Dressed for the Feast

He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” Zechariah 3:4 NASB Festal robes – In the ancient world of Semitic cultures, clothes were much…

Let the Reader Decide

“I have taken off my clothes, should I get dressed again?  I have washed my feet, should I get them dirty?  Song of Songs 5:3  Tremper Longman III Feet – Let’s get straight to the point.  Song of Songs is Hebrew erotic poetry.  It is intentionally disguised intimations of sexual pleasure and passion.  That’s the…

Clothes Make The Man

The wise in heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will be ruined. Proverbs 10:8 (ESV) Receive – “Without mitzvot one is naked.”  So say the rabbis about the necessity of the commandments (mitzvot).  Heschel points out that Judaism views the commandments as if they were literal things, as if they could be possessed…