Elul-Tishri 5785-5786 Newsletter
Elul-Tishri 5784-85
Hatikva Ministries Elul 5785-Tishri 5786
אנה לידו ושמתי לך
איש לרעהו ומתנות לאביונים
אשירה להשם ויאמרו לאמר
ארון לוחות ושברי לוחות
אני לדודי ודודי לי את לבבך ואת לבב אוי לרשע ואוי לשכינו
אלול Elul Acronyms
The name of the Hebrew month Elul is spelled alef-lamed-vav-lamed. It is said there are five different scriptural acronyms that represent five areas of special emphasis in Elul...1) Torah study, 2) prayer, 3) acts of kindness, 4) repentance and 5) redemption. For further study and the translations of these Hebrew verses, please see the following articles. [The sixth phrase translates “Ark of the Tablets & Shattered Tablets”, alluding to the two sets of tablets given to Moshe]
https://shulchanaruchharav.com/acronyms-of-elul/#ftn11
https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/505553?lang=bi
https://www.chabad.org/media/pdf/681/knBt6817785.pdf
Elul is the start of the season of Teshuvah. Three events occurred on Elul 1...Moshe went up on Har Sinai for the 3rd time. He was there for 40 days and 40 nights, which means he returned on Yom Kippur. Second, when Yeshua went into the wilderness, we can calculate that this was on Elul 1 and He returned on Yom Kippur. The third event is in the classic text for Elul. We see in Haggai 1 where he says “Consider your ways...” and it specifically concerns rebuilding the Temple. The season of Teshuva is important to the end times scenario. Also, there are the Selichot prayers. There are major differences between the Sephardic and Ashkenazic minhagim/customs. Debbie and I went to the Selichot prayers at the Kotel one year when we were in Jerusalem. There were two cantors, and there were tens of thousands of people there. It began at midnight and it was absolutely powerful. It was absolutely amazing. Part of the amazing part was seeing all the different people because you say orthodox, you saw
ultra-orthodox, you saw various types of dress, soldiers, people dressed casually...they knew the prayers and were singing the prayers together. One of the things we need to include to create a stronger connection with HaShem is the reading of the Selichot prayers. There are two versions of the Selichot prayers, Ashkenazic and Sephardic. The Sephardic text we suggest is called Orot Sephardic Selihot by Eliezer Toledano. Below is a summary of the key differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Selichot prayers... Start Date, Structure, Tone, vocabulary and style as well as the musical Tradition & Atmosphere.
Ashkenazi
Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah
Varies daily, poetic piyyutim Somber, introspective
Classical Hebrew, European influence
Chanted or cantorial Reflective, often late-night
Sephardic
Begins on Rosh Chodesh Elul and is done daily
Consistent format, with refrains Hopeful, musical
Hebrew with Ladino/Arabic influences
Sung with Middle Eastern melodies Communal, early morning
SHOFAR SO GOOD! The shofar, or ram's horn, is most famously associated with the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. However, it's also traditionally sounded throughout the month of Elul, which precedes the High Holidays. So why do we use this sound that's so iconic to Rosh Hashanah during the month leading up to it? The practice of sounding the shofar in Elul is a way to spiritually prepare for the High Holiday season. The sound of the shofar is meant to awaken our souls and inspire us to reflect on the past year. By extending this tradition throughout Elul, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic communities use the shofar as a call to spiritual reflection and an opportunity to prepare for Rosh Hashanah. Hear more from Joe about the shofar in this video on JerusalemTempleStudy.com!
Elul and the Return So Haggai 1 is directly connected to the call to rebuild the Temple on Elul 1. The sequence of the leaders of the return from Babylon was Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak and Zerubavel. Ezra joined them after they were already back in the land. Then Nehemiah came last. Incidentally, at one time, Ezra and Nehemiah were one book. Once the rebuilding began, they had a great task ahead of them...to reunify the Jewish people and their central worship. Due to the task ahead of them, Ezra and the Sanhedrin rose up to tackle this problem. They were known as the Anshe Knesset HaGedolah, The Men of the Great Assembly, founded in c.520 BCE. They were the Sandhedrin of the Return. It included Mordechai and Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the Tanakh prophets. For the first time the smallest population of Jews was in the Land of Israel but the greater population was outside the land. This created a need to establish halacha outside the Land which they never had before. Also, with the loss of the First Temple, they lost the throne. There was no more monarchy after the destruction of the First Temple. Several hundred years later, when the Second Temple was destroyed in 70CE, they lost the priesthood. So a parallel can be drawn between the Anshei Knesset G’dolah and the re-establishment of the Sanhedrin at Bnei Barak. They both had to deal with things that no Sanhedrin before had to deal with in order to keep the continuity of how to practice halacha and live a Jewish life without the central authority of the Temple. Another point is that while the Sh’mitah year continued to be observed, the Yovel was not. This was because for the Yovel to be observed, the Torah requires that ALL Israel be in the Land. So the court of Ezra said that they could not observe it because the majority of the people are OUT of the Land so we cannot observe it. You have to realize that when they first came back, only a few thousand returned from Babylon. After 70 years in exile in Babylon, there were probably more than 1 million Jews in Babylon. They were comfortable and had established lives, much like the numbers today, with more Jews living outside of Israel today, than live in the Land. With about 15.8 million Jews in the world, 7.3m live in Israel with 8.5 living elsewhere. In conclusion, let Elul call you back to study the Temple and also to build your own temple with study, repentance and good deeds!
L’shana Tovah u’mtukah!
We want to wish you the best and most meaningful Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot! After the Days of Awe, we move into the Season of Our Joy! Do not forget to order your lulav and etrog now so you will have it just after Yom Kippur!
Please goto this link if you want to meet us for SUKKOT! Read all about it here at this link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sukkot-on-the-river-tickets-1626467099879
Thank you for your support, your questions, your time and your contributions. We are here for you so please write, call, email or mail with any ideas, questions or requests for materials.
May Messiah come soon and speedily in our days! Your friend,
Joseph Good
Founder
Hatikva Ministries and JerusalemTempleStudy.com
Inspirational Story Corner
This month we have included a fictional story by our good friend Victor Schultz called The Son's Return. Enjoy! See more stories from Victor at https://MishnahWalk.Substack.com
The Son's Return
Michael stood at the ship’s railing, the ocean a restless expanse mirroring his thoughts. Nine days ago, his father Joe had died, the news delayed by the remote island where Michael had been vacationing, a gift after earning his business degree. Joe had promised him the family farm, the house, and the produce shipping business, everything, before Michael took over. Now, as the ship plowed toward home, memories of Joe flooded him, each a lesson in kindness that reshaped Michael from a spoiled kid into a man ready to lead.
Joe was the farm’s soul. When Junior, the groundskeeper’s son, battled cancer, Joe let his family live rent-free in the guest house, an hour closer to the treatment center than their small apartment. When a tornado razed the home of Sarah, the shipping manager who kept produce flowing to markets, Joe funded the rebuild without hesitation. Every fall, he hosted a harvest festival, feeding hundreds of workers, neighbors, and friends. His office was a haven; anyone could bring a problem, and Joe would listen, advise, or help. Michael recalled Joe tasking him with building a free farm stand when hard times hit the workers. “Make it a blessing, Mike,” Joe said. Michael stocked it with the best apples, corn, and greens, even as workers began expecting it rather than appreciating it. The stand endured, a symbol of Joe’s lesson: lead by giving.
The ship’s engine thrummed as Michael relived those days. He’d once seen the farm as his to flaunt, but Joe taught him to serve…checking on Junior’s family, helping Sarah’s kids settle into their new home, keeping the farm stand brimming with quality produce. “The farm’s blessings are for them too,” Joe had said. “You’ll run it someday, but it’s about sharing what we have.” Michael’s throat tightened. He wasn’t there when Joe’s heart failed. Guilt gnawed, but he held fast to the promise of carrying Joe’s work forward, treating workers like family.
When Michael reached the farm, dust on his boots, the farmhouse shocked him. Workers, neighbors, and Junior’s family had moved in, rearranging furniture and cluttering Joe’s office with their belongings. Voices filled the halls, claiming the space. Michael’s stomach twisted.“
What’s going on?” he demanded, voice steady but sharp.
Sarah stepped forward, beside Reverend Tom, the workers’ preacher. “Joe said the farm’s blessings belong to us too,” Sarah said. “This house is part of that blessing. You can have the guest house where Junior stayed. It’s enough.”
Michael’s blood surged. “My father left me everything…the farm, the house, the business. It’s in his will.” He held up the document, Joe’s signature bold and legal.
Reverend Tom raised a hand, holding a handwritten note in local slang Michael couldn’t read. “I wrote this based on my talks with Joe,” Tom said smoothly. “He wanted everyone to share in the farm’s blessings, to live as one family in this abundance.”
Michael’s was dumbfounded. “You wrote it? That’s not Joe’s promise! He paid for Junior’s treatments, gave his family the guest house. He rebuilt your home, Sarah, after the tornado. He threw festivals, kept the farm stand stocked, even when you took it for granted. He taught me to share the farm’s blessings, to treat you like family. But that doesn’t mean you take the inheritance he gave me! This farm is how I keep those blessings flowing. Take it, and I can’t provide for anyone. I’ll call the sheriff, and you’ll be removed…losing every blessing Joe meant for you through me.”
Tom smiled, unruffled. “Joe’s love was for all, a shared gift for his people to live in unity.”
Michael’s anger rising, but Joe’s voice echoed: Serve them, Mike. “Those words sound good,” he said, “but they twist Joe’s will. The farm stand, the festivals, the help he gave, it all came from this farm, his vision. He gave it to me to keep sharing those blessings…work, food, a future. If you force your way in, you don’t just take from me, you lose the blessings Joe planned for you through me. Keep this up, and the law will clear you out, leaving you with nothing.”
The room hushed. Some workers shifted, eyes down. Sarah clutched Tom’s note, doubt flickering. Michael stood firm, the will in his hand, Joe’s legacy burning in his chest. He wouldn’t let it be stolen by platitudes or greed.
The Revelation
The fury at the workers, fueled by Reverend Tom’s soothing but false note, mirrors a theological error. Tom’s platitudes…“the farm’s blessings are for everyone,” “one family in abundance,” “a shared gift”…echo modern Christian rhetoric that sounds appealing but distorts truth. They reflect replacement theology, which claims God’s covenant blessings to Israel, His chosen son, belong equally to all, supplanting Israel’s role. Joe represents God, Michael symbolizes Israel, chosen to steward divine blessings. The workers, like the nations, receive God’s kindness but cannot claim Israel’s inheritance without consequences. Just as the workers risk losing blessings by seizing the farm, nations risk divine disfavor by usurping Israel’s role, as the blessings flow through Israel’s stewardship.
Genesis 12:3 declares, “Through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed,” making Israel the conduit of God’s favor. Isaiah 49:6 calls Israel “a light to the nations,” sharing blessings through worship and service. Numbers 24:9 warns, “Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you,” implying that opposing Israel’s role invites loss. The workers’ error, driven by Tom’s fabricated note, was claiming Joe’s blessings as their own, bypassing Michael. Similarly, replacement theology assumes God’s blessings for all void Israel’s role. By usurping the farm, the workers face removal and loss; by usurping Israel, nations risk forfeiting the blessings meant to flow through God’s chosen son
Updates/Announcements
The Jerusalem Temple Study Radio app is now in English and Spanish! Goto JerusalemTempleStudyRadio.com to listen on the web OR
the downloadable app for Apple & Android devices.
Due to popular demand and a desire for people to listen on the go, we have designed this new app! We NEED your feedback! Please download from either Apple and Android stores. Look for “JTS RADIO”, which stands for Jerusalem Temple Study Radio. Listen commercial free to teachings from JerusalemTempleStudy.com on a constant stream. It is independent of the Jerusalem Temple Study app. There is NO subscription, NO cost, it is totally complimentary! No login or email required. Think of it like a radio station.
We have uploaded over 50 hours of teachings from over 40 years, with more hours being added weekly including: Temple focused teachings, Measure the Pattern series, previous Chavurah Live recordings, the Warfare series, Hebrew Nation Online shows, ARBA 4, Daughters of Wisdom and more! There is no rewind, pause or fast forward. It is truly a “radio” station, but without a disc jockey!
Gold members get a free download of the JerusalemTempleStudy app for on-the-go access to videos and live streams. Only $25/month. Take the Introduction To The Temple course! 14 lessons with quizzes and exams! (paid subscribers only)
The longer version of this is in a monthly eNewsletter, available at no charge. Email with your request to Office@JerusalemTempleStudy.com
Watch Our Programs
- ● Israel Update with Joe and his co-host Gilla Trebich, correspondent in Jerusalem!
- ● Find us on God's Learning Channel (GLC), YouTube, and Roku TV.
- ● Chavurah: Live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday at 7 PM Central Time. Archived episodes are available on www.JerusalemTempleStudy.com. For questions, comments, or ideas, email us at Office@JerusalemTempleStudy.com or talk to a HUMAN! 972-757-2326. Our volunteer communications assistant, Kevin will answer the phone or call you back. Please leave a message and one of our team will call you back. Or mail us a note! Hatikva Ministries PO BOX 948 Crosby TX 77532
