Light In Torah

  This is the most exciting time of the year! Is there not a song about that? "It's the most wonderful time of the year" (Trumpets, Atonement(s), Sukkot)! Yes, yes, yes. It is the time when we are COMMANDED to be happy and rejoice (Deut. 16:11, 14). On the flip side of that rejoicing coin are those whose hearts have become fat, like Jeshurun (Deut. 32:15)—experiencing all the goodness of God, but through their lack of thankfulness and spiritual exercise, they begin to grow thick, insensitive, and obese in their faith. "But Jeshurun  (upright ones)  grew fat and kicked; you grew fat, you grew thick, you are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation." (Deut. 32:15) They have become insensitive to God's ways. Yet, as always, there is a remnant of people who, like King David, delight in Your law/Torah (Ps. 119:70). "Their heart is insensitive  (a hard heart toward those in need; no compassion),  like fat, but...

Over the past few days, I have been sharing an overview of the fall  moedim  (appointed times) on God's prophetic calendar. After Trumpets and the Day(s) of Atonement comes the Feast of Sukkot, also known as Tabernacles. It is a time of incredible celebration and feasting for the nations. It requires that the best of the best fruits of the Land are brought for the feasting: the grapes and wine, the wheat, fruits, oils, and livestock. All of these are to be eaten before Yahweh Elohim with the Levites, your family, strangers, widows, orphans, and aliens (and that is not "A.Lee-uns")... all are welcome to taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 34:8)! Everyone is invited, and no one is excluded, regardless of tongue, tribe, or nation. Despite the global invitation, there is still room for more (Matt. 22:1–10). Hence, Yeshua continues to stand at the door and knock, desiring to share in the feast with those who have, purposefully or inadvertently, locked Him out (Rev. 3:20)....

Today we will finish connecting our three-word focus to take into the next year. With that focus comes a question: "How do I make that plea to the Author? The Author knows me better than I know myself. What am I going to do—come to the Author and bargain with them, lawyer with them? How do I make the case to include me in the story?" Think about the moment of revelation itself in our national experience. How did we confront the Author? We confronted the Author because we heard His voice; we heard the untrammeled cry, the ethereal sound of a shofar that was not physical but was the sound that the Almighty channeled toward us as a way of reaching out to us and saying, "Here is who I am. This is the deepest way I can represent Myself to you." The most powerful thing we can do is to match voice with voice—to give our voice back to the Almighty in the deepest way we can. Not with words, but with something deeper than words: just our voice. This is who we are. That is the...

  Malchuyot  (The King),  Zichronot  (Remember),  Shofarot  (Shofar)! The High Holy Days are here (Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles). It is an exciting time, but many do not know much about them. Yom Teruah (the Day of Trumpets) is also known as the Day of Judgment. Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is also known as the Day of Repentance and the Day of Coverings.  Chag Sukkot  (the Feast of Tabernacles) celebrates a wedding and much more. And though Trumpets is officially over, let us focus again on Trumpets to carry us to our covering and wedding feast! If we read through medieval poetry, we hear about angels trembling, God sifting through all of our deeds from the past year, and inscribing us in one of two books. Scary times! Trumpets, culminating on the Day of Atonement, is a  Yom HaDin  (Day of Judgment)—but where does that idea come from? Scripture does not come right out and say it, so why is it called  Yom HaDin ? Is it j...

There are a lot of visible, powerful acts of nature happening in America and around the world right now. Are they acts of judgment from the Creator? In less than one week, traditionally, we will enter the month of Tishri, the seventh month on God's prophetic calendar. It is the month that opens with the "Hidden Day," the Day of Shouting—also known as the Day of the Awakening Blast, or Yom Teruah. Ten days later comes the Day of Atonement(s), Yom HaKippurim, and five days after that, the Feast of Tabernacles,  Chag Sukkot . Right now, we are in the month of Elul, which is all about intimacy within the community (Psalm 133:1–3). It is about preparing our hearts so that we can shout together— teruah —and welcome the fall  Moedim  (Psalm 47:2; 66:1; 81:2; 100:1). Yom Teruah is also called  Zichron Teruah , the "remembering the shout of the shofar" (Leviticus 23:24). I know this might sound like a lot of technical jargon, but it is important to know where we are head...

Since we are in Christ, we are officially Abraham's seed (Gal. 3:28–29) and part of God's engrafted people (Rom. 11); we are no longer strangers and foreigners to the covenants of Israel (Eph. 2:11–22). On this rainy, no-work day, I wanted to whet your appetite for something a little chunkier. I hope you will grab your Bible and notepad, take a nice swim in the living water, and enjoy resting against the Tree of Life as you start your weekend. When Jesus Christ (Messiah Yeshua) was on the earth, He would go to the synagogue each Sabbath, where a portion of Scripture was read from the Torah, the Prophets, and the general writings. This Shabbat, He would have been reading  Nitzavim  ("You are standing") and  Vayelekh  ("He went" or "He walked")—Deuteronomy 29:10–31:30. There is a powerful anticipation evoked by the name of the Torah portion,  Nitzavim : "You are standing!" These last Torah portions in the book of Deuteronomy ( Devarim ) are...

We are rapidly approaching Rosh HaShanah—the head of the biblical new year. It is a time of new beginnings! A time of unifying within the family of God! But this morning, I want to throw a curveball your way. I want to teach you new math: multiplying by dividing, and how to create unity by being divisive... huh?! Yeshua was divisive (Matthew 10:34–39)! He taught that a kingdom or house divided against itself cannot stand—therefore, He came to divide that very kingdom and house (Jeremiah 1:10; Mark 3:24–25). The creation story is also deeply divisive (Genesis 1:2–2:3), but without it, there would be no Sabbath rest. Likewise, the developing ovum → embryo → fetus only grows through division; without it, there is no independently functioning body (Ephesians 4). Division carries two meanings. It is a two-edged sword—both positive and negative. Scripture is filled with these contranyms, especially in our English translations. One can "cleave" to Yahweh (Deuteronomy 4:4), yet the M...

  During these forty days of repentance leading up to the Feast of Sukkot, I find myself asking a question that will not let me go: when it is all said and done, how do I really want to end this thing I call "my life"? "You have placed our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence. For all our days have declined in Your fury; we have finished our years like a sigh." (Psalm 90:8–9) So, how do I want to finish? It is coming—I know that. Every day, I am twenty-four hours closer. What will it look like when that day arrives? Like most people, I want victory. I want to make a difference, leave a mark, finish well. God certainly has a hand in that, but I am increasingly convinced that He also longs for me to cross the finish line reflecting the image of His Son. It feels like the whole universe is conspiring to push me over that line in glory. But as David so wisely observes, I can sabotage that intention myself. God places my iniquities before ...

As we approach the conclusion of the book of Deuteronomy and prepare for the Day of Atonement(s) and the Feast of Tabernacles, I find myself reflecting deeply on past Torah portions while looking ahead. I never want to forget where I have been, take for granted where I stand, or lose sight of where I am going. In last week's Torah portion,  Ki Tetzei  ("When you go out," Deut. 21:10–25:19), we learned about war against your enemies—specifically, the one within. It reminded us of the internal struggles we face and the constant battle to align our hearts and actions with God's will. This week's portion,  Ki Tavo  ("When you come in," Deut. 26:1ff), shifts the focus to joy and accomplishment. The battle is over, the victory is won, and it is time to reflect and rejoice. Joy in the Victory "Coming in"— Ki Tavo —is about celebrating victory and what has been accomplished through faith and obedience. You have poured out your energy, given your all, a...

This week's Torah portion,  Ki Teitzei —"when you go out"—is filled with commandments that instruct us to remember on at least thirty-one different fronts. And in Scripture, when we are told to remember, it is not just about a mental state—it is a call to action. With the Fall Feast season right around the corner, I figured it is a good time to do some remembering of my own 😊 The Day of Trumpets, or Yom Teruah—the Day of Remembrance—is fast approaching. It is also known as the hidden day that no one knows (Matt. 25:13), the day of the great shout (1 Thess. 4:13–16). We are also moving through the month of Elul, that season of preparation for crowning the King. It is a time for soul-searching and prioritizing intimacy with the coming King. Are you feeling it? By that, I mean—are you noticing all the distractions coming your way? The fear, the doubt, swirling around so many issues? This is the month for blotting out the remembrance ( zeker ) of Amalek (Deut. 25:19), who ne...

Free will must be part of the  Yefat Toar  marriage procedure, so that the true "form" of the marriage may be revealed. Dinah, from Genesis 34, was not free. Shechem claimed to love her, but he did not permit her to return to her father and brothers while the marriage contract was negotiated. Instead, she was "loved" while being chained to Shechem's coercion and  chashak . She was an object upon whom he placed his passion, but he did not trust her with free will.  The captive woman is not just a captive of Israel—she has been chained to the idols of her heritage. For a full month, she distances herself from that idolatry. If she will not be like Ruth—a true convert who leaves her idols behind—she is not permitted as a wife and must go free, back to the realm of death. Her seed will not be sown in Israel to produce a mixed field of the Word and tares. In a way, this weeding out prevents the "seed of the woman" from reproducing idolatry. A woman who conv...