|
| 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 Shemini Atzeret/The Assembly of the Eighth (Day)
by Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber
The Torah and Brit Chadesha readings for the Shabbat of September 28/22 Tishrei are: Devarim/Deut. 14:22-16:17; Bamidbar/Num. 29:35-30:1; Alef Malechim/I Kings 8:54-66; Mark 12:28-33. Demonstrating Faith . . . This week because the holiday Shmini Atzeret falls on Shabbat, we have a special Torah reading. Shmini means eighth and generally the number eight symbolizes new beginnings. For example G-d chose the eighth day for brit miliah (circumcision) designating it as the perfect day to perform this rite. Brit miliah is G-d’s covenant of new beginnings with man. Atzeret means "assembly" but it can also mean "holding back." Holding back in such a way as to bring something to its perfect completion, its new beginning. Therefore the holiday Shmini Atzeret is a day of assembly on which G-d has chosen to hold back the joy of the seven days of Sukkot for one more day to symbolize that His joy is always a new beginning. Shmini Atzeret is a biblically designated holiday in its own right (Vayikra 23:36), therefore it does not involve any of the special observances of Sukkot; that is the lulov and etrog or the sukkah. Although the command for Shmini Atzeret, like the one given on Sukkot is to rejoice, the rejoicing on this holiday moves from the sukkah into the home. This I believe represents a shift from a pubic celebration to a more personal intimate one. All the guests have left and now G-d wants a one on one day with each person that came to the party to give them a new beginning of joy. Sukkot in Israel is the beginning of the rainy season, therefore on Shmini Atzeret it is customary to pray for rain. Well now to this week’s reading. The verse which caught my eye from this week’s Parasha deals with the fear of the L-rd: Devarim {14:22} You shall surely tithe all the increase of your seed, that which comes forth from the field year by year. {14:23} You shall eat before HaSHEM your G-D, in the place which he shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock; that you may learn to fear HaSHEM your G-D always. How would tithing possibly cause anyone to fear the L-rd? I think I can answer that question by saying that the principle of tithing does not produce fear, but the act of tithing is evidence of it. What is fear? The word fear as used in its modern vernacular means to be afraid of something; a fear of danger, a fear of loss. If we apply this modern interpretation of fear to this passage then it would seem like G-d’s purpose for tithing would be to make us afraid of Him. However the word fear as used in Scripture does not have that meaning. Here are just a few of the ways the word fear is used in Scripture, as applied to the L-rd. Mishlei (Proverbs) {8:13} The fear of the L-RD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Mishlei {9:10} The fear of the L-RD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Mishlei {14:27} The fear of the L-RD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. As you can see from these Scriptures the term "fear of the L-rd," as used biblically, relates to hating pride and all manner of evil. Fear of the L-rd it says is the beginning of wisdom, it is the fountain of life. To fear G-d therefore means to have a holy reverence for Him, to respect His awesomeness, to love Him. Yeshua said: Yochanan (John) {14:15} If you love me, keep my commandments. What better way to demonstrate our love for G-d and our desire to keep G-d’s commandments then to give up, to offer Him, the first of our produce and the best of our herd. By doing so we demonstrate our fear of the L-rd; that is our desire to hate evil, pride and arrogance. By giving up what is precious to us we acknowledge G-d as our source, provider and the Master of nature. We also demonstrate wisdom in desiring to honour G-d with our labours and we affirm that obeying His commandments are the fountain of life. To fear the L-rd is not something bad, rather it is something good and we demonstrate that fear by being obedient to Him. One important way G-d has chosen for us to validate that obedience is by tithing after, all it does require faith to tithe.Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber is the spiritual leader of Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto, Canada. Copyright 2002
- Romans 1:16, NIV |