Jacob Ben Avraham

Parashah: “VaYetze” (and he went out) GENESIS 28:10-32:2 In this parashah study, we see that Jacob is on his way to Haran to find himself a wife (or two). He is tired after a long day's journey, He stops to rest outside of a city called “Luz” (In Spanish “Light”) and scripture says that he settles down for the night and takes “of the stones” (m'avenei) and puts “one” under his head for a pillow. I am sure that he chose a large, flat one, wrapped his tunic around it, and put his head down. Perhaps the stone was still warm from the heat of the day, and he went to sleep and dreamed..... But before we get to the dream, I'd like to note that in all English translations, the number “one” appears which states that he took “one” stone, yet the Hebrew does not give a certain number, the word “m'avenei” is used meaning “of the stones” It could be that he took one “of the stones” or a few “of the stones”. All we know is that he went to sleep and dreamed a strange dream. We all know the story of “Jacob's Ladder” we have read it in Bible storybooks, and from the Torah itself. Yet I think that the title is misleading, it wasn't “Jacob's Ladder” at all, it was “God's Ladder” Jacob was just a witness to seeing it, and the activity that surrounded it. The Word says that the ladder was grounded on the earth and the top reached Heaven, and angels went up and down the ladder. Then it says that YHVH stood beside Jacob and spoke saying; “Ani YHVH. Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak” (I am the LORD, God of Abraham, God of Isaac). The same promise that was given to Abraham and Isaac is now being repeated to Ya'akov. The land where he is at right now will be a possession for him and his seed. The title and deed of the Land of Israel pertain to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. YHVH said it, case closed! The rest of the people who live there are “residents” not owners! YHVH likens the descendants of Jacob to the “dust of the earth” Why dust? Dust cannot be counted, ever try to count a “speck of dust?” dust will “last forever” Also, lay something out in the desert for 1000 years, a car for example, in 1000 years, the car will be no more, probably not even a trace of it will be left, because the “dust” will have, in a way of speaking, “eaten it”. The dust is also “trodden upon.” “Am Yisrael” (The people of Israel) will be forever, as our faith in our “Mashiach m'Yisrael” (Messiah from Israel) is an everlasting faith, which will endure forever. Israel has also been “trodden on” stepped on, mistreated, and taken as worthless by maniac leaders, yet when all is gone and vanished, Israel will be forever. Scripture also says that Israel will be spread abroad to the North, South, East, and West. In other words, “All over the world” and we have seen just that today. We have Jewish people in all nations of the world, integrated among all the nations, taking the Torah with them, and the belief in ONE GOD (Echad). We have three major Jewish peoples, “Sephardim” from Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East. “Ashkenazim” from Germany and East Europe, and “Falashim” from Ethiopia and other African countries. The Torah says, “In thy seed will all the families of the earth be blessed. Who is the Seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Yeshua! He was of the seed of these patriarchs! And we are all blessed by HIM, whose one-time sacrifice for sin saved us all, from eternal separation from YHVH. His name “YESHUAH” is “Salvation” from YAH. When Jacob awoke from his dream, he stood the “stone” that he placed as a pillow, “upright” and anointed it with oil, calling that place “Beit-El” (House of God). The rabbis of old give meaning to this, some say that the “stones that were together become ONE” some say that Jacob gathered 12 stones, and these 12 stones became ONE, symbolizing the 12 sons of Israel, that became 12 tribes, were “united” as “AM ECHAD” (One People) at Sinai under Moshe after they had left Egypt. The word “stone” in Hebrew is “AVEN” which is a combination of two words, AV (father) and BEN (Son) Father and Son as ONE (Echad). The anointing of the “Stone” reminds us of the anointing of YESHUA as Messiah, teacher of Torah, healer, and redeemer. He is the SOLID ROCK. We see that Jacob put “the stones” or “The stone” under his head as a pillow. In symbolic meaning, one way we can see the word “stone” or “Aven” is the meaning in gematria, “Aven” = 53 in gematria, “Grace through Elohim” (5 +3) = 8 (new Beginning) Jacob is on the road to a “new Beginning” he has left behind Esau and the problem associated with Esau, and will have a “new start” but it will not be easy being with Uncle Laban and his school of “hard knocks”. Yeshua is the “solid Rock” and as we see that the “stone” is under Jacob’s head, it is next to his mind, so, in a way of thinking, our thoughts should be in Yeshua and in things of the Torah. We also see symbolism in the "Stone" which was under his head. He lifted it upright and anointed it with oil. How does this remind us of Messiah Yeshua? The Messiah was the Rock that was anointed by the Father to do His will on earth. When He gave his life for us all on Calvary's Hill, they "laid Him down", and "stretched out on the cross" to receive the nails. Then, the anointed one was "lifted up" on that cross to take upon the curse of our sins. We can also see it this way. The stone was flat under Jacob's head, then lifted up. Yeshua was placed in the tomb, He was laid on (probably) a stone slab, and three days later, was "lifted up" and left the tomb alive once again. The ladder itself is symbolic. The sages and rabbis of old liken the ladder to “Moshe climbing up to the top of Sinai to receive the Commandments carved in STONE, and later, went up again for 40 days and nights to receive the whole Torah which he later wrote down. He went UP and YHVH came DOWN, we liken this unto “Yeshua the Living WORD, the living TORAH”. Other rabbis imagine the ladder as having 22 steps, each step being a letter of the Alef-Bet, the Hebrew Alphabet. Since all letters form words, we look again at Yeshua who is the “living WORD, the living TRUTH. The ladder is the “WAY up, and the WAY down. Yeshua said, “I AM the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE, no one comes to the Father but by ME” The word “ladder” in Hebrew is “SULAM” in gematria, it equals the sum of 136. the words “Tzom” (fasting) “Kol” (voice) and “Mammon” (money) also sum “136”. So how do these words speak of Yeshua? Yeshua “Fasted” for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, he “voiced” his prayers to His Father in Heaven, and he taught about money, and “Tzedakah” (deeds of kindness) “it is more blessed to give than receive” he taught that we must put money in its proper perspective, since the “LOVE” of money is the root of all evil, he taught that one should be “content” with the wages received, (when speaking to the Roman soldier). The ladder is also connected and fixed on earth and reaches unto Heaven. How does this identify with Messiah Yeshua? He is the connection on earth that gives us the connection to Heaven. How do these words speak of our relationship with Yeshua? We first come to “Salvation” (Yeshuah) through “Prayer” (voice) of repentance (tefillah/ teshuva) and there are times when we must “fast” to get prayers answered, and we fast on Yom Kippur. We “give money” through tithes and offerings to our local church/synagogue to keep it going. We accept Yeshua/Jesus as our Savior and LORD, and thus, "connected" to Heaven. But who or what is the ladder really? Is there a correct answer? It is in the Brit HaDashah/ New Testament. (Read John 1:51) Grandma's cats. What can I say, come people just love cats. (Canton San Geronimo, Guazapa, El Salvador)

Parashah: “VaYetze” (and he went out) GENESIS 28:10-32:2 In this parashah study, we see that Jacob is on his way to Haran to find himself a wife (or two). He is tired after a long day's journey, He stops to rest outside of a city called “Luz” (In Spanish “Light”) and scripture says that he settles down for the night and takes “of the stones” (m'avenei) and puts “one” under his head for a pillow. I am sure that he chose a large, flat one, wrapped his tunic around it, and put his head down. Perhaps the stone was still warm from the heat of the day, and he went to sleep and dreamed..... But before we get to the dream, I'd like to note that in all English translations, the number “one” appears which states that he took “one” stone, yet the Hebrew does not give a certain number, the word “m'avenei” is used meaning “of the stones” It could be that he took one “of the stones” or a few “of the stones”. All we know is that he went to sleep and dreamed a strange dream. We all know the story of “Jacob's Ladder” we have read it in Bible storybooks, and from the Torah itself. Yet I think that the title is misleading, it wasn't “Jacob's Ladder” at all, it was “God's Ladder” Jacob was just a witness to seeing it, and the activity that surrounded it. The Word says that the ladder was grounded on the earth and the top reached Heaven, and angels went up and down the ladder. Then it says that YHVH stood beside Jacob and spoke saying; “Ani YHVH. Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak” (I am the LORD, God of Abraham, God of Isaac). The same promise that was given to Abraham and Isaac is now being repeated to Ya'akov. The land where he is at right now will be a possession for him and his seed. The title and deed of the Land of Israel pertain to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. YHVH said it, case closed! The rest of the people who live there are “residents” not owners! YHVH likens the descendants of Jacob to the “dust of the earth” Why dust? Dust cannot be counted, ever try to count a “speck of dust?” dust will “last forever” Also, lay something out in the desert for 1000 years, a car for example, in 1000 years, the car will be no more, probably not even a trace of it will be left, because the “dust” will have, in a way of speaking, “eaten it”. The dust is also “trodden upon.” “Am Yisrael” (The people of Israel) will be forever, as our faith in our “Mashiach m'Yisrael” (Messiah from Israel) is an everlasting faith, which will endure forever. Israel has also been “trodden on” stepped on, mistreated, and taken as worthless by maniac leaders, yet when all is gone and vanished, Israel will be forever. Scripture also says that Israel will be spread abroad to the North, South, East, and West. In other words, “All over the world” and we have seen just that today. We have Jewish people in all nations of the world, integrated among all the nations, taking the Torah with them, and the belief in ONE GOD (Echad). We have three major Jewish peoples, “Sephardim” from Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East. “Ashkenazim” from Germany and East Europe, and “Falashim” from Ethiopia and other African countries. The Torah says, “In thy seed will all the families of the earth be blessed. Who is the Seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Yeshua! He was of the seed of these patriarchs! And we are all blessed by HIM, whose one-time sacrifice for sin saved us all, from eternal separation from YHVH. His name “YESHUAH” is “Salvation” from YAH. When Jacob awoke from his dream, he stood the “stone” that he placed as a pillow, “upright” and anointed it with oil, calling that place “Beit-El” (House of God). The rabbis of old give meaning to this, some say that the “stones that were together become ONE” some say that Jacob gathered 12 stones, and these 12 stones became ONE, symbolizing the 12 sons of Israel, that became 12 tribes, were “united” as “AM ECHAD” (One People) at Sinai under Moshe after they had left Egypt. The word “stone” in Hebrew is “AVEN” which is a combination of two words, AV (father) and BEN (Son) Father and Son as ONE (Echad). The anointing of the “Stone” reminds us of the anointing of YESHUA as Messiah, teacher of Torah, healer, and redeemer. He is the SOLID ROCK. We see that Jacob put “the stones” or “The stone” under his head as a pillow. In symbolic meaning, one way we can see the word “stone” or “Aven” is the meaning in gematria, “Aven” = 53 in gematria, “Grace through Elohim” (5 +3) = 8 (new Beginning) Jacob is on the road to a “new Beginning” he has left behind Esau and the problem associated with Esau, and will have a “new start” but it will not be easy being with Uncle Laban and his school of “hard knocks”. Yeshua is the “solid Rock” and as we see that the “stone” is under Jacob’s head, it is next to his mind, so, in a way of thinking, our thoughts should be in Yeshua and in things of the Torah. We also see symbolism in the "Stone" which was under his head. He lifted it upright and anointed it with oil. How does this remind us of Messiah Yeshua? The Messiah was the Rock that was anointed by the Father to do His will on earth. When He gave his life for us all on Calvary's Hill, they "laid Him down", and "stretched out on the cross" to receive the nails. Then, the anointed one was "lifted up" on that cross to take upon the curse of our sins. We can also see it this way. The stone was flat under Jacob's head, then lifted up. Yeshua was placed in the tomb, He was laid on (probably) a stone slab, and three days later, was "lifted up" and left the tomb alive once again. The ladder itself is symbolic. The sages and rabbis of old liken the ladder to “Moshe climbing up to the top of Sinai to receive the Commandments carved in STONE, and later, went up again for 40 days and nights to receive the whole Torah which he later wrote down. He went UP and YHVH came DOWN, we liken this unto “Yeshua the Living WORD, the living TORAH”. Other rabbis imagine the ladder as having 22 steps, each step being a letter of the Alef-Bet, the Hebrew Alphabet. Since all letters form words, we look again at Yeshua who is the “living WORD, the living TRUTH. The ladder is the “WAY up, and the WAY down. Yeshua said, “I AM the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE, no one comes to the Father but by ME” The word “ladder” in Hebrew is “SULAM” in gematria, it equals the sum of 136. the words “Tzom” (fasting) “Kol” (voice) and “Mammon” (money) also sum “136”. So how do these words speak of Yeshua? Yeshua “Fasted” for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, he “voiced” his prayers to His Father in Heaven, and he taught about money, and “Tzedakah” (deeds of kindness) “it is more blessed to give than receive” he taught that we must put money in its proper perspective, since the “LOVE” of money is the root of all evil, he taught that one should be “content” with the wages received, (when speaking to the Roman soldier). The ladder is also connected and fixed on earth and reaches unto Heaven. How does this identify with Messiah Yeshua? He is the connection on earth that gives us the connection to Heaven. How do these words speak of our relationship with Yeshua? We first come to “Salvation” (Yeshuah) through “Prayer” (voice) of repentance (tefillah/ teshuva) and there are times when we must “fast” to get prayers answered, and we fast on Yom Kippur. We “give money” through tithes and offerings to our local church/synagogue to keep it going. We accept Yeshua/Jesus as our Savior and LORD, and thus, "connected" to Heaven. But who or what is the ladder really? Is there a correct answer? It is in the Brit HaDashah/ New Testament. (read John 1:51) Grandma's cats. What can I say, some people just love cats.

MAL 1:1-2:7 The prophet speaks and writes through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) “Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated”. You ask, “Isn't God love?” isn't God all about love? Why does he “hate poor Esau?” The word “hate” has the same meaning as “reject”. YHVH who is “all-knowing” knew even before Esau was born that he would reject HIM, so, YHVH rejected Esau! Just as God knew Esau even before he was born, so He knows our hearts as well. It's kind of strange that God knows the future of our lives. Yet we do have a choice. Yet He knows what choice we will make. So, where does that leave us? It still leaves us with choices in our lives. It is good to look at the BIG picture. The BIG picture is eternity. What we do in this world determines the outcome in the World to Come. Esau made a bad choice, he chose the things of the flesh and the world and despised the things of God. God knew this ahead of time. What are we saying here? YHVH (God) is outside of time and space. He lives in the infinite dimension and interacts in the finite dimension which is ours. We are a part of the finite dimension yet one day, we will leave the finite and enter into the infinite. So, don't reject the things of God, or you will have all eternity to regret it. Polluted offerings, corrupt priests. No wonder God is fed up with Israel, they have gone “the way of Esau” offering God the “leftovers” and not offering with “pure hearts”. It is like today, if we serve the LORD with less than our best, or only with “half a heart” or just because we feel we “have to” then, we are offering “polluted offerings” We should serve GOD with all we have, with the best we have, or not at all! MATT 10:1-11:30 Yeshua sends out the twelve talmidim, to teach Torah and to share the word that Yeshua is Mashiach, and has fulfilled all the prophecies of the Torah. First to the “lost sheep of Israel” remember that Israel has been scattered to many different countries, many being absorbed by the nations, yet still remember their identity, but even in Israel, there are those who need to know the truth about Yeshua as Messiah, prophesied by Moshe and the prophets. In Luke 10, Yeshua sent out 70 talmidim/disciples, in pairs, to different towns to prepare for his visitation. So, we can see that He not only had 12 followers, He had many more who followed (of course, only a handful wrote the gospels). Many times, the ministry is shared and it is teamwork. At other times, it is an individual endeavor, such as writing commentaries and sending them out into the Net (like what I do). The work and ministry of sharing/teaching the WORD of God is not a lone undertaking, it is to be shared by many, and ALL who have that calling. Even Yeshua, God in human form, could not be in all places at the same time, so he sent out his followers, to fulfill the “Great Commission”. Today, we are equipped with the “gifts of the Spirit” to fulfill this great task, and today we have the internet to help spread the “Good News” whereas hundreds of years ago, only papers and books were available to those who took up that task. We are living in exciting times, let's take advantage of everything that is available to us today. Use all things to the glory of God. ROM 9:6-13 Very interesting verses; “For not everyone from Israel is truly part of Israel. Indeed, not all descendants are from the seed of Abraham. The Hebrew New Testament says; “Lo kol asher heim mi-Yisrael gam Yisrael” (not all of them who are from Israel also Israel). If we remember, Abraham had two sons from the womb of Sarah, Ishmael, and Yitzchak, even though both were his sons, the promise was in Yitzchak. The descendants of Ishmael are now the Arab countries. Can we say that they also have the same interests that all believers have? Are they not following another religion? Even though quite a few are born-again believers. In Israel today we see quite a few cultures and people groups, but not all are direct descendants of Abraham. But let’s go a step further and say; “Not all have the faith of our father “Israel” and many in “Israel” have little or no faith at all, so, how can we have the faith of “Israel” and thus be part of “Am Yisrael?” It is through the “Yeshua Connection” that we are connected to the Community of Israel. We have been grafted in, and now share the blessings of Israel. The branches of a tree are connected to the trunk and roots. The trunk and roots in this way are represented by Yeshua. So, to be a real part of “Am Yisrael” to be part of the “Covenant of Abraham” doesn’t depend on blood relation, but “Spirit” relation. One can be a physical descendant of Abraham, and be lost and go to hell, but one can turn that relationship around and be “heaven-bound” through a personal relationship with Messiah Yeshua, the hope of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Shalom Keep your prayers focused on Israel

MAL 1:1-2:7 The prophet speaks and writes through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) “Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated”. You ask, “Isn't God love?” isn't God all about love? Why does he “hate poor Esau?” The word “hate” has the same meaning as “reject”. YHVH who is “all-knowing” knew even before Esau was born that he would reject HIM, so, YHVH rejected Esau! Just as God knew Esau even before he was born, so He knows our hearts as well. It's kind of strange that God knows the future of our lives. Yet we do have a choice. Yet He knows what choice we will make. So, where does that leave us? It still leaves us with choices in our lives. It is good to look at the BIG picture. The BIG picture is eternity. What we do in this world determines the outcome in the World to Come. Esau made a bad choice, he chose the things of the flesh and the world and despised the things of God. God knew this ahead of time. What are we saying here? YHVH (God) is outside of time and space. He lives in the infinite dimension and interacts in the finite dimension which is ours. We are a part of the finite dimension yet one day, we will leave the finite and enter into the infinite. So, don't reject the things of God, or you will have all eternity to regret it. Polluted offerings, corrupt priests. No wonder God is fed up with Israel, they have gone “the way of Esau” offering God the “leftovers” and not offering with “pure hearts”. It is like today, if we serve the LORD with less than our best, or only with “half a heart” or just because we feel we “have to” then, we are offering “polluted offerings” We should serve GOD with all we have, with the best we have, or not at all! MATT 10:1-11:30 Yeshua sends out the twelve talmidim, to teach Torah and to share the word that Yeshua is Mashiach, and has fulfilled all the prophecies of the Torah. First to the “lost sheep of Israel” remember that Israel has been scattered to many different countries, many being absorbed by the nations, yet still remember their identity, but even in Israel, there are those who need to know the truth about Yeshua as Messiah, prophesied by Moshe and the prophets. In Luke 10, Yeshua sent out 70 talmidim/disciples, in pairs, to different towns to prepare for his visitation. So, we can see that He not only had 12 followers, He had many more who followed (of course, only a handful wrote the gospels). Many times, the ministry is shared and it is teamwork. At other times, it is an individual endeavor, such as writing commentaries and sending them out into the Net (like what I do). The work and ministry of sharing/teaching the WORD of God is not a lone undertaking, it is to be shared by many, and ALL who have that calling. Even Yeshua, God in human form, could not be in all places at the same time, so he sent out his followers, to fulfill the “Great Commission”. Today, we are equipped with the “gifts of the Spirit” to fulfill this great task, and today we have the internet to help spread the “Good News” whereas hundreds of years ago, only papers and books were available to those who took up that task. We are living in exciting times, let's take advantage of everything that is available to us today. Use all things to the glory of God. ROM 9:6-13 Very interesting verses; “For not everyone from Israel is truly part of Israel. Indeed, not all descendants are from the seed of Abraham. The Hebrew New Testament says; “Lo kol asher heim mi-Yisrael gam Yisrael” (not all of them who are from Israel also Israel). If we remember, Abraham had two sons from the womb of Sarah, Ishmael, and Yitzchak, even though both were his sons, the promise was in Yitzchak. The descendants of Ishmael are now the Arab countries. Can we say that they also have the same interests that all believers have? Are they not following another religion? Even though quite a few are born-again believers. In Israel today we see quite a few cultures and people groups, but not all are direct descendants of Abraham. But let’s go a step further and say; “Not all have the faith of our father “Israel” and many in “Israel” have little or no faith at all, so, how can we have the faith of “Israel” and thus be part of “Am Yisrael?” It is through the “Yeshua Connection” that we are connected to the Community of Israel. We have been grafted in, and now share the blessings of Israel. The branches of a tree are connected to the trunk and roots. The trunk and roots in this way are represented by Yeshua. So, to be a real part of “Am Yisrael” to be part of the “Covenant of Abraham” doesn’t depend on blood relation, but “Spirit” relation. One can be a physical descendant of Abraham, and be lost and go to hell, but one can turn that relationship around and be “heaven-bound” through a personal relationship with Messiah Yeshua, the hope of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Shalom Keep your prayers focused on Israel

PARASHAH: TOLDOT (generations) GEN 25:19-28:9 This study starts out with the generations of Abraham and Sarah. One interesting fact is that after the death of Sarah, Abraham marries Keturah, and has six children with her. The genealogy even includes their children as well. One thing we see, Abraham leaves his "legacy" to Yitzchak, "His Son" but gives gifts to his other children and sends them away. Now, aren't those other children also "his sons?" Yes, we say, yet the Torah emphasizes "Yitzchak" "His Son" "His Only Son" who would inherit the Promise of God. How do we fit into this? God has "One Only Son" (Yeshua HaMashiach) who was our substitute to pay the price for our sins. Yet we are "His other sons, and daughters" (B'nei v'Banot Elohim) "Sons and daughters of God" We have received "gifts" of the Spirit to fulfill our work on this earth. We are still connected to our Heavenly Father, through Yeshua. We have been included in the great inheritance in the New Jerusalem, in the World to Come. Now, we will go back to Isaac. After years of waiting and praying they finally had Yitzchak. The legacy continues, and the promise of YHVH is revealed once more, but not without testing of faith. Yitzchak and Riv'kah also had to wait, about 20 years, yet they prayed and entreated the LORD to have a child. “The prayer of the righteous prevails” The following is from the Talmud (B. Yevamot 64: a) “Why were some of our ancestors barren? Because the Holy One (blessed be He) longs to bless the prayers of the righteous” Since Yitzchak and Riv’kah were righteous, and part of the covenant promise, YHVH (in HIS timing) answered their prayer. Does that mean that ALL prayer is answered? Yes, it is, but not always the way we want Adonai to answer it. The answer comes in three forms; Yes, No, and “later on” The sick are prayed over, and many are healed, others are prayed for, and YHVH takes them home. It doesn't mean to stop praying or pray once, God likes “continuous prayer” The birth of “B'nei Yitzchak v’ Riv’kah” came as a surprise, “twins inside” and the battle ensued. Yet the LORD speaks to Riv'kah saying: “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people will be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger” When we look at this today, we see prophecy revealed plainly as day. From “Ya'akov”, we get “Am Yisrael” the (Nation of Israel), and from “Esav” we get the name “Edom” which is almost the same as “Adam” with the exception of the “o” or in Hebrew, the letter “Vav” (v) If we look at the paleo-Hebrew, one could get the symbolism of “Esau” who was made of “Blood and spirit” was connected (Vav) to “chaos” Esav was a “man of the earth, disinterested in spiritual things, he was materialistic, he related more to the “red” earth than the things of God. From “Esav/Edom” we get Haman (the Agagite) and from Haman, the nation of “Rome” was formed. Rome was stronger and conquered a good part of the world, and Israel was under the yoke of Rome, YET today, we look at Israel, it has the strongest, and one of the most advanced and modern Military in the world. It was indeed an honor to serve under the IDF in 2015, and I am looking forward to supporting the IDF again in the future. Especially now, in this time of war against Hamas and Hezbollah. Jacob and Esau, are twin brothers but two separate nations, two brothers, yet worlds apart, One is spiritual, interested in the things of God, and the other, is interested in the things of the world. Esau and Jacob represent the world of today. We have the “lost” and “unrepented man” and we have the “born again believers” which include ALL who have accepted Yeshua the Messiah as LORD and Savior, doesn't matter if we are Sabbath observing messianic believers, or Sunday, church going believer, we are ALL part of God's family. Yet we see that Jacob exhibited “carnal behavior” he wanted things “his way” yet when God sent Jacob to Uncle Laban's “school of hard Knocks” he came out different... (but that is in the next parashah). Jacob symbolizes “all believers” both carnal and spirit-filled. We ALL have growing and maturing to go through on this side of heaven. I would like to take a look at three names; Adam, Edom, Esau, Jacob/Israel. How are we like these names? Adam and Edom are spelled almost the same. Adam was the first man made in the “image of Elohim” he was made from the earth, “Edom” means “red” perhaps the earth with which Elohim made Adam was a reddish color. Esau was a carnal man and gave in to his hunger and ate of Jacob’s “red” lentil stew. Adam was made perfect in all ways, yet sin broke the fellowship between him and God, thus, sin was passed down to all generations. Esau and Jacob, one could say were like “twins”. Yet one sought after spiritual things and the other, after carnal things. Jacob and Esau symbolize the spiritual man and carnal man, yet we can decide which “man” we want to follow and emulate. Esau despised his birthright for lentil stew, we can see the same today, many people will prefer a life of sin, money, fast cars, drugs, fame, you name it, and reject the gift of God, “Salvation” (YESHUAH) and then “perish” for all eternity. That's kind of like “exchanging” Eternal life with God for a “temporary life” of comfort and ease, riches, etc. Just doesn't make sense, does it? We can also see this in believers. In believers, we have the “Esau” nature, and the “Jacob” nature. The “Esau” nature is our carnal sin nature, which responds to the flesh, but the “Jacob” nature, is our “spirit-filled” nature which is attracted to the things of the spirit, the things of God. It is our choice which “nature” governs our lives. The time of blessing comes, Isaac is old and blind, and there has been a family “division” Esau “Loved” Esau (because of his wild game) yet Rebecca “loved” Jacob. Does that mean that Isaac didn't love Jacob and Rebecca didn't love Esau? No, only means that there were “family favorites” which is a big NO, if we are to live in peace with our children today, even between “students and teachers” no favorites, please! We see in Chap 27, that Jacob passes for Esau, and Esau gets the shorter end of the stick. Taking advantage of poor Isaac's blindness, yet there is a saying “The chickens come home to roost” and “What goes around, comes around” We will see LATER, what happens, Jacob is the younger, and pretends to be the older. When Jacob gets married, he thinks he's getting the younger daughter, but gets the older daughter. Jacob deceives Isaac in his “darkness” (blindness) and Jacob gets deceived being in “darkness” (nighttime, dark tent) and maybe he had too much to drink to know who got in bed with him. Esau doesn't change, he marries a “Hittite” woman and then gets another wife from his uncle Ishmael, and causes grief for Yitzchak and Rebecca. They were against mixing with the Canaanite women, yet Esau goes against their wishes, thinking only in himself. So, the question is; “Jacob or Esau” who do we resemble most? It might be a thought-provoking question, but it is a question we must ask ourselves. We may be born-again believers, yet if our thoughts are earthly, and God’s Word doesn’t fill our minds daily. If our daily life is more carnal than spirit-filled, and our words are less than kosher, then, we would have to be honest with ourselves and say; “We are Esau!” yet it doesn’t have to be that way. If we say; “I take after Jacob!” then, are we guided by God’s Word, his Spirit? Remember that his name was changed to “Israel” (Yashar-El) “Straight to God” Do our thoughts go “straight to God?” Are we living our own lives, or are we living the “God-in-us” lives? Is it really our life or God’s life that is within us? Shalom God's Way is the best!

PARASHAH: TOLDOT (generations) GEN 25:19-28:9 This study starts out with the generations of Abraham and Sarah. One interesting fact is that after the death of Sarah, Abraham marries Keturah, and has six children with her. The genealogy even includes their children as well. One thing we see, Abraham leaves his "legacy" to Yitzchak, "His Son" but gives gifts to his other children and sends them away. Now, aren't those other children also "his sons?" Yes, we say, yet the Torah emphasizes "Yitzchak" "His Son" "His Only Son" who would inherit the Promise of God. How do we fit into this? God has "One Only Son" (Yeshua HaMashiach) who was our substitute to pay the price for our sins. Yet we are "His other sons, and daughters" (B'nei v'Banot Elohim) "Sons and daughters of God" We have received "gifts" of the Spirit to fulfill our work on this earth. We are still connected to our Heavenly Father, through Yeshua. We have been included in the great inheritance in the New Jerusalem, in the World to Come. Now, we will go back to Isaac. After years of waiting and praying they finally had Yitzchak. The legacy continues, and the promise of YHVH is revealed once more, but not without testing of faith. Yitzchak and Riv'kah also had to wait, about 20 years, yet they prayed and entreated the LORD to have a child. “The prayer of the righteous prevails” The following is from the Talmud (B. Yevamot 64: a) “Why were some of our ancestors barren? Because the Holy One (blessed be He) longs to bless the prayers of the righteous” Since Yitzchak and Riv’kah were righteous, and part of the covenant promise, YHVH (in HIS timing) answered their prayer. Does that mean that ALL prayer is answered? Yes, it is, but not always the way we want Adonai to answer it. The answer comes in three forms; Yes, No, and “later on” The sick are prayed over, and many are healed, others are prayed for, and YHVH takes them home. It doesn't mean to stop praying or pray once, God likes “continuous prayer” The birth of “B'nei Yitzchak v’ Riv’kah” came as a surprise, “twins inside” and the battle ensued. Yet the LORD speaks to Riv'kah saying: “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people will be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger” When we look at this today, we see prophecy revealed plainly as day. From “Ya'akov”, we get “Am Yisrael” the (Nation of Israel), and from “Esav” we get the name “Edom” which is almost the same as “Adam” with the exception of the “o” or in Hebrew, the letter “Vav” (v) If we look at the paleo-Hebrew, one could get the symbolism of “Esau” who was made of “Blood and spirit” was connected (Vav) to “chaos” Esav was a “man of the earth, disinterested in spiritual things, he was materialistic, he related more to the “red” earth than the things of God. From “Esav/Edom” we get Haman (the Agagite) and from Haman, the nation of “Rome” was formed. Rome was stronger and conquered a good part of the world, and Israel was under the yoke of Rome, YET today, we look at Israel, it has the strongest, and one of the most advanced and modern Military in the world. It was indeed an honor to serve under the IDF in 2015, and I am looking forward to supporting the IDF again in the future. Especially now, in this time of war against Hamas and Hezbollah. Jacob and Esau, are twin brothers but two separate nations, two brothers, yet worlds apart, One is spiritual, interested in the things of God, and the other, is interested in the things of the world. Esau and Jacob represent the world of today. We have the “lost” and “unrepented man” and we have the “born again believers” which include ALL who have accepted Yeshua the Messiah as LORD and Savior, doesn't matter if we are Sabbath observing messianic believers, or Sunday, church going believer, we are ALL part of God's family. Yet we see that Jacob exhibited “carnal behavior” he wanted things “his way” yet when God sent Jacob to Uncle Laban's “school of hard Knocks” he came out different... (but that is in the next parashah). Jacob symbolizes “all believers” both carnal and spirit-filled. We ALL have growing and maturing to go through on this side of heaven. I would like to take a look at three names; Adam, Edom, Esau, Jacob/Israel. How are we like these names? Adam and Edom are spelled almost the same. Adam was the first man made in the “image of Elohim” he was made from the earth, “Edom” means “red” perhaps the earth with which Elohim made Adam was a reddish color. Esau was a carnal man and gave in to his hunger and ate of Jacob’s “red” lentil stew. Adam was made perfect in all ways, yet sin broke the fellowship between him and God, thus, sin was passed down to all generations. Esau and Jacob, one could say were like “twins”. Yet one sought after spiritual things and the other, after carnal things. Jacob and Esau symbolize the spiritual man and carnal man, yet we can decide which “man” we want to follow and emulate. Esau despised his birthright for lentil stew, we can see the same today, many people will prefer a life of sin, money, fast cars, drugs, fame, you name it, and reject the gift of God, “Salvation” (YESHUAH) and then “perish” for all eternity. That's kind of like “exchanging” Eternal life with God for a “temporary life” of comfort and ease, riches, etc. Just doesn't make sense, does it? We can also see this in believers. In believers, we have the “Esau” nature, and the “Jacob” nature. The “Esau” nature is our carnal sin nature, which responds to the flesh, but the “Jacob” nature, is our “spirit-filled” nature which is attracted to the things of the spirit, the things of God. It is our choice which “nature” governs our lives. The time of blessing comes, Isaac is old and blind, and there has been a family “division” Esau “Loved” Esau (because of his wild game) yet Rebecca “loved” Jacob. Does that mean that Isaac didn't love Jacob and Rebecca didn't love Esau? No, only means that there were “family favorites” which is a big NO, if we are to live in peace with our children today, even between “students and teachers” no favorites, please! We see in Chap 27, that Jacob passes for Esau, and Esau gets the shorter end of the stick. Taking advantage of poor Isaac's blindness, yet there is a saying “The chickens come home to roost” and “What goes around, comes around” We will see LATER, what happens, Jacob is the younger, and pretends to be the older. When Jacob gets married, he thinks he's getting the younger daughter, but gets the older daughter. Jacob deceives Isaac in his “darkness” (blindness) and Jacob gets deceived being in “darkness” (nighttime, dark tent) and maybe he had too much to drink to know who got in bed with him. Esau doesn't change, he marries a “Hittite” woman and then gets another wife from his uncle Ishmael, and causes grief for Yitzchak and Rebecca. They were against mixing with the Canaanite women, yet Esau goes against their wishes, thinking only in himself. So, the question is; “Jacob or Esau” who do we resemble most? It might be a thought-provoking question, but it is a question we must ask ourselves. We may be born-again believers, yet if our thoughts are earthly, and God’s Word doesn’t fill our minds daily. If our daily life is more carnal than spirit-filled, and our words are less than kosher, then, we would have to be honest with ourselves and say; “We are Esau!” yet it doesn’t have to be that way. If we say; “I take after Jacob!” then, are we guided by God’s Word, his Spirit? Remember that his name was changed to “Israel” (Yashar-El) “Straight to God” Do our thoughts go “straight to God?” Are we living our own lives, or are we living the “God-in-us” lives? Is it really our life or God’s life that is within us? Shalom God's Way is the best!

1 KINGS 1:1-31 This tells the sad story of a father who failed to discipline his sons, and old king David reaped the whirlwind, Adonijah (which means YHVH is my master) if it were so, He would have been in subjection to his father David, had the nerve to proclaim himself king, even before David dies. Yet David corrects the situation and names Solomon as the future king. This part of the Parashah teaches us to be under authority, willingly, the bridegroom has his bride under His authority and subjection, BUT NOT in a tyrannical way, not like a “dictatorship” but under a “love “relationship. A wife can be under subjection to the husband, and feel used, like an object, or feel loved and protected, it all depends on the husband, if He is under the subjection to the LORD, he will treat his wife with love and respect. Just as Abraham treated his wife Sarah with respect, giving her love and understanding, and even following her advice (even that unwise advice) so we should treat our spouses with love and respect. As fathers (and mothers) we should love and treat our children with love and respect. When we don't correct our children, and let them do "whatever" soon they will be out of control. Many will walk in rebellion, trying to "take the kingdom" You might ask; "How can I raise my kids? my grandkids?" Take them to church, and not just now and then. Every Sunday, or if you are Messianic, every Shabbat. Teach them God's Word, every day, not just in Sunday School and in Torah school. Throw the "fairy Tale" books out the window, the Harry Potter garbage, especially those idiotic games on iPads and iPhones. Most kids shouldn't even have them. (Too distracting) Read to them from God's Word every night, especially if they are illustrated Bible books. As they grow, they will learn God's Word. MATT 8:1-9:18 We see here that Yeshua shows love through action, in healing the leper. It is an act of “giving” He gave back health to an unclean man, yet Yeshua also respected and honored the Torah, in telling the man to go to the priest and offer the proper sacrifice for his healing, Yeshua, who is our Messiah, Savior and LORD had ALL RESPECT for the Torah and its commandments. Another thing we must note is that there are two types of “Tza-arat” (Leprosy) physical and spiritual. One thing is being healed physically, on the outside, another is being healed on the inside. We can be healthy outside, but corrupt on the inside, or, unhealthy physically, yet Holiness resides inwardly. We need that balance, of being “tahor” (clean) both inwardly and outwardly. We must also remember though, the situation with Lot from the last Parashah, how he was called “Righteous Lot” yet was affected by living in Sodom, he had to be almost, “dragged out” by the two angels. His inner being was being affected by living around the wicked. His wife was “sold out” to Sodom and became “well salted” in the end, and his daughters committed indecency with him, which led to the origins of Moab and Ammon. Take care lest we be “Tza-arat” inwardly. The rest of these two chapters have to do with Yeshua healing the paralytic, a Roman officer tells Yeshua about his sick servant. He heals many, and all who come to Him. As Yeshua healed those with physical ailments, we should also be concerned with our spiritual ailments. Through the power of the Ruach HaKodesh, we all have access to be healed by the power of God. God can choose to heal, or take a son or daughter home to be with him. Our physical bodies will wear away, grow old, and finally, cease to function, yet our Spirit being is what lives on forever. But WHERE? That is the choice that every person will have to make. Salvation or perdition, The choice is within our grasp. If “Yeshuah” (salvation) is our choice, our “corruptible” will be transformed into “incorruptible” when we are transformed to live with Adonai forever, the same with perdition, all who choose to reject Yeshua, will remain in their corruptible essence forever, enduring the fires of the wrath of G-d’s divine judgment. So, make the right choice, choose Yeshua, choose “Yeshuah” (salvation) from 1 Cor 15:50-57 Shalom

1 KINGS 1:1-31 This tells the sad story of a father who failed to discipline his sons, and old king David reaped the whirlwind, Adonijah (which means YHVH is my master) if it were so, He would have been in subjection to his father David, had the nerve to proclaim himself king, even before David dies. Yet David corrects the situation and names Solomon as the future king. This part of the Parashah teaches us to be under authority, willingly, the bridegroom has his bride under His authority and subjection, BUT NOT in a tyrannical way, not like a “dictatorship” but under a “love “relationship. A wife can be under subjection to the husband, and feel used, like an object, or feel loved and protected, it all depends on the husband, if He is under the subjection to the LORD, he will treat his wife with love and respect. Just as Abraham treated his wife Sarah with respect, giving her love and understanding, and even following her advice (even that unwise advice) so we should treat our spouses with love and respect. As fathers (and mothers) we should love and treat our children with love and respect. When we don't correct our children, and let them do "whatever" soon they will be out of control. Many will walk in rebellion, trying to "take the kingdom" You might ask; "How can I raise my kids? my grandkids?" Take them to church, and not just now and then. Every Sunday, or if you are Messianic, every Shabbat. Teach them God's Word, every day, not just in Sunday School and in Torah school. Throw the "fairy Tale" books out the window, the Harry Potter garbage, especially those idiotic games on iPads and iPhones. Most kids shouldn't even have them. (Too distracting) Read to them from God's Word every night, especially if they are illustrated Bible books. As they grow, they will learn God's Word. MATT 8:1-9:18 We see here that Yeshua shows love through action, in healing the leper. It is an act of “giving” He gave back health to an unclean man, yet Yeshua also respected and honored the Torah, in telling the man to go to the priest and offer the proper sacrifice for his healing, Yeshua, who is our Messiah, Savior and LORD had ALL RESPECT for the Torah and its commandments. Another thing we must note is that there are two types of “Tza-arat” (Leprosy) physical and spiritual. One thing is being healed physically, on the outside, another is being healed on the inside. We can be healthy outside, but corrupt on the inside, or, unhealthy physically, yet Holiness resides inwardly. We need that balance, of being “tahor” (clean) both inwardly and outwardly. We must also remember though, the situation with Lot from the last Parashah, how he was called “Righteous Lot” yet was affected by living in Sodom, he had to be almost, “dragged out” by the two angels. His inner being was being affected by living around the wicked. His wife was “sold out” to Sodom and became “well salted” in the end, and his daughters committed indecency with him, which led to the origins of Moab and Ammon. Take care lest we be “Tza-arat” inwardly. The rest of these two chapters have to do with Yeshua healing the paralytic, a Roman officer tells Yeshua about his sick servant. He heals many, and all who come to Him. As Yeshua healed those with physical ailments, we should also be concerned with our spiritual ailments. Through the power of the Ruach HaKodesh, we all have access to be healed by the power of God. God can choose to heal, or take a son or daughter home to be with him. Our physical bodies will wear away, grow old, and finally, cease to function, yet our Spirit being is what lives on forever. But WHERE? That is the choice that every person will have to make. Salvation or perdition, The choice is within our grasp. If “Yeshuah” (salvation) is our choice, our “corruptible” will be transformed into “incorruptible” when we are transformed to live with Adonai forever, the same with perdition, all who choose to reject Yeshua, will remain in their corruptible essence forever, enduring the fires of the wrath of G-d’s divine judgment. So, make the right choice, choose Yeshua, choose “Yeshuah” (salvation) from 1 Cor 15:50-57 Shalom Pray for peace in Israel, May this war soon be over.

PARASHAH: “Chayei Sarah” (Sarah lives) GENESIS 23:1-25:18 The title of the Parashah is “Sarah Lives” or “Sarah lived”. Yet Sarah is dead, so, how does she live? She lives on in the memory of Abraham, her legacy lives on, her influence lives on, and this is what the patriarch wants for Isaac. I remember some of the words of Marine Gunnery Sergeant Hartman to his trainees in the movie “Full Metal Jacket” “Most of you will go to Viet Nam, some of you will not return alive, but even dead, you will still live, you will live on in the spirit of the corps.” So even dead, Sarah continued to live on as a godly wife and mother, no doubt that Abraham wanted to bless Isaac with a similar wife. Torah says that Sarah lived 127 years. It is not often that the Torah records the age of women, but Sarah is the exception. We can see some symbolism in that number. I guess there are several ways we can look at it, one way is to see the Hebrew letters associated with numbers, 100 is Qoph (Q) 20 is Kaph (K) and 7 is Zayin (Z) Seven is the number of YHVH, the perfect number. According to some rabbis, “120” years are a “full life”. So, Sarah lived a “full life” plus 7 more. Another way we can look at this is, from the Hebrew text; “One-hundred years, and seven years, and twenty years. Why is this worded this way? The rabbis say that when Sarah was one hundred years old, she was as beautiful as when she was twenty, and when she was twenty, she was as innocent and holy as when she was seven. Moshe lived a “full life” and maybe would have lived longer had he not “struck the rock” Sarah lived a “Kadosh” life (Holy life, separated to serve God, and her husband Abraham, and raised her son Isaac. One could say she was “anointed to serve” (Kaph) is a letter that symbolizes “anointing”. Zayin (z) is the letter that symbolizes “weapon” Anointing and holiness are “weapons” one can use against “HaSatan” our spiritual enemy can be defeated by the fruit of the Spirit, through the Ruach Ha Kodesh. 127 can also symbolize “Echad” (unit of oneness) (1), “covenant blessing” (2) “godliness” (7) Sarah received the blessing of being a godly woman, who joined in the “covenant blessing” of Abraham with YHVH, and together became “Echad Am” (One people) the Hebrew people who later became the Nation of Israel. When we add 1+2+7 we get 10, which is the number of “Torah” (some say “law” personally, I don't like using that word, it is misunderstood) but “Torah” means “instruction” Sarah honored Abraham, and YHVH by submitting to their instruction, she was submissive, in the right way. Yet Sarah had her times of happiness and sorrow as All marriages go through. Abraham and Sarah loved each other, and in death, Abraham showed his love towards Sarah by purchasing an overpriced piece of real estate. 400 silver shekels was a lot for a cave on a piece of property in Hebron, but He didn't mind paying for it, (guess it is like buying a hamburger for $25) It had to be “written down, and documented” legally, not just “words”, we see that today, words are nothing, but if it is signed, sealed, written down, you can take it to court! So Abraham honored his wife both in life and in death. One of the biggest and most drastic changes in one’s life is the “death” of a spouse. We see the words in the Torah that recount the time of Sarah’s death. “Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke unto the sons of Heth saying…” There is a time for mourning and weeping, and a time for joy, a time for continuing with life, as life does go on, with or without a spouse. Abraham had the right to mourn and weep since Sarah was part of his life for many, many years. We do not know when they got married, but when Abraham was called by Adonai, he was 75 years old, and he was married at that time. We could say that for about 50 years, Abraham had Sarah by his side. The Adonai called her home. There will be a time when Adonai calls home our spouses, how will we respond when that happens? Will we cry out to God; Why? But are our spouses our own? Or do we all belong to Elohim? What are we but souls inhabiting finite bodies that will eventually cease to function and return to the earth? A baby enters the world with clenched fists, yet leaves the world with open hands. We all want to hold on to everything, even spouses, yet we have to let go and let God have his way. A spouse, a wife, or a husband, is like a library book. We will take the library book and read it cover to cover, do we understand what we read? We have “x” amount of years to do it. But the master Librarian will call for his book to be returned someday, and we will have to deal with that. A spouse is like a jewel to be worn and cared for, for “x” number of years, but the Jeweler will call for his gem someday, and we will have to take “her” or “him” off and return “her” or “him” to Jeweler of all creation. I think that the more we love our spouse, the more difficult it will be for us to let go someday when our spouse is at death’s door. It wasn’t easy for Abraham, and it will not be easy for us. I think that the time for caring, for loving, for giving flowers is now that our spouses are alive, not at the grave site. One wonders what the surviving spouse will say. “May he (or she) rest in peace!” …or…” Now that he (or she) is gone, I can rest in peace!!” Abraham wept and mourned, but then, he got up and “buried his dead out of his sight” He continued with life, searched out a wife for his son Isaac, and eventually Abraham remarried, to Keturah who bore him six children (Chap 25). There is life after the departure of a loved one. The most difficult part of losing a loved one, especially a spouse, is if the spouse is an unbeliever, lost, without salvation. THEN we shall never see that spouse again, EVER! All the more reason to be “equally yoked” To lose a spouse in death is to be separated for “a season” but be reunited with her (or him) later on in heaven. That is the way we have to look at it because it is the truth. Some people, like Abraham, will marry again, others will not. That is a decision every widow or widower will have to make. Me? I wouldn’t like living alone without someone by my side, but that’s me. Love is having to “let go” when our Master calls for “going home.” That day will come eventually. The true meaning of the word “love” is NOT feelings. What is “Love at first sight?” (Hey, I like your moves, I like your legs, your hair, your eyes, your build, etc.). yet feelings, and emotions can lead two people to enter into a covenant of “love”, “Love” is the action of “giving” The Hebrew word is “Ahavah” it has the verb “hav” which is “to give” and the word “av” is in there, being “Our Heavenly Father gives” He proved his love toward us that He GAVE His Only Son, Yeshua, as a sacrifice for our sin. When a couple chooses to marry, share life together, provide one for another, in health and in sickness, and not “cop out” on each other, THAT is TRUE LOVE. The words, “I feel I don't love you anymore” are silly, worthless words. Imagine if Sarah had told that to Abram. Or if Abram would have said that to Sarah, “I don't love you anymore, because you can't give me children” and the two separated, where would the Nation of Israel be today? It would be nonexistent. Yet they kept by each other’s side in good times and in the bad times, the times of drought, the “Egypt” times, the “Ishmael” times, and the long waited “Isaac” times. Abraham sent his servant Elazar to look for a wife for Isaac. He carried 10 camels with gifts, the “bride price” for the “bride to be”. He had to go to Mesopotamia, to Abraham's family, He did NOT want a Canaanite woman for the bride of Isaac, a pagan Canaanite woman would have been an “unequal yoke” that is wisdom for us today, a “born again believer” should only marry another “born again believer” where the two worship and serve the “same God YHVH/Yeshua” Elazar observed “Rebecca's actions” Rivka watered the thirsty camels, sought not her own comfort, but had a servant's heart. This is what Elazar was looking for, Abraham would be happy, and so would Isaac. The “engagement jewelry” was a nose ring and gold bracelets” today in our society we give an engagement ring. Abraham wanted a wife like Sarah for his son Isaac. We might think, what kind of wife (or husband) would one believer look for? Well, there are certain qualities to look for in looking for one’s “life mate”. If a man is looking for a woman to be his wife. I would think that he might want a woman whose first love is for God, for Yeshua, and to obey and follow the Torah. That the woman also be humble, who will run the home with wisdom, and with money in her hands, will be spent wisely. She should be a woman who will raise her children according to the Word of God and not waste time with “fairy tale reading” but with “Torah Tale reading.” I have not mentioned the “physical” characteristics, since “how beautiful or not” is not of prime importance, but yes, is a bit important since men are usually in search of “what attracts the eye” Just as “Riv’kah” was willing to follow Elazar to Isaac’s home, so should the wife be willing to follow her husband. Where he is, she should be as well. UNLESS there is some sort of danger or unwise decision-making on the husband’s part, then, the wife needs to help the husband “re-think” the decision. The husband and wife are "team" players, with God as the Head Coach, and the Bible as the "Book of Rules". Now “Rivka” had to be “willing to go with Elazar to be Isaac's wife”. We can see this is our relationship with Yeshua. Yeshua/Jesus is the “bridegroom” and we, the “Kehillah” (Congregation of “called out ones”) are the bride. We have to be a “willing bride” to go with our “heavenly bridegroom”. Someday in the future, our Messiah will call his bride home. Many will go through physical death, while perhaps, others will be taken in the Rapture when that occurs in the near future. Messiah is looking for a faithful bride who is a bride that serves. The testing time is here on Earth. As Messiah's bride, are we serving others? As in the example of Rebecca? Just as Elazar brought gifts to the bride-to-be, Yeshua has given “gifts” to us as HIS Bride; Salvation (Yeshuah) an eternal home/mansion in Heaven, spiritual gifts to do service and minister with. Healthy bodies (for the most part) are where our soul and spirit live. Also, spouses and children, jobs to earn a living, if we think about the list could go on, as to the “Blessings” we have through Yeshua. Sunday afternoon fellowship at a small house congregation near Guazapa, in El Salvador.

PARASHAH: “Chayei Sarah” (Sarah lives) GENESIS 23:1-25:18 The title of the Parashah is “Sarah Lives” or “Sarah lived”. Yet Sarah is dead, so, how does she live? She lives on in the memory of Abraham, her legacy lives on, her influence lives on, and this is what the patriarch wants for Isaac. I remember some of the words of Marine Gunnery Sergeant Hartman to his trainees in the movie “Full Metal Jacket” “Most of you will go to Viet Nam, some of you will not return alive, but even dead, you will still live, you will live on in the spirit of the corps.” So even dead, Sarah continued to live on as a godly wife and mother, no doubt that Abraham wanted to bless Isaac with a similar wife. Torah says that Sarah lived 127 years. It is not often that the Torah records the age of women, but Sarah is the exception. We can see some symbolism in that number. I guess there are several ways we can look at it, one way is to see the Hebrew letters associated with numbers, 100 is Qoph (Q) 20 is Kaph (K) and 7 is Zayin (Z) Seven is the number of YHVH, the perfect number. According to some rabbis, “120” years are a “full life”. So, Sarah lived a “full life” plus 7 more. Another way we can look at this is, from the Hebrew text; “One-hundred years, and seven years, and twenty years. Why is this worded this way? The rabbis say that when Sarah was one hundred years old, she was as beautiful as when she was twenty, and when she was twenty, she was as innocent and holy as when she was seven. Moshe lived a “full life” and maybe would have lived longer had he not “struck the rock” Sarah lived a “Kadosh” life (Holy life, separated to serve God, and her husband Abraham, and raised her son Isaac. One could say she was “anointed to serve” (Kaph) is a letter that symbolizes “anointing”. Zayin (z) is the letter that symbolizes “weapon” Anointing and holiness are “weapons” one can use against “HaSatan” our spiritual enemy can be defeated by the fruit of the Spirit, through the Ruach Ha Kodesh. 127 can also symbolize “Echad” (unit of oneness) (1), “covenant blessing” (2) “godliness” (7) Sarah received the blessing of being a godly woman, who joined in the “covenant blessing” of Abraham with YHVH, and together became “Echad Am” (One people) the Hebrew people who later became the Nation of Israel. When we add 1+2+7 we get 10, which is the number of “Torah” (some say “law” personally, I don't like using that word, it is misunderstood) but “Torah” means “instruction” Sarah honored Abraham, and YHVH by submitting to their instruction, she was submissive, in the right way. Yet Sarah had her times of happiness and sorrow as All marriages go through. Abraham and Sarah loved each other, and in death, Abraham showed his love towards Sarah by purchasing an overpriced piece of real estate. 400 silver shekels was a lot for a cave on a piece of property in Hebron, but He didn't mind paying for it, (guess it is like buying a hamburger for $25) It had to be “written down, and documented” legally, not just “words”, we see that today, words are nothing, but if it is signed, sealed, written down, you can take it to court! So Abraham honored his wife both in life and in death. One of the biggest and most drastic changes in one’s life is the “death” of a spouse. We see the words in the Torah that recount the time of Sarah’s death. “Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke unto the sons of Heth saying…” There is a time for mourning and weeping, and a time for joy, a time for continuing with life, as life does go on, with or without a spouse. Abraham had the right to mourn and weep since Sarah was part of his life for many, many years. We do not know when they got married, but when Abraham was called by Adonai, he was 75 years old, and he was married at that time. We could say that for about 50 years, Abraham had Sarah by his side. The Adonai called her home. There will be a time when Adonai calls home our spouses, how will we respond when that happens? Will we cry out to God; Why? But are our spouses our own? Or do we all belong to Elohim? What are we but souls inhabiting finite bodies that will eventually cease to function and return to the earth? A baby enters the world with clenched fists, yet leaves the world with open hands. We all want to hold on to everything, even spouses, yet we have to let go and let God have his way. A spouse, a wife, or a husband, is like a library book. We will take the library book and read it cover to cover, do we understand what we read? We have “x” amount of years to do it. But the master Librarian will call for his book to be returned someday, and we will have to deal with that. A spouse is like a jewel to be worn and cared for, for “x” number of years, but the Jeweler will call for his gem someday, and we will have to take “her” or “him” off and return “her” or “him” to Jeweler of all creation. I think that the more we love our spouse, the more difficult it will be for us to let go someday when our spouse is at death’s door. It wasn’t easy for Abraham, and it will not be easy for us. I think that the time for caring, for loving, for giving flowers is now that our spouses are alive, not at the grave site. One wonders what the surviving spouse will say. “May he (or she) rest in peace!” …or…” Now that he (or she) is gone, I can rest in peace!!” Abraham wept and mourned, but then, he got up and “buried his dead out of his sight” He continued with life, searched out a wife for his son Isaac, and eventually Abraham remarried, to Keturah who bore him six children (Chap 25). There is life after the departure of a loved one. The most difficult part of losing a loved one, especially a spouse, is if the spouse is an unbeliever, lost, without salvation. THEN we shall never see that spouse again, EVER! All the more reason to be “equally yoked” To lose a spouse in death is to be separated for “a season” but be reunited with her (or him) later on in heaven. That is the way we have to look at it because it is the truth. Some people, like Abraham, will marry again, others will not. That is a decision every widow or widower will have to make. Me? I wouldn’t like living alone without someone by my side, but that’s me. Love is having to “let go” when our Master calls for “going home.” That day will come eventually. The true meaning of the word “love” is NOT feelings. What is “Love at first sight?” (Hey, I like your moves, I like your legs, your hair, your eyes, your build, etc.). yet feelings, and emotions can lead two people to enter into a covenant of “love”, “Love” is the action of “giving” The Hebrew word is “Ahavah” it has the verb “hav” which is “to give” and the word “av” is in there, being “Our Heavenly Father gives” He proved his love toward us that He GAVE His Only Son, Yeshua, as a sacrifice for our sin. When a couple chooses to marry, share life together, provide one for another, in health and in sickness, and not “cop out” on each other, THAT is TRUE LOVE. The words, “I feel I don't love you anymore” are silly, worthless words. Imagine if Sarah had told that to Abram. Or if Abram would have said that to Sarah, “I don't love you anymore, because you can't give me children” and the two separated, where would the Nation of Israel be today? It would be nonexistent. Yet they kept by each other’s side in good times and in the bad times, the times of drought, the “Egypt” times, the “Ishmael” times, and the long waited “Isaac” times. Abraham sent his servant Elazar to look for a wife for Isaac. He carried 10 camels with gifts, the “bride price” for the “bride to be”. He had to go to Mesopotamia, to Abraham's family, He did NOT want a Canaanite woman for the bride of Isaac, a pagan Canaanite woman would have been an “unequal yoke” that is wisdom for us today, a “born again believer” should only marry another “born again believer” where the two worship and serve the “same God YHVH/Yeshua” Elazar observed “Rebecca's actions” Rivka watered the thirsty camels, sought not her own comfort, but had a servant's heart. This is what Elazar was looking for, Abraham would be happy, and so would Isaac. The “engagement jewelry” was a nose ring and gold bracelets” today in our society we give an engagement ring. Abraham wanted a wife like Sarah for his son Isaac. We might think, what kind of wife (or husband) would one believer look for? Well, there are certain qualities to look for in looking for one’s “life mate”. If a man is looking for a woman to be his wife. I would think that he might want a woman whose first love is for God, for Yeshua, and to obey and follow the Torah. That the woman also be humble, who will run the home with wisdom, and with money in her hands, will be spent wisely. She should be a woman who will raise her children according to the Word of God and not waste time with “fairy tale reading” but with “Torah Tale reading.” I have not mentioned the “physical” characteristics, since “how beautiful or not” is not of prime importance, but yes, is a bit important since men are usually in search of “what attracts the eye” Just as “Riv’kah” was willing to follow Elazar to Isaac’s home, so should the wife be willing to follow her husband. Where he is, she should be as well. UNLESS there is some sort of danger or unwise decision-making on the husband’s part, then, the wife needs to help the husband “re-think” the decision. The husband and wife are "team" players, with God as the Head Coach, and the Bible as the "Book of Rules". Now “Rivka” had to be “willing to go with Elazar to be Isaac's wife”. We can see this is our relationship with Yeshua. Yeshua/Jesus is the “bridegroom” and we, the “Kehillah” (Congregation of “called out ones”) are the bride. We have to be a “willing bride” to go with our “heavenly bridegroom”. Someday in the future, our Messiah will call his bride home. Many will go through physical death, while perhaps, others will be taken in the Rapture when that occurs in the near future. Messiah is looking for a faithful bride who is a bride that serves. The testing time is here on Earth. As Messiah's bride, are we serving others? As in the example of Rebecca? Just as Elazar brought gifts to the bride-to-be, Yeshua has given “gifts” to us as HIS Bride; Salvation (Yeshuah) an eternal home/mansion in Heaven, spiritual gifts to do service and minister with. Healthy bodies (for the most part) are where our soul and spirit live. Also, spouses and children, jobs to earn a living, if we think about the list could go on, as to the “Blessings” we have through Yeshua. Sunday afternoon fellowship at a small house congregational off the beaten path near Guazapa, El Salvador. Brother Rueben, the guy in the green shirt is our sound guy.

2 KINGS 4:1-37 Here, Elisha Ha Navi (the Prophet) ministers to a Shunamite woman, as some prophets had a public ministry, Elisha had more of a private ministry, ministering to individuals more than to the general public as a whole. Yeshua did both, he ministered to the sick, the hurting, the poor, and also preached to the public in synagogues. The first case involves a Shunamite woman whose husband (now dead) was one of the “B’nei HaNeviim” (sons of the Prophets). It wasn’t that he was a biological son of one of the prophets, but a Torah student of the “School of the prophets”. Today we have Bible institutes, back then, you had the “schools of the prophets” The prophets who were called by God instructed those interested in learning in the Words of God written in the Torah, from Adam and Eve up to those present times. Guess you could say kind of “history classes” and lessons to be learned from those “histories”. The Shunamite woman tells or “cries out” (Tza-a-kah) to Elisha and tells him her problem. The Hebrew word “Tza-a-kah” denotes a “cry for legal assistance” similar to “Tzedakah’ (charity) . Her husband owed money to a creditor, now dead, the debt was not canceled, it was still effective. In those days, if one could not pay a debt, a son or daughter could be taken as a slave or servant and “work off the debt” So, Elisha tests the woman’s faith by the following words; “What can I do for you? What do you have in the house?” In this case, the Shunamite woman needed a financial miracle. She had only one pot of olive oil. The woman asked for pots from her neighbors, then, received the oil, in abundance. Many times, when we look for miracles, we extend a blessing to another, and then, we receive from God, it just works that way at times. In the case of the Shunamite woman, just a little bit of olive oil in a pot went a long way. We can look at this in another way from the derashic level. We are all “Vessels” or “pots” in the service of Adonai. The oil can symbolize the Holy Spirit. We can ask for more oil, and more oil will be given. We work together to further the Kingdom of God, we are like, many vessels with oil, all working the further the Kingdom, through our diverse spiritual gifts. When we work together, miracles can happen, healings take place, debts get paid, all through the power of Adonai, we are just “his faithful vessels with oil.” The other case involved another woman and her husband from the same place called Shunem. The husband and wife offered Elisha a meal and a place to stay when he visited. That was a great mitzvah. The couple was blessed with a child. One blessing often brings on another. Yet the child perhaps had a heat stroke and died. Because scripture says that the boy went out to the field and cried out; “my head, my head” Elisha and his servant are called and they come to the family’s aid. Elisha places his staff on the boy’s face, then he places his own body on the boy’s body, and the boy is resurrected. We might ask why that procedure. What is the meaning of the staff on the face? The body of the prophet on top of the body of the dead boy? One can only guess. One thing is that a “Staff” (Mateh) symbolizes authority. The face is part of the head, and it was in the head that the ailment occurred, be it a heat stroke or cerebral hemorrhage, or a blood clot. Elisha represented Adonai, so it was like Adonai bringing the boy back to life, but in the body of Elisha. Did not Peter and Paul do the same thing? They brought back the dead to life as well. When Elisha’s body was spread out on top of the boy’s, it could also symbolize our Messiah Yeshua’s spread out body on Calvary’s cross. His death meant our life. In this case, Elisha perhaps “Breathed” into the boy’s mouth since his “mouth was on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes. As Elohim “breathed the breath of life” (Neshmat chayiim) into the body of Adam, the Shunamite’s son was also “filled with life again” The son sneezed “seven times” “7” is the perfect number. When we are "born again" there is "New Life" breathed into us through the Holy Spirit. Yes, our bodies will waste away as time goes by, and perish when that time comes, yet we will continue to live on. All who accept Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) will live on with HIM throughout eternity. MATT 6:1-7:29 The Talmid Matityahu (Matthew) writes about different themes. One of the themes is that of prayer; “DO not pray/repeat vain repetitions” We often wonder what this means. Many people memorize prayers and “recite them” over and over again. It becomes routine, and the danger in this is that one can pray “like a machine” and really not understand nor meditate on the meaning of the prayer itself. Then, the prayer becomes just plain words. A parrot can learn to speak, and repeat things, but it doesn’t understand what it is saying. Are we like parrots? or souls created in the image of Elohim? In Judaism, there are many prayers that are part of the prayer books. It isn’t bad to learn them and repeat them, only “understand” what the words mean and how they relate to our God. Then, when we pray the morning and evening prayers, we can meditate on what these words are really saying so that they do not become just “vain repetitions”. Here we have the LORD’s prayer. It is not meant to be something we just memorize and repeat like we do many times with prayers. This prayer is something to meditate on, and let the meaning penetrate our souls. “ Avinu BaShamayim” “Our father who is in the heavens” Who has the right to call God, “Our Father” but only those who are members of his family. All of humanity is God’s “creation” and he is humanity’s “creator” but only to born-again believers, he is “Father” “Kadosh Shmo” (sanctified be his name) HIS name is YHVH (Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey) which comes from HAVAYA (to exist) he is “Haya” (past) “Hoveh” (present) and “Yiyah” (future). And his name is indeed “Kadosh” (Holy). Contrary to popular belief, the Torah does not prohibit one from using it, on the contrary, the Word of God says “Call upon the NAME of the LORD!” “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” The “kingdom of Heaven” is HIS activity on earth, so, it is already here. It has been here since Genesis 1:1. It is here and manifests itself in the midst of his believers, churches, synagogues, congregations, bible study groups, etc. There is a “coming” political kingdom and a literal “New Jerusalem” that will appear on earth someday in the future, and what a time that will be. “Give our bread continually”. Our “daily bread” does not consist only of literal food, but ALL of our basic needs. YHVH is a loving God and many times gives us even our “wants”. He will do this “continually”, I have seen this many times in my life when I just “think” of things I need, all of a sudden, I get them, many times for free. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” Many times, we commit sins against God, and yes, we want Him to forgive us, but what about people who have committed offenses against us? Are we holding grudges against them? If so, how then can we expect forgiveness for our sins? Our sins against our Holy God are greater. We must learn to forgive those around us. At times, it is hard, but it is a “command!” when it can’t come from the flesh, it must come from the spirit. “Do not lead us into the power of temptation, but keep us from all evil…amen” What is the “power” of temptation? It is succumbing to the power of HaSatan. Remember that just because we are “b’nei Melech” (children of the King) does not mean that we are free from being tempted. Everyone on this earth has been tempted, even our LORD and Messiah. This is part of testing, we can be tempted, but that does not mean that we will give in to the temptation and commit sin. It is OUR choice, the very last word is “Amen” which comes from “Amun” which is “to say something that is true” so when we say “amen” it is “so be it, as it is truth from God” (this was taken from a Primitive Hebrew text, as the first “LORD’s prayer was written in Hebrew) there is also an Aramaic rendition of the LORD’s prayer, look it up on “YouTube” 2 PETER 2:4-11 Kefa (Peter) reminds the reader that just as we serve a God of love and forgiveness, the same God, Adonai-Elohim-Yeshuah, is a God of wrath and vengeance, a jealous God. A God who punishes the unrepentant wicked. He gives the examples of the fallen angels who went into human women, thus causing mutant genetic offspring and “Giants” They are in hell today, as are all the wicked souls that did not repent. We all like to listen to messages involving God’s love but do not care to listen to the “hell, fire, and brimstone” messages, such a message was preached on July 7th, 1741 by Jonathan Edwards, and thus brought revival to New England. Our Heavenly Father is a Father of love and reaches out to all who will listen, but by no means is an “arm-twister” He will not force anyone to come to Him. We can accept or reject; the choice is ours. Shalom

PARASHAH VaYERA” (and he appeared) GENESIS 18:1-22:24…… YHVH appears to Abraham at his tent, yet it also says that “three” men appeared to him. He addresses them as LORD (YHVH), how is that? One can only wonder. Could one of them be YHVH incarnate and the other two ministering angels? Could all three be a representation of ELOHIM? “Av” (father) “Ben” (son) and “Ruach HaKodesh” (Holy Spirit)? This could open up a lengthy discussion. All we know is that Abraham receives them with great hospitality. They eat and then they bless. This is pretty much how it works even today. We receive blessings from HaShem, but many times, we bless others, and help others, and blessings follow. Abram addresses “the three men” (Shelosh Anashim) as “Adonai”. In one Hebrew-English translation, the word “lords’ is used, yet in another, the word; “Lord” is used. But in both translations, the word “Adonai” is used, which is “Master” and it is one of the names of G-d. The “men” are indeed “G-d” walking and talking with Abram. Abraham shows hospitality to these “men” in that he prepares for them 4 items of food; “water, bread, milk, and meat.” It is a great mitzvah to show love and hospitality to others who are outside of your family. Blessed are the foster parents and those parents who adopt unwanted children from other homes and bring them into their own homes as their “adopted children” just as Adonai has adopted “all believers” into HIS family through our faith in Yeshua. In that way, ALL believers are; “B’nei Elohim” (sons of God) Adonai repays Abraham’s kindness to those “three men”. Not only does He grant Abraham and Sarah a son; “Yitzchak” but generations down the line, He provides “water” in the desert through the “ROCK” that was split, and He provides “Bread” (manna) in the desert, and of course, the cattle of the Israelites produced “milk and meat”. On another level, we see “Yeshua” all of these. Yeshua is the “Living Water” the “Bread of Life” and the Torah is our “Milk and meat”. I guess we can say that all believers start out by digesting the “milk’ of the Word, the easy stuff to understand, and when we mature, we can digest the “meat” the more difficult stuff to understand. Can we bless “Adonai?” We know that He blesses us in many ways and forms, but how do we “Bless” YHVH? “Baruch” (bless) comes from the word “Berek” which means “knee”. When we “bow” the knee in praise and worship, we are, in fact, “blessing” Adonai. We come to pray, asking for “this and that” but do we just come and thank HIM for just who He is? He announces the birth of “Yitzchak” yet Sarah laughs in disbelief “within herself” not even out loud, or, just barely audible, yet YHVH hears her and asks “Why did Sarah laugh? Yeah, but thou didst laugh” Can anything be hidden from the LORD? Even inside us, HE KNOWS what is going on inside us, within the heart, within our minds, HE KNOWS ALL THINGS, even the “not so kosher” things. Something to think about the next time we think we are alone. We really are NOT alone. Abraham intercedes for Sodom and Gomorra, yet there were not even ten righteous residents of Sodom. Had Abraham asked; “Will you not spare Sodom for only ONE righteous person?” what do you think that the LORD would have answered? Maybe YES? If that had been so, then, perhaps Lot and his family might have never left the city! Lot was still considered a “Tzadik” a righteous person, yet he was living in a sinful and totally corrupt city. That is a dangerous position to be in, to be comfortable in a place where you have no business to be in! or participate in activities that the Lost World does. “by the skin of their teeth” one might say, the angel drags Lot, his wife, and two daughters out of there before the judgment of destruction begins. However, we can think back to when the scripture says that “Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom”. He wasn’t there yet, he was close, but then, he was INSIDE Sodom. He even bought a house, and perhaps even started a business. We read that he was “at the gates of Sodom” when he invited the angels to come to spend the night with him and his family. Those that we at the “gates” of the city, were “greeters’ sort of saying, perhaps “tour guides” maybe Lot was involved with politics. We can only guess; The Torah doesn’t go into detail about Lot’s life inside Sodom. We know that before, he had much cattle. What happened to his cattle? Did he sell the cattle in order to buy the house? What happened to his tents? Traded it all for a life of “excitement?” inside the city? We must say that when families move to places or into neighborhoods that are corrupt, one might expect that the families can also suffer under corruption. It isn’t easy to maintain one’s testimony in a pagan society or workplace, but it isn’t impossible. Lot was considered “righteous” in the New Covenant, yet his family suffered. When the angels led Lot and his family (wife and two daughters) out of the city, they were told not to “look back” yet we remember that Lot’s wife DID look, and behold, she became a pillar of salt. She longed for her lifestyle in corrupt Sodom. On the other hand, Lot’s daughters had sex with him and produced two sons; Moab and Ammon. The capital city Amman, in Jordan, is named after “Ammon” and the Moabites were also a corrupt, idol-worshiping people. But God has his hand in ALL situations. Remember that “Ruth” was a Moabitess, yet she became a “Y’hudit” and became part of God’s people and Ruth is in the genealogy of Messiah Yeshua. Adonai can make a negative situation or decision and do something with it, something wonderful. One thing we remember from Parashah “Noach” The Torah says that “Noah was righteous in HIS generation” Does that mean that if he were living in the time of Abraham, he might not have been considered so righteous? If yes, why? Did Noah plead for the lost world before the flood? Did he ask YHVH to save the world IF there could be found a handful of righteous people? We don’t know what transpired during the years that it took Noach to build the ark. Did he preach to the people? Did he warn them of the coming judgment? I am sure he did. In the book of Enoch, we know that Enoch warned the giants of impending judgment. In Noah’s case, the Torah is silent. We do see that Abraham pleads for the innocent people in Sodom. We know that there were probably infants and very young kids who were innocent. Sad to say that they too were destroyed, however, they are in heaven today because they died as innocent creations. The command of the angel to Lot and his family was “Don’t look back” yet Lot’s wife DID look back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Does it really matter what YHVH turned her into? Might as well have been a loaf of bread, a donut, a fudge brownie, a…that fact of the matter is that she DID turn and looked back. This is meaningful, indicating that she “longed” for the life of Sodom. She might have thought, “I’ll take one last look and…ZAP…instant saltine cracker. Perhaps she gazed on the very “essence” of YHVH in destruction mode. If one goes to the ruins of Sodom today, one can still find little Sulphur balls embedded in the ruins. When lighted, they emit a bluish flame. Imagine that after all these years, remnants of God’s judgment are still there. We also read about the birth of “Yitzchak” and later the separation of “Ishmael” and “Yitzchak”. We see a separation between the “chosen” and the “world”, but also, we see today the “wheat” and the “tares” growing together, not to say that all the Arabs are evil, there are many born-again Arabs who are the descendants of Ishmael, those who love the LORD. But for the most part, the Arab world and Israel are enemies. We come to the last part, the final test, “Take your son, your ONLY son who you love, and offer him as a sacrifice” Now God didn’t say “Sacrifice him” only “offer him as a sacrifice” Today, we offer ourselves as “living sacrifices” before YHVH to do his perfect will, and to serve him. Abraham was willing to bring the knife down on his only son Isaac, yet the LORD did not allow him to do so, as it was a test to see his obedience and to see if he was willing to follow through with “sacrificing and spilling Isaac’s blood”. When we read this account, we see symbolism. The “donkey” that took Father and Son to Mt Moriah, the donkey that took Yeshua to Jerusalem, later to be led to Mt. Calvary. The wood that was laid on Isaac’s back, compared to the cross beam that was laid on Yeshua’s back, or Yeshua’s back that was laid on that cross beam. The altar of stone which Abraham built compared to Calvary’s hill which is pretty much made of stone, made by our heavenly Father. The fire that was in Abraham’s hands could symbolize the fiery judgment that Yeshua took on our behalf. Isaac symbolizes ALL of us. Yet when Abraham was ordered to take him off the altar, he was replaced by the ram which was caught in the thicket. We were replaced by Yeshua. The “ram” is “Yeshua” The ram’s horns were caught in the thicket, and around the head of our Mashiach was a crown of thorns. Isaac could not be the sacrifice for sin because he, like all of us, was born in sin. The ram took Isaac’s as Yeshua took our place. In some translations, there are some interesting words spoken by Abraham. “God will provide himself as a lamb” Other translations read; “God will provide for himself a lamb” I like the first one since it explains what God did, He came down and became the sacrifice lamb, in our place. What Abraham said was prophetic God was not willing that anyone should perish, but for ALL to have eternal life. He was not willing that Abraham should give up his only son, but God was willing to give HIS unique SON, Yeshua for the payment of our sin, one time and forever. Yeshua is both; “Echad” (unity of ONE) and “Yachid” (unique, only, one of a kind) Yeshua was willing and did undergo the “fires” of our sins, up there on that cross for a few hours, and thus made the “new covenant” that through his death and sacrifice, we might be saved. Ben Avraham The angels ate bread, milk, cheese, and veal. Ms. Squirrel only got bananas

PARASHAH VaYERA” (and he appeared) GENESIS 18:1-22:24…… YHVH appears to Abraham at his tent, yet it also says that “three” men appeared to him. He addresses them as LORD (YHVH), how is that? One can only wonder. Could one of them be YHVH incarnate and the other two ministering angels? Could all three be a representation of ELOHIM? “Av” (father) “Ben” (son) and “Ruach HaKodesh” (Holy Spirit)? This could open up a lengthy discussion. All we know is that Abraham receives them with great hospitality. They eat and then they bless. This is pretty much how it works even today. We receive blessings from HaShem, but many times, we bless others, and help others, and blessings follow. Abram addresses “the three men” (Shelosh Anashim) as “Adonai”. In one Hebrew-English translation, the word “lords’ is used, yet in another, the word; “Lord” is used. But in both translations, the word “Adonai” is used, which is “Master” and it is one of the names of G-d. The “men” are indeed “G-d” walking and talking with Abram. Abraham shows hospitality to these “men” in that he prepares for them 4 items of food; “water, bread, milk, and meat.” It is a great mitzvah to show love and hospitality to others who are outside of your family. Blessed are the foster parents and those parents who adopt unwanted children from other homes and bring them into their own homes as their “adopted children” just as Adonai has adopted “all believers” into HIS family through our faith in Yeshua. In that way, ALL believers are; “B’nei Elohim” (sons of God) Adonai repays Abraham’s kindness to those “three men”. Not only does He grant Abraham and Sarah a son; “Yitzchak” but generations down the line, He provides “water” in the desert through the “ROCK” that was split, and He provides “Bread” (manna) in the desert, and of course, the cattle of the Israelites produced “milk and meat”. On another level, we see “Yeshua” all of these. Yeshua is the “Living Water” the “Bread of Life” and the Torah is our “Milk and meat”. I guess we can say that all believers start out by digesting the “milk’ of the Word, the easy stuff to understand, and when we mature, we can digest the “meat” the more difficult stuff to understand. Can we bless “Adonai?” We know that He blesses us in many ways and forms, but how do we “Bless” YHVH? “Baruch” (bless) comes from the word “Berek” which means “knee”. When we “bow” the knee in praise and worship, we are, in fact, “blessing” Adonai. We come to pray, asking for “this and that” but do we just come and thank HIM for just who He is? He announces the birth of “Yitzchak” yet Sarah laughs in disbelief “within herself” not even out loud, or, just barely audible, yet YHVH hears her and asks “Why did Sarah laugh? Yeah, but thou didst laugh” Can anything be hidden from the LORD? Even inside us, HE KNOWS what is going on inside us, within the heart, within our minds, HE KNOWS ALL THINGS, even the “not so kosher” things. Something to think about the next time we think we are alone. We really are NOT alone. Abraham intercedes for Sodom and Gomorra, yet there were not even ten righteous residents of Sodom. Had Abraham asked; “Will you not spare Sodom for only ONE righteous person?” what do you think that the LORD would have answered? Maybe YES? If that had been so, then, perhaps Lot and his family might have never left the city! Lot was still considered a “Tzadik” a righteous person, yet he was living in a sinful and totally corrupt city. That is a dangerous position to be in, to be comfortable in a place where you have no business to be in! or participate in activities that the Lost World does. “by the skin of their teeth” one might say, the angel drags Lot, his wife, and two daughters out of there before the judgment of destruction begins. However, we can think back to when the scripture says that “Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom”. He wasn’t there yet, he was close, but then, he was INSIDE Sodom. He even bought a house, and perhaps even started a business. We read that he was “at the gates of Sodom” when he invited the angels to come to spend the night with him and his family. Those that we at the “gates” of the city, were “greeters’ sort of saying, perhaps “tour guides” maybe Lot was involved with politics. We can only guess; The Torah doesn’t go into detail about Lot’s life inside Sodom. We know that before, he had much cattle. What happened to his cattle? Did he sell the cattle in order to buy the house? What happened to his tents? Traded it all for a life of “excitement?” inside the city? We must say that when families move to places or into neighborhoods that are corrupt, one might expect that the families can also suffer under corruption. It isn’t easy to maintain one’s testimony in a pagan society or workplace, but it isn’t impossible. Lot was considered “righteous” in the New Covenant, yet his family suffered. When the angels led Lot and his family (wife and two daughters) out of the city, they were told not to “look back” yet we remember that Lot’s wife DID look, and behold, she became a pillar of salt. She longed for her lifestyle in corrupt Sodom. On the other hand, Lot’s daughters had sex with him and produced two sons; Moab and Ammon. The capital city Amman, in Jordan, is named after “Ammon” and the Moabites were also a corrupt, idol-worshiping people. But God has his hand in ALL situations. Remember that “Ruth” was a Moabitess, yet she became a “Y’hudit” and became part of God’s people and Ruth is in the genealogy of Messiah Yeshua. Adonai can make a negative situation or decision and do something with it, something wonderful. One thing we remember from Parashah “Noach” The Torah says that “Noah was righteous in HIS generation” Does that mean that if he were living in the time of Abraham, he might not have been considered so righteous? If yes, why? Did Noah plead for the lost world before the flood? Did he ask YHVH to save the world IF there could be found a handful of righteous people? We don’t know what transpired during the years that it took Noach to build the ark. Did he preach to the people? Did he warn them of the coming judgment? I am sure he did. In the book of Enoch, we know that Enoch warned the giants of impending judgment. In Noah’s case, the Torah is silent. We do see that Abraham pleads for the innocent people in Sodom. We know that there were probably infants and very young kids who were innocent. Sad to say that they too were destroyed, however, they are in heaven today because they died as innocent creations. The command of the angel to Lot and his family was “Don’t look back” yet Lot’s wife DID look back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Does it really matter what YHVH turned her into? Might as well have been a loaf of bread, a donut, a fudge brownie, a…that fact of the matter is that she DID turn and looked back. This is meaningful, indicating that she “longed” for the life of Sodom. She might have thought, “I’ll take one last look and…ZAP…instant saltine cracker. Perhaps she gazed on the very “essence” of YHVH in destruction mode. If one goes to the ruins of Sodom today, one can still find little Sulphur balls embedded in the ruins. When lighted, they emit a bluish flame. Imagine that after all these years, remnants of God’s judgment are still there. We also read about the birth of “Yitzchak” and later the separation of “Ishmael” and “Yitzchak”. We see a separation between the “chosen” and the “world”, but also, we see today the “wheat” and the “tares” growing together, not to say that all the Arabs are evil, there are many born-again Arabs who are the descendants of Ishmael, those who love the LORD. But for the most part, the Arab world and Israel are enemies. We come to the last part, the final test, “Take your son, your ONLY son who you love, and offer him as a sacrifice” Now God didn’t say “Sacrifice him” only “offer him as a sacrifice” Today, we offer ourselves as “living sacrifices” before YHVH to do his perfect will, and to serve him. Abraham was willing to bring the knife down on his only son Isaac, yet the LORD did not allow him to do so, as it was a test to see his obedience and to see if he was willing to follow through with “sacrificing and spilling Isaac’s blood”. When we read this account, we see symbolism. The “donkey” that took Father and Son to Mt Moriah, the donkey that took Yeshua to Jerusalem, later to be led to Mt. Calvary. The wood that was laid on Isaac’s back, compared to the cross beam that was laid on Yeshua’s back, or Yeshua’s back that was laid on that cross beam. The altar of stone which Abraham built compared to Calvary’s hill which is pretty much made of stone, made by our heavenly Father. The fire that was in Abraham’s hands could symbolize the fiery judgment that Yeshua took on our behalf. Isaac symbolizes ALL of us. Yet when Abraham was ordered to take him off the altar, he was replaced by the ram which was caught in the thicket. We were replaced by Yeshua. The “ram” is “Yeshua” The ram’s horns were caught in the thicket, and around the head of our Mashiach was a crown of thorns. Isaac could not be the sacrifice for sin because he, like all of us, was born in sin. The ram took Isaac’s as Yeshua took our place. In some translations, there are some interesting words spoken by Abraham. “God will provide himself as a lamb” Other translations read; “God will provide for himself a lamb” I like the first one since it explains what God did, He came down and became the sacrifice lamb, in our place. What Abraham said was prophetic God was not willing that anyone should perish, but for ALL to have eternal life. He was not willing that Abraham should give up his only son, but God was willing to give HIS unique SON, Yeshua for the payment of our sin, one time and forever. Yeshua is both; “Echad” (unity of ONE) and “Yachid” (unique, only, one of a kind) Yeshua was willing and did undergo the “fires” of our sins, up there on that cross for a few hours, and thus made the “new covenant” that through his death and sacrifice, we might be saved. Ben Avraham The angels ate bread, milk, cheese, and veal. Ms. Squirrel was content with bananas.

PARASHAH VaYERA” (and he appeared) GENESIS 18:1-22:24…… YHVH appears to Abraham at his tent, yet it also says that “three” men appeared to him. He addresses them as LORD (YHVH), how is that? One can only wonder. Could one of them be YHVH incarnate and the other two ministering angels? Could all three be a representation of ELOHIM? “Av” (father) “Ben” (son) and “Ruach HaKodesh” (Holy Spirit)? This could open up a lengthy discussion. All we know is that Abraham receives them with great hospitality. They eat and then they bless. This is pretty much how it works even today. We receive blessings from HaShem, but many times, we bless others, and help others, and blessings follow. Abram addresses “the three men” (Shelosh Anashim) as “Adonai”. In one Hebrew-English translation, the word “lords’ is used, yet in another, the word; “Lord” is used. But in both translations, the word “Adonai” is used, which is “Master” and it is one of the names of G-d. The “men” are indeed “G-d” walking and talking with Abram. Abraham shows hospitality to these “men” in that he prepares for them 4 items of food; “water, bread, milk, and meat.” It is a great mitzvah to show love and hospitality to others who are outside of your family. Blessed are the foster parents and those parents who adopt unwanted children from other homes and bring them into their own homes as their “adopted children” just as Adonai has adopted “all believers” into HIS family through our faith in Yeshua. In that way, ALL believers are; “B’nei Elohim” (sons of God) Adonai repays Abraham’s kindness to those “three men”. Not only does He grant Abraham and Sarah a son; “Yitzchak” but generations down the line, He provides “water” in the desert through the “ROCK” that was split, and He provides “Bread” (manna) in the desert, and of course, the cattle of the Israelites produced “milk and meat”. On another level, we see “Yeshua” all of these. Yeshua is the “Living Water” the “Bread of Life” and the Torah is our “Milk and meat”. I guess we can say that all believers start out by digesting the “milk’ of the Word, the easy stuff to understand, and when we mature, we can digest the “meat” the more difficult stuff to understand. Can we bless “Adonai?” We know that He blesses us in many ways and forms, but how do we “Bless” YHVH? “Baruch” (bless) comes from the word “Berek” which means “knee”. When we “bow” the knee in praise and worship, we are, in fact, “blessing” Adonai. We come to pray, asking for “this and that” but do we just come and thank HIM for just who He is? He announces the birth of “Yitzchak” yet Sarah laughs in disbelief “within herself” not even out loud, or, just barely audible, yet YHVH hears her and asks “Why did Sarah laugh? Yeah, but thou didst laugh” Can anything be hidden from the LORD? Even inside us, HE KNOWS what is going on inside us, within the heart, within our minds, HE KNOWS ALL THINGS, even the “not so kosher” things. Something to think about the next time we think we are alone. We really are NOT alone. Abraham intercedes for Sodom and Gomorra, yet there were not even ten righteous residents of Sodom. Had Abraham asked; “Will you not spare Sodom for only ONE righteous person?” what do you think that the LORD would have answered? Maybe YES? If that had been so, then, perhaps Lot and his family might have never left the city! Lot was still considered a “Tzadik” a righteous person, yet he was living in a sinful and totally corrupt city. That is a dangerous position to be in, to be comfortable in a place where you have no business to be in! or participate in activities that the Lost World does. “by the skin of their teeth” one might say, the angel drags Lot, his wife, and two daughters out of there before the judgment of destruction begins. However, we can think back to when the scripture says that “Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom”. He wasn’t there yet, he was close, but then, he was INSIDE Sodom. He even bought a house, and perhaps even started a business. We read that he was “at the gates of Sodom” when he invited the angels to come to spend the night with him and his family. Those that we at the “gates” of the city, were “greeters’ sort of saying, perhaps “tour guides” maybe Lot was involved with politics. We can only guess; The Torah doesn’t go into detail about Lot’s life inside Sodom. We know that before, he had much cattle. What happened to his cattle? Did he sell the cattle in order to buy the house? What happened to his tents? Traded it all for a life of “excitement?” inside the city? We must say that when families move to places or into neighborhoods that are corrupt, one might expect that the families can also suffer under corruption. It isn’t easy to maintain one’s testimony in a pagan society or workplace, but it isn’t impossible. Lot was considered “righteous” in the New Covenant, yet his family suffered. When the angels led Lot and his family (wife and two daughters) out of the city, they were told not to “look back” yet we remember that Lot’s wife DID look, and behold, she became a pillar of salt. She longed for her lifestyle in corrupt Sodom. On the other hand, Lot’s daughters had sex with him and produced two sons; Moab and Ammon. The capital city Amman, in Jordan, is named after “Ammon” and the Moabites were also a corrupt, idol-worshiping people. But God has his hand in ALL situations. Remember that “Ruth” was a Moabitess, yet she became a “Y’hudit” and became part of God’s people and Ruth is in the genealogy of Messiah Yeshua. Adonai can make a negative situation or decision and do something with it, something wonderful. One thing we remember from Parashah “Noach” The Torah says that “Noah was righteous in HIS generation” Does that mean that if he were living in the time of Abraham, he might not have been considered so righteous? If yes, why? Did Noah plead for the lost world before the flood? Did he ask YHVH to save the world IF there could be found a handful of righteous people? We don’t know what transpired during the years that it took Noach to build the ark. Did he preach to the people? Did he warn them of the coming judgment? I am sure he did. In the book of Enoch, we know that Enoch warned the giants of impending judgment. In Noah’s case, the Torah is silent. We do see that Abraham pleads for the innocent people in Sodom. We know that there were probably infants and very young kids who were innocent. Sad to say that they too were destroyed, however, they are in heaven today because they died as innocent creations. The command of the angel to Lot and his family was “Don’t look back” yet Lot’s wife DID look back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Does it really matter what YHVH turned her into? Might as well have been a loaf of bread, a donut, a fudge brownie, a…that fact of the matter is that she DID turn and looked back. This is meaningful, indicating that she “longed” for the life of Sodom. She might have thought, “I’ll take one last look and…ZAP…instant saltine cracker. Perhaps she gazed on the very “essence” of YHVH in destruction mode. If one goes to the ruins of Sodom today, one can still find little Sulphur balls embedded in the ruins. When lighted, they emit a bluish flame. Imagine that after all these years, remnants of God’s judgment are still there. We also read about the birth of “Yitzchak” and later the separation of “Ishmael” and “Yitzchak”. We see a separation between the “chosen” and the “world”, but also, we see today the “wheat” and the “tares” growing together, not to say that all the Arabs are evil, there are many born-again Arabs who are the descendants of Ishmael, those who love the LORD. But for the most part, the Arab world and Israel are enemies. We come to the last part, the final test, “Take your son, your ONLY son who you love, and offer him as a sacrifice” Now God didn’t say “Sacrifice him” only “offer him as a sacrifice” Today, we offer ourselves as “living sacrifices” before YHVH to do his perfect will, and to serve him. Abraham was willing to bring the knife down on his only son Isaac, yet the LORD did not allow him to do so, as it was a test to see his obedience and to see if he was willing to follow through with “sacrificing and spilling Isaac’s blood”. When we read this account, we see symbolism. The “donkey” that took Father and Son to Mt Moriah, the donkey that took Yeshua to Jerusalem, later to be led to Mt. Calvary. The wood that was laid on Isaac’s back, compared to the cross beam that was laid on Yeshua’s back, or Yeshua’s back that was laid on that cross beam. The altar of stone which Abraham built compared to Calvary’s hill which is pretty much made of stone, made by our heavenly Father. The fire that was in Abraham’s hands could symbolize the fiery judgment that Yeshua took on our behalf. Isaac symbolizes ALL of us. Yet when Abraham was ordered to take him off the altar, he was replaced by the ram which was caught in the thicket. We were replaced by Yeshua. The “ram” is “Yeshua” The ram’s horns were caught in the thicket, and around the head of our Mashiach was a crown of thorns. Isaac could not be the sacrifice for sin because he, like all of us, was born in sin. The ram took Isaac’s as Yeshua took our place. In some translations, there are some interesting words spoken by Abraham. “God will provide himself as a lamb” Other translations read; “God will provide for himself a lamb” I like the first one since it explains what God did, He came down and became the sacrifice lamb, in our place. What Abraham said was prophetic God was not willing that anyone should perish, but for ALL to have eternal life. He was not willing that Abraham should give up his only son, but God was willing to give HIS unique SON, Yeshua for the payment of our sin, one time and forever. Yeshua is both; “Echad” (unity of ONE) and “Yachid” (unique, only, one of a kind) Yeshua was willing and did undergo the “fires” of our sins, up there on that cross for a few hours, and thus made the “new covenant” that through his death and sacrifice, we might be saved. Ben Avraham The angels ate bread, milk, cheese, and veal. Ms. Squirrel only got bananas

ISAIAH 40:3 -41:16 The prophet echoes the future voice of Yochanan the Baptizer; “Prepare the Way of YHVH” Isn’t it interesting that one of the titles of Mashiach is “The Way?” So, could we say that this verse, in a way, is saying; “Prepare to meet Yeshua, who is the WAY, and who is YHVH in the flesh?” “All flesh is grass and beauty likened unto a flower” are the words of the prophet, who speaks as the Ruach leads him. The grass withers away and so do flowers, the grass dries up and ends up “hay” which is eaten by cows, and flowers, well, they are thrown away or “pressed” between book pages. Kind of like having a picture of grandma and grandpa when they were young, yet, it tells the truth that our bodies wear down and our beauty and handsomeness go downhill. The only thing that remains is our soul, our spirit. Our soul and spirit receive the Word of Elohim, which is forever, and the “Living WORD” who is forever. “He feeds His flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs with His arm, and carries them in His bosom, gently leading those who are with young” (vs 11) What could the prophet be saying here? Adonai feeds the “flock” us, being the sons and daughters of God, with His Word. We are his sheep and lambs. A lamb is a young sheep under a year old. He cares for ALL believers, both young in the faith and those mature in the faith. He has us next to his “bosom” the “bosom” of a woman who gives forth milk to her child, and the Torah is His “milk” that nourishes us. He leads those who are with young. We might liken that statement to congregations that have both young and old believers, not age-wise but “spiritual maturity” wise. Or…could we say pastors and rabbis and their congregation members? Something to think about. “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in” (vs 22) Wow, here is a revelation of the awesomeness of our God. A tent and a curtain are materials and fabric which can be folded and that can bend. Does this say that the universe has a curved structure? Does this explain how we can see starlight which comes from millions of light-years away, in a matter of seconds? If you take a curtain or a tent, flatten them out, and mark one end with “A” and the other end with “B” and ask your friend, “What is the quickest way to get from point “A” to point “B”? your friend might say; “Draw a straight line from “A” to “B”. Well, that might be one of the ways, but not the quickest way. But if you “fold” the tent or curtain, from their “spread out” position, so that points “A” and “B” touch each other, then, you have simultaneous contact. Time itself is affected. So, it might explain why we can see that starlight so far away, right away, by the bending of space-time, through the bending of the “curtain-tent” like the expanse of the heavens. It might be that Earth is at the center of a possible wormhole in space where “A” and “B” touch. Only YHVH knows for sure. It’s something to think about. The prophet is encouraging Israel saying that YHVH will support them, will protect them. Israel has been through a lot, they are weary of being persecuted, well, they went away from the LORD and went after false gods, yet, when they repent, YHVH will be there. They are weary, weak, tired. Yes, when we do it in our own strength, yet when we go in the strength of YHVH, HE is our strength. We are not talking about physical strength, but spiritual strength. The physical is and always be physical. We can be strong physically by eating right, exercising, etc.…but we can be spiritually strong through prayer, reading God’s word, and just trusting in HIM for our needs. “Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away, fear not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God, I strengthen thee, help thee, uphold thee… (41:10) What better promise from God do we have? He has chosen us as HIS people, through Yeshua, we become an active part of the commonwealth of Israel, and, as our LORD, and Master, He will provide. MATT 5:1-48 There is a lot of meat in this chapter, besides the Beatitudes, which are “blessed are the…” poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek (or humble) etc.… these we can understand, Yeshua is explaining this quite clearly. But there is another part which needs explanation. 5:17-18 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say unto thee, till heaven and earth pass, not one yod or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled” This has been a misunderstood verse in many if not all Bible churches today. What is “Law?” in Latin we have the word “legis” which when translated into English, we get “law”. The problem is when we go into the original Hebrew the word in “Torah” means “instruction, teaching". When translated correctly into Latin, it would have been; “disciplinam”, “educatio” “instructio” or “mandatum” Any of these words would have been better than “legis” In ancient Hebrew, when worded “destroy” and “fulfill” meant that “destroying” was “erroneous interpretation” and “fulfilling” meant “correctly interpreting”. Yeshua did indeed “fulfill” the Torah, the biggest and most important fulfillment was dying for our sins. He fulfilled the Old Testament sacrificial system of animal blood, using his own blood. He fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies concerning Him. The Torah consists of commandments, 613 to be exact. If we say, “We no longer have to live by those old-fashioned laws, the “law” is over, finished, ended, then…why don’t we go out to rob a house, to take your neighbor’s wife, to murder someone you don’t like? Those commandments are part of the “law”, aren’t they? So, if it is over with, well, why not? Because Yeshua himself said so! That he didn’t come to “end “or “get rid of, or “abrogate” as some translations have. Of course, many of the 613 commandments are not for today, since there is no more animal sacrifice nor Levitical priesthood, but many are STILL for today. That is the reason for Bible study, which ones are or not. There are some Bibles that have all the 613 commandments listed such as "D'Var HaShem, Kotel Edition, Santa Maria, CA As our rabbi (now in heaven) once said; “Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater” Now, someone is going to write a comment saying; “But doesn’t the Word say if we break one commandment it is like breaking them all?” we are guilty then of breaking the entire “law” The answer is that if one is trusting in obedience to the commandments as our method of gaining eternal life and acceptance by God, then, YES, we are guilty, since YHVH demands PERFECT holiness, Yet, our salvation does NOT depend on our obedience to the commandments, but in accepting Yeshua’s sacrifice, and trusting HIM as LORD and Savior. Our obedience to the commandments comes AS A RESULT OF our renewed relationship with YHVH through Yeshua Have the heavens passed away yet? NO! Is the earth still here? YES, is the WORD of God still here in our midst? YES, is the LIVING WORD in our hearts? YES! ROMANS 4:1-25 “Abraham believed and it was reckoned to him for righteousness” It wasn’t by the works of Abraham that he was considered “in right standing” before Adonai, (another way of saying; righteousness) It wasn’t because he was circumcised, it was that he “Believed” in the promise of Adonai, and with his belief, he followed His lead to the Land of Canaan. He believed even before he became circumcised. Same in our case. When we believe and accept the free gift of “Yeshuah” (salvation) by “Yeshua” (seems like a play on names) and believe that His one-time-only sacrifice for our sins, we receive HIS righteousness, we come into “right-standing” before our God and King, our Creator, and our Father. Our “good works” which are our adherence to the commandments, follow our “right standing” and not the other way around. We are made “righteous” to perform “righteous works” Our faith leads to our good works, which, in the end, will bring us rewards in Heaven. It's TIME to get saved. It's TIME for "Yeshuah" (Salvation) Shalom

ISAIAH 40:3 -41:16 The prophet echoes the future voice of Yochanan the Baptizer; “Prepare the Way of YHVH” Isn’t it interesting that one of the titles of Mashiach is “The Way?” So, could we say that this verse, in a way, is saying; “Prepare to meet Yeshua, who is the WAY, and who is YHVH in the flesh?” “All flesh is grass and beauty likened unto a flower” are the words of the prophet, who speaks as the Ruach leads him. The grass withers away and so do flowers, the grass dries up and ends up “hay” which is eaten by cows, and flowers, well, they are thrown away or “pressed” between book pages. Kind of like having a picture of grandma and grandpa when they were young, yet, it tells the truth that our bodies wear down and our beauty and handsomeness go downhill. The only thing that remains is our soul, our spirit. Our soul and spirit receive the Word of Elohim, which is forever, and the “Living WORD” who is forever. “He feeds His flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs with His arm, and carries them in His bosom, gently leading those who are with young” (vs 11) What could the prophet be saying here? Adonai feeds the “flock” us, being the sons and daughters of God, with His Word. We are his sheep and lambs. A lamb is a young sheep under a year old. He cares for ALL believers, both young in the faith and those mature in the faith. He has us next to his “bosom” the “bosom” of a woman who gives forth milk to her child, and the Torah is His “milk” that nourishes us. He leads those who are with young. We might liken that statement to congregations that have both young and old believers, not age-wise but “spiritual maturity” wise. Or…could we say pastors and rabbis and their congregation members? Something to think about. “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in” (vs 22) Wow, here is a revelation of the awesomeness of our God. A tent and a curtain are materials and fabric which can be folded and that can bend. Does this say that the universe has a curved structure? Does this explain how we can see starlight which comes from millions of light-years away, in a matter of seconds? If you take a curtain or a tent, flatten them out, and mark one end with “A” and the other end with “B” and ask your friend, “What is the quickest way to get from point “A” to point “B”? your friend might say; “Draw a straight line from “A” to “B”. Well, that might be one of the ways, but not the quickest way. But if you “fold” the tent or curtain, from their “spread out” position, so that points “A” and “B” touch each other, then, you have simultaneous contact. Time itself is affected. So, it might explain why we can see that starlight so far away, right away, by the bending of space-time, through the bending of the “curtain-tent” like the expanse of the heavens. It might be that Earth is at the center of a possible wormhole in space where “A” and “B” touch. Only YHVH knows for sure. It’s something to think about. The prophet is encouraging Israel saying that YHVH will support them, will protect them. Israel has been through a lot, they are weary of being persecuted, well, they went away from the LORD and went after false gods, yet, when they repent, YHVH will be there. They are weary, weak, tired. Yes, when we do it in our own strength, yet when we go in the strength of YHVH, HE is our strength. We are not talking about physical strength, but spiritual strength. The physical is and always be physical. We can be strong physically by eating right, exercising, etc.…but we can be spiritually strong through prayer, reading God’s word, and just trusting in HIM for our needs. “Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away, fear not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God, I strengthen thee, help thee, uphold thee… (41:10) What better promise from God do we have? He has chosen us as HIS people, through Yeshua, we become an active part of the commonwealth of Israel, and, as our LORD, and Master, He will provide. MATT 5:1-48 There is a lot of meat in this chapter, besides the Beatitudes, which are “blessed are the…” poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek (or humble) etc.… these we can understand, Yeshua is explaining this quite clearly. But there is another part which needs explanation. 5:17-18 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say unto thee, till heaven and earth pass, not one yod or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled” This has been a misunderstood verse in many if not all Bible churches today. What is “Law?” in Latin we have the word “legis” which when translated into English, we get “law”. The problem is when we go into the original Hebrew the word in “Torah” means “instruction, teaching". When translated correctly into Latin, it would have been; “disciplinam”, “educatio” “instructio” or “mandatum” Any of these words would have been better than “legis” In ancient Hebrew, when worded “destroy” and “fulfill” meant that “destroying” was “erroneous interpretation” and “fulfilling” meant “correctly interpreting”. Yeshua did indeed “fulfill” the Torah, the biggest and most important fulfillment was dying for our sins. He fulfilled the Old Testament sacrificial system of animal blood, using his own blood. He fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies concerning Him. The Torah consists of commandments, 613 to be exact. If we say, “We no longer have to live by those old-fashioned laws, the “law” is over, finished, ended, then…why don’t we go out to rob a house, to take your neighbor’s wife, to murder someone you don’t like? Those commandments are part of the “law”, aren’t they? So, if it is over with, well, why not? Because Yeshua himself said so! That he didn’t come to “end “or “get rid of, or “abrogate” as some translations have. Of course, many of the 613 commandments are not for today, since there is no more animal sacrifice nor Levitical priesthood, but many are STILL for today. That is the reason for Bible study, which ones are or not. There are some Bibles that have all the 613 commandments listed such as "D'Var HaShem, Kotel Edition, Santa Maria, CA As our rabbi (now in heaven) once said; “Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater” Now, someone is going to write a comment saying; “But doesn’t the Word say if we break one commandment it is like breaking them all?” we are guilty then of breaking the entire “law” The answer is that if one is trusting in obedience to the commandments as our method of gaining eternal life and acceptance by God, then, YES, we are guilty, since YHVH demands PERFECT holiness, Yet, our salvation does NOT depend on our obedience to the commandments, but in accepting Yeshua’s sacrifice, and trusting HIM as LORD and Savior. Our obedience to the commandments comes AS A RESULT OF our renewed relationship with YHVH through Yeshua Have the heavens passed away yet? NO! Is the earth still here? YES, is the WORD of God still here in our midst? YES, is the LIVING WORD in our hearts? YES! ROMANS 4:1-25 “Abraham believed and it was reckoned to him for righteousness” It wasn’t by the works of Abraham that he was considered “in right standing” before Adonai, (another way of saying; righteousness) It wasn’t because he was circumcised, it was that he “Believed” in the promise of Adonai, and with his belief, he followed His lead to the Land of Canaan. He believed even before he became circumcised. Same in our case. When we believe and accept the free gift of “Yeshuah” (salvation) by “Yeshua” (seems like a play on names) and believe that His one-time-only sacrifice for our sins, we receive HIS righteousness, we come into “right-standing” before our God and King, our Creator, and our Father. Our “good works” which are our adherence to the commandments, follow our “right standing” and not the other way around. We are made “righteous” to perform “righteous works” Our faith leads to our good works, which, in the end, will bring us rewards in Heaven. Shalom Sunlight through palm branches

PARASHAH: “Lech Lecha” (go forth yourself) GENESIS 12:1-17:27 How is the call of Abraham our calling too? There is a time in our life when we must choose to follow the LORD and leave behind our life of sin and perdition. We must "cross over" to the "born again" experience, and begin to head towards "Canaan" (ours is the New Jerusalem) However, some people never leave their Mesopotamia, they like it there, in their comfort zone. Too bad, so sad “Now YHVH said unto Abram: Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee” These are the opening words that YHVH speaks unto Abram. A Midrash interprets this to mean; “Go forth to find your authentic self to learn who you are meant to be” This might be a command to every person on earth. We are to “go forth” and find “Adonai” and discover who He intends us to be! Our destiny should be entirely in HIS hands. Now we might ask, “Why did YHVH choose Abram to begin his chosen people?” No one really knows the “why?” only that he DID choose him. Perhaps he had a curious and searching mind, searching for the real and true God. We must remember that there was no such person as a “Jew” back then. Abram was a Mesopotamian, from the Chaldean city of “Ur” similar to the Hebrew “Ir” which means “city”. He was raised as an idol worshipper, and his family’s business, according to the rabbis, was making and selling idols. Hebrew tradition teaches that when Abram was young, he attended the “School of Shem”. Shem, the son of Noah taught youths about the true God, Adonai-Elohim, the great El Shaddai, so, Abram might have known something about Elohim from Shem, that is if the story is true. But like I said, it is a story based on tradition. We only know that YHVH chose Abram, and he accepted and obeyed the voice of YHVH. Here is a commandment and the blessings of obeying the commandment. “Leave your father’s house and go to a land which I will show you.” We see that G-d wanted Abram to distance himself from idol worshipping and everything connected with the such. Once he obeyed the voice of HaShem, THEN… the blessings would come; “I will make of thee a great nation”, “I will bless thee and make thy name great (shem gadol) and be thou a blessing”, “I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee”, “In thee shall all the families of the world be blessed” we later see that under “being a great nation” we could add the promise; “Your seed will be like the dust of the earth” and also “like the stars of heaven” What do these promises involve? First of all, let’s look at the words; “Dust of the earth” and “stars of heaven”. Am Israel becoming as the “dust” of the earth, in that they were “trampled upon” by many nations that wanted to extinguish the Jewish people, yet they were also as the “stars of heaven” they shone with the light of Adonai, they brought the worship of the ONE true GOD, Adonai-Elohim-Yeshuah. And from Am Israel, came “Yeshua” who is the “Light of the World” Once Abram obeyed the voice of YHVH, and he arrived in the land of Canaan, then came the testings. He left for the land of Canaan after spending some time in Haran, which is north of Ur. When his father Terah died, he continued the journey southward. We see that Adonai wanted to test his faith like he tests us all in many different ways. Yes, we all want blessings, but at times, blessings come with a price. “Am Gadol” a great nation, or a great people. It started with Yitzchak, the first and only son of Abram and Sarah. From him, we know the story; Yitzchak > Ya’akov > 12 tribes > multitudes! As a sign, YHVH changed the name of Abram to Abraham. If we look at the paleo Hebrew symbolism in the name “Abram” we see “Alef” “Beit” “Resh” and “Mem”. 4 letters, “4” can symbolize the 4 corners of the earth. The descendants of Abraham are in all 4 corners of the earth. But we can see these letters meaning or symbolizing “the father who is the head of a multitude”. Also, we can read this as; God blesses the first house with a multitude”. Later, YHVH changes his name by adding the letter “hey” (h). Now it is “abraHam”. What is the significance of the “H”? Well, one way we can look at it is that the “hey” (h) is the only letter in the Hebrew Alef-bet that is pronounced with one “breathing out air”. When you pronounce “h” we send out a puff of air from our mouth. We can also say “wind” in Hebrew; “Ruach” it also means “spirit”. SO…we can say that “YHVH sent out the “spirit of life” into the womb of Sarah through the seed of Abraham. Also, the ancient meaning of the letter “hey” is “Behold!” so, we can say “Behold, a multitude is coming from Abraham and Sarah!” starting with Yitzchak. Yet we cannot forget about Ishmael, who was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the Egyptian. The promise extended to him too, although this was not part of God’s “perfect” will. He “permitted” the union between Abraham and Hagar, yet with consequences; the Arab nations who are the enemies of Israel. “Ishmael” means “God listens (to man)” “Ish+shema+El. (reading right to left) HOWEVER if we read from left to right we get “Man listens to God” and every man that listens to God, in obedience, whether Arab or any other ethnic identity, that man will be blessed also. We also can understand the war today between Hamas, Hezbollah, and Israel. It all stems from the prophecy in Genesis 16:12 concerning Ishmael: "He will be a wild man, with his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell amongst his brethren" Adonai stated also that “in thee, all of the families of the world would be blessed”. The greatest blessing is in Yeshua HaMashiach. From the seed of Abraham, came the nation of Israel, and we know that Mary and Joseph, the guardians of Yeshua were of the seed of Abraham, and more closely, the seed of David. We need to look not so much at physical blessings, nor biological/genealogical blessings. We might be of Jewish ancestry, but that does not secure for us salvation, we need to look at Yeshua our Messiah, who is our “Yeshuateinu” (our salvation) This chapter also states that “Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the wealth that they had amassed and the persons that they had acquired in Haran and they set out for the land of Canaan” Some translations say “souls” instead of “persons”. We can assume that by these words “acquired persons or souls” that Abram and Sarai were “soul winners” that they converted many “souls” in Haran to the belief in the one TRUE GOD, that they abandoned the false deities and were thus “grafted in” sort of saying, into the “Mishpochah Abram” (the family of Abram) They also probably bought servants and slaves, and I am sure that they witnessed to them too. The Word also states that Abraham acquired much “wealth” and took it with him of course. This wealth was in the form of gold, silver, and livestock. We all have internal “wealth” which is the knowledge and wisdom that comes from studying God’s word, and that is what we take with us wherever we go. We are to “share” this wealth with others through teaching and preaching the WORD, and be witnesses of the “Living WORD” Once they arrived in Canaan, they would be “Gerim” from the word “Ger” which means a “sojourner” that is a person who is not a native of that land, but who will live there. We could consider ourselves as “sojourners” on this planet called “Earth” This earth is not our permanent home, even though we were born “earthlings” our true home is in Heaven, the New Jerusalem. Now we look at Lot, Abraham’s nephew, Lot started arguing over land for cattle. So, Abraham says for him to select one area and he would go in the other direction. So, Lot chose “Sodom!” the land around it looked very fertile. That is the way the land of sin appears to people. It looks attractive. So, Lot pitched his tent TOWARDS Sodom…then…he actually entered and LIVED in Sodom. And so, it is with sin. We might get attracted to it, get closer to it, and finally, indulge in it! So, be careful! Another fact we read is that Abram stopped in two places, “Shechem” and “Betel” where he built altars and worshiped Adonai. We do the same, but we do not build stone altars. We worship Adonai in spirit and in truth. An interesting fact about the place “Beth-El, it means “House of God”. Yet the Canaanites worshiped a false deity which was also called “El” The difference between the god “El” of the Canaanites and “El Elyon” or “El Elohim” is that we worship the true EL, the “One who is Strong and who Leads and Instructs” as symbolized in the two Paleo-Hebrew letters; “Aleph and Lamed” Abram lived in his tent, going to different places, and he built altars, which stayed in one place. There he met with God and had fellowship with Him. We can travel from place to place, from job to job, from one city to another. But everywhere we go, we ought to seek out that "Altar" or "congregation/synagogue/church/ fellowship community" to have fellowship and learn from God's Word. There were three promises made to Abraham. His seed would be like the dust of the earth. His seed would be like the stars of heaven, his seed would be like the sands of the sea. Can you count the stars? Can you count the grains of sand on the beach? Can you count dust? Here is something to think about. We walk on dust, we trample it underfoot. Israel has been trampled underfoot and has been looked down upon by many nations, yet, the dust still lasts, it will always be. Leave a car out in the desert for 50 years, and the dust will wear it away into rusted metal, yet the “dust” will always be, and so will Israel. Circumcision! This is an important area, but some make it TOO important. YHVH instructed Abraham to be circumcised and that every male should also be circumcised. This was and is a mark of the covenant. But what about today? Is it still important? Yes, it is, but in the physical aspect of the same. For male health and cleanliness, it is good for every baby boy to be circumcised. YHVH is more concerned about our heart condition. Moshe stated that the “foreskin of our hearts should be circumcised”. Spiritually speaking, the “foreskin” of our hearts is the carnal ways that we all have, being that we are a fallen race and have the inbred original sin. “So, circumcise your heart and stiffen your neck no longer” (Deut 10:16) Ben Avraham. "Crossing Over" to the other side

PARASHAH: “Lech Lecha” (go forth yourself) GENESIS 12:1-17:27 How is the call of Abraham our calling too? There is a time in our life when we must choose to follow the LORD and leave behind our life of sin and perdition. We must "cross over" to the "born again" experience, and begin to head towards "Canaan" (ours is the New Jerusalem) However, some people never leave their Mesopotamia, they like it there, in their comfort zone. Too bad, so sad “Now YHVH said unto Abram: Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee” These are the opening words that YHVH speaks unto Abram. A Midrash interprets this to mean; “Go forth to find your authentic self to learn who you are meant to be” This might be a command to every person on earth. We are to “go forth” and find “Adonai” and discover who He intends us to be! Our destiny should be entirely in HIS hands. Now we might ask, “Why did YHVH choose Abram to begin his chosen people?” No one really knows the “why?” only that he DID choose him. Perhaps he had a curious and searching mind, searching for the real and true God. We must remember that there was no such person as a “Jew” back then. Abram was a Mesopotamian, from the Chaldean city of “Ur” similar to the Hebrew “Ir” which means “city”. He was raised as an idol worshipper, and his family’s business, according to the rabbis, was making and selling idols. Hebrew tradition teaches that when Abram was young, he attended the “School of Shem”. Shem, the son of Noah taught youths about the true God, Adonai-Elohim, the great El Shaddai, so, Abram might have known something about Elohim from Shem, that is if the story is true. But like I said, it is a story based on tradition. We only know that YHVH chose Abram, and he accepted and obeyed the voice of YHVH. Here is a commandment and the blessings of obeying the commandment. “Leave your father’s house and go to a land which I will show you.” We see that G-d wanted Abram to distance himself from idol worshipping and everything connected with the such. Once he obeyed the voice of HaShem, THEN… the blessings would come; “I will make of thee a great nation”, “I will bless thee and make thy name great (shem gadol) and be thou a blessing”, “I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee”, “In thee shall all the families of the world be blessed” we later see that under “being a great nation” we could add the promise; “Your seed will be like the dust of the earth” and also “like the stars of heaven” What do these promises involve? First of all, let’s look at the words; “Dust of the earth” and “stars of heaven”. Am Israel becoming as the “dust” of the earth, in that they were “trampled upon” by many nations that wanted to extinguish the Jewish people, yet they were also as the “stars of heaven” they shone with the light of Adonai, they brought the worship of the ONE true GOD, Adonai-Elohim-Yeshuah. And from Am Israel, came “Yeshua” who is the “Light of the World” Once Abram obeyed the voice of YHVH, and he arrived in the land of Canaan, then came the testings. He left for the land of Canaan after spending some time in Haran, which is north of Ur. When his father Terah died, he continued the journey southward. We see that Adonai wanted to test his faith like he tests us all in many different ways. Yes, we all want blessings, but at times, blessings come with a price. “Am Gadol” a great nation, or a great people. It started with Yitzchak, the first and only son of Abram and Sarah. From him, we know the story; Yitzchak > Ya’akov > 12 tribes > multitudes! As a sign, YHVH changed the name of Abram to Abraham. If we look at the paleo Hebrew symbolism in the name “Abram” we see “Alef” “Beit” “Resh” and “Mem”. 4 letters, “4” can symbolize the 4 corners of the earth. The descendants of Abraham are in all 4 corners of the earth. But we can see these letters meaning or symbolizing “the father who is the head of a multitude”. Also, we can read this as; God blesses the first house with a multitude”. Later, YHVH changes his name by adding the letter “hey” (h). Now it is “abraHam”. What is the significance of the “H”? Well, one way we can look at it is that the “hey” (h) is the only letter in the Hebrew Alef-bet that is pronounced with one “breathing out air”. When you pronounce “h” we send out a puff of air from our mouth. We can also say “wind” in Hebrew; “Ruach” it also means “spirit”. SO…we can say that “YHVH sent out the “spirit of life” into the womb of Sarah through the seed of Abraham. Also, the ancient meaning of the letter “hey” is “Behold!” so, we can say “Behold, a multitude is coming from Abraham and Sarah!” starting with Yitzchak. Yet we cannot forget about Ishmael, who was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the Egyptian. The promise extended to him too, although this was not part of God’s “perfect” will. He “permitted” the union between Abraham and Hagar, yet with consequences; the Arab nations who are the enemies of Israel. “Ishmael” means “God listens (to man)” “Ish+shema+El. (reading right to left) HOWEVER if we read from left to right we get “Man listens to God” and every man that listens to God, in obedience, whether Arab or any other ethnic identity, that man will be blessed also. We also can understand the war today between Hamas, Hezbollah, and Israel. It all stems from the prophecy in Genesis 16:12 concerning Ishmael: "He will be a wild man, with his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell amongst his brethren" Adonai stated also that “in thee, all of the families of the world would be blessed”. The greatest blessing is in Yeshua HaMashiach. From the seed of Abraham, came the nation of Israel, and we know that Mary and Joseph, the guardians of Yeshua were of the seed of Abraham, and more closely, the seed of David. We need to look not so much at physical blessings, nor biological/genealogical blessings. We might be of Jewish ancestry, but that does not secure for us salvation, we need to look at Yeshua our Messiah, who is our “Yeshuateinu” (our salvation) This chapter also states that “Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the wealth that they had amassed and the persons that they had acquired in Haran and they set out for the land of Canaan” Some translations say “souls” instead of “persons”. We can assume that by these words “acquired persons or souls” that Abram and Sarai were “soul winners” that they converted many “souls” in Haran to the belief in the one TRUE GOD, that they abandoned the false deities and were thus “grafted in” sort of saying, into the “Mishpochah Abram” (the family of Abram) They also probably bought servants and slaves, and I am sure that they witnessed to them too. The Word also states that Abraham acquired much “wealth” and took it with him of course. This wealth was in the form of gold, silver, and livestock. We all have internal “wealth” which is the knowledge and wisdom that comes from studying God’s word, and that is what we take with us wherever we go. We are to “share” this wealth with others through teaching and preaching the WORD, and be witnesses of the “Living WORD” Once they arrived in Canaan, they would be “Gerim” from the word “Ger” which means a “sojourner” that is a person who is not a native of that land, but who will live there. We could consider ourselves as “sojourners” on this planet called “Earth” This earth is not our permanent home, even though we were born “earthlings” our true home is in Heaven, the New Jerusalem. Now we look at Lot, Abraham’s nephew, Lot started arguing over land for cattle. So, Abraham says for him to select one area and he would go in the other direction. So, Lot chose “Sodom!” the land around it looked very fertile. That is the way the land of sin appears to people. It looks attractive. So, Lot pitched his tent TOWARDS Sodom…then…he actually entered and LIVED in Sodom. And so, it is with sin. We might get attracted to it, get closer to it, and finally, indulge in it! So, be careful! Another fact we read is that Abram stopped in two places, “Shechem” and “Betel” where he built altars and worshiped Adonai. We do the same, but we do not build stone altars. We worship Adonai in spirit and in truth. An interesting fact about the place “Beth-El, it means “House of God”. Yet the Canaanites worshiped a false deity which was also called “El” The difference between the god “El” of the Canaanites and “El Elyon” or “El Elohim” is that we worship the true EL, the “One who is Strong and who Leads and Instructs” as symbolized in the two Paleo-Hebrew letters; “Aleph and Lamed” Abram lived in his tent, going to different places, and he built altars, which stayed in one place. There he met with God and had fellowship with Him. We can travel from place to place, from job to job, from one city to another. But everywhere we go, we ought to seek out that "Altar" or "congregation/synagogue/church/ fellowship community" to have fellowship and learn from God's Word. There were three promises made to Abraham. His seed would be like the dust of the earth. His seed would be like the stars of heaven, his seed would be like the sands of the sea. Can you count the stars? Can you count the grains of sand on the beach? Can you count dust? Here is something to think about. We walk on dust, we trample it underfoot. Israel has been trampled underfoot and has been looked down upon by many nations, yet, the dust still lasts, it will always be. Leave a car out in the desert for 50 years, and the dust will wear it away into rusted metal, yet the “dust” will always be, and so will Israel. Circumcision! This is an important area, but some make it TOO important. YHVH instructed Abraham to be circumcised and that every male should also be circumcised. This was and is a mark of the covenant. But what about today? Is it still important? Yes, it is, but in the physical aspect of the same. For male health and cleanliness, it is good for every baby boy to be circumcised. YHVH is more concerned about our heart condition. Moshe stated that the “foreskin of our hearts should be circumcised”. Spiritually speaking, the “foreskin” of our hearts is the carnal ways that we all have, being that we are a fallen race and have the inbred original sin. “So, circumcise your heart and stiffen your neck no longer” (Deut 10:16) Ben Avraham. "Crossing over" to the other side (But still far from Canaan)

ISAIAH 54:1-55:5 The People of Yisrael are compared to the “sands of the sea,” the “dust of the earth,” and the “Stars of heaven” The prophet Yeshayahu in these verses is comforting Israel that they will be blessed, with descendants, even though at the time they might be going through some rough times, always, when people stray away from the LORD and follow other gods, then judgment will follow, and suffering will follow, however, YHVH will never reject his people…and…He will increase their numbers. In spite of HaSatan trying to wipe the Jewish people from existence through the Holocaust, pogroms, and now Hamas and Hezbollah, the people will continue to exist. Why is Israel compared to the “sands of the sea?” because who can count each and every grain of sand? Why is Israel compared to the “dust of the earth?” One walks on the dust and Israel has been trampled upon, like dust, but dust is enduring. Leave a car outside in the desert, in the dust, for perhaps one hundred years. In the end, the car will no longer exist, it will have been wasted away, yet the dust will continue to exist, forever. "The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of all the Earth" (vs 5) This is exactly who Yeshua is. HaGo'el (The Redeemer) and He is "God of all the Earth" He came as the "Lamb of God" who was the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. the "Sacrifice Lamb" and as the "Sacrifice Lamb" redeemed all mankind of the curse of sin. Yet He will return as the "Lion of Judah" to sit on the Throne of David. As the flood destroyed mankind, save Noah and his family, He promised that he would not send a second worldwide flood. He was angry, and judged the world, saving a remnant. Israel was judged, yet a remnant was saved. Another point. Had not Noah and his family been saved, there would not be a Messiah. There wouldn't be anyone. "No weapon made will prevail against you" That includes rockets from Hamas and attacks from Hezbollah. They can try, but will not prevail. Israel has the Iron Dome but also the Iron Will of God. “the stars of heaven?” because Israel will “shine” like the stars, because, the Mashiach came from Israel, and He shines, as everlasting light. Israel will be a light to the nations and will teach the nations of ONE GOD “Echad. Therefore blessed are the Torah teachers, evangelists, pastors, Sunday School teachers, Rabbis, etc...they will all share in the blessings of eternity. Chapter 55: "Come all of you who are thirsty, come to the water. You without money, come buy and eat...it's free" "Why spend money for what isn't food, your wages for what doesn't satisfy?...." What is the Prophet trying to say here? One way to look at this is that the "Living Water" (Yeshua, Salvation) is free. It doesn't cost us "money" you can't "purchase" salvation. Yet it WAS COSTLY. It cost Messiah his life, his suffering, his taking into himself the curse of sin and death. "What isn't food?" Well, there is "spiritual food and physical food." Our jobs, and our wages from work might satisfy our need for physical food and material things, but they can't satisfy our spiritual food needs. Only the WORD of God, our relationship with Messiah can. We need to have a balance of the two. Gamaliel the son of Rabbi Judah HaNasi said: "Excellent is the study of the Torah when combined with a worldly occupation" (Pirkei Avot (Ethics of The Fathers) MATTHEW 3:1-4:25; Yochanan the Baptizer is in the Jordan, baptizing the people, getting them ready to meet their Mashiach, his cousin, his LORD. We need to get our hearts and minds right, a need to change is necessary, to leave the lost world behind and embrace the things of the LORD. Yeshua is baptized, goes into the wilderness, fasts for 40 days, getting ready for his ministry and teaching, healing, and finally, dying for our sins. 40 is the number for testing and judgment. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of Adonai”. Yes, physical food is necessary, and it feeds the physical body, yet the WORD of God feeds our spirit man/woman. There needs to be a balance between the two. Good, healthy, kosher food which Adonai gave us, and HIS WORD, which is the living manna. Yeshua settled in Capernaum, and the synagogue that Yeshua visited is still there, although it was torn down a rebuilt a few times, the floor is the same. It was an honor to physically “walk” where Yeshua walked and taught Torah. The remains of Peter’s house are also there. Let’s walk the way Yeshua walked, let’s keep on preparing our hearts, and minds, and our lives. The Kingdom of Heaven IS here, it IS at hand. The “Kingdom of God” is HIS activity here on earth. 1 PETER 3:18-22; Kefa writes about Messiah, giving up his life for us all, to bring us to Elohim. But since Messiah Yeshua is part of Elohim, did “Elohim die for Elohim?” In a way, we can say yes. He left His glory on high to come to earth and live as a man, to die as a man, to suffer as a man, a man who is still G-d. Yeshua called upon his “Father” who is Elohim, and Yeshua is known as “The Son” “Yeshua Ben Elohim” who was also known as “Yeshua Ben Yosef” as he was raised and known legally as “The Son of Yosef” yet He was and IS, still very God. Kefa the Talmid continues to state that Yeshua descended into the heart of the earth, and he preached to the “spirits” in Sheol. But who are these “spirits?” We could include all who perished during the time of the flood, who were disobedient, and thus perished, their bodies being consumed by the floodwaters and probably by sharks. I imagine there were many Megalodons (giant sharks) in the waters of the flood just awaiting “MANwiches!” It was too late for these souls to be saved, yet Yeshua also preached to the spirits in “Paradise” the region of Sheol where the righteous awaited Mashiach, from righteous Abel to the thief on the cross (and all in between) He came to set “captives free” even though paradise was a pleasant waiting place (I imagine) it could not compare to the New Jerusalem, where they all are now. Very little is written about this place called "Paradise" “8 were saved through water” Those were Noah, his wife. According to rabbinical sources, it is believed that his wife was "Naamah" the daughter of Enoch, his three sons, and their wives. They all had a “new beginning” (8) and we also are saved through the “Living Water” who is Yeshua. When we are saved, we go through water baptism, which identifies us with Yeshua, “death and rebirth” yet as Kefa says, it does not get rid of the filth of the flesh, but of a newness of spirit. Our flesh will always be sinful, and will, at times, be attracted to sin. That is why “flesh” can not inherit heaven. Our bodies of flesh will wear out and cease to function after “x” number of years, yet we will receive new bodies, and our souls and spirit will be with the LORD! Our flesh is and always will be sinful flesh, yet we will have a “good conscience toward Elohim” Let us be content with a good conscience, and try to bring the flesh under control. That is the understanding of the word "Tzadik" Very interesting is this word. "Tzad" in Hebrew, is to "bring under control, or to hunt down" and the word "Qof" (k) is "monkey" so, a Tzadik is one who "brings his monkey under control. The "monkey" being the "sin nature". We are living in the "times of Noah" We are surrounded by evil, (at least we don't have evil giants and dinosaurs to deal with) Let us be like "Noach HaTzadik" (Righteous Noah) and stay on God's side.

ISAIAH 54:1-55:5 The People of Yisrael are compared to the “sands of the sea,” the “dust of the earth,” and the “Stars of heaven” The prophet Yeshayahu in these verses is comforting Israel that they will be blessed, with descendants, even though at the time they might be going through some rough times, always, when people stray away from the LORD and follow other gods, then judgment will follow, and suffering will follow, however, YHVH will never reject his people…and…He will increase their numbers. In spite of HaSatan trying to wipe the Jewish people from existence through the Holocaust, pogroms, and now Hamas and Hezbollah, the people will continue to exist. Why is Israel compared to the “sands of the sea?” because who can count each and every grain of sand? Why is Israel compared to the “dust of the earth?” One walks on the dust and Israel has been trampled upon, like dust, but dust is enduring. Leave a car outside in the desert, in the dust, for perhaps one hundred years. In the end, the car will no longer exist, it will have been wasted away, yet the dust will continue to exist, forever. "The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of all the Earth" (vs 5) This is exactly who Yeshua is. HaGo'el (The Redeemer) and He is "God of all the Earth" He came as the "Lamb of God" who was the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. the "Sacrifice Lamb" and as the "Sacrifice Lamb" redeemed all mankind of the curse of sin. Yet He will return as the "Lion of Judah" to sit on the Throne of David. As the flood destroyed mankind, save Noah and his family, He promised that he would not send a second worldwide flood. He was angry, and judged the world, saving a remnant. Israel was judged, yet a remnant was saved. Another point. Had not Noah and his family been saved, there would not be a Messiah. There wouldn't be anyone. "No weapon made will prevail against you" That includes rockets from Hamas and attacks from Hezbollah. They can try, but will not prevail. Israel has the Iron Dome but also the Iron Will of God. “the stars of heaven?” because Israel will “shine” like the stars, because, the Mashiach came from Israel, and He shines, as everlasting light. Israel will be a light to the nations and will teach the nations of ONE GOD “Echad. Therefore blessed are the Torah teachers, evangelists, pastors, Sunday School teachers, Rabbis, etc...they will all share in the blessings of eternity. Chapter 55: "Come all of you who are thirsty, come to the water. You without money, come buy and eat...it's free" "Why spend money for what isn't food, your wages for what doesn't satisfy?...." What is the Prophet trying to say here? One way to look at this is that the "Living Water" (Yeshua, Salvation) is free. It doesn't cost us "money" you can't "purchase" salvation. Yet it WAS COSTLY. It cost Messiah his life, his suffering, his taking into himself the curse of sin and death. "What isn't food?" Well, there is "spiritual food and physical food." Our jobs, and our wages from work might satisfy our need for physical food and material things, but they can't satisfy our spiritual food needs. Only the WORD of God, our relationship with Messiah can. We need to have a balance of the two. Gamaliel the son of Rabbi Judah HaNasi said: "Excellent is the study of the Torah when combined with a worldly occupation" (Pirkei Avot (Ethics of The Fathers) MATTHEW 3:1-4:25; Yochanan the Baptizer is in the Jordan, baptizing the people, getting them ready to meet their Mashiach, his cousin, his LORD. We need to get our hearts and minds right, a need to change is necessary, to leave the lost world behind and embrace the things of the LORD. Yeshua is baptized, goes into the wilderness, fasts for 40 days, getting ready for his ministry and teaching, healing, and finally, dying for our sins. 40 is the number for testing and judgment. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of Adonai”. Yes, physical food is necessary, and it feeds the physical body, yet the WORD of God feeds our spirit man/woman. There needs to be a balance between the two. Good, healthy, kosher food which Adonai gave us, and HIS WORD, which is the living manna. Yeshua settled in Capernaum, and the synagogue that Yeshua visited is still there, although it was torn down a rebuilt a few times, the floor is the same. It was an honor to physically “walk” where Yeshua walked and taught Torah. The remains of Peter’s house are also there. Let’s walk the way Yeshua walked, let’s keep on preparing our hearts, and minds, and our lives. The Kingdom of Heaven IS here, it IS at hand. The “Kingdom of God” is HIS activity here on earth. 1 PETER 3:18-22; Kefa writes about Messiah, giving up his life for us all, to bring us to Elohim. But since Messiah Yeshua is part of Elohim, did “Elohim die for Elohim?” In a way, we can say yes. He left His glory on high to come to earth and live as a man, to die as a man, to suffer as a man, a man who is still G-d. Yeshua called upon his “Father” who is Elohim, and Yeshua is known as “The Son” “Yeshua Ben Elohim” who was also known as “Yeshua Ben Yosef” as he was raised and known legally as “The Son of Yosef” yet He was and IS, still very God. Kefa the Talmid continues to state that Yeshua descended into the heart of the earth, and he preached to the “spirits” in Sheol. But who are these “spirits?” We could include all who perished during the time of the flood, who were disobedient, and thus perished, their bodies being consumed by the floodwaters and probably by sharks. I imagine there were many Megalodons (giant sharks) in the waters of the flood just awaiting “MANwiches!” It was too late for these souls to be saved, yet Yeshua also preached to the spirits in “Paradise” the region of Sheol where the righteous awaited Mashiach, from righteous Abel to the thief on the cross (and all in between) He came to set “captives free” even though paradise was a pleasant waiting place (I imagine) it could not compare to the New Jerusalem, where they all are now. Very little is written about this place called "Paradise" “8 were saved through water” Those were Noah, his wife. According to rabbinical sources, it is believed that his wife was "Naamah" the daughter of Enoch, his three sons, and their wives. They all had a “new beginning” (8) and we also are saved through the “Living Water” who is Yeshua. When we are saved, we go through water baptism, which identifies us with Yeshua, “death and rebirth” yet as Kefa says, it does not get rid of the filth of the flesh, but of a newness of spirit. Our flesh will always be sinful, and will, at times, be attracted to sin. That is why “flesh” can not inherit heaven. Our bodies of flesh will wear out and cease to function after “x” number of years, yet we will receive new bodies, and our souls and spirit will be with the LORD! Our flesh is and always will be sinful flesh, yet we will have a “good conscience toward Elohim” Let us be content with a good conscience, and try to bring the flesh under control. That is the understanding of the word "Tzadik" Very interesting is this word. "Tzad" in Hebrew, is to "bring under control, or to hunt down" and the word "Qof" (k) is "monkey" so, a Tzadik is one who "brings his monkey under control. The "monkey" being the "sin nature". We are living in the "times of Noah" We are surrounded by evil, (at least we don't have evil giants and dinosaurs to deal with) Let us be like "Noach HaTzadik" (Righteous Noah) and stay on God's side.

GENESIS 6:9-11:32 "Noah HaTzadik" (The Righteous) "Noah's flood or God's Flood?" "Noah's Ark or God's Ark?" "God's Flood" because God sent the flood waters, not Noah. "God's Ark" (Yes, Noah built it, but God drew the construction plans) We all know the story of Noah and the flood which destroyed mankind from off the face of the earth. It would be great to study a "verse by verse" study, but I'd lose 99% of the people reading. I would like to do a general study and highlight some points. The pre-diluvian world was a violent and rough place to live. I guess you could say that you had three big dangers in everyday life. Your neighbor was wicked. He could just go out a kill you if he felt like it. There were bloodthirsty giants who were the offspring of the "Nephilim" the fallen angels who cohabitated with women who brought forth the giants. You had meat-eating dinosaurs like T-Rex, etc. Noah survived all of those and also many of his days also survived and produced children. We see that the longevity of mankind was 900 years. Imagine how many children could come from a pre-diluvian couple, even if the woman got pregnant every other year. 450 children (at least) in 900 years. I would imagine not all would survive because of those imminent dangers. Yet this was Noah's world. Yet he maintained his "righteousness" in a completely evil world. God recognized this and told him; "The end of all living beings has come before me. for because of them the earth is filled with violence. I will destroy them along with them. Make yourself an ark of gofer wood.... (Gen 6:13) God gives the dimensions of the ark. In feet, it was 450 feet long, 75 feet high, 45 feet wide. Three decks, on top a length long opening which was a cubit (18 inches) for ventilation. A door was put in the side to allow entrance of the animals. The flood came in the 600th year of Noah's life. Noah was a "preacher of righteousness" yet no one paid any attention. We learn that when Noah was 500 years old, his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth were born. Between that time and his 600th year, he received instructions from God to build the ark. I'm sure that his sons helped him. While building the ark, he told the people of the "imminent judgment" yet no one heeded the call of repentance. Interesting facts: The ark had 3 decks, the Tabernacle was divided into 3 parts. (The outer court, the inner court, and the Holy of Holies) The Ark of the Covenant had 3 parts: Outside, Inside, and the cover. "3" is the number of "Elohim" The Ark was covered with pitch "Kopher" This is also similar to "Kippur" which is "covering" (Yom Kippur) This would make the ark waterproof. Noah found "grace" in the eyes of God. Therefore, he was saved from the worldwide destruction. It's interesting that the name "Noach" spelled backward is "Chen" (with Hebrew letters) and "Chen" = "grace" ("ch" is pronounced like a hard "h" like the German "Bach") The word for "ark" in Hebrew is "Teivah" which has only three letters in Hebrew. "Tav (T) "Beit' (B) and "Hey" (H) The word is symbolic for "Behold the House of Covenant" The Ark would be the "Place of Covenant" for Noah and his family. There would be no other place. "It's inside the ark of safety or destruction" This reminds us what Yeshua said; "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by ME" (John 14:6) There are no other ways for salvation, only through Jesus/Yeshua. Noah and his family would have the ark and the ark only. There were "7" days of waiting before the flood waters hit the earth. "7" is the perfect number of God. verse 16 reads; "and God shut them in" GOD closed the outside door. Once the door was closed, there would be no opening it until God would give the order. The time of "Grace" ended, and "judgment" would begin. There is a time when God is near, and while the breath of life is within us, there is "grace" and "hope" yet "grace" ends when we breathe our last. Yet God's grace can even end before because many hard-hearted people want nothing to do with God. His spirit will not strive forever with them. With all the animals inside along with Noah and his family. The flood waters begin. The vapor canopy high in the atmosphere collapsed. Many think it might have been composed of lattice-like ice crystals that protected the Earth against the ultraviolet rays from the sun. The ground opened up letting loose underground water, and thus, flooding the whole earth in 40 days. Verse 20 states that the waters rose 15 cubits above the highest mountains (at that time) which was about 22 feet. It is interesting that the number "15" is the equivalent of "Yod Hey" (The first two letters or the first and the last letter of the most Holy name of God, YHVH) Meaning that God (YHVH) was with Noah and guided the ark on the open water. The ark floated on the flood waters for about a whole year, and came to rest upon the "mountains of Ararat" (it doesn't say "Mt. Ararat) It came to rest on the second day of Sukkot (October 2nd). Noah removed the covering of the ark (Maybe the door) on New Year's day (Nissan 1) and looked out at a strange new world. The ark is likened unto Yeshua/Jesus who is our "ark of safety" in a lost and dying world. The LORD will guide our "ark" throughout our life, and when we "disembark" someday, and only HE knows when we will emerge into our "New World" the "New Jerusalem" our heavenly home. Shavua Tov (Happy Week) Ben Avraham

GENESIS 6:9-11:32 "Noah HaTzadik" (The Righteous) "Noah's flood or God's Flood?" "Noah's Ark or God's Ark?" "God's Flood" because God sent the flood waters, not Noah. "God's Ark" (Yes, Noah built it, but God drew the construction plans) We all know the story of Noah and the flood which destroyed mankind from off the face of the earth. It would be great to study a "verse by verse" study, but I'd lose 99% of the people reading. I would like to do a general study and highlight some points. The pre-diluvian world was a violent and rough place to live. I guess you could say that you had three big dangers in everyday life. Your neighbor was wicked. He could just go out a kill you if he felt like it. There were bloodthirsty giants who were the offspring of the "Nephilim" the fallen angels who cohabitated with women who brought forth the giants. You had meat-eating dinosaurs like T-Rex, etc. Noah survived all of those and also many of his days also survived and produced children. We see that the longevity of mankind was 900 years. Imagine how many children could come from a pre-diluvian couple, even if the woman got pregnant every other year. 450 children (at least) in 900 years. I would imagine not all would survive because of those imminent dangers. Yet this was Noah's world. Yet he maintained his "righteousness" in a completely evil world. God recognized this and told him; "The end of all living beings has come before me. for because of them the earth is filled with violence. I will destroy them along with them. Make yourself an ark of gofer wood.... (Gen 6:13) God gives the dimensions of the ark. In feet, it was 450 feet long, 75 feet high, 45 feet wide. Three decks, on top a length long opening which was a cubit (18 inches) for ventilation. A door was put in the side to allow entrance of the animals. The flood came in the 600th year of Noah's life. Noah was a "preacher of righteousness" yet no one paid any attention. We learn that when Noah was 500 years old, his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth were born. Between that time and his 600th year, he received instructions from God to build the ark. I'm sure that his sons helped him. While building the ark, he told the people of the "imminent judgment" yet no one heeded the call of repentance. Interesting facts: The ark had 3 decks, the Tabernacle was divided into 3 parts. (The outer court, the inner court, and the Holy of Holies) The Ark of the Covenant had 3 parts: Outside, Inside, and the cover. "3" is the number of "Elohim" The Ark was covered with pitch "Kopher" This is also similar to "Kippur" which is "covering" (Yom Kippur) This would make the ark waterproof. Noah found "grace" in the eyes of God. Therefore, he was saved from the worldwide destruction. It's interesting that the name "Noach" spelled backward is "Chen" (with Hebrew letters) and "Chen" = "grace" ("ch" is pronounced like a hard "h" like the German "Bach") The word for "ark" in Hebrew is "Teivah" which has only three letters in Hebrew. "Tav (T) "Beit' (B) and "Hey" (H) The word is symbolic for "Behold the House of Covenant" The Ark would be the "Place of Covenant" for Noah and his family. There would be no other place. "It's inside the ark of safety or destruction" This reminds us what Yeshua said; "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by ME" (John 14:6) There are no other ways for salvation, only through Jesus/Yeshua. Noah and his family would have the ark and the ark only. There were "7" days of waiting before the flood waters hit the earth. "7" is the perfect number of God. verse 16 reads; "and God shut them in" GOD closed the outside door. Once the door was closed, there would be no opening it until God would give the order. The time of "Grace" ended, and "judgment" would begin. There is a time when God is near, and while the breath of life is within us, there is "grace" and "hope" yet "grace" ends when we breathe our last. Yet God's grace can even end before because many hard-hearted people want nothing to do with God. His spirit will not strive forever with them. With all the animals inside along with Noah and his family. The flood waters begin. The vapor canopy high in the atmosphere collapsed. Many think it might have been composed of lattice-like ice crystals that protected the Earth against the ultraviolet rays from the sun. The ground opened up letting loose underground water, and thus, flooding the whole earth in 40 days. Verse 20 states that the waters rose 15 cubits above the highest mountains (at that time) which was about 22 feet. It is interesting that the number "15" is the equivalent of "Yod Hey" (The first two letters or the first and the last letter of the most Holy name of God, YHVH) Meaning that God (YHVH) was with Noah and guided the ark on the open water. The ark floated on the flood waters for about a whole year, and came to rest upon the "mountains of Ararat" (it doesn't say "Mt. Ararat) It came to rest on the second day of Sukkot (October 2nd). Noah removed the covering of the ark (Maybe the door) on New Year's day (Nissan 1) and looked out at a strange new world. The ark is likened unto Yeshua/Jesus who is our "ark of safety" in a lost and dying world. The LORD will guide our "ark" throughout our life, and when we "disembark" someday, and only HE knows when we will emerge into our "New World" the "New Jerusalem" our heavenly home. Shavua Tov (Happy Week) Ben Avraham

Chapter 4 of Genesis "Cain vs Abel" = "Cain vs God" We see the birth of Kayin and Hevel (Cain and Abel) They were born with the sin nature, and we see in both boys, the direction of the world that would follow. Some would choose holiness and all that is good and others would choose the unholy and all that is evil. There came a time when they both had to offer sacrifices (that is why I said that Adam and Eve must have taught them to do the same). Abel chose to obey and Kayin chose to disobey. Kayin offered a sacrifice, but it was not a blood sacrifice, rather it was a “grain offering” nothing wrong with a grain offering, but a blood sacrifice was needed. Therefore, it was rejected. When we see the sacrifices in Exodus, blood sacrifices are often times accompanied by "Minchot" (grain offerings). In this case, God wanted the boys to understand the meaning of "shed blood" on an innocent animal, to cover "Kippur" their sins. Hebel however, offered the correct sacrifice, a blood sacrifice, and it was accepted. This caused anger and jealousy in Kayin and we know the story, Kayin rose up and murdered his brother Hebel. Yet YHVH Elohim still offers him an opportunity to repent and confess his sin, but Kayin does not. Then YHVH Elohim says; “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” (4:10) the Hebrew word is “damei” or “bloods” it is written in the plural. But why is this? This is eluded to the idea (which is written in the Talmud) that “he who saves the life of one person is as if he has saved a whole nation, and he who takes a life of another, is as if he has murdered a whole nation.” It is as if the souls of all the “would have been” descendants of Abel were crying out for vengeance because they would not be permitted to be born. “the voice of thy brother’s bloods cries out…” the many “bloods” cry out in “one voice” so it seems. (I know, "bloods" is bad English) Abel is slain, his blood is sacrificed, and Kayin goes away, runs away to the land of wandering (Nod), and becomes a vagabond, just wandering, living off the fruit of trees and whatever grows of itself. Now his farming days are over, YHVH curses the land he farmed as punishment. However, God gave Kayin a chance to repent and think over why his offering was rejected. Kayin in sinful pride paid no heed to God. He chose to reject God's voice and carried out his plot of murder. Murder out of jealousy. We can see here again a shadow of Yom Kippur. In Yom Kippur, two goats were selected, one was sacrificed and the other was “sent away” Here, Innocent and righteous Hebel is sacrificed, and Kayin “goes away” yet this “going away” is in the negative light, he “goes away” from the presence of Adonai, while Abel goes “into the presence of Adonai” There is a saying that goes like this; “you can mix good apples with bad apples, and the good apples will never correct the bad, rather the bad-rotten apples will corrupt the good ones. Well, that is the way the “world turned” way back then, as the years pass, the descendants of Kayin mixed with the descendants of Seth, (who was born after the death of Abel) “And it came to be that when men began to increase on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And YHVH said ‘My Ruach (Spirit) will not strive with mankind forever in his going astray. He is flesh, and his days shall be 120." There is a great population explosion since the time of Seth. Remember that the longevity of pre-flood mankind was 800-900 years, and they had children throughout those years. can you imagine, let's just say, someone lived for 500 years. If the wife was pregnant every year, or every other year. How many children would that couple have? at least 250. and those would grow and intermarry and so forth. "The Nephilim (in some translations, the giants) were on the earth in those days and when the sons of Elohim came into the daughters of men, they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men of old, men of name (fame)". 6:1-4 There are two schools of thought when the issue of “B’nei Elohim”(sons of God) comes up. Some believe that it refers to the godly line of Seth mixing with the ungodly line of Kayin. The other school of thought which is more probable is that the “sons of God” refer to the fallen angels that were kicked out of heaven together with HaSatan. These “b’nei Elohim” somehow and transformed themselves into flesh and blood, and the offspring of those “demon-human” relationships were the “giants”. (mutant genes) The word “Nephilim” means “fallen ones”. It does not mean “giants” …however…those “mighty men of old” may have been those “giants” We have examples; Goliath of Gath, Og, king of Bashan. The Anakim, Zumzumim, of the land of Canaan that the Israelites saw. There is archeological and paleontological evidence of a race of giants in the pre-diluvian world. Many fossil skeletons have been found some 20 and 30 feet tall. The Indians of the South-West USA claim that there was a race of red-haired giants who were cannibals, they could run after a herd of buffalo, catch one and bite off a leg, and eat it on the run. These giants were destroyed during the flood, however, their DNA still survived. “His days shall be 120” What is it saying here? YHVH has decided to destroy and cleanse the earth by a universal flood, and Noah and his family were found to be the only righteous people around. Noah will receive instructions to build an ark and the wicked population will have 120 years to repent, which they did not. This was a very short time being that thousands of years ago, people lived 800 or 900 years. 120 years would be like a week in our times. Noah was a “Tzadik” a “righteous person”. He went “against the flow”. Imagine a school of fish going in one direction, and you are going in the opposite direction. How about you? If the world is going down the tubes, headed for destruction, will you follow the world? Or will you remain with Yeshua and go HIS way? The choice is yours. The only way we can be a true “Tzadik Ben Elohim” (a righteous child of God) is through faith in Yeshua HaMashiach/ Jesus the Christ, through faith in HIM trusting in HIS one-time atonement for sin. We can choose to follow Cain or Abel, Cain or Noah, Cain or righteous Enoch, Cain or Abraham. The world led by Satan or "The WAY" Wide is the road that leads to destruction but narrow is the road to Salvation (Yeshuah) and eternal life. Because there is only "One Way" the "Way of the Master" the Way of the Living Torah. We all have a choice. Make the right choice before it is too late. Too late is a few seconds after your heart quits beating. Shalom, Ben Avraham

Chapter 4 of Genesis "Cain vs Abel" = "Cain vs God" We see the birth of Kayin and Hevel (Cain and Abel) They were born with the sin nature, and we see in both boys, the direction of the world that would follow. Some would choose holiness and all that is good and others would choose the unholy and all that is evil. There came a time when they both had to offer sacrifices (that is why I said that Adam and Eve must have taught them to do the same). Abel chose to obey and Kayin chose to disobey. Kayin offered a sacrifice, but it was not a blood sacrifice, rather it was a “grain offering” nothing wrong with a grain offering, but a blood sacrifice was needed. Therefore, it was rejected. When we see the sacrifices in Exodus, blood sacrifices are often times accompanied by "Minchot" (grain offerings). In this case, God wanted the boys to understand the meaning of "shed blood" on an innocent animal, to cover "Kippur" their sins. Hebel however, offered the correct sacrifice, a blood sacrifice, and it was accepted. This caused anger and jealousy in Kayin and we know the story, Kayin rose up and murdered his brother Hebel. Yet YHVH Elohim still offers him an opportunity to repent and confess his sin, but Kayin does not. Then YHVH Elohim says; “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” (4:10) the Hebrew word is “damei” or “bloods” it is written in the plural. But why is this? This is eluded to the idea (which is written in the Talmud) that “he who saves the life of one person is as if he has saved a whole nation, and he who takes a life of another, is as if he has murdered a whole nation.” It is as if the souls of all the “would have been” descendants of Abel were crying out for vengeance because they would not be permitted to be born. “the voice of thy brother’s bloods cries out…” the many “bloods” cry out in “one voice” so it seems. (I know, "bloods" is bad English) Abel is slain, his blood is sacrificed, and Kayin goes away, runs away to the land of wandering (Nod), and becomes a vagabond, just wandering, living off the fruit of trees and whatever grows of itself. Now his farming days are over, YHVH curses the land he farmed as punishment. However, God gave Kayin a chance to repent and think over why his offering was rejected. Kayin in sinful pride paid no heed to God. He chose to reject God's voice and carried out his plot of murder. Murder out of jealousy. We can see here again a shadow of Yom Kippur. In Yom Kippur, two goats were selected, one was sacrificed and the other was “sent away” Here, Innocent and righteous Hebel is sacrificed, and Kayin “goes away” yet this “going away” is in the negative light, he “goes away” from the presence of Adonai, while Abel goes “into the presence of Adonai” There is a saying that goes like this; “you can mix good apples with bad apples, and the good apples will never correct the bad, rather the bad-rotten apples will corrupt the good ones. Well, that is the way the “world turned” way back then, as the years pass, the descendants of Kayin mixed with the descendants of Seth, (who was born after the death of Abel) “And it came to be that when men began to increase on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And YHVH said ‘My Ruach (Spirit) will not strive with mankind forever in his going astray. He is flesh, and his days shall be 120." There is a great population explosion since the time of Seth. Remember that the longevity of pre-flood mankind was 800-900 years, and they had children throughout those years. can you imagine, let's just say, someone lived for 500 years. If the wife was pregnant every year, or every other year. How many children would that couple have? at least 250. and those would grow and intermarry and so forth. "The Nephilim (in some translations, the giants) were on the earth in those days and when the sons of Elohim came into the daughters of men, they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men of old, men of name (fame)". 6:1-4 There are two schools of thought when the issue of “B’nei Elohim”(sons of God) comes up. Some believe that it refers to the godly line of Seth mixing with the ungodly line of Kayin. The other school of thought which is more probable is that the “sons of God” refer to the fallen angels that were kicked out of heaven together with HaSatan. These “b’nei Elohim” somehow and transformed themselves into flesh and blood, and the offspring of those “demon-human” relationships were the “giants”. (mutant genes) The word “Nephilim” means “fallen ones”. It does not mean “giants” …however…those “mighty men of old” may have been those “giants” We have examples; Goliath of Gath, Og, king of Bashan. The Anakim, Zumzumim, of the land of Canaan that the Israelites saw. There is archeological and paleontological evidence of a race of giants in the pre-diluvian world. Many fossil skeletons have been found some 20 and 30 feet tall. The Indians of the South-West USA claim that there was a race of red-haired giants who were cannibals, they could run after a herd of buffalo, catch one and bite off a leg, and eat it on the run. These giants were destroyed during the flood, however, their DNA still survived. “His days shall be 120” What is it saying here? YHVH has decided to destroy and cleanse the earth by a universal flood, and Noah and his family were found to be the only righteous people around. Noah will receive instructions to build an ark and the wicked population will have 120 years to repent, which they did not. This was a very short time being that thousands of years ago, people lived 800 or 900 years. 120 years would be like a week in our times. Noah was a “Tzadik” a “righteous person”. He went “against the flow”. Imagine a school of fish going in one direction, and you are going in the opposite direction. How about you? If the world is going down the tubes, headed for destruction, will you follow the world? Or will you remain with Yeshua and go HIS way? The choice is yours. The only way we can be a true “Tzadik Ben Elohim” (a righteous child of God) is through faith in Yeshua HaMashiach/ Jesus the Christ, through faith in HIM trusting in HIS one-time atonement for sin. We can choose to follow Cain or Abel, Cain or Noah, Cain or righteous Enoch, Cain or Abraham. The world led by Satan or "The WAY" Wide is the road that leads to destruction but narrow is the road to Salvation (Yeshuah) and eternal life. Because there is only "One Way" the "Way of the Master" the Way of the Living Torah. We all have a choice. Make the right choice before it is too late. Too late is a few seconds after your heart quits beating. shalom Ben Avraham

GENESIS 1 "In the Beginning....God... There is so much to teach in the first three chapters, that it would take many pages of learning and teaching. So, perhaps we can go to the highlights. Touch on some important issues and facts about creation. "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth." (Hebrew): "B'resheet Bara Elohim, Et HaShamayim v'Et HaAretz" In Hebrew, there are 7 words, 7 is the perfect number of God. It reads; "in the beginning" but the beginning of what? Everything has a beginning. The school year has a "beginning" children "begin" school at age 5 or 6. So, what is this "beginning?" We can say this; God is from eternity past, He is present, and he will be in eternity future. He lives in the infinite and finite realms. Yet he created "time" for mankind. "Time" is the finite realm. So, we could say this is the "beginning" of time as we know it. Before the "Beginning," only God and eternity past existed. He broke the eternal silence and "began" his wonderful creation of everything. Genesis states that the earth was formless, yet all the matter was in place. In verse 1 we have "space', "time", and "matter" (mass + energy). There was "water and darkness" yet the "spirit of Elohim" was over the deep. He is getting ready to make something out of the formless mass of matter. There is both "spiritual darkness" and "physical darkness" We need the physical darkness to sleep at night, and many animals do their hunting at night, yet spiritual darkness is the absence of God's "light of the gospel" the absence of Yeshua/Jesus in our life. God speaks into existence all that comes. The word "create" is "bara" which is to "make something without prior material. Yet to "create with a purpose" Man was "made" (Asah) because he was made from the dust (Adamah) of the earth. God starts His creation as you can read in Genesis 1. He brings into being, the waters, land, fish, birds, vegetation, land animals, and finally mankind. We are different than the animals in that we have a personal relationship with our creator. The animals were made in "kinds" and "species" Now within each animal kind there are species, one species can mate with another within the same kind. (Dogs and cats are a perfect example). Yet a dog can not mate with a cat and produce a "pup-kitty" Mankind is not split up into "species" we are all "One Race" the "human race" Yet in humans there are physiological and psychological variations; hair color, skin color, eye shape and color, nose shape, hair texture, short people, tall people, passive people, aggressive people, etc. yet we are still "One Race". Man was made in the "image of God" The word "image" in Hebrew is "Tzelem" (shadow). "Let US make man (Adam) in OUR image (Tzalmeinu). Here Elohim is speaking as a tri-unity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Man was made as a Holy and Sinless creation, to reflect Elohim in all his glory. He was placed into a perfect garden in an area called Eden. Since this was on the first earth before the flood, we don't know where it could have been exactly. It could have been near Syria and Iraq and perhaps even near Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia, as the names "Cush" and "Havilah" reflect some of those places, but we can't be sure. Man was placed inside the garden to tend it and take care of it. Man was created with the purpose to "work" When the woman was created, she joined her husband and worked together as a team. Man and woman, the animals, the garden, it was a perfect world. Man was given instructions; "Of every tree you may eat, yet of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you may not eat, because the day in which you eat of it, you shall die" I wonder if Adam even knew what "die" meant. Yet he had a choice. He received the instructions directly from God, and probably relayed the instructions to Eve when she was brought to him. Yet we all know the story. They disobeyed. They took of the forbidden fruit from the forbidden tree. The Book of Enoch describes the tree as similar to a Tamarind Tree with fruit that was similar to small grapes hanging in clusters. Adam and Eve ingested "mixed seeds" the seeds of good and the seeds of evil from that fruit. One can often wonder why did Adam also eat if he knew better. He wasn't deceived. Well, this might be an educated guess at the most. But here is a possible answer. He knew that his wife, Eve, would grow old and die someday, and he would have to live forever without his beloved wife. So, rather than doing that, he also chose to die with her, and thus, partook of the fruit. How do we see Yeshua in this? Yeshua chose to die for His beloved bride, "us" rather than to be without "us" for eternity. He partook of our curse of sin and bore it all by himself. The 1st Adam's sin produced his own death, yet the 2nd Adam's death produced life. Life for all of us, if we choose to accept His sacrifice on the cross for the sin that the first Adam brought into this world. Another aspect. How do we get "back to the Garden?" Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden (yet still lived somewhere in Eden) but were clothed with animal skins, which was the "first sacrifice" to remind the fallen couple that their sin cost the life of an innocent animal or animals. Adam and Eve "passed the buck" when confronted. "Where are you?" asked God. This was an interior question, or rather; "Where are you in your relationship with me?" Answers; "The serpent made me eat" (The devil made me do it) and "The woman gave me to eat" but no, "LORD, we sinned and disobeyed your commandment. Please forgive us" Maybe that was what God wanted to hear. So, how do we get back into the "Garden of fellowship?' Confessing our sins to the LORD, repenting (Teshuvah) realizing that we are at fault, it is our choice to either obey or disobey. Don't blame it on someone else. The devil didn't "Make you" do it. You did it because you chose to. I believe that someday, when we have a "new earth" the Garden of Eden will be re-established, and we will be able to visit it. (Sure hope so). this is about 10% of what I really wanted to share. Ben Avraham Congregacion Salem in San Salvador El Salvador. Out of Eden came forth a river to water the garden