I have been feeling a bit uncertain and bewildered lately — not regarding the truth of the LORD and his promises — but rather about how we are to live our faith in the midst of the techno-fascist postmodern wasteland that marks our world today…. Maybe you can relate? It seems as if the judgments of God are increasingly falling upon the world system, and the godless world-spirit is hardening for its last stand. In this connection note how the world economies are being strategically undermined and systematically devalued to create a new global currency (based on a digital “credit” scheme), and how political forces seek a “coerced unity” under the banner of a global health “mandates” designed to catalog our biochemistry and DNA for the controlling powers… Note further how weak-mindedness, heartlessness, anarchy and despair are defining characteristics of the postmodern soul… Propaganda and cognitive dissonance are the “warp and woof” of the godless mass media monopoly that suppresses free speech, discounts questions that question the “science” used to justify political oppression, and that otherwise “cancels” those might dare to think clearly without following the scripted “group think” of the day.
These are prophetic times, to be sure, and God is in the midst of this whirlwind. We are not to live in dread as those with no hope. Nevertheless we must pray with fervor and ask our Lord for wisdom and grace for such a time as this… Keep the Lord first in your heart and trust that he will protect and guide your ways, chaverim. Chazak – take courage! The time draws near; keep the oil in your lamps. God has promised never to leave nor forsake you: he loves you and will deliver you from evil… “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding (ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν) shall guard your hearts and minds in Yeshua the true King of Glory (Phil. 4:6-7). Amen.
Hebrew Lesson:
Isaiah 26:3 Hebrew reading
The first Torah portion for the new 
This week we have a “double portion” of Torah: 
Our Torah reading for this week is
Our Torah reading for this week, 
Yeshua likened His relationship with his followers in terms using the metaphor of a vine and its branches: “I am the true Vine (הַגֶּפֶן הָאֲמִתִּית), and you are the branches” (see John 15:1-5). We derive our identity, life and strength from being made part of His life… The purpose of the branch is to be a conduit of the life of the vine. Vine branches by themselves are of little value, apart from the manifestation of fruit; they cannot be used for building things and otherwise are regarded as bramble (Ezek. 15:2-4). Notice further that the vine branch cannot bear good fruit while it remains on the ground: it must “climb” upward and be elevated. And if you look closely at a vine, it is often difficult to see where the vine ends and the branches begin.
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., 
Life is often a messy (and painful) business for us. We are weak. We are tempted, and we regularly fail. We are filled with ambivalence; we contradict ourselves; we struggle; we falter, we sin. At times we may even feel lost and inconsolably alone. But faith is a gift from heaven – the gift of God’s presence, and as such the miracle attests that “God is with us,” even in our times of darkness, in moments of sadness, heartache, confusion, anger, and fear.
In