Naso: Make an Accounting

Parashat Naso, Numbers 4:21–7:89

Matt Absolon, Beth T'filah Congregation

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him.” Numbers 5:5-8

In our reading, God outlines the process of atonement for one who voluntarily realizes his guilt, and furthermore, wishes to make amends towards restitution and to ease his afflicted conscience.

While the Hebrew is slightly ambiguous as to the method of conviction, that is voluntarily or through public coercion, both the Sages and English translators treat the passage as guilt through voluntary admission.

In his exegesis of this passage, thirteenth century Rabbi Hezekiah Ben Manoah, known colloquially as Chizkuni, states:

"A trespass against the Lord": The Torah teaches that . . . the Lord is the One Who considers Himself as having been sinned against. (Chizkuni, Numbers 5:6. Emphasis mine)

What Chizkuni is pointing the reader to can be understood through the doctrine of God’s omnipresence. That is to say, because God is everywhere at all times, and because he is our father, when we sin against our fellow man, by proxy we also sin against God. Yeshua draws on this same idea in Matt 25 when he tells us, “When you do it to the least of these, you do it unto me.” When we are kind to each other, we are showing kindness to the Lord; and when we harm each other, we harm the Lord.

Returning to our opening thoughts; the miracle of this passage is not in the reminder of God’s omnipresence (as wonderful as it is), but in the act of voluntary admission of sin. The miracle of voluntary conviction of guilt stands as one of the premiere goals of the Torah. That we should “self-regulate” and voluntarily humble ourselves before the Lord becomes a sign of the work of the Torah in our hearts and minds. It’s a mysterious work that happens between us and the Lord. Why does one man become convicted of sin, whilst another remains heard-hearted; the timing of it all; the apparent randomness of conviction; it remains a mystery.

It’s important to note, that Yeshua himself was unable to convict a stubborn heart into repentance (Matt 23:37). With all the mystery around the process of conscience and guilt, one thing is for certain; those who feel guilty know that even if no one else saw it, God was watching.

Chizkuni follows on with some sage advice;

"And that soul shall be guilty, and confess": . . . this is a line that can be used universally for all such trespasses, that the first step in rehabilitation of the sinner must be his confession of having committed this trespass. (Chizkuni, Numbers 5:6)

The confession prescribed within the text has a very public face to it. The steps of restitution are condensed as follows; Realization of guilt, Confession of sin, Payment of the debt. Restitution of the trespass often takes the form of monetary value, much like legal damages in modern Tort Law.

Chizkuni concludes;

"And he is to add a fifth of it": (the value of the stolen property); if his confession is not the result of witnesses having accused him of his guilt, but it is simply an expression of his remorse, then he pays only this extra 25%, but if witnesses testified about the theft he is required to add a second 25% as a penalty. (Chizkuni, Numbers 5:7)

In his commentary on the following verse, Chizkuni outlines the contrast between the penalty levied upon voluntary remorse, as opposed to the penalty levied upon guilt by public witness. Chizkuni interprets this passage, in conjunction with the passage from Leviticus 5:16, to say that an added penalty would be meted out by the judges for the one who does not voluntarily admit guilt.

The challenge that we face in this passage is the paradox of humility. The pain of voluntary humility vs the pain of God humiliating us through witnesses and public accusations. Yeshua encourages us to voluntarily humble ourselves, and in return, we will be exalted. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11 emphasis mine).

This process of self-reflection, self-conviction and self-humbling is at the epicenter of a healthy and functional psyche. The process of humility is an antibody to the slow fragmentation of our minds and eventually the total corruption of our spirits. This work, let’s call it “self-regulating-ethics,” begins with us as individuals, but it ends with us as the building blocks of a family, a community, and a culture. Solomon contrasts the integrity of the righteous with the fragmentation of the crooked: “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them” (Prov 11:3).

Eminent Harvard Professor of Business Clayton Christensen, best known for his theory of “Disruptive Innovation,” theorized the importance of self-regulating ethics in the stability of our free market economy, and ultimately, the western way of life. In a 2012 TED talk he explained the greatest challenge in bringing free market economies to cultures that do not have a religious substrate of self-regulating ethics. Prof Christensen explains:

…if you go back 150 or 200 years ago, almost everybody in America on the weekend went to a synagogue or a church and they were taught there by people who they respected that they should voluntarily follow all the rules, because even if the police did not catch them, God will catch them. . . . If you try to put free markets and democracy into a country that doesn’t have that foundation, all you get is chaos. . . .

So my first concern about our system is that if you don’t have an instinct, generally born from a religious tradition, amongst the CEOs to voluntarily follow the rules, capitalism just doesn’t work. There is no way that you can police honesty if it doesn’t come instinctively for you.

Prof Christensen puts his finger on the pulse in diagnosing the breakdown of trust and confidence in the 21st marketplace. But more than that, he inadvertently puts his finger on the pulse of the success of our Jewish communities. Our commitment to Torah includes by implication, our commitment to personal integrity, which results in voluntary humility and self-regulating ethics.

This week’s portion offers the penitent a way to find restitution for their transgressions. It encourages that mysterious work of the heart that leads us to a place of transparency before the Lord and results in outworking of self-regulating ethics and integrity. In the final analysis this voluntary humbling is among the essential elements of a healthy psyche, a successful home, and a cohesive community.

My prayer is that we would all have the courage to follow the words of our master, to humble ourselves, and let God do the exalting.

Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. (Psalm 25:8 – 10)

Wishing you all a hearty Shabbat Shalom!

The Divine Romance

Week Seven of Counting the Omer/Shavuot 5785

Russ Resnik, UMJC Rabbinic Counsel

When you enter the land that I am giving to you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the first sheaf [omer] of your harvest to the priest. He shall elevate the sheaf before the Lord for acceptance in your behalf. . . . And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete. (Lev 23:11, 15 NJPS)

For decades now the UMJC community has been following the custom Sefirat Ha-omer, or Counting the Omer, to trace the days from the offering of the first sheaf, or omer, in ancient Israel to the Festival of Weeks. We don’t count the seven weeks to make sure we celebrate Shavuot on the correct date, since we already know it falls on Sivan 6 every year. Rather, we count the days to express our yearning to relive the encounter at Mount Sinai, when we received the Torah amidst an unparalleled display of God’s awesome presence.

This encounter at Sinai is often compared in Jewish literature to a wedding ceremony, which is a creative expansion on the text of the Torah itself. The same analogy appears in Jeremiah 2:2. “Thus says the Lord: ‘I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you went after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.’”

Likewise, Midrash Rabbah (a collection of early rabbinic commentaries) portrays the traditional four cups of wine at the Passover Seder as a reminder of the Lord’s four-fold promise of redemption for Israel in Exodus 6:6–7:

I am Adonai;

I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,

I will rescue you from their bondage,

and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.

The phrase “I will take you as my people” here reflects the universal language of courtship.

The culmination of this divine romance comes at Mount Sinai, under the cover of fire and cloud, the chuppah, or wedding-canopy, of glory (Exod 19:16–18). The chuppah is an essential element of the Jewish wedding going back to Talmudic times, and it’s natural to read it back into the wedding at Sinai. The chuppah connection is strengthened by Isaiah’s vision of the day of the Lord, when the glory-cloud of Mount Sinai will be resettled over Mount Zion:

Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy (lit. a “chuppah,” Isa 4:5 ESV).

In the same way, another early midrash portrays the Ten Commandments given at Sinai as another essential element of a Jewish wedding, the “document of betrothal” or ketubah:

Documents of betrothal and marriage are written only with the consent of the two parties, and the bridegroom pays the fee. And this we learn from God from His betrothal of Israel at Sinai, as it is written, And the Lord said unto Moses: Go unto the people and betroth them to day and to-morrow (Ex. 19:10). And who wrote this document? Moses. (Midrash Rabbah, Deut. 81)

The word kiddushtem in Exodus 19:10 is usually translated “sanctify them” or “consecrate them,” but this midrash interprets it in the later, rabbinic sense as “betroth them.” In this picture, the tablets of the Ten Commandments are the ketubah, just as the glory-cloud over Sinai is the chuppah. Moses represents God, the bridegroom, in providing the ketubah. Like a marriage, Israel’s encounter with the Lord at Mount Sinai includes a ketubah, a contract of requirements and stipulations, but cannot be reduced to that; it is also an experience of intimate union that promises to endure no matter what comes.

God’s betrothal to Israel is not a marriage of convenience, as it is sometimes portrayed in Christian readings, but of heartfelt devotion. God doesn’t rescue Israel from Egypt to accomplish some task within his divine agenda, but as God tells them, “to take you as my people.” Likewise, the Ten Commandments and the rest of God’s Torah or “Instruction,” which follows in Exodus 20–23, can be seen as “Law,” as a list of rules and ordinances to make Israel fit to be a holy nation. But to understand Torah more fully we must always keep in mind the romance, the union of God and Israel under the glory-cloud at Sinai.

This divine encounter is what we celebrate each year at Shavuot, and this is what we look forward to each year as we count the Omer.

This year’s theme for Counting the Omer in the Union community has been “Renew Us in Your Spirit.” We of course have in mind the great outpouring of the Spirit on Shavuot after the resurrection and ascension of Messiah Yeshua (Acts 1–2). But we’re also thinking of the original Shavuot at Mount Sinai, the unparalleled encounter with God under the glory-cloud, a visible sign of God’s Spirit.

When we call on God to renew us in his Spirit, we’re not asking for a one-time, once-and-for-all divine encounter, just as a marriage is not ultimately about the one-time shebang of the wedding day, as glorious as that might be. Marriage is about the sustained and sustaining life-long relationship of man and woman, a relationship both intimate and fruitful in many ways.

The glory-cloud may not be visible today, but the reality of our union with God through Messiah Yeshua should be. This union becomes visible as we actively seek—and depend upon—the presence of the Spirit, the gift of Shavuot, in our everyday lives. And how do we do that? We could devote a few more teachings to that topic, but our experience of Counting the Omer provides a vital element: yearning or expectation. We can practice eagerness for Torah, the word of God, and eagerness for the presence of God reflected in counting the Omer, not only in the days leading up to Shavuot, but every day. We can actively expect the Spirit to show up in our lives in fresh ways and we can keep ourselves ready to respond.

The promise “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God” isn’t just flowery language or a vision of a far-off future. The presence of the Spirit, the gift of Shavuot, will make that promise real every day as we remain open and responsive to him.

Ever Ever Land

Week Six of Counting the Omer

Parashat Behar-Bechukotai Lev. 25:1 – 27:34

Rachel Wolf, Beth Messiah Congregation, Cincinnati

The land of Israel, along with the people of Israel, is the centerpiece of God's eternal program. The two go together inseparably. The land comes into its proper purpose when the people of Israel are its custodians. Our double parasha makes it clear that the people do not own the land; Am Yisrael is merely its appointed steward and guardian. The Lord has appointed Israel as his priestly nation to care for the land just as the Levitical priests care for the Tabernacle. Each is dependent on the other.

In Leviticus 25, Israel is commanded that every seven years the Land is to be given a holy Sabbath rest. After seven periods of seven years, the fiftieth year is to be a super-Sabbath in which everything is restored to its proper place and proper relationships.

You shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. (25:10)

The Land is to lie fallow for the fiftieth year. People are to return, each one, to their original land allocation from the Lord; and, if indentured servants, to return to their family.

The whole economy of Israel is based on the Jubilee year. There are many statutes in this portion about selling land ethically, based on the number of years left until the Jubilee. This means that the economy is built on the idea that nobody actually owns his land in the way we think of ownership today in the West. It is (in effect) a leasing system; when you buy land, you pay for years of use. The value of land depends on how many years are left until the 50th year Sabbath in which everything reverts to its primary status. The land belongs only to God and each tribe and family has a designated portion to inhabit and take care of.

The people of Israel do not own their time either! Their daily, weekly, and yearly time belongs to the Lord, and he has commanded, above all, to keep the Sabbath as a holy day unto God. In fact, the further we dig in, the more we begin to understand why the Shabbat is so important.

All of the various kinds of Sabbaths in this parasha link Israel’s holy purpose to the very beginning — to Creation. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Gen 2:3). The Sabbath is not only about physical rest. It is about laying aside land rights, time, goods, and every other thing to the Lord, as a way of expressing trust in God and in the future that is in his hands. 

The jubilee year is directly related to Yom Kippur. It is both Israel's super-Shabbat and Israel's super-Day of Atonement. The clock is reset; we get a new chance; our sins are covered and we can start anew. 

This double portion also makes it clear that the Shabbats for the land, including Jubilee, reveal God's future plans for Israel and the Earth. Israel is to model “the day that is all Shabbat,” when God will set up his king from among the brothers of Israel to rule for him, when swords will be beaten into plowshares, and no one any longer need be afraid. 

The problem we face with this beautiful biblical understanding is that the world does not see or understand God's purpose for the land of Israel. Most understand the tensions and wars in the area as economic or land-boundary based. Others of course see the Arabs as being oppressed by western powers for centuries. And they see the modern-day Jewish return to their land as Western aggression. 

I find myself wanting to explain the beautiful biblical narrative to people that don't even believe in the spiritual realm and don't believe there is such a thing as evil in the world. 

I want to tell them that God's program of settling Israel in the land is a program for the good of all the people of the world. It is for blessing to all the people of the world. The Jewish people are placed in the land so that God can bless the rest of the world through his special land that he created to be the place where his presence dwells. It is the Unique Place from which the priestly nation can bless the faithful of the world as Aaron and his sons were commanded to bless (“put his Name on”) the people of Israel (Num. 6:22–27). 

We can see this beginning in the very beginning of Genesis where God prepares the garden before he places the adam in it. He walks in the garden and communicates with his first creatures. He desires, as he says throughout the Torah and the rest of the scriptures, to dwell with his people. That is the purpose of the Mishkan. 

But there are those who do not want to be ruled by God and there are many who are also duped or confused about the international situation. Personally I don't know how to put all this together. But it is definitely a time in history in which we Jews have to stand together under the banner, Am Yisrael Chai—the People of Israel Live! 

And as Jewish disciples of Yeshua, we have the opportunity to express our strong faith in God's holy purposes for us as a people. And, even more importantly perhaps, to encourage our people by expressing confidence in God's faithfulness to the Jewish people, the people of Israel. We can do this through opening up the words of the Prophets and the Torah and through sharing our own experiences.

I have found that simply expressing my trust and confidence in God's ongoing faithfulness to our people has encouraged a number of my Jewish friends. The Jewish community talks a lot about resilience, and this is important. But I think there is also uncertainty about whether God is still there and still works on our behalf. We can be a light of encouragement and faith in this way to our people.

Even at the end of the very difficult recital of curses in Leviticus 26, God makes it clear that Israel is always, and will ever be, his dearly beloved people.

Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break my covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations that I might be their God. I am Hashem. (26:44-45)

He calls his own name by his people, namely, the God of Israel. He is invested in our future. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Now is the historical time of comfort for Zion. 

As we listen to his voice through the scriptures and through the spirit let us be a light and a great encouragement to our people that now is the time to favor Zion (Psa 102:13). Yes, the time to favor Zion has come. And God will act on our behalf.

Whatsa Manna For You?

Week Five of Counting the Omer

Parashat Emor, Leviticus 21:1-24:23

Rabbi David Wein, Tikvat Israel, Richmond, VA

“Hello; welcome to Whatsa Manna for You? voted most consistent menu by Hebrew Happenings. How may I help you?”

“Yes, thanks so much. So, first time here, how does this even work?”

“Well, since we opened up across from Macho Macho Manna and Mind Your Manna, we’ve had to distinguish ourselves from those others with exceptional customer service, but beware: this is not your typical restaurant. You actually gather the food yourself, and it is prepared by our Head Chef, Hashem.”

“Oh wow. Okay, and how much do I gather?”

“That’s the best part. You gather exactly what you need, which is an omer.”

“An omer? What’s an omer?”

“It’s a unit of measurement, like a bushel, or a gallon.”

“Sounds anachronistic.”

“Well so is a Manna restaurant, and listen, nobody likes meta-humor in their Torah commentaries.”

“Yes, so, I gather an omer’s worth, but I also gather exactly what I need for my large family, and these are the same? How does that work?”

“Good question! We almost called this place ‘What's an Omer for You?’; You gather an omer no matter how much you gather, and it ends up being exactly what your family needs, no matter how big or small it is. It's kind of miraculous.”

“So, what happens if I'm worried about there not being enough for me and I gather more, trying to save some of it in case the Head Chef stops making it?” 

“It'll rot with worms.”

“Wow, ok. You've built that into the recipe.”

“Oh and one more thing: there’s nothing else on the menu, so don’t ask.”

“Really? Because I was thinking . . .”

“We tried it once with quail. It did not work out. Also, there’s one more thing. On Friday you are supposed to gather more (two omers) because Saturday there won't be any to gather. Saturday is Shabbat, a day of rest. And that extra manna will not rot because of this special day.”

“So you're closed on Saturdays?”

“You got it. . . . Some folks still try to gather on Shabbat, but hey, not everyone's a good listener like you.”

This week's parasha has no manna, but it does have the Omer. This is kind of cool, because the parasha describes the counting of the Omer leading up to Shavuot that we are doing right now in this season. It reminds me of the middle of the movie, Spaceballs, when the characters find the copy of the movie itself, and they fast forward to the part that they are in, so they are able to see themselves on screen. 

Colonel Sandurz: Try here. Stop.

Dark Helmet: What am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?

Colonel Sandurz: Now. You're looking at now, sir. Everything that happens now, is happening now.

Dark Helmet: What happened to then?

Colonel Sandurz: We passed then.

Dark Helmet: When?

Colonel Sandurz: Just now. We're at now now.

But enough with the meta-humor. Three years ago (which was then) as I was counting up the Omer, I was expecting to meet my son. His due date was Shavuot. Each day we would set aside an offering, say the prayer, and pray for this new life that we were expecting joyfully. But as we prayed those 7 weeks, I grew to feel that there was a connection between counting the Omer each day and this new life that we were preparing to steward. One of the names of Shavuot is “Firstfruits.” This is because, as laid out in this week’s parasha, the measure of wheat (the “omer”) is laid aside and not eaten until the Lord gets the first offering.

Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and tell them: When you have come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you are to bring the omer of the firstfruits of your harvest to the kohen. He is to wave the omer before Adonai, to be accepted for you. On the morrow after the Shabbat, the kohen is to wave it. . . . You are not to eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this same day—until you have brought the offering of your God. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (Lev 23:10-14, TLV)

The Omer is a reminder that there is enough when we put God first, when we encounter God in the now and trust the soon and then to him. The word “Omer” is a unit of measure and also a sheaf (bundle of grain), and the Omer stories in the Torah remind us of this very principle. 

In Exodus 16, before we even receive the Ten Commandments, we find this lesson about trusting God. The manna came down, and the Israelites were to gather more or gather less according to their family’s need, but it was always an Omer. Here’s Rashi’s take:

“Both the one who gathered much and the one who gathered little” [Exod 16:17]. Some gathered [too] much [manna] and some gathered [too] little, but when they came home, they measured with an omer, each one what he had gathered, and they found that the one who had gathered [too] much had not exceeded an omer for each person who was in his tent, and the one who had gathered [too] little did not find less than an omer for each person. This was a great miracle that occurred with it [the manna].

When they started to wonder, “What if there’s not enough for me? Let me hoard this manna!” that’s when it started to rot. Later, they put exactly an omer of manna in a very important place: 

Then Moses said, “This is what Adonai has commanded. Let a full omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.”

Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put a full omer of manna inside. Store it up before Adonai, to be kept throughout your generations.” Just as Adonai commanded Moses, Aaron stored it up in front of the Testimony, to be preserved. (Exodus 16:32-34)

Most rabbis took the phrases “Before Adonai” and “in front of the Testimony” to mean that the omer of manna would be preserved where the Ten Commandments would be, in the ark of the covenant, in the holy of holies. But why? What was so important that it would sit next to the symbol of the Sinai Covenant for all time? The key is the word “Omer.” God gave them enough because God is enough. We don’t have to hoard more for ourselves, and we can trust God by resting and not earning money on Shabbat. Remember God’s provision for all generations right before the Presence. In this week’s parasha, Leviticus 23:16 instructs us: “Until the morrow after the seventh Shabbat you are to count fifty days, and then present a new grain offering to Adonai.” We count up to the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai, to the outpouring of the Presence. These are all converging together: trust and commandments, putting God first and experiencing His presence. And right after the instructions about counting the Omer, we find this:

Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the furthest corners of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Rather you are to leave them for the poor and for the outsider. I am Adonai your God. (Lev 23:22)

What’s the connection? If I’m not thinking about whether there’s enough for me, then what am I thinking about? I’m thinking about the other: the poor, the outsider, the one that’s not like me, the one without whom I am incomplete. Putting God first is connected to loving our neighbor and looking out for those often forgotten. And all of this is placed next to the Presence, and counting up to and expecting the Presence after counting 49 days of the Omer. The Omer represents all of this. So the question is: What’s an Omer for you? 

The Cup of Intimacy

Week Four of Counting the Omer

Parashat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, Leviticus 16:1 – 20:27

Matt Absolon, Beth T’filah, Miramar, FL

You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. (Leviticus 20:26)

Three weeks ago we all participated in the four cups of Passover. We read in the Gospel texts how Yeshua and the disciples partook in two of the four cups of wine at that last seder in the upper room. After we have told the story, recited the blessings of deliverance, and enjoyed a hearty meal, we then partake of the fourth and final cup, the Cup of Praise. We sing songs of praise as we draw close to one another, and close to our God.

This fourth cup is also known by another name, “The Cup of Intimacy.” In Exodus 6:7, the Lord says, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God.” When the Torah says “I will take you,” the text uses the same word as that used for a groom “to take” a bride, “v’laqakhti.” It is a word of intimacy and in this context invokes the picture of a groom carrying away his bride in marriage.

The Midrash speaks of this intimacy and its connection to salvation in its commentary on the Exodus 6 passage:

There are four expressions of redemption: I will bring you out, I will deliver you, I will redeem you and I will take you. . . . The Sages accordingly ordained four cups to be drunk on the eve of Passover to correspond with these four expressions in order to fulfill the verse: I will lift up the cup of salvation (yeshuah), and call upon the name of the Lord (Psalm 116:13). (Midrash Rabbah Exodus, VI.4 emphasis added)

In this week's portion, we see a continuation of this theme. God desires that we should belong to him, to sanctify us from among the nations, “that you should be mine” (Lev 20:26). God desires union with us. In fact, the assertion can be made that this is the entire goal of his work in the world: intimacy and union with his chosen people.

In his commentary on Pesach, the eminent Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov zeroed in on the fourth cup as the greatest aspect of redemption.

“I will take you . . . .” The greatest aspect of the redemption is that He brought us near to Him and granted us also spiritual redemption. – Eliyahu Kitov, The Book of Our Heritage 3 vols. (Feldheim, 1988), 2.269

One of the fruits of God's desire for relationship with his people is the restoration of the Jewish nation. As we recite every week in Shabbat services, “bring us back, Lord, and we shall come: renew our days as of old.” This renewal comes as a by-product of God's desire to take us, and our desire to be brought closer to him. As we read in this week's haftarah portion:

“In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen,

and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins,

and rebuild it as in the days of old. . . .

I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,

and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;

they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,

and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

I will plant them on their land,

and they shall never again be uprooted

out of the land that I have given them,”

says the Lord your God. Amos 9:11, 14 - 15

When God brings us near, when we are again willing to return to him and be taken by him, then he will “restore the fortunes of my people Israel.” As we focus on this season of renewal during the time of counting the Omer, we do well to meditate on the fourth cup of Passover, the cup of intimacy and praise.

Speaking as a Rosh Kehilah, it is vital for our hearts to focus on redemption, salvation, and deliverance. But in order to maintain those spiritual graces in our life, we must fully drink from the Cup of Intimacy. The goal of God's great deliverance is to be intimate with his people. With you and with me.

We must find time to be intimate with the Lord, to worship him in his beauty and strength, and to express our profound gratitude towards his redemption in our lives. To close in the words of our King David:

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield,

and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:1-2.

Advancing in Holiness as We Count the Omer

Week Three of Counting the Omer

Parashat Tazria-Metzora, Leviticus 12:1–15:33

Elliot Klayman, Kehilat Ariel, San Diego

Parashat Tazria-Metzora, a double portion, deals with the identification, healing, and cleansing of a contagious skin disease. The priest had the knowledge both of a pharmacist and of a Leviticus scholar who applied the biblical formulas. When the afflicted person was healed, the priest applied two live clean birds, cedar wood, crimson stuff and hyssop to the one to be cleansed: one bird slaughtered over fresh water in an earthen vessel, and the other live bird dipped in the blood of the slaughtered bird over water. Then the priest sprinkles the “patient” seven times. He sets the live bird free. The cleansed one is directed to wash his clothing, shave his hair and bathe in water; then he is clean. He must still remain outside his tent seven days. It is all about purification. On the seventh day he shaves his head, beard, and eyebrows. Then he washes his clothes and bathes in water. He must follow up with an unblemished animal offering at the tabernacle. Now add three tenths of a measure of flour with oil mixed in for a meal offering, and one log of oil. The priest now has 23 more verses to study and apply.  This parasha is a whole semester course for the priests, I am sure. They had to be diligent in their studies of the Word and it made a difference when separating the pure from the impure, the clean from the unclean, the tahor from the tamei.

So, how does this translate for us today, as we count the Omer this season leading up to Shavuot? We do not have a temple, nor do we have a working priesthood. We do have our synagogues with their structure, our rabbis and zakenim (elders). Like the priests, the rabbis and elders are called to be knowledgeable in the prescriptions and formulas contained in the Word of God. As believers in Messiah Yeshua we are part of the holy priesthood and are called to be Kadosh (Holy). He is the High Priest who cleanses us from unrighteousness through the blood offering. It’s all about purity and holiness. “Be holy for I am holy” (Lev 11:44, 20:7). That means we should walk in holiness because he is holy. The Bible does not expressly define holiness—how should we interpret it?

1. Living Compassionately. God has a heart for the sick, the needy, the poor and underprivileged, the disabled, orphans and widows, and leprous ones who are physically afflicted and socially ostracized.  It is here that the pure meets the impure, the clean meets the unclean, and through God’s formula, the tamei’s (unclean) status is changed to tahor (pure). We are called to be less worldly and more godly, to constrict our humanity and expand our spiritual godly compassion. This takes yielding to our better angels — to put others first. In holiness you only see the other in God’s image, and empathy moves you to compassion.  We make up the congregation of Messiah, who are in need of prayer to be compassionate, for God is compassionate. This is the holy sheaf of barley, the Omer, we present. Holiness is being compassionate!

2. Living Self-Sacrificially. This means that we ought to live differently from how the worldly live, because for us the Kingdom breaks in, so that we have something holy to experience and take away. Holiness is progressive. The “Sun of Righteousness” breaks into our hearts so that we are closer to having the heart of God during this time (Malachi 4:2). Holiness is a place where we are penetrated by God’s loveliness and an introspective time of developing self-sacrificial plans. It is a day of living here as if we are kingdom citizens while God bids us to grasp his hand and walk along the self-sacrificial path of righteousness as informed by scripture. The Good Samaritan represents the holiness of sacrifice, where, in Yeshua’s parable, though the religious Jew did not help the Jew in distress, the alien Samaritan extended his neighborhood, sacrificing his space, time, and money to do so. Holiness is living self-sacrificially.

3. Living Pure among the Profane. One classic understanding of holiness is living separate and apart — distancing ourselves from sin and its attractions. If we are prone to anger, then we need to stay out of conversations that make us angry, until we overcome this fault. We cannot offer our “barley” if we are angry. Holiness has everything to do with that which is sacred coming into contact with that which is profane and both, the sacred and the profane, the holy and the unholy, the pure and the impure, emerging in purity and holiness. God comes into contact with the profane anytime he touches this world, through the priesthood, through the Holy Spirit touching the impure. In the parshiot before us, the priest touches the leper — the pure intersects with the impure — and the priest remains holy while the leper is cleansed and transformed from tamei to tahor. From this clean-impure brew, from this this alloyed contact, emerges a holistic holiness. When the spiritual and the material intersect, and confront each other, that is the essence of holiness, not just separation from sin, but interaction with the profane. Holiness is living pure among the profane.

4. Living an Exemplary Life. God is our Mentor. He planted trees in the Garden; and so we ought to plant trees as a Holy environmental endeavor. He clothed the needy after the fall and we are called to clothe the poor, to visit those in prison, because this is holiness by his example. Yeshua died for the unlovely — that person on death row, that slanderer, that mean employer, the professor who flunked us, the cook who poisoned us, that neighbor who sued us. We are called to go the next mile and share our faith and love to those who are doomed without the protection of the blood applied to the doorposts of their hearts. As God is an example, we ought to be the example to others. We are called to come out of conformity to the world, to be peculiar, noteworthy, and different by walking in the pleasantness of God’s paths of rightness, as prescribed by him in the “priestly” BDR — the Bible Desk Reference. We are to walk as one looking for opportunities to make a difference, and not as one who is self-involved in fulfilling our own selfish desires. Should we walk in the spirit and not in the flesh, we will be what God wants us to be, what he entrusted us to be, what he signaled us to be by his example: in a condition where we are ready to enter into the depths of the ugly rancor to redeem the dying. It is time for our congregational community to do now for others as we would do to ourselves.

 Let us literalize holiness and bathe in its reality by living compassionately, sacrificially, in purity and in exemplary fashion. This is Holistic Holiness. May we all walk in the light of Holiness in community so that as a community, we may shine brightly before the Messiah, who has called us in partnership to the Holy High Priesthood.  

Do What Counts

Week Two of Counting the Omer

Suzy Linett, Devar Shalom, Ontario, California

We all prepare for the big moments in life. As children, we prepare for the first day of school, for vacation, for play dates with our friends. As we grow, we prepare for school activities, sports, tests, and graduation. We prepare for jobs, college, trade schools, and adulthood in general. We prepare to have our own families and lives as adults. If we don’t prepare, there are consequences.

Our spiritual lives are a lot like that. We are admonished, “Train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not turn from it” (Prov 22:6). We are told to watch and wait. We are told to “Make every effort to present yourself before God as tried and true, as an unashamed worker cutting a straight path with the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). Even Yeshua needed to prepare: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be” (John 14:3). We know the Israelites had to prepare for battle. The woman with the jar of oil anointed and prepared Yeshua for burial (Matt 26:7).

At this season, we are instructed to “Count the Omer.” We are to count a sheaf of barley —an omer—every day from Yom HaBikurim, the day of Firstfruits, to Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks. The offering is to be waved to the Lord. The specifics are found in Leviticus 23:9–22. We are told this is a statute “forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.” Yet, we are not in the land of Israel. We are not all harvesters of barley. What is the application for us today?

During the time of journeying after leaving Egypt, the Israelites did not harvest crops, but the sages taught that counting each day represented spiritual preparation and anticipation for the giving of Torah at the time of Shavuot. Sefer HaChinuch (published anonymously in 13th century Spain) states that the Hebrew people were only freed from Egypt at Passover in order to receive the Torah at Sinai, an event which is now celebrated on Shavuot, and to fulfill its laws. “Thus, the Counting of the Omer demonstrates how much a Hebrew desires to accept the Torah in his own life” (p. 306).

At the first Passover the Israelites were redeemed, but for what purpose? They were redeemed to become the people of Adonai—the people called by His Name, the people who would take His teaching to the nations, to the world. 

In order to grow from a redeemed slave-nation, the people had to prepare to become the redeemed followers of the Lord God of Israel. In fact, their spiritual renewal during the journey was the foundation of becoming the sons and daughters of God. In the same way, we pray for spiritual renewal for our families to fully live as redeemed followers of Adonai. We see this demonstrated in many synagogues today in which confirmation services are held on Shavuot, at the completion of the Counting of the Omer. I vividly remember my own studies with the rabbi leading up to that service in which my classmates and I recited prayers, read Torah, and gave brief messages. It was the culmination of my Jewish education as a young person. As I think about that event, I am reminded to pray for ongoing spiritual renewal, not only for myself, but for all of the families represented, especially for all of my own family, particularly as they have not yet become believers in the Messiah. 

As the Israelites counted and prepared, so we count and prepare our children. As Israel became a nation, so we draw closer in our families and as part of the greater Messianic family.

The giving of Torah on Mount Sinai brought order and a moral code to the people. Years later, this would lead to the promise in Jeremiah 31:30–32:

“Behold, days are coming”

—it is a declaration of Adonai—

“when I will make a new covenant

with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah—

not like the covenant

I made with their fathers

in the day I took them by the hand

to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

For they broke My covenant,

though I was a husband to them.”

it is a declaration of Adonai.

“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”

—it is a declaration of Adonai—

“I will put My Torah within them.

Yes, I will write it on their heart.

I will be their God

and they will be My people.”

The Counting of the Omer marks the days from becoming free to becoming a nation. The counting for Messianic believers today leads from the Written Word to the Living Word in our hearts. The count itself is Messianic, it is prophetic, and its implications and meanings are eternal.  

What do we do while we count? We prepare. We prepare our children. We pray for our families, reminding them of the importance of preparation and readiness. We remember the parables of those who were not ready as in Matthew 25:1–13, when the wise were prepared, but the foolish were not.

On the day the first omer of barley was brought to the Temple, a countdown begins to the next Festival of Adonai, Shavuot. During the time of the count, the wheat crop ripens and becomes ready for harvest. So, Shavuot also is a harvest festival. 

Now let’s jump forward to Messiah’s instructions in Luke 24:49: “And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Acts 1:4: “Now while staying with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father promised—which, He said, ‘you heard from Me.’” John 14:26: “But the Helper, the Ruach ha-Kodesh whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I said to you.”

These verses speak of the events in Acts 2, with the tongues of fire and outpouring of the Ruach HaKodesh. The “Counting of the Omer,” and the empowerment by the Ruach HaKodesh on Shavuot are intertwined. The establishment of Israel as a modern nation in 1948 occurred during this time of Counting of the Omer, waiting for the Ruach, waiting for the Promise of the Father. 

The Counting of the Omer is a time of spiritual preparation. For followers of Yeshua, this time has special significance. It was during this time that the risen Messiah appeared to two disciples while they traveled to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–31). He appeared to the apostles twice (John 20:19–29). He appeared another time to 500 people and then to James (1 Cor 15:6–7). He appeared to seven while they fished (John 21:1–14). On the 40th day of the Omer, paralleling the 40 days Yeshua fasted in the wilderness, the 40 days it rained for the flood, the 40 years of wandering, and more, Yeshua ascended after commanding His followers to wait and continue in prayer and preparation for the “promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4).

When Shavuot arrived, they were gathered together in one place. They were in one accord. They were prepared. They had come together as believers in Yeshua. They had set aside their differences and arguments about who would be the greatest in heaven, or who Yeshua loved the most, and everything else. They had the witness. They were obedient. They were in unity. They were prepared. The message is also for us—prepare, wait for His promises, study, pray, be obedient to His call to take His love into the world.  Keep the feast.

Scripture quotations are from the TLV.

Personal Renewal in the Spirit

Week One of Counting the Omer

Ben Volman, UMJC Canadian Regional Director

There was a man among the P’rushim, named Nakdimon, who was a ruler of the Judeans. This man came to Yeshua by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know it is from God that you have come as a teacher; for no one can do these miracles you perform unless God is with him.”  “Yes, indeed,” Yeshua answered him, “I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:1–3)

He came by night to Yeshua. Nakdimon was a man of consequence, a Rosh Yeshiva among the Pharisees with a place on Israel’s highest counsel, the Sanhedrin. Was it Yeshua’s words or a miracle that drove him to secretly seek out the rabbi from Galilee? Now it is 2000 years later and, as a Messianic Jew, I understand Nakdimon completely. It’s still hard for a Jewish person with status to speak of Yeshua too positively. I remember sharing the Gospel with a distinguished professor who accosted me about becoming a believer. “Do you know what people would say?”  Yes, we know. We’ve gone through it. That’s why this Pharisee comes by night.

Nakdimon had probably been discussing spiritual matters for a while with the rabbi before Yeshua spoke those words that totally perplexed him: “Unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Nakdimon objects that he couldn’t possibly begin his spiritual journey or his earthly journey again. But I think our late brother Dr. David Stern elucidates the situation brilliantly because he notes that Yeshua “deals with him at his point of need, which is to be born again from above.”

That’s never been more true: Yeshua has something we need, whether we are resisting him or have followed him a long distance over many years. In particular, there is something deeply troubling at Pesach this year. We are grappling with a world that has piled uncertainties on sorrows: hostages; endless wars; rampant antisemitism. Our hearts yearn to be spiritually renewed.

Yeshua’s prescription to be “born again” has become known as something completely foreign to Israel’s faith, but in many ways it is extremely Jewish. It’s found in rabbinic literature and used in a similar way by Rav Sha’ul when he describes believers as a new creation. But there is still something of mystery to this spiritual prescription. At times like these, it can be difficult to discern how to let the Spirit take hold of our life.

I think it begins with asking an essential question of ourselves. Why am I here? R. Jonathan Sacks points out that there is a similar question which we don’t ask at the Seder table. He calls it the unasked question: Why did Israel have to go through 400 years of exile from the land of promise and be bound in slavery? The answer he gives is that Israel’s remarkable moral grounding as a people with equal dignity for all is rooted in our experience of slavery in Egypt: “Israel had to lose its freedom before it could cherish it.”

Yeshua has a parable like that: something that is lost is more greatly treasured when it is found. There is an even deeper insight for us as followers of Yeshua when we read Rav Sha’ul’s profound understanding of what Yeshua gave up on our behalf.

Though he was in the form of God,
he did not regard equality with God
something to be possessed by force.
On the contrary, he emptied himself,
in that he took the form of a slave
by becoming like human beings are. (Phil 2:6–7)

The Spirit can begin to work powerfully in us and through us when we follow Yeshua’s  example. Consider how his prayer instructs us to let go of all our other priorities and focus on seeking his Kingdom and his will. We are like Thomas, sitting at the table with Yeshua and  asking, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going; so how can we know the way?” Yeshua’s timeless answer guides us back to what is essential: “I AM the Way — and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Everything else that we have been doing can be set aside. Knowing and being known by him is all that matters.

Once we have looked deeply into ourselves, we need to do something else. There is an intriguing story from the Mekhilta, a Jewish source that dates back to the second century. As Israel watched Pharaoh’s army rushing toward them at the edge of the Red Sea there seemed only one way forward. While they stood questioning, dawdling, and praying, Nahshon ben Aminadav leapt into the Sea, expecting that God would guide them through in safety. Of course, he began drowning. Immediately, when God saw him, he told Moshe to stop praying, “Lift your staff, reach out with your hand over the sea, and divide it in two. The people of Israel will advance into the sea on dry ground.”

I believe that the next step is remembering that our faith compels us to give ourselves to him completely. Each of us at a certain point knows that the Lord has given us a calling, a vocation, no matter how humble or limited it may seem. We need to recenter ourselves in the calling of the Spirit, knowing that however we’ve messed up or lost our bearings, “his mercies are new every morning” (Lam 3:22  23). Yeshua is the way, and he has also blessed us with a faithful promise of a meaningful life.

As Yeshua told Nakdimon, no one can tell how the Spirit will powerfully move in us, even in the most unexpected ways. That’s not the end of the story, for after Yeshua is crucified, Nakdimon reveals that he, too, with Yosef of Ramatayim, is willing to be identified with the followers of Yeshua. He brings the spices to prepare the body to be entombed, and together they serve as the rabbi’s Chevra Kadisha (John 19:38–42).  Soon, they will know the resurrected Messiah.  And by the way, that professor who asked, “What would people say?” He’s now been serving the Lord for many years.

We did not come this way alone. As Yeshua continued sharing around the Seder table he gave us this promise: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever” (John 14:17). We’ve not only been blessed by the Spirit, but we’ve been pastored, taught, mentored, and loved by those who were responsive to the leading of the Spirit. I am sure that even as you read these words, names and faces will come to mind and more will come later. Renew your life in the Spirit by following their example. As you’re counting the Omer, ask the Spirit to guide you in prayer that you might bring blessing to others and also pray for those who have been a blessing in the Spirit of Messiah to you.

All Scripture references are from Complete Jewish Bible, CJB.

A Season of Anticipation is About to Begin

Shabbat Hagadol 5785

Russ Resnik, UMJC Rabbinic Counsel

Cecil B. DeMille’s classic 1956 film about Moses and the Jewish liberation from bondage in Egypt includes some fabulous scenes. It used to be (and maybe still is) rerun in various media during this season but it’s easy to pan as well as to enjoy. For example, I grew up in the burgeoning and diverse Jewish community of Southern California and never met another Jew who looked anything like DeMille’s Moses, aka Charlton Heston (which doesn’t sound very Jewish either). Many details of the film evoke Hollywood more than the Book of Exodus. How about the sultry Yvonne de Carlo as Sephora, the renamed wife of Moses? And what about Cecil B. DeMille himself? That name alone declares he’s not a member of the tribe.

But the movie does get one important thing right: its title, The Ten Commandments.

De Mille creates some great scenes, a couple of which might well have led to a glorious conclusion, like the hordes of liberated Hebrew families joyously departing the magnificent Egyptian cities that they helped build. Or the iconic special-effects parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh’s army as the waters come crashing down. Great endings! But the screenplay rightly takes us to Mount Sinai and the awesome drama of receiving the Torah, represented by the two stone tablets Moses clutches inscribed with the Ten Commandments.

The film goes on a bit after that, but this is the true climax, and it reflects the biblical portrayal of Passover. The culmination of the story that we commemorate each year isn’t our departure from Egypt, but the encounter with the Eternal One at Mount Sinai, fifty days later. To emphasize this point, the Torah commands us to begin counting the Omer, or sheaf of firstfruits, during Passover.

Then you are to count from the morrow after the Shabbat, from the day that you brought the omer of the wave offering, seven complete Shabbatot. Until the morrow after the seventh Shabbat you are to count fifty days, and then present a new grain offering to Adonai. . . . You are to make a proclamation on the same day that there is to be a holy convocation, and you should do no regular work. (Lev 23:15–16, 21 TLV)

This “holy convocation” is Shavuot, or the Festival of Weeks, as in Deuteronomy 16:9–10.

Seven weeks you are to count for yourself—from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain you will begin to count seven weeks. Then you will keep the Feast of Shavuot to Adonai your God. (TLV)

In both these passages the start date for the seven-week period of counting the Omer is unclear. At first glance, “the Shabbat” mentioned in Leviticus 23 would seem to be the weekly Shabbat that occurs during Passover, but rabbinic tradition says “the Shabbat” in this context refers to the first day of Passover, which like the weekly Shabbat is a day of holy convocation and freedom from work (Lev 23:7). The seven “Shabbatot” of 23:15 can be translated simply as seven “weeks” as in CJB. The term is used in exactly that way a little later, in Leviticus 25:8, where it refers to seven “weeks” of years, to equal 49 years.

This traditional interpretation continues to be the subject of friendly debate, but many of us in the Messianic community opt to go with it so that we celebrate Shavuot in solidarity with the rest of the Jewish world. In addition, it would seem out of place for one of the three great annual festivals to have a floating date, as it would if the seven-week count began on the Shabbat of Passover week, which would be a different date each year. So, the sixth of Sivan it is every year!

But if Shavuot always falls on the same date, why do we need to keep count at all? Aha! This question gets to the heart of Sefirat ha-Omer, or counting the Omer. The count is not primarily about calculating a date, but about spiritual anticipation. We count the days until the giving of Torah with eager expectancy as we prepare to receive anew the Word of God.

Passover is the central story of the Hebrew Scriptures. All the rest of the stories flow into it or out from it. It is the story that makes Israel a people, and every year we affirm our status as God’s people by retelling the story in the Passover Seder. The custom of counting the Omer connects the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai with the grand narrative of Passover redemption. We might say that our central narrative isn't just Passover, but the combined Passover-Shavuot story, the season of our freedom and of the giving of our Torah.

As Messianic Jews we have another, equally compelling narrative that is an organic part of this one; the story of Messiah Yeshua, who walked and taught among us, and died and rose again during the Passover season. Our Jewish identity as followers of Messiah hinges on the truth that this story is not separate, but inextricably intertwined with the grand narrative of Passover-Shavuot. Yeshua presents himself in Jerusalem at the time the Passover lambs are being selected. He eats a final Passover meal with his followers, dies—according to the Besorah of John at the time when the Passover lambs are being slain—and rises from the grave as the firstfruits of the dead, about the time that the firstfruits of new grain are being presented in the Temple. Messiah is our Passover, not replacing the old, but renewing and carrying it forward.

After his resurrection, Messiah appears to his followers and instructs them to remain in Jerusalem and await the promised immersion in the Spirit, Ruach ha-Kodesh, for “you will receive power when the Ruach ha-Kodesh has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and through all Judah, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 TLV ). Yeshua instructs his followers that his glorious resurrection and ascension to the heavenly court are not the end of the story, but prepare the way for the fullness of the Spirit to come upon them. Accordingly, the followers wait in eager anticipation during the days of Sefirat ha-Omer, until the promise is fulfilled on Shavuot (Acts 2:1–4).

As the Ruach is moving upon the Yeshua-followers in palpable ways, one of them, Kefa or Peter, steps forward to explain what is happening. He tells the crowds gathered in the Temple courts for the festival that what they’re seeing and hearing fulfils the Lord’s promise in the book of Joel:

“And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”

(2:28–29 ESV, 3:1–2 in Jewish Bibles)

This is the culmination of the Passover-Shavuot cycle in the days of Messiah Yeshua, and we will reflect it this year in the UMJC community with a unified prayer effort, calling on the Lord to “Renew Us in Your Spirit.” Our focus on spiritual renewal will widen each week, beginning with personal renewal in the Spirit on week 1 and ending on week 7 with prayer for awakening and renewal in the Spirit upon the whole people of Israel.

Just as Passover sets the stage for Shavuot and the giving of Torah, so does the resurrection of Yeshua set the stage for the outpouring of the Spirit. And today we desperately need to not only remember this outpouring, but to experience it again. We need a fresh move of the Spirit to regain the energy and passion that will fuel our devotion to Messiah Yeshua once again.

Unified prayer during Sefirat ha-Omer has been a custom in the Union for years, a custom that both boosts our communal prayer effort and provides a focus for our personal spiritual practice during this intense and uplifting season. So, I invite you to join in this year, beginning Sunday night, April 13, and continuing for seven weeks until Shavuot on the fiftieth day, beginning Sunday evening, June 1. Click here to download your guide to counting the Omer, complete with the traditional blessings.

May you experience a joyous Passover and uplifting days of anticipation this year in Messiah Yeshua, as we pray together for renewal of the Spirit’s presence and work among us.

The Invitation to Moses Is Also to Us

Photo: exploringslovenia.com

Parashat Vayikra, Leviticus 1:1–5:26

Mary Haller, Tikvat Israel Messianic Synagogue, Richmond VA

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. — Lao Tzu

The invitation to draw near that opens the book of Leviticus is often referred to as a call given by the God of Israel. The invitation Moses heard is introduced with one word: Vayikra, “And he called.” This one Hebrew word takes many English words to explain and can be the core of a lifelong journey into a powerful relationship with God.

The God of Israel, the one God whose voice wafted from the tent of meeting and slipped into the heart of Moses, is the initiator of the process. The understanding Moses gained after first hearing and then responding to the call, Vayikra, can be experienced by any of us who decide to accept the invitation to draw near to God.

Let’s take a brief look back to the close of the book of Exodus. The people were at the foot of the mountain God had led them to after leaving Egypt. The tent of meeting was constructed and the presence of a Holy God fully inhabited the tabernacle. The Holy Presence was indeed the fullness of who God was, is, and will always be. At this point the story was about God.

As we turn the page in Scripture, things begin to shift.

Now Adonai called to Moses and spoke to him out of the Tent of Meeting, saying “Speak to Bnei-Israel . . .” (Lev 1:1-2a TLV)

Vayikra, the invitation that Moses heard, is in print for all of us to read. Moses responded and drew closer to God; he shared God’s words with his fellow Israelites as he was instructed. Today, like Moses and Israel, we too have the opportunity to respond to the invitation to draw near. The choice is ours, to say yes, to say no, or to simply not respond.

If we are intrigued and want to get closer it is our imperative to respond. Our response is to take the first step into a journey that may take many years, as in the philosophical quote I mentioned earlier: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Unlike a physical journey, our first step in a relationship with the God of the universe may be more like a conversation.

Moses knew God and followed God’s instruction before he clearly heard the call to draw near. Today many of us have read the Scriptures and prayed faithfully. We endeavor to follow the directions in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Good News and we delight in remembering and celebrating the goodness of God with a thankful heart.

I believe Vayikra, the invitation, and Moses’ response provide a profound picture not just for Moses and the people in his day but for every generation. God bids each of us to come closer to him. The distance between humans and God is a distance that we humans cannot possibly comprehend with human intellect alone, as Paul writes to the Corinthians: “in Messiah God was reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Cor 5:19 TLV).

We must rely on the Ruach of God to lead us, as we desire to know him. The more we desire to honestly know this God the clearer our path becomes. After many years and many more cries from the core of my soul I have peace knowing he hears me. I trust God holds me closer than I can imagine. This knowing is what I call relationship. This relationship did not just happen; it grew into being over time.

My relationship with God is best described as a garden of sorts. My physical being is the plot of land and my innermost being, that part of me that I describe as my soul or the heart of my existence, is the soil. My cries and prayers become the place in my garden for God to plant his seedlings. It is his seedlings that grow over time and bear fruit. The fruit is harvested and shared and the process repeats and repeats. Everything God has for me is what grows. God is the light and the water; he is the warmth and the coolness. It is God who encourages the maturation of the plantings. The type and health of the soil I have is known by the one who knows the intent of my very existence. The type and health of an individual’s heart or soil for establishing growth so to speak, is known only by God.

In all honesty gardening is not on my list of favorite things. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the beauty and tranquility of plants and have been known to sit quietly for long periods just contemplating the beauty surrounding me in a forest or a garden. That being said I must share the inspiration for my garden analogy.

Last week I purchased a book entitled Shrouded in Light, by Kevin Williams and Michael Guidi. My purchase was motivated by two factors. First the title, Shrouded in Light, whispered to me that God is our source of life. Second, I know a bit about one of the authors, and these men work with plants and emphasize the growth of wild shrubs in their natural habitat.

Shrubs have their own specific natural beauty; they not only grow but they can thrive in the harshest of climates as long as they are suited for the climate they are planted in. Their beauty can be admired from the dry deserts to rolling green pasture lands to the wettest of the world’s marsh lands.

The God who invited each of us to draw near to him is the God who is responsible for all that lives to take root, to grow, blossom and thrive to the fullest. We humans, like shrubs, can thrive and bring beauty and honor to our God wherever we live in this world. Our part is to respond to God’s invitation. We do this by allowing him to shroud our lives in his life-giving light that will enable us to receive all that he has for us. It is under his holy light that we come to know his peace. It is in his peace that we receive what we need to continue toward him on the path he has carved for our individual lives.

It is my hope that these words will encourage each of you to draw nearer and nearer to God as the days progress.

Shabbat Shalom!