Vayishlach, Torah Portion, 10 Dec 2022

 

Torah Portion, 10 Dec 2022, Vayishlach

Gen 32:24 "And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day."

In the pictures I found, it's always an angel, but a later passage:

Gen 32:30 "... for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."

He was alone, he was worried, and found himself wrestling with God. And I know I have wrestled with God over direction, purpose, choices. I wonder if this is why some people are afraid to be alone? Afraid of the silence?

Gen 33:4 "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept."

Jacob had seperated his wealth and family in two, he sent I think it said four advanced parties ahead of him to send gifts to his brother, and his brother didn't want the gifts but quite clearly was happy to see his brother again. So, all that time in worried preparation, for nothing. I see so many, spend so much time worrying about what might happen, and not take the time to enjoy today.

Folks, planning is okay, preparation for the future is not a bad thing, but fret, worry and fear, that's not what He wants of us. Enjoy today.

Vayetze (Gen 28:10-32:3) Torah portion, December 3, 2022.

Vayetze (Gen 28:10-32:3) Torah portion, December 3, 2022.

I knew I was behind, but it appears I'm farther behind than I thought. Finals took up a lot of my time.

Gen 28:12 "And he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold a ladder [stairway] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it."

I didn't find any cross references for this ladder/stairway, but it does my heart good knowing that it's there. And though I'm not ready to see it for myself, I rest in the knowledge that I will some day.

Gen 30:14 "..and found mandrakes..."

Mandrakes were believed to be a stimulant to help with fertility and conception in barren women.

It was used as a soporific (sleep inducing) and pain-killing plant for many hundreds of years. Mandrake is a powerful narcotic, emetic, sedative, and hallucinogen; its poisons can easily lead to death.

People take European mandrake root for treating stomach ulcers, colic, constipation, asthma, hay fever, convulsions, arthritis-like pain (rheumatism), and whooping cough. It is also used to trigger vomiting, cause sleepiness (sedation), reduce pain, and increase interest in sexual activity.

It has a large, brown root, somewhat like a parsnip, running 3 or 4 feet deep into the ground, sometimes single and sometimes divided into two or three branches. Immediately from the crown of the root arise several large, dark-green leaves, which at first stand erect, but when grown to full size a foot or more in length and 4 or 5 inches in width - spread open and lie upon the ground. They are sharp pointed at the apex and of a foetid odour. From among these leaves spring the flowers, each on a separate foot-stalk, 3 or 4 inches high. They are somewhat of the shape and size of a primrose, the corolla bell-shaped, cut into five spreading segments, of a whitish colour, somewhat tinged with purple. They are succeeded by a smooth, round fruit, about as large as a small apple, of a deep yellow colour when ripe, full of pulp and with a strong, apple-like scent.

Gen 32:1 "And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him."

 

Toldot, Torah Portion for 26 Nov 2022

 

Toldot, Torah Portion for 26 Nov 2022

Gen 25:23 "And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger."

Gen 25:33 "and he [Esau] sold his birthright unto Jacob."

Gen 26:2 "Go not down into Egypt."

Gen 26:4 "...and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."

Gen 27:29 "Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee [Jacob]"

Gen 27:36 [Esau speaking] "...he [Jacob] took way my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing." 41 "And Esau hated Jacob..."

Chayei Sarah, Torah portion for 19 Nov 22

Genesis 24:2-3 NIV

2 He said to the senior servant(A) in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living.

So, I have to ask, why did oaths involve putting a hand under someone’s thigh? And I found this:

In our culture, taking an oath usually involves raising the right hand or placing a hand over the heart or on a Bible. In ancient Hebrew culture, we find something a little different. Genesis 24:9 describes an odd practice that involved Abraham’s servant swearing to obey his master’s command to find a wife for Isaac: “So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.” In Genesis 47:29, Jacob makes his son Joseph swear to bury him in Canaan, not Egypt. The same ritual is observed: Joseph is required to put his hand under Jacob’s thigh as he makes the promise. It seems strange to us, but placing one’s hand under someone else’s thigh had a symbolic purpose.

In both cases, the request is made by a patriarch nearing death. Also, both oaths deal with family matters. In the case of Abraham and Jacob, the family was blessed by God Himself (Genesis 15:5; 28:14).

The thigh was considered the source of posterity in the ancient world. Or, more properly, the “loins” or the testicles. The phrase “under the thigh” could be a euphemism for “on the loins.” There are two reasons why someone would take an oath in this manner: 1) Abraham had been promised a “seed” by God, and this covenantal blessing was passed on to his son and grandson. Abraham made his trusted servant swear “on the seed of Abraham” that he would find a wife for Isaac. 2) Abraham had received circumcision as the sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:10). Our custom is to swear on a Bible; the Hebrew custom was to swear on circumcision, the mark of God’s covenant. The idea of swearing on one’s loins is found in other cultures, as well. The English word testify is directly related to the word testicles.

Jewish tradition also offers a different interpretation. According to Rabbi Ibn Ezra, the phrase “under the thigh” means literally that. For someone to allow his hand to be sat on was a sign of submission to authority. If this is the symbolism, then Joseph was showing his obedience to his father by placing his hand under Jacob’s thigh.

Abraham’s servant kept his oath. He not only obeyed Abraham’s instructions, but he also prayed to Abraham’s God for help. In the end, God miraculously provided Rebekah as the choice for Isaac’s wife (Genesis 24).

In the New Testament, believers are taught not to make oaths, but rather to let their “yes” mean “yes” and “no” mean “no” (James 5:12). That is, we should consider all our words to have the weight of an oath. Others should be able to trust our words without requiring an oath.

At this website: https://www.gotquestions.org/hand-under-thigh.html

And since that was a lot, I'll end this one here.

Shalom, and God Bless!

Vayera, Torah portion for 12 November 2022

 Vayera, Torah portion for 12 November 2022

Gen 18:12 "Therefore Sarah laughed within herself..."

Not out loud, but to herself, and He knew. When doubting the LORD He asked "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" (14) And no, nothing is too hard.

Gen 18:21-22 "I will go down now [to Sodom} and see wheterh they have done altogether according to the cry of it... and the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom".

The LORD told them He would destroy the city, and they went anyway. Were they wicked to the core? Or filled with unbelief? Did they doubt the LORD would do as He said He would?

Gen 19:8 "Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing: for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof."

Were his daughters not under the shadow of his roof?

Gen 19:12 "...bring them out of this place:" 13 "...we will destroy this place..." 15 "... arise take thy wife, and thy two daugters... lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city." 16 "and they brought him forth, and set him without the city." 17 "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain..."

After being told numerous times, they picked up Lot and his family and set them outside the city. And Lot still didn't want to go.

Gen 21:5 "And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him."

I'm 54, and don't want to fathom the possibility of having a child now, much less at 100.

Gen 21:18 "Arise, lift up the lad [Ishmael], and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation."

Again, Ishmael is important to the whole story, and we've not seen the end as of yet.

Gen 20:12 "And yet indeed she is my sister."

Fearing for his life, Abraham, yet again, let someone take his wife as their own. I pray that when I am 100, I've learned not to fear.

Lech Lecha, Torah portion for Nov 5, 2022

Lech Lecha, Torah portion for Nov 5, 2022

It seems that I didn't share my thoughts for last weeks portion on time. So here we go.

Gen 15:1 "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."

"Fear not", we see this in the Bible over and over again, yet Abram still made decisions based on fear, and so do we. Yet, relying on Him, we need not fear.

Gen 16: 7 "And the angel of the LORD found her [Hagar] by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur." Gen 16:10 "and the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude." Gen 16:11 "...Ishmael..." Gen 16:12 "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."

The covenant was established with the line of Isaac, this is well established through Torah, however, I feel that the angel of the LORD stepping in to bring Hagar and Ishmael back to the fold holds something we need to remember. Ishmael and his line are important to the story, and will play a key role in the end.

Gen 17:14 "And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant."

And I'll leave that right there for today.

Noach, Genesis 6:9-11:32

 Noach, Genesis 6:9-11:32

Parsha for 29 Oct '22

Gen 6:9b "...and Noah walked with God."

A just man, a perfect man in his generations.

Gen 6:11 "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence." 12 "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth."

Not just the men and women that inhabited the earth, but the earth itself. And I recall a question from a friend not too long ago, "if God made everything, and everything is good, then the purpose of the destructive virus would be... for good?" And I couldn't answer that question at the time, probably still can't, but if the earth can be corrupt by the men and women that inhabit it, then is that good? Probably not.

Gen 7:2 "Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, ... that are not clean by two."

Three pairs of clean beasts and one for sacrifice. Yes they went in two by two, but the extra clean beasts are always lost in the telling of the story.

Gen 9:3 "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things." 4: "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat."

We will see in Acts where James reaffirms that the gentiles are not limited by the Jewish dietary restrictions. Although, by eating Kosher, and observing those Jewish dietary restrictions I have seen many lead seemingly healthier lives.

B'Reisheet 22 October 2022

 B'Reisheet, Gen 1:1-6:8

Parsha for Oct 22,2022

What stands out to me as I read this portion again, is:

Gen 1:28; "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.""

Now looking at that word replenish:

re·plen·ish

/rəˈpleniSH/

verb

fill (something) up again.

It occurs to me, that one can not fill something up "again" if it was not full once already. Many say that the earth has been here billions of years, and that scripture and teachings do not "jive" with what scientists have proven. With this latest insight I do not see that the two have to clash. We may not have all the details to make it make sense to us, but that doesn't mean both narratives aren't accurate.