Image from emekatalks.com
04/17/16 – “yhwh will bless you” – The blessings from the God of Israel, YHWH, the universal God of all peoples and nations, are promised in many verses of the Torah but are conditional—specifically in relation to obedience. And just as obedience results in blessing (often automatically), the opposite of blessing are the automatic consequences for disobedience which are curses.
Devarim/Deuteronomy 30:15-20
15 See, I set before you today
life and good, and death and ill:
16 in that I command you today
to love YHWH your God,
to walk in his ways
and to keep his commandments, his laws and his regulations,
that you may stay-alive and become-many
and YHWH your God may bless you
in the land that you are entering to possess.
17 Now if your heart should face-about, and you do not hearken, and you thrust-ourself-away and prostate yourselves to other gods, and serve them,
18 I announce to you today
that perish, you will perish,
you will not prolong days on the soil that you are crossing the Jordan to enter, to possess.
19 I call-as-witness against you today the heavens and the earth: life and death I place before you, blessing and curse; now choose life, in order that you may stay-alive, you and your seed,
20 by loving YHWH your God,
by hearkening to his voice and by cleaving to him,
for he is your life and the length of your days,
to be settled on the soil
that YHWH swore to your fathers, to Avraham, to Yitzhak and to Yaakov,
to give them!
- the Creator Who formed the nation of Israel
- from the patriarchs
- Abraham,
- Isaac and
- Jacob (whose 12 sons ‘generated’ the 12 tribes),
—revealed—
- Himself,
- His Name YHWH,
- and His Truth,
- His Way (the Torah)
- and the Life (Torah living).
And, excuse us, folks, with all due respect to what the supposed “sequel” to the Hebrew Scriptures claim, that Self-Revealing God on Sinai would not be the Christian Savior-Messiah Jesus Christ.
Revisit: TORAH 101: What were the animal sacrifices all about? – Jewish Perspective
http://www.famousbirthdays.com/facts/facts-about-april.html
April is from the Latin aprilis which means ‘to open’. Spring which is the season associated with the month is the time when animals come out of hibernation, when birds migrate northward, when bees and butterflies begin to do what comes naturally—gather nectar. Depending on which part of the world, it’s either planting time or harvest time. Outdoor activities begin.
Whoever determined birthstones and birth flowers assigned diamond and sweet pea or daisy to April; ditto with zodiac signs shared by Aries (March 21-April 19) and Taurus (April 20-May 20). Many people seriously go by these signs that supposedly define character: strength keywords: independent, generous, optimistic, enthusiastic, courageous; weakness keywords: moody, short-tempered, self-involved, impulsive, impatient. In a nutshell:
Aries is the first of the zodiac signs. Aries is the sign of the self, people born under this sign strongly project their personalities onto others and can be very self-oriented. Aries tend to venture out into the world and leave impressions on others that they are exciting, vibrant and talkative. Aries tend to live adventurous lives and like to be the center of attention, but rightly so since they are natural, confident leaders. Aries are enthusiastic about their goals and enjoy the thrill of the hunt, “wanting is always better then getting” is a good way to sum it up. Aries are very impulsive and usually do not think before they act – or speak. Too often Aries will say whatever pops into their head and usually end up regretting it later! [http://zodiac-signs-astrology.com/zodiac-signs/aries.htm] — Believe or not, that well defines my father and my son!
April is awareness month for Child Nutrition, Humor, and Mathematics, none of which relate but what the heck. On particular days fall April Fools [1st], Arbor Day [5], Earth Day [22].