Participants: Alex Schlussler (Host), Rachel Hyman (Host), Sasha Bolotnikov
Series Code: BTOR
Program Code: BTOR000013
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00:01 The 133rd Psalm says "How good and pleasant it is
00:04 for brethren to dwell together in unity. " 00:06 Today on Back to Our Roots 00:08 we're going to be talking all about community. 00:11 What does it mean from a Biblical perspective? 00:14 Stick around. 00:36 Welcome to Back To Our Roots. 00:38 I'm Pastor Alex Schlussler 00:40 and I'm Rachel Hyman, minister of music. 00:43 And we're so happy that you've joined us once again. 00:45 Today we're going to be talking about community 00:48 but a Hebraic perspective - um-hmm - of community. 00:51 You know, Rachel, growing up Jewish - which both of us did - 00:56 a sense of community is very important. 00:59 Yes. What were your experiences with that? 01:01 Well, you know, since Jews are a minority in the world 01:03 we feel a strong need to stick together 01:06 and to be there for each other. 01:08 That's something that I valued growing up. 01:11 Yeah. I was raised in a very large family. 01:14 Huge extended family: aunts, uncles, and everything. 01:17 And I remember coming together at my grandparent's house. 01:20 My grandmother was the one that kind of drew us all together. 01:23 And there would be huge tables. Nice. 01:26 You know, growing up one of the times when you knew 01:30 you were there... you had arrived... arisen, 01:34 you know, had got there: was when you got moved 01:37 from the kids' tables - exactly - to the adult table 01:41 at Passover yes. That's right; that's right. 01:43 Even in community today within the Jewish faith 01:49 community is such a huge thing. 01:52 I live in what is predominantly an Orthodox Jewish area 01:56 and I see every Sabbath all of the Jews making their way 02:01 to temple walking. South Florida, right? 02:03 Yeah, this is in south Florida. 02:05 Making their way there. 02:07 And you know, that whole concept, that whole idea 02:10 of community and being drawn together is really 02:14 solidified by the fact that 02:17 to get to the temple you can only walk. 02:21 Um-hmm. You know, they don't drive! Exactly. 02:23 So that creates in itself this perimeter, 02:27 this boundary that, you know, you can't extend beyond that. 02:32 And there's wisdom to that. 02:34 Sometimes we think about how inconvenient that would be 02:37 that on the Sabbath I can't drive, I can't go anywhere. 02:41 Spend more time with family. 02:42 But exactly that. It promotes that whole idea 02:46 of community. And you know the other thing about this 02:50 is that there's a huge amount of pressure 02:53 on Jews as a whole to stay within the community. 02:57 Yes. I know also for me growing up 03:01 my grandmother telling me that I'd better not go out 03:04 with any non-Jewish girls. Um-hmm. 03:06 You know, that it was all about staying... 03:07 'Stay away from the goys... " 03:09 from the nations being in community. 03:13 Today we're going to explore some interesting concepts 03:16 and ideas that are really birthed even prior to the time 03:21 that Jesus walked the earth and have made their way 03:25 even into the future now. 03:27 And we want to invite our resident theologian 03:30 Alexander Bolotnikov - Sasha we call him. 03:34 If you would come on out, Sasha, and join us once again. 03:37 Sasha, we've... By the way: Hi, Sasha. 03:41 It's nice to be with you Alex, Rachel. 03:44 We always appreciate your thoughts. 03:46 Yeah, Sasha adds a whole different spin 03:48 to our discussion. You know, Sasha, 03:50 today we're talking about community and what it means 03:54 from a Hebraic perspective. 03:56 So let's kind of get deeper into the discussion now. 04:00 And Sasha, what does the Bible... what does the Torah 04:04 say as far as community 04:08 and what it takes for a person to come into community 04:11 because I know that's a very important thing to understand. 04:14 Torah specifically states 04:18 that unless you are not a part of community assembly of Israel 04:22 you can't be saved. 04:23 Unless you are a part. Yeah, unless you are a part. 04:27 Yeah, you can't be saved because this is where you get saved: 04:30 you are part of the community of Israel. 04:33 Otherwise you are a pagan. Right. Now let me clarify. 04:35 We're talking about from an Old Testament perspective here. 04:38 Just so somebody doesn't you know misinterpret. 04:41 And that's why I'm emphasizing this... 04:44 because it's often misunderstood. 04:47 We talked about the difference between the New and the Old 04:50 Testament and it's important to understand that 04:54 actually there is the same logic but it's more symbolic. 04:58 How so? And this is how it works: 05:02 the laws of the Torah divide people into three categories. 05:06 OK. The people of Israel. Um-hmm. 05:11 The people who are called strangers or foreigners. 05:16 And the people who are classified as sojourners. 05:19 OK. And there are specific words. OK, so explain. 05:22 What does each one of those things means? 05:24 Stranger and foreigner is a person who just 05:28 is a pagan who passes by Israel 05:32 or Jewish community - Israeli community - just on business. 05:36 You know. So it's a camel caravan - 05:39 yeah, yeah - going by. 05:41 Or he came and did something... you know, some ambassador. 05:44 He's an outsider. He is not expected to follow 05:50 any commandments as long as he doesn't commit some crime 05:54 like murder or doesn't preach and call to worship idols, 05:59 you know. He is fine. 06:00 But let's say this foreigner - stranger - comes into the 06:05 court of Gentiles in the temple with some Jewish friend. 06:09 So let's explain what we mean right away. We want to make sure 06:12 that people are understanding when we talk about 06:14 the court of the Gentiles in the temple 06:17 so people understand the way if we're talking about 06:22 the temple there is an area that anyone was allowed 06:27 to come into. Exactly. Right? And then as you moved closer 06:30 to the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies 06:32 it got more restricted and more restricted and finally 06:35 of course the Holy of Holies was only for the high priest. 06:38 Exactly. And he sees the sense 06:43 that these sacrificial services - these festivals - 06:47 they really point to the Redeemer. 06:53 And so he says: "I like this God of heaven and earth. 06:57 He makes sense; His laws are good 07:00 so I want to know more. " 07:03 And from then on he is no longer classified 07:08 as a foreigner. He can become a sojourner. 07:12 The only requirement for sojourner to start: 07:16 he has to keep the Sabbath because the 4th commandment says 07:19 "and the sojourner which is in your gates. " 07:23 OK. So he is a part... 07:26 he is on his way to salvation. 07:30 He is required now to follow the laws of the Torah. 07:34 He is a part of the community. 07:36 He gets benefits of the community. 07:37 He can't land to a sojourner with interest. 07:41 To a foreigner you can 07:43 but to sojourner no you can't. 07:46 But the difference is he still cannot go to the temple 07:50 to the altar to sacrifice 07:52 until he makes full decision to become a part of the 07:57 community of Israel. 07:59 And so he must circumcise all males in his household. 08:03 And then at the time of Passover this is a sacred time 08:08 'cause at the time of Passover he can participate 08:12 in eating the Passover lamb. 08:16 And after that he is considered absolutely equal. 08:20 No matter what his ethnic, racial, cultural, 08:24 religious origin as soon as he is circumcised 08:29 and then ate the Passover meal - 08:32 Passover lamb - he is considered as the natural son of Israel. 08:37 He is in the community of God. 08:41 Now was there a typical time frame? 08:43 That someone would have to go and with their additional 08:46 studies or learnings in that time period that they would 08:49 have to go? Or was it just the basic customs and actions 08:54 that they would have to learn? 08:55 Here's what you did for sacrifice and would they go 08:57 through specific training? I know later that happens 09:00 but at this period? The rabbis always emphasized 09:04 that especially in the time of temple a sojourner - 09:10 a person who is learning - has to really understand 09:13 the difference between the sacrifices and the spirit 09:17 behind the sacrifices that are made to the Lord of heaven 09:20 and earth so that he would not confuse them 09:25 with any pagan ritual. 09:27 Now had they? At this point are they required 09:30 to become a student of Torah? Absolutely. 09:33 That's what they do. That's what they study. 09:35 They're not allowed to actually bring the sacrifice. 09:39 They usually pay for some Israeli to bring sacrifice 09:46 for them, but they are not allowed to offer a sacrifice 09:50 until they really study all the rules of the Torah 09:54 pertaining to those. 09:55 And was there some type of process that they would go to 09:58 that someone or does the Bible speak maybe is a better way. 10:02 Does the Bible speak of a point in time then 10:05 when they've gone through this process of learning and studying 10:08 that they... I don't want to say they're "tested" 10:11 but prior to someone saying "OK, you've come far enough. 10:15 Now it's time for you to be circumcised. " 10:17 "We're coming up on Passover; 10:18 it's time for you to eat the lamb. " 10:20 Was that something that's discussed at all? 10:22 The Bible doesn't say it. It's discussed in Exodus 12 10:26 in connection with the first Passover - right - during the 10:29 time of exodus... especially because so many Egyptians 10:34 were impressed with wonders and miracles 10:37 God has made. And they really made this distinction 10:42 with Egyptian gods and they wanted to follow the God of 10:44 Israel. And so God said: "If the foreigner wants to do it. " 10:49 He gave enough time for them. It was only literally 14 days 10:55 to come into shape. 10:57 So there was no... The story of exodus 11:01 showed there was only two weeks they had 11:04 but God allowed them in. OK; all right. 11:07 So let's move forward in time now. 11:09 I mentioned at the beginning of the program 11:13 how the neighborhood that I live in is predominantly 11:17 Orthodox Jews. So on Sabbath morning when we're preparing 11:21 to make our way to our church 11:23 which by the way it's 25-minutes drive. 11:26 It would be a long walk - OK - to get there. 11:29 And this is by expressway. 11:31 That's why most Orthodox Jews live very close - yeah, 11:34 of course - proximity to the temple. 11:36 And here's a really interesting thing: 11:37 it's very different from how a non-Orthodox Jew would think 11:44 because even when we get into... We talked earlier about 11:46 conservative Judaism and the different branches. 11:48 And I'm speaking most particularly about Orthodox Jews 11:52 because they're the ones who are the strictest as far as 11:54 restricting driving and all of that. 11:57 That typically I've had people come to me 12:01 in the church and they're telling me that they're getting 12:03 ready to move. They've taken a job. 12:05 They're moving away somewhere. They're going to Texas 12:08 or wherever it is, you know. And they tell me about 12:11 "Oh, I've got this new job and this new neighborhood. " 12:14 And it's like I never hear them saying: "OK, yeah, 12:16 we found a church. " 'Cause my first connection... 12:20 my first comment to them is: 12:22 "Well, what about the faith community? 12:24 You know, you've had a great community here. 12:27 Now you're moving away. You found a place to work. 12:30 You found a place to live. But what about where you're 12:32 going to go worship? " And unfortunately I think 12:35 within Christian mindset - yeah - that becomes the last 12:39 thing. And that's so sad because God really wants to 12:42 use fellowship and community to aid us in our salvation, 12:45 aid us in the sanctification process, 12:48 and sometimes we put that last. 12:49 And that's dangerous even. And that's so important. 12:52 So when I look at the Orthodox Jewish community of today 12:57 it's exactly the opposite. 12:59 I've seen... some of the places that I go to eat are... 13:03 It's great... falafel and things like that. 13:06 You know, Israeli-type food. 13:08 And I will see little things... You know, how people take 13:13 a piece of paper and they make a little flyer 13:15 and you can tear off a phone number to call them 13:17 or something. And I've seen where 13:18 somebody is saying: "I am a new member of 13:21 such-and-such temple. I'm looking for a place to live 13:25 within walking distance. " 13:26 So they do exactly the opposite. 13:28 Yeah. They've come into an area. 13:30 They've found the faith community - the synagogue 13:33 that they're going to attend - 13:35 NOW they're looking for a place to live 13:37 that's within walking distance 13:39 because of these boundaries and parameters. 13:42 So... which leads me to the next thing, Sasha, I want to 13:45 talk about with you is this whole idea 13:49 of these community boundaries and things. 13:52 And I know in some discussions you and I have had in the past 13:55 you've shared with me some really interesting things 13:58 about how that was set up. And even in the time of Jesus 14:02 that these concepts and ideas existed. 14:06 So as non-technical as we can be 14:10 see if you can explain what that was like to me 14:13 or what that IS like. 14:15 The major issues with the community boundaries 14:20 arose after the Babylonian captivity 14:24 Jews began to settle everywhere in the world literally. 14:28 Egypt, Rome, former Tarshish which is Spain. 14:33 And so the question arose: "How do we preserve 14:37 the community? " Because as you mentioned, 14:40 Rachel, we are always minority. 14:42 So they tried to settle together. 14:48 And that was a very challenging thing because 14:50 you want to settle in such a way that you would be 14:56 sharing things. And remember, we're not in the 21st century 15:01 America. We are way two thousand 15:05 more than 2,000 years ago. 15:08 You know, and people live in clans. So there's a house here, 15:11 house there. And usually in those conditions 15:15 people didn't have their own kitchen. 15:17 They would have a communal stove 15:21 and you know bathroom. Well, and that meant that 15:24 all the cooking utensils, pots, and all of that stuff - yeah - 15:27 it's all shared pots. Pots, you know, cooking utensils 15:30 was an expensive thing. So one family will cook some 15:36 borscht in it and you know the other family wants to cook 15:39 some potatoes with ham. 15:42 No... we don't think it would be any ham! 15:45 Yeah. So you get close together to people who share the same 15:51 values. And then of course Sabbath. 15:55 You know, Sabbath is the day of rest. 15:58 So you come together in such a way that nobody would 16:03 disturb I would say. You know, you don't want being on Sabbath 16:07 sitting resting and your neighbor comes in 16:11 right at your window and trying to cook and bake 16:16 and things like this. So what they did: 16:20 they had a house here, house there. 16:23 They kind of drew the perimeter where the Jewish houses were 16:27 and they would create what is called a "Sabbath community 16:31 domain. " And - nice - this domain would be centered. 16:36 They would measure the distance from these houses 16:40 so that it would be in the middle. 16:42 In the middle they would place a table 16:44 and on the table they would set the pot with food. 16:48 And actually Sabbath was the time where the entire members 16:54 of this domain would share food together. 16:59 And often people talk about and laugh about the Sabbath 17:03 way which is not a correct interpretation. 17:06 It's not forbidden in Jewish law to walk on Sabbath. 17:09 It is the border of your community. 17:13 That's how they say "Sabbath way. " 17:15 You don't go outside of that border on Sabbath. 17:18 You don't go outside. Outside of this border 17:21 it's the secular territory. You don't want to go. 17:25 You know, that makes so much sense because sometimes when I'm 17:27 driving on Sabbath and let's say my church is really far away 17:31 I see construction going on and somebody pulls up next to me 17:35 with loud banging rap music 17:37 and it really takes away from that holiness feel. 17:40 So this really makes sense of protecting the atmosphere 17:44 of the Sabbath. I think that's really beautiful. 17:46 And the idea that they spend time together 17:49 and they eat together. It's not like you come to church 17:53 and you were "Happy Sabbath. " It was told to you at 10 o'clock 17:59 and at 12 o'clock "Have a happy Sabbath. " 18:02 "Nice to see you... see you next week. " 18:03 "See you later. " Yeah, and you spend only two hours 18:07 in the community and then you go home and you don't know 18:10 what to do with your own self. That's right; right. 18:12 So let's continue on. 18:15 Now we understand, Sasha, that Jesus... 18:20 you know, He became our Passover Lamb. 18:22 And that idea of Passover becomes... was central 18:25 as far as one of the key things that people had to do. 18:28 They had to partake of the Passover lamb. Right? 18:31 To become members of the community. 18:34 So in the context then of somebody entering into 18:38 the community, as we move forward and then we find 18:42 ourselves into the book of Acts in particular. Yes. 18:44 I really want to spend some time and time is moving really fast. 18:48 It's getting away from us. 18:50 And let's look first... You know, the first picture 18:55 whenever I think of Biblical community 18:57 I always go to Acts chapter 2. 18:59 And I always look at Acts chapter 2 beginning at 42. 19:04 And it's this idea of where they all came together 19:08 and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching. 19:11 And it talks about they broke bread and they... 19:13 And God came upon them and everyone shared everything. 19:17 And it seem like we sit around and we go: "Oh man, 19:20 only if that's the way we could live. " 19:26 They just loved and even twice it comes back 19:31 to the breaking of bread. They had meals together. 19:33 They were there for each other. 19:35 And this wasn't just like they traveled on Sabbath 19:37 and they got together and had a Sabbath meal. 19:39 This was they were doing it all the time, all the time. 19:41 And it even goes as far as to say that because of 19:44 the conditions that existed - in essence - God adds daily 19:49 to their numbers. You know they weren't doing evangelistic 19:51 campaigns or knocking on doors 19:54 or anything like that. That's right; that's right. 19:56 They had established community. 19:58 That was attractive. 20:00 And I that one of the things that we miss and we take 20:03 for granted is we read this and we go: "Only if we could 20:06 be like this. " But we take for granted the fact that 20:09 as Sasha was describing they existed within community. 20:13 That was a given. 20:15 So let's move forward now. 20:18 And I know, Sasha, you're jumping to want to talk. 20:22 When we get to Acts chapter 15 20:24 there are some interesting things that the apostles have to 20:28 deal with. Why don't you pick it up and let's spend a few minutes 20:31 talking about that. The major problem in Acts 15 20:34 is because Paul comes from what was known as 20:38 Jewish Diaspora. 20:40 Which remember, that term Diaspora is anyone that... 20:43 any of the Jews that were outside of Judea 20:46 which was the place... the homeland of the Jews. 20:49 And he created quite a number of Judeo-Christian communities. 20:55 Right; right. And in Jerusalem he is asked 20:59 this question: "What have you done? " 21:01 And the reason why: because see in Diaspora 21:04 the things are more complicated. 21:06 In Diaspora it took before... 21:09 for a Gentile from paganism to a full conversion 21:14 to become a full-blooded equal Jew 21:18 it may have taken about from five to seven years. 21:21 Wow! Now remember, one of the things that the early 21:25 church is facing is they're seeing non Jews 21:31 getting touched by the Holy Spirit, 21:32 becoming followers of Yeshua. 21:36 But remember, by and large the whole community 21:38 they're all Jews with all these established rules 21:41 and taking 5-7 years for someone to come in. 21:44 Which is what leads us to this whole discussion in Acts 15. 21:47 "What do we do? " And remember, with the scarcity 21:50 of food and things like this unless you are a member 21:53 of the community of Israel you are not sitting at the 21:56 common table. That's the major issue. 22:00 So the question is: how come you do it so quickly? 22:05 It's impossible. And the reason for it is very simple. 22:09 You have to go from paganism. 22:12 You walk into the synagogue. 22:14 See it's not like in Israel where he sees the temple. 22:16 He walks into the synagogue which is... 22:19 that's where the scripture is read, the Torah is read. 22:22 You express your desire to go for conversion 22:25 so you learn the Torah. 22:27 And when you got to your circumcision, 22:30 you get circumcised. That's fine. 22:32 You become proselyte. 22:33 But until you actually make your pilgrimage 22:37 to Jerusalem and eat from the Passover lamb 22:41 you are not equal. 22:45 That's what the Bible... Part of the game. 22:47 You are not part of the game. 22:48 And they try to keep Exodus 12 45 through 48: 22:54 eat Passover lamb. And you can't do it anywhere else 22:58 except Jerusalem. So this was the issue. 23:01 And that's where they discussed: "Do we really need 23:05 that law all the time? " Because the former Pharisees 23:08 who asked this question - the Christians, former Pharisees 23:12 who asked this question - said: "Don't these Gentiles 23:15 need to convert to Judaism before they become members 23:18 of our community? " 23:20 And the disciples of Jesus - the apostles - 23:25 they sat together. And with arguments by Peter 23:28 and by James they come to a very good conclusion: 23:32 that you don't have to spend that much time 23:34 to become a member of the community. 23:36 Let us welcome and be a part. Right. 23:40 And they followed what we understand today as 23:44 the "Noahide" laws. Not quite; not quite. 23:48 It's similar to that, yeah? 23:50 Not really. It's a little different issue 23:52 and it will take more time to explain. 23:55 But they were following the elementary rules 23:58 that were required for those who are considered 24:02 sojourners. OK; all right. 24:05 So, you know, for us today 24:08 this idea of community is probably the thing that's 24:12 lacking the most. And I think that it's something 24:15 that God's placing so much on our hearts. 24:17 Definitely. People are lonely - um-hmm - 24:19 and just to get together once on a Sabbath is not enough. 24:21 No. We need to make that time to come together. 24:24 So once again it's that time. 24:26 Rachel, if you could get yourself ready, 24:29 I'm going to ask you to prepare yourself. 24:32 And Martin, if you would join us as well. 24:37 Rachel is going to bless us with a song. 24:43 Rachel, what's the title of the song today? 24:44 This is Icha moch Moshed... Moses Rejoice. 24:47 All right! Let's hear it. 26:52 Thank you, Rachel. Thank you so much. 26:55 Martin, thank you for joining us. Sasha. 26:58 Well friends, once again time goes by so fast. 27:02 And it's just been a great joy to have you with us. 27:05 You know, I pray, Rachel, that people will really be moved 27:09 to reach out to each other. 27:11 Community is the thing that binds us. 27:13 And you know, Jesus taught in John 17 that... 27:16 He prayed that we would be one and that... Go ahead. 27:20 Yeah, well especially living in a sinful world 27:23 we really need each other. 27:25 Like the Bible says: "Bear one another's burdens. " 27:27 We need to be there to encourage each other. Right. 27:29 And by being one, that's the testimony of Jesus. 27:33 That's what lets people know that He is the risen Redeemer 27:37 of the ages. So as we close today 27:39 May the Lord bless and may He keep you. 27:41 May the Lord make His face to shine upon you 27:44 and be gracious to you. 27:45 May the Lord lift His countenance upon you 27:47 and bring you His peace. 27:49 Have a wonderful, wonderful day. 27:52 May God be with you. 27:53 On behalf of Rachel and Martin and Sasha 27:57 God bless you. And we hope to see you again 28:00 on Back To Our Roots. |
Revised 2014-12-17