Study to Learn; Learn to Do

Behar/Bechukotai | בהר/בחקותי | "On the mountain/In my statutes "
Torah : Leviticus 25:1-27:34
Haftarah : Jeremiah 16:19-17:14
Gospel : Luke 13:1-33/John 10:22-42/Luke 14:1-15:32

Thought for the Week:

In Torah the distinctions between physical and spiritual are not so clear. The whole physical world is spiritual because God created it. The physical world was created out of the spiritual, and the spiritual is inherently present in all physical form and action. Therefore, in Torah thought, it is a false dichotomy to separate the physical from the spiritual.

Commentary:

If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out ... (Leviticus 26:3)

The Torah portion of Bechukotai begins by saying, "If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out ... " (Leviticus 26:3). Isn't that a bit redundant? What is the difference between (1) walking in the statutes, (2) keeping the commandments and (3) carrying them out? In his classic commentaries on the Torah, Rashi wondered about this too and proposed a solution. He suggested that "walking in the statutes" refers to intensive study of the Torah. "Keeping the commandments" refers to learning how the commandments of Torah are properly kept. "Carrying them out" refers to actually doing what the commandments say to do. In other words, we should study Torah for the purpose of learning it, and we should learn it for the purpose of doing it.

This approach to Torah may seem obvious. It isn't. Sometimes we study the Bible simply for the sake of learning the Scriptures, but we never get around to doing what the Bible tells us to do. We often hear the Word of God and learn its message but fail to put it into practice. This is especially true in regard to the laws of Torah. In some Christian schools of thought, the laws of Torah are believed to have spiritual meanings instead of literal meanings. That suggests that the laws of Torah were never meant to be kept; they were only meant to be understood as spiritual lessons. Early church writings spoke about the spiritual meanings of the Torah's commandments while discouraging people from actually practicing the Torah. That kind of thinking resulted from the influence of philosophical thought in the early church. In the philosophical worldview, the acquisition of knowledge is a worthy goal in and of itself.

In Jewish thought, the purpose for studying is more than simply the acquisition of knowledge. Knowledge and learning are regarded only as means for better serving God. Therefore, in Jewish thought, we study to learn and we learn to do.

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

Join us, Sunday May 20th @ 9:30AM for the "Firefighter's Mass & Blessing of the Engines". We will be honoring Firefighters and their families from Turlock and other local agencies. Lunch will be served! Please call the church office: 209.632.0788 no later than May 15th to let us know if you'll be there so that we can plan accordingly!

Look in the Photos tab for a few of the pictures. If you have some to post, please email them to stfrancisturlock@att.net and they'll get added!

May 6 / June 3

Chalice Bearer: Dawn Pegues

Lector: Karin Grossman

Sr. Acolyte: Alyssa Todd

Jr. Acolytes: Hailey DeGraff & Bob Todd III

Coffee Hour Hosts: Choir

Usher: Tony Pegues

May 13/June 10

Chalice Bearer: Rob Todd

Lector: Brad Sleeper

Sr. Acolyte: Christina Pegues

Jr. Acolytes: Katie Pegues & Elliott Grossman

Coffee Hour Hosts: Men’s Breakfast

Usher: Ed Coleman

May 20/June 17

Chalice Bearer: Dawn Pegues

Lector: Cookie Fletcher

Sr. Acolyte: Alyssa Todd

Jr. Acolytes: Hailey DeGraff & Bob Todd III

Coffee Hour Hosts: Ladies Nite Out

Usher: Jerry DeGraff

May 27/June 24

Chalice Bearer: Rob Todd

Lector: Neal Mitchell

Sr. Acolyte: Christina Pegues

Jr. Acolytes: Elliott Grossman & Katie Pegues

Coffee Hour Hosts: Vestry

Usher: Steve Backus

Fifth Week as necessary

Chalice Bearer: Rob Todd

Lector: Karin Grossman

Sr. Acolyte: Alyssa Todd

Jr. Acolytes: Bob Todd & Katie Pegues

Coffee Hour Hosts: Potluck

Usher: Ed Coleman

God's Day Planner

Emor - אמר : "Say"
Torah : Leviticus 21:1-24:23
Haftarah : Ezekiel 44:15-31
Gospel : Luke 18-20

Thought for the Week:

The appointed times of the LORD are like annual rehearsals for the appointed times of redemption. They are like the blueprints for the work of Messiah. The spring festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread, the Omer, and Pentecost all received a messianic fulfillment in the Master's first advent. The fall festivals of the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day all point toward His second coming. They are a "shadow of what is to come." (Colossians 2:17)

Commentary:

Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, "The LORD's appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these." (Leviticus 23:2)

In Leviticus 23, God gives a calendar to His people. This biblical calendar is different from the one to which we are accustomed. The biblical calendar is lunar: It is based on the phases of the moon. The waxing and waning of the moon determines the day of the biblical month. The tiny sliver of the new moon always appears on the first day of the month; the full moon indicates the middle of the month; the disappearance of the moon indicates the end of the month.

God declares certain days to be mo'adim (מעדים); that is, "appointed times." He says, "The LORD's appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations--My appointed times are these." (Leviticus 23:2)

What does this mean? Leviticus 23 is like God's day planner. He has made appointments on which to meet with His people. They include the weekly Sabbath, the Feasts of Passover and Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Booths.

The Apostle Paul teaches that the festivals are like a shadow cast by Messiah. (Colossians 2:16-17) That means that each of God's appointed times should teach us something about Messiah.

Almost all of the appointed times commemorate some great past act of redemption. For example, the Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorates the exodus from Egypt.

But the biblical festivals can also be understood as an eschatological blueprint. In a sense, they lay out the pattern of redemption because they truly are God's appointed times for interacting with man. Each appointed time foreshadows one of the appointed times of God's plan of redemption. In that regard, they are the appointed times of Messiah. They are the "times [and] epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority." (Acts 1:7) They represent the appointed time "of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." (Matthew 24:36) To study the festivals is to study the future. To study the festivals is to study Messiah.

The appointed times communicate deep spiritual lessons to those who practice them. Every festival draws us closer to the living God and His holy Son.

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

What 'Holiness' looks like

Acharei Mot/Kedoshim - אחרי מות / קדושים : "After the death / Holy"
Torah : Leviticus 16:1-20:27
Haftarah : Ezekiel 22:1-19
Gospel : John 7:1-52 / John 7:53-10:21

Thought for the Week:

What does a holy person look like? Do you picture a priest or a nun? Maybe a preacher? Perhaps you imagine a Chassidic Jew with a full beard, side locks and black hat. Leviticus 19-20 contains the Bible's description of what holiness looks like. The passage begins with the words, "Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy'" (Leviticus 19:2).

Commentary:

One of the laws of holiness states, "You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another" (Leviticus 19:11).

Have you ever been ripped off by a religious person? It's not surprising when we are cheated by people of the world. But it is disconcerting when a professing Christian or an observant Jew deceives or financially abuses us. We expect more from the religious person than a secular person. We assume that a religious person will conduct his affairs in concert with his moral values. That makes the religious person different from the secular person. That's what being holy is all about.

The Torah says that when a religious person conducts himself without integrity, he profanes the name of God. The word profane is the opposite of the word holy. Holy means "set apart." Profane means "common and ordinary." When a religious person conducts himself no differently than the common, ordinary people around him, he makes God look common and ordinary too. He damages God's reputation. An unbeliever who steals, deceives, lies, perjures and swindles is unremarkable, but when a believer acts that way, he disgraces the faith and gives opportunity for unbelievers to say, "You see? He is just like us. I knew there was no substance to his God or his religion."

The sages understood the commandment, "You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him" (Leviticus 19:13) to be a prohibition against dishonest business transactions. As disciples of Yeshua obedient to God's Torah, we need to strive for scrupulous honesty, especially in matters of business.

Middot U’Mitzvot (Character and Deeds)

Grudges and Vengeance

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18)

Revenge is a privilege not bequeathed to the people of God. When someone wrongs us, we are not allowed to return evil with evil. This places us at a distinct disadvantage by the world's standards. What are we supposed to do when we are wronged? The Apostle Paul teaches that we are to overcome evil with good. We must return insults with kindness, curses with blessings. Paul says, "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. ... If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men" (Romans 12:17-18). This sounds like a recipe for injustice. It invites people to abuse us and take advantage of us. But Paul does not exclude vengeance and justice; he simply instructs us not to take it into our hands. If there is to be some sort of retribution, let it come from God. He says, "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God" (Romans 12:19).

This can be compared to two children fighting in the sandbox. The first child throws sand in the second child's face. The second child could return the gesture by throwing sand back, or he could wait for Mom to intervene. If he throws sand back, he has stooped to his sibling's level and loses the moral high ground. Both children are now sand-throwers; neither is better than the other. Moreover, both are liable for punishment. If the second child waits for justice to proceed from his mother, though, he retains the moral high ground and goes unpunished. His sibling will receive discipline that is probably more severe than the sand-in-the-face action. This is the approach Paul recommends.

If someone says something nasty about you, and you hear about it and respond by saying something nasty in return, you and the other person are both in the wrong. A better option is to take the moral high ground and leave the matter with the Almighty, who judges the universe in fairness. That is the path of real faith. When we take matters into our own hands, we betray a lack of faith. We feel we need to avenge ourselves because we don't trust God to work out the situation.

Paul does recommend a backward type of revenge. He says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). We are overcome by evil when we return it. When we repay evil with evil, we become evil. Paul recommends repaying evil with good, and he quotes a proverb to demonstrate the efficacy of this approach:

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21-22)

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

Straining Gnats and Swallowing Camels

Shemini - שמיני : "Eighth"
Torah : Leviticus 9:1-11:47
Haftarah : 2 Samuel 6:1-7:17
Gospel : Mark 9:1-13

Thought for the Week:

The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:3-4). Yeshua never repealed the biblical dietary laws. The oft-cited passage in Mark 7:19, which says, "Thus He declared all foods clean," is a mishandling of the Greek.

Commentary:

Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you. (Leviticus 11:4)

Though the Master kept the biblical dietary laws, He seems to have avoided the type of minutia arguments that so typically divide people and communities. In Orthodox Judaism today, the kosher-keeping world is divided into a dizzying myriad of differing standards and stringencies that segregate communities into factions of who may eat with whom. The situation was similar in the days of the Master. Certain sects of the Pharisees opted not to eat with common people lest the food be "un-tithed." These same Pharisees were surprised to see Yeshua eat with what they called "tax collectors and sinners." This does not mean that Yeshua was eating unclean food. He was simply not concerned with the hyper-litigious stringencies of the Pharisees.

When He sent out His disciples to the cities of the Galilee, He told them, "Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you." (Luke 10:8) It goes without saying that the Jews of Galilee were eating according to the biblical dietary laws. By telling them to eat whatever was set before them, the Master was telling His disciples not to be concerned with the additional questions of whether or not the food was properly tithed.

In Matthew 23:24, Yeshua criticized the Pharisees for straining out gnats while swallowing camels. Not that straining out gnats is a bad thing. Both gnats and camels are equally unclean. The Master was not advocating eating gnats. His point was that it is possible to become so concerned with the minutia of the Torah that the weightier matters are set aside.

Of course, the Pharisees were not actually eating camels. Yeshua used their dietary concerns as a metaphor for a larger problem. By fixating on the minutia of Torah law, the Pharisees were often guilty of neglecting the weightier commandments: "justice and mercy and faithfulness" (Matthew 23:23). He goes on to tell them that they should have been attentive to the minutia, but not at the expense of the weightier matters.

As we endeavor to keep the biblical dietary laws, we need to be careful not to allow the small scruples of our particular standards to isolate us from one another. As we attend to the small matters of Torah, we must also keep in mind the weightier matters. We do not want to be guilty of swallowing camels while straining gnats.

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

Spiritual Matzah

Pesach I (on Shabbat)
Torah : Exodus 12:21-51
Haftarah : Joshua 5:2-6:1

Thought for the Week:

Passover is an opportune time to break with our past and start over as new creatures in Messiah. Passover is an annual reminder that we must leave the old culture behind. Every Passover is a chance to start over. At Passover we remember that we have left our spiritual Egypt. We are free from the past, and we need to set aside those things in our lives that continue to enslave us. After all, starting over is what it means to be born again.

Commentary:

The Hebrew word for unleavened bread is matzah (מצה). The Passover meal initiates an annual seven-day festival called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Throughout the seven days of the festival, leavened grain products are completely forbidden. Instead the LORD commands us to eat unleavened bread throughout the seven days. The entire seven-day festival is called Hag HaMatzot (חג המצות), which means "The Festival of Unleavened Bread."

Matzah refers to a special type of flat, cracker-like bread. In order to be Passover matzah, the bread dough must be baked less than eighteen minutes after the flour is moistened with water. If the dough is not baked within eighteen minutes of being moistened, it begins to ferment from the naturally occurring leavening agents in the atmosphere.

The Torah explains the significance of unleavened matzah bread in that the children of Israel did not have time to let their bread rise before they had to leave Egypt. They were in such a hurry that they only had time to bake the dough before leaving. To commemorate the exodus, leaven is removed at Passover and unleavened matzah bread is eaten for seven days.

In ancient times, there were only two ways to leaven bread dough. One way was to mix the flour with water and let it stand until it began to ferment naturally. More typically, a small batch of already leavened starter dough left over from the previous day's batch was tossed in with the flour and water. The old culture of leaven in the starter dough quickly spread through the new batch of dough. As the saying goes, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). By means of this method, a single culture of leaven was passed on from loaf to loaf to loaf, day to day. This is how sourdough bread is still made today.

The commandment to remove all leaven prior to the festival makes this second method of leavening impossible. The starter dough would have to be disposed of prior to the festival because it is already leavened. This is the imagery that the Apostle Paul is referring to when he says, "Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). The old starter-dough leaven represents our old way of life. It is sin, godlessness, bad company, bad habits and all the things that taint our lives. Like an old culture of leavened starter dough, those things continue to leaven our lives from day to day, conforming us to our past. Paul urges us to make a clean break with the old culture and to start over as a new batch, like unleavened bread.

When the children of Israel left Egypt, they were leaving behind their old culture. While in Egypt they had absorbed much of the wickedness and idolatry of Egyptian society. The unleavened bread symbolized a new beginning. They were starting over.

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this?” The central reality of our faith as Christians is that Christ has risen from the dead and that He lives among us. Holy Week is the celebration of Christ’s journey into this new life; a journey that we are also invited to travel, knowing that He has gone before us, and that He travels with us. It is important to make this week a special time of prayer and reflection. This is done in the frequent gatherings in Church. But we need to take time at a family level and also at a personal level to get in touch with the most inspiring and life-giving love story ever told. Talk to each other this week about all the good things the Lord has done for you. If you are a parent, let each member of your family know what they each mean to you.

Holy Week Services:

Maundy Thursday: 7:00pm 

Good Friday: 12noon

Holy Saturday ~ The Great Vigil of Easter: 6:00pm Please stay for a Lamb & Roast Beef supper immediately following the Service.

Easter Day: 8am & 9:30am Kids: bring a basket for the Annual Egg Hunt after 9:30 Mass!

Ki Tisa - כי תשא : "When you take"
Torah : Exodus 30:11-34:35
Haftarah : 1 Kings 18:1-39
Gospel : Matthew 9:35-11:1

Thought for the Week:

Spirituality is a natural human reflex--as instinctual as eating, drinking and breathing. We are preprogrammed for spiritual awareness. Yet without revelation, our spiritual inclination is merely an appetite for which there is not satiation, a thirst for which cannot be slaked. Messiah is the living water. "He who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst." (John 6:35)

Commentary:

To understand how it is that Israel thought she might worship the LORD via an idol we need to understand the concept behind idolatry. Though the prophets often lampoon idol worshippers by pointing out that an idol is certainly not a god (rather, it is a piece of wood, metal or clay), idolatry is somewhat more subtle than simply the adoration of an object. Only a very simple idolater would have supposed that the idol he bowed before was actually the god he was worshipping. Instead the idol was a physical representation of the spiritual power of that god. The pagan deity's power and essence were thought to be captured within the idolatrous image. The idea was that possessing the representation of a god(dess) would bring him or her to the aid of the worshipper.

Therefore it is not that the Israelites were worshipping a golden calf. Rather the golden calf was meant to represent the LORD. They did not suppose that God was a golden calf, but they imaged that He could be worshipped through the medium of the idol. The calf was merely a physical token of Him, one that they could bring with them as they left Mount Sinai, one that could go before them as they ascended up to the land of promise. It is not that Israel had rejected the LORD, it is simply that they allowed their spiritual impulse to go unchecked. Spirituality outside of the boundaries of Torah cannot but lead to paganism and idolatry. We have a tendency to disregard Torah when it stands in the way of our spiritual inclinations. By pursuing their spiritual desires over the rule of the law of Torah, Israel stumbled into idolatry.

In 1 Kings 12, Jeroboam follows this Exodus 32 precedent and has two golden calves erected to facilitate the worship of the LORD. In addition, he felt free to change the times and seasons of God's appointed festivals. Like Aaron at Mount Sinai, he became the declarer of the appointed times.

Faith is not measured by our good intentions. If it was merely the thought that counted, the Israelites would not have been punished for constructing the image. Surely their hearts were in the right places. Surely they had in mind only the worship and honor of ADONAI. But it is not merely the thought that counts in faith and observance; it is the deed and action which arise from thought.

The latest edition of The Tidings is now available for download! If you would like to receive the newsletter automatically, please send an email request to: stfrancisturlock@att.net

The Daily Continual Burnt Offering

Tetzaveh - תצוה : "You shall command"
Torah : Exodus 27:20-30:10
Haftarah : Ezekiel 43:10-27
Gospel : Matthew 13:1-53

Thought for the Week:

Yeshua's sacrifice is continually before the Father. He is the lamb continually on the altar before the throne. He is the "the Lamb of God" whose atoning sacrifice for sin is continually before the Father. Thus the writer of Hebrews states: "Nor was it that He would offer Himself often. ... Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." (Hebrews 9:25-26)

Commentary:

Exodus 29:38-42. God ordained a daily worship service in the Tabernacle. The daily worship service was called the "continual burnt offering." Every day, two male lambs were offered up as burnt offerings for this daily service.

The continual burnt offering (tamid, תמיד) began each morning with a male lamb offered as a burnt offering (olah, עולה). The lamb was slaughtered and placed on the fire on the altar as the first sacrifice of the day. Each subsequent sacrifice that day was placed on top of the continual burnt offering lamb. The lamb burned on the fire all day.

When the day's service was over, and all the offerings had been brought, a second lamb was slaughtered as an olah and placed on top of the remains of that day's offerings. The effect was that of sandwiching the whole day's services between the two lambs of the continual burnt offering. The second lamb was left on the altar to burn through the night. The next morning, the ashes were removed and a new lamb was slaughtered and placed on the altar, beginning the process all over. Thus, a lamb was continually burning on the altar before the LORD. The Temple's entire sacrificial service began with an olah, was offered on top of the olah, and was concluded with an olah. These olah offerings were called the continual burnt offering because one of them was continually on the altar fire.

The continual burnt offering was the most basic and regular function of the Tabernacle and the Temple. The prayer services, the singing of psalms, the lighting of the menorah, the burning of incense all occurred in conjunction with the continual offering. The continual burnt offering is the very center of the entire worship system.

The continual burnt offering was to be a remembrance of the offering made during the Exodus 24 covenant ceremony at Mount Sinai. For this reason, the burnt offering was to be continually upon the altar as a permanent token of the covenant. Its blood, splashed daily against the altar, was a reminder of the blood Moses splashed against the altar and onto the people. Without the continual burnt offering, no other sacrifices were possible. So too, without the covenant status, no further relationship with God was possible.

It is most likely a reference to the continual burnt offering which prompts Yochanan the Immerser to declare Yeshua as "the Lamb of God." (John 1:29)

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

Join us this year as we spend our Lenten Wednesdays together in prayer and around the supper table. 

Each week we shall pray the Stations of the Cross at 6:30PM, have a soup supper together right afterwards and a conversation about the various facets of our faith together.

February 29 ~ The Nicene Creed

March 7 ~ The Our Father

March 14 ~ Anglican Prayer Beads

March 21 ~ The Eucharistic Rite

March 28 ~ Lenten Thoughts

We look forward to seeing you!

The Wedding Gift from God

Yitro - יתרו : "Jethro"
Torah : Exodus 18:1-20:23 (26)
Haftarah : Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6
Gospel : Matthew 6:1-8:1

Thought for the Week:

If the covenant ceremony at Mount Sinai can be compared to a wedding, then the Sabbath can be compared to a wonderful wedding gift. Wrapped up in blessing and holiness, it is a gift that continues to radiate the love of God every week.

Commentary:

Remember the sabbath day. (Exodus 20:8)

The LORD commands Israel to remember the Sabbath. What does it mean to "remember" the Sabbath? Was there ever a danger of forgetting to keep the Sabbath? In Semitic culture, the word "remember" has clear covenant connotations. To remember means to act in faithfulness to the covenant. Similarly, God remembered Noah in the Ark, and He remembered Sarah when He was ready to open her womb. Therefore, God is telling Israel to show faithfulness to His covenant by keeping the Sabbath.

Rashi says that we should remember the Sabbath all week long by preparing for it. For example, he says that if a person comes across a nice article of food or drink during the week, he should set it aside for the Sabbath. This reminds me of a story from the days of the Master.

When the Master was not but a baby, there lived a sage by the name of Shammai. Whenever Shammai was in the market place, he always kept a lookout for exceptionally fine items that he might be able to purchase for the Sabbath. If he found a really good goat or chicken or vintage of wine, he would purchase it and say, "This is for the Shabbat." If later on in the week he found one even nicer, he would purchase that one for the Sabbath and use the previous thing he had bought on a week day instead.

Sometimes I meet Christians who want to keep the Sabbath, but they are distressed because in their current circumstances they cannot. They wonder what they should do. For example, it is not uncommon for a married woman to want to keep the Sabbath when her husband does not. In such situations, I always remind people that God commands us to both remember the Sabbath and to observe the Sabbath. (Deuteronomy 5:12 says "observe" while Exodus 20:8 says "remember.") If it is impossible to do both, it is better to do at least one of them.

If you find that you are unable to observe the Sabbath, you can at least remember it. At a minimum, this requires being conscious of the Sabbath's presence. Remember it on Friday night when the sun goes down and the Sabbath begins. Remember it on Saturday morning when the sun rises on the day of rest and the Torah is being read in the synagogue. Remember it on Saturday night as the holy day comes to an end. By doing at least that much, a person can take at least a small share in the Sabbath. The path of Torah is never all or nothing, and something is always better than nothing.

Middot U’Mitzvot (Character and Deeds)

A Kingdom of Priests

The LORD promised to make the children of Israel into a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6). The job of a priest is to serve as an intermediary between the gods and human beings. As the priests of the ancient world approached the gods in worship, they represented the people by bringing sacrifices and oblations on their behalf. As they interacted with the people, they represented the gods in whose service they were priests. God wants His people to act as intermediaries in a similar way. When we serve God, keeping His commandments and worshipping Him as is befitting, we represent humanity. When we interact with the rest of humanity, we represent God. People who do not know the LORD can look at believers and their behavior and learn about what God is like.

In this sense, all believers are part of the “kingdom of priests.” The Apostle Peter wrote to the Gentile believers and encouraged them to live godly lives because they were now part of the “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). He warned them against bodily lusts, and exhorted them to “Keep [their] behavior excellent among the Gentiles,” (1 Peter 2:12) so that they would observe their good deeds and glorify God.

Israel has the privilege of being God’s special people, but they also have the responsibility to “show-and-tell” to the rest of the world who God really is. They are to be a perpetual witness and testimony of the one true God.

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved
 

Please join us for our Annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper! 

Tuesday, Feb. 21 @ 5:00PM in the Parish Hall. $5 donation requested

What is Shrove Tuesday?

Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration as well as penitence, because it's the last day before Lent. Throughout the United Kingdom, and in other countries too, people indulge themselves on foods that traditionally aren't allowed during Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.

When is Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)?

Shrove Tuesday is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday and is therefore the final day before the commencement of Lent, a Christian festival leading up to Easter Sunday.

Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between 3 February and 9 March.

Why do Christians call the day 'Shrove Tuesday'?

The name Shrove comes from the old word "shrive" which means to confess. On Shrove Tuesday, in the Middle Ages, people used to confess their sins so that they were forgiven before the season of Lent began.

Services: 7AM, 12Noon and 6PM

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption.
 

Why we receive the ashes

Following the example of the Ninevites, who did penance in sackcloth and ashes, our foreheads are marked with ashes to humble our hearts and reminds us that life passes away on Earth. We remember this when we are told

"Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust you shall return."

Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice.

The distribution of ashes comes from a ceremony of ages past. Christians who had committed grave faults performed public penance. On Ash Wednesday, the Bishop blessed the hair shirts which they were to wear during the forty days of penance, and sprinkled over them ashes made from the palms from the previous year. Then, while the faithful recited the Seven Penitential Psalms, the penitents were turned out of the church because of their sins -- just as Adam, the first man, was turned out of Paradise because of his disobedience. The penitents did not enter the church again until Maundy Thursday after having won reconciliation by the toil of forty days' penance and sacramental absolution. Later, all Christians, whether public or secret penitents, came to receive ashes out of devotion. In earlier times, the distribution of ashes was followed by a penitential procession.

Nachshon's Leap

Beshalach - בשלח : "When he sent"
Torah: Exodus 13:17-17:16
Haftarah: Judges 4:4-5:31
Gospel: Matthew 5

Thought for the Week:

Chassidic discourse teaches that the Spirit of Messiah is more exalted than that of Moses. Whereas Moses is depicted being drawn out from the water and dividing the sea, walking through the water, Messiah is depicted above the water. In the beginning of Genesis it says, "and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water." The Sages teach, "This is the Spirit of Messiah." In the gospels, Messiah walks over the surface of the water.

Commentary:

In the traditional Jewish telling of the crossing of the Red Sea, Nachshon ben Amminadab, the prince over the tribe of Judah, plays an important role. Who is Nachshon? His name is mentioned six times in the Torah. To believers his name is familiar from the genealogies of the Master in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. Nachshon was one of the ancestors of Yeshua. The Torah refers to him as the prince over the tribe of Judah.

In the Talmud, Nachshon is remembered as the first to go down into the Red Sea. According to the traditional telling, Moses bade the Israelites step into the sea, but they were unwilling to do so until Nachshon sprang forward and plunged into the water. He struggled under the waves and was near to drowning. As the water washed over him, the LORD instructed Moses to lift his staff and stretch out his hand so that the water might split. Nachshon then led the Israelites to safety on the other side.

The story of Nachshon can teach us about Messiah. The Torah calls Nachshon the prince (nasi) over the tribe of Judah. The word "Prince" (nasi) is twice translated in the Greek (LXX) version of the Bible with the Greek word archegos: forerunner, leader, trailblazer, captain, pioneer, prince, head. In the Talmud's story, Nachshon was a trailblazer who led the way into the sea. He ushered Israel to safety by taking the proverbial leap of faith. He was the archegos of the people.

Archegos is a word used by the Apostles to describe Yeshua. Peter refers to Yeshua as the "archegos of life" (Acts 3:15) and "the one whom God exalted to His right hand as an archegos and a Savior." (Acts 5:31) The writer of the book of Hebrews refers to Messiah as the "archegos of their salvation through sufferings" (Hebrews 2:10) and the "archegos and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12:2) He is the archegos of life in that He was the first to pass from death to life. In that sense, the Red Sea can be likened unto the grave. Just as Nachshon led Israel through the sea to safety on the other side, Messiah leads the way through the grave to safety on the other side through His resurrection. Like Nachshon struggling beneath the waves, He preceded us as the archegos of salvation. And just as Nachshon demonstrated saving faith for all Israel by taking that first leap of faith, Messiah is the archegos and perfecter of our faith.

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

The Bread of Affliction

Bo - בוא : "Come"
Torah : Exodus 10:1-13:16
Haftarah : Jeremiah 46:13-28
Gospel : Mark 3:7-19

Thought for the Week:

"This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let all the hungry come and eat! Let all the needy come and celebrate Passover! This year we are here; next year may we be in the Land of Israel. This year we are slaves; next year may we be free men." (Traditional Passover Haggadah)

Commentary:

And they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. (Exodus 12:8)

The unleavened bread of the Passover seder is referred to in the Passover Haggadah as "the bread of affliction." In the traditional Passover Haggadah, Rabban Gamliel explains the symbolism of the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs. Regarding the unleavened bread he says:

This is the unleavened bread that we eat. What is it for? It is because there was not enough time for the dough of our fathers to ferment, before the Sovereign King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed is He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them. As it is said [in Exodus 12:39], "They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had not become leavened, since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves."

But for disciples of the Master there is deeper meaning in the bread. The Master took the bread at His Last Seder and said, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19). The unleavened bread (matzah, מצה) teaches us about the body of the Master. When you examine a piece of matzah, you will observe that it is pierced, it is striped and it is flat. It is pierced so that it bakes thoroughly. It is striped from the scorching of the oven racks. It is flat because it is made without leaven.

Just as the unleavened bread is pierced, His body was pierced. Just as the unleavened bread is striped, His body was striped and wounded. Just as the unleavened bread is without yeast (yeast often symbolizes corruption), He was without sin. Therefore it is written, "He was pierced through for our transgressions" (Isaiah 53:5), and "They will look on Me whom they have pierced" (Zechariah 12:10), and "With his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5 KJV), and again, He "has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). In the Torah, leaven represents corruption and decay, but regarding Messiah Scripture says, "Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay" (Psalm 16:10). Moreover, we remember that He is called "the bread of life" (John 6:35) and the Afflicted One:

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

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Waiting for Salvation

Vayechi - ויחי: "And he lived"
Torah : Genesis 47:28-50:26
Haftarah : 1 Kings 2:1-12
Gospel : Luke 4:31-5:11

Thought for the Week:

"Our father Jacob foresaw Samson and thought that he was the Messiah. But when he saw him dead he exclaimed, 'He too is dead! Then for your salvation I wait [hope], O LORD.' " Rabbi Yitzchak said, "Everything is bound up with waiting. Suffering is bound up with waiting, [martyrdom] with waiting, the merit of the Fathers with waiting, and the desire of the World to Come with waiting. Thus it is written [in Isaiah 26:8], "Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O LORD, we have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls." (Genesis Rabbah 98:14 on Genesis 49:18)

Commentary:

For your salvation I wait, O LORD. (Genesis 49:18)

Jacob exclaimed, "For your salvation I wait, O LORD." The word translated "salvation" is yeshua (ישועה). Yeshua's name means "salvation." The Sages understood Jacob's exclamation to reflect his longing for Messiah, the true Judge of Israel, the true Salvation. The daily prayer for the coming of Messiah is based upon this passage. Observant Jews pray it three times a day. Notice how the name of Messiah finds its way into the blessing:

Cause the branch [offspring] of your servant David to blossom forth speedily, and lift up his horn through your salvation (yeshuah, ישועה), for we await your salvation (yeshua) every day. Blessed are you LORD, who causes the horn of salvation (yeshuah) to blossom forth. (Fifteenth blessing of the Amidah)

These words express the waiting, the longing and the hope that is our expectation in Messiah. Jacob's exclamation reflects his longing for Messiah, the true Judge of Israel, the true Salvation. The Hebrew word translated as "wait" is qavah (קוה), a word also translated as "hope." Messiah is the "hope of Israel." (Acts 28:20) We wait for Yeshua, but we also hope in Yeshua. He is our hope of salvation.

The wait for Messiah is not a passive waiting, as if we were simply passing time at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to arrive. It is a passionate waiting. A deep, heartfelt longing. It is an ache for His coming, for His appearing. To properly await Messiah, our hearts need to break with the anticipation. We pine away for Him like a young betrothed virgin longs for the return of her fiancé from a foreign land. She is continually scanning the horizon for some sign of his appearing, starting at the sound of every footfall, sighing by day and shedding tears by night. Every day is, in some sense, painful because we are separated from our true love. But at the same time, it is our hope of being united with Him that gives us meaning and hope every day. The great Torah scholar Maimonides says that a person who does not believe in Messiah and await His coming denies the Torah.

Perhaps the word qavah (wait, hope) is somewhat parallel to the conventional way we use the word "faith." Our hope in Yeshua and our wait for Messiah are components of our faith in Him. In that respect, it is as if Jacob declares, "I place faith in your Messiah, O LORD."

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

This too, is for the good...

Miketz - מקץ : "At the end"
Torah : Genesis 41:1-44:17
Haftarah : I Kings 3:15-4:1
Gospel : Luke 4:16-31

Thought for the Week:

Accept the things that happen to you as good, knowing that apart from God nothing comes to pass. (Didache 3:10) We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Commentary:

The life of Joseph demonstrates God's sovereign hand in human lives. Though the world seems to follow a completely random course around us, God is actually working out His purposes in the midst of it. From Joseph's point of view, there was no reason to suspect that God had his best interests in mind. Joseph had been kidnapped and betrayed by his own brothers, sold into Egypt as a slave, falsely accused of attempted adultery and imprisoned in a dungeon. His life seemed to be following Murphy's Law of "if anything can go wrong, it will." So far, everything had gone wrong.

Joseph stubbornly clung to an unshakable confidence in the God of his fathers. Even though everything had tumbled down around him, He kept looking to God and believing that God was working through the chaos. He never fell into depression or despondency because he always believed that he was right where God had placed him.

This can be compared to the story of a rabbi from the days of the Apostles named Nacham. Everyone called him "Nacham This-Too" because, no matter what happened, he would always say, "This too is for the good." Amazingly, God honored his faith by continually providing miracles for Nacham. Once it happened that Nacham This-Too was serving as an ambassador to Rome. He was presenting the Roman Emperor with a gift from the people of Judea in an attempt to bribe him into reversing some anti-Jewish legislation. While en route to Rome he stopped at an inn. While he slept, the inn-keeper stole the precious treasures meant for the emperor from Nacham's chest and replaced them with sand! Nacham went to Rome, unaware that he was carrying a box of sand. When the emperor opened the chest and saw the sand, he ordered Nacham to be put to death. Nacham simply replied, "This too is for the good." Just then Elijah the prophet appeared in the guise of a Roman officer and suggested that perhaps the sand was "magic sand." The emperor agreed to test the theory, and indeed, when his troops hurled the sand at their enemies, they prevailed in battle. The emperor immediately released Nacham, reversed his decree against the Jews and rewarded Nacham with great wealth.

The story of Nacham This-Too is a good illustration of Joseph's story. Like Nacham This-Too, Joseph refused to be pushed around by life's circumstances. Instead he looked to God for strength and encouragement, and he kept on believing.

In this week's Torah reading, we will see how Joseph's this-too-is-for-the-good type of faith was rewarded and how his fortunes changed.

Middot U’Mitzvot (Character and Deeds)

Giving in Secret

It might seem that Joseph was actually nursing a grudge against his brothers when he accused them of spying and sent them back to Canaan to get their brother Benjamin. If that were the case, he would not have had their money placed back in their sacks. He shows his love for his brothers by bestowing secret charity on them. Prior to their departure, he instructed his servants to secretly return the money that each of the brothers had paid for the grain. The brothers left Egypt unaware that they were carrying their silver back home with them.

The Master says that when we give charity, it should be done Joseph-style:

But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:3-4)

Joseph wanted to give his brothers a charitable gift. He knew that the famine conditions in Canaan must be creating financial hardship. Rather than announce the charitable deed with a fanfare of trumpets, though, he secretly had the money slipped into their bags.

Maimonides (Rambam) explains that there are different levels of giving charity. One of the lower levels of giving charity is when the deed is known to both the giver and the receiver. A far higher level of charity is secret charity. The person who gives charity secretly does so only for the sake of love. He knows that no one will be able to thank him. He will not earn any reward in the eyes of men.

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

Joseph and Messiah

Vayeshev - וישב : "And he dwelt "
Torah : Genesis 37:1-40:23
Haftarah : Amos 2:6-3:8
Gospel : John 2:13-4:42

Thought for the Week:

The rejection of Joseph, the agent sent to them by their father, is paradigmatic for Israel's future rejection of the prophets sent by God and ultimately the rejection of Messiah. The Gospel of John sadly observes, "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him." (John 1:11) But the story of Joseph ends with reconciliation between him and his estranged brothers.

Commentary:

Each of the stories of the patriarchs tells us the story of Messiah, but Joseph tells us the story of the Gospel of Yeshua. Joseph's life parallels the redemptive work of Messiah in His first and second comings. Although the apostolic writers never directly identify Joseph as foreshadowing the Messiah, the symbolism is unavoidable.

Yeshua, like Joseph, was sent to His brothers, the people of Israel. Like Joseph, He was sent by His father. Like Joseph, His brothers did not receive Him. Instead, He was rejected, stripped, killed, put into the earth, and ultimately given over to the Gentiles.

Like Joseph, Yeshua was variously received among the Gentiles, but eventually rose to an unparalleled position of prominence in the Gentile world. Like Joseph, He became the agent for the salvation of all nations. And like Joseph, He was all but forgotten by His own true brothers.

Just as Joseph was 'disguised'—made unrecognizable by his Egyptian clothing and hairstyle), so too has the Messiah been made unrecognizable—'disguised' by Gentile culture. We have painted Him to look like one of us. We have represented Him in our artwork with Gentile hair, makeup, and clothes. We have made His mouth speak in Greek and in the language of every nation, but we have forgotten that He spoke Hebrew first. We have removed Him from His Hebraic and Torah context and made Him unrecognizable to His own brothers. Yet ultimately, the story of Joseph ends with a reconciliation between him and his brothers, one which results in the salvation of all the sons of Israel. As the Apostle Paul put it, "All Israel will be saved" (Romans 11:26).

Yet the story of Joseph is not an allegory, written merely to serve as type, shadow, and symbol. Too often believers have diminished the Torah's literal reading for the sake of messianic interpretations.It is a story in its own right and a great story at that. Joseph is a real character; his adventures and misadventures are his own. If we are able to look into the Joseph story and perceive the person of Messiah, that is only to be expected, because God is the author of salvation both then and now. Joseph's story is simply an example of what it looks like when God saves His people.

Joseph's story is what it looks like when God raises up a savior. Therefore, it is not so much that the story of Joseph foreshadows the story of Messiah as much as both stories are similar because they both tell the story of God raising up a savior for the salvation of Israel.

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

Please join us for our annual Christmas celebrations:

Christmas Eve:

6PM Lessons and Carols featuring the Children's Choir

11PM Eucharist featuring the Adult Choir

Christmas Day:

8AM Eucharist

A Life-Changing Encounter

Vayishlach - וישלח : "And he sent"
Torah : Genesis 32:4-36:43
Haftarah : Hosea 11:7-12:12
Gospel : John 1:19-2:12

Thought for the Week:

God named all three of the patriarchs. He changed Abram's name to Abraham. He chose Isaac's name and announced it to Abraham before the child was even conceived. In this week's Torah portion, He changes Jacob's name to Israel. A genuine encounter with God is life-changing. A name-change by God represents a new nature and new destiny.

Commentary:

As he prepared to face Esau, Jacob experienced a strange mystical encounter with God. He had sent his family, his servants and his possessions across a river ahead of him. He was about to follow when he was suddenly attacked by an assailant. Jacob wrestled the man through the night. The attacker turned out to be none other than the angel of the LORD.

Jacob wrestled with the angel through the night. He would not let the angel go. Jacob said to the angel, "I will not let you go unless you bless me" (Genesis 32:26)

The angel blessed Jacob by changing his name to Israel. Later in this week's portion, in Genesis 35, the name change is repeated. When Jacob returns to Bethel, the LORD tells him, "'Your name is Jacob; you shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.' Thus He called him Israel" (Genesis 35:10).

Rashi explains this name change as if the angel said, "No longer shall you be called Yaakov, because they will no longer say that the blessings came to you by means of trickery (yakav, יעקב) and deceit. You shall be called Yisrael (ישראל), because you have been publicly authorized (sararah, שררה) to receive the blessing."

The name Jacob represented Jacob's life before encountering God, his old nature. The name Israel represented Jacob's life after encountering God. It represented his new nature and new destiny.

A genuine encounter with God is life-changing. It is a sort of wrestling match. The apostles teach us that, through faith in Yeshua, we are born again as new creations. In Messiah we have a whole new identity. Paul speaks of our old identity as the "old self." He declares that, for the believer, the "old self was crucified with [Messiah], in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin" (Romans 6:6). "Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Middot U’Mitzvot (Character and Deeds)

Bad Company

Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. (Genesis 34:1)

Our social circles are important. We become like the people we hang around with. We absorb their values and tend to imitate their behavior. In all innocence, Dinah the daughter of Jacob wanted to spend time with the teenage girls of Shechem. It was the wrong place for her. She did not belong with the Canaanite teenagers.

If we want to keep our children on a moral path, we cannot place them in the midst of immoral children. No matter how godly and upright our sons and daughters are, regardless of how well we have raised them, we cannot expect them to prevail over the laws of sociology. When we allow them to socialize with a peer group that holds a different set of values, our children will inevitably adopt those values. It’s not a conscious thing. Many families have seen years of godly training vanish after sending their children to school or allowing them to interact with worldly peers.

The same principle applies to all of us. Though we are to be a light to the world, we are not to be of the world. The people of God are supposed to be a different type of people altogether. In order to be different, we need to maintain strong boundaries.

This means missing out on lots of opportunities the world has to offer. Had Jacob said, “No, Dinah, I don’t want you hanging out with those Canaanite girls,” she probably would have felt like she was being cheated out of fun and adventure. “But Dad,” she would have complained, “it’s not fair.”

Being chosen by God to be a holy people isn’t fair either. It is a privilege.

© 2011 First Fruits of Zion, Inc. | All Rights Reserved