Featured Posts

An Eye For An Eye. Literally?

Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18)

Upon a cursory reading of the Torah some of the laws contained within it seem not only a bit harsh, but even barbaric at times. This week’s Torah portion contains laws that seem to fall into that category and tend to make the modern reader uncomfortable. One of the passages is related to personal damages caused by physical violence:

You shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21:25)

It would seem that from this passage that the Torah condones an extreme and retaliatory brand of justice. If two people get in a fight and one gouges out the other’s eye, then the offender is to have his eye also gouged out as repayment for the offense. This passage is often used to contrast the harsh justice of the Torah to Yeshua’s message of grace and mercy:

read more »

Should We Fear God?

Parashat Yitro (Exodus 18:1-20:23)

Our current Torah portion contains one of the most famous sections of the entire Bible: the Ten Commandments. These “ten words,” as they are literally translated (see Exodus 34:28), are the pillars of both Judaism and Christianity. They form the basis of our Judaeo-Christian value system. Moses climbed to the top of Mount Sinai to receive God’s covenant. It was this moment that the Children of Israel had been waiting for since their exodus from Egypt. They weren’t waiting for just ten commandments, but for all six-hundred and thirteen commandments contained in the Torah, the full revelation of the God who redeemed them from the house of bondage. However, when the Children of Israel saw the awesome display of God’s glory at Mount Sinai they were immediately filled with fear:

read more »

The Mouth of Freedom

Parashat Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16)

At the end of last week’s Torah portion we experienced the incredible deliverance of the Children of Israel from Egypt. Our reading concluded with the inauguration of the various ceremonies surrounding Passover and how these ceremonies are to assist in commemorating the exodus from Egypt. According to the beginning of chapter 13, the focal point for remembering the events of the exodus does not seem to be as much about eating a lamb year-by-year as eating matzah, unleavened bread, for an entire week of the year. Moses instructs the Children of Israel:

read more »

Radical New Beginnings

Parashat Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16)

When the God of the Universe gives someone a new beginning, it is a radical one. Our prime example is the Children of Israel in our current Torah portion. He dramatically redeems them from Pharaoh and the house of bondage and transforms them from a horde of slaves into a holy nation of purpose. And to seal this transformation He gave the people He redeemed a new calendar to organize their lives by:

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. (Exodus 12:1–2)

read more »

The Sacred Name Revealed

Parashat Va'era (Exodus 6:2-9:35)

If we are paying close attention, we will realize that this week’s portion begins with a rather odd statement that begs for clarification. At first, the opening words of our portion seem contradictory to the basic storyline of what we have learned about God’s relationship with both the patriarchs and with Moses up to this point. Let’s take a careful look at the opening words of our parashah:

God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. (Exodus 6:2-3)

read more »

From Survivors To Thrivers

Parashat Shemot (Exodus 1:1-6:1)

The beginning of Exodus picks up where the end of Genesis leaves off. After Joseph passes away and his generation is gone the Hebrews begin multiplying in the land of Egypt. It seems like the honeymoon will continue on. However, just a few verses into Exodus we read about a new Pharaoh coming to power “who did not know Joseph.” This is where things begin to turn south for the Hebrews:

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. (Exodus 1:8–12)

read more »

Pages

Welcome

Welcome to Emet HaTorah, where we connect disciples of Yeshua to the eternal Torah of God. We're blessed to have you here! We hope to be an online source for discipleship resources from a Messianic Jewish perspective. If you're new to Emet HaTorah have a look around and enjoy some of our online teaching resources and sign up for email updates. You'll be blessed!