THIS IS THE A&J RECLAMATION.
Certain things when they occur, change your life forever. This event, or rather revelation is one such event.
All throughout my childhood, I had a question. But no answer was given me. I wasn’t even strongly or purposefully seeking for it. Being born in a catholic household, I would come across the word “LAW” often in the church lexicon. My earliest memory of it is remembering that it had a good connotation, in the sense, the Creator was pleased with those who kept the “law”, and the people of the Book were also in high spirits to observe and learn more about this 'law'.
The internet still in its nascent stages, wasn’t an active avenue as it is today to search out answers and form your own perspective on the basis of the accounts of information.
The search for this 'law' got postponed till much later.
Now we reached 2019.
It was a regular summer day at my dessert store that I was running with my husband, and I am sitting on my computer and this question comes back to me again.
“What is this 'LAW' that King David keeps talking about?” I read it in the Scriptures often yet there’s no proper clarity on what exactly it is."
I remember mentioning it to my husband who was beside me and he had no sure clarity or calling to seek out this matter, as did I. It got put off once again. Never to be mentioned until the ordained halt of Covid and businesses came to a standstill.
It left the world with plenty of time. That can be a good thing or a pretty destructive thing. Depends on what you did with that allotted free time given to you.
We started off on a not-so-pleasant note, as we had to shut down our profitable venture at the mall due to the norms and restrictions imposed by the governing bodies of our land. We kept eagerly anticipating for things to open up and to rush back into the life of hustle. However, after a point we realized this halt is here to stay for a while.
That’s when we started exploring creative ways to pass our time and not stay destructively stagnant.
In our emotional states, we kept going downhill. We struggled to find purpose and meaning. We had no clear direction and we definitely didn’t have a plan.
During these passing days what brought us hope and a sure dose of security were the Scripture verses we came across on the Instagram accounts we had at that time. (We don’t actively use the app anymore) The verses had something deeper than what we knew of the physical and we kept building our hopes by reading blog articles and watching videos. We stuck to reading more than the watching.
It was on one of these nights in this break that I (Anisha) happened to come across this page speaking about things I felt strongly convicted about. I knew I was onto something. It felt like I had been fed a lie all my life and all that I knew about most things was untrue and I lived without seeking and considering my ways.
The page spoke about how the ways of the Father, the Maker of the heavens and the earth are still alive and active even today. It was never really ‘done away with’.
That’s when I started reading deeper. I discovered how we must observe the original and true day of rest - The SABBATH day in its appointed times. It wasn’t supposed to change to Sunday. The cycle of days in Scripture begins on sundown and are calculated as per the moon sighting. The seventh day is Saturday. The word Saturday means Sabbath in the dictionary. Sunday is the FIRST day of the week.
I also read up about how the feasts of the Father are clearly mentioned, appointed and divinely ordained in Leviticus 23.
It’s the festivals of old. The festivals of the Creator. His appointed times to meet with man. The feasts my Hebrew ancestors kept. The feasts the holy prophets kept. It's also what King David kept.
I discovered the name of the Father has been lost to us. It’s definitely not 'LORD' in all caps. That’s a title. We address Him "HASHEM", which means 'The Name' in Hebrew.
I read how there are certain things I’m allowed to eat, and certain things not meant for me. I had to watch my diet and stay away from certain things the Father considers an abomination for His people. Certain clean and unclean foods.
I realized it was good and warm to read selective Scripture verses on my Instagram feed. But that’s a pretty humdrum way to regard the CREATOR OF THE WORLD.
That’s when I started thinking deeper, beyond the here and now. What’s our purpose?
Are we only out here to make money, earn a living, grow the organizational hierarchy charts… or is there something more?
Could there be something more?
The answer is a BIG YES.
As Joel woke up the next morning, I told him my discovery. I wanted to know if it all made sense. He was quick to respond and see things the way I saw them. We realized the lie we were a part of unwillingly and we decided to CHANGE.
We started off by observing our first Sabbath on the evening of 4th September, 2020. And since then, we have come a long way in finding our way to honor this beautiful and traditional day of rest.
We also observed the holiday of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (the 25-hour fast) and we slowly started reading up more and adapting more.
We found our place after much struggle and seeking, and are now comfortable in the way we own our walk with the Most High.
So, what next? Take the honey out of poison, take out the false guilt and distraction, being plundered by righteous appearing wolves, etc., move on to a free life, where the world doesn’t make you feel cheated and upset when you know you weren’t that far away from the truth after all.
A baseless paradigm of a false doctrine cannot deem you wicked for choosing the life you wish to live in accordance with the terms of the Torah, away from the shackles of the money-plate and statement-costumes.
A DISCLAIMER
(We wish someone would have told this to us when we started on our journey)
YOU ARE ENTERING A BATTLE.
A battle against opposing beliefs.
A battle against traditions.
A battle against emotions.
A battle against opposition.
A battle TO KEEP YOUR FAITH.
Do not enter this battle if a smooth sailing yacht ride is what you are seeking. And that’s not a wrong desire, just be honest with what you want from life.
This ride is a shipwrecking one. Be prepared for things to happen to you that never did before. Be prepared for a tough voyage of cutthroat circumstances. Be prepared for and ready to face what’s going to come your way.
For us, it was a tough ride. The videos on the internet with a good couple millions of views promise an exhilarating time breezing through the ordeals and being 'blessed' in everything you undertake once you step into the faith 'they' claim. I realized that is a different message, not one in alignment with what I stand for.
Once we uncovered the lie, we still kept at it though things got brutally hard. People we loved and knew for most of our lives misunderstood us. Our opportunities were blocked and the ones that came by we could not accept as our requirements to keep the Sabbath day weren’t accepted. Our character was unforgivingly assassinated and we were left out cold multiple times.
But the ride is what made us tough. Strong. Great at warfare. And great at life.
We don’t learn to swim until we are thrown into the deep waters and we move our hands, feet and head in an all-out attempt to SURVIVE.
The Father knows what we individually need. What we need to be put through to get our characters right for the future.
Our ride will most certainly look different from yours. We’re all different, you see.
But don’t be swayed by soothsayers who know not a thing of what they are talking about. Don’t be deceived by sweet sounding words and promises of prosperity.
God will give us what is for us in our time.
Cling to HASHEM through the storms. Keep your eyes on the truth in Torah. Don’t tap out. Seek the eternal reward and stay patient no matter how good or brutal your current circumstances may look or feel like.
REMEMBER AGAIN - OUR JOURNEYS ARE DIFFERENT.
BE BATTLE HARDENED.
Yours truly,
A
Costumes & Cakes
The thieves are many
the thieves are few
They manifest and vanish
Depends on the venom they spew
The Power of Truth
Shall crush your power of lies
You deceivers are quite blind,
The TANAKH might open your eyes
I look to see
I see deeply and look
I read the Scripture of the Most High
While you camp on The Book.
Glass Bottom Vision //
// Version Joel.
It all dates back-to-back when I was a child. There was some strenuous showing up in my schedule. Showing up to my school daily with multiple bags as I represented the school in football. But somehow, though I loved football, I found everything appearing super burdensome. There was fatigue and a foggy brain that took precedence over the learning and gratification that football should have brought. I didn't like this imposition in terms of the added human touches to the facets of my life that were otherwise fine by itself.
After 5 taxing days of school my mother chased me down to show up on Sunday. As a toddler who needed a day of rest in my sabbath-less life, there was absolutely 0 incentive to show up, so I blatantly skipped the session before Sunday school, to clearly draw up my boundary lines and make my disinterest clear.
I did not see me being a part of the rat-race. I didn't buy the atrociously baseless, 2-toned explanations even as a toddler. I knew back then, the moment I get a chance to escape the clutches, I most certainly and passionately will, with great style and finesse as all breakthroughs must be pursued.
To top it all off, I hated showing up for this Sunday school as I got no real answers pertaining to the questions I had, all I got was a one-size fits all, generic answer by a generic man.
Thou shalt ask, what was the answer?
The answer was: "Be good"
In my head screams resounded -BUT HOW?!?
Upon further investigating the matter, now that I was forced to show up here, as a curious young child I asked an elderly figure about the authenticity of the first 5 books of the Bible. I wanted to know about it since they would focus a lot more on the last couple of books and never address the first ones and yet it was all a part of the same book.
Children are truly curious and ask the best, most genuine and obvious questions that skip our minds as we grow older.
So, I enquired about the first 5 books. The answer I received was simply: IT IS ALL A MYTH.
Luckily, the source this answer came from wasn't reliable at all in my eyes and I never took that to be the truth.
But it did put me off for a bit.
So school, football and baggage, I dragged this trio, and all felt equally burdensome, because I didn't feel like I was put in a position to maximize the growth one could otherwise experience. Fast forward to college after all the gratifying pursuits I indulged in, from Event Management to landing my first job internationally in Thailand. I was soaring in my flesh; it was the best and most exhilarating growth curve I was hot-wheeling upon. From there I tried to exponentially grow this curve thinking that the money is a sweet substance that adds some nice physical objects to put down my spiritual thirst. Just like when you're thirsty and there's no fresh water around you, but a can of aerated drink appears to be meritorious, that seems like it would quench your thirst but in actuality it leaves you thirstier than you were.
So I went on another pursuit, it's called BUSINESS.
I started my own one-of-a-kind venture in the restaurant space, selling snow desserts. It did well and was organically profitable, but governmental norms during covid compelled me to shut shop. Now I was out of cans, plans and what not. Keeping the ball rolling, my wife Anisha and I kept looking for the pocket we fit in, and religion was never the focal point at least in my mind. I found money to be a pursuit worth chasing but yet even without any manual, I knew some things to acquire it were without a question off my charter. Anisha and I denied many opportunities to experience the next big up (in cashflow) at the cost of our soul - basically doing things we don't necessarily stand for or believe in.
There was a thunderstorm of backlash by people who claimed to be for us, claiming to want nothing but the best for us; despite us breaking down this spiritually deficit path to them. All they saw was Mr. GREEN - THE MONEY that would solve all problems, hovering over our heads. It was strange initially to be looked at as the cash cow but eventually I got to the realization that that's an issue with the people, not with me! Seeing my older futile thought patterns of thinking money is the answer now still being housed in their eyes, I waited on the next fix to elevate my holistic growth.
As days passed by during this lockdown, Anisha came to me with THE TRUTH OF THE SCRIPTURES, and she put great emphasis on the term 'LAW'.
Unbeknownst to her, I always was in search for some kind of charter to lead my life. I wanted a manual or a script to live by, that simply told me somethings are off limits or if I could go forth. What better than a manual, called the Bible, the spectacular story of the Jewish people and the God of Israel. I felt like it was a part of me, and I was a part of it. I am yet to figure out my role, but the voyage of experiences building my strong character is worth it.
I was ecstatically governed to say YES because I loved what I heard, and it made all my choices simple. To an obsessively charged, perfection-oriented individual like me, the Torah was a lifesaver. It told me exactly how to lead an awesome life and how I must not waste my time listening to soothsaying thieves in costumes.
I was all game from here. Suddenly the burdensome baggage that I carried around spiritually was being let loose. My spirit clearly segregated the truth from the lies, not only in terms of people but in terms of all my undertakings. It was an easy wisdom stencil that made us feel wiser but appear foolish to the world.
We were now in a doctrinal transition.
I suddenly knew what to eat, what to wear, how to observe Shabbat on Friday evening, how to live a more functional life. Basically, how to be HAPPY and CONTENT.
Contentment was the mission. I kept chasing it throughout my nascent years of development as a kid to this present day. We have surely been tested by fire and the clearer my eyes got the trickier the thick glass chalice of false doctrine would chase us. But whatever, from here on it was no turning back for me or for my wife. I was steered in the right direction and made to propel forward, cutting through many powerful waves, I got purpose, vision, divine guidance, supernatural strength, determination, to build my family against all opposing wills. Anisha and I made a promise to ourselves WE WILL NOT STOP. I won't look through the bottom of the fake chalice, and see a grotesque and pessimistic worldview, but instead I'll do everything in my capacity to break the lies, as that's what I'm called to do.
How?
Just by standing very strongly on the side of TRUTH.
The baggage, the guilt, the demonization and cooling off of strong spirits through lies will stop, and the money plate will be left empty.
This is my vision, this is the oncoming growth curve, a jump over the lies on the path. This is where we embrace the entirety of the TANAKH.
I look at my life without any regret, guilt or anguish. I'm loving the grandiose path I've opted for or been called to observe. I love the authentic Tanakh, and I wouldn't trade that for any cakes, songs, or an institutional certificate to tell me if I'm legitimate or not. Life's a bliss, if you get to do whatever you want in the bounds of the Torah, not feeling guilty by a pushy, self-serving doctrine.
You know what they say - you got to serve somebody?
As for me and my house we serve HASHEM, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB.
This is LIFE to be lived in the truth.