Parashat Vayakhel Podcast…

According to tradition, Moses descended from Sinai (with the second set of tablets) on Yom Kippur (Tishri 10), and on the following morning he assembled (וַיַּקְהֵל) the people together to explain God’s instructions regarding building the Mishkan (i.e., Tabernacle). First, however, Moses reminded the people to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest, and then he asked for contributions of gold, silver, bronze, and other materials for the construction of the sanctuary and its furnishings. Each contribution was to be a “free-will offering” (i.e., nedivah zevach: נְדָבָה זֶבַח) made by those “whose heart so moved him.” As a sign of their complete teshuvah (repentance) for the sin of the Golden Calf, the people gave with such generosity that Moses finally had to ask them to stop giving!

Two men named “Betzalel” and “Oholiav” were appointed to be the chief artisans of the Mishkan, and they led a team of others that created the roof coverings, frame, wall panels, and foundation sockets for the tent. They also created the parochet (veil) that separated the Holy Place (ha’kodesh) from the Holy of Holies (kodesh ha’kodeshim). Both the roof and the veil were designed with embroidered cherubim (winged angelic beings). Betzalel then created the Ark of the Covenant and its cover called the mercy seat (kapporet), which was the sole object that would occupy the innermost chamber of the Holy of Holies. Betzalel also made the three sacred furnishings for the Holy Place – the Table of Bread (shulchan), the lamp (menorah), and the golden Altar of Incense (mizbe’ach ha’katoret) – as well as the anointing oil that would consecrate these furnishings.

Betzalel then created the Copper Altar for burnt offerings (along with its implements) and the Copper Basin from the mirrors of women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting. He then formed the courtyard by installing the hangings, posts and foundation sockets, and created the three-colored gate that was used to access the courtyard.

In addition to the Torah portion I discuss the holidays of Purim and Shabbat Parah, as well as the greater meta-themes of Passover and the Exodus from Egypt.

 

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For more information please visit www.hebrew4christians.com.

Parashat Ki Tisa Podcast…

Our Torah reading for this week is Ki Tisa (כי תשא), one of the longest of the Torah. It includes the tragic account of the Sin of the Golden Calf (עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה) and Moses’ passionate intercession for Israel. After a period of teshuvah (repentance) for Israel’s idolatry, the LORD graciously revealed the meaning of the Name YHVH (יהוה), that is, the thirty-two words that have become known in Jewish tradition as the Shelosh Esrei Middot, or the “Thirteen Attributes of God’s Mercy.” This was the LORD’s own definition of His compassionate character and attributes to Moses after the breaking of the Sinai covenant.

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Truth of the Sacred…

“Let them make me a mikdash (“holy place,” “sanctuary”), that I may dwell in their midst” (Exod. 25:8). Though this verse refers to the physical mishkan (i.e., “Tabernacle”), it more deeply refers to the duty of the heart to sanctify the Name of God and bring a sense of holiness to the inner life. This requires that we focus the mind and heart to honor the sacredness of life, taking “every thought captive” to the truth of God in Messiah (2 Cor. 10:5).  Since our minds and hearts are gateways to spiritual revelation, we must be careful to not to abuse ourselves by indulging in sloppy thinking or unrestrained affections.  God holds us responsible for what we think and believe (Acts 17:30-31), and that means we have a duty to honor moral reality and truth. There is an “ethic of belief,” or a moral imperative to ascertain the truth and reject error in the realm of the spiritual. Since God holds us responsible to repent and believe the truth of salvation, He must have made it possible for us to do so (“ought” implies “can”). And indeed, God has created us in His image and likeness so that we are able to discern spiritual truth. He created us with a logical sense (rationality) as well as a moral sense (conscience) so that we can apprehend order and find meaning and beauty in the universe He created. All our knowledge presupposes this. Whenever we experience anything through our senses, for example, we use logic to categorize and generalize from the particular to the general, and whenever we make deductions in our thinking (comparing, making inferences, and so on), we likewise rely on logic. We have an innate intellectual and moral “compass” that points us to God.

Read more “Truth of the Sacred…”

Parashat Terumah…

The goal of the Sinai revelation was not only the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites but enshrining the Divine Presence within their hearts… In our Torah portion for this week (i.e., Parashat Terumah), we read how God asked the people to offer “gifts from the heart” to create a “place” for Him: “Let them make for me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst” (Exod. 25:8).

The Hebrew word for “sanctuary” is mikdash (מִקְדָּשׁ), which comes from the root word kadash (קָדַשׁ), “to be set apart as sacred.” A mikdash is therefore a “set apart space,” or a “holy place” that represents something profoundly treasured – a place of beauty and worship, a refuge, a place of rest. Other words that share this root idea include kedushah (holiness), kiddushin (betrothal), kaddish (sanctification), kiddush (marking sacred time), and so on. When God said, “Let them make for me a mikdash,” then, he was inviting the people to make a sacred place within their hearts for His Presence to be manifest…. The “materials” required to make this place – gold, silver, brass, red and purple yarns, fine linens, oils, spices, precious stones, etc. – were ultimately from the heart, expressed in free-will offerings given to God.

 

 

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In this audio broadcast I step through the Torah portion and add Hebrew insights to help you better understand the Jewish roots of your faith in Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah.  I hope you will find it helpful.

 

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Parashat Mishpatim podcast…

In parashat Yitro (last week) we read that exactly seven weeks after the Exodus from Egypt (i.e., 49 days after the first Passover), Moses gathered the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai to enter into covenant with the LORD. In a dramatic display of thunder, lightning, billowing smoke and fire, the LORD descended upon the mountain and recited the Ten Commandments to the people. Upon hearing the awesome Voice of God, however, the people shrank back in fear and begged Moses to be their mediator before God. The people then stood far off, while Moses alone drew near to the thick darkness to receive further instructions from the LORD.

In this week’s Torah portion (i.e., Mishpatim) we learn about these additional instructions Moses received on the mountain. The Jewish sages traditionally count 53 distinct commandments in this portion of the Torah, easily making it one of the most “legalistic” (i.e., law-focused) sections of the entire Bible. Civil laws, liability laws, criminal laws, agricultural laws, financial laws, family purity laws, Sabbath laws, and holiday laws are all given in this portion. These various social and civil laws are called “mishpatim” (מִשְׁפָּטִים), a plural word that means “rules” or “judgments.”

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Mishpatim Podcast:

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Parashat Yitro (podcast)…

The fifth section of the book of Exodus (Exod. 18:1-20:23) begins with the account of how Moses’ father-in-law “Jethro” (Yitro in Hebrew) met up with Moses near Mount Sinai, giving him advice and direction about how to establish a judicial system for the Israelites, and then goes on to provide the account of the revelation of the Ten Commandments by God at Mount Sinai. This event, called mattan Torah, or the giving of the Torah, is central to the entire account of our redemption as the children of God, since it provides revelation not only about our basic spiritual and moral obligations, but also provides the vision of the altar of the lamb of God that was to be offered every day both in remembrance of the Passover redemption and also to foretell the coming our Yeshua our Messiah, the sacrificial “Lamb of God” who takes away the sins of the world.

In this audio podcast, I discuss the basic narrative of parashat Yitro and explore some of the more prominent themes regarding the giving of the Torah at Sinai, the meaning of the imperative language and the idea of a commandment, the importance of a heart connection with God, and more.

Read more “Parashat Yitro (podcast)…”

Parashat Beshalach (podcast)…

Last week’s Torah portion (i.e., parashat Bo) described how the Israelites were finally delivered from their cruel bondage in Egypt after God issued the decisive plague during the time of Passover. In this week’s portion (i.e., parashat Beshalach), the Israelites began their journey home, after 430 years of exile. Instead of leading them along a direct route to the Promised Land, however, the LORD directed them south, toward the desert, where the Glory of God appeared as a Pillar of Cloud by day and as a Pillar of Fire by night to lead them on their way. When Pharaoh heard that the Israelites were at the border of the desert, however, he perversely decided to pursue them and bring them back to Egypt. God then redirected the Israelites to camp near the edge of the Sea of Reeds, where the Egyptian army finally caught up with them. Dramatically, the Israelites were caught between the sea on one side, and Pharaoh’s army on the other…

 

Beshalach Audio Podcast:

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Parashat Bo (podcast)…

Our Torah reading for this week, called parashat Bo, begins with God commanding Moses “to go” (i.e., bo: בּא) before the Pharaoh to announce further apocalyptic judgments upon Egypt. The purpose of this power encounter was to vindicate God’s justice and redemptive love for his people, that is, his deliverance or salvation, by overthrowing the tyranny of unjust human oppression. Pharaoh’s nightmare of “one little lamb” outweighing all the firstborn of Egypt was about to be fulfilled….

Read more “Parashat Bo (podcast)…”

Parashat Va’era (podcast)…

In our Torah for this week (i.e., parashat Va’era), the LORD told Moses that He was about to fulfill His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by giving the Israelites the land of Canaan, and that he had heard the “groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians held as slaves” (Exod. 6:5). The LORD (יהוה) was now coming down to earth to fight and save his people! Israel would now know that He alone is their Savior and God.  The “showdown” between the LORD (יהוה) and the so-called “gods” of Egypt was imminent, and God therefore encouraged the people with precious promises: “I AM the LORD (אֲנִי יְהוָה) and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgment; and I will take you to me for a people and I will be to you a God” (these are the “four expressions of redemption” we recite during the Passover Seder every year).

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Despite these wonderful promises, however, the people were unable to listen because of their “shortness of breath” (מִקּצֶר רוּחַ) on account of their harsh slavery. The LORD then told Moses: “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land,” and the great showdown between the LORD and the gods of Egypt began. However, even after repeatedly witnessing the series of miraculous plagues issued in the Name of the LORD, the despot remained proud and unmoved, thereby setting the stage for the final devastating plagues upon the land of Egypt and the great Passover redemption of Israel.

 

Parashat Va’era Podcast:

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Parashat Shemot (podcast)…

The Book of Exodus (סֵפֶר שְׁמוֹת) begins directly where the book of Genesis left off, by listing the “names” (shemot) of the descendants of Jacob who came down to Egypt to dwell in the land of Goshen. Over time Jacob’s family flourished and multiplied so greatly that the new king of Egypt – who did not “remember” Joseph – regarded the Israelites as a political threat and decided to enslave them.

When the king’s oppression did not curb their growth, however, he commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn Jewish boys. When the midwives refused to obey, however, the Pharaoh decreed that all newborn boys were to be forcibly drowned in the Nile river.

 

 

In this audio summary, I discuss the first portion of the Book of Exodus, parashat Shemot, as well as the significance of the secular New Year and our approach to understanding the holidays in general.

 

Parashat Shemot Podcast:

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Parashat Shemot Table Talk

Parashat Shemot Summary

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