שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד
Hear intelligently with attention and interest, comprehend and obey, O Yisra'el, יהוה our 'Elohiym is יהוה alone!
–Dabariym [deuteronomy] 6:4 His Name Tanakh**
Hear O Yisra'el does not solicit donations!
(Surprise!)
Hear O Yisra'el has absolutely no regard for those who would seek fiscal profit from יהוה's words, teachings or praise. Hear O Yisra'el will never sell the freedoms of the Creator, the only King of kings and Ruler of rulers: יהוה 'Elohiym!
Dabariym [deuteronomy] 16:17:
"Every man will give from his hand from the blessings and prosperity of יהוה your ‘Elohiym which He has given you."Qoheleth (eccles.) 11:1 and 2.
"Cast your bread and grain upon the waters; for you will find and acquire it again after many days. 2. Give a portion, even one’s possession, to seven, even seven times, yes, moreover to eight; so as to not perceive and become acquainted with whatever evil will come upon the earth."
Hear O Yisra'el has been unable to find a single documented case in the Towrah or the whole of the Tanakh of one of the prophets receiving one talent of gold or silver for serving יהוה. Our patriarch-father 'Abraham refused money and the spoils of war after rescuing his nephew Lowt; see Bere'shiyth [genesis] chapter 14. Moshe never got paid (except in aggravation). Yonah never got paid (I believe he actually paid for the boat ride himself). Chaggay, Zekaryahuw, Miykayah, Amowç, Tsephanyahuw, 'Obadyahuw, Yirmeyahuw [jeremiah], Yesha'yahuw [isaiah], Chabaqquwq, Nachuwm, Yechezq'el–, et al– all these never got paid! Daniye'l's only payment seems to have been slavery (his palace position was given to him prior to the prophecies he uttered against Belsha'tstsar) and 'Eliyahuw the Tishbiy, one of יהוה's greatest servants, got paid by being chased by king 'Ach'ab wanting to kill him; chased to the point of exhaustion and deep depression! No gold. No silver. No gift certificates from the local mall. No pagan paper. Nothing!
'Eliysha', who took over the 'mantle' of 'Eliyahuw 'of a double portion' not only did not get paid, but he severly punished his servant Gechaziy for seeking after a reward! In 2 Melekiym [2 kings] chapter 5 verse 1 we read:
"Na'aman, captain of the host of the king of 'Aram, was a great man with his sovran, and honorable, because by him יהוה had given victory to 'Aram: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper."
And the king of 'Aram sent him with letters to the king of Yisra'el to be healed of his leprosy. This caused King Yahuwram to become fearful and to say: ". . .am I 'Elohiym, to kill and to make alive, that this man does send to me to recover a man of his leprosy? Consider, I ask you, and see how he seeks a quarrel against me." So 'Eliysha' said to him, essentially: 'don't panic and send this Na'aman the Tsoriy to me' (2 Melekiym [2 kings] 5:7-8).
'Eliysha' tells Na'aman to wash in the Yarden (Jordan) river seven times, and as the Yarden was considered inferior by Na'aman to the 'Abanah and Parpar, two rivers in Dammeseq (Damascus), he became very upset and had to be persuaded by his servants to go dip the seven times commanded by 'Eliysha', at which time he was indeed healed of his leprosy . It was such a wonderous healing that not only did the leprosy leave, but his skin became full of youthful vigor as a child's skin tends to be (2 Melekiym [2 kings] 5:10-14).
Na'aman offers a great reward (ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold and ten changes of clothes (2 Melekiym [2 kings] 5:5) or approximately 10,937.50 troy ounces of silver, 6000 troy ounces of gold, and clothes– all told: an approximate value of 6,874,581 uSD– quite a tempting sum! But 'Eliysha' replied: "As יהוה lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing!" (2 Melekiym [2 kings] 5:16) and even though Na'aman strongly urged him to take it; he still refused. Then Na'aman went on his way, returning to Tsor of 'Aram.
Gechaziy, the servant of 'Eliysha', follows after and lies to him: "Shalowm. My sovran has sent me, saying: Behold, even now there are come to me from the hill-country of ‘Ephrayim two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them, I ask you, a talent of silver, and two changes of clothes." Na'aman presses two talents of silver upon Gechaziy and sends him on his way with two servants to carry his ill-gotten gain (2 Melekiym [2 kings] 5:20-24)!
In the last three verses of the chapter we read:
2 Melekiym [2 kings] 5:
25. But he went in, and stood before his sovran. And 'Eliysha' said to him: Where were you, Gechaziy? And he said: Your servant did not go here or there.
26. And he said: Was not my heart walking with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to take silver, clothing, oil, vineyards, sheep and cattle, and male or female slaves?
27. The leprosy of Na'aman will cling to your seed forever. And he went out as a leper, white as snow.
Lies, lies and more lies! And thievery! And disobedience! Imagine that. This continues even today with most "ministry beggers". They ask you to provide; to 'aid' them in caring and giving because they need your help so much. Yet, xtianity seems to have plenty of their own to give for x-mas trees and gifts, the ishtar-bunny, movies, baseball, football, juants to Disney World, etc, etc. Managing to get on television when they distribute a two dollar toy or peanut-butter sandwhich once a year to the same neighborhoods year after year after year. The messianics fall right behind with their trips to and fro to their so-called 'holy convectionaries' [sic] pulling their 40 foot campers and renting Tame' (foul or impure: unclean) cabins at a pagan-religion camp site covered in the abhorrent to יהוה filth of the pig and then daring to declare the "presence" of the ruwach
It is the belief of Hear O Yisra'el that if you have to ask for donations you probably are not meant to be doing what you are doing. After all who is your provider?
You will serve יהוה your 'Elohiym, and He will bless your bread, and your water; and will take sickness away from the midst of you. – Shemoth [exodus] 23:25.
And He will love you, and bless you, and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock, in the land which he swore to your fathers to give you. – Dabariym [deuteronomy] 7:13.
See also: Shemoth [exodus] 20:24, Bemidbar [numbers] 6:24-27; Dabariym [deuteronomy] 1:11, 15:4-6, 24:19, 28:12, 30:16; Tehilliym [psalms] 29:11, 67:6 and 7, 115:12 and 13, 128:5, 132:15... and oh, so many more—: just read the Tanakh!
So, what then? What shall we do to obey יהוה and be merciful towards others? יהוה tells us:
You will not completely glean your vineyard, neither will you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you will leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am יהוה, your 'Elohiym! – Va'iyqrah [leviticus] 19:10 (see: Va'iyqrah [leviticus] 23:22).
The idea behind most of יהוה's giving-instructions is, first and foremost mercy; mercy combined with a work ethic on the part of the receiver as well as the giver. The poor and needy are required (if physically able) to pick-up their own gleanings.
So, you might be thinking, "I don't have any vinyards!" or "I don't have a wheat field!" Probably not; neither do I, but יהוה also tells us:
If your brother becomes thin and impoverished, and his hand wavers with you; then you will strengthen, cure, help, repair, and fortify him: as a guest the stranger and sojourner will live, and be revived, as you are. – Va'iyqrah [leviticus] 25:35.
In Dabariym [deuteronomy] chapter 15, we are told not to harden our hearts or shut off our hand from the poor and helpless. To give abundantly out of the blessings יהוה gives to us. We are not to charge usuary or make profit from giving (or teaching), nor are we to wait for the seventh year of release in order to deny those who are oppressed. יהוה reminds us that those with needs will be with us continually, on this earth:
For the destitute; those needy and subject to oppression and abuse will never come to an end out from the land: therefore I command you, saying: You will surely open wide and loosen your hand to your brother, to the depressed, in mind or circumstances, and to your impoverished, in your land. – Dabariym [deuteronomy] 15:11.
So, what then? What shall we do to obey יהוה and be merciful towards others? After all, you might be thinking, Hear O Yisra'el seems to say 'donating' is an evil thing. Not at all...give freely from your hand, by all means, but do it yourself. I know that writing a check is so much easier than doing it yourself and it involves almost no work effort, but there are countless ways right where you are, in your own city or town that you can give and be assured of doing some actual beneficial help to one who is needy without running the risk of some charlatan pocketing the money or, just as sinfully, giving to one who is completely undeserving. Some lazy self-proclaimed Leuiy (levite) who believes he is entitled "temple-offerings" rather than develope any work-ethic or skills to raise himself up (I've actually met one like this! Des moi!).
There have been a number of times in the past that I (or someone I know) have given to another group to help the truly needy, only to discover the aid went some 'shiftless-lazy grifter' constantly trolling many organizations for hand-outs they would not need if they only applied themselves (this is especially notorious on the web, as I am sure you can tell from your spam folder). It is a sad and utterly despicable thing that can transpire through the giving in this manner that those doing the collecting and distributing often times know that they give your gifts to the 'shiftless-lazy grifters'. I am guessing they want to fool their god into believing they are worthy of a rulership position in his kingdom when this is in fact stealing. Under false pretenses they seek 'gifts' from others that they may be seen by their god to be loving, merciful and, oh so, willing to be giving from the heart, when in fact neither I, nor, I am sure, you would give knowing the gift went to the liar, the fraud or to some lazy scoundrel.
But I assure you יהוה 'Elohiym is not fooled! Neither by the lazy-grifters claim to be needy, nor by the 'lookit-me' giver who is too lazy, as well, to find a genuinely needy person rather than take the easy check-writing way-out.
Have you ever watched some ministry on television showing the 'fruits of their love' by laboriously assembling care packages for the needy? They set up a line of volunteers at tables and commence to assemble food bags for some inner-city poverty stricken neighborhood. Sounds wonderful does it not– smiling holy light-filled faces all working for the lord as they mass produce peanut-butter sandwiches. The first volunteer slaps the sandwich together, hands it off to the next assistant who slaps it into a baggie, who hands it off to another helper who packs it into a brown bag or a card-board box. This bag or box is passed down the line to the next helper who stuffs in a bag of chips and it then gets passed on down the line to the next volunteer with the apples and on down until the last helper stuffs in a tract. Yes, it sounds glorious. But is it? As they do this, some groups every week-end, while others do it once a month or even less (and almost all at some point for the television), over and over have they actually made anything change for the better? Are people's lives changed? Do neighborhoods become better– cleaner, safer, wealthier?
To paraphrase the old saying: 'It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a Mkfish [sic] sandwich'. Would it not be better to get together and buy a small building in one of these neighborhoods and start up a small business? Carefully choose an individual living in this neighborhood and train him/her to run it. Train them how to order the product, hire employees and then how to make payroll. Teach them about customer service. Teach them, basically, the ins and outs of owning, running and succeeding with a work ethic in their very own business. Once they are up and running, let them pay back (at no interest) their benefactors as well as donate a percentage to a fund to start-up and do it again with someone else in the neighborhood. Slowly, this group of sandwich makers (and the circe large enough to pay for their own television show) can change lives for the better– rather than give the same peanut-butter sandwiches and bananas out to the same, usually name-less, faces week after week, month after month and year after year.
Twenty years of sandwiches later and the area, which generally has seen no real or useful change for the better, still looks the same, if not worse, but could have been transformed over the years by a more intensive effort toward bringing about a more satisfying, and uplifting, change in people's lives.
So, what then? What shall we do to obey יהוה and be merciful towards others? Am I suggesting we never give to someone who asks for help? Should we throw in the towel? יהוה forbid! Can we not be discerning in יהוה? With His help we can, every one of us, assist someone who greatly needs help even if we can only do some small thing because of our own circumstances. Give wisely and let יהוה do His part!
At the grocery store if, while waiting to check out, you are behind a mother with children wearing plain, inexpensive clothes, who upon discovering the amount is too much, puts back items obviously for her so that she might keep the food for her little ones (note: food, not junk food). Offer to get those items for her as you ring-out. If, trying to be polite (or because she is embarrassed), she tries to refuse tell her to view it as a blessing from her to you! Beg (gently!) and tell her you could really uise a blessing for yourself and you'd be greatful if she helped get the ball rolling. In the end, it will be a blessing for you as יהוה takes note. Baruwk atah יהוה 'Elohiym!
In your neighborhood, have you noticed a man walking to work day after day, week after week as his auto sits unused– it's engine blown and he is too 'down' to fix it himself? Offer to fix it, if you can afford to– desiring no recompense, or (if you cannot afford that) you could just give him a ride even if it is out of your way. Notice some children with ragged shoes? Torn clothes– not 'play time get dirty clothes', but their regular wear? Get a gift card (no need to give money) from a clothing store and tack it anonymously to their door. How about some single-mother you work with who is struggling to make ends meet for her family and you know she skips lunch to provide for her children; start making extra for your own lunch and offer to share. No need to embarrass her– tell her your eyes were bigger than your stomach seems to be. Use the time to engage her in friendly conversation– you might just, maybe, discover a fine friend. Who can have too many of those? Baruwk atah יהוה 'Elohiym!
There are so many, many, many various ways to give and help that you can do right there where you are, in your own town or city. Things that only you and יהוה need to know about! No need to give some nameless, faceless organization money most of which will be used to operate the offices and pay the staff. No need to give to some "help-me-help-others-by-giving-to-me-as-I-fly-in-my-private-jet" or to some self-named and proclaimed "elijah-help-me-help-the-brotherhood-in-their-walk" sherlock! No need to give to Hear O Yisra'el!
Yes, thank-you for clicking Hear O Yisra'el's donations link. Thank-you for thinking of Hear O Yisra'el, but you go now! Go! Look around, get cracking and do rightly before the face of יהוה 'Elohiym, our blessed Creator!
Baruwk atah יהוה 'Elohiym!
Blessed be יהוה!
– Yahuw'sha (joshua) 24:15
And if it seem evil to you to serve יהוה, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the river, or the gods of the 'Emoriy, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve יהוה!
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**All Towrah and Tanakh quotes are from His Name Tanakh unless otherwise noted.
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