Join Beth Tikkun as we explore parshah Bechukotai. Our focus for this final portion in Leviticus is the menorah pattern – in Leviticus, the Torah, and the Scriptures in general. Our explorations bring us to the single chapter of Leviticus that stands at the very center of the Torah. Visuals: Bechukotai 2018-19.pdf Medios Visuales: Bejukotai […]

We begin this week’s teaching by first stepping back to Torah portion Emor to address the important topic of the Lord’s appointed times, the mo’edim, with special focus on the seemingly oddly placed verse that separates the spring and fall mo’edim. Moving on to parshah Behar, we hone in on the verb “you shall count,” […]

In Torah portion Emor, we focus on the 12 disqualifying blemishes that preclude priests from bringing sacrifices at the Temple. We can approach these disqualifications as a kind of checklist for ourselves as we examine our own walks with Adonai since even those who are not of the Levitical line may be priests in the […]

Our focus for Torah portion Kedoshim is holiness, the meaning of this portion’s Hebrew name. We begin by pointing out that chapters 18 and 20 share much of the same content regarding forbidden sexual relationships with at least 2 important differences that speak to how children suffer in societies riddled with sexual perversion. The bulk of […]

This cycle’s parshah Acharei Mot teaching begins with a summary of the ground we have covered in Leviticus – God’s handbook for holiness. Turning to the Torah portion itself, we zoom in on the two goats of the Yom Kippur service, this year placing special emphasis on the goat that remains at the Temple. In […]

Join Beth Tikkun as we take advantage of the yearly Passover break in the Torah cycle to explore the concept of liturgical prayer. Tim Pell, one of our cantors, fits liturgical prayer into the grand narrative of creation. As he does so, he dips into a variety of ancient and modern sources and his own […]

The backdrop for this year’s portion Metzora teaching aligns with the two traditional teaching emphases for the first weeks of the Counting of the Omer: 1) chesed/lovingkindness and 2) gevurah/restriction. Thus, we focus on gracious lovingkindness as we examine the restoration of the “leper,” and we take heed of the necessity for rigorous limitation as we study the […]

This week we momentarily step away from the Torah cycle to discuss the topic of baptism. Contrary to what many Believers think, baptism did not begin at the time of Yeshua. It is an ages-old Jewish practice. To uncover its meaning and its great blessing, we need to look to the ancient Jewish understanding of […]

Imagine a close-knit community in which God dwells tangibly and that, because of His presence, the residents live at such a level of holiness that sin becomes obvious in the body – there’s no hiding it. Israel has experienced something like this in the past, and we hope to one day experience it again. In […]

We tackle two main topics in this year’s portion Shemini teaching: the mysterious deaths of Nadav and Avihu and God’s dietary laws. In the first part of the teaching, we answer the question of why it is that Nadav and Avihu are struck dead by God when another pair of Aaron’s sons, Elazar and Itamar, […]