What.... Rosh Hashanah

Pre-Rosh Hashanah
A key component of Rosh Hashanah preparation is to ask for forgiveness from anyone we may have wronged during the previous year. To the greatest extent possible, we want to begin the year with a clean slate – and without anyone harboring a grudge against us. Similarly, we should be quick to forgive those who have wronged us.

Many people have the custom of going to the mikveh before Rosh Hashanah after midday. A mikveh, which has the power to purify from certain types of spiritual impurities, can be an important part of the teshuva process.

Some have the custom of visiting a cemetery on the day before Rosh Hashanah and praying at the graves of the righteous. Of course, we do not pray "to" the righteous, but only to God who hears our prayers in the merit of the righteous.
The morning before Rosh Hashanah, we perform "Hatarat Nedarim" – annulling of vows. In Torah terms, saying something as simple as "I refuse to eat candy" can be considered a legal vow. Therefore, before Rosh Hashanah, we annul any vows, whether made intentionally or not. This is done by standing in front of three adult males and asking to be released from one’s vows. The full text can be found in a Siddur or Rosh Hashanah Machzor.

Morning Blessings

Morning Blessings Blessing #14: Israel’s Glory Every morning, a set of 15 blessings is recited to express our thanks to G-d for all the things that we, as healthy human beings, are capable of doing. Ba’ruch Ah’tah Ah’doh’nai Eh’lo’hay’nu Melech ha’o’lam oh’tayr Yisrael b’tif’arah. Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who crowns Israel with glory. This blessing addresses the unique situation of the Children of Israel. From a religious perspective, the Children of Israel are crowned by the Torah, by our choice to accept the yoke of Heaven and to try and live up to this higher ideal, which brings us glory. From a more down-to-earth perspective, one might note the great achievements of many Jews in the areas of science, literature, art and more, as symbolized by the out-of-proportion numbers of Jewish Nobel Prize winners. --Translation reproduced with permission from The Koren Sacks Siddur, © Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd.

Morning Blessings

Morning Blessings
Blessing #14: Israel’s Glory

Every morning, a set of 15 blessings is recited to express our thanks to God for all the things that we, as healthy human beings, are capable of doing.

Ba’ruch Ah’tah Ah’doh’nai Eh’lo’hay’nu Melech ha’o’lam oh’tayr Yisrael b’tif’arah.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who crowns Israel with glory.

This blessing addresses the unique situation of the Children of Israel. From a religious perspective, the Children of Israel are crowned by the Torah, by our choice to accept the yoke of Heaven and to try and live up to this higher ideal, which brings us glory. From a more down-to-earth perspective, one might note the great achievements of many Jews in the areas of science, literature, art and more, as symbolized by the out-of-proportion numbers of Jewish Nobel Prize winners.

--Translation reproduced with permission from The Koren Sacks Siddur,
© Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd.

It's Almost Shavuot

"Sh-ma Yis-ra-el A-doh-nai Eh-lo-hay-nu A-doh-nai Echad "

"Hear O Israel, the Lord is Our G-d, the Lord is One"

(Deuteronomy 6:4)


*******Early To Bed

Go to sleep early tonight to prepare for tomorrow's late night study session!

It's Almost Shavuot

What parts of Torah can we still keep today?

Many people have written to The Refiner's Fire to ask about the parts of Torah that apply to them today, and they are especially curious as to whether "being Torah observant" means they have to keep all "613" original commands.

YHWH (Yahweh) gave us many rules/commands/"laws" that can be found scattered throughout the Torah, the first five Books of the Bible, which contains His Divine Instructions in Righteousness. We must understand, however, that the "numbering" of the original commandments was done by man, not by YHWH (Yahweh) Himself, which means there is no reason to worry about trying to keep "all 613 commands." Not to mention that most of those "613" commands were directed at the cohens (priests) of the day; some were only for men; some only for women, and some were only for a certain timeframe.

But some were meant to last FOREVER - and those are the ones that believers must pay attention to.

While YHWH eventually gave us just ten, we must remember, these ten are just part of the larger picture taken from YHWH's Torah which He said would stand forever. Many Christians balk at this idea because they are under the erroneous impression that they don't even have to bother even keeping the TEN Commandments anymore (let alone the "613"); but, rather, just two - and they cite the following as "proof":

Matthew 22: 36. "Teacher, which Commandment in Torah is the greatest?" 37. And Y'shua said to him, that "You should love Master YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and with all your mind." 38. This is the first and the greatest Commandment. 39. And the second is like it. That "You should love your neighbor as yourself." 40. On these two commandments hang Torah and the prophets. (Aramaic English New Testament)

We would ask those who insist they only need to keep two commandments to please re-read verse 40 with the help of the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit). Does verse 40 imply that all of God's original instructions have been done away with? NO! The Torah and the Prophets HANG/ARE DEPENDENT ON those two commands! There's more to it than just "loving God and loving your neighbor!

Anybody who proclaims to love God should realize there is more to God than what is taught in Christian churches. They should recognize that nobody including Yeshua (whom Christians call "Jesus") had the right to negate any of the Father's original commands or to insist that His Divine Instructions to mankind are a curse! Without Torah, we would have NO blueprint for holy living (1 John 3:4)! (You can read on this page exactly what Yeshua came to do.)

The verse below from Numbers shows that EVERYONE who accepts the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is to be Torah observant:

Numbers 15: 13 "'Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 14 For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, he must do exactly as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.'"

The "aliens" included anyone who wasn't a Torah observant "Hebrew" (a word which means "to cross over"...When Abram obeyed YHWH in Genesis 12, he "crossed over" both spiritually and physically when he left his homeland). "Aliens" include anyone who is "grafted-in" through the blood of Messiah Yeshua. Yeshua Himself was Torah observant - as were all of His Apostles and disciples - yet somehow Christians have decided that "the law is a curse"; that Gentiles don't have to bother with Torah, and that God treats His adopted children differently from His natural ones....

So, what parts of Torah can we still keep today? The chart below is by no means a complete list of what we are to observe today, but it will give you a good start and a lot to think about. For a complete list of the "do's" and "don'ts", please see 613 original commandments.

The parts of Torah that apply today

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 and 34 - which included several "forever" commandments).

The Seventh Day Sabbath (Exodus 31:13; Exodus 31:16-17; Leviticus 23:3). God told us that the Sabbath would forever be a sign between Him and the children of Israel (which includes every believer, grafted-in or otherwise!) In the end times (which we are in now) the seventh day Sabbath will distinguish TRUE believers from the "lukewarm" - especially when the Antichrist starts putting pressure on people to conform to his rules:

Exodus 31: 13 "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you."

Exodus 31: 16 "Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'"

The Biblical feasts are outlined in Leviticus 23 which states after each feast: "it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations."

Keeping kosher. Yes, eating "clean" foods was a "forever" commandment. You can search the Bible through, but you will never see that command negated. Kosher Law always was, and still is, YHWH's Law. He never said pork, shellfish, etc. were food! People called it food in rebellion against God. The NT passages (which Christians like to use as proof that appear to suggest we can eat whatever we want) deal with animals God gave us to eat and whether they are ceremonially clean and can be eaten at that time. Even in Peter's vision (Acts 11), Peter would never have eaten the kosher animals that had been in contact with treife (non-kosher) animals. Peter's vision was to show that the kosher animals were no longer considered unclean because they were among the treife. This was illustrating that the Gentiles were now to be accepted! The rest of the passage in Acts 11 shows that this is the correct interpretation and what the vision was all about....

For a complete outline, See Deuteronomy 14:1-21 and Leviticus 11. Also see Pastor Larry Lasiter's article, Food in the Bible.

Wearing tzit-zit, the "tassels" on the four corners of our garments. Today, we don't have "four-cornered" garments, but we can loop them through our belt loops or wear speak shirts (Google tzit-tzit for more info). Please see our articles on tzit-tzits and tallits.

Numbers 15: 37 ADONAI said to Moshe, 38 "Speak to the people of Isra'el (this includes women!), instructing them to make, through all their generations, tzitziyot on the corners of their garments, and to put with the tzitzit on each corner a blue thread. 39 It is to be a tzitzit for you to look at and thereby remember all of ADONAI's mitzvot and obey them, so that you won't go around wherever your own heart and eyes lead you to prostitute yourselves; 40 but it will help you remember and obey all my mitzvot and be holy for your God. 41 I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to be your God. I am ADONAI your God."

Christians insist that "Jesus abolished the law" and that all one has to do today is to "believe in Jesus." Hardly any of them realize that, what Yeshua attempted to "do away with" was not the Father's divine instructions, but the rabbinical, man-made "stuff". Even Paul verified this when he said: Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. (Romans 3:31). You will find Yahweh's original commandments sprinkled throughout Torah in places like Genesis 26:2-5; Exodus 15:25-27, 16, 20:6; Leviticus 22, 26, 27; Numbers 15 and 36; and Deuteronomy 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31.

God said His Torah would stand FOREVER (2 Chronicles 7:14-22), and that's why we are to do our best to try to discern His "do's" and "don't's" because they are all for good reason. Most Christians seem to think Torah was abolished, which is a major misunderstanding because Torah is God's blueprint for moral behavior! Why would that have been abolished on the cross?

Matthew 5: 17 Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah - not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot (words/commands) and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Has everything happened that must happen? Have heaven and earth passed away yet? Yeshua even said He didn't come to abolish but to complete/fulfill. That did not mean "put an end to"...

Rev. 12:17 - "The dragon was infuriated over the woman and went off to fight the rest of her children, those who obey God's commands and bear witness to Yeshua."

Rev. 14:12 - "This is when perseverance is needed on the part of God's people, those who observe his commands and exercise Yeshua's faithfulness."

Some versions use "saint" as opposed to "God's people." But who exactly is a "saint"? Certainly not someone who refuses to be Torah observant! Without Torah we have no blueprint for moral, godly behavior (as is amply evident in our fallen world, including throughout the various churches.) Who are those who obey God's commandments? They are the Jews and Messianic believers. Who are those who hold to the testimony of Jesus and remain faithful to Him? The Messianic Believers! Jews don't believe in Yeshua and Christians don't believe in being Torah observant, and therefore don't adhere to the commandments/Torah.

Both Jews and Christians are missing "the rest of the story"....per this thought provoking website that I found by accident.

The weekly Sabbath: is it to be Saturday or Sunday?

Why and when the weekly Sabbath was moved

The only interval during which Christianity was unified ocurred between the execution of Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus Christ) circa 30 CE, and the arrival of Paul in Judea near the end of that decade. The Jewish Christian movement was under the leadership of James -- the brother of Jesus, Peter and other disciples. They sacrificed in the Temple and observed the Laws of Moses, including Sabbath observance on Saturdays.

Until the late 4th century CE, when Christianity was made the official religion of Rome, Christians lived in a predominately Pagan world. There was a mosaic of Pagan religions in the Roman Empire:
bullet The long established, official religion of the Roman Empire was Pagan. It involved worship of -- or at least nominal sacrifices to -- a pantheon of Roman deities, both Gods and Goddesses.
bullet A strong competitor to Christianity in those days was a third religion: Mithraism. This faith involved the worship of a Persian God Mithra, and was popular among the Roman civil service and military.
bullet There were many other smaller religions, including the Pagan religions of Greece and Egypt, and the mystery religions.

The Roman religion and Mithraism reserved Sunday as their day of religious observance. Many Christians were probably tempted to follow suit.

The Christians were also motivated to change the Sabbath day as a method of distancing themselves from the Jews. Two reasons were:
bullet The Government intermittently persecuted the Jews at this time; it was safer for Christianity to be considered as a separate religion rather than as a sect of Judaism.
bullet Relations between the Jews and Christians was hostile at this time. The early Christian church had suffered much persecution from the Jews.

In 321 CE, while he was a Pagan sun-worshiper, the Emperor Constantine declared that Sunday was to be a day of rest throughout the Roman Empire:

"On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for gain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost."

The Church Council of Laodicea circa 364 CE ordered that religious observances were to be conducted on Sunday, not Saturday. Sunday became the new Sabbath. They ruled: "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day." There are many indicators in the historical record that some Christians ignored the Church's ruling. Sabbath observance was noted in Wales as late as 1115 CE. Francis Xavier was concerned about Sabbath worship in Goa, India in 1560 CE; he called for the Inquisition to set up an office there to stamp out what he called "Jewish wickedness". A Catholic Provincial Council suppressed the practice in Norway in 1435 CE.

Texts used to support a Sunday Sabbath

There are 8 references in the Christian Scriptures to the "first day of the week", as Sunday was referred to in those days.
bullet Five of them refer to events during Resurrection Morning -- the day when the tomb where Jesus was laid was found to be empty. The other three are:
bullet John 20:19 describes events on what we would call Sunday evening. The disciples were gathered together. Some have speculated that this might have been the first Sunday worship service. Others suggest that the text seems to imply that they were gathered together for their own protection, out of fear of attack by "the Jews."
bullet Acts 20:7: Paul is described as preaching on a Sunday evening. It was evening, because the passage refers to lamps being lit. Some Christians promote this text as demonstrating that Paul held a religious service on a Sunday. Others suggest that he gave the teaching on what he would call Sunday evening but we would call Saturday evening; the first day of the week started at sundown on Saturday in 1st century CE Palestine. If Paul considered Sunday to be the Sabbath then he would not have set out on foot to Assos on Sunday morning.
bullet 1 Corinthians 16:2: Paul instructs the Christians at Corinth that each of them is to lay aside some money every Sunday that would later be collected for the Christians at Jerusalem. Some interpreters believe that this might refer to a collection of money at a Sunday religious service. Others suggest that the text implies that the money was to be laid aside by each believer separately and privately, and to be saved up by each person independently.

Two texts have been cited as support for moving the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday:
bullet Colossians 2:16-17: Paul writes: "...do no let anyone judge you...with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ" (NIV). Some people interpret the reference to "Sabbath" in this passage as authorizing Christians to celebrate (or not celebrate) the weekly Sabbath in any way that they wish. Others suggest that the "Sabbath" in this passage apparently refers to the Ceremonial Sabbaths, not the Weekly Sabbaths. The verse in Colossians duplicates the text of Ezekiel 45:17 which reads: "...at the festivals, the New Moons and the Sabbaths - at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel."
bullet Romans 14:5: Paul writes: "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." Some people interpret this passage as allowing Christians to either recognize or ignore the Sabbath, - or perhaps to select any day as the Sabbath. But others suggest from a reading of the subsequent verses that Paul is discussing fasting here, not religious observance. They would suggest that verse 1 of this chapter indicates that the passage relates to "disputable" matters (such as when or if to fast); the day of the Sabbath was not a disputable matter; it was a commandment from God. The phrase "considering every day alike" might means that every day from Sunday to Friday were treated the same, as in the passage describing the collection of manna in Exodus 16:4

There appears to be no consensus on whether Jesus, his disciples, or apostles celebrated the Lord's Day on Sunday. There seems to be no internal evidence that would justify the Christian church changing the day from that commanded in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). However, in later centuries, moving from Saturday to Sunday certainly was beneficial if for no other reason than to improve the security of Christians by distancing Christianity from Judaism in the eyes of the government.

Has the Calendar been Changed?

The Jewish people have observed this date for many millennia without interruption. When the Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar in 1582 CE, ten days were deleted in order to bring the calendar in synchronism with the seasons. But the sequence of the days remained the same. Thus, 1582-OCT-4 (a Thursday) was followed by 1582-OCT-15 (a Friday), and the Sabbath of 1582-OCT-16 happened exactly 7 days after the previous Sabbath of SEP-29.
bullet Most conservative theologians believe that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the seventh. But there is no evidence that Adam and Eve actually celebrated the Sabbath. The first instruction from God to the Jewish people to observe the Sabbath appears in Exodus 16:27, when the Jewish people were wandering in the desert after having escaped from Egyptian captivity. God provided manna as a food source every day, except for the seventh day. A double portion was supplied on the 6th day, Friday, so that the people would not have to work, collecting manna on the Sabbath. The second command from God is seen in Exodus 23:12. Both passages were written by Moses circa 1491 BCE. Presumably, the Sabbath has been observed without interruption ever since that date.
bullet Liberal theologians generally believe that the creation stories in Genesis are fables, picked up from Pagan religions in the neighborhood of Palestine. The earth, its life forms and the rest of the universe evolved over a period of billions of years. The story of the creation of the Sabbath in Genesis 2:2-3 was written by the "J" author(s) circa 950 BCE. Exodus 16:27 was probably written by the "P" authors circa 539 BCE . Exodus 23:12 was also written by "J" using a fragment of an ancient ritual code that perhaps dated from the 14th-13th century BCE. There is thus no reason to believe that there was a seventh day of creation or that there was any continuous celebration of the Sabbath until the 10th century BCE. It is probable that some Jewish official made an arbitrary selection of the day for the first Sabbath about 3 millennia ago. There is no record in the Bible showing who did this or when he did it. So, the present Jewish Sabbath observance can be traced back, through the discontinuity of 1582 CE into ancient times to an arbitrary choice of day by person or persons unknown.

Who are the Sabbath-keepers?

The main Sabbatarian faith groups (religious groups that currently worship on Saturday) are:
bullet Branch Davidians (Students of the Seven Seals)
bullet Church of God (7th Day)
bullet House of God, a national Hebrew Pentecostal group.
bullet House of Yahweh
bullet Judaism
bullet The Process - Church of the Final Judgment
bullet Seventh Day Adventists, including dozens of breakaway sects
bullet Seventh Day Baptists

The Worldwide Church of God once observed the Sabbath on Saturday. However, after the death of founder Herbert W. Armstrong the practice was abandoned. A schism occurred, and most of the membership left, forming new faith groups. 7

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. The Bible Sabbath Association at: http://www.biblesabbath.org
2. Extensive background material on the Saturday Sabbath is at the "Present Truth" home page: http://www.present-truth.org
3. Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; translated into English by Philip Schaff in "History of the Christian Church, Vol. III, P. 380, New York, NY, (1884)
4. Quotations of the legitimacy of Saturday worship from many sources, including statements by leaders of ten denominations. can be seen at: http://www.anet-dfw.com/
5. The Seventh Day Baptists have an essay on the Sabbath at: http://www.seventhdaybaptist.org/
6. SabbathTruth is a website devoted to a discussion of the Sabbath -- its history, prophecy and purpose. See: http://www.sabbathtruth.com/
7. Many faith groups who split from the Worldwide Church of God are listed at: http://www.cogwriter.com/

Copyright © 1997 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2009-AUG-13
Author: B.A. Robinson

Yom Kippur 5771

Our sages teach that the judgment of Rosh Hashana classifies everyone into one of three groups.

Those whose merits outweigh their demerits are deemed righteous and are written for the book of life.

Those whose demerits outweigh their merits are deemed wicked and are written for the book of death.

The judgments of those in the middle are held in suspense until Yom Kippur. If they repent then they are written for the book of life. If they do not repent then they are written for the book of death.

Commentaries write that the judgments refer to life and death in the after-life.

They note that most of us fall into the middle group.

They also note that adding more merits to overweigh the demerits has no effect on the judgment of Yom Kippur.

Rather, assessment is done once, on Rosh Hashana.

The only thing that helps a person on Yom Kippur is change and restoration.

=========================
Courtesy of JewishAmerica
http://www.JewishAmerica.com

rabbi Alysa Stanton

Alysa Stanton poses in front of an ark in the synagogue at Hebrew Union College, Thursday, May 21, 2009, in Cincinnati. Stanton is to be ordained June 6, as mainstream Judaism's first black woman rabbi. She will become the rabbi at Congregation Bayt Shalom in Greenville, N.C., on Aug. 1.