Listening with our Eyes

    

       Many people who have known me over the years know that I do not enjoy talking on the phone.  They also have realized that I do not enjoy E-mailing, twittering, face-booking and all the other non-contact communicating media available today.   This is a primary factor in this little blog being such a challenge.  This behavior surprises even me.  When I was in the military, my primary function was communications.  Details are not necessary.  One of my duties was to communicate or enable communications with persons unseen.  Very exciting.  I could only imagine what the contact looked like.  When telling a plane to wave off, or screaming at a chopper he’s about to hit kingposts,  I could only imagine the reception I was receiving.   And I equated the one on the other end with me.  I could hear me and I could hear them.  But it was difficult to determine to whom I was talking.  Even more difficult to determine just who it was that was talking back to me. Without seeing the affect, watching the eyes, witnessing the smile or lack thereof, it was just another person.  Unless, by chance we arranged to meet some place to greet one another, the person on the other end was just a voice in the wilderness.  These events were surreal.

To truly hear someone, or even something, I believe we must be able to see what we are listening to. 

            [Note: when I read the previous sentence during proofing, I stopped and     researched how does a physically blind person really hear.  There is so much      involved but it all goes back to “seeing” what is being heard.  There are‘devices’ now available where a person without physical sight can listen to the sounds of the environment and learn to “see” that which is vital in the    hearing.  I have a lot to learn in this area, but I am convinced that the blind can “see” what they hear. The McGurk Effect    Click   or copy and paste in browser: http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/Phonetics%20II%20page%20seventeen.htm  for report

            In a report from Howard Hughes Medical Institute “Seeing, Hearing,             Smelling the World”,  c. 1995 Jeff Goldberg writes….in Quivering; the             bundles that hear:

            “There are only 16,000 hair cells in a human cochlea, compared to 100        million photoreceptors in the retina of the eye, and they are extremely           vulnerable. Life in a high-decibel society of pounding jackhammers,   screeching subway cars, and heavy metal rock music can take a devastating    toll on them. But whatever the cause—over exposure to loud noises,  disease, heredity, or aging—people tend to lose 40 percent of their hair cells by the age of 65. And once destroyed, these cells do not regenerate.”

     The above referenced data indicates that vision has a tremendous enhancement to our hearing.  A few years ago, I was involved in an exercise used for heightening effective listening capacity.  The protocol was to simply have the group just stop and listen.  The group was instructed to “inventory” all the sounds they heard.  After a few minutes, without notice, all lights were turned off.  The group was asked to continue taking inventory.  Then the AC was shut down, then the clocks, etc. The list grew in abundance.  When the noise making equipment was turned back on, the group was then asked what they heard.  Observation showed that as each person looked about the room, they began to hear more than the first two phases of the drill.  The result proposed that when we focus our hearing through vision, we fine tune our hearing to stimuli not noticed at first “glance”.  Human sensitivity tends to degrade over time and exposure. We do not use 100 percent of their senses. Which brings me to the point of this week’s blog: Listening with our eyes.   

Scripture tells us to listen with our eyes. 

In Deut 6:3 we are told “Hear (Strong’s H8085) therefore, O Israel and observe (H8104) to do (it) that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

The word Hear (u-shmoth ) is Strong’s H8085: shama’  shaw-mah’;  to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc; causatively, to tell, etc. ) 

The use of  ‘observe’  (u-shmrth)  is Strong’s H8104 shamar  shaw-mar’; properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), IE. Guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.

Please pay attention to the tightness (closeness) of hear and observe.

In Deut 6:4
 we read: Dta hvhy vnyhla hvhy larsy imw

Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil YHVH Eloheinu YHVH echad  

(Heb to Eng)   Hear (Strong’s 8085) you Israel Yahweh Elohim of us Yahweh one)

                                                           

Deut 11:13 says                     

                         ytvjm la vimwt imw ,a hyhv

                                                V'hayah im shamo'a tish'm'u el mitz'votai
                        (Heb to Eng)   and he becomes if to listen (Strong’s 8085) you shall listen to                                                           instructions of me

Store all that data and let’s read Numbers 15:37-40

rmal hwm la hvhy rmaYv

Vayo'mer YHVH el mosheh lei'mor
and he is saying Yahweh to Moshe to to say of   (Heb to Eng)

,hla trmav larsy ynB la rBD

Dabeir el b'nei Yis'ra'eil v'amar'ta aleihem
speak you to sons of Israel and you say to them (Heb to Eng)

ypnK li tjyj ,hl Vsiv

,trdl ,hydgb 

Tlkt lytP [nKh tjyj li Vntnv

v'asu lahem tzitzit al kan'fei vig'deihem l'dorotam
v'nat'nu al tzitzit hakanaf p'til t'kheilet
and they make for them tassel on hems of garments of them for generations of them and they give on tassel of the hem twine of amethyst  (Heb to Eng)

vTa ,tyarV tjyjl ,kl hyhv

hvhy tvjm lK ta ,trkzV
VrVtt alv ,ta ,tysiv 

,kynyi yrxav ,kbbl yrxa 

        ,hyrxa ,ynz ,ta rwa

V'hayah lakhem l'tzitzit ur'item oto uz'khar'tem et kol mitz'vot Adonai
va'asitem otam v'lo taturu acharei l'vav'khem v'acharei eineikhem
asher atem zonim achareihem

and he (Strong’s H1961: hayah  haw-yaw; to exist, ie. Be or become, come to pass [always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxillary]) becomes to you to tassel and you see him and you remember  (Strong’s H2142: zakar  zaw-kar’  properly, to mark [so as to be recognized], ie. To remember, by implication, to mention])  all of instructions of Yahweh and you do them and not explore you after heart of you and after eyes of you which you ones prostituting after them  (Heb to Eng)

 lK ta ,tysiv VrKzt ]iml

,kyhlal ,ywdq ,tyyv ytvjm 

L'ma'an tiz'k'ru va'asitem et kol mitz'votai viyitem k'doshim lei'loheikhem
so that you shall remember and you do all of instructions of me and you become holy ones to Elohim of you

     This all tells me that when we hear intelligently, when we combine that hearing with guarding and protecting, that when we see that which has been commanded, in this case, tzitziot, that we see Him and His Word.  This is about as close to His face we can get for the time being.  So. We must see to hear Him. 

Step outside and take a look.  He is everywhere.  See Him…Hear Him! 

That is what He asks of us. 

D’varim / Deuteronomy 4:1!!!

Shalom and shalom…

Pinchas a/k/a Frankly speaking all the time

Taking the "I" Out Of Me

We focus intently on what Torah says so as not to violate Torah, but sometimes, we overlook some things that are “permissible”  yet are worse than violating Torah. Torah encourages us to seek the truth of the Word and everyone’s word who speaks up for Torah.  We are permitted to disagree and openly discuss various concepts that may be disputed or in error by the Torah teachers. [Know more than the Torah teachers, especially since some are false prophets.] Yet, the Talmud teaches that “one who disagrees with, argues with, complains against, or suspects his rabbi is considered to be exhibiting”  sins considered more severe than sins that are explicit in Torah (from Aish.com Clinging to the Light).  This is what Korach did to muster up the 250 or so leaders to rise up against Moshe.

This ‘walking the fine line’ behavior sometimes can result in very strong discussions that stray from M’d’rash to outright argument.  This is the behavior that is witnessed by many who come to believe that all they do is argue!  And they, the witnesses, are not wrong!  The reason we study Torah, above all else, is to come closer with our Creator.  The closer we come, the more in step we must be.  Otherwise, He will wait to reveal more of himself until we reveal less of our self. When I speak of “self”, I speak of the sum total of my life’s experiences.  Everything that is within me.  All that is necessary for me to be in this moment.  Not balanced by good or bad, but balanced by each occurrence in my life that got me here.  Recognizing where I want to go, ie. to see the Face of YHVH, I realize that all future occurrences in my life, must be in alignment with what He wants.  I can no longer do what I want to do if I truly desire to reach my goal.  I must realize that I really have never done just what I want to do. I have followed guidelines from somewhere or someone other than my “self” ... even the dark moments.

We set goals for ourselves and from that, we chart the various steps we must take to achieve that goal. A simple example: Say we want to obtain employment as a jet engine mechanic. My goal: jet engine mechanic. I have no earthly idea how to fix or maintain a jet engine. I realize I must go to school.  The school has certain requirements for entry. I now establish sub-goals.  I must do everything required for entry into school. Upon graduation I may be required to be certified or licensed. More sub-goals to becoming a jet engine mechanic. You are probably getting the picture.  We are doing what we believe is our choice in all these sub-goals to reach the major goal of being a ‘mech’.  But reality is, we do what we do because someone else established the criteria for us to achieve our dream job.  This is not different in our goal of seeking His Face.  Someone else is directing each step.  The more steps we take by His direction, the closer we come to the ultimate goal.  The less we see of us, the more we see of Him.

Many years ago when I was busy achieving my goals, I took a course on self-actualization. Very interesting experience.  I felt like a phony beyond phonies but I had to make a super grade to move on to the next step. So I endured.  Little did I know that this was directed by my Heavenly Father for such a time as now.  I had to learn all I could about my “self” so that in my acquisition of my final goal, I would not be shocked, shaken, disbelieving or condescending of those whom “I am going to help restore to a positive mental attitude”. This was a very challenging and emotional experience.  I became “aligned with the cosmos…feet firmly planted on the ground and my head reaching to the heavens.”.  Sounds very Hippie’ish, for those who are old enough!  Now, it all makes sense.  Once I became aware of my total being (the sum total of my life’s experiences) I could accept my “self” without shame or embarrassment….as long as I was traveling on a path to see His face! 

This week I have learned that if my past could not be accepted by me in my present, then my Elohim could not accept me either.  Yahshua said, go and sin no more. And I also read that He would blot out our sins….as soon as we repent and go and sin no more.  Heavenly Father, I am striving for the ability to stop focusing on me, and focus only on You.  BHC, as I just wrote that, I realize I haven’t gotten very far.  Look at the trail of content this blog has followed. Goes back to the early blogs: Must take the “I” out of “me”.

Psalm 104:33-35 does not say sinners should perish; it says for us to eradicate the sin and Praise YHVH!  Halleluyah!  It also does not say that Yahshua has done all of that for us and we are free to do our own thing.  This is an ongoing endeavor and we must persevere to the end!  No report card until the course is completed! And remember, the teacher doesn't speak while the test is in progress!

Today Rabah. YHVH bless you one and all!

Love,

Pinchas / a/k/a  Frankly Speaking