In the early days this blog was supposed to be about my thoughts
throughout the week as I prepared to see His Face. On March 2, 2011
I begged off from writing about a person I know who was raised in an
Orthodox home but married goy. This was in the blog One
House, Two House, Whole House, HIS House!
She wanted to know what is the difference in being
brought up in the church to love God and pray to Jesus and being
brought up in the synagogue to love Elohim and pray for the Messiah
to come. We discussed this over the several years that we have been
acquainted. “She has not found the Messiah as I understand Him
and she acknowledges that she was raised and trained up to listen to
the Rabbis and do as they say. She says it is not different
than being raised in the Christian church and told to listen to the
Pastor and do as he says. She currently attends a Christian
church! She also feels both are kind of misleading when it comes to
the truth of the word.” (Blog 03-02-11)
That was almost two years ago. Now, the time that I asked for to
unravel my thoughts has come. She has informed me that she will be
leaving town soon to do yahrzeit with her family for her husband. In
speaking with her I learned more than she had ever disclosed in the
fifteen years or so that we have known each other. It would not be
kind of me to give examples. Suffice it to say, my friend has lived
with a deep conviction towards YHVH, but very tolerant of the
teachings of the church. As she put it, she would not force religion
on her family, and she didn’t. Now, her husband, her kipparah, is
passing. All preparations have been made. In those preparations,
after the “church” rituals, she will join her family at the
synagogue for services. She will grieve for twelve months. She will
light the candle. Then she will “move forward with her life”.
Her children are grown and she believes they will understand.
So, what is this blog about? The question, rather the statement was:
there is no difference in the church teaching to love God and pray to
Jesus than there is being brought up in synagogue to love Elohim and
pray for the Messiah to come. YES THERE IS! But who am I to say? I
was brought up in the church and loved most of it. I say most,
because the leadership failed to answer my questions when I asked.
The same is true in the synagogue. Ask a Rabbi to tell you about
Ezekiel 37. That is just the beginning. Question where the 613 comes
from. Talk about Abram not born a “Jew”. The more I think
about it the more correct the lady is. So, what takes her back to
her roots now? Why not ten years ago? Why not thirty years ago?
What an eye opener!
This lesson was meant for me. Thank you for permitting me to share.
Humans find great solice in comfort things. What makes one person
comfortable doesn’t necessarily comfort another. Yes, there are a
great many psychological theories we could discuss. But lets do
this. Lets discuss Spiritual theories.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not attempting to explain what
my friend is doing to condemn or condone. I am using her manifested
behavior to explain the thoughts that go through my head as I strive
to see my Master’s Face.
Lets say for the sake of establishing a base; the friend has enough
roots in Judaism from childhood to know that at some point, when she
chose to leave the teachings and join the goyim, she carried with her
the guilt of knowledge put forth in Psalm 34: 18-23. In this she is
aware that we all have evil inclinations. She also is aware that the
Father saves the righteous from all evils that the righteous person
suffers. While evil kills the wicked, YHVH redeems His servant.
Now that her life is literally changing about her, without her
consent or decree, her spirit becomes reflective. Thinking about all
those years. Those years of quietly giving in to the abuses of the
church. Yes, they were abuses to her because she knew the difference
between the sacred and the profane. Maybe even subconsciously she
felt the intrusions of the “sin”. Knowing that the evil
inclination cannot attach itself to us without an invitation, an
opening, does she carry the guilt of opening the window that brought
in a bit of darkness? She is at a very emotional point now in her
relationship with her Creator. She wants to do the right thing.
Even though she herself said there is no difference between the
synagogue and the church, the pastor and the rabbi. Where can she
turn? She seeks her roots. But from the discussions, she has been
seeking her roots mentally for years. She never acted on it.
The cabbalists teach that this is the final emotive attribute within
Creation; the power to express one’s thoughts and emotions to
others. Establishing an identification with outer reality. This
power of expression is associated with the soul, the very core of our
being. It is my belief, should this be valid, this is the point at
which we can have a verbal dialog with our Creator; this is the point
where the natural and supernatural meet. But that is another topic.
At Exodus 20:4 we are taught not to worship pagan gods. In doing so,
we will place these sins upon the children to the third and fourth
generation. This is a most misunderstood verse. It does not mean
that YHVH holds all the succeeding children responsible for these
sins. It indicates that a person, born into this world, was placed
in this world for correction and discipline in order to join the
Creator in His set-apart world. It does not imply that a child is to
pay for his or her father’s sin. The person sinning is the
‘father’ who is to pay. The fourth generation indicates four
opportunities to return (teshuvah). In the literal translation, the
word ‘generation’ does not appear in this verse in Exodus, thus
making it easier to understand the verse.
So, with that said, what if my friend has been taught the
misunderstood word. What if she bears guilt for all that has
occurred in her family; not only her husband, but her children’s
suffering too? In my mind, she is right in wanting to return to her
roots. Our roots comfort us. Our roots give us reason. Our roots
are all we have that can make sense on the most senseless days. Even
when we find that our roots are distorted, they give us warmth. Like
afternoon sunshine through an open window laying across grandma’s
bed. Maybe my friend will see from her roots just how close she is to
seeing the Father’s face. Just maybe she will see Messiah Yeshua on
every page of her Bible!
Father, please grant my friend solace. You are the One Who speaks to
us when no one else makes sense. Through Your kindness and mercy we
find peace. Let it be Your will that my friend, and everyone
experiencing a sudden loss, can overcome the grief. Grant them the
ability to celebrate the life and rejoice in Your Holy Word. In
Yeshua’s Blessed Name, Amein.
Shalom and shalom, Pinchas,
a/k/a Frankly speaking all the time
