Hi all. It’s been a while since the last update, but Passover (Pesach) is coming up and the timing this year is particularly interesting. This year, the days fall out exactly as they did in the year Jesus (Yeshua) was crucified.
Archive for the ‘Feasts’ Category
Thoughts on Passover
ט׳ בניסן ה׳תש״ע (March 24, 2010)
In Paths of Righteousness
כ״ב בשבט ה׳תש״ע (February 6, 2010)Ps 23:3 He restores my soul: He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names´ sake.
This is a pretty typical English translation of this very well known verse of probably the best known and most oft quoted Psalm of David. We have generally considered it to mean that He will direct us, day by day, as we go about our business, if we are careful to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit within.
That is certainly a valid interpretation and it is true; He does guide and lead us every day both through the written Word, by His example and through promptings of the Holy Spirit (if we are willing to stop and listen).
In the Hebrew text, though, we find a much deeper, older meaning that has been pretty much lost to the church over the last 1700 years or so, one that I would like to briefly explore.
Times of Refreshing
כ״ב בשבט ה׳תש״ע (February 6, 2010)In Exodus 31:17, when Moses is recounting the creation story to Israel, we read “…and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed”. The phase “and was refreshed” is vayinnafash (vav-yod-nun-nun-fey-shin).
Nafash (to catch ones’ breath, to breathe, to rest) is from the same root as nefesh (living soul), which we find in the creation of man, “and Adam became a living soul”. The “nefesh” is the whole person, body, mind and soul – these are not separable in Hebraic thought.
Va is the conjunction “and”. The letter nun is doubled (and therefore important). Nun means “life”. The prefix “yi” means “my” (possessive pronoun). Actually, it just needs the “i” sound (as in beni, my son, or abimelech, my father (abi) is the king (melech)), but you can’t have two consecutive vowels in Hebrew so it becomes “va-yi”.
If we put it together, we can read it as “and life (nun) to my (yi) soul (nefesh)”. So, on the seventh day, God rested and it is life to my soul. Shabbat is about LIFE (”I came that you might have LIFE, and life more abundantly”) and about refreshing ourselves in preparation for facing the battles that may come during the rest of the week. Shavua Tov (have a good week).