"But having devoted himself to love his neighbor as himself, he is not afraid of poverty, but becomes poor by sharing his possessions with those who have none. But neither does he punish the sinner. For he who loves his neighbor as himself, as he knows that when he has sinned he does not wish to be punished, so neither does he punish those who sin. And as he wishes to be praised, and blessed, and honored, and to have all his sins forgiven, thus he does to his neighbor, loving him as himself. In one word.... what he wishes for himself, he wishes also for his neighbor. For this is the law of God and of the prophets this is the doctrine of truth"
- Clementine Homolies
Blessed are You Adonai Eloheinu, all praise and honour belongs to You. All things come from You and of Your own do we give You. From You come our lives, this world and all that we have and are. Teach us to love and respect Your Creation and to give the glory to You. YHVH Rohi, Elohim of all, we thank You and Your Son Yeshua Moshiach who have taught us to have faith and to believe. We ask Your blessing on the mission of Your Church. Guide and strengthen all who reach out to others in faith with Your Word. We pray for all evangelists and missionaries who witness to Your love. YHVH Yireh, we thank You for all You have given us. We ask Your guidance on all who are led astray by the glitter of gold and the false promises of consumerism. We pray for all who are impoverished in spirit. We ask Your blessing upon all governments of this world and their striving for justice and fair dealing. YHVH Shalom, we ask Your blessing upon our homes and our loved ones. We pray for all who provide us with water and food, electricity and fuel, for all who collect our refuse and clean our streets. We pray for all who help to maintain law and order. YHVH Rophe, we ask Your blessing upon all hospitals, care homes, home visitors and social services. We pray for all suffering and impoverished peoples. We pray for the world’s poor and all who are without the basic needs of life. We pray for all who are ill, disabled or on their death bed tonight. We ask Your comfort upon their loved ones. YHVH M’Kaddesh, we come from You and return to You. Bless all of our families, friends and loved ones. May we all rejoice with Your saints in glory. We commit ourselves and this world to Your unfailing love and we pray this pray in the Name of our Saviour, Yeshua Moshiach, amein.
Here's a list of Apostolic passages for reading and studying with #torah portion #vayishlach (Genesis 32:3-36:43), plus links to related commentary and videos: http://www.americantorah.com/2....021/04/27/parsha-vay
THIS WEEK
VAYISHLACH
TORAH : GENESIS 32:3-36:43
PROPHETS : HOSEA 11:7-12:12, OBADIAH 1:1-21
GOSPEL : MATTHEW 2:13-23
The Power of the Tongue
Did Jacob's rash words kill his beloved wife? The story of Rachel’s death teaches us an important lesson about the power of the tongue.
VAYISHLACH
The Proverbs say that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). In Rachel’s case, that appears to have been especially true.
Jacob and his family were making their way south through the land of Canaan, toward Hebron where his father Isaac still lived. While the family traveled, Rachel went into labor with her second child. She had named her previous son Joseph, meaning “May He add [another son].” God had answered her prayer, and she gave birth to a second son. Rachel suffered a severe labor. As the child was born, the midwife tried to cheer her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” Rachel knew she was dying.
Rachel died some distance from Ephrath, an older name for Bethlehem. Jacob entombed her there, beside the road and set up a sacred stone over her tomb. The story provides the etiology behind a landmark. The Torah remarks, “Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day” (Genesis 35:20).
Jewish tradition connects the tragic death of Rachel with a story from the previous Torah portion. In the previous Torah portion, we read that Rachel stole her father Laban’s household idols when Jacob and his family fled back to Canaan. Jacob did not know about the theft. When Laban overtook Jacob, he demanded the return of his household gods. Rachel was hiding them in her tent. No one knew she had them.
Jacob swore an oath to Laban, “The one with whom you find your gods shall not live” (Genesis 31:32). With those words, Jacob inadvertently spoke a curse over his beloved wife:
Though our mother Rachel was not guilty [of any of the transgressions for which someone might ordinarily die in childbirth], nevertheless, because Jacob said, “With whomever you find your gods, he shall not live,” she was punished, but her judgment was not carried out until she was in childbirth. (Midrash Lekach Tov)
The story of Rachel’s death illustrates the Master’s warning against swearing oaths. He said, “Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes ‘ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil” (Matthew 5:36-37).
Rachel’s tragic and premature death sets her apart from the other six mothers. According to tradition, Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah all rest with their husbands in the Machpelah in Hebron. Rachel lies alone beside the way to Bethlehem. She appeared again, alone, mourning the exiles being led off to Babylon (Jeremiah 31:15). She raised her voice again over the slaughter of the innocents of Bethlehem (Matthew 2). People still visit her tomb today.