Vayetze(He Went Out)B’resheet(Genesis) 28:10-32:3
Vayetze(He Went Out)B’resheet(Genesis) 28:10-32:3 Haftorah Reading: Hosea 11:7-12:12 Today I want us to look at something that I feel will speak to each of us. Let’s begin with reading Genesis 29:1. In this verse we read where, “Jacob went on his way.” However, when we read this verse in Hebrew it reads differently. In Hebrew it […]
Shoftim(Judges)D’Varim(Deut.) 16:18-21:9
Torah Portion: Shoftim(Judges)D’Varim(Deut.) 16:18-21:9
Haftorah Reading: Isaiah 51:12-53:12
Our Torah portion today, Shoftim, is always read on the first Shabbat of the month of Elul. This month is the month leading up to the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Therefore, it is considered to be the perfect time to reflect on our lives. It is an opportune time to consider those things that may have been overlooked and need to be set straight between us and the G-d of the universe. I pray each of us will use this time wisely to do exactly that.
Re’eh (See) D’Varim (Deut.) 11:26-16:17
Torah Portion: Re’eh (See)D’Varim(Deut.) 11:26-16:17
Haftorah Reading: Isaiah 54:11-55:5
Today we will look at several crucial topics. These topics should speak to all of us. I would like to start with the first verse of our Torah portion. Deut. 11:26 reads, “Behold (see) I set before you today a blessing and a curse.” Our portion then goes on to tell us the conditions for receiving the blessings and by contrast what the curses will be for not following G-d’s commandments.
Ekev (Because) D’Varim (Deut.) 7:12-11:25
Torah Portion: Ekev (Because)D’Varim(Deut.) 7:12-11:25
Haftorah Reading: Isaiah 49:14-51:3
Today I want us to look at Deut. 11:7. This verse reads, “Because your eyes are the ones seeing all the great works of the L-rd that He has done.” In the first nine verses of chapter 11 Moshe was speaking directly to the current generation of the children of Israel. They were the ones about to cross over the Jordan to enter the land of Israel. Earlier he had stressed to the people how important it was that they follow G-d’s word, His commandments as they crossed the Jordan.
Va’etchanan (I Pleaded) D’Varim (Deut.) 3:23-7:11
Torah Portion: Va’etchanan (I Pleaded)D’Varim(Deut.) 3:23-7:11
Haftorah Reading: Isaiah 40:1-26
Today we read an epic Torah portion. We read again the Shema and the Ten Commandments. We also read a brief passage with high implications for the way we are to live a moral life in our day.
To begin with, I want us to look at Deut. 5:30. This verse tells us, “In all the way that the L-rd you G-d has commanded you, you shall walk.” I want to use this verse as a jumping off place for our study tonight. What does this verse say to us about our daily walk?
D’Varim (Deut.) 1:1-3:22
Torah Portion: D’Varim(Deut.) 1:1-3:22
Haftorah Reading: Isaiah 1:1-27
Today we begin the final book of Torah, Deuteronomy. The Hebrew name for this book is D’Varim. D’Varim means words and also things. As we go through this final book keep this double meaning in mind.
Also tonight as the Shabbat ends the solemn day of Tishah B’av begins. This day commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple. Both were destroyed on the same day. The first temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple, the one used by Yeshua and His disciples, was destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans.
Mattot (Tribes) Masa’ei (Stages) B’midbar/Numbers 30:2-36:13
Today we finish the book of Numbers or B’Midbar by reading two portions of scripture. In these readings we will see many things that still speak to us today. In Masa’ei we read about the setting of boundaries for each tribe. G-d laid out exactly where each tribe would settle and told them they were responsible to cleanse to the land of its former inhabitants. They were told to destroy the idols and high places of the former inhabitants.
Pinchas B’midbar/Numbers 25:10-30:1
Torah Portion: Pinchas B’midbar/Numbers 25:10-30:1
Haftorah Reading: I Kings 18:46-19:21
Today we have an interesting Torah portion and Haftorah portion. I would like to begin with something that has been in my head all week. I pray you will be touched by the verses as I was. Please read I Kings 19:9-12. In the beginning of the Haftorah section we read of the confrontation between Elijah and the priests of Ba’al. Most of us know these verses well. Elijah met 400 of the priests of Ba’al on the top of Mt. Carmel in northern Israel to settle the question of who was G-d. Was it Ba’al or G-d Almighty?
Balak-B’midbar/Numbers 22:2-25:9
Torah Portion: Balak B’midbar/Numbers 22:2-25:9
Today we study one of the most important Torah portions of the year. I am sure we are all familiar with this story from years past. I want us to take a fresh look at it from a perspective that is somewhat different. I pray I can adequately get my point across in this study.
The verses I would like to begin with are found in Numbers 23:8-9. I would like us to look at verse nine especially, “As I see them from the mountain tops, gaze upon them from the heights, Behold it is a people that dwells alone, not numbered among the nations.” I would like us to look at what this phrase meant when it was spoken and also what it means to us today.