A few Hebrew Translation thoughts

I'm giving a short message on the Parashat Hashavuah (Portion of the week) today. As I'm going over the text in Hebrew, I find it interesting how so many terms in English are very different than the Hebrew. So, I thought I would share a couple, just for you to think about.

1) The Tent of Meeting. In Hebrew is OHEL MOED אוהל מועד - Tent of Appointed Times. The term Moed is interesting because it's used by God to refer to all of the "Feasts of the Lord." It is based on the root word עד [ed] which means witness. When our people were wondering in the wilderness, they were called to assemble at this place to witness the existence and presence of God, sometimes directly and sometimes through the powerful witness of His servant Moses.

2) The Ark of the Covenant. Not to be confuse with Noah's Ark which are two completely different Hebrew words. In Hebrew the Ark of the Covenant is ארן העדת [Aron Ha-edut] - cabinet of testimony.  

Notice that both items are described with words based upon the same root - ED עד which means witness. The theme is consistent. God wants us to remember that we witnessed his Glory. These items were created to tell the story of this witness from generation to generation. Even the holidays are a means for God to help us remember what our ancient fathers witnessed.

As we go about our days being constantly distracted by "life" its important to remember that God's plan for us is to always remember what He has done and what He will do. He knows that we are easily distracted and created a means for us to be reminded. I wasn't planning on turning this into a sermon, it's not even the topic of my message today. It's just something to think about.

Have a restful and blessed Shabbat.

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