So Who Eats Matzah Balls, Anyway?

This week is Pesach (Passover), beginning tonight, Monday evening at dusk. Depending upon how you observe it, I’d encourage you to remove the leaven (chametz - yeast and fermenting products) to an “out-of-sight” location, or trash it if it’s going to go bad anyway after a week. Then open your first box of matzoh and get excited about eating only unleavened bread for the week!

If you get a late start on it - that’s ok! God looks at the heart and our desire to please Him. Removing the leaven is mentioned in Ex. 12:15, 18-20, 13:6-7 and also by Yeshua and Paul in Mt. 16:6, I Cor. 5:6-9, & Gal. 5:9. You’ll be surprised how hard it is to not eat bread and yeast products, especially if out for a snack! But that’s the beauty of it. Every time you realize you can’t eat that ‘burger on a bun’, or that bowl of cereal, you remember that you love God more than your belly, pleasing Him more than pleasing your flesh, and the joy is in that decision to refrain and replace BECAUSE YOU LOVE HIM! Do I receive extra points with God for doing this? No. But I do increase within, strengthening my spiritual self, my ‘new man’. I recommend carrying around a container with matzoh when you’re out and about, so you’ll have it ready.

Bread was first made in Egypt, and leaven represents pride, malice, evil, hypocrisy, and erroneous teachings. Our decision to not eat of it for the week is a renunciation of the old life and darkness from which we’ve been redeemed. Our eating matzoh is an embracing of Yeshua who is the bread of life, a proclamation of our new life in Him. It was a dramatic deliverance when G-d called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, transferring us into the kingdom of His Son (I Pet. 2:9; Col. 1:13). Unleavened bread represents humility, sincerity, and the truth about grace. Like Yeshua, who was without sin, it does not ferment. He came in humility, to sacrifice His life (Zech. 9:9; Is. 42:2-3; Mk. 10:45). Eating it also signifies our readiness to leave this life instantly and meet Him when He calls us to do so. It is both retrospective and prospective.

Now the next part: what do you like to put on your matzoh? Eat with your matzoh? Make with matzoh meal? Let’s send in our favorite complement to our matzoh or recipe and share ideas together! Not being much of a chef, I love making matzoh brie - scrambled eggs w/ matzoh mixed in (soak in milk first). But mostly you’ll see me eating peanut butter on matzoh a lot this week!

This coming Shabbat we will focus on the Resurrection of Yeshua, the Lamb of God (Seh HaElohim). Though He would actually have risen this coming Thursday, April 1 (as I understand it), we will take this opportunity to remember, review, and rejoice in this historic and eternal event. Did Yeshua actually redeem Israel? Are there reasonable arguments substantiating His resurrection? What was the ancient Jewish or rabbinic view of a future resurrection? What did this event mean to His Jewish followers, and what does it mean to us? Would you pray with me that the Lord would speak, and bring an awesome visitation and illumination of His resurrection?

Oh, and of course I can’t wait to see many of you at one of our congregational seders, April 1 & 3! "Shevet achim gam yachad" (Ps. 133:1)! [Seders are listed on our website: www.koldodi.org].

Chag Pesach v’T’chyayah Sameach!
(Happy Passover & Resurrection Holiday),

Rabbi Alpren

Dayenu!

How grateful to the Lord I am for our Kol Dodi Family. God has truly given us a remarkable group of individuals with hearts who “give themselves first to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God” (2 Cor. 8:5). And He continues to call more “set apart ones” to come, be planted, and flourish at Kol Dodi (Ps. 92:13).

A great example of this is Joy’s testimony of response this past Shabbat when, at Service’s end, she asked for volunteers to help at the upcoming Passover Seders. “So many of you answered the call to help”, she wrote. I counted at least twenty names.

It reminds me of a portion out of this past week’s Parasha, in Exodus 35-36 when Moses had called for the people to bring an offering and their skills to assist in constructing and decorating the Mishkan (Tabernacle) with it’s furniture and priestly garments.

“Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the LORD’S contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments.”
“And they said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the LORD commanded us to perform.” - Ex. 35:21; 36:5

The response was so abundant that he finally had to ask them to stop! Dayenu! i.e. enough for us (the Hebrew word “dye” is used)! We sing the joyous song every Pesach during our Seder. “You have done for us more than we deserve, O’ God” - I call it the Romans chapter 8 of the Seder.

The Torah mentions three qualities of heart that were expressed in the Jewish people’s response to Moses’ call. I mentioned them Saturday, and will do so again here:

Chacham Lev
Nasa Lev
Nadav Lev

Wise hearts, Uplifted hearts, and Willing hearts.
Divine Intelligence, Divine Enthusiasm, and Availability to the Divine.
And how are these qualities acquired? By:

my submission to the Word of God - being teachable (James 1:21; Jn. 8:31-32)
my yielding to the Spirit of God - being prayerful (Eph. 5:18-20; Jn. 6:63)
taking my place with Messiah on his Tree - dying to self (Gal. 2:20; Jn. 12:24)

I believe that the response and blessing at Kol Dodi is due to people who are praying , hungry hearts for God, and healthy Biblical teaching. It is God’s chen (grace), not a formula. We must grow in both solidity as well as fluidity, in structure with great flexibility.

That is why we have initiated our Discovery and Network Classes, defining what it means to be Family, learning individual gifting for service, and more.

“I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth”, said the Sh’liach Yochanan (Apostle John) - 3 Jn. 1:4.

I feel the same way about our Family members at Kol Dodi.

Shavua tov b’Yeshua,
Rabbi Ken