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Post by mystic on Sept 28, 2020 5:48:39 GMT -8
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Post by Questor on Sept 28, 2020 10:03:37 GMT -8
I am no Hebrew scholar either, but I understand enough of the use of the word 'anan' to understand it as 'being made less than' in this usage from what one is considered to be on a normal day. 'Anan' actually refers to the cloud (Noun) that was over the Mercy Seat in Moshe's day, in which Adonai dwelt, and to which a sacrifice was offered, but since sacrifices are a kind of affliction to those giving it, losing a considerable part of one's wealth to satisfy the commandment, (and being made less than, thereby), one can see how the word slides into 'affliction' in more common usage as a verb.
וְעִנִּיתֶ֖םwə-‘in-nî-ṯem; and you shall afflictאֶת־
’eṯ; (with the meaning of towards) נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם
nap̄-šō-ṯê-ḵem; your soulsAfflicting one's soul is not really a physical thing, although fasting is by no means a bad thing, and I fast on Yom Kippur to the extent I can, being required to take medications, but I do not think that it makes me anything but a little more separate than those who know nothing of Yom Kippur, and thus are not considering the day at all, much less refusing food so that one can be more aware of what day it is...a day in which to humble yourself before G-d, to examine one's actions in connection with the  for the past year.The actual Scripture that mentions Yom Kippur is Leviticus 16:29 which mandates the establishment of this holy (separated) day on the 10th day of the 7th month as the day of atonement for sins. It calls it the Sabbath of Sabbaths and a day upon which one must afflict one's soul. Leviticus 23:27 decrees that Yom Kippur is a strict day of rest.Leviticus 23:26-32 (CJB)
26 Adonai said to Moshe,
27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is Yom-Kippur; you are to have a holy convocation, you are to deny yourselves, and you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai.
28 You are not to do any kind of work on that day, because it is Yom-Kippur, to make atonement for you before Adonai your God.
29 Anyone who does not deny himself on that day is to be cut off from his people;
30 and anyone who does any kind of work on that day, I will destroy from among his people.
31 You are not to do any kind of work; it is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.
32 It will be for you a Shabbat of complete rest, and you are to deny yourselves; you are to rest on your Shabbat from evening the ninth day of the month until the following evening.” Most people take the 'denying of oneself as 'fasting', but as all Shabbat's, one denies oneself all of the normal days activities as you would on any Shabbat. Afflicting oneself on this day of atonement, I take to be a serious yearly review of the 613 commandments, and always find there is something that I can, not being in Israel under a Temple economy, do better than I did before, acknowledge my sin, do teshuvah, and begin again for the next year.b.Yoma 77b states that one is to do nothing that provides for your personal comfort or pleasure either, such as not washing, anointing oneself, having marital relations, and so on, but tending toward Karaite observation of the Scriptures, I take note of the idea of thinking not of yourself and your wants and desires, but of what G-d wants on this day...a Shabbat of Shabbats...a day of total quiet before YHVH. Can I do it? No. I do not understand it well enough, so I read Isaiah on fasting, and take note of what I should do all the time.Isaiah 58:1-14 (CJB)
1 Shout out loud! Don’t hold back! Raise your voice like a shofar! Proclaim to my people what rebels they are, to the house of Ya‘akov their sins.
2 “Oh yes, they seek me day after day and [claim to] delight in knowing my ways. As if they were an upright nation that had not abandoned the rulings of their God, they ask me for just rulings and [claim] to take pleasure in closeness to God,
3 [asking,] ‘Why should we fast, if you don’t see? Why mortify ourselves, if you don’t notice?’ “Here is my answer: when you fast, you go about doing whatever you like, while keeping your laborers hard at work.
4 Your fasts lead to quarreling and fighting, to lashing out with violent blows. On a day like today, fasting like yours will not make your voice heard on high.
5 “Is this the sort of fast I want, a day when a person mortifies himself? Is the object to hang your head like a reed and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself? Is this what you call a fast, a day that pleases Adonai?
6 “Here is the sort of fast I want — releasing those unjustly bound, untying the thongs of the yoke, letting the oppressed go free, breaking every yoke,
7 sharing your food with the hungry, taking the homeless poor into your house, clothing the naked when you see them, fulfilling your duty to your kinsmen!”
8 Then your light will burst forth like the morning, your new skin will quickly grow over your wound; your righteousness will precede you, and Adonai’s glory will follow you.
9 Then you will call, and Adonai will answer; you will cry, and he will say, “Here I am.” If you will remove the yoke from among you, stop false accusation and slander,
10 generously offer food to the hungry and meet the needs of the person in trouble; then your light will rise in the darkness, and your gloom become like noon.
11 Adonai will always guide you; he will satisfy your needs in the desert, he will renew the strength in your limbs; so that you will be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.
12 You will rebuild the ancient ruins, raise foundations from ages past, and be called “Repairer of broken walls, Restorer of streets to live in.”
13 “If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, Adonai’s holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them.
14 If you do, you will find delight in Adonai— I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya‘akov, for the mouth of Adonai has spoken.”And, since I can't do that well either, I turn to Yeshua, and ask him to stand in the balance for me. I do my best, which is pretty rotten, and trust in Yeshua's righteousness in this, as all other matters.
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Post by alon on Sept 28, 2020 10:39:32 GMT -8
Well, I had said I would probably not be replying to posts today, but this one sort of demands an immediate answer.At times we as Messianics can be too "smart" for our own good. This artical illustrates one of those times.The artical is correct that there is a specific term for fasting, "tsum," and that the term used for what we are to do this day (Yom Kippur) is to humble ourselves. However in saying this doesn't mean fasting, discounting entirely that this is a Hebrew euphemism for fasting, it makes the mistake of thinking scripture always uses a 1:1 terminology. Take the Shema, where God is said to be One, "echad." There are I believe (from a failing memory) five different terms that could have been used for "one," all more specific than echad which means "a composite unity." All other terms would have saved us a lot of bickering over the meaning. However the author wanted to say more about God than just He is "One." One meaning is it speaks of the uniqueness of God, as in several OT passages like: Job 23:13: "but He [the Lord] is unique [be-`echadh, באחד], and who can turn [change] Him?
In commanding us to fast, I think Moshe wanted to say more than "just go hungry for a day." There are several names for Yom Kippur as well, one being "The Day of Atonement." It pointed ahead to the atoning work of Yeshua on the Cross. It is also a day when we, like the ancient Jews acknowledge the fact there is nothing we can do to effect our own salvation. We cannot atone for our own sins. Only God can forgive, only He can make a way for us, and only He can provide the perfect sacrifice to cover (kippur) our sins. To "afflict" ourselves, "anah" means more than just fasting for a day. We are to humble ourselves. Going without food puts most in a somber mood and a weakened state physically. This corresponds to our hopelessness and inability to atone for our sins before a holy God. In fasting, we are admitting our weakness and dependance on Him entirely for forgiveness and covering of our sins. The term "anah" is meant to convey a lot more meaning than just going hungry for a day. As it says, you are to "afflict your soul," not just your stomach. Biblical fasting has always been a spiritual thing, not just about hunger. So in the command here: “Howbeit on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah” (Leviticus 23:27), the term "tsum" would have been wholy inadequate. The term "anah" better describes what we are to do as we "tsum."Dan C
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Post by Questor on Sept 28, 2020 11:10:53 GMT -8
Well, I had said I would probably not be replying to posts today, but this one sort of demands an immediate answer. |
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Post by mystic on Sept 28, 2020 12:56:47 GMT -8
Thanks for the help you guys! It makes things clearer for me now.
Yeah I messed this up this time 2nd time around, last year I did better. I had been so busy these past weeks that I was not prepared for this. I made and had some tea this morning so that broke the 26 hour fast. I made a pledge to do it right again next year as I had done last year without even a sip of water even though I have low blood sugar issues. So I got a little over 2 hours to go and I remember from last year that my weakened state had peaked during the last hour.
I did make more spiritual progress this time than last year regarding my praying and studying. However I spent the last 4 hours looking at the 10 commandments, don't know if that was wrong but it helped a great deal in getting me through this day. Seems I can never let go of the 10 commandments as my Holy grail. Even though I try as best as I can to come to terms with not being under the law as most Christians do, I simply cannot for the life of me see it that way and I have no idea why?
These words to me from Chava an elderly Orthodox mentor with whom I had been studying Judaism with 7 years ago when I had first started my walk that "maybe my soul is destined to be Jewish" came to me again.
So I am a work in progress trying to find my way [sighhhhhhhhhh].
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Post by alon on Sept 28, 2020 15:18:08 GMT -8
Thanks for the help you guys! It makes things clearer for me now. Yeah I messed this up this time 2nd time around, last year I did better. I had been so busy these past weeks that I was not prepared for this. I made and had some tea this morning so that broke the 26 hour fast. I made a pledge to do it right again next year as I had done last year without even a sip of water even though I have low blood sugar issues. So I got a little over 2 hours to go and I remember from last year that my weakened state had peaked during the last hour. I did make more spiritual progress this time than last year regarding my praying and studying. However I spent the last 4 hours looking at the 10 commandments, don't know if that was wrong but it helped a great deal in getting me through this day. Seems I can never let go of the 10 commandments as my Holy grail. Even though I try as best as I can to come to terms with not being under the law as most Christians do, I simply cannot for the life of me see it that way and I have no idea why? These words to me from Chava an elderly Orthodox mentor with whom I had been studying Judaism with 7 years ago when I had first started my walk that "maybe my soul is destined to be Jewish" came to me again. So I am a work in progress trying to find my way [sighhhhhhhhhh].
There are different views on exactly what "to afflict oneself" actually means. I follow the halacha of the last synagogue I was at and only fast from food. I do put 1/2 hr fence before and after, so it is actually a 25 hr. fast.
At the other extreme, the Orthodox fast from food, from drinking water, from washing or bathing, and from wearing leather shoes. No makeup or grooming, haircuts, etc. I personally think they have taken this too far. They try to suffer enough to earn forgiveness, and thus miss completely the meaning of the fast. Of course they'd say my pitiful food fast is meaningless. I leave it to God.
All however agree that you should not risk a medical emergency. If you must eat something to keep your blood sugar up then eat only what is necessary, but do eat what is necessary! If you are sick, don't fast. And take your medication. I am fasting from vitamins and supplements, but not my pills.
Dan C |
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Post by mystic on Sept 29, 2020 3:43:28 GMT -8
At the other extreme, the Orthodox fast from food, from drinking water, from washing or bathing, and from wearing leather shoes. No makeup or grooming, haircuts, etc. I personally think they have taken this too far. They try to suffer enough to earn forgiveness, and thus miss completely the meaning of the fast. Of course they'd say my pitiful food fast is meaningless. I leave it to God.
Dan C Yes I think the Orthodox can be extreme with certain things. Yes first and foremost I try to use the fast as a spiritual way to connect with God. Actually I was not weakened in the last hour like last year, might have been due to the cup of tea I mistakenly had in the morning, next year I will know when I do it right again. |
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Post by alon on Sept 29, 2020 9:23:44 GMT -8
Yes I think the Orthodox can be extreme with certain things. Yes first and foremost I try to use the fast as a spiritual way to connect with God. Actually I was not weakened in the last hour like last year, might have been due to the cup of tea I mistakenly had in the morning, next year I will know when I do it right again.
Dan C |
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for the past year.
