Talk about family problems! This week Abraham seems to have enough worries with his kindred to fill an entire lifetime. First he has to attempt to negotiate with his Heavenly Father to try and spare Sodom, where his nephew Lot is living. When the “auction of souls”–going from 50 righteous down to 10–ultimately fails, Father Yah sends two angels to help Abraham’s nephew, and two of Lot’s future sons in law refuse to take the threat to Sodom seriously while Lot himself offers his two daughters to an unruly crowd to keep them from getting intimate with his guests. Lot’s own wife though won’t make it however due to her “salty” personality, while in the meantime Abraham is sending away his eldest son at the behest of his wife Sarah. Then we climax with Abraham feeling compelled to kill his remaining son Isaac, with the distinct possibly that the aftermath of that incident had Sarah perhaps die of a broken heart. Or did she? Either way, you are not likely to find a more “family intensive” parsha than this one, and I haven’t even gotten to the bonus teachings yet! This parsha proves to my mind at least that to miss one week is to miss a great deal.
First He created the physical universe and the entire human race. Then Father Yah wiped out nearly everyone in a devastating Flood He promised would never happen again. And now, our Heavenly Father has waited ten whole generations for one man after His heart to be born, and his name is Abram, later renamed Abraham, the father of many nations. See the covenant emerge from the greatest disaster ever to hit the human race as Abraham deals with struggles as great as the cosmos and as close to home as his own bedchamber. I hope you will also enjoy our very special focus this week on Biblical Archaeology and discover the amazing discoveries coming out of the ground that prove the Scripture correct.
It’s the worst day ever for the human race–a day like no other when the world of humanity is destroyed in a devastating global flood that is so bad Father Yah promises never to do it again. But Noah’s flood is about so much more, as this year long disaster reveals so much information about history, astronomy and timekeeping. It is a window into the ancient world like none other in the entirety of Scripture. See the Torah open up its mysteries like never before with several bonus teachings along with the linguistics and historical analysis to tie it all together.
Welcome back to the beginning! What a joy it is to be allowed to hear the Torah all over again from the very start. May this year’s Torah cycle bear much more fruit than what we just completed and I pray you will enjoy the journey as much as I enjoy bringing it to you. I also hope you enjoy a special opening prayer of thanksgiving for the occasion.
Welcome to the 2017 Yom Kippur Special, where we see the roots and ramifications of the Day of Atonement literally from Genesis to Revelation. See the strong foreshadowing of this special day all the way back to Noah, and also how Yom Kippur stamps its template of repentance throughout the entirety of the Renewed Covenant Scriptures. There’s a lot more going on than just fasting!
Welcome to a beautiful parsha made even more so by the time of year. This year Ha’azinu–the REAL song of Moshe–is combine with the Shabbat Shuvah readings of the Haftorah. Shabbat Shuvah–the sabbath of returning–is that special Shabbat after Yom Teruah but before Yom Kippur. However this year it is also happening on the 3rd of Tishri, the time of a half day optional fast known as the Fast of Gedaliah–which is an occasion very likely kept by Y’shua at least once in the Gospels. We will also spend a good deal of time on getting ready for the great return of Genesis 1 as we go deep into some surprises that only Hebrew can reveal, as well as get set up for the Yom Kippur and Sukkot teachings also coming our way. We wait all year for this amazing time so I rapy everyone enjoys it to the fullest! Chag sameyach!
Welcome to Nitzvaim-Vayelech, where we see how ancient controversies continue to play out in modern rabbinic discourse with the phrase “The Torah is not in heaven” and also connect some deep calendar mysteries shared by Aaron and King David, hidden in the plain sight of the Scripture. Enjoy this last “normal” parsha before the majestic fall feasts hits!
It’s crunch time. With the last day of Moshe’s life winding down, this parsha has Moshe prepare to get into the last speech he will ever give and it is at this point with literally everything on the line, that the final details of the covenant are given. In graphic detail Israel is told of all the blessings they will get for obedience and also all the curses that will come from disobedience and the stake could not be higher, blessing and cursing, life and death. Also join me for a special look at Deuteronomy 28 done in the style of the Sermon on the Mount and don’t forget to check out the addenda I put at the end of the Scroll to Scroll notes as the good folks at Biblical Archaeology Review document in exacting detail all the public figures listed in the NT that can be proven to have existed from literary and archaeological sources. Finally, the schedule for all the special Fall Feast teachings is also in the Notes for your review. Enjoy!
Welcome to the Rules of War. In this parsha, Moshe lays out how the Israelites can fight a kosher war, including regulations of captive women that were the most generous in the ancient world at that time. In fact the rights of women in a variety of situations are guaranteed and protected in family and in the courts of law showing the high price of messing with an Israelite lady’s reputation. Find out how the Torah equates rape with murder and how a women sexually assaulted gets her virginity back as a matter of Torah law. There are many surprises here and we also close with a brand new teaching on the Eternal Torah Calendar and the “scrolls of time”. Enjoy!
It’s taken Ten Plagues, the parting of the Sea of Reeds and a boatload of pain and grief for Israel to get where they are now, but in a way the hardest test is still in front of them. Now this rebellious and disconnected group of 12 tribes actually has to learn how to govern and set up legal institutions, judges and even police. If you think Washington is tough, just look at ancient Israel.
Isaac and Ishmael. Jacob and Esau. And now, we have I think the next longest rivalry in Scripture: Zion-Moriah vs. Gerizim or, if you prefer Judeans vs. Samaritans. This parsha all the controversies between that last group come to the forefront. What was the original Torah message regarding Mount Gerizim? Was it changed How can we know for sure? Some of those answers are in this parsha as we explore the Samaritans throughout history and their relationship to ancient Israel. Along the way we will see how the gathering of the tribes on Gerizim and Ebal creates perhaps the largest calendar clock ever made–Big Ben going silent has nothing on this–and get an update on that impending massive solar eclipse coming next week. What foreboding might it hold for our future? These are just some of the mysteries we will explore in this parsha, along with a very surprising exchange of views on Oral Law. Don’t miss it!
We’ve seen the “big picture” over the last few weeks. The 40 year re-cap to the new generation with very selective editing, followed by the reissuing of Ten Commandments 2.0, complete with tweaks for this new generation, followed by the Shema itself. Now here is where we get the details to make that big picture possible. This week, Moshe gives even more dire messages to Israel, telling them about the true extent of their fathers’ sins and trying to make sure this generation understands that while some of them may not have seen the original miracles, following the Torah is literally a matter of life and death.