The First Americans to Observe the 4th Were Moravian Pacifists

Moravian settlers in NC were the first Americans to officially celebrate the 4th of July. But they weren’t partying in honor of military victory. They were thanking God for peace. At the nation’s first official Independence Day celebration, there were no fireworks, no sparklers, and no rowdy parties. The parade was solemn, with reverent music and the call-and-response singing of two choirs. Songs were sung in German. Those marking the nation’s hard-won independence at that first celebration had not participated in the long and bloody war, and they were not celebrating the newly free nation’s victory over the British oppressors at Yorktown. They were thanking God for peace. That subdued celebration was on July 4, 1783, in the Moravian village of Salem, now part of the hyphenated city of Winston-Salem in Piedmont North Carolina. Read the complete article at -- http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/04/the-first-americans-to-observe-the-4th-were-moravian-pacifists.html

The Power of the Minds of Individuals

The Bible and history make it clear that the acts of one individual can have a profound effect on a society and an individual cannot undermine the moral basis of society without endangering the very existence of civilization. 

The fewer deeds of TOV (acts that increase the quality of life, make life more functional, protect life and preserve life) there are in a society, the greater the number of deeds of HAMAS (outrage, violence, bearing false witness, and causeless hatred) it will have. 

The future begins now with the acts of individuals. Whether we will do acts of TOV or HAMAS depends on the imagination of the thoughts of our hearts -- and that depends on what we spend our time focusing on -- doing what the Creator did or acting like the serpent in the Garden.

Noah's generation revealed a massive society-wide failure in parenting because the imagination of the thoughts of the hearts of that generation were evil from their youth. Evil means their thoughts were about doing things that lowered the quality of life, decreased the functionality of life, threatened and/or destroyed the lives of others -- so they could acquire more for themselves.

How much time do parents spend teaching their children how to do TOV vs. how much time do they allow others (media & social networking) to teach them something else? 

The aphorism, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," not only embraces the whole of a man's being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.[i]

The highest value of the Creator is Life & one chooses life by doing TOV. Be the individual that reflects the image of the Creator in this generation by choosing Life.

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[i] http://jamesallen.wwwhubs.com/think.htm

Meet Rabbi Leynor

We have received some great comments about Rabbi Leynor’s article “Finding the True Meaning of the Word `Love.” For those who do not know Rabbi Leynor the following bio will introduce you Jeffrey and his remarkable story. Read Rabbi Leynor’s story at -- http://biblicalheritagecenter.blogspot.com/2014/05/meet-rabbi-jeffrey-leynor.html

Finding the True Meaning of the Word “Love”

This is a great article and personal testimony by Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor.

“In the late 1990’s, I brought my two young children in for play therapy to help them process my divorce. That day, I met a woman who would literally save my life and transform me forever. She was thirteen years my junior, the most beautiful, smartest, most competent and grown up woman I had ever met.  I was stressed out, angry, hurt and approaching 500 pounds, but oddly enough, that first day there were sparks.”

Read the complete article at -- http://biblicalheritage.org/DTB/0514BDTB_Love.pdf

Rabbi Leynor teaching seminars on Choosing to be Happier and Suicide Awareness

Rabbi Leynor will be teaching two seminars at

Collin County Community College School of Continuing Education

Friday July 11, 2014

9 am to 12 pm

Choosing Life:  Choosing to be Happier

3 CEW

1 pm to 4 pm

Choosing Life: Suicide Awareness and Prevention

3 CEW

Call 972.985.3790 to register or for more information.

You may also register in person on the day of the seminar at:

Collin County Community College

Courtyard Center for Professional & Economic Development

4800 Preston Park Boulevard
Plano, TX 75093

Rabbi Leynor will be teaching two seminars at Collin County Community College

Rabbi Leynor will be teaching two seminars at

Collin County Community College School of Continuing Education

Friday February 21, 2014

9am to 12pm

Choosing Life:  Self-Care Self-Love for the Caregiver

3 CEW

1pm to 4pm

Choosing Life: Suicide Awareness and Prevention

3 CEW

Call 972.985.3790 to register or for more information.

You may also register in person on the day of the seminar at:.

Collin County Community College

Courtyard Center for Professional & Economic Development

4800 Preston Park Boulevard Plano, TX 75093

Light 1st TOV Values

In Genesis chapter 1, the first act of creation was the creation of “Light.” In the Jewish culture, “Light” and “Life” are used interchangeably. The creation of “Light” signaled the creation of “Life” and revealed the highest value and first priority of the Creator. After the Creator created “Light,” He measured it with His standard – The TOV Standard.

The TOV Standard measures an act by answering the following:

(1) How it looks

(2) Quality of Life

(3) Functionality of Life

(4) Preservation of Life

(5) Protection of Life

(6) Safety of Life

We use the TOV Standard by asking the following questions:

(1) Is it beautiful & pleasing to see?

(2) Does it increase the quality of Life?

(3) Does it make Life more functional?

(4) Does it preserve Life?

(5) Does it guard and protect Life?

(6) Does it make Life safer?

“Light” met the TOV Standard requirements:

(1) It was beautiful & pleasing to see.

(2) It increased the quality of Life.

(3) It made Life more functional.

(4) It preserved Life.

(5) It guards and protects Life.

(6) It made Life safer.

The opposite of TOV is RA:

(1) RA is not beautiful & pleasing to see.

(2) RA decreases the quality of Life.

(3) RA makes Life more dysfunctional.

(4) RA threatens Life.

(5) RA harms and destroys Life.

(6) RA makes Life less safe.

RA is the Hebrew word translated as “evil.”

The TOV Standard can also be used to measure the acts of groups, institutions, governments, companies, religions, etc. When we use it to measure these, we must ask the following:

(1) Who experiences TOV?

(2) Who experiences RA?

(3) Who is unaffected?

Welcome to the TOV Center. We invite you to become part of the emergence by choosing Life as your highest value and 1^st priority by using the TOV Standard.

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