Va’era(And I Appeared) Exodus(Sh’mot) 6-9
Torah Portion: Va’era(And I Appeared) Exodus(Sh’mot) 6-9
Haftorah Reading: Ezekiel 28:25-29:21
Tonight, we cover Moshe’s initial meeting with Pharaoh and seven out of ten of the plagues. I would like us to cover some spiritual truths that could be important to us. Let’s begin by talking about the names of G-d that we find in our Torah reading and the relevance of the Sacred Name of G-d expressed in Exodus/Sh’mot 7:5.
B’resheet (In the Beginning)B’resheet/Genesis 1:1-6:8
Torah Portion: B’resheet (In the Beginning) B’resheet/Genesis 1:1-6:8
HafTorah: Isaiah 42:5-43:10
To begin our study tonight I want to mention a few Hebrew words from our reading. The second word in B’resheet/Genesis 1 is “Bara”. This word means to create and is only used when describing what G-d creates. Bara means creating from nothing. Only G-d is able to create from nothing. Man uses things or substance to form or make something new.
Tzav (Command) Leviticus (Vayikra 6-8
Torah Portion: Tzav (Command) (Leviticus) Vayikra 6-8
Haftorah Reading: Jeremiah 7:21-9:24
Tonight we read the Torah portion Tzav or Command. This Torah portion continues with the details of sacrifice and ends with the setting apart of Aaron and his sons for their ministry in the Mishkan.
Yitro (Jethro Sh’mot Exodus 18-23
Torah Portion: Yitro (Jethro)(Sh’mot) Exodus 18:1-20:23
Haftorah Reading: Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6
This week we read the Torah portion Yitro. It is one of only two Torah portions named for a non-Jew and for a further point this portion contains the Ten Commandments and the ceremony where Israel agrees to submit to G-d. So why, with all of this, would this section carry the name of a non-Jew? In some ways the answer is part of the correct response to my question of the week.
Ki Tisa (When You Take) Shemot (Exodus) 30
Torah Portion: Ki Tisa (When You Take) Shemot (Exodus) 30:11-34:35
HafTorah: I Kings 18:1-39
New Testament: Luke 11:14-20, Acts 7:35-8:1, I Cor. 10:1-13, II Cor. 3:1-18
This portion of scripture is full of verses to guide us in our lives. We will cover a few which I pray will guide us along the way. To start lets look at Shemot 30:18 where we are told of the bronze laver. What is a laver? It is basically a water container with faucets around it for washing. It was put between the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the altar. Here the priests, on their way to the altar, would stop to wash their feet and hands before approaching the altar. Why would they do this? Part of their daily ritual was to bathe in the mikvah to cleanse themselves. So why would they have to stop again to rewash their feet and hands? Yeshua gives us a clue in John 13:8 where He tells Peter, “If I do not wash you, you have no part in Me.” In the next verse Peter responds with asking Yeshua to wash not only his feet but also his head and hands. Yeshua’s answer to this gives us our answer.