Hebrew Word Study – Nursing Mother – Amen – Aleph Mem Nun 

Genesis 15:6: “And he (Abraham) believed the Lord and He counted it as righteousness.”

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The Talmud teaches that trusting in God is more important than anything else.  One may keep all the laws of Torah, and follow every ritual, but it is only trust that will ultimately save the individual.  Remember how Saul lost his kingdom because he performed a sacrifice before a battle rather than wait for Samuel to arrive to do it?  Samuel was late, Saul’s army was deserting him but Saul would not go to war until that sacrifice was offered, so he did it himself.  What was his sin?  Yes, disobedience of course. But I never heard a Christian preacher or teacher give the root reason.  I had to go to Jewish literature to find it. It was that Saul did not trust God. Ironic, that we as Christians who know and understand that our salvation is in faith in God alone and not works will not see this, yet the Jews who depend upon works are the ones who do recognize faith as the cornerstone.   

The Talmud teaches that if a drowning man suddenly spots a tree within reach, which part of the tree does he lunge for?  Not the branches, for they will break under his weight;  rather he grabs the roots of the tree. Trusting in Hashem is similar to the strong roots of a tree, it is the basis and foundation of the entire tree, our salvation.

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The word for trust here is ‘amen.  This is the word used for a nursing baby. Consider the dynamics involved in a nursing baby.  The mother must cradle the baby in her arms. The baby is in the total protection of its mother.  The mother is providing sustenance to the baby directly from herself, not from a spoon or cup, and it is her own milk, not the milk of a goat or cow. The baby is totally relaxed and at peace. Total absolute confidence that the mother will protect it and care for it.  If the baby needs something it just cries and the mother is Johnny on the spot helping her baby. The baby never stops to question the mother’s motives or even doubt her protective, loving care.  Artists in depicting a mother nursing will have the mother looking at her baby with total love in her eyes and the baby looking up to its mother with total trust and dependence in its eyes.  Also, during this nursing process, there is a deep bonding taking place between the mother and child. 

Well, that is as far as I can go with it. After all, I am a man, what do I know about such things? I guess this is one example where a woman is a gateway to helping a man understand his relationship with God as in this only a woman can explain to a man the emotions and feelings involved in amen (trust). It is not enough to just understand the meaning of trust, you must also feel and experience amen.  I know we are treading on some pretty delicate ground here and something that is deeply personal to a woman, but wives, the emotions, the feelings, your thoughts are really something that you need to share with your husband to help him understand the deep nature of trusting God. I believe Sarah must have confided with Abraham her deep emotions and the good Jew that Abraham was he used that knowledge to understand what it meant to “trust” or “believe” in God and as a result he entered into a faith that God counted as righteous.

Remember men, Solomon said that whosoever finds a wife finds a good (tov) thing. Or find someone who can give him understanding to coming into tov (perfect harmony) with God.   

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