Biblical Heritage Center Blog

  The Story of TZEDAQAH   TZEDAQAH is a difficult word for English speakers to understand. At first glance it appears to mean something that simply makes no sense -- a combination of charity and justice . In English, charity is voluntary while justice is mandatory. This problem was created when translators incorrectly linked the Hebrew word charity to TZEDAQAH . They should have linked it to loyalty .   TZEDAQAH is a combination of loyalty and justice .   1. Loyalty to the community in conduct and honesty.   2. Justice by eliminating things that decrease SHALOM or create disorder in the community.   There is a far cry between TZEDAQAH , with its implications of social justice , and the word “ charity .” In the case of “ charity ”, the recipient sees himself beholden to the donor, whose action is voluntary . TZEDAQAH , on the other hand, has to be performed as a matter of obligation and the recipient is in no way indebted to the ...

  The three Hebrew words above have no English equivalents. The English words used to translate them are not accurate meanings. At a minimum, it would take a sentence or more to convey the Hebrew meanings to English readers . In order to understand TOV , SHALOM , and TZEDAQAH in the context in which they appear, you need to do two things.   1. Add their transliterations and meanings to your vocabulary and use the transliterations when you read and discuss verses in which they appear.   2. Use an interlinear Bible (it has Hebrew and English words) to locate the Hebrew words or use BHC translations of Bible portions in your Bible studies. ( See Website Page )   The Story of TOV   The Hebrew word TOV appears seven times in the first story in Genesis. The first appearance is in Genesis 1:4.   And God saw the light, that it was  TOV .   Most translators translate “ TOV ” as “ good .” Translators generally use lexicons...

  In the ancient world there were no Bibles; there were scrolls. In the Jewish culture the most important scroll was called “ The Torah .” The Hebrew word “ TORAH ” means “ Instructions ” and “ Laws .” The first section in the Torah scroll is the book we now call “ Genesis ,” and it contains “ The Stories of the Beginnings .” These stories are primarily sources of instructions , not laws.   As readers follow the flow of the text of the Torah , they move from one story to the next, with each new story adding to the storylines of humanity and the Israelites. One elohim (god) is the central character and He interacts with ADAM #1, ADAM #2, Cain, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph in the stories in Genesis . Each of these stories play important roles in Jewish and Christian Biblical Heritages. However, most Christians are unfamiliar with Jewish interpretations of them – including the interpretations of the Jewish Jesus . Another reason is that it is impossible f...

  In the late 1980s I made one of the most important decisions in my life. I created what we now call the BHC Primary Guideline and committed to following it, no matter where it took me.   My Belief System will be Large Enough to include all Facts, Open Enough to be Examined and Questioned, and Flexible Enough to Change if Errors or New Facts are discovered.   Every Exploring Our Biblical Heritages Educational Email is written to help you use the BHC Primary Guideline to examine your own Belief System. It was around 2015 that I learned that the Realities through which humans experience life – everything we sensory perceive and imagine is generated by the brain through a biological process – and that is FACT . The brain creates Belief Models and uses them to generate Realities .   The BHC Primary Guideline was created to deal with Religious Belief Systems , but today we know that humans do not have neatly compartmentalized and separated beli...

  I introduced the Story of TESHUVAH (Ezekiel 18) in my last email . I pointed out that TESHUVAH is usually translated “ repentance .” TESHUVAH is one of those important Hebrew words that do not have an English word with the same meaning. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz wrote a book called Teshuvah, in it he said, “ Teshuvah occupies a central place in Judaism and has many facets. As individuals differ from one another, so too do their modes of teshuvah, in both motive and form of expression .” Based on an individual’s relationship with God, TESHUVAH has two different meanings.   1. TESHUVAH means “ Return! ” for people that have been in a conscious relationship with the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth in the Jewish culture.   2. TESHUVAH means “ Turn Around! ” for people who have not been in a conscious relationship with the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth in the Jewish culture.   Below are ideas related to the meanings above.   1. There ...

  (This article was originally published in June 2015.) My friend and TOV Center Partner, Jim Myers, received a 6-page list of Biblical quotes in a reaction to a blog he wrote about the Real Yeshua -- Jesus the Jewish teacher . I noticed after reading through this huge list of quotes from the Bible, that the point of the whole thing was that the writer wanted to prove his " RIGHTNESS ."     This sense of " RIGHTNESS " is something I've experienced my entire life. Many people are absolutely sure that what they "BELIEVE" is "RIGHT!" So many expend their energy on defending their BS (Belief System), some even go to the point of killing others. The real crime, however, is that they ignore and do not practice the Values and Lessons that the Jewish Jesus taught – and are clearly recorded in those same Scriptures . They think that because they "BELIEVE" something, it is so -- without ever looking at the facts . If they ever acknowledge...

  “ The Great Day of Judgment ” plays an important role in the teachings of Jesus. Everything that happens to people on that day will be based on whether God sees them as being innocent or guilty .   God will punish the guilty and deliver the innocent.   In the Story of the Great Flood , God saw that Noah was innocent ( a TZADIQ ) and God saw that others were guilty . The guilty were wiped from the face of the earth by a flood. God gave Noah instructions about how to build the thing that would deliver animals and birds, as well as Noah and his family. Noah built the ark and it saved their lives .   As I said in my last email ( click here to read ), in the teachings of Jesus, the ark is “ the Kingdom of God .” It will deliver the innocent from being destroyed like the guilty . The people listening to Jesus wanted to know the answer to one question.   What does one have to do to be in the Kingdom of God?   Jesus said one word and they...