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Sunday, October 29, 2017

Kiddush: Sanctification of Shabbat

Every erev Shabbat (Sabbath eve) is sanctified (made holy) with the recital of kiddush (sanctification): a piece of liturgy that includes a few verses of B'resheet; a blessing recited over the wine; and a blessing for Israel's sanctification, inheritance of Shabbat, and election (chosenness).

Traditionally, the biblical quote often includes B'resheet/Genesis 1:31b-2:3. The narrative tells of the original Shabbat observed by HaShem upon completion of creation. At this point of the text, the creator is still anonymous; he is simply referred to as Elohim (God). The quote says that God shavat (he rested) from his work of creation. In Hebrew, the letter v is the same as the letter b, so it is easy to see that the word Shabbat is related to shavat. It was on account of this rest that God "blessed the seventh day and made it holy"—the first time anything (or anyone) in the Bible is referred to as holy.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Rosh chodesh: New moon

Rosh chodesh means new moon (lit. beginning of the month). Isaiah 66:23:
“Every month on Rosh-Hodesh and every week on Shabbat, everyone living will come to worship in my presence,” says Adonai.

In Colossians 2:16-17, Sha’ul/Paul wrote,
“So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in connection with eating and drinking, or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh-Hodesh or Shabbat. These are a shadow of things that are coming, but the body is of the Messiah.”

Key texts used to interpret this in Christian tradition are Isa 1:13-14 (with no regard for the context) and Gal 4:10 (which speaks of the Galatians’ former pagan practices). So, participation in rosh chodesh is widely viewed by Christians as wicked. But Sha’ul was warning his readers about asceticism; see Col 2:20-23. Ascetic disciplines have no value in restraining indulgence of the flesh (Col 2:16-17; also see 1 Tim 4:1-9). Does Sha’ul’s instruction in Col 2:16 suggest his readers were or were not engaging in these things? They were! What does the Torah prohibit on rosh chodesh? Nothing!

A shadow leads us to the body that casts it—the body of Messiah. As shadow helps us to picture what the body is like, the festivals help us to foresee the age of Messiah. Shadows don’t fill in the details of depth, colour and texture; festivals are just a foretaste of the “things that are coming”. Things that have not come yet! What things? The Messianic era!

Gen 1:14 tells us that God made the sun and the moon for the purpose of setting up a calendar for signs and appointed times (mo’edim). Similarly, Ps 104:19 says, “You made the moon to mark the mo’edim.” Signs for what? Times appointed for what?

The Bible and Apocrypha present people who celebrated rosh chodesh as righteous (e.g. the anonymous woman from Shunem and Judith). Those who despise rosh chodesh are presented in Amos 8 as wicked. Worse are those who do evil but superficially observe Shabbat and rosh chodesh just to make a good impression (Isa 1). But worst of all are those who seek to annul the mitzvot altogether and to prohibit others from keeping them (1 Maccabees).

Now that there is no temple, Jews may not offer animal sacrifices; they can only offer t'fillim/t’fillin: prayers in place/remembrance of the offerings. Messianic Jews and Messianic Gentiles can participate in Jewish customs regarding rosh chodesh, and even develop new ones.

When the temple is rebuilt, offerings for rosh chodesh will continue (Eze 45:17). The Prince of Israel—Yeshua—and all the people of the land will give special devotion to HaShem each rosh chodesh (Eze 46:1-3).

Why observe rosh chodesh now?
1.    Eze 45:17 tells us that the offerings atone for the house of Israel.
2.    In observing rosh chodesh, we celebrate God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel—see Jer 31:35-36.
3.    Rosh chodesh speaks of the renewal! Isa 66:22-23 speaks first of the renewal of creation (tikkun olam), and then worldwide observance of rosh chodesh and Shabbat. Peter stated explicitly that Messiah’s return will bring about the renewal, (Acts 3:21).


Usually, Col 2:16 is read backwards, as though the Colossians were being judged for abstaining from the festivals, Shabbat and rosh chodesh. But Sha’ul’s wording implies the opposite: believers were being judged for keeping these practices. Sha’ul forbad such judgement; non-Jews are free to participate in them. They are a shadow of what has not come yet! Though the reality is Christ, Sh’aul does not say they are obsolete; they point to a future fulfilment. The Bible presents those who keep rosh chodesh rightly as righteous, and provides good reason to celebrate it—including eager anticipation of Messiah’s return to renew all things.

Friday, October 20, 2017

The Way of Life (approbation)

In The Way of Life, Toby Janicki has authored a unique commentary on the Didache. Like the Didache itself, The Way of Life is written primarily for Messianic Gentiles and focuses on the practical application of Torah in their everyday lives. The Way of Life expounds the Didache’s instructions on how to demonstrate one’s love for Yeshua by keeping his commandments. The book is packed with precious gems selected from the recent surge in Didache studies as well as ancient Jewish sources and early Christian history, yet Janicki excels at making this academic material accessible for all practitioners of the faith. Moreover, the bulk of the book is commentary, much like a comprehensive study Bible. And Janicki looks beyond the Greek text of the Didache, relating key terms to the Hebrew words and concepts from which they were probably derived.


I found myself eagerly skipping ahead to problematic verses, seeking an explanation. What does water temperature matter for baptism? What is “the whole yoke of the Lord”? Why are some weekdays preferred to others for fasting? Why should believers offer ransom for their sins, since Yeshua has already done so? Why is the blessing for the wine given before that for the bread? What is “the day of the Lord”? Janicki has expertly provided answers to all these questions, and countless others, in The Way of Life.

I expect this book is going to reach many people who would never otherwise have read the Didache, and change their lives forever. I strongly recommend it for all Christians wanting a deeper grounding of their faith, and especially for Evangelicals pondering the Jewish Roots movement. Certainly every seminarian should read it. It’s also essential reading for informal churches in the developing world, where the instruction of Chapter 11 (on teachers, emissaries and prophets) is desperately needed to protect them from false apostles, teachers and prophets.

The Way of Life is beautifully formatted, with helpful navigational aids in the margins of the commentary sections. Each chapter has a convenient overview, a thoughtful section on practical application, and a detailed commentary.

(Published in Messiah Journal 127, 2017.)

Prayer for the removal of the Wittenberg Judensau

Father in Heaven,

You created people of every nation, and set Israel apart from all other nations for your purpose of world redemption. From Israel, you brought forth Jesus the Messiah for the salvation of all, Jew and Gentile, who entrust themselves to him. He is our shalom, having removed the hostility between us and united us in himself.

Therefore, we call upon you, O God, to bring about the removal of the Judensau in Wittenberg, and others like it in Europe, by the hand of Protestant Christians as an act of repentance. We ask for forgiveness for the severe offence which the Protestant church has committed in the name of Christ against the Jewish people. As belonging to Messiah, we are humbly grateful to be counted as descendants of Abraham, and we sincerely pray for reconciliation with the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: the Jewish people, whose divine election is irrevocable and who have yet a particular, noble purpose to fulfil in the age to come.

Blessed are you, O LORD our God, who reconciles Israel and the nations in Jesus the Messiah.

Amen

(Originally written on 11 January 2017 and shared on a petition to remove the Wittenberg Judensau; updated post here.)