Rabbi’s Reflections – Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Shalom,
Life In The Body part 28 – Romans, part 203
Romans 13:12 The night is almost gone and the day is near, so let us put off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
There is tension in the world today between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it. But it doesn’t have to affect you. Choose light and resist darkness. John 8:12 Yeshua spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows Me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Rabbi Trail: One candle provides enough light to overcome all the darkness. There is a Yiddish term for this that we haven’t discussed in many years. The “Pintele Yid” (A Jewish spark – you can Google it if you like, but my explanation is better than anything you’ll find on the World Wide Web.) The pintele yid is God’s pilot light, ready to be ignited within every person (Jewish and non-Jewish) when they come to believe in the Jewish Messiah. Every grafted in person has a pintele yid. End RT.
How do we manifest this victory over darkness? Hear the words of Yeshua… Matthew 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. The Greek word describing the “good eye” is “Haplous,” and it is used in Scripture only this once, and in the parallel verse in Luke (11:34). The broad interpretation is fascinating.
This is what I found in the Cognate word study… “literally, “without folds” (J. Thayer), referring to a single (undivided) focus, i.e. without a (secret) “double agenda” which prevents an over-complicated life (becoming needlessly distracted).” This little word calls us to an undivided life that stays in focus. Ever focus the lens of a camera? You have to match the top and bottom so there is no dividing line. Only then are you in perfect focus.
And, there is another lesson here. Avoid distractions (double agendas) which tend to complicate life. So, now you’re wondering where to find this life changing light. Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Yeshua is the Word. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth. Back up a few verses… John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Now read Isaiah 2:2 (The mountain of Adonai’s house will stand and nations will flow to it.), Isaiah 2:3 (Come let us go up to the house of the God of Jacob… and we will walk in His paths.) and Isaiah 2:4 (Nations… will beat their swords into plowshares.) So this lesson concludes with Isaiah 2:5 Come house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of Adonai. Come, let’s do that, in the light of Adonai. Shalom shalom.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Wed 1-Nov-2023 17th of Cheshvan, 5784
Ge 19:21-21:4 Jos 24 Ps 23 Mt 19 (Ro 1)