Parashat Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9) Deuteronomy 16 16:18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Comment: The name of this portion is “Shoftim”, which means “Judges”, the first word in this… Continue reading My notes on Shoftim
My notes on Reeh
Parashat Reeh (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17) Deuteronomy 11 11:29 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. Comment: Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal: During a messianic… Continue reading My notes on Reeh
My notes on Eiqev
Parashat Eiqev Deuteronomy 7 7:12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: Comment: This verse starts a new portion named “eiqev”. This word “eiqev” is… Continue reading My notes on Eiqev
My notes on Vaetchanan
This Bible portion “Vaetchanan” teaches oneness of Gd and forbids idol worship. So my notes will explain why Jesus in Christianity is not an idol, nor a second gd. Christians wouldn’t worship Jesus if they weren’t really worshiping the one and only true Gd of Israel. Nevertheless, I personally prefer to use the name L-RD (“y-h-v-h”,… Continue reading My notes on Vaetchanan
My notes on Devarim
Parashat Devarim Deuteronomy 1 1:1 These are the words which Moses said to all Israel on the far side of Jordan, in the waste land in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran on the one side, and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab on the other. Comment: It is amazing that the very first… Continue reading My notes on Devarim
My notes on Masei
Parashat Masei Numbers 33 33:1 These are the journeys of the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. Comment: Rashi on this verse counts 42 stages of journey for the Israelites during their 40 years in the wilderness,… Continue reading My notes on Masei
My notes on Matot
Parashat Matot Numbers 30 30:9 But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. Comment: Some modern people may be unhappy to see that the Bible allows the vows of a woman to be annulled by a male family head.… Continue reading My notes on Matot
My notes on Pinchas
Parashat Pinchas Numbers 25 25:11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Comment: Gd explained that the plague stopped… Continue reading My notes on Pinchas
My notes on Balaq
Parashat Balaq Numbers 22 (continued) 22:21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. Comment: Balaam is traditionally regarded as a bad guy, and is contrasted with the good guy Abraham in Jewish culture. This contrast is used to bring important moral teachings (see a… Continue reading My notes on Balaq
My notes on Chuqat
Parashat Chuqat Numbers19 19:17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel: Comment: Here “ashes” is literally “dust” in Hebrew, same as the word used when Gd decrees that Adam has to… Continue reading My notes on Chuqat
My notes on Korach
Parashat Korach Numbers 16 16:1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Pallu, the son of Reuben, made themselves ready, Comment: The genealogy given here is not purposeless at all. Korah is a… Continue reading My notes on Korach
最近为什么我用英语写读经笔记？
最近为什么我用英语写读经笔记？ 1。我爸爸还不信主，他写了很多回忆录。我最近在帮他的回忆录打字，正在打他在20世纪五六十年代在西北东北野外测绘的故事。作为儿女看他写的东西，我觉得很有亲切感。这让我想起，我虽然写了很多中文读经笔记，但女儿看不懂。如果我用英文写，希望她和她的后代都可以看，鼓励后代继续研读圣经。 2。我写的东西是从基督徒角度用犹太人的传统解经法解释摩西五经。如果用英语写，读者面更广，可能对犹太读者，特别是犹太基督徒，更容易传达相关的信息。现代的华语读者很多也有相当的英语阅读水平。 3。五旬节下午我和女儿散步时告诉她，我正在寻求主带领我下一步在写作方面的侍奉。本来我想过翻译Rashi解经，但是工作量很巨大。另外Rashi的解经是从犹太民族角度的，与基督教不完全协调。五旬节第二天我得到了一个想法，就是从Rashi的解经引出新的解经。至于用英语写，虽然对我来说不是第一语言，水平有限，但是当年五旬节的犹太基督徒可以得到语言的恩赐，我如果行主的旨意，应该也不会受语言的限制。所以特别盼望主的帮助。
My notes on Shelach
Parashat Shelach Numbers 13 13:13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. Comment: This parashah (portion of the five Books of Moses) has several connections to me personally. Here is the first appearance of my Hebrew name Michael in the Bible. When I was not familiar with the Bible, I,… Continue reading My notes on Shelach
诗篇23第六节思考问答
诗篇23第六节思考问答 （个人灵修所得，仅供参考。原型曾刊登于怀恩季刊。） 诗篇23第六节: 我一生一世必有恩惠慈爱随着我。我且要住在主的殿中直到永远。 1, 关于这句话我有什么经历吗？ 答： 我对诗篇23很喜欢。但是刚受洗不久时， 对最后这句一直不太懂。前面牧羊、请客的比喻都好理解，和吃喝有关，很具体，很好。恩惠慈爱虽然抽象一些，也很好，也是世人懂得寻求的好东西。那么一直住在圣殿里，这有什么好的呢？ 我没有直观的感受，也就不觉得向往。 有一次参加本地教会的活动，在地下室吃饭时就问当时曾为我施洗的林牧师，住在主的殿中是什么意思？他回答说，就是和主在一起的意思。我当时听了就满意了。虽然我后来学到很多进一步的知识，但是回过头来看，林牧师的回答对我当时的程度最适合，传达了一种对主朴素而真挚的向往之情，使我这初信者也开始去寻求类似的与主同在的美好体验 。本句作为诗篇最后一句，真是巧妙，挑起我的好奇心，让我逐渐认识到，青草、宴席、福杯，这些主赐的美物虽好，但是赐福的主自己更好！ 本句与大卫的什么其他诗句类似？ 答： 诗篇27：4说有一件事诗人反复寻求的，就是有生之日住在圣所瞻仰主的荣美。 圣殿与安息日有什么关系？ 答：圣殿是 空间里 分别为圣敬拜主，与主同在感受特别强烈的地方；安息日是 时间里 分别为圣敬拜主，与主同在感受特别强烈的日子。 造圣殿与创世有什么关系？ 答：创世，是主作的工；造殿，是人的工作。 这两者用的希伯来文都是较少见的词-创造的工melachah，而不是常用的词-劳动的工avodah。人是造物主按自己形象造的，也能用创造的工敬拜造物主，按他祂的指示，用祂赐的智慧和手艺，造成圣所。在造物主创造的世界上分别一块空间敬拜祂，完全是人应该的回应 。 造物主这么大，要小小的殿有什么用？ 答：有人认为小小的殿和整个世界有奇妙的对应关系。科学家牛顿研究过圣殿，并曾为之画图： https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton%27s_occult_studies#/media/File:Isaac_Newton’s_Temple_of_Solomon.jpg 圣殿虽小，但有人向往将来整个世界都要成为敬拜造物主的殿。 大卫一直没造圣殿，那他的诗句里表达的信心是不是落空了？ 答：有人认为将来义人复活，大卫也在其中，他虽然经过死荫幽谷，将来却必要与主同在。 本句与永恒有什么关系？ 答：“一生一世”，“直到永远”，都是本句与永恒有关的词。但最根本的，是本句主的名字，祂是永恒的存在，我们因着祂，才有真正的永恒的盼望。 主的名字与永恒有什么关系？ 答： 主的永恒，是超出人的想像的。人想象的永恒，通常是比照人类的寿命，百岁是人瑞，千岁是对亲王的祝愿称呼 ，九千岁是对摄政王的祝愿称呼，万岁是对国君的祝愿称呼。而永恒的意思，一定是比所有数字能表示的活得更长。但是主的名字绝非是表示一个很俗气的长寿冠军的概念。祂没有形象的局限，超越了空间，无处不在。同时祂又超越了时间，祂无时不在。换句话说，祂已经同时充满了所有的时间，同时存在于过去、现在、将来。 主有个名称由y和h， v，h 构成。这些字母，犹太人认为(如参见https://www.yeshiva.co/ask/58310），是能用来构成“存在”的三个时态的辅音字母的基石：“昔在今在永在” ＝ hyh hvh vyhyh 。主是昔在今在永在。在祂，没有昨日今日明天之分别。历史就像一本连环画，而主就像作者，已经把过去现在将来的每一页都画好了，而大卫，作为画册里的某一页上的人物，正在写作诗篇23的第六节，他虽然还没进入将来，但他相信主早已把他的将来，包括今生来世，都在书页里画好了。所以大卫虽然遗憾有生之年不能建成圣殿，但他却有信心写下“ 我且要住在主（… Continue reading 诗篇23第六节思考问答
My notes on Behaalotecha
Parashat Behaalotecha (Numbers 8:1 – 12:16) Numbers 8 8:19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for… Continue reading My notes on Behaalotecha