May 27, 2023: Parashat Torah Portion Shavuot
This week’s Parashah Torah Portion Shavuot is taken from Numbers 4:21-7:89. Join Dr. Jeffery Myers, as he expounds on the options we have in life of either following the path of wisdom or the path of folly. However, the problem is that mankind cannot find wisdom on their own. They don’t even know where to look. Wisdom is only found in ELOHIM!
Follow along in the AUDIO PODCAST, by clicking on the play button below, and reading along with the notes, as you listen to today's Parashah Torah Portion:
Lion of Judah Speaks: Parashah Torah Portion Shavuot - Numbers 4:21-7:89
In today’s society we have so many choices, and we make decisions based on short-term and long-term benefits. If I set before you two plates; one filled delicious candy and the other with a million dollars, which one would you choose? What you could do with that money would benefit you and society in an extraordinary way. The candies give you short-term pleasure but they could not buy you a million dollars. The money can buy you as much candy as you desire. If choosing short-term pleasure over long-term gain is short-sighted then why do so many intelligent people make that very choice? Why do so many risk a loving marriage and happy family for a few moments of extra-marital pleasures? Why do we risk the first dose of drugs or drink of alcohol when we are familiar with the long-term risks of addiction? Why gossip when we can uplift? Why lie when truth is better? Why choose our ways when we know there is a price instead of choosing Elohim’s ways?
We find this is due to a “spirit of folly” that overtakes us. It distorts our vision and clouds our clarity of thought. Look at Num. 15:11-15 as it relates to a spouse that has strayed from the path of modesty. The Hebrew word used here for “going astray”, “tisteh” is related to the word for folly, “sh’tut.” If we follow the logic, we see that there is a path of wisdom and a path of folly. Wisdom dictates modesty, restraint, devotion and reflection but folly dictates the reverse. A wise path should be the obvious choice, but our spirit of folly propels us to stray.
Every time we are obedient to a mitzvah we bond with the Divine. The hand that gives to the poor becomes a vehicle for divinity when the mitzvah-charged energy pulses through it. The mouth that recites a prayer becomes a conduit for Elohim when sacred words pour forth from it. The mind that studies Torah becomes a container filled with divinity when it is stimulated by divine thought. When we perform a mitzvah, we merge and become one with Elohim. When we draw Elohim’s presence into our hearts, minds and soul we are transformed!
In contrast with sin…when we sin, choosing that path, we choose to reject Elohim and destroy our union with Him. Rather than merging, we tear away from Him and form a barrier between us. On the one side we have; light, love, sanctity, beauty and divinity. On the other side we have darkness, distance, materialism and narcissism. On the one side we have a path of wisdom towards Elohim with eternal bliss. On the other side a path of folly towards ourselves with no hope of salvation. If given the choice…which one would you prefer? Eternal and profound or transient and temporal? I guess the question is “are you wise?”
We spend a lot of energy to save on our taxes, excel at whatever sport we play, cost and time on our homes, cars, businesses and vacations. All of these are so meaningless yet we invest so much into them. Why don’t we apply the same rigorous commitment and robust enthusiasm towards what is truly meaningful? Things are getting crazy in this world of ours! We are in the process of abandoning our foundation and the effects are staggering. Wisdom, sad to say, has been one of the first casualties.
The problem is that mankind cannot find wisdom. They don’t even know where to look. Wisdom is only found in Elohim! Wisdom cries out all around us, yet most have been turned aside by folly… the cries are louder and louder in these last days. Folly is no prayer in school, evolution…Truth is now a hate crime, church being like the world to reach the world, gender fluidity, no gender at all (denying basic biology), giving into the culture…folly, folly, folly! Proverbs 9:14-15 says, “She sits at the door of her house or on a seat at the heights of the city, calling to those who pass by, to those going straight along their ways.” Who is folly’s target? The ones making their paths straight. Those who normally listen to wisdom and turn from the world, but she is loud and we see it has a pivot point. It starts with wisdom crying out desiring all to listen and to turn to her for help. It ends with folly crying out trying to entice people from the true path.
This chapter sits like a pair of scales with wisdom on one side and folly on the other. The pivot point upon which this chapter rests is Prov. 9:9-10, right in the middle of the chapter. The fear of Adonai seems to be the deciding factor as to whether wisdom or folly is exalted. It is not going to be an easy walk in the fear of Adonai in these last days. The voices of folly increase and surround us in this age, and it will get harder to swim against the tide! Our base nature is tactile and materialistic…we are given to instant rather than delayed gratification…that is folly! We must not yield…we must combat!
We must return to Elohim’s wisdom and overcome folly and restore our clarity of thought. We need to take advantage of our freedom; freedom of choice and the freedom to choose Elohim. We must turn our ears, eyes, and hearts toward Elohim. We must apply our heart to wisdom! The world and even the worldly church is screaming that we “have to be relevant” to today’s society. So, we water down His Word, we add plenty of sugar in the form of entertainment to keep people coming back, we’re “okay” alternative lifestyles and remove all standards of holiness. Folly brings death but wisdom gives life! Let us gain wisdom and if anyone lacks it…JUST ASK! It all begins with the fear of Adonai!
Shabbat Shalom Mishpocha,
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Walk in the wisdom of Elohim. Seek her out and she will be found. Walk away from folly and pay her no attention. Gather together and learn of Elohim’s ways. Come and eat from the table of Adonai. Give yourself to Him as a living sacrifice. See you at the altar!
Shalom Aleichem
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