Saturday 3 June 2017

Moses nailed it!







The figure of Moses in the Torah is mostly remembered as the leader who took the Yisraelites out of Egypt

How many, though, are aware that he was also a Prophet?

A few days ago, I happened to read the Song of the Sea which Moses sang with the children of Yisrael after they crossed the Sea of Reeds. It was then that it dawned on me how his role as a Prophet was underestimated. The following verse from the song he sang struck me as so relevant to our times.

It describes the goal of an enemy, a threat to Am Yisrael and what it had wished to do to us.
אמר אויב: ארדוף אשיג אחלק שלל ......תמלאמו נפשי תורישמו ידי. (שמות ט"ו פס' ט')
“The enemy boasted, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge my soul on them… .…..my hand shall inherit them.' (Exodus 15,9)

The ancient Egyptians may have been the subject of Moses's song. Today, however, it is not only those that wish to annihilate us that this verse is applicable to. Today, Jews have an enemy of a different kind, one that secretly weaves and stealthily preys upon Am Yisrael and the Jewish people with the aim of depriving us of our Jewish essence. They are the Christian missionaries. Their maneuvers are focused in the spiritual realm which poses no less of a danger than the one Moses was referring to in her song.

When addressing Yisrael’s enemies physical and spiritual with regards to Moses's song, I am particularly referring to the part where this verse mentions spoils, that which the enemy appropriates after it has triumphed. The Hebrew word for spoils is שלל (Shalal. Shin, Lamed, Lamed).

Our wise sages ((חז"ל suggest that this word is an acronym for מותיהם לשונם לבושםש, (Shmoteyhem, their names, Leshonam, their language, culture, Levusham, their garb).
Studying the manner in which the enemies of Yisrael operate, that is exactly how they go about their efforts to steal and destroy Jewish lives and souls.
They adopt our names, our titles.

Zionists, is one example of a name/title which belongs to Jews only (for various reasons which are listed in articles written by myself and others) is being usurped by various faiths while its members define it as they see fit. I have seen “Christian Zionists.” I have seen “Muslim Zionists.” I have even heard that there are some who suggest that Mohammad, since he claimed that Eretz Yisrael belongs to the Jews and since he came Before Herzl and his Political Zionism movement, is the original Zionist…..

The name “Palestine” is another example.

Though it was not Christian missionaries that adopted the name which was arbitrarily given to us and to Eretz Yisrael, the Land of the Jews, still the fact remains that someone else stole it from us and now tries to convince the world that this has been their homeland forever and a day.

As far as language is concerned, need I mention all the examples where Missionaries have given themselves and their organizations Hebrew terms, language in order to convince ignorant Jews that they are part of us and that one day we will all become one?

Let me start by mentioning a group called HaYovel. It is a clan of Christian Evangelicals who have joined hands with some Jewish enablers and moved to Eretz Yisrael where they have been given land. Though they claim that their sole purpose of coming to Yisrael is to help the farmers of Judea and Samaria with harvesting their crops, many of us suspect, based on their own words that there is more to it.

They adopted the name HaYovel (Hebrew for Jubilee) with the stated purpose to “share with them {Jews} a passion for the soon coming of the Jubilee in Yeshua, the messiah." 

A source called “Talmidei Yeshua Fellowship,” describes HaYovel on their FB page as: “a ministry that helps Israeli farmers farm and harvest their crops. As well as helping them work they also bring the gospel message to the farmers.”

It is not only our language that is being appropriated by those who wish to “pursue us, overtake us and divide spoils,” as Moses prophesied. It is also some of the symbols of our few millennia old and endowed culture that they have targeted.

Yerushalayim, Zion, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, the heart of the Jewish people has also been a subject to efforts by many to claim as their own. Islam has sanctified Yerushalayim for political rivalry reasons, according to Dr. Mordechai Kedar. Now, we also have Christian evangelicals claiming that Yerushalayim , rather, the “New Jerusalem” is where “Jesus Christ will reign for 1000 years and every knee will bow down to him.” (Pastor Hagee, March 2013).

Now if that is not usurpation, please enlighten me of what is.

How about all those evangelical Christians who observe Shabbat, or keep Kashroot?
We cannot tell anyone what to do or not do. However, it is important to note that Shabbat was given to Jews as a sign of the Covenant Am Yisrael made with G-d on Mount Sinai. Kashroot laws are part of the Torah which, again,  was given to Am Yisrael only (except for its moral code that was given to them AND to humanity).

Those who follow those laws, claim that they love us,  and insist that they are our friends. Friends respect that which belongs to friends and do not just take what belongs to them and claim it as their own. That is what enemies have done to each other throughout history with the spoils that they took after they had won the war.

Now we are getting to the last acronym of the Hebrew word Shallal (spoils). Targeting the garb.

I shudder each time I see a non-Jew wearing a tallit, a prayer shawl. The commandment to wear one was decreed for Jews only. It breaks my heart when I see non-Jews wear it and for the purpose of practicing Jewish customs which have been misconstrued by those who wear it either to deceive of to further their agenda of eventually removing the Jewish essence from Judaism towards their goal of making us “complete Jews.” They wear it, for instance, during  the “seder” which they conduct more as a commemoration of the last supper than the Exodus from Egypt.

“Look what they have done to my song ma,” is a song by Melanie from the early 70’s that comes into mind when I write these lines.

Unlike, Melanie’s song, however, the song of the Prophet Moses offers Hope for Am Yisrael. In verse 13, he says,
עד יעבור עמך ה‘, עד יעבר עם זו קנית, תבאמו ותטעמו בהר נחלתך.
(In your unfailing love, you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength, you will guide them to your holy dwelling).

Let our enemies be warned. We are the People of Eternity. The Eternal of Yisrael Shall Never Lie. We are named Yisrael for a reason. No matter what, we shall always prevail!

Shavua tov.


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