Lives 1st

Do you realize how fast a democracy can be brought down? "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." – Lord Acton "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it." – George Santayana History supports the two well-known quotes above. Two points need to be clearly included in discussions about them, however. 1. Power means “ the ability to cause people to do or not do ” what the one exerting power wants. Humans only have two options for exerting power over other humans – mental persuasion or physical force . 2. Before anyone can remember something they must first experience or learn it . Hitler’s rise to power destroyed German democracy. In order to understand how “absolute power corrupted absolutely” in the process, it is essential be aware of “the past” that caused Germany to fall. When Hitler came to power, the Germany population was 94% Christian – 40% Roman Catholic and 54% Protestant – Nazi Ger...

Prayer from Christian and Jewish Perspectives Listen to Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor and former pastor Jim Myers discuss the differences between Christian and Jewish perspectives about prayer. This discussion will change the way you pray. Prayer from Christian and Jewish Perspectives Part 1 (9:32 minutes) Prayer from Christian and Jewish Perspectives Part 2 (15:32 minutes) ______________________________________________ If you found this information valuable and let us know by “Liking” the TOV Center’s Lives 1 st Facebook Page ______________________________________________ Become a “ Friend ” the TOV Center & help fund future projects. Every donation helps, no matter how small. Your gift make a big difference and is important!   Donate to the TOV Center online now by Clicking Here ______________________________________________ Visit our website . TOV Center

“ When Breath Becomes Air ” was written by Paul Kalanithi, a man that had just completed his residency in neurological surgery and a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience. He had a MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine from Cambridge and graduated from the Yale School of Medicine. He also received the American Academy of Neurological Surgery’s highest aware for research. At the age of 36, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training in medicine, he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. During the last 22 months of his life he wrote this book . The following quotes are from this beautiful, inspiring and informative book – a story written by a dying father to an infant daughter . “A few months ago, I celebrated my fifteenth college reunion at Stanford and stood out on the quad, drinking a whiskey as a pink sun dipped below the horizon; when old friends called out parting promises – “ We’ll see you at the twenty-fifth! ”— it seemed rude to respond w...

Shalom is a Hebrew word that has traditionally been translated “ peace ,” but in the Hebrew language shalom means much more than “ peace ” means to English speakers today. Shalom does not have the passive, even negative, connotation of the word “peace.” It does not mean merely the absence of strife. It is pregnant with positive, active and energetic meaning and association. It connotes totality, health, wholesomeness, harmony, success, the completeness and richness of living in an integrated social milieu . 1 Even today when Hebrew speakers meet or part they wish each other “ shalom ” or they inquire about each other’s “ shalom .” The foundation of a social environment of shalom is strong gender equal relationships built on the sacredness of life and valuing “the image of God” in others. The idea of a Society of Shalom first appears in the Scriptures of Christianity and Judaism in the first chapter of the first book – Genesis 1 – in the account of the creation of ...

The Sixth Day of Creation is packed with instructions, principles and wisdom most Bible readers are completely unaware of. Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor and Jim Myers discovered the things below, and more, embedded in the Hebrew words of the account of the Sixth Day of Creation in Genesis 1 . ● Humans share an Earthly soul with the animals. ● “The image of God” is a “them” -- not a “him” or a “her. ● God’s model of “parenting.” ● Gender equality in the ancient text. ● “Impulse control” and “self-discipline.” ● God’s model for exercising power. ● Purposes of life. ● Jewish & Christian “images of God” are different. ● Judaism & Christian Religions view history differently. View the discussions between Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor and Jim Myers about the Sixth Day of Creation by clicking on the links below. ● Creation of Animal s   (6:37 minutes) ​ ● Creation of Humans # 1   (6:41 minutes) ​ ● Creation of Humans # 2   (6:31 min...

From the moment we awaken in the morning, we are surrounded with a rush of light and sounds and smells. Our senses are flooded. All we have to do is wake up every day and without thought or effort each of us is immersed in his or her unique irrefutable reality . We naturally assume that our “ irrefutable reality ” is “ the reality ” of the entire world. Why would anyone ever stop to consider there’s something beyond that reality? The brain controls the organs that make us aware of the world outside of our bodies. They combine to produce the navigation system that guides us through life and keeps us from or causes us to bump into each other. Read the complete blog at https://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2018/10/realities-elephants-riders.html

Humans are created “ in the image of God ” is a very important tenet of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity; but their understandings of what “ in the image of God ” means are very different. Since both views are based on the same scripture, we decided to examine the ancient Hebrew text in which the phrase first appears. It is found in the opening account of Genesis (1:1-2:4a), specifically in the events of Day Six. Let’s allow that context to define the ancient meaning of “ in the image of God .” 24 And God said, “Let the Earth cause to bring forth a living soul according to her kind; a large animal (cattle, oxen), small moving creature, and wild predatory beast of the Earth, according to her kind.” And it was so. The first thing God does on the sixth day is command the Earth to bring forth a “ living souls according to her kind .” The Hebrew word NEFESh is the word translated “ soul .” The presence of a soul indicates the presence of life and the soul is the source of ...