Genesis to Deuteronomy, a weekly study

Welcome to this new study series, this time, over the book of Leviticus, the third book in the Torah, Each thread that follows this first one will be dated, so you can follow along. Since we follow the Jewish "Parasha" teaching method, I always include a midrash (commentary) from the Torah, from the Haf Torah (Prophets) and as Messianic believers, we include a section from the New Testament.

After reading this Parasha (VaYikra) next week, I will attach the next Parasha under the "response" section, and of course, with next week's date, so you can follow each study section, if there are comments, just scroll down until you see the next Parasha study, These studies are from a messianic Jewish perspective.

So, as each week comes by, just return to "LEVITICUS (a week by week study...) and scroll down to the next study section. The posts will be added every weekend, so, when Saturdays come around, look for a new thread.
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PARASHA: VaYikra (and he called)......................March 19, 2016 / 9th of Adar, 5776

LEVITICUS 1:1-6:7...............ISAIAH 43:21-44:23........................HEB 10: 1-18

We start a new study in the Book of VaYikra (Leviticus) thus named so in Greek because it talks about the Levitical priesthood and the sacrifices.

"VaYikra El Moshe" starts verse 1 of Leviticus, "God called to Moshe" this happened three times, the first time that Adonai called TO Moshe was at the burning bush, then he called TO Moshe when he invited Moshe up to the mountain top to give him the commandments, then he called TO Moshe to teach these commandments to his people.

The word "sacrifice" in Hebrew is "korban" the root word is "Karav" (krv) which means "to approach" or "come near to". So the animal sacrifices were instituted to bring the people "near to" or to "approach" God. By all means, the animal sacrifices with their blood never SAVED a person, but through their FAITH they were saved, the same applies to us today, our faith in the one-time "korban" of Yeshua, his sacrifice of blood on the cross saved us for ever, provided that we BELIEVE and HAVE FAITH. back then, the sacrifices COVERED
the sins of Israel, today, our sins have been "blotted out" "erased" for ever.

BURNT OFFERING was for ALL people, symbolizing the recognition of our sin nature, bulls, sheep, goats, turtledoves and young pigeons were used. There was an animal for every person no matter what economic status. The rich could bring a bull (unblemished) the middle class (one could say) could bring sheep or goats, and the very poor would bring a turtle dove or a pigeon. It speaks that ALL OF US, no MATTER WHAT OUR STATUS in this world, ALL ARE SINNERS, AND WE ALL HAVE THE SIN NATURE. the animals of course symbolize Yeshua, who was the ultimate "korban" the bull symbolizes the "strength of God" the ancient letter "aleph" took the form of the head of a bull or ox in paleo-Hebrew. The sheep/lamb symbolizes "Yeshua who is the Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world. The goats symbolize the sacrifice at Yom Kippur, one was sacrificed and the other sent away, symbolizing that Yeshua bore our sins on the cross, and "took them away" never to be remembered again.

GRAIN OFFERING symbolize the faith that the people had in the provision of Adonai, for their future crops, that the people's lives were in God's hands, it was a tribute to YHVH the name is MINCHAH offering. It consisted of fine flour, with oil and frankincense. The priest would take three fingers (as kind of a spoon) and scoop up some of the mixture and throw it on the fire on the brazen altar. It would go up in smoke as an offering. We can see Yeshua illustrated in this, since the fine flour is used to make bread, and Yeshua is the "Bread of Life" the olive oil symbolizes the "Ruach HaKodesh" (The Holy Spirit) and the frankincense, symbolizes our prayers as it is used also in incense. The smoke goes up as a "sweet savor" unto Adonai, just like our prayers go up to Heaven, and the LORD delights in hearing them. The grain/flour mixture did not contain leaven, since leaven symbolizes "sin" and Yeshua is "without" sin, and so we will be in "Ha Olam Haba" (in the world to come)

PEACE OFFERING, The "korban Shalom" was a voluntary offering to Adonai as a "thanksgiving" or in "gratitude" for blessings received, kind of like what we do in the USA on "Thanksgiving" we invite family and friends and roast a turkey as a "thanksgiving offering" thanking God for blessings. The animals were bulls, cows, sheep, and goats. The fat was burned on the altar, and the other portions were for Aaron and his sons, they would participate in eating the offering together with the offerer. This reminds us also of holidays when families go to the parks and bring hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages (hopefully kosher) and "fajitas" and have a BBQ over an open fire, we can look at these times as times of "celebrations of peace and blessings" We as believers have the "peace which passes all understanding" because we know we are saved through "HaDam Yeshua" the blood of Yeshua and we are part of the family of Elohim. Any time is a good time to offer a "korban shalom".

SIN OFFERING, would be for someone who sinned "unintentionally" the animals would be a bull, goat, or a lamb. The animal would be slaughtered at the altar and the priest would dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle the blood 7 times toward the curtain of the Holy Place, we see the number 7, the perfect number, symbolizing our God who is perfect and pure, Today, we need not to sacrifice animals since Yeshua was the "sacrificed lamb" and all we need do is "confess and turn " from our sins, and we receive forgiveness.

TRESPASS OFFERING, would be for a person who took an oath falsely, or touched some unclean thing unknowingly, or without thinking, uttered "thoughtless, not-very-nice, words
(like a lot of us do today) the animals were a lamb, goat, or a turtledove, or pigeon. We see there is a provision for ALL PEOPLE, like the burnt offering. we are ALL GULTY before the LORD in trespassing his commandments, we do it all the time, even in thought. But again, all we need do is confess our sins and "turn" (Teshuvah) from our sins, Yeshua took the place of all the sacrificial animals, he gave his ALL for ALL of us, past, present, and future
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ISAIAH 43:21-44:23

Adonai is stating his case, and he is showing mercy and ever-lasting love and forgiveness for his people. Israel has forgotten about the "Korbanot" (sacrifices) and have been living in sin, far from Adonai, but he will not forget Israel, and offers redemption, He is the ALEF and the TAV (et) in ancient Hebrew illustrates the "Strong God of the Covenant" He is the ROCK (HaTzur) as Yeshua is the ROCK. Adonai says the "idolatry is foolishness" statues of wood, rock, etc., have no life, so why bow down before them? (Shall I fall down before a block of wood?) 44 vs 19. For YHVH has redeemed Jacob and glorifies himself in Israel, through Yeshua Ha Goel, Yeshua the Redeemer, not only for Israel but for all mankind.
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HEBREWS 10:1-18

Rav Shaul states what we learned before, that the animal sacrifices could not take away the sins of the people, they could only cover them, but now, through Yeshua, our sins have been blotted out, cast away from us, erased, The old covenant was not perfect, in this way, so therefore, under the New Covenant, which is a better covenant, we need not get our hands bloody with animal blood, only lift up our hands on high and thank Yeshua for his one-time all sufficient sacrifice for our sins, for all time.

Shabbat Shalom......................Rabbi J. Ben Avraham

PARASHA: "Tzav' (Command) March 26th, 2016 / 16th of Adar, 5776



LEV 6:8-8:36.......................JEREMIAH 7:21-8:3......................HEB 8:1-6

We continue to look at the "Korbanot Shel Mishkan" (the sacrifices of the tabernacle)

"The Burnt offering" (korban Olah), "The grain offering" (Mincha) , "The Peace offering' (Zevah Shelamim) , "The sin offering" (Korban Chatat), "the trespass or guilt offering" (Korban Asham) . One thing about the burnt, sin, and guilt offerings, there had to be "Teshuvah" repentance, this had to come from the heart, a "turning away from sin" like Yeshua told the woman caught in the act of adultery, "Go and sin no more" she was forgiven, but she was told "not to sin any more".

The burnt offerings symbolized the recognition of our sin nature and a willingness to give one self to God... The sin and trespass/guilt offerings symbolized the offerer's recognition that "I have sinned" in a specific way, unintentionally, and forgiveness was sought. if the trespass was some property damage, item lost or stolen , the person offering the animal had to first "compensate" the lost, THEN, bring the offering, the grain and peace offering were to "give thanks to God" for blessings received, it could be a bumper crop of wheat, an increase in cattle or in the herds of sheep and goats.

Every time we go to the park for a BBQ or host a Thanksgiving turkey for family and friends , we are in a way hosting a "Peace and/or grain offering" do we not have meat? bread? and drinks there? of course, can you in imagine fajitas without tortillas and soft drinks or juice? these offerings included "wine" and also olive oil and Frankincense were added to the meal/grain offerings.

We can see Yeshua in all of these offerings, The clean animals symbolized Yeshua, the Sacrificed Lamb, the grain offering Yeshua the Bread of Life, the peace offering, Yeshua Prince of Peace.

In this Parasha we see "Ner Tamid" or "Esh Tamid" (the eternal flame or fire) the burnt offering roasted all night and ashes were left in the morning, they were removed to a clean place outside the camp, and a new korban added to the flames, Fire symbolizes purification, destruction, heat, light, it also symbolizes our zeal and love for God and the things of HaShem and service to Adonai, you have heard the expression "Being on fire for God!" The things we did yesterday are gone, and the things of today remain to be done, we can take the "ashes" to be the things of yesterday, yet they will be remembered and not forgotten, and YHVH takes into account ALL the things we do for his name's sake, honor, and glory, we might look upon them as ashes from yesterday's service, yet HE looks at them as future rewards in the World to Come.

Chapter 8 is the highlight of the Torah, the Torah (Genesis - Deuteronomy) has 304,805 Hebrew letters. 79,977 words, and 5845 verses. Lev 8:15 is the "midpoint" the word "Yesod" (foundation) or "base" is the middle "Word" in the Torah. It talks about Aaron being anointed as high priest. He is symbolically a type of "Mashiach" (Messiah) since "to anoint" is "m sh k" in Hebrew letters, He was the mediator between the people and God,

The blood of the animals used to anoint Aaron and his sons, was sprinkled on the horns of the brazen altar and poured out at the "base" or "foundation" of the altar, pointing us to Yeshua who is the "chief corner-stone, and the foundation stone" upon who our faith is based on.

It is also interesting to see that the first word in the Torah is "B'reisheet" (In the beginning) the middle is, as we know "Yesod" (base or foundation) and the last word in Deuteronomy is "Israel" giving us the message that Yeshua is the Foundation stone of Israel from the beginning. If we take the last letters of the first three words in the first verse of Genesis we get the word "Emet" (truth) "alef" "mem" and "tav" which is one of Messiah's titles, Yeshua Ha Emet, from his statement "I AM the Way, the TRUTH (emet) and the life.

Aaron and sons were anointed with blood on his right ear lobe, the right thumb, and the big toe on his right foot. This can symbolize our "HEARING " (Shema) and putting into action what we hear from his Word, our DOING, through mitzvoth (good deeds/ and per-forming commandments, and WALKING according to HIS direction, walking a "torah based lifestyle, or "Halacha" as some put it. This was the ministry of Aaron and his sons, and also, our ministry as well.
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JEREMIAH 7:21-8:3, 9:22,23

Adonai speaks through Yirimyahu telling Israel to repent and return to God, yet God told Jeremiah that Israel would not listen to him, sad, that was the case, sacrifices were performed without true repentance, kind of like the big bosses of the Mafia murdering and gunning down people, and then going to mass at the church and confessing before the priests, Israel was taken into slavery to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzer. We need to get back to God today, by true Teshuvah (repentance) from the heart, not just with words, God did not ask for sacrifices when HE took his people out of Egypt, he only asked for obedience, yet Israel failed to obey, the "Korbanot" was HIS way to point his people back to Him, through Yeshua, Ha Emet, the foundation stone, from the beginning.
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HEBREWS 8:1-6

Yeshua is our High Priest, who mediates before the Father on our behalf. Aaron and his sons symbolized Yeshua, in their work and ministry as high priests. Yet the first covenant had fault, as it did not erase, get rid of our sinfulness, only covered, and only for a year.

However, the one-time sacrifice of Yeshua on Calvary's cross blotted out our sins for ever, that is why HIS sacrifice is a "better" covenant, it bit the curse of sin right in the neck, crushed the head of the serpent, of HaSatan. That is why the sacrificial system was a "shadow" of "That which would come" (Yeshua's complete work of redemption)

Shabbat Shalom.........................Rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA: "Shemini" (eighth) April 2, 2016...........Adar 23, 5776

LEV 9:1-11:47.................2 SAM 6:1-7:17.........................ACTS 10:9-22

Aaron and his sons have been in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) for 7 days, awaiting the LORD, praying and getting ready to be consecrated as priests, in our terms, we would use the word "ordained". so now, on day "eight" of the "waiting on the LORD" all is ready, the number 8 in the bible symbolizes "new beginning" it will be a "new life" for Aaron and his sons, they will represent HaShem, the Great I AM , Adonai-Elohim-Yeshua, as mediators between the people and God. It is an important event. The animals are sacrificed, the blood placed on the 4 horns of the brazen altar, we can look at these 4 horns in each corner of the altar like the cross of Calvary, two on either side of the cross beam, and one at the head, and one at the foot, illustrating what Messiah did for us all. The blood was also poured out at the Base "Yesod" (remember last week's Parasha)

Today, when we look and think on the word "consecrate" we think of "setting something apart" like the word "Kadosh" to be "set apart" When Adonai puts in the hearts and minds of those who wish to follow HIM and minister the Word to others, may chose to study in Bible Colleges, and so, "consecrating" themselves in studying the Word, preparation to teach, to become rabbis, pastors, etc. and finally, the "ordination" process follows, I studied 5 years in a Baptist Bible college, and afterwards, enrolled in a Messianic Jewish Yeshiva (Shema Israel Jewish Theological Institute) for another 5 years, and later was ordained Messianic rabbi in 2005, I consider this a very necessary preparation, studying and looking at scripture from both a Christian and Jewish perspective, and applying both in teaching Torah and Yeshua as Mashiach

When the sacrifices were ready on the altar, Aaron blessed the people and fire came out from heaven and "fired up" the sacrifices, the first fire on the altar was lit by the LORD, All the people were glad, and shouted praises and fell on their faces in praising YHVH, what a glorious time, but wait.....something happened that dampened the whole event.

Chap. 10 tells us about Nadab and Abihu, two of the sons of Aaron. Many want to know why? Why did Adonai "light-up" these two men (literally) when we read chap 10, we read that Nadab and Abihu offered "strange fire before the LORD. What could this have been?

Scripture does not tell us for sure, we can only take an educated guess, we will find out for sure in heaven some day when we meet these two young men, they will tell us themselves, in the mean while we can only guess;

1. They offered incense to Adonai, were told to do so? were they authorized? perhaps they were doing their "own thing" and got "fired-up" for it. We can not come to God on our terms, doing own "own thing" (what ever our "own thing" might be)

2. "Strange fire" was mentioned. Well, let's say they were authorized to offer incense, but they made "their own fire" instead of taking of the burning coals on the brazen altar that the LORD had just kindled. It would be like trying to get to God without Messiah Yeshua intervening. If they indeed made their own fire, symbolically, they were offering up incense (prayers) without going through Yeshua, Yeshua said "I AM THE WAY...the truth and the life...NO ONE comes to the FATHER but by ME"

3. They may have been drinking wine, and because of this, they might have been a little drunk and not thinking clearly, and thus suffered this untimely death by offering "strange fire" when we are in the presence of the LORD, doing ministry, we should always be awake, sober, and not affected by alcohol, drugs, etc

It is interesting to note that they were dragged out of the tabernacle by their coats (tunics) seems like this was a special fire that consumed only Nadab and Abihu, and did not affect their clothing. Normally, when a person is on fire, their clothing burns too, this was not a "normal fire case"

Chap 11 is always a topic of fussing and discussing, there is a saying "don't stand before a man and his food, or you're look for a rumble" or "We're not under law but grace" or "the LORD cleaned all foods, (remember Acts? Peter and sheet of unclean foods) or "It isn't what goes into a person which defiles man, but what comes out of a person" or "I just don't care, I'll eat what I want, everyone has to die someday"...............Well...yeah!...BUT...

the word "law" has been wrongly translated from the Hebrew into something "legalistic" (the latin "legis" from where we get the word "legislature" the correct word is "Torah" which means "teaching and instruction" Do we consider ourselves guided by God's perfect teaching and instruction in his WORD? YES! are we also under his perfect GRACE? YES, so, we are both under his TEACHING AND GRACE. (torah v'chesed) There has always been his TORAH his guidance by his teaching since Adam and Eve, and GRACE has always been his WAY, since the beginning.

About Peter's vision, the "focal point" was on the unclean foods, but the message was for the "gentiles" God told Peter he considered the "gentiles" of the surrounding nations as "clean" if they came to Yeshua by faith, just like the Jews of Israel.

"It isn't what goes into a man that defiles him but what comes out of man" this is talking about "spiritual defilement" not physical, unclean meats do not make a person 'Spiritually" defiled, yet unclean, non-kosher meats/foods can defile the body "physically" . Many of the "meats" in the supermarkets have not been ordained by Adonai for human consumption, but man thinks he is smarter than God, so man adds to God's pre approved menu. Pork, shell fish, crabs, lobster, crawfish, catfish, can bring on diseases, high cholesterol, and in time, bring down the health of a person. As much as we love the smell of frying bacon, pork sausage, Italian salami, dirty rice, craw fish boils, sea food gumbo, etc, lets try to stay away from them, they are NOT nor EVER WILL BE on God's food menu for his children. He loves us so much, he wants the best for us, he made our bodies so he knows what should go inside of us.

So just read the list of approved grocery items in Leviticus 11, this list is for TODAY as well as thousands of years ago. God talks to us seriously. Yet people today are used to eating anything they see in the supermarket, and anything that comes out of the water dangling from the fish hook or net. There is a saying, "if it flies in the air, and it isn't an airplane, eat it! if it has 4 legs and it isn't a table, eat it!, if it swims and isn't a submarine, eat it! but God says NO, it is our choice to either obey or disobey, blessings or curses, the choice is ours to make. "Be ye Holy for I AM holy" (11:45) "K'doshim Atem ki Kadosh Ani" (Holy means to be "set apart" , not sinless) Some say, "is it a sin to eat pork?" well, are we disobeying scripture? are we going against his commandment NOT to? then we have answered that question. But these are not my words, these are God words for us today as well as those that lived thousands of years ago.

Hey, ever eat a bug? you can roast a grasshopper, or a cricket on an open campfire, those bugs are KOSHER (11:21,22) talk about a Winnie roast, get a basket full of grasshoppers or locusts (John the Baptist ate those) with some crickets too, a bit of salt and pepper and hot sauce, roast them and YEAH! bon-appetite
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2 SAMUEL 6:1-7:17

when we read this Haf Torah portion, we see something similar to what happened to Nadab and Abihu, King David was transporting the Ark of the Covenant that was returned by the Philistines, on an ox cart, the WRONG Method, the oxen stumbled an "Uzzah" one of David's men put forth his hand to keep the Ark from moving (perhaps he thought it would fall to the ground) but God stuck him down and killed him for that. The Ark was not to be touched at all, only the Levites were allowed to carry it, on two poles, NOT on an ox cart. Perhaps Uzzah was sincere in his attempt to keep the Ark from falling, but he was sincerely WRONG.

It is good that today, things are different, God does not kill us for mishandling holy things

but we should take care to treat the things of God and worship with respect. When things are worn out so as to be of no more use, like old bibles, torn pages, prayer shawls, stained and torn, things of worship have lived their usefulness, they should be buried in the ground, like one would bury a loved one, not thrown in the trash (believe me when I say that I have found a few bibles in the trash dumpsters)
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ACTS 10:9-22

This is the story I was referring to, God showed Kefa (Peter) the sheet with unclean animals and told him to EAT, because he was trying to prove a point to the disciple, Peter knew these were unclean animals, and God's message to Peter was;

"Just as you know that these meats are unclean, you are also thinking that the gentiles (Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, etc) are also unclean, but I tell you that THEY (the gentiles) ARE CLEAN, (those that come to me by faith in Yeshua) (read verse 28) Cornelius was a Roman centurion, and he had accepted Yeshua as Messiah, so, He (a Roman) was now part of the family of God, and part of the commonwealth of Israel, the "grafted-in believers" outside of Israel.

Shabbat Shalom.....................rabbi Ben Avraham

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JacobBenAvraham

It is good that today, things are different, God does not kill us for mishandling holy things

but we should take care to treat the things of God and worship with respect. When things are worn out so as to be of no more use, like old bibles, torn pages, prayer shawls, stained and torn, things of worship have lived their usefulness, they should be buried in the ground, like one would bury a loved one, not thrown in the trash (believe me when I say that I have found a few bibles in the trash dumpsters)

---

Oh, what a merciful and sympathetic god we have to endure. From killer to mere tormentor. As far as celestial judgement goes, not bad...

Preview: LEV 12:1-13:59 when a woman gives childbirth...and...


Parasha: TAZRIA (when she bears seed) LEV 12:1-13:59.................2 KINGS 4:42-5:19.....................MATTHEW 8:1-4

In this Parasha study, we see two themes, one of which when a woman gives birth and the other which covers what we usually call "leprosy" and finally, why do we say "Happy New Year" today?

When a woman gives birth to a male child, she is considered unclean for 7 days, but she is not to forget that on the 8th day, she is to have her child circumcised, and afterwards, she is to remain in a state of "purification" for 33 days. Why all these days, scripture does not shed light, yet we can see that "7" is the perfect number of holiness, "8" is the number for a "new beginning". The male child is circumcised on day 8, the child goes from being in the womb to the "outside world" participating in the covenant of Abraham, this is the child's "new beginning" the woman goes through "41" days of recuperation, her body has been "tested" for 9 months, and she goes through 7 days of . could one say, isolation, if that be the case, then 33 days of purification, one could say, "rest and relaxation" hopefully, the husband and family will attend to her needs during this time, afterwards, the husband can; "know her" again.

If the woman births a female baby, the case is different, mother must remain unclean for 14 days, and afterwards, purification time of 66 days, that is a total of 80 days. Why the longer time? scripture does not say. But we see the number "8" again in (80) "a new beginning" could we say for both mother and child. giving birth to a female, (some believe) is more taxing to the mother, she suffers more. We can see that in birthing children, there are 2 souls involved (nefesh) the mother's nefesh and the child's nefesh, but with the female, she carries eggs inside her, potential "nefeshim" (souls) once they are fertilized by the male sperm, thus creating more "living souls" (nefesh chayim), so, within the female baby are many more (future babies) all awaiting to be born in God's perfect timing. Perhaps this is why the mother needs the extra time to rest and relax, and "begin anew" after 80 days, (just an opinion)

TZA-ARAT: (leprosy) the rest of the Parasha deals with this. But the word "Tza-arat" covers "all skin diseases in general" not only leprosy, (which is the worse case scenario) this is when the nerves die and the body goes "feeling less" and fingers dry and fall off, the nose falls off, ears, fall off, the body extremities just rot away. Today there is medicine available for this disease, but thousands of years ago, this disease was a death sentence, unless the person was healed by Yeshua. But the general meaning of "tza-arat" is "diseases and disorders of the skin" from mild skin rashes, scabies, shingles, ring worm, psoriasis, etc. People who had these diseases had to be isolated from the camp of Israel, and be inspected by the priest, if the disease was not serious, and it went away, the person could come back after isolation, if not, they were considered "tamei" (unclean) we can only imagine the pain and suffering some went through if their "tza-arat" was the worse case,

Miriam was struck with tza-arat, for 7 days, for having criticized Moshe, that is why "tza-arat" is related to "Leshon-hara" (evil tongue) some believe that skin diseases come from having a loose and gossiping tongue (it has never been proved though). Moshe prayed the shortest prayer in the Bible, "LORD, please heal her" and Adonai healed her, Baruch HaShem!

Tza-arat is also known as "mildew" in clothing, and "mold" in houses and buildings. God gives instructions to wash and clean clothing with mildew, if it re-appears, it must be burned, same with houses, if mold is found in the walls, one has to replace the wall, thousands of years ago, God knew the dangers of mold in housing walls and structures, something we just found out a few years ago. No wonder he says "tear it down" if it returns .

There is such a thing as being "tamei" spiritually, we can have "tza-arat" of the spirit, and be "unclean" spiritually, if we do not walk in God's ways of his Torah, refuse to honor the Sabbath, ignore his Holy days, walk contrary to the Torah, living in rebellion is being "tamei" but through "Teshuvah" repentance, and returning to God's ways, bring us forgiveness, and we become "tahor" clean again. through the blood of Yeshua.
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2 KINGS 4:42-5:19

tells the story of Naaman the Syrian, who suffered from some type of tza-arat, could have been the worse case, we can ask him in Heaven what he had, and he will certainly tell us. But he was healed, BUT he had to OBEY and BELIEVE. if it was only just bathing in the Jordan river 7 times, and he was healed, sometimes, healing comes just as easy as just BELIEVING and OBEYING the promises of God.
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MATT 8:1-4

tells a similar story, of a leper who was healed by YESHUA, He ASKED, and put forth his hand, (faith) and YESHUA responded with love and forgiveness. Yet Yeshua told him to go back and show himself to the priest and to offer a sacrifice for his healing, showing that Yeshua had respect for the written Torah and commandments, after all, HE wrote them through Moshe. Yes, healing is still for today, YET not in all cases, in some cases, GOD brings his children home to heaven through diseases, although many diseases can be avoided, and some get sick because of disobedience. (eating what we shouldn't eat) which bring us back to Leviticus 11.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU, (HAG SAMEACH BA ACHAT NISAN HA ZEH)

happiness and joy on this first day of Nisan) (April 9th, of Gregorian Calendar)
when we look back at Exodus, and read chap 12: verse 2, we read "This month shall be your beginning of months, it shall be the first month of the year to you" so where does January 1st fit in? IT DOESN'T

Shabbat shalom; Rabbi Ben Avraham

The English poet Norman Nicholson wrote a dramatic Monologue titled Naaman. He was an excellent poet. That Biblical text is one of my favorite parts. I found it fascinating since childhood.

Preview: LEV 14:1-15:33 "Seeing YESHUA in the healing of leprosy" April 16th, 2016
Nisan 8, 5776

PARASHA: METZORA (infected one)

LEVITICUS 14:1 - 15:33...............2 KINGS 7:3-20...............ROM 6:8-23

We continue to study the case of "leprosy" (skin diseases) in people, and in the same manner, mold and mildew in clothing, and house mold. All are considered "metzora" (infected ones, things)

Some believe that "leprosy" comes as a result of different kinds of sin, etc, slander, gossip, unjust verbal attacks on others, such as the case for Miriam, when she criticized Moshe for marrying an Ethiopian woman, she (the Cu****e woman) was black, and G-d turned Miriam "white" (with leprosy) maybe Adonai was making a statement, that He did not care about skin color, nor races, many today can learn from that, maybe racism would stop if leprosy was attached to racist people, Moshe prayed for Miriam's healing, "Oh LORD heal her" (the shortest prayer in the bible) and the LORD did just that (after 7 days)

Parasha "Metzora" talks about when a person was "healed" of a skin disease, what the person had to do, we can see Messiah Yeshua in many ways here. the priest had to go outside the camp to see the person, examine the person to see if indeed the leprosy was gone. We can see a separation of "tahor" (clean) and "tamei" (unclean) nothing "inside the camp" could be "tamei" it shows us a "Holy, Righteous God" who can not and will not tolerate sin in his presence, only through Messiah Yeshua can we be made "tahor" (clean) and re-enter HIS camp.

Two birds were used, cedar wood, scarlet, hyssop, and running water. The clean birds reminds us of the dove, and pigeons, which were used in sacrifice by the poor, Yeshua's parents brought two turtle-doves as a sacrifice. One bird was killed in an earthen ware vessel over running water. We see the mixing of "water and blood" symbolizing when Yeshua was crucified, "Blood and water" came out of his side, the running water = "Yeshua the Living Water" the earthen-ware vessel (a pot) reminds us of the humbleness of our Messiah, who was of the earth, God become man, the second "Adam" (Blood + Spirit+ earth = Man)

The living bird would be dipped into the pot with the water and blood, together with the cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop, and the priest would sprinkle (it) 7 times over the person healed of leprosy, we say IT because probably IT was the combination of all 4 things, (I am sure the living bird was struggling to get away, but held tight by the priest together with the wood, scarlet and hyssop). We see the living bird as a reminder that we have "life" through the blood of the "dead" bird, in our case, we have "life" through the blood of "Yeshua" , the cedar wood reminds us of the cross of Calvary, the scarlet reminds us of the blood, and the hyssop, reminds us of Passover, when the Israelites used hyssop to put blood on the doorposts of their houses, again, "Life" through the "blood'

So the "now healed" person was sprinkled with the combination of "blood an water" as we were healed of our "sickness of sin and death" through the "blood" of Yeshua which came out his side together with water. Then the person would wash himself and wash his clothes, as he was now "clean". On the 8th day, (the number "8" symbolizing "new life") he would take three perfect lambs, fine flour mixed with oil, and give these to the priest who offered these before YHVH, we see much symbolism here, "three lambs" (the Father, the Son, and the Spirit) "3" symbolizing "resurrection and divine completeness" the person was a living "dead" but now received "life" anew.

the oil and flour remind us of the "anointing of the Ruach Ha Kodesh" and the "Bread of Life" who is Yeshua. The priest would sacrifice the lambs and would take a pit of the blood and also a bit of the oil and anoint the person who was healed with the blood and oil on his right ear, right thumb, and right toe. We see this as a reminder to the person, and to us, that we should always HEAR (Shema) the voice of HaShem (through his Torah) and DO/PERFORM, his mitzvoth (good deeds) and WALK in HIS ways, a righteous, Torah based lifestyle. This would be a message to the person that was healed, to "change his or her lifestyle, OR a worse case of leprosy could overcome that person, perhaps, the "worse case scenario" just like Yeshua said to the woman accused of adultery, "GO and SIN NO MORE"

It is a message to us as well. One could argue the fact that skin diseases come from our sinful lifestyle, but it is entirely possible. But I do not want to take that chance, fool around with sin and then get a skin rash as a result, kind of scary, and embarrassing, especially if it is on your face or arms and legs, "visible places" (where ALL can see) "Oi vey!"

A house with mold and mildew was also checked by a priest, the "leprous" stones or bricks would be washed, scraped clean, and then new plaster applied, if the "mold or mildew" returned, then those stones or bricks would have to be removed and replaced, if the "mold and mildew" returned even after that, the whole house would have to be destroyed, and rebuilt. It is said by some Torah commentators that Adonai used leprosy in the house and clothes as warnings, It would start in the house, if the person did not repent, the leprosy would pass from the house to the person's clothing, if the person still did not heed God's warning, the person himself or herself would be struck with leprosy.

Who knows the mind of Adonai? HE makes himself known by different ways, and warns us by different methods.
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2 KINGS 7:3-20

We read the story about the 4 leprous men who stumbled across the Syrian camp which was abandoned by the Syrian army, Adonai performed a miracle and made the Syrians hear the noise of a mighty army, so they fled. I guess the lepers thought that either the Syrians would kill them, since they were considered "sick and contaminated" or they would have mercy on them, and they would get food, but much to their surprise, they saw an empty camp, and food, water, weapons, clothing, etc. They did not keep the good news to themselves, but returned to tell the king.

Sometimes, when bad times befall some people, they become selfish and feel sorry for themselves, but it was not so for these guys with leprosy, even though they were "unclean" they went back and let the city know that the "bad times were over" who knows if they themselves received healing from God for their thoughtfulness. We'll find out in heaven some day.
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ROMANS 6:8-23

Rav Shaul writes about our new life through Messiah, that we should not let sin reign in our mortal bodies, remember that our bodies are still sinful, and that is why our bodies get sick and waste away, but because we are "renewed" in the spirit, we should live "spirit-filled lives" despite the temptations that attract our carnal selves. The last verse is a favorite of many; "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Yeshua HaMashiach" our "Adonai" Death will come to ALL, (physically) but "Spiritually" we will live forever with HIM who "set us free from the curse of sin" plus we will get new bodies as well.

Shabbat Shalom..................rabbi Ben Avraham

THIS WEEK'S PARASHA: ACHREI MOT" (after the death of)

LEV 16:1-18:30.....................AMOS 9:7-15.............................HEB 9:11-28

Hoping that all of you have had a good Passover week, for those of you who celebrate it, and many are hoping to eat regular bread again, Well, tomorrow, you can get out the hamburger and hot dog buns, donuts, etc

In this Parasha, we see the instructions of what we know as "Yom Kippur" , God spoke to Moshe to tell Aaron that "one can not come in anytime into the Holy place". How fortunate we are today that this is NOT the case, now we can come into the presence of God at ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, and speak with Him through prayer, praising, singing, bringing requests, interceding for other. We can come before him in the morning, put on our tallit and tefillim and read the Psalms, Speak to him when we arise, go to work, come home, thank Him for our meals, for our homes and families, even though we can't see him physically, He still hears us, and will respond to us in HIS PERFECT TIMING

Not so thousands of years ago, One, and only one, (the High Priest) "Ha Cohen Gadol" could only enter the "Kadosh Kadoshim" (The Holy of Holies) where the "Aron HaKodesh" (The Ark of the Covenant) was, once a year, this was on the 10th day of the 7th month, which usually corresponds to the Gregorian calendar as September, this is and was YOM KIPPUR (the day of coverings).

The high priest would take a bullock for himself and his family, sacrifice it and take the blood, and coals from the fire on the brazen altar, he would then take incense and place it on the coals in a censor, and bring it with him and go behind the veil where the Ark of the Covenant was. He would shake the censor as to create a cloud of incense around the Ark, remember that incense symbolizes of prayers that go up to YHVH. The rabbis of old taught that this was the time that the High Priest would pronounce the most holy name of God "Yod Hey Vav Hey" (YHVH) whatever the exact and perfect pronunciation was. He would sprinkle 7 times, the blood of the bullock on the mercy seat.

We look at Aaron, who was at this time, the high priest, as a "Messiah type" (Ha Mashiach) would be the "go-between" between the people and God. This was the job and ministry of the High Priests, to intercede before the people, This is exactly what Yeshua (Jesus) did, when he offered up his life as a ransom for us all. The high priests used bulls' blood, Yeshua used his "Own" blood. The priest would take two goats, and sacrifice one of them, and let the other go into the wilderness, never to return. On one goat, (the scape goat) he would place his hands and saying the following

"Ah YHVH, they (the Israelites) have committed iniquity, they have transgressed, they have sinned, thy people, the house of Israel, YHVH cover over (Kippur, atone for) I intreat thee, upon their iniquities, their transgressions, and their sins, which they have wickedly committed, transgressed, and sinned before thee, thy people, the house of Israel. As it is written in the Torah, thy servant, saying 'for on that day it shall be covered over for you to make you clean from all your sins before YHVH ye shall be cleaned" (The Temple, its ministry and service, pages 253,254)

all this time the people would lie prostrated and praising Adonai, and the high priest would face the crowd when he said "Ye shall be cleaned" This same prayer was said when the High Priest sacrificed the bullock for his own sins and for the sins of his family, then he would say "I and my house have committed iniquity...." When We see Yeshua hanging from the cross on Calvary, we hear his words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" and finally, "It is finished" at this time, the curtains in the temple which existed then, was split down the middle, giving ALL PEOPLE free access to the Throne of Grace, ANYTIME. Back in the days of the tabernacle and temple, the blood of bulls, lambs, and goats could only COVER sins for a year, then the whole process would be repeated again, the difference at Calvary, was that OUR SINS WERE BLOTTED OUT FOR EVER, past, present, and future, the only thing that we would need do would be "repentance and turning from sin" confessing our sins to the Father.

The goat that was let go into the wilderness symbolized our "sins that were sent away from us"

the sacrificed goat symbolized our "sins that were paid for on Calvary by Messiah Yeshua" once and for ever. We get the message; "Our sins were dealt with once and for all time on Calvary's cross, never to return to condemn us"

Chapters 17 deal with eating meat, in those times, if a family wanted to have meat for dinner, the man had to take the animal to one of the officiating priests and he would sacrifice it, and a portion of the animal went to the priest for his family, and the rest would be taken home for the family to enjoy. I am sure this did not happen every day, as herds and cattle were precious commodities, and one calf would probably last a week or so depending on the size of the family. Today, we can eat meat, (in accordance to Lev 11) freely, and thank the LORD for it, roast it making sure it has no blood.

Chapter 18 deals with relationships, intimate relationships, between men and women, when we read this chapter, well, I would say it needs no explanation, common sense plays in. Sex should be between a husband and wife, and that is that. God reminds his people NOT to copy the perverse ways of the Egyptians and Canaanites, since they had perverse sexual practices, etc.. homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, (sex with animals) and so today, we are to avoid these practices. Homosexuality, lesbianism is ARE NOT alternate life styles, they are EVIL AND SINNFUL life styles, a slap in the face of God. However, as believers, we are to love homosexuals and pray for them, and not reject them as individuals, but to reject the sin, as God has already stated in His Word.
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AMOS 9:7-15

Adonai speaks through his prophet Amos to his people. The People have done evil and will reap what they have sown, many will die by the sword, and many will be scattered among the nations, That is where many of us come into being, Many of us have Jewish heritage from the nations, our ancestors thousands of years ago and were "sifted as corn in a sieve" and ended up in Spain, North Africa and the middle east (Sephardim) and others to Germany, and East Europe, Russia, Ukraine, etc (Ashkenazim) both Jewish cultures having different customs and lifestyles, way of dressing, speech, etc, yet all recognizing the ONE GOD (Echad) YHVH, and many are recognizing Yeshua as Messiah

But Messiah will gather again his people and will bring them back into the land of Israel, which has been happening now for many years, and will continue.
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HEBREWS 9:11-28

This message to the Messianic Jews, both in Israel and in other nations, explains Yeshua who is HIGH PRIEST, entered into the Holy Place (in Heaven) and placed his own blood in it, redeeming us once and for all from the curse of sin. Yeshua HaMashiach is the "mediator" of a better covenant, a "new" covenant, NOT based on animal blood, but based on his own blood. "Yeshua was once offered to bear the sins of many" vs 28, why does it say "many" and not "all?" because not ALL of mankind will accept the sacrifice of Yeshua, many will reject him, die in their sins, and perish for all eternity, without hope, but MANY will accept this free gift of Salvation (Yeshuah) if you have not already, will you do that now? if you haven't already, what are you waiting for?

Shabbat Shalom....................rabbi Ben Avraham

SHABBAT SHALOM: PARASHA "Kedoshim" (Holy ones)

LEV 19:1-20:27...................EZEKIEL 20:2-20...............1 PETER 1:13-16

We start this study with Adonai saying unto Moshe and to the rest of the people

"YE SHALL BE HOLY FOR I, YHVH YOUR GOD AM HOLY" This is not just a good idea, it is a command. When we look at the original Hebrew, we see something interesting;

ALEICHEM KAD_SHIM TEH'YOU KI KADOSH ANI (be ye holy for I AM holy) in the original Hebrew, the "O" in "KADOSH" is there, yet in the word "KADOSHIM" it is missing, the letter "O" is not there, although, it IS there, but in part. For those who are not familiar with the Hebrew letters, the letter "O" looks like an upside down golf club, with the golf ball sitting on top, in the original Hebrew, only the "golf ball" is there, the "golf club" (vav) is not.

Adonai uses the word " Kad_shim" when he refers to US, yet he uses the full word "Kadosh" when he refers to himself. The difference is a "full VAV" (complete "O") and the "lacking, or partial VAV" (only the top part of the vav "O") is seen. this top part is called the "dagesh" and it is shared with the letter "sheen" (W) If we were to say this on a singular basis, we can say that GOD is KADOSH, yet I am only KAD_SH.

The sages and ancient rabbis say that this is because we can never be completely HOLY, (set apart) since we are LACKING a complete sinless nature, we are born sinners, with a carnal sin nature, explaining the lacking of the letter "O", yet YHVH is completely HOLY, 100% no sin nature, so therefore, NOTHING is lacking in HIM, so therefore, the "vav" is written completely.

Being holy does not mean being SINLESS, since with our sin nature, it is impossible, we are always lacking stuff, like; self control, managing our tongues, temper, attitude, etc, we see our patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moshe, and others, David, Paul, Peter, they were considered "holy" unto God, yet Abraham was a liar (lied to Pharaoh) so was Isaac, did the same thing, Jacob had family issues, Moshe murdered, David sent word to murder Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, and committed adultery, Peter and Paul both had problems with anger, yet they were all "holy" set apart unto God's word, like ALL OF US ARE, so, if we say that we are "holy" we are speaking the truth, yet we have a loooooooong way to go

beyond the grave, we will be 'complete" and get the "vav" put into our holiness, so, for the time being we are only "HLY" we must be content with that.

The rest of this chapter, are a list of a variety of commandments, not so related one to another, we can look at a few:

verses 5-7. deal with eating sacrificial meats. Back then, you would bring an animal to the sanctuary, and offer it to the LORD, and the priest would get a portion and the rest you would bring home to your family, already BBQ roasted on the grill (sort of ), since there were no refrigerators back then, it was best to eat it all at one sitting, and on the second day, also, but NOT on the third, Perhaps the LORD saw too much risk of bacteria on the meat, and this was a health precaution. Could this also tie in with Yeshua's resurrection on the third day? something to think about.

verses 9-10, deal with leaving some crops for the poor and the those passing by, makes sense. They could go on your land and help themselves with the crops on the edge of your land, try that today and you might get shot, or get chased by a pit-bull.

verse 11 is a reminder of the Ten Commandments, gives a precise meaning of "profaning" (Chilull) in Hebrew, the name of GOD, which is "swearing falsely" o promising to do something, taking an oath, using God's name "I swear to God that I'll........." and not do it, that is profaning God's name.

verse 14 "You shall not curse the deaf nor put a stumbling block before the blind" we think of that and say, "why would anyone do that?" maybe they would just to be mean, however, we may have already did those things. When we talk in negative forms about someone and they are not there to hear, it is like "cursing the deaf" and when we are negative witnesses to others who are new believers in the LORD, we are "putting stumbling blocks before them" as they are new in the faith, there are many aspects that they can not SEE

"You shall not hate your neighbor in your heart" we should NEVER harbor hate towards anyone, however, if our neighbor is at fault in something, we do have the duty to REBUKE our neighbor, to show him or her their fault, and correct the person, in a kind way that is

"You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. "You shall not sow your field with mixed seed" nor mix fabric, like Linen and wool together"

Today, we see mixed breeds everywhere, not so in Bible days, seems like "pure breed" animals were stronger and heartier. Sowing a field with mixed seed would extract too many chemicals and elements from the soil, thus depleting the soil of nutrients , Making clothing with mixed linen (or cotton) with wool would cause the garment to ruin when washed, wool shrinks, and cotton doesn't, it would "pull-apart" yet today, we see most of our clothing is of mixed fabric, We really have gotten away from Bible basics

If we look at this in a spiritual sense, we could say that Adonai does not approve mixed, spiritual-faith unions, a believer with an unbeliever, un equally yoked, there is no common spiritual ground.

verse 23: "when you come into the land.......(read on) " talks about planting and harvesting fruit trees, for the first three years, you couldn't eat the fruit, it would drop off the tree and rot on the ground, the fourth year, it was considered "holy" separated and brought to the tabernacle for the priests, and in the fifth year, you could eat it, Why? the three years in which the fruit fell to the ground "re-fertilized" the ground, gave back to the ground the nutrients that the growing tree extracted when the fruit rotten and return to the soil. Makes perfect agronomic sense, any fruit orchard farmer and agricultural engineer would see this. Yet, is this practiced today? who knows, I hope so.

verse 28: "you shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor TATOO any marks on you, I AM YHVH! yet "tattoos" are the "in thing" today with many people, how far have we come from God's truth, when ever God says "I AM THE LORD" he is making a statement! serious stuff

verse 30: "you shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary, I AM THE LORD!

(serious statement) I don't think this needs explanation, we should be with our brothers and sisters in the faith on Shabbos, and learning God's Word in HIS house, and treat our synagogue/church with respect and honor ( common sense)

verse 32: "You shall honor the presence of an old man (also an old woman)' Yeah! I feel better already, I am one of those, if being "old" is past 60. I "feel" young though,

verses 33 and 34 deal with treating a stranger "fairly and not mistreated" that is talking about "immigrants" The USA opened the doors for almost 100 years at Ellis Island to all immigrants, even to my grandma and grandpa who came in the 1920s, from Athens, Greece, and before that, from Izmir, Turkey, fleeing from the Turkish-Armenian genocide. They were welcomed and came on the good ship "Prince Alexander" but today, many immigrants are being mistreated, separated from loved-ones, and sent back to their countries, how far have we come from obeying God's Torah! are we immune to judgment? I think not.

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EZEKIEL 20:2-20

We read the rebuke upon Israel by the Prophet Y'cheskel (Ezekiel) and rightly so, God made an oath to Israel, took them out of Egypt, made them HIS people, gave them his TORAH, and we read about their repayment, "rebellion" yet He still gave them a chance, and even today, we are HIS people and he gives us MANY CHANCES to get right with HIM, even as far as coming to earth in flesh and blood as YESHUA to be the sacrifice lamb, and die for our sins, yet people still reject Him, yet many accept him and have become "sons of God" (daughters too)
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1 PETER 1:13-16

Kefa writes this letter to the believers and repeats Lev 19, "Be ye holy for I AM holy"

and admonishes us all NOT to be conformed to our former lusts, the "pull" of the "old man" the "sinful nature" and to be conformed to our "new nature" which every born again believer has. It is a constant battle of the "spirit against the flesh" it goes on in all believers, but one day, the flesh will be buried, and we will take on a "new" body, without corruption, likened unto Messiah Yeshua, Baruch HaShem

Shabbat Shalom.................Rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA "EMOR" (say)

LEV 21:1-24:23.............................EZEKIEL 44:15-31..........................1 PETER 2:4-10

In this Parasha, we see also, a variety of themes. We start out with "Kodesh Shel haCohanim" (Holiness of the priests)

we see the high standard of integrity that is expected of priests, One could say, the same is for today, a high standard is expected of pastors, rabbis, ministers, Sunday school teachers, Torah teachers, etc. But this chapter talks about "priests touching the dead".

They are only allowed physical contact with the dead if the person is mother, father, and of course a wife, We ask why? well, someone has to bury the dead, and it would usually be the job of the closest kin to the deceased. The dead person would have to be buried right away, in the same day. We can understand this also biologically, a corpse starts to decompose, attract flies, disease, etc, especially in a hot place like the middle east, and the quicker the body goes into the ground, the sooner the body becomes a part of "Adamah" (the dust) again.

vs 5; "They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God" every time we see the word "holy" connected with people, it is always lacking the "o" or in Hebrew, the letter "vav" we understand from last time that because of our sin nature, we can not be completely "holy" like God, God (Elohim) is "Kadosh" while, (including the priests) we are always "kadsh" (not quite 'Kadosh" yet, but in time, the in world to come, YES) The word also says that they are not to make any "cuttings in their flesh" tattoos fall into the category of "cuttings in the flesh" (not me speaking, it is God's Word)

We also see a summary of the "moedim" (Feasts of the LORD), in chap 23, we can look at them briefly again.

1. SHABBAT: to be honored by all believers. A day of rest, of studying the Torah, to worship HaShem, (I know I am going to get feedback on this from the forums) No guys, the Sabbath was NEVER changed to Sunday, Acts just tells us what the talmidim were accustomed to doing on Saturday evenings and perhaps on Sunday mornings, getting together and breaking bread (fellowship meals) and studying the Word, nothing wrong with that, ANY day of the week, not only on Sundays.

2. PASSOVER AND UNLEAVENED BREAD: the blood on the door posts, the sacrificed lambs symbolize our Messiah's death on Calvary's cross, The unleavened bread and bitter herbs; Yeshua the Bread of Life, and the "bitterness of sin" how we come out of the bondage of sin by accepting the sacrifice of the Lamb who is Yeshua the Bread of Life.

3. FEAST OF FIRST FRUITS: We are reminded of Messiah Yeshua being the "first fruit from the grave" He resurrected from the dead, we are to give also, our "first fruits" of our living, from our wages, if some are farmers, the first fruit of the crops, that portion given away freely, perhaps to local churches/synagogues in the area. The sacrifices were a lamb, and fine flour mixed with oil, this was to be done along side of the sheaves of wheat, lamb = Yeshua, fine Flour= Yeshua the Bread of Life, oil = Ruach HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit)

4. FEAST OF WEEKS: or "Shavuot" or "Pentecost" known in church circles, in ancient times, 2 loaves of "leavened" bread, (about 4 pounds each loaf) were "waved" before YHVH, along with 7 lambs, which were sacrificed, many ask "why 2?" what is the meaning of the number "2" ? well, there are these possibilities; the "Y'hudim v Goyim" (Jews and Gentiles) the "New Covenant and the Old" "Old life and the New Life" remember that " leaven" was used, so, what does that remind us of?

5. FEAST OF TRUMPETS, DAY OF ATONEMENT, FEAST OF TABERNACLES

The "days of Awe" when we are to contemplate on our relationship with God though Yeshua, are we found lacking? if so, it is time for "Teshuvah" to "getting back to God"

Back then, our sins were only "covered" for one year, now, they have been "atoned" for once and forever, by Yeshua's blood.

Chap 24. The Menorah is mentioned, the lamps are to be kept "burning continually" reminds us of "Yeshua" who is our "eternal light" and since we are HIS eternal lights, we will be "lights" for all eternity also. (I was going to write, "burn" eternally, but some might get the wrong idea, and think of the "other place" (yikes!, no AC down there)
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EZEKIEL 44:15-31

The Prophet speaks of the future priests that will be in charge of the Temple in Jerusalem, the priesthood of Zadok, those who were faithful to Adonai. One of the jobs of the priests will be to teach the people, as it says in verse 23

"And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between unclean and clean" they shall also "keep my TORAH, and my MOEDIM, and hallow my SHABBATS"

These things are what every PASTOR, RABBI, TORAH TEACHER, SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER, YOUTH MINISTER, PRIEST, BISHOP, or whatever title the churches today bestow, teach to their congregations. If they are not doing those things, they are not doing their jobs, however, many think that these are "Jewish things" well, they are "Bible things" and "God things" (all go together)
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1 PETER 2:4-10

"Behold, I lay in Zion a Chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on HIM will by no means be put to shame" (focal verse) the "chief Cornerstone" is HIM, Yeshua, who is the "AVEN" (word for "Stone") a combination of two words AV (father) and BEN (son) we get "Aben" or "Aven" We can either "rest and trust on the STONE" or the "STONE will crush us" we are either "for the STONE" or "Against the STONE" there are no "in betweens"

Shabbat Shalom..........Rabbi Ben Avraham

Jacob, the people I grew up among would say exactly as you about the treatment of old Bibles and I remember as a young man clearing out a home and being given the task of burying tattered Bibles. I now find that rather odd. To me it now seems idolatrous. The notion of consecrated paper seems to be a shibboleth of little value for they are but things.

Yes, to some it may seem that way, but it is mere tradition, since there are no commandments to that effect, but it is still honorable I would think, once that object has seen it's usage, if it is Holy, set apart for the things of God, it would seem correct to bury it after it has seen it's usage.

T[B]This is a continuation of the last post, since "Emor" talks about the "moedim" (The High Holy days) it would seem fit to look at one in specific, "Passover" which is the most popular, and the most meaningful (at least to many people) so a verse by verse commentary follows

May, 14th 2016 (also, on this date in 1948, Israel was recognized as a Nation by the UN)

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MESSIAH YESHUA IN THE PASSOVER
From EXODUS 12:1-13

Vs 2; “THIS MONTH SHALL BE THE BEGINNING OF MONTHS, IT SHALL BE THE THE FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR TO YOU”

So where does January 1st fit in? It doesn't!. This was an invention of man, to change the calendar that God had already given us. God operates on a lunar calendar, and the Gregorian calendar uses the sun. But if we are going to understand the events and dates that events occur in the Bible, we need to be familiar with the lunar calendar. The month of “Nisan” which usually starts in April, is the “New Year” for us. This year, 2016, “New Year's day” was on April 9th.

Vss 3-5; ON THE TENTH OF THIS MONTH, EVERY MAN SHALL TAKE FOR HIMSELF A LAMB......................YOUR LAMB WILL BE WITHOUT BLEMISH...FROM THE SHEEP OR FROM THE GOATS.

Something tremendous is about to happen, a joyous occasion, an event of “Thanksgiving” sort of speaking. In the USA we are accustomed to celebrate “Thanksgiving” in November, with turkeys, and we invite all family and relatives over to eat. In Egypt, the Israelites were slaves, and were about to be freed. This “Thanksgiving” occasion called for “lambs” perfect lambs without illness, or deformities, One of the names of “Yeshua” our Messiah is the “Lamb of God” who was also, and still is “without blemish” what happened on the 10th day of the month of Nisan two thousand years ago? Yeshua entered Jerusalem on a donkey, to be known as Messiah, to heal the sick, and teach the Torah, to be known by the people, everyone greeted him with palm branches and shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David” and five days later shouted “Crucify him” (well, not all shouted that) many wept and many understood Daniel's prophecy that the “Messiah would be “cut off” (crucified) in Daniel chapter 8. This date is commonly known as “Palm Sunday” in the christian communities. “Palm Sunday” was on the 17th of April this year.

Vss 6-7; YOU SHALL KEEP IT UNTIL THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF THE SAME MONTH, THEN THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY OF THE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL SHALL KILL IT AT TWILIGHT. AND THEY SHALL TAKE SOME OF THE BLOOD AND PUT IT ON THE TWO DOORPOSTS AND ON THE LINTEL OF THE HOUSES WHERE THEY EAT IT”

A day begins at “twilight” when the sun goes down, it is the start of a new day. So, five days after the lamb was in the houses, being inspected to see if it had any blemishes, it was slaughtered at “twilight” and the blood was placed on the two side beams of the houses, and on the top beam.
When we see Yeshua in this, we see him in Jerusalem, comes in on the tenth of Nisan, then on the 14th day of Nisan, five days later (ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen) he is crucified on the cross of Calvary, for our sins, once and for all time, The blood on the doorposts and lintel form a “cross” we can imagine the head of Yeshua at the top, wet with the blood from his head where the crown of thorns was, and the two side posts where his hands were nailed, and the blood ran down to the base of the cross.

Vs 8; AND THEY SHALL EAT THE FLESH ON THAT NIGHT, ROASTED WITH FIRE, AND WITH UNLEAVENED BREAD AND WITH BITTER HERBS, THEY SHALL EAT IT”

We often see this done in parks, on BBQ pits, families bring hamburgers, hot dogs, fajitas, sausage, etc and roast them over an open fire, well in Goshen, the lambs were roasted over open fires on spits, we look at the symbolism of “fire” and we are reminded of “heat, light, destruction, purification, zeal, and judgment. Yeshua was “roasted” on Calvary's cross in the fire of judgment, being judged for all of our sins, past, present, and future. Yeshua is also known by the name “The Bread of Life” who was born in the “House of Bread” (Beit-Lechem) or in English “Bethlehem” it is only fitting that the “Bread of Life” would be born in the “House of Bread” Unleavened bread symbolizes “without sin” leaven symbolizes “sin” as “leaven or yeast” puffs up the dough, and so we get bread made with flour and yeast, sin often makes us “swell or puff up with false pride” . The “bitter herbs” remind us of the slavery that the Israelites went through in Egypt for 400 years. We are reminded of the “slavery to sin” being bound to Ha Satan. We don't know exactly what kind of bitter herbs were used back then, but today, we use horse radish. The bitterness of sin is passed when we come to Yeshua and accept Him as LORD and Savior.

Vss 11-13: …...”YOU SHALL EAT IT IN HASTE, IT IS THE LORD'S PASSOVER, FOR I WILL PASS THROUGH THE LAND OF EGYPT ON THAT NIGHT AND WILL STRIKE ALL THE FIRST BORN OF EGYPT, BOTH MAN AND BEAST, AND AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT, I WILL EXECUTE JUDGMENT, I AM YHVH. NOW THE BLOOD WILL BE A SIGN FOR YOU ON THE HOUSES WHERE YOU ARE, AND WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD, I WILL “PASS OVER” YOU, AND THE PLAGUE SHALL NOT BE ON YOU TO DESTROY YOU WHEN I STRIKE THE LAND OF EGYPT”

This is the night when the Egyptians get paid back for all their abuse and cruelty. In one night, Egypt was ruined. And a few days later, Egypt's army found itself on the bottom of the Red Sea. Egypt never quite recovered from the blow. Adonai-Elohim was saying to Pharaoh “I AM the LORD God, and YOU are not ME!” nor were the gods, any kind of gods, if anything, demonic entities. Each plague was against one of the many gods. “darkness” came against “Ra” the sun god. The death of the cattle came against “Apis” a god with the head of a bull. The Nile turned to blood, against the Nile goddess, and so forth. But the “Blood Standard” would “save” all who found themselves behind the closed doors of the houses where the blood was. Even the Egyptians
Many who “woke up and smelled the coffee” sort of speaking, who realized they were on the losing side, if they put blood on their doors, they would also be saved. This shows that we serve a just God who is not racist. He accepts ALL people of ALL NATIONS, and RACES. Who would trust in the shed blood of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus the Christ) that is why we see a “mixed multitude” that left Egypt together with the Israelites, it consisted of Egyptians and Nubians (people from Ethiopia and Sudan) who were living in Egypt at that time. The LORD would PASS OVER those houses where the blood of the lambs was placed. Today when we trust in the one-time sacrifice of Yeshua (Jesus) who shed his blood on Calvary's cross, we are saved from eternal destruction, eternal death, and separation from our creator. Just as the blood standard was in effect back then, it is still in effect NOW, and always will be.

PARASHA: "B'Har" (On the mountain).............. May 21st, 2016........13th of Iyar, 5776

LEV 25:1-26:2..............................JEREMIAH 32:6-27....................LUKE 4:16-21

In this Parasha, we read and learn about "HaShana Shabat" and "HaShana Yovel"
(The sabbatical Year) and (The Year of Jubilee)

The Word teaches us that the land is to be used/farmed for 6 years and on the 7th year, the land is to lie fallow, the land is to rest. And we ask God "why this?" When we think about it, especially in an agricultural sense, it DOES make MUCH sense. Crops take out of the soil minerals and nutrients that help them grow, same way a baby inside the mother's womb, takes nutrients from the mother, for that reason, the mother must eat healthy food, and take vitamins, to re-nourish her body. The land is the same, it must "take its Sabbath rest" to replenish itself with minerals and nutrients. The vineyards still produced grapes but the grapes would ripen and fall to the ground, to create compost, and fertilizer.

thousands of years ago, before the existence of modern fertilizers, the land was just left alone, (perhaps the cattle dumped their do-do, in the fields) and God took care of the rest.

The crops in the 6th year, were enough to feed the owner of the field during the 7th year of rest, (God made sure of that). If we obey his commandments, He will take care of us.

The year of "Yovel" (Jubliee) was every 50 years. Today we buy and sell properties and we have the sense of "permanent ownership" but it was not like that thousands of years ago. One could buy or "purchase on contract of lease for 49 years" so you could own a house and property for 49 years, on the 50th year, the property would revert back to the original owner. Of course, the owner could write out another deed to lease it for another 49 years, but that was up to the owner.

If property was sold at the beginning of the 49 years, the price could be "full" if the property was sold at year 20 of the 49 years, the price would be considerably less. If a person "sold himself or herself" as a slave "for ever" per necessity, the "for ever" would be "49" years, on year 50, the slave would no longer be a slave, but a freeman or woman

if a relative had the money, that relative could buy back his or her kinsman, being a "kinsman redeemer"

there were exceptions, if a person bought a house inside a walled city, the house would belong to the new owner permanently, but if the house or field was outside of the city, per say, in the suburbs, the property would revert back to the original owner on year 50.

We look at this and we can apply a spiritual lesson to it. ALL things belong to the LORD.

We are just used to calling "things" "ours". This is MY CAR, this is MY HOUSE, this is MY WIFE/HUSBAND, these are MY ITEMS OF JEWELRY, but in reality, ALL belongs to HIM who reigns on high, the KING of kings and LORD of lords. All things on earth are just on LOAN to us, until YHVH calls for them once again. The native Americans could not understand the white settlers who came and "Claimed land as theirs" "America's Native Son" asked "how can a man own land? can he own a rock, the water, the sky? The American Indians had the right idea, they cared for the land and shared it, yet they were slaughtered and displaced by unrighteous sinners.

When we lose a loved one, either a wife, a husband, a son or daughter, we can either, "wail and be depressed for years on end" or "thank the LORD for the years we had with them, and thus accept the return of their souls to the Creator of all". People think they own houses, cars, etc, but God changes all things when he allows hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides, etc to reclaim "those things" and people very quickly learn the truth about "true ownership"

Lastly, Yeshua is our "kinsman redeemer" who redeemed us from "the curse of sin" he BOUGHT us with his own blood, and "set us free" we do not have to wait 7 years, or 50 years, He set us free 2000 years, and your freedom can be accepted NOW, If you have never placed your faith in Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ) you can do it NOW,
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JEREMIAH 32:6-27

Yirimyahu ha Navi (Jeremiah the prophet) received instructions from YHVH to purchase some land, yet the country was about to be invaded by the Babylonians, so why is God asking him to make a purchase? because he would RETURN to the land later on in the future. Right now, many are returning to "Eretz Elohim" (The land of God) the land that was given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as an inheritance FOREVER. Perhaps Am Y'Hudim (the Jewish people) have been displaced, scattered to other nations, (part of God's plan to teach the nations of the "One God Adonai-Elohim-Yeshua. who is "Echad" (one). Many are return to claim their portion of the inheritance.
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LUKE 4:16-21

This portion tells of Yeshua when he entered his synagogue one Sabbath in Nazareth, his home town, and he was called to read the "Haf Torah" (the prophets) He read from Isaiah 61:1 and part of verse 2;

"The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me, because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek, bind up the broken hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of YHVH" ....However... he did NOT read......and the DAY OF VENGANCE of our God.

He was revealed why he came, the "first coming" He came to preach and teach the Torah, after all, he wrote it all (through the prophets), and through the teaching of the WORD, people are healed spiritually, broken hearts are healed, those who are captives in the bondage of sin, will be released................However........the DAY OF VENGANCE...is all about the SECOND COMING. when Yeshua will return to earth riding on a horse, and we with Him, (so if you don't know how to ride a flying horse, better learn now) and he will put and end to the Anti-Messiah, and set up his Millennial kingdom, and we will take part in it, Baruch HaShem!

Shabbat Shalom...............Rabbi Ben Avraham

"...so you could own a house and property for 49 years, on the 50th year, the property would revert back to the original owner."
That arrangement does not negate the idea of permanent ownership, since the "original owner" retains his ownership for ever, at least nominally. The state of Israel has now existed for over 50 years - do they have any plans to renegotiate the lease with the land's original owners, or must they too be classed amongst the "unrighteous sinners"?

They ARE the Original owners, deeded to Abraham and to his descendants

PARASHA: "b'chukotai" (in my statutes) May 27th 2016.....Iyyar 19th, 5776

LEV 26:3-27:34.................JER 16:19-17:14...............2 COR 6:14-18

What are "statutes" one may ask? they are rulings and conditions related to the law, in this, related to HaShem's mitzvoth. We find that verse 3 is very interesting, and it starts with an "IF" which means "conditional"

"IF you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and perform them...THEN...."

There are three interesting words here; "Walk" "Keep" and "perform" one might say that they are all the same. But why would God mention them like that if they mean the same thing? It is a difficult question to answer, since they all seem to be saying the same thing. Statues are the details of the commandments, we must, "walk" "Keep" and "perform".

We might be reminded of three things which we all go through in the learning process; "knowledge" "understanding" and "wisdom" ; "Y'diy'ah" (knowledge) "Havanah" (understanding) "Chochmah" (wisdom). When we study God's Word, especially his mitzvoth, we gain "knowledge" but some say that with "knowledge" and no more, well, that and 10 cents will get you a cup of coffee, (when was coffee 10 cents? maybe in the 1950s) BUT...if we add "understanding to the knowledge we gain, then that is more, We can read a lot, BUT do we UNDERSTAND what we read? I could read a manual on heart surgery, but I probably would not understand what I read, unless a doctor explains it to me, in more basic terms, if after that, I understand, then....I would have advanced from "knowledge to understanding". Perhaps knowledge and understanding, when it comes to the commandments, would mean that we are "Keeping" in mind what HaShem is teaching us through the Torah. However, if we "put into action" what we have learned, first by knowledge, then proceeded by "understanding" then, we are achieving what God has had in mind for us, that is "performance"

One can "walk" YHVH's statutes in our minds and hearts, "Keeping" them in mind, and then, "Performing" them, so, what we learn we must put into action. We can see that in every job in this world. A doctor learns from books, lectures, thus gaining knowledge and understanding, then he "practices" what he has learned as an intern, and when he has perfected his "performance" he gets his license to practice medicine,

There is a lot to learn in God's Word, He has given us his commandments in order to live a "Kadosh" lifestyle before HIM and before our fellow man (and woman) he has not given us these to make our lives miserable, but to clarify what is holy and un holy, clean vs unclean, especially since we live in a fallen world dominated by sin. The curse of sin has been conquered and vanquished by Yeshua HaMashiach on Calvary's cross, our "Yeshuah" (Salvation) has been secured in HIM, We have gained "righteousness" through HIM, now, we must live a "righteous" lifestyle. (doing what is correct and Kadosh) being "Tsaddikim"

Chapter 26 deals with "conditions" "IF...THEN" "IF YOU DON'T.....THEN" All blessings, relationships, contracts, etc are all "conditional" even salvation is conditional, IF we repent of our sins, and turn from our sinful ways, and accept Yeshua/Jesus as our LORD and Savior, THEN we will be saved, salvation will be ours for all eternity. It is not an automatic thing, Yeshua died for our sins, and it is a free gift, only IF we accept it, by repentance (Teshuvah) If salvation were something automatic, being granted to every single soul on earth at the time of death, then "heaven" would soon become a "hell" with all the Adolf Hitlers, Stalins, etc up there doing there "thing"

the blessings given to Israel were earthly blessings, speaking of their crops, rain, etc, on the condition that they might OBEY his commandments... BUT IF YOU DO NOT OBEY ME...vs 14 then come the curses, is it any different today? I would say not. To stay out of jail, obey the "commandments" of the law of the land. If you want your home to be the state prison, then DISOBEY the laws of the land.

Chap 27 deals with "vowing" and "dedicating" things to Adonai. Back then, it came with a small cost. If a person "vowed" or promised, dedicated something or someone to the service of Adonai, the person had to pay a small price in silver, Today, we see almost the same thing, We can dedicate ourselves to teaching HIS Word, but we have to PAY a bit of silver during our tenure in a Yeshiva or Bible college to get ourselves ready. One time I sent 30 Bibles through Malawi Bible society, to people in small town in that African country, but I had to purchase those bibles through the Bible society, the bibles were "dedicated" to those people, but it still "cost" me some money. So we can see the relationship between money, and dedicating, vowing, etc. Rav Shaul (Paul) paid a "price" to be a "Nazarite" for a time, he got a hair-cut and had to pay a fee.

and this is the end of the book of Leviticus.

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YIRIMYAHU 16:19-17:14

"Oh YHVH, my strength and my fortress" the prophet speaks through the Ruach HaKodesh. "The Gentiles will come to you" and is this not true? the whole world has come to YESHUA and HIS WORD for salvation. The prophet outlines blesses and curses, if Israel chooses to follow Adonai, yet Israel rejected the commandments of God, thus the prophet writes "the sin of Y'hudah is written with a pen of iron, and with a point of a diamond, engraved on their hearts" So all of the people were made "conscious" of their sin....Yet He will "cause them to know My hand and my might, and they shall know that my name is YHVH", in 17:7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in YHVH" So, we can trust in YESHUA and receive his blessings...............or reject.............and receive curses, this is a similar message to the Torah message in Leviticus.

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2 COR 6:14-18

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers" we interpret this more in marriage relationships, which makes sense, both husband and wife should be born again believers

if not, many times, trouble will come forth. But this can also refer to very close friendships, the closer people become, the more our "intimacies" will surface, and the un-believer will see that we are "of Yeshua" and not "of the world" there will be friction,

"Come out from among THEM and be separate (Kadosh, Holy) " which is the calling of ALL PEOPLE, to leave "Egypt" and cross over to "Eretz C'naan" leave the world of sin, and the slavery to sin, and come to YESHUA and be part of HIS PEOPLE. But it doesn't mean we can't relate to lost people, sure, but there is a limit, we should not engage in unrighteous activities which are sinful that they might invite us to do..

.....and you shall be my sons and daughters....So, we are "kol B'nei Elohim" (all children of God) those who have accepted Yeshua as Mashiach and LORD. Baruch HaShem

rabbi Ben Avraham

The beginning of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) NUMBERS 1:1-4:20

PARASHA "B'MIDBAR" (in the wilderness)...........4/June/2016.........27/Iyyar/5776

NUMBERS 1:1-4:20...................HOSEA 2:1-22.....................1 COR 12:12-20

We start our study in the book of Numbers, in the Hebrew, "B'Midbar" (in the wilderness) The English title "Numbers" is because the first part of the book deals with "numbering" the people for certain jobs, task, duties, and it all took place in the "wilderness" or some say "desert"

One might think that this book of the Torah is boring, since it just lists names, yet it has much significance. We serve our God, Adonai-Elohim-Yeshuah, because of who He is. He is a God of "order" He is very organized in all that He does. Everything and everyone in its place, in his or her place. A specific job for everyone. There are no lone rangers in God's Army.

He numbers the tribes to form the ancient IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Yet these troops did not carry Uzis, and dress in olive green uniforms, they dressed in loose fitting tunics and carried swords, knives, spears, sling-shots, and bows and arrows. Just like the armies of the world, they must have practiced daily with these weapons. One might think, where did they get them? Remember the armies of Egypt that went down-under in the Red Sea? well, dead bodies float, and so do their weapons, so, the Israelites got the weapons from the Egyptians. I am sure that in time, the Israelites learned how to make their own weapons using iron, copper, smelting furnaces, etc.

We can look at most of the armies of today's countries, and see similarities. We have the fighting forces, soldiers that train in combat arms, (infantry, artillery, mechanized unit, special forces, etc.) When I was in the Army for 11 years, I served in the office administration division (clerk typist) chaplain assistant (at that time, serving under the catholic chaplain) , food service, and finally, medical nursing unit, different jobs, different times, but always, "with a task to do"

Not everyone is the "Rambo" type, but there is a job for everyone in today's Armed Forces, no matter what country you live in. I have had the honor to serve as volunteer with the modern IDF, and as volunteer chaplain in the Armed Forces of El Salvador.

In numbering the tribes of Israel for serve in the Army, the starting age was 20 years old, in the USA, the age is 18.

However, YHVH made a distinction with the tribe of Levi, they were the "Chaplains and chaplain assistants" of ancient times. Their whole charge was to care for the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) they were of "non-combatant" status. That is the norm for today's army chaplains, they don't carry weapons, their weapon is the Word of God. The Levites had certain tasks, different family members were charged with covering and carrying the furniture of the Tabernacle, and setting it up again once at a different camp site. Everything had order, we serve a God of order.

All believers are part of God's Army of believers, our war is against HaSatan and his demons, we have the AAF (Angelic Allied Forces) on our side, we just have to know how to call upon them for help and assistance. By prayer and supplication, using the powerful name of "Yeshua" They will come to assist every believer that calls upon them.

The enemy, HaSatan, hates us all, and wants nothing more than to destroy us or ruin our testimony, destroy our families, point an accusing finger at us and say to God "Hey, and he's your son?" or "She's your daughter?" "well hey look God, do you see what your son/daughter just did?" BUT....all of our sins have been covered and atoned for, past, present, and future. Yes, we can imagine God shaking his head sometimes, and saying "oi vey, did you have to do that son/daughter?" Yet there is forgiveness, if we only repent and ask for it.

We also see that Levite ministry began at 30 years old. That was when Yeshua/Jesus began his earthly ministry, at 30 years old, in keeping with the Torah. Today, there is not set age for beginning ministry, only one has to be prepared, have a good knowledge of God's Word, and have a calling to perform a certain task, be in preaching, teaching, being a pastor or rabbi. Most have studied in a Bible college or Yeshiva, yet some have not. Dr. B.R. Laken, known as the "Prince of preachers" only had a sixth grade education, but became a circuit preacher, visiting different churches in the 1930s, riding a mule! But what ever your calling is, tend to it! you're part of HaShem's Army, don't "Sham" (Army word for "being lazy") Don't be a "shamster" The harvest is ripe, and workers are needed!
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HOSEA 2:1-22

Hosea had a hard calling, He was instructed by God to marry a prostitute, and yes, she WOULD be unfaithful. Can you imagine us receiving a call like that? either to marry an unfaithful man or woman, knowing who that person was and what he or she would do? Well, Hosea did, and he STILL loved her (Gomer). She was sold into slavery, yet Hosea bought her back...and still loved her.

This is an illustration of how Israel departed from the ways of HaShem, going after strange gods, committing "adultery" against Adonai-Elohim, Yes, God would punish/chastise his people, YET, he would bring them back to himself, a remnant would be saved, many would perish, yet some would be saved, survive captivity, exile, etc. and turn back to Elohim. Yeshua HaMashiach is the WAY BACK, He is the WAY the TRUTH, and the LIFE, (Ha Derech) (Ha Emet) and (Ha Chaiyim)

If you have gone astray, it is not too late, there is a way back, HE IS!
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1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-20

"There are many members, yet one body" is the message in this part of Rav Shaul's message to the Kehilah of Corinth. Corinth was a very pagan city in Greece. (I was there back in 99) the believers were very carnal, yet Paul still loved them and reached out to them with these letters. There is ONE BODY of believers, even though there are many languages, customs, skin colors, denominational names, yet we are all ONE in MESSIAH YESHUA, whether we call him by his Hebrew name "Yeshua" or English/Spanish "Jesus" or Arabic "Yisa" or Chinese "Yasu" HE knows his NAME in ALL LANGAUGES, after all, he made the languages back in Babel. And as believers in one body, we all have different jobs, and ALL working together, make the body a 'WELL OILED MACHINE" through the Spiritual gifts and abilities. Do you know yours? if not, find out! investigate! YESHUA HA MASHIACH needs YOU, for HIS ARMY.

This might be the last Parasha for a while, for a few months, we are going out of country for the summer, I may not be able to access a PC whenever I want to, yet if I can, I will continue to send out the Parashiot weekly as time permits.

Shabbat Shalom......................rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA NASSO ELEVATE

Numbers 4 21 to 7 89.................Judges 13 2 to 25.......Acts 21 17 to 26

You know, I don´t know how to figure out the keys to the punctuation on PCs in Central America, they seem to be all out of order, out of place, the star symbol is really another, and the dollar sign is another, and you know, I am not going to try and find out, I am just going to write this parasha,

This parasha is similar to last weeks, the Levite families are separated (Kadoshed) to serve in the Tabernacle, from 30 years old to 50. As we learned last week, Yeshua started his ministry at 30 years old. We, as high priests of HaShem, we have ALL been KADOSHED or SEPARATED unto the service of our Messiah Yeshua, and it doesn´t matter what family name we bear, all that matters is that we are BORN AGAIN in HIS family. Each of us has been kadoshed to do certain things in the Family of God, in our ¨KEHILOT (congregation). The spiritual gifts give us jobs to do and we should do them to the best of our abilities, just as the ancient Israelite families carried the objects of the tabernacle, so we should carry our load, what we have been called to do, there is no such thing as retirement in God s family, we serve until the LORD brings us home to glory, and then what ( that s supposed to be a question) then we serve some more, for all eternity

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Judges 13 2 to 25

The rest of the Parasha is about the Nazarite vow, in this type of vow, a person could not go near the barber shop, could not drink wine, nor even grape juice, and not touch anything dead. These were people who in their heart, wanted to serve the LORD for a certain time, dedicate themselves entirely to the LORD, and so, went through the Nazarite ceremony. Are there Nazarites today ? ? great, I found the question mark key, it is the key with the long line on top, yeah, makes sense
well, there might be, the WORD of God does not prohibit taking a Nazarite vow today, I guess we just don´t hear of believers calling themselves Nazarites today, but there might be, Samson, the strong man, was called to be a Nazarite from the womb, he was a judge in Israel, from the tribe of Dan. His job was to free the Israelites from under Phillistine rule, this was before Saul was made king. When Israel sinned and stopped serving the LORD; God would send chastisement, in the form of other conquering nations, such as the Phillistines, when they repented, God sent relief, Samson was chosen, yet HE himself was carnal, and violated his Nazarite vows, and so even he was judged by Righteous Adonai, yet ended his life killing thousands of Phillistines when he brought the Temple of Dagon down. Believers, take heed that we stay faithful to our calling, least Adonai bring the house down on top of US !!!

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ACTS 21 17 To 26

Rav Shaul gets some good news, many Y´hudim are coming to Yeshua, thousands of Messianic Jews are now revealed, they love Yeshua and they love the Torah, who says one can t be orthodox and messianic ? sure, I imagine them all were very Torah observant , yet they recognized Messiah Yeshua as LORD, and realized that good works (mitzvoth) did not bring saving righteousness, that saving righteousness came only through Yeshua. Shaul also, wanted to prove to the Jews that he also was Torah observant, so, He also went through the Nazarite ceremony,

Just a bit of exta info, When a person went through the ceremony, his hair would be cut, then, after that, the person would let his hair grow until the appointed time of his Nazarite service was over, then, his hair was cut again, and his hair would be thrown into the fire and be burned, sort of a consumation of his Nazarite service.

We can serve the LORD without going through a Nazarite ceremony, God doesn t look for outward signs of service, he looks into our hearts.

Shabbat Shalom v´hag sameach Shavuot.


There was a tropical lighting and rain storm tonight in San Salvador, lights went out for a while, and so did the PC , The day was cool, part sunny, a wind blowing through the trees, dogs were calm, lazying around, just like the rabbi,, laying around in the hammock, getting up late, still go on to the patio and put on the tefillim and tallit, and do mornng prayers, always to make sure the patio is washed and swept clean, after all, the dogs patrol the property all night, and the patio is part of their terrain. Tomorrow is Parasha teaching at a retired Army capt. house, He loves the LORD, is in his 70 s, and tomorrow afternoon we go to the Beit HaMidrash (House of Study) and celebrate Shavuot and have Hebrew class. Keep us in prayer,, It is still raining, but the lights are on

Rabbi Ben Avraham
San Salvador, El Salvador

PARASHA BaHa´alatcha

June 18, 2016...............Sivan 12, 5776

NUMBERS 8:1 to 12:16...............ZECH 2:10 to 4:7......1 COR 10:6 to 13

Shabbat shalom to all, today the church had an open air movie so that the people in the streets could sit down and watch, a few came to stay, the movie ¨ WAR ROOM was good, about spiritual warfare. Yesterday I met with Major General Nunez and he will get things going so I can serve two weeks as chaplain with the Armed Forces in July. There was a Military ceremony, for the troops returning from Haiti, Malil, and Lebanon, peace keeping forces supported by the UN. The lizards that chirp like birds are gekos I was told. All houses have them here in El Salvador, they get in somehow, but they eat mosquitos, so they can stay and chirp all they want to.

This weeks Parasha deals with lighting the menorah, anointing the Levites, celebrating Passover and following HaShem. Remember that the menorah was the only light in the Kadosh place, and in the Kadosh Kedoshim, the ¨HOLY OF HOLIES¨¨ it was the Shekinah glory itself, Adonai himself lit up the room, the Menorah reminds us that Yeshua is the Light of the World. He lights up the dark places and when there is light, there is no more darkness, He is the Living Torah, which lights our lives, with his WORD, so that the darkness of ignorance, of Torahlessness, dissappears.

As the Levites were anointed for service, so we also are anointed to serve, we are all considered ¨cohenim Gadolim´ high priests before our living YHVH, we have been all kadoshed in order to service, with our spiritual gifts, we have a life long calling, As the levites had specific jobs to do, so do all believers in ministry, there are jobs, callings, through the Holy Spirit, to serve in ministry

For those who could not celebrate Passover because they were either unclean or away from the congregation could celebrate it a month later on the same date, We serve a wonderful God who understands situations, and makes arrangements for those situations, so we should all remember that, if for some reason we miss the 14th of Nissan, we can celerate Passover the following month, but we remember that Yeshua is our Passover Lamb, who is to be remembered every day of the year.

Following Adonai, when the cloud was lifted, the congregation moved and followed the cloud. That is our calling as well, we are to follow where ever the LORD leads us, He will put people in our tracks that guide us, as well as circumstances, events, etc. We should be sensitive to our calling and following HaShem,
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ZECH 2:10 to 4:7

¨the LORD says; sing and rejoice daughter of Zion because I am coming and will dwell in the midst of you. many nations will join that day and they will be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of you

What a promise, many nations today are coming to Yeshua and are being planted in the olive tree to be part of that tree, and to be called AM ADONAI the people of God, it started out with the 12 tribes of Israel and now God´s family has expanded to include ALL of those who are CALLED, no matter what country you are part of.
...

1 CORINTHIANS 10: 6 to 13

Rav Shaul talks to the Kehilah at Corinth about complaining, among other things, many of us are doing the ´¨Grumble, Grumble, grumble, groan, we always find things to complain about, with the Israelites in the wilderness, they were blessed with mana bread, yet they wanted meat, thoughts going back to Egypt where they had fish, leeks, onions, garlic, (guess you can imagine their breath) yet they forgot that they were slaves, was food more important than their freedom? Adonai gave them meat, yet a plague followed, it gets down to the saying I once heard from Rex Humbard YOU MAY GET WHAT YOU WANT, BUT YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WANT WHAT YOU GET. something to think about,

lets give thanks to God for what He has given us already, it isn´t a sin to ask for more, but we must always settle for HIS PERFECT WILL and thank him in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, and what we have, for He knows our needs, and will supply us with our needs, and even at times, our wants, all in his riches in glory

Shabbat Shalom.......Rabbi Ben Avraham,
San Salvador, El Salvador
Your Message

PARASHA SHELACH LECHA (Go send) June 25th, 2016

NUMBERS 13; 1 to 15: 36...............JOSHUA 2:1 to 24............HEBREWS 3: 7 to 19

This week s parasha deals with the sending out of the spies to scout out the Promised land. When we read the beginning of chap 13, we see that ADONAI said unto Moshe, "go send"
it wasn t Moshe s idea, it was God s idea, and his command to go visit the Promised land.
The idea wasn t to find faults, but to see the blessing ahead of time

When we read the account. we see that 12 men were sent out and 10 came back with a negative report and only Y Hoshua and Caleb came back with a positive report. Have you ever seen a poster with a school of fish going in one direction and only one fish going in the opposite direction, it is called "going against the flow" a pretty hard thing to do at times, at times it just creates more friction. Caleb and Yehoshua wanted to encourage the people, but the other 10 just saw one giant too many. Negativity is contagious, and unfortunately, the majority won. They turned a blessing into a curse, something good became something bad. Did they not know that YHVH could take care of the giants. I mean, the bigger they are the harder they fall.

We could compare this with the following, suppose you were the owner of a large 5 bedroom house, with 3 bathrooms, a study room, a large garden and a swimming pool. You want to give this to a family that was living in a camp out place, only one bathroom, and when you made your nightly visit to the John, cockroaches would wiggle their antennae to greet you, well you show the house to the family, and they say the following:

"Oi vey, this is going to be one humongous light bill at the end of every month, too much cleaning, and not to mention cutting all the grass, and the expense to clean the pool, imagine the roof leaking, just getting a ladder out of the garage to going up to the roof, just makes me dizzy, and not to mention the taxes, and .........(grumbe, grumble, grumble, groan)

Hey, you wanted to GIVE this place to them, but now, do you still want to (still cant find the question mark on this key board) Maybe not, Adonai says, "OK, don t want it, so, you will all WAIT, yeah, 40 years, in the meanwhile. keep on camping out"

They had their chance,. God would still make good his promise, but they would have to suffer the consequences of taking a negative attitude. Even after seeing the Red Sea open up for them, they still could not see God s hand in all this

We need to find blessings in ALL situations, even when there seem to be "giant" problems, If it is of God, HE will provide for our needs, HE will work out the details.
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JOSHUA 2:1 to 24

Again, we see the spies going into Jerecho, yet they happen upon a prostitute who recognizes just who YHVH is! She recognizes the strength and power of the God of Israel, and she puts her faith to the test. She is rewarded with her life, In the midst of what would be a complete destruction of Jericho, she has and maintains her faith in the promise of tthe two spies. When tough situations come upon us, do we maintain our faith (question)

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HEBREWS 3 : 7 to 19

Rav Shaul writes to the Messianic believers saying :IF, you listen to God s voice, and not harden your hearts...... it is all CONDITIONAL we could all suffer the loss of blessings and rewards, if we treat blessings as curses, We serve a God who is control of s in control of all things, He knows the outcome before it happens, because He looks from the infinite dimensionan not from the finite dimension. We just have to trust Him in all things

Rabbi Ben Avraham........... San Salvador, El Salvador

KORACH

NUMBERS 16: 1 to 18:32.................1 SAM 11: 14 to 12:22................ROM 13: 1 to 7

Just when you think that you have your people under control, just when you think that they learned a lesson from the spies, you get more rebellion, it is human nature to rebel, it is part of the fallen nature of man, his ¨ ENOSH that fights against the spirit

Korach gets up and says, "All of God s people are holy, not only you Moshe" Well, is that true, did Korach say a falsehood? not really, remember that the word KADOSH means "to be separate" Yes, we are HOLY, all believers are HOLY unto YHVH, HOWEVER, Adonai does have specific jobs within the KODESH (the holiness) of the body o believers, some have been called to be church or synagogue/Kehilah leaders, or assistant leaders, music leaders, teachers, rabbis, finance managers, etc,

So it wasn t that Korah was stating an untruth, he was challenging the leadership of Moshe
he was being a rebel, Torah says that "Rebellion is like unto witchcraft" very serious, in the eyes of God, so serious that it became a death sentence to Korach, and unto his family.
We read that the ground opened up and swallowed ALL of Korach´s property, including his family.

Now wait a minute you are saying, why his family? why not only Korah? We must believe that his family was IN AGREEMENT with him, they were accomplices, the a court of law, the thief is guilty, ALSO the driver of the get away car. we might say that his family was DRIVING THE GETAWAY CAR, they were all in agreement with his rebellion, WITH THE ACCEPTION OF a few of his sons, why do we say that? because some of the Tehillim (Psalms) were written by the "Sons of Korach" a few who said "Hey pop, you are WRONG" "We want nothing to do with this" and they set themselves apart from the their family s tents. We know this, they survived to write some of the Psalms .

We must accept the leadership of those above us, we must wait on Elohim for his guidance, perhaps when the time is right, we will be leaders in some capacity or another, by humbleness and not by rebellion.

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1 SAMUEL 11:14 to 12;22

We see also that the people of Israel now want a king, just like the other nations, they are not satisfied with having YHVH as their king, they want a human king, with the same fallen sin nature as they have. kind of like trading a Mercedes Benz for a broken down vehicle that is on its last tire. Shmu el objects, yet he relents, God says Give them what they want, they have not rejected you but ME! They got what they wanted, they got a sour lemon,

We know the story of Melech Shaul, he started out good, but ended up bad, I think we can count on one hand the number of good and righteous kings in Israel. What is the lesson here? if we are appointed to be some kind of leader, let us finish the race on good standards, and follow Torah ways, follow the LIVING TORAH who is YESHUA.

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ROMANS 13: 1 to 7

Let us submit ourselves to the authority which is over us, says Rav Shaul to the Kehilah which is in Rome, those above us have been appointed by God, you might ask, even the bad ones? the ones that make bad decisions ? Well, it is by the will of Adonai that they are there, it might not be the perfect will of God, but his permissive will, we are still bound to obedience UNLESS it violates scripture, we must pray for those over us that they make good decisions that are decisions based of Godly standards.

Shalom Alecheim.....................Rabbi Ben Avraham, in hot, sunny El Salvador

I disagree about Saul.

I also disagree with many other things you say but I think your contributions here are very good indeed.

,Hello and shalom to all

I am back from ministering to the Armed Forces in El Salvador, it was a blessing, and I hope that many of the soldiers and the Air Force members, cadets, officers, etc were blessed. I shared the message from God s Word, traveled to many places in this country, got to wear my army uniform once again, once a soldier, always a soldier.

PARASHA PINCHAS:

NUMBERS 25:10 - 29:40................1 KINGS 18:46 - 19:21........................JOHN 2: 13´-22

In this study, we see the zeal of Pinchas, when the leaders of Israel were dismayed at the whole nation going after the gods of Moab. Some seem to think that Balaam told Balak that since he could not curse Israel, that they could bring a curse upon themselves, by going after the gods of Moab, according to Jewish midrash

However, YHVH brought down punishment upon his people, and rightly so, and Pinchas decided to do something about it, in the sight of all the leaders, we read that a guy named Zimri brought a Moabite woman named Cozbi into his tent, and we all know what went on in side the tent, Pinchas rushed inside with a spear and Shishkabobed them both with one thrust of the spear, pinned them BOTH to the ground, so ended the curse, and PInchas was rewarded with a part of the priesthood.

Now, does this mean one should go out and shoot all the prostitutes, drug dealers, etc? and expect to be rewarded by God ? We all know the answer, we live under a democracy and not under a Theocracy, Israel was a THEOCRATIC society, God made the rules, here we live under the rules of man. Yet we should pray for prostitutes, law breakers, etc, that they might repent and come to accept Yeshua as Messiah and LORD, and thus be saved.

Later in the Parasha, we see the ordinaces of the daily offerings, and we see how Yeshua is reflected in them. 2 lambs, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with fine flour and olive oil, and libation offering of wine. 2 lambs, the number 2 reminds of the letter BEIT in Hebrew, it means HOUSE, we are part of GOD s HOUSE, his family, ¨Anachnu Kol Beit Adonai¨ we are all part of Adonai s house, his family, it takes 2 parties to make a covenant
YHVH is the giver and covenant maker, WE are on the receiving end. The covenant was made on Calvary´s tree, By God himself as YESHUA who is the LAMB of God, we could also say ONE lamb for Israel and ONE for the nations that come to YESHUA by faith,
The flour reminds us of YESHUA the BREAD OF LIFE, and the oil, the RUACH HA KODESH
(Holy Spirit) and the wine, HIS BLOOD, perfect picture, back then, performed twice daily

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

1 KINGS 18¨ 46 to 19:21

Elijah is God s man, his prophet, we are reminded of his zeal when he killed the false prophets of Baal, but we also see his human side, he ran for his life when Jezabel threatened to have him killed as well. The angels comforted him and made him some fig cakes, he later went to Mt Horeb, all the way to the land of Midian (Saudi Arabia) and rested in a cave, YHVH assured him that he was not the only one to have kept the faith, there were 7000 Israelites that had not bent the knee to Baal, yet, he needed the rest, we all need to rest, we are all human and get tired out, discouraged, etc....God will speak to us like a ¨CALM BREEZE a comforting voice, yet we need to know how to hear his soft voice, He spoke to Moshe in thunder and lightening, yet he spoke to Eliyahu through a soft small voice, it was what he needed to hear at that time, rest up, you still have a long trip ahead of you, so we all do, work, minister, rest, that is the way of life.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

JOHN 2: 13 to 22

We hear Yeshua s words, DESTROY THIS TEMPLE AND I WILL REBUILD IT IN THREE DAYS. yet not the temple that was standing at that time, His own body, and it was so, in three days, he was raised from the dead. Thus giving us also assurance, that we also, we be raised when we die, our physical bodies will undergo a change, from corruptible to incorruptible, our sinless bodies will be part of our sinless souls and spirit, His death brought us life, eternal life, Baruch HaShem


Rabbi Ben Avraham, San Salvador, El Salvador

Thanks for your comment and honesty, it is an honor to contribute, we can all agree to disagree, like many rabbis that discuss Torah together, many disagree with each other but still enjoy the debates and fellowship. I haven t heard from Cabret in a long time, kind of miss his comments, Still love him and pray for him.

PARASHA MATOT (Tribes)

NUMBERS 30 1 to 32 verse 42.........JEREMIAH 1 to 2......................PHIL 3 verses 12 to 16

these chapters are about VOWS, VENGANCE, and sharing the LOOT. We read that when one makes a vow, a promise to Adonai, then one should keep it, the LORD takes serious our promises, I believe that is the reason why scripture advises us NOT to make vows, many vows are made rashly, and on the spur of the moment. Many say LORD, IF YOU GET ME OUT OF THIS MESS, I WILL SERVE YOU yet when the problem is solved, the person forgets all about the promise, Here we see though that when a woman makes a vow, it is only valid if the father or husband approves it, , unfortunately, in the days of old, women, it seemed, did not have all the rights that men had.

VENGANCE, was taken against the land of Midian, and we learn that Balaam recieved his just reward, a sword in the belly, we learn that this evil prophet told king Balak that since he couldn t curse Israel, that they could bring a curse upon their own selves, by following the priestesses of Baal and participating in their whoredoms, we learn that Israel departed from the ways of Adonai but punishment and death followed, now it is payback time.God does not play around, God takes seriously his worship, webelong to him and to HIM only. there are no other gods.

SHARING THE LOOT after the war against Midian, come the rewards, all the gold, silver, and the good stuff , including the widows and orphans, went home with the Israelites, cattle included
HOWEVER, a portion was given to the Levites, reminding us that all that we receive, does not belong to us, there is a certain portion that belongs to YHVH, yet ALL GOOD THINGS COME FROM ABOVE, sometimes, we even get what belonged to the heathen, but in all things, we must remember that ADONAI is the source of all

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JEREMIAH 1 to 2

We are reminded that YHVH knows us, even before our birth, He has ordained us ALL in different callings, ministries, as Jeremiah was called, in due time, so we must be ready to answer OUR calling, in the perfect timing of YHVH

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PHILLIPIANS 3 12 to 16

Rav Shaul writes about RUNNING THE RACE, and REACHING THE GOAL, even though he was not PERFECT in all things, and neither are we, WE MUST CONTINUE TO RUN THE RACE, working in our ministry, jobs, and whatever the LORD has called us to do, there is no such thing as RETIREMENT from ministry, we minister until YHVH calls us home, let Paul be our example, let Yeshua be our example.


rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA MASEI (Journeys of)

NUMBERS 33:1 through 36:13..........JER 2:4 through 3:4..........JAMES 4:1 through 12

The themes of this parasha study are ¨the journeys of the Israelites through the wilderness and the cities of refuge in the case of an accidental taking of a life.

We see when we read the chapters that Moshe lists the places where YHVH lead the Israelites, starting from Egypt, through the Red Sea, and into the Land of Madian, up and around the different camping sites, up until they are ready to enter the Promised land, Canaan, crossing over the Jordan River. But all of these have importance to our lives as believers,

The journey of our lives lead us all OUT of our EGYPT. Egypt symbolized our OLD LOST LIFE, the life we lead when we were lost sinners, whether our lives were lead by drugs, alcohol, illegal dealings, or maybe non of that, simply, we didn t know the LORD period,
we had a dissinterest in the Bible and spiritual things, Ask me about the Bible when I was 15 years old, I would have walked away, or tell you about Adam and Eve and about Noah, and leave it at that, or ¨can we change the subject please¨ I would have answered. or......
....¨This is getting booooorrring¨ I might have said, My mom gave me a bible when I was 14 or 15, ¨thanks¨ I said, and I never opened it. But the LORD sends a Moshe to initially lead us out of Egypt, it might be a pastor or rabbi, a friend, for me it was Carl Capra, who sat in front of me in Chemistry class in High School, he invited me to his house for a Bible study, so, out of curiosity I went, found the bible my mom gave me, later on, It was ¨Mom and Pop Woolston, who lead me to a church in Petersburg, Virginia, that was where I was born again in 1973, when I was in the Army, their ministry was to the soldiers at Fort Lee. So for me, Moshe came in the form of Carl Capra and Mr. and Mrs, Woolston, and Evangelist Joe Boyd. They lead me out of Egypt, like we have all been lead out of Egypt. but all of our Egypt stories are different. back then, there were very few Messianic congregations, if any at all
so the next best thing was a baptist church.

Next comes the crossing, we cross over to a new life, leaving Egypt and Egypt s demons behind, our journeys begin, the LORD leads us to different places and events in our new lives, going through tests and trials, just like the Israelites did, HE is refining us in the Refiners Fire, we may go through the ups and downs, but we are on our way to Canaan,
Israel s was a 40 year journey, it would have been shorter if Israel had not lost faith because of the negative thinking spies. Some of us will have longer journeys through our new Yeshua lives, others a lot shorter, YHVH has our time clocks, when our mission on earth is finished, we will be brought home to glory. As Canaan was the final place for Israel, and today, it is a modern land thriving with blessings, places to go and with an Army to support (IDF) our final place is the New Jerusalem, our place in glory, in the world to come, and it will come down to rest on a renewed planet earth, how cool is that! and we will live there like for ever like! how cool. but first, we have to go through our journeys, from here to there and from there to who knows where, only HaShem knows. just trust HIM

CITIES OF REFUGE, were for those who accidently killed someone, because that person s relative would be out looking for revenge. like today, we could be driving and someone steps infront of our car, no time to stop, But some of us could indeed ¨kill¨someone, not on purpose, but without spilling blood. Believers can ¨kill¨other believers or non believers with harsh words, critisicm, judgments, spreading lies, gossip, it might take a life'time to build a positive reputation, or a friendship, but only moments to ¨kill¨it. Some believers instead of facing the victim and repenting and making shalom, they retreat to a ¨city of refuge¨ usually within their own selves, avoiding the other person, It is easy to run and retreat, but harder to face the music, how mature are we as believers? are we going to run to a city of refuge? or try to revive the person who we accidently killed?

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JEREMIAH 2; 4 through 3;4

The prophet certainly has a right to reprove Israel, What did God do against Israel that the Israelites have left worshiping and serving YHVH? and they even say that they are clean.
The LORD pleads with them through his prophet Yirimyahu, yet they will pay the price of rebellion, Israel will be led away into captivity by the Babylonians.

If we are receiving blessing through YHVH today, let us remain faithful to HIM who has blessed us so, least those blessings be taken away and exchanged for curses, let us follow the Torah, the Living Torah, abide by HIS precepts and mitzvoth, If the Father loves us so, let us show HIM our love and obedience.

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JAMES 4: 1 through 12

James (Ya akov) the half brother of Yeshua writes to BELIEVERS, and he tells them NOT to be lovers and conformers to the world, or things of the world. Yes, the world has things to offer, but do they benefit believers? We fight against the flesh, the old nature, and that old nature is in league with the world. James says DON T PASS JUDGMENT ON YOUR SPIRITUAL BROTHER, do not MURMER against him or her, that is one sure way we could ¨kill¨ allow the WORD to judge our brother, not ourselves. Yes, it is our job to point out through God s WORD, things that perhaps our brother or sister in Messiah is failing to observe or transgress against, but not to JUDGE and, or condemn.

shabbat shalom, rabbi Ben Avraham in San Salvador (mission here almost complete

PARASHA DEVARIM (Deuteronomy)

DEUT 1 1 through 3 verse 22.........ISA 1 verse 1 through 27..........1 TIM 3 1 through 7

Well, almost time to come on home. We start the last book of the original Torah, DEVARIM (words) We can imagine Moshe as a grandparent, sitting his grand kids and his sons, daughters on a large rug, and he reviews with them their life´s experiences, journeys, adventures, failures, etc, They listen to him, will they learn from their mistakes? seems not, what with the future adventures ahead, Elohim will chastise them for their sins, rebellion, yet will still love them.

Their adventures are numbered, the naming of judges or assistants to Moshe, the mission of the 12 spies, YHVHs punishment , failure at Horma, the years in the desert,
Israel s defeat of Sehon and Og, division of the promised land, Moshe s request to cross over.

We will see how these adventures can correspond to our own adventures in our lives as believers. Jethro counseled Moshe to name judges to help him judge and govern the people. As leaders, we also need the help of others around us to help us with our tasks on this side of eternity, there are no Lone Rangers in ministry, we can not do it alone, is it any wonder why Yeshua sent out his talmidim by 2s.

We are also tested in our faith, had the 10 other spies come back with a positive report, ¨Let s get em boys¨ the Israelites would have entered the promised land 40 years earlier, 40 is the number of testing, of trials, sometimes, when we fall down in our faith, and don t trust the LORD, we have to pay the price, sometimes it is an unequal marriage, wrong job, bad friends,

Then again, YHVH will lead us to conquerer giants, giants come as big obstacles, big problems, and when we trust HaShem, those giants will fall, just like Sehon and Og, BUT we have to follow the LORD and trust HIM. One thing about giants, the bigger they are , the harder they fall, but when we show a lack of faith, the bigger the giants, the harder WE will FALL.

But GOD also puts limits and barriers in our lives. YHVH did not allow Israel to occupy the land of Moab nor Edom, those lands were promised to the descendants of Lot and Esau, and they are part of the lineage of Abraham. We must learn in our spiritual walk, our DERECH EMUNAH that YHVH at times says NO, or puts roadblocks here and there, some times, we will find out why on this side of eternity, and....sometimes...we will find out the reasons on the other side of eternity.

This was especially hard for Moshe to swallow, he asked the LORD to let him cross over to the other side of the Jordan, GOD said ENOUGH, DO NOT SPEAK TO ME ANY MORE CONCERNING THAT ISSUE. in other words NO MOE, YOU NOT GO. however, we have to remember that 1500 years later, Moshe was allowed to enter, at the Mt of Transfiguration, where he represented the Torah and Eliyahu, the Haf Torah, and Yeshua, the Brit HaDasha

Moshe was allowed to see the promised land from afar, from on top of Mt Pisgah, one wonders if Moshe was allowed to see a gimpse of the future Israel, with the high rises, the modern IDF, the jet planes, etc... we can only wonder.

We can also hope for a bright future when we serve the LORD, sometimes YHVH allows us to see into the future, perhaps a new business venture, new ministry commitments, we just have to live each day, one day at a time, and if the LORD PERMITS.....things will fall in place

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ISAIAH 1 1 through 27

This prophet had a rough job. Letting the people of Israel know that they are really in the wrong. When did YHVH ask sacrifices of them? or offerings? fat of lambs? Well, back in Exodus and Leviticus, he did, sacrifices are part of the 613 commandments. Yet these verses have double meanings. What good are sacrifices, offerings, fat of lambs, keeping the Sabbath, etc IF our hearts, attitudes, actions are FAR FROM ADONAI? well, they are worthless, we are just going through the motions, like rituals. Might as well just not offer up anything, until are hearts and minds are right before YHVH.

The prophet gives Israel a choice, IF YOU WANT, AND HEAR, YOU WILL EAT OF THE GOOD OF THE EARTH, IF YOU CHOOSE TO BE REBELS, YOU WILL BE CONSUMED BY THE SWORD. we have the same choice, to obey or disobey, to follow HaShem, accept Yeshua as our LORD and Messiah, and live by his commandments, OR reject the free gift of salvation, live a rebellious life style, and perish. The choices are still valid.

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1 TIMOTHY 3 1 through 7

What are the requirements of church or synagogue leaders, the word here is BISHOP it comes from the Greek language meaning one who leads

These are high standards, some wonder if the requirement of HAVING ONE WIFE, means HAVING ONE WIFE AT A TIME, because in ancient times, some men had multiple wives, others think it might mean ONE WIFE IN A LIFETIME, disqualifying divorcees. But I have known ministers that are divorced and remarried and are truly men of GOD, so, what ever the exact meaning, we must be careful to present a good testimony before others.

And those minsters who are divorced and remarried, God loves you and these couples can have wonderful ministries, reaching out to others of broken and re made marriages.


Shabbat Shalom...............................Rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA: V'ET'CHANAN (and I pleaded)

DEUT: 3:23-7:11...............ISA 40:1-26.....................MARK 12:28-34

Well, I am REALLY back this time. Rainy Houston, OK...so what else is new? We jump into this Parasha listening to Moshe telling his people; "I messed up, so now I have to die here on this mountain" (well, not his exact words). He pleaded to YHVH to allow him to go into the promised land, yet God said; "Enough, don't mention it any more, what I say goes" YET Adonai allowed him to see into the Promised land, and even more, he brought him INTO the land 1500 years later. Lifted him out of Paradise and brought him face to face with YESHUA and ELIYAHU. that must have been one great experience.

Moshe tells his people and pleads with them, "don't forsake the LORD, nor his mitzvoth" (commandments) don't turn to the right nor the left, straight ahead, he goes over the 10 Commandments. He acts like a father before his children, the father before dying counsels his children on life. LIFE! the word "IF" is in the middle, so life is all about "if"

"if" is conditional. IF you obey the commandments of HaShem THEN you will be blessed, IF you choose NOT to, THEN, curses await you. And when you think about it, it has never changed.

We come to the most popular prayer in Judaism, "the Shema" Devarim 6:4, "Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad" LISTEN ISRAEL meaning more than just "to hear" but "to hear, listen, and obey" Adonai is OUR God, we can say that because we are part of HIS people, and He is our Heavenly Father, but only if YESHUA is our MESSIAH and LORD. Adonai ECHAD, He is ONE in UNITY, The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit, all took part in the creation of the world, all united in ONE TRI-UNITY.

Then we have the "V'ahavtah" (You shall love the LORD thy God....) To love YHVH in this way is supernatural, and can only be accomplished through the Holy Spirit. IF we are led by the SPIRIT, THEN, we will have the full capacity to love our Creator God......and you will have these words on your heart, and will teach them.........We should take serious this commitment, to love our God, and to teach his words to others, when? all the time, to who ever that is willing to listen...where? any place that we might find ourselves with a willing "listener" first to our family, then friends, then our church/synagogue members. How do we love God? through obedience to HIS WORD. Yeshua said "If ye love me, obey my commandments, Yes, he taught the commandments of the Torah, and explained them even more fully, He is the author of ALL that is written in the Torah, through his chosen writers.

"You shall bind them on your hands, they will be between your eyes, and upon your door posts and gates" We see these words represented by what we use every day, the Tefillim and the mezuzah. These are not "magic amulets" but "symbols" which are for us, to be used in our worship. To remind us to keep his commandments, his WORD on our minds,

commandments put into action, through our good works. If the orthodox use them, why shouldn't we, as messianic believers do the same? The mezuzah reminds us that when we enter our homes, "The Presence of God is here inside"

In essence, Moshe is pleading with his children to "love and obey the LORD" (or else)
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ISAIAH 40:1-26

Yeshayahu is echoing the words of "Yochanan the Baptizer" "The voice of him the crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God ELOHEINU, YESHUATEINU. The WAY is Yeshua, and his WAY should be our WAY as well, when our lives are without Messiah, our lives reflect a desert, dry, without much life. But when we surrender our lives to Mashiach, then the desert is transformed and life springs forth, we no longer walk crooked paths, but straight paths, why? because we KNOW where we are walking, If HE walks a straight line, so will we (at least we should)
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MARK 12:28-34

These are the famous words of YESHUA spoken to a scribe, When we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, which represent every portion of the human being, THEN we will love our neighbor, as we love ourselves. And when we look at the 613 commandments of the Torah, they all teach us how to relate to our creator God, and how to relate to our neighbor, as well as ourselves, The 613 commandments cover ALL ASPECTS of AHAVAH (love) toward YHVH and toward our fellow man, So YES, the Torah IS FOR TODAY, all of it! practically and/or symbolically.

Shabbat Shalom...............Rabbi Ben Avraham (back in Houston now)

PARASHA: EKEV (as a result)

DEUT 7:12-11:25...............ISAIAH 49:14-51:3.....................ROM 8:31-39

This study starts out with Moshe exhorting his people, "IF" you hearken to these judgments and keep, and do them......" This is a conditional promise.....He will love thee and bless thee, and multiply thee...... We see the blessings from obedience, but on the other hand, curses will follow disobedience. What are "judgments" one asks? There are various meanings in Hebrew, but one is the outcome of our correctly applying the Torah commandments in our interrelationships between our God and our fellow man.

Moshe is speaking to the second generation of Israelites. These people were only children and in their teenage years when they left Egypt, and 40 years have gone by, perhaps some have just a scant memory of all that YHVH did, so Moshe is reminding them, since they are about to enter "Eretz C'anaan" they must not forget, and they must obey and love the LORD, since the evidence of Adonai's caring for them has been witnessed by all. Moshe mentioned all the things that YHVH did to protect them and care for them in the past 40 years.

BUT.....he also reminds them that they were NOT chosen because they are or were a specially righteous people, Oh no, he says they are "stiff necked" but because the other nations were evil, Yet Adonai loved them and still does, "unconditionally", as He loves us all, unconditionally. Even though we do evil, and sin, he still loves us and showed his love on Calvary's cross. Yet as a father loves his children, when we rebel and sin, YHVH will chastise us, and yea, he will suffer, just as Israel suffered and was punished for rebelling
yet His love did not and does not falter. Moshe reminds the people of their rebellion and how they "provoked" the anger of Adonai, "Remember and forget not how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath........(vs 7) That should be a lesson for us all, how the evil are punished and destroyed

10:12 "And now Israel (includes us all) what doeth YHVH they God require of thee, but the fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, to love Him, to serve him with all thy heart and soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD thy God"

When we see this verse, we see the word "fear" the LORD, it is a "fear" related to respect as one respects a king, a leader, not a fear related to terror, and IF we FEAR the LORD, Then...we will WANT to follow his WAYS. What are His ways? All the mitzvoth that are recorded in the Torah, but most important, the recognition that OUR WAYS are sinful, and that we come to a saving knowledge of Yeshua HaMashiach, so that we are re-united in fellowship with our heavenly Father through YESHUA. Then, we will have the desire to serve HIM and walk in his WAYS, the ways of Torah, the LIVING Torah, who is Yeshua.

10:16 "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart"........Moshe's words reflect the importance of "Spiritual circumcision" vs "physical circumcision". Not that physical circumcision is not important, it is for health sake for males, yet "spiritual circumcision" means a "spiritual conversion" it means being "born again" and rebel no more. Remember that "flesh and blood" can not inherit the Kingdom of God, only the Spirit can,
So we must be "born again" to inherit the Kingdom,
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ISAIAH 49:14-51:3

"But Zion said, the LORD hath forsaken me, and has forgotten me" this thought was in the minds of the Israelites because of all the chastisement , of all the bad things happening because of Israel's rebellion. YET God has promised to protect and preserve his people, and we read that the nations around Israel will receive the remnant.(49:22) The Israelites were dispersed to many countries of the diaspora, to Germany and East Europe (Ashkenazim)
to Spain, North Africa and middle east (Sephardim) and to Africa (Falashim) and of course, later on, do to immigration, to the USA, Mexico, Central and South America. In spite of the persecution and pogroms, Ha Am Y'hudi lives on and will live and be blessed for ever, and the promise of Abraham still is in effect; "I will bless those who bless thee, and curse those who curse thee" The nations that bless Israel, and uphold Israel, will indeed be blessed.
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ROM 8:31-39

"What shall we say then, if God be for us, who can be against us?" We can see this from the time of Noah, Moshe, and throughout history, If Ha Satan is against us, then YHVH stepped in and came to earth as a human, and gave his life for us all, being our sin atonement, He gave us YESHUAH through YESHUA HA BEN, Ben Adonai, Ben David, Ben Adam, even though we go through tribulation, suffering, and even death, our eternal life is secure, what is then our earthly life, just a vapor, a passing thing, we are here today and gone tomorrow, yet FOR EVER with the KING OF KINGS and LORD of Lords.

Shabbat Shalom. rabbi Ben Avraham

Parasha: Re'eh (See)

DEUT 11:26-16:17...................ISAIAH 54:11-55:5.........1 JOHN 4:1-6

Moshe is in his final days, and he offers Israel either blessings or curses. Blessings if they follow Adonai's mitzvoth, or curses if not. When we look at the world today, we see the exact same situation. God has set down his standards, his commandments, and it is up to us to obey or disobey, either harvest blessings or reap the curses. This is a conditional covenant, ALL covenants are based on conditions. Even our salvation (Yeshuah) is based on a condition, the condition being if we come with a contrite heart and repent of our sins and accept Yeshua as Mashiach, and be "born again".

This Parasha also speaks of "a prescribed place of worship" Moshe warns his people that they can not just worship in any way they want, nor in any place, there is a prescribed manner and way, and place. The place (back then) was the Mishkan (tabernacle) and the way, was by bringing their sacrifices to the Levite priests. "Where the LORD sets his name" was where people could worship. Back then, it was at the tabernacle and later on, the temple...NOW.. he has set HIS name in every believer through the Ruach HaKodesh, (Holy Spirit) Scripture says that where two or more are gathered together in HIS name, that HE would be in the midst. Such a wide difference between now and then.

The local body of believers (Ha Kehilah or Kehilot (plural) ) is where the LORD puts his name also, and this is where we receive our spiritual food every week, on the Sabbath and on Sundays for church goers. We need this getting together for fellowship, praise, and learning Torah, and having lunch together afterwards.

Beware of false gods (12:29) A false god is anything that comes between our relationship with Messiah Yeshua, be it money, work, pleasure, sports, etc, not that those things are evil in themselves, but CAN he a hindrance in our relationship with God, if allowed to dominate our time and our lives, then...they become as gods. Watch out and beware!!

In 12:15 Moshe talks about slaughtering meat and eating it, like the gazelle and deer, both the clean and the unclean alike. Some people get confused and think that Moshe is talking about clean and unclean meats, Yet if we look closely, he is talking about "people" being "clean" and "unclean" an "unclean" person could be someone who just buried a relative, the person had to pick up the corpse and bury it, or a person might have been picking up fire wood and accidently, touched a dead snake, or something similar, that person would be "unclean" until the evening, but that person could still slaughter and BBQ meat.

Chap 14 deals with physical food, Moshe reviews YHVH's kosher menu which was first mentioned in Leviticus 11. Reading the list speaks for itself, some people ask, why only fish with fins and scales can we eat? but I love lobster, crawdads, cat fish nuggets, steamed clams, crabs, and butter fried shrimp. One thing these sea creatures have in common is that they are bottom feeders, they eat the dead and decaying corpses of other marine life, they are "marine cockroaches" so just like you would never think of eating a cockroach, that is what you are eating when you eat those sea creatures. What are "clean birds?" They are the birds that DONT eat blood, the other birds mentioned in this chapter are scavengers, they eat dead and decaying animals, what are examples of clean birds? well, the ones that eat grains, like chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, etc. (ever hear of a Thanksgiving vulture?)

Mitzvah concerning tithes. Before, the people tithed their first born animals, and the first of their crops, yes, they COULD eat of those together with the Levite priests, yet we today tithe our income, and we usually give ALL of our income tithe to our local church or our local synagogue, because, the local church/synagogue is an organization that needs up-keep, maintenance, bills paid, etc, just like any other organization, but God uses HIS people to do it, with our tithes and offerings.

Three main high Holy Days are mentioned in chapter 16. the PASSOVER, the FEAST OF WEEKS, (Shavuot/Pentecost) and the FEAST OF TABERNACLES (sukkot). Why are these so important? they all point to Messiah Yeshua. In Passover, YESHUA is the Unleavened Bread, the Bread of Life, the sacrifice lamb, who took on our sins with BITTERNESS, In Shavuot, we see the giving of the Torah on Sinai, Yeshua is the Living Torah, the LIVING WORD, also, the coming of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) who is GOD living in every born again believer, and the FEAST OF TABERNACLES which celebrates GOD coming to live among us through YESHUA HaMASHIACH, In the Millennial Kingdom, we will travel to Yerushalayim during these Festivals.

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ISAIAH 54:11-55:5

The Prophet comforts Israel, even though they are being punished for disobedience, for unbelief, yet in the future, Israel WILL be comforted, during the Millennial kingdom, they will be blessed in ALL ways, treated like royalty, ...and their RIGHTEOUSNESS, their YESHUAH is from ME, says the prophet, Yeshua HaMashiach is their righteousness and their salvation, and HE is OURS as well. Are we not part of the Commonwealth of Israel?
joined to HIS people HIS nation, like the grafted-in Olive branches. Come to the waters and drink, it is free, the Living Water who is Yeshua is free, free to accept, and freely given is his gift of eternal life, to all who believe in HIM.

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I JOHN 4:1-5

Test the spirits, says the apostle Yochanan, How do we know that God speaks through some people/ministers/ or so called "prophets"? What do they believe about Yeshua? Did he come in the flesh, to reveal who God is? did he come as part of Elohim? as Echad? Did he come as "God made flesh" if yes, then the person is of God, if no, then the person is NOT of God, couldn't be any easier understood.

Shabbat Shalom.................Rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA: SHOFTIM (judges)

DEUT 16:18-21:9......................ISAIAH 51:12-52:12.....................JOHN 11:1-57

This Parasha starts out with; "Appoint judges and officers within all your gates.....they shall judge the people with righteous right-ruling"

And so it was back then, that Moshe appointed judges and officers to help him rule the nation of Israel. We remember back when the Israelites came out of Egypt and arrived at Sinai, that Yitro, Moshe's Father-in-law came up with that same suggestion, that he might appoint elders to help judge the nation. Here Adonai is giving this as a commandment.

A nation can not be ruled by one person, it is a "team effort" to rule a nation, a group of people, or even a church or synagogue.

"Righteous, right-ruling" are the key words DO NOT DISTORT RIGHT-RULING, unfortunately, we have rulers that do exactly that! they bend the rule, corrupt governments

bring disorder to churches and synagogues, teach falsehoods, we have crooked people in government offices, both in state and federal, and they do much harm, yet also we have good and righteous people in those offices, that try to make a difference, those who stand up to God's WORD. We must always pray that those people are elected to those offices as judges, officers, etc..

"RIGHTEOUSNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS THOU SHALL PERSUE" (Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof)

One might ask why twice the word "righteousness?" any purpose? perhaps to make emphasis, we can also say one must pursue righteous ends through righteous means,

we must do what is right and correct to achieve whatever goal we have in mind. Not like the man who sees a very poor man that needs a car to get to a new job, so the man sees that his neighbor has two cars, so, he steals one of them to give to the poor man, so that the poor man can get to his job and support his family. Well, he might have had a righteous thought in mind, but went about it in a very "unrighteous" way. (he could have asked the neighbor to donate one car, or, give the poor man bus fare)

The Parasha also tells a king to "make a copy of the Torah, to read it and study it, and live by it". A very good commandment, if all leaders were led by God's Word, there would be NO corruption. Yet many leaders are led by the ways of the world and by the flesh, and ignore God's WORD, and reject his LIVING WORD.

We also learn that the Levites were cared for by the rest of the congregation, they received the grain offerings and the animal offerings so that they might live well, since they are serving YHVH. So we must remember YHVH's servants today that live to serve HIM, and live to teach his word. Those that live to teach the WORD should be maintained by God's people. Unfortunately, many pastors, preachers, rabbis, have to have secular jobs as well because the people do not give, especially in third world countries.

18:18 "I shall raise up for them a Prophet like you out of the midst of their brothers and I shall put my words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them ALL that I command Him"

Did Yeshua come from Israel? Yes, did he come from the tribe of Y'hudah? Yes, Did Adonai put HIS words in the mouth of YESHUA? Yes! Did Yeshua speak forth the Words of the Father? Yes, could this verse be speaking about someone else? I would say not.

YHVH spoke his words and Moshe and his other servants wrote them down, and we have the whole written word today to learn from and live by. Baruch HaShem Yeshua-Adonai!

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ISAIAH 51:12-52:12

YHVH speaks through his prophet and says "And I have put my words in your mouth and with the shadow of my hand, I have covered you, to plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and to say to Zion, "Atah Ami" (you are my people). But wait a minute, didn't Deut 18:18 say that too? and God is speaking to the prophet Isaiah. But Isaiah was a prophet of God, and God DID put HIS words in HIS mouth as well. BUT..Did Isaiah plant the heavens? and lay the foundations of the earth? Those he did NOT! but he still was God's voice to a wayward Israel, only YESHUA planted the heavens and the foundations of the earth as ELOHIM. Isaiah was part of Am Israel, yet the people BELONG to Adonai-Elohim. 52:6 "Therefore My people shall know MY NAME, for I AM the one who is speaking. Our God has many names, and his most Holy name, Y-H-V-H or some might say Y-H-W-H, and in the future, ALL will know his most HOLY name, KNOW, meaning TO UNDERSTAND the meaning behind it.
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JOHN 11:1-57

We see the beautiful story of Lazarus, in the Hebrew "Elazar" who was sick, died, and given life again by Yeshua. We see in both these names, are two of the most important names of God, YAH and EL, YAH (behold the hand/arm of the LORD) and EL (The powerful God who leads) Yeshua lifted up his voice and we can imagine him extending his hand, pointing to the tomb and commanding, "Elazar, Urah VaTze'ah" (Lazarus, come forth) And so in the future, all those who are dead in HIM will arise and forever, BE with HIM in HaShamayim, in the Heavens and enjoy eternity.

Shabbat Shalom................rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA: KiTeste (when you go out)

DEUT 21:10-25:19................ISAIAH 54:1-10...............MATT 5:27-30

This Parasha starts with..."when you go out to war against your enemies....and you see a beautiful woman among the captives....." well, some commandments were for the Israelite community thousands of years ago, a soldier could take a captive woman for himself, and marry her, with, one could imagine, the end result, the BIG picture, is that the woman would worship YHVH as her ONLY God and LORD, and accept the Torah way of life, through the influence of her husband, but today, we can not expect a soldier to go overseas and bring back a captive woman to make her his wife, kind of dangerous I would say, he might get a female terrorist, a "Talibaness" and end up with a "knife-in-the-back"
not to mention the cultural and religious difference, as well as language.

21:15 "If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved......" read through verse 17, It was never Adonai's perfect will for a man to have more than one wife, only if the wife dies, he could marry again. But it was part of the middle east culture to have multiple wives, Jacob, being an example, had many problems, preferring two sons over the others, Yosef and Benjamyn, being the sons of his beloved Rachel, caused family strife, this commandment is teaching us to "treat all of our family as equals, not preferring one son or daughter over another, and especially when giving out inheritance, sharing equally is the best way. if a father has $10,000, and three sons and two daughters, each one gets $2,000 when pop dies, no questions asked.

21:18 "If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son......." (read through verse 21) There has never been recorded in Torah, nor in the Talmud a case of "stoning a rebellious son" yet this was written down as a deterrent , a precaution, to those who "would think" of rebelling against his parents, this commandment kept children in line, (more than we can say for today) when children will rise up a kill their parents. No wonder you never hear of "Israelite gangs" (I don't know about today though, I hope not)

21:22 "If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree......." (read through verse 23) It does not say "to kill him from the tree" like the Roman crucifixions, this was a cruel death, the death sentences in ancient Israel were carried out either by stoning or by the sword, after the sentence was carried out, the person was hanged on a tree for public display, BUT TAKEN DOWN AND BURIED before sundown. When Messiah Yeshua was crucified, he was TAKEN DOWN AND PLACED IN THE TOMB before sundown, yet he still received our curse and sin penalty while hanging from the cross by the nails, He received our CURSE and we received hisRIGHTEOUSNESS

22:1 "You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them...." (read through verse 4). These animals were Israel's livelihood back then, if they went astray, YOU were to notify your neighbor and say, "hey, your goat is in my yard, come get it" not take it in and have a "roast goat night" today the world's philosophy is "Finder's keepers, losers weepers" not so with God, and as born again believers, we need to walk in HIS ways, and return lost things (those which can be identified as belonging to so-and-so) to the rightful owners, be it a hammer, saw, cat, dog, Burmese python, wallet with money still intact, etc (just be careful with the python, pick it up with gloves, behind the neck) and say "Hey, come get yo snake dude"

22:5 "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man...." thousands of years ago in Israel, men and women wore similar clothing, being a long, flowing tunic tied with a cloth or leather belt, and a poncho like outer coat which was the tallit. But women's tunics were of finer fabric, maybe linen with feminine designs, while the mens' were of coarser material. Today we have both men and women wearing, say, "blue jeans and slacks" yet even today, women's slacks/pants are still different in design.

22:6-7 "If a bird's nest happens to be before you....." Well, a common case in fact is the "hen-house" situation, no one would think of trying to get a hen's eggs while the hen is on her nest, not happening dude! or you will get "pecked" This is showing concern for the animal, while a hen can have more eggs, if a woman has children, and terrorists break in and kill her kids in front of her eyes, this will create a real emotional and psychological trauma. yet if she is in another county, and someone calls her to say, "Hey, terrorist killed your kids" I am sure that she will still be affected, but not as severe as if seeing them killed in front of her.

22:8-9 When you build a new house.....Common sense, to build a fence on the roof so that no one will fall off, middle east houses had flat roofs, where people could go to in summer evenings and relax, those are still the best kind of houses, If I were to design my own house, mine would have a flat roof with stairs going up to it, and a parapet around it of course. "You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seeds" makes sense, a vineyard is for grapes, not for grapes, wheat, corn , etc, these others would take essential minerals and chemicals from the soil which the grapes would need otherwise.

22:10 "You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together" another mitzvah which makes perfect "horse" sense, the two animals are a "mis-match" one is stronger than the other, they will cause problem one with the other, and work will be affected, they are "un-equally yoked" just like a marriage between a believer and an un-believer. An ox should plow with another ox, a donkey with another donkey, etc... a believer with another believer


22:11 "you shall not wear a garment of mixed sorts....." wool will shrink when washed while linen will not, and the garment will be ruined, same as "being un-equally yoked" If Mr. Wool marries Miss Linen, trouble will ensue.


22:12 "You shall make tassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourselves" These are the Tzitzits which are worn as an undergarment, or tied on the belt loops, Yes, this is still for today, reminds us of the commandments of Adonai.


But please, a few might comment and say "But we're not under the law anymore" most people in Christendom misunderstand this idea, the word "law" comes from the latin "Legis" which means "something legal, or legalism" but the original word is "Torah" which means "teaching and instruction" (from Adonai in this case) This word has been mistranslated in our bibles, "Are we not all under God's teaching and instruction through His Holy Writ?" I think we would all agree to YES, we are under and follow, (or should follow) his teaching. but change the word and mis-translate it into LAW, everyone suddenly says NO, because the original meaning is lost


Chap 23 deals with those who are excluded from the congregation of Israel, those who were illegitimate children, Ammonites, Moabites, etc, BUT today, we WELCOME into the congregation, into the "Kehilah" those who decide to follow Yeshua and who are born-again, and the only real, true members of God's family are those who are BORN AGAIN, not that a lost person can not come into the congregation, yes, they can visit, yet to be a member, a member of "Kehilah Elohim" the congregation of Elohim, HIS called out congregation, church, assembly, one must be BORN AGAIN, trusting YESHUA/JESUS as Savior and LORD.
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ISAIAH 54:1-10


" For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies, I will gather you..."
YHVH comforts Israel like a father comforts his children, yes, children will be chastised, and will endure punishment, in Israel's case, thrown out of the land, and cast into nations
BUT...they will be gathered...and they have been gathered, the nation of ISRAEL is real and is the place of the ingathering. As disobedient children, we will be chastened by the LORD
and it will seem at times that we have been forsaken. Yeshua cried out "Eli Eli, Lamah Sabachtani?" My God, why have you forsaken me?" it was because of our sin that the Father turned away from the Son, yet, not for ever, BUT,. a few hours later, after the sin debt was paid, Fellowship was rejoined, and the temple curtain ripped in two, making way for ALL of us to go unto YHVH through the Blood of Yeshua.


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MATTHEW 5:27-30


Yeshua is not changing the Torah commandment on adultery, he is explaining it to the fullest. Sin is entertained in the mind, and through the body, it is fulfilled, so while it is still in the mind, rebuke it in Yeshua's name, or if you can, avoid the situation,


Shabbat Shalom................Rabbi Ben Avraham

DEUTERONOMY 22:1 (A last minute thought)

Wanted to add this last thought to Parasha "Ki Tetse". People lose things all the time, sometimes, the lost items are recovered by the person who lost them, at other times, someone else finds a lost item, and if the person is following Torah, the person will return the item to the person who lost it,

It is one thing to lose a material thing, be it a valuable item or a sentimental item, but many people will lose something more valuable than a material thing, Some people will lose their faith. Perhaps when tragedy strikes, death comes to a loved one, etc, some will say, "I can not worship a God that does __________!!! (fill in the blank) some will lose their faith little by little, because of the cares of the world, the distractions, they will stop going to church or synagogue, stop reading their bibles, develop a disinterest in spiritual things,
developing an "I could care less" attitude.

If we know someone like that, we must step in and try to help that person "find" their faith again, we should try to "return to that person, their lost faith" perhaps just through listening to that person's story, being a friend, even sharing scripture if the person will allow it, maybe sharing verses in scripture with a different light, perhaps, allowing the person to understand more deeply.

Who knows, the person might return to their faith with even more virtue, but we have to try, lost faith can be found again, because it is inside of a person, not on the street somewhere

Rabbi Ben AVraham

PARASHA "KI TAVO" (when you come in)

DEUT 26:1-29:9.....................ISAIAH 60:1-22.......................JOHN 113:1-15:27

In this Parasha study, we see that Moshe is "again" reminding Israel to be "faithful" in "obedience" to the commandments. He does not tire in telling the people all the "pros" and "against" , the "positive side" and the "negative side" of "obedience and disobedience"

We can also relate this to a father who dearly loves his children, and warns them of disobedience, and the results of such, but also reminds them of the rewards that come with obedience. Now, who wouldn't want blessings instead of curses. We could say that only someone insane would say "I would rather have the curses instead of blessings"
or "I would prefer drought instead of rain" or "I would rather run from my enemies"
But the way Israel acted after the death of Moshe, shows exactly that! through influence of ungodly nations, Israel turned away from Elohim, from following HIS commandments.

We can also imagine a husband who marries a wife and loves her, and shows her the right way to walk, and how that they can have a wonderful life together, "stay with me" he tells her, "don't go after other men, they will just bring you down and ruin our relationship" the bride says "Yes, I will love only you" yet no sooner are they married, that the wife does exactly the opposite, the husband has no choice but to punish the wife, yet he still loves her, and wants her to come back to him. So God is with ALL his people, both native born Israelites, Israel that lives in other nations, those who have joined the commonwealth of Israel, through a "born again" relationship with "Yeshua" which is the goal of "ALL" of Israel (or should be) the wish that the Father bestows upon ALL "B'ei Adam" (children of Adam)

Moshe reminds his people about the tithes. This is very important, ALL things belong to YHVH, HE is owner of ALL. He made the world and everything in it, He allows US to use HIS things, and all HE wants back is 10%. Not much. Here Moshe mentions tithes of the agricultural increase, since that and cattle were the income in those days for Israel. We on the other hand, work and receive money, but also, doesn't our TIME belong to him? Does HE not give us TALENT through the Spiritual gifts? as well as material things? So, should our time and talent also be tithed to YHVH? I would say yes.

On "Har Gerizim" and on "Har Ebal" were announced the blessings and curses, so that when the people looked upon those mountains, they would be reminded of them, Kind of like when a child looks at a fishing rod and reel, he might be reminded that "Pop takes me fishing when I am good, and do my chores" but also, hanging next to the rod and reel, hangs a thick leather belt, which reminds the child that "Pop will give me a good whippin if I misbehave and neglect my chores"

"Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road"( 27:18)

Yes, it would be cruel to misguide a blind person, but worse if the person is spiritually blind and we do nothing to correct the errors and lead them in the Yeshua's way, in the way of Torah. So many erroneous doctrines floating around, making those who want to see straight, see crooked, get off the path, we need to set them on the right path again, not by force, but by love.

Even though YHVH has sent his people out of the land, into other nations, the people are returning to the land, the land is being blessed, Adonai has NOT forgotten HIS people, just as a father can not forget his son, The curses happened just as the LORD said they would, but Israel is still Israel, he promised they would be like the "dust of the earth" and like the "stars of heaven" The dust is TRAMPLED UPON, like the Jewish people have been, throughout the ages, yet dust CAN NOT BE DESTROYED, neither can "HaAm Yehudi"
The stars shine, just like the "Living Torah" was given to Israel as a gift to them and to the nations, to point the way to Elohim, the living Torah is spelled Y-E-S-H-U-A (the out-
stretched arm of the LORD that received the nail, the all consuming fire that was seen by all) the SALVATION of YHVH.

But......it is always "IF" ye obey the voice of the LORD thy God.......THEN...blessings will follow, and "IF" you chose NOT to obey.......THEN...curses will follow, it is still this way, still conditional. "IF" you chose to repent and accept Yeshua/Jesus as LORD and Savior, THEN you will be saved, "IF" you chose to ignore and reject the free gift of Salvation (Yeshuah) from God, THEN....condemnation for all eternity will follow, strong words, but the truth.
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ISAIAH 60:1-22

The Ruach HaKodesh speaks through Yeshayahu saying "Arise, Shine, for our LIGHT has come" ...,.... "darkness shall cover the earth".........".The Gentiles will come to your LIGHT"
Great symbolism here. the LIGHT is YESHUA! even though spiritual darkness covers the earth, making people insensitive to the Torah of YHVH, many having an "I don't care about God nor religion" attitude, still many are receiving Yeshua and being "born again" the original meaning of the word "Gentile" (Goy) was "heathen, idol worshipping nations" now many who before worshiped idols, many who were part of pagan cults and religions, are turning to "Ha Or Elohim v'Or HaOlam" (the Light of God and the Light of the World.
The Gematria for OR (light) is 207, 2 (covenant) 0 (eternity) since a "zero" has no beginning nor end, 7 (perfection) the eternal covenant of perfection. Added horizontally 2+0+7 = 9
9 is reminds us of EMET,(441) 4+4+1=9 which is TRUTH, describes who Yeshua is.
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JOHN 13:1-15:27

"Ani ha derecho, ha emet, v'ha Chai" (I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life) three of the many titles of Yeshua, who also said "I AM the LIGHT of the world" IF we follow the LIGHT we will stay on the path, which is the WAY, and know the TRUTH which gives us eternal LIFE. but always the conditional "IF" . We ALL have a choice, what will YOU choose? better yet, WHO will you choose?

Shabbat Shalom........rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA: "NITSAVIM" (you are standing)

DEUT: 29:10-30:20...............ISAIAH 61:10-63:9...................JOHN 16:1-17:26

This Parasha always precedes Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShannah) which this year begins this Sunday evening. We read that Moshe is announcing to the people that "Elohim is about to make a covenant relationship with them, and make them HIS PEOPLE, HIS NATION, HIS CHOSEN ONES. yet he still warns them about the curses, and turning away from HIS Way, from the ways of His Torah.

He addresses ALL who are there, all members of "Kehilah Yisrael" (The community of Israel) from the big shots, big boss guys, all the way to the simplest "blue collar workers" this is for ALL, no matter how important you are, ALL are included, even the Egyptians that followed the Israelites out of Egypt, they are now part of this great community that is about to bear the name of AM YISRAEL. the name "Yisrael" comes from the word "Yetzer" which means "Straight to" in this case "straight to EL" (God).

(29:14) "I make this covenant and this oath , not with you alone, but with him who stands here today and with him who is NOT here with us today". These are very interesting words, we know who was there way back then, but who wasn't there way back then? who is Moshe talking about? Have any idea of the WHO? Give up? well.... I T ' S YOU!!!!, or rather it is US! all of us who are alive and reading this Parasha on line today. Where were we all back then? We were bodiless souls, up there in heaven awaiting bodies. Maybe packed away in a "soul box" awaiting HaShem's perfect timing for our coming to earth to dwell in human bodies. My soul was sent into this body back in 1953, and my body continued to develop inside mom until I came out into this world in February, 1954. So, Moshe was talking about me, as well as all of you.

Chap 30 deals with "Returning to God". Which is the topic and theme of Yom Teruah, the verb "to return" in Hebrew is "Shuv" and from that word comes "Teshuvah" which in English is "repentance" so when we "repent of our sins" we are "returning" to God, while we are in the stage of innocence, which is when we are babies, we are considered blameless in the eyes of God, but as we get older, the sin nature becomes active and we rebel, and we need to come to a point when we realize that "we are lost" and we are "rebels" and that we need to "return" to YHVH, through accepting the one time sacrifice of Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ) and be "born again" it is then that we enter into and become part of the great "commonwealth of Israel" But even still, the sin nature is still there, and it will rear up its ugly head, and we need to "Shuv" ourselves back to God, Yom Teruah is a time of reflecting on our spiritual life and where we have gone astray in our relationship with God, in keeping or not keeping his Mitzvoth, (commandments)

We will receive blessing upon returning to God, yet if we keep away from "turning back" will reap destruction, and endure the curses (some people call it "bad luck") So let's "turn back" do "Teshuvah" and return to "Abba"
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ISAIAH 61:10-63:9

The Prophet Yeshayahu looks toward YESHUA! and says in vs 10; "I will greatly rejoice in YHVH, My soul will be joyful in my God (Eli) For he has clothed me with the garments of YESHUAH. He has covered me with the robe of TZEDAKAH (righteousness)"

In both cases, "Yeshua our Messiah" is our spiritual garment, and we can rejoice that He terminated the curse of sin and death . And we are covered with HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS
so YHVH looks at us all as if we never sinned. We have been made "Tzadikim" (righteous ones) through YESHUA HA MASHIACH (Jesus our Messiah)
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JOHN 16:1-17:26

"The Ruach Ha Kodesh is coming" was the message of Yeshua before he left the earth. NO, the disciples would not be alone, the "Comforter" would come. The good thing about the Holy Spirit is that before the Spirit came on Shavuot (Pentecost) the Spirit of God only rested on a few chosen, like the Prophets, and Yeshua, could only be in one place at a time, yet with the Holy Spirit, HE is with ALL OF US, at the same time, and lives INSIDE OF EVERY BELIEVER,. and so scripture admonishes us not to "grieve" the Holy Spirit, doing things in our bodies that are against Torah. We read and study the Torah, and YHVH speaks to us through the RUACH! We can thank Adonai that He sent the Ruach HaKodesh to be with us, inside us forever.

Shabbat Shalom v'hag Sameach Yom Teruah..............rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA: "VaYELECH" (and he went)

DEUT 31:1-30....................... ..ISAIAH 55:6-56:8....................... ..JOHN 20:1-51

Torah: Deut 31:1-30;

We could call this Parasha "Passing the baton" Moshe is in his last days, YHVH has already told him that he is going to die, and so, with that, he needs to prepare the next leader who will lead "Am Yisrael" into the Promised Land, C'anaan. Joshua, whose name in Hebrew is "Yehoshuah" which is a form of "Yeshua" whose name bears the Tetragrammaton (YHVH) HE will lead the people to their promised "Eretz Shalom" .

Moshe starts out with his age, We can say "Happy Birthday Moshe" and hope we have one humongous cake with 120 candles. We can divide Moshe's 120 years in three parts, the first 40 were spent as a youth, and Prince of Egypt, a soldier in Pharaoh's Army, he lived a life of royalty, the next 40 years he lived as a "shepherd of sheep" going through the "school of hard knocks" from riches to, well, maybe not rags, but he was humbled, G-d used him and his experience in Egypt to lead sheep, and to know the desert of Madian, since, he would return. the final 40 years he was a shepherd/leader of a few million human sheep with an attitude. If we take note, his "real" purpose did not start until he was 80 years old! Where will we be at 80? if we last that long. the letter "m" is "MEM" in Hebrew
and has the numeric value of 40! Moshe's name starts with "M" it symbolizes "trials and testings" it also symbolizes "water, the masses, and chaos"

Well, did not Moshe part the "Waters" of the Red Sea? bring "living waters" out of the Rock? which symbolizes Yeshua? did he not lead the "Masses" of Israel? did he not turn a people who lived in "chaos" under Egyptian rule, into a "People of the Torah?" But it was really our living GOD, our "Aveinu Malkeinu" who did all this THROUGH his chosen Prophet, just as He works through YOU AND ME, to carry out his will and his ministry.

It is sad to think of death, I am sure Moshe wanted to keep on living, but he accepted his fate. How do we think of death? it will come to us sooner of later. Romans says, "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this, the judgment" we, like those before us, are just "visitors" on this planet called "earth" a perfect "house" for man, animals, and plants, that mankind messed up. Some worship "death" others prefer not to think about it, others prepare for it ahead of time, for me, I prefer not to think about it, just live every day to the fullest, and when it comes, it comes. Physical death is just the doorway that opens to the "rest of our life" that which will NEVER end, for the believer, it will be a blessing, for those who are lost, it will be the "eternal curse" and no second chances.

Moshe ordered that the Torah be read at the end of every seven years! (31:9) This is to remind the people of God's precious word, so that they will remember, I am sure that this would take several weeks, or even months to read through and discuss. Do we study and review God's Word once every seven years? I hope not, I hope we do it every year, little by little, every week, so we are constantly reminded of his mitzvoth, of the words of Yeshua, that were written down by his talmidim.

Moshe also predicts Israel's rebellion and perdition, a sad note to die under, thank God for the remnant that remained faithful, for those who looked forward to the coming of Yeshua
for those chosen prophets who remained faithful to their calling, let us also remain faithful to our calling, what ever it may be.
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Haf Torah: ISAIAH 55:6-56:8

Yeshayahu Ha Navi writes, through the Ruach Elohim, "Seek YHVH while HE may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way. and the unrighteous man his thoughts, let him return to YHVH...."

One may think and wonder, "Is there a time when the LORD can NOT be found?" is there a time when he is NOT near?" While we know that Adonai is always with us, and sees all, knows all, He knows what every human is doing 100% of the time. There might be a time when a lost person pushes the LORD away to such an extent that in time, that person will not WANT to search for HIM, even when common sense tells a person to call upon the LORD, that person will not WANT to do it, Spiritually, his or her heart will be hardened to such an extent, that "searching for God" will not even pass through that person's mind. Even though we know He is as near as prayer, for a hardened soul, being near is too far away.

This verse is perfect for this time of year, for Rosh Ha Shanna, for Yom Kippur, a time of "Teshuvah" from the verb "shuv" (To turn) to turn from our sins and evil ways, make a 180 degree turn around and head for G-d, with a repentant heart, to make amends, to forgive those who we have held a grudge against, As we turn in repentance, HE will turn his face towards us also
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Brit HaDashah: JOHN 20:1-31

Yochanan writes of the "empty tomb" which was proof that the Prophets were right, and death was conquered by life, there were many witnesses, who gave their lives for their testimony, do you think they would have died for a lie? The ROCK who was placed in a tomb of rock, is our ROCK OF AGES. Either we can fall upon him..............or HE will fall upon us!

Shabbat Shalom..................rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA: "HaAZINU" (give ear)

DEUT: 32:1-52..........................2 SAM 22:1-51.......................JOHN 20:1-31

Moshe speaks to the people through the Ruach HaKodesh, the ultimate plea, his final words before going the way of all men, physical death.

He asks both "Heaven and earth" to be witnesses to his song, to his speech. We can imagine all the angels in Heaven listening, and those that are present with him, He describes Adonai as The ROCK, (HaTzur) we have come to recognize this word as describing God as the "Rock of Ages" No wonder that YHVH got angry at Moshe when he struck the rock so many years prior, the rock that gave forth water when the people were thirsty, the rock symbolized "Yeshua" who gave forth "living water" Yeshua gave up his life and was crucified ONCE not TWICE, Moshe was told to SPEAK to the Rock, yet he let his anger get the better of him, and struck the Rock, which misrepresented who God was, and still is, the God who came to earth in human form to lay up his life as a ransom for our sins, ONCE and ONCE only. YESHUA is the solid ROCK who gives us eternal life, which is like LIVING WATER.

Moshe calls for repentance, for TESHUVAH, He tells the people that they have abandoned their God, going after other gods, the LORD will punish his people, yet, He will not abandon his people, he will stir them to jealousy, He will reach out to the nations outside of Israel, and those of the surrounding nations, who come to recognize Mashiach will become part of Israel, they will join the great Commonwealth of Israel, and become ONE with Israel, like an olive branch that is grafted into another olive tree, will become ONE with that new tree, so we are ONE with Messiah Yeshua.

Perhaps Moshe is sad, since he knows the future of his people, yet they will continue to be God's chosen, he ends telling the people "set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe all the words of this Torah"

We should heed this command, to observe all the words of the Torah, to observe, do, put into action, and Love the LORD your God, and trust in HIS YESHUAH! as our righteousness, and our salvation.
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2 SAM 22:1-51

As Moshe sang about the ROCK of his YESHUAH (salvation) David also sings about YHVH being his ROCK , when He delivered him from Saul and his enemies,

"I will call upon YHVH who is worthy to be praised" in times of trouble, who else can we call on? only the ROCK of ISRAEL (HaTzur Yisrael)
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JOHN 20:1-31

The empty tomb! Yeshua, who is the ROCK OF AGES, was buried in a tomb made of rock, with a round Rock door as a covering, yet the ROCK of Ages, moved the rock, which could not keep HIM in, We serve a risen Savior, a redeemer, the Solid ROCK who set us free from the captivity of sin.

Rabbi Ben Avraham

PARASHA SUKKOT:

NUMBERS 29:12-16................ZECH 14:1-21...................JOHN 7:2-39

Adonai speaks to Moshe saying; "On the 15th day of the 7th month, you shall have a holy convocation...............you shall keep a feast to YHVH seven days...........

This is one of the pilgrimage feasts, one of the "Yamim Moedim" these are the special times when all families go up to Yerushalayim to worship Adonai. Passover, Shavuot, and The Feast of Tabernacles.

Sukkot or the "Feast of Tabernacles" symbolizes the "coming to earth by God himself to dwell among mankind. YHVH came to the Mishkan (first tabernacle) which was erected in the desert, per instructions by YHVH to Moshe, and God came down in fire and smoke, and dwelt among the "B'nei Israel" (Children of Israel) during the day, his presence was seen as a cloud, and at night, by a pillar of fire. His awesome presence in the Shekinah, was above the mercy seat in the "Aron Ha Kodesh" (the Ark of the Covenant) which was inside the "Holy of Holies" He was there to live and fellowship with his people.

YHVH "tabernacled" among mankind the second time, 1500 years later, in a small town called "Beit Lechem" (House of Bread) normally known as "Bethlehem" during this time of year. The December 25th date was an invention by Constantine, and it is completely pagan. Yeshua came to heal, the teach the Torah, and to set man free from the bondage of sin. He came as a humble servant, healer, and Torah teacher. Yes, he is king but did not claim his crown, not at the first coming, the claim of Kingship will be at the second coming.

The third time God tabernacled among mankind was at Shavuot (Pentecost) 50 days after Passover, when He came in the form of the Holy Spirit, "Ha Ruach HaKodesh" He reveals himself through his spirit to all of us, and He lives inside us through his Spirit, in all of us who have accepted HIM as LORD and Savior,

The fourth coming will be when He comes in the clouds again and sets up his kingdom on this earth, and will live and reign one thousand years, and we will reign with Him, Then He will claim his kingship and put away sin. This will be a glorious time.

in the Torah, we see the sacrifices related to this time of Sukkot, the sacrifices of a bull, one ram, and seven lambs, with fine flour mixed with oil. The image of Messiah Yeshua is in all of these items, The bull symbolizing the "strength" of almighty "El Shaddai" the power of "Elohim" and the ram that "Took the place of Isaac" Isaac symbolizing us, and the ram, symbolizing Yeshua, and the seven lambs, "7" the perfect number and the lambs the "Lamb of God" which taketh away the sins of the world. The flour the "Bread of Life" and the oil, the "Ruach Ha Kodesh" (the Holy Spirit)

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ZECHARIAH 14:1-21

The prophet is looking at the future, when Messiah Yeshua comes to earth, and ALL nations will "go up" to Yerushalayim every year to celebrate the "Feast of Tabernacles"
after the time of fighting, and peace is restored, and we will rejoice in this millennium,
The chapter starts out on a sad note, war, destruction, but in the end, Salvation, and peace, this will be a great time to be on earth.

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JOHN 7:2-39

Yeshua went up to the Feast of Tabernacles, and he taught in the temple for all to hear, He taught truth, and many believed when they heard. He revealed the purpose of his being there, to reveal the Father's will, on the 8th day, "Hoshanah Raba" when the priests bring up water from the pool of Siloam, he said; "If any one thirsts, let him come to me and drink" He was talking about spiritual water, one of Yeshua's titles is "Mayim Chayim" (Living Water) and he still is the living water, to who ever wishes to drink from the well of Salvation "Beer Yeshuah" the "Well of Yeshua!"

Hag Sameach Sukkot

Rabbi Ben Avraham