'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.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Shabbat Shalom: The Nations Recognize the Power of God

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 יהוהYeshuath 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 Yithro 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 21, 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...

Yithro (Jethro)
Exodus 18 - 20

This week's portion begins with Jethro's historic visit to the Children of Israel in the desert. The story begins in Exodus Chapter 18: "And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses's father-in-law, heard of all that
G-d did to Moses and to his nation Israel, that He brought Israel out of Egypt." This verse is packed with information that tells us a great deal about Jethro and about his motivation to join his son- in-law in the desert.

Jethro is a high priest of Midian. He is not only a member of a pagan nation but is a religious leader. We have previously met Jethro as Moses' father-in- law, but Scripture reminds us of this fact anyway, perhaps to contrast the religious leader of the Midianites with the religious leader of the Israelites. Not only are these two men of great stature in opposing religions, but they are family, and they clearly respect one another greatly.

Jethro is spurred on to join Moses because of what he has heard about the miracles that G-d performed in taking the Children of Israel out of Egypt. Presumably, he has heard of the 10 plagues, of the parting of the Red Sea, and of the total defeat of the powerful Egyptian army against a rag- tag group of former slaves, men, women and children -- "with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go." (Exodus 10:9) And just following that miraculous event, the Children of Israel are attacked by Amalek, a powerful band of nomadic tribes, and roundly defeat them. He joins Moses because he wants to know more.  
And when Jethro hears the entire sequence of events as told to him by Moses, he responds: "Blessed be G-d who has delivered you out of the hand of Egypt. Now I know that G-d is greater than all gods." Jethro, a priest of a pagan religion, recognizes and declares publicly that his faith was wrong -- that the G-d of Israel is all powerful and should be worshipped and obeyed.

From this moment on, Jethro ties his fate, in one form or another to the Jewish people. He remains a separate family, but closely allied to and neighbors with Israel. It is not clear whether Jethro remains with the Children of Israel and enters the Land of Israel with them or not. Exodus 18:27 indicates that Jethro returns home. But Numbers 10:29 finds his father-in-law back with them and the discussion arises once again whether Jethro will leave. Scripture never says what Jethro decides to do. (In this verse, Jethro is referred to as Hovav, one of several names for the same person, identified always as Moses' father-in-law.) However, in the Book of Judges, we find Jethro's family leaving the City of Palms (Jericho) to join Judah in the Negev. (Judges 1:16). And just a few chapters later, Yael, from the same family, drives the final stake into Sissra's skull, enabling the defeat of the Canaanites. (Judges 4)  

Later on, in the book of Samuel, we find that this same family lives near the Amalekites, and Saul is careful not to harm them while fighting the enemy Amalek. (I Samuel 15:6)

Jethro is not a member of the Children of Israel, but his acceptance of G-d enables him to be allied with them, to live among them and to help one another. Jethro's independent recognition of G-d's greatness is the basis for an alliance that withstands the generations. Oh that our current neighbors would recognize G-d's greatness, His promises to Israel and His Torah.

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
 

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... 

 

Yitro, 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 יהוהYeshuath 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]

Yitro
Exodus 18:1 to 20:26


SW Early Registration Ends Today

If you're planning on attending our SW Regional Conference next weekend, now is the time to finalize your registration with the Messianic Israel Alliance! Our Early Registration discount expires today, Friday, January 21st.


Yitro
Exodus 18:1 to 20:26

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

 

He That Has An Ear... the Power Of His Name

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

haRold Smith and his ministery?

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

 

Difficulty Reading? Click Here http://hethathasanear.com then on the article to change to larger type. He That Has An Ear...

"…let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to
eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Garden of God."    Revelation 2:7

the King of Glory

What's In
A Name?

Part Three: the Power Of His Name

by haRold Smith
from Jerusalem, Israel

"For You rescued me from death, You kept my feet from stumbling, so that I can walk in YHVH's presence, in the Light of Life. " Psalm 56:13

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with YHVH, and the Word was YHVH. The same was in the beginning with YHVH. All things were made by YHVH; without YHVH was not anything made that was made. In YHVH was Life; and THE LIFE was the Light of men. And the Light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." John 1:1-5

"This is the message we have heard from Yeshua and proclaim to you, that YHVH is Light, and in Him (YHVH) is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the Truth. But if we walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Yeshua, His Son, cleanses us from all sin." 1John 1:5-7

Most of us do not think of Light as a force or a power. Light is mostly considered as "quiet" in its effect - just something to illuminate our way. However, there are some facts about the consistency of Light that just may surprise you. For instance, when Light is concentrated into its purest form, it becomes a laser and, while invisible, has the ability to neutralize the force of any other object. Now, that's some Power. Even as believers, we have yet to truly, fully comprehend the force of the Power of Light we carry within us when we receive Ruach haKodesh (Spirit of the Holy). Who is Holy? Yeshua said there is none but the Father, the Source of Life - YaHoVeH (Matthew 19:17 click on the highlighted words to view scripture verses)

Light waves travel at 186,000 miles per second in measurable waves of ENERGY. The amount of energy in a light wave is proportionally related to its frequency - high frequency light has high energy and low frequency light has low energy, but they all contain energy or Power. The frequency is the number of waves that pass a point in space during any time interval, usually one second. It is measured in units of cycles (waves) per second, or Hertz (Hz). The frequency of visible light is referred to as color, and ranges from 430 trillion Hz on the lower end which is seen as red, to 750 trillion Hz on the upper end, which is seen as violet. But, the full range of light frequencies extends far beyond the visible spectrum, from less than one billion Hz, as in radio waves, to greater than 3 billion billion Hz, as in gamma rays. As noted above, on the upper end of the spectrum we find the concentrated laser light which is visible only when refracted through another medium, thus giving it color. Experimental observations have concluded that energy waves, once emitted, never dissipate nor do they cease to exist (what is known as eternal). Finding the generating source of that Energy, however, has been problematic for the scientific community. On the other end of the spectrum, if the frequency of Light is lowered sufficiently, it will congeal or thicken to the consistency of blood - what we call plasma. In Leviticus 17:11 we are told that "the Life of the flesh is in the Blood" and, from the scriptures above, we are also told that the Source of Life abiding in the blood is the Light of men. (www.ieeexplore.ieee.org, www.cheniere.org).

the Shekinah The Shekinah (as in the Shekinah Glory of Elohiem) is referred to throughout Rabbinic literature as manifest in the Tabernacle in the wilderness and the Temple in Jerusalem. Could the "pillar of fire" spoken of in the Tenakh (the original Book) actually have been a laser? Since Yom Shavuot (day of Pentecost), scripture has declared the dwelling place of YHVH to abide in the vessels of men (see Nation of Priests). The Hebrew term Shekinah while not explicitly found in scripture, is derived from the Hebrew verb shakan) which is used frequently in the Tenakh to literally mean to settle, inhabit, dwell or rest (as in Exodus 25:8). The Talmudic Sages conceived of the Shekinah as a spiritual essence of indescribable beauty and exalting effect. It is generally spoken of as brilliant LIGHT or radiance. According to this Jewish description the radiance of the Shekinah, with its untold blessings, "rests" IN those who call upon His Name. This Shekinah is more accurately portrayed as Glory - what Moses was asking for YHVH to show him in Exodus 33:18). What subsequently passed before Moses in answer to that request in Exodus 34:1-7) and beginning with the issuance of the Ten Commandments was a proclamation of His Name, the Name of YHVH, the Source of Life - so brilliant, so pure in its resonance (frequency) so as to consume anything or anyone not hidden (Deuteronomy 4:24, Hebrews 12:29).

The word "Glory" used in Exodus 33:18 is translated from the Hebrew word kabowd (pronounced kavode) which has its origination in a similar word, kabad (pronounced kavad) and means to be heavy or weighty, to be honorable or glorious. One of the derivations of meaning of this word, kabad (2), also means "liver" - the heaviest organ in the body. The function of the liver in the body is to cleanse the blood of impurities. As we embrace His Name in receiving Ruach haKodesh (Spirit of the Holy), we are embracing the Essence of Truth. His Essence then comes to rest in, settles in, and revitalizes the liver. The Essence of the Source of Life becomes a part of our body to cleanse our blood. The purer the consistency of the blood becomes (the Life within us), it raises the frequency of resonance and the more brilliant the Light within us radiates - the more pulsating force it exerts in the physical realm.

When Yeshua said to "be perfect even as your Father is perfect" in Matthew 5:48, He was not giving us something to do that was beyond our reach - nor was He telling us anything new. He was not giving us a "new" command. He was quoting 1Kings 8:61 from the Tenakh (the original Book) where the Hebrew word shalam (out of which comes the word shalom) translated as "perfect" means complete (of keeping covenant relation), peaceful, whole, full, at rest. To be perfect, then, does not mean to be flawless, but made complete in keeping His Covenant - which the Psalmist tells us IS perfect and by the keeping of it, our soul is converted, returned or brought back to its original state, restored to Life and revitalized (Psalm 19:7). In the Tenakh, this exercise is called "being holy because YHVH is Holy" - meaning to "be" holy is to remain set apart from the world influences He has separated us from by His Spirit (Leviticus 20:26, 1Peter 1:16). Without holiness, no one will see the frequency of Light YHVH abides in (Hebrews 12:14).

LIFE Even though Light dissipates darkness, as 1John 1:5-7 says at the opening of this article, choosing to embrace, to walk in darkness will cause Light not to manifest. It is possible to diminish the functionality of the liver by overwhelming it with more impurity than it is able to handle, such as in the case of prolonged drug or alcohol abuse. When the liver becomes diseased, it turns hard, ceases to function, the energy wave frequency diminishes and the body dies. This is why we need definition in our lives, a standard to measure our deeds by - to see if they are of the Light or in darkness (John 3:19-21). The tradition of "grace" which says we can be forgiven of any sin is true - the Truth of Grace is that it is limited by our choices. If we persist in darkness, whether willfully or through willful ignorance (not seeking Truth with all our might), that darkness can and will extinguish Light in our lives. The authority we have been given is ecksousia - the "power of choice" (see Authority for a full explanation).

The manner by which we maintain separateness, holiness, is addressed in the Ten Commandments - the definition of the difference between what is Light and what is darkness. This is something we "do" - we "make a Sanctuary" for Him in our lives by our living (Exodus 25:8). Sanctuary comes from the Hebrew word kodesh, meaning "holy". We consecrate a place for His Presence to continue to abide, to dwell, to rest in us in the fullness of His Glory by setting ourselves apart from the things of the world (see Nation of Priests). Understandably, this is in direct contradiction to the "once saved, always saved" tradition of men - but that tradition is not found in the Book. That He set aside the legalities that kept us apart is called grace. But, continuing to abide in His Presence is something we "do" - it is called being obedient to His Commands. Those who say "it is impossible to keep the Commandments of YHVH" believe a lie perpetrated by another tradition of men (1John 5:3, see also Who's Word).

Yeshua answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. If anyone loves me, he will keep my commandments (words) just as I have kept the Father's commandments (words) and the words you hear are not mine but the Father's." John 14:23-24

The blood of Yeshua cleanses us from sin because it is the Blood of the Father that courses through Him. It is because He restored the doorway to the Source of Life that "through Him", through the example of His Life, we, too, are afforded that same access to the Father as He. As we "eat of His Flesh and drink of His Blood" we have Life in us just as, in the same way, in like fashion He has Life in the Father (John 6:53, John 17:20-23). If YHVH is the Source of Life, should His Words not also be considered the source of living - a continuance of that Life? Living according to His Commandments is the epitome of shalom – to be at peace, at rest with the Almighty and thus cleansing the soul (see what it means to Abide In His Name).

The word translated as "soul" in Psalm 19 quoted earlier is the Hebrew noun nephesh. and means life, that which breathes, the breathing substance or being (the verb form is naphash and means to refresh oneself by breathing). There are only two places in scripture where we are told Spirit breathed into man (nephesh). The first time is in Genesis 2:7 where YHVH breathed Life into Adam. According to Leviticus, that Life became his blood. The DNA of Spirit entered into Adam and became his blood, producing Life.

Appearing with the Eleven The second time Spirit breathed into men is when the Resurrected Yeshua, having restored the Kingdom of Gan Edan (the Garden of Eden), breathed on the eleven disciples saying, "Receive Ruach haKodesh (Spirit of the Holy)". This was the same Spirit that was breathed into Adam and the precursor to Yom Shavuot (day of Pentecost) - the outpouring upon all who would embrace His Essence occurring fifty days later. Yeshua breathed Life into them and it restored, revitalized their blood to the same consistency as His - they received His DNA. When we receive Ruach haKodesh, the Spirit of the Holy settles in our liver and His Life, His DNA, abides within us to cleanse our blood. As we remain complete (perfected) by embracing His Words, keeping His Covenant, our energy (frequency level) rises and we become brilliant by abiding in His Essence. To manifest His Glory is to keep His Commandments - all ten of them, exactly as they are written.


"Already you are clean because of the Word that I have spoken to you." John 15:3

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8

The word translated as "clean" in the John 15:3 verse above is the same Greek word, katharos, translated as "pure" in Matthew 5:8 and means free from every admixture or adhesion of what is false, anything which soils, adulterates or corrupts what is Truth; purified by fire. As we remain free of the consequences of being separated from the Source of Life (which is called sin) our liver remains viable, able to perform its necessary function of cleansing the blood and we radiate Light. As we keep His Commandments (the definition between what is Light and what is darkness) we cultivate purity in our lives. As our blood becomes pure, the frequency rate becomes higher and our Light becomes brilliant. The energy waves emanating from that Light pulse forth and cause Life to be imparted into others the same as it was with Yeshua, through our speech and manner of Life. (1John 4:17). His Word will not return void. That purity of Life is called Virtue.

As Light is manifested, darkness does not "flee", but dissipates in the presence of the Light. When was the last time you turned on a light switch in a darkened room? Was there a struggle for that light to become pre-eminent and dissipate the darkness? When Yeshua moved through a multitude, scripture tells us they were all healed because "virtue went out of Him". The Greek word for virtue is dynamis and means "inherent power". (Mark 5:30, Luke 6:19).

Virtue went out of Him Yeshua manifested the Power of the Name of the Father and calls upon us to do the same (John 14:12). He pointed to the outward manifestation of the works as a vindication of the words He spoke - and He said His words were not His, but the Father's. He cultivated Virtue by keeping the Commandments of the Father. This walk is about manifesting the Power of the Name of the Father in this earthly realm - today, with our lives to change the lives of others in the same way Yeshua's Life exampled that walk. The enemy knows the Power of His Name and, through the tradition of men, would seek to turn this walk into a debate over the rules of religion instead of seeking the Truth of Who He says He Is and, thus, deny the Power inherent in His Name. As Priests, we are called to be Guardians of the sanctity of His Name so as to keep the virility of His Power alive in our lives. That virility is called Virtue. We guard the virility of the Essence of His Name by cultivating Virtue in our lives - inherent Power.

The Power of Light is found in Virtue. As Virtue is cultivated in our lives, the Light within us becomes more brilliant - causing darkness to diminish. Most approach darkness from a standpoint of fear because they do not understand the Power of Light (see the difference between Faith and Fear). The only power darkness has over us is what we give it. (The ruler of this earth comes, but he has no power over me). The definition of the Greek word translated as fear, phobos, means a dread of what is to come, terror. 1John 4:18 tells us that as we walk in the perfect, in His Name of Love, there is no fear because "perfect love casts out fear". Like Light and darkness, the two cannot abide in the same space at the same time. The commandments are given to define for us the distinction between what is Light and what is darkness. The Hebrew word for fear used in Exodus 14:13 is yare' and means to cause to stand in astonishment and awe as we watch the Power of His Name manifest through us as we simply stand in His Presence in the midst of whatever circumstance is before us.


PRAISE in Hebrew is "halal" {haw-lal} and means "to shine - to flash forth Light".

Why is His Name important? His Name is important because in His Name is the Power of Life. In YHVH is the Source of LIFE and THE LIFE was the LIGHT of men. YaHoVeH, Who is the Source of Life - IS Light. He and His Son both say that, if we will obey His Voice and keep His Commandments, He and His Son will abide, make their dwelling place, come to live within us. (2Corinthians 4:1-4),

The Name Series
Part One: Whose Name Is It?
Part Two: Abiding In His Name
Part Three: The Power In His Name

"...holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience." 1Timothy 3:9

Peace
GLC On A Personal Note
Thank you for your interest in revisiting the recent interview I was invited to participate in and broadcast by satellite on God's Learning Channel. You may see the entire interview by clicking on the picture to the upper left
Bible Islands 

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love you." (Psalm 122:6)
(prosper - from the Hebrew, "shalav", meaning "to be at rest")


Please visit the website http://hethathasanear.com for other articles and videos
or for information if you feel led to contribute to this ministry.
Click here to watch the short movie Maranatha!.
 
The Seven Spirits of YHVH Shalom Alechem B'Shem Yeshua HaMashiach.
(Peace be unto you in the Name of Jesus the Messiah)
haRold Smith
Jerusalem • Israel

http://hethathasanear.com
harold@hethathasanear.com


Click Here to Subscribe     

 

 

Joined To HaShem Newsletter, January 21, 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 יהוהYeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?




January 21, 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
Yitro
"Jethro"
Exodus 18:1-20:23
Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6
*Archived teaching from 2010*

Torah Commentary
Yitro
"Jethro"
Exodus 18:1-20:23
Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6
Words of Life
This week we come to the section of scripture known as the Ten Commandments. No section has been spoken or written on more than these words. With all the commentary though, do we really know what these words are all about?
To understand the Words, let us first look to the setting. The Hebrews have been through quite a whirlwind of a year. This God whom they only remembered from stories of a distant past has now done quite a job of reintroducing Himself to them through many signs and wonders. While signs and wonders are a good thing, they did not help the Hebrews to understand who this God is or what He really expects of them. At this point He is a good miracle worker, but there has not been much relationship built between them and Him. So how does He go about beginning the process of the reintroduction? He does so by telling them some things that He likes and some things that He does not like.
Within the words of the Ten Commandments the Hebrews were told how they should treat Elohim and how they should treat each other. They are words which still resound just as truly today as they did hundreds of years ago when they were first spoken.
The problem most folks have had through the years in interpreting these words is that they have thought the Ten Words were an end in themselves. People have thought that if they just keep these Ten Commandments then everything else in the Torah would be irrelevant. The reason for such thinking is they do not understand the purpose for these words.
The Ten Commandments are not an end, but simply a beginning of one of the hardest jobs The Almighty has ever taken on, explaining His heart to mankind. Think about that task for a moment. How hard a task is it to explain to mortal man who He is as YHVH?
Looking further at this thought of the Ten Commandments not being the end, but a beginning, look at the fourth commandment. Is all we need to know about Shabbat within these four verses of scripture? I don't think so. These words are a beginning to our understanding of how to observe this day. As we continue reading scripture this year we will find this verse amplified in the balance of Torah as well as the Prophets, the Writings, the words of Yeshua and even the words of the Disciples. HaShem unfolded the wonders of Shabbat unto man as we could take it, each generation learning a bit more about Shabbat and in turn learning more about the heart of our Father and His will for us.
We can even look at the Ten Commandments as the heart of scripture and everything else as putting flesh onto that heart. Just as through the physical heart the blood of life is pumped to every organ of a body, through the heart of Torah the life giving nutrients make it to our mind, our hands, our feet and every other area of our being. If the Ten Commandments are pumping life to our being then when our hand begins to reach out and touch that which is unclean, it will pull back because of the life from the heart flowing through it. When our eyes begin to look upon things we should not, they will turn away because of the life being pumped to them from the heart of the Ten Commandments.
There are just over 600 commandments outside of the Ten Commandments in the Tanach. There are also well over 1000 commandments in what we refer to as the Renewed Covenant. Take some time when you can, or even make it a bit of a game with your family, to look at the commandments in scripture and relate them back to the Ten. I have yet to find a single commandment within the pages of scripture that I could not relate back to one of the Ten Commandments, back to the heart.
Let me give you a quick example. We all know about the commandments of eating kosher. Which of the Ten does this relate to? Give up? How about number two? It speaks of not having idols in our lives, not putting our desires above His desires for our lives. I wonder how life would be different today if Adam and Eve had understood this principle?
One last assignment. Close your Bible. Can you recite the Ten Commandments from memory? Did you get them in order? Did it take you longer to think of them than it should? Now, how many do you not only know, but are you living? I think I will end there this week! p> Shabbat Shalom,
Mike

phone: 405 257 6277

Weekly Torah Lesson: Yitro, Rabbi Chaim Richman

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

Rabbi  Chaim  Richman?

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

 

In this week's Torah portion, the Ten Commandments are given. But more importantly, the greatness of G-d is recognized by a former idol worshipper.

 

Letter 474 (Gentile exposed), 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 יהוהYeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

 

Shalom Fellow Israelite,

Psalm 83:2-4: "For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head.  They have taken crafty counsel against Your people/am, and consulted together against Your sheltered/hidden/treasured ones.  They have said, 'Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation/goy, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more'" (Psalm 83:2-4 emphasis added).

For a number of years now I have had cause to suspect the usage, in the English translations, of the Hebrew word "goy" and "goyim."  The more I thought and prayed about it, the more I began to be alarmed, especially after reading Psalm 83.  Indeed, if the enemies of Israel want to cut us off from being a nation/goy, what better way of doing it than through a change in the definition or translation of words?  If, for example, "goy" is understood to mean a non-Jewish person, heathen, or gentile/non-Israelite, then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's progeny/seed, who according to YHVH's promises were supposed to be a "goy gadol" (great goy) and m'lo-ha-goyim (fullness or multitudes of nations), would actually turn out to be non-Jewish individuals, heathens, and gentile/pagans. Does not that sound like replacement theology? 

Who would be interested in replacing the Israelites as a "nation" and a "company of nations"?  The Web Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, provides us with a non-too-subtle hint as to one of the greatest enemies of the Elohim of Israel and His chosen nation/goy, Jacob.

From Wikipedia:  "The term Gentile (from Latin gentilis, by the French "gentil", female: "gentille", meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe) refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible. The Greek word ethnos was translated gentiles when the context for the base term 'peoples' or 'nations', Hebrew, גוי (goy) and נכרי (nokhri) in the Hebrew Bible and the Greek word θνη (éthnē) in the New Testament, indicated non-Israelite peoples or nations. The term gentiles is derived from Latin, used for contextual translation, and not an original Hebrew or Greek word from the Bible.  Following Christianization of the Roman Empire, the general implication of the word gentile became "non-Jew." [The Jews at the time represented "the nation of Israel" including the lost, or hidden treasure of YHVH.]

"Ethnos" is typically translated "Gentile." But we have to remember that in the Church's understanding even when it is rendered "nation" all too often it is perceived as a non-Israelite.  In Damascus a Jew by the name of Ananias had a vision where "… the Lord said to him, "Go, for he [Saul, the former persecutor of the Believers] is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles/ethnos, kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts  9:15).  Was Ananias referring to the promises to Abraham, Sarah, and Jacob: "Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body (Genesis 17:6; Genesis 35:11 emphases added)?  Was Paul another one who was sent out to the nations to procure the sons of Israel (the "lost sheep") who had become nations and kings?  I'm sure Yeshua didn't change his mind when He said that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.  In the following scriptures Paul writes (quoting from the Tanach):  "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles [ethnos] has come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob…"  (Romans 11:25-26 emphasis added).  Again, the usage of "Gentiles" totally takes the reader away from understanding the "mystery of the blindness of Israel."  The "fullness of the nations/goyim" is of course quoted from the blessing to Ephraim in Genesis 48:19). Additionally, what does "all Israel" and a "Deliverer who comes out of Zion to turn away ungodliness from Jacob," mean if these expressions have nothing to do with Jacob and his seed or progeny?

A similar case could be made in regard to Peter's commentary, where he quotes from the Tanach (Old Testament) about Israel: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation/ethnos" (Exodus 19:5-6; 1 Peter 2:9).  According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, the Protestant denominations, and unfortunately the Messianic Jewish churches also, these scriptures apply only to the "once- you- were- not- my- people" (Hosea 1:9-10 words spoken to the northern house of Israel), but now are viewed as the Gentiles who are in the 'holy and universal Church,' and are therefore regarded as the new "Israel of God" or the "one new man."  What has enabled Christendom to come to this conclusion is the way that this one Hebrew word - "GOY" - has been tampered with.

My question to you is: Did St. Jerome and the Catholic Church have any reason to introduce a translation of the Bible (the Vulgate) that would eliminate Israel as YHVH's legitimate nation/goy?  It is not that Latin did not have a word for nation. As a matter of fact, the origin of the English "nation" comes from the Latin "natio" (close in sound to the Greek "ethno," which is the root word the Greeks used for the Hebrew "goy," as mentioned above). 

YHVH defined "goy" and "goyim" when He divided the people and divvied out to them their lands (see Genesis 10:5, 32).  Thus the true definition of "nation/goy" has three basic aspects: a people, tribe, or families living on a piece of real estate/land and subject to one government.  Thereby we could say that government, people, and land are   the necessary components that define a "nation."  If we look at the covenant with the forefathers, it always entailed these three: land, a people, and YHVH's kingdom government (or man's).

What is so amazing is that even Jewish-Israel of today, as well as the Messianic Jews do not identify themselves as a "goy."  They make use of the term "goy" or "goyim" exclusively for non-Jews or "Gentiles."  However, "goy" is still the one Hebrew word that YHVH uses to unite us as one people, and one nation (see Ezekiel 37: 22).  Without correcting this obvious mistranslation and misunderstanding, the "one new man" idea of Ephesians 2:15 is a nice concept, but it does not bring about unity.  The existence of thousands of Christian denominations attest to this fact; nor does it bear witness to YHVH's faithfulness in keeping covenant with Abraham and the "goy gadol" - "great nation" - that was to issue forth from his loins. 

Shabbat Shalom,
Ephraim

Hebrew Insights into Parashat Yitro