Yehuda Bachana: Deliverance and Redemption [2023]

Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Yehuda Bachana.

The Torah Portion “Jethro” begins after the war with Amalek. The News of a mysterious nation, that came out of Egypt and is wandering in the desert is spreading widely among the nations dwelling in the wilderness of Paran and Zin. Later on in the bible, we will read about the Moabite king Balak, who also heard these stories, and decided to hire the services of Balaam, because he and his people were afraid.

Balak was not alone, there were others, like Rahab, who spoke to Joshua’s spies, saying:

“We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.  When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”
Joshua 2:10-11

Jethro, a Mediante priest, also heard the news about the signs and wonders and the mighty hand of God, that saved the nation of slaves from the Egyptian oppression. So, Jethro leaves for the desert, along with his daughter Zipporah and two of his grandchildren - Moses’ wife and sons. He wants to see with his own eyes, what is happening there.

And, already at the beginning, a few questions rise up. Did Moses and Zipporah separate? Did they divorce? Or maybe Moses left her and their sons back in Midian, in order not to risk them, when he was about to confront the mighty Egyptian Pharaoh? May be Moses was worried that his family might become involved in the confrontation with the greatest power of the world.

But according to Exodus 4, this was not the reason. Because there we read that when Moses was on his way back to Egypt, he took with him his wife Zipporah and their two sons. And even more so, Zipporah saved his life, when she circumcised the boys.So, when and how did Zipporah return to Median? How long did the whole negotiation process and the plagues take until the final redemption?

And what happened to Zipporah and Moses’ sons after our Torah Portion? These questions will remain unanswered, because we simply do not know. The Jewish Midrash says, that Moses’ sons Gershom and Eliezer were privileged to enter the Promised Land, but this is not clear from the Torah itself.

It is strange, because we are used to knowing, everything about our nation’s founding fathers, including what they were thinking. In their stories, we read about Sarah’s laughter, about the fight with Hagar, and her sending Hagar to the wilderness with Ishmael, and so on. But here we witness a major change. Until now we talked about family, about our fathers.

As a family we communicate in an intimate way, even gossip a bit. But now we are a nation, from now on, our story will focus on what is relevant for the entire nation, the entire society, and much less on juicy personal details. Moses is in transition between the two - nation and family, and he still functions and operates in a family mode, as a tribe chief. As such, Moses tries to consult and to judge the whole nation by himself.

When Jethro saw this, he advised Moses to change this habit, because one person is not able to lead and to judge the entire nation, even if he is a dedicated leader, and is willing to work hard for his people. Even then, it will not be sufficient, and there is a need to build a power hierarchy, from small issues to big.

So, Jethro advised Moses to choose trustworthy people, who are honest and seek justice; leaders who are not greedy and cannot be bought, and will deal with others justly. It starts from the bottom. If a judge or a leader feels that the issue is too big for him, he should bring it higher up, because at the top of this pyramid stands Moses.

And we have to remember, that some problems were too complicated, even for Moses, and he had to ask God for a solution. A good example is the request of Zelophehad’s daughters, found in the book of Numbers, in the Torah Portion Pinchas. There we read:

“So Moses brought their case before the Lord.”
Numbers 27:5

Here we learn an important lesson in humility, and Moses was the humblest person we know, as it is written:

“Now Moses was a very humble man, humbler than anyone else on the face of the earth.”
Numbers 12:3

His humility is also reflected in the ability to listen to others. If Moses listened to the advice of others, how much more should we listen and learn from others. Even the most talented and the smartest people are still limited in their abilities and their knowledge. In every society and in every nation, there are things that need to be changed, improved or learned. This is why it is important to listen and to accept good advice. We can learn something from every person.

Our story continues, and on the third month after the Exodus, the children of Israel approached Mt Sinai! What a moment! What an awesome event; exciting and frightening at the same time. God’s fire ascended from Mt. Sinai and filled it with smoke. There were sounds of trumpets, voices and thunder. In our Torah Portion, the nation of Israel receives the ten commandments. What are they, the 10 commandments? What makes them into the heart of Torah?

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2-3

This truth needs to be expressed through our faith and our actions.

“You shall have no other gods before me.”

The 10 commandments start with the definition of who God is. He is the one, who had redeemed us from Egypt, who has made us with his own hands.Among the 613 commandments of the Torah, there are “do” and “do not do” commandments. Reward is promised for keeping certain commandments, and yet there is a punishment for breaking the others that is supposed to stop us from doing what’s forbidden.

And then we come to the last commandment – “do not covet”, which is the sin of thought.We see here that man cannot judge “do not covet”. For example, in the New Testament, in Acts chapter 5, we read about Ananias and Sapphira, who joined a messianic kibbutz or a messianic community of sorts. All its members have sold their property and lived together.

However, Ananias and Sapphira “coveted” money. They wanted, desired, “coveted” money, so they stole a part of it and lied about the real value of the property they had sold. The Apostles in the New Testament didn’t accuse them of “coveting”, as it is impossible. But Peter accused them of lying; they lied to the Holy Spirit.

“Do not covet” is very different from commandments, like “do not murder” or “do not commit adultery”, because the later ones are clear, black and white type of commandments. However, Yeshua and the New Testament, emphasize commandments like “Love you neighbor as yourself”, and also “do not covet”.

These commandments talk about our feelings, but how can a person control his thoughts or his feelings? In the New Testament, Yeshua wants us to understand that the Torah is very deep; that it is much more then “do” and “do not do” regulations. The Torah is deep and it touches a man’s heart. This is the great revelation, brought to the world by Yeshua and the New Testament.

Although it is not really new, because the Torah and the Prophets say God will write His Law on our hearts. Yeshua and the New Testament requires and hold us responsible for the fundamental change. Yeshua brought new depth to the literal meaning of the commandments. He demands from us, to write God’s Law on our hearts.

Yeshua proclaims:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Mathew 5:17

Yeshua didn’t come to abolish the Law, the Torah, but he came to write it on our hearts. And this is what he teaches us: The commandment “do not murder” was not canceled, on the contrary, its meaning and requirements became greater, because according to Yeshua, it also prohibits killing a person’s soul, we should not hurt others and/or not cause them to feel worthless or useless. It does not come instead of the simple “do not murder”, but adds to it another dimension.

And When Yeshua teaches us “do not commit adultery”, he does not cancel the commandment, but writes it on our hearts. We have to take it to heart, and if we are looking at the other person with lust, Yeshua says, that we already committed adultery in our heart and broke the commandment.

The Sermon on the Mount starts at Mathew chapter 5 and continues till chapter 7. It consists of rules, instructions and requirements; what we call in Judaism “halachot”, or guidelines. When I read the Sermon on the Mount, I understand that Yeshua asks us to take God’s commandments to heart, to internalize them. We have to adopt God’s word not only outwardly, but make them part of our inner being, part of our very existence.

In chapter 31 Jeremiah promised us a “New Covenant”. What does it mean? Does God speak of a new set of rules, or does it mean, that we have to take God’s given commandments to heart? Does Jeremiah speak of love, our love for the Word of God and our desire to uphold it?

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Jeremiah 31:33

 

The Letter to the Hebrews is quoting Jeremiah’s prophesy of the new covenant twice, in chapter 8 and 10. Chapter 8 has probably the longest quotation in the New Testament, and for what reason? The author of Hebrews, sees the similarity between his time and the days of Jeremiah, right before and during the destruction of the First Temple.

Jeremiah prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, while the letter to Hebrews was written close to, or right after the destruction of the Second Temple and the downfall of Jerusalem. And then, as in the time of Jeremiah the prophet, the religious leadership was corrupt, and people were on their way to exile. Fear and uncertainty are filling the hearts of the people of Israel.

The letter wants to give hope to the exiles who survived the destruction, the same way, Jeremiah did. Yes, the people are going to exile, but God did not abandon his people. The day will come, the covenant will be renewed, and the people of Israel will come back to their inheritance. People in those days, as well as we are now, are facing a strange reality, a reality without priests, without the Temple, without sacrifices.

A Reality without proper purification.

When the letter to Hebrews was written, the Temple was destroyed and the institution of earthly priesthood came to an end. So, the purpose of this letter, was to transfer the priestly service and purification to a heavenly high priest, to Yeshua, who is sitting at the right hand of God.

“The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” Hebrews 9:13-14

The Letter to Hebrews, chapters 8 to 10, are focused on the questions of man’s purity, cleanness from sin and the laws of priesthood and sacrifices.

This New Testament epistle does not deal with the substance of the Torah, but rather with the idea that the blood of the Messiah purifies our lives and cleans us from sin, so although we do not have a High Priest on earth, we have something better, we have a perfect sacrifice - Yeshua the Messiah.

In the past, every year, over and over again, we had to bring a sacrifice for every sin and for every impurity. Not anymore! Yeshua is the ultimate sacrifice, He sacrificed himself once and for all.

In a perfect way, He became the sacrifice for the sins of the entire world.

This interpretation of the Letter to Hebrews, makes us all pure and clean before God.

Joseph Shulam: God’s Judgement and Grace [2023]

The Middle East has much more than one problem and in the last few days the world has seen the forces of nature showing their power with vengeance in East Turkey and North West Syria.  Several thousands died from the earth quakes and many thousands of buildings collapsed like they were made from cardboard or cheese cake.   The word of God says that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of THE LORD in disfavor.

Christians stress only the grace and love of the Lord and neglect to mention the wrath and anger of God.  But just as God loves his children and shows them his grace in the same way, when we rebel and ignore and boldly break His commandments, His wrath and presence is also felt with clarity and without doubts.

Our task is to share our love and prayers, interceding and helping and offering physical and humanitarian help, even to our enemies and to those who seek to destroy us as a people and as a nation.   Yesterday there were a few very strong and deadly and destructive earth quakes in the region. Earth quakes that were north of Israel but were felt in Israel.

Israel is the first country and the first neighboring country to immediately send specialists for rescue and recovery to the earthquake-stricken areas in Turkey. A hand for help was even offered to Syria and Jordan…. I can say without apologies that the state of Israel is acting by far more like Yeshua’s teaching than any country in the world.

Most of the time even those who claim to be our friends, have often neglected and continue to neglect Israel in the UN and other international institutions and vote against it.  We have friends who now want our help and support, who have even condemned Israel for not giving them weapons, and consistently vote against Israel and support sanctions against Israel, and we still help them.

It is such an encouragement for me personally to see Israel officially offering firsthand and first-class humanitarian help to our friends and even to our enemies. The Torah reading this next Shabbat is Yitro (the father-in-law of Moses).  We will be reading from Exodus 18:1-20:23, the whole story of the giving of the Torah from Exodus.   From the prophets we are reading from Isaiah 6:1 - 7: 6, and from chapter 9:5-6.  From the New Testament, we shall be reading from the letter to the Hebrews 12:1-29.

The whole Bible actually interlines from time to time the fact that there are non-Jews, non-Israelites, what are called Gentiles, Goyim, that are wise and friendly and have good ideas and love God and His people. This very simple and very important note is actually the beginning of our Torah Reading this next Shabbat, February 11^th, 2023.

Moses’ father-in-law is a Midianite priest and as the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea and now, they are encamped near Mount Sinai and Jethro, the father of Zipporah the Midianite wife of Moses comes to visit.  Jethro the Midianite Priest observes and sees that Moses, his son in law, is spinning his wheels and not doing his job properly.

He's wasting too much energy trying to adjudicate this crowed of ex slaves and it is all done inefficiently.  So, as the father-in-law of Moses, Jethro comes up with some very modern and good ideas of time management, efficiency, and preservation to save the energy of the leader.

This is not the only story in which non-Jews in the Bible are praised and given the credit for their faith and faithfulness.  We have Rahab the prostitute from Jericho, we have Yael from the tribe of the Kenites, that came out of Egypt with the Israelites. There is the widow woman from Tyra who fed Elijah the prophet for three years from food that God multiplied in her bowl daily.

Yeshua uses this case of the widow to teach the Jewish people of his day that there are righteous gentiles that deserve every honor and praise that even Israelites themselves didn’t deserve.

This is a very important lesson for us because over the years of persecution and murder of Jews ,especially in Europe, but not only in Europe, there has to be on our part, on the part of the Jewish people, a double appreciation for every non-Jew that stands with us and with the nation of Israel.

The inbreeding of racial hate in some Jewish people, although it is a very small number in comparison of the millions of Christians and Muslims who have not only hated Jews but have slaughtered Jews, and are still with blood thirsty eyes, seeking to do harm and persecute Jews. For us as Jews nothing can be excused that has racial hatred and discrimination against non-Jews.  We can simple not afford as Jews nor as disciples of Yeshua the Messiah, to discriminate and have racial prejudice for our dear and precious non-Jewish brothers!

Reading the Torah portion of Yitro (Jethro) is a great reminder how important it is for all of us to receive and practice the famous Rabbinical saying:

“Receive the truth no matter who says it!”

We are to examine the facts and the truth and not automatically reject it because someone strange or unseemly said it.  If we can do this, it would be such a great step of reconciliation and establishment of healthy relationships that will bring fruit to all of Israel and also to our non-Jewish neighbors and friends.

I would like to finish this part of this prayer list with the text from Exodus:

“And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God."
Exodus 18:12

"The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?" 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws." 17 Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God,20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace."
Exodus 19:13-23

 

Joseph Shulam: Guidelines for Holiness [2022]

This week the synagogues around the world will be reading about the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. This is one of the most important events in the history of Israel but also in the history of the world. There is no code of laws that has influenced the whole world as much as the Bible, and in the Bible the Law that God gave to Israel through the hands of Moses on that solemn occasion at the foot of a mountain in the Sinai Desert is one of the most significant events of God’s intervention in the affairs of men!

The name of this Torah portion is Yitro (Jethro). This is not by chance that the name of this holiest of holies texts that speaks of God coming down on top of Mount Sinai and spending there 40 days and night alone with Moses, and giving the Torah to the children of Israel is a pivotal point in human history. The influence of that event that took place sometime around 1300 – 1200 B.C. is still powerfully changing people’s lives and even international affairs of human existence.

The first scene that this Torah portion opens with is that of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, a Midianite Priest, a pagan, a Gentile, who is watching Moses and evaluating how Moses is working with the people. Jethro sees that Moses will not be able to carry on with the amount of work that he has. The number of the Israelites is great, 600,000 men between the age of 20 to 50.

Jethro is a leader among his people. He knows some of the modern rules of executive leadership that today would be considered as fundamental, but Moses didn’t know them. Jethro tells Moses, the great leader, the following:

“So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, ‘What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?’ And Moses said to his father-in-law, ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.’ So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.’ So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.” – Exodus 18:14-24 [NKJV]

This principle of healthy management in the corporate culture of today was already well known and exemplified in the Torah by a non-Israelite pagan priest. Right here at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Holy Spirit saw fit to tell us that there are non-Israelites, non-Jews from whom even Moses learned a thing or two about proper leadership and management, it is written of Moses, that he was a friend of God:

“So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” – Exodus 33:11a [NKJV]

The place of this narrative in the Torah, is just before Moses asks the people to sanctify themselves and a get ready to receive the Torah from God, when a Gentile priest, Jethro, is teaching Moses the ABCs of the management of people. I just love it because it shows that God is truly no respecter of people. There is the statement in the Mishnah, Avot, that I love because it is so important for us to remember it:

“Ben Zoma says, ‘Who is a sage? He who learns from everybody, as it is said, from all my teachers I have gotten understanding.’ (Ps. 119:99)” – Pirkei Avot 4:1

Moses listens to his father-in-law Jethro, and emulates the wisdom that Jethro shared with him. This is just one example of why God says about Moses that he was humble. There are other examples but not from our Torah portion of this Shabbat. For example:

“Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.” – Numbers 12:3 [NKJV]

The next important lesson that we must learn from this Torah portion is that it is a great danger to think that you can have an encounter with, or fellowship with the almighty God, the creator of the world, casually. Here is what the word of God says on this issue:

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.’ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. And he said to the people, ‘Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.’ Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.” – Exodus 19:10-16 [NKJV]

I think that it is wise to re-teach the disciples of Yeshua in Israel that worshiping God is a holy event every time, and that we need to learn from this section of the Torah that the casual attitude and very casual dress code that is prevalent among us, especially the younger generation but not only the young needs to be reconsidered, and that if we want to have an encounter with God or with the Holy Spirit for real, we need to learn the following basic etiquette:

1. Get ready for such an encounter with God. Take time to consecrate yourselves. To consecrate means to prepare in both our dedication and our spiritual preparation. If you would go meet the president of Israel or the president of a major corporation in Israel you would dress appropriately and not come in flip-flops (kafkafim) and shorts and without a shirt. You dress this way to go to the beach in Tel-Aviv, but you don’t dress this way to come and worship God. Dressing casual is okay, but there’s a limit.
2. You come with clean clothes. Rashi, the great 12th Century commentator of the whole Hebrew bible and of the whole Mishnah and Talmud, said that the phrase; “let them wash their clothes!” Means to be “baptized” immersed for spiritual reasons.
3. Keep a distance, put a limit, a border, between what is mundane and common and daily affairs, and the holy space – the mountain of the Lord.

We live in a world where “time” and “space” have been almost eliminated in the business culture. People have smart phones and computers and they can work from anywhere and dress any way they want, and they can work at any time from their homes or from the train that they take on their way to work, or from the airplane that they fly on for business appointments!

From this portion of the Torah we learn that God wants us to place limits of space and place and also a limit on time – there is a beginning and an end to the processes in which we participate.

The last thing that I would like to comment about is the greatness of God’s Ten-Statements, commandments that He gave to Moses written on stones with His own finger. There were codes of law even more than a 1000 years before Abraham.

We know of the code of Hammurabi and the Ur-Nammu code of laws. If we compare the 10 commandments that God gave Moses for Israel with these much more ancient codes of law, we see the superiority and the much more equitable social laws and the superiority of human rights in what God gave Israel. Yes, it is true that there are many similarities but also many differences in what God gave us from Mount Sinai, but the two important points are:

1. The 10 commandments are so much shorter than any of the codes of law that the pagans had.
2. The element of social equality and the sensitivity and the consequence of our human action and especially of our sins are so much more superior than those of these ancient laws.

We must protect the place of God’s 10 “words” – commandments, with great passion. If we don’t first protect the place of these commandments in our nations and communities, for sure paganism will take over our lives, and the lives of our future generations.

I am sorry to say that some of the latest developments in our Western culture are a blatant breaking of God’s commandments. I am not going to share with you a list of the latest trends that are against God’s commandments. However, I will say that breaking the commandments of God, especially these 10 commandments, will always bring a divine reaction and retribution for the evil that is sure to come.

The commandments that are most abused and broken are some of the building blocks of a healthy and blessed society, like “honor your father and your mother.” Also the command, “you shall not murder,” are so clearly not honored by some societies, even right here in the land of Israel.

These 10 commandments that God gave Israel on Mount Sinai are the recommendations of Yeshua to the young lawyer who wanted to know what he ought to do to inherit eternal life. I say recommendations, but in reality Yeshua commanded them as essential for the inheritance of eternal life.

From the letter of Jacob (James), we learn the following principle:

“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” – James 2:10-17 [NKJV]

Yes, of course we are saved by God’s grace, and that is true for all humans that are saved in the future or in the past. It is always by Grace! But, for a person who does not do his best to keep God’s commandments, even if he failed in keeping God’s commandments, God’s grace is the only way for anyone to have the privilege of spending eternity in God’s presence.

One more important note: The events in the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) as it is recorded in Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 are actually a repetition of what happened on Shavuot (Pentecost) at Mount Sinai. Yes, if you do your math right you will see that the children of Israel received the Torah at Mount Sinai on the 50th day after they left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea on dry land!

Exodus 20:18-20 is repeated and re-enacted on that day in Jerusalem when Peter and the Apostles were gathered in an upper room on Mount Zion. This is to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah:

“Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” – Isaiah 2:3 [NKJV]

Exodus 20:18, Describes specifically what happened at the foot of Mount Sinai when God spoke the Ten-Commandments and Acts chapter 2 describes exactly what happened on Mount Zion on that same day of Pentecost.

Here is the text of Exodus:

“Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.” – Exodus 20:18 [NKJV]

Here is what happened at Mount Sinai: The people are hearing the sounds, and seeing the torches of fire, and hearing the sound of the trumpet, the mountain smoked and the people trembled (were shaking) and they went to stand far off.

Here is the text from the book of Acts 2:2,3:

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.” – Acts 2:2,3 [NKJV]

Acts chapter two and the events of that Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) were a fulfillment of God’s promises to Isaiah the prophet, chapter 2 – the Torah came from Mount Zion and the Word of the Lord came from Jerusalem. That day of Pentecost was a fulfillment of Mount Sinai and a second giving of the Torah in Jerusalem, this time for all the nations of the world to know and respect, both the Torah and Jerusalem.

Joseph Shulam: Brad TV Video Teaching – Yitro [2022]

Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Joseph Shulam.

Shalom, dear brothers and sisters. We’re continuing the study of God’s Word from the five books of Moses following the same readings that are read in every synagogue in the world, and this next week, we’ll be reading the Parashah, the portion of “Jethro” from Exodus 18:1 to Exodus 20:23. That’s the portion that is read in every synagogue on this next Shabbat. So my dear friends, we are again in one of the very, very important portions, the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.

Water From the Rock

The children of Israel crossed the sea, the Sea of Reeds, the Red Sea, on dry land. They saw their enemies, the Egyptians, drown with their chariots and their horses and their army in the sea. And now they’re at the foot of Mount Sinai. About ... A short time has passed since they left Egypt, a couple of months, and now they’re at the foot of Mount Sinai, they saw their enemy drowned and they are still complaining about food and drink, water and food, and God supplies them miraculously with water in chapter 17. Again, a very interesting story where God says “I will stand on the rock and you strike the rock and water will come out of the rock.”

This is the first time that water comes out of the rock, and the second time is in the Book of Numbers, but what is extremely interesting is that they continued to complain, human nature doesn’t change so quickly and so easily, and I have witnessed that in the Sinai desert, taking groups of pastors, evangelical, born again, charismatic, full of the Holy Spirit pastors with me on journeys to Mount Sinai, long before there were roads, and I saw the same phenomena with Gentile pastors, like the Jewish people that left Egypt from slavery to freedom, 40 years in the wilderness, a testing period.

Jethro – The Midianite Priest

Okay. So chapter 18:1 to chapter 20:23. The portion called “Jethro.” It starts with a very interesting situation. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, the father of Zipporah, the wife of Moses, in the wilderness, is joining the camp of the Israelites. He is a priest of Midian, not a Hebrew, not a Jew, not an Israelite, he is a pagan priest, but he observes what is happening with Moses that Moses is not able to keep up with the work that he has to do adjudicating and leading the people of Israel through the wilderness.

And he gives advice to Moses, good advice, the kind of advice that any MA in business administration could give you easily, that you have to delegate, don’t try to do everything yourself, as the boss, delegate, train younger generation people to take over some of the tasks that you are supposed to do, appoint judges and policemen and administrators to administer this great power that God has given you over the people of Israel.

Jethro Advises Moses

So Jethro gives this advice to Moses, saying, “If you don’t do that, if you don’t delegate authority to the younger, to other people, you’re going to collapse,” “you won’t be able to lead these people.” Moses takes that advice from this Gentile pagan priest, and to me, this is very interesting, very important. Why? Because we all tend, the Jews tend, and the Christians tend to be very, very sectarian.

Each American sect, I should say, not sect, “denomination,” but most of the denominations, you could define them as sects, because of their attitudes toward one another, mainly because of their attitudes toward one another. Because we tend to be devoted to our churches, and not to God Himself or to His son, Yeshua, the Messiah.

We Believe in One God

If we were really devoted to God and to Yeshua, we would all believe and give space for differences of opinion, which existed even in the lifetime of Yeshua among His own disciples, they didn’t agree with everything, and sometimes He had to reprimand them for their sectarian attitudes, like in Luke chapter nine, He did condemn them for their sectarian attitudes, because we believe not in one God that is our God, our private God that we can put Him in our pocket, we believe in the God that created the Heavens and the Earth, and He’s the God of all, of men and of animals, of the stars and the Moon and the Sun.

He’s the God of Everyone

Yes, we believe in a God that is one, and He’s the God of all. And He sent his divine son, because He loved this world with all of its mess, with all of its ugliness, with all of its pollution, with all the weaknesses of men, and the sinfulness of men, God still loves the world folks. And He still won, and the fact that the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai starts with a Gentile, pagan priest, giving advice to Moses himself, is very important to me, because it shows that God is not only the God of the Jews, but He’s also the God of the Gentiles, all the time, from the very beginning. And that’s what the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans chapter 3:29, he asked this rhetorical question.

He’s God of Both Jew and Gentile

“Is God the God of the Jews only? He said ‘Not, by any means, He’s also the God of the Gentiles.’” And we forget that. We forget it as Jews, and the Gentiles forget it, there’s Gentiles but he’s also the God of the Jews and the God of Israel, and that hasn’t changed. And we need to, you know, stress this truth universally among all Christians and all Jews, as well. And then God tells Moses in chapter 19 of the Book of Exodus, I’m reading from Exodus chapter 19:3-6:

“And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.’” – Exodus 19:3-6 [NKJV]

This declaration is the mission statement of the children of Israel, given at the foot of Mount Sinai. I’m repeating this because most Christians don’t realize that this is the mission statement that God gives Moses and the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai before He gives them the Law. Before Moses goes up again in the mountain, and comes down with the 10 commandments, carrying them carved on rock in his own hands, after he broke the first set, because of the rebelliousness, and the idolatrous attitudes, and the building of the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai by Aaron and the priests.

God says, “No, I am giving you a mission. “And your mission is to be a kingdom of priests. “My choice possession, my treasure, “in order to serve all the other nations.” That’s what priests do. This is what God gives Moses the commission before He gives the Law. But before they are able to receive the Law still in chapter 19:10-13 of the Book of Exodus, you can’t have encounter with God in a nonchalant way.

You Must Be Prepared to Meet With God

Yeah, you can’t meet God without preparation, purification, sanctification, and this is something that Christians have forgotten, especially now in some of the movements in the West, they think God is their buddy, and that they could put Him in their shirt pocket, and they can appear before Him, you know, wearing shorts made out of jeans cloth with holes in them. No, you wouldn’t go meet the President of the United States that way, would you? You would dress up specially, would clean up specially, you would take a shower, you would put some aftershave or perfume for the women, for such an important encounter.

So God says, “Tell to Moses, “tell the children of Israel to consecrate themselves today “and tomorrow, and to wash their clothes.” The rabbinical commentaries on this say to wash your clothes means to be immersed. Your flesh is your clothes, to be immersed and to be ... The Greek word baptized, yes. Prepare yourself to meet God because God is going to appear, and you will hear His voice and see the thunder that comes out of the mountain and the noise and the earthquake that comes out of the mountain when God speaks, it’s a scary occasion, just like when God spoke to the apostles at Mount Zion on the Feast of Pentecost, when Peter and the apostles and 120 of the disciples of Yeshua in Jerusalem gathered in that upper room.

Giving of Law Parallel to Pentecost

They all were scared when the wind and the shaking of the mountain took place. That’s a parallel occasion, like the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. So as He told him, “Sanctify yourself, purify yourself, “wash yourself, take care that you don’t touch the mountain “take care that you don’t become defiled, “take care that you’re not defaming the presence of God.”

We all need to be more careful when we talk about being in the presence of the Lord. And then Moses actually goes several times up and down the mountain, and then the last time he comes down, carrying those tablets of stone that were carved with the finger of God, the 10 commandments. And they all hear the voice of God speaking from the mountain.

And in verse 18 of chapter 20 of the book of Exodus, it says:

“Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.” – Exodus 18:20 [NKJV]

Same Phenomenon as Pentecost

“…And they saw the torches over their heads,” “…and they heard the voice of God,” “…and each one understood in his own way,” “…the revelation of God,” which is the same phenomenon that happens at Mount Zion in Acts chapter two. We’re going to elaborate on this dear brothers and sisters in the future when we talk about the 10 commandments, but in detail.

But for now, I just want to remind you, this portion of Jethro has in it the giving of the Law and that giving of the Law doesn’t come, as I said, nonchalantly, it’s a very special occasion. It’s an occasion that brings us to Jeremiah chapter 31 when God promises to the children of Israel and to the tribe of Judah, that He’s going to give a new covenant. He’s going to give - write His Torah, His Law on our hearts. Yeah. And remember when you read Jeremiah 31:31 and on, read to the verse 37, don’t stop at verse 34 like most Christians do, because it’s the same context, the same occasion, and Christian tradition has cut themselves short stopping at verse 34.

Jews Received New Covenant

Remember also that the New Covenant was not given to this or that other Christian denomination. It was not given to the Church of Constantinople or the Church in Rome or the church of Elkhart, Indiana, or the church of Westminster, London. It was given to the House of Israel, and to the House of Judah, the same people that received the Law on Mount Sinai received the New Covenant.

It was not given to the Christians, it was still given to Israel, and the continuation that is missed by most Christians, chapter 31 of Jeremiah from verse 35 to 37, the Christians avoid on purpose by their tradition. This text affirms that God is still the God of Israel and that He will never leave them, as long as the Sun appears by day, and the Moon and the stars by night.

Jew and Gentile Together

God is still the God of Israel. And you, my Christian brothers in Korea and around the world should know what Paul the Apostle said in Ephesians chapter 2:11-13. He said you were once Gentiles dead in your trespasses, but now through the blood of Yeshua Hamashiach, the blood of Jesus Christ, now you, who didn’t have eternal hope, you didn’t have a covenant, and you were outside of the Commonwealth of Israel, now, through the sacrifice of Yeshua Hamashiach, of Jesus Christ, all these things that you didn’t have as pagans, now you have received, including the hope of eternal life, including covenants in the plural, and including being grafted in, added into that Commonwealth of Israel, the family of Israel, the community of Israel, you belong together with the nation of Israel as the people of God - Jews, and Gentiles together under the blood of Jesus, receiving atonement, forgiveness of sins, have become one, as a part of the people of God, not replacing Israel, but joining Israel. And may God give you revelation and strength, keep reading the Torah, and the prophets, and the New Covenant in Yeshua’s name. Amen.

Joseph Shulam: Moses the Administrator [2021]

The reading of the Torah and the Prophets this next Shabbat is Parashat Yitro (Jethro) from Exodus 18:1 - 20:23. The Haftarah (the reading from the Prophets) is from Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6; 9:5 - 9:6 for Ashkenazi Jews and for the Sephardic Jews, Isaiah 6:1 - 6:13. From the New Testament the reading is from Matthew 8:5-20.

This reading has some of the most dramatic texts in the Bible. The children of Israel only two months after leaving Egypt and crossing the Red Sea on dry ground, are now gathered below Mt. Sinai and commanded to get ready for an encounter of the first class.

The first thing that we encounter in this Torah reading is very interesting for me.

“And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people--that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, ‘I have been a stranger in a foreign land’) and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, ‘The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh’); and Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wildern ‘I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.’ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent.” – Exodus 18:1-7 [NKJV]

We learn that all the time that Moses was in Egypt dealing with Pharaoh and demanding the release of the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery, Moses was not with his family. He had deposited his wife and children with his father-in-law Jethro, a priest of Midian. For me this is very interesting. It shows that Moses who had a personal encounter with the almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the creator of the Universe, didn’t feel enmity or religious zealotry toward Jethro his father-in-law.

What is even more interesting to me is that Moses was not antagonistic with his father-in-law but was willing to accept good administrative management advice on how to manage his leadership with regard to the Children of Israel. What do I learn about myself from this text? A person can be a great teacher a bible scholar, even a good father, but he might not be a great and an efficient administrator.

Jethro, a Midianite priest, is teaching Moses how to delegate authority and structure the administration of the camp of Israel. Here is what I would like to see from the leadership of the Christian Churches and movements:

The other very big thing in our Torah reading is the giving of the Torah to Moses and to the Children of Israel in Mt. Sinai. This is one of the most important events in the history of Israel, but also in the history of the world.

There is no event in the history of mankind that has shaped the face of humanity more than the giving of the Torah to Israel on that occasion when Moses went up the mountain and after 40 days came down with the Torah, and especially with the Ten Commandments.

I have to share with you my experience in the city of Wuhan in China. I was invited by the vice president of the Chinese province of Wuhbei to come and teach in the government-supported Christian seminaries. On the first day that I arrived in Wuhan, during lunch with the vice president of that province that has 80,000,000 people and is bigger than the territory of France, the vice president said that she has enjoyed reading the Bible.

I asked her why? She said: Because it is the first communist document! I was shocked! How? I asked. She said: “This is the first place that it is commanded, ‘If you don’t work you don’t eat!’”

But, much more than that, she continued: “If there were no Bible, there would be no Magna Carta, no workers’ rights, no social security, and no human rights for anyone.” I had to agree with the vice president on this point.

There is no joy without some tragedy. The people lost their courage and hope and asked Aaron the brother of Moses to give them a god that would lead them because a long time had passed, and Moses had still not returned.

Aaron, Moses’ brother made them a golden calf, the symbol of one of Egypt’s main goddesses, the goddess Hathor! The lack of trust and the fear and insecurity of the people of Israel caused them to fall back into idolatry. But, even at this terrible and bad moment – the Lord didn’t reject the whole nation.

The guilty were punished and many died, but the nation did receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. Here is a literal translation from the Hebrew, of the event of giving the Torah to the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai:

“And all the people are seeing the voices, and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and the people see, and move, and stand afar off…” – Exodus 20:18 [Young’s Literal Translation]

This is the text that describes the events that are repeated on the day of Pentecost at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Yeshua at Mt. Zion, in Jerusalem. God is speaking, but the people hear the voices (in the plural – many voices spoken from one mouth), and see the storm and the flames of fire…

There is so much more to learn from this portion of the Torah and remember that the apostles and the elders of the community in Jerusalem recommended to the disciples of Yeshua from among the Gentiles to go hear the Torah read in the Synagogues on Shabbat. Now each one has his own Bible and can even stay home and read the word of God.

There is no replacement or substitute for the reading of the word of God, read in order and daily. You will be enriched both spiritually and mentally.

Just one more point! I sometimes try to imagine how it would be to spend 40 days and nights in the presence of the Almighty God, creator of the universe and discuss the Torah and the laws and the instructions that were to be given to Israel and through Israel to the whole world.

I am looking forward to spending eternity in the presence of Moses, Aaron, Joshua, David, and people like Isaiah and Jeremiah. Elijah would be a very interesting man with whom to share five o’clock tea and crumpets.

I think that we ought to really take more seriously the Lord’s promises of eternal life, and to bank on Yeshua’s return and on the New Jerusalem, and on fellowship with the saints. To really accept and believe and trust in these great promises of our Lord is much more strengthening and empowering and encouraging than any earthly prosperity, wealth, or position that this world can offer me or you!

Joseph Shulam: The Principle of Delegation [2020]

The Torah reading next Shabbat is Yitro (“Jethro”) (Exodus 18:1 – 20:23). The reading of this portion is of great importance to me. It teaches us a principal that ought to be embraced by all men. Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses, and the father of Zipporah the Midianite wife of Moses.

Jethro, a priest of Midian, observed how hard Moses is working to lead the children of Israel through the Sinai Desert to the land of promise, to Canaan. Jethro observes how hard Moses is working, trying all alone to lead Israel.

“So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, ‘What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?’ And Moses said to his father-in-law, ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.’ So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.’” - Exodus 18:14–20 [NKJV]

This text of Exodus contains a great lesson that we all ought to accept and learn, that even a Gentile pagan priest like Jethro can have worth, even from him we can gain wisdom. This point is of great worth in the battle against religious prejudice and the gaining of respect and practical wisdom that is evaluated on the basis of its wisdom, and not on the basis of racial and ethnic prejudice.

Moses received Jethro’s advice and learned from his Midianite father-in-law. It is a Jewish proverb that says: “Receive the truth from the mouth of the one who speaks it.” In other words, you judge truth for its own value, and it does not make a difference from whose mouth it came out.

This is a valuable lesson. I wish that I would have learned it 40 years ago, and not now when I am 74 years old. Of course it is not too late for me to gain this wisdom and put it to practice.

Here is what the Psalmist wrote long ago about the value of the Word of God for our life and success, now and for eternity:

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” - Psalms 19:7-10 [NKJV]

I wish that I would have learned the principle of delegation 40 years ago. Now that I am 74 years old it is still not too late to put this principle to work.

Note this text from Psalm 19 and consider the true benefit and wisdom that one can get from the Word of God: The Law of the Lord can make us wise, make our heart rejoice. It is pure and clean, it enlightens our eyes. What we can get from the Word of the Lord is better than gold, and sweeter than honey. How much we miss and how much we lose from our quality of life because we don’t take these gifts of life that the Word of God can give us.

Joseph Shulam: Ancient Wisdom and God's Wisdom [2019]

The reading of this week in every synagogue around the world is Parashat Yitro (“Jethro”), Exodus 18:1-20:23. Of course the main story in this reading of the Torah is the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, the Ten Commandments. However, there are some other very important issues raised in this portion of the Torah that are important for today and for the relationship between Jews and non-Jews.

First, I would like to discuss the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are not the first basic code of law in the history of mankind.

We have The Sumerian Code of Ur-Nammu (c. 2100-2050 BC), then the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (c. 1760 BC). These two are some of the earliest. I believe that it would be good for us to know what is in common and what is different between these two Mesopotamian cuneiform codes, that came before the Ten Commandments (given by the Creator God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and these earlier pagan codes of law.

The Ur-Nammu (c.2100-2050 B.C.E.) this code of law is dedicated and attributed to the following Sumerian and Akkadian gods, Nanna and Otu.

1. If a man commits a murder, that man must be killed.
2. If a man commits a robbery, he will be killed.
3. If a man commits a kidnapping, he is to be imprisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver.
4. If a slave marries a slave, and that slave is set free, he does not leave the household.
5. If a slave marries a native (i.e. free) person, he/she is to hand the firstborn son over to his owner.
6. If a man violates the right of another and deflowers the virgin wife of a young man, they shall kill that male.
7. If the wife of a man followed after another man and he slept with her, they shall slay that woman, but that male shall be set free.
8. If a man proceeded by force, and deflowered the virgin female slave of another man, that man must pay five shekels of silver.
9. If a man divorces his first-time wife, he shall pay (her) one mina of silver.
10. If it is a (former) widow whom he divorces, he shall pay (her) half a mina of silver.
11. If the man had slept with the widow without there having been any marriage contract, he need not pay any silver.
12. If a man is accused of sorcery he must undergo ordeal by water; if he is proven innocent, his accuser must pay three shekels.
13. If a man accused the wife of a man of adultery, and the river ordeal proved her innocent, then the man who had accused her must pay one-third of a mina of silver.
14. If a prospective son-in-law enters the house of his prospective father-in-law, but his father-in-law later gives his daughter to another man, the father-in-law shall return to the rejected son-in-law twofold the amount of bridal presents he had brought.
15. If [text destroyed…], he shall weigh and deliver to him two shekels of silver.
16. If a slave escapes from the city limits, and someone returns him, the owner shall pay two shekels to the one who returned him.
17. If a man knocks out the eye of another man, he shall weigh out half a mina of silver.
18. If a man has cut off another man’s foot, he is to pay 10 shekels.
19. If a man, in the course of a scuffle, smashed the limb of another man with a club, he shall pay one mina of silver.
20. If someone severed the nose of another man with a copper knife, he must pay two-thirds of a mina of silver.
21. If a man knocks out a tooth of another man, he shall pay two shekels of silver.
22. [text destroyed…] If he does not have a slave, he is to pay 10 shekels of silver. If he does not have silver, he is to give another thing that belongs to him.
23. If a man’s slave-woman, comparing herself to her mistress, speaks insolently to her, her mouth shall be scoured with one quart of salt.
24. If a slave woman strikes someone acting with the authority of her mistress, [text destroyed…]
25. If a man appeared as a witness, and was shown to be a perjurer, he must pay 15 shekels of silver.
26. If a man appears as a witness, but withdraws his oath, he must make payment, to the extent of the value in litigation of the case.
27. If a man stealthily cultivates the field of another man and he raises a complaint, this is however to be rejected, and this man will lose his expenses.
28. If a man flooded the field of a man with water, he shall measure out three kur of barley per iku of field.
29. If a man had let an arable field to a(nother) man for cultivation, but he did not cultivate it, turning it into wasteland, he shall measure out three kur of barley per iku of field.

The Code of Hammurabi, from the 1700’s B.C.E., is longer, so I will bring here a shorter summary. The laws covered such subjects as:

1. Slander - ex. Law #127: “If any one “point the finger” at a sister of a god or the wife of any one, and can not prove it, this man shall be taken before the judges and his brow shall be marked (by cutting the skin, or perhaps hair).
2. Trade - ex. Law #265: “If a herdsman, to whose care cattle or sheep have been entrusted, be guilty of fraud and make false returns of the natural increase, or sell them for money, then shall he be convicted and pay the owner ten times the loss.”
3. Slavery and status of slaves as property - ex. Law #15: “If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates, he shall be put to death.”
4. The duties of workers - ex. Law #42: “If any one take over a field to till it, and obtain no harvest therefrom, it must be proved that he did no work on the field, and he must deliver grain, just as his neighbor raised, to the owner of the field.”
5. Theft - ex. Law #22: “If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death.”
6. Trade - ex. Law #104: “If a merchant give an agent corn, wool, oil, or any other goods to transport, the agent shall give a receipt for the amount, and compensate the merchant therefore, he shall obtain a receipt from the merchant for the money that he gives the merchant.”
7. Divorce - ex. Law #142: “If a woman quarrel with her husband, and say: “You are not congenial to me,” the reasons for her prejudice must be presented. If she is guiltless, and there is no fault on her part, but he leaves and neglects her, then no guilt attaches to this woman, she shall take her dowry and go back to her father’s house.”
8. One of the best known laws from Hammurabi’s code - ex. Law #196: “If a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye. If one break a man’s bone, they shall break his bone. If one destroy the eye of a freeman or break the bone of a freeman he shall pay one gold mina. If one destroy the eye of a man’s slave or break a bone of a man’s slave he shall pay one-half his price.”
9. Adultery - ex. Law #129: “If the wife of a man has been caught lying with another man, they shall bind them and throw them into the waters. If the owner of the wife would save his wife then in turn the king could save his servant.”
10. Perjury - ex. Law #3: “If a man has borne false witness in a trial, or has not established the statement that he has made, if that case be a capital trial, that man shall be put to death.”

The Ten Commandments was delivered by God Himself to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai, and announced in public to all the children of Israel who were delivered from the slavery of Egypt (there are here 11 commandments because of the differences between Exodus and Deuteronomy in the order and commentary on the commandments):

1. I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet (neighbor’s house) (neighbor’s wife) (neighbor’s slaves, animals, anything else)

All the three sets of commandments from Ur-Nammu, Hammurabi, and Sinai have a significant part dealing with morality, but the Mesopotamian laws, prior to Sinai, have no divine sanction or command to accept and recognize the Lord God, or the Oneness of God. The gods of the Mesopotamians and of the Akkadians don’t play a major role in the commandments.

Second, there is a clear difference in these pagan laws in the social structure of the community. Slaves have a different intrinsic value and their bodies and lives have a different value from the established elites of the society.

Third, everything is measured with payment of money and monetary value.

Fourth, the emphasis is on economics and tangible values. The commandments that God gave Israel and the world from Mount Sinai, in the hands of Moses, are much shorter and they have a different moral status. They are shorter, but they cover a much broader ground and give no different human value to the slave or freeman.

The moral standard, the divine standard, and the social standard are miles higher than these old but very important codes of human laws that Hammurabi and Ur-Nammu have provided for their populations about 1000 years before Moses received the Torah on Mount Sinai.

We are living in a period that I can describe with the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.” - Isaiah 60:2 [NKJV]

Yes, there are in the world so-called “Christian” leaders who undermine the importance of the Torah and of the bulk of the Word of God, that is so-called by some Christians as the Old Testament, and that includes the Ten Commandments. These Christian leaders are spread from screen to screen of Christian television and without shame speak against the Torah, and even say that we don’t need the Ten Commandments anymore, because we are under God’s grace.

Yes, we are under God’s grace, but there is no greater demonstration of God’s grace than in the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai – and throughout the history of the people of Israel. We still need the Ten Commandments!

Just a side note: the events that happened on the day of Pentecost and are recorded in Acts 2 – are happening on the day of Pentecost because the day of Pentecost is the day of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. It was not an arbitrary day chosen in a lottery of the divine comedy.

The Holy Spirit filled the apostles and the 120 men, and I assume there were in that upper room on Mount Zion also women on that day, because it was the second giving of the Torah, as it was promised and predicted in Isaiah chapter 2, and in other texts. The signs and pyrotechnics that happened in that upper room were the same exact signs as in Exodus chapter 20:18.

To appreciate how much alike and connected these signs and wonders are, including the tongues that were understood by so many Jews who came from far and spoke different languages, you need to dig a bit deeper in the Hebrew meaning of the text in both Acts and Exodus.

Joseph Shulam: The Value of Jethro's Advice [2017]

This week’s portion of reading from the Torah is called Yitro (“Jethro”). The same Jethro who was the father-in-law of Moses. I know that there are very few men who want to take advice from their fathers-in-law, but Moses needed this advice just like I need the same advice too. It is hard to be a leader that delegates authority in a healthy and organized way.

Here is the text:

“And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, ‘What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone [f]sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?’ And Moses said to his father-in-law, ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.’ So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.’” - Exodus 18:13–23 [NKJV]

Jethro gave Moses over 3000 years ago the best corporate advice that any manager would be wise to receive and practice. We have here a text that is near 3000 years old, given by a non-Jew, a gentile pagan priest, and Moses goes out and does his best to preform and put to practice the principles of leadership that Jethro gave him.

It is not easy to take advice from our fathers-in-law, but if you read the text in Exodus 18 you will see how many times the words “father-in-law” appear you will understand that the Holy Spirit specifically stresses this fact so that we all know that a good father-in-law can give you good advice that is worth learning. As Israelites, we are good in many things, but organization is not one of these areas that we are very strong.

Moses took Jethro’s advice and this was a great help, but at the same time later it was one of the causes of the Korahite rebellion against Moses and Aaron. Too much organization and too much of a pyramid structure can also be unbeneficial.

Joseph Shulam: Don't Miss Your Opportunity to Stand Before God [2015]

The reading of this week in the Synagogues around the world is Yitro (“Jethro”). The text of this reading goes from Exodus 18:1 – 20:23. The core of this text is God calling Moses to come up the mountain, and there Moses stays 40 days and 40 nights and receives the Torah (The Law), the instructions from God, and the summary of the Torah in the Ten Commandments, written on two stones.

The giving of the Torah was not a private event, nor was it a private revelation, the whole nation was sanctified by washing and changing clothing and by abstaining from intercourse, and by other ceremonial activities. Three days before God spoke from the mountain the nation as a whole, including the mixed multitude of Gentiles that came out of Egypt together with the children of Israel, they were all there and there was no discrimination, all heard God’s voices and saw the mountain shake, and smoke, and the fire.

The most wonderful and dramatic event, where a whole nation of 600,000 men between the age of 20-50, their wives and children, their handmaids and servants, the Gentile nations that accompanied them out of Egypt, the Kenites, the Mecherites, the Kahanites, and others all had the same privilege to hear God audibly, to see the flames of fire, and each according to his own language. I would have liked to be there, even if I was a fly on the wall, I would have liked to participate in this history-changing event.

I would have also liked to have been in Jerusalem on the day of Shavuot (Pentecost) in the year 30 AD, when Peter and the apostles, and a total of 120 Disciples of Yeshua in the upper room from Mount Zion experienced a similar experience like in Mount Sinai. A mighty wind, flames of fire, a shaking of the ground, and God spoke through them, and especially through Peter, and his voice was translated by the Holy Spirit to each man according to his own language.

I would have liked to have been there too and hear and see thousands of Jews confessing their sins and receiving Yeshua as Lord, being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. I regret missing these events in Jerusalem and in the Sinai Desert, but I want to make sure that I don’t miss the next event of this kind. I want to encourage you and all of us to live in such a way that will insure our participation in the next event.

This next event is described in the book of Revelation:

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” - Revelation 7:9,10 [NKJV]

I just have to be there and take part in that grand occasion, dressed in white and together with all this multitude from all nations, tribes and peoples.

Long before I believed in God, while sitting on my mother’s lap, my mother told me of the grand old plan that Joseph Stalin had to unite all nations, all colors, and all ethnic groups, under one political system, with equality and justice for all. There was a poster that she showed me, of five races, white, yellow, black, red, and brown, standing muscular and proud, shoulder-to-shoulder, and behind them a big red flag was waving.

I loved that idea of unity and equality and justice for all, no Antisemitism, no racism, no exploitation of the weak, each will receive from the State according to his need, and not according to his appetite. Joseph Stalin’s dream became a nightmare.

My mother repented from all that she had done in her youth to make the false utopia of communism a reality in Bulgaria. She did however take the words of the book of Revelation very seriously, and with the same strong faith and even greater dedication, lived and worked to be there in that grand scene of Revelation chapter 7, from verse one to the last of the book.

I want to be there too, and I don’t want to miss the white clothes and the participation in that great multitude in front of the Throne and in front of the Lamb. In this same chapter 7 of the book of Revelation you have the repeated assurance that all of Israel will be saved and sealed and dressed in white together with the rest of the human race that have believed and lived in order to see the Lamb and sing His praises, the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.

Remember, even the Gentiles from all the tribes and nations will be singing the song of Moses – a song of victory of God and His children over the forces of oppression, enslavement, and abuse, the forces of the devil himself. Make sure that you will be there too! I would love to spend eternity with you as my brothers and sisters.

Joseph Shulam: The Meaning of the Tenth Commandment [2014]

This week’s reading in the Torah (the Law of Moses) is from the portion of Yitro (“Jethro”) that is from Exodus 18:1 – 20:23. This portion of the reading contains so many interesting and practical instructions for leadership management, and of course, the Ten Commandments.

Jethro is the father-in-law of Moses, a priest of Midian – not an Israelite – a Gentile if you wish. He is the only personage in the Bible that has several names, Jethro, Hobab, Reuel, and the Druze call him Nabi Shueib. When Moses was being inundated by the amount of work that he had dealing with hundreds of thousands of Israelites – Jethro comes with good advice to Moses:

“So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent.” - Exodus 18:7 [NKJV]

“And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, ‘What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?’ And Moses said to his father-in-law, ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.’ So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.’” - Exodus 18:13-23 [NKJV]

There are a few very important things that we can learn from this portion, especially we in Israel. We can learn that there are important things that we can learn from non-Jews, and even from someone like Jethro, who was not only a non-Israelite, but was a priest of Midian, a pagan priest.

The second thing that we can learn is that no matter how intelligent and gifted and anointed and inspired you are, you can’t do it all alone. We all need a team to work with us.

The third thing that we can learn from this idea of a team is that there has to be a hierarchy in the structure. The hierarchy has to be clear and the tasks of each also have to be clear. Each level of management has to bear the burden given to it. Only the big things – the hard things – need to reach the top.

Jethro tells Moses that if God approves of this plan, everyone will be happy, Moses will not fall under the burden, and the people will go home in peace. I love this portion, because it shows a very important principle. You can learn something from anyone, or everyone has something to teach you.

The second thing that I would like to comment upon from this portion is that last commandment of the Ten Commandments:

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” - Exodus 20:17 [NKJV]

Eight of the Ten Commandments above have to do mainly with what you are doing. This last commandment has to do with what you are thinking, i.e. coveting. Coveting is deeply desiring something that is not yours to the point that it makes you obsessive about it and might drive you to change your behavior and sin not only by thinking (coveting), but also by other grievous sins like theft or adultery.

I remember Jack Exum, one of my teachers in G.C.S., down in South Georgia. Jack had written a small book called “The Glory of the Ordinary”. In this he had some poems. The poem by the same name of the book, spoke of a person coveting someone’s beauty and wishing to be just like that very beautiful lady that was sitting in the bus, until she stood up and she had only one leg.

The secret of not coveting is accepting with joy what God gave you, and believing that God rewards justly all those who diligently serve Him (see Hebrews 11:6). The question is asked, why did God make this commandment the 10th commandment? One of the possible answers is that it is the most important commandment, and probably one of the hardest to keep.

Usually the punchline comes at the end of the book, letter, or joke. The way and the key to not coveting is faith that God knows what He is doing and in fact that God is in charge of every aspect of nature, life now and life eternal, and that God loves us and knows what is best for us.

This principle is true even when God gives us a lemon and we might have wished that he gave us a watermelon. In the parable of Yeshua of the talents, the one in which the master had given 10 talents to one of his servants, and five talents to another, and one talent to the third servant, God expected and still expects for us to do the best we can with what He has given us, and not to be bitter or covet what God has given to our neighbor.

Who knows if God did not give us a lemon because he was worried that we might get a hernia transporting that big watermelon with us all the daylong?

Yehuda Bachana: From “My God” to “Our God” [2018]

Read the teaching below, or watch a video of the teaching by Yehuda Bachana.

This Shabbat we read and learn from Parashat Yitro. This is an important Torah portion because it gives the account in which God gave the Ten Commandments to the nation of Israel, which of course, are the heart of the Torah.

In addition, in Parashat Yitro we bear witness to a big change in the Torah. There is a shift from a focus on individuals to a focus on the group. This is a huge change in how we perceive God. The importance of this point is where our focus lies. I think the focus must be on our nation, and on a smaller scale, our faith requires that we relate to those around us.

The question is serious: is my main focus on my personal connection with God, or on my connection to my nation and then on our connection as a nation with God?

The Ten Commandments and the Individual

Let's start with the Ten Commandments, the heart of the Torah, the very foundation of the Torah, the essence of the divine law for human beings. Eight of the Ten Commandments serve as the basis for a healthy and proper human society.

Our society could be safe, healthy, and strong if people would keep the commandments of "do not steal", "do not murder", and "do not envy". And if we would all honor and care for our parents, instead of thinking only about ourselves. Even the day of rest is important for humanity. If we truly kept one day in which everyone was free, everyone was equal, there would be no work, no manager, no laborer, no slave, and no master - everyone would be equal, and everyone would rest once a week.

Indeed, the Ten Commandments are the main principles of the Torah.

The first commandment is much more personal:

You shall have no other gods before me. - Exodus 20:3 [NIV]

We live in a binary world. Yes or no, plus or minus, for or against. Our world is managed by ingenious computers and machines that operate on this simple principle. There is or there isn't, true or false. Every coin has two sides and so does everything in life. If you support something then you oppose what is opposed to it. Every "yes" also defines a "no".

God begins the Ten Commandments by telling us what is truth, what is right, and who is the Creator of the universe. "You shall have no other gods before me." To the same extent that we believe in God, we must oppose idols, other gods, other doctrines. And no, Allah is not God, at least he is not the one who brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. So yes, we have to oppose Allah and every other idol.

A Shift in the Narrative

Our parasha stands out in that it has a turning point in the way in which the individual and the group are treated.

Before the Exodus from Egypt, we have a detailed description of the creation of the world, and we have a focus on the private lives of our forefathers. We enter into the most private aspects of Abraham’s life. We hear about the troubles with Hagar, we hear about the father who loves Esau and Mother who loves Jacob. We go deep into the details of Jacob's life - there's hate, love and jealousy, it's a biblical soap opera.

All this happens before the Exodus from Egypt. After the Exodus from Egypt there is a change. This Shabbat we discover very interesting details about the private life of Moses:

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel... After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her... Jethro had sent word to him, 'I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.' - Exodus 18:1,2,6 [NIV]

Only now, and in passing, do we learn about an important event in Moses' life, his leaving of his wife Zipporah and his two sons… And we have a thousand questions, when did this happen? Why did this happen? Is this a commandment from God? Or Moses' personal decision? What happened with Zipporah after this encounter? All these questions remain unanswered.

If this dramatic event happened before the Exodus, it is reasonable to assume that the Torah would provide us with many details. This silence is not coincidental. The Torah does not relate to this because we are talking about the private life of Moses and his family. From now on, what happens in Moses' family is not our business.

From now on we are a nation - we are no longer a family. We used to be a family, metaphorically, we would sit by the fire at night and talk about what happens in the family, about our problems. Those days are over, we have grown and developed into a nation.

The giving of the Torah is also a national matter. It's possible that the patriarchs did not need the Torah. Within the family unit, everything is determined by dialogue, and the patriarchs of the nation spoke directly to God, there was no need for an organized system of laws.

Now, after the Exodus from Egypt and the birth of a new nation, there is a need for an organized system of laws - the "Torah".

We are Part of a People

If we return to the Ten Commandments, the opening statement of the foundation of divine law for man, God, who created the entire world and humanity, chooses to present himself not as the Creator of the world, but as God who brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. Note that God also does not present Himself as the God of our forefathers, or as the fulfiller of the promises to Abraham or Jacob. Instead, He presents Himself as the God who brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, and in doing so created the nation of Israel.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. - Exodus 20:2,3 [NIV]

This is a most important point. It's actually a key point for us and for our children. God requires of us to remember the Exodus from Egypt, in many instances, like Passover, the Shabbat, and all of the feasts. Many verses command us to remember this day:

...so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt. - Deuteronomy 16:3 [NIV]

We, as believers in the Land of Israel, are a part of this people, whom God redeemed and brought out of Egypt. We are not detached from history, and we do not stand before God merely as individuals. Our right is under the right of the people, the people of Israel.

With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm God brought us out of Egypt, and into the Promised Land. The Torah requires of us that we remember this for our entire lives. God is the God of the people, of the group - God is not my own individual God, at least not as He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.

From now on - God dwells within the people, God dwells within the group and I am part of the whole.

Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. - Exodus 29:45,46 [NIV]

The Importance of the Group

We started the conversation today with the understanding that there are several "key" passages in the Torah, such as Parashat Bereshit and Parashat Yitro. In Parashat Bereshit, we witness the creation of man and the fact that man is not meant to be alone:

...It is not good for the man to be alone. - Genesis 2:18b [NIV]

And in Parashat Yitro we see that a nation is born, the group, and once again man is not meant to be alone - even in connection with God.

What is the significance of the minyan in Judaism? The obligation to pray (certain prayers) with at least ten people. Nine people as righteous as they may be, do not create a minyan. The minyan was created by ten, and when they are together, according to Jewish understanding, the Divine Presence dwells among them. This means that this does not depend on the identity of the worshipers, but on their joining the general public.

I think Yeshua also guides us in this way:

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. - Matthew 18:20 [NIV]

Yeshua teaches us that it is not me and my God. Instead, I am part of a society, I am part of a family, I am part of a community, I am part of a nation - and God dwells in us, not only in me.

The biblical expression of the most severe punishment one could receive is:

...[He] will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant. - Genesis 17:14b [NIV] (amended)

...for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. - Exodus 12:15b [NIV]

Without going into a deep interpretation of the punishment, we can learn that the most severe punishment is excommunication, to exclude the person from the group.

It is not for nothing that we are called "the Body of Messiah", the Apostle Paul calls us hands, feet, ears, and eyes (1 Corinthians 12:12).

We are one body, every person is different, each have different gifts, but we are all one body in the end.

In the Passover Haggadah, the wicked son is depicted as one who takes himself out of the community and asks, "What is this service to you?" He refers to "you" and not "us".

Yeshua, on the other hand, shows us the heavy responsibility we have to find those who have left the group:

See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. - Matthew 18:10-14 [NIV]

Yeshua tells us about a person who left the group, left the community, left the straight path, a person who was lost. Yeshua teaches us about our duty to go and help that person. There is a deep message here about the social responsibility that a person has towards his fellow man. Yeshua's teaching here expresses the full intent of the saying, "All of Israel are responsible for one another."

This matter can also include the property of the group, and the way in which we treat the property of the group, and I believe we should be more watchful. At home we do not leave a drinking glass on the floor, someone could accidentally knock it over and cause the drink to spill. At home we do not let leftover food fall on the floor and stay there. We also do not leave the plate we ate from on the chair for someone else to clean up. We care for our private matters more than for those of the community.

It is good for us to understand that God is not just inside me. Rather, He is found inside of us as a group, and we must be more careful in our attitude towards those around us.

In closing

After the Exodus from Egypt, we witness a change in perception, from the individual to the group and the presence of God is found in numbers.

We have a genuine need for society and social life, and in our faith there is a genuine need for friends in the faith, for friends in prayer. The main prayers of the Bible are in plural, and are meant for the group: and faith also has a real need for friends of faith, and members of prayer, the main prayers from the Bible and the New Testament are plural and intended for all:

"Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one..." "Our God" - the God of the people of Israel and of the entire world.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done..." Again our Father is the Father of all of us and not just mine.

We have a collective responsibility, one towards the other, we have rights, but we also have obligations.

There is the need - let's make that the duty - to volunteer and serve the group.