#12 tribes of israel hallelu

[sefarad-haami]

Print of Humphreys enthroned after defeat of Jewish boxer Mendoza

"The Triumph, January 1788" es un grabado de Thomas Harmar que muestra una procesión celebrando la victoria del boxeador Richard Humphreys sobre Daniel Mendoza, un boxeador judío, en una pelea en Inglaterra. Mendoza quedó gravemente herido en esta pelea, lo que permitió a Humphreys y sus seguidores presumir de haber derrotado a un boxeador judío muy popular. Aunque perdió esta primera pelea, Mendoza ganó las siguientes dos en 1789 y 1790. Mendoza, conocido como "Mendoza el Judío", fue el primer boxeador judío en convertirse en campeón de Inglaterra, manteniendo el título entre 1792 y 1795. A pesar de ser más bajo y más liviano que otros boxeadores, Mendoza usaba velocidad, agilidad y técnica para ganar sus peleas, cambiando la manera en que se boxeaba y creando lo que se conoció como el "estilo Mendoza". El grabado es parte de una colección de más de 900 objetos que muestran artefactos y material visual con temas antisemitas. El legado de Mendoza fue importante para la comunidad judía, que históricamente había sido marginada, y su éxito ayudó a mejorar la aceptación de los judíos en la sociedad británica.

[pamphletstoinspire]

Does It Even Matter How We Treat Others? The 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time (September 29th)

Does it matter how we treat others? What does my neighbor’s suffering have to do with me? Can I continue living in comfort while bypassing those around me who are in misery? These are questions that the Readings for this Sunday raise, and to which they provide uncomfortable answers. Let’s read and let the Holy Spirit move us outside our comfort zone.

1. The First Reading is Am 6:1a, 4-7:

Thus says the LORD the God of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall! Improvising to the music of the harp, like David, they devise their own accompaniment. They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph! Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.

Amos is one of the oldest of the literary (writing) prophets. A Judean (from the southern kingdom) who was sent to northern Israel, he is best remembered for his strident denunciations of the social injustices of his day.

In today’s passage, Isaiah rebukes the aristocracy of Jerusalem, the wealthy elite, who led lives of comfort and leisure in the capital city of the southern kingdom but were “not made ill by the collapse of Joseph,” that is, cared nothing for the fact that their fellow Israelites to the north (Joseph=the northern kingdom) were being decimated, impoverished, and killed by repeated incursions of enemy armies. The fact that ten of the twelve tribes of the LORD were being faced with exile and extinction did not make an impression on these wealthy southerners. As a result, Amos prophecies that they will share the same fate as their northern cousins: “They shall be the first to go into exile!” So it came to be: when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon later invaded Judea on multiple occasions, he exiled the Judean people, starting with the wealthiest.

2. The Responsorial Psalm is Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10:

R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!

Blessed he who keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets captives free. R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

The LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who were bowed down; the LORD loves the just. The LORD protects strangers. R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

The fatherless and the widow he sustains, but the way of the wicked he thwarts. The LORD shall reign forever; your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia. R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

Psalm 146 is the first of five “Alleluia” psalms that end the psalter. Each begins with the Hebrew word “Hallelu-Yah” a second-masculine-plural imperative meaning “Praise the LORD!” This set of five psalms is repeated tympanny beats and trumpet fanfares at the end of a great symphony. They close out the psalter on a raucous chorus of praise.

This Psalm stresses the character of the LORD, the God of Israel: He is on the side of the poor, the downtrodden, those who are weak, vulnerable and innocent. This is the character of the God we worship.

Not everyone believes God is like this. Other religions and other persons worship a god of power, a god who “helps those who help themselves, a god who looks out for his own interests and expects you to do the same.

The ancient Israelite Psalmist was making a daring statement by saying the creator had particular concern for the weak. We can see strong lines of continuity between this psalm and the ministry of Jesus, especially Jesus teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, summarized by the Beatitudes. Notice how in this psalm the “LORD reigning forever,” i.e. the kingdom of God, is linked to the comforting of the downtrodden, just as in the Beatitudes.

3. The Second Reading is 1 Tm 6:11-16:

But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession, to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ that the blessed and only ruler will make manifest at the proper time, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.

The Second Reading proceeds on its way semi-continuously through Paul’s letters to individuals. Here we reach the conclusion of St. Paul’s first letter to Timothy, and we here his concluding charge to his young protégé.

Although this Reading was not chosen for thematic agreement with the Gospel, nonetheless we see a commonality in theme. St. Paul links virtues of compassion with the kingdom of God. He exhorts Timothy to practice “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.” These virtues, especially “love, patience, and gentleness,” forbid us to be callous toward those in need, harsh with the downtrodden, brusque with the uneducated. The practice of these virtues, St. Paul insists, is linked to one day beholding “our Lord Jesus Christ, that blessed and only ruler … the King of Kings and Lord of lords.” Yes, Jesus Christ is omnipotent and eternal God, who cares for the weak, the poor, the shamed, the rejected, the ridiculed, the slow, the feeble. Blessed are those who practice “love patience, and gentleness” toward such.

4. The Gospel is Lk 16:19-31:

Jesus said to the Pharisees: "There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.' Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’ He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"

Several things attract our attention about this Gospel. First of all, we notice that the parable of the “Rich Man and Lazarus” is often employed in debates about purgatory, with some Protestants insisting that it disproves this doctrine, and some Catholics suggesting that it actually supports it.

Jewish views of the afterlife at the time of our Lord held that those who died went to the netherworld (Sheol in classical Hebrew or Hades in Greek) where they awaited the Day of Judgment. Within the netherworld there were places of comfort as well as places of pain. The “bosom of Abraham” was the best part of the netherworld, a pleasant land where the righteous enjoyed the consolation of their ancestors, particularly Abraham himself. The “bosom of Abraham” was separated from the rest of the netherworld, where others received punishments appropriate to their sins, by rivers or chasms.

In this parable, then, both the rich man and Lazarus are awaiting the final judgment, and neither is in heaven nor in hell. They are in Sheol, the place of the dead. It is to this Sheol or Hades that Christ descended to usher the righteous into the presence of God, i.e. heaven.

Does the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus have bearing on the doctrine of purgatory? It does indirectly. Jewish faith held that it was possible to intercede for those in the netherworld awaiting judgment (2 Macc 12:44-45; Apocalypse of Zephaniah 11:1-2). In fact, in some Jewish writings of the period, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob intercede for the dead awaiting judgment. So we can say that the Christian doctrine of purgatory—a place or state of purification of those in the intermediate state—is rooted in ancient Jewish faith. The Rich Man of the parable is in a state similar to purgatory — he is experiencing suffering, but he has not been condemned to hell and is still able to communicate with the righteous (which would not be possible in hell).

Let’s turn to the moral meaning of the passage. The Rich Man is receiving punishment in the afterlife because of his sins, and the parable implies that his primary sin was his utter disregard for the welfare of a fellow Israelite, Lazarus, who begged at the door of his house in utter squalor, lacking even basic necessities. In this attitude he parallels the wealthy elite of Jerusalem from the First Reading, who were not in the least distressed by the decimation of their cousins to the north. Jesus is condemning the callousness of those who live lives of self-indulgence while ignoring the needs of the poor, especially the poor of their own community, or their own community of faith.

The conclusion of the dialogue between Abraham and the Rich Man is interesting. The Rich Man pleads with Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers, but Abraham responds, “They have Moses and the Prophets. If they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.”

“Moses and the Prophets” is a reference to the sum total of Scripture, often referred to as the “Law and the Prophets.” Both Moses and the prophets (like Amos above!) stressed the importance of practicing economic justice and charity toward the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor kinsman (see Deut 15, Lev 25). Those that did not heed God’s prophets had hard hearts, and even a resurrection would not persuade them, because their impediment to repentance was not some rational objection to the existence or power of God, but an attachment to riches.

Jesus words were prophetic. As it turns out, the wealthy of Jerusalem are not persuaded by the resurrection of Lazarus (!), just as they were not moved to repentance by the Scriptures. John records the aftermath of the resurrection of Lazarus:

John 11: 46 but some of [the Judeans] went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council, and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on thus, every one will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” …. 53 So from that day on they took counsel how to put him to death.

We also note how Jesus ties his own ministry as one who “rises from the dead” with belief in the testimony of “Moses and the Prophets.” In doing so, Jesus rules out any form of Christianity which tries to reject the Old Testament, the Scriptures of Israel (i.e. Marcionism). On a personal note, this was the text that persuaded me to become an Old Testament scholar, since Jesus ties belief in the resurrection (i.e. Christian faith) to confidence in the prophets of Israel (i.e. the Old Testament).

Sometimes we are tempted to think, “If only God would pour out manifestations of His power, then evangelism would be easier. We would convert the nation.” But Jesus teaches us to think more realistically about miracles. After three years of the most remarkable miracle ministry in the history of the human race, Jesus still found himself abandoned by even his closest followers at the time of his greatest need. Even after his resurrection, the officials to whom that miracle were reported paid the guards to suppress the news (Matt 28:11-15)!

Miracles gather crowds, but they only occasionally lead to the conversion of heart that Jesus seeks. Those that are hardened by greed, lust, or other passions can always find a way to explain a miracle away, and even if they can’t, they will simply ignore it or regard it as an inexplicable fluke. There have been public miracles in modern times witnessed by thousands (like the apparitions in Zeitoun, Egypt) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMEWxRB-1dc but haven’t led to mass conversion.

So what do the Readings say to us this Lord’s Day? Firstly, to repent of any self-indulgence in our own lifestyle, and any lack of generosity toward the poor, especially those closest to us. Secondly, to start paying heed to the Scriptures today by turning to God in conversion, rather than waiting for some sign, some apparition, some “act of God” to wake us up.

From: https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/

[poetryofchrist]

Psalms 2 and 149

Christopher Page is writing on the psalms here - a long journey as any reader of this blog will know. I am looking forward to doing it again as much as I would look forward to walking say an end to end trail in East Sooke Park again. To begin at the beginning needs a pointer to the end. I know I could walk the some of these day trips, but I might choose a loop or have a vehicle at each end of the trail. For the Psalms, is it a loop? Or is it a journey from A to B? Probably both. Look at the rocks and the sea in the second psalm and the second to last psalm.

Here is an image of the words of Psalms 149 reflecting the words of Psalms 2. 

Two verses in Psalms 149 focus words and concepts in Psalms 2

Here are some questions off the top of my head.

Who are the kings? 

Who are the people 'under his mercy'?

Who is the king?

Were these poems written together? Did the poet of Psalms 149 know Psalms 2 or vice-versa? 

Is this supporting or against monarchy?

Does the Psalter support violence against the enemy?

Here are the psalms in full. Square text is represented one for one in Latin characters using SimHebrew.

In these COVID times, it is curious that the word for throng in verse 1 is related to the modern Hebrew word for 'feeling', roughly 'regash'. It is also used in the psalm of betrayal, Psalms 55, Together we had sweet intimacy. // In the house of God we walked in the throng. This root seems to morph in its Biblical Hebrew 'meaning' of a great crowd to a modern Hebrew 'meaning' of great emotion. 

thlim b Psalms 2 Fn Min Max Syll a lmh rgwu goiim ulaumim ihgu-riq 1 Why such a throng of nations? and tribes in empty muttering? g 3e 4B 6 6 b itiixbu mlci-arx vroznim nosdu-ikd yl-ihvh vyl-mwiko 2 They station themselves, these sovereigns of earth, these rule-makers reasoning as one, over Yahweh and over his anointed: f 3e 4A 12 8 g nntqh at-mosrotimo vnwlich mmnu ybotimo 3 Let us snap their bonds, and kiss good-bye to their cords. g 3e 4B 8 11 d iowb bwmiim iwkq adonii ilyg-lmo 4 The one sitting in the heavens, he laughs. My Lord derides them. 3e 4B 7 7 h az idbr alimo bapo ubkrono ibhlmo 5 Then he will speak to them in his anger, and in his burning vex them. C 3e 4C 10 10 v vani nscti mlci yl-xion hr-qodwi 6 I myself have offered as libation my own king, on Zion, my holy hill. g 3e 4B 8 6 z asprh al-koq ihvh amr alii bni ath ani hiom ildtiç 7 I will recount the decree. Yahweh promised to me: You are my son. I myself this day gave birth to you. 3e 4A 5 10 8 k wal mmni vatnh goiim nkltç vakuztç apsi-arx 8 Ask me and I give the nations as your legacy, and as yours to hold fast, the ends of the earth. 3e 4C 15 8 't troym bwb't brzl ccli ioxr tnpxm 9 You will injure them with an iron sceptre. Like fashioned vessels, you will smash them. g 3e 4B 8 7 i vyth mlcim hwcilu hivvsru wop'ti arx 10 So now, you sovereigns, let there be insight. Be warned you who judge on earth. g 3e 4B 9 7 ia ybdu at-ihvh birah vgilu brydh 11 Serve Yahweh in fear, and rejoice in trembling. 3e 4B 8 6 ib nwqu-br pn-ianf vtabdu drç ci-ibyr cmy't apo awri cl-kosi bo 12 Kiss, each of you, pure lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for he kindles as a hint of his anger. Happy are all who take refuge in him. 3e 4C 19 6

thlim qm't Psalms 149 Fn Min Max Syll a hllu-ih wiru lihvh wir kdw thilto bqhl ksidim 1 Hallelu Yah. Sing to Yahweh a new song. His praise in the congregation of the-many who are under mercy. f 3e 4B 10 9 b iwmk iwral byowiv bni-xion igilu bmlcm 2 Let Israel be glad in the one who made him. Let the children of Zion rejoice in their king. 3e 4B 8 9 g ihllu wmo bmkol btof vcinor izmru-lo 3 Let them praise his name in a dance. With drum and harp let them psalm him. 3e 4B 8 8 d ci-roxh ihvh bymo ipar ynvvim biwuyh 4 For Yahweh finds favour with his people. He adorns the afflicted with salvation. 3e 4B 7 9 h iylzu ksidim bcbod irnnu yl-mwcbotm 5 Let the-many who are under mercy exult in glory. Let them shout aloud when they lie down. 3e 4B 9 8 v rommot al bgronm vkrb pipiiot bidm 6 Vocal in their celebrations of God, and handy with their multi-edged sword. 3e 4B 6 9 z lywot nqmh bgoiim tockot blaumim 7 Making vengeance in the nations, corrections in the tribes. 3e 4B 9 6 k lasor mlcihm bziqim vncbdihm bcbli brzl 8 To bind their sovereigns in chains, and these glorious ones with iron fetters. 3e 4B 8 10 't lywot bhm mwp't ctub hdr hua lcl-ksidiv hllu-ih 9 To make in them judgment inscribed. This honour to all under his mercy. Hallelu Yah. 3e 4C 20

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[180brg]

Psalm 105

Psalm 105

1 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;    make known among the nations what he has done. 2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;    tell of all his wonderful acts. 3 Glory in his holy name;    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 4 Look to the Lord and his strength;    seek his face always.

5 Remember the wonders he has done,    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, 6 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. 7 He is the Lord our God;    his judgments are in all the earth.

8 He remembers his covenant forever,    the promise he made, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant he made with Abraham,    the oath he swore to Isaac. 10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,    to Israel as an everlasting covenant: 11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan    as the portion you will inherit.”

12 When they were but few in number,    few indeed, and strangers in it, 13 they wandered from nation to nation,    from one kingdom to another. 14 He allowed no one to oppress them;    for their sake he rebuked kings: 15 “Do not touch my anointed ones;    do my prophets no harm.”

16 He called down famine on the land    and destroyed all their supplies of food; 17 and he sent a man before them—    Joseph, sold as a slave. 18 They bruised his feet with shackles,    his neck was put in irons, 19 till what he foretold came to pass,    till the word of the Lord proved him true. 20 The king sent and released him,    the ruler of peoples set him free. 21 He made him master of his household,    ruler over all he possessed, 22 to instruct his princes as he pleased    and teach his elders wisdom.

23 Then Israel entered Egypt;    Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham. 24 The Lord made his people very fruitful;    he made them too numerous for their foes, 25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people,    to conspire against his servants. 26 He sent Moses his servant,    and Aaron, whom he had chosen. 27 They performed his signs among them,    his wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness and made the land dark—    for had they not rebelled against his words? 29 He turned their waters into blood,    causing their fish to die. 30 Their land teemed with frogs,    which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers. 31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,    and gnats throughout their country. 32 He turned their rain into hail,    with lightning throughout their land; 33 he struck down their vines and fig trees    and shattered the trees of their country. 34 He spoke, and the locusts came,    grasshoppers without number; 35 they ate up every green thing in their land,    ate up the produce of their soil. 36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land,    the firstfruits of all their manhood. 37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,    and from among their tribes no one faltered. 38 Egypt was glad when they left,    because dread of Israel had fallen on them.

39 He spread out a cloud as a covering,    and a fire to give light at night. 40 They asked, and he brought them quail;    he fed them well with the bread of heaven. 41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;    it flowed like a river in the desert.

42 For he remembered his holy promise    given to his servant Abraham. 43 He brought out his people with rejoicing,    his chosen ones with shouts of joy; 44 he gave them the lands of the nations,    and they fell heir to what others had toiled for— 45 that they might keep his precepts    and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord.[a]

Footnotes:

Psalm 105:45 Hebrew Hallelu Yah