|
| Life and Faith from a Messianic PerspectiveHome Articles Our Mission Resources Statement Of Faith Link To Us Newsletter Tell A Friend About Us Support Us Contact Us "Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever." - Psalm 117, NIV All contents copyright © 2001,2002, all rights reserved. |
Parasha Re'eh: Behold
by Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber
The Scripture readings for the Shabbat of August 3/25 Av are: Devarim/Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17; Yesha'yahu/Isa. 54:11-55:5, 66:1-24; I Yochannan/John 4:1-6. Needy With Us How many presidents, prime ministers, social activists and well doers have you heard say; "We must stamp out poverty!" Have you not also heard people say; "We can send a man to the moon, but we can not afford to help the poor!" Is it not strange, that despite everyone's concerns, good intentions and efforts, there are still poor people among us? I believe Parasha Re'eh effectively tells us why: Devarim {15:7} If there be with you a poor man, one of your brothers, within any of your gates in your land which HaSHEM your G-D gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother; {15:8} but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need [in that] which he wants. {15:9} Beware that there not be a base thought in your heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and your eye be evil against your poor brother, and you give him nothing; and he cry to HaSHEM against you, and it be chat'at (sin) to you. {15:10} You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him; because that for this thing HaSHEM your G-D will bless you in all your work, and in all that you put your hand to. {15:11} For the poor will never cease out of the land: therefore I command you, saying, You shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor, in your land. Does the first part of verse 11 sound familiar? Yeshua told us the exact same thing: Mattayahu (Matthew) {26:11} The poor you will always have with you,....... (NIV) Yeshua was right! To this very day poverty is present in every society, in every country. So if Yeshua knew that there would always be poor among us, does that mean we failed as a society? Does that mean we've not been generous? Not according to Parasha Re'eh. Let us read verse 11 again. Devarim {15:11} For the poor will never cease out of the land: therefore I command you, saying, You shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor, in your land. The key words here are; "therefore I command you." Caring for the poor is one of the 613 commandments of Torah. G-d here has tied our obedience to His commands, to the way we treat the poor. Therefore always having the poor among us will be a test of our obedience to His commandments. Every generation, forever, will be tested in the area of how they treat the poor that dwell among them. If we open our hands and give generously to the poor G-d has given us this promise: Devarim {15:10} You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him; because that for this thing HaSHEM your G-D will bless you in all your work, and in all that you put your hand to. However if we do not give generously, G-d will withhold His blessing. I can attest to the validity of this promise of blessing. Approximately four years ago Congregation Melech Yisrael, under the leading of the late Lucien Lambert, started our homeless ministry in downtown Toronto. At the time our congregation was hovering between fifty five to sixty attendees. From the time we started this ministry I began to see a growth in our attendance. Today we are approximately one hundred people excluding children. G-d has fulfilled His promise, He has blessed us at Melech Yisrael and everything we have put our hands to. From one man going out alone each week, our homeless ministry has grown into two full teams of four people, plus those behind the scenes preparing the food, going out twice a week to feed and witness to the poor. We still have a long way to go however; the ministry still has many needs. Our van needs to be replaced and sufficient finances are necessary to purchase the food, but as we are faithful, I am confident that G-d will provide all our need. What are you doing for the poor? According to Parasha Re'eh G-d is using our concern and generosity to them, as a test of your faithfulness to His commandments, are you receiving a passing or failing grade?Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber is the spiritual leader of Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto, Canada. Copyright 2002
- Romans 1:16, NIV |