Office for prayer in connection with the Jewish people
Thursday 4 April 2024
Meditation
“The Heart of Torah” is a collection of essays by New York rabbi Shai Held.Shai Held, theologian and co-founder of the Hadar Institute in New York,in which he comments on the weekly Torah readings.
The beginning of the book of Be-midbar (the beginning of the Book of Numbers) is not particularly fascinating. God orders Moses to take a census of the people, and Moses sets to work. The results of the census are then presented in exceptional detail. (…)
Why such a slow, creeping pace? Why this apparently arduous procession through the tribes? Many Jewish interpreters have suggested that, although the first chapter of Be-midbar may seem
dull at first glance, it actually conveys one of the fundamental truths of Jewish theology and ethics: individuals matter.
One of the most fundamental affirmations of Jewish theology is the belief that God loves us (…) God does not love us because of our actions, but simply because we are what we are: human beings created in the image of God.
Judaism, however, goes much further: the Jewish sources firmly affirm that God loves human beings, not as anonymous members of a privileged species, but as individuals. God loves us in our individuality and uniqueness. The Mishnah teaches: “Adam was created individually…to proclaim the greatness of the Blessed One of the Holy One, because man marks many pieces with one seal and they are all alike, but the King of kings, the Blessed One of the Holy One, marked all mankind with the seal of the first man, and yet none is like the other” (Sanhedrin 4:5).
The message of the Mishna is astonishing: never before in the history of the cosmos has there been a human being like you, and never again in the history of the cosmos will there be a human being like you.This astonishing fact contributes to divine glory.
Rabbi Shai Held , Le coeur de la Torah, Volume 2 : Essais sur la semaine de la Torah : Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (Volume 2), Jewish Publicaton Society, Sep 1, 2017
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Intercessions
To be adapted according to your location
R. Amen, amen, blessed be the God of Israel
Or another refrain
1. Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you who mourned because of the violence between Cain and Abel,
we pray to you for peace in the Holy Land,
this land where you have chosen to come and join us in our humanity.
2. Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you who made possible the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers,
for any contempt for your people Israel, forgive us (silence).
We pray to you, Father, to make fraternity grow between the Jewish people and the nations.
3. Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you who brought Israel out of Egypt and made your people free,
give your joy to the Jewish people,
and keep them faithful to your covenant.
4. Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you who united the twelve tribes of Israel around the Torah,
give peace to the Jews who believe in Jesus.
5. Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you who sent your Son Jesus to save us,
pour out your blessing on Christians who are of Jewish descent.
6. Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
Father of Jesus Christ,
bring all Christian churches together in unity.
7. Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
– you have given the Jewish people the promise of the coming of the Messiah,
– you have given the Church the expectation of your son’s return.
– in the Holy Spirit we say with the whole Church: “Maranatha, come Lord”.