Dec 19, 2011
Posted on Dec 19, 2011 in Ethics, Miscellaneous, Mussar | 1 comment
First, let me say that I am no expert in mussar. And in all honesty, I haven’t really even started. Right now I am only exploring the middot (character traits – middah, singular) that ring out to me as I prepare myself for the actual practice of mussar. From there I will pick the thirteen which I feel to be most applicable in my life and begin to focus on them one week at a time, journaling about my journey. However, from what I have read in Everyday Holiness, almost every middah hangs on anavah (humility). According to Rabbi Bachya ibn Pakuda, in his book Duties of the Heart (as quoted by Morinis in Everyday Holiness), “All virtues and duties are dependent on humility.” And it makes sense. Once I learned the Jewish perspective on anavah, humility, I became drawn to it, realizing my deep lack of understanding of this character trait, as well as my deficiency of its possession. Here’s why…
When the word humilty is mentioned, what comes to mind? Too many times our working definition of humility is self-abasement. My new, working definition of humility comes from Morinis in Everyday Holiness. My paraphrase is as follows:
Humility is occupying our proper space, neither too much, nor too little.
I think this is the best definition I’ve ever heard. It makes sense on so many levels. When we break down a character trait into a definition such as this, we are able to truly define it’s parameters, rather than it being some ethereal, elusive non-tangible. Let’s explore this definition for a moment.
If humility is “occupying our proper space, neither too much, nor too little,” it’s obvious the result when we occupy too much space. At the minimum this is pride, and at its extreme, narcissism. We become so wrapped up in ourselves that the boundaries between us and others is unseen. We quickly overstep those boundaries and invade someone else’s space, whether physically, socially or verbally. One example Morinis gave that I thought was really good was in regard to speech:
“…when someone shares a piece of news with you, do you come right back with your own concerns, filling the space they’ve opened, or do you make room to follow up what the other person has introduced?”
I have had this flaw as long as I can remember. I remember when a friend of mine first brought it to my attention. His bringing it to my attention hurt me, but it was a much needed exposure of a flaw in my character that brought it to the surface in order that I could deal with it, and not be oblivious to it. However, since I was only made aware of this, and not given any tools for tikkun (repair / undoing), I still have not overcome in this. Now, I have passed it on to my children. And seeing this blemish magnified in them, it has set off internal alarms that I did not understand until recently. Having a proper definition of this middah with well-defined parameters helps me not only to better identify the breach in our family composition, but gives me a more solid means by which to correct it.
On the opposite extreme is not occupying enough space. If we occupy too little space, we are not fulfilling our God-given role in the world. It is not stepping up to the plate for which you were created. Hillel tells us,
“In a place where there are no men strive to be a man.” (Avot 2:6)
Remember, “Birth is G‑d saying you matter.” And you really do. We all do. We all have our special role to play. And if we don’t fill up our alloted space, we are destined to fail others who are relying upon us.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. (1 Corinthians 12:14-20)
In this quote from the Apostle Paul, he reminds us of the exact same thing. We all have our role, and we must not only fill that role, but we must also be content with that role.
But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” (Romans 9:20)
“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:20-21, ESV).
I believe humility is the starting point for this. Once we realize the space we are supposed to occupy, we can begin filling it properly and neither spilling out onto others, nor shrinking back from our responsibilities. Are you occupying your proper space?
Nov 30, 2011
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 in Miscellaneous | 6 comments
A few years ago, I posted some teaching notes in regard to discipleship. Today, I am posting the first in what I hope to be a series of thoughts on the topic.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19)
We affectionately call this passage of Scripture the Great Commission. As believers, the Great Commission is our marching orders. It is our call of duty. It has been at the heart of evangelistic efforts since the time of the earliest disciples. Yet, during the centuries through which we have passed and the millions of confessions of faith which have resulted from the force of this commission, there have been very few who have truly understood its full meaning. Yes, we have succeeded in the going and in baptizing. But have we truly made disciples? And even more importantly, are we truly disciples? Why is it important that we understand what it means to become a disciple of Yeshua? Aren’t all believers his disciples? In theory this should be true. However, more often than not, reality is different than theory. In order to understand how to become a disciple, we must first learn what a disciple is and is not.
The common practice within Christendom today is to evangelize so that we can get people “saved.” And on occasion, it is hoped that they would participate in some kind of evangelistic outreach event so that they can help bring more sheep into the flock. This is our concept of making disciples. However, this is far from the pattern of discipleship that we see modeled in Yeshua throughout the Gospels. It is also very distant from the concept found within the Hebrew Scriptures and historic Judaism. Judaism has a rabbinic parallel to the Great Commission. “Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah” (m.Avot 1:1). Discipleship is a Jewish innovation. Therefore, in order to truly understand discipleship, we must first understand the relationship between a Jewish rabbi and his disciples.
Rabbis and Disciples
Although Jesus was much more than a Jewish rabbi of the first century, he definitely was one. And although s’mecha (Jewish ordination) did not exist in the time of Yeshua, and the title of “rabbi” was still a bit ambiguous, nonetheless, Yeshua was a rabbi in the first century sense of the word. His pattern of life followed that of a rabbi. He traveled and taught like a rabbi. He forsook earthly possessions. He was called rabbi by his followers. He took on life-long disciples, just as other rabbis of his day. He spent every waking moment with them, pouring into them everything he could in the time that he was given. He was a rabbi in every sense of the word. So, in order to understand the relationship between Yeshua and his disciples (his talmidim), we have to understand the relationship between a rabbi and his disciples. Why? Because we have no modern equivalent. So, let’s take a brief look at the definition and responsibilities of a disciple during the time of Yeshua, particularly disciples of our Master.
What Is A Disciple?
The Hebrew word for disciple is תַלְמִיד (talmid – the plural is talmidim), from the root word למד (lamad), which means to learn. In other words, a disciple is a student, one who is continually learning. A disciple is a life-long student of his rabbi. It is this which we are called to create. We are commissioned, “Go therefore and make disciples…” We are not commissioned to go and make converts, believers or church-members. We are commissioned to make disciples. But in order to “make” disciples, we must first become one. This is what the word “Christian” implies. It implies that we are replicas of “the Christ”; that we are fully able to transmit, communicate and enunciate the message of our rabbi through our teaching and our life practice. Remember, Yeshua himself taught, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). With this in mind, let us take a look at the primary responsibilities of a disciple.
Responsibilities of Disciples
The Four Responsibilities of a Disciple include the following:
- To memorize the words of his rabbi or teacher
- To learn his teacher’s traditions and Scriptural interpretations
- To imitate the actions of his teacher
- To raise up more disciples
Memorization
Let’s briefly go over each of these responsibilities. First, a disciple is to memorize the words of his rabbi. During the days of Yeshua, learning took place orally between a rabbi and his disciples. They didn’t write books or give handouts, and the disciples didn’t take notes or have a digital recording device. The exchange between rabbi and disciple took place orally, and in order to truly learn the teachings of one’s rabbi, a disciple would first memorize his teachings. The rabbis taught, “The disciple who repeats his lesson one hundred times is not as worthy as the one who repeats his lesson one hundred and one times” (b.Chagigah 9b).
Volumes of information passed orally from teacher to disciple, from one generation to the next through the vehicle of memorization. Parables, illustrations, interpretations and insights all passed orally through the great chain of disciples in order to preserve the words of one teacher or another. It is memorization which allowed these words to pass from one generation to the next without their being lost. Memorization is what preserved the teachings of our Master for us so that it could be written down a generation or more after it was transmitted. Memorization was a key component in being a good disciple. It should still be seen as having this value for us today.
Tradition and Interpretation
Secondly, a disciple is to learn his teacher’s traditions and Scriptural interpretations. This is one of the things that distinguished the various rabbinic “schools” during the New Testament period and subsequent years. We need to be asking ourselves, “What traditions did Yeshua have that I can take upon myself?” When we see the phrase, “as was his tradition,” we need to pause and reflect upon the specific tradition being referenced, and find ways of imitation.
In regard to Scriptural interpretations, we should have these things under our belt, as disciples of our Master, the risen Messiah. However, we would do well to be systematic in regard to cataloging our Master’s stance on various subjects and his corresponding teachings. Peter counsels us:
“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:15-16).
We should have a regular time of study each day, set apart and guarded from our other activities, in order to dig into these areas of understanding. At the age of 12 Yeshua was engaged in pilpul (rabbinic debate) with adult, studied teachers of the Torah with a very sophisticated degree of understanding. Our lives should mimic his in that they are characterized by constant learning and applying of the Scriptures so that we may be able to give an account for the hope that is within us.
Imitation
Thirdly, a disciple is to imitate the actions of his teacher. While this is more difficult with our Master, as his earthly presence hasn’t been around for two thousand years, we have been left with a record of his life. If we do some detective work, we should be able to deduce many things about his actions and with careful examination be able to imitate these. He rose early to pray; he lifted his eyes toward heaven as he gave thanks, etc. The point is that we should notice these things in the life of our Master, and then we should imitate them. Yeshua tells us:
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
Likewise, Rabbi Shimon said…
“Studying Torah is not the most important thing rather doing it. Whoever multiplies words causes sin” (Avot 1:17).
In order to be a true disciple of the Master, we need to have daily disciplines of living out the Torah, just like Yeshua. It’s good to “know” how the Master lived, but it doesn’t do us any good until we “practice” living as he did. First Fruits of Zion President and Founder, Boaz Michael has made the point that generally, we are more concerned with the trivia of the mitzvot (the commandments) than the performance of them. For example, we would rather read a book on prayer, rather than actually pray. This has to change if we are truly to be disciples of our Master.
We must be more than converts. Converts “believe” the message, but are still the same person. Disciples, talmidim, are constantly growing and changing, because they are learning what it means to wear the yoke of their Master. We must live as talmidim, disciples of Yeshua. We must hang on his every word. Peter said, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
Discipleship
Lastly, but possibly most importantly, a disciple is to raise up more disciples. As we stated previously, the concept of a disciple is not equivalent to a convert, or a believer, or a Sunday School teacher or even a deacon. A disciple is something much more than these. A major principle that we need to grasp is that discipleship isn’t the end of the chain. A disciple is the middle of a long chain of teacher-disciple relationships. We are to imitate Yeshua, and at the same time be one who is to be imitated. Paul gives us this example when he says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Many believers are terrified of these words. They fear that either they cannot be imitated, due to their shortcomings, or that they cannot ask others to follow them lest they inhibit the relationship between their disciple and Yeshua. It is true that we are not to raise up disciples merely for ourselves. At the same time, however, we cannot be afraid to be an example, a guide and a mentor. We must be courageous enough to fulfill our role in the chain of relationships between teacher and disciple in the process of forging new disciples for our Master.
A disciple is a fruit-producing tree, which produces more fruit-producing trees. Think about it. If a fruit tree produced fruit that in turn did not produce a fruit-producing tree, it would not be a fruit tree. The same is true of a disciple, because “when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” If we are truly his disciples, we will be producing disciples for him as a natural outgrowth of our faith. If one is not producing more disciples, the question needs to be asked if one is truly a disciple, or merely a convert.
Nov 23, 2011
Posted on Nov 23, 2011 in Miscellaneous, Mussar | 6 comments
Over the last few weeks I’ve been consistently delving into the ancient practice of mussar each morning. This has been a huge source of inspiration and discipline for me. For those who are not familiar with mussar, in very simplistic terms it is a practice within Judaism that has been developed over the last thousand years to develop and hone ethical traits within a person, using the Bible as its fountainhead. It began to reach widespread popularity with the works of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter in the 19th century. The primary text I have been using thus far has been Everyday Holiness by Alan Morinis.
This morning, as I began the next chapter, which deals with Gratitude, I came across something that made me reflect back on a conversation I had recently with a friend of mine. The text reads as follows:
The Hebrew term for gratitude is hakarat ha’tov, which means, literally, “recognizing the good.” The good is already there. Practicing gratitude means being fully aware of the good that is already yours.
The last sentence in this quote is what got my attention, particularly the statement that we must be “fully aware of the good that is already yours.” In my recent conversation, my friend was sharing with me what he recently learned from his church. He said that he learned that everything we need has already been given to us, because of the work of Christ on the cross. Therefore, if we need healing, we just need to thank God for it and claim our healing, because we have actually already been healed by Jesus; we just need to claim it.
This type of teaching is typically called “Word of Faith,” and is prevalent among many charismatic churches. These two concepts sound like quite similar. They both seem to be centered on recognizing a reality that does not presently exist. However, if we look carefully at the differences between Hakarat ha’tov and Word of Faith, we will see that they are quite distinct. The first distinction is that the former looks backward, while the latter looks forward. Also, the former focuses on the blessings (whether obvious or seemingly hidden) one has already received, while the latter focuses on the blessings one will be receiving. The former says, “I thank you, Lord, for the financial blessing you gave to me in my time of need.” The latter says, “I thank you, Lord, for the financial blessings you will give me in this time of need, because I already possess them in Christ.” Again, the former is thankful for the previous reality, while the latter is thankful for the future reality.
The difference between the two may not seem significant. However, the fruit of the two lines of philosophy should be fairly apparent. The one who practices hakarat ha’tov is instilled with a sense of gratefulness and humility that his past needs have been supplied, and is assured that whether or not his present needs seem to be met (according to his perception), he has something for which he can already be thankful. The one who practices Word of Faith, however, is prone to presumptuousness and insolence in that he feels that his needs are an entitlement. This tends to allow one to walk before the Lord without humility and expect him to satisfy our own desires, rather than being thankful for that with which He has already blessed us.
I’m not saying that my friend is arrogant. I am saying, however, that this type of theology typically lends itself toward this mentality and I have seen it far too many times. We must remember, that although Jesus gave us everything, we should still be content and gleeful to be dogs who eat the crumbs that fall from the Master’s table, rather than demanding our share of the loaf. Let us “Count our blessings, name them one by one. Count our many blessings, see what God has done” and live a life filled with thankfulness, rather than presumption. Let us be truly thankful in this season of the many things our Heavenly Father has done for us without any expectation of what blessings we may or may not receive in the future.
Oct 30, 2011
Posted on Oct 30, 2011 in Book Reviews, Miscellaneous | 2 comments
The Tehran Initiative
by Joel C. Rosenberg
480 Pages
Tyndale House Publishers
The Tehran Initiative by Joel Rosenberg is an action-packed, fast-paced, political thriller written from an evangelical Christian perspective. I received a complimentary advance copy from Tyndale House Publishers.
I have to be honest. I have heard many of my friends speak of Rosenberg’s books for the last few years, and always with a passion. However, until this point, I have never read anything of his, primarily because reading fiction has not been a priority in light of all of the biblical studies with which I try to keep up. Reading The Tehran Initiative has definitely given me an appetite for more Rosenberg works.
In The Tehran Initiative, Iran has just successfully completed its first nuclear tests, there have just been presidential assassination attempts, and the Islamic Messiah (the 12th Imam, or the “Mahdi”) is garnering alliances across the Middle East and abroad in order to build the ultimate caliphate, a one-world government united under the umbrella of Islam. Under the direction of the Mahdi, Israel (the “Little Satan”) is on the brink of nuclear extinction or at the minimum a second holocaust, along with the United States (the Great Satan). CIA agent David Shirazi is pulled deep into the midst of the swirling chaos and comes face to face with his greatest fears, and begins to wrestle between his Islamic upbringing and the persistent Christian influences of those he has encountered.
Even though The Tehran Initiative is a novel, it will definitely make a person want to learn more about the current events in the Middle East and the global Islamic agenda. If you enjoy a fast-paced, plausible, reality-based fiction novel with an evangelical perspective, Rosenberg is your ticket.
If you would like to hear Rosenberg speak first-hand about The Tehran Initiative, follow this link:
http://tyndale.com/The-Tehran-Initiative/9781414319353
