Tikkun

By David Smith

The first question ever asked was
“where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)
Of course, the Lord Creator
knew exactly where Adam was
but He wanted Adam to confess
his shame and to admit his sin.
This question reverberates through
the ages from generation to generation.
The world we are living in today is turning
its back on the Creator more and more.
So the question, “where are you?”
has become more pertinent .
Yes, the Lord knows exactly where you are,
but He wants you to examine your spiritual situation.
“Broad is the road that leads to destruction and many go that way,
but narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life,
and few there are that find it.”
So, where are you?

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Smith
• Release date: Jun 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463649053

David Smith

David Smith has over 48 years at CABI as Preservation Officer, Curator and latterly Director of Biological Resources and is now retired with the honour of being a CABI Emeritus Fellow. Having a long history of managing a living fungal collection; developing and managing projects on conservation and use of microorganisms; and microbiological regulatory environment particularly, the Nagoya protocol. In past roles as President of the World Federation for Culture Collections, President of the European Culture Collection's Organisation and the UK Federation of Culture Collections he has visited collections in 34 countries and helped set up and enhance collections in 19 countries. He has presented over 160 conference papers and has over 230 publications including 80 peer reviewed papers, 4 books and over 40 book chapters.

Book preview

TIKKUN

Essential Reading for all who follow Christ

David Smith

Copyright © 2020 David Smith

Published by David Smith Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by David Smith using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Kevin Turner for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.org

E-mail: [e-mail]

David Smith

[e-mail]

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The Essential Something else

2. The Most Important Day on The LORD’S Calendar, The Sabbath

3. Anatomy of the Crucifixion

4. Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost (Shavuot)

5. Christmas and the Birth of Messiah

6. The Remaining Moedim (Festivals)

7. Moving On

8. Focusing on the Torah

9. A Closer Look at some matters in Leviticus (Vayikra)

10. Holy, but What Does it Mean?

11. Conclusion

In loving memory of Lassie,

the dearest friend I have

ever known.

Introduction

So just what is Tikkun (pronounced Tee-koon)? And what does it have to do with you, me or anyone else? First of all, it is a Hebrew word which is derived from the Hebrew verb, meaning: "to fix, to repair, to restore". More primitively it means "to erect as in to put upright something that has toppled over. Again, we might ask What has all this to do with you or me?" Well, this word is seldom used on its own, but is usually associated with one of two other concepts, namely, Tikkun Olam, which means to fix, to repair or to restore the world, or Tikkun Midot, to repair the character.

Therefore, the underlying meaning of these phrases is spiritual in nature, for it is not possible to repair the world without dealing with the individual character, and the character can only be repaired from within. Generally, the word Tikkun may appear on its own, but always embodies the concept of fixing or repairing the world through returning to a lifestyle that will enrich and bless the world at large.

So then, just what needs to be repaired? It is very true that we live in a world that seems to be unravelling at the seams. The increased frequency of natural disasters is alarming, all because our planet is stressed and overburdened. Likewise, there are many political and religious agendas that raise strife and controversy. The concept of repairing the character requires that we take a closer look at ourselves and society as a whole. It is not only the physical or political nature of the world that is falling apart, but the whole moral fabric of society is crumbling.

This book was born out of the very real and deep concern of a father’s heart for his children. I was born into a very devout Christian home. My grandfather was the founder of the little Methodist congregation in the town where I grew up, and my parents were deeply involved in the work of this community. I grew up well accustomed to family prayer, and my parents gave me a clear witness of a Christian lifestyle.

At the age of 14, I was invited by a friend to an Easter Bible Camp. There, on the evening of Good Friday I was confronted with the fact that knowing all about this person, Jesus, was not enough. Yes, I knew about His feeding of the 5000 with a few loaves and fishes. I knew about His walking on water and calming the storm; healing the blind, the lame and the deaf; and bringing the dead back to life. I had been taught all those things at Sunday school.

At that stage though, I was confronted with the fact that I could know Him, person to person, as a Friend, a Saviour, who had given His life to redeem me, to set me free from sin. While I had not known Him, He knew me. This was something I could not ignore. I had to - just had to, embrace it with all my heart. It changed my life completely. No! I had not been a bad person involved with all kinds of degradation or depravity, but my life was given clear direction and purpose, with a new approach to life. I got involved with all the youth groups in the Church and joined the SCA (Students’ Christian Association) at school. I was never afraid to make my faith known.

On leaving school I wanted to go into the Ministry, but my mother persuaded me to consider something else. Her argument was that people would look beyond my integrity, in the ministry. In fact, I could expect nothing less, whereas in secular society, qualities like honesty, loyalty and good character, would stand out as a witness to my faith. I was fortunate in gaining a wife who was equally devoted, and we brought up our family of three children in the same way. Family prayers were a daily commitment in our lives. We both became lay preachers in the Methodist Church, and that was where we as a family, would be found every Sunday.

Regrettably, life is not always a series of dreams fulfilled. At the young age of 45, my wife contracted breast cancer. She struggled, enduring a mastectomy and the horrific effects of chemotherapy for two years. The cancer was aggressive and ultimately entered her lungs. Then breathing became a tremendous struggle. The doctors finally gave up and so did her heart.

I was angry, very, very angry. How could the God of all creation, the God of love allow this to happen? How could the One to whom both I and my wife had devoted our lives, witnessed for, ministered for, do this to us? I was sore, bewildered and angry. How did He expect me to endure such pain? That’s when it happened. It was the briefest of moments, a fraction of a millisecond, in my mind’s eye He opened His heart and allowed me to see, for the briefest of moments, the pain and grief He feels for those who are lost to Him. It shattered me. To some extent it had a healing effect on me. At least my anger was assuaged, but my heart was still very sore. I lived life in a haze. Life had to go on though, as each day had its demands, and adjustments had to be made. Time brought a small sense of healing.

About nine years later, I remarried. Some years later, after retiring, I went to live in a small town not too far from where our family had been living. There I was asked to be Pastor of the small inter-denominational fellowship that met there. I did not have a prepared preaching plan, but each week would sit with the scriptures and prayerfully prepare for the next Sunday service. On looking back over this work, I found that there were two threads in my sermons. One looked forward in a prophetic sort of way, while the other looked back at where the Church started and how it evolved.

It was at this time that numerous aspects of Christianity which had always bothered me but had been relegated to the back of my mind, began to resurface. Firstly, I had always been aware that the celebrations associated with Christianity, were all based on pagan festivals, and at that stage, it began to trouble me.

Secondly, I read a great deal of early Church history and was horrified at the way the Roman Church persecuted the Jews in a bid to enforce conversion. I became physically sick as a result, then fell on my knees and repented. I could not be part of that history. My Saviour is worth far more than the Church, hence this book, which is an attempt to put things back into the perspective of Tikkun.

A note to the reader: The Saviour, who died for me and for you, was born King of the Jews (see Matthew 2:2). He was crucified King of the Jews. He ascended into Heaven as King of Israel (see Acts 1). He will return to reign on the earth as the King of Israel. He was a Hebrew through and through, of the House of David, of the Tribe of Yehuda (Judah) and He had a Hebrew name; Yeshua, which in Hebrew means "salvation’. This gives significance to Matthew 1:21. At no time did He become a Greek. It is my preference and privilege, therefore, to use His Hebrew name, Yeshua, and by so doing, I believe I afford Him greater honour, reverence and respect. Thus, throughout the book I will use the name, Yeshua. From time to time I may refer to Him as Yeshua HaMassiach, which means, "Yeshua the Messiah."

All Scriptures quoted are taken from the ESV (English Standard Version), unless otherwise stated.

Chapter 1

The Essential Something else

The something else:

In Matthew’s Gospel there is a well-known section referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. It runs from the beginning of Chapter 5 to the end of Chapter 7. In Chapter 7 verse 21, we read Yeshua’s word. He said, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven."

Well now, we have to ask who those are, who call Him Lord? Will the Hindus? Not likely. Will the Buddhists? I doubt it. We can be sure that no one from any of the world religions is in anyway taught or encouraged to call Yeshua Lord other than the Christians. In fact, it is incumbent on Christians to acknowledge Him and accept Him as Lord. Yet, here Yeshua makes it clear that merely acknowledging Him as Lord is insufficient to guarantee entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Something more is required. Well, Yeshua doesn’t hold back. He tells us plainly in simple language that something more is required. In the second part of verse 21, He states, but he who does the will of my Father in Heaven. Therefore, plainly and unequivocally, the doing of His Father’s will is a prerequisite for entrance into His Kingdom.

Later, in Matthew Chapter 12, we come across a similar injunction. In verses 46 – 50, is a little incident where Yeshua’s family - His mother, brothers and sisters, come looking for Him. When He receives the message, He asks the question, ...Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Pointing to His disciples, He said, …whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, is my brother and sister and mother. One can simplify this statement by saying, If you want to be in relationship with Him as a brother or a sister, or His disciple for that matter, He will expect you to be doing the will of my Father." Secondly, He fully expected His disciples, "to be doing the will of My Father."

On one occasion, His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. This is how you should pray, ‘Our Father in heaven....Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, He said. This asks the question, who exactly was Yeshua expecting to, do the will of Our Father in heaven here on earth if not His own followers?

Well, this is not the end of Yeshua’s desire revealed to us, that we who call Him Lord, should "do the will of the Father." He quotes, in Matthew 4:4, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Father. You see, bread feeds the body but the soul is fed by the words that come