Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Sins of the Fathers




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

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