Jacob Ben Avraham

PARASHAH: “Shoftim” (judges) DEUT: 16:18: -21:9…………………. ISAIAH 51:12-52:12………………. JOHN 1:1-57 This parashah starts off with; “Judges (shoftim) and officers shalt thou make thee at thy gates, which YHVH thy Elohim giveth thee…. they shall judge the people with “righteous judgment…” Many people when they think of the word “judge” they think of the elderly man or woman with the black robe in the courtroom who points a finger and dishes out a prison sentence, a sentence that condemns a criminal who is standing before said, judge. While it is true that the word “judge” can mean to issue or decide a sentence that could condemn, in the Hebrew, it also means one who “knows, teaches, and decides issues related to the Torah”. A “shofet” was someone like a Torah teacher, but the job not only included making plain the teachings of Adonai through His Torah, but the “shofet” also rendered decisions based on God’s Holy Writ. Today, there are “shoftim” in every Bible-based church, synagogue, congregation, Torah study group, etc., perhaps we do not call them “shoftim” or “judges” we just call them “rabbis, pastors, Torah teachers, Sunday school teachers. They (should) expound and make plain the scriptures to those who are listening, and if needed, take necessary decisions based on God’s Word, concerning matters such as finances, church/synagogue discipline, or any decision based on our Judeo-Christian faith and ethics. Some call them “gatekeepers” the “gatekeepers” keep in sound doctrine, and “do not let in” false teaching, or, have to “expose” false teaching that perhaps has been circulating. “making righteous judgment” is making “correct or decisions which are “right” according to God’s Word. The Word of God and the Torah is for ALL PEOPLE, and for this reason, the Torah says; “thou shalt not respect persons…” meaning that “one should not single out a person because that person is either rich, poor, famous, in politics, etc.… in order to say, “well, because it is YOU, my friend, I will make an exception to the Torah rule” Elohim says NO!, we are ALL EQUAL, we are ALL SINNERS are deserve righteous judgment, and what applies to the rich man, applies to the poor man as well. (16:20) “Tzedek, Tzedek tirdof” (Righteousness, Righteousness pursue!) Why does the Torah say “righteousness twice? There are two points of view from the rabbis. One is that one must pursue (run after) righteousness as long as the end result is also righteous. An example is, from the Talmud, a story about an olive grower. The Owner owns many acres of olive trees and he makes a lot of olive oil and fills many urns with the oil and sells each urn for 100 shekels. A servant of the owner is carrying an urn to the storehouse and he slips and falls, dropping and breaking the urn. The result, the oil is lost. The owner’s son drags the servant to the judge at the city gate, and the judge judges according to the “eye for an eye” judgment. He renders a “right” judgment, that, the servant will have to pay 100 shekels for the lost oil. The son is also in agreement. He will dock the servants pay for that month, which is also 100 shekels. The servant cries out to the owner and explains the situation. The owner who is kind and merciful calls his son “My son, you had the right to bring the servant to judgment, and the judgment is just and right according to the Torah…HOWEVER… the end result will be very unfair and unrighteous, the servant’s family will suffer loss and will not be able to buy food for the month….so…we, on the other hand, can afford the loss, while the servant cannot. I will render this judgment, that the servant’s mishap is forgiven, and no wage kept back!” Thus, “righteousness, righteousness we will pursue!” The other understanding of this verse is that there are two kinds of “righteousness” “Righteous faith” and “Righteous works” both we must pursue! We pursue “righteous faith” through prayer and our personal relationship with Yeshua HaMashiach, reading/studying the Torah, and occupy ourselves as well with “righteous mitzvoth” through our obedience and following the commandments. The scripture says that “we are saved (righteous faith) unto good works (righteous works). But we must always remember that “righteous works never lead to righteous salvation, rather it is the other way, “righteous salvation leads us to do works of righteousness” Chapter 17 deals with offering sacrificial animals with blemishes. Since today, we don’t sacrifice animals, how can we relate to this verse? The animals were “offered up” to Adonai, we “offer up” to YHVH our praises, prayers, and our service in form of our spiritual gifts, may our prayers be “without blemish” (without distraction, wholehearted, and sincere) not just repeating words that are printed in a prayer book, but “understanding” the words in the prayer book, or better yet, your own words from the heart. May we offer up our spiritual gift with a whole heart to the best of our ability. (17:14) talks about “setting a king over thee” It was not Adonai’s perfect will that Israel would have kings, as He already knew what the outcome would be. You could probably count on one hand the righteous kings of Israel; David, Josiah, Hezekiah, the rest were perverted and evil (perhaps there were a few more). Manasseh corrected his ways towards the end of his life. God instructs every king to make a copy of the Torah and to study the Torah (17:18). If every president of every nation did that, every nation would be at peace, one with the other, we would not have anti-immigrant laws, racism, etc. We must pray that our president, men, and women in authority govern according to the commandments of the Torah, in accordance to what the Bible teaches. Chapter 18. The priests and Levites are supported by the people, they get food, (meat, and produce from the field) and skins from the animals that are sacrificed. This was God’s provision for his ministers. Should it be any different today? I would say not! Those who live to teach God’s Word should be maintained by God’s people. Unfortunately, in many countries, some pastors, rabbis, etc. live lives in poverty because the people of their congregation don’t give, yet, some probably do live well, IF they teach their people to give, then, they will, because they love God’s teaching servants and want the best for them and their families. Some ministers have to work secular jobs in order to survive, this affects their ministry because their time is limited. (18:9) “When you come unto the land which YHVH gives you…you will NOT… and the Torah mentions the abominations that the pagan peoples do. When we move to go to a new town, city, or even to a different job, we will notice the habits, and customs of the people of those new towns, cities, or job sites. Perhaps some of their ways will not be in accordance to what the WORD of God teaches; Cheating on spouses, cheating at work, gossip, (Leshon Hara) dirty jokes, lying to the boss, ill-treatment of others, the list could go on, will we separate ourselves from them? Or…in order to be accepted and not ridiculed, will we “compromise” our standards? Yet the Torah says; “thou shall not learn to do after the abominations of those nations!” (or job sites, neighborhoods, cities, towns, etc.) (19:14) “Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s landmark which they of old time have set” I remember when I lived in New York, seeing 4-foot-high stone walls that were in the wooded area behind my house. I was told that way back in colonial days, the owners of that property built those walls to separate their property from the property of others. The stone walls indicated, “behind this wall is my area, beyond the wall is your area”. God has established “landmarks” His WORD is a “boundary” a “landmark” when we venture out of God’s Holy Writ, we leave the protection of “His property” and enter into the property of HaSatan. In this world, there are only two standards of living, God’s standards, and Satan’s standards. YHVH has guidelines, it is called “The Torah” the landmarks are the 66 books of his Torah, outside of that, is the “anything goes” philosophy, “do whatever feels good” way of living. If we attempt to change a biblical landmark, we are “taking away” from the Word of God, we are headed for trouble. Dad told Jimmy, “Ten feet away from the wasp nest is the landmark, don’t go beyond it!” but Jimmy went beyond it, he got closer, the wasps didn’t like that, and a wasp flew over and stung little Jimmy on the leg” had Jimmy obeyed the voice of his father, and had respected the landmark, he wouldn’t have gotten stung. (yes, that is a portion from “my life”) (20:19) teaches us to respect trees. Yes, YHVH is concerned about trees. There are some trees that are used for building, like Oak, pine, willow, etc.… yet there are trees that are for fruit and nuts. Many times, when people build homes, they must first clear the field. At times, these fruit trees are cut down. These trees are for food, I have seen in some places, that homes are built “around” a certain fruit tree, and the tree grows in the corner of the kitchen, and a place is made in the roof so that the tree can keep growing without hitting obstacles. The family then can enjoy the fruit and is honoring God’s Word concerning fruit trees. If we remember back in Genesis, the whole food menu consisted only of fruit and nuts from the trees, and from grains and vegetables, and people lived to 900 years. Kind of makes sense to protect “food trees”. ISAIAH 51:12-52:12 The prophet speaks through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) “Therefore, my people shall know MY NAME…..” one thing is to know about God, the other is to KNOW HIM, and “HIS NAME” but we know that God has many names and titles, But his Most Holy Name is Y_H V H (Yod Hey Vav Hey) The one who WAS, IS, and WILL BE, whose letters, in the ancient Hebrew, symbolize “Behold the nail, behold the hand” whose name is also YESHUAH which means SALVATION. ” How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings, who announces “shalom” who announces YESHUAH (salvation) and who announces “God Rules!” This is the message that every born-again believer should be concerned with. When we talk to people about God, the message is that “YHVH is alive and well, and that He Rules in the hearts of all who come to him through YESHUA and that through YESHUA we get YESHUAH and SHALOM in our lives. ” YHVH hath made bare His HOLY ARM, in the eyes of ALL NATIONS, and all the ends of the earth shalt see the YESHUAH of our God” 2000 years ago, Adonai made bare his HOLY ARM in the person of Yeshua HaMashiach, who walked on this earth, who taught the truths of the Torah, who healed the sick, and raised the dead, and who took upon himself all of our sins, the name YAH which is a short form of YAHWEH, is spelled with only two Hebrew letters, the YOD, and the HEY, which symbolize “Behold the Arm (or hand) so…YeshuAH has the Y and the H, Salvation is for ALL THE NATIONS, for those who will put their trust in the Messiah Yeshua. One day, ALL the Nations will SEE YESHUA, in the flesh, and HE WILL REIGN! Baruch HaShem! JOHN 11:1-57 This is the story about “Elazar” (Lazarus) who died and was resurrected. We see that Miryam sends word to Yeshua that Elazar, her brother is sick and dying, yet Yeshua tarries, does not rush to heal Elazar, he waits until he is finally dead, and then, 4 days later, he shows up. He could have arrived in time to heal him, yet he waits! But why? To understand, we need to understand one of the Jewish mind-sets of that time. It was believed back then that when a person died, his or her soul left the body, yet stayed near the body for three days, on the fourth day, it left and descended to Sheol, It was believed that after 4 days, only the MESSIAH could resurrect a person, even from the pit of Sheol. When He called out “Elazar, come forth” he did come out of the tomb. As believers, we all look forward to the resurrection of our bodies, when we die, our bodies will be buried, yet WE will be in the presence of the LORD. Our bodies will be transformed into incorruptible bodies, which will join our souls in Heaven. Rav Shaul said, “To be absent from the body is to be in the presence of the LORD” which means, either we are in our bodies, or we are in heaven with the LORD, how else could one interpret that verse? So, take heart, we have “x” number of years to live here on earth, yet, the earth is not our permanent home, our home is in the New Jerusalem, where we will live…well…time is not a factor…FOR EVER….is! MATT 7:1-3 “Judge Not lest ye be judged,” I thought I might add this verse, since many people misinterpret this verse by saying; “Well, there are judges, and their job is to render decisions and even dictate prison sentences, why does it say that we should not judge?” The type of “judgment” that is being mentioned is “final condemnation” or “pre-judging” a person without knowing all the facts. We might talk to a person, invite the person to church or synagogue. That person might come twice and then, not return, maybe two shabbats or Sundays, that person might be absent. It would be wrong to say; “So-and-so really didn’t accept Yeshua, where is he (or she)? That person isn’t here, so, that person was not really serious, watch out “so-and-so” you’re on your way to hell!” That person might be sick or had to work, we don’t know the situation. We should not “judge” that person in that way, with a condemning attitude, rather call or visit the person and find out if he or she needs help or what the case could be. Is the car working? Does the person need a ride? Careful that we do not condemn, because we will be “judged” by Adonai in the same way we might “condemn” another person. Let us reach out to the person and offer to advise from the Torah in a loving way if the person is erring, we should “correct” the person according to scripture, privately and in love, and never in a “condemning” fashion. Remember that we will ALL face our righteous “shofet” one day. Shabbat shalom…. Rabbi Ben Avraham

ONE CROSS, ONE GOD, ONE WAY The Way of the cross is God's only way, to save a lost sinner from sin's eternal fate. The Passover lamb, God's perfect plan, to pay sin's debt , when God became man. One Cross, One God, One Way. Messiah Yeshua, his cross he did bare, His cross was our cross, for our sins to us were a snare. One Cross, One God, One Way. The One God dressed as man, the One God who is *Echad I AM, who came to Israel's land, to become the Passover lamb, who was, is, and will be, who took us from the land of *Nod, to set us free. By rabbi Jacob Ben Avraham *Echad = “ch” pronounced as “h” meaning “unity of ONE” “Tri-Unity” “Elohim” *Nod = Wandering without direction, aimlessly, the “way of Cain”.

Parashah: “Re’eh” (see) DEUT: 11:26-16:17………………ISAIAH 54:11-55:5………………. JOHN 9:1-10:42 See” (Re’eh) this day I set before you a blessing and a curse” we wonder why YHVH did not say in plural, “blessings and curses?” one could say perhaps “blessing” goes with “obedience” and “curse” with “disobedience” both words are also singular. One could also say that “all blessings” fall under “ONE BLESSING” (B’rakhah echad) and all curses fall under ONE CURSE, “K’lalah Echad” the word “echad” is ONE in UNITY, Elohim (who is unity) blesses all humanity (also echad) that is in obedience to the WORD, and to the LIVING WORD. and also, the curse is also upon “All humanity” that does not obey and that walks in rebellion against Adonai. Well, that’s one way to look at it. This is a repetition of last week’s parashah, Moshe mentions these many times, and cannot stress it enough for his people. Even the pronoun “I” in “I set before you. is stressed in Hebrew “Anochi!” meaning “I MYSELF!!!!” (People, I am really serious) 12:2 “you must destroy all the sites….” The pagan nations gathered together at different places to erect false gods and worship them, these must be destroyed! Today, we must walk away from false gods, put them behind us, even, destroy them if necessary. If a TV has become a god to you, and you find yourself addicted to it, sell it, give it away, or destroy it. If money has become a “god” to you, give some of it away to the poor and needy. Anything that comes before your love and worship of Adonai is considered a “false god” get rid of it! 12:13 speaks of burnt offerings, it is good to dedicate our meals to Adonai, we are blessed to be able to go to a store and buy chicken and beef already prepared. We must remember to thank YHVH for this food, ALL FOOD which means ALL that is mentioned in Leviticus 11, is for us to enjoy, now, verse 15 says, “The unclean and the clean alike may partake of it, as of the gazelle and the deer…” this is NOT talking about unclean and clean FOODS, it is talking about PEOPLE who are clean and unclean. Anyway, gazelles and deer are both clean animals, but I have never seen gazelle steaks in the supermarket, maybe in Africa they have them. It is saying that people who have diseases that render them “unclean” like lepers, may partake of this food, just like people who are disease free may, verse 22 mentions this again, “the unclean may it to together with the clean” (people) Chap 13 deals with false prophets. These deceivers were NOT TOLERATED back then! Turning people away from true worship of Adonai warranted a death sentence. Back then, God was dead serious about true worship and teaching the truth, and…HE STILL IS! We must all worship him in SPIRIT and in TRUTH, when studying the scriptures (Truth) we must do so in the ‘spirit” of joy and ask for wisdom. Chap 14 deals with the chosen kosher foods which YHVH has selected for all humanity, it is a repetition of Leviticus 11. However, man thinks he is smarter than God and has added stuff to His perfect menu, and the result is obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease. We all know what foods have been added to the menu, I won’t go over them as that will produce a bunch of negative comments from readers. When people’s “food comfort zone” is threatened, it is very uncomfortable to “give up” those unclean meats, no matter how tasty they may be. Well, we all can either obey or disobey, the choice is ours. ” You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” This verse has caused questions, and traditions, even unto separating meat and milk items, getting separate refrigerators, etc. All it is saying is this; (literally) if you have a female goat, and the mother goat is raising its kid, do not kill the kid, then milk the mother goat, and boil the kid in its mother’s milk. I mean, who would go out of the way to do that anyway? However, this might also have a deeper spiritual meaning. So, there is more than meets the eye and the basic understanding, if we take this derashically, we can look at it this way; ” meat” can symbolize the “flesh” and “milk” symbolize “life” it is the mother’s milk which maintains life to her young, yet “meat” once off the bone is dead! dead flesh! So, the connection is “our carnal flesh is sinful” yet the “milk of the WORD” (as said by Rav Shaul/Paul the Apostle) is what gives us LIFE. The Hebrew word for meat is “Basar” yet milk, in Hebrew is “Chalav”. written with the same Hebrew letters, but with different vowels is “Chelev” which means “pleasure” the three Hebrew letters “Chet, Lamed, and Beit, (CH L V) “LeiV” is also the word for “heart” so “milk” can be connected to “pleasure for the heart” and indeed, the sincere “MILK of the WORD of God is indeed, pleasure for the heart, while the things of the “flesh” (meat) are of the world. So, there is a separation of “meat and milk” symbolizing “things that give life, from things that produce death” This, of course, is not a literal separation, but spiritual and moral. (if literal, we shouldn’t eat Lasagna! Or cheeseburgers) Chapter 16 deals with “Yamim Kadoshim” the HOLY DAYS, the days that YHVH has separated for our observance and worship; PASSOVER, we remember the “Passover Lamb” who was Yeshua HaMashiach who gave his life for us all. The week of UNLEAVENED BREAD, when we put the leavened bread away since leaven reminds us of SIN in our lives. SHAVUOT (Pentecost) when the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) came to earth to stay, and when the Torah was given to Israel on Har Sinai. SUKKOT the feast of booths, which is a time of Thanksgiving, similar to the Thanksgiving of the pilgrims of Plymouth. When we thank God for an abundant harvest, and for the coming of God to earth (as Yeshua) to walk among humankind, to teach Torah, heal, raise the dead, and die for our sins. Have you accepted HIM as your LORD and Savior? ISAIAH 54:11-55:5 “Navi Yeshayahu” (Prophet Isaiah) speaks as directed by the Holy Spirit, as a father who comforts his children, promising them blessings, but begins with “Unhappy, storm-tossed one”, meaning that Israel has been through a lot, deportation to Babylon, destruction of the temple, scattered throughout the nations of the world…YET…blessings, protection, etc. will follow for THE SERVANTS OF THE LORD. Yes, for THOSE who SERVE the LORD. Yes, we have to be on HIS side, part of HIS FAMILY, and walk in OBEDIENCE. ” Come, all who are thirsty, come for water….” (Chap 55) Yeshua mentions LIVING WATER (himself) on Hoshanah Raba (the eighth day of Sukkot) and also, to the woman of Samaria, this water is available to US ALL, if we just choose to drink of his WORD. JOHN 9:1-10:42 This is the story of the healing of the blind man. Yeshua spat in the dust and make him “new eyes!” What a miracle, and why not? Are we not made from the dust of the earth (Adamah)? So Yeshua takes of the same dust, adds his own spittle (a form of water) and now, the blind man washes in the “Pool of Siloach” (which means “sent”) So, we see this; a man who has a defect (blindness) meets Yeshua (The Living God) who made man from the dust of the earth, puts dust on the blind man’s eyes, add a bit of water, then “sends” the man to wash in the pool that means “Sent” and then, he sees! There are many who are blind spiritually, they cannot or don’t want, or will not “see” the truth. They see it, yet they don’t. The Bible is TRUTH yet many just see a book with stories in it, yet when the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the spiritually blind, then, they can now SEE! The difference between the “clean” and the “unclean” the “worldly” and “Holy”, “obedience” and “disobedience” before they were blind and now they can see. We were all blind, yet now, we can see! Baruch HaShem! Shabbat Shalom…. Rabbi Ben Avraham

I wrote the poem "and Yeshua wept" many, many moons ago, I believe it was my first poem, I am more a short story writer than a poet, but when I finish my ebook "God Tales" I will have three sections in it, "faith stories" "poetry" and "life experiences" I just joined the poetry club

PARASHAH: Ekev (as a result) DEUT: 7:12-11:25…………ISAIAH 49:14-51:3…………JOHN 7:1-8:59 Moshe starts out reminding and giving “Am Israel” assurance that “because ye hearken unto these ordinances and keep them, and do them…YHVH shall keep with thee the covenant…. He starts out on a positive note; however, we know that history reveals that Israel did NOT keep the covenant, but broke the covenant, and went after strange gods, idolatry, etc. Perhaps this was an incentive to obey, and they would reap the blessings of obedience…IF…they would obey. Many parts of this Parashah are a repetition of the words; “if” and “then”. We are talking about a conditional covenant. ALL covenants are conditional. The word “life” itself contains the word “if” right in the middle. We can sum up “life” as many “conditional experiences” depending on how we react to them; “if” we react in one way, “then” the result will follow, either negative or positive. Even the covenant of salvation which is for ALL mankind is “conditional” “If” we repent and accept Yeshua as our Redeemer and LORD, “Then” we will receive the gift of salvation which follows. Salvation is a gift for all mankind, yet we must receive it through a repentant and contrite heart, a willingness to turn “Shoov” and follow the Master. Our master is like our father who loves his children very much. The father promises his son that if the son would obey the rules of the house, do his homework on time, help take out the garbage, clean the bathroom, help mom with the dishes…THEN…the father would take the son camping during the summer. It is all about “rewards” for “obedience” Is this any different for us? I would say not. Rewards for obedience has nothing to do with our salvation experience. Our salvation is based on FAITH and FAITH ONLY, and not on our obedience to mitzvoth, yet obedience to the Torah comes as a result of our relationship with Yeshua HaMashiach. Even he said; “If you love me, obey my commandments. Yes, he gave some new ones unlike those written down by Moshe, who received them from G-d on Mt. Sinai. Yet even back then, Yeshua was with the Father during the giving of the Ten Commandments, and later, the rest of the 603 that were given during the 40-day period of being with God on Har Sinai. So, did Yeshua give us ALL the mitzvoth? I would have to say YES. More than once Moshe reminds the people to “follow and obey” the commandments, to “Hear” (Shema) the word “Shema” is related to “Shamar” which is to “guard”. So, to “Shema” the commandments of Adonai is to “remember, observe, put into action, and guard, not only “hear and listen to”. We must always remember that obedience to the commandments of Adonai, the ones that can be observed literally today, has nothing to do with our salvation experience. We are saved, secure, forever, by the blood of Yeshua, by his once-only sacrifice. Obedience to the Torah commandments comes as a “result of” our family relationship with Adonai, as obedient children, we will “want to” do as our father tells us to do, for our own good, to be a Holy, set-apart people. An interesting verse is 8:1 “All the COMMANDMENT which I command thee this day shall yet observe to do, the ye may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land….” in the Hebrew it is “Kol ha Mitzvah” it is written in the singular and not in the plural! But shouldn’t it be “mitzvoth” (commandments)? One would think so, but it IS in the SINGULAR, but why? The sages’ comment that all the commandments can be summed up into ONE commandment; “Love YHVH thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might, and strength” and when we do love Adonai in this way, we will follow all the rest of the commandments, including loving our neighbor as ourselves. Chap 9:4…. Moshe reminds the people that it isn’t because they are a “righteous” nation that God is allowing Am Israel to move into the land Canaan, conquer the pagan inhabitants and take possession, rather it is because of those nations’ “unrighteousness” and “wickedness” that is the reason. Just like the time of the flood, the wicked world was destroyed and Noach and his family were saved, yet Noach had his problems too, his righteousness had flaws too, just like ALL of us. Our holiness is full of “holes”, and our salvation is because our God is a merciful God and he just chose to love us, just because HE is a LOVING and MERCIFUL GOD, and not that we deserve salvation. We can also state that the land of Canaan was being given to the Israelites because of the promise that YHVH made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob too. YHVH never breaks his promises. Chap 11, Moshe gives an order; “Therefore, thou shall love YHVH thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his ordinances and his commandments ALWAYS! Moshe cannot say this enough, like a father tells his children, “obey the rules, obey the rules, obey the rules” it is for their own good. Unfortunately, the admonition of obedience for many people goes in one ear and out the other. Let us go forth with a renewed heart, and show our love to God, by learning and obeying his Torah, of course we cannot be Torah observant 100%, but through the power of the Ruach HaKodesh, we can be obedient sons and daughters of Adonai El Elyon, and live a lifestyle that honors HIM. ISAIAH 49:14-51:3 Israel cries out “The LORD hath forsaken me and forgotten me” but the prophet through the Holy Spirit assures the people, NO, the LORD has NOT forsaken you. There is a big difference between, “abandonment, forgetfulness, and chastisement”. The fact that YHVH has punished his people does not mean that He has abandoned Israel. When a father chastises his son or daughter, does that mean he no longer loves him or her? Does he cast them out of the house? Or say, “you are no longer my son or daughter?” No, of course not, Scripture tells us that a father who loves his children will discipline them. We can say the same with YHVH and “Am Israel” He loves his people, and so, HE will discipline them. Yes, he cast them out of the land, but in goyim lands, they continued to live and spread the teaching of the ONE GOD (Echad) who is Adonai-Elohim-Yeshuah. We are loved by our heavenly father, even when it hurts. JOHN 7:1-8:59 Some are a bit confused when Yeshua says to his brothers, “You guys go up to Yerushalayim to Sukkot, I will not YET go up. He did NOT LIE, (as some critics try to say). He was planning to go up, but not at that time. Remember that the celebration of Sukkot (Tabernacles) is a 7-day celebration, culminating on the 8th day, “Hoshanah Raba” it is possible that his brothers and his talmidim went during the beginning of the festivities, and Yeshua waited until the end, the 8th day. It was on the 8th day that the priests brought up water from the pool of Siloam, and Yeshua took this opportunity to say to the people; “If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drink, whoever puts his trust in me, as the scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being” We can remember the time when “B’nei Israel” (the children of Israel) were in the desert, and they got water from a ROCK. The ROCK symbolizes Yeshua, who is the ROCK of ages and the LIVING water. Water flowed from the rock so that the Israelites and the cattle could drink as much as they wanted. The water that Yeshua talks about is our inner life through a renewed spirit, remember that He also told the woman of Samaria the same thing. It was to her that he revealed himself as Mashiach openly. So, when we read the WORD of God, listen to music that praises HIM, we are receiving “living water” Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Ben Avraham

If you go to "google search" and type in "a list of the 613 commandments" several links will pop up where you can get a list of them all. They go from Genesis 1:28 "Be fruitful and multiply" all the way to "Now therefore, write you this song for me" Deut 31:19, talking about writing a copy of the whole Torah for oneself, today, since we have Bible bookstores, people really don't do that, but before, thousands of years ago, the only way to have a copy of the scriptures was to copy one or have it done for you by a scribe, which would be very costly. Today, professional scribes do that, they handwrite complete Torah scrolls, it takes about three years to do that and they are sold from between $25,000 and $70,000. That is how scribes make their living. I did one, but I had the pages copied at Office Depot and I glued them together on many sheets of bond paper to make my own scroll. Took me about one year doing it on the weekends. used 7 bottles of glue and recycled paper which I got from our high school There is a good book titled "The Mitzvot" (The commandments and their rationale) by Abraham Chill which explain the 613 commandments. You might look for it on Amazon or an Ebay. I had two copies, gave one away and kept the other

PARASHAH; “V’et’ Chanan” (and I pleaded) DEUT 3:23-7:11……………ISAIAH 40:1-26………………JOHN 6:1-71 Moshe continues to retell the experiences of his life to “Am Israel” as the end of his life is nearing, He is like a father on his deathbed, and causes all of his children to come near and listen to their father’s experiences, or rather “all” of their experiences “V’et ‘Chanan l’Adonai” begins Moshe, “I pleaded to YHVH…” on the account of entering into the promised land. As we remember, Moshe in anger and had struck the “Rock” (Selah) and yet, water still came forth because of the mercy of Adonai, yet now Moshe pleads for mercy, the word “chanun” is a form of the Hebrew “mercy”. One Israeli singer has a song which is; “Avi Chanun” (My father who is merciful). So, Moshe in a way is saying, “I plead for mercy to Adonai” let me see the promised land. Yet the answer of Adonai was still “No” (Speak no more of this matter). We are all destined an “x” amount of years on this earth, who knows if, through actions we do, might “speed up” that time, or even “prolong” the time. King Hezekiah pleaded for more years of life, and he was granted the years, however, during those extra years, there was born to him “Manasseh” who proved to be one of the worst kings in Israel. Should Hezekiah have asked for those extra years? We should take advantage of the years that God is giving to us on this planet called “earth” and make the best of them. If He has called us into ministry, let us perform that which He has called us to do to the best of our ability, doing it unto HIM who is the author of life, and when he calls for us, we will go, without complaining, or ask for “more years” In this Parashah, we see the review of the Ten Commandments. What are these all about? They formed the “Ketubah” the contract between Elohim and Israel. They were given on Har Sinai, directly to the Israelites by HaShem himself, the rest of the 603 mitzvoth were given to Moshe who relayed them unto the people, still, they ALL came from Adonai. (4) “Now, therefore, harken O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments which I teach you, for to do them” Moshe was the teacher, taking all that the “Master” charged him to teach, and not “adding to” nor “diminishing” anything, teaching all the details, the “fine print” sort of to say. Teachers of God’s Word, have a unique calling, it is their life, it is their passion, and they will not rest until they accomplish what they have set off to do. I AM the LORD thy God: “Anochi Adonai Eloheicha” He is emphasizing “I AM” (I MYSELF AM) “Anochi” a very important statement, telling his people, that is was HE who brought them out of Egypt, and out of slavery. Two very important things, therefore, He has every right to be their God, and He has every right to be OUR God, since He has taken us out of the “World of Sin” (Egypt) and out from “Spiritual slavery” “THOU shall not have any other gods before me” since pagan worship was the norm of Egypt, worshiping and bowing down to false “elohim” this was a reminder to Israel that YHVH is different, He is NOT like the false deities of Egypt, He is UNIQUE (Yachid) and He is ONE (Echad). But when people over-emphasize jobs and work, making money, sports, etc.… making them more important than our worship and attention towards Adonai, those “things” become “other gods” Yes, Adonai is a “Jealous” and “Zealous” God! (El Kanah) and has every right to be so. “THOU SHALT NOT take the name of YHVH thy God in vain” What is that? It is using our LORD’s holy name in unholy ways, in unholy conversations, making promises using God’s name, like “I swear to God that I’ll…” and then, not fulfilling those promises. We should use HIS HOLY NAME in worship and praise only. “KEEP (guard) the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy” Where are we on the sabbath day? We should be in God’s House to worship, praise, and learn from his word through teachers of the Word. It is a time of rest, and relaxation, a time for family to get together and worship the LORD, even for the house-wives, turn off the ovens and husbands, take them out to eat, or just whip up some sandwiches. Enjoy the Sabbath day, it is the LORD’s to rejoice and relax in. The Sabbath day has always been Saturday, it was never changed to Sunday (this will probably create some comments). But EVERY day of the week is a time to study God’s Word and praise Him for all of his blessings. “HONOR Thy Father and Thy Mother” this goes without explanation. I think it is common sense for children to honor and obey their parents, for they are the ones who raise them up. Yet the Fathers and Mothers have a GREAT responsibility, to raise them in the knowledge of God and his word. If not, then, they will be responsible for possible “rebels” later one in life. “THOU shalt not kill; THOU shalt not commit adultery; THOU shalt not steal”. Ever wonder why these are listed together? Example, if one commits adultery, takes the wife of another in sex, that person is “killing” that relationship and is “stealing” what does not belong to him. The word “Kill” means “murder” taking an innocent life, it does NOT refer to self-defense or soldiers fighting in a war. There are many ways of “stealing” some rabbis say that “all sins” are a form of “stealing” not just taking money, coming back late from lunch break is “stealing” time from your employer, telling a lie is “stealing” the confidence one might have had in you, and it is “murdering” that trust. “THOU shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” being truthful to someone is very important, and not telling the whole truth, is in fact, telling a lie, and being false to someone who is close to you, again, it is “stealing trust” and “murdering a relationship” through being “false”. ‘THOU shalt not covet” If Adonai wants you to have what your neighbor has, He will give it to you. We should be content with the much or the little we have, anyway, when we die, ALL will be left behind. So, no need to covet, it just brings about headaches. (6) This chapter has the “Shema” one of the most important verses in the Torah; “Shema Israel, YHVH Eloheinu, YHVH Echad” “Shema” (Listen to and heed/do/obey) “Yisrael” we are part of HIS people, we have been adopted into HIS Chosen family through Yeshua HaMashiach, it pertains to ALL believers. Adonai is OUR GOD, since we are FAMILY, and He is ONE in Unity (Father, Son, Spirit “Echad” “You shall love…” (vs 5) Yes, with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This includes “teaching” His word to our children, at all times, to others who have the ears and willingness to listen Be the person in our house, Be the person “walking with us on the “way” at bedtime and at morning time, the time for God’s Word and teaching it is at ALL TIMES, provided of course that the other person wished to hear it. God’s Word is to be shared and taught, NEVER to be forced upon another! Binding upon the hands and frontlets between our eyes, using Tefillin are symbolic in that God’s Word is to be in our minds and put into action using our hands, in performing mitzvoth (good works) Writing them and putting God’s Word on our doorposts and gates using “mezuzot” is symbolic to let people know that “living here is a family who honors God and His Word” Moshe reminds the people again and again to “Keep the commandments of the LORD thy God and his testimonies and statutes” in many verses. Just keep in mind that “keeping the commandments does not “save a soul” Salvation comes only from accepting Yeshua (Jesus) as LORD and Savior, that and that ONLY saves a person from eternal condemnation. Obedience to the commandments comes “after” as a sign that we are now part of HIS family, and we now have new desires to follow HIM in HIS ways. There is “Yeshuah Kadosh” (Righteous Salvation) and “Mitzvoth Kadoshim” (righteous works) both are separate yet both go together. The later is a result of the first. ISAIAH 40:1-26 The prophet comforts Israel that their sins have been forgiven, the punishment is over. YHVH again is compared to a father who must punish his children for sins and disobedience. The father will chastise, yet not forever. Darkness has passed and the light has come. “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of YHVVH, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Yochanan the Baptizer fulfilled these words. AS we know, he prepared the way for Yeshua, his cousin and his LORD, preparing peoples’ hearts and minds “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young” (vs 11) Doesn’t this sound like our Savior and LORD? We are HIS flock and He feeds us with His WORD. His word guides us and leads us all. He has sent shepherds to teach his word and to guide us. There are many “old sheep” and “young sheep” those that are young are young in the word, yet through the right guidance, the young will mature into older and wiser sheep. As a shepherd leads his sheep, allow us LORD to be led by YOUR Word, and by your shepherds who have been sent by You to lead, guide, and teach ALL of your people. Amen” JOHN 6:1-71 This starts out “After these things…” what things one might ask? In the previous chapter it talks about Yeshua going up to Yerushalayim after the feast of the Passover, and he healed a lame man at the pool of Siloam. Yes, he was criticized by many, as even many of his believers and followers were and still “are” criticized, made fun of, and even murdered, all in HIS name. “After these things, Yeshua went over the Sea of Galilee, which is of Tiberias. I have been in the city of Tiberias. In July, it is “Hot” very much so, but the Sea of Galilee is very refreshing, but watch out, there are a lot of fish that come by to nibble at your feet. This is where the crowd comes to hear Yeshua, he goes to a nearby mountain and has the people to sit down. The number was about 5000. Yeshua knew that the people were hungry, so, he turns to Philip and says; “Where shall we buy bread so that these may eat?” Didn’t he know? Yes, of course, He was just waiting for Philip’s response. Perhaps, He was waiting for an answer such as; “We can’t possibly buy so much bread, so…YOU feed them LORD!” but he didn’t say that. It was Andrew who came with the boy who had 5 loaves of barley bread and 2 fishes. We need to know that first, the boy must have come forward to offer his lunch. Of course, the boy knew that 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes would not be enough for the whole crowd…BUT…with a little bit of faith…ANYTHING is possible. I mean, if Yeshua could heal the lame man, he could also feed this crowd. We have the offer, 5 pieces of bread and 2 fishes. We have the blessing and thanks, Yeshua lifts the loaves and fishes, (probably found a basket to put them in) and then, the distribution. There was enough for ALL. With the faith of a little boy, the faith of a mustard seed, we see a “mountain” of pieces of bread and a whole bunch of fish. The result, 12 baskets full were left over. One wonders who got the baskets of bread and fish. Probably the boy, to redistribute the blessing to his family and friends. We look at the numbers, “5” and “2” “5” is the number of grace, and “2” is the number of a covenant. It takes “2” entities or parties to make a covenant. Yeshua shows “grace” to the people, and makes a small covenant, “blessings to this crowd, for the faith of a small boy” When we add 5 + 2 we get the perfect number “7” which is the number of God. Yeshua, who is the “bread of Life” who has made his followers “fishers of men” has made a covenant in heaven, His life and blood for our salvation. The Word of God is also the “Bread of Life” which comes from the Father for all of us to eat and digest. Let us all go forth and be “fishers of men (and women) to reach and teach them the Words of the Master so that ALL might have eternal life through HIM who died to set us free. Shabbat Shalom…………Rabbi Ben Avraham

THE SADDEST DAY OF THE YEAR When one asks; "What is the saddest day of the year?" maybe some will say; "When they crucified Messiah Yeshua on the cross. Well, perhaps it was the saddest day for God, since He sacrificed his own son, for the sins of many, for the sins of all, yet He had this in his perfect plan since the beginning of the world. For us, it would be the joyous day, since, on that day, our sin debt was paid in full, So, what would be considered the saddest day of the year, many would say "Tisha B'Av" but what is that? …Tisha ’B’Av, or the “9th of Av” this year, falls on July 22nd, 2018, is a time of sadness, sorrow, the question begins with “Eiha? (how) and “Lamah” (why?). The book of Lamentations begins with “Eiha” (how) “How alone she sits, the city (Jerusalem) once great with people….” …..The voice of Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) after the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash (Temple) and the city of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E the destruction culminated on the 9th of Av, (Tish’B”Av) This date marks the tragedies of many destructions in the history of Am Israel. Here’s a list, the destruction of the 1st temple is the first. …..70 A.D. the Roman emperor Titus, destroys the second temple and murders millions of Israel’s inhabitants and 100,000 taken captive to Rome, those taken captive to Rome are used as sport in the arena, and others served as slaves. Many others from Jerusalem fled the country, going to Europe, Africa, and other parts of the world. …..1095 A.D. Crusades, started by the church in Europe, the main goal to kick the moors out of Jerusalem, any crusaders were anti-Semitic, during this time, 40% of Europe’s Jew’s were destroyed, one important event happened in Mainz, Germany. There were 700 Jews living in that city at that time. They sought refuge in a large church to be protected from the crusading murderers. The Bishop at that time was kind and accepted to hide the Jews in the church. The Jews had given the Bishop all their valuables in exchange. To no avail. The Crusaders entered Mainz, discovered their hiding place, murdered all of them including the Bishop. Some say that the Jews there committed suicide rather than falling into the hands of the crusaders. …..1478 The start of the Spanish Inquisition by Pope Nicolas, many Jews had to renounce their faith and accept Christianity, if not, they would be tortured and killed. This, of course, is not “real Christianity” rather “Pseudo or false Christianity. Those who were genuine/real believers and followers of Jesus would never do such atrocities against God’s anointed people. …..1492 The expulsion of the Jews from Spain on the 9th of Av. Many went to England and to other countries in Europe, later on, many came to the Americas and settled in Mexico, Central, and South America. By that time, many families had lost their Jewish identity, but now, many are finding it again. …..1635 “Pogroms” or persecutions against the Jewish people starts in Poland …..1939 The “holocaust” or “Shoah” begins in Nazi Germany. Result? We all know, 6,000,000 Jewish people were killed by forced labor, starvation, and just “shot or gassed” in the concentration camps, just for being Jews. …..1978 11 Palestinians land in a small Kibbutz in Israel by sea. They hijacked a bus, killed the driver and drove towards Tel Aviv. On the way to Tel Aviv, they used weapons fire and threw hand grenades out the windows at people on the street, and the result was 38 Israelis killed. …..2012 A rabbi in Rutherford, N.J. was at home during the night with his wife and 5 children. An Arab boy outside threw a Molotov bomb through the living room window to kill the family and burn down the synagogue that was part of the house. (Molotov bomb: a glass bottle filled with gasoline and a rag, the rag is lighted and the bottle is thrown). During the time of Tisha B’Av many will sing this sad song; “Look from the heavens and see, we have become an object of scorn and contempt among the nations. We are regarded as sheep to the slaughter, to be killed, beaten and destroyed. But despite this, we have not forgotten your name, we beg you not to forget us!” …..We regard this time as a time of sadness and grief, but we must also remember this time as a time of survival, and a time to get out of “spiritual exile” It is a time to “return home to Abba” a time of “Teshuvah”. Our ancestors in ancient Israel committed spiritual adultery, going after pagan gods, went away from the ways of Torah, despite of the warnings of God, God looked down and warned our people, finally, the punishment ensued yet Elohim has not and will NEVER reject his people, the remnant that survived is now in the millions, in every nation of the world. It is time to return, return to G-d, return to the ways of his Torah, return to the “Living Torah” It is customary to read the book of Lamentations on this day. Rabbi Ben Avraham

Parashot: “D’varim” (Words) DEUTERONOMY 1:1-3:22…………ISAIAH 1:1-27…………JOHN 4:1-5:47 We start the final book of the original 5 books of the Torah, in which Moshe wrote down all the statutes, commandments, precepts, details, etc. that Adonai dictated to him to write. We must remember that Am Israel received the first 10 commandments directly from the mouth of Adonai, written down in stone, and given to the people, as a form of “Ketubah” or “marriage contract. Later, Adonai called Moshe back up to the mountain and there, dictated the rest of Torah, the rest of the 603 commandments which he wrote down on the scrolls. 603 were written down by Moshe, yet dictated by Adonai, and 10 dictated and written by YHVH himself. All in all, we must conclude that ALL the TORAH comes from YHVH, whether directly or indirectly written. This book of Deuteronomy is the last. Moshe began writing it, and it was probably finished by Yehoshuah (Joshua) or another leader. The book relates the travels and experiences that “Am Yisrael” took and went through in 40 years’ time. Moshe retells the experience somewhat as a father would relate to his son. Let’s say that father and son travel across the USA for 6 months, then, perhaps 10 years later, the father would remind the son of their trip by remembering their “experiences” “Remember son, the time when we were traveling through Texas and, well, you insisted in exploring that abandoned house, even when I said it would NOT be a good idea…….” The father tells both the good experiences and the bad experiences, the times when the son obeyed and the times when the son disobeyed. Moshe is doing the same thing. This is similar to last week’s parashah “Masei” (journeys) in which Moshe relates the journeys of Israel. An interesting Midrash is the difference and similarity between two words; “D’varim” (words) and “D’vorim” (bees) One could say that the words that Moshe spoke to the Israelites were like the “stings of bees” and after giving this message, a little later on, Moshe went up Mt. Pisgah a died, just like when a bee stings, it leaves the stinger in the victim and dies. Moshe tells the people the words of Adonai: “You have dwelt long enough in this mountain…turn you and take your journey…. (1:6) they were right at the border of Moab and Canaan; the Jordan River separated the two nations. It was time to leave their “comfort zone” and “crossover” and conquer the pagan peoples, and lay claim to the land! They had fought giants before, you know, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, especially if Adonai “falls” them. Remember that it all starts in Egypt (Mitzraim) the land of “restriction”, Moshe leads them out, symbolizing a sort of Messiah, leading them to Mt Sinai, they receive the Torah, for 40 years they undergo instruction, go through both “good times” and “bad times” sometimes, “very bad times” when YHVH chastised and killed many of them for disobedience and rebellion. Yet now, it is time for the promise to be fulfilled, the “Promised Land” We go through the same thing in our lives. We start out being liberated from our “Egypt” we are liberated from the “lost world and the ways of the lost” by accepting Yeshua as our Messiah and LORD. We grow in faith, in spiritual maturity, or…perhaps fail in our relationship with YHVH, going through valleys and dark places, yet always emerging into the light of Torah again. Sometimes we get comfortable in one place, or doing one thing, yet, God is saying…” turn now and take your journey” or “continue your journey and continue to grow in faith, expose yourself to different “stuff” “situations” yet always trusting in HaShem. ISAIAH 1:1-27 The prophet has a difficult calling, he tells Israel of their unfaithfulness, sinfulness, how they wander away from God, and Adonai has to put up with the sacrifices, celebration of “new Moons” the High Holy Days. Etc. not that there is anything bad in celebrating them, BUT…. when these are done in the “flesh” and not with the heart, and because these are “things that you just have to do” then, God wants NONE OF THESE! Many people that adhere to “religion” go through “rites and traditions” just because they are used to “doing them” this in no way pleases Adonai, HOWEVER…when we do things with a pure heart, and with a spirit of “worship and praise” then…Adonai welcomes it. The LORD says through the prophet; Come now, let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool… IF…ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land” It is all CONDITIONAL! We have the same choice IF we choose to love and follow the LORD, by accepting HIM as LORD and Savior, then follow and do his commandments, following in his footsteps, THEN… we will reap the rewards, first is eternal life in Heaven, second will be spiritual blessings and perhaps even physical blessings while we are on earth, and even more, in Heaven. Again, the choice is ours to take. JOHN 4:1-5:47 This tells the story of the woman of Samaria, who comes to the well to draw water, and she receives even a better blessing. She gets her water and even more, the “Living Water” She meets her “Messiah”. It is very interesting that she is the first person who Yeshua reveals himself as Messiah, without riddles, just in plain words; The woman said; “I know that the Messiah is coming, and when he comes, he will teach us all things” (John 4:25. Yeshua responds saying; “I AM the one who speaks to you” in Aramaic it’s “Enah-na damalel na amehee” as this was the common language of the street then. Or one could rephrase and say, “It is I, (the Messiah) who speaks to you” No doubt she had a life-changing experience, she went to tell the others about Yeshua. Isn’t that what we are supposed to do? Receive Yeshua as LORD and Savior, then, go tell the world, go and teach others to respond to the calling of Adonai in their lives. Is HE part of YOUR LIFE? Shabbat Shalom……J. Ben Avraham

PARASHIOT “Matot v’ Masei” (Tribes and Journeys of) Numbers 30:1-32:42, 33:1-36:13………Jeremiah 1:1-2:3………John 1:1-51 We need to be careful upon making “vows” Adonai takes serious “promises” that we make, especially using “His” Holy Name (YHVH). We might have said in times before words like; “I swear to God that I’ll…or… “I promise that I’ll” …or … “Next week by this time, I’ll…! But how do you know that you will still be in the land of the living by next week to fulfill your promise? We take “making promises too lightly”. If we remember the Israelite “Yephtah” who, upon winning a war against Israel’s enemies, “vowed” a vow and said, “Whatever comes out first from my house to meet me, I will offer it up as a burnt offering”. I am sure that he was probably thinking of some animal, be it a lamb or a goat, yet when he got home, his only “daughter” came out to meet him. The WORD of God says he “kept” his vow, yet how can we imagine that God would accept a human sacrifice? The WORD does not say, but there is a possibility that he DID offer up his daughter, yet not as a burnt offering, but perhaps a servant to the Levites in the tabernacle, What did Yeshua say about vows? “Let our YES be YES, and NO, be NO” without more words. We might have good intentions, yet only the LORD manages our time on earth. If we say that we will do something, and we use God’s name, and we end up NOT doing it, we will have taken HIS HOLY NAME in vain. So, what words can we say when we want to do something, without “vowing”. ”If God permits, I will try to…” or “I am not sure if I can, but, I will try to…” these words seem better, because it leaves the option “if God permits”. We can make plans for the future, but the future is always in the hands of Adonai. In this parashah, we look at a woman vs a man making and keeping vows. If the woman is married, then, as long as the husband agrees to the vow, it is OK, and she must make it good, however, if he doesn’t agree to the vow, then, the vow that the woman makes is annulled. The same thing if the woman is under her father’s roof, (or tent). If the father agrees, all is well, if not, all is NOT well, the vow is nullified. How do we take this today? When making vows or promises, and really, it is better NOT to promise, but if so, it should first be discussed between the husband and wife, or between father and daughter, and an agreement reached, whether or not such promise, vow, or decision, is to be made. It is good to serve Adonai and be involved in ministry, but it should be agreed upon when it involves families. Chapter 31 speaks about the “slaughter of the Midianites” when we read this, we shudder, such bloodshed, yet it was because of the influence of Balaam, that the Midianite prostitutes caused sin to enter the camp, thus bringing a “curse” upon Israel. It was necessary to wipe out the Midianites so as to prevent further sin, yet we see that the soldiers bring back captive women and children, which was common practice in Bible days as well as the rest of the “loot” such as livestock, silver, gold, etc. Problem is that the “women” were the cause of the sin which was brought upon Israel. That is why Moshe was so upset, so he ordered the “women who knew men” to be killed as well as the male children, but why the male children? What harm can a little boy do? Perhaps nothing at that time, but in time, these “little boys” would grow up and seek vengeance against “those Israelites who killed daddy!” Today in modern warfare, we do not see soldiers “looting” houses and people’s property, but they do capture weapons, war equipment, etc. Question! What is to become of all that “drug money” which is captured in drug busts, which is a form of war? Isn’t that “loot?” Well, yes, it is, and, what is to be done about it? Well, this is just my opinion, and mine alone. I would say, divide up the “loot” and give some of it to the soldiers, officers, agents involved in the drug busts, because they put their lives on the line, the rest, divide it up among clinics, hospitals, half-way houses that deal with drug-addicts and their treatment and recovery. But again, my opinion only. Chapter 32 deals with the settlement of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh in Gilead, on the east side of the Jordan River. Was it a bad thing that they settle on that side? Moshe was of the opinion that if they build shelters for their children, wives, and cattle first and then, join the other tribes to conquer the land of Canaan, then, after the wars and conquest, they could go back to their families. When we see the land of Israel and then look around at the other nations, there are many more Jews living “outside” of the land of Israel than “inside”. However, we are ALL “Am Echad” (One people) even though divided by oceans and continents. Chapters 34 to the end of B’Midbar, deal with the journeys of the Israelites during their time in the desert up to the death of Moshe. They journeyed to many different places, yet ALWAYS guided by the RUACH ELOHIM (God’s Spirit). We also journey a lot in our life. One could say that our lives can be considered “journeys and stops” perhaps there are 8 different journeys and stops, the journey of “childhood” which enters later “adolescence” then goes to “young-adulthood” then to “education and career” then to “marriage and family” then to “Senior-adulthood” then to “retirement and rest” then to “eternal rest and Shalom” at death. Each can be a “journey” but are we letting Adonai lead us during these journeys? Or are we doing our “own thing?” The Book of Numbers ends with; “These are the commandments and the ordinances which YHVH commanded to B’nei Yisrael through Moshe in the Plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho” Thus, we see that ALL the Torah mitzvoth come from Adonai, the first Ten being spoken directly to the People of Israel, and the rest, through Moshe to the people. The Torah leads us all to a knowledge of Yeshua, to accept Him as our Savior and LORD, through faith and faith ONLY. “Masei” (journeys) A Torah Midrash over NUMBERS 33:1-36:13 ” Masei” or “journeys” or “stages” in some translations, describes the encampments of the Israelites starting in “Mitzraim” (Egypt) which comes from the root word “Mtzr” or “m’tzar” meaning “restricted” and ending at last in the promised land, giving the division of “Eretz C’anaan” between the different “matot Israel” (the tribes of Israel. We can’t just look at this from a superficial view, saying, “well, so what, they traveled here and there and they finally made it home, they would have made it a lot sooner if they hadn’t complained so much! I mean, they listened to the spies, etc.”. We need to look into the moral, spiritual, and symbolism. It is much more than just, “going from place to place physically” They started out “restricted” to a place called “Egypt” and that is what “Mitzraim” means from the root word, m-Tz-r, (mem, Tzadik, resh) using the Hebrew letters, “Mitzraim” sounds more plural, so it could also mean “restrictions”. What was restricted? Their FREEDOM! They were surrounded by pagan idolatry, they couldn’t leave! Because they were slaves to Pharaoh. It took the power of Adonai-Elohim the great I AM-YHVH, to get them out using his chosen servant Moshe. They left on the 15th of Nisan, the morning after Passover. The Word says they left with a “high hand” in some translations, “Boldness” with all “confidence” “fearless” with “valor”. It is interesting that the word “Masei” in the Hebrew is spelled, “mem, samech, ayin, yod” if we could see this word in the ancient Hebrew spelling, the symbols would look like, “water, leaning on a short staff, an eye, and a hand connected to the arm” So, what could this word symbolize? What does “journeys” mean? Well, here is one idea; the “multitudes march forward, leaning on the staff in sight of the hand!” huh? OK, sooo what does THAT mean? Look at it this way, Moshe lead the way, he walked with a staff, as the custom of all leaders back then, the people kept Moshe in sight, and as he leaned on his staff, they followed, the “hand” leans on the “staff” but who gave Moshe the staff? It was YHVH! As they journeyed, the kept YHVH in sight! The staff also symbolizes leadership, we lean on HIS leadership, and we have the “hand” in our sight, the “hands” that were pierced with the nails on Calvary. “Journeys” are not only physical but also spiritual! The Israelites left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, now, they left “restrictions” behind, the sacrificed lambs of Passover symbolized Yeshua, the sacrificial lamb, who conquered the curse of sin and death, of HaSatan. Now they are on their way to a new life, just as we begin a new journey starting from the cross of Calvary. The Israelites experienced “bitter waters” at Marah, yet they experienced an oasis at Elim. We experience both bitter times, and times of “refreshing cool waters”. Good times and bad times are part of our wanderings, or “life’s journeys” They encamped at Mt Sinai, to receive the Torah, to become officially united as a nation. “Am Echad b’Elohim” (One United People of God) We receive Yeshua as our Messiah and LORD, and we receive his WORD, his Torah to guide us through the “wilderness of life”. Then comes a list of all the places where they stopped, camped, and continued when the Glory Cloud lifted. All these stopping places took place during a period of 40 years. The number “40” symbolizes “testing” The LORD was “trying, testing” his people. Each place they stopped at, they learned new things, they experienced the sacrificial offerings once the Mishkan (tabernacle) was fully erected. Yes, they complained, and Adonai chastised, yet forgave his children. He was with them all through the 40 years of journeys, and He brought them into the promised land through their new leader “Yehoshua” who took Moshe’s place. Our journeys through life will take us to many “stops” and “settlements” one might consider a “new job” a kind of “Stopping to settle down for a while” just like moving from “house to house” or “apartment to apartment” or “mobile home to mobile home”. Another “journey” in life is the “marriage journey” then there are the “childhood, adolescence, teenage, young adult, middle age, and Senior” journeys. In each journey we learn and experience different things, “bitter waters” as well as “refreshing new waters” all the time being led by “the LIVING WATER! There will be enemies to fight, the worse kind being “spiritual enemies from the Kingdom of Darkness” who will put traps in our way, stumbling blocks, bad attitudes, issues, carnality, etc. But all these are part of the journeys in life. Aaron’s journey lasted 123 years. Methuselah’s journey lasted 969 years, while Abel’s journey was very short, maybe his journey ended when he was a teen. Enoch’s journey lasted 300 years. We know not how long our journey will last, it is in God’s hands. What is important is that we learn from our experiences during our “stops” along the way, especially the “education stops” Education is a life-long stop, it should continue all of our days. We have our secular education and our Torah education. Sometimes there are conflicts between them, and we must adjust our ways, to the TORAH ways, not the other way around. The last stop is the “Canaan” stop, “death” is our trip across the Jordan River that will bring us to the River of Life in the World to Come, In the New Jerusalem, we will receive our share of our inheritance, issued out to us by Our LORD and Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach, (Jesus the Christ) Then, in the New Jerusalem, begins our “new journey” which will never end. How can we imagine a journey without end? We really can’t, not with finite minds. “Time” as we know it will be meaningless. Perhaps 100 years on earth will be like 10 seconds in heaven. As Elohim says, “One day is likened unto a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day” It is said that the “Jew is always wandering/traveling” Is this really true? The Jewish nation was sent out of the land to foreign lands, yes, they were cast out, expelled, but for what eternal and divine purpose? To take the belief in One God, in Adonai-Elohim, Adonai-Echad, YESHUA! To the pagan peoples. Many look at the expulsion as a punishment, yet the big picture is “evangelism”. Rav Shaul (Apostle Paul) was a traveling Jew, He founded many “Kehilot Meshiachit” (Messianic congregations) in many different areas of the middle east and southern Europe. ” Ashkenaz” was a descendant of Japheth, son of Noah, who “journeyed” to what is now Germany, and his descendants to East Europe and Russia (probably after the fall of “Babel”), and “B’nei Israel” (the Children of Israel) in their “journeys” met with the “descendants” of Ashkenaz, intermarried, and thus spreading the belief of ONE GOD to Germany and East Europe, thus we have the “Y’hudim-Ashkenazim” (The Ashkenazim Jewish peoples). Some say that the desire to “travel” and “journey” is inbred into all Y’hudim, perhaps not all, many Jewish families have stayed in one place for centuries, others, are on the move. I personally like to travel, go to different places. I have traveled to many states in the USA and to about 12 countries in my “life’s journeys” I hope that the LORD will allow me to live to walk across Spain on the “St James Way” (Camino de Santiago) when I reach 66 years old. And of course, to return one last time to Eretz Israel to spend some time with the IDF again. As we physically journey from place to place, remember that we are also “journeying” spiritually, being guided (hopefully) by God’s WORD, through his Holy Spirit. May you prosper in your journeys through life, “Buen Camino Peregrino!” (Have a good walk pilgrim!) JEREMIAH 1:1-2:3 The calling of Navi Yirimyahu (the prophet Jeremiah) As we see in the beginning, God says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you!” A great statement, a great truth that flies in the face of abortionists, those that say, “a fetus in not yet human”. If God is saying that EVEN BEFORE” being formed in the womb, He had Jeremiah in mind. Where are we before being formed in the womb of our mothers. No one seems to know; the WORD does not say. Some believe that we are in Spirit form and that we await bodies to go into, and that when a man and woman unite together in love, when the sperm meets the egg, there is a guardian angel that is sent to be with that person, and either God or the angel takes the spirit and puts it inside the tiny microscopic body. Well, who knows if this is true, but it might just be that way. Everyone has a calling in life, we just have to find out what it is. Our first calling is to “get right with God” and accept Yeshua as our Messiah, LORD and Savior, that act of faith will secure our eternity in Heaven. Then we must search out hearts and ask the LORD what our calling will be. It may be full time ministry, it may be a secular job joined with ministry. The gifts of the Holy Spirit will enable us to do many things. Jeremiah was called to a difficult task, to “wake up” the nation of Israel that was seeded deep in sin, his calling as “Prophet” (or spokesman) was for him, he accepted it, and we have his book to prove it. Prophets declared the words of Adonai to the nations, today we have the complete written word of God. Everything we need to know is written in the Bible. His entire WORD is in 66 books. Can God speak through individuals today with “special words?” Sure, but those words will NOT contradict what is already written in the Torah. If you are called to teach and expound God’s WORD, (which was the mission of the prophets of old in a general way) STUDY to show thyself WORTHY, a WORKMAN that needeth not be ashamed, but rightfully dividing the WORD of TRUTH! JOHN 1:1-51 ” In the beginning, was the WORD, and the WORD was with God and GOD was the WORD” This opening statement clarifies that YESHUA was part of the creation in the beginning, Yeshua has many names; Son of David, The Second Adam, Son of Man, the WAY, the TRUTH, the LIFE, the LIVING WORD, and many more. WORDS are alive, and with words, Elohim created the heavens and the earth, bringing into being all that is in existence today. There are the things that were “created” (Bara) and those things (such as man) that were “Made” (Asah) “Asah” is used when things are “made” from pre-existing material, such as Adam (man) from earth, dust, water, and the spirit was put inside the body. The title of Yeshua “The Living Word” in Hebrew is “HaD’bar Chayim” the word “Dabar” which is “word” consists of three Hebrew letters, “Dalet, Bet, and Resh” when we look at this from an ancient Hebraic perspective, we see the symbolism in these letters which can say; first door to the house” We are “households” and when Yeshua knocks on our “doors” do we open our door to let Him in? the word in Hebrew for “door” is “Delet” which can mean in the ancient Hebrew symbolic letters “instruction is the door to the covenant” God’s instruction through the Torah points us to Yeshua who is the “covenant” of our salvation. In time, GOD was manifested in human form as YESHUA, who is the “Living WORD” He fulfilled the covenant of the cross to pay the price of sin, to crush the head of HaSatan, to teach the Torah, heal the sick, we as followers of Yeshua are called to share and teach his WORD to all who will listen. Are you fulfilling YOUR CALLING? Shabbat Shalom………Rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA: “Pinchas” NUMBERS 25:10-29:40…………………I KINGS 18:46-19:21……………………. LUKE 23:1-24:53 This Torah portion starts with somewhat a surprise, a promotion in rank for an execution committed, and rather suddenly. Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron was a Levite, and during the time of the “weakness and falling away of the men of Israel, He took matters into his own hands, and slew Zimri and Cozbi, who were committing fornication in the sight of all Israel, yet Adonai rewarded him for this and gave him an “everlasting covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood” because he was “Zealous” for his God, because he made an “atonement” for “b’nei Israel”. to understand this, we must go back to Parashah Balak. King Balak wanted Balaam to curse Israel, yet Adonai did not do this, as Adonai prohibited this. Israel was already blessed by Adonai, and who Adonai has blessed, no man can curse. However, as many past rabbis and sages believe, what happened afterward was indeed a tragedy. Even though the Torah does not record this, because of the events that followed, we can conclude that this is what might have happened afterward. Perhaps, Balaam went to Balak and told him that even though he could not curse Israel, the children of Israel could bring a curse among themselves by disobeying God’s commandments and going after other gods. The Torah says that b’nei Israel went after the Moabite prostitutes and went to worship their god “Baal-Peor” thus bring down the wrath of YHVH. The result was a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites until Pinchas took action and took a lance and thrust it through the bellies of Zimri and Cozbi, thus “staying” the plague. As Adonai called it, “making an atonement for the children of Israel’ “Blood” for “blood” We find this a very “rash” thing to do, yet, we need to understand that Israel was under a “theocracy” and not a “democracy”. Their ruler, King, the commander-in-chief was YHVH himself. God calls the shots, makes the rules and decides outcomes. Under our “democracy” we have presidents, kings, senate, governors, etc. who make rules and vote on rules and outcomes. Try being “zealous” for God today the same way Pinchas did would land us in prison very quickly. But we must also view the action of Pinchas in the following manner. His faith and love for the Torah and God were backed by “action”. We could take other examples. A cat lover walks by a group of mean kids that are teasing a cat, pulling its tail, and just giving it a hard time. The cat lover could just say; “poor cat” and start to cry over it and continue walking…or…the cat lover could run up to the mean kids and push them aside, grabbing the cat and taking it to safety. The cat lover not only showed love and compassion for the cat but also showed an active and positive “action”. The same can be said about protesting against the murder of the unborn through abortions, many people will write letters and let their voices be heard, instead of just feeling sorry for the unborn who are murdered inside female wombs. Later on, in this Parashah, we see that Moshe intercedes for Israel when Adonai tells him to go up Har Abiram and take a look around because he will die there. Adonai appoints “Yehoshua” as Moshe’s successor, to lead the people into the promised land. We see two leaders now, “Pinchas” who is granted the title and inheritance of “High Priest” for his action, he symbolizes the “Kana” (Zeal) for Adonai, and Yehoshua, who is given the “Ruach Elohim” to lead the people. Yehoshua is the same as “Yeshua” for HE is the one who leads US in our lives today. Yeshua also showed “Kana” when he drove out the money changers in the temple, he used a bit of violence, yet not for “religious” reasons, but for the “love” of HIS father and for respect for HIS HOUSE. Today HIS HOUSE consists of all “Kehilot” (assemblies) of born-again believers all over the world, not buildings There are other ways one can show “zeal” for YHVH today; Loving his Torah, obeying his commandments, teaching his Word to those who would listen, loving our neighbors, be supporting our local body of believers, voting for government officials who also uphold biblical standards. Pointing out sinful ways to sinners (in a loving, not condemning way) and pointing them to a personal relationship with Yeshua our Messiah. Chapters 28 and 29 deals with the review of the sacrifices and offerings that the Israelites would offer to YHVH. Remember that they are about to cross over the Jordan to possess the promised land. There they would be “permanent residents” and the fight would continue to cast out the Canaanites (another reason for the census) to see how many “fighting men” the nation consisted of. Each and every element of the offerings and sacrifices illustrates who YESHUA is and what he stands for; 2 lambs per day, fine flour with oil; Yeshua who is the Lamb of God, who is the BREAD of Life, who has the Ruach HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit) within him. The oil symbolizes the Spirit of Elohim, and the “anointing by the Spirit on ALL believers. Wine was also used to pour over the sacrifices, the “wine” symbolizes the blood of Yeshua that ran down the cross, out of his veins for an atonement for all who believe and accept his sacrifice for sin. Bullocks were also sacrificed, the bullock symbolizes “strength” as the ancient symbol of the letter “Alef” was in the form of a bull. Adonai is “strength” yet he allowed himself to become “lower than the angels” to walk as man and be a willing sacrifice for sin. The goats remind us of Yom Kippur, one was set free and the other sacrificed, reminding us that our sins were “cast away” from us as well as dealt with on the cross. The sacrificed rams remind us of the “ram” that was in the thicket when Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice. That ram was sacrificed instead of Isaac, just as Yeshua was offered as a blood sacrifice in our place. I KINGS 18:46-19:21 In this study, we see a second example of “zeal” for Adonai. Israel was again, bowing down and worshipping Baal, and Eliyahu really had enough and decided to do something about it. He initiated a contest between YHVH and Baal. Whoever answers the prayers and brings down fire to devour the animal sacrifices, that “god” would be GOD, who the Israelites would worship from then on. Of course, we know who won the contest. Yet as soon as Jezebel, the queen and wicked wife of king Ahab, heard this, and was told that Eliyahu had the 450 priests of Baal slain, she sent a “death threat” to Elihayu. Well, he head for the hills! Ran all the way to Mt Horeb in Saudi Arabia, hundreds and hundreds of miles away. There he hid out for a while. There are times when a “man of God” or a “woman of God” can pretty much tired out, exhausted, and they really need a rest. Eliyahu was no different. Adonai understood that. He allowed him to rest, he sent an angel to cook for him, and reassured him that there were 7000 Israelites that did not bow the knee to Baal! Elihayu’s mission wasn’t quite over yet, he still had a job to do before being taken up to Heaven in a chariot of fire. Now that was quite a hot exit! When we serve the LORD, we work to the best of our anointed abilities, yet we need to know when to rest. Not quit mind you. Quitting and resting are too different things. Serving Adonai in ministry is a life calling, ending only at death! So, continue to serve YHVH, in this way we show our zeal. LUKE 23:1-24:53 We have seen in the above cases, “zeal” for YHVH, yet in this case, we see YESHUA himself, who the zeal was directed to, in his case, he was the “lamb to the slaughter”. Remained silent in front of his accusers, before Pilatus and Herodus. There is a time for a believer to protest, to speak out, and there is a time to remain silent. For this reason, Yeshua came into the world. Not to claim kingship then, yet the whole earth was his to rule. His mission was to teach Torah, heal the sick, and to die for our sins. Yes, there were times when he got incensed, angry, there were times when he showed his power, yet on the final day of his earthly life, it was a time to be silent, yet a time to forgive his accusers, to accept the nails, and to say; “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do!’ “Aba, Sh’vook l’hoon la ge’ir yadeen mana av’deen” (Aramaic) and “It is finished” “ha m’shalam” (Aramaic) seems like the translation is saying “the peace’ (is restored) Zeal can come in two forms, aggressive, and passive, we need to know when to use them. Shabbat Shalom……. Rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHAH: “Balak” NUMBERS 22:2-25:9………………. MICAH 5:6-6:8………………. LUKE 22:1-71 This is the famous story of Bilam, who was asked to “curse” Israel, and instead, “Blessed” Israel, yet before this, his donkey spoke to him. The name “Bilam” or Balaam” might be a shorter version of the name “Baal-haAm” (lord of the people). Some believe that he was a true prophet of G-d, others believe he was a false prophet or a corrupt prophet. Seems like he was the later, yet YHVH used him for the purpose of blessing HaAm Israel. The princes of Balak, king of Moab, offered money to Balaam to curse Israel, so, Balaam consults Adonai as to what he should do. Elohim gives the answer; “Thou shalt not go with them, thou shalt not curse them for they are blessed” (Num 22:12) What the LORD has blessed, stays blessed, what the LORD has cursed, stays cursed UNLESS the LORD himself lifts the curse and changes the curse to a blessing. Balaam tells the princes, “I cannot go with you” yet Balak is stubborn, and wants Israel cursed, he offers more money, and fame, re-sends his princes and asked them again to propose to Balaam; “Stay here tonight and I will see what the LORD will tell me” says Balaam. But hey, didn’t Adonai already say NO? what more is there to ask again? or…is there a hidden reason? Maybe a money reason? We can see perhaps a greedy prophet trying to see if “God will change his mind”. Just a little curse for a lot of money? However, Adonai says; “Go with them, but only say what I tell you to say”. So, the word of God says that in the morning, Balaam saddled his ass and went with the princes of Moab, BUT…God was angry because he WENT! There is a problem here, didn’t Adonai already give his permission for Balaam to GO, yet he was angry because he WENT! What is the root of interpretation here? Adonai gave his permission for Balaam to go PHYSICALLY with the princes of Moab, Yet, Balaam in his heart was GOING ALONG WITH THE IDEA, to curse for money, greed was in his heart. One thing is to GO, another is GO ALONG WITH THE IDEA, or be in unison to do evil. This is why the anger of the LORD was kindled, Balaam had in his heart the IDEA or the DESIRE to GO CURSE ISRAEL for riches. It was all about the “inner motive” of Bilaam, Adonai knows the heart above all things. We can all “go” places, but if our hearts carry evil intentions, then, the “going” will bring a curse upon yourself. Now Adonai used Balaam’s donkey to “wake him up” as to what is happening. Then, “Malach-YHVH” the (Angel of the LORD) stands in the way, the ass avoids him, three times, until Balaam strikes his donkey three times for going off the road. Finally, the LORD opens the mouth of the donkey and the donkey is made to speak; “Why have you smitten me these three times?” Wouldn’t you wonder that Balaam would have been impressed that an animal would speak? Hebrew at that? Even the Angel spoke; “Why have you smitten your donkey these three times?” Some wonder about the number “3” does it have meaning? There are “3” entities in Elohim, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Yeshua was in the ground for 3 days, there are 3 parts of the Bible, the Torah, the Prophets and Hebrew poetry, and the Brit HaDASHAH (New Testament) Yeshua asked Kefa 3 times “Do you love me?” The Angel of Elohim gave “3” warnings to Balaam, yet he did not SEE, or perhaps, did not WANT to see or heed the warnings, until his donkey, “alerted him” Another thing we can see is that God is concerned for the treatment of animals. Those who have pets should treat them with love and tender care, not mistreat them, for if the angel saw the donkey being struck and called Balaam’s attention on that, the LORD sees how YOU are treating your pet, (hopefully no one has a pet crocodile running around the house, yet there was a case of a family that DID have indeed a PET CROC in the house) Balaam meets Balak, and again, they go to “3” separate places to view Israel, and Balaam orders “7” altars to be built. 7 bulls and 7 rams would be sacrificed. “7” is the perfect number, yet all three times, Balaam opens his mouth to BLESS Israel, Whom YHVH has blessed, no man can curse. Even in the third blessing, Balaam echoes the blessing of Abraham; “Blessed be everyone that blesseth thee and cursed be everyone that curseth thee!” What can we learn from all this? We must always support and bless Israel, bless our brothers and sisters in our congregations, do not let money be the main interest in our doing “good” if we wish to bless our neighbor, with our prayers, labor, favors, etc., let it not be guided by monetary gain, but our sincere desire to bless and be a witness to Yeshua our Messiah. Oh yes, and treat your cats, dogs, birds, tropical fish, etc. with TLC! Adonai is watching! But let’s look at the blessings that Bilaam said to Israel, and Yes, Balak was fuming! This is to show that G-d even works among heathen prophets, to shower blessings to his people; (23:8-10) We see various things of interest here: Bilaam states: “How can I curse whom Elohim has not cursed?” “It is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations” “Who hath counted the dust of Jacob or numbered the stock of Israel” “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let mine be like his” Adonai did not curse Israel, but later, Israel brought upon itself a curse because the Israelites hooked up with the prostitutes of Moab and entered into the pagan rites of the Moabites (persuaded by Bilaam) He must have said to the king that God can not curse them but they can bring a curse upon themselves though! Israel is unique, no nation like Israel. The word for “unique” is “Yachid” and is different from the rest of the nations, because Israel believes and worships only “One G-d” YHVH! The rest of the nations at that time, were pagan idolatrous nations. Why is Jacob/Israel compared to dust? Can anyone count “dust?” yet dust will last forever. The desire of all is to “die like a Tzadik!” a righteous person, but Bilaam did not die like a Tzadik, he died like a pagan prophet who was, unwillingly, used by YHVH. The next blessing is from 23:19-24. “God (EL) is not a man that He should lie, Neither the Son of man that He should repent” The word for God in this verse is “El” (the strong one who leads and instructs) and through the Torah, Adonai shows us the way to Mashiach! Yes, God is NOT a man, He is Spirit in the pure essence of His being, yet He became flesh, in Yeshua, to die for our sins, and Yeshua never needed to repent of anything since He was and IS sinless! ‘None hath beheld iniquity in Jacob nor seen perverseness in Israel” Yet didn’t YHVH want to wipe Israel from the earth for past sins and rebellion? Yes, BUT, Moshe interceded for them like Yeshua intercedes before the Father on our behalf. YHVH was looking at Israel through Messiah Yeshua, He sees Israel as if Israel had never sinned, being righteous! Are we any different? Our flesh is black like sin (figuratively) because our flesh is dead and dying, yet inside us lives our soul-spirit, and it is white as snow, purified through the Blood of Yeshua. The third blessing is from 24:3-9. “How goodly are thy tents O Jacob and thy dwellings O Israel” This is the beginning of one of our daily prayers. The tents and dwellings symbolize the whole people of Israel, the ones who dwell inside the tents. “Water shall flow from his branches, and his seed shall be in many waters” Yeshua is the “Living Water” (Mayim Chayim) many waters can symbolize the “multitudes” of peoples, since the Hebrew letter “Mem” symbolizes both ‘water’ and the “masses” (of people) His is the “Seed of faith” which has been scattered among all the nations of the world. The blessing ends like the promise of Abraham, “blessed be every one that blesses thee, and cursed be everyone that curseth thee” and in HIS SEED shall ALL the world be blessed, “HaZeman Yeshua” (the seed of Yeshua) the seed of “Faith” MICAH 5:6-6:8 ”and the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples….” thus, begins the Prophet Micah’s message. We can witness this account today. In every nation of this modern world we see the Jewish people. In almost every large city, there are Jewish neighborhoods, communities, Jewish Community Centers, The mission of Israel in the diaspora was to be a “light unto the nations” the nations thousands of years ago were dwelling in idolatry; the worship of pagan deities permeated their lives. Israel’s mission was to “introduce the worship and love of “One God” Adonai-Elohim, yet even in Israel idolatry was to be found, Elohim would have to “cut off” the worship of graven images, witchcrafts, Asherim, etc., ” Oh, my people, what have I done to thee?” (6:3) Adonai has a right to ask this question. Did HE not take them out of Egypt? Bring them into a new land, He was to be their king, yet they fell into idol worship. ”and what does the LORD require of thee? only to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God” (6:8) And that is what it is all about, If Yeshua loved mercy, did what was just and right, and lived a humble lifestyle, shouldn’t we do the same. Following in HIS footsteps is a meaningful goal in our lives. LUKE 22:1-71 The final and last day of Yeshua on earth is here. He is celebrating the Pesach with his Talmidim. This is very meaningful as it illustrates what the “bread and the wine” symbolize. ” This is my body which is being given to you” “the cup is the New Covenant ratified by my blood which is being poured out for you”. During the time of Pesach, and every time we take communion, which is like a “mini Pesach” we are reminded of our Messiah, who was beaten, whipped, torn apart, spat upon, and nailed to a cross, all because HE loved us SO MUCH. He, God in the flesh, loved his creation, a creation that was once sinless, became flawed by sin, wanted a new relationship once again. The Matzah which is marked by little holes, illustrates the nail holes, and he hung by those nails until his life paid our sin debt in full. The New Covenant is ratified, by HIS BLOOD, the blood of bulls, sheep, and goats did NOT, and NEVER did have the power to remove sin, the animal sacrifices only SYMBOLIZED what Yeshua would do in the future. That is why the New Covenant is a better covenant, because the blood of Yeshua, symbolized by the wine we drink, had and has the power to forgive, atone for the sin of mankind. Man, only has to ACCEPT this sacrifice in a personal way, only then, can Messiah’s death on the cross benefit the person. So, if you have never accepted Yeshua as Messiah and LORD, do it now! Shabbat Shalom………. Rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA: “Chukat” (ordinance of) Numbers 19:1-22:1…………………Judges 11:1-33………………Luke 21:1-38 There are several themes in this Torah study. Number one is the “Red Heifer” This was for members of ‘B’nei Israel” that came into contact with the dead. We need to be reasonable since death was a common experience with Israel, as with all of us, it is part of life, it is the twilight of our existence. If death is our twilight, then our “sunrise” will be in the “World of Come” the “Eternal Heavenly Kingdom. If Yeshua is our Messiah and LORD and Savior, death is just a passage to eternal life with our king, Master, LORD, friend, husband, and Redeemer. The priest had to sacrifice and burn up completely a cow, converting it to ashes. With this sacrifice there were very important ingredients to be mixed with the ashes; Cedarwood, hyssop, and crimson. So, we now have cow ashes, cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson. These would be mixed with water and this mixture would be applied on a person who had to touch a dead person, (for reason of preparation and burial). After that, the person would be “tahor” (clean) and could re-enter the camp, since the person had to be outside for seven days. It is interesting to note that the priest applying the mixture would be considered “Tamei” (unclean) until the evening! How does this illustrate Yeshua HaMashiach? We have the animal sacrifice, which always symbolizes our Messiah, then the cedarwood symbolizing the cross of Calvary, HE was our sacrifice for sin and was nailed to a wooden cross. The hyssop reminds us of the first Passover, when lamb’s blood was applied on the doors of the dwellings in Egypt. Without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sin. The “crimson stuff” reminds us of the blood, which was shed on cross, His sinless blood was applied to our sins. There was an exchange, our “unrighteousness” for His “righteousness” Just as the priest remained “unclean” until the evening, so our Messiah became “unclean” for those few hours on the cross, because He bore our sins, past, present, and future. Our “uncleanness” was exchanged for “cleanness” through Yeshua. Chapter 20 deals with the death of Miriam. A leader, some say, can only take so much until tempers explode. He (Moshe) has lost his beloved sister, the people are complaining “again” they want water, understandable, we all need water to live. Adonai understands, and speaks to Moshe “Take Aaron and your staff, go to “The” Rock and speak to it, and it shall bring forth water.” Seems like it was not just any rock, it was “THE” Rock. Oral tradition says that this rock followed the congregation where ever they went and water flowed from “The Rock” It is interesting that the Hebrew word is not the usual word “Tzur” or “Aven” used for “Rock” or “stone” but the word “Selah” is used, this word means a “large stone or rock fortress or stronghold”. It also means a “rock that contains water. This “Selah” reminds us of Mashiach who is the “living water”. Also, when we look at the Hebrew spelling of the word “Selah” we can see “Mayim” (water) in the middle of the letters. So, what do we mean by that? Well, let’s spell out the word “Selah” in Hebrew, this word contains three Hebrew letters “Samech (s) Lamed (l) and “Ayin” (ah) let’s look at the middle letters in these words; “saMech” “laMed” and “aYin” we have the letters M+M+Y, and when we rearrange the letters and add the vowels, we get “MaYiM” which is the word “water” in Hebrew. When we add up the number value in Gematria, we get 40+10+40 = 90, “9” points to Yeshua who is “Emet” (The Truth) and “0” is the number of “eternity” because it has no beginning nor end. In the area of Mt Sinai, in North East Saudi Arabia, one can see a “large strong, rugged Rock” with a crack down the middle of it. It seems like it is at least 30 feet tall. It is believed that “This” is “The Rock” (HaSelah) Moshe, however, in his anger, did NOT obey the voice of HaShem. Instead, he said to the people; ” Listen you rebels, shall WE get water for you out of this rock?” and then struck the rock TWICE, with his staff. Water still came out, God still had compassion for His people, YET…Moshe and Aaron were in deep trouble! This spill of anger cost Moshe his entrance into the promised land. The ROCK, symbolized YESHUA who is our SOLID ROCK, our FORTRESS! (Selah) who was struck only ONCE, for our sins. He died ONCE, was crucified ONCE! For ALL of our sins, past, present, and future. Moshe misrepresented YHVH, he said, “are WE to get water for you…” The people saw “Moshe and Aaron” so, they probably thought’ ‘Moshe and Aaron got water for us’ Let’s hear it for Moshe and Aaron, nice going guys!” so they got the glory instead of Adonai. However, we know that Moshe DID enter the promised land, 1500 years later, at the Mt. of Transfiguration He appeared with Eliyahu, Moshe represented the Torah, and Eliyahu HaNavi” (The Prophets) and of course, Yeshua represented the New Covenant, all three symbolize the “Whole complete WORD of God” with nothing lacking! Chapter 21 talks about the “fiery serpents” in the desert, that were sent as punishment by God to bite the people who were “again” complaining. (Oi vey, when will they stop already?!) As soon as the people repented, God told Moshe to make a “bronze serpent” and place it on a pole and erect it so that ALL could see. In all places in scripture, the “serpent” symbolizes HaSatan, with exception of this ONE time, this time, the bronze or copper serpent (seraph) symbolizes Yeshua, as he said in John; “As the serpent was lifted up in the desert, so the Son of Man will be lifted up” He was both “lifted up” on the Cross of Calvary, and “lifted up” into the Heavenlies in his ascension. It is interesting that the word for “fiery serpent” is “Nachash Seraph” probably because on biting a person, the bite burned like fire. The “Seraphim” are angels that are related to “fire”. The Torah tells us that YHVH sent “N’chashim” (serpents) to bite the people. But during this fierce judgment, the people repent and plead to Moshe, “Tell YHVH to take away the “Nachash!” (21:7) in the English and Spanish, the word “serpent” is written in the plural “serpents” but NOT in the original Hebrew, in the Hebrew, the word is singular, “Serpent” this is interesting, why singular” were there not many snakes around biting the people? Yes, but the singular word and phrase, “intercede with YHVH that He remove the “serpent” from us” This points us to the symbolism of “HaSatan” who is “The Serpent” the same that was in the Garden of Eden. The people repent and in a way are saying, “remove Satan from our midst” This is what happened at Calvary, when our Messiah took upon himself all the “Bites of HaSatan, the “Nachash” to heal us so that we might have eternal life. The image of the beast that caused death was also the source of life! Yeshua became death so that we might have life. There is also a relationship between the Hebrew words “Mashiach” and “Nachash” in the gematria, “Mashiach” (mem, sheen, yod, chet) and “Nachash” (nun, chet, sheen) both add up to 358! (mem=40, sheen=300, yod=10, chet=8) 40+300+10+8 = 358. “Nachash’ is (nun=50, chet=8, sheen=300) 50+8+300= 358! What does Mashiach give us? 3 (He is part of Elohim) who gives us “grace” (5) for a new “beginning” (8). Also, 3+5+8=16, and 1+6=7, “7” the perfect number of YHVH! Interesting to note that probably not all the Congregation of Israel could visibly “see” the serpent, being the encampment perhaps 4 or 5 miles square do to the number of people and cattle, so, even “looking in the direction “ of the serpent would have served the purpose of receiving healing from the snake bites (my thought) . Today, our faith is our “healing” to receive salvation through trusting in Yeshua/Jesus who was “lifted up” and bore our sins. JUDGES 11:1-33 This lesson is about “Yephtah” who was bullied and mistreated by his brothers and was excluded from his father’s inheritance, he ran away and got together with a gang of thugs and became like the “Jessie James gang” However, when trouble started back home, who did the brothers look for? Yes, Yephtah! In spite of the fact that he was mistreated, he didn’t let a negative attitude take control, he returned and became their commander. Then he “vows and vow” “If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house I will offer up to you as a burnt offering” the Israelites won the war, and when Yephtah returned home and his “only daughter came out to greet him”. There are mixed emotions and opinions over this. Some suggest that He DID offer his daughter as a burnt offering, he killed r and burned her body on the altar. BUT… would the Holy GOD of Israel accept this kind of abomination? A human sacrifice? I would say NO! (my opinion) So, what MIGHT have happened? Some believe that he did “offer up” his daughter, but to serve as a servant in the tabernacle of YHVH, perhaps helping the Levites or something similar. Again, just an idea, but no one knows for sure, we’ll find out the truth in Heaven! Others say that in the original translation, the words were misunderstood, and the phrase, “Whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in peace, it shall be the LORD’s and I will offer it up as a burnt offering” was really, “it shall be the LORD’s “OR” I will offer it up as a burnt offering! Which explains why Yephtah might have offered up his daughter to serve in the Tabernacle for all her life, had an animal, like a lamb or a goat had come out, THAT animal would have been offered up as a burnt offering, but again, this is just an idea. What does this teach us? Be careful of what we “vow” we might end up “swallowing” our words, best not to promise anything, and again, not to hold a grudge against those who have mistreated us, forgive them who have mistreated us. LUKE 21:1-38 Yeshua talks about the “end times” “Watch out” he warns, things will be getting worse before it gets better. Many think that we will be looking forward to better times, yet Yeshua says just the opposite! Wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, etc., the world is going downhill fast, not only physically, but morality is taking a tailspin downward, We need to take heed and be faithful, await the coming of Messiah Yeshua, AFTER He returns, the world will enter a thousand-year time of real SHALOM. Yeshua taught all of this in the temple in Yerushalayim and would camp out on the Mt. of Olives during the night. What an interesting life! I think it would have been great to have seen and heard Yeshua in person back then. Yet we can still hear his voice through HIS WORD. Shabbat Shalom……………. rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA: “Korach” (Korah) NUMBERS 16:1-18:32………….1 SAM 11:14-12:22……………LUKE 19:1-20:47 This study is about a Levite named “Korach” and a few of his friends; Dathan and Abiram, and they got together with 250 other guys and they “Rose up in the face of Moshe”. Now, this for sure is NOT a friendly gathering, they did not come to Moshe to say; “Yo Moe, Wuz Up?” No, THIS was a REBELLION! Pride and arrogance had filled the hearts of these men and now they questioned Moshe’s authority. We can’t seem to understand why, after Moshe led them through the wilderness, went up Har Sinai, received the commandments, interceded for the whole people on various occasions so that God would not destroy them, now want to question Moshe’s leadership calling. Guess we can call it just that, “blind arrogance and the will to do “their own thing.” They came against Aaron and Moshe with the following words; “Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and YHVH is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of YHVH?” (16:3) The words “congregation” and “assembly” are one in the same “Kahal” (Qof, Hey, Lamed) “behold there is holiness in instruction” That is what every single congregation should be all about, be the congregation a Sunday honoring church or a Sabbath honoring Messianic Synagogue, we are all ONE body in MESSIAH YESHUA, dedicated to receiving instruction from the Torah through Adonai’s chosen vessels. “Holiness” or “Kodesh” means we are “separated” unto YHVH by our lifestyles and through our acceptance of Yeshua as our LORD and Savior. Studying the Word of God and applying it to our lives increases our maturity in the faith. Now, here’s a question, was Korah right by saying that “all the congregation are holy, and that YHVH was with them?” Yes, he was absolutely right! “You shall be unto me a holy nation and a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:5) There was nothing wrong with that statement because it is a TRUE statement. Today, every born-again believer is as a “priest” we have access to the Throne of Grace, just like the priests of old went before the people in the Tabernacle and later on, in the Holy Temple to make intercession before YHVH. Through Yeshua, we have intercession before a Holy God. What was WRONG, was that they questioned Aaron and Moshe’s authority by saying; “wherefore lift ye up yourselves above the Kahal of YHVH?” The truth is, that they did NOT lift themselves up over the “Kahal Yisrael” it was ADONAI who lifted THEM UP! It was YHVH who ordained them as leaders to lead the flock of Israel. In every organization, there has to be a leader or leaders. In every business, there is an owner, president, a manager, assistant managers, shift leaders, and the workers. All of them have “value” yet they need to be led by leaders, or the business will topple over, and the workers scatter like sheep without a shepherd. In the church/synagogue setting, there has to be a pastor or rabbi, assistant pastor and associate rabbi or rabbis, then, we have the Sunday School teachers, Torah teachers, youth workers, children’s ministry, music and worship leaders and assistants, secretaries, finance officers, etc.… ALL have MUCH VALUE in ministry, for that reason, we are given the spiritual gifts to make the Body of Messiah work and run like a well-oiled machine. YET, when rebels come and want to disrupt the congregation, disaster can happen, and that is what the enemy “HaSatan” wants, yet before that happened, YHVH had to step in and deal with the situation at hand. In all, we have 250 plus Korah, Dathan, and Abiram that are causing the rebellion. A rebellion that could have spread to a few million Kahal members, “Kol HaKahal Yisrael” (to ALL the congregation of Israel). YHVH has them to bring their censors and put incense and fire in them and bring them before the Mishkan. YHVH will settle the matter once and for all. Remember that the censor, incense, and fire symbolize our prayers that ascend to Adonai. Moshe in a way is saying; “LORD, YOU decide who you want to lead, and be high priest!” Adonai answered in a very frightening way. But before that, Moshe pointed out to Korah that he was already appointed to serve in the tabernacle, intercede before the people, yet, Korah was not satisfied, he wanted even MORE, to be priest, and perhaps even “High Priest”. There could have been a way of asking about a “promotion” (sort of saying) Korah could have approached Moshe and have Moshe ask God about perhaps promoting him to priesthood, in a humble and respectful way, yet Korah was defiant. As we read on, the “earth opened up” and swallowed up Korah and his household. HOWEVER, God did not punish the righteous members of Korah’s family. Remember that the “Sons of Korah” wrote some of the Psalms. He had some sons that were against their father’s rebellion, and they were saved. Just as we remember the plea of Abraham concerning Sodom and Gomorra, “Far be it that YHVH should destroy the righteous with the wicked” so Adonai sent an Angel to take Lot and his family out of Sodom, but just as Lot’s sons-in-law and his wife perished, saving only Lot and his two daughters, some of the sons of Korah were saved, and the rest of the family went down into Sheol. Then we see that Adonai wipes out all the 250 rebels, cleans the slate! No more rebels, may that be a lesson for those who would want to challenge Adonai or his appointed ones. However, is there a time when God’s leaders can be challenged? I would say that if a leader or leaders are teaching lies, false doctrines, and leading the people AWAY from God, teaching that there are “many ways” to God, and that Yeshua is NOT enough, THEN…that leader needs to stop and think what he or she is doing, if others of the Kahal bring this to their attention, it should be done in a humble, respectful way, not in a rebellious way. We ALL have a place in ministry, we are all vessels of VALUE. Yet all vessels have a maker, and that maker is YHVH, and he always chooses a certain vessel or vessels to lead the others, we must all come under that leadership, lift up that leadership, uphold those hands of leadership through support and prayer. Who knows, maybe Adonai will choose YOU as an appointed leader! 1 SAMUEL 11:14-12:22 We see in this study, that the same thing happens. In the previous story, Korah rejects or questions Moshe’s authority, here, in Samuel, the people want a human king over them. Even though the Prophet pleads with the people, Adonai speaks up and tells Samuel, “They have not rejected you, but me” Adonai gives the people what they want, a human king, a king with weaknesses and strengths, the first king was a bad choice, the people looked at Shaul’s physical appearance, yet as we read on, he failed to serve Adonai, disobeyed God’s instructions through Shmu’el. Finally, another king was selected, David Ben Jessie. This time, a king was selected whose heart was with God. Be very careful what we ask for, we might get it and then not want it. Rex Humbard once said it like this: “God may give you want you want, but you might not want what you get!” LUKE 19:1-20:47 The passage starts out with Yeshua entering Jericho, Zacchaeus was there but since he was small in stature, he climbed up a Sycamore tree. Yeshua saw him and gave him the order; “Zacchaeus, come hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house” Now Zacchaeus could have refused, and told Yeshua to go someplace else, or might have thought himself not worthy to receive the Messiah in his house, but we know that he DID come down and he DID open the doors of his house to receive MASHIACH. Yeshua responds with these words; “Today YESHUAH has come to this house” And it was a fact indeed, “Yeshua” did come into his house, and as a result, Zacchaeus repented of his ways and wanted to right the wrong he had been doing, so, “Yeshuah” (Salvation) DID come to his house (a little play on words). God will ask us, (not so much tell us) “May I come into your house and be your LORD and GOD?” If we decide to open the doors of our heart, mind, and soul and invite HIM IN, then, HE will come IN and be OUR SAVIOR AND LORD. A repentant sinner shows signs of repentance, changed heart, changed ways, and you, have you come down from your “tall tree” and humbled yourself and have opened the door of your flesh and spirit house to allow HIM to come in? Shabbat Shalom Rabbi B. Avraham

PARASHAH: “Shelach’l’ha” (send for yourself) NUMBERS 13:1-15:41………………. YEHOSHUA 2:1-24………………LUKE 17:1-18:43 Most of us know the story of the 12 spies that were sent to spy out the land of Canaan, sent by Moshe by the word of YHVH. But let’s look at the story carefully and see what we can dig out of the sand pile, we might find some valuable stuff hidden in the sand. The word of Moshe to the 12 tribes, that they might select from each tribe a leader to represent that tribe, so the list is read. Among those selected, we are going to concentrate on two of the leaders; “Kaleb” son of “Yephuneh” from the tribe of Y’hudah, and “Hoshea” son of “Nun” from the tribe of Ephrayim”. The story goes as follows as we read the Torah. The 12 are sent out on a “reconnaissance” mission to “spy out” the land. What do we mean by that? Any time an army is going to invade a territory, the army needs to know how many men the enemy has, what they have, where they live, their fortresses, etc. This is a common battle strategy, nothing new. Adonai has already “promised” them the land, done deal! Yet they still have to go into battle, but the battle already has the outcome, Israelites win! This is what Adonai sees looking up the “finite” timeline in the “finite” dimension” and we must remember that HE sees ALL THINGS from the “infinite” timeline, the things that have already come to pass, even before they “pass” They travel throughout the land of Canaan for 40 days, they see many things, the fruit of the land, grapes, pomegranates, figs, date palms, etc. It is indeed a land flowing with “milk and honey” (figs and dates). Yet the beginning of verse 28 starts with BUT! And then follows all the negativity, the people are strong, the cities are walled, the “giants” (and not the team from New York) I mean “the big tall guys” It is very easy to spread discouragement among the people, (vs 32) “and they gave the children of Israel an evil report of the land”. Imagine that your father promises to give you a brand-new Mercedes Benz for your birthday, and he says; “go to the Mercedes dealer and check it out son!” so you go and look at it, you look into motor, inside, then come back and say; “Hey pop, this is going to eat up a ton of gas, the insurance is going to be high, it might get stolen… Well, dad might say, “OK son, forget it then if you feel that way!” The only ones that saw the promise of YHVH were Kaleb and Hoshea, they looked to the promise, but the rest of the leaders set their eyes on the “circumstances”. Going back to verse 16, it points out something interesting; Moshe changes the name of “Hoshea” to “Yehoshua” this is very interesting and sheds light on internal symbolism. The name “Yehoshua” contains two names in the Hebrew language “YH” (Yah) and YESHUA! When we look at the full name “Yehoshua Ben Nun” from the ancient paleo-Hebrew letters and their symbolism, one could get the following message; “Behold and let the eye see (that God, the All-consuming fire) extends the hand to receive the nail, to give (BEN) life to the house (to families) and by the nail, (His) life was given up so that (we) might have life!” (NUN) When we look at the name “Kaleb Ben Yephuneh” from the ancient Hebrew symbolism, we could get this message: “The house is anointed for instruction” (Kaleb) and “behold let it be made that from the mouth comes forth instruction” (Yephuneh). I guess it depends on how one looks at the letters, perhaps another rabbi would come up with something different, but this is how I personally look at the names from the ancient perspective. The result was that panic and discouragement spread throughout the camp, and it wasn’t just a few thousand Israelites, rather a few million, discouraged by 10 negative leaders. And 10 out-vote 2! Even though Kaleb and Yehoshua tried to encourage the people, the negatives won over. As the saying goes, you can put a few rotten apples in a barrel of good apples, and the good ones will never correct the rotten ones, but the rotten ones will infect the good ones with rottenness. The result, the Israelites had to stay in the desert wilderness for 40 years, 1 year for each day the spies were in Canaan. Then, to make matters worse, they tried to go into the land without the blessing of Adonai, and they were beaten back. YHVH wanted to destroy them all, yet Moshe intercedes for them, and Adonai listened to Moshe. This is the same way Yeshua intercedes for us to the Father, on our behalf when we “get rotten” (miracle we’re still in the land of the living? Or no?) Going to chapter 15, we read something interesting from verses 38 to 41, about making and wearing “Tzitziot” or “fringes” on our garments. There are many “traditions” in Judaism, such as the wearing of “Yarmulkes” (head coverings) and Ashkenazim dressing in black and white with black hats, even the lighting of two candles comes from “tradition” Tradition isn’t bad, as long as we understand the meaning behind the tradition. But one should NEVER teach “tradition” as “commandments” there is a world of difference between the two. However, the making and wearing of Tzitziot, IS a commandment, however many do not follow it, I guess it is up to each individual. One can read it and say; “God says it but I won’t follow it” or “God says it and I will do it” We all have the choice to do or not to do. Whatever the Holy Spirit convicts us to do. No one knows how the original Tzitziot were made, none have survived 3000 years. Today, there are many different styles and “knot tying” and “wrappings” of the thread when making Tzitziot. One only has to go to YouTube and look up “Tying Tzitziot” and you will have quite a few videos of instructions of “how to” that is the way I learned, from watching a few YouTube videos on “making Tzitziot”. But what do the Tzitziot symbolize? The scripture tells us in verse 39, “to remember the commandments”. The blue cord reminds of the “blue sea” where the Israelites crossed, and the “blue” of the heavens from whence our Messiah and LORD will break through to return to earth. Today, we use 4 long cords, one of which is blue and is the longest. This cord is used to do the wrappings, and all 4 are used to make the knots. When one ties the knots, it is customary to say, “BaShem Mitzvah Tzitzit” (in the name of the commandment (of making) the tzitzit. There are 5 knots, symbolizing the 5 first books of the Torah, the number “5” also symbolizes “grace” then there are the windings of the blue thread. The 4 cords are folded over so as to give the appearance of “8” cords, “8” is the number of a “new beginning” which we all have when we are “born-again” The windings go as follows (but to get a good view and idea, you need to go to YouTube and view the Tzitziot tying videos) 7 windings, then knot, then 8 windings, then knot, then 11 windings, then a knot, then 13 winding, then the final knot. Why the 7, 8, 11, and 13 windings of the blue thread? Well, these spell out the name Y H V H using numbers. “7” being the “perfect number of God, then 7+8=15 which are the sum of the letters Y + H (Y=10, H=5). 11 = “V +H” (V=6, H=5) so now we have the infallible name Y H V H. “13” is the sum of the word “ECHAD” (oneness of God) Alef=1, Chet=8 and Dalet=4. 1+8+4=13, it also symbolizes the 13 attributes of Adonai found in Exodus when Moshe asks to “see God” and his “Spirit passes before him” JOSHUA 2:1-24 This is the other “Spy Story”, involving “two” spies. I remember from back in the 1960s watching “Man from U.N.C.L.E” on TV, involving two spies. Yehoshua sends them out to spy out “Jericho” they arrive at the house of “Rahab” a prostitute, she hides them and expresses her faith in the “unseen God of the Hebrews” from verses 9 to 13 we read of her faith. She hid the spies because the king of Jericho somehow found out that they came to her. She risked her own life and the life of her family by hiding them on the roof. “our lives for yours” were the words of the spies when they left through the window by a rope. (vs 14) but faith needs action, (faith without works is dead) to show her faith, she needed to tie a scarlet cord in the window, so that when the Israelite army came, Rahab and her family would be saved. This reminds us of Passover, that when the angel of death saw the “red” (blood) on the doorposts, the angel would “pass-over” all who were in the house. In the case of Rahab and her family, they were saved from destruction, by obeying the mandate “bind this line of scarlet cord in the window…” (2:18). Read chapter 6:25. Rahab and her family were taken from Jericho to the Israelite camp, just like the Israelites were taken from Egypt to (eventually) the promised land In our case, Yeshua is saying “My life for yours” what do we have to do? “Just believe and accept his one-time-only sacrifice” for all of our sins, past, present, and future. And we pass from the “camp” of sin to the “camp” of Adonai. LUKE 17:1-18:43 Yeshua teaches here that “stumbling blocks” are inevitable, they will come in our lives, we will fall, yet we will get up again, that is part of the life of a believer. Our lives are like riding “roller-coasters” at times we are “up” and at times we are “down” because we are in our sinful bodies, yet it will only be “up” when we get into our “new bodies” in Heaven. Yeshua also speaks of forgiveness, which at times seems hard to do, especially when a person commits the same sin against us time after time, after time. YET we are COMMANDED to forgive. This can not come from the carnal man, only from the Spirit-filled man (and woman). Yeshua also speaks of “servanthood” why do we do the things we do? To get special treatment or rewards? Or…because that which we do is expected of us from the Master? Yes, we are HIS servants, and because we ARE we do what we do using our spiritual gifts. YET Adonai has already promised rewards in heaven, but we shouldn’t do what we do because of the future rewards, but out of love for what HE has done for US on Calvary’s Tree. Shabbat Shalom

PARASHAH: “B’ha’alocha” (in your setting up) NUMBERS: 8:1-12:16………………ZECH 2:10-4:7……………. LUKE 15:1-16:31 We see in this parashah study, various themes. The first being of the “putting up the lamps” or one could say; “going up to light the lamps”. This speaks of the golden Menorah, which was inside the Mishkan. As we know it was made of pure gold, one single piece hammered out to light the inside of the Mishkan. How they did that, making it from one piece of gold is a miracle, but we serve a God of miracles. The menorah had seven branches, “7” is the perfect number of YHVH. Gold symbolizes purity. So, we serve a pure and holy God who sent YESHUA who is the LIGHT of the world. The seven-branch menorah had seven lamps which were filled with pure olive oil. The priests would light the lamps in the evening until morning light. The light of the menorah was the only source of light in the Mishkan. Outside was darkness, yet YHVH was outside in the form of a column of fire, inside, the menorah burned so that light was always there. Yeshua is our light, He is with us and gives us his light both day and night. We are like the branches of the menorah, we need to stay connected to the oil to have light. Yeshua said: “Ye are the light of the world”, just like the moon has no light of its own but reflects the light of the sun. The moon up close is full of meteor craters, it is a pock-marked satellite in space, not very attractive up close, but when we look at it from earth, we do not see the pock-marked surface, only the light that is reflected from the sun. The same is with all believers, we are all “pock-marked” with the stain of sin, but YHVH looks at us through the light of Yeshua and sees us as “Kol Kadosh” (All holy). The stain of sin is not only covered by the blood of Yeshua, but also atoned for. Dealt with completely. The Levites were offered up to YHVH for service. To honor this, there was the burnt offering and the sin offering on their behalf. There were two bulls and an offering of fine flour. The bulls speak of the strength of Adonai, and the fine flour, one could say “Yeshua the Bread of Life”. Yeshua is our strength and our life, if we are going to be like the Levites, dedicated to serving HIM, then we need HIS strength. In chapter nine, we read about the Passover, always to be celebrated by ALL believers, even if we can’t celebrate it always on the 14th day of the first month, such as the case of some who were unclean by touching a corpse. There is always provision, they could celebrate it on the 14th day of the second month. All believers celebrate the Passover (abbreviated) when we take communion, some churches do it twice a month, some celebrate it every Sunday, but no matter what the tradition is, we are reminded of HIS body and HIS blood. When the cloud lifted, the Israelites would move, when it settled, the Israelites would stop and make camp. That is the way all believers should act when we are led by Adonai, we should be sensitive to his calling, to his direction, sometimes we need to wait on him, wait for him to move, or move others, sometimes the waiting can be a few days, or years. We should try not to get ahead, that HE may not follow US, but US following HIM. Chapter eleven tells us about the “complaining” of the people. Sounds like us at times; “grumble, grumble, grumble and groan!” “What? Manna again?” we’re tired of manna Waffles, manna bagels, Fillet of manna, manna patties, manna tortillas, manna-shakes, etc.…Oh the stuff we had in Egypt, we miss it so much!” but…they forgot to mention that they were slaves, slaves to a tyrant. Adonai gets angry and “fires up” the people. “You want meat?” “OK, I’ll give you meat!” Rex Humbard, a TV preacher once said; “God may give you what you want, but you may not want what you get!” We need to be satisfied with the little or the much that Adonai gives us, be it just beans and rice with tortillas, or a steak with potatoes. HE will ALWAYS supply our needs. Sometimes I think that people eat just too much. We need the physical food but we also need the spiritual food which comes from the Torah. Chapter twelve speaks of Miriam and Aaron when they spoke against their own brother Moshe. It says, “because of the Cushite woman that Moshe married” What happened to Zipporah? Maybe she died. A Cushite is a Sudanese, a black woman. So what? In some places, there is still racial bigotry, some do not believe in “mixed racial marriages” God doesn’t have a problem with it, and there is not a commandment against it. There IS a problem with mixed FAITH marriages when one is a believer and the other isn’t! then, there are problems with being “unequally yoked” Yet the problem addressed was that Miriam and Aaron were questioning Moshe’s authority as leader. “Hey, God speaks to us all, right? Well... back then, it was Moshe who conveyed Adonai’s words, yet Adonai placed his spirit upon 70 other tribal leaders too, this was to help Moshe “bear the burden” . Miriam was stricken with “Tza-arat” (leprosy) she was afflicted with some kind of skin disorder for her words against her brother. But why wasn’t Aaron stricken as well? He was there too! Aaron was under the “anointing” while Miriam was not. Moshe prayed for her healing, the shortest prayer in the Bible; “El na r’pha na lah!” (Oh God heal her!) and seven days later, she was healed. Let us be careful of our words that are directed towards servants of the LORD, lest we err and suffer the consequences, we may get more than just a skin rash. We should uphold our spiritual leaders and support them. ZECH 2:10-4:7 The prophet Zekaryah speaks saying: “And many goyim shall be joined to YHVH in that day, and they shall become MY PEOPLE” (vs 11) But wait a minute, isn’t Israel the people of YHVH? Yes, they will NEVER cease to be, but also, the gentiles will be “joined with” the YisraEL im, and together, AM ECHAD! (One People). There was a High Priest named Yehoshua, and Nav Zekaryah (Zechariah the Prophet) describes him as wearing filthy garments, YET, his garments are changed to costly robes, his GUILT has been removed. Is there a connection between the name “Yehoshua” and “Yeshua”? Yes, they are one and the SAME. Yeshua has removed our GUILT of sin, through his sacrifice on Calvary’s cross. The stone with seven eyes, what could that be or symbolize? We could say that the Stone is YESHUA the solid ROCK, who is perfect, (illustrated by the number 7) and through His sacrifice of death on the cross, the sin guilt of the land was removed in that same day! The land can also symbolize the people of that land. LUKE 15:1-16:31 Yeshua teaches the Prushim (Pharisees) an important lesson. They were criticizing him for receiving tax collectors, and other “sinners” probably the ones rejected by the religious leaders and listened to Yeshua. Many came to accept His forgiveness and love. Yes, there is great joy in Heaven when one lost soul comes to accept Yeshua as Messiah and LORD. We ALL need to continue to listen to HIM. It does not stop at accepting Yeshua as LORD, it is only the beginning. We need to grow in faith, continue to “listen” to Him through his Word and through the Holy Spirit. When we mature in faith, we also gain spiritual gifts. What do we do with them? Do we use them to the glory of God? Or do we ignore them, and let them waste away? What do we do with the possessions that YHVH gives us? Do we use them wisely? Do we use money wisely? Is it really ours? Or is it HIS? Yes, the passage says; “you can not serve two masters” we can only serve one, yet many serve the “money master” we can have it all on this earth, and have very little or nothing in heaven, or…have a little bit on this earth, and have riches in heaven. We need to look at the BIG picture. Shabbat Shalom

PARASHA: “Nasso” (Elevate) NUMBERS 4:21-7:89…….......JUDGES 13:2-25…………LUKE 13:1-14:35 We will see various themes in this Parashah study. In Chapter 4, the duties of some of the important Levite families; “B’nei Kohat” “B’nei Gershon” “B’nei Merari” (sons of). Their jobs consisted in taking down, transporting, and the setting up of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) throughout the wilderness journeys. Each family member had an important task to do within the Tabernacle and its furnishings. Interesting note that all the furnishings had to be covered by a blue cloth. Blue symbolizes “HaShamayim” (The Heavenlies) In the service to Adonai, we each have different jobs and ministries to perform. The Body of Messiah consists of many members, some preachers/pastors/rabbis, teachers of Torah, of Hebrew, Youth ministers, musicians, praise and worship members and leaders, finance personnel, maintenance personnel, prayer warriors, intercessors’, counselors, and the list could go on, HaShem has put his Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) on each and every born-again believer and has given each member different gifts and jobs to do in the body of Mashiach. It is very interesting that in this Parashah, there are the repeated letters “Ayin and dalet” in this case the two letters are pronounced “ED” which in Hebrew means “witness’. The word for “congregation” is “Adat” which has the letters “Ayin and dalet” the other word “Avodah” which means “service” also has the letters “Ayin and Dalet”. We can look at it in this way; When we “serve” or do “service” in our “congregations” we should be good “witnesses” to those who observe us, as also, there are “witnesses” in the heavenlies who observe our service to our LORD and God. Just as the different families of the Levites served in the tabernacle and later in the temple, so we also should serve in our congregations using our spiritual gifts and abilities. There should be no laziness in the body. We were not appointed just to show up on the Sabbath and/or on Sundays just to sit in the pews, listen to the message, drop some money in the box, and leave. It is much, much more than that, anyone can do just that, what are you doing with YOUR gifts of the spirit? It is interesting to note that service in the Mishkan started at 30 years old and ended at 50. (4:29) Each Levite family member had a twenty-year commitment to serve. When did Yeshua begin his ministry? When he was 30 years old! Coincidence? Or obedience to Torah? Chapter 5; Unclean persons isolated! Anyone who was physically unclean had to be put outside the camp until the uncleanliness had passed. When we sin, can we consider ourselves spiritually “outside the camp?” out of fellowship with YHVH? I would say yes, our spiritual condition is much more important than our physical condition, as Adonai looks upon the heart and not upon the flesh. But once we repent and get right again with our LORD, we are back in fellowship and in right standing. We could be physically inside the synagogue or church, going through the “praise” motions, yet spiritually miles away, yet through true confession and “Teshuvah” when we “Shoov” (return) to Adonai, He accepts us again. He never leaves us, we leave HIM! (5:5) Confession and Restitution; Part of our lives is “confession and restitution” if we have wronged our brother or sister in Messiah, we must confess that “wrong” and if possible, make up the “wrong” if it is possible. If not, when all we can offer is a sincere “I am sorry for what I did” then, it is up to the person wronged to be mature enough to accept that and leave the event in the past, and not mention it at all, forevermore. (5:11) Concerning unfaithful wives; it the days of old in Israel, if a wife was accused by her husband of adultery, she had to either confess or take an oath of “not guilty” a prayer was written with the name YHVH on it, and washed off into a bit of muddy water, if the woman told the truth, nothing would happen to her and the husband would have to accept her and HE would have to confess his “jealous spirit” BUT If the woman were guilty, then, her thigh would rot and her belly would s swell, that would be a horrible punishment, sounds like her womb would never again harbor a child. A lesson to all marriages to be faithful one to the other. Not that the same thing would happen, but where there is adultery, there is the spirit of jealousy, the spirit of HaSatan, and many times, broken marriages and lives, marriage is a covenant, and a broken covenant leads to the curse. Chap 6. The Law of the Nazarite. After reading this chapter, we ask ourselves, are there Nazarites today? Is there any prohibition of undergoing a Nazarite vow? Torah does not prohibit it if a person feels compelled to take a Nazarite vow, then, that person should honor that vow and stay away from raisins and grape juice, and grape wine. If one could remember the 1960s, in the “hippie era” one could think; “a lot of Nazarites, everyone has long hair” but not so, I don’t think that hippies had long hair because they were Nazarites. One can take an “oath” to serve HaShem completely for “X” amount of years, perhaps on the mission field, without undertaking a Nazarite vow, remember it is the heart that matters, not so much the “hair” The Priestly Blessing; a very important blessing that says a lot: MAY YHVH BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU This is written in the Hebrew “singular” YOU, not the plural YOU, because Israel and all believers today are as ONE (Echad) in unity and ONE in fellowship, Adonai KEEPS us by “guarding us against curses and calamity, against sickness, poverty, He delivered our souls from the curse of sin, through Yeshua HaMashiach. However, we can, through rebellion, bring on to ourselves these curses! MAY YHVH MAKE HIS FACE SHINE UPON YOU AND BE GRACIOUS UNTO YOU. The idea of “shine” is happiness, purity, and friendship so, May “P’nei Adonai” bring happiness to you and keep you pure “tahor” and bring to you many friends, also GRACIOUS is from the Hebrew “Chen” (grace) something that is not merited, by GRACE we are saved, not by our own merit, He showed us the “Face of Grace” in YESHUA HaMASHIACH who is our YESHUAH (salvation) LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE UPON YOU AND GIVE YOU PEACE. May YHVH give his “attention” to you and directed to you, and may you rest in HIS SHALOM! When we have Yeshua as Mashiach, we have that internal shalom, in spite of the world around us being in a lot of “unrest” So THEY SHALL PUT MY NAME ON THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND I WILL BLESS THEM. We can see that one of the names of God which is EL, is part of the name “YisraEL” and the most sacred name; YHVH is part of “Y’HUdaH (Judah) Chap 7 “The offerings of the leaders” The leaders of the Tribes of Israel brought offerings to the Mishkan, great offerings of silver, gold, and other items, for the maintenance of the Tabernacle. Today, we bring tithes, and offerings, yet our offerings can also be the offering up of our Time and Talent as well as our finances, it all goes back to using our spiritual gifts to edify the body of Messiah. JUDGES 13:2-25 The story of Shimshon (Samson) starts here, it is full of promise, but Samson chooses the flesh and not the spirit. He was a Nazarite who broke all the Nazarite vows, in the end, lost his sight and his physical strength, yet, He was still used by Adonai to take vengeance upon the Philistines, which cost him his life. We see a God of mercy who showed mercy again unto this wayward judge, returned to him his strength, punished the Philistines, then took him home to glory. Perhaps he would have lived many more years had he honored his Nazarite vows, and had honored God. When we look at our own lives, are we bent more toward the flesh or toward the Spirit? LUKE 13:1-14:35 Among the themes in this chapter, the parable of the fig tree is enlightening, A fig tree is supposed to bear fruit in the right season. In the month of May, June, and July, are the months that fig trees bear fruit, at least here in South East Texas. there is one right across the fence line where we live, on the property of an African church, and we have been blessed by so much fruit. Did you know that boiling fig leaves into tea lowers blood sugar? Among other health benefits? Yet the fig tree in this story had been planted three years ago, and still no fruit! Yet the keeper of the vineyard told the owner, “let’s use some fertilizer, then see what happens” All believers in a way are like fruit trees, we must bear fruit, by sharing, teaching God’s word to others, using our spiritual gifts, yet at times, we might need some “fertilizer” perhaps some more individual study in the WORD, a “pep” talk through a counselor or a pastor/rabbi, or just an encouraging word by another brother or sister in Messiah Yeshua. Rabbi J Ben Avraham

SHAVUOT/PENTECOST What’s it all about? This is the time of year when this “Moed” (appointed time) is celebrated. There are three times when all Israelites were commanded to go up to Yerushalayim to celebrate God’s appointed times, Passover, The Feast of Tabernacles, and the Feast of Weeks, known as “Shavuot” or in Greek “Pentecost” which most churches recognize. We all remember the day of “Pentecost” as when the “Ruach HaKodesh” (The Holy Spirit) fell upon all the believers that were gathered in Yerushalayim to celebrate the Feast of Weeks. Yet the “Feast of Weeks” (Shavuot) had been celebrated yearly for the past thousand years, ever since the day that Fire fell on Mt. Sinai. That was the very first “Shavuot”. When Moshe and the People of Israel received the Torah from God at Sinai in the form of two tablets of stone, but this was just the major points of the Torah, there were to be many more details in the making. It really goes back to Egypt when the Israelites were still slaves. YHVH made some promises to His people, and we remember those promises in the forms of the 4 cups of wine during Passover. 1. “I am YHVH, I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians 2. “I will deliver you from their bondage 3. “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 4. “I will take you for MY PEOPLE and I will be YOUR GOD. The first three were accomplished in Egypt, then, at Sinai, on the day of Shavuot, the 4th promise was fulfilled. YHVH took the 12 tribes of Israel and united them as a NATION. The Israelites left behind Egypt, yet “Egypt” followed them across the Red Sea, in the form of mindset and philosophy and in the form of “false gods” This was evident when they made the “golden calf”. It took YHVH one day to take Israel out of Egypt, but it took 40 years to take Egypt out of Israel. When we read Exodus 19:18,19 we read about the day of “Torah-giving” at Sinai. They received the Torah amidst lightning, thunder, the sound of the Shofar and the voice of God. Yet when YHVH finished the 10th commandment, the people said, “Speak to us yourself Moshe, but don’t let God speak to us or we will die” We wonder what would have happened if the people had not said that? Perhaps YHVH would have continued speaking out the commandments in front of all the people. But, YHVH called Moshe up to the top of the Mountain and the rest of the Torah was given. 10 commandments were spoken directly to the people by YHVH, and 603 were spoken by God to Moshe, and later, given to the people In Leviticus, we see the commandment to celebrate Shavuot in chapter 23:15-22. They were to count “7” sabbaths (49 days) and then the next day (day 50) they were to celebrate. This time was harvest time. During the time of Passover, the barley harvest was ready, then 50 days later, the wheat harvest. Two loaves of wheat bread were to be made and “waved” before YHVH (up towards heaven, down towards the earth, then to the North, South, East, and West) Blessing and thinking Adonai for the blessings from heaven (the rain that falls from Heaven down to the earth) blessing all the lands of the earth, those lands that are in the North, the South, the East, and the West. When it rains, the seeds come up, grow, and mature, then harvested. On thing to note, God said; “when you enter the land which I am going to give you and reap the harvest…) So, this was not done while the Israelites were in the wilderness, but when they entered Canaan! And settled that land. The two loaves of bread were to be baked with leaven. We think of leaven as related to sin, but it is also a good thing, leaven is also related to teaching and instruction. Yes, we are all “leavened” with the “sin nature” yet we are also “leavened” by God’s Word, his Torah, which should “grow” inside of us. So just as bread swells up and grows through leaven, so we grow through the “leaven” of God’s Word. Together with the two loaves, 7 yearling lambs were offered, also a bullock, two rams, and a drink offering were presented as burnt offerings. The lambs symbolize “Yeshua” who is the “lamb of God” the number 7 symbolizes perfection. The bullock symbolizes the “strength” of Adonai, the two rams remind us of the substitute ram which took Isaac’s place on Mt. Moriah. Two rams, perhaps one for the Jews and other for the Gentiles, with the understanding that Yeshua was the substitute and redeemer for both Israel and for the rest of the nations (HaGoyim) The drink offering was wine, which symbolizes the blood of Yeshua. One can wonder, why 2 loaves? The number 2 in Hebrew can symbolize “union and division”. It takes 2 entities to make a covenant. In our case, Yeshua and us! Through his death, we are “united” in Him when we trust Him as our LORD and Savior, and we are “divided” from the lost world of perdition. We can look at the number 2 as in the loaves of bread as things that come in pairs; 2 tablets of the commandments, transformation and resurrection, cleansing and purification, death and life illustrated by the believer’s baptism, but it also symbolizes the Jews and Gentiles. We can also see parallels in Sinai and Yerushalayim; Fire came down on Sinai, it also came down at Jerusalem. The fire at Sinai did not touch the people, the fire during Jerusalem’s Pentecost DID touch each and every believer! At Sinai, the “Ruach Elohim” (Spirit of God) rested on Moshe, at Pentecost, it INDWELLED in every believer. At Sinai, the Torah was written on tables of Stone and read to the people, at Jerusalem, the Torah was written on the tables of the heart of believers. Both events took place on Shavuot, both events were accompanied by languages. At Sinai, in Hebrew, at Jerusalem, in Hebrew PLUS many, many other languages (some believe 70) At Sinai, there was a mixed-multitude (Israelites, Egyptians, and perhaps Nubians) at Jerusalem, people from all over the then populated world. The Torah is the teaching, the Holy Spirit is the “teacher” Pentecost at Jerusalem also fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy: “For out of Zion shall come forth the Torah and the WORD of Adonai, from Jerusalem” (2:3) At Sinai, the people were kept away, at Jerusalem, the people were touched by God, the glory of God came to each believer. In Old Testament times, the Spirit of God rested on only certain individuals, such as the Prophets, at Pentecost, it filled ALL BELIEVERS just as today, when a person receives Yeshua as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of that person. Another note; the Hebrew word KOLOT means both “voices” and “thunder”. At Sinai, the people heard “voices” both thunder and the voice of God. At Jerusalem, the people heard the “voices” of those who were gifted with the different languages to preach God’s WORD. A final note, the first fruits of the harvest can symbolize “Yeshua” and the “harvest” itself, ALL BELIEVERS who are part of it. Today, there is still much “fruit” to harvest, so, we must get busy and teach the word and share the gospel with those who have an ear to hear and a heart to accept the same. HAG SAMEACH SHAVUOT HAPPY SHAVUOT/PENTECOST Rabbi Ben Avraham Beth Yeshua Messianic Synagogue

PARASHAH: “B’Midbar” (in the wilderness) NUMBERS 1:1-4:20………………HOSEA 2:1-22……………. LUKE 11:1-12:59 We start the new Torah Sefer called “Numbers” in English because it talks about “numbering” the tribes of Israel. We wonder why the reason of “numbering the people?” for this reason, we need to go back to the beginning to see. In Egypt, Israel was a hodge-podge of undisciplined slaves working for Pharaoh, In Adonai’s timing, He sent Moshe, a “Messiah Type” to lead the people out of slavery to freedom. Once out of Egypt, came the task of taking Egypt out of the Israelites. They came to Har Sinai, ready to become a nation united under YHVH. The Ten Commandments served as the document in stone, a “Ketuba” to solidify the covenant. Now, the United Tribes of Israel under YHVH is established. But this is only the first part. Each Shavuot, we remember the giving of the “Torah in Stone” in the midst of thunder and fire. Now that the nation is established, YHVH takes a count, why the count? As a nation, as every nation in the world has, the Nation of Israel needs an army! So, the count is taken to form the very first IDF (Israel Defense Force). I am sure that many of you that are reading this have served in one of the branches of the Armed Forces of the USA, or of other countries. I myself served in the US Army from 1972-1984. I met many people and learned many things. It was a great experience and a special time in my life. Quite a few of my family members also served in the Armed Forces, the first being an ancestor of mine, Richard Ellis, who served in the Massachusetts Militia in 1640. YHVH takes up the count and “enlists” every man who is 20 years old and older. They will serve in the armies of Israel. All those who are …”20 years old and upward who are able to go to war.” After the numbering, part of the daily life would have been practicing and be learning how to use different combat weapons, back then would have been swords, spears, bows and arrows, and slingshots. Every soldier has a job to do. Today we call these jobs MOS, (Military Occupation Specialties) One of mine was that of chaplain assistant. I was to assist a Catholic chaplain who everyone called; “Father McCarthy” who had a bulldog named “Gus” who also went to chapel with him. 11 of the 12 tribes were called to be fighting men yet the tribe of Levi, was called to be the “chaplain tribe” They were exempt from combat duty, they would attend the Tabernacle and services. There were the kohanim (the priests) who would be the “chaplains” and the “Levites” who would serve as the “chaplain assistants” sort of speaking. So, you are thinking, what does this numbering have to do with us as born-again believers in Messiah Yeshua? We need to again, go back and look at our lives before and after Messiah Yeshua. Before we were just a bunch of “hodge-podge lost sinners in the camp of HaSatan, until Yeshua took us out of that camp by shedding his blood on the cross of Calvary, when we accepted his sacrifice, we were officially “out” of the camp. Yet, there would still be a lot of “HaSatan and worldly influence” still in us, so, like the Israelites, “Egypt” was still in us. When we accepted Messiah Yeshua as our Mashiach and Goel (Redeemer) we were added to the Commonwealth of Israel, now part of the Community, the “Adat” which began at Sinai 3500 years ago. We are the “olive branches” that have been “grafted into” the Olive Tree. Now that we are members and citizens of “HIS People” we also are considered “soldiers” and in the LORD’s Army. However, we fight a different type of war. In this world, armies fight with RPGs, M-16s, Kalashnikovs, Berettas, M-60s, etc. We fight against, “spirits and principalities of darkness” it is a spiritual war against HaSatan and his demons. Only through the Ruach HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit) and the power of His WORD can we overcome the onslaughts of the enemy. He realizes he has lost the war, yet still continues to fight a losing battle, which was won at the cross 2000 years ago. As the Cohenim ministered and had jobs to do, and also the soldiers had their jobs to do, we believers also have jobs within our “Kehilot” and “Adat” (congregations). That is why the Holy Spirit has given gifts of the Spirit so that we might all serve in different capacities in the body of Messiah. In this way, the body grows and prospers. Some of us are rabbis, pastors, who also serve as teachers, also we have ministers in music and praise, finances, maintenance, prayer intercessors, counselors, and the list can go on. The twelve tribes of Israel encircled the Tabernacle, with the tribe of Levi next to it. The “Mishkan” was at the center of the People. So also, YHVH should be the “Center” of our life. The whole purpose of our life is to serve our God and Creator, while loving and supporting our brothers and sisters in the faith, reaching out to others who are lost and teaching Torah to those who have ears to hear and learn. We are “numbered” in the eyes of Elohim, HE knows who we are, He has numbered the hairs on our head, and there is no such thing as “retirement” in the work of YHVH, well, there is…. It is called d-e-a-t-h. HOSEA 2:1-22 How would you react if God spoke to you in a dream or vision, and you knew that is was really HIM, and he told you, “Hey_________ I want you to marry a prostitute!” Weeelll, you would think, was it really God who spoke to me, or was it the pizza I ate last night giving me nightmares? Hosea was told to marry a prostitute, a “wife of harlotry” and…he obeys! Even though he knows that she will be unfaithful to him. He still loves her, in spite of her unfaithfulness. This mirrors the love of God toward his people. Israel was unfaithful to YHVH. They went after false gods and committed “spiritual adultery” yet…the love of our LORD and Savior is beyond measure, and he forgave them, Yes, there was punishment, as all fathers will chastise and punish their sons and daughters, so Israel suffered captivity, banishment from the land, dispersion among the nations, yet we have not been forgotten, we are being gathered together and being brought back to the roots of our faith. Will be unfaithful to our God? Every time we break the commandments, we are in a way, being unfaithful, we are being disobedient sons and daughters, but we have a forgiving Father, King, Savior. If we wander away, let us return to the bridegroom, who awaits the return of his bride. LUKE 11:1-12:59 This portion has quite a few themes. One of the most important is the “LORD’s prayer”. Many people “pray” this in a robotic way, a series of words in repetition, many “pray” this without really thinking, “What am I saying really?” Yeshua wanted his talmidim to do more than just “pray” the words, but to “think and meditate on what the words are saying; OUR FATHER…only believers can call God “Father” it is a special relationship, to a lost person, God is their creator and will be their judge in the future, to a born-again believer, there is a “father-son/daughter” relationship….IN HEAVEN…He lives in the heavens (plural) in Hebrew it is always plural “HaShamayim” He is in the New Jerusalem, in Outer Space, in our atmosphere, in our backyard, in our front yard, in our living room, and living inside of us. KADOSH BE YOUR NAME. His name “YHVH” is HOLY, and being Holy, His name should be spoken with reverence, whether we call him Yod Hey Vav Hey, or Adonai, or HaShem, or Adonai-Yeshua, Is our comportment as believers reflecting the holiness of HIS name? YOUR KINGDOM COME. His kingdom is already here! His kingdom is his activity on earth. His activity began with creation. There will be a political Kingdom that WILL COME down to earth in the future, and we will all be part of it…. YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN… We should always ask for and expect his PERFECT will for our lives. There is his “permissive will” and his “perfect will” We want to be in his “perfect will” as He wants the best for us All the time. GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD… We ask for our daily needs be met, and when we are in his will, our needs will be met, and many times, our wants as well. However, be careful about what we ask for, since sometimes “He will give us want we want, but we won’t want what we get! If you catch the drift! Sometimes, when we don’t ask for much, he gives us that, and much more, and sometimes, he gives us just a “little at a time” to keep us humble. FORGIVE US OUR SINS AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US. How can our Heavenly father forgive us if we hold grudges against others who have offended us? Sometimes, forgiveness is hard, but our Father commands it, and only through the Holy Spirit can we do it Hosea forgave Gomer, his harlot wife, just like YHVH forgives us, LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE. But wasn’t Yeshua tempted? Yes, and he called upon the Father for strength. When temptations come our way, and they will, we should ask that we not succumb to the temptation and pray for an escape route. The enemy preys on our weaknesses, our eyes, our mind, our ears, however, if we have our sight on Yeshua, our mind tuned to HIM, and our ears to hear his WORD, we will overcome temptation. Shabbat Shalom

PARASHAH: “B’Har” (on the Mountain) LEVITICUS 25:1-26:2…… JEREMIAH 32:6-27………LUKE 7:1-8:56 “Give it a rest! Will ya?” I am sure you have heard that expression before, or “Give it a rest already!” People tend to say that when one continues in some theme or argues over a point which is not really worth it, HOWEVER, this is what God is saying when He sees the earth, soil, ground being over-worked; “Give it a rest!” just as people need to rest and take their “shabbat rest” so does the land which really belongs to HIM, we are just using it. This parashah deals with the giving the land a rest after six years of planting and harvesting, on the seventh year the land shall rest. This, agriculturally, is very sound and comes from the mouth of the creator of all the earth. The reason is quite simple to understand. Crops, such as corn, wheat, barley, vegetables, etc., when they grow in the soil, take in nutrients, quite like us, when we eat, we absorb nutrients from the food we eat. Imagine the land after 6 years of planting and harvesting, all those nutrients, minerals, chemicals from the soil, are being absorbed by the crops sown, if the land does not have a chance to rest and renew itself, it will soon become useless, quite void of nutrients…so… a year’s rest will give the soil enough time to replenish itself. We can apply this commandment today, to allow the land to rest after six years of planting and harvesting, even families that have little vegetable gardens in the back of their houses. May they enjoy six years of vegetables and then in the seventh year, just dump compost in the soil, food that goes bad, moldy bread, etc., don’t put it in the garbage, bury it in the garden, do that in that seventh year, and then the next year, plant and harvest again. We can look at ourselves in a similar way. How do we count our lives? By a 365-day year? Or by sabbaticals? If we were to count our years by the day, we could say we have many days and years ahead of us! Really? Do we know tomorrow? (didn’t think so). However, if we were to count our years on earth by counting by sevens? How many “sabbaticals” have we lived? How many “might” be left? If I were to count my sabbaticals, I would have to count starting in 1954. 1954-1960 first seven years, 1961-67, the second sabbatical. I would have to ask myself, what have I done or accomplished in each of these periods of seven years? Anything of importance? Have I influenced other lives? If we count by sabbaticals, we will find that we really don’t have many sabbaticals to live. What do we do in our “seventh year?” wouldn’t it be wonderful to “rest” a whole year? Or just dedicate that “seventh year” to full time ministry work? That would be quite hard to do for those of us that work for a living Who depend on a salary. Don’t think the boss would be very happy to hear us say; “Boss, I want to take off for this year, it is my “sabbatical” I’ll come back next year at the same time!” (Yeah, u-huh, weeelll, you might not find your job waiting for you after a year) but we do have the summers to rest. If we could divide the year into seven parts, we would end up with more or less 1.7 months of time. Why not minister during 1.7 months? Share God’s Word, teach the WORD to others, for those who can take off a year without compromising their jobs, take every seventh year and just take that time to rest, travel, minister, hike, walk, leave behind gospel tracts, visit different churches and/or Messianic synagogues, and may ADONAI supply ALL of your needs. 26:2 “YE SHALL KEEP MY SABBATHS! AND VENERATE MY SANCTUARY. We can look at this in the spiritual realm as well. We are like the crops, which are planted, by Adonai, on this earth, to grow in HIM, reach maturity, yet there comes a harvest time, when we will be harvested to go back home, to our eternal Sabbath’s rest, to enjoy our “Yovel” our time of “Jubilee” to reap what we have sown, souls that have come to YESHUA through our testimonies, believers who have grown to maturity through “teachers of the WORD” it is not enough to give out the WORD of God, there must be the ones who teach it, like seeds that are planted and watered. For this reason, the spiritual gifts are given, and among those are the “teachers of the WORD” the ones who water the seeds so that they may grow, mature, and in the end, harvested. B’CHUKOTAI (in my statutes) LEVITICUS 26:3-27:34 This double Parashah week brings the book of Leviticus to an end. When we read these final chapters, what YHVH is saying is; IF…you follow my torat (teachings, laws) and faithfully observe my mitzvoth (commandments) I WILL…. It is ALL CONDITIONAL, there is nothing without a condition. If we want Elohim’s blessings and good favor, we will follow HIS WORD, accept HIS LIVING WORD (Yeshua) into our life. Yeshua said; “If you love me, ye will obey my commandments” not only the commandments that he spoke about during his life on earth, but also, the ones which he gave to Moshe when HE was with the FATHER as part of ELOHIM. Blessings and curses are a part of life. The world calls them as “good luck and bad luck” there is no such animal! All things that happen in our lives are a result of blessings, curses, and testing’s. Do we want to best of our Mashiach? Then, follow HIS Word, follow HIS mitzvoth, not to bring us salvation, that we already have, but as a RESULT OF our salvation (Yeshuah) And if you haven’t accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as your LORD and Savior, and Messiah, NOW is the perfect time, remember, we are NOT promised tomorrow, we are only one HEART BEAT away from eternity. JEREMIAH 32:6-27; 16:19-17:14 The prophet, before his people went into exile in Babylon, buys a piece of property, Why? Because Adonai has promised him that he will, to buy and sell again, build houses, plant vineyards, AFTER a period of 10 periods of 7 years each. Israel did not honor the sabbatical years, and now, the land will rest for 70 years. HOWEVER…The prophet was promised that Israel would return and repossess the land. We see in reading this parashah that Adonai is a God of judgment, but at the same time, a God of forgiveness Many times, we break HIS commandments, and many times, suffer the consequences for our actions, but there is forgiveness, after the time of suffering and tears, YHVH will never forget HIS PEOPLE. We might go under, but we will never be annihilated. ISRAEL is 4-ever. In chapters 16 to 17, the same thing is being said, YHVH sees all, “For my eyes are on all their ways, they are not hidden from my presence” Who can hide from a Holy God? Yet the prophet says; “O YHVH, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in a day of trouble” He continues to trust in Adonai, even though the rest of Israel goes into captivity. We might live in the midst of idolaters, lovers of the world, yet still we must trust HIM. LUKE 7:1-8:56 We read about the miracles of Yeshua, Even the faith of a Roman Army officer whose servant was sick unto death, and the servant was healed. What is required of receiving a miracle? Faith! Not blind faith, but faith in the healing powers of Adonai, The Roman believed being far away, yet his servant was healed. He did not see Yeshua, yet he believed. Yeshua said, “blessed are those who do not see, yet believe. Yochanan the Baptizer was recognized by Yeshua, as one of the best “talmidim” since he endured imprisonment, and even death, for the sake of the truth. Could we do that? Do we even dare to answer? Time will tell. Shabbat Shalom………… PIC: "The Moon Maiden" (who watches over her beloved as he sails the sea, looking for safe haven) (a pic of my wife Judith, when she was 17 years old. and indeed, I do need to be watched over)

PARASHAH: “Emor” (say.) LEVITICUS 21:1-24:23……………. EZEKIEL 44:15-31……………. LUKE 5:1-6:49 In this parashah study, we see more details on the sanctity, Holiness, and comportment of priests. When we read in chapter 21, we read that YHVH is very particular and pays much attention to the physical. We might think that God only looks upon the heart, but thousands of years ago, the physical appearance was important, some with any kind of imperfection; like a broken foot, blind in one eye, hunchback, dwarf…It doesn’t say that they could not serve in the tabernacle or later on, the temple, but they couldn’t offer sacrifices. We must remember that the priest was a kind of mediator between the people and YHVH, Today, YESHUA the Messiah is our mediator, between us and the Father, and Yeshua was/IS without sin, perfect in all ways, both inside and outside. We may not know what he looked like physically, but we can know that he didn’t have any physical deformities, being God in the flesh. We also see regulations on marriage, touching dead things, etc.…the priest was in a class of his own. The priest was “God’s man” his “representative” on earth, so, as the priests had a higher calling, their expectations were much higher than the regular “Joe Israelite” There is a repeated phrase: “You shall not profane my Holy Name, I am YHVH (Yod Hey Vav Hey) “ when we act contrary to His commandments, expectations as “b’nei Elohim” (children of God) we ARE profaning HIS Holy name, be it in words, or deeds. If the Israelites were observed by God through a looking glass, then the priests were observed by God through a microscope! If you get my drift! How are WE seen by our HOLY, SINLESS, GOD? Our standards are based on the Torah of Adonai. HIS standards should be OURS as well, yet we always come up lacking, because of our inborn sin nature. Thank Adonai for YESHUA, who bridged the gap caused by sin, to be our “high priest” before a Holy God, although our sin in dark and ugly, and we should see ourselves as such, because it is reality, through YESHUA, Our Heavenly Father sees us as “white as snow” or “white a wool” and now, under the new covenant, we are all “high priests” in his eyes, should not our expectations be as a “higher calling” just like the priests of old? We must also take into thought the phrase “Kiddush HaShem” which is “honoring/blessing/Holiness to the Name of Adonai” There are two Hebrew words which are almost the same; “Halel” and “Chilul” “Bless/praise” and “profane” in Hebrew, they are just three letters. The difference is the first letter; the “Hey” and the Chet” the difference between the two is just a line which is about one millimeter. What can we say? There is just a fine line between “blessing” the name of God, or “profaning” the name of God. We must be careful of our words, and deeds, lest we “bless” with one breath, and then take another breath and “profane”. The idea of the “priests being holy, for I AM Holy” is there in this parashah. The difference in the words, “Kadosh” (Holy) and “Kadoshim” (holy ones) is that when YHVH talks about HIS Holiness, the word “Kadosh” has the “vav”, the letter “o” that letter symbolizes the “nail” whereas our “holiness” lacks the “vav” since we did NOT receive the “nails” only YESHUA did, who received them in our place! Chap 23: “HaMoedim of YHVH” (The feasts of the LORD). Here the special days of worship and assembly are mentioned, the first being the “Sabbath Day” it is a “day of Rest” a time of worship and coming together to worship Adonai and learn from HIS Word through His teachers, pastors, rabbis, evangelists, etc. The Sabbath day was NEVER changed to Sunday. Not that it was bad to come together on Sundays, any day of the week is a good time to come together. It just became customary for the believers in the first century to come together on the “first day of the week” like it is mentioned in Acts, to fellowship and eat together, but the believers ALWAYS considered Saturday, the Sabbath, the special and the official appointed day for rest, worship, and Bible study. For me, the Sabbath and Sunday are both special days to worship God and study his word with other believers. The Passover and days of unleavened bread, symbolize Messiah Yeshua in our lives as the “Lamb of God” who took away the sin of the world, and who is also, the “Bread of Life”, who was “roasted in the fires of judgment for our sins, whose blood was shed for our sins, once and forever. The “matzah” bread without leaven symbolizes Yeshua as the Bread of Life, without sin (leaven). And his blood is symbolized by the wine. The Feast of First Fruits and Shavuot; counting 50 days from the time of Passover, to celebrate the blessing of a good and fruitful harvest of grains, (wheat and barley, the main crops). On Shavuot or “Pentecost” two leavened loaves of bread were made, each weighed about 5 pounds, were “waved” by the priest before the LORD in a special ceremony. These loaves symbolize the blessings of YHVH, they could also represent Israel and the Nations, “2” is the number of “unity” and “division” we are all “united” to YHVH by Messiah Yeshua and have been “divided” or “separated” from the lost world of sin, YET, we still have our sin nature, noted by the leaven in the loaves of bread. It was also on “Shavuot” that the Torah was given on Mt. Sinai The Feast of Trumpets, “Yom Teruah” symbolizes the start of the “days of Awe” when we reflect on our own relationship with Adonai. How do we measure up to God’s standards? Lacking? Fall short? I would say YES. 10 days later, comes “Yom Kippur” the day of “covering” or “Atonement” which was when the high priest came into the Holy of Holies, once a year, to commune with Adonai. This day points to Calvary, when Yeshua’s blood “atoned” for our sins, past, present, and future. It is a day of fasting, repentance, and soul-searching. It is a day when we are accustomed to dressing in white. Feast of Tabernacles, or “Sukkot” is a joyous festival, when the “harvest” is in, kind of like “Thanksgiving” in the US of A. The time when God came to earth in human form as Yeshua, born in Beit Lechem, being raised learning carpentry and Torah, a teacher of Torah, healer of diseases, a raiser of the dead, and a sacrifice for our sins. This festivity was for 7 days, “7” the perfect number, and a special “8th” day “Hoshanah Raba” when the customary reading of the Torah starts over again from Genesis. It also symbolizes when the Israelites lived in tents, “temporary dwellings” as our bodies are “temporary dwellings” for our souls and for the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Chapter 24: The Menorah, the lamps were lit from dusk to morning, the menorah was made of gold, which symbolizes perfection. The flame/light symbolizing Yeshua who is the “Light of the World” and the “all-consuming fire” and also, all believers are the “lights of the world” reflecting the SON light! “Table of Shewbread” which was in the Holy place across from the Menorah. Has 12 loaves of unleavened bread, representing the 12 tribes of Israel, again, Yeshua the “Bread of Life” Hey, maybe that was where the idea of the “bagel” came from, bread with a hole in the middle, who knows! Maybe! This bread was for Aaron and his sons. EZEKIEL 44:15-31 In this prophetic book, the Prophets sees into the future, the future priests of the third temple, (to be built in the near future) the descendants of “Zadok” will be the priests in the millennium, the same high standards are for these priests as well. It also states the job of the priest: “And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” This should also be the goal of every Torah teacher, rabbi, minister, pastor, etc. to teach the WHOLE TORAH in their place of worship and study, so that their sheep might follow their shepherd wholeheartedly and secure. LUKE 5:1-6:49 Yeshua speaks to the people, from a boat. After teaching, He and Kefa go out a way out on the lake and the result is a boat-load of fish. Kefa hears, yet protests, “We fished all night and caught nothing” yet still obeys and “reaps the harvest” many fish, the take home to sell and eat. With simple obedience through faith, we can all reap the blessings that YHVH has in store for us. A little bit of faith, trust, and obedience will bring in a big catch. Now, Kefa is promoted to be a “fisher-of-MEN” rescuing men’s souls from the grasp of HaSatan and bringing them into the Kingdom. Are you a fisher of men (and women) or are you still content with the small “fishy” things of life? You decide! Shabbat Shalom

It is customary for some to spell out "God" without the "o" because in the original language, there are no vowels in the name of God, but it is just out of custom, I have spelled it both ways, the original and the "most holy" name is YHVH which comes from the Hebrew word "Havayah" which means "the essence of existence" so, you can see the letters HaVaYaH (YHVH)

PARASHAH: “Achrei Mot” (after the death) and "Kadoshim" (Holy Ones) Lev 16:1-20: 27; Amos 9: 7-15; Luke 2:1-52 This Parashah speaks of the solemn Moed (appointed day) of Yom Kippur. The “Day of Redemption” also known as the “day of Coverings” (Yom HaKipurim). It was the only day of the year when the High Priest could enter into the “Most Holy Place” (Kadosh HaKadoshim) the “Holy of Holies”. This is where the “Aron HaKodesh” (Ark of the Covenant) was kept and where the “Shekinah” (Glory of YHVH) hovered over the “Kaporet” (the covering of the Ark of the Covenant, looking down upon the Mercy Seat. The Parashah starts out with; “ Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the Ark, lest he dies” Was this perhaps the reason why Nadab and Abihu died? Because the went into the Holy of Holies with their own fire? That is another thought. The high priest had to put on a special tunic, all white, of fine linen. Thus, today it is customary during Yom Kippur to wear all white, symbolic of how YHVH views us through Yeshua our Messiah, but ONLY through Yeshua, can we be viewed as “Holy unto the LORD” The High Priest had to sacrifice a bull and a ram for the sin and burnt offering. The bull could signify the “strength” of G-d, representing also Aaron and his family. and the ram, to remind us of the ram sacrificed instead of Isaac on “Mt. Moriah”. The ram symbolizes YESHUA who took our place on the cross of “Mt. Calvary” Two goats were also present; one served as a “scapegoat” and the other the “sacrificial goat”. We see Yeshua symbolized in both goats. One was sacrificed as a sin offering, symbolizing Yeshua as our “sacrifice of sin” because we are sinners. The other goat carried symbolically our sins, and was sent off into the desert, (Azazel) as “Yeshua took our sins away from us”, and as far as the East is from the West, so our sins will be separated from us. Aaron then took a censor of hot coals from the brazen altar, and he took incense and put the incense on the hot coals, then, with the smoking incense, he went into the Holy of Holies and put blood on the Mercy Seat. We see our Messiah Yeshua in all of this. To have fellowship with our creator, we need to start at the cross, where our sins were judged. This is the brazen altar. The incense symbolizes our prayers that go up before our Heavenly Father, through our prayers, we have fellowship with HIM. The blood that is sprinkled on the mercy seat symbolizes the blood of Messiah, that was shed for all of our sins. Under the mercy seat are the commandments that were given on Sinai. These were broken by our rebellion, and the blood of Messiah “covers” the sins of us all, BUT, more than that, they have been REMOVED, once and forever. Chapter 17 speaks on the “HaDam Kodesh” The sanctity of blood. Since blood symbolizes life, then, YHVH has prohibited the drinking of blood. One of the reasons that carnivorous animals are not kosher to eat is because they eat flesh, and flesh contains blood. “You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood” 17:14 Chapter 18 deals with sexual sins, there is no need to go over them since they are self-explanatory, much is common sense, yet in today’s societies, there is a perverse sexual expression, and philosophy of “if it feels good, do it” this is a lie straight from the pit of hell, straight from HaSatan! Sex should be expressed in the bond of matrimony and in this sense, it is entirely holy and sacred, because there is a commitment between the husband and wife, which (should) last a lifetime. And this is where the enemy attacks, Satan hates families, that’s a fact. chapter 19 deals with quite a variety of commandments; “You shall not profane the name of the LORD thy YHVH; You shall love thy neighbor as thyself, I AM YHVH”. All of the 613 commandments of HaShem have to do with honoring YHVH and our relationship with our fellow man. When we honor and love the LORD with all of our heart, we are honoring and not profaning the Name YHVH, and when we honor and treat our fellow man well and try to establish a good relationship with him or her, we are, in a matter of sense, keeping the whole Torah, (in a general sense). When we are a bad witness before our fellow man, when we are an embarrassment because our sins are brought into the light, then, we are profaning the name of YHVH. ” you shall not curse the deaf nor put a stumbling block before the blind” (19:14) When one talks about another in a negative sense or spreading an “untruth” the “other” cannot hear what is being said, it is as if that person is “deaf”. When we misrepresent the Truth of God, teach or spread false teaching whether on purpose or by error, we are in a way a “stumbling block” before someone that does not know Yeshua “The blind” (spiritually). “You shall not sow your field with mixed seed” (19:19) because each plant takes away from the soil nutrients, planting a mixture of crops will very soon deplete the soil of all of its nutrients, making the soil useless. “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor TATTOO any marks on you I AM YHVH! That is quite a statement. I am of the opinion that if God wanted us to have tattoos on our bodies, we would have been born with them. Why can’t people be happy with the bodies God gave them? Why do they have to alter them with drawings and markings? But such was the custom of the pagan cultures like the Canaanites, Moabites, etc., and it continues today. However, the blood of Yeshua covers, cleanses, forgives ALL sin, even the sin of tattooing, yet tattooing is one sin that will leave its mark forever! (unless it is somehow removed) ” uncovering the nakedness of ….” Is another way of saying, “having sex” chapter 20 takes up that topic again along with other topics? Adultery, under Torah command, resulted in the death penalty, if this were effective today, how many couples would be true to each other, really? Perhaps many more than we imagine. It seems like sexuality is a serious issue with our creator. If it is serious with Him, it should be with us as well. When we follow the Torah of Adonai and put his commandments into practice with all of our heart, we are consecrating ourselves to Him, as “Kedoshim and Tzadikim” (holy and righteous ones) however always remember, that “SALVATION” comes ONLY through FAITH IN YESHUA! It is our faith in HIM that makes us Holy and Righteous, and this relationship leads us to Holy and Righteous works, which are obedience to his mitzvoth (commandments) AMOS 9:7-15 Amos Ha Navi (Amos the Prophet) speaks through the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) saying that Yes, Adonai will seek out and punish Israel for their sins, and will search out the kingdoms of the earth where they are at, many will and have been destroyed because of their rebellion, HOWEVER, not all, there is always a remnant which is faithful, and true to the God of creation. Amos looks into the future, and sees that Israel, and all of God’s children, both born as Israelis, and born in the Gentile nations will come together as ONE, (echad), …”Behold, the day is coming says YHVH…” we look into the future millennium and see “paradise restored” and real and eternal peace and Yeshua will be on the throne as KING and LORD of all the world, what a time that will be for ALL of us. LUKE 2:1-52 Do we forward to the future return of Yeshua? In this chapter, Simeon and Anna looked forward and greatly rejoiced to see Mashiach, even as a baby. He was presented at the Temple and was circumcised, Simeon and Anna recognized him as Mashiach, even before he grew up and performed miracles. Simeon said; “My eyes have seen YESHUAH! Who is a LIGHT (HaOr) to bring revelation to the Gentiles? It is God’s perfect will that Yeshua be revealed to ALL PEOPLES, both those of Israel and those outside of Israel, so that HIS BODY might be complete, a “Kehilah Kadosh, Kol HaAm” (A holy congregation of all people) Rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHIOT: “Tazriah” (she bears seed) and “Metsora” (infected ones). Lev 12:1-13:59 Lev 14:1-15:33 Prophets: 2 Kings 4:42-5:19 Brit HaDashah: Luke 17:11-17 This week we have a double Torah portion; “Tazriah” which talks about when a woman gives childbirth, and “Metsora” which talks about “Tzara-at” which most Bibles interpret as “leprosy” but in actuality, the word “Tzara-at” covers ALL skin afflictions and diseases, including the dreaded disease called leprosy, medically known as “Hanson’s disease. Go to google “images” and see it, but be sure you don’t eat anything before hand, it is quite horrible. Leviticus Chapter 12 covers childbirth, and YHVH deems “unclean” a woman after giving birth, and she has to stay put in her tent, 7 days plus 33 days. All together, “40” days, “40” is the number for testings’ and trials. Why, we might wonder, should a woman be rendered “Tamei” or “Unclean” because of giving birth? Only YHVH has the pure and true answer. It isn’t that she has sinned by giving birth, on the contrary, she has given life! Some rabbinical midrashim (commentaries) state that there is both “death” and “life” during childhood. “Life” is the new baby, yet “death” because the woman loses fluids (blood) which symbolizes life. Not that the woman actually dies, but the “lost blood” however much or little, still symbolizes life. For a female child, the purification time is longer, 2 weeks plus 66 days, altogether, “80” days, the number “8” is the number of “new beginning” If we remember when Yeshua was born, Miryam and Yosef brought two turtle doves to be sacrificed after she went through her ritual cleansing, Yosef brought Yeshua to be circumcised on the 8th day. Chapter 13 deals with two kinds of “Tzara-at” skin diseases (all kinds, both major and minor) and “mold & mildew on clothing. In ancient times, the person with a skin disease had to be isolated outside the camp until he or she got better, and was “healed” there were probably some ointments available then, probably primitive, the priests were not doctors, but acted as “judges” who would “judge” the person “healed” if the disease was temporary, today we have many kinds of skin ailments, Psoriasis, Eczema, simple rashes caused by allergies, scabies, ringworm, etc., were all based under the word “Tzara-at” when the person was well and the disease was no more, the person would offer a sacrifice and return to the camp. Here again, we see a form of “death” (cast out, rejected) and “rebirth” entering into the body of Israel once again after healing. But let’s take a look at this a step further. When talking about symbolism, one could symbolize the “Metsora” (the one infected) as “Yeshua” in the following manner; In the beginning of Chapter 13, “and YHVH spoke unto Moshe and Aaron saying; when a MAN shall have in the skin of his flesh…” Since every word in the Torah is put there for a purpose, the fact that the word “Adam” (man) is used is important. It could have been “Ish” or “Enosh” but it is “Adam”. This also has meaning. If we were to take the acronyms A.D.M (since that is how “Adam” is spelled in Hebrew) and apply a bit of meaning to the letters “Alef” “Dalet” and “Mem” we can see “Adam’ “David” and “Mashiach” two titles of “Mashiach” are “Mashiach HaAdam Sheni” (Messiah Yeshua, the Second Adam) and “Mashiach Ben David” (Messiah Yeshua, Son of David) Our Messiah accepted and brought upon himself all of our “leprosy” of sinfulness, which affects not only our exterior but also our inner being. He was nailed to the cross “outside” of the city, just as one afflicted with leprosy was cast outside of the city. Then he was made whole once again, arising on the third day. Isaiah 53 says that he bore our grief, carried our sorrows and was stricken and smitten of God, just as a leper is in the same condition, in a state of sorrow and smitten with a deadly disease that consumes the flesh. We remember that the Roman whips “ate up” the flesh of our Messiah, all for our sakes. In another way, the “Metsora” is US! We have been afflicted with “spiritual leprosy” being our “sinful nature” at birth. When the pure soul from Heaven is introduced into the human body, it becomes part of it and partakes of the sin nature. Both the body and the soul suffer, the body ages, contracts diseases, etc. and without the “born-again” experience, we are “cast outside” of the city, we are forbidden entrance into the Kingdom of God. When we become members of the family of God through Yeshua, He acts as the “priest” who “heals” us. In ancient times, the priest had to visit the leper to see if the leprosy had left the body, “leprosy” being “any kind of skin disease. The priest had no power to heal, only to observe and pronounce “tahor” (clean) or declare “Tamei” (unclean). However, Yeshua HAS the power to heal, as Isaiah says, “By His stripes we are healed” of the “Tza-arat Nefesh” (the leprosy of the soul). So, we are the “Metsorat” that are HEALED, and integrated into the body of Messiah, and HIS Kingdom someday soon. This is an eternal promise! Clothing also had to be checked as well. God knew about the dangers of mold and mildew long before man found out. People had to carefully check the fabric of their clothing, the sewing together of the yard was called “woofs” and “warps” and if there was a red or green discoloration, it was “mold and mildew” (also called “tsara-at”) A person’s house could also be affected with “tsara-at” with mold and mildew, if it was, the walls had to be scraped and the affected stones removed and replaced. How does this affect us spiritually? There is a “spiritual leprosy” that is rebellion against YHVH, living in contrary to His Word, doing what is “right in our own eyes” disregarding the commandments as if they were “only for the past” claiming that “Now we are under grace” and not guided by the Torah. Grace and Torah always co-existed, and they still do! Abraham was saved by grace, and this was before the written Torah. Even though many commandments cannot be followed today, there are still many that CAN BE followed, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater! If we were to analyze our spiritual lives and maturity honestly, how many of us would have to cry out “Tamei” (unclean) and go run and hide? Yet there is forgiveness and a new beginning in our Messiah Yeshua, who paid our sin price and penalty on Calvary’s cross once and for ever. We can “come in the camp again” when we confess of sins before a Holy God, and accept His forgiveness, and accept his inner “healing”. Some rabbinical commentaries claim that “Tzara-at” came upon people’s skin, clothing, and houses because of ‘Leshon Hara” (evil tongue) because of spreading lies, slander, gossip, backbiting, backstabbing, etc. Take in account “Miriam” who was struck with “Tzara-at” when she spoke against Moshe! Yet Moshe interceded on her behalf, and she was healed. The same way Yeshua heals us when he goes on our behalf before the Father. We should be careful when speaking and only speak positive things about others, if another is in error, go to that person personally and confront the person in love, not talk about what he or she is doing wrong with others. No wonder we have only ONE mouth, yet two EARS. Listen carefully yet speak little. 2 KINGS 4:42-5:19 We read about “Naaman” the Syrian who was healed of his Tzara-at, whatever kind he had, He was healed, not because of anything he could pay Elisha, but what he did in OBEDIENCE and FAITH. He went and bathed in the River Jordan, when down 7 times, again, “7” is YHVH’s perfect number, it kind of symbolizes baptism in a way. When we came up the seventh time, he was healed of his disease. We can become clean inside when we obey God’s Word, and accept Yeshua as Savior and LORD, Yeshua is the “Living Water” and when we “bathe in Him” we become clean, our “Tamei” becomes “tahor” LUKE 17:11-17 Not the official Parashah reading, but this deals also with the healing of 10 who suffered with some sort of skin ailment, which made them “Tamei” and “outcasts”. Yeshua healed them all, only for the asking, YET only ONE returned to say “thanks”. Do we take our Salvation for granted? Do we think we deserve it? Remember that only through the grace of YHVH does he allow us into HIS family. Do we really live like “B’nei Malach?” (children of the King) or….do we succumb to the deceiver and lair of all times? Do we praise and thank Him for so great a gift such as YESHUAH (Salvation)? do we thank and praise YESHUA for YESHUAH? Something to think about. Shabbat Shalom .............Ben Avraham