The weekly Torah portion reading this week is the first in the story of the Exodus, aka “Shemot” in the Hebrew, which also begins the story of the life of Moses (Moshe) — Exodus/Shemot 1:1 through 6:2.

The Sabbath Day midrash — (more to follow…)

The combined two-part reading and Sabbath midrash:

News and commentary from host Mark Call, for the first week of the year 2026, and both the deceptions and the engineered violence are off to a screeching start.

Those who don’t pay close attention are intended to be deceived.

The first full week of 2026 has more news, more deception, and more mayhem than the last full month.

For four (plus) years, the USA descended into clear insanity. The Rule of Law has been consistently undermined since long before that. COVID tyranny was followed up by the spectacle of a senile imposter and a regime that was so far gone that ‘wokeness’ demanded the blind to even be incapable of discerning a man from a woman, much less right from wrong.

And then, finally, the pendulum seemed to be to swing back in the opposite direction. The election fraud, while almost overwhelming, proved insufficient to overcome the backlash against Idiocy on Parade.

And much has been reversed. At least temporarily.

But not a single indictment, much less prosecution for treason, has happened.

Now the Statue of Limitations for many of the obvious crimes associated with the J6 Fedsurrection has been allowed to pass, to no real effect, and the Somali-land Minnesota Fraud-o-rama seems to have given way to the long-anticipated “We NEED Another George Floyd – NOW” riot parade.

And “AI” seems capable of manipulating information, and perhaps even Truth, like never before. But at least we have been warned.

News and commentary for Thursday, 8 January, 2026.

News and commentary for Wednesday, 7 January, 2026.

News and commentary for Tuesday, 6 January, 2026.

News and commentary for Monday, 5 January, 2026.

There is a single major story dominating the world today, and it far more important, and layered, than the Waste-Stream media, or the Left, would like you to believe.

But, to put it in perspective – we are now seeing in Nicolas Maduro the ONLY Venezuelan gang member that the Far Left does NOT want to see imported into AmeriKa.

Love and Torah – what’s love got to do with it? This study series is based on the “Two Great Commands” – love Yahweh and love your neighbor.

Continuing our journey through the second of the Two Great Commands, ‘love your neighbor’, Rabbi Steve Berkson takes us to Luke 6:38, where we see Messiah Yeshua continuing to show the contrast between what Rabbi Berkson calls “the Below” and “the Above”. He points out that in order to please the Father, you must be aligned with “the Above”.

A component of loving Yahweh and your neighbor is giving. What does that mean, though? Rabbi Berkson clarifies how, when, and why to give. He also points out an incentive to give, noting that whatever we give will be returned, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. Rabbi Berkson uses his trip to a Baskin-Robbins™ ice cream store to make the point.

In Luke 6:39-40, Messiah Yeshua tells a parable about the blind leading the blind. Rabbi Berkson cautions about where and from whom you get your information as you walk in Torah observance. There’s a lot of misinformation out there that presents itself with authority.

In verse 41, Yeshua teaches about the plank in your eye and the splinter in your brother’s eye. Rabbi Berkson explains how some people take Torah knowledge and use it as a weapon to try to “help” others with their walk. “Correction can only happen correctly in the right relationship.”

Then in Luke 6:47-49, Rabbi Berkson tells us that our lives are like building a house. Are we building on the correct foundation, or without one? The key is whether or not we are listening to and doing the words of Messiah.

Rabbi Berkson once again dissects the words in these passages so that you will have a deeper understanding of what Yah expects of you, so that you can do it and receive the blessings.