Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Wisdom Wednesday #14 - A Blessing for Wives


Continueing our study of Proverbs 31, this week I will share how this passage is incorporated into our weekly Shabbat service. 

On Shabbat we take a break from our mundane weekly routine. It is a time to regroup and pray, to eat and rejoice, to spend time with family and friends, to study and share.  Most of all, we turn away from the world and draw near to Hashem.  It is a time to be refreshed.

In our synagogue, we do the traditional Jewish liturgy in both Hebrew and English.  My husband, Rabbi Jem, leads the service, but I have a part also.  Each week, I light the candles (see the photo above) and say this prayer:  

Blessed are You, oh L-rd, our G-d, King of the Universe; Who has sanctified us in Your Word, and given us Yeshua our Messiah, and commanded us to be light to the world.  Ah-main.

Later, during the liturgy, my husband leads the husbands of the congregation in the blessing of the wife:  

A woman of valor who can find, she is worth far more than precious jewels.  The heart of her husband safely trusts in her, and he profits greatly thereby. (based on Proverbs 31)

It is such a good feeling to be blessed by my husband.  He looks into my eyes and shows me his approval as he speaks the blessing.  I love it.

My husband not only does this on Shabbat, but every day of our lives.  He often says, "Have I told you today how much I love you?"  Usually, he already has. (big smile here)

Every morning he greets me with, "Good morning, Gorgeous."  As I said last week, I am far from gorgeous first thing in the morning, but I love hearing it.

He compliments my cooking no matter what I put on the table.  Even if all I do is open a can of soup he says, "This is a delicious meal."  

I say, "All I did was open the can and warm it up."  

He'll smile and say, "But you do it so well." 

I am very blessed to be loved by him, and I pray to never take it for granted.  I love him, too, and I esteem him above every man I've ever known.  I know part of the reason he is such a fine gentleman is the teachings he received from his conservative Jewish father and mother.  They have passed away, but I am grateful to them for teaching him to be such a loving, kind husband.  

He is what is known in Judaism as a "mensch" - a good, righteous man.  His favorite saying is, "Do the right thing,"  and he is a perfect example of practicing what he preaches.  

No matter where we are, he is constantly on the look out for someone who needs help. A good example:  last week, a big box fell off a truck at an intersection.  He stopped the car, got out, and picked up the debris.  Another time, he spent twenty minutes trying to retrieve a little girl's wayward balloon in a grocery store.  What a guy.

I admire him, respect him and am so honored to be his wife and partner in ministry.  I love being loved by him.


***
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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Wisdom Wednesday #13 - True Beauty


The focus for today from Proverbs 31 is the second part of verse twenty-eight, to the end of the chapter:


ק 28 Her children arise; they make her happy; 
        her husband too, as he praises her:
ר 29 “Many women have done wonderful things, but you surpass them all!”  
ש 30 Charm can lie, beauty can vanish,
        but a woman who fears Adonai should be praised.
ת 31 Give her a share in what she produces;
        let her works speak her praises at the city gates.**

Every day of my life my sweet husband greets me with, "Good Morning, Gorgeous!" He says this when I look a mess - no makeup, with bed-head, stumbling toward the kitchen for my first cup of coffee.  He says I don't need makeup, but my mirror tells me the truth:  I go to bed looking like Elizabeth Taylor, and wake up looking like Charles DeGaulle.  

I love his praises  of my outward beauty, but that's not the most important thing to me.   I love it more when he says, "You are a true Proverbs 31 woman."  He also tells me quite often, "You are the best wife in the world." That really makes me so happy because it is the desire of my heart.  That is my goal, because as the verse says, "Charm can lie, and beauty can vanish."  

We live in a culture that focuses on outward beauty.  Women get focused on their bodies and make physical fitness or being sexy their god.  Some get focused on clothing and have to buy the best labels of clothes, shoes or handbags.  Women cut their bodies through plastic surgery in order to have smaller thighs or bigger breasts.  This is all wrong.  

Health is important.  Looking our best is important.  But these things are not the most important thing.  Inner beauty and wisdom and righteousness do not fade away.  On the contrary, they keep a woman beautiful until she passes away from this world.  

I have known several G-dly women in their eighties and nineties who radiate the beauty and joy of  ADONAI.  They have a glow about them because His Word and Spirit are the driving forces of their lives.  I hope you have known a Proverbs 31 woman.  If you have,  make her your role model for the  years ahead.  

If you don't know a G-dly woman, be that kind of woman yourself, and teach the younger women G-d's ways.  He has given you His manual for womanhood in Proverbs 31 and other Scriptures. I pray you will take His instructions to heart.  You will be blessed.

Next week, I will share with you how Jewish husbands bless and praise their wives every week during Shabbat.

** from the Complete Jewish Bible

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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Wisdom Wednesday #12 - Happy Mothers




 
We are almost to the end of Proverb 31, and today our focus is on:
        
ק 28 Her children arise; they make her happy; (The Complete Jewish Bible)
     
Since I did not convert to Messianic Judaism until eight years ago, my daughters were not reared that way.  They were reared in the church, and our life revolved around church services and activities.

I thought you, Dear Gail-Friends would enjoy reading this piece, which I pretty much modeled as a mother while rearing my children. I found it decades ago, so I'm not sure who wrote it. I've heard that it came from Ann Lander's column in a newspaper.
***
The Meanest Mother in the World


"We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from other kids had, too.

Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then, life was really tough! Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.

Because of our mother, we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property, or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. We never got drunk, took up smoking, stayed out all night, or a million other things, other kids did. Sundays were reserved for church, and we never missed once. We knew better than to ask to spend the night with a friend on Saturdays.

Now that we have left home, we are all God-fearing, educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that's what is wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean moms anymore."
***

I get tickled every time I read this piece because it reminds me so much of myself.  My oldest daughter loves to tell her favorite story about her teenage years  She says, "When my friends talk about the music videos back in the 80's, I tell them I don't know about them because I was in prison. My mom didn't let me watch MTV."  I don't feel sorry for her one bit, and we laugh about it.  

So take heart, young mothers.  Your children might think you're mean while they are growing up, but that's okay.  I believe that if you keep on obeying G-d in rearing and teaching them, they will turn out to be good people.

Parenting is serious business, because we are shaping a man or woman for G-d's Kingdom.  One thing I always kept foremost in my mind was that I was not called to be their friend.  I was called to be their mother.  I was responsible to G-d for what I allowed in my home, and how I reared my daughters. 

We are friends now, but I am still responsible for my role as a mother in teaching and mentoring them when an opportunity presents itself.  I will be a mother until I pass away from this world. 

I prayed to conceive my children, and did my very best to rear them the way G-d desires.  I made plenty of mistakes, but they turned out well, and I'm very proud of them.  My greatest joy is to know that they are walking in obedience to Hashem.  Both of my daughters say I was a good mother, and that makes me very happy, just as verse twenty-eight says.  

Next week, we'll talk about the second part of the verse. 

***
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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

My Trip to Israel - Caesarea Maritima


Can you tell I'm excited? 
I was very excited to visit this site because I didn't see it on my previous trip in 1996.
I was blown away, both literally and physically because that day we had wind gusts of 40 - 50 mph.  I gave up on wearing my sun hat.
Our first full day of touring started early, as we headed out for Caesarea Maritima on the shores of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.  This fortress was just one of the magnificent architectural marvels built by Herod the Great, the self-appointed ruler of Judea.  He also rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem and its surrounding walls, and the amazing fortress at Masada on the Dead Sea.

You may remember Herod from the Bible.  He was the evil ruler who commanded all male children under the age of two be killed after learning of his birth from the three Magi. Yes, he would have killed Yeshua, but ADONAI intervened.  You can read the story in    Matthew 2:1-22 and Luke 1:5.

Herod was a Jew, but turned his back on ADONAI and on his own people.  He embraced the Roman empire in order to achieve his lofty goals, and taxed the Jews unmercifully to finance his lavish building projects. He named this city after his fellow Roman,  Augustus Caesar. 
 
Ruins of the palace
The aqueduct
The first photo directly above is of the remains of  Herod's palace.  He built the huge harbor, and then built his palace far out into the sea.  In the middle was a fresh water swimming pool.  The second photo shows the aqueducts built to carry fresh water to the site.  The water came from Mount Carmel, ten miles away. Beautiful mosaics covered the floor of the palace.  Isn't it amazing that they are still intact after thousands of years?
Below is our tour group, sitting in the Roman-style amphitheater, which seated 3,500 people. No amps needed, even on the top row because the acoustics are incredible!  The floor and stage are built of creamy white marble, with beautiful, intricate carvings and embellishments.
 

The photo above is from the horse and chariot arena on the site.  Aren't these decorations gorgeous?  Imagine what this place looked like when brand new.  Quite the sight to see, don't you think?

We watched a very interesting movie presentation about this site, that showed how it might have looked two thousand years ago.  Caesarea Maritima was a showplace in it's time, and a center of Roman culture and entertainment.  I came away amazed by the abilities of the people to create such marvelous architecture without the modern-day tools we depend on. 

Next stop is Mount Carmel.  I hope you'll stop by next week.

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Wisdom Wednesday #11 - Idleness





As promised, this week, we'll focus on the second part of this verse from Proverbs 31:

צ 27 She watches how things go in her house,
        not eating the bread of idleness.

 
When I think of all the work women had to do in Bible times, I wonder how they would ever have time to be idle, don't you?  


The internet is my greatest time waster.  I liken it to browsing in a library, which is one of my favorite things to do.  I can sit down to look up a phone number, and a couple of hours later I'm still there, learning about travel to Great Britain or pinning house projects and recipes on Pinterest.  The odd thing about it is, it feels like I'm busy.  I'm not.  I'm being idle.  Wasting time.


With all the many things I do, and have to keep track of, I've found it helpful to keep a list like this on a clipboard. It really helps me stay organized and focused.  



On the back, I have a column for "To Buy" and "House Projects" - with lots of space to write notes to myself.  I'm a list-maker, and love crossing things off.  

I also use the Six Most Important Things list idea, which I learned from Mary Kay Ash.  Every day, I make a list of those things to do, and I categorize them by importance or urgency.  Then, I start with number one and work my way down.  If I don't finish, I add it to tomorrow's list.  This really works well for me. 


These are all in addition to my daily routine of house maintenance, cooking three meals a day, and laundry.  I've found it really helpful to just do a little bit every day, rather than a full day of housecleaning. 

If I finish everything on my list, then I can enjoy some time on Pinterest without guilt.  

One of my all-time favorite books is Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman by Ann Ortlund.  She taught me a great deal about discipline and organization.  I highly recommend every woman read it.

I'd love to know what helps you stay organized and focused.

Shavua Tov! (Have a good week)
***
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Monday, February 3, 2014

My Trip to Israel - Tel Aviv


As I said in last week's post, I wanted to show you some things at our hotel in Tel-Aviv before I tell you about Cesaria Maritime.

The photo above is of the hand-washing area at the entrance to the restaurant.  Many of the Jews in Israel are Orthodox, and the washing cup is important to them. You can see it on the counter to the right of the red bowl.  Although the photo doesn't show it, the cup has two handles. There are also prayers said while washing the hands. I found the explanation of this cup at Chabad.org:  

"After the first hand is washed, it is clean and pure. The unwashed hand, however, is not. If the two hands touch after the first hand was washed, it is necessary to rewash the first one. We use a two-handled cup to make the process simpler, making it easier to avoid the hands touching each other."

I like the idea of eating with clean hands, don't you?  We are conservative Jews, and do not carry cleanliness that far, although we respect other Jews customs. 

Hashem has given us many instructions about cleanliness and health in the Torah, and they are important.  Many times, the Jews have avoided plagues just because of their practices related to cleanliness.  (One of the many blessings of Torah observance.)


The hotels holds Shabbat services in the restaurant, and these are items on a table near the entrance.  The Hebrew siddurs (prayer books)caught my eye, as well as the tallit bag and the bottles of wine used in the service.  I felt sad that we would be leaving, as I would have enjoyed attending a Shabbat service there.

I just had to show you the beautiful items on the breakfast buffet. (I promise this series is not going to focus on food.)  It just was delightful to see the items with Hebrew as well as English descriptions.  Below are more olives and a fabulous array of cheeses. 

This table had beautiful fresh and dried fruit and preserves.  In the foregroud is the halva, which I was surprised to see at breakfast.  My husband and I love this food, which is sesame seeds mixed with honey.  I say my husband loves it, because he does, but he can't eat it because it causes his lips to swell.  So sad to miss such a delightful treat which, by the way, one can purchase in the U.S.
 

Another thing that was unique to me was seeing salads on a breakfast buffet.  That was common in Israel.  


Oh, and the breads were so beautiful, and so good.  Most are whole-grain breads, not the white stuff in many American restaurants.

This is our tour guide, who is a Ukrainian Jew.  Her husband is a Messianic rabbi also, and they have a ministry in Jerusalem.  She spoke with an accent which was hard to catch sometimes, but what a wealth of information she shared with us.  



We boarded the bus after breakfast and traveled through Tel-Aviv.  Our tour did not include that city, but hopefully, I will see it on my next trip.  Below are a couple of photos on the street there.  Most of the signs are in Hebrew, but some are English.  Most people I dealt with on the trip spoke both, which was a relief.    I had been studying Hebrew in the previous year, but I'm not very good at it yet.  I will continue to study, because I hope to take another trip.  Believe me, you always coming away with a desire to return.


It looks like it's going to be a bright, bright sun-shiny day as we head out for Ceasaria Maritime.  

Since this post was so long, I'll save that for next week.  Shavua Tov! (Have a good week)




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