In Mortar and in Brick... - NCCG.ORG Ning Network Archive 2008-10

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Shabbat Shalom Kol Yisrael. It is our pleasure to present this week's Torah Parsha commentary by Nazarene Yisraelite Rabbi T. (Mordecai) Mitchell, Rabbi and Rosh Zaken of B'nai Yeshurun Nazarene Yisraelite Synagogue, Kittanning, Pa., and board member of the Union of Nazarene Yisraelite Congregations. It is our sincere hope and prayer that these commentaries encourage, inspire, and strengthen the body of Messiah in Kol Yisrael. This week we begin the book of Shemoth (Exodus) (Names) which is also the name of the first Parsha, Shemoth 1:1 – 6:1. Our Haftarah portions are YeshaYahu 27:6 – 28:13 and YirmeYahu 1:1 – 2:3. Our suggested Brit Chadasha readings are: MattithYahu (Matthew) 22:22—33; Acts 3:12-15; 5:27—32 and Ibrim (Hebrews) 11:23—26. Also, please read Tehillim (Psalms) 34.

This Shabbat I'd like each of us to read carefully the Parsha Shemoth. As we read, it should be our prayer that we are struck by dèjá vu, and come to the realization that history does indeed repeat itself.

Let us consider a few selected verses from this awesome second book of Torah.

1:7 And the children of Yisrael bore fruit and increased very much, multiplied and became very strong, and the land was filled with them.

8 Then a new sovereign arose over Mitsrayim who did not know Yoseph.

9 and he said to his people, “See, the people of the children of Yisrael are more and stronger than we,

10 come, let us act wisely towards them, lest they increase, and it shall be when fighting befalls us, that they shall join our enemies and fight against us, and shall go up out of the land.”

11 So they set slave-masters over them to afflict them with their burdens, and they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Ra'amses.

In the 400-plus years that Yisrael was in Egypt their original status of temporary guests of a friendy government spiraled downward to that of virtual slaves of tyranical despotism.

Hebrew sages teach that just before the Messiah comes (returns) the much of our world will be very much in a state like Egypt (Mitsrayim).

Stop for a few minutes and consider the situation we have today. In the last few weeks of this past Roman year, 2008, the vast, overwhelming majority of the world around us was engulfed in a mad frenzy to throng to the nearest shopping mall and spend themselves into debt so that they and their loved ones could have a “happy holiday.” Of course, in order to get to the malls and shopping meccas, we drive in cars, some of which may cost more than our homes. We fuel those cars and SUVs with ever increasingly expensive gasoline. During the “Black Friday” shopping frenzy, a store worker was trampled to death by buying maddened shoppers. As it turned out, however, this past shopping season was not the money making season that retailers had hoped for. While the economic downturn of the past year didn't do much to damper the out of control shopping madness of some, it was far from the proverbial shot-in-the-arm retailers had hoped for.

Now that the “Shopping Days” season is over (thankfully) the coldest days of winter are upon us, at least in most areas of the country. We now realize that it's time to replenish our heating fuel, either oil, or natural or propane gas, or perhaps coal. Although fuel prices have had somewhat of a downturn in recent months, no doubt, most of us will suffer “sticker shock” when we get our fuel bill. Too boot, we are now paying more for groceries than ever before. Food prices have escalated (make that sky rocketed) due to rising fuel costs involved in food production, processing and distribution, and due in part too, to adverse weather conditions in many parts of the nation and the world. If we are among those who get an annual cost-of-living-increase in our checks, we know that the annual COLA increases in no way keep up with creeping inflation. We get more money but it buys less. Some major companies are not giving their employees the anticipated annual raises and unemployment is at an all-time high.

Can we see a parallel here? The Yisraelites in ancient Egypt were not only enslaved to Egypt's economic system, but they were forced to make bricks “without straw.” The bricks without straw did not mean that the bricks were actually made without a straw binder to keep them together, but rather that the enslaved Yisraelites had to gather the straw as well as make the bricks. In other words, their burdens were not diminished, they were increased.

As we read in Shemoth 1:14 and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all kinds of work in the field, all their work which they made them do was with harshness.

Are these verses starting to have a familiar ring?

If we re-read 1:11 we see that the overall goal of the labor forced upon the Yisraelites was to have them build the “...supply cities, Pithom and Ra'amses.”

Here, with the tool of Gematria, we have a Remez (hint) of what is going on. Ra'amses is Strong's number 7486, the Hebrew letters, Resh, Ayin, Mem, Samek, and a second Samek. These letters have a Gematria value of 410. There are two rather sinister phrases that also have a Gematria of 410: in Vay'yiqra (Leviticus) 13:20 we have the Hebrew word “Shphal” (Sheen, Phay, and Lamed) and in Debarim (Deuteronomy) 2:21 we have Reesh-me-deem (Resh, Yod, Sheen, Mem, Yod, Dalet, and Mem sofeet) also having a Gematria of 410. The word “Shphal” means to “be lower,” and “Reesh-me-deem” means “...and he destroyed them.” But wait, there's more.

The second city was Pithom, Strong's number 6619, having a Gematria value of 520. We find a word with this same value, 520, in Debarim (Deuteronomy) 28:42: “Yey-reesh,” (Yod, Yod, Resh, Sheen) meaning “...will make poor.”

Understanding the Gematria meaning here is a “no-brainer.” Today, just as did our Yisraelite forefathers, we labor to build the sovereign's “supply cites.” Although we may get our necessary supplies, our “daily bread” from these cities, they serve only to enrich the government and “lower” us (lower both our self-esteem and lower us economically). They make us poor, and they will eventually destroy us.

Bad news! The destruction of Egypt has already begun. Collectively, modern day “Lost Yisrael” (who does not even recognize themselves as Yisrael) sinks lower and lower economically, buried in mountains of debt. We have also reached the bottom spiritually.

We cannot and must not exclude spiritual Yisrael from this quagmire. How can we justify such a statement? Just ask a group of believers to raise their hands if they want Messiah to come. No doubt every hand in the group will go up, and they will answer with a resounding “Yes,” or perhaps will proclaim the much touted phrase, “We want Mosheach, we want Mosheach now!”

But do we really want the Messiah to come? Frankly, I believe that few do. I say that because actions speak louder than words.

We should be thankful for each and every person who proclaims Yahshua as Messiah, dedicates themselves to Yahweh's Torah, and who understands and accepts the Two House Message. But now it's time for all who claim to believe to get serious.

All too often we are content to don our kippahs, wrap ourselves in a tallith, tootle our shofars, beat tambourines, do Israeli dances, sing traditional Hebrew songs, and shout and bandy about Hebrew phrases. This is all well and good, except that when the shouting is over, we return to our “fleshpots of Egypt.” We return to our comfortable homes, grab our plastic “money,” jump into our gas-guzzling vehicles, and rush to the nearest shopping mall. We ingratiate ourselves to “Pharaoh” so that we may grovel at the doors of his supply houses for increasingly smaller and increasingly more expensive rations. We complain about the rising costs of clothing food, fuel, and taxes, yet continue to spend our plastic money on foolishness, with little if any thought of tomorrow.

For a better perspective, we should consider the life of Rabbinu (our teacher) Mosheh.

As we progress in our reading of Parsha Shemoth, we learn that the life of Mosheh was saved through a highly unusual (yes, supernatural) chain of events. The irony, however, is that the life of Mosheh was spared only though his becoming, for all intents and purposes, an Egyptian. Of course, like us, he really had no say in the matter. Everything was “pre-ordained” for him, if you will.

From his earliest understanding, Mosheh knew his true identity – he knew he was of the seed of Yisrael. Yet, like most of us, until adulthood, he lived the life of an Egyptian. Even the name Mosheh is of Egyptian origin (although it has come to have deep spiritual significance for Yisraelites).

However, early in his adult life, Mosheh made a crucial decision, one that would alter his life forever. In Shemoth 2:11-12 Mosheh turns on Egypt by killing a taskmaster who he sees abusing one of his Yisraelite kinsmen. When his deed is made known, he must flee for his life. Mosheh could have turned a blind eye toward great injustice, or take action against it. He chose action. Again, we have a case of words verses actions. Mosheh was a man of few words, but much action. However, actions often have a price. Because of his action, he is forced to flee into the wilderness to save his own life.

Let us consider MattithYahu 24, the focal point of all Bible prophecy. MattithYahu 24:16 “Then let those who are in Yehudah flee to the mountains.” MattithYahu 24, of course, is speaking of the coming great tribulation period. It describes a time of war, scarcity of food, deadly diseases, and severe persecution of true believers. We must realize that Messiah cannot come until these things come about. Likewise, Yisrael could not be delivered from Egypt until Egypt was on the brink of destruction through plagues and persecution. The plagues were not metaphorical. They were in every sense of the word, real. Although each plague does have a Sod level (mystical) meaning, we must know that each plague caused great suffering to come on Yisraelites and Egyptians alike. Up to this point, both endured the first seveal plagues. We must also understand, as we will read later, that one of the plagues was that Egypt was enveloped in great darkness, a “thick” darkness “...that could be felt.”

The Yisraelites could not leave Egypt until Egypt had been, for all intents and purposes, destroyed. They also could not leave until they accepted the leadership of Mosheh. That generation was forced to give up its dependency on the supply cities and the fleshpots of Egypt. (In retrospect, perhaps because the journey, for some of them, was a forced venture, it is the reason why, after achieving freedom in the wilderness, some desired to return, even though they knew they would return to a destroyed nation). There is one additional point I'd like to make. In Shemoth 2:23 we read: And it came to be after many days that the soverign of Mitsrayim died. And the children of Yisrael groaned because of the salvery, and they cried out. And their cry came up to Elohim because of the slavery.

It is worth noting that it is not written that the Israelites ever asked to be removed from Egypt. They simply complained about their slavery and the harsh conditions imposed upon them. Of course they wanted Yahweh to hear and answer their prayer, and He did. However, we might consider that He did not answer their prayer in the exact way they wanted Him to. Often when we pray, we pray for a specific solution to our problems. We must realize that if we call upon Yahweh in sincerity and truth, He does hear and He will answer our prayers, but He may not answer in the way we exspect or even sometimes demand. Yahweh may have a plan quite different than the one we expect or call for.

In chapter three of our Parsha we have a wondrous and vital truth found in Shemoth 3:15. Although Yisrael as a nation had sunk to a low level of existence both spiritually and physically, they knew and acknowledged the Name of our Heavenly Father, Yahweh. In fact, when Mosheh encountered the burning bush in Shemoth 3, he thought that his authenticity as a prophet of Yahweh would be challenged by the people by a simple test: 3:13 “...and they say to me 'What is His Name?' what shall I say to them?” The direct answer, the very words with which Mosheh was to answer this question, is found in verse 15: “And Elohim said further to Mosheh, “Thus you are to say to the children of Yisrael, 'YHWH, Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Yitshaq, the Elohim of Ya'aqob, has sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance to all generations.”

Ancient Yisrael, it seems, had “one up” on modern-day Yisrael – despite how far they were from The Light – they knew, used and understood Yahweh's Name. It was a litmus test of truth, according to Shemoth 3: 13 — 15. Today, however, there are a significant number in so-called Messianic Yisrael who steadfastly refuse to give the glory due to Yahweh's Name, refusing to use it at all. There are also those who use it “sometimes,” mixing it with titles that do not belong to Almighty Yahweh.

Now we must consider how, like Mosheh, we find ourselves in Egypt, both physically and spiritually. We have one up on the ancient Israelites because we know there must be an Exodus. We know that our Exodus will be to Yahweh's Kingdom, and that we will have a “Mosheh” to lead us out of a dying Egypt. Like Mosheh, we know our true identity. Like Mosheh we must take action, not give mere lip service to “...wanting the Messiah to come.” Like Mosheh, we must realize that any action we take will cause us to be “banished” to the wilderness, for a time at least. We will be shunned and ridiculed by “friends” and family.

We must also consider that during the 400 or so years that Yisrael was in Egypt, many generations of people died, only to see conditions worsen with no deliverance in sight. How many perished? At least four out of five generations, perhaps more. We're talking an 80 to 90 percent casualty rate.

However, we're not talking the Holocaust here. The Holocaust is past history, but was a precursor of what is yet to come. Were talking a new and even more terrible holocaust. Again, we must read MattithYahu 24. Note that it's not the “Sunday keepers,” who will be persecuted, it's the Sabbath keepers: 24:20 And pray that your flight does not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.

As economic conditions worsen (and they will worsen) history will repeat itself and the world will become increasingly anti-Semitic. Anything and anyone that smacks of Judaism will be come targets of hatred and persecution. Recent cases such as the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme affair do their part to fuel anti-Semitism and incite hatred directed toward Jewish people. Once again, the Jews, and anyone classed as a Jew, will become the world's scapegoats. The Bible, Yahweh's infallible Word, says so. History says so. All true logic and common sense say so. Believe it.

Yahshua our Messiah said in MattithYahu 6:24 “No man is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he shall cleave to the one and despise the other. You are not able to serve Elohim and mammon.”

What's the answer? How can we flee Egypt now, where can we go? The answer is, we cannot flee now. We must have a Mosheh to guide us at the right time. We must personally witness the destruction of Egypt. We must go through the darkness of Egypt, knowing full well, that although the Egyptians were enveloped in complete and total darkness, the Yisraelites had Light in their dwellings. Moreover, although the Yisraelites lived in the very same land as the Egyptians, they lived separately from them.

Perhaps Yahshua had these ideas in mind when He said in MattithYahu 6:19-21.

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal,

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart shall be also.”

Certainly one way we can fulfill this admonition from our Messiah is to spend more time in spiritual pursuits. We must spend more time in private, personal, heartfelt prayer. We must spend more time studying to show ourselves approved. Some money spend on good spiritually based books is money well spent. If you don't know what books to buy, ask the Union Rabbis. We can and will make sound recommendations, depending on your level of spiritual growth and how far you indicate you are willing to go.

We must understand that we are not talking “religion” here, or “being religious.” As we have said many times before, we are talking Spirituality. It's all about becoming more Spiritual, about living our faith, about putting our beliefs into action. Our end goal is that we may have the strength to endure the times of the plagues and persecution and at the right moment, be ready and willing to leave Egypt altogether.

Certainly one thing that has been placed on the hearts of JoAnne and I lately is the keeping of Yahweh's Shabbat. We have come to realize that our Sabbath keeping of even the recent past, was simply too lax. We have realized that while we were not necessarily transgressing or violating certain aspects of Shabbat keeping, we were missing out on many spiritual blessings because we were ignorant of certain practices that would enhance our understanding of and participation in the Sabbath.

As we discussed some of the information we've learned with people we know, some have scoffed and said that we're “...becoming too Jewish.” To that charge we have only to say, “HalleluYah.” Let us become even more “Jewish.”

Yahweh willing, my dear wife, Rebbitzen Yohanah (JoAnne) will have completed, or nearly completed, her personal study of what we may call “enhanced” or “rejuvenated” Shabbat keeping by next Succot. At that time, again Yahweh willing, she will give a teaching, possibly in several parts. What she has learned and shared with our family she will share with all at Yahweh's Feast of Succot.

Mosheh did not live up to his true identity and turn his back on the trappings of Egypt because he suddenly became “religious.” Mosheh gained the courage to act because he allowed the Ruach to guide him into greater spirituality, not “greater religion .” As we read Parsha Shemoth in the right frame of mind, we will be empowered to leave our own personal Egyptian bondage. We will become spiritually strengthened and begin to grow in The Light. This “Light” of course, is the same Light that we read of in Bereshith (Genesis) chapter 1, and Yohanan (John) chapter 1. This Light, our Messiah Yahshua, will be our Rabbinu Mosheh, Who will lead us in a second Exodus, both a physical and a spiritual journey, out of Egypt.

May Almighty Yahweh bless us all as we seek to understand more of His Word and come to realize that the Words of Scripture are not “mere words,” but Words of Life and Light, and Understanding, Knowledge, and Wisdom.

Questions or comments regarding this week's Parsha commentary may be addressed to Rabbi Mitchell by e-mail at: yoel@arm-tek.net.

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