Candlelighters
a place for women who cherish the TorahArchive for Tim Hegg
Identity & One Torah Review, Part 5
by torahgirl
Agreeing on the reliability and authority of the Scriptures, as well as the centrality of Yeshua, is essential to sustaining One Torah communities. Moses wrote the Torah with hindsight {possibly starting in Exodus and backtracking}; Torah is the foundation, and building on it we get progressive revelation. G-d’s promise plan is revealed more and more over time. We rely on divine inspiration of the Scriptures – including preservation through time.
Note: What about oral Torah? Does it “belong” to the Jews? No, they received it. We can use traditions which honor the Torah without doing any disservice to the Jewish people.
This has been an extensive review of “Identity & One Torah” – thank you for your patience! As I mentioned at the beginning, the audio recording of this seminar will be an excellent resource. For more about Divine Invitation theology, I recommend Tim Hegg’s paper “An Assessment of the ‘Divine Invitation’ Teaching” {also available on paper or in audio format}.
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear G-d and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.
For G-d will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
-Ecclesiastes 12.13-14
=)
Identity & One Torah Review, part 4
by torahgirl
{this post contains notes from Session 4 of Tim Hegg’s Identity & One Torah seminar, continuing to address the issue of Divine Invitation theology. It’s a lot of material, but if you’re at all familiar with DI, please take the time to read through it.}
The premise of DI: only Jews are members of the Sinai Covenant and required to keep it. Gentiles are invited to participate but must remain distinct.
There seems to be a lack of Scriptural support for this premise. The Tanach contains several covenants, each one carrying a single promise – if we are “in Messiah,” we are members of the covenant (Ephesians 2.12). The Abrahamic covenant, irrevocably tied with the Sinaitic covenant, is an unconditional process of sanctification. Yeshua is the mediator of the New Covenant {which cannot annul an earlier covenant} and we {the nations} are part of His final fulfillment.
Syncretism
by torahgirl
Now that we’ve officially entered December, the holiday craze is in full swing… If you haven’t read Tim Hegg’s article “Why I Don’t Celebrate Christmas,” take a few minutes to look at it. I saw this article for the first time this year – it’s an amazingly clear explanation of where most Christmas traditions come from, along with Tim’s reasons for not participating in one of Christianity’s most important days. The bottom line is a concept called syncretism: mixing things that essentially differ. I’ve come back to this concept over and over since reading the article a few weeks ago… it has really put my personal “holiday” lifestyle into perspective. This year I find myself wondering about activities that might be considered acceptable even by people, like myself, who don’t “celebrate Christmas.” For instance, should we be:
- Listening to the radio stations play Christmas music?
- Joining friends to go Christmas caroling at a nursing home?
- Going to hear a symphony performance of classical holiday music?
- Displaying a collection of gingerbread houses?
- Decorating the outside of our homes with lights, wreaths, or candles?
My family has evolved over the past several years from wholeheartedly embracing Christmas (“Jesus is the reason for the season!”) to a meaningful celebration of the Festival of Lights. I say evolved because it didn’t happen overnight – our transition was much more gradual… and it’s still going! Each year we add more depth to our observance of Hanukkah and remove ourselves a little more from the world as we learn to recognize and avoid syncretism.
Chag Chanukkah Sameach! May this Festival of Lights be a season of joy and rededication for you!
=)
Identity & One Torah Review, Part 3
by torahgirl
“We show our identity not by elaborate descriptions but by our acts of obedience.”
-Tim Hegg
Session 3 (finally!) introduced the premise of Divine Invitation. Tim’s definition of DI is “a new theological teaching about how Jews and non-Jews have different ways of relating to G-d’s commandments, propounded by First Fruits of Zion, specifically.” DI combines positions of traditional Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism {from Judaism: having legal Jewish status means you must keep the Torah; from Christianity: non-Jews have no obligation to keep the Torah}, resulting in a comfortable middle ground where both Christians and Jews are happy.
Identity & One Torah Review, Part 2
by torahgirl
Tim Hegg defined the “One Torah” {One Law} position as one standard of righteousness for all people. Having two standards within one family results in chaos, and eventually, unacceptance. Discipline, a means of showing identity and love {as with children}, is based on a consistent standard. We know Torah is not a burden – the “rules” contained in it are G-d’s demonstration of love for us.
Identity & One Torah Review, Part 1
by torahgirl
I had the privilege to attend Tim Hegg’s “Identity and One Torah” seminar, held in Atlanta on November 14, 2010. The entire seminar was videotaped, and I believe Torah Resource plans to release the recording in January 2011. I strongly recommend getting it – Tim Hegg gave the best explanation of One Law vs. Divine Invitation I’ve heard yet. My personal belief in our Covenant Obligation to keep the Torah has been clarified and strengthened after going through this material.
If there’s a will, there’s a way
by torahgirl
This past Shabbat was unusual for me.
My fiancé and I were on a trip, which made our Shabbat observance somewhat different than usual. I wanted to share the story, in order to recognize G-d’s provision as well as to encourage others who might find themselves in a similar situation.
We arrived in Dallas, TX on Friday afternoon, well before sundown, and when it was time for candlelighting, we found a quiet place to perform kiddush {the “sanctification” of Shabbat} – a place that was out of the way yet still easily noticed, since the large group of people around us were not Torah-observant. We were able to bring Shabbat candlesticks, white taper candles, and matches with us, along with our kiddush card, but had to improvise the bread and wine with gluten-free crackers and apple juice {is this acceptable? Yes, although the blessing over wine should be changed from “borei p’ri hagafen/Who creates the fruit of the vine” to “shehakol nih’yeh bid’varo/Who made all things exist through His Word”}.
Pesach: Final Steps
by torahgirl
Passover begins on Monday night March 29, 2010 – less than a week to go! Are you ready for the seder? Have you cleansed your home of physical leaven and your heart of spiritual sin?! Like Shabbat, Passover requires preparation to fully participate in one of G-d’s appointed times.
Here’s some educational pre-passover reading:
Rachel Allison
battzion12
knitbyHim
cndllighter
eshetkayil
Hergenreter
Christine Alexander
seeandimprove
talmeedahofyeshua
torahgirl
Candlelighters 