Chayei Sarah means “life of Sarah” but ironically it begins with her death! The full meaning actually is “the Life of Sarah WAS.” In the wake of her death, Abraham must find an appropriate place to bury his wife. Ephron the Hittite first offers some land to Abraham for free, but Abraham insists on paying (actually OVERPAYING according to the rabbis) and signing a contract for the land to avoid future strife.
Chapter 24 then gives us the beautiful love story between Isaac and Rebecca. It becomes clear that while Isaac himself gets little attention in Torah compared to his ancestors and descendants, he certainly did very well in the marriage department—Rebecca is in a way his inheritance and treasure. The portion ends with Abraham’s death and a reunion at his funeral with Isaac and Ishmael.
Vayera means “and appeared,” referencing Abba YHWH, appearing to Abraham with two other messengers. The trio brings news that Abraham and Sarah will have a son. Sarah, not believing Abba YHWH, laughs at hearing the pronouncement and then denies she laughed. This is one reason they call their son Yitzchak, “laughter.” Notable here also is that Abraham serves Abba YHWH and His two messengers milk and meat! After this, we get the dark message of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction. Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family must leave immediately to avoid the coming disaster. Also, there is a remarkable “bargaining” session between Abraham and Abba YHWH, as they debate how many righteous souls will spare the entire city. An incident similar to the one where Pharaoh took Sarah happens again with another ruler, with comparable results. The portion ends with the most shocking story of them all, as Abraham is told to kill his son by Abba YHWH Himself!
Vayera means “and appeared,” referencing Abba YHWH, appearing to Abraham with two other messengers. The trio brings news that Abraham and Sarah will have a son. Sarah, not believing Abba YHWH, laughs at hearing the pronouncement and then denies she laughed. This is one reason they call their son Yitzchak, “laughter.” Notable here also is that Abraham serves Abba YHWH and His two messengers milk and meat! After this, we get the dark message of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction. Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family must leave immediately to avoid the coming disaster. Also, there is a remarkable “bargaining” session between Abraham and Abba YHWH, as they debate how many righteous souls will spare the entire city. An incident similar to the one where Pharaoh took Sarah happens again with another ruler, with comparable results. The portion ends with the most shocking story of them all, as Abraham is told to kill his son by Abba YHWH Himself!
Ladies and Gentlemen I present for your entertainment and consideration a wonderful concert done by a young man Jaye and I love and admire. Lucas Ussatis is the son of two of our oldest ministry friends who run Tabernacle of David Messianic synagogue in Burnsville, Minnesota. Lucas likes to do charity work for senior citizens, and he is participating in a festival day for them in this video where he does the entire score of Fiddler on the Roof, literally playing on what looks a roof (it’s a balcony, but go with it!) Enjoy this…I know I did.
Lech Lecha means “get yourself out.” It concerns the command Abba YHWH gives Abram to into Canaan and has a lot of great “action” surrounding that main theme. First, move Abram has a bit of an adventure in Egypt when his wife acquired by Pharaoh because Abram said she was his sister! Then Abram had to do some intricate planning to get ahead of a potential family dispute between himself and his nephew Lot. After that a whole bunch of kings go to war around Abram and closer to home Abram is given the second most difficult test of his life and I’m just scratching the surface here…there’s a ton of action I left out here.
Lech Lecha means “get yourself out.” It concerns the command Abba YHWH gives Abram to into Canaan and has a lot of great “action” surrounding that main theme. First, move Abram has a bit of an adventure in Egypt when his wife acquired by Pharaoh because Abram said she was his sister! Then Abram had to do some intricate planning to get ahead of a potential family dispute between himself and his nephew Lot. After that a whole bunch of kings go to war around Abram and closer to home Abram is given the second most difficult test of his life and I’m just scratching the surface here…there’s a ton of action I left out here. Incidentally, I just upgraded my Vimeo for more storage and I noticed some videos say “includes AI.” I just want all of you to know that I have NOT activated ANY AI features, but the video says I have the capability to only.
Shalom everyone! Here are my latest teachings for Tabernacle of David Messianic Synagogue in Burnsville, Minnesota. Delivered on September28th, 2024, these teachings are brand-new. The first concerns unsung biblical manuscript heroes, brave men and women who played a critical role, literally risking life and limb, in bringing us the critical texts translators need to put the Word into English and other modern languages. These intrepid people crossed deserts, lost family members and stood up against some of the most prevalent prejudices of their times to break new ground for our sakes. So meet the bravest biblical heroes you probably have never heard of!
The second teaching concerns how the Apostolic Writings of the Renewed Covenant were first defined in First Covenant and developed from oral preaching styles under the supervision of Yeshua to become the texts that have survived into the present day. Explore the true story that Scripture itself reveals about its own origins for the story of Yeshua and his Apostles! Notes are included below for both teachings. Enjoy!
Noach refers to Noah, a righteous man whose name means “comfort” or “peace.” Abba YHWH tells Noah He is about to flood all of humanity out of existence except for himself, his wife, their three sons and three daughters in law. After the Flood, humanity tries to start over but there is still great evil about as Nimrod becomes a great and powerful leader and those (perhaps) under his influence attempt to build a tower to rival heaven, forcing Abba YHWH to confuse human language ever since. The genealogy brings us to the time of Abraham, thus setting up the covenant that is about to happen in the next portion. I should also note here that Noach is the most calendar intensive portion in my opinion of the entire year. In order to manage that information and to keep things easy to understand and efficient, I have pooled the most important calendar aspects into one basic essay at the end of the Torah linguistics.
Noach refers to Noah, a righteous man whose name means “comfort” or “peace.” Abba YHWH tells Noah He is about to flood all of humanity out of existence except for himself, his wife, their three sons and three daughters in law. After the Flood, humanity tries to start over but there is still great evil about as Nimrod becomes a great and powerful leader and those (perhaps) under his influence attempt to build a tower to rival heaven, forcing Abba YHWH to confuse human language ever since. The genealogy brings us to the time of Abraham, thus setting up the covenant that is about to happen in the next portion. I should also note here that Noach is the most calendar intensive portion in my opinion of the entire year. In order to manage that information and to keep things easy to understand and efficient, I have pooled the most important calendar aspects into one basic essay at the end of the Torah linguistics.
Bereshit means “in the beginning.” We start with the six days of creation with Abba YHWH resting on the Shabbat day and creating Adam and Eve. After their expulsion from paradise, Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel and the former kills the latter. Afterwards, Cain flees Abba YHWH’s presence, first to Nod and then he goes build a city. As the human race begins to spread throughout the earth, the first ten generations are recounted and the life of righteous Noah is introduced.
Bereshit means “in the beginning.” We start with the six days of creation with Abba YHWH resting on the Shabbat day and creating Adam and Eve. After their expulsion from paradise, Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel and the former kills the latter. Afterwards, Cain flees Abba YHWH’s presence, first to Nod and then he goes build a city. As the human race begins to spread throughout the earth, the first ten generations are recounted and the life of righteous Noah is introduced.
Welcome to the Feast that is so enormous it is significantly foreshadowed in Genesis, given separate but inter-related titles in Exodus, stamps its force of personality throughout the Hebrew Bible and takes up more than 2 large chapters in the Gospel of Yochanan with even more allusions in Revelation. This is the most majestic feast of them all which may, in my opinion at least, hold the greatest of clues regarding when Yeshua the Messiah is coming back. Don’t miss this one! Keep Reeding