Where is the place of encounter with the Eternal?

Offering

Exodus 25:17-30 (Sephardi); 25:17-40 (Ashkenazi)

The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover... There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites. 

(Ex. 25:20,22 NIV)

Where is the place of encounter with the Eternal?

Moshe had a revelation of the heavenly temple. HaShem showed him all the details and commanded him to make copies of the heavenly things on earth. The Eternal wanted the earthly sanctuary to be the image of the one in heaven.

The heavenly tabernacle is complete but the one on earth wasn’t. The Eternal commands to use half cubits as a measure on the earthly tabernacle. This fact teaches us that the earthly tabernacle is a smaller copy of the heavenly one in which there shouldn’t be half cubits.

The cherubs in heaven are alive. The ones Moshe made were of gold. However, the illustration of the earthly cherubs can teach us a very important truth regarding the place of encounter with the Eternal.

In the first place, the cherubs had to have their wings spread and their faces turned to the propitiatory that was between them. In that way they showed that their attention was not outside but focused toward the place where the Eternal revealed Himself, in the space between them over the cover of the ark. HaShem chose that place as His throne. The cherubs’ posture is one of worship with wings spread upward and faces bowed down. This teaches us that where the Eternal reveals Himself there is worship and where there is authentic worship He reveals Himself.

The cherubs didn’t have their faces looking forward, and in this way men didn’t feel the impulse of worshiping them. One doesn’t worship the worshiper, but the One who is worshiped by the worshipers.

In the second place, we see that there were two cherubs not only one, who had their faces looking towards each other. This teaches us that in the Eternal’s presence there is a close relationship between worshipers. In His presence there is no room for disputes and quarrel. In a place where there are divisions and lack of love the Eternal can’t manifest. So the place where the Eternal sets His throne has to be free of rivalry, critics, envy, evil tongue, selfishness and annoyances. 

If a worshiper can’t be worshiped and if Yeshua is the greatest worshiper there is among men, how can we think of worshiping him? It is forbidden to worship a worshiper but only the One who is the object of worship of the true worshipers.

Let’s cleanse from all lack of love and ask the Eternal to bring us together so that He can meet with us, govern over us and manifest His glorious presence among us.

         May we all be able to reach intimacy with our heavenly Father,

Is HaShem a racist?

Exodus 23:26 – 24:18

Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you. 

(Ex. 23:33 NIV)

Is HaShem a racist?

The Eternal commanded the dons of Israel to evict and exterminate the seven nations that lived in the Promised Land. He didn't do it once but many times in many ways. A son of Kenaan can't live in the land of Israel. Why? Is the Eternal a racist?         

The Torah gives us the answer to these questions. In this text as in many others the Eternal reveals that it is because of the wickedness of these nations that they didn't have the right to exist. HaShem has the right to rule over His world and if a people doesn't fulfill the seven basic laws given to all men, He takes disciplinary measures, and often times very severe ones.

Idolatry, free sex and violence are causes of the greatest punishment and these nations had totally surrendered to these forms of evil and more. Their idolatry was such that there was no solution for them anymore. Only one woman was saved from that evil world, Rachav (see book of Joshua).

This verse teaches us that the people of Israel would be at risk of being perverted by these seven nation's idolatry. The perversion that comes from idolatry is not only physical and psychological but also spiritual. It is very deep. It has to do with control and possession of evil and impure spirits that rule over idolaters. The sons of Israel were at risk of being affected by the evil principalities and powers that governed the skies and these rebels' minds.

The Eternal, who is good, wanted to help his sons and prevent them from falling in that same disastrous idolatry and that's why He ordered to exterminate them from the land completely. He also sent a very powerful angel before them in order to clean the air from these rebellious angels, evil spirits, that ruled over the region. The angel did his work in the air and the sons of Israel, guided by Yehoshua (Joshua), did theirs in the land. So they expelled most of the evil nations and changed the spirit upon the land.

So, the reason for the eviction of these nations had nothing to do with racism but with the evil practices of these peoples.

HaShem loves all and that's why He calls all to repentance. But the one who doesn't repent will suffer the consequences of his sin.

          Beloved disciples of Yeshua, flee from idolatry in all its forms.

          Shabat shalom,

          Ketriel

What are the consequences of pure worship?

You shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. You shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 

(Ex. 23:24-25 ESV)

What are the consequences of pure worship?

The Eternal forbids not only to bow down to pagan gods but also to serve them. There is a very close relationship between these two words: worship – or bow down – in Hebrew hishtahavah השתחוה – and serve – in Hebrew avad. עבד. One thing leads to the other, worship leads to service.

Nevertheless, it's possible to serve pagan gods without bowing down to them. Many pagan practices are intertwined in all the cultures of the world, including the Jewish one, and many times we follow them by force of habit without knowing their reason and origins. When we follow pagan customs we serve pagan gods in a way. Let's be careful and check our behaviour.

Now, even if a person doesn't worship or serve pagan gods, he/she could be doing things that idolaters do. That's why the Torah also warns the people from imitating the idolaters' actions, even if they are nice or beautiful. Here we can mention many different customs: music styles, apparel, celebrations, ways of speaking, cooking, etc., but this is out of the scope of these messages.

What we are indeed going to stress is the great promise made by the Eternal to all those who reject pagan gods and idolaters' customs to serve only Him. If one turns from all form of idolatry and takes away from their daily practices and festivities all kinds of pagan traditions and turn their hearts to serve the Eternal in all areas of his life; then, he will experience a special blessing over his food and drink. The one who devotes all of the areas of his/her life to serve the Eternal exclusively will not suffer from hunger, as it is written in Psalm 37:25: “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” (NIV)

Even more, not only food and drink will be blessed when a person lives serving the Eternal, fulfilling His commandments, but also no harmful thing in food or drink will have effect on him/her as it does in the idolaters. HaShem promises to take away sickness from among a people who keep from idolatry and its customs, to devote itself solely to Him.

Take into account that the promise doesn't say that sickness cannot come. The promise says that sickness will be taken away. So, don't be discouraged if you have been attacked by a disease. The important thing is to reject it and fight it with all the weapons that the Eternal has given us, including a life of prayer and study of the Torah, obedience, a healthy diet, exercise, medicine, healthy relationships, joy, etc.

May the Eternal give you total health, both in body and soul through Yeshua the Messiah who shed his blood to sanctify his people and confirm all the Eternal's promises.

          Ketriel

Why is HaShem so interested in the weak?

Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.

(Ex. 23:6, 9 NIV)

Why is HaShem so interested in the weak?

There are many commandments that protect the weak in the society. Here we have two verses that highlight the importance of being careful not to harm the poor or foreigner in any way. The reason that the Eternal gives to not oppress the foreigner is that the people know how it feels to be foreigners. The emotional impact of being foreigners in Egypt must have remained for more than a generation because it is the basis for this commandment. Children born from Yehoshua's (Joshua) generation didn't experience the bondage or the feeling of being foreigners anymore. However, the Torah speaks of that feeling as if it had remained in the people forever.

This teaches us that even if we haven't experienced what a foreigner experiences in a personal way, we must remember the generations that went through that in Egypt and we must make an effort to try to put ourselves in the shoes of the foreigner to feel what he feels.  

I remember the first time that I was in Spain alone living in a house in which everyone spoke only Spanish and Valencian. At that time I didn't speak Spanish and it was very difficult for me to communicate with the family who I lived with. I remember sitting at the table and not being able to ask for sugar, because I didn't know the word for it in Spanish. When I had the need to go to the washroom I couldn't excuse myself to leave the table and the others gave me weird looks, as an ignorant. I felt totally alone, isolated, abandoned with my frustration of not being able to communicate my most basic needs.

In that moment, I made a decision to never forget those emotions to be able to understand those foreigners that come as immigrants to a different country without being able to speak the language. It's very a humiliating feeling.

It's easy to humiliate a foreigner for the one who knows. Any attitude of despise, any belittling word, any scornful look increases the suffering and frustration of the foreigner.

HaShem knows those feelings and He wants His people never to forget what it means to be a foreigner in order to prevent an increased painful emotion that already lies in the heart of foreigners because of not being able to speak well, not knowing the culture that well, not knowing where to get things, not understanding jokes, not thinking as the rest of the people and because of many more things.

Let's take care of the weak and let's make an effort to make their lives a bit less difficult. Stay away from any joke about the disabled, the foreigners, other ethnic groups, the ignorant, the ones from the neighbouring country and all those who are not like you. This attitude of mocking and despising others doesn't please the Eternal. The Torah teaches us to be purified and cleansed from this.

          May the Eternal help us express our love in a practical way always, also to those who are not like us.

          Kol tuv,

          Ketriel

What produces sanctity?

Mishpatim 18-4

Decrees

Exodus 22:28 – 23:5 (22:27 – 23:5 Heb.)

You shall not delay giving the fullness of your crops and juices of your vintage. You shall give the first-born of your sons to Me. Likewise you shall do with your oxen and with your sheep; it shall be with its dam seven days. On the eighth day you shall give it to Me. And you shall be holy men to Me.

(Ex. 22:29-31a MKJV)

What produces sanctity?

HaShem commands Israel to give Him the first part of the field crops and the increase of the cattle. The Torah says that the delivery of these firstfruits that belong to the Eternal should not be delayed. A delay is a sign that one is not considering the Eternal the first one in one's life. When the Eternal is the first one in everything we are interested in honouring Him first with everything we receive from His hand before enjoying personal benefits from it.

In Proverbs 3:9-10 it is written: “Honour the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. (ESV) This teaches us that to give a part of what we receive to the Eternal first is to honour Him. On the contrary, if we delay the delivery of what belongs to Him we are showing with that action that we are placing Him in the second place after ourselves, thus dishonouring Him.

By giving the Eternal what belongs to Him from our income first, we are not only honouring Him but also becoming sanctified, because this produces sanctity in us. The text that we've highlighted teaches us that if we do not delay the offering of our income we will be sanctified, consecrated to the Eternal.

So sanctity is produced first by the heart's attitude that has the Eternal as first in our lives. Secondly, we must show this attitude in a practical way in our daily lives with the delivery of what belongs to the Eternal, which includes the tithe of all forms of income. The delivery of the firstfruits and the tithe creates sanctity in our lives. Thirdly, when we don't delay this delivery we are sanctified and we honour the Eternal. Sanctity has to do with the heart's surrender and closeness to the Eternal and its practical consequences in our daily lives.

Don't delay the delivery of the tithe. Give it before enjoying your income, in that way you will be sanctified and your barns will be filled with abundance because of the Eternal's blessing. The result of sanctity is not only intimacy with the Eternal, but also material abundance.

          Blessed be the Eternal for His principles that bless and lift us up! 

          Ketriel

Was Esav’s kiss genuine?

Genesis 32:30 (31 Heb.) – 33:5

But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.

(Gen. 33:4 NIV)

Was Esav’s kiss genuine?

The Hebrew text shows a slightly different feature in this instance. The Hebrew word translated as “and kissed him” – vayishkahu וישקהו – has a small dot over each letter. The famous medieval commentator Rashi explains that when these kinds of dots are over a word it is a sign that the word must be interpreted in a special way. If there are more letters than dots, the word is interpreted as it is, but if there are more dots than letters, the letters under the dots count as a separate word from the one that is already there. In this text, the amount of dots and letter coincide and therefore, there are different interpretation opinions among the rabbis. Some say that the word must be interpreted as if it didn’t exist, that is, that Esav’s kiss was fictitious. Others think that it must be understood the other way around, that even if Esav hated Yaakov, he had compassion in that moment and that the kiss was really heartfelt.

Personally, I believe we must interpret the text according to the last opinion. Within Esav, there was both good and bad, as in anyone. In the moment of this encounter, the Eternal activated the positive emotions he had toward his brother and the miracle of that wonderful encounter between both just happened. This came as a result of the struggle that our father Yaakov had the night before. After having humbling himself and acknowledged his fault, he was lifted up and blessed. The Eternal took control of the situation and produced this divine encounter between them. Yaakov acknowledges that not only did he see the face of the Almighty in the angel that strove with him but also in the face of his brother who received him in such a wonderful way.

How great the Eternal is! He can change death into life. Certain death for Yaakov and his family was changed into life and peace. He who humbles before the Eternal will be exalted and see a radical change in his circumstances.

Yaakov’s experience is also a symbol that speaks of the death and resurrection of the Son of Man. He humbled himself to the greatest extent; he was hung and killed on the Roman execution stake. And due to that humble and obedience act, the Eternal rose him and lifted him up to the highest places, giving him a name that is above all names, so that he can now act as a governor of all creation in the Name of the Eternal.

May the Eternal help us humble ourselves before His powerful hand and experience those radical changes that we need to live a life in victory.

What happened to Yaakov in that fight?

Genesis 32:13 (14 Heb.) – 29 (30 Heb.)

And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."

(Gen. 32:24-28 ESV)

What happened to Yaakov in that fight?

At last Yaakov was left alone. That was what the Eternal wanted. He wanted to deal with him alone and He sent a heavenly messenger to wrestle with him. This is the final fight to prepare our father for the entry in the promised land. The fight with the angel is a summary of the entire struggle between Yaakov and the Eternal along his 97 years of life. Yaakov wanted to get things done his way and on his own strength, but the Eternal wanted to weaken his trust in himself so He could manifest His supernatural strength and do things His way. The Eternal wanted to take Yaakov to a breaking point in which he would acknowledge and accept that he had been an impersonator, a deceiver, as his brother Esav had said: “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times.” (27:36a NKJV)

When the angel noticed that he couldn’t fight the strength of Yaakov’s ego, he gave him a blow in the strongest part of the human body. So Yaakov was left handicapped not being able to trust his physical strength anymore. Then, in order to receive a blessing he had to say his name out loud. It was necessary that he admitted that his name was “one who supplants or replaces” which implies that there was something in him that was not good before the Eternal, because it meant that he would be able to recur to lies, tricks, deceit and theft in order to achieve material and spiritual benefits.

In that very moment Yaakov’s deceitful character was exposed to the light of that One who sees all, and Yaakov couldn’t but cry, broken, as it is written in Hosea 12:2, 3-4: “The LORD... will punish Jacob according to his ways; he will repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God. He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us” (ESV)

In that hurt the blessing and the victory were. Yaakov received a new name which implies a new way of being, a new identity. When one humbles oneself, one is also lifted up, and when our father Yaakov humbled himself as much as he could, the Eternal could finally rectify – make tikkun – of his character.

If He could do it with Yaakov at his 97 years of life, He can do it with us if we are humble and let Him mould us in liking of his great Model for men, the Son of Man.

May the Eternal take us to perfection,

Ketriel