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Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Showing posts with label Jewish tradition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jewish tradition. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
"Almost every message of Yeshua was about FORGIVENESS..." ONE FOR ISRAEL
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Pentecost: The Purpose and the Commandments -Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY
Pentecost: The Purpose and the Commandments
Sunday, June 04, 2017 | Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY
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Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks, is the conclusion of Passover that took place seven weeks earlier. The two holidays are connected via the Counting of the Omer which started on the second day of Passover. The counting of 49 days represents the preparation and anticipation for the giving of the Torah, that, according to Jewish tradition, was given on Pentecost.
Following this line of thought, on Passover the people of Israel were freed from the bondage of the Egyptian slavery hence, from the physical aspect of slavery. On Pentecost, with the giving of the Torah, the people of Israel were made free from the bondage of the natural laws through obedience to the divine commandments which are in the Torah.
This perceived contradiction of law and freedom baffles Christians, many of whom have been trained to think of the Law as enslaving rather than making one free. Secular Jews also tend to think along these lines. For them the Torah takes away the freedom to live as one wishes.
But from the long-held Jewish perspective, the Pentecost marks a joyous event in which the people of Israel agreed to accept the Torah, something that shouldn't be taken for granted, given the natural reaction to the many laws that, as stated, seemingly restricts rather than extends freedom.
The contradiction between Law and freedom has occupied Jewish sages from time immemorial, and their conclusions are profound. Commenting on the physical aspect of the divine Tablets as described in Exodus 32:16 – "the tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets" – the Talmudic sage rabbi Joshua son of Levi takes advantage of the Hebrew language, and slightly changes the vowels of "engraved" to reach the conclusion that one should read "freedom" - (herut instead of harut). "Freedom on the tablets" thus have become the way in which Jews view the commandments.
How the commandments make one free was explained by the renowned scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz, in his 1953 article, "Practical Commandments." Human beings, he reasons, can't escape the laws of nature. This means that man is bound to the "causal chain of forces … which act upon him and within him." The natural man is enslaved to the natural laws, and as such is "just like the cattle grazing in the pasture, which are also free from the Torah and Commandments; that is, from any law externally imposed.” This bondage includes will and reason. The conclusion, then, is that for man to be truly free, he must have external, divine, forces working within him; forces that are provided through the commandments.
From this perspective, for Jews to be free from their beastly nature, they must accept other laws than human laws in order to transcend nature. Israel is therefore, since the giving of the Law are under a divine unnatural law, that has the external power to elevate them to a higher state that can make them a light to the world.
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Monday, February 15, 2016
All New Hebrew Music Monday ✡ "They Shall Pray" - ISRAEL365
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Saturday, February 13, 2016
ISRAEL MAKES BIG CHANGES AT THE WESTERN WALL - TouchPoint Israel
SINCE ISRAEL REGAINED CONTROL OF JERUSALEM IN 1967, THE WESTERN WALL PLAZA HAS BEEN OPEN TO PUBLIC PRAYER. BUT UNTIL NOW, IT WAS EXCLUSIVELY UNDER THE OVERSIGHT OF THE ULTRA-ORTHODOX RABBINIC LEADERSHIP AND STRICT RULES WERE ENFORCED TO PREVENT NON-ORTHODOX PRACTICES. WOMEN AND MEN WERE SEPARATED BY A BARRIER JUST AS THEY WOULD BE IN AN ORTHODOX SYNAGOGUE, AND WOMEN WERE NOT ALLOWED TO CARRY TORAH SCROLLS OR LEAD PRAYER SERVICES.
For years, groups within Israel have worked to break the ultra-Orthodox monopoly on the site, but the highly-sensitive religious nature of the topic has caused tremendous controversy. Two years ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed a committee to work on finding a solution. This week, the Prime Minister’s cabinet voted on a compromise and it passed 15-5.
Israel will construct a separate platform against the Western Wall for egalitarian prayer, with it’s own entrance, so that the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox worshipers may continue their traditional practices on one side and the Conservative and Reform worshipers may worship freely in a mixed-gender setting on the other side.
As with any compromise, not everyone is fully satisfied with the result, but those who are opposed are still relieved that the controversy is at an end.
Shmuel Rabinowitz, chief rabbi of the Western Wall, gave a statement expressing relief that there would no longer be quarrels at the Wall among Orthodox and non-Orthodox worshipers. In part, he said, “The Western Wall will continue to remain open to any worshiper — man or woman — at all hours of every day, with respect and loyalty to Jewish tradition and Jewish heritage, as the Western Wall is the clear symbol of these.”
Anat Hoffman, Chairwoman of the controversial women’s rights group Women at the Wall, celebrated the news. She said, “This is a dramatic and meaningful victory for the women of Israel and the people of Israel.”
While the new prayer platform is being built, the current ultra-Orthodox practices must still be followed at the Western Wall. Once the project is complete, all visitors will have full access to either side to pray, but must follow the customs assigned to each.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Red Heifer Found in America - ISRAEL TODAY
Red Heifer Found in America
Thursday, June 26, 2014 | Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY
Finding a red heifer is like finding a needle in a hay stack. But early this week some overly industrious Jew managed to do just that in the United States of America.
This finding is all the more intriguing considering that on the coming Sabbath (Shabbat) Jews will read in the synagogues the Torah portion that begins with one of the mysterious commandment of the Red Heifer: “Tell the Israelites to procure for you a red heifer that is free from every blemish and defect and on which no yoke has ever been laid…” (Num. 19:2ff).
The Red Heifer is an extremely rare creature. According to Jewish tradition, during the two thousand years from the time this commandment was given until the destruction of the Second Temple in the first century AD, only nine red cows that met the biblical criteria were ever found.
For a cow to be a Red Heifer it has to be without blemish, one that was never put to work and completely reddish. Jewish law requires keeping the young cow under strict care until it reaches three years old. During this time, leaning on the cow, riding it even once or even putting a piece of cloth on its back disqualifies it from becoming a Red Heifer.
Strict rules also apply to its color. Two single hairs of a color other than red automatically disqualify it from becoming a Red Heifer. A Red Heifer candidate that that was discovered in 2000 was disqualified after two black hairs were found on it.
Likewise, a cow that meets all other criteria, but is older than four is disqualified. The present calf has a long way until, if at all, it will become a real Red Heifer.
In biblical times, the Red Heifer was to be completely burnt by a priest outside the Temple. Interestingly enough, the Red Heifer was burnt on the Mount of Olives, where the Dominus Flevit [The Lord Cried] Church is located today.
After being burnt, the Red Heifer’s ashes were mixed with water called the “water of remission,” which was used to purify people, especially those defiled by touching dead animals. This most serious form of defilement required Jews to undergo a ceremonial cleansing with the ash of a Red Heifer before they could again enter the Temple courtyards. In other words, without the Red Heifer, Jewish worship on the Temple Mount is not possible.
The discovery of a red calf that could potentially become a Red Heifer excites many Jews who believe that Moses prepared the first Red Heifer and Messiah will prepare the last one.
The possibility of finding a real Red Heifer prompted the Temple Institute to make the logistic preparations needed for bringing the American calf to Israel and to train priests that will perform this sacred and rare sacrificial ceremony.
At least in theory, this calf could help Jews sufficiently purify themselves to engage in real Temple activities. For now, however, believers will have to chew their nails for at least two and a half years before it will be known whether or not this import is the Red Heifer.
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