Light In Torah

The daughter of a pagan priest, two adopted sons, a marriage contract, and an Israelite who walked like an Egyptian… what do these seemingly random things have to do with us in the twenty-first century?  This setting within our Torah portion,  Vayechi  ("and he lived"), makes for a nice Bible study, but is there more for our practical walk in Messiah to glean? Inquiring minds want to know :-). The question many ask is, "Why would Jacob/Israel ask, 'Who are these?'" Jacob was 147 years old at the time of Genesis 48. He realized his life on this earth was coming to an end. He called Joseph to himself and made him promise that he would not allow his bones to remain in Egypt, but that he would take them back to the land of Canaan and bury them with his family (Gen. 47:29–31)—what I call the prototype Exodus before the first Exodus took place (more on that during Friday night's Zoom call at 8:00 p.m. EST, 699 858 9149). Joseph understood the severity of his f...

Last night I spent my evening studying Ezekiel 37, Hebrews 2 & 9. Yiker-doodles! I am always amazed at how I think I know more than I really know. And what I concluded is: God's love is overwhelmingly awesome!  Comprehending that the God of all creation loves us—for me, more times than not—is overwhelmingly wonderful! The fact that He would create man in His own image (Gen. 1:26–28); that He provides all the good things for us to freely enjoy (1 Tim. 6:17); that in His wisdom He would make us like sheep, defenceless and dependent, yet prone to wander; that He created our frame and is always mindful that we are but dust (Psa. 103:14)… yes, in this incredibly long run-on sentence, He is overwhelmingly wonderful. Man was made from dust (Gen. 2:7), and our Shepherd never forgets it (Gen. 18:27; Psa. 103:14). After the fall of man, the serpent was cursed to feed on dust the rest of his days (Gen. 3:14; 1 Pet. 5:8). Dust is how we began, and that is where we are heading when this lif...

Over the years, I have read through the Scriptures, placing myself into the position of each character, trying to imagine how they felt and thought during the story. This year, in yesterday's Torah portion, I was inserting myself into the event of Joseph's revelation of himself to his brothers. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph  (ani Yosef);  doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. (Gen. 45:3) I imagine that everyone in the room could have heard a pin drop when Joseph spoke those two Hebrew words to his brothers:  Ani Yosef —"I am Joseph." Their mouths fell open, and their jaws nearly hit the floor. Their eyes bulged as they strained to recognize their younger brother hidden beneath the Egyptian garb. Confusion and despair rushed over them from head to toe in an instant. Through their veins, they experienced a sudden realization that the man who stood before them—the second most powerful man ...

Have you ever asked yourself the question "what if..."? Or "if only..."? If only my circumstances had been different; if only I were born into a different type of family; if only I had a better personality; if only I had treated my spouse or children differently; if only I had not been abused; if only I had not experienced this mental or emotional challenge; if only I had not been saturated with anxiety and insecurity; if only I did not have this neediness at the core of my heart... As in the life of Joseph—the one individual who cried more than anyone recorded in the Bible—life is painful. Sad at times. Tough at others. But then, when we take a deep breath, surrender our expectations, and allow ourselves to entertain the idea that the individual journey of our lives, in all of its ups and downs, is what will ultimately allow us to discover our unique mission in this world and impart our singular light to ourselves, to God, and to the world (Matt. 5:13–16). Can you ...

During this winter wonderland season of Hanukkah and Christmas, I have had encounter after encounter connecting pieces of life's puzzle—one of self-awareness. Almost every conversation and every activity seemed to bring this theme to the surface. Conclusion: we owe our very existence to those who have influenced us. If we are to repay this debt, we must constantly show compassion and love toward one another. Unfortunately, as with our own lives, Scripture is filled with stories that failed to live up to this theme of compassion and love. Can you relate? At the end of Genesis (Gen. 37–50), we study the life of Joseph and the relationship he had with his family members. This story begs us to ask some very interesting questions! For instance, why did Joseph not let his family know he was okay? A postcard? Text message? Marco Polo? Facebook Messenger? Why did he put his brothers through such trauma when they were hungry? If Joseph recognized his brothers, why did he hide his identity (...

In the Torah, we find people crying in a lot of the narratives. However, nobody cries as much as Joseph. Let me say it again: nobody cries as much as Joseph! And it is all recorded in the text. He cries not once, not twice, but eight times (Gen. 44:24; 43:30; 45:2; 45:14; 46:29; 50:1; 50:3; 50:15). And these are not like crocodile tears that I shed as a boy when my little mouse, Ali-Baba, died. This is very, very intense sobbing. This is uncontrollable! These waterworks are saturated with emotions. The style of the Torah does not focus attention on what the characters look like, what they are thinking inside, or what feelings they might be having internally. Rather, the Torah fundamentally focuses on their actions. So these crying episodes are very, very rare. And the question that inquiring minds want to know is: if the Torah is here to teach us lessons about life, and nothing is random, why bring so much attention to Joseph and his tears? What can we possibly glean from Joseph's ...

If you're like me, you have all kinds of "why" questions in life. Why did this have to happen this way? Why did they say that? Why wouldn't they do this? Why couldn't they call? Why didn't they come? Why didn't they care? Why aren't they here? Why? Why? Why? The story of Joseph is filled with "why" questions that we often overlook. However, if we stop to look at some of them a little closer, we may find answers to many of our life's "why" questions—seeing that the Torah was designed to guide our lives! Have you ever had a situation that looked completely hopeless, but in the back of your mind you always had this small glimmer of hope, and in time, it all worked out? Or are you in one of those situations now, but in the back of your mind still hoping and waiting for it all to work out, and you refuse to give up hope? After Judah shows Jacob Joseph's torn and bloodied coat, we see something very strange that may match our ...

Sometimes, it doesn't take a whole lot of words to say a whole lot of things. With every statement we make, there is usually a lot of history attached to those phrases. As Ricky Ricardo would say on   I Love Lucy , "Let me 'splain :-)." Throughout the book of Genesis until our modern day, favoritism and hatred have run rampant through God's family in biblical history. If you're like me—and I'm sure you are, because we are hooked on phonics—we have a tendency to read over material rather quickly, missing significant details. Consequently, we don't experience the emotional impact in the text and end up with a Sunday School version of the text: theologically correct, possibly, and emotionally impotent, usually! Currently, we are going through the incredible story of Joseph (Gen. 37–50). At one point in the story—this week's Torah portion,  Vayigash  ("and he drew near")—there is a two-word statement that only Sherlock Holmes himself would de...

Hanukkah—the Feast of Dedication—where Yeshua declares Himself as the Good Shepherd during this December season (Jn. 10:22, 26–28). Now, it is officially in the rearview mirror. The question is, regardless of your perspective on a holiday like this, will you continue to live your life dedicated? Will you let your light shine in the midst of an ever increasingly dark society? The answer that just flashed through your mind was, "Yes, I will!"  With hindsight, what if there are hints to this non-moedim holiday throughout the Tanakh (the Old Testament: Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets), Ketuvim (Writings like Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Psalms, etc.)? What if these hints occurred long before the Maccabean zealotry began? What if there is a prophetic significance to the date associated with the winter solstice? It stands to reason that from the God who declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10), and since God is the maker of heaven and earth and all that is therein, He would give...

Then it came to pass, at the end   (miketz)   of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream (Gen. 41:1) I have often said that before you begin a project, you have to finish it. That is exactly how the Lord our God is. Before He begins a project, He already has the blueprint completed, the funding necessary, and everything is prepared before He sets the timetable in motion. We see here at the beginning of the Torah portion,  Miketz  ("at the end"), after thirteen years of stagnation, the Lord brings about an end to Joseph's wait. And we should all have hope in the extremity ( ketz ) of something. We should all have hope that the Lord will finish what His preparation works and proceed with it with a blessing. This is the Hebrew understanding that when God brings an end to something, when He cuts something off, He actually has something in store for us—often a blessing, the paradise of our inheritance. And whatever that time of awaiting has been, it always proceeds with ...