Archive for the ‘Biblical Studies’ Category

Recently Ross Nichols, founder and teacher of “Roots of Faith” in St Francisville, Louisana, gave a message with the provocative title “Following Jesus: Out of Christianity.” You can download an audio version of this message at:

http://rootsoffaith.org/2009/10/12/welcome-to-roots-of-faith.htm#more-408
You can find out more about Roots of Faith at http://rootsoffaith.org as well as the “Synagogue without Walls,” which you are welcome to join at http://rootsoffaith.net

Here, in Ross Nichol’s own words, is his introduction to this audio message:
You see, I began my journey towards truth from the rank and file of fundamental Christianity. As I read and studied my Bible I soon discovered a vast difference between the religion of Jesus and the religion about him (Christianity). Years ago I came up with three statements that helped me along the way. Since I came from a Christian background, I used my familiarity of the New Testament texts to find my way to the truth. I began to see that “Jesus” had been misrepresented by the “Church”, and felt that I had inherited lies, vanity and things wherein there was no profit – Jeremiah 16:19. I still maintain the highest regard for the historical Jesus of Nazareth who believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and in the eternal validity of the Hebrew Bible and taught the people of his day to return to the true faith. Below are the three statements that helped me find my way to the God of Jesus – a WAY that is clearly defined in the Bible that Jesus read. Jesus sought to bring about the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth – which is the goal and meaning of history. His followers would do well to take his yoke and learn from him.

I put my faith in the God of Jesus – commonly referred to as “the LORD”, but known by the designation YHVH in the Hebrew Bible, and referred to by Jesus of Nazareth in the New Testament by the Aramaic term Abba / father. This God is one, and beside him there is no other, neither in heaven nor on earth. He is the Ancient of Days, El Shaddai, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Matthew 19:16ff; John 17:3; 20:17; I Corinthians 15:24; II Corinthians 11:31; Ephesians 1:3, 17; Colossians 1:3; I Peter 1:3; Acts 2:22: 10:38). I do NOT believe that the historical Jesus is or was the God of Abraham, Isaac or Jacob. Furthermore, I do not believe that he ever claimed such.

I put my faith in the Bible that Jesus read – commonly referred to as the “Old Testament”, but strictly and properly referred to as the Hebrew Bible or TaNaKh, an acronym formed by the first letters of three Hebrew words used to designate the three main parts of the Hebrew Bible (Torah – Law, Neviim – the Prophets and Ketuvim – the Writings). (Matthew 5:17ff; Luke 16:16ff, 29; 24:25, 32, 44ff; John 1:45; 5:39, 46; Acts 13:15, 26ff; 15:21, 17:2, 24:14, 26:22; Romans 1:2; 7:12, 14, 22; 10:4; 15:4; 16:26; I Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 3:24; II Timothy 3:15)

I put my faith in the authentic teachings and mission of Jesus – to bring about the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth, to seek and save the lost sheep of the house of Israel (hitherto unaware of their true identity), and to do and teach the Torah of YHWH. (Matthew 5; 10:6; 15:24)

A recent statement titled “A Note on Ambiguities Contained in Covenant and Mission,” issued by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is rightly causing lots of stir and controversy among Jewish leaders. Despite what had come to be seen as progress based on the 1965 Second Vatican Council declaration, Nostra Aetate, with its assertion that the Jewish people collectively are not to be blamed for the death of Jesus as well as a general understanding that interfaith dialogue should not have as its purpose the conversion of Jews, this latest statement from the USCCB makes clear that the Catholic Church stands firm in its historic position that Christianity has superseded and thus effectively replaced Judaism:

“The long story of God’s intervention in the history of Israel comes to its unsurpassable culmination in Jesus Christ, who is God become man.”  According to the document, “we also believe that the fulfillment of the covenants, indeed, of all God’s promises to Israel, is found only in Jesus Christ.”

Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamantion League (ADL) has issued for formal statement of protest, highlighted on the ADL Web site:

ADL Troubled By U.S. Bishops’ Statement That Appears to Green Light Missionizing Of Jews

The Catholic News Service (CNS) has also posted a story:

Jewish leaders say bishops’ June statement could hurt dialogue

A more pointed story was just posted by Israel National News ISN):

US Jews Enraged by Catholic Document Urging Missionizing of Jews

Despite Pope John Paul II’s language about the Covenant with Israel being one that was “never revoked,” the Bishops were keen to make clear that such language does not in any way preclude “supersessionism,”that is, the notion that this “Old Covenant” has in point of fact become obsolete. Jews remain valuable as “historic witness” to God’s previous dealings with humankind, but there is nothing in the Roman Catholic understanding of salvation, past or present, that declares the Jewish people, short of accepting Christ, as enjoying a fulfilled relationship with God. Accordingly, the historic Christian insistence on the “conversion of Jews” remains central to the Christian mission, despite any progress in ecumenical dialogue and exchange among Rabbis and Bishops.

It has become somewhat fashionable in our time, and particularly among certain circles of biblical scholarship, to argue that the documents of the New Testament, and those associated with Paul and John in particular, do not in fact support the subsequent Christian doctrine that Israel’s covenant with God has been superseded and made obsolete. New Testament scholars are familiar with the work of Loyd Gaston (Paul and the Torah 1987), supported by John Gager (Reinventing Paul 2000) and the late Kirster Stendahl, who argue that Paul upheld Israel’s Sinai covenant as eternally valid for Jews, while Gentiles are part of a new covenant through Christ. According to this view when Paul seems to speak negatively about the Torah, or the insufficiency of Israel’s covenant for salvation, he has in view only attempts by his opponents to force such upon his Gentile converts. As attractive as such a view might be for modern ecumenical relations between Christians and Jews, I am convinced that Alan Segal (Paul the Convert 1992), Ed Sanders (Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People 1983) and any number of others, have adequately demonstrated that for Paul both Jew and Gentiles find hope for salvation only in the New Covenant brought by Christ.

In that sense there is really “nothing new” in this latest clarification by the Catholic Bishops. They are simply saying clearly what orthodox Christians have said now for nearly 2000 years, despite some hope by Rabbis and Jews interested in Jewish-Christian dialogue that things might have changed. The fact remains, Paul’s view that his Jewish brothers and sisters are accursed from God, cut off from Christ, having a “zeal for God, but without true knowledge” could not be more clear. They are branches broken off the Olive Tree of Israel, God’s true people, for their unbelief in Christ, while Gentiles who do accept Christ are “grafted in,” as wild shoots (Romans 9-11).

In my book The Jesus Dynasty I maintain that Jesus was and remained a Jew and never entertained the establishment of a new religion. In contrast, it was Paul who might actually be called the “founder” of Christianity, with its distinctive theological doctrines. Even though Jews disagreed on how one might reflect and live out all the teachings and commandments of the Sinai revelation, especially regarding what came to be called halacha (literally “the way” or “the walk”), that is how to fulfill the various commandments, in general religious Jews, who took seriously the revelation of Torah, agreed on the obvious point that Israelites of all persuasions were obligated to live according to the commandments in order to be faithful to the Covenant.

Historians and scholars seem to be in almost universal agreement that what is called “the Jesus movement,” as represented by the teachings of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, was a movement within Judaism/s of its time and is most properly understood in this way, rather than as a “new” religion, separate from the mother faith. Likewise, I think there is general agreement, as far as I am aware, that James the brother of Jesus, leader of the Jesus movement after Jesus’ death, remained an observant Jew himself (Acts, letter of James, Josephus, Hegesippus, etc.).

To be “observant” in this broader context does not so much imply a uniform “orthodoxy” such as later developed within Rabbinic Judaism, but that whatever one’s halachic view, one remained “in the camp” in terms of covenental identity with the Jewish people and a concerted attempt to embody the teaching and commandments of the Sinai revelation. Judaism, as it developed, was understood as a religion, a people, and a culture, so matters of “definition” could be quite complex, i.e., you could have one who was born as a Jew, spurning the religion, or living immorally, or even turning to another faith, and yet, technically, remaining “Jewish.” In the same way non-Jews might take up Jewish customs and observances and still, nonetheless, not be considered “Jews” in a formal sense. E. P. Sanders, in his book Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, might be one of the best summaries of this entire matter. He exhaustively explores the various “Judaisms” of the period, showing ways in which they differed, but also what gave them their essential identity, something he terms “covenantal nomism.”

Non-Jews, in most of these forms of emerging Judaism, were not expected to “convert” to Judaism in order to have a spiritual relationship with God. They could function within the more universal “Noahite” covenant, and the notion and even social existence of the “righteous Gentile” or the “God-fearer” has been extensively documented, particularly during the late Roman empire. Here I recommend the monumental study of my teacher Louis Feldman, Jew and Gentile in the Roman World. One way of putting it was the adage “The righteous of all the nations will have a place in the world to come.” Jesus appears to share this openness to the non-Jew and the messianic vision of the Prophets was that all nations would learn to walk in the light of the Torah’s essential ethical teachings.

If Paul did indeed redefine the people of Israel (what he calls the “true Israel” ) as those who had faith in the heavenly Christ, thus excluding those he called “Israel after the flesh” from his new covenant, and if he also held the view that the Torah given to Moses was valid “until Christ came,” so that even Jews are no longer “under the Torah,” or obligated to follow the commandments or mitzvot as given to Moses but a new “Law of Christ,” then most historians have agreed that we are not merely dealing with a movement “within Judaism,” but the makings of a “new religion” that comes to be called Christianity. This is not to deny Paul’s “Jewishness,” in the cultural sense of that term. He surely believes in the God of Israel, Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, and the Torah and Prophets as Scripture. But in Paul’s thinking, instead of humanity divided as “Israel and the nations” which is the classic understanding of Judaism, we have “Israel, the Gentiles or “non-Jews,” and the new people called “the church of God.” This does not mean that Paul advocated immoral living, he surely did not. In all his letters he takes pains to enforce and reinforce the essential ethics revealed in the Torah as applicable to Gentiles upon his followers.

The rub comes for Jews–if it is now okay for a Jew who is “in Christ” and thus part of this new spiritual Israel, to fail to circumcise his or her children, to ignore observance of the Sabbath and the festivals, to eat anything set before them, and to generally “live as a Gentile” in terms of observing such marks of Torah observance then Paul’s position takes him outside of “Judaism” or observant Torah faith. Such a view implicitly leads to the abolition/replacement of the mother faith. It was upon that basis that the entire super-sessionist/replacement idea that became so current in Christianity developed. Paul takes the position in Romans 9 that any Jew who does not share his faith in Christ is “lost” and cut off from God, no matter what might be his or her spiritual devotion, Torah observance, or even reliance upon the grace of God.

Then there is also the matter of “justification by faith.” Judaism in all its forms has taught that all humans are sinners and can only be accepted in God’s eyes through repentance and faith. Psalm 51 would be the most classic expression of this, the Thanksgiving Hymns in the Dead Sea Scrolls reflect the same for the Qumran community, as srict was they were in their legal interpretations, and Rabbinic literature reflects the same. As a Jew Jesus expressed these very ideas when he speaks of the two men praying in the Temple, one of them a “sinner” who smites his breast and turns to God, and is thereby “justified,” and the other self-righteousness, thinking he had no need of justification. E.P. Sanders is very good to make it clear that the notion that Christianity depends on “grace” and Judaism on “works” is a terribly unfortunate misunderstanding of Judaism. What divides Paul from Judaism is his insistence that this grace bringing justification is only extended to those who accept his Christ faith.

With these three elements based on Paul’s perceptions and heavenly visions: a new definition of Israel, the abrogation of the Sinai covenant, and the restriction of God’s grace to those who “accept Christ as savior,” we truly have a “new religion” and by no theological, cultural, or historical definition could it properly be called “Judaism,” but even more to the point, it must ever stand opposed, by its own self-identity, to all forms of Judaism as expressions of faithfulness to the God of Israel. Talk about irony. But such are the ways of the history of religions when it comes to the Abrahamic faiths–with each successive manifestation, first Christianity, and finally Islam, seeking to invalidate that which went before, while offering lip service to superseded obsolescence. For a full discussion of this point, and particularly the ways in which a more universal view of Hebraic faith addresses the issues of super-sessionism, see the treatment in my recently republished book, Restoring Abrahamic Faith.

Many of you might know of Isaac Mozeson from his book, The Word, that began to deal in a fascinating way with his thesis that the roots of the Hebrew language lie at the heart of all human languages, based on Genesis 11 and the “Babel” story. Isaac is a warm and wonderful gentleman, Jewish, Torah observant, but quite committed to reaching out to the wider world with the Torah message. He knew David Horowitz and has appreciated the mission of UIWU for many decades now. Anyway, Isaac has now joined the Synagogue without Walls (http://rootsoffaith.net) and is taking part in a new discussion group there that Ross Nichols just began this week, The Hebrew Origin of Human Languages. Mozeson’s work has truly expanded since the days of his first publication of his book. He has shaped his latest work around the term “Edenics” and it comprises a whole range of issues and interests, with the linguistic still at the core.  It is a privilege to have Isaac interact with us and I encourage all of you to jump on over there and check things out–it is all quite fascinating. You don’t even have to “join” to read and follow, see the main group site here:

http://www.rootsoffaith.net/group/theoriginofspeeches

As well as Isaac’s Blog on SWW here:

http://www.rootsoffaith.net/profile/IsaacMozeson

Just to whet your interest a bit on the wonderful style of Isaac Mozeson, here is an Op Ed piece he published in the Jerusalem Post in January, 2005. You can find this and lots more archived at his Web site: http://www.edenics.org/

Both options seem strange. Since Darwin’s The Origin of Species (1859) science assumes that, after millions of years of evolving mutations, some grunting apes became the gesturing Neanderthals, which led to Shakespearean sonnets. Happily, the floating, uniquely human hyoid throat bone also appeared, helping this species survive by lying, crooning, yodeling and rapping. (The world’s oldest hyoid bone was unearthed in Haifa).

Secularists have always considered it mythic that a Divine Engineer would factory-install a language program at Eden, creating the first modern humans. And that multi-national history was then to have been neurolinguistically kickstarted at the Tower of Babel, with 70 spin-offs which have since de-evolved into our 6,000 tongues.

Linguist Noam Chomsky proved that the human brain is hard-wired for language. He suggested that some super-intelligent alien engineered language. And recent linguists DO conclude that all Earth languages came from one universal language. But NOT that “recent West-Semitic language” called Hebrew.

The establishment Eurocentrists still support “origin unknown” for LAD (boy), even though Hebrew yeled and Arabic walid mean “boy,” and the root of birthing is Lamed-Daled. Genesis 11:1 has “kol aretz saphah echat” – coincidentally like WHOLE, EARTH, SPEECH… one (source of EACH). The new science of Edenics now has over 23,000 such “coincidences.” Edenics works with a Proto-Semitic, “Edenic” vocabulary where each root letter has the “genes” for the wide diversity of the world’s words.

Edenics doesn’t use kabbalistic formulae, only bread-and-butter stuff already used to link, say, French with Italian. So, Daled-Resh-Kahf, derekh (way, road) is echoed in the words for “road” in Russian (doroga), Australian Aborigine (turingas) and 40 other languages in the “DIRECTION” entry of our e-word CD dictionary. Moreover, the Gimel of garon (throat) can shift harder to a hard C or softer to an H. This is why EGRETS, CRANES and HERONS are all long-throated birds.

There are only a few hundred English-Edenic links as easy as rageel (usual) and ReGuLar. If one shifts the position of a letter instead of its sound, one knows why ReLiGion is about a spiritual path becoming a ReGuLar routine.

Instead of the divine dance of sense among sound, scholars assume that words are merely chaotic noises that we assign meaning to. But words traced back to Eden AREN’T meaningless sounds. Take mysterious animal names. In English, names like 1) GIRAFFE, 2) SKUNK, 3) GOPHER, and 4) HORSE are mere sounds. But in Biblical Hebrew, (Sephardic) Ayin-Resh-Phey, ghoref, means neck. 2) Tsokhen, stinker, gave the Indians that delightful creature’s name, 3) Khopher means digger, and 4) Horaish is plower. There’s a large chapter on animal names from Eden in The Origin of Speeches:From the Language of Eden To Our Babble After Babel (2005).When the guardians of Modern Hebrew had to coin a word for that crustacean, the CRAB, they went to the Old High German krebitz. This word is thought to mean “scratching,” even though crabs don’t scratch. The Academy then named the crab sartan, for scratching. (Samekh-Resh-Tet is the source of SERRATED). The scholars should have noted other creatures with exoskeletons, like the aqrab (scorpion). From qeren (horn) and Aramaic karpafta (skull) they should have seen a KR subroot of hardness. Koof-Resh-Bhet means battle and encroachment. So, nature’s lumbering, armored tank, the CRAB, should have been called a qarebet.

It was an animal, a little birdie, that whispered the whole Edenic concept into my ear back in 1978. I was a doctoral literature student, a published poet, stuck with a boring linguistics requirement at New York University. The professor demonstrated the genius behind reconstructing the so-called “Indo-European root” for the generic bird word. This never-spoken laboratory reconstruction was to show how Aryans emerged from a separate troop of well-groomed apes, without any (shudder) relationship to the “inferior” races, peoples and languages.

That theoretical, generic bird word was SPER. In second grade I knew a similar generic word for bird… tsipor. At the “SPARROW” entry one sees the Tsadi-Pey behind bird-related words for floating, spying, being covered (as in feathers), a talon, and chirping.

In Edenics every two consonants make a sound. Sound is energy. This is a science now, no more Humanities myths. Every sound carries sense. Therefore, if we examine the simple three-letter word for flower, Pey-Resh-Het or perakh, we can see that it is a combination of 1) P-R (botanical things, as in perot / FRUIT) and 2) the R-K element of fragrance, seen in reyakh (smell) or English REEK.

Here are two examples from the upcoming Japanese book. The SAMURAI, a storied warrior, was a royal guardsman. A guardian in Hebrew is a shomer. More often, the Japanese reverses the Hebrew. KARATE is an unarmed martial art. Therefore, kara means empty and te (pronounced tay) means hand. Reverse Hebrew raik (empty) and yad (hand) to get kara-te.

Are we naked but gabby gibbons, or have we divinely enhanced brains (Genesis 2:7) above an ape’s body? Were we engineered for speech, for literacy, perhaps even for Revealed moral instruction (G-d forbid)? Stay tuned. In our 21st Century culture wars, we will weigh in with the new science of Edenics.

Today brings the New Moon or a new month, but not just any new moon. According to the Torah, “This month (literally “new”) shall be to you head of the months…Exodus 12.

Today is the beginning of Nisan or Aviv, the biblical name of this new moon/month.

Even though the focus on the 1st day of the 7th month is dominant among many, and has been picked up even in our culture as “Rosh HaShanah,” the Jewish “New Year,” the power of YHVH’s word here to Moshe can not be gainsaid. This is indeed the beginning of the “Sacred” year, not the civil year, and the return of the cycle of Sabbaths, New Moons, and Festivals…

If you do a bit of study for the terms “first day” of the “first month” in the Tanakh you might be surprised at how often this “New Year” signals a new beginning, renewal, and new life, including here in the time of Moshe at the Exodus. It is also called the turning of the year, and has to do with the sprouting of the barely, and with what we call “spring,” but on a deeper level it is more than that. For all of us may it be a time of “turning,” and yes, “Here comes the sun!”

Here is a detailed study of what the Bible calls “The Times and the Seasons”:

Blessed be the Name of God
From everlasting even to everlasting!
For wisdom and might are His;
And He changes the times and seasons.
–Daniel 2:20–

One of the most fascinating areas of Biblical study is that of chronology.  YHVH is a God of history, of times and seasons.  He alone is the One who was, and is, and is to come.  He alone determines the outcome of things, knowing the end from the beginning (see Isaiah 46:10).  The Torah is full of fascinating indications of how, and particularly when He acts in bringing forth His Divine Plan of the ages.  In other words, the Torah gives us insight into what we might call the Divine Counsel or “Strategy.” Much of this chronological material in the Torah is written in coded form and has to be “dug out” with some care.  However, the effort is well rewarded as we gain insight into some of the “wondrous things” hidden therein.  Remember the prayer of David:

Open my eyes that I might see,
Wondrous things out of Your Torah! (Psa 119:18)

One of the most intriguing examples of God’s strategic chronological Plan in history are the events surrounding the Call of Abram and the birth of Isaac.  To follow this study you will need a good literal translation of the Torah in English, a Hebrew text if you have it, and materials for notes.
As you know, Isaac was a wondrous child of promise, born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 (Gen 17:17).  A year earlier, when Abraham was 99, we have an important set of references to what was ahead.  YHVH and the two heavenly messengers appeared to Abraham at Mamre and revealed to Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son.  Note the precise language:

I will certainly return to you when the season comes around, and lo, Sarah your wife shall have a son (Gen 18:10).

Is anything too hard for YHVH?  At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes around, and Sarah shall have a son (Gen 18:14).

Two precise Hebrew expressions are used here, lending strong emphasis to the precise timing of the birth of Isaac.  There is great meaning in all this.  The first phrase, “when the season comes around,” (ca`et chayah) is literally, “at the time (or season) of life.”  It is a reference to the new year in the Spring, in the month of Abib or Nisan (see Exodus 12:2).  It is significant to note that precisely the same phrase is used in the Haftorah reading for this very section of Torah (Vayerah).  There we read of another extraordinary birth, that of the son of the Shunammite woman during the time of Elisha (2 Kings 4:16).  Truly this month of Nisan is a month of miracles and “new birth” as we shall see.  The second phrase, “at the set time,” (lamo`ed) stresses the exactitude of the timing of this important event.  It will come at a precise time or season.  These are not merely superfluous passing references.  Three chapters later we read:

And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him (Gen 21:2).

What we learn here is that Isaac was born in the Spring of the year, likely in the month of Nisan, at a “set time” of great importance to the plan of YHVH.
Anyone who is a talmid(ah) Torah, a student of Torah, will immediately think of the miraculous birth of yet another child, which also took place in the Spring of the year, in this very month of Nisan.  I am speaking of the birth of the nation of Israel, brought out of Egypt at the first Passover.  Regarding that pivotal event YHVH Himself declares:

Israel is My son, My first-born,
and I have said unto you: Let My son go (Exodus 4:22).

When Israel was a child I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son (Hosea 11:1).

We all know that this coming out of Egypt, this birth of a nation happened at a precise time, even a precise day according to the Plan of YHVH.  Exodus 12:40-41 makes a fantastic claim of great significance.  Note it carefully:

Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.  And it came to pass, at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the very day [i.e., Passover], it came to pass that all the host of YHVH went out from the land of Egypt.

Note that the language is exact and absolute.  The reference to the very day is to the 15th of Nisan, the evening of the Passover Seder.  But what about this intriguing reference to 430 years?  Scholars have disputed over the meaning of this chronological note.  It should be noted that the verse, when properly translated, does not say that Israel was in the land of Egypt for 430 years, but rather the that the time of their “sojourning” was 430 years (see KJV for a correct rendering).  What event happened, 430 years earlier, to the day, from Israel’s Exodus from Egypt?

Many would begin this 430 year period of “sojourn” with the Call of Abraham in Genesis 12.  Others have counted the 430 years from the circumcision covenant with Abraham, when he was 99 years old (Gen 17).  Still others have begun the 430 years with the birth of Isaac in Genesis 21.  The Rabbinic source Seder Olam preserves what I think is the best solution to this problem.

In Genesis 23:4 Abraham tells the children of Heth, from whom he purchases the burial cave of Machpelah in Kiriatharba or Hebron, “I am a stranger and a sojourner” with you.  Have you ever noticed this?  Abraham calls himself a ger (stranger) and a toshav (sojourner), even though this very Land had been promised to him!  Abraham never received the Land of Promise; he remained a “sojourner” until the day of his death.  The same is true for Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and the 70 who went down to Egypt.  The question is, precisely when did this “sojourning” of the people of Israel begin?  According to Seder Olam it begins not in Genesis 12, with the Call of Abram to leave his father Terah’s house in Haran, but five years earlier, when he left Ur of the Chaldees (Babylon)!  Note carefully, when Abram leaves Haran he is 75 years old (Gen 12:4).  But according to Genesis 11:31 “they went forth . . . from Ur of the Chaldees” some years earlier.  This is the actual beginning of their wandering or sojourning.  There is a strikingly significant reference in this regard in Genesis 15:7:

And He said to him: “I am YHVH that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.”

Did you catch it?  We might have expected, on the basis of Genesis 12:1-3 (Lech Lacha), for YHVH to say “who brought you out of your father’s house,” i.e., from Haran.  But here we learn a crucial point, supported also in Rabbinic tradition, that the ultimate “Call” of Abram was out of Ur in Babylon, not from Haran.  In other words, the wandering, or “sojourning” of Abram begins before his call from Haran at age 75.  Also, the Hebrew word here is crucial.  The phrase here translated “brought you out” is from the verb yatz’ah.  Perhaps you remember the same crucial phrase in Exodus 20:2 when YHVH thunders from Sinai:

I am YHVH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

This is the dramatic introduction to the giving of the Ten Words (Commandments).  The verb “brought you out” is identical in both passages: Genesis 15:7 and Exodus 20:2.  This is crucially important.  It strongly indicates that the call of Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees was 430 years to the day from the Exodus of Israel from Egypt!  Think about that for a moment.  That would mean that Abram left Ur, which was his own personal “Exodus” from idolatry and paganism, on the very same night, Nisan 15th, which later becomes the Passover!  This timing is certainly no accident.  In both symbol and actuality the deep significance of this point is obvious.

The exact chronology of the Hebrew text confirms this.  Note carefully the following references and numbers (the years are given as AM, “after Man (i.e., Adam),”which correspond to the standard Jewish years since Creation):

Abram leaves Ur    Abram 70    Year    2018 AM (Gen 11:31)

Abram leaves Haran    Abram 75    Year 2023 AM     (Gen 12:4)

Birth of Isaac    Abram 100    Year 2048 AM    (Gen 17:17)

Birth of Jacob    Isaac 60    Year 2108 AM (Gen 25:20)

Israel to Egypt    Jacob 130    Year 2238 AM (Gen 47:9)

Exodus    210 yrs later    Year 2448 AM (Ex 12:40)

The total years from Abram leaving Haran at age 75 (2023 AM) until Jacob going down to Egypt (2238 AM) are 215.  To this we add the 210 years of Egyptian slavery for a total of 425 years: from Abram leaving Haran, until the Exodus in the year 2448 AM.  But, what about the all important reference to 430 years of “sojourning” in Exodus 12:40-41?  Here we have only 425 rather than 430.  The five additional years are obviously the time Abram spent in Haran.  Accordingly, he must have left Ur at age 70.  Thus, the total years of “sojourning of the children of Israel,” is precisely 430 years, from the Abram’s “going out from Ur” at age 70 (2018 AM), until Israel’s “going out of Egypt” in the year 2448 AM.  The harmony and significance of this parallel can hardly be overstressed.

One important additional note here.  Why would Exodus 12:40 speak of the sojourn of the “children of Israel” as 430 years when this period begins with Abram?  The answer is that Abram stands for the whole people.  The term “Israel” is both a name and a title which includes Abraham and his entire line through Isaac and Jacob.  The Covenant with the Jewish people begins with Abraham.  It is worth noting that the name ISRAEL in Hebrew is spelled Yod, Shin, Resh, Alef, Lamed.  These five Hebrews letters are the first letters of the names of the Patriarchs and their wives.  Note: Yod=Yitzak (Isaac) and Yaakov (Jacob); Shin=Sarah; Resh=Rebecca and Rachel; Lamed=Leah!  Surely this is no accident!  Accordingly, when we speak of the “children of Israel,” we begin with, and certainly include, Abraham.

But there is much more.  Remember, Isaac is born at a “set time,” when the “season of life” comes around.  We have already seen that this is a reference to the beginning of Spring, or the month of Nisan.  It seems likely that Isaac, as a miraculous child of promise, was actually born on Nisan 15th or Passover!  The festivals and holy days of Israel, fully set forth in the Torah in Leviticus 23, were known and significant in various ways in much earlier times (Gen 1:14; 8:13).  For example, there is a fascinating reference to Lot preparing “unleavened bread” or matzos, for the heavenly guests prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:3)!  Why matzos?  In the previous chapter Abraham has been told that Isaac will be born “at this season next year” (18:14).  So, we know we are in the time of Nisan, when Abram is 99, a year before Isaac’s birth.  Is it possible that God rescued and removed Lot and his family from Sodom around, or even on, the very night of Passover?  This would certainly make sense.  The text contains several Passover motifs.  The angels keep urging Lot and his family to leave, to hurry, and not to delay.  In a similar way the Israelites make haste to leave Egypt, not even allowing their bread to rise.

Putting all this together we learn some interesting and fascinating things about how YHVH acts in history.  Abram left Ur with its idolatry and paganism, on the very night of Passover, and Israel left Egypt on the same day, 430 years later.  Isaac is born this same time of year, at a “set time,”(probably Passover), while Lot leaves Sodom just one year earlier at the same “set time,” or season of the year.   Each of these events is closely connected in both time and theme.  The Passover season is a time of birth and new beginnings, a time for leaving behind the old and beginning the new, a time of rescue and mighty deliverance, a time of miracles and dramatic demonstration of the power and greatness of YHVH!

Click the link below for a Printable version of the Study Notes

vayakheil-pekudai.pdf

To hear the podcast of this week’s class click here.

VaYakheil
Exodus 35:1-38:20
1 Kings 7:40-50
22nd Torah Reading, 10th in Exodus
(122 verses)
 

Pekudai
Exodus 38:21-40:38
1 Kings 7:51-8:21
23rd Torah Reading, 11th in Exodus
(92 verses)
Overview / Commentary
This week two portions are combined; VaYakheil (and he assembled) and Pekudai (accounts). We also complete the Book of Exodus (Shemoth) this week. This Sabbath is also one of 4 special Sabbaths around Purim. Shekalim and Zacor come before Purim and Parah and this week’s special reading HaHodesh come after.

This special Sabbath gets its name from the opening words of Exodus 12:2 - HaHodesh hazeh – The verse literally translated says, “This month is to you a head of months; it is a first one to you - for months of the year“. I love this time of year. The flowers are in bloom and all of nature sings that newness is in the air.  Time for Israel, was to begin with their freedom.

The special section of the Torah that is read on this Sabbath HaHodesh is Exodus 12:2-20. It tells of Pesach (Passover) and contains the command to keep Passover and Unleavened Bread.

As George Robinson notes in his work, Essential Torah - A Guide to the Five Books of Moses, those who are following the weekly Torah portions are now in the heart of the cycle just as the Children of Israel are in their heart of their journey.

The word heart is a key word in the Torah readings this week.

The events of this week’s Torah portions are:

(1) the carrying out of the instructions given to Moses in Exodus 31:1-11 (Construction of the Mishkan) and

(2) Exodus 31:12-17 (the charge to keep the Sabbath).

When Moses presents these instructions to the children of Israel, he presents the Sabbath BEFORE the details of the Mishkan.

This is especially interesting since the children of Israel are about to embark on a most holy work. The Hebrew word translated work - melakah, occurs numerous times in this week’s lesson as if to say that while they are creating a Sanctuary on earth - a place of true holiness, they must remember to maintain a sanctuary in time - Shabbat! It should be remembered that the Sabbath is the very first thing called holy in the Hebrew Bible.

The work for which they have been tasked was to create what the Torah calls a Mikdash. This Hebrew word is based upon the root word Kadosh – holy or separate.

In Exodus 25:8-9 we read that the purpose of the Mikdash was to create a place where God could dwell with the Children of Israel. The principle Hebrew word translated as Tabernacle is mishkan. The root word shekan means to dwell. Many have heard of the Hebrew word Shekinah. This too is based upon the same root.

A few other passages to read for further study:
Exodus 24:16
Ezekiel 43:9
Zechariah 2:10-12 (14 - 15 Hebrew)

Furthermore, we read in Exodus 25:9 that the Mishkan in its entirety was to be made according to a pattern shown to Moses in the mount. This same idea is found in several other passages (Exodus 26:30, 27:8, Numbers 8:4).

Moses takes an offering (terumah) from the people. This offering was a matter of the heart. Several times we see the word heart in this week’s class. Here are some examples:

Exodus 35:5 - nediv libo - where nediv is best translated into English as willing or generous - the root of libo is lev and translates as heart. So the offering comes from those with a ‘willing heart’.

35:10 - And let all who are wise of heart – chacham lev

35:21 – And they came, every man whose heart was lifted - nesa o libo
 ….and every man whose spirit was willing - nadva ruacho

see also vv. 22, 25, 26, an 29 for other examples of ‘heart’ in these passages.

In Exodus 28:3 we see that to be ‘wise of heart’ is the result of being filled with the Spirit of Wisdom. Despite what one may have heard or even read in later religious literature - people were filled with the Spirit of God long before the advent of Christianity!

A good example of this is Betzalel. He is filled with the Spirit of God - in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge and in every work. 

Here are some things that I gleaned from this week’s Torah lesson:

1. Any undertaking worthwhile begins with an awareness of and observance of Shabbat - remember and keep! There is plenty of work to do. Recall that the word ‘work’ occurs frequently in this week’s lesson. Shabbat is the first thing called Holy in the Bible. Whenever we seek to bring about true holiness we must never forget to sanctify our time.
2. We must be led by the Spirit of God. The creation story begins with the Spirit of God. No matter what it is that we seek to ‘create’, it must be established upon the gifts of the Spirit given to Betzalel. I would go so far as to call wisdom, understanding and knowledge - the roots of the Spirit. Did you realize that these three words are directly tied to God’s creative activity in the book of Proverbs 3:19-20.
3. Communal participation is required, but only those whose heart is:
a. Willing
b. Stirred or lifted
c. Wise
We should all use our gifts, talents and callings. We should give according to our means. This is not always money, but can apply to abilities.
Torah Studies with Ross Nichols

Roots of Faith 2009

Today’s Torah reading is called, in Hebrew, Ki Tissa’ and includes: Exodus 30:11 through 34:35. The reading from the Prophets is 1 Kings 18:1-39, the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. The link seems to be the account of the “Golden Calf,” which the Israelites made while Moses was on Mt Sinai for 40 days. There are many other fascinating topics and subjects covered in this week’s reading. We invite you to delve into these texts and join with the worldwide Torah community of Jews and non-Jews who are thinking on these things.
If you would like a simple study guide and recorded teaching on these readings week-by-week you can go to Roots of Faith and hear Ross Nichols in his new series by clicking this link:
Ki Tissa’

Enjoy our study and your Sabbath of rest and refreshment!

On the occasion of the Purim holiday, I’d like to share something I have read in a number of sources over the years and find fascinating to this day. It is the strange and captivating connection between the Megilla Esther story and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials in 1946.

Those of us familiar with the story of Esther (478-464 B.C.) know how she was instrumental in bringing deliverience to the Jews living in Persia who did not return to Jerusalem after Cyrus’ decree. The defeat of the wicked Prime Minister Haman whose lies were intended to bring destruction to the Jewish people is still celebrated today as the Feast of Purim. More on that later.

On October 16, 1946, ten of the highest-ranking Nazi officers of Hitler’s Germany were put to death. Three more were given life sentences (Rudolf Hess, the last surviving relic of the trials, died in Spandau Prison in 1987 at the age of 93), four were imprisioned for up to twenty years, and three were acquitted.

After 216 court sessions the International Military Tribunal, convened specially for this purpose, disbanded itself and later in that day the ashes of the men responsible for the Holocaust were scattered into a little brook in Munich-Solln, and thereupon vanished forever. The true horror of Nazism had been revealed to the world every day for almost a year, and now the grimmest chapter in the history of the civilized world was all but closed. While the ashes of Hitler’s top politicians and officers have disappeared into oblivion, not many people are aware of a more divine significance of this historic event, one connected to an episode in Persia over 2,500 years ago.

When King Ahasuerus, then the most powerful man on earth, offered to grant Queen Esther whatever she desired for having saved his life, she replied, “If it please the king, let it tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do according to the law of this day, and let the 10 sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.”

This is a remarkable request since Haman’s 10 sons had already been killed by the sword in the citadel of Susa (Esther 9:6-14). Nevertheless, in accordence with Esther’s wishes their 10 dead bodies were hanged. In the Apocryphal Greek version of Esther, chapter 9 verses 13-14 reads: And Esther said to the king, “Let the Jews be allowed to do the same tomorrow. Also, hang up the bodies of Haman’s 10 sons.” So he permitted this to be done, and handed over to the Jews of the city the bodies of Haman’s sons to hang up.

When the Megilla Esther was written, the names of the 10 sons of Haman who were hanged are enumerated. In the Hebrew text, the letters of the names are several times larger than the regular text. Yet, in the second, eighth and eleventh entry in the list, there are three letters; Tav, Shin and Zayn which are only one-half the size of the regular text. This mysterious order has been followed every since. The numerical value of the three diminished letters equals 707.

The Nuremberg Trials ended on October 1, 1946, which corresponded with the Jewish year of 5706. However, the due process of law meant the sentences of the convicted men could not be passed down until after appeals for clemency, of which there were many, had been heard. Finally, the sentences were pronounced. The Jewish New Year had arrived in the interim-it was 5707.

Twelve Nazis were meant to hang-although the method of execution might equally as well have been the firing squad-but Martin Bormann had escaped at the end of the war and was sentenced to death in absentia, and Herman Goering committed suicide two hours before his destined execution, leaving 10 condemned men.

In the early hours of October 16, 1946 during a 90 minute period, these 10 top Nazis went to their death on the gallows. The guards, with precise, ruthless efficiency brought them in one by one to deliver their last words and die. Only Julius Streicher went without dignity. His appearance happened at 2:11 a.m. He had to be pushed across the floor, wild-eyed and screaming, “Heil Hitler!” Mounting the steps, he cried out: “and now I go to God.” He was pushed the last two steps to the mortal spot beneath the hangman’s rope. Streicher swung around to face the witnesses and glared at them. Suddenly he screamed “Purim Fest 1946!” Then he was hanged.

The Megilla Esther had predicted that just as these 10 sons, descendants of Amalek and enemies of the Jews, were hanged, so again in the year 5707 (1946) would 10 other children of Haman be hanged.

The day of the early morning executions the front page headlines of the October 16, 1946 Late City Edition of The New York Times broke the story of what had just happened. In another strange twist, this was the day of Hoshana Raba.

“…On the seventh day of the Succot Holiday (Hoshana Raba), the judgement of the nations of the world is finalized. Sentences are issued from the residence of the King. Judgements are aroused and executed on that day.”

Zohar Vayikra 31b

Ralph Buntyn

A personal message from Ross Nichols:

I am pleased to announce that beginning March 8th, 2009 at 6:00 P.M. Central, I will begin a new and informative series of teaching that you can listen to live or download for later listening via the Internet here.

Content
The weekly classes in my new series will focus on the Annual cycle of readings followed faithfully by traditional Jews around the world. Each week, according to this cycle of readings, a section of the Torah and the prophets will be highlighted.

Options – Make the experience personal!
You will have the option of listening in live on Sunday night, or if your schedule does not allow you to listen in live, you will have an entire week to download our podcast for study at your own leasure. Some may wish to wait until the Sabbath to listen.

I have also determined through feedback from many of my faithful listeners (and from other sources) that the length of the most effective teachings are under an hour and razor sharp! My goal will be to organize the teaching in such a way to effectively cover the main points of the weekly parsha (Torah section) in a class that is much closer to 30 minutes. This way, most people can download the class and listen to it during an average commute to work or while you run errands, go to the gym, etc.

My main goal as a teacher is to encourage you to study the Torah and to learn to apply its principles to your life in a modern world – thus inspiring you to live a more biblically authentic lifestyle. I am trying to make this is convenient for you as possible. I want you to learn!

Over the course of the year we will cover the entire Torah! Your life will be transformed as you drink of the refreshing waters of the God-inspired teaching of Moses.

Why focus on the Torah?
As David said in Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes and I will look for wonderful things from your Torah”. We will do just that! We will open our eyes and take a fresh look at the Torah.

The final prophetic word in the Hebrew Bible, recorded in Malachi says, “Remember the torah of my servant Moses” (Malachi 4:4 – English Bible). And yet, humanity has drifted far from “the teaching”. The nearly 6.5 billion inhabitants of our planet need to hear the words of this eternal teaching delivered once and for all to the ancient people of Israel. After all, the intent of this teaching was that it would go forth to all nations (Isaiah 2 and Micah 4), and ultimately, in what the Bible calls the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34), the Torah will be written upon the heart.

Despite what people believe Jesus the Jew taught, it is recorded that he claimed that did not come to abolish the Torah or the prophets but to fulfill – adding further that until heaven and earth passed – not a single letter…not even a stroke of a letter would pass from the torah until all was fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-20)!

I can think of no greater subject matter to devote my time to learning and to helping others learn than the Torah of Moses.

Who Would Benefit from these classes?
I believe that these classes will be helpful for Jews and Christians as my style is unique. I am a bit tough to label as I tend to resist such categories, opting for the simple designation of “biblical”. I will at times draw upon Jewish wisdom, much of which is organized around these very weekly readings from the Torah and Prophets, but I am not Jewish. I will often draw upon texts from the Christian Scriptures, much of which clearly points people to a Torah way of living, though I no longer associate myself with the label of Christian. “Christianity” in its modern sense has long ago abandoned the religion of Jesus for a religion about him.

I hope that you will listen in and that you will encourage others to listen in as well. In addition to the weekly class I will post a blog for download. The intent will be to publish a handsome document for download and printing each week with my own notes on the weekly parsha. You can put them in a 3-ring binder and at the end of the year you will have a complete reference work for your further studies. I hope to expand this as time goes on into a full course, complete with on-line tests and a certificate of completion for those who stick with us.

I am more and more planning to spend my energy developing, with the help of my faithful friend Brian Jones, a virtual community on the web where you can experience fellowship with others who are seeking to live according to the principles of the Hebrew Bible. This “Synagogue Without Walls” is catching on. People from literally around the world are joining up. I encourage you to check it out.

And finally, there is no greater reward than to lead people to a better understanding of God and His ways. As Hillel said, “Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and bringing them closer to the Torah”.

We are all disciples and this saying has inspired me in the current direction of Roots of Faith and our ongoing effort to bring people closer to the Torah. I hope that you can join us.

The new series will be called A Parsha Study with Roots of Faith. I believe that you will be greatly blessed by this series.

Shalom, Ross
Roots of Faith

UIWU has no part or agreement with the prosperity preachers of our time and most of us have come to detest all the pleading and begging for money that we see on TV and elsewhere in the name of God, Christ, and Religion. The whole Name It & Claim It, Pray and Pay, Give and you will Get, philosophy not only very grating on the nerves, but positively unbiblical.

It seems to be the case that our current financial crises, with all the graft, greed, and subterfuge in our evil economic system, is largly contrary to Torah principles of helping the poor and weak, not charging interest, sabbatical and Jubilee years, and the ties to land, gold & silver, and so forth. In contrast, there is a large body of “financial” teaching and advice in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), not only in the Torah, where the basic principles of economics are laid down, but in the book of Proverbs or Mishlei.

There one finds literally dozens of sage and pithy statements about saving, spending, giving, as well as the attitudes one should have toward wealth, money, and property. One that is often overlooked is the following:

The blessing of YHVH makes rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it (Proverbs 10:22)

The implications here are twofold. First, that wealth for YHVH’s followers can come through the Good Hand of YHVH, for those who honor him in all their ways. Second, that the kind of wealth that YHVH brings can come without “sorrow.” The Hebrew word, etzev  means “pain” or “trouble.” The implications are that wealth gotten other than through the blessings of YHVH, for keeping his commandments, brings sorrow, pain, and trouble.

In the book of Genesis we are told that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and finally Joseph, who had each left home and security to follow the voice of YHVH in a new land, were “made rich” by YHVH’s hand:

Here are a few key passages:

Gen. 13:2: Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

Gen. 14:19-23: And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.”
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,
that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’

Gen. 24:1: Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

Gen. 26:12-13: And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. YHVH blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.

Gen. 28:20-22: Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the YHVH shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Gen. 30:27-28, 43: But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the YHVH has blessed me because of you.
Name your wages, and I will give it”. . . Thus the man yincreased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Gen. 39:2-3 YHVH was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that YHVH was with him and that YHVH caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.

And even when Joseph was stripped of all this and cast into prison with nothing, at age 17, we read:

Gen. 39:23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the YHVH was with him. And whatever he did, YHVH made it succeed.

There are principles here that run deep and surely can help us all in the times we live in. First and foremost, trusting YHVH and looking to YHVH for guidance to do his will and carry out our individual missions, honoring YHVH with the “firstfruits” of our increase. In each of these cases the resulting “wealth” seems to come from a combination of hard work, honest endeavors, and clean and fair transactions, but the key seems to be to align such efforts with a “vow” toward YHVH to look to Him first in terms of setting things in order. Like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, we find ourselves surrounded with cultures that are operating by the principles of greed and oppression, but it was within those contexts that our fathers and mothers here showed integrity. May we be inspired to walk in their footsteps. They were surely not perfect, not even heroic in many ways, but full of frailties and faults. It was the “walking according to my Ways” that seemed to set them apart–see Gen 26:5.

Yesterday on Shabbat Jews and other Torah oriented folk who follow the weekly cycle of Torah readings (Parashot) began the second scroll of the Torah, namely Exodus or “Shemot” in Hebrew. In Hebrew the books of the Torah take their names from the first key word of the opening line, in this case “These are the names (Heb shemot) of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each coming with his own household (Exodus 1:1).

Likewise, each Torah reading, week by week, takes its name from the first words of the first line of a given section or division, so in this case, the name of the first Torah reading from the book of Exodus is the same as the book itself–Shemot/Names, and runs from Exodus 1:1 through 6:1.

It is a rather amazing prelude to the Exodus story, not only providing the account of the birth of Moses, the greatest Prophet of human history (see Deut 34:10), but it quickly covers, in summary fashion, his life up to age 80 when he is tending the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro, in the area of Horeb, which is most likely known today as Paran, in the NE Sinai peninsula. At age 80 one would think, given the history of Moses’s flight as a fugitive from Egypt, and his 40 years in the household of Jethro, that his life was basically set with the main events now past. Yet the rest of the Torah recounts the final 40 years of Moses’s life, that proved to be more critical than any of his previous 80 years. At the core of his subsequent story, and at the absolute center of his experiences, was his initial encounter with YHVH, whom he encountered as mysterious voice emerging from a flaming bush that was somehow not consumed but kept burning brightly as he got closer. Then he heard, “Moses Moses,” and one who identified himself in the first person: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses took off his shoes and hid his face–for the ground itself was holy through this unprecedented manifestation of YHVH.

It was this fateful encounter that changed the history of the world. Moses is called in the Torah the “meekest man in all the earth” (Numbers 12:3), and he considers himself wholly inadequate for the awesome task God assigns to him–namely to go to the Pharaoh of Egypt and tell him face to face–YHVH, the God of Israel, commands you to Let My People Go.”

It is difficult to read these words today without putting this familiar story into the category of a “Bible story,” far removed from the real world of nations, peoples, and governments such as ours today. Step back and actually try to imagine Moses as a shepherd in the desert, following the extraordinary life experiences of his past, long ago having given up on any significant role to his life beyond his family–and suddenly having this encounter that turned everything around and ended up changing everything–setting the stage for the Mt Sinai encounter and revelation, the greatest even in human history. One has to think back to Abraham, who in Genesis 12, also heard a voice, the manner of which is not reported, but is told to leave his country and kindred to a land that he would be shown–to pull up everything and become the first “Hebrew,” or wandering one who had left the civilization beyond the River (Euphrates) following a vision and a voice in his head that promised him a destiny that would change the world.

When you think about it, Abraham and Moses, and their two encounters with YHVH, both decisive in their own way, become the foundation of all that subsequently follows…