Jacob Ben Avraham

1 KINGS 5:12-6:13 The tabernacle was used for many, many years. It followed “B'nei Israel”(The Children of Israel) when they crossed over the Jordan, 480 years later, it was replaced by the first temple that Melech Shlomo (King Solomon) built. It must have been magnificent. The Ark of the Covenant and the furniture that were inside the Mishkan were transferred to the new temple. The question is asked what happened to the Tabernacle after the temple was built? It is believed that it remained in Shiloh, but later, it was destroyed by the Philistines when they captured the Ark of the Covenant. Another belief is that it was taken to the temple and stored there or in the House of David, the pieces of furniture, of course, continued to be used in the temple. Yet many years later, after the death of Shlomo (Solomon), the priesthood corrupted themselves, and the kings as well. The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. It was rebuilt by those who returned from captivity in Babylon with Ezra and Nehemiah, yet in 70 AD, destroyed by Emperor Titus, and the furniture taken to Rome. A believer can walk away from God, we can go astray, and the Ruach HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit) will call for us, to invite us back into fellowship, yet for how long? Will the Spirit of God call us back indefinitely? Or...like the Spirit of God that finally, “Left” the presence of the Temple, leaving it “Ichabod” just an empty building, can we become like an “empty vessel? Just walking around empty and lifeless? Remember that we are the "temple" of the Holy Spirit, and whatever we do in our bodies can affect our souls and spirit. Sometimes believers are depressed and act carnal. Maybe the Spirit of God is telling us something. "Hey, you're doing wrong, come back to me, I'm waiting on you." But just as a believer is capable of going astray and walking away from the presence of God, the believer can also return, and be received with open arms by the Father. One day, the third temple will be built, and the presence of YHVH will be there, and Yeshua will be back to rule the earth. We will be there too, to share in this rule for one thousand years, and then...into eternity. MARK 3:1-4:41 Here we see Yeshua on the Sabbath, and he heals a man with a withered hand, yet receives criticism from the Prushim (Pharisees). Yet Yeshua explains, “doing a good deed on the sabbath is permitted” so, YES, if one works, doing a “mitzvah” on the Sabbath is permitted, if it is to bless another, help another, be it to bring medicine for someone who is sick, help repair a hole in a roof (if you see the rain clouds a-comin'!). We shouldn't be legalistic when it comes to helping others or doing tasks for others who may be incapacitated. Be it on a Saturday or Sunday or any day of the week, we need to reach out and help whoever needs help, cleaning a garage, bringing food from a food bank, pulling weeds from a garden, etc. Yeshua went down to the Lake and more people came to be healed. The Sea of Galilee is a peaceful place to swim in. Just standing in the water and feeling the fish nibble at your feet, is quite an experience. I swam down about 10 feet in the lake at Tiberias and brought up a ceramic dish. Still have it, a free souvenir. But just looking at the Lake brings back thoughts of Yeshua there 2000 years ago, healing those with illnesses. He still does, and he heals our souls as well.

1 KINGS 5:12-6:13 The tabernacle was used for many, many years. It followed “B'nei Israel”(The Children of Israel) when they crossed over the Jordan, 480 years later, it was replaced by the first temple that Melech Shlomo (King Solomon) built. It must have been magnificent. The Ark of the Covenant and the furniture that were inside the Mishkan were transferred to the new temple. The question is asked what happened to the Tabernacle after the temple was built? It is believed that it remained in Shiloh, but later, it was destroyed by the Philistines when they captured the Ark of the Covenant. Another belief is that it was taken to the temple and stored there or in the House of David, the pieces of furniture, of course, continued to be used in the temple. Yet many years later, after the death of Shlomo (Solomon), the priesthood corrupted themselves, and the kings as well. The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. It was rebuilt by those who returned from captivity in Babylon with Ezra and Nehemiah, yet in 70 AD, destroyed by Emperor Titus, and the furniture taken to Rome. A believer can walk away from God, we can go astray, and the Ruach HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit) will call for us, to invite us back into fellowship, yet for how long? Will the Spirit of God call us back indefinitely? Or...like the Spirit of God that finally, “Left” the presence of the Temple, leaving it “Ichabod” just an empty building, can we become like an “empty vessel? Just walking around empty and lifeless? Remember that we are the "temple" of the Holy Spirit, and whatever we do in our bodies can affect our souls and spirit. Sometimes believers are depressed and act carnal. Maybe the Spirit of God is telling us something. "Hey, you're doing wrong, come back to me, I'm waiting on you." But just as a believer is capable of going astray and walking away from the presence of God, the believer can also return, and be received with open arms by the Father. One day, the third temple will be built, and the presence of YHVH will be there, and Yeshua will be back to rule the earth. We will be there too, to share in this rule for one thousand years, and then...into eternity. MARK 3:1-4:41 Here we see Yeshua on the Sabbath, and he heals a man with a withered hand, yet receives criticism from the Prushim (Pharisees). Yet Yeshua explains, “doing a good deed on the sabbath is permitted” so, YES, if one works, doing a “mitzvah” on the Sabbath is permitted, if it is to bless another, help another, be it to bring medicine for someone who is sick, help repair a hole in a roof (if you see the rain clouds a-comin'!). We shouldn't be legalistic when it comes to helping others or doing tasks for others who may be incapacitated. Be it on a Saturday or Sunday or any day of the week, we need to reach out and help whoever needs help, cleaning a garage, bringing food from a food bank, pulling weeds from a garden, etc. Yeshua went down to the Lake and more people came to be healed. The Sea of Galilee is a peaceful place to swim in. Just standing in the water and feeling the fish nibble at your feet, is quite an experience. I swam down about 10 feet in the lake at Tiberias and brought up a ceramic dish. Still have it, a free souvenir. But just looking at the Lake brings back thoughts of Yeshua there 2000 years ago, healing those with illnesses. He still does, and he heals our souls as well.https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/second-temple-jerusalem-5035856.jpg

Parashah: “T'rumah” (offering) EXODUS 25:1-27:19 In this study of God's WORD we see that a request is made for a “free-will offering” so that the tabernacle can be built and the articles of furnishings for the same. As we remember, when the Israelites left Egypt, they left with quite a treasure which the Egyptians gave them so that they would leave. We could consider this, “back pay” for all the work they had done for four hundred years. Egypt had quite a wealth in gold, silver, gems, fine fabrics, etc., and now, Egypt remained poor and in ruins while “B'nei Yisrael” left with the “spoils of war” a war which YHVH fought against the gods of Egypt, and won. So, in a battle, the spoils of war belong to the victor. So, while the Israelites were protected, God fought against the demonic entities, in the guise of the “gods of Egypt” Pharaoh included. So, rightly, the riches and spoils of Egypt belong to YHVH, being carried by HIS people. So, where in the desert are the people going to spend it all? they are just carrying it around, a lot of extra weight and burden, might as well put it to good use. The plan is to build a place where YHVH can come down and live with his chosen people. It isn't that YHVH can only live in one place, He is eternal, everywhere, yet He will “rest” with His people, minister to His people right there, visible by a cloud by day and fire by night. The “invisible God” will be “visible” in those two ways. In “Yitro” The Torah was given to Israel, and the marriage “Ketubah” was given in the form of the Ten Commandments, written in stone, In “Mishpatim” “justice” was given, and some more commandments (51) explained by YHVH through Moses, and now, YHVH is saying “Take ME into your life, make ME a place to dwell among you” Yet first, the people have to gather the materials to make HIM a “Mikdash” (Sanctuary) yet more on this word later. The materials would be “freely given” The Word says; “Take for me an offering” (Terumah) yet at the end of the verse, the word is “Terumati” (my offering). Question, is it Israel’s offering, or God’s offering? It is BOTH. Israel gave and God made sure it was enough, and it was “more than enough”. Remember in the New Covenant when the boy offered 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes? “He gave” and then, Yeshua multiplied the offering, “HE gave BACK”. In the days of Elisha, the widow gave a bit of wheat and oil to make some bread for the prophet, and then, GOD through Elisha gave back! Many pots of olive oil were left over, enough to sell and pay off the widow’s debt. Whatever we have to offer, Adonai will bless and double it in only a way that HE will be glorified. There is also an interesting word in verse 2; “meiet kol ish” (of every man). Each man would give an offering, a free-will offering. The word “meiet” is really the letter “M” with “ET”. “ET” carries the symbolism of “God of the Covenant” or the “Alef and the Tav”. So, what can we see here? It is that since every man would give a free-will offering, we are reminded that Yeshua, who is the “Alef and the Tav” gave HIMSELF as a free-will offering for sin, once and only once on Calvary’s cross for ALL MANKIND, (Kol ish!). The letter “m” (mem) can mean “of” or “from” it also symbolizes “Mashiach” and “water”. Messiah is the “Living Water”. We look at 25:8, “.and let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them…” Thus said Adonai speaking to Moshe. The word “to dwell among” is “Shakhn’ti” and it not only means “to dwell among” it also means “to dwell inside” and that is the way it is today, the “Ruach Elohim” the “Spirit of God dwells “inside” of every born-again believer. God is our “neighbor”. The word “neighbor” in Hebrew is the word; “Shakhein” and we can see those letters in the word “shakhn’ti” the three main letters in the word “Shakhein” are “sheen” “kaph” and “nun” “sh” “k” “n” we can also see those letters “inside” the word “Mishkan” (tabernacle) and the word “Shekinah” (the Shekinah glory) today we know it as the Spirit of God, who dwells inside every believer. So, YHVH is our “neighbor” who dwells inside of us 24-7. Another word “Tabernacle” is “sanctuary” (Mikdash) Something interesting about this word is that in Hebrew, the word has 4 letters; “m” “k” “d” and “sh” (mem, qof, dalet, sheen). The letter “k” or “Qof” symbolizes “holiness” it is right in the middle of the word. Without the “Qof,” we would have the other 3 letters and if one puts the “Sheen” (sh) first, the word would be “Sh +m+d” (Shemed) which means “vanity”. What is the symbolism here? A sanctuary without holiness would be a place for vanity. Without holiness, what else is there besides vanity? Something else is here. The words "Mikdash" (Sanctuary) and "Mishkan (Tabernacle) are both used. Within the word, "Mikdash" are the letters that spell out the word "Kadosh" (Holy) So, Adonai wants a "Holy Sanctuary" for Him to dwell in to have fellowship with his people. Also, the word "Mishkan" (Tabernacle) and "Kadosh" (holy) have the same gematria, (410) when we add these numbers 4+1+0 = 5 "5" is the number of "grace" by grace Adonai came and dwelt with His people. "Mikdash" has the gematria of 444. 4+4+4 = 12. All "12" tribes contributed to the building of the Mikdash or Mishkan (same place, different words) The building project was, one could say, financed by Egypt. For 4 hundred years, Israel worked for a hard taskmaster, “Pharaoh and Company” building edifices dedicated to false gods, now, Israel has a new master, The Creator of the Universe, the Maker of Man, the future “Yeshua Ha Mashiach” A place will be built for HIM to minister to his people, and every piece of furniture will reflect who HE IS. There are 13 general items for the building project; 1. Gold, 2. Silver, 3. Brass, 4. Blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, 5. Fine linen, 6. Goat’s hair, 7. Ram’s skins, 8. Sealskins, 9. Acacia-wood, 10. Oil, 11. Spices, 12. Onyx stones, 13. Other gemstones. The number “13” in Gematria is the sum of the letters in the word “Echad” which means “ONE in unity”. With those materials, the Mishkan/Mikdash was built, so that Adonai could be ONE with HIS PEOPLE, which now includes all believers. We are all ONE with Messiah Yeshua. Gold, silver, precious stones, fabric, and wood. Now there is a question, where did the wood come from? Is there any Shitim and Acacia trees in the desert? If one looks at the desert of Saudi Arabia today, even through “Google Maps” or “Google Earth” one can see almost no trees, just bare mountains. But we are talking about a desert almost 4000 years ago, it was probably very different, it had to be, remember that the Israelites brought with them cattle, and sheep, what are they going to eat? Sand? No, there had to have been vegetation, trees. They could have cut the trees down in the desert and fashioned them into boards for the “Mishkan” (tabernacle) or they might have brought them out of Egypt, already cut and fashioned, perhaps some of the Egyptian lumber yards just gave them all that, since not all of the Egyptians were rich in gold and silver (just an idea) This is a “free-will offering” Moshe states, “of every man whose heart maketh him willing”. So it was not forced, it was “of free will”. We know that the people gladly gave, so much that later on, Moshe has to say, “Stop giving already, we have enough”. Can you imagine a pastor or rabbi from a church or synagogue that would say that to his congregation, “OK brothers and sisters, we have enough money for all of our needs, you can stop giving?” I don't think that will ever happen, when one gives of his or her time, talent, and treasure, God gives back many times over. Money is like a conduit, it should flow like water through a pipe, to be spread out, not “backlogged” Many hoard money like a squirrel hoards nuts in a tree, no amount in the bank seems to be enough. One rich man was asked, “How much is enough?' he said, “Only one dollar more...” and it never ends. Adonai has promised us that He would provide for ALL of our needs, through his abundance in grace, both in spiritual ways, physical, and material ways, if we will only trust Him. We ask ourselves, what kind of “T’rumot” (offerings) can we “offer up” today? Gold, silver, and bronze? Yes, that would be money, from our paychecks, tithes, and offerings. Fine linen, blue, purple, and scarlet threads? Yes, that would be clothing. Some ministries collect used and new clothing to donate to the poor and needy. I would say, we can offer up almost anything of value to someone in need. But most of all, we can “offer up ourselves” as living sacrifices. We can offer up our abilities to serve, offer up our spiritual gifts since that is why God has given spiritual gifts, to edify the body of Messiah. Now, on to the building project; So, the building project is started, with the “tent of meeting” (The tabernacle/Mishkan) with its wooden boards, bars, clamps, and curtains of linen, the furniture that would go inside; The brazen Altar, the brazen Laver, the Menorah, the table of shew-bread, the incense altar, and finally, the Ark of the Covenant, (Aron Ha Kodesh. Each one of these pieces reflects who Yeshua is and his finished work on Calvary's cross. The Ark of the Covenant is mentioned first, made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, both inside and out. Inside this box would be the tables of the Law, the “Torah” It symbolizes the purity and sinlessness of YHVH. The wood; the humanity of Yeshua who was YHVH in the flesh, both God and man. As it was covered with gold inside and out, it symbolizes that we also should be, through the Holy Spirit, “pure” inside and out, both physically, and spiritually, where people can see and where only God can see, inside us. The Torah, God's teaching and instruction to us, is inside the Ark, as the “Living Torah” who is Yeshua is inside of us, and also, his teaching, his “Torah” inside of us, to understand, learn from, and put into action in our daily lives. The Cherubim that are on top of the Kaporet look down upon the mercy seat, and they remind us of God's Holy Angels that are around us and who protect us. The “Shekinah Glory” the “Holy Presence of YHVH” was on top of the “Kaporet” (the cover) and when the high priest would sprinkle blood on the cover, YHVH would see the blood. The blood on the cover symbolized (before Yeshua) that the sins of man were “covered” for one year, but after Calvary, the sins of all of us were “erased” “wiped away” and “blotted out” forever. The 7 branch Menorah (candlestick) was made of pure gold, with 7 branches, the “perfect number of God” The six branches would extend from the center branch, just like we, believers, depend on the center branch, or “trunk” for our sustenance, there were “6” branches, (number of man) connected to the “7th” main branch. This Menorah symbolizes “Yeshua” as the “Light of the World” and the oil inside it as the “Ruach Ha Kodesh” (The Holy Spirit) We see the “wicks” that are inside the lamps as “believers” who depend on the “oil” (the Ruach HaKodesh) for our continuous growth, as part of the body of Messiah Yeshua. The table of shew-bread symbolizes Messiah Yeshua as the “Bread of Life” with the 12 loaves of unleavened bread. The bread was to be there, “continuously” The priests would eat the bread on the sabbath and more bread was placed on the table, so that there would be “always the presence of “the Bread of Life” As believers, the living Torah is our spiritual bread, and we must partake daily of this bread. No wonder Yeshua was born in Bethlehem, yet in Hebrew the name is “Beit-Lechem” the “House of Bread” Again, the table was made of Acacia wood overlaid with gold, the purity of the sinless presence of God and the humanity of Messiah Yeshua. Then there is the table of Incense, also made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. This is where coals from the brazen altar were placed, and incense burned. The incense symbolizes our prayers, which go up to Heaven as the sweet-smelling incense smoke also goes up. This piece of furniture is mentioned in the next Torah portion. The curtains of the tabernacle were to be made of fine linen, with the colors, blue, purple, and scarlet. These colors remind us of “blue skies of heaven above” “purple” (the color of royalty, Yeshua the King), and scarlet, (the color of blood) reminding us of Yeshua's blood that was shed for all our sins, past, present, and future. And of course, the wooden planks that remind us of the humanity of Yeshua. In the outer court of the tabernacle, there is the brazen altar, made of bronze and filled with water. This is where the priests washed their hands and feet. Bronze symbolizes judgment, imagine when the priests approached the still waters in the bronze laver, they would be able to see their reflection in the water. Imagine that is us looking into a mirror, what do we see? The image of a holy God, yet tainted with sin, we need to judge ourselves, and turn from our sinful ways, repent of our sins, like Yeshua said, “Your sins are forgiven, GO, and SIN NO MORE”. Finally, there is the brazen altar, which is the first thing a person would see inside the tabernacle. It symbolizes Yeshua who was judged for our sins. It is made of acacia wood overlaid with bronze. The bronze symbolizes the judgment that Messiah Yeshua went through to pay our sin price. The animal sacrifices were placed on the grills which were on top of the altar. The animals symbolize our Messiah Yeshua, their blood symbolizes HIS blood, and the fire symbolizes the “fires of judgment” that Yeshua endured on the cross of Calvary, once and only once. It was sufficient, for our sins, past, present, and future. Let not his sacrifice for sin be for naught. If you have never placed your faith in Yeshua as Messiah, Savior, and LORD, do it now. Shavua Tov The lamps will burn from dusk to dawn.

JEREMIAH 34:8-22, 33:25-26 Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet” because Israel had returned to idolatry, and corruption, YHVH sends him with a message to Israel, “Repent” and “turn from your sins”, one of the sins was to go back on their word. Jeremiah told them that God had said, “Release your slaves” Since they had not released them after 7 years, they did that, but afterward, they “re-captured” their slaves and returned them to captivity, this is to be “double-minded” for “appearance sake” they released the slaves/servants, but when they thought that “the prophet wasn't looking” they went back on their word. Result? Babylon came and captured Israel! And king Zedekiah was taken to Babylon as a slave. However, we must remember that our "slave" relation, or better yet "servanthood" relation with our Heavenly Father is quite different. We are "servants" (Avedim, in Hebrew) out of our own free will, since we have a "better" Master, one who gave up His life on our own behalf, does He not deserve our service? How well do we as believers respond when someone calls our attention? When we are in the wrong, do we really repent, and turn from our sins? or.... when we think no one is looking, go back to our sins? Our old attitudes, our old “issues?” A thief looks ahead, in back, to the left, to the right, to make sure that no one is looking, but the thief never looks “up”! Yes, our Heavenly Father who is on high is looking down on us all, and observes ALL our actions, even in private, so, we are NEVER alone! Someone is always watching us. God, his holy angels, Satan and his demons, all that are in the spirit realm are always watching our every move. So, make sure our lives are holy, unto God on high. MARK 1:1-2:28 The talmid/disciple Mark writes about John the Baptist, and his ministry to prepare the people for the coming of his cousin, Yeshua, preparing hearts, and minds. Baptism was important in Jewish life, it symbolized who was once unclean, is now clean, from “Tamei” to “Tahor”, from “death to life”. When a born-again believer is baptized, the believer identifies himself or herself with Yeshua in death and life, death, burial, and resurrection. But John was just “preparing” the way for He who is THE WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. Yeshua is the WAY to eternal life, He is the TRUTH, which is the opposite of lies and deception, and He is LIFE eternal, to those who embrace Him as Savior and LORD. So, How are we to walk our “Halacha?” (Spiritual walk) We need to walk in HIS WAYS. What are HIS WAYS? The way of the Torah, obedient to HIS mitzvoth. If we are walking in HIS WAYS, We are walking in the TRUTH, and if we walk in the TRUTH, and we have accepted the LIVING TRUTH (Emet Chai) then we have ETERNAL LIFE, No wonder Yeshua identifies himself by these three words. We are all called by Yeshua through his spirit, to follow him, do we follow Him? or...do we expect HIM to follow US? He teaches us through HIS word, are we listening? When Jesus returns He will “come with clouds” (Revelation 1:7, emp. added; Acts 1:11), “and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

JEREMIAH 34:8-22, 33:25-26 Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet” because Israel had returned to idolatry, and corruption, YHVH sends him with a message to Israel, “Repent” and “turn from your sins”, one of the sins was to go back on their word. Jeremiah told them that God had said, “Release your slaves” Since they had not released them after 7 years, they did that, but afterward, they “re-captured” their slaves and returned them to captivity, this is to be “double-minded” for “appearance sake” they released the slaves/servants, but when they thought that “the prophet wasn't looking” they went back on their word. Result? Babylon came and captured Israel! And king Zedekiah was taken to Babylon as a slave. However, we must remember that our "slave" relation, or better yet "servanthood" relation with our Heavenly Father is quite different. We are "servants" (Avedim, in Hebrew) out of our own free will, since we have a "better" Master, one who gave up His life on our own behalf, does He not deserve our service? How well do we as believers respond when someone calls our attention? When we are in the wrong, do we really repent, and turn from our sins? or.... when we think no one is looking, go back to our sins? Our old attitudes, our old “issues?” A thief looks ahead, in back, to the left, to the right, to make sure that no one is looking, but the thief never looks “up”! Yes, our Heavenly Father who is on high is looking down on us all, and observes ALL our actions, even in private, so, we are NEVER alone! Someone is always watching us. God, his holy angels, Satan and his demons, all that are in the spirit realm are always watching our every move. So, make sure our lives are holy, unto God on high. MARK 1:1-2:28 The talmid/disciple Mark writes about John the Baptist, and his ministry to prepare the people for the coming of his cousin, Yeshua, preparing hearts, and minds. Baptism was important in Jewish life, it symbolized who was once unclean, is now clean, from “Tamei” to “Tahor”, from “death to life”. When a born-again believer is baptized, the believer identifies himself or herself with Yeshua in death and life, death, burial, and resurrection. But John was just “preparing” the way for He who is THE WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. Yeshua is the WAY to eternal life, He is the TRUTH, which is the opposite of lies and deception, and He is LIFE eternal, to those who embrace Him as Savior and LORD. So, How are we to walk our “Halacha?” (Spiritual walk) We need to walk in HIS WAYS. What are HIS WAYS? The way of the Torah, obedient to HIS mitzvoth. If we are walking in HIS WAYS, We are walking in the TRUTH, and if we walk in the TRUTH, and we have accepted the LIVING TRUTH (Emet Chai) then we have ETERNAL LIFE, No wonder Yeshua identifies himself by these three words. We are all called by Yeshua through his spirit, to follow him, do we follow Him? or...do we expect HIM to follow US? He teaches us through HIS word, are we listening? When Jesus returns He will “come with clouds” (Revelation 1:7, emp. added; Acts 1:11), “and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

PARASHA: “Mishpatim” (Judgments) We can ask ourselves; "What constitutes a nation?" Well, we could very well say: "The People, professions, religion, and the legal/governmental systems. "The People" (families) "Professions" (how the people make their living) "Religion" (how does faith play a role in a nation) "Legal and governmental system" (Jurisprudence, laws, courts, judges, etc) Every nation on earth is made up of those aspects. Israel was no different. Israel left Egypt with millions of family members. They arrived at Mt. Sinai to be united as "Am Echad" (One People, One Nation) their jobs consisted of two areas; Agriculture/farming and animal husbandry. They grew crops and raised animals. Their faith was in ONE GOD, "Adonai-Elohim" just as we believe in the same ONE God, represented by Yeshua/Jesus, "God in the flesh" and then, the legal system of laws and "answers to legal situations" The "judgments" were those "answers" to legal situations in the jurisprudence of Israel. In Hebrew, the word is "Mishpatim" . In this section, there are about 50 commandments, so, space does not permit an explanation of each one. I did do a YouTube video on this section, which ended up being 3 videos. But I will concentrate on a few. EXODUS 21:1-24:18 This parashah involves the giving of a variety of commandments, that Elohim gave to Moshe to give/write down and teach to “The children of Israel” The first has to do with slaves and the treatment of slaves. The system of slavery in Israel back in Biblical times was much different from the cruel slavery of Africans in the United States, The Caribbean islands, and South America starting from the 1600s, into colonial days, up until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. (in the United States). England, Spain, Portugal, and France were all involved in this "slave trade" Unfortunately, the slave owners used the bible as a “reason” to own slaves, as they said, “The Bible permits slavery!” Yes, but only in extreme circumstances when one could not pay one's debts. The person was only a slave for 6 years, in year 7, the master had to release the slave and give the slave gifts of oil, wine, and wheat, so he or she could start a life over again. The slaves could not be abused, like slaves were whipped and abused under American slavery. But if the slave wished to remain with the master, the master could make a hole in the slave's ear and put in a ring, indicating that the slave was a slave for life, (being the choice of the slave) but “life” was up to 50 years, until the year of “Jubilee” if the slave chose to be with his or her master for “life” and the year, let's say was “40” then, “Life” was 10 years more, and then the slave would be released. It is interesting to read that the scripture says in Exodus 21:6 “Then his master will bring him before Elohim, and shall bring him to the door or the doorpost and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl” The word, Elohim, can not only mean “God” but also, “Those who represent God” perhaps Levites, officials of the Tabernacle, the temple, city, etc. The word “Master” is a form of “Adonai” in this part, it is spelled; “Adonav” (his master). The doorpost was the official place of doing business, like at the county clerk’s office. So, the person who loved his master made his love for him official, before “Adonav” (His master) before “Elohim” (God himself and before those who represent Him. If the slave was hurt in any way, say the master hit the slave and knocked a tooth out, or put an eye out, the slave was to be released immediately, and with compensation. Not so in America during the years of slavery. Rav Shaul/Paul the Apostle talks about being “bondslaves” or "Bondservants" to Messiah Yeshua, and that is our state. Would we want to be “released” from following HIM? Would we want to be under a “different master?” There are only two that claim our lives; Yeshua or HaSatan. We were “bought with a price” the price of blood, and we were released from Satan's bondage, to follow and subject ourselves to a new master, “Adonai” which means; “my master” We are “servants” to the Most High God. The Hebrew word for “slave” and “servant” is the same in Hebrew; “Eved” slaves/servants were not considered “objects of purchase” or “property” they were considered “human beings” just like we are considered in the eyes of YHVH his “servants’ “children” “adopted sons and daughters”. Do not sons and daughters serve their parents? ”An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe; (21:24....) if you read on, we see that it doesn't mean, “if you knock out my tooth, I have a right to knock your tooth out too” or “if you blind me in on eye, I have the right to put out your eye” or in modern terminology, “If you break my stereo, I have the right to go into your house and smash your stereo” how, I ask you, does that solve the problem? It doesn't, it just creates more problems. If we look at this situation in light of scripture, it is saying in other words; “just compensation for hurt or damage received” How would that work? If I broke your arm accidentally or on purpose, I would be responsible for taking you to the doctor and paying the medical bill, and even, paying you “lost wages” if you couldn't work. It doesn't mean that the other guy could break “my arm too”. If you broke my stereo, then I would expect you to either pay to have it fixed or buy me another one of equal value, (arm for arm, stereo for stereo, etc.) We continue to read about many rules, commandments, and judgments, that make very good sense, even today, yet many of these judgments are not practiced today, everyone is off to the lawyers for a lawsuit. My opinion is that if the legal system today, was set up to reflect the Biblical standards of criminal justice in accordance to God's Word, there would be a lot less crime. The criminals would think twice before committing crimes. An example would be the following; A man goes to prison for stealing a car, sells it, and spends the money, so the prisoner has to work in prison and the money he would make would be sent to the victim to compensate the loss. His sentence would end only when the sum is completed. Or...the court system would pay the victim the money lost in the theft, and the thief would have to work to pay back the court. This type of punishment would reflect more the Torah standard of criminal justice. We come now to Exodus 23:19. “You shall bring the first fruits of thy land unto the House of YHVH, thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk” One commandment does not even reflect the other. It would be like saying, “Turn out the lights when you leave the house, hey, don't forget to check the mailbox for mail”. What has one got to do with the other? G-d is saying is saying here to bring your tithe to the House of YHVH but then goes on to a different subject. Would this; “seething a kid in its mother's milk” be taken literally? To break this commandment, one would have to take a kid goat, butcher it, cut up the meat, then take the mother goat, milk her, then boil the meat in the mother's milk. Who would go to the trouble to do all that? Today, when people make stew, the meat is usually boiled/seethed in water with condiments, not in milk. But if we look at this commandment in a Derashic sense, (the moral and spiritual sense) we could get this understanding; It may be all about the separation of life and death, of the clean from unclean (Tamei from Tahor) good from bad. In “Basar v'chalav” (meat and milk) we can see that the word “Chalav”(milk) spelled in Hebrew is “Chet, Lamed, Beit (ch+l+v) yet the word “fat” is also spelled (ch+l+v) yet pronounced “Chelev” They are related, “milk” is a form of “fat”, and the fat of an animal was offered up on the altar to YHVH, as a “sweet savor” a “pleasant smell” unto YHVH, this was part of the worship service. We worship G-d with our full “heart” and the word “Ch+l+v” contains the letters “lamed” and “beit” (l+v) (Lev) which means “heart” Milk symbolizes “life” a baby is nurtured by its mother's milk to live, to have life. Yet the flesh (Basar) symbolizes death, as a believer, to be in the “flesh” is the opposite to being “in the spirit, full of life”. Once the animal is cut up, if not used, the flesh sits and rots, flies come around, and it becomes “Tamei” (unclean) when we are in the “flesh” we are in a way of speaking, “unclean” spiritually, until we confess our sins, and become as “milk” (full of life) again, walking in the spirit, and, like the fat of a clean animal, being a “sweet savor unto YHVH” . This is just one way one can look at this prohibition of boiling a kid in its mother's milk, from a Derashic (moral and spiritual) standpoint. (watch “Basar v' Chalav/Meat and Milk” on YouTube “Kehilah Melech Yisrael”) ”if you meet an enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you will bring it back to him again” (Ex 23:4) This is one way to make your enemy, your friend, make peace with him. Would not this be for today as well, of course, it would! “Do not oppress the stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt” Other Bibles say “foreigner” The USA used to welcome all immigrants, but now many are being oppressed, being deported, being cheated in wages, we must turn this around and start helping those who come to this country to seek a better life, thus turning a curse into a blessing. If you read from chapters 21 to 24, and look carefully at the commandments/judgments, you will see that most make perfect sense even in our modern days. God's Word is right on the money! Let's all serve as "bondservants" in service of our LORD and Savior. Our life and rewards in Heaven will reflect how we served the LORD here on earth. Let's be in HIS SERVICE every day of our lives.

PARASHA: “Mishpatim” (Judgments) We can ask ourselves; "What constitutes a nation?" Well, we could very well say: "The People, professions, religion, and the legal/governmental systems. "The People" (families) "Professions" (how the people make their living) "Religion" (how does faith play a role in a nation) "Legal and governmental system" (Jurisprudence, laws, courts, judges, etc) Every nation on earth is made up of those aspects. Israel was no different. Israel left Egypt with millions of family members. They arrived at Mt. Sinai to be united as "Am Echad" (One People, One Nation) their jobs consisted of two areas; Agriculture/farming and animal husbandry. They grew crops and raised animals. Their faith was in ONE GOD, "Adonai-Elohim" just as we believe in the same ONE God, represented by Yeshua/Jesus, "God in the flesh" and then, the legal system of laws and "answers to legal situations" The "judgments" were those "answers" to legal situations in the jurisprudence of Israel. In Hebrew, the word is "Mishpatim" . In this section, there are about 50 commandments, so, space does not permit an explanation of each one. I did do a YouTube video on this section, which ended up being 3 videos. But I will concentrate on a few. EXODUS 21:1-24:18 This parashah involves the giving of a variety of commandments, that Elohim gave to Moshe to give/write down and teach to “The children of Israel” The first has to do with slaves and the treatment of slaves. The system of slavery in Israel back in Biblical times was much different from the cruel slavery of Africans in the United States, The Caribbean islands, and South America starting from the 1600s, into colonial days, up until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. (in the United States). England, Spain, Portugal, and France were all involved in this "slave trade" Unfortunately, the slave owners used the bible as a “reason” to own slaves, as they said, “The Bible permits slavery!” Yes, but only in extreme circumstances when one could not pay one's debts. The person was only a slave for 6 years, in year 7, the master had to release the slave and give the slave gifts of oil, wine, and wheat, so he or she could start a life over again. The slaves could not be abused, like slaves were whipped and abused under American slavery. But if the slave wished to remain with the master, the master could make a hole in the slave's ear and put in a ring, indicating that the slave was a slave for life, (being the choice of the slave) but “life” was up to 50 years, until the year of “Jubilee” if the slave chose to be with his or her master for “life” and the year, let's say was “40” then, “Life” was 10 years more, and then the slave would be released. It is interesting to read that the scripture says in Exodus 21:6 “Then his master will bring him before Elohim, and shall bring him to the door or the doorpost and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl” The word, Elohim, can not only mean “God” but also, “Those who represent God” perhaps Levites, officials of the Tabernacle, the temple, city, etc. The word “Master” is a form of “Adonai” in this part, it is spelled; “Adonav” (his master). The doorpost was the official place of doing business, like at the county clerk’s office. So, the person who loved his master made his love for him official, before “Adonav” (His master) before “Elohim” (God himself and before those who represent Him. If the slave was hurt in any way, say the master hit the slave and knocked a tooth out, or put an eye out, the slave was to be released immediately, and with compensation. Not so in America during the years of slavery. Rav Shaul/Paul the Apostle talks about being “bondslaves” or "Bondservants" to Messiah Yeshua, and that is our state. Would we want to be “released” from following HIM? Would we want to be under a “different master?” There are only two that claim our lives; Yeshua or HaSatan. We were “bought with a price” the price of blood, and we were released from Satan's bondage, to follow and subject ourselves to a new master, “Adonai” which means; “my master” We are “servants” to the Most High God. The Hebrew word for “slave” and “servant” is the same in Hebrew; “Eved” slaves/servants were not considered “objects of purchase” or “property” they were considered “human beings” just like we are considered in the eyes of YHVH his “servants’ “children” “adopted sons and daughters”. Do not sons and daughters serve their parents? ”An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe; (21:24....) if you read on, we see that it doesn't mean, “if you knock out my tooth, I have a right to knock your tooth out too” or “if you blind me in on eye, I have the right to put out your eye” or in modern terminology, “If you break my stereo, I have the right to go into your house and smash your stereo” how, I ask you, does that solve the problem? It doesn't, it just creates more problems. If we look at this situation in light of scripture, it is saying in other words; “just compensation for hurt or damage received” How would that work? If I broke your arm accidentally or on purpose, I would be responsible for taking you to the doctor and paying the medical bill, and even, paying you “lost wages” if you couldn't work. It doesn't mean that the other guy could break “my arm too”. If you broke my stereo, then I would expect you to either pay to have it fixed or buy me another one of equal value, (arm for arm, stereo for stereo, etc.) We continue to read about many rules, commandments, and judgments, that make very good sense, even today, yet many of these judgments are not practiced today, everyone is off to the lawyers for a lawsuit. My opinion is that if the legal system today, was set up to reflect the Biblical standards of criminal justice in accordance to God's Word, there would be a lot less crime. The criminals would think twice before committing crimes. An example would be the following; A man goes to prison for stealing a car, sells it, and spends the money, so the prisoner has to work in prison and the money he would make would be sent to the victim to compensate the loss. His sentence would end only when the sum is completed. Or...the court system would pay the victim the money lost in the theft, and the thief would have to work to pay back the court. This type of punishment would reflect more the Torah standard of criminal justice. We come now to Exodus 23:19. “You shall bring the first fruits of thy land unto the House of YHVH, thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk” One commandment does not even reflect the other. It would be like saying, “Turn out the lights when you leave the house, hey, don't forget to check the mailbox for mail”. What has one got to do with the other? G-d is saying is saying here to bring your tithe to the House of YHVH but then goes on to a different subject. Would this; “seething a kid in its mother's milk” be taken literally? To break this commandment, one would have to take a kid goat, butcher it, cut up the meat, then take the mother goat, milk her, then boil the meat in the mother's milk. Who would go to the trouble to do all that? Today, when people make stew, the meat is usually boiled/seethed in water with condiments, not in milk. But if we look at this commandment in a Derashic sense, (the moral and spiritual sense) we could get this understanding; It may be all about the separation of life and death, of the clean from unclean (Tamei from Tahor) good from bad. In “Basar v'chalav” (meat and milk) we can see that the word “Chalav”(milk) spelled in Hebrew is “Chet, Lamed, Beit (ch+l+v) yet the word “fat” is also spelled (ch+l+v) yet pronounced “Chelev” They are related, “milk” is a form of “fat”, and the fat of an animal was offered up on the altar to YHVH, as a “sweet savor” a “pleasant smell” unto YHVH, this was part of the worship service. We worship G-d with our full “heart” and the word “Ch+l+v” contains the letters “lamed” and “beit” (l+v) (Lev) which means “heart” Milk symbolizes “life” a baby is nurtured by its mother's milk to live, to have life. Yet the flesh (Basar) symbolizes death, as a believer, to be in the “flesh” is the opposite to being “in the spirit, full of life”. Once the animal is cut up, if not used, the flesh sits and rots, flies come around, and it becomes “Tamei” (unclean) when we are in the “flesh” we are in a way of speaking, “unclean” spiritually, until we confess our sins, and become as “milk” (full of life) again, walking in the spirit, and, like the fat of a clean animal, being a “sweet savor unto YHVH” . This is just one way one can look at this prohibition of boiling a kid in its mother's milk, from a Derashic (moral and spiritual) standpoint. (watch “Basar v' Chalav/Meat and Milk” on YouTube “Kehilah Melech Yisrael”) ”if you meet an enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you will bring it back to him again” (Ex 23:4) This is one way to make your enemy, your friend, make peace with him. Would not this be for today as well, of course, it would! “Do not oppress the stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt” Other Bibles say “foreigner” The USA used to welcome all immigrants, but now many are being oppressed, being deported, being cheated in wages, we must turn this around and start helping those who come to this country to seek a better life, thus turning a curse into a blessing. If you read from chapters 21 to 24, and look carefully at the commandments/judgments, you will see that most make perfect sense even in our modern days. God's Word is right on the money! Let's all serve as "bondservants" in service of our LORD and Savior. Our life and rewards in Heaven will reflect how we served the LORD here on earth. Let's be in HIS SERVICE every day of our lives.

ISAIAH 6:1-7:6 ” KADOSH, KADOSH, KADOSH, ADONAI TZEVA’OT” .... Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD(YHVH) of hosts” When the Torah mentions the “Holiness” of God, the word is KADOSH, the “O” is there, (the letter “vav” in Hebrew) but when “holiness” is mentioned referring to mankind, the “O” is missing, and we have KAD_SH, this “missing “vav” symbolizes our “incompleteness in holiness", because of our inborn “sin nature” This is something that can only be understood in the original Hebrew. That is why it is so important to know the basics of Biblical Hebrew because if not, we are missing some true treasures in the WORD. The letter "Vav" can be understood as the word "and" in English. It joins two words together. It looks like an upside-down golf club or hockey stick. It can also be understood as the vowel "o" if it has a "dot" on the top. The letter "Vav" is also symbolized as a "nail" or "tent peg" or a "spike" (Something that connects). So, when we look at the word "Kadosh" (Holy) from a Hebraic perspective, we see that the "Vav" (nail) is present. Our Heavenly Father, in human form as Yeshua/Jesus, received the "nails" in his hands so as to make us "holy" through his sacrifice and shedding of blood. In this way, when we trust HIM as our LORD and Savior, our Heavenly Father imputes Yeshua's holiness to us. In the verse "Be Ye Holy for I AM Holy" (1 Peter 1:16) in the Hebrew New Testament, the "Vav" is missing in "be ye holy" since we did NOT receive the nails in our hands, yet our Savior DID. Our "Holiness" is an "incomplete action" Being "holy" or "set apart" is a lifelong process that becomes complete when we are with the LORD someday, and we receive our new sinless bodies. Yeshayahu (Isaiah) is being asked by God, “Whom shall I send, who will go for US?” (Elohim) The Prophet answers, “Here am I, send me!” and God responds, “Go, and tell the people!” That should be our attitude as well, we have those orders too from God, to “tell the people” about Yeshua, to teach those who will listen, to his WORD, even though many will not understand at the beginning, or will refuse, we have to try, WE (all believers) are responsible for taking the “Good News” to others who will listen, and with the modern technology, the internet, this has become possible, what used to be almost impossible, now is possible, with fingers going across the keyboard and with the click of the mouse, the word is sent out. So, take advantage of today's modern technology. If the net can be used for silly and evil purposes, it can also be used for spreading the WORD and teaching the WORD to others (even through 10-minute "TikTok" segments) MATTHEW 27:1-28:20 This relates to the age-old story of Yeshua's trial, execution, and resurrection, this story we know well, He did it to pay the price of our sins, past, present, and future, His one-time-only sacrifice was good forever and still IS good forever. But many people still reject this sacrifice, reject this gift of salvation, for a short-lived world of pleasure, for an eternity of suffering and pain. When we look at Passover, which is coming up soon,( Starts April 22nd, 2024) we are reminded of the “Passover lambs” that were sacrificed/slaughtered on the eve of Passover. The blood of the lambs sprinkled on the doorposts of the Israelite houses in Goshen, thus protecting them from the Angel of Death. We could also presume that if an Egyptian family did the same, they also would have been spared being stuck dead by the Death Angel. (the first born that is). All those sacrificed lambs point to Yeshua, who was the “Lamb of God” who took away the curse of sin from the world. The unleavened bread which was eaten that night, which we still eat on Passover, is “Yeshua the Bread of Life”. The Lamb of God and the Living Bread go together. Pilate wrote these words on the cross, YESHUA OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS, in Hebrew it would have been 'YESHUA HA NOTZRI, V'HA MELECH Y'HUDIM. Within this title are the letters YHVH, which explain who Yeshua is, God on earth, made flesh and blood, whose blood was shed to set us free. Shavua Tov (Have a good week) "Checkmate my dear Motel!" "Oi, you always win!" "Motel, when you become a rabbi, I'll let you win!"

I believe that children hundreds of years ago, when McGuffey came out with those readers, really had a good foundation of God's Word, even in school. The "We" in the post refers to all born-again believers.

ISAIAH 6:1-7:6 ” KADOSH, KADOSH, KADOSH, ADONAI TZEVA’OT” .... Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD(YHVH) of hosts” When the Torah mentions the “Holiness” of God, the word is KADOSH, the “O” is there, (the letter “vav” in Hebrew) but when “holiness” is mentioned referring to mankind, the “O” is missing, and we have KAD_SH, this “missing “vav” symbolizes our “incompleteness in holiness", because of our inborn “sin nature” This is something that can only be understood in the original Hebrew. That is why it is so important to know the basics of Biblical Hebrew because if not, we are missing some true treasures in the WORD. The letter "Vav" can be understood as the word "and" in English. It joins two words together. It looks like an upside-down golf club or hockey stick. It can also be understood as the vowel "o" if it has a "dot" on the top. The letter "Vav" is also symbolized as a "nail" or "tent peg" or a "spike" (Something that connects). So, when we look at the word "Kadosh" (Holy) from a Hebraic perspective, we see that the "Vav" (nail) is present. Our Heavenly Father, in human form as Yeshua/Jesus, received the "nails" in his hands so as to make us "holy" through his sacrifice and shedding of blood. In this way, when we trust HIM as our LORD and Savior, our Heavenly Father imputes Yeshua's holiness to us. In the verse "Be Ye Holy for I AM Holy" (1 Peter 1:16) in the Hebrew New Testament, the "Vav" is missing in "be ye holy" since we did NOT receive the nails in our hands, yet our Savior DID. Our "Holiness" is an "incomplete action" Being "holy" or "set apart" is a lifelong process that becomes complete when we are with the LORD someday, and we receive our new sinless bodies. Yeshayahu (Isaiah) is being asked by God, “Whom shall I send, who will go for US?” (Elohim) The Prophet answers, “Here am I, send me!” and God responds, “Go, and tell the people!” That should be our attitude as well, we have those orders too from God, to “tell the people” about Yeshua, to teach those who will listen, to his WORD, even though many will not understand at the beginning, or will refuse, we have to try, WE (all believers) are responsible for taking the “Good News” to others who will listen, and with the modern technology, the internet, this has become possible, what used to be almost impossible, now is possible, with fingers going across the keyboard and with the click of the mouse, the word is sent out. So, take advantage of today's modern technology. If the net can be used for silly and evil purposes, it can also be used for spreading the WORD and teaching the WORD to others (even through 10-minute "TikTok" segments) MATTHEW 27:1-28:20 This relates to the age-old story of Yeshua's trial, execution, and resurrection, this story we know well, He did it to pay the price of our sins, past, present, and future, His one-time-only sacrifice was good forever and still IS good forever. But many people still reject this sacrifice, reject this gift of salvation, for a short-lived world of pleasure, for an eternity of suffering and pain. When we look at Passover, which is coming up soon,( Starts April 22nd, 2024) we are reminded of the “Passover lambs” that were sacrificed/slaughtered on the eve of Passover. The blood of the lambs sprinkled on the doorposts of the Israelite houses in Goshen, thus protecting them from the Angel of Death. We could also presume that if an Egyptian family did the same, they also would have been spared being stuck dead by the Death Angel. (the first born that is). All those sacrificed lambs point to Yeshua, who was the “Lamb of God” who took away the curse of sin from the world. The unleavened bread which was eaten that night, which we still eat on Passover, is “Yeshua the Bread of Life”. The Lamb of God and the Living Bread go together. Pilate wrote these words on the cross, YESHUA OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS, in Hebrew it would have been 'YESHUA HA NOTZRI, V'HA MELECH Y'HUDIM. Within this title are the letters YHVH, which explain who Yeshua is, God on earth, made flesh and blood, whose blood was shed to set us free. Shavua Tov (Have a good week) "Checkmate my dear Motel" "Oi, you always win!" "Motel, when you become a rabbi, I'll let you win!"

PARASHA: “Yitro” (Jethro) EXODUS 18:1-20:26 We see in this Torah study, a lot of wisdom on the part of Moshe and Yitro, his father-in-law. First, we learn that Moshe had sent his wife and children back to stay with their father. I believe for safe-keeping, when one sees danger, it is wise to care for one's family, as Moshe did, His wife and children might have been in danger, the Egyptians might have retaliated, might have kidnapped his wife and children, or killed them, so Moshe took precaution, which is a good thing. The second piece of wisdom comes from Yitro, He is a man of experience, so he says; “Moshe, what are you doing to this people?” hey, you are only one man, and a few million of them? Come on dude, get wise-er, this isn't a one-man deal here, no such things as “lone-rangers” in ministry, even the “Lone-Ranger” was not alone, he had “Tonto”. Ministry is to be shared with other believers, that is why the Ruach Ha Kodesh has given the Spiritual gifts, to be shared, to minister to others, by many, not just one. The rabbi cannot do it alone, neither can the pastor. The rabbi needs his co-workers, and so does the pastor, if not, they are going to run themselves ragged. This is called “pastor/rabbi Burn-out” Another thing to point out is that it directs us to a question. The scripture says that Moshe sat in judgment of the people and made known the ordinances of God. But…Moshe and the people had not received the Torah yet. That came afterward. So, if Moshe hadn’t received the commandments yet, how did he know the ordinances of God with which to judge the people? Two possibilities. The “Oral Torah” was given probably to Adam, who passed it on to Seth, and from Seth to Enoch and from Enoch to Methuselah, and so forth until it reached Moses. So, he knew, from the teaching of the patriarchs. The other possibility is that during the time that Moshe was sent back to Egypt, God revealed his laws and statutes to him personally through visions or dreams. Remember that God spoke to Moshe as one man speaks to another. These are just possibilities, then on Sinai, they were given orally to Moshe and the people, then, God wrote them on stone tablets and later, Moshe wrote them on parchment papers or o lamb skins. From the “Oral Torah to the Written Torah.” This is the Bible study covering the “Ten Mitzvoth” the “Ten Commandments” but before the giving of these, YHVH presents the deal to the people, kind of like when the bride-groom presents himself to the bride, these are beautiful words; ” Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself, therefore IF you harken unto my voice and keep my covenant, THEN ye shall be my treasure from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (19:4-6) It is all conditional, like all contracts, and covenants, we see the “IF” and “THEN” He says that He bore Israel on eagles' wings. An eagle will carry her young on her wings to protect them from harm. So did YHVH, He brought Israel through the Sea on dry land, and brought them nigh unto Har Sinai, now, they have to decide, will they accept YHVH as their one and only God? And obey HIS words? It is like asking the bride to accept the groom as her only husband, provider, and loving ruler, (not tyrant) BUT…even though Israel broke the covenant many times, YHVH has remained faithful and we are HIS HOLY PEOPLE, his ELECT, whether we were born and raised in Israel or from the nations, doesn't matter, we are HIS because we have accepted HIS sacrifice in YESHUA our “Goel” (Redeemer), and we choose the follow his Torah, his LIVING Torah. The HE lays out the first 10 of the 613 commandments, which generalize, one can say “all” of the Torah: We need to realize that the first ten were given directly by Adonai to his people, HIS voice to HIS people, the other 603 were given to the people THROUGH Moshe, but still, they are all GOD’s commandments. Moshe simply did not make them up. ”ANOCHI YHVH ELOHEIHA” ( I AM ADONAI YOUR GOD) with the I AM emphasized, one can say “Ani” (I) or Anochi (I really AM) He is saying, I am who I have claimed to be, the God who took you out of Egypt and brought you here, I am ready to be your God, so if that is the case, there can only be ONE God in your life, that is ME, I don't want statues of me, that what the Egyptians did, so, don't do as they did, (It took one day to take Israel out of Egypt, but 40 years to take Egypt out of Israel, if you get the meaning). Don't bow down and worship other gods, that will NOT be accepted. It is interesting to see that the word “Egyptians” and “Egypt” is the same in Hebrew, it is the word “Mitzraim”. When Israel crossed the Red Sea, the “Egyptians” were drowned in the sea, yet “Egypt” followed Israel still, in the manner of “mindset” “philosophy”, and “influence”. Today when we reject the ways of the world, and come to “Yeshua” there are still “world-ways” one tends to follow, sometimes we do things even without thinking, which reminds us of the “ways of the world” (evil things). Yet we see today, even though we don't make or bow down to silver, gold, wooden statues that symbolize who God is, or TRY to symbolize who he is, sorry guys, they didn't have cameras back then to take pictures, many bow down and consider more important things like; football, soccer, money, sex, TV, fast cars, work, you name it, if these come before our worship and service to our God YHVH, then those things ARE OUR gods!! put them in their proper places, least YHVH take them from us by force!! THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF YHVH IN VAIN... What is being said here? When many take oaths, and promises, many times the name of GOD is used; like “I swear to God I'll pay you back next week” Well, if next week rolls around and you pay back what you owe, you will have HONORED the NAME of GOD, yet if you don't, you will have taken the NAME of God in vain! It is better not to make promises and use God's name, we can always say “I'll do my best to pay you back as soon as I am able” and leave it at that. One can take the name of the LORD thy GOD in vain without words, our mere actions and comportment speak of God and who He is, if we behave unlike born-again believers, if we behave like a lost person, using foul language in front of others, getting upset and throwing temper fits, we are TAKING HIS NAME IN VAIN. And using those ugly 4 letter words, And other sorts of ugly language...well. that is not swearing, that is being just plain vulgar. REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY...The sabbath is and always will be Saturday, it was never changed to Sunday, nothing wrong with going to church on Sunday, to me, it is a “double blessing” to worship Adonai two days straight. Yes, the early believers met on the first day of the week (Sunday) to break bread and have fellowship, this was “Havdalah” this was the close of the Sabbath and the welcome of the new week. We honor the first day of the week to remember the resurrection of our Messiah and LORD. The empty tomb is the proof. The custom of the New Testament times was fellowship on the first day of the week, and to remember Messiah Yeshua. Yet this did not mean that the Sabbath day was changed from Saturday to Sunday. Yeshua resurrected on the first day of the week, Baruch HaShem!! great! And we also can worship on Sundays at local churches. I have seen many churches have services on both days. We should dedicate the sabbath day to be in the Synagogue or at church, to worship, and learn from his word through God's chosen ministers, Sunday school teachers, and Torah teachers. Go home and rest, or take the family out to lunch, give the wife a break from the kitchen, or eat lunch at the synagogue (Oneg) and leave the material things and worldly things to the next day. Rest means rest! I have read in rabbinical commentaries that when “The World keeps the Sabbath perfectly...THEN… Messiah will return!” well, He still has never returned, does that mean that the world has not kept Shabbos perfectly? Guess so. Shabbat is HaSatan's perfect and favorite time to stir up trouble and tempers so that we will NOT have a restful Shabbat. Be aware of that. HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER...This needs no explanation, it is common sense to honor our parents and respect them because of WHO they are, and what they have done for us. My mom and dad used to say to me; “We went without many times to give you the things that you have today” Our parents give us love, raise us, hopefully, to love God, ( I can't speak for all of you readers, since everyone is different) But, if our parents gave us love and taught us about God and Yeshua/Jesus, then, we ought to do the same for our kids. Honoring fathers and mothers does not mean sticking them in a rest home when they are old and going off and forgetting about them, doesn't work like that. Were your parents rotten to you? Did they mistreat you? Well, love them anyway! It is what Yeshua taught. THOU SHALT NOT MURDER, THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.....ever wonder why those three commandments are together? If one commits adultery, that person is “murdering” a marital relationship, and “stealing” what does not belong to you, being another person's spouse. Yeshua explains it even better, He said if you only “think” of sleeping, or having sex with another person's wife or husband, that person has already committed adultery in his or her mind, it gets pretty intense if you look at it that way. “Murder” does NOT include going to war and fighting for your nation, you are DEFENDING your family and homeland. “Stealing?” can be a two or three-page explanation, if you come back late from lunch, you are “stealing” time from your employer, if you do not do your very best, then you are “stealing” from your employer, your ability and usefulness. Can a man rob God? Malachi says, “Yes” God speaking through his prophet, “You have ROBBED me of your tithes and offerings” One can rob from God when we do not utilize our spiritual gifts, or waste them on worldly things. DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS....this is another lengthy subject, but with simple words, always tell the truth, and do not hide the truth from others. To know that some thieves are planning to rob your neighbor, and you remain silent and do not alert your neighbor, it is if you open your neighbor's door for the thieves, you are being false. To tell a half-truth is to be false. Yes, the truth at times can be costly, and painful, but being false can be worse. DO NOT COVET.... Be satisfied with what you have, the job you have, the bank account you have, with the car you have, with the wife or husband you have...Coveting can lead to worse crimes, look at Aachen, who coveted the Babylonian tunic and gold from Jericho, it cost him his life, and his family's lives too. If you want more than you have already, take it to the LORD in prayer, if the LORD sees that there is nothing wrong with giving you a little more, HE will give it to you in HIS perfect time. You never know, people with “more things” usually have “more headaches” or “more” to worry about. I remember what the TV preacher Rex Humbard said once, “God may give you what you want, but you're not going to want what you get!” So, give thanks for what you already have, when we go to heaven, we will leave it ALL BEHIND. Have a blessed week.

PARASHA: “Yitro” (Jethro) EXODUS 18:1-20:26 We see in this Torah study, a lot of wisdom on the part of Moshe and Yitro, his father-in-law. First, we learn that Moshe had sent his wife and children back to stay with their father. I believe for safe-keeping, when one sees danger, it is wise to care for one's family, as Moshe did, His wife and children might have been in danger, the Egyptians might have retaliated, might have kidnapped his wife and children, or killed them, so Moshe took precaution, which is a good thing. The second piece of wisdom comes from Yitro, He is a man of experience, so he says; “Moshe, what are you doing to this people?” hey, you are only one man, and a few million of them? Come on dude, get wise-er, this isn't a one-man deal here, no such things as “lone-rangers” in ministry, even the “Lone-Ranger” was not alone, he had “Tonto”. Ministry is to be shared with other believers, that is why the Ruach Ha Kodesh has given the Spiritual gifts, to be shared, to minister to others, by many, not just one. The rabbi cannot do it alone, neither can the pastor. The rabbi needs his co-workers, and so does the pastor, if not, they are going to run themselves ragged. This is called “pastor/rabbi Burn-out” Another thing to point out is that it directs us to a question. The scripture says that Moshe sat in judgment of the people and made known the ordinances of God. But…Moshe and the people had not received the Torah yet. That came afterward. So, if Moshe hadn’t received the commandments yet, how did he know the ordinances of God with which to judge the people? Two possibilities. The “Oral Torah” was given probably to Adam, who passed it on to Seth, and from Seth to Enoch and from Enoch to Methuselah, and so forth until it reached Moses. So, he knew, from the teaching of the patriarchs. The other possibility is that during the time that Moshe was sent back to Egypt, God revealed his laws and statutes to him personally through visions or dreams. Remember that God spoke to Moshe as one man speaks to another. These are just possibilities, then on Sinai, they were given orally to Moshe and the people, then, God wrote them on stone tablets and later, Moshe wrote them on parchment papers or o lamb skins. From the “Oral Torah to the Written Torah.” This is the Bible study covering the “Ten Mitzvoth” the “Ten Commandments” but before the giving of these, YHVH presents the deal to the people, kind of like when the bride-groom presents himself to the bride, these are beautiful words; ” Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself, therefore IF you harken unto my voice and keep my covenant, THEN ye shall be my treasure from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (19:4-6) It is all conditional, like all contracts, and covenants, we see the “IF” and “THEN” He says that He bore Israel on eagles' wings. An eagle will carry her young on her wings to protect them from harm. So did YHVH, He brought Israel through the Sea on dry land, and brought them nigh unto Har Sinai, now, they have to decide, will they accept YHVH as their one and only God? And obey HIS words? It is like asking the bride to accept the groom as her only husband, provider, and loving ruler, (not tyrant) BUT…even though Israel broke the covenant many times, YHVH has remained faithful and we are HIS HOLY PEOPLE, his ELECT, whether we were born and raised in Israel or from the nations, doesn't matter, we are HIS because we have accepted HIS sacrifice in YESHUA our “Goel” (Redeemer), and we choose the follow his Torah, his LIVING Torah. The HE lays out the first 10 of the 613 commandments, which generalize, one can say “all” of the Torah: We need to realize that the first ten were given directly by Adonai to his people, HIS voice to HIS people, the other 603 were given to the people THROUGH Moshe, but still, they are all GOD’s commandments. Moshe simply did not make them up. ”ANOCHI YHVH ELOHEIHA” ( I AM ADONAI YOUR GOD) with the I AM emphasized, one can say “Ani” (I) or Anochi (I really AM) He is saying, I am who I have claimed to be, the God who took you out of Egypt and brought you here, I am ready to be your God, so if that is the case, there can only be ONE God in your life, that is ME, I don't want statues of me, that what the Egyptians did, so, don't do as they did, (It took one day to take Israel out of Egypt, but 40 years to take Egypt out of Israel, if you get the meaning). Don't bow down and worship other gods, that will NOT be accepted. It is interesting to see that the word “Egyptians” and “Egypt” is the same in Hebrew, it is the word “Mitzraim”. When Israel crossed the Red Sea, the “Egyptians” were drowned in the sea, yet “Egypt” followed Israel still, in the manner of “mindset” “philosophy”, and “influence”. Today when we reject the ways of the world, and come to “Yeshua” there are still “world-ways” one tends to follow, sometimes we do things even without thinking, which reminds us of the “ways of the world” (evil things). Yet we see today, even though we don't make or bow down to silver, gold, wooden statues that symbolize who God is, or TRY to symbolize who he is, sorry guys, they didn't have cameras back then to take pictures, many bow down and consider more important things like; football, soccer, money, sex, TV, fast cars, work, you name it, if these come before our worship and service to our God YHVH, then those things ARE OUR gods!! put them in their proper places, least YHVH take them from us by force!! THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF YHVH IN VAIN... What is being said here? When many take oaths, and promises, many times the name of GOD is used; like “I swear to God I'll pay you back next week” Well, if next week rolls around and you pay back what you owe, you will have HONORED the NAME of GOD, yet if you don't, you will have taken the NAME of God in vain! It is better not to make promises and use God's name, we can always say “I'll do my best to pay you back as soon as I am able” and leave it at that. One can take the name of the LORD thy GOD in vain without words, our mere actions and comportment speak of God and who He is, if we behave unlike born-again believers, if we behave like a lost person, using foul language in front of others, getting upset and throwing temper fits, we are TAKING HIS NAME IN VAIN. And using those ugly 4 letter words, And other sorts of ugly language...well. that is not swearing, that is being just plain vulgar. REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY...The sabbath is and always will be Saturday, it was never changed to Sunday, nothing wrong with going to church on Sunday, to me, it is a “double blessing” to worship Adonai two days straight. Yes, the early believers met on the first day of the week (Sunday) to break bread and have fellowship, this was “Havdalah” this was the close of the Sabbath and the welcome of the new week. We honor the first day of the week to remember the resurrection of our Messiah and LORD. The empty tomb is the proof. The custom of the New Testament times was fellowship on the first day of the week, and to remember Messiah Yeshua. Yet this did not mean that the Sabbath day was changed from Saturday to Sunday. Yeshua resurrected on the first day of the week, Baruch HaShem!! great! And we also can worship on Sundays at local churches. I have seen many churches have services on both days. We should dedicate the sabbath day to be in the Synagogue or at church, to worship, and learn from his word through God's chosen ministers, Sunday school teachers, and Torah teachers. Go home and rest, or take the family out to lunch, give the wife a break from the kitchen, or eat lunch at the synagogue (Oneg) and leave the material things and worldly things to the next day. Rest means rest! I have read in rabbinical commentaries that when “The World keeps the Sabbath perfectly...THEN… Messiah will return!” well, He still has never returned, does that mean that the world has not kept Shabbos perfectly? Guess so. Shabbat is HaSatan's perfect and favorite time to stir up trouble and tempers so that we will NOT have a restful Shabbat. Be aware of that. HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER...This needs no explanation, it is common sense to honor our parents and respect them because of WHO they are, and what they have done for us. My mom and dad used to say to me; “We went without many times to give you the things that you have today” Our parents give us love, raise us, hopefully, to love God, ( I can't speak for all of you readers, since everyone is different) But, if our parents gave us love and taught us about God and Yeshua/Jesus, then, we ought to do the same for our kids. Honoring fathers and mothers does not mean sticking them in a rest home when they are old and going off and forgetting about them, doesn't work like that. Were your parents rotten to you? Did they mistreat you? Well, love them anyway! It is what Yeshua taught. THOU SHALT NOT MURDER, THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.....ever wonder why those three commandments are together? If one commits adultery, that person is “murdering” a marital relationship, and “stealing” what does not belong to you, being another person's spouse. Yeshua explains it even better, He said if you only “think” of sleeping, or having sex with another person's wife or husband, that person has already committed adultery in his or her mind, it gets pretty intense if you look at it that way. “Murder” does NOT include going to war and fighting for your nation, you are DEFENDING your family and homeland. “Stealing?” can be a two or three-page explanation, if you come back late from lunch, you are “stealing” time from your employer, if you do not do your very best, then you are “stealing” from your employer, your ability and usefulness. Can a man rob God? Malachi says, “Yes” God speaking through his prophet, “You have ROBBED me of your tithes and offerings” One can rob from God when we do not utilize our spiritual gifts, or waste them on worldly things. DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS....this is another lengthy subject, but with simple words, always tell the truth, and do not hide the truth from others. To know that some thieves are planning to rob your neighbor, and you remain silent and do not alert your neighbor, it is if you open your neighbor's door for the thieves, you are being false. To tell a half-truth is to be false. Yes, the truth at times can be costly, and painful, but being false can be worse. DO NOT COVET.... Be satisfied with what you have, the job you have, the bank account you have, with the car you have, with the wife or husband you have...Coveting can lead to worse crimes, look at Aachen, who coveted the Babylonian tunic and gold from Jericho, it cost him his life, and his family's lives too. If you want more than you have already, take it to the LORD in prayer, if the LORD sees that there is nothing wrong with giving you a little more, HE will give it to you in HIS perfect time. You never know, people with “more things” usually have “more headaches” or “more” to worry about. I remember what the TV preacher Rex Humbard said once, “God may give you what you want, but you're not going to want what you get!” So, give thanks for what you already have, when we go to heaven, we will leave it ALL BEHIND. Have a blessed week. Gut Shabos

Hello and thank you for your comment. You ask if the name "Yeshua" is different from "YHVH" Well yes, these are two different names yet they describe the same eternal entity who is our eternal God. YHVH comes from the word "Havayah" which is the "essence of existence" and we get the letters Yod Hey and Vav from "Haya' (the past) "Hoveh" (the present) and "Yiyah" which is (the future) these words describe that our Heavenly Father is of the past, the present, and the future. YHVH also illustrates, in paleo-Hebrew, the statement "Behold the hand, Behold the nail" this statement describes Yeshua, who is YHVH in the flesh, from the word "Yeshuah" salvation is from Yah. When we pray, we always pray to the Father in the name of Yeshua,

JUDGES 4:4-5:31 In this reading, we read about Devorah and Jael, two women of God who played an important role in Israel's history. We read about many “men of God” but very few “women of God” but they are out there, and today, we have many women who are used mightily by God in ministry. Through Deborah and Jael, Sisera and his army were vanquished, just as Moshe was an example of a leader, Deborah was also a leader, and Jael, whose name in Hebrew “Yah-El” means “El (God) is YHVH (Yah) “his Holy Arm revealed” "Deborah" comes from "Dabar" (Word) and she was the Prophetess at that time, who gave "God's Word" to the people who came to seek counsel at that time. So, we had back then both men and women prophets, those who God spoke to in order to judge and give counsel to the people. We also need to recognize Miriam, the sister of Moses, who led the praises and worship after Israel crossed the Sea of Reeds. Hadassah (Queen Esther) who intervened for the Jewish people in the time of King Ahasuerus and the evil Haman. We need to recognize also the women who followed Yeshua and served him throughout his ministry. There were also many women who followed Judah Ben Matityahu (Judah the Maccabee) when he and his army went out to fight against King Antiochus of Syria. They kept the "campfires burning". If you are a woman and reading this Parashah, never say “Because I am a woman, God cannot use me” Yes, he can, there are ministries for women, mostly, women ministering to other women, reaching out to those who have been abused in marriages, victims of rape, assault, homeless women, etc. YOU, my sister, have a place in ministry. Venture out and discover what it is, just be available. MATTHEW 26:1-75 This chapter deals with Yeshua's final days with his disciples on earth, His anointing by the generous woman who poured the “nard” perfume on him, the betrayal by “Y'hudah Ish Kariot” (Judas, the man from the region of Kariot) in every group of disciples, there are always a few who are “fakers” We have the final “Pesach” dinner with his disciples, and Kefa's denial. It was at this final supper together, that Yeshua expressed himself through the bread and the wine. His body and blood. The original Passover back in Exodus only had roasted lambs or goats, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. At the time of the last supper, cups of wine were added, as well as charoset (sweet mixture). All these have meaning. The unleavened bread = Yeshua, who is the Bread of Life. The cups of wine, the blood of our Savior which was shed for our sins. The bitter herbs, the bitterness of sin. The charoset (sweet mixture) the sweetness of our salvation and our new life with our LORD and Savior. The charoset is made in different ways depending on the culture. Most have ground nuts mixed with raisins and dates with wine. Since Judas was the betrayer, he did not have a genuine relationship with Yeshua, and therefore, left the room and did not participate in the whole supper ceremony. Even so, Yeshua still loved him. He loves all people and wishes that all would come to repentance and accept him as LORD and Savior, but a true relationship can not be forced, only offered. In those 3 years with Yeshua, Judas learned nothing. Imagine those who have been exposed to the gospel for a lifetime, and still reject it, what a waste of life. But there is a lot we can learn from this, Peter denied knowing Yeshua, out of fear, but Judas openly rejected him by identifying him with a kiss on the cheek. Both sins are forgivable, the only difference is that Peter confessed and received forgiveness, while Judas felt remorse, but did not cry out for forgiveness, but went out and committed suicide. There is sin that leads to remorse and a “feeling sorry for oneself” and sin that leads to remorse, and from remorse to confession, and from confession to forgiveness, and from forgiveness to restored fellowship. How many readers out there have chosen the latter? We are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God, but confession of sins, and receiving forgiveness is something only you can do, I cannot do it for you. Yeshua receives ALL who come to him, no matter how evil you have been, nor what you have done, no sin is beyond forgiveness. Just ask, and turn from your sin, and forgiveness and restoration are yours.

JUDGES 4:4-5:31 In this reading, we read about Devorah and Jael, two women of God who played an important role in Israel's history. We read about many “men of God” but very few “women of God” but they are out there, and today, we have many women who are used mightily by God in ministry. Through Deborah and Jael, Sisera and his army were vanquished, just as Moshe was an example of a leader, Deborah was also a leader, and Jael, whose name in Hebrew “Yah-El” means “El (God) is YHVH (Yah) “his Holy Arm revealed” "Deborah" comes from "Dabar" (Word) and she was the Prophetess at that time, who gave "God's Word" to the people who came to seek counsel at that time. So, we had back then both men and women prophets, those who God spoke to in order to judge and give counsel to the people. We also need to recognize Miriam, the sister of Moses, who led the praises and worship after Israel crossed the Sea of Reeds. Hadassah (Queen Esther) who intervened for the Jewish people in the time of King Ahasuerus and the evil Haman. We need to recognize also the women who followed Yeshua and served him throughout his ministry. There were also many women who followed Judah Ben Matityahu (Judah the Maccabee) when he and his army went out to fight against King Antiochus of Syria. They kept the "campfires burning". If you are a woman and reading this Parashah, never say “Because I am a woman, God cannot use me” Yes, he can, there are ministries for women, mostly, women ministering to other women, reaching out to those who have been abused in marriages, victims of rape, assault, homeless women, etc. YOU, my sister, have a place in ministry. Venture out and discover what it is, just be available. MATTHEW 26:1-75 This chapter deals with Yeshua's final days with his disciples on earth, His anointing by the generous woman who poured the “nard” perfume on him, the betrayal by “Y'hudah Ish Kariot” (Judas, the man from the region of Kariot) in every group of disciples, there are always a few who are “fakers” We have the final “Pesach” dinner with his disciples, and Kefa's denial. It was at this final supper together, that Yeshua expressed himself through the bread and the wine. His body and blood. The original Passover back in Exodus only had roasted lambs or goats, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. At the time of the last supper, cups of wine were added, as well as charoset (sweet mixture). All these have meaning. The unleavened bread = Yeshua, who is the Bread of Life. The cups of wine, the blood of our Savior which was shed for our sins. The bitter herbs, the bitterness of sin. The charoset (sweet mixture) the sweetness of our salvation and our new life with our LORD and Savior. The charoset is made in different ways depending on the culture. Most have ground nuts mixed with raisins and dates with wine. Since Judas was the betrayer, he did not have a genuine relationship with Yeshua, and therefore, left the room and did not participate in the whole supper ceremony. Even so, Yeshua still loved him. He loves all people and wishes that all would come to repentance and accept him as LORD and Savior, but a true relationship can not be forced, only offered. In those 3 years with Yeshua, Judas learned nothing. Imagine those who have been exposed to the gospel for a lifetime, and still reject it, what a waste of life. But there is a lot we can learn from this, Peter denied knowing Yeshua, out of fear, but Judas openly rejected him by identifying him with a kiss on the cheek. Both sins are forgivable, the only difference is that Peter confessed and received forgiveness, while Judas felt remorse, but did not cry out for forgiveness, but went out and committed suicide. There is sin that leads to remorse and a “feeling sorry for oneself” and sin that leads to remorse, and from remorse to confession, and from confession to forgiveness, and from forgiveness to restored fellowship. How many readers out there have chosen the latter? We are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God, but confession of sins, and receiving forgiveness is something only you can do, I cannot do it for you. Yeshua receives ALL who come to him, no matter how evil you have been, nor what you have done, no sin is beyond forgiveness. Just ask, and turn from your sin, and forgiveness and restoration are yours. Together to study the WORD

PARASHAH: “B'shalach” (when he let go) or (when he sent out) EXODUS 13:17-17:16 We are coming down to the “showdown” where Pharaoh gets his just desserts, and gets what he deserves for defying the God of Israel, going back on his word to “let Israel go”, you cannot pursue Israel without getting hurt, and Pharaoh and his army got to drink bitter waters, went off the “deep end” and received a very fatal “water baptism” in Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds) Yet before all this happens, there are some interesting verses to look at. Exodus 13: 18 states; “The children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt” It also states that Elohim did not lead them through the land of the F’lishtim: (The Philistines) because an encounter with them might bring the Israelites to face war, frighten them, and cause them to go back to Egypt. But if they had weapons, why would they fear a battle? One can assume that even though they had weapons if they didn’t know how to use them, they would be no good. We can say the same thing about the Bible. It is little good in the hands of one who does not know how to use it, or uses it in wrongful ways, inventing “strange” doctrines, or taking verses out of context. The Israelites were ex-slaves, not warriors. Another question, where did they get the weapons? Were the weapons among the spoils of Egypt? Here is another view from a Derashic perspective (Moral and spiritual) The word for “armed” in Hebrew which is used is “chamushim” Jewish commentators state this word has roots in the words “chamesh” (the number 5) and “chamishim” (50). So how do we apply these? It is believed that it was the 5th generation after Yosef that left Egypt, if a generation is 80 years, it would add up to 400 years. Also, the number 5 symbolizes “grace”. So, the Israelites not only left Egypt with some spears and swords but they were also armed with the “grace” that Elohim bestowed on them. More importantly, they were armed with the protection, the blessings, and the leadership of Elohim who led them out of Egypt. The number “50” also reminds us of the “50 gates of understanding” which the ancient rabbis say are 50 questions that Elohim asked Job at the end of “Sefer Job.” (The Book of Job) I would like to answer the question using a question. If we can have eternal life through the blood and sacrifice of Yeshua for our sins, past, present, and future, why do so many people still REJECT Him? The scripture states that ‘Wide is the way that leads to destruction, but narrow is the way that leads to eternal life.’ How many Israelites put the lambs' blood on their doorposts? We hope that all did. But of course, we can't be sure. Another word for “armed” is “equipped”. One could also say that “B’nei Yisrael” went out of Egypt “equipped” with the “5” promises that Adonai gave to His people; 1) Elohim will deliver Israel out from under the burden of Egyptian Slavery; 2) Israel will be REDEEMED by the ARM of Elohim-YHVH; 3) Elohim-YHVH will take Israel as HIS people and will be their GOD; 4) Israel will be brought into the chosen land of promise; 5) The promised land will be an INHERETANCE. But let’s look at the Peshat, the literal meaning of the word; “armed” It could also come from the Egyptian word “chams” which is “lance." Here's something else. Once the Israelites crossed the narrow portion of the Sea of Reeds, they were "out of Egypt" and when the Egyptians drowned in the Sea, the scriptures state that the "Israelites saw their bodies on the seashore." from the bodies of the Egyptian soldiers the Israelites took weapons; swords, bows, and arrows, (the spears probably sunk to the bottom of the sea). So here we can confirm that they "left Egypt (behind) and were fully armed (with the weapons they recovered). Now, they would need to learn how to use them. Moses probably taught them how. As believers, we have the Word of God, but if we are unskilled in using His WORD, or if we do not know how to interpret it correctly, we could do much harm to others, just like a sword in the hands of a child, the child could cut himself, or hurt one of his friends Another thing to ponder upon is that when the word “Egyptians” is used, the word “Mitzraim” is used, which also means “Egypt” (the nation of). Why “Mitzraim” and not “Mitzrim?” One can say that even though “b’nei Yisrael” left Egypt, Egypt still followed them out! They left with the Egyptian culture, ways, language, and all that was part of them in those 400 years as slaves. It took Elohim one day to take Israel out of Egypt, but it took 40 years to take Egypt out of Israel! We are the same way, even though we are born-again believers, we still carry around the garbage related to our “Yetzer-Hara” (sinful nature) but little by little, the Ruach HaKodesh takes that from us as we mature in the faith. We might wonder how many Israelites left Egypt, probably about 2 million, plus those Egyptians that “saw the light” plus the sheep and cattle, it was a huge people group that headed eastward across the Sinai Peninsula. "And it was told the King of Egypt that the people were fled” (14:5). What? Didn't he already know that? Of course, he did, he let them go! It was probably a team of scouts that were sent out to track down the Israelites to see where they were going, and they gave their report back to Pharaoh. Now this took place a few days later, now Pharaoh is sorry he let them go. What? Didn't he remember the plagues? Some people never learn, they love misery. Now Pharaoh musters together his entire army! Another mistake, never send out your entire armed forces, always leave behind reserve units. But Pharaoh was not a wise general. This probably took another few days, thus giving Israel about a week's head start, it would take quite a few days for about 2 million people to cross the Sinai Peninsula. The names “Elohim” and “YHVH” are both used in this Parashah, “Elohim” is used at the beginning of this parashah, in Chap 13:17 meaning the “Strong, powerful God” yet the name YHVH, later on, shows the personal name, (coming from “Havayah” meaning “to exist”) shows the personal relationship as “Adonai” which we also say when reading YHVH, anytime the word LORD is used in scripture, it is the name YHVH. YHVH takes them across the Sinai Peninsula to thus entice the Egyptians, to utterly finish destroying them thus ending the powerful rule of Egypt, Egypt never recovered from that defeat, it formed another army years later, but it never had the power it once had with Rameses, Thutmose, Narmer, and other pharaohs of the past dynasties. When the Israelites get to the beach, they get ready to cross, in Hebrew it is known as “Yam Suf” in English, it is known as “Nuweba Beach” it is a tourist resort today in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. We see that YHVH goes behind the Israelites to protect them, in the form of darkness to the Egyptians, yet light to the Israelites. To us as believers, Yeshua is our light, for us to follow, but to Satan, Yeshua is the conquering king, without the light of Yeshua, without the light of the Torah, we live in darkness, spiritual darkness. Chapter 14:13 is interesting. Moshe says; “Fear not and stand still and see the SALVATION of YHVH” In Hebrew, the word “Salvation” is “YESHUAT” we have the name of our Messiah “Yeshua” plus the “Tav” Symbolically, we can see that Yeshua is part of Elohim, and He is moving to bring HIS people through the sea, It also reminds us that the “Tav” (T) symbolizes the covenant, it takes the form of the cross in Paleo-Hebrew. We have the name “Yeshua” and the “cross” He is saving his people from physical destruction by the Egyptians, and in the future, He will die to save the world from Spiritual destruction. In gematria, “Yeshuat” adds up to 786. Reading from right to left, one way to understand the message of this sum of numbers is; “MAN achieves ETERNAL life (a new beginning) through the PERFECT God who is Yeshua, who is part of Elohim Now YHVH tells Moshe to “lift up your rod and your hand” and cause the sea to part, and it is divided in two. We read that Israel crossed on “dry land” with a strong wind to dry up the sea bottom, today this area is known as the “Gulf of Aqaba” They crossed a small stretch of sea bottom, about 10 miles across, to get to the land of Midian, now known as Saudi Arabia, if you go to Google earth, and look up “Nuweba Beach” you can see the area that the Israelites crossed over at. Then, YHVH gave the order to Moshe to raise his hand over the water again, and the waters closed up again and drowned the Egyptian army. we see something in the words, “hand” (Yad) and “rod” (Mateh) that make us think. The “rod” is a symbol of authority, of rulership. The “hand” is a symbol of “power and strength” The Torah speaks of YHVH reveling his “Holy Arm” the “arm is connected to the hand” The ancient Hebrew symbol of the “Yod” is the extended “arm and hand” so we can see the message here, “Moshe” is the authority as he shows his leadership by raising his rod, and his hand opens and closes the sea, thus demonstrating his strength and power, but of course, it is not HIS, it is GOD's leadership and strength, being revealed THROUGH Moshe. When the people follow Moshe, it is as if they are following GOD, trusting in his leadership and strength. When we receive Jesus/Yeshua as Messiah, we trust in HIM as our leader and our strength, and we follow HIM through his WORD, yet many hope that Yeshua will follow THEM! (not going to happen) . Today, you can see on YouTube what is left of the Egyptian chariots at the bottom of the Gulf of Aqaba, they are coral formations that look like mushrooms, probably the axle and wheels of the chariots, look up, “The real Exodus Crossing” When we look at all this from a moral and spiritual insight (Derash) We have been rescued from HaSatan, by our Leader, who is strong, whose “hand” struck the death blow to Satan, whose “hands” bore the nails of Calvary's cross, and who leads us to a new life, we have been “kadoshed” (set apart) to follow HIM for all of our days, (Should we choose to) of course it is a choice, but the “good Shepherd always “looks back” for his lost or misguided sheep, to lead them back to the fold. We see other events that show God's protection and provision for his people, in verses 22-27 we see the “bitter waters made sweet” Moshe threw into the water “a tree” probably cut it down and threw it in, the waters were made sweet, the Torah is also called, “The TREE of LIFE” (Etz Chaim) that changes our bitterness to sweetness, from sorrow to happiness, from lost to saved. In chapter 16, the provision of “Manna” in the desert “Bread from Heaven” (Lechem b'Shemayim) another provision from YHVH, it symbolizes “Yeshua the Bread of Life” and in chapter 17, “Water from the Rock” This rock is there today in the Saudi Arabian desert very close to Mt. Sinai, it seems to be about 50 feet tall and has a crack down the middle. Go to “google images” and click on “The water rock at Horeb” Moshe was told to “strike the rock” and he did with his staff/rod” and out flowed water so that the congregation and the livestock could drink. This symbolizes “Yeshua the Solid Rock” (Yeshua HaTzur) and Yeshua who is the Living Water. (Yeshua Mayim Chayim). It also symbolizes that Yeshua was “struck ONLY ONCE for our sins at Calvary, ONLY ONCE meaning “nailed to the cross and died one time” and when Moshe got mad later on and struck the rock again, he was punished by God and couldn't enter the promised land, since he “misrepresented” who God is. As Moses led his people out of Egypt, so Jesus/Yeshua took us out of the camp of Satan, closing the gap, never to return. He gave us a new beginning. A change of masters, We are now under the guidance of the Good Shepherd, instead of the Father of Lies. Have a blessed week. And thank you for attending "Torah Class" (each one of these posts can be considered a "class")

PARASHAH: “B'shalach” (when he let go) or (when he sent out) EXODUS 13:17-17:16 We are coming down to the “showdown” where Pharaoh gets his just desserts, and gets what he deserves for defying the God of Israel, going back on his word to “let Israel go”, you cannot pursue Israel without getting hurt, and Pharaoh and his army got to drink bitter waters, went off the “deep end” and received a very fatal “water baptism” in Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds) Yet before all this happens, there are some interesting verses to look at. Exodus 13: 18 states; “The children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt” It also states that Elohim did not lead them through the land of the F’lishtim: (The Philistines) because an encounter with them might bring the Israelites to face war, frighten them, and cause them to go back to Egypt. But if they had weapons, why would they fear a battle? One can assume that even though they had weapons if they didn’t know how to use them, they would be no good. We can say the same thing about the Bible. It is little good in the hands of one who does not know how to use it, or uses it in wrongful ways, inventing “strange” doctrines, or taking verses out of context. The Israelites were ex-slaves, not warriors. Another question, where did they get the weapons? Were the weapons among the spoils of Egypt? Here is another view from a Derashic perspective (Moral and spiritual) The word for “armed” in Hebrew which is used is “chamushim” Jewish commentators state this word has roots in the words “chamesh” (the number 5) and “chamishim” (50). So how do we apply these? It is believed that it was the 5th generation after Yosef that left Egypt, if a generation is 80 years, it would add up to 400 years. Also, the number 5 symbolizes “grace”. So, the Israelites not only left Egypt with some spears and swords but they were also armed with the “grace” that Elohim bestowed on them. More importantly, they were armed with the protection, the blessings, and the leadership of Elohim who led them out of Egypt. The number “50” also reminds us of the “50 gates of understanding” which the ancient rabbis say are 50 questions that Elohim asked Job at the end of “Sefer Job.” (The Book of Job) I would like to answer the question using a question. If we can have eternal life through the blood and sacrifice of Yeshua for our sins, past, present, and future, why do so many people still REJECT Him? The scripture states that ‘Wide is the way that leads to destruction, but narrow is the way that leads to eternal life.’ How many Israelites put the lambs' blood on their doorposts? We hope that all did. But of course, we can't be sure. Another word for “armed” is “equipped”. One could also say that “B’nei Yisrael” went out of Egypt “equipped” with the “5” promises that Adonai gave to His people; 1) Elohim will deliver Israel out from under the burden of Egyptian Slavery; 2) Israel will be REDEEMED by the ARM of Elohim-YHVH; 3) Elohim-YHVH will take Israel as HIS people and will be their GOD; 4) Israel will be brought into the chosen land of promise; 5) The promised land will be an INHERETANCE. But let’s look at the Peshat, the literal meaning of the word; “armed” It could also come from the Egyptian word “chams” which is “lance." Here's something else. Once the Israelites crossed the narrow portion of the Sea of Reeds, they were "out of Egypt" and when the Egyptians drowned in the Sea, the scriptures state that the "Israelites saw their bodies on the seashore." from the bodies of the Egyptian soldiers the Israelites took weapons; swords, bows, and arrows, (the spears probably sunk to the bottom of the sea). So here we can confirm that they "left Egypt (behind) and were fully armed (with the weapons they recovered). Now, they would need to learn how to use them. Moses probably taught them how. As believers, we have the Word of God, but if we are unskilled in using His WORD, or if we do not know how to interpret it correctly, we could do much harm to others, just like a sword in the hands of a child, the child could cut himself, or hurt one of his friends Another thing to ponder upon is that when the word “Egyptians” is used, the word “Mitzraim” is used, which also means “Egypt” (the nation of). Why “Mitzraim” and not “Mitzrim?” One can say that even though “b’nei Yisrael” left Egypt, Egypt still followed them out! They left with the Egyptian culture, ways, language, and all that was part of them in those 400 years as slaves. It took Elohim one day to take Israel out of Egypt, but it took 40 years to take Egypt out of Israel! We are the same way, even though we are born-again believers, we still carry around the garbage related to our “Yetzer-Hara” (sinful nature) but little by little, the Ruach HaKodesh takes that from us as we mature in the faith. We might wonder how many Israelites left Egypt, probably about 2 million, plus those Egyptians that “saw the light” plus the sheep and cattle, it was a huge people group that headed eastward across the Sinai Peninsula. "And it was told the King of Egypt that the people were fled” (14:5). What? Didn't he already know that? Of course, he did, he let them go! It was probably a team of scouts that were sent out to track down the Israelites to see where they were going, and they gave their report back to Pharaoh. Now this took place a few days later, now Pharaoh is sorry he let them go. What? Didn't he remember the plagues? Some people never learn, they love misery. Now Pharaoh musters together his entire army! Another mistake, never send out your entire armed forces, always leave behind reserve units. But Pharaoh was not a wise general. This probably took another few days, thus giving Israel about a week's head start, it would take quite a few days for about 2 million people to cross the Sinai Peninsula. The names “Elohim” and “YHVH” are both used in this Parashah, “Elohim” is used at the beginning of this parashah, in Chap 13:17 meaning the “Strong, powerful God” yet the name YHVH, later on, shows the personal name, (coming from “Havayah” meaning “to exist”) shows the personal relationship as “Adonai” which we also say when reading YHVH, anytime the word LORD is used in scripture, it is the name YHVH. YHVH takes them across the Sinai Peninsula to thus entice the Egyptians, to utterly finish destroying them thus ending the powerful rule of Egypt, Egypt never recovered from that defeat, it formed another army years later, but it never had the power it once had with Rameses, Thutmose, Narmer, and other pharaohs of the past dynasties. When the Israelites get to the beach, they get ready to cross, in Hebrew it is known as “Yam Suf” in English, it is known as “Nuweba Beach” it is a tourist resort today in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. We see that YHVH goes behind the Israelites to protect them, in the form of darkness to the Egyptians, yet light to the Israelites. To us as believers, Yeshua is our light, for us to follow, but to Satan, Yeshua is the conquering king, without the light of Yeshua, without the light of the Torah, we live in darkness, spiritual darkness. Chapter 14:13 is interesting. Moshe says; “Fear not and stand still and see the SALVATION of YHVH” In Hebrew, the word “Salvation” is “YESHUAT” we have the name of our Messiah “Yeshua” plus the “Tav” Symbolically, we can see that Yeshua is part of Elohim, and He is moving to bring HIS people through the sea, It also reminds us that the “Tav” (T) symbolizes the covenant, it takes the form of the cross in Paleo-Hebrew. We have the name “Yeshua” and the “cross” He is saving his people from physical destruction by the Egyptians, and in the future, He will die to save the world from Spiritual destruction. In gematria, “Yeshuat” adds up to 786. Reading from right to left, one way to understand the message of this sum of numbers is; “MAN achieves ETERNAL life (a new beginning) through the PERFECT God who is Yeshua, who is part of Elohim Now YHVH tells Moshe to “lift up your rod and your hand” and cause the sea to part, and it is divided in two. We read that Israel crossed on “dry land” with a strong wind to dry up the sea bottom, today this area is known as the “Gulf of Aqaba” They crossed a small stretch of sea bottom, about 10 miles across, to get to the land of Midian, now known as Saudi Arabia, if you go to Google earth, and look up “Nuweba Beach” you can see the area that the Israelites crossed over at. Then, YHVH gave the order to Moshe to raise his hand over the water again, and the waters closed up again and drowned the Egyptian army. we see something in the words, “hand” (Yad) and “rod” (Mateh) that make us think. The “rod” is a symbol of authority, of rulership. The “hand” is a symbol of “power and strength” The Torah speaks of YHVH reveling his “Holy Arm” the “arm is connected to the hand” The ancient Hebrew symbol of the “Yod” is the extended “arm and hand” so we can see the message here, “Moshe” is the authority as he shows his leadership by raising his rod, and his hand opens and closes the sea, thus demonstrating his strength and power, but of course, it is not HIS, it is GOD's leadership and strength, being revealed THROUGH Moshe. When the people follow Moshe, it is as if they are following GOD, trusting in his leadership and strength. When we receive Jesus/Yeshua as Messiah, we trust in HIM as our leader and our strength, and we follow HIM through his WORD, yet many hope that Yeshua will follow THEM! (not going to happen) . Today, you can see on YouTube what is left of the Egyptian chariots at the bottom of the Gulf of Aqaba, they are coral formations that look like mushrooms, probably the axle and wheels of the chariots, look up, “The real Exodus Crossing” When we look at all this from a moral and spiritual insight (Derash) We have been rescued from HaSatan, by our Leader, who is strong, whose “hand” struck the death blow to Satan, whose “hands” bore the nails of Calvary's cross, and who leads us to a new life, we have been “kadoshed” (set apart) to follow HIM for all of our days, (Should we choose to) of course it is a choice, but the “good Shepherd always “looks back” for his lost or misguided sheep, to lead them back to the fold. We see other events that show God's protection and provision for his people, in verses 22-27 we see the “bitter waters made sweet” Moshe threw into the water “a tree” probably cut it down and threw it in, the waters were made sweet, the Torah is also called, “The TREE of LIFE” (Etz Chaim) that changes our bitterness to sweetness, from sorrow to happiness, from lost to saved. In chapter 16, the provision of “Manna” in the desert “Bread from Heaven” (Lechem b'Shemayim) another provision from YHVH, it symbolizes “Yeshua the Bread of Life” and in chapter 17, “Water from the Rock” This rock is there today in the Saudi Arabian desert very close to Mt. Sinai, it seems to be about 50 feet tall and has a crack down the middle. Go to “google images” and click on “The water rock at Horeb” Moshe was told to “strike the rock” and he did with his staff/rod” and out flowed water so that the congregation and the livestock could drink. This symbolizes “Yeshua the Solid Rock” (Yeshua HaTzur) and Yeshua who is the Living Water. (Yeshua Mayim Chayim). It also symbolizes that Yeshua was “struck ONLY ONCE for our sins at Calvary, ONLY ONCE meaning “nailed to the cross and died one time” and when Moshe got mad later on and struck the rock again, he was punished by God and couldn't enter the promised land, since he “misrepresented” who God is. As Moses led his people out of Egypt, so Jesus/Yeshua took us out of the camp of Satan, closing the gap, never to return. He gave us a new beginning. A change of masters, We are now under the guidance of the Good Shepherd, instead of the Father of Lies. Have a blessed week. And thank you for attending "Torah Class" (each one of these posts can be considered a "class") Me and my wife in Egypt, 1999, by the Nile River, Cairo

PARASHA: “BO” (enter) EXODUS 10:1-13:16 The Parasha starts out; “And the LORD said unto Moshe; ‘Go in unto Pharaoh’…” Strange, the word “Go” in Hebrew is “Sh’lach”, but the Hebrew scriptures read “Bo” (enter) so, in reality, the Word of God is saying; “Enter, or Come in unto Pharaoh” But why? One way of looking at this is that Adonai is already there in the palace of pharaoh, and HE is inviting Moshe to come where He is to do business with pharaoh! And what a business deal! Let’s make him an offer he can’t refuse! Freedom for Israel…or the plagues! So, it is “God against Pharaoh and his gods” Guess who wins? The plagues against the Egyptian gods continue, it is our “Creator God YHVH” against Pharaoh and his false deities. Guess who is winning, yes, you know it. However, I need to point out that many of us peg Pharaoh and the Egyptians as the “bad guys” and the Israelites as the “good guys”. But we need to take note of something that many believers have in common with pharaoh, After the plague of locusts, pharaoh said; “I have sinned against the LORD your God, (notice that he said “YOUR” ) and against you, Now therefore forgive I pray thee my sin only this once and entreat the LORD your God that he may take away this death only”(Ex 10:17) and even before that, pharaoh spoke saying; “I have sinned this time, the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked, entreat the LORD that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail, and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer (EX 9:27,28) All of these plagues were directed against the false gods of Egypt. The Nile had a goddess (Anuket), and the cattle god was “Apis” in the form of a bull. The sun-god “Ra” was directly attacked by the plague of darkness; In chap 10; 22-23 Moshe speaks of a “darkness which could be felt” per instructions of YHVH, Moshe stretched out his hand towards the heavens, and “darkness” descended over Egypt. We ask ourselves; “How can a person ‘feel’ darkness, it isn’t ‘physical’ yet it could be felt by the Egyptians. It could be that the “darkness” that the Egyptians felt was more spiritual and emotional than physical. It was a darkness so “thick” that one person could not see another. Perhaps a sort of supernatural darkness came from YHVH, perhaps a “moist and humid” darkness so that when the Egyptians went to light their lamps, they would not light. It could have been a dense, dark fog. I experienced such a darkness when I was living in Mexico in 1973. A “campesino” showed me a cave which was in the middle of a forest. No one could find the exit, for it extended for miles. “Cuidado” (careful he told me) “People have gone crazy inside there.” Well, I just had to go in to find out myself. After going in about thirty feet, the cave turned to the right. I went to the right about 10 feet and all of a sudden, there was pitch darkness, so dark that I could not see my hand in front of my face. I felt instant fear, so much so that I turned and left the way I came in. As soon as I saw the light of the outside, I breathed a sigh of relief. I did not go back inside. (Well, that day I did not have a lantern with me, nor a flashlight). Perhaps the darkness which was felt was that of “fear”. There is a spiritual darkness in which many people dwell, without the light of the Torah, of Yeshua, we live in darkness, yet the scripture tells us that in the dwellings of the Israelites, there was light. Their lamps were lit and they could see each other, the three days of darkness were like three regular evenings for the Israelites, they had lights, and they had the light of YHVH, the promise of redemption, the coming of the first Passover, freedom was just around the corner, just a few days ahead. Pharaoh seems to be repentant yet it is just “lip service” in Spanish it would be “de diente a labio” or from “tooth to lip” he continues to rebel against YHVH, and refuses to let Israel go. How many believers claim to love God and admit that they are sinners and wicked, and we all are because of our “yetzer hara” (evil inclination) or in simple words, “sin nature” yet we ignore the Torah, we disobey HIS commandments…or…we promise that we will obey, yet we go back on our promise. I think this is true for ALL of us from time to time, for some more often than others. Even the Israelites, once they got out of Egypt, began to complain, gripe, grumble and groan, and break God’s commandments by making by an idol of the calf of gold. Are we any better? Do we not grumble and complain too? For this and for that? We break YHVH’s commandments, and we say, “sorry” and seem repentant, but continue in the same sins, I think we are like Pharaoh as much as like the Israelites. Sometimes, we want to compromise, not follow ALL of Adonai’s instructions, and perhaps not follow the whole Torah. Adonai’s instructions to Moshe, as he revealed to pharaoh, were to leave Egypt, all the people, with all their properties (herds and flocks), go to the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD, yet pharaoh said he would comply…but…not all the way; “go sacrifice to your God in the land” (just stay in Egypt) “Go to the wilderness, but not so far away” (yes, so we can keep an eye on you so that you don’t run away!) “Go serve the LORD, the men only” (yet Adonai wants “all the people”) “Go serve the LORD, but your herds and flocks stay here” (so, how are they going to sacrifice without the flocks and the herds?) Do we follow wholeheartedly? Or do we pick and choose? Do we follow the Torah only when convenient? Or parts that won’t interrupt our lifestyles? Do we follow some commandments and not follow others saying “These aren’t for us, only for Israel” If we are picking and choosing, then we are like pharaoh, trying to “bargain” or make “Compromise” with the LORD through his chosen servant. I would like to add this detail also. It is about “HaMateh” (The Staff) this is the staff or the rod of Moshe and Aaron, the one that was used to bring about the plagues. It is very interesting and how it relates to the power of Elohim through Moshe. The word “Mateh” in Hebrew has two meanings. One is “Rod” or “Staff” and it represents the power and authority of the holder of the same. It also means “Tribe” and in the plural; “Matot” (Tribes). When Moshe was still before YHVH at Mt. Sinai, He told Moshe to use the “Mateh” to show the people HIS power. The power of Elohim-YHVH through Moshe. Moshe would be as “Elohim” before Pharaoh. The rod would be the symbol of authority, as it also represents the “Tribe” of “Kol Israel” of “All Israel” united as One Tribe. “Mateh Echad”. If we look at the staff of Moshe through spiritual eyes, just imagine the name YHVH carved into this staff or rod of judgment. We look at the value of the letters Y H V H. The first two letters “Yod and Hey” 10 and 5. Those two letters form the shorter form of the name of God; “YaH”. The letter “Yod” = 10. It can symbolize the “10” plagues that were to befall Egypt, by the “Arm” (Yod) of Elohim. The hand is part of the arm, remember that. Then we see the letter “Hey” that has the value of “5”. We can sum up the promises of YHVH as the following; 1) Elohim will deliver Israel out from under the burden of Egyptian Slavery; 2) Israel will be REDEEMED by the ARM of Elohim-YHVH; 3) Elohim-YHVH will Israel as HIS people and will be their GOD; 4) Israel will be brought into the chosen land of promise; 5) The promised land will be an INHERETANCE. After the 10 plagues, the 5 basic promises were fulfilled. The redemption was fulfilled when the lambs and goats were slaughtered and sacrificed in the Israelite homes during the Eve of Pesach. So that gives us Y and H in the infallible name of God. But we still have Vav (V) and Hey (H). We know that the “Hey” covers the promises, but the “Vav” is the key letter that points us to Calvary’s Cross! The “Vav” is the nail, that was driven into the hands of Mashiach, this would “really” fulfill the promise of redemption. The redemption was symbolized by the animal sacrifices until Yeshua came and fulfilled it in “Full”. The “Vav” has the value of “6” which is the number of “Man”. So, Elohim became a man to receive the nail in his hands to make full the promise of redemption, which was part of the promises. The first story of Israel’s redemption by blood is in chapter 12. This can be the most important chapter of Shemot because it is “Pesach Time” ” This month shall be your beginning of months for you, it shall be the first month of the year for you” This can't be any clearer in my observation, it isn't January 1st, it is the first of Abib, or Nisan, and since the lunar calendar changes from year to year, God's “New Year's Day” comes on April 8th(New Year's Eve). ” On the tenth of this month, everyone shall take a lamb.... a lamb for each household” ...... This lamb was to be a young, healthy lamb, and it would be kept for 5 days, on the 14th day, it would be slaughtered, and as we know, the blood would be placed on the two side posts of the door of the house entrance and along the top frame. As the story goes on, the death angel would come and see the blood and thus “pass over” that house that had the blood on the doorposts. If you imagine that, the blood on the door posts...forms sort of a “cross” you can imagine Yeshua with his arms and hands extended, each one touching one of the “doorposts” and his head against the “top part” where the blood from his head would be (where the Roman soldiers pushed in the crown of thorns and where the nails were hammered (in the wrists) between the two small bones that form the arm (remember that not one bone was broken), so it had to between the bones, through the muscle. The lamb or goat was to be eaten roasted, with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The other elements were added later and were present when Yeshua celebrated the Pesach Supper with his talmidim. The roasted lamb or goat symbolizes “Yeshua being “roasted” in the “fires of judgment for our sins. He took upon himself ALL of our sins, past, present, and future. They were all “nailed” to the cross and judged by the Father. The “bitter herbs” symbolize the bitterness of slavery, the slavery to sin, and having a master “HaSatan” as our taskmaster. The unleavened bread symbolizes “Yeshua The Bread of Life” Bread without leaven can be considered “perfect, sinless bread, therefore calling Yeshua who is without sin, “The Bread of Life”, and when we eat the “bread without leaven” (Matzah) we are symbolizing “taking into us Yeshua” and when we eat only unleavened bread for 7 days afterward, we are being conscience of “sin in our lives” (avoiding it) being reminded by the matzah. At the first Passover, wine wasn't mentioned nor does it mention “Charoseth” (a sweet mixture of nuts, apples, honey, cinnamon, etc.). They may have had wine, or water, or another drink, but no one knows for sure, nor do we know what kind of “bitter herbs” were used, today we use horseradish. Back then, it had to be something common in Egypt. The death angel visited the houses where no blood was found, so probably all the houses of the Egyptians lacked the blood, but perhaps there were a few houses that had members that paid attention to Moshe, and they might have gone to the Israelites and put blood on their doors. We are talking about a “substitution sacrifice” the “lambs and goats” were substituted for the Israelites' firstborn. And any Egyptian household that also placed the blood on their doors (those who believed). We can see in scripture where a “substitute” was used. When Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac, God provided a “ram” as a substitute for Isaac, On Yom Kippur, two goats are used as “substitutes” for all of the people of Israel, and finally, “Yeshua Ha Mashiach” (Jesus the Messiah/Christ) was “OUR” substitute on the cross, HE exchanged his “Righteousness for our sinfulness” instead of us being punished for our sins, Yeshua accepted the punishment in our place. All that remains for us is to accept his “one time only” sacrifice and receive and accept HIM as our LORD and SAVIOR, thus being “born again” according to John 3:3. Have you done this? If you were to die today, are you sure that Yeshua/Jesus is your LORD and Savior? Will HE let you into his Kingdom? Only you can answer that question. ANCIENT EGYPTIAN WORDS/VOCABULARY (just for the fun of knowing them) “Aw Ibek” = May your heart rejoice, “Em Hotep” = shalom, peace, “Kemet” = Egypt (black earth) “Qed” = architect (masculine) “Qedet” = architect (feminine) “baket” = female servant “Em heset net Ra” = be in favor with (the god) Ra, “Em heset net Yah” = be in favor with Yah (YHVH) “Retehtey” = baker “Retehtet” = baker (female) , “Neter” = god “Sen” = brother, “Sat” = sister “Dua netjer en ek” = thank you. One thing about the ancient Egyptian language, the hieroglyphs were consonants and at times, whole words. There is little known about the vowels, so, it is hard to say the true sounds of the words. Torah scrolls are written in Hebrew without the vowel markings. Also, some of our words were not known in ancient Egypt. For example, the ancient Egyptians had no word for "death" instead, the word was "cease to live". However, God understands all languages. Pharaoh had many chances to repent, but he remained hardened. He thought of himself as a "god on earth" Don't be like pharaoh, surrender your life to Christ Jesus, (Messiah Yeshua). You'll have all eternity to enjoy.

PARASHA: “BO” (enter) EXODUS 10:1-13:16 The Parasha starts out; “And the LORD said unto Moshe; ‘Go in unto Pharaoh’…” Strange, the word “Go” in Hebrew is “Sh’lach”, but the Hebrew scriptures read “Bo” (enter) so, in reality, the Word of God is saying; “Enter, or Come in unto Pharaoh” But why? One way of looking at this is that Adonai is already there in the palace of pharaoh, and HE is inviting Moshe to come where He is to do business with pharaoh! And what a business deal! Let’s make him an offer he can’t refuse! Freedom for Israel…or the plagues! So, it is “God against Pharaoh and his gods” Guess who wins? The plagues against the Egyptian gods continue, it is our “Creator God YHVH” against Pharaoh and his false deities. Guess who is winning, yes, you know it. However, I need to point out that many of us peg Pharaoh and the Egyptians as the “bad guys” and the Israelites as the “good guys”. But we need to take note of something that many believers have in common with pharaoh, After the plague of locusts, pharaoh said; “I have sinned against the LORD your God, (notice that he said “YOUR” ) and against you, Now therefore forgive I pray thee my sin only this once and entreat the LORD your God that he may take away this death only”(Ex 10:17) and even before that, pharaoh spoke saying; “I have sinned this time, the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked, entreat the LORD that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail, and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer (EX 9:27,28) All of these plagues were directed against the false gods of Egypt. The Nile had a goddess (Anuket), and the cattle god was “Apis” in the form of a bull. The sun-god “Ra” was directly attacked by the plague of darkness; In chap 10; 22-23 Moshe speaks of a “darkness which could be felt” per instructions of YHVH, Moshe stretched out his hand towards the heavens, and “darkness” descended over Egypt. We ask ourselves; “How can a person ‘feel’ darkness, it isn’t ‘physical’ yet it could be felt by the Egyptians. It could be that the “darkness” that the Egyptians felt was more spiritual and emotional than physical. It was a darkness so “thick” that one person could not see another. Perhaps a sort of supernatural darkness came from YHVH, perhaps a “moist and humid” darkness so that when the Egyptians went to light their lamps, they would not light. It could have been a dense, dark fog. I experienced such a darkness when I was living in Mexico in 1973. A “campesino” showed me a cave which was in the middle of a forest. No one could find the exit, for it extended for miles. “Cuidado” (careful he told me) “People have gone crazy inside there.” Well, I just had to go in to find out myself. After going in about thirty feet, the cave turned to the right. I went to the right about 10 feet and all of a sudden, there was pitch darkness, so dark that I could not see my hand in front of my face. I felt instant fear, so much so that I turned and left the way I came in. As soon as I saw the light of the outside, I breathed a sigh of relief. I did not go back inside. (Well, that day I did not have a lantern with me, nor a flashlight). Perhaps the darkness which was felt was that of “fear”. There is a spiritual darkness in which many people dwell, without the light of the Torah, of Yeshua, we live in darkness, yet the scripture tells us that in the dwellings of the Israelites, there was light. Their lamps were lit and they could see each other, the three days of darkness were like three regular evenings for the Israelites, they had lights, and they had the light of YHVH, the promise of redemption, the coming of the first Passover, freedom was just around the corner, just a few days ahead. Pharaoh seems to be repentant yet it is just “lip service” in Spanish it would be “de diente a labio” or from “tooth to lip” he continues to rebel against YHVH, and refuses to let Israel go. How many believers claim to love God and admit that they are sinners and wicked, and we all are because of our “yetzer hara” (evil inclination) or in simple words, “sin nature” yet we ignore the Torah, we disobey HIS commandments…or…we promise that we will obey, yet we go back on our promise. I think this is true for ALL of us from time to time, for some more often than others. Even the Israelites, once they got out of Egypt, began to complain, gripe, grumble and groan, and break God’s commandments by making by an idol of the calf of gold. Are we any better? Do we not grumble and complain too? For this and for that? We break YHVH’s commandments, and we say, “sorry” and seem repentant, but continue in the same sins, I think we are like Pharaoh as much as like the Israelites. Sometimes, we want to compromise, not follow ALL of Adonai’s instructions, and perhaps not follow the whole Torah. Adonai’s instructions to Moshe, as he revealed to pharaoh, were to leave Egypt, all the people, with all their properties (herds and flocks), go to the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD, yet pharaoh said he would comply…but…not all the way; “go sacrifice to your God in the land” (just stay in Egypt) “Go to the wilderness, but not so far away” (yes, so we can keep an eye on you so that you don’t run away!) “Go serve the LORD, the men only” (yet Adonai wants “all the people”) “Go serve the LORD, but your herds and flocks stay here” (so, how are they going to sacrifice without the flocks and the herds?) Do we follow wholeheartedly? Or do we pick and choose? Do we follow the Torah only when convenient? Or parts that won’t interrupt our lifestyles? Do we follow some commandments and not follow others saying “These aren’t for us, only for Israel” If we are picking and choosing, then we are like pharaoh, trying to “bargain” or make “Compromise” with the LORD through his chosen servant. I would like to add this detail also. It is about “HaMateh” (The Staff) this is the staff or the rod of Moshe and Aaron, the one that was used to bring about the plagues. It is very interesting and how it relates to the power of Elohim through Moshe. The word “Mateh” in Hebrew has two meanings. One is “Rod” or “Staff” and it represents the power and authority of the holder of the same. It also means “Tribe” and in the plural; “Matot” (Tribes). When Moshe was still before YHVH at Mt. Sinai, He told Moshe to use the “Mateh” to show the people HIS power. The power of Elohim-YHVH through Moshe. Moshe would be as “Elohim” before Pharaoh. The rod would be the symbol of authority, as it also represents the “Tribe” of “Kol Israel” of “All Israel” united as One Tribe. “Mateh Echad”. If we look at the staff of Moshe through spiritual eyes, just imagine the name YHVH carved into this staff or rod of judgment. We look at the value of the letters Y H V H. The first two letters “Yod and Hey” 10 and 5. Those two letters form the shorter form of the name of God; “YaH”. The letter “Yod” = 10. It can symbolize the “10” plagues that were to befall Egypt, by the “Arm” (Yod) of Elohim. The hand is part of the arm, remember that. Then we see the letter “Hey” that has the value of “5”. We can sum up the promises of YHVH as the following; 1) Elohim will deliver Israel out from under the burden of Egyptian Slavery; 2) Israel will be REDEEMED by the ARM of Elohim-YHVH; 3) Elohim-YHVH will Israel as HIS people and will be their GOD; 4) Israel will be brought into the chosen land of promise; 5) The promised land will be an INHERETANCE. After the 10 plagues, the 5 basic promises were fulfilled. The redemption was fulfilled when the lambs and goats were slaughtered and sacrificed in the Israelite homes during the Eve of Pesach. So that gives us Y and H in the infallible name of God. But we still have Vav (V) and Hey (H). We know that the “Hey” covers the promises, but the “Vav” is the key letter that points us to Calvary’s Cross! The “Vav” is the nail, that was driven into the hands of Mashiach, this would “really” fulfill the promise of redemption. The redemption was symbolized by the animal sacrifices until Yeshua came and fulfilled it in “Full”. The “Vav” has the value of “6” which is the number of “Man”. So, Elohim became a man to receive the nail in his hands to make full the promise of redemption, which was part of the promises. The first story of Israel’s redemption by blood is in chapter 12. This can be the most important chapter of Shemot because it is “Pesach Time” ” This month shall be your beginning of months for you, it shall be the first month of the year for you” This can't be any clearer in my observation, it isn't January 1st, it is the first of Abib, or Nisan, and since the lunar calendar changes from year to year, God's “New Year's Day” comes on April 8th(New Year's Eve). ” On the tenth of this month, everyone shall take a lamb.... a lamb for each household” ...... This lamb was to be a young, healthy lamb, and it would be kept for 5 days, on the 14th day, it would be slaughtered, and as we know, the blood would be placed on the two side posts of the door of the house entrance and along the top frame. As the story goes on, the death angel would come and see the blood and thus “pass over” that house that had the blood on the doorposts. If you imagine that, the blood on the door posts...forms sort of a “cross” you can imagine Yeshua with his arms and hands extended, each one touching one of the “doorposts” and his head against the “top part” where the blood from his head would be (where the Roman soldiers pushed in the crown of thorns and where the nails were hammered (in the wrists) between the two small bones that form the arm (remember that not one bone was broken), so it had to between the bones, through the muscle. The lamb or goat was to be eaten roasted, with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The other elements were added later and were present when Yeshua celebrated the Pesach Supper with his talmidim. The roasted lamb or goat symbolizes “Yeshua being “roasted” in the “fires of judgment for our sins. He took upon himself ALL of our sins, past, present, and future. They were all “nailed” to the cross and judged by the Father. The “bitter herbs” symbolize the bitterness of slavery, the slavery to sin, and having a master “HaSatan” as our taskmaster. The unleavened bread symbolizes “Yeshua The Bread of Life” Bread without leaven can be considered “perfect, sinless bread, therefore calling Yeshua who is without sin, “The Bread of Life”, and when we eat the “bread without leaven” (Matzah) we are symbolizing “taking into us Yeshua” and when we eat only unleavened bread for 7 days afterward, we are being conscience of “sin in our lives” (avoiding it) being reminded by the matzah. At the first Passover, wine wasn't mentioned nor does it mention “Charoseth” (a sweet mixture of nuts, apples, honey, cinnamon, etc.). They may have had wine, or water, or another drink, but no one knows for sure, nor do we know what kind of “bitter herbs” were used, today we use horseradish. Back then, it had to be something common in Egypt. The death angel visited the houses where no blood was found, so probably all the houses of the Egyptians lacked the blood, but perhaps there were a few houses that had members that paid attention to Moshe, and they might have gone to the Israelites and put blood on their doors. We are talking about a “substitution sacrifice” the “lambs and goats” were substituted for the Israelites' firstborn. And any Egyptian household that also placed the blood on their doors (those who believed). We can see in scripture where a “substitute” was used. When Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac, God provided a “ram” as a substitute for Isaac, On Yom Kippur, two goats are used as “substitutes” for all of the people of Israel, and finally, “Yeshua Ha Mashiach” (Jesus the Messiah/Christ) was “OUR” substitute on the cross, HE exchanged his “Righteousness for our sinfulness” instead of us being punished for our sins, Yeshua accepted the punishment in our place. All that remains for us is to accept his “one time only” sacrifice and receive and accept HIM as our LORD and SAVIOR, thus being “born again” according to John 3:3. Have you done this? If you were to die today, are you sure that Yeshua/Jesus is your LORD and Savior? Will HE let you into his Kingdom? Only you can answer that question. ANCIENT EGYPTIAN WORDS/VOCABULARY (just for the fun of knowing them) “Aw Ibek” = May your heart rejoice, “Em Hotep” = shalom, peace, “Kemet” = Egypt (black earth) “Qed” = architect (masculine) “Qedet” = architect (feminine) “baket” = female servant “Em heset net Ra” = be in favor with (the god) Ra, “Em heset net Yah” = be in favor with Yah (YHVH) “Retehtey” = baker “Retehtet” = baker (female) , “Neter” = god “Sen” = brother, “Sat” = sister “Dua netjer en ek” = thank you. One thing about the ancient Egyptian language, the hieroglyphs were consonants and at times, whole words. There is little known about the vowels, so, it is hard to say the true sounds of the words. Torah scrolls are written in Hebrew without the vowel markings. Also, some of our words were not known in ancient Egypt. For example, the ancient Egyptians had no word for "death" instead, the word was "cease to live". However, God understands all languages. Pharaoh had many chances to repent, but he remained hardened. He thought of himself as a "god on earth" Don't be like pharaoh, surrender your life to Christ Jesus, (Messiah Yeshua). You'll have all eternity to enjoy.

JEREMIAH 46:13-28 600 years later, after the fall of Egypt at Passover, disaster strikes, this time, YHVH uses Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon as the instrument of destruction against Egypt, seems like Egypt was not humbled after the Passover experience. You would think that the pharaohs who rose to power after the time of Passover would have realized the author of Egypt's destruction, but seems like they did not, a hard heart is hard to break at times. There are people today who have hardened hearts, and still resist the will of YHVH. Being "Sons of God", servants of Yeshua, disciples, and followers will, at times, be difficult. God will humble us through accidents, illnesses, etc..if we have prideful hearts or stiff necks. Don't wait for that to happen, HUMBLE THY SELF IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD! He loves you and wants you in the middle of His Will. Our lives are not our own to live, that is if we want to walk in the Will of God. The reason for living is to be witnesses of the Gospel, to share the WORD with those around us, and to teach the WORD to those who are willing to listen. For this reason, the Holy Spirit has given believers different gifts to use to serve the LORD. Pharaoh could have humbled his heart and swallowed his pride, yet he chose to resist and thus brought destruction to his nation and made his people suffer needlessly. We need to follow God's leading, not resist it. Shalom to all. MAT 25:1-46; JOHN 19:31-37 ”The Ten Talents” A “talent” was a “weight” of money thousands of years ago. It was a lot, one could have a “talent” of gold, or silver, or copper, brass, bronze, etc. And like money today, it could be invested, or wisely spent, We also use the word “talent” as something that we have, like an “ability” to do good. As believers, we all have “talents” or “abilities” given to us through the Ruach HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit), with which to serve our LORD and Savior on earth. But, like the evil servant in the parable, who did nothing with his talent, only buried it, there are believers today who are doing the same. Many have more than one talent, or “spiritual gift” and they are not using it (or them). They are going to waste, or are squandering them in “things of the world. Can you sing? Yes, are you singing for God? Can you write? Are you writing for God? Can you teach? Are you teaching God's word to others? Can you play an instrument? Are you playing for the LORD? Think about the talents you have. How are you using them? (JOHN 19:31-37) John talks about the Eve of Passover, since part of this Parasha is all about Passover, these verses should be read. The bodies of the two criminals and that of Yeshua were to be taken down from the crosses where they were crucified. The scripture says “Cursed is he who hangs on a tree, (from Deuteronomy 21:22,23) Yeshua already carried our “curse” and that of the two thieves. All was accomplished during that special Passover. It also states that a Roman soldier pierced the side of Yeshua with a spear, and out came blood and water which was proof that He was dead. The blood and water have special symbolism. The blood is symbolized by the wine that we drink during Passover or communion, and the beginning of each sabbath. Symbolically, we are inviting Yeshua/Jesus to come inside of us and continue to be part of our lives. The water is Yeshua who is the “Living Water” The blood also symbolizes “life” so through His death, we have “Life” and that is “Life Eternal”. The Bread symbolizes "Yeshua/Jesus, the Bread of Life." “They shall look upon Him whom they pierced” (vs 37) One day in the future, Yeshua will return in the clouds of Heaven, and “ALL” will see Him coming, “They” means “All” even those very soldiers who pierced Him, with the flagellum and with the spear, will SEE HIM someday soon. And ALL will have to answer for their actions. Eternity ripples forth Living waters that bubble up from the STONE that the builders rejected.

JEREMIAH 46:13-28 600 years later, after the fall of Egypt at Passover, disaster strikes, this time, YHVH uses Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon as the instrument of destruction against Egypt, seems like Egypt was not humbled after the Passover experience. You would think that the pharaohs who rose to power after the time of Passover would have realized the author of Egypt's destruction, but seems like they did not, a hard heart is hard to break at times. There are people today who have hardened hearts, and still resist the will of YHVH. Being "Sons of God", servants of Yeshua, disciples, and followers will, at times, be difficult. God will humble us through accidents, illnesses, etc..if we have prideful hearts or stiff necks. Don't wait for that to happen, HUMBLE THY SELF IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD! He loves you and wants you in the middle of His Will. Our lives are not our own to live, that is if we want to walk in the Will of God. The reason for living is to be witnesses of the Gospel, to share the WORD with those around us, and to teach the WORD to those who are willing to listen. For this reason, the Holy Spirit has given believers different gifts to use to serve the LORD. Pharaoh could have humbled his heart and swallowed his pride, yet he chose to resist and thus brought destruction to his nation and made his people suffer needlessly. We need to follow God's leading, not resist it. Shalom to all. MAT 25:1-46; JOHN 19:31-37 ”The Ten Talents” A “talent” was a “weight” of money thousands of years ago. It was a lot, one could have a “talent” of gold, or silver, or copper, brass, bronze, etc. And like money today, it could be invested, or wisely spent, We also use the word “talent” as something that we have, like an “ability” to do good. As believers, we all have “talents” or “abilities” given to us through the Ruach HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit), with which to serve our LORD and Savior on earth. But, like the evil servant in the parable, who did nothing with his talent, only buried it, there are believers today who are doing the same. Many have more than one talent, or “spiritual gift” and they are not using it (or them). They are going to waste, or are squandering them in “things of the world. Can you sing? Yes, are you singing for God? Can you write? Are you writing for God? Can you teach? Are you teaching God's word to others? Can you play an instrument? Are you playing for the LORD? Think about the talents you have. How are you using them? (JOHN 19:31-37) John talks about the Eve of Passover, since part of this Parasha is all about Passover, these verses should be read. The bodies of the two criminals and that of Yeshua were to be taken down from the crosses where they were crucified. The scripture says “Cursed is he who hangs on a tree, (from Deuteronomy 21:22,23) Yeshua already carried our “curse” and that of the two thieves. All was accomplished during that special Passover. It also states that a Roman soldier pierced the side of Yeshua with a spear, and out came blood and water which was proof that He was dead. The blood and water have special symbolism. The blood is symbolized by the wine that we drink during Passover or communion, and the beginning of each sabbath. Symbolically, we are inviting Yeshua/Jesus to come inside of us and continue to be part of our lives. The water is Yeshua who is the “Living Water” The blood also symbolizes “life” so through His death, we have “Life” and that is “Life Eternal”. The Bread symbolizes "Yeshua/Jesus, the Bread of Life." “They shall look upon Him whom they pierced” (vs 37) One day in the future, Yeshua will return in the clouds of Heaven, and “ALL” will see Him coming, “They” means “All” even those very soldiers who pierced Him, with the flagellum and with the spear, will SEE HIM someday soon. And ALL will have to answer for their actions. Eternity ripples forth living water from the STONE that the builders rejected.

ISAIAH 27:6-28:13 ” In the days to come, shall Jacob take root, Israel shall blossom and bud....” We see a fulfillment of this prophecy in that once taken from Egypt, and united and solidified as a “People” a “Nation”, this people/nation has grown and has spread out throughout the world Though many nations have tried to “snuff out” Am Yisrael, they, in turn (those nations) have suffered punishment and defeat in trying to do just that. Can a mouse “snuff out” an elephant? Israel, upon being scattered throughout the nations, brought the belief in “ONE GOD” when the nations believed in “Multi-gods” Through the Tribe of Y’hudah, came forth YHVH in the flesh, “Yeshua” who is “Yeshuah” (Salvation) to all those who believe on him who died to set men free from sin. In the Book of Isaiah, it reads: "The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations: and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." (Isaiah 52:10) Yeshua/Jesus is Adonai's "Holy Arm" which before, was hidden in the symbolic forms of the animal sacrifices, all which pointed to HIM. He was revealed to "All Nations" through His disciples and messengers, pastors, rabbis, Torah teachers, evangelists, etc... And the whole earth "Has Seen" the "Yeshuah" (Salvation) of God. MATT 22:1-23:39 Yeshua tells a parable about the “Kingdom of Heaven” being likened to a “marriage/wedding feast, and the king invites many to come, but they refuse and even kill the servants, then he sends an army to destroy those who rejected him and killed his servants and sent others to invite others to come. Many came, and the feast was given. Both good and bad came. When we look at this in plain light, Yeshua is now preparing a “wedding feast” for those who have accepted his “invitation”. Many accept, even those who walk in evil ways, want to change their lives, so they come to the wedding feast, yet also, many reject. The offer still stands, Yeshua died on the cross to offer mankind “salvation” (Yeshuah) through his blood and full atonement of sins. Yet many still make fun of that and refuse the gift of salvation, to prefer the ways of the world. Those who refuse, and die in their sins, will suffer eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire, While the offer was made, they refused, while others accepted. What will you do with the free gift of Salvation? Accept or reject? Shavua Tov (Have a blessed week)

ISAIAH 27:6-28:13 ” In the days to come, shall Jacob take root, Israel shall blossom and bud....” We see a fulfillment of this prophecy in that once taken from Egypt, and united and solidified as a “People” a “Nation”, this people/nation has grown and has spread out throughout the world Though many nations have tried to “snuff out” Am Yisrael, they, in turn (those nations) have suffered punishment and defeat in trying to do just that. Can a mouse “snuff out” an elephant? Israel, upon being scattered throughout the nations, brought the belief in “ONE GOD” when the nations believed in “Multi-gods” Through the Tribe of Y’hudah, came forth YHVH in the flesh, “Yeshua” who is “Yeshuah” (Salvation) to all those who believe on him who died to set men free from sin. In the Book of Isaiah, it reads: "The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations: and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." (Isaiah 52:10) Yeshua/Jesus is Adonai's "Holy Arm" which before, was hidden in the symbolic forms of the animal sacrifices, all which pointed to HIM. He was revealed to "All Nations" through His disciples and messengers, pastors, rabbis, Torah teachers, evangelists, etc... And the whole earth "Has Seen" the "Yeshuah" (Salvation) of God. MATT 22:1-23:39 Yeshua tells a parable about the “Kingdom of Heaven” being likened to a “marriage/wedding feast, and the king invites many to come, but they refuse and even kill the servants, then he sends an army to destroy those who rejected him and killed his servants and sent others to invite others to come. Many came, and the feast was given. Both good and bad came. When we look at this in plain light, Yeshua is now preparing a “wedding feast” for those who have accepted his “invitation”. Many accept, even those who walk in evil ways, want to change their lives, so they come to the wedding feast, yet also, many reject. The offer still stands, Yeshua died on the cross to offer mankind “salvation” (Yeshuah) through his blood and full atonement of sins. Yet many still make fun of that and refuse the gift of salvation, to prefer the ways of the world. Those who refuse, and die in their sins, will suffer eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire, While the offer was made, they refused, while others accepted. What will you do with the free gift of Salvation? Accept or reject? Shavua Tov (Have a blessed week)

Well, there are two words, Hebrew speaking, that describe the makeup of living beings, "Ruach" (spirit) also means "breath, or wind" and "Nephesh" which is rendered "soul" at times, we need to look past the literal meaning and go into a deeper meaning, in this case, the mention of the singular "Nephesh" (soul) I would believe that all living beings have souls, yet God has placed a "Spirit" in each human being, which will return to the LORD at death. Here something else I found: The Hebrew term nephesh chayyah is often translated "living soul". Chayyah alone is often translated living thing or animal. Often nephesh is used in the context of saving your life, nephesh then is referring to an entire person's life as in Joshua 2:13; Isaiah 44:20; 1 Samuel 19:11; Psalm 6:5; 49:15; 72:13.

PARASHA: “Shemot” (Names) EXODUS 1:1-6:1 We enter into a new era, Jacob/Israel and Joseph are now in the past, yet their legacy continues, in “Am Yisrael” (The People of Israel). ”70 souls” entered Mitzraim (Egypt). It is interesting that the Hebrew word “Nefesh” is used for “souls” yet the word is in singular, but why? Is there a symbolism here? If we were to read this in English, we would read; “70 soul entered Egypt”. One could say that the word “Nefesh” (Soul) could refer to the whole “Family” of Israel as ONE (Echad) family unit, as we are ONE with Elohim, then all of Israel was ONE as well. hundreds of years later, we have a few million Hebrews. There is a list at the beginning of Exodus of the “b'nei Israel” (the sons of Israel) and they had their children, and their children had children, etc. They remained in the area of “Goshen” along the Nile Delta, farming, and raising cattle, probably a few became merchants, they adapted to life in Egypt, got used to seeing Egyptian deities, and probably understood spoken Egyptian. Who knows if many became “Egyptianized” did they bow down to the deities? How much did they retain about Adonai? El Shaddai? We don't know, but I am sure that the story of Joseph and how he brought his family to Egypt from Canaan was passed down from family to family. The story of the famine, and how Yosef preserved life during the famine. So “b'nei Israel” multiplied, and the land was filled with the “b'nei Israel”, and now the Egyptians started to get nervous. In verse 8, problems start; ” And there arose a new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph” This new king had overthrown the Hyksos rulers, and did not personally know Yosef nor knew of his accomplishments to save Egypt. The new pharaoh might have heard of Yosef, but thought "That's ancient history." Some tradition says that in part, the Hebrews had become “Egyptianized” and failed to keep the memory of Yosef alive and what he did. There are a few ideas of who it might have been. Some believe it might have been “Pharaoh Ahmose” The title “Pharaoh” is not the name, it is only a title which means “ruler”. It might have been “Ahmose” or even “Rameses II”. A little on Egyptian words and etymology, the Egyptian word “meses” or “mose” means “born of” so the name “Moshe” or “Moses” is similar to “meses” (born of) or (Taken from). Since Moses was “Taken from the water, or the river (The Nile). We ask what might have been the Egyptian name Moses used? The Egyptian word for “river” is “iteru” so, his name might have been “Iterumose” or “Iterumeses” (given ancient Egyptian entomology) There were many “Rameses” it means “Born of the god RA” “Ahmose” probably (born of “Ah”) “Thutmose” (born of the god Thut) and so on. So many pharaohs took on those names. Also, the title “Pharaoh” is exactly that, a title, not a name. It comes from two Egyptian words; “per” and “o” “Per” = house, and “O” = great. So the title “pharaoh” means “of the Great House” It would be like saying; “I am going to Washington D.C. to see the White House” What you are saying is that you are going to see the president, who “lives” in the White House. The pharaoh of verse 8 is paranoid and thinks that the Israelites will join, perhaps with the Hittites, to overthrow Egypt. The pharaoh that gave Joseph power to be co-ruler was a foreign king, a “Semite” known as a “Hyksos king”, perhaps that was why he felt some kinship with Joseph. Now slavery starts and the Hebrews (the Egyptian word is “Hapiru”) are made slaves, and the good times are over. Yet Elohim hears the cries of his people, and has selected the tribe of Levi, through a couple; Amran and Jochebed, to bring into the world, “Moshe” who would be a sort of “Mashiach” (like Yosef) to lead Israel OUT of Egypt, in God's appointed time. YHVH has a time for ALL THINGS, we cannot rush God's clock, it ticks slowly for us, yet it ticks out second by second and includes us all in the plan of things. The root meaning of the name "Yochebed" is from "Kavod" weight, and glory. "God's Glory" could be a meaning for the name "Yochebed" and for "Amram" (Exalted people) So, "Amram and Yochebed" could mean "God's glory is his Exalted people" The throne of Egypt probably changed, and the pharaohs continued to be paranoid, one developed a plan to “curb” the birth rate by killing the baby boys, according to the historian 'Ted Stewart' in his book “solving the Exodus Mystery” the pharaoh who ordered the death of the male infants was “Sesostris III” we see that Moshe is adopted by the daughter of this pharaoh. A little about this princess. According to Midrash (commentary from the rabbis) her name was "Bithyah" or "Batyah" A little strange for an Egyptian princess to have this name because in Hebrew it means "a daughter of God (Yah)" Could it be that the daughter of the pharaoh was a proselyte to the Hebrew God YHVH? Is that why she had compassion for the child Moshe? How did she recognize that the baby was Hebrew? Was she bathing at the edge of the Nile? or was it a Mikvah? We learn that the name "Bithyah or Batiyah" comes from 1 Chronicles 4:17-18. There it names some of the children of the Tribe of Judah, "Bithyah, the daughter of Pharoah" was married to "Mered" and they had children together. One thing about the Nile River. It is a dangerous place to swim. It is home to crocodiles and hippos. Both are dangerous to humans. It makes sense that the princess had servants to accompany her, to be "look-outs" for those creatures. She sees the basket and sends her servant to go in and get it. The Midrash says that "Her arm extended far out to reach the basket " One could say that her "extended arm" was her handmaiden who retrieved it. When the basket was opened and she saw baby Moshe, his older sister Miriam was right there and suggested to the princess that a "wet nurse" could feed and raise Moses. It is believed that Miriam was one of the handmaidens of the princess, or that she worked there at the palace. God makes everything work out to good. Moses' own mother raised him and was paid for it. Moshe grows up in the palace, and is raised as a “Prince of Egypt” yet all the time, “retaining (inside) his Hebrew identity”. We remember that he killed an Egyptian in defending one of his own, the Pharaoh that sought his death was “Amenemhet III”. When Moshe fled and spent 40 years in Madian, upon returning, he faced the Pharaoh “Amenemhet IV” who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, who pursued the Israelites through the Red Sea, (and didn't quite make it, receiving a very fatal water baptism). (T. Stewart, Solving the Exodus Mystery, www.biblediscoveries.com). When Moshe fled, there is an interesting verse, 2:15, which says that “Moshe fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian (which is now Saudi Arabia). “And he sat down by a well” We can read scripture from a literal standpoint. Yes, Moshe fled and probably went East then South to get to the land of Midian. If he took that direct route (no one knows for sure) it would have been a 250-mile hike. We don’t know how many supplies he took with him, how much water, etc, since he was on the run, the pharaoh threatened to kill him. But he arrived might thirsty. A well was a meeting point in those days, so he knew that people would be coming to get water. Sure enough, came Yitro’s daughters to get water and he was there to help and defend the damsels. Yet we need also to look at this from a Derashic and symbolic standpoint. Moshe has made contact with the “well”. A water well represents life. Moshe hangs on to life. One of Yeshua’s titles is “The Living Water”. We might look at that well symbolically as “Yeshua, the Well of Living Water (Yeshua, HaBeer Mayim Chayim) Adonai had grace upon grace to Moshe, since he would be his instrument of redeeming Israel from Egyptian bondage. The word for “grace” is “Rachem” and “Rachamim” is the plural form; “a large and plentiful amount of grace” There is “Mayim” in “Rachamim” (spelled with the Hebrew letters) so grace is like plentiful water, and since Yeshua is the “Living Water” He is the author of “grace”. Moshe would be a “Messiah type” who would “take his people out” and that is the meaning of the name “Moshe” (taken out of) so he would live up to his name. He is something else interesting. How does Moshe represent The Messiah? The word “HaMashiach” is spelled in Hebrew; “Hey, Mem, Sheen, Yod, Chet” and the words “Moshe Chai” (Moses lives) have the “Same Letters!” “Mem, Sheen, Hey, Chet, Yod” Matthew 2:15 states; “Out of Egypt I have called my son” Yeshua went down to Egypt with his parents to escape Herod, they spent some years there and then returned to Israel. Yet also Israel is the son, as he went to Egypt when he was old, and his bones were “carried out” yet Moshe also represents Israel as a nation, and Moshe went out with Israel, and since Moshe symbolizes Mashiach, then, the verse fits both parties (yet primarily, it fits Yeshua first). This Parashah has so much that I wish to concentrate on the “Calling of Moshe” in chapter three of Shemot God calls to Moshe while he is taking care of Yitro's sheep near Mt. Sinai. A note to mention is that God prepares his servants beforehand, before sending them out on the mission fields, “Midian and the flocks of sheep” were the training grounds and subjects of his training, before leading out “Human sheep” to the land of Midian that “he now knew and was familiar with” God calls him saying; “Anochi Elohei Aviyha” (I am the God of your father) so the name “Elohei” is used, then he uses a more personal name in verse 14; “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” if you can call it a name, it is translated as I AM that or who I AM, which is not a name at all. So, what is God trying to convey to Moshe? In a way, he is saying, “Is a proper name so important Moe? Just understand that I EXIST! I have existed in the past, and the present, and will exist in the future” The word “Ehyeh” is a form of “Haya” or “Havayah” meaning “to exist” or “the essence of being” from this we get the most sacred name of God: YHVH. HaVaYaH (re-arrange the letters and we get YHVH) Modern translators put in vowels to get YeHoVaH and have changed the Y to J to become JEHOVAH, but that is not the original name, there exists no “J” in Hebrew. The other name used in chapter 3 is “Elohim” “Elohim” said to Moshe....Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh...” “Elohim” is the “all power God of Creation, the Triune God (im) who we know, as Messianic believers, as being EL (father) BEN-YESHUA, (Yeshua the Son) RUACH-HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit). Elohim has revealed himself to us in human form through YESHUA, and as Moshe leads his people out of the slavery of physical bondage, YESHUA leads us out of the bondage of spiritual slavery of sin, leading us to a new life, in a personal relationship with HIM, as the Israelites entered into a renewed relationship with Elohei starting at Sinai, our relationship starts at Calvary. We are now joined to “His chosen people” through adoption, both native-born in Israel, and those who are from the diaspora, we are all ONE (ECHAD) in Messiah Yeshua Ben David, Ben Adam, and Ben YHVH. We continue to read and we find in chapter 4 that YHVH sends Moshe back to Egypt to lead his people out. We find that God works through people, some very special, others very ordinary. Yet before sending back Moshe, He prepares him in the desert as a shepherd. One can divide the life of Moshe into three parts, the first 40 years as prince and general in Egypt, the second 40 years as an outcast, yet an instrument in the hands of YHVH, and the last 40 years as leader of Israel. Before sending him back, there are three signs that YHVH gives Moshe, as “authority”. When we look at these three signs of authority, we see “Yeshua” in these signs. The first was the “Mateh” (The staff). It was common for every household leader to carry a staff, a little more than just a “walking stick”. The “Mateh” was a sign of leadership and authority. But this one would be changed into a serpent when Moshe threw it down before Pharaoh. The serpent was a sign of “kingly authority” in Egypt, as it was a part of the royal headdress that the pharaohs wore. Shepherds carried a “rod” and a “staff” when leading sheep. The “rod” was a short, heavy club that was used as a weapon, and the “staff” to lead. Yeshua is the “good shepherd” who leads us, who, “crushed the head of the serpent” at Calvary. The second sign was the sign of “disease and healing of said disease” namely “Tza-arat” (leprosy). We see in the Prophets that Elisha healed Naaman the Syrian of leprosy, and Yeshua also healed the sick, including lepers. Even in the desert, those who were bitten by “serpents” were healed by a “bronze serpent on a staff” (again, returning to the staff and serpent). Yeshua is our healer and heals us of the curse of sin and death. The third sign was the “water turned to blood” on dry land (4:9). This reminds us of our Messiah Yeshua, who when on the cross, was pierced by a Roman spear, and out of his side came “blood and water” and this mixture of “blood and water” fell from the cross on dry land. By his shed blood, we are saved, by Yeshua who is the “living Water”. So, we also see in these three signs, the “Torah” the “Prophets” and the “Brit HaDashah”(The New Testament) The blood of Messiah Jesus/Yeshua cleansed us from all sin, from the curse of sin. Payment fulfilled on the Cross of Calvary. Have you accepted His sacrifice for sin? Israelites in Egypt (Wall painting or Papyrus)