Author: Steven R. Bruck

Parashah Toldot 2018 (These are the generations) Genesis 25:19 – 28:9

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Today’s Torah reading is one of the better-known stories- the selling by Esau of his birthright and the “stealing” of his first-born blessing.  We start out with Isaac praying for Rebecca, who is barren. God gives her twins, Esau and Jacob, who he promises will grow into two nations, which become Edom and Israel. Jacob is the younger, and the difference between these fraternal twins couldn’t be greater: Esau is a hunter, a man of hedonistic qualities and rash, emotional decisions whereas Jacob is a quiet, studious man who is a shepherd.

To me, the spiritual difference is evident in the physical means of how they each survived: Esau made his living by the taking of life and Jacob by the fostering and caring for life.

We all know the story: Esau comes out of the field, hungry to exhaustion, and Jacob has stew cooking.  Esau asks for stew, Jacob offers it in exchange for the birthright of the firstborn, which Esau easily surrenders to him. Later, when it came time for Isaac to bless his sons, prodded by his mother, Rebecca, Jacob dresses up as Esau and fools his father into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. Esau comes to his father directly after Jacob leaves, and they both realize what has been done. With Esau crying bitterly, Isaac finds a blessing for Esau, who lets it be known that once his father dies, he will avenge himself on Jacob.

Rebecca, in order to protect her son, tells Isaac that she can’t stand the Hittite wives Esau has taken and asks Isaac to send Jacob to get a wife from their own people, which Isaac does by sending Jacob to his uncle Bethuel’s to get a wife from Jacob’s maternal grandfather’s house, the house of Laban.

The point I make often regarding this parashah is that Jacob didn’t really steal the blessing. We have to remember that he deserved the blessing of the firstborn because Esau sold it to him.

We see throughout the life of Jacob, whose name means to supplant, a tendency to lie. He lied to his father to receive the blessing, then later Laban lies to him to receive a wife, then lies to him regarding his payment, and finally, Rachael lies to her father about the household gods she stole when they left. One lie leads to another lie, which leads to more lies.

I would really like to take a ride with Mr. Peabody and Sherman in the Way-Back Machine    to see what would have happened if Jacob had come clean with Isaac about this whole blessing and birthright thing.

What if Jacob had just gone up to his father and said, “Father, your son Esau sold me his birthright so I am here to ask for the blessing of the firstborn, which is now rightly mine.”? Would Isaac have honored that sale? Would the blessing have been different, and would Isaac have saved a little something better for Esau knowing what had happened?

These are interesting questions that we will never know the answer to, but the point remains that because Jacob owned the birthright of the firstborn, he also owned the blessing that goes with it. So, even though he received it through trickery, it was, still and all, his by right.

The Chumash comment on the selling of Esau’s birthright is that Jacob knew Esau wouldn’t die without the stew and was really only testing him to see how important his birthright was to him. In those days, the firstborn was the spiritual leader of the family, and as such should be compassionate, wise and patient. Esau was none of these, and when Jacob had the opportunity to see if Esau really was able to make sound decisions, and Esau failed to do so Jacob took up the mantle of the spiritual leader of the family by buying that right from his brother.

How many times have we let our emotional state of mind influence our decisions? If you are a leader, either in a business, family or a religious environment, do you have the qualities of leadership that are needed for that position? And if you aren’t in charge, just as with Jacob, if the opportunity comes up for you to take charge of a leadership position, are you willing to take on that obligation?

You may be asking where you can find what these leadership qualities are, and I submit to you they are in the Bible. In Exodus, Titus, 1 Timothy and many other places we can find references to what qualities a leader should possess. In general, they are patience, wisdom, a lover of justice, a person not influenced by money, compassionate, able to manage his own family (well-behaved children) and a lover of God’s word.

In the past, the firstborn was entitled (by birth) to lead the family, economically and spiritually, but today that no longer holds true. Today we are all able to take positions of responsibility in our family, as well as in our careers. Some people are placed in positions of authority by reason of their work history, some by their actions in battle, and others simply because they stayed out of trouble long enough to be promoted by the system.

I know of people who have stated they don’t know why they don’t receive more responsibility, and when I suggest they show they are capable of handling more, they say, “Why should I do more work without getting more pay?” Here they are, refusing to demonstrate their ability to do more, and complaining that they aren’t promoted! They just don’t get it- who will put someone in a position of authority without that person first showing they are able to perform in that position?

The lesson today for each of us, those who believe in God, Messiah and who honor the Torah, is that we must first demonstrate the qualities of holiness before we can expect anyone else to want to follow us by accepting God and Messiah so that through them they can attain salvation.  We cannot run a ministry, or a business, a department or our own family if we do not live up to the standards of behavior God expects of us.

Jacob demonstrated the qualities that the firstborn should have, qualities which Esau did not have, and he took it upon himself to place himself in that position. And we know that God accepted this because God shows himself to Jacob and confirms that he will bless Jacob with the same promises he made to Abraham and Isaac.

We each need to know what God expects from us by reading the Bible and shaping ourselves into the image of what God wants a leader to be. Even if we aren’t in leadership now, we won’t ever get the chance if we don’t show that we are able to do the job. I have been blessed by being asked, in both places where I have worshiped, to be on their Council of Elders. That position, as I am sure most of you know, is not one that is solicited but one that is offered because the existing Council members recognize the leadership and spiritual abilities of someone. I don’t say this to brag but as an example of why being the best we can be in how we honor God will result in our being honored by godly people, and allow us to receive a “blessing of the firstborn” in our own right.

Know what God expects of you and do what you can to live up to that image of a godly person. When we do what God wants of us, everything else in our life falls into place and we receive the blessings that God has for us.

Use Your Write-In Vote to Elect Messiah

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Wouldn’t it be great if every Believer in God and Messiah used their right to a Write-In Candidate and submitted “Messiah, the son of God” instead of who is on the ticket?

There are millions of people who are “Born Again”: Christians, Messianic Jews, Hebraic Roots Movement, and even members of the other established Christian religions which aren’t associated with the idea of being “Born Again.” What if they all rejected the slated political candidates and wrote-in “Messiah, the son of God” as their choice?

NOTE: I am using the title “Messiah, the son of God so there is no confusion because there are many names we use for him: Jesus, Christ, Yeshua, HaMashiach, as well as other names which identify the Messiah God promised to the world. Messiah, the son of God is pretty much a universal description that I believe everyone will recognize.

Of course, this won’t ever happen, but wouldn’t it be cool if it did? And if it did, would Yeshua appear to take office? That would raise another interesting question: would he really have to be sworn in, since he never lies? He could just take the oath of office without having to swear at all.

You may be asking why I would present an idea and in the same breath say it can’t happen? For this reason: it won’t happen but it should be the ideal on which we decide who we do vote for. What I mean by that is this: when we vote for someone, we should consider the political and personal history of the candidate against what the Bible says a leader should be. And here are a couple of guidelines for that:

Exodus 18:21-22– But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens

Titus 1:5-9– An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.  Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.  Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.  He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

1 Timothy 3:12– A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. 

Based on these biblical requirements for being a leader of the people, we would have almost no one in the Capital, on the bench or in the White House. Given this situation, maybe we should write-in Yeshua at the next election!

I hear, just as I’m sure you do, people always complaining about the people in government. I find it sad that they fail to remember that our government is a representative government, meaning that the people running the show are there because we put them there, or (worse yet) we left them there. In my opinion, the reason our governmental system has worked so well over the centuries is this: because politicians do what they need to do to get re-elected, there must be enough good done for the people in order that they will re-elect that representative. Therefore, despite the politicians’ main goal to be doing what is best for them, they end up doing what is good for the country.

One last point I would like to make, which is a personal opinion: if there isn’t anyone I want to have in a position of leadership, then I won’t vote. I have a right to vote, and an obligation, but that obligation is NOT to put someone in office that I don’t think deserves to be there. I will not vote for the other person just because he or she is “not as bad”- when it comes down to electing the lesser of two evils, I will not be a part of electing either one. An abstention is just as important as a vote and has been used to signify disagreement with a position, policy, or person ever since governments were first formed.

This 2018 mid-term election is over, but when the next one comes along (and there is always another election) and you are called upon to elect a representative, make sure he or she represents what God says a leader should be.

And if there isn’t anyone on the ticket that meets or (at least) comes close to God’s requirements, then you might consider abstaining and just stay home.

The vote is a very important obligation, one that is not to be wasted just in order to please someone who tells you that you HAVE to vote! It is YOUR vote, not theirs, and you can do with it as you want.

When Taking Care of Numero Uno is Biblically Correct

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In the Gospel of Luke (12:26), we are told that Yeshua the Messiah says if we wish to be the greatest we must be the last. In order to be in charge, we must first learn how to serve. The world tells us quite the opposite: it says you should first and foremost take care of Numero Uno (Number One), and that once you have seen to your own needs and desires, then you can do something for someone else, but you don’t have to. That’s because they are supposed to be taking care of their own needs, too.

The world says take care of yourself first and the Bible tells us to serve others, yet the Torah teaches us that when we ask for forgiveness of sins, we cannot start with others. We must take care of Numero Uno before we can attend to the rest. Starting with the Cohen HaGadol (High Priest) and going down the ladder of authority to the Elders and community leaders, each person must first atone for their own sins before they can come to God to intercede for someone else.

I found this to be an interesting thought when I was reading the beginning of Leviticus the other day. Even though the religious and community leaders have an obligation to care for their “flock”, when it comes to one of the most important things we can do for others, which is interceding for them, we have to see to ourselves first. Once we have taken care of our own need to be forgiven, then and only then can we ask forgiveness for those who we are in charge of.

BTW: I know that no one can forgive someone else’s sins, and to be forgiven each person must ask that of God, individually. I am assuming that any intercession is similar to the one made for sin by the Cohen HaGadol in Biblical days.

We see this also in the teaching of Yeshua, who said (Matthew 5:24) that we are not to bring an offering to God until after we have taken care of our own issue with someone else, meaning that before we come into the presence of the Almighty we must be as “clean” as we can be. That doesn’t mean just physically or ceremonially clean- it also means spiritually clean.

Just about everything Yeshua taught was on the level of the Remes, the spiritual truth underlying the written word (P’shat) in the Torah. He is repeating what God told us in the Torah- take care of our own sins before we come to God to ask for someone else.

In Leviticus, the High Priest is to atone for his sins before he atones for the people. Yeshua tells us if we have an issue, some unrepented sin with someone else (and we know that any sin is first and foremost a sin against God), we must first atone for that sin, i.e. be cleansed of it before we come to God.

Another example is when Yeshua tells us to first remove the log from our own eye before we tell a brother (or sister) about the log in their eye (Matthew 7:5.)

One of the most difficult spiritual positions I can think of is the one of being an Intercessor. It requires the gifts of compassion, empathy, and patience- none of which I have in abundance- and because of the requirement to be sinless before interceding for others, well.. can you see now why I think it is such an awesome burden to have?

To intercede for others we must first take care of Numero Uno: we have to make sure we have interceded for ourselves. Only after we are clean, physically, ceremonially and spiritually, can we then ask God to help others.

I suppose it makes sense when we consider that we who have accepted Yeshua as our Messiah are seen by God through his righteousness, through his “cleanliness” when he intercedes on our behalf. Likewise, when we intercede for others we must also first be “clean” before the Lord so that he will see them through our cleanliness.

I pray every day for forgiveness. Not just because I know I am sinning, but because I don’t always know when I am sinning. I find it much more comforting to do this because I accept that I am a sinner and born with iniquity, and despite how hard I try I will never be free (at least, not in this lifetime) of what I am- a sinner who wants to sin. By always asking for forgiveness I know I am covering any and all sins I have or may have committed before the Lord. Remember how Shaul (Paul) confessed in Romans 7:15-20 that he does what he doesn’t want to do, and doesn’t do that which he wants to do. That’s why I accept my sinfulness and pray every day for forgiveness because he did, and believe–you–me…I am certainly not better than him!

So let’s put today’s message to rest with this conclusion: when someone tells you to take care of Numero Uno, tell them you do by interceding for others only AFTER you have first asked for your own forgiveness. That’s how to take care of Numero Uno correctly.

Then tell them that in all other matters, we are to be a servant of the Lord and a servant to others.

Parashah Chayei Sarah 2018 (The life of Sarah) Genesis 23:1 – 25:18

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This parashah begins with the end of Sarah’s life. Abraham buys a burial cave and after the mourning period, he has Eliezer, his servant and guardian of all he owns (like Joseph was for Potipher’s household) go back to Abrahams’ old village to find a wife for Isaac from amongst Abraham’s own family. God goes ahead of Eliezer and Rebekah, the daughter of Abraham’s brother, Nachor, is the one God has chosen. After she is brought back and joined with Isaac, the parashah ends with a note about the other sons Abraham had through his second wife, Keturah- 6 more sons. Finally, we are told of Abraham’s death and burial. The last lines of this parashah give us the names of the sons of Ishmael, who become 12 nations.

I need to confess some pridefulness on my part in that I have always thought that the numberless amount of descendants that God promised Abraham would beget (Gen. 15:5) are the Jewish people. I never really thought of anyone else that came from Abraham’s loins as being part of that number. Oh, yes- I recognized that the Arab peoples were brothers, way, way back somewhere since they also came from Abraham, but I always thought the descendants that counted were just the Jewish people.

Lately, I have had discussions with other people who claim they are one of the tribes sent into the Diaspora and are just now tracing themselves back to their Israelite tribe. The 10 tribes that have been dispersed throughout the world have also lost their origins, having been assimilated into the culture and bloodlines of the geographical locations to which they went. And these locations are worldwide, from Asia through Africa, in Europe- all over!

We all know that Abraham had 2 sons, Ishmael and Isaac- one became the Arab nations and the other the Jewish nation. But do you recall that in this parashah we are told of 6 other sons that Abraham had? He gave them all gifts and sent them on their own way, and since his first two sons grew into nations that numbered (and still do) in the millions, it only seems reasonable to believe that God’s promise to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens would also be fulfilled through these other 6 sons. That means that we know of at least 24 tribes from Ishmael and Isaac, alone, and who knows how many more tribes from the other 6 sons?

Over the past 5 Millennia, that’s a heck of a lot of people! Even when we consider that some of the Semitic tribes have been destroyed, such as the Assyrians and Babylonians, that still leaves plenty of descendants.

My point is that God’s promise to Abraham may not have been restricted to just the Jewish descendants. There may be more “sons and daughters of Abraham” around than I ever thought there were. My “special” condition, being a Jewish descendant of Abraham, may not really be oh-so-special, after all. And I confess I felt a little let down by that realization; on the other hand, after I thought it over a bit more, I started to think this is a good thing.

God promised Abraham his descendants would be more numerous than the stars, more than the grains of sand on the beach, and when we think about that promise as including the adopted children of Abraham, that fits in perfectly with what we are told in the Bible.

John 10:16– “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd” 

Gal. 3:29– “For if you belong to Messiah, you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” 

Isaiah 56:6-8 –“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, everyone who keeps from profaning the Sabbath and holds fast My covenant; even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” 

Psalm 86:9– All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and they shall glorify Your name.

Hosea 2:23– “I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!'”

That verse in Hosea is, contextually, dealing with the regathering of Israel, but the adopted sons and daughters will be the regathered, as well.

There are many other verses throughout the Bible, Old and New Covenants, which indicate God’s plan to bring all the nations- not just those that are the direct descendants of Abraham- into his salvation.

I have met many people over the years, especially those that have seen my testimony, who have stated they wished they had been born Jewish. Others have come to me or have posted that they are just now finding out that their grandparents were Jewish (many European and Sephardic Jews hid their Jewish lineage for fear of being persecuted or killed.)

The truth I have now accepted is that being a “Jew” is not so special, after all, since I have many brothers and sisters who are all children (either directly or adopted) of Abraham, throughout the world. And they are, indeed, as numerous as the stars in the heavens.

The conclusion I have come to is this: being a Jew by birth is not what is special. What is special is to accept Yeshua as my Messiah and to live my life as my Messiah did, worshiping the Holy One of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through obedience to his Torah.

Do All Blessings Come from God?

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Now for today’s drash…

We know that God loves to bless his children and that he rains on both the just and the unjust, alike (Matthew 5:4.) To me, that means even someone who rejects God will receive blessings from him, if for no other reason than God loves all his children.

Besides those blessings God gives to us simply because he loves us, we can earn blessings through obedience to his commandments (Deut. 28), which means that there is an awful lot of really nice stuff God has for all of us, and he never ever runs out of blessings for us.

But what about the Enemy, the Devil, that old lion HaSatan stalking each and every one of us, trying to place a wedge between us and God? Does he ever do nice things for people?

You bet he does!!

In fact, I believe that Satan gives more good things to people than he does bad things. Why? It’s because when we are given things we like, especially things that are worldly and appeal to our base nature, we become prideful and unappreciative. The Israelites in the desert are a perfect example of this, and for those who are not Jewish don’t think for a moment you are any better than they were. Even after 40 years of seeing bread fall from heaven, water come from rocks, clothes and shoes not worn from the rough terrain, having food and water supplied for over a million people (not to mention millions of animals) and yet, the moment they were had any trouble, they carped and complained and lost faith in the One who had been providing this all along.

They had the same attitude towards God that I used to hear when I was in Sales:

“I know you’ve been the best producer this branch has ever had, but what did you do for me today?” 

I believe that Satan gives many blessings so that when they are taken away, we will curse God. Look at the Bible verses that support this:

Job 2:9– His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Matthew 4:9–Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”

Revelation 16:11– And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores; yet they did not repent of their deeds.

We know that Job did not fall victim to the Devil’s tricks, and neither did Yeshua. But we are told that in the Acharit HaYamim (End Days) many will curse God for the pain and suffering they will be going through without realizing that this is as much a chance for them to be saved as it is having to suffer God’s just punishment for their sinfulness.

The Enemy knows that after being blessed with fleshly desires we not only get used to them, we think we deserve them. And when they are taken away, we feel rejected, unjustly punished and we take it out on the one who we think gave us these in the first place- God!  How many people who have been given blessings (Satanists notwithstanding) think that the Devil made it happen? Probably none. We blame the Devil for bad things happening in our lives, but not for the good things. And because we think God is blessing us, when the Devil takes away those things he gave us we don’t blame him- we blame God. We ask “Why?”; we look for reasons we are being punished;  we tend to get sad, melancholy and resentful, which results all too often in our rejecting God.

Can you see how by blessing us the Enemy can turn us against God?

So, nu?  How can I know who gave me the blessings I have? Actually, it’s not so hard to figure it out: if you are being obedient to God’s Torah you will receive blessings. That’s God’s promise, and all his promises are trustworthy. If you know that you are not obedient to Torah and yet, you are receiving blessings, then you have to ask yourself, “Who is giving me so many wonderful things for rejecting God’s commandments?” The answer is obvious, isn’t it? There is only one entity in the universe who will reward people for disobeying God.

One last note on this: if you are doing your best to obey the Torah and find yourself devoid of blessings, or at least having a lot of tsouris, then be happy for that. It means you have successfully rejected the Enemy’s attempt to seduce you and you are getting closer to God, which is why now he is attacking you. Maintain your faith and the blessings will come, eventually, just as they did for Job.

Blessings are able to be earned and also given freely by God to those who love him and show that love by obeying his commandments. If you know that you are disobedient to God’s commandments but have many blessings, you can be fairly certain those blessings are not from God.

This may sound like an oxymoron, but the Bible shows us it is true:

The Enemy gives us wonderful things to take us away from God; God takes away what we have in order to bring us back to him.

Always be certain your blessings are the ones earned through obedience.