Something to Think About
I just finished reading ”Kabbalah A Brief Introduction for Christians” by Tamar Frankiel. Consider the following excerpt: pg 86
This is a temptation that occurs all the time at the level of Manifestation: to build ourselves a rigid little universe in which we insist on being the star players.
How do we correct our rigidity? One way is to remember that responsibility is not something that can belong to a person (”it’s my responsibility”). Responsibility is the ability to respond, which implies a larger context, a community, a world of other actors and thinkers, and God as a major player too, with intricate processes linking heaven to earth. This is the Jewish concept of convenant. We are all responsible for one another and to one another. You may be a prince or princess, given dominion over your part of the world, but you live in a larger world of nobility, including a divine king who is intimately involved.
I recalled that I was first introduced to this idea years ago while listening to Dan Juster, a Messianic Jew, and I have to admit it was foreign to my then current thinking; our decisions about where to live, work, etc. should not be based on where to find the best job, or even where we want to be, but on the group or community that God has you living in. We are to have a Kingdom mentality, not thinking of ourselves in terms of just individuals, but a part of a much bigger picture, and much larger purpose. It was a great teaching on the importance of how we view our connection with those with whom we fellowship, such as our fellow church members, or group of some kind to which we have joined ourselves. With Kingdom thinking, that relationship will be thought of like the teaching that marriage is till death do us part (or some unusual, major reason God says to go). The key being that we allow ourselves to make the commitment and obey God, not base our choices on our “economy”, whether they be emotional, financial, etc.
As for the excerpt: I was moved by the concept of responsibility not being about something that is “on” us, but it is the ability to respond. That is a whole new way of looking at it for me. It really resonated with a dream teaching I received from Opal, a being who shows up in my dreams and teaches me at times, and the teaching was simply this: You are given many opportunities in your life to inconvenience people. It is in that inconvenience that the person has the ability to receive blessing or cursing, depending on their response to the inconvenience. So even your being a problem can be a blessing if the other person responds rightly.
Everything we do as we live and move can be an expression of Him; even down to the things that seem to be “not so good”. Do you get it? My giving to others isn’t limited to my money, my time, etc.; even my needing can be a mode of giving (I give a person an opportunity to bless themselves by helping me). We are sooooooo connected to each other, even those we don’t know. And as the watchman teaching in Ezekiel (I think) says, I am responsible for the actions of others, in so far as I have given them instruction, or failed to give it.
I was also taught once in twilight that God cares more about our response to things than what we initiate. The teaching about “a soft word turning away wrath” isn’t about getting the other person to let go of their anger, it is about our response to someone’s anger. Oh my God! The more I think about this the more incredibly powerful it is!
I hope this is making sense. Tamar explained in the book that we are all like small holograms of God. No matter how small you cut the pieces, each piece is still a complete picture. That does not make us God, but it certainly reveals that we have all of Him in us. And so does all of creation. We just all express Him in different ways. The trees are emotional and clap their hands with joy; the rocks are memorial and only speak; the stars sing; etc.
What I do does effect you, and others, not just me. And that goes back to what I think in my heart is who or what I am. I am also response able to get my thinking right so my actions are right so my expression of Him is right so I can help you get your thinking right so your actions are right………
Love to get this conversation going. You know the synagogues in Jesus’ day were lively places where debate and discussion took place. There’s no reason why that can’t happen here.
This is a temptation that occurs all the time at the level of Manifestation: to build ourselves a rigid little universe in which we insist on being the star players.
How do we correct our rigidity? One way is to remember that responsibility is not something that can belong to a person (”it’s my responsibility”). Responsibility is the ability to respond, which implies a larger context, a community, a world of other actors and thinkers, and God as a major player too, with intricate processes linking heaven to earth. This is the Jewish concept of convenant. We are all responsible for one another and to one another. You may be a prince or princess, given dominion over your part of the world, but you live in a larger world of nobility, including a divine king who is intimately involved.
I recalled that I was first introduced to this idea years ago while listening to Dan Juster, a Messianic Jew, and I have to admit it was foreign to my then current thinking; our decisions about where to live, work, etc. should not be based on where to find the best job, or even where we want to be, but on the group or community that God has you living in. We are to have a Kingdom mentality, not thinking of ourselves in terms of just individuals, but a part of a much bigger picture, and much larger purpose. It was a great teaching on the importance of how we view our connection with those with whom we fellowship, such as our fellow church members, or group of some kind to which we have joined ourselves. With Kingdom thinking, that relationship will be thought of like the teaching that marriage is till death do us part (or some unusual, major reason God says to go). The key being that we allow ourselves to make the commitment and obey God, not base our choices on our “economy”, whether they be emotional, financial, etc.
As for the excerpt: I was moved by the concept of responsibility not being about something that is “on” us, but it is the ability to respond. That is a whole new way of looking at it for me. It really resonated with a dream teaching I received from Opal, a being who shows up in my dreams and teaches me at times, and the teaching was simply this: You are given many opportunities in your life to inconvenience people. It is in that inconvenience that the person has the ability to receive blessing or cursing, depending on their response to the inconvenience. So even your being a problem can be a blessing if the other person responds rightly.
Everything we do as we live and move can be an expression of Him; even down to the things that seem to be “not so good”. Do you get it? My giving to others isn’t limited to my money, my time, etc.; even my needing can be a mode of giving (I give a person an opportunity to bless themselves by helping me). We are sooooooo connected to each other, even those we don’t know. And as the watchman teaching in Ezekiel (I think) says, I am responsible for the actions of others, in so far as I have given them instruction, or failed to give it.
I was also taught once in twilight that God cares more about our response to things than what we initiate. The teaching about “a soft word turning away wrath” isn’t about getting the other person to let go of their anger, it is about our response to someone’s anger. Oh my God! The more I think about this the more incredibly powerful it is!
I hope this is making sense. Tamar explained in the book that we are all like small holograms of God. No matter how small you cut the pieces, each piece is still a complete picture. That does not make us God, but it certainly reveals that we have all of Him in us. And so does all of creation. We just all express Him in different ways. The trees are emotional and clap their hands with joy; the rocks are memorial and only speak; the stars sing; etc.
What I do does effect you, and others, not just me. And that goes back to what I think in my heart is who or what I am. I am also response able to get my thinking right so my actions are right so my expression of Him is right so I can help you get your thinking right so your actions are right………
Love to get this conversation going. You know the synagogues in Jesus’ day were lively places where debate and discussion took place. There’s no reason why that can’t happen here.
Views: 4
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Comment by Diane M. Czekala on April 19, 2009 at 12:39pm -
Bears witness to me. I agree. I love the part about the trees are emotional and they clap their hands. I am very interested in how nature praises the Lord...I know this was not the point or your writing but it is what I felt lead to comment on. One morning I woke up in the morning and had my window open. The birds of the area were all nearby and chirping the most awesome song in Unison. It was a ONE-ness as when they prayed in the temple in Solomon's day their sound was one. Well these birds were singing something I have never heard before or since and it was supernatural. They were singing in a tongue and it swooped me up to the throne room. I was in awe that the birds were in deep worship to their God. I was thankful that God allowed me to experience it. If we don't praise the Lord the Rocks will praise the Lord. Wow! No rock should ever praise the Lord more than we who have salvation.
One note and please respond to me about this, is not Kabbalah a bad thing? I have often read by very strong Christians and prophets that we should stay away from Kabbalah, that it is an occult religion off spring of Judiasm? Correct me if I am wrong?
God Bless,
Diane
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Comment by Alice Blackwelder on April 19, 2009 at 5:18pm
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Kabbalah is mystical Judaism. It is not something that should be studied and sought out for your relationship with God. It is however, a wonderful look at the Hebraic perspective of God, which I personally long to have more of. I would not recommend anyone to study it completely, but I would recommend if you want to know a little about it to read Tamar Frankiel's works. I own about 4 of her books and love her writing style and her openness to Christianity. Some of her perspective on God has really enhanced my understanding. I am a firm believer that God speaks in many different ways. Having used an ass in the Scriptures, he has spoken to me through unbelievers, movies, books, nature, and animals. He has also spoken to me through Tamar's writings. I appreciate her balanced look at spirituality. She encourages people who are followers of Jesus to apply what she is teaching to your own faith.
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Comment by Marion Clark Ingram on April 19, 2009 at 6:14pm
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We do realize that everthing "spiritual" does not necessarily have to do with God or Christianity.
A few years ago, as I was praying for a friend who was studying Kabbalah in search of a cure, the only answer that I heard in my spirit was that "there is still healing by the blood of the Lamb and by the name of Jesus."
I looked further into the teachings when it was reported that the secular singer, Madonna, was following it, but the Holy Spirit did not recommend those teachings to me. Therefore, my knowledge of it is very limited since I did not continue to investigate those beliefs any further.
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Comment by Dennis Huxley on April 20, 2009 at 12:54pm
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I couldn't cite any one source for what I'm going to try to say here, but the totality of my attempts to know God through mysticism (without which, I believe, our knowledge of God will be largely acedemic) have led me to believe that everything in creation is intended to be parts of one whole. Everything in heaven is alive and has consciousness, and that life and consciousness, or awareness, flow from God, moment by moment. When creation is redeemed, we, as God's people, will all be one with creation. Our lives individually will be necessary parts of the whole, and our being will be an expression of who God is, just as the rest of creation will be (or is). I've not read the Kabbalah, but I've read short excerpts written mostly by rabbis ABOUT the Kabbalah, and everything I've read and heard strikes me as being a good representation of the little I know about God that I didn't learn in "church". When I walk with Christ, I have the mind of Christ, and when I have the mind of Christ, I can easily see, hear, smell, taste, and/or feel the difference between the real and the counterfeit. I think the "church" has been taught to be too fearful about things. Certainly one can fall into serious error. It's important to know that, as carnal beings, we walk a treacherous path. But it's exactly like war. You can work in supply, where it's relatively safe. But who wants to work in supply? The front is where the battles take place.
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Comment by jeromy and Marcelia on April 20, 2009 at 8:57pm -
I have a book about rabbinic Judaism and them looking for the "messiah".
They mention that Kabbalah is not so well taken by all rabbis,some spit on the ground after they say it.
kabbalists believe YHVH has hidden names like 80 or so and if you can learn them and say them in a specific order you can command God? They also beleive Hebrew is a magik language, They say if you pray from the siddur in Hebrew you don"t have to mean it but in English you do?
Christ in us is the only hope of glory!
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Comment by Alice Blackwelder on April 21, 2009 at 6:41am
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I knew that mentioning Kabbalah would get some responses, but I am happy that all have been gracious. I absolutely agree, there is NO OTHER WAY than through the blood of Jesus. I am a devoted follower of Jesus. My husband is a Jewish believer and therefore we embrace those roots. I am not endorsing Kabbalah, nor encouraging anyone to study it. I think that is clear and I do not think anyone has misunderstood that. I just hope the whole point of this post isn't lost because of a reaction to Kabbalah. I do not read most writings on it, but do love Tamar Frankiel's balanced teaching which encourages relationship with God and speaks against the very things noted in the above response. All it takes to find God in fullness (through Messiah) is a hunger to know truth. Some of my favorite people to interact with are New Agers, gay people, etc. Why? Because many of them are hungry, spiritually seeking, and open to what some see as WHACKED OUT stuff. (Let's be honest, some of the stuff in the life of a believer is pretty WHACKED OUT, in a good way, of course.)
I, along with others in our group, go to New Age fairs, Psychic fairs, and interpret dreams and offer spiritual readings for people. (Before you freak out about that, spiritual readings as opposed to psychic readings are simply telling the people what God is saying to them, or about them). When you ask God what He would like to say this person, you will be amazed at what happens. Some call it prophetic words, but whatever you call it, it touches people's heart to know that God is personally speaking to them. But back to the point.
We are all connected, and what I do, say, think, etc. does affect other than just me. As a member of the Kingdom I do not have the right to my own opinion. When I think I do, without realizing it, I can become a empire builder, creating my own little universe with me as the star. (or should I say sun, that all revolves around) This can happen in our home groups as well.
The body of Christ is not made up of a bunch of individuals, though you would never know it from looking at most of the church (and I include me in that). Yes, there are individual cells in the body, but none that work independently. And though I am one person, I am part of a larger system that really depends on my understanding of what unity really means, and accepting my part which is simply to stay response able to all those who are also part of me.
May I just add that I really appreciate the open, honest, and loving exchange that is happening here. I am truly grateful to be who I am, share that with others who may not agree, and yet still be heard and accepted. Thank you to all who post on this site and the love you show through your gracious though honest response.
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Comment by jeromy and Marcelia on April 21, 2009 at 8:14am
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I would say more power to you , you seem like a mature believer and I would say that Yeshua would be at those fairs also.
The building centered god is dead religious types, you know he is the God of yesterday, and that used to be and he did once but no more. That teaching would say Sister you are off. You know the only way he speaks to us now is the Bible"the only problem is the scriptures tell of a living Savior .and if we are his sheep we will HEAR his VOICE"!!
I was just commenting on what I have found. I occasionally use a siddur from art scroll to pray. This has alot of Kabbalah prayers in it . I do not say those prayers.
First fruits of zion is in the process of making a messianic siddur I will be glad when they are done with it.
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