Yeshua Centered Judaism

Parashat Tazria-Metzora

Parashat Tazria-Metzora (She Bears Seed-Infected One) TORAH READING Leviticus 12:1 – 15:33 HAFTARAH II Kings 7:3 – 7:20 In the Torah portion Tazria, God instructs Moses about the purification rituals for mothers following childbirth. God then describes to Moses and Aaron the procedures for identifying and responding to those infected with leprosy. In Metzora, God…

LESSON SEVEN: ACTS PART 2

“Also the sons of the foreigner [l‘beni ha-nakar] who join themselves to HaShem, to serve Him, and to love the Name of HaShem, to be His servants – Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant – Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and…

LESSON SIX: ACTS PART 1

Introduction Two of the things we saw as focal points in the book of John were the “Messiah, One like Moses” connection, and the Temple/Feasts. Both of these are also present in the book of Acts. The book of Acts is a continuation of the book of Luke, written by Luke. As such, we know…

TO LOVE THE TORAH 2

Chapter 2 E v e r y m o m e n l e a r n in g T o r a h s t r e n g t h e n s a J e w ‘ s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i…

Shabbat Rest – The Completion of Creation

It took six days for God to create the heavens, the earth, and all within them. At first glance, an additional day seems unnecessary. Nevertheless, God created the seventh day and designated it for rest and cessation of labor. As a result, the world contains rest, blessing, and holiness. Thus we read: The heaven and…

Parashat Shmini

Shemini Atzeret is translated as the Eighth Day of the Assembly. It’s sort of strange that there’s an eighth day of the assembly, given that Sukkot is a week-long feast, but in the very passage that dictates there are seven days of Sukkot, we see God also mandating the eighth day: “For seven days you…

LESSON FIVE: JOHN PART 2

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Yeshua knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”John 13:1 On the last day, that great day of the feast [Sukkot], Yeshua stood and…

TO LOVE THE TORAH 1

TO LOVE THE TORAHChapter 1Gemara Nowadays there seem to be many young students who find that learning Gemara does not attract them as it should. Judging by the ones with whom 1 am personally acquainted, 1 am convinced that it is not in any way because they dislike mitzvos, or are not interested in learning…

The Mitzvah of Counting the Omer

The Mitzvah of Counting the Omer The Torah states (Vayikra 21, 15): “And you shall count for yourselves, from the day following the Shabbat, from the day the waved Omer offering is brought, seven complete weeks shall they be.” Our Sages (Menachot 65b) have a tradition that the “day following the Shabbat” refers to the…

The Omer Counting Period

The period of the counting of the Omer is exalted indeed and filled with sanctity, as the Ramban writes in his commentary on Parashat Emor that the days between the holidays of Pesach and Shavuot, i.e. the Omer counting period, retain the sanctity of Chol Ha’Moedand are not days of national tragedy and mourning like…

Mechanics of Counting Omer

Before counting the Omer, one recites the following blessing: “Blessed are you, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding the counting of the Omer.” Both the blessing and the counting are said, le’chatchilah, in a standing position. If one said them while sitting, he…

ADV Parsha Shmini

שמיני בס”ד In a leap year, the Parsha read usually after Pesach is אחרי מות, which also speaks of the passing of נדב ואביהוא. The number of pesukim in Parshas שמיני is ninety one, and the סימן given is עבדיה. The truth is, the concept of שמיני and of עבדיה are opposites, the eighth being…