Yeshua. Say this name to many, perhaps most, Christians and they would be puzzled. Say it to Jews and they would instantly know what was said. Say the name Jesus to Christians and there would be instant recognition; say it to Jews and many, if not most, would recoil in horror. Why would this be so?

We often take for granted the need to be tahor, ‘clean’, physically. I wonder, though, how many of us consider the need to be tahor, clean, spiritually.
In the ancient world of the Israelites, the emphasis appeared to be more on being spiritually than on physically clean. In reality, though, the two were synonymous. We know, from reading the Book of Leviticus, the third Book of Torah, God’s Life Instructions for His children, cleanliness was as important for the body as it was for the soul.

The word ‘lev’, meaning heart in Hebrew, is used throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Curiously, there is no biblical Hebrew word for either mind or nerves. Proverbs 4:23 says  “Above everything else, guard your heart; for it is the source of life’s consequences.” And, then, in Deuteronomy 30:6, we read “Then Adonai your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children, so that you will love Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being, and thus you will live.” From these verses, we may conclude that, in biblical Hebrew, the source of all our thoughts, motivations and desires is halev, the heart.

Shalom. Many of us have heard this word, when speaking with a Jew or while in a Synagogue. Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, has many different meanings. In its current use, shalom means peace be with you, used when Jews greet each other and when they part. However, its biblical meaning goes much deeper.

Throughout Jewish literature, in Scripture and elsewhere, the phrase, kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, Adonai Tzivaot, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts, is a frequently used phrase to announce His being. This phrase signifies He is set apart from what is common and mundane. He is lofty, beyond comparison and beyond our grasp.

The word fear, in English, comes from a Greek word. It is abstract in nature and context. It is a feeling, albeit an awful feeling, but there is no action involved. That is not the case in the Hebrew word yirah.

When a Hebrew speaker considers yirah, fear, what comes to his mind is the feeling of ‘flowing in the gut’. This is quite a concrete understanding and, to me, carries with it both the feeling of terror and the feeling of reverence.

Have you ever asked yourself what is the true meaning of “Brachot – blessings?”
In the first chapters of Genesis God pronounces four major blessings – over His creation, over Adam and Eve, over the seventh day, over the nations.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

God is calling His people to hear, obey and love Him.

Chesed is the word that describes everything our human hearts have ever wanted – the deep, everlasting, covenantal love that God has for His children.

In Hebrew, the word “Yada”  (to know), carries not only mental but an emotional perspective as well.