The Meaning of The Shofar & the Conventional Life - Jeremy Gimpel: The Land of Israel Fellowship

but there's something more to biblical faith something that's beyond relationship beyond um the natural relationships are contractual you know they're written in spoken contracts the bible doesn't speak about contracts it speaks about covenants and if i were to make that point really poignant i would say a contract is about interests as soon as you don't keep your side of the deal and my interests aren't met i can call the contract off legally and it's null and void a covenant isn't about interest it's about who you are who you choose to be in the world and to receive the fullness of the life of a believer you have to live in a covenant and the people of israel are a living testimony to covenantal living that is our tree of life the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden is exactly that point it's like i look at reality what is this religion doing for me when it's convenient it's pleasant all right i see the benefits i'll do my part as soon as it's not good for me well why on earth would i do something that's not good for me i mean if god wants to bless me wants me to be happy clearly right now i'm not gonna lose my business i mean i have this opportunity here i gotta keep shabbat i i'm just not going to do that i'm gonna you know i have to be honest now but right now a little lie will really sell save me a lot of a headache it's just not in my interest and i'm calling the contract off maybe i've been good with god but god hasn't been good with me but you can avoid the contract the tree of life is realizing that living a committed life will be your greatest blessing it's not up for grabs it's not up for negotiations there are absolutes in my life that i have anchors in my life that keep me grounded guard rails that protect me from falling off the roof as i ascend in new heights tayla shared this story with me from esther young rice's book called the committed life and it touched my heart so much that i i want to share today as we end the fellowship because it's the story about preparing for rosh hashanah it's a story about the shofar of elul and it's a story a living testimony to the jewish peoples living in a covenant with god and this is from the writings of esther young rice a survivor of bergen belzen and here's what she writes in her book the committed life the day is vividly etched in my memory i was running up the steps of our house anticipating my mother's usual loving greeting estherka where were you what did you learn in school today as she spoke she would offer me the most delicious fresh home baked cookies i was in the first grade school still something to be fussed over and my mother treated every lesson as though i had a new discovery but as i entered the house my mother did not call out i went in search of her and found her weeping silently in the kitchen i became frightened i'd never seen my mother like this what happened i asked no more school estrica my mother wailed an anguished voice no more school i couldn't understand why my mother was so distraught i didn't think that not being able to go to school was so tragic but since my mother was crying i too began to cry hearing the weeping my father walked into the room his study with his gentle strong voice tried to reassure us with hashem's help you will go to school my precious child he said we will organize classes right now the study of torah will never cease my mother's tears would not stop and i sensed that something desperately was going wrong the next day i learned that nazis had occupied our city shut down all jewish shops prohibited all jews from practicing their professions banned all jewish children from schools and forbade prayer and study at the risk of their lives our people continue to defy them my father together with other community leaders established a clandestine school in the ghetto my mother ran a communal kitchen and organized a self-help society to assist the orphans the widows and the sick our school in the ghetto was short-lived for very soon the deportations began our family was taken to bergen-belsen concentration camp even there under the most brutalizing conditions my father somehow managed to teach us i remember the weeks that preceded rosh hashanah secret meetings were held by the rabbis in our barracks to determine how a shofar and a holiday prayer book might be obtained there was a black market in the camp and for the price a right price things could be acquired and so it was that through a heroic effort the people in our camp amassed 300 cigarettes an enormous sum in those days to buy a shofar and a macho a holiday prayer book the news of our purchase spread quickly through the camp underground adjacent to our compound was a polish camp and they somehow got wind of our treasure as the piercing cry of the shofar was sounded they crept close to the barbed wire fence separating us so that they might hear the ancient call of their ancestors the germans came running and discovered these boys they began to beat them mercilessly but even as the truncheons were falling on their head they cried out blessed art thou lord our god who has commanded us to listen to the sound of the shofar the masor presented another problem we're able to obtain only one prayer book for our entire compound who should pray first who should pray last how could one prayer book be passed through so many hands my father together with other rabbis took counsel and decided that we would all learn at least one prayer by heart but what prayer would it be which song which blessing and then they made their decision let us pray to him who searches hearts on the day of judgment yes we invited god to come to bergen-belsen to search our hearts and determine for himself whether despite our pain and suffering we wavered even one harris breath in our faith and love for him many years later i was lecturing in israel in a village in samaria called novaya lisa it was late summer just before the high holiday season and i felt a need to tell the story of the shofar of bergen-belsen when i finished a woman in the audience got up she had a strong handsome face and appeared to be a little bit older than i that shofar you spoke of she said i know exactly what you're talking about you see my father was the rabbi in that polish compound next to yours you may not know this but the shofar was smuggled into our camp in the bottom of a large garbage can filled with soup and on the second day of rosh hashanah my father blew that same shofar in our camp i looked at her dumbfounded i couldn't find the words but my skin prickled with goosebumps and that's not all she went on to say i have that shofar here in my house in samaria when we were liberated we blew the shafar again and took it with us with that she ran to her house and returned a few minutes later with the shofar we wept we embraced we reminisced all the time clutching the shofar in our hands the miracle of that shofar left us breathless the entire world had declared us dead hitler's final solution had taken its toll millions were gassed and burned in the crematorium but we never gave up hope the shofar the symbol of jewish sacrifice triumphed over the flames and as if in vindication of the triumph god granted me the privilege of rediscovering that shofar in the ancient hills of samaria to which our people returned after more than 2 000 years of wandering darkness oppression and holocaust the miracle of our time that's the end of the book of that section it's a covenant the lengths the jewish people went to hear the shofar if you were caught performing a religious act in accordance with the torah you will be beaten you'll be killed smuggling a shofar blowing a shofar listening to a sheriff your life is on the line i've been thinking about that story every day this since tehillah told me about it and i'll for sure be thinking about it this rosh hashanah the commitment the covenant the jews in bergen-belsen could have smuggled food they could have smuggled medicine with god as their witness in their life and their life's commitment is teaching us what it is to be a jew today what it is to be a believer who lives in a covenant with god not only when it's convenient not only when it's pleasurable there is no power in the world that a human being can tap into that comes close to the power of living a covenantal life in this rosh hashanah we renew our vow we renew our commitment we blow the shophar to live in a covenant the covenant is our tree of life that's why the story of the garden of eden ends like this you know it's customary to think about the garden of eden you know learn the story the story is so ancient and so fundamental that just reading it the verse is something so deep in our psyche whether you're religious or not it's such a powerful story it comes from a place so deep within us that it speaks to the truth to us that's beyond words it straightens us out in some ways that without any effort like an ancient reminder an ancient alarm clock it wakes us up in genesis chapter 3 verse 24. in having driven out the man he stationed at the east of the garden of eden the cherubs and the flame of the ever-turning sword to guard the way to the tree of life the ark of the covenant in the temple in jerusalem had two cherubs on it with the western wall behind the temple the temple is opened eastward just like the garden of eden telling us that those two cherubs guarding the tree of life what are those cherubs on they're on the ark of the covenant that is the tree of life to live in a covenant when you commit yourself from that point on the universe will unfold in a totally different way what might have pulled you it might have seduced you it might have tricked you your will your commitment your covenant will change reality that is thrown at you and god's will will begin to be done in your life if you align your will with his will his will will be done through you in your life that's the tree of life the modern secular world has created people unable to live a committed life they can't commit to their jobs they can't commit to their mission commit to their country why would they do that they can't commit in relationships they can't commit to marriage and therefore the next generation are lonely they're not able to experience love without commitment without marriage without family and a life without a spiritual foundation without commitment it's just a weak shallow life and the torah is saying the tree of life hold on to the covenant and remember the shofar that the people of israel blew the sacrifice that abraham was ready to make the sacrifice that isaac was ready to make and the sacrifice that the people of israel have made throughout the generations this it's one step closer to our freedom the barbed wire fences are coming down in judea the fences and barriers are being removed from before us the covenant we live by is the power that frees us from the random occurrences of this world that enslave most people and we have before us life and death blessing and curse and our covenants that is the path to the tree of life and our covenants are more powerful than we imagine hi my name is jeremy gimpel a lot of people want to know exactly what the land of israel fellowship is and what members receive when they join so let me explain the land of israel fellowship is a global online community with hundreds of members from over 40 countries around the world they're live sessions and gatherings that create a direct personal connection to the land of israel and the lovers of israel from around the world there's no online gathering that i'm familiar with that is connected to the land of israel that unites and brings together such a diverse group of people backgrounds and nationalities it feels like prophecy it feels like something we need in these times a window in to a better future on the horizon there's a divine unity we experience every week in our fellowship broadcast we heard these amazing teachings from an authentic hebrew and israel perspective and our jaws drop not only because they ring so true and are such a blessing because they are so consistent with what we believe these sunday morning gatherings are nothing less than a house of prayer for all nations cindy lo the united states of america the land of israel fellowship is an amazing resource for learning torah the bible and the prophets unfiltered and uncensored directly from the land of israel we've been studying torah for almost 20 years but we feel we are stepping into it more than ever in seeing new depth and dimensions to scripture we're encouraged more and more every week calen ardell usa members receive access to all the archives in the library of teachings on every portion of the torah the biblical feast hebrew prayer prophecy sessions on the ancient wisdom of the prophets of israel to help us navigate through these turbulent times these sessions are so rich i re-listen to each and truly each session is the best one yet tehela is a tremendous asset and the teachings ari shares are so rich i've read the bible so many times and i've known the things you are teaching the hebrew understanding is what christians have missed for centuries sister georgian from germany the land of israel fellowship is truly unique because it's built upon personal relationships with the teachers of the fellowship myself rabbi arya bramwitz in tehillah gimpel every member has direct access to the staff 24 6 via email or direct whatsapp to ask questions to comment to connect directly to all the teachers and over the last years we've connected to some of the most beautiful people on the planet so if you want to find out more and join the land of israel fellowship you can click on the link below and if you want to try it out for just a month you can email fellowship at the land of israel.com and we'll hook you up i hope to see you shalom from the mountains of judea