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[bèlla]

I began reading How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household a few days ago. I’ve perused the book several times over the years. But I felt an inward pull to work my through it and I’m doing so at present. The author is personable and her perspective aligns with Modern Orthodox Judaism. Its been enjoyable thus far despite the girth. ;-)

Home holds an important place in Judaism. I am uncertain if the same holds true in Messianic circles and I’m curious to hear from you all. It is my hope that as the calendar turns we will share our practices and traditions with one another.

I will include my own and the lessons I’ve gleaned from my experiences and reading. Whether we’re beginners or more experienced is immaterial. Our understanding of community and its importance begins at home. The togetherness and spirit we exemplify to our loved ones will create good fruit if we’re conscientious.

You are welcome to include the things you’ve yet to do but long to experience. Whether its lighting candles on Shabbat or celebrating the High Holy Days. The goal is mutual enrichment in the company of like-minded souls who were led to a similar path.

May we be faithful stewards of His wisdom and edify those who follow.

Shalom,

~Bella

 

[bèlla]

Shabbat..

Several years ago I noticed an internal transition when Shabbat arrived. The slowing was evident. I relaxed within and felt a cadence that wasn’t intentional. It was a natural rhythm my body undertook on its own.

For me, this is the essence of Shabbat. The stillness and rest replenish all I’ve expended throughout the week. I’ve enjoyed Abraham Heschel’s musings on the subject. And employed some traditional practices.

From candle lighting to the mad scramble for challah before Shabbat arrives. As I watch us scurry and grab last minute purchases and hurry home I am reminded of others around the world who are doing the same.

I’ve lit candles and recited blessings and songs at home and Shabbat services. But oftentimes I feel an inward pull to remain at home and partake with loved ones instead. We close with Havdalah but sometimes we miss it! But imperfection is okay. Grace is evident throughout. The Sabbath within matters most.

My Shabbats are quiet. I walk to the farmers market and converse with vendors or spend time reading or devoted to creative pursuits. Thanksgiving is the undercurrent and I’m conscious of its communication with those I meet. I want to share a little Shabbat with them as well.

I would like to host Shabbat dinners at some point. I’ve witnessed the effect sharing a meal can have on the spirit and its receptivity to kind gestures in a warm environment. I trust HaShem to work through me during these moments for the greater benefit of all. Including myself.

 

[TreWalker]

Not trying to pry into your family details here online. But, no kids? Just as community is everything in Judaism, so is the family structure. Something Judaism has sought to keep together on par to our love for Torah. Adonai has preserved the Jewish people through the Torah, the Torah preserves the Jewish people through our families, and our families preserve the Jewish people through our being united as one through Adonai's Torah. It's all tied together, just like Yeshua, Israel, and Torah. Without no community there is no Torah. Better said, the Torah was given to operate within a community, the community of Israel.

Shabbat in our home is a time for family to come together and enjoy the presence of Yeshua. Yes, this should be occurring throughout the week with all of us, but Shabbat is a time for the whole body to gather around the shabbat table. Which is representative of the altar. I find there is an individual and a corporate aspect to Adonai, worship, salvation, healing, all things as inward AND outward. All things have an inward and an external application. The Spirit becomes flesh and both dwell together, not one superseding the other. Fully Hashem and fully human.

So, individually Yeshua deals with our inward condition, and externally he deals with the outward condition of our people. Both are unique and connected. Like Jews and Gentiles, like Israel and the nations.

Through the years as our family has grown things obviously change, but the Spirit remains the same. Shabbat is awesome, shabbat can be crazy. My kids no longer dance around and laugh and sing. We do try to still play a board game at times but that has faded. (Jewish/biblical apples to apples_transliterated Hebrew scrabble) Now my girls are teens and sometimes they bring the worst spirit to the table. And sometimes they want to watch our home videos of our fuller family in times past. Sometimes they are angels and sometimes.... there rage blows the candles right out. But we have usually made shabbat our family time.

We recently found a synagogue that does erev shabbat and the wife and I sometimes attend it alone when the kids are not willing to engage. That's a new one for us though. We are trying to give our girls some space/freedom without letting them wander. We don't want to force but to have them seek to join themselves.

As with all things, times change, but I find the heart devotion to Yeshua and being part of the Jewish people never looses it's satisfaction. Next to 'setting the mood' and having a gut shabbos the presence of my kids and the sharing of our hearts together is the most valuable thing in my life, let alone on shabbat. Seeing my kids acknowledge and understand who they are as a child of Israel is the most fulfilling thing a Jewish parent can have.

I believe it's why my grandfather used to invite me and my father over for oneg at his house after shul. He would participate with his synagogue then come home to meet us and make some good yiddish food! Family, Shabbat, Yeshua.... The meaning of life. My goal is to be the grandfather I had to my grandchildren. And I'm almost itching for them to come.... Almost. My babies have to convince me they are not my little girls any longer for a few more years, and then just maybe I will be completely driven to raise their children myself! Grandchildren are our second chance to save our heritage! (our only sometimes)

The wife and I were just talking about this last night. When I retire (soon) I want to enjoy my freedom from work and do all the things I couldn't with a job (traveling). But I also want to be around family as an active participating member. Not just a distant relative, like our parents seem to have become. I remember how our grandparents used to treat and think about family. It seems our parents generation rejected the family structures as the 'me' generation. I desire to restore and establish my family in Judaism not send it on it's merry ole way out the door of You_niversalism.

I love shabbat, I love sharing shabbat with family and most definitely with friends and acquaintances. It's most fun to invite a pastor and his wife over, they are sometimes more fun to engage than Messianic's who have found the love for Israel. Family, Shabbat, Yeshua! And treat your neighbor as yourself.

Prepare the house, prepare the meal, prepare the kiddush, prepare the heart, prepare the mind, prepare to enjoy and leave no child left behind!

 

[bèlla]

Not trying to pry into your family details here online. But, no kids?

Thank you for sharing your Shabbat experiences. You’ve provided many memories for your children that I hope they will cherish for life.

I have no little ones at home. My daughter is an adult and our approach is a reflection the simplicity we employ in our observation.

 

[TreWalker]

I have no little ones at home. My daughter is an adult and our approach is a reflection the simplicity we employ in our observation.

See, here I assumed you were younger than me. And you still could be! lol

We have a son who has long since left the house. We are just realizing that empty nest stage is around the corner. And as I mentioned we are hoping to mitigate the barrenness by having the nest follow them. So they can enjoy hoping in and out of it throughout their life. And if that fails, I steal the grandchildren! haha

Then again, maybe I've just not grown old enough yet? To appreciate a reflection over the real image. May it never be so. For me that is. I'm glad you appreciate your time to reflect on the things Adonai has blessed you with.

Thank you for your heart.

 

[D.A. Wright]

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Seventh-day Adventist, so Sabbath is like Christmas once-a-week for me. Hold the commercialism, please. I'm genuinely sad when the sun sets on Saturday evening. But in a poignant, bittersweet kind of way. My family are not strictly devout but they are very generous in their respect for my feelings, devotion, and convictions. They refrain from doing lawn work, etc., largely for my sake. They encourage my church-going. It's really quite a thing to behold. We are extraordinarily close, sometimes to the point that it annoys extended family.

 

[bèlla]

See, here I assumed you were younger than me. And you still could be! lol

I’m in my forties. I was a mum at 20. I finished early.

When she marries and has a family I’ll have an opportunity to share Shabbat with the next generation. We are building new traditions and I encourage her to employ her own too.

Togetherness needn’t be regimented. I am determined to forge the foundation that future generations can look back on with pride. Legacy is interwoven in everything I do.

I am a quasi empty nester. I have the spoils and the responsibility of seeing her settled with a God-fearing man. That is easier to undertake when we’re under the same roof.

We’re exploring the possibility of residing on the same property. This alleviates distance, strengthens familial bonds, and addresses aging without great upset. We have time to work this out during our singleness.

I saw my grandmother on a daily basis. She’d visit after work and was employed at my grammar school. Needless to say I was spoiled! Summers were spent with my grandparents and weekends through the year with my aunts. They’ve played a large part in the woman I’ve become. I’m blessed by the godly influences I was reared with.

I am certain you’ll provide the same to your loved ones and nourish their person with the love and wisdom HaShem bestows.

 

[bèlla]

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Seventh-day Adventist, so Sabbath is like Christmas once-a-week for me.

I love the analogy!

I’m happy to hear your family respects your Sabbath. Harmony is a blessing and your example inspires their accord which is unifying. Closeness is precious.

The greatest compliment I’ve received is the well done my grandparents expressed when my daughter came of age.

Continue as you’ve done. May your loved ones be inspired to do the same.

 

[bèlla]

With Rosh Hashanah upon us I have begun to mentally prepare for the new year with a period of introspection and review. This allows me to take stock, set goals, and make adjustments for the year to come.

But today something occurred that hasn’t happened before. Four words flashed through my mind. They belong to Marie Kondo and I’ve echoed them a time or two during my lengthy decluttering project (that’s ongoing!).

Does it spark joy?

Unlike its common association, my thoughts went to practical matters and the inner man. It didn’t take long for me to realize I’d been given my theme for 5780.

The joy of the Lord is our strength. But this question forces me to take stock. To probe the cracks and crevices to determine if I’m walking in the abundant joy He spoke of or just getting by.

This is my State of the Union so to speak. A self-accounting of what’s working and everything that has overstayed its welcome and must be relinquished.

The new things of God always await us. But we must ready ourselves for its receipt and clear away the broken dreams, what ifs, and every stumbling block that keeps us rooted in a place we’ve long passed.

It is my hope that as the new year approaches we’ll be emboldened to step into the manna-filled fate that awaits.

 

[Lulav]

So no ones gets startled, Rosh Hashanah this year starts on September 29th in the evening.

Yom Kippurim is Oct 9

And Sukkot is Sunday Oct 13

 

[bèlla]

In other words, we’ll be busy!

 

[D.A. Wright]

>The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don’t.
Now, that's just good stuff.

I saw my grandmother on a daily basis. She’d visit after work and was employed at my grammar school. Needless to say I was spoiled! Summers were spent with my grandparents and weekends through the year with my aunts. They’ve played a large part in the woman I’ve become. I’m blessed by the godly influences I was reared with.

I would no doubt be a hardy infidel were it not for the influence of my grandmothers, especially on my mother's side. Her mother often lived with us for months at a time, and single-handedly taught me the lesson that forgiveness is a state of mind, and not an event. Christ had no time to kneel and pray for the strength to forgive the high priest's guard for striking Him. And if I, who profess to abide in Him, ought myself also so to walk, even as he walked, then this is a lesson worth more than riches of gold to me. It is truly a blessed gift in a world such as this present one through which we find ourselves passing.

Her mother before her was a marvelous woman to behold. The widow of a self-supporting Southern Baptist minister, although not unattractive, she possessed no stunning aesthetic beauty, but she was radiant with the Spirit of God and, as she milled about the house tidying up and working in the kitchen, she was constantly in audible conversation with her Redeemer and could pause it gracefully at any time to attend to others in her midst. She made the service of God appear irresistible to me (and countless others, by all accounts). She led me, at the tender age of eight-years-old, to accept Christ without worldly appeal, and with conviction in my heart that He was clearly All-In-All to all who would come to Him by the faith that is granted to each by Himself. She had already noted that I had a remarkable ability to understand Scripture even in the King James-authorized English that was so revered by the church at that time. (I took no pride in this, and it was a gift He chose to preserve for me during my long backslidden state which was to follow.)

Alas, my father was so convinced that I was too young to make a profession of faith and be baptized, that I became discouraged and it was another 18 years (when I was in search of a tradition that might serve as a spiritual foundation for my own little ones) before I again had serious inclinations toward devout practice.

Jesus has been true to every word to me and my family, and He has allowed me to witness His touch upon so many others. I speak as though my life was ending but, honestly, as I may have regrets for my own actions, I would not change a thing with regard to the ground He has bid me pass over, and if I drew my last breath tonight, I could not but rejoice in the success He has wrought of my failures, or the strengths He has perfected in my weakness. He is My Home.

 

[bèlla]

>The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don’t.
Now, that's just good stuff.

Thank you. It is another rung of pruning. ;-)

I would no doubt be a hardy infidel were it not for the influence of my grandmothers, especially on my mother's side.

I’ll add a giant dose of spoiled and overindulged to the lot. With a smattering of adventure too. My life is so tame now. ~lol

Her mother often lived with us for months at a time, and single-handedly taught me the lesson that forgiveness is a state of mind, and not an event.

Yeah, this topic came up yesterday. I asked why I’m often told to make peace with someone I’ve forgiven. But I think its for the sake of the relationship. So we grow deeper and not apart.

but she was radiant with the Spirit of God and, as she milled about the house tidying up and working in the kitchen, she was constantly in audible conversation with her Redeemer and could pause it gracefully at any time to attend to others in her midst. She made the service of God appear irresistible to me (and countless others, by all accounts).

That is a wonderful picture and example to behold. You were blessed to have her. I often tell people the Holy Soirit is always talking! Once you start the practice He doesn’t cease unless you do. ;-)

and it was a gift He chose to preserve for me during my long backslidden state which was to follow.)

The good seed did its work. He knows how to bring us home.

I could not but rejoice in the success He has wrought of my failures, or the strengths He has perfected in my weakness. He is My Home.

You’re speaking my language. The work isn’t finished but I’m immensely satisfied and operating in a realm of peace and joy I’ve never known.

I posted some Christian songs yesterday as He was ministering to my mind and heart. And much like you, I reflected on my journey. They hail from different periods but each has its own story.

I’d wake up to the first each Sunday. The words were embedded in my spirit. Losing Him was my greatest shame and ache. But the words remained with me while I wandered and sought Him in other faiths.

There is one which left me with a feeling quite similar to yours. It is a testament of overcoming and the recognition of His deliverance. I couldn’t see this day when I was fighting for my freedom and enduring a spiritual tug-o-war.

But if you told me that person would emerge stronger, wiser, and walking in the destiny He prepared; I’d be amazed. I’ve left the valley and surmounted the obstacles thrown my way. And the climb is beautiful because I see the summit and all that awaits if I keep going.

He has bettered me in every way. I see His hand upon my daughter and marvel. Truly, the blessings of Adonai make one rich and He adds no sorrow to them.

 

[D.A. Wright]

Yeah, this topic came up yesterday. I asked why I’m often told to make peace with someone I’ve forgiven. But I think its for the sake of the relationship. So we grow deeper and not apart.

Relationships are everything to God. His very essence (if I might be permitted to enter onto that ground) is literally synonymous with love. The Bible tells me so. I have seen the most profound answers to prayer just right along these lines. I no longer marvel at sensational accounts of common prayers answered. The manipulation of time, space, matter, and circumstance are nothing to God compared to the joy brought to the heavenly courts in response to a yielding to the moving upon of a single human heart. I cry like a baby at baptisms.

 

[bèlla]

Relationships are everything to God. His very essence (if I might be permitted to enter onto that ground) is literally synonymous with love.

That’s true. Before I came to faith I was surrounded by people. My phone rang constantly from morning until midnight every day. But after my deliverance I had several years of bonding time with the Lord.

My relational needs have altered. I am sated by the conversations I have in my sewing and woodworking classes. Or a call from time to time with my aunt. He filled that space and I’m content.

I need little in that respect. I’m accustomed to turning to Him for everything. Although I’m single, I’m thriving in this season because my purpose commands my attention and energy. And I love it.

Right now my heart is on my mission and those I’m meant to serve.

 

[Dave-W]

In other words, we’ll be busy!

Indeed! We are buying a new building and we should be moving our stuff over the week before Rosh HaShanna.

 

[bèlla]

Indeed! We are buying a new building and we should be moving our stuff over the week before Rosh HaShanna.

Congratulations! Good luck on the move.

 

[Dave-W]

Thanks!

 

[bèlla]

This is the last Shabbat I’ll have at home. My spirit has been quieting itself and settling in to the changes forthcoming. After a lengthy discernment regarding my spiritual home the Lord has led me back to the place where I found Him.

All schedule difficulties have been resolved for my daughter and I. We are in a different place now and its heartwarming to see how far we’ve come. I’m uncertain of His purpose for me at the synagogue but I welcome the opportunity to share the light and grace I lovingly received years ago.

I’ve watched the paths converge within me through His hand. The ground beneath me was made with love and kept through its continuance. Love is all.

May we bear in mind the responsibilities of our acceptance and the realities of His placement. May our light be a beacon of love for all we encounter. For HaShem’s glory.

Shabbat Shalom.

 

[pinacled]

This is the last Shabbat I’ll have at home. My spirit has been quieting itself and settling in to the changes forthcoming. After a lengthy discernment regarding my spiritual home the Lord has led me back to the place where I found Him.

All schedule difficulties have been resolved for my daughter and I. We are in a different place now and its heartwarming to see how far we’ve come. I’m uncertain of His purpose for me at the synagogue but I welcome the opportunity to share the light and grace I lovingly received years ago.

I’ve watched the paths converge within me through His hand. The ground beneath me was made with love and kept through its continuance. Love is all.

May we bear in mind the responsibilities of our acceptance and the realities of His placement. May our light be a beacon of love for all we encounter. For HaShem’s glory.

Shabbat Shalom.

Shavuot Shalom