I cannot tell you how many times I've seen people's entire lives disrupted and ministries of God completely destroyed when people are moved by fear to do things they would never do without it. We humans are suckers for this spirit of fear. It paralyzes us and takes us over like a tsunami takes over a coastline village. The heart rate can go from 60-150 in a matter of seconds and this new and elevated stress causes the brain to make irrational decisions that can be as devastating as a category 5 hurricane. 

2 Timothy 1:7 says that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

There are several places in scripture that describe the magnificent and mysterious creatures called the cherubim (pronounced "kare-oo-beem" in Hebrew). These angelic servants of the Most High are crouched above the mercy seat over the Ark of the Covenant. The instructions given to Moses to have them carved and overlaid with gold are found in both Exodus 25 and 37.

In this week's portion, there continues to be more instructions on how to build the items of the tabernacle. Great detail is given about each item and how it is to be used. However, this short article is going to focus on just the first three verses of Exodus 35.  

Yahweh tells His people to remember the Sabbath on the seventh day (our Saturday) like He has several times before. Only this time, He adds a bit to the instructions and tells them, "You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day" (Exo. 35:3). What does it mean to "kindle no fire?" Are the Orthodox Jews correct in not even turning on a light on Shabbat because the light switch might produce a spark, which is fire? Let's unpack the heart of God on this matter and solve it once and for all.