Day 17: Harmony and Compassion are Beautiful

 BLESSING FOR COUNTING THE OMER:

Baruch ata Adonai, ELOHEYNU melech ha-olam, asher kiddeshanu bidvarecha v’tzi-va-noo al sifeerat ha-omer.

Blessed are you, O Adonai our GOD, King of the universe Who has sanctified us by your Word and commanded us concerning the Counting of the Omer.

Today is seventeen days, which is two weeks and three days of the Omer.

Today’s Tiferet meditation originates from B'rit Chadashah Mark 12:28-33 ²⁸  Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”  ²⁹ Yeshua answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. ³¹  and the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  ³²  So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. ³³ And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

   The fifth book of the Five Books of Moses is called Deuteronomy in Greek and Mishneh Torah in Hebrew, both of which mean "the Second Torah" or "the Replayed Torah."  Yeshua quotes Deuteronomy more than any other of the Five Books of Moses. “Hear O Israel” (Shema) comes from Deuteronomy 6:2. “Love your Neighbor as yourself” is quoted from Leviticus 19:18: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

Kind hearts are the garden, kind thoughts are the roots, kind words are the blossoms and kind deeds are the fruits. Care for your garden and keep out the weeds.   Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

   Our hearts become empty if our minds are empty. Just as bodies require daily nourishment, our minds need to be topped off daily with scripture, keeping our hearts and hands focused on what is truly important. YHVH is not seeking partial devotion. His greatest commandment “You shall love the Lord your God with (1) all your heart, (2) all your soul, (3) all your mind, & (4) all your strength” meaning total undivided devotion.

  “ ¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! ⁴ who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,” Psalm 103: 1,4

   The Torah uses (Tiferet) three times, translating it twice as "beauty" and once as "honor". The Jewish Tree of Life places Tiferet between two poles: Chesed on the right and Gevurah on the left. The former is kindness; the latter is severity and judgment. The former is about unlimited giving; the latter is about strict restraint. Tiferet, balanced between Chesed and Gevurah, is often called rachamim, “mercy.” Mercy is having power over another to judge and punish (Gevurah), but instead leaning toward the opposite (Chesed) and letting them go, or even helping the person.

   Have you ever cried out, “Justice for Thee, but not for Me”? Yeshua, hanging on the cross, prayed, “Father, forgive them.” Pointing a finger at wrongdoings always leaves three pointing back at ourselves, reminding me, I need three times the forgiveness. Not every situation needs a clear right or wrong; perhaps we could just agree to disagree. Vengeance is mine, says the LORD.

   The Hebrew word for truth, Emet (aleph, mem, tav), is also translated as compassion. Digging deeper for the truth always leads to compassion. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is Yeshua.” Romans 3:23-24

   Lord, our prayer today is for you to help us love our neighbors as ourselves. Thank You for crowning us with lovingkindness and tender mercies. Today, may we be kind to everyone, for only you know the crosses others are bearing. May we be a light for you in this dark world.