The Prophet’s Perspective

Posted on April 4, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

The Prophet’s Perspective

 

Christian missionaries insist that you need blood for atonement. Not only do the missionaries claim that without blood there is no atonement for sin but they also contend that this doctrine is taught in the Jewish Scriptures.

 

These assertions are critical components in the ongoing missionary campaign to persuade people to give their hearts to Jesus. According to the missionary; when Jesus came on the scene, everyone already knew that their sins can never be forgiven without the shedding of blood because this is what the prophets of Scripture had proclaimed in the past. The missionary would have you believe that Jesus came to supply mankind with the blood atonement that they so desperately needed.

 

The problem that the missionary faces is the simple fact that the Jewish Scriptures do NOT say that you NEED blood for atonement. Yes; the prophets taught that blood offerings CAN atone (Leviticus 17:11), but that is not the same thing like saying that without blood there is no atonement. Isn’t that amazing? According to the missionary one of the most important principles that Scripture ought to teach us is that there is no atonement without blood yet there is not one verse in the entire Hebrew Bible that says anything of the sort.

 

How do the missionaries deal with this challenge to their house of cards?

 

In order to paint their doctrine into the Jewish Bible the missionaries turn to the book of Leviticus. They point to the many offerings listed in that book and they argue that these offerings were critical and central to the process of atonement. They point to other blood offerings mentioned in the Five Books of Moses in their effort to establish a theory of the “centrality of the sacrifices”. The missionary argument highlights these offerings and contends that the central position that these offerings occupy in the Five Books of Moses should lead one to the conclusion that there is no atonement without blood.

 

The Jewish response to this argument is that the critical and central component of the atonement process is repentance. While the Temple was standing God commanded us in some instances to express our repentance with a blood offering but the key factor in obtaining God’s forgiveness was always repentance.

 

The Christian missionaries claim that the Jewish response is not based on Scripture but rather it is built on the Jewish blind refusal to consider the claim of Jesus.

 

Fortunately we have a passage in the Jewish Bible that could tell us who exactly is reading the Bible with a distorting lens of bias.

 

In the book of Jonah the prophet witnesses God’s mercy when God forgives the Ninevites on the occasion of their repentance. Jonah then exclaims to God “I knew that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and relent from doing harm.” The fact that God forgave the people of Nineveh after they repented did not surprise Jonah in the least. In fact this is exactly what Jonah expected.

 

Why? Did Jonah not study the Five Books and learn the doctrine of the “centrality of the sacrifices”? How could Jonah expect the Ninevites to find atonement without a blood offering?

 

Jonah supplies us with the answer to this question. Jonah quotes the Five Books of Moses. In so doing Jonah teaches us which passage in the Five Books is the one that identifies the critical factor in the atonement process. It is NOT Leviticus 17:11. In fact it is not any passage that mentions blood. Instead Jonah quotes Exodus 34:6 which describes God as a “God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in kindness”. This is the passage from the Five Books that Jonah the prophet saw as central to the process of achieving forgiveness from sin.

 

It is clear that Jonah the prophet read the Jewish Bible the way Jews read it today and the missionary teaching that claims to be based on the Five Books of Moses was as foreign to Jonah as it is to Jews today.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Atonement | 95 Comments

Eternal Freedom

Posted on March 22, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

Eternal Freedom

 

Passover is the time when we sit around the table with our families to thank God for redeeming us from slavery and making us free. We give praise for the gift that He bestowed upon us by making us His bride; a nation unto God.

 

In a certain sense it was easy for that first generation of Jews in Egypt. They looked back at the dark days of slavery under Pharaoh and they looked forward to days flooded with light as servants of God. But for us; who have the perspective of history, it is perhaps more difficult. Looking back at our blood-soaked past what kind of freedom do we see? Is it freedom to be locked into ghettoes? Being the chosen nation cost us dearly. We were consistently denied our civil liberties, robbed of our possessions and often enough it cost us our lives. What are we thanking for?

 

In order to answer this question we need a different perspective on freedom, a different perspective on our status as a chosen nation and a different perspective on life. And it is by absorbing the lesson of the Passover lamb that we can acquire this new perspective.

 

The offering of an animal as a sacrifice to God embodies a deep and powerful lesson. The body of the animal is utterly destroyed. It is consumed by the worshipers who eat its meat and by the fires of the altar. What remains from the lamb is the relationship with God that is renewed through the offering.

 

The lesson is this. Anything and everything that we share with the animal is ephemeral and transient. We are more than happy to give up the animal side of ourselves for the sake of coming closer to God. We are not interested in a freedom that an animal can appreciate. The freedom that we yearn for and the freedom that we were eternally granted by God is the freedom to be people, the freedom to live the ideals of justice charity and holiness and these can never be taken away from us.

 

The tragedy that the Jewish people suffered in the holocaust was unimaginable. But the freedom that they were granted when God took them out of Egypt spared them from a far greater tragedy. As God’s chosen people we were spared the tragedy of becoming animals. The beastly spirit which brought people to murder little children did not overtake us. The darkness that induced people to be saturated with hatred did not blacken our souls. When those around us were enslaved to the animalistic side of nature we remained free to serve God with our humanity.

 

It is for this freedom that we thank.

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Posted in Holidays | 28 Comments

The Passover Altar

Posted on March 22, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

The Passover Altar

 

There were ten miracles that occurred in the Temple on a regular basis. One of these miracles involved the smoke that arose from the fire of the altar. The altar was a large structure situated in the open courtyard of the Temple and there was a fire constantly burning on top of the altar (Leviticus 6:6). This fire consumed the offerings of Israel and sent them heavenward in a pillar of smoke. The miracle that was manifest in the smoke was that the wind never dispersed the smoke. The smoke always ascended heavenward in a solid pillar.

 

We can imagine that when the pilgrims journeyed from afar to worship at the Temple the first thing they would see from miles around Jerusalem was this pillar of smoke. Long before they could see the towering structure of the Temple itself they would see this pillar of smoke.

 

In a certain sense this pillar of smoke symbolized everything that the Temple stood for. The Temple stood for Israel’s submission towards God, Israel’s love for God and Israel’s recognition of God’s absolute sovereignty over every facet of existence and all of these found expression in the fire on the altar. The fire represented the yearning in Israel’s heart to connect to God. When Israel saw the fire consuming the offerings they saw how every facet of life ought to be directed towards God and it was at the altar where the Jewish people would dedicate and rededicate their every breath to the God of their fathers.

 

With all of this in mind we run into a problem when we study that first Passover offering. When the Jewish people slaughtered the lamb on that fateful evening in Egypt there was no altar upon which they could place the blood or the fats of their offering. How can there be an offering without an altar? If the altar and her fire represent the dedication of life in service of God then why was it absent in that first national offering? How could the central message of the sacrificial system be conveyed without an altar?

 

The passage that describes that first Passover offering can perhaps shed some light on this question. When God commands Moses concerning the Passover He emphasizes the concept of a “house” or a “home”. The offering is to be taken for each “house” of fathers. The blood of the offering is to be placed on the doorposts of the “house”. Yeast and leaven cannot be found in the “house”. The meat of the offering must be eaten in one “house” and it cannot be removed from the “house. And when the Israelites are to explain the miracle of Passover to their children they are to say that God passed over our “houses” while He smote the Egyptians and He saved our “houses” (Exodus 12:3,7,15,19,27,46).

 

The houses that were saved were the houses that God loved (Numbers 24:5). He loved them because of the charity and justice that was planted in those houses by Israel’s forefather Abraham (Genesis 18:19). And justice and charity are more beloved by God than the offerings (Proverbs 21:3).

 

The fire and the smoke of the altar only represented the yearning to connect to God and Israel’s submission towards God. Justice and charity are in and of themselves a connection to God and submission to God (Jeremiah 22:16).

 

Just as the blood of offerings sanctified the altar (Leviticus 8:15) so it was with the houses of Israel. These houses were sanctified with the blood of the Passover so that Israel can be a nation unto God (Exodus 6:7).

 

The Passover offering was not done without an altar. The altar was the home of the Jew. The altar of the Temple is actually meaningless without the altar of the home. It is only to the degree that we have incorporated the concepts of charity and justice into every step of our daily life that the fire on the altar represent a true yearning for God (Isaiah 1:10-17). But if we don’t know God in our daily lives then what does the smoke on the altar mean?

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Holidays | 5 Comments

Nine Letters # 9 – Covenantal Context

Posted on March 17, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

As  a Jew – I stand in a covenantal relationship with the Creator of heaven and earth.  He calls Himself the “God of Israel” and he calls us “My nation”. The most  foundational element of my relationship with God demands that I do not submit  myself to anyone in the way that I submit myself to Him. When God sealed this  covenant with us, He made it very clear to us that such an act of  submission/worship towards any other entity aside from Himself would be the deepest  violation of our covenant with Him. He also made it clear to us – how we are to  identify Him in worship – and how we are not to identify Him in worship. He did  all this before He gave us the first page of Scripture.

Let  us stop right there for a minute – after Sinai, and before we read the first  page of Scripture.

How  would we look at a claim such as the one you present about Yeshua? There is no  question we would identify the worship/submission that you are encouraging as  the very act that God defined as the deepest violation of our covenantal  relationship. There would be no way that we could look at it any  differently.

Now  let us take the book. But before we open it – let us remember that it was given  to us in the context of the covenantal relationship that already tied us to God.  It was given to us AFTER God already made clear to us who and how He wants us to  worship. Let us now jump ahead to the “ancient of days” mentioned in Daniel 7.  Let us note that this passage is not being presented as a teaching on the nature  of God (as is Isaiah 40:18) and it is not being presented as a teaching on how  we are to direct our worship (as was the revelation at Sinai). This being the  case – we understand that the physical description of God is being used as a  metaphor to help us understand God’s interaction with mankind that is being  presented there. The Scriptures use such metaphors for entities other than God.  In Psalm 98:8 – the rivers are described as “clapping their hands”. Am I to  assume that the rivers have hands? As clearly as I know that the rivers don’t  have literal hands – I know just as clearly that the God that I am bound to in a  covenantal relationship has no form.

There is no way I can read Daniel 7 (or Genesis 18,  Exodus 24, Isaiah 9) as a directive to go and do what God Himself explicitly and  directly taught me not to do.

Let  me take this one step further. I am advocating that you read the Jewish Bible in  the covenantal context that God placed it. If you would read the book in its  proper context – you would never dream of justifying the worship you are  advocating. But even if we put the Sinai covenant aside (for argument’s sake) – you still would not see your worship in this book unless you approached it with  an affinity for Jesus.

Before Jesus came to the world – no one ever claimed that  the Jewish Scriptures advocate worship of a divine Messiah. Even the apostles  who lived with Jesus and heard him teach for three years didn’t see this concept  in the Jewish Scriptures. They saw Jesus’ death as a contradiction to the belief  that he was the Jewish Messiah – not as a confirmation.

So  let’s recap – God made it clear who it is that we are to worship. Everyone who  read the Scriptures before Jesus came along – had no questions about this  matter. So are we to overturn the understanding that God made abundantly clear – on the basis of an interpretation that no-one saw in the text until 1) they had  already committed their hearts to Jesus, 2) the facts of Jesus’ suffering and  death left them with no choice but to reinterpret the Scriptures in a way that  they could still maintain their devotion.

Why  is it that of all the texts that you use to justify the worship that you are  advocating – not one of them has God put His finger on it and say – here – look  here in order to learn how to direct your devotion – not one! Yet when we focus  on those texts where the Divine Author clearly pointed and said – here is where  I present a teaching on worship – the perception that we were taught at Sinai is  only confirmed and reconfirmed?

One  more question. Again – the perception we were taught at Sinai would have us  identify the worship you are advocating as idolatry. You are arguing that we  modify our perception of reality that God taught us at Sinai – on the basis of  your interpretation of Scripture. Now there are certain passages in Scripture  that are very clear and direct. They teach us to keep the Sabbath, to observe  the festivals, and to abstain from certain foods. I don’t see you (and I don’t  mean you personally – I am talking about the general attitude of followers of  Jesus towards God’s holy Law) taking any of these clear and open commandments  seriously. So how can I believe that it is your loyalty and submission to this  book that has you advocating the worship that you advocate? How do you expect me  to take your argument seriously? It should be obvious to you as it is obvious to  me that it is your devotion to Jesus that is producing your read on  Scripture and that it is not your read on Scripture that is producing  your devotion to Jesus.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Correspondence, The Ultimate Truth | 2 Comments

Nine Letters # 8 – Idolatry and the Rest of the Commandments

Posted on March 17, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

You  ask me if the God of Tanach is the same as Allah of Islam. I am not familiar  with Islamic theology so I cannot answer your question – but I get the gist of  what you are driving at. If I understood you correctly – you are asking me how I  could equate a god who demands that his followers blow themselves up in order to  kill innocents – with a God who holds every human life precious to  Him.

Again, I take the liberty of assuming that I understood  your question.

Your question blurs an important distinction – the  distinction between idolatry, which relates to the act of worship (and I refer  here to the act of self-negation and complete submission that is only  appropriate towards the Master of all existence) – and between every other part  of our lives before God.

I  will bring two Scriptural concepts forward to support my contention. First – When it comes to idolatry – God did not rely on the agency of Moses or on our  ability to interpret His word to teach us this commandment. He chose to teach it  to us as a national unit – directly – Himself – before He gave us the first book  of Scripture. The Torah highlights this truth in Deuteronomy 4:35 – by saying  that we were granted a complete knowledge of this matter – something that is not  paralleled with the other commandments. Second – the act of idolatry is  consistently portrayed as an act of adultery that violates our covenant with God – also not found with the other commandments.

It  is theoretically possible to come to a solid understanding of God’s will – to  have a deep understanding into the justice that God desires, and a  grasp of the kindness that God loves, and an awareness of the holiness that  God demands – and still be an idolater.

It  is also possible to get everything wrong – not understand the justice, kindness  and holiness that God wants and not be an idolater.

You  see – when God prohibited idolatry – He did not just say “don’t worship the sun  and the moon” – but He also said – don’t use anything to represent Me  (Deuteronomy 4:15). In other words – even when worshiping the God of Abraham  Isaac and Jacob – who abhors murder and immorality and who loves kindness and  justice – but we direct ourselves towards something from within finite existence – it  is idolatry. It doesn’t make a difference what we believe about this something – it is still idolatry.

On  the other hand – if we never heard of Abraham Isaac and Jacob – and our sense of  God’s will is inaccurate (which it is for every human being – though for some  more than for others) – but our worship is directed completely away from all  finite existence – towards the Master of all finite existence – then we have not  committed spiritual adultery and we are not idolaters.

Back to your question, I don’t know what Moslems worship – but if their worship is directed away from every finite existence towards the  infinite Master of all existence – then when Israel’s God is exalted – they will  not be shamed as idolaters.

In  response to your quote from Revelations – last time I checked – the lamb is  created by God – walked God’s earth and breathed His air. I am well aware that  we can call ‘finite” “infinite”, and call “created” “Creator”, and call a “man” “divine” – and attribute all of these to “mystery”.

This is not Jacob’s portion – Jeremiah 10:16, Isaiah  45:19

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Nine Letters # 7 – Sinlessness and the Statue

Posted on March 17, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

God’s sinlessness is inherent to His very nature – He  cannot sin because sin, by definition, means going against His will. If you  point to an inhabitant of this earth and say he was sinless (how anyone could  know that is beyond me) – then it is a happenstance. If a person happened to be  sinless – he is still completely and absolutely subject to the Creator of heaven  and earth. To point to his alleged sinlessness as a motive for worship is no  different than pointing to the alleged beauty of a statue as a motive for  worship – one is pointing to physical beauty and one is pointing to spiritual  beauty – but both of these beauties are part and parcel of God’s creation – they  are gifts from God – the possesors of these beauties are recipients of God’s  kindness. And the prohibition against idolatry doesn’t allow us to confuse  recipient with the Ultimate Giver.

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Posted in Correspondence, The Ultimate Truth | 3 Comments

Fear, Guilt and Psalm 131:2

Posted on March 14, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

Fear, Guilt and Psalm 131:2

Fear can be a crippling emotion. Under the influence of fear people become paralyzed and cannot follow the directives of their brains. Even worse is when the brain itself fails to think logically because it is overwhelmed by the power of fear.

Guilt can also be a crippling emotion. A misplaced sense of guilt can discourage a person from doing what ought to be done. Even worse is when the sense of guilt warps our thinking process and distorts our view of reality.

The masters of persuasion are aware of the power of these emotions and they attempt to harness the forces of fear and guilt in their campaign for possession of the hearts of men.

“Do you want to dwell in the fiery darkness of hell for all eternity?”

 

“Don’t you realize how evil you are with all of your sins? How can you think of facing the Holy God?”

 

“He suffered and died for you; how can you even think of turning your back on him?”

 

“You either belong to Jesus or you belong to Satan; there is no middle ground.”

These statements are not designed to help you make a balanced, educated and sensible decision. These arguments of the masters of persuasion are not presented to the courtroom of your mind with respect for the process that you would normally follow in order to arrive at an honest conclusion. These statements harness the forces of fear and guilt in an attempt to get you to over-ride the logical process. The missionary arguments attempt to move you to give your heart to Jesus without thinking through the matter carefully and deliberately.

How can we overcome the forces of fear and guilt? How can we think patiently and deliberately when the emotions of fear and guilt loom so threatening?

I only know of one way to brush these powerful emotions aside. This is the path that King David spells out so clearly in his beautiful songs. This is the path of trust in God.

David found himself in situations where he could have been completely engulfed and swallowed by fear and guilt. Throughout the Psalms David describes the forces that threaten him; be they his enemies or his own sins. And throughout the Psalms we find that David’s heart is only facing in one direction – towards His Father in heaven. When we read the Psalms we see how David’s trust in God filled his heart with confidence and security. We can feel the calmness and the peace in David’s heart no matter what and no matter when.

Why was David so secure in God? Did David think that his good works earned him a special spot in God’s heart? Did David think that God “owes him one” because he took a “leap of faith” and gave his heart to God? Did David think that he was “covered” by the right type of sacrifice which gave him a unique standing with God?

The answer is none of the above.

David trusted in God because God is merciful. David trusted God because God’s kindness fills the earth. David trusted God because He has compassion upon all of His creations. David trusted God because God is our Father and your Father loves you (Psalm 131:2).

We can all be David. We can all be confident and secure in God’s love and mercy. God is the Father of every one of us just as He is David’s Father. We can overcome the emotion of panic and the sense of guilt when we realize that God is with us every step of the way.

The masters of persuasion are aware that your trust in God can overcome their weapons of fear and guilt. The last thing these masters of persuasion want you to do is to face God with all of your fears and all of your guilt with confidence and security as David did before you. The masters of persuasion will do anything to prevent you from facing your Father with the simplicity, the love and the security that a child feels when he is cradled in the arms of his mother.

David’s wise son; Solomon taught us that God hates one who “stirs up strife between brothers” (Proverbs 6:19). The masters of persuasion are not satisfied to stir up strife amongst brothers. They need to stir up strife between the Father and His children. They do everything in their power to convince children that they cannot face their own Father without the agency of the “hero” that they are promoting. They try to convince you that your Father won’t look at you while you are stained with sin. They try to discourage you from talking directly to your own Father without the “covering sacrifice” of their idol.

But a child always has the heart of his or her Father. Look at how Daniel dealt with his own guilt and the guilt of his people. During the time of Israel’s exile and dispersion Daniel offered up a lengthy prayer of confession. In this prayer he shamefully admits his own wickedness and the wickedness of his people (Daniel 9:3-20). I would like to draw your attention to the introduction to this prayer and to its conclusion. Daniel introduces his prayer by telling us that he “set his face towards the Lord God” (verse 3). Daniel knew that his own Father would never spurn him despite his sin and guilt. Daniel knew that he could always “set his face” towards his own Father.

Daniel concludes his prayer by telling God: “it is not upon our own righteousness that we pour out our supplications before You but upon Your abundant mercy” (verse 18). With all of his guilt Daniel was still confident and secure in the abundant mercy of his heavenly Father.

As David and Daniel before us we can be secure and confident in God’s mercy and love. We can put our fears and our guilt aside and stride forward along the path of truth; asking honest questions and seeking honest answers. Don’t let anyone tell you that the path of honesty will take you away from the God of truth. As you move forward on the path of honesty you can be sure that you have the heart of the God of truth and that He is with you every step of the way.

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Posted in General | 5 Comments

Nine Letters # 6 – Seven Arguments

Posted on March 12, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

First of all; whether  you realize it or not – your world is Jesus centered and not God centered. I see  this in your attitude towards fellow believers in Jesus – as opposed to your  attitude towards worshipers of the Creator of heaven and earth who don’t believe  in Jesus. I see this in the way you approach Tanach (what you consider central  and important has nothing to do with what the Author of Tanach considers central  and important but rather it depends on how it relates to Jesus) – but primarily I see it in your hope for the  future. Your hope for Jesus’ exaltation is central to your hope for the future.  If all of mankind comes to recognize with absolute clarity that they owe  everything to the Creator of heaven and earth – but your beliefs about Jesus  turn out to be wrong – he was just another person – you will not say: “oh I made  a little mistake – the main thing is that God alone is exalted”.

Second – the Author of Tanach emphasizes how obedience to  His direct command is central and foundational. Your approach to Tanach ignores  this central truth. Your entire theology is built on passages that are not  presented as direct commandments – while your theology marginalizes passages  that are direct commandments. If you would approach Tanach with an appreciation  for the concept of obedience to God’s direct command – you would realize that  the theology that you see as so congruent with Tanach – is actually its very  antithesis.

Third – and most important. The bending of the heart  towards Jesus who suffered and died that you see as sort of swallowed up in your  general worship of God – is NOT something small and peripheral. The Scriptures  consistently speak of this worship as the greatest abomination in God’s eyes – as the deepest violation of a created being’s obligation towards their Creator.  The Scriptures magnify this act of the heart and teach us that the purpose of  the entire redemption is the abolishment of this worship – the heart and the  purpose of God’s covenant with Israel is that Israel testify to the world that  this worship is wrong.

Fourth – no one saw your theology in the Tanach before  Jesus failed to fulfill the open Messianic prophecies that his closest followers  expected him to fulfill. This should tell you that your affinity to Jesus is  producing your read on Tanach – and it is not your read on Tanach that is  producing your affinity to Jesus.

Fifth – you are wrenching the Tanach out of its  covenantal context. God sealed a covenant with us at Sinai – we got married to  Him there. It was there that we came to know our God – and it was not Jesus. The  Tanach was not given to us to help us identify God. That process was complete at  Sinai. To use the Tanach to create a new identification of God – different than  what we learned at Sinai, is wrenching the Tanach out of its covenantal context.

Sixth – the theology you built out of the Tanach – is  contradicted by Tanach on so many levels. If you would have focused on the  clear, consistent, comprehensive and direct teachings of Tanach – you would  realize that your theology has no Scriptural leg to stand on.

Seventh – the Scriptures consistently appeal to our  conscience, to our sense of logic and to our sense of humor to help us see the  inherent evil in worshiping an inhabitant of God’s earth. All of these apply to  worship of Jesus – your beliefs about him notwithstanding. The one who suffered  and died on a cross cannot be the Creator of heaven and earth. A man who needed  oxygen for his own well-being – cannot be the author of his own breath. And if  you deny these truths – then you have negated the prohibition against idolatry – how do you know that anything is not “(fill in your beliefs here)”. Your  argument that there is no Scriptural support for the worship of anyone aside  from Jesus – is untrue and irrelevant. It is untrue because passages like  Genesis 18 and Exodus 24 do not point exclusively to Jesus. And it is irrelevant  because before people approached Scripture with an affinity to Jesus no one saw  Jesus in Scripture either. If you approach Scripture with an affinity to anyone – you will be able to produce a coherent theology to support your  affinity.

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Posted in Correspondence, General, The Ultimate Truth | 1 Comment

Nine Letters # 5 – Sinai and Genesis 18

Posted on March 12, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

In response to a Christian who asked me if the God of Sinai is the same as the God of Genesis 18 and Exodus 24

Of-course the God of Sinai is the same as the God  of Genesis 18, Exodus 24 and the God of the rest of the Tanach – there is only  one God. When God appears to His prophets – however it is that He choses to  appear to them – they know that they are talking with the Master of all creation – that is what we call prophecy – when one KNOWS that he or she is talking with  the Master of all creation. They did not need to run to their Bibles and try to  figure out who they are talking to.

When people saw Jesus – they just saw a man.

The  key here is that we learned at Sinai – what our fathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob  knew before us that everything that happens here on earth is a gift from the all-powerful God who is above every form of existence that we can fathom – to point  to the qualities (in this case the spiritual qualities of selflessness) of an  inhabitant of this earth as emanating directly from God is to confuse the  Ultimate Giver with one of His  beneficiaries.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Correspondence, General, The Ultimate Truth | 2 Comments

Nine Letters # 4 – Beauty and Spirituality

Posted on March 12, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

You  say that Jesus’s physical qualities were unremarkable so they are not the focus  of your worship.

I  think you misunderstood me.

The  qualities I am talking of are spiritual qualities – selflessness, a willingness  to suffer and to die for others – that were contained in a physical  body.

To  see these qualities and identify them as the qualities of the one you are  worshiping is confusing the Ultimate Giver with one of the takers. Any quality,  whether physical or spiritual ,that is contained in a physical body can only be a  gift from God. When I see a righteous man performing an act of selflessness – my duty as a worshiper of God is to recognize that this man is the recipient of  God’s blessing – God blessed him with the courage and the love to do what he  did. if I were to point to the righteousness of a man and say – that is the  righteousness of the deity that I worship I would be just as much an idolater as if I  would point to the beauty of a statue and say that this is the beauty of the deity that  I worship.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Correspondence, General, The Ultimate Truth | 2 Comments