Tuesday, June 19, 2007

…My Name shall be declared in all the earth.

Today we have substituted doctrinal belief for personal belief, and that is why so many people are devoted to causes and so few are devoted to YHWH. Although use of the Name of YHWH was clearly commonplace in Tenach times (Old Testament times), by the first century the Name was used only in the Temple. Even when reading the Scriptures, mainline Judaism used euphemisms or substitutions instead of pronouncing the name (j.Meg. 71d). Thus the ban on use of the name conflicted directly with the Torah itself. There is a direct contradiction between the Rabbinical precept that the name should be "hidden" and "kept secret" (b.Pes. 50a; b.Kidd. 71a) and the Torah precept that the name should be "declared in all the earth." The Tenach speaks of apostates "which think to cause my people to forget my name" (Jer. 23:27). The precept of keeping the name secret also conflicts with other Tenach passages:

"Many people do not really want to be devoted to YHWH, but only desire to be a social member of some inert religious organization. Adonai is deeply offensive to some educated minds of today, to those who only want Him to be their Friend, and who are unwilling to accept Him in any other way. If I am devoted solely to the cause of humanity, I will soon be exhausted and come to the point where my love will waver and stumble. But if I love Adonai personally and passionately, I can serve humanity, even though people may treat me like a "doormat." The secret of a successful believer’s life is devotion.
A self-centered, sickly type of religion, is not the vigorous and simple life of a child of G-d. Until we get into this right and proper relationship with G-d, it is simply a case of our "hanging on by the skin of our teeth," although we say, "What a wonderful G-d I have!" Yet there is nothing at all in that which indicates the miracle of redemption. Launch out in reckless, unrestrained belief that the redemption you seek is complete. Then don’t worry anymore about yourself, but begin to do as according to the Talmud, (tractate Taanit 2a), prayer is a Biblical command: "You shall serve G-d with your whole heart (Deuteronomy 11:13) - What service is performed with the heart? This is prayer". The prayers are therefore referred to as Avodah sheba-Lev (service from in the heart) has said, in essence, "Pray for the friend who comes to you at midnight, pray for the servants of G-d, and pray for all men." Pray with the realization that you are perfect only in that you are G-d's creation, not on the basis of this argument: "Oh, Lord, I have done my best; please hear me now."
How long is it going to take G-d to free us from the unhealthy habit of thinking only about ourselves? We must get to the point of being sick to death of ourselves, until there is no longer any surprise at anything G-d might tell us about ourselves. We cannot reach and understand the depths of our own meagerness. We must get to the place where we are right with G-d. Once we are there, we have to pour out our lives for all we are worth in this ministry of the inner life.

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