Part One
Where Does "The Divine Presence" Dwell?
Part One
When this question began to form in my spirit, I pondered it of a minute or so, and then spoke.
"The obvious answer to this question L-rd is Everywhere!" However,
G-d was not looking for the easy all too obvious answer. When the Spirit of the Living G-d asked me this question,
I should have known right off that He wanted to reveal something deeper to me, but I did not at first. Although my answer was correct, it was not the answer G-d was looking for.
Now other questions began filling my mind. Does G-d’s Divine Presence dwell in me? Does "The Divine Presence" really audibly speak today? Is "The
Divine Presence" alive in anything, other then the Scriptures? How does "The Divine Presence" dwell
in my soul? Where is "The Divine Presence" in our dying? What about "The Divine Presence" and
the "Mercy Seat?" Too many questions I thought but I knew G-d wanted to teach
me something about His Presence, and I knew that He would give me the answers I needed in time. My job was now
to study the subject of "The Divine Presence." However,
the subject being so enormous, I soon realized I could only study a portion as I was led, so I prayed. What I have
endeavored to do is share that portion with you.
In rabbinical literature "The Divine Presence" is called "Shekhinah," and the Tabernacle in
the wilderness is said to have been sanctified by the "Kavod (Glory) of the L-RD." This is truth. Still
in this study, I will refer to The Divine Presence, as "The Divine Presence." I will not be using the
rabbinical designation "Shekhinah," and later I hope you will see why. This study is truly about what
I needed to find out about "The Divine Presence" and where He Dwells today. I pray it will also benefit
many.
Let’s pray:
"Our Father, we bless Your Holy Name, we bless You for the goodness of Your Holy Word. We come now and ask
You to reveal Your Divine Presence to us. We praise You for all the wonders in Your Holy Scripture, the hidden,
which You alone can reveal to us. Most Holy Spirit, show us the Glory of the Messiah, Your Anointed One, and reveal
to us where "The Divine Presence" may be found today, Amen.
Lets starts by doing a word study:
There will be two key Hebrew words that will be very important to us in this study on the subject of the "The
Divine Presence" - lets look at both now.
1. The Hebrew word for "Dwell" is pronounced "Shakan"
- Strongs #7931 it is a prime root akin to Strongs #7901. It gives the idea of residence or lodging; to reside
or permanently stay (lit. or fig.) to abide, continue, (cause to, make to) dwell, have habitation, inhabit, lay,
"PLACE," (cause to) remain, rest, set as in (up).
2. The Hebrew word for "Place" is pronounced "Maqowm"
- Strongs #4725 (fem.) from #6965; prop. a standing, i.e. a spot; but used widely of a locality (gen. or spec.);
also (fig.) of a condition (of body or mind) country, home, open, PLACE, room, space, whither [-soever].
When one studies "words" or "a subject," one must look at many
aspects of what he or she is studying, trying hard not to leave anything out. You know the old saying that goes:
"leaving no stone unturned." We will start by reading
slowly, Genesis 28:16:
"And Jacob (a supplanter) waking out of his sleep, said, ‘Surely the L-RD (Yah-vah)
is in this PLACE (Maqowm); and I knew (to ascertain by seeing) it not.’" AGI
It has been said that studying the Holy Scriptures is comparable to he movement of a winepress.
By putting the Word i.e. Grape in your heart
and mouth (the winepress) we seek to press it
slowly and firmly, thus getting the best wine. Still, one should take
time to taste of the grape first, before the crushing begins. Keep that in mind as we
take a journey to find the "The Divine Presence!"
Our intent is to answer all the questions. First however, we must take an excursion to
find the Place of The Divine Presence, "His holy Abode."
In searching for "The Divine Presence" - G-d placed in my hands several books, one that really surprised me! It was written by Sister Maureena Fritz, the title of the book is called: "G-d’s Surprising Presence," publish by Saint Mary’s Press. As I looked at the back cover of the book in a used bookstore, I read:
"Our heart is restless until we find G-d. We seek G-d’s presence,
but where do we encounter the Divine?" I was hooked with those
lines. I thought, I must read this book. So I purchased the book and went home only to place it on my night table,
were it stayed for months.
I felt that G-d was saying, "I will use this book to be a confirming word, but first you must seek elsewhere." I asked the L-rd, where? He advised me in the "Volume of the Book" (Psalm 40:7-8). I knew that meant looking to
the Hebrew letters and how they speak in the Scriptures.
I do have an understanding of the Hebrew AlephBet,
so I started with the books I owned on the subject. I scanned the books and found out that they all determined
that the Hebrew letter Hey stands for the "The Divine Presence"
in the Hebrew AlephBet.
The Hey is the 5th letter, and it means: "The" and "To Reveal." It's a picture in the ancient
Hebrew language of a Window or a Lattice. Now I understood why
G-d wanted me to use this designation, and not the rabbinical one. So the Hey meaning, "The" was indeed a very important part of my understanding of The Divine Presence
personally, His persona.
According to Rabbi Michael L. Munk, in his wonderful book on the subject (The Wisdom In The Hebrew AlephBet -
by: ArtScroll Mesorah Pub), "the Hey
is the symbol of the Divinity, Gentility, and Specificity." He goes on to say, but
using my own words, that the Talmud tells us that G-d used the letters Yod and the Hey which forms the "Divine Name - Yah" to create the whole of the Universe.
The Orthodox Jewish doctrine is this, "with the Yod "The Divine" created the
World to Come (the Olam HaBa), and with the Hey, He created this physical World" (Menachos 29b).
The Hey is a sound of exhalation; it is the sound of the Spirit, "The Ruach"
in Hebrew. Which in the Scriptures is many times seen as the Wind (Acts 2). Lets look
at what Psalm 33:6 reveals to us:
"By the Word (Dabar) of the L-RD were the Heavens accomplish;
and all the Host of them by The Breath (The Ruach) of His blowing (mouth)." AGI
I had known this but I was once again amazed by the Scriptures truth. Adah Guzmans Interpretation (AGI) of this passage shed some new light
on it for me. Adah always makes voluminous the whole of Scripture to me. Knowing that Yeshua is the "Word i.e. the Dabar, the Torah of G-d," you can clearly see John
1: 1-5 comes to life:
"In the genesis (beginning) was the Word (Dabar - Torah), and the Word (Dabar - Torah) was
with G-d, and the Word (Dabar - Torah)
was G-d. The same was in the genesis (beginning) with G-d. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing created that was made. In
Him was Life; (Chai) and the Life
(Chai) was the Light (Ore) of mankind. And the Light (Ore) shined in the darkness (death, misery, destruction, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness);
and the darkness (death, misery, destruction, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness);
comprehended it not." AGI
According to the Scriptures, the world is endowed with Life by "The Divine Light."
This Light has a name, The Primemortal Light.
The Maharal observes that the letter Hey
consists of the letter Dalet, and
the letter Yod. He goes on to pronounce that the vertical and
horizontal lines of the Dalet represent the physical world by it height, and width. Whereas the little Yod denotes the Spiritually of the World to Come. From this belief we see that the Hey brings close together, both worlds, the physical and the spiritual
worlds. Close together yes, but never touching, unless "The Divine" desires them to touch. Adah Guzman puts it this way, "There
are times when the Divine Light graces the earth and fallen man, with a "Kiss of His Divine Presence."
I see it this way…the Dalet which stands for a Door in the Hebrew
AlephBet, equals in Word Pictures, the Messiah (John 10:7).
Messiah, the Door, lets the Physical world come up into the Spiritual world before its
time. (Rev 4) The Yod, stands for
a Hand (a right hand), meaning: to make or a deed. It
also stands for the Messiah who is at the Right Hand of G-d in Heaven.
Now, if you look at the word "deed," we will see a
wonderful truth about Messiah Yeshua. The word Deed can mean: an act, a document or give.
As an "Act," it
can mean: an accomplishment, a work, an achievement, procedure i.e. plan.
As a "Document" it can mean: lease, agreement,
voucher.
As "Give" it means: turn
over to.
I found that very interesting. Now in keeping with our understanding of the Dalet Yod
we see some other interesting aspects of these letters.
The Hebrew letters Dalet Yod, spells a word "day" pronounced
dahee - as an interjection, it means: "enough, sufficient, time" Strong’s
# 1767. In Chaldee i.e. Aramaic, the Dalet Yod is a conjunction, "diy" pronounced dee means: "that,
until, seeing, therefore, now, and of."
Now if you put the Yod before the Dalet, you have the Hebrew
word for "Hand - Yad" Strong’s # 3027, meaning: "hand, but an open one." Moreover in Aramaic it means: "hand, but a Powerful one." Are you starting to see some Word pictures
forming in your mind, I am! This Scripture jumped up in my spirit, Psalm 89:13.
"Thou hast a Mighty Arm: strong is Thy Hand, and exalted is Thy Right Hand."
Then another Scripture popped up in my spirit. Peter speaking, we read in the book of Acts
5: 30 - 31, shouts out these words:
"The G-d of our Fathers raised up Yeshua, whom you slew and hanged on a tree. He has G-d exalted,
with His Right Hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance (t’shuvah)
to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." AGI
You see Messiah Yeshua is "Enough!" - #1767 "day - dahee"
You see Messiah Yeshua is "Sufficient!" - #1767
"day - dahee"
You see Messiah Yeshua is "Time!" - #1767 "day
- dahee"
Messiah Yeshua has "Accomplishment"! He is at the
"Right Hand" of G-d. He has given of Himself, so He
could effect forgiveness of sins in the earth. Messiah Yeshua
has come to earth to make a work of it, a deed i.e. a Covenant with mankind on behalf
of our Father in Heaven. Remember one of the meaning
of "day - dahee" is "seeing." Look at Isaiah 49:21-22.
This understanding is inferred only by its placement in the text, but it does speak loudly to me as part of the
called out ones.
"Then shall you say in your heart, Who has begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate,
a captive, and removed every which way? And who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; who will raised
them for me?' Thus saith Adonai G-D, if, I will lift up Mine Hand (My Powerful Right Hand) to the Gentiles (foreign
nations) and set up My Standard (Banner - Ensign) to a people assembled: and they (a people assembled) shall bring
your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. AGI
So "seeing" Adonai G-D says, He will lift up His Powerful "Yad" (Hand) to the Nations, and
they (a people assembled) will carry Israel’s sons and daughters home. Who is this "a
people assembled?" It is a people who love Adonai G-D with all their hearts and souls and minds, those who
know Yeshua Messiah as Saviour and L-rd. What does it really mean to love Adonai G-D,
with all your heart, soul and mind?
Let’s for a minute look at the soul, the physical, and the spirit of a
man.
The Soul = Intellect i.e. Intelligence. The soul houses the
5 Senses of this physical world. The soul is very much limited by its 5 senses. Intellect believes the 5 senses.
The voice of your spirit and soul are one in Jewish thinking. It is said to be your Bodily conscience i.e. soul
man. It remains the best part of fallen man, nevertheless it is still fallen. If only the soul of man would listen
more often to his conscience, but for the most part fallen man does not.
The Physical = Material or Natural i.e. Body. It is mortal,
earthly and subject to death, as well as subject to change. Not much to say about the Physical, the Physical must
die one day. It is appointed to do so because of the sin of Adam. Adam = the Natural Physical, Fallen man.
The Spirit = Ruach = Spiritual, the higher essence of self,
a spark of the Divine. In a Believer however, it speaks of "regenerated mankind" i.e. the New Man, or
the seed of the Last Adam, Messiah Yeshua. G-d’s promise to the "Believer" is regeneration, i.e. rebirth,
II Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15. We have it now by faith in His Messiah and His Word. However, we will really see our Spirituality
in the World to Come. For through the work of Messiah Yeshua we have access "now" by the Blood (Eph 2:13;
Heb 10:19 Rev 12:11), and by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:14; I Cor 6:11; Eph 3:5; I John 3:24), to our Father in Heaven
The voice of your regenerated spirit in your inward man is fully regenerated. It is all done by the finished work
of the Last Adam, that being Messiah Yeshua. Now the Holy Spirit of G-d is living in you (the inward regenerated
man) because of that work. You are now the "Temple i.e. Dwelling Place" of the Living G-d (I Cor 3:16).
"The Divine Presence" resides, dwells, abides in YOU (that is, your renewed spirit)!
We are told in the New Covenant that G-d would make known (by the Yod i.e. His Right Hand - His Messiah) what is
the riches of that "Glory!" A mystery among the Gentiles (Nations); which is found only in "Messiah in you, the Hope of Glory": Col 1:27
"The Divine Presence" does indeed manifest Himself; He does
certainly dwell (shakan) in all who Believe.
"O taste and see that the L-RD is Good: and blessed is the
man that trusts in Him."
(Psalm 34:8)
The Divine Hey, the Divine Number 5
As we have written before, G-d assigned the Hey to be the number 5 in the Hebrew AlephBet.
We also see that there are 5 books
that G-d gave to Moses, we call them the Torah of G-d. This is the very number of Divine
Inspiration, for the Holy Spirit of G-d who inspired the writing of every letter, every word of Scripture. The
number 5 is also the number reserved for Grace in both Covenants. Our G-d thought so
highly of the Hey that He added it to Abram and Sarai names, making a change in their Physical world. Abram becomes
Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah, and the direction of their lives were then fully opened to G-d and the Spiritual
world.
"By faith Abram, when he was called to go out into a place which
he should after secure for an inheritance, obeyed the Eternal; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.
For Abraham looked for a city which had foundations, whose builder and maker is The Eternal G-d." (Hebrew
11:8, 10) AGI
What is the Divine Hey’s assignment in the word "Repentance - T’shuvah?"
The word repentance, t’shuvah in Hebrew, has been given a Hey as its last letter, why? It
is because the Hey, which has the meaning: "to
reveal," and stands for "The" Divine can bring repentance about in this physical world. The Hey teaches
us the effectiveness of making t’shuvah. The mercies of the Eternal L-RD are sure, as
we are told over and over in the Psalms. Let us taste just one Psalm, and look at it in
a several versions of the Bible to see G-d’s riches. Psalm 89: 1-2
"I will sing of the lovingkindness of Jehovah forever: With my mouth
will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever; Thy faithfulness
wilt thou establish in the very heavens. ASV 1901
"I will sing of the lovingkindness of the L-RD forever; To all
generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth. For I have said, "Lovingkindness will be built
up forever; In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness." NAS 1995
"Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the mercies of
the L-RD forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy shall
be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. KJV
"A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the L-rd's great
love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your
love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. NIV
These four translations are good, but the AGI version has used
what this Ministry has coined in 1994, Shemology Theology. Using
Shemology makes the Biblical names much clearer for us to see.
When people see Biblical names, for the most part, they read right over them. What they have just failed to see,
is a treasure chest of extraordinary gems. The AGI version also has more
then one meaning for each verse of Scripture; hers is unique that, it keeps growing.
I’m not sure Adah will ever finish hers so it can be published. But I do pray G-d willing, one day it will be.
Lets read the one verse I have chosen to share.
"Maschil (understanding) of Ethan (perplexity or mysteries) the Ezrahite
(sprung up, from the Hebrew root Ezra, meaning: help, assistance). I will sing of the kindness (hesed) of the Eternal
L-RD forever: with my mouth will I make known (to ascertain by seeing) thy faithfulness (emunah,) to all generations.
For I have said, Mercy (hesed - a name for the L-RD) shall be built (set) up forever: thy Faithfulness (emunah
- a name for the L-RD) shall You establish (erect, appoint) in the very Heavens." Psalm 89 :1-2 AGI
When I got to thinking about the names having greater meaning, my mind started to see how this Psalm could also
be read using the meanings of the names:
"Understanding of perplexity, mysteries sprung up. ‘I will sing
of the kindness of the Eternal L-RD forever! With my mouth will I publish it? Until it's observed by seeing! Yes
thy Faithfulness is to all generations. For I have said, Mercy (remember, a Name for G-d) shall be set up forever:
yes thy Faithfulness shall you ordain (render sure by fixing) in the Heavens." (Italics mine - BD)
Understanding of perplexity, mysteries sprung up. The word perplexity
or perplexities is very full here in the meaning of mysteries. G-d, who knows all things, has Secrets (Deut 29:29). He alone can make known to us the enigmas of life. He
alone can reveal (the job of the Hey), His Word to seekers. He alone can take the perplexities
of life, and cause understanding to spring up in them. And when He does, we "sing of His Faithfulness - His
Mercies, and it shall be to all generations." Age being no barrier, praise G-d forever more. Accordingly,
The Divine Hey does indeed reveal!!!
The Silence, The Meek and The Missing
Again, according to Rabbi Michael Munk, the Hey is Silence.
Why Silence? It is because it is a "silence sound" a "breathe sound." The Hey
is meek in its placement in the Hebrew AlephBet. The Hey did not demand to be first,
second, third or fourth, it took fifth as its place. Although the Holy Spirit is part of the Triunity of G-d, He
makes no fuss about His placement in the G-dhead. He just seeks to reveal Messiah to the fallen world. We see the
English word Grace has been bestowed 5 letters because of the
"Hey’s" meekness. In Greek the word for Grace is just 5 little Greek letters, look it up for yourself
- Strong’s #5485. Within this Greek word Grace, we see it contains the meaning of: "Spiritual
Graciousness," which takes us back to what Rabbi Michael. Munk said, about the Hey;
being the symbol of "Divinity, Gentility, and Specificity." We can really see that about the persona of The Holy Spirit of G-d, can’t we? His nature is one of refinement.
The Spirit of Truth which proceeds from the Father, it is He, who testify of Yeshua Messiah, John 14:26.
The Hey is also missing from the Holy Text, yet it is still
pronounced as if it were there. In Haggai 1:8, we read:
"Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the Temple; and I will take pleasure
in it, and I will be glorified, saith the L-RD."
The phrase "I will be glorified" is missing one of
its letters, the letter Hey. 
Although it is clearly pronounce. Again we must ask the question why?
The missing Hey, we are told, is missing because the second Temple lacked 5 things the first Temple had.
1. The Holy Ark with the covering Cherubim
2. The Heavenly burning fire on the Altar
3. The Holy Presence, the Shechinah
4. The Divine Spirit
5. The Holy Breastplate of the Kohen Ha Gadol - the High Priest, with the Urim and Thummin
Tractate Yoma (21b) puts this a little differently then I have listed them, nevertheless the 5 articles are the
same. Again we see the number 5 pointing to The Divine Grace that filled the first Temple.
Was the missing letter Hey so pained by all the upheaval in Israel, for the loss of the
"Glory and Grace" of that first Temple, that it is missing? Maybe, maybe not! But I believe the real reason for the missing Hey in the Holy Text is to show us that Israel, in its
fallen state, would have very little "revealed to her" by that physical earthly second Temple without "The Glory,
The Grace, The Divine."
Remember, the letter Hey is the letter that means: "The" - "To Reveal."
Yet the prophet Haggai tells us the "Glory" of the
second Temple would be greater then the first. He was right, it was indeed
greater! The reason for its greatness is now evident
to all who Believe, His Right Hand - His Messiah walked in it. Many of the Jewish people of that second Temple
period saw the Grace of The Divine Presence in that earthen Temple. But it was not in the form of what they expected
(the things listed above). No, it was the Glorious form of Emanuel (G-d with us), who was with them.
The One Triune G-d revealed to man, in the form of revealed G-d man, WOW is
all I can say. How awesome it must have been to see The Living Light, G-d in that Temple. The Divine Presence was
manifested (seen) by the ones looking to understand the mysteries of the L-RD. In them (a people assembled) did
the Glory of "Him" spring up and on.
Look at Luke 2:25-26.
"And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon
(Hearing); and the same man was just (righteous - tsadeek) and devout (pious), waiting for the Consolation of Israel:
and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it was "revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit," that he should not
see (taste) death, before he had seen the L-RD’S Messiah (El-ohims Right Hand manifested in the flesh). AGI
Whenever the Scriptures speak about seeing, it is always linked with hearing. The name Simeon means: hearing. It
comes from the word Shema, and Shema has the meaning of "hearing with understanding and observing" Duet
6:4.
So what about this prophesy in Haggai’s book?
Haggai 2 :9 tells us: "The Glory (Kavod) of this latter Temple shall be greater
than of the first, saith the L-RD of Hosts and in this Place (maquom) I appoint Shalom (peace, complete wholeness),
saith the L-RD of Hosts." AGI
This takes us right back to our opening Scripture in Genesis 28:16. Let’s
press and taste it again.
"And Jacob (a supplanter) waking out of his sleep, said, ‘Surely
the L-RD (Yah-vah) is in this Place (maquom); and I knew it not.’" AGI
In Genesis 28:10-17, the word place (maquom) is repeated 5 times
in these 7 verses of Scripture. Place- Maquom is another Name for the "L-RD
G-d." This is believed by most orthodox Rabbis, and I
agree with them. This is indeed one of His Names. In verse 17, we read:
"He was afraid and said, ‘What an awesome Place (G-d)! It is none
other than the House of G-d; the doorway to Heaven!" AGI
G-d put it on the heart of Jacob to call this very Place "Bethel - the House of G-d," because the Eternal G-d’s Divine Presence possessed that Place on this physical plane.
Lets look at one of Judaism most famous Rabbis, Rashi
comments on Genesis 28:16-17 - he put it this way:
Verse 16 "and I did not know [it] For had I known I would
not have slept in such a holy place" [from Bereishith Rabbathi attributed to Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan]
verse 17 "this is the house of G-d, said Rabbi Eleazar
in the name of Rabbi Jose ben Zimra: This ladder stood in Beer-sheba and the middle of its incline reached opposite
the Temple, for Beer-sheba is situated in the south of Judah and Jerusalem [is situated] in its north on the boundary
between Judah and Benjamin and Beth-el was in the north of the territory of Benjamin on the boundary between Benjamin
and the sons of Joseph. Consequently a ladder whose foot is in Beer-sheba and whose top is in
Beth-el, the middle of its slant is opposite Jerusalem. This accords with what our Sages
said, that the Holy One, blessed be He said, "This righteous man has come to My lodging
Place i.e. the Temple Mount. Shall he leave without lodging?"…And furthermore they
said: Jacob called Jerusalem, Beth-el. But this place [which he called Beth-el] was Luz and not Jerusalem. So from
where did they learn to say this? [i.e. that Luz was Jerusalem] I believe that Mount Moriah
was uprooted from its place and it came here [to Luz i.e. at that time, Luz, Jerusalem and Beth-el were all in
the same place]."
At this point I must comment on Mark 11:23, Yeshua speaking:
"For truly I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain,
Be thou removed, and be you cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things
which he makes vocal shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says.
Yeshua was not the only one who believed mountains could move, so did these Rabbis of
old. Lets go on and read the rest of the Rashi commentary on these verses. Take note
of the key word ‘Place’ in this text.
…and this is the "springing of the earth" mentioned in Tractate Chullin
i.e. that the [site of the] Temple came towards him until Beth-el. This is the meaning
of…"And he met the ‘Place’" - Now if you
ask, "When Jacob passed by the Temple why did He not detain him there?" [The answer is:] If he did not
put his mind to pray in the place where his forefathers had prayed should they detain him from heaven? "It
is possible that I have passed the place where my forefathers prayed and I did not pray there?" He decided
to return and he went back as far as Beth-El and the earth "sprang toward him"
[This Beth-El is not the one near Ai but the one near Jerusalem and because it was the
city of G-d, he called it Beth-El - the House of G-d, and that
is Mount Moriah where Abraham prayed and that is the field where Isaac prayed and so did they say in Sotah (sic) (Pes 88a) [concerning the verse] (Micah 4:2): "Come' let us go up to the Mount of
the L-rd, to the House of G-d of Jacob" - [It is] not [called] as did Abraham who
called it a mountain and not as did Isaac who called it a field but as did Jacob who called it the House of G-d…
...An exact rendition of Rashi, which interprets "How awesome" - The Targum renders: How awesome is this place! The word "is", is a noun, as in (Targum Exodus 31:3): "understanding"
is "a garment to wear" and
this is the gate of Heaven, A place of prayer where their prayers ascend to Heaven
(Pirkei d’Rabbi Elieze' ch 35) And its midrashic interpretation is that the Heavenly
Temple is directed exactly towards the earthly Temple [From Gen Rabbah
69:7]
What we find in Rashi commentary is rich. I see the link to the New Covenant teachings
in much of Rashi commentary. Although, the Jewish Rabbis would not agree with me on that point. My Rabbi, Rabbi
Michael Short says, "They (the Jewish Rabbis), paint a wonderful, glorious
picture of Messiah Yeshua, and label Him unknown." This I have found to be true over
and over again. Much that I’ve read that these Rabbis have written about Messiah, is anointed by G-d. Yet they
do not see that its pointing to the "One" whom
has come to earth already.
Mayim's Endnote