Light In Torah

Last week's Torah portion,  Re'eh  ("to see"), continued the thought of blessing from the previous week's study of  Eikev  ("because"). This week's Torah portion,  Shoftim  ("judges"), presents the method Yahweh uses to ensure the blessing continues in the lives of the nation of Israel. Just as the seventy elders Moses chose had to possess specific qualities to judge (Ex. 18:21), so too these individuals had a list of self-qualifying traits (Deut. 16:18–17:1). If we could summarize the six qualities mentioned in this week's Torah portion, we could say that these individuals needed to be selfless! Selfishness describes a person who will do whatever it takes to get what they want (2 Cor. 12:20; James 3:15). Selflessness, on the other hand, is demonstrated by the individual who works to fulfill his calling as a productive member of the community. Throughout history, selfishness has often been associated with prostitutes and politicians who...

Many of us are familiar with Revelation 1:6 and 5:10, which tell us of God's plan to make us "kings" and "priests." In this week's Torah portion,  Shoftim , the Torah teaches us a fascinating commandment concerning every king (Deut. 17:18–19): to make two copies of the Torah—one that goes with him everywhere and one that stays before the priests ( kohanim ). Why does the Torah give a separate commandment for the king to do this? Should we all do it as potential kings? And as kings under the King of kings (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 19:16), will we? Whether he goes to battle, enters the palace, sits in judgment, or sits down to eat—he has a copy with him. Everywhere, except the bathroom. But why two? Inquiring minds want to know. On one hand, the Torah represents unwavering truth that remains unchangeable, unbendable, and unfazed by the flux of time, space, and history: Shabbat, prayer, unleavened bread, the shofar, the sukkah, baptism ( mikvah ), the mezuzah, the tex...

There are five individuals mentioned in this week's Torah portion,  Shoftim  (Judges). Four of the five are mandatory, yet all five should be displayed in our daily lives if we want to make an impact in this world. For each one, I will give you a descriptive word to help evaluate our lives: Judge  – discernment Officer  – boundaries Priest  – devotion King  – guidance Prophet  – intuition Within our Torah portion, there is a unique command for the king: "And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them; that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand or to the left, to th...

This week's Torah portion is  Shoftim  / "Judges" (Deut. 16:18–21:9), a topic often viewed as taboo in today's society. Within the text, we are commanded to appoint judges—those who determine justice—and officers—those who enforce justice—at each of the gates (Deut. 16:18). This was not only applicable to walled cities with multiple gates, but also implies that we should place judges and officers at every "gate" of our lives (the gates of the eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth). Hence, the more time we spend boldly approaching the throne of grace to find mercy and help (Heb. 4:16), the more we are seeking the foundation of His throne—justice and judgment—and relying on His determinations, which are saturated with mercy and truth (Ps. 89:14). The Apostle Paul reiterates the command for us to have judges and officers at every gate of our lives when he instructs us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah (2 Cor. 10:4–6). This is directly connecte...

I hope you had a great Sabbath yesterday. Mine was amazing! The Torah portion of  Re'eh  was so insightful into the heart of the God who chooses; why He chooses; what He chooses; and gives us the choice to choose... Now that is love! Love never forces... it always gives... I love love! I love the 66 books of the Bible and all the writings that are associated with this beautiful book, and I love the Psalms within their setting and their beautifully applied emotions. Psalm 139 is a favorite of many; for me, it is no different. David says that God knows every intimate detail about me, and His thoughts towards me are more numerous than the sand... that is a lot of thoughts. But I ask myself: if God "knows" everything about me, then why do we also read, "Thou knowest when I sit and when I rise. Thou understandest my thoughts from afar." (Ps. 139:2) Is not knowing and understanding pretty much the same thing? Ironically, I know it is no—it is  yada  (know) vs.  bin ...

  Throughout the Torah and Prophets, God constantly warns His people about idolatry— avodah zarah , strange worship (Ex. 20:3–5; Deut. 4:15–19; all throughout this week's Torah portion of  Re'eh ; Isa. 47:10; 1 John 5:21; Col. 3:5; 1 Cor. 5:11; 10:14; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 21:8; 22:15; etc.). Notice, I used mostly post-resurrection verses... hmmm. Maybe there is more to idolatry than just bowing down to statues made by human hands... hmmm. I would encourage you to go back and look at all those verses prayerfully :-) "For you trusted in your wickedness  (ra);  you said, 'No one sees me.' Your wisdom  (chochmah)  and your knowledge  (da'at)  lead you away  (shuv),  and you said in your heart, 'I am, and there is none else.'" (Isa. 47:10) You may have noticed that within the Hebrew word for "leads you away" or "turns you away" is the word  shuv —meaning "turning back." We know it best in the word "repent"—to turn back ...

This week's Torah portion is all about vision— Re'eh . Moses starts out by emphasizing that we can see ( re'eh ) the blessings and the curses in life (Deut. 11:26–28). In Hebrew thought, the words for blessing ( berachah ) and a pool or reservoir ( bereichah ) share a close linguistic and symbolic resonance. A blessing is not just a passive gift; like a water reservoir, it connects you to a primary source so that abundance flows outward to nourish others. Blessings come as a result of obedience, and curses come as a result of disobedience. That is a given. The question I want to address this morning is: why the curses? Why do we choose curses? Why disobedience? During my recent travels to Massachusetts, I found myself arguing with God... really!? Personally, I argue and strive ( rib ) with God when things do not go my way. Is that okay to argue with Him? Does it bring a curse? The answer to the first question is yes, and then a definite maybe. Huh? When we strive against an...

I was asked a question that is directly connected with this week's Torah portion,  Re'eh  ("to see"), and I want to share the answer with you—since inquiring minds want to know :-) This person asked me privately: "If I'm not keeping Shabbat, not eating biblically clean, and not keeping the feasts, am I sinning against God?" I hope you enjoy these thoughts and are able to glean from his willingness to ask. Before we begin, let me say something concerning the character of God. I believe the Apostle John was correct in 1 John 4 when he stated that God is love. He is not the author of confusion (cf. 1 Cor. 14:33); He does not change (Mal. 3:6), nor would He lead anyone to transgress His own words—the Torah. As Yeshua said in Matthew 12, every word that we speak proceeds from the heart. Since we are made in the image of God, we can deduce that God's Word originated in His heart—the seat of His emotion and character. Personally, I want to be like King Davi...

Here are some in-sight'ful thoughts (pun intended) for this week's Torah portion :-). Feel free to go to  www.lightintorah.org  for more studies. In our Torah portion,  Re'eh  ("to see"), we find that the emphasis is on seeing—and throughout the portion, there is INTENSITY! Last week... Deut. 11:13 — "If you will listen, you will listen" Deut. 11:22 — "If you will observe, you will observe" This week... Deut. 12:2 — "Destroying, you shall destroy" Deut. 13:16 — "Smite, you shall smite" Deut. 14:22 — "Tithe, you shall tithe" Deut. 15:8 — "Opening, you shall open" Deut. 15:8 — "Grant, you shall grant" Deut. 15:10 — "Giving, you shall give" Deut. 15:14 — "Extending, you shall extend" These are tautological infinitive verbs—where two different forms of the same verb are used to double the impact of the action. They remind me of the old "Doublemint" commercial from days ...

If I was going to summarize this entire chapter, it would be "carpe diem." Carpe diem means "seize the day." That's exactly what Joshua does.  Could you imagine moving into a neighborhood and you're unpacking your boxes, and a neighbor comes to the door and says, "Hey, welcome to the neighborhood. Get your sword. We've got five nations that are seeking to attack us." And you go, "Don't I even get a chance to take a time to breathe?" The children of Israel, as they are moving into the Promised Land, they've conquered Jericho, they've conquered Ai, and there's no rest. You know, it's amazing because in our lives, sometimes we just wish that we could have the world just stop. "Let me get off and let me do the things that I need to do because I need a rest." But God says, "Nope, there's other things to do." Within chapter 10, it's an amazing story because this is the story where the sun stan...

    The book of Joshua is not only about our journey, literally fighting with the armor of God for the inheritance, but it's really an incredible book on leadership. One of my favorite books for leadership is Nehemiah. But Joshua—wow. Talk about incredible leadership, let alone stories like King David and the way that he handled situations. Joshua chapter 8, we defeat Ai. We take our past failures, and we utilize them to guarantee victory in the future. We follow the instructions of the Lord. He sets up the enemy, and victory is won. After victory, it's really important to remember: who was it who gave you the victory? Really, a major focus of Deuteronomy chapter 8 is, once you've accomplished something, to remember it was God who did it for you. Yes, you're responsible for doing your part, but God is the one who orchestrates and makes things happen. You know, as the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, he says, "I plant the seed, Apollos waters, and God g...