Portion of the Week; Malachi 14a-6, Rabbi Fenster

it's been the la she is all although millennium days casale in the days all it's the hall all portion of the week the bible was read in the synagogue with rabbinic commentary this evening we're rabbi myron fenster spiritual leader of the conservative congregation the jackson heights dewey center and jackson let's hear your profit mossy quinn whose words we take the prophetic reading for this week with jack precedes the holiday of passover in the jewish calendar forms a very interesting personality and study in itself in the first instance it is a most abbreviated of

profits his work has come down to was covers only three chapters it is difficult to think of a man who can put as much emotion and has such firm ethical belief is that the profit monarchy and the words that we do have the force it is difficult and painful and eight to think of the amount of maternal that mustapha speeches that has unfortunately been lost to us and one goes into elaborate today to see the many thousands of volumes that have come forth in recent years many of which of course will be read by future generations but it which also will be coughlin then it shows an entity in oblivion which perhaps to some extent they deserve it is saddening to think of some of the great phrases and ideas

and powerful emotions and thoughts unethical content that could have come down to us had we been able to preserve the words of mark lee and indeed some of the other prophets as well it's hard to think that a nurse would be contained within a few chapters that we have of him and some of the others too the mystery of malarkey of course is further compounded by the fact that we know so very little about him as a person or an autobiographical accounts anonymity of pot of these prophecies been a passion and we're not perfectly sure even at what period he's spoken to who is a force were dressed we think that it was in the time after the destruction of the first temple which took place in the sixth century before the christian year after the destruction of the jews or caraway into babylon they sit they

sat by the waters of babylon and they wept when they remembered zion ford was always their ideological to return to the land and to revive all of the land and the language and the religion and the culture of the jewish people their and finally they were given permission to return as many of them did under the leadership of ezra now meyer and yet things and as random i were not quite as good as one would have liked them to be or as they would've liked them today we read for example that there was a far more sweeping reforms in the days of ezra for probably the law had been forgotten from the mind and hearts of the people and so israel had to form again a covenant with the people he had to stand in the marketplace and teach them the torah this

incidentally is the origin of our present day custom of reading the torah not only on the saturday on the sabbath from the synagogue morning but on mondays and thursdays as well for those with a market days when people would come from the surrounding villages into the major cities as indeed it is still today for those who visit parts of the middle east for as they steal the market betty been bearish evan israel even now one can see beginning with one's they midnight the caravans or the mules and the donkeys coming across the desert as they prepare for the market on thursday morning was as rose thought that if the tor was to be a a lifestyle of the jewish people if we were to fulfill the verse let him a game on the law a law that we shall meditate upon them day night that this would have to be incorporated into the synagogue ritual

and until the teaching of the people that would be fixed and that would be a set down in a formal way he found not only that but that malls were lax the divorce was common that the people had departed from their distinctive position as a people of god he found that they had intermarried with on women and all of this disturb very much the reform are as rare because you know that if these conditions would prevail if they were to continue at the distinctive jewish way of life undoubtedly and unfortunately would be lost these very same conditions are available to monarchy and they existed in the time in which he lived which may very well have been in the exact days of those or an apple an mri or perhaps slightly later and so what we

find now maya trying to do and joined in this by ezra and buy more lofty our profit is to re emphasize the biblical tradition this is something which each generation has a par on the need to do for others vitality only the local tradition only one it is expanded into life only one becomes alive the present generation and so my locker rises above formal ritual ism he gives expression to the highest ethical ideals that a characteristic of the early prophets he denounces vigorously them our wrongs of his time he pronounces a swift doom upon sorcerers a daughter is perjury is those who oppress the widow and the orphans he's from the opening verses of this week's prophetic reading where he speaks in very

vigorous terms against those who oppressed the widow in the orphan for this is a biblical tradition this is part of the law of moses unfortunately when it fell to disuse or if it were neglected to some extent this was the function of the prophet not alone to announce something new but distressed be open to re emphasize it furthermore a profit mooc he denounces the neighborliness of his people in the manner of sacrifice to god he hauls left in contrast the respect that is often shown by billy them in that at least their offerings on generous even though misguided and he's directed on the other hand there is a

magnificent recognition by marty that olsen ceo heathen worship isn't reality offer to the one god of the earth this sublime forest characteristic of the universalism as displayed not only by many of the profits or by judaism in many places famous jewish poet philosopher shalom only been the bureau with an eleventh century gives expression to this innocence wide words thou art the lord and wellbeing is out by creatures buy domain and for all those who serve our idols of rain falling on her is not attracted from four they all claim to be even the heathen to come variations on the spot is found in many places a rabbinic literature

that follows was prior to god with sincerity and with conviction even though the guard which they aspire to or may not be the same god which the jewish people understand that worships number was they are helping to bring about the time when the world will be less said by or the news today but the people were skeptical they were skeptical because they had suffered humiliation of being transported from the homeland and because they anticipate on the day of mr barber didn't come and so marty emphasize this thing too that the day of the lord will be a day of judgment not alone for the non jewish world but for israel

when god will passes people through the refiners fire and remove the dross from the precious metal god will then bring to light the truly righteous and the wicked will be consumed written branch but the day of the lord will not come without warning will be preceded by the advent of the prophet a larger whose mission will be to reconcile parents and children and to turn the hearts of law to god and will be followed by the dawn of the messianic here pahlavi was the last of the profits for it was then believe that the divine inspiration left and the book's therefore that were believed could come after that form what is now called the apocryphal work as one of the as the last of the prophet's mosque he preached strict observance of them was a code for only by loyola hearings to the torah is revealed well the triumph of

israel be realized the creative period of prophecy might've been passed but the way of salvation lies in conformity to the wisdom that has been uncovered these are the thoughts of monarchy which we read this week you are listening to a portion of the week the bible was read in a synagogue with a rabbinical injury it's a vineyard rabbi mark fenster spiritual leader at the jackson heights to a center in jackson heights new york they gather for a portion of the week is eliza combine of the congregation beth shalom of kings bay in brooklyn new york is on all the days are shot it in the days on their honda its allies also follow is

it mayor off that buzz aldrin a pall mall human body all matter bell army am the owner buy at all my ob halo and eight the us saw the ball my awe that the eu dana blog will dana awful by a law al ali ag long yawn their last college as long will moy all my atm them laurie you gone vi almada narnia is a rocky yeah this the

warriors the aba a lot of the data mine ian mom onto by oz well all of the etude as aunt auntie off by armed and well a mom i am ah shabby meat off our smart pr all they are are mine he was sheriff may also more broadly auto body wearing like a lot of our neighbors law blog at our show more you lie yeah why a while now the er with shane eighties lie on her way