The Gemara discusses the harsh punishment that one incurs when he treats the laws of Shemittah lightly. The Gemara uses the term avak shel sheviis, the dust of Shemittah, to refer to the less stringent laws of Shemittah. We find elsewhere that the Gemara uses the term avak Lashon hara to describe slander that is rabbinically prohibited, and…
Category: Ancient Paths
Red Cows of History
A fully red cow on a small farm outside Lakewood, New Jersey is attracting worldwide attention in orthodox Jewish circles and various movements with a Messianic or “End of Days” bent. Let me explain why. In the Biblical Book of Numbers (19:2-13) it stipulates that the only way to purify oneself after contact with the…
The Fourth Blessing of the Amida Prayer
“Ata Honen Le’Adam Da’at” (The Fourth Blessing of the Amida Prayer) The Reason Why the Blessing of “Ata Honen” Was Instituted as the First of the Series of ‘Blessings of Requests’ Maran Ha’Shulchan Aruch (Chapter 115) writes: “Since the advantage of human beings over animals is understanding and intelligence, our Sages instituted the blessing of…
NAZIRITE
THE NAZIRITE The Hebrew word NAZIR is today used for a monk, but the Torah has no place for such celibacy, and only the prophet Moses and certain true Tzaddikim were permitted to separate themselves from “the way of the world”. The Torah NAZIR was not one who separated himself from the world as a…
Revival Comes with a Cost
Syria: Revival Comes with a Cost For years the Christians in Syria prayed for God to bring revival to their country. Little did they know that revival would come, but it would come in the midst of war and suffering and death. This week “Brother John” shares the story of that revival, and the amazing ways…
New Revelation
Originally posted on Yeshua Centered Judaism:
Themes of Shavuot (Pentecost)New Revelation One theme of Shavuot (Pentecost) is a new revelation of G-d’s will (Leviticus [Vayikra] 23:15-16,21). Two notable historical events happened on this day. The giving of the Ten Commandments or the Torah.It should be noted here that the Hebrew word Torah, commonly translated as “law” in English, does not…
The Two Ways Tradition in Barnabas (and the Didache)
Originally posted on ancientchurchorders:
Relatively recently published is Julien C.H. Smith, “The Epistle of Barnabas and the two ways of teaching authority” VigChr 68 (2014), 465-497. In arguing that the two ways elements suffuse the entire epistle, Smith presents the case that the concluding chapters, summarizing the two ways, are more than simply an awkward…
Understanding Torah
Reb Yochanan Sofer writes that he remembers when he began to attend to his grandfather Reb Shimon Sofer zt”l for several hours during the day, the remaining hours that he utilized for learning were tremendously productive. In only a short period of time, he was able to understand the depths of the Gemora and the…
Yeshua Centered Judaism 
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