Welcome to Voices from Zion. Together we'll explore the scriptures in their original Hebrew. wrestle with hard questions, and celebrate the beauty of what unites us. and the respect that deepens when we acknowledge what doesn't.
So welcome to the dialogue. Welcome to the wrestle. Welcome to Voices from Zion. Robbie and the Rabbi. Boy, I'm excited again today to another rendition of Voices from Zion.
And we've got such a show lined up for you. We're finally going to get... We think we're to the restoration of the Holy Land, so I think we already noted. and maybe even more than once noted. They Prescient words They On the one hand, terrifying words.
That Mark Twain cited From Leviticus chapter twenty six In God Telling us about the consequences of our not being faithful to the covenant. Versus Thirty-one And 32 And 33. I will make your cities a waste. I will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation. And I will not smell the savour of your sweet odors.
I will bring the land into desolation. And here this critical Additional comment and your enemies that dwell therein shall be astonished at it, Which as I think we've discussed. can perhaps more literally be rendered as and your enemies that dwell therein will be in desolation themselves. Because the land is not going to bring forth its bounty. And we have already seen.
Those Really? Awesome descriptions. Dismal. Depopulated desolation. In the land of Israel.
In the 18th century, even worse than the 19th century, Hitting rock bottom. And of course The following verse still describing the horrendous consequences And you I will scatter among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste. But of course That's not the end of the story. In verse forty-two Jump in one second just as an added Note. And the King James Version.
The word they use is pine away. That that the enemies, you know, that that they too will pine away. And that's a fascinating. Is this in verse thirty-two? Right.
So I guess the translators are really grappling with This question because To be very precise in terms of the Hebrew. the Hebrew root shaman. Leads to the noun shemama, which we translated as desolation. Using it as a verb. That The enemies that dwell upon the land will be Desolating themselves.
So I understand where pining comes from. And again, we could also render it as they will themselves be desolate. It's a kind of verb construction of this noun that means desolation. Which makes perfect sense, right? Because The enemies are in disobedience to God.
And so, how possibly could they be blessed? Because they're in. That certainly is true. But as I as I think we discussed There's also a dimension here. In our tradition, and I don't know if Mark Twain was cognizant of this in citing these verses.
that in the context of the rebuke, And these definitely terrifying verses in the rebuke. There's also the consolation. The land will be waiting for you. It's not going to as it were Beware. to anyone else.
The land will wait for her children to return. And of course, that's precisely the message. that we read After this really horrific rebuke. Verse forty two Then I will remember my covenant. of Jacob and also my covenant of Isaac.
and also my covenant of Abraham will remember and I will remember the land. The land isn't just some inanimate player here. The land is also the recipient of God's covenant.
So when we look at land We don't just see it bland. We see Not merely the stage of. but an active participant in. our ongoing relationship with God. And of course, it's in much the same vein when we consider.
They Other major passage of rebuke. that describes the covenant the consequences of our not Bing faithful to the covenant. Deuteronomy chapter twenty eight.
So the Rahmani chapter 28 isn't really End the rebuke, it continues and Ultimately, arguably it continues through Deuteronomy chapter 29 with a brief hiatus in the middle. And finally, In CHAPTER thirty The restoration particularly enunciated. With respect to the land. In verses five nine The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you will possess it. and he will do you good and multiply you above your fathers.
Verse 9 Lord your God. will make you overabundant in all the work of your hand. and the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your cattle, and the fruit of your land. For good. For the Lord will return to rejoice over you for good.
as he rejoiced. Over your fathers.
So there's this promise of restoration. And we've been privy. to witnessing its fulfilment. Which is just an extraordinary thing. We've discussed on so many occasions.
We always See God's hand in history. History, his story. But we live in a time in which you can really, really see it. If you desire.
so manifest before your eyes. And perhaps in this vein, also to consider That final note in Moses' song. Because Moses's song likewise is a record as we've noted. of this Historical process of They Rebuke. and the restoration.
And In particular, of course. The end was the song. is the theme of retribution. of God's vengeance God, as it were, swears That um In Verse 41. If I wet My glittering sword.
And my hand Take hold on judgment. I will render vengeance to my adversaries and will recompense. Them that hate me. And uh the continuation which is really terrifying. I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh.
with the blood of the slain and of the captives, With a head of the wild bands of the enemy, Which could also be read as From the beginning. of the enemy's attack. And finally, Sing aloud, O you nations. of his people. For he does avenge the blood of his servants, and does render vengeance to his adversaries.
and does make atonement. For the land and for his people.
So again, the land is an active participant. There's a tone for the people, and that might be. We would well appreciate a kind of foregone conclusion, but there's also atonement for the land. The land needs to get It's just desserts, just as the land. Needed to get at Sabbaths.
when the Sabbaths were violated. The land also needs to be a recipient. God's Atonement. And of course, yes, in this vein, we certainly have discussed at length. That message when we consider again the land hitting rock bottom.
in the 19th century. And the rock bottom In Amos. Chapter 5, verse 2: The virgin of Israel is fallen. She shall no more rise. She is cast down upon her land.
There is none to raise her up. She's hit rock bottom. And she's not going to rise again. On Her own. But then Same prophet.
Amos Chapter nine Verse 11 that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is full and close up the breaches thereof. and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old. And then really the message. of restoration of the land. The final verses Of Amos verses thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen.
Behold, the days come, says the Lord. that the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes He that sows seed in the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will return the captivity of my people Israel. And they will build The waste cities and inhabit them, and they will plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof, and they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them, and I will plant them upon their land. and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, says the LORD your God.
Yeah, I feel compelled to share with you something. Thank you very much. Apropofus. That was in the news. Just the last couple of days.
And Maybe it It shouldn't The trivial and self evident, but really hasn't been trivial or self-evident. In Samaria the last few days There was A Cannel Drive of the Cowboys. Quite literally. That is We're in the midst of The hat Dry season And In the climate of the land of Israel, this is a routine thing that has to be done from time to time because. The hot summer continues.
There are water sources that naturally dry up. It's not anything cataclysmic because we know God willing. When the rains come. After tabernacles we pray for Raiden. On the Feast of Tabernacles, when the rains are sent by God.
In the wet season that lies ahead, these water sources will again spring forth. And They'll once again be watering the land, but at this time of year, many of these sources dry up and In Biblical Hebrew we have a word for this, the nachal. The word that's usually translated as stream, but carries the connotation of. and intermittent. flow of water That dries up during the summer and is restored.
During the wet season. But anyway, as a result, If You have a herd of cattle. You gotta move them.
So A different area where The water is Still flowing because First of all They need to drink. And second of all, they need to eat The grass that will still be sustained by the water that is still flowing.
So there's a cattle drive. No big deal. Except it was done. In a part of Samaria, in which There probably hasn't been a cattle drive. of this sort.
For the last two thousand years. Because The herdsman We're gone. And the cattle. We're decimated. And the land.
was all dried up. and grieving. And I saw a film strip of this cattle drive, and it's just such an exhilarating thing to see. Yeah, Young kids from my perspective they're kids i mean they were Maybe a teenager is sitting there. Twenties.
driving the cattle on horseback and It's just such an exhilarating thing to see. This renewal of the land, by her children. who remained faithful to the land. To God. who restored us to the land.
For all these Centuries, millennia, Waiting to be able to have this opportunity once again.
So it it's Something that really should be trivial and God willing, in the years to come it'll be tribute. That's amazing. This was the first time. It just happened now. Isn't that amazing?
Oh, it's absolutely beautiful. And as I was looking at the passages that you're referring to and thinking about the cattle drive and thinking about what you're talking about, the land. And and and th they use the like a pronoun of his land. Right.
Or the way I would pronounce Those letters in Hebrew would be a Dhamma, but actually, it's Art C. That is, you're right. Adama. often is used for land that could also mean earth. And There's also the ambiguity that Idiots.
can mean the earth. But it also means land. And wherever in the Bible we find it in the construct form. Ricard says Arut Si It's not my earth, it's my land. And he's always referring to this one.
Right, right, that's what I'm talking about. Yeah. And and again, I was looking at different I was still back in Deuteronomy 32 because you go so fast, I couldn't possibly keep up.
So I was trying to study, and I thought about. That's fascinating to me, just that construct. that you're talking about. that he refers to this land, meaning your land. Meaning the land you're on.
Yeah. Who's land? And it says land. Yeah, I'm just a tennis. It's his land and as it returns to the way he designed it.
Um Beautiful. It's a glorious picture, but the the It leads me with this other question of The land was cursed. Right in Genesis. And then Noah's name That has to do with Grace spelled backwards, which I love that, and that idea that Noah found grace. But he was supposed to comfort his people.
In fact, he did comfort his people. And it says in Genesis that he would. change the curse or remove the curse from the land. How do you Reconcile. That idea right there.
Am I just rambling? No, that's an absolutely critical idea for us to appreciate. And I think it's also. critical in Our conceiving of This far broader historical process. That is, well, we've been talking about primarily.
Is The descent as a consequence of Are not being faithful to God's covenant. It's a dissent. Of Israel into exile and descent of the land into desolation, it's a descent. But Inevitably The descent is always a prelude to An ascent. And of course it's always critical for us to bear that in mind because Otherwise we would be liable to conceive of they descend As a sundering, as a brokenness, as an end, and oh my goodness, if we think things that way, then.
We'd just be di in despair constantly. And you just look at it. You mentioned Genesis chapter 3. And If that's all we would be seeing in Genesis chapter 3, Then oh my goodness, then we would just um We wouldn't even get to the end of chapter three, we just Close the book. And I don't know I guess become apoplectic and uh just give up on everything.
And I think we already noted this.
So This may be rehashing. familiar territory unnecessarily, but Even in Genesis chapter 3, There's a critical message. That We dare not ignore Because It's the message that lets us keep on going. And that is that When As a consequence of The sin of Adam and Eve. God says Verse twenty two Behold the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, and now lest he put forth his hand, And take Also, of the tree of life and eating it live forever.
So the Natural conclusion to that. is So he drove out the man and placed The cherubs at the east of the Garden of Eden. And The glittering blade of the revolving sword to guard the way to the tree of life. And that is consequent to, but not directly following. Verse 22.
Because verse 23 is there in the middle. and verse twenty three completely changes the picture. Therefore The Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden. to work the ground whence he was taken. sent him forth, is sending him on a mission.
Okay, you got a job to do. Work theorists. And this directly relates to Noah, whom you just mentioned. because it's important for us to appreciate. God is saying to Adam and Eve, Our relationship isn't over yet.
On the contrary. A new chapter is now going to begin. It's not the chapter in the Garden of Eden because Have you eaten of the tree of knowing good and evil. You can't stay in the garden of Eden anymore. Because as we I think we noted that The Tree of knowing good and evil engenders in man creativity, and the Garden of Eden is a perceptive.
Rather than creative realm, so you're gonna have to leave the Garden of Eden now. and go into the world of creativity. the non-Garden of Eden world. That's gonna be tough because creativity hurts. And creativity means that the ultimate act of creativity, which is childbearing, is going to be painful.
And for the other half of humanity that can't engage in that ultimate act of creativity, it's going to be painful to try to coax. Recalcitrant from the recalcitrant earth sustenance in order to feed those babies. That also hurts, and it's also creative. But you're going to do it. I'm sending you forth.
You've got a mission, and that mission is to work the earth. to coax something productive. Out of the earth. But you know, simultaneously. On some level, We will protest.
Wait a second. We can't do that. After all. God Already said To Adam as a consequence of eating of the tree of knowing good and evil. Verse.
Seventeen But The earth, and here the word is adama. The Earth. is accursed On account of you. And You will eat of it in sorrow all the days of your life. And you'll be bringing forth.
briars and brambles and eating of the grass of the field.
Now even there I'm just going to reiterate something I know we discussed. That Verse 19. which could be read in a depressing vein, That By the sweat. of your nose you will eat bread. We have a tradition to read.
as a consolation. That You're not just going to eat grass. Like a beast. You'll eat bread. which is human food.
Just gonna have to work for it. You're going to have to work for it in this earth that on some level is again. Cursed. But accursed until when? And here, of course.
You're commenting. about the birth of Noah. is absolutely critical. Because What? We read then In Genesis CHAPTER five Beginning in verse is the restoration.
Now in our tradition Lemach. was On some level, a righteous man. And When Lemmech lived a hundred and eighty two years, he begot a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, This one Shall Console us. For our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground.
which the Lord has cursed. And indeed, we have a tradition that until Noah came along, People are just constantly producing Briars and Brambles. And Even when they would think that they were going to So the earth. and produce something productive. And I don't know, maybe someone would have thought that He was ready to enter the Paleolithic age of forming.
It didn't work. And now came along And things started to change in a positive direction. And Ironically, a part of that What's exactly the consolation that Noah brings to the world? We have this tradition. That Noah invented the plow.
And While it might seem like a mere technicality, no, it's not a technicality. To Invent the plow. When you have the right attitude means you appreciate that God put you into this world in order to work the earth. And We constantly are talking about this junior partnership. And Creating a plow is not an act of rebelliousness.
It's entering into this junior partnership. That is, of course it's possible. For someone to create a plow. with an attitude of rebelliousness. I'm going to Um Do better than God or something like that.
The noise isn't creating the plow As an act of rebellion, it's most No, after all, it's a righteous man. And he creates a plow. In order to implicitly say, Okay, God put us here in order to work the earth. Let's do a better job. of accepting the mission.
that he has given us. And I think it's such a profound message, altogether, with respect to how we should relate. to all of our worldly endeavors. that is it's possible to take the attitude that I'm making myself into a god. And that would, of course, be.
the utmost Active rebelliousness. But it's also Not only possible. But God implores us. to take the attitude that He put us in this world. in order to Fix it up.
To fix it up under the reign of the Almighty. And when you create a plow, Or you create Well let's consider The cutting edge today. AI Is it because you think that you're the creator? Or is it because you see that As a way of expressing your fidelity to God and to the mission that He gives you to be His junior partner. And uh I'm I assume The answer to that question is Inevitably going to be it depends.
It depends who's doing it and what his attitude is. Because unfortunately, I'm sure there are those Who will relate? to their capacity to bring about all sorts of Mind-boggling innovations in technology. Hey, look at me, I'm a creator. Oh my goodness.
And then and then And ultimately, what will they create? And we've seen this.
So often over and over again in human history. What they will create is heartache. What they will create is misery. But they will create is a kind of revamped version of the curse of the earth that resulted from the sin of Adam and Eve. As you as you discuss all the there's ground, you know And and and the land The imagery there is just spectacular biblically, obviously.
And the other thing I couldn't help but note, I'm very fascinated. that Jesus taught on the parable of the soils and and there's the whole potter and the clay idea but that came from jeremiah Right. and the potter and the clay and Sure, of course. Absolutely. And so I'm very interested in As you connect that dot to go, okay, well.
This land God is forming still. this day beautifully as these cowboys are making this cattle drive It's a fascinating thing to get back to that very basic. I mean, it just. It feels so wholesome to me. I don't know if that's a good word, but it feels good to me.
It's like, man. You know, that's compared to computers and screens and all that other stuff. You know, you're just you're just out there. W with the cattle and and and and and my church. Right.
But we're out in the middle of a of fields of cattle. We really are.
Well, well. And so a lot of My uh members are Cowboys, from your extent, to use that term, that they care for cattle, they raise cattle, they could relate to that more than you have any idea. of all that goes into that, but the wholesomeness of it And just the idea of working with your your hands in the earth. and that kind of thing. Can you uh speak to that a bit?
Oh boy, and how? That is You just said The key phrase working with your hands. And Inevitably. What comes to mind here is Psalm 128. Seven hundred twenty eight one of the songs of ascent.
A song of Ascent Happy. Everyone who fears the Lord who walks in his ways, You shall eat of the labour of your hands. And You shall be happy, and it will be well with you. And I have to share with you, we have a tradition with respect to the interplay between. These two verses.
The first of which again speaks of being one who is God-fearing and goes in his ways. And the second speaks of eating of the toil of one's hands. And we have a statement in our tradition that that first blush. My seem um really bizarre. That Greater yet.
is one Who Eats derived benefit of the toil of his hands. Then one one who is described As God Fury.
Now we have to understand what that means. Just to Formally The the word that we translated as happy. We're fortunate. A chre Ache appears in both of these verses. Appears at the beginning of the first that is happy or fortunate is.
The one who is God-fearing, all those who are God-fearing. And in the second verse, With respect to the one who Um eating of deriving benefit from the toilet's hands. There is the Double expression of ashrecha. You're fortunate. Vetovlach.
And it's good for you.
So in keeping with the tradition that we don't see anything as being superfluous.
So, what's the particular emphasis in the second verse of you're fortunate and it's good for you? in uh in our tradition You're fortunate refers to This world. It's good for you in the world to come. This is something that is relevant, if you will, on both levels. Both In this world, And in all eternity.
Whereas the one who's God-fearing just gets one of these blessings, but not both. And if I can share with you one of the classic interpretations of what this statement would mean. This year is an interpretation presented by one of the great Scholars of the 16th century, Rabbi Judah Lowy of Prague. That it's great to be God-fearing. But you know, in our tradition, there's something that's greater than being God-fearing.
You know what that is? Being God-loving. Because love is greater than fear. And while it's a monumental achievement. to be someone who is God fearing.
What's the key to being God loving? In this verse You're deriving benefit of the toilet of your hands. And there's an ideal here. I have to confess that this ideal is something that I really haven't ever been able to To experience myself. Because The ideal really is.
to be living off the land. Farmer Cowboy. And You know what that provides? It provides with the opportunity to feel. I Am absolutely, completely independent and autonomous of the largesse, of anyone.
except for my complete and absolute dependence. Upon God alone. I'm not. Waiting for my weekly or monthly salary. I'm not a paper pusher.
I'm not. Um In need of ingratiating myself. to some employer My employer is God. I'm just connecting with The land? The gifts that God has given me directly, Then again, this pertains to the farmer, the cowboy, and a whole lot of other people.
But it's the highest level possible because when you reach that level of feeling, I am absolutely independent and autonomous, except that I'm absolutely dependent upon. God and God alone. Then I look at my Handiwork.
Well, I'm doing. And I can't help but say thank you, Lord. Everything I have. I'm getting directly from you.
Now, of course, here too, this is precisely, precisely. They question that hangs in the balance. Because someone in that position we can relatively readily appreciate. doesn't necessarily become a lover of God. He could become arrogant.
He could become The kind of egotist who says I'm in business for myself. I'll totally miss out on all of this. And the consequence will be I hate to say this because this is just such a A horrific Resolved. He'll ruin his own life. and he'll ruin the lives of everyone with whom he comes into contact.
Because with his own life, Instead of That lifestyle opening his heart up wide. to receive the blessings of God on every level in his life. He's closing his heart to those blessings. And by consequence anyone with whom he comes into contact.
Well just experience. A monster. Whether he has any hired hands on his farm or in his herd. His family? All they'll experience.
is The worst Egotist. who sees every one and everything around him. as something to exploit. But if you just changes the switch And he opens up his heart. And he rather sees everything that he's doing As the bounty that is being poured out upon him by God's largesse.
then he'll appreciate that just as He is the grateful receiver of everything that's coming from God. He needs to make sure that everyone with whom he comes into contact Will be a grateful receiver of what he's just passing on because he's a conduit. And just as the blessings have come to him. He'll pass them on to everyone else. And he'll be the most wonderful person to meet.
because he'll see everything he's doing. as hey I'm just God's messenger boy.
So Uh Two things that are spectacular to me.
Well, one thing is spectacular. The other thing I... I'm interested on your viewpoint. Um The idea of The the very fact that The Jew are the Yid. You're the hands of God, right?
And this idea of Being the hands of God is Like as you mentioned as a farmer, you're a junior partner Of what he's doing, and the experience of going out on those adventures every day with him amongst. you know his handiwork And obviously you get to take part in that with your hands, you know, is pretty spectacular. Um And so beautiful in its own way, because if you're a shepherd, which you are. of people. Um yeah.
you get to work with your own hands and in many ways. You know, you see the same kind of Yeah. You know, the way God works and you get to be a junior partner, just like you said, with hands. And that's beautiful. But the other thing that I You know, I heard um it's rabbi kaplan he's with chabad.org in in in toronto or somewhere he he He did a series on the 119 Psalm that is off the hook.
You know, he he did a Complete. show on every single verse. And and and some of my favorites were when he was I recall in the mem section Um Talking about How King David actually said, all are my teachers. Right.
To be to be precise. I ha I have learned from all of my teachers. The second part of the verse I'm going to translate this in a somewhat unconventional manner, but I think more literally. Your testimonials. are my chatter.
Meaning Um Sikha Chatter. is the lowest level of speech. There's far there are far more exalted words in Hebrew, in Biblical Hebrew. that refer to speech. Siha is a A term that we find associated with childish chatter.
So What's the connection? I'm always chattering in God's Word. Like That's Not just my exalted speech when I'm giving some learned biblical discourse. I bump into somebody on the street and I say, Hey, I'm trying to figure out this verse in the Bible. Do you have anything to say about it?
Right.
And as a result, I'm learning from everyone. Because I'm constantly chattering about God's word. And you might think. Hey, chattering about God's word, that's not dignified. That's not respectful.
No, I'm just obsessing on it. How does the letter member? begin in Psalm 119. Ugh. Na'a haftik torateka.
I think it's a very good thing. How much I love your Torah, your teaching. All Yeah It is my chatter. And it's again the same word, sikha. I'm chattering about it all the time.
I can't stop talking about it. Because I'm just obsessing on God's word. Exactly. And I'm not trying to be dignified. I'm just trying to, I'm just, I'm just obsessing.
Like, if someone is love sick, can't stop talking about the object of his love.
So I love your Torah God. I can't stop talking about it. And as a result, everyone is becoming my my teacher because everyone I bump into, I'm I can't stop talking about your word and I have something to say. I'm learning for everyone. And so from that perspective, David's humility.
astounds me. It astounds me. I mean, here's this dude. I don't remember his name. He's checking rocks at him.
She meets son of Gira. Right, right, right, right, right. You know, ends up. having to do with Esther and all sorts of shenanigans there, but nonetheless. Here's this guy.
He's throwing rocks at the king of Israel. And it's like But you almost get the picture that David would walk up to this guy. Write and say, what do you think of this person? Like, you just get the picture that every, at the humility of that statement and still, I just find it so astounding that when, and so the reason I say that is I picture this farmer out there, he's arrogant and he's whatever. But nonetheless.
Mm-hmm. When I was in the car business before. You know, I started radio and all this long line of craziness, but anyway, I'm just like that. Like, I read something in the Bible this morning, I got to ask everybody I know about it because it just blows me away. I would go into the dealership every day, and almost every customer, like, have you read this?
What do you think of this? And the fascinating fruit of that. Is it often will cause them to think? Hey, I don't have a clue. And they go and they open up their Torah.
You know, they begin to think about it as well. It is completely fruitful to love it at that extent, right? Which is really what this, to my perspective, that's what this show is. I can't help, but In my mind, I'm connecting what you just said. That's chain reaction.
That is You're into it. You ask someone else, he becomes into it. It's contagious. It's a chain reaction. Right?
And maybe if I may just append to that. Free association. chain reaction, you know, you think about What may be one of the best examples of This double edged sword. Nuclear energy. If I see Nuclear energy.
In terms of Well, God has given us an opportunity to be able to harness The might of the atom. Imagine how many things we can fix up in this broken world. if we look at it the right way. But that requires looking at it in terms of This is a gift from God. and I need to make it into a gift for the world.
Obviously, I could also look at it in terms of I'm the egotist. I'm the new god. And I will unleash. forces of destruction, the likes of which the world had never before known. And we see Precisely.
Any huge Source of power. Is it going to be an and I have to note here This is something that very much comes to mind. Precisely this week because We're going to read. These verses In The Torah portion in Deuteronomy. This coming Shabbat this coming Sabbath.
The The warning I think we've talked about this before, but it's really. directly germane. That God says in Deuteronomy In Chapter Eight. Verses 11 and on. Beware.
that you forget not the LORD your God. In not keeping his commandments, his judgments, and his statutes, which I command you this day. Listen. When you have eaten and are satisfied. and have built goodly houses and dwelt in them And when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied.
then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Who led you through that great and terrible wilderness? In which there were venomous serpents and scorpions and drought where there was no water, who brought forth water for you. out of the rock of Flynn. Who fed you in the wilderness with manna?
which your fathers knew not that I might afflict you. And I might prove you to do good. At your latter end. That was the goal, but. You say in your heart My power.
and the maid of my hand have gotten me this wealth That's the most devastating consequence. To say I'm in business for myself. And the antidote is: You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get the wealth. That he may establish his covenant. which he swore to your fathers as it is this day.
So you know, on the one hand, when you consider the antidote, Oh, so hey, I really did get the wealth because of my power. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but the only reason you have power is once God gave it to you. That's critical. And it's obviously not critical because God is some kind of um megalomaniac egotist who needs to Get your thank you. You need it.
We need it. We all need it. That is that what the the most burning need is to recognize that We aren't. In business for ourselves because If we are, then we make ourselves into gods. And we make ourselves into gods.
of evil and destruction. and all that wealth Just becomes further means. to destroying ourselves and destroying everything around us.
So remember the Lord your God. Remember that this is all part of a junior partnership. Remember then that We are receivers. And if we're receivers, then we need to be conduits.
So But the gifts that flow to us also flow from us. to the next one down the chain. Right, which gets back to actually where you started. Back in Deuteronomy. you know talking about remember remember remember you with it's a recurring idea Um That It's really connected to power itself, isn't it?
Because if you don't remember Then you hold perspective on what The power that really is in your hand. signifies is going to be skewed because Someone like that? Again Because he doesn't remember. He makes himself into the god that he venerates. Yeah.
Talk about remembering there is Um Old Hasidic statement. tributed to the the rabbi who founded the Kasidic movement. Forgetfulness Is what leads to exile. and remembering. Is the seat of redemption.
Because ultimately Forgetting Always, in every way, shape, and form, forgetting amounts to forgetting God. It amounts to breaking the connection. We have an ancient saying. of a person is ungrateful to his fellow man, he will end up being ungrateful to God. The moment that I stop seeing myself in terms of.
the relationships in terms of My debt of gratitude. To God. and to everyone around me. The moment that happens. The first victim is myself.
Then of course Such a person starts victimizing everyone else. But the one he first destroys is his own self. And the antidote again is to remember. And that what you know what a What a beautiful thing. And actually, as we were talking about as we started the show.
Um There. to remember is to some extent just be aware. Oh. Like all this stuff that's going on in Israel today. the cardboards these these things This is he told us about this.
And he told us how exciting this was going to be. And he told us that Right. And and it's pretty cool to It's beyond cool, really, when you think about it, that we can all be part of. you know, of what he's doing in Israel. You know, wherever in the world you are.
Hopefully we will be back soon. Uh into as you say his land.
So as always. We went longer in the places we had no idea, but that's what I love. Personally, I don't For all And inevitably I can't help play out here. Of course you you you really hit the nail of the head remembering. You know, we live in a generation in which the hallmark of knowledge is being able to do a good Google search.
Yeah, but if everything that I'm getting to, I'm only getting to because of a Google search, that means I don't have any knowledge base in my own mind. and my own heart. to come back to. to remember. God's word is not a Google search.
God's Word. Is The root. in which our very existence It's planted. and from which it gets its sustenance.
So we have to remember. Uh yes, we do. Talk to us. Inshalom. Shalom, God bless you and Shalom from...
God's city. From his city. Jerusalem. City of Phoebe. The city of God.
Thank you. We are so honored that you would join us today on Voices from Zion, Robbie, and the Rabbi. For more information about Rabbi Haim, Go to his website, zionbible studies.org. That's zionbible studies.org. or visit me, Robbie Dillmore.
at the Christian Car Guy website. That's Christian CarGuy.com. Once again, Shalom from Jerusalem, the Holy City, God's City.
