NoCo Noahide

NoCo Noahide Get connected and be inspired with Noahides living here in Northern Colorado. The Noahide way is living a life aligned with the one true G-d.

The inspiration and guidance this way is contained in Torah and taught by its keepers, the Jewish community.

04/28/2025

Greetings All!

We’re in the third week of seven weeks between Grain day and Shavuos (“weeks”). This year let's celebrate Shavuos when it starts on Sunday evening, June 1.

Any suggestions on the English name we should give “Shavuos”? Or what we do for that night?

Torah Tidbit

Parashah Tazria-Metzora, Leviticus 12:1 - 15:33

All the days that the affliction is upon him he shall remain contaminated; he is contaminated. He shall dwell in isolation; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. -Lev 13:46

This week’s parashah describes the laws surrounding the tzaraas skin, clothing and house afflictions. Only under certain states of the affliction, often in a certain sequence of appearance, is a Jew or object declared unclean.

A Jew can only be declared clean or unclean by a priest. The priest’s inspection is limited by:

When: Daylight hours only, normal weekdays only - not on sabbath or festivals or if the person was celebrating the first seven days of his/her marriage.

Location on Body: Only the hands, feet, neck and face could be inspected. Blemishes elsewhere on the body are ignored.

Who: This only applies to Jews. Blemishes on non-Jews are ignored and not considered unclean

Where: Typically at the temple, where many people were visiting every day

If declared unclean, the victim’s expulsion was only from cities that had walls at the time of Israel entering the land. Unclean victims were not expelled from unwalled cities and towns, where they could move freely inside them.

These and other rules blatantly contradict the common thought that tzaraas an infectious disease, i.e. leprosy as it was traditionally perceived. Rather, tzaraas are G-d’s “touching” the victim in a most special way to strongly encourage repentance for speaking bad of others. Whenever one gossips (which is always speaking bad of someone), the listeners naturally distance themselves a little in word and deed from the subject of the gossip. Regular gossiping will eventual isolate the victim, horribly hurting and humiliating them. G-d’s “touching” the perpetrator - the gossiper - forces them into the same social isolation, pain and humiliation. It’s measure for measure circumstances that best helps the perpetrator fully repent of their selfish arrogance. Fascinating how this special touch from G-d only applies to this sin and no others. Why might that be?

Noahides too should refrain from gossiping as it makes logical sense and is good for us and those around us. Gossiping tears down others and breaks apart the delicate bonds of our society.

Noahide Laws For week two of the seven weeks leading up to Shavuos - the giving of Torah on Mt. Sinai - the second Noahide law (really grouping of laws) we’ll talk about is blasephemy. Blasphemy is denigrating G-d through what we say. The traditional example is blurting out one of G-d’s names in a moment of impulsive anger or frustration. True enough, but how do we talk (both to others and self-talk) poorly of Him, His ways, and what He’s doing in our worlds? And how does the audience respond? Would this not be gossiping about the Creator, heaven forbid? What might He “feel” when we do so?

Every negative (thou shalt not) Noahide command is offset by a positive command. What speech would be the positive opposite to “gossiping” about G-d?

04/22/2025

Festival of Weeks

The Festival of Weeks (Shavous) begins on the evening of Sunday June 1. For the Jews this festival commemorates God giving the Torah to the Jews on Mt. Sinai.

For the rest of the world, this day commemorates God’s giving of the Torah to the Jews on Mt. Sinai.

Explaining further...

Torah Tidbit
In the beginning God communicated all or parts of the seven Noahide Laws to Adam and Eve. Unfortunately by the time of Noah mankind had forgotten and/or ignored the laws, resulting in total corruption of not just man but all the earth. God then cleansed the world with water and renewed the laws and a covenant with Noah and his descendants. Again, within a few centuries almost all of mankind had forgotten these laws and the covenant with God. However a small band of dedicated Noahides persevered and were specially protected by God. Eventually these people became the nation of Israel. In that process God miraculously rescued Israel out of slavery in Egypt and soon after issued a more extended set of laws and covenant to Israel at Mt. Sinai.

He also reiterated the Noahide laws to Israel and renewed the expectation that mankind should follow these laws. Since then, Israel by default has been the sole possessor of them, for no other group or groups of peoples have taken on the Noahide laws and preserved them through the generations. Our society honors some of the laws to a greater extent but others are only partially considered and some are not known. Until only a few decades ago in our culture, a solely Jewish law was partially honored like a Noahide law.

Which is why the acknowledgment of the Noahide laws issuing from Sinai is important. Sinai, via Israel, is the source of the laws and how we implement them in our lives.

In this context the meaning and intent of the word “laws” get lost within all of our other cultural and personal experiences. Perhaps considering them "expected codes of conduct” will help make them more relevant. For as one digs into the Noahide laws, applications to everyday life appear.

The first grouping we’ll address is establishing courts of justice. Probably never, across all nations and time, have any courts enforced all the Noahide laws and our judicial system is no different. That brings up two basic questions:

Does our judicial system in any way satisfy the “establishing courts of justice”? If it doesn't, how does a Noahide fit into it? The discussion over the ages is varied and technical, but the contemporary consensus is that yes, in the main our judicial system satisfies this commandment, which means Noahides are accountable to it. We may discuss this more on Thursday.

Have a great week!

04/17/2025

Torah Tidbit

No Torah portion as a “break” is taken this week from the yearly cycle of Torah readings. However, we can briefly review Noahide law regarding our meal on Saturday night.

Since choosing this Noahide path, we’ve struggled with creating meaningful customs and traditions that would help us grow closer to our Creator. Resurrecting a walk that has been neglected for millennia (but to which all nations will return, may it be soon) leaves us with no traditions from which we can draw. We naturally want to bring in traditions from our previous religious experiences, but find few, if any, can be used as we are prohibited from adopting religious customs that would portray us as performing that “alien” religion.

Until Saturday night, that was true. However, that night something special happened. It was truly our night, as Noahides, to honor His review of all nations and laying out their substance through the year, by celebrating His great love, His marvelous creativity, His wisdom in how He sustains us. Food and eating provided new ways for us to experience Him and His working in the world. We touched upon the experience of “Tasting and seeing that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34).

Yes, it wasn’t a dramatic or super spiritual evening. In the main it was a typical good feast meal we normally enjoy, leading me to say I felt a bit like a dungeon master with free spirited D&D players. However, true long-term permanent changes normally start from such humble beginnings.

Have a Great Week!

03/31/2025

Passover & Grain Day

As we’ve talked about before, the Passover Seder really has little relevance and no spiritual merit for non-Jews. To the contrary, there could be detrimental effects (speaking spiritually) for non-Jews who perform the Seder. However, this day is important for all the world because on it G-d reviews all nations and decides what kinds and quantities of foods each nation will receive throughout the next year. More on this next week.

Although food is essential for our existence and well-being, it also tempts us to eat too much and/or eat foods that really aren’t good for us. Given our challenges with food, it’s no wonder the first commandment G-d gave man (and that man promptly violated) was a restriction of eating.

Our group does enjoy meeting and eating. So perhaps we might take this approach for the Grain Day meal and possibly elevate eating to a more spiritual experience. For each one of these topics, we would eat at least three good bites of food without talking, instead focusing on the thought discussed. Possible topics:

Pure Digestion
Describe/learn one or two of the many amazing mechanisms in our body that are part of the process of converting food into energy.

Food Diversity
The many types of food - unique flavor and texture for grains, fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, dairy, etc. Numerous ways of preparing (including fermenting) and cooking food.

Physical Energy from Food
Think about how these bites of food provide energy to do activities, tasks, etc. What did we do today? What might we do tomorrow? How might we bring a G-d-consciousness into one of those activities/tasks tomorrow? How would that change the purpose of our present eating?

Non-Physical Energy of Food
Everything in this physicality is filled with His “light”. Nothing exists that is devoid of this light. Just as the physical attributes and behaviors vary greatly between different types of object, so does the nature of this light vary between different objects. How might we describe the nature of the light that is filling the food we’re eating? Eat through the three bites in silence, then answer.

Working with the “Light” in Food
We’ll review a couple of stories from hassidim of the past about the positive benefits of ingesting food with all of the above in mind.

Eating the “Light” of Words
Tying it all together, we’ll practice “ingesting” the energy of words read from psalms.

03/31/2025

Torah Tidbit
This week’s portion - Vayikra (and he called) Leviticus 1:1-5:26

He called to Moses, and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: When a man among you brings an offering to Hashem: from animals - from the cattle or from the flock shall you bring your offering. Lev 1:1-2

These verses follow in time immediately after the end of Exodus, where G-d’s glory has so filled the tabernacle that Moses doesn’t approach to close, let alone attempt to go into the Tabernacle. And what does G-d start describing? The user’s guide for the Tabernacle, beginning with the fundamental activity of offerings.

And what is the core action repeated four times in these verses? The act of moving closer to something, carried by the three-letter root (soresh) of kuf-resh-bet, which could be pronounced “karav”. This root is in the word for “He called” (when we call at someone we want them to come closer to us), the word for “brings” (unusual, actually, for bringing something) and the Hebrew word for “offering”. What is this trying to say? That the offerings of the Torah are a means of drawing the individual closer to G-d, through rededication of purpose (burnt offerings), restoration of a diminished spiritual ability (sin offerings), or gratitude (thanksgiving and peace offerings). Taking this concept further, a Torah offering is not fully accepted by G-d unless the giver has already implemented behavioral changes that the offering represents. G-d wants an active, vibrant relationship with each and every one of us. One that day by day, week by week, we work on that relationship.

But one key concept that Torah offerings do NOT have - this business about appeasing an angry god with animal (including human animals) sacrifices, else he will make life bad for us if we don’t. That is the way of pagan religions throughout the millennia, using fear to keep the faithful faithful.

03/25/2025

Torah Tidbit
This week’s portion - Pekudei (accounting, inventory of) Exodus 38:21-40:38

He (Moses) erected the Courtyard all around the Tabernacle and the Altar, and he emplaced the curtain of the gate of the Courtyard. So Moses completed the work. The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Hashem filled the Tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting, for the cloud rested upon it and the glory of Hashem filled the Tabernacle. Exodus 40:33-35

After whole-heartedly donating materials and attentive labor to making the Tabernacle and Courtyard, the Israelites made space in the middle of their camp for the Tabernacle and Courtyard. Moses fully assembled these each morning, and then disassembled them each afternoon for a total of 7 days. On the eighth day (first day of Nissan), he assembled the Tabernacle and Courtyard for the last time, and it stood until the nation was to move to a new location. G-d’s special evidence of approval, manifested as the cloud above and very dense light inside, was the culmination of their exodus from Egypt. Because they had established life-habits of whole-heartedly following his ways, both as individuals and a nation, He could now reveal a little more of Himself to them. The Tabernacle, with all its activities, symbology and now extra revealing of G-d, would in turn impress and inspire the Israelites to continue making space for G-d, both in their hearts and in their community.

We as well can do the same as the Israelites by making space in our hearts where G-d would “feel at home” to “dwell” in a more visible manner within our thoughts, emotions and actions. This space is made by pushing back the desires and fears that normally occupy the heart and then filling that space with His desires, His directions, His encouragement. One might think of it as rearranging the living room of one’s heart so it’s much more inviting and comfortable for a most important guest.

03/18/2025

Greetings All!

It’s good to be doing these newsletters again. Your patience please, I’m still a little rusty.

Torah Tidbit
This week’s portion - Vayakhel (and he assembled) Exodus 35:1 - 38:20

Moses said to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel, saying: “This is the word that Hashem has commanded, saying: ’Take from yourselves a portion for Hashem, everyone whose heart motivates him shall bring it, as the gift of Hashem…Every wise-hearted person among you shall come and make everything that the Hashem has commanded…”. Exodus 35:4, 5, & 10

This portion starts with the building of the tabernacle. G-d’s commands and the people’s rise to action repeatedly contain the phrases “whose heart motivated” and “wise hearted person” - a total of 15 times in the first two chapters. Why such persistent repeating of these phrases?

Let’s step back and review the show so far. The Israelites had seen a lot over the past year and a half:
- Outrageous aberrations of nature (plagues) that revealed G-d to both the Egyptians and Jews. The plagues played out over a year, one plague per month for a week or so.
- Sudden expulsion from Egypt, Egyptian army drowned/buried in the Red Sea, and three months pilgrimage to Mt. Sinai
- G-d speaks directly to them until they feel their souls coming out of their bodies (10 commandments at Mt. Sinai). They immediately ask Moses to continue being the intermediary to G-d.
- Moses spends 40 days on Sinai, comes down right when the people have lost control of themselves and are worshiping an idol (golden calf)

After all of the incredible supernatural events they’ve experienced, how could they possibly fall so hard off the wagon and revert back to the idolatry of Egypt?

For multiple generations the Israelites had been slaves in an idolatrous land, relentlessly driven hard by the Egyptians. This constant misery filled their minds and fed into their hearts, which as the seat of emotion and desire then fed back to the mind all kinds of worries and fears with their never-ending spiraling arguments. It’s one thing to change one’s mindset, but another thing to change the heart’s “mindset”.

A year and a half of supernatural experiences had filled their heads, but had barely penetrated their hearts. And their hearts betrayed them once their source of real knowledge and guidance (Moses) had been gone for too long. Moses then returns, cleans up the mess and puts the people back on the right track. The people, now that they have lost their special connection to G-d, realize just how precious that relationship is - like us appreciating a loved one in new ways upon their passing from this world. This sorrow, absence and longing now penetrates and fills their hearts with a deep appreciation - yes, love - of the Creator.

After 40 days of this loss sinking into the hearts of the people, G-d says “OK, let’s give this another try”, sending Moses back down from Mt. Sinai with a new set of tablets and the directive to build the tabernacle. Now G-d emphasizes, after the people have learned themselves, that He doesn’t want us to just do the motions for Him, he wants us to emotionally relate to him as well, as we do with all good friends and loved ones. The Israelite’s emotional connection with G-d then expresses itself in the whole-hearted effort to build the tabernacle.

On to the next of the morning blessings - "Blessed are You, O Lord our God, who created me according to Your will."Think...
05/22/2019

On to the next of the morning blessings - "Blessed are You, O Lord our God, who created me according to Your will."

Think out of the box a little - He could have made you a tree, a rock, a lizard, a dolphin...but instead He made you a human. What's so special about that? Wouldn't life be easier if you were one of those other things instead?

Of course it would! But we would loose the opportunity to connect with Him in ways that nothing else in creation can - including angels.

Only humans can freely choose to connect with Him in ways that emulate Him - to create, to bring order from chaos, to express and receive knowledge through speech and writing, to participate in daily "business" transactions with each other, to pass on a smile, stop and thank Him for another good day, and so much more.

Day and Night Blessing - last part!So as we go through our days we're constantly sorting out what's good for us and what...
05/09/2019

Day and Night Blessing - last part!
So as we go through our days we're constantly sorting out what's good for us and what isn't so good, what's real and what's fake. The root word for this activity in Hebrew is "palel". Interestingly, this is also the root word for prayer - tefillah.

Why prayer? Because in real conversation with God we hash these things out with Him. HIS wisdom crafts and sustains literally everything that we see and experience. Wit His wisdom we can learn to better sift and sort the wheat from the chaff. That's a key part of prayer!

And now you know at least one reason why we bless God for giving us the ability to distinguish between day and night.

Day and Night Blessing - part 3Thus we - and all of life - need both day and night, light and darkness. Life starts in ...
05/06/2019

Day and Night Blessing - part 3
Thus we - and all of life - need both day and night, light and darkness. Life starts in darkness, then thrives on the cycle of growing and expanding in light, resting and rejuvinating in darkness.

From a spiritual (non-physical) perspective, darkness represents ignorance and chaos ("they left me in the dark") while light represents wisdom and order ("ahh...now I see the light"). We continually cycle through the two in our lives, gaining knowledge and wisdom, bringing order from chaos, discovering how much we still don't know, then learning more.

With both life and knowledge, the progression is from dark to light. Darkness is the preparation for light. That's why Torah wisdom sees the 24 hour day starting at sunset - not sunrise. The night prepares us for the next day.

Day and Night blessing - part 2And then there's night. At night we can no longer distinguish objects clearly and loose...
05/05/2019

Day and Night blessing - part 2

And then there's night. At night we can no longer distinguish objects clearly and loose our depth perception. No longer stimulated by light, we withdraw into our homes and ourselves, eventually withdrawing completely into sleep for the night. Sleep itself, in renewing our life force, mimics the germination of life that also occurs in darkness - for plants, seeds germinate in dark dirt while animals germinate in eggs and wombs. We may work our bodies hard during the day, but it's during sleep at night when the muscle tissue is rebuilt to a stronger state that before.

Also at night, should we choose to do so, we can more fully absorb the experiences/lessons of the day and the study of God's wisdom.

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