More than Writers

  Last week, my lovely, free Yeshua Group Online discussed the conundrum that Jesus was both celibate and a Jew. The things is that Jews are not supposed to be celibate. No, Jews marry. “The deliberate renunciation of marriage is all but completely alien to Judaism.” says the Jewish Virtual Library.  A SECOND WIFE IN WAITING This is so important that, i n second temple times, when Jesus walked on earth, the Chief Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur to atone for his people if he was a married man . Since polygamy among priests was not acceptable then, they would line up a reserve wife, just in case something terrible should happen to the first one at the last minute. In so, the second woman could step in to take her place. Chabad Jews declare : “The first  mitzvah (a good deed commanded by God) in the Torah is to “be fruitful and multiply." As the verse in Genesis states: "And G‑d said to them, ' Be frui...

Last week, Brendan Conboy raised with me on his Creative Christians Chat Show Podcast the issue of whether it is okay to write midrash.  He wasn’t sure it was kosher. Midrash is a Hebrew word that means from ( mi) exposition ( drash ) It is putting flesh on the Bible’s bare bones. It’s not surprising that the Bible is skeletal, given the work and cost of handwriting on vellum in ancient times. Midrash explains and deepens the text. SINCE ANCIENT TIMES It can take the form of commentary or story. Midrash actually goes back to ancient priests, rabbis and scribes who, through the centuries, have hotly debated and interpreted every line of the Bible, initially orally but written down in what would become a wordy collection of tomes in the 2 nd century AD. Christians have also long debated texts and their meanings, with midrashic apocryphal stories emerging, such as Mary Magdalene who was long portrayed as a penitent prostitute, without any biblical evidence for this assumption...

  In this post:  MEDABER (SPEAKING) / CENTERING PRAYER / PRAYING INTO JESUS STORIES / LECTIO DIVINA / COMMUNITY / TAKING IT DEEPER / JOURNALING / HELPING OTHERS Read previous post. MEDABER IN THE MIDBAR – SEEKING TO SPEAK WITH GOD Today, as promised in my last post about Jesus' conversations with God as he fasted in the desert (April 3 rd ), I will explore ways we can medaber (Hebrew ‘speak') with God in the midbar , ((not necessarily an actual desert, but a place of peace where we can connect). Perhaps the most difficult thing to get beyond is that, after an initial prayer seeking his wisdom, it is God’s turn to speak. Our role is to shut up and listen. This is hard. Whenever I try to open myself up to what he would like to say to me, I struggle with invasive thoughts. I chatter away. If I try to stop the chatter and clear my mind, I find myself filling in the blank space with thoughts about the shopping… Sometimes, however – oh bliss - I hear something that guides, ...

Yesterday was Candlemas. This festival has been celebrated on 2 nd February since the 5 th century. It is still celebrated today by Anglicans, Catholics and other denominations. Candlemas brings light to mid-winter through candles lit at churches to symbolize Jesus as the Light of the World. The original meaning of this festival, however, was to mark forty days from Christmas, considered the birthday of Jesus. Luke’s Gospel (2:22-40) tells that, on this day, Mary and Joseph went to the Jerusalem Temple for her Purification after Childbirth, in accordance with Torah , (Lev. 12), and for the Redemption of the Firstborn (Pidyon haBen ) for Jesus. The Redemption of the Firstborn remembers how God saved the firstborn male Israelite slaves from the Angel of Death, who passed over their homes, whose doors were daubed with the blood of a lamb, at the time of the Tenth Plague of Egypt. Ever since, firstborn sons have been deemed to belong to God, unless redeemed by their families. Ever...