I hope you had a wonderful time
studying last week’s Torah portion and I hope you take the time to study this
week’s Torah portion, which was just sent to you earlier this evening. Reflecting upon last week’s Torah portion, I
was drawn to the passage pertaining to dietary laws; ie, things strangled, not
eating blood, or eating unclean things, etc.
At this point, I would like to
share a very funny story. As you all
know, I am currently on assignment at House of Israel in Charlotte, NC. The journey that I have embarked on has been
filled with wonderful revelation, questions being answered, and still more
questions being raised. I cannot begin
to express the excitement deep within my soul as thirst is being quenched over
and over again, answering questions that I have had for years, literally
years. My resolve has been to emulate
the behavior and observances that I am immersed in at this very season in my
life in ministry. What does that
mean? It simply means that I am pursuing
a Torah observant life in accordance with Hebrew roots believers. My experiences have already profoundly affected
my walk with Yehovah.
It was this Torah portion that
reminded me of a humorous incident that took place a few weeks after I took
residence in the apartment there in Fort Mill.
I tried a seafood restaurant (I love seafood) and in accordance with
dietary laws, I chose to stay away from anything deemed unclean. I ordered three different pieces of
fish. I was absolutely satisfied with
the selection. The service was
great. The manager happened to walk by
several times. Noticing that I was a new
customer, he inquired of my well-being from time to time.
At the end of my meal, I
expressed how much I enjoyed the fish that I had ordered. I told him that I loved a good tasting fish,
and he looked at what I had ordered from earlier and said, “Oh, if you like a
fishy tasting fish, you must try this other filet.” And he said, “I’ll be right back.” I thought to myself (oh how exciting), a free
piece of fish! I must be getting favor
from Yehovah. Then, I thought to myself,
“Wait a minute. What is he going to
bring me?” Sure enough, he proudly
brought a filet of catfish and boasted of just how well their catfish is prepared
and that their selection does not taste muddy like other catfish does.
Now, me being new to this walk, I
was caught off guard and did not know how to respond. A simple, “I don’t eat catfish,” would
suffice, but I was tongue twisted and did not want to offend this proud manager
of his glorious catfish. He kept on
talking as I inched my fork toward the catfish, hoping he would walk away. He was giving his catfish accolades as my
fork moved another inch forward. He
continued as my fork cut off a piece of that catfish. I was at a loss for words, if you can imagine
that. He watched as I took the morsel toward
my mouth with a huge smile on his face. Then
came the fatal blow; I PUT THE CATFISH IN MY MOUTH, as he smiled on.
Suddenly, another table called
him. The moment he walked away, I
reached for a napkin and spit out that piece of catfish. I laughed as I thought to myself, “David,
what are you doing?” Here you are
wearing tzitzits, spitting catfish out of your mouth, and trying to hide the
evidence. I truly was attempting to
honor Torah and was placed in a very precarious situation from my new found perspective
in Hebrew roots.
I shared this story with some of
my new friends at House of Israel and they laughed right along with me, patted
me on the shoulder and said, “It’s a journey, brother.” It was then that I realized that we are all
on this same journey of seeking truth wherever we may find it.
Why does this Torah portion
remind me of that situation? Because, as
I studied last week’s Torah portion, I found that one is not defiled when a
morsel enters his mouth; one becomes defiled when the morsel passed the esophagus. What a profound truth.
Let’s look at it from a spiritual
standpoint. II Corinthians 10:5 says, “Casting down imaginations…and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” It is
interesting to see that the scripture does not say that you will not have an
imagination contrary to Yehovah; it does not say that you will not have an evil
thought. Quite the contrary, you will
have imaginations and thoughts. The
point is when you have the imagination that you cast it down, and when you have
a thought, you bring your mind into obedience.
I put the morsel of catfish in my mouth\I had the thought. I spit it out\I did not take the
thought. There is a shift that takes
place when you have “taken” the thought - or - swallowed the catfish.
This is what happens according to
James 1:15, “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin…” The seed of lust was conceived and brought
forth sin. We need not belabor the point
here. Sin ultimately leads to death as
James so eloquently put it. The trick is
learning how to recognize when the piece of catfish is just in your mouth and
not allowing it to go down your throat. When
you have a thought contrary to the very Word of Yehovah, SPIT IT OUT! Do not waste a moment dwelling on that
thought, that lust, that imagination, that desire. Do not take the thought.
I learned a valuable lesson at
that restaurant and from my study of this Torah portion. As I am more aware of Torah, I am more aware
of my thoughts. Even a thought that
might seem incidental can be a thought contrary to Torah. So, as I learn Torah, my thoughts are
aligning themselves with the very thoughts of Yehovah.
Going forward on this journey, we
will all experience these challenging circumstances. Things that seem trivial, I am finding, mean
very much to our Master. It would
behoove us to do our very best to please Him, as He has instructed us to please
Him, not as we think He wants us to please Him.
If we will endeavor to please our Lord, we will find less and less
pieces of catfish going down our throats.
Amen!
