Vayyetze - “And he went out"

Torah
Haftarah
Gospel

: Genesis 28:10-32:3

: Hosea 12:12-14:10

: Matthew 3:13-4:11

Vayyetze - “And he went out”

“And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top
of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God ascending and
descending on it.”

Most of us can look at a time in our lives when we ‘went out’ so to speak; in one way
or another. Jacob had left his situation at home for fear of his life. Deception had
lead to running and running to being very alone with limited options. After having
made a serious blunder it is not that uncommon for any of us to want to run from
the situation, when alone however, one may quickly realize the sinking feeling of
being in over one’s heads. Feelings of loneliness and hopelessness often follow.

How can I get back to where I was? What do I do? What next?

Hazlitt refered to the dream of Jacob as one of, ‘the most beautiful in literature’. I
think his reasons for saying this are more apparent when look at the dream at face
value.

Volumes have been written about the meaning of this dream. The mere mention
of the term ‘Jacob ‘s Ladder’ brings multiple images to mind. However, I find that
The straight forward reading of the text is the most powerful…(and useful especially
if your on the run like Jacob). Let’s look at the beauty of this picture filled with a
message of hope and encouragement for children of God through out the ages.

Fear can quickly cloud our vision, like driving into a fog bank at 50 mph. Fear and
uncertainty sweep into the mind and overwhelm. Jacob’s, father and grandfather,
would most certainly have desired him to know that he is not alone and his
problems are not insurmountable. Sometimes a man needs to have his own
revelation.

While most of us have not had the privilege to have a dream like Jacob’s, it is still
possible to learn a thing or two from this patriarch. Exhausted, Jacob finds himself
lying on a rock pillow with apparently only the clothes on his back in the dry
and arid terrain north of Beersheba. The powerful symbolism of the subsequent

dream of the ladder and angels revealed to Jacob speaks to each one of us uniquely
depending upon where we are on our journey. The message is to all men in all ages,
simply put,

“the whole earth is full of the glory of God,” and He is not far off in His heavenly
abode and heedless of what men do on earth.”1

Wherever a man or woman is, in any moment and at any place there also exists a
potential place where heaven and earth can meet.

The ladder while unseen to the naked eye, is the reminder that God watches over his
children and sends his holy angles to guide and watch over us for His purposes.

Quickly, our minds might accuse us, ‘but this is my fault, my decisions, I have to
work it out’. Yes, but His word reminds us that, “all things work together for good,
for them that love God and are called according to His purposes.”

Even those that love God, make mistakes take things into our own hands. What
comfort to have our eyes opened and to see behind the visible scene that God and
His angels are working busily where I cannot see for my good and His kingdom.

Jacob build an alter and worshipped God when he realized that is just what was
happening and the God of his father Abraham had reached down in a dream
to give him hope. May we also worship the Lord as we are reminded that our
Redeemer and Creator are also working faithfully for us even as we are unaware
and undeserving! What a loving and faithful God we serve!

Shalom!



The Penatuch and Haftorah – J.H. Hertz

Toledoth: Generations

Toledoth - ‘Generations’

Isaac has taken a bride!  The promised son of Abraham has trusted in his father’s direction in this momentous matter and waited for the proper time.  The wait may have been slightly longer than he had hoped for, at 40 years of age.  Ahhh…but the beautiful Rebekah was worth the wait!   At the beginning of this week’s portion, we discover that the life of the son of promise is not without its challenges.  Rebekah is seemingly unable to have a child.  Barren, in a similar manner to his own mother Sarah.  Obviously, an obstacle for the promise to future generations given to his father Abraham which was burned into his own heart and mind through years of retelling. 

The narrative in Genesis 25 provides the response of the young Isaac:

“Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife because she was barren, and the LORD allowed himself to be entreated and Rebekah conceived.”[1]

Isaac had seen the glorious provisions of the God of his father.  Most likely he was especially thankful for the heavenly provision of the ram caught in the thickets on Mt. Moriah.  He responds to this dilemma in a manner, which would have made his father proud!

“…He entreats the Lord.”

After the life of humble faith lived by Abraham, one almost expects Isaac to respond in a manner of faith.  Rebekah on the other hand comes from another background, the deceitful brother Laban and a heritage of idolatry and corruption, so much so that the land of Charan was dubbed "the place of G‑d's wrath.”    Her response to her own difficulties of the battle raging within her womb, tells us something similar and equally profound. 

“…She inquires of the Lord”

Perhaps a second analogy is hidden in the story, Isaac as a typology of Messiah teaches his bride what to do when circumstances become difficult and uncertainties abound.  To whom does one turn?

Rebekah learns from her husband, one could say she emulates him in his faith as she too looks to the Lord.

Faithful prayer or pray and faith stimulate and can cause others to pray in a similar manner.  The disciples may have been motivated in the same way by the powerful, humble and effective prayers of the Master as they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray”.

Isaac as a typology of Messiah, is not a stretch of the imagination nor is he merely a transition between Abraham and Jacob,

“Isaac’s name, uniquely bestowed by God, is not changed; his pastoral wanderings are restricted to a narrow range and largely center around Beersheba; unlike Abraham, he does not live at Hebron-Kiriat arba but settles there only in his old age; he alone remains monogamous; he is the only patriarch to engage in agriculture and the only one never to leave the promised land; finally, the unique divine mane pahad yitshak (31:42) suggest some episode, not recorded, in which this particular name would have been meaningful. [2]

The uniqueness of Isaac as the first promised son of Abraham and the obvious foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Messiah, point to a special role of Isaac.  The parallels should cause us to look even more carefully at the manner of prayer as Isaac intercedes for his bride and the subsequent prayers of Messiah for His Bride…

Regardless, the simply reading of the text is a powerful exhortation in prayer as our ultimate channel of the expression of one’s faith.  Faith in the God of Abraham spurs us toward the One who guilds, protects and is faithful to His promises. 

Isaac entreats the LORD and Rebekah conceived.

~ Matthew Haigh

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[1] Genesis 25:20

[2] The JPS Torah Commentary  - Genesis   Nahum M. Sarna   Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia  1989

Lessons from Ezra : Part 1

‘Let it be done with zeal'’

Matthew L. Haigh

After some 50 years into the Babylonian captivity…

The Children of Israel find themselves still dwelling in a foreign land. Some of these souls had continued to carry the weight of sin, guilt and hope. The neglect of Torah (God's instructions) from generations before had resulted in this most unpleasant and protracted visit. Although their circumstances seemed dismal, the Most High had not forgotten his covenant with them and they find themselves in the good favor of their captors. By the very decree of the King of Persia, the same nation that had swept them away from their land, an edict is issued for the rebuilding of the House of God in Jerusalem. By the year 516 BC, the Temple was finished as it was written,

“Through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.”

After dedicating the house of God with joy, the exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. In the sixth year of the reign of Darius and some 20 years after the building had begun, those diligent souls, rejoiced in the completed dream. Although only a mere 46,000 men had elected to return, once again worship could resume in the place the Most High had chosen for His habitation.

The Torah tells us that on the first day of the first month, in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, a second return of exiles takes place. Some 56 years after the first, ‘a scribe skilled in the law of Moses’…having the king granting him all he requested, because ‘the hand of the Lord was upon him’, begins another journey to Israel.   Ezra and his entourage of priests, singers and gatekeepers take exactly four months to the day to arrive in Jerusalem from Babylonian.

So begins the heart of the restoration... 

The Torah gives us powerful insight into the passion, which compels the prophet forward and into action…

“For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in   Israel.”

His vision for restoration in the land of promise was three fold,

To Study,

                 To Practice,

And to Teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel.

The Hebraic Roots movement is one of Torah study and there are many people throughout the world teaching again the statutes as Ezra longed to teach them. The element of, ‘and perhaps also the power to’, change is dependent upon these steps. However, lasting generational changes are incumbent upon what is in the heart. It was also said of Ezra, that he desired ‘to practice’…what does it mean to practice? The Hebrew term ‘asah’ in this context means ‘to do’. The explanation may be as simple as the idea of the Physician ‘practicing’ medicine. Practice after all is in the doing…

A few verses later the heart of the King Artaxerxes himself is compelled in a similar way.

“Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven,”

Doing or practicing is to step beyond merely knowing what one should do. Ezra understood this concept. Upon seeing the unfaithfulness of the exiles in the Ha’ Aretz Tziyon, (the Land of Israel) he rents his clothing and mourns over the sin of those who had returned to rebuild the House of God.

“then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles” …gathered to Ezra and sat appalled

Many of us have sat appalled at what we see around us; sometimes we may sit appalled at what we see even in our own hearts. We may even feel better knowing that we are indeed dismayed at the sin. “What then shall we do?” The question, which was surely pondered by Ezra, is similar to that of those who listened to the Apostle Peter as he proclaimed the testament of Yeshua in the account of the Act of the Apostles.

If, as in the case of Ezra’s allegations, the people have taken wives from among the people…their sin must be brought to account.

The course of action is clear. He did not simply have the impassioned plea of a powerful ‘sermon of sermons’ as the spring rains pounded upon the weary stones of Jerusalem. Ezra had more than a ‘hope beyond hope’ that the people might respond. No, the torah was clear, “ Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them, you shall not give your daughters to their sons…”

With hearts and clothing drenched with tears and rain, they listened to Ezra’s words…

“Now, therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”

The instruction is then followed with a specific plan of action or of ‘practice’…

“Let our leaders represent the whole assembly and let all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at an appointed time, together with the elders and judges of each city, until the fierce anger of our God on account of this matter is turned away from us.”

And on the first day of the first month, (the very day that Ezra began his journey from Babylon) and after two months of investigation, they finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives.

Putting into practice the words of Torah is where life and peace with God are truly worked out once we have entered into the kingdom by faith. Simply knowing and teaching His words would not bring the restoration for which they all longed to see. Upon receiving the answer to their question, the men and women of Acts, proceeded to “devote themselves to the teaching of the Apostles” resulting in dynamically changed lives. The writer of James urges us to press on further when he said,

“But prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.”

It is necessary for all of us to add to our faith the DOING of His word and will as we participate in the work of the Master…as Ezra’s heart yearned, we must also…

Study….Teach… and Practice

Ezra 7:6

Ezra 7:9

Ezra 7:10

Ezra 9:4

Deuteronomy 7:3

Ezra 10:11

Ezra 10:14

James 1:22