'Comments' on Torah for The WatchMen. Collected 'comments' from different resources. This blog is an extension for the website: 'The WatchMen from Israel'.

But everyone is welcome to look around and to pray with us please bring a visit to our website. If you have a Prayer Request after reading a Post please click 'Prayer request' (on the right link to secured website) and we post it on The Feet of The Mountain of YHWH.

Comments

If you have a question or like to say something in connection with the Post, you can put it as a Comment. And other people can answer. Please hold ‘our goal ’in reacting: coming together in Love the Love of Yeshuah Rabbeinu our Messiah. Yeshuath YHWH.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Parashat Mishpatim, Ephraim

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

Ephraim and Remonah?

That also through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

Apologies for sending yesterday the wrong Hebrew insights into the Parasha
 
Today's Parasha is Parashat Mishpatim

 

Letter 475 (word of promise)

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

Ephraim and Remonah?

That also through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

Shalom Fellow Israelites,

I'm sure all of you have had fun with word studies from the scriptures.  Well, this week I got struck by the usage of another word that we hear a lot these days, and that is the word "promises."  The following scripture from 1 Kings 8:56 caught my attention:  "Blessed be YHVH, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised [Hebrew "da'bar" meaning speech, word, speaking]. There has not failed one word  ["di'bar"] of all His good promise ["dabar], which He promised ["da'bar"] through His servant Moses" (emphasis added).  What I found interesting, is the connection between YHVH speaking a word through Moses, or any of the prophets, and the revealing of it in the words and life of Yeshua, and the writings of the apostles. Thus, one could say that the "word" is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and when it comes to pass, it is always a revelation of YHVH's speech.  "For all the promises [d.b.r] of Elohim in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of Elohim through us"… "who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of Elohim, and the promises" [word, speech] (2 Corinthians 1;20; Romans 9:4, emphasis added). Notice that Paul was addressing "Israelites." Why didn't he use "Judahites" (Jews) instead?

When writing to the foreigners, aliens, strangers, those scattered in the nations Peter uses a very interesting word: "parepidemos" (1 Peter 1:1). The meaning of this word is very important, for it reveals YHVH's faithfulness to keep His promises, or the word that He spoke to the forefathers. Hence "parepidemos {par-ep-id'-ay-mos} is one who comes from a foreign country into a city or land to reside there by the side of the natives."  We know that Peter was sent to the Jews, who were foreigners in the nations. But this apostle also uses excerpts from scriptures that had been specifically written to the House of Joseph/Israel (compare 1 Peter 2:10 with Hosea 1:10).  He declared that the believers he was writing to, both Jews and non-Jews came from the same race - "a chosen race a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9 – Exodus 19:6).  As far as YHVH's word is concerned, these are the recipients of the promises (ref. Romans chapter 4; Galatians 3:18; Hebrews 6: 13, 17).

"Only YHVH had a delight in your fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day," Deuteronomy 10:15).  Both Paul and Peter knew the identity of these believers/aliens out in the nations.  This means that an Israelite, living in any country or nation other than his own, would be classified as a "foreigner."  The apostles also knew that the word [d.b.r] of Elohim equaled the promises that were being fulfilled in the lives of the believers from the nations. In very simple terms - His words or promises do not fail: "Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise [Here the Hebrew word is "oh'mer"; meaning speech, word, saying] failed forevermore? (Psalm 77:8).  Because YHVH is His Word [d.b.r] He cannot deny Himself (see 2 Timothy 2:13).  Would He change His mind after He spoke out the promises (root "dabar")?

It is therefore very sobering to read Paul's exhortation to those who have received the promises:  "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of Elohim"  (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Shabbat Shalom,
Ephraim
Hebrew Insights into Parashat Trumah

 

Dvar Torah - Parshas Mishpatim

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

Rabbi Label Lam and torah.org?

That also through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

1000 @ 36 - the new torah.org and you
Torah.org Homepage
  Dvar Torah
        by Rabbi Label Lam
        Print Version
To sponsor an edition of the Dvar Torah e-mail list, click here
 
Parshas Mishpatim


Expect Nothing!
You shall not take a bribe, for the bribe will blind the eye of those who can see and will make righteous words crooked! (Shemos 23:8)

Imagine- you are reading the label of a delicious looking drink bottle before taking a sip. There in bold print is inscribed in the strongest terms, “Warning! This drink contains traces of ‘bribery’ which causes blindness and slurred-crooked speech!” Would you still drink it?

Bribery sure sounds like nasty stuff for your mental health! It ruins judgment not only for judges but for everybody.. We all make judgments every single day about millions of things. In what way are we all judges? How can bribery cause us blindness?

What’s the difference between a lawyer and a judge? Sound like the lead in to a good joke but it’s not.. A lawyer is hired by one side to build a case for one position alone. He sees only the merits of his client while demonizing the other side. A judge, however, must show equal skepticism to both litigants to be able to arrive at an equitable determination about the truth.

It was reputed about Thomas Edison, when he was considering hiring a scientist to work in his lab he would invite him to lunch first and serve him a bowl of soup. Then he would observe the man’s behavior. If he would add salt before tasting the soup then he did not get the job..

Sometimes we are bribed by certain false suppositions as a lawyer assumes his client is innocent or the consumer of the soup assumes it is bland. When we wrongly assume that things must be a certain way, and then our expectations are not met, fits of disappointment and resentment can blind us to the possibility of experiencing any form of happiness!

Rabbi Yisrael Reisman describes on a tape entitled “Great Expectations” his recollections of an incident that occurred when he was yet a young Yeshiva student. He had positioned himself in his dorm room so his bed would be adjacent to the sink for some strategic purpose. The sink, he soon discovered, had a constant drip which he promptly reported to the powers that be. Understanding that it was just a matter of a washer or some such nickel or dime item he assumed it would be taken care of pronto. The next few nights he lay awake tossing and turning to the dripping faucet becoming more upset, frustrated and resentful.

Finally after a couple of days, the janitor arrived. It was a loose washer. The whole thing took a few moments and cost next to nothing. The dripping was finally was over. That very evening there was huge rain storm and as he lay there in bed ready for a good night’s sleep he became aware of the dripping from the roof to the window sill below- the same constant drip- drip and it didn’t bother him a bit.

He wondered why one drip sound stirred him so and the other had zero effect. He concluded that the dripping sound was not what was actually annoying him. The proof is that the water from the rain didn’t wrinkle his psyche at all. What bothered him about the sink? The answer is that he assumed somebody would do something about it, it would be done right away, that his request would be fulfilled and honored swiftly etc. And it wasn’t…it wasn’t true!

I once heard from Rabbi Yitzchok Kirzner ztl two words that he called “the secret to happiness”. Admittedly, at the time I felt it sounded rather negative. Over many years, though, I have grown in appreciation for the wisdom of his insight. I share it often with my children and myself too. It’s a hard pill, “Expect Nothing!”
   
To Support Project Genesis- Torah.org
DvarTorah, Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Label Lam and Torah.org.
Questions or comments? Email feedback@torah.org.

Join the Jewish Learning Revolution! Torah.org: The Judaism Site brings this and a host of other classes to you every week. Visit http://torah.org or email learn@torah.org to get your own free copy of this mailing.

Permission is granted to redistribute, but please give proper attribution and copyright to the author and Torah.org. Both the author and Torah.org reserve certain rights. Email copyrights@torah.org for full information.
  Torah.org: The Judaism Site
Project Genesis, Inc.
122 Slade Avenue, Suite 250
Baltimore, MD 21208
http://www.torah.org/
learn@torah.org
(410) 602-1350
FAX: (410) 510-1053
 

 

Joined To HaShem Newsletter, January 28, 2011

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

Mike Clayton and his ministry?

That also through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

January 28, 2011
Joined To Hashem Newsletter
In this issue...

Quick Links...
Links


Join our mailing list!
TEACHING THE HEBRAIC PERSPECTIVE OF FAITH IN AND OBEDIENCE TO THE ONE TRUE GOD


Streaming Video
Mishpatim
"Judgments"
Exodus 21:1-24:18
Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26
*Archived teaching from 2010*


Torah Commentary
Mishpatim
"Judgments"
Exodus 21:1-24:18
Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26
Trust and Obey
Fifth Sunday Singings are a distant memory of my former church life, a night in which the congregation directed the service by vocalized requests from the hymnal. After dear Brother Smith predictably shouted out the number of his favorite song and as we sang the last beat, Sister Jones would shout out another number. And so the night would go. Without fail someone would call out the number to the song, "Trust and Obey." Please don't get me wrong, but as much as we enjoyed singing many of those songs on a special night, I look at scripture today and see that the words of many of the songs did not line up with scripture as closely as we might have thought. "Trust and Obey" was one of them.
In this week's readings we find the Hebrews gathered around the mountain to receive the words of Torah. The lightning and thunder must have been awesome. Simply awesome. No doubt more than just the hair on the back of your neck stood up. The assembly watched as young men offered burnt offerings to Yah. They listened intently as Moses read the words he had received. They watched as the blood was applied to the altar. All of a sudden the cry of the people went forth as one voice, "We will do and we will obey." With that statement, Moses took the remaining blood and sprinkled it on the people to seal the covenant of marriage.
Now just what does a Sunday Night Singing and the events of Mount Sinai have in common you ask? As Eddie Chumney would say, "Everything!" The two events clearly show two distinct mindsets which prevail in our world today. They compare the clash of a Greek mind and a Hebrew mind. It is the difference between trusting and doing. Do we "trust and obey" or do we "do and obey?"
The Greek mind loves the word "trust." It is a non-action word which can be pondered while sitting with a cup of coffee and swinging on the porch swing. As we sip and swing we can simply think of how much trust we have developed in our mind. To put obedience to this trust we simply go out and act on whatever thoughts we have developed while sitting on the swing. We in essence then go through life, "Trusting" that we are doing the right thing. It is in many ways very similar to hoping for change. Maybe things will work out and maybe they will not.
In contrast the word "do" is an action word. We simply cannot do something while doing nothing. It is a word which calls for us to put down the coffee cup and get up off the swing. To do and obey means we must have some instructions on which to base our actions. When do and obey are carried out in their correct context, they come with parameters and guidelines, which we have been given in His words of Torah. Obedience through the action of doing then brings forth a trust we never would have known while on our swing merely thinking of trusting.
Maybe you can say this is all a play on the semantics of words, but I think not. Through experience I have found that the actions of "doing" Torah have brought forth a trust that the words to a song just were never able to bring. The actions the Torah requires of me have resulted in a faith, a trust and a relationship that reveal to me that my previous life and lifestyle were very similar to life on a porch swing. The obedience that has come through doing the instructions of Torah has brought forth a depth of trust I never knew in the words of a hymn. Torah has put living flesh on what I now see were dry bones.
Life has changed so much and in so many ways since the days of the Fifth Sunday Singing. The trust that I now have through seeing Him at work in my actions of doing means so much more than just the words to a melody I once knew. The actions brought forth in Torah have caused me to change almost every aspect of not only life, but also the way I look at life. Oh, I am still trusting, but the level which I do so today is no longer in the passive of the porch swing, but rather is being proven out on a daily basis by hands on doing. p> Shabbat Shalom,
Mike

phone: 405 257 6277

 

Mishpatim, The Messianic Israel Alliance

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

The Messianic Israel Alliance?

That also through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?


Upcoming Events

March 4 and 5
Irving, Texas
Join teachers Rico Cortes, Scott Diffenderfer, Ed Harris, Archie Hunnicutt, Valerie Moody, worship leader Mason Clover, and other believers for our 2011 Texas Regional Conference!
[Learn More]


June 28 - July 4
Maryville, Tennessee
Mark your calendars now for next summer's most worshipful and educational Messianic event! This year will feature a couple more casual events, an outdoor evening service, and our communal fellowship meal time in the school's amazing cafeteria! Online registration opens January 1!
[Learn More]

Mishpatim
Exodus 21:1 to 24:18


Boot Camp 2 Registration Online

Our 2011 Boot Camp annual conference's registration is now available. Our registration process has been simplified and is much quicker than before! This year, go to the Adult, Youth, or Child registration page. Choose the Full Week or Weekend Only option, decide if you'd like to eat with your friends in the dining hall, choose your courses (Weekend Only attendees will only be able to attend the Weekend courses and not the Primary or Secondary courses), fill in your name and any notes, and click on the "Add to Cart" button. Repeat for everyone in your family or group!
[Register Today!]


Mishpatim
Exodus 21:1 to 24:18

Sheepfold Gleanings | Español
by Carl & Julie Parker

Waters in the Wilderness
Torah Explorers (¡en Español!)
by Natan Lawrence

Torah and Glory School
by Hutch Church

Click Titles To Read!

About The Commentaries

Traditional Judaism follows a yearly Torah and Haftarah reading cycle in which the Torah (the First Five Books of Scripture) is divided into weekly portions that have an accompanying excerpt from one of the Prophetic books that relates to the theme being presented.
As Believers in Messiah Yeshua, we also include portions from the New Testament, so that we will be reading form the whole counsel of our Father's Holy Word.
Each of these portions contain several chapters. Since each parashah contains untold numbers of nuggets of truth, it is impossible for any one person to present all of the truths in one weekly volume. As we go through the annual cycle, we find new, encouraging, and inspiring bits of truth. Each commentator brings different aspects to light, and we encourage open discussion on biblical passages, and thus the views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Messianic Israel Alliance or its members and affiliates.

PO Box 3263, Lebanon, TN 37088 | (800) 829-8777 | www.messianicisrael.com

 

Shabbat Shalom: Thou Shalt Have No Other gods before Me

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

CFOIC Heartland and Sondra Oster Baras?

That also through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?


Shabbat Shalom

Want to listen and watch a teaching on the Torah Portion?  Click below to Watch Sondra speaking about this week's Mishpatim Torah portion.
Picture of Sondra for YouTube link
 
If you have difficulties watching the video, pause it for a few minutes to let it download and spool the video. When you push "play" again it should play smoothly for you.



January 28, 2011
 
What is Shabbat Shalom?
 

Jews all over the world read a portion of the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, in the synagogue every Shabbat morning.  The cycle begins right after the Feast of Tabernacles and concludes the following year at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles.  Traditionally, Jewish families discuss the Torah portion at their Shabbat Table, bringing new insights, each year, to the same inspirational words and stories that they have been reading for years. In this weekly column, Sondra Oster Baras, CFOIC Heartland's Israel Director, shares her personal reflections on the weekly Torah portion.
If you received this email from a friend and want Shabbat Shalom sent directly to your inbox, please use the link below to join our email list.


 If you would like to support the brave men and women who have made their home in Biblical Israel; you can make a contribution to the ongoing work of CFOIC...
Support CFOIC...

Mishpatim (Laws)
Exodus 21:1 - 24:18

This week's portion begins with Chapter 21 of the Book of Exodus.  It is a portion full of laws, pertaining primarily to the ethical standards of behavior that a Jew must follow, but which actually form the basis of so much of what has become known as Judeo-Christian law and ethics.

The first law discusses the issue of a Hebrew slave.  Generally, this involved someone who was heavily in debt and had become unable to function independently economically.  He, therefore, sells himself into slavery in order to pay off his debt and provide himself with economic security.  The Bible states that slavery of this sort should be limited to six years.  However if the slave himself refuses to become free in the seventh year, his master pierces his ear at the doorpost and he becomes a perpetual slave.

This is, indeed, a curious procedure and the Midrash, a collection of the earliest Biblical commentaries, provides a fascinating explanation.  According to the Midrash, the Bible is critical of the man who refuses his chance of freedom, even though he is entitled to remain a slave forever.  The meaning of the ear-piercing ceremony is to remind this man that he heard the ten commandments with his very own ears, that he heard G-d's statement to the Jewish people that He freed us from Egypt.  If G-d has chosen to free us from slavery, what right do we have to reject freedom and choose slavery?

The ramifications of this law are profound indeed.  Economic security is, indeed, attractive, and one can be tempted to trade elementary freedoms in order to attain that security.  And people often do.  The Soviet Union, during its Communist heyday, was a prime example -- initially the Russian people embraced Communism because the State was going to provide for their every need.  But, in exchange, they forfeited their freedom.  

When G-d freed the Jewish people from slavery to their Egyptian masters, He did so in order to enable them to serve a higher master -- to become servants of G-d.  In fact, only when we are truly servants of G-d are we free of any other masters.  Conversely, when we serve a human master, it is difficult to serve G-d in the same independent fashion.

Just the other day, I was interviewed by CNN for a documentary they are preparing on the three major religions.  They asked me whether I believed the Bible was written by G-d or whether it was a collection of ancient myths.  Of course, I responded that G-d had dictated His word.  The interviewer then challenged me regarding slavery, implying that any book that talks about slavery could not be an eternal book as we all agree today that slavery is immoral. I responded that slavery was rampant in the ancient world and the Bible addressed that reality by severely limiting the use of slavery and proscribing the way slaves were to be treated.  

What a revolutionary idea it must have been in the ancient world to value freedom to such a great extent.  The principle illustrated in the first verses of Exodus chapter 21 as discussed above would not have been common.  And yet the Bible presented us with a vision of slavery that enabled us, centuries later, to reject the very concept of slavery.  But civilization needed to arrive at that point, and with the help of Biblical messages, it did.  

The Bible's messages are timeless indeed, meaningful to an ancient world as well as to our own, post-modern world.  No group of ancients, regardless of how wise, could have ever put such a book together on their own.

Shabbat Shalom from Samaria,
Sondra
Sondra Baras
Director, Israel Office
 

Did you enjoy hearing Sondra's insights? If so you can:
 
Join our email list
to have them delivered to your inbox every Friday morning
 
Forward to a Friend so they too can enjoy
Donate
 to help the brave settlers of Judea and Samaria!

 
May 23 - June 2, 2011 Israel Tour

People Walking with a mountain backgroundWith Pastor Gary Cristofaro,
First Assembly of God, Melbourne, FL


May 23rd - June 2nd, 2011

Eilat Extension
June 3rd- June 6th


Israel Host for the Tour: Sondra Oster Baras, Director,
CFOIC Heartland - Israel


Only CFOIC Heartland gives you the inside story of Israel!

Meet the people who are settling the Land of Israel.  Listen to stories of faith and courage.  Experience the Heartland of Biblical Israel like never before!

Click here for details!

Request your brochure today!
 today!
The Choosing of a Chosen People

A 5 part series on Genesis
by Sondra Oster Baras Preview Choosing of a Chosen People


Each purchase of this DVD series goes 100% to support the Israel Office!

Sondra Oster Baras, director of CFOIC Heartland's Israel office, takes you on a journey through the Book of Genesis, which lays the foundation for the creation of God's chosen people.


Order the DVD set...