WORLD'S FIRST "JEW JOKE"

Dear Jewish Friends and Supporters:

GOD IS THE WORLD'S FIRST "COMEDIAN" AND THE FIRST JOKE IS "ON US."  

One could say Jewish humor is biblical and that the very first joke is a "Jew Joke" in an ironic way. His name is Isaac, "we laugh." 

Genesis 20:5-7 -- Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 

It's very easy to make fun of Jews! Or any group of people. Especially when the person making the jokes is somebody who belongs to the subject group they are making fun of.  THEN, the humor also encourages introspection and humility. The world needs more of that! This is one of the earliest lessons God gave us in the bible. 

There is also a profound basis for why so many of the great comedians have been Jews. The "world" has hated and tried to destroy us for thousands of years. We can cry or laugh about it. Jews do both! 

Proverbs 17.22 -- joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

I offer this short skit, called "Hide or Laugh" by an Israeli comedian as an example of how an Israeli Jew is helping Jews cope with the tragegic challenges. 

Tomorrow is Shemini Atzeret, which is also the one year anniversary of the biblical date of the Hamas massacre. We will cry and laugh. Laugh because, look who is surviving!  With God, all things are possible.

Be well,

Jonah

P.S. Should I apologize if my humor offends? Does God owe Sarah an apology? Does God owe Jews an apology? I think not. Actually, I think it is the other way around! Such is repentance.

THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYTHING

Ecclesiastes 3.8 tells us there is: " a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."  

We are living during one of these times! We always are. 

Ecclesiastes 3.1 -- There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

During Sukkot, Jews read the Book of Ecclesiastes, also known as Kohelet.  

Ecclesiastes is attributed to King Solomon, King David's son. King Solomon's reign of 40 years was a time of great wealth and splendor for the Kingdom of Israel. Solomon surrounded himself with tremendous luxuries. According to the Bible, King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. 

ECCLESIASTES begins with:

1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:  

2 Vanity of vanities, said Koheleth; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

3 What profit has man in all his toil that he toils under the sun?

4 A generation goes and a generation comes, but the Earth endures forever.

Solomon is considered to be very wise and Ecclesiastes is one of the "wisdom books" in the Bible. (The others include Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) and Job.)

The author's basic goal is to target all of the ways we try to build meaning and purpose in life apart from God and then let the teacher deconstruct them.

The Bible Project does a very intelligible analysis of Ecclesiastes. 

Click here to watch this animated overview.

After 12 chapters Kohelet concludes where he begins. 

"The end of the matter, everything having been heard, fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the entire man."

Like a sukkah, life is temporary. Life is hevel, meaningless. everything is hevel.  There you have it. Paradoxically, there is great lesson on finding joy. 

Happy Sukkot...Look up. 

More about Sukkot 

Celebrating the Lord's Guidance and Protection

"How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel!"

Numbers 24.5

Numbers 24:3-5 -- He uttered his oracle and said: “This is the oracle of Balaam son of Beor, and the oracle of a strong man whose eye has been opened, the oracle of one hearing God’s speech, one seeing Shaddai’s vision, one fallen down, yet with open eyes: How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, and your dwellings, O Israel! 

The holiday of Sukkot is upon us.  Welcome to the most joyous holiday of the year!  The biblical mitzvah (commandment) of “rejoicing on the festivals” applies to both Pesach and Shavuot. Purim has plenty of joyous celebration too. But the festival of Sukkot tops the chart when it comes to joy (simcha). It's been said that on Sukkot we are "harvesting joy!"

Sukkot is one of the appointed times, the mo'adim, spelled out in chapter 23 of the Book of Leviticus of the Torah. 

Leviticus 23:33-36 -- Adonai spoke to Moses saying: “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, and say, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Sukkot, for seven days to Adonai.  On the first day there is to be a holy convocation—you are to do no laborious work. For seven days you are to bring an offering by fire to Adonai. The eighth day will be a holy convocation to you, and you are to bring an offering by fire to Adonai. It is a solemn assembly—you should do no laborious work.

In Genesis 12.2, "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

The root of Sukkot traces back to Genesis 33 which describes Jacob's encounter with Esau.  Jacob, who is renamed Israel, built a house and shelters for his livestock, and named the place Succoth. 

Genesis 33:16-17 -- So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. 

Fast forward to Egypt, after Joseph, to Moses, after the death of the first born males. After Passover, in Exodus 12:37 the Torah records, "And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children."

After 430 years, the Israelites passed through their doorways with the blood of lamb put on it's posts and lintel. This is the birth of the Jewish Nation.

The Israelites arrived in Sukkot, free from slavery. The Israelites could look up at the stars knowing that the mighty hand of God brought them out of Egypt as God promised Abram. At this moment in Sukkot, a biblical milestone in the story of the Jewish people was realized. 

Genesis 15:1-6 -- After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue[a] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Succoth is proof that God keeps His promises!

Genesis 15:12-14 -- As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 

They left Egypt. Here they were in the desert with no shelter and insufficient food and water, but God provided and protected them all the way to the Land He promised the people He chose.  After dwelling in Sukkot for a short time, the people moved on with God's protection as it says in Exodus 13.  How were they "equipped for battle" with the Egyptians that would pursue them?

Exodus 13:18-22 -- And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph[a] had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” 20 And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

As the scriptures read, the Shekinah's protection first appears for the Israelites in Succoth! It would guide them to the Promised Land, Eretz Yisrael. 

Once out of the desert and in Canaan, the land God chose for the Jewish people, the Jews are commanded to continue to keep Sukkot as a Harvest Festival as it is written:

Exodus 23:16 -- You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. 

The entire chapter of Exodus 34 is a rich reminder of the fall Harvest Festival and so much more! 

Finally in Deuteronomy 16:13-15, Moses is retelling the history and obligations of the Jewish people to the new generation that will enter the land.  We are told a final time to keep the holiday of Sukkot. 

“You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. 15 For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

Sukkot In the Land with a Temple 

Now let's look at how Jews kept the holiday in the times when the Temple in Jerusalem existed. 

The Great Feast, as Sukkot was referred to, was a time to sacrifice many animals -- 192 bulls, rams and goats in all. That's a lot of blood!! To wash away that much blood took a lot water, and the priests drew a tremendous volume of water from the pool of Siloam in a water drawing ceremony.  

During Sukkot, there was a Water Libation (nisukh hamayim) ceremony based on Isaiah’s promise “With joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation.” The epitome of celebration in Temple times took place surrounding this water ritual: the Rejoicing (Simchat) at the Place of (Beit) the Water Drawing (Hashoavah).

Isaiah 12:2 -- "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation." And with joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation. 

Each morning of Sukkot, the priests went to the pool of Siloam near Jerusalem to fill a golden flask. Shofar blasts greeted their arrival at the Temple’s Water Gate. They then ascended and poured the water so that it flowed over the altar simultaneously with wine from another bowl -- water and wine poured out together. 

The Talmud recorded that “one who had never witnessed the Rejoicing at the Place of the Water Drawing had never seen true joy in his life.” 

The Talmud describes the festivities in detail, from the lighting of immense candelabrum set in the Temple courtyard (each holding gallons of oil and fit with wicks made from priests’ worn‑out vestments), which generated such intense light that they illuminated every courtyard in the city. A Levite orchestra of flutes, trumpets, harps, and cymbals accompanied torchlight processions, and men who had earned the capacity for real spiritual joy through their purity, character and scholarship danced ecstatically to the hand‑clapping, foot-stomping, and hymn‑singing crowds.

Joy and Sadness are Intermingled on Sukkot 

Intermingled with the joy of Sukkot is a rather sober life lesson. Customarily, we read from the scroll of Ecclesiastes (in Hebrew: Kohelet), The scroll of Kohelet starts with the exclamation "havel havalim/vanity of vanities!" Upon reflecting over his illustrious life, Solomon summarizes that his life is empty and an meaningless.  "What profit is a person's work?"

Matthew 16:26 of the Gospels put it this way:

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Interestingly, sad as the Book of Ecclesiastes is, this book mentions "Simcha" (Joy) more times than any other book in the Bible! 

On the 7th day of Sukkot, which is the 21st day of the month of Tishrei, Jews say Hoshana Rabbah. “Hoshana” means “please save us,” and “rabbah” means “great,” so the holiday refers to “the great salvation.” This is also known as the "Great Supplication."

On Hosanah Rabbah, the seventh day of Sukkot a series of seven liturgical poems calling upon God to rescue and redeem the Jewish people, primarily by sending rain.

Technically, Sukkot is a seven day feast holiday, but an eighth day is added (7+1). Some consider it part of Sukkot but Shemini Atzeret, (Hebrew: “Eighth Day of the Solemn Assembly”), is a Jewish religious festival on the 8th day of the 7 day holiday of Sukkot.  Shemini Atzeret is celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei in Israel, 

On personal tangent, I just blogged about 22 on Yom Kippur. 

The 22nd day of Tishrei is the same day the Jews also celebrate the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah (Joy of Torah). It's celebrated to mark the end of the annual cycle of reading the Torah in synagogues, and the beginning of a new cycle. On Simchat Torah the Torah scrolls are rolled back to the beginning and the reading starts over. 

Shemini Atzeret, the last day of the great feast, is considered the happiest day of the year in Judaism.

Sukkot After the Destruction of the Temple

After the destruction of Herod's Temple, without a place to make the sacrifices and draw the water, the rabbis formulated new ways to remember and celebrate Sukkot. 

This is how we got the tradition of building the temporary booth called a Sukkah. There are laws for a "kosher" sukkah. 

It is tradition to spend as much time as we can in the Sukkah, versus our home. We enjoy meals, prayers and spending time in the sukkah. The meaning of the sukkah.

The Torah commands us in the Book of Leviticus 23:40 -- And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

So in the Sukkah we bring those together: The Etrog (citron fruit), Lulav (frond of date palm) Hadass (myrtle bough) and Aravah (willow branch) and bind together and wave in the sukkah.  There is fascinating connections in Judaism, and even archeology, about the spices that are associated with the Four spices of Sukkot! More about the spices. 

The great rabbis debated what we are supposed to be celebrating on Sukkot.  Some say it is God's provision and protection in the desert during the Exodus. Other's say it is the temporary nature of the sukkah itself that is what is most important. Sukkot has powerful deep meanings. 

I like to believe it is both and that it all ties back to that place Jacob built animal shelters and where the Israelites traveled to when they left Rameses Egypt. 

Sukkot reminds of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abram. We are reminded of we were lead out Egypt and millions looked up in the sky as a free nation for the first time. That is when we dwelled in Sukkot for a short time and baked unleavened bread. Sukkot is the place the Lord's Shekinah came down shade them from the scorching sun by day and light their way by night as it lead the people to the sea and ultimately the land God promised. 

Of all the Jewish holidays, only the Feast of Tabernacles is specifically prophesied to be observed by ALL nations in the future. 

Zechariah 14:16-17 -- Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 

THE DAY HAMAS ATTACKED ISRAEL IS THE SAME DAY THAT 2 CHRONICLES CHAPERT 7 IS ABOUT. 

2 Chronicles 7:22 --Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER!

I will add this for the Christian wondering if the holiday of Sukkot, the great Feast of Tabernacles, the Water Libation ceremony, the 8th Day of the Assembly and Simchat Torah, when Jews finish the Torah, have any relevant meaning for Christianity.  Read John Chapter Seven (7) 

John 7:37-38 -- On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

Miracles at The Pool of Siloam

John 9:5-7 -- As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. Read John Chapter Seven (9).

Good news...Yeshua's time had arrived! His hour was coming. Christian, can you think of reasons to be joyful?  Yeshua chose this holiday to declare Himself. The better you understand Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah the more I think you will understand why! 

Yom Tov! Chag Sukkot Sameach -- Happy Sukkot Holiday

I AM BEING FOLLOWED

Note: This post will be frequently updated with further revelations about 22. 

The Hotel Room Door on Yom Kippur

I started this post, my 496th, on Yom Kippur 5785 (10.12.25). As I say on the home page of my blog and in "The First" post of this blog. 

"I write to think. Writing is a great way to work out ideas. It helps me organize thoughts and come to conclusions. You might say that writing makes you a clearer thinker and helps with decisions."

This is truly one of those posts that "I am writing to think."  Don’t expect it to make sense to you. It's less important for you to understand what I am saying than for me to understand what is being worked out in my mind by writing.  Anyway, please excuse me while I do so. 

Since this eagle visited my yard on 12/22/21, the number "22" has been following me and I've been following it.  The eagle visited for 3 days to make it's point.  Thank God I had eyes to see!  So I listened carefully after that to the number 22.

Since 12.22.21, when I am doing my most deep spiritual thinking, the number 22 seems to pop-up or out. This time, Mary and I were checking into our hotel room in Vermont for a family (kids + grandkids) vacation.  I'll have to break-away to go to a chabad house here for Yom Kippur. My soul is very conflicted on this holiday, but that is a long story.  Aflicting our soul on Yom Kippur is actually what the Torah instructs.

Leviticus 16:29 -- And [all this] shall be as an eternal statute for you; in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict yourselves, and you shall not do any work neither the native nor the stranger who dwells among you.

In any event, I was pulling* the luggage to the room, while Mary walks Casper, our 12 year old poddle, to our room. There is that number on our door 222 - 22, 2 times.

* Pulling is work I shouldn't be doing.  An example of conflicted. 

Numbers reveal things to me.  I seek out Numbers. It is a very Hebrew thing.  Numbers seek me out. 22 reveals the deeper depths of scripture to me. It also connects the scriptures to moments in my life, which is why I give greater attention to a situation when this number shows up.

Note: As it relates to bible verses, of course there are tons of chapters and verses that have a 22 in them. It is just that I find the odds of a chapter/verse being highly significant are higher. 

Here are some things about 22: 

• There are 22 Hebrew Letters.
• 22 is a number of completeness, because it is the full representation of the 22 letters of the Alef-Bet.
• The number 22 and the value of Pi are hidden in the first verse of the bible. The numeric value of the first letter of the Hebrew words in Genesis 1.1 is 22. Pi holds many mathmatical secrets of the bible. Pi can be used like the settings for the German's "Enigma machine." God is an enigma that is solved by the Bible! 

• The last letter, the 22nd letter, of the Hebrew alphabet the Tav. The paleo (ancient) image of the letter is the cross. It represents covenant. 
• The word, Torah, begins with letter Tav (ת). The 22 letter The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, often associated with truth, completion, and sign.
• 
  
  On the Tree of Life (Jacob's Ladder) there are 22 paths between the Sephirot.

• At the center of this Madorala in Sefer Yetzirah is the 22nd letter in Hebrew, the Tav. 
• Genesis 2.22 -- And the Lord God built the side that He had taken from man into a woman, and He brought her to man.
• Genesis 22.2 -- And He said, "Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, yea, Isaac, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you." (First mention of LOVE.)
• Genesis 22.4 -- On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.
• Exodus 12.2 -- “This month shall be for you the head of months, the first of the months of the year” Nisan 1 - Spring and a New Year.
• Exodus 12.22 -- And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and immerse [it] in the blood that is in the basin, and you shall extend to the lintel and to the two doorposts the blood that is in the basin, and you shall not go out, any man from the entrance of his house until morning.
• In 1 Kings 8 - For the Dedication of the Temple Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle. 
• There are 22 almond flowers on the Temple menorah 
• There are 22 generations from Adam to Jacob. 
• Jacob and Joseph were separated for 22 years.
• In Psalm 22 - The "Suffering Servant Psalm" verse 22:2 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
• Psalm 22:22 -- I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.
• Chapter 119 of Psalms has 176 verses because it follows a pattern whereby the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet are used to begin 8 verses each. That is, 22-times-8 equals 176.
• Psalm 2.12 (1 in between 22) -- "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."
• The Israelites left Mount Sinai, when the Cloud lifted, to go to the Promise Land, to fulfill God's Covenant, on the 20th Day of the 2nd month of the 2nd year after Passover -- 2O.2.2. (Since zero is a place keeper in Hebrew, this can be read 222.)
• Jeroboam I, the very first king of Israel after the united kingdom split in two in 930 B.C., reigned for 22 official years
• King Ahab, consider the worst Israelite king reigned as 22 official years. 
• King Amon consider one of the worst kings over Judah, began his rule at the age of 22.
• When Moses raised up the tabernacle of God there were exactly 22,000 Levites consecrated to serve.
• Shemini Atzeret (שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת‎—"Eighth [day of] Assembly") is a Jewish holiday. It is celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. 
• 2 Samuel 8:5 KJV -- And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.
• 1 Kings 8.62 -- Solomon offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep as sacrifices of well-being to the LORD. Thus the king and all the Israelites dedicated the House of the LORD.
• Isaiah 22.22 -- And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. 24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. 25 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
• Hosea prophesied the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians in 722. The familiar approximate calculation of Pi is 22/7, or 3.1428... Seven (7) is a hugely significant biblical number. 
• Matthew 22:37-40 TLV -- And He said to him, “‘You shall love ADONAI your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
• Joshua 22.11 -- A report reached the Israelites: “The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar opposite the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, across from the Israelites.”
• Luke 2.22 -- When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
• Luke 22:20 -- 1st Cup Blood Covenant
• The 22nd time John uses the word "light," he quotes Jesus: "I have come as a light into the world . . ." 
• Adultry is akin to idoltry. Deuteronomy 22:22 TLV -- “Suppose a man is found lying with a married woman. Then both of them are to die—the man who lay with the woman and the woman. So you are to purge the evil from Israel.
• Jesus is recorded to have quoted 22 times from the Old Testament.
• John 20:22 -- "And after He said this, He breathed on them. And He said to them, “Receive the Ruach ha-Kodesh!
• John 10.22 -- Now it was the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) in Jerusalem, and it was winter. This is when He declared himself the Water of Life. 
• The Book Revelation has 22 chapters
•  Revelation 22:18-19 -- I testify to everyone 
• The Hebrew letters end at 22. The Book of Revelation ends where 22 begins. (The last verse is 22.21.) 
• In Revelation the number 12 has 22 occurrences.
• Perfect vision /hindsight is 2o2o. In Hebrew zero 0 is not a number, it is a placekeeper.  So perfect vision is 22.

I could go on, but the point is obvious. 

"22" reveals. 

Today is Yom Kippur. I walked through THE DOOR of my room #222 on the evening of Yom Kippur, the Kol Nidre service. Much has already been revealed to me about Kol Nidre. But that's another story altogether!

Mission accomplished!  Writing has again served it's purpose, for me!  I'm sorry if I have left you confused. 

I look forward to what the rest of Yom Kippur reveals. 

 גמר חתימה טובה

G'mar chatima tova

"May you be sealed in the Book of Life" 

EPILOGUE:

Other examples of math in the Bible.

• Pythagoras
• Pi 

This is what I call a "Confirmation."

ISAIAH 22 IS A BIG 22!!

KAMALA HARRIS WANTED AMERICA TO BE "UNBURDENED BY THE PAST." 

The "burden of the valley of vision" in Isaiah 22 refers to a prophecy concerning Jerusalem, which is metaphorically called the "valley of vision" due to its geographical location surrounded by mountains and its significance as a center for prophetic revelations. 

The term "burden" signifies a heavy message or prophecy of impending calamity and judgment upon Jerusalem for its people's disobedience and misplaced confidence in their status as God's chosen. Despite being a place of divine revelation, the city's inhabitants are criticized for their lack of faith and reliance on God.

THE "TRUTH" IS THAT WE ARE BURDENED BY PROPHECY. THE PROBLEM IS THAT SO MUCH OF THE WORLD DOESN'T SEE IT! 

PRAY FOR EYES TO SEE AND EARS TO HEAR.

On the same day, I share my thoughts about "22" with a friend of mine while he was driving to Buffalo. He arrived at his hotel and when he checked in this was his room.

HOW BRIGHT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE, LIGHT IS SYNONYMOUS WITH DEVINE PRESENCE 

In this blog post I mused on the question of the "Brightness" of the Light.

Here are a few examples in both the Tenach (Old Testament) and the Gospels (New Testament):

Exodus 33.20 -- And He said, "You will not be able to see My face, for man shall not see Me and live."

In Ezekiel 1:4-28, the prophet describes a vision filled with brightness, representing God's majesty.

Matthew 17:1-2 NKJV -- Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light" 

Acts 9.3 -- As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 

2 Thessalonians 2.8 KJV -- And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Notice it is the "brightness" of his coming.

Revelation 21:23 -- The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light

SO HOW BRIGHT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

Scientists studying the linen burial clothes of Yeshua/Jesus have given us a clue. They calculated the Brightness of the Light that could produce the image of the body wrapped in the Shroud of Turin. 

Scientists determined it would take 34 trillion watts. That is more electricity that the entire USA is capable of generating today. In addition, because that much energy would vaporize the fabric, the length of the pulse of light would have to be for 0.000000000025 OF one second!

Furthermore, the light would have to be vacuum ultraviolet light. Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light is special due to its short wavelength range of 10-200 nm, which requires a vacuum to propagate since it is absorbed by air. This makes it useful for special high-resolution and high energy tasks, such as sterilization.

These are a few of the amazing facts about the Shroud. NONE of them is possible for scientists to recreate with today's technology. It all leads to only one possible conclusion. The man in the Shroud of Turin suffered a horrific painful death. He was buried for three days time frame. He emerged from his linen clothes in a bright flash of light that was so powerful that no man can see and live.  

Science is catching up to the bible!  Yes, I said that correctly! 

Recent scientific studies on the Shroud of Turin have reignited discussions about its authenticity and connection to biblical accounts. A 2022 study by Italian scientist Liberato De Caro used wide-angle X-ray scattering to suggest the Shroud dates back 2,000 years, aligning with the time of Jesus. This challenges previous carbon dating from the 1980s that dated it to the medieval period. Despite skepticism, some researchers argue that new evidence, including pollen and soil analysis, supports its authenticity as a relic from the time of Jesus.

SIGN OF JONAH:

Matthew 12:38-41 -- Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

My other blog posts concerning the Shroud of Turin:

Have You Seen Him 

Two Credible Witnesses 

The Man in the Shroud 

Asking Questions About the Image on the Shroud 

The Keter on the Shroud 

The Perfector 

A Love Letter From Yeshua 

Have You Seen Him?

HOW TO CAST OFF FEAR?

Me by the water on Tashlich 2016.

What if you could cast off fear? Imagine how free you would be. 

It happened for me in 2016, during a Jewish ritual called Tashlich, which takes place over the Days of Awe.  I cast off fear. 

Oxford dictionary definition of "Awe."

"a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder."

The "Days of Awe" are the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur during which some Jews meditate on ask for forgiveness and transformation. Someone, I forget who, took this picture of me during Tashlich in 2016. 

Tashlich is a Jewish ceremony that means "casting off" and is performed during the Days of Awe, typically on the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah. 

Simply put, the ritual involves symbolically letting go of, casting off, the previous year's sins at a body of water. 

The question I am writing to address is "How to cast off fear?" My answer is based on a personal experience that took place during Tashlich that year. 

I believe we cast off fear by way of substitution.  In other words, you cast off worldly fear by substituting supernatural fear.  You replace trivial fears with a much greater fear -- the fear of the LORD! 

On Rosh Hashanah, Jews attempt to be at Mount Sinai with the Blast of the Trumpet. On Yom Teruah (the day of the blast) we hear the call of the Shofar, the Ram's horn that was the substitute for Isaac, who Abraham loved. 

On Tashlich in 2016, as I stood at the water with my eyes closed, I prayed to know what to cast off.  I honestly didn't know. I waited silently for some sort of answer. Something amazing happened.  

A movie began to play on the inside of my eyelids. It was images from when I was toddler, a child, a teenager ... my life was literally flashing before me. Then at the moment the images stopped the answer came to me in one word. Hashem told me to cast off Fear. So I did! 

I returned from the water as Jonah. That was the very moment, the exact moment, my name went from Robert Jonah Ritter to just Jonah. My life started over in a way. For me personally, Jonah is a sign of something deeper. That is another story. 

The message I want to get across is about substitution. 

Fear is programmed into humans by God's design. Our survival depends on our emotions.  Every emotion can also be unhealthy and lead to our death.  These emotions fill us. They make up the experiences of our life.  If we remove them we start to die.  So we can't simply eliminate fear. But we can substitute unhealthy fear for healthy fear. That's what I did on Tashlich.  I cast off the unheathly fears that filled my life with fear of the Lord. 

In a supernatural sense, I cast off a big part of myself. When I became Jonah and I opened my eyes at the water and I saw the world in a new way.  I was free. 

Hope and pray for the Lord to give you ears to hear and eyes to see. May the Lord guard your way and grant you a sweet New Year. 

L'Shanah Tovah Tikateivu.

WHO DO I FEAR?

This week the High Holy Days begin. They are also called the "Days of Awe." Awe is way of describing fear of God.

As a Jew I fear Elohim, the One G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Because I fear Him, I fear condemnation. 

As a Jew I have failed to keep the Mosaic Law, the laws required in the Torah. Is there any Jew who has? So I fear devine condemnation. 

As a Jew I do not believe that my repentance is adequate. Is there any Jew who does? So I continue to fear Devine condemnation. 

Does God want us to live in fear? The prophet Jonah knew God, so what can we learn from him? 

Jonah knew of Lord's grace & mercy from the beginning. 

Jonah 1:1-3 -- Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai (Truth), saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 

Jonah knew the end from the beginning...

Jonah 4.2 -- "And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster."

So what was Jonah thinking when he ran from the presence of God? What was he thinking when he told the sailors to throw him overboard? After the "great fish" (Gadol Dawg) that the Lord appointed, saved Jonah, why did he change his mind? 

Why did Jonah decide to go to Nineveh to tell them what the Lord said was going to happen in 40 days? Jonah tells us:

Jonah 2.8 (ESV) -- Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.

Jonah waiting and watching

Jonah didn't expect the people of Nineveh to repent!  He expected their destruction!!

Jonah knew God, but he misjudged the people of Nineveh. They didn't wait 40 days. They immediately repented. 

The people of Nineveh heard God. They feared the God of Israel. They recieved mercy for their repentance. Jonah on the otherhand, grew very angry when his plant died. So angry that he wanted to die.  

Jonah knew, 2.9 - "Salvation comes from the Lord",  so what was Jonah still missing?  

Jonah 4.10 -- But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

God explained to Jonah that the people of Nineveh didn't understand!  The moment they heard God and repented, they recieved God's mercy.

Jonah thought the Lord sent him to announce the destruction of Nineveh.  But God had a different plan.  Like Joseph told his brothers when they came to him in Egypt:

Genesis 50:19-21 -- But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

We read the Book of Jonah on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. For over 50 years I read the Book of Jonah and I knew there was a message we were missing. I read it over & over until I finally got it and when I finally did, fear left.

Though we fear God, surely Jonah was a sign that through repentance in God's love we can cast off the fear of condemnation. What would the people of Nineveh say?

Isaiah 41:10 -- fear not, for I am with you; 

be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

This Rosh Hashanah, on Yom Teruah, may we all hear the blast of the shofar, the call of Hashem and understand so we all may have a sweet New Year! Amen.