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Fast of Gedaliah 5765/2004
EJD
Special holiday reading for the Fast of Gedeliah1
The weekly reading for the week of 3 Tishrei, 5765 - September 19, 2004 Fast of Gedaliah: Holiday Torah reading Exodus 32:11-14; 34:1-10; Haftarah: Isaiah 55:6 to 56:8; Mei Kituvim: Proverbs 10:1-32; Brit Chadoshah: Romans 3:1-31
The Bagel: What establishes the Torah? It was not the impenitent heart of the people under Mt. Sinai. They disobeyed and worshipped a Golden Calf. The tablets were smashed. The Law was disestablished.
It is clear from the Isaiah text: "He will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:8 NASB). This means that there is forgiveness of sin. There has to be a basis for that. The pithy statement of Proverbs points it out: "righteousness delivers from death" (Proverbs 10:2). That righteousness is not gained from the Torah, but rather given by G-d as a function of His Chesed or grace. That grace is accessed by faith. It is a particular faith. The belief that Jesus alone can give us the adequate righteousness needed to satisfy the holiness of God. This faith is available to all. The Brit Chadashah reading makes it clear that faith is what establishes the Torah. Sin destroys it, but faith fixes it permanently in the heart of a believer: "Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law" (Romans 3:31 NASB).
Cream Cheese: Is your heart a fleshly scroll for the Torah?
The weekly reading for the week of 3 Tishrei, 5765 - September 19, 2004 Fast of Gedaliah: Holiday Torah reading Exodus 32:11-14; 34:1-10; Haftarah: Isaiah 55:6 to 56:8; Mei Kituvim: Proverbs 10:1-32; Brit Chadoshah: Romans 3:1-31
1 The Fast of Gedaliah remembers the tragic assasination of the governor of Judah. Gedaliah son Ahikam was the appointed governor by Nebuchadnezzar after the destruction of the First Temple on Tisha B'Av, 3174/5 - July 29/17, 587/6 BCE. The account is found in Jeremiah chapters 40-41.
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