Monday, April 15, 2013

OMER 21



“Today is twenty-one days which are three weeks of the Omer.”

Theme of the Week: Tefreit - Beauty
Theme of the Day: Malchut - Majesty
Overall Theme: The Majesty of His Beauty.


Prov. 1:8a My son, hear the instruction of thy father.


Beauty is not beauty anymore when it is sold or thrown desperately on someone, yet a beauty can still be beauty when its sacrificed. But for beauty to keep its form and dignity in spite of humiliating conditions it must be majestic.

Such beauty is when a father lets down his guard and sets aside responsibilities to instill a majestic element to his son.


Traditional text to read is Psalm 119:161:168:


161     ¶ SCHIN. Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
162     ¶ I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.
                    

When David wrestles over the Torah and finds something new, it is as if he just won a battle and is reaping the spoils of the war. To David the Torah is more valuable and precious than any of the material possessions he may acquire in a battle.


163     ¶ I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.


Here again David is proclaiming that the Torah is Truth. I guess this answers Pilates question to Yeshua (John 18:38).


164     ¶ Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.


“TRADITION!” Tevye’s famous exclamation is oh so very true. I would guesstimate that 90% or more of Jewish Tradition has it’s foundation in the Tanak. Other traditions in Judaism come from the particular culture they find themselves in or they derive from the Talmud, the Jewish compendium on Torah Law. There is virtually nothing done in Judaism that doesn’t have meaning behind it.

Many believe, and if you ask most Rabbis, they will tell you Jews pray regularly three times a day, and Muslims, five.

Then the Scripture of David popped in my head the other day where it says:

Psalms 119:164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.

And I began to think, “Seven. Why seven?” I know that seven is the number that represents completion and perfection. But I then noticed that most Orthodox Jews too pray seven times a day.

Daily Prescribed Prayers:
 
1.    Shacarit - Morning prayers
2.    Mincha – Afternoon / Midday prayers
3.    Ma’ariv – Evening prayers

Prayers for Meals:

1.    Breakfast
2.    Lunch
3.    Dinner

Then you have the final prayer of the day:

1.    Bedtime  Shema

This equals out to 7 daily prayers.

I then began to think, was this accidental or was it done with this in mind? I kind of think it may be accidental, because the reason Rabbis do not count the prayers over meals because to any religious person they are almost a given. That is why they emphasis the three daily prayers of; Schacharit, Mincha, and Ma’ariv. And they will tell you that Avraham taught us to pray in the morning, Isaac at noon, and Jacob at night, and that the 3 prayers correspond to the sacrifices in the Temple that we can no longer give because the Temple is no longer standing. So it is believed that it is the responsibility of every Torah Observant Jew to pray these three times daily.

Whatever the reasoning behind our traditional prayers I think this is a good tradition to keep. Any tradition that encourages and helps people to communicate and to draw closer to G-d is a good tradition.

Rav Sha’ul says, “Pray without ceasing (1Thess. 5:17).” Meaning, always keep your Neshamah (soul / spirit) in an attitude of constant prayer. The seven prayers of Judaism kind of backs this verse that Rav Sha’ul penned; Because as said earlier, seven means, completion, fullness and perfection.

The siddur we pray from, which makes up many of the seven prayers in which we pray daily, is said by the Rabbi’s to be our love letter to YHWH in response to His love letter to us which is the Torah. And this could not be considered (as some do) as vain repetitions, because no one ever gets tired of hearing the same words, “I love you.” No matter how many times it is said. As long it is said with sincerity and devotion. The Rabbis would be the first to say that if you cannot pray from the siddur in such a manner it is best that you don’t pray at all, because it is like a mechanical, meaningless, blemished sacrifice which is abominable to G-d. And when someone is truly in love they find any and every excuse to meet with and spend time with their lover. So if we truly love G-d as we claim, why wouldn’t we want to pray seven times a day?

And when we pray it is traditional to face East. Why? Because that is the direction of where the Temple stood. And we remember the words of Sholomo Ha Melek (King Solomon).

1 Kings 8:30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

We also have a tradition to wear a Tallit, a prayer shawl where we cover our selves up during some of these prayers. I like to think of it as sometimes you meet in public, like on a group or double date and sometimes you just want privacy between you and your beloved.

Yeshua Moshieynu said:

Matt. 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Unless you were very rich, there was no such thing as a closet as we know it, and so “the closet” became a Jewish idiom for ones Tallit.

Not only is G-d like our lover, but He is also our King, and when we pray we sometimes wear a Tallit, and don Tefillin. I liken this unto getting dressed in the proper attire to see a king. We also bend our knees and bow ever so often during our prayers from the siddur. Why? Because you bow in humility when you honor or make any supplication to a king, how much more so the King who is above all kings!

Sure, during the course of a day you may, and it is okay to, toss up a quick prayer here and there very informal like, because not only is G-d our Creator, Lover, and King, but He is also our Father. And a Father can be approached at any time, and a Father such as ours loves to spend time with His children.

Prayer is not simply a religious thing, but it is more of a relational thing.


165     ¶ Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.


I love this verse and quote it often, if someone is truly Torah Obedient, then nothing will offend them, because they have the wisdom pf the Torah on their side. I see all too often religious people who call themselves brothers and sisters in the spirit, getting all bent out of shape when someone tries to give them genuine, loving, constructive criticism. Or maybe they may get offended because they disagree on the color of carpet that should be in the sanctuary! Some translations say “nothing will make them stumble”, well, same result, because they have the wisdom of the Torah on their side, they will see pit falls and stumbling blocks before they reach them, it also says in this Psalm that the Torah (Word) is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, this is another reason if we love and keep the Torah we will not falter. If you know and keep Torah, you will, as this verse says, have “Shalom Gadol” Great Peace. See Matt. 11:6, 24:10


166     ¶ LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation (Yeshua), and done thy commandments.


Since Yeshua is the Living Torah, His Commandments is no different from the Torah it self. Since G-d and Yeshua are One, since they are Father and Son, Yeshua’s Commandments are the same as the Fathers, and here we see that that is the Torah.


167     ¶ My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.
168     I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.


David is not afraid to make this “grandeous” statement, he asks G-d to check him on it and to see if he hasn’t done his best to adhere to the Torah wholeheartedly.


“Abba YHWH Elohim, make me beautifully majestic like You so as to rightfully and humbly carry myself as a beautiful majestic ambassador for You in all I do. In Yeshua’s Name Ameyn.”