True Israel?

There was a comment made recently comparing the State of Israel and True Israel, in reference to the Jews vs the Christians. What the? Oh boy. *facepalm*

Ok, true Israel is the same as the State of Israel. There is no difference. The Israel we know today is the same Israel who came out of Egypt all those years ago. Over many generations they've been dispersed to the far reaches of the earth, and are now being brought back, but they are the same group of people. The Christians did not replace them. There is no 'Old' and 'New', 'Old' and 'True' Israel. There is just Israel. G-d did not set Israel aside and pick up a new group of people instead to be his prize possession. It just doesn't work that way. G-d does not change his mind, so why would he swap one group of people for another?  In replacing the Jews with the Christians, you're calling G-d a liar.

It can be understood as a family. A father has 2 sons, his older biological son and his younger adopted son. He loves them both, for they are both his children! The father does not forsake his older son in favor of his younger son, does he? Nor does the adopted son have any right to say to the biological son "Away with you, this is my place". No! The adopted son should be glad to be a part of the family.

Likewise it could be understood as a tree. The roots, trunk, and branches are the Jewish people. There are also other branches grafted in, those are the Christians. Without the roots, the whole tree will die.

The Messiah was a Jew, right? He did everything a Jew did. And by being his followers, we should strive to do everything he did, right? He loved his brothers, and so should we. We need to understand our roots so we know where we come from, and that through the Messiah we are grafted in to the tree of life so to speak. The Christians did not replace Israel, and we never will. What did the Master say in John 10:16 "And I have other sheep that are not of this flock. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." We will all be one flock, one family. Together. 


Concerning the State of Israel vs true Israel, there is no difference, it is the same. Instead of sibling rivalry, why don't we try some brotherly love? The whole world will benefit from it.

  

Isaiah 11

On the last day of Pesach we read Isaiah 10:32-12:6 as we look forward to the Messianic age.

My favorite part is all of chapter 11. Verses 6-9 talk about how during the Messianic age,

"The wolf will live with the lamb;
the leopard lie down with the kid;
calf, young lion and fattened lamb together,
with a little child to lead them.
Cow and bear will feed together,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
An infant will play on a cobra's hole,
a toddler put his hand in a viper's nest.
They will not hurt or destroy
anywhere on my holy mountain.
for the earth will be as full
of the knowledge of Hashem
as the water covering the sea."

What a beautiful picture. I hope to live long enough to see these times. I would love to pet a lion without fear of him eating me. To see a child play with a snake, knowing that they are safe together. There are opinions out there that say this will happen throughout the land of Israel, but especially on the Temple Mount when the Messiah comes.

Verses 11-13:

"On that day Hashem will raise his hand again,
a second time,
to reclaim the remnant of his people who remain from (the north, south, east, and west)
He will hoist a banner for the Goyim,
assemble the dispersed of Israel,
and gather the scattered of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
Efrayim's jealousy will cease-
those who harass Judah will be cut off,
Efrayim will stop envying Judah,
and Judah will stop provoking Efrayim."

Sound like brothers? Haha :) Verses 15-16:

"Hashem will dry up the gulf
 of the Egyptian Sea.
He will shake his hand over the Euphrates River
to bring a scorching wind,
dividing it into seven streams
and enabling people to cross dry shod.
There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
who are still left from Ashur,
just as there was for Israel
when he came out from the land of Egypt."

The offspring of Your servant David may You speedily cause to flourish, and enhance his pride through Your salvation, for we hope for Your salvation all day long, and look forward to salvation. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who causes the pride of salvation to flourish.

Sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise the banner to gather our exiles and speedily gather us together from the four corners of the earth to our Land. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who gathers in the dispersed of His people Israel.

Psalm 6

Psalm 6 is the one I read this morning. It starts out with David pleading to Hashem to not rebuke him in His anger, nor to chastise him in His wrath. This makes me think of a parent disciplining their child, and is a reminder to not do so in the heat of their anger. Collect yourself first, then correct your child. For we are much stronger than they, and we don't want to do or say something we might regret later. Punishment and correction is a necessary part of life. Proverbs 19:18 says to "Discipline your son, for there is hope; let your soul not be swayed by his protest." Just as a son is disciplined by his father, so are we disciplined by Hashem.

I love that by the end of the Psalm, David cries "Depart from me, all evildoers, for Hashem has heard my plea, Hashem will accept my prayer." Such hope and confidence in Hashem has he! My prayer is that I will continue to learn to depend on Him the way David did, and continue to strengthen my faith.

Prayer For Finding A Husband

A friend of mine asked a few days ago for me to send her this prayer. I love the way this prayer is put together, focusing on character and not physical attributes. For the character is what's important. Asking for provision of a husband at the right time, as well as for his protection. I think it is a good idea for us all to be praying for our spouses, future or present. Proverbs 18:22 says "He who finds a wife finds a great good, he has won the favor of Hashem." I believe this goes for finding a spouse in general, we could read "She who finds a husband finds a great good…" The woman isn't the great good to be found, it is that relationship, a great good to both partners. 

Prayer For Finding A Husband

May it be Your will, Hashem, my G-d and G-d of my forefathers, that You provide me, in Your great mercy and loving-kindness, my suitable marriage partner at the right time. May he be worthy of fathering a great Torah and G-d-fearing scholar, and be descended from righteous, honest, and G-d-fearing ancestry. Accomplish this as You did by providing a match for Adam, Avraham, Yitzchak, Ya’akov, and Moshe, each one at the appropriate time. May my future husband be good-natured, of pleasant ways and good deeds, gracious, learned, G-d-fearing, charitable, and kind.

May he be devoid of defects and faults, and be humble and modest, rather than hot-tempered and irritable.  May he be healthy and strong. Do not let anyone’s cruelty, hateful intentions, or deeds get in the way of my intended match. May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing before You, Hashem, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Counting of the Omer

Last night started the counting of the omer. The omer is the 50 days between Pesach (April 14 this year) and Shavuot (June 4 this year). I like to put a mark on each day on my calendar, something physically tied to the counting. On each day, we say a prayer, count which day of the omer it is, and read Psalm 67.

"Blessed are you, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us concerning the counting of the omer. Today is the ___ day of the Omer, which is ___ weeks and ___ days of the Omer. The Compassionate One, may He return for us the service of the Holy Temple to its place, quickly and in our days. Amen." 

Psalm 67 "May G-d favor us and bless us, may He illuminate His countenance with us. To make known  Your way on earth, among all nations Your salvation. The peoples will acknowledge You, O G-d; the peoples will acknowledge You - all of them. Regimes will be glad and sing for you, because You will judge the peoples fairly and guide with fairness the regimes on earth. The peoples will acknowledge You, O G-d; the peoples will acknowledge You - all of them. The earth will then have yielded its produce; may G-d, our G-d, bless us. May G-d bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear Him."

Chag Sameach, and happy counting!

A few verses in Ecclesiastes...

I was reading through Ecclesiastes this summer when I was watching the neighbor's dairy, and came across quite a few gems in this book, these are only a portion of them. We have to look past when he says everything is pointless and feeding on the wind, to see the beauty of the book.

Just some very short thoughts. Nothing much really, maybe something will jump out to you as well...

"Two are better than one, in that their cooperative efforts yield this advantage: if one of them falls, the other will help his partner up." 4:9

This is what we need to look for in our next leader:

"... the greatest advantage to the country is when the king makes himself a servant to the land." 5:7(8)

"Also, everyone to whom G-d has given riches and wealth, along with the power to enjoy it, so that he takes his allotted portions and finds pleasure in his work - this is a gift of G-d; for he will not brood over the fact that his life is short, since G-d keeps him occupied with what will bring him joy." 5:18(19)-19(20) So try to find joy in the task at hand, it is a blessing from G-d!

"A good name is better than perfumed oil" 7:1

"Don't grasp just one of these rules; take hold of the other as well; for he who is in fear of G-d will live by both of them." 7:18

"To a wise man wisdom is better protection than ten rulers in a city." 7:19

"Also, don't take seriously every word spoken, such as when you hear your servant speaking badly of you; because often, as you yourself know, you have spoken badly of others." 7:21-22

Maybe this is why I love mornings :)

"In the morning, sow your seed; and don't slack off until evening; for you don't know which sowing will succeed, this, or that, or if both will do well. Then the light will be sweet, and it will be a pleasure to see the sun." 11:6-7

And this one really spoke to me, looking at the situation of the young generation of our time.

"Young person, if you spend your youth only having fun, if you use your early years just to entertain yourself, if you follow your heart as you live your life, and let your eyes be your guide; understand that for all these things G-d will bring you to judgement. Therefore, remove anger from your heart; and keep from harming your body; for neither adolescence nor youth has any lasting value." 11:9-10

Interesting that he pin points these actions as a root of anger...

At the very end, but perhaps the most important...

"Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear G-d and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about. For G-d will bring to judgement everything we do, including every secret, whether good or bad. [Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear G-d, and keep his mitzvot, this is what being human is all about.]" 12:13-14