We went to our church's sanctuary service and had communion there. Both of us were ready to get back to our old routines after weeks of experimenting with other services. We enjoyed them all and learned a lot about other places but we do have a home base and we needed that this week. Then in Sunday School it was announced that Ben Witherington III was speaking at Providence Methodist at 11. Don and I decided right away and at the same time that we needed to head there ASAP from Sunday School. We left about 5 minutes early and were early to the 11 a.m. service at Providence. Their sanctuary was full enough but Don and I had a whole pew to ourselves and no one had trouble finding a seat. Ben came down the center aisle singing with great enthusiasm and joy the opening hymn. (His mother is a musical person and must have trained him well.) I wasn't familiar with the hymn so I was making a joyful noise but softly.
Providence is doing a summer series on the Psalms and this Sunday, the Psalm chosen was Psalm 22. This is a sad psalm and Jesus quotes it while he is on the cross dying. Ben's sermon says that the Psalm ends on a more positive note than the rest of the psalm, but overall it was sad to hear. Here are my notes on the sermon and I hope I caught most of what Ben was saying.
The NT reading that Ben did was Matthew 27: 46-51 which is about Jesus last moments alive on the cross. The only words Jesus says from the cross in Matthew or Mark are "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me." This is a Psalm 22 quote. In Mark, Jesus was offered something to drink before he died but in Matthew, he dies right away after these words. The sky turned black before this moment. Darkness is the anti-symbol of light and it symbolizes the absence of God's presence - which is what Hell is - the absence of God's presence. Was Jesus abandoned by God when he was on the cross? In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asks to let the cup pass from Him but then says "Thy will be done." Jesus always calls God, Father except in his final words on the cross. There he calls Him only God.
By asking to avoid the cup, Jesus wants not to meet a certain kind of death. That kind of death is to hang on a tree because in ancient times, people said "Cursed be he who hangs on a tree. He is cursed by God." This is Galatians 3:13. Ancients believed that how you died revealed how you had lived - it was a judgment on your character. Crucifixion was the most shameful way to die. If they saw all of us wearing crosses on jewelry around our necks, etc. the ancient people would be puzzled. It would be like today wearing a little electric chair around our necks. So Jesus, in asking that the cup pass from him, is asking not to die a shameful crucifixion death. But the cup of God's wrath was on sin. It is difficult to think that the one person for whom Jesus did not need to die was Jesus himself because he was blameless. But He took on our sin and He felt abandoned by God in the end. Jesus was God, forsaken for our sakes, God forsaken for Goodness' sake. God is Holy Love, not just Holy and not just Love but Holy Love. Sin is judged on the cross but the sinner is redeemed. We need never again experience God's forsaking us because Jesus promised to be with us always. We can take great hope in that promise.
They were holding a reception after the service but Don and I got down the aisle pretty quickly and were able to shake Ben's hand and speak a few words to him. He seemed genuinely glad to see us. We were pretty hungry by then as we normally eat breakfast right after Sunday School so we went to get some breakfast. Later we came back by the church and I picked up a brochure about their Disciple schedule and was excited to see a minister I know is teaching an 8 week class on Introduction to the New Testament in January. I might take it if our church doesn't offer something on a good day of the week for me to take another class. But Don and I decided I should wait and see as it is a little better I think to take these classes at my own church - but then again I do know this minister and he is a good one. So I am waiting and seeing but chomping at the bit a little too. I love taking these classes especially ones taught by a minister (who knows what he is talking about) and one that is only 8 weeks long. I can handle that. But knowing myself, there will likely be something else that comes up that I will be equally excited about and so waiting and seeing is probably a great idea.
7/20/09
7/16/09
2009/07/15 Eighth Introduction to Judaism Class Notes
Teacher: Rabbi Judy Schindler
Class Members Present were Jonathan Stewart, Beth Stewart, Tammy Hawa, Melanie Pace, Nikki Lathrop, Malia Daniels (engaged to Ricky Segal), and Ricky Segal.
We began by going around and saying what each was going to do with these classes. Most were planning to convert or had taken the classes as a refresher or to be with the one who might convert. Don, Melanie and I were not planning to convert but had each gotten much meaning out of the classes. Judaism is certainly a rich and wonderful faith tradition from which Christians can gain insight into their own roots, I think. There are other classes being offered. I think the classe geared more toward conversion are called Finding Your Inner Jewish Identity (FIJI) and there is also a Jewish University at Beth-El where much more can be learned about Judaism. Both are offered at the same time and there is a study of Torah going on right now that sounds very detailed and informative, not just about the written Torah but the Talmud and other information about it as well. More info on both is available on the Web Site, www.beth-el.com .
Rabbi Schindler began by saying all faiths have their truths and not everyone needs to believe alike.
There are differences between what Judaism and Christianity teaches. Rabbi Schindler said to imagine we were the rabbi and people come to you and ask about marrying a Jewish person and a Christian. What advice would you give? But first, we went over the differences she had compiled for our class and she let the class come up with ideas as well.
Christian Beliefs compared to Jewish Beliefs:
Christians have a New Testament in addition to the Hebrew Bible which they call the Old Testament. Jews have the Hebrew Bible plus oral tradition and other writings such as the Talmud. The Hebrew Bible for the Jews is not in the same order as the "Old Testament" in the Christian Bible.
Christians believe the Messiah has come and he was a man called Jesus. Jews believe the Messiah will come but has not come yet. He will come when the world is perfect and Jews strive to live their lives so that the world becomes a place where it is acceptable for the Messiah to come.
Christians believe in God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a monolithic view. There is one God but three parts to God. Jews have many images of God but there is only one God. The Orthodox view of God is more rigid while the Reformed view is more liberal.
Christians are evangelical. They proselytize, hoping to win converts. Judaism is more closed. It is said they turn away people three times saying, you just think you want to convert. We are a persecuted people, why do you want to be Jewish? They want true inner conviction that someone wants to convert, not just that their spouse is Jewish so they want to be Jewish too or any other reason that might be outside their true desire to be Jewish. Reform Judaism is more open to these conversions than the Orthodox.
Christian Old Testament ends with Malachi and the last verse ends with "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." These words indicate that Israel might be rejected rather than the Jewish hope that they will return to Zion someday. Thus, Jesus is made to succeed and supplant the Hebrew prophets. And also, the old covenant is broken and Israel comes to depend on the resurrected Savior for redemption. The Jewish Bible is not in the same order as the Christian Bible and the last book is II Chronicles. The last verse refers to King Cyrus who is charged with rebuilding God's Temple in Jerusalem. Cyrus is referred to as a messiah, the anointed one, meshiach. He proclaims to the Jewish people "Whoever is among you of God's people, may the Lord be with you. Go up!" This is a more hopeful message to the Jewish people than the rejection indicated by Malachi.
Christians believe in original sin and that man is guilty of sin throughout life although forgiveness can be sought and granted. Christians confess sin in most of their services on a regular basis. Jews do not believe in original sin. They believe we are born with negatives and positives and that we must learn to reign in our bad side. In other words, we all sin and we then get it right. We learn to do better. They say "We have sinned" as a community, not "I have sinned." There is a confessional deathbed prayer that is said that basically asks God to take the dying person into his care and says the person has tried to live a good life.
There are 613 commandments in Judaism. 365 are positive and 248 are negative. Since there are no more animal sacrifices, there are about 300 laws for which Jews are responsible for following.
We went on to read some New Testament scripture and see that things changed from one scripture to the next.
Matthew 5: 17-19 says "Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets. I tell you solemnly, til Heaven and Earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved." It goes on to say that keeping the Law will make one considered great in the kingdom of heaven and infringement of the law will make one be considered least in the kingdom of heaven. But then in Galatians 2:15, the New Testament says, "Though we were born Jews and not pagan sinners, we acknowledge that what makes a man righteous is not obedience to the Law, but faith in Jesus Christ." So Christians believe faith is the key to gaining heaven. Jews believe their actions are what get them to heaven. So to Jews, actions are very important.
Matthew 7:12 says "So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets." This (Christian) wording means to treat others as you would like to be treated and is different from the Old Testament (Jewish) "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Chrhistian: Matthew: 19:16-22 tries to reduce the law (613) down to five, with four of the five being part of the ten commandments. In this reading, a young man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to possess eternal life and Jesus tells him "These. You must not kill, You must not commit adultery. You must not bring false witness, Honor your father and mother; and, you must love your neighbor as yourself." When the man says he has kept all these, he asks what else? Jesus tells him, "'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth." Giving up all you own is not a Jewish belief. Jews believe in giving but people are not required to live in poverty.
Jews want their good deeds to outweigh their bad deeds so that at the end of life the scales are weighted toward the good deeds. Christians put more emphasis on faith. Leviticus 18:5 says "The Law is not even based on faith, since we are told: the man who practices these precepts finds life through practicing them." So, again Judaism is based more on actions rather than faith.
In Galations 5:1-6, Paul tells people if they allow themselves to be circumcised then Jesus will not be of benefit to them. "With all solemnity I repeat my warning: Everyone who accepts circumcision is obliged to keep the whole Law. But if you look to the Law to make you justified, then you have separated yourselves from Christ, and have fallen from grace. Christians are told by the Spirit to look to faith for those rewards that righteousness hopes for, since in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference - what matters is faith that expresses itself in love." Paul is looking upon circumcision not as a medical act but one of putting oneself in with the covenant of the Jewish people and he is saying don't do that.
Another difference between Christians and Jews is that of prayer. Christians do pray alone and Jews do more in the way of community prayer. Matthew 6:5-6 says "And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. I tell you solemnly, they have their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you." In Judaism, there are some prayers that require a group of 10 people to be said such as Kaddish. A time for individual prayer is giving during Shabbat services but some of the prayers that are said at each service require a minion (group of 10).
Christians have different takes on whether divorce is allowed and under what circumstances. Catholics almost do not allow it unless there is abuse involved. Matthew 5: 31-32 "It has also been said, Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say to you, everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adultress, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Jews allow divorce under certain circumstances such as adultery. Reform Jews allow it more leniently than the Orthodox since if the love is gone out of a relationship, why make it continue. This does not mean that people should not try or should give up too easily. But when a divorce is granted, the wife must have a "get" which gives the wife money and other things on which to live. This is agreed on at marriage and must be honored. In Hebrew the word man is pronounced Eesh and woman is Eesha (sorry, I don't know the spelling). When they marry, they come together and the two should be stronger than the one. When this bond is broken, then they should separate.
Christians believe Jesus is the suffering servant referred to in Isaiah 42: 1-4. Jews believe we are all suffering servants. Jews believe they were chosen for the responsibility of keeping the commandments. Jews - we lost the Temple and we are all suffering servants but we will get the Temple back. Isaiah 42: 1-4 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, My beloved, the favorite of my soul. I will endow him with my spirit, And he will proclaim the true faith to the nations. He will not brawl or shout, Nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets, He will not break the crushed reed, Nor put out the smouldering wick Till he has led the truth to victory; In his name the nations will put their hope."
Matthew 13: 24-30 was read where good seed (wheat) was mixed with bad (darnel). The master said to await the harvest when the wheat and darnel would be separated and the darnel burned. Then in Matthew 13:36-43, Jesus explained the parable as meaning "The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingsom all things that provoke offenses and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
Christians believe John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life." Jews do not believe God can be in human form.
Christianity believes you must believe in Jesus as Savior and Messiah to be saved.
Mark 16:16: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." And Acts 4:12: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." And Matthew 21:22: "And if you have faith, everything you ask for in prayer you will receive."
In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus says He has been granted all authority in heaven and on earth and tells his disciples to go to all nations and baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jews believe there is a coming Messiah (meaning anointed) who will restore the Davidic kingdom and act as God's agent in bringing about the Messianic age. It was asked whether we can identify those who are David's descendants and the answer is that Elijah will return and identify this Messiah for us. In Kings, Elijah did not die and Jews believe he is here in evey generation. He won't reveal the Messiah until we deserve it. The Messiah will bring peace to the land and He will be a military leader, but one who has laid down his sword. This last part was put in later as we discussed whether He would be a warring "person." The rabbi will try and find more about this descendant of David and email Don with some more information about it. However, it is believed this Messiah will bring about a time of peace in the land and the Messianic age will be a time of perfection. It is important to do good in order to help bring about this age. This Messiah will be someone chosen by God. He will be an anointed one and chosen to lead the people. All mankind will be redeemed at this time, not just Jews. The golden age of man and the world is in the future. This Messianic age is possible for man to achieve. The (Jews,people?) will be gathered and restored to their land. People will live peaceably and be united in their land.
I looked up something on the Web about it to be sure it was Elijah who will come back and identify the Messiah. Malachi 3:23 (Malachi 4:5 in the Christian Bible) says "Behold I will send you Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord." This is traditionally interpreted to mean that Elijah will precede the coming Messiah who will bring about a Messianic age of peace. The next verse in my Bible says "He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse." See above that this last phrase is taken as a negative by the Jews and it is the end of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible.
Christians believe that Christ was the savior and he died on the cross in atonement for man's sins. The way to salvation is through faith and that is the source of hope for the world. Man's fate is at the mercy of God's grace and the individual can be passive. Personal and individual redemption comes only for those who accept faith through Jesus. The golden age, the coming of the Messiah, is in the past and only faith in his saving power is needed now.
So we concluded that it would be difficult to be in a Christian/Jewish marriage and raise children "both ways." There are too many differenes. The conclusion was to advise parents-to-be to raise the children in one faith or the other but expose them to the traditions of the other faith. Until the children are adult enough to understand the complexities of religious beliefs, they are little able to choose between the different traditions and not grounding them in one or the other specifically leaves them open to having no religious grounding. I hope that explanation is true to the spirit and gist of our last class discussion.
As we were leaving class, I mentioned to Rabbi Judy that the concept of grace as the means to forgiveness and heaven was an important Christian concept and a difficult one for most of us to grasp. I noticed this concept was not mentioned in class and suggested it might be one to look into. Faith in Jesus as Savior is very important but I hear much about grace in the churches I have attended throughout my life and I think grace warrants coverage in any discussion of the Christian belief system.
FROM PREVIOUS CLASS: I looked up something on Pharisees in a Rabbi Telushkin book that our first Introduction class teacher used. It said most Jews at the time of Jesus called themselves Pharisees but the term became synonymous with Hypocrit due to Christian writings. The term was therefore given up and Jew or Judaism became the prevalent identifier. I am going to read more on this in other books but I never knew this and find it very interesting to discover more about these groups which the Christian Bible uses throughout the New Testament.
Class Members Present were Jonathan Stewart, Beth Stewart, Tammy Hawa, Melanie Pace, Nikki Lathrop, Malia Daniels (engaged to Ricky Segal), and Ricky Segal.
We began by going around and saying what each was going to do with these classes. Most were planning to convert or had taken the classes as a refresher or to be with the one who might convert. Don, Melanie and I were not planning to convert but had each gotten much meaning out of the classes. Judaism is certainly a rich and wonderful faith tradition from which Christians can gain insight into their own roots, I think. There are other classes being offered. I think the classe geared more toward conversion are called Finding Your Inner Jewish Identity (FIJI) and there is also a Jewish University at Beth-El where much more can be learned about Judaism. Both are offered at the same time and there is a study of Torah going on right now that sounds very detailed and informative, not just about the written Torah but the Talmud and other information about it as well. More info on both is available on the Web Site, www.beth-el.com .
Rabbi Schindler began by saying all faiths have their truths and not everyone needs to believe alike.
There are differences between what Judaism and Christianity teaches. Rabbi Schindler said to imagine we were the rabbi and people come to you and ask about marrying a Jewish person and a Christian. What advice would you give? But first, we went over the differences she had compiled for our class and she let the class come up with ideas as well.
Christian Beliefs compared to Jewish Beliefs:
Christians have a New Testament in addition to the Hebrew Bible which they call the Old Testament. Jews have the Hebrew Bible plus oral tradition and other writings such as the Talmud. The Hebrew Bible for the Jews is not in the same order as the "Old Testament" in the Christian Bible.
Christians believe the Messiah has come and he was a man called Jesus. Jews believe the Messiah will come but has not come yet. He will come when the world is perfect and Jews strive to live their lives so that the world becomes a place where it is acceptable for the Messiah to come.
Christians believe in God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a monolithic view. There is one God but three parts to God. Jews have many images of God but there is only one God. The Orthodox view of God is more rigid while the Reformed view is more liberal.
Christians are evangelical. They proselytize, hoping to win converts. Judaism is more closed. It is said they turn away people three times saying, you just think you want to convert. We are a persecuted people, why do you want to be Jewish? They want true inner conviction that someone wants to convert, not just that their spouse is Jewish so they want to be Jewish too or any other reason that might be outside their true desire to be Jewish. Reform Judaism is more open to these conversions than the Orthodox.
Christian Old Testament ends with Malachi and the last verse ends with "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." These words indicate that Israel might be rejected rather than the Jewish hope that they will return to Zion someday. Thus, Jesus is made to succeed and supplant the Hebrew prophets. And also, the old covenant is broken and Israel comes to depend on the resurrected Savior for redemption. The Jewish Bible is not in the same order as the Christian Bible and the last book is II Chronicles. The last verse refers to King Cyrus who is charged with rebuilding God's Temple in Jerusalem. Cyrus is referred to as a messiah, the anointed one, meshiach. He proclaims to the Jewish people "Whoever is among you of God's people, may the Lord be with you. Go up!" This is a more hopeful message to the Jewish people than the rejection indicated by Malachi.
Christians believe in original sin and that man is guilty of sin throughout life although forgiveness can be sought and granted. Christians confess sin in most of their services on a regular basis. Jews do not believe in original sin. They believe we are born with negatives and positives and that we must learn to reign in our bad side. In other words, we all sin and we then get it right. We learn to do better. They say "We have sinned" as a community, not "I have sinned." There is a confessional deathbed prayer that is said that basically asks God to take the dying person into his care and says the person has tried to live a good life.
There are 613 commandments in Judaism. 365 are positive and 248 are negative. Since there are no more animal sacrifices, there are about 300 laws for which Jews are responsible for following.
We went on to read some New Testament scripture and see that things changed from one scripture to the next.
Matthew 5: 17-19 says "Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets. I tell you solemnly, til Heaven and Earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved." It goes on to say that keeping the Law will make one considered great in the kingdom of heaven and infringement of the law will make one be considered least in the kingdom of heaven. But then in Galatians 2:15, the New Testament says, "Though we were born Jews and not pagan sinners, we acknowledge that what makes a man righteous is not obedience to the Law, but faith in Jesus Christ." So Christians believe faith is the key to gaining heaven. Jews believe their actions are what get them to heaven. So to Jews, actions are very important.
Matthew 7:12 says "So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets." This (Christian) wording means to treat others as you would like to be treated and is different from the Old Testament (Jewish) "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Chrhistian: Matthew: 19:16-22 tries to reduce the law (613) down to five, with four of the five being part of the ten commandments. In this reading, a young man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to possess eternal life and Jesus tells him "These. You must not kill, You must not commit adultery. You must not bring false witness, Honor your father and mother; and, you must love your neighbor as yourself." When the man says he has kept all these, he asks what else? Jesus tells him, "'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth." Giving up all you own is not a Jewish belief. Jews believe in giving but people are not required to live in poverty.
Jews want their good deeds to outweigh their bad deeds so that at the end of life the scales are weighted toward the good deeds. Christians put more emphasis on faith. Leviticus 18:5 says "The Law is not even based on faith, since we are told: the man who practices these precepts finds life through practicing them." So, again Judaism is based more on actions rather than faith.
In Galations 5:1-6, Paul tells people if they allow themselves to be circumcised then Jesus will not be of benefit to them. "With all solemnity I repeat my warning: Everyone who accepts circumcision is obliged to keep the whole Law. But if you look to the Law to make you justified, then you have separated yourselves from Christ, and have fallen from grace. Christians are told by the Spirit to look to faith for those rewards that righteousness hopes for, since in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference - what matters is faith that expresses itself in love." Paul is looking upon circumcision not as a medical act but one of putting oneself in with the covenant of the Jewish people and he is saying don't do that.
Another difference between Christians and Jews is that of prayer. Christians do pray alone and Jews do more in the way of community prayer. Matthew 6:5-6 says "And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. I tell you solemnly, they have their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you." In Judaism, there are some prayers that require a group of 10 people to be said such as Kaddish. A time for individual prayer is giving during Shabbat services but some of the prayers that are said at each service require a minion (group of 10).
Christians have different takes on whether divorce is allowed and under what circumstances. Catholics almost do not allow it unless there is abuse involved. Matthew 5: 31-32 "It has also been said, Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say to you, everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adultress, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Jews allow divorce under certain circumstances such as adultery. Reform Jews allow it more leniently than the Orthodox since if the love is gone out of a relationship, why make it continue. This does not mean that people should not try or should give up too easily. But when a divorce is granted, the wife must have a "get" which gives the wife money and other things on which to live. This is agreed on at marriage and must be honored. In Hebrew the word man is pronounced Eesh and woman is Eesha (sorry, I don't know the spelling). When they marry, they come together and the two should be stronger than the one. When this bond is broken, then they should separate.
Christians believe Jesus is the suffering servant referred to in Isaiah 42: 1-4. Jews believe we are all suffering servants. Jews believe they were chosen for the responsibility of keeping the commandments. Jews - we lost the Temple and we are all suffering servants but we will get the Temple back. Isaiah 42: 1-4 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, My beloved, the favorite of my soul. I will endow him with my spirit, And he will proclaim the true faith to the nations. He will not brawl or shout, Nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets, He will not break the crushed reed, Nor put out the smouldering wick Till he has led the truth to victory; In his name the nations will put their hope."
Matthew 13: 24-30 was read where good seed (wheat) was mixed with bad (darnel). The master said to await the harvest when the wheat and darnel would be separated and the darnel burned. Then in Matthew 13:36-43, Jesus explained the parable as meaning "The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingsom all things that provoke offenses and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
Christians believe John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life." Jews do not believe God can be in human form.
Christianity believes you must believe in Jesus as Savior and Messiah to be saved.
Mark 16:16: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." And Acts 4:12: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." And Matthew 21:22: "And if you have faith, everything you ask for in prayer you will receive."
In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus says He has been granted all authority in heaven and on earth and tells his disciples to go to all nations and baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jews believe there is a coming Messiah (meaning anointed) who will restore the Davidic kingdom and act as God's agent in bringing about the Messianic age. It was asked whether we can identify those who are David's descendants and the answer is that Elijah will return and identify this Messiah for us. In Kings, Elijah did not die and Jews believe he is here in evey generation. He won't reveal the Messiah until we deserve it. The Messiah will bring peace to the land and He will be a military leader, but one who has laid down his sword. This last part was put in later as we discussed whether He would be a warring "person." The rabbi will try and find more about this descendant of David and email Don with some more information about it. However, it is believed this Messiah will bring about a time of peace in the land and the Messianic age will be a time of perfection. It is important to do good in order to help bring about this age. This Messiah will be someone chosen by God. He will be an anointed one and chosen to lead the people. All mankind will be redeemed at this time, not just Jews. The golden age of man and the world is in the future. This Messianic age is possible for man to achieve. The (Jews,people?) will be gathered and restored to their land. People will live peaceably and be united in their land.
I looked up something on the Web about it to be sure it was Elijah who will come back and identify the Messiah. Malachi 3:23 (Malachi 4:5 in the Christian Bible) says "Behold I will send you Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord." This is traditionally interpreted to mean that Elijah will precede the coming Messiah who will bring about a Messianic age of peace. The next verse in my Bible says "He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse." See above that this last phrase is taken as a negative by the Jews and it is the end of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible.
Christians believe that Christ was the savior and he died on the cross in atonement for man's sins. The way to salvation is through faith and that is the source of hope for the world. Man's fate is at the mercy of God's grace and the individual can be passive. Personal and individual redemption comes only for those who accept faith through Jesus. The golden age, the coming of the Messiah, is in the past and only faith in his saving power is needed now.
So we concluded that it would be difficult to be in a Christian/Jewish marriage and raise children "both ways." There are too many differenes. The conclusion was to advise parents-to-be to raise the children in one faith or the other but expose them to the traditions of the other faith. Until the children are adult enough to understand the complexities of religious beliefs, they are little able to choose between the different traditions and not grounding them in one or the other specifically leaves them open to having no religious grounding. I hope that explanation is true to the spirit and gist of our last class discussion.
As we were leaving class, I mentioned to Rabbi Judy that the concept of grace as the means to forgiveness and heaven was an important Christian concept and a difficult one for most of us to grasp. I noticed this concept was not mentioned in class and suggested it might be one to look into. Faith in Jesus as Savior is very important but I hear much about grace in the churches I have attended throughout my life and I think grace warrants coverage in any discussion of the Christian belief system.
FROM PREVIOUS CLASS: I looked up something on Pharisees in a Rabbi Telushkin book that our first Introduction class teacher used. It said most Jews at the time of Jesus called themselves Pharisees but the term became synonymous with Hypocrit due to Christian writings. The term was therefore given up and Jew or Judaism became the prevalent identifier. I am going to read more on this in other books but I never knew this and find it very interesting to discover more about these groups which the Christian Bible uses throughout the New Testament.
7/8/09
2009/07/08 Seventh Introduction to Judaism Class Notes
Teacher: Rabbi Mort Kaplan, retired
The class was to be titled Jewish History but Rabbi Mort said he preferred to call it a History of Judaism because he could not cover a Jewish History class with dates and kings and etc. in one hour. He said Judaism is more about the spiritual inheritance that comes to us from the past.
This history of Judaism is influenced by two foundations:
1) Jewish spiritual inheritance
2) Greek cultural inheritance.
History of Judaisms (with an emphasis on the plural nature of the word)has two objectives:
(1) Remember these forms of Judaism (I think)
(2) This is being taught from the point of view of Reform Judaism. This justifies modern Judaism and the salient character is the ability to either replicate or have variations of Judaism. There are a few times when Judaism mutated with revolutionary change. Sometimes this change was quiet and sometimes it was violent. The point is to demonstrate that Judaism is a religion of change and Judaism's God is a God of change.
Over time, moral sensibilities have changed and there are four different Judaisms throughout history. All have this in common - The Pentateuch, or the first 5 books of the Bible, Torah and back even further, the first chapter of Genesis which is enormously important. So all the Judaisms have God in common but the view of God has changed over time.
First form of Judaism begins with people whose stories we know such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and the enslavement of Israelites in Egypt. The prophets are important. For the first 1500 years of Israelite history, they had a religion of one God. They didn't see Him but He was knowable. God could make his will known through certain people. In Genesis 12, Abraham is told he would be a blessing and through him (Abraham), all families of earth shall be blessed. This is one reason to be Jewish - you are part of a blessed people.
The best way to say it is the People of Israel. God is concerned with this clan of people. Then they spread out after wandering the desert together and settling in Israel. Joseph ends up in Egypt which is outside Israel. Question is can God operate outside Israel and the answer comes that he can. He operates there and becomes a problem solver. He gets his people out of slavery in Egypt and provides manna for food and helps with matters of justice. God's places therefore expanded.
The people wander 40 years in the desert. Then in Joshua and Judges, they settle down. Samuel goes around judging. Then comes the problem of the Philistines. The people decide they need a King. Saul, David, Solomon were among the first kings and they were all rough characters. Solomon even brings polytheism into Israel when he takes foreign wives. The (non-literary) prophets emerged like Moses and Abraham because God speaks to prophets directly as he did to Abraham. He spoke to Moses directly also but God does not speak to ordinary man directly.
The Kingdom splits into a Northern (Israel) and Southern (Judah). Things get political. Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, wants Solomon to be king and uses politics to make it so. So the prophets were instrumental in underpinning the Kings because they had access to God.
Then emerged a new kind of prophet, a literary kind. Some of the literary prophets of Israel were Amos, Isaiah, Micah, and Jeremiah. They did two things aside from castigating for sins:
(a) The people of Israel were about to be defeated by Assyrians and Babylonians. If they lost this battle, then in the ancient world, their God lost too people thought. If exiled to a foreign country, then the god of that foreign country would be the winner and take over as the people's god. But not for the people of Israel. Their God is never inadequate. you may have to change your concept of God but He is never inadequate.
(b) Prophets came up with the idea of peace and justice and equity. Ideas such as turning swords into pruning shears and ideas like doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with your God. This is a giant leap forward because these people lived in a world of violence and war. There was anything but peace and equity. Prophets wanted people to pursue good and beauty. This hasn't happened even up to today but there is nothing wrong with wishing for it.
So this was the first Judaism. It was prophetic, patriarchal in form. It had nothing to do with ritual, sacrificial requirements. Religion was relatively open.
The Second form of Judaism is delineated in late Exodus, Leviticus and the first part of Numbers. This Judaism is sacrificial in nature. People bring sacrifices to the temple and the priest gives expiation for sin. Torah was the book of the priests. Sin was not bringing the right sacrifice for the ritual. Jews were living under the Persian Empire. The Persians let the Jews back after the destruction of the first Temple. The King wants to keep the tributes for himself. Then the people got rid of the Kings. The prophits are loose cannon. Some of the prophets such as Ezekiel seem to be crazy.
In Leviticus, the Persians and a few Jews made a deal and made sacrifices mandatory. This is outlined in Leviticus. But the priests got one over on the Persians in that they wrote Genesis where God made everything. So God made even the Persians so Israel is by logic better than the Persians since the God of the Jews made everything. Sacrifices of animals must have been a mess. But even the peasant could come to the temple, make sacrifice, and get expiation. Priests could not own land, But they did write the first chapter of Genesis. God created a good world and the world could be created through time. Bible is presented as history. It is written through history and history went toward a goal - Evolution is possible. God created a man and a woman,not nationalities, not skin color, etc. He created a man and a woman who ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They gained ability to choose. Genesis 1 is enormously significant. Priests were there for 250 years, then their system collapsed. Their system lasted from 444 BCE to 168 BCE. In 168 BCE, the Maccabean revolt occurred. Syrian Greeks came in and tried to deestroy Judaism. They cleaned out the temple and rededicated it. Macabbeans turned out to be bad (Hanukkah is based on Maccabean revolt).
But the Maccabean revolt brought about the third Judaism, Rabinic Judaism or Judaism of the Pharisees. Matthew calls the Pharisees hypocrits. But the Pharisees did some good things. People were not allowed to fight on the Sabbath so the Greeks tried to attack on the Sabbath. The Pharisees said if died definding Judaism, then you get everlasting life. You will be eventually resurrected.
The Bible does not deal with evil well. It just says if good, then will be blessed. But often, things don't work that way. You see this in Job. Job is tested and suffers terribly although he did not do anything wrong. So the idea that good is rewarded with good does not solve the problem of why bad things happen to good people.
The Pharisees were the first to say get a place in the world to come. Then they said on Mt. Sinai, God game a written Torah and an oral Torah. Pharisees then became teachers of the oral Torah. They established themselves as a scholar class which was an elevated position. They sold it by saying God has given law, halaha(Spelling probably incorrect, it may be chalacha)which is pathway to eternal life and someday, a resurrected body. In world to come, good and bad get their reward, heaven or hell. They also said God is a Father. In the Bible, God is severe but the Pharisees describe him as a Father, as God in Heaven, as an Indwelling presence and as a God who cares about every human being - even slaves. God cares for all and rewards in the next life. All you have to do is follow the law. God is also concerned with community. The people need to care for the sick and needy, etc. You need to treat people with justice and gentleness. The Pharisees also invented the synagogue which became a place of prayer and study.
The Pharisees converted lots of pagans to Judaism at a time when not a high percentage of the population was Jewish. It is estimated that at the time of the First Temple's destruction, only about 10% of the Roman Empire's population was Jewish.
The roots if Christianity is embedded in Pharisaic Judaism. "For God so loved the world..." came from another Pharisaic quote. When Jesus died, his followers said they saw him go up to Heaven. The Pharisees couldn't say this was impossible because they believed they might go to heaven soon also. Paul changed Jesus to a sacrificial lamb for all time. This was powerful because Christianity was able to confront and change paganism. Jews stayed Jews. Christians did not have all these rules Jews did and circumcision scared the pagans so Christianity seemed easier.
Islam is also rooted in Pharisaic Judaism. Pharisaic Judaism became rabbinic Judaism and was the only kind around after the destruction of the second Temple.
Foruth Judsism: In modern times, this takes a different fact at different places. Rabbinic Judaism served for 2000 years, then modern:
(a) Reformed or liberal Judaism and some conservative Judaism. Reformed Judaism rejected a mandatory halaha. People themselves saw that orthodoxy did not work. Reform Judaism started in Germany and prospered in North America. It did not only reject things, it also had ethical monotheism and saw the mission of the Jew to bring God's universal word to all humankind. Once all believe in this one God, then all the divisions will cease among people. For a while in the late 19th century, it looked like we were almost there. But this was only for the western Jew, not the Jew of eastern Europe. The optimism of the west made no sense to the Eastern European Jew. In 1939, it is estimated there were 12 million Jews in Eastern Europe. After WWII, these Jews could not believe in Orthodoxy any more and they could not be Reform Jews. So there arose
(b) Secular Judaism which took two forms:
(i) Zionism - called for a return to Israel and development of a secular state. Jews in USA threw off orthodoxy as well and formed a secular organization.
(ii) Socialism - Jews in Poland organized into a Jewish National Community and took a place in government.
This last mutation threw off God altogether and they went back to God later.
Optimism of the Western Jews and orthodoxy of the Eastern Jews changed after the World Wars. In 1948, all were in favor of a Jewish state. They wanted Israel to survive as a Jewish state.
So what is the Jewish identity. They have made radical changes in the past to prevent God from becoming obsolete. Changes are taking place today in Reform Judaism especially in the west. Line of descent is not as important to Reform Jews. You are a Jew if you say you are. All who believe in a new kind of Judaism still call it Judaism. If you go back to Moses and burning bush which was not consumed, God says to take shoes off because this is a Holy place. Moses says who are you and God answers, "I am who I am" literally translated "I will be what I will be" or it sometimes can mean "I am who I need to be." This is a very profound statement. God is what we need Him to be.
YHWH - Jehovah. To be is the root. He who causes to exist or He who brings into existence. God is an enabler of all existence and a creator of all diversity. God is not something that is . He is something we are searching for. God does make his will known to us but we don't think he speaks to someone on a mountaintop. He les us know through what is Good, True, Beautiful, and Holy. These things are important to us as humans. All prophets tapped much of God when they tapped into the good, true, beautiful, and holy. Humans try to tap into these things as well and they let us know we can't just be secular. We need God in our lives.
On the way out, I said something about needing to know more about the Pharisees and Sadducees and Rabbi Mort said that Jesus was likely a Pharisee except that he said he could perform miracles. The Pharisees did not like that since they said only they could do that, not Jesus. Rabbi Mort said the Sadducees were more literal interpreters of the Bible and that Jesus did not like that. I asked where one could read more about these two sets of people and he said there isn't much in writing about it. I found the topic most interesting as I have not heard it discussed to any great extent that I remember.
The class was to be titled Jewish History but Rabbi Mort said he preferred to call it a History of Judaism because he could not cover a Jewish History class with dates and kings and etc. in one hour. He said Judaism is more about the spiritual inheritance that comes to us from the past.
This history of Judaism is influenced by two foundations:
1) Jewish spiritual inheritance
2) Greek cultural inheritance.
History of Judaisms (with an emphasis on the plural nature of the word)has two objectives:
(1) Remember these forms of Judaism (I think)
(2) This is being taught from the point of view of Reform Judaism. This justifies modern Judaism and the salient character is the ability to either replicate or have variations of Judaism. There are a few times when Judaism mutated with revolutionary change. Sometimes this change was quiet and sometimes it was violent. The point is to demonstrate that Judaism is a religion of change and Judaism's God is a God of change.
Over time, moral sensibilities have changed and there are four different Judaisms throughout history. All have this in common - The Pentateuch, or the first 5 books of the Bible, Torah and back even further, the first chapter of Genesis which is enormously important. So all the Judaisms have God in common but the view of God has changed over time.
First form of Judaism begins with people whose stories we know such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and the enslavement of Israelites in Egypt. The prophets are important. For the first 1500 years of Israelite history, they had a religion of one God. They didn't see Him but He was knowable. God could make his will known through certain people. In Genesis 12, Abraham is told he would be a blessing and through him (Abraham), all families of earth shall be blessed. This is one reason to be Jewish - you are part of a blessed people.
The best way to say it is the People of Israel. God is concerned with this clan of people. Then they spread out after wandering the desert together and settling in Israel. Joseph ends up in Egypt which is outside Israel. Question is can God operate outside Israel and the answer comes that he can. He operates there and becomes a problem solver. He gets his people out of slavery in Egypt and provides manna for food and helps with matters of justice. God's places therefore expanded.
The people wander 40 years in the desert. Then in Joshua and Judges, they settle down. Samuel goes around judging. Then comes the problem of the Philistines. The people decide they need a King. Saul, David, Solomon were among the first kings and they were all rough characters. Solomon even brings polytheism into Israel when he takes foreign wives. The (non-literary) prophets emerged like Moses and Abraham because God speaks to prophets directly as he did to Abraham. He spoke to Moses directly also but God does not speak to ordinary man directly.
The Kingdom splits into a Northern (Israel) and Southern (Judah). Things get political. Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, wants Solomon to be king and uses politics to make it so. So the prophets were instrumental in underpinning the Kings because they had access to God.
Then emerged a new kind of prophet, a literary kind. Some of the literary prophets of Israel were Amos, Isaiah, Micah, and Jeremiah. They did two things aside from castigating for sins:
(a) The people of Israel were about to be defeated by Assyrians and Babylonians. If they lost this battle, then in the ancient world, their God lost too people thought. If exiled to a foreign country, then the god of that foreign country would be the winner and take over as the people's god. But not for the people of Israel. Their God is never inadequate. you may have to change your concept of God but He is never inadequate.
(b) Prophets came up with the idea of peace and justice and equity. Ideas such as turning swords into pruning shears and ideas like doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with your God. This is a giant leap forward because these people lived in a world of violence and war. There was anything but peace and equity. Prophets wanted people to pursue good and beauty. This hasn't happened even up to today but there is nothing wrong with wishing for it.
So this was the first Judaism. It was prophetic, patriarchal in form. It had nothing to do with ritual, sacrificial requirements. Religion was relatively open.
The Second form of Judaism is delineated in late Exodus, Leviticus and the first part of Numbers. This Judaism is sacrificial in nature. People bring sacrifices to the temple and the priest gives expiation for sin. Torah was the book of the priests. Sin was not bringing the right sacrifice for the ritual. Jews were living under the Persian Empire. The Persians let the Jews back after the destruction of the first Temple. The King wants to keep the tributes for himself. Then the people got rid of the Kings. The prophits are loose cannon. Some of the prophets such as Ezekiel seem to be crazy.
In Leviticus, the Persians and a few Jews made a deal and made sacrifices mandatory. This is outlined in Leviticus. But the priests got one over on the Persians in that they wrote Genesis where God made everything. So God made even the Persians so Israel is by logic better than the Persians since the God of the Jews made everything. Sacrifices of animals must have been a mess. But even the peasant could come to the temple, make sacrifice, and get expiation. Priests could not own land, But they did write the first chapter of Genesis. God created a good world and the world could be created through time. Bible is presented as history. It is written through history and history went toward a goal - Evolution is possible. God created a man and a woman,not nationalities, not skin color, etc. He created a man and a woman who ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They gained ability to choose. Genesis 1 is enormously significant. Priests were there for 250 years, then their system collapsed. Their system lasted from 444 BCE to 168 BCE. In 168 BCE, the Maccabean revolt occurred. Syrian Greeks came in and tried to deestroy Judaism. They cleaned out the temple and rededicated it. Macabbeans turned out to be bad (Hanukkah is based on Maccabean revolt).
But the Maccabean revolt brought about the third Judaism, Rabinic Judaism or Judaism of the Pharisees. Matthew calls the Pharisees hypocrits. But the Pharisees did some good things. People were not allowed to fight on the Sabbath so the Greeks tried to attack on the Sabbath. The Pharisees said if died definding Judaism, then you get everlasting life. You will be eventually resurrected.
The Bible does not deal with evil well. It just says if good, then will be blessed. But often, things don't work that way. You see this in Job. Job is tested and suffers terribly although he did not do anything wrong. So the idea that good is rewarded with good does not solve the problem of why bad things happen to good people.
The Pharisees were the first to say get a place in the world to come. Then they said on Mt. Sinai, God game a written Torah and an oral Torah. Pharisees then became teachers of the oral Torah. They established themselves as a scholar class which was an elevated position. They sold it by saying God has given law, halaha(Spelling probably incorrect, it may be chalacha)which is pathway to eternal life and someday, a resurrected body. In world to come, good and bad get their reward, heaven or hell. They also said God is a Father. In the Bible, God is severe but the Pharisees describe him as a Father, as God in Heaven, as an Indwelling presence and as a God who cares about every human being - even slaves. God cares for all and rewards in the next life. All you have to do is follow the law. God is also concerned with community. The people need to care for the sick and needy, etc. You need to treat people with justice and gentleness. The Pharisees also invented the synagogue which became a place of prayer and study.
The Pharisees converted lots of pagans to Judaism at a time when not a high percentage of the population was Jewish. It is estimated that at the time of the First Temple's destruction, only about 10% of the Roman Empire's population was Jewish.
The roots if Christianity is embedded in Pharisaic Judaism. "For God so loved the world..." came from another Pharisaic quote. When Jesus died, his followers said they saw him go up to Heaven. The Pharisees couldn't say this was impossible because they believed they might go to heaven soon also. Paul changed Jesus to a sacrificial lamb for all time. This was powerful because Christianity was able to confront and change paganism. Jews stayed Jews. Christians did not have all these rules Jews did and circumcision scared the pagans so Christianity seemed easier.
Islam is also rooted in Pharisaic Judaism. Pharisaic Judaism became rabbinic Judaism and was the only kind around after the destruction of the second Temple.
Foruth Judsism: In modern times, this takes a different fact at different places. Rabbinic Judaism served for 2000 years, then modern:
(a) Reformed or liberal Judaism and some conservative Judaism. Reformed Judaism rejected a mandatory halaha. People themselves saw that orthodoxy did not work. Reform Judaism started in Germany and prospered in North America. It did not only reject things, it also had ethical monotheism and saw the mission of the Jew to bring God's universal word to all humankind. Once all believe in this one God, then all the divisions will cease among people. For a while in the late 19th century, it looked like we were almost there. But this was only for the western Jew, not the Jew of eastern Europe. The optimism of the west made no sense to the Eastern European Jew. In 1939, it is estimated there were 12 million Jews in Eastern Europe. After WWII, these Jews could not believe in Orthodoxy any more and they could not be Reform Jews. So there arose
(b) Secular Judaism which took two forms:
(i) Zionism - called for a return to Israel and development of a secular state. Jews in USA threw off orthodoxy as well and formed a secular organization.
(ii) Socialism - Jews in Poland organized into a Jewish National Community and took a place in government.
This last mutation threw off God altogether and they went back to God later.
Optimism of the Western Jews and orthodoxy of the Eastern Jews changed after the World Wars. In 1948, all were in favor of a Jewish state. They wanted Israel to survive as a Jewish state.
So what is the Jewish identity. They have made radical changes in the past to prevent God from becoming obsolete. Changes are taking place today in Reform Judaism especially in the west. Line of descent is not as important to Reform Jews. You are a Jew if you say you are. All who believe in a new kind of Judaism still call it Judaism. If you go back to Moses and burning bush which was not consumed, God says to take shoes off because this is a Holy place. Moses says who are you and God answers, "I am who I am" literally translated "I will be what I will be" or it sometimes can mean "I am who I need to be." This is a very profound statement. God is what we need Him to be.
YHWH - Jehovah. To be is the root. He who causes to exist or He who brings into existence. God is an enabler of all existence and a creator of all diversity. God is not something that is . He is something we are searching for. God does make his will known to us but we don't think he speaks to someone on a mountaintop. He les us know through what is Good, True, Beautiful, and Holy. These things are important to us as humans. All prophets tapped much of God when they tapped into the good, true, beautiful, and holy. Humans try to tap into these things as well and they let us know we can't just be secular. We need God in our lives.
On the way out, I said something about needing to know more about the Pharisees and Sadducees and Rabbi Mort said that Jesus was likely a Pharisee except that he said he could perform miracles. The Pharisees did not like that since they said only they could do that, not Jesus. Rabbi Mort said the Sadducees were more literal interpreters of the Bible and that Jesus did not like that. I asked where one could read more about these two sets of people and he said there isn't much in writing about it. I found the topic most interesting as I have not heard it discussed to any great extent that I remember.
7/5/09
2009/07/05 Sunday
Don and I have been experiencing worship at different places of late. We have been to a Reformed Jewish Temple twice in the last three weeks and we went to a church that is set up in a Warehouse on Wilkinson Boulevard last week. Today, we went to a predominantly black church which our predominantly white church is in partnership with as a sister church. We certainly felt the Holy Spirit there as the pastor preached a rousing sermon after much rousing music. When the pastor announced it was time to greet our neighbors, he meant it was time to go all over the church and hug every person there. I and Don and everyone else got hugs from just about everybody in attendance. Than everyone was given time to write a check to turn in as a contribution and we all walked those contributions to the altar and put them in the collection basket. After that, we had communion. Wow!!
I think we have felt a little nervous before all 3 of the services we have attended these last few weeks but every time we come away feeling that we would go back with no nervousness whatsoever. We enjoyed every one of them and feel we learned something from each of the services.
The service today at our sister church was also attended by one of our Summer Interns who is teaching the class - God in the Crucible - that I am taking on Tuesday nights. He also did the sermon at one of our Myers Park UMC services this morning and he taught our Sunday School class on the book, God in the Crucible, this morning. What a great guy!!! I want to support him all I can as he is going to make a good pastor for some folks once he is out of seminary.
Just to tell about our day, we went to our own church this morning to hear our intern talk at Church and then at Sunday School. Then we went out to breakfast/lunch around 11 a.m. Our normal place was closed today so we went to a place called Skyland. The church service at our sister church starts at 11 a.m. and I was told lasts until around 1:30 p.m. I was also told the sermon usually starts around noon. We got there just a bit before noon and the music was still going on. It was very loud especially the drums but the people were joyful and welcoming to us as we came in. The ushers made sure we had church bulletins and we found a seat easily. Our intern was there along with his parents so I was glad to get to shake hands with them. The sermon was great and the pastor obviously feels his calling and is happy in it. I could hardly believe we had communion too as that was the one thing I missed at my own church this morning.
Also this morning, a friend at our own church gave Don and me a loaf of homemade bread. Man is it ever good. We sometimes record shows for her off TCM. She loves movies of the 1930s and 1940s and we try to accommodate her requests when they happen.
So we have had a lovely day and now we are finally to a point of rest for the weary. My eyes are very tired today and I am going to try and rest them a lot more than I have been able to the last few days.
I think we have felt a little nervous before all 3 of the services we have attended these last few weeks but every time we come away feeling that we would go back with no nervousness whatsoever. We enjoyed every one of them and feel we learned something from each of the services.
The service today at our sister church was also attended by one of our Summer Interns who is teaching the class - God in the Crucible - that I am taking on Tuesday nights. He also did the sermon at one of our Myers Park UMC services this morning and he taught our Sunday School class on the book, God in the Crucible, this morning. What a great guy!!! I want to support him all I can as he is going to make a good pastor for some folks once he is out of seminary.
Just to tell about our day, we went to our own church this morning to hear our intern talk at Church and then at Sunday School. Then we went out to breakfast/lunch around 11 a.m. Our normal place was closed today so we went to a place called Skyland. The church service at our sister church starts at 11 a.m. and I was told lasts until around 1:30 p.m. I was also told the sermon usually starts around noon. We got there just a bit before noon and the music was still going on. It was very loud especially the drums but the people were joyful and welcoming to us as we came in. The ushers made sure we had church bulletins and we found a seat easily. Our intern was there along with his parents so I was glad to get to shake hands with them. The sermon was great and the pastor obviously feels his calling and is happy in it. I could hardly believe we had communion too as that was the one thing I missed at my own church this morning.
Also this morning, a friend at our own church gave Don and me a loaf of homemade bread. Man is it ever good. We sometimes record shows for her off TCM. She loves movies of the 1930s and 1940s and we try to accommodate her requests when they happen.
So we have had a lovely day and now we are finally to a point of rest for the weary. My eyes are very tired today and I am going to try and rest them a lot more than I have been able to the last few days.
2009/07/03 and 07/04 Filing
I got so behind on filing that it took over two days to catch it up. Don spent time during the week organizing one set of filing where I had gone through and gotten rid of the junk and the non-filing stuff. Then he spent some time on Friday on it and I spent the whole day on it. Then yesterday, we spent from probably 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on it and got it to the finish line. I am sooooooo happy it is caught up and am resolved to file every day when the mail comes so this does not pile up again.
I am also thrilled that my hair is coming back and it is curly once again. More my normal self than I have looked in a while. We are going to go let Chuck, my hairdresser, see it later this week. He said it was coming back and I can now tell it myself. I feel so blessed to be getting back to a more normal state. Milo likes it because his "mommy" doesn't mind so much washing and drying her hair when she has something to work with.
The fact that we got so much caught up the last two days means they were good days after all. I don't want to have to do that kind of marathon filing job again though.
I am also thrilled that my hair is coming back and it is curly once again. More my normal self than I have looked in a while. We are going to go let Chuck, my hairdresser, see it later this week. He said it was coming back and I can now tell it myself. I feel so blessed to be getting back to a more normal state. Milo likes it because his "mommy" doesn't mind so much washing and drying her hair when she has something to work with.
The fact that we got so much caught up the last two days means they were good days after all. I don't want to have to do that kind of marathon filing job again though.
7/2/09
2009/07/01 Sixth Introduction to Judaism Class Notes
Rabbi Micah was the teacher and the class title is Holocaust/Israel.
The Holocaust and Israel have shaped Judaism as we know it.
There are two distinct Judaisms. One is European based and tends to be the way older Jews practice their faith and ethnicity. The other is Israel based and tends to be the way younger Jews practice their faith and ethnicity.
Today's Judaism is different from the way it was 200 years ago. Handout in class shows a brief outline of events in the last 200 years of Judaism.
There are two important terms we need to know while looking at this history. One is Zion which is another word for Israel. It is named for a mountain in Israel, Mt. Zion. Jews have yearned for the land of Zion over the years. Zionism arose out of this historic yearning.
Genesis 12:1-3. "The Lord said to Abram, 'Go forth from your native land and from your father's house to the land I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.'"
So from the beginning (even as far back as the book of Genesis), Jewish identity has been linked to Israel - the land I will show you turns out to be Israel. It is indelibly linked to being Jewish.
Brit means covenant. This is the same as bris where Jewish boys are circumcised. it is the act of bringing someone into covenant.
There are two promises in this Genesis 12 passage, (1) Great nation: "I will make of you a great nation" and (2) Covenant: "I will bless you and make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you."
From the tenth through the fifth century BCE, Israel was a Jewish Kingdom. Psalm 126 is a psalm of the people in exile showing their desire to return to Israel. It is written in the past tense but is understood in the future tense. This psalm was under consideration for the national anthem of Israel but was not chosen.
Psalm 126: A Song of Ascents "When the Eternal restores us to Zion, we will be like dreamers. Our mouths will be filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then shall they say among the nations, 'The Eternal has done great things for them.' The Eternal will do great things for us, and we will rejoice! Restore our fortunes, O Eternal, like streams in the Negev. They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Though he goes along weeping, carring the seed-bag, he shall come back with songs of joy, carrying his sheaves."
Yehuda Halevy was a poet in Muslim Spain. Edom is a metaphor for the Western and modern world.
Prayers- Jews face the East when they pray as that is the general direction of Israel. Prayer praises God for creation of light and for creating the natural world.
Love of Israel by Jews is ancient. It is the best place to be Jewish and they should want to return to it.
In the modern period, Zionism arose. It is a Messianic yearning for the land. This yearning has become political in the modern era. Birthright is an organization that sends young people to Israel because Jews have found that visits to Israel instill a love of Judaism into its young people and their families. It makes Jews more committed. It has a positive effect on Jewish identity. Aliyah is a going up. When Jews are called up to Torah, it is Aliyah and when a person moves (permanently) to Israel, it is Aliyah.
Kotel: Wailing wall, now called the Western Wall. The area outside this wall is treated as an orthodox synagogue with women on one side and men on the other. This is the outer retaining wall of the ancient Temple. The Temple Mount was on Mt. Moriah and was smaller due to limited space at the top of the mountain. Mt. Moriah is in the middle of Jerusalem. As we said, at one time the Temple was only on top of the natural mountain. Herod (who was a forcibly converted Jew) wanted to glorify the Temple and he fills in more dirt to make a larger mountaintop and builds a larger Temple on it. The tallest part of the Temple was the Holy of Holies. So the Western Wall is actually part of the retaining wall from the Herod enlargement of the Temple. The Temple Mount still exists and the Dome of the Rock is on the spot where the Holy of Holies once was. The Western Wall has become an outdoor synagogue. Currently, some of the Southern wall has been excavated. The area outside this wall is used for less sacred functions.
The whole city of Jerusalem is sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. When asked who had been to Israel, only a couple of people in the class raised their hand. One guy, who is Jewish, said he was bar mitzvahed there and had gone again "on aleya"? The teacher discussed this for a while saying trips to Israel really meant so much to Jewish people that they became more committed to Judaism after. Don raised his hand and said his trip meant a great deal to him as a Christian also. Rabbi Micah said yes, the city is very important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
On the handout, the first page timeline is a history of how Zionism developed.
In the 1840's Europe was in the throes of nationalism. There was a rise of the states and countries separated. Earlier there were principalities such as Tuscany and Rome in Italy, but now these principalities combined into countries with their own identity. Zionism arose out of this sense of nationalism.
Jews in Germany had 2 choices: (1) Could say I am a German or a German Mosaist. Mosaist refers to Moses and is a way to stay away from saying Jewish. This is where Reform Judaism has its roots - as German Mosaists. (2) Could say I am Jewish and my land is Israel.
In the 1860s, modern settlement called Mishkenot Sha'ananim was built outside the walls of Jerusalem. This was the first modern Jewish settlement.
In 1878, the first Zionist settlement is built. It is called Petah Tikvah. and means Gates of Hope.
Jews were normalized in Europe. Jews could not own land and Christians could not charge interest so Jews became the bankers in Europe. Jews saw that real Germans worked the land in Germany so they went to Israel and worked the land. This happened in Petah Tikvah.
In 1894 the Dreyfus Affair occurred. This is where a French military officer (Jewish) is accused of treason (passing secrets to the Germans). His trial was not fair and showed latent anti-Jewish sentiment in France. Theodore Herzl was a journalist, an Austrian Jew and he was sent in the 1890s to cover the trial of the Dreyfus affair. Theodore Herzl writes about the unfair trial and this trial began the early Zionist political movement. Herzl concluded that Jews would always be outsiders in other countries so they needed their own land. The United States is a little different in that it is a land of immigrants so all are outsiders. Israel is somewhat the same except that most of its immigrants are Jewish. But Jews come in all shapes, sizes, colors so there is diversity among them.
Herzl ultimately failed to establish a Jewish homeland. He was buried in Austria but his body was later moved to Israel after parading it through the streets of Jerusalem and around the country. He is reburied on Mt. Herzl which is next to the Holocause memorial.
There is a lot of interplay between Israel being a homeland and the Holocaust but it is not exact to say that one resulted from the other. There were other factors also as the Dreyfus affair is one example of the other factors.
WWI and WWII - Israel was under British mandate. Cutoff of Jewish settlement in Israel. So illegal immigration occurred. Jews were trying to escape the Nazis.
On 5/14/48, the State of Israel was established. From 1948 through the 1950s, 650,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries resettled in Israel.
1949-1950 - 49,000 Yemenite Jews were airlifted to Israel. It was called Ooperation Magic Carpet or Operation on the Wings of Eagles because the people being airlifted thought the airplanes were the eagles written about in the Bible that would come and take people away to a better place. (They had never seen an airplane before.)
In 1990, El Al (Israeli airline) took out seats from their planes in order to fly 14,500 Ethiopien Jews to Israel in 36 hours.
So Israel has become a mosaic of all kinds of Jews coming together.
Hatikvah has become the anthem of the Zionist movement - it is the National Anthem of Israel. It says Jews have always yearned to return. Since 1/4 of the citizens of Israel are not Jewish, this song as a national anthem is problematic in some ways. Other people do come to live and work in Israel.
Hatikvah:
"As long as the heart, within,
A Jewish soul is yearning,
And to the edges of the East, eastward,
An eye watches towards Zion,
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free nation in our own land
The land of Zion and Jerusalem."
Our handout gives the song in Hebrew as well and emphasizes the words, "to be a free nation in our own land."
Israel proclaims itself to be a Jewish democratic state. Non-Jews can be citizens and can vote. The ruling body has non-Jews in it as well. However, can a state be democratic but have an ethnic/religious identity also?
From Israel's Declaration of Indepence (14 May 1948): "The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave the world the eternal Book of Books. After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom."
Reform Jews said they did not need a land of their own in Israel. They were German or Italian or whatever nationality of the land they were in. Some even refused to face East for prayer and put their Temples facing West. Orthodox Jews have always faced East for prayer and their Temples face East. Now Reformed Jews are returning to more traditions but Israelis consider Reform Jews to be anti-Zionist. Israel was a country of the Orthodox religious or the secular, non-religious Jews. So Israel did not grow up with Reform Jews. Now Rabbi Mary Gold has a case in the Supreme Court of Israel to get recognized as a Reformed Jewish Rabbi. Now most Israelis don't grow up and join a synagogue so they identify more now with Reformed Judaism than they once did. Reformed Jews get people in Israel more through schools and other organizations rather than through synagogue since people there don't usually join a Temple or synagogue. Reformed Jews believe you can be modern and Jewish at the same time. Thus, they have some orthodox traditions which they are willing to change or compromise.
Eliezer Ben Yehuda: He is street-named Ben Yehuda. He was the person most responsible for reviving the Hebrew language. Herzl wrote "The Jewish State" in German and said Jews could speak all the languages and have all the best things Europe had to offer. Ben Yehuda said if we have a state, then we must speak a certain language and that language is Hebrew. For words which had no Hebrew translation such as electricity, automobile, he invented words. Sometimes he opted for the English word where there was no Hebrew equivalent.
The Holocaust and Israel have shaped Judaism as we know it.
There are two distinct Judaisms. One is European based and tends to be the way older Jews practice their faith and ethnicity. The other is Israel based and tends to be the way younger Jews practice their faith and ethnicity.
Today's Judaism is different from the way it was 200 years ago. Handout in class shows a brief outline of events in the last 200 years of Judaism.
There are two important terms we need to know while looking at this history. One is Zion which is another word for Israel. It is named for a mountain in Israel, Mt. Zion. Jews have yearned for the land of Zion over the years. Zionism arose out of this historic yearning.
Genesis 12:1-3. "The Lord said to Abram, 'Go forth from your native land and from your father's house to the land I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.'"
So from the beginning (even as far back as the book of Genesis), Jewish identity has been linked to Israel - the land I will show you turns out to be Israel. It is indelibly linked to being Jewish.
Brit means covenant. This is the same as bris where Jewish boys are circumcised. it is the act of bringing someone into covenant.
There are two promises in this Genesis 12 passage, (1) Great nation: "I will make of you a great nation" and (2) Covenant: "I will bless you and make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you."
From the tenth through the fifth century BCE, Israel was a Jewish Kingdom. Psalm 126 is a psalm of the people in exile showing their desire to return to Israel. It is written in the past tense but is understood in the future tense. This psalm was under consideration for the national anthem of Israel but was not chosen.
Psalm 126: A Song of Ascents "When the Eternal restores us to Zion, we will be like dreamers. Our mouths will be filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then shall they say among the nations, 'The Eternal has done great things for them.' The Eternal will do great things for us, and we will rejoice! Restore our fortunes, O Eternal, like streams in the Negev. They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Though he goes along weeping, carring the seed-bag, he shall come back with songs of joy, carrying his sheaves."
Yehuda Halevy was a poet in Muslim Spain. Edom is a metaphor for the Western and modern world.
Prayers- Jews face the East when they pray as that is the general direction of Israel. Prayer praises God for creation of light and for creating the natural world.
Love of Israel by Jews is ancient. It is the best place to be Jewish and they should want to return to it.
In the modern period, Zionism arose. It is a Messianic yearning for the land. This yearning has become political in the modern era. Birthright is an organization that sends young people to Israel because Jews have found that visits to Israel instill a love of Judaism into its young people and their families. It makes Jews more committed. It has a positive effect on Jewish identity. Aliyah is a going up. When Jews are called up to Torah, it is Aliyah and when a person moves (permanently) to Israel, it is Aliyah.
Kotel: Wailing wall, now called the Western Wall. The area outside this wall is treated as an orthodox synagogue with women on one side and men on the other. This is the outer retaining wall of the ancient Temple. The Temple Mount was on Mt. Moriah and was smaller due to limited space at the top of the mountain. Mt. Moriah is in the middle of Jerusalem. As we said, at one time the Temple was only on top of the natural mountain. Herod (who was a forcibly converted Jew) wanted to glorify the Temple and he fills in more dirt to make a larger mountaintop and builds a larger Temple on it. The tallest part of the Temple was the Holy of Holies. So the Western Wall is actually part of the retaining wall from the Herod enlargement of the Temple. The Temple Mount still exists and the Dome of the Rock is on the spot where the Holy of Holies once was. The Western Wall has become an outdoor synagogue. Currently, some of the Southern wall has been excavated. The area outside this wall is used for less sacred functions.
The whole city of Jerusalem is sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. When asked who had been to Israel, only a couple of people in the class raised their hand. One guy, who is Jewish, said he was bar mitzvahed there and had gone again "on aleya"? The teacher discussed this for a while saying trips to Israel really meant so much to Jewish people that they became more committed to Judaism after. Don raised his hand and said his trip meant a great deal to him as a Christian also. Rabbi Micah said yes, the city is very important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
On the handout, the first page timeline is a history of how Zionism developed.
In the 1840's Europe was in the throes of nationalism. There was a rise of the states and countries separated. Earlier there were principalities such as Tuscany and Rome in Italy, but now these principalities combined into countries with their own identity. Zionism arose out of this sense of nationalism.
Jews in Germany had 2 choices: (1) Could say I am a German or a German Mosaist. Mosaist refers to Moses and is a way to stay away from saying Jewish. This is where Reform Judaism has its roots - as German Mosaists. (2) Could say I am Jewish and my land is Israel.
In the 1860s, modern settlement called Mishkenot Sha'ananim was built outside the walls of Jerusalem. This was the first modern Jewish settlement.
In 1878, the first Zionist settlement is built. It is called Petah Tikvah. and means Gates of Hope.
Jews were normalized in Europe. Jews could not own land and Christians could not charge interest so Jews became the bankers in Europe. Jews saw that real Germans worked the land in Germany so they went to Israel and worked the land. This happened in Petah Tikvah.
In 1894 the Dreyfus Affair occurred. This is where a French military officer (Jewish) is accused of treason (passing secrets to the Germans). His trial was not fair and showed latent anti-Jewish sentiment in France. Theodore Herzl was a journalist, an Austrian Jew and he was sent in the 1890s to cover the trial of the Dreyfus affair. Theodore Herzl writes about the unfair trial and this trial began the early Zionist political movement. Herzl concluded that Jews would always be outsiders in other countries so they needed their own land. The United States is a little different in that it is a land of immigrants so all are outsiders. Israel is somewhat the same except that most of its immigrants are Jewish. But Jews come in all shapes, sizes, colors so there is diversity among them.
Herzl ultimately failed to establish a Jewish homeland. He was buried in Austria but his body was later moved to Israel after parading it through the streets of Jerusalem and around the country. He is reburied on Mt. Herzl which is next to the Holocause memorial.
There is a lot of interplay between Israel being a homeland and the Holocaust but it is not exact to say that one resulted from the other. There were other factors also as the Dreyfus affair is one example of the other factors.
WWI and WWII - Israel was under British mandate. Cutoff of Jewish settlement in Israel. So illegal immigration occurred. Jews were trying to escape the Nazis.
On 5/14/48, the State of Israel was established. From 1948 through the 1950s, 650,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries resettled in Israel.
1949-1950 - 49,000 Yemenite Jews were airlifted to Israel. It was called Ooperation Magic Carpet or Operation on the Wings of Eagles because the people being airlifted thought the airplanes were the eagles written about in the Bible that would come and take people away to a better place. (They had never seen an airplane before.)
In 1990, El Al (Israeli airline) took out seats from their planes in order to fly 14,500 Ethiopien Jews to Israel in 36 hours.
So Israel has become a mosaic of all kinds of Jews coming together.
Hatikvah has become the anthem of the Zionist movement - it is the National Anthem of Israel. It says Jews have always yearned to return. Since 1/4 of the citizens of Israel are not Jewish, this song as a national anthem is problematic in some ways. Other people do come to live and work in Israel.
Hatikvah:
"As long as the heart, within,
A Jewish soul is yearning,
And to the edges of the East, eastward,
An eye watches towards Zion,
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free nation in our own land
The land of Zion and Jerusalem."
Our handout gives the song in Hebrew as well and emphasizes the words, "to be a free nation in our own land."
Israel proclaims itself to be a Jewish democratic state. Non-Jews can be citizens and can vote. The ruling body has non-Jews in it as well. However, can a state be democratic but have an ethnic/religious identity also?
From Israel's Declaration of Indepence (14 May 1948): "The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave the world the eternal Book of Books. After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom."
Reform Jews said they did not need a land of their own in Israel. They were German or Italian or whatever nationality of the land they were in. Some even refused to face East for prayer and put their Temples facing West. Orthodox Jews have always faced East for prayer and their Temples face East. Now Reformed Jews are returning to more traditions but Israelis consider Reform Jews to be anti-Zionist. Israel was a country of the Orthodox religious or the secular, non-religious Jews. So Israel did not grow up with Reform Jews. Now Rabbi Mary Gold has a case in the Supreme Court of Israel to get recognized as a Reformed Jewish Rabbi. Now most Israelis don't grow up and join a synagogue so they identify more now with Reformed Judaism than they once did. Reformed Jews get people in Israel more through schools and other organizations rather than through synagogue since people there don't usually join a Temple or synagogue. Reformed Jews believe you can be modern and Jewish at the same time. Thus, they have some orthodox traditions which they are willing to change or compromise.
Eliezer Ben Yehuda: He is street-named Ben Yehuda. He was the person most responsible for reviving the Hebrew language. Herzl wrote "The Jewish State" in German and said Jews could speak all the languages and have all the best things Europe had to offer. Ben Yehuda said if we have a state, then we must speak a certain language and that language is Hebrew. For words which had no Hebrew translation such as electricity, automobile, he invented words. Sometimes he opted for the English word where there was no Hebrew equivalent.
Bible Poem from Sunday (6/28/09) Class
In Genesis, the world was made,
In Exodus, the march is told,
Leviticus contains the Law,
In Numbers are the Tribes enrolled.
In Deuteronomy again,
We're urged to keep God's law alone,
And these five Books of Moses make
The oldest holy writing known.
Brave Joshua to Canaan leads,
In Judges, oft the Jews rebel,
We read of David's name in Ruth
And First and Second Samuel.
In First and Second Kings we read
How bad the Hebrew state became;
In First and Second Chronicles
Another history of the same.
In Ezra, captive Jews return,
And Nehemiah builds the wall;
Queen Esther saves her race from death.
These books "Historical" we call.
In Job, we read of patient faith.
In Psalms are David's songs of praise.
The Proverbs are to make us wise.
Ecclesiastes next portrays,
How fleeting earthly pleasures are.
The Song of Solomon is all
About true love, like Christ's, and these
Five books "Devotional" we call.
Isaiah tells of Christ to come,
While Jeremiah tells of woe,
And in his Lamentations mourns
The Holy City's overthrown.
Ezekiel speaks of mysteries,
And Daniel fortells kings of old;
Hosea over Israel grieves;
In Joel blessings are foretold.
In Amos, too, are Israel's woes,
And Obadiah's sent to warn.
While Jonah shows that Christ should die,
And Micah where he should be born.
In Nahum Nineveh is seen;
Habakkuk tells of Chaldea's guilt,
In Zephaniah are Judah's sins;
In Haggai the ?Temple's built.
Then Zechariah speaks of Christ
And Malachi of John, his sign,
The Prophets number seventeen,
And all the books are thirty-nine.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Tell what Christ did in every place;
The Acts tell what the Apostles did,
And Romans how we're saved by grace.
Corinthians instruct the Church;
Galatians shows us faith alone,
Ephesians, true love, and in
Philippians God's grace is shown.
Colossians tells us more of Christ
And Thessalonians of the end,
In Timothy and Titus both
Are rules for pastors to attend.
Philemon, Christian friendship shows.
Then Hebrews clearly tell how all
The Jewish law prefigured Christ;
And these Epistles are by Paul.
James shows that faith by works must live,
And Peter urges steadfastness,
While John exhorts to Christian love,
For those who have it God will bless.
Jude shows the end of evil men,
And Revelation tells of Heaven,
This ends the whole New Testament
And all the books are twenty-seven.
by Unknown Author
In Exodus, the march is told,
Leviticus contains the Law,
In Numbers are the Tribes enrolled.
In Deuteronomy again,
We're urged to keep God's law alone,
And these five Books of Moses make
The oldest holy writing known.
Brave Joshua to Canaan leads,
In Judges, oft the Jews rebel,
We read of David's name in Ruth
And First and Second Samuel.
In First and Second Kings we read
How bad the Hebrew state became;
In First and Second Chronicles
Another history of the same.
In Ezra, captive Jews return,
And Nehemiah builds the wall;
Queen Esther saves her race from death.
These books "Historical" we call.
In Job, we read of patient faith.
In Psalms are David's songs of praise.
The Proverbs are to make us wise.
Ecclesiastes next portrays,
How fleeting earthly pleasures are.
The Song of Solomon is all
About true love, like Christ's, and these
Five books "Devotional" we call.
Isaiah tells of Christ to come,
While Jeremiah tells of woe,
And in his Lamentations mourns
The Holy City's overthrown.
Ezekiel speaks of mysteries,
And Daniel fortells kings of old;
Hosea over Israel grieves;
In Joel blessings are foretold.
In Amos, too, are Israel's woes,
And Obadiah's sent to warn.
While Jonah shows that Christ should die,
And Micah where he should be born.
In Nahum Nineveh is seen;
Habakkuk tells of Chaldea's guilt,
In Zephaniah are Judah's sins;
In Haggai the ?Temple's built.
Then Zechariah speaks of Christ
And Malachi of John, his sign,
The Prophets number seventeen,
And all the books are thirty-nine.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Tell what Christ did in every place;
The Acts tell what the Apostles did,
And Romans how we're saved by grace.
Corinthians instruct the Church;
Galatians shows us faith alone,
Ephesians, true love, and in
Philippians God's grace is shown.
Colossians tells us more of Christ
And Thessalonians of the end,
In Timothy and Titus both
Are rules for pastors to attend.
Philemon, Christian friendship shows.
Then Hebrews clearly tell how all
The Jewish law prefigured Christ;
And these Epistles are by Paul.
James shows that faith by works must live,
And Peter urges steadfastness,
While John exhorts to Christian love,
For those who have it God will bless.
Jude shows the end of evil men,
And Revelation tells of Heaven,
This ends the whole New Testament
And all the books are twenty-seven.
by Unknown Author
7/1/09
2009/07/01 About Last Sunday
Don and I went to our SS class and heard the poetry readings, then went to Warehouse 242 for church. The son-in-law of some friends of ours delivered the message. His text was about the Good Samaritan and he told the congregation a lot about why the "rabbis" and the "deacons" went to the other side of the road. They were probably scared they would become unclean if they touched a dead body so they left the poor guy on the road for dead. The Samaritan, who was a less-thought-of member of society went over to help and wound up saving the man's life. The Warehouse people helped us find a parking place, led us to the area used for the sermon and congregation. In other words, they treated us like members in good standing or honored guest at their house of worship. The lights were dimmed in their sanctuary area and Don and I liked that. It gave us a chance to be reflective on the message or find some peace without feeling crowded in. At the end of the sermon, there was a band who played and everyone joined in singing songs. The words were put on a screen so everyone could see them. The only song we knew was Amazing Grace which we joined in with some zeal.
As I say, we felt very welcomed by everyone. We have been to two services at the Reformed Temple here in Charlotte and we were more ignored than anything, at least the second time. We saw one or two people we knew from our classes on Judaism and at least one of them was very friendly to us but Don tried to strike up a conversation with one gentlemen while we were eating before the Shabbat service and the guy just did not pick up on it at all. Still, we enjoyed the service very much and find the chanted Hebrew beautiful. While hard to follow, neither of us got completely lost in the service and there is a message in the middle of the service that is delivered in English and every now and then there is a prayer in English. Both of us would go back in a minute and want to try out a service after the Temple is finally renovated as we think that will make a difference in the "feel" of the service. I really did enjoy it and could go every week for a while but the Jewish people really do eat before the service (usually contributed by a family whose child has been bar or bat mitzvahed) and I feel a little weird just going there and partaking a free meal every time. No collection or contribution jars have been in sight either before or during any services there. I guess people contribute in a more formal way than a collection plate.
Anyway, back to Warehouse 242. This is a makeshift church started in the middle of one of the "worst" sections of town, at least by reputation. I take it this church tries to bring up the neighborhoods surrounding it and tries to help those who can't help themselves. They are trying to raise $48,000 for (something to help) and have so far gotten about $20,000 of the needed money. I hope and pray they make it as they don't want to go in debt just now. What a difference from my church where they would probably have the $48,000 by the following Sunday if they asked from the pulpit.
During the singing phase of the service, which was the last thing done, I spotted our friends, Jim and Nancy and went up to see them. They were thrilled to see us there. After the service was over, we met the preacher (Jim and Nancy's son-in-law) and his wife (Jim and Nancy's daughter) and their 3 children.
One of the children is adopted from an African country and wants food available every moment, else she cries. They keep Cheerios and such available for her to munch at all times. We all decided to go to my favorite Sunday breakfast place, Phil's Deli, which is out near the Temple area. Phil is Jewish and he and his wife and grown children are the wait staff at the restaurant. All are friendly as can be and tease us all about our little quirks. It is wonderful that they remember the quirks week after week but we do go there consistently after church on Sunday. We asked the preacher if he could name the books of the Old and New Testaments in order. Don has a standing promise to give anyone who does that for him $50 for their favorite charity. The guy did it. No time to study or practice, just sat there and did it. Don promptly wrote a check to the guy's favorite charity and gave it to him to deliver. The little boys could quote long sections from the Bible and the least one said a long memorized prayer before we ate. I was so impressed by them all. And Nancy and Jim's daughter is lovely as can be and such a great and devoted mom.
What a blessing and honor to be with these folks last Sunday. I hope we can repeat our visit to Warehouse 242 when this same guy is delivering the message on Sunday. Truly, the service and the breakfast after, were both such enjoyable experiences.
As I say, we felt very welcomed by everyone. We have been to two services at the Reformed Temple here in Charlotte and we were more ignored than anything, at least the second time. We saw one or two people we knew from our classes on Judaism and at least one of them was very friendly to us but Don tried to strike up a conversation with one gentlemen while we were eating before the Shabbat service and the guy just did not pick up on it at all. Still, we enjoyed the service very much and find the chanted Hebrew beautiful. While hard to follow, neither of us got completely lost in the service and there is a message in the middle of the service that is delivered in English and every now and then there is a prayer in English. Both of us would go back in a minute and want to try out a service after the Temple is finally renovated as we think that will make a difference in the "feel" of the service. I really did enjoy it and could go every week for a while but the Jewish people really do eat before the service (usually contributed by a family whose child has been bar or bat mitzvahed) and I feel a little weird just going there and partaking a free meal every time. No collection or contribution jars have been in sight either before or during any services there. I guess people contribute in a more formal way than a collection plate.
Anyway, back to Warehouse 242. This is a makeshift church started in the middle of one of the "worst" sections of town, at least by reputation. I take it this church tries to bring up the neighborhoods surrounding it and tries to help those who can't help themselves. They are trying to raise $48,000 for (something to help) and have so far gotten about $20,000 of the needed money. I hope and pray they make it as they don't want to go in debt just now. What a difference from my church where they would probably have the $48,000 by the following Sunday if they asked from the pulpit.
During the singing phase of the service, which was the last thing done, I spotted our friends, Jim and Nancy and went up to see them. They were thrilled to see us there. After the service was over, we met the preacher (Jim and Nancy's son-in-law) and his wife (Jim and Nancy's daughter) and their 3 children.
One of the children is adopted from an African country and wants food available every moment, else she cries. They keep Cheerios and such available for her to munch at all times. We all decided to go to my favorite Sunday breakfast place, Phil's Deli, which is out near the Temple area. Phil is Jewish and he and his wife and grown children are the wait staff at the restaurant. All are friendly as can be and tease us all about our little quirks. It is wonderful that they remember the quirks week after week but we do go there consistently after church on Sunday. We asked the preacher if he could name the books of the Old and New Testaments in order. Don has a standing promise to give anyone who does that for him $50 for their favorite charity. The guy did it. No time to study or practice, just sat there and did it. Don promptly wrote a check to the guy's favorite charity and gave it to him to deliver. The little boys could quote long sections from the Bible and the least one said a long memorized prayer before we ate. I was so impressed by them all. And Nancy and Jim's daughter is lovely as can be and such a great and devoted mom.What a blessing and honor to be with these folks last Sunday. I hope we can repeat our visit to Warehouse 242 when this same guy is delivering the message on Sunday. Truly, the service and the breakfast after, were both such enjoyable experiences.
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