Meet Sydney Hewitt
The day of my first immersion into Torah was at the home of a new friend from church. I was there upon personal invitation from her; with my Complete Jewish Study Bible (CJB) in hand and eyes wide in expectation to learn under someone who had studied the Hebrew language for over a dozen years. I was motivated to climb up the steps to some high diving platform in the spirit, walk to the very edge with my toes hanging out in mid air, to throw myself off. I will always be indebted to my dear spiritual sister, Carmen, and her personal invitation to step up onto the high dive with her, into Torah!
That day I heard and read more than I could take in, yet I was thirsty for more of this new truth found in the original language of our Lord. Even though I was drinking from a fire hose of Hebrew words, new names for God, and historical accounts of the Nation of Israel I never grasped before, I remembered the words of Rabbi Jesus when He said:
“but whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty again! On the contrary, the water I give him will become a spring of water inside him, welling up into eternal life!” (John 4:14 CJB)
Fast forward with me one Portion (Parashah) at a time, like the handmade clay bricks stacked one upon the other by the Hebrew slaves in Egypt.
Methodically, one step at a time, I trudged all the way from Egypt into the first laps of water on the beach at the mouth of the Red Sea, walking with trepidation through the windblown sea floor, out of the darkness and into the glorious light of Adonai. I met Him for the first time in this ancient story, just this way. His light was blinding!