In
the last email, we left the newly created man (I will now call him “Adam”)
standing in a garden in Eden alone – the garden
of the god Yahweh. Adam is surrounded by trees that produce beautiful and appealing
fruit. But, even though its fruit is beautiful too, Yahweh commanded Adam to
not eat from one tree. The penalty for eating
the forbidden fruit is death! Continue reading at --
One of Jesus’s earliest memories was no doubt watching and listening to his family when they gathered to pray the Shema at sunrise before the day’s work began and after the working work day was over at sunset . He also heard and participated in praying the Shema at their synagogue. He was surrounded by neighbors who also prayed the same prayer in their homes every day. The Hebrew word for prayer is tefilah . It is derived from the root Pe-Lamed-Lamed and the word l'hitpalel, meaning “ to judge oneself .” This surprising word origin provides insight into the purpose of Jewish prayer. The most important part of any Jewish prayer, whether it be a prayer of petition, of thanksgiving, of praise of God, or of confession, is the introspection it provides, the moment that we spend looking inside ourselves, seeing our role in the universe and our relationship to God. [1] Most of Jewish prayers are expressed in the first person plural, "us" instead of "me," an...
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