Showing posts with label earth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label earth. Show all posts

Saturday 31 August 2013

Is it “Wrong” to Believe that the Earth is a Sphere?

A response by CC Walker to a brother who believed that based on his reading of the Bible, it was wrong to believe in a spherical Earth. Bro,.

 Walker's response:

Is it “Wrong” to Believe that the Earth is a Sphere?

WE have received the following letter:—
To the Editor of The Christadelphian.

Modern Astronomers and the Dots in the Heavens
Dear Brother Walker.—Referring to your brief eulogium on Sir Robert Ball’s speculation as to the “dots in the heavens” (The Christadelphian, July, page 316), I shall be glad if you will condescend to reply to the following queries through the columns of The Christadelphian.
Terrestrial globe named
Terrestrial globe named "Erdapfel" produced by Martin Behaim. Considered to be one of the oldest globes ever made. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seeing that the veracity and verbal inspiration of the Scriptures are denied by many on the basis of the revolving globe-earth theory, even to the extent of rejecting the ascension of Jesus into the heaven of heavens as a “geometrical impossibility.” the matter surely cannot be set aside as of no importance, and beyond the province of a magazine devoted to the defence of Biblical teaching and the overthrow of pagan and papal dogmas.

The globe-earth theory is essentially pagan in its origin, and no amount of ingenuity has yet succeeded in harmonizing it with the cosmogony of the Bible.
It is supposed that the theory was first introduced into Europe by Pythagoras, in the sixth century b.c., and he was a rank pagan. It was afterwards adopted by Plato, and latterly modified to its present form by Aristarchus of Samos, “who went to the length of ranking our green world as a planet revolving yearly round the sun.” Through Copernicus and Galileo the theory has acquired a distinct Romish taint.

We may blame the author of “Lead Kindly Light” for following the glimmer of Rome’s magic lantern, instead of bringing his mental difficulties to be solved in the light of the word of God; but what about those who allow themselves to be led by the vapourings of scientific theorists while pondering over the plainly worded inspired narrative of creation? . . .
There may not be much danger of a brother being led astray by the perusal of modern rationalistic literature, for in that case he is prepared to antagonize the fallacies of modern thought, but morsels of error, in the form of “scientific” tit-bits, daintily wrapped up within the covers of a Biblical magazine, devoted to the defence and advocacy of Scripture doctrine, may not give rise to suspicion that there is anything wrong. The wrong is there all the same, and its effects become manifest when he who has swallowed the morsel finds, as the logical outcome of an adopted bastard theory, that the Bible and modern science are at variance, and verbal inspiration a farce. . . .

The late Prof. Woodhouse, of Cambridge University, once wrote, in reference to the globe-earth theory—“We shall never arrive at a time when we shall be able to pronounce it absolutely proved to be true. The nature of the subject excludes such a possibility” (Astronomy, Vol. 1, p. 13).
The “great astronomer,” Sir Robert Ball — wherein does his greatness lie? Certainly not in his discovery or advocacy of scientific truth. He is an evolutionist of the first order, and a pronounced anti-creationist. He is just the type of unbeliever that so-called modern science is producing; the old Scripture - revering type of astronomers, such as Ferguson, Woodhouse, and Herschell, is fast dying out as the natural effect of an anti-Scriptural theory.

But here I must submit my queries:—

1.—Is it not a fact that the Bible teaches that there are but two great lights and but one sun?
Medieval depiction of a spherical earth with d...
Medieval depiction of a spherical earth with different seasons at the same time (from the book "Liber Divinorum Operum"). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
2.—Is it not a pure speculation, unsupported by any natural fact, the theory that the “dots in the heavens” are great suns?
3.—Is it not a fact that the enormously extravagant distances and magnitudes of the so-called “dots” have for their bases, the unproved assumption that the earth is a revolving globe, speeding through space at 68,000 miles an hour, and with an orbit of 190 millions of miles?
4.—Is it not a fact, as Prof. Robert Main, of Greenwich, candidly affirmed, that the theories “respecting the distances of the fixed stars and other cosmical problems” are based upon the “refined speculations of modern astronomy?”
5.—Is it not the teaching of Scripture that the earth, that is, the dry land, is a stationary body, founded upon the seas, and established upon the floods, and with its foundations in the deep?
6.—Is it not the plain testimony of Moses that sun, moon, and stars, were made and set in the heavens on the fourth day of Creation week?

Believing, as I do, with you, that it is “necessary to bring everything to the test of the Word of God,” I present these questions in all good faith for your serious consideration.

Faithfully yours, in the pursuit and defence of all divine truth,
T. Griffiths.

Remarks in Reply

We would not discuss this matter were it not that our brother does himself and others an injustice in proclaiming the well settled belief of so many of his brethren a “wrong” and “bastard theory” and so forth; and quite unfaithful to the Word of God.
This is not the case at all. Speaking for ourselves: before we learned “the truth” we were quite well convinced of the spherical figure of the earth from perfectly candid study of natural phenomena, and of navigation, which certainly “works” on the spherical basis. And we have found nothing in the Scriptures to unsettle this conviction in the least. Quite the contrary. In fact, the “enormous distances and magnitudes” which appear to be a stumbling block to our brother, are to us only the fitting suggestions of the Infinite and Eternal. And this is the impression of many of the brethren, as it was of the late Dr. Thomas and brother Roberts.

Though we thus believe, we are in no way responsible for the denials of ignorance and unbelief. To us, the mention of “geometrical impossibility” as an objection to the ascent of Jesus into heaven, is merely an indication of the objector’s lack of true understanding alike of The Acts of the Apostles, and of natural phenomena.

Admitted that “the globe-earth theory” is of “pagan” origin, it is not therefore untrue. Much natural truth is of “pagan” discovery. We do not reject it on that account; and as to Galileo and the “Romish taint,” we have always understood that the whole weight of Papal authority was thrown against “the globe-earth theory,” which it has since been compelled to accept as true.
Orlando-Ferguson-flat-earth-map
Orlando-Ferguson-flat-earth-map (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Newman’s “religious difficulties,” which he solved by surrender to Rome, were not like natural phenomena which can be put to the tests of observation and measurement. It is scarcely right to allude to the result of scientific observation and measurement, obtained through centuries of patient labour, as “the vapouring of scientific theorists.” In these days of the discovery of the North and South Poles, and of record-breaking travel round the world, we can surely be permitted to hold to the belief in a spherical earth, without throwing ourselves open to a charge of unfaithfulness to the Bible.

With regard to the remarks of Professor Woodhouse, we are inclined to think a great many of his brother professors would have differed from his conclusion. It would largely depend upon just what he meant by “absolutely proved;” and as he is dead we cannot ask him.
So far as we understand, the prevailing type of “Scripture-revering Astronomers” is that of believers in the spherical earth. Indeed, we know of no “astronomy” apart from such a belief. But as to our brother’s queries:—

Answer 1.—No; the Bible does not absolutely limit the number of “great lights” to two; nor does it affirm that there is absolutely only one sun in the universe. It tells us that this is so with reference to the earth (which is obvious enough to the most elementary observation), but it also tells us that God made “the stars also,” without telling us what the stars are. Later, an apostle speaks of “one star differing from another star in glory,” without defining the extent of the “glory” of any. Modern astronomy reveals very great “glory” among the stars, and though, of necessity, largely speculative, is far from being the profanity that some well-meaning souls imagine it to be.

Answer 2.—No; there are “natural facts” underlying the “speculation.” Such are the ascertained velocity of light, the eclipses of Jupiter’s moons, the fact that the best telescopes will not resolve the stars into discs as in the case of the planets; the fact of the existence of the planet Neptune as simultaneously discovered by Adams and Le Verrier; the facts of parallax and spectrum analysis. “Natural facts” are the essence of modern astronomy.

Answer 3.—Without committing ourselves exactly to the figures named, we may say that what our brother calls an “unproved assumption” is with us a well-settled conviction, for reasons which may be found in any good work on astronomy, Sir Robert Ball’s “Story of the Heavens,” for example.

Answer 4.—No doubt Professor Main meant to qualify results and figures by his remark—not principles. These are too well established to admit of doubt by any Greenwich professor. With very small parallaxes distances are, of course, correspondingly indefinite. This appears to be all that Prof. Main wished to emphasise in his remark, the context on which we do not know.

Answer 5.—It is certainly written: “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods” (Psa. 24:1, 2). It is also written: “He stretched out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing” (Job 26:7). We do not find the passages at all irreconcilable, or even difficult; and we do not believe that the burden of either of them is mainly (if at all) the figure of the earth; but rather the majesty of the Creator.

Answer 6.—Moses’ testimony is not so “plain” that it cannot be misinterpreted or misunderstood. He speaks of “the heaven and the earth” as being in existence “in the beginning;” and therefore it does not seem to be inadmissible to suppose that “the host of heaven” was likewise then in existence. Moses’ testimony was given to Israel in what might be called the infancy of the world, when men did not know the extent of the earth, let alone that of the sun, moon, and stars. And, as we believe, it was given (by God through Moses), not so much to instruct Israel in cosmogony in detail, as to impress upon them the idea that The Most High God is the Possessor of Heaven and Earth (Gen. 14:22). And this against the claims of the gods of the nations, as was abundantly proved in Israel’s history. As to “the fourth day,” we do not know of any “day” in the literal sense apart from the sun and its motion. And, therefore, if the “days” of Genesis 1. are to be taken as literal days, we feel bound to admit the sun as the origin of the “light,” and “evening and morning” that were the characteristics of “the first day.” How can you have “evening and morning” without the sun? We must settle up “the plain testimony” of verse 5 with that of verses 14–19. As we said before (The Chri tadelphion, 1910, p. 269), “If we understand Moses as saying that the sun came into existence on ‘the fourth day,’ we make him contradict himself; we make him present us with day and night, evening and morning, without the sun upon which these things depend.”

Under these circumstances we prefer another interpretation, holding always in reserve the thought that presently Moses will be on the scene again, and that we may then, perhaps, be permitted to hear the divine interpretation of the divine utterances of so long ago.—Ed.

Walker C.C. "Is it 'Wrong' to believe that the Earth is a Sphere?“ The Christadelphian (1913) 50:346-348

Contemporary reactions:

Dan Gaitanis
As someone who enjoys this kind of thing, I found this really interesting--but I dont really get what the debate is here--the Bible isnt a book of Astronomy, meaning we dont need to go to the Bible to figure out the composition of the universe. God created it and its awesome, but to say we have to search scripture to try our faith about the universe?
Why not just look at the night sky and be amazed? And take a telescope to see even more stars than you can see without it. A few nights ago I (finally) found Neptune in my telescope, and it amazed me as to how it was discovered in an even smaller scope than mine--it looked like a tiny, very faint, slightly blue, ball, about the size of a period.

As for the stars and sun and moon being literally created on the 4th day, I dont buy that--I think they were already there--it doesnt make sense that the Andromeda Galaxy (2 Million light years away) can be seen from earth with the naked eye, when,if the stars were created only 6000 years ago, we wouldn't see the light from Andromeda for another 1,994,000 years.

There was a time when folks' interpretation of scripture led them to deny evidence for a round earth, or for the earth going around the sun. Today we believe those things, and the Bible verses that have a flat earth at the center of the universe are not only not a problem for us--they're completely invisible. We can't even spot those verse when we read them.

It may be that today, our interpretation of the Bible still forces us to deny other evidence for other things. There are plenty of Bible believers (inside and outside Christadelphia) who deny the evidence for an old earth, for example. Because they sincerely believe that their interpretation of the Bible is the only one, and that interpretation tells them they must choose between God and the evidence.

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 the first generation of Christadelphians:

"The inconsistency spoken of between nature and scripture, arises not from antagoni
sm, but from the misinterpretations of both. It is man’s interpretation of the one set against man’s interpretations of the other. It is not nature versus scripture, but false science against true theology, or false theology against scientific fact. Some scientific men, we believe, view the Scriptures through the distorted medium of “confessions of faith” and doubt them, and theologians view science and call it false, because it does not take to their turn-pike road"

“The Christadelphian: Volume 1” (Birmingham: Christadelphian Magazine & Publishing Association, 2001), 93–94.

When we conflate our own interpretation of the Bible with its original meaning, and denounce science because it clashes with that uninspired, fallible reading, we're making the same mistake that brother WDJ (quoted above) warned against.

In the original post, we have an example of a sincere brother who took the Bible literally in a consistent way, and felt compelled to denounce the idea that the earth was spherical. Brother Walker not only accepted as reliable the science of the day, but warned against the extremes of literalism:

"This is not the case at all. Speaking for ourselves: before we learned “the truth” we were quite well convinced of the spherical figure of the earth from perfectly candid study of natural phenomena, and of navigation, which certainly “works” on the spherical basis."

The Earth seen from Apollo 17.
The Earth seen from Apollo 17. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
"Admitted that “the globe-earth theory” is of “pagan” origin, it is not therefore untrue. Much natural truth is of “pagan” discovery. We do not reject it on that account; "
"Moses’ testimony is not so “plain” that it cannot be misinterpreted or misunderstood. He speaks of “the heaven and the earth” as being in existence “in the beginning;” and therefore it does not seem to be inadmissible to suppose that “the host of heaven” was likewise then in existence. Moses’ testimony was given to Israel in what might be called the infancy of the world, when men did not know the extent of the earth, let alone that of the sun, moon, and stars. And, as we believe, it was given (by God through Moses), not so much to instruct Israel in cosmogony in detail, as to impress upon them the idea that The Most High God is the Possessor of Heaven and Earth (Gen. 14:22). And this against the claims of the gods of the nations, as was abundantly proved in Israel’s history."

The relevance of this 100 year old correspondence to contemporary Bible-science difficulties hardly needs emphasis.

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Wednesday 28 August 2013

Temperatures rising



July 28 – August 3, 2013:

Temperatures in parts of China have hit record highs, prompting an emergency level-two nationwide heat alert for the first time. In Shanghai, at least 10 people have died from heatstroke, as the city experiences its hottest July in 140 years, reports say.
I call this Fire In The Sky. A sunrise from th...
I call this Fire In The Sky. A sunrise from the workshop at the Hotel Lafayette in downtown Buffalo, New York on January 8, 2008. Photo was captured at roughly 7:30 a.m. (EST). That morning was followed by a day of record temperatures with the highs reaching nearly 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) despite it being in the dead of winter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Local journalists have demonstrated the heat by frying meat on the pavement.

The national heat alert covers nine provinces, including Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Shanghai and Chongqing. According to figures from the Shanghai Meteorological bureau, Shanghai has seen 24 days with temperatures at or above 35C in July. "It should be a new record since Shanghai had its own weather recording," said chief service officer Wu Rui."Also, in July of this year Shanghai reached 40.6 degrees Celsius, its highest ever temperature. So the highest temperature in July also broke a record."

Temperatures have hit all-time highs in Austria and neighbouring Hungary as a stubborn heat wave nears the end of its second week.  Thursday's 40.5 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit Thursday eclipsed the previous record of 39.9 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) set just five days before. In Hungary, temperatures were fractionally lower at 40 C Thursday. Officials there have issued a heat warning, while some government ministries have relaxed dress codes. For men, that means ties and jackets can be left at home. For women, pantyhose is optional. Croatia sent two water-dropping planes to Bosnia earlier in the week to help battle wildfires set off by drought and sweltering heat that threatened several villages. A Russian aircraft was dispatched to fight blazes in Serbia. Temperatures also nearly broke records in Poland.

More temperatures reaching record highs in Europe in the last few weeks.
Global Temperature Map for Exoplanet HD 189733b
Global Temperature Map for Exoplanet HD 189733b (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Creation is groaning. Hardly a week goes by without some new record being broken in some part of the world. The hottest, the wettest, the driest etc.
Amazingly a BBC report out today links increasing temperatures to a rise in violence.
The report shows that shifts in climate are strongly linked to increases in violence around the world. US scientists found that even small changes in temperature or rainfall correlated with a rise in assaults, rapes and murders, as well as group conflicts and war! The team says with the current projected levels of climate change, the world is likely to become a more violent place. They show that weather influences behaviour. There are numerous instances of God controlling the weather to change events and bring about his plan and purpose. We are told the earth would be full of violence at the time Christ returned. The weather is contributing to this….

The world is heating up in more ways than one.
We see it physically heating up with temperatures rising around the world and breaking new records. But we also see it heating up in the Middle East.

The situation north and south of Israel is incredibly volatile and it might not take much for there to be conflict.

But are we looking for a time of peace or a time of war? I believe we are looking for a time of war. There is conflict coming not peace. Yes there will be talk of peace (there is at the moment)– there may even be a peace agreement – but it won’t be real peace. There is great conflict coming between Israel and Syria. It could start anytime. It will involve the inner ring of people’s around Israel leading to an even greater conflict….


CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S WWW  11-17 August

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Friday 1 March 2013

Creation of the earth out of something

Prof Van Wolde, 54, a respected Old Testament scholar and author, will present a thesis on the subject at Radboud University in The Netherlands where she studies.
English: Study Centre of the Radboud Universit...
English: Study Centre of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in Nijmegen, the Netherlands Nederlands: Studiecentrum van het Universitair Medisch Centrum St Radboud in Nijmegen, Nederland Deutsch: Das Studienzentrum der Radboud Universität Nijmegen Medizinisches Zentrum in Nijmegen, Niederlande (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



She had re-analysed the original Hebrew text of the first book of the Bible: Genesis, and placed it in the context of the Bible as a whole, and in the context of other creation stories from ancient Mesopotamia.
She claims she has carried out fresh textual analysis that suggests the writers of the great book never intended to suggest that God created the world -- and in fact the Earth was already there when he created humans and animals.

Bijbelvorsers also looks at the creation and agrees the whole world and everything around was created from the void by the eternal Spirit God. It was the Spirit Jehovah, who had no beginning, and as such has always been, and has no end, so can not die and shall never die, He as an eternal being made things coming into being and placed them in a certain order.

According to Judeo-Christian tradition, God created the Earth out of nothing.

Prof Van Wolde, who once worked with the Italian academic and novelist Umberto Eco, said her new analysis showed that the beginning of the Bible was not the beginning of time, but the beginning of a narration.

She said: "It meant to say that God did create humans and animals, but not the Earth itself."

When we look at ancient texts we can find writings about the chaotic situation in the beginning. According to the old writings there used to be an enormous body of water in which monsters were living, covered in darkness, the professor said. Though we can only find that there might have been dust and water in darkness.

She said technically "bara" does mean "create" but added: "Something was wrong with the verb.

"God was the subject (God created), followed by two or more objects. Why did God not create just one thing or animal, but always more?"
English: In the Beginning God Created the Heav...
English: In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth; as in Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."; illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible; illustrated by Gerard Hoet (1648–1733) and others, and published by P. de Hondt in The Hague; image courtesy Bizzell Bible Collection, University of Oklahoma Libraries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

She concluded that God did not create, he separated: the Earth from the Heaven, the land from the sea, the sea monsters from the birds and the swarming at the ground. About this you could clearly see in the Holy Scriptures, we would agree, that order was made by the ordering of God. He was it who led His words come over everything and by speaking it happened. In Creator and Blogger God 1 Emptiness and mouvement and in the Dutch counterpart: Schepper en Blogger God 1 Leegte en Beweging is spoken about the Voice of God hovering over the darkness, the land and the deep waters.


"There was already water," Prof Van Wolde said, and when we look at the text you could not disagree with that. Because in the Holy Scriptures Moses wrote that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, which was unformed, so it did not have yet its form, but could have been composed of dustmatter. The Bible-writer let us also know that there was void. He also says that the darkness was on the face of the deep, so that deepness existed already. It was then the spirit of God which hovered over the surface of the water. Which means also that there was already water. After the Spirit hovered over the water He said, “let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness and by doing so He brought order in the system. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. So that what we know now as evening and  morning was given a name by God.

“1  in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth. 2 and the earth was without form and empty. and darkness [was] on the face of the deep. and the spirit of god moved on the face of the waters. 3  and god said, let there be light. and there was light. 4 and god saw the light that [it was] good. and god divided between the light and the darkness. 5 and god called the light, day. and he called the darkness, night. and the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:1-5 MKJV)

We do not seem to find anything about the monsters of which the professors says that there were.




"There were sea monsters. God did create some things, but not the Heaven and Earth. The usual idea of creating-out-of-nothing, creatio ex nihilo, is a big misunderstanding."

According to her God came later and made the earth livable, separating the water from the land and brought light into the darkness.

She said she hoped that her conclusions would spark "a robust debate", since her finds are not only new, but would also touch the hearts of many religious people.

She said: "Maybe I am even hurting myself. I consider myself to be religious and the Creator used to be very special, as a notion of trust. I want to keep that trust."

A spokesman for the Radboud University said: "The new interpretation is a complete shake up of the story of the Creation as we know it."

Prof Van Wolde added: "The traditional view of God the Creator is untenable now."

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You may find additional reading on the creation:

  1. Cosmos creator and human destiny
  2. The World framed by the Word of God
  3. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #1 Kings Faith
  4. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #2 Calling upon the Name of God
  5. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #1 Creator and His Prophets
  6. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #2 Instructions and Laws
  7. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #3 A voice to be taken Seriously
  8. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #4 Words in Scripture
  9. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #5 To meditate and Transform
  10. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #6 Words to feed and communicate
  11. The manager and Word of God
  12. A viewpoint on creation
  13. Creation gift of God
  14. Destination of the earth
  15. Without God no purpose, no goal, no hope
  16. Man made life

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Friday 25 January 2013

Tu B’Shvat, the holiday of the trees

If the did not celebrate it Wednesday evening and Thursday, Jews around the world will celebrate the holiday of u B’Shevat, Tu Bishvat, or Tu B’Shvat (15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat) tonight.And people wondered why we should celebrate the holiday of the tree.almond blossom

The almond trees in Israel begin to shake blossoms out along their branches.
Across the globe this month Jewish communities are celebrating the holiday of Tu B’Shvat.  Many choose to commemorate the “New Year of The Trees” by planting pine trees in Israel.  Tu B’Shvat is a day that deals directly with the social inequality of our food system.  It’s a holiday that can inspire us to think about the free Gifts Jehovah God provides for humanity and it gives us the chance to think about His blessings and how we should use those blessings. This year you perhaps could also think about building community food security.


Savyon from the land of Israel
Savyon from the land of Israel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When we look around us we can see very beautiful things in nature, though many do not notice them any more.God has created the plants and given the task to the people to name them and to take care of them. God promised that all the plants would be for the good of people and would offer food for men and animal. And normally all of the seed bearing trees would bring forth fruits free for all people. Though people made it that humans had to pay for it.

"And Elohim said, “See, I have given you every plant that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed, to you it is for food." (Beréshith - Genesis - Book of the Beginning 1:29 The Scriptures 1998+)

Also in Europe and North America the inhabitants can look forward to the new time coming soon. In Belgium from tomorrow Saturday the temperatures will rise, but we can notice already the sap in thee shrubs begining once again to flow through it.  The trees are ready to bring out green knobs and to let the Voice of the Most High sound through their branches. If you look carefully around you you will see heralding
the New Year for trees. The melting snow shall provide moisture for the trees and the sap will bring forth fruit in the spring. It is the day to pray for a beautiful esrog. The custom for Jews is to eat fruits in order to be able to say the blessings on the fruits on this day. הדר עץ פרי, a fruit of splendor, is gematria העץ פרי ברא, [Blessed are you Hashem] who created the fruit of the tree (they both equal 659). Have in mind to ask Elohim Hashem Jehovah for a gorgeous esrog when saying this blessing.

In the Mishnah, where Tu B’Shvat is found, the purpose of the holiday is to make a single day in which our produce is taxed and given to the community. It’s based from a single line of Torah: “At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall lay it up inside your gates; And the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied.“ (Debarim - Deuteronomy 14:28).

The Torah also says that "man is a tree in the field."We should come forth from good seed and bring forth good fruits.When we bring none, not enough or no good fruits we would be of no use.

God has plated the seed in Abraham to make Him a people. And God His Wishes shall always come true. So out of Aḇraham shall come forth the fruit of a blessed people because יהוה {Jehovah}appeared to him  and said, “I am the Elohim of your father Aḇraham. Do not fear, for I am with you, and shall bless you and increase your seed for My servant Aḇraham’s sake.”.(Beréshith - Genesis - Book of the Beginning 26: 23-24)
The Creator told His chosen people how He was to be called and that His Name and Works should be known all over the world. Those Works we can still see every day, because Jehovah God did not end Creating.


In the Land of Israel, several people are already happily celebrating Tu B’Shvat, the holiday of the trees. School children sing songs praising the Land of Israel and thanking Hashem for its fruits. Bus loads of students and families go on field trips throughout the country, and saplings are planted with great joy and spirit. And a festive meal of thanksgiving, highlighted by a cornucopia of fruits of the Land, will grace our tables on Shabbat.

  writes about this special day and looks at Eretz Yisrael. According to him without Israel the Torah is a shrunken, truncated, mini-version of the complete Torah of Eretz Yisrael. Two-thirds of the Mishna deals with laws that can only be performed in Israel. Without Eretz Yisrael, God Himself is reduced to a second-string diety, seemingly not strong enough to keep His Chosen People in the Land He gave them, for there is no greater desecration of the Name of God than when the Jewish People are scattered in exile amongst the goyim (Ezekiel, 36:20). Without Eretz Yisrael, there is no prophecy, no Beit HaMikdash, and the Divine Presence doesn’t appear in the world.

Kaliv Hasidim celebrating Tu B'Shvat in Jerusalem.
Kaliv Hasidim celebrating Tu B'Shvat in Jerusalem.
Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
The hunger in our cities resonates because everywhere we can see more poverty. We do not have to go far away form our own dinner-table to see the food crisis which is also a spiritual crisis. On this Tu B’Shvat, let’s reinvigorate the holiday’s original purpose, by doing our part to make hunger relief healthier, more respectful and more in line with our shared values.
Those who are fortunate to have an abundance of produce year-round could perhaps take time to think of those in need and provide for them.
Tu B’Shvat is an opportunity to more closely examine hunger and how to respond most effectively to ensure that hungry people have access to nutritious, healthy foods.

Read:

What’s the Point of Celebrating Tu B’Shvat in Exile?

Celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees

 
Fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables (Photo credit: nutrilover)


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