I have a calendar I would like to share with you. Unlike most calendars that add Hebrew dates to the traditional Gregorian months, here is a calendar organized around the Hebrew months with Gregorian dates added for reference. One purpose … Continue reading →
From time to time I am blessed by a letter from my friend Tom that includes a summary of something he has been studying. Tom is a Messianic Jewish believer in Yeshua and is currently incarcerated. This week I received … Continue reading →
Here is a beautiful hymn written by Isaac Watts almost 300 years ago. The lyrics are based entirely on Psalm 90 and were composed at a time when the songs sung in church services were almost always the actual words of … Continue reading →
The soundtrack to the movie Bruce Almighty contains a song by the contemporary Christian band Plumb that goes like this:
There’s a God-shaped hole in all of us
And the restless soul is searching
There’s a God-shaped hole in all of us
And it’s a void only he can fill
Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 are nearly identical Psalms of David. Reading or hearing the same thing twice might be an indication it should be given a little more attention. Both begin with the same declaration: The fool has said in his … Continue reading →
In a few weeks it will be time to restart the Torah reading cycle. Every year at the conclusion of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, we celebrate Simchat Torah, a Hebrew phrase that means “rejoicing in the Torah.” The final … Continue reading →
During a study of Torah portion Ekev, a gentleman in our group was talking about the “other ark” and asked me what I knew about it. Honestly, I had no idea what he was talking about, and asked him to … Continue reading →
Beginning this week with Torah portion Mattot there is a change in the Haftarah readings. The Haftarah is a selection from the Prophets that generally corresponds to at least one of the main subjects of the Torah portion. In a … Continue reading →
A Maskil of Asaph. Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Which we have heard and … Continue reading →
That’s probably what the Israelites thought when they heard those words. Things had gone from bad to worse since Moses had appeared on the scene. Now he says God is going to deliver them. Yeah, right. Of course, hind sight … Continue reading →
