The following are lessons that I have learned from:
1. The Jews as I have participated in their Torah study
and in their services.
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The Jews number the Ten Commandments in a different manner
than Christians do. The first commandment according to the Jews is to
remember the mercy that the Lord showed the children of Israel by leading
them out of Egypt (verse 2).
Exodous 20
[1] And God spake all these words, saying,
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The Hebrew name for Jesus is: Yeshua, which means "He
who saves."
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Jesus Christ was the Son of God..... Jesus was a Jew....
Ergo, God the Father is Jewish.
I actually heard a Jewish lady make this observation at a
Jewish Torah study. Neither the Rabbi nor anyone else took up stones to throw
against her. Rather they all politely listened. This lady did not intend to
bear witness of Jesus in the Evangelical Christian sense, but her statement
was nevertheless remarkable in that it showed that at least some Jews are
beginning to believe in Jesus Christ.
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The Jews were redeemed from Egypt because:
1. They kept their Hebrew names.
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[2] The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my
salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my
father's God, and I will exalt him.
Exodus 15
This verse foreshadowed the Temple.
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The Haggadah commands us, “In each and every generation, a
person is obligated to see him or herself as though he or she personally came
out of Egypt.”
(The Haggadah contains the order of the Passover Seder,
which is a ritual feast).
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God through his miraculous power enabled the children of
Israel to "pass over" the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds) on dry ground.
He then drowned Pharoah's army in this sea. But God cried because he so
cherished life that he had never wanted to kill the Egyptians.
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The Jews must be compassionate to others because they
remember the injustices that their forefathers suffered while slaves in
Egypt.
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Exodus 16
[14] And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon
the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the
hoar frost on the ground.
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Exodus 16 - First reference to the Sabbath since the
Creation
[14] And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon
the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the
hoar frost on the ground.
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[8] He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what
doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with thy God?
Micah 6
[4] And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth
and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee awesome
things.
Psalms 45 This is a Messianic Psalm. We should also follow
the example of Jesus Christ in truth and meekness and righteousness.
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According to a story in the Talmud, God offered the Torah
to all the nations of the earth, and the Jews were the only ones who accepted
it. According to another story, the Jews were offered the Torah last, and
accepted it only because God held a mountain over their heads!
Another traditional story suggests that God chose the Jews
because they were the lowliest of nations, and their success would be
attributed to God's might rather than their own ability.
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Shavuot 2009 starts on Thursday night, May 28 and
continues through Saturday, May 30. The Hebrew dates are the 6th and 7th of
Sivan.
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The Jews have carried the Torah with them as they have
escaped from burning villages.
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Midrash Exodus Rabbah 25:12 - Rabbi Levi said: If Israel
kept the Sabbath properly even for one day, the Son of David would come.
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Advice from Sadie, a 100-year old Jewish woman.
I asked her, "What is the secret of Jewish
longevity?" She replied, "A zest for life."
She also declared, "It is a beautiful world, who
would want to leave it?"
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Jacob's name was changed to Israel, which means
"Struggled with God."
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The "Honey" in the "Land of Milk and
Honey" actually refers to the fruit of a date palm rather than to bee
honey. The dates are processed into a honey syrup. (Exodus 3:8)
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Forgiveness and "letting go" are two different
things.
We "let go" for our own sanity. We forgive those
who ask for forgiveness in order to release them from their guilt.
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Bethlehem means "House of Bread."
John 6
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Hebrew Terms for God
Adonai - Hebrew for "Lord"
Elohim is plural, meaning "Gods."
El is the singular form of Elohim.
God is rendered as Elohenu (or Eloheinu) in the Shema.
"Tzuri" or "Tsuri" means "my
rock" (usually reserved for God)
_______
Additional Hebrew Terms
Berakhah - prayer of blessing.
B'nei Mitzvah - plural of Bar Mitzvah
Chesed - "mercy", kindness, charity, love.
Chumash - five books of Moses, also called by the Greek name Pentateuch.Etz Chaim - tree of life.Haggadah - a book containing the liturgy for the Seder
service on the Jewish festival of Passover.
Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia - Let us praise the
Lord
Hosanna (Hoshea na) - Please save or save now.
Kadash - sacred or holy.
Kaddish - liturgical prayer, consisting of three or six
verses.
L'Chayim - To life.
Mazal Tov - Congratulations.
Mezuzah - A mezuza is affixed to the doorpost of Jewish
homes. It is inscribed with specified verses from the Torah, specifically
from the Shema prayer, which begins with the words "Hear, O
Israel." See Deuteronomy 6:4-9 & 11:13-21.
Mikra - another name for Tanakh.
Minyan - a quorum of ten adults.
Mitzvah - religious commandment.
Seder - a ceremonial dinner that commemorates the Exodus
from Egypt and includes the reading of the Haggadah and the eating of
symbolic foods, generally held on the first night of Passover by Reform Jews
and Jews in Israel and on both the first and second nights by Orthodox and
Conservative Jews outside of Israel.
Selah - There different interpretations of this term. One
is that it is an exclamation to measure and reflect upon what has been said.
An alternate definition is "forever." Selah is also the name of a
city from the time of David and Solomon.
Shabbat - Sabbath
Shatnez - a garment containing both interwoven wool and
linen
Tallit - prayer shawl
Tanakh - Hebrew Bible - consisting of the Torah, Nevi'im
and Ketuvim.
Torah - meaning "Instruction" - the five books
of Moses.
Tzedakah
- Charity
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Shema
The term "Shema" is used by extension to the
whole part of the daily prayers that commences with Shema Yisrael and
comprises Deuteronomy 6:4–9, 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37–41.
Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.
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Prayer before Torah Study
BA ROOKH' AH TA' ADONAI
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More Prayers
Barukh atah Hashem, Eloheynu, melekh ha-olam.
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Dos Pintele Yid
However, the better response is summed up by a famous
Yiddish expression, "dos
pintele Yid," which signifies the existence of an
indefinable special Jewish spark in every Jewish soul that can be re-ignited
under the right circumstances. The expression is often used to refer to
someone who has grown distant from the faith or the fold. For instance, you
might overhear two elders saying something like: "Did you hear? Kirk
Douglas got in touch with his pintele Yid and came back to Yiddishkeit."
Pintele Yid is a popular concept that is based on a
rabbinic Torah commentary. In chapter 29 of Deuteronomy, Moses tells the
people of Israel: "Neither with you only do I make this covenant and
this oath; but with him that stands here with us this day before the Lord our
God, and also with him that is not here with us this day." The rabbinic
interpretation of this verse is that the soul of every Jew ever to be born in
the future was present at Mt. Sinai. Therefore every Jew has a "Jewish
spark" because every Jewish soul, no matter how estranged, potentially
retains the subconscious memory of standing at Mt. Sinai and receiving the
Torah.
The pintele Yid is very much in evidence every Rosh
Hashana and Yom Kippur when millions of Jews who don't normally attend
synagogue take days off from their busy schedules to sit quietly in the
sanctuary, sing prayers and atone for their sins.
It simply confirms that most Jews have a spiritual spark
inside of them that doesn't go away, even if they have wandered far from
Yiddishkeit. Moreover, it is just waiting to be ignited.
We all yearn for more meaning in our lives, for an uplifting
spiritual relationship with God, for a sense of identity and connection to
the past. This yearning is often beneath our conscious awareness, repressed,
inchoate. For some of us, the spiritual spark ignites into a substantive
relationship with God. For others, it still remains a potential.
The question is, who or what is going to light our fire?
Reference: George D. Hanus, Dos Pintele Yid , World Jewish Digest,
September 2008.
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Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia
Halleluyah is a Hebrew word meaning "praise the
Lord." A more literal meaning is "Let us praise the Lord."
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L'shanah tovah - for a good year. Greeting for Rosh
Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
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Shaatnez
Shatnez (or Sh'atnez/Shaatnez)
is the Jewish law derived from the
Torah that prohibits the wearing of a garment containing both interwoven wool
and linen (linsey-woolsey); any such fabric is referred to in Judaism
as shatnez.
Leviticus 19:19 - Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not
let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with
mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon
thee.
Early writers, like Maimonides, argued that the
prohibition was a case of the general law (Leviticus 20:23) against imitating
Canaanite customs. Maimonides wrote that: "the heathen priests adorned
themselves with garments containing vegetable and animal materials, while
they held in their hand a seal of mineral. This you will find written in
their books."
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Parshat Vayikra covers many of the offerings that were
brought before G-d, each of them brought as a consequence of an action or sin
committed. Among the listings of possible sacrifices, one description of a
sacrifice stands out: The Torah says, "When a leader sins, and does
something he/she shouldn't do, and becomes guilty..." (4:22). All other
descriptions begin with "And IF a person." Why is the Torah
assuming a leader WILL sin? And if a person sins, aren't they automatically
guilty? Why the redundant terminology?
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Parshat Korach relates the story of Korach, Datan, Aviram
and 250 members of the shevet (tribe) or Reuven challenging Moshe’s choice
for Kohen Gadol (high priest). The end result was that the 250 members were
burned by a heavenly fire, and the other 3 were miraculously swallowed by the
earth. From a motive perspective, Korach makes the most sense, because he
felt slighted for not having been chosen himself. But why would 250 people
follow him to their certain death, with apparently little to gain?
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Numbers 24 [1] And when Balaam saw that it
pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for
enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. After a whole ordeal trying to curse the Jews,
Bilam (Balaam) finally ends up blessing the Jews instead. So what does a
person whose power lies in his word utter, after so much suspense? He says “How
good are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places, Israel” (24:5). Is it
Yaakov or Israel? Is it the tents or the dwelling places (assuming they are different)
that are good? It is pretty ambiguous for someone presumably articulate. To understand
this, we need to analyze the context of the three blessings he imparted in
the following Pessukim (verses): 1) You should stay near water (reference to
Torah), 2) G-d will help you crush your oppressors, and 3) Those that bless
you will be blessed, and those that curse you will be cursed. It seems that there is a natural
progression throughout these blessings:
If we 1) stay close to the Torah, 2)
G-d will help us defeat our enemies, and 3) we will be blessed upon
blessings. That’s why the blessings start with the statement that it’s all
because of our homes (tents), that leads to our communities (dwellings), from
Yaakov as an individual to Israel as a nation. If we introduce the Torah in
our own controlled-environment homes, it will not only help ourselves and our
communities, but will also lead to the many blessings that follow!
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Etz Chaim ('Etz ?ayyim) (Hebrew: ?? ????, "Tree of Life") is a common term used in Judaism. The expression, found in the Book of Proverbs, is figuratively applied to the Torah itself: "It [the Torah] is a Tree of Life to those who cleave to it". Etz Chaim is a common name for yeshivas and synagogues as well as for works of Rabbinic literature. The term Etz Chaim, (plural: ??? ???? Atzei Chaim), is also used to describe each of the wooden poles to which the parchment of a Sefer Torah is attached. In kabbalah, Etz Chaim is a mystical symbol used to understand the nature of God and the manner in which He created the world. | ||
Deed over Creed Christianity, it is often been said, is a religion of creed. As the New Testament puts it, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." Judaism differs because it places deed over creed. Here again, because God is a God of law, He is more concerned with what you do than with you think. As Moses Medelsshon (1729-1786), the German philospher and biblical scholar, pointed out: "There is not in the Mosaic Law a singe command. 'Thou shalt believe' or 'not beleive.' Faith is not commanded. Only actions are." -Rabbi Benjamin Blech | ||
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Receive a Free Copy of
the Book of Mormon
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Inspirational and Religious Books
Mere Christianity
by C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters
by C.S. Lewis
Living a Life that Matters
by Harold S. Kushner
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