Hebrew Word Study: The Butterfly Effect Ancient Words Changes the 21St Century

By Chaim Bentorah

The butterfly effect comes from the suggestion that the flapping of a butterfly's wings in South America could affect the weather in Texas, meaning that the tiniest influence on one part of a system can have a huge effect on another part. Biblical Hebrew is an ancient language that became a dead language around 500 BC. In this book Chaim Bentorah takes various ancient Biblical Hebrew words and give them a modern understanding to show how they have a life changing effect in the 21st Century.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Sep 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781698709659

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Copyright 2021 Chaim Bentorah.

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ISBN: 978-1-6987-0966-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6987-0965-9 (e)

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version

(Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic

Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Trafford rev. 09/30/2021

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Dedicated to Larry Dominick

The Town President of Cicero, Illinois

Without whom there would be no

Senior and Disability Services

And his Lieutenant John Bertone without

whom I would not be driving a bus

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1     Jodi Braves The Trucks

Chapter 2     The Birdman of Cicero

Chapter 3     Mary Beth The Preacher’s Daughter

Chapter 4     A True Hero

Chapter 5     Mary The Speed Racer

Chapter 6     Jerry and The Song of Asaph

Chapter 7     No Speak English

Chapter 8     Daisy’s Heavenly Messenger

Chapter 9     The Pigeon Dance

Chapter 10   What Nuts?

Chapter 11   Roger and Eddie

Chapter 12   Angels Unaware

Chapter 13   Peter’s Cushion

Chapter 14   The Brown Pigeon

Chapter 15   Joy Comes in The Mourning

Chapter 16   Into The Hood

Chapter 17   The Town’s Sorehead

Chapter 18   God’s Twinkies

Chapter 19   The Dispatcher Believes We are Ominpresence

Chapter 20   The Poet Biker

Chapter 21   The Bridges of Ciero

Chapter 22   The Ballerina

Chapter 23   Beth and Tom

Chapter 24   Mt. Cicero

Chapter 25   Ronald’s Enterprise

Chapter 26   The Foxy Bus Driver

Chapter 27   Is there not a Prophet in Cicero?

Chapter 28   Nathan Loves Jane

Chapter 29   Advice From a Pigeon

Chapter 30   Angels Singing

Other Books by Chaim Bentorah

Books Also by Chaim Bentorah Found on The Chaim Bentorah’s Website

INTRODUCTION

After retiring from teaching, I took a job driving a disability bus for the Town of Cicero as my life is one of isolating myself in a library or office researching and studying. Even though I do teach online it is not the same as being in personal contact with people. I found a need to put myself into a situation where I am forced to be with other people where I can share my faith and love for Jesus. I found the solution in driving a disability bus.

During the weeks, months and now years of driving people in my disability bus I have listened to many stories from common people with common problems. Although I am now retired from classroom teaching, I do put up daily Hebrew word studies on my blog at www.chaimbentorah.com as well as teach online classes on Hebrewwordstudy.com. So, I am continually researching and meditating on the ancient Hebrew words from the Bible. I cannot, therefore, but to related many of the stories from people I drive in my disability bus to these ancient words that are continually on my mind.

From an early age I started to read the Reader’s Digest and all their short true to life stories. I loved reading these stories and I thought that maybe I would write these true to life stories that I listen to every day on my disability bus and put them into a Reader’s Digest format only make them into a little devotional where I relate these 21st Century stories to these ancient Hebrew words that I am continually studying.

I am amazed at how ancient words from a dead language when used in the Bible can have a profound effect on the lives of people living in the 21st Century. To this I would say that these ancient words form the Biblical Hebrew produce a butterfly effect. This term is closely associated with the work of the mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz. Edward Lorenz noted that when studying the details of a tornado, that is the exact time of formation, the exact path taken could be influenced by minor deviations such as a distant butterfly flapping its wings several weeks earlier. He called this the butterfly effect where a small influence can produce a large consequence. I found I could apply this concept to the ancient words that I study and how when I share these seemingly inconsequential words with the passengers on my disability bus that sometimes prove to be life changing.

In this book I share may stories by passengers on my disability bus where I apply ancient Hebrew or Aramaic words with the hope that it will have a butterfly effect on your own life, that is that these ancient words studied by this dusty old professor might prove to have a life changing effect on you, my reader.

When I drive my bus I always wear a baseball cap. Actually, wherever I go, I wear that baseball cap, because I am not Jewish. I know that makes about as much sense as some of my riders who border on senility do. Orthodox Jews wear a cap known as a kippah if you happen to speak Hebrew, a yarmulke if you speak Yiddish, or a skull cap if you just speak English. They wear this head gear to remind themselves that they are always in the presence of God and whatever they do they do as unto God. I love this idea, as it sounds like an excellent tool to discipline myself and remind myself that I am always in the presence of God, and that whatever I do, I do as unto God. Since I am not Jewish and wish to show no disrespect to my Jewish friends, I will not wear the traditional Jewish kippah, so I wear a baseball cap as my little reminder.

By reminding myself that I am always in the presence of God, and that whatever I do, I do as unto God, every event that takes place on my bus, every person I carry on my bus, every story they tell, I relate to God and His Word. Everyone has a story, and somehow I am able to find God in every story and every experience. I fear I am only able to share a portion of the storehouse of spiritual lessons I have learned from serving the seniors and disabled of my community. Yet, I do hope you will find the deep truths of God, as I have found, through the good people of the Town of Cicero.

If you should grant to me one wish,

Let it be this, Dear Lord, I pray.

Forever let your presence rest upon me,

Each and every day.

Grant to me this wish, Dear Lord,

And sunshine I would bring to your heart every day,

Sunshine that flows from my heart to Yours

In sweet gentle and loving rays.

CHAPTER ONE

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JODI BRAVES THE TRUCKS

Isaiah 41:12-13, Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, [even] them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

I occasionally drive a rather delightful lady named Jodi to her doctor’s appointment in my disability bus. She loves to tell stories about her life, and one day she told me how she used to walk to her doctor’s office before her legs got so weak that she had to start using our bus service. She then related an incident that occurred one day when she was crossing Cicero Avenue and Cermak Road to get to her doctor’s office. Cicero Ave. is a main artery through the center of Chicago, and is a direct link to the interstate highway that leads out of town. Hence, there are many large semi-trucks that travel down Cicero Avenue, usually going at a very rapid pace. Just as our heroine was preparing to cross the street to her doctor’s office, three large semi-tractor trailers came roaring by. Poor Jodi had a panic attack. Those trucks were so big and so loud it scared little Jodi to death. She began to scream and ran into the doctor’s office in tears, crying Help, Help, you’ve got to help me!! The nurse ran up to her and asked, Jodi, what’s wrong? In between tears of panic she said, They’re after me. By this time, the doctor had come out and said, Now, now Jodi, whose after you? With absolute terror in her eyes she said, Trucks, big trucks, they’re trying to run over me. The doctor motioned to the nurse who picked up a phone, and within a few minutes our hapless Jodi found herself strapped to a gurney, on her way to the hospital in an ambulance where she was put in restraints and given an injection. She commented, They thought I was crazy.

Many Christians live in constant fear, often unreasonable fear. They fear for the loss of their jobs, for the safety of a family member, for their health, for possible natural disasters, being a victim of crime, or even a terrorist attack. In Isaiah, God says that, I am in charge, I love you and I will let nothing happen to you. Yet, even with these assurances, we still fear. We always carry the thought that maybe God wants me to go through poverty, pain or suffering? Some Christians live in constant fear that they will go to hell. Recently, I was transporting Hazel, an elderly lady, to and from Sunday Mass in my disability bus. She suffered a stroke and had difficulty keeping her balance. As she walked out of the sanctuary, she accidently knocked over the holy water. In tears, her first comment was, Oh no, I’m going to hell. The enemy wants to fill us with unreasonable fear and dread so that he can destroy our faith. Yet, God is telling us that all these enemies that try to create fear in us are a thing of naught, they are totally unreasonable.

A thing of naught, in Hebrew, is a very interesting expression. Practically every translation translates this as nothing. Actually, those words in Hebrew are k’ayim uke’epes. These words could be rendered as nothing, but when you trace these words to their Semitic root, you find it has the idea of the bottom of your foot or the sole of your foot. As these words evolved through the various Semitic languages, they eventually carried the idea of the extreme portion of your body that is the ankle or sole of the foot. The word ke’epem is prefixed with a Kap indicating a preposition like or as. So all your enemies are like the sole of your foot. Like walking on an ant, the sole of your foot will crush it. God is not saying your enemies are really not out there, they are and they are real, but they are at such an extreme length from you that they hardly matter. President Calvin Coolidge was asked how he could be so calm as the President of the United States when every hour there seems to be a new crisis that arises. He replied, If I see ten problems coming down the road, I can be sure nine will fall into a ditch before they reach me. If the enemy does reach you, then all you have to do is simply step on him.

Another use of these words, for a thing of nought – k’ayim uke’epes is to render it as something that is limited. That problem that you see walking down the road toward you may appear very fearsome and frightening, but God is going to make them k’ayim uke’epes. He is going to limit their power over you so that you can crush them under the soles of your feet.

The Apostle Paul understood this very well. When he became a believer, man took everything away from him. He lost his status, his reputation, his wealth, his family, and became an itinerate preacher who was stoned, beaten, and shipwrecked. Yet,