Weekly Parashah

There's something about leaving one year and entering another. The secular year is changing from 2018 to 2019 and people around the world are making New Year's resolutions to try and be a better person. Who are you and what is your purpose? Are you able to fulfill your purpose? When God called Moses he didn't believe he was the one for the task. He asked the LORD, "Who am I?" But then he became one of the greatest leaders in history. What changed to allow Moses to live up to the potential that God saw in him?

Every Friday night we bless our sons according to this blessing, “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.” What is this whole blessing business that Jacob is doing? What is this pattern of blessing he establishes, and why do we desire our sons to be like Ephraim and Manasseh, rather than Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or like any of Jacob’s other sons? Speaking of Ephraim, Jacob told Joseph, “His offspring shall become a multitude of nations” (Genesis 48:19).

The Torah tells us that if we find something that doesn’t belong to us, whether it is a living animal or an inanimate object, we are to either find the owner and give it back or hold onto it until the owner comes looking for it. However, because this passage is brief without any details of how do deal with various possible scenarios, there are many implications, applications, and questions that are left unaddressed. There are also some spiritual applications we can draw from this passage as well. What about items our brother doesn't know he has lost, like the Sabbath?

Our parashah begins with God telling Moshe, “Ani Hashem” (6:2). Isn’t this obvious? Hasn’t He already revealed this to Moshe at the burning bush? Why does He tell Moshe this obvious fact here, at the beginning of our portion? Why does He repeat this phrase 16 more times throughout the book of Shemot? Why does He emphasize this fact by using this phrase 49 times in the book of Vayikra, 5 times in the book of Bamidbar, and 2 more times in the book of Devarim? Does Moshe not remember who this Deity is? Does he forget easily and need constant reminding?

The story of Joseph is an incredible one. He had horrible things happen to him that could have emotionally crippled him for life. However, he recognized that his fate was not in his own hands, nor in the hands of others. His fate was solely in the hands of his God—the God of his fathers. This singular realization helped Joseph to navigate the difficult journey of life with joy, peace, and a resolve that everything indeed is for the good if one is trusting in a Good God. Study the life of Joseph with us as explore these important truths that hold the keys to happiness in life.

Parashat Balak is filled with strange events and mystical encounters with a pagan prophet named Balaam who attempts to destroy the Children of Israel, but ends up blessing them three times instead. How does this parashah help us to see the Messianic Era and long for the ultimate redemption? Find out more in this teaching on the weekly Torah portion.

Yeshua said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Our lights can’t shine and people can’t see us stand out if we are living lives that are no different from those around us. But how do we do this? How does one "become holy"? Parashat Kedoshim gives us practical means by which we might become holy.

Join with me as we study the last two parashot of the book of Leviticus, parashot Behar / Bechukotai (Leviticus 25:1-27:34). I was invited to speak at a Messianic congregation this past weekend and presented a message of love, redemption, unity and the restoration of the Kingdom I see woven into the text of these two parashot. I pull not only from the text of our Torah portions, but from the Apostolic Scriptures, the Mishnah and Midrash to weave a pattern of restoration that can only come when we take our responsibilities seriously.

Many people are confused over the highly detailed procedures for distinguishing between the statuses of “clean” and “unclean” contained in the Torah portions Tazria and Metzora (Leviticus 12:1-15:33). Why would such strange, bizarre and even "embarrassing," passages be a part of the Holy Word of the Living God? Many people think that being “unclean” (ritually contaminated) and being “in sin” are synonymous. However, ritual impurity is not attached to sin, and even Yeshua himself became “unclean” on multiple occasions throughout his life.