Light In Torah

In this week's Torah portion,  Va'etchanan  ("I pleaded"), we find the answer to a dilemma that most of us face when life feels dry, dry, dry: "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be on the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."  (Hab. 3:17–18) Life is perspective. But perspective without facts is just influential fiction. We are on our way to the 9th of Av (July 22), and we are close to the halfway point of this fifth month—the 15th of Av, also known as Tu B'Av (Judg. 21:19), which falls on July 29. Menachem Av is the fifth month on God's calendar, and it means "the consolation of the Father." This Shabbat, July 25, is the Shabbat of Consolation (Isa. 40:1–3). Historically, the first half of the month is filled with self-im...

Let us conclude our investment into the Land of our inheritance, connecting some very familiar stories 😊. As burying Sarah at great cost tested Abraham's faith in the resurrection, so burying a part of yourself tests your own. Sarah and Abraham were one flesh, and Hebron was said to be the gateway back to the Garden of Eden. Abraham believed so firmly in the resurrection that he paid a premium for prime real estate—staking his hope on that future event. "When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but Jesus was asleep. And they went and woke Him, saying, 'Save us, Lord; we are perishing!' And He said to them, 'Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?' Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, 'What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?'" (Matthew 8:23–27) Yeshua i...

This "accounting" of what it takes to live in the Land of Israel helps us decode some of Yeshua's mysterious statements to His disciples. Take a look at the text, and then we will draw a "Come to Heshbon" connection 😊 "Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. Then a scribe came and said to Him, 'Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.' Jesus said to him, 'The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' Another of the disciples said to Him, 'Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.' But Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.'"  (Matt. 8:18–20) Many commentaries explain that Yeshua was telling these disciples that they were not fit to follow Him. Perhaps Yeshua was saying just the opposite. The scribe was a person who faithfully copied the Torah. This scribe was a ri...

As many of you know, the final book of the Torah is Deuteronomy ( Devarim ), or "Words." Speaking of words, did you know that there is not a single Torah portion that fails to mention the Land of Israel either explicitly or implicitly (prophetically)? Approximately two-thirds of the Torah depend upon  Eretz Yisrael —the Land of our inheritance. The focus of the Torah—and ultimately all of God's Word—is restoring mankind back to the Garden of Eden. In order to do that, the path leads to Israel and Jerusalem. Every year I grow more "homesick." To enter the Land requires a focused walk. The Israelites had to be willing to give a good report no matter what they saw. So do we! Walking in the Word will plant the destination of the Word in our hearts: Israel. First, though, there must be an accounting, or the journey may not go well. And this is exactly how Moses starts out the book of Deuteronomy ( Devarim ): "In the fortieth year, on the first day of the elevent...

This topic is not a simple one. We often read passages in books or hear sermons that make it seem as though the inheritance is all signed, sealed, and delivered the moment we accept Jesus into our hearts. Yesterday's double Torah portion made inheritance a major theme—and that brings us to a topic that may seem completely unrelated: circumcision. Have you ever wondered why Paul had Timothy circumcised but not Titus? I want to explore tribal boundaries, inheritance laws, and how they create complexity within the kingdom. It is already cutting deep, isn't it? Yesterday's Torah portion addressed this question, though in a very covert way. This past week's Torah portion deals with inheritance, boundaries, and the division of the land. In the portion of  Massei , God gives Moses detailed instructions for apportioning the Promised Land among the tribes of Israel. The Torah carefully defines the borders of the land and the specific inheritance allotted to each tribe, ensuring ...

We build our world with words, and our lives will be judged in the future by the words we build with (Eccl. 5:1–6; Matt. 12:36–37; Eccl. 12:14; Jude 1:14–15; Rom. 2:16). At the beginning of this double Torah portion,  Matot  (tribes) and  Massei  (journeys), we find the sanctity of keeping a vow and an oath (Num. 30:2). My mom taught her boys, "If you do not have anything good to say, say nothing at all" (Prov. 26:18–28). Our words are voluntary, not obligatory. Therefore, we should avoid what I call the "Peter syndrome" with our words: "Ready, fire, aim!"—or "removing our foot from our mouth long enough just to stick the other one in." Israel is nearing the Land. The first generation has completely passed. The people are given the task of building a society unlike any other in the world—a free covenant society between God and man, where trust is built by keeping your word, not through force or self-interest (Ex. 24:3, 7). In this covenant societ...

I do not know about you, but new adventures seem to fly by, while time drags when life throws hardships and challenges your way. The Israelites are on the cusp of entering the Promised Land. They have passed their final test. God commands them to take vengeance on the Midianites (Num. 31:1–2). I certainly would not want to be in the position of the Midianites, who caused one of God's little ones to stumble (Num. 31:3–12; Matt. 18:6). The 42 stops of Israel's journey— massei —in the wilderness (from yesterday's study), physically, spiritually, and emotionally, are now in the rearview mirror (Num. 33:1–2). The lessons have been learned, and now it is time to enter the Land (Num. 33:3–49). The purpose of their journey lies before them (Deut. 6:23–25), and the reward for battling their own  klipa —the tendency to rely on their own abilities—is about to be realized (Num. 33:54). But there is still work to do! "And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among you...

  This week's Torah portion,  Matot , describes the 42 progressive stages of Israel's wilderness journey and the subsequent apportioning of the promised inheritance. This morning, I want to offer you a parallel reflection—one that encourages a deeper, more dependent walk with the Lord and stirs you toward faithfulness and fruitfulness. These are the determining factors of your inheritance in the age to come. Every believer in Jesus/Yeshua has been called to holiness (1 Peter 1:15–16). It is God's call to each of us, and it is our responsibility to answer that call—to pick up the phone, so to speak—and follow His voice wherever He leads (John 10:28). The Apostle Paul echoes this foundational call in his instructions to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 9:24–10:12), drawing a parallel between our spiritual race and the Israelites' journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Let me highlight a few of these parallels for you: Them (Israel) Us (Believers) Slaves in Egypt Slaves to...

When the Israelites were preparing for entry into the Promised Land, the tribes ( matot ) of Reuben and Gad made their request to Moses to stay on the east side of the Jordan River for the sake of their businesses. Moses' immediate response, which caused him to relive the painful reality of the spies' debacle (Num. 13), at first blush, said NO! Like a father or husband who overrides a poorly thought-out vow or oath (Num. 30:3–8), Moses did not want His child (Israel) and God's wife, for whom he spoke, to suffer unnecessarily. Unity, not conformity, was Moses' high priority. He knew that a separation of the tribes would have a devastating effect on the nation as a whole. This was a reality that he was not willing to experience... again. When there is division—not diversity—within the body, it affects the whole body. Our connection to one another is vital! And that connection can only be growing and producing fruit to the proportion that we are abiding in the vine (John 1...

In Part 1 of our "new" study, we examined some "new" thoughts on last week's Torah portion— Pinchas  (Num. 25–30). Before we go further, let us examine the word our English Bibles translate as "new"— chadash . In common usage, it does not mean "new" in the sense of never having existed before. In Hebrew thought, there is nothing "new" in that sense under the sun. The adjective  chadash  describes something that has always existed but has been acted upon by nature or time to initiate a fresh cycle of productivity. For example, each year a wheat field produces a "new" crop; each month the same old moon enters a  chadash  phase; and each lap a runner takes around a track is described as  chadash , even though it closely resembles every lap before it. For the Redeemed of the Holy One, preparing for the  chadash  is not about starting over—it is about making necessary adjustments to account for environmental changes. As we know...

As we finished our Torah study on Shabbat, I went back and looked at the five primary focuses, each reflecting a distinct call from the Bridegroom of Heaven to His bride. In the opening verses, the narrative centered on the special covenant relationship Yahweh established with Phineas, son of Elazar, whose act of zeal stopped a plague and brought atonement for a great national sin. I called this the  Great Call to Zeal for God's House  (Num. 25). The focus then shifted to preparing the camp of the Redeemed for an imminent and bloody war with Midian— Time for God's Bride to Take Up Arms  (Matt. 11:11–12; Num. 26). Next, we see a building hunger among the camp to claim their inheritance in the land of the Patriarchs, illustrated by the daughters of Tzelofechad (Num. 27). Now the narrative shifts again, this time to the impending transition in earthly leadership from the rod of Moses to the sword of Joshua. Here is where we  Let Go of the Past and Finally Embrace the Br...