~K'tiva V'Chatima Tova!~

Tonight, Friday, August 29th, begins the first full Shabbat of the Sixth Hebrew month, or the 12th Jewish Civil month commonly known as Elul. This month is the beginning of a forty-day season of Teshuva (repentance, turning back) in preparation for the coming Biblical High Holy Days.

The Sixth month of Elul is a time to search the heart and draw close to the Father. The final ten days of this 40-day season are an intense period of soul searching and repentance between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur, known as the Days of Awe. The Aramaic word, "Elul" means "search:" Elul is a time of intense searching of our hearts and forgivness from God.

Several meaningful abbreviations based on acronyms of various Hebrew verses have been associated with Elul. One source says the name "Elul" is actually an Hebrew acronym for the Song of Solomon's Ani L'dodi V'dodi Li...

Song of Songs 6:3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine...

Or Deuteronomy's ...Et L'vavcha V'et L'vav...

Deu 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise

thine heart, and the heart of thy seed,

to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart,

and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

Another acronym has to do with the burnt offerings and sin offerings, the Olah and the Chatat. These are referred to three times in the Torah.

Echad L'olah V'echad L'chatat

"One for a burnt offering (olah)

and one for a sin offering (chatat)"

It is customary to blow a Shofar every morning from the first day of the month, Rosh Chodesh Elul, to the last day of Elul. Here is a quote from a Jewish website that may help explain this custom:

According to tradition, Moshe (Moses) went up to Mount Sinai on Rosh Chodesh Elul to recieve the second set of tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. Moshe then spent the next 40 days on the mountain, returning to the people on Yom Kippur. The first time Moshe went up to the mountain the people worshipped the Golden Calf because they miscalculated the 40 day period after which they expected Moshe to return. When Moshe did not come down at the appointed time, the people created the Golden Calf to lead them in his stead. Tradition teaches that when Moshe went up tot he mountain the second time, a shofar was sounded throughtout the encampment, so everyone would know exactly from when to begin counting the 40 days until his return.

Another custom is to recite Psalm 27 from Rosh Chodesh Elul until the middle of the Sukkot, 45 days later. Psalm 27 begins with:

"God is my light and my helper, whom shall I fear?"

The challenging spirtual work of Elul is made easier when we know that God is with us as we strive to draw closer to Him.

Another, rather sweet custom is to begin any correspondence with this blessing:

~K'tiva V'Chatima tova!~

"a good writing and sealing (of judgement)"

It means that the person should be written and sealed in the Book of Life for a good year.

~~~~~~

Tonight we held our monthly Shabbat meeting. Attendance was down due to illness but we still had a good time of study and fellowship. Our Study was based on Parashah #48, "Shoftim" or Judges:

Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9

Isaiah 51:12-52:12

John 1:19-27

Acts 3:22-23

The menu was varied as everyone brought a dish. My contribution was Greek, vegetarian, and gluten-free!

Shabbat Dinner

Greek Salad

Dolmas

tziki

olives

raw vegetable platter

rice pilaf

Shabbat Breakfast

cold gluten-free cereals

vanilla rice milk

fruit

Shabbat Lunch

Mediterranean Lentil salad (cold)

fruit

Shabbat Snacks

fruit

fruit juice popcicles

nuts

supper

four bean soup w/ sour grape seed and cilantro

toasted brown rice pilaf

ice cream

Other special treats:

I downloaded three rental documentaries regarding the Ark of the Covenant and the Dead Sea Scrolls. They look very interesting. I also ordered a book on the Lord's Prayer by Nehemia Gordon, and a video from AHRC about the Aaronic Blessing so we'll have lots to watch and study about this Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom ve Shavua Tov!

~wow~

Shabbat menu

That last post was so long, I thought I'd put our Shabbat menu in a new post. We are trying to adhere to a Kosher, gluten-free, mostly vegetarian, somewhat diabetic diet... (whew!)

~Shabbat Dinner~

Challah

gluten-free Challah

Red Truck California pinot noir

Grilled Salmon w/ fresh lemon

steamed broccoli

turmeric spiced brown rice

salad

fruit

~Shabbat Breakfast~

cold cereal the chldren love

gluten free cereal for me

vanilla rice milk

~Shabbat Lunch~

wraps w/ beans, veggies, etc..

cold leftovers

salad

fruit

~Shabbat treats~

popcicles

lemonaid

Sprite and Ginger ale for upset tummys

Bible Baseball

Hebrew videos

~supper~

four bean soup w/ cilantro, sour grape seed, cumin

spiced rice

fruit

These foods are all very easy to prepare and fit in our dietary wishes. The best part is the children love them!!

~wow~

A small study...

I decided to just skip ahead to today's Torah study. I wish I could figure out how to make these posts I'm transferring from email to all look uniform. I am sorry about the appearance.

~

Tonight, Friday, begins Shabbat. We've had some sick children this week so I'm ready for a rest and to just stay in my pj's all day.

Child #8, my Sweet Toddler, is doing much better and was able to keep his Shabbat meal down this evening. Child #3, the Young Lady, just wants to sleep and recover. Child #4, the Horse Lover, has really worked hard to clean the house AND take care of the sickies while I've been gone most of the day. I think she is ready for Shabbat, too!

~

The Bible study this week:

Parashah#46: Ekev, Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25

Haftarah: Isaiah 40:15-51:3

B'rit Chadashah: Romans 8:31; Hebrews 11:8-13

I haven't been able to put much time into our Bible study this week and my word studies have been at a snail's pace. This portion has been so very rich and I think can be somewhat summed up in this first verse, Deuteronomy 7:12, so that's where I will attempt to stay.

Deu 7:12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:

This week's study is entitled Ekev, which is the second word of the Hebrew text, the seventh word of the English text. Here is one instance where Strong's is not as helpful to me, intially. How can the same word mean both "deciever" and "reward"???

Strong's usually gives just the root word meanings, which can be quite diverse, but leaves out the prefixes and suffixes and any middle vowels that can greatly shade the meaning of the word. Several sources all give me different meanings for this instance of Ekev and these definations are all listed in Strong's. It is up to us to figure out which applies.

This is where studying Hebrew culture and idioms comes in. I have to remember to think "Hebraiclly" which means to think in concrete terms. For instance, the concept of "Faith" is very abstract but in Hebrew thought, "Faith" is conveyed as "to stay on the path." Doesn't this wonderfully illustrate Psalm 119:105?

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

In other words, the words of the Father give us the ability to have faith and walk uprightly.

But back to the Parashah...

Some online sources give me such seemingly diverse interpertations of Ekev as:

*"On the heel of..." This source uses the first definition from Strong's and is a very concrete idea. It just makes no sense to my Western mind. The root of Ekev is actually the same as Ya'akov, (Jacob) which means "hand on the heel." Remember Jacob was the twin of Esau and was grasping Esau's foot as they were born.

*"Because..." abstract concept also in Strong's

*"if [you follow]" I think this meaning is closer to the "heart"of the matter. It is the last definition listed in Strong's and while it is getting closer to the concrete Hebraic thought, it can still lag behind.

*"Reward from..." Our friends in Israel, to whome I tend to listen, tell me Ekev means "reward from..." While this makes sense, the passage is referring to the rewards, or blessings we recieve when we follow the commands of the Father, this is still a very abstract concept. This definition is also found in Strong's.

Jeff Benner's Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible helps to work through some of this muddle. It is used similar to the concordance but puts words in a more concrete, Hebraic fashion; it is closer to a native speaker's thoughts. With the help of the Lexicon, I can think in more Hebraic terms and go back to that first definition. Here's what I might say:

It will be on the heels of the right rulings...

This is more concrete and better illustrates the Hebraic thought. It actually goes with the "if [you follow]" translation, but "to be on the heels" of something is to follow immediately with no chance of lagging behind.

What is "it" in this verse? "It" is the assurance that the Father will guard the Covenant he made with our fathers; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We need to go back to Genesis 15 and re-read about this Covenant. This Covenant was first made with Abram (later Abraham) and involved cutting or slaughtering animals. The Father, possibly in the form of a Menorah, (KJV calls it a smoking furnace and a burning lamp) passed between the cut pieces of flesh and walked through the blood. Talk about Messianic! He was in essence saying:

"May it be also done to me if I go back on my word."

Notice Abram didn't pass through the slaughter. Could the Father have made a one-sided Covenant? This thought is supported by the word "sware" later in the verse. נשבע n'shawba (H7650) "to complete" "to seven oneself." Remember, a Menorah has seven lamps, we're not talking about the more popular nine-branched Chanukeah used during the Chanukah celebration. Could the Father have completed this covenant himself? If so, what was required of Abraham, and what is required of us today: to guard and obey His commands. He says His commands are not burdensome, 1 John 5:3. What a kind and compassionate God we serve!

Back to the Parashah...

KJV translates the parashah text as:

Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, to keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the convenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:

But Hebraically, the text might read something like:

It will be on the heels of the right rulings when you guard and practice them, that YHVH, your elohiym (god) will guard for you the covenant and the kindness he completed to your fathers.

I know it doesn't seem like a really big difference but it is making a big impact on me. The blessings that YHVH stated to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, (and in this Parashah) will be on the heels of obeying the judgements, the right rulings.

These studies take me such a long time to work out, Proverbs 25:2 has become my Motto:

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

We have purchased a Mechanical Translation of Genesis and Exodus that does help me. I hope Mr Benner's Mechanical translations of the rest of the Torah are published soon.

Now I need to figure out the rest of the today's passage...

~wow~

Shabbat of Blessing

From a July 19th email....

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sabbath of Blessing~ the last Sabbath before the new mooon.

Today has been a wonderful day to rest. We traveled to a small fellowship last night and didn't get home until after 1:00 this morning so I have been happy for just a time to read and relax.

This week's parashah has been Mattot, (tribes) found in Numbers 30:1-32:42 and refers to when Moses gave the laws of vows, the revenge against the Midianites, and the tribes of Reuben and Gad asking for their inheritance to remain on the east side of the Jordan. It was very interesting to see how seemingly unrelated verses were actually all tied together with the concept of the vow. A vow is serious business and it's violation causes destruction and pain. While a promise is an agreement between two people and easily broken, a vow is a binding contract and involves diety.

Vow~ נדר Nader (Nay'-der)

Strong's number H5088 ~ A promise to God

Hebrew name meaning

נ Nun Seed, continue, heir, son

ד Dalet Door, move, hang, entrance

ר Resh Head of a Man, first, top, beginning

I just don't know enough about Ancient Hebrew culture to understand, but this is the deeper meaning of the word "Nader", or "Vow." We think it has to do with how vows were actually made, which to me is bizarre. We just need to study on it more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the middle of the Three Weeks of Sorrow, the time when historically the Jews befell calamaity. Both the first and second temples were destroyed, among five other noted tragedies. This time is also referred to as the days "within the straits" (bein hamatzarim)

Lamentations 1:3 "All her oppressors have overtaken her within the straits."

On Shabbat during the Three Weeks, the haftarah is taken from passages in Isaiah and Jeremiah dealing with the destruction of the temple and the exile of the children of Israel.

The Three Weeks will end on Tisha B'Av, the 9th of Av, which is the 5th Hebrew month and this year falls August 1 (sundown) to August 2 (sundown) and then the haftarah will return to parallels of the Parashah.

The Haftarah has been Jeremiah 1:1-2:3

The B'rit Chadashah has been Matthew 5:33-37, James 4:1-12.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I stated earlier, we traveled to another state for fellowship.

~My contribution to the fellowship's Shabbat meal:~

corn on the cob (we took 45 ears)

Humongous garden salad

carrots

kosher cheeses

olive oil

~Sabbath breakfast~

gluten free Rice Chex

Vanilla rice milk

~Sabbath lunch~

gluten free cheese bread

pinto beans

brown rice

tuna salad

garden salad

wraps

~supper~

leftovers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The end of the season of family birthdays has arrived. I bought five bicycles this year and they were a real hit! Horse girl and Little Sister both learned to ride and now we're trying to convince Little Brother to take those training wheels off. Baby is happy with the trike. Junior, Tall Man, and Lady have been trail riding with our Friend's older children and have been loving it. Junior is trying to convince Husband to get a bike to ride along. I just may join them!

Shalom Aleichem

Peace and completeness be upon you!

~WOW~

Shabbat word study

From July 10th... This word study gave me goose bumps!!!!

~~~~~~~~~

This week's Parashah is Pinchas (Phineas), the 41st Parashah in the Torah cycle:

Numbers 25:10-29:40

The Haftarah:

1 Kings 18:46-19:21

The B'rit Chadashah (renewed covenant):

Romans 11:2-32

***********

I'm trying to move toward vegetarianism again but it's much harder now that I've discovered shawarma, and homemade curries...

Here's the menu:

Challah

garden salad

grilled Tuna steaks

roasted pepper salad

arroz de sabato, (Shabbat rice pilav with saffron)

Shakshouka, (Spicy tomato, pepper, and egg dish)

raw veggie platter

tziki

hummus w/ rice chips

fruit

**********

Here is something really cool:

שבת שלום

Shabbat Shalom

Sabbath Peace

I hope you can see the Hebrew font in the correct order! We had to tweak Husband's computer to read right to left. The weird looking 'W' is the first letter and is called a "Shin" (pronounced sheen).

Here is what I understand so far...

Hebrew is the only language with each letter having it's own individual meaning. The individual meanings of the letters tell the deeper meaning of the word!

*We understand Shabbat as the seventh day of the week, the day of rest - but look at the letters:

שבת

ש Shin- sharp (as in cutting which refers to covenant) press, eat, two

ב Beyt- house, family, in

ת Tav- sign, mark, signal, covenant

Shabbat literally means "two house sign of the covenant"

Remember Israel was broken into two houses; the House of Judah (comprised of Judah, part of Levi, and Benjamin) and the remaining tribes in the House of Israel . Of course we recognize the Jews today but the remaining tribes remain lost in diaspora (scattered throughtout the world). Prophecy fortells of Israel being restored in the last days. Who are these lost tribes? Could they be the believers in the Messiah? Should believers in Messiah also keep Shabbat as the Jews have since Moses? In scripture, was the keeping of Shabbat ever changed to Sunday?

We've all heard of the Mark of the beast, could Shabbat be the sign, or mark, of the Covenant between the two houses of Israel restored, and God? (Ex 31:13, Ex 31:17, Ezk 20:12, Ezk20:20...)

*Shalom is commonly known as peace, completeness.

שלום

ש shin- sharp (as in cutting which refers to covenant), press, eat, two

ל lamed- teach, yoke, to bind

ו vav- add, secure, hook

ם mem (final) - mighty, chaos, blood

Shalom literally means "Pressed, Bound and Secured in the Blood."

Isn't that an awesome meaning of peace and completeness; to be secure in the atonement of the blood of the Covenant?

Who is the embodiment of the Covenant but the Messiah? When we are yoked securely in His Covenant of blood, we will certainly have peace and completeness.

Now put both word meanings together:

"Two-house sign of the Covenant that is pressed, bound, and secured in the blood."

Truely Amazing!

~WOW