We notice here that Moshe is reminding the people the reasons that their parents were not allowed to enter into The Land. i.e. their rebellious attitude. Discussion ensued as to the very location of The Children of Israel at this time. (The Northern Dead Sea area; Gilad!) A comment was made that perhaps it would be approiate for us to purchase a large map of ancient Israel for the group. One that could be displayed at each shul and used to locate places and possessions among the tribes. (Now that I am back on-line, perhaps I can locate such for our group). I Sam.4:1-22  Because of the pagan background of the Plihstim/Philistines, they thought the Ark carried the "idols" of Israel. We notice that Israel lost over 30,000 warriors in their battles with the Plishtims; could it have anything to do with the way the Ark was handled? We notice a lack of mention that the Levites carried the Ark, or that advise was even sought of Eli. Could it be that his own evil sons had instigated the removal of the Ark? Luke 5:1-39  The comment was made that there is a commentary;(no reference), which states that the fish caught that day would reflect a whole years worth of catch. The fact the Yahushua had the boat moved out away from the shore shows that He used the dynamics of reflection to magnify His voice so that all on shore could hear Him clearly. Shabbat teaching for the day;   Ha Kasir --- The Harvest We live an a generation and society much removed from it's agricultural roots. But as with our Hebraic roots, we can better understand the teachings of Scriptures and Yahushua, if we learn to appreciate them from an agricultural point of view; Which is what I hope to accomplish in this study. Many Scriptures speak of the end times in the context of a harvest. A few have a negative aspect; such as Joel 3:11-13; Jer.51: 33; Rev. 14:17-20; and Matt.13: 39-42. But most; as Yahushua taught, have a positive aspect. Matt.9: 37-38; 13: 3+8; Jn.4: 35-38; and Rev. 14:14-16. It is rather easy for us today to read these Scriptures and understand their fulfillment in a Spiritual sense. But at the same time; there are things which are not so obvious that we need to look at and try to understand. Let us start with The Seed. Gen.1:11-12: Yahuah created all things to produce after their own kind. An apple seed produces and apple tree; a tomato seed produces a tomato plant. and so on. But when it came time to create man; 1:26, we see that Yahuah created man in His likeness, after HIS kind!!! In this first man (and subsequent woman)was the seed for all mankind; the entire human race. But we also see in this first man and woman a problem which will be genetically transferred to all generations; corruption! Thus the need to dend an in-corruptable Seed; to redeem all who are willing to recieve HIS Mercy and Favor. This entailed an Atonement for all sin and iniquity, and a provision for the indwelling of the Ruach HaKadesh/ The Set-apart Spirit. But for this to happen, a great miracle had to transpire. Let us look at I Cor.15:36 "That which you sow does not live until it dies". (At this point all present were asked to take a head of wheat which had been on the table from the start. Place the head of grain upon one palm and place the other over it; Now with a moderate downward pressure, roll the head back and forth in the hand. As you do this you will notice that the grains loosen and come out of the husks. Place the grains in a small pile and seperate one grain.) This is a living grain; it's life is still within it. But unless it is buried and "dies", it will never grow into another plant. It cannot reproduce! Yahushua recognized Himself as this 'Living Grain'. Jn. 12: 23-25. As Yahushua became the Fristfruits; offered to Yahuah upon His death and resurrection during the Wave Sheaf Offering, His resurrection brought forth new 'sprouts' of believers; \which brings us to the second important lesson of the Harvest. That is the ground into which the 'seed' is sown. Is there a reason why Yahushua was to be born in Israel? And did it matter whether He taught among the Jews and the 'remnant' of Israel? Could it be that The Torah provided a fertile environment for The Seed to take root? We read in I Cor.1:11-12 and 3:4-6 about a teacher and minister of The Basorah/Good News, around whom a faction grew. This Man; Apollos, was a devout Jew; elequent, fervent, and considered 'mighty' or well versed in The Scriptures. He traveled and taught among the assemblies and apprently avoided returning to some because of their highly elevated attitude toward him, so he was also a humble person. All of the "original" Apostles and Ministers of The Word were from a Jewish/Hebraic background. They had grown up learning Torah and The Prophets. They were able to understand; through the revealing of the Ruach, that Yahushua was HaMoshiach/The Messiah! These men, as ministers of The True Basorah, nourished the assemblies, bringing many to the point of recognizing and huderstanding who Yahushua was/is. Along with fertile soil is a need for rain in due season. As we read the Scriptures concerning The Harvest, we notice a reference to the early and later rains. Hos.6:3. The early rains began just after Sukkot and helped loosen the soil that had become hardpacked by heat and traffic over it during harvest. This early rain was also essential for returning moisture to the soil, necessary for newly planted seeds to sprout. The later rains usually came just befor the harvest and thus helped the grains to fill out the heads. If we relate this to the Work of HaMoshiach we can see just how this has played out. At first we had teachers who were grounded in the Truth of Scriptures, in The Torah, and the teachings of the prophets; these were the early rains. Then came the growing season, when for a time there was a drought of The Word. The great teachers who were well versed in Torah dies out. Others, not so well versed brought their teachings, but as with the morning mists of summer, this was not enough to sustain the weaker 'plants' sown on less then fertile ground. (See the parable of the Sower; Matt. 13) Many assemblies dried up and withered away, some became choked out by other teachings; but those that had been sown in fertile soil, (filled with The Torah teachings) continued to survive. Now we come to the end of the harvest season and we see Yahuah giving us the 'Later rains" of HIS Torah, to nourish those who have been sown on the fertile soil of HIS Truth. But we still have needs of being diligent, for even as the crop is nourished by the rains, so also are the weeds more aggressive when the 'rains' come. It is up to us to "weed' our lives of the distractions and false teachings that can and will choke us out. Yahushua promised to provide us with all we needed through His Ruach HaKadesh. Are we intently listening to His Ruach? In closing; let us take one more look at the grains which we removed from the heads. Count them out! These are the fruit of one head, at the end of one stalk; yet almost every seed that 'dies' sends forth multiple stalks. Once we recognize this we can better understand why Yahushua called upon us to 'die' to ourselves, so that we can bring in a multitude at The Harvest!