Podcasts about rabbi judah

In the first mishna of the second chapter of Pirkei Avos, the great Rabbi Judah the Prince offers indispensable life guidance. Who was this transformative Torah giant and what are his invaluable eternal lessons? This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Apr 30, 2018 – – – – – – – […]

From Boca Raton, Florida, this is Behind the Bima. On this week's episode, Rabbi Efrem Goldberg is joined by Rabbi Judah Mischel, a passionate advocate for unity and resilience within the Jewish community.Rav Judah is Executive Director of Camp HASC, the Hebrew Academy for Special Children. He is the Mashpiah of OU-NCSY, founder of Tzama Nafshi and the author of Baderech: Along the Path of Teshuva.Known for his inspiring perspectives and heartfelt storytelling, he addresses the current challenges facing the Jewish world, reflects on personal experiences and broader communal narratives, and emphasizes the potential for growth and transformation even during times of crisis.Plus, discussions of the elections (apolitical of course!) - all this and more, Behind the Bima.00:00 - Introduction7:08 - Interview

0:00 Introduction2:04 Welcome7:17 Camp HASC17:14 American Jews Giving to Israel21:39 Negativity in the Media26:13 Thinking Differently Than Others30:33 Teshuvah39:49 How Do We Find Joy?43:33 Preparing for the High Holidays51:29 Jewish Self-Identity1:00:00 Wrapping Up

How to explain Teshuva to your children? How to prepare yourself and your family for Teshuva? What strategies to use to create Teshuva consciousness? Welcome back to another episode of The Jews Next Dor! We are glad to have the amazing Rabbi Judah Mischel as our guest today! Rabbi Judah Mischel is the Executive Director of Camp HASC, the Hebrew Academy for Special Children. He is the Mashpiah of OU-NCSY, founder of Tzama Nafshi, and the author of the newly published Baderech: Along the Path of Teshuva. We are talking about parenting, preparing yourself and your children for Teshuva, using stories and interesting activities to engage children in Teshuva, and the importance of being authentic and real in everything you do. Tune in to hear more! 01:40 - Who is Rabbi Judah Mischel? 02:58 - Thoughts about parenting and giving advice to others 07:13 - Live what you preach to your children 11:24 - Preparing for Teshuva as an adult 21:47 - How does the Mischel family prepare for Teshuva? 27:02 - Everybody needs some polishing 33:27 - Thinking about the needs of others 36:20 - Using stories to engage children 40:44 - Scavenger hunt and kids creating their own Simanim 43:35 - What does it mean to be holy? 47:18 - How to create Teshuva consciousness? 52:37 - Leaving home and going to Uman for Rosh Hashanah --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yair-menchel/message

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 104. We examine a heart-wrenching story about the death of Rabbi Judah the Patriarch. This one also involves a roof. And it raises hard problems: How shall we cope with difficult issues raised at the end of life? […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 104. We examine a heart-wrenching story about the death of Rabbi Judah the Patriarch. This one also involves a roof. And it raises hard problems: How shall we cope with difficult issues raised at the end of life? […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 104. We examine a heart-wrenching story about the death of Rabbi Judah the Patriarch. This one also involves a roof. And it raises hard problems: How shall we cope with difficult issues raised at the end of life? […]

After more than 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Ted Deutch recently stepped down to become the CEO of American Jewish Committee (AJC), the leading global Jewish advocacy organization. In this special episode, learn about the Jewish values instilled in Ted by his parents, growing up in the working-class town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where he was one of only three Jewish students in his high school. From his summers at Camp Ramah in the Poconos to his Jewish leadership as a student at the University of Michigan – Ted's experiences as a Jewish leader  inspired him to become a fierce advocate against antisemitism and in support of Israel in the halls of Congress. As he begins this exciting new chapter at the helm of AJC, Ted describes his commitment to enhancing the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and how he will help AJC build a brighter Jewish future.  ___ Episode Lineup: (0:40) Ted Deutch ___ Show Notes: 6 Things to Know About AJC CEO Ted Deutch Listen to our latest podcast episode: Synagogue Security Expert on the Importance of Volunteer-Led Protection Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, tag us on social media with #PeopleofthePod, and hop onto Apple Podcasts to rate us and write a review, to help more listeners find us. ____ Episode transcript MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: This week, American Jewish Committee enters a new chapter with a new CEO. Ted Deutch served seven terms in Congress and during that time emerged as a powerful voice for democratic values and the Jewish people. He also became an outspoken defender of the U.S.-Israel alliance, when that defense was needed more than it ever had been. While Ted has been a guest on our podcast before, he joins us now for the first time as AJC's CEO. Ted, welcome back to People of the Pod.  TED DEUTCH: Well, thanks. MANYA: So, we have a lot to get to because we want to introduce you to our audience and really let them get to know you. So, let's launch right into it. Tell us about your upbringing.  TED: I grew up in Bethlehem. I'm the youngest of five. There is an 11 year gap between me and the next closest sibling, my sister and then my three brothers are older still, and 19 years between my oldest brother and me. I am, as my mother eventually came to refer to me, a pleasant surprise.  My father was a painting contractor. They lived in Bethlehem because after he grew up in Chicago, he enlisted in the army after he graduated from high school, was sent by the army to the army specialized training program that was at Lehigh University in Bethlehem.  He met my mother at, I think not surprisingly, at a bagel brunch at the synagogue at the JCC where I grew up, and it's a long story of what happened after. My dad went to fight in the Battle of the Bulge. My mother wound up befriending his family in Chicago and one thing led to another and he wound up moving back to Bethlehem, where he married my mother and raised our whole family.  MANYA: I imagine Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was much like the small town blue collar communities where I grew up. Describe Bethlehem for us. TED: Bethlehem is home to Bethlehem Steel, which was the company that helped make the steel that helped us win World War II, that was the way we always talked about it when I was a kid. And the steel company, it was the largest employer in Bethlehem. So many people, either their families had some connection to Bethlehem Steel or they either worked at Bethlehem Steel. In my dad's case, he was a painting contractor. He painted the offices of Bethlehem Steel, he painted the houses of Bethlehem steel execs. Had an enormous impact on the community.  Over the course of my high school years it started winding down. It was also sort of the end of a great American company which we watched happen in real time. But down Main Street, Broad street downtown, there was one movie theater downtown, there were two actually for a while. And yes, there were little shops and there was a magic shop that I used to ride my bike to after school, when I was little. It was a nice place, a nice community to grow up in. MANYA: Did Bethlehem have a sizable Jewish community?  TED: Not a large Jewish community by any stretch. There was a very close knit Jewish community that had been there for a long time, multiple generations of families. It was the old model where in one building, we had the JCC and our synagogue. So, on the first floor, where you walked in, we actually had the gym and the pool. And then the second floor were the classrooms in the auditorium and the third floor was the sanctuary. So we spent a lot of time there, between Hebrew school and basketball and Shabbat and the rest.  So it was a really nice community but definitely not large. And fortunately for me, it was a community that welcomed a new Rabbi when I was a kid, and one of the first things he decided was that the synagogue needed to send kids to Camp Ramah and it was Rabbi Judah's decision to encourage that.  And I was one of the first, I think it might have been the first to go, and that had an unbelievably significant impact on my Jewish life and the way I view the world and everything else I've done since.  My first year at Ramah, I was 12. I was not quite a Bar Mitzvah, that I know for sure, because I invited camp friends to my bar mitzvah, where I gladly sang Ramah tunes, hoping and expecting that they would all join in and found myself doing a lot of solos during my Bar Mitzvah. My friends didn't quite step up to the moment, but very good memories. MANYA: You mentioned that Bethlehem Steel helped win World War II and your father fought in the Battle of the Bulge, for which he won a purple heart, I believe. Can you talk a little about how he balanced his American patriotism and his Jewish pride?  TED: He went off and fought in World War II and fought the Nazis and, and took with him these two books, both of which I still have. One, a prayer book, the small prayer book, one, a small book of Jewish thoughts that they gave to all of the Jewish members of the armed forces in World War II. The fact that he carried those around with him, still had them and the fact that I have them now is really special.  In the siddur, there's a page where there's a small tear right down the middle. And if you look, and he explained this to me, it was torn down just so that he could have a small sheet that had a Shin on it. And this was what he taped above his bunk when he was in the army, and it was his way of having a little Mezuzah, just to reflect the fact that -- here's a Jewish soldier who was there, as an American and as a Jew. MANYA: You were telling me earlier about United States Army Specialist Daniel J. Agami, back in 2007. He did something very similar.   TED: There's a family who lost their son in recent combat, who went to war and had an Israeli flag that he hung above his bunk and refused to take down despite the fact that they were fighting in a Muslim country. I think about that some, in that straight line from my Dad's experience to this Jewish soldier and the kind of patriotism that the Jews have shown for the country that we live in for so long. MANYA: You were one of three Jews in a class of more than 2,000 students. Did you encounter antisemitism growing up?  TED: There were neighborhoods in my community that still had deed restrictions, where people weren't allowed to sell their houses to Jews. There occasional experiences I had, with people who made comments that were antisemitic. I, for a lot of people, was the only Jew that they knew. I was the Jewish kid. So it's just something that I dealt with from time to time. Which is when my father would share some of his stories. MANYA: And in addition to sharing his own experiences, what advice did your parents give you about confronting that antisemitism?  TED: That's a really good question, Manya, that I haven't been asked and haven't really thought about in a while. My father's advice was clear. Obviously we're talking a lot about my dad, but my mother, she was very smart, had a very strong Jewish identity, she was a very strong woman. And the advice from both of them was to always stand up for yourself and never let people get away with it, and to be strong and be proud and to let them know that. That's a hugely important lesson that I've taken with me my whole life. It's frankly, one of the most important things that AJC does, is to help create strong proud members of the Jewish community, who also won't simply back down and let people get away with it. MANYA: You went to the University of Michigan for undergrad as well as Law school, and it's where you met your wife, Jill. How did you end up going from Bethlehem to Ann Arbor?  TED: It's interesting, my sister went to Penn State, I loved visiting her and the big college experience. I thought I might like to do that. And everybody I talked to had only good things to say about Michigan. It was also by the way, right about the time that The Big Chill came out. Not that my life was guided by fiction, by a movie. But it was literally right at that moment we were making college decisions. And here's his movie about this group of friends that come together for a sad occasion. I don't know if you saw it or are familiar with it, but, boy do they love Michigan. It's when I heard from everyone I talked to, I had friends from my Israel trip the summer before who were going to school there. And it just became the natural destination, and everybody was right. It's an amazing place. And I had an incredible experience there. And met Jill there, which of course makes it the best of all. MANYA: You chaired the University Hillel's governing board, and you were co-editor of Consider magazine, which was launched by Hillel. And this was a magazine that made it its mission to solicit compelling arguments on multiple sides of an issue. Kind of, stoking conversation, right?   TED: I was proud to do it when I was in college, but thinking about where we are now in this time where everyone has their own social media feed that plays to the things that they're interested in passionate about, criticizes the things that they don't like. Everyone has their own, their own feed, their own cable news channel. They are more and more associated with people who believe the things that they believe we were, I think doing an important service that I don't want to overstate it. But when you look back, we could, I think, benefit from a willingness to engage a little more with people whose views are different than ours. And that's what it was about. It's interesting to think about the conversations, the debates we have today, where we always want to just make this a black and white issue. You either believe this or you believe that and as you point out, in almost every occasion there are substantially more than two sides and there's nuance and engaging in a sophisticated way, requires a lot more than then simply throwing down the gauntlet and saying I'm right and you're wrong, or as is troubling these days- I'm right and you're terrible or you're an idiot or you're evil or all of the other things that people say now instead of engaging in meaningful debate. MANYA: But I have to ask, how does that jibe with AJC's advocacy role? I mean, journalists foster conversation. But as an advocacy organization, AJC picks a side.  TED:  There are different sides on different issues. When a conversation is really appropriate, occasionally there are things that are just so clear, that it becomes paramount that you stop trying to look for some competing argument and stand on the side of what is clearly just and right, and in the best interest of a better world.  The best example is when you take the position that we should deny life-saving support to an ally in Iron Dome, the Iron Dome replenishment debate. When you say that you can't support funding for that program, which saves the lives of Israelis and Palestinians, and has prevented conflicts from escalating, and has been used to protect civilians when terrorists from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are sending rockets, aimed indiscriminately, but meant to to kill civilians? If you can't support that, if your position is such that this particular ally, only one ally, Israel, which happens to be the only Jewish nation in the world, that if your position is that you can't even support the kind of program that saves the lives of civilians against terror attacks, then there's only so much I'm going to engage on. MANYA: Of course, you're talking about the debate about the Iron Dome funding last spring that pitted you against Rep. Rashida Tlaib.  She was actually in your own party. I want to talk about that a little more.  AJC is nonpartisan. And while you were in Congress, you earned a reputation for sometimes bucking party lines. You didn't side with Democrats on the Obama administration's Iran nuclear deal, you supported the Trump Administration's Abraham Accords. Why did you break rank like that?  TED: At a time when partisanship rages, fighting antisemitism can't, we can't allow that to fall prey to that to partisanship. And likewise, defending the US-Israel relationship and supporting Israel and in handling Israel's position in the world also shouldn't fall prey to partisanship. And that means being very clear, when people take positions that are for partisan reasons or anything else, are outside of the broad consensus that has existed and continues to exist in Congress and in America, that we should support our allies. And, then when it comes to fighting antisemitism, as we've already discussed, that we should come together for the benefit of security of the Jewish people, but also because we're ultimately protecting much more than that when we fight antisemitism. MANYA: You first went to Israel before your senior year in high school with Camp Ramah and you believe being on the ground there really is important to comprehend its significance, its complexities. I personally have not been, so I'm sincerely looking forward to AJC Global Forum in Tel Aviv next June. Since that first trip as a high school student, you've been to Israel countless times now – what memories stick with you? TED: When you have the opportunity, when you go to Israel and you go to Jerusalem and the Kotel and everything that you've done, whatever connection you've had to Judaism, it immediately comes to life. I remember the conversations that we had with Israelis while we were there, which is still something that I think is really important to do every time you visit, that it's not just about looking at sites, but to actually understand the connection that we have as Jews, with people who live in Israel. And to think that this is a place that we're praying about, hoping for, for 2000 years. And every time I go back, I walk into someone's house for Shabbat dinner and some of the shuls and various minyans. Some had already ended, some were ramping down. You could hear from everywhere you walked, people davening. You just think about how unique that is, to be in a Jewish state like that. Every time, I mean, every time that's something that I'm thinking about. MANYA: You introduced a number of your congressional colleagues –both Republican and Democrat – to the Jewish state. But I'd like for you to tell our listeners about one trip in particular that you took with fellow Floridian Ileana Ros Lehtinen – a Republican congresswoman at the time – back in 2014. While you were there, the bodies of three Israeli teenagers were found. Kidnapped and killed by Palestinian terrorists linked to Hamas. TED: Ileana and I went on an official trip together. The first time we were there, the timing was such that we were there for Jill's, my wife's cousin's son's Bar Mitzvah. So we went to this bar mitzvah dinner, and celebration. And we were there just after we had all participated in events all over the country all over the world, about the three boys that had been missing, and all these events took place, and everybody was praying for their safe return.  And it was during the bar mitzvah, that all at this one moment, everyone's phones went off. And everybody looked. It was this incredible moment where the news broke that the bodies of the boys had been discovered, and that they had been killed by terrorists, and which is what so many people had feared. And so first, there's this moment where, where people didn't know what to do, but because it's Israel, and most importantly, it's a simcha. There was almost this defiance, that even having just received this terrible news. People were more passionate about dancing the hora, and about celebrating this bar mitzvah. And that was a really powerful moment.  And then we completely rearranged our schedule for the next day, so that we could attend the funeral for the boys. And there was so much that was so powerful about it, when we pulled up and it looked like literally half of the nation of Israel was walking toward this funeral.  And, and Ileana and I had the opportunity, we were privileged to sit in the front. And the funeral itself was so powerful, the whole experience was so powerful, but then we made a shiva call.  And we had the chance, it was a of all the things I've been able to do in Israel, this was a such a powerful moment for me, because we had the opportunity to pay respects, not just because we were on this trip, but we were on an official trip and we could pay our respects, offer our condolences on behalf of the American people, on behalf of the Jewish community that had been that had been praying all over the world. And as I explained to some of the students who were there, the fellow students of those who were killed. And as I explained in the best Hebrew that I could, that I wanted them to understand that it's one thing to say that, you're not alone at this moment. But having participated in these massive events the week before in my community and in Washington. I wanted them to know that I knew exactly what I was saying and that there were people all over the world who were literally mourning with them. MANYA: You did that here as well  in the United States as well, attended shivas I mean, after the school shooting that killed 17 in Parkland.  TED: I haven't ever thought of that parallel. In both cases. I was an elected official. I was in a place that I desperately wanted to avoid, or I would, I desperately would have prayed that, that the circumstances that led me there never happened. And in both instances, and so in Florida, I went to a lot of funerals after February 14, and a lot of them were Jewish funerals. That's a moment when emotion is the rawest that it can possibly be and, in both cases, we did what we're told to do at shiva: we sat and we listened. We listened to stories about, in both cases by the way, the young lives cut short and all the things that these kids had done in their short lives, and all the things that they would have done if they hadn't been killed. There are a lot of similarities. And coming out of both of those is the rededication to the important work. MANYA: So, what's in store for AJC with you at the helm? Do you have big ideas you want to implement? TED: It's not my plan to come in and, and start to make drastic changes, I'm going to come in and I'm going to listen to everyone, and understand at a deeper level, the work that's done. But the one thing I know for sure, is that that the effort to defend the interests of the Jewish people, to create resilient Jews, wherever they live, to defend all 15 million Jews in the world, by fighting antisemitism, educating people on antisemitism, advocating because ultimately AJC is an advocacy organization, building the relationships that will help to strengthen the community, and speaking out boldly, when it's necessary to make sure people understand what's at stake here.  Those are the things that I look forward to doing. But more than anything else, there is so much work that AJC does to advocate for the Jewish community around the world. And, and to, to enhance Israel's place in the world. And to speak out for human rights, and democracy.  There's so much work that's done that people don't know about. And when you have an organization that's engaged in advocacy, that means you're advocating on a whole host of different issues. And sometimes, we forget that- not we, AJC. But the world forgets that they're all related.  And so when it comes to, to supporting Israel and standing up for the Jewish community,  to be able to know that that we are advocating for the community wherever they live, from Seattle to Chicago, to New York, Buenos Aires, Paris, Jerusalem, and to do it by building the relationships at the local level, at the federal level in Washington, with the ambassadorial corps in Washington and Consuls General around the country. At the UN, where AJC is on the ground every day, at in capitals around the world with with foreign ministers and heads of state, those relationships everywhere in the world that AJC has built that its its volunteers and leaders have spent so much time engaged in, the intergroup work that has come from from that work. All of that strengthens the Jewish community. And, and, and helps to lift up Israel and its place in the world in a way that is unique.  MANYA: You're coming from a role in Congress in which you fought for measures to slow climate change, curb gun violence, have peace with other countries, balancing the nation's budget – a plethora of issues. Here, at AJC, you'll be a little more focused on Israel and the Jewish people. But how are both jobs similar? TED: We talked earlier about Tikkun Olam. And it's important and we're all engaged in that in all of the ways that we choose to be. But when I think about AJC's work, if I'm looking to if I'm looking to our text, it's really it's it's called Kol Yisrael Arevim Ze Bazeh, right - We're all responsible one for another– it's all about Jewish peoplehood and the connections that we have, not just to our fellow Jews in our communities, but everywhere in the world. In the United States, that means making sure that we all understand where we come from, which is both all of the things that our history has provided us –the contributions that we've made to history as a whole, and the impact that history has had on us. MANYA: You are a father of three young'ns in their 20s. Very accomplished, young'ns in their own right, I should add. Why should AJC be paying more attention to their generation?  TED: AJC has this unique opportunity to take the existing program than it does for young people, early in their careers, the programming to create well-educated, passionate advocates, who are and will continue to be leaders in their respective communities, from their schools to their campus, to wherever it is they move when they graduate. That program is so exciting to me and the opportunity to see that continue to grow, so that all of these leaders can then engage in the work that we've just been discussing. For AJC, for everyone, it means not just providing lessons, it means listening, and engaging with young people who have the capacity to lead right now. And we see it on Instagram, with some of the accounts that young people have set up.  We've seen it all over social media, we see it in things that people write, we have to help build that up, meet them where they are, recognize that they're already leaders, contribute to their future growth. That's an enormous opportunity.  And I think that the way that AJC goes about its work can help do that.  Last thing I'll say is this. There are young people who have been so engaged on their campuses, on social media, sometimes feeling, and I had spoken to a number of them, sometimes feeling like they're on an island, and providing a real home for them to come together to confront these issues that they're facing. To help them understand what we can do to change the narrative by lifting up their voices. That's the moment that we're in that I think we really need to capitalize on. MANYA: After the Parkland shooting, you really raised your voice about addressing the forces and circumstances that led to this horrific act of violence. How will that experience, which I know was life changing for so many including yourself, how will that inform the direction you lead AJC? TED: I think the most important thing I learned during that whole experience was the power of young people, high school kids, who helped to start this whole movement from their dining room table and the leadership role that they play. If we're not talking about the threat, then it's going to make it a whole lot harder for all of us who want to prevent these things from happening to succeed. So, yes, we've got to be clear, as we as we talk about, as we acknowledge this rise in antisemitism, and we have to focus on it wherever it comes from, and we need to be clear that the the threats that rising antisemitism pose are threats to the entire community. I talked about this at the UN several years ago, the the fact is when there's antisemitism in the country that is festering and it affects not just the Jews, it is never just the Jews. The guy who went into that Walmart in El Paso. These are people who, so many of them at their core antisemites, you see it and what they've said and what they've written. So we should all be paying close attention to the rise in antisemitism. And we should be working with everyone we can to help educate them about the threat that it poses.  Yes, to the Jewish community, first and foremost, and so that the Jewish community understands that, that there is this recognition and that they can feel safe and and we can build resilience in the Jewish community. But also, for everyone else to understand that we're by tackling antisemitism, we're also helping to make our country and ultimately this is a worldwide phenomenon, clearly, we're helping to create a safer world for everyone. MANYA: Ted, thank you so much for joining us, in your first week on the job, no less. TED: Thanks. This is really fun by the way. MANYA: Well, it's been a pleasure getting to know you and I'm sure we'll have you back on the air again soon. TED: I look forward to it.  

#126With Dr. Dov Zakheim discussing Rebbe (Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi) and his new biography, "The Prince And The Emperors: The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince"We discussed when Rebbe lived, his yichus and family history, his rebbeim, his opinion of Rome and secular learning, who was "Antonious", writing/codifying the Mishnah, and moreTo purchase the book: https://korenpub.com/products/the-prince-and-the-emperors-1

At the request of a listener, in this episode we briefly review something I mentioned previously but did not elaborate on. The Maharal's interpretation of Psalm 90 may provide us some sense of how the Clementine Literature derived its unique christology. The Maharal's view are interestingly similar to those of Philo of Alexandria. The Maharal's views do not imply Moses' equivalence to God, but do recognize his elevated status. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/juan-marcos-gutierrez0/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/juan-marcos-gutierrez0/support

The prophet Elijah, against the Heavenly Court's wishes, taught Rabbi Judah the Prince and his students the secret protocol for bringing about the final redemption. The rabbis almost succeeded, until they were thwarted at the last moment by Elijah himself.* Join us this week to find out what this secret protocol might be, why it is so hard to follow, and how it inevitably brings about the resurrection of the dead. *https://www.sefaria.org/Bava_Metzia.85b.11?lang=bi

Rabbi Judah the Prince transformed the Mishnah into a text, and now Dov Zakheim, culling from a fascinating array of sources, has brought to life the story and historical times of Judah the Prince, offering us a portrait of one of the seminal figures of early Judaism. Join us as we talk with Dov Zakheim about his recent work, The Prince and The Emperors: The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince, published under the Maggid imprint of Koren Publishers. Dov Zakheim holds a BA from Columbia University and a DPhil from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. He served as Under Secretary of Defense for the United States (2001-2004), and received rabbinic ordination from the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel Walkin. Among his other works, he is the author of Nehemiah: Statesman and Sage(Maggid, 2016). Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus (Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus (IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rabbi Judah the Prince transformed the Mishnah into a text, and now Dov Zakheim, culling from a fascinating array of sources, has brought to life the story and historical times of Judah the Prince, offering us a portrait of one of the seminal figures of early Judaism. Join us as we talk with Dov Zakheim about his recent work, The Prince and The Emperors: The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince, published under the Maggid imprint of Koren Publishers. Dov Zakheim holds a BA from Columbia University and a DPhil from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. He served as Under Secretary of Defense for the United States (2001-2004), and received rabbinic ordination from the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel Walkin. Among his other works, he is the author of Nehemiah: Statesman and Sage(Maggid, 2016). Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus (Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus (IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

Rabbi Judah the Prince transformed the Mishnah into a text, and now Dov Zakheim, culling from a fascinating array of sources, has brought to life the story and historical times of Judah the Prince, offering us a portrait of one of the seminal figures of early Judaism. Join us as we talk with Dov Zakheim about his recent work, The Prince and The Emperors: The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince, published under the Maggid imprint of Koren Publishers. Dov Zakheim holds a BA from Columbia University and a DPhil from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. He served as Under Secretary of Defense for the United States (2001-2004), and received rabbinic ordination from the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel Walkin. Among his other works, he is the author of Nehemiah: Statesman and Sage(Maggid, 2016). Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus (Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus (IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

Rabbi Judah the Prince transformed the Mishnah into a text, and now Dov Zakheim, culling from a fascinating array of sources, has brought to life the story and historical times of Judah the Prince, offering us a portrait of one of the seminal figures of early Judaism. Join us as we talk with Dov Zakheim about his recent work, The Prince and The Emperors: The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince, published under the Maggid imprint of Koren Publishers. Dov Zakheim holds a BA from Columbia University and a DPhil from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. He served as Under Secretary of Defense for the United States (2001-2004), and received rabbinic ordination from the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel Walkin. Among his other works, he is the author of Nehemiah: Statesman and Sage(Maggid, 2016). Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus (Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus (IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Rabbi Judah the Prince transformed the Mishnah into a text, and now Dov Zakheim, culling from a fascinating array of sources, has brought to life the story and historical times of Judah the Prince, offering us a portrait of one of the seminal figures of early Judaism. Join us as we talk with Dov Zakheim about his recent work, The Prince and The Emperors: The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince, published under the Maggid imprint of Koren Publishers. Dov Zakheim holds a BA from Columbia University and a DPhil from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. He served as Under Secretary of Defense for the United States (2001-2004), and received rabbinic ordination from the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel Walkin. Among his other works, he is the author of Nehemiah: Statesman and Sage(Maggid, 2016). Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus (Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus (IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

Rabbi Judah the Prince transformed the Mishnah into a text, and now Dov Zakheim, culling from a fascinating array of sources, has brought to life the story and historical times of Judah the Prince, offering us a portrait of one of the seminal figures of early Judaism. Join us as we talk with Dov Zakheim about his recent work, The Prince and The Emperors: The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince, published under the Maggid imprint of Koren Publishers. Dov Zakheim holds a BA from Columbia University and a DPhil from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. He served as Under Secretary of Defense for the United States (2001-2004), and received rabbinic ordination from the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel Walkin. Among his other works, he is the author of Nehemiah: Statesman and Sage(Maggid, 2016). Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus (Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus (IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

#30  MIchael Patrick Mulroy - A Mission to Promote Virtue EthicsWhat are the core values that drive collaboration and success?How do we confront ideologies that rationalize violence and tribalism?What is the ultimate formula for promoting accountability?These and other foundational questions are addressed in this fascinating discussion when former U.S. marine, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, and retired CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer Michael Patrick Mulroy joins the Rabbi and the Shrink.https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-patrick-mulroy-31198b52/https://www.loboinstitute.org/Show notes2:00 Inspired to serve by 9/11Identifying the root causes of conflict4:30 Lack of economic opportunityThe crisis of child soldiers7:30 Toxic ideology makes it possible to rationalize evil and not easily defeatedChildren are compliant and easily indoctrinatedIncreasing tribalism pits us against each other10:30 The ethics of stoicismWisdom, courage, moderation, and justiceWhat's good for your soul is worth more than anything elseStoicism as a guide to virtue ethics13:00 Be accountable to yourselfA legal system is only as effective as the people's commitment to uphold the lawWe lack clarity of what our core values are19:00  The increasing legitimacy of vigilantismTeach ethics and virtue through models of self-sacrificeThe true benefits of diversity23:00 Understanding human nature prepares us for an ethical lifeManaging the conflict between opposing elements of our natureHow do we conquer our inclination to do evil?When we struggle against evil, we become stronger in our commitment to be goodLife is made up of tiny moments that add up30:00 Where do we start?Stoicism means to take life as it comesStudy the story of ZenoRead Meditations by Marcus AreliusThe Jewish leader Rabbi Judah and Marcus Arelius37:00 Establish stoicism as a guiding philosophy in the militarySupport grassroots movements to confront child soldiersDemand accountability from elected officials41:30  The word of the day: PanglossianSuperficial, Pollyanna view of the worldHowever, if we accept that reality is what it is, then we can focus on changing ourselves, which is the most effective way to change the world45:00 We can be one step away from amazing

In preparation for Yom Kippur, the Orthodox Conundrum presents a conversation between Scott and Rabbi Judah Mischel, the author of the fine new book Baderech: Along the Path of Teshuva. Together they explore the fundamentals of repentance, in order to enable every individual to live a life of meaning and closeness to G-d. To order Baderech, go to https://www.amazon.com/Baderech-Teshuvah-Rabbi-Judah-Mischel/dp/1952370523/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=baderech&qid=1631473503&sr=8-1 Please listen to and share the podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. The site will also help you learn about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

00:00 Rabbi Judas, a West Bank Sephardi settler, joins from Israel, https://twitter.com/JudasMaccabeus7 02:00 Jewish philosopher, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maimonides 04:00 Saadia Gaon, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saadia_Gaon 06:00 Argument from Authority, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority 13:00 Hasidic Judaism, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasidic_Judaism 14:00 Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides' Thirteen Principles Reappraised, https://www.amazon.com/Limits-Orthodox-Theology-Reappraised-Civilization/dp/1906764239 18:00 Rabbi Judah's Youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLgGCISOp6Ytu1W6adwvAtw 40:00 Rambam's commentary on the Mishna, https://www.sefaria.org/Rambam_on_Mishnah_Sanhedrin.10.1?lang=bi 43:00 All Jews have a share in the world to come 53:00 Do not make the Torah into a crown on your head or as a spade to dig 1:00:00 Why do we love studying Torah? For our sake, for Torah's sake, for God's sake? 1:01:30 Reading forbidden literature 1:05:00 Rashbam, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashbam 1:08:00 Dooovid joins to discuss his interest in many religions, https://twitter.com/RebDoooovid 1:09:00 Reb Doooovid's Youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/doooovid 1:10:00 Hinduism, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism 1:35:00 Haredim vs non-Haredi Jews 1:44:40 Adam Green, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/10/02/infowars-host-owen-shroyer-debates-jewish-conspiracies-antisemitic-youtuber 1:46:00 Judas debates Adam Green, https://www.bitchute.com/video/5ZVWQrktfxJC/ 1:48:00 Luke talks to Adam Green, https://rumble.com/vd9i17-adam-green-of-know-more-news-1-25-21.html 1:50:00 The Jewish approach to informers, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesirah 2:00:00 Philo's weak Judaic background, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philo-Judaeus 2:10:00 Adam Green, https://canarymission.org/individual/Adam_Green 2:20:00 Christopher Jon Bjerknes, https://canarymission.org/individual/Christopher_Jon_Bjerknes 2:23:00 Judas's obsession with anti-semites 2:55:00 Judaism and homosexuality 3:17:00 Jews and the Enlightenment, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSFVD7Xfhn7sJY8LAIQmH8Q/join https://odysee.com/@LukeFordLive, https://lbry.tv/@LukeFord, https://rumble.com/lukeford https://dlive.tv/lukefordlivestreams Listener Call In #: 1-310-997-4596 Superchat: https://entropystream.live/app/lukefordlive Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/lukeford/ Soundcloud MP3s: https://soundcloud.com/luke-ford-666431593 Code of Conduct: https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=125692 https://www.patreon.com/lukeford http://lukeford.net Email me: lukeisback@gmail.com or DM me on Twitter.com/lukeford Support the show | https://www.streamlabs.com/lukeford, https://patreon.com/lukeford, https://PayPal.Me/lukeisback Facebook: http://facebook.com/lukecford Feel free to clip my videos. It's nice when you link back to the original.

00:00 Reb Doooovid joins, https://twitter.com/RebDoooovid 02:00 Doooovid's Youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/doooovid 04:00 Richard Spencer vs Judas Maccabeus, https://killstream.libsyn.com/richard-spencer-vs-judas-maccabeus 05:00 Tikkun ha-Olam: The Metamorphosis of a Concept, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=141122 08:00 Doooovid's experience with Tikkun Olam 11:00 Noahide Laws, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Laws_of_Noah 15:00 Judaism as Old Time Religion, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=141073 17:00 The Study of Judaism: Authenticity, Identity, Scholarship, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=141060 18:00 Kaballah, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabbalah 23:00 Author Gilbert Rosenthal, https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AGilbert+S+Rosenthal&s=relevancerank&text=Gilbert+S+Rosenthal&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 32:00 The Jewish martyrs of Bloisee, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112387/jewish/The-Martyrs-of-Blois.htm 40:00 How will demolition order for Meron affect investigation into disaster?, https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/meron-structures-dismantled-raising-concerns-among-victims-families-672573 41:00 Haredim out of political power in Israel, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredi_Judaism 53:00 Killing a traitor to save the community, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesirah 1:13:00 The politics of biblical interpretation, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=141153 1:15:00 Aaron W. Hughes on religious studies as an academic discipline, https://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/religious-studies-as-a-discipline/ 1:17:00 The Study of Judaism: Authenticity, Identity, Scholarship, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=141060 1:19:00 Reification, https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/reification 1:33:00 Rabbi Judah Maccabeus joins (he has Covid), https://twitter.com/JudasMaccabeus7 1:37:00 Judah's Covid lockdown 1:39:00 Rabbi Judah's Guerilla Judaism Youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLgGCISOp6Ytu1W6adwvAtw 1:45:30 Rabbi Meir Kahane, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Kahane 1:48:00 Israeli unhappiness with the haredim 1:51:00 JPost: Haredim, not Arabs or Iran, are the biggest threat to Israel, https://www.jpost.com/opinion/haredim-not-arabs-or-iran-are-the-biggest-threat-to-israel-opinion-672968 2:02:00 Sephardic & Mizrahi Haredim 2:05:00 Sephardi Jews, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephardi_Jews 2:06:00 Persian Jews, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Jews 2:23:00 Was the Rambam a rationalist? Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSFVD7Xfhn7sJY8LAIQmH8Q/join https://odysee.com/@LukeFordLive, https://lbry.tv/@LukeFord, https://rumble.com/lukeford https://dlive.tv/lukefordlivestreams Listener Call In #: 1-310-997-4596 Superchat: https://entropystream.live/app/lukefordlive Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/lukeford/ Soundcloud MP3s: https://soundcloud.com/luke-ford-666431593 Code of Conduct: https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=125692 https://www.patreon.com/lukeford http://lukeford.net Email me: lukeisback@gmail.com or DM me on Twitter.com/lukeford Support the show | https://www.streamlabs.com/lukeford, https://patreon.com/lukeford, https://PayPal.Me/lukeisback Facebook: http://facebook.com/lukecford Feel free to clip my videos. It's nice when you link back to the original.

Rav Judah Mischel is one of those rare people who are permeated with insight, who possess a unique way of looking at the world, which provides those who meet them with encouragement and, frankly, joy. As we approach Pesach, Scott asked him to share his insights into faith, trusting in G-d, educating our kids, inculcating passionate Judaism, asking and addressing questions, the importance of stories, the place of Chassidut, and more. This was a deep and fun conversation; you definitely do not want to miss it. (And who knew that Rav Judah also considers Mister Rogers to be one of his teachers?) Please listen to and share the podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. The site will also help you learn about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Welcome to the Hundred and Ninety First episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noah Bickart looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 36. In this episode, we focus on a critical perspective on the construction of the Mishnah and how it helps us understand Rabbi Judah’s strange phrase. Rabbi Noah Bickart is currently working […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Ninety First episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noah Bickart looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 36. In this episode, we focus on a critical perspective on the construction of the Mishnah and how it helps us understand Rabbi Judah’s strange phrase. Rabbi Noah Bickart is currently working […]

For 1500 years, Oral Torah was just that: Oral. It was not committed to canonized writing. Circa 200 CE, that changed. Under the leadership of Rabbi Judah the Prince, the Nasi of the Sanhedrin, and the greatest Sage of his day, the laws of Oral Torah were codified and canonized in a series of 63 […]

For 1500 years, Oral Torah was just that: Oral. It was not committed to canonized writing. Circa 200 CE, that changed. Under the leadership of Rabbi Judah the Prince, the Nasi of the Sanhedrin, and the greatest Sage of his day, the laws of Oral Torah were codified and canonized in a series of 63 […]

A free, 6-part audio course Traditionally studied each week between Passover and Shavuot, Avot may be the most beloved tractate in the rabbinic cannon; but its purpose and teachings may also be misunderstood. In this new audio course from the Tikvah Fund, Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik provides learned insight into the unique lives and worldviews of the rabbinic sages featured in the tractate. He thereby shows how to understand Avot as what it really is: an intellectual history of Jewish minds that were often in debate, and who offered solutions to challenges in a post-Temple world that was in many ways not unlike our own. Episode 4: Great historical figures often cannot imagine the world without them. Rabbi Judah the Prince, one of the greatest leaders of Jewish history, presents a stark exception to the rule. Rabbi Soloveichik tells his story and examines the relationship between authority and mortality, greatness and humility.

Listen!!!

QUOTE“Since it occurred usually only once a lifetime, an impoverished Israelite would spend most of his life anticipating this event of restoration. So when we get to Jesus and the Jesus movement, it was a jubilee movement. Jesus started his mission by reading from Isaiah 61. He said it’s the favorable year of the Lord, the year of release.”KEY TAKEAWAYSThe Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25 is one of the most radical ideas in the Bible. Every 50 years, every Israelite was supposed to return to their original piece of allotted land.The jubilee would have effectively prevented cycles of intergenerational poverty and create a social and economic parity that would make Israel unique among all nations.Jesus announced that he was enacting the Year of Jubilee when he launched his public ministry.SHOW NOTESIn part 1 (0-7:30), the guys quickly review the conversation so far.In part 2 (7:30-21:30), Tim dives into Leviticus 24.Leviticus 24:1-4“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord must be tended continually.’”Tim shares a quote from Jacob Milgrom.“There are three kinds of oil. The first when the olives are pounded in order and put into a basket, and the oil oozes out. Rabbi Judah says, ‘Around the basket and around the sides, the oil that runs out of the basket, this gives the first oil…. The first oil is fit for lampstands.’”Tim and Jon observe that the first oil would be the safest, least likely to smoke. This would keep the soot for accumulating in the rooms where it is burning.Tim makes several observations about the lamp from Leviticus 24.The lamp (מאור / ma’or) is attended to every evening so that its light burns perpetually (“from evening to evening,” borrowing language from Genesis 1).The lamp is described with the vocabulary of the sun, moon, and stars in Genesis 1. They are symbols of the divine glory and markers “for signs and for seasons”—that is, for the appointed feasts (Gen. 1:14-16).The lamp is a symbol of the divine light that perpetually shines upon Israel, who is represented by the bread. Numbers 8:1-4 tells us that the light of the menorah “will give light in the front of the lampstand” (v. 2), shining in the direction of the bread.Leviticus 24:5-9 says that the bread is to be placed directly across from the light. Just as new bread is baked every Sabbath, so Israel is “recreated” every Sabbath. This bread is called “an eternal covenant” (Lev. 24:8), meaning it’s a symbol of the eternal relationship between God and Israel.Tim shares this quote from Michael Morales:“The menorah lampstand contains the same seven-fold structure, symbolizing the entire seven-part structure of time provided by the heavenly lights…. Just as the cosmos was created for humanity’s Sabbath communion and fellowship with God, so too tabernacle was established for Israel’s Sabbath communion and fellowship with God “every day of the Sabbath” (Lev 24:8). This ritual drama of the lights and the bread, symbolizes the ideal Sabbath, the tribes of Israel basking in the divine light, being renewed in God’s presence Sabbath by Sabbath.”(Michael Morales, Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord, 189-190 [with embedded quote by Vern Poythress].)In part 3 (21:30-36:00), Tim dives into Leviticus 25 and the practice of jubilee.Leviticus 25:1-55“The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you—for yourself, your male and female servants, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.‘“Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan. The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.‘“In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property. If you sell land to any of your own people or buy land from them, do not take advantage of each other. You are to buy from your own people on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee. And they are to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops. When the years are many, you are to increase the price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price, because what is really being sold to you is the number of crops. Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the Lord your God.‘“Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. You may ask, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?’ I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.‘“The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.‘“If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold. If, however, there is no one to redeem it for them but later on they prosper and acquire sufficient means to redeem it themselves, they are to determine the value for the years since they sold it and refund the balance to the one to whom they sold it; they can then go back to their own property. But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property.‘“Anyone who sells a house in a walled city retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time the seller may redeem it. If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and the buyer’s descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee. But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as belonging to the open country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the Jubilee.‘“The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess. So the property of the Levites is redeemable—that is, a house sold in any town they hold—and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the Israelites. But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be sold; it is their permanent possession.‘“If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.‘“If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors. Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.‘“Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.‘“If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner’s clan, they retain the right of redemption after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives may redeem them: An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper, they may redeem themselves. They and their buyer are to count the time from the year they sold themselves up to the Year of Jubilee. The price for their release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired worker for that number of years. If many years remain, they must pay for their redemption a larger share of the price paid for them. If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they are to compute that and pay for their redemption accordingly. They are to be treated as workers hired from year to year; you must see to it that those to whom they owe service do not rule over them ruthlessly.‘“Even if someone is not redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”’”Tim makes a few observations about the practice of jubilee and the Year of Jubilee. Giving people back their ancestral land would prevent the formation of monopolies and land owner dynasties. It would be a consistent (about once a lifetime) check to level the economic playing field of ancient Israel.Tim also notes that there are no narrative stories about Israel actually observing this Year of Jubilee. This causes some scholars to wonder whether the jubilee ever happened, or whether it was set up as an ideal to aspire to.Tim says that jubilee anticipates a future restoration. He shares a quote from scholar John Bergsma.“There is something inherently ‘eschatological’ about the jubilee, long before it was seen as a symbol of the eschaton by later writers. Since it recurred usually only once in a lifetime, the impoverished Israelite—or at least the one projected by the text—would spend most of his life in anticipation of this event of restoration. Also, from the perspective of the entire Pentateuch, the conquest and settlement of Canaan was a kind of ‘realized eschatology’—the fulfillment of the promise of the land of Canaan originally made to Abraham. Leviticus 25—in its present position in the Pentateuch—looks forward to the time when the ‘eschatological’ condition of Israel dwelling within her own land will be realized, and enacts measures to ensure that periodically this utopian, ‘eschatological’ state of Israel will be renewed and restored.”(John Bergsma, The Jubilee from Leviticus to Qumran: A History of Interpretation, 81)In part 4 (36:00-end), Tim and Jon talk about how the jubilee crosses into social, economic, and political views. Tim notes that Jesus launched his movement by declaring that the Year of Jubilee had arrived.Thank you to all our supporters!Show Resources:John Bergsma, The Jubilee from Leviticus to Qumran: A History of InterpretationMichael Morales, Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? A Biblical Theology of the Book of LeviticusJacob Milgrom, Leviticus, Anchor Yale Bible CommentaryShow Music:Defender Instrumental: TentsShow produced by Dan GummelHave a question? Send it to us info@jointhebibleproject.com.Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

The Emunah Series/Women's Class Ki Seitzei: This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Ki Seitzi, 10 Elul, 5779, September 10, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY There is a strange Mishnah concerning a mitzvah in the portion of Ki Seitzei. Someone who says, Your mercy extends upon a nest of birds, is to be silenced Someone who says Modim Modim twice, Thank You G-d, Thank You G-d, is to be silenced. What is the juxtaposition between the two casesthe person who speaks of G-ds compassion to the birds, and the person who says Modim twice. Why does the Mishnah pair them together in a single sentence and dictates us to silence them both equally? The class presents a fabulous interpretation by Rabbi Yosef Chayim (1835-1909), the Ben Ish Chai, chief Rabbi of Baghdad. There is another enigmatic Mishnah in Ethics of the Fathers: Rebbi would say: Which is the right path for a person to choose for himself? Whatever is beautiful for the one who does it, and is also perceived as beautiful by other people. Both the question and answer are deeply problematic. How can the Mishnahthe primary body of the Jewish oral transition and lawwonder what is the right path for a person? For this, we were given the Torah! What is more, the Mishnah emphasizes that the person ought to choose the right path. Is this the Jewish approach? Since when did the Mishnah become so liberal as to allow each person to choose his or her path in life?! Even more strange is the author of this questionnone other than Rabbi Judah the Prince, who was the spiritual leader of the Jewish people during his day, and the editor of the Mishnahthe main body of Jewish law and tradition. His answer seems no less startling. Rebbi suggests to each person to choose a path that he considers beautiful, and that others consider beautiful. Really? What if what I think is beautiful contradicts the Torah? And what if what the street considered glorious undermines the moral system of Judaism? These questions were raised by the Lubavitcher Rebbe during his fabrengen on Shabbos Parshas Tazria-Metzora 5748 (May, 1988). I still remember the intensity of the Rebbes powerful questions on this Mishnahseemingly out of sync with what we often think of Judaism. And then the Rebbe presented one of the most beautiful and inspiring explanations. In my minds eye I can still see and hear the Rebbe share these moving insights, which reframed my perspective on Judaism.

This week on the Radical Moderation podcast, Rabbi Segal speaks with Rabbi Judah Mischel, Executive Director at Camp HASC and founder of the educational foundation Tzama Nafshi. Together, Rabbi Mischel and Rabbi Segal explore the limits of radical moderation, and ponder the intricacies of interacting with ideological opponents — even if they are associated with Hamas. Rabbi Segal and Rabbi Mischel also discuss why all Jewish communal issues must be tackled at the Shabbat table, and how the widespread consumption of coffee has enhanced Jewish practice. The books Rabbi Mischel recommends in this episode are “Healing Leaves” by Rabbi Nosson of Breslov, and “The Other Wes Moore,” by Wes Moore. Find Rabbi Mischel on Twitter at @JudahMischel. Get in touch with Radical Moderation: Email Rabbi Segal at a.segal@shalhevet.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/RadModeration Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RadicalModeration/

FOUNDATIONAL FRAMEWORK. PART 47 Foundational Truths: The Bible is God’s self-revelation. God is the Eternal, Sovereign Creator; all that He creates is good. Man is a responsible agent, held to a moral standard. Sin originates within a person, separating us from God. God declares one righteous by faith alone, apart from works. The glory of God is the centerpiece and goal of all existence. God’s glory is maximally realized in the promised, coming Kingdom. This lesson provides a sweeping look at the purpose and implications of Jesus’ early public ministry. First, some preliminary points. The term “Messiah” is not a designation that many people would use when describing Jesus. However, this particular office is highlighted in the Gospel accounts. The “hope” of Israel that was promoted by the prophets in the Old Testament was that of the coming Messiah, the One who would be the Deliverer. We may often think of Jesus as Savior, King, Prophet, or even our great High Priest, but rarely do we first choose “Messiah” as our first description of Jesus. Because this is such a prominent but overlooked designation, we must examine the word “Messiah” and consider its implications when He appears on the scene of the New Testament. The word “Messiah” is “mashiach” in Hebrew and “christos” in Greek. It means “’anointed one,’ and the idea of a messiah for Israel grows out of her ideology about a righteous king, one who would be like David. The messiah as a figure is integrally involved in Israel’s unique understanding of her place in history: their awareness from the beginning that God had chosen them to bring blessing to the nations.” The term “Messiah” deals with the idea of a “righteous king,” and this king will be the one leading the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Promise (Gen 12:1-3). Luke 2:10-11. When we use the name “Jesus Christ” we are actually pronouncing Jesus as the Messiah, being the anointed One who has the right to rule. The announcement made by an angel of the Lord to the shepherds who were watching over their sheep in Luke 2:11 would have caused a much greater stir of thoughts and emotions than we may have previously considered. He tells them, “for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (emphasis added). The choice of words is intentional and specific. The promised King of Israel has been born into the world! This particular title of “Messiah” encompasses all other designations for the anointed One who was to come. Edersheim writes, “the Messiah, as Representative Israelite, combined in Himself as ‘the Servant of the Lord’ the threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and King, and joined together the two ideas of ‘Son’ and ‘Servant.’ And the final combination and full exhibition of these two ideas was the fulfilment of the typical mission of Israel, and the establishment of the Kingdom of God among men.” Notice that the title of “Messiah” is inseparable from the concept of the Kingdom of God. Thus, Jesus’ arrival on the scene in first century Israel drew a much greater atmosphere of hope and excitement among the people than what we understand. The Jewish people knew that victory would be supplied by YHWH, and that His Choice One (Luke 9:35) would bring about the Kingdom, causing Israel to once again dwell in peace. Notice the picture that is painted through Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah 40:3-11. Reading through these eleven verses gives us a flavor of how the coming Messiah was viewed within the Jewish mindset. There are a few pertinent points to observe. First, we come across the portion of Scripture that is later applied to John the Baptist in the first century (v.3-5), a fact which caused the quotation of Isaiah 40:3 in all four Gospels (Matt 3:3; Mark 1:2-3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23). The fact that John is considered the “forerunner” of Jesus has royal implications as well. Fruchtenbaum notes, “In ancient times a herald, or forerunner, would be sent out to clear the road of obstacles or repair any pot-holes in the road prior to a journey by the king.” Second, there is an emphasis placed upon the permanency of God’s unchanging Word (Isa 40:8b). This is quoted in the New Testament as well (1 Pet 1:25). Third, there is an encouragement of public declaration regarding the Messiah’s arrival, of which they understand to be the very visitation of their Elohim (Isa 40:9d). Fourth, the coming of the Lord to establish His Kingdom is understood to be a magnificent event, noting power in “His arm ruling for Him” (Isa 40:10b), and great benefit because “His reward is with Him” (40:10c), an idea which may carry our minds to Revelation 22:12. Finally, there is a tranquility and peace that is unprecedented in this time where the Messiah will “shepherd” the people, demonstrating never-before-experienced intimacy and a gentle, nurturing spirit (Isa 40:11). This is how the concept of the coming Messiah and His Kingdom’s arrival would have been understood by Old Testament Jews. This is the future time period that they longed for incessantly (Acts 1:6)! _____________________________________ Introductions are important, for in them one sets the stage for all that is to come, providing an initial context from which to work. Sadly, many Bible scholars and preachers have missed the introduction of Jesus into the New Testament and have assumed upon His message something that was never intended, which has been seen in equating the announcement and proclamation of the kingdom of heaven with the call to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. If one pays attention to the details of Scripture and the context surrounding each passage being studied, this interpretive distortion goes away and the plain, literal meaning of the text becomes clearer, causing us to look to the author of the passage for the meaning of the text rather than bringing our assumptions and presuppositions into the text. Sadly, the concept of the “kingdom” has suffered greatly by neglecting these basic considerations. Matthew 3:1-6. John the Baptist did not come preaching “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). His “Good News” message was different because of the Old Testament promises that preceded the time of Jesus’ earthly arrival, and the grand goal of all history as culminating in a kingdom (Dan 7:13-14). This was a message that had been promised, explained, and (in a way through the time of David and Solomon) demonstrated so that any confusion surrounding the issue would be minimal if one would only pay attention to what had already been revealed. This was a promise that was made to the Jewish people and this is exactly the focus of ministry that is seen in the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew. John the Baptist preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2). The direction of his preaching is seen clearly in v.5 where we are told that “Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan.” The message is precise and focused. Notice that there is an absence of elaboration on the word “kingdom.” Elaborating on this, Woods writes, “What this expression means is that the unchallenged rulership that God experiences in heaven had drawn near to the earth in the person of Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Davidic king.” An explanation of “the kingdom of heaven” would be out of place and is essentially unnecessary because of the revelation given to the Jews through the Old Testament. The Israelites knew exactly what John was talking about and they were responding to his call. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. This is explained by the Apostle Paul in Acts 19:4 when he states, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” John’s baptism was preparatory for the coming King. Repentance, though a hotly debated issue in evangelicalism, is a compound word meaning “to change the mind.” The call of John was for the people to change their minds so that they would not miss the Savior when He arrived. Since the confession of sins is attached to this baptism, we can safely assume that there was an acute awareness of right and wrong, giving urgency since the proclamation of John was indicating that the time of the end was near. However, the context in Matthew 3 gives a greater understanding to what exactly was in need of repentance, namely the grounds on which the Jews had been led to believe that they were acceptable unto God and should therefore be admitted entrance into the coming kingdom. Cocoris explains, “John is telling people who thought that they would enter the kingdom because they were descendants of Abraham that they must ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,’ that is, they must not think that because they are descendants of Abraham they will enter the kingdom. Obviously, they must think something else, which John mentions later, but the point is that when John the Baptist said, ‘Repent,’ he meant ‘change your mind’ about what you think it takes to enter the kingdom.” This faulty assumption is pronounced by John in Matthew 3:9. For too long the Jews had been under the religious regulations of the Pharisees and Sadducees, as can been seen in something like the Talmud. While this short line of thinking could be considered a rabbit trail, it is important to understand what a first century Jew was dealing with when looking for spiritual guidance from those in authority over them. Explaining the origins of the Talmud, Feinberg writes, “How did the Talmud come into being? The interpretation of the rabbis on the Old Testament was handed down orally through the centuries. This stream of oral teaching grew broader and increased in volume as the centuries came and went. Finally, it began to exceed the powers of memory, and there was but one course left, to commit it to writing. There had been a standing prohibition against reduction of the material to writing, lest all further interpretation be stifled, but necessity decreed otherwise. The combined opinions handed down through the years were put in written form about 200 A.D. by Rabbi Judah the Prince. The work is known as the Mishnah, ‘teaching,’ or ‘repetition.’” This may be better understood as having a Bible, but also lugging around a few commentaries on the whole Bible as well. It is not the physical weight that is being emphasized here, but the mental strain for the devout Jew who is desirous of “right living” that honors YHWH. With the Talmud, and then the Mishnah, the Old Testament ran a real risk of falling by the wayside. This is much like a judge who renders a verdict based off of a prior court’s decision rather than going straight to the laws of the land. You have distortion, misguided decisions, and eventually a complete loss of direction. Sadly, it doesn’t end there. Feinberg continues, “It is the definite conviction of orthodox Judaism that all the laws were orally given to Moses at Sinai. But the Talmud consists of more than the Mishnah. The supplement to the Mishnah (there are a Palestinian and a Babylonian) is called ‘Gemara’—'supplement’ or ‘complement,’ that is, to the Mishnah. The aim of the Gemara is to interpret the Mishnah, to give the source of the teaching, the reasons for it, the explanations of obscure passages and real or seeming contradictions, and then to expand its contents by adapting it to the changing circumstances of life. Thus the Talmud consists, as to form, of Mishnah and Gemara. As to contents it comprises Halachah and Haggadah. The first deals with civil, criminal, and religious laws—it is legal to the core; the Haggadah contains non-legal Biblical exposition, homilies, narratives, legends, parables, ethical maxims, and general folklore. These two strands are not separated in the text, but are closely interwoven throughout.” Now consider that YHWH’s revelation of life, living, morals, and ethics were stated clearly in the Ten Words given at Mt. Sanai (Exod 20:1-17). Labored explanations served to obscure the simple and crucial commands of how a Jew was to walk in obedience with his or her Creator. Such religion had introduced a dose of amnesia to the importance of having a relationship and having fellowship with God. Now, YHWH was going to bring about His Son and the people of Israel needed to confess their sins (Matt 3:6b) and clear the way for the King of Israel’s arrival. Religion had to go. Their minds needed changing! Dabbling in sin only to offer the proper sacrifice later had to be rectified. Repentance was the only acceptable decision, understanding that the King was near, and with Him, the promised Kingdom of Israel. Matthew 4:17. The first words that are recorded in Jesus’ public ministry are identical to that of John the Baptist (Matt 3:2). “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Again, no elaboration or explanation is given. The message, pertaining to the house of Israel, is clear. Matthew 9:35-10:15. In this passage, we see that Jesus’ ministry consisted of the same message to the same people, going from city to city and visiting their synagogues in order to announce that the kingdom of heaven was near (9:35). Matthew records Jesus’ pity for the people because they were “troubled” and “helpless,” having no direction like sheep without a shepherd. Such a picture draws the mind back to Isaiah 40:11 and the compassionate demeanor that the Messiah is said to have toward Israel. Those who were following Jesus are then addressed with a simple but pointed observation: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (9:37). In Jesus’ estimation, there was a great field before them desperately in need of reaping. Something needed to be done. The word for “beseech” in 9:38 is deomai meaning “to ask for something pleadingly, ask, request,” and is translated as “beg/begging” in Luke 8:38, Acts 26:3, and 2 Corinthians 5:20. In other words, the Twelve were to beg God to send out doers who will do, so that the harvest will be harvested. It is interesting that the answer to this predicament is not to “go and get something done.” MacDonald observes, “Notice here that the need does not constitute a call. Workers should not go until they are sent.” When compared to Matthew 10:5, we find out that Jesus is the Lord of the harvest who sends out the Twelve with the Gospel of the Kingdom, providing direction to a religiously belabored and bogged down nation that had suffered greatly under the ailment of unbelief (Matt 9:24, 34) until Jesus’ arrival (Matt 9:18, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33). While this entire narrative pertains to the message of the Kingdom of Heaven directed to the Jewish people, we cannot help but to see a secondary application in this passage and the desperate need for “doers” to be out harvesting the ripe souls that are in need of salvation. Are we begging Jesus to send “doers” into the harvest of unregenerate masses? Are we the ones being sent? In Matthew 10:1, a realization is made by the disciples that they are the “doers” who will be sent out. Equipped with the Gospel of the Kingdom (10:7), they are given authority by Jesus over sickness and disease. This would be necessary to authenticate their message as being from God. In 10:2-4 the names of the disciples are given, of which Judas Iscariot is one. Make no mistake, Judas was given the same authority as the rest of the disciples of Christ, and that authority was given directly by Jesus. Knowing what we do of Judas’ later betrayal (which is noted by Matthew here) and his gruesome demise, we can understand that he had a heightened understanding of revelation, yet was not “clean” (John 13:11; compare with John 15:3 which occurs after Judas’ departure). More will be explained later regarding the responsibility that heightened revelation entails. In 10:2 we have the first use of the word “apostles” in the New Testament. Secular common usage of this Greek word in the first century dealt with an envoy, naval expedition, or a deployment of ships with a particular message before them. It is understandable why Matthew uses this word. Radmacher explains, “The word apostle emphasizes delegated authority (1 Thess. 2:6); the term disciple emphasizes learning and following. Because the disciples had been given authority, they were now called apostles.” In Matthew 10:5, Jesus gives specific instructions. They were not to go to the Gentiles (nations), nor to the Samaritans (people of a Jew/Gentile mixture). No, the target audience was to be the Jews and the message that was to be told to them was “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” being the same message as that of Jesus (Matt 4:17) and John the Baptist (Matt 3:2). The word “preach” in 10:7 is a verb in the present imperative meaning that it is a continuous action or an ongoing process, being better understood as “keep on preaching.” Accompanying this proclamation would be the ability to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and exercise demons (all of which Judas was a candidate for performing, hence the heightened revelation). Such was to be done without charge (10:8). The focus was not to be on material concerns, but on making sure that Israel had heard about the imminence of the Kingdom of Heaven. In 10:10, Jesus says that the “worker is worthy of his support,” with the word for “support” literally meaning “nourishment.” Robertson states it as: “The sermon is worth the dinner.” The use of “worker” is the same word that Jesus used in 9:37 and 38 regarding the “workers” being few and imploring the Lord to “send out workers,” respectively. The conclusion is that the Twelve are the workers that the Lord of the harvest is sending out, and the Twelve are to be used by God, with the authority that they have been given, to go out and harvest a ripe crop, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom to the inhabitants of Israel. The apostles were not to exclude the possibility of rejection. Not everyone would respond favorably to their message. However, some would be “worthy” (10:13), those being the ones with which the apostles would stay as the traveled the length of Israel. Such recipients were to receive a blessing, but those who were “not worthy” were to have any blessing that had been given removed (10:13b). For those, a sign was to be given to them in the form of the apostle shaking the dust from his feet in their sight (10:14). This sign would be understood as “an act indicating rejection of that Jewish city as if it were an unclean Gentile city.” Those who were “unworthy” had considered themselves unworthy. This was not something that was chosen by the disciples, or by Jesus, but was their own choice in rejecting the offer of the kingdom. Matthew 10:15 is a startling statement that cannot be ignored. Jesus compares those who do not receive the Twelve and their message of the Kingdom to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus states that the city that rejects the Twelve will fair far worse in “the day of judgment” than Sodom and Gomorrah. Knowing the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, how could this be so? The issue here is the privilege of progressive revelation. The amount of revelation that a people are given is directly tied to the amount of accountability that is placed upon that people. Or to put it another way, you are responsible for responding to what you know and learn and if you do not respond, having understood what was revealed to you, you will suffer the consequences for your failure to respond. When your opportunity for revelation has been heightened, your accountability to respond to that revelation has been heightened as well. This can be better explained through an example in Scripture. Note Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:23-24, “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you” (See also Luke 10:12-16). Think about what Jesus has just said. If He would have been doing in Sodom the miracles that Capernaum had just witnessed, the city would still be standing. Due to Sodom’s gross sin, the city was wiped off of the surface of the earth when the Lord rained fire and brimstone upon it from heaven (Gen 19:24; Luke 17:29; 2 Pet 2:6; Jude 7). Because of Capernaum’s greater exposure to the truth, meaning that they were given heightened revelation, they will fair worse in the day of judgment because of their failure to respond. This is a truth of history that must be understood as a still-present reality today. Those who reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ after having heard it are of greater accountability unto the Lord to respond to it. This is why we make it our aim to obey the Lord with regards to the mandate of preaching the Gospel and making disciples of all nations. Let’s be blunt in noting the contrast between our present text under consideration and our Church-Age responsibility to obedience. In Jesus’ earthly ministry, the call went out regarding the kingdom of heaven being at hand. The King was on the scene, ready to usher in the Millennium. His forerunner and His disciples participated in this endeavor, keeping the message the central focus as the went out to the lost sheep of Israel. While our ministry mandate today is to preach the good news on salvation through grace alone by faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, and to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47), the church is not charged with preaching the imminence of the kingdom of heaven. While we see numerous examples where the concept of the kingdom of heaven is taught to Church-Age believers, meaning that the Church is not exempt from the issues surrounding the future coming Kingdom of Christ (Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 20:25; 28:23, 31; Rom 14:17; 1 Cor 4:20; 6:9-10; 15:24; Gal 5:21; Eph 5:5; Col 1:13; 1 Thess 2:12; 2 Thess 1:5; 2 Tim 4:1, 18; Heb 12:28; Jas 2:5; 2 Pet 1:11; Rev 1:6), that is not our message to a lost and dying world. Our mandate is to preach eternal life and forgiveness of sins, calling them to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and they will be saved. For the Church, the harvest is also plentiful, but the workers are certainly few. Who are the laborers? Every believer has been called to call the lost to Christ. Every Christian is to be a doer.

So who is the Quran for? Is it for the Arabs? Yes, it is written in Arabic, but it surprisingly does not speak well of the Arabs. It is interesting that the group of people that is addressed the most is the Children of Israel [68:52] It is in fact a message to the world. [38:87] "This is a reminder for the world. Arabs only mentioned ~9 times in the Quran and most the mentions do not speak highly of them Moses is the most frequently cited prophet in the Quran Muhammad mentioned 4 times Jesus / Adam each mentioned 25 times Abraham 69 times Moses is mentioned 136 The Quran is a book meant for the Children of Israel (39 times) Divine Commandments to All Jews: "You Shall Believe in This Quran." [2:40] O Children of Israel, remember My favor, which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill your part of the covenant, that I fulfill My part of the covenant, and reverence Me. [2:41] You shall believe in what I have revealed herein, confirming what you have; do not be the first to reject it. Do not trade away My revelations for a cheap price, and observe Me. [2:42] Do not confound the truth with falsehood, nor shall you conceal the truth, knowingly. [2:47] O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed upon you, and that I blessed you more than any other people. [2:48] Beware of the day when no soul can avail another soul, no intercession will be accepted, no ransom can be paid, nor can anyone be helped. Interesting that God sent Moses to Pharaoh who had a speech impediment and similarly God sent the Quran in Arabic to the Children of Israel [2:49] Recall that we saved you from Pharaoh's people who inflicted upon you the worst persecution, slaying your sons and sparing your daughters. That was an exacting test from your Lord. [2:50] Recall that we parted the sea for you; we saved you and drowned Pharaoh's people before your eyes. [2:51] Yet, when we summoned Moses for forty nights, you worshiped the calf in his absence, and turned wicked. [2:52] Still, we pardoned you thereafter that you may be appreciative. [2:53] Recall that we gave Moses scripture and the statute book, that you may be guided. As expected from the Creator's final message, one of the prominent themes in the Quran is the call for unity among all believers, and the repeated prohibition of making any distinction among God's messengers. If the object of worship is one and the same, there will be absolute unity among all believers. It is the human factor, i.e., devotion and prejudice to such powerless humans as Jesus, Muhammad, and the saints that causes division, hatred, and bitter wars among the misguided believers. A guided believer is devoted to God ALONE, and rejoices in seeing any other believer who is devoted to God ALONE, regardless of the name such a believer calls his or her religion. Unity of All Submitters [2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. Honoring Previous Scripture [5:44] We have sent down the Torah, containing guidance and light. Ruling in accordance with it were the Jewish prophets, as well as the rabbis and the priests, as dictated to them in GOD's scripture, and as witnessed by them. Therefore, do not reverence human beings; you shall reverence Me instead. And do not trade away My revelations for a cheap price. Those who do not rule in accordance with GOD's revelations, are the disbelievers. The Gospel of Jesus: Guidance and Light [5:46] Subsequent to them, we sent Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming the previous scripture, the Torah. We gave him the Gospel, containing guidance and light, and confirming the previous scriptures, the Torah, and augmenting its guidance and light, and to enlighten the righteous. [5:47] The people of the Gospel shall rule in accordance with GOD's revelations therein. Those who do not rule in accordance with GOD's revelations are the wicked. Quran: The Ultimate Reference [5:48] Then we revealed to you this scripture, truthfully, confirming previous scriptures, and superseding them. You shall rule among them in accordance with GOD's revelations, and do not follow their wishes if they differ from the truth that came to you. For each of you, we have decreed laws and different rites. Had GOD willed, He could have made you one congregation. But He thus puts you to the test through the revelations He has given each of you. You shall compete in righteousness. To GOD is your final destiny—all of you—then He will inform you of everything you had disputed. A Witness From the Children of Israel [46:10] Proclaim: “What if it is from God, and you disbelieved in it? A witness from the Children of Israel has borne witness to a similar phenomenon, and he has believed, while you have turned too arrogant to believe. God does not guide the wicked.” The following quotation is taken from STUDIES IN JEWISH MYSTICISM , (Association for Jewish Studies, Cambridge, Mass., Joseph Dan & Frank Talmage, eds., Page 88, 1982). The quotation refers to the work of Rabbi Judah the Pious (12th Century AD): The people [Jews] in France made it a custom to add [in the morning prayer] the words: " 'Ashrei temimei derekh [blessed are those who walk the righteous way]," and our Rabbi, the Pious, of blessed memory, wrote that they were completely and utterly wrong. It is all gross falsehood, because there are only nineteen times that the Holy Name is mentioned [in that portion of the morning prayer]... and similarly you find the word 'Elohim nineteen times in the pericope of Ve-'elleh shemot. . . . Similarly, you find that Israel were called "sons" nineteen times, and there are many other examples. All these sets of nineteen are intricately intertwined, and they contain many secrets and esoteric meanings, which are contained in more than eight large volumes. . . Furthermore, in this section there are 152 (19x8) words. ... The Quran's Common Denominator [74:30] Over it is nineteen. [74:31] We appointed angels to be guardians of Hell, and we assigned their number (19) (1) to disturb the disbelievers, (2) to convince the Christians and Jews (that this is a divine scripture), (3) to strengthen the faith of the faithful, (4) to remove all traces of doubt from the hearts of Christians, Jews, as well as the believers, and (5) to expose those who harbor doubt in their hearts, and the disbelievers; they will say, "What did GOD mean by this allegory?" GOD thus sends astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills. None knows the soldiers of your Lord except He. This is a reminder for the people. [74:32] Absolutely, (I swear) by the moon. [74:33] And the night as it passes. [74:34] And the morning as it shines. One of the Great Miracles [74:35] This is one of the great miracles. [74:36] A warning to the human race. Common Link Between Jews, Christians and Muslims is Abraham Submission (Islam): Abraham's Religion [2:135] They said, "You have to be Jewish or Christian, to be guided." Say, "We follow the religion of Abraham—monotheism—he never was an idol worshiper." No Distinction Among God's Messengers [2:136] Say, "We believe in GOD, and in what was sent down to us, and in what was sent down to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs; and in what was given to Moses and Jesus, and all the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction among any of them. To Him alone we are submitters.” [22:78] You shall strive for the cause of GOD as you should strive for His cause. He has chosen you and has placed no hardship on you in practicing your religion—the religion of your father Abraham. He is the one who named you "Submitters" originally… [16:123] Then we inspired you (Muhammad) to follow the religion of Abraham,* the monotheist; he never was an idol worshiper. Abraham was the one who was given the Salat (Contact Prayer)  [21:73] We made them imams who guided in accordance with our commandments, and we taught them how to work righteousness, and how to observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and the obligatory charity (Zakat).* To us, they were devoted worshipers. Children of Israel doing Salat 5:12 [5:12] GOD had taken a covenant from the Children of Israel, and we raised among them twelve patriarchs. And GOD said, "I am with you, so long as you observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), give the obligatory charity (Zakat), and believe in My messengers and respect them, and continue to lend GOD a loan of righteousness. I will then remit your sins, and admit you into gardens with flowing streams. Anyone who disbelieves after this, has indeed strayed off the right path.” Moses doing Salat 10:87 [10:87] We inspired Moses and his brother. "Maintain your homes in Egypt for the time being, turn your homes into synagogues, and maintain the Contact Prayers (Salat). Give good news to the believers.” Jesus doing Salat 19:31 [19:27] She came to her family, carrying him. They said, "O Mary, you have committed something that is totally unexpected. [19:28] "O descendant of Aaron, your father was not a bad man, nor was your mother unchaste." [19:29] She pointed to him. They said, "How can we talk with an infant in the crib?" [19:30] (The infant spoke and) said, "I am a servant of GOD. He has given me the scripture, and has appointed me a prophet. [19:31] "He made me blessed wherever I go, and enjoined me to observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and the obligatory charity (Zakat) for as long as I live. Losing the Contact Prayers (Salat) [19:59] After them, He substituted generations who lost the Contact Prayers (Salat), and pursued their lusts. They will suffer the consequences. Many Messengers / One Message [2:253] These messengers; we blessed some of them more than others. For example, GOD spoke to one, and we raised some of them to higher ranks. And we gave Jesus, son of Mary, profound miracles and supported him with the Holy Spirit. Had GOD willed, their followers would not have fought with each other, after the clear proofs had come to them. Instead, they disputed among themselves; some of them believed, and some disbelieved. Had GOD willed, they would not have fought. Everything is in accordance with GOD's will. Satan’s claim - “I am better than he” To prove we worship God Alone we have to show that we are willing to kill our egos One of the test at the time of Muhammad was that he changed their direction of prayer from Mecca (specifically towards the Kaaba) to Jerusalem Abolition of Bigotry and Prejudice [2:142] The fools among the people would say, "Why did they change the direction of their Qiblah?" Say, "To GOD belongs the east and the west; He guides whoever wills in a straight path." We thus made you an impartial community, that you may serve as witnesses among the people, and the messenger serves as a witness among you. We changed the direction of your original Qiblah only to distinguish those among you who readily follow the messenger from those who would turn back on their heels. It was a difficult test, but not for those who are guided by GOD. GOD never puts your worship to waste. GOD is Compassionate towards the people, Most Merciful. Qiblah Restored to Mecca [2:144] We have seen you turning your face about the sky (searching for the right direction). We now assign a Qiblah that is pleasing to you. Henceforth, you shall turn your face towards the Sacred Masjid. Wherever you may be, all of you shall turn your faces towards it. Those who received the previous scripture know that this is the truth from their Lord. GOD is never unaware of anything they do. [2:145] Even if you show the followers of the scripture every kind of miracle, they will not follow your Qiblah. Nor shall you follow their Qiblah. They do not even follow each others' Qiblah. If you acquiesce to their wishes, after the knowledge that has come to you, you will belong with the transgressors. Abraham built Kaaba 2:127 and 22:26 -27 [22:26] We appointed Abraham to establish the Shrine: "You shall not idolize any other god beside Me, and purify My shrine for those who visit it, those who live near it, and those who bow and prostrate. [22:27] "And proclaim that the people shall observe Hajj pilgrimage. They will come to you walking or riding on various exhausted (means of transportation). They will come from the farthest locations." [2:125] We have rendered the shrine (the Ka'aba) a focal point for the people, and a safe sanctuary. You may use Abraham's shrine as a prayer house. We commissioned Abraham and Ismail: "You shall purify My house for those who visit, those who live there, and those who bow and prostrate.” Abraham Delivered All the Practices of Submission (Islam) [2:127] As Abraham raised the foundations of the shrine, together with Ismail (they prayed): "Our Lord, accept this from us. You are the Hearer, the Omniscient. [2:128] "Our Lord, make us submitters to You, and from our descendants let there be a community of submitters to You. Teach us the rites of our religion, and redeem us. You are the Redeemer, Most Merciful. [2:129] "Our Lord, and raise among them a messenger to recite to them Your revelations, teach them the scripture and wisdom, and purify them. You are the Almighty, Most Wise.” [2:130] Who would forsake the religion of Abraham, except one who fools his own soul? We have chosen him in this world, and in the Hereafter he will be with the righteous. [2:131] When his Lord said to him, "Submit," he said, "I submit to the Lord of the universe." [2:132] Moreover, Abraham exhorted his children to do the same, and so did Jacob: "O my children, GOD has pointed out the religion for you; do not die except as submitters." [2:133] Had you witnessed Jacob on his death bed; he said to his children, "What will you worship after I die?" They said, "We will worship your god; the god of your fathers Abraham, Ismail, and Isaac; the one god. To Him we are submitters." [2:134] Such is a community from the past. They are responsible for what they earned, and you are responsible for what you earned. You are not answerable for anything they have done. Becca/Baca/Mecca Psalm 84:4 - 7 4 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising You. Selah 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; even the autumn rain covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, until each appears before God in Zion. [3:95] Say, "GOD has proclaimed the truth: You shall follow Abraham's religion—monotheism. He never was an idolator." [3:96] The most important shrine established for the people is the one in Becca; a blessed beacon for all the people. [3:97] In it are clear signs: the station of Abraham. Anyone who enters it shall be granted safe passage. The people owe it to GOD that they shall observe Hajj to this shrine, when they can afford it. As for those who disbelieve, GOD does not need anyone. HaJJ Exodus 5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” The Hebrew word in Exodus 5:1 for “festival” is “wə-yā-ḥōg-gū” This word “Hag” means to make pilgrimage or to make pilgrim’s feast It is linked to the Arabic word Hajj which means pilgrimage One of the related words to Hag means “a festival sacrifice” Exodus 5:2-3 2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.” [22:36] The animal offerings are among the rites decreed by GOD for your own good. You shall mention GOD's name on them while they are standing in line. Once they are offered for sacrifice, you shall eat therefrom and feed the poor and the needy. This is why we subdued them for you, that you may show your appreciation. Wilderness The Hebrew word “mid-bawr” translated as wilderness in Exodus 5:1, is also used in Numbers 1:1 and 1:19. Numbers 1:1 1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying: 19 As the LORD commanded Moses, so did he number them in the wilderness of Sinai. If you look at the definition of this word it also means “desert” Mount Sinai - no one knew for sure where it is located Mountain of Fire - Documentary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabal_al-Lawz Many believe that Mount Sinai was not in they Sinai Peninsula but in northwest Saudi Arabia  Hereb (Jebel Al-Lawz)  Also known as the Mountain of Moses In Midyan ~420 miles from Cairo ~600 miles from Mecca Moses went to Midyan (Arabian peninsula)  (Medina) Jethro / Shuaib [20:40] "Your sister walked to them and said, 'I can tell you about a nursing mother who can take good care of him.' We thus returned you to your mother, that she may be happy and stop worrying. And when you killed a soul, we saved you from the grievous consequences; indeed we tested you thoroughly. You stayed years with the people of Midyan, and now you have come back in accordance with a precise plan. [28:22] As he traveled towards Midyan, he said, "May my Lord guide me in the right path." [28:23] When he reached Midyan's water, he found a crowd of people watering, and noticed two women waiting on the side. He said, "What is it that you need?" They said, "We are not able to water, until the crowd disperses, and our father is an old man.” http://biblehub.com/hebrew/4057.htm http://biblehub.com/hebrew/2287.htm Circle The alternate form of the primitive root of Hag is Khug which means: to describe a circle or to draw a circle Phylactery - a small leather box containing Hebrew text worn by Jewish men at morning prayer as a reminder to keep the law The phylacteries contain 4 passages of scripture Exodus 13:1-10 Exodus 13:11-16 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Deuteronomy 11:13-2 Connected to a wrap that is wrapped 7 times around the left arm Muslims also circle the Kaaba 7 times during Hajj http://biblehub.com/bdb/2287.htm [17:107] Proclaim, "Believe in it, or do not believe in it." Those who possess knowledge from the previous scriptures, when it is recited to them, they fall down to their chins, prostrating. [17:108] They say, "Glory be to our Lord. This fulfills our Lord's prophecy." [17:109] They fall down on their chins, prostrating and weeping. For it augments their reverence. [17:110] Say, "Call Him GOD, or call Him Most Gracious; whichever name you use, to Him belongs the best names." [10:93] We have endowed the Children of Israel with a position of honor, and blessed them with good provisions. Yet, they disputed when this knowledge came to them. Your Lord will judge them on the Day of Resurrection regarding everything they disputed. [2:120] Neither the Jews, nor the Christians, will accept you, unless you follow their religion. Say, "GOD's guidance is the true guidance." If you acquiesce to their wishes, despite the knowledge you have received, you will find no ally or supporter to help you against GOD. [2:121] Those who received the scripture, and know it as it should be known, will believe in this. As for those who disbelieve, they are the losers. [2:122] O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed upon you, and that I blessed you more than any other people. [2:123] Beware of the day when no soul will help another soul, no ransom will be accepted, no intercession will be useful, and no one will be helped. [3:98] Say, "O followers of the scripture, why do you reject these revelations of GOD, when GOD is witnessing everything you do?" [3:99] Say, "O followers of the scripture, why do you repel from the path of GOD those who wish to believe, and seek to distort it, even though you are witnesses?" GOD is never unaware of anything you do. [3:100] O you who believe, if you obey some of those who received the scripture, they will revert you, after having believed, into disbelievers. [3:101] How can you disbelieve, when these revelations of GOD are being recited to you, and His messenger is in your midst? Whoever holds fast to GOD will be guided in the right path. [3:102] O you who believe, you shall observe GOD as He should be observed, and do not die except as Submitters. Isaiah 42:6 6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. Isaiah 43:10-13 10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. 11 I am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no savior. 12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God. 13 Yes, and from ancient days I am He. No one can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?” Requirements of the Test [6:158] Are they waiting for the angels to come to them, or your Lord, or some physical manifestations of your Lord? The day this happens, no soul will benefit from believing if it did not believe before that, and did not reap the benefits of belief by leading a righteous life. Say, "Keep on waiting; we too are waiting." Religious Sects Condemned [6:159] Those who divide themselves into sects do not belong with you. Their judgment rests with GOD, then He will inform them of everything they had done. [6:160] Whoever does a righteous work receives the reward for ten, and the one who commits a sin is requited for only one. No one suffers the slightest injustice. [6:161] Say, "My Lord has guided me in a straight path—the perfect religion of Abraham, monotheism. He never was an idol worshiper." [6:162] Say, "My Contact Prayers (Salat), my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted absolutely to GOD alone, the Lord of the universe. [6:163] "He has no partner. This is what I am commanded to believe, and I am the first to submit." [6:164] Say, "Shall I seek other than GOD as a lord, when He is the Lord of all things? No soul benefits except from its own works, and none bears the burden of another. Ultimately, you return to your Lord, then He informs you regarding all your disputes." [6:165] He is the One who made you inheritors of the earth, and He raised some of you above others in rank, in order to test you in accordance with what He has given you. Surely, your Lord is efficient in enforcing retribution, and He is Forgiver, Most Merciful. The Quran: God's Message to the Jews and Christians [5:15] O people of the scripture, our messenger has come to you to proclaim for you many things you have concealed in the scripture, and to pardon many other transgressions you have committed. A beacon has come to you from GOD, and a profound scripture. [5:16] With it, GOD guides those who seek His approval. He guides them to the paths of peace, leads them out of darkness into the light by His leave, and guides them in a straight path. Unity of All Submitters [2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

Great!!!

In the first mishna of the second chapter of Pirkei Avos, the great Rabbi Judah the Prince offers indispensable life guidance. Who was this transformative Torah giant and what are his invaluable eternal lessons? – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Galatians 3:8-9 …the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. Romans 4:16 Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. Galatians 3:23-24 NLT Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. Galatians 3:25 “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. …Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. Acts 13:32-33, 38 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— Ephesians 2:8 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child... Galatians 4:5-7 NLT There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hast not made me a gentile. Blessed art Thou … who hast not made me a slave. Blessed art Thou … who hast not made me a woman.” - Rabbi Judah ben Elai (150 A.D.) Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:3-6 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29 …God has made you his heir. Galatians 4:7b

The impact that Rabbi Judah the Prince had on Jewish life was so vast that he is referred to in the Talmud as simply “Rabbi”. In this podcast we explore the remarkable life and accomplishments of this great man. ———- This podcast was recorded live at the TORCH Centre in Houston, TX. Please visit torchweb.org for […]

Sermon given by Rabbi David Wolpe in Ziegler Sanctuary at Sinai Temple.

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 104. We examine a heart-wrenching story about the death of Rabbi Judah the Patriarch. This one also involves a roof. And it raises hard problems: How shall we cope with difficult issues raised at the end of life? […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 104. We examine a heart-wrenching story about the death of Rabbi Judah the Patriarch. This one also involves a roof. And it raises hard problems: How shall we cope with difficult issues raised at the end of life? […]

Menachot 42b And for what purpose do the Rabbis use the expression ‘That ye may look upon it’? — They require it for the following teaching: ‘That ye may look upon it, and remember’, that is, look upon this precept and remember another precept that is dependent upon it, namely, the reading of the Shema’. As we have learnt: From what time in the morning may the Shema’ be read? From the time that one can distinguish between blue and white. Another [Baraitha] taught: ‘That ye may look upon it, and remember’, that is, look upon this precept, and remember another precept that is next to it, namely, ‘the law concerning mingled stuffs, for it is written, Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together’. Thou shalt make thee twisted cords. And another [Baraitha] taught: That ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord: as soon as a person is bound to observe this precept he must observe all the precepts. This is in accordance with R. Simeon's view that [the tzitzith] is a precept dependent on time. And another [Baraitha] taught: ‘That ye may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord’: this precept is equal to all the precepts together. And another [Baraitha] taught: ‘That ye may look upon it and remember . . . and do them’: looking [upon it] leads to remembering [the commandments], and remembering leads to doing them. R. Simeon b. Yohai says, Whosoever is scrupulous in the observance of this precept is worthy to receive the Divine presence, for it is written here, ‘That ye may look upon it’, and there it is written, Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and Him shalt thou serve. So we seem to have plenty of justification, both from Torah and Talmud for wearing the tallit and the fringes, but can a woman wear one? A recent invention called a Gitah Zahav Tallit was created to allow the women to fulfill the mitzvah of wrapping herself in tzitzit. Again, it is recognized that traditionally women were not obligated to fulfill this mitzvah. This was due to the fact that tzitzit are worn during daylight hours (with the exception of the High Holidays) when women were occupied with many other duties. Throughout time women have taken on this mitzvah and it is interesting to note that Rabbi Judah the Prince, who was the editor of the Mishna tied tzitzit onto his wife’s apron! Can a woman wear a tallit? As long as it doesn't send the wrong signal to the other male members, I don't see why not. As previously mentioned, my first choice would be a feminine (versus the traditional male-oriented) styled one. If you cannot purchase a feminine shawl (and there's really no reason why a standard, lady’s shawl cannot be found somewhere for purchase), then why not make your own. Purchase a traditional small tallit, and sew laces onto it, tailoring it to look like a female version of the male one. All of these suggestions need to take into account the various sensitivities that many congregations (or churches for that matter) currently have. You married women, consult the opinion of your husband; you single women, ask your rabbi or pastor. Approach the concept with a sensible amount of caution, and by all means, bathe it in prayer! If HaShem doesn't want you to cause unnecessary strife in the public gatherings, then I suggest that you practice your tzitzit-mitzvah keeping in the privacy of your own home. We should not seek to intentionally offend the conscience of another believer, for the sake of our own personal interpretation of the Torah, especially if the other believer might be weaker. This does not please the Holy One! Much more can be said concerning the blue threads, the mixtures of the threads, and whether or not one should wear them outwardly or tucked into one’s “pants” but those discussions are reserved for the men. My commentary called “Kippah and Tallit Pt. 2” will take up that midrash so read it there.

Class Bo/Bechokosei/Lag Baomer: I will terminate (v'hishbati) evil beasts from the land, the Torah states in Bechokosei. The precise meaning of the Hebrew word hashbatah, rendered here as terminate, is debated by our sages. According to Rabbi Judah, the term implies the utter cessation of a things existence. Thus, Rabbi Judah understands the divine promise to terminate evil beasts from the land to mean that in the harmonious world of Moshiach all destructive creatures and forces will be removed from the world. Rabbi Shimon disagrees: in his opinion, hashbatah implies only the termination of a things particular characteristicsin this case, the destructive nature of evil beasts. It is this feature of their being that G-d will eliminate, while they continue to exist in their new harmless and gainful cast. The class explores that this is the root of several other debates between Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Shimon, concerning the elimination of Chametz, rest on Shabbos, Moshiach, the nature of the Roman Empire, and many other themes in Jewish law. The class goes on to explore the debate on a physiological and spiritual level. How do we deal with children who are wild animals? How do we deal with our ego and arrogance? And how do we view the essential nature of the world?

Featuring: A "HASC Run" update, Nachum and the listeners get a healthy heart tip from the one and only Dr. Marc in honor of Lev B'Omer, Charlie Bernhaut checks in with a preview of a major upcoming cantorial event and Nachum gets a Yachad update with Dr. Jeffrey Lichtman. All that plus great Jewish A Capella, the latest news from Israel and Morning Chizuk with Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser.

Featuring: Rabbi Judah Mischel of HASC and Ari Goldwag on his new CD "The English Album. In addition, Nachum presents a great mix of Jewish music, news from Israel and Morning Chizuk with Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser.

Featuring: Miriam Manela, founder and Director of Thrive Occupational Therapy, LLC , a Project Ezrah update and an OU Convention update. In addition, Nachum's mix of great Jewish music, news from Israel and Morning Chizuk with Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser.

The Final Jubilee - Tonight we cover a variety of subjects regarding the return of Christ and a fasicnating prophecy froma Rabbi Judah ben Samuel who lived from 1140 Ad to 1217ad regarding the appearance of the Messiah, and the 10 sets of 50 year Jubilee's leading up to that time. Praise and Worship Music also during breaks. One of the most astounding discoveries yet to date our ministry has found that indicates we are the terminal generation for the return of Christ and the snatching away of his remnant bride...DONT MISS THIS BROADCAST!!!

Welcome to the Hundred and Ninety First episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noah Bickart looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 36. In this episode, we focus on a critical perspective on the construction of the Mishnah and how it helps us understand Rabbi Judah’s strange phrase. Rabbi Noah Bickart is currently working […]

Introduction One of the greatest issues of the human soul stands before us in the text that we're studying this week and next week. One of the greatest issues of the human soul is genuine, heartfelt worship. That's what's in front of us in Matthew 15:1-20. That's what the issue is here, and it comes at that incredibly important topic negatively. We actually have three enemies that are arrayed against pure worship in this text, and they are legalism, traditionalism and hypocrisy. These are the enemies of genuine worship. Legalism is the belief that God accepts our worship based on how well we obey rules and regulations, that God accepts us based on how well we keep the law. That's legalism. Traditionalism is the idea that the worship of Almighty God can be captured in a set of behavior patterns which are then passed on from generation to generation, and the better you conform to those patterns, the more acceptable your worship is. That's traditionalism. Hypocrisy is the most dangerous of all, essentially, it's acting, it's putting on a show, and the audience is not really God, the audience is other people. It's acting righteous when you're really not. These are the three enemies of genuine worship that are in this text. Now, what is the setting? Jesus has just fed the 5000; 5000 men plus women and children. He's displayed his power in an awesome way there, and then by walking on the water, He displays his supernatural power and control over the natural elements. He gets across the water and lands at Gennesaret. There He basically banishes illness with his supernatural wonder-working power so that even sick people who touched the hem of his garment are made well. In the face of such awesome divine power, there's a delegation of Jews who have come from Jerusalem to investigate him, basically to find fault. He's already guilty in their mind, they're just looking for evidence with which to condemn Him. The Danger of Traditionalism So that's why they're there. And as they observe Jesus and His disciples, they come up with something. They watch Him as He eats a meal. I don't like to be observed while eating meals. I like other people to be eating with me or not watching me, okay. I don't know how you are, but I don't enjoy that. Can you imagine the Scribes and Pharisees, this delegation from Jerusalem, observing Jesus. They say, "Aha, there it is." He and his disciples have violated the hand-washing law, and they're going to bring them up on charges. It has to do with the ritual hand washing that was supposed to be done, according to the tradition of the elders, before every meal, and Jesus and his disciples didn't do it. Now, where did the tradition come from? I have no idea; you're not going to find it in scripture. More about that later. It's not coming from the Bible, it's not a command of God. Where did it come from? I don't know. My guess is, so many of these traditions have a good origin, a good intention, something good that then gets encrusted in something permanent as traditionalism. So it could be that they read the scripture that was written a thousand years before Christ by King David who was a man after God's own heart, who yearned for a heart relationship with God and so things would be displayed in his life connected to that. But David said this concerning worship. In Psalm 24:3-4 it says, "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord and who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart." So, someone after reading that would say, "Well I want to do that, I want to stand in the holy place, I want to ascend the hill of the Lord, so I must have clean hands and a pure heart. I don't know what to do about the pure heart aspect” — that's next week's sermon — “but I can certainly make my hands clean. So let's start doing the hand washing and maybe we'll work our way toward a pure heart." Maybe some legally-minded people after that said, "You know, that's a good idea. Let's do it every meal,” and so it gets established as a tradition. It's on the basis of this tradition that these legalists, the Scribes and Pharisees, come and bring charges against Jesus. Look at verse 1 and 2, "Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 'Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat.'" Now The Pharisees and Scribes are professional legalists. They're there at this moment, in Matthew 15, which marks the beginning of a great escalation of hostilities between Jesus and the religious authorities in Jerusalem that will ultimately lead to His crucifixion. It starts here, in Matthew's gospel. It's where it begins. There'd been issues up to this point, but this is where they're starting to investigate him. They're building a case against Jesus. The Pharisees and Scribes were religious leaders who made a careful meticulous study of the law of God their full-time business. That, and then teaching what they had found. They weren't just studying, however, the law of God, they also studied the tradition of the elders, and on the basis of the tradition of the elders and their personal study of the law of God, they instructed the people. They also established themselves somewhat as the religious and ethical police of the Israelite nation. They were there to blow the whistle on anything that was done contrary to the traditions. The Origin & Danger of Legalism What is the origin of their legalism? Simply, we could trace it back at this point to the return from exile in Babylon. The Jews had been evicted from the Promised Land because they violated the commands of God. They broke the covenant established through Moses, so they were sent out of the Promised Land and were in exile for 70 years. Daniel underscores this as the reason in his incredible prayer in Daniel chapter 9:11, where Daniel prays to God saying, "All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey You. Therefore, the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us because we have sinned against you." Daniel underscores the fact that the Jews violated God’s law, and that's why they were kicked out. Now, after 70 years, a very, very small delegation of Jews, the remnant, forty thousand plus people, not many people, came back under Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, and established themselves again in the Promised Land. They resolved that they were not going to do that again. They were going to adhere to the laws of God, they were going to keep close to the laws of God, so they wouldn't lose their place. It's bad enough they have to kowtow to the Gentile leaders at this point, but they are not going to violate the law. They have Godly teachers of law with them, like Ezra, for example. In Ezra 7:10 it says that Ezra devoted himself to the study and observance of the law of the Lord, to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel. That’s all well and good, that's all fine, but after Ezra came a generation of people who sought to establish a different kind of rules and regulations for the people of God. Schools of religious lawyers developed who spent their full-time debating this or that law, trying to nail down exactly what they're supposed to do in every case. The legal mindset grew and grew until it covered every single detail of their public and private lives. Everything was covered. That's the simple answer to the origin of legalism. I think there's a deeper answer still. I think it comes from within the heart of a sinful human race who desire to work its way back to God by their own religion and their own good deeds. Basically, what we would like to do is make it right with God by following our own religion, our own way. That's what we want to do, so we're going to make the religion up and then we're going to follow it as best we can. Then God will be very pleased to accept us on that basis, so we think. It goes all the way back, in my opinion, to Cain's offering of vegetables instead of the animal sacrifice that God prescribed. He said, "I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to humble myself and go to Abel and ask for some of the firstlings from the flock. I'm going to take what I want to God, and He better accept it because I'm being generous to God." It's the religion of Cain. I think if you take this and move it all the way through the ages, you're going to get to that, ultimately, with the Scribes and Pharisees. Look at Matthew 15: 9, "They worship Me in vain. Their teaching are but rules taught by men." This is a man-made religion, and it has its origin all the way back in the time of Cain. Now the highest value of the Scribes and Pharisees was outward conformity to the legal tradition. They had a whole tradition of Rabbis that had given their comments on the law. Rabbi so-and-so said such and such about this or that law and then Rabbi this and that and the other commented on what the first Rabbi said, and this is a whole school of back and forth debate over the laws of God. These verbal traditions were erected, somewhat like a safety fence against the law of God, keeping a safe zone around the commands of God, so the theory went, so that if you keep the tradition of the elders, God has to accept you because you're doing more than He told you to do. It's like 20 feet back from the precipice, they'll put up a fence. That was the whole mentality. Now after the second century AD, after Christ, a Rabbi Judah took all of these kind of Jewish traditions and wrote them down in a book called the Mishnah. In time there came many debates about the Mishnah, and those debates, back and forth, were gathered together in another book called the Gemara. And the Mishnah and the Gemara together make up the Talmud, and the Talmud is the basis of the Jewish religion up to this present day around the world. Jesus, way back at the beginning here in Matthew 15, points to the flaw in all of it. It has to do with arrogance concerning the Word of God. Eventually, the Talmud was openly put, clearly put above scripture itself. There are open statements in the Talmud like this. "The sacred scriptures are like water, the Mishnah is like wine, but the Gemara is like aromatic wine." So there's a hierarchy, scripture at the lowest, and then the Mishnah, and the Gemara is highest of all. Or this one, "My son, give heed to the words of the Scribes, rather than to the words of the law." Well, that's very clear, isn't it? It's better to listen to the Scribes than it is to listen to the law of God. Or this one, "He transgressed the words of the Scribes sins more gravely than the transgressors of the words of the law." There are many such statements like this in the Talmud. Jesus circled it right from the very beginning, here in Matthew 15. It's astonishing that the opinions of human beings can actually take the place of the perfect and inspired Word of God. This legal mindset is ultimately what led to Jesus's death. You see it in His encounters with the Jews, again and again. In John chapter 5, Jesus heals a man that had been paralyzed for 38 years. So 38 years, there's this paralyzed man, and Jesus heals him. He did it on the Sabbath. I can say with full confidence He did it on purpose on the Sabbath, because He did it on the Sabbath. Everything Jesus did was on purpose. Why did He do so many healings on the Sabbath? He was challenging their traditional understanding. Well, what happens when the religious and ethical police see this man miraculously healed. They don't see a miracle, a walking miracle, they see a mat carrier. He's a mat carrier, and so they're going to go after this guy and say, "Who gave you the right to carry your mat? It's the Sabbath." They want to bring the penalty down on him. Eventually they bring them to Jesus, and Jesus has to stand accountable for what he's done on the Sabbath. The ultimate example of this is in Jesus's own death trial before Pontius Pilate. The Jews are seeking to kill the only begotten son of God, the only perfectly innocent pure man that has ever lived. They want to kill Him. This is their goal, this is their plot. It's what they've been trying to do all along. They go to Pilot's house, the Roman procurator, but they will not enter the house. Why? Because they want to be able to eat the Passover and according to the tradition of the elders, if you go into a Gentile house, you will be defiled and not be able to eat the Passover. Where did that come from? It's not in the Word of God. So here it is, they're killing God in the flesh and they're trying to obey God's laws, so they think by not entering Pilot's house. There's a whole chapter of this in Matthew 23: the sevenfold woe. "Woe you Scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, you are like blind guides, you're like white-washed tombs. You look good on the outside, but inside you're full of dead men's bones and everything unclean." That's what's going on. Their accusation here is ceremonial defilement. “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat.” Nowhere in the Law of Moses are you going to find this requirement. If you're going to find it anywhere it would be there, and it's not there. Priests had certain washings that they had to do. There is a law in Deuteronomy, concerning the dealing with an unsolved murder. If there's a dead person found and nobody knows who did it, there's just no information, there's no lead. There's a certain pattern that they follow, and the elders would wash their hands over the sacrifice offered concerning that sin. But there's nothing anywhere that the people of God need to wash their hands ceremonially and ritually before every meal. This is a tradition and they even acknowledge it. They do not say that Christ had broken the law of God, they're not even troubled by that. He's broken the tradition of the elders and that's worse in their mentality. Now don't misunderstand, we are not here talking about hygiene, okay? Don't think of Jesus as basically a dirty person. When we say you should wash your hands before you eat, you do it for hygiene reasons. We are living after the time of Louis Pasteur and the germ theory. We know that we ought to wash our hands. So, ought to be done, but we're not talking about hygiene here. We are talking about ceremonial defilement, ritual uncleanness. Where did that come from? It came from human tradition, so Jesus makes a counter charge. Look at verses 3-6, "Jesus replied, 'And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received for me is a gift devoted to God,’ he is not to honor his father with it. Thus you nullify the Word of God for the sake of your tradition.’” This is a serious attack on the Word of God according to Jesus. Notice the clear contrast. "For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say," etcetera. God said, but you said. That's the issue here. Jesus is heightening the conflict. The whole system of legalism and traditionalism was a serious attack on the word of God. Legalism is adding to and subtracting from the Word of God. That's what it is. It's going beyond what the Word of God says, or overturning or taking away from what God has commanded. These folks added requirements that God did not give and thus they overturned clear requirements that He did give. The case that Jesus brings forward is the issue of, what's called in Mark's gospel, Corban. It's got to do with money that you can designate as a gift given to God. The tradition of the elders cropped up that if any Israelite wanted to devote a gift to God, that that took priority or precedent over any and everything that they could have done with that money, including helping their aged parents with it. Well you know what happens. It's like "Well, all I have to do is just declare everything in my house Corban and I don't have to take care of my parents." You see the legal mindset there. So there's a loop hole and they just drive trucks through the loop hole. That's what's going on. The fundamental issue in Jesus's mind isn't just the case study of honoring your parents. We get to that in a moment, but it has to do a scripture itself, and human response to scripture and how that feeds into worship. This is an attack on the sufficiency and the clarity of scripture. The legalist adds new laws because God hasn't given enough laws, you see. We need more laws than God gave. Or because he feels that God's existing laws aren't clear enough. God means well, but He's not a very good writer. And so what you need to do is you need to kind of help Him out by adding some extra laws and clarify what God really intended. We know what He really intended from the Word, we have to have help. This is the mentality. Do not see how arrogant this is? God needed more laws to achieve the righteous life He was seeking to achieve. He didn't make it clear. So He needs some additional help from us. This arrogance is precisely why God clearly forbade the doing of this, the adding to and the subtracting from. He does it again and again. Deuteronomy 4:2 says, "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God, that I give you." That's not the only warning like that in Deuteronomy. This one in Proverbs 35:6 says, "Every word of God is flawless. He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words or He will rebuke you, and prove you a liar." Then there's the most famous of all, and that's at the end of the entire Bible, at the end of the Book of Revelation. Revelation 22:18-19 says, "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book and if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy God will take away from him his share in the Tree of Life and in the holy city which are described in this book." This is very, very serious. If you add to or take away from the Book of Revelation, dire consequences come. Look what Jesus does. Jesus instead, perfectly upholds the law of God. He cites this as an example, this idea of Corban. The issue of honoring your father and mother. It's the fifth of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are broken in two categories, two tables of the law. There's the vertical, our relationship with God, and then there's the horizontal, our relationship with other people. This is the first and the most significant of the horizontal relationships, because God in His wisdom set children into families and He commanded the children that they should honor and obey their parents. If they don't honor and obey their parents, they will not honor and obey God. This is the foundation of all ethics: children honoring their fathers and mothers. So Jesus picks this one. What does it mean to honor? I think it's important to do a word study on the word “honor.” Get a concordance, or a Bible search, and just look up the word “honor” and go through the whole Bible and you'll learn what it means to honor. I think we ought to do it because I don't think we know it very well. We're a very informal culture, and we don't do honor very well. There's an awful lot of informality, if not open rebellion, even in families these days.I think children don't really know what it means to honor their parents. I don't know that the parents know what it means, so that they can properly instruct their children. I found one as I went through the whole Bible. Now understand what I'm saying, this is an example of honor. The king of Persia brings in his evil councilor Haman and said, "What should be done for the man whom the King delights to honor?" Haman, in his arrogance, thinks, "Well, who does he want to honor more than me? I mean, after all... " So he figures it’s going to be him, and he says, "Well here's an idea, King. For the man the King delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse that the king has ridden, one with a Royal Crest placed on its head, and let the robe and the horse be entrusted to one of the king's most noble princes, and let them robe the man whom the King delights to honor and lead him on the horse through the city streets proclaiming before him: 'This is what is done for the man whom the King delights to honor.'" Parents, would you like that done for you? Children, would you like to do it? I think very few of us would actually like to be paraded through the streets of Durham, yet, look at the core of what's going on here. There is a yearning to take an individual and elevate him, so that it's obvious to everyone around that this is an honorable person. So, all humor aside, God commands children to do this for their parents. And based on Matthew 15, He intends it to the end of life. Honor your parents right to the end. Find out what it means to honor, children. I'll speak to the youth. Don't get sucked into the pattern of this world of dishonoring parents. So many young people do this, the rolling of the eyes, the sighing, questioning parents, wondering if they really know what they're talking about. Isn't it a good thing that the teenagers have come along and help the parents, because they didn't know anything until they came? I don't think that's the idea, okay? The idea is, instead, no, they're not as perfect as you thought they were when you were four, and they're not like what you're thinking now, but actually these are established by God as leaders and spiritual guides. Honor them. Jesus actually went beyond that and brings in a verse from Leviticus, says, "Anyone who curses his father and mother must be put to death." Do not think that Jesus would ever coddle or wink at children disobeying or rebelling against their parents? He doesn't. It's a very, very serious matter. Jesus sites this as an example, but there's a deeper charge here that Jesus is getting at. It's not just the attitude of children to the parents. It's not even just the attitude of tradition and all of that. It really just ultimately has to do with worship. We were created by God to worship Him in spirit and truth. That's why we're here. Anything that comes and perverts or pollutes that worship has violated the very reason why we're here on Earth. Jesus goes to the deepest issue of all and it has to do with worship. Look at verses 7 through 9. He says, "You hypocrites, Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain, their teaching are but rules taught by men." Jesus is here quoting Isaiah who had written, seven centuries before him, about a problem, an ancient problem, that was still with him in His day and is still with us in our day, and that is the issue of hypocrisy in worship. Isaiah 1:11-14, the prophet Isaiah speaking for God says, "The multitude of your sacrifices, what are they to me, says the Lord. I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and of the fat of fattened animals. I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of My courts? Stop bringing meaningless sacrifices. Your incense is detestable to me. New moons, Sabbaths and convocations. I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts My soul hates. They have become a burden to Me. I am weary of bearing them." This is what the Lord said about the machinery of religion back in Isaiah's day. It is so easy for the machinery of religion to cover over a heart that is actually far from God. Very, very dangerous. We live in a nation dominated by churches. You can't drive far, especially more suburban and into urban, you can't drive far without passing a church. They are everywhere. A large percentage of the American population goes to church every Sunday. There is an outward show of religion in our country, but the real danger here is hypocrisy in worship. What is hypocrisy? The Oxford English Dictionary says a hypocrite is one who falsely professes to be virtuously or religiously inclined, one who pretends to have feelings or beliefs of a higher order than his real ones, hence, generally, a dissembler or a pretender. A simpler definition is, a hypocrite is somebody who says one thing and lives another. The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs which your own behavior doesn't line up with. Those are all fine working definitions. I prefer a much simpler one. The word hypocrite is actually a Greek word brought straight over, letter by letter, into the English language. It means an actor. You remember the ancient Greek tragedies and comedies and the actors would wear masks made of clay. Either the faces would be sad, if it was a tragedy or it would be happy if it was a comedy, depending on the role that the actor was playing. It didn't matter at all what the actor was feeling at that moment. What mattered was the performance. The performance had to be winsome and believable. This was acting. This is the word hypocrite. It's an actor. Now, some of our culture's greatest heroes are actors and actresses. We may applaud the range and the skill of their acting. Maybe one man could play a president and then in the next role, a homeless street person and then in the next role, Napoleon and then the next role, an idiot savant institutionalized, but able to do amazing things. We look at this one actor and we applaud the range by which they can believable portrays of all these different emotions and attitudes. They're acting. Now, all of that's fine, but it's terrible when you bring it in here on Sunday morning, when you bring it to your worship life. Jesus said in John chapter 5, "I know you, I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts." He is the one with eyes of fire who searches our hearts and knows what's inside. We can't fool Him and we know it. The audience isn't God anyway, for the hypocrite. The audience is other people. Jesus said, "Everything they do is done for men to see." [Matthew 23] Jesus also said in John 5, "How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another and yet you make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God." This is the danger of hypocrisy. Ritual hand-washing is just an outward show. It shows everybody how religious you are, but there's nothing inside, your heart is far from God. What is true worship? The essence of true worship, is a heart inflamed by the Spirit of God, based on God's character and actions as revealed in the Word of God. That's true worship. God, by His Spirit, takes some aspect of His character, or some action of His in the past, and presses it home to your heart by the power of the Spirit of God so that your heart is inflamed with that truth. You love God. You yearn for Him. You're moved within. You want to see Him, you'd give anything to be with Him right now, but since you can't be you'll go ahead and speak and sing and cry and laugh and rejoice and be sorrowful, depending on what God is revealing of Himself and your situation too. That is genuine worship, and it is pleasing to God. It is actually delightful to God, it's a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to the living God. He cannot be fooled and He will not accept a counterfeit, and that's the real danger going on in this text. True worship versus hypocrisy. True worship versus traditionalism and legalism. When I speak of traditionalism, do you understand what I mean? It's so important that we don't make a mistake here. Traditionalism is different than tradition. Do you understand that? Jaroslav Pelikan, a teacher of theology and church history at Yale, made it a vital distinction. It's this: "Tradition is the living faith of the dead; Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living." I think what happens is, the Spirit of God moves powerfully at a particular moment and everybody notes it and everybody senses it. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound. The spirit of God has moved, and people say, "What an incredible time that was! Now, what happened? What songs did you use, what technique did you use, what approach did you take? Let's do that again." I read about one church over 50 years ago, where a revival broke out right about the time they played the hymn "Spirit of God Descend Upon My Heart." So they made a commitment that they would play that song at the end of every single worship service from then on. Well, I don't need to tell you that the Spirit of God didn't move equally the same every single time from then on. And after decades of this song, one of the most courageous figures in church history stepped forward and just didn't choose that as the closing hymn. What a moment that must have been for everybody. Some greatly relieved, others, greatly shocked, and that is the issue of traditionalism rearing its head. The Spirit moves in a powerful way, but He doesn't move the same way every single time. And to try to capture the wind in some behavior pattern, some human behavior pattern, it cannot be done. Woe to us, if we try. It's one thing to note it, say, "God did this, this is what He chose to do at that moment. Let's learn from it," etcetera. But to try to legislate it now, that's traditionalism. I don't want you to misunderstand. There's an essential place of tradition in our faith. I hope you don't think that we are responsible to reinvent Christianity every generation. We're not starting from scratch. Brothers and sisters have gone before us and have lived faithful God-honoring lives and we ought to learn from them. Even more significantly, the Word of God itself has been passed on to us and that is tradition. It's literally the Greek, the passing on of something from one to another. It's essential to our salvation. It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, "What I received, I passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried. And that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." So we have to have tradition is the foundation of our gospel. We are a people who are in love with the new and fresh and exciting. We have to be told the tradition is going to continue to be part of our faith. Walmart has almost 4000 stores. They study the shelf life of an object based on how well it's doing in sales. A new object has about a week or two to prove itself and then it's gone and the shelf space goes another place. USA Today prints lists of what's hot and what's not, alright, and you can read and find out what's hot and what's not. That's really exciting and interesting, find out what's in. Some things are moving so fast that even a traditional website can't keep up, you got to have the blog and the blog is going to tell you what was hot three days ago. True Worship A church should not try, nor can it keep up with this bewildering change. We have the word of God which has never changed. Jesus said, "Heaven and Earth will pass away, My words will never pass away." But it is churches, above all, that need to be told not to embrace traditionalism, because it's so easy for something to get captured and say, "God wants us to do it this way." There's a balance. What then is true worship? Well, three key observations. First of all, it is not man-made, but it's initiated by God. It is revelation, then response. Jesus asked the disciples, "What about you, who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," and Jesus said, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man but by My Father in Heaven." That is the foundation of true worship. worship is a revelation of jesus christ to the individual heart by the spirit of god It's a revelation of Jesus Christ to the individual heart by the Spirit of God, by the heavenly Father. He reveals Christ to you. You realize you need a Savior, that you're a sinner and that you cannot be saved by tradition or by your good works, or your own approach. You know it's not going to survive Judgment Day and so you come to the cross, you kneel in your heart and say, "Jesus, save me." Maybe you're not a Christian, you've come here today, because you're invited by someone. You say, "Oh, church is just full of hypocrites." Well, so it is. There's not one of us that perfectly lives up to our standards, but a healthy church is where you go get healed of your hypocrisy. Let me say to you, as an unbeliever you will not survive Judgment Day. You will not survive based on how well you keep your standards. Be honest. Do you keep your standards perfectly well? You need Jesus. Trust in Him, believe in Him for the salvation of your soul. That's the foundation of true worship, the revelation of Jesus Christ directly to the heart by the Spirit of God. worship is not based on human rules Secondly, it's not based on human rules, but based on the Word of God. We don't need a bunch of people telling us rules and regulations on how to worship, rather they flow from the word of God. worship is not hypocritical Thirdly, worship is not hypocritical, but it's from a heart drawn close to God. But what to do if your heart isn't drawn close, if you know your heart is cold toward God? By way of application, I wanna ask you a simple question, whether you're Christian or non-Christian. You came here today, came into this place, First Baptist Church in Durham. Were you acting today? Are you acting now? Acting interested in the sermon. Were you acting in worship? Who's the audience? What's going on, really, in your life and in your heart? Don't worry about the hypocrites out there, worry about what's going on in your heart. Are you putting on a mask? Is your life genuinely controlled by the Spirit of God or are you leading a double life, sucked away by the allurements of the world, but you know you need to maintain the religious outward appearance for some human reasons. Are you acting? Can I urge you to take the mask down and get honest with God? He already knows you. John 5:30, "I know you. I know you do not have the love of God in your heart," Jesus said. If it's not the way it should be, I urge you to repent, I urge you to get right with God, I urge you to say, "Lord, I don't want to be an actor, an actress. I don't want to be a hypocrite. I want to be genuine in my worship of Almighty God."