( Exodus 33:21-22 ) Source: A King James Dictionary. Burden is a church music student of Dr. Michael Hawn’s at Perkins School of Theology. How can it be that You, the Master of the universe, King of all Kings, can cause pain and difficulty in the lives of Your creations? And you remind me of a letter the Lubavitcher Rebbe wrote to the father of a girl who had been in an accident. (In the end, he and his guests were rescued and are all fine.). 1:3, 4). The Discovery Bible. Learn more. After I have passed by you, you will appreciate the glimmer of goodness in what I did. The rock is beside God and that is Jesus Christ. You need to be G‑d to understand My ways. They are better people for it. 21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. However, G‑d says, I will give you something to hold on to. Clift definition, cliff. From this it is evident how obscure is faith, and also how false it is, with those who are in merely external things. That in time may get get an insight of the Goodness that comes from these events....AMEN Rabbi Schusterman is a proud father who enjoys many hobbies, including exercise, skiiing and writing. See more. Enter your email address to get our weekly email with fresh, exciting and thoughtful content that will enrich your inbox and your life. A cliff. Who would divine that these words signify such things which, unless disclosed by the internal sense, would be completely hidden. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” Exodus 33:18-23 In the other life such people do not dwell upon the rocks; but either in caves there, or in clefts of the rocks. Whether you're looking for an inspirational and encouraging song for your quiet time with God or an upbeat song to praise Jesus, Godtube.com offers the largest online database of Christian music artists! For by these words is signified that the man of the church would then have receded from internal things, and would have become altogether external, thus merely sensuous. Why all the destruction? Our salvation, sufficiency, and strength are in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we were yet in sin, He died for us that we may have life. In the Cleft of the Rock. In retrospect they can accept what happened. Christ was “cleft” – split apart, apart from the Father, in order to make a way, forcefully!, through sin. Sinai, during which he received the tablets that contained the Ten Commandments. Rabbi Nechemia Schusterman and his wife Raizel run the Chabad of Peabody Jewish Center. Ye know that the princes of the nations lord it over them. I am so blessed to see your website...I am praying for you, A cleft of crack; a narrow opening. 49:15, 16). G-d's exchange with Moses is one I will be able to reflect on in challenging times. The question that keeps coming back is a simple yet extremely powerful one. Such are all merely sensuous men. Exodus 33:22 - and it hath come to pass, in the passing by of Mine honour, that I have set thee in a cleft of the rock, and spread out My hands over thee, until My passing by, It is the account of Moses' meeting with the Lord, on Mt. To help in the relief effort please log on to www.chabadneworleans.com, Only After I Pass ", [G‑d] said: "I will let all My goodness pass before you; I will proclaim the name of the L-rd before you, and I will favor when I wish to favor, and I will have compassion when I wish to have compassion. In that day a man shall cast away the idols which they had made for themselves to bow down to, to the moles and to the bats; to enter into the clefts of the rocks, and into the fissures of the ragged rocks (Isa. BUT THANK G-D we were all alive. T HE IDEA THAT EMPTINESS, the simple absence of matter, can hold meaning has inspired creativity across cultures, in almost every conceivable medium. 20:21, 22, 25-27). It is said such as is with those who are in external things without what is internal, because with such all the truth which is of faith is in obscurity, and is also attended with falsity. I am the leader of these people of Yours, Moses was saying, and I need to explain to them in their time of distress, how G‑d can do such things. God said to Moses: "And it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand while I pass by..." (Ex. He made a hiding place for me, a way, for me to be found in Christ, and with the Father. The traditional Mt.Sinai does not fit the Biblical requirements in many ways. 2. by Daniel Jacob. God covered Moses with his hand. It is said such as is with those who are in external things without what is internal, because with such all the truth which is of faith is in obscurity, and is also attended with falsity. When we left the bath room after the storm had pass. In retrospect, you can understand that all that transpires by Divine Providence, and there is a lesson G-d is looking for us to learn from each event we experience in life. Reply, Thank you for this essay. Not here in the United States of America. Our finite minds cannot encompass the totality of life's intricacies and complications as G‑d sees them. Though thou exalt thee as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, from thence I will pull thee down (Obad. Cleft definition: A cleft in a rock or in the ground is a narrow opening in it. In accepting the newness of life in Christ, we will live to the fullest, honoring Him with our time, talent and treasure. Scenes so vivid and powerful, you'd expect to see such pain and squalor in a distant third world country. Simply said, we cannot understand the ways of G‑d. The cleft Rock represents Jesus Christ. That such is the Jewish nation is evident, for they explain all things of the Word according to the sense of the letter, because they are in external things separate from what is internal. 33: 22). The feeling was: that this was IT. This is a strange conversation, both on the surface and when delving into the commentary. For such of them as believe the Word, believe it everywhere according to the letter, and not according to its interior meaning; and those who so believe cannot be in any light, for light from heaven flows in through the internal into the external. NAS Exhaustive Concordance. It was this light that gave me HOPE and her saying: "THAT THIS TO WILL PASS" . The Cleft in the Rock: A Theology of Negative Spaces Daniel Drage | Issue 107. In The Cleft Of The Rock is a teaching that will answer this need and desire. May we know only revealed good, and not have the need for philosophical clarifications. Like most Americans, I found myself glued to the coverage of Hurricane Katrina all week. Back to Words index, Back to Geographical words index. That last definition was what I was looking for. adjective. www.reconnections.net . Why does G‑d, whose nature is "good and to do good," so painfully upset the lives of hundreds of thousands? You may still question my ways; since you are not Me, you cannot fully understand. n. 1. Noun The river begins as a trickle of water from a cleft in the rock. [4] That a cleft of the rock denotes what is obscure and false of faith, is evident also from other passages in the Word, as in Isaiah:--. I have held onto this message and have conveyed it countless times to assuage the pain that individuals were experiencing. Moreover what they believe without light from heaven appears as truth, but nevertheless with them it is falsity, for they have a material and earthly idea about truth, and not at the same time a spiritual and heavenly idea, and every material and earthly idea abounds in fallacies unless there is in it light from heaven. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.org's. Why are men and women crying over their parents who are dying in the heat or their children who have not been bathed or fed in a week? Why does G‑d create hurricanes? "Then I will remove My hand, and you will see My back; but My face shall not be seen." There is a story in the Old Testament with which most people are, at least, somewhat familiar. Perhaps you are where I was, looking for deeper meaning, and knowing that loving the Lord Jesus is a journey and longing for encounter and intimancy that is the promise of God, but feeling like I was not progressing like I wanted or should. The By in the uttermost part of the rivers of Eat denotes the falsity of the wholly external or merely sensuous man; the bee in the land of Assyria denotes the falsity of reasoning therefrom; the rivers of desolations denote the truths of doctrine altogether desolated; and the clefts of the rocks denote the falsities of faith thence derived. You have added a new and powerful insight. Ask those who have risen to the occasion and survived tragedy and despair and they will tell you that while it was very difficult it was also a growing experience. Clift′ed, Clift′y, broken into cliffs. Word Origin. You will see Me in retrospect, G‑d said to Moses. A somewhat cynical approach to addressing pain and suffering, one might think. The topic is one that I think about a lot. NAS Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries. IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK . Show me Your "glory," he asked of G‑d; show me how a good G‑d does unexplainable things. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. What a fulcrum of pain and suffering that beautiful city of New Orleans (and the surrounding areas) has become. The only item we had in the darkened bathroom was the light of my mother's Yahreit candle. I will bring back the sons of Israel upon their land; and send unto many fishers, who shall fish them; and unto hunters, who shall hunt them from upon every mountain, upon every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks (Jer 16:15, 16); the restoration of the church is here treated of, which is signified by bringing back the sons of Israel upon their land; to fish them denotes to instruct in the external things of the church; to hunt them denotes to instruct in the internal things thereof; they who are upon mountain and upon hill denote those who are in love and in charity; those in the holes of the rocks denote those who are in faith not yet enlightened, thus who are in what is obscure of faith. 'S Yahreit candle vented on our Possesions, one might think place with me you! Need to be found in Christ, and you remind me of a who. Now called Jebel El Lawz ) is in Saudi Arabia ( as Galatians 4:25 says ) to the! 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