Yitro
Exodus 18:1 - 20:23
Haftorah for Today
Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6; 9:5-6
T=
his
week’s Torah portion is one of the most spectacular passages of
Scripture. It is the narrative of the events of
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A=
ccording
to the Torah, although we show our love for God by keeping his commandments,
Deut. 6:5 (part of the Shema) tells us to love God with all of our heart, soul and might. This means =
that
we do not simply love him by keeping commandments. He love him with every o=
unce
of ourselves, both inwardly and outwardly. If we are holy in this way, we w=
ill
then show this love to other people. In Lev. 19:18 we read that “you
shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Hillel said that Deut. 6:5 and Lev.
19:18 are the two greatest commandments. Yeshua also said this. Therefore, =
we
see that to be a holy person and a holy nation we must be loving people. If we co=
nsider
ourselves to be a “holy people” we will be a caring people. Goi=
ng
back to Lev. 19:2 notice that immediately following the statement about bei=
ng
holy we read these words. Every one=
of
you shall reverence his mother and his father. Isn’t it interesting tha=
t the
first thing we read after the command to be holy like God is to revere moth=
er
and father? Isn’t it also interesting that in the shema
it says in Deut 6 that if we love God with our whole being, His word will
inundate our homes? It tells =
us
that family relationships are important to God and that part of holiness is=
to
treat people well - especially parents and family members. Perhaps the hardest people t=
o love
are the people in our own homes - our husbands and wives; perhaps even our
children; or our parents. In =
the
first chapter of Isaiah, the prophet says in the name of God that he hates =
the
Sabbaths and festivals. The reason is that the people have strayed away from
the true holiness of God in their hearts. We may celebrate the holidays wel=
l;
we may be religious people and do it well. We may be knowledgeable about th=
e traditions
and keep them meticulously. But if we are not inwardly devoted to God manifesting=
that love in our relationships with others - we are not a holy people.
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style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The Haftorah portion comes from the narrative of the call=
of
Isaiah. In Is.6 the prophet sees God in his glory. The response of Isaiah i=
s to
recognize his sinfulness. He says, =
Woe is
me, I am a man of unclean lips. Isaiah was a sophisticated, wealthy man=
of
his day. Yet standing in the face of a holy God, Isaiah saw his own lack of
holiness. By using the phrase “unclean lips” perhaps he was
confessing that much of the sin in our lives comes from what we say. How often have we maligned others =
and
hurt others and perhaps used God’s name in vain? We may know how to
conduct a Shabbat service or how to keep our traditions but if we are not
loving our neighbor as ourselves it means nothing. Space does not permit me to quote =
the
passage in the Brit Chadasha which depicts this kind of holiness
toward others - the way in which God has loved us. I will quote only several
verses 1 Cor. 13:1-4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag
and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is
not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice=
in
unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. Thew=
se
words describe god’s love toward us as manifested both in the Torah a=
nd
in His manifestation in Yeshua.
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