God is Nowhere
The Dead Sea scrolls contain fragments of every book of the Tanach (Jewish Bible) except for one, Megilat Esther. Many scholars conjecture it was not included in the Essene’s cannon because God is nowhere in the text of Megilat Esther and they did not believe it was a holy book. Megilat Esther is the only book of Tanach without a single mention of Gods name.
When the invisible man puts on a shirt, his form becomes clearer. God is invisible, through his garment his form is revealed.
In the news this week was the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the situation is still currently under investigation and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. There is one person who was considering booking a ticket on the flight but decided not to , his name was Andy. Andy was Jewish, but not particularly observant, he was working with a travel agent based out of Israel who was also Jewish, together they were planing a business trip to the Far East.
Andy was working with the agent on a detailed itinerary and asked to be booked on flight 370. Since the flight took off on Shabbos , the travel agent respectfully told him he would not be able to book it for him because Andy was Jewish, but he could book it himself. Andy decided to take the agents advice and in his words “be a little more observant.” He was more then shocked when the flight went missing and he realized the travel agents advice on keeping Shabbos saved his life.
Both Megilat Esther and the story of Andy not flying on Shabbos could be seen as mere coincidences. As Aristotle put it “It is probable that improbable events will occur.” King Fredrick the Great asked a related question of his Lutheran Pastor, he requested visible proof of God’s existence. The Pastor answered with two words, The Jews. The story of
The holiday of Purim is about Jewish survival against insurmountable odds. Not just in Persia or a specific place and time but across the span of history the Jewish people have miraculously survived repeated attempts at total annihilation. This is a irrefutable fact of history. This was the message the Essenes missed, a point central to the Megilah. The survival of the Jewish people as a nation is the garment through which God reveals himself in history.
The Roman emperor Hadrian once remarked to Rabbi Yehoshua “Great indeed must be the lamb Israel , that it can survive among seventy wolves.” Rabbi Yehoshua replied “Great is the Shepherd, Who rescues her and protects her.”
God is Now_here
I guess it depends on how you read it.
The Dead Sea scrolls contain fragments of every book of the Tanach (Jewish Bible) except for one, Megilat Esther. Many scholars conjecture it was not included in the Essene’s cannon because God is nowhere in the text of Megilat Esther and they did not believe it was a holy book. Megilat Esther is the only book of Tanach without a single mention of Gods name.
When the invisible man puts on a shirt, his form becomes clearer. God is invisible, through his garment his form is revealed.
In the news this week was the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the situation is still currently under investigation and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. There is one person who was considering booking a ticket on the flight but decided not to , his name was Andy. Andy was Jewish, but not particularly observant, he was working with a travel agent based out of Israel who was also Jewish, together they were planing a business trip to the Far East.
Andy was working with the agent on a detailed itinerary and asked to be booked on flight 370. Since the flight took off on Shabbos , the travel agent respectfully told him he would not be able to book it for him because Andy was Jewish, but he could book it himself. Andy decided to take the agents advice and in his words “be a little more observant.” He was more then shocked when the flight went missing and he realized the travel agents advice on keeping Shabbos saved his life.
Both Megilat Esther and the story of Andy not flying on Shabbos could be seen as mere coincidences. As Aristotle put it “It is probable that improbable events will occur.” King Fredrick the Great asked a related question of his Lutheran Pastor, he requested visible proof of God’s existence. The Pastor answered with two words, The Jews. The story of
The holiday of Purim is about Jewish survival against insurmountable odds. Not just in Persia or a specific place and time but across the span of history the Jewish people have miraculously survived repeated attempts at total annihilation. This is a irrefutable fact of history. This was the message the Essenes missed, a point central to the Megilah. The survival of the Jewish people as a nation is the garment through which God reveals himself in history.
The Roman emperor Hadrian once remarked to Rabbi Yehoshua “Great indeed must be the lamb Israel , that it can survive among seventy wolves.” Rabbi Yehoshua replied “Great is the Shepherd, Who rescues her and protects her.”
God is Now_here
I guess it depends on how you read it.