What can we learn from the story about the woman caught in adultery?

There are many stories in the bible that contain valuable lessons for us, outside of direct teachings of the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and Yeshua himself.  These are either real life events or parables.  One such story, which is not a parable, is the story of the woman caught in adultery.  Here is the story in context:

John 8:2-11
² Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  
³ Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 
⁴ they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 
⁵ Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.But what do You say?”  
⁶ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
⁷ So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 
⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 
⁹ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
¹⁰ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

There are a few facts we need to establish from this story:

1.  This event happened inside the temple
2.  There were no witness brought forward, only accusers
3. They did not bring the man she was accused of committing adultery with. 
4. At this period in history, the Jews did not have the power to execute a judgement the resulted in death
5. The accusers were scribes and Pharisees
6. Yeshua tells the woman to go and sin no more

Why is the location significant?  This is an obvious attempt at a trial against the woman and yet they bring her to the temple?  Is the purpose of the temple to hold court and accuse someone of sin?  No, absolutely not.

Isaiah 56:7
Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Matthew 21:13
And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.' ”

The purpose of the temple is to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices, and to pray to the holy one of Israel, not to engage in judgement.  The scripture clearly tells us where judgement is to occur:

Deuteronomy 21:18-21
¹⁸ “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them,  
¹⁹ then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. 
²⁰ And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’
²¹ Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.

You can see that the place of judgement is in the city gates.  Why?  The reason is because this is where you have the most witnesses and other people going through the gates to participate in the process.

Proverbs 1
21 She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city
She speaks her words:
 
Ruth 4
4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down. ² And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 
⁹ And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi.  
¹⁰ Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”  
¹¹ And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. 

According to Scripture, if you want to decide a legal matter, you need to go to the gates and gather witnesses and elders.  In fact, Boaz gathered a full minion, 10 men, as witnesses to the legal proceeding happening before their eyes.  This was not done in private without any record.  The reason you accuse someone of a crime before so many witnesses is to render true judgement, so that the accuser and the one accused can have a fair and just ruling on the matter.  The accuser is rarely an objective witness.  Dealing with a legal matter one on one is a sure path to failure and destruction.  Those who judge on the matter must be objective without any motivation to rule falsely.  They should hear the evidence, including all witnesses and those accused, and then rule righteously.

Deuteronomy 16
¹⁸ “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.  
¹⁹ You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.  
²⁰ You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 19
¹⁵ “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. 
¹⁶ If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, 
¹⁷ then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days.
¹⁸ And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother,
¹⁹ then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you. 
²⁰ And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you.
²¹ Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

 These passages of scripture are key to understand how to uphold justice in a crime.  Deut 19:17 clearly says that both the one accused and the one making the accusation will come before the priests and the judges.  You cannot have a trial without both the one accused and the one making the accusation, and there must be a group, not a single person, investigating the accusation.  These judges should be impartial (Deut 16:19).  Making a false accusation is a very serious crime and results in the accuser receiving the same punishment they intended upon the one they accused.

Going back to the original list, the next item we need to understand from the story is that the Jews did not have the power of capital punishment.  That is, to sentence someone to death and execute them.

John 18:31
³¹ Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.”
Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,”

Asking Yeshua to rule on a capital punishment case and actually execute on that judgement was unlawful at the time this story occurs.  As the Scripture says, "Render unto Caeser's what is Caesars's".  This was clearly a trap meant to ensnare him.  He could not win either way, which is why he chose another path.

Notice who the accusers are in this story who have clearly already rendered judgement.  They are scribes and Pharisees.  The scriptures above clearly identify that it is the role of the judges and priests to render judgement, not the scribes and Pharisees.  At the time of this story, the priestly class was the Sadducees and they are not identified as being present.

Finally, they leave the scene when they are convicted of their own sin and nobody is left to accuse the woman.  What does Yeshua say?  Go and sin no more.  Did he say she was innocent?  No, not at all, but rather he declared that this was an improper trial and no judgement can be rendered in such a case.  Instead, he knew she was guilty, but did not declare a judgement against her other than mercy for her, and to tell her to stop sinning.

Keep in mind that your first resort should not be to bring the person to the city gates where the elders sit in tribunal.  Here is the progression of events as described in the scriptures:

Matthew 18
¹⁵ “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  
¹⁶ But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’
¹⁷ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

Many people think this passage is about excommunication, but where does it say anything about kicking the person out of the church?  Nowhere.  Notice though, what the progression is.  First you speak with the person one on one.  If you cannot resolve the situation with a one on one conversation, you bring other witnesses with you so that you may have witnesses.  If that still does not resolve the problem, bring that person before the entire congregation where the matter can be heard and a judgement rendered.  If the person is guilty throughout all this process, you are to treat them like a heathen and a tax collector.

Please take special note - you cannot simply go through this process of escalation one on one.  The first step is very loving and is one on one.  If that doesn't work, no further communication is to be one on one.  It is always amongst a group.  Any judgement rendered one on one is to be considered invalid and should be considered as suspect as a possible false witness, which takes us back to Deuteronomy 19.  At no place in all of scripture does it allow for a judgement to be rendered one on one.  That interaction is to repair a broken relationship in a loving fashion, not to render judgement against that person, no matter who the people involved are.

Is the story about Lazarus and the rich man a parable?

There are those that say that the story about Lazarus and the rich man is not a parable, usually by those who believe in everlasting torment after we die. The question remains though - is it a parable or isn't it? Here is how dictionary.com defines a parable:

"a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson."

This begs the question, what is an allegory? Here is how it is defined at the same source:

"a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another."

Does this match up with the idea that the story of Lazarus and the rich man is a parable? Let's find out. What is the point of the story? To teach about the afterlife or to teach another message? Let me quote a few verses from the parable first.

Luke 16

29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’

30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

This sounds like the core message here is to talk about repentance, not what your fate is after death. Usually in most parables taught by Yeshua, he explains it after he is done telling the story. Let's see if that is the case here as well.

Luke 17

1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!

2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Clearly the main point that is being made here is to repent, and not to teach a profound new lesson about the afterlife not found in any other scripture. If the point of a parable is to teach a moral lesson, then I think we found the point of this parable - it is to teach about repentance, and that it is important to do so before you die. What is also interesting is that we learn about repentance from the teachings of Moses in the Torah, not from the New Testament.

It is always key to understand what a parable is teaching about and not impose another lesson or teaching upon it. Find the core message and discard the rest. This is much like the story of Peter and the sheet.

Acts 10

11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.

12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.

13 And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”

15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”

16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

Is this passage talking about eating unclean animals? How does Peter interpret the vision?

28 Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Peter clearly says the message of the vision was not about eating unclean animals but rather about keeping company with Gentiles. If we can see in this example of how the vision says one thing in the literal sense but is actually teaching something at the allegorical level, how much more so in the example of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man?

Scripture is interpreted on multiple levels:

1. Peshat (literal)

2. Remez (symbolic)

3. Derash (allegorical)

4. Sod (hidden)

In the case of a parable, it resides within the realm of a Derash interpretation, not a Peshat one. You will not get the primary focus of the story if you dwell on the Peshat. For example, in the parable of the sower, are we to focus on the literal meaning and learn how to plant seed properly in the ground so that it will grow, or are we to focus on the actual allegorical meaning of the story? It is clear we are to focus on the allegorical meaning of the story.

One thing to keep in mind is that Yeshua even told us early in his ministry that he spoke in parables to disguise the real meaning and thus, we should not be looking at the literal meaning of the text to understand what he is saying:

Matthew 13

11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

The two primary objections I have heard against the story being a parable are:

1. It doesn't say it is a parable in the text

2. It talks about a specific man (the rich man in this case)

Let's examine these one at a time. Does it matter if the story says it is a parable? Are other parables also not identified as a parable in the text? Look at the parable of the prodigal son. Everyone agrees this story is a parable. Read the entire text of Luke 15 and you will not see one sentence that says this story is a parable. You can even read chapter 16, and it doesn't summarize the story by saying it is a parable - it simply goes on to the next parable.

Does it matter that it talks about a specific man? Here is the verse in question:

Luke 16

19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.

Are there any other parables that start the same way? Let's take a look into the scriptures:

Luke 16

1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.

Luke 15

11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.

Both of the above stories are parables and talk about "a certain man". Clearly the fact that it talks about a certain man has no bearing on whether it is a parable or not.

For those who say the problem is it names Lazarus, Abraham and Moses by name and so it clearly cannot be a parable, please look at this parable from the Torah:

Ezekiel 23

1 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying:

² “Son of man, there were two women,
The daughters of one mother.
³ They committed harlotry in Egypt,
They committed harlotry in their youth;
Their breasts were there embraced,
Their virgin bosom was there pressed.
⁴ Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister;
They were Mine,
And they bore sons and daughters.
As for their names,
Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

This story is clearly a parable, and there are several names listed.

Some other things to consider about the story. If this story is talking about the typical belief that righteous people go to Heaven and the unrighteous go to hell, we need to realize that Lazarus is never described as a righteous man - he simply was poor and unable to care for himself. Yeshua also never says the rich man was unrighteous and guilty of sin. He simply says that the man was rich and lived a good life. If we are to take the standard interpretation about the story, then we must have the position that rich people go to hell and suffer eternal torment and poor people go to heaven.

Also, the word that is translated as torment in Luke 16:23 is the Greek word βάσανος. This word has several meanings, but this is the first definition:

"a touchstone, which is a black siliceous stone used to test the purity of gold or silver by the colour of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal"

In other words, it is a word that means a trial or testing. God does not cause us to sin, but he clearly puts us through trials.

James 2
² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 
³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 

The word torment also appears in Luke 16:24 which comes from the Greek word ὀδυνάω. This word is described as anguish or pain, but in the vein of letting scripture interpret scripture, we find the same word in Luke 2:48

Luke 2

48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

The word translated as anxiously here is the same word that is translated as torment in Luke 16:24. The word means an emotional distress or pain and not a literal physical pain.

Given all of the above information, I can only conclude that this is indeed a parable which was told to teach a lesson of repentance and had nothing to do with your fate once you die.

Why do we count the Omer

Counting of the Omer (Hebrew: ספירת העומר, Sefirat HaOmer, sometimes abbreviated as Sefira or the Omer) is a verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days between the moedim of Passover and Shavuot.

It is noted specifically by the following blessing, which we are to recite in order to count the days leading up to Shavuot:

Baruch atah YHVH Elohenu melech haolam asher kideshanu b'mitzvotav
vetzivanu al sefirat haomer.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has
sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the
counting of the Omer.

Today is the 21st day of 50 of counting the Omer.  Shabbat Shalom.

This mitzvah ("commandment") derives from the Torah commandment to count forty-nine days beginning from the day on which the Omer, a sacrifice containing an omer-measure of barley, was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, up until the day before an offering of wheat was brought to the Temple on Shavuot. The Counting of the Omer begins on the second day of Passover (the 16th of Nisan) for Rabbinic Jews (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform), and after the weekly Shabbat during Passover for Karaite Jews, and ends the day before the holiday of Shavuot, the 'fiftieth day.'

An omer is a unit of measure which respresent one sheaf of grain and is the same amount of manna gathered daily for each person by the nation of Israel while there were in the wilderness.

The idea of counting each day represents spiritual preparation and anticipation for the giving of the Torah which was given by God on Mount Sinai at the beginning of the month of Sivan, around the same time as the holiday of Shavuot. The Sefer HaChinuch (published anonymously in 13th century Spain) states that the Hebrew people were only freed from Egypt at Passover in order to receive the Torah at Sinai, an event which is now celebrated on Shavuot, and to fulfill its laws. Thus the Counting of the Omer demonstrates how much a Hebrew desires to accept the Torah in his own life.

The scripture for this commandment is derived from Leviticus 23:15-16

15 And you shall number to you from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring in the omer of the wave offering; they shall be seven complete Sabbaths;
16 to the next day after the seveth Sabbath, you shall number fifty days; and you shall bring near a new food offering to YHVH;

This is directly related to the Jubilee from Leviticus 25:8-13

8 And you shall number to yourself seven Sabbaths of years, seven years times seven, and all the days of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you forty nine years.
9 And you shall let a ram's horn resound, a signal in the seventh month, in the 10th of the month; in the day of atonement, let a ram's horn pass throughout all your land;
10 and you shall make the fiftieth year holy, one year.  And you shall proclaim liberty in the land to those living in it; He shall be a jubilee to you.  And you shall return every man to his possession; yea, you shall turn back to his family.
11 It is a jubilee year, the fiftieth year; it is to you.  You shall not sow, nor reap that which grows of itself, nor gather from the unkempt vines;
12 for it is a jubilee, it is holy to you; you shall eat its increase out of the field.
In the year of jubilee you shall return each one to his possession.
13 In the year of jubilee you shall return each one to his possession.

Counting the omer also represents the unification and completion of both Salvation and Sancitification.  YHVH rescued the people of Israel from Egypt (Salvation), led them through the Red Sea (Baptism) and gave them the Torah on Mount Sinai (Sanctification).

Narcissism

What is a Narcissist and from where did the term originate?  Narcissism is a term that originated with Narcissus in Greek mythology who fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water. Currently it is used to describe the pursuit of gratification from vanity, or egotistic admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes, that derive from arrogant pride. 

Psychologists define a clinical narcissist by behaviors such as these:

• Jealousy and possessiveness
• Excessive need to feel special, adored, loved, appreciated, or admired
• Rage attacks when you do not sufficiently meet his/her needs
• Controlling behaviors (trying to control how you spend your time, who you talk to, how you dress, etc.)
• Inflated self-esteem, or grandiosity (bragging, “fishing” for compliments)
• Dramatic, insecure behaviors
• Expecting you to take responsibility for making him/her feel better about him/herself
• Blaming you for behaviors or feelings (i.e., “you made me do this,” or “you made me feel this way.”)
• Not taking responsibility for angry behavior and justifying angry outbursts
• An attitude that demonstrates “the world revolves around me” and “you need to cater to my ideas, opinions, thoughts, and feelings.”
• An unwillingness to reflect on his/her own behaviors
• Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
• Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
• Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
• Requires excessive admiration
• Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
• Is inter-personally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
• Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
• Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
• Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
• When narcissism has a hold of someone, they will feel very lonely and desperate for the affection of a ‘perfect’ person who will be sympathetic and adore them. Sadly this ‘perfect’ person is actually an illusion in the narcissist’s mind, a tormenting fantasy that will make their life miserable and make them very hard on the people who they live with.
• Because narcissists’ self-image is so scanty and fragile, they depend on the reflection of themselves in others’ perception to be aware of themselves. Social isolation, such as comes following the loss of a job, the failure of a marriage, or the alienation of friends and family, has swift and terrible effects on narcissists. Their thinking quickly deteriorates into chaotic in-coherency and disorganization.

The Bible has much to say about individuals with traits of Narcissism.  Some of the more notable traits are pride, rather than humility, deflecting blame that rightly belongs with them to others, and always trying to build themselves up by getting others to rally to their side.

Gen 3

11 And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the

tree of which I commanded you not to eat?

12 And the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me, she has

given to me of the tree, and I ate.

13 And YHVH Elohim said to the woman, What is this you have done?

And the woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

1 Sam 18

7 And the women who were playing answered and said, Saul has slain his

thousands, but David his ten thousands.

8 And it very much burned Saul, and this thing was evil in his eyes. And he

said, They have given ten thousands to David, and to me they have given

thousands. And is there more to him, except the kingdom?

9 And from that day forward Saul was watching David.

Isaiah 14

12 Oh Lucifer, son of the morning, how you have fallen from the

heavens! You weakening the nations,you are cut down to the ground.

13 For you have said In your heart, I will go up to the heavens; I will raise

my throne above the stars of El, and I will sit in the mountain of appointment, in the sides of the north.

14 I will rise over the heights of the clouds; I will be compared to Elyone

(The Most High)

Proverbs 11

2 Pride comes, then shame comes, but with the humble is wisdom.

Proverbs 16

18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Pr 11:2)

Proverbs 29

22 An angry man stirs up contention, and a furious one abounds in transgression.

Mark 10

42 But having called them near, Yeshua said to them, You know that those who are reckoned as chiefs of nations are their masters and their great men are in authority over them.

43 But it shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.

44 And whoever of you desires to become first, he shall be slave of all.

45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to

give His life as a ransom for sake of many.

Luke 14

7 And He was speaking a parable to them who were invited there, because

He was seeing those who were choosing places among the front seats.

8 When you are invited by anyone to wedding feasts, do not recline at the

chief seat lest one more honorable than you be invited by him,

9 and coming, he who invited you will say to you, Give this one place.

And then you begin with shame to take the last place.

10 But when you are invited, going in, recline at the last place, so that

when he who has invited you may come, he may say to you, Friend, go up

higher. Then glory will be to you before those reclining with you.

11 For everyone exalting himself will be humbled, and the one humbling

himself will be exalted.

Luke 18

9 And He also spoke this parable to some of those relying on themselves,

that they are righteous, and despising the rest:

10 Two men went up into the sanctuary to pray, the one a Pharisee,

and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee was standing, praying these things to himself:

Elohim, I thank You that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, covetous,

adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

12 I fast twice in the week; I tithe all things, as many as I get.

13 And standing at a distance, the tax collector would not even lift up his

eyes to Heaven, but smote on his breast, saying, Elohim, be merciful to

me, a sinner!

14 I say to you, This one went down to his house having been justified,

rather than that one. For everyone exalting himself will be humbled. And

the one humbling himself will be exalted.

2 Timothy 3

1 But know this, that in the last days disastrous times will be upon us.

2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, braggarts, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked,

3 without natural feeling, addicted to lust, slanderers, without self-control, savage, haters of good,

4 traitors, hasty, boasters, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of Elohim,

5 having a form of righteousness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these.

You will find Narcissists in every walk of life and will include co-workers, bosses/managers and family members.  It is especially hard to deal with a family member who has this trait.  You can always quit a job, but you can't just leave a family.  Either you have to ignore the behavior (very difficult to do at times), break off any relationship you have with them, or convince them to seek help for the condition.  Keep in mind that it is very unnatural for the Narcissist to seek help for this condition since it is in their nature to feel they are always right and have done nothing wrong.  The presence of such a person in your life can be very debilitating and leave you feel helpless to fix the dysfunctional situation.  Often time, the only solution is to get them to realize the pain they are causing, not just to others but to themselves as well, and hope that they can feel the pain so intensely that they will seek out help.

There's a really good verse in the Torah that speaks on many levels, and I will attempt to touch on some of them tonight: "You shall not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shall you speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:" - Exodus 23:2

This verse was made famous in the trail of Rabbi Eliezer. Rather than quote the entire incident, allow me to summarize. The distinguished Rabbi was arguing alone against a group of other Rabbis about whether or not a an item was ritually pure or unpure. He called upon miracle after miracle to prove that he was right, but in the end, the majority was against him and did not agree with him. They ultimately invoked what is known in Judaism as a Takanot. For those unaware, a Takanot is a decree of the Rabbis/Pharisees that changes biblical law, in direct contradiction to the written word found in Deuteronomy 4:2 - “Do not add to the Word which I command you, and do not take away from it, so as to guard the commands of יהוה your Elohim which I am commanding you." Instead of following the written commands found in the Torah, the Rabbis directly contradicted what Moses wrote and instead quote selectively from the above verse in Sh'mot.

This is what is referred to commonly as eisegesis - imposing your own view upon the text (frequently by starting with an opinion and twisting the text to say what you want it to say) instead of exegesis which is to allow the text to tell you what it says. Instead of letting the verse say that you should not follow after a multitude to do evil, they interpret the verse to say "incline after the majority". Is that what is actually meant by the scripture though? The Torah is not some kind of divine code to only be interpreted by the scholars, scribes and leaders of the people. No, it is meant to be understood by the common farmer and fisherman. Anyone who says different is just not being honest with the full intent of the message from the creator.

The philosophy expressed by the Rabbis here that only they can interpret the written text of scripture because it is a divine code, and only they have been directed and inspired to translate it, is the same thing the Catholic church said for almost the entire period known as the Dark Ages. They burned people at the stake for having the audacity to print the Bible into the language of the common man. Where do we find an example of what I speak of? What gives me the idea that the Bible was given in such a way as to come away with the understanding that it was written for the common man to understand it? There's a couple places that tell me this.

Deuteronomy 30
11 “For this command which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for you, nor is it far off.
12 “It is not in the heavens, to say, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’
13 “Nor is it beyond the sea, to say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’ 
14 “For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart – to do it.

Deuteronomy 31
9 And Mosheh wrote this Torah and gave it to the priests, the sons of Lĕwi, who bore the ark of the covenant of יהוה, and to all the elders of Yisra’ĕl.
10 And Mosheh commanded them, saying, “At the end of seven years, at the appointed time, the year of release, at the Festival of Booths,
11 when all Yisra’ĕl comes to appear before יהוה your Elohim in the place which He chooses, read this Torah before all Yisra’ĕl in their hearing.
12 “Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and your sojourner who is within your gates, so that they hear, and so that they learn to fear יהוה your Elohim and guard to do all the Words of this Torah.
13 “And their children, who have not known it, should hear and learn to fear יהוה your Elohim as long as you live in the land you are passing over the Yardĕn to possess.”

From the above verses, we can see that it is not too hard for us to do and understand, it is in our very mouth and heart to perform, and the entire Torah was read every seven years to the entire congregation during the Feast of Sukkot. What is the purpose to read it to them if it is some sort of divine code? No, the word is simple for everyone to understand and do. It is not a divine code, and it is not meant to be there for the scholars, teachers and Rabbis to strip it out of its context and make it say what you want it to say.

What is evil? The verse above in Exodus says do not incline after the majority to do evil. We must ask ourselves, what does this word mean? If we are inclining after the majority to do evil, then what is that? The hebrew word there is רָע (ra), which is formed by the letters Reish followed by Ayin. It means the force that breaks, and in this context, violation of the commandments of Elohim, which breaks his law and has the ability to bring curses upon the nation, or to destroy that which he has created and start anew with your own idea of what is right and wrong. Now, having said all that, I hope I have convinced you that to incline after the majority to do evil is wrong.

Now, what are some of the commandments in the Torah that could be described as evil? Let me list a few examples:

1. Dishonest weights and measures - in other words, doing business with others in such a way as you are cheating them and not giving them a fair wage for their labors
2. Removing liberties from them that only Elohim has the right to give and take away
3. Lack of judicial review prior to execution of justice
4. Detention without any criminal due process
5. Taxation to the point of poverty, ultimately resulting in seizure of property
6. Removal from the citizenry of their right to self defense

I could go on, but I digress. Both of the major presidential candidates currently running for office here in the USA have no plans to stop performing evil as I have described above. Their stated political goals, plans and promises are evil. Neither of them have consulted the Scriptures to define what their political platform should be. They have done what is good in their own eyes. The book of Proverbs tells us:

Proverbs 3
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear יהוה and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 21
 2 All a man’s ways are right in his own eyes, But יהוה weighs the hearts.

Deuteronomy 12
8 You shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatever is right in his own eyes. 

For all those in the majority who are supporting one of the two major political candidates, you are the majority seeking after evil. That may not be your intention, but supporting one who has as their stated goal to subvert justice and perform acts that the Torah says are evil makes you part of the scripture in Exodus 23:2. There is this concept of voting for the lesser of two evils. Where in the Torah does it say I should support evil, even if it is less evil? The Torah concept is that I should support those who support the goals of Elohim, the creator of heaven and earth, and even if I am the lone voice crying out in the wilderness, that is what I will do. I will no longer support the lesser of two evils.

I really need to write more. Apparently I have 4 followers but I can't tell who they are. Send me a note if you are one of them. :) I might get back to writing again soon. --Cary

The Origins of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Where does Thanksgiving come from? Is the story that everyone knows the real basis for the celebration or is there another, more ancient, back story to the festivities of Thanksgiving? Are we to believe it only dates back to the 1600s here in the United States?

There is a logical construct that says “an un-caused effect cannot exist”. In other words, in basic cause and effect, everything you see comes about because someone or something originated it. If you trace everything back, you eventually get back to the story of Genesis and the creation. Rather than start at the very beginning, allow me to trace it backward.

The traditional story goes something like this. The puritan settlers (pilgrims) at Plymouth Rock arrived in the area of Massachusetts in the early 1600s and experience extreme hardship. The native American tribes that lived in the area helped out the settlers and to show their gratitude, the settlers held a feast to thank God and the native Americans for the grace of God and help. Here is what the Encyclopedia Britannica has to say on the matter:

“Plymouth’s Thanksgiving began with a few colonists going out “fowling,” possibly for turkeys but more probably for the easier prey of geese and ducks, since they “in one day killed as much as…served the company almost a week.” Next, 90 or so Wampanoag made a surprise appearance at the settlement’s gate, doubtlessly unnerving the 50 or so colonists. Nevertheless, over the next few days the two groups socialized without incident. The Wampanoag contributed venison to the feast, which included the fowl and probably fish, eels, shellfish, stews, vegetables, and beer. Since Plymouth had few buildings and manufactured goods, most people ate outside while sitting on the ground or on barrels with plates on their laps. The men fired guns, ran races, and drank liquor, struggling to speak in broken English and Wampanoag. This was a rather disorderly affair, but it sealed a treaty between the two groups that lasted until King Philip’s War (1675–76), in which hundreds of colonists and thousands of Indians lost their lives.

The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “Thanksgivings,” days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. The U.S. Continental Congress proclaimed a national Thanksgiving upon the enactment of the Constitution, for example. Yet, after 1798, the new U.S. Congress left Thanksgiving declarations to the states; some objected to the national government’s involvement in a religious observance, Southerners were slow to adopt a New England custom, and others took offense over the day’s being used to hold partisan speeches and parades. A national Thanksgiving Day seemed more like a lightning rod for controversy than a unifying force.”

Notice how it says that the day was a religious holiday? Even the Encyclopedia lets us know that it is religious. If it is religious, then we must find its source in the bible, right?

One of the best references in the New Testament to the concept of Thanksgiving is found here:

2 Cor 9
10 And He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, shall supply and increase the seed you have sown and increase the fruit of your righteousness,
11 being enriched in every way for all simplicity, which works out thanksgiving to Elohim through us.
12 Because the rendering of this service not only supplies the needs of the set-apart ones, but also is overflowing through many thanksgivings to Elohim.


The first thing you may notice is that Paul describes this as a service. This is a hint that what he is talking about here is an actual offering. The words are often synonymous in the Hebrew (or, the same Hebrew word can translate both English words). What are the things we find in all Thanksgiving celebrations? We have food which comes from seeds that God has given us, and then God provides the increase (even turkey must eat food which originally comes from a seed) and we give thanks to he who has provided the bounty to be placed upon our tables. Of course we know it is not just the bounty resulting from the seed that we eat. We also have meat at thanksgiving:

Psalm 107
21 Let them give thanks to יהוה for His kindness, And His wonders to the children of men!
22 And let them bring slaughterings of thanksgiving, And relate His works with rejoicing.

You can see we bring slaughterings to the Thanksgiving celebration, and give thanks to God. We are also to rejoice during the celebration.

Psalm 116
16 O יהוה, I am truly Your servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your female servant; You have loosed my bonds.
17 I bring You a slaughtering of thanksgiving, And call upon the Name of יהוה.
18 I pay my vows to יהוה In the presence of all His people,
19 In the courts of the House of יהוה, In your midst, O Yerushalayim. Praise Yah!

This reference is interesting. We are to bring a slaughtering to give thanks and call upon the name of יהוה! Look at that – David is bringing a thanks offering and actually using the holy name! This is especially enlightening given the sanction in the oral Torah against using the name.

Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing to יהוה! Let us raise a shout to the Rock of our deliverance.
2 Let us come before His face with thanksgiving; Let us raise a shout to Him in song.
3 For יהוה is a great Ěl, And a great Sovereign above all mighty ones.

Yet another reference to using the name. It is clear to me that the name is to be used and not covered up by a Takanot (command of the Rabbis that change biblical law, a law that is also followed by Christians who like to say “the LORD”).

Let me get back to Thanksgiving.

Psalm 147
7 Respond to יהוה with thanksgiving; Sing praises on a lyre to our Elohim,
8 Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to sprout on the mountains

While it says lyre here in verse 7, the word can also be translated as harp. In fact, the Hebrew here is kinnor, which is the word in Hebrew for harp. A lyre is just a type of harp. What I take from this is that we are also to celebrate Thanksgiving with music, and in this case, music from a harp.

Nehemiah 12
27 And at the dedication of the wall of Yerushalayim they sought out the Lĕwites in all their places, to bring them to Yerushalayim to perform the dedication with gladness, and with thanksgivings, and with singing, cymbals, harps and lyres.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Yerushalayim, from the villages of the Netophathites,
29 and from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geḇa and Azmaweth – for the singers had built themselves villages all around Yerushalayim.
30 And the priests and Lĕwites cleansed themselves, and they cleansed the people, and the gates, and the wall.
46 For in the days of Dawiḏ and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to Elohim.

Sometimes we can even have a city-wide celebration such as we have above in Nehemiah chapter 12 with the re-dedication of the city of Jerusalem. Yet again we have music from a harp and this time we even add in singers. We have an entire worship team singing and playing praises unto God.

Of course we still haven’t gotten to where this idea all comes from. It was originally written down in, of course, the Torah! Here is the reference from the Torah:

Leviticus 7
11 ‘And this is the Torah of the slaughtering of peace offerings which is brought to יהוה:
12 ‘If he brings it for a thanksgiving, then he shall bring with the slaughtering of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened thin cakes anointed with oil, or cakes of finely blended flour mixed with oil.
13 ‘Besides the cakes, he brings as his offering leavened bread together with the slaughtering of thanksgiving of his peace offering.
14 ‘And from it he shall bring one cake from each offering as a contribution to יהוה: to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering, it is his.
15 ‘As for the flesh of the slaughtering of his peace offering for thanksgiving, it is eaten the same day it is offered, he does not leave any of it until morning.
16 ‘And if the offering he brings is a vow or a voluntary offering, it is eaten the same day that he brings his slaughtering, and what is left of it is eaten the next day,
17 but whatever is left of the flesh of the slaughtering on the third day is burned with fire.

This is known as the Todah, or thanks, offering. This is not for sin or for any transgression – it is simply to thank our creator for the blessings he has bestowed upon us. We have bread (cakes) and meat and just sing praises unto God and thank him for all he has given us. I actually like the idea that you have only two days to eat it all and at the third day, you burn it all if there is any left overs. God knows some of us (like me) can only stand turkey so many days in a row. :)

If you really want to go back to the very first Thanksgiving, you actually have to go back to the sacrifices of Cain and Abel:

Genesis 4
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.4 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

You have grain (the cakes from Leviticus 7) and the slaughterings. All of the necessary elements are here. Thanksgiving dates back to right after our first parent’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

There you have it – Thanksgiving does not date back to 1621 in Massachusetts but instead goes back to Cain and Abel.