Jewish Understanding - The Netzari Faith2024-03-28T14:36:50Zhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/forum/categories/jewish-understanding/listForCategory?feed=yes&xn_auth=noOrthodox judaism ! Branches and Differencestag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2014-11-14:5544986:Topic:286452014-11-14T15:58:48.413ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<h1><span class="header">Orthodox Judaism:</span><br></br><b>Hasidim And Mitnagdim</b></h1>
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<p align="justify">Although contemporary Jews often use the word "Hasid" as a synonym for ultra-Orthodox, Hasidism, a religious movement that arose in eighteenth century Eastern Europe, was originally regarded as revolutionary and religiously liberal. Its opponents,…</p>
<h1><span class="header">Orthodox Judaism:</span><br/><b>Hasidim And Mitnagdim</b></h1>
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<p align="justify">Although contemporary Jews often use the word "Hasid" as a synonym for ultra-Orthodox, Hasidism, a religious movement that arose in eighteenth century Eastern Europe, was originally regarded as revolutionary and religiously liberal. Its opponents, known as Mitnagdim, were themselves <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/ortho.html">Orthodox</a> Jews. More than any thing else, the stories that each group told about its rabbinic leaders exemplify the differences among them. The Mitnagdim were proud of the fact that their leader, the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/vilnagaon.html">Vilna Gaon</a>, had delivered an advanced discourse on the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/talmud_&_mishna.html">Talmud</a> when he was only seven years old, and that he studied Jewish texts eighteen hours a day.</p>
<p align="justify">The founder of <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource//Judaism/Hasidism.html">Hasidism</a>, <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/baal.html">Israel Ba'al Shem Tov</a>, was the hero of very different sorts of tales. The Hasidim told of how he spent his teenage years working in a job with low status, as assistant in a Jewish elementary school, a <i>cheder</i>. He would round up the students from their homes each morning and lead them to school singing songs. Later, after he married, he and his wife went to live in the faroff Carpathian Mountains. There, the Ba'al Shem Tov worked as a laborer, digging clay and lime, which his wife then sold in town. The couple later kept an inn.</p>
<p align="justify">During these years, the Ba'al Shem Tov spent much time in the nearby forest in meditation and solitude. His Hasidic followers subsequently likened this period to the years of isolation and meditation that Moses spent in Midian, tending the flocks of his fatherinlaw.</p>
<p align="justify">Around 1736, the Ba'al Shem Tov revealed himself as a healer and a leader. His last name, which literally means "Master of the Good Name," was one that was frequently applied in Jewish life to miracle workers and healers. In 1740, he moved to Meziboz, a town near the borders of both Poland and the Ukraine, and not far from <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/lithtoc.html">Lithuania</a>. Disciples started coming to him from the surrounding countries, but the talks delivered by the Ba'al Shem Tov differed dramatically from lectures offered at a yeshiva; they focused far more on an individual's personal relationship with God and with his fellowman than on the intricacies of Jewish law. The stories Hasidim later told about the Ba'al Shem Tov — usually referred to by his acronym, the <i>Besht</i> — invariably depict him with a pipe in hand, telling seemingly secular tales with deep religious meanings. He died in 1760, leaving behind Dov Baer of Mezrich as his successor. Shortly before his death, the <i>Besht</i> told the people standing near his bed: "I grieve not at my death, for I can see a door opening while the other is closing."</p>
<p align="justify">Many of the dominant themes in the <i>Besht's</i> teachings became the central emphases in the Hasidic movement that his followers developed. There were statements of the <i>Besht</i>, not entirely innovative, which placed great stress on aspects of Judaism that the Mitnagdim generally ignored: the heart, for example. The <i>Besht</i> was particularly fond of a talmudic statement, "God desires the heart" (<i>Sanhedrin</i> 106b), which he interpreted as meaning that for God, a pure religious spirit mattered more than knowledge of the Talmud. It is told of the <i>Besht</i> that one <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/holiday4.html">Yom Kippur</a> a poor Jewish boy, an illiterate shepherd, entered the synagogue where he was praying. The boy was deeply moved by the service, but frustrated that he could not read the prayers. He started to whistle, the one thing he knew he could do beautifully; he wanted to offer his whistling as a gift to God. The congregation was horrified at the desecration of their service. Some people yelled at the boy, and others wanted to throw him out. The Ba'al Shem Tov immediately stopped them. "Until now," he said, "I could feel our prayers being blocked as they tried to reach the heavenly court. This young shepherd's whistling was so pure, however, that it broke through the blockage and brought all of our prayers straight up to God."</p>
<p align="justify">Another ancient Jewish doctrine that was given particular emphasis by the Ba'al Shem Tov was based on a verse in <i>Isaiah</i>: "The whole world is full of His glory" (6:13). If the whole world is full of God's glory, the <i>Besht</i> reasoned, then the Mitnagdim and the ascetics were wrong in thinking that one had to turn one's back on the pleasures of the world. "Don't deny that a girl is beautiful," the <i>Besht</i> would say. "Just be sure that your recognition of her beauty brings you back to its source-God." If one could do that, then even physical pleasures could bring about spiritual growth.</p>
<p align="justify">Because the world was full of God, the <i>Besht</i> believed that a person always should be joyful. Indeed, the greatest act of creativity comes about in an atmosphere of joy: "No child is born except through pleasure and joy," the <i>Besht</i> declared. "By the same token, if one wishes his prayers to bear fruit, he must offer them with pleasure and joy." This doctrine was a strong challenge to many ideas current among Jews in the <i>Besht's</i> time. Many religious Jews, particularly among the kabbalists, preached asceticism, and advocated that Jews fast every Monday and Thursday. The Ba'al Shem Tov warned people against such practices, fearing that they would lead to melancholy, not joy.</p>
<p align="justify">To outsiders, unaccustomed to the <i>Besht's</i> teachings, Hasidic prayer services sometimes seemed undignified, even chaotic. In fulfillment of the Psalmist's ecstatic declaration, "All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like You?" (<a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Bible/Psalms35.html">Psalms 35:10</a>), worshipers were capable of performing handstands. Characteristically, the <i>Besht</i>defended such practices at Hasidic services with a story. A deaf man passed by a hall where a wedding reception was being celebrated. When he looked through the window, he saw people engaged in exultant and tumultuous dancing. But because he could not hear the music, he assumed they were mad.</p>
<p align="justify">The <i>Besht</i> also taught that the <i>Tzaddik</i> (the religious leader of the Hasidim) should serve as a model of how to lead a religious life. However, he did not emphasize the doctrine of the <i>Tzaddik</i> nearly as much as some of his successors, particularly Dov Baer of Mezrich, who made it central to Hasidism. Dov Baer, the leader of the Hasidim after the Baal Shem Tov's death, taught that God revealed Himself through the <i>Tzaddik's</i> most trivial actions; one of Dov Baer's followers said, "I didn't go to him to learn Torah, but to see him unbuckle his shoes." Dov Baer taught that the ideal <i>Tzaddik</i> had a closer relationship to God than the average Jew, and could bestow blessings on people. In return, it was understood that the Hasidim must bring their <i>Tzaddik</i>gifts.</p>
<p align="justify">The belief in the power and greatness of the <i>Tzaddik</i> became one of Hasidism's strongest-and most controversial-ideas. Hasidism's opponents charged that the <i>Tzaddikim</i> (plural) often enriched themselves at the expense of their followers. In the generation after Dov Baer, numerous new Hasidic groups were formed, each with its own <i>Tzaddik</i>, referred to as a <i>rebbe</i>. These <i>rebbes</i> became a kind of Jewish royalty. When one died, he was succeeded by either his son or soninlaw. Those Hasidic groups that established eminent family dynasties became successful. Many Hasidic groups, however, went into decline when their <i>rebbe</i> died and left behind less capable successors.</p>
<p align="justify">The best known group of Hasidim in the United States are the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Lubavitch_and_Chabad.html">Lubavitcher</a>, who are headquartered in Brooklyn. Their current rebbe is <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/schneerson.html">Menachem Mendel Schneersohn</a>, the seventh leader since the movement was founded in the late 1700s. But though Lubavitch is the one Hasidic group nonOrthodox Jews are most apt to meet-because of the movement's various outreach programs-there are dozens of other Hasidic dynasties in the United States (many of them located in Brooklyn) and in Israel.</p>
<p align="justify">In their early years, the Hasidim were actively persecuted by the Mitnagdim, who feared they would become another heretical sect, similar to that of <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Zvi.html">Shabbetai Zevi</a>. But in its formative stages, Hasidism wisely put its primary emphasis on personal religious growth rather than on national salvation, and it downplayed the messianic element. This was not enough, however, to appease the Mitnagdim. Other Hasidic traits, such as their laissezfaire attitude toward the appropriate hours for prayer, bitterly provoked their opponents. The Hasidim answered that they couldn't legislate precise hours for reciting each of the three daily <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/praytoc.html">prayer services</a>; they prayed with such intensity (<i>kavannah</i>) that they couldn't do so while looking at a watch.</p>
<p align="justify">The Israeli historian Jacob Katz has documented how other practices provocatively separated the Hasidim from their neighbors. For example, Hasidim advocated using a sharper knife when slaughtering animals than the one used by the Mitnagdim's slaughterers. Such stringency had a socially divisive effect: The Hasidim no longer could eat at the Mitnagdim's houses. The Hasidim also adopted a different prayerbook, so that their synagogue service differed somewhat from that of other Jews and had to be conducted separately. Their most brilliant act of "public relations" was labeling themselves Hasidim, the Hebrew word for both "pious" and "saintly," while calling their adversaries Mitnagdim, Hebrew for "opponents." These terms made the Hasidim seem like the more dynamic and positive of the two groups.</p>
<p align="justify">With the passage of time, the Hasidim and Mitnagdim recognized that their differences were increasingly inconsequential, particularly after both groups found themselves facing a common enemy: the nineteenth century <i><a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Haskalah.html">Haskala</a></i>, or Jewish Enlightenment. Jewish parents who once feared that their Hasidic or Mitnagdish child might go over to the other camp, were now far more afraid that their child might become altogether irreligious.</p>
<p align="justify">An additional factor that lessened the HasidicMitnagdish split was nineteenth and twentieth century Hasidism's increasing emphasis on Talmud study. As the movement expanded, it put less emphasis on meditation and communing with God, and more on traditional Jewish learning. As a result, Hasidim today are no longer regarded as revolutionaries; in fact, they are the conservative stalwarts of Orthodox Judaism, easily recognized by the eighteenth and nineteenth century black coats and hats worn by most of their male adherents.</p>
<p align="justify">Nonetheless, the Hasidic approach to Judaism significantly differs from that of the Mitnagdim. Hasidism generally places a much greater stress on<i> simcha shel mitzvah</i> — the joy of performing a commandment.</p>
<hr/> Why the Destruction in 70 CE? Rabbinic answers for Churban Ha-Bayit.tag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2013-02-21:5544986:Topic:189362013-02-21T21:23:23.708ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
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<p>The Talmud clearly states that the Second Temple was destroyed because of groundless hatred (שנאת חינם - literally, "hatred for nothing"):</p>
<blockquote><p>But the second Sanctuary, seeing that in its time they were occupying themselves with Torah, precepts and the practice of charity - why was it destroyed? Because therein prevailed hatred without cause. That teaches you that groundless hatred is considered as of equal gravity with the three sins…</p>
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<p>The Talmud clearly states that the Second Temple was destroyed because of groundless hatred (שנאת חינם - literally, "hatred for nothing"):</p>
<blockquote><p>But the second Sanctuary, seeing that in its time they were occupying themselves with Torah, precepts and the practice of charity - why was it destroyed? Because therein prevailed hatred without cause. That teaches you that groundless hatred is considered as of equal gravity with the three sins [which destroyed the first Sanctuary] of idolatry, immorality and bloodshed together. - <a href="http://mechon-mamre.org/b/l/l2501.htm">Yoma 9b</a></p>
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<p>Shortly before His crucifixion (and at least 40 years before the above ruling), Yeshua said (referring to Ps. 35:19, 69:4-5):</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated me and my Father as well. But this is in order that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their Law, 'They hated me without a cause.'</strong> - John 15:24-25</p>
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<p>The "word written in the Law" that Yeshua saw as being fulfilled here included verses such as:</p>
<blockquote><p>שנאי חנם יקרצו-עין</p>
<p><strong>They who hate me without cause will blink the eye [ie, will break eye contact].</strong> - Ps. 35:19</p>
<p>רבו משערות ראשי שנאי חנם</p>
<p><strong>Greater [in number] than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause.</strong> - Ps. 69:5</p>
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<p>In both cases, David was speaking of (or as) a righteous man oppressed by איבי שקר (literally "false" or "lying" enemies) appealing to G-d for vindication.</p>
<p><a name="yeshua_hanged" id="yeshua_hanged"></a>But the Torah community has long argued that there was ample cause for the rejection, conviction and execution of Yeshua. One version in the Talmud states that the Jewish authorities pronounced Him guilty, based on the following charges:</p>
<blockquote><p>It was taught: On the eve of the Passover Yesh"u (the Nazarene) was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, 'He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Anyone who can say anything in his favor, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.' But since nothing was brought forward in his favor, he was hanged on the eve of the Passover. - <a href="http://mechon-mamre.org/b/l/l4406.htm">Sanh. 43a</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeshu#Yeshu_Ha-Notzri">censored for a time</a> due to Church pressure)</p>
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<p>There has been lively dispute about whether this passage actually refers to Yeshua of Nazareth, but the likelihood of another man by this name being put to death on a Passover eve for the same crimes blamed on Yeshua is extremely low. Moreover, the name is spelled in the Talmud not as ישו but as the acronym יש"ו - "may his name and memory be erased" (a word-play on "Yeshua" that endures to this day). Moreover, the New Testament agrees that Yeshua's miracles were attributed by the Pharisees to demons (Matt.9:34, 12:23-24, Mark 3:22, Luke 11:14-15), that He was branded as a "deceiver" and "enticer" (Matt.27:63, Jn.7:12,47).</p>
<p>We are told that Yeshua's claims to be the <a href="http://www.restorersofzion.org/RT_answers_rabbincom.htm#isGd">Son of G-d</a> resulted in several attempts to stone Him (Jn.8:59, 10:31-39, 11:8). This allows for the possibility that the Sanhedrin might have actually issued a sentence of stoning against Him which some attempted to carry out unsuccessfully. Interestingly, the Talmudic passage begins by explaining that halachah requires that "a herald goes forth" immediately before such an execution, but then finds it necessary to make excuses for the 40-day delay between this man's sentencing (death by stoning) and His actual death (by hanging):</p>
<blockquote><p>Said Ulla: Do you suppose that he was one for whom a defense could be made? Was he not an enticer, about whom the Merciful One says (Deut.13:9), ולא-תחמל ולא-תכסה עליו - <strong>'Neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him'</strong>? But Yesh"u was different, for he was connected with the kingdom [קרוב למלכות].</p>
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<p>This may have been a veiled reference to the Jewish people's acceptance of Yeshua as a herald of the "Kingdom of Heaven" and/or His royal status as "son of David", which made it difficult to carry out the sentence. The New Testament records the Sanhedrin trying unsuccessfully to arrest Him, and both Yeshua and the people being aware of a death sentence against Him (John 7). A special Council was convened to discuss the dilemma of His popularity, specifically mentioning His potential to set up a kingdom (Jn.11:47-53), resulting in a proclamation going out that He was to be arrested and put to death (vv.53-57).</p>
<p>Why were they so determined? It would seem His Messianic claims, backed by miracles, were causing people to turn away from G-d; therefore Yeshua ha-Notzri merited death by stoning (Deut.13:10). This implies that the Sanhedrin had applied the tests given in Torah to expose such false prophets and miracle-workers:</p>
<blockquote><p>כי-יקום בקרבך נביא או חלם חלום ונתן אליך אות או מופת: ובא האות והמופת אשר-דבר אליך לאמר נלכה אחרי אלהים אחרים אשר לא-ידעתם ונעבדם: לא תשמע אל-דברי הנביא ההוא או אל-חולם החלום ההוא כי מנסה ה' אלהיכם אתכם לדעת הישכם אהבים את-ה' אלהיכם בכל-לבבכם ובכל-נפשכם: אחרי ה' אלהיכם תלכו ואתו תיראו ואת-מצותיו תשמרו ובקלו תשמעו ואתו תעבדו ובו תדבקון: והנביא ההוא או חלם החלום ההוא יומת כי דבר-סרה על-ה' אלהיכם... ובערת הרע מקרבך</p>
<p><strong>When there arises among you a prophet or dreamer of dreams and he gives to you a sign or a wonder, and the sign and the wonder come [to pass], which he spoke to you saying, 'Come, let us go after other gods which you did not know and let us serve them'; you shall not hear the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the L-rd your God is testing you, to know if you love the L-rd your God with all your hearts and with all your souls. You shall go after the L-rd your God, and [only] Him shall you fear, and His commandments you shall keep, and His voice you shall hear, and you shall serve Him and you shall cling to Him. And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, for he has spoken of turning away from the L-rd your God... and you shall burn the evil from among you.</strong> - Deut. 13:1-5 (2-6 in Heb)</p>
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<p>The Talmud is curiously mute, however, about anyone whom Yeshua had "enticed" away from G-d. Nor is it stated which foreign god was Yeshua trying to promote through His signs. Which of G-d's laws was He accused of transgressing? Yeshua asked the same of His critics (John 8:46; 10:32). Since the Talmud fails to elaborate, we have only the New Testament as a possible source for detecting sin on His part against the Torah.</p>
<p>Jewish scholars who have studied Yeshua's life from the gospel records (the first four books of the New Testament) have concluded that he was an observant Jew by the rabbinic standards of his day:</p>
<blockquote><p>The first three Gospels, however, portray Yeshua as a Jew who was faithful to the current practice of the Law. ...The Gospels provide sufficient evidence to the effect that Yeshua did not oppose any prescription of the Written or Oral Mosaic Law, and that he even performed Jewish religious commandments. - Enc. Jud. Vol. 10, p.13</p>
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<p>If Yeshua was not guilty of embracing other gods, then perhaps did the "apostasy" consist in trying to convince the people to see Himself as a new deity? We have already seen that someone calling himself "<a href="http://www.restorersofzion.org/RT_answers_rabbincom.htm#sonofGd">the Son of G-d</a>," or even calling himself by <a href="http://www.restorersofzion.org/RT_answers_rabbincom.htm#Gds_name">G-d's holy Name</a>, was not considered a blasphemer by the Jewish sages -- provided he was worthy of the title.</p>
<p>Then maybe Yeshua's "apostasy" was in trying to usurp the role of the Sanhedrin as a ruler of the people, in violation of G-d's commandment? On the contrary, the New Testament writings show that Yeshua and His disciples submitted to the Jewish authorities in every area delegated to them by Torah, adhering to every ruling which did not transgress G-d's laws. Moreover, Yeshua actively resisted attempts by others to proclaim Him as any kind of earthly leader (Luke 12:13-14; Jn. 6:15; 18:33-36). He even commented on the irony that in seeking glory for G-d and not for Himself, He was being rejected, while others who were clearly working to create a kingdom for themselves (and for that reason ought to be suspect), had no trouble being accepted:</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own name, you will receive him.</strong> - John 5:43</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If Yeshua had been calling the people to seek the G-d of Israel and keep His laws, and if He Himself was obedient to G-d's commandments and to the Torah-ordained authorities, then His condemnation as someone "enticing Israel to apostasy" was groundless. It also means, according to the Torah, that the miracles He performed were not "sorcery" but represented G-d's approval of Him.</p>
<p>A claim to be the ultimate Prophet - the Anointed One sent from G-d - could not be viewed as false simply because the one claiming it was not a likely-looking candidate. It was a claim to be tested by faithfulness to G-d and faithfulness in delivering G-d's words in G-d's Name. If the test were to be positive, this One would have be heeded, on pain of Divine judgment.</p>
<blockquote><p>נביא מקרבך מאחיך כמני יקים לך ה' אלהיך אליו תשמעון: ככל אשר-שאלת מעם ה' אלהיך בחרב ביום הקהל לאמר לא אסף לשמע את-קול ה' אלהי ואת-האש הגדלה הזאת לא-אראה עוד ולא אמות: ויאמר ה' אלי היטיבו אשר דברו: נביא אקים להם מקרב אחיהם כמוך ונתתי דברי בפיו ודבר אליהם את כל-אשר אצונו: והיה האיש אשר לא-ישמע אל-דברי אשר ידבר בשמי אנכי :אדרש מעמו</p>
<p><strong>A prophet from among you, from your brethren, like me, the L-rd your God will raise up for you; to him you will listen. According to all that you asked from the L-rd your God at Horev in the day of the assembly, saying, 'I will not listen more to the voice of the L-rd my God, and this great fire I will not see further, and I will not die.' And G-d said to me, 'They have done well in what they said; a prophet I will raise up for them from among their brethren, like you, and I will give My words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that I will command him. And it shall be, the man who does not listen to the words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it from him.'</strong> - Deut. 18:15-19</p>
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<p>To utterly reject such an individual, despite His faithfulness, could only be motivated by a groundless hatred of that One, which implies a hatred of G-d Himself.</p>
<p>And yet this groundless hatred toward Yeshua was acknowledged by Him and His apostles to have been a sin of ignorance:</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.</strong> - Luke 23:34</p>
<p><strong>But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life... And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.</strong> - Acts 3:14, 17</p>
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<p>The rabbis, noting that the purpose for the daily sacrifice known as the "<a href="http://www.restorersofzion.org/RT_answers_rabbincom.htm#tamid">Olat Tamid</a>" was never explained in Torah, have concluded that it was to atone for the sins of Jerusalem committed in ignorance, both day and night, in order to validate the description of Jerusalem in Isaiah 1:21: "קריה נאמנה מלאתי משפט צדק ילין בה - <strong>The faithful city full of justice, righteousness will lodge in her"</strong> (see <a href="http://www.tsel.org/torah/midrashraba/pinchas.html">Midrash B'Midbar Rabba, Parashat Pinchas:21</a>). </p>
<p>As seen earlier, the rabbis have also recognized that the Tamid is somehow connected to the <a href="http://www.restorersofzion.org/RT_answers_rabbincom.htm#akedah">Akedah</a> sacrifice. Messiah was the One hinted at by both sacrifices; and as confirmation, His death on the cross took place at the time of day for the evening Tamid, and also on the date that Jewish tradition originally placed the Akedah: Nisan 14 (Go to the RZ article on Rosh Ha-Hodeshim entitled, "<a href="http://www.restorersofzion.org/meditations_for_Nisan_5.doc">Messiah, Our Passover,</a>" for the documentation from Jewish sources.) This is just one more way in which the suffering Messiah established His mission and His authority from G-d to secure forgiveness for Jerusalem's sins.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, both the Jewish Scriptures and rabbinic commentaries acknowledge that there is fallout from sins of ignorance, especially when they are committed by leaders.</p>
<p class="style6"><a name="errors" id="errors"></a>7A. Rabbinic Errors Concerning the Messiah, and Their Consequences</p>
<p>This idea of connecting hatred of Yeshua with the Churban gives rise (or should give rise) to two urgent protests:</p>
<p>How could the great rabbis of that day, including the Sanhedrin (the only court with rabbinic authority to pass a death sentence), be ignorant in so important a matter as the identification of King Messiah? And would a mistake in identifying the Messiah really merit such a harsh punishment from G-d as the destruction of 70 CE? The second question is especially difficult, in light of the way the historical Church has used this issue to justify their abuse of the Jewish people.</p>
<p>Regarding the first question, the Talmud and Rambam (Maimonides) testify that the rabbis had indeed erred in the case of Simeon Bar Kochba a hundred years after Yeshua (135 CE). No less a sage than Rabbi Akiva believed Bar Kochba to be the Messiah. Furthermore, the Talmud states that there was a Sanhedrin at Betar, Bar Kochba's capital (Sanh. 17b), indicating that such a court willingly participated in Bar Kochba's rule.</p>
<p>And yet Rambam wrote that Bar Kochba was not simply a messiah who failed in his mission (as is taught today), but a deceiver whose sins brought about his death:</p>
<blockquote><p>Even Rabbi Akiva, who was the greatest of the sages of the Mishnah, was a supporter [armor-bearer] of King Ben Kozivah, saying of him that he was the King Messiah. He and all the sages of his generation imagined that he was the King Messiah until he was killed for sins [which he had committed]." - <a href="http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/e511.htm">Maim. Hilkhot Melachim 11:6</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Rambam used a derogatory name here ["son of a lie"], a Hebrew pun on the man's real name, Bar Koseva, which Rabbi Akiva had changed to Bar Kochba ["son of a star"]. As for "the sages of his generation", other sources reported that not all them had agreed with Akiva either:</p>
<blockquote><p>Said Rabbi Yochanan, R. Hiyya would demand: ' דרך כוכב מיעקב - <strong>A star rose from Jacob</strong>' (Num 24): Do not read 'a star' but 'a liar'. Rabbi Akiva, when he saw Bar Kozeva, said: 'This is the King Messiah!' Rabbi Johanan ben Torta said to him: 'Akiva! Grass will grow in your cheeks and still He [the son of David] does not come!' - <a href="http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/toshba/eyha/2a-2.htm">Mid. Lamentations Rabba 2:2</a>, no.4 (also found in Jerusalem Talmud, <a href="http://www.drash.org/9Av.pdf">Ta'anit 4:5</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lamentations Rabba <a href="http://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jewish_wars/bk01.html">records</a> some of the sins referred to by Rambam. Bar Kochba required his soldiers to amputate a finger (to prove either bravery or loyalty), causing the Sages to protest, "How long will you continue to make the men of Israel blemished?" The <a href="http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/toshba/eyha/2a-2.htm">Midrash</a> goes on to say that while trapped in Betar by the Romans, Bar Kochba suspected Rabbi Eleazer of Mode'in of betraying him and killed the revered sage in a fit of temper, upon which a heavenly Voice pronounced him a "worthless shepherd".</p>
<p>Bar Kochba's conduct reportedly caused Rabbi Akiva and others to finally withdraw their support, but they stopped short of declaring him worthy of death. Instead, the murderer of Rabbi Eleazer inexplicably became a hero to the Torah community, and his memory is honored every year in the Israeli holiday of Lag Ba'Omer. Apparently Bar Kochba's military success allowed generations of rabbinic leadership to overlook his blatant sins against the Torah.</p>
<p>Remembering the charges against Yeshua as <a href="http://www.restorersofzion.org/RT_answers_rabbincom.htm#yeshua_hanged">recorded</a> in the Talmud, let us examine how the rabbis responded to a later messiah who clearly led the people into outright apostasy: Sabbatai (or Shabbatai) Zevi.</p>
<p>Shabbatai Zevi was a Jew from Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire, born in 1626 on the 9th of Av, the <a href="http://www.restorersofzion.org/RT_answers_rabbincom.htm#lebanon_netzer">traditional date</a> set by the rabbis for the Messiah's birth. Through Zevi's study of Lurianic Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism as formulated by Rabbi Isaac Luria, the "Ari") he became convinced that he was the Messiah. He proclaimed himself as such in 1648, a year predicted in the Zohar for the arrival of the Messiah. Shabbatai Zevi deliberately broke Torah and rabbinic commands, eating nonkosher food and pronouncing the Tetragrammaton aloud. He married and divorced twice in quick succession, and took a Jewish nun-turned-prostitute for his third wife. He sang Psalms and "course Spanish love songs" with equal piety (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbatai_Zevi">Wikipedia</a> for documentation). </p>
<p>Nevertheless, after he rescued the Jews of Jerusalem from Turkish threats by raising a large sum of money, Zevi's influence spread across Europe and captivated the Jewish community:</p>
<blockquote><p>Shabbatai Zevi's antinomian [anti-Torah] acts, but even more so his personal beauty and extraordinary charm, made people accept his Messianic pretensions unquestioningly, and the popular enthusiasm he evoked was unprecedented. By 1665, the whole Diaspora was under his spell. From Poland emissaries were sent to pay him homage, and in Holland entire Jewish communities liquidated their positions and waited for his word in the harbors to set sail for the Holy Land. - Patai, <em>The Messiah Texts</em>, p. xlv</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Zevi's prophet, Nathan of Gaza, predicted that the Turkish Sultan would voluntarily hand over the Empire to Shabbatai Zevi. In 1666, Zevi proclaimed "the year of redemption" and sailed to Constantinople to receive his kingdom. Instead, he converted to Islam in order to save his life, and lived on a comfortable stipend with the title of "Effendi" for the next 10 years in the Sultan's court. Accepting these acts as part of his messianic mission, a great number of Jews followed Zevi into apostasy, founding a pseudo-Muslim, pseudo-Christian, anti-Torah sect which has survived until today (the "Donmeh", heirs to the Sabbateans and Frankists). </p>
<p>Here is how historians record the rabbinic response to their huge error:</p>
<blockquote><p>For the rest of the Jewish world the shock of Shabbatai Zevi's apostasy was profound. Little is known about what the common people felt, but the rabbis in their wisdom decided on a course which, they thought, was most likely to heal the wounds in the nation's psyche: the course of minimizing what had happened, and of covering it with the veils of silence and disregard. - Patai, p. xlvi</p>
<p>Pockets of believers remained in the Turkish Empire, the Balkans, Italy and even in Lithuania. Southern Poland too remained for a long time under Shabbatian influence. But the balance of world Jewry, disappointed now beyond illusion, recoiled... into an exhausted and wary silence. - Abba Eban, <em>My People</em>, p. 237</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a name="zevi_accepted" id="zevi_accepted"></a>There is no evidence that the rabbinic community ever declared Shabbatai Zevi worthy of death, in spite of his open apostasy and his profound influence in leading others to do the same. It was the Turkish sultan who finally banished Zevi to Montenegro, where he died in solitude in 1676. Yet Yeshua the faithful Jew was denounced as worthy of death, and His sentence was considered appropriate by numerous rabbinic leaders, from Talmudic times until today.</p>
<p>As if the spiritual disaster of having hailed imposters as the Anointed One were not enough, historians write that physical disasters of a notable magnitude befell the Jewish community after the demise of both Bar Kochba and Shabbatai Zevi:</p>
<blockquote><p>In Jewish tradition, the fall of Bethar (Bar Kochba's last stronghold) was a disaster equal to the destruction of the First and Second Temples. The Jewish population of Judea was largely exterminated in the period of repression which followed the fall of Bethar. The subjugation was associated with massacres and religious persecution, the sale of Jews into slavery, and uprooting of the people from the soil. - Enc. Judaica Vol.4, p.236</p>
<p>The inglorious end of the Frankist movement [led by Jacob Frank, 1726-1791] coincided with the beginning of the darkest period ever visited upon the Jews of Poland. - Abba Eban, <em>My People</em>, p. 238</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The troubles of Polish Jewry referred to by Eban were brought on by apostasy with an ironic twist. </p>
<p>The Frankists were a Shabbatean offshoot that surfaced around 1750; Jacob Frank's own father was a Sabbatean. They were declared heretics in 1756 by the rabbinic leaders of Poland, who were belatedly trying to stamp out the heritage of Shabbatai Zevi due to public scandals. (They took a public stand against the "Shabbatean heresy" only in 1722, a full generation after Zevi's death, and by then the movement was too popular to stop.)</p>
<p>The Frankists retaliated against the Jewish community by seeking refuge in the Catholic church, posing as a quasi-Christian faith. They misled Catholic leaders, claiming to believe in the Trinity and "redemption through the Messiah", but neglecting to explain that their "messiah" was the Islamic convert Shabbatai Zevi reincarnated as Jacob Frank, and that their "redemption" was achieved by sinning as much as possible, especially sexual immorality. (Their duplicity was later discovered, but after receiving baptism they were absorbed into Catholic society and Polish nobility.) The Catholic authorities embraced the Frankists and persecuted the rabbinic community on their behalf, including fines and an order to burn copies of the Talmud. </p>
<p>The irony here is that Jacob Frank's heresy was built exclusively on Shabbatean teaching, made possible by the earlier rabbinic leniency toward the false messiah Shabbatai Zevi. If they had been as quick to condemn Zevi as Torah demands, and <strong>"purge the evil from among you"</strong> (Deut.13:6), the Frankist movement might never have happened at all, nor their role in fueling persecution of Jews by the Catholic Church.</p>
<p><a name="bratslav" id="bratslav"></a>Besides the community crisis, these mistakes were believed by Jewish sages to also have spiritual repercussions for later generations. A teaching attributed to Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (who lived 1772-1811, and probably experienced the disaster caused by the Frankists) warns that each false messiah who is mistakenly accepted makes it that much harder to recognize the true Messiah:</p>
<blockquote><p>...And the storm wind spread and became strong and caused such confusion that he (the Messiah) lost all the signs which were given to him from the roots of the souls of Israel, until it was totally impossible for them [Israel] to recognize him. For as a result of the many tribulations that have come over him from being oppressed under their hands... some of the mysteries... were given over to them as well. Until there were found also among them some who imitated (the Messiah) like an ape before a man, calling themselves by the name Messiah. <br/> For this is the whole issue of the false Messiahs who were in the world. And thereafter, once their lies and wantonness were known, it had become very difficult to believe in the light of the truth of his (the real Messiah's) own selfness when it was revealed to them. - R. Nahman of Tcherin in R. Nachman of Bratzlav, <em>Sippure Ma'asiyyot</em>, quoted in Patai, p.108-109</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Even though the Bratslav Rebbe himself was eventually proclaimed Messiah by his followers, in the context of the above quotation he is only called a great Tsaddik, or righteous one, equal to the Ba'al Shem Tov.)</p>
<p>The implied spiritual damage done by the false messiahs is the disillusionment and abandonment of belief in a true Messiah to come. And indeed, Jewish history records the secularization of large segments of European Jewry following Shabbatai Zevi. </p>
<p>But the most remarkable thing about R. Nachman's story is that the true Messiah is described as having come, and having lost His identifying marks as it were, <strong>before</strong> the pretenders arrived on the scene. We have here a veiled admission that the Jewish community has failed in identifying both the true Messiah and false messiahs - and due to these failures, might also miss later opportunities to recognize Him "when it was revealed to them".</p>
<p>Yeshua accurately prophesied both the <a href="http://www.restorersofzion.org/RT_answers_rabbincom.htm#talmud_events">removal of G-d's favor</a> from the Temple (Matt. 23:37-39; Luke 13:34-35) and Jerusalem's destruction (Luke 19:41-44), explicitly linking both disasters to Jerusalem's (i.e. the leaders') rejection of Him. He also warned of imposters who would arise after Him (Matt. 24:5) and who would precede His return as well (verse 23-25).</p> Why is a Mikvah so important?tag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2013-01-19:5544986:Topic:183092013-01-19T15:40:31.690ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<h2 align="center"><font color="#0000FF" face="Papyrus">Ask the Rabbi - Why is a Mikvah so important?…</font></h2>
<p></p>
<h2 align="center"><font color="#0000FF" face="Papyrus">Ask the Rabbi - Why is a Mikvah so important?</font></h2>
<p><b><i><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Why is a Mikvah so important? <br/> <br/> A Mikvah is not the same as a Baptistery at a Church. At a Church a person generally is immersed (or sprinkled) only at the time they acknowledge publicly belief in Messiah. A Mikvah on the other hand is used extensively at many times in the person life. It's waters symbolize the waters of the Gan (Garden of) Eden, rebirth, and renewal.</font></font></i></b></p>
<p><b><i><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">There are many times a Mikvah is used:</font></font></i></b></p>
<ul>
<li>When a person accepts Messiah</li>
<li>When a person comes into a Biblical (Messianic) Lifestyle</li>
<li>At Lifecycle events like Bar/Bat Mitzvah, graduation, and marriage</li>
<li>To symbolize repentance (after doing T'shuvah)</li>
<li>In preparation for the High Holy Days (espically Yom Kippur)</li>
<li>After the birth of a child (women)</li>
<li>After niddah (monthly cycle - women)</li>
<li>When a former Gentile becomes a Jew (proselytizes)</li>
</ul>
<p><b><i><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">As you can see from the list above, this can be a very busy place.</font></font></i></b> </p>
<p><b><i><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">The rules for use are simple:</font></i></b></p>
<ul>
<li><b><i>Schedule an appointment (women call Rabbinit D'vorah, men call Rabbi Gavri'el or Micha'el).</i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Bath thoroughly before arriving for the Mikvah</i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Arrive with sufficient time</i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Some Mikvahs require special blessings that need to be witnessed, make sure you are aware in advance</i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Kittels (white thin robes) & towels are provided</i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Please use the dressing room adjacent to the Mikvah for dressing, this will prevent water from getting on the carpet</i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Prepare both spiritually and mentally, this is a wonderful time with tremendous spiritual significance</i></b></li>
</ul>
<p><b><i><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">If it is your first Mikvah (Baptism is not the same)</font></font></i></b></p>
<p><b><i><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">A Mikvah is special and central to maintaining a Jewish or Messianic Jewish Lifestyle. The Rabbi's teach us that a Mikvah is to be built before the Synagogue. A Torah scroll may even be sold the pay for a Mikvah to be built.</font></font></i></b></p>
<p><b><i><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br/> . That Adonai has blessed us with such a special symbol is beyond expression.</font></font></i></b></p>
<p><b><i><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Fro those coming from a Church back-ground, it may be a little hard to understand why this is so special. Give yourself a little time, and utilize this wonderful gift of G-d, soon you too will understand - Why is a Mikvah so important.</font></font></i></b></p>
<p></p>
<p><b><i><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><font style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;" color="#000000" face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><a href="http://www.cyber-synagogue.com./ask_the_rabbi_Why_Mikvah_important.htm">http://www.cyber-synagogue.com./ask_the_rabbi_Why_Mikvah_important.htm</a></font></font></i></b></p> The Mitzvah of Tefillintag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-12-20:5544986:Topic:180532012-12-20T16:20:28.392ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<div align="center"><h1>The Mitzvah of Tefillin</h1>
</div>
<p>The Torah tells us "And you shall bind them as a sign on your arm, and they shall be as frontlets on your head between your eyes" (Deuteronomy 6:8). This is the Mitzvah of <i>Tefillin</i>, though of course the details are much more complex than that.</p>
<p>The Torah tells us in four places that we should put on <i>tefillin</i>. (The four places are: Deut.6:4-9; Deut. 11:13-21; Exodus 13:1-10; and Exodus 13:11-16.) Each of these…</p>
<div align="center"><h1>The Mitzvah of Tefillin</h1>
</div>
<p>The Torah tells us "And you shall bind them as a sign on your arm, and they shall be as frontlets on your head between your eyes" (Deuteronomy 6:8). This is the Mitzvah of <i>Tefillin</i>, though of course the details are much more complex than that.</p>
<p>The Torah tells us in four places that we should put on <i>tefillin</i>. (The four places are: Deut.6:4-9; Deut. 11:13-21; Exodus 13:1-10; and Exodus 13:11-16.) Each of these places is a separate chapter in the Torah (according to the original chapter and paragraph system, not according to the more popular one now in use, which was created by Christians and bears no relation or similarity to the original system).</p>
<p>Therefore, each of these chapters are written on small pieces of parchment and placed into leather housings, which a man places on the arm and the head, along with special leather straps.</p>
<p>The Rabbis say many great things about the Mitzvah of <i>Tefillin</i>. The Sefer Hachinuch (Book of Jewish Education) says that it is one of the Mitzvos that helps protects us against sin.</p>
<p>I think that the best way to understand the Mitzvah of <i>Tefillin</i> is to read the prayer that we recite each day before putting them on.</p>
<blockquote><p>My intention in putting on tefillin is to fulfill the will of my Creator, Who has commanded us to put on tefillin, as it says in His Torah, "And you shall bind them as a sign on your arm, and they shall be as frontlets on your head between your eyes."</p>
<p>They contain the four chapters from the Torah in which the Mitzvah of tefillin is stated....</p>
<p>Those chapters discuss how Hashem, Whose Name is blessed, is One, and only One, in the entire universe. Those chapters also discuss the miracles and wonders that Hashem did for us when He took us out of Egypt. They discuss how Hashem alone has the power and the dominion to do whatever He wants in the physical world and in the spiritual world.</p>
<p>Hashem commanded us to put <i>tefillin</i> on our arms to remember the "strong arm" (which refers to the powerful and cataclysmic changes in nature that Hashem performed for us when He took us out of Egypt).</p>
<p>The <i>tefillin</i> on our arms is near the heart to control the lusts and thoughts of our hearts and redirect them towards performing the Service we are commanded to perform for Hashem, Whose Name is blessed.</p>
<p>The <i>tefillin</i> on our heads is near the brain, so that the spiritual elements in our brains, as well as our senses and all our abilities, should should all be controlled and redirected towards performing the Service we are commanded to perform for Hashem, Whose Name is blessed.</p>
<p>May the performance of the Mitzvah of <i>tefillin</i> influence me and bestow upon me long life, Holy Influence, holy thoughts -- without even a moment's consideration of any sin or bad thing whatsoever -- and that our Evil Inclination should not be aroused, nor should it seduce us, and should let us serve Hashem the way our hearts truly desire to.</p>
<p>May it be Your will, Hashem our G-d, and G-d of our forefathers, that You value our performance of this Mitzvah of putting on <i>tefillin</i> as if we had done it absolutely perfectly, with every detail accurate, and with all the correct thoughts and intentions....</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We put <i>tefillin</i> on once a day, usually for the morning prayers.</p>
<p>We may not wear <i>tefillin</i> at night.</p>
<p>The Laws of creating <i>tefillin</i> are very complex. It is impossible for a layperson to make them. They must be written with Halachically acceptable ink, on Halachically acceptable parchment. Each letter must be formed according to specific and exacting details. If only one point on one letter is slightly rounded off when it should be pointed, the entire pair of <i>tefillin</i> is invalid. The housings must be perfectly square when viewed from the top. Even the stitches that keep the housing closed must be square when viewed from above, and may be done only with Halachically acceptable kosher animal sinews.</p>
<p>The letters must all be written in order. If a letter has been written incorrectly, it cannot be fixed out of sequence. Sometimes one bad letter can invalidate an entire pair of <i>tefillin</i>.</p>
<p>Since there are so many Laws about <i>tefillin</i>, one should buy them only from an honest Jew who knows the Laws, and can be trusted to make them correctly. A dishonest man might find a problem, and fix it incorrectly, just to save money. Therefore we must be very careful from whom we buy our <i>tefillin</i>.</p>
<p>When you go to buy <i>tefillin</i>, be aware that there are various levels of quality in <i>tefillin</i>. This is not a scam. The more expensive ones are actually better, and they will also last longer. They are also more preferred, the Talmud says, because they are created with a greater adherence to various spiritual concepts. But you should get what you are ready, willing and able to buy.</p>
<p>Get your <i>tefillin</i> checked periodically -- at least once every four years, preferably once a year if possible. Any other time, if you see something wrong, such as the housings bending slightly, or paint chipping or cracking, get your <i>tefillin</i>checked immediately.</p>
<p>Here are some of the Laws you should know about wearing <i>tefillin</i>.</p>
<p>If for some reason you have only one half of the set, whether it be only the one for the head, or only the one for the arm, put that one on and recite only the blessing for that one.</p>
<p>When putting on <i>tefillin</i> it is very important to have a clean body. In addition to general cleanliness, one must be especially careful to be clean after going to the bathroom.</p>
<p>Someone who has no control over what comes out of his body is forbidden to wear <i>tefillin</i>. Anyone in that situation should discuss it with his Rabbi to find out when and how he may wear <i>tefillin</i>.</p>
<p>One should go to the bathroom before putting on <i>tefillin</i>, or at least be absolutely sure he will not have to go while wearing the <i>tefillin.</i> If while wearing <i>tefillin</i> you feel the need to go to the bathroom, you must immediately remove the <i>tefillin</i> and go.</p>
<p>If you feel the need to pass gas while wearing <i>tefillin</i>, you must first remove your <i>tefillin</i>.</p>
<p>Never take <i>tefillin</i> or any holy item into a bathroom.</p>
<p>While wearing <i>tefillin</i>, one should think no thoughts at all except thoughts of Hashem, Torah or prayer. All the more so should he be careful about what he says out loud.</p>
<p>We may wear <i>tefillin</i> only during the day.</p>
<p>We do not put on <i>tefillin</i> on Shabbos.</p>
<p><i>Tefillin</i> should be put on your weaker hand. If you are right-handed, use your right hand to put your <i>tefillin</i> on your left hand. If you are left-handed, use your left hand to put <i>tefillin</i> on your right hand. If you are ambidextrous, you must ask your Rabbi, because each case is different. If you are unable to contact a Rabbi for some reason, assume in the interim that the hand with which you write is your stronger hand (for this purpose, at least).</p>
<p>Always treat your <i>tefillin</i> with the greatest of respect and reverence. Do not remove them from the bag by shaking them out of the bag, for example. Always take them out carefully, and put them back carefully.</p>
<p>To show our love for the Mitzvah, we use our stronger hand to put the <i>tefillin</i> onto our weaker hand. We also use our stronger hand to put the <i>tefillin</i> on our head. When taking off the <i>tefillin</i>, we use our weaker hand, to show our reluctance to take off the Mitzvah.</p>
<p><i>Tefillin</i> are made of leather. That means that you must keep them safe from things that hurt leather, like moisture and extreme temperatures.</p>
<div align="center">How to Put on Your Tefillin</div>
<p>This is a brief guide to putting on <i>tefillin</i>, but it will be much easier if you have a live person showing you and helping you your first time. Words and pictures cannot equal the real thing.</p>
<p>You should be standing when putting on or taking off <i>tefillin</i>. While wearing them you may sit, but while putting them on or taking them off you should be standing.</p>
<p>We start with the hand. We never start with the head, so if you accidentally take out the <i>shel rosh</i> (the one for the head) first, you must put it back and take out the <i>shel yad</i> (the one for the hand).</p>
<p>Unwrap the straps and take the <i>shel yad</i> out of the box.</p>
<p>Open the loop very wide, and slide back the <i>shel yad</i> until the <i>bayis</i> (the housing -- i.e., the black box) sits on the center of your biceps.</p>
<p>The knot should be tightly touching the <i>bayis</i>, and should be between you and the <i>bayis</i>.</p>
<p>Recite the first blessing:</p>
<h3>Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has made us holy through His commandments, and commanded us to put on tefillin.</h3>
<p><img src="http://www.beingjewish.com/images/yad.jpg" align="left" height="251" width="180"/></p>
<p>Tighten the loop, and begin wrapping the strap around your hand. There are different customs about some of the minor details of the wrapping, so I will explain the custom that is shown in the pictures. In the picture I have included on this page, the man is wrapping the strap towards himself, but some have the custom to wrap away from themselves.</p>
<p>Wrap at least once around your biceps, and seven times around your lower arm. Stop at the palm, and wrap the remainder of the strap around your palm. Do not wrap the strap around your fingers just yet.</p>
<p>Remove the <i>shel rosh</i> from the bag, unwrap the straps, and take it out of the box.</p>
<p>Place the <i>shel rosh</i> on your head, with the <i>bayis</i> on your head just before the hairline.</p>
<p>The knot should be behind your head, just above your neck, and the strap should be lying loosely on your head.</p>
<p>Recite the blessing:</p>
<h3>Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has made us holy through His commandments, and commanded us concerning the Mitzvah of tefillin.</h3>
<p>Tighten the straps around your head by pulling them down at the sides, front and back, as necessary.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.beingjewish.com/images/right.jpg" align="middle" height="249" width="180"/>This is how it should look.</p>
<p><font color="#006600"><font size="4"><font face="Arrus BT"><font face="Arrus BT"><br/><br/></font></font></font></font></p>
<p><img src="http://www.beingjewish.com/images/wrong.jpg" align="middle" height="237" width="180"/>This is <strong><i>wrong</i></strong>. The <i>shel rosh</i> is too far forward.</p>
<p>Recite:</p>
<blockquote><h3>Shine upon me some of Your wisdom, Hashem Who is supreme, and give me understanding from Your understanding. Do great things for me out of Your kindness. Destroy, with your power, my enemies and adversaries. Let the good oil pour down on the seven branches of the menorah, to influence all Your creation with Your goodness. You open Your hand to satisfy the desires of all living things.</h3>
</blockquote>
<p>Now resume wrapping the strap of the <i>shel yad</i>. Unwind the strap from your palm, and wrap the strap around your middle finger. There are various customs concerning this. If you have no one there to guide you, do it this way:</p>
<p>As the strap comes from the wrist, pass it over the back of your hand. Wrapping around to the other side, pass it between your thumb and your first finger and take the strap down to the middle finger.</p>
<p>Wrap it once around the base of the middle finger, then once around the middle section of the middle finger. Then wrap it once around the base of the middle finger again. This should create something resembling an X around your finger.</p>
<p>Next, pass it again under your finger, over to the next finger down, and around that finger, and back and over the back of your hand to the area between your thumb and fingers again.</p>
<p>Now take the strap down under your hand across the palm, and around and over again to the area between your thumb and fingers. If there is any strap left, continue to wrap it around your palm and hand.</p>
<p>Tuck the end of the strap into the palm of your hand, around and beneath some of the strap that is already there. Do this at least twice, and pass the end of the strap through the final tuck to make a loop, and tighten it, to sort of tie off the end.</p>
<p>Look at the picture above to see how your hand should look when you you are finished. You will see that the straps sort of spell out the Three-Letter Name of Hashem, with a "shin," a "daled," and a "yud."</p>
<p>Now recite:</p>
<blockquote>I will betroth you to Me forever, and I will betroth you to Me with righteousness, justice, kindness, and mercy. I will betroth you to Me with faithfulness, and you shall know Me, Hashem.</blockquote>
<p>Now say the prayers.</p>
<p>When you take off the tefillin, first unwrap the strap from your fingers, wrapping it around your palm. Then take off the <i>shel rosh</i>. Wrap it up and put it away. then take off your <i>shel yad</i>, wrap it up and put it away.</p>
<p>When you wrap your <i>tefillin</i> to put them away, do not pull the straps tightly around the boxes. Leather can stretch a little, but the paint on the straps cannot stretch without cracking. The straps must be entirely black, according to Halachah, and if the paint on them cracks the straps could become invalid.</p>
<p><font color="#006600"><font size="4"><br/></font></font></p> How to Put on Tefillin!tag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-09-08:5544986:Topic:151242012-09-08T18:44:55.208ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<h1><a href="http://bethaderech.com/tefillin-phylacteries/">How to put on Tefillin – Phylacteries</a></h1>
<div class="dentro"><p><img alt="tefilin 199x300 | How to put on Tefillin Phylacteries (Video)" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2609" height="300" src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/tefilin-199x300.gif" title="Tefillin - Phylacteries" width="199"></img></p>
<p>Tefillin is one of my favorite mitzvot of the whole 613 mitzvot. It is one of action, of doing, of experience. Tefillin is technically the plural form (the singular being "tefillah"), it is loosely used as a singular as well. I do encourage all Jews, benei Anusim to get a pair of Tefillin and …</p>
</div>
<h1><a href="http://bethaderech.com/tefillin-phylacteries/">How to put on Tefillin – Phylacteries</a></h1>
<div class="dentro"><p><img src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/tefilin-199x300.gif" alt="tefilin 199x300 | How to put on Tefillin Phylacteries (Video)" title="Tefillin - Phylacteries" width="199" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2609"/></p>
<p>Tefillin is one of my favorite mitzvot of the whole 613 mitzvot. It is one of action, of doing, of experience. Tefillin is technically the plural form (the singular being "tefillah"), it is loosely used as a singular as well. I do encourage all Jews, benei Anusim to get a pair of Tefillin and <a title="Powered by Text-Enhance" id="_GPLITA_1" href="http://bethaderech.com/tefillin-phylacteries/#" name="_GPLITA_1">get going</a> with this wonderful mitzva. Here is a wonderful article that speaks about this wonderful mitzva (commandment).</p>
<p>Tefillin are not amulets. They are "attachments" to the body and serve to distinguish Jews as people who keep God’s precepts constantly in mind.</p>
<p>What They Are</p>
<p>Tefillin are the cube-shaped black leather boxes, containing four scriptural passages, attached to the head and arm and worn during the morning prayers. It is purely coincidental that the word tefillin so closely resembles the word for prayer, <em>tefillah</em>, since, although eventually the tefillin were only worn for the morning prayer, in Talmudic times they were worn all day and had no special association with prayer. As Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tefillin, 4.25-6) puts it: "Great is the sanctity of tefillin, for as long as the tefillin are upon man’s head and arm, he is humble and God-fearing and is not drawn after frivolity and idle talk, and does not have evil thoughts, but directs his heart to words of truth and righteousness. Therefore a man should try to have them on him all day … Even though they should be worn all day it is the greater obligation to wear them during prayer." In point of fact, some few extremely pious individuals, even in post-Talmudic times, did wear tefillin all day and this seems to have been Maimonides’ own practice. But the vast majority of Jews only wear tefillin during the morning prayer.</p>
<p>Etymology and History</p>
<p>The etymology of [the term] tefillin is uncertain, but possibly is connected either with a Hebrew root meaning "to attach" or with a root meaning "to distinguish." If this is correct, tefillin mean either "attachments" to the body or else the means whereby the Jew is distinguished from Gentiles. "Tefillin" is usually translated in English as "phylacteries." This is based on the New Testament Greek: "But all their works they do to be seen of men; they make broad their phylacteries" (Matthew 23:5). This passage, hostile to the Pharisees, uses the Greek word, from which the English is derived, meaning "things which guard"; in other words, the tefillin are a kind of amulet to offer protection against the demonic powers; whereas in all the Jewish sources the tefillin serve, like the <em>tzitzit</em>, as a reminder of God’s laws.</p>
<p>In four Pentateuchal passages it is stated that certain words should be on the hand and between the eyes. Many commentators, including Rashbam [Samuel ben Meir, 11th century Bible and Talmud commentator from France], hold that the plain meaning of these passages is that the words of the Torah should be constantly in mind, as in the verses: "Set them as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm" (Song of Songs 8: 6) and "Let not kindness and truth forsake thee; bind them about thy neck, write them on the table of thy heart" (Proverbs 3: 3).</p>
<p>The Karaites [a sect of Judaism that rejects the authority of rabbinic interpretation and law] understood the passages in this figurative way and did not wear tefillin. But very early on, as can be seen from the reference in the New Testament, Jews understood the passages in a literal sense and wore these four sections on the head and the arm, the words being those in the sections themselves. These are the tefillin, although, undoubtedly, they have developed over the years to assume the form they now have. The following is a brief description of what tefillin are now and how they are worn.</p>
<p>The Objects and Contents</p>
<p>The tefillin consist of two cube-shaped leather boxes, one worn on the head, the other on the arm, with leather straps fixed to them for attaching them to the head and the arm. Into these boxes, known as<em>batim</em>, "houses," the four passages, written by hand, are inserted.</p>
<p>The hand tefillin (in the Rabbinic tradition the "hand" here means the arm) contains all four sections written on a single strip of parchment. In the head tefillin there are four separate compartments, one for each of the four. The four sections are: (a) Exodus 13:1-10; (b) Exodus 13:11-16; (c) Deuteronomy 6:4-9; (d) Deuteronomy 11:12-21. Although the box (<em>bayit</em>, "house," singular of batim) of the head tefillin has to be in the form of an exact square (in the part into which the sections are inserted; this part rests on a larger base), it is divided into four compartments for the insertion of the sections, care being taken that these should not be separated from one another in such a way as to interfere with the square shape. The box of the hand tefillin consists of a single compartment into which all four sections, written on a single strip, are inserted. The boxes have to be completely black as well as square-shaped.</p>
<p>Black straps are inserted into each of the batim. The straps of the head tefillin are made to form a knot that will be at the back of the neck when the tefillin are worn. This knot is in the shape of the letter <em>dalet</em>. The strap of the hand tefillin is attached to the bayit to form another knot shaped in the form of the letter<em>yod</em>. The letter <em>shin</em> is worked into the leather of the head tefillin, a three-pronged shin on the right side of the wearer and a four-pronged <em>shin</em> on the left (this is probably because of uncertainties as to how this letter should be formed). We now have the three letters shin, dalet, yod, in the tefillin, forming the word<em>Shaddai</em>, one of the divine names. (Some have the letter <em>mem</em> instead of the dalet as the shape of the knot and the three letters then form the word <em>shemi</em>, "My name.")</p>
<p>All these matters are attended to by the manufacturers of the tefillin, who arrange for the writing to be done by a competent scribe and for the sections to be inserted into the batim, which are then sewn up and the straps inserted. Naturally, pious Jews will only buy a set of tefillin from a reliable, trustworthy merchant. Tefillin often come with a guarantee from a rabbi that they have been properly prepared.</p>
<p>How to Put On (Lay) Tefillin</p>
<p>The procedure for putting on the tefillin is as follows. The hand tefillin is taken out of the bag in which the tefillin are reverentially kept, and placed on the upper part of the left arm [but see below], and the benediction recited: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast hallowed us by Thy commandments, and hast commanded us to put on the tefillin." The knot is then tightened and the strap wound seven times around the arm.</p>
<p>The head tefillin is then taken out of the bag, placed loosely on the head, and the further benediction recited: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast hallowed us by Thy commandments and hast given us command concerning the precept of tefillin." The head tefillin are then tightened round the head so that the <em>bayit</em> rest in the middle of the head above the forehead and where the hair begins.</p>
<p>The strap of’ the hand tefillin is then wound thrice around the middle finger while the verses (from Hosea 1:21-2) are recited: "And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgement, and in lovingkindness, and in mercy: I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord."</p>
<p>In the rabbinic tradition, the tefillin are to be worn on "the weaker hand" (perhaps the idea here is to symbolize that it is the weaker side of human nature that requires to be strengthened by observing the precept). For this reason a left-handed man wears the tefillin on his right arm.</p>
<p>The tefillin are not worn on the Sabbath and festivals. The reason given is that these are described as a "sign," and so are tefillin. When these "signs" are present there is no need for tefillin to be worn. Tefillin are worn only during the day, not at night. Consequently, tefillin is one of those precepts dependent on time from which women are exempt. There are one or two references to women wearing tefillin even though they are exempt, but this is extremely rare. Even women who nowadays do wear a <em>tallit</em> do not normally wear tefillin. A minor is not obliged to wear tefillin and the usual practice is for a boy to begin to wear them just before his Bar Mitzvah.</p>
</div> 613 Commandmentstag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-09-08:5544986:Topic:149822012-09-08T18:38:00.254ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<h1>E<a href="http://bethaderech.com/enumerating-the-commandments-613/">numerating the Commandments (613)</a></h1>
<div class="dentro"><p><img alt="613 mitzvot | Enumerating the Commandments (613)" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4251" height="300" src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/613-mitzvot.gif" title="Enumerating the 613 Commandments " width="200"></img></p>
<p>In Judaism there is a tradition that the Torah contains 613 mitzvot (Hebrew for commandments, from mitzvah – מצוה – precept, plural mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah- command).</p>
<p>According to the main source, of these 613, 248 mitzvot aseh (positive commandments) and 365 mitzvot lo taaseh (negative commandments). It is notable that 365 is the…</p>
</div>
<h1>E<a href="http://bethaderech.com/enumerating-the-commandments-613/">numerating the Commandments (613)</a></h1>
<div class="dentro"><p><img src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/613-mitzvot.gif" alt="613 mitzvot | Enumerating the Commandments (613)" title="Enumerating the 613 Commandments " width="200" height="300" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4251"/></p>
<p>In Judaism there is a tradition that the Torah contains 613 mitzvot (Hebrew for commandments, from mitzvah – מצוה – precept, plural mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah- command).</p>
<p>According to the main source, of these 613, 248 mitzvot aseh (positive commandments) and 365 mitzvot lo taaseh (negative commandments). It is notable that 365 is the number of days in a solar year and 248 was at that time believed to be the number of bones in the human body.</p>
<p><strong>Significance of 613</strong></p>
<p>The Talmud (tractate Makkoth 23b) calculates that the numerical value (gematria) of the Hebrew word "Torah" is 611. The Torah states that Moses transmitted the Torah from God to the Jewish people: "Moses commanded us the Torah as an inheritance for the community of Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:4). However, there were two commandments which God directed straight at the Jewish people: the first two of the Ten Commandments; these are phrased in the first person.</p>
<p>Many Jewish philosophical and mystical works (Baal ha-Turim, the Maharal of Prague and leaders of Hasidic Judaism) find allusions and inspirational calculations relating to the number of commandments. Other works dispute that exactly 613 mitzvot exist.</p>
<p>The tzitzit (knotted fringes) of the tallit (prayer shawl) are tied to the 613 commands by interpretation: principal Torah commentator Rashi bases the number of knots on a gematria: the word tzitzit (Hebrew: ציצת (Biblical), ציצית, in its Mishnaic spelling) has the value 600. Each tassel has eight threads (when doubled over) and five sets of knots, totaling 13. The sum of all numbers is 613, traditionally the number of mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah. This reflects the concept that donning a garment with tzitzit reminds its wearer of all Torah commandments.</p>
<p><strong>Other views</strong></p>
<p>The Talmudic source is not without dissent. Apart from Rabbi Simlai, to whom the number 613 is attributed, other classical sages who hold this view include Rabbi Simeon ben Azzai (Sifre, Deuteronomy 76) and Rabbi Eleazar ben Yose the Galilean (Midrash Aggadah to Genesis 15:1). It is quoted in Midrash Exodus Rabbah 33:7, Numbers Rabbah 13:15–16; 18:21 and Talmud Yevamot 47b.</p>
<p>However, some held that this count was not an authentic tradition, or that it was not logically possible to come up with a systematic count. This is possibly why no early <a title="Powered by Text-Enhance" id="_GPLITA_2" href="http://bethaderech.com/enumerating-the-commandments-613/#" name="_GPLITA_2">work</a> of Jewish law or Biblical commentary depended on this system, and no early systems of Jewish principles of faith made acceptance of this Aggadah (non-legal Talmudic statement) normative. The classical Biblical commentator and grammarian Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra denied that this was an authentic rabbinic tradition. Ibn Ezra writes "Some sages enumerate 613 mitzvot in many diverse ways [...] but in truth there is no end to the number of mitzvot [...] and if we were to count only the root principles [...] the number of mitzvot would not reach 613" (Yesod Mora, Chapter 2)</p>
<p>Nahmanides held that this counting was the matter of a dispute, and that rabbinic <a title="Powered by Text-Enhance" id="_GPLITA_1" href="http://bethaderech.com/enumerating-the-commandments-613/#" name="_GPLITA_1">opinion</a> on this is not unanimous. Despite this, he states that "this total has proliferated throughout the aggadic literature… we ought to say that it was a tradition from Moses at Mount Sinai" (Nahmanides, Commentary to Maimonides’ Sefer Hamitzvot”, Root Principle 1).</p>
<p>Rabbi Simeon ben Tzemah Duran states that "perhaps the agreement that the number of mitzvot is 613… is just Rabbi Simlai’s opinion, following his own explication of the mitzvot. And we need not rely on his explication when we come to determine the law, but rather on the talmudic discussions" (Zohar Harakia, Lviv, 1858, p.99).</p>
<p>Rabbis who attempted to compile a list of the 613 commandments faced a number of difficulties, being:</p>
<p>Which statements were to be counted as commandments? Every command by God to any individual? Only commandments to the entire people of Israel?</p>
<p>Would an order from God be counted as a commandment, for the purposes of such a list, if it could only be complied with in one place and time? Or, would such an order only count as a commandment if it could – at least in theory – be followed at all times? (The latter is the view of Maimonides.)</p>
<p>How does one count commandments in a single verse which offers multiple prohibitions? Should each prohibition count as a single commandment, or does the entire set count as one commandment?</p>
<p>In Torah Min Hashamayim ("Heavenly Torah"), Conservative Judaism’s Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes: Judah ibn Bal’am denigrates those who number the mitzvot, and who attempt "to force their count to equal 613." In his opinion, this is impossible, for if we were to count all of the mitzvot, including those that were temporary commandments and those that were intended to endure, the number would be far greater than 613. "And if we confined ourselves only to those that endure, we would find fewer than this number." (Behinat Hamitzvot Rabbi Yehiel Mikhel Gutmann, Breslau, 1928, p.26)</p>
<p>Despite these misgivings, the idea that there are 613 commandments became accepted as normative in the Jewish community. Today, even among those who do not literally accept this count as accurate, it is still a common practice to refer to the total system of commandments within the Torah as the "613 commandments".</p>
<p><strong>Works enumerating the commandments</strong></p>
<p>In practice there is no one definitive list that explicates the 613 laws. The differences come about because in some places the Torah lists related laws together, so it is difficult to know whether one is dealing with a single law, which lists several cases, or several separate laws; Other "commandments" in the Torah are restricted as one-time acts, and would not be considered as "mitzvot". In rabbinic literature there are a number of works, mainly by the Rishonim, that were composed to determine which commandments belong in this enumeration: </p>
<ul>
<li>Sefer ha-Mitzvoth ("Book of Commandments") by Rabbi Saadia Gaon (really just a list, later expanded by R’ Yerucham Fishel Perlow)</li>
<li>Sefer Hamitzvot ("Book of Commandments") by Maimonides, with a critical commentary of Nachmanides – see below;</li>
<li>Sefer ha-Chinnuch ("Book of Education"), attributed to Rabbi Aaron ha-Levi of Barcelona (the Ra’ah);</li>
<li>Sefer ha-Mitzvoth ha-Gadol ("Large book of Commandments") by Rabbi Moses ben Jacob of Coucy;</li>
<li>Sefer ha-Mitzvoth ha-Katan ("Small book of Commandments") by Rabbi Isaac of Corbeil;</li>
<li>Sefer Yere’im ("Book of the [God-]fearing") by Rabbi Eliezer of Metz (not a clear enumeration);</li>
<li>Sefer ha-Mitzvoth by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the "Chafetz Chaim") – this work only deals with the commandments that are valid in the present time.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Maimonides’ work</strong></p>
<p>The most important of the above works is Sefer ha-Mitzvoth by Maimonides (Rambam). Maimonides went to great lengths to enumerate exactly which of the written Torah’s (Pentateuch) commandments can be considered fixed forevermore, in contradistinction to many "commands" that God makes in the Torah at various points but are restricted as one-time acts. He employs a set of fourteen rules (shorashim) which determine inclusion into the list. In this work, Maimonides supports his specification of each Mitzvah through quotations from the Midrash halakha and the Gemara. Nachmanides makes a number of critical points and replaces some items of the list with others.</p>
<p>The 613 commandments and their source in scripture, as enumerated by Maimonides. <a href="http://bethaderech.com/list-of-the-613-commandments/">Follow this link to read them</a>.</p>
</div> Practicing Tzedakahtag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-07-11:5544986:Topic:135862012-07-11T16:36:32.141ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<p><img alt="tzedaka mashiach | Practicing Tzedakah / Charity" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-9375" height="300" src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/tzedaka-mashiach.jpg" title="Practicing Tzedakah / Charity" width="200"></img></p>
<p>Giving may seem like a sacrifice at times (especially when money is tight) or we often wonder if the person we give to is worthy or really needs our help, but in reality being <a href="http://bethaderech.com/practicing-tzedakah-charity/#" id="_GPLITA_2" name="_GPLITA_2" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">charitable</a> to others does more for us, for our relationships with G-d and with our fellow human beings than it does to the people who we give to. Jewish people are…</p>
<p><img src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/tzedaka-mashiach.jpg" alt="tzedaka mashiach | Practicing Tzedakah / Charity" title="Practicing Tzedakah / Charity" width="200" height="300" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-9375"/></p>
<p>Giving may seem like a sacrifice at times (especially when money is tight) or we often wonder if the person we give to is worthy or really needs our help, but in reality being <a title="Powered by Text-Enhance" id="_GPLITA_2" href="http://bethaderech.com/practicing-tzedakah-charity/#" name="_GPLITA_2">charitable</a> to others does more for us, for our relationships with G-d and with our fellow human beings than it does to the people who we give to. Jewish people are renowned for being generous when it comes to charitable giving.</p>
<p>The Hebrew word for charity is “tzedaka”. The word Tzedakah means righteousness, justice or fairness. Doing tzedaka, often translated as €œjustice€ or €œcharity€, is incumbent on all Believers according to the Torah. Usually doing tzedaka involves putting a few coins in a tzedaka box. Our Sages, teach us that there is a lot more to this mitzva than meets the eye.</p>
<p>Don Isaac Abarbanel served as finance minister to Ferdinand and Isabella prior to the expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain in 1492. He is reported to have told them that all he owned is what he had given to others.</p>
<p>Giving charity to the poor has a special place among the 613 commandments of the Torah. Actually, the word “charity” is a poor and misleading description of this important precept.</p>
<p>In Judaism, it’s common to follow Maimonides’ Eight Levels of Tzedakah (the Hebrew word for charity or justice found in the Mishneh Torah, Laws of Charity, 10:7-14). The aim is to give as close as possible to level 1. It’s considered a ladder that you climb gradually over time as you mature and have the means to do better. There are eight levels of charity, each greater than the next.</p>
<p>[1] The greatest level, above which there is no greater, is to support a fellow Jew by endowing him with a gift or <a title="Powered by Text-Enhance" id="_GPLITA_0" href="http://bethaderech.com/practicing-tzedakah-charity/#" name="_GPLITA_0">loan</a>, or entering into a partnership with him, or finding employment for him, in order to strengthen his hand until he need no longer be dependent upon others . . .</p>
<p>[2] A lesser level of charity than this is to give to the poor without knowing to whom one gives, and without the recipient knowing from who he received. For this is performing a mitzvah solely for the sake of Heaven. This is like the €œanonymous fund€ that was in the Holy Temple [in Jerusalem]. There the righteous gave in secret, and the good poor profited in secret. Giving to a charity fund is similar to this mode of charity, though one should not contribute to a charity fund unless one knows that the person appointed over the fund is trustworthy and wise and a proper <a title="Powered by Text-Enhance" id="_GPLITA_1" href="http://bethaderech.com/practicing-tzedakah-charity/#" name="_GPLITA_1">administrator</a>.</p>
<p>[3] A lesser level of charity than this is when one knows to whom one gives, but the recipient does not know his benefactor. The greatest sages used to walk about in secret and put coins in the doors of the poor. It is worthy and truly good to do this, if those who are responsible for distributing charity are not trustworthy.</p>
<p>[4] A lesser level of charity than this is when one does not know to whom one gives, but the poor person does know his benefactor. The greatest sages used to tie coins into their robes and throw them behind their backs, and the poor would come up and pick the coins out of their robes, so that they would not be ashamed.</p>
<p>[5] A lesser level than this is when one gives to the poor person directly into his hand, but gives before being asked.</p>
<p>[6] A lesser level than this is when one gives to the poor person after being asked.</p>
<p>[7] A lesser level than this is when one gives inadequately, but gives gladly and with a smile.</p>
<p>[8] A lesser level than this is when one gives unwillingly.</p>
<p>Tzedakah is not only used to fulfill physical requirements of the needy but it can also be used to lift others spiritual and psychological well being. Maimonides wrote, “If a poor person requests money from you, and you have nothing to give him, speak to him consolingly.”</p>
<p>There is a story of a beggar who asked a man for money. The man had no money to give to the beggar, so he said to the beggar, “Brother, I have nothing to give you.? The beggar thanked the man. The man asked, “Why did you thank me? I have given you nothing? ” The beggar responded, “You called me brother.” Tzedakah, if done properly, preserves the dignity of the person on the receiving end. Maimonides eight levels of tzedakah are In ascending order….</p>
<p>The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. The opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference. Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies before they die. Charity implies that your heart motivates you to give and maybe give a little extra than you normailly would; tzedakah, however, means doing the right thing no matter your feelings. I guess tzedakah might look like giving to someone in need even if your heart is not in it because it is the right thing to do.</p>
<p>In practice, most Believers carry out tzedakah by donating a portion of their income to charitable institutions, or to needy people that they may encounter; the perception among many modern day Jews is that if donation of this form is not possible, the obligation of tzedakah still requires that something be given. Traditional Jews commonly practice “ma’aser kesafim,” tithing 10% of their income to support those in need.</p> The Divine Unity and the Diety of Messiahtag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-06-05:5544986:Topic:133082012-06-05T17:49:40.490ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<p align="center" class="M-firstpp">The Divine Unity and the Diety of Messiah</p>
<p align="center" class="M-firstpp">by Noam Hendren</p>
<p align="left" class="M-firstpp">(This article originally appeared in the Messianic Journal “<u>MISHKAN</u>”, issue 39/2003 <a href="http://www.caspari.com/mishkan">www.caspari.com/mishkan</a> )</p>
<p align="left" class="M-firstpp">The unity of God is axiomatic to the faith of the Jewish people. Not only is the “Shema<i>” (</i><i>“Hear, O Israel:…</i></p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="center">The Divine Unity and the Diety of Messiah</p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="center">by Noam Hendren</p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="left">(This article originally appeared in the Messianic Journal “<u>MISHKAN</u>”, issue 39/2003 <a href="http://www.caspari.com/mishkan">www.caspari.com/mishkan</a> )</p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="left">The unity of God is axiomatic to the faith of the Jewish people. Not only is the “Shema<i>” (</i><i>“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one</i><i>.</i><i>”)</i><i> the</i> essential statement of faith in Judaism, it is the personal declaration of faith for every Jew. Throughout the centuries, Jews have lived and have been willing to die for “kiddush haShem,” the “sanctification of the Name” as expressed in this simple, yet deeply profound, creed.</p>
<p align="left">With the expansion of the major monotheistic religions, which today dominate more than half of the world’s population, the faith in one God may appear to be a universal “given,” a commonplace which has always been obvious to thinking people everywhere. Yet clearly that is not the case. The revelation of this truth – or, from a biblical perspective, its restoration – came in the context of worldwide idolatry, at a time when the most advanced civilizations of the ancient world were hopelessly polytheistic.</p>
<p align="left">Israel’s roots and the context of her early existence – from the beginning and until well after the coming of Yeshua the Messiah – are in pagan polytheism. From the time of the Patriarchs until the return from Babylonian captivity, Israel’s key challenge – and most consistent failure – was in the struggle against idolatrous worship. More than 500 years after the call of Abram, Joshua still needed to lay the challenge before the nation:</p>
<p class="M-quote" align="left">But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD (Josh. 24:15).</p>
<p align="left">It is little wonder that the biblical revelation is so emphatically monotheistic, not only in underlying theology but also in the nuances of expression. The biblical prophets, from Moses on, were fighting an uphill battle to wean Israel from her pagan roots and to immunize her from the contagion of polytheism which surrounded her on every side, and with which she shared the Land of Canaan. Every phrase spoken and written would be weighed to exalt the one true God and to exclude utterly the “gods of the nations” from the faith and worship of Israel.</p>
<p align="left">This, Israel’s cultural and religious context, must inform our interpretation of the biblical evidence concerning the nature of God and the person of Messiah if we are to understand that revelation aright.</p>
<p class="M-sub-title" align="left">The Unity of the Godhead</p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="left">The expression of the divine unity in the Shema includes at least two senses: singularity and uniqueness. The Lord God of Israel is one God, not many. Israel has no pantheon; neither is the divine name (YHWH) a collective term designating abstract divinity which comes to expression in a multitude of individual deities.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn1" title="">[1]</a> The golden calf incident flies in the face of this truth not only by representing the infinite God by a created object, but also by associating the Lord with the plethora of pagan gods worshipped in Egypt and Canaan.</p>
<p class="M-quote" align="left">[Aaron] took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt’. When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, ‘Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD [YHWH]’ (Exod. 32:4-5; cf. I Kgs. 12:28).</p>
<p align="left">The fact of God’s singularity, however, does not deny the existence of other spirit beings. In the wilderness Israel “sacrificed to demons, which are not God – gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear”<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn2" title="">[2]</a> (Deut 32:17). But the Shema declares that the Lord is unique as the infinite and self-existent One.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn3" title="">[3]</a> Moses also declares: “the LORD is God; besides him there is no other” (Deut. 4:35). And Isaiah reaffirms: “Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me” (Isa. 45:21). The God of Israel is the only God worthy of the name.</p>
<p align="left">Significantly, the Rambam (Maimonides), in his Thirteen Principles, speaks of God not as “<i>echad</i>” (“one”) in the words of the Shema, but as “<i>yachid</i>”: “[God] is one (or “unique,” Hebrew <i>yachid</i>), and there is no oneness (<i>yechidut</i>) like unto His.”<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn4" title="">[4]</a> Why should the Rambam abandon the language of the universally accepted credo of Israel in his declaration of Israel’s essential faith? The answer lies in the Rambam’s Aristotelian conception of God as an absolute philosophical unity<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn5" title="">[5]</a> (as in Islam) – one which contrasts starkly with the biblical description of God as a compound personal unity.</p>
<p align="left">For the Rambam, the term “<i>echad</i>” allowed for elements of personal complexity within the Godhead which he had excluded <i>a priori</i> for philosophical reasons. As used in the Tanach, “<i>echad</i>” is the word of choice to express the unification of two or more elements to form one entity. Whether it is “the evening and the morning” combining to form “one day” (Gen. 1:5), male and female becoming “one flesh” (2:24), or Ezekiel’s two sticks becoming “one stick” in his hand (37:17), a compound unity is the result.</p>
<p align="left">Nevertheless, in contrast to the above examples, because the God of Israel is infinite spirit, His unity is not the linking of pieces into an artificial “jigsaw puzzle” oneness, nor is it the combination of elements to form a new compound. His one eternal divine “substance” is omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-10), and thus the distinctions within the Godhead are not material, but rather personal – as we shall see. Truly God’s unity is unique.</p>
<p align="left">Thus, by describing the Lord as “<i>echad,</i>” the Shema does not exclude complexity within the essential divine unity. As the Rambam understood, the term falls far short of asserting an absolute philosophical unity.</p>
<p class="M-sub-title" align="left">Divine Dialogues: Personal Plurality in the One God</p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="left">Despite the dangers of miscommunication to a people besieged by idolatry, the Tanach repeatedly alludes to – or emphatically asserts – a personal plurality in the Godhead.</p>
<p align="left">The first hints of plurality are found in the terms used to designate God – “<i>Elohim</i>” and “<i>Adonai</i>” – both of which are plural forms of existing singular nouns.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn6" title="">[6]</a> Had the biblical authors intended to assert the absolute (rather than compound) unity of the Godhead, they had readily available singular terms (<i>Eloah</i>, <i>Adoni</i>, as well as <i>El</i>) which would have avoided any confusion on this crucial point.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn7" title="">[7]</a> And while it is usual for <i>Elohim</i>, for example, to appear with singular verbs and adjectives (Gen. 1:1; Exod. 34:6); on a number of occasions a plural is used: “God caused (<i>hit‘u</i>) me to wander” (Gen. 20:13); “He is a holy God (<i>elohim kedoshim</i>)” (Josh. 24:19); “Remember your Creator” (lit., “Creators,” Eccl. 12:1); “Let Israel rejoice his Maker” (lit., “Makers,” Ps. 149:2).</p>
<p align="left">Such occurrences can be dismissed as mere grammatical agreement, but given Israel’s cultural and religious setting and the dangerous implications of the plural forms in that context, it is hard to explain a sudden attack of grammatical precision on the part of monotheism’s guardian angels. However one chooses to relate to the preceding anomalies, they leave the door ajar for an understanding of plurality within the Godhead.</p>
<p align="left">God Himself pushes the door wide open in the Genesis 1 account of mankind’s creation:</p>
<p class="M-quote" align="left">Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Gen. 1:26-27).</p>
<p align="left">Verse 26 describes the interpersonal communication which took place within the Godhead on the occasion of man’s creation, the climax of the entire account. This divine consultation is revealed in order that the readers might understand God’s purposes in the creation, centered on mankind made in God’s image. Man has been created as a personal-social being, even as his Creator is personal and social. But while God would later declare “it is not good for the man to be alone” (2:18), God himself lacked nothing, being eternally satisfied with personal relationship and communication within the Godhead itself (cf. John 17:27, “for You loved Me before the foundation of the world”).</p>
<p align="left">Certain Rabbinic interpreters have posited that God’s interaction in this passage was with the angels, with whom he consulted prior to man’s creation. This proposal is in sharp contrast to the declaration of Isaiah that God consults with no other being in planning and carrying out his purposes (Isa. 40:13-14). It is further contradicted by verse 27, which reasserts the essential unity of God, making it clear that he alone created man and that man was created in His image, not in that of God plus the angels.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn8" title="">[8]</a> It is significant that, in Breshit Rabba, the sages portray Moses as challenging God’s wisdom in allowing this passage to be written as it was: “Why do you give an excuse to the <i>Minim</i> [Jewish followers of Yeshua]?”<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn9" title="">[9]</a> Apparently the implications of the passage were clear enough to them!</p>
<p align="left">Similar consultations are recorded on the occasion of two other especially significant divine interventions in early biblical history: following the fall of man (Gen. 3:22-23), and in response to the building of the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:7). In the first, man, having eaten from the tree of knowledge, is described as having become “like one of us, knowing good and evil” – a clear parallel to the serpent’s promise that they would become “like God, knowing good and evil” (3:5). As before, the deliberation is followed by God himself acting (singular verb): here, driving Adam and Eve out of the garden (cf. 1:26-27 and 11:6-8). In each case the plural pronoun (“Us”, “Our”) is identified with God alone, and all others are thereby excluded.</p>
<p class="M-sub-title" align="left">Divine Teamwork: Personal Plurality II</p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="left">Not only is there interpersonal communication within the Godhead, the Scriptures also refer to two or more distinct personalities as “God” or “LORD” (YHWH) in the same context (for example, Gen. 19:24; Ps. 45:7-8; Isa. 48:12-16; 63:7-14; Zech. 2:12-13). In these passages, the distinct persons of the Godhead are seen fulfilling different roles in the execution of the divine program.</p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="left">In Zechariah Two, an angel of God is sent to bring a message from the Lord to Zechariah:</p>
<p class="M-quote" align="left"> “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. For I,” says the LORD, “will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.”… For thus says the LORD of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me."<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn10" title="">[10]</a></p>
<p align="left">The Lord declares himself to be the protective wall and glorious presence in the midst of the future restored Jerusalem. He continues making first person pronouncements, calling on Israel to leave the lands of her dispersion, “‘whither I have scattered you,’ declares the LORD” (v. 6, Heb. v. 10). Then, surprisingly, “the LORD of hosts” says, “He sent Me after glory,” to bring certain judgment to the nations which had plundered Israel, by shaking “My hand against them.” The “Me” of verse 8 (Heb. v. 12) is the speaker, “the LORD of hosts,” who by a mere wave of his hand brings destruction on his enemies (similar to “the waving of the hand of the LORD” in Isa. 19:16). Who then could be the “sender” of the LORD of hosts? The divine Speaker continues, explaining that when the plundering nations become “spoil for their servants,” “you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.”</p>
<p align="left"> “The LORD of hosts” sends “the LORD of hosts” to execute judgment on Israel’s enemies and thereby glorify himself. A clear personal distinction is revealed to exist within the Godhead, each equally “theLORD of hosts,” and yet “one” sending the “other” to carry out the divine work. Because Israel is “the apple of His eye,”<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn11" title="">[11]</a> the Lord will entrust this job to no one but the Lord himself. </p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="left">When we turn to Isaiah 48:12-16 we find a similar situation, but with an added player. Once again we must carefully note that throughout the passage the Lord God of Israel is identified as the speaker. The speaker is the one who “called” Israel and is “the First” and “the Last” (v. 12; cf. 44:6). He is the creator and sovereign Lord of the heavens and the earth (v. 13). As he summoned all creation to attention (v. 13b), so he now calls Israel to attend to his comforting promise: To punish Babylon, Israel’s oppressor, through his chosen instrument (Cyrus, Isa. 44:28; 45:1) and thereby bring about Israel’s restoration (vss. 14-15; cf. v. 20; 45:13; 46:11).</p>
<p align="left">In verse 16, the divine Speaker again calls for Israel’s focused attention in order to assure her that his revelation of this promise has been publicly and confidently made, because he himself has been involved from the beginning to insure its fulfillment. Without the slightest indication of a change in the speaker, he concludes: “And now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Me.”<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn12" title="">[12]</a> As in Zechariah 2, the divine Revelator is also the divine Executor of God’s saving works, even when a human instrument such as Cyrus is also used. He is the agent and representative of the entire Godhead by Whom He is sent; and yet, though clearly distinct, He declares Himself to be God, the Creator of the cosmos who also called Israel into existence.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn13" title="">[13]</a></p>
<p class="M-sub-title" align="left">Theophanies in the Tanach: the Angel of the Lord</p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="left">The revelation of personal distinctions in the one true God comes to remarkable expression in the repeated physical appearances of God in order to reveal himself and his will to his chosen instruments. In these appearances, God takes on true physical form, often human form, as a distinct localization of the omnipresent, invisible God in heaven whom he reveals. These physical manifestations of the deity caused considerable consternation to later Rabbinic interpreters, who sometimes adjusted the text<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn14" title="">[14]</a> or paraphrased its translation<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn15" title="">[15]</a> in order to mitigate – what was to their thinking – a theological inconsistency.</p>
<p align="left">In the patriarchal period, God is often described as “appearing” in clearly physical form.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn16" title="">[16]</a> One could argue that such manifestations were merely visions representing themselves to the mind of the individual (cf. Gen. 15:17; 28:12-15), but in certain cases the true physical embodiment of God on earth is undeniable.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn17" title="">[17]</a> Genesis 18 is perhaps the classic example.</p>
<p align="left">This passage opens with the simple statement that “the LORD appeared to him [Abraham] at the Oaks of Mamre” (v. 1). What Abraham actually sees is three “men,” two of whom the text later calls “angels” (cf. v. 22 and 19:1). All three are shown Abraham’s best hospitality, including washing their feet (v. 4); and he waits on them hand and foot while they eat (v. 8). There can be no question that all three are real physical manifestations and not mere visions.</p>
<p align="left">The third individual is the focus of Abraham’s attention, and Abraham addresses him personally as “<i>Adonai</i>,” calling him “the judge of the whole earth” (vv. 3, 25, 27, 30-32). When this person speaks, it is as the “LORD” (YHWH, vv. 13, 17, 20, 26, 33), Who has chosen Abraham to fulfill a crucial role in his plan for world redemption (vv. 17-19). He also reconfirms the promise that Sarah would bear a son, Isaac, just as “God” [<i>Elohim</i>] had promised when he “appeared” to Abraham in the previous chapter (vv. 10, 14; cf. 17:15-19). Having agreed to preserve Sodom if ten righteous men can be found in her, the LORD “walks” away (18:33) – apparently following the path of the two angels (cf. vv. 20-22).<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn18" title="">[18]</a></p>
<p align="left">After the two angels reconnoitered the situation in Sodom, and removed Lot and his family, “the LORD rained down on Sodom fire and brimstone from the LORD, from heaven” (19:24). God, who has temporarily assumed human form, is distinct from God in heaven and exercises the prerogative of God (judgment) in God’s name.</p>
<p align="left">In a number of passages, beginning with the revelation to Hagar in Genesis 16, the visible manifestation of God is referred to as “the Angel of the LORD” – the term “angel” (<i>mal’akh</i>) meaning literally, “messenger” or “emissary.”<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn19" title="">[19]</a> As used throughout the Torah and the Former Prophets (the historical books), the context of each passage makes it clear that God himself is the one intended, though in a physical form. The phrase “the Angel of the LORD” thus becomes a technical term for such a divine manifestation.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn20" title="">[20]</a></p>
<p align="left">God’s self-revelation to Moses in the burning bush (Exod. 3:1-15) demonstrates the identity of the “Angel of the LORD” with the “LORD” himself who is manifested, in this case, in a non-human form. The divine appearance at Horeb is introduced in verse 2 with the phrase, “Then the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a burning flame from within the bush.” Already in verse 4 we are told that “the LORD” saw that Moses had turned to see the phenomenon and as a result “God [<i>Elohim</i>] called to him from the midst of the bush.”</p>
<p align="left">That the divine Person was literally present is evident from the command which arrested the approaching Moses, “Remove your shoes, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (v. 5).<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn21" title="">[21]</a> To leave no doubt as to who was present, God immediately identified himself as “the God of Abraham…Isaac…and Jacob,” and Moses appropriately covered his face, “for he was afraid to look upon God” (v. 6). Only then did the Lord reveal the purpose of His personal “descent” into the world (v. 8): To save his people Israel and bring them to the Land of promise.</p>
<p align="left">God’s manifest personal involvement in Israel’s redemption would extend beyond his call of Moses (v. 12). As the “Destroyer” he would pass throughout the Land of Egypt and strike their firstborns (12:12-13, 23). As an “angel,” in the form of the pillar of fire and cloud, He would appear in order to guide Israel and to protect her from the Egyptian counterattack (13:21-22; 14:19). As the “Commander of theLORD’s armies,” He would direct the attack on Jericho (Josh 5:14-6:5), even as God had promised Moses that His Angel – “in whom is My Name” – would lead Israel into her inheritance and expel her enemies (Exod. 23:20-23).<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn22" title="">[22]</a></p>
<p class="M-sub-title" align="left">God Incarnate: The Davidic Messiah</p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="left">All the above physical manifestations of God were temporary theophanies for the revelation of his will and the execution of his redemptive purposes. Though temporary and limited in scope, such divine appearances provided the archetype for the ultimate revelation of God’s unique unity and the fulfillment of his plan of salvation in the person of the divine-human Messiah. In contrast to the various theophanies discussed previously, the temporary assumption of physical form is not the focus of Messianic expectation, but rather a true “incarnation” – God literally taking on humanity through conception and birth. In the revelation of the Messiah, based on the Davidic Covenant and detailed in the prophets, the pattern of divine intervention in our world reaches its logical, and yet stunning, consummation.</p>
<p align="left">The Scriptures hinted at the coming of a Redeemer from the moment that redemption became necessary and repeatedly during the pre-monarchial period.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn23" title="">[23]</a> With the establishment of David’s kingdom, the promise became firmly attached to his dynasty by divine covenant (II Sam. 7:12-15; cf. Ps. 89:1-4 [Heb. 2-5]). The chronicler provides an interpreted version of this covenant promise some 500 years later (I Chr. 17:11-14), which incorporates the prophetic revelation concerning the Davidic Messiah to his time. While the chronicler recognizes the Redeemer’s physical descent from David, he also affirms his divine nature and eternality. For in this version God declares, “I will be his Father, and he shall be My son;… And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.”</p>
<p align="left">In contrast to II Samuel, the chronicler does not limit the Father-Son relationship to a disciplinary one, but leaves it undefined and, by implication, inclusive.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn24" title="">[24]</a> This is parallel to Psalm 2 which refers to “His Messiah” (<i>Meshicho</i>) as “My Son” who will rule the “ends of the earth” with “an iron scepter” (vv. 2, 7-9). The divine nature of the “Son” is confirmed by the prediction of his everlasting rule in the kingdom and in the very house of God. The latter parallels Ezekiel’s description of the returning “glory of the LORD” personified, establishing the throne of his kingdom in the restored temple (Ezek. 43:4-7).</p>
<p align="left">The Chronicler’s interpolations reflect the prophetic revelation concerning the divine-Davidic Messiah, as exemplified by Isaiah 9:6-7 [Heb. vv. 5-6].</p>
<p class="M-quote" align="left">For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.</p>
<p align="left">Here the future Redeemer of Israel is clearly a human child, born of the lineage of David the king and therefore able to sit on his throne. And yet, as the chronicler later saw, this “son of God” would be no mere mortal, but would rule “from that time on and forever.”<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn25" title="">[25]</a> These statements are accompanied by a startling list of personal names which leave no doubt as to the essential deity of the child to be born.</p>
<p align="left">When God declared his name to Moses, “I am that I am” (Exod. 3:13-14), He revealed the essential significance of His covenant name YHWH and thereby made a direct statement about His true nature as the eternal, self-existent source of all being. Later God’s covenant faithfulness is reinforced repeatedly by the statement, “I am the LORD” (cf. Exod. 6:2-8), the eternal – and therefore unchanging – One (cf. Mal. 3:6).<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn26" title="">[26]</a> In the same way, the divine nature of the Messianic King is emphatically asserted through the names by which God has declared he shall be called.</p>
<p align="left">While each of the names given contributes to the identification of the Davidic Messiah as truly God,<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn27" title="">[27]</a> perhaps the most significant in the context of Isaiah is “Mighty God” (<i>El Gibor</i>). This name, in its precise form, appears only twice in all of Scripture, here and in Isaiah 10:21; both part of the larger “Book of Emmanuel” section of Isaiah (chapters 7-12).</p>
<p align="left">In Isaiah 10:20-21 Israel’s future national repentance and reliance on God alone for deliverance is promised: “The remnant of Israel … will rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” This is followed immediately by a poetic restatement in the words, “A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to [the]<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn28" title="">[28]</a> Mighty God.” The identification of “Mighty God” with “the LORD” as the object of Israel’s trust and the agent of her redemption is directly parallel to the declaration concerning the Davidic Messiah, “Mighty God,” in 9:6. The Messiah would be the literal embodiment of the Lord himself,<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn29" title="">[29]</a> carrying out God’s redemptive work for Israel.</p>
<p align="left">The consummation of the divine-human Messiah’s work, and the necessity of a true incarnation, is seen in Zechariah 12. As a description of the last days, this chapter reveals in specifics the circumstances leading to Israel’s national turning to the Mighty God, as seen above. With “all the nations of the earth” gathered against Israel (12:3), God will enable Israel’s national repentance by the outpouring of his Spirit, so that, “they will look unto Me Whom they had pierced, and they will mourn…” (12:10). As a result, “in that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness” (13:1).</p>
<p align="left">Once again, God himself is speaking: he is the one who intends to destroy the invading nations, and he will pour out “the Spirit of grace and supplication” on Israel (12:9-10a). To him, “whom they had pierced,”<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn30" title="">[30]</a> will Israel look for deliverance in her time of greatest need.<a href="http://www.messianicassociation.org/a-nh-unity.htm#_ftn31" title="">[31]</a> Without giving the details of the “piercing” or its significance (see Isa. 53), the true physical embodiment of God is evident. God had taken human form and had been assaulted physically, apparently unto death as the subsequent mourning indicates (12:10b-14; cf. Dan. 9:26).</p>
<p align="left">The universal national repentance over this act – however it was carried out – is what will lead to Israel’s national cleansing (12:10-13:1), making her “savable” as God himself desires. Thus, the death of the God-man Messiah has become a crucial link in the divine plan of salvation, leading to the ultimate redemption of Israel on the day when “the LORD will go forth to fight against those nations” and “His feet will stand…on the Mount of Olives” (14:3-4).</p>
<p class="M-sub-title" align="left">The Divine Unity and the Deity of Messiah</p>
<p class="M-firstpp" align="left">The unity of the Godhead is without question the central theological teaching of the Tanach. And Israel’s context – religious and social – demanded the clearest possible communication of this truth by Moses and the prophets. But the truth of God’s unique unity was not compromised to achieve polemical ends. Personal distinctions were revealed as not only part and parcel of the true nature of the Godhead, but also as essential elements in the revelation and execution of the plans and purposes of God our Savior.</p>
<p align="left">From the beginning, God purposed that a perfect man in the image of God would rule the earth as God’s representative (Gen. 1:26). Following man’s fall and the marring of the divine image in him, such a purpose could only be fulfilled by the divine-human Messiah, who “had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth” (Isa. 53:9). Moreover the redemption of mankind from sin and its effects, which God alone – “apart from [Whom] there is no savior” (Isa. 43:11) – could accomplish, required a sacrificial death that only a man could suffer. In his infinite wisdom and his infinite love, the one true God took on true humanity in order to offer up an infinite sacrifice to himself on behalf of all mankind. And he will return in his glorified human body to complete the redemption, restoring the physical world and taking his throne as God and King forever.</p>
<p align="left"> “And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be—‘The LORD is one,’ and His name one” (Zech. 14:9).</p> Mashiach Now!tag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-04-28:5544986:Topic:127492012-04-28T14:51:16.115ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<p><img alt="mashiach now | Do you really want Mashiach now?" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4993" height="300" src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/mashiach-now.gif" title="Do you really want Mashiach now" width="200"></img></p>
<p>Do you really want Mashiach Now? Many people have that cry in their lips, but do not mean it. In the Amida which is a set of prayers composed by eighteen different prayers, we find at the end of it a prayer asking for Mashiach to come, to reveal Himself, and to bring Yeshuah / Salvation to our people, to our lives, to bring true Shelema (peace) to us and for all Israel His people.</p>
<p>The text says: “<em>May the Shoot of David blossom and flourish, and let the light of…</em></p>
<p><img src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/mashiach-now.gif" alt="mashiach now | Do you really want Mashiach now?" title="Do you really want Mashiach now" width="200" height="300" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4993"/></p>
<p>Do you really want Mashiach Now? Many people have that cry in their lips, but do not mean it. In the Amida which is a set of prayers composed by eighteen different prayers, we find at the end of it a prayer asking for Mashiach to come, to reveal Himself, and to bring Yeshuah / Salvation to our people, to our lives, to bring true Shelema (peace) to us and for all Israel His people.</p>
<p>The text says: “<em>May the Shoot of David blossom and flourish, and let the light of Yeshuah / Salvation shine forth according to Your word, for we await Your Yeshuah all every day. We praise You, O HaShem, who causes the light of Yeshuah to come</em>.”</p>
<p>With that prayer in mind, we should not be affraid at all to ask God to reveal the Holy Mashiach to us, HaShem is waiting for us to ask for that, and He will reveal him (the Mashiach).</p>
<p>To really want and yearn for Mashiach means that we need to learn more about such wonderful person, His birth place, His acts, His walk with Torah, and most important how the Hebrew Scriptures describe Him. We will learn two important prophesies here.</p>
<p>We learn that the Holy Mashiach is to be born in Israel, Beit-Lechem, a Jewish town close to Jerusalem 2000 years ago, the Hebrew Scriptures says: <strong>Micha 5.1</strong> “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”</p>
<p>Yes, indeed Mashiach is to be a Sabra, a true Jewish settler! Let see what Jewish tradition thought of such passage: "And you Bethlehem-Ephrathah who are too little to be counted among the thousands of the house of Judah, from you in My name shall come forth the Messiah who is to be ruler in Israel and whose name has been called from eternity, from the days of old." [<strong>Targum Jonathan</strong> on Mikah 5:1 in the Tanach]</p>
<p>Second prophesy tell us that Mashaich will become our Korban / Sacrifice for sin the Hebrew Scriptures speak: "Who has believed what we have heard? To whom is the arm of HaShem revealed? For before Him he grew up like a young plant, like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or beauty. We saw him, but his appearance did not attract us. He was despised and shunned by men, a man of pains and familiar with illness; like one from whom we would hide our faces. He was despised and we had no regard for him. In truth, it was our infirmities he bore, and our pains that he suffered; yet we regarded him as punished and afflicted by God. He was wounded because of our sins and crushed because of our iniquities. The chastisement he bore made us whole, and through his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep went astray; we turned, each one, to his own way. <strong><em>Yet HaShem laid on him the guilt of all of us</em></strong>… After this ordeal, he will see satisfaction. By his knowledge my righteous servant makes many righteous; it is for their sins that he suffers. Therefore I will give him a share with the mighty; for he exposed himself to death and was numbered among the sinners. For he bore the sin of many, <strong><em>and made intercession for the transgres</em></strong>sors." [Tanach, Yeshayahu <em>(Isaiah)</em> 53]</p>
<p>The Rabbis said: His name is ‘the leper scholar,’ as it is written, <em>Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and afflicted</em>. Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin Folio 98a.</p>
<p>Read your Tanach (Hebrew Scriptures), and ask HaShem to reveal King Messiah to ou today!</p> LaShon Harah ! (Evil Speech)tag:netzarifaith.ning.com,2012-04-28:5544986:Topic:127472012-04-28T14:41:37.828ZLarryhttp://netzarifaith.ning.com/profile/JeremiahMoses
<p><img alt="lashon mashiach | What is LaShon Harah (evil speech)? " class="alignleft size-full wp-image-9248" height="300" src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lashon-mashiach.jpg" title="What is LaShon Harah (evil speech)? " width="200"></img></p>
<p>One of the most difficult sections of the Torah to understand is the discussion of "Tzarat," a skin disease commonly mistranslated as "leprosy." In truth, Tzarat is a physical manifestation of a spiritual deficiency. The Talmud (Arachin 16) says that Tzarat comes specifically as a consequence of "lashon hara" – negative speech about another person.</p>
<p>A Jewish tale illustrates this point: A man went about the community telling malicious lies about his Rabbi. Later, he…</p>
<p><img src="http://bethaderech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lashon-mashiach.jpg" alt="lashon mashiach | What is LaShon Harah (evil speech)? " title="What is LaShon Harah (evil speech)? " width="200" height="300" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-9248"/></p>
<p>One of the most difficult sections of the Torah to understand is the discussion of "Tzarat," a skin disease commonly mistranslated as "leprosy." In truth, Tzarat is a physical manifestation of a spiritual deficiency. The Talmud (Arachin 16) says that Tzarat comes specifically as a consequence of "lashon hara" – negative speech about another person.</p>
<p>A Jewish tale illustrates this point: A man went about the community telling malicious lies about his Rabbi. Later, he realized the wrong he had done, and began to feel remorse. He went to the Rabbi and begged his forgiveness, saying he would do anything he could to make amends. The Rabbi told the man, "Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds." The man thought this was a strange request, but it was a simple enough task, and he did it gladly. When he returned to tell the Rabbi that he had done it, the Rabbi said, "Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can recollect the feathers."</p>
<p>Evil speaking of another has been compared to an arrow that once released cannot be stopped or recalled. Likewise, the words spoken once released cannot be stopped from harming their intended target . . . the character and soul of another. The person who listens to gossip is sometimes viewed even worse than the person who tells the story, because no harm could be done by gossip if no one listened to it. It has been said that lashon hara (an evil tongue and speech) kills three people: the person who speaks it, the person who hears it, and the person about whom it is told.</p>