The Jordan, a river of miracles-3 

The Rich History of the Jordan

The excitement and significance of this special place is amplified by other historical events that tradition says took place here. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Joshua led the Israelites over the Jordan into the Promised Land, presumably in this spot.  This was the place then that the waters parted as the priests carrying the Ark stepped into the Jordan, and the Israelites crossed on dry ground.  (Joshua 3) Here also, Elijah rolled up his cloak and struck the waters so that they parted.  He crossed with Elisha before ascending to heaven on a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2).  After this, Elisha took Elijah’s cloak and crossed the Jordan, once again striking it so that the waters parted. Because this traditional site was closed for so long, a second site called Yardenit(Little Jordan) was opened in 1981 further north on the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee.  This location may have been used by Yeshua to mikvah His talmidim(disciples). Many Believers come to Israel especially to be baptized in the Jordan, and Yardenit’s location gives visitors safe and easy access. Each year, it is visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, and many of them either get baptized for the first time there or they rededicate their lives to Adonai.

Christian pilgrims are baptized in the Yardenit.

  

The Jordan: A Source of Life

“It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.  For there the LORD bestows His blessing, even life forevermore.”  (Psalm 133:3) The Jordan (Yarden), which means descender, is Israel’s prime source of water for drinking and agriculture. Most of its water originates approximately 200 meters (650 feet) above sea level in the rain and snow that fall on Mount Hermon in the far north. From Mount Hermon, the river flows south into the Sea of Galilee (also called Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, and Lake Tiberias), but it doesn’t stop there.  At the southern tip of the Galilee, the Jordan exits and descends south to 420 meters (1,378 feet) below sea level where it empties into the Dead Sea. Upstream of the Sea of Galilee, there are three main tributaries that form the head of the Jordan River:

 

·       The Hermon or Banias, which begins as a spring at the foot of Mount Hermon;

·       The Dan, whose source is also at the base of Mount Hermon; and

·       The Snir or Hasbani, which also flows from Mount Lebanon.

 

Below the Sea of Galilee are other tributaries:

·       The Jalud in the Beth Shean valley;

·       The Yarmouk River;

·       The Zarqa River, the Biblical Jabbok; and

·       Jabesh (Wadi Yabis) named after Jabesh-Gilead, a town mentioned in the Torah.

As the river flows through the Jordan valley below the Galilee, it becomes progressively more saline, picking up about 850,000 tons of salt, as well as debris, so that by the time it empties into the Dead Sea, there is no life left in the water, at least not for drinking or agriculture. Some environmentalists say that the river itself is in danger of dying in the Jordan Valley.

The Yarmouk River, which originates on the south-eastern slopes of

Mount Hermon and the Hauran Plateau, flows into the Jordan River below

the Sea of Galilee.  It forms the southern limit of the Golan Heights in

Israel's north and also defines a short portion of the border between
Jordan and Israel.

  

The Jordan Valley

"In the future He will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan.  The people walking in darkness have seen a great light."  (Isaiah 9:1–2) The Tanakh (Old Testament) mentions this important river about 175 times.  The Brit Chadashah (New Testament) mentions it 15 times. It first appears in Genesis 13:10 when Abraham told Lot to choose which land he would inhabit. “Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.” The entire valley between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea along the Jordan River seemed to Lot like the Garden of Eden, or at least a lush oasis. So, Lot chose the fertile cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in the southern Jordan Valley as his new homeland.

The Jordan Valley overlooking the Sea of Galilee

Today, the Jordan Valley still attracts people.  The northern part of the valley, which includes the Jordan River, is several degrees warmer than adjacent areas.  It has a year-round agricultural climate, fertile soils and water supply that make it a key agricultural area. Yet we know from Scripture that a section of the lush, southern region that Lot chose was devastated when, due to sin, God “overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.”  (Genesis19:25) A land that once thrived from the river’s pure, life-giving water, now cried out for it and it still does.  This perhaps is a visible reminder of what unrepentant sin does to our own life, spiritually and physically. But God is a God of restoration, and He does not only renew spiritually, He also renews physically.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, by John Martin

The Jordan, a river of miracles-2

Ritual Purity in the Tanakh

Many Christians are surprised to learn that God instituted the practice of the mikvah in the Torah.  It is the specified means for restoring ritual purity, and it was actually performed regularly in natural bodies of water, such as springs or rivers.

The Torah mandated ritual cleansing through the mikvah for the following:

·       After tzaraat (certain skin conditions), commonly translated today as leprosy(Leviticus 14:6–9)

·       After the discharge of abnormal body fluids (Leviticus 15:13)

·       After seminal emissions following sex or related to nocturnal emissions(Leviticus 15:16)

·       Following the monthly menstrual cycle by the woman to regain her purity

·       After contact with a dead body (Numbers 19:19)

Second Temple era mikvah

·       After the ritual of the Red Heifer by the kohen (priest) who performs the ritual (Numbers 19:7–8)

·       By the kohanim (priests) during consecration (Exodus 29:4, 40:12)

·       After the scapegoat (Azazel) has been sent away on Yom Kippur by the High Priest, as well as the one who leads the goat away (Leviticus 16:24, 16:26,16:28)

Today the waters of the mikvah pools throughout the world still cleanse woman after menstruation or childbirth and men after emission of bodily fluids.  It is also traditional for a bride and grooms to use it before their wedding and for men to visit it on Erev Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Erev Rosh HaShanah (New Years).  The mikvah is also part of the conversion to Judaism process.

Taking the Bride to the Mikvah,

Qasr el Yahud

The traditional location of the spot where Yeshua was mikvahed is Qasr el Yahud or Kasser Al Yahud, Arabic for the Castle of the Jews. The ruins of a 4th–5th century Byzantine monastery and church are evidence that this location has been a place of Christian pilgrimage for centuries.The stability and safety of the British Mandate period from 1920–1948 saw the construction of many churches, chapels, and monasteries, which stretch about three kilometres (two miles) south of the site. However, an earthquake in 1956 seriously damaged the buildings.  More importantly, Jordan, whose border runs along the east bank of the river, attacked Israel after it became a nation in 1948 and occupied the west bank of the Jordan—Israel’s ancient heartland of Judea and Samaria—where Qasr el Yahud is located.

Christian pilgrims visit Qasr el Yahud.

After Arab forces once again began to gather against Israel in 1967, Israel captured the territory back from Jordan, which has since renounced its claim to the land, although the Palestinians now demand this land for an independent Palestinian state. Security with Jordan continued to be problematic up to Israel’s peace treaty with it in 1994.  Over these tenuous years, the monks gradually abandoned the churches and monasteries and, today, these ruins are inaccessible due to risk of landmines. Qasr el Yehud, however, has been recently rehabilitated and cleared of mines. After 44 years of essentially being closed, this historic site reopened to the public in 2011 and is now administered by the Israeli Civil Administration and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. Located in the wilderness of the Jordan River Valley, east of Jericho and north of the Dead Sea, it isn’t easy to get there; but once you arrive, the facilities are top notch with parking, wheelchair access, showers, and prayer facilities, as well as decking and marble stairs leading into the Jordan.

The Ark Passes Over the Jordan, by James Tissot 

The Jordan, a river of miracles-1

The Jordan River

  

“Then Yeshua came from Galilee to the Yarden (Jordan) to be baptized by Yohannan.”  (Matthew 3:13) Many Believers seeking to deepen their understanding of the Bible and follow in the footsteps of Yeshua (Jesus) visit Israel’s Jordan River, a river of rich historical and spiritual significance for both Jews and Christians. Nehar haYarden (הירדן נהר, Jordan River) played a central role in the ministry of Yeshua (Jesus). The Scriptures reveal that at the age of 30, Yeshua began His public ministry there by being mikvahed (immersed) by Yohannan (John). When He was immersed, Yohannan witnessed a physical manifestation of the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) descend on Him: "As soon as Yeshua was immersed, He went up out of the water.  At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him.  And a voice from heaven said, 'This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.'”  (Matthew 3:16–17)

The Mikvah of Yeshua (Bapteme de Jesus),

by James Tissot

 

While the word baptism is the term commonly used today, mikvah is the Jewish term for what Yohannan was performing on the banks of the Jordan, orYarden in Hebrew.  In fact, the practice of the mikvah was instituted by God through Moses in the Torah, so this was a necessary and regular part of the Biblical Jewish lifestyle. “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.”  (Mark 1:5) Although Yohannan's mikvah was one of repentance in preparation for the Messiah, Yeshua also mikvahed. "Now Yeshua learned that the Pharisees had heard that He was gaining and baptizing more disciples than Yohannan—although in fact it was not Yeshua who baptized, but His disciples."  (John 4:1–2) For Believer in Yeshua, the water of the mikvah is much more than a confession of sins. Being totally immersed under the water is a symbol of death to one’s old [sinned] life, and rising up from the water symbolizes the birth of a brand new life [born again] in Yeshua: “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”  (Romans 6:4)

A Christian pilgrim wearing a robe dips into the

banks of the Jordan River at Qasr el Yahud.

Jewish Month of Redemption as Jews Prepare for Biblical High Holy Days-2

The Number 40 in the Bible

The start of the month of Elul begins a 40-day period in which every individual and the community as a whole takes time for introspection. The number 40 is mentioned 146 times in the Bible and most often refers to a period of testing or trial.

Here are a few examples:

·       Yeshua (Jesus) fasted for 40 days in the Judean wilderness following His mikvah (baptism) by John.

·       The Hebrews wandered for 40 years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33–34).

·       Moses tended sheep for 40 years for his father-in-law, Jethro, before he was called to lead the Jewish nation from captivity in Egypt.  He also fasted on two separate occasions on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights while receiving the law from God (Exodus 24:18; 34:1–28). 

·       Jonah gave the people of Nineveh a 40-day warning: “Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ (Jonah 3:4)”  In this case, the 40 days was a period of warning that allowed the people of Nineveh to repent and turn from their evil ways.

·       In Noah’s day, during the Flood, the waters poured out for 40 days and 40 nights, judging the people of the earth.

Both Moses and Yeshua fasted for 40 days as they communed with God during times of testing.  The 40 years spent by the Israelites in the wilderness was a judgment of God. So, we see, therefore, that God uses the number 40 to represent a period of testing or of judgment, and for that reason this next 40-day period is taken very seriously.

From the second day of Elul to the 28th day, the

shofar (ram's horn) is blown after morning

services every weekday.  It's distinctive, piercing

call is considered a call to repentance.

  

Customs and Practices During Elul

There are several traditions and customs associated with the 40 days between the first day of Elul and Yom Kippur.

They include the following:

·       The Selichot prayers are recited.  These prayers are based on a tradition that says that while Moses returned to Mount Sinai for 40 days after the incident with the Golden Calf, the Israelites spent this time seeking reconciliation, culminating in the revelation of The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy given to Moses.

·       On most day of the month of Elul (with the exception of Shabbat and the last day of Elul), the shofar (ram’s horn) is sounded in a call to repentance.  This is meant to call attention to the significance of Elul as a time for reconciliation and introspection.  The great Hebrew philosopher Maimonides described it as a “wake up call”  (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah 3:4).

·       It is a custom when greeting someone or writing a letter to include the Hebrew phrase Ketivah vachatimah tovah, which means May you be inscribed and sealed (in the Book of Life) for a good year.

·       Psalm 27 is read during morning and afternoon prayers.  The wordlulai (לולאֵ) appears in verse 13—where David wrote, “Had I not trusted that I would see the goodness of God in the land of life...,” leading the rabbis to argue that David doubted that he would have his reward in the “land of the living.”  This is used to encourage a person to repair their actions so that their sins do not cause them to lose out on the reward of the world to come.

·       The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hassidic Judaism, began the custom of adding three chapters of the Psalms each day, the remaining 36 chapters being recited on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

 

A Jewish man recites the Psalms (Tehillim) during Morning Prayer at the
Western (Wailing) Wall.

Elul: I Am My Beloved’s

In Jewish tradition, the word Elul is also connected to acrostic verses of Scripture. To arrive at this acrostic, the first letter of each word is taken separately so that it spells the Hebrew word Elul (אֱלוּל). These verses give added meaning to the month of Elul in terms of repentance, prayer, and charity or righteous deeds.

Here are three key verses:

1.   Et Lebabcha V'et Lebab

“Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”  (Deuteronomy 30:6) Here Your heart and the heart in Hebrew is את לבבל ואת לבב where the first letter of each word forms אלול Elul.  The idea of a circumcised heart represents God’s covenant with Israel and acts as a reminder of the need for repentance and teshuvah or returning to God.

Jewish wedding bands are often inscribed with Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li

(I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine).  The words of this verse are

also considered an acrostic for Elul, reflecting our very real potential to

enjoy a vibrant, intimate relationship with Adonai if we will only turn from

sin in repentance and seek Him.

2.   Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li

“I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies.”  (Song of Songs 6:3) In Hebrew this is אני לדודי ודודי לי and here, again, the initial letters form the Hebrew word אלול Elul.  The Beloved is interpreted as being God and represents the close relationship and mutual love between Israel and God.  This verse is suggestive, therefore, of prayer. The Aruch HaShulhan (a rabbinic teaching of Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein [1829–1908]) suggests, “Now is the time that all my thoughts should be directed towards my Beloved (God) then, my Beloved is also to me; my Beloved helps, assists, and cares for me.” Elul is the period in which each person cleanses his relationship with his Beloved, with God.

3.   Ish L're'ehu U'Matanot L'Evyonim

“... sending portions to one another and gifts to the poor.”  (Esther 9:22) Within this Hebrew verse ימִשְׁל֤חַ מָנוֹת֙ אִ֣ישׁ לרֵעֵ֔הוְּ וּמַתָּנ֖וֹת לָֽאֶבְיוֹנִֽים׃ is the word Elul.  Although this verse is specifically related to Purim, it does embody the timeless necessity for kindness and taking care of the poor and needy. In Judaism, deeds of kindness are traditionally considered the “pillars upon which the world stands.”  (Avot 1:2)

A homeless person in Israel sleeps in a cemetery on a mattress.  The
month of Elul is a time to go out of our way to help the poor and needy. 

Elul: the Month of Redemption

“They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.”  (Psalm 84:7) During Elul, the study of Torah, combined with repentance, prayer, and righteous deeds are meant to connect the Jewish soul to God through divine service.  Elul, therefore, is the month of redemption. It isn’t just located in the here and now, however; it also points to the future, and to future redemption.  There remains in the hearts of all observant Jews the hope of a future redemption to come in the form of the Messiah of Israel. Many believe that ultimate redemption will be the result of a total commitment to the Torah and doing mitzvot (good deeds) today. As the time draws near for the future coming of our Messiah—our Redeemer—we need to share with those whose hearts are open to the true Messiah and Redeemer of Israel, Yeshua the Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah), the only true hope of Israel