Light In Torah

Good morning! Purim has passed, but the worldwide movement to exterminate people through anti-semitism is not! Purim was more than a historic event, but it was a prophetic event. Oive'! Consider the amount of money that is being spent by the United Nations and the 'Palestinian movement' to eradicate the people out of the Land; from the river to the sea...' Where's the hatred coming from? Many and all directions. But at the time of Purim, it's coming from Haman, the Agagite. A man who was fueled by hatred. That hatred was fueled by jealousy. And his jealousy was set ablaze by his desire for personal power (Esther). He was filled with such antisemitic passions that he was willing to pay 10,000 kikars  out of his own pocket to get rid of these 'set apart people' (Est. 3:9). My 'enquiring minds,' 'Sherlock Holmes' mentality needed to find out, for myself, just how much he was willing to pay to wipe these 'set apart people' off the fac...

Good morning! The golden calf, Exodus 32, a terribly misunderstood passage from the simplest reading. What was it that made the people corner Aaron and demand that he build them a golden calf (Ex. 32:1)? Were they scared? Bored? Lost priority? It’s not like they didn’t have plenty to do...They are newly married, there were 53 Mishpatim/Judgments to learn and practice towards one another, but they became idol (pun intended) and they lost track of what they were supposed to be doing in preparation for the return of their savior, Moses. This loss of focused priorities created idle hands and a dangerous substitute for the Real McCoy that would have to be 'unwound' over time. There are many golden calves/massekah egel in this world. Objects or events that start out as good intentions, but then, over time,  become something completely different; turning into a catastrophe with many people getting hurt and losing their lives. What if you found out, in any of the five categories of lif...

Good morning! What if a single verse in the book of Esther contained a hidden roadmap for connecting to divine wisdom in our modern 21st century pursuit of closeness to the one true God? Would you be interested?  "On the third day, Esther put on her royal/malchut apparel and stood in the inner court of the King’s house, over against the King's house, and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the house" (Est. 5:1) In the book of Esther/hidden, traditionally read on Purim, we learn that it is not just a story, but a coded message with insights that will tell deeper truths to help us govern our lives in the midst of oppressive and life threatening times. What looks like a setting description of clothes and position is really much, much more; She was entering a higher spiritual reality. Huh? On this beautiful 5th day of the week, we’re going to decode the hidden message behind Esther‘s entrance into the King's Palace, and hopefully, by the en...

 Good morning! At the beginning of Numbers...what? I thought we were in Exodus! Yes and yes :-) ...The Lord/Yahweh commands Moses to count the people. Though we’ve heard many controversial ideas about ‘counting’ the people, it’s obviously something Yahweh values. It must be something Yahweh does on a regular basis. As a Shepherd would count His sheep each night, apparently that’s what Yahweh does with us (Matt. 18:12). We are so valuable to Him (Jn. 10:10). Why would Yahweh do this? If we are His valuable assets then He must be like a billionaire who rubs His hands together in glee as He counts His money. He never gets tired of counting and cherishing His possessions. When we read these first few chapters in Numbers we find that there are actually two different words for ‘count’. They are nasah and pakad. Like many words they carry more than one meaning. Take a look for a minute at these two remarkable verses where these words appear. First there is Numbers 1:49 where Yahweh tells ...

Good morning! Last night's zoom call fed us a beautiful Sabbath Sandwich (Ex. 31:13-18; 35:2,3)...do you have all 3 signs of the covenant? One of those 3 is the Sabbath, which is equivalent to a wedding ring for the world to know who your covenant partner is. Enjoy the study and gain some insights to the commitment you made in your marriage vows and don't forget to keep your marital vows (Ex. 24:3,7). Speaking of commitment, have you ever said something like “Lord, if you only do this, then I will dedicate myself to you.”  Have you ever said something like this, maybe in a moment of desperation?  Have you ever made a promise to God that involved some personal commitment on your part?  But when the crisis has passed, how easily we forget our commitment...kinda like dating...everything was special, memorable, creative, exciting...then came the wedding ceremony and, for too many, it's all downhill from there :-( Believe me, I know the reality of a commitment gone awry and G...

Good morning! As we learned in last week's studies, within the family of God and their marriage to the Most High, there are at least 3 different levels of intimacy (and so too with our earthly relationships); those around the base of the mountain, those who ascended the mountain and Moses and Joshua who entered into God's presence (Ex. 19 & 24). Could you imagine what it was like for Moses to enter into the cloud at the top of the Mountain in the presence of God to receive revelation mouth to mouth and face to face (Num. 12:8)? Surely, It was an ecstatic experience of pure joy (Psa. 16:11).  What was it that gave Him this privilege? Scripture testifies that it was his humility and faithfulness in all His house (Num. 12:3, 7; Heb. 3:1-6); a trusted servant of the Lord. Moses’ ability to connect to God through prophecy was utterly unique. It was different from the ability of every other prophet that would ever arise (Num. 12:6-8). For most prophets, prophecy is something expe...

 Good morning! A theme that is woven (pun intended) throughout Scripture are garments. From the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:21) to the garments of the High Priest and his sons (Gen. 28:1-43) to putting on the Lord Jesus Christ/Yeshua the Messiah (Rom. 13:14), which is part of the Bride making herself ready (Rev. 19:7,8) Scripture makes a woven tapestry of truth to guide us for daily living, so we are not found naked in that coming day (Rev. 3:18; 16:15; Isa. 47:3; Jer. 13:6; Nah. 3:5; etc.). In yesterday's morning zoom call , we addressed the garments of the Priesthood, linked them to the Bride and explained how to obtain those garments and keep them clean. Does this interest you? Did you know, according to Yeshua's own words that your entrance into the wedding supper of the Lamb depends on you having your garment (Matt. 22:1-13)? Get your notepad, Bible, open heart and one hour of interrupted time...this study is for you :-) The traditional feast of Purim, connected to Unleavened B...

Good morning! Have you ever considered the meaning of the 153 fish that were caught by Yeshua's disciples in John 21:4-12? You remember the story, right? It's the story many of us have experienced too often in our journey...we've been 'fishing' all night long and NOTHING. Then, with a listening ear, we grab our nets one more time, and with a mighty heave we throw the net in a different direction over the boat, and...my oh my, the boat's about to sink because there are so many fish in the net; yet the nets don't break. What a story! What a miracle! What 'fish finding vision Yeshua had'! What obedience; especially after doing it for so long 'my way'. What an enigma that Yeshua already had fish cooking on the shore when the boys arrived! What wisdom he displayed in His instructions to the boys! Am I listening, acting, and throwing in the right direction? Are my nets empty (Matt. 4:19)? Have you ever felt like you're outside the camp, isolate...

Good morning! Purim is coming quickly. Passover is just one month away. A new day is upon us. His mercies are new (Lam. 3:23)! There is breath in your lungs and an opportunity to turn over another new leaf today. As a peculiar people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (Ex. 19:3-6; 1 Pet. 2:5-9) we have been given the command/tetzaveh to fill the menorah, the 7 branched lampstand, within our Tabernacle (2 Cor. 5:1-4), which is being made after the heavenly pattern (Heb. 8:1-5), in order to bring light to our world and to those within our house (Matt. 5:14-16). Starting new disciplines or continuing disciplines takes work; especially when it comes to spiritual disciplines like refilling your lamp (Eph. 5:16-19; Col. 3:16,17). Inorder to start or maintain a habit you have to consciously give something up. The mind has to be transformed (Rom. 12;1,2), by bringing the body into purposeful subjection (1 Cor. 9:24-27). For as a man thinks, so is he (Prov. 23:7). This morning, as we continue t...

Good morning! The Torah portion this week, Tetzaveh/and you shall command is a continuation from the previous Torah portion/Terumah, where we dove into some details on the Tabernacle/Mishkan. More often than not, we (speaking of me, myself and I) tend to overlook the details of the Torah as mundane and superfluous. However, before we begin this morning, let's remind ourselves of Paul's encouragement from Rom. 15:4...whatever was written before was written for our learning, that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, we might have hope :-) You may recall that the Mishkan has 3 parts. The outer court/chatzer, where we found the brazen altar and laver; with access for anyone (Rom. 12:1,2; Eph. 5:26). Travel further to the West and you'll enter into the tent/ohel, which is divided into two parts. The holy place/kodesh, a limited access room, which contains the menorah, the altar of incense  and the table of faces. Keep traveling westward and you'll enter the most r...

 Good morning! One topic that is overlooked by most...in fact, I've never heard one sermon on it outside of the topic of modesty...is the garments we wear. From our inception God has woven/sakak (Psa. 139:13) us after the pattern of the  Tabernacle's fine twined linen (Ex. 25:4), which is the garment that must be worn to enter into the marriage supper of the Lamb (Matt. 22:12; Rev. 19:7,8). In this week's Torah portion, Tetzaveh/you shall command (Ex. 27:20-30:10) the focus is on the priestly garments and the incredible details given to each part of their garments; 8 for the High Priest and 4 for the family of priests. The purpose for the garments are found in two words: glory/kevod and beauty/tiferet (Ex. 28:2). If we stop to look through the pages of Scripture we will find clothing and/or garments/beged are virtually in every story. They make up the character of the person or they can be a smoke screen to hide the reality of the person. We will talk about this in detail o...

Good morning! We are still at Mt. Sinai in the book of Exodus where God gave Moses the blueprint for building an intimate home to dwell together (Ex. 25:8,9) and the instructions that enable us to make the largest impact in our world at the greatest event that has ever happened in the history of man; the revelation of God to an entire nation at one time (Deut. 4:32-39). What's the follow up to something that amazing? The only answer is...conforming our lives to what He tells us because He has spread us out into the world; not just at one location :-) At the wedding ceremony, He gave us 53 judgments; 20 positive and 33 negative that directly address our human condition. They are the bedrock of society. Righting wrongs, possessions damaged purposely or inadvertently, someone suffering loss, accidental death, judicial process, to name a few...these laws are to facilitate a healthy society; one that we need to restore desperately. These are what ground the Sinai experience on earth. If...