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Reflections on the weekly Torah portions from a diverse group of Messianic Jewish rabbis, scholars, and lay people. Our contributors bring fresh insights to familiar texts, drawing connections to events across the whole of Scripture (including the Gospels and Epistles), and suggesting practical applications of these insights to our postmodern lives.
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Tisha b’Av keeps alive the memory of the whole Jewish story through the centuries, a story reflecting both the lament of exile and the hope of return.By Russ Resnik
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We are people of the Book, a book made up of words. We are then, quite literally, a people of words. And when we “give our word” in the colloquial sense, we understand that God is watching and recording.By Russ Resnik
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Pinchas was zealous, not jealous. He knew the Lord, and knew that strict adherence to his rules was the only correct way to live. He was zealous for the Lord, not jealous of the lifestyle of the pagan nations.By Russ Resnik
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Recently at dinnertime, as the family sat around the table, the question came up, “Why do parents think more highly of their own children than others? Does that reflect bias?” And, the implication, “If so, is that bias . . . ok?”By Guest User
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The beauty of the red heifer was not in its life but in its death. It is more valuable in its death than it ever was in its life. In its death it changes forms. It does not cease its power, but it goes through a metamorphosis from the physical body to the ashes.By Russ Resnik
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This week’s parasha, Korach, records a mutiny of sorts that becomes the archetype for rebellion in Judaism, and could also have become the standard for a really bad day, but for the intervention of Hashem.By Russ Resnik
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In our parasha, Adonai gives the commandment and instruction for the tzitzit which were to be on the borders of the garment. They also were found on the hem of Yeshua’s garment in Luke 8:44, bringing healing to a woman who had been ill for 12 years.By Russ Resnik
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Moses longed for the day in which we are living: “If only Adonai would make all the people prophets! If only Adonai would put the Spirit on all of them!” Let’s say Amen to that as we walk daily in the Spirit-infused Torah of the risen Messiah.By Russ Resnik
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On exhibit in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem are artifacts from the excavation of a burial plot from the end of the First Temple period. Among the exhibit is a small thin silver plaque the size of a thumb. Inscribed on it in Hebrew is the Birkat Kohanim, the priestly blessing we still recite today.By Russ Resnik
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One moment I was preparing a lesson on living a life filled with the hope we have in Messiah and the promises of blessings that are ours. The next moment the messengers were delivering their news.By Russ Resnik
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Have you ever wished that you could start over? That you could be, as in the words of Dylan’s immortal song, “forever young”—going back to your earliest years of life, able to erase all your mistakes, cancel all your debts, and undo all your sins?By Russ Resnik
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It’s not so much a matter of contrast between conservation and contagion; we need both. The stability and separation of a healthy religious community provides a platform for influencing the surrounding culture.By Russ Resnik
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Once we choose to live in the universe of power in actions, do we have the discipline to constantly push ourselves to raise the bar? Will we have what it takes to engage in regular self-reflection and contemplation, and live with the consistency that holiness requires?By Russ Resnik
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Spiritual discipline through the repetitive action—the “walking” out—of the mitzvot builds within us emotional muscle memory. Given that we are largely driven by our emotions, any repetitive action binds itself to our personhood, our heart, our mind, and that same action builds within us an emotional response.…
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Telling our children and grandchildren a story rooted in ancient history, and equipping them to pass it on, amidst our culture of endless sound bites and news flashes can be challenging indeed. That’s why Passover in this current generation may be different from all other Passovers.By Russ Resnik
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Along with other rabbis, Rabbi Sha’ul correlated reckless speech with an infectious skin disease that starts off as a small infection, grows if left unchecked, and eventually consumes and kills the body as it expands.By Russ Resnik
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The kohanim, or priests, were in a sense the “doctors of the soul.” This is the role of a kohen, to restore the person to wholeness—to have the imagination to see beyond a person’s present brokenness, and to recognize his or her own power to heal.By Russ Resnik
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If this is true for Israel as a whole, God’s priestly nation among the nations of the world, how much more for the family of Aaron, chosen to be the priestly family of the priestly people? The great tragedy in this week’s portion makes the danger of election all too evident.By Russ Resnik
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Tzav is our reminder to continue to practice sacrificial worship in our lives today. How do we do this? Let’s take a moment to reflect on two questions. First, what is considered a sacrifice today? And second, where is the altar?By Russ Resnik
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Each of us was given a name shortly after birth and, for most of us, we are still called by that name. When I hear my name, it commands my attention. It identifies me. It also means that the person who has called me knows my name.By Russ Resnik
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Is there a lesson that can be gleaned by observing the relationship between the Flintstones and the Jetsons? I think there is, and I believe it to be profound.By Russ Resnik
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God created a home for us in His creation of the universe. God has created a home for us through the life, death, and resurrection of His Messiah. May we create a home for Him in this world, by not only learning His precepts and understanding their application, but by embracing the very essence of His Holy Torah.…
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Moses is likened to a “friend”—specifically, a friend of God. Yeshua is on record promising “friendship” to believers who abide (John 15:14). Then, immediately afterwards, He reiterates the point, saying: “I have called you friends” (15:15). It’s hard to overstate the significance: the relationship with God that believers in Yeshua enjoy is akin to…
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The breastplate bearing the names of the tribes of Israel, each in its place, reminds us also to embrace our God-given place and not to compare ourselves with the other servants; neither to seek a better position than theirs, nor to grovel in our lowliness. Instead, we’re to serve within the space God has prepared for us, and prepared us for.…
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The voice of God to Moses, and by extension to the assembly of Israel, came by way of an organized and intentional religious space. It was not random or haphazard. It was not spontaneous or unconstrained. God’s voice came within an organized space and time.By Russ Resnik
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At the conclusion of last week’s parasha, Israel is given immortality with its designation as a “Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation” (Exod 19:6). Mishpatim, literally “ordinances,” on the other hand, is often thought of as a law book pronouncing mundane rules that deal with a plethora of subjects.By Russ Resnik
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Moses on the mountain, Isaiah caught up into the throne room of God; these accounts fuel our imagination of God as high and lofty, untouchable, unapproachable. In contrast is a wonderful little line nestled within the opening verses of Parashat Yitro: “And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.”…
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There comes a time when God’s people need to battle. At such times, while some prefer to remain spectators, and others to be support personnel behind the lines, some will engage in the thick of things, believing themselves called to give their all in a time of transition, opportunity, or threat.By Russ Resnik
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It’s election season, but the search for trustworthy leaders in our day seems to always lead to disappointment for many of us, or even for most. This makes the story of the Exodus all the more remarkable. It is not hard to understand why Moses looms so large in Jewish history.By Russ Resnik
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In the beginning, Adam walked in the garden with God, and they shared an intimacy of fellowship (Gen 3:8). The oneness represented is the heart of what we know as worship. This is why humans were created. To live life in praise to God: “the people I formed for myself, so they may declare my praise” (Isa 43:21).…
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This week we read of Moses’ first encounter with God at the burning bush. In this conversation on the mountain, Moses finds himself wrestling with the great battle of the saints: Faith vs fear. And his fear nearly won the day.By Russ Resnik
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Our parasha begins, Vayechi Yaakov, “Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years.” The language of this opening line is somewhat unexpected. Why say that Jacob lived in the land of Egypt? In English translation it’s unremarkable, but there are other verbs that might have worked in Hebrew.By Russ Resnik
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Hundreds marched behind Martin Luther King and beside him, Abraham Joshua Heschel, who famously wrote later, “Legs are not lips and walking is not kneeling. And yet our legs uttered songs. Even without words, our march was worship. I felt like our legs were praying.”By Russ Resnik
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Joseph was a dreamer and interpreter of amazing dreams, full of meaning. He was in an Egyptian prison after a convoluted sequence of events triggered by a gift–the Technicolor Dream Coat (Gen 37:3)—the resulting jealousy of his brothers, and his own dreams of his brothers bowing to him.By Russ Resnik
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As we commemorate Hanukkah this year, let’s focus on the shamash candle, the servant light that brings light to the rest of the menorah and sheds that light to the entire house. Let’s focus on Yeshua the quintessential servant, who through his sacrificial life brings light to the entire world.By Russ Resnik
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Probably about once a month, I will think about this famous scene in “Fiddler on the Roof.” Tevye is observing a conversation between two men, arguing about whether we need to read the newspaper and be aware of outside events or not. He agrees with each one in turn by saying “You’re right.”By Russ Resnik
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Our tribal history contains the classic elements of being chosen, having a special legacy, and being different from (and perhaps superior to) the Other. But in typical fashion for the Torah, the account of tribal origins points beyond the usual motifs to hint at hope and transformation to come.By Russ Resnik
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The Jewish spirit is a productive spirit. It works for the future and believes against all hope that the desert can indeed bloom. The Jewish spirit believes that through the diligent application of hard work in the land where we sojourn, we will not just survive, but we will thrive.By Matt
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This week’s parasha brings us the account of the very first land purchase in the Land of Promise. Seeking a place to bury his wife, Sarah, Abraham approaches a local landowner to purchase the cave of Machpelah, which was on his property.By Russ Resnik
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The Bible may be the world’s most surprising book. Just when you thought you had God down, you will read something that causes even the dead to rise up and say, “What was that?”By Russ Resnik
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The events of the last several weeks in Israel have left all of us with a plethora of unchecked emotions. Many of us are experiencing extreme anger, and a cloud of darkness seems to hover forebodingly. In this age, war might be inevitable. Few of us can change the trajectory of violence. But we can decide how we relate to the specter of war.…
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The people around us influence us, and it is nearly impossible to avoid that. In this week’s parasha, however, we see two examples of people fighting and winning the fight against the negative influences around them. The first example is Noach.By Daniel Vinokuroff
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This week’s Torah portion, Genesis 1:1–6:8, is indispensable, as it sheds light on how to respond in an evil day. The guidance provided in Genesis is not glib or simplistic; it does not minimize the reality of evil in our world, or try to explain it away.By Russ Resnik
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In “Julius Caesar,” William Shakespeare takes the liberty of putting these words in Mark Anthony’s mouth: “Friends, Romans, countrymen; lend me your ears.” In the drama called life, Judaism takes the liberty of representing the Creator pleading: “Friends and Hebrew countrymen lend me your year.”By Russ Resnik
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With the arrival of the month of Tishrei, we enter the serious yet strangely joyous High Holy Day season. What starts with teshuvah/repentance at Rosh Hashana will be sealed on the judgment day of Yom Kippur. As if to give us all a divine break, we have five days from the close of Yom Kippur to the next major holiday: Sukkot.…
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It’s clear from the beginning of our parasha that Moses has a strong message to communicate. He begins by calling both Heaven and Earth as witnesses, and then goes on to say: “Remember the days of antiquity, understand the years across generations.”By Russ Resnik
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Rosh Hashanah is Judaism’s Day of Judgment. Sound scary? Actually, it should be the most enjoyable day of your life. After all, it is your birthday. It’s everyone’s birthday! According to our tradition it is the world’s birthday!By Russ Resnik
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Sos Asis – Hebrew for “rejoice greatly,” is the first phrase of this week’s haftarah and the title of the whole portion. We have endured, we have survived, we have overcome because of him, and now we are wrapped in his righteousness.By Russ Resnik
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Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going with my life? Is God with me or against me? I remember all too well the years when those pressing questions had no answer. And then the library workers at my university went on strike.By Russ Resnik
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As we approach the midpoint of the Hebrew month of Elul, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur draw near, ushering in the Days of Awe. In about a month from now, as the sun sets, the reverberating melody and contemplative words of Kol Nidre will resonate through synagogues worldwide.By Russ Resnik
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