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Job part 1

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Why the book of Job? 

Several times I attended discussions on the book of Job in synagogues. These usually happened on an afternoon of a fast day–the day which commemorates the destruction of the second temple which is called Tisha B’ Av on the Jewish Calendar. This corresponds to the 9th day of the 5th month of theBiblical calendar, sometime in August on the Roman calendar. 

White-robed deity enthroned among angels, saints, and dark winged figures
Ai generated, thanks to Word Press.

These discussions were varied and often did not end up justifying the Creator, but rather questioning His wisdom. Yet a closer look at the interaction in the biblical account in the book of Job reveals an intriguing story and is the Bible always right? 

I have thought of the rights of the Creator to do what he wants with His Creation. When I make a piece of art, if I don’t like it, I may throw it away. So why should a creature complain if his Maker decides to do something which he does not understand? How much right does the King of the Universe have to experiment with His creatures? When life is given to a being, it would seem that there is a  moral requirement to respect that life. I don’t believe that the Creator is willy nilly with his creatures. Even for the smallest living creatures, we as more intelligent creatures are instructed in the Torah to be kind to animals, as in the case of shewing away the mother bird when taking the eggs or a baby bird so that she does not suffer trauma (Deu 22:6). 

Does God follow the same ethical rules that He gives to His creation? We jokingly used to tell our kids: “Do as I say, not as I do.” This was never taken seriously because a parent can’t get away doing that which he forbids his children without repercussions. So, is it right to judge as not bound by the same ethics?  So we have the story recorded in the book of Job. So, give God a chance and see if He is fair in the end!

Chapter 1 

An Intruder challenges God

Job opens with a description of Job as a man who was “blameless and upright” and “who feared God and shunned evil.” He had 7 sons and 3 daughters. He was the wealthiest man in the East. (chapter 1, verse 3). The family of Job would celebrate birthdays with feasts and when they did this Job would offer burnt offerings, just  in case the children had sinned in some way in their revelry. So, well and good, that is what is supposed to happen to the righteous. Right? Everyone enjoys blessings and prosperity and the reward for “following the rules” comes to each. That is what we can believe from the many promises in the Bible. Yet, it seems someone is not happy to see Job prosper and so a scandal is stirred up and disaster takes place for Job–destroying him, his possessions, and his family. But ultimately, who is responsible?–the Creator? Why would YHVH agree to such a thing? 

Verse 6 a scene depicts a counsel among the “sons of Elohim,” gathered with the Sovereign of the Universe. Are these beings angels or representatives of different parts of the Universe? I take the position that these are representatives from different places and that the purpose of the meeting was to report on the status of each of their realms. 

At this meeting, the “Satan” intrudes and presents himself as the representative of Earth. As is his character (Satan means adversary) he challenges the wisdom of the Creator when asked what he thinks of Job, the most righteous of all men on earth. 

Satan claims that Job is self-serving. That the real reason he serves his Creator is that he knows which side his “bread is buttered on”. He does what he does out of self interest. In a word, he accuses Job of being an opportunist, a time server, someone who obeys only to get blessings, but he suggests to the Almighty: “just test him and you will see him fall” God is challenged to shake Job to the very foundation of his existence. This would reveal once and for all time what Job is about. Now God’s wisdom is on trial. Could he just ignore the accusation and let it go or should he go ahead and prove that the Adversary doesn’t know what he is talking about?  He chooses to nip in the bud this suggestion of Satan by allowing terrible things to happen to Job.  

If he hadn’t stopped Satan in his tracks by allowing this test, what might have happened to the rest of the Universe? Could doubt about the character of God create a domino effect that would go everywhere? Haven’t we seen this same thing happen on this planet, when someone is accused falsely, how a rumor, very similar to the game of telephone, changes to something dangerously exaggerated and can destroy someone. People have gone to jail over things like this and even when they are acquitted, a stain lingers on their reputation. 

So, how did the one assigned to this earth get to be an adversary? Or was he really assigned? And if he was not assigned as an agent, then how did he presume to represent the planet? Did the Creator somehow make the wrong choice of agent? Or is it something else? If we look closely at the verse it says:

Job 1: “6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before YHVH and Satan also came among them.” 

Satan also came among them. Notice how the wording shows that he was not chosen, but that he was self-appointed as earth’s representative. There is more in verse 7. Where did this Satan come from and who is he anyway? 

7: “YHVH said to Satan, “Whence have you come?” Satan answered: “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 

Why does the Eternal ask where Satan came from if He already knew? The emphasis shows not that God didn’t know, but that He would not recognize his claim to be representative of Earth. It is as if God is asking, “what on Earth are you up to now, Satan? What mischief are you stirring up?”

Job Accused: 

Job 1:”8 And YHVH said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 

9 Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face.””

God accepted the challenge rather than rebuke the adversary. Why? 

If we believe that God’s judgment is inscrutable, then His wisdom dictated that he had to deal with this challenge. Why not just kick Satan out of the assembly? Or better yet, isolate or destroy him! Let’s explore this further:

1.God’s reputation was at stake, to keep harmony in the Universe, he had to deal with it in a way that showed He was right.  If He skirted the issue or cast Satan out of the council, he would allow doubt to grow in the entire universe. By allowing this test, evil vs good would be revealed on the personal level and revealed in the trials of righteous Job. (Later we’ll see that Job is a small example of what has been working out during the whole episode of good vs evil on this planet.)

2. God knew that Job was not going to fail the test. He knew what kind of guy he was and trusted him. Being all wise and all powerful and as Creator of mankind, Job’s very essence was understood.Was this a big risk to take? Maybe, but if we believe in God’s supreme wisdom, a wisdom greater than any created being, then He knew what He was doing. 

The Creator knows His creation: 

Job declared:

Job 23: “10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

The Psalmist wrote:

Psa 139:2-4, 13-16: “2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar. 3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. … 13 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well; 15 my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

Psa 103:13-15:“Like as a father pitieth his children,

So YHVH pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame;

He remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass…”

3. God’s ultimate plan was greater than that of satisfying an argument–this plan was to once and for all, reveal to the Universe the true basis of the Creator’s holy and harmonious kingdom, and to reveal the horrendous results of allowing the reign of evil in this Universe. By doing this God would guarantee the eventual complete eradication of evil and the excision  of Satan, the adversary from God’s restored Kingdom… Evil had to be seen in all its horror. 

Job 1: 12 “And YHVH said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.’” (Satan iis given permission to afflict Job but not to touch his person. Again: “So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.” 

(As we saw before, Satan came as an intruder and left on his own mission. The “presence of the Lord” was not with him. 

Chapter 2: The stage is set and the curtain opens on Job. 

Job 1:13-22 “Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house; 14 and there came a messenger to Job, and said, “The oxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside them; 15 and the Sabe’ans fell upon them and took them, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, “The Chaldeans formed three companies, and made a raid upon the camels and took them, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house; 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 20 Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.”

All Job’s children were feasting in the house of the eldest brother when:

  1. The oxen and asses were stolen by the Sabe’ans killing all the servants except the one who came to report it. 
  2. Fire fell from Heaven and burned up all the sheep and servants except the one who bore the news. 
  3. The camels were stolen by the Chaldeans and all the servants were slain all except the bearer of the evil tidings.
  4. A terrific wind hit the corners of the house where Job’s children were feasting and it fell down and killed them all except the one who came to report it. 

So this all happens in one day and what does Job do? 

20 “Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

.”22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” 

But notice, he doesn’t blame the devil either. Why? Is it because he knows that nothing can touch him unless the Holy One allows it? How many times do we curse the devil when bad things happen to us? Do we really believe that God and the power of Good are in control? Notice in verse 21 how Job says that God took away these things. He did not give any credence to any other power but the power of God. 

So was Job mistaken in not blaming Satan for the calamities? Is Satan able to act on his own without the permission of the Most High? Then the question arises: How often do we open the door to evil consequences by our own disobedience or questioning of the Creator’s power? Isn’t obedience to the Torah what keeps us in the Shelter of the Most High? 

The fact that Job didn’t blame Satan for the evil and was declared righteous shows that he knew where his protection came from. He was confident in his obedience to YHVH. He had no guilt. 

However later we see him questioning if maybe the sins of his youth were being punished:

Job 13:26: “For You write bitter things against me And make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth. “

What does it mean that Job questions if he is being punished for the sins of his youth? We know from the story that this is not the cause because Job is called the most righteous man on earth. What we can deduce is that he is examining himself to see if he brought this upon himself.  But overall the story shows that sins of the past, if abandoned, are not held against us. 

Psa 103:12: “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

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Religious Wokeism

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Did Top-Down Religions Lead the West to Wokeism?

What is the meaning of the term, “Woke”? Has Wokeism become a religion in the Western World?

“Wokeism is a term used to describe a progressive political and social ideology focused on systemic inequality, identity politics, and social justice.” (Links: 1, 2, 3,)

Can wokeism be defined as a religion? And how do religious systems where members embrace the opinions or doctrines of leaders, prophets or early founders actually open the door to belief in progressive teachings? What happens when one hears something over and over again without investigating it? Does it become truth, or only truth in the eyes of the one who is subjected to it?  When people willingly give up logic to follow the theories of the masses, they become subservient to ideas that defy logic and demand obedience to a new culture. In the definition of Wokeism, it means sacrificing one’s God-given individuality for the good of society, placing heavy emphasis on the loss of individual rights when confronted with those racially neglected or deprived.

In this article, I want to show that the major religions, to a degree, have led people to  give up their right to follow the logic of their own minds. This has opened the door for acceptance of the new wokeism that abounds everywhere. Wokeism destroys individual boundaries, confuses the identity of the sexes and challenges the family structure. Wokeism has come about because of the vacuum created by society’s abandonment of belief in the Bible and the God of the Bible. It not only puts the needs of the underdog in society above one’s own, it also often elevates animal rights as equal or superior to human rights. Discrimination, social justice, identity politics, all play a role in Wokeism.

Recently I spoke to a woman who stopped by our house about an incident where children camping on the beach at the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) were attacked by jackals. She immediately excused the jackals. “They were here before humans and have a right to the land, she explained.” I didn’t respond vocally but I was dumbfounded. How did people come to think like this?

Animal rights aside, what has set the stage for corporate religions themselves to take part at least to some extent in the woke ideology? And why has Islam and its little-understood people, the Muslims, been elevated to the level of not only public acceptance, but compliance to their culture and forced subservience to Sharia law?

Not only is Western society embracing Muslim culture, it stands aloof at terrorist actions against those who resist it.

So progressive principles have overtaken society to the point that humans of other races who were once disregarded as foreign to the culture of the West, or perhaps even considered as lower class, now because of progressive ideals are allowed to set the rules for society. Why and how did this come about?

Two major religions have dominated the religious elements of the Western world for centuries. We see changes taking place before our eyes. Changes that 50 years ago, few envisioned. What kind of changes? Before we get into the woke element in these religions, let’s look at some details.

We see Islam for the last couple of years surging into Europe, Britain and America. “Moderate” Muslims have settled in the West for a long time, but now their religion is “front and center.” 

Islam dominates around 98 percent of the Middle East, that is, every country but Israel. Some of us wonder why it is necessary to expand to new territories–after all there is plenty of land in the Middle East! And why is it their supreme goal to conquer and subject the country of Israel? This has been the goal of Islam from time immemorial, so why should we be surprised?

Wikipedia: “Muslim-majority nations and governments control the vast majority of land in the Middle East. Out of the roughly 7.3 million square kilometers (7.3 million km²) that make up the region, approximately 97% to 98% of the territory is governed by Muslim-majority states. The remaining 2% to 3% is governed by the State of Israel, which is a Jewish-majority state but also contains a substantial Arab-Muslim and Arab-Christian population.”

Would it be edifying to understand what Islam requires regarding world conquest and forced conversions? Much like Christianity, but in several points very different, the goal of Islam is to convert the entire world population, but the difference seems to lie in the fact that Islam states clearly that the goal is to convert or kill the infidel or at least tax them as Dhiimis (a subservient class.) Christianity at this time, while aiming to convert the world, is no longer killing those who reject conversion, nor is this the goal of the church.

Thus, it is clear that serious Muslims are on a path to govern the world through dominance of their religion. And the world is coming along with them through the woke mentality that has been established little by little through the last century.

Compassion on the underdog. Cruelty to the elite. Hatred of white, so-called “supremacists”, and at the same time, compassion for darker skinned races who are considered more “worthy” because we “owe it to them”. It doesn’t matter if they entered the country illegally, “they were poor and only wanted a better way of life!” It doesn’t matter that they have stolen their way up the food chain, what matters is that the rest of us must be noble and let them have their way. It doesn’t matter if they violate and rape, after all their culture sees it differently! Really?

So, yes, I have known well-mannered upstanding Muslims both in America and Israel. I used to work for one. I have had doctors in Israel who are Muslim. But are they really following their core beliefs? What are moderate Muslims, but a smoke screen to keep people unaware of the deeper roots of their mission? Let me share a quote from their holy book:

Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:28: “Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers. And whoever of you does that has nothing to do with Allah, except when taking precaution against them in defense…”


What it means:


Alliance: Believers are instructed not to form preferential alliances or allegiances with those who disbelieve over the community of believers. [1, 2]
The Exception: If a believer lives among those who oppose their faith and faces imminent harm or tyranny, they are permitted to conceal their true allegiance or outwardly conform for self-preservation. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Divine Warning: The verse warns that true allegiance is to Allah, and all will eventually return to Him for judgment

[1]Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:51: “O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them…” [1, 2]


So we see that those who are members of Islam can live out a pretext of friendliness with unbelievers in order to guarantee their physical or economic security, but they are never to truly become friends to the extent of giving them their allegiance.

How Islam came about is a topic for further study, but we know that Muslims claim that it is the only true religion.  How does one judge religions? What tools are needed to discern between truth and error? How can we know if it was authored by God or invented by a human prophet, ie, Mohammed? How, indeed, can we know this about any religion?

How do the doctrines of the different religions connect to what the Eternal says and, contrarily,  how much have leading, supposedly “inspired” prophets and sages directed the minds of their followers into the teachings they themselves have elaborated and placed before the people? What are the underlying rules for judging a religion? How does one prove that a religion is about service to God and the betterment of mankind and not service to laws that complicate life for humanity and that build walls between peoples?

Can it be shown that man has either created or expanded upon the original laws of the Bible, the basis for Christianity and Judaism? What about Islam? Islam is not based directly on the Bible or the 10 commandments. Then how is it possible to prove that the Muslim god is not the God who created and established mankind in this world? Is it possible? Is it provable from a logical standpoint? Consider several things:

When did Islam come into being and what was the character of Mohammed who founded the religion?


Wherever Islam has taken hold, how is the life of the people in the country where they dominate? Do they prosper?


How do they treat animals? Is kindness and humane treatment shown?


How do they treat their women and children? Is there abuse and subjugation?


What happens to the land where they inhabit? Is it blessed and abundant or does it become a desert?

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Cultivating the Exile

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Exile Minds, Exile Religion

I have a lot of questions about the accepted status quo religion of Judaism today and how it came to be. Let me ask these things and see if we can come up with some quality answers.

How much of what was developed by the Rabbis in Judaism came down to us from that very state of exile? How much was given to protect Jews from the influence of the nations and to preserve Jews as a separate people while they lived among the goyim? I have no doubt at all as to its purpose to keep Jews separate from the nations, but the next question arises…How many of the laws are not needed once a Jew has returned to the land of Israel? And should the Jews have remained in other lands for so many years?

Ancient sources for the Torah and Tanakh, when read in their simplicity and without elaboration, are understandable to those who have a connection with the Divine Mind, but the hundreds of books of commentaries and rabbinic doctrine, whether it be Talmud, Gamara, or any of the sources studied in Yeshivot shout loudly that the Bible cannot be understood by the common person. Is this true? Sounds a bit like Catholicism to me! Yeah, “if you really want to know, go ask your priest…”

After two and a half millennia, can we actually know what happened in Babylon that forever changed the rules of Judaism? Some would say that what has changed has actually clarified what was originally meant, but there are many of us who differ with this. And, speaking of the changes, were these only effected by Babylonian scholars or were there religious influencers in Europe as well that brought us Judaism as it is known today? It is fascinating how Judaism has evolved. But what has it evolved to and does Hashem recognize it?

Why was the construction of the Second Temple hindered by conflict between those simple Judean farmers who had stayed in the land and those who returned from Babylon? Why were those in the land despised? Is it possible that the religion they remembered was more authentic than what was brought back from Babylon? From the reading of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah it is apparent that there was a new form of the Jewish religion that was established in Babylon and inculcated after the return to the land, eventually causing those simple farmers to submit to the new religion. 

Again, the majority wins, but what did they win? Political and religious dominance? The Second Temple never filled with the Shekinah Glory? Why? The Ark of the covenant hidden by the Prophet Jeremiah was never returned to the new Temple. Why? Where did Jeremiah hide the Ark and the Tent? See 2 Maccabees 2:4-8. Maccabees is a historical text, and not Tanakh, but historical books can help prove the truth, just as a review of Josephus reveals some of what happened to allow the Pharisees to win over the Sadducees which led to the takeover by Rome. Link 

According to 2 Maccabbees, the Ark was hidden in a cave on the mountain where Moses died and “saw the inheritance”. Link

Can we actually know what happened in those times when the powerful leadership, sponsored by Cyrus, took control once back in the land of Israel? What was actually learned in Babylon that was an improvement to what was originally given? And as we look at Judaism today, how much of what is taught has carried on down from Babylon and those leaders? A strict look at Judaism as it is found in Orthodoxy shows the fingerprints of what was learned in Exile. Good or bad, it needs to be sorted out and separated from what was originally given. Malachi tells us that the God of Israel does not change. Malachi 3:6. So does His Word change? Are the principles written in the Torah the same forever? Albeit the modern understanding of these principles may change. How do we become wise if we depend on others to study for us and to teach us Torah? 

Jer 17: “5 This is what YHVH says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from YHVH. 6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in YHVH, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.””

I believe that we can know in our hearts and minds the simple truths of the Creator’s Word without the years of indoctrination of the Yeshivot. This is a Torah principle:

Deu 30:”12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.”

We know that the majority of the popular religions wrote religious history, then if the majority is often not in the right, then how do we find the truth of Judaism today? Can the simple writings of the Torah be trusted? 

Psa 19:”7 The law of YHVH is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of YHVH is sure, making wise the simple.”

Psa 1:”1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of YHVH, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither–whatever they do prospers.”

Three men in traditional desert clothing gathering salt next to a golf cart on a rocky desert path.

Manna and Wartime, Are we in the wilderness still?

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For several weeks of this year, Ben Gurion Airport was not offering flights to incoming or outgoing passengers because of the increased activity of the war. . People from America and other countries were not able to return and people in Israel were unable to use their prepaid tickets to return to their home countries. Not that any country but Israel should be home to Jews, but that’s the way it is to many Jews from the diaspora. It seemed to me to be a type of “handwriting on the wall” showing that maybe the door of return will not always be open. Scary thought.

We had daily sirens during this time, sometimes twice daily and I turned off my phone at bedtime because I didn’t want a 30 second warning to get to the shelter. The city would sound the alarm a few seconds before the expected bomb or interception and since I cannot run anywhere with my injured leg, we sit in a corner of our living room that has no windows or outside doors. This is what is recommended for those who cannot make it to a shelter. Kind relatives in America have asked me why I don’t escape for the time being. Well frankly, I am not interested. There is a sense of protection all about me. I can’t speak for others, though. 

Child holding multiple aluminum food trays walking near a golf cart outside a brick house
Delivering Manna

After the bombing started up again, my neighbor asked us if we could use food. (Hot trays of prepackaged kosher food that comes from a school five nights a week.) And did we know anybody else? So we sort of “enrolled” in the volunteer job of delivering food to those who want an evening meal. I am still not sure where all the food comes from. We know that part of it comes from a high school down the road. Part comes from the army. Sometimes there are meals from a Kosher catering restaurant. And there is a lot of food! 

My husband and I drive our golf cart around the town delivering to people who have requested an evening meal. Some people have several children so they get several trays of a protein, a vegetable and a starch like rice, couscous or potatoes. Sometimes we have 50 or 60 meals to deliver. 

I have asked myself what the Eternal had in mind in getting us involved in this. As I watch and think, I see a lot. There are people who are poor but their kids won’t eat the healthy food we deliver. They want Schnitzel or hamburgers. Too bad, so sad. Mom will just have to keep working to put food on the table for them. I see kids who have never been disciplined and parents who are run ragged trying to please them. Same generational problems here as in other countries. Others, perhaps widows who live in a two room apartment in a high rise, or russians who are elderly and have no pension from Russia, or even South Africans, are grateful and never complain. One dear Ukrainian woman is still working her fingers to the bone to provide for herself and the older woman she lives with. She sends me a thank you every day and once a week buys us a chocolate bar to sort of “pay back” what we do for her. 

So what does all this have to do with Manna? Remember the manna? –How people would go out on Shabbat and look for it? Well this manna comes only on the 5 working days, sometimes a bit on Friday morning, but none on Shabbat. So on Thursday, we try to give them an extra meal to help carry them over. Some put up extra trays in their freezers. However there are a lot of them that are hoarding food. Some tell me their fridge and freezer are stuffed. I wonder if it will go rank and grow worms like the Biblical manna.  (And yes, I too put things in the big freezer! Sometimes I can send extra food to people this way or have a Shabbat meal already prepared for us so I can take things a bit easier on Friday.)

But how is today different? And what is HaShem saying to us? That there will be provision. That He is looking out for us and as we help others, we get a double blessing. Imagine! Free Food! And you don’t have to pass a poverty test to get it. You can just accept it because you ask. Wow! 

Also I find that people who used to see us as non observant, or non practicing Jews because we don’t respect all the traditional rabbinic rules are showing tremendous respect. They comment about what a great “mitzvah” we are doing and nobody has even questioned the fact that in our house we do not use separate dishes for milk and meat or other things and we drive an electric golf cart on Shabbat! Yet when people receive a blessing like this, the importance of all this tradition seems to dim. So maybe this is what has been stewing in Heaven’s pot! 

Of course I do not use the excuse of their ignorance to force them to break the rules. Every dish we distribute is either sealed in it’s original packaging or packed into a new disposable plastic pot. We want to honor them as they honor us.  (Even though we believe that their tradition is completely out of line with the Bible, still it is not us to decide other people’s standards). 

Have there been trials? You bet! We get pretty disgusted when people tell us that their kids don’t like certain things. And others who do not say thank you! But that seems to dim a bit when we remember Elena, the Red Hat lady who gives us a chocolate bar each week! And by the way, we never forget her and Masha, the little old widow whom she lives with! Then there is the 11 year old that comes to help us. He loves to meet new people and go out on the golf cart with my husband. Last time I told him that I would reward him with a bowl of ice cream when he got back. So it was 5 o’clock when they left and he was starved, so he told me that in order to eat ice cream he would have to eat a non meat meal. I suggested he take along one of the vegetarian meals and a plastic fork. He was delighted and when he got back he ate two bowls of ice cream! I call him my little priest because he is so kind and he has priestly DNA. (He is a Cohen). 

Something that irks me is people who will not read their messages and then expect me to call them at the last minute. Just imagine– I have 35 families on our list, don’t they care enough to check my general message which I send out and give me a thumbs up if they want something? And there is another lady who never answers me but expects me to open her door and put the meals in the inner stairwell!

So we are learning about humanity! Entitlement, complacency, go along to get along…but then others who have suffered and show real gratitude and fresh innocence! Overall, I am grateful for the tremendous insights into how people tick and how and why things happened in the Torah, things that maybe we didn’t fully understand before! Were the Israelites in the wilderness any different than the Israelites today?–Even though we are in the Promised Land?

Who’s on First?

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Is God the Ultimate Authority– Is He Really?

Kosher Jewish Astrology says that we must learn about the alignment of the planets and how to overcome our weaknesses and tone down our wild strengths. At least that is what they were teaching  yesterday, when I went to a Rosh Hodesh gathering of women in our town in Israel. The speaker actually said: “The planets will bless you.” 

All the red alerts in my head started going off and I knew I was either going to vomit or walk out. I wanted to say: “That’s witchcraft and you are a witch.” 

But I sat there quietly and finished my decorative vase that the craft teacher generously helped us with. There were about a dozen women there and most agreed happily with the theme of the woman who was teaching. I was astounded at the level of brainwashing that I saw but I realized that all of this has been believed for a very long time. But does that make it right? And does something that is believed for a long time make it more right? Do real thinkers not exist today?

This Jewish Astrologist (Let’s call her Diva) said things like, “we are above the calendar, and it is up to us to establish the date for Rosh Hodesh.” So what does the Bible say about that? Who ordained the signs in the heavens to guide us? 

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים יְהִ֤י מְאֹרֹת֙ בִּרְקִ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם לְהַבְדִּ֕יל בֵּ֥ין הַיּ֖וֹם וּבֵ֣ין הַלָּ֑יְלָה וְהָי֤וּ לְאֹתֹת֙ וּלְמ֣וֹעֲדִ֔ים וּלְיָמִ֖ים וְשָׁנִֽים׃

“God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years;” (Genesis 1:14, JPS translation).

Notice the word “moedim” in Hebrew, highlighted in the verse above. This word refers to the set times that the Creator established for the people of Israel. “Set times” is another way to express the Biblical Festivals. “Moed” (part of the word moedim) is used for sacred meetings. The “ohel moed” for example means “tent of meeting” referring to where these gatherings were held. Originally we had the Mishkan (tabernacle or tent of meeting) that traveled with the Israelites in the wilderness and was set up by Joshua in the land after they crossed the Jordan. 

So the Jewish people can decide when the festivals occur? Who is on first? Who appointed the signs to frame the year for us? So now then, can we change what God has said? Who is on first anyway? Is God still God or do we place ourselves on the throne? 

Does the Creator give the Jews the right to change His laws? Or more specifically, can the Chosen People be Holy if they do not obey the Covenant?

וְעַתָּ֗ה אִם־שָׁמ֤וֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ בְּקֹלִ֔י וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֑י וִהְיִ֨יתֶם לִ֤י סְגֻלָּה֙ מִכׇּל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים כִּי־לִ֖י כׇּל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

“Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine.” (Exodus 19:5 JPS translation).

So which covenant are we talking about? The Covenant that was spoken of in the Torah is the Torah itself and this was given to our forefathers; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And yet mankind likes to alter what was set up as a blessing for us!

How is it that “the planets will bless you?” How can an inanimate object, be it a stone or a planet have the ability to bless us? Are these somehow elevated to the level of gods? 

I was recently chatting with a woman about the bombs and the ongoing war in Israel. I mentioned someone who goes out even when the alerts go off. She told me that the Jews have to protect themselves. Does that mean that the Almighty no longer protects us? It is true that common sense dictates that we exercise a bit of self preservation in these times, but is our protection only in our own hands? Is it possible that by ignoring the rules that the Creator set up in the very beginning, we somehow feel that this is our universe and that there is little if any protection coming from Hashem? 

Has God taken a long journey and somehow does not hear us? This reminds me of the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel (a place a couple of hours from us here). What did he tell the people when the prophets of Baal were dancing around their altar?

“When noon came, Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Shout louder! After all, he is a god. But he may be in conversation, he may be detained, or he may be on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and will wake up.’” (1 Kings 18:27, JPS Translation). Read the entire story in 1 Kings. 

Elijah challenged the people of Israel with these words: 

“‘How long halt ye between two opinions? If YHVH be God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’” (Ibid, verse 2

1)

How do we discern truth? By having an individual understanding of the simple words of Torah. How often does the embellishment provided by our modern and ancient sages cloud the truth?–Could they actually be prophets of Baal? The same ones Elijah rebuked the people for? 

Let’s get back to the study of what the Biblical prophets handed down to us without adding or subtracting! 

K.I.S.S. Keep it Simple Stupid!

Ariella

Truth–More Precious than Rubies!