The Hidden Revealed

Each year at Purim the young people of our congregation seem to be able to surprise us with a different twist to Esther and the upheaval of Purim itself. This past Shabbat was no exception. I was told that the “children” would step in at various times to take charge of the service. We have done that in the past and it is always quite refreshing.

Leave it to the young folks to take it up a notch. This past Sabbath we were going to keep it simple with a special dance/worship presentation along with the youth participating as the leaders in the service.

In recognition of Purim, there would be a focus on prayer and Purim. The ultimate focus would be on the unseen. When we are in “Prayer”, we acknowledge the presence of YHVH, although He is unseen physically. Prayer is when we put pride aside; when we demonstrate a faith in an unseen; when we express our trust in a Supreme Being. For me, our weekly Sabbath prayer is when we collectively lift YHVH Elohim on high. We literally look up to Him and not at Him.

Psalm 121 says “If I raise my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come?” The operative word is “IF”. If we look elsewhere, where does our help come from? It doesn’t tell us. It does tell us that if we look up to the hills our help will come from YHVH, the maker of heaven and earth. It tells us that He is our guardian. We are assured that He never slumbers nor sleeps.

Purim is about more than just the casting of lots. Purim is about the hidden, the unseen. Some say that Purim is not a true Scriptural celebration because “YHVH (God)” is not mentioned in the Book of Esther. And how can we have Purim without Esther? Rather than go into a detailed teaching, let me just ask you to take note that Esther by definition means to conceal. In Deuteronomy. 31:18 our Father says that He will “surely hide His face from them.” The Hebrew for “I will surely hide” – haster astir – contains the letters of the name Esther. So, the implication is that He will guide and direct from an unseen position. A friend of mine informed me that in the Bible Code of the Hebrew of Esther (the equidistant letter spacing), "YHVH" does appear. I haven’t found the opportunity as yet to search this out. (But, my friend has never misguided me so I am not rushed.)

We speak about coincidences, often referred to as Yah-incidences. In the reading of Esther on Shabbat, we were told ahead of time there would be no need detailing that which would soon be presented. This added to the excitement! We were encouraged however to listen for the Yah-incidences; ie. when the queen (Vashti) just happens to refuse to go to a banquet; when Esther just happens to be chosen as a new queen; when Mordecai just happens to be sitting outside the gate to over hear plans for evil against the king and when the king just happens to rise from a sleepless night, he recalls that Mordacai saved his life. How did this happen if YHVH was not present? He said he would hide. When was the last time that any of us saw Him? Although the Face of Yah is not seen, believers know deep within themselves, that He is not far away.

We are told in Ezekiel 39:21-29 21 "'Thus will I display my glory among the nations, so that all the nations will see my judgment when I execute it and my hand when I lay it on them. 22 From that day on, the house of Isra'el will know that I am YHVH their Elohim; 23 while the Goyim will know that the house of Isra'el went into exile because of their guilt, because they broke faith with me; so that I hid my face from them and handed them over to their adversaries; and they fell by the sword, all of them. 24 Yes, I treated them as their uncleanness and crimes deserved; and I hid my face from them.' 25 "Therefore YHVH Elohim says this: 'Now I will restore the fortunes of Ya'akov and have compassion on the entire house of Isra'el, and I will be jealous for my holy name. 26 They will bear their shame and all their [guilt from] breaking faith with me, once they are living securely in their land, with no one to make them afraid. 27 This will be after I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, thereby being consecrated through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am Yahweh their Elohim, since it was I who caused them to go into exile among the nations, and it was I who regathered them to their own land. I will leave none of them there anymore, 29 and I will no longer hide my face from them, for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Isra'el,' says YHVH ELOHIM."

The reading from Ezekiel is very pertinent during Purim. Reading the white of the page, we can see that our Father has not “hidden” so much from us as He has made available a lot to us if we just seek His face. The eye opener for me this past Shabbat is what I felt our Father has hidden in His young people. I now realize He hid nothing in them. It was always there. It is just that some of us didn’t see it because we failed to look for it. The Father is truly present in the Book of Esther and He is most definitely present in the hearts of our young people. Their ability to carry-out a complete service, ensuring that nothing was missed, and their joy at doing so, without rehearsal of script, is so very moving. Just when you think they are too young to understand, the Father surprises you and takes another scale from our eyes.

Heavenly Father, thank You so very much for taking the scales away. Thank You for the children that You have brought to teach us. Yes, Father, they do listen, as unlike I have ever noticed before. Sure, they have always been great at programs and such, but this time they stepped up and took the places of the elders without hesitation. Thank You Abba, Most Gracious and Benevolent One, we do pray in earnest to see Your Face. We want to continuously experience Your presence. May the day come soon when You will make restoration of all things a reality in our lives. Oh Abba, may the day come soon when we will all have complete faith and trust in You, seen or unseen. Please let this be a reality in our lives and in Your presence. We come in Y’shua’s Name , Amein!

Shalom and shalom, 

Pinchas, 

a/k/a Frankly Speaking all the time…

Brass Tacks

Brass tacks! That was an expression that one of my early school year teachers used to say. Third grade; one of the few grades I remember. My memories of early childhood got buried in the desire to escape…for various sundry reasons. Oh but I remember year three… the year I had to make a decision; do I write with my right hand or with my left. Another experience I encountered only because I was different from the others. So, I chose the left hand. And from that day forward I wrote with my left hand. To this day I write with my left hand, even though in all other instances I am basically right handed. But I refused to be put in the corral. I refused to be put upon. I chose to be different. Not my fault, I was born that way. (I am laughing now..if you could see the grin I would stop grinning, again, to be different, I suppose.)

But what does any of this have to do with brass tacks? Very simple. This bi-weekly blog is being devoted to ‘brass tacks’. The teacher would sit me down, tell me to sit up straight and inform me that “we” are going to get down to brass tacks! And we did! The only brass tacks that I really knew of at that time were the tacks that held the fabric to the worn out chairs we had in our house. So, her instructions to me were met with a silent grin but I paid attention and I learned from her.

The time has come for us, you and me, to get down to brass tacks. On the 3^rd of this month I learned a lot. The brass tacks were shining! Our congregation had its annual meeting. The once a year gathering to discuss where we have been and where we believe we are heading. An informative, albeit lengthy time spent gathering of the minds. The part that I felt the brass tacks sticking me was the discussion about fund raising. Yes, we are a blessed congregation and very grateful for all the support we receive. As most of you know by now, I have no working knowledge of the financial side of the operation as far as extensive detail goes. But, I do know that many people have expressed an interest in enlarging our space.

In fact, many of you, when we first uttered the thoughts a few years ago, jumped on the band wagon and started the basic foundation for laying a foundation. Apparently the interest waned. Please hear me out. I don’t normally mix people and money, but this expansion decision was made a while back and made with the best of the best minds to cross the threshold. Please do not misunderstand, I am not admonishing or condemning; I am simply getting down to brass tacks.

According to the data, as of 3FEB2013, via Goodsearch/Goodshop, KHM has netted $653.00 (six five three point zero zero dollars) since we started using it. We started in 2007 and that year netted fifty dollars. So, from the first fifty we now add up to six fifty three. There are 402 registered supporters of KHM according to Goodsearch. With the generosity of an unknown benefactor that dissolved the mortgage, our total annual average expenses, not counting the stuff that comes up that can’t be planned for, equates to $6720.00 That breaks down to $560.00 a month and based on a four week month, $140.00 each week. With Goodsearch, this takes 14,000 clicks of the mouse each week to cover this aggregate amount. With 402 people signed up, each person’s ‘fair share’ (forgive me for using that expression..it won’t happen again) would be 35 clicks. Using a five day week, that means seven clicks of the mouse each day. Now, the sticky part is this – someone saw fit to eradicate the mortgage which to me meant we have an open road to enlarge our space. How much is it to ask that all who use the internet avail themselves to ask the questions of Goodsearch, what they ask each day of a person? Curious about something? Go to Goodsearch and ask. Plan on shopping on line? Go to Goodshop and enjoy the shopping experience. Even if you do not plan to purchase on line, when you go looking to be sure of what you want, go via Goodsearch.

In actuality, there are not 402 subscribers. I, for one, am logged in under three different names. Depends on which computer I am on what name I am under. But, on each machine, my homepage is Goodsearch. I plan to speak with Yocheved about asking us in this newsletter to make Goodsearch the home page/search engine instead of the calendar. Both can be done, but to really simplify it, maybe just for a while make Goodsearch the homepage and the search engine for the opening transaction.

So, pull up Good Search and read the historical data of all the enterprises that make literally thousands of dollars a year and not one cent comes from their pockets. This is an advertising expense. The advertisers are very happy to pay it. The money is ours. Let’s go get it! Of course, we want to follow the rules as established by Good Search. They changed the rules about a year ago and thus it is harder to raise bundles, but it can be done. 

 

Before I retire each evening, or early morning as the case most often is, I research various topics of interest. I have no knowledge of established URL’s for what I am searching for and Good Search is very good at finding the data I want. It only takes a little repetition to develop a habit. This is a good habit to develop. I like to ask various questions concerning Scripture. There is no end to what can develop.

Thank you for hearing me out…. Now lets all Goodsearch the expression “brass tacks, getting down to …..” Lets make the new building a reality.

Before I cut and run, here’s my final say on this brass tacks thing… consider that we are in the process of live streaming our Torah portions. It will be a week or so but it is basically a done deal. We can do it with no cost, except each person logging in gets to watch a brief commercial that we have no control over, or we can pay…here comes another bill. Here is a better idea – real brass tacks item….as soon as four hundred people commit to donating one thousand dollars each, we can go to the drawing board. We only need the money in the bank when we get down to the brass tacks of building. Did you do the math? Four hundred people at one thousand dollars each pays for a very nice and roomy sanctuary. They don’t come cheap. So, let’s pull together and have no more barriers to attendance for Sukkot and Rivers. And watch the influx. A Messianic Conference Center; a way station for fellow travelers; a place of worship where we can all be under one roof!

Again, thank you for hearing me. YHVH bless you and keep you. YHVH make His face shine on you and show you His favor. YHVH lift up His face towards you and give you peace. Amein!

Love you all, 

Pinchas, 

a/k/a Frankly speaking all the time…