Celebrate Tu Bishvat!

What do wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, honey and/or dates and this month have in common? Two weeks from today is a minor holiday called Tu Bishvat. Tu Bishvat means the 15th (ו + ט) of the Hebrew month of Shevat. A few years ago our family started celebrating Tu Bishvat, and it has been a unique and fun time for the family to remember the provision of Hashem in our lives, as well as to do something for Him in a practical way.

So, you don’t understand Tu Bishvat and are not sure why you should celebrate it? First Fruits of Zion has just released two new resources to help believers both understand and celebrate this yearly event in a meaningful way, fully centered on Messiah Yeshua.

Since the second Temple, Tu Bishvat is a day that has been designated to demarcate time in regard to how the tithe from the produce of trees was given (I won’t go into the details now, but it is an interesting study). Since the destruction of the Holy Temple, this date has lost much of its significance. However, during the Middle Ages there was a resurgence which made the celebration of Tu Bishvat once again significant and meaningful. Once again, this date is being restored, but to believers.

PLANT, FFOZ’s first booklet, is designed to help you learn:

• that the fifteenth of Shevat (Tu Bishvat) was recognized in Temple times as an important day in Temple worship
• that Yeshua was aware of this day, and perhaps even taught about it
• the evolving history of its observance post-Temple
• activities and ideas about how to celebrate Tu Bishvat
• stories and encouraging testimonies from believers in the land of Israel about modern observances

BLOOM is a Tu Bishvat Haggadah, similar to a Passover Haggadah, which will walk you through enjoying a Tu Bishvat seder in your home with family and friends. It is the most recent addition to the Vine of David “branch” of FFOZ.

BLOOM is inspired by the story of the early pioneers of the modern State of Israel. This seder reflects upon the dreams of a Jewish national homeland in the Promised Land throughout the centuries and its culmination with Zionism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Bloom is simple and not deeply mystical. It focuses the modern return of the Jewish people to their land as a part of the broader plan of world redemption.

Contemplate our Master Yeshua’s heart of thankfulness for the land and his lament as he perceived its destruction. Share in the vision of the Messianic Jewish luminaries who longed to see that hope restored in the State of Israel, the “beginning of the sprouting of our redemption.”

Since all of the observances related to Temple worship are not currently in effect, modern Tu Bishvat has observances similar to Arbor Day in which trees are planted in Israel, often in memory of a loved one. This year, we have a special goal. We want to send the funds to Israel to plant a sapling in the name of our unborn child we recently lost. Maybe you have a similar situation and would like to remember a loved one. The Jewish National Fund is a great place to accomplish this.

Tu Bishvat for 2011 is Thursday, January 20th

If you’ve never experienced Tu Bishvat, this year can be your first. Don’t delay. Order these resources today so that you will have them in time for your seder. Experience something unique and special with your family while making a difference in the world.

Yeshua’s Use of “Good Eye”

Fellow blogger Derek Leman has a short post on his Yeshua in Context blog site about Yeshua’s teaching on the eye as the “lamp of the body” in Matthew 6:22-23. Although I commented on his post & gave some of this information, I thought it would be good to post a more complete version of my thoughts here.

Good Eye, Bad Eye, Lamp of the Body

Matthew 6:19-24 is one of the first passages I point out to people who want to know why it’s important to understand Yeshua’s teachings from its original context, particularly the Hebrew idioms & terminology behind his words. Let’s look at this entire passage. I’ve used the NKJV, and left the headers from the translators to show the misunderstanding even at the level of scholarly translation.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Lamp of the Body

22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

You Cannot Serve God and Riches

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

I begin by having the person read verses 19-21 and then interpret Yeshua’s message. Then I do the same with verses 22-23, which often results in a confession of not knowing what he is talking about. Then I have them read verse 24, and they are able to interpret this just as easily as verses 19-21. Then I point out the theme of the three sections of this passage as such:

• Verses 19-21: Money, things & stuff
• Verses 22-23: Unclear
• Verse 24: Money, things & stuff

From there, they usually see a pattern, and that verses 22-23 “should” fit back into the context.

They are then able to realize why it is so important is that we know the intended meaning of his teachings. It is easy for them to see how we will totally miss the point of what he is trying to convey if we don’t understand the original sense of the message, which hinges upon a Hebraic . And without this information, we will invariably make up a meaning that has absolutely nothing to do with his original teaching. For generations, Yeshua’s teaching in Matthew 6:22-23 has been interpreted in ways that are completely unrelated to the context of his subject, and stripped of its context (even at the pashat level).

Often this text is used as a prooftext for moral purity and guarding the eyes. Although this is indeed a principle that Yeshua advocates (cf. Matthew 5:28), it is not at all what he is talking about here. However, this passage, if understood as being Hebraic in nature, fits completely within the context of the surrounding verses (19-24). And, unlike many instances of passages found within the Apostolic Scriptures, we do not have to turn to an outside source (such as non-canonical or rabbinic works), Scripture actually illuminates this passage itself.

Put it back in Hebrew

First, we need to put this passage back into Hebrew. From there we can begin comparing it to other Scriptures in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanach (or the “Old Testament”). The Bible Society in Israel translates the phrase “your eye is good” in Matthew 6:22 as “עֵינְךָ טוֹבָה”, (ein’ka tovah) literally corresponding to our English (some texts translated the eye as being “single” or “clear” verses “good”). When we focus on the phrase “your eye is good” and we come across a passage in Proverbs.

In Proverbs 22:9, we have almost this exact phrase in the form of, “טֹֽוב־עַיִן” (tov eiyn) or “good eye.” Since this passage is being translated by Hebrew linguists, all dynamic English translations understand the meaning of this quite easily. Why? Because it is obvious in the Hebrew. However, when we are presented with a Greek text, such as the Apostolic Scriptures (the “New Testament”), translators try to impose a Greek understanding of the text, since it has been delivered to us in the Greek language. But this approach fails, as we will clearly see in this passage. But back to our correlation in Proverbs. The NASB translates this verse as follows:

“He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9)

From here we can see it is obvious that the one with a “good eye” is a generous person. Now, let’s put this new terminology & understanding back into Yeshua’s teaching in Matthew and remove the last two inserted headers (modifications in bold italics):

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The lamp of the body is generosity. If therefore you are generous, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if you are miserly, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

With our new understanding in place, it completely changes our understanding of the words of our Master. Rather than three separate teachings, we see a cohesive unit of teaching by which he warns against being attached to wealth and the “things” of this world and encourages us to create spiritual “wealth” in its place. This reading completely fits the context of verses Matthew 6:19-24, telling us this is indeed the intended meaning of Yeshua’s words.

Look for my upcoming post, “Yeshua’s Use of ‘Righteousness’” which will give another example of insights gained from looking at the Hebrew beneath the Greek skin of the NT. It will elucidate more of Yeshua’s teachings, and expound upon many of the things discussed in this post.

Upcoming Resource

Do you want a resource to help you see these things in the Apostolic Scriptures?

One is on its way. Have you heard of the new, DHE (Delitzsch Hebrew English) translation of the Apostolic Scriptures from Vine of David (First Fruits of Zion)? Vine of David is in the process of taking Delitzsch’s Hebrew text of the Apostolic Scriptures and putting them into English for the first time. Here is some brief info on the project. I will be posting more thoroughly on this project soon:

Franz Delitzsch (1813 – 1890) was known as a “Christian Hebraist” he was a pioneer in the area of Jewish studies of the New Testament. Delizsch was a prolific writer, translator, and biblical commentator. His greatest and most noted work was is his New Testament translation into Hebrew. Deliztzsch re-contextualized the Gospels back into their Hebraic foundations. He understood and revealed the Hebrew / Jewish underpinnings of the Gospels. He devoted his entire life to restoring Yeshua back his people. The primary goal of this translation was to create “an edition of the Gospels that is sensitive to and reveals the Jewish essence of the teachings of the New Testament is vital to helping God’s people connect with the Jewish foundations of the Christian faith.”

Gemara Thoughts by Jeremiah Michael

I just wanted to officially welcome Jeremiah Michael (FFOZ staff & son of Boaz Michael) to the Messianic blogosphere. He’s got his own blog now, called Gemara Thoughts. He’s got some great thoughts going, especially by way of defending traditional Jewish understanding of the Scriptures and comparing that the teachings of Yeshua and the Apostles. Be sure to stop in and say hi when you can.

Know Jesus Better

New FFOZ Seminar Coming to Central Arkansas

May 23 • 2:30pm • Conway, AR

Learn the words of Jesus from a Messianic Jewish perspective. “A Jewish Sermon on the Mount: Exploring the Core Teachings of Jesus from a Hebraic Perspective” introduces the Hebrew idioms, Jewish contexts, and rabbinic methods at work in Jesus’ most famous sermon. Jewish Sermon on the Mount provides a brief introduction to Matthew 5–7 using a new, Hebrew-based translation of the New Testament that allows English readers to see the Hebraisms of the Master’s teaching and the richness of the Hebrew words.

Enjoy a challenging and inspiring look at Jesus’ teachings and the transformative message of the Sermon on the Mount.

• See Jewish parallels to Gospel texts and find out why Bible scholars believe the parallels are important for greater understanding.
• Discover Hebrew words that are impossible to translate into English and how translators deal with these difficult words. See the words—understand the concepts they represent and expand your understanding of the Bible.
• Hear the compelling story and see the New Testament translation of Franz Delitzsch, a nineteenth century Christian Bible-translator considered one the greatest lights of Messiah to the Jewish people.

Learn and see what was so distinctive to Jesus’ teaching in this passage that produced such a response, “the crowd was amazed at his teaching, for he was teaching them as a man of authority, and not like the soferim” (Matthew 7:28–29).

The Hebrew/English Sermon on the Mount

There will be three teachings in a course of 2.5 hours. There will be breaks and time for questions. Everyone attending will receive an extract of Matthew 5–7 from the new Hebrew/English Gospel edition scheduled for release in the fall of 2010. Attendance is free—there will be a donation box on a table for all those that desire to help with the related expense.

CONTACT:
Jeff Croswell or Darren Huckey

HOST:
Simchat Torah

LOCATION:
Faulkner County Library

ADDRESS:
1900 Tyler Street
Conway, AR 72032

PHONE:
501-242-3687 (Jeff)
501-339-8151 (Darren)

E-MAIL:
info@simchattorahar.com

Download the PDF to distribute or post on your site.