Have you ever wondered why God divided Israel? By that I mean, what was His purpose? And, what does that purpose have to do with the respective roles of Judah and Ephraim? Further, how does this relate to evangelizing/missionizing? All of these are interesting and progressively more serious questions that challenge some of our established (inherited) thought patterns. So, let’s explore some recent ponderings I have had. We may not answer all of the questions, but we can begin to wrestle with a new level of understanding.
At the Second B’ney Yosef Congress, Tommy and Dorothy Wilson led the Shabbat midrash from the first Genesis portion, focusing on Adam and Chava in the second and third chapters. We considered that at the completion of creation, it was ‘tov meod,’ ‘very good,’ yet, just a few verses later we see that God says, ‘it is not good that the man should be alone…’ Adam was complete within himself, perfect, however there was something more that God wanted to do to display His glory to and in Creation. Thus, He reached into Adam and drew out a part of him that was then fashioned into Chava, the help-meet and partner.
The Creation Story is about dividing and bringing together. We see in day one a separation and gathering of light from darkness. Day two waters of earth and sky are separated and gathered. Day three water and earth are separated and gathered.
Each of these separations and gatherings shows us something of the majesty of Creation and thus the majesty of the Creator. If we had only light, we could not see the magnificent stars and Continue reading “Why Christendom MUST rethink evangelizing Jews.”
11:3 Restoration 