Is the whole Glen Beck "Bring Crap To Jerusalem" series of events over yet?
Is he gone yet?
Then make way for the next "honored" Christian to be welcomed in the Holy Land....
Influential Nigerian Pastor To Visit Israel Next WeekI find it interesting that both this trip to Nigeria, and the various events of current, Israeli Right-wing poster boy Glen Beck, have been taking place during this time of year, when our traditional readings are from the beginning and middle of the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy).
Deputy Minister Kara is back from a trip intended to rally support for Israel in Africa.
Gil Ronen, August 17, 2011
(Gershon Mesiqa, Samaria Council Head; David HaIvri, his assistant; Adeboye; Likud MK Ayoub Kara)
Nigerian Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), will visit Israel next week and meet the Prime Minister and President....
Sounds pretty clear to me. Of course, we do rely on our feelings and guess work when attempting to understand random verses in Torah. We turn to our Oral Tradition, our unbroken chain from Moshe Rabbeinu.דברים ז,כה-כו (פר' עקב)
פְּסִילֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶם, תִּשְׂרְפוּן בָּאֵשׁ; לֹא-תַחְמֹד כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב עֲלֵיהֶם, וְלָקַחְתָּ לָךְ--פֶּן תִּוָּקֵשׁ בּוֹ, כִּי תוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הוּא. וְלֹא-תָבִיא תוֹעֵבָה אֶל-בֵּיתֶךָ, וְהָיִיתָ חֵרֶם כָּמֹהוּ; שַׁקֵּץ תְּשַׁקְּצֶנּוּ וְתַעֵב תְּתַעֲבֶנּוּ, כִּי-חֵרֶם הוּא
Deuteronomy 7:25-26 (Parashath Eqev)
The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and be accursed like unto it; thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.
Only a few verses before Parashath Eqev in Parashath We'ethhanan, we are presented with the negative misswah of "Lo Tehonem" - Do not have mercy [upon them].
Included in this misswah, are the prohibitions against providing them with medical care , selling them houses or land, giving them gifts, or even saying anything nice about them or about their actions (Ramba"m Hil Avodah Zarah 10:3-7).דברים ז,ב (פר' ואתחנן)
וּנְתָנָם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לְפָנֶיךָ--וְהִכִּיתָם: הַחֲרֵם תַּחֲרִים אֹתָם, לֹא-תִכְרֹת לָהֶם בְּרִית וְלֹא תְחָנֵּם
Deuteronomy 7:2
and when the LORD thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;
We are not to do anything which makes it easy for them to get any hold on the land, and (God forbid!) settle here.
The verse states very clearly what we are supposed to do. Not having mercy on them is mentioned last in the list. It is only a worst care scenario, when we are unsuccessful in carrying out the first three instructions.
Each time we say to ourselves, "I can handle them; they can't convert me," or "They don't want to convert me," or "I can be their friend and take their money," we are moving in the opposite direction that the Torah intends. Some of the, now forgotten, reasons behind many of our misswoth, separate us, and keep us away from these people.
Our history with one group of practitioners of avodah zarah, the Christians, parallels the Torah too closely for comfort.
Esau got angry at his brother Ya'aqov for taking his birthright. He chased after him, with the intentions killing him. That strategy did not work. So, upon receiving gifts and placation from Ya'aqov, Esau tried a new strategy. He welcomed Ya'aqov, and wanted Ya'aqov to join with him.
Ya'aqov did the correct thing. He made excuses for why he could not come with him, and in the end he stayed as far away as possible.
Many sources teach that Yesh"u (acronym for may his name and memory be wiped out) was the reincarnation of Esau.
The Christians first tried to kill us, convert us, or segregate us. The latter part of the 20th Century, the Christians changed their tact, proclaiming their love for Israel, the Jewish People, and our Torah. The Hebraization of Christianity accelerated. More and more Christians were donning kippoth (male head covering) and talithoth (four-cornered, fringed garment)Jews were taken in by Esau's most dangerous weapons, the tongue and the smile, along with knowledge of the Bible and Hebrew which surpasses that of most assimilated Jews.
While Jews were already being lost, left and right, to Esau through intermarriage, Esau was also harvesting Jewish souls to his avodah zarah (forbidden worship).
Anyone who bothers to do the research will see that many of these groups have their eyes not only only Jewish souls, but on our Land. There are those claiming to be descendants of Israel's tribes, and thus claiming areas of our Land as their inheritance. They believe that as they take on misswoth (Torah commandments), the Jews will take on their belief in Yesh"u as their messiah.
Enter the Jews. Believing we need [human] allies to balances out the power of the Left's alliances with Yishma'el (Arabs) and his sympathizers, Right-wing Jews opened their eyes to the great opportunities which Esau presented: public relations influence within the U. S. Congress, and, of course, money.
Our Sages z"l teach us that עשו שונא ליעקב - Esau hates Ya'aqov, yet we never learn. Instead we are continually fooled by Esau's next choice of weapon. We fool ourselves into thinking that this time it will somehow be different.דברים טז,יט (פר' שופטים)
וְלֹא-תִקַּח שֹׁחַד--כִּי הַשֹּׁחַד יְעַוֵּר עֵינֵי חֲכָמִים, וִיסַלֵּף דִּבְרֵי צַדִּיקִם...
Deuteronomy 16:19 (Parashath Shofetim)
...not should you take a bribe, for a bribe blind the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.
We are supposed to destroy avodah zarah, not invite the people who practice it into our homes as honored guests.
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A great collection of Jewish sources on the subject of Christianity can be found on the Jewish Teachings Blog, in the piece The Pope, Yeshu The Bastard, & The Messiah, following the main article, "Why The Pope Came To Mt. Zion" by Rabbi Efraim Sprecher.
Also, don't be fooled by those Christians who try to distance themselves from the Vatican and Catholicism, or say "That's not the real Christianity that we practice."
They all believe in the same texts which they hold to be sacred.
B"H
ReplyDeleteThese are NOT Torah observant Jews, these are TOIORs (Their Own Ideas Observant Renegate)s, at best. They do what their own heads
"think", which is NOT what the Torah says. Lashon hora many will say, in trying to defend them. The fact however is, that it is not. I don't know about you, but I'm angry: How dare they sell out Hashem, Torah and - me, just like that, as if a falsely percieved so called "interest of Israel" justified going against halacha.
Bravo!
ReplyDeleteHe's a missionary
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/harvest-of-souls-at-rccg-convention/
In the forefront of missionary activity out of Africa, Pastor Adeboye has achieved, through various global ministry and social organs, a great following for Christ Jesus. A counselor to pastors and heads of governments, this venerable elder statesman’s influence has today far outstripped his lowly background, and his all-pervading humility.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/magazine/12churches-t.html?pagewanted=all
The Redeemed Church offers a case study of the crosscurrents that are drawing Christianity southward. Its leader and guiding force, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, sums up the church’s history this way: “Made in heaven, assembled in Nigeria, exported to the world.” He preaches that his followers — known as the Redeemed — are a chosen people and have a special covenant with God, one that promises that the church will one day claim an adherent in every family on earth.