Barry ben Levi

What a sensitive issue! I believe we all need to be concerned about a central spiritual issue that is involved in judging others. I have seen the impact on a congregation for judging anothers "heart". That is something we NEVER want to be found guilty of. In Paul's letter to the Corinthians <I Cor. 5>, I believe he was not talking about judging a man's heart, but acting according to the man's actions. Paul was talking about helping the man change his behavior! God will judge the heart. In Mt 7:1, and Lk 6:37-42, among others we are told to be careful that we don't judge the heart of a man. When I feel someone is being judgmental of me, I do resent it.. it's difficult not to respond unfavorably (the "punch'm out way... Ha!) So... I strive to act and be a bit different than that. And pray... and let God handle the rest of it.

Well, I say it needs our undivided attention because we don't know the future - Not even the next minute! The inspiration of hope is this; God controls the future and if we are living in His salvation, then it's gonna work out. If not.... there is a very deep grave waiting. That's sobering to me - no salvation... NO hope. I heard from a Rabbi that we should ALL strive for forgiveness and Salvation on the day BEFORE we die!

I would describe Holiness as "fully acceptable to be in God's presence". For an example of what I mean, look at Isaiah (Is ch 6) where he is brought before God. In Isiah's on words, he says he could not speak because he was too impure. Isiah saw himself as not being Holy, until the Fiery Angel touched Isiah's lips with a hot coal held with tongs! After that Isaiah could stand and speak before the Creator. At Mt. Sinai, the people of Israel could not even stand and hear God speak - they listened to the first two Commandments, then moved waaaay back because of their discomfort. So... God told them what they could do in order to become Holy. Obey Him! Follow His precepts! In what sense could one be considered Holy today? Do the same thing.. Follow God's commandments, and accept the forgiveness for sins through the Messiah. When we do those things, we begin to experience the refining process that all believers go through. He does see us as "Holy and acceptable.... " because He sees us, covered by the blood of the Supreme Sacrifice, through Jesus, as Holy.

q4. Difficult circumstances. Refining. Last August our synagogue lost our beloved Rabbi in a terrible accident. We are a small congregation. So what do we do? Some of the congregation began stepping forward to continue the teaching, something we had never (even considered doing) done before! Instead of collapsing, our congregation appears to be growing.... And those of us who are teaching, I believe, are learning a lot more than we teach! AND, we are learning to teach. It is difficult. Sometimes, either in our zeal, or through lack of understanding, we make mistakes. We are learning to deal with our mistakes. We are learning that if we are not careful, we can even tell a truth, and sin... And there is so very much to learn! Through difficult circumstances we are learning. We are studying. We are being refined. It is not easy. It is not comfortable. But... we are committed to serving the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We are committed as a congregation of Jewish, and non-Jewish, to learning about the Messiah. About how to present Him. About the sensitivities of persons on both sides of the aisle. I am also a soldier who has spent much time in the Middle East. My wife has also lost both a brother and her father during this period. It is terribly dis-heartening. But...we are committed to serving God. So... what I will do is ask that all of you - please pray for our congregation. We are (all of us... & all of you) a community of "learners", which Adonai wants us to be. It is truly wonderful that God encourages us to learn. Study is a blessing and a good way to worship! Education also is a refining process in itself, isn't it.

Q3. We can look in Exodus (12:21-30) for an answer for both God's part and our part. God was going to bring the Plague of death of the first-born in Egypt. God told- first, what was going to happen & second what the people were to do for redemption. God's part: A. Helping all to understand who He is. B. Being a God who does what He says He will do. God told the people that if they followed His instructions (carefully), He would keep the 'Destroyer' from their households. The Hebrews believed. They acted on that belief. They obeyed. Then they trusted. They had faith in this: That God is not only a God of Judgement... He is also the God of Salvation!God said what He was going to do. He did what He said He would do. He 'honored' not just their 'faith' - He honored their active demonstration of their Faith in Him! We can say "I believe", but how is one to know we believe if our actions don't also "speak" for us? so... God's part: Saying what He is going to do. Our part: Doing what God says to do. God's part: Doing what He says He will do. Our part: Trusting that God's word is true, and acting on that faith! Faith is not passive. Faith is not just active. Faith is inter-active. It involves action on our part that allows God to do His part for us! (whew! sorry about the wordiness)

Q2. Repentence for wrongdoing involves doing a turn-about. We change from moving away from God to moving toward God. In this sense, we are showing why forgiveness and obedience are an inseperable package. He offers forgiveness.. He calls... and when we turn toward Him, we are moving into a relationship of learning and obedience. "By his grace we are saved" .. Grace is Chen and Chesed ( favor and loyal love and kindness). We cannot earn salvation. God provides it! It is undeserved favor. James (1:25) encourages us to study Torah (Gen - Deut) for a reason. When we study, we learn more about how our God wants us to live, and why. The "works" that are involved do something special for us. The 'works' of living for God in fact bring us in line for the Blessings He tells us He has for us. ...and... If we are not obedient - well, we walk a path towards an uncomfortable future, and that's just not what God wants for us. We try to follow the guidelines for living He has set up for us in Torah for a reason. No, doing works doesn't save us. What it DOES do, however, is this: It matches the physical side of our nature with the spiritual. It brings us into a harmony of spirit and flesh. Our actions (works) match what is in the "... heart of flesh" God has given us. If we read in Ezek 36:26, we can understand that God has removed our "...Heart of stone" (we WERE dead) ... and has replaced it with a ... "heart of flesh"(we ARE alive! Yaaaa!). He gives us a new heart and spirit because He is God of the living, not of the dead.

For me the answer is in a midrash, or allegory, as told (to Rabbi David Bockman) by an American Indian Elder: "...Inside me are two dogs. One is kind and good. The other is mean and evil. The mean dog fights the other all the time" When the Elder was asked which dog would win, he stated, "... The one I feed the most." In Torah, we see this story within the family of Isaac; in that sense, Jacob and Easu represent, to me, what our inner nature is like. Esau represents yetzer hara, the inclination towards the physical (or, if you will -evil) and Jacob represents yetzer hatov, the inclination towards the spiritual (or -good). Now Esav need not be viewed as evil, nor Yaakov as good. We can see from this story that the "good guy" actually took unfair advantage of his bro, as in when he traded Easu for a bowl of lentil soup for birthright. Then this good guy, Jacob, actually steals the blessing! Oye! Interesting thing about the blessings - is that Isaac actually blessed both equally, although 180 degrees out. So what was the difference? Jacob sought out things of a spiritual nature, while his brother sought out those of a very physical nature. One sought something for the "moment" - the other sought something "worth waiting for". result: Esav's descendents became the Romans. Yaakov's descendents became the House of Israel, and led to the Messiah! I can say that it's very easy to get caught up in things of "the moment", but I'm sooo very glad for the gift of salvation in the Messiah, and for the 'Spirit of Truth' He breathes into us to help us continue to seek out things that really matter. The Romans are a "dead" issue - This homeland's gonna go away. The Messiah is a living one! I think I'd rather wait a bit, and settle into something "worth waiting for" with the "God of the Living".