Stories from PWI, Part IV: What the Halal?
This morning, we got an experiential learning opportunity on the Seven Hebrew Words of Praise. The short version is that the word “praise” in our Bibles is translated from one of seven words in Hebrew that stresses different elements of praise. If you’re like me, you’re probably more familiar with the different Greek words for love. Or, perhaps you’ve heard the bit about all the different Eskimo words for snow. But I digress…
We were guided through each of the words and were asked to try to apply each one as we worshiped. The seventh and final word was halal: to shine, to celebrate, to sing, to act clamorously foolish. It was fun, scary, and exciting to try to follow God’s leading in acting like a fool (harder for me to do than you might think). It was not particularly easy, but I found my inspiration in observing a larger man, whose image is indelibly printed in my mind: eyes closed, violently waving his arms, doing the twist, all with a smile on his face that expressed shear joy and delight in his savior.
Halal be to God, indeed.