WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.879 Well, Shabbat Shalom, everybody. It's good to 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:07.519 be back with you all. We had, Sue and I had one 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:13.000 fantastic trip. We were on a cruise to Alaska, 00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:16.640 and how many of you have ever been on a cruise? 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.359 Oh, a bunch of you, okay. Well, I was on another 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.120 one a while ago, and I'll tell you the truth, 00:00:23.219 --> 00:00:25.879 it was a short cruise, and I didn't like it. 00:00:25.899 --> 00:00:29.120 I'll tell you why. I felt like... I was in a 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:32.700 shopping mall and I couldn't escape. Water to 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:35.640 the left of me, water to the right of me. But 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:40.619 this one was absolutely fabulous. And if I'm 00:00:40.619 --> 00:00:43.320 allowed to make a recommendation of a cruise 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:46.439 company, let me tell you, Holland America. Wow. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.679 Wow. There's so many... pleasant things about 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:54.119 it, but I'm going to focus on just some insights 00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:58.399 and lessons that occurred to me through the trip. 00:00:58.979 --> 00:01:02.899 And hopefully this will be meaningful to you. 00:01:02.939 --> 00:01:08.319 What we're talking about is the life well lived. 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:12.140 That's the subject I want to raise. Or we can 00:01:12.140 --> 00:01:15.959 frame it as a question, what is the life well 00:01:15.959 --> 00:01:20.200 lived? Big subject, but some lessons. did arise 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:23.099 as I reflected on this wonderful experience. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:26.480 So let me share some things with you. Well, of 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:29.540 course, it was our 50th anniversary trip. 50 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:33.760 years, where did that go? Whoa! Actually, that 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:36.239 was last May, but it took a while to get ready 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:39.219 for this, so our 50th anniversary was this May 00:01:39.219 --> 00:01:47.280 21st, but you rounded off to the nearest... So 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:51.560 it was really just absolutely wonderful. But 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:57.040 I want to share a few things which struck me 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:01.379 as I'm on the trip. And one was as follows. As 00:02:01.379 --> 00:02:07.959 I considered who was on the trip, it was 1 ,900 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:11.939 people on this boat. That's a big boat. On top 00:02:11.939 --> 00:02:15.060 of that, 800 staff people. The most wonderful 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:17.879 staff people. I mean, people principally from 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:21.159 the Philippines, from Indonesia, and some from 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:24.300 Malaysia and other places. The most polite, cheerful, 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:27.139 helpful, competent people. But that's another 00:02:27.139 --> 00:02:32.020 story. What I did notice was that it was almost 00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:39.979 entirely people our age. Yeah. And this insight 00:02:39.979 --> 00:02:42.680 came to me, and I like to think it was from Hashem. 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:46.719 that I was filled with a sense of admiration 00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:51.120 for all these people that we encountered, not 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:54.159 encountered by talking to many, but just by being 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:57.099 with them throughout the trip. And here's what 00:02:57.099 --> 00:03:00.639 I mean by that. The average age, again, I'm guessing, 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:03.819 didn't take a poll, was between 60 and 80, right? 00:03:04.340 --> 00:03:09.000 And mostly, I noticed, husbands and wives sometimes... 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:12.719 they seem to have come as a group from one place. 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:14.780 You know, you just sensed they'd be sitting at 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:16.500 a table together and they all knew each other 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:20.500 well. But these are people who, through life, 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:25.759 had chosen to stick together. Undoubtedly, because 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:28.979 this is the way life is for us and everybody 00:03:28.979 --> 00:03:31.280 to one extent or another, there are moments that 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:33.060 are tough. I'd have to say, actually, between 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:34.639 Sue and me, there have been very few of those, 00:03:34.740 --> 00:03:38.000 almost none, thank God. But, you know, life is 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:41.509 life. and things happen, and yet my sense is 00:03:41.509 --> 00:03:43.430 that these are people, you could feel their rapport. 00:03:43.689 --> 00:03:46.069 They had husbands and wives. They liked being 00:03:46.069 --> 00:03:49.810 with each other. I even sensed that they weren't 00:03:49.810 --> 00:03:52.129 that thrilled with sitting with other strangers 00:03:52.129 --> 00:03:56.330 and striking up conversations. I think for many, 00:03:56.449 --> 00:04:00.669 and including us, this was a chance to just detach 00:04:00.669 --> 00:04:09.569 from the usual rhythms of life and endless Conversations 00:04:09.569 --> 00:04:12.009 with everybody who you know, I mean all good 00:04:12.009 --> 00:04:14.150 stuff don't get me wrong but I sense from the 00:04:14.150 --> 00:04:16.910 group that these couples just like being together 00:04:16.910 --> 00:04:20.410 and Just enjoyed that aspect these people had 00:04:20.410 --> 00:04:23.910 raised their kids their kids were not with them 00:04:23.910 --> 00:04:28.350 and They obviously had built careers allowing 00:04:28.350 --> 00:04:33.050 them an occasional delightful experience like 00:04:33.050 --> 00:04:38.550 a cruise and the net result is that I came away 00:04:38.550 --> 00:04:42.730 with a profound sense of gratitude, or not gratitude, 00:04:42.850 --> 00:04:44.930 it's not the right word, there is that too, gratitude 00:04:44.930 --> 00:04:48.470 to God for the whole experience, but it wasn't 00:04:48.470 --> 00:04:51.589 gratitude principally, it was a sense of honor 00:04:51.589 --> 00:04:56.129 and appreciation for people who paid their dues 00:04:56.129 --> 00:04:59.750 in life, and at least to some extent can be said 00:04:59.750 --> 00:05:04.670 to have discovered what a life well lived looks 00:05:04.670 --> 00:05:07.620 like. It's not a spiritual insight particularly, 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:10.839 but I want to conclude with this later on within 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:14.300 a larger framework of our Messianic Jewish experience. 00:05:14.699 --> 00:05:18.319 So that was the first thing. A sense of appreciation 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:23.000 and honor for people who had lived into their 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:28.079 60s, 70s, and 80s and had paid a lot of dues, 00:05:28.259 --> 00:05:34.180 and here they were enjoying the fruits of a life 00:05:34.180 --> 00:05:37.300 at least... relatively well -lived. I don't know 00:05:37.300 --> 00:05:39.800 individual stories. It's just a broad generalization 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:43.319 that I sense. Now, I want to tell you that a 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:48.019 second reflection comes from a very special Jewish 00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:51.560 service we were at. This was not exactly a Jewish 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:56.819 crowd. How do you know? You just know. And yet, 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:59.579 not to take away anything from the sense of honor 00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:03.899 and respect that I came away with, but we learned 00:06:03.899 --> 00:06:06.040 that there was actually going to be a Jewish 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:11.579 service on Friday night. Ah, okay, great. So 00:06:11.579 --> 00:06:15.579 we went, and we didn't know, you know, were we 00:06:15.579 --> 00:06:18.560 going to be the only ones there? Not quite. There 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:22.540 was another couple in our age bracket, a Jewish 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:25.420 family who lived in Florida. I won't say anything 00:06:25.420 --> 00:06:27.759 more specific about that, but, you know, our 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:31.120 age. And they attended, it turns out, a conservative 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:34.019 synagogue, and they were, and they saw us, and 00:06:34.019 --> 00:06:37.720 it was like in the Frisco Kid, "Luntzman" if you 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:42.540 know the Kid, "Luntzman". And then, of course, the inevitable 00:06:42.540 --> 00:06:47.540 question came up. Oh, where are you from? Boston. 00:06:49.540 --> 00:06:54.139 What shul do you go to? Congregation Ruach Israel. 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:57.879 It is a Messianic Jewish synagogue. We... are 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:01.000 Jewish people who believe that Jesus is the Messiah 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:03.839 of Israel. Listen, I'm not going to hide who 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:06.220 I am under any circumstances. It was a delight 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:08.699 to just tell him. But you can sense, particularly 00:07:08.699 --> 00:07:19.120 from the wife, oh. Right? But you've got to give 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:21.899 Holland America credit. They had challah. They 00:07:21.899 --> 00:07:26.199 had wine. And sidurim, gates of prayer, reform, 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:32.519 sidur, and all. So there we were in this special 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:37.100 moment of praying l 'chadudi and praying elements 00:07:37.100 --> 00:07:40.160 of the evening service. And the guy had a good 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:45.279 voice, and I can sing, and all through he sang. 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:50.560 Wow, that was great. I mean, I don't know exactly 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:52.660 what he meant by that. The experience he was 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:55.480 having and the fact that we knew the liturgy 00:07:55.480 --> 00:08:00.480 quite well, and he would say, well, can you suggest 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:03.459 a song for such and such? No problem. And they 00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:06.019 knew the song, too. And there was this wonderful 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:10.319 kesher. Kesher means connection. This sense of 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:14.079 here we are, 1 ,900 people, minus four, everyone 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:18.829 else is... You know, in the lounge with a piano 00:08:18.829 --> 00:08:21.750 player learning a wonderful thing on another 00:08:21.750 --> 00:08:23.610 night. We would have enjoyed it. But singing 00:08:23.610 --> 00:08:26.529 60 songs and recapturing the songs of their youth. 00:08:26.670 --> 00:08:29.810 Again, think about the age group, you know. Carly 00:08:29.810 --> 00:08:32.570 Simon and this and that. And that's what they 00:08:32.570 --> 00:08:35.250 were doing. But here we were praising the God 00:08:35.250 --> 00:08:38.970 of Israel together with the traditional liturgy. 00:08:39.370 --> 00:08:44.919 And you could just... We just had this magnificent 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:51.460 experience of Jewish joy together. And, you know, 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:56.120 what reminded me, now, tomorrow night, right, 00:08:56.179 --> 00:08:58.700 Sunday night, we're going to, Rabbi Nathan will 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:01.960 be leading a study in Acts chapter 2. I'll be 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:04.500 doing the Ruth study. By all means, come tomorrow 00:09:04.500 --> 00:09:07.120 night. It's going to be a great evening, and 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:10.139 we're going to just enjoy Shavuot. But there's 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:14.029 a passage that struck me. Again, as I reflected 00:09:14.029 --> 00:09:16.830 while on the trip on this magnificent experience 00:09:16.830 --> 00:09:21.230 of sitting with these people, and we made kiddish 00:09:21.230 --> 00:09:24.169 together and everything, and then we just said 00:09:24.169 --> 00:09:28.149 goodbye to each other. And I wonder what it's 00:09:28.149 --> 00:09:30.350 like for services for them in their own synagogue 00:09:30.350 --> 00:09:35.149 last night. How was the trip? It was great. We 00:09:35.149 --> 00:09:40.529 had a great time. We actually had a wild experience. 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:44.740 We were some Messianic Jews. I want to tell you, 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:48.779 we were wrong about them. They're legit. I could 00:09:48.779 --> 00:09:50.960 just hear the conversation right now, right? 00:09:51.100 --> 00:09:57.879 And who knows? So a little bit of speculation 00:09:57.879 --> 00:10:01.120 on my part, but I wouldn't be surprised. I think 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:04.899 that stereotypes were affected, and not because 00:10:04.899 --> 00:10:07.620 we were trying to do anything to prove anything 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:10.740 to anybody. We were just... worshiping, and of 00:10:10.740 --> 00:10:12.840 course through Yeshua, although we didn't have 00:10:12.840 --> 00:10:16.240 Jewish liturgy, or rather messianic elements 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:17.980 in the liturgy that we were doing, but in our 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:20.100 hearts and minds, you know, this is where we're 00:10:20.100 --> 00:10:21.980 at. We believe in him, and that's all there is 00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:24.679 to it. Anyhow, this passage. So tomorrow night, 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:26.500 when Rabbi Nathan leaves us, I don't know if 00:10:26.500 --> 00:10:28.039 he'll spend a lot of time on this, but I just 00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:31.600 wanted to read a couple of the verses that suggest 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:35.700 something about the experience I'm sharing. This 00:10:35.700 --> 00:10:39.879 is from Acts chapter 2, when the Spirit the Ruach 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:44.639 fell on the Shechem, the apostles. And all of 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:49.000 a sudden, they spoke in or were heard in, it's 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:50.820 a little difficult to tell from the text, which 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:53.639 was, it's miraculous one way or the other, they 00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:56.399 were heard in all these languages from disparate 00:10:56.399 --> 00:10:58.519 Jewish communities all over the Mediterranean 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:03.019 area. And so it goes like this. First, a question 00:11:03.019 --> 00:11:06.860 was asked. Utterly amazed, they asked, Aren't 00:11:06.860 --> 00:11:10.220 all these who are speaking Galileans, country 00:11:10.220 --> 00:11:15.679 bumpkins, you know? And then how is it that each 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:19.080 of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, 00:11:19.179 --> 00:11:22.100 Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia all 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:25.860 the way to the east, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, 00:11:25.899 --> 00:11:29.129 Asia, like Turkey. Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt 00:11:29.129 --> 00:11:32.169 in the west, and the parts of Libya near Cyrene. 00:11:32.429 --> 00:11:35.629 Visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts, Jews 00:11:35.629 --> 00:11:38.289 by choice who became Jews. And there were some 00:11:38.289 --> 00:11:41.230 non -Jews there too, Cretans and Arabs. We hear 00:11:41.230 --> 00:11:44.590 them declaring the wonders of God in our own 00:11:44.590 --> 00:11:47.830 languages. And I thought, what a picture of a 00:11:47.830 --> 00:11:50.970 disparate group of Yids. from all over coming 00:11:50.970 --> 00:11:54.070 together and hearing the word of Yeshua and having 00:11:54.070 --> 00:11:57.450 this unique experience. Well, for me, it was 00:11:57.450 --> 00:12:01.009 evocative of this time on this tour with this 00:12:01.009 --> 00:12:04.870 other couple and how delightful it was and just 00:12:04.870 --> 00:12:12.429 wonderful. So let's move on to number three, 00:12:12.450 --> 00:12:16.590 the next insight. So that's number one. And now 00:12:16.590 --> 00:12:18.909 the next one. This is, again, just reflections 00:12:18.909 --> 00:12:21.629 while on a trip. They just occurred to me then, 00:12:21.750 --> 00:12:23.529 and I've been thinking about them and feeling 00:12:23.529 --> 00:12:26.750 it worthy to share with you about the life well 00:12:26.750 --> 00:12:31.490 lived. So I want to tell you a salmon story. 00:12:33.029 --> 00:12:36.649 I want to tell you about salmon. Do you like 00:12:36.649 --> 00:12:40.889 salmon? Oh, my gosh, so yummy. I love salmon. 00:12:41.309 --> 00:12:45.779 Okay. So we visited. You're on the ship, and 00:12:45.779 --> 00:12:49.019 then they take you. It's the southeastern part 00:12:49.019 --> 00:12:53.700 of Alaska, and they take you from the bottom, 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:56.919 and they take you through a waterway up toward 00:12:56.919 --> 00:12:59.820 different areas. We ended in Juneau, but one 00:12:59.820 --> 00:13:03.000 of the first places we visited was Ketchikan 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:08.840 in Alaska. And Ketchikan is reputed to be the 00:13:08.840 --> 00:13:13.049 first... city of the state of Alaska. Let me 00:13:13.049 --> 00:13:16.610 just tell you, Alaska, their biggest city is 00:13:16.610 --> 00:13:19.529 Anchorage. We started there, actually. And let 00:13:19.529 --> 00:13:24.509 me tell you, to them, it's a big city to us. 00:13:26.149 --> 00:13:28.950 You know what I mean? If you can find a McDonald's, 00:13:28.950 --> 00:13:31.490 don't say anything. If there's anyone in YouTube 00:13:31.490 --> 00:13:34.309 land from Ketchikan or from Alaska, no offense 00:13:34.309 --> 00:13:40.169 intended, but it's, you know, There aren't that 00:13:40.169 --> 00:13:43.129 many people there. Okay, so Kachikan is considered 00:13:43.129 --> 00:13:47.929 the salmon capital of the world. And we learned 00:13:47.929 --> 00:13:51.669 a lot about salmon. And I want to tell you about 00:13:51.669 --> 00:13:58.370 the life journey of an Atlantic salmon. And it's 00:13:58.370 --> 00:14:03.190 very, very interesting. So where do salmon get 00:14:03.190 --> 00:14:09.799 born? They get born in... They're born in fresh 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:15.200 water. And rivers, in rivers, their moms would, 00:14:15.340 --> 00:14:23.700 it would be the, their eggs would be there, and 00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:28.919 they would be born in fresh water. And then, 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:32.159 after they grow up a little bit, there are physiological 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:36.850 chemical changes in their bodies. which gradually 00:14:36.850 --> 00:14:40.929 prepare them for their journey to the sea, to 00:14:40.929 --> 00:14:44.250 salt water. This is an amazing thing. They go 00:14:44.250 --> 00:14:49.129 from fresh water to salt water. And so then they 00:14:49.129 --> 00:14:53.470 continue living in salt water in time for them, 00:14:53.549 --> 00:14:57.750 after they've grown to adulthood, to swim back 00:14:57.750 --> 00:15:02.690 to the actual river they were born, though it 00:15:02.690 --> 00:15:07.100 might be hundreds of miles away. And there are 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:10.500 speculations as to what allows this to occur. 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:13.240 Some have said that it has something to do with 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:16.740 the magnetic aspects of the magnetic nature of 00:15:16.740 --> 00:15:19.799 the magnetic field surrounding the Earth, and 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:22.980 perhaps they somehow tune into that. Others suggest 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:25.600 there's something, some subtlety in the environment 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:27.799 in which they were born, that they were able 00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:30.379 to somehow navigate their way. But don't you 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:34.779 find that miraculous? Not the strict sense miraculous 00:15:34.779 --> 00:15:37.379 as part of the physical world, but don't you 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:40.320 find that amazing? And I want to tell you about 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:47.460 the journey. You see, they can travel back up 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:50.080 to a thousand kilometers. I imagine kilometers, 00:15:50.179 --> 00:15:52.379 five -eighths of a mile. So anyhow, hundreds 00:15:52.379 --> 00:15:55.440 and hundreds of miles. And somehow they're able 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:59.360 to, from the ocean, find their way back to the 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.720 place that they... were born. And salmon have 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:07.019 special muscles adapted for this kind of journey, 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.340 muscles that give them the ability for short, 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:14.220 explosive action, like quick twitch muscles we 00:16:14.220 --> 00:16:17.159 talk about that people have. And they're able 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:22.820 to jump 10 feet in the air from swimming, jump 00:16:22.820 --> 00:16:25.399 because they have to go up waterfalls many times. 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:28.899 They can jump out of the water as high as 10 00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:34.399 feet, and waiting at the top, we saw pictures 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:37.500 of this. We didn't see actual bears there, but 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:40.039 there's pictures of bears right at the top of 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:43.240 the waterfall, standing on rocks with their mouths 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:45.919 open. What do you think they're doing? Come here, 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:49.289 little fishies, right? And so jumping right into 00:16:49.289 --> 00:16:51.389 the mouths of all these bears, in other words, 00:16:51.389 --> 00:16:54.590 it's a very treacherous journey, as you can imagine, 00:16:54.870 --> 00:17:01.169 but ultimately they arrive back and they have 00:17:01.169 --> 00:17:08.589 become so depleted of their fat sources and their 00:17:08.589 --> 00:17:14.450 energy that they spawn their young and they die. 00:17:15.690 --> 00:17:20.640 Right? All the effort given to do this one thing 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.640 of seeing to it that the next generation continues. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:27.119 All right. Now, what does this have to do with 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:31.019 Messianic Jewish anything? Well, let me tell 00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:35.000 you. Quiz question. I wonder if anyone knows 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:37.740 this. What is the Hebrew word for fish? Does 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:42.240 anyone know? Dog. That's right. All right, smarties. 00:17:42.779 --> 00:17:48.509 What is the Aramaic word? Does anyone know? I 00:17:48.509 --> 00:17:50.150 know, I bet Rabbi Nathan knows, but I'm not going 00:17:50.150 --> 00:17:54.670 to ask him. It's noon. Noon. Okay? In Aramaic, 00:17:54.670 --> 00:17:58.289 fish is noon. Well, what's very interesting is 00:17:58.289 --> 00:18:02.730 that there are a few sections of the Torah which 00:18:02.730 --> 00:18:06.009 have something called, some people call it upside 00:18:06.009 --> 00:18:09.029 -down noons, others call it reversing noons. 00:18:09.089 --> 00:18:11.329 Now, when noon looks like this, let me see if 00:18:11.329 --> 00:18:15.039 I can give it from... your angle. Okay, I'm going 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:16.960 to just do this. It goes like this and like that. 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:19.940 That's all. Almost looks like a bracket, okay? 00:18:20.539 --> 00:18:24.279 And the reversing noon, the way it works in this 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:27.880 passage is that the noons face outward rather 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:30.559 than facing inward toward each other, and there's 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:35.220 a rabbinic midrashic understanding of that. I 00:18:35.220 --> 00:18:37.279 won't get into that particular one. I'll share 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:40.160 it with you at Simchat Torah. I will share it 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:42.380 with you. But there's something about it I wanted 00:18:42.380 --> 00:18:46.839 to stress with you. We're talking about the journey 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:52.420 and the reversing or upside -down noons. And 00:18:52.420 --> 00:18:57.180 here is a passage in the Torah which prominently 00:18:57.180 --> 00:19:00.759 displays the reversing noons. That is, they're 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:02.960 not in the Hebrew text the way you'd normally 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:08.480 expect. And tell me if this is familiar to you. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:14.680 We stand when the Torah is returned to the Ark, 00:19:14.819 --> 00:19:18.279 and what do we say? Right from the Torah. And 00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:21.539 whenever the Ark set out, Moses said, Arise, 00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:24.339 O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and 00:19:24.339 --> 00:19:26.940 let those who hate you flee from before you. 00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:29.799 And when it rested, he would say, Return, O Lord, 00:19:29.859 --> 00:19:32.920 to the ten thousands of Israel. Sound familiar? 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:35.920 Yeah, like a few minutes ago. That's exactly 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:41.319 what we intoned. Now... This passage of the Torah 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:45.740 is glorious. God, you're going before us. We're 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:48.619 returning the Torah to the ark as we did in ancient 00:19:48.619 --> 00:19:54.079 days. The Torah led us forward in victory. But 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:56.440 what's interesting is that immediately following 00:19:56.440 --> 00:20:01.400 this passage in the Torah are chapter after chapter 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:04.880 of all the struggles we face getting to Eretz 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:08.160 Yisrael. I mean, right afterwards, all the accounts 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:10.579 of us complaining and Moses being mad at us and 00:20:10.579 --> 00:20:13.420 God threatening to wipe us out and all those 00:20:13.420 --> 00:20:15.359 kind of things. In other words, the whole thing, 00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:18.400 after this triumphant beginning, the rest of 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:20.720 it is struggle, struggle, struggle, struggle. 00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:26.319 And so a rabbinic commentary is, well, the Jews 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:31.779 are like a noon, Aramaic for fish. The Jewish 00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:35.450 experience is one. of really having to give yourself 00:20:35.450 --> 00:20:39.029 to it for a higher purpose, like the salmon, 00:20:39.150 --> 00:20:44.190 who gives us all, and that is the nature of the 00:20:44.190 --> 00:20:45.990 Jewish, and it would include the Messianic Jewish 00:20:45.990 --> 00:20:49.230 experience, filled with glorious things, tough 00:20:49.230 --> 00:20:54.190 at times, too. The nature of it, okay. Now, all 00:20:54.190 --> 00:20:58.690 of this, I think, is helpful to us in thinking 00:20:58.690 --> 00:21:02.809 about the life well lived. The life well lived. 00:21:04.109 --> 00:21:08.829 is the life of a committed life. And I feel badly, 00:21:08.910 --> 00:21:11.349 and I say this with compassion, I say this with, 00:21:11.470 --> 00:21:14.869 you know, if you've had experiences in life which 00:21:14.869 --> 00:21:18.710 prevent you from keep being intimate and connected 00:21:18.710 --> 00:21:23.690 with people, prevent you from committing to other 00:21:23.690 --> 00:21:29.069 people in love, a community in love, then it's 00:21:29.069 --> 00:21:32.309 a sad thing. But the good news is, with God's 00:21:32.309 --> 00:21:37.210 help, you can work counter to those impulses 00:21:37.210 --> 00:21:41.869 and you can find the best kind of life to live 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:45.990 in connection with others. And again, the example 00:21:45.990 --> 00:21:48.950 here from our trip is just all these salmon, 00:21:49.029 --> 00:21:51.309 for the highest purpose of spawning their young 00:21:51.309 --> 00:21:53.509 and seeing to it that there's another generation, 00:21:53.789 --> 00:21:57.250 they give it their all, they do it together, 00:21:57.349 --> 00:22:02.099 and... you have the rabbinic insight. Okay. Now, 00:22:02.180 --> 00:22:09.019 we're getting close to the end here. I would 00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:13.980 like to share with you the conclusion. Where 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:18.140 are we going with all this? As we celebrate Shavuot 00:22:18.140 --> 00:22:20.559 tomorrow night, and then Monday morning too, 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:23.940 gang, and we need you here for a minyan, so very 00:22:23.940 --> 00:22:27.059 important. I encourage everyone to think about 00:22:27.630 --> 00:22:33.269 The idea, again, of the life well lived. And 00:22:33.269 --> 00:22:39.730 what this can mean to you on your journey. And 00:22:39.730 --> 00:22:44.549 I'd like to read to you a passage, and I believe 00:22:44.549 --> 00:22:51.130 I have it here. I should have. Let me just summarize. 00:22:51.950 --> 00:22:58.700 It's Yeshua. He epitomizes... what in the natural 00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:03.220 world is the salmon's journey of absolute self 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:05.500 -sacrifice for the sake of others, that is, the 00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:08.660 future generations. And I'd like us just to think 00:23:08.660 --> 00:23:11.920 for a moment, I won't quote it now, but you know 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:15.099 the passage, of Yeshua in the garden at Gethsemane. 00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:19.400 You'll recall that after the Pesach Seder, and 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:21.180 they sang the Hallel, you know, they did the 00:23:21.180 --> 00:23:24.680 stuff, the basic liturgy of the Pesach, and they 00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:30.599 went to this garden. In Jerusalem, the Garden 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:35.940 of Oil presses, the literal meaning, and there 00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:38.940 Yeshua told his followers, wait here, I'm going 00:23:38.940 --> 00:23:41.619 to go pray. And while he's praying, he says, 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:49.019 says is not the word, he pleads, God, if it's 00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:53.779 possible, take this cup from me. Nevertheless, 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:58.319 not my will, but your will be done. Now what 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:01.960 he was thinking about was the inevitability of 00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:03.880 his own crucifixion, which is one of the most 00:24:03.880 --> 00:24:07.059 psychologically and physically horrific ways 00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:09.359 to die you can possibly imagine. We've talked 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:13.720 about that at other times. And he reflecting 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:17.339 because he was not just an expression of God's 00:24:17.339 --> 00:24:21.539 very reality, a real, he was God's son in the 00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:24.599 most profound sense, but he was also a person, 00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:33.019 a regular guy. And in this moment where the natural 00:24:33.019 --> 00:24:36.559 human desire for self -preservation and to avoid 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:40.839 pain was facing the inevitability of what he 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:45.140 knew he had to do to make Kippurah for Israel. 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:52.079 And it is to me, in the world of Salmon, it's 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:55.400 a vague intimation, but yet nonetheless, I think 00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:58.519 is hardwired into the... the fabric of God's 00:24:58.519 --> 00:25:05.299 revelation to humanity of what the good life, 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:08.980 the best life is. It includes, it doesn't necessarily 00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:13.200 include horrific things, but it includes things 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:15.720 that are tough that you transcend and you do 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:19.039 for higher purposes. And every one of you and 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:24.059 me, we've all got our stories, but God is saying, 00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:27.309 I think to us this morning, Be thinking about 00:25:27.309 --> 00:25:31.230 the highest life being one of reward for a job 00:25:31.230 --> 00:25:34.250 well done, but also the willingness to do the 00:25:34.250 --> 00:25:37.609 tough thing, because that's Messiah's example 00:25:37.609 --> 00:25:41.609 to us. And then how does it all end? I conclude 00:25:41.609 --> 00:25:45.450 with a few thoughts about, or a few verses about, 00:25:45.650 --> 00:25:52.670 Abraham Avinu. Abraham lived 125 years, and Abraham 00:25:52.670 --> 00:25:56.640 breathed his last. and died at a good old age. 00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:00.519 An old man and full of years, and he was gathered 00:26:00.519 --> 00:26:04.259 to his people. And his son Isaac and Ishmael 00:26:04.259 --> 00:26:06.759 buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, 00:26:06.859 --> 00:26:10.119 in the field of Ephron's son of Zohar the Hittite. 00:26:10.359 --> 00:26:12.900 The field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:16.200 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:20.160 After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, 00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:27.990 who then lived near Bir... And so as we celebrate 00:26:27.990 --> 00:26:32.430 tomorrow night and Monday morning, as we celebrate 00:26:32.430 --> 00:26:34.829 Shavuot, I just want to encourage you to think 00:26:34.829 --> 00:26:40.769 about what a life well lived looks like, what 00:26:40.769 --> 00:26:42.670 it's supposed to look like, what it can look 00:26:42.670 --> 00:26:46.150 like, and may we all, in little ways and big 00:26:46.150 --> 00:26:50.960 ways, make decisions to live that life. which 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:55.640 at the end we look back and go, you know, that 00:26:55.640 --> 00:27:22.720 was good. Shabbat shalom, everyone. Stay for 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:24.960 Messiah. Stay.