READING HEBREW
God s Calling of Abram
IN THIS LECTURE: 1. Reading from the Torah 2. Reading from the Siddur 3. Reading from the Dead Sea Scrolls
Words of the Week Look for these words while reading dwelling, (noun) house, - ב י ת shelter, fortress, palace, family. ancestor, (noun) father, - א ב master, teacher. nation, (noun) people, - ג וי non-israelites. great, (adjective) big, - ג ד ול extensive, substantive, mightily. blessing, (noun) - ב ר כ ה prosperity, gift, present. family, (noun) - מ ש פ ח ה extended family, clan, nation. saying, (noun) word, - ד ב ר speech, promise, precept, counsel, matter, thing. star. (noun) a - כ וכ ב semen, (noun) seed, - ז ר ע offspring, progeny, descendants. (verb) to trust, to believe - א מ ן in, to sustain, to support, to agree, to affirm.
Reading Torah
In Gen 1-11 God reaches out to entire human kind. Now things change and the LORD is singling out one Mesopotamian man - Abram. God promises to make of him a great nation, his people, not numbered in the seventy nations of Genesis 10. In Genesis 12:1-3 we read about the promises the Lord made to Abram
ו י אמ ר י הו ה א ל א ב ר ם ל ך ל ך מ א ר צ ך ומ מ ול ד ת ך ומ ב ית א ב י ך א ל ה א ר שאש ר א ר א The Lord said to Abram: Go forth from your native land and from your father s house to the land that I will show you. (Gen. 12:1)
ו א ע ש ך ל ג וי ג ד ול ו שאג ד ל ה ש מ ך ו ה י ה ו שאב ר כ ך ב ר כ ה I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. (Gen. 12:2)
God promised to make Abram into a great nation. This Hebrew phrase is significant - ג וי ג ד ול (goy gadol) - literally big or great nation. As you may know, Hebrew places adjectives after nouns, not before, as in other many languages. So, while in English we say big ג וי ג ד ול nation, in Hebrew (goy gadol) - nation big. ג וי ם The plural for nation is (goyim) often translated as Gentiles (nations).
ו שאב ר כ ה מ ב ר כ י ך ומ ק ל ל ך א א ר ו נ ב ר כ ו ב ך כ ל מ ש פ ח ת ה שאד מ ה I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; And all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you. (Gen. 12:3)
In Hebrew the verb to bless is ל ב ר ך (levarech). ברך This is based on the root which is connected to the word knee, and implies rendering service to someone (bending the knee). Therefore one possible meaning of this verse may be: I will serve those who serve you! To serve implies doing good to someone, which will in turn result in a benefit for the recipient.
God also promises Abraham that everyone who curses him מ ק ל ל ך (mekalelcha) will א א ר cursed be in turn be (aor). The strength of this promise, however, is lost in translation. The first word for curse - מ ק ל ל ך (mekalelcha) comes from a root that literally means to make light of something heavy. The second word for curse א א ר (aor) means something like to detest, to abhor, to harm or to destroy.
א ח ר ה ד ב ר ים ה א ל ה ה י ה ד ב ר יהוה א ל א ב ר ם ב מ שחז ה ל אמ ר א ל ת יר א א ב ר ם א נ כ י מ ג ן ל ך ש כ ר ך ה ר ב ה מ א ד Sometime later, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision. He said, Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great. (Gen. 15:1)
Abram responded to God by verbalizing his ultimate pain, and challenging the real value of the promised blessing in the face of his ultimate limitation childlessness. Abram then added that he has accepted his lot in life and is willing to leave all that he now owns, not to his child, but to his steward-servant Eliezer of Damascus. In response, God assures him that this will not be so, then, to give him a real visual impression we read in Genesis 15:5-6:
ו י וצ א א ת ו ה ח וצ ה ו י אמ ר ה ב ט נ א ה ש מ י מ ה ה כ וכ ב ים וס פ ר א ם ת וכ ל ל ס פ ר א ת ם ו י אמ ר ל ו כ ה י ה י ה ז ר ע ך He took him outside and said, Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them. And He added, So shall your offspring be. (Gen. 15:5)
ב יהוה ו ה א מ ן ו י ח ש ב ה ל ו צ ד ק ה And because he put his trust in the LORD, He reckoned it to his merit. (Gen. 15:6)
צ ד ק ה The Hebrew word (tzedakah) can be variously translated as justice, righteousness, vindication, equity, or even as in modern Jewish context as charity (in the sense that true charity is a righteous deed). So a person, who is referred to as a righteous person, is called a צ ד יק (tzadik), while someone who is simply in the right in a disagreement is a צ וד ק (tzodek).
ו י ח ש ב ה The Hebrew word (vayach shveah) is actually a phrase that can also be translated as and counted her (in this case her is righteousness) It can be said and accounted her or and reckoned her. For example, the Modern Hebrew a word related to ח ש ב ון this phrase is (cheshbon). It means a bill or an account in the bank.
ו י ה י א ב ר ם ב ן ת ש ע ים ש נ ה ו ת ש ע ש נ ים ו י ר א יהוה א ל א ב ר ם ו י אמ ר א ל יו שאנ י א ל ש ד י ה ת ה ל ך ל פ נ י ו ה י ה ת מ ים When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, I am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be blameless. (Gen. 17:1)
The name א ל ש ד י (El Shaddai) is usually translated as God Almighty. Many think that it comes from Hebrew destroyer but most scholars admit that the origin of this term is uncertain. It is possible that the root for Shadai is the same as ש ד (shad) breast. This makes the literal translation of this phrase: God is my breast (or breasts). If we understand the female breast as a symbol of sustenance and lifeprovision as well as fertility, we can also see how El Shadai can also be translated as God my provider.
Reading Siddur
ב ר כ נ ו, פ נ י ך... א ב ינ ו, ב ר וך כ ל נ ו כ א ח ד ב א ור א ת ה יהוה ע מ ו י ש ר א ל ב ש ל ום ה מ ב ר ך א ת Bless us, our Father, even all of us together, with the light of your countenance... Blessed are you, O Lord, who blesses his people Israel with peace. (from Amidah)
Reading Dead Sea Scrolls
כ י מ צ י ון ת צ א ת ור ה וד ב ר יהוה ה ג וי ם ב ין ו ה וכ יח ל ע מ ים ר ב ים מ יר וש ל ם ו ש פ ט...for the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples. (Is. 2:3-4)
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