Parasha Vayera (And He Appeared): A Covenant and an Inheritance

November 7, 2014 This week’s Parasha contains more angelic activity than any of the other parashot. Angels appear to Abraham as men, bringing messages to him and Sarah of events to come. They also save Lot from a hostile mob, lead Hagar to water for her son, and comfort Hagar with the promise of Ishmael becoming a great nation. Later in the parasha, the angels also prevent Abraham from sacrificing his son, Isaac.

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Parasha Lech Lecha (Go Forth): Crossing Over Into Destiny

October 30, 2014 Abram had an ability to cross over borders: He not only crossed from Mesopotamia to Canaan, he courageously crossed from a world of idol worship to a world in which the one true God was worshiped instead. The world stood on one side and he stood with truth on the other. He crossed over into his destiny, and his descendants inherited the reward or blessing as well as the characteristic of being those who crosses over.

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Parasha Ha’azinu (Listen): Finding Victory in the Song of Moses

September 27, 2014 Parasha Ha’azinu is read on the Shabbat during the ten-day period of repentance (teshuvah) between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Because the Hebrew word "shuva," which means "return!" is the first word of Hosea 14:2-10, this week's Haftarah (prophetic portion), this Shabbat is commonly known as Shabbat Shuvah (Sabbath of Turning). Ha’azinu, which may be translated as give ear, meaning listen attentively, consists primarily of the 70-line long Song of Moses, which is both a love song to God and a chastisement of the people. In this song filled with poetry, prose and metaphor, Moses recounts the blessings that God has bestowed upon the people and the wicked deeds they have committed, as well as God’s just response to those deeds.

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The Jewish New Year, the Shemitah, and the Day of the Lord

September 23, 2014 Today is the first day of the Jewish year 5775. It is a very special year for several reasons. It is the first day of the first Shemitah year or Sabbath year on the Biblical calendar to be celebrated in a meaningful way since the Romans razed Jerusalem in AD 70. What is the Shemitah and why is it significant?

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Parasha Nitzavim-Vayelech (You are Standing-And He Went): New Beginnings and the Covenant

September 19, 2014 Israel stands as a sign and beacon to all peoples everywhere of the wonderful grace and mercy of God. Its glorious restoration reveals that He can replant, rebuild, re-establish His people from the worst destruction in each one of our lives. If we will give Him our ashes and mourning, He will give us beauty and oil of joy. “The Lord has anointed Me to ... provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:1, 3)

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Abbas Seeks to End the Jewish Presence in Israel’s Ancient Heartland‏

September 17, 2014 The second in a series of four consecutive Blood Moons (total lunar eclipses), which fall on the Jewish holiday of Passover and Sukkot in 2014 and 2015, is quickly approaching. With it big changes seem to be taking shape in the Palestinian struggle for statehood, a struggle which will directly effect the heritage of the Promised Land for the Jewish People. Abbas is currently rallying support before heading for the annual United Nation General Assembly next week on September 24, which is Erev Rosh HaShanah (Jewish New Year’s Eve), at which time he will endeavor to gain support for setting a date for forcing Israel out of Judea-Samaria, Israel’s heartland.

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Parasha Ki Tetze (When You Go Out): Entering the Promised Land as a Godly Community

September 5, 2014 In this Parasha, God gives the Israelites a series of laws which mostly govern civil and domestic life. This group of laws is intended to build a just community of people who are not only concerned with their own well-being, but also with the well-being of others. God wants His people to demonstrate mercy and kindness to everyone, especially those who are powerless, helpless or oppressed.

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Canaanite Wine Cellar Found in Galilee

September 2, 2014 A recently released study by archaeologists who last year unearthed what was thought to be a Bronze Age royal wine cellar at the northern Galilee site of Tel Kabri confirmed that the bottles originally contained wine. “The presence of both tartaric and syringic acids in relative abundance as biomarkers indicates that all of these vessels originally held wine and that we may be confident in identifying this space as a wine storage room—that is to say, a wine cellar,” they said.

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At Risk Israeli Farmers Get Bomb Shelters and 500 Helping Hands

August 28, 2014 Many of the rockets that are fired from the Strip fall in agricultural fields. Until now, no farmer has been hurt, but the crops and fields have suffered. The government has committed to assisting those farmers who have suffered losses to crops and livestock. The director of Yofi Shel Yerakhot (Beautiful Vegetables) a cooperative of farmers in the Negev, said that their members as well as their workers (many of whom are Thai foreign workers), are committed to working the extra hours needed to assure a steady supply of vegetables to Israeli tables despite the crisis of Hamas bombing. Another group of foreign workers—500 Christian volunteers—will be arriving over the next three months to help farmers in Judea and Samaria. They have come as a part of a trip organized by the American Christian organization HaYovel (the Jubilee).

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Parasha Reeh (See): The Mountain of Blessing

August 22, 2014 In this week’s Torah portion, God sets before the people of Israel a clear choice: they could either obey God’s commandments (mitzvot) and enjoy a life of blessing (brachah), or disobey and suffer the resulting curse (klalah). The blessings are to be proclaimed on Mount Gerizim and the curses on Mount Ebal when the people cross over the Jordan into the Holy Land. “When Adonai your God brings you into the land you are entering in order to take possession of it, you are to put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.” (Deuteronomy 11:29)

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