Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Dust. It's everywhere. No matter where you go or where you turn, you'll find dust. It's frustrating, but it's just the way of life. And no matter how hard you clean, dust will eventually find its way back into every nook and cranny, every crack and crevice. It's a neverending battle that we can all relate to, especially if you have allergies as bad as I do. But yet this week week's Torah portion seems to view dust as a positive force of nature. Why is that? Let's figure it out together in this week's five minute Torah.
[00:00:40] Welcome back to Tribe. You're watching the channel that connects disciples of Yeshua to the Eternal Torah of God. This week we are studying the Torah portion of Avayetze Genesis 28 ten through 32 three. And here are the three things that you need to know about it. Number one jacob's Ladder. God appears to Jacob while traveling. Jacob rests for the night and has a famous dream at a place he later names Bethel. In this dream, he sees a ladder extending from Earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending upon it. God stood above the ladder and reaffirmed the covenant with Jacob's ancestors, promising him the land and numerous descendants. This divine vision reassured Jacob of God's presence. His protection and his guidance conveying the connection between the earthly realm and the divine. Number two jacob and Rachel. Love at first Sight jacob met Rachel at a well in Haran. When he arrived seeking his relatives, rachel, Laban's daughter, was a shepherdess, and Jacob, moved by her beauty and kindness, felt an immediate connection to her. In an act of chivalry, Jacob assists Rachel by single handedly rolling away the large, heavy stone from the well, enabling her to water her flock. Overwhelmed with emotion at meeting his kin, Jacob openly wept and kissed Rachel, revealing his identity as her cousin and Rebecca's son. He falls in love with her and agrees to work for Laban, her father, for seven years, for her hand in marriage. And number three MIDA Kanegad, MIDA Joseph, and Laban. Well. Jacob's relationship with his father in law Laban illustrates the Jewish principle of midachenegged MIDA, or measure for measure, having deceived his brother Esau and his father Isaac to gain blessing and birthright. The cards are turned on Jacob, and in this week's Torah reading, he experiences a form of deception from his father in law, Laban, similar to how Jacob's deception caused strife within his family. Laban's deceitfulness in giving Jacob Leah instead of Rachel after promising Rachel's hand in marriage, creates tension within the family as well. And although Jacob experiences a little taste of his own medicine, he gladly bears the burden in order to receive his beloved bride. Hey, Hanukah is just a few weeks away. If you want to have a great family experience for Hanukkah, be sure to pick up your copy of Eight Lights My Hanukkah how to and devotional that will make each night of hanukah A Night to Remember. It has well over 105 star reviews on Amazon and has consistently been in the top ten bestsellers for the Messianic Judaism category in the weeks leading up to Hanukah. So if you want to have fun and learn to be a better disciple of our Master yeshua. Then check out my book Eight Lights, using the link below. This week's tour commentary is called Make Me Like Dust and Comes from a book. Five Minute Torah, Vol two. Our portion begins with Jacob leaving Bersheva and setting out toward Padanaram in order to search for a bride from among Abraham's family. On the way, however, he spends the night in Luz, a city he ends up calling Bethel or Betel in Hebrew, which means House of God. During the night, the Lord appears to Jacob. In a dream. He sees angels ascending and descending on a ladder extending into heaven. In this dream, the Lord appears to Jacob and makes him a promise your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the Earth be blessed. Genesis 20 814 the first phrase of this passage says your offspring shall be like the dust of the Earth. Without the additional context, it doesn't sound too appealing. Who wants to be like dust? Isn't dust the lowest, most debased thing on Earth? Isn't our return to dust an inevitable future for all living creatures? Echoing Genesis 319, Ecclesiastes tells us, all go to one place, all are from the dust, and to the dust all return. Within the context, however, we find that being like dust truly is a blessing, since dust symbolizes an incalculable multiplication of Jacob's offspring. In the original Hebrew, the phrase Your offspring shall be like the dust of the Earth, and you shall spread abroad, ends with the word Ufaratsta, which means and you shall spread out. In the late 1950s, the Labavature Rebbe, Rabbi Manacham, mindel Schneerson of righteous memory, used this passage as the foundation of his Ufaratsta campaign. His goal was to spread Jewish emissaries into the most remote corners of the world in order to search out Jews and bring them closer to the Torah and to the commandments he desired to see the light of the Torah spread throughout the Earth by those who were promised to cover the Earth. But why did the Lord liken Jacob's descendants to dust? A clue in the daily prayers will help us decipher this. At the end of the Amidah, the central prayer of each of the daily times of prayer, we recite a petition attributed to Mar, the son of Rabina. We say to those who curse me, let my soul be silent, and may my soul be like dust to everyone. For many people, this is troubling. Why would anyone want to be silent? To the curses of others to the point of being like dust. Are we supposed to be the doormats for other people to walk on? This corresponds to Yeshua's teaching to his disciples, he said, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer them the other also. And from one who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. This is from Luke six, verses 27 through 29. The Apostle Paul emphasizes this principle when he says, beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. This is Romans 1219. We must also remember that the Lord is our ultimate vindicator. Dust is everywhere. No matter how hard we work to eliminate it, it creeps in and covers everything. As I said earlier, it's annoying, but we know that dust ultimately claims victory over all of man's. Monuments to his achievements, archaeologists are still working to discover the traces of entire civilizations that the dust of the Earth has swallowed over the centuries. Just as the dust of the Earth slowly conquers all and covers all, so too will the descendants of Jacob. Many people throughout history have attempted to exterminate the family of Jacob, but none have succeeded. Haman, Antiochus, Hitler and many others are all gone. But the promise of Hashem remains, and the Jewish people are like the dust of the Earth, scattered everywhere. The Eye Can See recently, the Islamic terrorist organization known as Hamas has once again unleashed its genocidal war against Israel and the Jewish people. Several other Islamic terror organizations have taken advantage of the situation and are doing their best to help bring the Jewish people to extinction as well. To add insult to injury, there are literally millions of people across the world who have picked up their anti Semitic battle cry, chanting from the river to the sea, palestine will be free. A slogan that calls for a complete eradication of the state of Israel and Jews as a whole. But we've read the end of the book and know this can't happen. God's promises are true, and no matter what the world does to try to thwart them, these plans, these promises will succeed. In the meantime, however, Israel still needs your prayers. Please be diligent and lift up the State of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Jewish people across the world, that they would be delivered from this sinat, this baseless hatred. Spread the light of Messiah and the truth of Torah wherever you are at all times.
[00:09:25] Last, as the end of the calendar year approaches, please consider a one time gift to help support this channel. I try not to make this an issue, but right now we are operating in the negative and have operating expenses that we need to pay for in order to keep producing consistent, quality Messianic content. So if you'd like to help support this channel, please consider using one of the links below. Your gift can make a difference, no matter the size. And thank you in advance for your consideration. Well, this wraps up this week's five minute Torah. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who lives in the United States. I'll see you again soon with another Messianic insight into the eternal Torah of God. Blessings from Ahmed Hatorah.
