In Mortar and in Brick...
Shabbat Shalom Kol Yisrael. It is our pleasure to present this week's
Torah Parsha commentary by Nazarene Yisraelite Rabbi T. (Mordecai) Mitchell,
Rabbi and Rosh Zaken of B'nai Yeshurun Nazarene Yisraelite Synagogue,
Kittanning, Pa., and board member of the Union of Nazarene Yisraelite
Congregations. It is our sincere hope and prayer that these commentaries
encourage, inspire, and strengthen the body of Messiah in Kol Yisrael. This week
we begin the book of Shemoth (Exodus) (Names) which is also the name of the first
Parsha, Shemoth 1:1 6:1. Our Haftarah portions are
YeshaYahu 27:6 28:13 and YirmeYahu 1:1 2:3. Our suggested Brit
Chadasha readings are: MattithYahu (Matthew) 22:2233; Acts 3:12-15; 5:2732 and
Ibrim (Hebrews) 11:2326. Also, please read Tehillim (Psalms)
34.
Again, Shabbat Shalom Brethren. I'd like to say I have good
news to share this Shabbat, however, I do not, I have distressing news.
Some old jokes begin by saying, I have good news, bad news, and good
news, etc. etc. Well, that's the case we have here today, and it's no
joke.
This Shabbat I'd like each of us to read carefully the Parsha
Shemoth. As we read, it should be our prayer that we are struck by
dèjá vu, and
come to the realization that history does indeed repeat itself.
Let us consider a few selected verses from this awesome second book of
Torah.
1:7 And the children of Yisrael bore fruit and increased very much,
multiplied and became very strong, and the land was filled with
them.
8
Then a new sovereign arose over Mitsrayim who did not know
Yoseph.
9
and he said to his people, See, the people of the children of Yisrael are
more and stronger than we,
10 come, let us act wisely towards them, lest they increase, and it
shall be when fighting befalls us, that they shall join our enemies and fight
against us, and shall go up out of the land.
11 So they set slave-masters over them to afflict them
with their burdens, and they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and
Ra'amses.
In the 400-plus years that Yisrael
was in Egypt their original status of temporary guests of a friendy government
spiraled downward to that of virtual slaves of tyranical
despotism.
Hebrew sages teach that just
before the Messiah comes (returns) the world will be very much in a state like
Egypt (Mitsrayim).
Stop for a few minutes and
consider the situation we have today. In the last few weeks of this Roman year,
the vast, overwhelming majority of the world around us was engulfed in a mad
frenzy to throng to the nearest shopping mall and spend themselves into debt so
that they and their loved ones could have a happy holiday. Of course, in order
to get to the malls and shopping meccas, we drive in cars, some of which may
cost more than our homes. We fuel those cars and SUVs with ever increasingly
expensive gasoline.
Now that the Shopping Days
season is over, the coldest days of winter are in store, at least for most of
us. We now realize that it's time to replenish our heating fuel, either oil, or
natural or propane gas, or perhaps coal. No doubt, most of us will suffer
sticker shock when we get our fuel bill. Too boot, we are now paying more for
groceries than ever before. Food prices have escalated (make that sky rocketed)
due to rising fuel costs involved in food production, processing and
distribution, and due in part too, to adverse weather conditions in many parts
of the nation and the world. If we are among those who get an annual
cost-of-living-increase in our checks, we know that the annual COLA increases in
no way keep up with creeping inflation. We get more money but it buys
less.
Can we see a parallel here? The
Yisraelites in ancient Egypt were not only enslaved to Egypt's economic system,
but they were forced to make bricks without straw. The bricks without straw
did not mean that the bricks were actually made without a straw binder to keep
them together, but rather that the enslaved Yisraelites had to gather the straw
as well as make the bricks. In other words, their burdens were not diminished,
they were increased.
As we read in Shemoth 1:14
and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in
mortar, and in brick, and in all kinds of work in the field, all their work
which they made them do was with harshness.
Are these verses starting to have
a familiar ring?
If we re-read 1:11 we see that the
overall goal of the labor forced upon the Yisraelites was to have them build the
...supply cities, Pithom and
Ra'amses.
Here, with the tool
of Gematria, we have a Remez (hint) of what is going on.
Ra'amses is Strong's number 7486, the
Hebrew letters, Resh, Ayin, Mem, Samek, and a second Samek. These letters have a Gematria
value of 410. There are two rather sinister phrases that also have a Gematria of
410: in Vay'yiqra (Leviticus) 13:20 we have the Hebrew word
Shphal (Sheen, Phay, and Lamed) and in Debarim (Deuteronomy)
2:21 we have Reesh-me-deem (Resh, Yod, Sheen, Mem, Yod, Dalet, and Mem sofeet) also having a Gematria of 410. The word
Shphal
means to be lower, and
Reesh-me-deem means ...and he
destroyed them. But wait,
there's more.
The second city was
Pithom, Strong's number 6619, having a Gematria value
of 520. We find a word with this same value, 520, in Debarim (Deuteronomy)
28:42: Yey-reesh, (Yod, Yod, Resh, Sheen) meaning ...will make
poor.
Understanding the Gematria meaning
here is a no-brainer. Today, just as did our Yisraelite forefathers, we labor
to build the sovereign's supply cites. Although we may get our necessary
supplies, our daily bread from these cities, they sever only to enrich the
government and lower us (lower both our self-esteem and lower us economically)
they make us poor, and they will eventually destroy us.
Bad news! The destruction of Egypt
has already begun. Collectively, modern day Lost Yisrael (who does not even
recognize themselves as Yisrael) sinks lower and lower economically, buried in
mountains of debt. We have also reached the bottom
spiritually.
We cannot and must not exclude
spiritual Yisrael from this quagmire. How can we justify such a statement? Just
ask a group of believers to raise their hands if they want Messiah to come. No
doubt every hand in the group will go up, and they will answer with a resounding
Yes, or perhaps will proclaim the much touted phrase, We want Mosheach, we want Mosheach
now!
But do we really want the Messiah
to come? Frankly, I believe that few do. I say that because actions speak louder
than words.
We should be thankful for each and
every person who proclaims Yahshua as Messiah, dedicates themselves to Yahweh's
Torah, and who understand and accepts the Two House Message. But now it's time
for all who claim to believe to get serious.
All too often we are content to
don our kippahs, wrap ourselves in a tallith, tootle our shofars, beat
tambourines, do Israeli dances, sing traditional Hebrew songs, and shout and
bandy about Hebrew phrases. This is all well and good, except that when the
shouting is over, we return to our fleshpots of Egypt. We return to our
comfortable homes, grab our plastic money, jump into our gas-guzzling
vehicles, and rush to the nearest shopping mall. We ingratiate ourselves to
Pharaoh so that we may grovel at the doors of his supply houses for
increasingly smaller and increasingly more expensive rations. We complain about
the rising costs of clothing food, fuel, and taxes, yet continue to spend our
plastic money on foolishness, with little if any thought of
tomorrow.
For a better perspective, we
should consider the life of Rabbinu (our teacher)
Mosheh.
As we progress in our reading of
Parsha Shemoth, we learn that the life of Mosheh was saved
through a highly unusual (yes, supernatural) chain of events. The irony,
however, is that the life of Mosheh was spared only though his becoming, for all
intents and purposes, an Egyptian. Of course, like us, he really had no say in
the matter. Everything was pre-ordained for him, if you will.
From his earliest understanding,
Mosheh knew his true identity he knew he was of the seed of Yisrael. Yet, like
most of us, until adulthood, he lived the life of an Egyptian. Even the name
Mosheh is of Egyptian origin (although it has come to have deep spiritual
significance for Yisraelites).
However, early in his adult life,
Mosheh made a crucial decision, one that would alter his life forever. In
Shemoth 2:11-12 Mosheh turns on Egypt by killing a taskmaster who he sees
abusing one of his Yisraelite kinsmen. When his deed is made known, he must flee
for his life. Mosheh could have turned a blind eye toward great injustice, or
take action against it. He chose action. Again, we have a case of words verses
actions. Mosheh was a man of few words, but much action. However, actions often
have a price. He is forced to flee into the wilderness to save his own
life.
Let us consider MattithYahu 24,
the focal point of all Bible prophecy. MattithYahu 24:16
Then let those who are in Yehudah flee to the
mountains. MattithYahu 24, of
course, is speaking of the coming great tribulation period. It describes a time
of war, scarcity of food, deadly diseases, and severe persecution of true
believers. We must realize that Messiah cannot come until these things come
about. Likewise, Yisrael could not be delivered from Egypt until Egypt was on
the brink of destruction through plagues and persecution. The plagues were not
metaphorical. They were in every sense of the word, real. Although each plague
does have a Sod level (mystical) meaning, we must know that each plague caused
great suffering to come on Yisraelites and Egyptians alike. Up yo spoint, both
endured the first seveal plagues. We must also understand, as we will read
later, that one of the plagues was that Egypt was enveloped in great darkness, a
thick
darkness ...that could be felt.
The Yisraelites could not leave
Egypt until Egypt had been, for all intents and purposes, destroyed. They also
could not leave until they accepted the leadership of Mosheh. That generation
was forced to give up its dependency on the supply cities and the fleshpots of
Egypt. (In retrospect, perhaps because the journey, for
some of them, was a forced venture, it is the reason why, after achieving
freedom in the wilderness, some desired to return, even though they knew they
would return to a destroyed nation).
In chapter three of our Parsha we
have a wondrous and vital truth found in Shemoth 3:15. Although
Yisrael as a nation had sunk to a low level of existence, both spiritually and
physically, they knew and acknowledged the Name of our Heavenly Father, Yahweh.
In fact, when Mosheh encountered the burning bush in Shemoth 3, he thought that
his authenticity as a prophet of Yahweh would be challenged by the people by a
simple test: 3:13 ...and they say to me
'What is His Name?' what shall I say to them? The direct answer, the very words with which
Mosheh was to answer this question, is found in verse 15:
And Elohim said further to Mosheh,
Thus you are to say to the children of Yisrael, 'YHWH, Elohim of your fathers,
the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Yitshaq, the Elohim of Ya'aqob, has sent me
to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance to all
generations.
Ancient Yisrael, it seems, had
one up on modern-day Yisrael despite how far they were from The Light
they knew, used and understood Yahweh's Name.
It was a litmus test of truth. Today, however, there are a significant number in
so-called Messianic Yisrael who either steadfastly refuse to give the glory due
to Yahweh's Name, refusing to use it at all. There are also those who use it
sometimes, mixing it with titles that do not belong to Almighty Yahweh.
Now we must consider how like
Mosheh we find ourselves. We are in Egypt, both physically and spiritually. We
know there must be an Exodus. We know that our Exodus will be to Yahweh's
Kingdom, and that we will have a Mosheh to lead us out of a dying Egypt. Like
Mosheh, we know our true identity. Like Mosheh was must take action, not give
mere lip service to ...wanting the Messiah to come. Like Mosheh, we must
realize that any action we take will cause us to be banished to the
wilderness, for a time at least.
We must also consider that during
the 400 or so years that Yisrael was in Egypt, many generations of people died,
only to see conditions worsen with no deliverance in sight. How many perished?
At least four out of five generations, perhaps more. We're talking an 80 to 90
percent casualty rate.
However, we're not talking The
Holocaust here. The Holocaust is past history, but wasa precursor of what is yet
to come. Were talking a new and even more terrible holocaust. Again, we must
read MattithYahu 24. Note that it's not the Sunday keepers, who will be
persecuted, it's the Sabbath keepers: 24:20 And pray that
your flight does not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.
As economic conditions worsen (and
they will worsen) history will repeat itself and the world will become
increasingly anti-Semitic. Anything and anyone that smacks of Judaism will be
come targets of hatred and persecution. Once again, the Jews, and anyone classed
as a Jew, will become the world's scapegoats. The Bible, Yahweh's infallible
Word, says so. History says so. All true logic and common sense say so. Believe
it.
Yahshua our Messiah said
MattithYahu 6:24 No man is able to serve two masters, for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he shall cleave to the
one and
despise the other. You are not able to serve Elohim and
mammon.
What's the answer? How can we flee
Egypt now, where can we go? The answer is, we cannot flee now. We must have a
Mosheh to guide us at the right time. We must personally witness the destruction
of Egypt. We must go through the darkness of Egypt, knowing full well, that
although the Egyptians were enveloped in complete and total darkness, the
Yisraelites had Light in their dwellings. Moreover, although the Yisraelites
lived in the very same land as they Egyptians, they lived separately from
them.
Perhaps Yahshua had these ideas in
mind when He said in MattithYahu 6:19-21.
19 Do not lay
up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where
thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and
where thieves do not break in and steal,
21 For where
your treasure is, there your heart shall be also.
Certainly one way we can fulfill
this admonition from our Messiah is to spend more time in spiritual pursuits. We
must spend more time in private, personal, heartfelt prayer. We must spend more
time studying to show ourselves approved. Some money spend on good spiritually
based books is money well spent. If you don't know what books to buy, ask the
Union Rabbis. We can and will make sound recommendations, depending on your
level of spiritual growth and how far you indicate you are willing to
go.
We must understand that we are not
talking religion here, or being religious. We are talking Spirituality,
about becoming more Spiritual, about living our faith, about putting our beliefs
into action. Our end goal is that we may have the strength to endure the times
of the plagues and, at the right moment, be ready and willing to leave Egypt
altogether.
Certainly one thing that has been
placed on the hearts of JoAnne and I lately is the keeping of Yahweh's Shabbat.
We have come to realize that our Sabbath keeping of even the recent past, was
simply too lax. We have realized that while we were not necessarily
transgressing or violating certain aspects of Shabbat keeping, we were missing
out on many spiritual blessings because we were ignorant of certain practices
that would enhance our understanding of and participation in the
Sabbath.
As we discussed some of the
information we've learned with people we know, some have scoffed and said that
we're ...becoming too Jewish. To that charge we have only to say,
HalleluYah. Let us become even more Jewish.
Yahweh willing, my dear wife,
Rebbitzen Yohanah (JoAnne) will have completed, or nearly completed, her
personal study of what we may call enhanced or rejuvenated Shabbat keeping
by next Succot. At that time, again Yahweh willing, she will give a teaching,
possibly in several parts. What she has learned and shared our family she will
share with all at Yahweh's feast of Succot.
Mosheh did not live up to his true
identity and turn his back on the trappings of Egypt because he suddenly became
religious. Mosheh gained the courage to act because he allowed the Ruach to
guide him into greater spirituality, not reater religion . As we read Parsha
Shemoth in
the right frame of mind, we will be empowered to do the same. We will become
spiritually strengthened and begin to grow in The Light. This Light of course,
is the same Light that we read of in Bereshith (Genesis) chapter 1, and Yohanan
(John) chapter 1. This, Light, our Messiah Yahshua, will be our Rabbinu Mosheh,
Who will lead us in a second Exodus, both a physical and a spiritual journey,
out of Egypt.
May Almighty Yahweh bless us all
as we seek to understand more of His Word and come to realize that the Words of
Scripture are not mere words, but Words of Life and Light, and Understanding,
Knowledge, and Wisdom.
Questions or comments regarding
this week's Parsha commentary may be addressed to Rabbi Mitchell by e-mail at:
yoel@arm-tek.net.
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