He Was a Gentle Soul

January 17, 2006 by 1 Comment

I first met Phil Berg in August of 1990. At that time, he was working at the Institute of Holy Land Studies (currently known as Jerusalem University College) as the campus manager and all-around odd-jobber. We both lived upstairs in the main building of the old Bishop Gobat School on Mount Zion. At the top of the stairs our doors faced each other, his on the north, mine on the south. Phil’s door was almost always open throughout the day and late into the nights. He was a quiet, contemplative man, a voracious reader and usually could be found in his room reading a book about the Middle East.

One of the things I remember most about Phil is that he was always even tempered with a selfless spirit, ready to help in whatever way had been requested of him. Whether it was carrying luggage up or down the narrow and steep stairs, shuttling people to or from the airport, or opening the Oasis at an odd hour, Phil was willing to serve.

Phil served me in a different way, though. During the fall 1990 semester, the prospects of war in Iraq were growing every day. Frequently, Saddam Hussein published threats to launch an assault on Israel. Tensions among Israelis were growing in a noticeable way, and I wasn’t terribly affected by all the threats of destruction…until one particular day when I became pretty anxious about the whole thing. On that day, Phil had opened the Oasis and I was the only customer. We struck up a conversation about the white elephant in the room, the pending war, and in a moment of vulnerability, I shared with Phil how I was feeling about it all. I don’t remember what he said, but I do remember the effects of his message: my soul was instantly calmed.

I was so moved by that moment that I wrote it up in a short story and sent it to Decision magazine, thinking it might be published. It wasn’t, but that doesn’t reduce the importance of what I learned when Phil demonstrated two Bible verses for me:

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver (Proverbs 25:11 KJV).”

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear (Ephesians 4:29 NASB).”

Phil, I’m a better person for having known you. Thanks.

You can read Todd Bolen’s tribute to Phil here.

Filed Under: Death, Ephesians, New Testament, Old Testament, Proverbs, Thanks

Silver and Zahav Part 1

January 5, 2006 by Leave a Comment

One Means One, Or Does It?

I received some excerpts of a paper by Eliyahoo Silver and Isaac Even Zahav in which they intend to explain why Jews categorically don’t accept the New Testament or Christianity. Unfortunately, I have been unable to acquire the complete 20-page document and only have small excerpts.

Apparently, the authors are no longer circulating their polemical piece, if “they” ever were: I have reasons to doubt their existence as actual people. However, the arguments put forth in their paper are fairly common issues that surface in Jewish Christian dialogues.

I have been asked to respond to their points, and the following is my offering to that end.

According to Silver and Zahav, “The Jewish God is one, as it is written: ‘Hear Israel, Y-H-W-H is our God, Y-H-W-H is one’ (Deut. 6:4). So according to the Bible there is one God, and that one God is one. One means one; not two, not three, not three in one, not two in one, not three divisions of one, but ONE WHOLE ONE ALONE…”

Deuteronomy 6:4 is a great starting point for this discussion because it is so familiar to Jewish people. In fact, it would be hard to underestimate its familiarity. Among Jews, it is commonly offered as the definitive statement on the oneness of God and is known as the “Shema.” Almost every Jewish doorpost is decorated with a small box containing this verse and frequently one can even see cars decorated with bumper stickers displaying the “Shema.” It’s everywhere. Don’t be fooled, though, the fact that this verse is so well known, shouldn’t suggest that everyone understands what it actually says. This is the case regarding Silver and Zahav: Their rendering of Deuteronomy 6:4 is accurate, but misleading because it leaves the reader with the wrong impression. (Their additional commentary is simply wrong.)

The reason I suggest their translation is accurate, yet misleading is because in Hebrew there exists two different words that are translated as the English word “one.” The word “yahid” means an absolute or single one. For example: a steel ball, a rock, or a son. The word “echad” means a composite one. For example: an egg (three parts: shell, white, yolk), an automobile (thousands of parts make one unit), or a cluster of grapes.

The following biblical examples of “yahid” and “echad” help clarify the distinction: Gen 22:2 – “Take now your son, your only (yahid) son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. . . “Judges 11:34 – “Now she was his one and only (yahid) child; besides her he had no son or daughter.”Ps 22:20 – “Deliver my soul from the sword, my only (yahid) life from the power of the dog.”Ps 25:16 – “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely [alone] (yahid) and afflicted.” Genesis 1:5 – “…there was evening and and there was morning, one (echad) day.”Genesis 2:24 – “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one (echad) flesh.” Ezra 2:64 and Nehemiah 7:66 -“… forty two thousand three hundred and threescore stood as one (echad).”
I will render Deuteronomy 6:4 so you can see what Moses actually wrote: “Hear Israel, Y-H-W-H is our God, Y-H-W-H is ECHAD.”

If God wanted to communicate that “one means one; not two, not three, not three in one, not two in one, not three divisions of one, but ONE WHOLE ONE ALONE…” then it seems that He would have used the word “yahid” and NOT “echad”.

God chose “echad” because He wanted to communicate that His oneness includes the unity of His composite. We learn from a survey of the Jewish Bible [Old Testament] that God presents Himself in three persons: God you can not see face to face and live, God you can see face to face and live, and the Spirit of God. Christians refer to this as the Trinity.

To be continued…

Filed Under: Hebrew, Judaica, Ministry, New Testament, Old Testament, Q and A, Trinity

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2005 by Leave a Comment
Psalm 1

How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the LORD’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not survive the judgment, and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin. (HCSB)

Want to have a Happy New Year? Really? Well, the psalmist offers us the way.

To offer any commentary here seems to wrongly imply that the psalmist’s words are difficult to understand. However, I will suggest that by delighting and meditating in the LORD’s instruction we will find that the unhappy areas of our lives will be changed.

Beware, though, the necessary change may be a painful process of transformation. But be certain, true happiness will be the end result.

Filed Under: Holiness, Old Testament, Psalms
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