A Rose Among Thorns: A heartrending saga of family, friendship and love

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My name is Christopher Peppler and I was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1947. While working in the financial sector I achieved a number of business qualifications from the Institute of Bankers, Damelin Management School, and The University of the Witwatersrand Business School. After over 20 years as a banker, I followed God’s calling and joined the ministry full time. After becoming a pastor of what is now a quite considerable church, I earned an undergraduate theological qualification from the Baptist Theological College of Southern Africa and post-graduate degrees from two United States institutions. I was also awarded the Doctor of Theology in Systematic Theology from the University of Zululand in 2000.

In its opening discourse, the Holy Zohar explains how the Shechina (otherwise known as the Divine Presence, referred to as Knesset Yisrael, the "Community of Israel") is compared to a rose that has the two colors, white and red, within it. In addition, the rose has thirteen petals and five sepals surrounding her to protect from the thorns. Similarly, the Shechina possesses two general qualities: loving kindness and judgment corresponding to white and red, respectively. malchut": In brief G‑d, who is infinite and ungraspable, expresses Himself and relates to man through His supernal attributes, which He also created. Malchut is both the last of the ten sefirot, and the vessel through which the other nine express themselves in the world. This results in the revelation of the kingship of G‑d. From the verse we see that in a sense both states are equal: "As a rose…so is my beloved..." - this teaches us that one should not withhold himself from serving G‑d, even when he is not inspired. G‑d knows that one goes through ups and downs, and He derives pleasure from our service in both states. The Apostle Paul uses the illustration of a thorn in his flesh to describe a troublesome condition that the Lord made use of to keep him humble and grounded; ‘ To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh…’ (2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to have it taken from him but Jesus’ answer was, “ My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (Verse 9).For there is one level of a rose and there is another level of a rose": The Arizal was the first person to really reveal the deep secrets of the Zohar from an understanding of its esoteric text. He explains as follows: this phrase hints to two states of malchut; a higher state and a lower state. Before we can understand this explanation of the verse, we must explain briefly the concept of the Shechina: G‑d…wanted to dwell in the lower realm. He created the spiritual realm as a pathway to reach the lower realm… In A Rose Among Thorns , Rosie Goodwin weaves a captivating historical saga of a troubled family and the power of love and friendship. Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Cathy Sharp. One thing I didn't like was Sassy getting together with Daniel; I just never believed their love. They didn't seem to know each other for that long before becoming totally infatuated with her and I found it hard to believe that she wouldn't ever et over someone she knew for just a few months and even within that time barely spoke to for half of it because of the misunderstanding they had. With skillful application of the craft at which she excels, Rosie has produced yet another certain winner. An absorbing tale depicting with great accuracy the nostalgia of bygone times, it evokes warmth, laughter and tears linked by a storyline that defies you to put it down... A wonderful story from a supremely gifted writer ' I am a passionate champion of the Christocentric or Christ-centred Principle, an approach to biblical interpretation and theological construction that emphasises the centrality of Jesus

The Spiritual Realm is beyond "place". However, as discussions about the nature of this realm include this concept, "place" needs to be understood. Within this context, closeness depends on similarity and not distance. When the intensity of the revelation in malchut rises toward that of bina, this is called " malchut ascending to bina". This is the higher state of malchut that the Zohar is referring to, and this gives us a first step in the understanding of spiritual space. Of course if I said that today to anyone under fifty she would probably think that I was strange to say the least. In the Song of Solomon the young woman refers to herself as a rose of Sharon (SS 2:1). Some commentators understand the Song of Solomon to be an allegory of Christ and the church and so, in this context, they see the rose as representing the Lord Jesus. Certainly, when Jesus was nailed to a cross between two criminals He was the epitome of a rose between two thorns. It is written…": Normally the Zohar excludes this phrase and just says, "Rabbi So-and-So opened", followed by the verse. The message here is that we must write these words on the heart. Rabbi Chezkiah's opening teaching is of fundamental importance in helping us cope with our present situation. By taking this lesson to heart we show that this teaching is not merely an intellectual one, but also an emotional one. We must really feel the pain of exile, and use it to fire our efforts towards redemption. By opening ourselves up in the same way as Rabbi Chezkiah, we can discover the inner truth which is engraved upon the heart. The villains of the piece were great as well, Elizabeth the step-mother and Thomas's American wife, without feeling at all stereotypes or wooden. The relationship between Sassy and Clara, her neighbour, was perhaps one of the most beautiful that I have ever seen portrayed in any format. Clara became the mother that Sassy lost, the supporter and wise adviser; but Sassy also became a pillar of support for Clara, in her time of grief but also in her time of loneliness with her husband away at work during the day and her sons away (or dead). Let us try and understand how the mechanism of " malchut ascending" works: The intensity of revelation within malchut can increase from above or below. An example of this increase from above is the closer proximity to G‑d that we are able to feel on Shabbat. This is really a gift from G‑d which allows the revelation of the Divine to build and build throughout the day. Malchut fills with more divine light and thus gradually rises to its higher state. This is somewhat like a hot air balloon. The more you use the burners, the higher you rise.

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About a year ago a member of my congregation was living through the final stages of a long struggle with cancer. One Sunday after the church service I sat with her and asked her how she was doing. She told me that she knew she only had a short time left in this world. She expressed her concern for her family and confessed her moments of doubt and fear. Then she looked me in the eyes and said, “It has been hard Chris, but I would not swop this experience for anything because it has drawn me so close to Jesus.” She was not trying to be pious or religiously correct; she was expressing a profound and sincere truth – His grace was sufficient for her. Rabbi Chezkiah…": The commentary Damesek Eliezer explains that the Zohar chooses to start with a lesson by Rabbi Chezkiah because his name hints to us a message: "Chezkiah" can be read as " chazak Y-ah" which in Hebrew means "strength of the divine name ' Y-ah'". The message is that when a person embarks on the voyage of traversing the vast ocean of Kabbala he is assured divine assistance.