted a tamarisk tree in Be'er-Sheva, and there he called on the name of Adonai, the everlasting God. Avraham lived for a long time as a foreigner in the land of the P'lishtim. (Gen 21:22-34 CJB)

On the other hand, when the children of Israel arrived from Egypt, they were supposed to go to conquer the Land. Both ideas were right, in their own place , time, and actors. 

After the death of Moshe the servant of Adonai, Adonai said to Y'hoshua the son of Nun, Moshe's assistant, "Moshe my servant is dead. So now, get up and cross over this Yarden, you and all the people, to the land I am giving to them, the people of Isra'el. I am giving you every place you will step on with the sole of your foot, as I said to Moshe. All the land from the desert and the L'vanon to the great river, the Euphrates River -- all the land of the Hitti -- and on to the Great Sea in the west will be your territory. No one will be able to withstand you as long as you live. Just as I was with Moshe, so I will be with you. I will neither fail you nor abandon you. (Jos 1:1-5 CJB)

Similarly, when Israel was faced with an invading enemy, prophets did not rely on past instructions in order to lead Israel. They went to HaShem to ask Him what to do. Sometimes HaShem said to fight, sometimes he said not to fight. Sometimes he said to send their musicians in front of the army, and sometimes he said to be ready and wait. One time HaShem even said to surrender to the enemy and not fight at all. 

THE ZIGZAG PRINCIPLE
I heard a WW1 story. A young soldier was asked to go behind enemy trenches in order to deliver an important message. "How do you expect me to go there without getting shot by one of the enemy snipers?" the young private asked. "It's easy; you zigzag like a chicken." His officer replied. The young soldier failed in his mission and came back fatally wounded. "What happened?" asked the officer, to which the private replied, "I guess I must have zigged when I should have zagged, and zagged when I should have zigged!" It is also important when we read the Torah to discern when we should zig and when we should zag. Our lives depend on it!

KAVANAH (MOTIVATION) MAKES THE DIFFERENCE.
The Apostle Paul teaches us about zeal in, 

True, these teachers are zealous for you, but their motives are not good …  To be zealous is good, provided always that the cause is good. (Gal 4:17-18 CJB)

Along with our patriarchs, King David, and the prophets, Pinchas is a testament to zeal for a good cause. But in pondering on the episode with Pinchas, we need to understand what's meant to be our take away. Again in that story, we must discern between what is prescriptive and with what is descriptive. 
      This rabbi believes that while the action of murdering two2 people is merely descriptive, what is prescriptive in this story is the heart and the motivations of Pinchas, What the Torah intends to teach us through this matter is not to go kill disobedient and rebellious leaders along with their idol worshipping friends, but to have the heart of Pinchas as told in Numbers 25:11, 

"Pinchas the son of El`azar, the son of Aharon the cohen, has deflected my anger from the people of Isra'el by being as zealous as I am, so that I didn't destroy them in my own zeal. (Num 25:11 CJB)

The Hebrew text itself says it a little differently. It says that he was   “zealous in My zeal  בקנאו את־קנאתי”

Rabbi Yehuda Leib Chasman comments about this mention "in" saying that this means that Pinchas had entirely pure intentions. It is easy to give way to our violent, selfish , and vindictive natures while claiming that we are simply led by God’s will.  For this rabbi, this sort of thing is equivalent to taking the name of the Lord in vain. 
     I would dare say that our religious and political world's are full of people who hide their wolfish evil motivations under a sheepish cloak of self-appointed divine appointments, all while proclaiming to advocate for the good and right of the people.  But like I heard someone say, "You can fool some of the people all the time and you can fool all the people sometimes, but you can never fool all the people all the time." HaShem knows each of our hearts.  Rabbi Zelig Pliskin says, “Zealousness with negative motivations is a crime." Let's now look at some examples of misguided zeal.  

EXAMPLES OF MISGUIDED ZEAL
FAME/PRIDE/RECOGNITION: Someone may feel ignored in life and really want to be valued, validated, and recognised. As such they get involved in some sort of zealous philanthropic, religious, or political activity proclaiming the great virtue of the project. While the project may certainly be worthwhile, the motivation is for selfish gains, or personal recognition and validation. Both the Talmud and Yeshua teach us that these attitudes are wrong.

"Be careful not to parade your acts of tzedakah in front of people in order to be seen by them! If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Mat 6:1 CJB)
ADDICTION TO ADRENALINE: One may easily feel bored and constantly in search of action. While the action may benefit other people, the motivation is that of fulfilling a personal need for constant activity. Whereas the action may be good, it resembles using the misery of others to soothe our own boredom. People who have a constant need for action need rather to self-discipline themselves in personal reflection and contemplation in the Torah which says.  

"Desist, and learn that I am God, supreme over the nations, supreme over the earth." (Psa 46:10 CJB)

There he went into a cave and spent the night. Then the word of Adonai came to him; he said to him, "What are you doing here, Eliyahu?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for Adonai the God of armies, because the people of Isra'el have abandoned your covenant, broken down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. Now I'm the only one left, and they're coming after me to kill me too." He said, "Go outside, and stand on the mountain before Adonai"; and right then and there, Adonai went past. A mighty blast of wind tore the mountains apart and broke the rocks in pieces before Adonai, but Adonai was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake, but Adonai was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, fire broke out; but Adonai was not in the fire. And after the fire came a quiet, subdued voice. When Eliyahu heard it, he covered his face with his cloak, stepped out and stood at the entrance to the cave. Then a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Eliyahu?" (1Ki 19:9-13 CJB)
GRUDGE/DESIRE FOR REVENGE:  It is easy to make a claim for justice when actually all we are doing is giving way to our own vengeful heart in very disobedience to the Torah command that forbids holding grudges and commands us to leave vengeance into God's hands.

Don't take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people;  rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai. (Lev 19:18 CJB)

Vengeance and payback are mine ...' (Deu 32:35 CJB)
ENVY:  We can also hide a covetous heart under a cloak of righteousness. It is easy to find wrong and criticise people for some unrelated fault when actually our whole motivation for dissing them is envy of their position or wealth. This was the sin of Korach. He was hiding jealousy and envy towards Moses' position,while proclaiming to stand for the rights of the people, claiming that they too should be considered as holy prophets. The Talmud also teaches that his criticism of Moses was because he had been passed-by for a leadership position. Jealousy and envy are often the motivation for publicly correcting people thus embarrassing them. Somehow, it is hard to get away from the feeling that our candle shines brighter when we put others down.

FINANCIAL GAIN. Advertisements always start by saying they’re  fulfilling our needs, but in fact the motivation is to line their own pockets. Acts of charity also can often be a cloak for personal financial benefits. 

Finally, The Talmud teaches that whatever the personal evil motivations are, acts of zealousness for personal gain are a sin. They are often equated with what is called “Chilul HaShem”, or the desecration of the Name of the Almighty.

MAY WE LEARN FROM PINCHAS TO EXERT HASHEM’S ZEAL, 

NOT OUR OWN MISGUIDED AND MOTIVATED ONE.


R’ Gavriel Lumbroso


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PAR'SHAT BALAK: Balaam and His Donkey: Who's the Blind? Who's the Seer?

7/17/2019

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ויאמר אלהים אל־בלעם לא תלך עמהם לא תאר את־העם כי ברוך הוא

God answered Bil`am, 
"You are not to go with them; you are not to curse the people, because they are blessed." (Num 22:12 CJB)




Balaam and His Donkey.  Who’s the Blind; Who’s the seer?


BLIND BALAAM
Haven't you ever wondered why some people never seem to figure out HaShem's will for their lives when it seems to be right in front of their eyes? The thing is that there are some people who wonder the same about us, so why is it so hard sometimes to see the obvious? Balaam tells us a good story about that. Here is this man who in the eyes of King Balak, one of the greatest rulers of the area, was a seer, a person who could see and discern the spiritual realities that other people could not see and discern.
   In talmudic midrash, seeing means knowing and understanding, while blindness refers to a lack of knowledge and understanding. It is one of the meanings behind the prophecy concerning the Messiah giving sight to the blind.

"The Spirit of Adonai is upon me; therefore he has anointed me to announce Good News to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned and renewed sight for the blind, to release those who have been crushed, (Luk 4:18 CJB)

   In our account this week, Balaam's donkey, an animal devoid of knowledge and understanding therefore intellectually blind, challenges his "seer" master for not seeing the angel that was about to slay him. We therefore have in our story a seer who is blind and a blind who sees.
This was probably HaShem’s ironic way of hitting at Balaam's proud and arrogant spirit, but really what is it that made him blind? Could we also be blind like balaam was?

   Those of us who have acknowledged and accepted the Torah roots of our Master’s teachings wonder sometimes why others don't see the obvious as we do. Why don’t they get Shabbat and festivals as we do?’ we wonder. At the same time, those people who seem to blind to us wonder why we are bound by the old testament while it is so obvious to them that it is down away with. The same thing happens in the political discussion these days where each one wonders why the other cannot see the truth that is so obvious from their point of view.

   The key is right there, “from their point of view”. It is not the strength of an argument by which we are convinced. In our opinion forming, our “point of view”, our personal cultural, political, or religious environment biases play a much bigger role than the truth of any argument itself. What is obvious to us is the truth via the lenses of our own personal point of view, or bias. But looking at anything through the lens of our own bias  is like looking only on one side of a 3D picture; we are blinded by the otherwise obvious truth that is in plain sight of the other guy on the other side.
   So while it seemed so obvious that HaShem said to Balaam not to follow Balak's men, his own bias against the children of Israel kept him from understanding it. It is like a video I used recently at congregation. You can find it on YouTube. It is the experience of someone trying to ride a backward bike. The conclusion he drew is that knowing something doesn't mean that we necessarily understand it and act according to it.
Here is a link to that video. https://youtu.be/MFzDaBzBlL0

WILLFUL BALAAM
What are other reasons why Balaam could not see the obvious truth in front of him? The Talmud says, "In the way that a man wishes to go, he is led." 
     Again we have a case where knowing the will of HaShem is not enough. That is why we learn that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart (our will); with all our soul (our spirits and bodies); and with all our substance (all that we own). To know is loving HaShem with only our cognition. 
From Cain, Nimrod, Esau, to Pharaoh, we learn that if someone is bent to do the wrong thing, he will do it with even the willingness to pay the price for it.  We learn again from this that it is not enough to know the will of HaShem, but that we must make a conscious effort to bend our will to His. We must make a conscious effort to resit that evil inclination in order to lean towards the Torah. Paul calls the evil inclination the “old man,” the “flesh,” or the “old nature,” 
For the old nature wants what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is contrary to the old nature. These oppose each other, so that you find yourselves unable to carry out your good intentions. (Gal 5:17 CJB)

Peter chimes in with the same idea,

Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and temporary residents not to give in to the desires of your old nature, which keep warring against you; (1Pe 2:11 CJB)

 STUBBORN BALAAM.
Balaam probably wondered why his donkey was so stubborn, but HaShem was using this poor ‘blind’ donkey as a tool to give a message to Balaam the ‘seer.’ As the donkey was behaving towards Balaam his master, so was Balaam behaving towards HaShem his own Master.
    There is a very important lesson here. If we wonder why people behave against our own wishes, we should always take a look back to ourselves and ask if we are behaving according to the wishes of our own Lord and Master.

BALAAM’S PLACE IN JUDAISM.
I heard it said one time, “Even the wicked are useful, they provide us with an example of what not to do.” Even so Balaam, a prime example of one who would curse Israel but whom HaShem used to bless His people instead, has found his place in the daily liturgy of HaShem’s people.

Peter uses to Balaam's bad example in order to teach some unrestrained false teachers of his day saying,

especially those who follow their old natures in lust for filth and who despise authority. Presumptuous and self-willed, these false teachers do not tremble at insulting angelic beings; whereas angels, though stronger and more powerful, do not bring before the Lord an insulting charge against them. But these people, acting without thinking, like animals without reason, born to be captured and destroyed, insult things about which they have no knowledge. When they are destroyed, their destruction will be total --they will be paid back harm as wages for the harm they are doing. Their idea of pleasure is carousing in broad daylight; they are spots and defects reveling in their deceptions as they share meals with you --for they have eyes always on the lookout for a woman who will commit adultery, eyes that never stop sinning; and they have a heart that has exercised itself in greed; so that they seduce unstable people. What a cursed brood! These people have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Bil`am Ben-B`or, who loved the wages of doing harm but was rebuked for his sin -- a dumb beast of burden spoke out with a human voice and restrained the prophet's insanity!  (2Pe 2:10-16 CJB)

Jude also as he says,

Woe to them, in that they have walked the road of Kayin, they have given themselves over for money to the error of Bil`am, they have been destroyed in the rebellion of Korach. These men are filthy spots at your festive gatherings meant to foster love; they share your meals without a qualm, while caring only for themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; trees without fruit even in autumn, and doubly dead because they have been uprooted; savage sea-waves heaving forth their shameful deeds like foam; wandering stars for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever. (Jud 1:11-13 CJB)

The daily morning Shacharit service starts with the beautiful words of Balaam’s description of the beauty of the Israelite encampment  "How lovely are your tents, oh Jacob/ your dwellings, oh Israel." (Num 24:5)
    HaShem then literally took over Balaam’s tongue to tell of Israel prevailing over the Amalekite king, Agag (I Sam. 15). In the fourth oration (Num. 24:15–19), similarly entitled, Balaam alludes to David's conquests of Moab and Edom.(II Sam. 8:2, 12–14), characterizing that king dramatically as a shooting star, as a meteor. In the three brief orations that follow (Num. 24:20–23) Balaam assumes the role of a "prophet to the nations" and predicts the ultimate downfall of the Amalekites and Kenites, and possibly of Assyrians, west of the Euphrates.


Anyone of us could be like Balaam. Anyone can fall prey to our own lack of judgment due to our personal bias. Anyone of us can curse one of God’s children due to our ill will. May we learn from Balaam!

MAY WE SHUN DARKNESS AND ITS WORKS FROM US

MAY WE WALK WORTHY OF THE CALL WHEREWITH WE HAVE BEEN CALLED

MAY WE REPRESENT OUR MASTER WELL

MAY WE WALK IN THE LIGHT AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT.

MAY WE FULFILL OUR MISSION TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

ר'גל
R' Gavriel Lumbroso


 






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PAR'SHAT CHUKAT: The Dichotomies of Purity, Suffering, and Sacriificial Love.

7/8/2019

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 הנגע במת לכל־נפשׁ אדם וטמא שׁבעת ימים׃

"Anyone who touches a corpse, no matter whose dead body it is, will be unclean for seven days. (Num 19:11 CJB)





THE DICHOTOMIES OF PURITY, SUFFERING, AND SACRIFICIAL LOVE
Do you remember these non-digital scales with a hand to show weight? Sometimes the hand goes back and forth until it finds the right middle, the right balance. I have found that people often do that through their lives. There are certain issues with which they have difficulty finding the right balance, so they go back and forth between the two extremes. It can happen with certain traits, but also in political tendencies and religious observance. Hopefully, as we grow older and wiser, we eventually find the right balance. 
    This is what being well “balanced” means, having found the right place exactly between two extremes. Extreme people are “off-balance”, off-center or “eccentric.” Some might consider it a virtue, but when it comes to Torah-lifestyle, it is considered an abomination. This is what King Solomon referred to when he said, 

False scales are an abomination to Adonai, but accurate weights please him. (Pro 11:1 CJB)

    The whole Book of Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon, is the story of a man who spent his life trying to find the right balance between two extreme lifestyles: serving Adoani or serving idols. He finally came down with the very important conclusion, 

In my pointless life, I've seen everything -- from the righteous person perishing in his uprightness to the wicked one who lives a long life and keeps on doing wrong. So don't be overly righteous or overly wise; why should you disappoint yourself? But don't be overly wicked, and don't be foolish; why should you die before your time? Don't grasp just one of these rules; take hold of the other as well; for he who is in fear of God will live by both of them. (Ecc 7:15-18 CJB)

It is only by being well balanced, smack-dab in the middle ourselves, that we can assert proper judgment. He who is extreme to the right, believes that he who is in the center is an extremist, and vice-versa. In essence, when we are not well balanced ourselves we pervert judgment, which is something forbidden in the Torah.

" 'Do not be unjust in judging -- show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor. (Lev 19:15 CJB)


THE DICHOTOMY OF CORRECTING ONE’S WAYS
The Parasha this week speaks to us a lot about righteousness being found in the balance of two extremes. Look at the laws of purification through the Red Heifer for example. 

When we read about the whole process, we realise that physical contact with biological death makes a person ceremonially unclean. To be purified,  a person must be sprinkled by the ashes of the Red Heifer solution through a priest who in turn becomes impure as he performs the ritual. This represents a very clear Messianic picture of Messiah who voluntarily takes upon Himself our impurities in order to cleanse us from ours. He then is the Unclean who cleanses us. 
This cleansing ceremony involves the use of cedar, one of the tallest trees of the area, a tree whose wood was used to build the temple, a tree whose rot-resistant wood properties represents eternity. The ritual also uses the lowly hyssop shrub. Greatness and lowliness; eternity and temporality. 
    There is a lesson we can learn from all this. In order for someone to correct his ways, he must go to the other extreme. Whereas for a person without the negative traits it would be a mistake to go to the extreme, but for the person in search of correction it is the right thing to do. It is a bit like correcting the direction of a car. We have to steer to the other extreme until we find the right trajectory, then adjust to the right middle.
    For example, a person who is stingy should make extra efforts to be generous, to give and to share. A person who wastes time should strongly monitor their activities. A person who eats too much needs to go on a diet and monitor what they eat. A person who drinks too much alcohol needs to completely forego alcoholic drinks. All these things which may not be needed or even expedient if a person is already balanced in any of these areas, but vital for he who has difficulty finding temperance in all things. Temperance is a fruit of living by the Spirit of God and is practiced by athletes. We are athletes in the great race of this age, so we should practice temperance in all things.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23 KJV)

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. (1Co 9:24-25 KJV)

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. (2Pe 1:4-7 KJV)

THE DICHOTOMY OF SUFFERING
There is another dichotomy in the parsha this week. We read about punishing snakes causing pain and suffering to the Children of Israel, but we also hear that looking at the same snake on a pole cures them from the curse. The snake bit the people, and the image of the snake cured them. This can sound confusing, but not when we look at motivation.
    There is a difference between someone punching us in the face causing the loss of a tooth or a  dentist removing a tooth. One is done out of hatred and anger, the other done out of love and care. 
    We also need to understand the dichotomy of suffering. We do not like suffering. We naturally try to avoid it. That’s why we don’t go to the dentist even though we know that we need it and that it is good for us. But what the Tanach teaches us is that suffering and trials equal good. Paul, whose mission Yeshua summed in this message delivered to Paul by brother Gamaliel,  

"Go, because this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name to the Goyim, even to their kings, and to the sons of Isra'el as well. For I myself will show him how much he will have to suffer on account of my name." (Act 9:15-16 CJB)

Reminds us of it in, 

But not only that, let us also boast in our troubles; because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope; and this hope does not let us down, because God's love for us has already been poured out in our hearts through the Ruach HaKodesh who has been given to us. (Rom 5:3-5 CJB)

Ya’akov also, the brother of the Master reminds us of it in, 

Regard it all as joy, my brothers, when you face various kinds of temptations; for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance. But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. (Jas 1:2-4 CJB)

So, brothers, be patient until the Lord returns. See how the farmer waits for the precious "fruit of the earth" -- he is patient over it until it receives the fall and spring rains. You too, be patient; keep up your courage; for the Lord's return is near. Don't grumble against one another, brothers, so that you won't come under condemnation -- look! the Judge is standing at the door! As an example of suffering mistreatment and being patient, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of Adonai. Look, we regard those who persevered as blessed. You have heard of the perseverance of Iyov, and you know what the purpose of Adonai was, that Adonai is very compassionate and merciful. (Jas 5:7-11 CJB)

THE DICHOTOMY OF SACRIFICIAL LOVE
Because of the idea that in order to purify, another one had to make themselves unclean.  Sages of Judaism have often understood that the whole notion of the parasha on the Red Heifer was summed up in,

Love your neighbor.  (Lev 19:18 CJB)

    This is the essence of sacrificial love, of giving above and beyond till it hurts, till it costs. As I heard it said one time, “HaShem doesn’t look at what we give but at what we’ve got left after we’re done giving! Giving doesn’t count till it costs, until it hurts!”
     Rabbi and psychologist Zelig Pliskin comments on this saying,, “The test of your level of love for your fellow-man is the amount of sacrifices you are willing to make.”  


MAY WE SHUN DARKNESS, AND ITS INTEMPERATE WORKS, FROM US

MAY WE WALK WORTHY OF THE CALL WHEREWITH WE HAVE BEEN CALLED

MAY WE REPRESENT OUR MASTER WELL

MAY WE WALK IN THE LIGHT AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT AND FULFILL OUR MISSION TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.


R' Gavriel Lumbroso
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PAR'SHAT KORACH: Korach, Yesterday and Today!

7/3/2019

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​ ויקח קרח בן־יצהר בן־קהת בן־לוי ודתן ואבירם בני אליאב ואון בן־פלת בני ראובן׃ 
 ויקמו לפני משׁה ואנשׁים מבני־ישׂראל חמשׁים ומאתים נשׂיאי עדה קראי מועד אנשׁי־שׁם׃ 
 ויקהלו על־משׁה ועל־אהרן ויאמרו אלהם רב־לכם כי כל־העדה כלם קדשׁים ובתוכם יהוה ומדוע תתנשׂאו על־קהל יהוה׃

Now Korach the son of Yitz'har, the son of K'hat, the son of Levi, along with Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eli'av, and On, the son of Pelet, descendants of Re'uven, took men and rebelled against Moshe. Siding with them were 250 men of Isra'el, leaders of the community, key members of the council, men of reputation. They assembled themselves against Moshe and Aharon and said to them, "You take too much on yourselves! After all, the entire community is holy, every one of them, and Adonai is among them. So why do you lift yourselves up above Adonai's assembly?" 
(Num 16:1-3 CJB)


KORACH YESTERDAY AND TODAY.
A while ago we learned how Aharon and Miriam’s challenge to Moshe’s authority did not end well. After that, we learned what happened to Israel because the leaders and spies challenged HaShem’s command through Moshe’s leadership to go and conquer the Land. After all that, it is amazing that Korach had the guts to go and challenge Moshe’s leadership. He must not have been listening. The fact that he met with such a fatal death, shows that he should have gotten the message through these other episodes of people challenging HaShem’s leadership though Moshe. Korach was fully responsible for his actions. Not only he did not listen, not only was he not sensitive to what HaShem was teaching Israel through all these previous events, but he influenced many other people to follow his bad example.
Somehow Korach makes me think of people today who read the Bible but though they read all the miracles HaShem does through Moshe; though they read how HaShem spoke to Moshe face-to-face; though they read that the people who challenged the authority that HaShem put in Moshe met with either leprosy or death, they still today challenge his authority and teachings.
Even Yeshua led people to Moshe’s teachings when He was asked about eternal life,
As he was starting on his way, a man ran up, kneeled down in front of him and asked, "Good rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?" Yeshua said to him, …  You know the mitzvot -- 'Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't give false testimony, don't defraud, honor your father and mother, . . .' "  (Mar 10:17-19 CJB)


THE TENTH COMMANDMENT.
What was Korach’s sin? Hadn’t he heard the last two commandments?

"Do not give false evidence against your neighbor. ... "Do not covet your neighbor's house; do not covet your neighbor's wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."  (Exo 20:16-17 CJB)

If he did,  why did he come to Moshe with the jealous accusation, 


"You take too much on yourselves! After all, the entire community is holy, every one of them, and Adonai is among them. So why do you lift yourselves up above Adonai's assembly?" (Num 16:3 CJB)

Think of it. Korach accused HaShem’s chosen leader of the people. He accused he of whom HaShem said, ... Now this man Moshe was very humble, more so than anyone on earth. (Num 12:3 CJB)  … of pride.

Not only that, but Korah’s accusation represented a false testimony to the 250 people he influenced against Moshe.

Korach challenged the notion that HaShem had communicated though Moshe that the priesthood only belonged to the sons of Aharon. Since Moshe was only a mouthpiece for HaShem, it is not Moshe that Korach challenged but HaShem Himself. Could the people today who challenge the teachings of HaShem through Moshe meet the same fate as Korach? This story should serve as an example to all the people today who say that the words Moshe spoke are obsolete. Paul uses these stories as exhortations for us today.

Now these things took place as prefigurative historical events, warning us not to set our hearts on evil things as they did. Don't be idolaters, as some of them were -- as the Tanakh puts it, "The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to indulge in revelry." And let us not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, with the consequence that 23,000 died in a single day. And let us not put the Messiah to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes. And don't grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the Destroying Angel. These things happened to them as prefigurative historical events, and they were written down as a warning to us who are living in the acharit-hayamim.  (1Co 10:6-11 CJB)



 THE SIN OF KORACH: ENVY.
Korach was guilty of jealousy, envy, and covetousness. Here is a quote from the book of ethics, Pirkei Avot
הַקִּנְאָה וְהַתַּאֲוָה וְהַכָּבוֹד, מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הָאָדָם מִן הָעוֹלָם:  Envy,  lust [for food, drink, fornication, and the like] and honor [i.e., the desire to be honored by others] drive a man from the world.
In essence, envy is one of the things that destroy a person.
Envy keeps people so focused on what others have that they are oblivious to their own blessings. So not only envy doesn’t provide you with what you want, but like Korach who lost everything, envy takes away even that which you do have. It is absolutely counter-productive.
THE ANTIDOTE AGAINST ENVY.
There is only one way to get rid of envy, and that is to exercise thankfulness.  As the apostle says,
In everything give thanks, for this is what God wants from you who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. (1Th 5:18 CJB)
The root of envy is a person’s quest for personal reward and satisfaction. Such a person can never be happy. Our sole goal should be to please HaShem and we please Him by being what He wants us to be. We may not all be roses, most of us may just be daisies, but let’s be the best little daisies we can be!
KORACH’S ACCUSATIONS.
I heard it said one time that people often accuse others of things they are themselves guilty of. They do that because what they see in others is their own evil inclinations and weaknesses. They therefore accuse others of things that they know they would do themselves.
    It is very important to realise that. When we hear criticism of others, some people think that there must at least be some truth to it. Though it is a very important dynamic used in negative propaganda in political campaigns, it is a false premise, an erroneous conclusion. Some people do have the audacity to find fault in others within the things that these others actually excel. No example is more clear of that fact than Korach accusing he whom HaShem calls the humblest man on earth, of pride. 
    The person who was proud and envious of position was not Moshe but Korach who projected his own sinful vanitous embitions on Moshe. The sages of Israel often mention that when a person finds fault with others, he frequently is just mentioning his own fault, which he sees in others. We should therefore be careful about accepting accusations against others, especially against leaders. It is bad enough that this is how our political electoral campaigns are led, but it should not be the rule in the congregations of the Kingdom of God. 
Rashi actually explains that the reason for Korach complaint of Moshe was not really against Moshe, but that it was a retaliation for being by-passed for a leadership position. When people criticise others, especially leaders, we should always look for their motivation.

THE REJECTED LEADERS.
The dynamics of HaShem’s chosen leader being rejected by the people he is to lead are an integral part of leadership in the Kingdom.
    Joseph was rejected by his brothers. Moses was at first rejected by Israel and  his leadership was sometimes challenged even by the members of his own family. Yeshua's leadership of israel also has also been challenged from the beginning, even by his own family. Even today,  while people do not openly dare challenge His leadership, they still do so by twisting His words. They then create a form of religious observance that has nothing to do with what He originally intended.
    Today, the Hebrew term “Like Korach and his followers” has become a term synonymous with rebellion.
    Here is what Jude, one of the brothers of the Master had to say about complainers and those who challenge HaShem’s commandments like Korach did,

For certain individuals, the ones written about long ago as being meant for this condemnation, have wormed their way in -- ungodly people who pervert God's grace into a license for debauchery and disown our only Master and Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. Since you already know all this, my purpose is only to remind you that Adonai, who once delivered the people from Egypt, later destroyed those who did not trust. ... these people, with their visions, defile their own flesh, despise godly authority and insult angelic beings. ... these people insult anything they don't understand; and what they do understand naturally, without thinking, like animals -- by these things they are destroyed! Woe to them, in that they have walked the road of Kayin, they have given themselves over for money to the error of Bil`am, they have been destroyed in the rebellion of Korach. These men are filthy spots at your festive gatherings meant to foster love; they share your meals without a qualm, while caring only for themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; trees without fruit even in autumn, and doubly dead because they have been uprooted; savage sea-waves heaving forth their shameful deeds like foam; wandering stars for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever. Moreover, Hanokh, in the seventh generation starting with Adam, also prophesied about these men, saying, "Look! Adonai came with his myriads of holy ones to execute judgment against everyone, that is, to convict all the godless for their godless deeds which they have done in such a godless way, and for all the harsh words these godless sinners have spoken against him." These people are grumblers and complainers, they follow their evil passions, their mouths speak grandiosities, and they flatter others to gain advantage. (Jud 1:4-16 CJB)

MAY WE LEARN FROM KORACH’ S EPISODE IN THE DESERT.

ר'גל
​Rabbi Gaviel Lumbroso


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PAR'SHAT SHLACH: The Spies and Us.

6/26/2019

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  ויספרו־לו ויאמרו באנו אל־הארץ אשׁר שׁלחתנו וגם זבת חלב ודבשׁ הוא וזה־פריה׃ 
... אפס כי־עז העם הישׁב בארץ והערים בצרות גדלת מאד וגם־ילדי הענק ראינו שׁם׃ 
׃ והאנשׁים אשׁר־עלו עמו אמרו לא נוכל לעלות אל־העם כי־חזק הוא ממנו

What they told him was this: "We entered the land where you sent us, and indeed it does flow with milk and honey -- here is its fruit! However the people living in the land are fierce, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the `Anakim there. ….  "We can't attack those people, because they are stronger than we are"; 
(Num 13:27-28, 31 CJB)


THE SPIES AND US.
As usual, from the standpoint of our very mature understanding of the Torah and from the perspective of our very pious lifestyle (sarcasm intended), it is very easy to judge, and even condemn the people in the Tanach who didn't seem to come up to the plate in following HaShem's command. But would we have been part of the Promised Land scouting team, would we have come back like Joshua and Caleb, or been like the 10 other spies? 
          A talmudic rabbi (I forgot his name) wrote that we shouldn't criticise others if we cannot see the same sin we criticise them for in ourselves. The reason for that is that it is the only way that our judgment can be mixed with empathy and mercy. After all, our own Master Yeshua is the very example of this principle. HaShem did establish Him as our great judge,

The Father does not judge anyone but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, (Joh 5:22 CJB)

But not until He took upon Himself the guilt of all humanity.
           So to really understand what happened with the spies, to really draw a proper conclusion, we need to see to be to internalise the fault of the spies. But what was that fault? I am sure everybody has their own ideas but here is what I would like to propose. 
SELF-DEPRECATION.
The apostle teaches us that we should be humble. He tells us to  

Do nothing out of rivalry or vanity; but, in humility, regard each other as better than yourselves -- (Php 2:3 CJB)

          Whereas it is a healthy behavior to own, we should never apply at the cost of deprecating our own value. The spies commented,

We saw the N'filim, the descendants of `Anak, who was from the N'filim; to ourselves we looked like grasshoppers by comparison, and we looked that way to them too!"  (Num 13:33 CJB)

The spies saw themselves not only as smaller but unworthy of HaShem's big prize. 
 
THE ANTIDOTE FOR AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX.
A backlash of the proliferation of social media is that many people spend their lives anxious of the approval of others. Such a person's self-esteem becomes relative to the whims of those who surround him. This is a form of idolatry because it is giving the control of your person to others instead of to HaShem. There is no rest for the person who does that.
          We need to also remember the words of the Master,

"You people make yourselves look righteous to others, but God knows your hearts; what people regard highly is an abomination before God!  (Luk 16:15 CJB)

          Here is the antidote for a misplaced inferiority complex. Ask yourself the question, "How much should a stranger's life be worth for you to be ready to sacrifice your only child, the one you love, for them?" After you have answered this question, remember that this is what HaShem has done for each of us as individuals. 

OOOOOOOH, THAT EVIL INCLINATION!
The reasoning behind refusing to go and conquer the Land was this,

But the men who had gone with him said, "We can't attack those people, because they are stronger than we are"; (Num 13:31 CJB)

Among the many reasons why they may have this way, the Chofetz Chayim points that, "The evil inclination tries in every possible way to prevent a person from doing good deeds." Such ways are:
Arrogance: 
  1. There are times when people feel they have done enough. They have reached the pinnacle of their accomplishment and shouldn't be asked anymore. They've done enough. They should be allowed to retire from serving HaShem.
  2. There are also times when someone is so guilt-ridden that he feels that he is not worthy of the great task HaShem wants to accomplish through them. They have repented, changed, but their self-inflicted guilt keeps them from launching out on to great mission HaShem has for them.

Drawing Wrong Conclusions:
It is said of our Master that, 

He will be inspired by fearing Adonai. He will not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but he will judge the impoverished justly; he will decide fairly for the humble of the land. He will strike the land with a rod from his mouth and slay the wicked with a breath from his lips. (Isa 11:3-4 CJB)

          In essence this means that He will not draw wrong conclusions from His observations. The spies’ observations concerning the size of the Giants were right, but their conclusion were wrong.
          It is very common for us to quickly judge people and situations according to the seeing of our eyes and the hearing of the ear, and we can be sorely wrong by doing that. Nothing illustrates this so much as all the wrong convictions that plague our justice system. Though every conviction needs to be corroborated by unshakable evidence, we quite often get it wrong.
          Also, whether they be teachers, leaders, or politicians, how many people do we erroneously lift up just because they tell a good story or their demeanor is appealing to us? On the other hand, how many others do we put down just because of our erroneous conclusions concerning their looks and attitude? The same was the fate of the Master!

For before him he grew up like a young plant, like a root out of dry ground. He was not well-formed or especially handsome; we saw him, but his appearance did not attract us. People despised and avoided him, a man of pains, well acquainted with illness. Like someone from whom people turn their faces, he was despised; we did not value him. In fact, it was our diseases he bore, our pains from which he suffered; yet we regarded him as punished, stricken and afflicted by God. But he was wounded because of our crimes, crushed because of our sins; the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him, and by his bruises [Or: and in fellowship with him] we are healed. (Isa 53:2-5 CJB)

A Lack of Humility:
All this caused the spies to despise the Promised Land. It is nothing new. Many people criticize and despise it till this day. Life in Israel is not always easy especially if you come from a country like  America. It can make one criticise the place HaShem has chosen to write His Name in.
          Rabbi Moshe of Lelov one day met someone who was very critical of Israel. Unable to contain himself, the old rabbi corrected the person with, "The Torah says that the Land is very good. When does someone find that the Land? When he fulfills the Mishnah (Pirkey Avot 4:4) of, 'Be very, very humble!' When someone has the trait of arrogance, he will not be satisfied and will complain about the Land." (Cited in Otzer Chayim)
          What are the typical traits of the arrogant person?
  • He wants things to be exactly as he wants them.
  • He lacks patience
  • He gets frustrated which causes him
  • Much discontentment and inappreciation of the Land.

On the other hand, a humble person:
  • Doesn't mind going with the flow when things don't go right
  • Focuses on the positive in every situation
  • Finds the good in each and every circumstance
  • Appreciates the spiritual reality of the Land and so is able to enjoy it. 

In essence, a person of humility, a person who enjoys the Land, is much like the person Ya,'akov describes,

But the wisdom from above is, first of all, 
pure, 
then peaceful, 
kind, 
open to reason, 
full of mercy  and good fruits, 
without partiality and without hypocrisy. 
And peacemakers who sow seed in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. 
(Jas 3:17-18 CJB)

May we all be that person!
          
R’ Gavriel
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