Category: Torah Study

Selected verses from the Torah for Hebrew study

Torah and Tradition Podcast…

John J Parsons

In this audio podcast I discuss the role of tradition in our understanding of the Torah and the Holy Scriptures. Though this is a somewhat complex subject, it is comprehensible if we take the time to carefully think through some of the issues. Among other things I consider the philosophical idea of the “Tao” as described by C.S. Lewis in relation to human conscience, the intuitive idea of the moral law as empirically expressed in various world cultures, and the argument that objective values are implied in any statement of right and wrong. I also consider the role and influence of tradition regarding the revelation of the law of God given at Mount Sinai, the subsequent preservation and transmission of the written words of Scripture, the creation of the biblical canon, and how both Yeshua and the Apostle Paul accepted and ministered in the context of the theological traditions of their day. I hope you might find it helpful…

 

 

 

Podcast: Torah and Tradition

Parashat Behar-Buchukotai Podcast

John J Parsons

Shavuah Tov, chaverim! The next two weeks we will read the last two portions of the great Book of Leviticus (ספר ויקרא), namely, parashat Behar and Bechukotai (בהר־בחקתי). May God our Heavenly Father help us draw near and take hold… Like a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD is compassionate toward those who revere Him (כְּרַחֵם אָב עַל־בָּנִים רִחַם יְהוָה עַל־יְרֵאָיו, Psalm 103:13). Chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek – “Be strong, be strong, and may we be strengthened!”

In addition to the two Torah portions, I discuss the holidays of Mem B’Omer (ascension of Messiah) and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) and what these mean to followers of Yeshua the Messiah. I hope you will find it helpful.

Read more “Parashat Behar-Buchukotai Podcast”

Parashat Emor Podcast…

John J Parsons

Our Torah portion for this week (parashat Emor) lists the eight main holidays revealed in the Jewish Scriptures. In the Torah, these “holidays” are called “appointed times” (i.e., mo’edim: מוֹעֲדִים), a word which comes from the Hebrew root meaning “witness” (עֵד). Other words from this root include edah (עֵדָה), a “congregation,” edut (עֵדוּת), a “testimony,” and so on. The related verb ya’ad (יָעַד) means “to meet,” “to assemble,” or even “to betroth.” The significance of the holy days, then, is for the covenant people of the LORD to bear witness to God’s love and faithfulness.

 

Emor Podcast:

 

Parashat Kedoshim Podcast…

John J Parsons

Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Kedoshim, begins with the call for us to be “holy” or “set apart” on account of our relationship with LORD God: “Be ye holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2). Holiness is perhaps best understood as a sense of the awe and sacredness inherent in the apprehension of Reality and Grace. The portion then goes on to define the expression of holiness in our relationship God and with others.

For example, though it is inevitable (and psychologically necessary) that we make judgments about other people, the Torah states, be’tzedek tishpot amitekha, “in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor” (see also John 7:24), which implies that we must use the “good eye” (ayin tovah) when we think of other people. Indeed, the focal point and the very heart of what practical holiness represents is stated as ve’ahavta le’re’akha kamokha – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Note that the direct object of the verb (ahav – to love) is your neighbor.

But who, exactly, is my neighbor? Some have claimed that the word rea (neighbor) refers only to one’s fellow Jew – not to others at large in the world. However this is obviously false, since the “stranger” (ger) is explicitly identified to be an object of our love (Lev 19:34). And note that Yeshua the Messiah answered this question by turning it around. Instead of attempting to find someone worthy of neighborly love, I am asked to be a worthy and loving neighbor myself (Luke 10:29-37).

 

Kedoshim Podcast:

 

 

Hebrew Lesson:

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Yom HaShoah and ideological nihilism

John J Parsons

In this audio podcast for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) I discuss some of the philosophical influences that led to the atrocities of the attempted genocide of the Jewish people, including the rise of the Idealism of G.W. Hegel and the pragmatic concept of the “dialectic” that was used to negate the value of the individual in preference to the collective…. Hegel directly influenced Karl Marx and his godless materialism and social revolutionary theories, and in general it may be said that German idealism led both to the nihilism of Friedrich Nietzsche and to barbarity of Adolf Hitler’s national socialism.

Listen to the podcast:

 

Parashat Acharei-Mot…

John J Parsons

In this special “High Holiday” audio presentation, I discuss Yom Kippur and its themes, particularly in reference to the atonement given in the Messiah Yeshua, as well as parashat Ha’azinu, the Torah portion we always read between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  This audio is also applicable for those studying the Acharei-Mot Torah portion.

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Audio Podcast:

 

Parashat Shemini…

John J Parsons

This week’s Torah reading, called Shemini (“eighth”), continues the account of the seven-day ordination ceremony for the priests that was described earlier in parashat Tzav. During each of these “seven days of consecration,” Moses served as the first High Priest of Israel by offering sacrifices and training the priests regarding their duties. On the eighth day however, (i.e., Nisan 1), and just before the anniversary of the Passover, Aaron and his sons began their official responsibilities as Israel’s priests. It is no coincidence that the inauguration of the sanctuary is directly connected to the Passover, since the daily sacrifice of the Lamb served as an ongoing memorial of the Exodus from Egypt — and indeed the laws of sacrifice form the central teaching of the Torah itself. In this connection, we again note that the central sacrifice of the Tabernacle was that of a defect-free lamb offered every evening and morning upon the altar in the outer court, along with matzah (unleavened bread) and a wine offering, signifying the coming of the true Passover Lamb of God and his great sacrifice for us.

Note that this audio broadcast also includes discussion about Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day as well as the Hebrew month of Iyyar and its significance in the countdown to the climactic holiday of Shavuot (“weeks” or “Pentecost”).

 

Podcast:

Parashat Tzav Podcast…

John J Parsons

In our Torah reading for this week, parashat Tzav (פרשת צו), we learn how the priests of ancient Israel were consecrated for service by the blood of the lamb. First Aaron and his sons were washed with water, arrayed in priestly garments, and anointed with holy oil. During this ordination ceremony, a sin offering and burnt offering were offered on their behalf, and then a special “ram of ordination” (i.e., eil hamilu’im: אֵיל הַמִּלֻּאִים, lit. “ram of abundance [מָלֵא]”) was slaughtered. Some of this ram’s blood was applied to the right ear, right thumb, and big toe of the Aaron and his sons (a picture of Yeshua as our suffering High Priest), and the rest of the blood was dashed upon the sides of the altar. After its slaughter, Moses took some unleavened bread and put it in the hands of the priests to perform tenufah (a wave offering) before the altar (a picture of the resurrection).

 

Parashat Tzav Podcast:

Vayikra Podcast for Shabbat Zakhor

John J Parsons

Shavuah tov, chaverim! Our Torah portion for this week is Vayikra (“and he called”), the very first section from the Book of Leviticus. In Jewish tradition, Leviticus is sometimes called the “Book of Sacrifices” (הספר זבחים) since it deals largely with the various sacrificial offerings brought to the altar at the Mishkan (i.e., Tabernacle). Indeed, over 40 percent of all the Torah’s commandments are found in this central book of the Scriptures, highlighting that blood atonement is essential to the Torah. After all, since the revelation of the Tabernacle was the climax of the revelation given at Sinai, the Book of Leviticus serves as its ritual expression, as it is written: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement (kapparah) by the life” (Lev. 17:11).

In this audio broadcast I discuss the Torah’s calendar Shabbat Zakhor and preparing for the festive holiday of Purim. I also discuss the nature of the Torah’s sacrificial system, the “korban principle” and the healing and restoration we are given in Yeshua the great Lamb of God and Savior of the world.

 

Audio Podcast: