A Time That is All Shabbat

Yom shekulo Shabbat, a time that is all Shabbat...

That is the day we are waiting for, longing to see. I have been pondering this week that the coincidence of Shabbat and Christmas would inadvertently lead millions of people to observe some measure of Shabbat that normally do not observe it. To those of us who normally do, it would provide a rare national day of rest in the United States. Only on Christmas is there no work, no buying, no selling, with people at home with their families. The streets are quiet, the stores are closed. It is a microcosm of what we could all have every week, a treasure, a sanctuary in the fabric of time. It is one day that is somewhat like what begins every Friday in Jerusalem and ends every Saturday night. A time to reflect and heal the week's struggles and sicknesses.

A famous Jewish maxim says: "More than the Jew has kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jew."

May the day come speedily, the time that is all Shabbat!

Snip on the Revolutionary Viewpoint

Here is a quick snip from an email that I wrote about the Marxist-Revolutionary viewpoint:

Here is what I know about a Marxist-Revolutionary viewpoint. The basis of Marxist socialism is class warfare, the poor against the rich, the oppressed against the oppressor, the worker against the capitalist, the have-not against the have. They use this paradigm to interpret every conflict, and wrongly assume that if everyone had more equal amounts of wealth and influence, all of our wars and conflicts would go away. But in practice, such idealism is corrupted by human nature and the very saviours of the working man become an elite, powerful, privileged class of a different kind, generally using totalitarian force to enact policies "for the good of the people." The virtue of our republic is that it admits and provides checks against human nature and is structured to give equal opportunity and protection and that is why it is such a stinkin' great place to live.

Unsafe at Any Dose

Are certain ideas so deceptive, so tantalizing, and so wrong that they are unsafe at any dose? I have been asking myself this question lately. The title of this post comes from the title of a book written by Bob Johnson warning about the dangers of psychotropic medications and other psychiatric techniques. This book is analogous to Ralph Nader's "Unsafe at Any Speed," a critique of consumer automobile safety. The basic idea is that real danger and real poison exist, and while most things can be taken in moderation there are some that cannot be taken in any amount.

In several situations, people that I know and respect have started to entertain novel teachings and beliefs and when I question how it is they are accepting these ideas, a very common answer is, "we have to be good Bereans, and search the scripture." This alludes to a passage in Acts where the believers in Berea were considered noble minded because they searched out Paul's teaching according to the scriptures (think Old Testament) to see if what he was teaching was true. Therefore, goes the argument, before we just dismiss a line of teaching we are obligated to some level of objective inquiry, and moreover perceived as narrow and rigid if we decide too quickly. I believe that the Berean approach is praiseworthy, but perhaps misunderstood.

One problem that I have with universal application of the Good Berean line of thinking is that it presumes that one has the time, skills, and resources to verify the many claims of deceptive ideas (and their exponents) in a fair and objective way. This is ludicrous. No one can stand knee-deep in a stream of speculation, and sort out point by point, "this is good, this is bad." Especially since deceptive teaching is mostly good, or at least not obviously wrong. Expressed as a percentage, maybe 70% good, 30% wrong. So what if a person is clever and wise enough to separate the 30% wrong out very cleanly and pass the 70% good along to others? In theory, this is fine. Practically, who has the time? Boundaries and categories are necessary. In my world of chemistry, extremely clean separations are difficult and energy intensive, there is always some trace impurity in anything that is purified. How much it matters depends on how sensitive the system is to impurity, and how potent the impurity is.

The second problem that I have with the Good Berean line of thinking is that the Bereans were evaluating the words of a teacher (Paul) that they had already received and trusted. Therefore, I would argue from that text that it is requisite that the teacher themselves be approved prior to hearing or evaluating any teaching. We are not required to suffer a false prophet, liar, or fool. Moses, Yeshua, and Paul all give instructions about the qualifications of teachers, leaders, and prophets. If a teacher does not meet the qualifications, they do not require any further hearing or evaluation. Yeshua said that we will know them by their fruits. A person can say whatever is expedient at the moment and draw a crowd, but they can't fake a life of righteousness for very long. Can the person maintain relationships, can they lead a family, can they provide for themselves? As Yeshua said, "Where the carcass is, there the vultures will gather." If there are vultures to be found, there is rottenness around.

Another common attitude with respect to questionable teaching and teachers is "take it or leave it." Or, "if it works for you, great." Intellectually, I'm having a hard time seeing how this is different from classic maxims of 60s and 70s latitudinarianism like "different strokes for different folks," "I'm OK, you're OK", and, "if it feels good, do it." If it's partly bad, why take it at all? I like "if in doubt, leave it out." If it's not two-hands-above-the-table, clean, and pure, what is our interest? (Philippians 4) Do we crave the approval of others for our perceived sophistication in such matters, do we fear being shunned as parochial and fundamentalist in defense of absolutes? There must be enough firmness and gravity to the truth that we can either approve or reject some ideas outright, or at least hold them at arm's length and certainly not recommend them to others until we are sure.

How about specifics? I don't mind specifics, creating categories, and triaging the halt and lame into wards where we can deal with them. What kinds of things are unsafe at any dose? Here are several that I am convinced of.

• Kabbalah: it's witchcraft, why bother?
• In the Messianic world, Two House, Sacred Name, Creator's Calendar: it's unfounded speculation based on questionable scholarship, infused with anarchy, presumption, and rebellion, why bother?
• Aliens, vampires, UFOs, the para-normal
• Freemasonry and other secret fraternal orders
• Yoga, reflexology, Traditional Chinese Medicine, transcendental meditation, acupuncture, the body electric, astrology
• Religious movements formed around a man

Maybe you feel somewhat surprised by the list above. Perhaps you beg to differ. What are some things that you consider unsafe at any dose? What do you think? (Leave a comment).

Pretends to be Rich

Another one I have been pondering (Proverbs 13:7): One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

"Pretends to be rich" = leverages his sorry soul for house, furniture, vehicles, etc. to appear rich, "yet has nothing" except for monthly payments.

"Pretends to be poor" = doesn't flaunt it, keeps saving, giving, and growing it, "yet has great wealth" it's just not liquid and obvious to the casual observer.

And He Quoth

I have decided to simplify my FB "Info" page and give the Ad-Masters less data to work with. To preserve the quotes I had collected there, I will paste them here. Thus:

All great masters are chiefly distinguished by the power of adding a second, a third, and perhaps a fourth step in a continuous line. Many a man has taken the first step. With every additional step you enhance immensely the value of your first.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

He who would give up essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety. ~Ben Franklin

Green is the new red.

Give a man a fish, and you will feed him for a day. Maybe two days, if it is a big fish.

Cattle are driven, sheep are led.
~Randy Ludeman

When I was young, I admired people who were clever. Now that I am old, I admire people who are kind. ~Abraham Joshua Heschel

And that is the end.

As a Child Grows...

her observations become more entertaining and precious.

Yesterday we were working outside in the yard, the sun was bright and it was a comfortable 55°F. As I was messing with the snow tires that I was removing for the season, Miriam reflected in her most mature and thoughtful air:

"Dad, it's such a beautiful day. On a day like this, I can't see how anyone can stay inside and watch TV."

Then, this morning, as I was helping her find something or other to get out the door for school, she showed me the fancy scarf that she planned to bring.

"Guess what, Dad? I'm bringing this scarf to school, I really need to. We're going to pretend like we're Hebrew girls with scarves on our heads, and we're going to talk to each other in Hebrew Horse Latin."

And then she gave me a sample of the Hebrew Horse Latin, a quick hug, and headed happily off to school. It's such pleasure to see her grow up.

That Smell

The song for this morning: "That Smell" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Two big olfactory adventures filled the space before work today:

1. The rotting remains of our prize pumpkins from the garden last summer. Pumpkins are one of those things that seem so neat and useful and good: pies, filler for sweet breads, roasted pumpkin seeds. But practically, they are just too big (at least in the mind) to start processing, so they sit in cold storage awaiting their turn, until, well, they end up looking like the pumpkin I dealt with this morning. The outside was mottled with black mold and the structure of the pumpkin had collapsed in a puddle of fermenting ooze on the lid of an 18-gallon Rubbermaid tote. I was able to scoop the biggest pieces into a garbage bag and mop the rest with a towel. I didn't think to get the nitrile gloves and so I have gotten occasional whiffs of pump-rot throughout the morning.
2. A rather expansive pee puddle from our rather diminutive dog. Although I don't care to confess it, I actually saw the puddle yesterday, but assumed it was something else, and at any rate, didn't want to investigate because if it wasn't the something else then it really could only be what it is, or was, now that the mess has been cleaned. And I didn't want to deal with that yesterday. For this job, I used the nitrile gloves. Samson deserves the following notes of approbation:

• He went in the basement on the tile floor, which is pretty easy to clean.
  
• He peed because he had to, his owner(s) was (were) deficient and didn't let him outside enough. This would probably be me forgetting to turn him out right before bed.
  
• He didn't lift a leg on anything, just made a puddle on the floor, confirming the previous point. If he was exacting revenge or claiming territory, he would have lifted a leg, probably in more than one location, and marked a rug or couch or book (something he had a problem with as a puppy).
  

I am happy to say that he does not often urinate in the house, and if he does, it's generally our fault. He's a patient little fellow, and is at least becoming more considerate with his indiscretions.

A final note: finding and removing these twin stench generators this morning greatly improved my outlook on a used mattress that we have been trying to clean. We expected the malodorous when spraying it down with bleach, but expected the bleach and oxidized biomass smells to improve greatly as it dried. This mattress was in the basement area drying and it seemed like it wasn't getting much better (and maybe it isn't). My positive outlook says that if we subtract rotting pumpkin and stale pee from the mix, we should be able to tell by tomorrow.

Rick Hagger of the Trolling Crones

I have been getting ready for Purim next week, and recorded the following as a tribute to the jam-filled delicacies known as hamantashen.



Go to You-Tube and give me some stars if you like it! Thanks!

Stuffy Bear in the Thinning Machine

Another of Miriam's profound novelties!

January Sun

This morning on my way to work I decided to stop for a few minutes by the river and soak up the January sun. The fog was just lifting off the river and the sun was brilliant in the clear, cool sky. From my favorite little sandbar just beyond the starch plant, I sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the warmth. It was mostly calm, with a light breeze moving banks of fog downriver. As I was leaving, a small flock of geese flew directly overhead, and as they came from the direction opposite the side of the bank I was leaning against, they didn't see me, and flew close enough that I could hear their wingbeats as they passed. It is these moments of beauty and calm that I treasure.

Tower of Siloam

Haiti Quake, photo from the Boston Globe (link)

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

(Luke 13:1-5 NKJV)

Several years ago, following the tsunami in Thailand, and then during Hurricane Katrina, I was trying to process these large destructive events. Obviously, the first response of the child of God is to feel pity, awe, sadness, and compassion. How many times is it recorded in the Gospels "and Yeshua, moved with compassion..." saw the people, healed the people, taught the people, and so on. The next response is to pray for everyone involved and to help in whatever material ways that one is able to.

When one steps past the immediate devastation and begins to ask why, one who believes the Bible to be true cannot escape noticing that the Almighty intervenes in the course of nature and in the history of nations, uplifting one, bringing down another. Certain Bible believers will go so far to suggest that most, if not all, natural calamities are a judgment of God against those afflicted, with any number of reasons for the judgment: prostitution, debauchery, witchcraft, sodomy. Still other Bible believers rush out to condemn and dissociate from such people, judging the judgmental. My discovery while asking these questions several years back was the above passage from Luke 13, where Yeshua teaches us so graciously, yet so directly, that there are none righteous, and none more worthy of punishment than any of the rest of us, if the truth be known.

The great question is not: why did God allow this to happen? But rather: why are any of us still around? If we had an inkling about the holiness and justice of God, the awesome and inapproachable dwelling of the Almighty, we could better understand his great love, favor, and mercy on all that he has made (Psalm 145:9). Why haven't we all been obliterated years ago?

I believe that God will judge sinners and bring a final and decisive judgment against the wicked kingdoms of the world at the Messiah's return. To believe otherwise is to diminish His majesty and rationalize every teaching of Yeshua and the prophets into a theistic system of self-improvement and socialization. He is still awesome, still holy, and He is still coming. But our ministry and message in the midst of sin, brokenness, and suffering is that of grace, healing, and reconciliation. Why? Because He first loved us, He first showed us favor, He first called us sons and heirs. Should we not likewise love all men?

Psa 145:8-21

The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. (9) The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. (10) All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you! (11) They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, (12) to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. (13) Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. (The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.) (14) The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. (15) The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. (16) You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. (17) The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. (18) The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. (19) He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. (20) The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. (21) My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

A Call for Biblical Manhood

I was greatly encouraged and challenged by a recent blog by Boaz Michael, founder of First Fruits of Zion, on the subject of biblical manhood entitled "My Wife-My Life." It presents a pointed critique of any who would stand outside of the body of Messiah and disengage from spiritual responsibilities simply because the "church" is broken. If it is broken, why, and who is responsible to fix it? How does Yeshua's example challenge us? He laid down His life for His Bride, all who belong to Him. This idea is nicely captured in the song "The Church" by Derek Webb (disclaimer at the end of this post). Without further preamble, here is the opening paragraphs of "My Wife-My Life." Follow the link at the end to read the rest of the article. I highly recommend that you do.

The church is broken, increasingly ineffective, and in some ways self-serving. As men we tend to see the broken state of the church and quietly rejoice in her brokenness because it gives us an excuse to pull back and withdraw. The cycle will continue to spiral downward until the church's complete destruction--and we, a gang of male revelers--will rejoice in its destruction ... b-e-c-a-u-s-e that means we will be free from our responsibilities as men to invest our time and our energy into something spiritual. We will be free from nurturing and building up the bride of Messiah--his church.

Our marriages are in a similar state: broken, ineffective, and self-serving. At some point our wives will disappoint us, they will not fulfill us, or may no longer be attractive to us. So, we will pull back and withdraw. Our male nature will tend to see the shortcomings of our wives and quietly rejoice that her shortfalls giving us an excuse to pull back from our love and commitment toward her. We gang of revelers are then justified in our jokes, our lusts, our sins. To continue reading, click here.

Disclaimer: When saying "church," what I am describing must be understood as the ecclesia, the enduring covenant people of God from Abraham to the present day. The "church" has not replaced Israel as the bride. Israel is still the bride and includes all those who have been grafted in by faith in the Messiah Yeshua (Romans 11).

More Lab Test Poems

Another installment from the same stash as those from yesterday.

Towelette

Lack of sleep

Lag bolt soup

The mechanical advantage

Of an inclined plane

Mint savor sweet slice

Tall towelette, can you spell towelette?

Le toilette, c'est vrai!

Eau du poulet

Pelt a poultry, put it in the pantry

Stacks of scant portions

Ninety Two

Ninety-two and far away

Deep blue eyes and hair thin and gray

We sleep our best for most of each afternoon

Velvet couch with missing threads

Heads on Dowel Rods

None of us can cook, so let's make lunch

None of us can think, so let's decide for everyone else

None of us can sing, so let's fill the radio with our songs

None of us stays home, we are heads on dowel rods

Bow down to us as though we were gods.

Captain Glandular

Captain Glandular

struck by the scenic grandeur

of nuclear age construction

among sage and tumbleweeds.

Left lymph node swollen

sinus plugged with puss painful

and toothache resulting from

inexperienced dentistry.

Dentistry is not destiny and

pain is not propulsion.

The frightened and weak

creature is a victim of his own fears.

He only seeks his basic needs,

instinct, calculation, exertion.

His world is fragile, subject to

dissolution with the slightest misfortune.

Muster, must he muster his strength?

His redeemer is mighty, the

outstretched arm can save.

Instinct, calculation, exertion

cannot overcome volitional inertia.

Lift up your hands, clap them together,

call on the Lord, one stronger will frighten

those who frighten you.

Lab Test Poems

The following short poems I wrote while tending various lab processes. There can often be 15 and 20 minutes between major actions (or reactions, as the case may be), and so if there is no data to crunch, nobody to cackle with, I sometimes write poems. I recently discovered a small collection of such poems, and now present them to you.

Dasani

Bottled water, bottled water
Water bottled for my thirst
More than likely it is nothing
More than city water
And some osmosis
It will not cure your halitosis

City water, reverse osmosis
Cannot cure your halitosis!
Ozark Trail, hail, hail!
Will rip you off with every pail!

Funny

Not to say you’re funny
Funny can cover rotten floors
Like strong perfume o’er drunken breath.
Don’t say funny, don’t say such stuff,
We’ve always been too mature to notice.
Old canard, the cannery floor is teeming
with trimmings and tidbits, all of the misses
and extras that almost made it in.
In, into the compressed and paper-labeled cylinder of tin,
We ate pickled flounder with tonic and gin.

Merchant

In every pinecone between tufted leaves
are the seeds and the pollen that everyone breathes
Borne up on a tradewind, borne down by the clouds,
these heralds of newness battle across vast
wastes of Tyvek, Hardiplank, OSB, and
cross-hatched vinyl windows.
A residential reservation of voluntary servitude
to the large retailers, volume discounts,
close-outs, sales, and specials,
the merchant peddling price pornography,
the masses reveling in the merchandisiac.


From boredom during a recent conference:

Italiano

Galvanize the narrow gap between your eyes
the spiral swirl will mesmerize
your faith trades chairs with Italian food
to sell one’s soul for tastes-so-good.
Can one imagine the height of greed
that brought about this unseemly deed?
The mesmerific elevation of need,
to exchange one’s pearls for a pasta feed.
Italiano, Italiano, curly hair today
but gone tomorrow.
Down the hatch and eliminated,
dung is uniformly fated,
outside the city, outside the wall,
the creep of maggots, the smoldering pall.
Time is come for consideration
how much does one value salvation?
An ephemeral spiral hath bewitched thee
and parmesan peddlers have deftly tricked thee.

-SST, Gatlinburg, TN Oct. 2009



Aisle displays

Aisle displays, idle forays into
Newfound hobbies, and needs unnoticed
Suggestion
Awakening oneself to
Foam rubber horizons, a
Waking world of
Wing nuts and lockwashers.
No tools required.
No skills required.
Self-installing software module
Get plugged in, the operating
system will install you, update you,
and keep you from harm.
Educate for vocation
A model of adaptation

Hanford

Flaxen grey whispers
Of a landscape echoing
Restless confusion
A weathered woman weary of festive chic
Unsure of what to wear
First this, now that, her
simple brown sweater, quiet, hiding nothing
A suit for all seasons
Under dead and damp, rustlings,
A breeze beneath the canopy of last season's excess
Next year's promise is guarded,
given, grown.

Exo

Walk away from the exoskeleton
Calcified shell
Let rainwater wash it, thin and dissolve it
Habits and notions, fashionable poses
Wash it, thin and dissolve it
Vulnerable and fluid, avail the renewal
New forms and old fears
Impulse ossifies quite by surprise

August

When a better day seems
so far, so far away
What we hold tightly, we miss,
we mourn, misery, when it is gone
If we hold only promises
If only dreams
We were always free to imagine
Free to create
The meadow blossomed beneath our feet
but withered brown in the August heat
What held such delicate, fragrant
promise hangs scentless, dry,
Tragedy

Grabbing the Dog by the Ears

Proverbs 26:17 NKJV He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears.