The Prayer Book of the Rabbi
Sunday we will begin our final section of our Dust of the Rabbi series - The Prayer Book of the Rabbi. This new series emphasizes the imminence of God - His closeness to us - and our ability to respond to Him through the gift of prayer. Our Scriptural focus during this series will be on the Psalms (the prayer book of Jesus) and on Jesus' own teaching on the topic throughout the Gospel of Mark.
Prayer is both a great comfort and a great source of confusion to so many people. Communicating with the Creator of the Universe brings many questions. How do you talk to God? What do you talk about? How do you listen? Are there some topics that are inappropriate for God? Even the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Lord, teach us how to pray."
Between Passover and Pentecost:
The Imminence of God
This period between the holidays of Passover/Easter and Weeks/Pentecost is a particularly appropriate time to consider the Imminence of God and our communication with Him.
In the Old Testament, the time between the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Weeks marked the journey from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai, where God made His covenant through Moses with the people of Israel. The Feast of Weeks (so named because it falls seven weeks after Passover) was both a celebration of the first harvest, and more importantly, the giving of the Law and Covenant on Mount Sinai. During the journey to Mount Sinai, God was present with the Israelites as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night; on Mount Sinai, the LORD spoke to all the people, gave the Ten Commandments and the Law to Moses, and appeared to Moses, Aaron and seventy elders.
In the New Testament, that same period between Passover and Weeks is the period between Easter and Pentecost (Pentecost was the Greek name for the Festival of Weeks; pente=50, or the number of days in seven weeks plus one). For forty days after Easter, Jesus was present with the disciples and appeared to a great many people. Then, a week after He ascended into heaven, on the Festival of Weeks, the Holy Spirit came from God to the apostles and birthed the church.
In both the Old and New Testaments, this season was one of the intense experience of God's amazing presence, culminating in the giving of a new way of life as the people of God. As we look forward to the Festival of Weeks, we too will seek and experience God's presence through the amazing gift of prayer. And we hope, as well, that as we become a people of prayer, we also might discover a new way of living in the Kingdom of God.
Extras:
In the Jewish world, this season between Passover and Weeks is called "Sefirat HaOmer", or "Counting the Omer." From the Day of the Firstfruits, we count 49 days until Pentecost. This season is seen as one of reflection and preparation, like that for a bride purifying herself for her wedding day. For more information on the practice and season of "Counting the Omer," visit this page on Chabad.org.