This time of the year one becomes increasingly aware of the impact of myths, legends and unscriptural traditions upon the lives of thousands of ordinary people. Last night was Halloween, which in fact is a popular term referring to "The eve of All Saints’ Day", or more literally the "e’en" or "even" of "All Hallow’s Day". The origin of All Saints’ Day goes back to the year 608 when one of the Roman popes dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the virgin Mary ("pantheon" means "all gods"). Traditionally, All Saints’ Day came to fall on the first of November of each year, which means that, within this context, the evening of the 31^st of October came to be known as "Halloween". The only problem is, there is nothing in Scriptures to validate or support the idea of such a day. There is no All Saints’ Day in Scriptures. There is no Scriptural base for combining or connecting "all saints" with "all gods". According to Scriptures our Elohim is greater than all gods (Shemot 18:11); above all gods (1 Chron 16:25); King above all gods (Tehillim 95:3); to be feared above all gods (Tehillim 96:4) and exalted far above all gods, or mighty ones (Tehillim 97:9).

We also know that Halloween is not simply the night before a religious holiday like All Saints’ Day. The spiritual roots of Halloween go right back to the days of the Celts and the Druids, even before the birth of the Messiah, who celebrated the Day of Samhain on the night of 31 October and the day of 1 November. Samhain was also referred to as the Day of the Dead and the god, Samhain, was known as the Lord of Darkness. During this feast the focus was very much on the theme of the dead and the deceased and all kinds of paganistic and occultic practices are associated with this day, even in modern times. Although the Roman Church later on tried to play down the paganistic origin of this feats by connecting it with a religious holiday, "All Saints’ Day", we are reminded by many Scriptures that we shall have nothing to do with foreign mighty ones and any of the practices relating to such so called mighty ones. In this regard we should take notice of Scriptures such as Bereshit 35:2 "Put away the foreign mighty ones that are among you, and cleanse yourselves" and Devarim 6:14 "Do not go after other mighty ones, the mighty ones of the peoples who are all around you."

Speaking of myths and legends … there is a beautiful anecdote of an atheist who became very irritated over the preparation for Easter and Passover holidays and decided to contact his lawyer about the discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while the atheists had no holiday to celebrate. The case was brought before a wise judge who, after listening to the long, passionate presentation of his lawyer, promptly banged on his table and declared, "Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said, "Your honour, how can you possibly dismiss this case? Surely the Christians have Christmas, Easter and many other observances. And the Jews, in addition to Passover they have Yom Kippur and Chanukah... and yet my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!"

The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said "Obviously your client is too confused to know about or to celebrate the Atheists' Holiday!" The lawyer was quick to respond, "We are aware of no such holiday for atheists, just when might that be, your honour?" Upon which the judge answered, "Well it comes every year on exactly the same date, April 1^st, and the Scriptures used by both the Christians and the Jews speak about it most clearly in Psalm 14:1 "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no mighty one.'"

Perhaps this time of the year is a very good time to make sure that we don’t act in a way that will earn us the reputation of being a fool – in the Scriptural sense of the word. When someone is called a "fool" in Scriptures, the literal meaning is that such a person has fallen away from the truth – to such an extent that he or she is despised and dishonoured and not taken seriously by others. Y'shua, the Messiah, warned against calling someone a "fool" in anger and with the intention of hurting and retaliating, but He Himself did not hesitate to call the Pharisees "aphroon", because they only looked at the outside appearance but never bothered about the inside attitude (Luke 11:40). The word "aphroon" means fools, mindless ones, ignorant ones, unwise ones.

We are reminded by Mishleh (Proverbs)10:10 that someone with foolish lips will surely fall. "Foolish lips" in this context is the opposite of the mouth of the righteous, which is a fountain of life (10:11). Fools are recognised mostly by what comes out of their mouths. Let us make sure that we have clean and set-apart lips by uttering words of comfort and healing and clarity and integrity. Let us hold back those words that may cause hurt and humiliation and confusion. And may it never be said of us that we have started a rumour, insulted someone behind his back or allowed a false report to reach the ears of others. Plato is often quoted to have said: "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. "

In Mishleh (Proverbs) 10:24 we read these words: "To work out wicked schemes is like sport to a fool, but wisdom is for a man of understanding". The question here is not only whether we are engaged in wicked schemes (something that will indeed earn us the reputation of being a fool), but also whether the wicked schemes of this world are like "sport" or "sports" to us (literally: "something to laugh or to mock about"). Just like small things amuse small minds, so foolish things also amuse foolish minds. Let us not take part in the laughter and enjoyment over the wicked schemes of this world. Let us stand up for righteousness by withdrawing when people try to downplay or minimise the seriousness of sin by making jokes about it. There are times when those who are serious about righteousness are to stand up against those who are not. There are also times when the set-apart ones of Yahweh are not to be present, at all, in the company of fools.

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who listens to advice is wise" (Mishleh / Proverbs 12:15). May it never be said of any of us that we are fools because we only follow our own hearts and our own stubborn minds and that we don’t have the wisdom and the humility of being able to listen to the advice of others. In the Scriptural portrayal of a fool there is always an element of pride and an over-estimation of oneself. Someone once said these wise words: "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." It is better to have doubts, and admit it, than to be always certain of oneself and never find the truth.

Mishleh (Proverbs) 14:16 "The wise fears and turns away from evil, but a fool rushes on and is reckless." One wonders if this is where the well-known saying "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" originated. Sometimes boldness is needed and asked for, but many times boldness and fearlessness are synonymous with foolishness. Unrighteousness is not something to be taken lightly, neither something to engage upon in a non-caring and reckless manner. Someone has altered the saying about fools rushing in, slightly, by putting it this way: "Fools rush in where fools have been before." Let us not reveal an attitude or take a route that had before only been taken by fools and those who do not care to be branded as such.

Mishleh (Proverbs) 17:24 "Wisdom is before the face of the understanding one, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth." This form of foolishness may be seen in the attitude of those who believe that growing and increasing in wealth, status, ambition and achievement will guarantee greatness and success in life. It is only the true wisdom of Yahweh that enables one to understand that our biggest achievement in life is to honour Yahweh and do what is pleasing to Him. This is illustrated clearly in the parable of the rich man who enlarged his storehouses to put away everything he accumulated through the years and said to himself: eat, drink and rejoice – only to hear these words from Yahweh: "You foolish one. This night your life shall be demanded from you…" The Messiah’s response was short and to the point: "So is he who is storing up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward Elohim" (Luke 12:21).

Father in heaven, grant us your favour so that we may truly excel in the kind of wisdom that comes from your Spirit within us, even if it means that people who are not acquainted with your words and your ways, may look at us and describe us as being foolish.