Hidden things and purity... how to make this happen

The question is asked in the Good Book, "How shall a man keep his way pure?" I wonder if that's a question that's beyond normal conversation in these days. Maybe more are thinking about their superannuation. How shall a man keep his 401-k? Or how shall a man keep his children safe at public school? Those questions might be more an American consideration today. They say that there are more mass murders in the US than days of the year, at least so far in 2024. The world stopped to notice gun violence the other evening when candidate for president Donald Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Safety, gun violence, terror-- those are topics of late, but not purity.

Even so, the question is there in the Good Book, so it warrants some thoughtful discussion. After all, there are some for whom purity does matter. A few years ago the world stopped in a Covid-heartbeat and watched as trauma, lack of information, viruses, governmental mandates, jabs, and school and work closures trampolined the planet into a financial crisis, and many nations or metropolitan areas are still reeling from that season. I still wash my hands a different way in these days. When I use public restrooms, I still take an extra paper towel with which to exit through the closed doors, rather than use my freshly washed hands. Purity of hands...that makes sense.

On the pickleball courts, at synagogue, at church and other social contexts, more people fist bump than shake hands. That's leftover from sports and Covid. I haven't seen what they labelled 'social distancing' any longer, but I do know of folks who still prefer to sit apart from others, especially as Covid seems to be resurging this US summer in certain states. Ah, for purity.

Leonardo da Vinci is known for many inventions and artwork, but this quote of his about purity speaks for itself. "Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind." That speaks to me. Seems that a bit of activity is required for us to have purity of soul. In other words, purity is not stagnant; it's not a characteristic that is settled in an ingenue or old man; it's demanding our attention.

The Good Book had an answer to that question. It's found in the Psalms. The longest psalm in the Bible. 119. And in verses 9- 11 we read this: 

 "How can a young man keep his way pure? 

      By keeping it according to Your word.
With all my heart I have sought You;
      Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
Your word I have treasured in my heart,
     That I may not sin against You."

That advice seems colleagial with Da Vinci. Somehow keeping our way consistent with the Word of the Scriptures and 'treasuring' it in our heart will prevent impurities from lodging within us. The word translated 'treasure' is the Hebrew word "Tsafanti" from the root meaning 'to hide.' Hiding is an activity I employ with my grandchildren, and it launches a game where each of them tries to hide the coin or the die behind their ear or my ear, and they laugh out loud for the pleasure it gives them. Whatever else is included in the verb, it's clear that hiding is an active word. Reading the Bible is a good enterprise and is itself active, but I think the author (King David, et. al.) is intending something else.

God is often the one who is hiding. In fact, the game of hide-and-seek might have been played by God long before my siblings and I found it in the 1950s. 

For instance, Moses records this from God's lips:

“Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?’ But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods." (Deuteronomy 31.17-18)

   

The ancient Jewish prophet Job who had plenty of personal and family troubles, said to God, 

“Why do You hide Your face 

And consider me Your enemy? (Job 13.24)

But whether we are or he is hiding, the issue is not that activity, but rather hiding something in our heart.

The word is hiding in the heart of the psalmist. How do I make that happen? Hiding in a bush in a game of tag is easy to see. Hiding 20,000 in a Swiss bank account is a little harder, but still able to be done. How do I hide God's word in my heart?  I believe the key is understanding the word 'meditate.' To mull things over, to ponder, to focus one's thoughts on, or to reflect. That's what I hear when the word is used. And that's the way to hide God's word 

Reading the Good Book is fantastic. Memorizing passages helps get the Word very accessible to you, and then meditating on those words, one word, one phrase, one idea at a time is hiding it in your heart. 

How shall a man keep his way pure? Meditate on the Word, one day and one word at a time, and God will continue to speak with you throughout your day and purity is a (super)natural function of this enterprise.  Five times in this one psalm we read this word (119.15, .27, .48, .78, .148) and each time it's the conclusion of the psalmist. Bury the word deep in your soul, and it will have its desired effect. It's not only knowing the Hebrew or Greek; it's not academic; it's personal and restorative. 

The apostle James said, "receive the Word IMPLANTED which is able to save your souls." (James 1.21) It's the meditated word which implants in the heart and can save (restore) our souls to God's original plan. 

Why not try it today? Take a word like Colossians 3.17 or John 20.31 and let it loose in your heart after you memorize it. I wish you success. And purity. And God's life to flow in you. Today. 

If I could talk with.... Sarah Hurwitz

Continuing my series on conversations I'd like to have with Jewish people in the news, I would like to talk with Sarah Hurwitz, author of her book Here all along, and former speechwriter for Michelle Obama.

The subtitle of her book says "Finding meaning, spirituality, and a deeper connection to life in Judaism (after finally choosing to look there)."

It all began when she broke up with a man, and she had extra time on her hands. She heard about an "Introduction to Judaism" class at the local Jewish community center. In an interview on the NBC Today show, she said the ancient Jewish texts had "wisdom to offer about how to be a good person, how to live a worthy life and how to find deep spiritual connection."

Sarah made the point that in her reading of Torah she discovered that since we are all created in the image of God (Genesis 1.26-27), that each of us is infinitely worthy, each of us is equal, and each of us is unique.  That changed her way of thinking, along with a long meditation retreat with others discovering their Jewish roots.

It allowed her to have a conversation with the Lord in a nature-filled setting, praying out loud and releasing her to be transformed from being a "good person" who didn't lie or cheat, into working towards being a 'great person." At the time she was not even a believer in God!

In the NBC interview, she spoke about Shabbat and the release that taking that day off, from screens and work and shopping, from the 'not enough' nature of our everyday lives to allow us to say, "We have enough right now." It's a view of satisfaction that is a beaut (By the way, I'm writing this blog on Shabbat in Sydney, whilst the fires surround us and the commensurate smoke droops over the city like a blanket of peril)

"It's about finding a balance that works for you," she said in the discussion of the all-or-nothing nature of many in religion. 

In an interview with The Times of Israel she said, "Something has to light that spark. It's different for different people. Once you find a way to ignite that spark, it does light up. It's there all along. I did not figure out how to ignite it till (sic) a little bit later in life."  

Her journey is more deeply chronicled in the book and in the Jewish Telegraph Agency report here. 

If I could speak with Sarah, I would be enriched, I think, by a very serious and pleasant woman of newly-found spirituality and ethical challenge. I would be informed by a woman of fine rhetoric about her own journey of faith. And if I could share with Sarah some of my own story, I would tell her that although she was raised Reform in Massachusetts and went to Harvard, I went to Washington University (St Louis) and was raised Orthodox in Kansas City. That is, our views of life were shaped by different forces to be sure. And I am 68 years old and she's 42, so our generations are also different. If she would allow a Midwestern Orthodox Jew from the 1960s to share a bit of story (which I expect she would welcome), then I would tell her of my encounter with God as well. And in a very strange angle.

I too found God in the reading of the Scriptures.
I too spoke out loud to God in a nature-filled scene (Estes Park, Colorado each morning of a week-long retreat in 1973 or so)
I too believe the Scriptures are relevant to our lives and give us deep "wisdom about how to be a good person, how to live a worthy life and how to find deep spiritual connection."

What surprised me, though, was that I found out that I would never be a good (enough) person to satisfy the real demands of the God of the Scriptures. He expects His people to be holy, to be pure, to be not only externally right but internally righteous as well.  Washing the outside of the cup is good, and washing the inside is even better. That's outrageous given our nature, given our sinfulness, given our self-consumption and selfishness.

How do I live a worthy life and find a deep spiritual connection? For me that was in the realization fo the greatest story in the Scriptures, the story of the Prodigal Son recorded in Luke 15. I know, that's not in Torah or even Talmud, but it certainly is one of the most Jewish stories ever written.

Sarah, I would want you to read that story and tell me which character is the one which best describes you. And by the way, I have no idea which one you would see as 'you.' Are you the wayward son who prefers his father to be dead and gets the life insurance, who spends his life wrongly, and in your case, finds Judaism's beauty again in recent years? Are you the older son who angrily and self-righteously almost refused to celebrate his brother's return? Are you one of the servants? The father? None of the above?

I guess the reason I read and reread this story is that I for years was the younger brother, spending on myself anything I wanted for the passing pleasures of life as I understood it. I was wrong and had to admit that to the God who was patiently and longingly waiting for my return. I needed forgiveness and restoration. I needed grace and was not finding it in my Orthodox, orthopractic Judaism. I couldn't find it anywhere. Self-serving is a lousy situation in which to find anything besides yourself.  And I needed God. But not the God of my youth who seemed distant and harsh, demanding and never satisfied. I needed the God of this Prodigal story, in fact, the One I title the Prodigal Father.

My "deep spiritual connection" was found the day I found Yeshua, our Jewish Messiah. He forgave my sins. He offered me hope and restoration. He died as a sacrifice for me, to take away what separated me from the Almighty. He paid the debt He did not owe; I owed the debt I could not pay. I needed someone to wash my sins away."

Real freedom.
Real release.
A real encounter with the Living God is ours in relating to Yeshua, the King of Israel,  the Messiah, born in Bethlehem about whom the Christmas choirs today and the shepherds and angels sang 2,000 years ago.

Maybe, in the same way you admit to finally looking into Judaism, maybe now you will read or re-read the Prodigal story or any or all of the story of Yeshua (Found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John).  His story is true and worthy of notice and worthy of a Jewish woman's time and meditation. And that might spark something deeper yet.

At least that's my opinion.

I wish you a Happy Hanukkah 5780 and a joyful 2020.

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The other "If I could speak with..." in the series include: .  . .

Troye Sivan   https://bob-mendelsohn.blogspot.com/…/if-i-could-speak-with….  
Charles Krauthammer https://bob-mendelsohn.blogspot.com/…/if-i-could-speak-with…
Woody Allen https://bob-mendelsohn.blogspot.com/…/if-i-could-speak-with…. 
Ari Hershkowitz https://bob-mendelsohn.blogspot.com/…/if-i-could-speak-with…. 
Geoffrey Edelston https://bob-mendelsohn.blogspot.com/…/if-i-could-speak-with…. 
Abby Stein: https://bob-mendelsohn.blogspot.com/…/if-i-could-speak-with…