Ki Teze means “when you go out” as in terms of when Israel confronts her enemies on the battlefield. One main war regulation is given at the start, and that is what to do with a woman taken captive from the nations that a Jewish man wants to make a …

Shoftim means “judges” and Deuteronomy 16:18 begins with the command to appoint them. The Torah had suggested that these courts had to be established to resolve general disputes (Exodus 21:22, 22:8) but only here do we find the specific command to set these courts up in every city, probably because …

Re’eh means “see,” and it begins with that great summary of the covenant: I set aside two ways for you, blessing and cursing, life and death. Shortly afterwards, a number of regulations about the place for Abba YHWH’s Name—Yerushalayim though no one other than Abba YHWH knows that yet—are given. …

“Ekev” means “because” or “if only.” Following the theme of last week’s parsha of Va’etchanan, Moshe continues his urgent pleas to this current generation to realize that they are honor-bound to continue in the covenant originally granted to their fathers and that they, in a limited sense, share blame with …

Va’etchanan means “and I pleaded” or “and I asked for favor/mercy.” This is Moshe pleading with Abba YHWH one last time to ask to be allowed to enter into the Promised Land. Abba YHWH though utterly refuses and says, “Speak to Me no more on this matter”! After an extensive …

Devarim means “the words” and as the book opens we enter the last day of Moshe’s life. Moshe begins the book by recapping the details of the last 40 years. The portion ends with Moshe reminding Israel of the times that Abba YHWH fought for them. Now that the evil …

Mattot means “the tribes,” but also has very interesting secondary meanings of “staff, scepter, rod, branch,” all of which seem relevant here. The portion opens with a discussion on the need to fulfill valid oaths to Abba YHWH to the letter-valid meaning that the oath is not contradictory to Abba …

Pinchas refers to the man whose righteous example of purging evil from Israel’s ranks moved Abba YHWH to stop a plague that would have otherwise destroyed all Israel. More than that, the portion starts with Pinchas getting a particularly high honor from Abba YHWH, the covenant of peace that rests …

Balak refers to the man, Balak of Zippor, who was the king of Moab and a resolute enemy of Israel. When Balak then hears of a man named Balaam who can predict the future and cast curses, he hires him to curse Israel. However, Balaam can truly hear Abba YHWH’s …

Chukkat” means “statute” and the portion opens with the requirements of the famous red heifer, that perfect red young cow that is so sacred, nothing else will do to inaugurate the entire sacrificial infrastructure. Not surprisingly then, the requirements for finding and then preparing for such a massively important sacrifice …

Of all the sacrifices given in such glorious detail in the Torah, the most powerful one of them all is also the most mysterious: the red heifer. The stakes are incredibly high and those ashes could in theory last forever and continue to provide atonement until Yeshua arrives with the …

“Come with me if you want to live.” “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” “Certainty of death! Small chance of success! Well…what are we waiting for?” These lines come from the imagination of Hollywood or what their idea of rebellions and epics look like and they all pale in …

It’s the rebellion before the even bigger rebellion. This week though the greatest danger to the Israelites is their own fears. They may say they fear giants and they may even believe the giants they saw are famed Nephilim, but none of that should matter because Father Yah promised to …

Due to having a Double Portion followed by the 2017 Shavuot Special, Torah 101 will return after Shavuot!

It’s time for censuses in the desert…and if those two things sound boring to you separately,trust me they are anything but when put together. The census is far from a casual matter of facts and statistics; it is literally a matter of life and death, prosperity or disaster because, as …

One call ends—another is ready to begin. This parsha we witness the last part of Leviticus as the final rules are laid down for Israel while they have been encamped at Mount Sinai for the last two years. One last chance to understand the intricate rules of harvesting, Jubilees, special …

Enter the mysteries of the Land Sabbaths and Jubilees for this is the only parsha where they are discussed in detail! These rules are so beautiful and so intricate that I actually revised my notes after I gave the lecture to make sure the facts were being related to all …

It’s time to set your calendar…literally. As we enter into these final chapters of Leviticus (Vayikra), we are once more immersed in details of the calendar, Torah observance and even a bit of prophecy, as some of the strongest clues about how to keep the appointed times are given this …

Torah 101 will return April 27th for Emor!

The family that strays together, pays together, in this case, the ultimate price, as two sons of Aaron die before Father Yah for offering unauthorized fire. What does that really mean, we’ll explore the full ins and outs of this challenging parsha together. This is followed by a detailed discussion …