This year was an especially meaningful year for me. Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kipper took on a new dimension as I contemplated many struggles that I have had as a Jew.
One of my issues has been my concern for Noahides and what will the future hold if there is no meaningful support for gentiles who want to live a Torah observant life? Where will the next generation of Noahides come from if this generation gives up because the information and the support is not there?
That is the main reason, no the ONLY reason that I started this blog. A Noahide community can add so much, especially for those who are accustomed to having a religious community. In the meantime, to have a resource to use as a guide is truly an answer to prayer for many of us who want to help.
As non-Jews are becoming more interested in the message of the Torah, without necessarily feeling the need to convert, Ask Noah International has recently published "The Divine Code Vol. 1: The Guide to Observing G-d’s Will for Mankind, Revealed from Mount Sinai in the Torah of Moses" by Rabbi Moshe Weiner Edited by Dr. Michael Schulman.
This volume includes the sources for the commandments and discusses the rewards for non-Jews, for following the laws of Noah. This will ultimately be a 4 volume body of work, a long overdue guide for non-Jews.
For those of you who have more questions than I have answers, please check this out. I feel that this is truly a gift in the merit of all the non-Jews who are stepping away from the easy path, and choosing the yolk of Torah. I admire your courage and your determination to find your way to Hashem. May you be blessed accordingly.
You can check out this book and order it here.
Kol Tuv.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Bnai Noah: Reflections on Rosh Hashana
This has been a tough year for many people. Me? I jumped from the mortgage industry back into real estate. These industries are imploding and taking the stock market down with them.
Last week a friend of mine committed suicide, just days before Rosh Hashana. I know several people who have lost their businesses, their homes, their jobs. It is these things that are easy to look back on and ask "why?"
So what should we reflect on during the High Holy days? It is so easy to look back at the tragedies, the misfortunes, the mistakes. It can be instructive to search our own souls and try to determine how we may have contributed to our own misfortune.
The Torah says that Hashem values a broken, repentent heart over any sacrifice. When we come before Hashem with our prayers of confession and our prayers of contrition, if we are sincere, there is no need to hold on to the mistakes of the past. Hashem has forgotten them and so should we.
Rosh Hashana commemorates the sixth day of the creation of the world. The creation of man was the finishing touch. Once Hashem made man in His own image, He completed His work and rested.
When I think of all the miracles that took place in those first six days, it takes my breath away. Every blade of grass, every minnow, every organ in our body, all infused with Hashem's divine energy. Amazing!
Looking back and reflecting on the good, on the blessings, heightens our awareness of Hashem's love for us, and helps us become more conditioned to recognize and appreciate the current blessings in our lives.
Better to look back at all the blessings in our lives, from our health to our families, to our freedom, and to know with confidence that this coming year has already been recorded on Hashem's calendar. How willing would we be to continue to give someone a gift, if it was greeted with a "that's nice" attitude? Yet Hashem continues to bless us.
I like to take every opportunity to share with you, messages from Torah that are specific to the non-Jew. It is important to remember that although the Jewish people were tapped with the assignment of preserving the teachings of the Torah, the Noahide, or "G-d fearer" is also on the frontlines of bringing the message of one G-d to the world.
During the days leading up to the High Holy Days, Jews are obligated to offer up special prayers in preparation for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipper. I would like to share some excerpts from those prayers, as well as the actual prayers that are offered during Rosh Hashana.
"You have taught the manner of teshuvah, (return) to the backsliding daughter, [the community of Israel], to return unto You between the appointed day, [Rosh Hashana] and...[Yom Kipper]. Return us unto You, G-D, and we will return!
Then since aforetime, You first made Teshuvah, before you spread out the sky and the foundations of that which was made of clods of soil [the earth]. It is also a balm and healing for all who return, so that those who knock on Your doors will not be turned back empty-handed."
You can see from this part of the prayers, that Hashem had a system in place for allowing us to restore ourselves, our place in the world, and our relationship with G-d, before the world was created. And to emphasize that G-d's love and forgiveness is available to everyone, (regardless of what the "belief police say!), the prayers continue...
"Behold, the first from the world's soil, who was the first to be formed [Adam], whom You tried with a light commandment and he did not keep it: You were indignant and angry with him so as to shorten his years; he returned with teshuvah and was preserved like the pupil of the eye."
So we see from this prayer that Hashem didn't just let Adam slide, or put him on probation. Adam was "preserved as the pupil of the eye," as if his transgression had never happened! How often have we heard someone say that they may forgive, but never forget? Hashem expects us to forget the transgressions of others just as He does, when we forgive. That means, not to hold a grudge, not to wait and see, but to forget as if it never happened.
As a result of Adams's teshuvah, (his return to Hashem and the restoration of his relationship with Hashem), Adam was shown the short lifespan that was decreed for King David. At his own initiative, Adam willingly gave some of his own years to King David, extending the time that King David could lead Israel. Adam's sincere return allowed him to share in the merit of King David's leadership. That is a clear demonstration of genuine, heartfelt teshuvah.
While Adam was given a "light commandment" that he "could not keep", Noah on the otherhand was a righteous man in a corrupt society. His challanges were far greater, and Hashem's love for Noah is mentioned in the actual prayers of Rosh Hashana.
"Happy is the man who does not forget You, the son of man who holds fast to You. For those who seek You will not stumble forever, nor will anyone who places his trust in You be put to shame eternally. For the rememberence of all [Your] works comes before You, and You examine the deeds of them all. And You also remembered Noah with love, and were mindful of him with a promise of salvation and mercy, when You brought the waters of the Flood to destroy all flesh because of the wickedness of their deeds.
Therefore his rememberence came before you, Lord our G-d, to make his descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth, and his offspring as the sand of the sea; as it is written in Your Torah: G-d remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark, and G-d caused a wind to pass over the earth and the waters calmed. (Gen. 8:1) And it is stated that G-d heard their outcry, and G-d remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."(Ex. 2:24)
The fact that the righteous gentile is made part of the holiest days of the year demonstrates that Bnai Noah, (children of Noah) are an integral part of the Torah community, and like Adam, the "pupil of the eye!"
May you be inscribed for a sweet New Year, full of health, a good livelihood and joy!
Kol tuv.
">
Welcome to the Bnai Noah associate
program. Happy surfing for Judaism's
greatest treasures!
Last week a friend of mine committed suicide, just days before Rosh Hashana. I know several people who have lost their businesses, their homes, their jobs. It is these things that are easy to look back on and ask "why?"
So what should we reflect on during the High Holy days? It is so easy to look back at the tragedies, the misfortunes, the mistakes. It can be instructive to search our own souls and try to determine how we may have contributed to our own misfortune.
The Torah says that Hashem values a broken, repentent heart over any sacrifice. When we come before Hashem with our prayers of confession and our prayers of contrition, if we are sincere, there is no need to hold on to the mistakes of the past. Hashem has forgotten them and so should we.
Rosh Hashana commemorates the sixth day of the creation of the world. The creation of man was the finishing touch. Once Hashem made man in His own image, He completed His work and rested.
When I think of all the miracles that took place in those first six days, it takes my breath away. Every blade of grass, every minnow, every organ in our body, all infused with Hashem's divine energy. Amazing!
Looking back and reflecting on the good, on the blessings, heightens our awareness of Hashem's love for us, and helps us become more conditioned to recognize and appreciate the current blessings in our lives.
Better to look back at all the blessings in our lives, from our health to our families, to our freedom, and to know with confidence that this coming year has already been recorded on Hashem's calendar. How willing would we be to continue to give someone a gift, if it was greeted with a "that's nice" attitude? Yet Hashem continues to bless us.
I like to take every opportunity to share with you, messages from Torah that are specific to the non-Jew. It is important to remember that although the Jewish people were tapped with the assignment of preserving the teachings of the Torah, the Noahide, or "G-d fearer" is also on the frontlines of bringing the message of one G-d to the world.
During the days leading up to the High Holy Days, Jews are obligated to offer up special prayers in preparation for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipper. I would like to share some excerpts from those prayers, as well as the actual prayers that are offered during Rosh Hashana.
"You have taught the manner of teshuvah, (return) to the backsliding daughter, [the community of Israel], to return unto You between the appointed day, [Rosh Hashana] and...[Yom Kipper]. Return us unto You, G-D, and we will return!
Then since aforetime, You first made Teshuvah, before you spread out the sky and the foundations of that which was made of clods of soil [the earth]. It is also a balm and healing for all who return, so that those who knock on Your doors will not be turned back empty-handed."
You can see from this part of the prayers, that Hashem had a system in place for allowing us to restore ourselves, our place in the world, and our relationship with G-d, before the world was created. And to emphasize that G-d's love and forgiveness is available to everyone, (regardless of what the "belief police say!), the prayers continue...
"Behold, the first from the world's soil, who was the first to be formed [Adam], whom You tried with a light commandment and he did not keep it: You were indignant and angry with him so as to shorten his years; he returned with teshuvah and was preserved like the pupil of the eye."
So we see from this prayer that Hashem didn't just let Adam slide, or put him on probation. Adam was "preserved as the pupil of the eye," as if his transgression had never happened! How often have we heard someone say that they may forgive, but never forget? Hashem expects us to forget the transgressions of others just as He does, when we forgive. That means, not to hold a grudge, not to wait and see, but to forget as if it never happened.
As a result of Adams's teshuvah, (his return to Hashem and the restoration of his relationship with Hashem), Adam was shown the short lifespan that was decreed for King David. At his own initiative, Adam willingly gave some of his own years to King David, extending the time that King David could lead Israel. Adam's sincere return allowed him to share in the merit of King David's leadership. That is a clear demonstration of genuine, heartfelt teshuvah.
While Adam was given a "light commandment" that he "could not keep", Noah on the otherhand was a righteous man in a corrupt society. His challanges were far greater, and Hashem's love for Noah is mentioned in the actual prayers of Rosh Hashana.
"Happy is the man who does not forget You, the son of man who holds fast to You. For those who seek You will not stumble forever, nor will anyone who places his trust in You be put to shame eternally. For the rememberence of all [Your] works comes before You, and You examine the deeds of them all. And You also remembered Noah with love, and were mindful of him with a promise of salvation and mercy, when You brought the waters of the Flood to destroy all flesh because of the wickedness of their deeds.
Therefore his rememberence came before you, Lord our G-d, to make his descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth, and his offspring as the sand of the sea; as it is written in Your Torah: G-d remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark, and G-d caused a wind to pass over the earth and the waters calmed. (Gen. 8:1) And it is stated that G-d heard their outcry, and G-d remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."(Ex. 2:24)
The fact that the righteous gentile is made part of the holiest days of the year demonstrates that Bnai Noah, (children of Noah) are an integral part of the Torah community, and like Adam, the "pupil of the eye!"
May you be inscribed for a sweet New Year, full of health, a good livelihood and joy!
Kol tuv.
">
Welcome to the Bnai Noah associate
program. Happy surfing for Judaism's
greatest treasures!
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