Simchat Torah

The day after the completion of Sukkot is Simchat Torah which means the "Joy of Torah." The Jewish people usher in a new cycle of Torah readings for the subsequent year by dancing around Torah scrolls signifying the joy that comes with knowing God has given us His words for study and application. I was extremely privileged and blessed to be invited, by an orthodox Jew nonetheless, to participate in dancing around the Torah scrolls near the Western Wall. They even let me dance with one of the scrolls!

While I was joyously celebrating, I wondered why we in the Western church don't celebrate God's word more often. When is the last time we danced and sang with unbridled joy and appreciation while orbiting around a Bible? Why don't we publicly engage in overt praise and worship over these sacred words God has graciously given us? If a Torah scroll touches the ground, it is deemed unworthy and defiled and must be buried. Jews consider the words of God with significant weight while we unconsciously throw our Bibles on the ground like its simply another work of literature. I am guilty of the same thing, but I would like to display a greater reverence and enthusiasm for our sacred text. I also noticed how welcomed I felt to celebrate with the Jewish community. Would we draw more people to Jesus if we celebrated his words once a year in a public forum with no shame, embarrassment, or reservation like the Jewish people do?

Below are two videos clips from last night at the Western Wall during Simchat Torah. The second video is a group of Jewish students from New Jersey who are studying at a Yeshiva in Jerusalem. I was invited to be included in the inner circle. Watch and notice the emphatic lauding and jubilation they display; it almost seems boastful...in a good way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxG0d3gzhAk&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU99g64yey8

Elevark

This cheeky little critter descends from the elephant and aardvark family. He is referenced in Leviticus 11:5 (rock badger), Proverbs 30:26, and Psalms 104:18 (hyrax). 

Psalm 23

Psalm 23. It may be the most infamous passage in the Psalms and perhaps the entire Bible. Thousands of sermons have expounded upon it. Theologians have written commentaries on it's meaning. Millions of people across the world recite this chapter under duress. However, is our understanding of this verse congruent with the culture, context, and scribal intent of its time? In other words, can we truly understand this vibrant Psalm without first understanding the world of which David was immersed?

Ancient cultural imagery is the conduit by which God gains the attention of the listener. Authors of the Biblical text did not intend a separation from the context about which they are alluding to, and frequently use imagery only locals would understand. Dr. Paul Wright, the head of JUC, commented about a triune geographical thread that runs through the Bible. People, land, and God are inseparable. The Hebrew word eretz meaning "land" is the 5th most used noun in the entire Old Testament behind Lord, son, God, and king. God is trying to seize our attention with his land.

We get to Psalm 23 where David is a citizen of God's land. Despite the countless recitations and discourses regarding Psalm 23, it is difficult to grasp the thrust and profound implications of the verses if we don't enter into the context of the shepherd. Forget all you have ever thought about this passage and peer through the eyes of a shepherd:

1 The Lord is my shepherd

   I lack nothing.

Right off the bat, David sets the ontological tone and tenor of the Psalm: God is my shepherd and I am one of His sheep. A very humbling idea when I sit on it. David inverts the role he typically assumes and attributes various characteristics of himself to God.

Shepherds are typically the youngest boys in a family around 8-12 years. Below is a picture of a shepherd. They spend their time herding the sheep and ensure the safety of every single sheep. (Jesus touches on this in Matt. 18:12)  In the ancient world, sheep were like a 401k or gold. If a non family member undertook the role of a shepherd and lost a sheep, he would be required to compensate the owner of the sheep. Hence, typically family members were shepherds. 

Furthermore, a sheep cannot want anything in a dry and barren land such as the wilderness. They only get what they need to live.

Welcome to sheep country in the wilderness.

Welcome to sheep country in the Negev.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures
   He leads me to still waters

Welcome to green pastures...

"Still waters" is a euphemistic phrase for places of safety. During the wet season, rain cascades down the hills in the hill country causing massive flash floods in the wilderness. Part of a shepherd's job is to protect the sheep from these flash floods that occur in canyons called "wadis." Still waters can be springs or pools of residual freshwater from floods.

3 He renews my life
   He guides me in right paths
   as befits His name.

"He renews my life" literally reads in the Hebrew nafshi yeshoveiv, and carries the connotation of returning breath back to someone who has lost it. In fact, yeshoveiv comes from the root word shuv which is where the popular word t'shuva derives its origin. Have you ever stepped outside on a frigid winter day and felt the gusty winds suck the life from your mouth? It feels as though asphyxiation is occurring. This is the picture David is trying to convey. The wind in the wilderness is so severe at times it can create a collapsed lung effect, siphoning the breath out of your body. God is the one performing a CPR like tactic by restoring David's breathing.

If we look close at this picture above, there are paths carved into the side of this green pasture hill. These are called "paths of righteousness." The sheep work their way around the hill multiple times in search of food. Sometimes in life we feel like God may be leading us in circles on a purposeless path. However, our inability to grasp what God is teaching us as He leads us on these paths require multiple revolutions before things begin to click.

Notice how some paths are higher or lower than others. There is no symmetry. Each sheep is on its own particular path following the shepherd. Some sheep take a higher route while others prefer navigating closer to the base of the hill. We are each on our own path, heeding the shepherd's voice. Sheep don't play the comparison game. In fact, sheep rely on their cohort in front of them to lead them safely along these paths. Anatomically, sheep bear a hunched over posture which prevents their head from rising up to a level they can see well. To compensate for this physical deficiency, sheep focus on the heels of the other in front of them trusting the other sheep will steer them correct.

We need others to help us navigate our own paths. Sheep are communal beings but stand alone as dumb. Our Shepherd's voice initiates movement and response, but it is other sheep who listen and act as navigators, too.

"Paths of righteousness" can also refer to charity. God leads into giving freely to others and Himself. See the earlier post about Tzedekah.

4 Though I walk through a valley of deepest darkness,
   I fear no harm, for You are with me
   Your rod and your staff-they comfort me.

Notice David doesn't say "if" but "though." Its not a matter of if but when. During the night, shepherds must be judicious and take extra liberties to maintain order and proximity with the sheep. It can get darn near pitch black in the middle of the desert. Shepherds also must ensure no outside predators attack the flock. To prevent this from happening, shepherds carry a club-like instrument to fend off beasts from killing the sheep. Remember, sheep=gold! A shepherd will risk his own life to save a member of the flock. A goad-like staff is used to pull curious wanderers back into the group.

5 You spread a table for me in full view of my enemies
   You anoint my head with oil;
   my drink is abundant.

God, the penultimate in hospitality, welcomes David into His tent and prepares a long meal for him while his enemies (possibly Saul) leer at him. Bedouin hospitality stands on 2 major principles:
1. Protect your guest(s) at all costs even at the expense of a family member
2. Anticipate your guest's needs without them requesting anything
God offers David protection from whomever his enemies may be under His tent and visualizes David's needs in advance. Hence...

You anoint my head with oil literally reads "You fatten my head with oil." Continual exposure to the heat and dry air in the wilderness sucks the moisture out of the skin. One use of olive oil in the ancient world was a topical moisturizer. Applying olive oil, or any type of lotion for that matter, causes your skin to expand and become "fat." This is the thrust of David's line here. Not only is God providing protection and food, He goes above and beyond by elevating David, sparing no expense to make him feel at home.

6 Only goodness and steadfast love shall pursue me
  all the days of my life,
  and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for many long years.

This final verse may be my favorite. Goodness and steadfast love in Hebrew are tov v'chesed, respectively. The Hebrew word for the phrase shall pursue is yirdfuni which means to "chase me." Tov v'chesed chase me down all the days of my life. Some shepherds use sheep dogs to corral and herd the flock back into the sheep fold. Imagine 2 dogs, tov and chesed, guiding you into the house of the Lord, or the sheep fold.

I hope this illustrates David's intent with greater clarity. May it be a blessing to you.




    

God, Goat Hair, and Tents

A profound insight I acquired in class the other day involves the relationship between Bedouin tents and God. The Hebrew for tent is ohel. Tents were the primary source of housing for these nomadic sheep herders in the Biblical era. These tents were constructed from goat hair due in part to its dynamic elements. When it rains or becomes moist, goat hair contracts to prevent water from seeping into the tent. As the air becomes arid and hotter, it expands to produce tiny holes that allow a breeze to waft through the tent. Laying down and looking up at a tent during the heat of the day produces the image of a black sky with stars.

Tents also represent refuge and protection. Hospitality is a duty in Bedouin culture. Strangers may seek asylum under the tent of a Bedouin and receive food and drink before moving along on their way. Visitors are elevated above family members. A Bedouin will save a stranger and defend them at all costs; even to the point of sacrificing their own family.  

Now, rewind to the story of Abraham. Nine times in Genesis the Hebrew word ohel is used in the Abraham story. He was a transient Bedouin with a tent for a home. In Genesis 15:5, God brings Abraham outside and shows him the stars of the sky and promises his offspring will be as numerous as what he is looking at. God is communicating to Abraham in Bedouin language he understands. Abraham looks up and sees God's tent stretched out over the earth like he would see lying in his tent with tiny holes analogous to stars.

Isaiah touches on this idea in 42:5:

"Thus said God the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what it brings forth,
who gave breath to the people upon it
and life to those who walk on it."

The earth is God's tent He stretched out. We are offered provision, protection, and hospitality under His tent. He even goes so far as to sacrifice His Son for us so we can be protected from our enemy and the future Passover. Paul mentions Jesus in our "Passover lamb" in 1 Corinthians 5:7. Passover has its roots in the Hebrew word pesach which literally means "protective offering." Jesus' blood protects us from God's wrath as it did in the Exodus story. The author of Hebrews in 11:28 says:

"By faith He kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them."

Moreover, John subtly hints at Jesus pitching His tent among us in corporeal form.

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."

The Greek word skenoo can also mean tabernacle or tent. In other words, Jesus came and "tented" or "tabernacled" with us.

Amazing how God can teach us through simple things like tents. 

Biblical Environmental Factors

A rather obvious and transparent principle I recently learned on a Jerusalem field study is a concept of effective environmental genesis. From birth, how and where we grow up dramatically affects and colors our world view. The Biblical authors were heavily influenced by their culture and geographical features of the land. The accounts recorded in the Bible are a product of cultural paradigms grounded in the reality of space and time. Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure.

A view from the watershed ridge route (traversed by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) into the Hinnom Valley.

From the ridge route looking at Mt. Zion and the JUC campus.

A closer view of Mt. Zion.

Off in the distance you can see the Arab-Israeli dividing wall.

Ancient 1st century steps leading up to Herod's palace which would have been behind the wall. Jesus would have ascended these steps to visit Herod the night before his death.

Same stairs.

Same stairs.

The Western Wall.

View of the Dome of the Rock.

Sunset from my balcony.

Same sunset with a bird.

  

Scavenger Hunt

Here are some pics of an Old City scavenger hunt we did on Sunday.

Shaban's son Omar exchanging my money.

Church of the Redeemer Bell Tower 

A shopkeeper and I.

Co-students and a flafel

Israeli soldiers patrolling the streets.

Via Dolorosa sign (geography, biblical analysis, and common scholarship does not support or provide authenticity for the way of the cross by this route...hate to burst the Catholic theological bubble) 

Star of David outside the Zion gate.

Shopkeepers playing sheshbesh...similar to backgammon.