ALEPH ~ 1

A reflection on the power of simple beginnings

Allow me to start our journey to the wonderous world of Hebrew by sharing at least two points. 

Firstly, Hebrew is the language of the ancient manuscripts, later compiled over millennials, and later become the Tanakh (Torah/Book of Laws, Neviim/Prophets, and Ktuvim/Literatures or Poetry) to Judaism  and The Old Testament of the Christian tradition.

Learning and understanding Hebrew language (still with the fact that there are striking differences between ancient or biblical and modern Hebrew) is still your best option in undoing the altered nuance and ideas, even the loss of such during transliteration to English or any of your native version.

Secondly, as we begin to learn Hebrew we will find that being the language of the original manuscript, Hebrew is indeed something that "lives up to the title". You will literally see a deeper presence of God in every aspect of life, in the world and whatever context you're living in, if you're familiar with some degree of Judeo-Christian worldview or that it has been providing you with a window to make sense of the happenings throughout your life's journey, and if with all that you haven't been exposed to any previous studies of Hebrew, then I am for once can vouch that you're in for an unforgettable and most fulfilling adventure so much that you'll wish you've done this way earlier.

Yes, we are almost in the front gate. And as I'm about to turn the knob, allow me to be clear, this is not a 100% scholarly nor linguistic, nor a pure mystical writing on Hebrew, this is Felix's take on Hebrew, thus sharing from my context, this blog will certainly be open for later updates. As the door swings open you will see how I see Hebrew and this will also be a starting point of your own personal take on it.

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Aleph א is the 1st letter in Hebrew.

It's a silent vowel, meaning it will sound differently in different words. Hebrew native speakers and advanced students know the sounds by heart, but for us, the ניקוד niqud will help us determine the vowel. (Enter here for more about niqud/nikud).  I'll be using Bahasa vowel version throughout examples in our group.

"A" like in "sardines"

"E" like in "evangelize"

"I" like in "inject"

"O" like in "open"

"U" like in "super"

We'll gradually get familiar with the ניקוד nikud (see below, the nikud name is in brackets), their names and the vowel sound they make as we move on ..

"A" → אָ (qamatz/long vowel) or אַ (patach/short) or אֲ (hataf patach/very short)

"E" → אֶ (segol/long) or אֵ (tseré/short) or אֱ (hataf segol/very short)

*By this time we might consider "hataf" as "half" for ease of memorizing, however, a sigh of relief, both the distinction of vowel length and hatafs are rarely used in moder Hebrew, but still very much needed in Biblical Hebrew reading.

"I" →אִ (chiriq or khiriq)

"O" → אֹ (cholam or kholam)

"U" → אֻ (qubutz), rarely found outside Biblical Hebrew. The more common "u" sound is usually made by the letter vav with (shuruq) → וּ

Aleph א is also used in numbering to represent the ordinal "one" (#1, 1st, I).

So beside their own "ekhad, shtaiim, shalosh (אחד, שתיים, שלוש)" for 1,2,3, the alphabets are also used in combinations (much like roman numbers I II III IV, etc).

The above picture is my chapter list for תהילים Tehilim (The Book of Psalms) in Hebrew, Aleph א means Chapter 1, Bet ב means Chapter 2, and so on. The verses also written in such order, or more modern Hebrew Bibles are already use modern number 123 to mark their verses, but still using אבג to mark the chapters.

Bible names started with Aleph א :

Adam אָדָם (Adam)

Aharon אַהֲרֹון (Aaron)

Avram אַברָם (Abram)

Avraham אַברָהָם (Abraham)

Avimelekh אֲבִימֶלֶךְ (Abimelech)

Avigail אֲבִיגַיִל (Abigail)

Akhaz אָחָז (Ahaz)

Akhazyah אֲחַזיָה (Ahaziah)

Avshalom אַבְשָׁלֹום (Absalom).. so sad, he's David's son and his name  means "father of peace" ("av" אב is the shortened version of Abba אבא), he rebelled and died tragically.

Exclusions ..

* Amos עָמֹוס isn't begun with Aleph א, but with Ayin ע.

Common/daily, words started with Aleph א :

Abba אָבָּא (dad)

Adam אָדָם (human, mankind)

Adom אָדוֹם (red, masc.)

Adama אָדָמָה (ground, soil)

Adon אָדוֹן (master, boss)

Adoni אָדוֹני (Sir)

Adonai אָדוֹני (My God, OMG)

Ahava אָהָבָה (love, noun)

Akh אָח (brother)

Akhi אָחִי (my brother, bro)

Akhoth אָחֹות (sister)

Akhoti אָחֹותִי (my sister, sist)

Anashim אֲנָשׁים → people, men (interestingly, Nashim נשים is women)

Anakhnu אֲנַחנוּ (we)

Arieh אָרִיֶה (lion)

Arokh אָרוֹך (long, lengthy)

Arukha אֲרוּחָה (meal)

Asher אֲשֶׁר (which, that)

Aviv אָבִיב (spring-season, first month in Judaism)

Avoqado אָבֹוקָדֹו (avocado)

Ananas אָנָנָס (pineapple)

Adrikhal אָדְרִיכָל (architect)

Achath אָחָת (one, fem.)

Amen אָמֶן (amen, yes)

Aval אֲבָל (but, however)

Now, here are another Aleph א with non "a" sounds ..

Ein אֶין (there's no/ don't have)

Eish אֶישְׁ (man)

Ekhad אֶחָד (one, masc., ordinal)

Emunāh אֶמוּנָה (faith, trustworthy)

Im אִם (if)

Ima אִמָא (mom)

Isha אִישׁה (woman)

O אֹו → or (those familiar with Spanish would find this pleasant to remember 😁)

Or אֹור (light)

Okhel אֹוכֵל (food, eat)

Omer אֹומֵר (say, speak)

Ulai אוּלַי (maybe, perhaps)

By the time I was writing this blog, I was already sharing about the first seven Hebrew letters in my collective learning social media channel. As the sharing developed I also incorporated spiritual and philosophical aspects of each letter, but since Aleph is the very first one there was hardly any of those. However, I do believe that it serves a purposes, so that Aleph א can also enrich my spirituality.

If you look up to other Hebrew letter portals you would find many description on the spiritual aspects of Aleph, the most widely known is the evolution of Aleph from the picture of an ox, symbolizing strength. To comment on that, strength is something I seemingly haven't been able to currently amass.

I was in this marathon, fighting to maintain my provisional admission status for an online MA. course in Biblical Studies. This marathon had eventually also turned into a wrestle and a juggle between the routines of my freelance career, raising my kids, and started 2020, our wrestle in surviving covid19 pandemic. So whenever I read or write the letter Aleph א, I was constantly being reminded of the reality of weakness. But the story didn't end there because reading and writing the letter Aleph א, I was also being reminded of my God Who is eternal and Almighty, also in the power of his Word. The paradox of coexisting weakness and strength in me is actually revealing The God of love who consider the relationship, the process of my self emptying, the continuous relearning and rewiring from my way to His way, they matter the most and I have faith that they are ones that would eventually bring significance in lives of every person of faith.

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“Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 

So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.  

Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord . “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.

(Jeremiah 18:2‭-‬6 NIV)

For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

(1 Corinthians 4:20 NLT)

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time,

(1 Peter 5:6 AMP)

Aleph א instills within us that because the all powerful God has our best interest in mind, every small and humble beginnings is a powerful thing, not because of how small it is, but because of our willingness to begin.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

(2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV)

That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth.

But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God.

So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(2 Corinthians 12:5‭-‬10 NLT)

While this world sticks to the norm of celebrating the successful and powerful, what a great joy to know and be know by such "subversive" Savior who demonstrates His glory and divinity by relating and lifting up the weak and needy. We might be just beginning, but with The Father every walking lesson is up deemed great, wonderful, and up for all out cheerings.

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Grown Ups Kind of Love

Understanding that part of Christian life where maturity means not messing up.

There's an expression in Bahasa, "tahu diri", meaning: don't be arrogant, knowing our place, don't get cocky, take nothing for granted, be thankful.

We had a "sobering" reading , sharing and discussion on Exodus 34 yesterday evening in our online prayer fellowship. It showed two sides of the coin in which we can always put our hopes and trust in God. 

Firstly, יהוה Yahweh, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is just. He's all for righteousness and justice. God has no confusion regarding moral compasses, He's the way, truth and life. So whatever kind of injustice, wrongdoings, mistreatment, or malpractices we've experienced in this life, especially when the perpetrator seemingly got away with it, while you're left hopeless and powerless, and even when nobody would stood for your cause, God is and He will. At the very end of all things justice will be served. As we ponder and rest our souls in this, let's consider the next truth.

Secondly, God is feared even more because of his mercy and his faithfulness in keeping that covenant of redemption. That is even truer because He has no confusion between His rooting for either justice or mercy. Regardless of our admittance & acknowledgment, it's us who desperately need the live-giving grace of God.

Now, Khesed חֶסֶד (mercy/lovingkindness) as mentioned in Exodus 34:7 is never a sign of weakness. Just as it is mentioned in Lamentations 3:23, God's Emunah אֱמוּנָה  (faithfulness, which by the way shares the same "root" as Amen אמן) is something we, the prodigals can go home to, to be rest assured of.

The fact of us being saved from sin presents us with a much needed tension rather than a naivety of wanting to cling to our limited understanding on "salvation by grace". Being human & instinctively manipulative as we are, knowing God's justice is better for health. Our limited understanding would conclude that salvation can be lost just because we hear a passage to "work" on our salvation with fear and trembling, so be it, may our flesh be crucified so we can rise with Christ rather than to cling to false sense of salvation "by grace" and live carelessly.

God's said to מֹשֶׁה Moses, "I will make a covenant before all your people". Observe closely, the word translated as "before" in this passage was not לפני "lefnei" nor לפניך "lefanekha" (a common word to be translated into "before or in front of you"), but rather נגד "neged" (against you), still in front in position but with the opposite spiritual atmosphere.

While לפני "lefnei" suggests a neutral or friendly mood, נֶגֶד "neged" is something one would use when he/she is dealing with an unknown entity, showing neither trust nor support. Have you noticed already, "your people" (not My people), addressing the Israelites in a "neged" negative manner, all these are just like making a legal agreement to prevent breach.

However, there's a duality through which we can read neged נֶגֶד. In Gen 2:18, there's another form, כְּנֶגְדֹּו kenegdo which can mean placing something against someone at extreme proximity so that the person is embraced/covered thus he's protected.*

Neged and Kenegdo, The commandment of love is fulfilling the demands of the previous testament. Mercy and lovingkindness which often translated as "kasih setia" in Bahasa, meaning "a faithful consistent love", is never weak, permisive nor baseless, instead it is firm and infallible, established on the purest, most sacred thing there is, God himself who is (pure) love, binding Himself with humanity, turning sinners into saints, outcasts into beloved.

God has been clarifying time and again His unprecedented unparalleled mercy. We're untrustworthy yet He's decided to love and save us. Christ's coming and sacrifice are clarifying our sinfullness that is a breach against Himself, that sin won't have a getaway, and -at the same time- the cross is clarifying His decision to safely embrace us by letting death engulf Him, Jesus, The Word incarnate. There's this continuous mysterious entanglement between God's gracious gesture and the intercession of those graced with hearts that are drawn to Him, creating two way streams of intercession and redemption throughout the course of mankind's history.

Therefore, Christians who've become too familiar with God's grace upto the point risking to take it for granted and becoming careless with their wonderous gift, risking in becoming not so "tahu diri", they need to know that IF it wasn't because of God's mercy, הוא נגדנו "Hu negdanu" He was (and would still be) against us, as He is with the rest of this rebellious humanity. The covenant (renewed through המשיח Christ) is what makes us (who once far) near, who were not God's people because of sin, now becoming His own inheritance. Remembering what we once were NOT gives us more appreciation and thanksgiving of who we are now in Christ. "Tahu diri" is probably a great expression for us to respond and reflect on our salvation as we present ourselves daily so that our wonderous experience would become others' as well.

Blessings & love from your fellow coming of age Christian :)

* Reflections on "kenegdo", "khesed" and "emunah" was inspired and enriched through the sharing of my dear pastor friends, Rev. Florian Simatupang (IES CTK) & Rev. Decky Pendowo (GBI Khayyalim), also shared perspective by Ptr. Dr. Timothy Athanasios N. ❤️🙏

Thanks to the faithful relentless  ministry of Ptr. Tommy C. Pacatang (IES NW & IES PIK) who's been hosting our heartwarming daily prayer fellowship ever since the wake of COVID19 pandemic. May this reflection resounds and resonate the passion of "Love God, Love others and Reach The World".

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VaYoter Nakhon (And Moreover The Truer)

An insight of living a consistent faithful interpretation of God's providence and promises through an Eucharistic lens (celebration of Christ's empowering sacrifice towards our own sacrificial journey of worship and sanctification).

I was once more blessed through the Instagram chatter with my dear pastor friend, Rev. Decky Pendowo. He was pastoring the GBI Khayyalim, a name which sounds foreign to many but not to my halfly hebrew trained senses. So I was confirming whether the name was taken from the word "Chayyelim" חיילים meaning "soldiers, troops, or armies", not to mention my assumption on general Christian notion, identifying ourselves as "Christ's Armies" against spiritual (dark) forces. Ptr. Decky later confirmed, "זה נכון אחי" or "zeh nakhon akhi" (that's right, brother), a pleasant and heartwarming answer in the midst of my rather solitaire linguistic journey. I replied, "שמחה! תודה רבה אחי" (oh how joyful! Many thanks, brother).

I believe that was divine appointment because I couldn't seem to shake off the thought of this familiar word " נָכוֹן nakhon" (true/right). Although the word isn't exactly related to the expression "כֵּן kèn" (yes), I was feeling led to couple them with these following verses. May this reading of The Word blesses our souls with both deeper thirst and satisfaction in His presence. ❤️🙏📖💬

כִּי כָּל הַבְטָחוֹת אֱלֹהִים "כֵּן" הֵן בּוֹ. לָכֵן הָ"אָמֵן" שֶׁאָנוּ נוֹתְנִים בּוֹ כָּבוֹד לֵאלֹהִים גַּם הוּא בְּאֶמְצָעוּתוֹ.

השניה אל הקורינתים 1:20 HRNT

Ki kal havtakhoth elohim "ken" hen bo. Lakhen ha"amen" shanu nothnim bo kavod l'elohim gam hu bamtsautho.

For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] “Yes.” ("Ken" כֵּן ) So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 1:20 AMP)

עַל כָּךְ הֵגִיב בְּאָמְרוֹ: "וְיוֹתֵר נָכוֹן, אַשְׁרֵי הַשּׁוֹמְעִים אֶת דְּבַר אֱלֹהִים וְשׁוֹמְרִים אוֹתוֹ."

לוקס 1:28 HRNT 

Al kakh hegiv bamro: vayoter nakhon, ashrei hashom'im eth dvar elohim vashomrim oto.

But he said, “Blessed ("ashrei" אַשְׁרֵי ) rather ("vayoter nakhon" וְיוֹתֵר נָכוֹן ) are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28 ESV)

What a wonderful concept of "vayoter nakhon" (truer). Rather than simply negating the previous premise (v.27; blessedness & joy that come from being in the physical premises & vicinity with Jesus), ישוע our True Vine, identified Himself with God's Word, and "rather" than the former, it is "truer" that the amazing joy and blessings can flow to all people who align their lives with godly things/things of God (דְּבַר אֱלֹהִים).

Knowing that nothing is coincidence, we remember how Matthew 11:28 also taught us to find rest and peace in coming to Christ (worship & The Word) in obedience & eagerness to learn (to apply & to serve) from Him. Learning not to worry about our living is, I believe, synonymous with putting our confidence in Him who relates with all of us, even the least of us. A life that's broken and given is a life that proves its connection to the Everlasting Father, a life that's privileged to be showered by God's "yesses", a life that gives life.

Blessings.

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