The 133rd Psalm says
"How good and pleasant it is
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for brethren to
dwell together in unity. "
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Today on Back to Our Roots
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we're going to be
talking all about community.
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What does it mean from
a Biblical perspective?
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Stick around.
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Welcome to Back To Our Roots.
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I'm Pastor Alex Schlussler
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and I'm Rachel
Hyman, minister of music.
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And we're so happy that
you've joined us once again.
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Today we're going to
be talking about community
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but a Hebraic perspective
- um-hmm - of community.
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You know, Rachel, growing up
Jewish - which both of us did -
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a sense of
community is very important.
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Yes. What were your
experiences with that?
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Well, you know, since Jews
are a minority in the world
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we feel a strong
need to stick together
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and to be there for each other.
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That's something
that I valued growing up.
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Yeah. I was raised
in a very large family.
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Huge extended family:
aunts, uncles, and everything.
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And I remember coming together
at my grandparent's house.
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My grandmother was the one that
kind of drew us all together.
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And there would
be huge tables. Nice.
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You know, growing up one
of the times when you knew
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you were there... you
had arrived... arisen,
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you know, had got
there: was when you got moved
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from the kids' tables -
exactly - to the adult table
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at Passover yes.
That's right; that's right.
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Even in community
today within the Jewish faith
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community is such a huge thing.
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I live in what is predominantly
an Orthodox Jewish area
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and I see every Sabbath all
of the Jews making their way
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to temple walking.
South Florida, right?
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Yeah, this is in south Florida.
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Making their way there.
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And you know, that
whole concept, that whole idea
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of community and being
drawn together is really
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solidified by the fact that
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to get to the
temple you can only walk.
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Um-hmm. You know,
they don't drive! Exactly.
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So that creates in
itself this perimeter,
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this boundary that, you know,
you can't extend beyond that.
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And there's wisdom to that.
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Sometimes we think about
how inconvenient that would be
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that on the Sabbath I can't
drive, I can't go anywhere.
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Spend more time with family.
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But exactly that. It
promotes that whole idea
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of community. And you
know the other thing about this
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is that there's a
huge amount of pressure
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on Jews as a whole to
stay within the community.
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Yes. I know also
for me growing up
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my grandmother telling me
that I'd better not go out
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with any
non-Jewish girls. Um-hmm.
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You know, that it
was all about staying...
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'Stay away from the goys... "
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from the nations
being in community.
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Today we're going to explore
some interesting concepts
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and ideas that are really
birthed even prior to the time
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that Jesus walked the
earth and have made their way
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even into the future now.
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And we want to invite
our resident theologian
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Alexander
Bolotnikov - Sasha we call him.
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If you would come on out,
Sasha, and join us once again.
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Sasha, we've... By
the way: Hi, Sasha.
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It's nice to be
with you Alex, Rachel.
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We always
appreciate your thoughts.
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Yeah, Sasha adds a
whole different spin
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to our
discussion. You know, Sasha,
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today we're talking about
community and what it means
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from a Hebraic perspective.
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So let's kind of get
deeper into the discussion now.
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And Sasha, what does the
Bible... what does the Torah
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say as far as community
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and what it takes for a
person to come into community
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because I know that's a very
important thing to understand.
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Torah specifically states
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that unless you are not a part
of community assembly of Israel
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you can't be saved.
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Unless you are a part.
Yeah, unless you are a part.
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Yeah, you can't be saved because
this is where you get saved:
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you are part of the
community of Israel.
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Otherwise you are a pagan.
Right. Now let me clarify.
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We're talking about from an
Old Testament perspective here.
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Just so somebody
doesn't you know misinterpret.
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And that's why I'm
emphasizing this...
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because it's
often misunderstood.
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We talked about the difference
between the New and the Old
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Testament and it's
important to understand that
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actually there is the same
logic but it's more symbolic.
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How so? And
this is how it works:
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the laws of the Torah divide
people into three categories.
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OK. The people
of Israel. Um-hmm.
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The people who are
called strangers or foreigners.
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And the people who are
classified as sojourners.
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OK. And there are
specific words. OK, so explain.
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What does each one
of those things means?
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Stranger and
foreigner is a person who just
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is a pagan who passes by Israel
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or Jewish community - Israeli
community - just on business.
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You know. So
it's a camel caravan -
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yeah, yeah - going by.
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Or he came and did something...
you know, some ambassador.
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He's an outsider. He
is not expected to follow
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any commandments as long as
he doesn't commit some crime
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like murder or doesn't preach
and call to worship idols,
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you know. He is fine.
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But let's say this foreigner
- stranger - comes into the
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court of Gentiles in the
temple with some Jewish friend.
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So let's explain what we mean
right away. We want to make sure
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that people are
understanding when we talk about
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the court of the
Gentiles in the temple
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so people understand the
way if we're talking about
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the temple there is an
area that anyone was allowed
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to come into. Exactly. Right?
And then as you moved closer
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to the Holy Place
and the Holy of Holies
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it got more restricted and
more restricted and finally
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of course the Holy of Holies
was only for the high priest.
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Exactly. And he sees the sense
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that these sacrificial
services - these festivals -
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they really
point to the Redeemer.
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And so he says: "I like
this God of heaven and earth.
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He makes sense;
His laws are good
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so I want to know more. "
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And from then on he
is no longer classified
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as a foreigner. He
can become a sojourner.
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The only requirement
for sojourner to start:
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he has to keep the Sabbath
because the 4th commandment says
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"and the sojourner
which is in your gates. "
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OK. So he is a part...
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he is on his way to salvation.
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He is required now to
follow the laws of the Torah.
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He is a part of the community.
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He gets benefits
of the community.
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He can't land to a
sojourner with interest.
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To a foreigner you can
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but to sojourner no you can't.
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But the difference is he
still cannot go to the temple
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to the altar to sacrifice
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until he makes full
decision to become a part of the
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community of Israel.
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And so he must circumcise
all males in his household.
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And then at the time of
Passover this is a sacred time
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'cause at the time of
Passover he can participate
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in eating the Passover lamb.
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And after that he is
considered absolutely equal.
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No matter what his
ethnic, racial, cultural,
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religious origin as
soon as he is circumcised
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and then ate the Passover meal -
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Passover lamb - he is considered
as the natural son of Israel.
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He is in the community of God.
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Now was there a
typical time frame?
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That someone would have to
go and with their additional
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studies or learnings in
that time period that they would
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have to go? Or was it just
the basic customs and actions
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that they would have to learn?
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Here's what you did for
sacrifice and would they go
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through specific training?
I know later that happens
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but at this period? The
rabbis always emphasized
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that especially in the
time of temple a sojourner -
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a person who is learning
- has to really understand
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the difference between
the sacrifices and the spirit
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behind the sacrifices that
are made to the Lord of heaven
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and earth so that he
would not confuse them
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with any pagan ritual.
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Now had they? At this
point are they required
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to become a student
of Torah? Absolutely.
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That's what they do.
That's what they study.
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They're not allowed to
actually bring the sacrifice.
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They usually pay for some
Israeli to bring sacrifice
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for them, but they are not
allowed to offer a sacrifice
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until they really study
all the rules of the Torah
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pertaining to those.
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And was there some type of
process that they would go to
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that someone or does the Bible
speak maybe is a better way.
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Does the Bible speak
of a point in time then
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when they've gone through this
process of learning and studying
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that they... I don't
want to say they're "tested"
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but prior to someone saying
"OK, you've come far enough.
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Now it's time for
you to be circumcised. "
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"We're coming up on Passover;
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it's time for you
to eat the lamb. "
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Was that something
that's discussed at all?
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The Bible doesn't say it.
It's discussed in Exodus 12
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in connection with the first
Passover - right - during the
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time of exodus... especially
because so many Egyptians
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were impressed with
wonders and miracles
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God has made. And they
really made this distinction
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with Egyptian gods and
they wanted to follow the God of
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Israel. And so God said: "If
the foreigner wants to do it. "
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He gave enough time for them.
It was only literally 14 days
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to come into shape.
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So there was no...
The story of exodus
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showed there was
only two weeks they had
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but God allowed
them in. OK; all right.
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So let's move
forward in time now.
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I mentioned at the
beginning of the program
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how the neighborhood that
I live in is predominantly
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Orthodox Jews. So on Sabbath
morning when we're preparing
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to make our way to our church
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which by the way
it's 25-minutes drive.
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It would be a long
walk - OK - to get there.
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And this is by expressway.
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That's why most Orthodox
Jews live very close - yeah,
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of course -
proximity to the temple.
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And here's a
really interesting thing:
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it's very different from how
a non-Orthodox Jew would think
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because even when we get
into... We talked earlier about
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conservative Judaism
and the different branches.
00:11:46.88\00:11:48.75
And I'm speaking most
particularly about Orthodox Jews
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because they're the ones
who are the strictest as far as
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restricting
driving and all of that.
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That typically I've
had people come to me
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in the church and they're
telling me that they're getting
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ready to move.
They've taken a job.
00:12:03.67\00:12:05.51
They're moving away somewhere.
They're going to Texas
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or wherever it is, you
know. And they tell me about
00:12:08.16\00:12:11.28
"Oh, I've got this new job
and this new neighborhood. "
00:12:11.48\00:12:14.01
And it's like I never
hear them saying: "OK, yeah,
00:12:14.21\00:12:16.79
we found a church. "
'Cause my first connection...
00:12:16.89\00:12:20.85
my first comment to them is:
00:12:20.95\00:12:22.51
"Well, what about
the faith community?
00:12:22.72\00:12:24.63
You know, you've had
a great community here.
00:12:24.83\00:12:27.18
Now you're moving away.
You found a place to work.
00:12:27.38\00:12:30.03
You found a place to live.
But what about where you're
00:12:30.23\00:12:32.56
going to go worship? "
And unfortunately I think
00:12:32.67\00:12:35.24
within Christian mindset -
yeah - that becomes the last
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thing. And that's so sad
because God really wants to
00:12:39.69\00:12:42.59
use fellowship and community
to aid us in our salvation,
00:12:42.69\00:12:45.71
aid us in the
sanctification process,
00:12:45.91\00:12:47.87
and sometimes we put that last.
00:12:48.07\00:12:49.69
And that's dangerous
even. And that's so important.
00:12:49.89\00:12:52.23
So when I look at the Orthodox
Jewish community of today
00:12:52.43\00:12:56.70
it's exactly the opposite.
00:12:57.01\00:12:59.31
I've seen... some of the
places that I go to eat are...
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It's great...
falafel and things like that.
00:13:03.73\00:13:06.75
You know, Israeli-type food.
00:13:06.95\00:13:08.56
And I will see little things...
You know, how people take
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a piece of paper and
they make a little flyer
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and you can tear off a
phone number to call them
00:13:15.10\00:13:17.02
or something.
And I've seen where
00:13:17.12\00:13:18.61
somebody is saying:
"I am a new member of
00:13:18.71\00:13:21.36
such-and-such temple. I'm
looking for a place to live
00:13:21.56\00:13:25.06
within walking distance. "
00:13:25.16\00:13:26.53
So they do exactly the opposite.
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Yeah. They've come into an area.
00:13:28.75\00:13:30.35
They've found the faith
community - the synagogue
00:13:30.55\00:13:33.68
that they're going to attend -
00:13:33.78\00:13:35.15
NOW they're
looking for a place to live
00:13:35.18\00:13:36.97
that's within walking distance
00:13:37.17\00:13:39.37
because of these
boundaries and parameters.
00:13:39.67\00:13:42.58
So... which leads me to the
next thing, Sasha, I want to
00:13:42.68\00:13:45.59
talk about with
you is this whole idea
00:13:45.69\00:13:48.95
of these community
boundaries and things.
00:13:49.15\00:13:52.43
And I know in some discussions
you and I have had in the past
00:13:52.63\00:13:55.15
you've shared with me
some really interesting things
00:13:55.35\00:13:58.08
about how that was set up.
And even in the time of Jesus
00:13:58.18\00:14:01.81
that these
concepts and ideas existed.
00:14:02.01\00:14:05.85
So as non-technical as we can be
00:14:06.05\00:14:10.11
see if you can explain
what that was like to me
00:14:10.41\00:14:13.45
or what that IS like.
00:14:13.55\00:14:14.92
The major issues with
the community boundaries
00:14:15.07\00:14:19.89
arose after the
Babylonian captivity
00:14:20.09\00:14:23.91
Jews began to settle everywhere
in the world literally.
00:14:24.11\00:14:28.17
Egypt, Rome, former
Tarshish which is Spain.
00:14:28.57\00:14:33.15
And so the question
arose: "How do we preserve
00:14:33.35\00:14:37.78
the community? "
Because as you mentioned,
00:14:37.98\00:14:40.61
Rachel, we are always minority.
00:14:40.82\00:14:42.66
So they tried
to settle together.
00:14:42.86\00:14:46.22
And that was a very
challenging thing because
00:14:48.19\00:14:50.69
you want to settle in
such a way that you would be
00:14:50.90\00:14:56.63
sharing things. And remember,
we're not in the 21st century
00:14:56.83\00:15:01.48
America. We are way two thousand
00:15:01.68\00:15:05.67
more than 2,000 years ago.
00:15:05.87\00:15:07.89
You know, and people live in
clans. So there's a house here,
00:15:08.09\00:15:11.68
house there. And
usually in those conditions
00:15:11.88\00:15:14.89
people didn't
have their own kitchen.
00:15:15.09\00:15:16.84
They would have a communal stove
00:15:17.15\00:15:20.32
and you know bathroom.
Well, and that meant that
00:15:21.54\00:15:24.09
all the cooking utensils, pots,
and all of that stuff - yeah -
00:15:24.19\00:15:27.70
it's all shared pots.
Pots, you know, cooking utensils
00:15:27.80\00:15:30.75
was an expensive thing.
So one family will cook some
00:15:30.85\00:15:35.23
borscht in it and you know
the other family wants to cook
00:15:36.28\00:15:39.56
some potatoes with ham.
00:15:39.67\00:15:41.82
No... we don't
think it would be any ham!
00:15:42.02\00:15:44.90
Yeah. So you get close together
to people who share the same
00:15:45.30\00:15:51.26
values. And then
of course Sabbath.
00:15:51.36\00:15:55.39
You know, Sabbath
is the day of rest.
00:15:55.59\00:15:58.03
So you come together in
such a way that nobody would
00:15:58.23\00:16:03.20
disturb I would say. You know,
you don't want being on Sabbath
00:16:03.31\00:16:07.34
sitting resting and
your neighbor comes in
00:16:07.54\00:16:11.02
right at your window
and trying to cook and bake
00:16:11.22\00:16:16.86
and things like
this. So what they did:
00:16:16.96\00:16:20.04
they had a house
here, house there.
00:16:20.24\00:16:23.63
They kind of drew the perimeter
where the Jewish houses were
00:16:23.83\00:16:27.36
and they would create what
is called a "Sabbath community
00:16:27.56\00:16:30.99
domain. " And - nice -
this domain would be centered.
00:16:31.19\00:16:35.99
They would measure the
distance from these houses
00:16:36.19\00:16:40.01
so that it would
be in the middle.
00:16:40.21\00:16:41.94
In the middle they
would place a table
00:16:42.14\00:16:44.13
and on the table they
would set the pot with food.
00:16:44.23\00:16:48.78
And actually Sabbath was the
time where the entire members
00:16:48.92\00:16:54.45
of this domain
would share food together.
00:16:54.65\00:16:59.07
And often people talk about
and laugh about the Sabbath
00:16:59.27\00:17:02.86
way which is not a
correct interpretation.
00:17:03.06\00:17:06.12
It's not forbidden in
Jewish law to walk on Sabbath.
00:17:06.32\00:17:09.55
It is the border
of your community.
00:17:09.85\00:17:13.43
That's how they
say "Sabbath way. "
00:17:13.64\00:17:15.58
You don't go outside
of that border on Sabbath.
00:17:15.68\00:17:18.06
You don't go outside.
Outside of this border
00:17:18.16\00:17:20.91
it's the secular
territory. You don't want to go.
00:17:21.11\00:17:25.77
You know, that makes so much
sense because sometimes when I'm
00:17:25.87\00:17:27.38
driving on Sabbath and let's
say my church is really far away
00:17:27.48\00:17:31.62
I see construction going on
and somebody pulls up next to me
00:17:31.83\00:17:35.20
with loud banging rap music
00:17:35.30\00:17:37.03
and it really takes
away from that holiness feel.
00:17:37.23\00:17:40.31
So this really makes sense
of protecting the atmosphere
00:17:40.51\00:17:44.06
of the Sabbath. I think
that's really beautiful.
00:17:44.26\00:17:46.27
And the idea that
they spend time together
00:17:46.47\00:17:49.07
and they eat together.
It's not like you come to church
00:17:49.27\00:17:53.17
and you were "Happy Sabbath. "
It was told to you at 10 o'clock
00:17:53.57\00:17:59.49
and at 12 o'clock
"Have a happy Sabbath. "
00:17:59.52\00:18:02.04
"Nice to see you...
see you next week. "
00:18:02.24\00:18:03.61
"See you later. " Yeah,
and you spend only two hours
00:18:03.68\00:18:06.99
in the community and then
you go home and you don't know
00:18:07.19\00:18:10.12
what to do with your own
self. That's right; right.
00:18:10.22\00:18:12.84
So let's continue on.
00:18:12.97\00:18:14.91
Now we understand,
Sasha, that Jesus...
00:18:15.88\00:18:19.97
you know, He
became our Passover Lamb.
00:18:20.17\00:18:22.27
And that idea of
Passover becomes... was central
00:18:22.37\00:18:25.52
as far as one of the key
things that people had to do.
00:18:25.72\00:18:28.82
They had to partake of
the Passover lamb. Right?
00:18:28.92\00:18:31.46
To become
members of the community.
00:18:31.66\00:18:34.73
So in the context then
of somebody entering into
00:18:34.83\00:18:38.81
the community, as we
move forward and then we find
00:18:38.91\00:18:42.40
ourselves into the book
of Acts in particular. Yes.
00:18:42.50\00:18:44.74
I really want to spend some time
and time is moving really fast.
00:18:44.97\00:18:48.49
It's getting away from us.
00:18:48.70\00:18:50.07
And let's look first...
You know, the first picture
00:18:50.10\00:18:55.47
whenever I think
of Biblical community
00:18:55.67\00:18:57.64
I always go to Acts chapter 2.
00:18:57.84\00:18:59.74
And I always look at Acts
chapter 2 beginning at 42.
00:18:59.95\00:19:04.34
And it's this idea of
where they all came together
00:19:04.54\00:19:08.03
and they devoted themselves
to the apostles' teaching.
00:19:08.06\00:19:10.79
And it talks about
they broke bread and they...
00:19:11.00\00:19:13.73
And God came upon them and
everyone shared everything.
00:19:13.93\00:19:17.09
And it seem like we sit
around and we go: "Oh man,
00:19:17.29\00:19:20.59
only if that's the
way we could live. "
00:19:20.79\00:19:23.58
They just loved and
even twice it comes back
00:19:26.39\00:19:31.15
to the breaking of
bread. They had meals together.
00:19:31.35\00:19:33.45
They were there for each other.
00:19:33.65\00:19:35.02
And this wasn't just
like they traveled on Sabbath
00:19:35.05\00:19:37.13
and they got together
and had a Sabbath meal.
00:19:37.23\00:19:38.81
This was they were doing
it all the time, all the time.
00:19:39.02\00:19:41.35
And it even goes as far
as to say that because of
00:19:41.55\00:19:44.14
the conditions that existed
- in essence - God adds daily
00:19:44.24\00:19:48.87
to their numbers. You know
they weren't doing evangelistic
00:19:49.07\00:19:51.63
campaigns or knocking on doors
00:19:51.83\00:19:54.60
or anything like that.
That's right; that's right.
00:19:54.80\00:19:56.33
They had established community.
00:19:56.53\00:19:58.37
That was attractive.
00:19:58.57\00:20:00.74
And I that one of the
things that we miss and we take
00:20:00.84\00:20:03.15
for granted is we read this
and we go: "Only if we could
00:20:03.25\00:20:06.44
be like this. " But we
take for granted the fact that
00:20:06.64\00:20:09.63
as Sasha was describing
they existed within community.
00:20:09.83\00:20:13.46
That was a given.
00:20:13.76\00:20:15.39
So let's move forward now.
00:20:15.59\00:20:18.24
And I know, Sasha,
you're jumping to want to talk.
00:20:18.34\00:20:21.95
When we get to Acts chapter 15
00:20:22.25\00:20:24.53
there are some interesting
things that the apostles have to
00:20:24.73\00:20:28.54
deal with. Why don't you pick it
up and let's spend a few minutes
00:20:28.64\00:20:31.61
talking about that. The
major problem in Acts 15
00:20:31.71\00:20:34.76
is because Paul comes
from what was known as
00:20:34.96\00:20:38.79
Jewish Diaspora.
00:20:38.89\00:20:40.36
Which remember, that term
Diaspora is anyone that...
00:20:40.56\00:20:43.68
any of the Jews that
were outside of Judea
00:20:43.88\00:20:46.47
which was the place...
the homeland of the Jews.
00:20:46.68\00:20:48.81
And he created quite a number
of Judeo-Christian communities.
00:20:49.01\00:20:54.93
Right; right. And in
Jerusalem he is asked
00:20:55.04\00:20:58.93
this question:
"What have you done? "
00:20:59.13\00:21:01.39
And the reason why:
because see in Diaspora
00:21:01.59\00:21:04.60
the things are more complicated.
00:21:04.70\00:21:06.51
In Diaspora it took before...
00:21:06.61\00:21:09.17
for a Gentile from
paganism to a full conversion
00:21:09.37\00:21:14.55
to become a
full-blooded equal Jew
00:21:14.75\00:21:17.85
it may have taken about
from five to seven years.
00:21:18.05\00:21:21.47
Wow! Now remember, one
of the things that the early
00:21:21.67\00:21:25.54
church is facing is
they're seeing non Jews
00:21:25.64\00:21:31.05
getting touched
by the Holy Spirit,
00:21:31.26\00:21:32.72
becoming followers of Yeshua.
00:21:32.92\00:21:35.98
But remember, by and
large the whole community
00:21:36.18\00:21:38.74
they're all Jews with
all these established rules
00:21:38.84\00:21:41.32
and taking 5-7 years
for someone to come in.
00:21:41.52\00:21:44.32
Which is what leads us to this
whole discussion in Acts 15.
00:21:44.52\00:21:47.55
"What do we do? " And
remember, with the scarcity
00:21:47.75\00:21:50.77
of food and things like
this unless you are a member
00:21:50.87\00:21:53.47
of the community of Israel
you are not sitting at the
00:21:53.57\00:21:56.66
common table.
That's the major issue.
00:21:56.76\00:22:00.75
So the question is: how
come you do it so quickly?
00:22:00.78\00:22:05.60
It's impossible. And the
reason for it is very simple.
00:22:05.73\00:22:08.72
You have to go from paganism.
00:22:09.63\00:22:12.46
You walk into the synagogue.
00:22:12.66\00:22:14.03
See it's not like in
Israel where he sees the temple.
00:22:14.17\00:22:16.47
He walks into the
synagogue which is...
00:22:16.67\00:22:18.90
that's where the scripture
is read, the Torah is read.
00:22:19.10\00:22:21.88
You express your
desire to go for conversion
00:22:22.08\00:22:25.32
so you learn the Torah.
00:22:25.52\00:22:26.89
And when you got
to your circumcision,
00:22:27.05\00:22:30.09
you get
circumcised. That's fine.
00:22:30.29\00:22:31.88
You become proselyte.
00:22:32.08\00:22:33.45
But until you
actually make your pilgrimage
00:22:33.70\00:22:36.97
to Jerusalem and eat
from the Passover lamb
00:22:37.17\00:22:41.02
you are not equal.
00:22:41.32\00:22:44.75
That's what the
Bible... Part of the game.
00:22:45.05\00:22:47.10
You are not part of the game.
00:22:47.20\00:22:48.57
And they try to keep
Exodus 12 45 through 48:
00:22:48.77\00:22:54.14
eat Passover lamb. And
you can't do it anywhere else
00:22:54.44\00:22:58.30
except Jerusalem.
So this was the issue.
00:22:58.51\00:23:01.44
And that's where they
discussed: "Do we really need
00:23:01.65\00:23:04.87
that law all the time? "
Because the former Pharisees
00:23:05.07\00:23:08.67
who asked this question -
the Christians, former Pharisees
00:23:08.87\00:23:12.30
who asked this question -
said: "Don't these Gentiles
00:23:12.50\00:23:15.48
need to convert to Judaism
before they become members
00:23:15.58\00:23:18.50
of our community? "
00:23:18.60\00:23:19.97
And the disciples of
Jesus - the apostles -
00:23:20.04\00:23:25.51
they sat together. And
with arguments by Peter
00:23:25.71\00:23:28.27
and by James they come
to a very good conclusion:
00:23:28.47\00:23:31.92
that you don't have
to spend that much time
00:23:32.12\00:23:34.38
to become a
member of the community.
00:23:34.59\00:23:36.41
Let us welcome
and be a part. Right.
00:23:36.51\00:23:40.57
And they followed
what we understand today as
00:23:40.67\00:23:44.45
the "Noahide" laws.
Not quite; not quite.
00:23:44.65\00:23:48.13
It's similar to that, yeah?
00:23:48.23\00:23:49.80
Not really. It's a
little different issue
00:23:50.00\00:23:52.49
and it will take
more time to explain.
00:23:52.62\00:23:55.01
But they were
following the elementary rules
00:23:55.31\00:23:58.33
that were required for
those who are considered
00:23:58.53\00:24:02.11
sojourners. OK; all right.
00:24:02.31\00:24:05.04
So, you know, for us today
00:24:05.24\00:24:08.30
this idea of community
is probably the thing that's
00:24:08.50\00:24:12.38
lacking the most. And I
think that it's something
00:24:12.48\00:24:14.94
that God's placing
so much on our hearts.
00:24:15.04\00:24:17.18
Definitely. People
are lonely - um-hmm -
00:24:17.38\00:24:18.95
and just to get together
once on a Sabbath is not enough.
00:24:19.15\00:24:21.68
No. We need to make
that time to come together.
00:24:21.88\00:24:23.95
So once again it's that time.
00:24:24.15\00:24:26.37
Rachel, if you
could get yourself ready,
00:24:26.57\00:24:29.65
I'm going to ask
you to prepare yourself.
00:24:29.85\00:24:32.06
And Martin, if you
would join us as well.
00:24:32.09\00:24:36.75
Rachel is going to
bless us with a song.
00:24:37.15\00:24:43.11
Rachel, what's the
title of the song today?
00:24:43.41\00:24:44.78
This is Icha moch
Moshed... Moses Rejoice.
00:24:44.81\00:24:46.93
All right! Let's hear it.
00:24:47.03\00:24:48.70
Thank you,
Rachel. Thank you so much.
00:26:52.61\00:26:55.32
Martin, thank you
for joining us. Sasha.
00:26:55.82\00:26:58.31
Well friends, once
again time goes by so fast.
00:26:58.51\00:27:01.72
And it's just been a
great joy to have you with us.
00:27:02.12\00:27:05.53
You know, I pray, Rachel,
that people will really be moved
00:27:05.83\00:27:09.70
to reach out to each other.
00:27:09.90\00:27:11.27
Community is the
thing that binds us.
00:27:11.66\00:27:13.76
And you know, Jesus
taught in John 17 that...
00:27:13.86\00:27:16.67
He prayed that we would
be one and that... Go ahead.
00:27:16.87\00:27:20.61
Yeah, well especially
living in a sinful world
00:27:20.74\00:27:22.80
we really need each other.
00:27:23.00\00:27:25.32
Like the Bible says:
"Bear one another's burdens. "
00:27:25.52\00:27:27.89
We need to be there to
encourage each other. Right.
00:27:27.99\00:27:29.50
And by being one,
that's the testimony of Jesus.
00:27:29.70\00:27:32.94
That's what lets people know
that He is the risen Redeemer
00:27:33.07\00:27:36.80
of the ages. So
as we close today
00:27:37.00\00:27:39.78
May the Lord bless
and may He keep you.
00:27:39.88\00:27:41.46
May the Lord make His
face to shine upon you
00:27:41.77\00:27:44.00
and be gracious to you.
00:27:44.10\00:27:45.47
May the Lord lift
His countenance upon you
00:27:45.50\00:27:47.52
and bring you His peace.
00:27:47.72\00:27:49.66
Have a wonderful, wonderful day.
00:27:49.96\00:27:52.25
May God be with you.
00:27:52.55\00:27:53.92
On behalf of Rachel
and Martin and Sasha
00:27:53.95\00:27:57.46
God bless you. And
we hope to see you again
00:27:57.66\00:27:59.96
on Back To Our Roots.
00:28:00.16\00:28:01.65