Tag: Jerusalem

Re’eh (See or Behold) D’Varim (Deut.) 11:26-16:17

Torah Portion: Re’eh (See or Behold) D’Varim (Deut.) 11:26-16:17
Haftorah Reading: Isaiah 54:11-55:5
Messianic Scripture  I Cor. 5:9-13; I John 4:1-6
 
Today we look at our Torah portion and find it covering many different topics. It covers the food laws and the three holidays when Israel is to congregate in Jerusalem. We also find the setting up of a central place of worship once the people cross over the Jordan and conquer the land. All these topics point to one central fact, G-d’s people were to be different from those around them. The people were being called to see with spiritual eyes the benefits of being and living as the people of G-d. They were being challenged to see with spiritual eyes the world around them. We have that same challenge today.

Shavuot 2020

The promise of the Holy Spirit Tonight will be a bit different in that we will have no Torah section to read. However, we will use this time to look at the holiday we are currently celebrating, the holiday of Shavuot. To begin, I want to take a few minutes to share some personal thoughts […]

Vayechi (And He Lived) Genesis 47-50

Torah Portion: Vayechi (And He Lived) Genesis 47-50

HafTorah: I Kings 2:1-12

Tonight we finish the first book of Torah, Genesis. Fitting that it is named, “And He Lived.” As we look forward to next week we read Exodus where we see after hundreds of years of captivity the people of Israel still live.

Before we get to the Torah section for tonight I have a couple of other things to cover. First one is the Fast of the Tenth of Tevet which began last night and ends with the ending of Shabbat tonight. (The only fast that supersedes the Sabbath is Yom Kippur) It is to remember the day when the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem. This would end with much of Jerusalem being carried away into captivity and the destruction of the Temple of Solomon. Most see this siege of Jerusalem as a sign for the Jewish people to repent for having drifted away from G-d. If they had repented G-d might have saved them. But they did not repent therefore they were faced with this siege. I bring this up to remind us that we are under siege every time we go out into the world, a siege that can lull us into becoming complacent and forgetting who and what we are. This brings me to the point. It is our responsibility to teach what we know. We must pass on the truth that G-d has given us to our children, family, and to other people when the opportunity arises. Ignorance leads to wasted lives. It is evident all around us both within the circle of faith and outside. G-d calls on each of us to be diligent in teaching truth that G-d has shown us. The clock is ticking. I pray each of us take every opportunity to pass on what we know and help those who do not know.