Podcasts about we jews

I just returned from a week-long silent Jewish mindfulness meditation retreat. Yes, you read that correctly - Jewish and silent. So, what do 50-some Jews ranging in age from their early 20's through their 70s do when we come together in silence?One of our practices was to engage in a blessing practice. I've often wondered why we aren't also known as the people of blessing along with being called people of the book. We Jews have a blessing for everything. Every moment in life is seen as significant and worthy enough to take a moment, take a breath, slow down, bless, and only then engage in the activity. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

“We Jews have a secret weapon in our struggle with the Arabs: We have no place to go.”

Rabbi Max Wertheimer D.D.OCTOBER 4, 2012 BY RABBI MAX WERTHEIMER D.D.From Rabbis meet Jesus the Messiah – a collection of 24 biographies and testimonies of Rabbis encounters with Jesus the Messiah© Messianic Good News.Born of orthodox Jewish parents, my earliest childhood impression was of my parents rising in the morning very early in order to spend a long time reading the Hebrew prayers. Even in the cold winter, before fires were kindled for their physical comfort, they carried on faithfully these early devotions. In so far as their knowledge of God was concerned, they were a devout and God-fearing couple.From the age of five to fifteen my training was in a Jewish school, in orthodox Judaism. A scholarly Hebrew instructed me in the five books of Moses. I went to the Gymnasium for my classical training and later was apprenticed to a manufacturer, doing office work. My associates at that time led me into the sinful pleasures of the world, and although I attended synagogue and read my Hebrew prayers on the Sabbath, I drifted from the faith of my fathers.A parental decision to send me to America to pursue my classical education brought me to Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. I graduated in seven years, having meanwhile taken my degrees in letters and Hebrew literature, and four years later my Master's degree. We studied the Old Testament, translated it from Hebrew into the vernacular, went through Jewish history from the beginning to the present day, and learned the oral laws.After finishing the rabbinical course we were publicly ordained and inducted into the rabbinical office. My first call was to Dayton, Ohio, where I officiated as Rabbi for ten years, during which I made many friends and received many tokens of love, which I treasure highly. In my Friday evening lectures I spoke on social, industrial and economic questions, monotheism, ethical culture, the moral systems of the Jews, etc. In the Saturday morning addresses I took weekly sections of the Pentateuch, followed by a corresponding section of the prophets. On Sunday I taught Sunday School from eight in the morning until five in the evening, with one hour intermission for dinner.In 1895 a series of meetings was held in the Christian Church of Dayton, with various denominational pastors giving addresses on their religion. I stood proudly before that audience of professing Christians and told them why I was a Jew and would not believe in their Christ as my Messiah and Saviour. I gloried in Reformed Judaism that acknowledged no need of an atoning sacrifice for sin, a religion of ethics which quieted qualms of conscience through a smug self-righteousness. In the audience sat a humble aged woman, a devout Christian, who was deeply stirred as she listened. “O God,” she prayed, “bring Dr. Wertheimer to realize his utter need of that Saviour he so boastingly rejects. Bring him if necessary, to the very depths in order that he may know his need of my Lord Jesus Christ.”What unforeseen forces were brought into action, as a result of that unknown woman's heart cry! How perfectly satisfied with life I was that day: I had a young, attractive, accomplished wife, was Rabbi of the B'nai Yeshorum Synagogue, had a beautiful home, a comfortable income, a place of prominence in the community, had become an honorary member of the Ministerial Association, was a member of the Present Day Club, served as chaplain in the Masonic lodge, and was a popular speaker before women's clubs, schools, civic organizations, etc. Had you visited my library at the time you would have found a wide range of reading. I had every book Bob Ingersoll wrote, read them, and corresponded with the author. I was an oft invited guest speaker in every denominational church in the city. I was satisfied with life! My wife and I enjoyed the musical treats, we had a large home, two servants, and a beautiful baby boy and daughter, Rose.Suddenly there came a change! My wife was taken seriously ill, and in spite of many physicians and specialists, she died, leaving me a distraught widower with two little children. After the funeral, I put Rose in the care of my mother in law, advertised for a housekeeper for myself and the boy, and found myself the most miserable of men. I could not sleep. I walked the streets, striving to forget the void, the vacancy in my heart and life. My dreams of a successful career and serene domestic life were all shattered. Where was comfort to be found? The heavens were brass when I called on the God of my fathers! How could I speak as a Rabbi words of comfort to others when my own sorrow had brought me to despair. I investigated Spiritism, but found it utter fallacy. I attended meetings and read the literature of Theosophy and Christian Science, only to find it futile and hopeless. My experience was comparable to Job's when he cried: “My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope” (Job 7:6).The tenth year of my rabbinical office drew to its close. I decided not to accept re-election, and resigned. I wanted to think over things! I would study. Where is the spirit and soul of one who was such a gifted pianist, who gave charm to life; who made existence so sweet? What had become of all the faculties, the intents and purposes of that active, keen mind? I turned to my Bible!I studied about Judaism but it answered no questions, satisfied no craving of my heart. Then I began reading the New Testament and comparing it with the Old Testament. Many passages were read, pondered, meditated upon. One made a definite impression: the fifty third chapter of Isaiah, eleventh verse, last clause: “By His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.” Here was the only mention of that phrase, “my righteous servant,” I could find. It is found nowhere else in the Word of God in either Testament. We have “David, my servant,” “Isaiah, my servant,” “Daniel, my servant,” but here it is: “My righteous servant.” I said to myself: “Who is that righteous servant? To whom does the prophet refer?” I argued: “Whoever that ‘righteous servant' of Jehovah is, of one thing I am sure: he is not Israel, because the prophet declares Israel to be ‘a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a leprous nation' (Isaiah 1:4). The righteous servant of Jehovah must be One who is holy. If it isn't Israel, who could it be?” I decided it must be Isaiah. But in Isaiah 6, I found it could never be the prophet for he confesses himself to be a guilty sinner and a man of unclean lips in God's sight. “My righteous servant.” Who could it be? Then I began to study the context of the fifty third chapter and in Isaiah 50:6, I found, “I gave My back to the smiters.” I pondered that: ‘Who gave his back to the smiters?' In the beginning of the chapter it says: “Thus saith Jehovah.” Jehovah is the only speaker in the chapter. Jehovah gave His back to the smiters? Had God a back? When and why was it smitten? Who smote it? Further I read: “Who gave His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.” And still further: “I hid not My face from shame and spitting.” What did all this mean? Who had been so abused? When? Why? Did Jehovah have all these human characteristics? I studied more and more various prophetic utterances. In Psalm 110:1, it is written: “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.” Here was David himself, speaking of his own seed and calling Him “Lord.” How did He get up there? Why didn't God specify? Why didn't He speak so plainly to Israel that every Jew could understand?In confusion I decided to begin at the first chapter of Isaiah and read the book through. I was stopped at the ninth: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders; His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God; The Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace.” Here was a most incomprehensible thing!I was faced with the doctrine of the Trinity. We Jews have a popular monotheistic slogan: “Shema Yisroel, Adonai, Elohenu, Adonai, Echad.” The word “echad” means one. Upon that word the doctrine of unity of Jehovah is rooted and grounded, the entire philosophy of Judaism is based. Taught by the Rabbis for ages, that word “echad” means absolute unity. Now I could not believe it; my teaching was wrong! I began to study the word, and I discovered it meant, not absolute unity, but composite unity. Let me illustrate: Adam and Eve became one flesh (Genesis 2:24); the Hebrew for ‘one flesh' is bosor echad, a composite unity. Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan, and they returned bearing a gigantic bunch of grapes. That cluster of grapes is called in Hebrew eschol echad. With hundreds of grapes on the stem it could not have been an absolute unity; they are called in Hebrew “one cluster”. Composite unity. There was wickedness committed in Gibeah of Benjamin which disgraced Jehovah and His name and character. The other tribes were indignant and “all the people arose as one man.” That is what I want you to see: at that time the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were 400,000 men of war, yet they were “knit together as one man.” (In Hebrew: ish echad.) Here again composite unity: thousands acted as one! These and other Scriptures showed conclusively that ‘echad' cannot be an absolute unity.God revealed Himself to Abraham as Almighty (El Shaddai). The first letter of this word is Schin; it has three strokes joined as one. This letter is on the top of the phylacteries and on the casing of the door posts. Jews have always taken this letter as symbolical of the Godhead because it had three strokes (one for each Person in the Trinity), joined together as one, to show unity. But another question troubled me: ‘if He who was on the cross was truly an incarnation of Jehovah, then who was in Heaven?' I turned to the eighteenth chapter of Genesis. Abraham had three visitors; two angels and the third he addressed fourteen times as Jehovah. Later two went away, but the third said to Abraham: “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I shall do? I am going down to Sodom and Gomorrah to see whether or not they have done altogether according to the report which has come to Me. If not I will know whether to destroy the cities.”Abraham interceded for them, the Lord went His way, and Abraham went home. Now here is the point: We find Jehovah inspecting the moral condition of Sodom and Gomorrah and refusing to spare them because not even ten righteous citizens could be found within their borders. But in this same chapter we have this statement: “Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of Heaven.” How and why could there be two Jehovahs, one walking the streets of Sodom and another in heavenly places? It must be one omnipresent Jehovah! Then if that were true, He could be simultaneously both in Heaven and with and in Jesus on the cross.Another problem succeeded it: “Why is the name, Jesus never mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures?”  I studied this question. Imagine my surprise when I found that 275 years before Christ, King Ptolemy Philadelphus summoned men from Palestine, and bade them translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek vernacular. They took the Pentateuch first and when they came to the name “Joshua” they translated it the book of “Yesous”, written with a circumflex over it to show there had been a suppression of Hebrew that could not be expressed in Greek. When Joshua went into Canaan with the other eleven spies, he was called “Yehoshua” (Jehovah is the Saviour). That is exactly what the word “Jesus” means.I could hold out in unbelief no longer; I was convinced of the truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus. I cried: “Lord, I believe that Thou as Jehovah Yesous hast made the atonement for me. I believe that Jehovah Yesous died for me! I believe Thou has the ability and power! From henceforth I will publicly confess Yeshua as my Saviour and Lord!” Thus after months of searching I was convinced that Jesus was the righteous servant of Jehovah (Jehovah tsidkenu), “The Lord our righteousness!”On March 30, 1904, I publicly confessed Christ in the Central Baptist Church and have been licensed to preach, doors readily opened to me. I was persuaded to enter Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, from which I graduated after a year of study. Mr. Icenbarger, at my request, called a council of Dayton Association of ministers, and 35 Baptist pastors assembled in Central Church questioned me relative to my personal faith and doctrine. My ordination took place that evening, and my first call came from Ada, Ohio, where I served as pastor for five years. From there The New Covenant Mission in Pittsburgh, of which Maurice Ruben was founder and superintendent for many years, called me to be their pastor evangelist. After two and a half years of this ministry, I was convinced that God was calling me to a wider sphere in preaching the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile, depending upon the Lord for the support of myself and family. In 1913, we returned to Ada, the little flock over which I had been under shepherd for five years, being very dear to our hearts.I started out in Bible teaching and God was ever faithful. Were I to write of all the manifestations of His goodness and grace, it would fill a book. Critical operations, publication of my books, supplying all our needs, He never failed to care and provide. In Christ I have found my only abiding comfort for every sorrow.As a Rabbi I had yearned to give the bereaved some hope on which to lean, but how could I give that which I did not possess? I gave sympathy, but in times of heart aching grief and tragedy, sympathy is of little comfort. But to the heartbroken how satisfying and glorious are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” And again: “Verily, verily I say unto you: He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath (possesses now) everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.”There is but one eternal life. There is but one source of eternal life; that is God's Son. What a great and glorious message we, His redeemed ones, are commissioned to deliver today.Published with permission. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

We Jews are not very adept at explaining why Judaism is so remarkable.

 One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present.You'll never find a better sparring partner than adversity.I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil!Those who don't know how to weep with their whole heart, don't know how to laugh either.We Jews have a secret weapon in our struggle with the Arabs; we have no place to go.Not being beautiful was the true blessing. Not being beautiful forced me to develop my inner resources. The pretty girl has a handicap to overcome.A leader who doesn't hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.Women's liberation is just a lot of foolishness. It's men who are discriminated against. They can't bear children. And no one is likely to do anything about that.Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself.There's no difference between one's killing and making decisions that will send others to kill. It's exactly the same thing, or even worse.I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome.My Video: Golda Meir Quotes https://youtu.be/thSdhmLGnVkMy Audio: https://divinesuccess.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/Podcast3/Golda-Meir-Quotes.mp3

VAETCHANAN The Authenticity of the Torah Do you ever wonder “What if?” What if this whole Judaism thing is one big grandma tale? After all it's one religion of hundreds, and who's to say what's true anyway? All religions begin with a story of divine revelation from the heavens, commanding the worship of the gods in a specific way, and any other form of worship is considered idolatry punishable by death. But the next religion makes the same assertion, so how do we know the truth? We Jews present ourselves as the Chosen People, devoted to the one and only G-d, and any other form of idol worship is forbidden. On the other hand, Christians say that we were once the chosen people, but God replaced us with them, and their view is entirely different. Muslims also claim that both Jews and Christians are infidels, and only Muhammad speaks the truth. So, what sets us apart from them, especially considering our smaller numbers? We want to delve deeply into two marvelous verses from the Parsha of Vaetchanan. Moshe provides a strong testimony to the authenticity of the event at Mount Sinai and declares that no other nation can present a similar proof. We want to ponder this claim, challenge it, and understand its remarkable strength. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mendy-goldberg/support

March 12, 2023 -- "Why and How Should I Tell Others?" -- Pastor Kyle Blake, Bible Text: John 4:5-30, 39-42: 5 He arrived at a city in Samaria called Sychar. Sychar was near the piece of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's Well was there. Jesus sat down by the well because he was tired from traveling. The time was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman went to get some water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” 8 (His disciples had gone into the city to buy some food.) 9 The Samaritan woman asked him, “How can a Jewish man like you ask a Samaritan woman like me for a drink of water?” (Jews, of course, don't associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus replied to her, “If you only knew what God's gift is and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him for a drink. He would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you don't have anything to use to get water, and the well is deep. So where are you going to get this living water? 12 You're not more important than our ancestor Jacob, are you? He gave us this well. He and his sons and his animals drank water from it.” 13 Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water that I will give them will never become thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give them will become in them a spring that gushes up to eternal life.” 15 The woman told Jesus, “Sir, give me this water! Then I won't get thirsty or have to come here to get water.” 16 Jesus told her, “Go to your husband, and bring him here.” 17 The woman replied, “I don't have a husband.” Jesus told her, “You're right when you say that you don't have a husband. 18 You've had five husbands, and the man you have now isn't your husband. You've told the truth.” 19 The woman said to Jesus, “I see that you're a prophet! 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain. But you Jews say that people must worship in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus told her, “Believe me. A time is coming when you Samaritans won't be worshiping the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You don't know what you're worshiping. We ⌞Jews⌟ know what we're worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews. 23 Indeed, the time is coming, and it is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for people like that to worship him. 24 God is a spirit. Those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will tell us everything.” (Messiah is the one called Christ.) 26 Jesus told her, “I am he, and I am speaking to you now.” 27 At that time his disciples returned. They were surprised that he was talking to a woman. But none of them asked him, “What do you want from her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back into the city. She told the people, 29 “Come with me, and meet a man who told me everything I've ever done. Could he be the Messiah?” 30 The people left the city and went to meet Jesus. ...; 39 Many Samaritans in that city believed in Jesus because of the woman who said, “He told me everything I've ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans went to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them. He stayed in Samaria for two days. 41 Many more Samaritans believed because of what Jesus said. 42 They told the woman, “Our faith is no longer based on what you've said. We have heard him ourselves, and we know that he really is the savior of the world.” (GW) http://www.bethanylutheran.org http://www.facebook.com/Bethany.Long.Beach http://www.youtube.com/c/BethanyLutheranLongBeach

Us vs. You. We Jews need you Gentiles. We seem to need someone to "other". But the Cosmic Christ - the one that is in all and through all - not just the Jesus who died and rose, breaks the dividing wall. We may have differences but God makes us one new people. One God, one Church, One... One... One. There is no "we're in"/"you're out". --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bearingwitness/support

Series: Be'erot, Love & Relationship with God.   Synopsis:  An exploration of Avraham's humility: "Anochi afar v'efer".   Episode Transcript: Avraham Avinu and the teachings of the Rabbis is the image par excellence of what it means to be a lover of G-d.  And as the Rambam describes him in the teachings that he gives of how one is to live, in his Sefer Hamitzvot, so in his third mitzvah, he says that this man is the teacher of how we are to be in the mitzvah of vahavta et hashem elokecha. How we are to be in the mitzvah of you shall love your G-d. He teaches there that Avraham Avin is the one whose very being is given over to the love of G-d and this is demonstrated in a way that the prophet describes Avraham ohavi, Avraham who is my lover. And he also describes a path coming to that love, and he also tells that a love that is a true love of G-d is come to by virtue of a person's contemplation of His greatness. And in contemplating His greatness, over time, and with proper stillness, so one accesses something which is the oneg which is the tachlit hataanugim, the Rambam says; one accesses a pleasure which is the pleasure which is the end of all pleasures. That's the language of the Rambam. And then when one arrives at the place of pleasure which is the end of all pleasures, so one certainly will be in love. And there was Avraham who was the first one who that happened for. One aspect of what I want to explore with Avraham is something which the rabbis also tell us about his having, and that is his anavah. And to appreciate this, we need to appreciate something about a dual aspect of Avraham's nature. On the one hand, we find that Avraham is the very root of the creative force of our world; meaning, he is the source and origin of the unfolding of reality. And this is actually expressed in the verse: Eleh toldot hashamayim v'haaretz, vehi baram. These are the unfoldings of the heaven and the earth when they became created. Vehi baram. And on this the Rabbis say, vehi baram, those are the letters of Avraham, he who is, of course in the transpersonal sense, he is the origin of the creative unfolding. Something else that is hidden in Avraham's name is what the Zohar says in the Introduction to the Zohar: Avraham is otiot ever ma. Ever ma means the limb of what. What—ma. Although ma, even though it might appear inconsequential, is a word of opening. Like in the seder, we say Ma nishtanah, ma zeh, we all know ma. And when Moshe Rabbeinu expressed his deepest humility, so the way in which the rabbis say he expressed it, when people were arguing and complaining against him, he says: v'anachnu ma? We are what? So why are you complaining against us—we are what? V'anachnu ma. And the word ma, which is what, this might be abstract… but the word ma is always the opening word, but it also is the word hidden within chochma, wisdom, which is cheich-ma, a palette for "what-ness". So a person who has a palette for what, has the opportunity for becoming a bearer of chochmah. And that has to do with the kind of openness that wisdom requires of us. Not the kind of a wisdom which is the thinking about things, but a kind of a wisdom that is the openness to receiving what is. What is. Without asking who it is, or attempting to describe it and delineate it and define it, just what. That what-ness of things is, if we've come to the point of seeing Adam as meod, it's also important to point out that Adam is also mah, because the numerical value of the word Adam is the word “what.” And the Rabbis describe him as being a “what.” At the beginning of Baba Kama in a very interesting passage which we're not going to review right now, but they actually say that the nature of man is “what.” So that also interestingly, the bracha we say in the morning, asher yatzar et ha'adam b'chochma, and we continue to say that throught the day even time we go to the bathroom, so we are actually blessing G-d for the wisdom he gave us--chochma—and the number of words in that bracha are forty-five, which is kneged mah, kneged Adam.       I say this because there is something primary about who we are and who we are meant to be in our ability to question with "what?" So there are various aspects and levels to it, but the one I want to explore with you, the one I want to point out is one which is very prevalent in Avraham, and that is his humility. Because “what” as I said, is the demonstration of humility, as I've said I am what? And I hope that during the course of this, we'll get a better sense of what it means to say: I am what? And where that comes from. Anachnu mah? And why it is such an important root in our relationship and love with G-d.       So there's two places where the Rabbis tell us about Avraham's humility. One is when he is standing before G-d and he's pleading for the city of Sodom, which is filled with evil people who are doing all these things that are not meant to be done. Avraham begins his conversation with G-d by saying, Anochi afar v'efer. I am dust and I am ashes. And on this the Rabbis point out, See what tremendous anavah that he has, to say, Anochi afar v'efer, I am dust and I am ashes. And of course, the simple reading of those verses is that Avraham is introducing himself as dust and ashes as a way of creating a supplication to point out to G-d that I am not thinking of myself as being very much of anything. But please, nevertheless, let me speak to You on behalf of these people. But there's another level of dust and ashes which I believe is even more important to recognize in Avraham's saying I am dust and ashes, which has to do with his connectiveness. It has to do with his ability to connect to the what-ness of things. And in order to bring this into a more real, concrete depiction, I want to tell you something that the Rabbis teach us about what the highest level in spirituality that a person can access is. And that is the midah of anavah.       So there's a rather extraordinary set of statements which the Rabbis teach us about the nature of anavah, and they tell us that the following tale—well, first they tell us the following directive, and then they tell us a story. L'olam yilmad adam midat kono. A person should always be focused towards the characteristic of His Creator. She harei hakadosh baruch hu hiniach kol heharim hagvohim. G-d left behind all of the high mountains, vayishrash hinato al har sinai. And He brought down His Presence onto Mount Sinai. Why? Mount Sinai is a low mountain. So, given that, for some reason, the revelation had to be on a low mountain, and the one that G-d chose was one which was low. And the Talmud continues there to say that this derives from what G-d says about Himself. Ani et dakah ushfal ruah eshkon. He says, I dwell with those who are downtrodden and I dwell with those of humble spirit. So Rebbe Yochanan teaches the following about this. He says: You know, every time you find G-d's gedulah, every time you find G-d's greatness, sham atah motzei invat nuto. There you also find His humility, and you know what? It says in the Torah, it says it in the Prophets, in the Neviim and it says it in the Ketuvim, in the writings. It says, ki hashem elokeichem hu elokei elohim adonei adonim G-d is the god of all powers, the great Master of all Masters, the great, powerful and awesome One, Who will not take any bribes. And then right after it, it says, He always worries about the justice of the orphans, of the widows, he loves those who are strangers, those who are converted, and gives them bread, and gives them clothing. It does it again in the Neviim. It says, So speaks G-d Who is the All-Mighty One, Who is raised above, Who dwells forever in utter sanctity, Who is beyond and transcends all of reality. I live, He says, I live with those who are downtrodden and who have a humble spirit. To always bring life to the heart of those who are hurting. And then it says again in Tehillim: Shiru l'elokim, zamru lo, sing out to G-d and make a path for the One who travels in the high clouds and make great praising to Him, and it says right after that, For He is the Father of the orphans and He is the judge for the widows, He sits in His holy place.       So Rebbe Yochanan is giving a teaching about what it is to be a godly anav, to be divinely humble. So here is a contradictory interraction between these things. G-d is beyond, transcendent, very great, very awesome, and he dwells with the lowly. So now, a person who relates to things in terms of their physicality would be confused by such a thing. Usually, when a person is big and tall and beyond, so he can't be with those who are lowly. Not only can't he be with them psychologically, he can't be with them also spiritually. Like a person who is, say, all caught up with their titles, status, puffing themselves up with names they have acquired, and perhaps they worked hard to acquire these names. So the more names they acquire, so the more separated from the common folk. So if you think about it, there's a phenomenon that the higher you get up on the ladder, so the less people will be able to accept being just commonplace. You can't just like hang out with the common(er)s. I remember in various situations when I was teaching, or especially in raising money, people become very status-conscious regarding Whose parlor they are going to go to and who they are going to be wanting to sit with. Or who do you sit with at the lunch table. Or all these kinds of things become very crucial to those who are very aware of their bigness, of their standing up above.  And people will very rarely say, How are you doing, brother? Just a nameless connection—How are you, my friend? You don't talk like that when you are up on the ladder. But as you go down, you get to the shuk, that's how the guys talk to each other. When there's a context when there's no real status demands, everyone is like down at the bottom of the heap. So down at the bottom of the heap, there is a great deal of fraternity, a sense of we're all like in a kinship together, where all the things that would separate between us and divide us by virtue of the status we've achieved or the names that we've got or the appelations that we own, all those things are, you don't have them, or if you have them, they drop away. So the more down there, so the less those things are of concern. And it doesn't make any difference. So if there's a guy down in the dumps, so you're with the guy down in the dumps.       Now the reason for this is, the more a person becomes stripped of the naming and the particular and specific identity which they own, so the more they are able to live in fraternity with others without seeking what it is that would establish them as separate, as greater, as more important. There's a deep spiritual root in that. And that is called being pashut. Now literally, in Hebrew, pashit means to be simple, and to be undressed. And the depiction of an anav is someone who is pashut. Now the one who is ultimately pashut, so to speak, who is ultimately without forms and specific manifestation which is his only identity is: G-d. In a sense, all we can say of His divinity is pashut b'tachlit hapshitut, that He is simple in the very ultimate simplicity. That he's undressed in the ultimate undressed, in a sense, that there is absolutely nothing that is a specific identity that can be applied to Him because He is simply the ground of being. And the name which is the highest name for G-d is yud-key-vav-key, which means that He simply is. It's not something that we're used to thinking about, because you can't think about it. Because as soon as you're in thought, so already you're in a world of levushim, the clothing, because clothing that we wear, but clothing that we wear is our body itself. And clothing that we wear is also our emotions and our speech and our actions. And our minds, and what we think. Those are also clothing. What I mean by clothing, is the way in which we come to be manifest. So the way that I'm moving my hands, the clothing that I'm dressed in, so to speak, is the movement of my hand. Now that I'm speaking, so the clothing that I'm dressed in is the words that I'm speaking. And it's also so that even if I were silent and just thinking, the clothing that I, whatever that “I” is, that mysterious and unidentifiable I, that I would be the clothing of my thinking in my thoughts. Meaning that it's coming to manifestation in a way in which it's realized through that particular reflection, that particular becoming clothed. But if I were able to access the pashut, the pashut b'tachlit hapshitut of myself, so to speak, if there is such a thing, and to be able talk about myself, so then there wouldn't be thought or speak, or action. There would simply be simplicity. And we're really referring to that when we talk of this name of G-d, yud-key-vav-kay, which has no time, no particular manifestation. I mean the word itself, is the closest word we have in Hebrew meaning "being."       What would it be like to be there in simple being? We can't—except by quieting everything—touch anything of that, except in terms of how we might look toward it, by asking the question, mah? And not expecting an answer. That state of openness is, in a sense, one significant access point to that. Now G-d, Rebbe Yochanan teaches, His greatness expresses itself in His being with the lowliest of people. And the reason is—and this is the explanation that the Maharal gives—is because He doesn't have any particular form. He is pashut. So when you are pashut, so you are able to hang out, so to speak, with the low guys in the shuk. And hey, what's going on, brother? G-d is the One Who is able to do that more than any other being, because every time you find His greatness, you find His lowliness; meaning, every time you find His transcendence, or his grandeur and greatness, which then becomes translated in this verse as transcendence, you're not finding something which takes Him away and out; but rather you're connecting to He Who is everywhere and is everything. This is called in the language of Chassidut, hashvaato. His equalness, in the sense that He is everywhere equally and at once. And it is the secret of the verse shiviti Hashem l'negdi tamid. That I, with equanimity, have yud-key-vav-key always. Meaning, when I am in connection with the shem havayah, then I will be in the state of equanimity which is not a numbness, it's a connectivity to all by sharing its primary and most basic being. And that is what we mean when we talk about an anav. Anavah will be reflected in activities like, if you're praising me, I'll say, No, it's G-d that gave me this gift. And it's true. A person who is an anav will associate whatever gifts he has to being a gift of G-d. Or an anav, when he sees another person, will not feel more than, haughtier. So it might come to expression, being able to say about them, Wow, they have all these great things, that I'm looking at and seeing, and paying attention to, and I'm giving them their level, even though it looks like this guy's a real shlump, and there's not much to him. But look at the way he talks to people, etc. (sic) where we seek to find ways to recognize the good that the other person has. And then relate to that. And those two aspects of things. One where, I'm not taking as my personal possession the gifts that I've been given, but rather, knowing that they are completely and utterly G-d's doing, and the other, when I relate to another, I don't relate to them in a fashion where I look down upon them, but rather, I seek where their greatness is. These two elements of anavah are rooted in the primary one. There is a third one, by the way, and that is, when a person insults you, and I'm going to use a terminology that the Rambam talks about, when a person pishes on you. He tells a story about a person who was working to develop his shiflut in anavah and was once lying in the bowels of a ship in the most filthy situation. And someone comes along and looks down and actually sees him and actually pishes on him. And this pious person looked up and saw that and he felt the greatest joy he'd ever expereinced, that this is not something that he held against the person who had pished on him.       So sometimes we look at those things and we kind of wonder at them. But I want to put that in also, and that is, as it's taught in another place by the Rabbis, that when someone is attacking and belittling and denigrating you, that you know how to be silent before that. And the way the Rabbis talk about that is that the entire planet stand on those who, when they're being fought against, know how to practice blimah. Toleh eretz al blimah. The practice of blimah, of restraint. But the depth of blimah is rooted in the mah. When you have to restrain yourself, then at a certain level, you're bli mah, you're without the what. But the higher level is to be in the mah. So these are three reflections of how you would manifest anavah in relation to what you've been given, in relating to what others are, and recognizing their greatness, and in not reacting by insisting on holding your place when you're under attack. We'll come back to them and none of them is easy. For me, the important point is that we recognize that these are all expressions of something else, and that's rarely spoken of. I believe the Maharal is the greatest teacher of that. And that is that all of these are rooted in a divine experience, a divine connectivity of being just as it is. It's a root for everything else. What I mean by that is a person who is gifted by simply relating to whatever it is as it is and appreciating its "isness"—it just is—and that is good. Like when G-d first saw the Creation, and He saw that it was good. So the Maharal teaches on that, what He saw was that it is. Its goodness is in its being. When one can strip himself from all of the demands and expectations and insistences on reality and what it owes him and his insistence on his standing in it and simply touch the is-ness of being. So then he is in havayah.                And this is why G-d is, in His greatness, with everyone. Of course. And it is especially noticeable with the ones that nobody else wants to hang out with because it takes away from their status. It's the almanah, the ger, and the dakah, even the completely downtrodden one. Now this is described in another statement by the Rabbis where they say: bo uray shelo midat basar vadam bmidat Hakadosh baruch Hu. Take a look. It's not the way for people who live in flesh in blood the way it is with G-d., Midat basar vadam gavoah v'roeh gavoah. You know, if you're tall, you see tall, v'ein gavoah et hashafel. And the one who's tall and high doesn't see the one who's lowly. But with G-d, it's the opposite. The higher he is, the lower He looks. Ki ram Hashem vshafel yireh. That's because highness is expansiveness. The higher you are, the broader you see. We experience this to a certain extent. That's what we mean when we talk about high. The higher you are, the broader you see. The more you're in touch with. The lower you are, the more particular and specific you become. But when it's highness, which is of a physical sort, so in addition to being higher and being able to see more, you actually lose contact with it, on two counts: physically, of course, and spiritually, in that you're becoming more and more of your own special thing. So you actually lose contact, even though can see more, so to speak, physically. But spiritually, the higher you are means that you are less and less particular and specific and more in touch with all. Now imagine maintaining and being in that. So of course, what you would say of yourself, to give a mashal to it, that is anochi afar v'efer, I'm nothing but dust and ashes. But if you're coming to speak to G-d about preserving the lives of those who are evil, so the aspect of Him who you will want to arouse, by you yourself attuning to that and becoming an expression of that, is anochi afar v'efer. I'm but dust and ashes, What is there of me, after all, it's just a piece of being. And I'm the simplest and most base, in this consciousness, connection to that. Even connection to that isn't even appropraite terminology. From there, everything else is born. But it's the deepest kinship of all, because there's nothing with which you're not in kin. There's nothing which you stand apart from . And this is the great knowing of Avraham of the oneness of G-d, which is the same knowing of oneness which is his great love of Him in perfect and utter communion.       One of the beautiful things that the Rabbis teach us about Avraham is in a mishnah which describes him and invites us to become a student of him. But if you're going to become a student of Avraham, what I'm speaking of is very deeply in the root. But there are behaviors, which are the three behaviors of Avraham which set him apart from his most evil opposite. And that is where the Rabbis teach us in perek heh, chapter five, mishnah nineteen in Pirkei Avot. (42: 45) Kol [?not clear] she yesh shlosha devarim halalu hu talmid av shel avraham avinu That someone who has these three things he's from Avraham's studnets. What are the three things? Ayin tovah, a good eye, ruach nemucha, a lowly spirit, and nefesh shefelah, I'm not sure how to distinguish in English the difference between low, namuch, and low, shefel. It's his nefesh which is his physical energy.       So, what is the ayin tovah? The ability to always see good in the other. And to be clean of jealousy. A ruach nemucha, a lowly spirit, is to not be seeking one's own honor and the nefesh shefelah, is to not run after one's appetite to get more. And these three are reflections of Avraham in his anavah. Whereas, Bilam, his opposite, is always the opposite of these. He's always seeking out what's wrong, with the other; he's running after his honor all the time, and can't get enough of anything. And this is played out in the narrative about him. But the one leads to one who is a source of blessing, which is Avraham, and the other leads to a source of curse, which is Bilam. One leads to become the source of all unfolding, which is v'hi baram Avraham, and the other leads to become the source of all swallowing up, which is Bilam, which is literally his name—Baal-am, the swallower. One leads to a very profound and marvelous connection with all that is in a place of bliss and wonder, and the other leads to a very troubled personality that's always afraid of losing and not having enough. And so Bilam becomes the one who is ayin raah, ruach gvohah, and nefesh rechavah. He seeks out the evil with his eye, in order to undo what others have; he has a haughty spirit where he says to the people who have been sent to him, G-d has not let me come with people like you, implying that there were others that he was waiting to be sent; and a nefesh rechavah, couldn't get enough money. He says to the person who invites him, to curse the Jewish people, you know, if you would fill my house with gold and silver, I would be able to violate G-d's word, which is a pretty clear indication that that's what he's got his mind on, gold and silver, that's the nefesh gevohah. Now these three characteristics are derived from a being always in the levushim, being always in the clothing of existence, and never touching the experience of what it is to be at stillness in being. Without that starting point, so all the other work on character traits, it'll always remain very external, especially when it comes to anavah as the root of love. You can't—if all you're caught up in is your separateness and uniqueness and all the other things which are so important, which we'll see, and we have seen how important they are—but you will not be able to experience any of those rightly unless they're rooted in the reality of Avraham's consciousness of all is one in its ground of being. When all flows from there, so then the midot are right. And they flow from there—they don't stay there—and they become a flowing spring, which ends with David.       But the same meod, which is the Adam, which is the ultimate expression of the unique purpose that we're each are sent here with, must begin with the same gematria of mah of I am what? What are you? I am what. That's the most I can say of it. I am what, I am what. This is also Adam, and the ever mah of Avraham. And the Rabbis go on to say a most astounding thing: Those who have this the Talmidim of Avraham, the students of Avraham, they eat both of this world, and they inherit the world to come, as it says, lhanchil ohavah yesh b'otsroteyhem amaley (50:26). I give inheritence, or a holding of yesh to those who love Me. Now, in modern Hebrew, when you want to say, Wow! Unbelievable—yesh! It's like yesh! It's in the context of "it's for real!" Like now, I don't even know what the colloquialisms in English are, it's like "awesome!" It's for real! So that's the best way that the prophet could say that. The ones who love Me? You know what they get? They get yesh! They get real! Get real! b'otsroteyhem amaley, and I fill their treasures, their treasuries, their containers, vessels. Yesh! Who gets yesh? Ohavai, the ones who love Me. What are you talking about? When we looked at the mishnah, we weren't talking about those who love Me, were we? Weren't we talking about Avraham, who's got an ayin tovah, who's got a ruach nemucha, a nefesh shefaylah, that's what we were talking about. Who mentioned love? But what's clear in this mishnah is that the root of Avraham's teaching, which is Avraham the lover, is in his anavah. It's in his true and profound openness to see the good in another.  Because he's not in contest with them. And to experience the sufficiency of what he has. Because he has it all. In his is-ness. I don't need to be chasing after you providing me with something that will add to the reality of being. I don't need that. I might choose to grow beyond this, of course, and I am centered to grow beyond that to become from the ever mah, to the hibaram, the one who is origin of unfolding and manifestation, yes. But not out of neediness, that you will provide me with the wealtht that I need so that I sense significance. Not at all. Of course, you will have a henefesh shefaylah, and you will have a ruach nemucha that is not seeking any honor for himself. What honor could you give me, that is more than the honor of just being?       It comes from a different place, but I have the sense that it's related, but I'm reminded of a story that my Rosh Yeshiva told, Rav Gustman, who was one of the few gedolim that survived the Holocaust, and he was really considered one of the greatest Talmidei Chachimi who came out of Europe from Vilna. Went through tremendous suffering in passing through the Holocaust. When he was eighteen, he was already on the Beis Din of Vilnah, which, if anyone knows anything of what was once in Europe, I mean that was a profound expression of conviction of greatness. So when the war came, he escaped from the Vilna ghetto, and he fought with the Partisans against the Nazis, and suffered all kinds of suffering, including losing his son right in front of him. But he told us once a story of when he lost any taste for honor. He was invited with the other important Rabbis to a meeting of the Agudat Yisrael in Vilna. That meant that the Chofetz Chaim was there, and Rav Ozer, Rav Shcup, and other great names that you know if you live in yeshivish circle, all sitting up there at the front table. And it's a room of hundreds of people, and he came late. So when he walked in, so the Chofetz Chaim saw him and stood up. And he was a yungeleit. I think he was twenty or something. Rav Chaim Moses stood up for him. Everyone at his table stood up for him. It was like he was so totally “not mine.” And he walked up to the front and he sat down. From then on, he told us, it didn't matter anything about that. Now, when he told it, I think the way he experienced it on one level, I mean, once you've been honored on that level, what could possibly be left? But I know, knowing him, having known him for the years that I did, I think there was something far more pneimiut there. That he didn't have a language to express. And that is, when that happened, then it opened up, there's no difference. Not “no difference” in the sense that there are no hierarchies—there are. But on the base level, there's no difference. If they stood up for me, it can't be something that I would claim for myself. It's just by virtue of being. It's a sense I have with him and the way he told the story. I'm not sure that I can give it over because the story sounds so much the opposite in a sense. Maybe not, I hope not. It's a realization like that, or living that, which is the starting point of everything else. It's the shiviti hashem lnegdi tamid, it's the havayah always being before me, which is the beginning of everything else. And the Rabbis, incredibly, without explaining themselves, tell you that that is the experience of real, and it's the gift to those who love Me, and who live at one with Me. The gift of those whose lives are not caught up in all of the external trappings, but start with first knowing G-d. All of this as being. And from there whatever that will become expressed, derives and spells out from that.       You're welcome to ask questions. (You mentioned a topic of blimah. So this is a very confusing point for me. On the one hand, I see and appreciate the wholenss and transcendence of restraint. On the other hand it seem that as Jews we have a responsibility to battle evil. I'm not clear what that is. Not even in the sense of Amalek, but even in a fellow Jew who is very destructive, even wicked, probably not conscious of it. At one point, by restraining yourself, are you giving them leeway, to even hurt themselves and you and others? So how do you deal with that? What is that separation, that line, if there is one?)       It's a wonderful question and I apprreciate it. You are asking about blimah. I respect someone who has the power of restraint when they're under attack. And I recognize the place of that and the value of that. But you're wondering how does that jive, especially to use Jews that are committed to justice and righteousness and seeing to it that that comes about in the world, and battling evil, and fighting against it. How does that work? How do those two things connect? The statement of toleh eretz al blimah is translated in other language as shomeah bizyono v'shitek. A person is able to hear their denigration and to be silent in the face of that. And there is a great deal to learn and teach about that. But that has to do with this being a reactive response of seeking to defend and protect myself from denigration. As opposed to a response which is built on the commitment to the beauty of creation and the realization of G-d in the world, and commitment to what G-d is committed to, which is righteousness and justice, and right living. See, one place that it can come from is I'm getting obliterated by this person. They're putting me down, they're saying bad things about me, etc. (sic) And when it comes from there, then it's an ego-based reaction, which is not what the world stands on. Because what the world stands on is simple being. (But people have the power to obliterate) Wait. But when it comes from the response which is, What you're doing is wrong, and this is something which needs to be responded to and stopped, because this is evil, and what you are doing is acutally undermining the goodness of existence by seeking to pull it apart and rip it up. So the response there, and this will be the telling point, the response there will not be from anger; it will be surprisingly, very strong and powerful, but it will have within the power, what Rashi says is the power of the person who has a ruach nemucha, the power of patience. Of savlanut, which is Hebrew it also means the hold it, sabal. See, what I'm fighting is the evil. And therefore I can have – and savlanut doesn't mean you wait with it, and are okay with it and just let it slide, but the patience is—and it's so appropriate to Rosh Chodesh Adar today, it's the patience of the Megillah and of Purim. Purim is the holiday of patience, and if you look in the Megillah, it's interesting that there are more references to getting angry than in any other book. Haman's getting angry, the king's getting angry, and then his anger subsides, and then this one and that one, and Bigtan and Teresh, the people who are working for the king, they are getting angry, and everyone's getting angry all the time. What are they all getting angry about? Because they're living in the short face, an insistence of ruling over things that they should be as I insist upon them being, and they're living in our context right now, entirely in the levushim. You're going to take it away from me. Because when you live in the externals of things only, so of course, the ultimate of external is that it's all by happenstance and by chance. There's no organization, no life force which is guiding or directing this. So then you try to step in and take control. Then all the anger starts coming from that. But the patience, which is really in the story, and the midrash describes it, you know how Mordechai was outside, wondering where this is going to go, that Esther's been taken into the kings' harem, and then becomes the queen. Months, and months, and months, the midrash describes, he waited outside. So that ultimately, Purim becomes the holiday that lasts forever. Because it's waiting and waiting. Now, waiting, and the ability to wait, is derived in this anavah. (Waiting for what?) Waiting for what will unfold to unfold. And so you wonder and I'm hearing in your wondering, and correctly, what are you telling me to do? Shouldn't I participate in it? So what your participation will be whatever it needs to be and whatever you choose it to be. But if its righteousness comes from it deriving from patience—and not patience in the sense of qué será será, whatever will be will be, but more along the lines of "I'll get to it." Mordechai speaks to Esther, and it's the only line he speaks in the whole megillah, Mordechai says to Esther, Listen, this is going to work out. But you and your place in it will be place, if you don't step up now. Now imagine stepping up now, with that ultimate sense of patience that comes from "It'll work out" but I choose now to be part of that working out. But I choose now to be a part of that working out and stepping up to that challenge. But that won't be in anger and that won't be in fear, but in love of the opportunity that's been given, to participate in the unfolding of reality. In the hibaram of eleh hatoldot ba shamayim v'aretz. This is a moment of birthing, right now, that I'm participating in. And that comes deeply, ultimately, from the sense of oneness of all being, which has—I've gone back to the beginning. We've seen how much of participation in reality we're called upon to have—but it is only going to really be in love, when it comes with the anavah and the savlanut which is the first and most significant feature of Avraham, the lover of G-d. (I'm connecting the way you're defining patience, with emunah—big buzz word now--, but is that faith? To me, patience is to wait but you're not just saying, “wait.” You're saying, “Wait in the trust that ultimately Hashem has a hand and what will happen will happen.” So it's not just a straining; it's a straining with a mission in mind.) Doing with restraint. (Because there's not enough information?) Because I'm always living knowing on one level I know it's not upon me—it's life coming through and that is because my beginning point is that it's all right here. And that it's good, I'm sufficient in what I have. And you can't take that away from me. Is that in its ground of being. (The hostility comes from fear. And if that fear can be overcome, and that solidity is coming directly from Hashem, even though we might react in the same way as the other person, we're coming from a place that is powerful as opposed to a place that is fearful and therefore vulnerable to destruction.) I agree. It is and it isn't. As an experience it's not complicated. The intellectuation around it is complicated. (Even though it can be experienced very quickly as emotion, it can jump levels as a reaction from anyone is to perceive danger and react to danger in some protective way.) And you should. You have a mitzvah to protect your life. But a relation with that will be very different if it's coming out of a loving experience of the divine gift of being which no one can take away from you. And nevertheless, you're commanded to protect your body. It's wise to protect your name. (This can be information. If one person attacks another person who is focused on serving Hashem, so yes, the person is being attacked. But something else is being attacked, and it's okay to respond to the physical threat... Especially the Jewish people are supposed to be the target from the nations every time they have an issue with Hashem. So, even though it is about them, it's about something bigger than them, so reacting to the attack is about defending themselves, but not just from an ego level.) Not at all from an ego level. Not at all.  (When you restrain, it doesn't need to be passive. It's an active act. You're in tune with the here and now, you're making not a connection of passivity of being defeated or something, but counteracting it with an active intention of, call it goodness. To stay in that goodness, but not reacting to the outside. Not reacting to what is around you. It's an activity. You can be very active in your restraint.) What we're describing is like a re-rooting. That's what I experience. (Choosing life instead of death.) Choosing life, and that has a great deal to do, and that has something we saw way back, in a Rashi that says that the first thing that man is to do is makir b'tovatam shel g'shamim. To see the good and connect to it. (I think that if harm is happening and you don't respond to it, then you're participating in that.) I agree, and no one here is saying to be passive in the face of evil. But blimah is someone who in that face of the attack on him, he's silent to the attack on him, that's not what it's about. There's something here that needs responding to, and that's because there's a path of bringing correction to the world, and on that ground I'm going to respond to it. The Rambam says when you give someone reproof, the test of its truth is whether you say it b'nachat, with calm, or not. The calm that comes with the authority. It might mean that you need to act in a way that is vociferous. The calm is not a decibel level. It's a power that comes from being rooted in being.  (So in my life it's a big issue, I struggle with it and when I hear a teaching like this, it reminds me that I shouldn't feel that way, and when I do, I need to fight against it, and I'm sinning, and I appreciate the teaching  and that's right. I shouldn't feel that way, and it's almost a balm. But instead of it being where I actively experience G-d, at those times when I'm feeling so nebuch, instead of expereince G-d, it's a “should.” For you, have you ever had an experience where you're hanging out in the lowly places and you say, this is G-d?) This is a great question and I'm going to adjust the language to share how I experience where it comes from for me. It's a teaching that I began the morning with, in the contemplation of G-d's greatness, so one experiences a great pleasure in that. Which leads to love. I really do not know personally of a path that does not involve returning to that and it's a live experience. It's not just a matter of how I think about things. When it becomes a matter of how I think about things, then it becomes I should, I need to, it must. Becomes very vociferous. But when it's not from there, but I maintain a practice of connecting to G-d's greatness and connecting to the pleasure in that, and becoming saturated by that, that's very important. We Jews unfortunately don't hold that in enough regard to give it the time that it takes, but it is the base, is what I'm teaching this morning, how we connect to just the what-ness of what is before you begin the language of describing it.  It's not not Jewish, it's Jewish. What's Jewish about it is where it goes, as opposed to other traditions where they go with other paths with that. But it's important to begin in there with that pleasure in G-d's presence. And to have that as a centered experience which allows one to act from that place. This is a very deep thing about why Shabbat is important to us about what it is; it's not only the end point of the week, it's the beginning point of the week. It's the beginning of all activity. In the very beginning when G-d blessed Shabbat, Rashi says what the blessing was: they got a double portion of mannah the day before. So the Zohar which speaks out this midrash which Rashi is quoting, how is that the blessing of Shabbat if it happens during the week? So the Zohar answers that the blessing of Shabbat is the root of all blessing. So is stasis the root of all blessing? Yes, when stasis is experienced as communing with G-d. So, for a person to hit themselves and say, I shouldn't be reacting that way, I am getting angry and I shouldn't be getting angry, will usually get more angry, exacerbate yourself, and disempower you from responding rightly, because it becomes an undermining of the power. Even a simple shift toward rootedness in G-d: Who is it now not wanting to get angry. Oh, that's me. As opposed to: Who is getting angry again? Me again. Wack! See? But then, to shift into like, even asking that question, Who is it now not wanting to get angry. Oh, that's me, that wonderful blessed person I am who doesn't want to be getting angry now. And why don't I want to be getting angry now? Becase I am rooted in righteousness. And what does it mean to be rooted in righteousness? It means that I am rooted in the being in G-d, who is a righteous G-d. Who else would I come to desire righteousness from? And to desire that I not react in anger and in impatience, if not that that is the gift that G-d has given me. And that is my deeper want than getting angry now. So clearly, I'm closer to my essence when I'm relating back to who I am as the one who doesn't want to be getting angry, as opposed to the one who does want to be getting angry. Because what do I want? I want to not get angry now? I want this person to stop doing this to me, and I'm going to act upon that, but I want to be doing it from a place of authority and strength. And where does that want come from? That want is coming from my better side. And what is that better side? That's my soul. And where does your soul have that from? It's rooted in Him. And where is He? He is the beginning point of being. And I can be in the calm of that and in the confidence of that strength and what grows from that. Saturating ourselves with that is the derech I know, it's the teachings of the Alter Rebbe. As we see, the Rambam places it as the third commandment, to saturate yourself with the love of G-d. Avraham is the beginning of that, it's really important in the way the Rambam describes it. That means that the beginning of all avodah is Avraham. And I believe that the root of it is in the anavah.  And this, the Rabbis actually teach, they say, What wisdom made a crown for her head, anavah has as its heel. What does that mean? If we look at a hierarchy, we have wisdom, and something that is a crown for wisdom, that is a crown for the end of anavah's shoe, so to speak, so anavah is all the way on the top. And what is that? The verse says, Reshit chochmah yirat Hashem, the beginning of wisdom is standing in awe of G-d, because my ability to receive reality is in it not being about me. So in standing in awe of him, I know that there is One Who is beyond me. And He's source, and because He's source, then I stand in awe of Him, not because I'm in fear of what He's going to do to me, but I'm in ultimate awe of Him, because I know that He is the source of my being. That is the heel at the end of the leg of anavha, so to speak, that standing in awe. Why? Because the anavah is the simple communing where there is just the equanimity of there are no levushim there. There are no manifestations. And that's the root. That's the higher state, so to speak. And that state, I believe, and based on the description in the Kabbalah, that state is a state of perfect pleasure. It's not a pleasure which is a self-conscious pleasure in which there is an awareness of pleasure. It's just an awareness of  blissful being which comes when the levushim are stripped away. So it's called in the Kabbalah atik.  And in Chassidut, coach hashva'ato. The equanimity of it, of simple being. And then when you step out of there, so you begin to look at that, so you begin to feel tremedous awe, so you become aware of yourself, you realize it's all from Him, so you completely depend upon—now you're in fear. But in the level of fear which is high fear. And then from there you move to wisdom, to what is this? Remaining still in openness, which is abnegation, but already beginning to relate to his wisdom. In the Kabbalah, Avraham is both chesed, and a higher feature, which is wisdom, but he's deriving from a place of anavah. It's an ongoing pragmatic. It's a technique. When you're getting angry, and you say, Oh, I can't believe that I'm doing this to myself again. And to ask yourself, Well, who is this that is not wanting to be doing this again? Then you say, oh, I'm okay. That to go back into the tov, and seeing the tov, if you continue to follow that will reroot you in your divine origin. That's on the level of technique. On the level of practice, it's very important to be resaturating ourselves all the time with the oneg that the Rambam describes that leads to love, and that has to do with yesh, the goodness of being. By its definition, being is goodness. (Rebbe Nachman also says about chochmah, if you switch the letters—) Yeah, coach mah. (Sometimes when I'm able to do it, is to keep a notebook of anything that comes up that puts me in the place of oh, I just did that. Instead of spending the next two hours in my head with that energy and then responding to my kids in that energy space, I can put it down and put it inside, and at night before bed I take it out again and say, okay, what took me there? What was the thing or moment that pushed me there, so that maybe next time I can catch it before it triggers my system. And for me, I found it's much more effective, because it's coming from a place that's reaction in the moment, and taking it to the place of okay, so let me look at that, instead of wasting so much energy in, like, and take that energy into like, you're so rotten, just taking that energy, it's the same thing, into like turning this energy that could be this into that and use it for empowerment and say, okay I'm b'seder.)   (When negativity comes over me and I don't know what to do with it, I go and sit right in it. I put myself right in it. Because you're not giving it power, you're actually saying it from a good  place of you, who you are, which is truth and connecting with G-d.  You say, how bad really am I? And it dissipates the power of it completely, because you're not going to accpet it. You're not willing to say that this is what you are, because you're not, and it works because it's not who I am. It's not accepting it, as you said. I think.)  

In this bonus episode, Michael Jamin shares a live reading of Merry Jewish Christmas, an essay from Michael's upcoming book A Paper Orchestra.Show NotesMichael's Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/courseFree Screenwriting Lesson - https://michaeljamin.com/freeLearn More About A Paper Orchestra - https://michaeljamin.com/storyMichael: (00:00)Hi, it's Michael Jamin. We have a bonus podcast episode for you today. Uh, as many of you know, I'm working on a collection of personal essays called a paper orchestra, and I was recently invited to read one of them aloud at a public event called strong words. And so the story I wrote and read is called Merry Jewish Christmas. I hope you enjoy it. You're listening to screenwriters need to hear this for, with Michael JaminMichael: (00:27)Story called, uh, Mary Jewish Christmas. And it's AER from my upcoming book, a paper orchestra growing up Jewish. I learned early on that Christmas was the greatest party I'd never be invited to. There were would be no Santa coming down. My chimney, no chestnuts. Roasting on an open fire, no house wrapped in twinkling lights. They made Christmas tantalizing. no wonder Joseph and Mary were camped out of the neighbor's lawn. They were hoping to get a ticket inside. Sadly, the Christmas rules were very clear. No Jews. Yeah. The best I could do was hunker down until January 1st. When baby new year would shove baby Jesus out of the way, a baby fight. That's what I was.Michael: (01:15)As a child, I recall going to the supermarket where a have yourself, a very Merry Christmas playing on a loudspeaker. Oh, that heartbreakingly beautiful song. My people were already predisposed to depression. Do we really need this as well? a chef with a pension for cookie-based architecture, the glorious gingerbread house, the size of a fire hydrant with its gumdrop tile, roof, and frosting frosted windows. This wasn't a mere representation of Christmas. It was Christmas itself. I wanted to live in it. if only I could shrink down to the size of a green army man and crawl inside. I'd barricade the door by licking peppermints together, sticking like cement blocks. Anyone who dared poked their head in would get a sharpened candy, came to the, a warning to any would-be intruder that this Christmas Jew was here to stay.Michael: (02:08)I wasn't allowed to linger as my mother was in a hurry to ingredients for our upcoming holiday dinner comic grabbed and pulled me to the Jewish culinary destination, the potato band I'm making LACAs in my mother. And she carefully hand-selected each bland lifeless rock that would roll downhill into our stomachs. somewhere along the way, my ancestors had managed to take a perfectly good breakfast. The pancake removes the delicious doughy part and replace it with an edible tube or fried and grease. And we're gonna top them with apple sauce sheet, half of the added apple sauce. What am I? 80 frosty the snowman standing on the checkout aisle. Wasn't making me any less jealous with his corn car pipe and his eyes of coal. He was scrappy and delightful. what religion wouldn't wanna claim him for our own is frosty Christian.Michael: (03:14)I asked my mother, are you kidding me? He probably dries a Camaro. And she went back to belt to be honest, this whole Hanukah thing needed rethinking. Part of the problem is that you couldn't hype its arrival because it never felt on the same day. The Jewish calendar is lunar. Not solar. Sometimes Hanukah would land near Christmas. Other times it came shockingly early. Hey, did you know Hanukah falls on November 30th this year, November over sake. as it stood, I'd have to admire Christmas from afar until one Eve on foggy Christmas Eve. When I managed to experience Christmas as an insider, it happened while on vacation in the Amish country, Pennsylvania. It was my father's idea to introduce us to culture instead of taking us someplace good, like Disney world we checked in at a nearby resort. That was the vacation spot in 1958 once upscale and chic, the hotel had fall into disrepair. Yes, a fire roared in the lobby, but I can only imagine it was fueled by a mountain of status and safety violations. luckily, whatever money they saved in sprinkler upgrades that might save our lives was spent on Christmas decorations. That brought wonder to my Hebrew eyes flex of silver and gold were splayed everywhere, and they had a name for it. Tin learned other words too. The aging pianist in the lobby sang of magical creatures that were half reptile and half bird called turtles. They sounded tank .Michael: (05:06)There was a log called a U and an a bowl. There was a knock the pleasure was insane. On Christmas morning, we awoke to find fresh snowfall on the ground. Just let the movies promised my sister and I got quickly dressed and raced downstairs to so the Christmas tree like you're supposed to and they're handing out presents to a hoard of waiting. Children was a big man himself. Jo Saint Nick, go get one urge my mother, but we're Jewish he doesn't know that he's probably drunk go before my mother nudged me. I approached just as Santa was being handed a fresh stack of presence from one of the elves who I now recognized as our bus boy from last night's dinner. I said nothing though. We were both keeping secrets. admittedly, I took pleasure receiving a present from Santa Claus and the fact that I might be depriving a deserving Christian child, just because he was late getting to the lobby.Michael: (06:06)Didn't bother me in the slightest . Did that make me a bad person or had I already crossed that line? When I told Santa my name is Tim, I rushed to a quiet part of the lobby to unwrap my Christmas bounty. I was certain mine contained the perfect gift. The moment before unwrapping any gift is always magical because that's when the present is at its highest potential. It could be anything you wanted it to be. I suppose the same could be said about a Jewish child out to experience Christmas for the first time. Just imagine. And now imagine my disappointment. When I discovered what lie beneath the wrapping, it was a bargain rack board game that the hotel picked up at that thrift store. It was like Santa had known all along and he knifed me right in the Jewish gut.Michael: (06:58)And although I don't recall the exact name of this board game for the sake of things, let's just call it abject disappointment by Parker brothers. . I had betrayed my heritage by pretending to be Christian and for what a lousy board game to this day, Christmas morning holds an unsettling stillness for me when most of the population is inside unwrapping presents and spreading good cheer. We Jews wander the city, just like chase Joseph and Mary searching for a destination that will take us in. Usually it's a Chinese restaurant. So that's exactly what Cynthia and I did with our daughters. On Christmas day, it's strange to have a restaurant almost entirely to yourself. Even if you're with someone there's a loneliness to it, you can hear it in the silence. At least that's how I felt when our Mohu vegetables arrived. We sat at the window tables, staring outside where not even a mouse was stirring and closer to the door was an older couple who had grappled with a similar feeling, but ordered the noodles instead for a moment, the woman and I made eye contact on any other day, we may have both looked away, but this was Christmas, even though we were strangers, I think we wanted to share a feeling of connection or at least acknowledge our sense of isolation.Michael: (08:28)She gave me a smile that said, eh, what are you gonna do? When our meal was over, I ordered a serving of moon cake. Not much just a little sweetness to help enjoy the day as I ushered my family out the door. I set it down on the women's table, Merry Jewish Christmas. I said Merry Jewish ChristmasMichael: (08:55)To you too.Michael: (09:01)Hi, it's Michael. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed that story again. It's from my upcoming collection of personal essays called a paper orchestra. It's, uh, gonna be published soon and I hope you will consider joining my newsletter so that when it's you can go get it. I'm not gonna spam you. I'm not gonna sell you a bunch of stuff. You can unsubscribe whenever you want. It's just to be notified of my public events and, and things that I'm working on. So to sign up, just go to MichaelJamin.com/story, enter your email address. And again, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna sell it or trade it or do all this nasty stuff your email's safe with me. All right. Thank you so much for considering it and, uh, Merry Jewish Christmas.

November 21, 2021 Pastor Seth Moorman John 4:19-26 19 The woman said to Jesus, “I see that you're a prophet! 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain. But you Jews say that people must worship in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus told her, “Believe me. A time is coming when you Samaritans won't be worshiping the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You don't know what you're worshiping. We ⌞Jews⌟ know what we're worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews. 23 Indeed, the time is coming, and it is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for people like that to worship him. 24 God is a spirit. Those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will tell us everything.” (Messiah is the one called Christ.) 26 Jesus told her, “I am he, and I am speaking to you now.” http://www.bethanylutheran.org http://www.facebook.com/Bethany.Long.Beach www.youtube.com/c/BethanyLutheranLongBeach

November 14, 2021 Pastor Kevin Kritzer John 4:19-26 19 The woman said to Jesus, “I see that you're a prophet! 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain. But you Jews say that people must worship in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus told her, “Believe me. A time is coming when you Samaritans won't be worshiping the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You don't know what you're worshiping. We ⌞Jews⌟ know what we're worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews. 23 Indeed, the time is coming, and it is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for people like that to worship him. 24 God is a spirit. Those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will tell us everything.” (Messiah is the one called Christ.) 26 Jesus told her, “I am he, and I am speaking to you now.” http://www.bethanylutheran.org http://www.facebook.com/Bethany.Long.Beach www.youtube.com/c/BethanyLutheranLongBeach

In too many places in the Jewish world, the likes of the Rev. John Hagee, Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, and a host of others are hailed as friends of the Jews. They are not our friends, and they are not friends of American democracy.  Everyone who is not a right-wing Evangelial Chrostian needs to be afraid of them; be very afraid, We Jews esecially, Here are some reasons why.pSupport the show (http://www.shammai.org)

How much should we be paying in taxes? Are we paying too much? Too little? Is our tax system fair? What would a fair tax system look like? Tax policy can be complicated and often a source of political friction in society. We Jews have had to deal with tax policy in our communities for thousands of years. What do Jewish teachings say about tax policy? Who should pay? How much is the ideal amount? A fascinating discussion about the Jewish perspective on tax policy.

11 When Peter came to Antioch, he did something that was not right. I stood against him, because he was wrong. 12 This is what happened: When Peter first came to Antioch, he ate and associated with the non-Jewish people. But when some Jewish men came from James, Peter separated himself from the non-Jews. He stopped eating with them, because he was afraid of the Jews who believe that all non-Jewish people must be circumcised. 13 So Peter was a hypocrite. The other Jewish believers joined with him, so they were hypocrites too. Even Barnabas was influenced by what these Jewish believers did. 14 They were not following the truth of the Good News. When I saw this, I spoke to Peter in front of everyone. I said, “Peter, you are a Jew, but you don't live like one. You live like someone who is not a Jew. So why are you trying to force those who are not Jewish to live like Jews?” 15 We are Jews by birth. We were not born “sinners,” as we call those who are not Jews. 16 But we know that no one is made right with God by following the law. It is trusting in[a] Jesus Christ that makes a person right with God. So we have put our faith in Christ Jesus, because we wanted to be made right with God. And we are right with him because we trusted in[b] Christ—not because we followed the law. I can say this because no one can be made right with God by following the law. 17 We Jews came to Christ to be made right with God, so it is clear that we were sinners too. Does this mean that Christ makes us sinners? Of course not. 18 But I would be wrong to begin teaching again those things that I gave up. 19 It was the law itself that caused me to end my life under the law. I died to the law so that I could live for God. I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. 20 So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in[c] the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me. 21 I am not the one destroying the meaning of God's grace. If following the law is how people are made right with God, then Christ did not have to die. -Galatians 2:11-21 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

The Daf from a Psychological Perspective For Mareh Mekomos Click Below פַּעַם אַחַת הִכִּירוּ בָּהֶן אוֹיְבִים וְרָדְפוּ אַחֲרֵיהֶם, וְנִכְנְסוּ לִיטּוֹל כְּלֵי זֵיינָן, וְנִכְנְסוּ אוֹיְבִים אַחֲרֵיהֶן. דָּחֲקוּ זֶה אֶת זֶה, וְהָרְגוּ זֶה אֶת זֶה יוֹתֵר מִמַּה שֶּׁהָרְגוּ אוֹיְבִים. בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה הִתְקִינוּ שֶׁיְּהוּ חוֹזְרִין לִמְקוֹמָן בִּכְלֵי זֵיינָן. Once, their enemies noticed that they were no longer carrying their weapons, and they chased after them; and the defenders entered the house to take up their weapons and fight, and their enemies entered after them, causing great confusion. In the chaos, the defenders began to push one another, and they killed more of each other than their enemies killed of them. At that time the Sages instituted that they should return to their locations, i.e., their destinations, with their weapons. This is similar to another situation described in Gemara Shabbos 60a סַנְדָּל הַמְסוּמָּר מַאי טַעְמָא? GEMARA: The Gemara asks: What is the reason that the Sages prohibited going out with a spiked sandal on Shabbat? אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: שִׁלְפֵי הַשְּׁמָד הָיוּ, וְהָיוּ נֶחְבָּאִין בִּמְעָרָה, וְאָמְרוּ: הַנִּכְנָס — יִכָּנֵס, וְהַיּוֹצֵא — אַל יֵצֵא. Shmuel said: They were those who eluded the decrees of religious persecution, and after one of the wars they were hiding in a cave. And those hiding said: One who seeks to enter the cave may enter, but one who seeks to leave the cave may not leave. One leaving has no way to determine whether or not the enemy is lying in wait outside the cave. Therefore, leaving could reveal the presence of those hiding in the cave. נֶהְפַּךְ סַנְדָּלוֹ שֶׁל אֶחָד מֵהֶן, כִּסְבוּרִין הֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶן יָצָא וְרָאוּהוּ אוֹיְבִים וְעַכְשָׁו בָּאִין עֲלֵיהֶן. דָּחֲקוּ זֶה בָּזֶה וְהָרְגוּ זֶה אֶת זֶה יוֹתֵר מִמַּה שֶּׁהָרְגוּ בָּהֶם אוֹיְבִים. It happened that the sandal of one of them was reversed, the front of the sandal was in the back, and his footprints appeared like the steps of one leaving the cave. They thought that one of them left and feared that their enemies saw him and were now coming upon them to attack. In their panic, they pushed one another and killed one another in greater numbers than their enemies had killed among them. To commemorate this disaster that resulted from a spiked sandal, they prohibited going out into the public domain with it. A few observations: We Jews have a long memory. The particular kind of shoe is forbidden because of one incident. The shoe was not really the cause but the way to commemorate it because fixed on the shoe. So much respect for past and history of events! In both stories (Eruvin and Shabbos), the narrator tells us that the numbers of dead were more by their own panic and trampling each other than by the enemy. A strong lesson in how fear and panic is our own worst enemy. The Gemara Relate several versions of the story. In one version, they were misled because a backward sandal imprint made it look like somebody left the cave. There is a well-known idea Zoharitic and mystical literature that whenever there is a disagreement it is not actually a disagreement but a presentation of Different aspects of the story. (A good example of that is the fact that in the gemara, there are three different possibilities for what is the shofar sound of Teruah, and so in doubt we make three different sounds.) yet in the Zohar, each of the three sounds represent different aspects and there is no halakhic question.) It is easy to imagine that a backward-looking sandal imprint is somehow a metaphor or perceiving the opposite and therefore panicking. This idea is relevant for our times where the media ensues panic in the various stories about the world, and causes a lack of unity, turning ourselves into our own worst enemy.

Christianity was birthed in an environment of racial tension that was even more complex than our own. If unity in Jesus was possible in the first century, there’s still hope for the Church today! Series: UNCERTAIN: Discovering Who We are Through Difficult Times, Speaker: Pastor Don Dodge, Scripture: Acts 10:15, Acts 10:20, Acts 10:27-28, Psalm 139:23-24, Acts 10:34-35, Acts 10:28, Video: https://www.facebook.com/avalonchurch/videos/2664655110477146/, Sermon page: https://www.avalonchurch.org/sermons/uncertain-protecting-the-image-part-10/, Sermon Notes: 2020-05-31_10_uncertain-part-10_sermon-notes.pdf, Discussion Questions: 2020-05-31_10_uncertain-part-10_discussion-questions.pdf, Notes: INTRO Today we’re going to talk about the results of Pentecost. But before I jump in today, I need to give a little perspective. I grew up in a police officer’s family. My Dad was a cop in Miami for 9 years, and retired from the Lakeland Police Department. My grandfather was the police chief in Miramar Florida. I love police men and women. I’m grateful for all they do to protect us. I respect them. I don’t idolize them, their normal people. But my inclination is to trust them. I don’t worry about my daughter’s safety If she’s pulled over by a police officer. Any conversation about it would likely begin with advice about making sure you pull of the road so you don’t block traffic. Maybe, “Smile. Be nice.” The expectation is, No matter what happens, you’re safe. That’s the experience I grew up with. That is not everyone’s experience. We (tension) – perspective Earlier this week, I watched a young, black pastor share his story. In college, a group of his friends, white and black, went for a drive. The white friend was driving. They were pulled over. The driver respectfully challenged the officer’s reason for pulling them over. The exchange was brief… and cordial. He was given the ticket and they left. For the black pastor, This was eye-opening. He was shocked at the freedom white people felt to question a police officer. As a black man, he never felt that freedom. Never. In fact, he was taught never to reach for his wallet. …To always ask for permission first, …or invite the officer to get it. He was taught to look down, And never look a police officer in the eyes. Years later, he was pulled over  for speeding in a white neighborhood. He knew he was doing 27 in a 30, Because he knew he was in a white neighborhood, And that there was an officer behind him. He explained this, And was quickly told to get out of the car, …Because he looked drunk. He got out and quietly explained he was a pastor visiting a family in his church. A Bible was on the front seat. After a very long minute of looking him over, The pastor was allowed to leave. This pastor was scared. That’s not been my experience. And then, this week, There was a story of a black man who, while birdwatching, Asked a woman to leash her dog, …Which was the law. And she called 911 saying her life was threatened. And then, that picture of George Floyd With the officer’s knee on his neck …for 9 minutes. I first saw the picture next to Colin Kapernaek’s Where he was kneeling during the national anthem. It said that if Kapernaek’s non-violent protest gets you more upset than a cuffed man with another man’s knee on his neck. …There is a problem. I saw that picture before I knew Mr. Floyd had died. I was wrecked. This is not okay. This is not just a race issue. It’s an image of God issue. God When Jesus began his ministry, He invited very diverse people to follow him. There was Simon the Zealot who urged for violent rebellion against anything Roman. There was Matthew the tax-collecting traitor A Jew who sold out for Rome. Both invited to follow Jesus as one family. Imagine those fireside chats! After the resurrection, when Christianity was born, Wealthy Pharisees joined the poor Jews they used to oppress, As one united family in Jesus. And as the story of Jesus’ resurrection exploded around the Roman Empire, …the racial and cultural division was off the charts. The Jews believed they were chosen by God, …Which made them better than anyone else. The Gentiles hated the Jews for being so prejudice and judgmental. And there were slaves …who were, well, rejected by everyone. And then there were women, they were granted no rights whatsoever. And finally, there were the Roman citizens. They were the ones in power. They controlled the system. They tilted everything in their favor. And this is an oversimplification. The issues were very complex. And suddenly, all these groups Found themselves worshiping Jesus together. As one family. And through much struggle, And many NT letters, They made it work. Which gives us hope! Because Jesus is bigger what divided them. But the struggle lasted a long time. Think about Peter; He walked with Jesus for 3 years. He watched Jesus offer to go to a Roman soldier’s house, …and heal a family member. He had long conversations with a woman, ..even a Samaritan woman, …and even stayed in her village for days. He ministered to the poor, …children, …and prostitutes, …and beggars, …and those with special needs. And Peter was there through it all. Yet, 15 years after the resurrection, he still struggled. The book of Acts tells us about Peter having a vision while he was praying. God told him to eat food that wasn’t kosher, …that wasn’t allowed in the Law of Moses. At first, Peter wouldn’t do it, Until God told him 15 “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” –Acts 10 (NLT) And that’s when Peter heard a knock at the door. A Gentile, A Roman centurion named Cornelius, would like to see him. A Roman Oppressor. The worst of the worst. But the Holy Spirit said to Peter, 20 Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.” –Acts 10:20 (NLT) They want to hear about Jesus So after about a day’s walk, Peter met Cornelius outside his house. 27 So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled. –Acts 10:27 (NLT) Now remember, This was not allowed in the Jewish religion. Gentiles were inferior. Dirty. You can see it in Peter’s reaction. He had never been in a Gentile’s home.   Before the vision, he would never go into a Gentile’s home. I imagine Peter standing at the door, Wondering if he should have asked God for some I.D. when he had that vision, And Cornelius, he’s excited. He’s invited everyone he knows. Friends, family, Anyone intrigued about the Jewish man who rose from the dead. And listen to what Peter says, …Like, out loud. Filter off. You know, saying what you’re thinking before thinking about what you’re saying? So Peter says, 28 Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you...—Acts 10:28 (NLT) This is how he starts. Hi, everyone. As you know, I shouldn’t be here. We Jews don’t go into houses of Gentile people. Can you imagine if a white man said this When invited into the home of a black family? That’s how bad it was. The division was palpable. You could feel it in the air. But look at the rest of the verse. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. –Acts 10:28 (NLT) Think about what Peter is saying, Up until this moment, I considered all of you impure and unclean. But God has shown me I shouldn’t call you that anymore. And I imagine them thinking, Well, thank you? I feel so much better now. I imagine them wondering… So, God told you that? Do you believe it? You’ve spent your entire life looking down on us and judging us. Do you believe we are no unclean and unworthy? It’s the way Peter was raised. Judgment and resentment, …They were his default. For the rest of his life, …he would constantly have to test his default way of thinking, to the ways of God’s Kingdom. But here is where there is hope. And let me change the emphasized words. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. –Acts 10:28 (NLT) But God has shown me. God has opened my eyes and now I see… differently. How I grew up, What I was taught, The disappointment that I might cause, …this doesn’t have to define me, …Because God is changing me. And God has shown me that we are all made in the image of God. God revealed to Peter his prejudice and intolerance. God exposed Peter’s bent towards injustice. And in allegiance to his King, Peter submitted to what God revealed. And because he did, And Because Paul did, And because James did, The Gentiles were soon welcomed into the family of Jesus …AS EQUALS. That is what made it possible for us today. The Church is made of Jews and Gentiles, Blacks and whites and Hispanics and Asians, Men and women, Singles and marrieds, Rich and poor, Liars, cheaters, Adulterers, and addicts, Forgiven sinners now deemed saints Living as one people in Jesus. Many different parts unified in one purpose… God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. God’s love on earth as it is in heaven, Life and freedom and wholeness on earth as it is in heaven. America has a race issue. So does the church. America has a problem judging people. So does the church. But as the church, As Jesus’ family, we have incredible hope. Because we know it changed once. And God can do it again. This is not a black and white issue. This is a human issue. It’s an image of God issue. You (Application. So What?) We must protect the image. We must bestow dignity on all people. All people reflect the image of God. You know, if anyone hurts my girls, I will come to their rescue. You see, you cannot mistreat my children and be okay with me. In the same way, we cannot mistreat others, God’s children, and be okay with our Father in heaven. We must defend those who are different from us. We must stand in the gap when we see injustice. We must never demean or reject those who believe differently, …or vote differently, …or live differently. Jesus’ invitation is offered to all. As his family, we welcome all to the journey. So how do we do that? What does love require of us? Look at that powerful verse again, But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. –Acts 10:28 (NLT) Seeing people as God sees them, …it requires a work of God in us. As Peter prayed, God spoke to him. And Peter chose the hard road of humility, Conceding that he was wrong, That the way he was brought up, …was not God’s way. Peter’s heart-change wasn’t easy, And it wasn’t quick, But God transformed him. And God transformed the church under his leadership. When we foster our relationship with God, he speaks. So we seek God, …knowing that as he changes us, …he will bring an end to the patterns of racism and prejudice in our lives. So we ask God to reveal any damaging ways in us. …Opening our eyes and our hearts to love those who are different. To stand up for the marginalized. To meet needs without prejudice. Martin Luther King Jr. said, I am convinced that men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don't know each other… Martin Luther King, Jr. It’s when we get to know people, …That we begin to understand how different their experience is from ours. It’s when we spend time with people That we appreciate the complexities of their situation. We become humble. And we become intentional. Reaching out to neighbors and coworkers who are different from us. Asking questions about what they care about And sharing meals together. I pray you will begin to ask God to expose what’s in your heart. prejudices. I want to encourage you to pray 2 verses every day this week. 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. –Psalm 139 (NIV) Pray, open my eyes, Lord. Help me spot any prejudice or judgment towards others. Help me see the way you do. Instead of justifying it, Give me the courage to eradicate any prejudice from my heart. God created a beautiful and messy and diverse church before. I believe he can do it again. Let’s pray. 34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” -Acts 10:34-35 (NIV)

A D'var Torah for Parashat Tetzaveh. We Jews may find ourselves asking - what does the Torah want from us anyway? This week's parsha offers us an answer from an unlikely topic: Animal Sacrifices. Parashat Tetzaveh focuses heavily on the priestly order instituted in the Torah, as well as some of the earliest commands regarding the sacrificial system - an uncomfortable topic for many contemporary readers, especially folks who eat plant-based. Nevertheless, a discussion between a few Rabbinic Sages may offer fresh insights about sacrifices and what the Torah asks of us. Recorded & edited by Alex Weisz "Uniq - Japan" is under a Royalty Free license. Photo of the license: http://bit.ly/2sTETUQ Music promoted by BreakingCopyright: https://youtu.be/MAiHpRUbc0k Follow Shamayim on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/shamayimjewishanimaladvocacy/ Follow us on Instagram at @shamayimjewishanimaladvocacy

Dr. Shadee and Alex sit down with Sharif Elgamal, a New Yorker who won big in the real estate business. But it wasn't always easy. When he decided to build a masjid in lower Manhattan, it happened to be 2.5 blocks from Ground Zero, and became a target for haters of Islam. His determination to stand firm bequeathed him with many valuable life lessons. 1:00 Meeting Sharif and working at Park 51 aka "The Ground Zero Mosque" 6:00 Why real estate is the hardest business to get into 6:30 Listed among the top 30 real estate personalities in NYC 7:00 Meeting Donald Trump 18:30 Trump slams masjid on Larry King Live 29:30 Selling his first building 35:00 Making it big 41:00 "We Jews have to stick together" 50:00 Staying curious, an amazing story 1:08:00 Losing a bid leads to a big opening 1:23:00 The saga of Ground Zero begins 1:25:00 The first protest at the Landmark Commission hearing 1:30:00 Invitation to The Daily Show 1:32:00 Learning the PR game 1:40:00 Confusion within the organization 1:45:00 Charles Leaf and Fox News is after him 1:47:30 America Live with Megyn Kelly 1:50:00 Tears, dua, and the end of Charles Leaf 1:55:00 Winning 1:59:00 Some conflicts are good 2:10:00 Du'a

“Metatron” in Jewish writings is likened to being the “garment” of the Father. The “garment” of the Almighty, (Ein Sof) is “Metatron”. The Father has revealed himself through the image of the invisible God (Metatron = Yeshua). No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John 1:18 In the book, “Plurality of the Godhead: How can Three be One?” by Rabbi Tzvi Nassi (1863) he states that Metatron is the teacher of Moses. He states: “We Jews believe that Moses was instructed in all divine knowledge by no other than the keeper of Israel. The teacher of our Master, Moses, was Metatron.” Yeshua was the teacher of Moses. Yeshua is the one who gave the Torah at Mt Sinai. Metatron, from Jewish sources, is seen as being the faithful shepherd of Israel. (Psalm 2:12) In John 10:12, 14 it is written: I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. In John 10:7 it is written: Then said Yeshua unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the DOOR of the sheep. Quoting from original Jewish sources, Eddie shows us the following: *Metatron is OVER the heavenly tabernacle *Metatron is the WATCHMAN over Israel *Metatron is the SHEPHERD over Israel *Metatron is the HIGH PRIEST over Israel *Metatron is the ONLY MEDIATOR between Ein Sof (God of Israel) and man All of these roles listed above are fulfilled by YESHUA in the New Testament showing how the Jewish view of “Metatron” is fulfilled in Yeshua! For more Eddie Chumney teachings and beautiful worship music, visit us at our internet streaming radio station; hebrootsradio.com

Dr. Eric T. Karlstrom : Tavistock, Mind Control, Cults9/11 – New World OrderWebmaster, Dr. Eric T. Karlstrom: Emeritus Professor of Geography, California State University (bio)The Following Introductory Quotes Explain the Present Plight of the American Republic and the World:1) The 9/11 attacks were an inside job by the USAF (US Air Force) and the IZCS (International Zionist Criminal Syndicate). The staged Gladio-style False-Flag attack was the choice selected for the attack on the Twin Towers in NYC and the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on 9-11-2001. This attack was done by the USAF, under the authority of a zionist-controlled Criminal Cabal inside the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Secret Shadow Government (SSG).The 9/11 attack was planned, set up and run by (Jewish/dual Israeli-American citizen) NeoCon top Policy-Makers, Israeli Intel and their stateside Sayanims, utilizing a small criminal cabal inside the USAF, NORAD and the JCS. These are facts that can no longer be disputed by any reasonable person who has examined all the available evidence.And it is exceedingly clear to any reasonable person who examines the pre-announcement of WTC-7 destruction that the whole attack was pre-scripted in London and Israel, and that WTC-7 was wired in advance with conventional demolition charges.… There is now a New American War. It is inside America. It is called the “War on Terror”. The enemy is YOU! It is a staged, Phony War that has been created by the International Zionist Crime Syndicate (IZCS). This New War on Terror has an enemy. That enemy is the American People, You and Me…. This new War on Terror has been socially engineered to provide a continual stream of degradations and provocations against the average American, provoking many… to resist, and causing them to be labeled dissenters.Once they have been labeled dissenters they are put on a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Main Core Terror Watch List, which top insiders know is a targeted assassination list for later eradication of all Freedom-loving Americans who want to restore the American Constitutional Republic.At present, the Main Core list has over ten million Americans on it, and it is growing every day with thousands of new additions. Get a ticket for a driving offense or any arrest (even if later proven innocent) and it is highly likely you will be placed on this Main Core Terror Watch and Assassination list…. Any and all Dissenters are now being defined as “Enemies of the State”. And anyone who wants to restore the American Republic will also be defined as a “Domestic Terrorist”.DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is a terrorist group, hand assembled by American/Israeli dual citizen Traitors and is designed to tyrannize, capture and eventually be deployed against Americans to serially mass murder them. This is why they have been called the New American Gestapo of the Neo-Bolshevik Red Cheka Terror Machine.…..The War on Terror is obviously a Phony. But it has been the greatest boon to the American Defense Complex ever, with many times more net American Taxpayer dollars spent on this war than any other war in history, including WW2 or the Vietnam War.Another way to establish a war is to create and fund so-called foreign terrorist groups. This is a costly exercise that take years and can involve as much work as fighting a war…. But enemies for necessary wars can be created if you have the technological help of a nation that has hundreds of years experience in creating its own enemies. This nation is the City of London (Financial District), a separate nation state like the Vatican, located within England.There is a reason England has been referred to as “Perfidious Albion” for centuries. They have been known for their ability to instigate chaos inside nations they want to control by their standard well-developed strategy of “Divide and Conquer”. They are experts at creating long-term provocations between different nations that have competing economic interests. They do this in order to establish a beach-head from which to control the removal of natural resources and accrued wealth.The nation state Israel was created to serve as a long-term provocation for numerous Mideast perpetual wars. This is why the Balfour Declaration was made. This is why the City of London created the New Israel and took land away from the Palestinians to set up a nation of Khazarian Judaic converts (aka “fake Hebrews”), a racially paranoid group mind-kontrolled to believe the delusion that they were of ancient Abrahamic Hebrew Blood.The IZCS believes in preemptive strikes against Goyim (non-Jews) and their institutions. Judaics have also been mind-kontrolled by zionists (many of whom are not Judaics) to believe that they must hijack the American political system to preemptively crush Christianity and American Goyim Culture.….A SERIOUS SPELL, A RACIAL DELUSION OF SUPERIORITY HAS BEEN CAST ON MANY JUDAICS NO MATTER WHERE THEY LIVE, BUT ESPECIALLY SO AMONG THOSE LIVING IN GREATER ISRAEL, WHERE THE LUCIFERIAN HEX FLAG FLIES. WHETHER TRUE OR NOT, TOP ZIONIST LEADERS BELIEVE THIS HEX FLAG SIGNIFIES THE MERGER OF DEMONIC FALLEN ANGEL BEAST-BLOODLINES FROM ABOVE, BRED WITH HUMAN FEMALE BLOODLINES BELOW. THEY BELIEVE THIS MAKES THEM THE “CHOSEN ONES” OF THEIR GOD LUCIFER, AND SUPERHUMAN OR PART GOD ALSO.Conclusion: The IZCS has hijacked America and has deployed numerous weapons against it now culminating in a phony, staged War on Terror, and if you are an American or live in America, one way or another YOU will soon become THEIR NEW ENEMY. Yes, from here on out if you live in America, you are the designated enemy of the USG and its agents of war DHS, the TSA, FEMA, the Alphabets and the US Military in this new War On Terror (which is a war against the American people who are not in the “federal Family”).If you are a member of the (IZCS-created and controlled) “federal family,” it is suggested that you read and study up on the Night of the Longknives (Operation Hummingbird) and the various purges under Lenin, Stalin and Mao. Maybe you should reconsider (following) the oath you took to UPHOLD the US Constitution from ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN and DOMESTIC.….Preston James, PH.D., 2014, YOU are THE ENEMY (Veterans Today)2) “Israel was behind all four fronts in 9/11, that momentous event in our nation´s history: 1) The actual terror attacks themselves; 2) the subsequent cover-up; and both 3) ¨the U.S.-led military invasions overseas¨ and 4) the ¨domestic security state apparatus.¨(Hugh Akins, “Synagogue Rising,” 2012)3) “We (Jews and Israel) control America, and the Americans know it.” Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister, October, 2001, in response to question about 9/114) (9/11) was a mighty operation that was prepared by the special forces of the global mafia to involve the USA in the war against the Muslim world… The global mafia carries out global politics. The USSR collapsed and the same fate has been prepared for the USA. People like the Rothschilds and the Oppenheimers and the Morgans have long term plans.…the entire system of international terrorism works for fascism. There are explosions in Spain, France, Germany, United States, South America, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia and Iraq. This is worldwide. The conclusion is very simple; The people themselves will want someone like (Chilean fascist General) Augusto Pinochet to rule them… The entire system of international terrorism is pushing humanity toward the reception of a hard fascist regime.Russian General Konstantin Petrov5) “Israel has used America as a whore…. They control our government, our media, and the finances of this country…. Through their lobby, Israel has manifested total power over the Congress of the United States… We're conducting the expansionist policy of Israel and everybody's afraid to say it… They are controlling much of our foreign policy, they are influencing much of our domestic policy. They control much of the media, they control much of the commerce of the country, and they control powerfully both bodies of the Congress. They own the Congress… Israel gets billions a year from the American taxpayers, while people in my district are losing their pension benefits…. and if you open your mouth, you get targeted. I was the number one target of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee… We have investigated and found 2 separate incidents of AIPAC spying on America….My concern is the taxpayers and the citizens of the United States should control their government, not a foreign entity… But if you deal with the real problems in America, YOU GET TARGETED.”James Traficant, Jr., U.S. House of Representatives (Ohio) (1941-1941; who was expelled from the House and served 8 years in prison for representing the interests of the United States rather than those of Israel and the Jews6) Treason doth never prosper, what's the reason?For if it prosper, none dare call it Treason.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/1198501/advertisement

Traditions play an important part of our daily walk as new creations in Messiah Yeshua. In my opinion, some traditions enhance that walk, while other traditions hinder it. Logic dictates that if a tradition comes directly from the Torah, then HaShem designed it to enhance our walk. According to Jewish tradition, men wear a tallit to signify obedience to the above-mentioned mitzvah, to signify the desire to engage in public prayer and Torah exposition, or in special cases, depending on the length of the tallit, it can signify a position of leadership (rabbi, deacon, prayer-chanter, etc). We know from the Torah itself, the New Covenant part, that Rabbi Yeshua ben-Yosef, as a Torah observant Jewish man, wore the fringes on his garment (see Matthew 9:20). Now to address the question head on: "Can a woman wear a tallit?" According to the Biblical injunction to perform the mitzvah of the tzitzit, a woman these days should wear some sort of prayer shawl, adorned with fringes. The above-mentioned passage is addressed to the "Children of Isra'el", which translates the Hebrew phrase "B'ney Yisra'el". This familiar phrase, used throughout the TaNaKH quite frequently, normally includes all of Isra'el, and not just the men or (literally) "sons". What this means is that historically, we should have seen the women joining in on this mitzvah. After all, doesn't it stand to reason, therefore, that HaShem wants the females to be Torah-observant also? In the Talmudic tractate Menachot 43a we read that everyone is obligated to perform the mitzvah of tzitzit, however the comment that follows exempts women: “Rabbi Simon exempted women because this was a positive mitzvah limited by time and from all positive, time bound mitzvot women are exempt”. Being exempt from something does not mean one is not allowed to; just because you don’t have to fulfill an obligation, doesn’t exclude you from participating. Commentators, such as Moses Isserles argued that women shouldn’t try and fulfill this mitzvah, as it would constitute an excessive demonstration of pride in their own piety. However nearly all other commentators, with the exception of Maimonides and Epstein, permit women to wear a tallit, and to recite the blessings over it. We Jews do just love to debate! A garment that has four or more square corners on opposite sides (10:1-3,5-9,12) requires fringes (TZITZIS), provided it is big enough to cover most of the body (see 16:1), is primarily used for that purpose (10:10-11;19:1-2), and is owned by Jews (see 14:3,5). TZITZIS are required when the garment is worn during the day, or when it is worn at night if it is normally worn during the day; see 18:1-2. The requirement of TZITZIS applies only to garments made of cloth (see 10:4), and is only rabbinical unless they are made of linen or sheep's wool (9:1); according to some opinions, the garment or the TZITZIS should not be of linen (9:2,6). The TZITZIS may be made either of wool or of the same material as the garment (9:2-4); they may be white or of the same color as the garment (9:5). The TZITZIS are passed through holes near the four corners of the garment (see 11:9-11,15) that are farthest apart (10:1). Four TZITZIS are passed through each hole (11:12-13), and the two groups of four ends are double-knotted to each other at the edge of the garment near the hole (11:14,15). One of the TZITZIS is made longer than the others (11:4); the long end of that one is wound around the other seven ends and double- knotted; this is done repeatedly so as to make a total of five double knots separated by four sections of winding, with a total length of at least four inches, leaving free-hanging ends that are twice that long (11:14).

We Jews don’t usually study the opening chapter of Genesis in depth, but when we do, as in this session with Rabbi Knopf, we can find a text with significant moral demands and that is surprisingly harmonious with modern biology and physics.

I. Review: Making the Case for the Gospel Please open your scriptures this morning to Romans Chapter 3. We'll be looking at verses 9-18. Paul is completing his work of laying out before every single person on the face of the earth, their need for grace in Christ. And if I were to lead any searcher, anybody who's thinking about Christianity that's struggling with the issue of whether they are sinful or whether they really need this grace, or lead them anywhere would be at the verses we're going to look at today. It couldn't be clearer. Now last week's verses are among the most complicated and difficult to follow. There is nothing complicated and difficult to follow in these verses. It is plain what God is saying to us in Romans 3:9-18, that every single last one of us is a sinner and need of God's grace. Now as we look at these verses, I'm mindful of the responsibility that I have as a minister of the Gospel to avoid ministerial malpractice. Now we live in a city of medicine, and many of you are even involved in that and you know the danger of malpractice. Malpractice occurs when a physician fails to give the treatment that he or she knows is needed, or through negligence, or through a variety of things that the patient dies or is not healed when they could have been. And as I think about these passages and this Scripture in particular, I think about the incredible temptation to sugarcoat the truth. Kind of make it palatable, make it comfortable, make it easy to read. But in order to do that, I have to rewrite the verses I'm going to preach on today, because there's nothing comfortable about this doctrine. There's nothing comfortable about total depravity. But I'm mindful of the fact that someday, I'm going to have to present this sermon to Jesus Christ. I'm going to have to give it to Him and say, "Was I faithful to these verses?" And furthermore, I believe that all scripture is useful for our healing, for our transformation, and perhaps none more than this because it tells us the truth. Now imagine if you would, a doctor who was tired, it's the end of the day, it was Friday, maybe looking forward to a long weekend. And he have one more case and he got the report on that case and looked through it and there was no question about it. The report on the woman he was about to see was dire. The report came back and she had cancer, and she was going to need the most extensive chemotherapy, the full treatment. He also knew that this woman tended to be emotional, tended to shriek and scream and get upset at things. He just happened to know this about her, and she was sitting out there in his room waiting for him. And he said, "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Why do I have to bring this message?" So he goes in there and he says in his heart, he says, "I'm just not going to do it. I'm just not going to do it. I've seen this scene too many times. It's been played too many times. I'm not going to do it." And so he comes in there and she says, "Doctor, tell me. What's the matter with me? Why have I been in such pain? Why am I feeling the way I'm feeling? Why am I lacking energy? What's going on?" And he says, "The problem is you're not getting enough vitamins in your diet. You're basically healthy, but you need some more vitamins in your diet. You need some more variety, some more green vegetables, some more exercise. Give it six months, it's going to take a while, but give it six months and you'll be fine. Come back and see me in six months." What would you think of a doctor like that? Well, I know what a malpractice board would think about a doctor like that. The person didn't tell the truth. Now, let's look at it spiritually. Did Jesus ever do that? Did He ever look at you and say, "You're basically all right. You just need a few life adjustments and then you'll be fine." Did the Apostle Paul do that? I don't think so. But there is a category of minister that will do that. Jeremiah described it in Jeremiah 6:13-14. This is what he said, "Prophets and priests alike all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people lightly." They dress the wound of my people lightly. That means they put a bandaid on cancer. And putting a bandaid on cancer does nothing. Actually hastens death because then the person doesn't seek the treatment they really need. "They dress the wound of my people lightly. Peace, peace they say when there is no peace." But there is peace, brothers and sisters. There is peace. The peace is available through faith in Jesus Christ, but it's not available unless you believe the message that I'm about to preach, namely that you need it, that you need it. Listen to these words from the apostle Paul, "What should we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all, for we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written, there is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God, that all have turned away. They have together become worthless. There is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves, their tongues practice deceit, the poison of vipers is on their lips, their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood. Ruin and misery mark their ways and the way of peace, they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes." II. The Universality of Sin: Paul Completes His Case Paul concludes his case with a couple of questions. What shall we conclude then as we've been through Romans 1 and Romans 2 and now we're in Romans 3, what should we conclude then? What have we found? And then he ask another question. Are we any better? Now, who's the "we" he's talking about here? We Jews, perhaps? Paul's a Jew. Maybe he's thinking about himself as a Jew. We Christians, is he saying that? Are we Christians any better? We apostles? I don't really know, but I know this. We includes Paul. And Paul knows what he's about to say. Don't you hate a self-righteous preacher who's not under his own message? But Paul saw that he was under his own message, "I'm a sinner like I'm about to describe to you. This is me. It's true of me too." I don't really need to decide who the "we" is, because the answer already is no. Regardless of who the "we" is, the answer is no. We are not any better. There's no "we" that's any better. There's no grouping of people whether national, or racial, or linguistic, or religious that's any better. There is no "we" that's any better. If better means not needing the grace of God available through Jesus Christ. There is no "we" like that. We are not any better. We have already made the charge Paul says, that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. Now, what is this charge that he's making? There's a judicial word that he brings out here. It's a charge as in a court of law. You get the same picture in Matthew 27:37, crucifixion scene, and it says, "Above Jesus' head they placed a written charge against him." And this was the common manner in crucifixion. They would write the charge out and put it over their head so the passers by could see why this man was on the cross. Now, what could they put for Jesus other than this man, this is the King of the Jews? Beause he had done no sin, committed no evil, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. But what charge is Paul putting over our head? "Under sin" he says. It's over us. Every single one of us. We're all alike, all under sin, Jews and gentiles alike. Now what is under sin mean? It gives a sense of bondage, doesn't it? A sense of compulsion. Now, I tell you this, I have never met anyone who didn't mind admitting that they sinned from time to time. Everybody will say that, quickly followed by such phrases as, "Well, we're all sinful. We're only human," this kind of thing. "We're only human." These are the minimizing statements that we bring in. "Everybody sins. Nobody's perfect," this kind of thing. So everybody will admit that they commit sin, but nobody wants to admit that they're under sin. That's a different matter. It's a matter of slavery, a matter of bondage and compulsion. We will say, "We have free will, and can stop anytime we choose." Stop then. Stop. Stop sinning. Can you do it? Do you have free will in this matter of sin? Any of you who have been living long enough to know that you need to drop your stones when Jesus said, "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone," was the oldest people that dropped the sin first, you know, you can't stop, because you don't have free will in this matter. Turns out that your will is a slave to your nature. Your will is a slave to who you are. It's lackey that just acts out who you are in your heart and your character. And this is a kind of offensive message that Jesus preached to the Jews you remember, when Jesus talked about slavery to the Jews, and they said in John 8, "We've never been slaves to anyone," they said, do you remember? And do you remember what Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin, but if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." Who wants to be free indeed here? I want to be free indeed. I want the Son to make me free indeed, truly free from sin. And in order for that to happen, I need to hear this message fully. I need to hear how bad it is or else I will not be free indeed. I'll be lying to myself. I'll be dealing with the problem slightly or lightly. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. So if the Son sets you free, you'll be free indeed. So set us free Lord Jesus. III. Human Character Apart From Grace: Scripture Diagnoses the Sinful Heart And you know what his instrumentality is? It's scripture. Look at the very next thing that Paul says, "As it is written." You can just underline that in your Bible. As it is written. As you get close to scripture, you start to see yourself properly. You need to get close to the word of God. The further you drift away from the Bible, the more you feel that you're basically a good person. The further you get away from the words of the Scripture, the more that you feel that, "I'm alright. You know what? Yeah, occasionally, I do things, but I'm not that bad." But when you get into the Scripture, it tells you the truth. It's not going to do malpractice, son. It's going to tell you the truth. As it is written. In this way James in Chapter 1 of James likens the law to a mirror. As we look into the perfect law that gives freedom, we see a good reflection of ourselves. It's accurate. It looks like what we really look like. And we need to be told the truth. There was a Scottish man a little while ago walking through a park in Scotland. He was carrying his Bible in a leather carrying case. And that was the days when those Instamatic cameras and the Polaroid cameras were popular where you can get a picture out immediately, and it turned out that his Bible looked like one of those carrying cases for those cameras and some of the boys came up, they were playing and they said, "Take a picture of us, take a picture." So they stood next to one another like they were posing for a portrait, while all he had with him was a Bible. So being creative, and being like spirit filled man of God, he opened up his Bible to Romans 3:9-18 and said, "I already have your picture, it's right here." And he read Romans 3:9-18, and he used it as an opportunity to preach the Gospel. This is a portrait of us. It's a portrait of you and me. It's not pretty though, is it? All I can tell you is that this is where you start with the Gospel of God's graces, it's not where you finish. This is the beginning point, and it isn't pretty, it's ugly. Here the Apostle Paul cites five Psalms and one reading from Isaiah. Five Psalms and one reading from Isaiah. Now, all of it put together gives a clear picture of humanity and no one escapes the string of verses. Psalm 14:1-3 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away they've together become worthless. There is no one who does good, not even one." That's Psalm 14:1-3. Psalm 5:9 testifies this way, "They're throats are open graves, their tongues practice deceit." And then Paul reaches out for Psalm 140:3, "The poison of vipers is on their lips." And then he pulls in Psalm 10:7, "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." And then he reaches for a word from Isaiah 59:7-8, "They're feet are swift to shed blood, ruin in mystery, mark their ways in the way of peace, they do not know." And then to conclude, he pulls in Psalm 36:1, "There is no fear of God before their eyes." So it's the montage of Scriptures that he's putting together here. And he puts together a united portrait of humanity but it also gives us a problem. There's an interpreters problem in here. And maybe you didn't see it, what you have to do is go back and read these verses in context in the old testament. And as you do you begin to notice something that Paul left out and it could get to troubling you. Let's take Psalm 14 for example. Psalm 14:1 it says, "There is no one righteous, not even one." But then, later on it says in versea 4-5, "Will evil doers never learn? Those who devour my people as men eat bread. God is present in the company of the righteous." And you left that out, Paul. It seems Paul you're just lifting verses out of context and you're neglecting things that don't prove your point. Anybody can do that. Prove texting, put something together the way you want. You're trying to prove Paul that everyone is unrighteous. Well, I disagree. Right here in verse 5 of Psalm 14 that talks about God present in the company of the righteous. And there's all kinds of Psalms and Proverbs like that. There's the righteous and the wicked, the righteous and the wicked, all over the place in the old testament. Job was a righteous man. So what it this, "There is no one righteous, not even one"? There's a problem here. What is the solution? Well first of all, let's understand who we're talking about. Did the apostle Paul not know his Scripture? Did he not know Psalm 14? Of course, he did. Of course he knew that there was the righteous and the wicked. The question then comes where do the righteous come from? How did they get to be righteous? And he already answered that back in Romans 1:16-17, "I'm not ashamed of the Gospel, because in the Gospel there's the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew then for the Gentile. For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. A righteousness that is from faith to faith, just as it is written. The righteous will live by faith." So we could ask Paul, "Well, Paul, you've got a righteous person in your writing here. There's a righteous person who's living by faith." He's aware of the righteous and the wicked. But what he would say is they didn't start that way. They didn't start righteous, they started wicked. Well, he gets to it in Romans four Verse Three. In Romans 4:3 it says, "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." It was a gift. Abraham, this righteous Jew needed a gift of righteousness or he wouldn't be righteous. It was credited to him as a gift. And then even better. These five Psalms, who wrote them? All five Psalms, they all come from the same author, who is it? It's David. David wrote them. Now David, are you righteous? Are you righteous, David? Well, depends what you mean. It depends what you mean. For Psalm 32 says this, "Blessed is the man who's transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him, and in whose spirit is no deceit." David's talking about a blessedness that comes as a gift. The forgiveness of sins. And it comes to the man and to the woman in whose spirit is no trickery, no deceit. Well, what are you going to deceive yourself about? That you don't need this grace, that you don't need this forgiveness, that you don't need the gift of righteousness. And then at the end of Psalm 32 he says, "Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous. Sing all you who are upright in hearts." See, he's got the righteous right there in Psalm 32. They didn't start that way though, did they? The beginning of the Psalm, they're looking for forgiveness from sin. By the end of the Psalm, they're righteous. Is there a contradiction here? Not at all. Not all. 'Cause there is a righteousness available. It's just not available naturally. You're not going to find it by looking within. The answer isn't there, it comes as a gift. Problem resolved. Because David said in Psalm 5:7, "But I, by your great mercy will come into your house." Is that precious to you? "But I, by your great mercy will come into your house." There is a righteousness available, and an invitation right into the very presence of God, right into His house, but it's only by His mercy, His great mercy. And who is it that needs great mercy? Great sinners. Sinners like here in verses 9-18. Also notice the centrality of God in all this. When people say, "I'm basically a good person." You know what they mean by that? They tend to look at it this way. "Well, I give money to charity. I help people, I speak kindly to people. I treat people well, I look after my mother. I deal with people well, I speak to my neighbor when I go and get the mail. I'm not one of those people that's gruff and walks away from them. And I'm certainly not like those people you read about in the newspaper that do those awful things. I've never done any of those awful things." Do you notice what's happening in that whole discussion? It's all horizontal. It's all human to human, human to human, human to human. Even if it were all true it's still all horizontal and it isn't all true, by the way. But it's all horizontal, what about God? Where does He fit into that? He's at the beginning and the end here. Right at the start, it says, "There's no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God." That's what it means to be righteous, that's what it means to understand. It means to seek God, to want Him above all things. That's the start of the list. What about the finish? There is no fear of God before their eyes. The real problem with sin is that it ruptures your relationship with God. Its the vertical that's in view here, and then the horizontal. Not to say the horizontal isn't important, but it's the vertical that's in view and that's what sin ruptures beyond repair. If God doesn't fix it, it can't be fixed. The Doctrine of Total Depravity We are not basically a good person. We do not love God with all of our heart and our soul, and our mind, and our strength. And that is called in theological language, total depravity. Total depravity. Now it's not a pretty term but it's not a pretty thing. We shouldn't have pretty terms for ugly things. Total depravity describes accurately the natural human heart. Now the word "total" means every person in every area, that's what the word "total" means. "Depravity" means wicked, wickedness, twisted-ness, perversion. Total depravity. Every person in every area. Not in every single action, that's not what I'm saying, but I'm saying there's no bastion in you. There's no part of you that's free from sin. Are your emotions free from sin? Are they pure and pristine? Or do they have a twist to them? How about your mind? Maybe your mind is a citadel of purity and uprightness, is it true? How about your heart, your will? Is there any part of you not touch by sin? Total is its touch. Depravity of Character And what about every person? Well verse 10 it says, "No not one." Verse 12 it says "No not one." Does anyone escape? No. Paul includes himself. Remember he say, "We've already made the charge that we alike are all under sin. We are not any better. Everybody's under it." What kind of depravity is he discussing here? Well, depravity of character, depravity of conversation, depravity of conduct. That's pretty total, isn't it? It covers everything. Lets start with the character, depravity of character he says "There is no one righteous. No, not one." What that mean is on Judgement Day, you will not have the very thing that God will ask you for, namely righteousness. You will have none to give. Its not available. You will not find it in yourself. If it doesn't come from another source you will not have it. There's is no one righteous, no, not one. Now realize that God's righteousness is the foundation of his throne. It is the scepter of his kingdom and he will not allow you into heaven without it. And he's saying, "You don't have it, it doesn't belong to you." Depravity of Mind And then there's the depravity of mind, depraved minds, it says, "There is no one who understands." Understands what? Understands God. Naturally no one understands God. Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, he says, "Since through the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God. God was pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save him who had believe." What that says is you can't search out God by technological means, by philosophy, by thinking, you won't find Him because you don't understand and you never will unless God gives you the understanding. All our technological knowledge will avail us nothing at all on the great day because we haven't understood God. And that's so tragic isn't it? God sent his son Jesus Christ, and Jesus at the end of his life, he prayed the night before he was crucified and this is what came from his heart. It was a cry and he said in John 17:25, "Righteous Father, the world has not known you." The world doesn't know you God. And to God the son that's a tragedy. All that horizontal stuff is thrown out the window because we don't know God, we don't understand Him, we don't know who He is. Depraved minds. Depravity of Desire Depraved desires. It says, "No one who seeks God." What do you seek? It's the thing you want. What do you really want? Write it down. What do you really want in life? Is God on the list? If God's on the list you're already a child of grace. Because no one seeks God naturally. If you want God today you're already been moved on by grace. It's already happening in you. Because naturally you don't want God. You don't want anything to do with God. No one seeks God. Do you understand how important this is, theologically? Do you understand how important this statement is, "No one seeks God naturally." Well I'll show you, Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me, when you look for me with all your heart." But Jeremiah, no one's looking. No one's looking, okay? Isaiah 55:6 what a great chapter, "Seek the Lord while He may be found." But Isaiah, no one is seeking. They're not looking. No one. No, not one. It's very important. But what are they seeking? They're seeking something else. It isn't God that they're seeking. Philippians 3:19 says, "Their God is their stomach and their glory is in their shame." What does it mean that, "Your God is your stomach"? It means your earthly appetites, you're seeking something here on Earth. That's what you're seeking, something Earth bound, or you're seeking an idol. Some false construction of your own imagination, that's what you're seeking. But it isn't God. Depraved desire is also depraved response to God. When God confronts you through his prophet through His word, when God confronts you, you turn away. Verse 12: "All have turned away." All have turned away. The word is usually used of an army which comes and is confronted with a greater army and turns in terror and runs from the field. It means, to avoid at all cost, like you would if you were walking along and saw a viper on the road, you would turn and avoid it at all cost. That's what the word means in the Greek. And what it means, if we do that with God, when we're confronted with God, we avoid at all costs. We don't want to hear. We don't want to know. We avoid God at all cost. That's our natural habitat. And because of that, we have depraved value. They have together become worthless. Worthless. Now, misery loves company. They do it together. They do it all together and together they become worthless. What is worthless mean? That kinda hurts a little bit. I've always thought of myself as worth a lot. Well, I know that we're worth a lot. We're created in an image of God. God sent His son to die on the cross for us. The precious blood of Christ is what redeemed us. But this verse still says worthless. We need to understand what that means. There's a picture in Jeremiah's ministry. God commanded Jeremiah, "Go buy a brand new linen belt, a clean white linen belt. And I want you to take that belt and use it to hold your tunic in, use it for awhile." And then, after he'd used it for awhile, he commanded him to take off the linen belt and go down by the river and dig a hole near the river in the mud and put the linen belt down there and cover it up and leave it there for awhile. Now, when I was getting ready to preach, I prepared my sermons in advance so that I can do these kinds of things. I was thinking of doing it with a necktie and wearing the necktie today. What would it look like, a necktie dug in the ground and filled in with dirt for four or five weeks? Well, that's about what the linen belt look like when Jeremiah was commanded to dig it up. And this is what God says about that linen belt. These wicked people who refused to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other Gods to serve, and worship them will be like this belt, completely useless. What are you going to use a belt like that for? Falling apart, rotten and muddy. That's what I think of when I think of this word worthless. Now remember we don't stay there but this is where we start. Depravity of Deeds God created us for a purpose and everyday we turn away from that purpose. Depraved action is also. Verse 12: "There is no one who does good, not even one." Now wait a minute, Paul. I do good things all the time. I do them all the time. You reach in your pocket and you bring out your bobbles with your muddy hands and you say, "See. Look, here's all my good things. Hold on to them for judgement day and produce them then. Use them for your sin to explain yourself to God." Will he accept them? Will they be valuable and precious to him on that day? There is no one who does good. No, not one." It's a shocking assessment to people who help old ladies across the street and give to UNICEF and other things. It's a shocking assessment. There's no one who does good, not even one. There was a time in Jesus' ministry when someone came up to him and said, "Good teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" That's the double good question. Good teacher and good thing. Okay. "Good teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Jesus picked up on the word "good". He said, "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Or, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." Did you hear what Jesus just said? "No one is good but God alone." Well, no one is good but God alone and me. I'm basically a good person. No, Jesus didn't say that. He said, "No one is good but God alone." Jesus said, "I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." "It's not the healthy who need the doctor but the sick. I'm the physician of the soul. If you need a physician, come to me. But if you're healthy, don't bother, don't come. You don't need me." No one is good but God alone. Depraved actions come from a depraved heart. "Make a tree good," said Jesus, "And its fruit will be good. Make a tree bad, and its fruit will be bad. For a tree is known by its fruit." Depraved character. Depravity of Speech In verse 12-14, he talks about depraved conversation. "Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues, they keep on deceiving." There's a continual deceiving here. "The poison of vipers is under their lips and their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." Do you see the death in this verse? Death, death, death. Graves, deceit, poison, cursing, death when you open your mouth and speak. Now what does it mean when it says, their throat is an open grave. Well, what would it be like in Palestine if you buried Lazarus and came back four days later but you never did close up the tomb. Just been open the whole time. What a stench would come. "Their throat is an open grave." says Paul. What comes out of there, it isn't good. And deceit and poison is under their lips is the literal translation. The poison of viper is under the lips. What this is talking about is that secret damage that the lips do, gossip, slander, character assassination, the secret things. And then the picture is of a vile serpent. Can you tame a serpent? There's a story recently of a boy who saw a baby rattle snake just coming out of an egg and he figured he'd take it home for a pet. Now of course the full grown rattle snake you don't want to mess with. But maybe if you take it home just out of the egg and treat it real nice, feed it well, care for it, it can be a good pet. And so, he did and he cared for it, and took care of it and I don't know what he did. I don't want to know what he did with that snake. But I know this, at one point he came to the cage and it had escaped. By this point, it was much larger, and he looked around for it, and he heard the faint rattling and it was behind the couch and he reached down to get it. What do you think happened when he reached down to get it? Well, it bit him. Oh, I know what it was, it didn't recognize that it was his hand. If it had only known it was the hand of the one who had cared for it all that time. You can't tame a snake. You can't change its basic nature. James 3:8, "No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison." That's the tongue. Would you like to have a transcript of everything you've said in the last month? Just to sit and read it. Just look at the things you've said. Bring out a highlighter and highlight the things that glorified God and those things that didn't tend toward God's glory. It's hard to tame the tongue, isn't it? So there's that deceit, the poison under the lips. And then, there's cursing and bitterness, which is the open attack, the verbal barrage, open hatred, the full guns blazing. So you've got the secret approach, gossip and slander then you've got the open attack. And knowing we all do this, it's so tragic because that's not what the tongue is for. The tongue is for praising God. And instead, we curse. And therefore, the tongue becomes a major source of our judgment. Jesus says, "I tell you that man will have to give an account on judgment day for every careless word that they have spoken. For by your words, you will be acquitted and by your words, you will be condemned." The tongue. Depravity of conversation, Depravity of Conduct Finally, depravity of conduct, verse 15-17. "Their feet are swift to shed blood. Ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace, they do not know." Now, feet traveling on a path relates to lifestyle. It's your everyday life, how you carry yourself, your conduct, the journey you travel. What are your feet doing? Christianity, early on, was called the way. Probably after Jesus saying, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life," etcetera. And so, there's a journey marked before. But what journey are you traveling naturally? Where are you heading? And it says here, "The feet are eager and zealous to kill." "Oh now, here I've got you, Paul. I've never killed anybody. I've never killed anybody." Now I have two answers to that. First of all, why haven't you killed anybody? Is it because you never wanted to? And if you did want to, what stopped you? Well, there's this little thing called the law and police, and electric chairs, prison, those kinds of things. Why is it when all those things are removed in a time of anarchy, murder goes right up? It's because people finally have a chance to do the thing they wanted to do all along. They say, "I'm not like that." Okay, well Jesus dealt with that in the sermon on the mount. What is the root of murder? Anger. And he says that anger itself is enough to condemn someone. Feet are swift to shed blood. And then it says, "Ruin and misery mark their ways." The word "ruin" means shattering. If you can imagine a beautiful piece of pottery like a Chinese vase. Okay, it's not a vase, it's a vase, very valuable. And you take that and you throw it down on a marble floor. Shattered. That's what this word means. They're ruin and misery, shattering and misery is characteristic of their way. It's a shattered life. Do you see what sin does to a life? What does sin do to a life? It shatters it. Sin is your biggest enemy. It shatters your life. And it says, "Misery marks the way." Ask somebody who's strung out on dope, "Are you happy? Do you enjoy your life?" "No, my life is miserable. It hurts. And I'd give anything to come out of it." Ruin and misery marks their ways. And the way of peace, they do not know. Peace is totally foreign to them. "The wicked," says Isaiah in Isaiah 57, "are like tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast out mire and mud. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked." They don't know how to have peace with themselves. They don't know how to have peace with their neighbors and they certainly don't know how to have peace with God. And the root of the whole thing, there is no fear of God before their eyes, verse 18. No fear of consequences, no judgment day. They don't think about it. That's a picture of total depravity. Depravity in character, depravity in conversation, depravity in conduct, total. And it's true of everyone. There is no one righteous, no, not one. We're all under the same thing. Paul was under it. He said, "We, all of us alike are all under sin." IV. The Staggering Implications Of This Doctrine Well, what are the implications of this doctrine? Well, they're staggering. Absolutely staggering. First of all, there is no such thing as native righteousness. There's nothing inside you to present on judgment day. It's not there. You will look in vain for it. You must forsake looking because you will not find it. You need a righteousness that comes from another place. You need the righteousness, which God bought through the blood of Jesus Christ. You need to put it on and stand in it on judgment day. You need to stop looking for your own righteousness and realize that if you want it, if you're hungry for it, if you're thirsty for that righteousness, even that's not coming from yourself. The wanting wasn't there either, was it? There is no one who seeks God. So if you want it, if you're yearning for it, if you're hungry for the righteousness, which only God can give, guess what? Grace is already at work in you. No one suddenly decides to follow Jesus. They had years to do that and they never did it. Jesus said this in John 6:44, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, draws him," and he will come. That also means that every Godward impulse in us, every Godward impulse has come from grace. Any word which is pleasing to God, any action which is pleasing to God, anything at all that comes that is pleasing to God came from his grace. Another implication, "Where then is boasting?" It is out the door. It's gone forever. We don't boast in anything we do. But instead we say with the apostle Paul with joy in our hearts we say, "By the grace of God I am what I am." Can you say that? "By the grace of God I am what I am. By the grace of God I love His word. By the grace of God I love to pray. By the grace of God I want to go to heaven and see him forever and ever. By the grace of God and by the grace of God alone I will be saved. There's no other solution there's no other salvation." Read these verses for yourself. When you're saved, when you're saved by grace and someone else isn't and you're looking over that person, and you're looking at yourself, and you're trying to decide what's the difference. Was it anything in you that made you different than that other person? Anything at all? Is there any difference? There is no difference. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Now I want to do something that's not in this passage. I've been waiting for this moment this entire sermon. I'd like you to take your pen if you would and on the back of my sermon outline I have each of these phrases here. And what I'm going to do to finish up today is I'm going to give you a Bible verse, a Bible verse which reverses each of these statements and shows that each one of them is reverse by the Gospel of Grace in the life of a Christian. Everyone of them. V. The Great Reversal of the Gospel So we have total depravity but we also have total salvation from the depravity. The first one says, "There is no one righteous. No, not one." What shall we put under that? Write "Romans 3:21" or you could write "Romans 1:17." Romans 3:21. "But now, a righteousness from God apart from law has been made known. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Romans 3:21. Alright, how about this one? "There is no one who understands." Romans 15:21 says, Romans 15:21, "Those who were not told about 'em will see and those who have not heard will understand." You could also write Luke 24:45. "Then he opened their minds so that they could understand the scriptures." Isn't that great? Alright, how about this one, "There is no one who seeks God." What did Jesus say? Mathew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied." Where does the hunger come from? Where does the thirst come from? God puts it there. For also Hebrews 11:6. Hebrews 11:6, "Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him." Where does that come? It comes by faith. Alright, all have turned away. Turning away from God is a mark of rebellion right? Jews and Gentiles alike have turned away from God. Well, here's the Jew verse, 2 Corinthians 3:16, "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord the veil is removed." So there's the Jewish people turning to Jesus Christ. Alright we need a Gentile verse. 1 Thessalonians 1:9, "They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God." You've got the Jewish verse and the Gentile verse, both have turned to God. Alright, how about this? "They have together become worthless." That word that stung so much. Alright. Now Revelation 3:4, Revelation 3:4, "They will walk with me dressed in white for they are worthy." They are worthy. Who? People who believe in Jesus. "There is no one who does good. Not even one?" Ephesians 2:10, "we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus…" to do what? Good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. "Their throats are open graves, their tongues practice deceit, the poison of vipers is on their lips, their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." Take them all together and write over it Proverbs 10:11. "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life." Isn't that great? We've got death over here, now the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life. "Their feet are swift to shed blood." Bloody feet. Won't you rather have beautiful feet? Romans 10:15, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news." Those are gospel proclaimers. All of a sudden instead of going to kill you're going to bring eternal life. Shattering in misery mark their ways. The brokenness of sin, what does Jesus say? Luke 4:18, "The Lord has sent me to bind up the broken hearted." Can Jesus do that? Can he take all those broken pieces and put them back together? The Lord has sent me to do it. I can bind up the broken hearted. Luke 4:18. "The way of peace they do not know." They don't know the way. They don't know the way. John 14:4, "You know the way, to where I'm going." John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." you do know the way and his name is Jesus Christ. And then finally, "There is no fear of God before their eyes." 2 Corinthians 7:1. It says that Christians are perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Do you see the total reversal of our total depravity? All of it available through faith in Jesus Christ. Let's close in prayer.